Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Watch: Summer Crop Could Go All the Way

With the field for the best picture Oscar broadened to ten, a batch of summer movies are now positioned for possible inclusion. Yes, year-end movies still have the advantage. It used to be that a summer movie had to be strong and the late-season weak for it to make the top five (think Sea Biscuit, Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator). But this year, five summer movies could score a top ten slot, from crowd-pleasers Up, Star Trek and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to higher-end fare such as Public Enemies and Hurt Locker.

By Anne Thompson
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July 13, 2009 5:54 AM
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Oscar Watch: Summer Crop Could Go All the Way

With the field for the best picture Oscar broadened to ten, a batch of summer movies are now positioned for possible inclusion. Yes, year-end movies still have the advantage. It used to be that a summer movie had to be strong and the late-season weak for it to make the top five (think Sea Biscuit, Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator). But this year, five summer movies could score a top ten slot, from crowd-pleasers Up, Star Trek and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to higher-end fare such as Public Enemies and Hurt Locker.

By Anne Thompson
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July 13, 2009 2:44 AM
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Will Open Huge

It's no surprise that as of Monday AM in advance of a Wednesday opening, MovieTickets.com is reporting over 1,300 sold out showings for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince worldwide, including over 950 stateside midnight sellouts.

By Anne Thompson
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July 13, 2009 2:39 AM
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Harry Potter Meets Love Potion Number 9

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, when Potter isn't whisking through space on Dumbledore's arm (this is really a father-son fromance) or dipping his face into other people's creepy memories, he and pals Ron and Hermione are entangled in various teen love intrigues--one even involves a powerful love potion. Movieline goes to the source (Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson) to get the skinny on who hearts who.

By Anne Thompson
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July 9, 2009 8:05 AM
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Is PG the Limit?

Is Warner Bros. risking fixing a franchise that isn't broken by going PG with its latest Harry Potter movie, Half-Blood Prince? In an unusual twist on the usual ratings complaints, Warners wasn't seeking a gentler family-friendly rating, writes Pam McClintock :

By Anne Thompson
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July 6, 2009 4:10 AM
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Six Lessons of Summer Box Office

First the media touted the uptick in 2009 theatrical business, now they're pointing to a downturn compared to last summer's b.o., a few big flops and the absence of blockbusters. "Through Sunday, summer B.O. revs stood at $1.46 billion, compared to $1.47 billion last year," reports Variety.

By Anne Thompson
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June 17, 2009 3:04 AM
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Trailer Watch: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

We've all seen our share of Harry Potter movies but this trailer for the Half-Blood Prince really creeped me out.

By Anne Thompson
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April 21, 2009 7:32 AM
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Harry Potter Watch: Order of the Phoenix Review, Rowling Talks

Nora and I endured super-heightened Warner Bros. security Thursday night--just short of being frisked--to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New writer Michael Goldenberg, new director David Yates: it definitely felt like a new hand was at the tiller. Old friends are back: Ron and Hermione, along with protective profs Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall, not to mention Sirius Black and Rubeus Hagrid. Lord Voldemort is truly creepy, partly because he is invading Harry's dreams, which makes things more unpredictable. Imelda Staunton is terrific as Harry's new Ministry of Witches nemesis. And we will be seeing more of Black's horrible cousin, played by Helena Bonham Carter. There's a little CG creature and a very large CG giant (who are not Gollum-class), as well as some centaurs and strange flying beasts that only people who have seen death can see.