September 9, 2011
Mel Gibson plans to produce film on Jewish hero
By Christy Lemire, Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Mel Gibson, who reportedly made anti-Semitic remarks during a drunken driving arrest five years ago, is now producing a film about the life of Jewish hero Judah Maccabee.
Gibson’s publicist, Alan Nierob, told The Associated Press Friday that Gibson is working on a deal with Warner Bros. to develop the film through his company, Icon Productions. Nierob said the studio also would like Gibson to direct, but Gibson will decide whether he wants to do that once a script is finished.
The movie is being written by Joe Eszterhas of “Basic Instinct” and “Flashdance” fame.
Gibson, the Oscar-winning director of “Braveheart,” has defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism ever since his 2006 drunken driving arrest, in which a deputy’s report revealed he made Jewish and sexist slurs while in custody.
HBO orders cable news drama from Aaron Sorkin
NEW YORK (AP) – HBO says writer Aaron Sorkin is returning to TV with a series about cable news.
The as-yet-untitled drama will center on a cable-news anchor played by Jeff Daniels and a newsroom boss played by Sam Waterston. Other cast members include Olivia Munn and Alison Pill.
In making its announcement on Thursday, HBO said the series would follow the newsroom staff as they attempt to report the news in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles, as well as their own personal entanglements. HBO announced no premiere date.
Sorkin has said he wants to bring to cable news the same sense of idealism that made government appealing on his acclaimed NBC series, “The West Wing.”
Earlier this year, Sorkin’s screenplay for the film “The Social Network” won him an Oscar.
Mary Tyler Moore to receive SAG achievement award
NEW YORK (AP) – Mary Tyler Moore will be honored with the Screen Actors Guild life achievement award.
SAG announced Moore as this year’s recipient Thursday. The guild says Moore “created a new paradigm for female leads in television.”
The actress rose to stardom in “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and later starred in the landmark “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Her film credits include “Ordinary People” and her Broadway productions included “Whose Life Is It, Anyway?”
The 74-year-old Moore has won seven Emmys, a Tony award and been nominated for an Academy Award.
The 18th annual SAG Awards will be held Jan. 29 in Los Angeles.
Licensing Partnership Leveraging MovieConnect to Movie Advertisers
LOS ANGELES – The Aura Group, a full-service new media advertising and interactive consulting agency, announced a partnership involving the licensing of its proprietary MovieConnect technology to Flite, a leader in cloud-based advertising services.
The agreement allows Flite full use of MovieConnect, utilizing its innovative and highly marketable movie ticketing and showtimes platform. The multi-tiered technology provides studio advertising clients the ability to offer within the ad unit, theater showtimes and movie tickets through all of the major ticketing outlets, including Fandango, and MovieTickets.com, as well as smaller home-grown platforms. An example of this technology in action is an ad for Captain America that leverages MovieConnect to give potential moviegoers showtimes based on their zipcode, multiple trailers that viewers can watch in the ad unit, and the ability to clickthrough to buy tickets.
New Transparent Rain Cover for HD-DSLRs from Petrol Bags
Valley College, NY – The newest weather protection system from Petrol Bagsä is the transparent Rain Cover tailored specifically for DSLR cameras with up to a 70-20mm lens and professional light on-camera.
The cover’s rigid front hood section comes outfitted with a hotshoe connector that stabilizes it on camera. A 6″ polypropylene track on top of the hood allows for the addition of an on-camera light and/or wireless receiver. Designed to enable continued shooting in harsh and extreme conditions, the Rain Cover will also fit a DSLR with longer lenses when a light is not on board.
Constructed of transparent polyurethane for maximum visibility and black waterproof nylon, it offers quick and easy access to camera controls. Petrol’s ingenious one-piece design makes the cover extremely easy to install while shooting. A front section of ripstop fabric and transparent polyurethane that attaches to the cover via hook and loop material provides an additional shield to protect a telephoto lens. The PD515 weighs just 14.1 oz (.4 kg).
Agency Access Acquires ADBASE and FoundFolios
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.- In a move to position itself as the top marketing company for professional photographers, artists, illustrators, artists representatives, and stock agencies, Agency Access announced the acquisition of ADBASE and its division providing online portfolios, FoundFolios. This move positions Agency Access to be the top photo marketing and illustrator marketing resource provider by combining both companies’ strengths to provide the best marketing services.
