Premium Rush: Film Review

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a bike messenger targeted by a crooked cop in director David Koepp's asphalt-action tale.

An asphalt-action tale as unadorned as the fixed-gear cycle its hero rides, David Koepp's Premium Rush supplies just enough dramatic rationale to set a series of Manhattan bike chases in motion and then follows without pretending it cares much about anything beyond the adrenaline. A quick pace and always-enjoyable lead Joseph Gordon-Levitt will please moviegoers, even if the pic's ticking-clock approach isn't as invigoratingly pulpy here as in the Koepp-penned Snake Eyes and Panic Room.

Gordon-Levitt plays Wilee, a law student-turned-bike messenger who blew off the bar in favor of battling traffic for peanuts. His bike, lacking fancy gear-shifts or even a brake, is dumb steel compared to the slick cycles his coworkers ride, but Wilee and the film embrace its stubborn brand of constantly-forward motion as an existential imperative.

Sent uptown to his alma mater, Columbia University, to fetch an envelope destined for Chinatown, Wilee becomes the targetof a bad cop (Michael Shannon) bent on stealing the package -- which contains a marker for $50,000, intended as payment for smuggling a refugee from China to the U.S. Koepp's script, co-written by John Kamps, zips back in time occasionally to explain itself -- showing, for instance, how the package's sender (a Chinese Columbia student who happens to be the roommate of Wilee's girlfriend) wound up fretfully entrusting this valuable slip of paper to a daredevil on two wheels.

But the main attraction of these narrative detours is the time they afford us with Michael Shannon, who chews scenery while accumulating massive debt in Chinatown gambling dens, then desperately setting out to repay it by intercepting Wilee's package. Shannon and Aasif Mandvi (as Wilee's dispatcher) are high points in a supporting cast that otherwise fails to add much to one-note roles.

Gordon-Levitt sets aside much of his boyish charm to play a character who relies less on wit than nerve. As he hurtles down New York streets, the actor's alert eyes are as vital in conveying the kinetic geography as is Mitchell Amundsen's camera, and Koepp's occasional time-outs -- stopping action to visualize possible routes through vehicle-and-pedestrian chaos before settling on the least hazardous one -- are effective in getting us on Wilee's hyper-perceptive wavelength.

Whether Wilee is being chased by Shannon's unmarked cop car, trying to catch up to competitive co-worker Manny (Wolé Parks, who with a bit more charisma could have made a mark here), or dodging the odd out-of-nowhere cab door, the cycling action is consistently invigorating, clearly relying on actual stunt work instead of CG (and recalling a time when that would have gone without saying).

Though he cheats his geography from time to time (weaseling Harlem's elevated train tracks into scenes set further downtown, say), Koepp clearly enjoys setting his action on actual NYC streets. For all the gains planners and activists have made in carving bike lanes into the city's grid, it's strangely comforting to see that some riders will always find exciting ways to make them unsafe.

Production Company: Pariah

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, Wolé Parks, Jamie Chung, Aasif Mandvi

Director: David Koepp

Screenwriter: David Koepp, John Kamps

Producer: Gavin Polone

Executive producer: Mari-Jo Winkler

Director of photography: Mitchell Amundsen

Production designer: Thérèse DePrez

Music: David Sardy

Costume designer: Luca Mosca

Editors: Derek Ambrosi, Jill Savitt

PG-13, 90 minutes

Ranbir's character in BARFI! is like Raj Kapoor, says Anurag Basu

For his role in Anurag Basu's BARFI!, Ranbir Kapoor takes cues from grandfather's Chaplinesque look

Remember Raj Kapoor's legendary roles as a happy-go-lucky tramp in AWARA (1951) and SHREE 420 (1955)...He had apparently taken inspiration Hollywood great, Charlie Chaplin, to play these characters,
sporting the now famous ill-fitting trousers and floppy hat.


And now, 57 years later, his grandson Ranbir Kapoor has taken pointers from his late grandfather for his next film. Ranbir's look in his upcoming film BARFI! is an instant reminder of late Kapoor's Chaplinesque avatar, complete with a thin moustache, umbrella and hat.

In the movie, BARFI! is a simpleton, who is deaf and mute and always has a prank up his sleeve. When Anurag was designing BARFI!'s look, he wanted a very innocent and loveable appearance. He instantly thought of Raj Kapoor in AWARA and SHREE 420 and his look was also believed to be a take on Chaplin's. Also Ranbir's familial connection with Raj Kapoor made it all the more special.

Anurag Basu, confirms, "Ranbir plays a loveable character, someone you adore and who leaves a lasting impression on your mind and heart. I can say his character is like that Raj Kapoor, Charlie Chaplin and Roberto Benigni. The shades are similar to the lovable tramp, much like you have seen these actors portray with ease. They mesmerised audiences with their charm and simplicity." 

Madonna Considering a Move to Rome

The Material Girl, who has drawn the ire of the Vatican over the years, is eyeing luxury properties in two of the city's neighborhoods, according to reports.

ROME – Reportedly tiring of life in London and New York, the Material Girl is said it be mulling a move to the Eternal City.

The Italian media reported Wednesday that Madonna may be looking to acquire a luxury property in Rome.

The most likely candidates: a luxury villa on the Aventine Hill, or a penthouse apartment in the iconoclastic neighborhood designed by early 20th century architect Gino Coppede. There is no official word from the camp of the singer born as Madonna Louise Ciccone about a possible move, though the 54-year-old pop icon has always maintained close ties with Italy, the home of her ancestors.

