Showbiz is big business as Oscars hits town

HOLLYWOOD: The Oscars are big business for stars and filmmakers - but they also spell big bucks for limo firms, caterers, designers and thousands of others as Hollywood rolls out the red carpet.

In fact, the Academy Awards on Sunday are the climax of the annual awards season which generates fortunes for those behind the scenes in Tinseltown, who keep the champagne flowing, parties buzzing and posh frocks just right.

From the Golden Globes to the Grammys, the Screen Actors Guild ceremony to the Razzies, the awards shows -- and all those pre- and after-parties, keep everyone busy from November to February every year.

You don't have to go far to stumble on a red carpet in Hollywood - even outside awards season, film premieres regularly attract scrums of cameramen, photographers and fans spilling across sidewalks outside key movie theaters.

So a visit to the cinema can sometimes turn into a scramble through a melee created by an arriving celebrity, lensmen's flashlights and shouts of "Angelina, over here!" ricocheting around the cinema lobby.

But Angelinos are used to it, and many depend on it for their livelihoods, as - like the annual harvest elsewhere - the first two months of the year bring huge crops of orders for everything that surrounds the shows.

Tony Adzar, founder & CEO of Red Carpet Systems, is one of those reaping the benefits: in February, he sells twice as much carpet as he does in August, and his is only one of dozens of similar firms.

To get to the parties, people of course need limousines.

The larger companies, which have a fleet of maybe 25 luxury vehicles, are booked to capacity and are able to give their affiliates and subcontractors a lot of business.

ITS works closely with Sequoia Productions, which has organized Hollywood events for 23 years and produces the traditional post-Oscars soiree known as the Governors Ball.

The ball brings together the governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars. On Sunday night, 1,500 people will attend.

For Sunday's ball alone, Sequoia employs 150 technicians, 400 catering staff and a management team of 30. The company unveiled its menu last week, chosen by Austrian celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, also an Oscars veteran.

Red Carpet provider Adzar said awards season is exhausting, but essential for his and many other businesses in Hollywood. (AFP)

How The King's Speech got an outside edge at the Oscars

The success of independent cinema at the Oscars is nothing new, but it's always a welcome sight. Sunday night's marginal triumph by The King's Speech over the studio's biggest heavy hitter, The Social Network, will have spread good cheer among the movie's many backers outside the studio system. The King's Speech is one of the moribund UK Film Council's last hurrahs, although there are quite a few forthcoming releases that will bear the stamp of the ill-fated funding body, such as Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin, Terence Davies's The Deep Blue Sea and Andrea Arnold's Wuthering Heights.

The UK Film Council was one of several key elements on the project, along with UK financiers Prescience and Aegis, UK distributor Momentum Pictures and Australian distributor Transmission, whose sister company See-Saw, run by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, came on board to produce with Gareth Unwin's Bedlam Productions, which had been a longtime champion of the project. That's quite a list and I'm not even sure it's comprehensive, but it illustrates a truism in independent film financing: the tougher the sell, the greater the number of investors. No studio would have gone near this because the project lacked brand recognition, wasn't part of a franchise and didn't offer clear merchandising opportunities.

And then, of course, there is Harvey Weinstein, the Oscar impresario extraordinaire whose apparently resurgent company did such a bang-up job distributing The King's Speech in the US. The film launched modestly in a handful of theatres last December and climbed from 43 to 700 theatres over the Christmas weekend, rising steadily after that. Heading into the final weekend before the Oscar nominations on 25 January, the movie played in 1,680 theatres, and by the time it emerged as the frontrunner on 12 nominations it was in 2,557.

It went on to gross more than half of its current $114m (£70m) running total in the so-called Oscar corridor between the day of nominations and the show itself. That's the Oscar bump in action and you see it with another success story, Black Swan, which amassed roughly one-fifth of its $103m running total in the same period. Both will continue to prosper now that they have gongs to their name. The King's Speech will go out as a PG-13, too, after Weinstein cut a few expletives from the original R-rated version. Colin Firth disapproves and thinks the movie should be seen "as is", and I wholeheartedly agree. Alas the gatekeepers in the US believe audiences must be protected from the brutal spectrum of the English language, even though they are happy to expose under-13s to a disgraceful level of on-screen violence week-in, week-out.

For some years now a movie's prospects outside the US have played a key role in assembling the financing and distribution. Central to this is the international pre-sale, whereby a company licenses distribution rights to a forthcoming project in return for a portion of the budget. In this regard kudos is due to FilmNation, the New York-based company run by the vastly experienced former Weinstein lieutenant Glen Basner. FilmNation handled international sales on The King's Speech and ensured it ended up in safe hands outside the US. To date the movie has grossed more than $130m outside the US, bringing worldwide ticket sales to around $245m.

Black Swan had a pretty tortuous route to the big screen, too, but when Fox Searchlight came on board as financing partner it knew a good thing and held on to worldwide distribution rights. It's been Hollywood's leading title in the international market for the past few weeks and so far has racked up $123m overseas and $226m worldwide.

These are astonishing and rare numbers for specialty film, but what's so gratifying is that because both movies got made for a price and were expertly released in the US and overseas, they're profitable. The rumour doing the rounds at the recent Berlin film festival was that Weinstein is plotting a sequel to The King's Speech called The Windsors at War. Harvey and his cohorts are keeping mum about that right now as they focus on this year's movies, which include Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in the Oscar hopeful My Week With Marilyn.

