Hugh Jackman to Host Academy Awards
With new producers, a new director, new set designer and even a new music director, the academy has been hinting for months at an all-new look and feel for this year’s Oscars telecast on Feb. 22.
Hugh Jackman was announced as the host of the 81st Academy Awards, a brand new direction from the tradition of picking U.S. comedians on Hollywood’s most prestigious night.
Jackman has award-winning hosting experience, He won an Emmy in 2005 for hosting the 58th annual Tony Awards in 2004, when he also took a best-actor Tony for his performance in the musical “The Boy From Oz.”, Last month People magazine named Jackman as 2008’s “sexiest man alive”.
“We hope it shows in some way the new direction the show hopes to take,” said Larry Mark, a co-producer of the Academy Awards telecast.
“We think the Oscars should be a party, a celebration of the year in movies. Someone like Hugh, a consummate entertainer, is the perfect host.” Mark added.
In recent years, show organizers have experimented with a variety of hosting styles ranging from political satirist Jon Stewart, to edgy Chris Rock and popular Ellen DeGeneres.
Jackman, who can sing and dance, was “genuinely thrilled” at the offer, Mark said, but “he wanted to make sure the format would mesh with his skills.”
The 40-year-old actor plays a roughhewn cattle driver opposite Nicole Kidman’s English aristocrat in the new Baz Luhrmann romantic adventure “Australia.” Jackman was abroad promoting the film Friday when his Oscar role was announced.
The February 2008 three-hour plus broadcast,hit a low 32 million U.S. viewers and entered the record books as the least-watched Oscars ever.
Still, even an audience of that size makes the telecast annually one of the most-watched U.S. TV shows. The broadcast also is televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.
The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White in Sony’s Rockumentary
The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White will be jamming for a rockumentary from Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim.
Sony Pictures Classics will present the guitar heroes from U2, Led Zeppelin and the White Stripes cranking their instruments up to 11 in “It Might Get Loud”,the documentry looks at the history of the guitar through the eyes of the three musicians profiled.
Each of these three picked for their contributions to guitar playing in three separate eras - Page in the ’70s, The Edge in the ’80s and ’90s, and White in the early years of the 21st century.
The movie was shot in London, Dublin, Nashville and Los Angeles.
Louis Vuitton Patented Diamond Cuts
Louis Vuitton is the latest to create and patent distinctively shaped diamonds. You can now buy a bracelet, earrings or a necklace made with diamonds that mirror the Louis Vuitton shapes you see on bags, scarves and other LV items.
“We wanted to produce diamonds that resemble the Louis Vuitton brand,” says Albert Bensoussan, watch and fine jewelry director at Louis Vuitton Malletier.
While mainstream diamonds feature only 58 facets to be classified as a brilliant-cut diamond, the Louis Vuitton diamonds have between 61 and 77 facets.
“You have it today with ready-to-wear,with handbags, with watches, with eyeglasses. You can recognize a brand, and that association is very appealing to us. You’re going to recognize the name and value behind the shape of these diamonds.” Bensoussan added.
LV diamonds have been set into a necklace consisting of 1,001 tiny brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 15 carats, coexisting with 65 round flower diamonds (49 carats) and 79 pointed ones (44 carats), for a combined bling bang of 108 carats that retails for about $4 million. Vuitton has dubbed the collection Les Ardentes, which translates roughly as “the blazing.”
The two newly launched and patented, rounded flower and point flower are cut at Lili Diamonds in Tel Aviv by three master cutters.
Aretha Franklin Named Greatest Singer Of Rock Era
Aretha Franklin has been named the greatest singer of the rock era in a new Rolling Stone poll.
The Queen of Soul topped the list ahead of Ray Charles at No. 2, Elvis Presley at No. 3, Sam Cooke at No. 4 and John Lennon at No. 5.
The top 100 list will be published on magazine’s December issue.The listed was selected by 179 musicians, producers and experts,including Keith Richards of Rolling Stones, James Hetfield of Metallica, David Crosby, Yusuf Islam,Iggy Pop and Mary J. Blige. Voters submitted their top 20 choices, and an accounting firm tabulated the results.
