Thompson on Hollywood

Now and Then Sees Double: Margin Call/Wall Street and Weekend/Before Sunset

With a couple of superb new indies making well-deserved waves, Matt Brennan’s “Now and Then” column pulls extra duty this week by taking on two double features for the price of one: Margin Call vs. Wall Street, and Weekend vs. Before Sunset. Trailers below:

By Matt Brennan
|
October 24, 2011 3:53 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk: Little Movies That Can't, Michael Douglas, Animated Top Three, Alice in Wonderland

In this week's Oscar Talk, for those of you who haven't listened to the podcast, Anne Thompson and Kris Tapley discuss films that may deserve Oscar consideration for performances, but likely won't get any. Welcome To The Rileys, for example, would in another world get attention for James Gandolfini, perhaps even Kristen Stewart. Thompson thought that it could have a chance when she first saw it at Sundance, but now "in the sober light of day," believes it "has no chance in hell." Many movies are in that category because their distributors can't give them the push that they need.

By Sophia Savage
|
October 27, 2010 8:29 AM
|
11 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk: Animation, Directors, Michael Douglas, Wall Street, Alice in Wonderland, Fair Game

Kris Tapley of In Contention and I talk about some low-profile films that may not make it into the race--including Solitary Man, Welcome to the Rileys--and whether Michael Douglas has a chance. We rate the three strong Andrew Garfield performances of the year: Red Riding Trilogy, Never Let Me Go, The Social Network.

By Anne Thompson
|
October 22, 2010 3:52 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

David Poland vs. TOH

Monday, The Hot Blog's David Poland took off after me without realizing at first that the story that so enraged him was written by ex-Variety box-office analyst Anthony D'Alessandro. And both stories he pops off about, my rather sober analysis of what went wrong with Tamara Drewe and D'Alessandro's take on the poor performance of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, are among TOH's most popular, sparking healthy debate.

By Anne Thompson
|
October 20, 2010 7:46 AM
|
9 Comments

More:

Five Things that Went Wrong with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

As a reminder that a strong opening does not always a winning movie make, Twentieth Century Fox is looking at some red ink on the fall sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. This is not necessarily good news for the future of studio adult dramas. Anthony D'Alessandro reports: While Oliver Stone scored his biggest opening ever at $19 million, glossy sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps wound up being more of a bear than a bull at the domestic box office with $47.9 million, coming out slightly ahead of the 1987 original's $43.8 million gross. Inside the average range for a Stone title, it's Shia LaBeouf’s lowest-grossing live-action wide release since his christening as a marquee draw with 2007’s Disturbia. The biggest hurdle for Wall Street 2: it was a sequel to a 23-year old adult drama, not a mass-audience franchise such as Rocky or Star Wars. Even if it was timely, its B.O. prospects were limited from the start. Here are five reasons why Wall Street 2’s stock fell:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
October 18, 2010 10:15 AM
|
17 Comments

More:

Weekend Box Office: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Easily Clips Legend of the Guardians, You Again

There's life yet in the adult drama, as Oliver Stone's Wall Street sequel easily outscored the weekend competition. Anthony D'Alessandro reports.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
|
September 26, 2010 4:30 AM
|
2 Comments

More:

Review: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is Stone in Mainstream Studio Mode

Like the 1987 film, this Wall Street installment is Oliver Stone in mainstream studio mode. Sure, his political slant on the financial crisis comes through loud and clear--the son of a Wall Street broker is preaching to the choir at this point--and he uses cigar-chomping alpha male Josh Brolin, who played George W. Bush in W., as this film's embodiment of Wall Street greed and villainy, Master of the Universe Bretton James. But James, who is part of a sprawling ensemble, is less fleshed-out and articulate than Douglas's Gordon Gekko in the first film. He's a caricature.

By Anne Thompson
|
September 24, 2010 12:19 PM
|
5 Comments

More:

Michael Douglas Fights Throat Cancer

Michael Douglas, 65, has been diagnosed with a tumor in his throat, reports People Magazine. The veteran actor will undergo eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. We wish him the best.