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.

Concerns over first flick on Mumbai attack suspect Kasab

By ANI

Bollywood is all set to release the first film based on the Mumbai terror attacks, but not everybody thinks it's just to showcase the horrific events while the lone suspect is still going under trial. 

Titled ''Total Ten'', the film tells the true story of Azam Amir Kasab, 21-the Pakistani national alleged to be the sole terrorist caught alive during the attacks in November. 

''Total Ten'' refers to the terrorists who attacked Mumbai. 

But many people have raised concerns that the low-budget film risks prejudicing Kasab's trial, as it ends with him being sentenced to death and hanged. 

Kasab is accused of 166 counts of murder and waging war against India. 

Abbas Kazmi, his lawyer and a terror case veteran, said that the film might shatter one of the highest-profile trials ever held in the country. 

"Any depiction of the attacks would jeopardise the proceedings," A news agency quoted him as saying. 

However, the filmmakers have shrugged off suggestions that they could prejudice the case, which is being heard before a judge without a jury. 

The film's producers want their film to be released as soon as possible, before it is beaten to the screen by one of at least 17 similar films that are in production. 

"We are only showing what was shown to the world by TV channels live. The best part is that we have a Kasab lookalike playing the role," said Sugath Kumar, one of the producers of ''Total Ten''. 

As the stakes in Kasab's trial are very high, legal experts have said that ''Total Ten'' is on very shaky ground. 

Majeed Memon, one of India's leading criminal lawyers, said: "A film likely to reflect on the character of an accused must be considered unjust." 

The police, on their part, seem unlikely to be swayed by the film's celebration of their heroics as the terror strike unfolded over 60 hours. 

Deven Bharti, a senior officer with the Mumbai Crime Branch, which assembled the case against Mr Kasab, said: "The film-makers have not contacted us to check any details. I doubt the portrayal of events is at all accurate. When the film comes before the censors we will look into the matter." 

However, it still remains to be seen whether the Indian public will flock to see recreations of scenes that were repeated endlessly on television and remain burnt into the minds of many.

Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted for 'Predators' sequel

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being pursued by the producers of his super hit film 'Predators' as they want the former action star to reprise his role in a planned sequel to the 1987 hit. 

The 61-year-old actor has been contacted by Robert Rodriguez, who will be producing the film and is awaiting a nod from Schwarzenegger's camp,reported Ace Showbiz quoting the website Movie Hole. 

"Robert's camp has just reached out to Arnie's (camp)," the report quoted an insider as saying. 

The report also said that Schwarzenegger's representatives have yet to respond to the offer. 

The Terminator star's last on-screen outing was in the 2005 movie 'The Kid and I', where he played himself, 'Predators' a extraterrestrial thriller franchise saw the actor play Major Alan Dutch who finishes off the alien predator. 

The film was a super hit and inspired many spin offs including films like 'Alien vs Predator' and many comic books and video games.

Source: Agencies.

Jolie suffers head injury on set

By BBC

Actress Angelina Jolie was taken to hospital on Friday after suffering a head injury while on set for her latest film, movie bosses have said.

The 33-year-old was shooting an action sequence for upcoming thriller Salt in New York when she suffered "a minor bump to the head". 

Columbia Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer said Jolie was taken to a local hospital as a "precautionary measure". 

He added she was back on set later that day and production had resumed. 

Salt sees Jolie star as a CIA officer who goes on the run after being accused of being a Russian sleeper spy. 

It had been reported last year that the role had been initially earmarked for Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, and that the script and title were reworked after Jolie became involved in the film. 

The movie, which also features X-Men Origins: Wolverine star Liev Schreiber and British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, is due to be released in cinemas in the summer of next year.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk

Transformers 2: New Info & Pic For ‘The Fallen’

By Rob Keyes 

Of the many new Cybertronian characters we’ll finally see next month, making their big screen debuts in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the title character is the one we’ve seen the least of and know the least about. MTV sought to address this by speaking with Shia LaBeouf who revealed some new info on the character and an exclusive still from the movie featuring The Fallen.

Back in February, we got our first look at The Fallen character design but this new image is the first clear shot of him in action from an actual scene in the movie. LaBeouf had quite a lot to say about the character and revealed quite a bit about him that we’ve not heard others who are involved with the film talk about yet:

“He is the king bee… He’s the patriarchal figure, he’s the main dude. He’s what all of this came from.”

