January 14, 2011
Former Golden Globes Publicist Sues, Alleges Fraud
By Anthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A former publicist for the organization that runs the Golden Globes sued the group on the eve of its glitzy awards show, claiming it engages in payola schemes for nominations and awards.
Michael Russell sued the Hollywood Foreign Press Association late Thursday, just three days before the Golden Globes are slated to air Sunday on NBC.
The lawsuit claims many association members “abuse their positions and engage in unethical and potentially unlawful deals and arrangements which amount to a ‘payola’ scheme” that could be illegal and jeopardize the group’s tax-exempt status.
The filing does not list any specific examples in which a studio or producer has paid for a Golden Globes nomination or award.
In addition, the suit alleges the association sells prime spots on the show’s red carpet to lesser-known media outlets.
A statement from Ken Sunshine, whose company currently handles the show’s public relations, said the allegations were without merit.
“This is no more than the case of a disgruntled former consulting firm, whose contract was not renewed, attempting to take advantage once again of the Globe’s international stage for their own gain,” the statement reads.
The lawsuit seeks $2 million and alleges breach of contract, defamation and fraud over the association’s firing of Russell and his partner after the awards show last year. The complaint states the pair were dismissed after a dispute with association President Philip Berk over a charity and advertising campaign with Chrysler.
The pair frequently tried to raise the issue of ethical and potentially unlawful activity to Berk, the complaint states, but the claims were ignored.
Although the show is a precursor to the Academy Awards, it has long been criticized for some of its nominations, which are perceived as a way to gain favor with top actors.
This year’s show has been no different, with criticis m of acting nominations for Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie for “The Tourist,” a critical and commercial flop.
The association currently has 90 members from six continents.
Russell’s lawsuit notes a previous controversy that cast the Globes into relative obscurity for more than a decade.
In the early 1980s, the Globes lost its broadcast deal with CBS after it was accused of receiving favors in exchange for giving actress Pia Zadora a newcomer award.
The Golden Globes have been broadcast on NBC since 1995. The lawsuit says the network has paid $12 million a year for the broadcast rights in a deal that expires after Sunday’s show. The lawsuit claims a renewed license fee could jump to $26 million a year.
NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A phone message for Russell’s attorney, Timothy McGonigle, seeking more details was not immediately returned.
HBO To Film Pilot Episode in Maryland for Series
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – HBO will film a pilot episode in Maryland for a series starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Gov. Martin O’Malley made the announcement on Tuesday.
Filming for the show titled “VEEP” starts in late February in Baltimore.
The show is a comedy set near the White House. Louis-Dreyfus will play a former senator who has become vice president. The actress, who turns 50 on Thursday, attended school in the Washington area and is best-known for her portrayal of Elaine Benes on TV’s “Seinfeld.”
The Maryland Film Office estimates that production could have an economic impact of more than $6 million. The film office also says production could create more than 700 jobs for Maryland crew and actors.
Mel Gibson’s Next Film to Debut at Texas festival SXSWLOS ANGELES (AP) – Mel Gibson’s return to the big screen will begin in March at the South by Southwest festival.
Organizers of the Austin, Texas, multimedia entertainment festival announced Thursday that “The Beaver” will be one of five films that will have their international premieres at the event, commonly known as SXSW.
Jodie Foster directed and co-stars in “The Beaver,” which features Gibson as a troubled family man trying to cope with help from an unusual friend – a beaver puppet he wears on his hand.
The film will be shown a week before a limited public release on March 23, with an expansion to more theaters planned on April 8.
Its release had been delayed as Gibson dealt with bad publicity from a public breakup with his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. Their split has spawned a bitter custody fight over their infant daughter, as well as investigations into claims of physical abuse by the actor-director and extortion by the Russian musician.
Los Angeles prosecutors are still mulling whether to press charges against either Gibson or Grigorieva.
It remains unclear whether the Gibson, who last appeared in 2010’s “Edge of Darkness,” will attend South by Southwest.
SXSW film spokeswoman Rebecca Feferman said Foster will attend the premiere when it is shown in the festival’s “centerpiece” slot.
Gibson’s publicist, Alan Nierob, said in an e-mail that he did not yet know whether the 55-year-old Academy-Award winner would make an appearance.
