Leonardo DiCaprio to Star in Online Poker Movie

By Dan Cypra

Move over, “Titanic,” there’s a new sheriff in town. Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio will star in an untitled film about internet gambling outfits in Costa Rica, according to the Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly.

The screenplay will be written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who both served in the same capacity in the 1998 film “Rounders,” which turned many of today’s poker prodigies onto the game. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), “Rounders” marked the first official writing credits for Koppelman and Levien. The duo has also teamed up with DiCaprio to bring “Beat the Reaper” to the big screen. The film, which will be released next year, has the following plot according to IMDB: “ER doctor Peter Brown’s life is turned upside down when he crosses paths with a mobster who appears to know him from his former life as a hitman.”

No release date has been given for DiCaprio’s online poker movie. An article on MTV.com noted that DiCaprio’s plate is quite full: “DiCaprio has an enormous list of films in pre-production. For the time being, at least, he’ll be working on Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception.’ Whenever he’s finished with that, he will probably have developed five more projects.” IMDB notes that DiCaprio has 21 films in development.

Whether the film will focus on online poker, casinos, or sports betting remains to be seen and various websites pitch the movie in several different ways. Tokwiro-owned online poker rooms Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker are both based in San Jose, the Central American country’s capital city. A report by CBS News program “60 Minutes” identified the offices of the sites as being located in a “strip mall.” Both Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker comprise the CEREUS Network, which was formed in November.

Action Poker, the flagship site of the network of the same name, has offices in Costa Rica. Joining the site in the tropical nation is Doyle’s Room, which opened the 2009 calendar year by jumping to the USA-friendly Cake Poker Network. Ten-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Doyle Brunson, whose “Texas Dolly” moniker has made him one of the industry’s foremost faces, is the site’s namesake. Also holding a presence in Costa Rica is PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site. According to PokerScout.com, which ranks online poker site traffic, PokerStars has a seven day running average of 22,000 cash game players. It happily accepts customers from the United States.

“Rounders” starred Edward Norton and Matt Damon. The movie was released five years before Chris Moneymaker became a household after the Tennessee accountant defeated Sammy Farha in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. Since then, Koppelman and Levien have kept their love for poker alive, teaming up for ESPN’s short-lived series “Tilt,” which starred Michael Madsen as Don “The Matador” Everest. “Tilt” premiered in 2005, ran for one season, and featured appearances by poker superstars including Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, and T.J. Cloutier. Negreanu is fresh off a cameo in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”

Finally, Koppelman and Levien wrote “Oceans Thirteen,” which came out in 2007. It was the third installment of the franchise, which stars Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts. “Oceans Thirteen” returned to its roots in Las Vegas as the team sought revenge on casino owner Willy Blank (played by Al Pacino). The movie also stars Don Cheadle, who founded Ante Up for Africa along with Norman Epstein and “Celebrity Apprentice” runner-up Annie Duke.

Source: POKER NEWS DAILY.

Aniston jokes about her rocky love life

By ANI

She might have had a rocky love life, but Jennifer Aniston did not hesitate to poke fun at her rocky love life at the Accepting Women In Film ceremony, where she was honoured with the Crystal Award as an advocate of expanding the role of women in Hollywood.

"I'm trying to be more careful than I have been in the past about the titles of movies that I choose to be in,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

"It's funny - I kind of noticed something a couple years ago that there seemed to be this strange parallel to the movies I was doing and my life off screen.

"It started with, well, The Good Girl. Then that evolved into Rumour Has It, followed by Derailed, and then there was The Break-Up. And then on the lighter side was Friends with Money, which I felt was a bit on the nose," she added.

Poking fun at her recent split from John Mayer, Aniston said: "If anyone has a movie called Everlasting Love With an Adult Stable Man, that would be great! I'm at table six, and my agents are at table 12."

Source: Agencies.

‘Idol’ devotion brings hopefuls to Foxboro

By Lauren Beckham Falcone

Say what you will about “American Idol” - it’s unfair, it’s cruel, its ratings are dipping.

But say this, too: It brings out the devotion in people.

There’s no other way to explain the swath of sopping-wet moral support systems standing outside Gillette Stadium in Foxboro yesterday who held umbrellas and hands with the thousands of rain-soaked idealists vying for the most coveted prize in pop culture.

The Fox mega-hit show kicked off its ninth season at the home of the Patriots [team stats], and while host Ryan Seacrest braved the downpour to welcome the throngs, the real star of yesterday’s show was dedication - to family, friends and giving stardom a shot.

Who knew a talent competition could be a testament to the human spirit?

Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, boyfriends, girlfriends and best friends stood together for hours. And though the forecast was rain, the attitude was the complete opposite.

“It’s an opportunity,” said a smiling but soaked Katie Stevens, 16, of Middlebury, Conn. “You have to take it. No matter what happens, it was worth it.”

Her mother, Clara, skipped a Dunkin’ Donuts run to ensure a spot in line by 5 a.m.

“I could have used it,” she said. “But we’re here!”

Of course, you have to wonder about some people - the girl wearing a belt as a headband; the guy sashaying his way down the line asking people to marry him; the mother of four who thought it was perfectly OK to make her 6-year-old stand in line since 3 a.m. “She tired and bored,” the mother said. “But I brought snacks.”

Yet, for the most part, it was an optimistic event - the crowd sang and cheered. Friends went for coffee runs or held contestants’ places in line while they ran to their cars for a change of clothes.

“You have to support people,” said Sheena Seymour, 18, of Worcester, who cheered on pal Kaiti Figueroa, 20, of Somerville. “It’s her dream. I mean, I can’t feel my feet because they’re cold and wet, but I’m here.”

And so were the singers, who might not have the chops to make it past the first round. But what led them to that long line at One Patriot Place is as compelling as any good vocal performance.

“I had Hodgkin’s lymphoma when I was 13 to 15. Simon’s not as scary as cancer,” said Gina Naomi Baez, 21, of Long Island, N.Y.

“I was always afraid, but I was in a talent show this year and people said I was good,” said Alison Sullivan, 21, Tyngsboro.

“My friend Dave Wilkinson always encouraged me,” said Sarah Gay, 21, of Danvers. “He and I made a pact to do this together, but he shipped out to Iraq today. So I’m here and this is for him. And me.”

“I’m a junior in college and if I don’t do it now, I never will and I’ll always regret it,‘ said a waterlogged Megan Podsiedlik, 21, of Tully, N.Y. “That’s the great thing about ‘Idol.’ Everyone gets a shot. That’s why we’re all here.”

Source: Boston Herald.

Gowarikar's 'Jodhaa Akbar' sweeps IIFA awards

By Agencies

Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowarikar's historical love epic 'Jodhaa Akbar' swept the 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards here, taking home trophies for best picture, best director and best actor.

The movie tracing the rise of the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century and his romance with Hindu princess Jodhaa took home 10 trophies in total including the gong for the 'Best Film'.

Hrithik Roshan's portrayal of the Muslim monarch won him the 'Best Actor' trophy while Gowarikar won the Best Director award for his epic drama which wove together romance and communal harmony.

The film which had nominations in all the categories faced stiff competition from other superhit contenders like 'Ghajini', 'A Wednesday', 'Dostana', 'Rock On' and 'Race'.

However, Aishwarya failed to bag the Best Actress trophy, which went to Priyanka Chopra for her power-packed performance as a small town girl who makes it big in the world of fashion in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion'.

Others contenders in this category were Asin, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu.

Source: Screen India.

Ellen Gray: Pinkett Smith sees new show as entree to filmmaking

By Ellen Gray

ACTRESSES OF a certain age have been discovering TV - particularly cable TV - for the past few seasons.Each has her reasons.

As Jada Pinkett Smith, 37, returns to series television this week for the first regular gig since "A Different World," there's more on her mind than acting.

Yes, she's enthusiastic about TNT's "HawthoRNe," in which she stars as Christina Hawthorne, the chief nursing officer of a Richmond, Va., hospital.

But what the actress, singer and wife of Overbrook's Will Smith really wants to do is direct. And write. And produce.

"I really liked the material, I really loved the world" created by executive producer John Masius ("Providence"), Pinkett Smith said in a recent phone interview.

But there was "also the fact that television would give me a place where I could really learn the mechanics of story structure, scene structure, really sharpen my producerial skills. It just seemed like the perfect place that I needed to be right now," she said, to get ready for "the next phase of my career."

That phase would seem to be well under way.

"The Human Contract," a film she wrote, directed and co-starred in, debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008 and is expected to be released soon, she said.

She's also working with Smith, she said, on producing the remake of "The Karate Kid" (which reportedly will star their son, Jaden).

Though she laughingly denies having anything resembling a five-year plan, she expects to be working primarily behind the camera "in the next 10 years."

In the meantime, however, there's "HawthoRNe," the second new medical drama this month to focus on nurses rather than doctors. Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" (10:30 tonight) did well enough in last week's premiere to rate a second-season order. A third nursing series, NBC's "Mercy," has been ordered for midseason next year.