Besides 66 years old Franklin, the only other living people in the top 10 were Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder.
The top 10 is as follows:
1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown
What ’s your idea about this list?
Spider-Man 4 Gets Pulitzer Playwright
Sony is in final talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire to write Spider-Man 4.The studio is known for getting interesting choices to pen the Spider-Man films. Penning the second and third films was dramatic writer Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People). Another Pulitzer writer, Michael Chabon (Wonder Boys), did some work on Spider-Man 2.
Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire are confirmed for the film with Maguire’s co-star Kirsten Dunst also expected to return.
David Lindsay-Abaire’s most recent project was Rabbit Hole, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize. He’s also adapting his Pulitzer winner for the screen, with Nicole Kidman lined up to star.
Wall-E and The Dark Knight Receiving Oscar Push
This week Disney will launch a campaign to get Wall-E nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, an award never won by an animated film.
The rules state that Academy members can vote for the same film in both the Best Picture and Best Animated Feature Film categories, making this completely viable. The only other animated film in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Picture was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in 1991.
“If we didn’t do it, I don’t think we’d be giving the movie its due,” Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said of their decision to promote Wall-E.
Also Warner Bros would be campaigning for a nomination for Heath Ledger specifically in the supporting actor category, putting to rest all the speculation and suggestions that he could contend for the Best Actor Oscar . Now all the awards pundits seem to agree that Ledger is a definite lock for a posthumous nomination.As well as various tech contributors for The Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight has the right combo of being the biggest moneymaker and one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2008, which was hardly the case with another high-grossing blockbuster Best Picture, Titanic.
Wall-E is one of the best reviewed movie of the year, with a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes While The Dark Knight scored 94% .
Bob Geldof Awarded Honorary Doctorate
Sir Bob Geldof, the driving force behind 1985 Live Aid event was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of East London.
“I actually thought you were going to be a bunch of musos, it turns out you’re geeks,”The former Boomtown Rat joked at the ceremony.
‘I have lived in London for most of my life and East London is probably the most fluid part of the Capital. There’s a constant influx of people, immigrants like myself. So it’s great to come here and see this mix of people now all amazingly well qualified!’
The ceremony was held at the Barbican Centre in central London.
The award is the third honorary degree that Bob Geldof has received.In 1986 Queen Elizabeth awarded him an honorary knighthood (Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
Organisers said the award recognises his “unique success in harnessing the power of popular music to raise funds and awareness of key global issues, and changing the lives of people worldwide”.
Al Pacino kicked off the Rome film festival
A lifetime achievement award for Academy Award-winning actor Al Pacino kicked off the third edition of the Rome film festival on Wednesday.
The 68 years old actor received a prize awarded to the Actors Studio of New York - a theater workshop of which he is co-president where he and other actors like Robert De Niro, the late Paul Newman and Marilyn Monroe learned the ropes of the business.
“I am very honored to be here at this Rome Film Festival, which to me is a really great opportunity to show the films and in this mecca of Italy which is a great home of the greatest films we have had,” he told the audience.
In his latest movie, the 68-year-old actor co-stars with Robert De Niro in “Righteous Kill,” a story about two policemen chasing a serial killer.
This year’s festival is to concentrate on European cinema, with the best film category featuring 18 European films out of the 19 in the running.Only one US film will take part in competition, Gavin O’Connor’s “Pride and Glory” starring Edward Norton.
Chanel Mobile Art Exhibit in New York
Chanel Mobile Art, which showcases Chanel-handbag-inspired by a single common theme: Chanel’s iconic quilted 2.55 bag, opens to the public. The structure designed by Zaha Hadid takes three weeks to assemble in New York ,which has been assembled in Hong Kong and Tokyo, and will go on to London, Moscow, and Paris.
