Category: International

MUMBAI: Actress Susannah York has died of Cancer at the age of 72. Her son Orlando Wells made the announcement telling that she was an “an absolutely fantastic mother”. In 1960, York married Michael Wells, with whom she had two children, Orlando and Sasha.

York was an icon of the British and International film and theatre industry. She appeared in film, TV and theatre from 1963. In 1969 she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in They Shoot Horses Don‘t They?

In later years, she came to be known as ‘Superman‘s mother‘ appearing in three Superman movies. Other big movies she acted in were The Killing of Sister George, Tom Jones and Battle of Britain.

Ms York also campaigned for nuclear disarmament and on also behalf of Israeli dissident Mordechai Vanunu.
 

MUMBAI: The Golden Globes 2011 awards have been announced. David Fincher won the best director award for The Social Network. While Natalie Portman won for best actress in a drama for her role in Black Swan, Collin Firth got the award for the best actor for The King‘s Speech.

Awards for the best actor and actress for musical/comedy went to Paul Giamatti for Barney‘s Version and Annette Bening for The Kids Are Alright respectively.

The supporting actors awards (male and female) went to Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for The Fighter. The film in mention got a lot of awards that includes best screenplay for Aaron Sorkin and best musical score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
 

MUMBAI: Paul Picerni, who played agent Lee Hobson in The Untouchables has expired. He was 88.

A bombardier in World War II – he was on the plane that destroyed the bridge made famous in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – Picerni also appeared in supporting roles in the war films Twelve O‘Clock High (1949), Breakthrough (1950), Operation Pacific (1951) and To Hell and Back (1955). He also appeared opposite Errol Flynn in Mara Maru (1952).

Picerni‘s extensive TV work also included guest spots on such shows as Dragnet, Batman, Starsky & Hutch, Gunsmoke and Kojak, the star of which Telly Savalas was his best friend for almost three decades.

Picerni also played the romantic lead in the horror classic House of Wax (1953) starring Vincent Price. He served as the halftime master of ceremonies for Los Angeles Rams home games for decades before the NFL team moved to Anaheim after the 1979 season.
 

MUMBAI: Gods, Men and Roman Polanski came out winners at the 16th annual Lumiere Awards, France‘s version of the Golden Globes on Friday night.

While Of Gods and Men was named best film of the year, Polanski earned the best director title for The Ghost Writer that also earned the veteran a best screenplay award.

Scott Thomas stole the spotlight to receive the best actress prize for her role in Gilles Pacquet-Brenner‘s Sarah‘s Key. Michael Lonsdale was named best actor for his tear-jerking role in Of Gods and Men.

French actor Francois Berleand presided over the ceremony that took place at Paris‘ City Hall the Hotel de Ville that also had Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe making a special appearance.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun‘s A Screaming Man was adjudged the best Francophone title outside of France while TV5Monde‘s big prize went to Olivier Masset-Depasse‘s immigration drama Illegal.

The Lumiere Awards are voted upon by foreign press correspondents based in Paris and mark the start of awards season in the country.
 

MUMBAI: After the closure of the historic Oaks Theater on Solano Boulevard, its owner is in search of a new operator. The theatre, built in 1925, was being run by Merriment Media Works for nine months but ceased operations shortly before Christmas.

Property owner John Gordon said the group had plans to add food and drinks with foreign films on the screen, emphasizing Bollywood fare. “They owned a Bollywood theatre in the Fremont area and they said that they were going to convert the theatre to digital. They were also film importers and could download their films. They were going to show other foreign films on one screen and the second run on the other,” Gordon said.

Gordon said that the group tried to bring in Bollywood stars for events but still couldn‘t draw. The previous operator, Metropolitan Theaters of Southern California, decided not to renew the lease early last year. Merriment Media Works then stepped in to take over the theatre.

Gordon said once some legal issues are taken care of, he will try to find a new operator. “Once we get control we‘re in a better position to start marketing it,” he said.

Gordon would like the building to continue to be a theatre, either showing films live performances.

In 1973, the Oaks was split into two theaters. It was renovated in 1994 when Renaissance Rialto took it over. Allen Michaan, who runs the Grand Lake, operated the theatre until 2005, after which Metropolitan took over.

MUMBAI: With Technicolor launching conversion units for feature and TV projects in Los Angeles, London and Bangalore, India, it has forayed into the 2D to3D business.

As to the Los Angeles base, some conversion work has been done in Technicolor‘s Hollywood facility, but plans are to open a dedicated 2D-to-3D operation next month in Burbank.

Technicolor‘s vp for 3D product strategy and business development Pierre Routhier has said that MPC, Technicolor‘s VFX business, will handle new releases in London and that conversion units in Los Angeles and Bangalore would handle catalogue projects.

All final converted material will be passed through Technicolor‘s recently launched 3D certification programme, Certifi3D.

MUMBAI: Just entered in the field of distribution, FilmDistrict has announced that it will release its first feature, Insidious, a horror tale on 1 April in 2,500 screens across the US.

Witten by the writing-directing team of Leigh Whannell and James Wan, the story of the film is of a family that discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home. The film stars Lin Shaye, Angus Sampson and Whanell. The project was produced by Oren Peli, Jason Blum and Steven Schneider.

FilmDistrict and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions own the entire US rights of the film that has been financed by Alliance Films. The film will be released by Alliance in Canada, Spain and the U.K.
 

MUMBAI: The 61st Berlin International Film Festival will present a retrospective of the renowned Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.

The Retrospective will present all the films directed by Bergman as well as the ones penned by him. Besides, it will present the documentaries made by Swedish filmmaker and Bergman-connoisseur Stig Björkman who portrayed Bergman both before and behind the camera.

“Bergman is one of the few who liberated cinema, freed it from conventions and brought it to a new artistic form, which opened a new world for many cineastes”, said, the director of the Retrospective Rainer Rotherin.

Bergman is one of the few directors who‘s credited to have worked with the same team over decades. Three of the actresses who have worked with Bergman like Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom and Liv Ullmann will present his films at the Berlinale. They will also converse in detail publicly about life and work with Bergman for both the screen and the stage.

Bergman, who died in 2007, is well known for his films like The Silence, Scenes from a Marriage and Fanny and Alexander, all Oscar winners.

The 2011 edition of the festival will be held from 10 to 20 February.

MUMBAI: John Travolta will receive the Golden Camera in Berlin on 5 February. He will be honoured with the best actor international honour, a trophy that has previously gone to such luminaries as Richard Gere, Bruce Willis, Nicolas Cage and Sylvester Stallone.

“Receiving the Golden Camera best actor international award is a huge honour for me,” Travolta has been reported as saying. “Over the past few months, so many positive things have happened to my family and me: Becoming a dad again has ignited such joy within me. … But I also take great pride in my work, and it‘s wonderful to have it recognized in such a way.”

But honoring Travolta could prove controversial in Germany. The Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction star is a prominent Scientologist as many Germans view Scientology as a dangerous cult.

The 46th Golden Camera awards would be broadcast live on German public network ZDF.
 

MUMBAI: James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions have announced that their forthcoming film Bond 23 will release on 9 November next year. Daniel Craig returns as agent 007.

The film, to be directed by Sam Mendes, will go into production in late 2011. The script was written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan.

Several studios are courting MGM to release their movies, including Bond 23, with Sony and Paramount as the leading contenders. Paramount is looking to secure on overall output deal with the company.