Thompson on Hollywood

Three Critics: Are Sequels Killing Hollywood?

In our latest column at Moviefone, indieWIRE critics Eric Kohn and Leonard Maltin and I take on Hollywood's bad case of sequelitis, from Saw to Harry Potter, which seems only to be getting worse each year.

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2010 6:57 AM
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Oscar Talk: 2010 Ten Best Lists, from "Another Year" to "Winter's Bone"

On Oscar Talk this week, as promised, Kris Tapley and I count down, defend and debate our rather diverse and distinctive top ten films of 2010. While we both include The Social Network and Toy Story 3, we agree to disagree on one of my faves, Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, which Kris admires. Notable omissions from both lists: 127 Hours, Rabbit Hole, Blue Valentine, Get Low, The Town, Inception, The Fighter and The Ghost Writer.

By Anne Thompson
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December 10, 2010 8:14 AM
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3 Comments

Michael Arndt Digs Into Toy Story 3 and the Genius of the Pixar System

After studying writing as an assistant to Matthew Broderick, among other gigs, Michael Arndt finally wrote Little Miss Sunshine, which impressed quite a few people, screenwriter Robert Towne among them. (He gave Arndt an adaptation to do, which never got made.) Arndt won the original screenplay Oscar for that first produced screenplay. From there he went on to earn a rare solo credit on what many consider to be one of the year's best films, Pixar's Toy Story 3. We sat down for a long dig into the details of how to write a sequel to a beloved franchise at Pixar, which consistently turns out smart blockbusters, year after year: no mean feat.

By Anne Thompson
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December 7, 2010 8:29 AM
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Awards Update: Awards Groups Boost "How to Train Your Dragon," "King's Speech," "Ghost Writer"

The status of DreamWork Animation's How to Train Your Dragon as an Oscar frontrunner was confirmed by the International Animation Society's Annie Awards nominations. The film led the pack with 14 nominations. Also nominated for best animated feature were Universal/Illumination's Despicable Me, Sony Pictures Classic/Django Films' The Illusionist, Disney's Tangled, and Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3. The withdrawal of Disney/Pixar from the organization seems to have had little impact on their nominations. The five best features would have looked like locks for the best animated Oscar category but unfortunately, this year only three will be named. (Full list of Annie nominees below.)

By Anne Thompson
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December 6, 2010 4:54 AM
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Academy Accepts 15 Submissions for Animation Race: Only Three Nomination Slots

Bad news for contenders in the Oscar animation race--unless you happen to be Toy Story 3 or How to Train Your Dragon--now all the 15 submissions accepted by the Academy will be vying for three slots. If there had been 16, there would have been five slots. That did not happen, so the likes of Tangled, Despicable Me, The Illusionist and Megamind will compete for that third slot. Who will land it?

By Anne Thompson
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November 15, 2010 8:11 AM
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Oscar Talk Wrap-Up: Never Let Me Go Wanes, Foreign Contenders, Blue Valentine, Harry Potter

During this week's Oscar Talk podcast, Kris Tapley (InContention) and I were joined by indieWIRE's awards expert Peter Knegt and InContention's Guy Lodge, both in London covering the festival.

By Anne Thompson
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October 20, 2010 1:42 AM
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5 Comments

Oscar Talk: Foreign Race, Harry Potter, London Fest, Blue Valentine, All Good Things, Black Swan

This week, Kris Tapley and I engaged in Oscar Talk via Skype across the Pond with London Film Festival attendees Guy Lodge (In Contention) and Peter Knegt (indieWIRE). We dug into the foreign Oscar race, the NC-17 Blue Valentine controversy, Oscar chances for Black Swan, All Good Things and Never Let Me Go, why documentaries, sequels and animation face tough going getting into the top ten, and what the award season could hold for must-see five-hour marathon Carlos.

By Anne Thompson
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October 15, 2010 4:14 AM
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Video Mash-Up: True Grit + Toy Story 3 = Toy Grit

This is pretty spectacular:

By Anne Thompson
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October 14, 2010 12:32 PM
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Oscar Talk: Diane Lane vs. Annette Bening vs. Julianne Moore, Inception, Hereafter, The Way Back

There's still a long way to go in the Oscar race. Kris Tapley and I debate whether Secretariat is this year's mainstream Blind Side, Diane Lane is this year's Sandra Bullock, Julianne Moore and Annette Bening will both make it for The Kids Are All Right, and if Chris Nolan's Inception, John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole, Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island, Pixar's Toy Story 3, Peter Weir's The Way Back, and Clint Eastwood's Hereafter have a shot at the top ten.

By Anne Thompson
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October 9, 2010 1:39 AM
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Summer Box Office Wrap: Winners and Losers, from Karate Kid to Cats and Dogs

In the final analysis the summer box office doesn't look so bad, writes TOH numbers cruncher Anthony D'Alessandro, who insists that weighing cost vs. return is more important than tallying the grosses or admissions.