Thompson on Hollywood

Attack the Block's Cornish Keeps VFX Practical for His Super 8 Mile

I like interviewing up-and-coming talent because there's a curiosity factor. Like, who's this rookie writer-director out of Britain everybody's talking about, whose movie won audience awards at both SXSW and the Los Angeles Film Festival?

By Anne Thompson
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July 13, 2011 2:00 AM
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The Hobbit Production Video 2 Hits Facebook: Jackson Scouts New Zealand Locations

Having completed their second block of shooting, the cast and crew of The Hobbit are on a break until September 5. In their latest production video blog, filmmaker Peter Jackson and Co. share their vacation plans until they have to be back on set in New Zealand. Activities include getting drunk, visiting family, golf on Pebble Beach, and sleeping in. But first, for Jackson, there's location scouting around the glorious country. Check out some pictures from the video below and watch the video here.

By Sophia Savage
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July 11, 2011 4:30 AM
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Oscar Watch: Skin I Live In Gets October Date; Carnage Goes to November, Holiday Sked Shapes Up

The earlier a high-prestige art house movie opens in the fall, the less likely that its distributor harbors serious Oscar hopes for it. In other words, if Sony Pictures Classics moves Pedro Almodovar's retitled Skin I Live In from November to October, and slates Roman Polanski's Carnage on November 18, it means the latter is being given the Oscar advantage. Almodovar's kinky thriller starring Antonio Banderas met a mixed reception in Cannes. "This is not a move," asserts SPC co-president Michael Barker. "We never set the date until now. We were always going in the Fall. It is a great date."

By Anne Thompson
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June 27, 2011 1:50 AM
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The Hobbit Pics Get Official Titles and Release Dates

As is his wont, filmmaker Peter Jackson has posted news on The Hobbit's Facebook page of the two-parter's release dates --December 14, 2012 for Part One of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and December 13, 2013 for Part Two.

By Anne Thompson
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May 31, 2011 12:44 PM
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First Look: Adventures of Tintin Teaser and Poster Revealed

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's 3-D motion-capture extravaganza The Adventures of Tintin (December 23), starring Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Cary Elwes, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, finally has an international poster.

By Anne Thompson
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May 18, 2011 1:51 AM
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Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Event: In Theaters and On Blu-Ray in June

As we wait for The Hobbit, we can revisit Middle Earth on the big screen, as Warner Home Video promotes yet another DVD special package with The Lord of the Rings™ Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Event via screenings at nearly 500 cinemas throughout the US. June will bring The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on June 14; The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on June 21; and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on June 28, each featuring approximately an hour of additional footage and extended scenes chosen under the supervision of Peter Jackson. Jackson will also provide introductions to each film, filmed in Wellywood on The Hobbit set.

By Sophia Savage
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May 4, 2011 8:48 AM
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The Hobbit Update: The Cast So Far, Latest Additions are Evangeline Lilly & Barry Humphries

Check out the latest updates and a selection of the faces (some still unconfirmed) on The Hobbit production currently underway in New Zealand.

By Sophia Savage
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May 2, 2011 6:00 AM
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Peter Jackson Posts First The Hobbit Report, Complete with Maori Ceremony and Andy Serkis in Dots

Peter Jackson looks happy to be back in Wellywood recreating for The Hobbit many of the same sets from The Lord of the Rings. As the film was about to start shooting, he admits during a Maori opening ceremony, he had thought for a long time that he would not want to return to the world of The Lord of the Rings, but he changed his mind. Movies can be stressful and hard to make, he says, but it's really about the people you work with. UPDATE: Watch it below:

By Anne Thompson
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April 14, 2011 2:13 AM
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Director Watch: Jackson on The Hobbit's 48 FPS, Cooper's Out of the Furnace, Jones Eyes Wolverine

- Crazy Heart writer-producer-director Scott Cooper (pictured in Vanity Fair with his film's Oscar-winning star, Jeff Bridges) will write and direct Out of the Furnace for Relativity. The film will be based on Brad Ingelsby's script, The Low Dweller, in which an ex-con -- just out of prison -- seeks revenge for his brother's death. Relativity production president Tucker Tooley states: "Scott Cooper drew raw emotion from the story and inspired amazing performances from his actors in Crazy Heart. We are excited for him to shepherd this project." Relativity will share producing credits with Appian Way and Scott Free with Energy Entertainment.

By Sophia Savage
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April 12, 2011 5:23 AM
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Live from Wellywood: WETA Digital Hosts Rise of the Planet of the Apes Livestream

Peter Jackson has long been ahead of the curve where doling out info directly to fans is concerned. Thus, live from Wellywood, New Zealand, Jackson's VFX house WETA Digital (The Lord of the Rings, Avatar, District 9, Tintin) will reveal cool stuff from Rise of the Planet of the Apes via Fox's Facebook fan page for James Cameron's Avatar, which has 14.2 million followers. This is basically a maneuver to grab those fans and lure them to also follow this movie via a five-second preview of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (August 5, 2011) on its official Facebook page. What will they see on April 13 at 2:30 PM Pacific time (player is below)? WETA's VFX masters Joe Letteri and Dan Lemmon will give a behind-the-scenes look at how they created photo-real intelligently emotive CG ape Caesar (although their last ape, Jackson's King Kong, also acted by Gollum's Andy Serkis, will be hard to top). Jackson's King Kong earned WETA the coveted Avatar gig, which won them the VFX Oscar.