Thompson on Hollywood

Immersed in Movies: Tripping Out on the Cartoon Reality of 'Men in Black 3'

Features

The "Men in Black" franchise has always been a live-action "Looney Tunes" cartoon, a wacky mix of old school and new school. The "Alienbusters" premise is totally unique and practically imitation-proof, as director Barry Sonnenfeld reminds us...

By Bill Desowitz
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May 24, 2012 3:49 PM
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'Men In Black III' Reviews: Better Than The Second, But Still Irrelevant

Box Office

The arrival of "Men in Black III" on May 25 is exciting mostly because Will Smith hasn't been on the big screen since 2008's "Seven Pounds." Bill Desowitz also finds it's 3-D a revelation for the comedy genre...

By Sophia Savage
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May 22, 2012 1:46 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Talking 3-D with 'Men in Black 3' Director Barry Sonnenfeld

Features

I recently sat down for a private 3-D demo of "Men in Black 3" with director Barry Sonnenfeld, and the first thing that dawned on me was that there haven't been any noteworthy 3-D comedies during this current renaissance. It's all been shock and awe so far.

By Bill Desowitz
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April 21, 2012 12:19 PM
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Theron, Reitman, Cody Talk Young Adult: Go-for-Broke Screenwriting, Assholes Don't Change, C Word

After the sixth and final pop-up screening of Jason Reitman's Young Adult Tuesday night at Los Angeles' New Beverly, Reitman, writer Diablo Cody and stars Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt and Elizabeth Reaser did a Q & A. TOH! guest blogger Beth Hanna reports highlights from the conversation. Paramount is releasing the film December 16.

By Beth Hanna
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November 2, 2011 5:44 AM
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IN THE WORKS: Independence Day Sequels Want To Take Your Money, Even if They Don't Pay for Smith

Fox will make not one but two Independence Day sequels, fifteen years (and counting) after the original Will Smith pic raked in $800 million across the globe. It's not a new idea -- the studio had wanted to green light a sequel for some time, but both Smith and director Roland Emmerich demanded huge paychecks. So Fox focused on developing scripts and declared that the franchise could proceed with or without them.

By Sophia Savage
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October 27, 2011 6:09 AM
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Fiction Vs. Non-Fiction Death Match

POV blogger Tom Roston (@docsoupman), an old colleague from Premiere, loves documentaries--in fact, he blogs about them. And while I enjoy digging into The Interrupters as much as the next cinephile, I love fiction films even better. So Roston challenged me to pit five fiction films, "whether they’ve been produced in Hollywood, New York or Bombay, against their poor, bedraggled step-siblings, non-fiction films, in a death match." Naturally, Roston thinks his docs are going to win hands-down, but that's part of the fun.

By Anne Thompson and Tom Roston
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August 23, 2011 4:00 AM
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This is What Money Looks Like II: Hollywood's Best-Paid Actors; DiCaprio King of World

In the last year (May 2010 through May 2011) the top-earning actors (and sometime producers) were Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million), Johnny Depp ($50 million), Adam Sandler ($40 million), Will Smith ($36 Million), Tom Hanks ($35 million), Ben Stiller ($34 Million), Robert Downey Jr. ($31 million), Mark Wahlberg ($28 million), Tim Allen ($22 million), Tom Cruise ($22 million), Jim Carrey ($20 million), Daniel Craig ($20 million), Robert Pattinson ($20 million), Brad Pitt ($20 million) and Matt Damon ($18 million).

By Sophia Savage
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August 2, 2011 7:13 AM
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Captain America Changes Title Abroad, HBO to Skinny Dip, Spike Lee Might Remake Oldboy

To bridge the translation gap, changing a movie's title abroad is standard studio practice. In the case of Captain America, the reasons are more diplomatic.

By Maggie Lange
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July 6, 2011 3:26 AM
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Emma Thompson to Adapt Annie for Will and Willow Smith and Jay-Z?

Will Smith is in talks with Emma Thompson to write a film adaptation of Annie as a starring vehicle for his daughter, Willow Smith. Vulture adds, "No word on whether Thompson will also write herself into a role as the orphanage director who loves booze almost as much as she hates children, but here's hoping." Here's more on the project and Jay-Z's involvement. He told THR: “We’re developing a true superstar in Willow."

By Sophia Savage
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June 24, 2011 7:00 AM
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Elba's Star Rises with Pacific Rim; Del Toro Wants To Direct Jolie in Maleficent

Idris Elba may not be playing Django in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (he did, however, win our casting poll), but after TV hits The Wire, The Office and Luther and numerous co-star and supporting film roles (including 28 Weeks Later, American Gangster, RocknRolla, Obsessed, The Losers, Taken, Thor) and the upcoming Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Prometheus (alongside Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron), the actor is anything but desperate for work.