Thompson on Hollywood

Twilight's Pattinson Tests Marquee Value with Remember Me

A fellow-Hollywood scribe (who tends to like a lot) has seen Summit's Rob Pattinson romance Remember Me and says it's strong. (I'll see it soon but can't write about it yet). This "family" trailer (below) is much better than the last one.

By Anne Thompson
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February 12, 2010 1:19 AM
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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
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February 9, 2010 11:16 AM
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3 Comments

Trailer Watch: HBO's Temple Grandin Stars Claire Danes

At the jam-packed Paramount pre-Golden Globes party at the Chateau Marmont, I was talking with Jodie Foster, who is editing her Summit drama The Beaver, starring old pal Mel Gibson--"you've never seen him like this before," she promised. She also insisted that she will never change the title, which refers to a Beaver hand puppet who tells the Gibson character what to do.

By Anne Thompson
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January 20, 2010 8:07 AM
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Oscar Talk Episode Thirteen: Avatar, Lovely Bones, Crazy Heart, Parties

Kris Tapley and I discuss the week's frenetic doings: National Board of Review, parties for The Hurt Locker, Crazy Heart and The Lovely Bones, and the upcoming sci-fi monster Avatar.

By Anne Thompson
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December 6, 2009 12:30 AM
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Twilight Saga: New Moon is a Franchise, People

A lot of people are scratching their heads over the whole Twilight phenomenon. When I made a fuss about it before Comic-Con in 2008, many fan boys didn't have a clue. By July 2009 there was a raging Twilight backlash at the male-dominated Con. Even last week, I was amused by all the clueless Dads at the Twilight: New Moon premiere who'd rather be shot than admit to reading one of the books. Why were they there? To check it out.

By Anne Thompson
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November 23, 2009 7:40 AM
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Twilight Saga: New Moon Breaks Harry Potter Midnight Ticket Sales Record

Based on the torrid rate of Fandango and MovieTickets.com advance online ticket sales, it's not a huge surprise that The Twilight Saga: New Moon broke the midnight ticket sales record set last summer by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , reports the LAT:

By Anne Thompson
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November 20, 2009 5:59 AM
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The Twilight Saga: New Moon Disappoints

When new distributor Summit left behind Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke in its rush to push through the second film in their windfall franchise, they took a calculated risk. Abandoning a silly Twilight script that had been passed on by Paramount, Hardwicke and writer Melissa Rosenberg went back to the heart-pounding first-person intensity of the Stephenie Meyer original, which wound up selling 70 million copies worldwide. The dream that inspired Meyer--chapter thirteen in the first book--is a scene in a rain forest between a lovelorn young girl and a sparkling 109-year-old vampire who is restraining himself from biting and killing her. That tension is the heart and soul of the Twilight series.

By Anne Thompson
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November 18, 2009 8:37 AM
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26 Comments

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Oscar Watch: Where Are The Hurt Locker Screeners?

At the start of the awards season, I had The Hurt Locker at the top of my top ten picks list. But right now quite a few other movies are getting more noise. That doesn't matter in the end. Finally, the Academy voters will dig back to all the films they saw this year, especially when they don't have time to see all the marginal indies in their DVD stack. It's more likely that they will remember the movies that the critics pick for their top ten lists at the end of the year, or that other awards groups like the Gothams, Critics Choice or Golden Globes anoint as must-sees.

By Anne Thompson
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November 17, 2009 11:34 AM
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The Twilight Saga: New Moon Premiere

The hot ticket in Hollywood Monday night was the Twilight Saga: New Moon premiere in Westwood. While diehard fans camped out all weekend for the chance to win tickets to the event, Hollywood dads scored tickets to win points with their daughters. One father after another scratched his head over the movie, but their teenagers were all smiles. The Mann Village in Westwood was packed with young girls. Director Todd Field flew in from Maine with his daughter and a pal; also spotted with their kinder were Larry David, Jim Stern and Kevin Smith, who said, "Now I know how clueless my parents felt when they took me to see The Empire Strikes Back."

By Anne Thompson
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November 17, 2009 7:11 AM
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Oscar Watch: Brothers, Vogue on Nine, Leibovitz Video

Upbeat Oscar blogger Pete Hammond wonders if Jim Sheridan's Brothers could be another contender for Lionsgate, which already has Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire well on its way.