Thompson on Hollywood

Studios Rethink Big-Budget Producers and Their Pricey Tentpoles--and Westerns

Blame Cowboys & Aliens.

By Anne Thompson
|
August 19, 2011 3:14 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

Will Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Iron Lady Land New York Film Festival Berth?

A lot of folks expected Working Title's John le Carre thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to wind up with a key New York Film Festival slot. In fact, it was in the running for opening night, but Focus and the NYFF weren't able to come to terms on exactly who (Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy are both currently filming The Dark Knight Rises) would show up for the glamorous black tie Lincoln Center event on September 30. Talent availability is a killer factor in these negotiations. So the NYFF went with Roman Polanski's Carnage (new European poster below), even though the exiled filmmaker would have to remain overseas. Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz brought the requisite star power--and satellite feeds do wonders at Q and As.

By Anne Thompson
|
August 15, 2011 5:08 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Weekend Box Office: Good Word Propels Rise of the Planet of the Apes to $54 Million, Change-Up Soft

Truth is, Fox did not know what a powerful box office contender it had in prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes, waiting to screen the film until the last minute when the film's astonishing VFX were final. Then the good word exploded, and the movie scored a rousing $54 million opening weekend. Anthony D'Alessandro digs into the numbers. Fox executives had every reason to beat their chests this morning as Rise of the Planet of the Apes greatly exceeded expectations with $54 million. Meanwhile Universal suits saw yet another summer entry disappoint, as R-rated guy comedy The Change-Up followed last weekend's Cowboys & Aliens with a dispiriting $13.5 million opening.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
August 7, 2011 4:35 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

The Change-Up Premieres in Westwood: Bateman, Reynolds, Bullock; Early Reviews

The studios get freaked when a movie destined to be commercially mainstream plays better for adults. That's because it's in their interest to play better to dumb young males than to, say, smart older females who can't be counted on to show up on an opening weekend. That's why so many awful movies get made that leave me out of their target demo. This was one topic at Monday night's Universal premiere of The Change-Up (August 5, trailer below), which was better than I was expecting. Universal is nervous because the movie is tracking older and female. (Early reviews are trending rotten; here's Metacritic.)

By Anne Thompson
|
August 2, 2011 10:57 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Moving Fest Slots For Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, J. Edgar; Young Adult Bypasses Circuit

Here's the new poster for Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which Focus Features is opening November 18 after its debut in Venice, which is timed before its European release in September. That's the reason why the film isn't in the Toronto Film Fest line-up. There's speculation that the film might turn up as a centerpiece gala or closing night offering at the New York Film Festival, along with Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, starring Leonardo DiCaprio (October 21). There's still time for these potential Oscar contenders to jockey for prime fest positions at the four fall fests, Venice, Toronto, New York and Telluride, which keeps its selection a secret until the last possible minute. Angelenos who take the Charter from LAX to Montrose, Colorado at the start of the Labor Day weekend are handed the schedule as they board the plane.

By Anne Thompson
|
August 1, 2011 7:02 AM
|
1 Comment

Weekend Box Office Showdown: Cowboys & Aliens Edges Out Smurfs; Crazy, Stupid, Love Scores UPDATED

Star-studded sci-fi western Cowboys & Aliens was expected to handily win the weekend box office, but had to scuffle with family-friendly The Smurfs for the top spot. Anthony D'Alessandro reports:In a shootout at the cinema corral, Sony’s The Smurfs ambushed Universal’s co-production Cowboys & Aliens for the No. 1 spot, with both studios splitting their gold nuggets at an estimated $36.2 million apiece. Family films kicking fanboys in the pants is nothing new: back in March, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules pulled the rug out from under Sucker Punch.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
July 31, 2011 4:47 AM
|
6 Comments

More:

Media Watch: Amazon Streaming Goes Universal, Netflix vs. Hulu User Behavior, Fighting Piracy

Amazon is teaming up with NBC Universal to stream movies to subscribers, continuing its direct competition with Netflix. THR reports that Amazon now offers 9,000 movies and TV shows to its subscribers—Prime customers who pay $79.00 a year (compared to Netflix’s annual $96, for many more options). This after Amazon struck a similar deal with CBS last week. Movies and TV shows to stream include Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fletch, Cheers, Frasier, and Star Trek.

By Maggie Lange
|
July 29, 2011 5:42 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Battleship Trailer Released by Universal

Universal has released the long-awaited trailer for Battleship (posted below), based on the Hasbro classic naval-combat game of tiny plastic pieces and deceit. The trailer already seems a little muddled, when a space-ship flings out of the water like a football field-sized metal piranha and begins to slings pegs--yes, pegs--into the side of a boat captained by Liam Neeson. However, with a reported $200 million poured into the film from Universal, the special effects shouldn't be anything but spectacular.

By Maggie Lange
|
July 27, 2011 6:03 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Comic-Con: Snow White and The Huntsman Details Arrive, Dueling Theron and Stewart, Gritty Images

We've been tracking the dueling Snow Whites and herewith share more details on Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman revealed by the filmmakers and cast at Comic-Con, along with some pre-production images and footage.

By Sophia Savage
|
July 24, 2011 2:22 AM
|
8 Comments

More:

Comic-Con: Cavill Talks Superman and Immortals, Tarsem-Vision and 3-D, Pinto, Evans, Lutz

Features

Saturday in Hall H at Comic-Con, Immortals director Tarsem Singh said the film is actually darker and "more hard core" than the trailers suggest. This Relativity panel shared some 3-D footage as well as a 2-D fight scene (you can see the trailer here). The crowd ate up the 3-D -- which producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton call "Tarsem-Vision." Nunnari and Canton also produced Zack Snyder's 300, and this also shares CGI environments and ample muscles. Male viewers kept saying, "this is awesome," during the clips.