Ang Lee mulls directing Angelina Jolie in historical epic ‘Cleopatra’

TAIPEI – Oscar-winning director Ang Lee said Saturday he will “probably” accept an offer to direct historical epic “Cleopatra” starring Angelina Jolie, after the Hollywood actress wrote to him asking him to come on board.

Lee, whose 3D adventure “Life of Pi” has earned 11 Oscar nominations, said he would read the script before making a decision but the project was “very attractive”.

“Sony has asked me to shoot the movie and Angelina Jolie wrote to me to express her wishes to collaborate. We admire each other… the project looks very attractive,” the Taiwanese-American told reporters in Taipei.

“It’s a big-budget movie so I am carefully evaluating it … this is a rare opportunity and I will probably take it.”

Lee returned to his birth place over the weekend to celebrate after “Life of Pie” earned 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director.

The movie, based on the novel by Yann Martel about about an Indian boy cast adrift with a Bengal tiger, has become Lee’s highest-grossing film ever with more than $450 in global box office sales, according to 20th Century Fox.

About 70 percent of the movie was shot in Taiwan, including at a now-abandoned airport in the center of the country where Lee’s team built a specially designed wave-generating tank.

Asked if he plans to cast his son Mason Lee, who starred in “The Hangover Part II”, in his future projects, Lee joked that he would rather not “torture” his kin.

“He likes acting and I give him my blessings… I am tough on actors but it’s difficult to be tough on your own son and it’d be an unnecessary torture for us. I’d rather torture other people’s kids.”

The filmmaker, who is based in New York, was hailed as the “glory of Taiwan” after becoming the first Asian to win a best director Oscar for his gay cowboy drama “Brokeback Mountain” in 2007.

source: interaksyon.com

Filmmaker Tony Scott died with anti-depressant, sleep aid in system

LOS ANGELES - Filmmaker Tony Scott had an anti-depressant and sleep aid in his bloodstream when he leapt to his death from a suspension bridge in August, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said on Monday.

Preliminary autopsy results confirmed that Scott's death, which baffled investigators and much of Hollywood, was a suicide, caused by blunt force trauma and drowning.

The 68-year-old British-born director of such blockbusters as "Top Gun" and "Beverly Hills Cop II" had therapeutic levels of the anti-depressant Mirtazapine and the prescription sleep-aid Lunesta in his system, coroner's investigators found.

But the findings shed no light on a motive for Scott to commit suicide. A coroner's spokesman said a final report was still two weeks away.

Family members have dismissed early reports that Scott was suffering from inoperable brain cancer and Craig Harvey, operations chief for the coroner, has previously said that there were no obvious signs of a tumor. The preliminary autopsy report made no mention of any evidence of serious illness.

Investigators have offered no theories as to why Scott took his life, and a note he left behind did not explain the suicide.

The last person to see Scott was an onlooker parking his car on the Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbor, who saw the director leap into the water just after noon on Aug. 19. His body was recovered by law enforcement several hours later.

The bridge, the surface of which clears the harbor's navigation channel by a height of about 185 feet (56 meters), connects the port district of San Pedro at the southern tip of Los Angeles to Terminal Island in the harbor.

Scott, born in northern England and frequently seen behind the camera in his signature faded red baseball cap, is credited with directing more than two dozen movies and television shows and producing nearly 50 titles.

He built a reputation for muscular but stylish high-octane thrillers that showcased some of Hollywood's biggest stars in a body of work that dated to the 1980s and established him as one of the most successful action directors in the business.

At the time of his death, Scott was reported to be involved in developing several film projects including a sequel to his biggest hit, the 1986 fighter-jet adventure "Top Gun," which starred Tom Cruise.

The brother of Oscar-winning director Ridley Scott, he is survived by his third wife, Donna, with whom he had two children. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Stallone’s son, Sage, found dead at Hollywood home

LOS ANGELES — Aspiring actor and filmmaker Sage Stallone, the son of action movie star Sylvester Stallone, was found dead on Friday at his home in Hollywood, authorities and his attorney said.