“The Beaver” also features Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence.
Among the other films premiering at SWSX is the documentary “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop,” which focused on the comedian’s tour after his much-publicized split from NBC as host of “The Tonight Show” last year.
Newcomers, Veterans Both Nominated in Brit Awards
LONDON (AP) – Newcomers and veteran rockers have been nominated for Britain’s leading music award this year.
London-based rapper Tinie Tempah, who debuted his first album last year, has four nominations at the Brit Awards, including British Male Solo artist and Album of the Year.
Former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant is also nominated for the male solo artist category after his recent albums gained critical acclaim. Other British contenders include Take That, The XX, and folk-rockers Mumford And Sons. Nominees in the international categories include Alicia Keys, Katy Perry, Kings of Leon and Kanye West.
The awards are the British equivalent of the Grammys. Most winners are selected by a vote of more than 1,000 industry members. The ceremony takes place Feb. 15 in London.
JFK Library Opens 1st Online Presidential ArchiveBy Brett Zongker
WASHINGTON (AP) – Caroline Kennedy is helping to unveil the nation’s first online digitized presidential archive, which includes President John F. Kennedy’s most important papers, photographs and recordings.
On Thursday, Caroline Kennedy visited the National Archives and said online access to her father’s official records, personal correspondence, telephone conversations and speeches would give a new generation access to the historical record.
The Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston has been working for four years on the $10 million project. Archivists have digitized over 200,000 pages, 1,200 recordings and 300 museum artifacts, as well as reels of film and hundreds of photographs.
Library Director Tom Putnam says it’s a resource for young students and the most serious scholars.
Online: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum: http://www.jfklibrary.org/
Golden Globes Stage to Shine with 30,000 Crystals
Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) – The Golden Globes ceremony will be even more glittery this year.
Apart from all the stars lighting up the room, the new set at the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s International Ballroom will shine with 30,000 Swarovski crystals.
Dick Clark Productions, which is producing the Globes, says some 3,000 pounds of crystals were flown in from Austria for Sunday’s ceremony.
Production designer Brian Stonestreet says the crystal-encrusted set design was inspired by the ballroom’s signature chandeliers, and the sparklers won’t be confined to the stage. His crystal creations will also hang overhead, making for “a 360-degree experience,” he says, adding, “the room is actually the set, which is perfect for this show.”
The 68th annual Golden Globe Awards will be presented Sunday and broadcast live on NBC.
Online: www.goldenglobes.org
Marvel’s Captain America Fights New Foe: SuicideBy Matt Moore
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Captain America’s latest foe is deadlier than the Red Skull: suicide.
The character armed with his trademark shield faces off against suicide in a new story that publisher Marvel Entertainment released Wednesday for free through its website and app.
The toll-free hotline for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is featured in the work, too.
John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a network of crisis centers across the country, told The Associated Press that Marvel approached the organization about using its logo in the book “which we happily granted them.”
The 11-page story “Captain America: A Little Help” is written by psychologist Tim Ursiny and illustrated by Nick Dragotta.
In it, a despondent youth is poised to jump off a building when he spies Captain America facing a bevy of villains on a nearby roof. The fracas keeps him from going over the edge, literally and figuratively .
There is no dialogue, save for the end, which ends with the boy saving both the hero and, in the process, himself.
“Super heroes fight a lot of battles, but there are few more important than combating suicide,” said Tom Brevoort, Marvel Entertainment’s senior vice president of publishing.
“That’s why we’re making ‘Captain America: A Little Help’ available for free via our digital comics outlets,” he said in a statement. “If even one person calls this number instead of doing something very tragic, we know that means we succeeded.”
Besides being available for free digitally, the story is featured in the fifth and final issue of the “I Am An Avenger” limited series, which was also released Wednesday.
Draper said that while a comic book is a non-traditional platform to provide information about preventing suicide, it is “arguably an effective one.
“We are certainly confident that it’s going to promote awareness,” he said. “The more awareness that’s promoted around suicide prevention, the better.”
Online: The comic: http://tinyurl.com/6dgtckw National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Tyler Perry Earns 19 NAACP Image Award Nominations
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Tyler Perry dominated the nominations for the NAACP’s 42nd annual Image Awards.
