Thompson on Hollywood

Daily Links: Public Enemies, My Fair Lady, Women in Film

The recession is hitting the movie studios in the pocket books; they are trimming their budgets going forward, according to this Reuters report.

By Anne Thompson
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March 4, 2009 5:50 AM
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Coraline's Selick on the Fantastic Garden

Remarkably, on its fourth weekend, the well-reviewed Coraline is still hanging in there--it grossed more than $5 million and placed eighth on its way to some $70-million in total domestic gross--even though new opener JonasBrothers: The 3-D Concert Experience took over its 3-D theaters.

By Anne Thompson
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March 1, 2009 6:19 AM
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Truth or Dare: Madonna Not in New Moon, Pattinson, Efron on Oscars, Watchmen, Spielberg's Lincoln

Let's play a game of true or false.

By Anne Thompson
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February 17, 2009 8:21 AM
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Twilight Watch: EW Previews Hardwicke Notebook

Entertainment Weekly is feeding the Twilight fan lust for NEW INFO about the book/movie phenom by running an excerpt of Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight: Director's Notebook, due in stores March 17. Here's ">an advance peek. Presumably, Hardwicke won't spill all the beans on why she's not directing the sequel (basically, she was fried, wanted to tinker with New Moon, and Summit passed the reins to Chris Weitz).

By Anne Thompson
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February 12, 2009 6:30 AM
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Wagner Bolting UA; Valkyrie Will Open in December

When Bryan Singer first approached United Artists with the idea of making Valkyrie, he wanted to do it for about $25 million. Then Tom Cruise got interested and the budget exploded. The same thing happened to Lions for Lambs -- to Cruise and Robert Redford, it seemed like a modest little movie; at $35 million plus marketing, it was still too expensive for what it was. The idea of UA being an indie was impossible with the players involved. Now Valkyrie, which several people I know have seen and liked, has bad buzz and will be judged as a costly star vehicle, which is quite different from a $25 million movie with no marquee star. Finally, MGM has decided to give the pic a shot in late December, after it screened well. It had been pushed back to February. This makes sense; if the movie is a smart arty picture with great performances, year-end award season support is probably just what it needs.

By Anne Thompson
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August 13, 2008 8:59 AM
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Hobbit Watch: Del Toro's the Right Guy

Well, the Hobbit shoe has finally dropped, and Guillermo del Toro has committed to direct the movie for New Line Cinema. There is rejoicing throughout the land, I suspect. If it wasn't going to be Peter Jackson (who is exec producing with Fran Walsh), Pan's Labyrinth helmer Del Toro is just about a perfect match for this J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy. It will be cool.

By Anne Thompson
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April 24, 2008 6:02 AM
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Judd Apatow Alert: Four Comedies Coming

We all know producer Judd Apatow has four movies coming up in 2008. But which ones will work at the boxoffice? By my guess, all of them. It's just a case of how high is high.

By Anne Thompson
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March 19, 2008 5:48 AM
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Rolling Stones Shine a Light

While Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stone concert doc Shine a Light grabbed some flat reviews out of Berlin (here's ">Variety), I was delighted with it when I saw it Tuesday night. That's partly because Scorsese gives camera operating duties to 10 top cinematographers (Robert Richardson! Robert Elswit! Ellen Kuras! John Toll! Declan Quinn!) to shoot two Stones concerts at the Beacon Theatre in New York. The results are dazzling for those of us who get a kick out of swooping cameras and brilliant editing and the whirling Stones.

By Anne Thompson
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March 6, 2008 7:06 AM
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Coens' Burn After Reading, Starring Pitt and Clooney, Goes Wide

While speculation runs rampant on whether or not the Coens will take their next movie, the CIA pic Burn After Reading, starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, to Cannes--obviously Thierry Fremaux will want it, but he hasn't screened it yet; UPDATE: Working Title says it probably won't be finished in time--in the meantime Focus Features has booked the Working Title movie to go wide on September 12. This suggests that after the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men (which soared 67% this weekend) the Coens have jumped out of art-film territory and boast more commercial appeal; this pic's stars are certainly big enough to warrant a wide opening.