The 15th annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, will honor Oscar winner George Clooney with the “Hollywood Actor Award” for his critically acclaimed performance in Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants.”
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Hollywood Film Festival to honor George Clooney
George Clooney in The Descendants
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37 films nominated in this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Band Baaja Baaraat (Wedding Planners, India) The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) announced that 37 films from 19 countries and areas have been nominated in this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
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Iran Sentences Actress to 90 lashes For Appearing in Film
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Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr in My Tehran for Sale[/caption]Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to one year in prison and 90 lashes for her starring role in Australian film My Tehran for Sale.
Although the exact charges are not clear, Vafamehr do appear with a shaved head and no headscarf in the film, which also explores cultural oppression in Iran and taboos such as drug use, all no-no’s under Iranian tough laws.
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Real Steel and Human Centipede 2 Are This Week’s Box-Office Champs
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Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence[/caption]“Real Steel” was literally a tough one to beat at the box office, with the action film starring Hugh Jackman, beating the competition to take the number 1 spot with a decent $27.3 million. George Clooney’s political drama “The Ides of March,”was a distant second with $10.4 million.
1. “Real Steel” (Disney/DreamWorks): $27.3 million.
2. “The Ides of March” (Sony/Cross Creek): $10.4 million.
3. “Dolphin Tale” (Warner Bros./Alcon): $9.2 million.
4. “Moneyball” (Sony): $7.5 million.
5. “50/50” (Summit/Mandate): $5.5 million.
6. “Courageous” (Sony): $4.6 million.
7. “The Lion King 3-D” (Disney): $4.6 million.
8. “Dream House” (Universal/Morgan Creek): $4.5 million.
9. “What’s Your Number?” (Fox/New Regency): $3.1 million.
10. “Abduction” (Lionsgate): $2.9 million.
In the specialty market, the sequel “Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence” grossed $54,000 from 18 screens. Other newcomers included “The Women on the Sixth Floor” which debuted on six screens in New York and Los Angeles and grossed $26,150; and Emilio Estevez’s “The Way” – starring his father Martin Sheen opened on 33 screens grossing $132,411.
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Peter Fonda and Tim Robbins Gulf Oil Spill Doc ‘The Big Fix’ to Open New Orleans Film Fest
The Big Fix, from The Sundance Award Winning Filmmakers behind the movie FUEL, will have its North American premiere as the Opening night Film of the 22nd Annual New Orleans Film Festival on Friday, October 14th, 2011. Directed by Louisiana native Josh Tickell and produced and co-directed by his wife and filmmaking partner Rebecca Harrell Tickell, The Big Fix is described as ‘part daring journalism, archival investigation and eco-horror story.’
Through interviews with scientists, government officials, journalists (including Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell who examined the Gulf spill in his article ‘The Poisoning’), activists (Peter Fonda, Amy Smart and Grammy-winner Jason Mraz who also contributed an original song), New Orleans attorney Stuart Smith and Gulf States natives, The Big Fix recounts the events surrounding the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The Big Fix reveals the powerful political and corporate system that put profits over the health and long-term sustainability of people and the environment.
The Big Fix explores the complicit behavior of the US government in the long-term use of the chemical dispersant, Corexit 9527, a known hemolitic (blood thinner). In an unexpected twist of fate, Co-Director/Producer Rebecca Harrell Tickell became severely ill after being exposed to the oil and Corexit mixture while filming. Like many of the residents of the gulf south who have experienced blood in their urine, skin lesions, and other blood-related disorders, Harrell Tickell‘s condition persists.
A rough cut of The Big Fix received critical acclaim this year as the only documentary in Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival. European audiences were stunned to see evidence suggesting the Macondo well site is still leaking oil. Now LSU and other researchers confirm it.
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Arpa Film Festival Award Winning Comedy My Uncle Rafael Gets A Theatrical Release Deal
Following its successful showing at the Arpa International Film Festival where it garnered three major awards, producers of indie comedy “My Uncle Rafael” have officially announced finalizing an agreement for a North American theatrical release. Slater Brothers Entertainment handle the domestic release which is expected to hit theaters in early 2012.
