Thompson on Hollywood

Trailer Watch: Tom Hanks Fends Off Somali Pirates in Paul Greengrass' 'Captain Phillips'

Video

The first trailer has arrived for Paul Greengrass' "Captain Phillips," starring Tom Hanks in the real-life story of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009.

By Beth Hanna
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May 10, 2013 11:53 AM
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Now and Then: 'Haywire,' 'Bourne' Trilogy Prove That Style Is Substance

Reviews

Steven Soderbergh is a tough guy to peg. He made his name with a densely talkative indie about orgasms ("sex, lies, and videotape"), and in 22 films since has tackled everything from classy capers ("Out of Sight, the "Ocean's" trilogy) to the biopic of an iconic revolutionary ("Che"). But one thing is clear: the man's got style.

By Matt Brennan
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May 7, 2012 6:06 AM
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FIRST LOOK: 'Bourne Legacy' Reboot, Jeremy Renner is Aaron Cross

News

Universal Pictures has released the first images from the reboot "Bourne Legacy": a photograph of Jeremy Renner in the role of an American super-spy, and an austere poster flashing Renner's moniker under the tagline "Prepare for the unexpected."

By Maggie Lange
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January 8, 2012 12:23 PM
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Film in the Decade Since 9/11: From Superheroes to Westerns, What Came After

This week's “Now and Then” column started out comparing and contrasting two movies about assassins — Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011) and Léon: the Professional (Luc Besson, 1994)—and ended up ruminating on 9/11. Trailers below:Life and culture are too messy to be divided into easy categories like “Before” and “After,” but for all the continuities in the way films are made and viewed, a long view of the last decade reveals some important, if subtle, shifts. Watching the network news coverage of September 11 to prepare for this column, I was reminded of how much we didn’t know that day, how much our fear stemmed from no longer being able to control the course of events.

By Matt Brennan
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September 12, 2011 11:36 AM
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Greengrass May Commandeer Hanks in Somali Pirates Adaptation, Caribbean #5 Considers Next Director

Ahoy, pirates!

By Sophia Savage
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June 2, 2011 5:27 AM
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Casting Watch: Hemsworth & Hutcherson Cast In Hunger Games, Renner vs. Evans for Bourne

- UPDATE: The Hunger Games's Jennifer Lawrence now has two male co-stars: Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson have just been cast as characters Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark, respectively. The former is Katniss Everdeen's (Lawrence) hunting partner and the latter is her competitor in the fight-to-the-death televised competition. Hemsworth and Hutcherson were included in THR's March 25 short list of actors being considered. Hutcherson was also on Moviefone's March 8 list of Five Actors Better Than Alex Pettyfer for the Lionsgate franchise. The film adaptation of Suzanne Collins's novels is slated to start shooting with director Gary Ross in late May. Whoever lands these coveted roles will play second fiddle to Lawrence; here are more details on her character.

By Sophia Savage
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April 4, 2011 5:27 AM
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Working Title's Fellner Talks Slate, Oscar Bait Anna Karenina & Tinker Tailor, Bad Movies

What a difference an Oscar season makes. Back during the crash of 2008, when the indie market was in free fall, a new set of rules emerged: no dramas. That's how a little movie called The King's Speech was turned down by most Brit and U.S. backers, except UK's Momentum and Harvey Weinstein, who didn't need to get anyone's approval. He knew a likely Oscar contender when he saw one.

By Anne Thompson
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April 1, 2011 7:48 AM
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In Development: Akira Remake, Fincher for Jolie's Cleopatra, Agatha Christie and The Fighter 2

- Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures is eyeing several actors for a reworked script of Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s six-volume graphic novel Akira, reports Deadline. Harry Potter franchise screenwriter Steve Kloves (also writer-director of The Fabulous Baker Boys) is working on the rewrite and Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) is signed on to direct in August. In contention for role #1 ("Tetsuo") are Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy; for role #2 ("Kaneda"), there's Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix. Our picks would be McAvoy and Fassbender, who will likely pass on this retelling.

By Sophia Savage
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March 22, 2011 5:30 AM
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Angelina Jolie Goes UTA; Maleficent, Cleopatra, Serena, Scarpetta, Gucci, Tomb Raider Updates

Angelina Jolie, whose Untitled Bosnian War Love Story (financed and produced by GK Films) is in post-production, has signed with United Talent Agency as writer and director. She has long functioned without an acting agent but has been loyal to her manager at Media Talent Group, Geyer Kosinski. UTA's Rich Klubech told Deadline: "Angelina has a distinct and powerful creative voice, and having read her work and seen parts of the film she's directing, we're very certain that she's entering a new and fruitful phase of her extraordinary career."

By Sophia Savage
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March 15, 2011 1:06 AM
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Production & Development Watch: Hall's Awakening, Greengrass's King Biopic, Russell's 2 Guns

- Rebecca Hall is a total scene stealer. Think Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Please Give, and The Town. She's a rising star; here's a first look at her first leading role in The Awakening, from Brit director Nick Murphy and screenwriter Stephen Volk. Dominic West (The Wire) and Mike Leigh regular Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) co-star. Set in 1921, a bereaved woman (Hall) deploys rational arguments to debunk supernatural myths. A countryside boarding school asks her to come to ease panic caused by a boy's death (and rumors of a ghost). Her beliefs are challenged when she faces her own ghostly encounter. The Studio Canal and BBC films collaboration is in post-production with no release date. - Forget Bourne. Brit writer-director Paul Greengrass is writing Memphis, a Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic that focuses on the events--both personal and professional--that lead to his assassination on April 4, 1968. There are plenty of assassination reports and conspiracy theories to work with. Greengrass's studio relationship is with Universal; Scott Rudin is in discussions to produce the film with Greengrass at the studio's specialty arm, Focus Features.