Pinkett Smith, whose own mother is a nurse, can't explain television's sudden interest in the profession, but thinks "it's about time."

"We've seen everything we can see, basically, in the medical profession as far as doctors are concerned, I would say, and hospitals are always going to be of interest to us because the two extremes live there, life and death," she said. "It's a very rich area."

"HawthoRNe," like many a medical show since the breakout success of Fox's "House," casts its star as a rebel against a rules-obsessed medical bureaucracy. And though Pinkett Smith's Christina doesn't go quite as far as Edie Falco's "Nurse Jackie" - who flushed a man's ear down a toilet in the show's pilot - her support for both patients and her nurses has her coloring outside the lines in each of the three episodes I've seen.

Masius has also given Christina a complicated backstory. Widowed for a year - her husband died of cancer and was treated in the hospital in which she works - she's the mother of a teenage daughter (Hannah Hodson) and has an uneasy relationship with her former mother-in-law (Joanna Cassidy).

Though there's a sometimes too self-conscious effort to challenge viewers' assumptions about characters they've yet to meet, the one male nurse who's a regular (David Julian Hirsh) happens also to have failed to get into medical school, a plot point that may make some in the profession wince (though perhaps not as much as when Falco flushed that ear).

"People are people and it is important not to make assumptions," Pinkett Smith said.

The actress, who spent time with a chief nursing officer at a hospital in Los Angeles, said "a lot of nurses just felt like they haven't been represented properly [on television]. They're, you know, sexualized . . . not represented in an authentic way."

Source: Philadelphia Daily News.

Thrillers keep director Anjan Dutt busy

Agencies

Making a ghost story has kept him preoccupied for long. And, after three attempts, filmmaker Anjan Dutt has finally zeroed in on a story for his upcoming thriller.

Dutt, is adapting the short story "Loving Doll," from Ipsita Roy Chakraverti's book "Sacred Evil."

"I am currently in the post-production stage of a very very dark Byomkesh Bakshi 1960's period thriller based on incest and riots. After this I'll start work on Ipsita's film," Dutt said.

The Kolkata-based director also an actor and singer and whose repertory include films like "Bong Connection," and "Chalo Let's Go" says he is excited about the new film which will be set in Kolkata and Darjeeling.

"Ipsita saw my film 'Madly Bangalee' and approached me with the story and I said yes, of course after reading the book," says Dutt who had been looking for a ghost story script for long.

Dutt says he wanted to film an adapted Rabindranath Tagore work but was unsure about getting the literary genius' story right and also because he says making a good thriller is always a challenge.

The Bengal-based director says, "You cannot fool around with a Tagore story. He is a genius. I began writing scripts for three stories but gave up. When Ipsita started talking to me I found the story interesting and thought I could take up the challenge."

"Loving Doll," explores the life of a middle-aged couple where the wife is obsessed about losing her beauty and is attached to a doll who she thinks will help her remain beautiful forever.

Funding of the film, says Dutt, is currently under negotiations with "various interested parties keen to fund the film."

"The story has a personal relation. I want to show the evil in a consumeristic society, a false world of ad and glamour where the cosmetic look is in vogue," says Dutt.

Bollywood actress Sarika, who had essayed character of Ipsita in the 2006 flick Sacred Evil is expected to play the lead in the film whose casting is likely to be done soon.

Dicaprio splits with Rafaeli

By Agencies

Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio has reportedly split with his supermodel girlfriend Bar Refaeli because she wanted to move in with him. 

The relationship fizzled out because Rafaeli, 24 was keen to settle down and set up home with the actor, while DiCaprio was not ready to fully commit to her, reported People magazine online. 

"They're taking time off. For the time being they've split. It could just end up as a break, but for now they're doing their own thing," a source close to the couple told the publication. 

"She wanted to move faster than he did, she wanted to move in together, so he broke it off," the source added. 

Reports that the 3-year-old relationship was in trouble began circulating after the 34-year-old 'Titanic' star was seen flirting with several women while partying in New York. 

"He was standing at the bar in front of everyone talking to a girl the entire night, and it wasn't Bar. It was in no way behaviour for a guy who has a serious girlfriend," an onlooker at the club had said. 

There was clear indication that the relationship was nearing it's end as Rafaeli had been making solo appearances recently including the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Gala and Hollywood Life's 11th Annual Young Hollywood Awards . 

Leonardo and Rafaeli had briefly split late last year, before rekindling their romance in December.

