February 8th, 2010

Simon Cowell’s TV company amassed more than 21 million pounds last year, thanks to reality shows ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

Seemingly, the ‘American Idol’ judge’s Simco Ltd firm grossed nearly 50,000 pounds a day during the season.

Official figures showed it made 21.1 million pounds profit in the 15 months to March last year, a rise of 65 percent on the 2008 figure, reports the Daily Star.

Simco was formed in 2002, before being sold to record label Sony BMG for 43million pounds in 2005.

It made 6 million pounds alone in UK.

Source
Simon Cowell’s company made more than £21.1m in 2009

”Twilight” co-stars Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz got caught in an awkward moment, when they tried to grab actress Hilary Swank’s attention during an Audi bash at the W South Beach.

First, Lautner asked to be introduced to the ‘Amelia’ star, but she didn’t seem to recognize him.

Later, a photographer pulled over Lutz to join the duo.

“Taylor looked really annoyed and pulled away from the shot immediately, without a word to Kellan. It was incredibly awkward,” the New York Daily News quoted a source as saying.

Source
When ”Twilight” co-stars vied for Hilary Swank’s attention

British actress Carey Mulligan is said to be desperate to meet Sir Paul McCartney, reason being that his midwife mum delivered her dad.

Mulligan’s dad Stephen, who is from Liverpool, was born at the city’s Walton Hospital, where the former Beatle’s mum Mary worked for ten years.

“I saw Sir Paul at the Golden Globes and that made me go, Oh My God! because my dad was delivered by his mum,” the Daily Star quoted her as saying.

“I just wanted to go and tell him that,” she added.

McCartney had been 14 when his mom passed away in 1956, and he reportedly wrote ‘Let It Be’ after his mum appeared to him in a dream.

Oscar-nominated Mulligan, 24, is up against Meryl Streep and Sandra Bullock for Best Actress Award for her role as a precocious teen in ‘An Education’.

Source
Carey Mulligan desperate to meet Macca

LONDON: Hollywood stars Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Keira Knightley and Gillian Anderson were nominated on Monday for Laurence Olivier Awards, British theatre’s top accolades.

Anderson and Weisz are contesting the best actress category for their turns in A Doll’s House and A Streetcar Named Desire respectively, and are up against Imelda Staunton (Entertaining Mr Sloane), Juliet Stevenson (Duet For One) and Lorraine Burroughs (The Mountaintop).

Knightley was nominated for a best supporting actress award for The Misanthrope, her West End debut.

In the best actor category, Law is shortlisted for his portrayal of the title role of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, while James McAvoy, also best known for his films, is nominated for Three Days of Rain.

With six nominations apiece are Lucy Prebble’s Enron about the collapsed U.S. energy trading company, and Jerusalem, Jez Butterworth’s portrayal of less-than-idyllic life in rural England.

The Royal Court Theatre garnered the most nominations with 15, followed by the Donmar with 10 and the National Theatre with nine.

London’s West End enjoyed a bumper 2009, with attendances rising 5.5 percent to 14.3 million and revenues 7.6 percent higher than 2008 at 505 million pounds ($790 million).

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Olivier theatre awards by Hollywood was first posted on February 8, 2010 at 9:48 pm.

Hollywood actor Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett have taken legal action against a former business partner in a bid to avoid a cash plea.

The Smiths claim the man who financed a movie Jada wrote and starred in is threatening to sue them over what he claims was a “guaranteed” return for his investment – and they”re not to blame for the failure of the film, called Human Contract.

However, the film, which went straight to DVD, made no money.

According to TMZ.com, The Smiths insist they never promised to pay back investors, reports the Daily Star.

They want a judge to declare they”re not liable for the investor’’s lost cash.

Source
Will Smith, Jada Pinkett sue former business partner

MUMBAI : Deepika-Shahid Madly in Love, Just when you thought that Shahid Kapoor has been linked to every single dame in B-town, the stunner is said to be dating the sultry Deepika Padukone.

Jilted in love, the twosome are said to be the new ‘IT’ couple of Bollywood, trying to get over their heartbreak as they look for comfort in each other. Believe it or not, but sources state that the gorgeous duo is taking forward their affair slow yet steady.