Madonna’s personal donation of $500,000 to help the victims of the devastating 2009 earthquake in Abruzzo was at first larger than the aid from the U.S. government. She has also opined periodically on Italian affairs, and has been a vocal critic of media tycoon and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Madonna’s directorial effort, W.E., which told the story of the love story between British King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson, premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year.

But she has also been attacked repeatedly by the Vatican, which called the video for her 1989 hit "Like a Prayer" "blasphemous" for its visions of burning crosses, statues that cried blood and a scene where Madonna herself seduced a black Jesus Christ. In 2004, she was also criticized for promoting the Kabbalah religious belief, which the Vatican considers to be a threat to Roman Catholicism.

Most recently, church officials blasted her for the decision to sing while hanging from a crucifix during a 2006 concert in Rome. After that show, Cardinal Ersilio Tonino, speaking for Pope Benedict XVI, said, "This time the limits have really been pushed too far. She should be excommunicated."

She last attracted headlines in Italy in June, when during another concert in Rome, Madonna flashed her buttocks, revealing her black undergarments and fishnet stockings, to the delight of concertgoers.

Rome has been a popular destination for the entertainment world’s elite since the Dolce Vita days of the 1950s and 1960s. But in recent years, few top stars have gone as far as to move there.

'Catching Fire' Casts Sam Claflin as Finnick

UPDATED: The "Snow White and the Huntsman" actor has joined the sequel.

Sam Claflin has been officially cast as Finnick Odair in the Hunger Games sequelCatching Fire.

Claflin had been widely speculated to join the sequel, which is set to hit theaters Nov. 22, 2013. He joins new cast members Jena Malone as Johanna Mason and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee.The Snow White and the Huntsman actor is the latest to join the followup, to be directed by Francis Lawrence.Described as "charismatic" and "clever," Finnick -- from District 4 -- won the Hunger Games when he was 14.

Here's the official logline for the film: "Catching Firebegins as Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has returned home safe after winning the 74th annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a 'Victor's Tour' of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) -- a competition that could change Panem forever."

Claflin starred in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Huntsman as Prince William. He recently finished The Quiet Ones opposite Mad Men'sJared Harris and Mary & Martha with Hilary Swank.

Nina Jacobson's Color Force will produce with Jon Kilik.

'Lincoln' One-Sheet: Daniel Day-Lewis is a Pensive President

Disney released a black and white look at the actor as a deep-in-thought 16th president.

Abraham Lincoln was known to have a solid sense of humor and knack for telling anecdotes, but all signs point to Steven Spielberg's biopic of the president focusing on his very serious side.

Disney, the studio behind the Oscar-winner's Lincoln, released the one sheet for the film on Wednesday, offering yet another look at Daniel Day-Lewis's uncanny resemblance to the bearded commander-in-chief.

While all the art thus far has focused on Day-Lewis, there are plenty of other big stars that will take turns in 1860s garb:Sally Field plays Mary Todd Lincoln,Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays their sonRobert Todd Lincoln, Tommy Lee Jones is Thaddeus Stevens, and Jared Harris takes onUlysses S. Grant.

Last Dance: Melbourne Review

Julia Blake and Firass Dirani star in a taut, low-budget hostage thriller from Australia.

MELBOURNE – Two personalities at utter cross-purposes are claustrophobically tucked inside a dimly lit interior in David Pulbrook’s low-budget hostage drama Last Dance. Ratcheting up the tension are top-notch performances from veteran actress Julia Blake (Innocence, Human Touch) as an elderly Holocaust survivor and handsome up-and-comer Firass Dirani (Underbelly) as the Palestinian terrorist who takes her captive in her own apartment after a botched suicide bombing at a local synagogue.

Co-funded by the Melbourne International Film Festival’s Premiere Fund, this carefully put together, humanistic thriller grapples intelligently with a hot-button international issue. The Australian production, Pulbrook’s first outing as a director after a solid editing career, can expect a good festival run following its MIFF bow and arthouse crowds should appreciate its simmering intensity when it releases domestically later this year.

The clanging of trams in the opening scene marks the setting as multicultural Melbourne, but the vexing complexities of the conflict in the Middle East resonate globally, as does the ability of compassion to rise above all. Sadiq Mohammad (Dirani) is on the run after fleeing an inner-city bombing attack that has felled many innocent people along with a fellow radical. As sirens wail and search helicopters buzz overhead, the gravely wounded young man bundles Jewish widow Ulah Lippman (Blake) into her home and prepares to hide out as he awaits instructions.

But the spirited elderly victim moves quickly through terror to indignation and disgust and so begins a battle of wills as the two set forward their opposing ideologies and argue over the meaning of the term “soldier.” Menacing at first, Sadiq reveals enough of himself to allow Mrs. Lippman’s maternal instinct to take over when he collapses from his shrapnel wound and, rather than escaping, she nurses him back to health while fending off interest from the authorities and a meddlesome neighbor (Alan Hopgood).

A practically airtight screenplay, an eight-year-long collaboration between Pulbrook and first-time scripter Terence Hammond, allows a supremely unlikely bond to develop organically, with revelations about their individual pasts revealing shared sorrows. It is to the credit of the two leads, who carry what is essentially a two-hander, and to Pulbrook’s shrewd camerawork that the film remains dramatically absorbing to the end.

Venue: Melbourne International Film Festival

Production company: Ulah Films

Cast: Julia Blake, Firass Dirani, Danielle Carter

Director: David Pulbrook

Screenwriters: David Pulbrook, Terence Hammond

Producer: Antony I. Ginnane

Executive producers: William Fayman, Ann Lyons, Peter deRauch

Director of photography: Lee Pulbrook

Production designer: Les Binns

Costume designer: Louise McCarthy

Music: Michael Allen

Editor: Phil Reid

Sales: Becker Film Group

No rating, 90 minutes

Publicists Battle to Rep Robert Pattinson

After the cuckolded star told Jon Stewart his "biggest problem in life" was not hiring a publicist, firms like 42 West and Sunshine Sachs came calling -- quickly.

