She's been burnt in effigy by Hindu religious fundamentalists in the sacred city of Benares, India. Now Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta is being feted by scholars in the Limestone City.
She will receive her honorary degree as well as address new graduates at a Queen's University fall convocation ceremony tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. And tonight, there will be a free screening of her film, Water, a nominee at this year's Academy Awards for best foreign-language film.
Just about to begin shooting of her latest film Heaven on Earth, Mehta was too busy to be interviewed for this story.
"She's quite courageous for handling contentious subjects most shy away from," says Reena Kukreja, who teaches a course in Hindi language cinema at Queen's University and is herself a documentary filmmaker.
"She doesn't hesitate to address subjects that are deeply problematic. In this case, lesbian relationships were quite taboo and not discussed in other Hindi cinema. She didn't hesitate to take the bull by the horns."
. It was 2000 and it was sacrilegious to them that someone they considered a heretic was going to shoot her film on the banks of their sacred river the Ganges. So on the night, before shooting was to begin, the extremists rioted and burned her set.
"The Hindu religious right had gained political power at the time and they wanted to protect an idealized Indian past that had no flaws," says Kukreja. "There was no room in it for lesbianism or criticizing the Hindu tradition of putting away widows."
She decided to make a film that was all fun, and the result was Bollywood/Hollywood. Set in Toronto, it's a comedy about a young Indo-Canadian millionaire trying to find a bride so he can get his traditional parents off his back. C
Bollywood/Hollywood was the beginning a collaboration between Mehta and Mongrel Media, whose president, Hussain Amarshi, is a Queen's grad as well as the founder of the Kingston International Film Festival, which ran here in the late 80s and early '90s.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Queen's to honour filmmaker; Deepa Mehta has been burned in effigy and now she will be immortalized
JASON WAHLER 'Hills' Star Behind Bars
Jason Wahler, star of “The Hills” and ‘“Laguna Beach” reported to jail on Thursday in Issaquah, Washington.
The reality star is set to serve 30 days behind bars for both assault and for underage public drunkeness, People reports.
If Wahler keeps himself out of trouble, he “could get out in 20 days for good behavior,” says Ruth Bowman, spokeswoman for the Seattle City Attorney’s Office to People.
Wahler was also charged with criminal trespass, but that charge was dropped.
Wahler’s problems started on April 8 after he was involved in a drunken brawl in Seattle.
He recently finished a stint in rehab.
Maxim Magazine Reveals Hollywood's 'Unsexiest' Stars
Charlize Theron and Jessica Alba regularly find themselves among the stars dubbed sexiest in the world.
But which stars unfortunately find themselves at the other end of the beauty spectrum?
The folks at Maxim magazine have revealed their list of the world’s unsexiest women, which includes ladies of the big screen, small screen and the concert stage.
The list, featured in the latest edition of Maxim, dubs “Sex and The City” star Sarah Jessica Parker as the number one Unsexiest Woman Alive, claiming Parker was the “least sexy woman in a group of very unsexy women.”
Embattled songstress Amy Winehouse found herself in the second spot on the list, with the magazine citing her “translucent skin” and “rat’s nest mane.”
ORLANDO BLOOM Won't Face Prosecution Over Crash
Orlando Bloom will not be prosecuted for an accident that took place earlier this month, in which two passengers were injured when the actor plowed into a parked car.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office confirmed it will not prosecute the actor for the car crash, which occurred around 2:15 AM on the morning of October 12.
Despite earlier reports that Bloom was being chased by two vehicles, the DA’s paperwork indicates that the “Pirates of the Caribbean,” actor had many more on his tail.
Reel Asian film fest announces 11th edition lineup
A mockumentary about the search for Bruce Lee's successor and a Japanese period drama set to a modern rock score are among the new films that will unspool at the 11th annual Reel Asian International Film Festival next month.
Organizers of the Toronto event announced on Wednesday a slate of 77 films from 13 countries that will screen at several downtown venues from Nov. 14-18.
This year's festival opens with U.S. director Justin Lin's Finishing the Game.
Set in the days following the 1973 death of Chinese martial arts legend and action hero Bruce Lee, the comedic faux documentary follows studio executives and producers on a frantic search for a stand-in so they can complete Lee's final, unfinished movie, Game of Death.
