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U2 stars enter rock Hall of Fame
Singer Bruce Springsteen has inducted Irish rock band U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in New York.
The lavish ceremony, celebrating the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll, also saw the induction of the Pretenders, Percy Sledge, the O'Jays and Buddy Guy. "This was a band that wanted to lay claim to this world and the next one, too," said Springsteen. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr, who formed U2 at school in 1977, begin a world tour on 28 March. Introducing the band, Springsteen mocked Bono as the man who "single-handedly pioneered the Irish mullet", poking fun at "one of the best and most endearingly messianic complexes in rock 'n' roll". But he also spoke of the group's enduring stature, adding that it was the only band of the last 20 years where he knew all four members' names.
U2's contemporaries, the Pretenders, led by Chrissie Hynde - took to the stage to perform My City Was Gone with inductee Neil Young. "We are a tribute band," said Hynde, 53. "We're paying tribute to James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, without whom we would not have been here," she said, referring to the premature deaths of two of the band's guitarists from drug overdoses.
Britain's Rod Stewart introduced Percy Sledge, citing his best-known hit When a Man loves a Woman as "one of the best performances I've ever heard". Justin Timberlake introduced soul group the O'Jays, a gospel-style quartet from Ohio, who performed a medley of their best-known songs including Back Stabbers, Love Train and For the Love of Money. "Anyone who's ever written, produced or performed something soulful stands in the shadows of these giants," said Timberlake.
Joining the ceremony at New York's Waldorf Astoria were legendary R&B star Bo Diddley, who performed with Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson.
Clapton, alongside BB King, also introduced fellow guitarist Buddy Guy and recalled seeing him play as a teenager in England. "He was for me what Elvis was probably like for other people," he said. "My course was set and he was my pilot," said Clapton who joined Guy and King in a performance of Let Me Love You Baby. Also performing at the ceremony was veteran musician Jerry Lee Lewis who continued his reputation as a rowdy piano-pounder despite his 69 years, kicking over his stool and sitting on the piano during a rendition of Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On. | entertainment |
Tough schedule delays Elliot show
Preview performances of the £3m musical Billy Elliot have been delayed to give the child actors a less arduous rehearsal schedule.
Director Stephen Daldry made the decision to re-schedule the previews to protect the young stars. Three boys will rotate the demanding role of ballet dancer Billy, which requires them to sing, dance and act. The show's opening night on 12 May at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London remains unaffected by the changes. Preview performances will now be held on 14, 20 and 27 April. "This is one of the most ambitious projects I have been involved with," said Daldry. "The decision has been made to push back our preview performances in order to give our company, with a cast including 45 children, a little extra time so they are as fully prepared as possible."
He added: "The young Billy Elliots in particular, making their professional stage debuts in the West End, will benefit from a little extra time to familiarise themselves with all aspects of the production."
The three boys playing Billy are James Lomas, 15, George Maguire, 14, and Liam Mower, 12. The other major child parts will also be rotated between young actors. Such are the demands of the show that producers set up a stage school in Newcastle to train potential stars for the show. Child labour laws also mean the young actors can only work for a limited period each week. Adult actors in the show include Tim Healy as Billy's father and Haydn Gwnne as his dance teacher Mrs Wilkinson. Sir Elton John has composed the music. Daldry directed the successful film version of Billy Elliot, adapted from Lee Hall's script. Both were nominated for Oscars, alongside Julie Walters, who played Billy's teacher. | entertainment |
Singer Ian Brown 'in gig arrest'
Former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown was arrested after a fight during a concert in San Francisco on Tuesday, his spokesman has said.
A fan jumped on stage and attacked the singer, who then became involved in a fracas with a security guard, Fiction Records spokesman Paul Smernicki said. He said Brown was arrested at his hotel after the show at the Great American Music Hall but released without charge. San Francisco police said they could find no record of his arrest. Mr Smernicki said he had been told a fan "rugby-tackled" the singer during the gig, which resulted in "pushing and shoving".
Brown then got into a brawl with another man who tried to restrain him - without realising he was a security guard, Mr Smernicki added. The star went off for 15 minutes before returning to finish his set. Police took witness statements and apprehended Brown at his hotel, Mr Smernicki said. But he was released without charge and "as far as we're aware, that's the end of it", Mr Smernicki added. A spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department said he may have been detained but they could find no record of the incident. Brown, 42, was lead singer with The Stone Roses, one of the most seminal bands in British rock, until they split in 1996. He has since forged a successful solo career, scoring nine UK top 30 singles since 1998. In 1998, he was sentenced to four months in jail for using threatening behaviour towards an aeroplane captain and stewardess. | entertainment |
No UK premiere for Rings musical
The producers behind the Lord of the Rings musical have abandoned plans to premiere the show in London because no suitable theatre was available.
The £11.5m show will make its debut in Toronto in March 2006, after it was found that all three West End theatres with sufficient capacity were booked. The musical is not expected in London before December 2006. Producer Kevin Wallace said it would be "worth waiting for". "It will be like nothing they have ever seen before." "I know there will be a lot of disappointed British Tolkien fans who hoped to see the show in London, but we couldn't get a London theatre in time," added the British producer. The world premiere of the stage musical, co-produced by Canadian theatrical impresarios David and Ed Mirvish, will take place at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre next year.
"Toronto really wanted this premiere. The Tolkien books and films are hugely popular in Canada," said Mr Wallace, shortly after signing the deal in Canada. "We hope the anticipation and excitement over here will create an even bigger buzz by the time we open in London." Auditions begin in Canada on Thursday, but up to five British actors may join the cast, under a deal struck with Canadian Actors' Equity. The music for the show is being written by Bollywood composer AR Rahman, who was behind Andrew Lloyd Webber's West End musical Bollywood Dreams, and in conjuction with the Finnish group Varttina.
"There will be no singing and dancing Hobbits. The music will be in a very traditional mould and draw on ethnic traditions," assured Mr Wallace. The musical's British director is Matthew Warchus, best known for staging the worldwide stage hit Art. "The production will be a hybrid of text, physical theatre, music and spectacle never previously seen on this scale," he said. "Only in the theatre are we actually plunged into the events as they happen. The environment surrounds us and we are in Middle Earth." New Zealander Peter Jackson took 10 years to bring JRR Tolkien's fantasy trilogy to the big screen, winning Academy Awards for best film and best director for the final film The Return of the King in 2004. | entertainment |
Dame Julie pops in to see Poppins
Mary Poppins star Dame Julie Andrews watched the hit stage version of her classic film at a charity performance in London's West End.
It was the first time Dame Julie, who shot to fame as the nanny in the 1964 Disney movie, had seen the musical, staged at the Prince Edward Theatre. She watched Laura Michelle Kelly, 23, reprise the role on stage. The show has been one of the West End's hottest tickets since opening in December, winning two Olivier Awards. Kelly was named best musical actress at last month's ceremony and the musical also won best choreography.
But Kelly said she was "very nervous" about meeting Dame Julie because she was "my absolute hero". The gala performance saw Dame Julie, 69, return to the theatre where she had her first starring role in a performance of Humpty Dumpty in 1948. The Mary Poppins musical has been masterminded by theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Richard Eyre with choreography by Matthew Bourne. Sir Cameron said he hoped the production, which cost £9m to bring to the stage, was a blend of the sweet-natured film and the original book by PL Travers. Proceeds from Thursday's show will go to charities including Absolute Return for Kids (Ark), international relief agency Operation USA and drama school Lamda. | entertainment |
Snow Patrol bassist exits group
Snow Patrol had "no other course of action" but to ask their co-founder and bassist to leave the band, lead singer Gary Lightbody has said.
Mark McClelland had been in the band for more than 10 years since its formation at Dundee University. Lightbody said "over the last 18 months touring has taken its toll on the rest of the band's relationship with him". He said: "This is the hardest decision we have ever had to make and believe us when we say we didn't make it lightly." The group, originally from Northern Ireland, has only achieved mainstream success in the last year with the single Run and award-winning album Final Straw. In a statement on the band's website, Lightbody said: "I started the group with Mark 10 years ago and he was a massive part of Snow Patrol and my life throughout that decade."
He added: "It got to the stage that things couldn't go on as they were, so we felt there was no other course of action but this. "I know you will all be distressed and may not understand this news but we had to do what was best for the band." Snow Patrol are currently working on the follow-up to their breakthrough third album. The band is set to play support to U2 on a number of summer stadium gigs. Last month, they were the big winners in Ireland's top music honours, the Meteor Awards, picking up accolades for best band and album. It followed nominations for the Brit Awards and the Mercury Music Prize. The band formed in 1994 when Lightbody and McClelland met as students at Dundee University. | entertainment |
Fockers keeps US box office lead
Film comedy Meet The Fockers, sequel to Meet The Parents, has topped the US box office for a third week.
The movie, which stars Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand, took $28.5m (£15.2m), making a total of 204.3m (£109m). Michael Keaton thriller White Noise was second with $24m (£12.8m) despite negative reviews. Martin Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator came third with $7.6m (£4m) and a total of $42.9m (£22.8m). Children's adventure Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, starring Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep, fell two places to fourth position with $7.4m (£3.9m).
It is also the ninth Jim Carrey film to hit the $100m (£53.2m) mark, according to Exhibitor Relations. And Fat Albert, a live-action adaptation of Bill Cosby's TV cartoon, fell one place to number five, with takings over the three days beginning on Friday of $5m (£2.6m). Ocean's Twelve took sixth place in the US chart with $5.4m (£2.8m), but it led the non-US chart at the weekend, according to Hollywood Reporter, with an estimated $17.7m (£9.4m) and total takings of $137m (£73m). The Incredibles took $300m (£160m) outside the US, while Meet the Fockers topped box office charts in Australia and Mexico with non-US takings of $19.35m (£10.2m). | entertainment |
Spider-Man creator wins profits
Spider-Man creator Stan Lee is to get a multi-million dollar windfall after winning a court battle with comic book company Marvel.
A judge has upheld Lee's demand for 10% of Marvel's profits from the hugely successful Spider-Man films. Spider-Man and its sequel made $1.6bn (£857m) at box offices worldwide. Of the cut now due to Lee, 82, who created Spider-Man in 1962, his lawyer said: "It could be tens of millions of dollars, that's no exaggeration." US District Court Judge Robert W Sweet ruled Lee should get a tenth of profits generated since November 1998 by Marvel TV and movie productions involving the company's characters. Lee took legal action in 2002, saying Marvel shut him out of "jackpot" profits from the first blockbuster film.
He said the company - where he worked for more than 60 years - had gone back on agreement to give him the 10%. As well as Spider-Man, Lee co-created the Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Daredevil and Fantastic Four characters. He said: "I am gratified by the judge's decision although, since I am deeply fond of Marvel and the people there, I sincerely regret that the situation had to come to this." The ruling also means he is entitled to a slice of profits from DVD sales and certain merchandise. Marvel said it would appeal and did not expect the decision to impact on financial forecasts for 2004 and beyond. The New York court did not rule on Lee's claims to a share of profits from some Spider-Man and Hulk movie merchandise, which will be decided at a future trial, Marvel said. | entertainment |
Fry set for role in Hitchhiker's
Actor Stephen Fry is joining the cast of the forthcoming film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.
Fry will provide the voice of The Guide, an electronic book which accompanies the story's hero Arthur Dent on his travels around the galaxy. Martin Freeman, John Malkovich, Bill Nighy and Alan Rickman are co-starring in the film, due for release in May. The late Douglas Adams' original 1977 scripts have also been turned into a series of successful books.
"Being asked to do the voice of The Guide is like having your birthday on Christmas Day, discovering a winning lottery ticket in your stocking and having chocolate poured all over you," said Fry, a self-confessed fan of the book. The film's executive producer Robbie Stamp said that Adams, who died in 2001, would have been "delighted" with the choice of Fry for the role.
"His humour and intelligence are perfect for the voice of The Guide," added Mr Stamp. Adams wrote the screenplay based on his book before his premature death, while a new radio series was aired 26 years after the first broadcast and included many of the original cast members. Hollywood star Malkovich will play religious cult leader Humma Kavula, which was especially created by Adams for the new film. Freeman, who starred in hit BBC comedy The Office, will play the role of Arthur Dent, who begins his intergalactic voyage following the destruction of the Earth. | entertainment |
Bollywood draws global stars
British actress Antonia Bernath is making her debut in Kisna - the Warrior Poet, marking a growing trend for non-Indian stars to appear in Bollywood films.
Directed by Bollywood veteran Subhash Ghai, the film is set in the British Raj and Bernath plays an army general's daughter who falls in love with a rural boy, Kisna. "I liked the fluid nature of film-making. We improvised quite a lot," says Bernath. "At times it felt very chaotic but Mr Ghai was quite clear about what he wanted." Picked from more than 200 girls in an audition in London, Bernath cut short her education at Bristol's Old Vic Theatre School to take up the opportunity. It is not often that somebody gets to play the lead role straight out of a drama school. She spent three weeks learning Hindi and taking dance lessons. "Initially, I was a bit sceptical about how people would respond to me," Bernath says. "But I found the Hindi film industry very warm and encouraging. I even had a few offers before the work on Kisna was completed."
Films are one of India's biggest exports and those like Lagaan and Monsoon Wedding have broken the traditional boundaries of colour and culture. Spurred by this, Bollywood producers are trying to go global in all aspects of film-making, be it technical or artistic.
From young heart-throbs like Nick Moran of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to model Sophie Dahl, many non-Indian stars want to make the most of this opportunity. "Bollywood has truly gone global," says Taran Adarsh, editor of Indian film journal Trade Guide. "Directors are now attempting to woo non-Asian audience to increase their share in the overseas film market." Kisna has been shot simultaneously in Hindi and English, with the English print shortened by an hour to accommodate the Western audience. The film even has a song composed in English by AR Rahman, the director of the popular West End musical, Bombay Dreams. "Identification is a popular cinematic device. Use of European or American actors can be viewed as a step in that direction," says Adarsh.
The cast of Kisna also includes British actors Michael Maloney, Caroline Langrishe and Polly Adams.
Another actress, Annabelle Wallace, plays the lead role in a bilingual romantic comedy Dil Jo Bhi Kahey (Whatever the Heart Says), which also stars Indian screen legend Amitabh Bachchan. Actor and Producer Aamir Khan's forthcoming venture The Rising is set against the backdrop of the Indian mutiny of 1857, with British actor Toby Stephens in a key role. But it isn't only the Western actors looking eastwards. Bollywood sweetheart Aishwarya Rai, recently seen in Bride and Prejudice alongside New Zealand actor Martin Henderson, is building her international career. And, many other Bollywood stars have their eyes set on Hollywood. "Hollywood or Bollywood, it's the box office that determines whether something is a passing phase or a trend," says Adarsh.
Kisna - the Warrior Poet opens in the UK on 21 January. | entertainment |
Hollywood hunts hits at Sundance
The Sundance Film Festival, the movie industry's top destination for uncovering the next independent hits and new talent, opens on Thursday.
The event will see screen executives decamp from Hollywood to Park City, Utah, for 11 days to search for low-key movies that could make it big in 2005. Open Water, Napoleon Dynamite, Garden State and Super-Size Me were all snapped up at last year's festival. But stars like Keanu Reeves and Pierce Brosnan also have films showing there. The festival is being opened by a screening of quirky comedy Happy Endings, starring former Friends actress Lisa Kudrow and Maggie Gyllenhaal, on Thursday.
Kudrow's Friends co-star, David Schwimmer, plays a divorced drunkard in Duane Hopwood, while Brosnan stars as a hit man in comedy The Matador. Keanu Reeves appears in coming-of-age tale Thumbsucker while Kevin Costner and Michael Keaton are among the other big names whose films are involved. Robert Redford founded Sundance in 1981 and it has gone on to showcase future successes such as Reservoir Dogs, The Blair Witch Project and The Full Monty. But it has received criticism that it has become more commercial and mainstream over the years. "As much as the press argues that Sundance has completely changed, it hasn't changed that much," festival director Geoffrey Gilmore said. "It's still a place for discovery. It's a place for common ground among film-makers and audiences more than it is the celebrity stuff." Other films generating interest before this year's festival include Hustle & Flow, about an aspiring rapper, The Squid and the Whale, an autobiographical film by writer-director Noah Baumbach, and comedy/drama Pretty Persuasion. It also has two new international cinema competitions. | entertainment |
Actress Roberts takes spider role
Actress Julia Roberts will play the part of a spider in a new film version of children's classic Charlotte's Web.
She will voice Charlotte, who teams up with a girl to save their friend Wilbur the pig, in the story by EB White. The film - a mix of live action and animation - will be Roberts' first project since the birth of her twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, two months ago. Oprah Winfrey will voice a goose, John Cleese will voice a sheep and Steve Buscemi a rat in the 2006 film.
Ten-year-old Dakota Fanning will play Fern, the girl at the centre of the story, in the film to be directed by 13 Going on 30 film-maker Gary Winick. Filming is due to begin in Melbourne, Australia, later this month. Charlotte's Web has sold 45 million copies since it was published in 1952. An animated version was made in 1973 but this will be the first live action film. The actor who will voice Wilbur the pig has yet to be revealed. | entertainment |
Film production 'falls' 40% in UK
The number of British films produced in the UK fell 40% in 2004, with movies starring Johnny Depp and Jude Law among those affected, Screen Daily has said.
Twenty-seven British films were made in the UK last year following a drop in funding, compared with 45 in 2003, according to the trade weekly. It attributed the drop to tighter tax laws and reduced funding from sources such as the National Lottery. UK and US co-productions in Britain fell from 102 in 2003 to 81 last year.
Last year the government closed tax loopholes that many film investors had taken advantage of to fund films in the UK. Several projects were shelved as they faced the implications of this clampdown, coupled with the reduction in movie funding from traditional sources including the lottery and Miramax Films. Shooting on period drama Tulip Fever, which was to star Jude Law and Keira Knightley, was postponed indefinitely while shooting of The Libertine starring Johnny Depp was moved to the Isle of Man.
"There isn't anything coming in to replace (the funds)," said The Libertine's executive producer Marc Samuelson. "We are in a hiatus." Films with "medium" budgets of up to £9m, a similar level to box office hits Vera Drake, Calendar Girls and Enduring Love, are expected to be worst hit by the tax clampdown. The strength of the pound against the dollar is expected to have resulted in a fall in the number of US films shot in the UK during 2004, Screen International added. Big budget co-productions, such as the Harry Potter series, continued to be shot in the UK, however. The UK Film Council said the drop was partly due to 2003 being an especially good year for British film production, when Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Wimbledon and Thunderbirds were all filmed in the UK.
"The drop was expected as there was no way 2003's record level of production could be bettered," the council's spokesperson said. "The reduction in indigenous film production in 2004 was due to a variety of factors, including the continuing long-term trend towards co-production of films in more than one country and changes to financing arrangements." It was "too early" to predict whether the downward trend in UK production would continue throughout 2005, the UK Film Council said. In September the government introduced subsidies worth up to £4m per film for medium budget films, under new Treasury measures. It is also due to announce a replacement for UK film tax relief scheme Section 48 in July. | entertainment |
Fantasy book wins Hollywood deal
A British author has had the film rights to her children's bestseller snapped up for a seven-figure sum, with Ridley Scott set to direct.
Michelle Paver's Wolf Brother, a fantasy set 6,000 years ago, is the first in a planned series of six books. Film studio Fox has bought the rights for around $4m (£2.13m) for Scott's company Scott Free to develop. The director said he was "thrilled" with the project. "Wolf Brother is an enchanting book," he said. Paver, who lives in London and previously worked as a lawyer, began writing the book in 1982 while studying biochemistry at Oxford University.
She was an established author of love stories when she turned the work-in-progress into a children's novel. It was published in 2004, with Paver earning an advance of $5m (£2.8m) - the highest sum ever paid for a debut children's book. Wolf Brother tells the story of Torak, a 12-year-old hunter who lives in the forest. After his father is killed he teams up with a wolf cub and sets out to rid the forest of an evil force. Paver is currently writing the second book in the series. "Michelle Paver lives and breathes the worlds she writes about," said a spokesman for the author. "I've told her about the film deal but at the moment she is writing the second book and her mind is 6000 years away deep in the primeval forest." | entertainment |
The comic book genius of Stan Lee
Stan Lee, the man responsible for a string of comic superheroes that have become household names, has won a court battle for a slice of the profits from the hit Spider-Man movies.
Many marvel at the man who gave his characters extraordinary powers and everyday headaches - a formula which revolutionised comics. Born in 1922 to poor working-class Jewish immigrants from Romania, Stan Lieberman, got a job in Timely Publications, a company owned by a relative. He was assigned to the comics division and - thanks to a fertile imagination - rose to editor by the age of 18. For more than 20 years, he was "the ultimate hack" - knocking out crime stories, horrors, westerns, anything to sate the appetite of his juvenile readership. Words of more than two syllables were discouraged. Characters were either all good or bad, with no shades of grey. So embarrassed was Lieberman by much of what he was writing that he refused to put his real name on the byline. He assumed the "dumb name", Stan Lee, now legally adopted.