Credit : The Guardian UK

Stars gather as 'King's Speech' eyes Oscars crown

HOLLYWOOD: British royal drama "The King's Speech" got another boost on the eve of what supporters hope will be its Oscars coronation Sunday, as stars gather for the climax of Tinsel Town's annual awards season.

The movie, nominated for 12 Academy Awards including best picture and best actor for Colin Firth, won best foreign film at the Spirit independent movie awards, barely 24 hours before the main Hollywood show.

Ballet thriller "Black Swan," nominated for five Oscars, won best film at the Spirits as well as best actress for Natalie Portman -- who is frontrunner in that category on Sunday.

With less than 24 hours to go before the annual awards mega-bash, stars were fine-tuning their acceptance speeches -- fingers crossed -- and preparing to don their gowns and tuxedos for the Oscars red carpet.

While "The King's Speech" is the frontrunner, no one is taking anything for granted as rivals including Facebook movie "The Social Network," classic Western remake "True Grit" and boxing movie "The Fighter" vie for Oscars glory.

That said, Firth is considered all but certain to be named best actor for his portrayal of Britain's King George VI, helped by Australian voice coach Lionel Logue -- played by Geoffrey Rush -- to overcome his crippling stammer.

David Fincher could well be named best director for "The Social Network," which tells the story of how Mark Zuckerberg created the game-changing website from a controversial start while a Harvard student, some critics say.

"The Social Network" started the awards season as favorite, taking four Golden Globes in January. But the British royal film has since swept up a series of prizes, in the US as well as at Britain's BAFTAs.

On Sunday the 10-strong shortlist for best film also includes hi-tech thriller "Inception," "127 Hours" -- about a hiker forced to amputate his own arm -- and "Toy Story 3," widely tipped as best animated feature.

Others hoping for a touch of Oscars gold include Britain's elusive graffiti artist Banksy, whose film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is nominated for best documentary Oscar. The movie won the Spirit awards prize Saturday.

The best foreign film contest is between Mexico's "Biutiful" -- whose star Javier Bardem is also up for best actor -- "Dogtooth" from Greece, Denmark's "In a Better World," "Incendies" from Canada and Algeria's "Outside the Law."

Actors James Franco and Anne Hathaway will host the Oscars show, while organizers this week released more details of who will present awards, the latest including Helen Mirren, Bardem, Mila Kunis and Amy Adams.

The Oscars weekend also provides an excuse for endless festivities, ranging from Elton John's traditional bash in west Hollywood to one reportedly co-hosted by Madonna and Demi Moore.

Once the big show is over, the real fun starts: Oscars after parties -- and after parties -- go on well into Monday, as Hollywood recovers from its annual awards season binge.

Before that, though, some of the Hollywood's finest were preparing to cringe Saturday night when the traditional Golden Raspberry Awards -- or Razzies -- were to be revealed.

Stars including Jennifer Aniston, Ashton Kutcher, Robert Pattinson, Miley Cyrus and Barbra Streisand are on the shortlist for the Razzies, billed as "saluting the worst that Hollywood has to offer each year."(AFP)

2011 Academy Awards " The Winners "

With another year's ceremony having come and gone, the 2011 Academy Awards announced the big winners during a glitzy ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night (February 27).

Taking home the top prize of Best Picture at the Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosted event was "The King's Speech," which ended up winning a total of four Oscar trophies.

As for the actor/actress categories, the Academy bestowed Best Actress honors upon Natalie Portman for her work in "Black Swan" while Colin Firth landed Best Actor accolades for his role in "The King's Speech".

The complete list of 2011 Academy Awards winners is as follows:

Best Picture
"Black Swan," Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
"The Fighter" David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
"Inception," Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
"The Kids Are All Right," Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
WINNER: "The King's Speech," Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
"127 Hours," Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
"The Social Network," Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán, Producers
"Toy Story 3" Darla K. Anderson, Producer
"True Grit" Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
"Winter's Bone" Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem in "Biutiful"
Jeff Bridges in "True Grit"
Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network"
WINNER: Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"
James Franco in "127 Hours"

Actor in a Supporting Role
WINNER: Christian Bale in "The Fighter"
John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone"
Jeremy Renner in "The Town"
Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right"
Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech"

Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
WINNER: Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"
WINNER: Melissa Leo in "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom"

Animated Feature Film
"How to Train Your Dragon" Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
"The Illusionist" Sylvain Chomet
WINNER: "Toy Story 3" Lee Unkrich

Art Direction
WINNER: "Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"True Grit"

Cinematography
"Black Swan," Matthew Libatique
WINNER: "Inception," Wally Pfister
"The King's Speech," Danny Cohen
"The Social Network," Jeff Cronenweth
"True Grit," Roger Deakins

Costume Design
WINNER: "Alice in Wonderland," Colleen Atwood
"I Am Love," Antonella Cannarozzi
"The King's Speech," Jenny Beavan
"The Tempest," Sandy Powell
"True Grit" Mary Zophres

Directing
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky
"The Fighter," David O. Russell
WINNER: "The King's Speech," Tom Hooper
"The Social Network," David Fincher
"True Grit," Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Documentary (Feature)
"Exit through the Gift Shop," Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
"Gasland," Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
WINNER: "Inside Job," Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Restrepo," Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
"Waste Land," Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Documentary (Short Subject)
"Killing in the Name"
"Poster Girl"
WINNER: "Strangers No More"
"Sun Come Up"
"The Warriors of Qiugang"

