Thompson on Hollywood

Descendants, Clooney, Streep Top Gurus 'O Gold Oscar Rankings

The Gurus have spoken. Post-festivals, Alexander Payne's The Descendants (1) has taken over the frontrunner spot from Steven Spielberg's unscreened period war adventure War Horse (2). Interestingly, Spielberg was considering submitting the film to Venice but decided not to do so. He usually likes to wait until the last possible minute to show his films. It's better NOT to be at the head of the pack, anyway. The Descendants' George Clooney (1) is also at the front of the Best Actor race.

By Anne Thompson
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September 27, 2011 5:10 AM
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2 Comments

Oscar Talk: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Melancholia, Moneyball, Ides of March, New Oscar Rules

In this week's Oscar Talk podcast, Kris Tapley and I engage on several pressing Oscar fronts. We debate the impact of the Academy's new constraints on parties and Q & As and whether or not the Oscars should move up their date. We dig into several new films, Brad Pitt-starrer Moneyball and Cameron Crowe's Pearl Jam Twenty, which open this weekend, plus the upcoming Melancholia, starring Kirsten Dunst, Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy, starring the great Gary Oldman, and George Clooney's The Ides of March, starring the director opposite Ryan Gosling.

By Anne Thompson
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September 23, 2011 5:47 AM
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Trailer Watch: J. Edgar Trailer Lands, "When Morals Decline and Good Men Do Nothing Evil Flourishes"

Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar will open the AFI Fest on November 3 followed by a limited release November 9. Here are more details on the star cast. Leonardo DiCaprio plays J. Edgar Hoover, ages considerably (he spent hours in makeup) over the course of the trailer and alludes to man-love with co-star Armie Hammer (Clyde Tolson). The trailer begins with a warning; "When morals decline and good men do nothing evil flourishes."

By Sophia Savage
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September 20, 2011 5:45 AM
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Weekly Wrap: TIFF: Moneyball, Descendants, Deep Blue Sea; Reviews Kevin, The Lady; Media Watch

Box Office:

By Maggie Lange
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September 16, 2011 5:20 AM
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Denzel for Secret in Their Eyes Remake, Kevin Costner Out of Upcoming Tarantino, Source Code to TV

Kevin Costner was forced to back out of Quentin Taratino's Django Unchained due to scheduling conflicts and will no longer play Ace Woody, a "sadistic asshole who trains slaves to fight" in Tarantino's coming film. Meanwhile, as expected, Samuel L. Jackson has been confirmed to join the cast as a head house slave. The movie will star Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave who escapes from his vicious owner, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and joins forces with a German bounty hunter, played by Christoph Waltz. The film will begin production this November and has a planned release date of December 25, 2012.

By Maggie Lange
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September 16, 2011 4:05 AM
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DiCaprio and Eastwood Talk J. Edgar in GQ Cover Story

In the latest issue of GQ, the magazine pairs the actor and director combo from biopic J. Edgar, in which Leonardo DiCaprio suits up as the famed and defamed former head of the FBI under Clint Eastwood's direction. The film will kick off this year's AFI Film FEST on November 3 before opening wide November 11.

By Maggie Lange
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September 14, 2011 8:15 AM
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LACMA Honors Eastwood, Pledges Commitment to Film

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) will honor filmmaker/star Clint Eastwood and artist John Baldessari at their inaugural Art + Film Gala on November 5 as part of their stated initiative to make film a central part of the museum's curatorial program. (Really? Film Independent hired critic Elvis Mitchell to program LACMA's film series, and so far has not announced a fall program.) LACMA Trustee Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars in Eastwood's upcoming biopic J. Edgar, will co-chair the event.

By Maggie Lange
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September 9, 2011 9:59 AM
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Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar to Open 25th AFI FEST

Clint Eastwood's period biopic J. Edgar will open the 25th AFI FEST on November 3. The R-rated movie, which opens limited November 9 and wide November 11, was not ready for the fall festival circuit.

By Anne Thompson
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September 7, 2011 7:59 AM
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Refn Teases Gosling and Malick Pairing; DiCaprio On Gatsby Set; Aykroyd Promises Ghostbusters 3

- According to his Drive director, Nicolas Winding Refn, Ryan Gosling will work on a film with Terrence Malick after the actor completes Refn’s Only God Forgives. Here's ThePlaylist's investigation of this potentially awesome news.

By Maggie Lange
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August 26, 2011 8:25 AM
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Oscar Talk: From The Help, Rise of the Apes and Woody to the Fall Fest Circuit and Beyond

Oscar Talk is back. The first podcast of the fall season with In Contention's Kris Tapley runs for a good hour, so gird your loins, Oscar mavens, listen and weep. We cover the Cannes films, the summer releases, the Fall Festival entries and the end-of-year possibilities. We talk Meryl and Glenn and Malick and Chastain, debate the merits of sleeper Warrior and admit that we both cried over cancer patient Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50. Next week we'll post from Telluride. The award season begins.