Innholdsfortegnelse for Dec-04-15 i The Hollywood Reporter

ANGELINA JOLIE PITT’S BY THE SEA OFFERS an art house-style rumination on a failing marriage. Ironically, it provides a more revealing glimpse into the perils of a different type of relationship: the so-called “favor” movie. For years, Hollywood studios have lined up to back projects with limited commercial appeal as a way of keeping the biggest stars and directors in their fold. Call it the “One for me, one for you” principle. But with the failures of Universal’s By the Sea and Warner Bros.’ Sandra Bullock political drama Our Brand Is Crisis, many believe the major studios will be a bit more hesitant to finance a passion project better suited for the specialty marketplace. In July 2014, in a competitive situation, Universal acquired worldwide rights to By the Sea and…

“As an actress, I don’t feel comfortable being put in a space where I’m the hot girl in a movie,” says Thompson. She was photographed Nov. 11 at Industria Studios in New York. Styling by WAYMAN + MICAH Michael Kors dress, Kurt Geiger shoes Vital Stats Age 32 Born Los Angeles Big break Playing civil rights activist Diane Nash in Selma Reps Greene & Associates, Mosaic and Jackoway Tyerman TESSA THOMPSON SPENT HER childhood bouncing between L.A. and New York, where her father, singer-songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson of the band Chocolate Genius Inc., is based. Now, after impressing in supporting roles in Selma and Justin Simien’s Sundance breakout Dear White People, she’s winning strong reviews for Creed, playing an aspiring singer and Michael B. Jordan’s love interest. Was the music in…

1. OUT OF THE BLUE Jennifer Meyer 18-karat yellow gold and lapis necklace with diamonds; Claire Danes layers the jeweler’s pieces; $5,625, at Barneys New York, Beverly Hills 2. SUPERSIZE KNIT The Row Meme oversize merino wool and cashmereblend sweater; $1,890, net-a-porter.com 3. DASH OF PLAID R13 tunic-length plaid shirt; $450, farfetch.com 4. LEAF GAZING Aurelie Bidermann 18-karat gold-plated Central Park drop earrings;$445, barneys.com 5. DESIGNER DRAWSTRINGS Rick Owens cashmere track pants, $1,390, net-a-porter.com 6. TURKEY TROT Gianvito Rossi leather side-zip ankle boot; $990, barneys.com 7. STRIPED SCARF Rag & Bone Petra scarf; $275, rag-bone.com 8. DENIM FLARE Frame Denim Le Flare de Francoise jeans; Beyonce Knowles loves the label; $240, modaoperandi.com…

FOR DECADES IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON TO FIND FRANK SINATRA at Patsy’s Italian Restaurant, located since 1954 on W. 56th St. in New York City. The spot held a table for him upstairs, in a corner partially hidden from prying eyes, and once famously opened on Thanksgiving when he mentioned he had no other plans. Since the singer’s death, the restaurant has celebrated his birthday each year with a menu featuring his favorite dishes, including fusilli with fileto di pomodoro and veal Milanese, “sliced very thin, just the way he liked it,” says Sal Scognamillo, grandson of founder Pasquale “Patsy” Scognamillo and the third generation to helm the kitchen. For Sinatra’s 99th birthday in 2014, Tony Danza, Danny Aiello, Vincent Pastore, Nick Jonas and Marky Ramone (yes, of those Ramones)…

