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Sydney Pollack
The US actor and director Sydney Pollack has died at his home in Los Angeles, aged 73. One early success was The Game in 1966, for which he won an Emmy
Indy 'immune' from critics' voices Indiana Jones received louder applause going in than he did coming out
Yet Indy's fourth big-screen romp is not likely to go down as one of the most memorable.Some viewers at its first press screening loved it, some called it slick and enjoyable though formulaic, some said it was not worth the 19-year wait since Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford made the last film."They should have left well enough alone," said J. Sperling Reich, who writes for FilmStew.com. "It really looked like they were going through the motions. It really looked like no one had their heart in it."Alain Spira of French magazine Paris Match found "Crystal Skull" a perfectly acceptable "Indiana Jones" tale, a sentiment echoed by the solid applause the movie received as the final credits rolled. "It's good. It's a product that is polished, industrial, we're not getting ripped off in terms of quality," Spira said. "You know what you're going to see, you see what you get, and when you leave you're happy." The applause was louder at the outset, though. Fans at the early afternoon showing, which preceded the film's glitzy formal premiere with cast and crew Sunday night, cheered and clapped wildly at an announcement that the screening was about to start. Some even hummed the Indiana Jones fanfare as the lights went down. The applause at the end was more subdued. Cast and crew were unconcerned about how critics might dissect the film. "I'm not afraid at all. I expect to have the whip turned on me," Ford told reporters after the screening. "It's not unusual for something that is popular to be disdained by some people, and I fully expect it. But, he said: "I work for the people who pay to get in. They are my customers, and my focus is on providing the best experience I can for those people." The filmmakers kept the movie shrouded in secrecy, skipping the rounds of press screenings often held for big studio movies and going for a big blowout at Cannes. Spielberg said he and his collaborators decided "that the fair thing to do and the fun thing to do would be to view it where the entire world is come together every year at this wonderful festival, and we thought that was the best place to introduce Indiana Jones to you again after 19 years." The film received none of the derisive laughter or catcalls that mounted near the end of the first press screening for "Da Vinci Code." There were a few titters from the "Crystal Skull" crowd early on over co-star Cate Blanchett's thick, Boris-and-Natasha accent as a Soviet operative racing against Indy to find an artifact of immeasurable power. The rather corny romantic ending also drew a chuckle or two. In between, the film packed a fair amount of action, though some viewers found the middle portion dull. Conchita Casanovas, of Spain's RNE radio, said she was "bored to death." The new movie hurls archaeologist Jones into the Cold War in 1957. He survives a nuclear blast in the desert in typically creative fashion and is reunited with "Raiders" flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). As speculated, the film has an alien connection, though far more subdued than the "Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men From Mars" story Lucas once envisioned. There are melancholy nods to Sean Connery, who played Indy's dad in 1989's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" but declined to return for the new movie, and the late Denholm Elliott, Indy's college dean in two of the previous movies.And the film reveals the relationship between Indy and his new sidekick, an angry young motorcycle rebel played by Shia LaBeouf.As with "Da Vinci Code," which went on to gross $758 million worldwide, "Crystal Skull" is so hotly anticipated that it will be virtually immune from critics' opinions. The film is expected to put up blockbuster box-office numbers when it opens globally Thursday. "The movie was absolutely effective enough to score with audiences everywhere," said Anne Thompson, deputy editor of Hollywood trade paper Variety. "This played way better than 'Da Vinci Code.' No one was gunning for it. They were excited going in, hooting for it in a positive way."Dozens of fans prowled outside the Palais, the Cannes headquarters, holding signs saying they needed tickets for "Crystal Skull." Amelia Sims, a 19-year-old University of Georgia student studying abroad, held a sign reading "I (heart) Indy." She managed to get a pass to the press screening and loved the movie. "I guess I've been waiting 19 years for this," Sims said. "You could say I've been waiting my whole life." advertisement But Christian Monggaard, who is reviewing "Crystal Skull" for Danish newspaper Information, said he grew up with the "Indiana Jones" films and came away from this one disappointed, finding the climax an "overblown special-effects extravaganza." "Talk about a woman scorned," Monggaard said. "A fan scorned is even worse. Film director Jules Dassin dies American film director Jules Dassin has died in an Athens hospital after a short illness, at the age of 96.
