Thompson on Hollywood

WATCH: Sam Mendes' Ho-hum Videoblog Debuts on 007 'Skyfall' Website

Video

Sam Mendes' first videoblog debuted with more of a whimper than a bang (or more of a stir than a shake if you prefer) at 7:00 AM GMT on the official "Skyfall" website. At one minute and thirty seconds, the videoblog is probably not what diehard Bond fans have been waiting for.

By Beth Hanna
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February 22, 2012 9:39 AM
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David Bowie vs. Hollywood: A Marvelous Poster Mash-Up

Features

Have you ever been casually watching a movie and thought: This film could use a little more David Bowie? This collection of mock-up movie posters is for you!

By Maggie Lange
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February 17, 2012 4:28 PM
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Titles in Search of a Script: from the Stanley Kubrick Archives

Features

During their 34-year relationship, Stanley Kubrick and his personal assistant Tony Frewin developed a collection of potential movie titles under the headline: "Titles in search of a script." Lists of Note selected several of their wittiest ideas, with commentary from Frewin following each idea. Some of their most droll titles include:

By Maggie Lange
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February 17, 2012 1:53 PM
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Red Band Trailer Watch: 'Friends with Kids'

Video

Remember “Kissing Jessica Stein”? Maybe not – screenwriter-actor Jennifer Westfeldt’s bi-curious indie family comedy was 11 years ago after all. Now she’s back again, adding director and producer to her resume with “Friends With Kids" (March 9). The film’s tag line "Love. Happiness. Kids. Pick two" kinda says it all.

By Justin Lowe
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February 17, 2012 6:09 AM
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Watch Two New Clips from Disney's Mis-Marketed 'John Carter' -- 'Avatar' or 'Stardust'?

Video

Disney is battling a tsunami of bad buzz -- or worse, disinterest, due to ineffective marketing and a lousy Super Bowl spot -- in Andrew Stanton's $250 million sci-fi epic "John Carter." The Mars adventure crammed with performance capture aliens doesn't hit the ground until March 9.

By Anne Thompson and Jacob Combs
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February 15, 2012 6:44 PM
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Super Bowl 2012 Movie Ads UPDATE: Full-Length 'John Carter,' 'Battleship,' Ferris Bueller for Honda, 'Hunger Games,' 'Avengers,' 'Star Wars: Episode One 3D'

Television

Thirty seconds of Super Bowl screen time will cost an advertiser $3.5 million. In exchange for this pretty penny, that half minute will reach some 111 million viewers. And a catchy TV spot will go viral and far outshine that number.

By Maggie Lange
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February 5, 2012 1:05 PM
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MLK Weekend Box Office: 'Contraband' Steals Thunder from 3-D 'Beauty and the Beast' UPDATED

Box Office

With three new films opening in wide release, Universal’s “Contraband” easily captured the top spot at the boxoffice. During the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend the Working Title film tracked an estimated $28.8 million at theaters, which exceeded pre-release expectations, which had “Contraband” and “Beauty” in a race for the top spot. The opening marked a company best for Working Title. Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale star in the R-rated action thriller, about a criminal who has given up his errant ways and gets pulled back into the business one more time.

By Brian Fuson
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January 16, 2012 1:26 PM
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Ricky Strauss Takes Disney Marketing Presidency UPDATED

News

One of the topics of discussion at the Critics Choice Awards last night was who would get the open Disney marketing job. Having given the post to movie business outsider M.T. Carney 19 months ago--which rarely works, unless it's television--Disney Studio chairman Rich Ross was expected to go inside this time.

By Anne Thompson
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January 13, 2012 2:23 PM
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Live Chat with Angelina Jolie; Discuss 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' January 12

News

Here's your chance to chat with Angelina Jolie. She will host a 45-minute live online chat through a partnership with Hearst Magazines, focusing on her writing and her directorial debut, "In The Land of Blood and Honey." On January 12, at 5pm PST, you can chat with Jolie via Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Redbook and Woman’s Day. UPDATE: Or you can do it right here: see the widget below.

By Sophia Savage
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January 11, 2012 4:50 PM
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Holiday Box Office Winners & Losers

Box Office

The short holiday boxoffice season is always one of the year's most lucrative. The seven-week period, which runs from mid-November through New Year’s weekend, contributes a proportionately high percentage to the annual total.