Thompson on Hollywood

Trailer and Awards Watch: Love and Other Drugs

Twentieth Century Fox is planning an awards-campaign for its R-rated sexy romance Love and Other Drugs, from writer-director-producer Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond). He is that rare studio director who is conversant in both the language of mainstream big-budget moviemaking and intimate drama. He and partner Marshall Herskovitz delivered the acutely-observed TV series Thirtysomething, Once and Again, Relativity and My So-Called Life. So much sweat and tears go into such long-running shows that Zwick can be forgiven for steering toward testosterone action in his movie work.

By Anne Thompson
|
August 15, 2010 6:36 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Career Watch: Prince of Persia Setback for Rising Star Gyllenhaal

No question that summer disappointment Prince of Persia marks a rare setback for Jake Gyllenhaal. Critics assailed his attempt to carry a Jerry Bruckheimer sword-and-sandal action tentpole, but the actor remains on Hollywood's list of go-to rising stars. Here's a taste of my latest Inside Movies Career Watch column:

By Anne Thompson
|
June 7, 2010 11:03 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

What Went Wrong with Prince of Persia

I'd rather be watching HBO. That's my new T-shirt mantra. This holiday weekend I'll lay odds, sight unseen, that watching the third installment (HBO Saturday 9 PM) of writer Peter Morgan's Tony Blair trilogy, The Special Relationship, about the British ex-prime minister's relationship with then-president Bill Clinton (Dennis Quaid) will prove more satisfying than the miscast, over-wrought $200-million Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time or the shoddily written and executed Sex and the City 2, which hordes of women will flock to see, nasty reviews be damned.

By Anne Thompson
|
May 28, 2010 11:33 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Memorial Day Bloody Box Office Duel Pits Femme Sex and the City 2 vs. Male Prince of Persia

For the first time ever, this Memorial Day Weekend could mark the first-ever number one chick flick, predicts TOH box-office numbers cruncher Anthony D'Alessandro, who interviews distribution chiefs from Warners and Disney about their expectations for the four-day holiday.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
May 27, 2010 2:47 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Prince of Persia Clips Show Glossy Action and Non-Stars Gyllenhaal and Arterton

Mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer's M.O. is to throw gazillions of dollars at multiple high-price screenwriters, superb production values, and eye-popping visual effects. That's how an unprepossessing videogame that means nothing outside the male gamer demo winds up as a politically incorrect $200-million summer movie like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This movie may not deliver the summer tentpole goods (despite Disney's saturation marketing blitz) when it opens this Friday--judging from its mild $18-million opening last weekend in 19 countries overseas. Anthony D'Alessandro will file his hard look at Memorial Weekend expectations Wednesday.

By Anne Thompson
|
May 25, 2010 10:22 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Summer Movies: What Can Top Iron Man 2?

It's starting to look a lot like summer.

By Anne Thompson
|
April 20, 2010 4:01 AM
|
13 Comments

WonderCon Sneak Peeks Inception, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Toy Story 3, Prince of Persia

This weekend, San Francisco played host to a big multi-studio fan press junket at WonderCon, a pint-sized adjunct to July's giant ComicCon in San Diego. Disney imported producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Nic Cage and Jake Gyllenhaal and screened footage from Sorcerer's Apprentice, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Toy Story 3 (which they have now tantalizingly screened in its entirety thrice, at Showest, International YouTube vloggers day and a Pixar screening for long-lead press). They also staged a viral event for Tron Legacy (see video below).

By Anne Thompson
|
April 4, 2010 7:13 AM
|
5 Comments

More:

Super Bowl Movie Ads: Pick Movies You Want to See

Which of the movies advertised on Super Bowl Sunday convinced you to see them? Vote in this poll. My guess before anyone starts voting? Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland wowed the most eyeballs. Am I right?

By Anne Thompson
|
February 8, 2010 2:31 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Must -Sees: The Last Station, Up in the Air, Bright Star

Must-Sees:Jason Reitman's Up in the Air has been deemed a too-dark marketing challenge. But the movie's strength is the way it skips past conventional genre cliches while deftly taking its characters through romantic escape and isolation--and the tough economy. Paramount Pictures is one of the few studios that can market both big and little movies. Up in the Air may be on its way to some Oscar nominations: it won four awards from the National Board of Review, including best picture of the year. It's tied with Precious for number one on the Gurus 'O Gold. Reviews are stellar: Tomatometer: 84%. Metascore: 81.