Thompson on Hollywood

Trailer Watch: Alice in Wonderland Heads for #SDCC

You have to hand it to Tim Burton. As crazy awful as Hollywood can be, this canny visual stylist somehow manages to hang onto his imagination and personal imprint while navigating the studio system with aplomb. And most of his films--even art-house opera Sweeney Todd--are accessibly commercial. (Next up: a remake of my fave childhood vampire soap opera, Dark Shadows.)

By Anne Thompson
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July 22, 2009 3:08 AM
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Risky Business: Comic-Con Comes of Age

Post-Twilight, Comic-Con comes of age. And yet, it can be risky to chase after that fan buzz. Memorable duds in Hall H include The Spirit and Zathura. When a movie isn't working, the fans sniff it out. But when it does--300 and Superman Returns are vivid examples--they turn up to see the movie in droves. How it plays in theaters is another matter. Watchmen was a hit in Hall H last year--but the good buzz didn't guarantee a wide appeal commercial movie.

By Anne Thompson
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July 21, 2009 6:45 AM
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#SDCC: Pattinson Will Do Comic-Con Twilight: New Moon Press Conference

While Twilight star Rob Pattinson will not do backstage press interviews at Comic-Con this week for New Moon, he and co-stars Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner will participate in an off-site press conference in San Diego early Thursday morning. That's how Summit is handling huge demand for the film's stars, who will also attend a Hall H panel later Thursday afternoon at the San Diego Convention Center. Fans are expected to line up overnight to gain entrance to that panel.

By Anne Thompson
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July 20, 2009 6:56 AM
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#SDCC: Directors Visit Comic-Con for First Time

Comic-Con 2009 is front-loaded. Most of the key movie stuff happens on the first day, Thursday July 23, and Friday, with Iron Man 2 the main play on Saturday. (Here's the EW Iron Man 2 cover-preview.) The trick is to balance the crowded Hall H panels, trawling the exhibition floor, backstage interviews, screenings and parties with actual blogging. Yikes.

By Anne Thompson
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July 15, 2009 2:14 AM
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#SDCC Comic-Con Separates Top Draws Avatar and Twilight: New Moon

Last year, I remember a few diehard fanboys mocking me when I flagged Twilight as a big deal at Comic-Con. The power of Twilight fans became clear as thousands of girls screamed their lungs out for emerging star Rob Pattinson. Helping to avert certain traffic gridlock, Comic-Con organizers pushed apart back-to-back Thursday panels for Twilight: New Moon and James Cameron's Avatar, by far the most anticipated two panels of the Con. Many were concerned that the threatened tsunami of fans surging toward Hall H Thursday morning (many of them female, in this very male-dominated universe) would make it tough to also cover Disney's 11 AM 3-D panel (Zemeckis's A Christmas Carol, Burton's Alice in Wonderland) and James Cameron's Avatar on the same day. Now New Moon is at 1:45 pm and Avatar is at 3:00 pm. Covering media may have a tough time getting into New Moon without some kind of press pass.

By Anne Thompson
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July 10, 2009 5:59 AM
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Blog Watch: Hudson Leaves IFC

David Hudson is departing his daily obsessive IFC blog. This leaves a hole, especially at film fests, when he'd aggregate all the best reviews on any given film. (He used to write the GreenCine daily blog). But he's planning something and it makes sense that the brainy Berlin-based blogger and cinephile wouldn't want to do that forever. All best to him. I feel the online cinelandscape shifting. So does IndieWire's Eugene Hernandez.

By Anne Thompson
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June 30, 2009 2:29 AM
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LAFF: Fest Wrap

Film Independent chief Dawn Hudson and new LAFF director Rebecca Yeldham were heaving sighs of relief at the sunny awards brunch at the Hammer Museum Sunday. While official figures are not in, sales of festival passes were down at this year's LAFF, but day-to-day ticket sales were brisk, with many sell-outs, Hudson said. While the various jury and audience award winners are listed on the jump, the real winners of the 10-day fest were the movies that picked up attention and possible distribution.

By Anne Thompson
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June 28, 2009 2:34 AM
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Family Films: Disney's Ponyo Works, Indie Hachiko Remake Doesn't

One's Japanese, the other isn't. And there's the rub.

By Anne Thompson
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June 18, 2009 3:15 AM
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Cannes 2009: Pics and Video

During my nine days at Cannes, I shot more pics and video than I used. I was hoping to shoot more one-on-one interviews, but wound up at round-tables where they wouldn't let me flip out the cam. At press conferences, security people kept shutting my flip cam down, even after I had obtained permission from both the print and video press attaches. You had to get pretty close to get anything decent. The worst press conference to get into was Inglourious Basterds, where a jam of disgruntled press with lesser badges tried to talk security into letting them in.