Thompson on Hollywood

Weekly Wrap: Awards and Festivals, News, Media, Celebs

In the past week, TOH looked at Names That Rule in Moviesphere, considered Recycling at the Cinema [pictured: DiCaprio and Hall, potentials for Great Gatsby remake] and pondered the five things that went wrong with Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.

By Sophia Savage
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October 22, 2010 7:23 AM
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Disney and Marvel Pay Paramount $115 Million to Buy Back Iron Man 3 and The Avengers

As expected, Disney Studios, under new chairman Rich Ross, and its subsidiary Marvel Entertainment (bought last year for $4 billion) had no intention of leaving so many of their prized titles behind at Paramount. But they had to pay dearly to get some of them back.

By Anne Thompson
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October 18, 2010 8:00 AM
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LaBeouf is Forbes' Best Deal; Americans Still Like Gibson; Lohan Talks to Vanity Fair

- Shia LaBeouf, for a second year running, tops Forbes' list of Best Actors for the Buck. As an investment, LaBeouf is very attractive: "he offers a great return…For every $1 studios spend on the 24-year-old actor his films return an average $81 of profit." LaBeouf's paychecks will continue to grow; this won't hurt his agent's requests for a raise. Forbes' top 36 earners each had to have three movies open in over 500 theaters in the past five years, and meet a myriad of other criteria including their Celebrity 100 status. LaBeouf is king and Anne Hathaway is queen at #2, earning studios $64 for each dollar they pay her. Harry Potter boy Daniel Radcliffe is #3 ($61 for them, $1 for him), Robert Downey Jr. took fourth ($33), and can-do-no-wrong Cate Blanchett took fifth ($27). And before we all dig Aniston's box-office grave, lets give her credit for landing the #6 spot on this list (and for sharing it with Meryl Streep); $21 to their studios for each dollar they earn. Johnny Depp ($18), Nic Cage ($17) and Sarah Jessica Parker ($17) round out the top ten. Basically the list rewards mid-level stars who aren't at the top of the pay heap, which suggests that the more you get paid, the less you return..

By Sophia Savage
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August 31, 2010 3:36 AM
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Superheros Send Wrong Image to Boys, Kristen Bell's Indie Role, Edie Falco on Sopranos Movie

-The identity of the American male is in flux and current superhero movies are sending the wrong image to boys, say researchers at the 118th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. There's a difference between today's movie superheros and the past's comic book heros, says Sharon Lamb, PhD: "Today's superhero is too much like an action hero who participates in non-stop violence, he's aggressive, sarcastic and rarely speaks to the virtue of doing good for humanity. When not in superhero costume, these men, like Ironman, exploit women, flaunt bling and convey their manhood with high-powered guns." Past comic book heros were characters that boys could "look up to and learn from because outside of their costumes," she adds, "they were real people with real problems and many vulnerabilities."

By Sophia Savage
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August 16, 2010 9:30 AM
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Lively vs. Johansson for Cuaron's Gravity; Aniston vs. O'Reilly on Parenthood; Hendricks Talks

-Two young actresses are pitted against each other for the lead role in Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity as the lone survivor of a failed space telescope repair mission who is trying to get home. Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively are vying for the part in the project, reports THR's Heat Vision blog, which was originally set up at Universal as an Angelina Jolie vehicle. The Cast Away-esque film is now set to push either Johansson or Lively out of a sidekick role and into the spotlight; Robert Downey Jr.'s character in the film takes a back seat to the astronaut trying to get home to her daughter.

By Sophia Savage
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August 11, 2010 5:29 AM
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Mid-Summer Box Office Wrap: Top Ten Chart, Studio Report Card

At mid-summer, the box office is lagging just behind last year's pace and ticket sales are flat, reports Anthony D'Alessandro, who charts the season's winners, losers and studio market shares so far (as of last weekend). Will red-hot Inception take the number one box office crown from Toy Story 3? Stay tuned, as numbers and rankings will change by Labor Day.

By Anthony D'Allessandro
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August 5, 2010 5:37 AM
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Carell Leaves The Office, Forbes' Most Powerful Celebs, Top Gun Sequel, Paramount Breaks Records

-It will be a sad day in TV history when Steve Carell ends his reign as Michael Scott when the 2010-2011 season of The Office wraps in May. While walking the red carpet for the premiere of Despicable Me last night, he confirmed to E! that the end was in sight. "I just thought it was time for my character to go," he said, now that his seven season contract is almost up. He doesn't see it as a "huge deal." He actually believes it is a good thing, a chance to add "new life" to the show. With the strong ensemble cast and writers, he has no doubt "it'll continue as strong if not stronger than ever." Sorry Steve, but the Michael Scott faux-humility has no place here. Without you, the show should end. Pajiba lists the seven most likely candidates to replace him.

By Sophia Savage
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June 29, 2010 5:24 AM
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MTV Movie Awards: Bullock Should Have Kissed Betty White, Eclipse Clip, Cruise and JLo Dance

As I've said, most awards shows are about people promoting themselves. Wouldn't it be a great idea to get the three stars to intro the Twilight: Eclipse video? (It's below, along with clips from the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Last Airbender, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.) Let's have lovable wise-ass Betty White and hunk Bradley Cooper give embattled star Sandra Bullock an MTV Generation award and everyone will give her a standing ovation and then Bullock will kiss Scarlett Johansson (who has continued working out since she made Iron Man 2). I would have preferred Bullock to kiss White, who quipped, "Honey, don't you ever wear that dress backwards."

By Anne Thompson
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June 7, 2010 6:59 AM
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Comics News: Xerxes Found, Iron Man Missing, Captain America's New Clothes

The Hero Complex reports that Frank Miller has completed his 300 comic book prequel, Xerxes. The graphic novel will be released in six installments and follows Xerxes' search for deification. The film presupposes the existence of gods and magic... so expect more gold-pierced escapism. 300 director Zack Snyder has expressed interest in adapting the work to the screen. After the not-so-hot Spirit, this presents the perfect opportunity for Miller to reclaim 300's blockbuster success. In all likelihood, Iran will not be pleased.

By Cameron Carlson
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June 2, 2010 12:00 PM
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Sorkin's Facebook Script, Disney Calls Off Miramax-Weinstein Deal, Howard Stark in Tights

- The Daily Beast blogger Choire Sicha got hold of an unofficial copy of Aaron Sorkin's screenplay about Mark Zuckerberg which portrays the Facebook founder as a "selfish, sexist, back-stabber," writes Sicha. Zuckerberg and Facebook are no strangers to user discontent over site changes followed by apologetic reassurances. Sorkin's script follows Zuckerberg from his Harvard dorm days and doesn't make any excuses for him, portraying him as an angry, "maybe-shy but maybe-unfeeling, inhuman, awful, back-stabbing, shallow little code monkey with about as much insight into human relations as a poorly developed friend-recommending algorithm." The David Fincher film will be released in October. There's no need to feel sorry for Zuckerberg. As The Wrap points out, the current privacy issues are "barely a hiccup for Facebook," which will continue to grow, because most users choose to use the service and disregard the fine print anyway.