It was an innocent joke: "My biggest problem in life is, I'm cheap and I didn't hire a publicist," Robert Pattinson toldJon Stewart Aug. 13 on The Daily Showwhile promoting Cosmopolis amid theKristen Stewart cheating hoopla.

Sources tell The HBDb the comment set off a mini-frenzy among top Hollywood publicity shops, many of which were salivating at the prospect that Pattinson -- who for years has gone without a personal PR rep -- might finally take one on.

The Twilight star's manager, Nick Frenkel, is said to have been inundated with phone calls and e-mails from firms including 42West, Sunshine Sachs and others seeking meetings to pitch press strategies for the 26-year-old star (and offering to slash fees).

Frenkel declines comment, but one source says Pattinson still has no desire to add a publicist to his team. Notes one veteran rep: "He's actually doing really well on his own."

Mila Kunis, Casey Affleck and James Franco Set To Join 'Third Person' Cast

The trio are in negotiations to join Oscar winner Paul Haggis' movie, which is being produced by Belgium's Corsan.

LONDON – Mila Kunis, Casey Affleckand James Franco are in negotiations to join the cast for Paul Haggis' Third Person, alongside Liam Neeson andOlivia Wilde.

he production is being funded, produced and hawked by Belgian based company Corsan and is scheduled to begin shooting on location in Rome in October this year.

Haggis is currently in the Italian capital in pre-production and is finalizing cast.

The script follows three inter-connected love stories of three couples in three cities, Rome, Paris and New York.

The Italian-set segment revolves around a young couple on a road trip, to be played be Affleck and Moran Atias.

Both Neeson and Wilde worked with Haggis on The Next Three Days and will play writers in the Paris-set section of the film.

Kunis is negotiating to play one half of an estranged couple in New York, with Franco playing her partner in the segment.

"These are complex characters in a challenging story; I'm humbled that so many talented people have placed their faith in me," Haggis said.

Corsan CEO Breuls will produce the movie alongside Haggis and his producing-partner Nozik.

Added Haggis: "I am grateful to have such terrific producing partners in Paul Breuls and Michael Nozik. Now I just need to survive five months of amazing pasta.“

Breuls said the project "exemplifies the kind of film" his company wants to make.

"Corsan's ambition has always been to develop creative partnerships with great filmmakers and give them the space and support to create artistic yet highly commercial films," Breuls said.

Corsan World Sales will be handling international rights to the film in Toronto next month.

Imax to Simultaenously Debut 'Dark Knight Rises' and 'The Amazing Spider-Man' in China

The August 27 screen clash, prompted by Chinese government regulations, will see the Warner Bros. pic play on 78 super-sized screens, while the Columbia Pictures blockbuster fills 78 screens.

TORONTO – Batman and Spider-man are set to clash in China.

Imax on Wednesday revealed Warner Bros. Pictures’ s The Dark Knight Rises and Columbia Pictures’ The Amazing Spiderman will open simultaneously in China on its screens from August 27.

The clash, out of the hands of Imax as Chinese authorities direct screen traffic in that market, will see Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises open on 78 Imax screens, while Marc Webb’sAmazing Spiderman will fill 74 of its super-sized screens in China.

Both blockbuster films are expected play in China for around five weeks.

“We view this cannibalization as negative as the hope had been that they would not toggle the two films,” Ben Mogil, an entertainment analyst with Stifel, wrote in an investors note Wednesday.

“However, given certain blackout periods for non-domestic films and overall government regulation in terms of Hollywood film scheduling, there appears to have been little leeway in this area,” Mogil added.

Amazing Spider-Man has so far grossed $700 million worldwide.

Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 also played on Imax screens.

Producer Cassian Elwes Drew on Agenting Skills to Subdue Unstable Airline Passenger

“It was like talking to a crazy actor who wants to walk off a movie set,” says the former William Morris employee of the Aug. 19 incident on a cross-country JetBlue flight.

Film producer Cassian Elwes has been the toast of the Twitterverse since he tweeted the harrowing tale of talking down a highly unstable fellow passenger on an Aug. 19 JetBlue flight from New York to Los Angeles. The plane was diverted to Denver so the man, who identified himself as a Marine and former heroin addict named Marco, could be arrested for assault.

As Elwes tells it, after Marco had groped a pregnant woman and growled at other passengers, Elwes volunteered to sit next to him, hoping to calm him until police could intervene on the ground. “I went into my agent mode,” says the former William Morris employee, who was returning from a weekend trip back east to help his daughter move into her first apartment. “It was like talking to a crazy actor who wants to walk off a movie set, someone who isn’t listening to logic. It’s about playing into their ego and anger.”

It worked — in due time. Elwes, now at work on Lee Daniels’ The Butler, soon had Marco telling him about his recent short-story writing effort (the protagonist was, gulp, a kamikaze pilot): “It was fine. I’ve dealt with nuttier personalities in Hollywood.”

How Kristen Stewart's Apology Backfired (Analysis)

An anonymous industry insider offers a defense of the starlet after her ill-advised makeout session -- and even more ill-advised mea culpa.

OK, people. Enough is enough. Let’s cut Kristen Stewart a break. She didn’t kill anybody. She’s 22. She’s not married. What was she doing? She was making out with somebody. What were you doing when you were 22? Either you were making out with somebody or you wished you were. OK, the guy she was making out with is married with children. That’s really deplorable, no doubt about it. And of course she’s the only person in L.A. to be making out with a married person, right? Ha! As if. In fact, I’d bet that right now 17 percent of the people reading this are making out with somebody they shouldn’t be, and another 28 percent are looking forward to doing so next weekend. So save your outrage, huh? I mean, why do you think people go into show business?  

