Hollywood’s indie film pool prepares for the Amazon plunge

LOS ANGELES | When Amazon Inc announced on Monday its move into the movie business, the Internet retailer sent a ripple through Hollywood’s pool of independent film.

It’s a pool where the major studios don’t swim much any more and where projects get stuck for years for lack of financing. But from its waters also spring many acclaimed films, best picture Oscar nominees like “Selma” and “Whiplash” and quite a few commercial successes.

With plans to produce 12 films per year with budgets ranging from $5 million to $25 million, for theatrical release and streaming on Amazon Prime video 4-8 weeks later, a digital company is creating a new art-house studio and getting films into consumers’ hands and living rooms faster.

“It’s a great business,” said Mark Gordon, the veteran Hollywood television and film producer behind movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and the new Steve Jobs biopic.

“By financing a movie they feel good about and knowing where their second window is going to be, there is a huge opportunity for them and the rest of the creative community.”

Amazon’s announcement came as a surprise, but the Seattle-based company had already built up its credibility among Hollywood’s creative types, most notably with its television series “Transparent,” which won two Golden Globes last week, its first major awards since starting Amazon Studios in 2010.

“They have clearly been able to do it on the episodic side, I see no reason why they can’t do it on the feature film side,” said Franklin Leonard, founder of the Black List, a site where unproduced screenplays are shared with filmmakers and producers.

“The real challenge will be getting filmmakers in the door who want to make films for Amazon and giving those filmmakers the freedom to make the films that become ’12 Years a Slave’ or ‘Birdman’,” he said.

Amazon has already drawn Woody Allen to make a new TV series, his first foray onto the small screen.

WINK TO STRUGGLING FILMMAKERS

Most of Hollywood’s big studios largely abandoned the dramatic film business to concentrate on action adventure blockbusters and sequels, where there is less risk among a built-in fan base and more likely financial reward.

News of a new, deep-pocketed buyer in the independent sphere would always be welcome, but Amazon’s decision to hire a big name in the independent film world to head up Amazon Original Movies drew special praise.

“It’s exciting, especially because it’s led by Ted Hope, who has a pretty sterling track record in terms of filmmaking and projects that he’s been involved with,” said Ned Benson, who made his directorial debut with “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,” released last year.

Hope was the producer behind films like “Eat Drink Man Woman” and “American Splendor.” The latter won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Hope will be at Sundance looking at films when it opens later this week, Amazon said.

Director Wash Westmoreland, who made the drama “Still Alice,” starring Julianne Moore, for $4 million last year, said filmmakers like him could get a lift from the likes of Amazon.

“Right now, in independent film, everything is crushed down to budgets below $5 million, so you end shooting in 20 days,” he said. “In the next tier, there is such an expansion with the potential of projects that filmmakers are very eager for.”

In announcing the move Monday, Amazon Studios vice president Roy Price said: “We hope this program will also benefit filmmakers, who too often struggle to mount fresh and daring stories that deserve an audience.”

Production will start later this year.

With the news still fresh, it was hard to find skepticism in Hollywood for Amazon’s grand plans. Even its biggest competitor in the digital original content race, Netflix Inc., threw a rose its way.

“In terms of changing movie distribution, we are really allied in our view that consumers are tired of waiting so long,” Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings told Reuters.

“It may turn out that their entry is quite helpful to help both of us grow in that area.”

source: interaksyon.com

FBI probing Sony hack, as data leaks emerge

WASHINGTON — The FBI said Tuesday it was investigating a cyberattack on Sony Pictures, amid reports that employee information as well as new films were being leaked online.

“The FBI is working with our interagency partners to investigate the recently reported cyber intrusion at Sony Pictures Entertainment,” a spokesman for the US federal law enforcement agency said in a statement.

“The targeting of public and private sector computer networks remains a significant threat, and the FBI will continue to identify, pursue, and defeat individuals and groups who pose a threat in cyberspace.”

Various reports meanwhile said the hackers appeared to have posted online both confidential employee data and films not yet released in theaters.

The security blogger and researcher Brian Krebs said he discovered on websites devoted to illicit trading a “global Sony employee list,” that included names, locations, salaries and dates of birth for more than 6,800 individuals.

“Another file being traded online appears to be a status report from April 2014 listing the names, dates of birth, SSNs (social security numbers) and health savings account data on more than 700 Sony employees,” Krebs wrote.

The Washington Post reported meanwhile that the FBI was warning companies in a confidential memo about the malicious software used in the Sony hack.

An FBI spokesman said only that “we provided a routine notification to private industry,” but declined to elaborate.

The spokesman added that the FBI “routinely advises private industry of various cyber threat indicators” to help protect computer networks.

According to the Post, the hackers used malware similar to that used to launch destructive attacks on businesses in South Korea and the Middle East, including one against oil producer Saudi Aramco.

Some reports in the past few days said Sony is looking into whether North Korea may have been behind the major cyberattack on the studio last week, possibly because of a upcoming comedy film about a CIA plot to assassinate its leader Kim Jong-Un.

“The Interview,” which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as two journalists recruited by the CIA to bump off Kim, has infuriated the North Koreans, with state media warning of “merciless retaliation.”

The entertainment news site Variety has reported that unreleased Sony movies including the upcoming “Annie” have been made available on pirate file-sharing websites.

The war film “Fury” “Mr. Turner,” “Still Alice” and “To Write Love on Her Arms” were also made available.

Sony did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

source: interaksyon.com

Turkey’s harrowing ‘Winter Sleep’ takes top prize at Cannes

Turkish film “Winter Sleep” examining the huge divide between rich and poor and the powerful and powerless in Turkey won the Palme d’Or award for best film for director Nuri Bilge Ceylan on Saturday at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival.

Ceylan’s three-hour-plus dark and atmospheric film was only the second Turkish movie to win the top award at the world’s most prestigious film festival, and the director noted that it came on the 100th anniversary year of Turkish cinema.

He dedicated the honor to “those who lost their lives during the last year”, adding that he was referring to the youth of his country and to unrest in Turkey.

“These young people actually taught us a lot of things. Some of them sacrificed their lives in a way for us,” Ceylan said later at a news conference.

“Le Meraviglie” (The Wonders) by Italian director Alice Rohrwacher took the second-place prize for a coming-of-age story set in the Tuscan countryside as a family tries to eke out a bohemian life making honey.

Twenty-five-year-old Canadian director Xavier Dolan’s film “Mommy” shared the third-place prize with octogenarian French director Jean-Luc Godard’s “Adieu au Langage” (Goodbye to Language) that uses 3D imagery to stunning effect.

An emotional Dolan said he thought the jury may have twinned him with Godard, an inventor of “New Wave” film, “because of our respective searches for freedom in cinema”.

American director Bennett Miller won the best director award for “Foxcatcher”, British actor Timothy Spall won best actor for Mike Leigh’s film “Mr Turner” and Julianne Moore was named best actress in David Cronenberg’s “Maps to the Stars”.

Spall, best known to cinema audiences as Peter Pettigrew in the “Harry Potter” films, said he felt proud to win the award.

“I’m like a bewildered 16-year-old girl, or boy,” he said. “I’m so astounded by this award, it’s amazing.”

“Leviathan” by Russia’s Andrei Zvyagintsev took the prize for best screenplay.

“It was an extremely diverse ensemble — films that were classical, films that were radical, films that were about the future of cinema,” jury member and Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn said after the awards were announced.

