Thompson on Hollywood

Mark Lisanti Joins Yahoo! Entertainment Blogs, AOL is Hiring

Yahoo! has hired Movieline.com blogger Mark Lisanti as deputy editor of their new Entertainment Blogs. Lisanti, the founding editor of Gawker Media's Defamer, made the announcement in his blog: the Yahoo! blogs are "launching in the not-too-distant future" and Yahoo! is "continuing their recent pattern of hiring away every blogger they’ve taken a shine to." He will report to Entertainment Blogs editor Courtney Reimer (who moved to to Yahoo! from MTV earlier this year). Yahoo! has a hold on entertainment news, with more traffic than People, E!, Entertainment Weekly and Us Weekly combined.

By Anne Thompson
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June 9, 2010 6:20 AM
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Bullock Reunites with Reynolds on Action Comedy Most Wanted

Sandra Bullock knows what she's doing. Tired of all the crazy tabloid crap, she's moving the conversation on to kissing Scarlett Johansson on MTV and possibly co-starring with her husband Ryan Reynolds on a new comedy, Most Wanted. Looks like she's following my career advice and getting back to work. This is not only good news for Bullock and Reynolds, but for Universal Pictures' beleaguered current management team.

By Anne Thompson
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June 7, 2010 8:03 AM
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Paramount Promotes Evans to Production President

Film fest workers, have hope.

By Anne Thompson
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June 4, 2010 7:45 AM
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First Universal Tour of Rebuilt New York Street; Spielberg Talks

On the morning of June 1, 2008, Steven Spielberg was sound asleep when the phone rang with horrible news: "The lot is burning down again." Spielberg jumped out of bed and drove 28 minutes to Universal City, waving his ID at roadblocks until he got to scene of the fire. "It was a wall of flame," he recalls. "At the height of the fire it was like watching special effects--the only problem was that it wasn't."

By Anne Thompson
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June 3, 2010 8:27 AM
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RIP: Cinematographer William Fraker

One of Hollywood's great cinematographers, William Fraker, succumbed to cancer Monday at age 86. While D.P.'s can be cranky, Fraker was known for his affability and exacting standards on sets, from Rosemary's Baby, Bullitt, 1941, Close Encounters and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to Tombstone and Heaven Can Wait. A Naval veteran of World War II, Fraker attended USC's School of Cinema under the G.I. Bill. He grew into one of the defining film talents to emerge in the 60s and worked productively well into his 80s: his last film was 2002's Waking Up in Reno.

By Cameron Carlson
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June 2, 2010 8:52 AM
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Hollywood Reporter's Janice Min Hires Kim Masters as Editor-at-Large

When Kim Masters covered the TV up-fronts for The Hollywood Reporter last week, it was a sign that THR was on the move. Sure enough, new THR editorial director Janice Min has hired Masters--a veteran of NPR, Premiere, The Washington Post, Time, Esquire and Vanity Fair--to be editor-at-large at the venerable trade. She starts July 1, reporting to Min.

By Anne Thompson
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June 1, 2010 3:24 AM
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Who Will Direct The Hobbit, With Del Toro Moving On? Not Jackson, for Now

Soon after revealing that he was waiting for the dust to clear at MGM so he could get on with The Hobbit, Guillermo del Toro, one of Hollywood's hottest directors after Pan's Labyrinth and Hell Boy 2, is quitting The Hobbit because he can't keep his career on hold any longer; he's already been on the project for two years. He and The Hobbit co-writer-executive producer Peter Jackson made the announcement on May 30 at Theonering.net.

By Anne Thompson
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May 30, 2010 12:35 PM
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Weinsteins May Lose Miramax Deal, Kerrey Mulls MPAA, IFC and Sony on Cannes Buying Spree

I'm sitting in a JFK airport restaurant charging my computer, my BlackBerry and my iPod, steeling myself for another long flight. I flew into NY a month ago, so I have to fly back to LA from here, too. Sigh.

By Anne Thompson
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May 21, 2010 10:10 AM
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Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Bier's In a Better World

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all North American rights to Susanne Bier’s In a Better World from TrustNordisk, which has sold the film to more than 30 countries. I am a huge fan of Bier's Brothers and After the Wedding, both also co-written by Bier and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen. This is the intensely emotional drama of two Danish families. Sisse Graum Jørgensen produced the film for Zentropa Entertainments in co-production with Memfis Film International, DR, SVT, Film i Väst and Trollhättan Film.

By Anne Thompson
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May 20, 2010 7:54 AM
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Searchlight Buys Murdoch-Produced Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Fox Searchlight acquires only a few films each year. So one reason why Fox Searchlight Pictures co-presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula picked up Wayne Wang's 19th-century drama Snow Flower and the Secret Fan can be found in the producing credits.