From going pub-hopping to visiting each other’s pad, the two are said to be nearly inseparable. And sources state that when the two are not partying together, they can be found at each other’s home. “Shahid’s car was parked outside Deepika’s Bandra residence a few days ago,” says a source.

Talking about their relationship, a source told a Indian daily, “Shahid and Deepika – both are quite headstrong and have moved on from their failed relationships. They are only concentrating on their career at the moment. They want to have a strong foothold in the industry and think alike, which is the main reason why they have clicked together.”

And it’s not like our filmmakers are ignoring this new affair. Buzz has it that the two are so much in love that they are now approached to star together in a film. Talking about the film, the source stated, “One of Shahid’s close friend is trying to work on the project. Deepika and Shahid are vaguely aware of the project and are definitely keen on working together since both of them are in-demand.

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Deepika-Shahid Madly in Love was first posted on February 8, 2010 at 6:53 pm.

Venice Carnival kicked Off, Hundreds of thousands of people crowded the canals, bridges and squares of Venice to watch the opening ceremony for the Venice carnival.
The 2010 carnival is this year based around the theme of Sensation, 6 senses for 6 districts and is an attraction for tourists and locals alike who stroll around the Venetian streets wearing masks and extravagant costumes. Despite the financial crisis, the feast of Carnival seems to survive as people save money by wearing home-made masks. The carnival was first celebrated more than 1,000 years ago as a pagan ritual but was soon turned into a lavish celebration before the Christian period of Lent. To mark the official opening of the carnival an angel, this year Bianca Brandolini d’Adda member of the prestigious Agnelli family, swooped down from the 99-metre high bell-tower in St. Mark’s square. The carnival would continue for ten days.

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Venice Carnival kicked Off was first posted on February 8, 2010 at 4:28 pm.

MUMBAI: My Name is Khan Movie Review, The countdown has begun. There are just four days left for the release of Bollywood’s most-hyped flick, filmmaker Karan Johar’s My Name Is Khan,and the uproar is deafening.

The factions trying to put a spoke in the wheel of MNIK will be clearly outnumbered by a community called SRK junkies who are parched for a full-fledged Shah Rukh Khan flick. MNIK, coming as it is after SRK’s Om Shanti Om (2007) — if you don’t count Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and Billu (2009) — is being touted by trade experts as a blockbuster even before it opens.

Says Komal Nahata, “From what I know about this film, its script is bound to resonate with a global audience. Without giving away anything from the story, I can tell you that it is the first time that mainstream cinema has addressed the Hindu-Muslim issue in such a sensitive way. And yet, the film has entertainment at its core. It is a fabulous script… and I just get the feeling that the recent controversies that have surrounded it will help rather than hamper its box-office appeal.”

Vikas Mohan says, “How big a hit MNIK will be, can only be talked about after one has seen the film. But, with my eyes closed, I can say it will get a historic opening especially with a multiplex audience. The Karan-SRK-Kajol combination is lethal and it has so far worked.” Vikas also feels that the recent political controversy has raised the film’s prospects at the ticket windows.

Taran Adarsh says, “In my opinion MNIK will be to 2010 what 3 Idiots was to 2009. It will infuse oxygen into Bollywood’s veins. The craze for the film worldwide is far beyond what we can imagine. Shah Rukh and Kajol are a screen pair that is adored by millions. When they combine with Karan, it becomes an invaluable combination.”

According to Taran, what is also going to work for the film is the fact that Red Chillies and Dharma Productions have tied up with Fox Star (India) who will release the film in two phases.

The first phase will come on February 12, 2010 in the countries where mainstream Bollywood cinema has a definite market and then there will be a deferred release leading up to almost June 2010, where newer markets for Bollywood are being tapped. “It is a brilliant release strategy,” says Taran.

Theatre owners across the globe are absolutely in sync with the trade pundits and Bollywood insiders say that the excitement leading up to the movie is a ‘never-before-phenomena’.

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My Name is Khan Movie Review was first posted on February 8, 2010 at 4:03 pm.

MUMBAI: Kareena & Saif On Valentine Break, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan have their Valentine’s Day planned. Bebo will first fly to Paris to shoot a commercial, and then she will proceed to an European destination to be joined by the Junior Nawab of Pataudi.