Twenty contemporary artists were invited to submit original work inspired by Chanel. (Yoko Ono, Subodh Gupta, Stephen Shore,Sophie Calle, Daniel Buren among them)
“The idea was to cross their creative universe with the cult of Chanel and of the Chanel bags,” says Bruno Pavlosky, Chanel fashion president. The link between contemporary artists and Chanel is long-standing, according to Mr. Pavlosky. Coco Chanel was a patron of artists, a tradition that Chanel has maintained by featuring art in its boutiques. “Creativity is the fuel, it’s the engine of our brand,” Mr. Pavlosky says.
Chanel is paying a $400,000 fee to rent space in the park to the Central Park Conservancy.
“It’s a really important thing, particularly now, when the economy needs some help, to do things that attract interest,” says Adrian Benepe, New York City Parks Commissioner. “Even this exhibition itself is creating a lot of temporary jobs for local labor.”
Mobile Art remains open until November 9th, Admission to the exhibit is free.
Winners of ‘Scream 2008′ Announced
At the “Scream 2008″ awards event in Los Angeles, the big winner was “The Dark Knight,” the 2008 Batman movie that captured 12 awards, including The night’s most prestigious award,Ultimate Scream and acting awards for lead actors Christian Bale and Gary Oldman.
“Knight” co-star Heath Ledger, who died in January of an accidental drug overdose, was named Best Fantasy Actor and Best Villain for his chilling portrayal of the Batman villain, the Joker.
Tim Burton arrives at the Awrds in a hot-air balloon, a la the Wizard of Oz. He received the SCREAM IMMORTAL Award for his remarkably unique interpretation of horror and fantasy.
George Lucas shocked the audience when he walked out on stage to accept the Comic-Con Icon Award.Sir Anthony Hopkins received the Legend Award for his tremendous contributions to films in the SCREAM genres while Wes Craven collected the SCREAM Mastermind Award for his terrifying and iconic work in the world of horror.
The winners for the Scream Awards are determined by fans who vote at the network’s website; nominations are influenced by an advisory board that includes author Stephen King, filmmaker Kevin Smith and graphic novel writer Neil Gaiman.
“SCREAM 2008″ will be premiered on Spike TV on Tuesday, October 21.The event also presents the musical performances by The Smashing Pumpkins and Kerli.
The full list of winners is:
* The Ultimate Scream Movie: “The Dark Knight”
* Best Fantasy Movie: “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
* Best Horror Movie: “Sweeney Todd”
* Best Science Fiction Movie: “Iron Man”
* Best Sequel: “The Dark Knight”
* Best Remake: “Halloween”
* Best Comic Book Movie: “The Dark Knight”
* Best Scream to Comic Adaptation: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, Season Eight
* Best Superhero: Christian Bale as Batman in “The Dark Knight”
* Best Villain: Heath Ledger as The Joker in “The Dark Knight”
* Best Actor in a Fantasy Movie or TV Show: Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
* Best Actor in a Horror Movie or TV Show: Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd”
* Best Actor in a Science Fiction Movie or TV Show: Robert Downey Jr. in “Iron Man”
* Best Actress in a Fantasy Movie or TV Show: Angelina Jolie in “Wanted (2008)”
* Best Actress in a Horror Movie or TV Show: Liv Tyler in “The Strangers”
* Best Actress in a Science Fiction Movie or TV Show: Milla Jovovich in “Resident Evil: Extinction”
* Breakout Performance: WALL-E in “Wall-E”
* Best Supporting Performance: Gary Oldman in “The Dark Knight”
* The Holy Shit! Scene of the Year: The Big Rig Flips Over in “The Dark Knight”
* Most Memorable Mutilation: Bitten by Vagina with Teeth in “Teeth”
* Best Director: Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight”
* Best Screamplay: “The Dark Knight” by Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer
* Best F/X: “The Dark Knight”
* Best Line: “I believe whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stranger” by The Joker in “The Dark Knight”
* Best TV Show: “Dexter”
* Best Comic Book: “Y: The Last Man”
* Best Comic Book Artist: Gabriel Ba, “The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite”
* Best Comic Book Writer: Grant Morrison, “Batman, Final Crisis”
* Most Shocking Comic Book Twist: The X-Men Disband After Professor X is Shot in the Head by Bishop