Thompson on Hollywood

Almodovar and SPC Collaborate Again for The Skin That I Inhabit

Sony Pictures Classic has acquired North American rights to director Pedro Almodovar's The Skin That I Inhabit, which began production last month in Spain. Inspired by Thierry Jonquet's novel Mygale, the film is a gothic story of a father out for revenge following the death of his daughter. Antonio Banderas will star with Talk To Her's Elena Anaya and Marisa Paredes.

By Sophia Savage
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September 16, 2010 5:18 AM
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Casting News: Hendricks in Drive, Renner and Rapace Witch Hunters, Seydoux vs. Bruni in Paris

- Drive just got juicier with Mad Men fixture Christina Hendricks set to join Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Oscar Isaacs and Albert Brooks in the Nicolas Winding Refn film, which shifts into gear at the end of this month. Hendrick's role is unidentified, though The Playlist suggests, following a perusal of the "terrific, noirish script," that she must be the female associate of bank-robber-Mulligan's-boyfriend (presumably played by Isaacs).

By Sophia Savage
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September 9, 2010 12:31 PM
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Casting News: Patton in M:I Reboot, De Niro Loves Bellucci, Hamm and Westfeldt Make Indie

- J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Mission: Impossible franchise is coming together at Paramount, even if it still lacks a firm title. Returning Tom Cruise will be accompanied by Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner, both of whom wowed in their low-budget Oscar-winning films last year, Precious and The Hurt Locker, respectively.

By Sophia Savage
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September 3, 2010 3:51 AM
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Italian Producers Gori vs. Nunnari: Judge Rules $14 Million in Lost Profits to Gori

- An L.A. Superior Court Judge has ruled (tentatively) in favor of Italian film mogul Vittorio Cecchi Gori (pictured, right) and against producer Gianni Nunnari (pictured, left) (The Departed, Shutter Island, 300, From Dusk Till Dawn).

By Sophia Savage
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September 3, 2010 2:44 AM
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New Orleans Films Louis and The Big Uneasy Screen on Katrina Anniversary

It's unheard of for a movie to play one night in five cities before it's finished and before it has a distributor. But nothing about Louis--which inspired widely divergent reactions at a recent Beverly Hills screening--is what you'd call normal. Also marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, radio host/writer/actor Harry Shearer's searing expose The Big Uneasy hits theaters August 30 for one night only.

By Anne Thompson
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August 25, 2010 11:22 AM
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Miss Universe vs. Men in Lipstick, Cassavetes' Blonde Cast, Mackie for Mission: Impossible 4

Inspired by Louis Bayard of Salon, who argues the death of the beauty pageant, we have a treat for you after the jump. "Even as a gay man," writes Bayard, "I couldn't find joy or fun in last night's monument to wax figurines and Donald Trump." He's referring to the Miss Universe Pageant, which has remained about skin and double-sided tape despite (for-appearances-only?) attempts to refocus the criteria on some kind of merit. Bayard argues that this "carnal philosophy has reaped its reward. Miss Universe is in the pink: stinking with ad revenue, sprawling across a two-hour expanse of network television. The whole enterprise should be neon with triumph, and yet it's every bit as gray as an annual report. For that's exactly what it is. A celebration of a company and the man behind it."

By Sophia Savage
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August 25, 2010 5:30 AM
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The Future of Digital Distribution: A Mini Documentary

The Future of Digital Distribution, a mini-documentary from Game Industry TV, now available here (and below), goes deep into how the online availability of music, film, TV and video games are revolutionizing the way society digests its plethora of media. With commentary from reporters, analysts, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, Disney Interacting Studios GM Graham Hopper (and others), the topics range from the growth of online purchasing, direct distribution channels changing the relationship between content creators and their consumers, and how social networking will continue to influence the entertainment world.

By Anne Thompson
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August 25, 2010 1:23 AM
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No Budget Film School's New One Day Course August 29th

On August 29th, a new No Budget Film School class will be held in two parts: "Mastering Film Grammar," (how to express your story) and "From Script to Screen" (how a script becomes a film) . Both the morning and afternoon session will be taught by screenwriter/director Tom Provost (Under Suspicion) with the intention of teaching how to make the best possible film on any size budget.

By Sophia Savage
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August 24, 2010 12:58 PM
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Worthington Heads Home, Hurt Locker Reality Show, Brolin Talks

- Sam Worthington is heading home to Perth, Australia to shoot surfing drama Drift, in which he plays a photographic journalist who helped to turn surfing into a worldwide industry. After several big-budget Hollywood films, the actor is excited to be involved in this $11-million project, he says, to "put something back into my home town...There's something pure and true about surfing, and there is something pure and true about this script." (There was also something pure about his performance to in 2004's Somersault opposite Abbie Cornish). This may be the perfect project for him to rediscover the satisfaction of low-budget acting away from the blue-screen razzle-dazzle of Avatar, Clash of the Titans and Terminator: Salvation.

By Sophia Savage
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August 24, 2010 5:30 AM
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Cinematographers on the Rise

The Playlist profiles 5 Cinematographers On Their Way To The A-List; A Single Man's Eduard Grau (because "virtually every frame of [the film] was heart-stoppingly gorgeous"); Bright Star's (pictured) Greig Fraser (also worth noting his work on the chilling New Zealand true-story drama Out Of The Blue); Fish Tank's Robbie Ryan; Sin Nombre's Adriano Goldman; and director Debra Granik's go-to Michael McDonough, who brought us the gritty Winter's Bone and Down To The Bone. ThePlaylist notes: