Thompson on Hollywood

Cannes Pattern: Skip Press Conference, Show for Movie; Gibson Walks Beaver Red Carpet

One has to hope that Cannes director Thierry Fremaux nips this trend in the bud.

By Anne Thompson
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May 17, 2011 4:20 AM
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Sony Pictures Classics' Barker and Bernard: Kings of the Croisette

So far so good for Sony Pictures Classics co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard. They opened the festival with Woody Allen's best-received movie in years, Midnight in Paris, which they have been blitzing all over the media because they want to ride a Cannes wave of buzz into theaters on May 20.

By Anne Thompson
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May 12, 2011 4:23 AM
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Summer Preview: Must-Sees on Big Screen, Skippable, Must-to-Avoid

The summer is upon us, with a plethora of viewing choices, many of them utterly avoidable. I lay out the summer movie landscape.

By Anne Thompson
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April 28, 2011 9:46 AM
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SXSW Video: Jodie Foster Talks Beaver Stars Gibson and Lawrence's Pain, Her Own Split Personality

Jodie Foster had a problem. After completing production on her third feature film, The Beaver, her old pal Mel Gibson, who she had adored since they first worked together in 1994's Maverick, was in terrible trouble. At the end of reshoots on the film, she watched helplessly as he suffered through a career-destroying tabloid crisis of leaked phone tapes during his break-up battle with model Oksana Grigorieva.

By Anne Thompson
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March 18, 2011 9:15 AM
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SXSW: Jodie Foster Intros The Beaver, Starring "Beloved" Mel Gibson, to Upbeat Response; See Clips

Jodie Foster took Austin's Paramount stage for the Wednesday night premiere of The Beaver, a dark, moving family drama centered on Mel Gibson, who is well-cast as a tortured man in crisis. (See indieWIRE's review; here's Hollywood Wiretap's round-up).

By Anne Thompson
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March 17, 2011 4:24 AM
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Actresses Take Control, Directing and Producing Their Own Projects

Drew Barrymore will follow up her Whip It (2009) directorial debut--which scored better with critics than audiences-- with How to Be Single, a romantic comedy for New Line, reports THR. She will also produce with her Flower Films partner Nancy Juvonen (Flower Films's first producing effort was Never Been Kissed in 1999).

By Sophia Savage
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March 16, 2011 8:29 AM
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Jodie Foster's The Beaver To Debut at SXSW, Open Wide April 8

Smart move. Summit Entertainment has decided to world premiere Jodie Foster's controversial Mel Gibson drama The Beaver at SXSW (March 11-19), which decided to let the film speak for itself. Said festival director Janet Pierson: "It's an actress/filmmaker carefully and beautifully tackling a heartbreaking subject in her finest work yet." The film starring Gibson as a man who talks to a sock puppet will be a centerpiece premiere on March 16. SXSW is a fest attended by film fans of every stripe who could send good buzz into the blogosphere and help to move the movie beyond Gibson's toxic tabloid history. Foster will attend; no word on Gibson as yet. Summit releases the film limited on March 23, expanding on April 8.

By Anne Thompson
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January 13, 2011 8:30 AM
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Beaver Director Foster is Loyal to Gibson, but Forget Oscars

Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson have been close friends for sixteen years, since they met on the set of Maverick. Foster stands up for him each time he gets himself into terrible trouble--and worries about his drinking--and this time is no exception. She gave a long-lead interview to More Magazine, which was originally timed to come out in conjunction with the release of her new movie The Beaver, in which Gibson stars as a man who talks to a sock puppet. Word is, he's very good in the picture, which was in the mix for a Toronto berth worthy of a serious adult drama with awards potential. Foster described her star to More as the "easiest, nicest person I've ever worked with...The second I met him, I said, 'I will love this man for the rest of my life.' "

By Anne Thompson
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September 23, 2010 9:43 AM
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Gibson Crashes Car in Malibu, Unharmed

This news story about Mel Gibson crashing his Maserati into a Malibu cliffside Sunday night makes sure to say that alcohol wasn't involved. Gibson was unhurt. The car was smashed. I'm sorry, but driving alone into a hillside is not a good sign.

By Anne Thompson
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August 16, 2010 5:25 AM
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Ari Emanuel vs. Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson is not having a good month. His ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, fighting him in court, taped him saying nasty racist things and went public with them. He's being investigated for domestic abuse. His beloved agent of 32 years, Ed Limato, passed away last weekend after a long illness. And with him no longer providing protection, his agency WME summarily dumped him.