ANIMATED SHORTS BEAR STORY (Historia De Un Oso) DIRECTOR Gabriel Osorio CARFACE (Autos Portraits) DIRECTOR Claude Cloutier IF I WAS GOD … DIRECTOR Cordell Barker LOVE IN THE TIME OF MARCH MADNESS DIRECTORS Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambrano MY HOME DIRECTOR Phuong Mai Nguyen AN OBJECT AT REST DIRECTOR Seth Boyden PROLOGUE DIRECTOR Richard Williams SANJAY’S SUPER TEAM DIRECTOR Sanjay Patel WE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT COSMOS DIRECTOR Konstantin Bronzit WORLD OF TOMORROW DIRECTOR Don Hertzfeldt LIVE-ACTION SHORTS AVE MARIA DIRECTOR Basil Khalil BAD HUNTER DIRECTOR Sahim Omar Kalifa BIS GLEICH (TILL THEN) PRODUCER Philippe Brenninkmeyer CONTRAPELO (AGAINST THE GRAIN) DIRECTOR Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer DAY ONE DIRECTOR Henry Hughes EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY (ALLES WIRD GUT) DIRECTOR Patrick Vollrath THE FREE MAN (ZI YOU REN) DIRECTOR Quah Boon-Lip SHOK DIRECTOR Jamie Donoughue…

Compared to facing down authoritarian governments, as you did on your Egyptian satire show Al-Bernameg, hosting the International Emmys must seem like a breeze. Being in the face of a dictatorship can cost me my show, my freedom of expression or, in a worst-case scenario, my freedom. But sucking at the Emmys will give me bad reviews at The Hollywood Reporter. I can’t handle that — this is definitely my worst nightmare. What, if anything, do you find funny about the current situation in the Middle East? The whole thing is a farce. We, as Middle Eastern, seem to be cursed. It is not going well for us there, and it seems it won’t be going well for us where we are escaping to — it seems the planet doesn’t…

BARRY DILLER IAC, the billionaire’s digital-media conglomerate, spins off its collection of dating sites (Match.com, Tinder) as The Match Group, and the stock rises 22 percent its first day of trading … SEAN RAD … However, ahead of Match Group’s IPO, Tinder’s 29-year-old CEO gives such a sexually provocative interview that it prompts an SEC filing distancing Match from the comments. DICK WOLF The megaproducer’s NBC dramas Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. score early renewals for next season as new spinoff Chicago Med enjoys a solid debut in the ratings. TYRA BANKS The FABLife host exits her own daytime lifestyle show after just two months of poor ratings and behind-the-scenes drama. Not fierce! SHOWBIZ STOCKS $9.11 (+4.7%) TIVO (TIVO) Investors react positively to the news that the DVR pioneer will…

BEST PICTURE The Danish Girl In the wake of Toronto, it struggled to gain a foothold, with stars Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander off filming new projects. But they arrived in L.A. for its Nov. 20 premiere and jumped right into a barrage of promos. Secret in Their Eyes Based on 2009’s foreign-language Oscar winner from Argentina and starring Oscar winners Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman, it has pedigree. But it got a critical beating that’s knocked it out of the conversation. BEST ACTOR IAN MCKELLEN Mr. Holmes He is the toast of the town — Guillermo del Toro feted him at the Aero Nov. 17, and Elijah Wood and Patrick Stewart hosted a Nov. 18 Chateau Marmont dinner for him. JESSE EISENBERG The End of the Tour The scathing…

“I’m neither so thanks 4 that.” ANNA PAQUIN The Good Dinosaur actress, tweeting her anger at commentators who suggested she looked fat or pregnant in the loose-fitting dress she wore to the film’s premiere. “I always knew that women find it very difficult at times — some women — to find music. And this helps make it easier with playlists, curated by real people.” JIMMY IOVINE The Apple music executive, implying Nov. 19 on CBS This Morning that women have more trouble with streaming music services than men. He later apologized. “Someone sent me a DM of his very VERY large penis.... That’s all. definately do NOT know him/it.” DEBRA MESSING The Mysteries of Laura actress, revealing that an unknown man had sent her the unsoliticited picture on Instagram. She…

SO YOU’RE SPENDING THE LONG holiday weekend with the extended family. Yikes. Once the turkey carcass has been picked over and all the pies inhaled, how will you pass the time? Sure, there’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (for folks who enjoy chorus boys and cartoon characters cavorting at 9 in the morning) and the National Dog Show (for anyone who feels a need to measure their own Bouvier des Flandres against the breed standard) and, of course, there’s a full menu of football games, from the Philadelphia Eagles facing off against the Detroit Lions to the Chicago Bears versus the Green Bay Packers. But after that, there are three more days to go. So how to fill the time once conversation grinds to a halt? Fortunately, at least for…