Hailed as as the first American comedy in history with an Armenian lead character, “My Uncle Rafael” follows an old Armenian Uncle who gets cast in a reality show and has one week to save a dysfunctional American family from breaking up. Directed and edited by filmmaker and former Spielberg assistant Marc Fusco, the film stars comedy veterans Missi Pyle (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory), John Michael Higgins (Couples Retreat), Anthony Clark (Yes, Dear), Joe Lo Truglio (Paul), Rachel Blanchard (Flight of the Concords), and introduces Vahik Pirhamzei as Rafael.
After the North American premiere at the Arpa International Film Festival, ‘Rafael’ took home the festival’s Breakthrough Performance Award for Vahik Pirhamzei and his remarkable comedic portrayal of the film’s outspoken, yet beloved Uncle Rafael. The Best Director trophy went to Marc Fusco and Best Screenplay Award to Scott Yagemann and Vahik Pirhamzei.
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Amy Rich Selected As Winner of 2012 Djerassi Residency Award/San Francisco Film Society Screenwriting Fellowship
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The exterior of the San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema. [/caption]Amy Rich was announced today as the winner of the 2012 Djerassi Residency Award/San Francisco Film Society Screenwriting Fellowship for her project The Insect Princess.
The Insect Princess is a feature-length, fantasy-infused family drama set in rural Yorkshire about Romilly, a lonely little girl who discovers she can communicate with insects. While she quickly accepts this odd turn of events, those around her don’t, so she learns to hide the relationship with her new friends. Gradually with the help of her fantasy friends, Romilly learns to stand up to the school bully, to accept herself and to develop friendships with her classmates.
Previous recipients are Adam Chanzit (2011) for his psychological thriller The 15th Stone and Kathryn Mockler (2010) for her project Weak People Are Fun to Torment.
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The Dolphin Beats The Lion at the Box Office and Jeff Nichols Take Shelter Wins
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Margaret[/caption]The dolphin as in Warner Brothers’ 3D family film ‘Dolphin Tale’ beat the lion as in the recycled Disney ‘Lion King’ to win this week’s box office race. After debuting with $19.2 million last weekend, Dolphin Tale dropped just 27 percent to $14.2 million, followed by Brad Pitt’s baseball drama Moneyball with $12.5 million, and The Lion King 3D with $11.1 million.
1. Dolphin Tale – $14.2 mil
2. Moneyball – $12.5 mil
3. The Lion King 3D – $11.1 mil
4. 50/50 – $8.9 mil
5. Courageous – $8.8 mil
6. Dream House – $8.2 mil
7. Abduction – $5.7 mil
8. What’s Your Number? – $5.6 mil
9. Contagion – $5.0 mil
10. Killer Elite – $4.9 milIn the specialty box office, the Sony Pictures Classics release, Jeff Nichols’ “Take Shelter” took the top spot, grossing $56,171 from its 3 debut screens, averaging $18,724. while another Sarah Palin Palin film, this time the unauthorized documentary Sarah Palin – You Betcha!, also bombed grossing only $7,400 in six theaters.
Other new specialty films included the much delayed, Fox Searchlight’s “Margaret” from director Kenneth Lonergan starring Anna Paquin and Matt Damon not doing well with a weak $7,496 from 2 screens in New York. Renaud Barret and Florent de La Tullaye’s documentary film “Benda Bilili!” released by National Geographic made just $1,722 from one theater.
Sergei Loznitsa’s “My Joy” grossed $2,800 on 1 screen in New York and Patrick Takaya Solomon’s “Finding Joe” grossed $9,571 on 1 screen in LA.
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Ten finalist for the Academy’s Nicholl Screening Fellowship
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2010 Nicholl Fellows[/caption]Ten finalists, including seven individual writers and three writing teams have been selected as finalists for the 26th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy’s Nicholl Committee may award as many as five of the prestigious $30,000 fellowships.
