Thompson on Hollywood

Palm Springs Adds Cousins' 'Story of Film,' Archive Game-Changers; Clooney & Oldman for Talking Pictures

Festivals

The Palm Springs International Film Festival announces additional premieres, Talking Pictures and Archival Treasures. In total, the fest has 188 films (63 premieres) playing between January 5-16, representing 73 countries. Newly announced premieres include...

By Sophia Savage
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January 5, 2012 4:11 PM
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Now and Then: Why The Descendants Should Win Best Picture

Reviews

"The Descendants" starts slow, muddied by voiceover and unclear intentions. But it soon sneaks up on you, deepening — ripening, really — until it achieves something approaching wisdom.

By Matt Brennan
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December 30, 2011 2:55 PM
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The Challenger to The Artist is The Descendants

Awards

As Academy members get their ballots this week, if one movie can challenge "The Artist" in the race for the Best Picture Oscar, it's "The Descendants." For one thing, with $33 million in the till after the Christmas holidays, where it landed in the top ten, it's a box office hit in a way that "The Artist" is not.

By Anne Thompson
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December 27, 2011 12:05 PM
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Oscar Watch: The Artist is the One to Beat

Awards

Yes, "The Artist" is running away with the Oscar ball. It's has love from critics, dominated the SAG and Golden Globes nominations, and is strong with actors and craftspeople alike. As a nostalgic love letter to the movies--and a comic/tragic/romance--it has everything a Academy member could love, and will grab more Oscar nominations than any other film.

By Anne Thompson
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December 15, 2011 4:29 PM
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Screen Actors Guild Surprises: Close, Bichir, and McCarthy Are In, Theron, Redgrave, Woodley and Fassbender, Out

Awards

"Albert Nobbs" star Glenn Close can heave a sigh of relief, as she landed a Screen Actors Guild nomination as Best Actress, along with frontrunners Meryl Streep ("The Iron Lady") and Viola Davis, whose film "The Help" gets a surge in the Oscar race as it dominated the field with four nominations, including best ensemble and two supporting nods for Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain.

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2011 11:21 AM
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Clooney, Payne and Cast Talk The Descendants: Real is Funny, Stealing Clooney's Wife

Awards

Last week Film Independent screened "The Descendants" at LACMA with George Clooney, director Alexander Payne, Shailene Woodley, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Robert Forster, Beau Bridges and Nick Krause on hand for a Q & A afterward. Highlights from the conversation with Elvis MItchell are below.

By Beth Hanna
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November 19, 2011 4:26 PM
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Oscar Talk: Streep vs. Davis, Prosthetic vs. Digital Makeup, Performance Capture vs. Animation, Close vs. McTeer

Awards

In this week's Oscar Talk podcast, In Contention's Kris Tapley and I debate Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin," performance capture vs. animation. Will animators support it? We think visual effects is a stronger, well-deserved shot.

By Anne Thompson
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November 18, 2011 1:31 PM
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: Oscar Front-runner The Descendants; Twilight, Tyrannosaur, Tomboy & More

The Descendants Fox Searchlight

There is something you can see in Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" that you will likely never ever see in real life: George Clooney as a cuckolded husband and the father of two daughters. But the film is down to earth, offering something you rarely see these days at the movie theater: Situations you can relate to, characters you care about, whose highs and lows don't revolve around super powers or the apocalypse. You will want to see "The Descendants" eventually, as Fox Searchlight's multiple Oscar campaigns hit full strength. Gurus o' Gold has "The Descendants" leading picture, director, screenplay and actor categories. Consider this essential viewing. Here's our interview with Payne and Oscar Talk on Clooney.

By Sophia Savage
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November 17, 2011 2:06 PM
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Oscar Talk: Shame's NC-17 and Fassbender, Whither Clooney, Chastain, Doc Race, Year-End Critics

In this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I debate the Shame NC-17 issue. Will Fox Searchlight be able to push Michael Fassbender for an Oscar nomination? (I weigh in on this here.)

By Anne Thompson
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October 28, 2011 4:00 AM
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Alexandre Desplat Scores Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Among Many Other Films

French composer Alexandre Desplat is having a busy 2011. He's racing to finish the score for one of several still-unfinished year-end releases, Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, over the next few weeks. (The composer took over from Nico Muhly, who scored Daldry's The Reader.) Of course, music is always the last contribution to any movie, figuring in the final mix.