By the time he was 40, Lee had decided he was too old for the comic game. His British-born wife, Joan, suggested he had nothing to lose and, for his swansong, should write the kind of characters he really wanted to create. After a rival comic had come up with a superteam consisting of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, Timely needed to respond.
Lee's answer, in 1961, was the Fantastic Four - a team of astronauts who gained super powers after being bombarded with cosmic rays. They were to change Lee's life, and the comics industry, forever. Lee gave each character individual, everyday teenage problems such as dandruff, ingrown toenails and acne. They would frequently fall out with their parents and each other. The fan letters poured in. Without immediately knowing it, Stan Lee had ushered in the golden age of comics, and his imagination was rekindled. His Marvel universe spawned the new title of Marvel Comics. Soon after, nerdy Peter Parker was transformed - after a bite from an irradiated spider - into someone who could crawl up the sides of New York's skyscrapers. Spider-Man was born. He was to become an icon of modern popular culture. Spidey, as he is affectionately known, had quite extraordinary powers - yet he had problems at work, at home and with his girlfriends. At last, the teenager was no longer just the sidekick, but the main hero. And the hero was no longer just brawn, he had brains too.
"Just because he's a hero and has super powers doesn't mean he doesn't have problems," Stan Lee told the BBC. The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, Iron Man and the rest all grappled with problems like drug abuse, bigotry and social inequality. Radically, Lee gave the artists responsible for the comic designs credits for their work. Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, John Romitaand and others achieved cult status in their own right. Other superheroes broke new ground in other ways. Daredevil was blind, Black Panther was black and Silver Surfer pondered the state of humanity. Lee's influence remains. Some years ago the Marvel hero, Northstar, came out of the closet. In its heyday, Marvel was selling 50 million copies a year. Until he retired from editing in 1971, Stan Lee wrote all the copy for Marvel's covers.
In 1999, his Stan Lee Media venture, aimed at marrying comic-strips with the internet, went spectacularly wrong. Lee went bankrupt and his business partner landed in prison for fraud. In 2001 though, he started a new company entitled POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, which is currently developing films and television programmes. His latest project is a superhero based on a real person - Jay J Armes, who has metal claws after losing both hands aged 12 and fights crime with a tiger. But his 40-year-old creations are still as enduring as ever - with X-Men, The Hulk and Daredevil have all been turned into Hollywood action movies in the last five years. But Spider-Man has been the biggest box office hit, with the 2002 original and its 2004 sequel taking almost $1.6bn (£857m) in ticket sales around the world - before DVD and merchandise sales are counted. It seems Stan Lee is as indestructible as his heroes. | entertainment |
Bangkok film festival battles on
Organisers of the third Bangkok International Film Festival have been determined to carry on with this year's event despite the ravages of the Asian tsunami disaster.
The festivities have been scaled down, red carpets have been mothballed and profits from ticket sales are being donated to the tsunami relief fund. Apart from this, however, the festival has continued as originally planned. "When the disaster happened, we naturally asked ourselves if we should cancel," said the festival's executive director, Craig Prater. "The decision was made that we would continue, but that the focus would change.
"Our premieres became fundraisers, the opening night was visibly toned down and 10% of every ticket sold goes to the disaster fund," he continued. "But we feel like we've turned a page. We've acknowledged our position, and now it's business as usual."
Mr Prater's sentiments were echoed by Christine Rush, director of the festival's sister event, the Bangkok Film Market. "We have been careful to be respectful of the Thai nation's recovery from this terrible disaster," she said.
"However, the nation's recovery very much depends upon it continuing its economic life. "We are encouraging attendees to keep the victims in mind and aggressively support the aid organisations helping out," she added. Given the conspicuously low audience figures, that support may be more symbolic than significant. However, poor ticket sales have less to do with any fallout from the disaster and more to do with administrative and promotional difficulties.
The eclectic programme contains a wide range of titles, including such Oscar hopefuls as Ray Charles biopic Ray and Mike Leigh's abortion drama Vera Drake. That said, the absence of Thai subtitles on most film prints might have proved offputting to local cinemagoers.
On a more positive note, the celebrity guests attending the event have generated huge media interest in this busy capital city. Problems securing air transport, the clash with last Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles and other factors have forced some big names to cancel.
But the festival has still attracted such Hollywood directors as Oliver Stone and Joel Schumacher, alongside such screen stars as Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irons and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Irons, whose film Being Julia is in competition for the festival's Golden Kinnaree awards, said he had wondered whether he should attend after December's catastrophe. "I questioned whether I should come when such a tragedy had happened," the British actor said. "I thought it might be in rather bad taste. But then I spoke to the organisers and I was encouraged to let life go on. "Now I've come here I'm very glad. What impresses me about Thai culture is they get over these things far quicker than we do in the West," he continued. "Basically I was invited here by Thailand. If they still want you to come, you should."
Now in its third year, Bangkok is a relatively recent addition to the hectic film festival calendar. And while it has yet to attain the stature of more established events held in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Pusan in South Korea, Mr Prater predicts it will soon become their equal. "It's grown awfully fast in three years - maybe too fast," he concedes. "We've had some bumps in the road, but that's only because the festival is still a baby. "I have no doubt in my mind that in five years, this will be the top Asian film festival in the world." The Golden Kinnarees will be awarded on Friday. The festival itself runs until 24 January. | entertainment |
Carry On star Patsy Rowlands dies
Actress Patsy Rowlands, known to millions for her roles in the Carry On films, has died at the age of 71.
Rowlands starred in nine of the popular Carry On films, alongside fellow regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor. She also carved out a successful television career, appearing for many years in ITV's well-loved comedy Bless This House. Rowlands died in Hove on Saturday morning, her agent said.
Born in January 1934, Rowlands won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Speech and Drama scholarship when she was just 15.
After spending several years at the Players Theatre in London, she made her film debut in 1963 in Tom Jones, directed by Tony Richardson. She made her first Carry On film in 1969 where she appeared in Carry On Again Doctor. Rowlands played the hard-done-by wife or the put-upon employee as a regular Carry On star. She also appeared in Carry On at your Convenience, Carry On Matron and Carry On Loving, as well as others.
In recent years she appeared in BBC mini-series The Cazalets and played Mrs Potts in the London stage version of Beauty and the Beast. Agent Simon Beresford said: "She was just an absolutely favourite client She never complained about anything, particularly when she was ill, she was an old trouper. "She was of the old school - she had skills from musical theatre and high drama, that is why she worked with the great and the good of directors. "She didn't mind always being recognised for the Carry On films because she thoroughly enjoyed making them. She was a really lovely person and she will be much missed." Her last appearance on stage was as Mrs Pearce in the award-winning production of My Fair Lady at the National Theatre. Previously married, she leaves one son, Alan. Her funeral will be a private, family occasion, with a memorial service at a later date. | entertainment |
Tautou 'to star in Da Vinci film'
French actress Audrey Tautou, star of hit film Amelie, will play the female lead in the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, it has been reported.
The movie version of Dan Brown's best-selling novel is being directed by Ron Howard and also stars Tom Hanks. Tautou will play Hanks' code-cracking partner, according to various newspapers. She is currently starring in A Very Long Engagement, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Jeunet was also responsible for directing Tautou in Amelie in 2001, which launched the actress into the mainstream.
She also starred as the lead role in critically-acclaimed film Dirty Pretty Things in 2002. Oscar-winning director Ron Howard chose Tautou for the part, preferring a French actress to a big name Hollywood star. UK actress Kate Beckinsale had been widely tipped as a possibility for the role alongside Vanessa Paradis and Juliette Binoche. The thriller upon which the movie is based has sold more than 17 million copies and is centred on a global conspiracy surrounding the Holy Grail mythology. The Louvre Museum, scene of the gruesome murder at the beginning of the novel, recently gave permission for filming to take place there, showbusiness newspaper Variety reported. The $100m movie will be produced by Columbia/Sony Pictures and is due for release on May 19, 2006 in the United States and France. | entertainment |
Double win for Sea Inside
Spanish movie The Sea Inside has been named best picture and star Javier Bardem best actor at the Bangkok International Film Festival.
Based on the true story of a paralysed man's battle to end his life, The Sea Inside was best foreign language film at the 2005 Golden Globe Awards. Annette Bening and Ana Geislerova shared the best actress award at the Bangkok festival. This year's event was scaled down following the Asian tsunami disaster.
Falling Down and The Phantom of the Opera director Joel Schumacher won a lifetime achievement award while Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai was honoured for promoting Asian cinema. "It's a great honour, I want to share this honour with my Thai colleagues," Wong said. French writer Christophe Barratie and Korean writer Park Chan-Chook shared the best screenplay award for Les Choristes and Old Boy respectively. Now in its third year, the Bangkok International Film Festival is donating profits from ticket sales to the tsunami relief fund. | entertainment |
BBC denies Blackadder TV comeback
The BBC has said there are no plans in the pipeline for a new series of hit comedy Blackadder, which ended in 1989.
Tony Robinson, who played the servant Baldrick, told ITV1's This Morning the show's star, Rowan Atkinson, was "more keen than he has been in the past". Robinson added he would "love" to do another series, each of which was set in a different era, ranging from the 15th century to World War I. But the BBC said on Thursday there were no plans for a comeback.
In the final series all the main characters were killed off charging towards German lines after being ordered out of their trench. The poignant finale was later voted the best farewell episode of a TV series. A host of other UK actors, including Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Miranda Richardson, also appeared in the show. Blackadder returned for a one-off special filmed to celebrate the arrival of the millennium in 1999. It was shown at the Millennium Dome in Greenwich before being screened on BSkyB. | entertainment |
Corbett attacks 'dumbed-down TV'
Ronnie Corbett has joined fellow comedy stars Victoria Wood and David Jason in attacking the declining standards of British television programmes.
Speaking to the Radio Times, the Two Ronnies star said there is too much bad language and reality TV. "You get fed up watching shows with not much care and love," he complained. Corbett, soon to reunite with Ronnie Barker for a new Two Ronnies series, also criticised quiz shows like the BBC's They Think It's All Over. "It's just laughing at each other and thinking, 'Aren't we clever?'" said the 74-year-old comedian. Corbett is the latest comedy star to bemoan the "dumbing down" of modern TV programmes. In an interview published in the Radio Times in January, Victoria Wood slated comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for his character Ali G's "horrible" brand of "victim" humour.
"With so many good writers and good performers, it's a shame people can't just write a script and have other people learn it," she said. And last week Only Fools and Horses star David Jason criticised British TV for being "too safe and too cheap". "We've got to be careful not to dumb down for the audience," he said. "They shouldn't be sitting at home on the sofa vegetating." Corbett said he and Barker were always mindful of their family audience while making The Two Ronnies. "Our material was good-natured," he said. "We knew what would upset the average man in the street. "There's a lot of swearing on TV today. They even have documentaries with the f-word."
Corbett goes on to criticise "reality programmes where they put people in a house for a fortnight and film them doing everything". The Two Ronnies ran from 1971 to 1987 and attracted 17 million viewers at its peak. Its bespectacled stars will return later this year in The Two Ronnies Sketchbook, which will combine classic sketches with newly recorded material. Corbett claims he and Barker differ from today's celebrities in that they did not allow their success to go to their heads. "We were never temperamental, fractious or walked out slamming doors," he said. "We were fussy though," he added. "We wanted everything done properly." | entertainment |
Smith loses US box office crown
New comedy Diary of a Mad Black Woman has ended Will Smith's reign at the top of the North American box office.
Based on a play by Tyler Perry, who also stars as a gun-toting grandmother, the film took $22.7m (£11.8m) in its first three days of release. After topping the chart for two consecutive weeks, Smith's romantic comedy Hitch dropped to second place with takings of $21m (£10.9m). Keanu Reeves' supernatural thriller Constantine dropped a place to three. Based on the Hellblazer comics, the film took $11.8m (£6.1m) on its second week of release. Two new entries came next in the chart, with Wes Craven's horror movie Cursed, about a werewolf loose in Los Angeles, in fourth position with $9.5m (£4.9m).
Action comedy Man of the House, starring Tommy Lee Jones as a Texas ranger assigned to protect a cheerleader squad, came in at fifth with $9m (£4.6m). Clint Eastwood's boxing drama Million Dollar Baby - recipient of four Academy Awards, including best picture - continued to perform well in sixth place with takings of $7.2m (£3.74m). Martin Scorsese's Hollywood biopic The Aviator - which won five Oscars, all in minor categories - held on in ninth place. The low-budget feature Diary of a Mad Black Woman stars Kimberly Elise as a woman thrown out on the streets by her philandering husband. With the help of her grandmother Madea (one of three roles played by Perry), she plots revenge. Perry, 34, is one of America's best-known black playwrights but is a newcomer to film. Once made homeless after investing his own money in unsuccessful productions of his work, he now lives in the mansion in which Diary of a Mad Black Woman was filmed. | entertainment |
BBC to pour £9m into new comedy
The BBC is to invest £9m in developing new comedy and entertainment programmes outside London.
The changes come as part of a shake-up of several departments to create shows that appeal to a wider range of people. Changes are also being made to teams in the factual and daytime departments outside London. Director of television Jana Bennett said the changes were about "getting the best ideas on screen as efficiently and effectively as we can". "The new structure in each genre is designed to ensure that happens," she said.
A number of new roles are being created in each department, including a head of comedy commissioning based in Glasgow. The new person will be in charge of the £9m budget and their role will be to develop shows outside the capital, both within the BBC and with independent production companies. Jane Lush, controller of entertainment commissioning, said, "Entertainment and comedy are incredibly important to our audiences; I'm confident these changes will help us get the very best programmes on screen." Similar positions will also be created in the other departments, with the new commissioning editor for documentaries based in Bristol and the daytime commissioning editor in Birmingham. Ms Bennett said the new roles would benefit those making programmes within the BBC as well as those making shows for the channel independently. "A strong independent sector and a flourishing in-house production base are not mutually exclusive and will stimulate the competition that will deliver the best ideas to the audience," she said. | entertainment |
How the Academy Awards flourished
The 77th annual Academy Awards are taking place on 27 February with the stars of the movie-making world once again holding their breath to discover who will be showered with the honours this year. But from humble beginnings, how did the modern day extravaganza become the behemoth it is today?
HOW IT ALL STARTED The first Academy Awards were handed out in 1929 at a comparatively low-key dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - just over the road from their modern day home.
Just 250 guests attended with ticket prices at $5.
The first film to win was Wings, which starred Clara Bow in the only silent movie to win the big award. For the first 10 years or so, the winners list was handed to the newspapers so they could publish them at 11pm, but in 1940 the winners were published in the Los Angeles Times at 8.45pm meaning guests entering the ceremony knew already knew the results. As a result the sealed envelope system was introduced, leading to the secrecy and suspense-filled night that happens today. WHEN AND WHERE The tradition of holding the awards at a banquet continued until 1942 but with increasing interest came a growing guest list and it became impractical to host it as a dinner.
The ceremonies were then transferred to theatres with the famous Grauman's Chinese Theatre the first to host the expanded event. Other venues included the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Shrine Auditorium. They are now held at the Kodak Theatre, which opened in 2002 just across the road from its original home and holds 6,000 people. Until 1954 they were held on a Thursday, then swapped around from Monday to Wednesday before Sunday night was settled on, although the month swapped from May to April to March and now its current month of February. The first televised ceremony was in 1953, with Bob Hope as the MC. WHO WAS OSCAR? There is no solid evidence as to how the trophy became to be known as Oscar.
One popular story is that Academy librarian Margaret Herrick said the statue looked like her uncle Oscar. A journalist apparently overheard this conversation and used the phrase in an article.
The first time it is thought to have been used in print was when columnist Sidney Skolsky used it to describe Katherine Hepburn's first best actress win in 1934. The Academy officially adopted the nickname in 1939. The trophy was designed by MGM art director Cedric Gibbons. Since its inception 2,530 Oscars have been handed out. In support of the war effort, the Academy handed out plaster Oscar statuettes during WWII. After the war, winners exchanged the plaster awards for the real thing. Fifty-five statues were stolen in en route to the awards in 2000, 52 were recovered nine days later. Winners were unaffected as a new batch was rushed out. WHO SITS IN JUDGEMENT? The Academy was set up in 1927 as a non-profit organisation with 36 members from different film disciplines. Douglas Fairbanks Sr was the first president and oversaw the first awards. There are now 5,700 members of the Academy - with membership by invitation only to those who are seen to have achieved distinction in the movies and are therefore seen as fit to judge their peers. Some of the criteria for admittance includes: film credits that reflect the high standards of the Academy, receipt of an Academy Award nomination, achievement of unique distinction, earning of special merit, or making an outstanding contribution to film. THE STARS WHO LEFT EMPTY-HANDED While many of the biggest films and movie-makers have been honoured by the Academy, there is still surprise at those that did not receive any nominations that later went on to become classics.
Among the overlooked films were Hobson's Choice, Dirty Harry, The 39 Steps, The Searchers and King Kong. Actors that failed to win for their iconic roles included Al Jolson in the Jazz Singer (1927), Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1944), Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain (1952) and Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men (1957). Alfred Hitchcock also failed to win an award despite five nominations. His enduring influence on the horror genre was finally recognised with an honorary gong in 1968. THE SHOW ALWAYS GOES ON Not even war has halted the glittering Hollywood event. There were calls for it to be cancelled in 2003 during the war in Iraq, but as it didn't stop during World War II or the Vietnam war.
Documentary winner Michael Moore ensured nobody forgot about the Iraq war though and used his acceptance speech to criticise the American invasion. The ceremony was muted with the glitz turned down and many female stars opting for demure dark dresses. The ceremony has been postponed on three occasions. Los Angeles floods in 1938 saw it put back a week. The death of Martin Luther King saw it postponed for two days in 1968 as a mark of respect and there was a 24-hour delay following the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. CONTROVERSIES AND OTHER GAFFES Three people have refused Oscars, including actor George C Scott who said the whole thing was "demeaning". Writer Dudley Nichols refused his Academy Award in 1935 for his screenplay for The Insider because the Writers' Guild was striking at the time. Marlon Brando turned down his best actor Oscar for The Godfather in 1973 in protest as Hollywood's apparent discrimination against Native American people. He sent along a woman called Sacheen Littlefeather to collect his award. She was later revealed to be Native American actress Maria Cruz.
The following year Robert Opal interrupted proceedings when he streaked, flashing a peace sign as well as everything else. The TV network managed to pan away and avoid too much nudity. Opal was murdered in 1979. Frank Capra was the butt of one major gaffe in 1934 when the host opened out best picture envelope and declared "come on up and get it, Frank" to which Frank Capra bounded up to the stage before realising that he had meant Frank Lloyd had won for Cavalcade.
Capra vowed he would never to go the awards again but went the following year to collect his award for It Happened One Night. | entertainment |
Hoffman hits out over modern film
Hollywood legend Dustin Hoffman has hit out at the quality of current films and theatre productions.
The star of Rain Man and Tootsie said the film culture was "in the craphouse" at a press conference on Tuesday. The 67-year-old also said he stopped working a few years ago because he lost his "spark" for acting. Hoffman is in the UK to publicise his new comedy, Meet the Fockers, which also stars Robert De Niro, Barbra Streisand and Ben Stiller.
He said: "You go to the cinema and you realise you're watching the third act. There is no first or second act. "There is this massive film-making where you spend this incredible amount of money and play right to the demographic. "You can tell how much money the film is going to make by how it does on the first weekend. "The whole culture is in the craphouse. It's not just true in the movies, it's also true in the theatre. "Broadway, and now London is the same, special effects are in great demand. It's not a good time culturally."
Hoffman also said he stopped working a few years ago and moved into directing and writing. He said: "I just lost that spark I always had. "A couple of years ago I didn't like the parts I was getting. "Studios weren't interested in the kind of films that people of my generation wanted to see. "I thought I would stop and just try writing and directing. I wasn't aware of the depression that set in." Recently, Hoffmann has returned to film, with roles in I Heart Huckabees, Finding Neverland and now Meet the Fockers, which is the sequel to Meet the Parents. Meet The Fockers opens in the UK on Friday. | entertainment |
Johnny Depp: The acting outlaw
Johnny Depp, whose latest role was Peter Pan creator JM Barrie in Finding Neverland, is celebrated as one of Hollywood's most maverick talents. Depp has become an unlikely major star, given his preference for taking dark and idiosyncratic roles instead of surefire box office hits. He has had a long-running working relationship with the equally unconventional director Tim Burton. Depp was born in Kentucky in 1963 and at first wanted to be a rock star, playing in a number of bands and supporting acts such as Iggy Pop and The B-52s in Florida. On a visit to Los Angeles, his former wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage.
