Morgan Freeman will receive the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes ceremony in January. The award is given every year by the HFPA for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment. Freeman won a best actor Golden Globe in 1990 for Driving Miss Daisy and was nominated three more times, for The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, for which he won an Oscar, and Invictus. The Cecil B. DeMille was first given in […]
Oliver Platt and Edie Falco will co-host the 21st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony scheduled to take place November 28th 2011 in New York. “We are absolutely thrilled to be co-hosting this year’s Gotham Awards,” Platt and Falco said in a joint statement. “We look forward to an evening that celebrates outstanding independent film-making, brave and bold voices against the backdrop of this incredible city.”
Billy Crystal will replace Eddie Murphy as the host of the 84th Academy Awards. The funny man announced in a tweet, “Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions. Looking forward to the show.” This will mark Crystal’s ninth time as host. Only Bob Hope has hosted more Academy Awards presentations, with 19 ceremonies between 1940 and 1978. Crystal last hosted […]
Academy President Tom Sherak announced today that Academy Award®-winner Brian Grazer will be the replacement for Brett Ratner as the producer of the 84th Academy Awards. This will be the first time Grazer has produced the Oscar® telecast. “Brian Grazer is a renowned filmmaker who over the past 25 years has produced a diverse and extraordinary body of work,” said Sherak. “He will certainly bring his tremendous talent, creativity and relationships to the Oscars®.” “I […]
One day after Brett Ratner, quit as producer of the 84th Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announced that Eddie Murphy has withdrawn as host of the 84th Academy Awards. “I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well,” said Sherak. In the statement, Murphy said, “First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support […]
Chinese film producer and director Zhang Yimou will be the 2011 recipient of the FIAPF-International Federation of Film Producers Associations Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film in the Asia-Pacific region. The honour will be awarded at the fifth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony on November 24. {jathumbnail off}
Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier died at the age of 67 from liver cancer. The filmmakers behind the film, “Joe Frazier: When the Smoke Clears” issued a statement on their website, “It is with deep sadness that all of us involved with the film learned of Joe’s sad passing. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. We are truly grateful for the time Joe spent with us to share his story. We hope […]
The 14th annual Savannah Film Festival rounded out a full week of special screenings and award presentations by honoring Golden Globe-nominated actor Aaron Eckhart (“The Dark Knight,” “Erin Brockovich”), actor James Marsden (“27 Dresses,” “X-Men”) and the writing/directing brother team of Jay and Mark Duplass (“Cyrus,” “The Puffy Chair”) during the event’s closing weekend. {jathumbnail off}
Brett Ratner has resigned as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards after reportedly using the homophobic F-word at an event on Sunday night. He reportedly said “Rehearsal is for f*gs,” in response to a question at the event. In a statement issued later today, the Academy said, This morning, Brett Ratner submitted his resignation as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards to Academy President Tom Sherak. Ratner then issued an open […]
Durban International Film Festival manager Nashen Moodley has been appointed as director of the Sydney Film Festival. Moodley will take up his new position in January. The Sydney Film Festival takes place from June 6 to 17, 2012 while the Durban International Film Festival runs from July 19 to 29, 2012.{jathumbnail off}
The Fourth Annual Bel-Air Film Festival was held in from October 12th-17th, and included screening 36 Feature, Documentary, Short, and Student Films. “The 2011 Bel-Air Film Festival is proud to have showcased the work of filmmakers that have expressed their creativity and innovative spirits, and we are pleased to announce this year’s winners.” –Melody Storm, President of Bel-Air Film Festival.
2011 Bel-Air Film Festival winning film includes: {jathumbnail off}
The 14th Indie Memphis Film Festival ran November 3rd thru 6th, and wrapped on Sunday night with its awards ceremony. A Little Closer by director Matthew Petock took the top Jury prize for best film. In the film, set in rural Virginia, Sheryl struggles to balance her work as a housekeeper and raising her two sons, fifteen year-old Marc and eleven year-old Stephen. Hoping to meet the love of her life and bring home a father for her boys, she frequents a depressing, weekly mixer for the towns aging singles set. Meanwhile, Marc is desperate to lose his virginity, and spends his days working at a used car lot. And his brother Stephen, in the throes of sexual discovery, becomes infatuated with his schoolteacher while struggling to win the approval of a group of peers who adamantly detest her.
Heaven + Earth + Joe Davis, directed by Peter Sasowsky won the Jury award for Best Documentary. The film takes the viewer with Joe Davis,a peg-legged artist and motorcycle mechanic from Mississippi, around the world and into the visual and philosophical landscape of his art.
The complete list of winners: {jathumbnail off}