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Las Vegas International Film Summit has been created by a group of experienced film-makers, top business executives and marketing professionals, committed to the development and promotion of the art and craft of filmmaking. This yearly mega event will cover every aspect of the motion-picture production process in a seven day tradeshow and an international film competition, being held at the Sands Expo, The Venetian and the Palazzo Casino Resorts of Las Vegas, Nevada, from March 29th to April 5th, 2010.

“Our mission is to use Las Vegas spectacular hotels and infrastructure to host the most influential film festival in the United States, and with that, contribute to the development of Las Vegas as an international cultural capital for the growing industry of cultural tourism”, said Joaquin Rodriguez, the festival coordinator. Las Vegas International Film Summit will be open to all industry professionals and film enthusiasts alike. For more information visit www.lvifs.com

MTV’s Awards program premiered exclusive clips from various movies coming out this year. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is my favorite of all. I can’t wait until July 15, 2009 when the movie hits all the theaters.

For achieving the highest level in theater, television and film as an actor, producer, executive producer and director, four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe-winning actor Kelsey Grammer will receive the Television Chairman’s Award on April 20 in Las Vegas at the NAB Show Television Luncheon, sponsored by VCI Solutions.

Best known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane in the classic NBC sitcoms “Cheers” (1984-1993) and its spin off “Frasier” (1993-2004), Grammer was nominated for Emmys for playing his character on three different sitcoms with the third being a guest appearance on “Wings.” Grammer is also an accomplished voice-over artist providing the voices for popular animated characters such as Sideshow Bob from “The Simpsons” and Stinky Pete the Prospector in “Toy Story 2″ among others.

The new Television Chairman Award was established to recognize individuals for a significant breakthrough in one or more specific art disciplines in television.

(Source) Press

Artists Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, Jamey Johnson, Jake Owen, and Taylor Swift have been added to the lineup for the highly anticipated 2009 CMA Music Festival. The stars were added to the performance lineup for the Nightly Concerts on the VAULT Concert Stage at LP Field. The four-day festival takes place Thursday through Sunday, June 11-14, in Downtown Nashville.

“We are delighted to add four of Country Music’s brightest stars to our incredible talent lineup,” said Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Youthful and electrifying, this group of artists bring a new level of energy and excitement to the event that cannot be beat.”

These artists will perform during the Nightly Concerts on the VAULT Concert Stage at LP Field, along with previously announced performers Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Julianne Hough, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley, and John Rich. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks. Surprise guests have also become a hallmark of the Festival, enriching an already star-packed lineup

Four-day tickets for 2009 CMA Music Festival are available now. The four-day ticket package includes the Nightly Concerts on the VAULT Concert Stage at LP Field, exclusive access to the Greased Lightning Fan Fair Hall in the Nashville Convention Center, exclusive access to the Photo Lines at LP Field and Riverfront Park, exclusive access to the event shuttle between venues, and a registration bag, with collectible pin, and 2009 souvenir program book.

(Source) Press

The first event to honor Asian talent aged 35 and under will kick off in HongKong on March 13 as announced by the Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter’s inaugural Next Gen Asia special issue will profile the achievements of these ambitious innovators. The Next Gen Asia inaugural party will take place on March 24th, during the 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), at the trendy new W Hong Kong in Kowloon.

Over the past 15 years, THR’s Next Generation initiative has recognized over 500 individuals in the American entertainment industry, many of whom have gone on to become highly influential in their respective fields — production, acquisition, representation, programming, finance, music, new media, marketing and talent. Next Gen alumni include such now-familiar names as Andrea Wong, President and CEO of Lifetime; Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman of NBC; and Stacey Snider, CEO and Co-Chairman of DreamWorks.

Selected annually by a committee of The Hollywood Reporter editors and reporters, the Next Generation list is not intended as a power list, but rather as a way to introduce the media and entertainment communities at large to the industry leaders of tomorrow.

Among the 20 professionals being honored on the first Next Gen Asia list is BoA. Already an Asian phenomenon with over 20 million records sold, THR identifies BoA as the next global pop wonder to watch.

(Source) Press

Surlely everyone is familiar with actor Roy Schneider. Perhaps best known for being the star of popular movies such as “ Blue Thunder” and “Jaws”, the last movie fans saw Schneider came out was “In Memorium”. At the 81st Annual Academy Awards(R) last Sunday, the late Roy Scheider was memorialized as one of Hollywood’s great actors.

As an extension to his tribute in the 2009 Oscar “In Memorium” video, Roy Scheider’s late wife Brenda Siemer Scheider, along with Joshua Newton, British writer-director of Iron Cross, Mr. Scheider’s last film, are honoring the internationally acclaimed actor with an exclusive star-studded event at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Hollywood will toast the late actor on Saturday, April 4 in an evening produced by family friend and director Gordon Hunt, father of Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt, which will feature appearances and speeches from friends and industry colleagues along with a special surprise performance. The evening will benefit The Myeloma Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Mr. Scheider has been nominated twice for Academy Awards for “The French Connection” (Best Supporting Actor) and “All That Jazz” (Best Actor). His many films include “Klute,” “The Seven Ups,” “Marathon Man,” “Blue Thunder,” “52 Pick-Up,” “Sorcerer,” “The Russia House,” “The Rainmaker” and most famously “Jaws.” His television work included three seasons of “SeaQuest DSV” and two award winning HBO projects “Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture” and “RKO 281.”

Mr. Scheider also received an “Obie” for his role in the Off Broadway production of “Stephen D,” and was awarded The Drama League Award for Best Performance in the Broadway production of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal.”