AFRICAN SAFARIS Venturing into the wilds of Africa may no longer mean dusty hammocks and mosquito netting, but the popularity of modern-day safaris is more than the promise of eco-chic tents. “People want to have a real conversation about poaching, the politics of hunting and the effects of global warming,” says Deeper Africa owner Karen Zulauf, whose company specializes in meaning ful travel to Africa. Northern Tanzania’s 12,000-square-mile Serengeti ecosystem arguably is the best place to witness Africa’s “Big Five” game — lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino — and the pri vate Singita Grumeti Reserve (singita.com) has some of the country’s most magnificent lodges. Its properties have played host to Natalie Portman, Will Smith and the Bush family. Sasakwa Lodge (from $1,350 a night) is an Edwardian-style mansion brimming…

Ethan Tobman, Production Designer  ROOM A24 “Room” is a 10-by-10-foot shed where Ma (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son, Jack (Jake Tremblay), are held by a kidnapper. Production designer Tobman started the project by researching captivity — everything from solitary confinement to concentration camps. “The first thing we were looking at was texture. In solitary confinement, you find scratches on the walls that convey time and anxiety. If there were children, we saw evidence of children doing art projects with found objects as methods of expression.” But while Ma and Jack are prisoners, “Room is warm and full of love to Jack because that’s all he’s ever known, so he feels comfortable and safe. From Ma’s perspective, you feel a sense of claustrophobia.” For its spare furnishings, “We shopped at…

Joel Harlow, Makeup Department Head Gloria Casny, Hair Department Head BLACK MASS Warner Bros. As James “Whitey” Bulger, Johnny Depp needed a receding hairline. Casny says the look was created by punching individual hairs into a silicone prosthetic — a process that took 22 hours (40 were made because they’re not reusable). Harlow adds that Depp’s look also included a prosthetic nose and forehead and contact lenses: Bulger “had piercing blue eyes, and that’s what Johnny wanted,” even though it meant two hours each day getting ready. Lesley Vanderwalt, Hair and Makeup Designer MAD MAX Warner Bros. Nicholas Hoult portrays Nux, a war boy from the Citadel. Vanderwalt says such boys “are not well educated. They live to fight for their warlord.” To reflect this, “Nux’s face was skull-like with…

FOR THE PAST 24 YEARS, THE GOTHAM Independent Film Awards, true to its name, has celebrated indie film, but this year, as it marks its 25th anniversary, the New Yorkbased awards ceremony, which will be held Nov. 30, is doing something new — opening its doors to honoring both serialized television and web content. The Independent Filmmaker Project, which presents the Gothams, announced in September that it had decided to add two “Breakthrough Series” prizes for continuing or limited longform programming (whose episodes run 30 minutes or longer) and for shortform programming (which consists of more than five episodes, with the majority running less than 20 minutes). Nominees in the longform category consist of the acclaimed new series Jane the Virgin, Mr. Robot, Transparent, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and UnREAL. The…

ONE OF THE LAST BIG SPORTS RIGHTS opportunities for several years is about to become available to TV networks. The NFL’s Thursday Night Football — which for the past two seasons has aired on CBS via one-year deals — is generating intense interest as the league is likely to extend the length of the package significantly to bring it in line with other TV rights pacts, most of which run through the 2022 season. (ESPN’s eight-year, $15.2 billion Monday Night Football deal extends through 2021; contracts for Sunday afternoon games on CBS and Fox and NBC’s Sunday Night Football expire in 2022.) Analysts predict a long-term Thursday Night Football arrangement could go for $600 million annually and potentially much higher. “Thursday night will sell for less than Sunday night, though…

