Thompson on Hollywood

Summer Box Office Wrap: Winners and Losers, from Karate Kid to Cats and Dogs

In the final analysis the summer box office doesn't look so bad, writes TOH numbers cruncher Anthony D'Alessandro, who insists that weighing cost vs. return is more important than tallying the grosses or admissions.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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September 8, 2010 7:14 AM
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First Look: Coen Brothers' True Grit

Here's a first look at the Coen Brother's True Grit, which was filmed (along with another western, Cowboys & Aliens) around the Southwest. Paramount has released this still of grizzled Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld as Rooster Cogburn and Mattie Ross, respectively.

By Sophia Savage
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August 19, 2010 6:15 AM
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Dragon Tattoo's Rapace Goes Hollywood as Remake Goes English, Jolie as Go-To Action Star

- Noomi Rapace took herself out of the running for David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - the Swedish adaptation won her the country's Oscar equivalent for best actress. Rapace wants to expand her career in new directions, and is spending the week in LA meeting with directors, according to THR (including McG and Ridley Scott), producers (Avi Arad and Lorenzo Di Bonaventura) and studio executives at Paramount and Warner Bros. to plan her attack. Repped by UTA and fluent in English, Rapace could burst into Hollywood off the momentum of Dragon Tattoo's success. But it's Rooney Mara who will grab the career hype as she channels Stieg Larsson's counter-cultural anti-heroine for Millennium Trilogy fans, who are already salivating for a better screen version of the story. While Mara's performance will be compared to Rapace's when The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens in December 2011, it will be seen by far more people. Both actresses' lives have changed because of Lisbeth Salander.

By Sophia Savage
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August 17, 2010 3:49 AM
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Women in Hollywood: Salander vs. Gilbert, Bullock Is Forbes #1, Rom-Com Actresses, Lady Gaga

- Two literary characters--Lisbeth Salander and Elizabeth Gilbert--built huge fan bases of women book lovers well before the characters hit the big screen. Fans eagerly await the news of who David Fincher will cast as Salander in the English-language version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (and subsequent sequels); the Swedish originals starred Noomi Rapace. And author Elizabeth Gilbert is days away from watching herself portrayed by Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love.

By Sophia Savage
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August 4, 2010 5:02 AM
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Underworld's Wiseman in Talks to Direct Total Recall

Sony is back in the Len Wiseman business. And a major studio is greenlighting yet another remake of an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle; they have to hope this one will do better than the recent Predators.

By Anne Thompson
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July 29, 2010 6:27 AM
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Comic-Con: Let Me In is Vampire Coming-of-Age Story with Red Band Trailer

One of the more impressive show-reels at Comic-Con was for the vampire thriller Let Me In (the remake of Let the Right One In) directed by Cloverfield's Matt Reeves. Overture Films will open the film October 1, and thanks to new owner Relativity Media, marketing chief Peter Adee assures me, the film will get a proper release. With proper handling it could become a mainstream hit, judging from the reaction in Hall H. The new Red Band trailer is posted below.

By Anne Thompson
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July 28, 2010 11:04 AM
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Old Spice Launches New Star, Fincher's Final Four, Mulligan Considers Horror, Carell Raised by Wolfs

Isaiah Mustafa, the Old Spice guy who revived a deodorant brand, is launching a career as a movie star (or at least A YouTube phenomenon). With roles in the Aniston/Bateman flick Horrible Bosses (a cop), Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf (both releasing next year), and a guest spot on NBC's Chuck, this man's life is about to change even more. Mustafa spoke with THR about the luck of booking the Old Spice commercial, his dream to be on SNL (he was "in love with Mr. Bill"), his current vegan-cleansing diet, and whether he is truly a ladies man: "No, I'm not one of those guys. If a woman is into me, it usually takes me a while to figure that out. She has to hit me over the head with it." But he certainly knows what women want...

By Sophia Savage
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July 28, 2010 3:49 AM
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Lawrence Goes Mainstream, Hardy vs. Pine, Crowe in Noyce's Dirt Music, No Sex and The City 3

-Jennifer Lawrence - star of Sundance jury winner Winter's Bone - will be entering the mainstream. She takes on Mystique in 2011's X-Men: First Class, followed by the horror film House at the End of the Street in 2012. The film follows a just-moved-in teen who discovers that she and her mother (Elizabeth Shue) live across the street from the site of a double murder; they befriend the surviving son (Max Thieriot) who still lives there. According to THR, House at the End of the Street hopes to be to Psycho what Shia LaBeouf's 2007 Disturbia was to Rear Window. The film will begin shooting next month at the end of a street in Ottawa.

By Sophia Savage
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July 27, 2010 5:29 AM
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Despicable Me Tops Box Office; Family Titles Offer Counter Programming

Things are looking good for family films and 3D. The same goes for alien hunters and Adrien Brody. Reporter Anthony D'Alessandro has tallied the numbers for this weekend's box office.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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July 11, 2010 5:48 AM
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Fincher Eyes Salander Candidate Yo-Landi Vi$$er, Future of Product Placement

- David Fincher is a fan of South African band Die Antwoord's leading mini-lady Yo-Landi Vi$$er, and Vulture's sources indicate she has the exact look and mannerisms that Fincher wants for Lisbeth Salander in his remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Die Antwoord's representation, William Morris Endeavor, told Vulture that it wasn't clear whether Fincher was sincerely interested in Yo-Landi playing the part or if she is just his prime reference point. Apparently other studios have inquired about her interest in acting. Finally, Lisbeth Salander needs to be played by someone with more than a potential interest in acting, but even so Carey Mulligan may have to toughen up and get creative to fit this specified mold while campaigning for the role. Kristen Stewart ruled herself out from playing the role earlier this week, and several other names have been tossed around.