(Source) Press

The Oscars proved last night that Hugh Jackman can sing, dance and handle spontaneity like a true professional of Broadway Theater.  He kept pace with the award show moving rapidly and smoothly with a few technical glitches, which were not his fault.

My favorite parts of the telecast were the actor awards presentations where former recipients introduced the nominees and presented the awards.  I thought, Shirley Maclaine’s presentation to Anne Hathaway stood out among the other almost equally worthwhile presenters.

Best moments of the telecast:

My favorite winner and most deserving was Kate Winslet for Best Actress in The Reader. Penelope Cruz is a talented and inspiring woman who lovingly accepted the award for Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. And I loved Danny Boyle’s impersonation of Tigger as he accepted his Oscar for Best Director for Slumdog Millionaire.

It can’t go without mention of Ben Stiller’s parody on Joaquin Phoenix recent escapades in the media and talk shows.

Variety shares some of the back stage moments here, which is worth a quick visit to get a feel for the overall celebration of film at the Oscars.

With the 81st Academy Award Ceremony on tonight, it’s time to put our movie knowledge to the test, and guess who will win what this year.

But the one prediction that everyone agrees on is not who will win, but that the ceremony will lose. Despite the organisers attempting to liven up the ceremony by getting Hugh Jackman, a song-and-dance man, to host, the choice of films up for Best Picture only highlight the growing chasm between the choices of the Academy and the choices of the public. Out of the Best Picture nominees, only The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has broken 100mil domestic. Slumdog Millionaire is on its way there, but lagging behind are the remaining three nominees, none of which even made it beyond 30 mil in the US.

And if that isn’t reason enough, there’s the even curiouser case of the absence of The Dark Knight. It’s rare to see a film that is so popular (it just broke a billion dollars worldwide) and so critically acclaimed that isn’t acknowledged by an award ceremony (besides technical awards and Heath Ledger’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor, which can be argued is only there due to the actor’s tragic death). Even Titanic swept the Oscars and won Best Picture. While many dismiss comic book films as fluff, The Dark Knight displayed the capability of a blockbuster dealing with serious issues (indeed, it shares many themes with No Country for Old Men). And this lack of understanding of the masses will result in only further public disillusionment towards the ceremony.

On to the awards themselves… (more…)

Directed by John Singleton, The Biggest Movie Event of the Year trailer for the 81st Annual Academy Awards. This version from YouTube is, I am guessing, one second short of the official trailer at Hollywood Reporter.

The official one sheet for Focus Features’ upcoming dramatic thriller Sin Nombre has just been released.  Sin Nombre won the Directing Award as well as the Excellence in Cinematography Award at Sundance this year.  You can view the movie trailer here.

News is just in that Danny Boyle has been awarded the Director’s Guild Award for best director for a feature film. His film, Slumdog Millionaire, originally intended for either a DVD release or else a very limited arthouse cinema release, garnered enough critical praise and audience delight that it has slowly been sweeping the box office over the past few weeks. Beating out Chris Nolan, Gus Van Sant, David Fincher, and Ron Howard, Boyle will almost certainly get a directing Oscar, and Slumdog Millionaire looks likely to be this year’s Best Film.

The other notable award was for Ari Folman, as best director for a documentary, the film being the exceptional animated Waltz with Bashir.

Roger Ebert received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Even though a lot of hype is coming from the media on SAG’s ensemble award to Slumdog Millionaire on Sunday night, we mustn’t let it go unnoticed that they also handed out awards to Sean Penn for playing activist Harvey Milk in Milk and Meryl Streep for her performance as a fiercely certain nun in Doubt.

The late and multi-talented actor Heath Ledger won supporting role as the joker in The Dark Knight and the ever so vibrant, talented Kate Winslet for her appearance as a German woman harboring secrets in The Reader.

As for television it appears to be cookie cutter wins from the Golden Globe with NBC’s “30 Rock” and HBO’s “John Adams” in the comedy series and longform categories, and a top drama series honor for AMC’s “Mad Men.”

For a complete list of SAG winners, click here.

Slumdog Millionaire won the PGA’s highest honor, Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year, Saturday night while the drama continues to rack up the award season honors.

The Oscar is starting to look mighty shiny for Slumdog producer Christian Colson as the Oscar race as best picture favorite.

Other winners include TV’s “Mad Men,” “30 Rock” and “John Adams” received PGA trophies in the drama, comedy and long-form categories, respectively. For more details and a complete list of winners, click here.

Forest Whitaker will present Screen Actors Guild’s 45th Life Achievement Award to James Earl Jones at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards,

The ceremony will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT and 6 p.m.

Whitaker joins a growing roster of actors who will honor their colleagues at the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards that already includes Christina Applegate, Angela Bassett, Jon Hamm, John Krasinski, Eric McCormack, Kyra Sedgwick and William Shatner.

The Screen Actors Guild is honoring James Earl Jones for his career achievement and humanitarian accomplishments.  Past recipients of SAG’s Life Achievement Award include Charles Durning, Julie Andrews, Shirley Temple Black, James Garner, Karl Malden, Clint Eastwood, Edward Asner, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, Angela Lansbury, Robert Redford and George Burns.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button nabbed the most Oscar nominations by scoring 13 total nominations for the 81st Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Other best picture nominations are Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire.

Nominations for the 81st Oscars were announced early this morning. My favorites are Kate Winslet, leading role for The Reader, Penelope Cruz, supporting role for Vicky Cristina Barcelonaand Josh Brolin, supporting role for Milk.

Awards will be presented February 22, 2009 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and will be hosted by Hugh Jackman and air live on ABC-TV.

For a complete list of winners go to Oscars and the taping of the announcement this morning go announcement.