Hollywood Reporter critic Stuart Kemp told Reuters there were “no surprises with the awards going to predictable places”.

Critics had applauded “Winter Sleep” as one of the standout films in a festival that was somewhat short on fireworks, with the French newspaper Le Monde calling it “magnificent”.

Variety critic Justin Chang called it a “sprawling, character-rich portrait of a self-absorbed Anatolian hotelier and his uneasy relationships with those around him”.

The only other Turkish film to win the Palme was Yilmaz Guney and Serif Goren’s “The Way” (1982).

Jury head Jane Campion said she had been daunted by the running length of three hours and 16 minutes but said “it had such a beautiful rhythm … I could have stayed there a couple more hours”.

“The real gift of this film is how honest it is,” she said.

Campion, the only woman to have won the Palme d’Or, said it had not mattered to her or the jury whether a man or woman won.

“It never entered our discussions the gender of the filmmaker that won,” Campion said. “These films were on equal basis with each other. We didn’t go, ‘Oh my God, was this made by a woman or a man?’ We were moved and responded to the film.”

ALMOST CLAUSTROPHOBIC

Despite its setting in the vast Anatolian steppe, the film’s atmosphere is almost claustrophobic as it shows a rich man and former actor named Aydin (Haluk Bilginer) who uses his intellect and position to bully his tenants and beat his wife and sister into intellectual submission.

Ceylan was peppered with questions during the festival about a recent coalmine disaster in Turkey, and about unrest and whether his film was trying to explore these themes.

He said current events were important for him, but what his films really were about was human nature.

“I can find enough motivation only if I make movies about the human nature,” he said. “My motivation and starting point is to try to understand the dark side of my soul and that means human nature as well.”

British film critic Richard Mowe, who served on the Cannes Directors Jury, said the centenary of Turkish film might have been a consideration in the award to Ceylan, but he doubted that the Palme d’Or would boost its commercial potential.

“It’s a hard film to get into cinemas because you can’t even describe what it’s about in an easy way — it’s all very metaphysical and metaphorical,” Mowe said.

This year’s festival had its share of glitz and glamour, with Nicole Kidman playing Grace Kelly in “Grace of Monaco,” the widely panned film that opened the festival but was not in competition.

Those making a requisite turn down the red carpet flanked by tuxedo-wearing photographers included Sophia Loren, Sharon Stone, Aishwarya Rai, Uma Thurman and John Travolta, Eva Longoria, Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain.

source: interaksyon.com

Johnny Depp goes blonde for award ceremony for Christopher Lee

Hollywood star Johnny Depp debuted a new look Sunday night, turning a lot of heads with his new bleached blonde hairdo at the London Film Festival where he was a surprise guest. (Watch the E News video above.)

The “Pirates of the Carribbean” actor presented his friend and idol, British actor Christopher Lee, a British Film Institute Fellowship in recognition of the horror icon’s legendary career.

The two actors — who worked together in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Sleepy Hollow” and “Dark Shadows” — posed together for a souvenir photo for Associated Press after the ceremony.

source: interaksyon.com

J.K. Rowling announces Harry Potter spin-off movie series

LONDON - Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is to make her screenwriting debut by penning a series of spin-off films set in the magical world of the British boy wizard, she announced on Thursday, putting her in line for another huge payday.

The first film will be called "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and will be based on a textbook of the same name used by Harry and his classmates at their school Hogwarts, Rowling said on her Facebook page.

Set in New York and featuring magical zoologist Newt Scamander -- the author of Harry's textbook -- it will be set 70 years before the events of the core Potter novels.

The Warner Bros. film comes two years after the final movie in the eight-part series spawned by her phenomenally successful novels.

"I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it," the 48-year-old Rowling said.

She pitched the idea to Warner Bros. herself after the US studio approached her about making "Fantastic Beasts" into a film.

"I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of 'Fantastic Beasts', realized by another writer was difficult," she wrote.

"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt.

"As hardcore Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favorite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood."

Rowling added: "Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world.

"The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry's gets under way."

Rowling, who has sold more than 450 million copies of the Harry Potter books, has been keeping busy since the final novel in the series was published in 2007.

She published her first novel for adults, "The Casual Vacancy", last year to mixed reviews.

In July, she was unmasked as the real author of critically acclaimed detective novel "The Cuckoo's Calling", published under the nom de plume Robert Galbraith.

With an estimated fortune of £560 million ($885 million, 666 million euros) the former single mother is the 156th richest person in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Warner Bros. said the new film would spawn video games and other products including links to the Pottermore website as part of an "expanded creative partnership" with Rowling.

"We are incredibly honored that Jo has chosen to partner with Warner Bros. on this exciting new exploration of the world of wizardry which has been tremendously successful across all of our businesses," said Kevin Tsujihara, CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

"She is an extraordinary writer, who ignited a reading revolution around the world, which then became an unprecedented film phenomenon.

"We know that audiences will be as excited as we are to see what her brilliant and boundless imagination conjures up for us."

Warner Bros. will also act as worldwide distributor for the upcoming television miniseries adaptation of "The Casual Vacancy", which begins production in 2014, it said.

source: interaksyon.com

Ghosts beat minions as horror flick ‘The Conjuring’ leads box office

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES – “The Conjuring,” a low-budget horror movie about a haunted farmhouse, spooked two pricey competitors and the “Despicable Me” minions to win a crowded weekend box office contest at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

“Conjuring” soared past forecasts with $41.5 million in domestic ticket sales in its first three days, the highest take among four new films, according to studio estimates. The strong performance from “Conjuring” knocked two-time champion “Despicable Me 2″ to second place with $25.1 million.




Both movies topped the weak results for big-budget entries “Turbo” and “R.I.P.D.,” which both fell short of already low expectations from some box office analysts.

Animated film “Turbo,” the story of a racing snail, landed in the No. 3 slot with $21.5 million from Friday through Sunday. Sci-fi comedy “R.I.P.D.” floundered in seventh with $12.8 million.

“The Conjuring,” produced for just under $20 million, stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as a couple who investigate paranormal activity inside a Rhode Island farmhouse. The movie followed the successful path of other inexpensive horror films such as “Mama” and “The Purge” that grabbed big sales in their opening weekends this year.

“It so overperformed anybody’s wildest expectations,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros’ executive vice president for domestic distribution. “We originally thought if we open in the mid-20s, that’s a strong result and we’d be very happy with that.”

Family audiences kept coming for the animated “Despicable 2,” one of the summer’s biggest hits, which brought its global total through Sunday to $585 million, distributor Universal Pictures said. The film features the voice of Steve Carell as Gru, leader of the singing-and-dancing yellow minions.

Continued interest in “Despicable” stalled the debut of “Turbo,” which features the voice of Ryan Reynolds as a snail that acquires super-fast powers after a freak accident.

The movie, produced by “Shrek” creator DreamWorks Animation, turned in one of the studio’s lowest recent debuts. Its Friday-to-Sunday sales came in below last year’s box office disappointment, the holiday-themed “Rise of the Guardians.”

With a head start on the weekend, “Turbo” added $9.7 million on Wednesday and Thursday at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, plus $22.6 million from international openings, which only covered about one-quarter of all international markets. DreamWorks spent roughly $135 million to make the film.

“We’re in a very competitive marketplace but we have a ton of summer play time left, so we’ll see,” said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox, the studio that released “Turbo,” speaking to the film’s opening numbers and its prospects.

Aronson said “Turbo” had “very strong openings” internationally, and an A-plus Cinemascore rating from moviegoers under age 25, which he said “bodes very well for its playability,” or future box office prospects.

