Thompson on Hollywood

Nic Cage Goes Batshit

Nic Cage has made a virtue of his eccentricities his entire career--although lately, having to pay for them has led him to say yes to more B-movies than he should.

By Anne Thompson
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November 23, 2010 1:09 AM
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Casting Watch: Nicholson & Cruise Reunite; Bigelow Woos Depp and Hanks; Handler Goes to War

-Jack "You can't handle the truth!" Nicholson and Tom Cruise may reunite for El Presidente, an action comedy about a secret service agent (Cruise) and a former US President (Nicholson) - both on the same side - after a threat is made on his life. While it's hard to imagine the pair being as entertaining playing pals as they were playing enemies shoved into a courtroom face-off in A Few Good Men, this one will still get plenty of attention if it goes ahead (Cruise is attached, an offer is out to Nicholson).

By Sophia Savage
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October 6, 2010 11:42 AM
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LaBeouf is Forbes' Best Deal; Americans Still Like Gibson; Lohan Talks to Vanity Fair

- Shia LaBeouf, for a second year running, tops Forbes' list of Best Actors for the Buck. As an investment, LaBeouf is very attractive: "he offers a great return…For every $1 studios spend on the 24-year-old actor his films return an average $81 of profit." LaBeouf's paychecks will continue to grow; this won't hurt his agent's requests for a raise. Forbes' top 36 earners each had to have three movies open in over 500 theaters in the past five years, and meet a myriad of other criteria including their Celebrity 100 status. LaBeouf is king and Anne Hathaway is queen at #2, earning studios $64 for each dollar they pay her. Harry Potter boy Daniel Radcliffe is #3 ($61 for them, $1 for him), Robert Downey Jr. took fourth ($33), and can-do-no-wrong Cate Blanchett took fifth ($27). And before we all dig Aniston's box-office grave, lets give her credit for landing the #6 spot on this list (and for sharing it with Meryl Streep); $21 to their studios for each dollar they earn. Johnny Depp ($18), Nic Cage ($17) and Sarah Jessica Parker ($17) round out the top ten. Basically the list rewards mid-level stars who aren't at the top of the pay heap, which suggests that the more you get paid, the less you return..

By Sophia Savage
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August 31, 2010 3:36 AM
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Career Watch: Nicolas Cage Risks Overexposure

Nicolas Cage's latest movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice is dead on arrival. What went wrong? There's nothing wrong with his performance. But are people getting tired of seeing Cage? After 60 movies, has he started to exhaust the possibilities? Here's a taste of my latest Career Watch column.

By Anne Thompson
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July 19, 2010 7:02 AM
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Crowe Equalizes, Cage and Kidman Trespass, Tempest First Look

- Russell Crowe is set to play Robert McCall in The Equalizer, the mysterious vigilante agent made famous by Edward Woodward in the 1980s TV show, reports the LAT. Crowe is also attached to Paul Haggis's The Next Three Days, in which his character's wife is wrongly accused of murder. Clearly, Crowe is drawn to characters that have something to fight for, with a few rough edges. The Equalizer currently lacks both a shooting script and a studio, so Crowe has time to brood over this character.

By Sophia Savage
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June 16, 2010 2:35 AM
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Summer Movies: What Can Top Iron Man 2?

It's starting to look a lot like summer.

By Anne Thompson
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April 20, 2010 4:01 AM
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Kick-Ass Takes Number One After All

For the second weekend in a row, the top two films were in such a neck-and-neck race that the Sunday box office estimates were turned around on Monday. So this weekend, Lionsgate's Kick-Ass, while not scoring the $20-30 million weekend some were forecasting, did win the weekend b.o. derby. UPDATE: According to Box Office Mojo, Thursday night numbers are included in the total.

By Anne Thompson
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April 19, 2010 7:35 AM
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Dragon Trumps Kick-Ass

Picking up word-of-mouth as it continues to pull audiences, Paramount/DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon bested all comers at the weekend box office, kicking Kick-Ass to second place. TOH box office analyst Anthony D'Alessandro reports:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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April 18, 2010 4:34 AM
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Kick-Ass Rides Buzz for OK Opening, Reveals Critics' Divide

Controversy sells, and Lionsgate rode a swell of debate over the R-rated superhero action comedy Kick-Ass to a robust box office lead on Friday, an estimated $7.5 million in 3,065 runs. It may or may not make the $20 million opening benchmark some predicted; Date Night could wind up number one. This is the sort of movie that is banking on a core fan following--the folks that responded enthusiastically to early footage at Comic-Con last year--but needs to widen its appeal in order to really score. Lionsgate only invested $15 million to acquire it plus some $25 million in marketing, so it should come out ahead.

By Anne Thompson
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April 17, 2010 5:04 AM
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Nic Cage's House Too Weird to Sell

At a time when the entire state of California seems about to implode, it's tough to feel sorry for the rich and famous who can't manage to live within their magnificent means. Photographer Annie Leibowitz is back in financial trouble. And now Nic Cage----the fifth-ranked movie star on Forbes list with earnings of $40 million last year--has lost one of his many homes.