Perry earned 19 nods Wednesday, including best director for “For Colored Girls” and best screenplay for “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?” The films will compete for movie honors alongside “Just Wright,” ”The Book of Eli” and “The Kids Are All Right.” His TBS television series, “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” was nominated for best comedy series.
Janet Jackson (“Why Did I Get Married Too”) is up for best actress with Halle Berry (“Frankie & Alice”), Kerry Washington (“Night Catches Us”), Queen Latifah (“Just Wright”) and Zoe Saldana (“The Losers”), while her co-star Jill Scott will compete in the best supporting actress category with “For Colored Girls” actresses Anika Noni Rose, Kimberly Elise, Phylicia Rashad and Whoopi Goldberg.
Denzel Washington (“The Book of Eli”) is nominated for best actor with Anthony Mackie (“Night Catches Us”), Common (“Just Wright”), Jaden Smith (“The Karate Kid”) and Morgan Freeman (“Red”). Best supporting actor nominees are Don Cheadle (“Brooklyn’s Finest”), Idris Elba (“Takers”), Justin Timberlake (“The Social Network”), Michael Ealy (“For Colored Girls”), and Samuel L. Jackson (“Mother and Child”).
“House of Payne” is nominated for best comedy series against NBC’s “30 Rock,” Fox’s “Glee,” ABC’s “Modern Family” and TBS’ “Are We There Yet?” The best drama series contenders are TNT’s “HawthoRNe,” NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” HBO’s “Treme” and ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Smokey Robinson’s “Now and Then,” Usher’s “Raymond vs. Raymond,” Sade’s “Soldier of Love” and “Wake Up!” by John Legend and the Roots are best album nominees.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Image Awards honor diversity in the arts and will be presented March 4.
Oscars To Take Viewers Through Time, Space, Movies
By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Oscar viewers, get ready to take a trip.
Academy Awards producers say this year’s telecast will include various “scenic transitions” that take viewers to different thematic destinations throughout the show, and Oscars will be presented in each one.
Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer said Tuesday that the Oscars will pay homage to iconic moments in movie history, using music and images to transport viewers to the scenes of memorable movies, performances, eras and even the first Academy Awards.
Awards for sound and other less viewer-friendly categories will be presented during these short trips.
The producers hope the sojourns will help contextualize and improve the average movie fan’s understanding of how various elements contribute to moviemaking.
The Academy Awards will be presented Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre. Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 25.
George Clooney to Begin Filming Movie Next MonthCINCINNATI (AP) – George Clooney’s new film will begin shooting next month and require “hundreds of extras.”
Kristen Erwin, the head of the regional film commission in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, says scenes for “Ides of March” will be shot in more than two dozen locations.
Clooney directs and stars as a Democratic governor running in the presidential primaries. The film also stars Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Erwin told The Cincinnati Enquirer on Monday that no release date has been set for the film but that Clooney’s Smokehouse Pictures plans to open a production office in the area.
Clooney’s father, Nick, has worked as a TV news anchor in Cincinnati and also wrote a newspaper column there.
Pixar’s ‘Toy Story 3’ Wins Golden Tomato Award
LOS ANGELES (AP) – “Toy Story 3” has received the Golden Tomato Award for the best-reviewed film of the year.
The award is presented annually by the website RottenTomatoes.com, which compiles reviews from critics to measure the percentage of favorable critiques.
Editor-in-chief Matt Atchity says Pixar’s animated tale about toys searching for meaning when their owner grows up and heads off to college collected positive reviews from 99 percent of critics, making it the best-reviewed film in wide release of 2010.
“Toy Story 3” beat out “The Social Network,” which got a positive-review score of 97 percent and took the Tomato in the drama category.
Other Golden Tomato winners announced Tuesday include the rebooted Western “True Grit,” the Banksy documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and “Last Train Home,” a documentary about Chinese migrant workers.
Online: www.rottentomatoes.com
Chinese Director Coy on Political Satire’s Message
By Min Lee
HONG KONG (AP) – Jiang Wen’s latest film has earned rare box-office success in the sensitive genre of Chinese political satire, but theories are flying that it accomplishes much more: eluding strict censorship to criticize China’s current government.
