Fantasy
-
Thompson on Hollywood0 commentslike0tweet0
Third Twilight Saga Eclipses Midnight Opening Record
The latest iteration of the Twilight franchise, Eclipse, busted the series' own record for midnight box office hauls. The vampire teen film opened last night at 4,000 venues, raking in an estimated $30 million, $3.7 million over New Moon, according to Summit.
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood8 commentslike0tweet0
Cameron Speculation, Bond Stall Releases Craig and Mendes, Perry Loses Carey, Nolan Loves Bond
In the constant push for site traffic, James Cameron provides a reliable news headline, what with the BP "morons" thing, and the lingering impact of the ultimate blockbuster, the 3D Avatar. The tiniest indication of directional change for Cameron's next project is enough to fuel endless speculation....
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood1 commentlike0tweet0
Depp Talks Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland Featurette
Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is almost upon us. The 3-D Disney fantasy opens March 5. The LAT's Geoff Boucher asks screenwriter Linda Woolverton (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast) about adapting Lewis Carroll. She based a lot of this "sequel" on The Jabberwocky, one of my favorite poems of al...
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood1 commentlike0tweet0
Magnolia Buys Jordan's Ondine, Starring Farrell
Finally, months after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, Magnolia Pictures has landed U.S. rights to Neil Jordan’s Ondine, starring Colin Farrell in a rare performance in his native dialect. (The film scored eight nominations for the Irish Film and Television Awards.) According ...
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood0 commentslike0tweet0
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, most...
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood0 commentslike0tweet0
Oscar Talk Episode Ten: Avatar, Tyson, Animation
In this week's podcast, In Contention's Kris Tapley and I talk animation (20 submissions), supporting actor and actress, 2012, Mike Tyson's LAX brawl and the four Oscar heavyweights yet to be screened, including likely last contender out of the gate, James Cameron's big-budget Avatar.
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood0 commentslike0tweet0
Empire Covers Avatar
The last wide-circulation English-language movie magazine standing is published in the UK: Empire. So that's where you go for your early Avatar cover story .
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood3 commentslike0tweet0
John Carter of Mars Adds Morton, Walker, West
I was brought up in Manhattan by a single Dad. His best pal Jerry Rubenstein's idea of a birthday present for an eight-year-old, girl or boy, was Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I scarfed it up and read every single book ever written by Burroughs, especially his Barsoom Martian novels. I read The Chessmen of Mars over and over. Burroughs took you into an exotic world, much as Burroughs fan James Cameron does in Avatar, or Wall-E writer-director Andrew Stanton will do in his first live-action feature, a film take on John Carter of Mars. In both stories, an American visits a faraway planet inhabited by strange creatures. In John Ca...
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood6 commentslike0tweet0
Twitter Effect, Toronto Preview, Hardwicke, Singer Choose Branded Projects, Moore Trailer
Hollywood execs are coming to the uncomfortable realization that the Twitter Effect will inexorably change their business. No more tricking audiences into buying one weekend on a bad movie, they're realizing. Now movies may actually have to be good. The horror! Michael Sragow lays out the ways that ...
Read More » -
Thompson on Hollywood1 commentlike0tweet0
Mad Men's Hamm Goes to the Movies
As Mad Men Season 3 gets under way to huge numbers (yes!), Jon Hamm is wasting no time chasing a movie career--which was stymied by last year's labor unrest. I have high hopes for the first film, The Town, director Ben Affleck's romantic thriller set in Boston, which starts shooting in September. I...
Read More »
fresh from the blogs
-
The Pros and Cons of 'Star Trek Into Darkness'' Mystery ...Criticwire
-
Cannes 2013: Kristin Scott Thomas Shines In Sizzle ...The Playlist
-
Can We Talk New Forms Of Content Exhibition vs Old? ...Shadow and Act
-
Variety Takes a Hatchet To Warner Bros. Movie Chief ...Thompson on Hollywood
-
2013 Cannes News - Part 2Women and Hollywood
-
CANNES 2013: Jia Zhang-ke's A TOUCH OF SINPress Play
-
Good Night, Lost Boy(s)The Lost Boys
-
Greta's New Wave: Frances HaLeonard Maltin
on 
