News from Thompson on Hollywood

12 articles

4 hours ago

For the first time ever, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival will bestow the American Riviera Award upon two actors. Already enjoying a very fruitful awards season, "Boyhood" stars Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke will accept this honor in Santa Barbara on Thursday, February 5, 2015. What's left to say about these exquisite performances, which evolved across 12 years of filming? Both actors should expect supporting Oscar nominations and have been winning critics' accolades left and right, including a Best Actress win for Arquette from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. This week, we'll find out if they're up for Golden Globes and SAG nominations. Feted for their influence on American cinema, previous American Riviera honorees include Robert Redford, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Sandra Bullock, Mickey Rourke, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The 30th annual Santa Barbara Film Festival runs Tuesday, »

- Ryan Lattanzio

6 hours ago

How did director Richard Linklater and stars Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke keep "Boyhood" secret for 12 years? This new featurette dives into the making of the film, which is that rare hybrid of critics' favorite and Oscar darling. In our own extensive interview with the "Boyhood" quartet, Linklater said of the film, "I was trying to repeat life, something so mundane as what it was like to grow up, no big stories, to insist on the bigger story of that. There are a lot of great stories in the world. This was about life and time." »

- Ryan Lattanzio

15 hours ago

Clearly Wes Anderson is doing something right. He broke box-office records when "The Grand Budapest Hotel" opened last March in four theaters, and it's still the highest-grossing indie of the year, heading toward $60 million.  Why? This enjoyably gorgeous escapist blast from the past boasts rave reviews (87 Metascore) and a fabulous comedy ensemble led by Ralph Fiennes. We started out our video interview talking about my flipcam, which led to his explaining his aesthetic, which is very controlled.  Anderson describes how his detailed Retro-Euro concoction came to evolve after "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," why Fiennes was the right guy for concierge M. Gustave, how composer Alexandre Desplat set the tone, and what exactly is a funicular.  My movie review, Ralph Fiennes Career Watch, an interview with Lafca award-winning production designer Adam Stockhausen, and Berlin press conference,  feature and roundtable quiz.  »

- Anne Thompson

18 hours ago

One of the signature attributes of the late great critic Roger Ebert was his extraordinary generosity to rising talent, often from unexpected quarters, from documentary filmmakers Errol Morris and Michael Moore to Ava DuVernay, whose debut film "I Will Follow" and Sundance director-prize-winning entry "Middle of Nowhere" he championed. Ebert also started the ball rolling on Steve James' "Hoop Dreams" at Sundance. James directed documentary "Life Itself" without realizing at the beginning that it would chronicle Ebert's moving last days. He also included an interview with DuVernay, who is also in the Oscar conversation this year with her third feature, the Martin Luther King drama "Selma." See our exclusive clip below. Read: 'Life Itself' Director Steve James Gets Up Close with Roger Ebert "Life Itself" is currently leading the documentary awards pack along with main rival »

- Anne Thompson

19 hours ago

The full 2015 Sundance Film Festival program has been revealed, including the films in its Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections, as well as the selections for a new Special Events section and participants for two panels. The festival runs January 22 to February 1, 2015. This year, the selections are heading toward comedy, intensity and romance, according to the programmers. Buyers will be hovering over many of these premieres which will be unveiled for the first time in hopes of finding a theatrical home. There were so many hot acquisitions titles that the programmers were forced to push the premieres well into Tuesday. Titles with buzz include Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's "Mississippi Grind," James Ponsoldt's literary "The End of the Tour" (starring Jesse Eisenberg as a Rolling Stone reporter interviewing author David Foster Wallace, played by Jason Segal, "who have great chemistry together," says Sundance programmer Trevor Groth), John »

- Anne Thompson

19 hours ago

The American Film Institute's two juries, who vote on the top ten American films and television shows for the year, boast an unusual mix of industry players, including some Academy members, critics and academics. It's been fun when I have served on that jury to traverse the different ways of looking at things. It's far from homogenous and arguments pro and con can get tendentious. This movie list is likely close to the list of films that the Guilds, Golden Globes and Oscars will be working with, with the exception of such British entries as "The Theory of Everything" and "Mr. Turner," which weren't eligible. Presumably, The Weinstein Co. managed to convince the powers that be that indie-financed "The Imitation Game" had enough American elements, including the financier, producers and screenwriter.  Among studio films boasting scale and scope, two war films, Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" and Angelina Jolie's. »