Film Editing
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours"
WINNER: "The Social Network"

Foreign Language Film
"Biutiful," Mexico
"Dogtooth," Greece
WINNER: "In a Better World," Denmark
"Incendies," Canada
"Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)," Algeria

Makeup
"Barney's Version," Adrien Morot
"The Way Back," Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
WINNER: "The Wolfman," Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Music (Original Score)
"How to Train Your Dragon," John Powell
"Inception," Hans Zimmer
"The King's Speech," Alexandre Desplat
"127 Hours," A.R. Rahman
WINNER: "The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Music (Original Song)
"Coming Home" from "Country Strong," Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
"I See the Light" from "Tangled," Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
"If I Rise" from "127 Hours," Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
WINNER: "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3," Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Short Film (Animated)
"Day & Night," Teddy Newton
"The Gruffalo," Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
"Let's Pollute," Geefwee Boedoe
WINNER: "The Lost Thing," Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
"Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)" Bastien Dubois

Short Film (Live Action)
"The Confession," Tanel Toom
"The Crush," Michael Creagh
WINNER: "God of Love," Luke Matheny
"Na Wewe," Ivan Goldschmidt
"Wish 143," Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Sound Editing
WINNER: "Inception," Richard King
"Toy Story 3," Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
"Tron: Legacy," Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
"Unstoppable," Mark P. Stoeckinger

Sound Mixing
WINNER: "Inception," Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
"The King's Speech," Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
"Salt," Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
"The Social Network," Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
"True Grit," Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Visual Effects
"Alice in Wonderland," Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1," Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
"Hereafter," Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
WINNER: "Inception," Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
"Iron Man 2," Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"127 Hours," Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
WINNER: "The Social Network," Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
"Toy Story 3," Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
"True Grit," Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
"Winter's Bone," Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Another Year," Written by Mike Leigh
"The Fighter," Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
"Inception," Written by Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right," Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
WINNER: "The King's Speech," Screenplay by David Seidler

Hollywood illusionists sweep season of stupidity under Oscars red carpet

As the year's best films are honoured, Hollywood is ready to launch another season of recycled drivel. But there are signs that intelligent, low-budget moves can succeed at the box office

The men from the American Turf and Carpet company were busy putting the final touches to their crowning achievement. Frantically cutting and taping their way along the middle of what in normal times is Hollywood Boulevard, they covered their creation with plastic sheeting as they went, as much to protect it from the feet of tourists as from the elements.

"What's going on?" asked a startled Chris Miller, visiting for the week from northern Colorado. On being told this particularly shabby stretch of Hollywood was being transformed for its starring role hosting the Oscars, and that beneath the plastic sheeting lay the hallowed red carpet, he squirmed in mock excitement. "I can feel the power," he exclaimed.

Around him caterers hustled by, bearing platters of food to be offered to nominees after the event at the annual Governor's Ball, hosted this year not by one of their own, governor Arnold Schwarzenegger having departed, but by the decidedly budget-conscious Jerry Brown. Japanese TV crews choreographed elaborate news presentations, corralling some of the sidewalk performers stationed outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre as extras: Elvis seemed too busy to help, and Jacko wouldn't stop whooping, but Toy Story's Woody played along.

Beneath them all, the red carpet squeaked and crackled under its plastic cover, waiting for the moment when it would be revealed in all its pristine glory, ready to help the delicately inflated egos of the world of movies float past adoring crowds before entering the Kodak theatre, which, despite the best efforts of some of the most talented special effects people in Hollywood, cannot disguise the fact that it is a shopping mall attached to a hotel.

But illusion and artifice are the charm and business of Hollywood, its pompous glitz fulfilling our most base fears and aspirations. And this year the illusionists are pulling off their trick once again, congratulating themselves on an undeniably fine crop of intelligent, thought-provoking, handsomely crafted films while preparing to unleash the customary torrent of drivel on audiences deluded into believing that a pair of plastic glasses will make a dud look like a classic.

This year's season of stupidity really kicks into gear in the US in May as successive weekends bring audiences Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover 2, Kung Fu Panda 2, X-Men: First Class, Super 8, Green Lantern, Cars 2 and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. By early July any remaining sentient filmgoers will possibly never want to go to the movies again. And we won't have even got to The Smurfs, Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World or Final Destination 5.

Proof that all this trickery and chicanery works came last week courtesy of the suits at the Motion Picture Association of America, who announced that global box office takings hit a record high of $31.8bn in 2010. The fact that the number of tickets sold in the US declined by 5% was glossed over by the news that revenues had stayed the same, thanks to the growth of 3D. That's the way the money goes: fewer tickets at higher prices. The situation has not escaped the attention of the critics, who have been mustering their fury and sorrow to unleash a series of attacks on the state of things. The lengthiest diatribe comes in the current US issue of GQ magazine, where film writer Mark Harris rails against the branding of Hollywood studio movies, a trend that prizes brand recognition and marketing over originality.

Yet for decades the studio system has been about the business of entertainment, a subdivision of the leisure industry, rather than the art of film-making. Sometimes there has been a happy, if freak, collision of the two, but generally they are distinct sectors of an occasionally intersecting universe. This year, with the solid, some would say spectacular, showing of the Oscar best picture nominees, many involved in making the sorts of films that critics fear are lost express the hope that the industry has turned a corner.