In 1984 he started his film career playing a doomed teenager in horror film Nightmare On Elm Street. Two years later he played a soldier in Oliver Stone's Vietnam epic Platoon. But it was TV that first made Depp a star. He played undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the US series 21 Jump Street for three years from 1987.
In 1990 he began his partnership with Burton in the dark fairy tale Edward Scissorhands, about a young man with blades for hands. He won plaudits in 1993 for the downbeat film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, where he played a sensitive youth looking after an overweight mother and a retarded younger brother, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Another role under Burton, Ed Wood, starred Depp as the crazed cult film-maker Wood, in 1994. He played a much more serious, sensitive role in his next major film, Donnie Brasco, where he portrayed an undercover cop infiltrating a mafia ring. In 1997 he directed his only film to date - The Brave, the story of an Indian man offered money to appear in a snuff film.
Two years later he played Hunter S Thompson in Terry Gilliam's ambitious but poorly-received big screen adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He worked again with Tim Burton in the 1999 horror film Sleepy Hollow, and appeared opposite Dame Judi Dench and Juliette Binoche in Chocolat. His performance in Pirates of the Caribbean, which earned him Golden Globe and Bafta nominations, had many critics thinking he based it upon the mannerisms of his friend, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. His latest role in Finding Neverland explored JM Barrie's relationship with Sylvia (Kate Winslet) and her children. Depp's charismatic performance drew an audience of adults and children alike into Barrie's vivid imagination, and he was called the "fifth child of the group" by the film's director Marc Forster.
He has two children of his own with French singer Vanessa Paradis, having previously been in a long-term relationship with British model Kate Moss. The theme of children's literature in Depp's career - and his long association with Tim Burton - are set to continue in his next role, playing Willy Wonka in a remake of Roald Dahl's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. British TV comedy fans might also remember Depp's guest role in the final episode of BBC sketch programme The Fast Show, cited as his favourite show. It was another surprise move in Depp's varied and intriguing career. | entertainment |
Patti Smith to host arts festival
Rock star Patti Smith has been made artistic director of this year's Meltdown festival, to be held at London's South Bank Centre in June.
The punk pioneer follows Morrissey, David Bowie and Nick Cave in directing 15 days of concerts and events. Smith has yet to decide the line-up for Meltdown, which begins on 11 June. "I want to touch on all aspects of our culture, perhaps with readings from Genet, and I have an idea for Jeremy Irons to read Proust," she said.
The 58-year-old US singer of Because the Night told The Observer newspaper that the festival would be her response to these "material, exploitative and greedy times". "It is important we explore the new, but we should also salute the best art there is, aesthetically and spiritually," she said. Last year's Meltdown festival, directed by the ex-Smiths star Morrissey, included appearances by singer Jane Birkin, Nancy Sinatra and playwright Alan Bennett. He also persuaded punk band The New York Dolls to reform for a reunion show. | entertainment |
Roxy Music on Isle of Wight bill
Roxy Music will appear at June's Isle of Wight music festival, along with Morrissey, Supergrass and Idlewild.
REM have already been confirmed as headliners for the three-day event, which takes place from 10-12 June. Original band members Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzerana, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson will take to the stage on the Saturday night of the festival. The band are also working in the studio on new material, their first since the 1982 album Avalon. Roxy Music were formed in 1971 by Ferry, Mackay and Brian Eno, with Manzanera joining the following year. Their first hit was 1972's Virginia Plain, with other hits including Street Life, Love Is The Drug and the 1981 John Lennon cover, Jealous Guy. Roxy Music's back catalogue was re-released in 2000, leading to the band undertaking a world tour in 2001. Morrissey will also play on Saturday at the festival, while Supergrass and Idlewild have been confirmed for the Friday. | entertainment |
Music mogul Fuller sells company
Pop Idol supremo Simon Fuller has sold his 19 Entertainment company to an US entrepreneur in a $156m (£81.5m) deal.
Robert Sillerman's Sports Entertainment Enterprises, which is to be renamed CFX, recently also bought an 85% share in the estate of Elvis Presley. Mr Fuller has been appointed to the CFX board and will plan and implement the company's creative strategy. The 19 firm handles a roster of music artists, TV shows and PR strategies for stars including the Beckhams. The deal sees Mr Fuller receive £64.5m in cash and about 1.9 million shares in Sports Entertainment. There will also be a further £19.2m in either cash or stocks by the end of the financial year in June. Mr Fuller has signed a long-term agreement with the company which will see him continue to expand and develop entertainment brands. He said: "This is a hugely exciting new partnership for myself and 19 Entertainment.
"CKX will provide 19 with a powerful platform for global growth and allow us to fully take advantage of all the amazing opportunities that lie ahead. I cannot wait to get started."
Mr Fuller was the creative drive behind Pop Idol and its US offspring American Idol. 19 Management runs the careers of many of its successful contestants including Will Young, Gareth Gates and Kelly Clarkson. The company was set up 15 years ago by Mr Fuller, taking the name from his first successful single - 19 by Paul Hardcastle. Fuller was the driving force behind the Spice Girls phenomenon, using canny marketing and catchy pop songs to secure their place as the most lucrative girl group in history. He then put together S Club 7, who had their own TV show as well as a music career. Mr Sillerman's deal to buy the Presley estate sees him control the operation of Graceland, as well as money from the late star's music and films. Presley's daughter Lisa Marie retains possession of Graceland and many of her father's "personal effects". | entertainment |
Johnny Cash manager Holiff dies
The former manager of Johnny Cash, Saul Israel Holiff, has died at the age of 79, his family said.
Mr Holiff, who was also a concert promoter, managed Cash's career between 1960 and 1973, quitting when he thought the singer's career had peaked. "I was guilty for underestimating him repeatedly," he once said. The Canadian music manager, who also managed Tommy Hunter and the Statler Brothers, had been in declining health, according to his family. An entrepreneur from an early age, Mr Holiff served as a rear air gunner in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, afterwards setting up a drive-in restaurant. He briefly dabbled in acting, before setting up offices in Nashville and Los Angeles for his concert and artist promotion business. In 1970, RPM weekly magazine presented Holiff with a special award as the Canadian music industry's man of the year. Mr Holiff retired when he was in his late 40s, returning to education as a mature student at the University of Victoria, where he graduated with a degree in history. He passed away on 17 March. According to his wishes, there will be no funeral service. | entertainment |
UK 'world's biggest music buyer'
UK consumers are the biggest music buyers in the world, according to new figures released on Tuesday by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
But global sales of recorded music were flat in 2004, with growing sales in DVD music videos offset by online and physical piracy in major markets. The UK music industry recorded an overall 3% increase in volume sales, mostly due to its robust albums market. However, world music sales declined by 1.3% to $33.6 billion (£17.7 billion). The UK CD albums market grew by 4.5% in 2004 with a record 174.6 million units sold. On average every Briton buys 3.2 CDs per person per year.
Around 26,000 albums are released in the UK each year, making Britain second only to the US in terms of the number of releases. Overall sales were driven by new UK-signed artists such as Keane, Katie Melua and Scissor Sisters, whose debut album sold almost 1.6 million copies in the UK. "A slew of great new British artists have met UK music fans' demand for great music," said BPI chairman Peter Jameson. The best-selling album globally was Usher's Confessions - one of eight albums to sell more than five million copies in 2004.
The growth in the DVD market and a sharp increase in sales of digital music ensured a strong market in the US. The total number of tracks downloaded last year were up more than tenfold on 2003. Digital sales in the US in the first two months of 2005 are already more than double that of the same period in 2004.
However, some markets in Continental Europe and Asia - notably Sweden, Finland, France, Spain and South Korea - have been drastically hit by internet piracy. Australia, Italy and the Netherlands also saw a decline. "On the positive side digital sales are booming," said John Kennedy, chief executive of the International Federation of Phonographic Industries (IFPI). "However, commercial piracy and illegal file-sharing are continuing to depress our markets. "The priority in the coming year is to step up the advance of legitimate digital sales and sustain our anti-piracy efforts." "The main choice today's music fan now has to make is whether to get music legally or illegally," added Mr Jameson. | entertainment |
Pixies take on Reading and Leeds
Pixies, Foo Fighters and Iron Maiden will headline this summer's Leeds and Reading festivals.
The trio of rock heavyweights will top the bill for the three-day events at Bramham Park, near Wetherby, and at Richfield Avenue, Reading. They are the Pixies' and Iron Maiden's only UK festival gigs, while Foo Fighters are also at T In The Park. The Killers, Razorlight and Queens of the Stone Age are also playing the twin festivals, to be held on 26-28 August. Other acts in this year's line-up include The Charlatans, Marilyn Manson and Kings of Leon. Pete Doherty's band Babyshamblers will appear on the NME/Radio One stage along with Kasabian, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Bloc Party.
Organiser Mean Fiddler said more acts were still to be confirmed for the summer event. "We are all very excited to be going back to Reading and intend to have a fantastic time," said Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson. "We're sure fans will too." It will the first time the veteran British metal band have played Reading in 23 years. At Leeds, Iron Maiden will headline the first day of the festival on the Friday, Pixies will follow on Saturday and the Foo Fighters will close the event on Sunday. The Pixies will headline the first day of Reading, while Foo Fighters will play on Sunday and Iron Maiden will close the event. Weekend tickets are now on sale priced at £125 each. | entertainment |
Vera Drake leads UK Oscar hopes
Mike Leigh's film Vera Drake will lead British hopes at this year's Academy Awards after getting three nominations.
Imelda Staunton was nominated for best actress for her role in the abortion drama, while Leigh received nods for best director and original screenplay. Kate Winslet was also nominated in the best actress category for her role in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And Clive Owen and Sophie Okonedo both got nominated for supporting roles in Closer and Hotel Rwanda respectively. Owen has already been made bookmakers' favourite for best supporting actor for the role in Closer that has already clinched him a Golden Globe award.
And it is the first nomination for actress Okonedo, chosen for her performance in Hotel Rwanda, about the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It is also a debut nomination for Staunton, 49, who told BBC News 24 she had not thought the film would appeal to Academy voters. "It was an extraordinary time making the film and I can't believe what has happened this morning," she said. "I hope it just shows Mike up to be the extraordinary filmmaker he is. "We are also dealing with a very difficult subject matter and it is amazing to have it accepted in this way." Leigh, who had previously received three Oscar nominations for Secrets and Lies and Topsy Turvy, told BBC News 24 the latest success was "amazing". He said: "We hoped that Imelda Staunton would get a nomination but I never expected to get director and screenplay. It's just absolutely wonderful.
"I think people are aware that it's about life - and I hope it is the warmth and compassion that really talks to people." Winslet said she was "ecstatic" about the fourth nomination of her career. "Being nominated means so much to me. To be nominated for a film that was released a while ago, I feel so honoured and overwhelmed," she said. John Woodward, chief executive of the UK Film Council, said it was "extremely heartening" to see British filmmaking talent recognised on the global stage. "Britain has a hugely talented industry and these nominations show why National Lottery investment in film pays major dividends for our culture and economy." Among a total of 24 British nominees, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Charles Hart are up for best original song for Learn To Be Lonely, from The Phantom of the Opera movie.
Cinematographer John Mathieson, who was nominated for Gladiator in 2001, is also up for The Phantom of the Opera. And Finding Neverland has garnered two more nominations for Brits. Gemma Jackson, who has also worked on Bridget Jones's Diary and Iris, is up for art direction while costume designer Alexandra Byrne, whose previous films have included Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Elizabeth, is in the running. The UK has two contenders in the best live action short film category. Wasp was made by ex-children's TV presenter Andrea Arnold while Little Terrorist is the work of Ashvin Kumar. This year's awards will be handed out in Hollywood on 27 February. | entertainment |
Moreno debut makes Oscar mark
Catalina Sandino Moreno has joined a rare group of actresses who have been nominated for an Oscar for starring in a foreign language film.
The Colombian-born actress was the final hope for director Joshua Marston, who scoured the US and Colombia for a lead for Maria Full of Grace. The film sees the 23-year-old play a teenage drug mule who smuggles heroin by swallowing pellets in condoms. Plaudits have been raining down on her for her gritty performance, making it all the more surprising that this is her first film. Her previous acting experience was in amateur productions in her home city of Bogota at the Ruben Di Pietro theatre academy. She has already received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Awards leading actress category but these rarely overlap with Academy Awards, instead recognising quirkier, low-budget films. And at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival the jury could not choose between her and Charlize Theron's Oscar winning performance in Monster so gave them a tied award. Sandino Moreno is now being regarded as one of the most promising actresses around at the moment. But she is taking her time committing to her next project, hoping to land a strong Spanish script and would love to be able to work with directors Pedro Almodovar or Alejandro Amenabar. | entertainment |
Bening makes awards breakthrough
Film actress Annette Bening is up for an Oscar for her starring role in the award-winning film Being Julia.
Bening, who was born in Texas in 1958, has gained prominence for a string of key roles. Although an Oscar has so far eluded her, her status as one of Hollywood's favourite actresses remains solid. One of the biggest Oscars buzzes in recent years was for Bening's role as troubled Carolyn Burnham in 1999's American Beauty. But her deliciously neurotic portrayal of surburban life turning sour was overlooked in favour of Hilary Swank's leading role in Boys Don't Cry. After opening her career in the theatre - and gaining a Tony Award nomination in 1986 - Bening had a low-key spell in television. She then made her film debut as a sex-starved wife in 1988's The Great Outdoors, opposite comics Dan Akroyd and John Candy.
Following a cameo in Postcards From The Edge, Bening's breakthrough role came in 1990, playing seductive con artist Myra Langtry in The Grifters - a role that won her an Oscar nomination. Despite some rave reviews, Bening did not win the best supporting actress Academy Award.
However the high-profile performance enabled Bening to capture roles in a number of big budget Hollywood productions, co-starring with some of Hollywood's greatest players, including Robert De Niro and Harrison Ford. But it was her role opposite Warren Beatty in 1991 gangster flick Bugsy which had the greatest impact. Bening played Virginia Hill, another role which won her high critical acclaim, but the film only picked up two of a staggering 12 Oscar nominations.
Bugsy was the start of a very significant liaison for Bening - she married Beatty, with whom she had a child as the couple promoted the film in Europe. The couple now have four children together. A pair of contrasting yet successful performances peppered Bening's career in the mid-1990s. She played Michael Douglas' opposite number in romantic comedy The American President, and as a "fiery" Queen Elizabeth I in a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III.
Bening was the first choice to play the female lead in American Beauty, director Sam Mendes' film debut which was a critical and commercial success - but the actress had to be content with a Bafta award for her strong performance. But current film Being Julia has made Bening an award-winning actress rather than the perennial nominee, with success at the Golden Globes. The witty tale of revenge and love set in 1930s London sees the eponymous theatrical diva - played by Bening - grow tired of her success and fall for a young American - and could be the role which finally wins her the coveted Academy Award. | entertainment |
Oscars steer clear of controversy
The Oscars nominations list has left out some of the most controversial films of the past year in favour of safer, less contentious cinema.
If best film nominees were drawn on the basis of column inches, two of the front-runners would have had to be Michael Moore's Bush-baiting documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Both films polarised opinion but had critics talking, and the public turning up to see them - Fahrenheit 9/11 breaking US box office records for a documentary, and The Passion of the Christ making more than US$370m (£196m) in the US alone. But this year's Academy Awards have shied away from the big name controversies, with The Passion of the Christ - a film accused of being anti-Semitic - receiving nominations only in the 'minor' categories of cinematography, makeup and musical score.
Fahrenheit 9/11 has also been overlooked, despite winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2004.
Moore's caustic documentary may have been affected by its distributors' decision to enter it in the best picture category, rather than best documentary, says Tim Dams, the news editor of trade magazine Screen International. But he also believes the strong political viewpoint of Moore's film does not sit well with the Academy. "If you look at past Oscar winners and nominees, the very conservative Oscar voters tend to go for very conservative, epic-style pictures. Fahrenheit 9/11 didn't really fit in to that category. "They tend to go for films like Titanic, Gladiator, and the Lord of the Rings, films with scale that often aren't too contentious," he said. While he said the Oscar voting panel were not "snubbing" Moore's film, he thought it was unlikely a documentary could ever seriously compete in a best film category. "I think it's more a misjudgement by the people putting it out rather than a deliberate snub," he said.
The problem with Mel Gibson's film, he believed, was that the voting panel may have been cautious in nominating a film with dialogue in Aramaic, an ancient Middle Eastern language.
"Hollywood doesn't tend to like foreign-language films - no-one's ever tried doing a film in a dead language," he said. But aside from these two films, some potentially contentious pictures have won nominations. The German film The Downfall, a biopic tracing the final days of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in his Berlin bunker, has been recognised in the best foreign film category. The film has caused some controversy in showing Hitler as a fallible but human man, rather than a semi-mythical, historical monster. But Mr Dams said: "It's not an inflammatory film. It has done very well in Germany, and it's a film that portrays Hitler as a human rather than some kind of devil or monster." Another 'contentious' film, Mr Dams said, has gained a nomination in the best documentary section through the force of its charm.
Independent film-maker Morgan Spurlock may have forced fast-food giant McDonalds to withdraw its 'super size' portions in the US after he went on a month-long diet eating nothing but McDonalds meals - and filmed his progress.
The film has been a hit around the world. Mr Dams said: "It's a political film, but it's quite fun and punky and well-paced. "Morgan Spurlock is a really likeable guy. It's a very accessible film, and it doesn't beat you over the head with its views. "While in Fahrenheit 9/11 there are moments of comedy, I think the way that Super Size Me is put together - the fact it's a very likeable film - means it's won through on charm." Dam's pick at this year's Oscars? The Aviator, Martin Scorsese's biopic of aviation pioneer and Hollywood player Howard Hughes. Tinseltown, it seems, likes nothing more than a picture about one of its own. | entertainment |
Kidman wins photographer battle
Actress Nicole Kidman has won a restraining order against two paparazzi photographers who she claims left her fearful of leaving her Sydney mansion.
The Oscar-winning star took action against Jamie Fawcett and Ben McDonald after a bugging device was found outside her home earlier this week. Lawyers for the pair denied allegations they had planted the device. The Australian actress is currently in Sydney to film her latest movie, Eucalyptus, with Russell Crowe. Kidman was prompted to take action following a reported high-speed car chase with members of the paparazzi in Sydney last weekend.
According to local newspaper the Daily Telegraph, the incident involved paparazzi driving through red lights and on the wrong side of the road in pursuit of Kidman's vehicle. Lawyers for Mr Fawcett and Mr McDonald denied that the pair were involved in the chase. Kidman sought the "apprehended violence" orders - normally used in Australia in cases of domestic violence and similar incidents - after being advised to do so by local police. "Nicole would like to make it clear that she acknowledges she is a public figure and that reporters and photographers have a job to do and she respects that," said Kidman's publicist Wendy Day. "However, these are specific actions against two individuals who, over a period of time, have caused her to feel threatened, intimidated and unable to leave her home without fearing for her safety." Magistrate Lee Gilmore, who issued the restraining order at Waverley Local Court in Sydney, said she understood the photographers were entitled to earn a living but there had to be limits to their behaviour. "Miss Kidman says she's willing to put up with some of it, but it's gone beyond that," she said. "I do believe the allegation in relation to the driving is a serious issue." | entertainment |
Bookmakers back Aviator for Oscar
The Aviator has been tipped by UK bookmakers as the favourite to win the best film award at this year's Oscars.
Ray star Jamie Foxx is clear favourite in the best actor category while Million Dollar Baby's Hilary Swank is tipped to win the best actress prize. Bookmakers predict Cate Blanchett will be named best supporting actress. William Hill and Ladbrokes have given The Aviator 4/9 and 8/13 odds of winning best film, with Million Dollar Baby in second place at 9/4.
Bet Direct and Bet 365 also tip The Aviator, with the majority of bookmakers regarding Finding Neverland as the outsider. The Aviator is also widely tipped to win the best director prize for Martin Scorsese. British star Clive Owen is second favourite at William Hill to take the best supporting actor award, for his performance in Closer. The favourite in that category is Sideways star Thomas Hayden Church. Vera Drake star Imelda Staunton has 5/1 odds of winning the best actress Oscar at Bet 365 and William Hill, ahead of fellow UK star Kate Winslet who has odds of 25/1 at William Hill.