Sakuran, based on the manga of the same name, will be shown at the closing gala. Photographer Mika Niagawa makes her feature film directorial debut with the lavish and vibrant movie.
Though set in the 18th-century world of Japanese courtesans, Niagawa's film reflects an ultra-modern sensibility and contemporary rock soundtrack in its tale of a reluctant young woman pulled into the hierarchical world of prostitution, where she ascends to the highest ranks.
Spears and Federline Attend Joint Custody Hearing
Britney Spears and her former husband Kevin Federline both testified at the latest hearing in their custody battle over their two children on Friday.
Spears and Federline arrived at Los Angeles Superior Court early on Friday afternoon, where they were greeted by a media frenzy.
Inside the closed hearing, both gave testimony.
The judge is taking the case under consideration and has issued no ruling. A written ruling is expected early next week.
When they emerged a few hours later, Spears looked upset while Federline appeared happy, reports Web site TMZ.com.
Spears lost physical custody of her sons--Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James
Pullman trilogy gets new director
British director Anand Tucker has been chosen to take over the making of the first movie in author Philip Pullman's award-winning trilogy.
Anand takes over from Chris Weitz, who said he resigned from the film because of its huge "technical challenges".
The first in the fantasy trilogy is The Golden Compass, which has the UK title Northern Lights.
Pullman said he welcomed the appointment of Tucker, calling his ideas "exciting".
Anand's previous work includes Hilary and Jackie, about the lives of musicians Jacqueline and Hilary Du Pre.
New Line Cinema met with more than 50 film-makers interested in taking on the project before handing it to Tucker.
"The opportunity to turn Philip Pullman's extraordinary story into a film is literally a dream come true," said Tucker.
"I instantly fell in love with His Dark Materials when it was first published, and have been a huge fan ever since."
He added: "Phillip has created an incredibly universal story about a reluctant hero whose destiny is nothing less than to save mankind."
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Producers fight for WWI epic's record budget
Rhombus Media producer Niv Fichman is a veteran in the trenches of complex international financing, but World War One epic Passchendaele is a battle that forced him into uncharted territory.
The $20-million Paul Gross starrer was financed entirely in Canada, making it the biggest-budget feature to be funded solely here, according to Telefilm Canada.
The unique financing model combines the usual suspects of film funding - including public money and distribution and broadcast partners - with some innovative strategies.
"When we initially went abroad to raise money in the U.S. and Europe, we were asked to tone down the Canadian-ness of it," says Fichman (Silk, The Red Violin). "I said screw that."
Instead of diluting the Canadian war story, Fichman began to fight.
"I fought to not water it down to get a minor presale from a U.S. studio," Fichman explains. "Instead, we had to go outside the box."
Fichman says that on any given film, $8 million is about the maximum that can be tapped from public sources (including tax credits, Telefilm and provincial programs) and distribution advances (Alliance Films, in this case). The Harold Greenberg Fund and a licence fee from The Movie Network also contributed to Passchendaele's hefty budget.
But that still left a whopping $12-million hole. So the producers got creative. Very creative.
In 2005, Fichman and Gross met with Alberta's then-Conservative Premier Ralph Klein, who had created a special legacy fund for Alberta's centennial. There were grants to be had for projects of cultural or historic significance to the province.
The producers convinced Klein that their movie should qualify for this special grant because it is based on the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, fought by 50,000 Canadians - many of them from Alberta - in Ypres, Belgium.
In addition, the WWI tale is written and directed by Calgary-born Gross, who was inspired to make the film because his grandfather, also an Albertan, fought in the Passchendaele conflict, a horrific, muddy battle that ultimately saw the Canadian Corps triumph over the Imperial German Army.
Klein was so impressed that he awarded the movie a $4-million grant from the centennial fund (in addition to the $1.5-million film and TV tax credit the project had already been awarded through the Alberta Film Development Program).
The producers were on a roll. They then set up a limited partnership income fund that owns distribution rights to the movie. Using the flag-waving nationalism of the project as their sales pitch, they sold shares ($250,000 per unit) to private investors in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, raising $6 million.
Still $2 million shy, the producers made another unique move and partnered with The Dominion Institute, a national charitable organization that promotes an appreciation of Canadian history.
Rachel Nichols stars in The Amityville Horror
Halloween isn’t only about candies and costumes--it’s also about what’s on television.