Oscar nominations Mr Dassin was born in the US state of Connecticut on 18 December 1911.He worked as an actor and theatre producer before becoming an assistant to film director Alfred Hitchcock. He was active in leftist politics and in the early 1950s his promising Hollywood career was cut short when he was named as a communist and blacklisted. He directed his wife in seven films, including 1960's Never on Sunday in which she played a prostitute with a heart of gold. He received Oscar nominations for best director and screenplay. Mr Dassin stopped making films in 1980 after Circle of Two starring Richard Burton performed poorly at the box office. Ms Mercouri was elected to the Greek parliament in 1974 and in 1981 the newly-elected socialist government appointed her culture minister. After his wife's death he created the Melina Mercouri Foundation to continue her campaign to have the 2,500-year-old marbles that were stripped from the Parthenon returned to Greece. "He will be remembered for all his good work and struggles with Melina for his campaign for the return of the marbles, which will continue," said socialist opposition leader George Papandreou. Stars slimed at Kids Choice show Hollywood's A-listers have gone home covered in slime, following the 21st Annual Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.
"Every one of you kids is the future - go out and make the world a better place." The actress added that the Wannabe prize was "the biggest honour of my entire life". She previously won a Kids Choice award for burping in 2001. Other winners on the night included Eddie Murphy, who picked up favourite voice from an animated movie for Shrek the Third, American Idol, which won favourite reality show and the Jonas Brothers for favourite music group.My Name Is Earl star Jason Lee took home one of the orange blimp trophies for Alvin and the Chipmunks, which won favourite movie, and promised to "hang it from the ceiling". Balloon popping Teenage heartthrob Drake Bell was the recipient of two prizes - favourite TV actor and favourite TV show for sitcom Drake and Josh. But the show was mainly about anarchic fun. R&B singer Akon crashed a dune buggy into giant containers of green slime, while Usher blasted a sumo wrestler with goo fired from a cannon. German supermodel Heidi Klum, meanwhile, flew from the roof on a bungee cord and had to pop balloons with a spike attached to her backside. The ceremony also featured a host of celebrities burping the tune to the Village People's YMCA. Host Jack Black announced that 88 million votes had been cast this year, more than twice last year's record number of 40 million. The show concluded with Black and Orlando Bloom sitting in chairs high above the audience being drenched with what Black claimed was "27 million gallons" of green slime. Lohan and Murphy dominate Razzies Lindsay Lohan and Eddie Murphy have both been crowned the worst actors of 2007 at the Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, which spoof the Oscars.
In I Know Who Killed Me, she plays a small-town girl abducted by a psychopath, and an alter-ego stripper who is missing body parts. It was a major box office flop, with takings of $9m (£4.5m) worldwide.The actress was in and out of rehabilitation programmes last year. In November, she served 84 minutes in jail for drunken driving and cocaine possession charges.Norbit sees Murphy play three characters in the film about a man who meets his ideal woman while engaged to a battleaxe. He plays Norbit, plus a Chinese man and Norbit's screaming overweight wife.Despite a poor reception from critics, it had box office success, with takings of $158m (£94m) worldwide.His Razzie success is quite a turnaround in his fortunes, as he was up for an Oscar last year for Dreamgirls. Some critics said Norbit, which was released just weeks before last year's Oscars, may have cost him crucial Academy Award votes for his Dreamgirls role. His personal life also made headlines last year when he acknowledged fathering a child with Spice Girls singer Melanie Brown. In January, Murphy and his new wife, Tracey Edmonds, split just two weeks after a "symbolic marriage ceremony". The other worst-picture nominees were Bratz, a live-action film based on the children's' dolls; Daddy Day Camp, with Cuba Gooding Jr starring in the sequel to Murphy's Daddy Day Care; and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Adam Sandler and Kevin James' comedy about fire-fighters posing as a gay couple. Here is the list of Razzie winners in full: Worst film: I Know Who Killed Me Worst actor: Murphy in Norbit Worst actress (tie): Lohan as twin sisters Aubrey and Dakota in I Know Who Killed Me Worst supporting actress: Murphy in Norbit Worst supporting actor: Murphy in Norbit Worst screen couple: Lohan & Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me Worst remake or rip-off: I Know Who Killed Me, based on several films Worst prequel or sequel: Daddy Day Camp Worst director: Chris Siverston for I Know Who Killed Me Worst screenplay: Jeffrey Hammond for I Know Who Killed Me Worst excuse for a horror movie (New Category): I Know Who Killed Me Clooney made UN peace messenger Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has officially been appointed a United Nations peace envoy in New York.
