Thompson on Hollywood

Descendants, Clooney, Streep Top Gurus 'O Gold Oscar Rankings

The Gurus have spoken. Post-festivals, Alexander Payne's The Descendants (1) has taken over the frontrunner spot from Steven Spielberg's unscreened period war adventure War Horse (2). Interestingly, Spielberg was considering submitting the film to Venice but decided not to do so. He usually likes to wait until the last possible minute to show his films. It's better NOT to be at the head of the pack, anyway. The Descendants' George Clooney (1) is also at the front of the Best Actor race.

By Anne Thompson
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September 27, 2011 5:10 AM
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Toronto Wrap: Best of Fest, Oscar Boosts, Winners and Losers

The trick with the fall film festivals is to gauge expectations going in vs. what was actually achieved. Various distributors launched their fall slates, and watched with pleasure or horror at how their movies were received by audiences and critics. Oscar contenders either moved forward in the awards race, or were pushed back. Other indies hoped their films would be picked up by the right distributor in time for this year's Oscar race. Some were, some weren't. It's tough for films that have already debuted at other festivals to pick up new momentum, although the press will bank features for release. The biggest noise goes to the new players, always.

By Anne Thompson
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September 21, 2011 7:04 AM
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Steve Martin's Letter to Eddie; Paramount's $700 Million Revamp; Dragon Tattoo Preview Reaction

Paramount Picture's planned $700-million upgrade to its Hollywood lot will add new sound stages as well as offices and create an estimated 7,300 jobs during the construction period, reports the LA Times. The project will develop the Melrose Avenue headquarters and potentially some nearby properties as well, over the next twenty years. An expanded studio will allow Paramount to accommodate 500 more employees, up to 5,500 people on the lot.

By Maggie Lange
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September 21, 2011 5:28 AM
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Washington to Star in Zemeckis's Flight for Paramount

Denzel Washington will topline director Robert Zemeckis's return to live action filmmaking, Flight, for Paramount and producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald under Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke's ImageMovers banner. It's the first pairing for the star and the director. The movie is set to begin shooting this October in Atlanta, GA.

By Anne Thompson
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September 9, 2011 10:28 AM
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Paramount Produces Jason Reitman's Labor Day with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin

Paramount Pictures and Indian Paintbrush will co-produce Jason Reitman's next, Labor Day, co-starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. Writer-director Reitman was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for Best Adapted Screenplay for 2010's Up in the Air.

By Maggie Lange
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September 9, 2011 9:51 AM
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Three Unmade Kubrick Films In Active Development; Lunatic at Large Close to Financing

No director has had a more storied posthumous career than Stanley Kubrick. The director died before the release of his controversial 1999 Eyes Wide Shut, which he had nonetheless completed, and of course Steven Spielberg used Kubrick's original drafts to script and direct 2001's A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which received mixed but mostly positive reviews.

By Jacob Combs and Cameron Carlson
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August 20, 2011 3:30 AM
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Studios Rethink Big-Budget Producers and Their Pricey Tentpoles--and Westerns

Blame Cowboys & Aliens.

By Anne Thompson
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August 19, 2011 3:14 AM
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Trailer/Poster Watch: Doremus Talks Voyeuristic Sundance-Winner Like Crazy, Starring Yelchin, Jones

One of the Sundance Fest’s biggest sales ($4 million), Like Crazy is Drake Doremus's follow-up to raunchy improv comedy Douchebag, which debuted there the year before. Like Crazy won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, and breakout actress Felicity Jones (Julie Taymor's The Tempest), took home the Special Jury Prize.

By Anne Thompson
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August 2, 2011 2:00 AM
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Moving Fest Slots For Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, J. Edgar; Young Adult Bypasses Circuit

Here's the new poster for Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which Focus Features is opening November 18 after its debut in Venice, which is timed before its European release in September. That's the reason why the film isn't in the Toronto Film Fest line-up. There's speculation that the film might turn up as a centerpiece gala or closing night offering at the New York Film Festival, along with Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio (October 21). There's still time for these potential Oscar contenders to jockey for prime fest positions at the four fall fests, Venice, Toronto, New York and Telluride, which keeps its selection a secret until the last possible minute. Angelenos who take the Charter from LAX to Montrose, Colorado at the start of the Labor Day weekend are handed the schedule as they board the plane.

By Anne Thompson
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August 1, 2011 7:02 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Captain America Makes Strong Superhero Start

Marvel has launched yet another comic superhero at the movies, Captain America. Anthony D'Alessandro reports.The stars aligned around the Paramount logo this weekend as the Marvel Entertainment production Captain America: The First Avenger became the summer’s biggest superhero opener at $65.8 million, beating Thor ($65.7 million), X-Men: First Class ($55.1 million) and DC’s Green Lantern ($53.2 million). Women who had their fill of watching men in tights took in another showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 ($48.1 million) or Sony/Screen Gems' kinky romantic comedy Friends With Benefits at $18.5 million.