“R.I.P.D.” was nearly as expensive as “Turbo,” costing Universal Pictures about $130 million. The movie features “Turbo” star Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as lawmen in the “Rest in Peace Department” who come back from the dead to fight crime.

“R.I.P.D.” added $6.8 million in international markets for a global total of $19.6 million through Sunday.

“In this crowded marketplace, R.I.P.D. did not find the size audience it needed and Universal is disappointed in the weekend result,” said Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures.

Rocco said it was offset by “a fabulous year for Universal,” which has now hit $1 billion at the box office for the year thus far, the earliest date the studio has ever reached that level.

Rounding out the top of the charts, the Adam Sandler comedy “Grown Ups 2″ took the No. 4 slot, pulling in $20 million during its second weekend.

Newcomer “Red 2,” an action comedy aimed at older adults, landed in fifth place with 18.5 million, which studio officials said was in line with their expectations. The film stars Bruce Willis as a retired CIA agent who reunites a group of operatives to track down a missing nuclear device.

“The Conjuring” was released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. “Red 2″ was released by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, distributed “Despicable Me 2″ and “R.I.P.D.” Sony Corp’s movie studio released “Grown Ups 2.”

source: interaksyon.com

Low-budget horror film ‘The Purge’ scares off ‘Fast & Furious 6′

LOS ANGELES – Low-budget horror film “The Purge” scared up $36.4 million in ticket sales to lead the domestic box office in its first week in domestic theaters, zooming past the car-racing action film “Fast & Furious 6.”

“The Internship,” a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson based on the antics of nerds in search of a job at internet giant Google, sold $18.1 million worth of tickets to finish fourth, according to studio estimates of sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

The film reunited Vaughn and Wilson who teamed to make “Wedding Crashers” in 2005. That movie generated $209.3 million in domestic ticket sales, according to the site Box Office Mojo.

The duo’s latest effort was projected by industry experts to gross a modest $17 million in ticket sales.

“The Purge,” made for $3 million by the producer of the low-budget “Paranormal Activity” horror series, stars Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey in a futuristic story of the United States in 2022 in which the government reduces crime by allowing almost all crime to go unpunished during a 12-hour “purge” period.

Part science fiction, part horror film, “The Purge” was dismissed by critics but eagerly awaited by horror fans. Industry experts had forecast it would sell $20 million worth of tickets.

Universal Studios’ president for domestic distribution Nikki Rocco attributed the film’s success to its marketing and social media campaign.

Rocco also said that the time was ripe at the box office for a low-budget horror film like “The Purge.”

“The timing was perfect,” she said. “In the last month or two there’s been a definable slot for this kind of movie.”

“Fast & Furious,” the sixth installment of the series starring Vin Diesel racked up $19.8 million to take second place, bringing its total since Memorial Day to nearly $202.9 million domestically and $584.6 million globally. The sixth installment in the billion-dollar franchise takes the action to London, where Diesel and co-star Dwyane Johnson lead their crew on a mission to take down an international ring.

In third place, the comedy heist caper “Now You See Me” continued its stronger-than-expected showing with $19.5 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, finishing in third place.

The post-apocalyptic “After Earth,” starring Smith and his teenage son Jaden Smith, continued its weak showing at the U.S. and Canadian box office with $11.2 million. The film has generated $46.6 million in total domestic sales, Will Smith’s weakest performance since the 1993 film “Made in America” that grossed $44.9 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

“After Earth” did perform strongly overseas, opening with $45.5 million in 60 territories over the weekend.

Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures’ president of worldwide distribution, said that Sony was happy with the overseas opening and expects much of the film’s ticket sales to come from international markets.

“It definitely was the exciting start we were looking for internationally,” he said.

The $130 million production takes place 1,000 years after an apocalypse forced humans to escape from Earth. A boy and his father become stranded on the planet after a crash landing.

“The Purge” and “Fast and Furious 6″ were distributed by Universal, a unit of Comcast’s NBC Universal unit. “The Internship” was released by Fox, a unit of News Corp. “Now You See Me” was distributed by Summit Entertainment, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment.

source: interaksyon.com

Rookie Oscar host Seth MacFarlane lives up to provocative image

LOS ANGELES - Rookie Oscar host Seth MacFarlane casually slung a string of zingers at some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including a musical tribute to female frontal nudity in the movies, as he launched the Academy Awards show on Sunday on a decisively provocative note.

In an opening monologue and package of song-and-dance numbers obviously calculated to live up to, and even lampoon, his own reputation for pushing the boundaries of taste, MacFarlane put his biting, edgy brand of humor front and center.

He started off joking that best-picture front-runner “Argo,” about a real-life clandestine CIA operation to rescue American hostages from Iran, was “so top secret that the film’s director is unknown to the Academy.”

The barb was a not-so-subtle jab at members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for failing to nominate Ben Affleck as best director for the critically acclaimed film.

“They know they screwed up,” MacFarlane added, as the camera panned to a shot of Affleck, looking somewhat uncomfortable in his seat. “Ben, it’s not your fault.”

The edgy quotient quickly escalated as MacFarlane described another best-film candidate, “Django Unchained,” as the slavery-era “story of a man fighting to get back his woman who has been subjected to unthinkable violence — or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call it, a date movie.”

The punch line reference to the physical abuse involved in the relationship between the two R&B singers — Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in 2009 — drew an audible groan from the star-studded Dolby Theatre audience.

“Oh, no, that’s what we were afraid he would do,” MacFarlane dead-panned.

More groans followed as MacFarlane went on to joke that the profanity-laced screenplay from “Django” was “loosely based on Mel Gibson’s voice mails,” an allusion to the public disclosure several years ago of ranting telephone messages the actor-director had left for his then-girlfriend.

MacFarlane’s performance should not have come as too great a surprise. The comedian, actor and singer made his mark as creator of the animated television series “Family Guy,” a show known for its ribald satire, much of it aimed at Hollywood conventions.

And MacFarlane, 39, wasted no time in sending up his own risqué persona, in a comedy bit with actor William Shatner, who joined the host on stage via a video screen in the character of Captain Kirk from the sci-fi TV and film series “Star Trek.”

In his fictional drop-in visit from the future, Shatner warns MacFarlane he is “destroying the Academy Awards” with jokes that are “tasteless and inappropriate.”

But the interlude segued into a song-and-dance number by MacFarlane showcasing his vocal chops to a tune called “We Saw Your Boobs,” in which he rhapsodically ticked off the names of various A-list Hollywood actresses who have bared their breasts in films over the years.

Admonished by Shatner to sing songs that celebrate the movies rather than mock them, MacFarlane proceeded to deliver a more respectful rendering of the showbiz standard, “The Way You Look Tonight,” joined on stage in elegant dance by actress Charlize Theron (“Snow White and the Huntsman”) and actor Channing Tatum (“Magic Mike”).

MacFarlane showed off his own dancing talents in a three-way soft-shoe number with actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Lincoln”) and “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe.

In the way that many cartoons, including MacFarlane’s own “Family Guy” series, operate on different levels for kids and their parents, this year’s Oscar telecast seemed especially designed to play to more than one TV audience.

MacFarlane’s more provocative turns were offset by some of the more traditional pomp typical of Hollywood’s biggest night, including a 50th-anniversary montage salute to James Bond films, capped by veteran singer Shirley Bassey, now 76, reprising her title song from the 1964 film “Goldfinger.”