KA-CHING! WHO’S INKING ON THE DOTTED LINE THIS WEEK DEAL OF THE WEEK ITS FIRST THEATRICAL FEATURE, BEASTS of No Nation, might have grossed just $90,777 in limited release, but Netflix is ramping up its movie ambitions, scooping up two new indie films as it campaigns Beasts for Oscars. The streaming service is planning a day-and-date theatrical release for Girlfriend’s Day, a noir comedy featuring Bob Odenkirk as a down-on-his-luck greeting card writer who attempts to clear his name after he’s framed for murder. The Better Call Saul star co-wrote the script with Philip Zlotorynski and Eric Hoffman and is producing with Marc Provissiero of Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment and M. Elizabeth Hughes. The film, directed by Michael Stephenson (Best Worst Movie) and co-starring Amber Tamblyn, continues Netflix’s relationship with Odenkirk,…

AHARSH LIGHT SHINES ACROSS the parched desert setting of Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario, which tracks American operatives battling drug dealers on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. Visually, it’s a stark contrast to the director’s previous film, 2013’s Prisoners, which was all damp and dark. But for both, Villeneuve turned to the celebrated cinematographer Roger Deakins, 66, who has amassed 12 Oscar nominations (including one for Prisoners). Seeking to bring authenticity and tension to the $30 million thriller, which Lionsgate released in September and which has grossed $79 million worldwide to date, Villeneuve knew the movie required “bursts of strong violence but a lot of waiting, apprehension. That why I thought I must convince Roger to do the movie — Roger has that strength to create strong images that you can…

FRANK SINATRA DIED IN 1998, but you wouldn’t know it from the celebrations taking place in Las Vegas on and around Dec. 12, the day the legendary crooner would have turned 100. Ol’ Blue Eyes’ spirit remains alive and well in the desert oasis. “Without dad, Las Vegas’ history would be very different,” says Tina Sinatra, the youngest of Sinatra’s three children. “He epitomized a lifestyle and an idea of glamour that made a genuine impact on Las Vegas in the 1950s and ’60s.” That impact will be on starstudded display at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas, where “Sinatra 100 — An All-Star Grammy Concert” will tape Dec. 2 to air as a two-hour special Dec. 6 on CBS. Tina, together with longtime Sinatra family attorney Bob Finkelstein,…

PIXAR’S BACK IN the game. After a twoyear absence from the animated feature category, Pixar Animation Studios returns to the Oscar arena with two original CG films: its wildly successful Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur, which opens Nov. 25. But there’s an eclectic group of competitors among the 16 submissions that should give the Disney division a run for its money. Among them are a 3D version of the iconic Peanuts comic strip, a typically askew Charlie Kaufman-penned stopmotion dark comedy and even the globally recognized Shaun, the adventurous sheep from Aardman Animations’ stable. PIXAR’S PICS Since the animated feature category was introduced in 2001, most of Pixar’s movies have been nominated, and seven have won. But the John Lasseter-led studio didn’t release a film during 2014, and its…

ART VS. COMMERCE CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE IN A WORLD where students studying music hope someday to make a living. Traditional conservatories such as Juilliard still rank high in the overall picture, even in a world in which many big-name composers and musicians make an impact without any formal training at all. For those who do want a traditional music education, a conservatory is still an effective way to develop skills without the pressures of the business side of the industry. “I think the school of music was formative for me in that respect,” says film composer Marco Beltrami (The Homesman) of his experience at Yale’s conservatory. “It was a very academic institution rather than a trade school — it’s more about expanding the creative processes of the brain.”…

The most glamorous and memorable moments from a storied history “Don’t you know there’s nothing you could do that would make me stop loving you?” ROWLANDS, recounting her favorite line of dialogue from the movie THE NEWS THAT CHARLIE Sheen is HIV-positive has brought the immunodeficiency virus back into Hollywood headlines — but not with the same impact An Early Frost had in 1985. Other TV shows had addressed HIV, the virus that causes AIDS but is now not always fatal and is treatable, as a plotline. An episode of CBS’ Trapper John, M.D. devoted to the subject aired a week before Frost’s Nov. 11 showing. Showtime’s Brothers introduced an HIV-positive character in 1985, but Frost was the first made-for-TV movie with HIV/AIDS at its center. The NBC film focuses…