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Saturday, March 06, 2010:::LOS ANGELES: Hollywood is in full-on Oscar mode. The red carpet has been laid out in front of the Kodak Theatre, topped with a plastic sheet in case of rain. Traffic is snarled. Tourists are flocking to Hollywood & Highland to see a bit of the Academy Awards preparations and snap photos of themselves with giant Oscar statues. The theater itself buzzes with activity, as rehearsals continue from morning until night, with the occasional celebrity quietly stepping in to practice presenting the coveted golden guy. It's Oscar week, and Tinseltown is all aflutter. Dana Delany, Kathy Najimy, Ty Burrell and Rachael Leigh Cook were among the celebrities who recorded public service announcements for the Creative Coalition Friday at Haven 360, an Oscar-week suite comprising gifting, parties and support for the arts. Creative Coalition co-president Tim Daly is directing the public service announcements, which show stars singing the ABC's, as part of the...

Saturday, March 06, 2010 LOS ANGELES: "Precious," the harrowing tale of an incest survivor's struggle for self-acceptance, enjoyed a clean sweep on Friday at the Spirit Awards, the independent film world's version of the Oscars. The film won five prizes, including best feature and director. Its actors, newcomer Gabourey Sidibe and comedienne Mo'Nique, took home the honours for female lead and supporting female, respectively. For Mo'Nique, who played an abusive mother, it represented a clean sweep during awards season. The only event left is the Academy Awards on Sunday. But the 42-year-old actress told reporters backstage that she was not preparing an Oscar acceptance speech, because "I think the universe would say, 'You have a lot of nerve.'" The film also won best first screenplay for Geoffrey Fletcher. Lee Daniels, accepting his award for best director, indicated it might be his last time at the podium during awards season. ...

It's a departure in every which way for this Bollywood actress on the ascendant. She is playing a deglamorised politician and the Hindi has to be perfect too, but Britain born Katrina Kaif says her role in Rajneeti excites her more because she is now comfortable with the language. Katrina, who has delivered a string of hits playing the urban hip young woman, gets a makeover in Prakash Jha's Rajneeti. Dressed in cotton saris and speaking chaste Hindi, this is a challenging role that she's looking forward to. But the Hindi is passe now for the actress, whose accented Hindi meant that her many early films had to be dubbed. "I am excited about the part (in Rajneeti), but I am not very excited about speaking Hindi because I spoke Hindi in my last 10 films. It's a great role and a great film and I certainly hope people enjoy it," Katrina told IANS over the phone from Dubai. Rajneeti is Katrina's first political thriller and she says she wants to keep her opti...

February 26, 2010 Angelina Jolie in Paris PARIS: Thousands of onlookers stopped in their tracks and hundreds of cell phones clicked photos of Angelina Jolie as filming of The Tourist moved into one of Paris's busiest landmarks. Traffic at the iconic Gare de Lyon train station came to a halt as Jolie, dressed in her chic costume, navigated crowds, scanned the departures list and hurried to a platform. Between takes during the 90-minute shoot, the actress, 34, smiled and called "Bonjour!" to the crowd. Afterward, Jolie proceeded to an apartment for the afternoon shoot and then had lunch with sons Maddox and Pax.

MUMBAI: My Name is Khan, which has already stormed the box office, is now set to create history by becoming the first ever Bollywood film to be released in cinemas with audio description (AD). The blind can watch Shahrukh Khan's film in the theatres now. After the research among blind or partially sighted people of Asian origin, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) found out that over 55 per cent want to watch Bollywood films if AD is provided. So, for the first time ever, 20th Century Fox is offering a Hindi AD track on My Name is Khan. AD is as important to blind and partially sighted people as subtitles are to those hearing impaired. It is an additional narration that fits between passages of dialogue to describe action sequences, body language, costume and scenery, allowing the viewer to understand exactly what is happening on screen. My Name is Khan features Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles and is directed by Karan Johar. It is about a man who g...

Lady Gaga is best known for her kinky outfits and on-stage antics, but the popstar claims that she is a traditional girl who wants a husband and a family. The flamboyant singer insisted that she is "quite the lady" in a new interview with Q magazine, which sees the pop star posing topless on the cover. The 23-year-old singer, posed in little but a pair of spiky trousers and metal chains around her neck in the new issue of Q magazine, reported Daily Mail online. "Well, I believe in certain institutions: cooking, serving dinner, taking care of my family. So I consider myself quite the lady," she said. The Poker Face star who regularly flashes flesh on stage, admitted she had many emotional battles with her record label over her individual style. "My image was an issue at my record label. I fought for months and cried at meetings. I got criticised for being arrogant because if you're sure of yourself as a woman they say you're bad whereas if you...

