Thompson on Hollywood

Bond Expert Deciphers Skyfall Intelligence, Craig's Development as 007

So what have we learned after Thursday's press conference in London about Bond 23? Bill Desowitz, who is writing a book about the Bond films, parses the available 007 intelligence.

By Bill Desowitz
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November 3, 2011 11:01 AM
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007 Watch: James Bond Might Land French Bond Girl; Idris Elba Wants a Chance At Playing 007

French ingenue Bérénice Marlohe is the latest rumored Bond Girl for Sam Mendes' Bond 23 (photo below). Also rumored to be in the hunt for the coveted role are Freida Pinto and Olivia Wilde. Marlohe would join Daniel Craig, Judi Dench as "M," and Naomi Harris as Miss Moneypenny; Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes are expected to finalize negotiations to become the next Bond Villains soon. MGM's still untitled Bond 23, written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan with a score by David Arnold, is set to start filming in Istanbul, reports MI6, in November for stateside release by Sony on November 9, 2012.

By Maggie Lange
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September 30, 2011 5:09 AM
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Film in the Decade Since 9/11: From Superheroes to Westerns, What Came After

This week's “Now and Then” column started out comparing and contrasting two movies about assassins — Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011) and Léon: the Professional (Luc Besson, 1994)—and ended up ruminating on 9/11. Trailers below:Life and culture are too messy to be divided into easy categories like “Before” and “After,” but for all the continuities in the way films are made and viewed, a long view of the last decade reveals some important, if subtle, shifts. Watching the network news coverage of September 11 to prepare for this column, I was reminded of how much we didn’t know that day, how much our fear stemmed from no longer being able to control the course of events.

By Matt Brennan
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September 12, 2011 11:36 AM
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Javier Bardem Confirms He Is Bond 23 Villain, Still Hope for Ralph Fiennes

UPDATE: Javier Bardem confirms he will play the villain in Bond 23 (the title is rumored to be Skyfall), telling Nightline; "I am very excited, my parents took me to watch the movies, and I saw all of them, and to play that is going to be fun. They chose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details." Daniel Craig hopes that both Bardem and Ralph Fiennes will be in the film. So do we.

By Anne Thompson
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July 11, 2011 5:44 AM
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Javier Bardem for Dark Tower, Penelope Cruz & Woody Allen Reteam, The Hobbit's Legolas & Gollum

Husband and wife (and new parents) Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz both boast new projects:

By Sophia Savage
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April 7, 2011 5:43 AM
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In Development: Hoult's Giant Killer and Warm Bodies; Bardem in Dark Tower; Yet Another Fairy Tale

- A Single Man star Nicholas Hoult (pictured in a campaign for director/fashion designer Tom Ford) is on the rise with X-Men First Class, Jack and the Giant Killer, and now, Warm Bodies and the stalled Mad Max: Fury Road are in the works. X-Men opens June 3, Bryan Singer's Jack and the Giant Killer, a modern fairytale retelling (sounds familiar), is in pre-production at Warner Bros. (set to shoot mid-March with Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Stanley Tucci and the just-cast Brit actress Eleanor Tomlinson, set to play Princess Isabella). Summit's Warm Bodies, to be directed by Jonathan Levine off an Isaac Marion book, is set for a summer production. Described as a hybrid of Twilight and Shaun of the Dead, the story follows an existentially-tormented zombie who befriends the girlfriend of one of his victims. Hoult first got our attention in 2002's About A Boy, when he was just 12 years old.

By Sophia Savage
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March 2, 2011 6:30 AM
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Oscar Predicts Chart 2010

Here's my list of predictions for Oscar wins (in italics) in all categories including shorts. (My nominations predictions are here.) Until February 27th!

By Anne Thompson
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February 26, 2011 12:51 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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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.

By Anne Thompson
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February 7, 2011 11:52 AM
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Oscar Watch: Nominees Meet Press, Talk Awards Season, Dressing in Tutus, Butch Cassidy and Bells

This year's Academy Award-nominated actors took to the podium moments before today's annual Nominees Luncheon to answer media questions. Judging by applause and laughter, the interview room crowd favorites were Annette Bening, Helena Bonham Carter, Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Jesse Eisenberg and Javier Bardem, who kicked it all off.