Early reaction to MacFarlane’s performance was mixed.

In a Twitter message posted during the show, actor-comedian and former Oscar host Steve Martin commented, facetiously: “Congratulations to Seth Rogan (another comically risqué actor with the same first name as the host) on a great monologue. Old-fashioned is back! I’m in!”

CNN host Piers Morgan tweeted, “I doubt there will have ever been a more divisive #Oscars host than @SethMacFarlane – I’m loving him, others are hating it.”

source: interaksyon.com

‘Argo’ beats ‘Lincoln’ for Best Picture; Ang Lee upsets Spielberg for Best Director

LOS ANGELES – Iran hostage thriller “Argo” won the Best Picture Oscar on Sunday, the highest honor in the movie industry, while Ang Lee was a surprise choice for Best Director for “Life of Pi.”

“There are eight great films that have as much right to be up here as we do,” said “Argo” producer and director Ben Affleck.

The not-so-unexpected win for “Argo” was announced in one of the biggest surprises in the history of Oscar telecasts as first lady Michelle Obama made an unprecedented appearance from the White House to declare the film the top winner of the evening.

It was the first time since “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1990 that a film won the top prize at the Oscars without its director also being nominated.

Daniel Day-Lewis made Oscar history and won a long standing ovation on becoming the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars. He collected the golden statuette for his intense performance as U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in “Lincoln.”

“I really don’t know how any of this happened,” said Day-Lewis, who has dual Anglo-Irish citizenship.


Jennifer Lawrence was named Best Actress for playing a feisty young widow in comedy “Silver Linings Playbook”, tripping up on her dress while approaching the stage. She beat Jessica Chastain and France’s Emmanuelle Riva, 86, in one of the closest Oscar contests this year.

Taiwanese director Lee beat front-runner Steven Spielberg in the directing race, in a controversial year that saw four of Hollywood’s leading names omitted from the Academy Award directing shortlist.

Spielberg’s account of President Lincoln’s battle to abolish slavery and end the U.S. civil war went into Sunday’s three-hour plus ceremony with a leading 12 nominations. But it ended up winning just two.

“Argo” also won best film editing and best adapted screenplay for its gripping and often comedic tale of the CIA mission to rescue six U.S. diplomats from Tehran shortly after the Islamic Revolution

In other contests, Anne Hathaway won her first Oscar and harrowing Austrian film “Amour” was voted Best Foreign Language Film.

Hathaway, who starved herself and chopped off her long brown locks to play tragic heroine Fantine in “Les Miserables,” was considered the overwhelming favorite for supporting role in t. he screen version of the popular stage musical.

“It came true,” she said, looking at the golden statuette.

“Here’s hoping that some day in the not too distant future the misfortunes of Fantine will only be found in stories and not in real life,” Hathaway added.

“Amour,” the heart-wrenching tale of an elderly couple coping with the wife’s debilitating stroke, gave Austria the Best Foreign Language film after it had dominated awards shows in Europe and the United States for months.

Another Austrian, Christoph Waltz, was the surprise winner of the closest contest going into the ceremony. He took Best Supporting Actor honors for his turn as an eccentric dentist turned bounty hunter in Quentin Tarantino’s slavery revenge fantasy “Django Unchained.”

It was Waltz’s second Oscar, after winning for the Tarantino movie “Inglourious Basterds” in 2010.

A jubilant Tarantino also won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and credited the actors who brought the characters in all his films to life. “And boy this time, did I do it!,” he said.

“Brave,” the Pixar movie about a feisty Scottish princess, took home the golden statuette for Best Animated Feature.

The Oscar winners were chosen in secret ballots by some 5,800 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

source: interaksyon.com

Studios snap up Sundance favorites, boosting indie film market

PARK CITY, Utah – Movie studios have been searching for the next big thing at the Sundance Film Festival after the critical and commercial success of indie films such as “Beasts of the Southern Wild” with a slew of business deals being made during the festival.

The biggest purchase came midway through the 10-day event when Fox Searchlight paid about $10 million for quirky coming-of-age comedy “The Way, Way Back”, starring Steve Carell and Toni Collette, according to sources close to the deal.

“The Way, Way Back” is the directorial debut of Oscar-winning screenwriters Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who penned last year’s hit “The Descendants”.

While eight-figure deals are rare at Sundance, Fox Searchlight, a division of 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp, is a regular big spender at the festival.

The studio dropped more than $10 million in 2006 for “Little Miss Sunshine”, another comedy starring Carell and Collette. The film grossed more than $60 million at the U.S. box office.

After a quiet acquisition year at the 2012 Sundance festival, RADiUS-TWC, the boutique multi-platform division of The Weinstein Company, snapped up five films.

The company, headed by former Magnolia Pictures executives Tom Quinn and Jason Janego, acquired the rights for music documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom”, about the journey of back-up singers.

Quinn described the film as “amazing and exceptional.”

RADiUS also picked up distribution rights for documentaries “Cutie and the Boxer”, which won best director for Zachary Heinzerling at Saturday’s Sundance Film Festival Awards, and “Inequality for All”.

The company also snapped up drama films “Concussion”, which follows the mid-life crisis of a wealthy lesbian, and “Lovelace”, based on the life of “Deep Throat” porn star Linda Lovelace.

Quinn said he and his fellow executives, including Harvey Weinstein, bought the film in the lobby of the theater after the film premiered on Tuesday. “Lovelace” sold for slightly more than $3 million.





Parent company Weinstein Co acquired distribution rights for drama film “Fruitvale”, starring Octavia Spencer and Michael B. Jordan. The film is based on the true story of Oakland native Oscar Grant’s last day before he was shot and killed by police on New Year’s Eve.

Directed by first-time filmmaker Ryan Coogler, 26, the film was the big winner at Saturday’s Sundance Film Festival awards, landing both the grand jury and audience prizes in the U.S. drama category.

“I was completely amazed by this incredible film. This earth-shattering story is one that needs to be told,” Weinstein said in a statement.

A big theme running through the Sundance offerings this year is the frank depiction of intimate relationships and sexuality.

“The festival was choreographed in a way that I’ve had a cumulatively profound experience here, watching films from ‘Don Jon’s Addiction’ to ‘Before Midnight’. These are films that are exploring human interaction on a very concrete level,” Quinn said.

“Don Jon’s Addiction”, the directorial debut from actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is a raunchy comedy of a young man struggling to overcome his porn addiction to form a real relationship.

The film was picked up by Relativity Media for $4 million for U.S. distribution rights, according to sources. Relativity purchased the 2010 hit Sundance documentary “Catfish”, which has spawned a successful MTV television series.





Also popular among buyers was “Kill Your Darlings”, a drama starring Daniel Radcliffe about the origins of the Beat Generation poets and the sexual coming-of-age of Allen Ginsberg, tied in with a scandalous murder.

Sony Pictures Classics partner Tom Bernard said the film was “surprising,” and not just another Beat generation movie.

“It’s a true story, the actors are great, I think the story looks a little more timeless than a period piece,” Bernard told Reuters.

Sony Pictures Classics, a division of Sony Corp, snapped up the title, along with comedy “Austenland” and romance “Before Midnight”, the third installment of Richard Linklater’s popular film series starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke.

source: interaksyon.com

Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima dies aged 80

TOKYO – Japanese film director Nagisa Oshima, best known for the sexually explicit film “In the Realm of the Senses” and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence”, has died from pneumonia, aged 80.

