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More news →Oscar Winner Resul Pookutty Makes Sandalwood Debut
Oscar-winning sound editor and mixer Resul Pookutty, has made his Kannada debut. He will work in Apurva Kasaravalli's upcoming film Niruttara. Apurva, son of acclaimed film-maker Girish Kasaravalli, will make his directorial debut through Niruttara. Speaking to Times of India, Apurva has revealed how he managed to rope in the Academy Award winner. "It wasn't as big a task as one would expect. I asked a friend of mine to put me in touch with Resul and I then narrated the script to him. He liked the story, as well as how I had planned to use sound in the film. The thing about technicians like Resul is that they need to be convinced of the story and the team, irrespective of how big the project is. I'm glad that he felt this was the right project for him to make his Kannada debut," he has said. Niruttara stars Rahul Bose, Aindrita Ray and Bhavana in important roles.
Oscar Coverage: Ceremony and the Host
LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage of the Road to the Red Carpet and the 78th Annual Academy Awards? is brought to you in India ONLY on STAR MOVIES. This comes to you Live from outside Kodak Theatre? at 5.30 AM and the repeat of the same at Prime Time at 8 PM on 6 March, 2006. STAR MOVIES offers you the best seats in the renowned Kodak Theatre? located right in the heart of Hollywood! Hosted by Comedy Central's multiple Emmy and Peabody winning The Daily Show's Jon Stewart, Oscar? night will be a four-hour star-studded extravaganza that is brought LIVE for you just as every year only by STAR MOVIES. ABOUT HOST JON STEWART Jon Stewart is considered one of America's top social and comedic voices. From his anchor chair on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," Stewart "has breathed new life into a show that hadn't even seemed to need it," said The New York Times. Since taking over as the host of "The Daily Show" in January, 1999, Stewart's presence has seen higher ratings and awareness for himself, as well as the network. As host of "The Daily Show" Stewart has interviewed such luminaries as former President Bill Clinton, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards and Bob Dole and such celebrity icons as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis. For the past five years, Stewart and "The Daily Show" have received 10 Emmy Award nominations and won 7. These include winning for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program four times. Jon himself was nominated for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 2002, 2003 and again this year in 2005. While it may be the conventional route for a stand-up comedian to sign a book deal and expound on their early days inside dingy comedy clubs, Stewart has gone the other way. His debut book, Naked Pictures of Famous People, (Rob Weisbach Books) is a collection of humorous what-if essays. Prior to taking over "The Daily Show," Stewart was a series regular on HBO's critically-acclaimed series-within-a-series, "The Larry Sanders Show," playing a character he should know very well: himself. Hosting a late-night talk show was nothing new to Stewart. After briefly hosting a half-hour nighttime talk show on MTV, aptly titled "The Jon Stewart Show," Paramount enlarged the show to a one-hour format for national syndication. The critically-acclaimed talk show featured a variety of celebrity guests from the worlds of music, entertainment, sports and fashion. The show aired from September 1994 through June 1995. Stewart's been seen in numerous feature films including the Danny De Vito-directed Warner Brothers Comedy DEATH TO SMOOCHY starring Edward Norton, Robin Williams, De Vito and Catherine Keener, BIG DADDY opposite Adam Sandler, which grossed over $160 million dollars domestically, the romantic drama PLAYING BY HEART opposite Gillian Anderson; and THE FACULTY, a horror-comedy directed by Robert Rodriguez. Stewart has graced the cover of numerous magazines including Newsweek, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, etc. He was also named "Entertainer of the Year" for 2004 by Entertainment Weekly and is being honored as New York Entertainer of the Year" by Variety. Most recently Stewart has been featured on such shows as "Oprah" and "60 Minutes."