Mike Leigh is the outsider in the best director category for Vera Drake, a position he holds jointly with Ray's Taylor Hackford at bookmakers VC Bet. This year's Academy Awards will be handed out in Hollywood on 27 February. X Factor judge Sharon Osbourne will present Sky television's live coverage of the event. Meanwhile, Clive Owen's best supporting actor nomination has led a bookmaker to shorten his odds of becoming the next James Bond. He has moved from 4/1 to 5/2 favourite to play 007, with Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor joint second favourite. "Clive Owen's nomination has sparked a betting frenzy from James Bond fans, who feel that his heightened global recognition will have done his chances of becoming the next Bond a world of good," said William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams. | entertainment |
Van Gogh festival film withdrawn
Murdered director Theo van Gogh's controversial film Submission has been pulled from the Rotterdam Film Festival because of security fears.
It was one of three of his works to be shown as part of a freedom of expression event in tribute to the late film-maker's life. The film is critical of the treatment of women under Islam. Its TV screening is thought to have led to his murder. The 10-day Dutch festival begins on Wednesday. Submission was made with liberal Somali-Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali and was due to be shown on 30 January. Van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death in November 2004 several months after receiving death threats following Submission's first broadcast on Dutch television. Two of Van Gogh's other films will be shown as planned, including the theatrical world premiere of his last feature 06/05.
Festival director Sandra den Hamer said: "The festival reflects what happens around us and within cinema itself." The festival opens with the French film The 10th District Court, Moments of Trials made by Raymond Depardon. The event sees 14 films competing to win three Top Tiger Awards which aim to introduce promising new talent. New sections added to this year's festival include Cinema of the Future and Cinema of the World, with special focus on Russian and south-east Asian productions. There is also an Iraqi-German offering entitled Underexposure, which looks at life in Iraq after Saddam Hussein. | entertainment |
Douglas set for Indian adventure
Actor Michael Douglas is to co-produce and star in an adventure film about a diamond robbery set in India.
The new picture is expected to be similar to Douglas's action films of the 1980s, Romancing The Stone and The Jewel Of The Nile. Another Hollywood star is being lined up to co-star, while the rest of the cast will be Indian. Aishwarya Rai, star of Bride and Prejudice, is the "preferred choice" of the Indian studio involved in the film.
On a visit to India, the 60-year-old actor said he hoped to start shooting Racing The Monsoon next year. Douglas added that it had been inspired by a Wall Street Journal article about India's 'angadias', who courier money and diamonds around India.
The actor's own production company, Further Films, is working in partnership with two Indian film-making concerns to bring the picture to the screen. Shailendra Singh, the founder of India's Percept Films, said there would be "a lot of India" in the movie - and that an Indian train would play a big role. "The train will be a crucial part of the film. The chase and most of the stunts will be on the train," said Mr Singh. Swashbuckling adventure film Romancing The Stone saw Douglas's female co-star Kathleen Turner win a Golden Globe award for her performance in 1985. | entertainment |
Russian film wins BBC world prize
Russian drama The Return (Vozvrashchenie) has been named winner of the BBC Four World Cinema Award.
The film tells the story of two adolescent boys who are subjected to a harsh regime when their strict father returns after a 10-year absence. Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, The Return previously won the 2003 Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was presented at an awards ceremony held in London on Thursday and hosted by Jonathan Ross. The winner was chosen by a panel which included X Files actress Gillian Anderson, critic Roger Clarke and Touching the Void director Kevin McDonald.
Ross, who is the presenter of BBC One's Film 2005, was also involved in the deliberations. A shortlist of six films from around the world had been drawn up from which the panel chose. Other nominees included the Motorcycle Diaries, Zatoichi and Hero. A viewer poll saw director Zhang Yimou's martial arts epic Hero emerge as the favourite with 32% of votes cast. Tragedy struck the production of The Return when one of the young stars, 15-year-old Vladimir Girin, drowned in a lake. The winner of the World Cinema Award last year was the French animated feature Belleville Rendezvous | entertainment |
Incredibles win animation awards
The Incredibles movie has beaten Shrek 2 to the main prizes at Hollywood's animation awards, the Annies.
The superhero film was named best animated feature while Brad Bird won best director, writer and voice actor for his role as designer Edna Mode. The Incredibles won a total of 10 awards - but Shrek 2, which had seven nominations, went home empty-handed. The two movies will compete with Shark Tale in the best animated film category of the Oscars at the end of February.
The Incredibles' awards came despite Shrek 2's greater box office success. Shrek 2 took $881m (£468m) around the world, compared with $576m (£306m) for The Incredibles. SpongeBob SquarePants was named best animated TV show while TV comedy King of the Hill picked up two prizes including one for actress Brittany Murphy's voice work. Tom Kenny, who provides the voice for SpongeBob SquarePants, hosted Sunday's ceremony at the Alex Theater, Los Angeles. The awards are handed out by the International Animated Film Society. Finding Nemo won nine Annies last year. | entertainment |
Actor Scott is new Bond favourite
Bookmaker William Hill has stopped taking bets on who will be the next James Bond, following a succession of large wagers on actor Dougray Scott.
The firm closed the book on Friday, saying "insider information" could have contributed to the number of bets. "In the past gambles like this have often been right," William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said. The closing list gave Scott odds of 6-9, followed by Oscar nominee Clive Owen at 5-2. Scott first found fame in the TV series Soldier Soldier and has since then starred in such films as Mission Impossible II and the wartime drama Enigma.
Mr Adams said one punter had placed a bet of £870 on the 39-year-old actor at odds of 8-1. "She told us she had some inside information, perhaps she knew he had been to a casting, but she wouldn't say," he said. Others thought to be in the running include Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor and Australian star Hugh Jackman, both of whom have odds of 4-1. Colin Farrell, Jude Law and Troy star Eric Bana have also been tipped for the role in the past.
A large number of bets on actor Colin Salmon to become the first black James Bond were dismissed as a publicity stunt a month ago. The next Bond film, originally due for release in 2005, has been delayed until 2006 due to Sony's takeover of the MGM studio. The most recent, Die Another Day, was released in late 2002 and saw Pierce Brosnan make his final appearance as the secret agent. The actor was originally due to make a fifth appearance as Bond, but was released from his contract in 2004. | entertainment |
Singer's film to show at festival
A documentary which takes a candid look at the life of chart-topping singer George Michael will be shown at this year's Berlin Film Festival.
A Different Story will screen in the Panorama section of the festival, which runs from 10-20 February. It features the singer talking about both his career and his personal life, from his days in Wham! through to more recent events. Michael will attend the festival to introduce the screening on 16 February. Director Southan Morris and executive producer Andy Stephens will also attend the festival.
The 93 minute film will see Michael discussing his early days in Wham! along with his later career, including his legal battles with record label Sony and his stance against the Iraq war and American politics. It will also touch upon his turbulent personal life, including his arrest in a Beverly Hills park toilet in 1998 for "lewd behaviour", and the death of his boyfriend Anselmo Feleppa from Aids. The film, which includes previously unseen footage of the singer also features contributions from Michael's former Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, as well as ex-Wham! backing singers Pepsi and Shirlie. Other contributors include Sting, Mariah Carey, Elton John, Noel Gallagher, Geri Halliwell and Simon Cowell. This year's festival will open with Man To Man, a historical epic starring Joseph Fiennes and Kristin Scott-Thomas. It will be one of 21 films competing for the festival's top prize, the Golden Bear. Other films in competition will include The Life Aquatic, a quirky comedy starring Bill Murray, and the biopic Kinsey, which features Liam Neeson. The full programme will be announced on 1 February. | entertainment |
De Niro film leads US box office
Film star Robert De Niro has returned to the top of the North American box office with his film Hide and Seek.
The thriller shot straight to the number one spot after taking $22m (£11.7m) at the box office. De Niro recently spent three weeks at the top with comedy Meet The Fockers, which was at number five this week. Oscar hopefuls The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby and Sideways all cashed in on their multiple nominations with stronger ticket sales.
In Hide and Seek, De Niro plays a widower whose daughter has a creepy imaginary friend. Despite lukewarm reviews from critics, the film took more than the expected $18m (£9.5m). "The element of a real actor in a psychological thriller certainly elevated it," said Bruce Snyder, president of domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox. Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby led the Oscar hopefuls with $11.8m (£6.3m), coming in at number three during its first weekend of wide release. The Aviator, a film biography of Howard Hughes that leads the Oscar field with 11 nominations, was at number six for the weekend with $7.5m (£4m). Oscar best-picture nominee Sideways entered the top ten for the first time in its 15th week of release. It came in seventh $6.3 (£3.35m). Last week's top film, Ice Cube's road-trip comedy Are We There Yet?, slipped to second place with $17m (£9m), while Coach Carter fell two places to number four, taking $8m (£4.25m) in its third week. Rounding out the top ten were In Good Company - starring Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson - Racing Stripes and Assault on Precinct 13. | entertainment |
Films on war triumph at Sundance
A study of the United States at war in the past 50 years has picked up one of the main awards at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, in the US.
Why We Fight scooped the grand jury prize for documentaries at the world's leading independent film festival. British director Sean McAllister's The Liberace of Baghdad - about a pianist in war-torn Iraq - won a special prize in the world documentary category. Both Why We Fight and The Liberace of Baghdad were made for the BBC. Why We Fight is due to be screened on BBC Four in March.
The Sundance festival was founded by actor Robert Redford in 1981. This year's festival - which ended on Sunday after a 11-day run - has been dominated by the themes of war and politics. In the new world cinema drama category, the Angolan film The Hero triumphed to win the grand jury prize. The film - an Angolan/French/Portuguese production - tells the story of a veteran of the country's civil war who returns home to face a new battle of survival. Twelve films competing in the new world cinema documentary category focused on countries and people under siege.
Finnish film The Three Rooms of Melancholia looks at the war in Chechnya and Shake Hands With The Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire tells the story of a UN mission to Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. But it was Dutch documentary Shape of the Moon - a study of an extended family in Indonesia - which took the top prize. Meanwhile, French-Israeli production Wall, which looks at Israel's controversial security wall separating it from the Palestinian territories, picked up a world cinema special jury prize for documentaries. In the main drama category, Forty Shades of Blue was named winner of the grand jury prize. The film tells the tale of a forbidden tug-of-love between a father, his Russian immigrant girlfriend and his son.
During its 24-year history, the Sundance Film Festival has showcased successes such as Reservoir Dogs, The Blair Witch Project and The Full Monty. Last year's festival provided a platform for hits such as Open Water, Napoleon Dynamite, Garden State and Super-Size Me. The festival is held in the mountain resort of Park City, east of Salt Lake City, which sees its population rise from 7,500 to 45,000 during the festival. | entertainment |
Career honour for actor DiCaprio
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio's "exceptional career" has been honoured at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
The star was presented with the award by Martin Scorsese, who directed him in Oscar-nominated movie The Aviator. "It's a lifetime achievement award, which is completely and utterly surreal, given I'm only 30 years old," DiCaprio said. "But what has it been? Almost 17 years now. I've done quite a few films." A retrospective of his movies was shown.
"What's really exciting, for me, is that this is what I really love doing," he added. "It's what I want to do for the rest of my life." DiCaprio began his movie career in horror film Critters 3, before moving onto roles in The Basketball Diaries, Romeo and Juliet, Titanic and Gangs of New York. The achievement award was created to commemorate the California festival's 20th anniversary and coincided with DiCaprio's portrayal of millionaire Howard Hughes in The Aviator.
Veteran actress Jane Russell, who starred in Hughes' 1943 film The Outlaw, said was impressed by DiCaprio's quest for authenticity when he previously discussed the role with her. "I was very happy that (DiCaprio) came and cared to come up and find out what (Hughes) was really like," she said. The Aviator has taken pole position in this year's Oscars race with 11 nominations, including nominations for best film, best actor for DiCaprio and best director for Scorsese. | entertainment |
Howl helps boost Japan's cinemas
Japan's box office received a 3.8% boost last year, with ticket sales worth 211bn yen (£1.08bn).
The surge was led by animated movie Howl's Moving Castle, which took 20bn yen (£102m) to become the biggest film in Japan in 2004. It is expected to match the 30.7bn yen (£157m) record of Hayao Miyazaki's previous film Spirited Away. Japan Motion Picture Producers figures showed that 170 million cinema admissions were made in Japan in 2004. The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise, was the biggest foreign movie hit in Japan last year, taking 13.8bn yen (£70.7m).
It was followed by Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Finding Nemo and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The second highest-grossing Japanese film was romantic drama Crying Out Love in the Centre of the World, followed by Be With You and Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation. Japanese films accounted for 37.5% of Japan's box office total last year, with foreign films taking the remaining 62.5%. This represented a 4.5% gain for the proportion of Japanese films in 2004 compared to 2003. The number of Japanese films released rose to 310 in 2004 from 287 the previous year. Sales of movies on DVD and video amounted to 497bn yen (£2.54bn) for the year. | entertainment |
Keanu Reeves given Hollywood star
Actor Keanu Reeves, best known for his role in the Matrix movies, has been awarded a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The 40-year-old attended the unveiling of the star with his mother, Patricia, and thanked her for inspiring him to become an actor. "When I was 15 years old I asked my mom if it was OK to be an actor," Reeves said. "She said: 'Whatever you want'." His star is the 2,277th to be embedded in the pavement on Hollywood Boulevard.
The actor, who was born in the Lebanese capital Beirut, also spoke of how he dropped out of school to pursue an acting career. "Hollywood was calling," he said, "So I got in my car, a 1969 British racing green Volvo with holes in the floor and bricks holding up the seats. I was a young man full of hopes and dreams." Reeves first found fame in the teen comedy Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and went on to combine such blockbusters as Speed, The Devil's Advocate and the Matrix series, with smaller films including My Own Private Idaho. More recently he was seen in Something's Gotta Give alongside Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. His next film, the supernatural thriller Constantine, is released in the US later this month and opens in the UK in March. | entertainment |
De Niro completes box office coup
Robert De Niro has completed a transatlantic box office double by topping the UK and US film charts with two different films at the same time.
Comedy sequel Meet the Fockers, in which he stars with Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand, shot to the top of the UK chart at the weekend. It took £7.2m in three days - eight times more than the number two, Closer. Assault on Precinct 13 was in third. At the same time, US audiences were won over by his new thriller Hide and Seek. In Meet the Fockers, he picks up the role of an uptight father and ex-CIA agent from 2000 hit comedy, Meet the Parents.
It is a big leap to his role in Hide and Seek, a supernatural horror in which he plays a widower whose daughter's imaginary friend turns nasty. In the UK box office chart, Meet the Fockers pushed Closer off the top spot while police action movie Assault On Precinct 13, starring rapper Ja Rule, made £750,000 in its first weekend. London Underground thriller Creep was another new entry at six while quirky comedy Sideways, which got five Oscar nominations last week, entered in eighth place. The Oscar nominations do not seem to have had an impact on fans' choices at cinemas. Leading contenders The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby and Ray all suffered substantial drops in takings compared with the previous weekend. | entertainment |
Day-Lewis set for Berlin honour
Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is to be presented with an award for his career in film at the Berlin Film Festival.
The 47-year-old, whose credits include his Oscar-winning performance in My Left Foot, will be presented with the Berlinale Camera award on 15 February. The honour, awarded since 1986, honours figures in cinema that the festival feels "particularly indebted to". Man to Man, a historical epic starring Kristin Scott Thomas, opens the German festival on 10 February. A candid documentary about the life and career of singer George Michael, A Different Story will also be screened at the 10-day event. '
Day-Lewis has competed four times at the Berlin Film Festival, with films In The Name Of The Father (1994), The Crucible (1997), The Boxer (1998) and Martin Scorsese's Gangs Of New York (2003). The festival praises him for his "sensational start" with roles in My Beautiful Launderette and costume classic A Room With A View, and a "great number of celebrated roles" in subsequent productions. Japan's oldest film studio will also be honoured along with Day-Lewis. Shochiku film studios, which was founded 110 years ago, will become the first cinematic institution to receive the Berlinale Camera award. Famous Japanese directors including Akira Kurosawa have had films produced at the studio. | entertainment |
US composer recreates Bach score
A US musicologist has recreated a lost musical score by German composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
The 1728 composition, called Wedding Cantata BWV 216, was found among the papers of Japanese pianist Chieko Hara, who died in Japan in 2001 aged 86. The work, written for the wedding of a daughter of a German customs official, was missing for 80 years. Joshua Rifkin - a composer and leading interpreter of Bach - has recreated the missing instrumental parts.
He said he originally wanted to let the lost cantata lie in rest. "Maybe a fragment should stay a fragment," said Rifkin. "Then I thought of palaeontologists, from one bone they figure the entire dinosaur. This is my dinosaur." The eight rediscovered pages consist of vocal pieces in German for soprano and alto, with the seven movements lasting for a total of between 20 and 25 minutes. The instrumental parts were entirely lost except for two recycled movements, a duet and an aria which had been used elsewhere in Bach's work. Rifkin likened the challenge to a "musical Rubik's cube". "I could not reconstruct what Bach wrote but I could give the people of today an idea of what his music was like," he said. "It sounds like Bach's music, but the listener should not know which part is Bach's and which part is mine." | entertainment |
Applegate's Charity show closes
US musical Sweet Charity has cancelled its run on Broadway after poor ticket sales for its early shows.
Star Christina Applegate had to pull out of pre-Broadway performances earlier this month with a broken foot. Producer Barry Weissler said he was "deeply proud" of the show, but said the decision to close it was "painful but fiscally responsible". Applegate, who starred in TV comedy Married With Children, had been hoping to make her Broadway debut in the show. The 33-year-old injured herself while performing in Chicago, and had been hoping to recover in time for its official New York opening on 21 April. She had received mixed reviews for performances in Minneapolis and Chicago. Previews of the $7.5m (£4m) show were due to begin on 4 April. Sweet Charity tells the story of Charity Hope Valentine, a dancer who always falls in love with the wrong man. It was first performed on Broadway in 1966 with Gwen Verdon in the title role, while Shirley MacLaine starred in the 1969 film version. | entertainment |
Ray Charles studio becomes museum
A museum dedicated to the career of the late legendary singer Ray Charles is to open in his former recording studio in Los Angeles.
His longtime publicist Jerry Digney said the museum would house "archive materials from recordings, to awards, to ephemera, to wardrobe". A tour bus used by Charles and his entourage over the years will also be on permanent display. It is hoped the museum will be ready for visitors in late 2007.
Mr Digney said the recording studio and offices had been used by Charles for many years, and was where he recorded much of his last album, Genius Loves Company. It is hoped the museum will also house an education centre. The building had been declared a historic landmark by the city of Los Angeles just before Charles' death in June 2004 at the age of 73. Following his death, Charles won eight Grammy Awards, including album of the year for Genius Loves Company, a collection of duets. | entertainment |
Britney attacks 'false tabloids'
Pop star Britney Spears has attacked "false" and "desperate" US tabloid magazines, questioning their honesty after they reported she was pregnant.
In a letter on her website, the singer named celebrity tabloids Us Weekly, In Touch and Star as the worst offenders. "Until you face what is going on in your life, I guess you'll remain a false tabloid," the 23-year-old wrote. Stories about the state of her marriage to Kevin Federline and rumours about a pregnancy have recently appeared. But the chart-topping singer's letter did not shed any further light on those stories. In February, Spears clashed with Us Weekly for publishing pictures of her honeymoon in Fiji without permission. The couple, who married in Los Angeles last September, claimed staff took photographs of them which were later sold.
They said they allowed the pictures to be taken after they were assured they would only be used for a private scrapbook, which they later received as a souvenir. Us magazine was unrepentant about their decision to publish, saying: "Britney should start her own magazine if she'd like to dictate her own coverage." "Coming from a celebrity who sold pictures of both her wedding and her stepdaughter, it's unlikely the issue here is privacy," they added. Spears claimed that other magazines were approached with the pictures but chose to contact her instead. | entertainment |
Abba queen enters music rich list
The woman behind the Abba musical Mamma Mia! has joined a list of British-based music millionaires.
Producer Judy Craymer is the highest new entry in the Sunday Times' music rich list, with a £67m fortune. Ms Craymer remortgaged her home to finance her idea of a musical based around Abba's hits, which has since become a global triumph. Teenage soul singer Joss Stone is a new entry on a list of Britain's young music millionaires with £5m.
Ms Craymer, who developed Mamma Mia! with playwright Catherine Johnson and members of Abba, is at number 31 on the music rich list. But taking the top spot for a second year is former record label boss Clive Calder, whose wealth has risen to £1.3bn. Mr Calder is the man behind acts including Britney Spears. He made his fortune by selling his independent label Zomba to record giant BMG. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is second on the list with £800m - up £40m on last year. Andrew Lloyd-Webber's wealth rose an estimated £300m on last year, to £700m, while theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh's fortune rose from £340m to £400m.