"I like to think it's turning around," says Gary Gilbert, a producer on The Kids Are All Right, one of this year's best picture nominees. "I think the major studios' priorities are the huge, tentpole films, and they have the attitude that instead of financing the production of independent movies they would prefer to see the finished article at a festival and have the opportunity to buy it."

The Kids Are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko's lesbian-family-artificial-insemination-reunion drama, is the sort of film that on paper sounds as though it should command the smallest of niche audiences. But it has grossed $29.5m at the US box office after being bought by Focus Features for $4.8m. Not bad for a $4m production budget.

Even getting that budget together was a struggle, says Gilbert: "It was excruciating. It didn't all come together until one or two days before principal photography started. It was very, very shaky ground."

The performance of Cholodenko's film has been repeated, and in some cases surpassed, by the other best film nominees. Most notable is The King's Speech, which, with the help of Harvey Weinstein, has turned its $15m production budget into a global box office take of $237.5m. For perspective, that figure puts The King's Speech at number 340 on the all-time worldwide box-office chart, two places above Saturday Night Fever. Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, made for $13m, has taken $204m worldwide, while The Fighter, with a budget of $25m, has grossed $105.6m. These are indeed heady times in the world of independent film.

For Alix Madigan, a producer of Winter's Bone, another low-budget best picture nominee, which has seen its $2m budget recoup $8m worldwide, this year's crop of films – particularly their financial success – could provoke the studios to re-examine their role.

"These films have paved the road for a greater allowance for adult fare and a branching away from branded entertainment," she says. "It's an exciting time and hopefully the studios will take note of that and steer their development slates more towards the sort of films that have done well this year."

Part of that resurgence was seen at this year's Sundance festival, the Robert Redford-led indie film gathering held each year in the snow of Park City, Utah, which eased the birth of Reservoir Dogs and The Blair Witch Project. After a few years in the doldrums, Sundance 2011 saw a return to, if not the glory years, then a vibrant marketplace. "Films with few stars and complicated stories were being sold for big advances," says Madigan. "That was a very heartening thing, to see because we didn't see it last year."

She cautions, however, that the independent sector has been here before. "The one big hope I have," she says, "is that this is not some big bubble and we all revert to the dark years of independent film."

For GQ's Harris and other critics, one of the Hollywood studio films that took the industry down a path from which it has never recovered was Top Gun, that seemingly inoffensive piece of pap that ushered in the era of the concept movie in 1986, the film genre that boasted a plot that could be summarised in 12 words. The people who grew up on Top Gun, asserts Harris, now run the movie business and their principal interest in a movie is its bottom line, not its aesthetic. "Man, I loved Top Gun," says film distributor Tom Quinn. "What's wrong with Top Gun? But I also loved Black Swan. I can't wait to go on the Black Swan rollercoaster. I can't wait to see what happens a couple of years from now. Will everyone take up dancing? Will suicide rates among young ballerinas go up?"

Quinn is a senior vice-president of Magnolia Pictures, which distributes foreign, documentary and American independent films in the US. You'd expect him to be in a state of anxiety over his business, but he isn't. On the contrary, like many in the US independent sector he is optimistic that new audiences are being drawn to intelligent film-making and that they are finding ways of seeing the films.

"People bemoan the industry, but it hasn't changed," he says. "What is growing is a much younger audience that is more familiar with many more ways to view films." He gives an example: Black Death, a British independent horror movie about the plague starring Sean Bean. It hasn't been released in cinemas in the US yet, but Quinn has put it out on VOD – video on demand streamed over the internet. "We launched it four weeks prior to its theatrical release at the same price as the theatre ticket," he says. "It's taken $1m in less than 10 days."

For Quinn and his company, the business model is that of sport. "If you're a sports fan who follows the local team, you watch them online, you follow them on your phone, you listen to radio commentary in the car. Why can't entertainment be consumed in the same way? There are now 65m homes with VOD. We could never replicate that on 35mm prints. It's changed the economics of our business, and made it feel like a business that can work."

Credit : guardian.co.uk

Four Oscars For "The King's Speech"

Hollywood - The royal drama "The King's Speech" took three top prizes of the Academy Awards, including best actor Colin Firth.

The film took the Best Film and the coveted best director and the Firth gong for his portrayal of stuttering with King George VI, the coach for help in time of war Australian ballot rally Britain.
He also won the Best Original Screenplay, giving the film four Oscars in common - the same as Hi-tech thriller "original" and one more than this, the film "Social Networking", which was tipped as a winner best film possible.

Screenwriter David Seidler used his speech to the joke to thank the Queen Elizabeth II, in particular, as stutterers everywhere.

"I want to thank Her Majesty the Queen does not put me in the Tower of London" for placement of swear words in the mouth of George VI. "And I accept it on behalf of all stutterers worldwide .
"We have a voice we heard," said Seidler, who himself suffered from stuttering, echoing the sidelines of the film.

"Social Networking", which was nominated in eight categories, an Oscar, ended up going home with only three, and none among the most important: editing, original score and adapted screenplay for writer Aaron Sorkin .

Sorkin later gave Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, whose image in the film is not too flattering. "I think it was a very good sport about it.

