Thompson on Hollywood

Casting Watch: Kirsten Dunst Visits Set of Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring"

News

Perennial Sofia Coppola muse Kirsten Dunst and rocker Gavin Rossdale have been spotted on the L.A. set of the writer-director's currently filming "The Bling Ring." That doesn't mean that the star of "Virgin Suicides" and "Marie Antoinette" or the rhythm guitarist are necessarily in the movie, although Coppola loves throwing cameos into her flicks.

By Maggie Lange
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March 28, 2012 2:53 PM
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Directors Guild Reveals Five Male Front-Runners, Skips Women

If there was any doubt as to which films were the front-runners in the Oscar race, they were quelled by the Directors Guild announcement of their nominees. The DGA tends to match Oscar nominations four for five. A movie almost never wins best picture without a DGA nomination, and the DGA winner has been the Oscar winner all but six times since 1948. As expected, first-time nominees Darren Aronofsky and Tom Hooper and vets David Fincher and Chris Nolan are in the running for the DGA's top prize. If the industry still harbors any grudges against David O. Russell for his past on-set behavior, the directors, at least, recognized him with his first DGA nomination for The Fighter.

By Anne Thompson
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January 10, 2011 5:13 AM
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Tarantino Regrets Leaving Coppola's Somewhere Off His Ten Best

One significant omission on Quentin Tarantino's Ten Best List was ex-girlfriend Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, which the jury headed by Tarantino awarded the Golden Lion in Venice.

By Anne Thompson
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January 5, 2011 4:52 AM
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Sofia Coppola Needs to Escape the Safety Zone

The Safety Zone is a dangerous place to be for filmmakers. When it comes to making movies, danger and risk is a good thing. And while I'm not saying that directors should pander to the widest possible audience, I do think that playing to an audience of one, yourself, is a must-to-avoid. Too many filmmakers seem to believe that staying in control is their best course. To a degree, it's wise not to cede control to the wrong people. But input and collaboration bring vital nourishment.

By Anne Thompson
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December 30, 2010 8:26 AM
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Lousy Christmas Weekend Box Office: Little Fockers Beats True Grit, Best Coens Opening Ever

At a horrendous Christmas weekend---which saw a 44% three-day drop in grosses over last year (flush with Avatar)---sequel comedy Little Fockers beat out adult western True Grit, the best--and widest--opening ever for a Coen brothers movie. It's likely that the well-reviewed oater will have longer legs, however, as it settles in for the long Oscar haul.

By Anne Thompson
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December 26, 2010 7:03 AM
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Oscar Talk: Long Shots for Best Actress and Picture

In this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I cover the best actress race and the relative chances of long-shots The Town (we both spoke to Jeremy Renner), The Way Back (we both spoke to Peter Weir and Jim Sturgess), Secretariat and Diane Lane, and the Coens' True Grit, which should be screening soon:

By Anne Thompson
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November 26, 2010 10:50 AM
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Oscar Watch: True Grit's Joel Coen Interviews Somewhere's Sofia Coppola

It's an honorable Directors Guild tradition to have one member interview another. But Sofia Coppola landed a big fish when fellow-Oscar-winner Joel Coen agreed to interview her for Somewhere, perhaps because he respects her lack of eagerness to participate in such events. While both are accomplished writer-directors (Ethan Coen shares with Joel writing and producing credits on such films as Fargo and No Country for Old Men), neither are known for being particularly forthcoming in interviews. But it was in both of their interest to do this, as Coen is just finishing True Grit, another possible Oscar contender.

By Anne Thompson
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November 22, 2010 9:10 AM
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Starry Night at Governors Awards Fete: Coppola, Wallach, Brownlow and Controversial Godard

Walking into the second annual Academy Governors Awards reception, I was gobsmacked by who was milling in front of the photographers at the entrance. 12-year-old Elle Fanning posed with her Somewhere co-star Stephen Dorff and The Ghost Writer's Olivia Williams; George Lucas was chatting up Godfather stars Robert Duvall and James Caan, as Sofia, Francis Ford Coppola and his wife of 48 years, Eleanor, greeted Peter Fonda.

By Anne Thompson
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November 14, 2010 11:18 AM
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Oscar Talk: Post-Toronto, 127 Hours, King's Speech, Social Network, I'm Still Here

In Contention's Kris Tapley and I talked in the same city for this week's Oscar Talk. He's seen Catfish and The Social Network; I saw a bunch of new movies in Venice and Toronto including I'm Still Here, Rabbit Hole, Beginners, and I Saw the Devil.