Clooney, who is Oscar-nominated for his performance in thriller Michael Clayton, briefly posed for photographs as he entered New York's UN headquarters.The 46-year-old was accompanied by his parents at the ceremony with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Clooney has been waging his own campaign to end the conflict in Darfur, and was selected for his ability to focus public attention on international issues. The actor is a co-founder of Not On Our Watch, a humanitarian group that focuses global attention on Darfur's people and has raised more than $9.3 million (£4.67 million) for the region. "You hope that somehow... if you just shine a really bright light on these things it's harder to get away with it," Clooney told the BBC. Mr Clooney appealed for the world's governments to send the new African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur the helicopters and radios it needs to do its job.The people of Darfur, he said, were putting their faith in the blue-helmeted UN peacekeepers and it was up to the world not to let them down.The actor acknowledged he'd been quietly backing the Democratic Senator, Barack Obama, in the US presidential race, and said a change of US administration would affect the way America's seen worldwide.Musing on the difference between screen action and his new UN role, Clooney said: "An Oscar's a nice thing to have in your life, but this isn't just sort of an honour, it's a responsibility." Atonement wins at Golden Globes British romantic drama Atonement has won best film at this year's Golden Globe awards.
Other winners included Daniel Day Lewis who won best actor for the role of an oil tycoon in There Will Be Blood.The honours were announced in a low-key news conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel without any of the stars being present. TV entertainment reporters like Billy Bush of Access Hollywood and Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight read a list of the winners to an audience of around 600 peers, who offered scattered applause.The bloody Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was chosen as best musical or comedy, while its star, Johnny Depp, won for best actor in a musical or comedy.He plays the vengeful barber who slits the throats of his customers in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's stage musical. British actress Julie Christie won the best actress Golden Globe for her role as an Alzheimer's sufferer in Away From Her.Australian Cate Blanchett won best supporting actress in a film for her role in I'm Not There, and France's Marion Cotillard won for best actress in a musical or comedy for her remarkable personification of singer Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. Spaniard Javier Bardem, who plays a killer tracking a fortune in No Country for Old Men, won the Globe for best supporting actor.In a statement released after the announcement, Bardem said: "It is a great honour to have been recognized with this award in a time when there are so many outstanding performances in this category."No Country for Old Men, which also won the screenplay prize for writer-directors Ethan and Joel Coen, had been expected to win top honours after clinching a number of prizes this awards' season.The rodent tale Ratatouille was named best animated film. Payment dispute The television winners included British actress Samantha Morton who took the best supporting TV actress gong for her role in Longford.The Channel 4 programme, which explored the relationship between Moors Murderer Myra Hindley and prisons campaigner Lord Longford, was the night's biggest winner.It also won best TV mini-series or film, and best actor for Jim Broadbent.It was a good night for Ricky Gervais whose TV show Extras was named best musical or comedy TV series. But he missed out on the best actor gong to David Duchovny who took the honours for Californication. Duchovny later revealed he had been too nervous to watch the televised announcement. He said: "I didn't want to watch, it would just make me tense or nervous, so I went out to see a movie and I knew I wouldn't be home until it was announced. "I knew if my phone was ringing when I walked into my hotel room that I would have won... Nobody calls a loser."The best drama TV series went to Mad Men, and there were best drama acting honours for Glenn Close, for Damages, and Jon Hamm, for Mad Men.The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since 5 November over royalties for work distributed online or on DVD.Actors had said they would not cross picket lines in support of writers. Oscars form On Friday, the writers announced they would not picket the news conference after it was decided that the event, which had been scheduled to appear as an exclusive NBC broadcast, would be made available to all media.But production crew workers protested outside the Beverly Hilton prior to the press