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Thompson on Hollywood

De Niro vs. Redford: After Sundance London, Tribeca Launches Rival Tribeca Firenze at Tuscan Sun Festival

The biggest name-brand film festivals are extending their reach overseas, from Sundance London to Tribeca Firenze. Not to be outshone by Robert Redford's successful --and high profile--London launch, Robert De Niro's rival Tribeca Enterprises is bringing Tribeca Firenze to the Tuscan Sun Festival in Florence, Italy.
  • By Anne Thompson
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  • May 7, 2012 10:21 AM
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Sundance London: Paul Simon, Unrepentant After All These Years

Paul Simon made a virtually unheralded appearance at Sundance London on its opening day to answer audience questions about the documentary film "Under African Skies," which follows his return to South Africa 25 years after he travelled there to record it with local musicians, thus breaking a UN-sanctioned cultural boycott.
  • By David Gritten
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  • April 27, 2012 4:24 PM
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Sundance London: Robert Redford Talks Music and Fighting Tentpole Studios at Launch

In Park City, Utah, Sundance founder Robert Redford often prefers to keep a relatively low profile while the festival is in full swing. That certainly wasn’t the case in the UK today, which marked the inaugural Sundance London Film and Music Festival. Redford was a prominent presence throughout the day, in keeping with Sundance’s need to project itself – if only over four days – in a new market.
  • By David Gritten
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  • April 27, 2012 8:22 AM
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  • 2 Comments

New Trailer and Early Reviews: Lynn Shelton's 'Your Sister's Sister' Triangle Stars Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass, Rosemarie DeWitt

Actress-writer-director Lynn Shelton's fourth feature, "Your Sister's Sister" (June 15), showcases an exhilarating trio of actors at the top of their improv game: Mark Duplass ("Humpday"), Rosemarie DeWitt ("Rachel's Getting Married," and Emily Blunt ("Young Victoria"). (See the new official trailer below.)
  • By Anne Thompson
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  • April 18, 2012 4:29 PM
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Music Box Will Release Sundance HBO Doc 'Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present'

The rule changes for documentaries to qualify for next year's Academy Awards require a multi-city theatrical run and a review in The NY Times. In an interview, HBO Documentary Films czar Sheila Nevins told me that going forward, HBO will now choose a far smaller number of films to qualify for the Oscars. Well, now HBO has picked one.
  • By Anne Thompson
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  • March 16, 2012 3:44 PM
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Sundance London Brings 14 Park City Titles Across the Pond

The Sundance Film Festival arrives in London at the end of next month. To put it mildly, it’ll be different from the real thing.
  • By David Gritten
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  • March 12, 2012 9:21 AM
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Eugene Jarecki Talks Drug War and Political Campaign for Sundance Doc Winner 'The House I Live In'

Eugene Jarecki's incisive and incendiary "The House I Live In," which won the U.S. documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and might win next year's doc Oscar, will blow your mind.
  • By Anne Thompson
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  • March 8, 2012 1:39 PM
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Film Festival Update: Vail, San Francisco, Sundance London (Video)

The 2012 Vail Film Festival's line-up of 58 films opens with the U.S. premiere of "The Eye of the Storm," which debuted in Toronto and opened in December in Australia (68% on RT). The family drama from Fred Schepisi ("Roxanne") stars Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling, and Judy Davis, who won Best Actress from the Australian Film Institute.
  • By Maggie Lange
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  • March 7, 2012 3:48 PM
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HBO Docs President Sheila Nevins Talks West Memphis Three, New Oscar Rules, Sundance, Abramovic

HBO Documentary Films czar Sheila Nevins is a force to be reckoned with. After 30 years in the entertainment industry, she knows how to adapt. I sat down with her at the Sundance Film Festival to talk about HBO's Sundance docs as well as ongoing changes in Oscar doc rules.
  • By Anne Thompson
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  • February 22, 2012 3:47 PM
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Sundance Selects Takes 'Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry' -- Dissident for Digital Age?

Alison Klayman's "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry" - the "story of a dissident for the digital age" - has been acquired by Sundance Selects for North American distribution. The doc debuted at Sundance (winning the Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance) and recently screened as an official selection in the Berlinale Special. The film's planned summer release will coincide with the film's subject making his first trip outside of China since his detainment. Read more below.
  • By Sophia Savage
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  • February 21, 2012 4:19 PM
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