"I do not know if each of us wants the film, based on when we were 19," he said.
"Initial" Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio as a mercenary who goes through the dreams of people around, won four Oscars: film, visual effects, sound editing and sound mixing.

Natalie Portman won best actress for her role in the ballet disquieting thriller "Black Swan".
boxing movie "The Fighter" took two gongs - Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale, and best supporting actress Melissa Leo, who were both favorites to win.

"King's Speech", directed by Tom Hooper told an incredible story about how he came to do a film with his Australian mother, who was in the room.

"My mother in 2007 was invited by friends in Australia - he is Australian - London fringe in reading unproduced play, an unexpected piece titled " King's Speech, "said 38-year-old Briton.

He explained: "She was never asked to play a reading of his life before she almost did not go because it did not sound exactly promising, but thank you God, it ..

"She called me and said afterwards, Tom, I think I found your next movie. So, tonight, I will honor and moral of the story, listen to your mother. "

In other awards, "Toy Story 3," the third installment of the franchise family, featuring Woody, Buzz Light year and cooperation. Best Animated Film Oscar as expected.

And the award for best foreign film went to "a better world" by director Susanne Bier's Danish star, who defeated the films from Algeria, Canada, Greece and Mexico.

"Oscar" is the culmination of the film award season industry several billion dollars and was preceded by months or a crazy campaign for the coveted golden statuettes.

Firth, who had seen Shu-in for best actor, was one of the usual speech of acceptance of self-mockery, with the opening: "I feel that my career has peaked.

"I'm afraid I must warn you that I feel the excitement, somewhere in the upper abdominal muscles, threatening to join the dance, he said.

These impulses, "as happy as they can be for me ... it would be extremely problematic if they do it at my feet before going behind the scenes," he added, laughing.

He won a Jeff Bridges - who beat Firth for the Oscar for best actor last year - in "True Grit", Jesse Eisenberg in "Social Networking", James Franco in "127 hours" and the heart beat Spanish Javier Bardem in 'Biutiful'.
Portman rivals for Best Actress Annette Bening is a veteran of "Kids Are All Right", Australian Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole", Jennifer Lawrence in "Bones winter" and Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine".

A few surprises - including bad words - at the Oscars

The host was the youngest ever. The winning screenwriter was the oldest ever. The ceremony was hipper than usual - and a bit more vulgar.

The 2011 Academy Awards came with a few surprises in the early going, which started by honouring the boxing drama The Fighter for its supporting performances.

Christian Bale, whose portrayal of a crack addict almost overwhelmed the boxing movie, was named best supporting actor, and Melissa Leo - whose self-promoting ads caused consternation in Hollywood - overcame the controversy to win the Oscar as best supporting actress.

Leo won for her excoriating portrait of the mother and manager of "Irish" Micky Ward, the real-life junior welterweight who overcame the odds (and his family) to win a title.

The actress had taken out ads in trade publications featuring glamour photos of herself, superimposed over the word "Consider." While the campaign did not hurt her chances, she ignited a second controversy during her speech when she said, "When I watched Kate (Winslet) two years ago, it looked so f---ing easy."

Bale said he wasn't going to drop the "f-bomb," but the slip of the tongue promoted co-host Anne Hathaway - at 27, the youngest host of the show in history - to say, "It's the young and hip Oscars."

Young and hip was a big part of the 2011 Oscar story. It was set up as a battle of Old vs. New Hollywood, with the veterans being given the edge. Old Hollywood was represented by The King's Speech, a piece of royal history with established star Colin Firth - an overwhelming favourite for the best actor award - as King George VI, the stammering ruler of England at the start of the Second World War, who has his stutter corrected by an eccentric speech therapist played by supporting actor nominee Geoffrey Rush.

The champion of the New Hollywood was The Social Network, a more modern sort of biopic. It tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg (played by best actor nominee Jesse Eisenberg, 27, part of the new generation of stars) who founded Facebook. That was a different kind of watershed event, one that may turn out to be no less earth-shaking than the war.

Aaron Sorkin won the award for adapted screenplay for his smart, fast-moving original screenplay for The Social Network. He paid tribute to legendary screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, who won the Oscar "for another movie with Network in the title;" that is, Network (he also won for Hospital and Marty). The movie also won the award for best original score.

David Seidler, who wrote The King's Speech, won the Oscar for best original screenplay. "My father always said to me I would be a late bloomer," said Seidler, 73. He noted that he is the oldest person to ever win the award, which he accepted "for all the stutterers throughout the world."

With its front-running 12 nominations, and already winner of prizes given by the influential Directors Guild, Producers Guild and Actors Guild, The King's Speech led the pack.

Old vs. New also came up in another of the most hotly contested categories, best actress. Natalie Portman, 29 - playing a ballerina whose persona is slowly shattered when she has to find her dark side to dance Swan Lake - was the favourite almost from the time her film, Black Swan, had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. But there was some late momentum for Annette Bening, 52, for her role as a workaholic doctor in The Kids Are All Right. Bening has been nominated three times before without a victory, and this might have been her last chance.

The Danish film In a Better World - a story about friendship between two families - won the Oscar for best foreign-language film, beating the Canadian entry Incendies, Denis Villeneuve's shattering film about a Montreal woman who returns to the Middle East to learn secrets about her family.

The Australian film The Lost Thing won the award for animated short film, beating the favoured Pixar entry Day & Night. Nevertheless, Pixar bounced back by winning the award for best animated feature for Toy Story 3.

