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.

UK Record for James Bond

James Bond has broken box office records to take £4.9 million (which is about $8 million) in ticket sales on its opening day.

Quantum of Solace beat the previous record for a Friday opening held by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which took £4.025 million ($6.5 million) and also smashes the 2.9 million pounds ($4.7 million) first-day total for last bond movie’s first day sales totals.

Hundreds gathered in London’s Leicester Square for the premiere on Thursday.

Some had waited all day, also hoping to spot Princes William and Harry at their first Royal premiere.

In this latest Bond film, Bond, played by Daniel Craig, travels across two continents to thwart the efforts of an eco-terrorist, and seeks to know why his love interest from Casino Royale betrayed him.

Friday’s British opening of Quantum of Solace in 542 theatres will be followed by a November 14 debut of the film in the United States and Canada.

Casino Royale was a huge box office success, bringing in $594 million worldwide.

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% .

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.

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

Wall Street Sequel: “Money Never Sleeps”

As bankers dominate headlines around the world, 20th Century Fox are fast-tracking the production of a sequel to Wall Street, the 1987 paean to brash capitalism.

The sequel, Money Never Sleeps, is currently in pre-production and Michael Douglas is said to be interested in appearing in the follow-up, but won’t decide whether to do so until he has seen the completed screenplay.

Edward R. Pressman, who produced the original 1987 film, will make a return to produce the film But It’s unlikely that Oliver Stone will be directing this time.

21 writer Allan Loeb is currently working on a script that will centre on Gekko’s character, who was last seen on the brink of a prison sentence after talking about illegal business transactions to a colleague wearing a police wire.

The story, which will be set during the current credit crisis, will see Gordon Gekko released from prison into a Wall Street which is in meltdown.

Film Ads to Run During Oscar Telecast for the First Time

Looking to save its primary source of revenue, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has lifted its longtime ban on running commercials for movies during the Oscars.

The Oscar board voted on Tuesday to overthrow its 55-year-old rule barring movie ads during the Academy Awards.Originally adopted to avoid any impression that studio money affected the outcome of the awards, the ban now seems archaic.

“The revenue from the show fuels our programs all over the world,” Academy President Sid Ganis said. The academy generates more than $65 million a year in TV license fee revenue from Walt Disney Co.’s ABC television network and foreign channels.

“That’s a lot of dough, and it’s very important to us,” Ganis said. “Since the show is a celebration of movies, why not let upcoming movies represent themselves in a way that is intelligent and smart and not offensive to anyone?”

Under the new rules, a studio will be allowed to buy only one 30- or 60-second spot in the show. However, a media company with multiple distribution arms could buy a commercial for each label. Ads for movies that are in contention for an award would not be permitted in the show. ABC will determine where the spots are to run.

Two years ago cost of 30-second ads on the Oscarcast reached an all-time high of $1.7 million, bringing in approximately $80 million total. However, there are conflicting reports of what the price was last year. The New York Times reported $1.6 million for a 30-second ad. USA Today said $1.8 million.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2008 will be presented on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Oscar Buzz: Ann Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”

Oscar winner Jonathan Demme Once again returns to a rich subject.He trys to mix the bitter with the sweet in “Rachel Getting Married”, life-altering situations as a wedding harmony.Demme actually shows us a complete harmony is about treble and bass,the worst in human behavior, along with the finest.

Anne Hathaway, best known for movies like Brokeback Mountain, The The Devil Wears Prada and her most recent movie Get Smart, Playing a troubled young Kym who’s been in rehab for drug and alcohol abuse since she was a teenager whose sister Rachel is getting married,For actress Hathaway it’s a real career-changing performance.Her gritty performance as Kym, whose problems threaten to wreck her sister Rachel’s wedding.

“Rachel Getting Married” offers a wholly different Hathaway from her pleasant roles in the two Princess Diaries hits. Her penetrating performance could win her the Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.

‘I love Kym’s almost compulsive need for honesty,’ Hathaway says, ‘and how direct she is. Her timing may not be appropriate, but she’s trying so hard to get across the chasm of tragedy that separates her from her family. She’s trying every day to choose joy and sobriety. She’s fighting for her place in the family, trying to acknowledge and atone in her own way. At the end, maybe her sister Rachael understands her journey, and that acceptance is crucial.’

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