- Anne Thompson

19 hours ago

The group also handed honors to Ava DuVernay for Best Director, Best Actor David Oyelowo, and Best Song for the theme "Glory" by John Legend and Common. Though this first Mlk Jr. biopic—really more of a window into one period in his life—doesn't hit theaters until Christmas, the film has been been gaining traction in the Academy Awards race, winning honors from the National Board of Review, Palm Springs International Film Festival and more. Other winners were "Belle" leading lady Gugu Mbatha-Raw, "Black or White"'s Best Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer and a Best Supporting Actor tie between J.K. Simmons in "Whiplash" and Tyler Perry's terrific "Gone Girl" performance. Gina Prince-Bythewood took Best Screenplay for "Beyond the Lights," while Gotham winner Tessa Thompson got Breakout Performance kudos for "Dear White People." "Life Itself" took documentary honors, "The Boxtrolls" won Best »

- Ryan Lattanzio

21 hours ago

"Boyhood," which has been on an awards sweep of late, is up for yet another award: documentary group the Cinema Eye Honors' Heterodox Award honoring hybrid fiction films. Cinema Eye is also opening up voting for their doc feature Audience Choice prize. The five nominees for the annual Cinema Eye Heterodox Award (sponsored by Ifp's Filmmaker Magazine) "honor a narrative fiction film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production." The five films nominated this year for the Cinema Eye Heterodox Award are:  Boyhood directed by Richard LinklaterHeaven Knows What directed by Josh and Benny SafdieA Spell to Ward off the Darkness directed by Ben Rivers and Ben RussellStop the Pounding Heart directed by Roberto MinerviniUnder the Skin directed by Jonathan Glazer According to the press release: "These films demonstrate the porous boundaries between life’s documentation and creative »

- Anne Thompson

22 hours ago

The bubbly and vivacious Anna Kendrick is quickly becoming the poster girl for stage-to-screen musical adaptations. She shines as Cinderella in Rob Marshall's forthcoming "Into the Woods," kicked ass in "Pitch Perfect" and now stars in "The Last Five Years," which RADiUS grabbed at this year's Tiff. Featuring the smash stage production's original book and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, the film chronicles the rise and fall of a love affair and marriage: Jamie (Jordan) is a novelist, Cathy (Kendrick) a struggling actress, and their story is told through song across different time periods.  This looks to be a movie for die-hard musical fans. Reviews out of Toronto were mixed, but Variety wrote, "It's easy to fall in love with Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan in this heart-breaking musical two-hander, as they retrace a love affair from opposite ends." RADiUS-twc releases the film stateside on February 13th, 2015, right in time for. »

- Ryan Lattanzio

23 hours ago

From Boston to Los Angeles, the deluge of critics' prizes coming in over the weekend and today indicates that, at this point, there's no stopping the incredible momentum of "Boyhood." Washington DC Area Film Critics gave the Linklater film top honors, while according distinctions to more dark-horse fare such as "Gone Girl," for which Gillian Flynn won Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Foreign Language Film "Force Majeure" and Best Original Score for "Under the Skin." Full winners list below. Read More: Los Angeles Film Critics Vote Surprises Along with Four Wins for "Boyhood" Best Film "Boyhood" Best Director Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" Best Actor Michael Keaton, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" Best Actress Julianne Moore,"Still Alice" Best Supporting Actor J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood" Best »

- Ryan Lattanzio

23 hours ago

Jerry Lee Lewis kicks it off with some barn-burning rock n’ roll and then surrenders the stage to a cast made in B-movie heaven including Bad Girl Par Excellence, Mamie Van Doren and Russ Tamblyn as an undercover agent investigating a drug ring at the local high school. Roger Corman regular Mel Welles contributed a few lines of satirical poetry presaging the beatnik doggerel he’d compose for Corman’s 1959 horror-comedy "Bucket of Blood." »

- Trailers From Hell

8 December 2014 8:12 AM, PST

It doesn't shock to see Jean-Luc Godard's 3D "Goodbye to Language" take the top spot on all three lists: this is the French cinema grandaddy's most iconoclastic work in years, an often (quite literally) headache-inducing swirl of images and sound that defies all movie convention. There is also love for Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars," Ari Folman's spellbinding "The Congress," "Ida," "Inherent Vice" and assortment of rebellious choices, throwing facetiousness in the face of top ten list decorum: Hoberman includes "The Marx Brothers TV Collection" Box Set and FX's "The Americans," and Taubin lists Soderbergh's Cinemax series "The Knick." J. Hoberman's Top Ten 1. "Goodbye to Language" 2. "Inherent Vice" 3. "Ida" 4. "The Americans" 5. "Under the Skin" 6. "The Marx Brothers TV Collection" [DVD box set] 7. "Farbe" 8. »

- Ryan Lattanzio

12 articles

IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.