His recent hits have included the West End show Mary Poppins. But Pop Idol mogul Simon Fuller has seen his wealth plummet from £220m last year to £75m after selling his entertainment company 19 for less than expected, according to the Sunday Times. Joss Stone, the 17-year-old soul singer from Devon, was a new entry in the young music millionaires list. The list also features Charlotte Church, Coldplay, Daniel Bedingfield, Will Young and David and Victoria Beckham. At number one is Dhani Harrison, son of the late Beatle George Harrison, who has inherited £140m. The Beckhams - who qualify thanks to Victoria's former singing career - are in second place with £75 million between them - up £10m on last year. | entertainment |
Casino Royale is next Bond movie
Casino Royale, author Ian Fleming's first James Bond book, is to be the next Bond film, with Goldeneye director Martin Campbell behind the camera.
It will be the 21st James Bond film to hit the big screen, and speculation has been rife over who will play the lead. Casino Royale was turned into a spoof spy movie by John Huston in 1967, with David Niven in the lead role. Pierce Brosnan led the past four Bond films but said producers axed him after offering him the chance to return. Among the favourites to take over the coveted role are Scottish actor Dougray Scott, Oscar nominee Clive Owen and Australian star Hugh Jackman. Producers say no decision has yet been made on who will become the seventh actor, including Niven, to play Bond on film. Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino had talked of wanting to take on the Casino Royale project, and said he had spoken to Brosnan about it.
Shooting on Casino Royale is expected to begin once Campbell has finished work on The Legend of Zorro, a sequel to The Mask of Zorro, starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Antonio Banderas. Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson expect the film to be released in 2006.
The script will once again be developed by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade who have both worked on two previous Bond movies. Fleming's book saw the introduction of Bond pitted against a Russian spy in a game of baccarat. Simultaneously, a woman arrives on the scene to take his eye off the game. The novel is one of Fleming's most violent and sadistic stories, with 007 suffering a savage beating from his nemesis Le Chiffre. In addition to the 1967 film, it was also adapted for television in 1954 with actor Barry Nelson as an Americanised "Jimmy" Bond. MGM Vice Chairman Chris McGurk said: "Martin (Campbell) is an incredibly exciting film-maker. Goldeneye was a wonderful movie and helped reinvigorate the Bond franchise. We're thrilled to have him back to direct the newest Bond." New Zealand-born Campbell moved to the UK in 1966 and directed TV series such as The Professionals, Minder and Bergerac. His film credits include Edge of Darkness, Vertical Limit and Beyond Borders, which starred Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen. | entertainment |
Berlin celebrates European cinema
Organisers say this year's Berlin Film Festival, which opens on Thursday with period epic Man to Man, will celebrate a revitalised European cinema.
Of the 21 films in competition for the Golden and Silver Bear awards, more than half are from Europe with France particularly well represented. Festival director Dieter Kosslick says this strong showing signals "a new consciousness for European films". "They're on an incredible winning streak," he told the Reuters agency. "This isn't to say there aren't any good American films," he continued. "It's just that there are more good European films."
However, Mr Kosslick refused to accept that widespread opposition to the Iraq war had turned audiences against Hollywood imports. "There is no anti-American mood," he said. Some 350 films will be screened at this year's festival, with a further 300 shown at the European Film Market that runs alongside it. More than a dozen celebrities are scheduled to attend, among them Will Smith, Kevin Spacey and Keanu Reeves. But Mr Kosslick says more would be coming had the Academy Awards not been brought forward to 27 February. "I'm not worried that we won't be able to fill the red carpet with stars," he said, though he admitted the festival may be moved to January next year to avoid a similar clash. The 10-day Berlinale runs until 20 February. | entertainment |
India to deport Bollywood actress
India has ordered the deportation of Iranian-born model and actress Negar Khan to Norway after saying she was working illegally on her visa.
Khan has had raunchy roles in music videos and Bollywood films over the past two years. The distressed actress told media she was being driven straight to the airport after a routine appointment at the Bombay immigration office. Immigration officials said she had been warned about her visa last year.
Khan told an Indian news channel on her mobile phone: "They are not even letting me go home to get my bags. I have no clothes or money on me. "They did not give me any notice. I don't know why they are taking me away like this. There is nothing wrong with my visa. It says I work here... They are not allowing me to even call a lawyer." Bipin Bihari, deputy police chief in Bombay, said Khan was being sent back to Norway, from which she holds a passport, on the first available flight. "She was on a visitor's visa but she has engaged in several commercial ventures," he said. "We issued notices last year, in view of which she had gone back to Norway, but she has returned again this year to work." One of Khan's biggest successes was the steamy Hindi song Chadti Jawani (Rising Youth). Khan was involved in controversy when topless photos alleged to be of her appeared in a Norwegian magazine. | entertainment |
Ray DVD beats box office takings
Oscar-nominated film biopic Ray has surpassed its US box office takings with a combined tally of $80m (£43m) from DVD and video sales and rentals.
Ray's success on DVD outstripped its $74m (£40m) US box office total, earning more than $40m (£22m) on the first day of the DVD's release alone. Ray has been nominated in six Oscar categories including best film and best actor for Jamie Foxx. The film recounts the life of blues singer Ray Charles, who died in 2004. In its first week on home entertainment release the film was the number one selling DVD, with the limited edition version coming in at number 11. Sony horror film The Grudge, starring Michelle Gellar, was the US' second best-selling DVD, with Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere's romantic comedy Shall We Dance? at number three. Foxx's critically acclaimed performance as Ray has already earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award for best actor, as well as a prestigious Golden Globe. Ray director Taylor Hackford, responsible for the classic 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman, has also received an Oscar nomination in the best director category. The film's three other Oscar nominations are for costume, film editing and sound mixing. | entertainment |
Women in film 'are earning less'
Women in the UK film industry earn less than their male counterparts despite being better qualified, according to a study released on Wednesday.
Only 16% of women earn more than £50,000, compared with 30% of men. Women make up a third of the workforce. The research was carried out jointly by the UK Film Council and industry training body Skillset. It also found that women in the industry were less likely than men to be married or have dependant children.
The study, which claims to be the most in-depth so far conducted, found 60% of women in the film industry hold degrees, compared with 39% of men. Whilst 17% of men in the industry had no qualifications, this was true for only five per cent of women. In the lower salary bracket, 35% of women earn less than £20,000 a year, compared to only 18% of men. The research found very few women worked in the camera, sound, electrical and construction departments, but they made up a majority of those working in make-up and hairdressing.
UK Film Council chief executive John Woodward said: "Whilst the UK has benefited hugely from its highly-qualified film production workforce there are still many barriers facing people who want to get in and stay in the industry." "Developing the film production workforce must be underpinned with a commitment to diversity as well as training." The workforce is largely focused around London, with 78% in the industry based in the capital and the south east of England. The industry depends heavily on word of mouth, with 81% being recruited in that way. In total, only five percent of the workforce is made up of ethnic minorities, although in London the figure rises to 24%. The necessity of completing unpaid work experience to get into the workforce has also shot up, from 5% before the 1980s, to 45% after 2000. | entertainment |
Vera Drake's Bafta triumph hope
At the Bafta film awards on Saturday night, there is the prospect that a home-grown movie could walk off with a clutch of trophies.
Vera Drake, Mike Leigh's tale about a 1950s backstreet abortionist, is nominated in 11 categories. These include best film, best director and best actress shortlist for Imelda Staunton who plays the eponymous character. The film has spent months being lauded with prizes, from the Venice Film Festival to five awards from the London Critics' Circle on Wednesday night.
The Baftas has a tradition of honouring British cinema, and this year Vera Drake is the obvious candidate to be heaped with praise. Empire magazine's reviews editor Dan Jolin said the film had "a very good chance" of doing well on Saturday, predicting that it would collect five or six awards. "I don't think it's going to do a Lord of the Rings-style sweep, but Imelda Staunton is a shoo-in for best actress," he said.
"A best director prize for Mike Leigh and best British film are also likely and it could steal some awards from heavily-nominated competitors The Aviator and Finding Neverland." Mr Jolin tipped another contender - most likely The Aviator - to walk away with the Bafta for best film, and added that Finding Neverland had been lavished with nominations but not trophies. Strong Oscar contenders Million Dollar Baby and Sideways did not figure in the Bafta nominations, giving Vera Drake greater potential to walk away with the big prizes.
"There is a sense that this film is ours and we should slap our own guys on the back. Out of all the films in the running for the Baftas, Vera Drake is the true blue British one."
"If Mike Leigh is going to win awards for anything, it should be Vera Drake at this year's Baftas", said Mr Jolin, adding that the film was probably his most technically accomplished and lavish work yet. Mr Jolin also tipped Phil Davis for a best supporting actor prize for his role in Vera Drake but felt that Heather Craney could be outdone by Kate Winslet or Natalie Portman in the supporting actress category. "If there is anywhere where this film is going to win, it will be at the Baftas," he said.
The Guardian's film critic Peter Bradshaw felt that there "might well be" a sweep of awards for Vera Drake on Saturday night. "I hope that Bafta voters will respond to the extremely high standard of acting from the whole cast of the film. If Bafta can't do so, what hope is there?" he said. Mr Bradshaw felt that Mike Leigh's "masterpiece" was entitled to the best film award - leaving Dead Man's Shoes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, My Summer of Love and Shaun of the Dead to slug it out for the best British film trophy. "I will be cheering if Vera Drake wins a whole host of awards," he added. | entertainment |
Roundabout continues nostalgia trip
The new big-screen version of The Magic Roundabout, released in the UK on Friday, is the latest attempt to turn children's television into box-office gold.
Recent years have seen a less-than-successful adaptation of the 1960s puppet show Thunderbirds and a moderately successful version of E Nesbit's Five Children and It, previously filmed by the BBC in 1991. He-Man and Transformers, which were cartoon favourites in the 1980s, will soon receive their own costly makeovers. With screen versions of The A-Team, The Dukes of Hazzard and even Blake's Seven on the cards, nostalgia is clearly big business. But some critics complain that these expensive takes on iconic series of yesteryear do not match up to our fond memories of the originals. The new version of The Magic Roundabout, which will be released as Sprung! in the US, replaces the stop-motion models of the 1960s TV show with polished, computer-generated animation.
In a similar fashion, the 2004 Thunderbirds used human actors and special effects in place of the original's puppets and models. The films are squarely pitched at younger audiences. Pop stars Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue provide voices in The Magic Roundabout, while the now-defunct boy band Busted performed the Thunderbirds theme song. But while some reviewers have been won over, there has nonetheless been a significant backlash. "This CG-animated adventure airbrushes the sly charm and trippy otherworldliness which made the 60s stop-motion Roundabout a cult hit," writes Stella Papamichael on the BBC Movies site.
And the recent puppet comedy Team America: World Police was in part provoked by its directors' outrage that Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds was remade without its signature mannequins. Dan Jolin, reviews editor of Empire magazine, says classic children's TV shows have a built-in audience that make them ideal for reinvention.
"I can understand why people are taking these intellectual properties and repackaging them for the kids of today. "But I think it's backfiring. What's next - The Clangers on some distant planet, with some giant CGI Soup Dragons chasing after them?" Despite Thunderbirds' disappointing global box-office performance - the film cost $42m (£22m) but only recouped $21m (£11m) - the nostalgia craze shows no signs of abating. It can therefore be only a matter of time before some other TV favourites receive the Hollywood treatment.
After the success of Garfield: The Movie, Britain's shabby tabby
surely deserves his own film vehicle. With only 13 episodes made of the 1974 series, there is plenty of room to explore the lives of the pink cat, Professor Yaffle and the Mice of the Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ.
Furry recyclers
have already had one big-screen outing - 1977's Wombling Free. But with environmental issues still occupying our thoughts it is high time they made a comeback. Advances in special effects technology could do wonders for the BBC's supernatural comedy
. And the success of Pirates of the Caribbean must surely herald a comeback for TV's most popular cartoon buccaneer,
. It might also remind viewers the lewd character names often associated with the show never actually existed.
The Magic Roundabout is out in the UK on 11 February.
How about bringing Catweazle to the big screen? He could give Gandalf a run for his money!
Thundercats!! I loved it. Should be fun to see on the big screen, if some effort is put in! it will bring my youth back!
Get your hands off the Clangers! Is nothing sacred?
Make a movie version of the Banana splits!
What about Keanu Reeves and Richard Gere in a remake of The Wooden Tops? Or perhaps Robbie Williams could get his much mooted acting career off the ground by taking on the role of Andy Pandy.
You forgot to mention the grearest of them all, Danger Mouse! But then again, it couldn't be better than the original series, could it?
It's always nice to see these old toons re-released, but after the abysmal Thunderbirds movie (and the song!) I think I've been completely put off. Just leave these classics alone as good memories.
I think remakes are a good idea. As the world moves on people tend to look more and more into the past to things that make them feel safe. I believe this is the whole reason "retro" has become so popular. As long as a remake does justice to the original then all it can do is create a wider audience and possibly entice a new generation of persons to enjoy and revive and old series. Personally i'd like to see cartoons such as Transformers, Thundercats and M.A.S.K. get full Hollywood remakes.
Leave them alone, why ruin something that we all have very fond memories of in the first place? The thunderbirds film was apalling, not a patch on the puppet series I grew up with and the Magic Roundabout will never be the same without the voice of Eric Thompson.
Love to see Transformers with real actors and CGI. And make it at least a 15 rating.
Part of the reason for the success of such classics as the Magic Roundabout was that the characters were not the sweet and cuddly creatures that you would expect. They were moody, sarcastic, and rather human. Just looking at the pictures of the animations for the new film show that these characteristics have not been preserved. Dougal never smiled like that! Films of this sort have an unfortunate habit of Disneyfying everthing, and they just lose the real magic that made the show special in the first place.
I have fond memories of Bod (not least of which because I look like him) and would like to see someone attempt to make it into a film. It's got all the right material for an american blockbuster - no plot and no story. Bod would likely be played by Tom Cruise and would undoubtedly have a girlfriend or two.
It's all very well and good remaking these classic TV shows and films with all the latest technology for a 'new' audience, but for me a lot of the original charm is lost when they do this, and seems more like a money making exercise to cash in on the original success of the programme than reinventing or improving it. It maybe that to an audience who have never seen the originals they can watch them without prejudice, but to people who have grown up with all these shows such as Thunderbirds and Magic Roundabout which are part of our childhood, they are never going to live up to expectation. It does pose the question though that with all the long line of remakes being made, are film-makers running out of original ideas?
All I can say is bring back Danger Mouse, probably the greatest kids' show ever. I recently re-watched some episodes and realised that there was a level of humour shown in Danger Mouse that was completely lost on me when I was a child.
There WAS a new Captain Pugwash cartoon made a couple of years back. Again, like so many of these nostalgia programmes, the animation - this time computer created flat-cell like animation - failed to match the original's cut out paper technique for inventiveness, and was woefully inadequate. We live in a sampling world - the music industry has been pludering past decades for inspiration, clipping sounds from 20 years ago is much cheaper and easier that doing something new. Seems that the film and TV is doing the same now - it's just cheaper to take ideas from the past and rework them, rather than being daring and trying something new.
It got to be Mr.Benn. The story line about a man who changes in a fancy dress shop, steps into a door way and appears in another time and place would be amazing! If they got a decent producer and writer the story line could be great. And who to play the lead role? Well if it was a comedy then it would have to be someone like Steve Martin. If its going to be an adventure then Johnny Depp playing a role similar to the Pirates Of The Caribbean Character.
Muffin the Mule perhaps ? After all, grannies and grandpas go to the cinema as well you know!
Why can't the British film industry try making Gerry Anderson's UFO or Captain Scarlet, or Saphire and Steel, or The Tomorrow People.
In today's media, it seems the past is the future. TV shows such as Battlestar Galactica have new remakes, DJ's are sampling or re-working 70's and 80's music. Even computer games from 10-15 years ago are getting modern re-workings. Personally, I think it shows that no one has any originality any more! Why not just leave our misty-eyed nostalgia alone.
Mary, Mungo and Midge. But of course for most of the episodes the lift would be out of order and they would have to use the stairs. Plus would Mary be more of a Vicky Pollard character as she lives in a high rise council block? Yeah but no but I wasn't even there!
I'd like to see Mr. Benn, with Brad Pitt in the title role. Sean Connery could play the mysterious costume shop owner.
It demonstrates a profound lack of imagination in today's film-makers that they continually try to remake and remodel the past in an effort to cash in on nostalgia. There are plany of modern children's book that would make excellent films or TV programmes, why not use them instead of rehashing the past?
Mr. Benn with Rowan Atkinson as the lead.
Would have loved to see Dungeons & Dragons made, but unfortunately the film that it was made into didn't come up to scratch. The only one that isn't to be remade as yet is Thundercats, which I'd like to see.
I'm an expat living in Norway, and I recently went through a period of buying the DVDs of many of my favourite children's programs for my 2 daughters. My dearest wish, however, is to see a feature length version of Noggin the Nog appear on The Big Screen!! Very Scandinavian...
Rainbow!
I believe that Childrens classics should be left well alone, and I will not be surprised if the Magic Roundabout does not do well at the Box Office, especially since it will be going up against The Spongebob Squarepants movie, popular among children because it's original, witty, and modern. The Magic Roundabout will never appeal to the children of today as it did all those many years ago.
How about classics like Chorlton and the Wheelies, Rentaghost, Terrahawks, Bod.....oh the list could go on and on!!!
If a Transformers movie is indeed on the cards then I'll be the first one on Amazon buying a copy, eagerly waiting at the front door with a frothy mouth and a nervous twitch. Repackage my childhood and sell it to me at an extortionate price! I don't care! Till then I'll have to make do with the Citreon C4 advert.
I'd luv to see Willow the Wisp on the big screen but sadly without the late Kenneth Williams doing the voices it wouldnt be the same. And who remembers Trap Door voiced by the late Willie Rushden, superb children's programme. Could Morph hold his own in a big screen movie??? Or even Jamie and the Magic Torch....hmmmmm, I could go on and on. Danger Mouse? At 34 I'm showing my age. :-)
Noggin the Nog was one of the best children's programs. The problem with bringing it to the big screen is that no-one could approach Oliver Postgate's wonderful voices. So in general leave well alone. The originals are good because they are of their time and the methods used are an integral part of the story.
Just imagine what could be achieved by using CGI in a remake of Fingerbobs... the already disturbing hand antics of the bearded hippy, Yoffi could take on a whole new level with a more life-like Fingermouse
Bob the Builder, Postman Pat and Fireman Sam together in an epic adventure of fire, post and bricks. In the ultimate struggle to save the women they love from the evil clowns, Krusty and Gobo. Will they triumph or will they fail miserably? Find out this Fall.
One puppet show that I personally would love to see made into a live action movie is Joe 90. It would be worth the price of admission alone to see the large screen version of Joe's car. Of course, Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation is a rich seam of material worthy of big-screen, big-budget action. It was only that Thunderbirds The Movie was targetted as a children't movie that really let it down. After all, the children that remember those shows with such affection are now the parents of children themselves.
It's only because the people who were children when these programmes were first shown have grown up and are plundering their childhoods, isn't it? I'd hate to see Bagpuss with perfect animation - I love that 'done in a shed' clunkiness and you couldn't recreate the magic. Perhaps if the remakes were done in a 'Look Around You' mock-authentic style I might be interested ...
Chorton And The Wheelies or Jamie And His Magic Torch; that would be mega!
This re-gurgitation of old films and TV shows makes me angry - it is corporate laziness resting on the safety of other people's ideas, because it guarantees to bring in the $$$. The same can be said of modern day pop bands who release other peoples material, Will Young etc. The sad fact is nostalgia sells big bucks in the short-term. The fact that they will be forgotten in 6 months time is irrelevant (e.g. Starsky & Hutch) Hence, the market is saturated with this mindless drivel, but it can only be stopped if people stop buying it!
I pray they never do a remake of Chorlton And The Wheelies. I'm only 27 and don't remember the series from when it was on TV, but have the set on DVD and it's a classic. The fact it's so great comes from the fact that there were very few special effects involved and compared to today's stuff it looks amateurish. Thats the appeal though, it's so innocent (like Chorlton himself) and it would be a real shame if they did remake it. | entertainment |
Stars shine on Bafta red carpet
Hollywood stars brought a touch of glamour to London on Saturday for the biggest night in the British film calendar.
Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio and Richard Gere were just some of the actors who attended the 2005 Bafta film awards. They emerged from limos at Leicester Square to an uncertain British climate that threatened rain one moment and promised late winter sunshine the next. But the gods were certainly shining on the thousands of film fans who lined the red carpet to meet their idols. Screaming built up into a crescendo as more and more big name stars appeared. The biggest cheer of the night was reserved for The Aviator star Leonardo DiCaprio, who paused in the chilly February air to sign autographs for the throngs. He said the ear-piercing welcome was "unlike anything I've ever encountered. It's very intense and very loud."
