Thompson on Hollywood

Legendary Anne V. Coates Coaches Student Editors at UCLA

Every once in a while smart people get together to do good.

By Anne Thompson
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October 11, 2010 11:22 AM
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Longest Screen Kiss: Elena Undone Beats Hitchcock's Notorious

One way to get attention is to break a record.

By Anne Thompson
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June 24, 2010 4:42 AM
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Women in Film Crystals: Off with Stilettos, On with Mentors

The Women in Film Crystal Awards are like many other Hollywood awards shows--the folks who nab prizes are the ones who have enough studio backing to pay for some ads and a table, and everyone is there to sell something, whether it's their own brand, future employment or legacy.

By Anne Thompson
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June 5, 2010 3:21 AM
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Oscar Winner Bigelow in L.A. Superior Court

The week after winning two Oscars for directing and producing The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow was standing in line at L.A.'s Superior Court. Fulfilling her duty as a citizen, she turned up for jury duty and was placed in the jury pool for a drunk driving case.

By Anne Thompson
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March 16, 2010 4:32 AM
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Jezebel Interviews NYT's Dargis in a No-Fucks-Barred Q & A on Women in Hollywood

While she's as opinionated as the next critic, the NYT's Manohla Dargis is usually quite press-shy. She hates posing for photographs (this old one dates back to her LAT tenure), doesn't do panels, won't go on television. And yet she gave this refreshingly candid interview to the feminist website Jezebel on the subject of women in Hollywood, perhaps hoping to promote her recent NYT feature on her pet peeve, women directors.

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2009 10:48 AM
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Nikki Finke: Moving Target

Everybody's talking about Nikki Finke.

By Anne Thompson
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July 27, 2009 5:12 AM
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Hurt Locker, Other Award Pics Directed by Women

The reviews Kathryn Bigelow has nabbed for The Hurt Locker (91 on Metacritic) are noteworthy. That doesn't mean that the movie will score at the boxoffice for Summit, but it's off to the second-strongest start for an indie this year. The movie has a shot at one of ten slots in the wide open Oscar best picture race. Even the NYT's tough-minded Manohla Dargis, who has long shared with me a sense of dismay at the thin ranks of gifted women directors, was moved to step out of the reviewer's box to praise Bigelow here.

By Anne Thompson
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June 28, 2009 2:36 AM
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Julie & Julia: Women and Food

On its surface, a movie about a dowdy middle-aged woman chef--even French cooking icon Julia Child--may not seem commercial. But several elements in this mix could make Julie & Julia, which Sony opens August 7, commercial indeed.

By Anne Thompson
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April 14, 2009 5:39 AM
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Public Enemies' Marion Cotillard Ramps Up

It's rare for a European actress to carve out a career in Hollywood. But honing her English with rounds of Berlitz and winning both the best actress Oscar and Cesar awards for La Vie en Rose have spun Marion Cotillard into a whirlwind of film roles. First, she went to Chicago to shoot Michael Mann's Public Enemies, playing moll Billie Frechette to Johnny Depp's gangster John Dillinger (July 1).

By Anne Thompson
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March 31, 2009 6:31 AM
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My Fair Lady: Thompson Wants Laurie as Higgins

Emma Thompson has won Oscars for both acting (Howard's End) and writing (Sense and Sensibility). And she is coming to accept how satisfying both can be. "I always thought acting was my compulsion," she says," but that writing was a different form of creativity because it is so back to the knuckle. Acting is a natural thing because you are using your body, it's like singing. I was wrong about that. Both can answer the same need. I feel better after writing for two hours."