Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Wrap: Blue Valentine's Gosling, Dive-Bombing 127 Hours, Best Actress Death Match

Blue Valentine star Ryan Gosling not only talks to Crazy, Stupid, Love co-star Steve Carell, but self-mockingly poses in tight leather in the rain for Interview Magazine. On his past Oscar nomination for Half Nelson, he says: "it feels weird…not that long ago that I was on a TV show called Young Hercules in which I had a fake tan and wore tight leather pants and fought imaginary monsters." As for working on the smaller indie films he loves, the downside is that "when you’re making them, you’re pretty sure no one’s going to see them," he notes---unless they get a nomination: "[it] in some way affirms those choices by making it possible for people to hear about a film and maybe see a movie they wouldn’t have otherwise seen."

By Sophia Savage
|
October 28, 2010 7:55 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Oscar Round-Up: Best Actress Buzzing, Quoting The Social Network, Does Winter's Bone Have a Chance?

Buzz is building around this year's best actress Oscar race: "Unlike most years when men dominate the critical buzz for strong roles," asserts TheStar's Zorianna Kit. Well, that's debatable: last year boasted the Sandra Bullock/Meryl Streep flirtation, Carey Mulligan's breakout performance, Mo'Nique, Helen Mirren, Kathryn Bigelow winning for best director…and so on. But certainly this year boasts an abundance of actresses to pick from, including some who grabbed our attention in untraditional roles, from Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right to Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone--and many have not yet seen fall fest fave Natalie Portman in Black Swan. Fasten your seat belts.

By Sophia Savage
|
October 21, 2010 4:07 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk Wrap-Up: Never Let Me Go Wanes, Foreign Contenders, Blue Valentine, Harry Potter

During this week's Oscar Talk podcast, Kris Tapley (InContention) and I were joined by indieWIRE's awards expert Peter Knegt and InContention's Guy Lodge, both in London covering the festival.

By Anne Thompson
|
October 20, 2010 1:42 AM
|
5 Comments

Director Watch: Eastwood's Hoover without Phoenix, Julianne Moore Likes Her Helmers Silent

Hoover producer Rob Lorenz has already denied that Joaquin Phoenix would co-star with Leonardo DiCaprio in the biopic; now Clint Eastwood says it too. In fact, Eastwood didn't even realize he was an option. "Didn't he become a rapper?" was his response when addressing the rumor. (Not a good sign as WME's Patrick Whitesell tries to rehabilitate Phoenix's career.)

By Sophia Savage
|
October 13, 2010 2:05 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk: Diane Lane vs. Annette Bening vs. Julianne Moore, Inception, Hereafter, The Way Back

There's still a long way to go in the Oscar race. Kris Tapley and I debate whether Secretariat is this year's mainstream Blind Side, Diane Lane is this year's Sandra Bullock, Julianne Moore and Annette Bening will both make it for The Kids Are All Right, and if Chris Nolan's Inception, John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole, Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, Pixar's Toy Story 3, Peter Weir's The Way Back, and Clint Eastwood's Hereafter have a shot at the top ten.

By Anne Thompson
|
October 9, 2010 1:39 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

Bening vs. Moore for First Oscar Win, Weisz Gets Promiscuous, Guardian's Genre Questions

- Not surprisingly, Annette Bening and Julianne Moore will both be pushed toward a Best Actress Oscar by The Kids Are All Right distributor Focus Features. If they are indeed both nominated, notes Deadline EW, The Kids Are All Right would be the sixth movie to have double nominees in this category: Thelma and Louise, Terms of Endearment, The Turning Point, Suddenly, Last Summer and All About Eve). Moore has been nominated four times; twice as supporting actress (The Hours in 2003, Boogie Nights in 1998) and twice for leading roles (Far From Heaven in 2003, The End of The Affair in 2000). Bening has three prior nominations; one supporting (The Grifters in 1991), two leading (American Beauty in 2000, Being Julia in 2005). Should either actress take home a statue in 2011, it will be their first.

By Sophia Savage
|
September 21, 2010 8:20 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Phoenix as The Hulk, Jolie's Upcoming Projects, Mulligan in Chisel Beach, Talking Julianne Moore

- Since news dropped that Edward Norton won't be reprising his role as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in The Avengers, words have been exchanged between Marvel's Kevin Feige and Norton's WME agent Brian Swardstrom, who calls Marvel's statement "[an] inappropriate attempt to paint our client in a negative light." Feige had said that Marvel's decision was ""rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble."

By Sophia Savage
|
July 12, 2010 5:00 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Weekend Must-Sees: Despicable Me, The Kids Are All Right, Plus B-Remake Predators

It's pretty slim pickings this summer. Assuming you've seen Toy Story 3, what else is there?

By Anne Thompson
|
July 9, 2010 11:41 AM
|
4 Comments

LAFF: Kids Are All Right Scores During Lakers Riot, 30 Films to See

The Thursday night opening of the LA Film Fest was not quite what the organizers had hoped for, with the NBA final game right next door at the Staples Center. That was one risk the LAFF took this year by moving the festival downtown. Film Independent chief Dawn Hudson insists that the influx of apartment dwellers and lively night life downtown is bound to invigorate the fest. (But Westsiders especially dread the drive during rush hour.)

By Anne Thompson
|
June 19, 2010 10:35 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Bening Talks Vanity-Free Roles in Mother and Child, The Kids Are All Right

Sony Pictures Classics has a good eye for awards contenders. They scooped up Get Low and Mother and Child out of Toronto, and it's likely that we will see both Robert Duvall and Annette Bening in the awards race this fall.