Two Canadian animators - Dean DeBlois, co-director of How to Train Your Dragon, and Paul Dutton, animation director of The Illusionist - had also been nominated for that animated feature award.

In addition, Montreal effects artist Adrien Morot was nominated for the Oscar for best makeup for his work on the Canadian film Barney's Version, which went to The Wolfman, and Craig Berkey was nominated for the sound design of True Grit, an award that went to Inception.

Alice in Wonderland won the first award, for art direction, and Wally Pfister - director Christopher Nolan's favourite cinematographer - won the award for Inception, upsetting the favoured Roger Deakins from True Grit, who has now been nominated nine times without a win. The sci-fi epic also won the awards for sound mixing and editing. The Inception winners all gave special thanks to Nolan, who was snubbed in the best director category, even though the movie itself was nominated for best picture.


Credit : The Gazette,Montreal

OSCAR packs his bags

U.S. film industry cashes in abroad

LOS ANGELES — The awards season for films, which reaches its tearful climax with the Oscars on Sunday, has long been only loosely related to the film business. Hollywood is dedicated to the art of funnelling teenagers past popcorn stands, not art itself. But this year’s awards are less relevant than ever. The true worth of a film is no longer decided by the crowd that assembles in the Kodak Theatre — or, indeed, by any American. It is decided by youngsters in countries such as Russia, China and Brazil.

Hollywood has always been an international business, but it is becoming dramatically more so. In the past decade, total box-office spending has risen by about one-third in North America while more than doubling elsewhere. Thanks to Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and Inception, Warner Bros. made $2.93 billion outside North America last year, smashing the studio's previous record of $2.24 billion. Falling DVD sales in America, by far the world's biggest home-entertainment market, mean Hollywood is even more dependent on foreign sales.

The rising foreign tide has lifted films that were virtually written off in America, such as Prince of Persia and The Chronicles of Narnia: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Despite starring the popular Jack Black, Gulliver's Travels had a disappointing run in North America, taking $42 million at the box office so far. But strong turnout in Russia and South Korea helped it reach almost $150 million in sales elsewhere. As a result, it should turn a profit, says John Davis, the film's producer.

The growth of the international box office is partly a result of the dollar's weakness. It was also helped by Avatar, an eco-fantasy that made a startling $2 billion outside North America. But three things are particularly important: a cinema boom in the emerging world, a concerted effort by the major studios to make films that might play well outside America and a global marketing push to make sure they do.

Russia, with its shrinking teenage population, is an unlikely spot for a box-office boom. Yet cinema-building is proceeding apace, and supply has created demand. Last year, 160 million movie tickets were sold in Russia ---- the first time in recent years that sales have exceeded the country's population. Ticket prices have risen, in part because the new cinemas are superior, with digital projectors that can show 3D films.

The big Hollywood studios are muscling domestic film-makers aside. In 2007, American films made almost twice as much at the Russian box office as domestic films -- 8.3 billion rubles ($325 million) compared with 4.5 billion rubles. Last year, the imported stuff made some 16.4 billion rubles: more than five times as much as the home-grown product, estimates Movie Research, a Moscow outfit. Earlier this month, Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, said the government would spend less money supporting Russian film-makers and more on expanding the number of screens.

Growth is much quicker in China, where box-office receipts reached $1.5 billion last year. China's regulator has claimed that cinema screens are going up at a rate of three per day; some are IMAX screens that command higher ticket prices. The government allows only 20 non-Chinese films into the market each year, virtually guaranteeing big audiences for those that make the cut. Moviegoers and censors alike warm to family films and movies that seem to reflect China's central place in the world. Thus, expect long lines for Kung Fu Panda 2 this summer.

Unfortunately, Hollywood has learned (as have many other industries) that great sales in China do not always translate into great profits. In America, distributors tend to receive 50 to 55 per cent of box-office receipts, with the rest going to the cinemas. Elsewhere, the average take is 40 to 45 per cent. In China, where Hollywood must use a domestic distributor, the proportion is roughly 15 per cent. American films may be yanked in favour of domestic ones (Avatar had to make way for Confucius last year). The World Trade Organization has ordered China to reform, but few moguls expect it to.

Growing fears of piracy have led studios to release films almost simultaneously in many countries; increasingly, the premiere takes place outside America. That changes the marketing game, says Michael Lynton, head of Sony Pictures. Studios used to rely on rumours of American success seeping out of the country, priming audiences elsewhere to see a film. Now they must conduct co-ordinated global campaigns. These are more expensive and tougher on the talent. Stars are corralled for two-week marketing blitzes that may take them to 10 countries -- "like a political campaign," says Lynton. Actors who are willing to do this (such as the indefatigable Black) may find themselves working more regularly.

Big noisy spectacle travels best. Jason Statham, the close-cropped star of many a mindlessly violent film, is a particular Russian favorite. Films based on well-known literature (including cartoon books) and myths may also fare well. Films that trade on contemporary American cultural references are about as popular abroad as an oil slick on a NASCAR track. Comedy travels badly, too: Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler provoke guffaws at home but incomprehension abroad. As the market swings away from America, funny films are less likely to find financing or broad distribution anywhere. "You won't see us doing a lot of comedies," says Brad Grey, head of Paramount Pictures.