The Hollywood Reporter said Oshima died on Tuesday in Fujisawa, south of Tokyo, where he had been living since retiring from making movies.

The British Film Institute described Oshima as one of the major directors of the new wave of Japanese cinema in the 1960s whose politically charged films contrasted starkly with the stylistic conservatism of classical Japanese filmmaking.

A law graduate, he began his filmmaking career at the age of 26 with the 1959 movie “A Town of Love and Hope”.

But his international notoriety was ensured in 1976 with “In the Realm of the Senses,” a graphic portrayal of insatiable sexual desire between a hotel owner and one of his maids in 1930s Japan.

The film contained scenes of unsimulated sexual activity and had to be registered as a French production to bypass Japanese censorship laws. Its uncensored version remains unavailable in Japan.

Oshima won the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1978 for his film “Empire of Passion,” another erotic tale.

He teamed up with British actor/singer David Bowie on the 1983 film “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” based on author Laurens van der Post’s experiences as a prisoner of war in Japan during World War Two.

Oshima suffered a stroke in 1996 but recovered enough to return briefly to filmmaking, making his final film “Taboo” in 1999, a movie about gay samurai.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Hobbit’ fever beats Tom Cruise at box office

LOS ANGELES – The dwarfs and elves of “The Hobbit” overpowered Tom Cruise to take the box office title for a second time, grabbing $37.6 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales as a crowd of new films fought for pre-holiday audiences.

Cruise’s crime drama “Jack Reacher,” a film about a fatal sniper attack, landed in second place with $15.6 million. In third place, adult comedy “This is 40″ pulled in $12 million, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.

Domestic ticket sales for “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” fell by about 57 percent during the film’s second weekend. Movie receipts typically drop 40 percent to 60 percent each week.

In international markets, “Hobbit” sales reached $284 million and brought the movie’s global take to $434 million, distributor Warner Bros. said.

“The Hobbit” is the first of three movies based on the classic J.R.R. Tolkien novel set in the fantasy world of Middle Earth. The films, produced by MGM and Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema, are prequels to the blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” franchise that brought in box office gold a decade ago.

Producers of “The Hobbit” and other films hope to enjoy a big boost this week around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. The current crop will face competition starting on Tuesday, Christmas Day, from Quentin Tarantino’s Western “Django Unchained,” musical “Les Miserables” and comedy “Parental Guidance.”

Sales over the coming days are expected to push 2012 to a domestic box office record. The year is on track to finish with $10.8 billion worth of ticket sales in the North American (U.S. and Canadian) market, according to a projection from box office tracker Hollywood.com. The current record is $10.6 billion, set in 2009.

Over the weekend, “Jack Reacher” debuted just days after the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting sparked new debate about the impact of movie violence. “Reacher” begins with a sniper killing a handful of seemingly random victims. A red-carpet premiere and a screening to promote the $60-million production were postponed after the Newtown tragedy.

“We opened pre-Christmas with our eyes wide open,” said Don Harris, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution, adding that he expected the film’s box office take to grow over the coming weeks. He said the Newtown shooting had “no effect” on the movie’s opening.

Before the weekend, the studio had predicted sales of $12 million to $15 million.

Adult comedy “This is 40″ stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as a middle-aged couple. The studio billed the $35 million production from “Bridesmaids” producer Judd Apatow as a “sort-of sequel” to 2007 comedy “Knocked Up.”

The president of domestic distribution for Universal, Nikki Rocco, said the film exceeded the studio’s estimates for opening prior to a mid-week Christmas, and dismissed talk of a Judd Apatow slump since his comedy “Bridesmaids,” which opened to $26.3 million in May 2011.

“Adults have choices at this time of year,” Rocco said, citing the broad slate of films already on

offer and those opening on Christmas day.

Comedy “The Guilt Trip,” starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen as a mother and son on a cross-country drive, pulled in $5.4 million over three days. The movie opened two days before the weekend, on Wednesday, scoring a five-day total of $7.4 million.

Also this weekend, Walt Disney Co re-released 2001 animated Pixar hit “Monsters Inc” in 3D. The movie earned $5 million at domestic theaters. Next June, Disney is releasing a prequel to the film called “Monsters University.”

Another new release, the 3D “Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away,” with performances by the famous acrobatic troupe, earned $2.1 million.

In five theaters in New York and Los Angeles, thriller “Zero Dark Thirty” about the hunt for Osama bin Laden grossed $410,000 in what box office analyst for Hollywood.com Paul Dergarabedian

described as a “huge limited release start for the film.”

The movie, considered an Oscar contender, will expand nationwide on January 11.

“The Hobbit” was distributed by Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros. studio. Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, released “Jack Reacher,” “The Guilt Trip” and “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away.” Comcast Corp’s Universal Studios released “This is 40,” and Sony Corp’s film studio distributed “Zero Dark Thirty.”

source: interaksyon.com

Vampires foil Tooth Fairy, Santa as ‘Breaking Dawn – Part 2′ stays at No. 1

LOS ANGELES – Teen vampire film “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2″ continued to take a bite out of the domestic box office, drawing $64 million in ticket sales over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend to finish ahead of James Bond film “Skyfall.”

After opening with a massive $141.1 million last weekend, the finale of the “Twilight” franchise brought in a holiday swarm of fans to see teen favorites Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, pushing “Breaking Dawn” to $227 million in total domestic ticket sales.

“Skyfall,” starring Daniel Craig in the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise, finished second, collecting $51 million in weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates compiled by the box office division of Hollywood.com.

“Lincoln,” Steven Spielberg’s historical film on the last days of President Abraham Lincoln, grabbed third with $34.1 million over the Wednesday-through-Sunday period.

Making its debut in fourth place with $32.6 million was the animated film “Rise of the Guardians,” featuring the voices of Chris Pine and Alec Baldwin as the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and other childhood favorites who save the world.

“Life of Pi,” based on Yann Martel’s 2001 best-seller about a boy who survives on a raft with a tiger after his ship sinks, collected $30.15 million for a strong fifth-place finish.

“Rise of the Guardians,” produced by Dreamworks Animation for roughly $145 million, had been projected by distributor Paramount Pictures to gross $35 million in its first five days, according to Box Office Mojo.

Based on “The Guardians of Childhood” book series by children’s author William Joyce, the film will be the last Paramount will release for Dreamworks, whose films will be distributed next year by News Corp’s Fox studio.

Anne Globe, Dreamworks’ chief marketing officer, pointed to “the great parent reactions we’ve seen” to the film, and noting it was among the few choices for families through the end of year, said the studio was “hoping for very long legs through the holidays.”

The Ang Li film “Life of Pi,” on the other hand, performed stronger than expected. “We clearly exceeded our pre-release expectations,” said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox.

“We’re seeing word of mouth in action, and a remarkably balanced demographic,” including strong ticket sales among those under 25, he said, adding “Many felt it was impossible to film, but Ang Li pulled it off.”

The remake of the 1984 Cold War film “Red Dawn,” finished seventh with $22 million in sales, behind animated feature “Wreck It Ralph”‘s $23 million take.

“Red Dawn” arrived at movie theaters four years after it was shot by MGM, but was delayed when the studio filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Last year, MGM decided to digitally alter the villains in the movie, inserting North Koreans instead of Chinese, after Hollywood began courting Chinese companies to help finance its films.

Propelled by the vampires, secret agents, presidents and nursery school favorites, Hollywood ticket sales totaled $290 million for the holiday weekend, beating the holiday weekend high mark of $273 million recorded in 2009. Hollywood studios often release their biggest holiday films on Wednesday to take advantage of school breaks the day before Thanksgiving.

