No Country Is Thriller Heaven

Non-Americans are dominating as increasing revenue comes from overseas

(NEWSER) - For a Hollywood award, Oscar wasn't too fond of Tinseltown last night. The Academy Awards were dominated by a crew of crack European actors—and a pair of maverick brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen, operating far from the Hollywood mainstream. It was a record year for the number of Oscars given to people outside Hollywood, with all four winning actors hailing from Europe, writes the Los Angeles Times. More»

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Filmmakers will have a television project for the first time

(NEWSER) - Good news for Coen brothers fans: Soon you won't even have to leave your house to get a fix. The Oscar-winning filmmakers are creating an hour-long TV series for Fox, according to the Hollywood Reporter . The single-camera comedy Harve Karbo will center on a Los Angeles private investigator, his deadbeat friends, and the Tinseltown VIPs he frequently crosses paths with. More»

It's a little late, but the essays by college scholars come through

(NEWSER) - The Coen Brothers’ 1998 cult classic The Big Lebowski has a growing body of critical literature to support it, though like the Dude, it moves at an abiding pace. Out now is The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies, a collection of papers from the Lebowski Fest in Louisville—in 2006. "The book is, like the Dude himself, a little rough around the edges," writes Dwight Garner in the New York Times . "But it’s worth an end-of-the-year holiday pop-in." More»

Lee Daniels misses Best Director race, The Road shut out, and more

(NEWSER) - The Golden Globes are “as notable for the films and performances that members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association omit as for those that they celebrate,” writes Chris Lee in the Los Angeles Times , and yesterday’s nominations “had no shortage of surprising snubs.” Lee, and Gregg Kilday in the Hollywood Reporter , point out a few:

• Lee Daniels, Precious: The only director whose movie got a best dramatic picture nod without being nominated for best director.