The run up to each Hallow's Eve is filled with specials of episodic and one-off TV shows, only to climax with the ultimate TV nightcap on October 31--or four nights later
if you’re The Simpsons. So sit back, relax and enjoy the shows from the comfort of your living room--in between doorbell rings.
Rani plays an angel in Kunal Kohli's film
It looks like the daag on Rani Mukherjee's chunari will be effectively washed off with her next release.
After giving such a grandly understated performance as the archetypal Fallen Woman in Pradeep Sarkar's Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Rani rises straight for heaven in the next Yashraj film where she plays an angel descending to earth with a rather sweet and heartwarming mission.
While Mr Bachchan plays God, ghost and djinn in God Tussi Great Ho, Bhootnath and Alladin respectively, Esha Deol has already played a ghost in Darling. But no one has played an angel in Hindi movies before…unless we count Aftab Shivdasani who says his role as the angel in Anupam Sinha's Shukriya was his best ever.
Rani, apparently, took her angel's role very seriously, even going as far as to abstain from her favourite fish dishes to feel the pure and positive energy of an angel.
MADHURI IN Aaja Nachle
The undisputed queen of Bollywood, Madhuri Dixit is all set to make a grand comeback under the Yashraj banner, with title as Aaja Nachle.
In this film Kunal Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma were acting in pivotal roles.The film is directed by Anil Mehta, of Gaddar fame.
As the title suggests, the film revolves around the theme of dance and it's no wonder that Madhuri's co-stars are petrified of matching steps with the nimble-footed actress.
"One has to be totally crazy to even attempt to match dance steps with Madhuri. I thought I'd faint when I had to dance with her," says co-star KonkonaKunal Kapoor.
The music of this film is given by Salim-Sulaiman. Madhuri reportedly lost 8 kilos for her comeback and went through gruelling dance sessions to tone herself.
Ramu's keeping quiet!
Has maverick filmmaker RAM GOPAL VARMA learnt his lesson? Well, that's what it seems to be. For starters, he has stopped beating the media drums and isn't doing much talking on his next film Sarkar Raj, a sequel to Sarkar.
"After the debacle of his RGV Ki Aag, he has realised that what too much hype could do to a movie, so this time he has decided to work quietly," says a unit member.
Now the big question is that how long the silence would last?
Shahid's character is a repressed musician - Imtiaz Ali
While Jab We Met is the hottest film at the box office today, it's music has been one of the best sellers in the last one month. A mix of dance numbers and soft songs have been judiciously created by composer Pritam with director Imtiaz Ali being involved at all stages of the music creation.
Says Imtiaz, "Music plays a very important part in Jab We Met since a lot is achieved through the tunes that play throughout the narrative. In fact, Aditya, the character played by Shahid, is shown to be a repressed musician. It is the journey he takes with Kareena and the events that unfold which brings out this musical aspect of his. He does what he probably hadn't done for quite some time. This is why music had to be special here."
Talking fondly about Pritam, he continues, "I have known Pritam for quite some time but we are coming together for the first time in Jab We Met. Believe me, he has pumped the blood of his heart into the compositions. Do you know that he was in the middle of his marriage rituals when he was giving instructions on phone for the music creation? And just look at the tunes he has created! The sheer exuberance that he has brought out in the compositions is what has stood out eventually."
As per the current music charts, music of Jab We Met continues to be in Top-5 and has Pritam's own Bhool Bhulaiyaa as the closest competitor. If not for Om Shanti Om and Saawariya battling out for the numero uno position in the charts, Jab We Met could well have been one of the hottest selling and most popular soundtrack at the stands. Next few weeks will tell if Jab We Met proves to be directly in competition with the Big Two as well!
Meanwhile, it is time to have some 'Mauja Hi Mauja'!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Amy Winehouse dumped from 'Bond' theme
British soul diva AMY WINEHOUSE won't be singing the theme to the next James Bond movie after bosses chose a Finnish rocker instead. The 24-year-old soul diva had been hotly tipped to record the title track to the follow up to Casino Royale, but 07 bosses have since changed their minds.
Longtime Bond soundtrack writers DAVID ARNOLD and DON BLACK are now said to have approached VILLE VALO, lead singer of Canadian metal band HIM, to record the theme instead.