Best actress winner Imelda Staunton, who wore a green chiffon dress that sparkled with sequins and beads, told the BBC News website that Vera Drake was the highlight of her career. Her role as a backstreet abortionist in the gritty low-budget film has already led to a clutch of awards and an Oscar nomination. She said: "Never in a million years did I think this was going to happen. "Being here and just being nominated is great, but I hope it means more people will go and see the film as well." Rooting for Staunton in the best actress category was Cate Blanchett, herself nominated for her supporting role as Hollywood icon Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator.
Shivering in a floor-length shimmering Armani dress, the Australian-born actress stopped to sign autographs and joked: "It's tight but I love it." Glamour was also brought to the evening by actress Sienna Miller, supermodel Claudia Schiffer - who was supporting her director husband Matthew Vaughn - Troy actress Diane Kruger and star of the TV programme The OC, Micha Barton. Wearing a caramel-coloured floaty frock by the designer Alexander McQueen, Miller told reporters the red carpet experience was "intense, nerve-wracking and cold". The younger stars of British film were also represented in the shape of Emma Watson, who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter films. The 14-year-old said she was hoping to meet DiCaprio and Keanu Reeves but joked that "they are probably a little too old for me".
Actor Christian Slater, who is currently starring in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest in London's West End, was greeted by cries of "Christian, Christian" by the ever vocal crowd. Keanu Reeves, who presented the best actress award, said being on the red carpet was an "exciting" part of his job. "It is always surreal and when it is nice, it is nice," he said. Martin Scorsese, whose movie The Aviator went on to win best film, said being honoured in the UK meant a lot to him. He said: "I am a great admirer of British cinema since the 1930s and 40s, up until now.
"They give me a new energy when I see the best coming out of England and every two or three years is a whole new cycle of tough and young film-makers, and even the older ones are making good films. "To recognise me in this way is a great honour." British actor Clive Owen, who has won a Golden Globe and a Bafta for his supporting role in Closer, said it "meant a lot" to be at the ceremony. He said: "Just to be here really, at the Baftas. The bottom line is it is a celebration of British films." | entertainment |
Bafta to hand out movie honours
Movie stars from across the globe are attending this year's Bafta film award ceremony.
British stars Imelda Staunton and Clive Owen are hoping for awards at the Odeon in London's Leicester Square. Hollywood stars Leonardo diCaprio, Pierce Brosnan, Christian Slater and Richard Gere are also in the audience for the biggest night in UK film. Hollywood blockbuster The Aviator, starring DiCaprio, leads the field with 14 nominations, including best movie. It is up against Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland, The Motorcycle Diaries and British film Vera Drake, which has 11 nominations.
Staunton is one of the favourites to land the best actress award for her gritty role as a backstreet abortionist in the small-budget film. She arrived at the ceremony wearing a green silk and chiffon low cut evening dress decorated with beads. "It's lovely to be here at home, to be on British soil. It's very nice indeed," she told reporters.
Asked whether she was nervous about her best actress nomination she said: "It's out of my hands, there's nothing I can do. I'm here with a lot of mates and we're going to have a very nice evening." Other nominees in the best actress category include Charlize Theron for Monster, Ziyi Zhang for House of Flying Daggers and UK star Kate Winslet, who has two nods for her roles in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Finding Neverland. DiCaprio faces competition from Bernal, Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey and Johnny Depp in the best actor category. The crowed screamed when he arrived on the red carpet."It's unlike anything I've ever encountered. It's very intense and very loud," he told the BBC.
"It's the first time I've come to the Baftas because it's the first time I've been nominated...I've appreciated British cinema for a long time and to be recognised like this is a special honour." Gere, who is presenting the best film award, said: "It's a big party, I had no idea it was going to be this big. It's crazy, I think it's bigger than the Academy Awards."
British actor Owen is hoping to repeat his Golden Globe success with a best supporting actor award for his role in Closer. He raised one of the biggest cheers of the night when he walked down the red carpet. "I was always a huge fan of Closer as a play, so when I got the call to appear in the film, it was a huge thrill for me," he said. "The whole experience has been a treat and I'm very fortunate to have been given the role." His co-star Natalie Portman is up against Blanchett, Heather Craney, Julie Cristie and Meryl Streep in the best supporting actress category. Mike Leigh is up for the best director award for Vera Drake, alongside Martin Scorsese for The Aviator, Michael Mann for Collateral, Michel Gondry for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Marc Forster for Finding Neverland.
The Orange British Academy Film Awards will be shown on BBC One at 2010 GMT. | entertainment |
Stars pay tribute to actor Davis
Hollywood stars including Spike Lee, Burt Reynolds and Oscar nominee Alan Alda have paid tribute to actor Ossie Davis at a funeral in New York.
Veteran star Ossie Davis, a well-known civil rights activist, died in Miami at the age of 87 on 4 February 2005. Friends and family, including actress Ruby Dee his wife of 56 years, gathered at the Riverside Church on Saturday. Also present at the service was former US president Bill Clinton and singer Harry Belafonte, who gave the eulogy. "He would have been a very good president of the United States," said Mr Clinton. "Like most of you here, he gave more to me than I gave to him."
The 87-year-old was found dead last weekend in his hotel room in Florida, where he was making a film. Police said that he appeared to have died of natural causes. Davis made his acting debut in 1950 in No Way Out starring Sidney Poiter. He frequently collaborated with director Spike Lee, starring in seven Lee films including Jungle Fever, Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X. Attallah Shabazz, the daughter of activist Malcolm X, recalled the famous eulogy delivered by Davis at her father's funeral. "Harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its finest hopes," she said, quoting the man she knew as Uncle Ossie. "Ditto." "Ossie was my hero, and he still is," said Aviator star Alan Alda, a family friend for over forty years. "Ossie was a thing of beauty."
"I want so badly someday to have his dignity - a little of it anyway," added Burt Reynolds, Davis's co-star in the 90s TV comedy Evening Shade. Before the midday funeral, scores of Harlem residents formed a queue outside the church to pay their respects to Davis. "It is hard to fathom that we will no longer be able to call on his wisdom, his humour, his loyalty and his moral strength to guide us in the choices that are yet to be made and the battles that are yet to be fought," said Belafonte, himself an ardent civil rights activist who had been friends with Davis for over 60 years. "But how fortunate we were to have him as long as we did." | entertainment |
Aviator and Vera take Bafta glory
Hollywood blockbuster The Aviator and low-budget British movie Vera Drake have shared the main honours at the 2005 Bafta film awards. The Aviator was declared best film, and its star Cate Blanchett won best supporting actress. But Vera Drake scored best director for Mike Leigh while Imelda Staunton took the hotly contested best actress award. Jamie Foxx won best actor for Ray, while British actor Clive Owen took best supporting actor for Closer. The two actors have repeated their success at the Golden Globes in January. But big British hope Kate Winslet walked away empty-handed on Saturday despite two nominations for best actress. Celebrating his win, the Oscar-nominated Owen told reporters: "The whole award season is new to me because I haven't won anything before. All of that is a bit overwhelming." Blanchett, who won a Bafta in 1999 for her leading role in Elizabeth, said: "Winning a Bafta means an enormous amount to me." She thanked the woman she played, Katharine Hepburn, for paving the way for women to work in film. "Thank you very much, I'm sure you're pleased, although you're not able to see this," she said.
The Aviator took four awards in all, also collecting best make-up and hair and production design, while Vera Drake also scooped best costume design. Staunton, who is up for an Oscar for her role in Vera Drake, arrived wearing a green silk and chiffon beaded evening dress. "Thank you very much. I'm so thrilled and so grateful and I'm delighted that the success of Vera Drake has boosted sales of hair nets and pinnies, which is very good," she said on accepting her award. Her director Leigh, who beat Martin Scorsese to the best director award, told the audience: "We always say it was a surprise and sometimes I've said it and not meant it. On this occasion, given the other names, it's a real surprise and an extraordinary honour. "It's an immense privilege to have been allowed the freedom to make as uncompromising a film as I think Vera Drake is and an epic with such a small budget." Best actor Foxx could not make the ceremony, but actress Helen Mirren read out his acceptance speech. "I'm honoured and proud to receive this Bafta. I'd like to thank the late Ray Charles himself." He apologised for not being in London, joking: "Unfortunately I'm stuck driving a car in LA at gunpoint and I can't get away." DiCaprio, who lost out on the best actor Bafta to Foxx, will face him again at the Academy Awards in two weeks' time.
"It's the first time I've come to the Baftas because it's the first time I've been nominated," he told reporters on the red carpet. "I've appreciated British cinema for a long time and to be recognised like this is a special honour." Other winners included The Motorcycle Diaries which took best foreign film and best music, while Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind won best original screenplay and best editing. Best British film was My Summer of Love, the story of two young women and their developing relationship, while Foxx's movie Ray, a bio-pic of late singer Ray Charles, also took best sound. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban won the Orange Film Of The Year, voted for by the public.
The Orange British Academy Film Awards are being shown on BBC One from 2010 GMT. | entertainment |
Film star Fox behind theatre bid
Leading actor Edward Fox is one of the men behind plans to reopen a Swansea theatre thought to be Wales' oldest.
The star of film and TV hits Day of the Jackal and Edward and Mrs Simpson has joined forces with Swansea-born actor-director Terry Palmer. They will set up a charity to raise money to buy the Palace Theatre, and hope to reopen it to audiences in summer 2006. It is estimated that £500,000 is needed to buy the Grade II listed building. The Palace Theatre, which will be known as The Pavilion Repertory Theatre, was sold to an undisclosed bidder at auction 13 months ago for £340,000. Before that it had been used as a nightclub for 10 years.
Oscar-winner Sir Anthony Hopkins, who was born in nearby Port Talbot, made his professional debut there, and Charlie Chaplin and Lily Langtry have also trodden its boards. Fox told the South Wales Evening Post that after visiting the theatre he was surprised by its beauty. "A lot of money needs to be spent on it, but all the bones are there - it just needs a beautiful skin," he said.
"To call it a jewel is not an over-estimation. There are not many theatres left like this. "The hope for the immediate future is that we can attract enough people to come forward to allow it to prosper," he told the newspaper.
Fox first found fame in the 1960s. One of his most memorable roles was as an assassin in the Day of the Jackal in 1973, and he won a TV Bafta as the Prince of Wales in 1980 for Edward and Mrs Simpson. He was brought on board to save the theatre by Mr Palmer, a long-standing friend of 40 years. "Two years ago I decided to return to Swansea and do something for the city," said Mr Palmer. He said he was excited by the idea of running the Palace as a charity where young actors could develop, and with an annual Shakespeare festival in the summer. "If in five years' time the theatre can function in all areas without me, I shall be well satisfied having helped to create a vital living theatre for the city," he added. Keith Poulton, a business adviser from Swansea, has already committed an undisclosed amount of money to the project. "We need at least £75,000 to secure a deposit on the building and we've only got two months to do that," said Mr Poulton. "A few benefactors have expressed their interest and Mr Fox is going to give it an awful lot of time," he added. Last year, roads around the theatre were cordoned off when masonry from its roof fell onto a car, but engineers said they were happy that it was safe. | entertainment |
Shark Tale DVD is US best-seller
Oscar-nominated animation Shark Tale has raked in $80m (£42.4m) in the first week of its US DVD release becoming the year's best-selling home video so far.
The tally for its DVD and video sales soared past the film's opening week US box office takings of $56m (£29.7m). Shark Tale is now the sixth-highest earning DVD for first week sales. The all-time first-week record is held by 1995's Lion King followed by Shrek 2, Finding Nemo, the original Shrek, and Monster's Inc.
Shark Tale, whose voice cast includes Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renee Zellweger and Martin Scorsese, sold more than 6 million DVDs and videos across the United States and Canada. It becomes the highest first-week earner for February, outshining My Big Fat Greek Wedding which sold four million units in 2003. Films which are expected to earn strong home video returns are usually timed for release in the busiest retail season which falls before Christmas. The best-selling home video of last year was the Dreamworks hit Shrek 2, which took an estimated $458 m (£242.7m) in North America alone. | entertainment |
Lopez misses UK charity premiere
Jennifer Lopez cancelled an appearance at the UK charity premiere of her new movie saying she was too ill to fly.
The actress and singer dropped out at the last minute and has now cancelled all European promotion of the film Shall We Dance? and her new album. She said: "I very much wanted to be in London but unfortunately I'm not well. At the advice of my doctors I'm unable to travel." Co-star Richard Gere attended the event held in aid of the tsunami appeal. Thousands braved the cold weather to see the stars in London's Leicester Square. The red carpet boasted waltzing dancers in honour of the film's ballroom dancing theme. The film's director Peter Chelsom said he was disappointed that Lopez did not attend.
"It's a shame. I know it's true that she's not well because she has also cancelled her promotional tour. I've heard she has swollen glands." Gere, 55, greeted the crowd and signed autographs, accompanied by his wife Carey Lowell. Other stars who turned out on the night included Honor Blackman, Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly and actress Anita Dobson. Lopez issues a statement apologising for her absence. "I'm so proud of Shall We Dance and was looking forward to visiting London," she said. "This film was a labour of love for me, and I want to thank everyone involved in bringing it to you, from the cast, to the film director, to the crew." Lopez appeared at the Grammy awards on Sunday, singing a duet with her third husband Marc Anthony. | entertainment |
Super Size Me wins writers' award
Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock has won the Writers Guild of America's award for documentary feature writing.
The Oscar-nominated film followed Spurlock as he ate only McDonald's fast food for an entire month. Spurlock was given the award at a special ceremony at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood on Tuesday. Organisers said the rising popularity of documentary films led them to honour a writer for a documentary screenplay for the first time.
Producer Brian Grazer presented the award to Spurlock and the film's backers, Roadside Attractions, Samuel Goldwyn Films and Showtime Independent Films. Spurlock set out to discover the effect of living on nothing but McDonald's for a month, upgrading to supersize portions when offered. The film followed his 25lb weight gain and the health effects on his body, including his liver and cholesterol levels. McDonald's announced it was to scrap its "supersized" meals last year, but denied the move was as a result of the negative publicity created by Spurlock's film. Spurlock was given his award on the same day the European Court of Human Rights ruled that two UK activists should have been given legal aid in their long fight against a McDonald's libel action. Helen Steel and David Morris, from north London, dubbed the "McLibel Two", were found guilty in a 1990s trial of libelling the company in a leaflet they had been handing out At the end of the case the High Court in London ruled McDonald's had been libelled and awarded the company £60,000 in damages, later reduced to £40,000 on appeal. But he found the leaflet was true in some aspects. | entertainment |
Original Exorcist to be screened
The original version of horror prequel Exorcist: The Beginning, dropped by producers over claims it was not scary enough, is to have its world premiere.
The film, directed by Paul Schrader, will be screened on 18 March at the International Festival of Fantastic Film in Brussels. The psychological drama stars Stellan Skarsgard and foreruns the 1973 film. Schrader was replaced by director Renny Harlin who made a new version of the film which debuted in 2004. The prequel project was originally announced in 2001, with actor Liam Neeson in the lead role and John Frankenheimer as director. However Frankenheimer pulled out in 2002, a month before he died.
Skarsgard then replaced Neeson in the role of Father Merrin, made famous by Max Von Sydow in the 1973 film. Principal footage was shot in Morocco and Rome at a reported cost of $32m. However, in August 2003 it emerged that producers Morgan Creek were shelving Schrader's version of the film, having complained it was not scary enough. As well as replacing Schrader with Harlin - the director behind Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger - the producers also changed most of the cast, but Swedish star Skarsgard stayed in the Merrin role. Harlin's film, released in the UK in October 2004, received lukewarm reviews but went on to make over $76m (£40.7m) worldwide. The festival screening will be the first time that Schrader's film has been seen in public. Reports that it will be released either in cinemas or on DVD have yet to be confirmed. Other films at the festival in the Belgium capital, which runs from 11-26 March, include the US horror hit Boogeyman and the forthcoming sequel Ring 2, as well as a selection of films adapted from the works of Jules Verne. | entertainment |
Oscar nominees lack pulling power
This year's clutch of Oscar nominees have been the least popular for 20 years according to box office figures.
In the US the five nominated for best film have been seen by 50% fewer people than movies in previous years. While the awards are not based on box office popularity there is concern for the ratings of the televised ceremony. "We don't have a Titanic or a Lord of the Rings out there. I think it's fair to say it does concern us a bit," said Academy executive director Bruce Davis. About 51 million people in the US have seen this year's nominees, compared with between 100 million and 118 million in recent years. The last time combined attendance was so low was in 1984 when Amadeus beat The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart and A Soldier's Story to best picture, when 41 million saw the five films. Last year's ceremony attracted the highest audience in four years as viewers tuned in to see Lord of the Ring: Return of the King sweep the board.
And the show reaped its biggest audience in 1997 when Titanic took home 11 Oscars.
The film had taken $500m (£264m) worldwide before the ceremony, and eventually took $1.8bn (£952m). "Eyeballs starring at the movie screen translates to eyeballs staring at the TV screen," said Paul Dergarabedian of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "People like to have a vested interest in what they're watching. "When Titanic does $1.8bn in worldwide box office, you've got a lot of people with a vested interest." Past years have also seen blockbusters such as Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump and Ghost compete for Oscars. The biggest box office hitter among this year's nominees is The Aviator, which has taken $90m (£48m) in the US, although takings in the UK have reached only £7m so far.
Low-budget move Sideways and Finding Neverland have so far grossed about $45m (£24m) each. The year's biggest blockbusters do actually feature in the Oscar nominees but in the animation category. Shrek 2 and The Incredibles took $436m (£231m) while The Incredibles took $259m (£137m). Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, which took $370m (£196m) in the US, was largely ignored by Academy voters.
But many in the film industry do not equate award and box office success. "I have never equated the Academy Awards with how much money a movie takes in," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal which released nominee Ray. "That's the People's Choice Awards. This is not about the public. This is about the industry bestowing awards on what they think are the best films of the year." | entertainment |
Hitch holds on to US box office
Will Smith's first romantic comedy, Hitch, has topped the North American box office for a second weekend.
Smith plays a New York "date doctor" with love worries of his own in the movie, which took $31.8m (£16.8m). It held off a strong challenge from the new Keanu Reeves sci-fi thriller Constantine which opened at number two with $30.5m (£16.1m) Constantine, based on the Hellblazer comics, stars Reeves as an exorcist who must send Satan's minions back to hell. Two family films came next in the chart, with Wayne Wang's comedy Because of Winn-Dixie, about a young girl and an abandoned dog, in third position with $10.85m (£5.73m).
Comedy adventure Son of the Mask, came in at number four with $7.7m (£4.1m), just ahead of Oscar favourite Million Dollar Baby at five.
Smith's comedy will be the first US movie released this year to top the $100m (£52.7m) mark. It's success continues a strong trend of Hollwood movie-going this year with figures for the popular President's Day weekend 13% greater than last year. Oscar contenders The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes and wine-tasting comedy Sideways, both held onto positions in the top 10. | entertainment |
Tarantino to direct CSI episode
Film director Quentin Tarantino is to direct an episode of US television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
The Oscar-winning Pulp Fiction director has also written an original story for the season finale episode. CSI's co-producer, Carol Mendelsohn, said the episode would have "more bugs and blood" than usual. It is not Tarantino's first venture into TV. In 1995 he directed an episode of the medical drama ER and has also appeared in Alias.
Ms Mendelsohn said the production team had been trying for a while to get Tarantino to direct an episode of CSI, and added that he was a fan of the forensic drama. She said he finally agreed a few weeks ago while CSI was doing some location shooting in Las Vegas and the show's stars persuaded him. "He knows everything there is to know about CSI, and he is into the whole mythology of CSI," Mendelsohn said. "Quentin came in a couple of weeks ago. We had a story meeting with the writers. "He had a great idea, and it was so much fun to have him in the room... we are positively giddy." Filming is due to start in early April and the Tarantino-directed episode will be broadcast in the US on 19 May. | entertainment |
Bollywood DVD fraudster is jailed
A major distributor of pirated DVDs of Bollywood films has been sent to prison for three years.
Jayanti Amarishi Buhecha from Cambridge was found guilty of two trademark offences last month, and sentenced at Harrow Crown Court, London, on Tuesday. Buhecha, who made £26,000 per month from his illegal trade, was called "one of the biggest Bollywood pirates in the UK" by the sentencing judge. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) worked for two years on the case.
An operation was launched against Buhecha in 2002 after complaints were received about his activities. The judge in the case, which lasted seven days, said that "a heavy penalty was called for because of the enormous damage Buhecha caused to legitimate business". Fake DVDs were manufactured in Pakistan and Malaysia and sold on wholesale to shops by Buhecha, who traded in conterfeit DVDs in 2002 and 2003.