Set in the chaotic years after the collapse of imperial rule, “Let the Bullets Fly” tells the story of a Robin Hood-like bandit who kidnaps a con man about to take up the mayorship he secured through bribes. The bandit swaps identities with his hostage and becomes mayor, only to find himself locked in a battle of wits against a corrupt businessman who made his fortune from tobacco and human trafficking.
Movie critics, however, say there is more than meets the eye. Are the con man and businessman symbols of corrupt Chinese officials who have secretly pocketed the fruits of the country’s capitalist-style economic reforms? Is the bandit, who is played by Jiang himself, the brave crusader who dares take o n the status quo?
The con man travels in a train compartment pulled by horses. The word “horse” – pronounced “ma” in Chinese – is also used as Chinese shorthand for Marxism. Is the horse-pulled train a metaphor for China – a modernizing country driven by outdated ideology?
Jiang’s character says in the movie he wants to “earn money while standing upright” instead of kowtowing to authority. Is that Jiang the filmmaker speaking, saying he wants to make movies without censoring himself?
Jiang was coy when pressed about the hidden messages at the Hong Kong premiere of “Let the Bullets Fly” late Monday.
Asked if his latest work was in fact a political criticism, the 48-year-old filmmaker said, “Whatever interpretation is fine. Whatever. You are welcome to think whatever you want to.”
He then jokingly chided a reporter for asking the question, saying, “You really lack imagination.”
Some fellow filmmakers say Jiang has pul led off an incredible feat by producing a commercial hit backed by the censors without sacrificing his artistic and personal integrity. Chinese directors known for their earlier, critical works – such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige – have come under fire for gravitating toward apolitical historical and kung fu epics that don’t offend the government and meet growing market demand.
“Jiang Wen definitely put many of his personal beliefs in the movie. But he also managed a very successful balancing act between art and commerce,” said producer Chow Keung. “Seeing Jiang Wen succeed in this attempt is very encouraging to me.”
Chow is familiar with the Chinese censorship system, the Hong Kong native having served as the longtime producer for Jia Zhangke, the Golden Lion-winning director known for his films examining the Chinese working class. Jia spent years in the underground before his first movie was allowed to be released in 2004.
For all practical purposes, one can argue that “Let the Bullets Fly” is simply an entertaining action comedy. Besides Jiang, it stars Chow Yun-fat, the veteran Hong Kong actor made famous by John Woo’s stylish action thrillers, and Ge You, one of China’s biggest stars.
Producer Chow said many Chinese censors were trained at film schools and likely noticed Jiang’s subliminal messages – but turned a blind eye thinking they are too obscure for regular moviegoers.
The movie’s tremendous buzz may have the censors reconsidering. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television ordered movie theaters to scale back screenings about a week after its Dec. 16 release, according to the China Digital Times, a U.S.-based website that monitors the Chinese media industry. That hasn’t curbed the movie’s box office success, which has reached more than 600 million Chinese yuan ($91 million).
Jiang, first known to Western audiences through his leading role in Zhang’s 1987 film “Red Sorghum,” is no str anger to censorship.
His 2000 film “Devils on the Doorstep,” which won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, was banned in China. In an unpublished document that circulated in Beijing’s film community at the time, censors branded “Devils on the Doorstep” unpatriotic. The film portrays Chinese villagers who capture a wounded Japanese soldier near the end of World War II. They treat him well until deciding to trade him for food.
‘Bullitt’ Director Peter Yates Dies at 81
By Jill Lawless
LONDON (AP) – British filmmaker Peter Yates, who sent Steve McQueen screeching through the streets of San Francisco in a Ford Mustang in “Bullitt,” has died at the age of 81.
Yates was nominated for four Academy Awards – two as director and two as producer – for the cycling tale “Breaking Away” and the backstage drama “The Dresser.”
A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Yates directed stage greats including “Dresser” star Albert Finney and Maggie Smith as well as creating one of the film world’s most memorable action sequences – the much-imitated car chase in the 1968 police thriller “Bullitt.”
A statement from Yates’ agent, Judy Daish, said he died Sunday in London after an illness.
Born in Aldershot, southern England in 1929, Yates trained as an actor, performed in repertory theater and did a stint as a race-car driver before moving into film. He began as an editor and then became an assistant director on films including Tony Richardson’s “A Taste of Honey” and J. Lee Thompson’s “The Guns of Navarone.”