The 30-year-old rocker was approached by the Bond team. A source revealed, "David Arnold and Don Black were in deep conversation with Ville on the night. They love the song that won him an award. They think, he has just the right ear to write a classic Bond hit with them."
JOLIE'S 'A MGHTY HEART'
Best known for her films like Girl Interrupted, Mr and Mrs Smith, Tomb Raider, Alexander and The Good Shepherd, Angelina Jolie is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Being an actor and a mum-Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt have four children, Maddox, Six;
Zahara, two;Shiloh, one;and three-year-old Pax-Jolie strikes a perfect balance., In her forthcoming film A Mighty Heart, the Oscar-winner plays Mariane Pearl, wife of the murdered journalist Daniel Pearl.
The Oscar-winner admists that it was both an honour and a huge challenge for her, since Mariane was six months pregnant at the time Daniel was abducted. Here, Jolie talks to Hyderabad Times about her friendship with Mariane and her role in A Mighty Heart
Cate Blanchett’s Clive crush!
CATE BLANCHETT begged producers to cast CLIVE OWEN in her new movie, because she had a crush on him. The Oscar-winning actress fell for the British hunk when she saw him in
Cate says, “I swooned for months after seeing
She said, “I wanted to make a movie about a woman ageing. I personally wish the lighting had been even harsher.” Clive will also be seen in the MONICA BELLUCCI-starrer Shoot’ Em Up
I am not stupid like Paris, Lohan'
Actress TARA REID has claimed that she never landed in trouble like other Hollywood stars because she doesn't party at the cost of her work, In an interview with a newspaper, the American Pie actress said that she was careful no to do a lot of things that PARIS HILTON and LINDSAY trouble as Paris or Lindsay is that I'm not stupid, so I'd never do a lot of the things those girls do," the newspaper quoted her; as saying.
"You'll never read a story about me going out and partying when I'm supposed to be working, showing up on a set drunk or missing a day, never," she said. However, the 31-year-old admitted that all work and no play is not her idea of living
"But when I'm not working, why shouldn't have fun? Am I supposed to stay at home and live in a cage?"she asked.
Julia Roberts has it all
Actress JULIA ROBERTS has claimed that she has all that she' could ever ask for.' The Oscar-winner---who welcomed her third child three moths ago----said that she is the most 'proud wife and wife and mother of three amazing kids', and that she owes it all to her hubby DANNY MODER, without whom she will be very lonely.
"More than anything I am just the most proud wife and mother to three of the most amazing children. And the widening of my life, and my hips, is really just the true gift of my husband Danny, who I would be so lonely without," she said.
Kate Hudson wants Wilson back!
KATE HUDSON is reportedly trying to rekindle her romance with ex-boyfriend OWEN WILSON after splitting from DAX SHEPARD. The Almost Famous actress is said to be desperate to woo back Oweb - who was hospitalized in August after a failed suicide bid-after realizing she still loves him. A source says. “It was working out between her and Dax, but it was a clean break. After Owen’s much she loved him, and broke up with Dax.” Kate-who has a three-year-old son, RYDER, with ex-husband CHRIS ROBINSON- began dating Owen last year after meeting on the sets of You, Me and Dupree. However, they split in June following reports they clashed over his wild lifestyle.
Reese plays unusal role in Rendition
Actress REESE WITHERSPOON will appear in a very unusual role in her upcoming movie Rendition. The film portrays her in the role of a Chicago-based woman, Isabella, who is married to an Egyptian-born chemical engineer, to be played by OMAR METWALLY, suspected by US authorities of having knowledge of a bombing. However; instead of protesting against the authorities who fly her husband to North
“The film addresses an issue you read about, but may not feel connected to. I’m really lucky that I’m able to do movies like this, and that people accept me doing different things, “she said. Film Director GAVIN HOOD revealed that Witherspoon was not in favour of showing Isabella protesting for her husband’s innocence, He says that the actress wanted her character to be a woman who had full faith in justice. “Reese never wanted Isabella to simply shrilly protest her husband’s innocence, says Hood. “Reese wanted to make sure Isabella had a certain dignity, as well as a real belief in justice,” he added
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Priyamani vs Parvati Milton is the issue
Who will grab the role is the million dollar question. Though it is likely that either Priyamani or Parvati Milton will be the third heroine in the Balakrishna-starrer Ranga Panduranga, neither of them has been signed up yet.