The continued rush of fans to see teen favorites Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner pushed the “Twilight” installment to $227 million in total domestic ticket sales, making it the year’s sixth-largest, according to figures compiled by Box Office Mojo.

“Skyfall” with $221.7 million is just behind at number seven, while the year’s box office champ remains “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which has taken in $623 million to date.

source: interaksyon.com

Francine Prieto welcomes return of sexy films, happy with late night radio talk show

Even as she already found her niche in late night talk radio, Francine Prieto is not about to give up on her TV and film career, which recently took off anew with not just one but two new shows on different networks.

“I have a new travel show on PTV 4 called ‘Biyahero’ which we are currently taping and I’m also in the cast of the new ABS-CBN teleserye, ‘Ina, Kapatid, Anak’ where I play Martina, Xian Lim’s mother”, the former sexy star told InterAksyon during a recent interview at the studios of 103.5 WOW FM where she goes on the air for “Xtra Xervice”, the nightly talk show she co-hosts with DJs Dehins Trillo and Boy Dale.

Francine said people have been asking her why she took on the role of Xian’s mom in when at only 30, the towering half-Norwegian actress and one-time Binibining Pilipinas finalist still looks young, attractive and more than talented enough to give today’s leading ladies a good run for their money.

“Eh kasi wala naman akong pinipiling role, sa ‘Imortal’, vampire ako dun, sa ‘Encantadia’ naman at ‘Kamandag’, mga kontrabida ang papel ko. Kahit ano, okay lang naman sa akin”, she stressed.

But with the impending return of sexy films brought about by Erik Matti’s “Rigodon”, the upcoming launching film of recent FHM Philippines cover girl Yam Concepcion, Francine says she has no problem returning to the genre that made her one of the country’s most desirable sex sirens back in the early 2000s.

“Oo, okay lang, never naman akong nagka-issue with appearing in sexy films. Kung may mag-offer ulit, why not?” she said.

Why not indeed? It can be recalled that back in 2003, the former child actress and “That’s Entertainment” alumna then known as Anna Marie Falcon (her real name is Anna Marie Sio Jensen, Falcon is actually her late mother’s maiden name) was relaunched by Robbie Tan’s Seiko Films as a sexy star and starred in such box-office hits as Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Bikini Open” and “Bridal Shower” and her signature Mac Alejandre-directed classics with close friend, Diana Zubiri, “Liberated” and its sequel, “Liberated 2”, both of which are still being shown on cable TV.

“Pag may nakakapanood ng ‘Liberated’ sa cable at natutuwa, nagtu-tweet sila sa kin. Sabi nga namin ni Diana kay Robbie, gawa kami ng ‘Liberated 3’ since close pa rin naman kaming lahat sa cast at nandiyan pa si Christian (Vasquez) although si Rodel (Velayo) based na sa Australia. Ayaw na ni Robbie na mag-produce eh pero natuwa naman ako nang natawa siya at sinabing pag-iisipan niya. So hindi naman niya outright na ni-reject ‘yung idea” she shared.

Yes, Francine has remained in touch with the former producer and controversial Cinemalaya figure even after Seiko Films has stopped producing films. In fact, it was Robbie who helped her bounced back when she hit rock-bottom after her mother was diagnosed with, and eventually succumbed to, cancer of the uterus.

“Si Robbie ang nag-recommend sa akin sa 103.5 WOW FM for ‘Xtra Xervice’ kasi nagkaroon ako ng love advice show nung 2010 sa DZMM, yung ‘Ka-Date’ with Bobby Yan that was on the air for a year and a half. Eh naging kami ni Bobby, pagkatapos nung nag-break na kami, naging mahirap na para sa amin ‘yung mag-work together until the management of the radio station decided to just end the show”, she revealed.

Even with rival love advice shows hosted by the likes of Papa Jack and Brother Love that also aired on the same time slot, “Xtra Xervice” is more than holding its own, thanks in large part to the often witty, sometimes naughty but ultimately sensible personal advice of the three hosts on relationship matters.

“Ang pagkakaiba namin sa ibang show, eh bukod sa tatlo kami dito, nasasabi namin ‘yung hindi kayang sabihin ng ibang DJs, yung medyo bastos pero nakakatuwa naman. Alam naman namin where to draw the line”, she pointed out.

“On my part, marami na kasing nangyari sa buhay ko na pwede kong i-share. Bata pa kasi ako, exposed na ako sa maraming bagay so lahat ng mga lessons sa buhay na natutunan ko gusto ko ding matutunan ng tao. ‘Kala kasi nila tatanga-tanga talaga ako sa totoong buhay. Ang pangarap ko kasi maalala ng tao bilang woman of substance, ‘yung maging inspirasyon sa mga tao at may purpose sa buhay”.

One purpose in life that Francine wants to finally address successfully is the weight problem that she has struggled with in recent years. Thanks to a new program that is more effective than the other ones she tried in the past, the two-time FHM cover girl actually looks fit these days and very close to the whistle-bait figure that also made her one of FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women for seven years between 2003 to 2010.

Francine, however, admits that getting back to her ideal weight is no walk in the park.

“Lahat na yata ng diet programs, na-try ko na. Dito sa current program ko, I started last June at 180 lbs. but so far unti-unti na syang nabawasan and I’m now down to 135 lbs. Konti pa siguro at mare-reach ko na ‘yung target weight ko,” she confessed.

This is the same reason why her dream is to land on the cover of “Women’s Health” as she also wants her effective weight program to inspire others who are having similar weight issues.

With what seems to be a new lease on life—almost all of her financial troubles behind her, her now multimedia career back on track and flourishing anew and a new tattoo on her left that says, “Saved By Earth Angels” to show for it, Francine Prieto is certainly a happier camper nowadays. Even ex-flame Bobby Yan, who was the surprise guest of her birthday celebration last September at “Xtra Xervice”, is now a good friend.

“Okay na kami ni Bob ngayon. Natutuwa nga ako at friends na kami ulit ngayon,” she admitted. “Yes, friends na lang kami talaga”.

No lovelife these days?

“Alam mo sa sobrang saya ko ngayon, pag may nagtatanong sa akin about my lovelife, dun ko lang naiisip na wala nga pala akong lovelife ngayon. It’s not that I’m in a hurry to have one but what I’m looking for now is companionship more than anything. Gusto ko lang ‘yung may lagi lang akong nakakausap. Dun pa lang happy na ako”.

source: interaksyon.com

New ‘Star Wars’ movies – dream come true or cosmic yawn?

LOS ANGELES – For years, it seemed like another “Star Wars” movie was just a dream, stillborn in a galaxy far, far away.

But down on Earth, the Walt Disney movie studio had different ideas, announcing on Tuesday that it planned not one but at least three new “Star Wars” movies, starting in three years’ time.

Disney’s $4 billion acquisition of George Lucas’ Lucasfilm and the multibillion-dollar “Star Wars” franchise surprised investors and caused mixed reactions among movie fans, many of whom had little appetite for more Luke Skywalkers and Jedis.

“The series had stagnated creatively. This could go well…Or not,” said Facebook user Chris Goodson.

Another user, Peter Campbell, voiced his disbelief, asking, “Is this for real? Oh please, enough with the Star Wars movies.”

Lucas, whose imagination gave pop culture Princess Leia and her crazy cinnamon-bun hairstyle, the anti-hero Darth Vader and the catch phrase “May The Force Be With You,” has insisted for years that he would make no more than the three original films and three prequels.