Friday, February 12, 2010 MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'My Name Is Khan' had a packed opening on Friday across the India with Mumbai restricting the number of shows following the Shiv Sena threat to disrupt screening. Most multiplex owners in Mumbai decided to go ahead with the screening while the single screen theatres decided against showing the movie for the time being, fearing violence. Amid unprecedented security for the film's release, Maharashtra home minister R R Patil drove to multiplex INOX to catch the first show of 'MNIK'. In Gujarat, the first few shows were cancelled after VHP and Bajarang Dal activists staged protests and torched posters of the movie, but later the shows resumed. The film opened to full houses in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and several other cities. The film's release ran into trouble after Sena lashed out at Khan for supporting inclusion of Pakistani players in the IPL-3.

Friday, February 12, 2010 BERLIN: The 60th Berlin Film Festival kicks off Thursday with the world premiere of "Apart Together", a lush period drama from China and one of 20 pictures vying for the coveted Golden Bear top prize. "Apart Together" director Wang Quan'an, part of China's so-called sixth generation of film-makers, captured Berlin's best picture award in 2007 for the unconventional love story "Tuya's Marriage" set in the grasslands of Mongolia. Wang, 44, will compete with Roman Polanski, Britain's Michael Winterbottom and rivals from across Asia, Europe and the Americas at cinema's first major international showcase of the year. And Martin Scorsese will premiere his latest thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, "Shutter Island" out of competition. A jury led by German director Werner Herzog ("Fitzcarraldo", "Rescue Dawn") and including Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger will hand out...

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 MUMBAI: Adnan Sami and his German-Afghan girl friend Roya Faryabi had a secret nikaah ceremony at Adnan's residence in Mumbai on Friday, January 30, a day before the wedding cards announced the wedding in Munich. Only close family members of Adnan were present at this nikaah. A source close to Adnan said that the wedding in Munich had to be cancelled because the courts did not allow Adnan to leave the country. There are serious charges of domestic violence against him. Rather than cancelling the wedding, Adnan decided to have a flash ceremony in Mumbai. Adnan's son Azaan made all the arrangements. At first Adnan was reluctant to confirm the development, but finally admitted that they got married last Friday in a secret nikaah. And they're loving it. Speaking from Munich, Adnan's third wife Roya Faryadi said that Adnan is the perfect man for her. She loves not just the man but also his mother and son.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 ZHANGJIAJIE: The huge box-office success of "Avatar", which last week beat "Titanic" to become the biggest movie of all time in the United States and Canada, is bringing inspiration to a Chinese province. A craggy peak in a scenic part of southern China's Hunan province has been renamed after floating mountains featured in the Hollywood blockbuster, with hopes to cash in on the movie's massive success. The "Southern Sky Column" in Zhangjiajie in southern Hunan province formally had its named changed to "Hallelujah Mountain" in a ceremony in late January, according to the Zhangjiajie government's official website. The local government said the floating "Hallelujah Mountains" in the movie were inspired by the "Southern Sky Column," as a Hollywood photographer spent time shooting there in 2008. "Avatar" has also proved a success in China, recently becoming the country...

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson's doctor pleaded not guilty here Monday after being charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the pop superstar's death from a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs. Conrad Murray, 56, appeared before a packed courtroom to deny a single charge of causing Jackson's death, the culmination of a painstaking seven-month probe which involved local and federal investigators. Murray's defense attorney Ed Chernoff entered the not guilty plea before the physician was ordered to surrender his passport and post bail of 75,000 dollars ahead of a hearing on April 5. Murray, the last person to see Jackson alive, has admitted administering drugs to the singer to help him sleep shortly before his death at a rented mansion in Los Angeles on June 25 last year. The doctor, who could face up to four years in prison if convicted, has acknowledged giving the anesthetic propofol to Jackson following the singer...

Tuesday, February 09, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson's doctor has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the pop singer's death. Prosecutors announced the charge against Dr Conrad Murray, a Houston cardiologist who was with Jackson when he died on June 25. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. Murray will plead not guilty, said his lawyer Ed Chernoff. Jackson hired Murray to be his personal physician as he prepared for a strenuous series of comeback performances in London. Officials said the singer died in Los Angeles after Murray administered the powerful general anaesthetic propofol and two other sedatives to get the chronic insomniac to sleep. Murray is accused of acting "unlawfully and without malice" in bringing about Jackson's death, according to a complaint filed by prosecutors. The complaint said Murray acted "without the caution and circumspection required" when he administered a powerful sedative to Jackson in...

                                                          Saturday, February 06, 2010 PARIS: Legendary US director Martin Scorsese and his favourite actor Leonardo DiCaprio said they took their collaboration to new heights for the gothic thriller "Shutter Island". The Oscar-winning director who made a star of Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull", has formed a close bond in the past decade with DiCaprio since "Gangs of New York". After "The Departed", which finally gave Scorsese the Best Director Oscar, "we began to realise there was something more that we could push with each other," Scorsese told a press conference in Paris. With "Shutter Island", their fourth collaboration, they sa...