Sneha and Archana have already been signed on. The dialogue and storywriter for this bi-lingual is J K Bhaaravi.
Music has been composed by M M Keeravani. Four songs have already been recorded.
On October 18, film's director K Raghavendra Rao and Bhaaravi visited Lord Sri Rama's temple in Bhadrachalam along with the script and sought the blessings of the diety.
UTV to release Hrithik-Ash starrer 'Jodhaa Akbar' in Telugu
One got to see glimpses of the extravagantly shot film Jodhaa Akbar. Being distributed by UTV, the dubbed version of this Hrithik-Aishwarya Rai starrer, will be released in Telugu along with the Hindi version.
The love story of emperor Akbar and his Hindu wife Jodha Bai has all the elements of a heavy budget period film and the language poses no barrier in enjoying the elaborate dressing and the romance between the gorgeous leading pair.
Shot extensively in Rajasthan, it was during the film's shooting that Aishwarya Rai got married.
Vishal Shekhar make Big B, Sanju and Abhishek sing
11th October was a day that composer duo Vishal-Shekhar would never forget. No, they were not busy celebrating Amitabh Bachchan's 65th birthday.
Instead they were grinning from ear to ear as they got a return gift from Big B himself when he recorded a song for them on the same day for Sujoy Ghosh's fantasy flick Aladin and the Mystery of the Lamp.
Unable to conceal his excitement, Vishal Dadlani reveals, "It was one of the highlights of our professional career. All these years we had been waiting for an opportunity like this when we would be able to compose a song with Mr. Bachchan.
It was a nothing short of a dream coming true when he crooned the number 'O Re Saawariya'."
Karisma, Kareena introduce the next Kapoor
To be born in a filmy family and then being raised in the perpetual world of cinema is not much of news. But when the family’s surname reads as ‘Kapoor’, then, it instantly makes a whole world of difference.
Karisma and Kareena are no different. Even though they have the same surname, there is something about them that besides binding them together.
They happen to be one of the very few siblings who seem to have torn the dictionary page that reads ‘sibling rivalry’. And it is very true.
Ang Lee regrets 'Lust, Caution' was withdrawn as Taiwan's entry at Oscars
Director Ang Lee said Sunday he was disappointed that his new spy thriller "Lust, Caution" was withdrawn as Taiwan's entry in the best foreign film category at next year's Oscar awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rejected the entry last week because not enough Taiwanese participated in the film's production, violating a rule that requires foreign countries to certify that local people "exercised artistic control" over their submission.
Lee said he respected the Oscar rule but believed the requirement was unfair because Taiwan and Hong Kong customarily pool their resources and talent in film production.
"With Chinese-language films, their production systems and audiences are spread out wide," Lee told Taiwan's CTI Cable News in London, where he attended the film's premiere.
"This rule does not work well for the working environments of Taiwan and Hong Kong, and is unfair to them," he said.
"Lust, Caution," about a relationship between an undercover activist and an intelligence chief in World War II-era Shanghai, won the top Golden Lion prize at this year's Venice Film Festival.
In 2001, Lee's kung-fu hit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won an Oscar for Taiwan for best foreign language film, although it also featured talent from Hong Kong and China.
Hong Kong's Tim Yip and Peter Pau collected the best art direction and best cinematography awards respectively for the kung-fu hit, and China's Tan Dun won the award for best original musical score.
Manish Acharya to release special edition of Loins…
Though his sparkling ensemble piece hasn't done half as well as it should have, Loins Of Punjab Presents director Manish Acharya is happy that the audience, limited in number, has got the point.
And for those who enjoyed every moment of the 90-minute satire, there's gladdening tidings. Manish has got nearly as much footage left behind on the editing table as he has put on camera.
"We had elaborated introductory scenes for all the characters. But we found that these were taking up too much of the playing time and delaying the main event, namely the music contest.
Among the many scenes that got sacrificed showed Shabana with her screen-husband. "He was played by a close friend of Shabana's.And the scene showed why her character had become the way it was. Another scene had Seema Rahmani (playing the Bollywood-fixated bimbo) goes for an audition for a movie and throws a whole lot of attitude at the White jury arguing she'd never get the role because she's brown skinned."
