Mah Govt hopes Aamir Khan won't shun their award

Agencies - May 20, 2009

In Bollywood, it is common knowledge that actor Aamir Khan shuns awards functions, even ones where he is to receive the award. 

Maharashtra Government is hoping that Aamir makes an exception for the Maharashtra State Awards ceremony to be held Pune on May 30.  Maharashtra Government plans to present the Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement Award to actress Rekha and honour Aamir with the Raj Kapoor Memorial Award for Special Contribution. 

The actor has given his consent to the award but has conveyed to us that he has film shooting commitments for May 30, a senior State Government official said. 

"Rekha has assured us that she would be present at the awards nite and we are keeping our fingers crossed that Aamir attends," the official said. 

The V Shantaram Award, instituted by Maharashtra Government, would be presented to veteran lyricist Jagdish Khebudkar and actor-director Mahesh Kothare. 

Each award comprises of Rs 2 lakhs, a citation and a memento. The Shantaram Awards are presented to those who have made a mark in the Marathi film industry, while the Raj Kapoor Awards honour achievers from the Hindi film industry. 

Minister for cultural affairs Harshvardhan Patil said the ministry has also decided to felicitate recipients of the Padma awards this year who belong to the film industry, including singers Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Shamshad Begum and music director Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar. 

There are also plans to felicitate the stars of the Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' and double Oscar winner music director A R Rahman has also been invited, the official said.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com

20 films selected for 62nd Cannes Film Festival

Agencies - May 17, 2009

The 62nd Cannes Film Festival, which began on Wednesday, with Disney/Pixar’s animation ‘Up’, has received more than 4000 films. Names of the twenty officially selected films for awards are given below:

Bright Star:  London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, an outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair started at odds; he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. It was the illness of Keats’s younger brother that drew them together. Keats was touched by Fanny’s efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny’s alarmed mother and Keats’s best friend Brown realised their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensations, ‘I have the feeling as if I were dissolving’, Keats wrote to her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only  

Keats’s illness proved insurmountable.

Broken Embraces:  A man writes, lives and loves in darkness. Fourteen years before, he was in a brutal car crash on the island of Lanzarote. In the accident, he did not lose only his sight, he also lost Lena, the love of his life.

This man uses two names: Harry Caine, a playful pseudonym with which he signs his literary works, stories and scripts, and Mateo Blanco, his real name, with which he lives and signs the film he directs. After the accident, Mateo Blanco reduces himself to his pseudonym, Harry Caine. If he cannot direct films he can only survive with the idea that Mateo Blanco died on Lanzarote with his beloved Lena.

Antichrist: A grieving couple retreat to ’Eden’, their isolated cabin in the woods, where they hope to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse...

1. À L’origine (In the Beginning), directed by Xavier Giannoli, France
2. Antichrist, directed by Lars Von Trier, Italy
3. Bak-Jwi (Thirst), directed by Park Chan-Wook, South Korea
4. Bright Star, directed by Jane Campion, Australia
5. Chun Feng Chen Zui De Ye Wan (Spring Fever), directed by Lou Ye, France
6. Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon), directed by Michael Haneke, Italy
7. Enter the Void, directed by Gaspar Noé, Italy
8. Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold, United Kingdom
9. Inglourious Basterds (Inglourious Basterds), directed by Quentin Tarantino, United States of America
10. Kinatay, directed by Brillante Mendoza, France
11. Les Herbes Folles (Wild Grass), directed by Alain Resnais, France
12. Looking For Eric, directed by Ken Loach, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium and Spain
13. Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces), directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Spain
14. Map Of The Sounds Of Tokyo, directed by Isabel Coixet, Spain
15. Taking Woodstock, directed by Ang Lee, United States of America
16. The Time That Remains, directed by Elia Suleiman, France, Belgium, Italy and United Kingdom
17. Un Prophète (A Prophet), directed by Jacques Audiard, France
18. Vengeance, directed by Johnnie To, Hong Kong
19. Vincere, directed by Marco Bellocchio, Italy
20. Visage (Face), directed by Tsai Ming-Liang, Taiwan, France, Belgium and Netherlands

