Thompson on Hollywood

Dark Shadows Update: Tim Burton Confirms "Weird Tone," Not in 3-D; Director's Exhibit Opens at LACMA

Tim Burton fans in Los Angeles can rejoice now that his LACMA exhibit is open (more details below, and here's a slideshow). The Wrap took the chance to chat with the director at the exhibition's opening. Of his Dark Shadows adaptation (currently in production), Burton says, "we’re sort of getting right in there." He confirms the project has a "weird tone," and will be somewhat soap-opera-esque (like the 1960s TV show that precedes it), but adds:

By Sophia Savage
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May 31, 2011 4:57 AM
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Box Office Breaks Memorial Day Weekend Record, Hangover Part II Leads Holiday Surge

The 2011 box office slump is a distant memory as summer hit full stride with two mighty Memorial Day Weekend sequels, The Hangover Part II and Kung Fu Panda 2. Anthony D'Alessandro reports.Grossing $118.1 million in four days, Warner Bros.’ The Hangover Part II wasn't a drunken delusion, but a Memorial Day box office record worth remembering. Like a cup of coffee after an evening’s stupor, Hangover 2 jolted this year’s under-25 set wide awake as they spent an estimated $280 million overall at the cinema this weekend –an all-time record that surpasses 2007’s $255.6 million and puts 2010's atrocious $192.7 million Memorial Day B.O. out of mind.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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May 29, 2011 2:42 AM
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Memorial Day Weekend: Will Hangover Part II Break Records?

The weekend box office is expected to continue at a torrid pace, reports Anthony D'Alessandro.Unlike last year, when Memorial Day weekend box office hit a nine-year low of $192.7 million, industry executives aren’t planning to shed tears this weekend. Building upon the box office recovery which began four weekends ago with Fast Five (current B.O. $188.1 million), Memorial Day looks to restore its boffo record-breaking glamour.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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May 26, 2011 5:33 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Disney Scores $90 Million for Pirates 4: Not $100 Million UPDATED

It's stranger tides indeed when a $90 million opening is considered disappointing. The fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean is now perceived as having failed to reach the magic $100-million mark, reports Anthony D'Alessandro:The highly anticipated opening for Disney’s fourquel Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides didn’t go off with the cannonballs the industry was expecting, but the Rob Marshall film starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush and Ian McShane certainly harnessed some wind in the vibrant summer season, taking in $90.1 million at 4,155 piers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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May 22, 2011 3:34 AM
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MGM and Sony Partner on Bond, Dragon Tattoo and Now, 21 Jump Street

MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment are partnering on several projects, from James Bond 23 (November 9, 2012) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to 21 Jump Street. MGM Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum and Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton and Co-Chairman Amy Pascal, had announced that they would partner on several projects over five years.

By Anne Thompson
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May 18, 2011 2:52 AM
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Cannes Review: Why is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides in Fest?

What motivates a groggy, jet-lagged scribe to crawl out of bed for an 8:30 AM press screening of Pirates of the Caribbean? Schadenfreude. The word on the Croisette was that the fourth Pirates installment was lousy. Safe to say I wasn't expecting to have a good time. (I didn't even see Number Three, even though it boasted Chow Yun-Fat.)

By Anne Thompson
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May 14, 2011 10:48 AM
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Rob Marshall to Direct Warners Thin Man Remake with Johnny Depp as Nick; Who's Nora?

It's official: Rob Marshall and John DeLuca will produce a remake of The Thin Man through their LUCAMAR Productions, with Marshall directing. Johnny Depp will star and Jerry Stahl (Bad Boys II) is scripting the "classy and classic project," as Marshall calls it. He is "overjoyed" to work with Depp again, natch (he directed him in this summer's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), and says:"We are looking forward to working with Warner Bros. to create a reinvention of a beloved story."

By Sophia Savage
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May 9, 2011 8:34 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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The Lone Ranger: Who Should Ride with Johnny Depp? Armie Hammer or Timothy Olyphant? (UPDATED)

Gore Verbinski's 2014 Disney reboot of The Lone Ranger may put Johnny Depp in the saddle with the Winklevi, a.k.a Armie Hammer.

By Sophia Savage
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April 28, 2011 7:34 AM
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Unite for Japan: Stars Ask for Donations for Post-Tsunami Relief

As I watched this video, I realized how upset I am about what happened in Japan. Ken Watanabe organized this plea for help, aided by Johnny Depp, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Stiller, John Legend, Jonah Hill, Paula Abdul, Ben Affleck and many others. The PSA launched today. Unite for Japan.