In December 2002, he was stopped in his car by trading standards officers, who uncovered 1,000 pirated DVDs and faked inlay cards printed with registered trademarks. Despite being arrested and bailed, Buhecha was caught a second time at the end of 2003. His home and a lock-up in Cambridge were found to contain 18,000 counterfeit DVDs and further faked inlay cards. Buhecha was previously a legitimate distributor of Bollywood films, but was suspended and sued by his employers for dealing in illegal copies of Bollywood classic Mohabbatein. Legitimate Bollywood film distributors have hailed the conviction as "a major boost". Bollywood music and film suffers piracy at the rate of 40%, which is more than that suffered by mainstream productions. The BPI welcomed the news of the prison sentence, but warned there are plenty of other active counterfeiters of Bollywood films. The organisation's anti-piracy director David Martin said: "The problem simply will not disappear with Buhecha. Others and more will take his place, so it's vital that keep up our efforts in this field." | entertainment |
US 'afflicted' with awards fatigue
The film world and media may be wild about the Oscars but cinema-goers and the TV-viewing public are sick of watching award ceremonies, according to some LA film critics.
Bob Strauss, from the LA Daily News, thinks there are just too many televised gatherings of stars showering praise on each other. He came up with a colourful but unprintable description for these glitzy events, which roughly translates a "celebrity love-in". This echoed the views of Oscars host and comedian Chris Rock, who whipped up a media storm for saying he rarely watched them, calling award shows "idiotic". "As Chris Rock accurately said, they're about celebrity and fashion," Mr Strauss said. The recent Grammy music awards proved to be a ratings loser, and it seems Oscars organisers are determined not to go the same way.
Recently announced changes to the ceremony include lining up all five nominees on stage before announcing the winner.
Unsurprisingly, this prompted press speculation that the changes were aimed at boosting flagging advertising revenue. But Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger maintained the Oscars only generated excitement outside the industry when a blockbuster, such as Titanic or Lord of the Rings, was nominated. The near constant flow of US film awards, representing directors, actors and producers' guilds, also means "few surprises" are left by the time the Oscar ceremony is upon us, he said. A quick scan of the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News bears this out - speculation about who will win seems to have ground to a halt.
On Thursday, the Times simply printed a picture of the plastic tents going up outside the Kodak Theatre to protect the red carpet from rain. Variety and the Hollywood Reporter have also kept their focus firmly on industry-related news, while in the UK bets have closed on the best actor category, with Ray star Jamie Foxx a dead cert to win.
Screen International's US editor Mike Goodridge thinks 2004's films have simply not grabbed the public's imagination. "Film-makers haven't produced films that people adore this year," he said. "They adored Saving Private Ryan for example - people loved it and it made a ton of money. "2004's films could be a reaction to 9/11 - there was a realisation in America that things might not be so rosy after all. "Audiences don't necessarily want to see darker films such as Million Dollar Baby, Aviator and Finding Neverland, which end with casualty." As to whether Rock could pep up the awards, the critics were not hopeful.
Mr Strauss doubted whether Rock would make an impact, but added: "I'm all for lower ratings though - there are far more important things going on than the Oscars." Mr Karger said the comic might boost younger viewers, but Mike Goodridge thought Rock's humour could prompt America's conservative states to switch off. So despite all this, did the critics have any views on who would win?
"Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby affected people emotionally, which is why it will beat Aviator, which was about technical artistry not feelings," Mr Karger said. "Eastwood has it in the bag," added Mr Strauss. "Oscar voters often vote with their hearts not their heads." And Mr Goodridge said best film and director were between Martin Scorsese's Aviator and Million Dollar Baby. Mr Karger, whose favourite film of the year was Mike Leigh's abortion drama Vera Drake, stayed upbeat about the awards despite his other comments. "I hope this is the year for small films to triumph," he said. "After all, it's still one of the biggest TV events of the year." | entertainment |
Critics back Aviator for Oscars
Martin Scorsese's The Aviator will win best film at the Oscars, according to the UK's leading movie critics.
But several of those surveyed by the BBC News website think the veteran film-maker will lose the best director prize to Clint Eastwood. Most of the critics tipped Jamie Foxx and Hilary Swank to scoop best actor and actress for Ray and Million Dollar Baby respectively. The jury comprised experts and critics from the top UK film publications. The panel also revealed which nominees they would personally prefer to win.
All expect The Aviator to win best film, but many think it will be a close race between Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic and Eastwood's boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. The other films nominated are wine comedy Sideways, factual drama Finding Neverland, and Ray Charles biopic Ray.
"I'm pretty sure this is the year of The Aviator, though my own choice would be Sideways," said the Observer's Philip French. "Sideways should win but it doesn't have a hope," said Jamie Graham of Total Film, a position shared by Film 2005 presenter Jonathan Ross. "The form going in to the Oscars points to The Aviator, but I liked Million Dollar Baby more," said Tim Dams, news editor of trade weekly Screen International.
Five of the eight critics tipped Scorsese to win best director, with Mr Dams, Heat's Charles Gant and Empire's Angie Errigo plumping for Eastwood. Sideway's Alexander Payne, Ray's Taylor Hackford and British director Mike Leigh - nominated for period drama Vera Drake - are considered outsiders in this category. "Up until recently I could have sworn Scorsese would get it just for being Scorsese," Ms Errigo told the BBC News website. "But I'm beginning to think Eastwood will get it."
"I'd be very happy for Mike Leigh to win, but I don't think he has any chance," said Charles Gant, film editor of Heat. Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles has already seen him win prizes at the Golden Globes, Baftas and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Mr Dams said this made him "out-and-out favourite" to be named best actor on Oscar night. "Everyone would be incredibly surprised if he didn't win," he said. "If you're a betting man, he's as close as you get to a certainty." "If Paul Giamatti was nominated for Sideways it would be a different game," says Total Film's Jamie Graham. "But Foxx will and should win."
With Vera Drake star Imelda Staunton nominated for best actress alongside Kate Winslet, Britain has a good chance of victory - on paper. Jonathan Ross, for one, will be very happy if Winslet wins for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But while Wendy Ide of The Times still thinks Staunton has a chance, Heat's Charles Gant believes her Bafta win will cut little ice with Academy voters. "I'd like Staunton to win, but her chances are not that great," said Mr Gant, who predicted a second Oscar for Hilary Swank.
"I think Swank will win," said Mr French. "Imelda has got as far as she's going to get playing that role." Staunton is also the personal choice of Steven Gaydos, executive editor of industry magazine Variety. But while he tipped Swank to win, he predicted it would be a close contest. "Everything has the ability to flip by one vote and go the other way," he told the BBC News website. "There's not a sense that it's obvious how it's going to go." Meanwhile, thousands of people have voted in a BBC Radio Five Live poll to find the best film never to have won a best picture Oscar. The audience voted overwhelmingly for The Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 Frank Darabont tale of hope and humanity, which received 52% of the online votes and 68% of the text messages. The other two finalists, Citizen Kane and A Matter of Life and Death split the remaining votes roughly equally. This year's Academy Awards will be shown in the UK by Sky Movies 1 at 0130 GMT on Monday.
- Tim Dams, Screen International: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Angie Errigo, Empire: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Philip French, The Observer: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Charles Gant, Heat: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Steven Gaydos, Variety: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Jamie Graham, Total Film: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Wendy Ide, The Times: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton.
- Jonathan Ross, Film 2005: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Tim Dams, Screen International: Film - Million Dollar Baby; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Angie Errigo, Empire: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Philip French, The Observer: Film - Sideways; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton.
- Charles Gant, Heat: Film - Sideways; director - Mike Leigh; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton.
- Steven Gaydos, Variety: Film - Million Dollar Baby; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Don Cheadle; actress - Imelda Staunton.
- Jamie Graham, Total Film: Film - Sideways; director - Alexander Payne; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank.
- Wendy Ide, The Times: Film - Sideways; director - Alexander Payne; actor - Don Cheadle; actress - Imelda Staunton.
- Jonathan Ross, Film 2005: Film - Sideways; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Kate Winslet. | entertainment |
Briton wins short film Oscar
Three of the five nominees in the live-action short film category at this year's Oscars were British. For Andrea Arnold, who won the category, Ashvin Kumar and Gary McKendry the past month has thrust them from relative obscurity into the limelight.
Arnold's gritty drama Wasp is about a single mother living on the breadline, while Kumar's Little Terrorist follows a young Pakistani Muslim boy, who gets stuck on the wrong side of the heavily armed Indian border. McKendry's entry, Everything In This Country Must, forces British soldiers and Catholics to challenge their relationship during the troubles in Northern Ireland. Last week, the trio attended an official screening of all the nominated short films at the Academy's headquarters in Beverly Hills. "I felt so privileged to have a thousand people watching my film on the biggest screen I've ever seen," says Arnold.
Set in her native Dartford, Wasp tells the story of a young mum, who, unable to find a babysitter, leaves her four young daughters outside a pub while she's on a date. The image that sparked the film was that of a wasp crawling into a baby's mouth. "The other nominees said they made their films for this reason or that - they had something to say. But I just start with an image I can't shake off, work outwards from that and see what comes out," she explains.
Since she presented children's TV shows Number 73 and Motormouth in the 1980s, Arnold has kept a low profile and is having trouble adapting to this sudden onslaught of attention. "I'm not interested in the publicity. It's not my personality. I'm overwhelmed by all the fuss," she said.
"It's all a bit like a beauty contest - all the films are great and so different. "But even though my film has won 30 awards worldwide (including one at Sundance last month), I'd still be proud of it - even if it hadn't won any." Asked what the nomination means to her, Arnold says she feels "flattered and honoured". "We've all been overwhelmed by the response and can't get it in perspective yet. I'm still reeling."
And she won't commit to an opinion of Hollywood yet. "I'm just in the middle of it, living moment to moment, day to day." But despite her reservations about the Academy Awards and the media frenzy that surrounds it, she accepts that it has opened doors for her. "People will definitely listen to what I want to do now, and the phone didn't stop ringing for a week after I got nominated." As for the future, Arnold firmly believes that you often get a stronger vision of the world with short films. "You're left more to your own devices, without people interfering as much." That said, she is currently working on a feature film with Dogville and Dancer In The Dark director Lars Von Trier. | entertainment |
Sideways dominates Spirit awards
The comedy Sideways has dominated this year's Independent Spirit Awards, winning all six of the awards for which it was nominated.
It was named best film while Alexander Payne won best director and best screenplay, along with writing partner Jim Taylor. It also won acting awards for stars Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church and Virginia Madsen. Sideways is tipped to do well at Sunday's Oscars, with five nominations.
The awards, now in their 20th year, are given to films made outside the traditional studio system, and are traditionally held the day before the Oscars. Other winners included Catalina Sandino Moreno, who took best actress for her role as a drug smuggler in the Colombian drama Maria Full of Grace. Moreno is also nominated for best actress at the Oscars. The best first screenplay award went to Joshua Marston for Maria Full of Grace. Scrubs star Zach Braff won the award for best first feature for Garden State, which he wrote, directed and starred in. Oscar-nominated euthanasia film The Sea Inside from Spain won best foreign film, while Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster was awarded best documentary. Actor Rodrigo de la Serna took the best debut performance prize for The Motorcycle Diaries. The awards are voted for by the 9,000 members of the Independent Feature Project/Los Angeles, which includes actors, directors, writers and other industry professionals. Last year's big winner, Lost In Translation, went on to win the Oscar for best original screenplay, for writer-director Sofia Coppola. | entertainment |
Arnold congratulated on Oscar win
Oscar-winner Andrea Arnold has been congratulated by the UK Film Council, the organisation which partly funded her project.
Arnold's film Wasp won the best live action short film award on Sunday. "The UK Film Council spends millions of pounds of lottery investment on short filmmaking in Britain every year," said chief executive officer John Woodward. "It certainly pays off when you see new film-makers winning such prestigious awards," he added.
Wasp, which was commissioned by the Film Council and Channel 4, beat films by fellow UK nominees Gary McKendry and Ashvin Kumar to the prize. It stars actress Nathalie Press, who appeared in the Bafta-winning drama My Summer Of Love, as a single mother who is forced to take drastic action when she is invited on a date and is unable to find a babysitter to look after her four daughters. The film has already won over 30 other international awards including the Sundance Short Film Prize. Arnold, from Dartford in Kent, described her victory as "truly overwhelming. I'm really not used to this kind of thing," she said, after receiving her Oscar from actor Jeremy Irons. "Thanks to everyone who worked on this - the beers are on me when we get home." The director was one of only two British winners on the night, the other being Sandy Powell, who won the costume design Oscar for her work on The Aviator. | entertainment |
Eastwood's Baby scoops top Oscars
Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby beat Martin Scorsese's The Aviator to the top awards at the Oscars on Sunday.
The boxing drama was named best picture and Eastwood pipped Scorsese to best director, while its stars Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman won acting awards. The Aviator took five prizes including best supporting actress for Cate Blanchett. The biopic of Howard Hughes led the nominations with 11. Jamie Foxx picked up best actor for playing soul star Ray Charles in Ray. Many expected this to be Scorsese's year - but he was unsuccessful in the best director category for the fifth time in his career.
He has never won despite being nominated for such films as Raging Bull and Goodfellas. Instead, Eastwood took his second Oscar for best director after winning for Unforgiven in 1993. "It was a wonderful adventure," Eastwood said. "To make a picture in 37 days, it takes a well oiled machine. I am lucky to be here and lucky to be still working. I've got a lot of stuff to do yet." Hilary Swank picked up her second best actress Oscar for playing a female boxer in Million Dollar Baby, beating stars including Annette Bening, Kate Winslet and Imelda Staunton. "I don't know what I did in this life to deserve this," she told the audience. "I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream." Morgan Freeman beat actors including Clive Owen, Jamie Foxx and Alan Alda to the prize for best supporting actor. He thanked Eastwood and described the film as "a labour of love". This was the fourth nomination of his career but his first win. Backstage, he said: "A lot of people say you're due - maybe you are, maybe you aren't - it's an accolade." Million Dollar Baby's success was the night's biggest surprise after The Aviator seemed to have the advantage until the end of the ceremony.
Cate Blanchett, who won for playing late screen legend Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, said her award was "an indescribable surprise and honour". Of Hepburn, she said: "The longevity of her career is inspiring to everyone." Blanchett also paid tribute to the film's director Martin Scorsese, telling him: "I hope my son will marry your daughter." The Aviator's other awards came for cinematography, film editing, art direction and costume design. And Jamie Foxx, who had two nominations this year, paid tribute to the "beautiful legacy" of soul legend Ray Charles, who died last year, and thanked director Taylor Hackford. "You took a chance, man," he said. "That love for Ray Charles was deep down in the earth somewhere and you opened it up. "Everybody's drowning in this love. Thank you for taking a chance and thank you for waiting 15 years to get me to do it."
He broke down in tears when speaking about being whipped by his grandmother, whom he described as his first acting teacher, when he was young. In other awards, cartoon hit The Incredibles won best animated feature and best sound editing. Bittersweet comedy Sideways won best adapted screenplay while the original screenplay prize went to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Born into Brothels, about the children of prostitutes in Calcutta, was named best documentary, The Sea Inside was named best foreign language film and Finding Neverland got the accolade for best musical score. Spider-Man 2 triumphed in the visual effects category, Ray won best sound mixing and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events picked up best make-up. Former British TV presenter Andrea Arnold, who hosted children's shows Motormouth and Number 73 in the 1980s, won best short film for Wasp. Comedian Chris Rock, who hosted the ceremony for the first time, received a standing ovation before getting the show under way. | entertainment |
British stars denied major Oscars
British hopes of winning major Oscars were dashed as UK stars failed to win acting and directing prizes.
Despite three nominations, Mike Leigh's Vera Drake failed to take the director or screenplay awards and there was no prize for star Imelda Staunton. Kate Winslet also lost to best actress Hilary Swank, while Clive Owen and Sophie Okonedo failed to win best supporting actor awards. The UK's Andrea Arnold won the short film award for her gritty drama Wasp.
Arnold, who presented children's television shows Number 73 and Motormouth in the 1980s, said it was "totally overwhelming" to win. Wasp tells the story of a single mother living on the breadline, beating films by fellow UK nominees Gary McKendry and Ashvin Kumar.
"Everyone worked extremely hard - they know who they are," Arnold said as she accepted the prize. "The beers are on me when we get home." Earlier British costume designer Sandy Powell won the Oscar for The Aviator, beating Finding Neverland's UK designer Alexandra Byrne in the process. "I'm very thrilled for the film and all the people who worked with me," said Ms Powell. "Hopefully I'll be staying up to celebrate - I've been sick for three days and want to make it through the night." The British visual effects team behind Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were less fortunate, however, losing the Oscar in that category to Spider-Man 2. Before Sunday's ceremony Owen was bookmakers' favourite for his role in romantic drama Closer that had already clinched him a Golden Globe award. It was the first time actress Okonedo had been shortlisted, chosen for her performance in Hotel Rwanda about the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It was also a debut nomination for Staunton, 49, who played abortionist Vera Drake in Mike Leigh's film.
Leigh had previously received three Oscar nominations for Secrets and Lies and Topsy Turvy. Winslet said she was "ecstatic" about the fourth Oscar nomination of her career, this time for her lead role in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Among other British talent nominated for Oscars, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Charles Hart were nominated for best original song for Learn To Be Lonely, from The Phantom of the Opera movie. That award was won by Al Otro Lado Del Rio from The Motorcycle Diaries. Cinematographer John Mathieson, who was nominated for Gladiator in 2001, was also up for The Phantom of the Opera but lost to The Aviator. Finding Neverland garnered another nomination for British talent, with Gemma Jackson shortlisted for the art direction prize. She lost in that category to The Aviator. A spokesman for the UK Film Council said: "It is disappointing not to have more British winners." He added: "It was extraordinary to have 24 British nominees in the initial list of nominees." | entertainment |
Lee to create new film superhero
Comic book veteran Stan Lee is to team up with producer Robert Evans to create a movie featuring a new superhero.
Foreverman will focus on a character who has to face problems in everyday life as well as using his special powers to save the world. Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the film, have revealed few details about the project but say it has the potential to spawn a series of films. Lee is best known for his work on Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk.
He is collaborating on the script with screenwriter Peter Briggs, who penned the recent comic book adaptation Hellboy. "We believe it to be truly a whole new franchise," said Gill Champion, president and chief executive of Lee's POW! Entertainment. "In this world where people are looking for something different, Stan's idea was to create a concept not seen before to become an evergreen franchise for Paramount." Many of Lee's other creations, including X-Men and Daredevil, have been turned into films in the past five years. However, the Spider-Man series has been the biggest box office hit, with the 2002 original and its 2004 sequel taking almost $1.6bn (£857m) worldwide. A third Spider-Man film is scheduled for release in 2007. Another Marvel Comics adaptation, The Fantastic Four, will be released in cinemas this summer. | entertainment |
Jackson film 'absolute disaster'
A PR expert has told the Michael Jackson child abuse trial that the TV documentary at the heart of the case was an "absolute disaster".
Ann Kite told the court in the Californian town of Santa Maria she was hired to "crisis manage" the fallout after the programme had aired in 2003. Jurors saw the film, in which the pop star held hands with the alleged victim, on Tuesday. Mr Jackson denies 10 charges of child abuse and false imprisonment. If convicted, he could face up to 21 years in prison.
Ms Kite suggested Jackson's associates had been intent on launching a smear campaign against the accuser's family after the airing of Martin Bashir's film Living with Michael Jackson. She told the court that in the aftermath of the broadcast, a Jackson lawyer had told her the boy's mother would be made to look like a "crack whore". Jackson's defence questioned Ms Kite's credibility, pointing that she worked for the singer's team for less than a week before being fired, and had never met or spoken to the star.
Ms Kite said she received a phone call on 13 February 2003 from a Jackson associate, Marc Schaffel, who said the boy and his family had left the Neverland ranch where they had been staying.
Ms Kite told the court she had later asked Jackson's lawyer, David LeGrand, what had happened. "I said, `Don't make me believe that these people were hunted down like dogs and brought back to the ranch'," she said. Ms Kite began to work for Mr Jackson in February 2003, after the controversial film was televised in the US and Europe. The documentary sparked a media storm and the subsequent investigation into Mr Jackson's relationship with the boy. In the film, the singer said he did not see anything wrong with sharing a bed with a child.
Questioned by the prosecution, Ms Kite said her plan had been to move media coverage of the star away from a focus on his human frailties to concentrate more on his musical genius. Ms Kite said that an additional problem was the release of documents relating to a previous allegation of child abuse against Mr Jackson. The Smoking Gun website publication was "beyond disaster", Ms Kite said. Correspondents say the reference is important because it was unclear whether the prosecution would be able to bring up the previous case in front of the jury.