Her fans are upset. A bunch of them are running around wearing T-shirts that say “trampire” on them. You know what I think? I think fans like that are the real vampires, because they suck.

Sure, we can feel sorry for RPat. I mean, we don’t know RPat. We don’t know what was going on at home when KStew and RPat were just sitting around the house. We do know that actors fly away from each other all the time and that their relationships aren’t, you know, etched in stone, so why punish one 22-year-old unmarried actress for what her fellow professionals have been doing since Shakespeare left the original Anne Hathawayback in Stratford?

Naturally, some of the misery K has gone through is earned, fair and square. She screwed up, the way even people do who are not sensuous, immature, impulsive, emotionally bumptious actors, and she got busted. She then made the ultimate mistake. She apologized, publicly, in a lame and soggy statement. Don’t these people have phones? Why don’t they use them to call the people (with a small p) to whom they should really be apologizing? The fact that she entered the ritual dance sincerely only made it worse. Without revealing too much, I’ll just say that in my non-anonymous role with a massive multiplayer media monolith, I have learned one thing: Apologies are viewed by the vengeful, lustful, titillated body politic as the appetizer that comes before the main course — an execution in the town square. Music! Turkey legs for everybody! Huzzah!

And so it was for poor Stew. The fact that she paid the private price — losing Robert Pattinson, the guy she loved — was only the beginning. On Aug. 14, it got down to business — and that’s frickin’ ridiculous. First, the director she was making out with was fired from the Snow White and the Huntsman sequel. That was stupid enough.

Then maybe he wasn’t fired. Instead, it’s K.Stew who’s off the project. Huh? The sequel to Snow Whitewill go off ... without Snow White? Because the starlet was making out with somebody other than her fan-approved boyfriend? Now the jihad is extending to her career as a vampire! Fan conventions for the 1,475th iteration of the Twilight saga are being canceled. No promotional work for you, young lady!

Come on, people. Who are we talking about here? Fatty Arbuckle? Roman Polanski? The madness has to stop! Was the famous head of one of the greatest Hollywood studios fired back in the ’30s when he was known to require that a new starlet be delivered to his office every day after lunch? WasCleopatra fired for descending into sexual frenzy with her Mark Antony during filming? Half of this town is screwing the other half at any time! It's a tradition! You're not going to change that by Stalinizing Snow White!

Hey, you know what? I’ve got a better idea for the agents, studio executives and so-called fans who are now heaping misery on Stewart’s head. Take all that righteous indignation and focus it where it belongs — on the fat, sleazy, greasy, predatory pond scum who stalk the underbrush with their high-powered digital gear, prying into other people’s lives and selling the stinking evidence of their targets’ frailty back to us in poisonous morsels. That’s right. Go out today and do some good in the world. Kick a creep in the head. You’ll be glad you did.

And as for you, Kristen, it’s time to shed the scarlet A that people are trying to put on your chest. Stop cringing. Stop accepting punishment. Stop conforming to the expectations of all the hypocrites and reconfigure the role you’re playing. You can do that. You’re an actress: You don’t owe anyone even the smallest peek at your true self. Get up off the couch, put away the vat of ice cream, put on something foxy and go out. Be seen. If anybody gives you any crap, tell them to go f— themselves. Celebrity means never having to say you’re sorry.

Todd McCarthy: How Tony Scott Finally Won Me Over

The HBDb's chief film critic writes that the late director's films were "never my cup of tea -- until, finally, one very much was."

His death has been shocking, unlike any other of someone of prominence, putting one in mind, as much as anything else, of the climax of his brother's Thelma and Louise. Awful, especially for his family, but nonetheless stone cold sobering even for those of us who knew him only by reputation and through his work.

Tony Scott's films were never my cup of tea -- until, finally, one very much was. Ever since he burst on the scene three decades ago, Scott was known for shooting the hell out of nearly every sequence to achieve maximum sensation. This aesthetic, which he and his brother Ridley had pushed to new levels in commercials, dovetailed perfectly with the style Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer were pursuing at Paramount in the 1980s, so when Tony and the producers they found each other for Top Gun, it was a perfect testosterone-fueled Hollywood marriage.

From this point on, however, the discussion becomes entirely a matter of taste. For many (it was the biggest-grossing film of 1986)Top Gun was fun, exciting and sexy. For me, it was hollow, phony and dispiriting, subtextually about and by macho guys who'd found something even bigger and more impressive than Ferraris to show off in. Ultimately, the best thing about Top Gun wasQuentin Tarantino's hilarious “gay way” analysis of it in the otherwise forgettable 1994 film Sleep With Me.

Having found his commercial niche as a brash, flashy, sometimes vulgar action painter on celluloid, so it went for quite a while for Tony Scott on Beverly Hills Cop II, Days of Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, True Romance (written by Tarantino) and, maybe worst of all, The Fan. Uniformly, these are films that possess flair of a prodigious but particularly narrow sort that precludes the co-existence of any genuine emotion, ideas or substance; all the count are the facile feelings and impressions generated by the carefully orchestrated combination of images and music.

Tucked in amongst these projects was Revenge. Jim Harrison's great novella held as much promise for a terse, disturbing, sexy and suspenseful film as anything I had ever read and it might have lived up to its potential if either John Huston or Walter Hill, two of the directors who wanted to do it, had ended up making the film. That Tony Scott so completely missed the opportunities inherent in the text convinced me that he, unlike his brother, was actually averse to material that had any meaning, seriousness or weight to it; when presented with a glorious opportunity, he seemed to nearly go out of his way to thwart its potential.