This year’s finalists are (listed alphabetically by author):Chris Bessounian & Tianna Langham, Los Angeles, Calif., “Guns and Saris”
Dion Cook, Altus, Oklahoma, “Cutter”
K.E. Greenberg, Los Angeles, Calif., “Blood Bound”
Ehud Lavski, Tel Aviv, Israel, “Parasite”
John MacInnes, Los Angeles, Calif., “Outside the Wire”
Aaron Marshall, West Hollywood, Calif., “Fig Hunt: The Quest for Battle Armor Star Captain”
Khurram Mozaffar, Lisle, Illinois, “A Man of Clay”
Matthew Murphy, Culver City, Calif., “Unicorn”
Abel Vang & Burlee Vang, Fresno, Calif., “The Tiger’s Child”
Paul Vicknair & Chris Shafer, Los Angeles & Hermosa Beach, Calif., “A Many Splintered Thing”
The finalists were selected from a record 6,730 scripts submitted for this year’s competition. The competition is open to any individual who has not sold or optioned a screenplay or teleplay for more than $5,000, or received a fellowship or prize that includes a “first look” clause, an option, or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work.
The 2011 Nicholl Fellowships will be presented on Thursday, November 3, at a ceremony held at the Beverly Wilshire.
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Academy Award-Nominated Michelle Williams to receive The “Hollywood Actress Award”
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Michelle Williams in Wendy and Lucy[/caption]The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment,announced that Academy Award-nominated actress Michelle Williams will be honored with the “Hollywood Actress Award,” at the festival’s Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place October 24, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
In the past eight years a total of 73 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Awards.
The 2011 Hollywood Film Festival has also announced that they will honor Academy Award-nominated actor Christopher Plummer with the “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award” for “Beginners,” actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt with the “Hollywood Breakthrough Actor Award” for “50/50,” actress Jessica Chastain with the “Hollywood Breakthrough Actress Award” for “The Tree of Life,” “Coriolanus,” “The Debt,” “The Help,” and “Take Shelter,” and actress Felicity Jones with the “New Hollywood Award” for “Crazy Love.” Other honorees include the cast of “The Help” (Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O’Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Cicely Tyson and Mike Vogel), Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Editor Stephen Mirrione, Production Designer James Murakami, and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar at their annual Awards Gala. In addition, Gore Verbinski’s “Rango” will be honored at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, along with additional honorees to be announced in the coming weeks.
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“5 Star Day” to be released on November 2nd
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired all U.S. rights to director Danny Buday’s debut feature film 5 STAR DAY, starring Cam Gigandet and Jena Malone for a November 2nd national theatrical release, followed by a VOD release on November 4th and a DVD release set for the first quarter of 2012.
In 5 STAR DAY, Jake Gibson’s (Cam Gigandet) horoscope forecasts a flawless day the morning of his birthday. Little does he realize, his entire world is about to be turned upside down as everything that could go wrong—does.
Now, determined to disprove the theory of Astrology, Jake embarks on a journey to find the three people born the same time and place as himself: a single mom haunted by her past (Jena Malone), an overworked nurse (Brooklyn Sudano) and an undiscovered jazz singer (Max Hartman). What Jake learns along the way is an important lesson about life, love, fate and destiny that will unexpectedly change his life forever.
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Roman Polanski Finally Honored by Zurich Film Festival
Director Roman Polanski attended the 7th Zurich Film Festival to accept the lifetime achievement award that was intended for him two years ago, to honor his outstanding career achievements as a filmmaker. Almost two years to the day, Polanski was arrested on his way to the festival ceremony to receive the award.
The World Premiere of a full-length non fiction film followed the ceremony. In the documentary, Polanski reportedly briefly addressed the sexual assault case, with the bulk of the film dedicated to his childhood in German-occupied Poland, including his escape from the Warsaw ghetto and his early life and career.