You guessed right. These two will spend their Valentine’s Day far from the madding crowds of Mumbai, and then fly back in time to do some serious work. Bebo has tied up her projects for the year, but Saif is still refusing scripts. In fact, he is said to have shot down portions of the Agent Vinod script again, and there’s some serious reworking happening on his spy saga.

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Kareena & Saif On Valentine Break was first posted on February 8, 2010 at 2:30 pm.

BERLIN : Asian vets to Take on Hollywood Greats at Berlin Film Fest, Asian movies will take pride of place this week at the 60th Berlin Film Festival, one of world cinema’s top showcases, as new pictures by Roman Polanski and Martin Scorsese make their red-carpet premieres.

Hollywood stars will rub shoulders with Asian legends in the snowy German capital for the anniversary edition of the 11-day Berlinale, which will kick off Thursday with “Apart Together” by Wang Quan’an of China.

German director Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”) will lead a seven-member jury including Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger, which will choose among 20 nominees for the coveted Golden and Silver Bear top prizes on February 20.

“Apart Together” is a period drama about a soldier forced to flee Mao’s forces for Taiwan in 1949 who reunites decades later with the love of his life.

Japanese master Yoji Yamada, the maker of more than 80 films in his four-decade-long career, will bring down the curtain on the event with an out-of-competition screening of his latest picture, “About Her Brother”.

“Nearly half the main showcase films are family films, although most of those families are fairly dysfunctional,” Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick quipped.

Chinese veteran Zhang Yimou (“Hero”) will present “A Woman, A Gun and A Noodle Shop” while Koji Wakamatsu of Japan will unveil “Caterpillar”. And Bollywood heart-throb Shah Rukh Khan is due in town with “My Name is Khan”.

The 67-year-old Scorsese’s thriller “Shutter Island” starring Leonardo DiCaprio will get its world premiere in Berlin but screen out of competition.

Meanwhile all eyes will be on Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer”, which he completed while under house arrest at his Swiss chalet awaiting possible extradition on US charges dating from the 1970s over his admission of having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.

The movie is based on the bestseller “The Ghost” and sees Ewan McGregor discovering skeletons in the closet of a former British prime minister modelled on Tony Blair (Pierce Brosnan).

While the French-Polish director, 76, will be absent, his stars are expected at the gala premiere in the 1,600-seat Berlinale Palast theatre.

German director Oskar Roehler has generated pre-festival buzz for “Jew Suss” about the making of the notorious Nazi-era anti-Semitic film of the same name.

“In it, you can see the kind of moral conflicts in which artists, in this case actors, can find themselves,” Kosslick said.

Provocative British director Michael Winterbottom, a favourite on the festival circuit, will screen “The Killer Inside Me” with Jessica Alba, Casey Affleck and Kate Hudson in the story of a Texas sheriff’s dark secret.

And reclusive British graffiti artist Banksy, who has kept his identity a mystery, is due to make a low-profile visit for a documentary about his work, “Exit Through the Gift Shop”.

Also keenly awaited is a screening for the masses at the Brandenburg Gate of a restored version of the 1927 groundbreaking German classic “Metropolis” — complete with lost footage unearthed in Argentina two years ago.

The Berlinale, which ranks second only to Cannes among European film festivals, has a history of opening doors for smaller pictures.

Last year’s laureate, “The Milk of Sorrow” by Peru’s Claudia Llosa, is now nominated for the best foreign-language film Oscar and has had a respectable run in international art-house theatres.

“You have to compliment the Berlinale for discovering at an early stage what is cutting-edge in cinema and for having a sense what will move audiences,” Jan Schulz-Ojala, chief critic of Berlin’s daily Der Tagesspiegel.

But he was concerned that in an anniversary year, the biggest names were directors in their twilight years such as Scorsese, Polanski and Yamada.

“It worries me to see that because I think it may then be harder to draw the best mid-career directors, who may just go to Cannes in the future,” he said.

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Asian vets to Take on Hollywood Greats at Berlin Film Fest was first posted on February 8, 2010 at 1:36 pm.