Thus disenchanted and mostly having avoided Scott's films for some years, I was mildly surprised by how the authentic power and the strength of the performances overshadowed the superfluous stylistic gimmicks in Man on Fire. The Taking of Pelham 123 was OK too, and when you factor in Crimson Tideand, to a lesser extent, Deja Vu, it's clear Scott had a pretty good thing going with Denzel Washington. The actor was never preening, noble or self-serious in the five films they made together, usually just a working-class guy trying to deal with the matters at hand.

Which leads to their final collaboration and what, sadly, was the director's last film, Unstoppable. Given my earlier aversion, I was astonished in 2010 to find myself putting a Tony Scott film on my 10 best list for the year. This Rust Belt thriller had its director's fingerprints all over it: The commitment to extreme action, frenetic cutting, stripped down dialogue and all the rest. But it was also a great blue-collar action movie with a social critique embedded in its guts; it was about disconnected working class stiffs living marginal lives on society's sidings, about the barely submerged anger of a neglected underclass. This was the kind of extra dimension that, it seemed to me, had always been lacking from Tony Scott's work, some connection to the real world rather than just silly flyboy stuff and meaningful glances accompanied by this year's pop music hit.

While successful enough, Unstoppable was not as widely recognized for what it was, even by Scott's usual supporters, as I thought it should be. But even if the film didn't inspire me to reassess the director's earlier work -- I'm not convinced there's any subtext there I missed the first time around -- it did provide a measure of hope that his gritty view of life, and a way to express the nature of human impulses through screen action, would continue to be so naturally and expressively conveyed in his work. Alas, it came too late. But it was a great way to go out.

Ananth Mahadevan's documentary film awarded at Kolkata International Film Festival

The acclaimed Bollywood filmmaker Ananth Narayan Mahadevan won the Best Documentary Film award for the film STATE OF THE ART, produced by Siddhivinayak Cinevision Pvt.Ltd, at the recently held Kolkata Shorts International film festival (KISFF).

Kolkata, the hub of Bengali Cinema witnessed the Kolkata Shorts International film festival amidst the presence of galaxy of established & aspiring filmmakers. Minioxoffice, a Noida based short films marketing & Promotion Company took the initiative to bring Kolkata International Short Film Festival in association with filmmakers from all over nation. During the occasion FSIFF also observed the '100 years of Indian Cinema'.



The reputed national award winning Bengali film director Mr. Atanu Ghosh was the festival jury along with reputed folk & Bengali films singer Dippanita Acharya. Both the judges have hugely appreciated the work of short filmmakers. Mr. Arijit Dutta, reputed film producer & MD of Priya entertainment as the chief guest of festival award ceremony.

The festival has received 126 shorts films from all over India including short films from Iran, Spain, Israel, UK etc. The selection panel has shortlisted 42 films out of total. The festival screened shortlisted short films, documentaries, animation & music videos. Beside this festival has featured Spanish & Iranian films package. A master class on 'Short films marketing, promotion & revenue generation through short films has also conducted, as informed by festival director Mr. Rambhul Singh.

The festival is dedicated to serve the short filmmakers and aims to provide platform to aspiring, students and professional filmmakers to showcase their talent with networking opportunities with other filmmakers.

"The festival objective is to contribute in the development of aspiring filmmakers, to create short films culture in India, promotion of short films, developing sources of revenue generation from short films and to make short film making a commercial enterprise," said festival director Rambhul Singh, who is an award winning film director. The festival was conducted at Hotel De-Sovrani, Salt Lake in Kolkata was a huge success.

Here's the list of other award winning films:

Best Short Film:

Pranayathil Oruval Vazhthappedum Vidham by Director Manilal
Production: Independent, Trisoor

Best Short Film (Student):

CHATKHAARA by Director Syed Maaz Kazmi
Production: Dept. of Communication Studies, Pune University

Best Documentary Film (Student):
IN RAGS by Director Abhishek Chandra
Production: NID, Ahmadabad

Best Animation Film(Student):
A STORY by Director Laxmikanta Jena
Production: We7 Team, ZICA, Bhubaneswar

Best Animation Film:
ROMEO SPIKES by Director K.D Shybu
Production: Vismayas Max Animations, Trivandrum

Best Music Video:
DISTANCE by Director Arnab Chatterjee
Production: Wiztoonz Academy of Media & Design, Bangalore

Special Festival Mention- Jury:
- IMAGINATION (Short Film) by Director Anto
Production: Nietzche Production House 

Emmys 2012: Nicole Kidman's American Accent Is Still a Work in Progress

Taking on the tongue once again in "Hemingway & Gellhorn," the actress tells The HBDb she's always studying: "It's like preparing your thesis: an enormous amount of studying and preparation."

The Hollywood and Bollywood Data base: How much did you know about war correspondent Martha Gellhorn before doing this film?

Nicole Kidman: I didn't know anything about her, unfortunately. I did a crash course on her. Director Philip Kaufman provided many avenues for research -- I was able to watch film of her, look at photos, read her letters. There was so much access to Martha's mind and behavior, but it required an enormous amount of reading and studying; also, learning more about Hemingway, the Spanish Civil War, what ignited the Second World War. But my main goal was to absorb Martha's brilliance.

The HBDb: You've played many roles in which you showcase a very convincing American accent. Do you still have to practice this regularly while you're shooting?