Lucas has often expressed frustration with criticism from many avid “Star Wars” fans who have taken issue with his director’s cuts of the films.

“Why would I make any more,” Lucas told the New York Times in a January interview about the “Star Wars” movies, “when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?”

But seven years after the last picture, “Revenge of the Sith,” Disney said on Tuesday it saw room for “Star Wars Episode 7″ in 2015, with Episodes 8 and 9 to follow at two or three year intervals.

Some fans welcomed the prospect of new films. On the Facebook “Star Wars” page, user David Schmoyer said “it brings dreaming back to the place where many of us began to dream.”

Others were less happy. User Andreas Pedersen called it “the worst April Fools’ joke ever,” while another fan, Brandan Sullivan, said “this might be the death of Star Wars.”

“People don’t seem to be recognizing that taking Star Wars out of George Lucas’ hands is the best possible thing for the franchise,” Jesse Taylor counter-argued on Twitter.

In addition to new films, characters like Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi may find a home on the Disney XD cable TV channel, targeted at young boys.

Furthermore, Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told reporters on a conference call that there was “ample opportunity” to extend the franchise in Disney’s global theme parks, cementing the place of R2-D2 and Han Solo alongside Mickey Mouse and the Little Mermaid.

“Cool for another Star Wars but not sure I like Disney backing it,” commented Janel Halstead on Facebook.

The “Star Wars” franchise has earned some $4.4 billion at the global box office since the first film was released in 1977, making it the third most successful movie property after “Harry Potter” and the “James Bond” series.

Like the boy wizard and the suave British secret agent, “Star Wars” has also spawned an empire of books, games and toys so large that it is often dubbed the “Expanded Universe.”

It has also inspired a mini-industry dedicated to examining philosophical, spiritual and mythical themes, with many observers seeing Luke Skywalker as an embodiment of Jesus Christ and some seeing Yoda as inspired by a Mormon prophet.

Lucas, 68, said in a video posted on the StarWars.com website on Tuesday that he had story treatments for Episodes 7, 8 and 9 that he would hand over to producer Kathleen Kennedy to develop in partnership with Disney.

In the same video, Kennedy said Disney was the “best company possible to take Star Wars into the future,” and assured Lucas that she would adhere to his creations.

“The main thing is to protect these characters to make sure they continue to live in the way you created them,” Kennedy said.

source: interaksyon.com

Low-budget spooks scare off gore for Hollywood horror

LOS ANGELES – After almost a decade in which torture films dominated the box office, horror movies are returning to ghostly thrills with a new slew of low-budget productions making big money for studios.

The success of 2009′s “Paranormal Activity” – which was made for $15,000 and grossed more than $107 million at U.S. box offices – has fueled a thirst in audiences and movie studios for things that go bump in the night.

Halloween audiences previously gripped by the gory “Saw” franchise about a sadistic serial killer are flocking this season to see supernatural horrors, with “Sinister” and “Paranormal Activity 4″ providing otherworldly scares for the spooky festivities.

The supernatural trend, with very little blood, started this year with “The Woman in Black” and “The Apparition”, and will spill into 2013 with upcoming horror films including “Mama”, “Evil Dead”, “Carrie”, and ghostly spoof “Scary Movie 5″, which will parody “Paranormal Activity”.

“It’s a return to a more classic style of suspense,” Henry Joost, who co-directed the third and fourth “Paranormal Activity” films with Ariel Schulman, told Reuters.

“When you’ve just been obliterated with gore, having it slammed in your face for a decade, you respond by seeking the opposite.”

“Sinister”, currently playing in U.S. movie theaters for Halloween-loving audiences, features an author (Ethan Hawke) who discovers home videos of mysterious murders and soon finds himself pursued by an otherworldly presence.

Director Scott Derrickson said audiences were drawn to bloodless supernatural horrors as a means to escape from news about wars and violent killings.

“There’s something about the real-world pain and violence that has enveloped the American reality, that makes films like (“Saw”) not necessarily the catharsis that people are looking for,” Derrickson told Reuters in an interview.

“Saw”, made for $1.2 million, grossed more than $55 million at the U.S. box office in 2004 and spawned a franchise, leading a slew of films dubbed “torture porn” for the excessive use of gratuitous violence.

The trend produced the “Hostel” trilogy, 2006′s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning” and 2008′s “The Strangers”.

But while the “Saw” franchise initially brought in big money for movie studios – the second and third films each grossed more than $80 million at the domestic box office – the profits slowed by 2009, when the franchise’s seventh and final film “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter” was made for $20 million and grossed only $45 million.

“The torture porn stuff really played itself out, ‘Saw’ and ‘Hostel’, they were just too much. People want to be engaged with the story and not just grossed beyond imagination,” Bradley Jacobs, film editor at Us Weekly, told Reuters.







In comparison, the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, which relies on suspense and strange phenomena, has revamped the genre with a more cost-effective model since most of the scares are off-screen and on deliberately grainy footage, minimizing the need for costly special effects and action shots.

The second “Paranormal” film was shot for an estimated $3 million and made $84 million, while the third film, made for $5 million, has grossed more than $104 million in North America.

“The profitability of making a film for less than $5 million and hedging the bet of the financiers and the studios with a possible giant upside becomes extremely attractive,” Derrickson said.

“Sinister”, made for $3 million, has grossed $39 million after three weeks in U.S. theaters. “Paranormal Activity 4″, which cost $5 million, has made more than $42 million since it opened on Oct. 19.

“Audiences realized that the feeling of suspense and the anticipation of horror is actually more emotionally impacting than graphic horror itself in these low-budget movies,” Derrickson said.

The “Paranormal Activity” franchise was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc, while Lions Gate Entertainment’s Summit studio distributed “Sinister” as well as the “Saw” and “Hostel” films.

source: interaksyon.com

Director Marilou Diaz Abaya, 57, dies of breast cancer

Award-winning director Marilou Diaz Abaya died on Monday evening at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 57.

Abaya, a devout Catholic, was pronounced her final rites on Sunday afternoon.

The director of the acclaimed films “Jose Rizal”, “Muro Ami”, “Sa Pusod ng Dagat”, “Brutal” and “Moral”, Abaya took a sabbatical from the film industry when she contractred breast cancer eight years ago, one year after making the film “Noon at Ngayon”.

She was believed to have recovered from the disease two years later. She put up her film school, the Marilou Diaz Abaya Film Institute and Arts Center, in 2006, and made her last film, “Ikaw Ang Pag-ibig” last year. Her breast cancer returned last March in terminal stage.

Until late last month she had been active on Facebook and Twitter. She was optimistic about her  recovery on her last Facebook post on September 17.

A week before that, she quoted Albert Einstein with this post: “there’s only two ways to live your life; either by believing that nothing is a miracle, or, by believing that everything is a miracle” :)

Abaya was one of the most decorated Filipino filmmakers regardless of gender. She won numerous awards from all the notable local award-giving bodies. In 2001, she was named Laureate for the Fukuoka Prize for Culture and the Arts in Japan.

source: interaksyon.com

Piolo, Though Loveless, Looks Forward To Producing More Films

Even with so much on his hands, Piolo Pascual remains passionate about accomplishing more for his career and in testing his artistic limits, especially when it comes to producing films.

The award-winning actor and singer revealed to Bulletin Entertainment and select members of the media that, “We have many concepts na gusto naming i-develop.”

