Thompson on Hollywood

Alice To Pass $1 Billion, Hollywood for Sale, Bale Talking Hillcoat Flick

-Disney's Alice in Wonderland will cross the $1 billion worldwide box-office threshold tomorrow, marking the sixth movie to do so and a record for a springtime release. With over $332 million domestic and $667 million foreign, Alice in Wonderland is Disney's second-highest grosser behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.07 billion worldwide).

By Sophia Savage
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May 26, 2010 3:25 AM
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Film Department, Overture, Apparition, Weinsteins Sell Sizzle In Tough Economy

As Mark Gill and Neil Sacker's Film Department seeks new funding via an IPO, they're announcing that they're plunking down some of their remaining cash on a new script produced by Michael De Luca, the original action-comedy True Memoirs of an International Assassin, written by Jeff Morris. Why telegraph this news?

By Anne Thompson
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February 3, 2010 11:33 AM
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Overture Acquires Stone, Starring De Niro, Norton

After the underwhelming Everybody's Fine , one star in need of a strong role that connects with audiences is Robert De Niro. Maybe Stone will do it. Overture Films has picked up U.S. distribution rights to John Curran's dramatic thriller, starring De Niro as a parole officer and Edward Norton as an arsonist who tempts him with his wife (Milla Jovovich). Norton starred in Curran's The Painted Veil.

By Anne Thompson
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December 7, 2009 11:42 AM
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Weekend Winners: Where the Wild Things Are, Law Abiding Citizen, Paranormal Activity

Weekend Box Office WinnersSpike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are led the weekend box office. While an estimated $32.4 million was a studio record for October (the movie was on some 3700 screens), the number wasn't as big as some expected after its stellar Friday. The studio aimed the PG-rated film at a general, not family audience. But will the $90-million movie make its money back? Finally, Warners backed filmmakers working outside of the box, and that's a good thing.

By Anne Thompson
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October 19, 2009 6:05 AM
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Buzz Boosts Zombieland, Moore, Paranormal Activity; Whip It Limps

Lessons learned from the weekend box office:

By Anne Thompson
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October 4, 2009 9:49 AM
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Toronto: Winners, Losers, Oscar Contenders

There was plenty to see in Toronto. Here's how the films shook out for me.

By Anne Thompson
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September 20, 2009 3:20 AM
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TIFF#: Michael Moore Talks Capitalism: A Love Story

With his latest agit-prop documentary Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore delivers a scathing, entertaining portrait of how America's "greed is good" credo got us to where we are today. As the country heads toward recovery, the movie remains timely and accommodates the new Obama perspective. But the doc, which Overture opens limited in NY and LA on September 23, feels slightly unfocused.

By Anne Thompson
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September 16, 2009 5:05 AM
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Overture Buys Brooklyn's Finest; Senator Slate in Flux

Antoine Fuqua's operatic cop drama Brooklyn Finest, starring Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke, debuted at Sundance in January and was instantly acquired by neophyte distrib Senator, whose CEO Marco Weber invested in a new cut of the film, seven minutes longer, which just screened at the Venice Film Festival. (Fuqua isn't happy with that cut, which boasts a new ending, and wants to spend more time in the editing room.) Now Senator is under financial duress and several of its films, including Brooklyn's Finest, are finding new homes.

By Anne Thompson
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September 14, 2009 7:20 AM
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Festival Season: Feast and Famine, Ten Hot Toronto Pick-Ups

Going into the fall festival season in Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York, we know the following:

By Anne Thompson
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September 1, 2009 10:07 AM
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Trailer Watch: Men Who Stare at Goats

Grant Heslov's comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats looks pretty funny, I must say. I love George Clooney in full-on dimwit mode (see: O Brother, Where Art Thou?). The film is based on non-fiction writer Jon Ronson's book of the same name about a special paranormal military unit.