Hollywood biggies essential in 'Kambakht Ishq': Akshay

By Agencies

Actor Akshay Kumar, who plays a stuntmant in his upcoming movie 'Kambakkht Ishq' feels that the presence of Hollywood biggies in the film was not meant to create hype but "need" of the script. 

"I play a stuntman from Hollywood in the film and presence of these actors was essential. They were the need of the story to take my character forward in the film," Akshay said. 

"Sharing space with Hollywood action star Sylvester Stallone in the film was the most memorable experience. He told me about his knee problems and how he overcame his fear with heights to act in the movie 'Cliffhanger'," Akshay said. 

Hollywood stars Slyvester Stallone, Denise Richards, Brandon Routh and Holly Valance feature in important cameos in the film. 

Insisting that 'Kambakkht Ishq' was not an action film, Akshay said, "since I play a stuntman, there are two to three stunt scenes. I do stunts myself as I enjoy doing it." 

Recounting his near fatal encounter while shooting for his film titled 'Blue', the actor said, "I have performed a stunt sequences 150-feet under sea to fight with 40 sharks. I hit an iron rod and started bleeding in the head. But, I was taken up on the ship within 20 seconds and given treatment," adding it is sometimes very "scary". 

On whether he had any plans to head to Hollywood Akshay replied in negative and said, "I have brought Hollywood to Mumbai through 'Kambakkht Ishq'. I told actress Denise Richards that more people are going to watch her in a Bollywood film than her previous movies, because Indians are everywhere across the world." 

Referring to his previous two films- 'Chandni Chowk to China' and 'Tasveer 8x10', Akshay said he was proud of them. 

"But, I will be wrong if I say I don't feel the pressure to succeed on the eve of my new film's release.. no matter if your previous movie is a hit or a flop," he said. 

On his unbuttoning act at the Lakme Fashion week recently, Akshay said he had not done anything "wrong". 

"The controversy did not affect me. But, sales of the jeans has gone up," he said. 

"I am a firm believer that men are from Mars and women are from Heaven," he said. 

"I have just completed shooting for television show 'Fear Factor' featuring 13 women and 13 men and can vouch for the fact that women are more courageous and braver," he said. 

The actor, who is looking forward to his next release 'Kambakkht Ishq', plays a MCP in the film and the story is about how he is shown his true place by women. 

The actor plans to take a holiday break with his family and flying to New York. "We are going to see Disneyland," he said. 

Talking about his son, the actor said, "Aarav is a regular school boy and I want him to get a normal upbringing." 

"He is busy watching Tom and Jerry and does not follow my movies," Akshay said. 

To a question on whether he plans to set up a independent film production house like his contemporaries, Akshay said setting up a production house would need lot of time and attention and he had not given a thought to it because he has been busy shooting for his various projects.

Sugar Babes perform for Shilpa Shetty on her birthday

By Agencies

Bollywood bombshell Shilpa Shetty got a surprise of a life time on her 34th birthday when fiance Raj Kundra roped in none-other-than British girl band Sugar Babes for a surprise party. 

The actress who celebrated her birthday in London with Kundra, sister Shamita Shetty and a group of 55 friends also enjoyed an exclusive performance by 'Britain's Got Talent' sensations violinist group Escala. 

"Ok guys am a year older but like I always say I am like wine I get better with age, or at least that’s what I tell myself! Yesterday was such a fun day, don't know where to begin. Actually still reeling from the pleasant but shocking surprise party thrown by Raj," Shetty wrote in her blog. 

Shetty was set to have a quite dinner with her multi-millionaire boyfriend but was surprised when all her London friends who ignored her all day turned up at the Penthouse suite at Mayfair for celebrations. And the icing on the cake was the show put together by the Sugar Babes. 

"I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw this girl band walk in They performed and everyone loved them, my jaw was still open from the shock but never mind that. It was amazing how Raj pulled it off all on his own and still managed to keep it a surprise, genius!," Shetty wrote. 

"On the whole it was definitely my best and most special birthday, it was perfect! I have only Raj and my Friends and Shamita to thank for that. Thanks to all those who have written in and wished me too...," the actress added.

Freida Pinto confesses her love for Dev Patel

By ANI

Freida Pinto, 24, has for the first time confessed her love for her ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ co-star Dev Patel, 19. 

The couple have earlier been spotted cuddling up in Israel, and ring shopping in London after the Oscar-winning film was released. 

And now, in a recent interview, Freida has called Dev “a lovely boy”. 

“The friendship blossomed after the film, it got even stronger. This is all new to us,” the ‘Sun’ quoted her as saying.

Source: ScreenIndia.