Thompson on Hollywood

Wickedly Talented Jeff Nichols' MUD: Witherspoon, McConaughey, Shannon, Shepard, Sheridan & More

In our interview with Michael Shannon he mentioned a possible cameo in Jeff Nichols' MUD, the third feature from the writer-director, whose first two films, Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter, star Shannon. "Wickedly talented," is how Shannon describes Nichols; "A throwback to the seventies [directors]…one of those guys who just kicks ass."

By Sophia Savage
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September 27, 2011 6:00 AM
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The Hunger Games Wraps First Installment; Months of Promoting Will Ensue Prior to March 2012 Release

That was fast. Lionsgate's The Hunger Games has wrapped 84 days of principal photography on the first installment of the intended series. Lionsgate's Joe Drake says: "What I observed on set was impressive on every level, and reinforced my confidence that we have assembled precisely the right team to bring Suzanne Collins’ brilliant novel to the big screen." The film won't feed its hungry teen fans until March 23, 2012. But plenty of first-look fodder (with more to come) are serving as catnip for what looks to be the next young adult female Twilight replacement franchise.

By Sophia Savage
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September 15, 2011 5:52 AM
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Sam Mendes Will Shoot New James Bond Film in India

The Indian government has approved director Sam Mendes to film the latest James Bond feature in locations including Delhi, Goa and close to Ahmedabad, reports THR. The scene in Delhi, India's capital, is rumored to take place among the crowded bazaar Daryaganj and the famed flea market Sarojini Nagar. The Times of India reported that these areas were approved, excepting some railways because of concerns about security, but the Bond production team is talking with the Railway Ministry, because clearly Bond needs an action sequence on the rails.

By Maggie Lange
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August 31, 2011 3:32 AM
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Zachary Quinto's BTD Producing Horror The Banshee Chapter, A Blend of Fact and Fiction

Actor Zachary Quinto (best known as Star Trek's Spock) has a career in producing, too. His production house, Before The Door Pictures (their first film was J.C. Chandor's Margin Call, which premiered at Sundance), is kicking off production on horror film The Banshee Chapter this week in New Mexico. BTD is partnering with Sunchaser Entertainment and German producer Christian Arnold-Beutel. Ted Levine, Katia Winter and Michael McMillian will star, and director Blair Erickson is making his feature debut. Here's the synopsis:

By Anne Thompson
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August 25, 2011 9:00 AM
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Three Unmade Kubrick Films In Active Development; Lunatic at Large Close to Financing

No director has had a more storied posthumous career than Stanley Kubrick. The director died before the release of his controversial 1999 Eyes Wide Shut, which he had nonetheless completed, and of course Steven Spielberg used Kubrick's original drafts to script and direct 2001's A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which received mixed but mostly positive reviews.

By Jacob Combs and Cameron Carlson
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August 20, 2011 3:30 AM
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Indie Directors Film "I Will" PSA for 9/11 Day of Remembrance

Moxie Pictures, a bi-coastal commercial and music video production company, and Deutsch, Los Angeles, an advertising agency, might not be the most obvious pairing to produce a public service announcement. And yet the two firms are collaborating with editor Angus Wall on a new PSA called "I will" that will be released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 this year.

By Jacob Combs
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August 19, 2011 3:19 AM
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Ridley Scott: From Alien Reboot Prometheus to Blade Runner Sequel

The highlight of Comic-Con, bar none, was Ridley Scott's Prometheus footage. While Fox and Scott are downplaying the sci-fi space thriller's relationship to the original Alien and the kick-ass James Cameron sequel Aliens, there's no question this movie is grown from the same DNA; Scott admits it. The movie is a further exploration of that future world produced with the scale and scope that new technology makes possible. And its ultimate goal is "to scare the living shit out of you," Scott said via satellite from Iceland. Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, and Noomi Rapace star in the film due in June, 2012.

By Anne Thompson
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August 18, 2011 5:37 AM
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Weinsteins' Escape from Planet Earth in Production with Parker, Fraser, Alba, Gandolfini

The Weinstein Co. has lined up Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba, Rob Corddry, James Gandolfini and Craig Robinson to voice characters for Escape from Planet Earth, a 3-D animated "alien comedy."

By Sophia Savage
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August 2, 2011 8:29 AM
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Lionsgate Acquires The Big Wedding: Big Cast Includes De Niro, Keaton, Sarandon, Seyfried

One of safe thing to greenlight is a wedding movie. Lionsgate has acquired US and UK distribution rights to The Big Wedding, currently shooting in Greenwich, CT, with Robert De Niro, Susan Sarandon, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried, Robin Williams, Ben Barnes and Topher Grace. The film, from writer-director Justin Zackham (The Bucket List) forces a long-divorced couple (De Niro and Keaton) to pretend they are happily married at their son's wedding. The plan goes awry, resulting in a "charming, rollicking movie that promises to be an instant intergenerational family comedy classic,” gushes Lionsgate president Joe Drake.

By Sophia Savage
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August 2, 2011 8:25 AM
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HBO Picks Up Scorsese's Spiritual Doc: George Harrison: Living in the Material World

HBO has picked up Martin Scorsese's latest music documentary, George Harrison: Living in the Material World. The film will premiere in two parts on October 5 and 6.