conference.They held placards calling for an end to the 71-day strike that has brought many films and TV shows to a halt.Although the Globes are viewed as a form guide for the Oscars, in recent years the awards have thrown up false leads.For the past three years, none of the Golden Globes' best movie drama winners has gone on to win the best picture Oscar. US ad agency lists Nollywood in top 80 for 2008 Efforts by Nigerians to tell their stories through the video medium have reverberated in the United States where the Nigerian film industry, popularly called Nollywood, has been picked by JWT, US largest advertising agency, as one of the 80 things to watch in 2008. Nollywood is number 49 on the list, a few notches above Mobile Technology explosion which stands at 44. Some others on the list include: Africa — foreign investment and development, Antibiotic backlash, Assisted marriage, Brain exercises, Higher education online, and French President Nicholas Nicolas Sarkozy, just to name a few. “These people, products, places, services and shifts will help define 2008,” according to Ann Mack, director of Trendspotting at JWT. “By examining what will resonate with people or drive their thinking and behaviour, we can identify larger patterns that will shape all of our lives in the years to come. Love it or hate it, technology continues to be a common trend on our list. It drives the serendipitous randomness that throws up chance connections, ground breaking discoveries and great business ideas,” Mack added. Since the cult film, Living in Bondage, in 1992, the country’s movie industry has steadily risen to become the third largest in the world after America’s Hollywood and Bollywood of India. But while the latter rely on heavy budget and cinematic technology, the Nigerian producers work on shoe-string budget, sometimes about N1 million although some have recently hit about N5 million, using the handheld video recorder to knock out films within 10 days. Technology has also been on the side of the industry. The advent of the digital video and high definition (HD) cameras has impacted heavily on the industry making it possible for the teeming producers to churn out high quality products, defying time and cost. According to an agency report, “the films go straight to DVD and VCD. At least 50 new titles are delivered to Nigerian shops and market stalls every week, where an average film sells 50, 000 copies. A hit may sell several hundred thousand. Disks sell for around N200 each, making them affordable for most Nigerians and providing astounding returns for the producers.” The report which credits what it calls the Nigerian phenomenon to two main ingredients — Nigerian entrepreneurship and digital technology— values the industry at $500 million a year. However, this report is coming at a time the Nigerian government remains undecided on what to do with the film industry. While most voices have suggested that no film industry anywhere in the world, including Hollywood, Bollywood and the UK film industry grows without government intervention, the Nigerian government has refused to do anything in the nature of endowment or a fund that could impact on the sector. In the past decade, Nigerians films have become major hits in international film festival across the world including Europe and the Americas. This year they staged a major entry into the famous Cannes Film Festival in France. The films have also remained the major thrust of most of the festivals focussing on the African film industry. “Nollywood films are proving popular in all English-speaking Africa and have become a staple on M-NET, the South African-based satellite television network. Nigeria satellite equivalent of M-NET, Hi-TV has followed suit. Nigerian stars have become household names from Ghana to Zambia and beyond. The last few years have seen the growing popularity of Nollywood films among African Diaspora in both Europe and America,” the report said. Spider Man Returns TTimes World Report Superheroes tend to dwell on their outsized insecurities lately, so maybe this was inevitable: A hero whose emotions spiral out of control, villains who "mean well," no end of anguish over the leading lady's singing career —all shot in close-up so the movie will look good when it's played on cell phones in a few weeks. With four separate subplots and more twists than a daytime soap, Episode Three of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man series plays like As the Web Turns. With special effects. One very special effect sends a construction crane swinging through an office building, presumably so the audience can stop worrying for a moment about the chief bad guy's daughter's life-threatening illness. I say "chief" bad guy because there are three this time, and that's not even counting the mysterious black goo that turns everyone it touches into either a revenge-crazed freak or a bad dancer. We'll