Oscar Coverage: The complete story
OSCAR HISTORY Oscar? Landmark In the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - The attendance was 250 and tickets cost $10. It was a long banquet, filled with speeches, but presentation of the statuettes took only five minutes. Break in the Tradition There have been only three circumstances that interrupted the scheduled presentation of the Academy Awards. The first was in 1938 when destructive floods all but washed out Los Angeles and delayed the ceremonies one week. The Awards ceremony was postponed by two days in 1968 out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King, who had been assassinated a few days earlier, and whose funeral was held on 8 April, the day set for the Awards. In 1981, the Awards were postponed for 24 hours due to the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. In 2003, after U. S. forces invaded Iraq the Tuesday before the telecast, the show went on, but the red carpet was reduced to the area immediately in front of the theater entrance, the red carpet bleachers were eliminated and the bulk of the world's press was uninvited. In 2004, the red carpet was back in all its glamour. Today, attendance at the Annual Academy Awards is by invitation only. No tickets are put on public sale. The ceremonies honoring 2005 achievements in motion pictures will be held on Sunday, 5 March, 2006. The 78th Annual Academy Awards? Presentation will be broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland?. OSCAR STATUETTE STORY Shortly after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was organized in 1927, a dinner was held in the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to discuss methods of honoring outstanding achievements, thus encouraging higher levels of quality in all facets of motion picture production. THE CREATION OF THE TROPHY A major item of the business discussed was the creation of a trophy to symbolize the recognition of film achievement. MGM art director Cedric Gibbons designed the statuette and Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley was selected to bring to three-dimensional form the figure of a knight standing on a reel of film, hands gripping a sword. The Academy's world-renowned statuette was born. Since the initial awards banquet on 16 May, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Blossom Room, 2,530 statuettes have been presented. Each January, additional new golden statuettes are cast, molded, polished and buffed by R S Owens and Company, the Chicago awards specialty company retained by the Academy since 1983 to make the award. Since 2000, when the shipment of Oscars on its way from the Owens plant in Chicago was stolen from the shipper's dock in Bell, California, the Academy always keeps a show's-worth of statuettes on hand. THE TROPHY Initially Oscar? was gold-plated bronze, for a while plaster, and today gold-plated britannium, a pewter-like alloy. He stands 13 1/2 inches tall and weighs a robust 8 1/2 pounds. He hasn't been altered since his molten birth, except when the pedestal was made higher in 1945. Achievements in up to 24 regular categories will be honored on 5 March, 2006, at the 78th Annual Academy Awards? Presentation at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland?. However, the Academy won't know how many statuettes it will actually hand out until the envelopes are opened on Oscar night. Although the number of categories and special awards is known prior to the ceremony, the possibility of ties and of multiple recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes the exact number of Oscar statuettes to be awarded unpredictable. The Oscar statuette is arguably the most recognized award in the world. Its success as a symbol of achievement in filmmaking would doubtless amaze those who attended that dinner 78 years ago, as well as its designer, Cedric Gibbons. It stands today, as it has since 1929, without peer, on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history.
Oscar Coverage - Complete nomination list
Following is the complete nomination list for 78th Annual Academy Awards? Best Picture Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich Directing Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich Actor in Leading Role Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote, Terrence Howard for Hustle $ Flow, Health Leager for Brokeback Mountain, Joaguin Phoenix for Walk The Line, David Strathairn for Good Night, and Good Luck. Actor in Supporting Role George Clooney for Syriana, Matt Dillon for Crash, Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man, Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain, William Hurt for a History of Violence Actress in Leading Role Jdi Dench for MRS. Henderson Presents, Felicity Huffman for Transamerica, Keira knightley for Pride & Prejudice, Charlize Theron for North Country, Reese Witherspoon for Walk The line. Actress in Supporting Role Amy Adams for Junebug, Cathering Keener for Capote, Frances McDormand, for North Country, Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener, Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain. Foreign Language Film Don't Tell, Joyeux Noel, Paradise Now, Sophie Scholl, The Final Days Tsotsi Animated Feature Howl's moving Castle, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of The Were - Rabbit Music (Score) Brokeback Mountain, The Constant Gardener, Memoirs of a Geisha Munich, Pride & Prejudice Music (Song) In the Deep from Crash, It's Hard out Here for a Pimp from Hustle & Flow, Travelin Thru from