Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Powers Netflix's Top Ten Most-Rented List

Netflix's ten most-rented list of all time (list below) reminds us of the long-tail Power of Oscar. And it should remind Netflix, as it splits its DVD and streaming business and alienates many of its customers who are used to relying on its deep long-tail arcania, that their solid customer base is smart adults, not the great unwashed, something they seem to be in danger of forgetting as they focus on TV and mainstream acquisitions and let smaller movies go.

By Anne Thompson
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October 3, 2011 11:09 AM
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MTV Movie Awards Nominates Twilight and Harry Potter Stars, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Portman

On June 5, Jason Sudeikis will host the MTV Movie Awards, the show guaranteed to recognize the power of celebrity and shrieking teenage girls. EW reports the nominees for Best Female and Male performance, from Oscar-winner Natalie Portman (Black Swan) to Jennifer Aniston (Just Go With It) and Jessie Eisenberg (The Social Network) to Zac Efron (Charlie St. Cloud). Yes, really. The nominees for Best Line from a Movie are also announced, and listed below:

By Sophia Savage
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May 3, 2011 4:47 AM
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Oscar Talk: Final Edition, Oscar Wrap

It's a wrap, as In Contention's Kris Tapley and I analyze Sunday night's Oscar show winners and losers (below). Co-host Anne Hathaway came out ahead of James Franco, who seemed to be either too tired or too bored to do more than phone it in between tweets. (Caryn James' review is here.) Maybe he really was more comfortable at the Spirit Awards.

By Anne Thompson
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February 28, 2011 10:30 AM
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Mark Your Ballots: Anne Thompson Predicts Oscar Winners

The Oscar polls closed on Tuesday at 5 PM. No more campaigning, lobbying or pitches for attention will make a difference now. It's all in the hands of the PriceWaterhousecooper counters, and will be revealed Sunday. Meanwhile the rest of us want to win our respective Oscar pools. This year, I must warn you, is tough to call. As Kris Tapley and I discuss in our latest Oscar Talk, there are plenty of sure-calls, but also several impossible-to-predict categories: documentary and foreign film, which are voted on by small groups who must prove that they've seen all the films, and supporting actress. The shorts are always a bit of a crap shoot too. Warning: I'm going out on a limb in a few categories, so when in doubt, choose the perceived frontrunner.

By Anne Thompson
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February 25, 2011 8:17 AM
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Oscar Noms Boost Soundtrack Sales of Inception and The Social Network

The heyday of the movie soundtrack--once a powerful marketing tool for the studios--has waned. But Oscar nominations can boost a soundtrack into big sales, reports Anthony D'Alessandro: When it comes to recent soundtracks and film scores, consumers have been powering down their stereos. Over the last four years, SoundScan sales for the genre fell from 27.2 million in 2006 to 16.4 million last year -- a 40% drop. What was once a dependable ancillary for a film’s theatrical launch is now seen as a business gamble; record companies can no longer depend on the wallets of single males. Aside from burgeoning digital downloads and piracy, the major studio music executives also gripe that there’s a disconnect between radio listeners and movie crowds. Rap dominates the Top 40, leaving no room for a pic’s adult-contempo "love theme." MTV limits soundtrack music vids to a small percentage of film footage-- so that it doesn't play like a second trailer.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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February 18, 2011 6:18 AM
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Directors Keep It In the Family: Dark Knight Rises, Dark Shadows

Tim Burton is eyeing Michelle Pfeiffer and longtime girlfriend Helena Bonham Carter to join his Dark Shadows cast, which includes leading man Johnny Depp, Jackie Earle Haley, Eva Green and Bella Heathcote.

By Sophia Savage
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February 16, 2011 6:16 AM
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Oscar Video: Inception ASC-winner Pfister Talks Working with Nolan in 35 mm, Tech Panel Q & A

In a surprise win, American director of photography Wally Pfister, who has been working with Chris Nolan for twelve years, ever since Memento, collected his first American Society of Cinematographers' award for Inception Sunday. He beat out Oscar favorite Roger Deakins, who collected the BAFTA for True Grit on Sunday. Check out my flip cam interview with Pfister (below), who talks about working with Nolan; Pfister has received Oscar nominations for Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight and now, Inception, one of eight noms for the film.

By Anne Thompson
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February 14, 2011 9:19 AM
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BAFTAs Go to King's Speech, Social Network, Inception, Black Swan, Alice, Dragon Tattoo UPDATED

The BAFTA Awards are under way at the Royal Opera House in London. Safe to say The King's Speech is winning many awards but is not sweeping; Inception and Alice in Wonderland are grabbing many of the technical categories. I predict that the Oscars will follow this trend.

By Anne Thompson
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February 13, 2011 7:48 AM
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Oscar Talk: Bening vs. Portman, Leo's Gaffe, Nominees Lunch, BAFTAs, Inception Surge

We're in the thick of the Oscar race now. In this week's Oscar Talk podcast, In Contention's Kris Tapley and Guy Lodge and I discuss the real contest between Annette Bening and Natalie Portman, whether Melissa Leo's glam ads are opening up the field in supporting actress, and how the Nominees Lunch and the upcoming BAFTAs on Sunday give us a sense of where the races are tipping.

By Anne Thompson
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February 11, 2011 4:59 AM
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Academy Nominees Luncheon: 2011 Class Photo, Meeting the Coens, Keeping It Short

What becomes a legend most? A diminutive best actress nominee sitting at the center of a group photo on last year's best actor winner's lap. At last year's nominees luncheon, Jeff Bridges was hanging with genuine affection with old pal Sandra Bullock.