Thompson on Hollywood

Streep and Bridges, Burton and Kong, Damon at the Zoo, Mischer on Betty White as Oscar Host

- Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges - yes, please! Production Weekly says the pair, a pinnacle of Oscar clout, are finalizing deals to star as a couple undergoing marriage counseling in dramedy Great Hope Springs. ThePlaylist also notes that Philip Seymour Hoffman was suggested to play the couple's doctor, but his schedule may exclude him from that possibility. I Am Sam director Jessie Nelson is lined up to direct from a script written by Vanessa Taylor, a TV writer and producer who worked on series Alias, Everwood and Tell Me You Love Me.

By Sophia Savage
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June 24, 2010 5:29 AM
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Oscar Video Round-Up: Opener, Chartier, Hurt Locker Victory Laps, Parties, Fashion

There's some juicy Oscar material out there about the most-watched show in five years. At the Governor's Ball, Sandra Bullock was among the nominees getting her Oscar engraved (everyone got their own statues engraved except Jeff Bridges; notable no-shows were Tivi Magnusson, producer of short The New Tenants, and Sandy Powell, costume designer of Young Victoria). Exhausted producer Bill Mechanic said that he and Adam Shankman had aimed for a more populist show (his red carpet interview is below).

By Anne Thompson
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March 9, 2010 1:19 AM
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Oscar Box Office Bump? Nope. Except for Crazy Heart and An Education

TOH box office analyst Anthony D'Alessandro lays out which films--if any--got a bump from this year's expanded Oscar derby.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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March 8, 2010 7:46 AM
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Oscar Backstage: Bridges Talks Crazy Heart Win

Bill Condon and Larry Mark's innovation of having five peers honor the best actress and best actor nominees paid off this year. My favorite was Michelle Pfeiffer's for Jeff Bridges, which moved him and us. It makes the nominees human. You see their reactions. Jeremy Renner and Gabourey Sidibe both heaved deep sighs, as they tried to cope with the pressure. Oprah Winfrey made her cry, too.

By Anne Thompson
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March 8, 2010 4:53 AM
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Oscar Duel: Renner vs. Bridges, Bullock vs. Streep

At this stage of the Oscar race, Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) has taken the momentum away former front-runner George Clooney (Up in the Air) for Best Actor, but some in Hollywood sense growing support for newcomer Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker). Meanwhile, rookie Oscar nominee Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) and 16-time nominee, two-time winner Meryl Streep are in a tight race for Best Actress. In this dueling blog, Moviefone Oscarologist Jack Mathews and I consider the odds of a Renner upset and another Streep defeat. Best Actor first.

By Anne Thompson
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February 23, 2010 3:01 AM
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Oscar Talk 22: Dueling Oscar Producers, Weinstein's Inglourious Basterds Push, Bullock Talks

Kris Tapley and I dig into the meat of the matter this week as the Oscar season goes into overdrive. Are voters trying to rig the top ten? What has a better shot of winning, The Hurt Locker, Avatar or Inglourious Basterds, which Harvey Weinstein has been relentlessly flogging? Are Oscar producers Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic (who aren't getting along) going to be able to put together a strong show with ten best picture nominees and no Oscar-nominated songs?

By Anne Thompson
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February 19, 2010 10:04 AM
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Oscar Watch: T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham Talk Crazy Heart

After the Academy Nominees luncheon Monday at the Beverly Hilton, I repaired downstairs to do a couple of interviews pool side--along with a few other media. I flip-cammed Crazy Heart's T Bone Burnett, the tall and famous music supervisor who was instrumental in making the movie as good as it is. First, the movie wouldn't have been made without him. Burnett told old pal and jam-mate Jeff Bridges that if he would make Scott Cooper's movie, so would he. Second, Burnett insisted that the movie's backers raise enough money to do the music properly. The hand-crafted songs that fit Bridges' Bad Blake persona like a glove are what make Crazy Heart work so well. Burnett brought along songwriter Ryan Bingham, who wrote Oscar best original song front-runner "The Weary Kind."

By Anne Thompson
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February 16, 2010 9:56 AM
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Oscar Phase Two: Bullock vs. Streep, Renner vs. Bridges, Cameron vs. Bigelow

Nothing is certain until it's over. And that's especially true for the Oscar race.

By Anne Thompson
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February 9, 2010 11:16 AM
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Oscar Watch: Nominations Analysis

The big surprises on Oscar nominations morning: Clint Eastwood's Invictus (two noms) did not make it into the best picture top ten, while John Lee Hancock's The Blind Side did. The film's star, Sandra Bullock also scored her first Oscar nom, as best actress. Not unlike Million Dollar Baby, four-hankie drama The Blind Side wowed voters with its uplifting, emotional Good Samaritan message. District 9 (four noms) and A Serious Man (two) also made it into the ten, while Star Trek (four) did not.

By Anne Thompson
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February 2, 2010 1:46 AM
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Golden Globe Winner Bridges Heads for Oscar Win

At the Golden Globes, two winners, Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges, admitted that they had originally passed on the roles that wound up winning them awards. In Bridge's case, he didn't think that Crazy Heart could top his other film about musicians, The Fabulous Baker Boys. He liked Scott Cooper's script, but it had no music attached to it. After a year passed, Bridges ran into T-Bone Burnett, a friend of 30 years since Heaven's Gate, who said, "I'll do it if you do it."