Thompson on Hollywood

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.

By Anne Thompson
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September 19, 2010 2:41 AM
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Exclusive Interview: With Somewhere, Sofia Coppola Grows Up

Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, which was the surprise winner of the Golden Lion in Venice, will be released by Focus Features this December.

By Anne Thompson
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September 14, 2010 3:22 AM
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Venice Wrap: Best of Fest, Winners and Losers, Golden Lion Goes to Somewhere

The Venice Film Festival, the oldest in the world, is winding up its 67th edition, my first. (UPDATE: The Golden Lion award went to Sofia Coppola's Somewhere on Saturday amid charges of favoritism on the part of jury president Quentin Tarantino; they once dated.) Venice is more intimate than Cannes, with less of a junket/market/party/circus feel, and very European. And yet for seven years fest director Marco Muller has lured more than a few star-studded Hollywood event films to the Lido (the small island is a vaporetto-ride from the most elegant tourist attraction in Europe). (Check out my flip cam interview with Muller below).

By Anne Thompson
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September 11, 2010 12:09 PM
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Venice Press Conference: Coppola, Dorff and Fanning Talk Somewhere

Video of the Venice Somewhere press conference with (a soft-spoken) Sofia Coppola, Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning is in two parts, below. Coppola was a good deal more forthcoming in her later one-on-one interview with me, which I will eventually transcribe and post.

By Anne Thompson
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September 6, 2010 12:55 PM
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Fest Review Round-Up: Never Let Me Go, Tabloid, Somewhere

While the Venice Fest is on its fourth day, Telluride got under way Friday night with screenings of Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go, Errol Morris's latest doc Tabloid and Peter Weir's prisoner-of-war drama The Way Back, which fewer people instantly reviewed. @EugeneNovikov tweeted: "THE WAY BACK (B) I was rapt for the first half- Weir at his hypnotic best - then becomes a bit repetitive and mechanical (if still powerful)." UPDATE: Here's the NYT's A.O. Scott.

By Anne Thompson
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September 3, 2010 8:30 AM
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Somewhere Flies Over the Rainbow to Venice

This weekend you will not be getting any Emmy coverage from me, as I'm off to Italy, first for a Roman holiday, then to Venice via speed train to cover the festival. There I expect to see Somewhere--as well as talk to director Sofia Coppola. Focus has released a new clip, below.

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2010 8:23 AM
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Venice Line-up Heavy on Americans: Coppola, Schnabel, brothers Affleck

Venice has announced the rest of its line-up. Besides Darren Aronofsky's opener Black Swan (in competition) and the closer from Julie Taymor, The Tempest (out of competition), the fest is world premiering a number of North American titles. As expected the competition entries include Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, Julian Schnabel's Miral, and Richard Lewis's Barney's Version, a rare debut for a Canadian film in Venice.

By Anne Thompson
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July 29, 2010 3:55 AM
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Post-Cannes Fest Landscape: What's Real?

The Cannes Film Festival unfolds in two parts: what gets seen during the festival itself--and what happens afterwards.

By Anne Thompson
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July 12, 2010 3:30 AM
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Raimi Goes to Oz, Jesus Henry Christ, Feds Approve Box Office Trading, Somewhere Trailer

- The acting power house duo of Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, the under-appreciated The Damned United) and Toni Collette (United States of Tara, Little Miss Sunshine) is joining Dennis Lee's Jesus Henry Christ, reports Variety. The comedy is based on Lee's 2003 Oscar-winning student film of the same name, but as The Playlist points out, its plot resembles Sundance hit The Kids are All Right, which boasts its own power house trio (Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo): children search for biological truth. With Lee's lack of hits (his first feature Fireflies in the Garden hasn't been released, and Rotten Tomatoes 25% isn't a good sign), and The Kids are All Right's high profile, this feature needs Sheen and Collette to reinvent the wheel.