Thompson on Hollywood

Trailer Watch: Sundance-Bound The Runaways Stars Stewart and Fanning

The trailer is up for Sundance-bound rocker The Runaways starring New Moon co-stars Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. The advance interest in this edgy indie at Sundance is huge.

By Anne Thompson
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December 17, 2009 9:03 AM
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Trailer Watch: Burton's Alice in Wonderland Stars Depp as the Mad Hatter

Tim Burton was born to direct Alice in Wonderland, and Johnny Depp in Tammy Faye makeup isn't bad casting as the Mad Hatter either. Here's the latest trailer. Yes, I know another studio is shamelessly exploiting a brand name. But this "package" I want to see. Burton took elements from both the Lewis Carroll classic and Through the Looking Glass, including lines and imagery from The Jabberwocky. Mia Wasikowska plays Alice, Stephen Fry voices the Cheshire Cat, Anne Hathaway is the White Queen and Michael Sheen is the White Rabbit. On this film, Burton is handling more CG effects and green screen than ever before. He doesn't do much mo-cap, mostly pure animation. Disney releases the film on March 5.

By Anne Thompson
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December 16, 2009 6:50 AM
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Avatar Marketing Goes Interactive

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest Avatar promo items, fresh from Fox? Install your very own Avatar widget.

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2009 10:26 AM
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Trailer Watch: The Last Station Stars Mirren, Plummer, McAvoy

I discovered Michael Hoffman's excellent literary adaptation The Last Station at Telluride; here's my feature. Sony Pictures Classics picked it up and is mounting an Oscar campaign for James McAvoy for best actor, Helen Mirren for best actress and Christopher Plummer for supporting (that's because they're putting him up for best actor for The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus). I figure Mirren has the best shot. The movie opens December 4.

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2009 6:47 AM
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John Woo Talks Red Cliff

John Woo's historic epic Red Cliff is one of the best films of the year. Already a huge hit in Asia, which financed the original two-part $80-million five-hour war film (the most expensive movie ever produced in China), the two-and-a half-hour western cut of Red Cliff launched stateside last week in New York without much fanfare, and opens on 30 screens in 15 markets including L.A. this holiday weekend. The reviews are strong (Tomatometer 86%, Metascore 73.)

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2009 1:12 AM
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Up in the Air TV Spot

Here's the TV spot of Jason Reitman's adaptation of Walter Kirn's Up in the Air, starring George Clooney as an air-mile-obsessed executive, that was shown on the season finale Mad Men.

By Anne Thompson
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November 12, 2009 11:38 AM
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Trailer Watch: Kick-Ass Hits Web

While the Kick-Ass footage at Comic-Con played well enough for Lionsgate to pick up the movie for release, I've heard the Matthew Vaughn movie is only sporadically brilliant. (I will check it out for myself; I missed an early Arclight screening.) After pirate trailers were posted on the web, the distrib has released the real thing (on the jump).

By Anne Thompson
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November 12, 2009 1:18 AM
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Herzog Times Two: My Son, My Son Opens December 11

David Lynch and Industrial Entertainment will release writer-director Werner Herzog's My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, which played Venice, Telluride and Toronto, on December 11 at the IFC Center in New York. Other cities will follow.

By Anne Thompson
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November 5, 2009 1:16 AM
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Apocalypse Hits 2012, D-BOX, Collapse

Roland Emmerich's disaster movies Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow are guilty pleasures. I want to see 2012 (November 13) but Sony is hiding it from me.

By Anne Thompson
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November 3, 2009 7:50 AM
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Avatar Behind-the-Scenes Featurette

As more finished footage becomes available for James Cameron's Avatar---which is about 75% CG--Fox is releasing more material in advance of the December 18 release.