“So lumalabas na lang ‘yon, bigla na lang naiisip mo ‘yung mga ganung konsepto. We’re working on a couple of concepts na sana mag-materialize in the next couple of months,” he added.

His first venture into producing came in the form of “Manila,” a twin bill independent film helmed by esteemed directors Raya Martin and Adolf Alix Jr., released in 2009. “Manila” had a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival in France. It was also the opening film at Cinemalaya Cinco.

The same year also marked the release of “Kimmy Dora: Kambal sa Kiyeme,” the box office, critically-acclaimed film he produced. Its sequel, “Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme” was released last June.

Piolo does not dismiss the possibility of a third “Kimmy Dora” film, given that “maganda nang franchise ‘yon para kay Uge (lead star Eugene Domingo) and marami pang idea na puwede nating laruin.” He noted, however, “hintayin natin si Chris Martinez (writer) tsaka si Joyce Bernal (director). Sila naman ‘yung utak nun eh.”

His personal life has been quiet since his split from KC Concepcion last year. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old Kapamilya star is happy even without a special someone.

“Trabaho muna. Masaya ako sa trabaho…” he said. Indeed, he maintains his bankability more than 10 years since his career took off. He’s gearing for a TV series with Angelica Panganiban, as well as a movie in which, he hinted, would see him in his most offbeat role to date.

Another thing that keeps him occupied is sports.

“Nag-Ironman (triathlon) kami pero I just did the bike leg so I really wanna be able to do all three – swim, bike, and run – and that’s what I’ve been training for in the last couple of months kaya masaya, masarap,” Piolo added.

Of course, Piolo also tends to his daddy duties to 14-year-old son Iñigo, who has returned to the US to resume his studies after a two-month vacation in the Philippines.

“He was with me during summer in the States so para kaming kambal na magkasama, hindi kami nagkakahiwalay, kahit sa’n ako kasama ko siya. It was good na we had time together,” he enthused.

Piolo graced the gala night of Sun Shorts held Sept. 7 in Resorts World Manila. The event showcased five digital films by Filipino directors, which were produced by long-running insurance company Sun Life Financial-Philippines (of which Piolo is an ambassador) in collaboration with Unitel Productions.

The short film collection features visually captivating works by Jerrold Tarog (“Sun Dance”), Jolly Feliciano (“A Life In A Day”), Chris Martinez (“Oh My Goth!”), Nic Reyes (“The Debt”), and Jun Reyes (“1945”) – all of which underscore the values of friendship, family, love, chasing one’s dreams, embracing possibilities, as well as positivity.

These films can be viewed via youtube.com/sunshorts and sunshorts.com.ph.

source: mb.com.ph

‘Avengers’ director swaps superheroes for Shakespeare

TORONTO – Joss Whedon’s blockbuster comic book smash “The Avengers” would seem to have little in common with William Shakespeare.

The writer and director, however, also known for creating the cult TV hit “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” calls the legendary playwright a major influence, visible in much of his work from the banter of his superheroes to the structure of his stories.

Such is his admiration, that in the wake of delivering “The Avengers” – the biggest movie hit of 2012 – Whedon has adapted “Much Ado About Nothing,” a low-budget black-and-white labor of love devoted to the Bard that debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“I find myself aping his rhythms and occasionally stealing his phrases, without even realizing it most of the time,” Whedon told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

“Shakespeare’s not afraid to go from high drama to low comedy in a heartbeat, and to ping-pong back and forth between them in a scene, which is something else that I took from him in my own work.”

Shot over 12 days in Whedon’s own house in Santa Monica, California, during a break from his work on “The Avengers,” “Much Ado About Nothing” features performers from Whedon’s past television series including “Buffy,” “Angel” and “Firefly.”

The movie originated from readings of Shakespeare Whedon and spouse Kai Cole would host at their home while his TV shows were still in production.

But it was Cole, also a producer on the film, who encouraged Whedon to use his time off from “The Avengers” to do a smaller project shot in black and white on digital cameras.

“There was times when I was, like, ‘This is a terrible idea. I’ve gone mad,’ but it’s always been the way with me … apparently that’s what I do for fun,” he said.

“I have a condition called workaholism that is very deadly, and useful,” he added.

While the film sticks closely to the text of the play, the characters wear modern clothes, drive cars and talk on cell phones. Scenes are shot in a child’s bedroom and a swimming pool, lending the project a do-it-yourself quality.

“People who are (Shakespeare fans) are going to see a pretty specific and occasionally radical take on it. But I hope everybody will realize it comes from a great love of a great text,” said Whedon.

The movie’s sight gags generated laughter at its debut screening in Toronto. And an early review in Variety called it “an inspired example of Shakespeare-on-a-shoestring.”

“It really is the classic romantic comedy. It’s the romantic comedy off of which all modern romantic comedy is built. So there is an in for people. I do not expect it to make $1.5 billion dollars,” he said, referring to the worldwide box office of “The Avengers.”

Whedon, 48, has agreed to write and direct an “Avengers” sequel for Walt Disney Co, expected to appear in May 2015. But the filmmaker said he could disclose few details about the highly anticipated movie.

“It’s still in the story stage. But I’ve been working on it pretty much from about an hour before I said, ‘Let’s make a deal.’ It just caught fire with me,” he said.

“We’re hard at work. We would like to be not as rushed as we were with the first one.”

The New York-born founder of his own production company, he might also direct the pilot for a TV series based on Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. espionage agency.

Other projects at various stages of development include a sequel to Internet musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” and a web series called “Wastelanders” he is writing with comics author Warren Ellis.

“Basically I have too much to do, but I can work with too much. Too much is O.K.,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Yap.TV tunes Internet age viewing for the world

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco startup Yap.TV went international with a hit service that helps people mine gems from junk in the growing mountain of shows, films and videos.

Versions of Yap.TV software released in the United States early last year for Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch devices have been customized for 19 more countries and in four languages other than English.

Applications for smartphones or tablets powered by Android software were in the works and expected to be ready in a matter of months.

Yap.TV lets show watchers engage in real time on Twitter, Facebook or the firm’s own social network, essentially tapping into friends or others with similar interests to find programs or films likely to please.

Yap.TV blended input from friends and show fans with programming data to enable users to not only have conversations around shows they like but to be directed to new options by viewers with similar interests.

“It starts with discovery, which is why a guide became such a big part of this,” Yap.TV co-founder Shawn Patrick told AFP.

“No one has ever created a worldwide social television guide,” he continued. “We are the new front-end to TV.”

Yap.TV mated the television program guide with the Twitter stream, Facebook and other social networks to let people see what shows people are talking about and join in the conversation along with the viewing.

Yap.TV backers include Javelin Venture Partners and Blumberg Capital, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is an advisor to the startup.

Patrick, 44, spoke of being enthralled by the Kwai Chang Caine character in the US television series “Kung Fu” as a young boy and imagining as a child that he would grow up to become “Batman”.

“Media content is escapism; these stories are powerful talismans,” Patrick said. “We bring people together around the content they love.”

“We want people to get shows they want without having to dumbly navigate through 900 channels,” he continued. “It is a nightmare menu with no way to know what is garbage without insight—that is where social media comes in.”

More than 600,000 people have taken to using Yap.TV since it launched early last year and the website has gotten visits from every country except two in Africa.

“Nearly everybody on this rock invests time in consumer television content,” Patrick said. “This creates a better way.”

The list of countries where free Yap.TV applications are available includes Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.

source: japantoday.com