The growing internationalization of the film business suits the biggest outfits, and not just because they can afford explosions. The major studios' power lies not so much in their ability to make good films -- plenty of smaller operations can do that -- but in their ability to wring every possible drop of revenue from a film. With their superior global marketing machines and their ability to anticipate foreign tastes, they are increasingly dominating the market. For everyone else, there is a chance to win a gold statue.

Credit :  Winnipeg Free Press

Traditional Oscar couple might split up this year

MONTREAL - It was exactly a month ago when this cynic suggested there was no need to hold this year’s Academy Awards gala, that the biggest mystery surrounding the bash would be to see how Sunday's hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway would fare.

Nominations for the Oscars had just been announced and it appeared to many that the major winners of the recent Golden Globe Awards would all repeat on the Oscar podium as well.
And Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo likely will, but there could be one king-sized exception. The Social Network, the Globe winner and the then-heavily favoured flick to cop the Oscar for best film, appears to be pulling a little lame entering the clubhouse stretch. The winds have changed, and it now looks like The King’s Speech will rule Sunday night.

Since losing the Globe for best film, The King’s Speech has made a royal rebound, sweeping the Producers Guild, Directors Guild, Screen Actors Guild and British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards – at the expense of The Social Network.

If it’s any consolation to Social Network’s David Fincher – and it probably isn’t – he should follow his Globe victory for best director with an Oscar in the same category. Best director and best film match up nearly 80 per cent of the time at the Oscars. But the feeling is that The Social Network, almost a unanimous pick among critics as the best film of the year, is getting the shaft for providing an all-too-honest glimpse into the realities of social networking and subsequent social alienation. Or, by contrast, it doesn’t provide the same happy ending as The King’s Speech.

So, lip-service of sorts will be paid to Fincher.

There is precedent for this. In 2003, the musical Chicago won the Academy Award for best film, but Rob Marshall, who had taken the Directors Guild Award that year, just like King’s Speech’s Tom Hooper has this year, was denied the Oscar for best director. Instead, the world’s most famed film fugitive, Roman Polanski, took the prize for The Pianist that year – also a sort of payback by Oscar voters who felt the latter film was getting shortchanged.

A similar snub took place at the Oscars in 1999. Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan had been the betting favourite to take best film and best director. But Shakespeare in Love surprised many by taking the award for best film. However, a little justice was delivered with the deserving Spielberg grabbing the Oscar for best director over Shakespeare in Love’s John Madden.

Hands up, film geeks, if you have caught some more commonality with Chicago, Shakespeare in Love and The King’s Speech.

Yup, it’s the Weinstein Factor. The same Harvey Weinstein, whose unauthorized documentary bio surfaced on HBO Canada earlier this week, was exec producer of Chicago, was producer of Shakespeare in Love and is the distributor of The King’s Speech.

The latter film’s recent success can be attributed to the headlines and hype generated by Weinstein, as well as the countless Oscar campaign cash in advertising he has put up. The man, described as “part Michael Corleone, part Orson Welles,” followed the same formula with Chicago and Shakespeare in Love.

It’s also worth noting that there is little love lost between Weinstein and Social Network producer Scott Rudin, no slouch either when it comes to creating massive Oscar campaigns. The two had worked together on The Hours – which netted Nicole Kidman an Oscar for best actress – but Rudin had his name removed from the credits prior to the film’s release. One can only imagine what kind of squabble led to that, and one can only imagine how much Rudin would love to get even with Weinstein.

Curiously, and despite all the honours the film has garnered, Weinstein, also known as Harvey Scissorhands for his penchant to re-cut films, wanted to perform a little surgery on The King’s Speech. Evidently, Weinstein felt that some of the cursing in the film should be excised to broaden its audience rating. Mercifully, director Hooper and screenwriter David Seidler were able to thwart Scissorhands, correctly arguing that the mild regal profanities uttered were integral to the film’s plotting, not to mention to the therapy employed to cure the king’s stuttering.

Hell, if it hasn’t upset the Royal Family, it shouldn’t bother King Harvey – who makes the tyrannical King Edward l look mellow.

As to why films play such an important role in our lives, frequent correspondent George Morris passes on these all-important “things you would never know without the movie industry” – which he has culled from a blog:

At least one of a pair of identical twins is born evil.
Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communications system of any invading alien society.

It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts, because your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.

If you are blond and pretty, it is possible to become a world expert on nuclear fission at the age of 22.

Honest and hard working policemen are traditionally gunned down three days before their retirement.

Rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their arch-enemies using complicated machinery involving fuses, pulley systems, deadly gases, lasers and man-eating sharks, which will allow their captives at least 20 minutes to escape.

Once applied, lipstick will never rub off, even while scuba diving.

You’re very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German accent will do.

The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear.
All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they’re going to go off.
If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.


Source: The Montreal Gazette

James Franco refused to host Oscars!

James Franco revealed, he had refused to host Oscars in the beginning but changed his mind later on.

Now this comes as a shocker. We've got to know that Hollywood heartthrob James Franco was in two minds when asked to host Oscars'2011.

James recently revealed he initially said no to host the Oscars because he was too surprised to be offered the coveted role!

Franco revealed: "I was very very surprised, and my initial reaction was 'No.' Then I thought about it and I thought, 'Well, why not? Because I'll look bad?' Well, I don't care. I'm happy to take the criticism. Even if it's 'The Worst Oscars Ever,' I don't care. It's one night of the year."