Police and a lawyer for Sage Stallone, 36, gave conflicting accounts of how he was found, but police said there was no sign of forced entry or foul play.

The case was turned over to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, Los Angeles police spokesman Lieutenant Andy Neiman said.

Neiman said police found the younger Stallone in the home while responding to a “welfare check.” Attorney George Braunstein said he was found by a housekeeper.

“It’s a tragedy. He was a young, talented extremely good filmmaker and a lovely person,” Braunstein said.

“We don’t know any of the details but it must have been some sort of tragic accident. He was full of life and working on projects,” Braunstein said. “He wasn’t at all depressed or anything like that.”

Braunstein said he believed that Sylvester Stallone was returning to Los Angeles from the Comic Con pop culture convention in San Diego.

As an actor, Sage appeared in two of his father’s films, “Rocky V” and “Daylight”.

source: interaksyon.com

Pinay filmmaker Lea Dizon set to produce her first film in Hollywood

Just two months after finishing her masteral degree at the University of South California (USC) in the United States last year, independent Filipina filmmaker Lea Dizon received an offer to produce her first feature film in Hollywood.

Dizon, 32, a graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City, took up a masteral course on film and television production at the USC.

Dizon told GMA News Online that two USC alumni — Matthew Breault and Alex George Pickering of the Fifth Floor Balcony Pictures — broached to her the idea of producing a science fiction film.

“I met both of them while taking my Masters at USC. We were all in the same class. I have worked with Matt before and I think he is a talented director. When he pitched me the idea which he co-wrote with Alex, I thought it was fantastic,” she said.

“It was just a no-brainer to decide to work with two of the most talented and most hardworking people in my class,” she added.

The movie “Impulse Control,” to be filmed in late 2012, is set in a world where a new disease greatly reduces the ability of humans to control their anger, a report of the Asian Journal said.

The movie will revolve around the life of a family who made their home a fortress as they try to survive the onslaught of people from the “outside world” who are affected by the strange disease. The family is torn-apart as members start getting infected by the disease.

The team expects the movie to be ready by December 2013.

“We are certainly planning to get it distributed everywhere. Of course the Philippines is on top of my list!” Dizon said.

“I thought it was a great idea! If you accidentally give someone the stink eye, you might just get killed. Isn’t that just so interesting?” she asked.

She said her favorite character in “Impulse Control” is Rain, the wife of one of the main protagonists and one of the millions who were afflicted by the disease.

“As a woman I relate to her. She is the type of character who has to balance vulnerability while still having to be strong in pulling everyone together,” Dizon explained.

“We always have to know when to be strong and when to reign it in and let go and have others be strong for us--that in itself is a strength,” she added.

Life after "Impulse"

Dizon said, after “Impulse Control,” her “goal is to always have projects that are in the works."

“Ideally at any given time, I'd have one that's finishing , one that's in production, and one that is being developed, and so that is what I'm trying to constantly do,” she said.

Dizon was originally from Angeles City and after graduating from UP Diliman, went on to work in the Philippines for a couple of years.

She then decided to chase her dream of working in Hollywood and moved to Los Angeles.

“I kept thinking how wonderful it would be to be able to tell stories that have the potential to reach as many people in the world as possible,” she says.

She found living in the US challenging and missed some things in the Philippines.

”Mabilis ang buhay sa Amerika. Walang time for drama, you just have to keep going and moving forward kundi maiiwan ka sa biyahe,” Dizon said.

”I miss the food and my family of course, and to be honest I miss having someone taking care of the house for me. Here, life gets so hectic that most of the time there's hardly time to see people,” she added.

She is thankful for her family and friends who have believed and supported all her projects all these years and would like to invite everyone to watch “Impulse Control”.

“To everyone reading this, please support our film! We definitely need more Filipino representation in the international scene. Let's do this. All together we can make this happen! To infinity and beyond!!!” - VVP, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com