Kidman: Yes. I worked with Tim Monich, who's a fantastic dialect coach I've known for so many years. We studied Martha when she was an older woman. There are interviews she did with the BBC, and we took them as the basis of her accent. But by that time, she had a very British accent, so we had to take some of those sounds out. You know, all of this stuff is … if you have to do it, it's like preparing your thesis: an enormous amount of studying and preparation.

The HBDb: It sounds as if this film was like going to graduate school for you.

Kidman: (Laughs.) Yes, exactly! Like I did my thesis on Martha Gellhorn … and a little bit of Hemingway. I feel like as long as I can do all of that groundwork, I can go and be freer in the character. Then you're the expert. During shooting, I could say, "You know, this or that is more authentic to her true nature." At one point, Phil said: "Well, she's yours now. You've really morphed into her." It was especially beautiful playing her as an older woman, too.

The HBDb: How did it feel to see yourself as the older Martha, complete with dramatic aging makeup?

Kidman: A little freaky. I was like, "Oh God, what happened to my life? I'm so old." At the same time, I was so inside of her by that stage -- I was smoking all the time, walking like her -- I just kind of existed in that place of being that age. And I didn't talk to anybody out of character. Her voice sort of came with it. When you hear those BBC interviews -- she drank and smoked an enormous amount -- you hear that deep voice. I love it because it's such a lived-in, tired voice. Originally, those scenes when I'm older were scheduled to shoot midway through production, but I asked whether we could shoot them at the end. By then, I felt I'd lived her life, so it was easier.

The HBDb: You had great chemistry with Clive Owen, who plays a convincing Ernest Hemingway, her tempestuous lover and husband.

Kidman: Thank you. I loved that he didn't pull punches or choose the "safe" route. He really went for it. He's a very, very smart actor. Also, it helped that Philip, Clive and I were very, very tight. You really want to be bonded, you know?

The HBDb: How big is Philip on rehearsing?

Kidman: Well, we definitely talked a lot, went to dinner a lot. Then we'd run scenes and talk about them. He's very collaborative, and he loves actors -- he really loves actors. You can also feel the love he felt for Martha. He loves strong women who are going to push the boundaries and not conform. You see that in a lot of his movies, and I adore him for that because I'm very committed to those sort of roles, too.

The HBDb: There is a lot of alcohol consumption in this movie. Were there any days on set when you didn't have to pretend that you were inebriated?

Kidman: (Laughs.) No. But I've definitely never played a part like this, ever. As Philip says, Martha often out-Hemingway'd Hemingway with the drinking.

This is your first Emmy nomination. How does it feel to be invited to the show?

Kidman: I'm blown away. I'm absolutely thrilled and excited to attend. I actually just got back from the Olympics. We only saw the Opening Ceremony, but it was amazing. Now that I'm home, I really have to focus on getting an Emmy dress.

Ravi Kissen starrer JEENA HAI TOH THOK DAAL to release on 14th September

The recent promos and posters of the upcoming movie JEENA HAI TOH THOK DAAL have been garnering a lot of buzz in the industry. The daring nature and serious subject of the film is grabbing a lot of eyeballs in B-Town we hear!

The film stars Ravi Kissen, Manish Vatsalya, Yashpal Sharma, Rahul Kumar, Pooja Welling, Hazel Crowney, Sharat Saxena, Govind Naamdev, Murli Sharma and Ashwini Kalsekar amongst others. Interestingly, Manish Vatslya, who plays a lead role in the movie, is also making his directorial debut with it!

A Rash Productions project, the film is based on the lives of four criminals in Bihar who form a tight knit group of gangsters. Born and brought up in the heart of crime the four come up with a master plan and come to Mumbai. All goes as per their scheme until one of them has a change of heart and their lives take an unexpected turn.

While the music for the film is given by Shadaab-Abhik and Siddhant Madhav, the cinematography is done by Neelabh Kaul and choreography by Ganesh Acharya!

Produced by Aparna Hoshing, this gripping saga is slated to release on 14th September, 2012! 

Peter Chan's We Pictures Announces 'The Guillotines' Rollout in 3D in December in China

The assassin-themed film, starring Huang Xiaoming, Li Yuchun, and Shawn Yue, is shot using the Arri Alexa digital camera and converted from 2D by Canada-based effect company Vision Globale.

HONG KONG – The Guillotines, the Peter Chan-produced and Andrew Laudirected period actioner, will be released in 3D in China in December, Chan’s We Pictures announced.

The assassin-themed film, starring Huang Xiaoming (The Message), Li Yuchun(Bodyguards and Assassins), and ShawnYue (Love in the Buff), is shot using the Arri Alexa digital movie camera and converted from 2D by Canada-based effect company Vision Globale. Director Lau (Infernal Affairs) showed the 3D trailer in an event in Beijing this week, on the China Film Giant Screen, a 12m high and 20m wide format which is comparable to Imax in terms of technology and quality.

We Pictures also announced its continual collaboration with Huang as one of the three stars of Peter Chan’s next directorial effort American Dreams in China, alongside Chinese actorsDeng Chao (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame), and Tong Dawei (The Flowers of War, Red Cliff). The leading men will play founders of a multi-million dollar tutorial enterprise in a rags-to-riches story that spanned three decades, beginning from China’s Economic Reform. Filming has commenced in Beijing and Tianjin since July and will move to New York in September.

The company has cast Bai Baihe, the breakout star of last year’s 180 million yuan-grossing surprise hit Love is Not Blind, as the lead of The Truth of Beauty. The new film, produced by Peter Chan and directed by Aubrey Lam, is a romantic comedy that revolves around cosmetic surgery.  The pair has been long term collaborators, with Chan producing Lam’s directorial debut 12 Nights in 2000, while Lam was the writer of the Chan-directed Perhaps Love, The Warlords, and Wu Xia, and The Guillotines, which Chan produced.

PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA steals the show at Indian Film Festival 2012 in Berlin!

PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA which turned out to be the biggest rom-com of 2011 owing to its comic appeal and youth centric content with a fresh new star cast was the highlight of this year's Indian Film Festival held in Berlin!


The festival which kick started on 15th August with powerful youth-driven films had numerous eminent personalities from the Bollywood film industry present as well.

Among the many films screened it was Producer Abhishek Pathak's PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA which stole the show when it was screened on the 16th August and was well appreciated by the audiences present there.

Abhishek was present with one of the film's leading lady Sonalli Sehgall and was overwhelmed with the response they received from the people of Berlin. A source present at the festival said, "Abhishek was extremely happy with the response he received for his film, and it has definitely motivated him to make more films on the lines of PYAAR KA PUNCHNAMA.

The Festival is organized in partnership with the Embassy of India, Berlin and the cinema "Babylon Berlin".

Well kudos to Abhishek Pathak and team and we hope to see many more interesting offerings from the young producer soon! 

German Star Elyas M'Barek Cast as Vampire in 'Mortal Instruments'

The adaptation of the Cassandra Clare's fantasy novel stars Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

COLOGNE, Germany - Elyas M'Barek, one of Germany's hottest young actors, has been cast as a vampire in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, the adaptation of Cassandra Clare's best-selling fantasy novel, which Harald Zwart (Karate Kid) is directing.

A veteran of German TV sitcoms, M'Barek became one of Germany's biggest box office draws with his starring role in the cross-culture romantic comedy Turkish For Beginners, in which he plays a stereotypical German-Turkish macho.

The film was a huge hit from producer/distributor Constantin Film, which is also producing The Mortal Instruments. The fantasy film, which stars Lily Collins as an ordinary girl forced to fight demons to rescue her mother (Lena Headey), is currently shooting in Toronto. Jamie Campbell Bower, Kevin Zegers, Kevin Durand andJonathan Rhys Meyers also star.

Robert Kulzer is producing The Mortal Instruments for Constantin together with Don Carmody, Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne from Unique Pictures. Constantin' film and TV head Martin Moszkowicz is executive producing.

The film is being set up as the first in a possible fantasy franchise, similar to Constantin's hit Resident Evil films, which Kulzer also produced.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will release The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones in the U.S. next summer. Constantin has the film for German release.

OMG! OH MY GOD makers place donation boxes to promote the film

Way back in 2008, Aamir Khan  had got the ushers of a multiplex chain to sport the GHAJINI look to promote his upcoming film, during the release of Shahrukh Khan's film RAB NE BANA DI JODI. This time, it's Akshay Kumar who will be piggybacking on the super success of his contemporary Salman Khan's EK THA TIGER, to promote his upcoming production venture OMG OH MY GOD!. The makers of the film have adopted a unique marketing strategy of placing donation boxes - similar to the ones you see in temples - at two multiplexes in the city. The boxes read - ''Have you bribed God today?''

Vikram Malhotra, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures explains: ''OMG is a film with mass appeal. It is for people who believe in God and those who don't. So we decided to engage the audience in a manner that is thought-provoking. We placed these daan petis (donation boxes) so that people can go back with the message - ''Aren't you really bribing God to get a wish fulfilled?'' A wish could range from good exam scores to college admissions to marriages. Donation and prayers are offered with an objective rather than solely out of devotion. That is one of the things that the film addresses.'' 

The boxes have received coins, notes from young girls looking for grooms and also notes from youngsters reading ''You cannot bribe God for anything.' The makers are excited by this response in city multiplexes and now plan to take the promotions to a national level. Malhotra adds, 'We'll spread it across 15 cities and 80 properties and focus on multiplex chains that attract youth.'' 

OMG OH MY GOD!, starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Mithun Chakraborty, is about Kanji Mehta (Paresh Rawal), an atheist, who sues God because an earthquake destroys his antique shop. Amidst his legal tussles, he runs into Krishna Vasudev Yadav (played by Akshay Kumar), a man who claims to be God. What follows is a journey of epic proportions, of self-realization and legal masterstrokes.

The film, written and directed by Umesh Shukla, is set to release on September 28, 2012. 

Sky Deutschland Takes 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn,' 'Magic Mike' for German Pay TV

Sky signs exclusive package deal with rights group Tele Munchen.

COLOGNE, Germany - The final entry in the Twilight saga and Channing Tatum's male stripper film Magic Mikeare among the highlights of a new deal signed between News Corp.'s German pay TV operation Sky Deutschland andHerbert Kloiber's rights group Tele Munchen.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 is the biggest title in the major package deal inked Wednesday, which gives Sky exclusive German pay TV rights for the finale of the Twilight franchise. But other major titles include Walter Salles' On the Road adaptation starring Sam Riley,Garrett Hedlund and Twilight's Kristen Stewart; the Robert Redford-directed thriller The Company You Keep with Shia LeBeouf; and Asterix & Obelix: God Save Britannia, the latest in the live action French franchise based on the popular comic books.

The deal also includes multiple library titles from TMG's back catalogue, among them the original Total Recall and Dirty Dancing. Under the agreement, Sky can broadcast the TMG films on its linear pay network as well offering them up via its mobile and VOD services.

Sky Deutschland recently posted its first operating profit in five years as second quarter revenue jumped 18 percent to more than $400 million. Company CEO Brian Sullivan has beat analysts forecasts by steadily adding subscribers - Sky's subscriber base is now at 3.13 million - and rapidly expanding its mobile services.