get to the bad dancing in a moment, but first the three bad guys: There's Spidey's estranged best friend, who's morphed into Green Goblin Junior. There's Venom, who's not much more than a mess of black goo — with fangs. And there's Sandman, who gets "de-molecularized" in the film's coolest effect and becomes the object of Spider-Man's goo-fueled ravings. If you're over 13, this is all allegedly interesting because of the special effects — which are pretty special, if a little videogame-y. They're also consequence-free, since nobody even gets bruised when crashing through brick walls. Sandman gets his face shaved off by a passing train, after which he merely re-molecularizes. You sort of have to de-molecularize your brain to stay engaged. Happily, the screenwriters still have good old Aunt May around to remind us that there's a message. "Revenge is like a poison that can turn us into something ugly," says actress Rosemary Harris to Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker at one point. Makes your Spidey-sense tingle, doesn't it? Now, there are some real-world parallels for a super-powerful American (with black goo possibly coloring his thinking) who imagines he can take on the world's bad guys all by himself — especially when you throw in a revenge motive centered on a father figure, people falling from pulverized skyscrapers and enough swirling sand to suggest a Middle Eastern desert. I'm not sure these parallels have actually occurred to Raimi, but when Spidey finally decides he needs "allies" to fight the evildoers, he does put on his red-and-blue suit and swing in front of an American flag. Isn't comic-book-land refreshing? Now, about that bad dancing I mentioned earlier. Aunt May said revenge can turn you ugly, and Raimi illustrates that notion not just with the black goo, but by dressing Maguire in a skinny black suit and having him sleaze his way around a dance floor. Wait'll you see how much editing it takes to turn him into a sort of Eurotrash John Travolta. Worse, Raimi photographs his star from odd angles, making him look puffy during love scenes and awkward when he's not being digitized in Spidey spandex. We're supposed to sympathize with this guy, but when I eventually did, it was mostly because I'd started to wonder: "What's a poor superhero to do when not just three villains, but even his director, have turned against him?" On the Heels of the Hit Comedy, “The Break Up,” WagerWeb.com Posts Odds on First High Profile Celebrity Couple to Call It Quits San Jose, Costa Rica – June 22, 2006 – WagerWeb.com (http://www.WagerWeb.com), one of the Internet’s largest betting sites announced a year-long endorser agreement today with model, actress and Internet phenomenon Cindy Margolis. Margolis will also spearhead WagerWeb.com’s entertainment and celebrity props, starting with break up odds posted today, allowing bettors to predict which high profile celebrity couple will be the first to end their relationship. WagerWeb.com, well known for offering odds on general, sports and entertainment news has taken more than 56,000,000 bets since its launch. Margolis, who made entertainment history with her web site, has more than 40 million fans. She has become an American icon and has strutted her stuff on “Celebrity Cooking Showdown,” as well as VH1’s “Inside Out w/Cindy Margolis.” She has been one of People magazine’s 50 most beautiful and was voted as one of VH1’s “100 Hottest.” Being WagerWeb.com’s resident entertainment guru is a new title to add to the many others. “People all over the world crave celebrity news especially when it is fun or edgy,” said Margolis. ”I am so excited to be working with WagerWeb.com and being ‘queen’ of celebrity props.” “We couldn’t think of anyone hotter or better to tell the WagerWeb.com story than Cindy,” says Dave Johnson, CEO of WagerWeb.com. “Her beauty, humor and knowledge of poker and the betting world made her the perfect endorser for our fast growing site.” Celebrity break up odds are posted on WagerWeb.com as follows: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Justin Timberlake/Cameron Diaz -400 Bet $400 to win $100 profit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Navarro/Carmen Electra +100 Bet $100 to win $100 profit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beyonce/Jay-Z +140 Bet $100 to win $140 profit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Britney Spears/Kevin Federline +200 Bet $100 to win $200 profit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes +300 Bet $100 to win $300 profit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jennifer Aniston/Vince Vaughn +400 Bet $100 to win $400 profit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Madonna/Guy Richie +500 Bet $100 to win $500 profit -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie +600 Bet $100 to win $600 profit |
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