All these edited sequences would be brought back into the narrative on DVD. "You can call it the director's restored-cut," quips Manish.Atidhi- Mahesh Babu has rich look, superb performancein this film
Atidhi is one of the most awaited films of this year. Unfortunately, the film does not live up to the expectations. The film has rich look, superb performance by Mahesh Babu, a good plot and few good sequences in the film. But that is pretty much it.
On the other side, script and screenplay fails in the first half, and all the songs are just average. Director Surender Reddy seems to have taken care on extra details and additional effects rather than the main plot and narration. This could have been a good action thriller but due to predictable and not-so-interesting first half, and a decent second half turns this film into an average flick.
Into the details: An orphan is brought to home by a kind-hearted couple and their lonely daughter. He is named Atidhi. All seems to be going well for Atidhi but fate has different plan for him. He is seperated from the family and now the girl hates Atidhi.
Atidhi goes to juvenile school. When he is out, he is in search of the girl and one enemy in his life. Who is the enemy and why did the girl hate Atidhi? Did they get to meet? See the plot unravel on silver screen.
The film starts off very well with the orphan being adopted by a couple. But soon the film fails generating any interest until almost the end of the first half. A twist revealed as interval bang brings some relief and will make one anticipate at least some thing in the second half. Another bad is that even the songs are not that great in the film. And there is no entertainment either.
Second half starts off on a good note. Sunil, Brahmanandam episode is very good and provides good relief. The narration dramatically changes with the style and turns into a good action thriller.
Lead character unfolding the mystery in search of his enemy is very well done. But again, songs disappoint in the second half too. That makes the love track a burden on the audience as that track will pave way for a song every time.
Feroze Khan's-Gandhi, My Father to kick off Australian film festival
Feroze Khan's Gandhi, My Father will kick off the 5th Australian Indian Film Festival (AIFF) in Sydney on October 17.
The film is also one of the five nominated in the Best Screenplay category for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) to be held on the Gold Coast in November.
AIFF has become the largest foreign film festival in Australia.
This year's screenings include Shootout at Lokhandwala, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Cheeni Kum, Dhoom 2, Eklavya, The Namesake and Laaga Chunari Main Daag.
Chak de! India director Shimit Amin, actresses Sagarika Ghatge and Tanya Abrol, Akshaye Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Feroze Khan, Siddharth Anand, Arbaaz Khan and John Abraham will be guests at this year's festival.
For APSA's Best Screenplay category, Gandhi, My Father is in the fray with Lucky Miles (Australia), Night Bus (Iran), Secret Sunshine (Republic of Korea), and Takva: A Man's fear of God (Turkey).
An awards ceremony announcing the Best Film and Best Performance will be held for the first time at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.
One of the highlights will be the Bollywood in Australia showcase - a selection of four Hindi films, shot in Australia by an Australian crew, with local dancers and actors.
The films include Farhan Akhtar's Dil Chahta Hai, Siddharth Anand's Salaam Namaste, Sajid Khan's Heyy Babyy and the recent box-office hit Chak de! India, shot extensively in Melbourne and Sydney.
The 10-day festival will also travel to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth in the coming months.
David Cronenberg's Grisly gang film to be screened uncut
BRITAIN’S film censors are facing controversy over their decision to allow one of the most violent movies of recent years to be screened without any cuts.
Eastern Promises, directed by David Cronenberg, includes scenes so gruesome that, at its British premiere last week, members of the audience gasped and turned away from the screen. But it was awarded an 18 certificate without any cuts because the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has introduced a policy of not removing violence from films, except in a few cases, such as explicit scenes of rape.
The board has become so liberal towards violence that even some of its former leaders are concerned. “It is now out of step with public opinion,” said Mike Bor, the BBFC’s chief examiner from 1983 to 2000.
The shocking sequences in Eastern Promises, which centres on the Russian mafia in London, include one in which a knife is twisted repeatedly and gleefully into a man’s eye and two showing victims having their throats cut in graphic detail.
Andreas Whittam Smith, a former president of the BBFC, said he had not seen Eastern Promises but that when he ran the board, from 1998 to 2002, he had used an “unofficial test” to decide on cuts.
“If I thought this was the type of film that was likely to make people leave the cinema, or even make them have to look away for quite a while, then I would question why the scene should be left in,” Whittam Smith said.