His first film as a director was the frothy 1963 musical “Summer Holiday” starring Cliff Richard – a singer billed, optimistically, as the “British Elvis.”
Yates also directed “Robbery,” based on the real 1963 heist known as the “Great Train Robbery,” which marked him as a talented director of action sequences.
He then went to Hollywood for “Bullitt,” and went on to make well-received films including the war thriller “Murphy’s War,” with Peter O’Toole, and the tense crime drama “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” starring Robert Mitchum.
Nothing if not varied, his 1970s movies included crass comedy “Mother, Jugs and Speed,” starring Bill Cosby and Raquel Welch, and the critically derided but commercially successful undersea thriller “The Deep.”
In 1979, Yates hit another creative high with “Breaking Away,” a deft coming-of-age story about a cycling-mad teenager in small-town Indiana. It was nominated for five Oscars, including best director and best picture – giving Yates two nominations, as he was also a producer on the film.
Yates received two more nominations for “The Dresser,” a 1983 adaptation of Ronald Harwood’s play about an aging actor and his assistant, which he directed and co-produced.
In recent years Yates had worked mostly in television. His last theatrical feature was 1999’s “Curtain Call,” which starred Michael Caine and Smith as a pair of theatrical ghosts.
Yates is survived by his wife, Virginia Pope, a son and a daughter.
Monday’s statement said a private family funeral would be held.
2010 Chinese Box Office Surges to $1.5 billionBy Min Lee
HONG KONG (AP) – Chinese box office takings surged 64 percent to 10.2 billion Chinese yuan ($1.5 billion) in 2010, although film officials say the figure still lags more developed markets and urged local filmmakers to make better movies that can compete with Hollywood blockbusters like “Avatar” and “Inception.”
China’s Film Bureau also said in a report issued late last week that the country added 313 movie theaters and 1,533 new screens last year, for a total of just over 6,200 screens.
The box office figures were boosted by the huge success of “Avatar.” The James Cameron 3-D sci-fi epic was the biggest hit in China last year with a total take of $204 million. The top-grossing Chinese film in 2010 was the Feng Xiaogang summer earthquake epic “Aftershock,” which earned $100 million. Jiang Wen’s political satire “Let the Bullets Fly,” released in December, was also a big local hit, with Chinese media saying its latest earnings have surpassed $75 million.
The Film Bureau, however, said the Chinese box office is still developing and urged local directors to improve the quality of their work.
“A 10 billion yuan box office … is still far from the value of a movie world power and is still far from keeping pace with the country’s economic growth,” the report said.
By contrast, the North American box office totaled $10.6 billion in 2009, according to the latest statistics from the Motion Picture Association of America.
Chinese releases have increased in volume and popularity. There were 526 local releases last year – up from 456 the year before – with 59 of them bringing in more than 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) and 17 surpassing the 100 million ($15 million) mark. But the Film Bureau said “there weren’t enough Chinese productions that were truly critically acclaimed and were truly able to meet market demands and the cultural demands of the audience.”
“The variety of Chinese movies isn’t rich enough. The development of genres still remains at the stage of simple imitation and duplication. It still lacks an improvement in creativity and localization … We lack a basic response to the creative pressure presented by new genres created by ‘Avatar’ and ‘Inception,'” the Film Bureau said.
Critics have complained that Chinese filmmakers have gravitated toward generic star-studded kung fu and historical epics that are easy crowdpleasers instead of coming up with new ideas.
The Film Bureau added that Chinese producers were too reliant on the domestic market and didn’t do a good job of promoting their work abroad.
The comments came despite a prolific year for Chinese cinema’s biggest names. Most of the industry’s top directors had releases. Zhang Yimou released the romance “Under the Hawthorn Tree” in September and Chen Kaige directed “Sacrifice,” the story of an orphan who avenges the death of his family that hit movie theaters in December. Besides “Aftershock,” Feng, China’s most successful commercial director, also released a sequel to his 2008 romantic comedy “If You Are the One,” also in December.
Hollywood’s ability to make inroads in the Chinese market comes in spite of a quota system. The Chinese government only shares revenue for 20 foreign imports a year – a formula that effectively limits the country to 20 foreign blockbusters per year.
