Thompson on Hollywood

U.S. Army Closes Afghanistan Outpost Restrepo

The U.S. Army has finally closed the remote Afghanistan Restrepo outpost in the deadly Korangal Valley, where some 42 American service men have died. Named after a soldier who died in Afghanistan, the post was the setting for Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's unforgettable documentary Restrepo, which debuted at Sundance and will be released in July by National Geographic Films under new president Daniel Battsek.

By Anne Thompson
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April 14, 2010 8:41 AM
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Conan O'Brien Blows Off Fox, Signs Mega-Deal with TBS

“In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable," said Conan O'Brien on the occasion of his ground-breaking new deal with Time Warner's TBS. "My plan is working perfectly.”

By Anne Thompson
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April 12, 2010 8:19 AM
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Is New Spider-Man Percy Jackson Star Logan Lerman?

Stop the presses! Hitfix announced Saturday that the new Spider-Man looks likely to be Logan Lerman, star of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Tobey Maguire has left the franchise, as Marc Webb takes over directing reins from Sam Raimi. Sony has set the film to open on July 3, 2012. UPDATE: By Sunday, Sony corp PR was denying that Lerman was even on the list of those being considered. Time will tell.

By Anne Thompson
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April 10, 2010 10:03 AM
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Harrison Ford to Star in Cowboys & Aliens, Tweets Favreau

The new indie mantra is all about DIY marketing via social network groups, Facebook pages, tweets. Killer Films producer Christine Vachon's (@kvpi) 1404 followers know where she is on any given production because she tells them. "Locking the budget on MILDRED PIERCE," she tweeted on Monday. (We also know that she prefers chemo therapy to a root canal.) Certain people get how to play the game.

By Anne Thompson
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April 7, 2010 8:10 AM
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Disney Weighs Three Miramax Offers

Disney Co. is weighing three offers for Miramax Films. The company could decide not to accept them.

By Anne Thompson
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April 7, 2010 1:19 AM
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Kino Releases Must-See Complete Metropolis

If you've seen Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi masterwork Metropolis, you know that it's not only one of the great movies ever made, but also among the most influential. Its DNA is all over subsequent sci-fi flicks from Blade Runner to The Matrix. Now Kino is releasing the restored 147-minute The Complete Metropolis--with 25 extra minutes of footage and the original Gottfried Huppertz score--that debuted at the Berlin Film Festival.

By Anne Thompson
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April 6, 2010 10:14 AM
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Court Sets Back FCC Jurisdiction Over Net Neutrality

In a blow to the FCC's ability to require net neutrality by expanding broadband and barring internet service providers from favoring their own content at the expense of others, on Tuesday a three-judge Federal Appeals court panel ruled against the FCC. Here's The Wrap and THR:The court tossed out an Aug. 2008 cease and desist order by the FCC against Comcast, which had slowed transfer speeds for peer-to-peer file sharing service BitTorrent.

By Anne Thompson
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April 6, 2010 4:42 AM
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Spielberg Does Not Have Asperger's Syndrome

Imagine my surprise when listening to an NPR report stating as fact that Steven Spielberg has Asperger's Syndrome. Anyone who has had any interaction with the guy knows that he's not only a super-smart and gifted filmmaker with extraordinary technological command (which easily could accompany an Asperger's diagnosis), but he's also highly intuitive, with warmth, charm and social skills to spare (which is far less frequent).

By Anne Thompson
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March 29, 2010 9:22 AM
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MGM Accepts Bids, Extends Debt Deadline

In anticipation of a reported $1.5 billion bid by Time Warner, MGM extended the deadline for the close of bidding from Friday to Monday, reports Reuters: "Lions Gate Entertainment and billionaire Len Blavatnik's industrial holding company Access Industries have put in second-round bids for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, but Time Warner Inc is still considering a bid, sources told Reuters on Monday."

By Anne Thompson
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March 22, 2010 11:46 AM
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MPAA Launches New Film Ratings Site

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has launched a rejiggered film ratings website for its Classification and Ratings Administration (CARA). Outgoing MPAA chairman Dan Glickman wants the site to provide parents with more "clear and concise information about the content of a film in order to help them determine whether a movie is suitable for their children,” he said. The new site boasts FAQs, ratings definitions and an expanded printable and searchable database of films rated as far back as 1968, when then MPAA-chairman Jack Valenti devised the ratings system to stave off local censorship of movies. Parents can also sign up for a free weekly email service ("red carpet ratings") with ratings info on current films, and if they're interested, check out the way the MPAA rates and monitors showings of trailers, too.