Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Watch: William Joyce Talks Brave New Interactive World of Oscar Winner 'Fantastic Flying Books' UPDATED

Awards

Who says high and low tech can't come together in animation and publishing?

By Bill Desowitz
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February 11, 2012 7:22 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki Climbs 'The Tree of Life'

Features

Clearly, "The Tree of Life" is the most artful of the best picture Oscar contenders. Terrence Malick's most personal film about nature and grace and growing up in Texas is also the most divisive because, let's face it, this is not the '70s.

By Bill Desowitz
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February 10, 2012 4:08 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Production Designer Stuart Craig Talks the Long Road of 'Harry Potter'

Awards

If anyone could rightly be called the face of "Harry Potter," it's production designer Stuart Craig, the architect of this fantastical world of author J.K. Rowling. He was there from the beginning to the end of the most successful franchise in movie history that touched off the millennium—and now beyond,

By Bill Desowitz
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February 3, 2012 12:38 PM
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Immersed in Movies: 'The Artist' Cinematographer Talks in Retro Code

Awards

Take a step back for a moment to consider the bizarre irony of "The Artist" being on the verge of winning the Best Picture Oscar. What an underdog story: a black-and-white silent ode to Hollywood made by a French director with two French stars up against the best that our current film industry has to offer.

By Bill Desowitz
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February 1, 2012 1:40 PM
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Kickstart and Titmouse Announce Production Partnership for Animated TV & Film

News

Live action and animation production company Kickstart and animation studio Titmouse are pooling their resources in order to expand their artist talent pools and production capabilities as they produce animated TV and film fare.

By Sophia Savage
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January 31, 2012 2:59 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Soaking Up the Tweedy Atmospherics of 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'

Awards

The BAFTA-nominated "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is all about atmosphere. Not only in conveying the lies, betrayal, and silences of the Cold War spy game back in the '70s, but also in the look of gritty, rain-sodden, strip-lighted London of the period.

By Bill Desowitz
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January 20, 2012 11:25 AM
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Immersed in Movies: Production Designer Anne Seibel Talks 'Midnight in Paris' and Woody Allen

Awards

The great charm and allure of Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" is obviously being nostalgically transported back in time to the City of Lights during the glam 1920s and the even more romantic turn-of-the-century Belle Époque.

By Bill Desowitz
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January 18, 2012 4:13 PM
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IN THE WORKS: Tommy Lee Jones Joins Peter Webber's Post-WW II Thriller 'Emperor' Starring Matthew Fox UPDATED

News

Tommy Lee Jones joins Peter Webber's currently filming political thriller set in Japan, "Emperor." The post-Word War II historical drama stars "Lost"'s Matthew Fox as General Bonner Fellers, a Japanese expert for General Douglas MacArthur (Jones), who must decide whether or not to try Emperor Hirohito as a war criminal. Meanwhile Fellers searches for his former lover Aya, a one-time Japanese exchange student, in ravaged post-war Japan.

By Anne Thompson
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January 17, 2012 5:12 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Editor Christopher Tellefsen Pitches Moneyball

Awards

Editing is all about internal rhythms for Christopher Tellefsen, and "Moneyball" fit like a glove. On the surface, it's a David & Goliath sports movie. But it's really about the struggle against conventional wisdom for the fast talking and even quicker thinking Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane.

By Bill Desowitz
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January 6, 2012 1:44 PM
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Art Directors Guild Sheds Little Light on Oscars, with Three Film Categories; Nominate 'Anonymous,' Omit 'War Horse,' 'Tree of Life'

Awards

The Art Directors Guild (ADG) nominations in three categories for films (period, contemporary, fantasy) help to reveal the direction the technical branches of the Academy are heading. Of course there are so many categories that more films will be recognized by the ADG at the Beverly Hilton on February 4 than the Oscars ever could.