Source: http://www.newagebd.com

Drama Critics’ Winners and Astaire Nominees

By DAVE ITZKOFF / May 6, 2009

Overshadowed by the Tony Award nominations on Tuesday morning were the 2009 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, which were announced late on Monday night and went to “Ruined” (best play), “Billy Elliot: The Musical” (best musical), and “Black Watch” (best foreign play). ... Also on Monday, nominations were announced for the Astaire Awards, which honor dance onstage and in film. The nominees for Broadway choreography are Andy Blankenbuehler (“9 to 5: The Musical”), Karole Armitage (“Hair”), Peter Darling (“Billy Elliot”), Sergio Trujillo (“Guys and Dolls”) and Graciela Daniele (“Pal Joey”). Nominees for film choreography include Anthony Van Laast (“Mamma Mia!”), Longines Fernandes (“Slumdog Millionaire”) and Kenny Ortega (“High School Musical 3: Senior Year”). Allison Janney, above in “9 to 5,” was a nominee for best leading actress in a musical.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com

Slumdog' child star up for MTV's special award

Agencies / May 05, 2009

'Slumdog Millionaire' star Dev Patel is not the only cast member of the Oscar winning film who is up for an award at the upcoming MTV Movie Awards. 

Child star Ayush Khedekar who plays the young Jamal, has been nominated in a special category of the most shocking cinematic moments. Khedekar's 'Jumping in the Poop Shed' scene has been nominated for the Golden Popcorn, reported 'E!Online'. 

Other nominees in the same criteria are Angelina Jolie, Ben Stiller and Amy Poehler. The winner will be decided through public voting taking place on MTV's website. The award ceremony will be held at Universal City, California on May 31.

Source: http://www.screenindia.com

MTV’s 2009 Movie Award Nominations Are Packed With Comic Book Nods — Vote Now!

By Splash Page Team / May 4, 2009

Voting is officially open for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, and you’ve never had more opportunities to let your votes do the talking when it comes to comic book movies.

Last year’s wealth of films based on comic book properties is indeed reflected in this year’s list of MTV Movie Award nominees, with 11 nominations spread over 7 categories — from the grand “Best Movie” all the way to the most head-scratching “Best WTF Moment.”

You can log in and cast your votes for all of the categories before Wednesday, May 27, but voting for “Best Movie” will remain open right up until the big show on Sunday, May 31. Read on for a roundup of the categories and nominees comic book fans should pay extra attention to this year.

BEST MOVIE: “The Dark Knight” takes on “Iron Man” in this category — but the real question is whether either film will be able to compete with “Twilight” in the MTV audience. Come on, comic book crew, give ‘em heck!

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE: Angelina Jolie’s role as the super-sexy Fox in “Wanted” nabbed her a nomination for best female performance. Are you going to be the one to deny Fox a vote (or anything else, for that matter)? I didn’t think so.

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE: It’s Batman vs. Iron Man as Christian Bale’s performance in “The Dark Knight” receives a nomination alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man,” Tony Stark. Can either of them beat Zac Efron, though?

BEST VILLAIN: Sure, the late, great Heath Ledger is likely to have his great performance as The Joker in “The Dark Knight” recognized by fans, but Luke Goss is also in the running for his “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” role.

BEST KISS: “Wanted” gets another nomination for its steamy lip-lock between Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy. But was it more memorable than the vampire-human makeout session in “Twilight”? Only you can decide!

BEST FIGHT: It’s another comic book twosome, but instead of locking lips, these comic book duets are fighting to be recognized as the best brawl of 2008. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger worked out their anger issues in “The Dark Knight,” but Ron Perlman and Luke Goss got downright supernatural in their “Hellboy II” battle. 

BEST WTF MOMENT: It’s a big ol’ spoiler, so we’ll understand if you refrain from checking this one out — but there’s a lot to be said for the “Wanted” moment that’s vying for this head-scratching award. Sure, it was a bit of a departure from the comic book story, but it was still a big part of this hit adaptation. If you’ve seen the film, go ahead and vote it up, folks.

Head over to the official MTV Movie Movie Awards page for all of the categories, as well as video nominations and information about this year’s big event.

Source: http://splashpage.mtv.com