Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Talk: Predicts Post-Critics Groups, Globes, SAG

Does Blue Valentine or Another Year or Biutiful still have a shot? Will Winter's Bone or The Town make it onto the Oscar Ten? In Contention's @KrisTapley and @GuyLodge and I read the Oscar tea leaves in the wake of the critics votes, Golden Globes, and SAG nominations. We explain why critics' fave The Social Network isn't necessarily a shoo-in for best picture. And why the SAG Awards count more than the Golden Globes in the Oscar race, and why the HFPA didn't nominate How Do You Know? as a comedy. The guys like Tron: Legacy and Daft Punk a lot more than I do, that's for sure.

By Anne Thompson
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December 17, 2010 5:00 AM
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Oscar Presenters Include Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, Marisa Tomei, Oprah

Oscar producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer announced Monday that on February 27, Oscar presenters for the 83rd Academy Awards will include past nominees and winners Halle Berry (won Best Actress for Monster's Ball), Jeff Bridges (won Best Actor for Crazy Heart), Sandra Bullock (won Best Actress, The Blind Side), Marisa Tomei (won Best Supporting Actress, My Cousin Vinny) and Oprah Winfrey (nominated for Best Supporting Actress, The Color Purple).

By Sophia Savage
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December 13, 2010 6:20 AM
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Critics Choice Awards Nominations; Black Swan Leads With 12; Women Directors Snubbed

The largest film critic group (of which I am a member), the Broadcast Film Critics Association, provides a handy window into where the award season is heading. (The New York Film Critics vote Monday.) The full list of nominations, led by Black Swan (12), The King's Speech (11), True Grit (11), Inception (10) and The Social Network (9) is below. The awards will air live at 9 PM ET/PT on January 14.

By Anne Thompson
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December 13, 2010 6:20 AM
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AFI Movies of the Year: The Town, Toy Story 3, 127 Hours, True Grit Make the Cut

The American Film Institute voted their ten best AFI Movies and TV Programs of the Year Awards Sunday, proclaimed as the "only recognition that honors the community’s creative ensembles as a whole, acknowledging the collaborative nature of the art form." The AFI honors American films and series. Thus they chose British The King's Speech and Waiting for Superman as "Special Award" winners, having not met the AFI's standard criteria (posted below). Their Movies and TV Programs of the year, as chosen by film and television scholars, artists and critics, are as follows:

By Sophia Savage
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December 13, 2010 4:47 AM
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Oscar Talk: 2010 Ten Best Lists, from "Another Year" to "Winter's Bone"

On Oscar Talk this week, as promised, Kris Tapley and I count down, defend and debate our rather diverse and distinctive top ten films of 2010. While we both include The Social Network and Toy Story 3, we agree to disagree on one of my faves, Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, which Kris admires. Notable omissions from both lists: 127 Hours, Rabbit Hole, Blue Valentine, Get Low, The Town, Inception, The Fighter and The Ghost Writer.

By Anne Thompson
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December 10, 2010 8:14 AM
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TRON: Legacy’s 3-D VFX Stretch Current Movie Tech to its Limits

In the current issue of Popular Mechanics, I dig into the edge of the visual effects frontier represented by TRON: Legacy, which Disney opens wide December 17. The sumptuously visual movie will wow moviegoers with its 3-D VFX, if not its compelling storyline. Here's a snatch of the feature:

By Anne Thompson
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December 9, 2010 7:08 AM
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TRON: Legacy Early Reviews: "Visually Stunning," "Flimsy," "Sloppy," "Immersive"

Well, someone let the cat out of the bag on Disney's Tron: Legacy sequel: reviews weren't supposed to to go live until after the London premiere (the Livestream December 5 is here). A sampling of reviews is below. Some like it, some don't.

By Anne Thompson
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December 4, 2010 2:21 AM
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Oscar Talk: What's Up, Down After Gothams, Indie Spirits, National Board of Review

This week Kris Tapley, indieWIRE's Peter Knegt and I analyze the impact of the Gotham Awards, Indie Spirit noms, the National Board of Review and the Coens' finally viewed and reviewed True Grit on the awards race. Kris went to the Inception DVD/Oscar party (so did Amy Dawes). It's a contender--but 127 Hours could be a little shaky.

By Anne Thompson
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December 3, 2010 6:12 AM
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True Grit Early Reviews: "Accessible, Simple, Mythic and Beautiful," "Thirsting For More" [Updated]

Anne Thompson's True Grit review headline is: Coens Deliver PG-13 Classic Western, Bridges Owns Cogburn. Here's a round-up of other early reviews [Updated with more]:

By Sophia Savage
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December 2, 2010 12:48 AM
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True Grit Early Review: Coens Deliver PG-13 Classic Western, Bridges Owns Cogburn

Finally, the last anticipated Oscar contender has been screened and Wednesday, reviewed. The question is whether expectations of the Coens' True Grit have been overblown. Reaction at one New York screening was mixed. It's not surprising; pure westerns do not play in some quarters. Younger moviegoers don't get the genre; westerns are set in a past that is too distant and foreign. But the Academy, which trends older and male, will be far more receptive, so this well-mounted movie may well hit their soft spot. (The Gurus 'O Gold weigh in). Here is our round-up of True Grit's other early reviews.