He further added, "There might be some singing, there might be some dancing", dropping hints on how he and co-host Anne Hathaway will try to make the event most entertaining.

Apart from hosting the awards ceremony, Franco could win an award for Best Actor for his role in new film 127 Hours. And if he does, he said he already has a back-up plan in place – his friend and publicist Barry Johnson will accept it for him.

Oscar Nominations 2011 List

he list of nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards is released and as always, there has been quite a number of surprises this year too. With Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" receiving 12 nominations, there is definitely a fair chance for the film to win the best picture award.

"The Social Network" is another film that has got 8 nominees and is hoping to win the 2011 awards. Andrew Garfield's exclusion for the best supporting actor, has come as a shock to many but the actor reportedly lost the Oscar nomination because of splitting of votes among other strong supporting actors in the film including Justin Timberlake and Armie Hammer. Another shocking exclusion was Christopher Nolan for the best director nomination for "Inception" which was one of the biggest blockbusters last year. This is not the first time that Nolan has been left out from the Oscar nominations, his highly successful "The Dark Knight" and "Memento" also some how didn't impress the jury to award him as the best director. To get more surprises of 2011 Oscar nominations, take a look at the list of nominees

2011 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture

Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The King’s Speech
The Kids Are All Right
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Toy Story 3
The Social Network
127 Hours

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, True Grit

Best Actor

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Javier Bardem, Biutiful

Best Actress

Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Fighter
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Jeremy Renner, The Town
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actress

Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

With these Oscar nominations this year, whether the jury would choose bold and ambitious pictures like The Social Network, Inception and Black Swan or if they would vote for more traditional subjects like True Grit and The King's Speech. We will have to simply wait and watch.

Where the Oscars blew it

The Oscars — both the nominations and the actual awards — are inevitably an occasion for howls of protest that threaten to drown out the triumphs. How could they leave out Christopher Nolan for directing Inception? What about Ryan Gosling, who gave the performance of the year — well, alongside Javier Bardem in Buitiful, maybe — in Blue Valentine? Or Paul Giamatti, the Oscar's perennial also-ran, who won a Golden Globe for Barney's Version but gets nothing but air from the Academy Awards?

When people are complaining about who didn't get into the golden circle, rather than who did, you know that Oscar got most of it right. There weren't any embarrassing nominations, keeping in mind that one man's embarrassing nomination — Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side? — is another man's Oscar-winner.

And it's hard to think of whom you'd omit from the best actor category, for instance, to make room for Gosling, or Giamatti, for that matter. It would have been good for Mila Kunis to have been nominated for her supporting performance in Black Swan, but it's great that the academy reached out to the little-known Australian actress Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom.

Such indie names — including Blue Valentine's Michelle Williams, John Hawkes and Jennifer Lawrence from Winter's Bone, and Winter's Bone itself — are sprinkled throughout the Oscar nomination list. It's no longer a collection of movie stars, but a more interesting roster of familiar names and worthy newcomers.

When the academy expanded the best picture category to 10 movies, some critics thought it would dilute the honour of being nominated — there goes the neighbourhood — and suddenly everyone and his uncle was going to be able to put "Academy Award Nominee" in the movie ads. But it has opened up the category to smaller films, such as The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone, that deserve the added attention. They're among the Top 10 movies of the year, so why not salute them in some official way?

Blue Valentine would have been another worthy choice, and there would have been room for it, too, if Toy Story 3 hadn't been among the nominees. It's a wonderful picture — another of the year's best — and it provided one of the most moving moments in its final valedictory to childhood. But the academy should change its rule so that animated movies, which have their own category, can't be nominated in both. The producers of Toy Story 3 should have to decide whether they want their movie to be a nominee for best picture, where its chances of winning are slim, or the Oscar-winner for best animated movie, where it's the front-runner.

If they went for best picture, it would have opened a spot for Despicable Me or Megamind, two fine animated movies that were left off this year's list. If they stayed in the animated category, Blue Valentine might have made it.

That's one change I would like to see in the Oscar nomination process. Here's another.

In 1996, the jury at the Cannes Film Festival created a special award for "audacity" to honour David Cronenberg's strange and violent sexual fantasy, Crash. It was an award made on the run, because Crash didn't fit into any of the other categories at Cannes. It still doesn't, in fact.

At the time, I remember thinking that it's too bad the Academy Award people hadn't thought of that 10 years earlier, for David Lynch's strange and violent sexual fantasy, Blue Velvet. It was a riveting experience, certainly the best movie I saw that year, but it was snubbed by the Oscars (except for Lynch's direction). The Oscar that year went to Platoon.

I still think it's an idea worth considering. The Oscars have a far more formal, bureaucratic system than the hit-and-run mischief of a Cannes jury of a dozen people meeting for a couple of weeks. But there's no reason the academy couldn't build in provisions for the occasional special Oscar, something unannounced that could constitute an Oscar-night surprise. This year, for instance, a small jury of filmmakers within the academy could meet and decide that perhaps Gosling's performance — his immersion in the role of a desperate husband who just doesn't know how to make his wife happy — should get something. The ukulele scene alone is worth some kind of parallel Oscar, an acknowledgment that film acting has been advanced a little bit by what he was doing. Or maybe Nolan could get an award for the boldness of his imagination. Or one of a dozen other smaller movies could move from the cozy precincts of independent movie awards to get some of the big-league brass of Oscar.