This weekend, the BBFC stood by its decision. “Scenes that make people turn away are part of the fun of going to movies,” a spokesman said.
The board added: “These days we are not here to cut; we are here to provide information and let people then make up their minds . . . People also have expectations of what a Cronenberg film is.”
Any filmgoer wishing to check the BBFC’s information about Eastern Promises would find it on a page deep inside the board’s website.
The details are prefaced with the words “Spoiler alert”, meaning that viewers not wanting to know what was in the film should not read on.
Cronenberg’s films have often caused controversy before. Crash, released in Britain in 1997, an adaptation of a book by the novelist JG Ballard, featured a sexual fetish involving car-crash victims. It was banned by several local authorities.
Eastern Promises, starring Viggo Mortensen, who made his name in The Lord of the Rings, and Naomi Watts, whose films include Mulholland Drive and 21 Grams, goes on general release next weekend, after its premiere at the London Film Festival.
Cronenberg, 64, who has been attacked for the violence in some of his other movies, such as Naked Lunch, A History of Violence and Dead Ringers, defended his latest production. “To turn the camera away would be a betrayal,” he said. “I take violence seriously, as I want people to see the physical side of what really happens.
“This is not the sort of impressionistic violence that you get in the Bourne films. I think I have never gone too far in my movies. What violence there is emerges organically.”
However, the violence in Eastern Promises is likely to upset viewers and councils, which still have the power to ban films. And although critics are often inured to scenes of sex and violence, some have already been alarmed. One referred to “a number of unpleasant scenes, with the camera lingering on a bloody fight scene in a Turkish baths”. Another remarked that the violence “in one case is, literally, eye-popping”.
The scene in which an eye is gouged out was described by another critic as “making James Bond’s famous sink-bashing killing in Casino Royale look like light relief”, and Empire, the film monthly, says it is “the type of visceral sequence you leave the cinema talking about”.
The BBFC now cuts scenes from films with an 18 certificate only in cases of extreme sexual violence – particularly when the perpetrator appears to be enjoying it – and violence that might encourage others to ape it.
Coppola's new film premieres after 10-year silence
Breaking a 10-year silence from the silver screen, U.S. director Francis Ford Coppola returned with his movie "Youth Without Youth."
"Youth Without Youth," a philosophical musing on the myth of eternal youth, was having its public premiere Saturday evening at the Rome Film Festival which runs until Oct. 27.
At an earlier screening for the press, reactions were mixed. The Oscar-winning director said Saturday audiences should be in no hurry before deciding if "Youth Without Youth" is good or bad.
"This film is really a fable story," Coppola told a news conference. "I didn't want to make a film that was inaccessible, but you must see it again, you get more the second time."
The film opens as linguistics professor Dominic Matei (Tim Roth), aged 70, is about to commit suicide when he gets struck by lightning. The accident gives him abnormal intellectual abilities which attract the attention of the Nazis as World World II looms. Turned into a fugitive, he is also tormented by dreams of his lost love.
"He wakes up and weeps, as I'm sure many old people do who find themselves alone." Coppola told reporters.
The film, shot in Romania over 18 months, is adapted from a novella by the Romanian philosopher-author Mircea Eliade.
Francis Ford Coppola is the director of "Apocalypse Now" and "The Godfather." His last film "The Rainmaker" was released in 1997.
40 years on, 'Bigfoot' film still the benchmark for believers
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Forty years after two cowboys filmed an unidentified creature ambling through a California forest, hunters of "Bigfoot" say the grainy footage remains the cornerstone of their belief in the legendary ape-like beast's existence.
The subject of numerous hoax theories and investigations, Roger Patterson and Tom Gimlin's film, shot at Willow Creek in the expanse of the Six Rivers National Forest on October 20, 1967, has been debunked, derided and dismissed.
But so far it has never been successfully duplicated, and it is that fact, that Bigfoot devotees say is crucial.
"This is the cornerstone of the entire case for Bigfoot," Perez told AFP. "People say 'It's just a guy in a suit'. Well I beg to differ. If it's a man in a costume, why can't anyone duplicate the film?"
Perez, who will address a conference of Bigfoot believers at Willow Creek on Saturday to mark the film's 40th anniversary, claims that enhancements of the original, jerky footage show the creature's muscles expanding, rippling and contracting from one frame to the next.