The judge is studying whether the prosecution's first witness, reporter Martin Bashir, is in contempt of court. The defence protested after Mr Bashir, who interviewed Jackson for the TV documentary, refused to answer nearly all their questions, citing a California "shield" law intended to allow journalists to protect their sources. In the prosecution's opening statement on Monday, Tom Sneddon told the court that Mr Jackson had shown the boy porn and plied him with wine, in order to molest him. He said the singer had visited sexually explicit websites and showed the boy - who was 13 at the time - and his younger brother pornography at his ranch. | entertainment |
France set for new Da Vinci novel
French booksellers are braced for a rush of interest after another book from the author of The Da Vinci Code is translated into French.
Angels and Demons, by US author Dan Brown, will go on sale on Wednesday. The Da Vinci Code is set in Paris - including the Louvre - and has sold around one million copies in France. The main character, Robert Langdon, also appears in Angels and Demons. The Da Vinci Code is being made into a film starring Tom Hanks. Angels and Demons was written before The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, and been translated into more than 40 languages, since it was released in 2003. Angels and Demons is set mainly in Rome as symbologist Robert Langdon follows a 400-year-old trail to try to uncover a plot by an ancient brotherhood, The Illuminati, to blow up the Vatican.
The novel deals with moral issues such as the debate between science and religion and also seeks to uncover some of the mysteries surrounding the Pope. On his website, Brown wrote: "I think the reason Angels and Demons is raising eyebrows right now is that it opens some Vatican closets most people don't even know exist. "But I think most people understand that an organisation as old and powerful as the Vatican could not possibly have risen to power without acquiring a few skeletons in their closets." Such is the success of The Da Vinci Code in France, special tours have been organised to trace Langdon's footsteps, including the the Louvre museum and the Saint Sulpice Church. The Louvre has also given permission for parts of the film version to be shot in the museum. The film, to be directed by A Beautiful Mind's Ron Howard, is due to start filming at the Paris museum in May and stars Hanks alongside French actress Audrey Tautou. | entertainment |
UK Directors Guild nominees named
Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood are among the nominees for the top prize at the Directors Guild of Great Britain awards, now in their second year.
The Oscar rivals will compete for the international film prize at the ceremony, to be held at the Curzon Mayfair cinema in London on 20 March. Other nominees include Bill Condon for Kinsey and Michel Gondry for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Mike Leigh's Vera Drake is among the nominees for best British film. The awards will see Eastwood and Scorsese once again competing for the directing prize, following last weekend's Oscars. Clint Eastwood won best director for Million Dollar Baby, beating Scorsese who was nominated for a fifth time for the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator. Mike Leigh will compete for the British film prize with Shane Meadows for Dead Man's Shoes, Roger Michell For Enduring Love and My Summer Of Love director Pawel Pawlikowski.
Nominees for best foreign film include Spain's Pedro Almodovar for Bad Education and Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai for 2046. In the TV categories, comedy series Early Doors and The Alan Clark Diaries will compete for the best directing award for a 30-minute television show, while the directors of Shameless, Hustle and Bodies are all nominated for the 60-minute television prize. The directors of Omagh and Sex Traffic are among the nominees for a television movie or mini-series. American Beauty's Sam Mendes will receive a lifetime achievement award for his work in film and theatre, while theatre director Simon McBurney will be given an award for outstanding directorial achievement. | entertainment |
Halloween writer Debra Hill dies
Screenwriter and producer Debra Hill, best known for her work on the 70s horror classic Halloween, has died in Los Angeles aged 54.
Hill, who had been suffering from cancer, co-wrote the 1978 film, which starred Jamie Lee Curtis as a babysitter terrorised by a psychopath. Directed by John Carpenter, it made over $60m (£31.3m) worldwide - a record for independent film at that time. Hill also worked with Carpenter on Escape From New York and The Fog. Born in New Jersey, Hill began her career as a production assistant and worked her way through the ranks, becoming an assistant director and second-unit director before she began collaborating with Carpenter.
She was regarded by many as a pioneering woman in film, taking on jobs in the 70s that were more commonly taken by men. "Back when I started in 1974, there were very few women in the industry," she said in 2003. "I was assumed to be the make-up and hair person, or the script person. I was never assumed to be the writer or producer." "I took a look around and realised there weren't that many women, so I had to carve a niche for myself." Carpenter said that working with Hill was "one of the greatest experiences of my life". "The ground that she trailblazed in the beginning can now be followed by anyone. She was incredibly capable and talented," he said. Carpenter and Hill collaborated on a number of Halloween sequels, including Halloween II, Halloween: Resurrection and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.
Later in her career, Hill formed a production company with her friend Lynda Obst, making a string of hit films including Oscar nominee The Fisher King and teen comedy Adventures In Babysitting. Other films included the Stephen King adaptation The Dead Zone in 1983 and 1985's Clue, a comedy based on the board game Cluedo. In the 90s she pursued work in TV, although she was reunited with Carpenter in 1996 for Escape From LA, the sequel to Escape From New York. At the time of her death she was working on a film about the last two men pulled from the rubble of the Twin Towers following the 11 September terror attacks in 2001. She was also co-producing the remake of The Fog, which is due for release early next year. | entertainment |
Tarantino 'to make Friday sequel'
Director Quentin Tarantino is in talks to write and direct a new instalment in the Friday the 13th horror franchise, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The film-maker will reportedly meet executives from New Line Cinema this week to discuss the 12th film in the long-running 'stalk and slash' series. The original film, released in 1980, has spawned ten sequels based around mask-wearing murderer Jason Voorhees. The most recent, Freddy Vs Jason, was released in summer 2003. That film saw Jason battle Freddy Krueger, star of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. According to the industry newspaper, New Line had been trying to make another sequel involving Ash, the hero of the Evil Dead movies, but was unable to agree terms with director Sam Raimi. Tarantino is said to be intrigued by the prospect of building a new film around one of the horror genre's most recognised figures. First, however, he is scheduled to direct the season finale of US television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Filming is due to start in early April. Tarantino's episode, for which he also wrote the original story, will be broadcast in the US on 19 May. | entertainment |
Boogeyman takes box office lead
The low-budget horror film Boogeyman has knocked Robert de Niro thriller Hide and Seek from the top spot at the UK box office.
The film, in which a young man is forced to revisit a traumatic childhood experience, took £788,439 in its first three days on release. Hide And Seek, which was knocked off the top of the US box office by Boogeyman last month, fell one place. Oscar nominee Hotel Rwanda was also a new entry in the chart, at number five. The film, which scored Oscar nominations for Don Cheadle and British actress Sophie Okonedo, made £507, 596 in its first week of nationwide release.
Comedy sequel Meet The Fockers and Shall We Dance?, starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere, completed the top five. Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby re-entered the charts at number eight, following its recent success at the Oscars. The boxing drama, which won four awards including best film and best director, has made £4.4m to date. Two other new entries, a remake of the 1965 film Flight of the Phoenix, and the teen comedy Harold and Kumar Get The Munchies, debuted outside the top 10. | entertainment |
Lost Doors frontman movie found
Historians in Florida have discovered a 40-year-old clip of a clean-cut Jim Morrison appearing in a promotional film for his university.
The 1964 film shows the Doors frontman, who died aged 27 in 1971, playing the part of a young man who had been rejected by Florida State University. Morrison is seen quizzing a college administrator on why he was refused. "But what happened? How come my parents and the state and the university didn't look ahead?" he is seen asking.
"It's incredible. He's so clean cut and soft-spoken," said Florida state archivist Jody Norman. "We know he was at Florida State University for a period of time and he did some acting when he was there," Norman added. The Doors were one of the most influential bands of the 1960s, with hits including Light My Fire and Riders On The Storm. Morrison was notorious for his wild lifestyle - and was accused of exposing himself and simulating a sex act at a Miami concert in 1969. He was found dead in the bath of his Paris apartment and died from heart problems, aggravated by alcohol. A coroner recorded a verdict of death by natural causes and his grave at the city's Pere Lachaise ceremony has become a shrine for fans. | entertainment |
Last Star Wars 'not for children'
The sixth and final Star Wars movie may not be suitable for young children, film-maker George Lucas has said.
He told US TV show 60 Minutes that Revenge of the Sith would be the darkest and most violent of the series. "I don't think I would take a five or six-year-old to this," he told the CBS programme, to be aired on Sunday. Lucas predicted the film would get a US rating advising parents some scenes may be unsuitable for under-13s. It opens in the UK and US on 19 May. He said he expected the film would be classified PG-13 - roughly equivalent to a British 12A rating.
The five previous Star Wars films have all carried less restrictive PG - parental guidance - ratings in the US. In the UK, they have all been passed U - suitable for all - with the exception of Attack of The Clones, which got a PG rating in 2002. Revenge of the Sith - the third prequel to the original 1977 Star Wars film - chronicles the transformation of the heroic Anakin Skywalker into the evil Darth Vader as he travels to a Hell-like planet composed of erupting volcanoes and molten lava. "We're going to watch him make a pact with the devil," Lucas said. "The film is much more dark, more emotional. It's much more of a tragedy." | entertainment |
French honour for director Parker
British film director Sir Alan Parker has been made an officer in the Order of Arts and Letters, one of France's highest cultural honours.
Sir Alan received his decoration in Paris on Wednesday from French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres. "You have explored the possibilities of film with an immense talent," Mr de Vabres said as he presented the award. Parker praised French films, saying: "Hollywood, which created modern cinema, uses it only as a commodity." He told the minister: "I am honoured to be thus distinguished by France, the flag carrier of cinema throughout the world." Sir Alan's films include Oscar-winning Fame plus Midnight Express and The Commitments.
A founding member of the Director's Guild of Great Britain, he is a former chairman of the UK Film Council and on the board of the British Film Institute. "Through your work and your campaigns, you have shown us how the artist occupies an essential place in our contemporary society," Mr de Vabres said. "Through your dreams which you show us, through the links that you weave, you question the world through the mirror of your work." He also cited the director's 2003 film The Life of David Gale, in which Kevin Spacey played a man on Death Row, as proof of his "veritable artistic commitment against the death sentence". | entertainment |
Robots march to US cinema summit
Animated movie Robots has opened at the top of the US and Canada box office chart, taking $36.5m (£19m) on its first weekend on release.
Featuring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Robin Williams and Mel Brooks, Robots follows a robot inventor who moves to a big city. Vin Diesel's family comedy The Pacifier fell to the number two spot, taking $18.1m (£9.4m). New Bruce Willis movie Hostage opened at number four with $9.8m (£5.1m).
However, a recut version of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, which featured less violence than last year's original movie, took just $239,850 (£125,000), despite opening in 957 cinemas. The new version of the film received little publicity and the original version is available across the US on DVD. "We certainly had higher expectations than what we got," said Rob Schwartz, head of distribution for Newmarket Films, which released The Passion of the Christ. "We were trying to get the film out there, hoping it would reach an audience that it didn't quite reach the first time around. It doesn't seem to have worked out quite as well as we had hoped." Meanwhile, Will Smith comedy Hitch has become the top film at the global box office after taking an estimated $30.1m (£15.6m) over the weekend at cinemas outside North America, according to industry website Screen Daily. It has taken $65.5m (£34.1m) so far, buoyed by opening at number one in the UK last weekend and a successful run in Germany. The movie, which cost a reported $70m (£36.4m) to make, has taken $138m (£72m) in the US so far. | entertainment |
Hobbit picture 'four years away'
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has said that it will be up to four years before he starts work on a film version of The Hobbit.
The Oscar winner said on a visit to Sydney there was a "desire" to make it, but not before lengthy negotiations. "I think it's gonna be a lot of lawyers sitting in a room trying to thrash out a deal before it will ever happen," said the New Zealander. The rights to JRR Tolkien's book are split between two major film studios. Jackson, who is currently filming a remake of Hollywood classic King Kong, said he thought that the sale of MGM studios to the Sony Corporation would cast further uncertainty on the project. The 43-year-old was in the Australian city to visit a Lord of the Rings exhibition, which has attracted 140,000 visitors since it opened in December.
The film-maker recently sued film company New Line Cinema for undisclosed damages over alleged withheld profits and lost revenue from the first part of the Middle Earth trilogy. The Fellowship of The Ring from 2001 went on to make worldwide profits of $291 million (£152 million). Jackson is thought to have secured the most lucrative film directing deal in history to remake King Kong, which is currently in production in Wellington. The picture, which stars Naomi Watts and Oscar winner Adrien Brody, is due to be released in December. Jackson has also committed to making a film version of Lovely Bones, based on the best-selling book by Alice Sebold. | entertainment |
Buffy creator joins Wonder Woman
The creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is to take on a new female superhero after signing up to write and direct the Wonder Woman movie.
Joss Whedon described the DC Comics character as "the most iconic female heroine of our time". "In a way, no one has met her yet," he said. "What I love most about icons is finding out what's behind them, exploring the price of their power." Linda Carter played the character in the 1970s TV series. The character of Wonder Woman, famed for her red and gold costume, was born on Paradise Island, and was blessed with the powers of strength and flight. The film is being produced by Joel Silver, producer of the Matrix trilogy.
"There's no one better than Joss to adapt the legendary Wonder Woman comic book character created in the 1940s into a dynamic feature film for 21st Century audiences," said Silver. "Wonder Woman was the first great female superhero to emerge from comic books and later inspire millions of fans in her television incarnation... but this groundbreaking heroine has yet to be reinvented for the feature film arena." Whedon created the character of Buffy in the screenplay for the 1992 film. He distanced himself from the movie because of the direction it eventually took, and the film bombed. But he did not give up on the Slayer and went on to write and executive produce seven seasons of the cult TV series. He also produced the spin-off Angel series. He is currently directing the film Serenity, based on his short-lived sci-fi series Firefly. | entertainment |
Labour plans maternity pay rise
Maternity pay for new mothers is to rise by £1,400 as part of new proposals announced by the Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt.
It would mean paid leave would be increased to nine months by 2007, Ms Hewitt told GMTV's Sunday programme. Other plans include letting maternity pay be given to fathers and extending rights to parents of older children. The Tories dismissed the maternity pay plan as "desperate", while the Liberal Democrats said it was misdirected.
Ms Hewitt said: "We have already doubled the length of maternity pay, it was 13 weeks when we were elected, we have already taken it up to 26 weeks. "We are going to extend the pay to nine months by 2007 and the aim is to get it right up to the full 12 months by the end of the next Parliament." She said new mothers were already entitled to 12 months leave, but that many women could not take it as only six of those months were paid. "We have made a firm commitment. We will definitely extend the maternity pay, from the six months where it now is to nine months, that's the extra £1,400." She said ministers would consult on other proposals that could see fathers being allowed to take some of their partner's maternity pay or leave period, or extending the rights of flexible working to carers or parents of older children. The Shadow Secretary of State for the Family, Theresa May, said: "These plans were announced by Gordon Brown in his pre-budget review in December and Tony Blair is now recycling it in his desperate bid to win back women voters."
She said the Conservatives would announce their proposals closer to the General Election. Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for women Sandra Gidley said: "While mothers would welcome any extra maternity pay the Liberal Democrats feel this money is being misdirected." She said her party would boost maternity pay in the first six months to allow more women to stay at home in that time.
Ms Hewitt also stressed the plans would be paid for by taxpayers, not employers. But David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, warned that many small firms could be "crippled" by the move. "While the majority of any salary costs may be covered by the government's statutory pay, recruitment costs, advertising costs, retraining costs and the strain on the company will not be," he said. Further details of the government's plans will be outlined on Monday. New mothers are currently entitled to 90% of average earnings for the first six weeks after giving birth, followed by £102.80 a week until the baby is six months old. | politics |
Watchdog probes e-mail deletions
The information commissioner says he is urgently asking for details of Cabinet Office orders telling staff to delete e-mails more than three months old.
Richard Thomas "totally condemned" the deletion of e-mails to prevent their disclosure under freedom of information laws coming into force on 1 January. Government guidance said e-mails should only be deleted if they served "no current purpose", Mr Thomas said. The Tories and the Lib Dems have questioned the timing of the new rules.
Tory leader Michael Howard has written to Tony Blair demanding an explanation of the new rules on e-mail retention. On Monday Lib Dem constitutional affairs committee chairman Alan Beith warned that the deletion of millions of government e-mails could harm the ability of key probes like the Hutton Inquiry. The timing of the new rules just before the Freedom of Information Act comes into forces was "too unlikely to have been a coincidence", Mr Beith said. But a Cabinet Office spokeswoman said the move was not about the new laws or "the destruction of important records". Mr Beith urged the information commissioner to look at how the "e-mail regime" could "support the freedom of information regime".
Mr Thomas said: "The new Act of Parliament makes it very clear that to destroy records in order to prevent their disclosure becomes a criminal offence." He said there was already clear guidance on the retention of e-mails contained in a code of practice from the lord chancellor. All e-mails are subject to the freedom of information laws, but the important thing was the content of the e-mail, said Mr Thomas.
"If in doubt retain, that has been the long-standing principle of the civil service and public authorities. It's only when you've got no further use for the particular record that it may be legitimate to destroy it. "But any deliberate destruction to avoid the possibility of later disclosure is to be totally condemned." The Freedom of Information Act will cover England, Wales and Northern Ireland from next year. Similar measures are being brought in at the same time in Scotland. It provides the public with a right of access to information held by about 100,000 public bodies, subject to various exemptions. Its implementation will be monitored by the information commissioner. | politics |
Hewitt decries 'career sexism'
Plans to extend paid maternity leave beyond six months should be prominent in Labour's election manifesto, the Trade and Industry Secretary has said.
Patricia Hewitt said the cost of the proposals was being evaluated, but it was an "increasingly high priority" and a "shared goal across government". Ms Hewitt was speaking at a gender and productivity seminar organised by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). Mothers can currently take up to six months' paid leave - and six unpaid. Ms Hewitt told the seminar: "Clearly, one of the things we need to do in the future is to extend the period of payment for maternity leave beyond the first six months into the second six months. "We are looking at how quickly we can do that, because obviously there are cost implications because the taxpayer reimburses the employers for the cost of that."
Ms Hewitt also announced a new drive to help women who want to work in male dominated sectors, saying sexism at work was still preventing women reaching their full potential. Plans include funding for universities to help female science and engineering graduates find jobs and "taster courses" for men and women in non-traditional jobs. Women in full-time work earn 19% less than men, according to the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).
The minister told delegates that getting rid of "career sexism" was vital to closing the gender pay gap.
"Career sexism limits opportunities for women of all ages and prevents them from achieving their full potential. "It is simply wrong to assume someone cannot do a job on the grounds of their sex," she said. Earlier, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What we are talking about here is the fact that about six out of 20 women work in jobs that are low-paid and typically dominated by women, so we have got very segregated employment. "Unfortunately, in some cases, this reflects very old-fashioned and stereotypical ideas about the appropriate jobs for women, or indeed for men. "Career sexism is about saying that engineering, for instance, where only 10% of employees are women, is really a male-dominated industry. Construction is even worse. "But it is also about saying childcare jobs are really there for women and not suitable for men. Career sexism goes both ways."
She added that while progress had been made, there was still a gap in pay figures. "The average woman working full-time is being paid about 80p for every pound a man is earning. For women working part-time it is 60p." The Department for Trade and Industry will also provide funding to help a new pay experts panel run by the TUC.
It has been set up to advise hundreds of companies on equal wage policies. Research conducted by the EOC last year revealed that many Britons believe the pay gap between men and women is the result of "natural differences" between the sexes. Women hold less than 10% of the top positions in FTSE 100 companies, the police, the judiciary and trade unions, according to their figures. And retired women have just over half the income of their male counterparts on average. | politics |
Labour chooses Manchester
The Labour Party will hold its 2006 autumn conference in Manchester and not Blackpool, it has been confirmed.
The much trailed decision was ratified by Labour's ruling National Executive Committee in a break with the traditional choice of a seaside venue. It will be the first time since 1917 that the party has chosen Manchester to host the annual event. Blackpool will get the much smaller February spring conference instead in what will be seen as a placatory move.
For years the main political parties have rotated between Blackpool, Bournemouth and Brighton. And the news the much larger annual conference is not to gather in Blackpool will be seen as a blow in the coastal resort. In 1998 the party said it would not return to Blackpool but did so in 2002. The following year Bournemouth hosted the event before the party signed a two year deal for Brighton to host the autumn conference.
Colin Asplin, Blackpool Hotel Association said: "We have tried very hard to make sure they come back to Blackpool. "Obviously we have failed in that. I just hope Manchester can handle the crowds. "It amazes me that the Labour Party, which is a working class party, doesn't want to come to the main working class resort in the country." The exact cost to Blackpool in terms of lost revenue for hotel accommodation is not yet known but it is thought that block bookings will be taken at the major Manchester hotels after the official announcement. | politics |