Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Talk Mid-Summer Outlook: New Rules, Midnight in Paris, Streep vs. Close

Kris Tapley and I reconvened over Skype for a mid-summer Oscar Talk (below). We covered quite a bit of ground. New Academy rules affect the top ten best picture ballot, VFX, documentaries and animation, but not foreign eligibility. New members may tip the scale as well on a more mainstream selection.

By Anne Thompson
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July 8, 2011 5:08 AM
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Sony Pictures Classics Nabs Cronenberg's Dangerous Method

Ahead of an expected fall fest circuit run for David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, Sony Pictures Classics has acquired US rights from UK foreign sales company Hanway Films. Produced by Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor), the film, which is in post-production, stars Viggo Mortenson as Sigmund Freud and Keira Knightley as the unbalanced patient of Freud's protege, ambitious young psychiatrist Karl Jung (Michael Fassbender). Vincent Cassel co-stars as another patient who pushes the rival shrinks apart.

By Anne Thompson
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June 16, 2011 7:36 AM
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Anna Karenina Update: Joe Wright Casts Knightley, Law, MacFadyen, Macdonald, Ronan, Johnson

The impressive cast of Joe Wright's upcoming adaptation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (adapted by Tom Stoppard) is as follows: Keira Knightley (Anna), Jude Law (her husband, Karenin), Matthew MacFadyen (Oblonsky), Kelly Macdonald (his wife, Dolly), Olivia Williams (Countess Vronskaya, Vronsky's mother), Saoirse Ronan (Kitty, Dolly's sister), Aaron Johnson (Anna's lover, Vronsky), Andrea Riseborough (Princess Betsy) and Domhnall Gleeson (Levin).

By Sophia Savage
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June 6, 2011 5:16 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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How Rookie Director Tadjedin Made Miramax/Tribeca's Last Night, Starring Knightley

Last Night is a high-profile test of new indie distributor-on-the-block Tribeca Films' video-on-demand model. Screening April 25 at the Tribeca Film Festival following its Toronto Fest debut, the movie was released on VOD on April 20, opening night of the Fest, and will open theatrically in limited situations on May 6. (Caryn James likes it. Trailer is below.)

By Anne Thompson
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April 25, 2011 8:00 AM
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Gillespie Talks Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: "Strong Female Characters, Action, Witty, Gothic"

Craig Gillespie, who will direct Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, talks to EW about the upcoming project. He says he'll do his homework and consider EW's suggestion of zombie cameos from Keira Knightley (pictured in Joe Wright's 2005 Pride and Prejudice) or Colin Firth.

By Sophia Savage
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April 20, 2011 7:21 AM
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Working Title's Fellner Talks Slate, Oscar Bait Anna Karenina & Tinker Tailor, Bad Movies

What a difference an Oscar season makes. Back during the crash of 2008, when the indie market was in free fall, a new set of rules emerged: no dramas. That's how a little movie called The King's Speech was turned down by most Brit and U.S. backers, except UK's Momentum and Harvey Weinstein, who didn't need to get anyone's approval. He knew a likely Oscar contender when he saw one.

By Anne Thompson
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April 1, 2011 7:48 AM
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Tribeca Premiere Titles on VOD: Last Night, Bleeding House, Neds, Bang Bang Club

The Tribeca Film Festival will simultaneously share several of its 2011 premiere titles on video-on-demand, including The Bang Bang Club, The Bleeding House, Last Night (pictured) and Neds on April 20 (available through June 23). Other festival films will also be available on VOD, including Dax Shepard's Brother's Justice and Zach Braff starrer The High Cost of Living.

By Sophia Savage
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March 29, 2011 5:24 AM
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Keira Knightley Rides Motorcycle, Strips and Seduces in Joe Wright-Directed Chanel Ad

By Anne Thompson
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March 21, 2011 7:34 AM
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Director Update: Joe Wright on Hanna and Ronin, The Little Mermaid and Anna Karenina Casting

Joe Wright (Pride & Prejudice, The Soloist) has a lot coming up, including coming-of-age thriller Hanna (April 8, pictured, trailer below), starring Atonement's Saoirse Ronan as an assassin; Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett co-star. In the works is a live-action version of The Little Mermaid and an adaptation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, which may star Wright favorite Keira Knightley. See these excerpts from his interview at About.com.