The company's Sky Go service recorded 6.9 million subscriber logins in the latest quarter, up from 1.3 million over the same period last year.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. owns a 49.9 percent stake in Sky.

MISS LOVELY actress Nikharika: C grade film do better than blockbusters

After years of slogging in the industry, Nawazzuddin Siddiqui has finally found a niche for himself, especially after GANGS OF WASSEYPUR and KAHAANI which have proven his mettle as an actor. One of his films which is now expected to gain some added visibility for itself is MISS LOVELY, the dark theme of which only takes it in a different zone altogether. 


"See, usually a film is made in a very set style. In a few minutes of the film's play you get to know whether you are watching a thriller, horror or a comedy flick. However MISS LOVELY isn't something that you can put into a bracket. This is a film where you get shocked just by the sheer narrative. In fact you won't even know what kind of film is this. Some may even argue whether this is a film at all," says a source attached to the film, "We are prepared for that because there is no label that can be given to MISS LOVELY."

Meanwhile the film's lead actress Niharika Singh goes on to acknowledge the research put up by director Ashim Ahluwalia that made it easier for her and co-star Nawaz to understand their role better and play it to perfection.

"I come from a small town Dehradun and am aware of the fact that such films do much better than the usual big blockbusters that run in theatres. Even during my growing up years, I was aware of these small C grade films that were screened even though I hadn't watched any. The C grade film industry hasn't gone away anywhere. It still exists in small towns and is a parallel industry in its own," reveals Niharika.

Now one hopes that this very USP of the film manages to find an audience in big cities as well once the film finally hits the screen. 

'Iron Sky,' 'Le Havre' Among Highlights at Finnish Industry Showcase

The inaugural Finnish Film Affair runs Sept. 25-27 alongside the Helsinki Film Festival.

COLOGNE, Germany - The range of current Finnish cinema, from the auteur finesse of Aki Kaurismaki's Le Havre to the pulp fiction of Nazis on the moon feature Iron Sky, will be on display at Finland's first-ever industry showcase, the Finnish Film Affair.

The event runs Sept. 25-27 alongside the Helsinki International Film Festival and will screen 27 Finnish films released over the past year. Other highlights include international festival success stories Lapland Odyssey and The Good Son and documentary The Punk Syndrome.

In addition to finished films and industry panels, the Finnish Film Affair will also offer up some 15 works in progress, includingJuha Wuolijoki's Zarra's Law, which features actor Tony Sirico (The Sopranos) and crime drama Never Forever from director Aku Louhimies.

Finland's film industry is coming off a bumper year which saw the release of a record 40 local films.

Esha Gupta's fear factor while shooting for RAAZ 3

The shooting of Fox Star Studios and Vishesh Films' RAAZ 3 was both a physically and emotionally draining process for actress Esha Gupta, who was quite literally made to face her worst fear.

A certain scene in the 3D horror film required the actress to stand by the edge of a 50 ft high cliff as she hallucinates falling off - While the actress who suffers from the fear of heights, suggested using a body double, director Vikram Bhatt insisted on Esha doing it herself - To add to the situation, the scene was shot in the later hours of the night, adding to the Esha's fright.



The actress however, decided to give in and face her fears head on. Says Esha,'I suffer from acrophobia and had to stand on a 50 feet high cliff. We were shooting for it at night and it made me more nervous.'

The first -of-its-kind 3D horror film starring Emraan Hashmi, Bipasha Basu and Esha Gupta follows the journey of a fading superstar's revenge against a rising star. Presented by Fox Star Studios and produced by Vishesh Films, Vikram Bhatt's RAAZ 3 comes to a theatre near you on 7th September 2012. 

Richard Gere Named Golden Icon at Zurich Film Festival

The actor will receive the lifetime achievement honor at a gala the screening of "Arbitrage."

COLOGNE, Germany - The Zurich Film Festival will give its Golden Icon lifetime achievement award this year to Golden Globe winning actor Richard Gere.

Zurich will honor Gere on Sunday, September 23 at a gala ceremony at the city's Corso Cinema, where the actor will present his latest film, the Wall Street thriller Arbitrage. In the drama, directed by Nicholas Jarecki, Gere plays a hedge fund manager whose business, and life, begins to fall apart. The film also featuresSusan Sarandon, Brit Marling and Tim Roth.

Gere further adds to the star power at this year's Zurich fest.John Travolta and Oliver Stone will open the eighth Zurich festival Sept. 20 with the gala permiere of Stone's Savages. Travolta will also receive Zurich's Golden Eye honor.

Other Hollywood elite making the trip to Switzerland this year include Ocean's Eleven producer Jerry Weintraub, another Golden Eye recipient and Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont, who will head up the festival's international jury.

The 2012 Zurich Film Festival runs Sept. 20-30.
 

Shahrukh Khan plays army officer in YRF's next

The first teaser of Yash Chopra's untitled next starring Shahrukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma was released lately. However, the teaser only had the glimpses of the trio and nothing much was revealed about their respective characters in the much talked about film. But now the closely-guarded look & the details of characters is out. 


A recent image of Shahrukh Khan as an army officer in YRF's next is doing the rounds on net. As Shahrukh Khan is currently shooting the last schedule of the said film in Ladakh, the picture seems to be clicked while filming a scene on the roads. Dressed as an army officer, Shahrukh Khan is seen riding a heavy bike. Shahrukh sporting aviators and his rugged stubble look quite adds to his character of an army officer.

The look of his character here quite reminds us of Yash Chopra's yet another romantic saga with Shahrukh Khan, VEERA ZAARA, wherein he played an air-force officer.

The untitled film is slated to release on Diwali i.e. November 13, 2012.