Thompson on Hollywood

Holiday Biopics: Young Victoria, Creation, Me and Orson Welles

Three period biopics with awards hopes face some tough going over the holidays.

By Anne Thompson
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December 31, 2009 3:10 AM
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Holiday Movie Wrap: Avatar Beats Sherlock Holmes, Nine Flops

Over the holiday weekend, the two most popular topics on my Twitter feed were Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. While there was debate on Sherlock Holmes's merits, most of my tweeters approved of Cameron's blockbuster (as did critics--it scored 83 on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic). Avatar looks to challenge, if not beat, Titanic's box office records, based on its extraordinary performance in North America so far: $75 million over the holiday and $212 million to date. (Here's the LAT's box office report, and David Poland's analysis.)

By Anne Thompson
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December 27, 2009 5:46 AM
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Oscar Duel: Yes, They're Fun, But Do Golden Globes Influence Oscar?

In this ongoing blog duel, Moviefone's resident Oscarologist Jack Mathews and I discuss the impact of the Golden Globes on the Oscar race. On Golden Globes nominations morning, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Downey, Jr., Julia Roberts and Tobey Maguire were dancing on the ceiling. And Harvey Weinstein thought he had three sure-fire Oscar contenders with Nine, Inglourious Basterds and A Single Man.

By Anne Thompson
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December 21, 2009 9:45 AM
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Oscar Talk Episode Fifteen: Avatar, Nine, It's Complicated, Crazy Heart, Top Ten

Kris Tapley and I get serious about what's going to happen in the next month. Avatar will gain momentum, we think, while Nine and Invictus could lose it. Which films will make it to the final top ten? We agree on the obvious front-runners. But what could sneak in? Quentin Tarantino likes Star Trek. Kris likes Crazy Heart and The Messenger. I like District 9. Could raucous comedy It's Complicated score some noms? We also slice and dice the best director category, and discuss our fave holiday films, revealing a considerable generational divide: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation vs. Meet Me in St. Louis.

By Anne Thompson
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December 18, 2009 8:30 AM
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Golden Globe Nominations Announced, Bullock, Streep, Damon Get Two

The Golden Globes nominations have influence on Oscar voters, mainly in terms of steering them toward certain movies on their growing screener piles. The Globes nominations do not forecast the Oscars, and the musical/comedy category can be misleading. The Weinstein Co., which led the field with 12 nominations, is very happy this morning, as Inglourious Basterds, A Single Man and Nine scored multiple nominations. (The Road was shut out, however.) Paramount's Up in the Air boasted the most, six, including best drama, actor, director, two supporting actresses and screenplay. Avatar earned four noms including best picture and director; ex-spouses James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) will compete in that category. Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep and Matt Damon all scored two nominations apiece.

By Anne Thompson
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December 15, 2009 1:32 AM
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Things I Heard on the Oscar Party Circuit

'Tis the season for Oscar parties. They come in different shapes and sizes.

By Anne Thompson
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December 4, 2009 11:31 AM
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Golden Globe Nominations To Be Announced December 15

The first folks to see Avatar will be, naturally, the Hollywood Foreign Press. They see the much-anticipated James Cameron 3-D epic on December 8th. (I see it on the 10th.) The HFPA are also ubiquitous on the Oscar party circuit. To say they are being wined and dined is an understatement.

By Anne Thompson
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December 3, 2009 4:19 AM
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Oscar Watch: Precious, Up in the Air Lead Pre-Holiday Guru Vote

You can assume that most of the voters on Gurus 'O Gold have seen all the movies at this point except The Lovely Bones, Avatar and It's Complicated. So, these press people believe that Invictus (Newsweek's David Ansen reviews it) and Nine are in the race. Here's the new top ten. Keep in mind that in some ways what this list represents is 1) best marketing to date and 2) voting pre-critics groups, National Board of Review, Gothams, Indie Spirits, BAFTA, Golden Globes and Guild nominations and awards. Also, many Oscar campaigns this year are breaking late, for whatever reason. Screeners are just arriving this week.

By Anne Thompson
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November 26, 2009 2:54 AM
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John Woo Talks Red Cliff

John Woo's historic epic Red Cliff is one of the best films of the year. Already a huge hit in Asia, which financed the original two-part $80-million five-hour war film (the most expensive movie ever produced in China), the two-and-a half-hour western cut of Red Cliff launched stateside last week in New York without much fanfare, and opens on 30 screens in 15 markets including L.A. this holiday weekend. The reviews are strong (Tomatometer 86%, Metascore 73.)

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2009 1:12 AM
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Oscar Watch: The Big Four Are Screening

I've seen Rob Marshall's Nine and Clint Eastwood's Invictus, but I am not allowed to write about them just yet. And I got my screening invite today for Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. They start at the end of the week. I've been reading the Alice Sebold novel, which is as cool as I had heard. So I didn't read Harry Knowles' early review too carefully. I want to make up my own mind. But clearly, he loves the movie.