Thursday, February 04, 2010 MUMBAI: Bollywood actress Urmila Matondkhar is celebrating her 36th birthday today. Born in tinsel town Mumbai, Rangeela girl Urmila started her career as a child artist. Perhaps the best known of her early movies is Shekhar Kapoor’s Masoom in 1983. She made her film debut as a lead actress with the film ‘Bade ghar ki beti’. She next starred in the fantasy film Chamatkar, along with Shahrukh Khan. Apart from a successful acting career, Urmila is also an outstanding dancer and has been a featured performer in many Bollywood item numbers.

Thursday, February 04, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson's doctor is set to be arraigned Friday on a charge connected to the pop singer's death, a source told foreign news agency on Wednesday. Dr. Conrad Murray is to be arraigned at a courthouse near Los Angeles International Airport, according to a person familiar with the planning, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation. The person didn't say what Murray would be charged with.

Thursday, February 04, 2010 LOS ANGELES: Julia Roberts claims that she will not be appearing in a Pretty Woman sequel. The movie, which is celebrating it's twentieth anniversary this year, shot Roberts to fame in 1990. The role of Vivian Ward remains Roberts' most famous roles but she has no intention of returning to the part. Speaking to Moviehole she said: "There’s already been a Pretty Woman sequel, it was called Runaway Bride. Nobody wants to see an old hooker. "It’s not that I’m anti romantic-comedy, which, for some reason, is always the favoured interpretation. “I like being funny, I like being romantic ... but it’s challenging trying to find a script which is original or interesting". Roberts is returning to the big screen later this month with romantic comedy Valentine's Day as part of impressive ensemble cast. She is joined by Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx and Ashton Kutcher.

Thursday, February 04, 2010 VIENNA: Austria scored a hat-trick this year, with three of its countrymen nominated for an Oscar, including "Inglourious Basterds" star Christoph Waltz, commentators praised on Wednesday. "This is a hat-trick, not just for Michael Haneke's "The White Ribbon" but also for Austrian cinema," the Film and Music Industry trade association said after nominations were announced in Los Angeles on Tuesday. "The White Ribbon," directed by Austria's Haneke and co-produced by the small alpine country, was nominated as best foreign language picture for Germany, while its Tyrolean cinematographer Christian Berger also won a surprise nod. Waltz, who has swept awards as the devilish Nazi officer in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," was nominated as expected in the best supporting actor category. "After an almost unbelievable streak, this confirms the enormous international significance o...

Thursday, February 04, 2010 LOS ANGELES: "Avatar" has reached yet another milestone, smashing the North American box office record previously held by the 1997 James Cameron epic "Titanic," Fox studios announced on Wednesday. By Tuesday the futuristic 3-D blockbuster had racked up some 601.1 million dollars in the United States and Canada, overtaking the 600.8 million dollars that "Titanic" earned. "We have broken the domestic number" for North America, Fox spokeswoman Aviz Hakhamanesh confirmed. "Avatar" has also earned nine Oscar nominations, including in the leading categories of best film and best director, as well as several technical achievement categories. Believed to be the most expensive motion picture ever made, the film and has now shattered all the major box-office records previously held by "Titanic." The love story on the doomed cruiseliner took in 1.8 billion dollars over the course of its release wor...

This year’s Oscar race may well lend itself to a gripping screenplay. We have a man and his former wife pitted against each other with nine nominations each for their respective films. James Cameron’s 3D extravaganza, Avatar, has netted nine nods, including those for Best Picture and Best Director. Avatar - which sunk its creator’s earlier record grossing, Oscar winning, Titanic with an earth-shattering show at the box-office - may well fly away with an attractive booty when the Academy Awards are announced later. Facing the Goliath of a Cameron is his ex, the David of a Kathryn Bigelow, with The Hurt Locker that has grabbed nine noms as well, including Best Picture and Best Director. Known for springing surprises, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may well decide to create a bit of history by putting Bigelow on the pedestal. She is only the fourth woman to get the Best Director nod, and if she clinches the actual trophy, she will be the first among the fair (or stron...

Monday, February 01, 2010 HYDERABAD: The Melody Queen of India and Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar bagged Kalasaraswathi award for her outstanding contribution to Indian music for the last six decades. “After listening to the speakers on the stage, I felt I should learn Telugu,” Lata expressed her wish. The award, given by the Andhra Pradesh Kala Vedika in association with the Department of Culture, Government of AP, carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, a gold bracelet, veena and a citation. “I am a big fan of ANR. Though I don’t watch south movies much, I saw the Telugu Devdas 10 times. I cannot understand the language but the acting by the cast stands out,” the living legend said. Lata, who of late is keeping away from mainstream playback singing, said, “Nowadays, I do not sing for movies much. I am dedicating more time to singing bhajans and devotional hymns. I have recorded Annamayya songs and was in Tirupati on Saturday in this connection.“ Not to disappoint her fans, Lata ...