Thompson on Hollywood

Sir Ben Kingsley Goes Sci-Fi, the Remarkable Shelf Life of Aging Movie Stars

News

There's a magic zone with male movie stars in their 50s and 60s, where they're old enough to have accrued gravitas and authority, but not too old to no longer be believably physically powerful. Ben Kingsley, at 69, is enjoying quite a run: he stars as the terrifying Mandarin in "Iron Man 3," has a pivotal role as a powerful warrior in the upcoming sci-fi adventure "Ender's Game," and will also star in upcoming sci-fi thriller "Our Robot Overlords," directed by Jon Wright.

By Anne Thompson
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June 4, 2013 3:59 PM
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Boston's Best Dennis Lehane Adapts Beach-Bum PI Travis McGee for Producer-Star Leonardo DiCaprio

News

John D. MacDonald’s paperback hero Travis McGee was the protagonist of twenty-one Gold Medal Originals, all with color words in their titles, beginning with "The Deep Blue Good-Bye" in 1964. McGee is a six-foot-plus sun-baked blonde hunk with a heart of gold, a lady-killer with a sentimental streak and a houseboat in Fort Lauderdale. He gets around, but he truly is God's gift. His sexual ministrations can be downright therapeutic for the troubled, abandoned women who seek his services as an unlicensed “salvage consultant,” recovering missing or stolen property in exchange for half its value.

By David Chute
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May 21, 2013 10:19 PM
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Cannes: Scarlett Johansson to Direct Adaptation of Truman Capote's Near-Lost Novel 'Summer Crossing'

News

Scarlett Johansson has signed on to helm an adaptation of Truman Capote's near-lost novel "Summer Crossing," which centers on a teenage debutante who falls in love with and pursues a Jewish parking attendant instead of traveling to Paris in the summer of 1945. This will be Johansson's first feature as a director.

By Beth Hanna
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May 16, 2013 12:42 PM
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'Iron Man 3' Director Shane Black Set to Direct Comic Book Adaptation 'Doc Savage'

News

'Iron Man 3' writer/director Shane Black has a new project in the works. He has just closed a deal with Sony to direct "Doc Savage." Black co-wrote the screenplay with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry based on the hero of pulp novels, films and comic books who first appeared in 1933.

By Ryan Lattanzio
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May 8, 2013 1:13 PM
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Ben Affleck Returns to Boston and Dennis Lehane for Next Film

News

With a stellar career and two Oscars on his mantle, Ben Affleck is gearing up for production later this year in Boston for his next film, an adaptation of Dennis Lehane's Prohibition-era gangster novel "Live By Night."

By Ryan Lattanzio
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May 8, 2013 12:59 PM
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StudioCanal and Aardman to Sell Animated Feature 'Shaun the Sheep' at Cannes Market

News

Europe's largest production company StudioCanal is teaming with UK-based Aardman Animations to develop the British animated kids' series "Shaun the Sheep," about an unusually intelligent farm animal, for the big screen. They plan to sell the film to buyers at the Cannes market this year.

By Ryan Lattanzio
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April 25, 2013 1:53 PM
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John Woo To Shoot World War II Airborne Actioner 'Flying Tigers' In English

News

John Woo and producer Terence Chang have long harbored the desire to shoot "Flying Tigers," an ambitious period actioner set in World War II. They have finally successfully raised the financing to take this big-budget epic airborne.

By Anne Thompson
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April 23, 2013 12:27 PM
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EXCLUSIVE Interview: Jameson First Shot U.S. Winner Shirlyn Wong Calls Working with Willem Dafoe "surreal"

Interviews

When Shirlyn Wong received an email telling her she was one of two U.S. finalists for the 2013 Jameson First Shot competition, she was pretty happy. "I was like, great, this is second place, this is awesome!" she told me in an interview last weekend in Manhattan. The email didn't say anything about second place, but Wong--almost by instinct--wasn't about to get her hopes up. "There's so much rejection in this industry," Wong told me during our interview, "that you immediately accept rejection."

By Jacob Combs
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April 19, 2013 12:05 PM
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Immersed in Movies: For Nolan's 'Interstellar,' Anne Hathaway to Star with Matthew McConaughey UPDATED

News

UPDATE: Per Deadline, recent Oscar winner Anne Hathaway is in final talks to star alongside Matthew McConaughey in Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar." This reunites Hathaway and Nolan following the actress' 2012 turn as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in "The Dark Knight Rises."

By Bill Desowitz
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April 10, 2013 12:58 PM
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In the Works: Director Todd Field to Adapt Jess Walter's Italy-Set Bestseller 'Beautiful Ruins'

News

Director Todd Field ("Little Children," "In the Bedroom") is set to direct an adaptation of Jess Walter's bestseller "Beautiful Ruins," centering on a near-love affair sparked in Italy in 1962, and rekindled in Hollywood half a century later. Field and Walter will co-pen the screenplay.