Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Talk Episode 21: On the Campaign Trail

This week Kris Tapley and I cover Oscar activity at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and in town, and keep debating the best actress, actor, picture and director race. Does Up in the Air or Inglourious Basterds have a fighting chance?

By Anne Thompson
|
February 12, 2010 10:29 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Oscar Phase Two: Bullock vs. Streep, Renner vs. Bridges, Cameron vs. Bigelow

Nothing is certain until it's over. And that's especially true for the Oscar race.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 9, 2010 11:16 AM
|
3 Comments

Santa Barbara Film Fest: Opener, Bullock, Cameron, Panels

I'm in Santa Barbara for its 25th film fest: 196 films, 18 world premieres, 28 U.S. premieres and a program from 45 countries. The festival runs through Sunday, Feb. 14. Per usual, I'm ensconced in a twee bungalow at the Simpson House--sweet muffins on arrival, Laura Ashley decor, fringed pillows and lamp shades, white venetian blinds, stone fireplace, hot tub, soft bed, classical music.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 5, 2010 2:40 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Watch: Final Nominations Predictions

Today, I picked up my credential to attend the Oscar nominations announcement bright and early Tuesday morning. I'll bring my laptop and file from there. I like getting the information packet that has all the stats and info about all the nominees. I have posted my final predictions, front runners and one long shot in all the categories except the shorts, which I have not seen.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 2, 2010 2:01 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk Episode 19: Heading Toward Noms, Bullock vs. Streep, Avatar vs. Hurt Locker

Kris Tapley and I took a week off while I decamped to the Sundance Film Festival. As we head toward the DGA Awards Saturday and Oscar nominations Tuesday morning, we forecast sure things and possible surprises, debate strengths and weaknesses of Golden Globes winner Avatar, SAG ensemble-winner Inglourious Basterds and PGA winner The Hurt Locker, and wonder if glam awards-newbie and SAG-winner Sandra Bullock (with momentum behind her) could actually beat admired-but-familiar Oscar-veteran Meryl Streep.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 29, 2010 9:02 AM
|
9 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk Episode 18: More Guild Votes, Sandra Bullock, Michael Bay and Golden Globes

In this week’s Oscar Talk Kris Tapley and I debate the impact of the latest guild votes and describe the week’s crowded party circuit, from Michael Bay’s Transformers 2 sound demo to cocktails with Sandra Bullock, star of The Blind Side. The weekend brings another round: BAFTA tea, and the Golden Globes Awards and pre-and-after parties.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 15, 2010 10:54 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Holiday Winners and Losers: Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, Streep, Bullock and Nine

Where are we, after the record-breaking holiday? There were many winners.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 5, 2010 2:00 AM
|
8 Comments

More:

Oscar Duel: Yes, They're Fun, But Do Golden Globes Influence Oscar?

In this ongoing blog duel, Moviefone's resident Oscarologist Jack Mathews and I discuss the impact of the Golden Globes on the Oscar race. On Golden Globes nominations morning, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Downey, Jr., Julia Roberts and Tobey Maguire were dancing on the ceiling. And Harvey Weinstein thought he had three sure-fire Oscar contenders with Nine, Inglourious Basterds and A Single Man.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 21, 2009 9:45 AM
|
6 Comments

More:

Five Things I Learned from the SAG Nominations

The Screen Actors Guild Award nominations are more revealing in many ways than the much-touted Golden Globes, because they reveal how the actors think. That's important because the actors branch of the Academy is by far the most dominant, some 1200 votes out of 6000. Thus you can glean from the nominations below several things:

By Anne Thompson
|
December 17, 2009 3:20 AM
|
6 Comments

More:

Must -Sees: The Last Station, Up in the Air, Bright Star

Must-Sees:Jason Reitman's Up in the Air has been deemed a too-dark marketing challenge. But the movie's strength is the way it skips past conventional genre cliches while deftly taking its characters through romantic escape and isolation--and the tough economy. Paramount Pictures is one of the few studios that can market both big and little movies. Up in the Air may be on its way to some Oscar nominations: it won four awards from the National Board of Review, including best picture of the year. It's tied with Precious for number one on the Gurus 'O Gold. Reviews are stellar: Tomatometer: 84%. Metascore: 81.