Transamerica Writting (Adapted Screenplay) Brokeback Mountain Capote, The Constant Gardener, A History of Violence, Munich Writting (Original Screen Play) Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck, Match Point, The Squid and The Whale Syriana Film Editing Cinderella Man, The Constant Gardener, Crash, Munich, Walk The Line Art Direction Good Night, and Good Luck, Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire, King Kong, Memoirs of a Geisha, Pride & Prejudice Cinematography Batman Begins, Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck, Memoirs of a Geisha, The New World, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Costume Design Memoirs of a Geisha, Mrs, Henderson Presents, Pride & Prejudice, Walk The Line Documentary Feature Darwin's Nightmare, Enron The Smartest Huys in The Room, March of The Penguins, Murderball, Street Fight Documentary Short The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of The Bang Bang Club God Sleeps in Rwanda, The Mushroom Club, A Note of Triumph: The Golden Ang of Norman Corwin Make Up The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Cinderella man, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of The Sith. Short Film Animated Badgered, The Moon and The Son: An Imagined Conversation, The Mysterious Geographic of Jasper Morello, 9, One Man Band Short Film (Live Action) Ausreisser (The Runaway), Cashback, The Last Farm, Our Time is Up, Six Shooter Sound Editing King Kong, Memoirs of a Geisha, War of The Worlds Sound Mixing The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, King Kong, Memoirs of a Geisha, Walk The Line, War of The Worlds Visual Effects The Chronicies of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, King Kong, War of The Worlds Feature films with two or more nominations "Brokeback Mountain" - 8 "Crash" - 6 "Good Night, and Good Luck." - 6 "Memoirs of a Geisha" - 6 "Capote" - 5 "Munich" - 5 "Walk the Line" - 5 "The Constant Gardener" - 4 "King Kong" - 4 "Pride & Prejudice" - 4 "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - 3 "Cinderella Man" - 3 "War of the Worlds" - 3 "A History of Violence" - 2 "Hustle & Flow" - 2 "Mrs. Henderson Presents" - 2 "North Country" - 2 "Syriana" - 2 "Transamerica" - 2
Oscar nomination for Black Friday?
Will 'Black Friday' be India's nomination for the OSCARS next year? Just 2 months into 2007 and we already have two strong candidates that are being vouched to be India's nomination for OSCARS - 'Guru' and now 'Black Friday'. While 'Guru' has garnered critical as well as commercial acclaim, 'Black Friday' too is moving fast in the same direction. Though commercially the film should pick up soon due to great word of mouth, critically one can't even remember any other film in recent past that won such all around positive appreciation across the globe. The movie has been hailed as being honest to the actual proceedings while the narrative too has won itself brownie points due to the way it moves in a thriller format. Kashyap's stranglehold on the subject has come for applause all over while each of the actors in the film has been receiving bouquets for their flawless acts. No wonder, the film (the subject of which still holds topical value across the globe) is being recommended for the honest honor!
OSCAR academy invites Metro screenplay for its permanent library
It's the world most old and comprehensive library on films, the Library of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Science, the Margaret Herrick Library. And it has new occupant, the screenplay of the recently released UTV film Life in a Metro directed Anurag Basu who also written the screenplay of the film, has been invited by the Motion Picture Academy's prestigious library to be part of the it's sprawling script collection. Metro will be one amongst masterpieces like Finding Nemo, Million Dollar Baby and The Passion of the Christ that have got this honour. This is another leg up for Indian films that have not stopped making headlines across the globe for it's content, style of films, but this is the first time a small no star cast Indian commercial film would be part of the acclaimed collection. Indian cinema this year is giving the green signal to new, fresh talent & concepts, like it has never done before. Lines between mainstream and so-called alternative don't exist anymore. This is definitely the new wave of Indian films. Ram Mirchandani, Senior VP-Creative and Projects, UTV Motion Pictures says that "This is the changing phase of Indian cinema, whether its iffy, Cannes, Toronto film festival Indian films are a vital part of it. Especially recently there has been a growth in niche low budget, good scripted films like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Bheja Fry and Metro that have created it's own space in the sun". Evermore special for Life in a...Metro as it is not really a typical Bollywood big budget-featuring blockbuster stars that have traditionally been acclaimed abroad. In fact it's a film completely shot in regular day-to-day backdrop! The selection of Metro for the academy library has opened inspirational doors to all young professionals and reassures us that the script rules. The library has collections of more than 32,000 books; 1,800 periodical titles; 60,000 screenplays; lobby cards, over 8 million photographs; over 300 manuscript and other special collections relating to prominent industry individuals, studios and organizations; sheet music, music scores and sound recordings; production and costume sketches; artifacts; and oral histories.