Thompson on Hollywood

Glee Stars Hooked for Movies, Michael Shannon is Busy, Costner Sends Machines to Gulf

- When Glee actors signed on for the show in 2008, 20th Century Fox also hooked them with the option of up to three movies. The show was a hit from the word go, and stars Lea Michele and Cory Monteith lead a gang of multi-talented young stars who are in line to cash in on their small-screen success with big-screen features. Fans will likely eat them up. Michele is currently voicing Dorothy in 2012's animated Dorothy of Oz, and will star in horror film The Butcherhouse Chronicles, also set for 2012 release. UPDATE: But Glee stars may have to wait: Glee creator Ryan Murphy says they're focused on the series for now, and that no movie is being prepped.

By Sophia Savage
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June 21, 2010 3:30 AM
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Michael Feinstein's American Songbook Debuts This Fall on PBS

Classics crooner Michael Feinstein will make legions of music lovers happy this fall when he premieres a three-part series exploring the history of American popular music. The American Songbook will air October 6, 13 and 20 at 8 PM on PBS. This is my idea of heaven.

By Anne Thompson
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June 17, 2010 8:01 AM
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Regards to Broadway, En Route to Cannes

On the way to Cannes every year, I stop somewhere to break up the long journey, usually London or Paris (where the Cinematheque Francaise museum is a must-see). This year I stopped in Manhattan to catch the tail end of the Tribeca Film Fest (for the first time) and relax a bit before heading to the Riviera. It worked like a charm.

By Anne Thompson
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May 11, 2010 7:22 AM
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My Fair Lady: Mulligan vs. Knightley

But can she sing?

By Anne Thompson
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March 26, 2010 6:15 AM
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Berlinale 60 Day Nine: En Familie, The Killer Inside Me, Rock Hudson, Making the Boys

Our Berlin correspondent Meredith Brody experiences highs and lows as the festival winds down, from the skillfully-made documentary Making the Boys to the huge yet hugely disappointing Nine:

By Anne Thompson
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February 23, 2010 8:13 AM
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Michael Jackson's This is It Leads Ticket Pre-Sales; Watch for Twilight Saga: New Moon

Two weeks before its October 28 release, Michael Jackson’s This Is It now ranks at number 23 on MovieTickets.com’s list of the top-25 advance ticket sellers of all time. It moves ahead of Quantum of Solace and The Departed. So far MovieTickets.com is reporting 603 sold-out shows during the movie's planned two-week run.

By Anne Thompson
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October 14, 2009 10:42 AM
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Movie Site: Jinni

I am sitting at my laptop streaming Julie Taymor's Across the Universe--a movie with a fantastic Beatles soundtrack sung by attractive actors including yummy leading man Jim Sturgess--for free. I'm beavering away here, enjoying the comments on Gawker's post asking for $1000 reward for a new photo of Nikki Finke, and feeling remarkably unmotivated to do any serious blogging.

By Anne Thompson
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October 6, 2009 11:15 AM
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Nine Goes to the Movies

Nine is a popular number at the movies these days. Last week I saw Shane Acker's animated dystopian adventure 9, featuring the voice of Elijah Wood, which opens September 9, 2009. Wednesday night I see Neill Blomkamp's alien thriller District 9, produced by Peter Jackson. The German film Cloud 9 opens in New York this Friday and in LA on August 28. This fall I look forward to the Rob Marshall musical Nine. Earlier this year I missed the animated feature $9.99. I count four past movies named Nine, as well as such classics as Nine Months, The Whole Nine Yards, Nine Queens, Nine 1/2 Weeks and Nine to Five. Is any other number as frequently used in movie titles? I guess one and ten are just as common, finally. But why the plethora of nine titles in 2009?

By Anne Thompson
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August 11, 2009 7:51 AM
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Bollywood: Love Aaj Kal

The Naz in Artesia on Saturday night was packed with a crowd unlike any you'd see at your local multiplex on a standard opening weekend. Entire families of every age and both sexes--from ancient crones to young moms rocking infants in baby carriages in the aisles--turned out en masse to see Love Aaj Kal, the latest Bollywood musical starring sexy leading man Saif Ali Khan. He plays two characters, one a lovelorn man in 1965 trying to win a young beauty from her resistant family, the other a "modern" hipster seeking success and a laissez-faire attitude to marriage who finally sees the error of his ways. Willowy Deepika Padukone plays his love interest. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the romance opened huge on 2800 screens last weekend all over the world, breaking Hindi-language boxoffice records in the U.S., Australia and the U.K..