“Basically, the Fallen is to them what cavemen, Neanderthals were to us… He’s the ancestor, the first version of this exoskeleton. He’s the first version of this sentient being. That’s what he is. He’s the origins of what they came from.”

While fans of the Transformers universe know the general stuff about the character, Shia then went on to talk about the more organic and demonic alien-like live-action adaptation of The Fallen.

“It’s the design of the Transformer you see in the symbol, almost — at least, that’s where the jump-off point of the idea was spawned from… That was the initial spark of his look, the actual Decepticon logo — which is cool.”

As for what role The Fallen will play in the movie, especially knowing that Megatron will be back in the sequel, Shia had this to say about their relationship and the Decepticon leadership structure:

“It’s the Emperor and Darth Vader — it’s that kind of situation… [The Fallen] is the main villain, so two and two makes four. He’s a badass. He has to be.

“The Fallen, his transportation method is really unlike any other robot’s transportation method… The way he fights is also very different. It’s spectacular, visually stunning, really incredible.”

It all sounds intriguing to me and I’m excited for this movie to finally debut. With the crazy rushed schedule of the film’s post-production and most notably, the special effects work, I really hope the film looks finished (unlike X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and the robots don’t come off looking too fake.

He certainly does look very organic compared to the other characters we’ve seen so far. Since he is one of the original Transformers, does that make him primitive in terms of his power and abilities? Doubtful. I’m thinking he’ll be more god-like in power and I’m curious about what he’ll transform into to travel as Shia referenced.

The star of the films also says the film is definitely of a darker tone compared to the first and he has yet to see the finished version of the character as we all know director Michael Bay is working some very long hours to get the film done in time for its release a mere few weeks away. He’ll be seeing it for the first time at its official premiere.

What do you think of the image and of what Mr. LaBeouf had to say about the character?

Source: http://screenrant.com

Sandra Bullock not impressed by Ryan Reynold's body

Agencies - May 14, 2009

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine' star Ryan Reynolds, who has bared all for his upcoming romantic comedy 'The Proposal', failed to impress co-star Sandra Bullock with his hunky body. 

"Ryan's surgically enhanced, overly tanned and a bit soft around the middle - and the back hair was a bit much to deal with," Bullock said joking that she was far from impressed with her costar's body, reported ‘Contactmusic’. 

"I'd put him at a four on a scale of one to 10," said Bullock, who plays the role of a book editor in the film.  Her character Maggie forces her assistant Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her in order to avoid being deported to Canada in the film. 

'The Proposal', directed by Anne Fletcher, is slated to release in June this year.

Source: http://www.google.com

'Angels & Demons' does not translate to screen

By Claudia Puig - May 14, 2009

Apparently, the quality of movies based on Dan Brown's best sellers correlates directly with the style of Tom Hanks' hair.

Angels & Demons is better, though not by much, than 2006's Da Vinci Code. The story, however, is less interesting and even more far-fetched.

Hanks is likable and credible reprising his role as irreverent, code-cracking Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon. But director Ron Howard focuses more on spec- tacular shots, particularly during a climactic scene involving a helicopter ride above the Vatican, than on tension and excitement. The story, with its arcane riddles and preposterous twists, does not translate well to the screen. It fails as an action thriller, relying on wordy exposition. And the array of clues and riddles unearthed by Langdon are as improbable as the notion of a secret cult of vengeful scientists.

Still, for an academic, Langdon has some impressive action-hero moves. And he needs them: He's up against a one-man terrorist brigade. The ubiquitous bad guy is an assassin, acting in the name of the "Illuminati," an ancient brotherhood of scientists. It's hard to get too worked up about villains made up of astronomers, philosophers and physicists.The clock is ticking as a bomb is aimed at St. Peter's in Rome. Langdon joins forces with an Italian scientist alliteratively named Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Zurer). The two spend too much time poring over ancient texts to make pulses race. It's a meeting of minds, not lips.