Tom Yamarone, a member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, a US group of enthusiasts who record sightings and embark on hunts for the creature, echoed Perez's argument.
Yet others are not convinced. In his 2004 book "The Making of Bigfoot" author Greg Long claims to have identified the 'man in the suit' as a worker from Washington state, Bob Hieronimus.
Long also casts a critical eye over Patterson's role in the affair, noting the extraordinary coincidence that he had set out into the forest to shoot a documentary about Bigfoot and returned with footage of the creature
Robert Stein, an expert in trick photography, echoed Long's scepticism in an interview.
"Roger Patterson sets out to make a Bigfoot documentary," he says. "He immediately stumbled upon a Bigfoot. Not only that, he stumbled upon a Bigfoot that was out in the open in bright, clear sunshine, perfect weather for filming. He didn't just beat the odds. He gave the odds a royal whipping."
Patterson, who died of cancer in 1972, is portrayed in Long's book as a chronically unemployed rodeo rider determined to profit from an elaborate hoax.
Gimlin has always insisted the film was genuine, denying any knowledge of Long's claim that Patterson had in fact ordered a gorilla suit from a costume supplier.
And experts in special effects have questioned the 'man-in-a-suit' theory, saying the level of sophistication displayed in the film would likely have been beyond the reach of ordinary hoaxers.
Ryan Peterson, a freelance make-up effects artist who has worked on films such as "Mighty Joe Young" and "Men In Black," believes that if the film was a hoax, the perpetrators were operating years ahead of their time.
"In my opinion, the technology and artistry were not available in 1967 to create such a convincing Bigfoot costume," Peterson wrote in the Salt Lake Tribune this week.
Perez, a 44-year-old electrician who has been chronicling Bigfoot since childhood, says he is open to arguments that the film is a hoax.
"I would be willing to change my view on the subject of the film if they were able to duplicate it," he says. "But you expect me to believe that a broke cowboy and his friend Bob Gimlin make this sophisticated movie? Come on."
Indian films on special focus at 'Rome Festival'
Indian films have won huge appreciation at the current Rome Film Festival, which has decided to celebrate Indian culture, film and music this time.
"Both Indians and Italians excel in imagination and are gifted in arts. Their coming together at the Rome Film Festival this month is a celebration of the best talents of the two countries," Indian Ambassador to Italy, Rajiv Dogra has said.
He said 'Focus India' should and must result in a new age of Indo-Italian cinema. Indian films are on a special focus at the Rome Festival.
In a book highlighting the Indo-Italian relations in the film industry published by the Embassy of India in Rome this month, Ambassador Dogra said "Indians start celebrating life early. Just like in Italy. Colour, emotion, drama, above all creativity at its richest surrounds people from their childhood. Festivals in Italy, the noise and colour of Diwali and Holi in India excite passions and entice participation on a cinematic scale."
In cinema, India's contacts with Italy started early, almost from the time when films first came into being. In 1898, two Italian luminaries Coronello and Cornaglia screened films at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
He said, "interestingly our effort at co-production started as far back as 1920, in fact the first international venture by India was with Italy to produce 'Nala Damayanti'."
Once again, Italy held the pride of the place when the first International Film Festival took place in Mumbai in 1951.
The screening of the film 'Ladri di biciclette' at that festival had a significant influence in introdu cing neo-realism into Indian movie-making," Dogra said.
Not long thereafter, in 1937, the Marathi film 'Sant Tukaram' won the festival award at Venice. When Michelangelo Antonioni inaugurated the film festival of Kolkata in 1989 he was given tremendous ovation by people calling him "Antonida".
This exuberance towards an Italian maestro is the key to our mutual respect, and to admiration for talent from the other side.
More recently in May 2005, the first audio-visual co-production agreement signed by India, with any country, was with Italy.
Dogra said "the story of cooperation continues. This time on a magnificent scale."
He said the month of October has been quite eventful and productive in terms of Indo-Italian bilateral cooperation. A number of important events have taken place starting from October 2, the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi was celebrated in a grand way at a function where Italian Deputy Prime Minister was the Chief Guest.
On October 4, the soldiers who fought in Italy during the Second World War and saved Italian cities were remembered at a function during which the Ambassador and the Deputy Defence Minister of Italy paid rich homage to the brave, young Indian soldiers.