The movie posits that Langdon, a man of science, may have a shred of faith he doesn't acknowledge. But it deals heavy-handedly with the faith vs. science debate. The dialogue tries to be portentous, but it reeks of cliché. "We're in God's hands now," intones papal representative Father Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor). Meanwhile, Langdon lectures and pontificates, even as he races to unearth a bomb.

Angels doesn't know when to quit: Just when you think it's over, it continues, like the franchise based on Brown's books.

Source: http://www.usatoday.com

‘Terminator’s’ McG takes blame for blow-up

Director says staffers will identify person who leaked audio of tirade

Access Hollywood / May 11, 2009

LOS ANGELES - “Terminator Salvation” director McG said the now-infamous July 2008 blow-up on the film’s set, between star Christian Bale and director of photography Shane Hurlbut, was entirely his fault. 

“It broke my heart, because I take all the responsibility for protecting my actors on the set day in and day out," the director told Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell. "And it’s my responsibility to make sure that they can be free to express themselves in any way they like and it’s a real violation of the family of the set community.” “You can take anything out of context and you also don’t want artists censoring their performance, so you gotta be really careful with that,” McG continued. “You have faith that those outtakes never get out, to the Web sites or on the streets, in any capacity that would be unflattering or not in the service of the picture.”

The director told O'Dell that tensions were running high on the set that day intentionally. “We were making effectively a war scene, and I wanted the blood up of all my actors … what would be more offensive — if people just sort of sleep their way through a performance?” he said. “Everybody was very wound up and everybody was fired up and I wanted (Bale) that way … I riled him up! I deserve all the blame, in fact, throw me right under the bus.” And despite the severity of Bale’s tongue-lashing, McG said the actor and cinematographer are close and quickly made up after the incident. “I’m happy to report that Christian and Shane Hurlbert are actually friends and later that day we just kept on truckin’, so (the tirade) was indeed taken out of context,” he said. He added, “Christian is a very good guy, he’s got no entourage, drives around in a pickup truck, no assistant, he’s just focused on being an actor, and he’s really really a good guy.” 

McG also told O'Dell that the release of the audio is currently being investigated. “That’s the proprietary material of Warner Bros. and Sony and the owners of the franchise … it was wildly illegal for that to be leaked in that capacity,” he said, explaining that staffers are in the process identifying the person responsible for the leak. 

“I feel like I owe it to my actor because it happened on my watch," the director said. "And I take it very very seriously in that respect.” “Terminator Salvation,” directed by McG and starring Bale, Sam Worthington and Bryce Dallas Howard, opens May 21 in theaters.

Copyright 2009 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com

Jennifer Aniston to act in an imitation of ‘Mr. And Mrs. Smith’

ANI / May 11, 2009

Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston has left tongues wagging as she has signed on to star in a flick very similar to ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, which resulted in the end of her marriage to Brad Pitt. 

The flick in question is ‘Bounty Hunter’ wherein Jennifer will be cast opposite Gerard Butler. The film will feature Jennifer as a journalist who is on the run from her hitman ex-husband, portrayed by Butler, after he's instructed to kill her. 

"She's a witness to a murder, and the bounty hunter - her ex-husband (Butler) - is given her as a hit,” ‘Contactmusic’ quoted Jennifer as saying. 

Pitt and his current lover Angelina Jolie played rival assassins in ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’.

Source: http://www.news.google.com

Arnie to make digital cameo in new Terminator flick

ANI / May 11, 2009

Arnold Schwarzenegger has confirmed that he will be a part of the new Terminator movie. 

The action star-turned-California governor had sparked speculation that he would return to the franchise, when he was spotted on the set of Terminator Salvation, starring Christian Bale. The news scared California citizens as they thought the Austrian-born star was abandoning his political responsibilities to return to the big screen, reports ‘Contactmusic’. 

However, the hunky star has assured civilians his cameo appearance in director Joseph "MCG" MCGinty Nichol’s film has already been shot - producers plan to use footage from the original Terminator movie and splice it in. Schwarzenegger told Entertainment Weekly, "I made it very clear that I don't have the time to do the movie. 

“I said that I would be willing to be in the movie if they get the technology together, and so they are working on that right now. 

“They would basically take technology out of Terminator I, and use that walk of mine and somehow bring it in (to the new film). It's just a brief scene."

Source: http://www.news.google.com