ADBASE and FoundFolios will become divisions within Agency Access, maintaining their websites, brand identity and product offerings, and will continue to operate from their Toronto location. Soon ADBASE subscribers will also have the option to migrate over to the Agency Access website and service.
Adverteasing Marks 25th Anniversary With New Edition
NEW YORK–Adverteasing, the Richard C. Levy-created trivia game based on fast recall of slogans and jingles, is going “silver,” celebrating Poof-Slinky’s release of the 25th anniversary edition of the game.
Various brands under the PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble umbrellas cleared assorted slogans and images to be shown on the front and back panels of the updated game box.
Levy is a 35-year veteran professional toy and game inventor, and president of Richard C. Levy Associates.
Penelope Cruz arrives in Bosnia for new film
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) – Authorities say Spanish actress Penelope Cruz is in Bosnia to film Sergio Castellitto’s “Venuto al Mondo.”
The movie is about a single mother, Gemma, who brings her 16-year-old son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the 1990s Bosnian conflict. It is based on a best-seller by Margaret Mazzantini.
An announcement from the Sarajevo city government says Cruz arrived Wednesday and will film at various locations in town.
The filming will start Sept. 12 and last for 11 days.
Eddie Murphy selected to host Academy Awards
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Eddie Murphy is hosting the Oscars. The actor and comedian will host the 84th annual Academy Awards, producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer said Tuesday.
Ratner called the 50-year-old entertainer “a comedic genius; one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever.”
“With his love of movies, history of crafting unforgettable characters and his iconic performances – especially on stage – I know he will bring excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show Don and I want to produce in February,” Ratner said.
Mischer called Murphy “a truly groundbreaking performer” whose “quick wit and charisma will serve him very well as Oscar host.”
This will be Murphy’s first time hosting the Academy Awards. He said in a statement Tuesday that he is “enormously honored” to join the ranks of past Academy Awards hosts such as Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg.
Murphy started his career as a standup comic when he was 15 and has gone on to amass dozens of film credits as a writer, actor and producer. He was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in 2006’s “Dreamgirls.”
His stint as Oscar host marks a return to the single-host format the show has employed most often since the mid-1980s. Pairs of actors hosted the two most recent Oscar shows: Anne Hathaway and James Franco helmed the 2011 telecast, and Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosted last year.
The 84th annual Academy Awards will be held Feb. 26, 2012 at the Kodak Theatre.
Online:
Arnold premiers ‘Wuthering Heights’ in Venice
VENICE, Italy (AP) – British director Andrea Arnold describes her experience creating a new film version of “Wuthering Heights” as “a very difficult journey.”
Arnold on Tuesday called the project to film Emily Bronte’s only novel “an obsession,” yet says she had never imagined she would do a period piece.
Arnold’s film focuses on the tortured aspects of the love between Cathy and Heathcliff, while it leaves out the swooning romance.
The period piece is a marked change of style for Arnold, who twice won the Cannes film festival jury prize for “Fish Tank” in 2009 and “Red Road” in 2006. She has also won an Oscar for best action short in 2005 for “Wasp.”
“Wuthering Heights” makes its world premiere Tuesday in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Venice: Greek film ‘Alps’ explores griefVENICE, Italy (AP) – Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film “Alps” proposes a novel, if disquieting, grief counseling technique.
“Alps” is the name chosen to designate an ad-hoc group that offers to stand in for deceased love ones, purportedly to help the grieving through the transition. That means wearing their clothes, or repeating certain phrases, or specific exchanges.
Lanthimos said he is not aware of any such real-life phenomenon – but can’t rule it out. He says it was just an idea he had with his fellow screenwriter – but he figures whatever one thinks about already exists somewhere.
They later learned of groups in Asia that hire out stand-ins for wives and dates at social occasions.
“Alps” makes its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
Historical epic film gets rare honor in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Taiwanese director Wei Te-sheng lead scores of aboriginal actors to attend a gala premiere in Taipei of his historical epic “Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale.”
The epic about a 1930 aboriginal uprising against Taiwan’s Japanese rulers is currently up for best feature film at the Venice Film Festival.
The Taipei premiere was held Sunday at a square facing the Presidential Office Building in honor of the island’s first epic film production in decades.
Speaking to reporters in Venice on Friday, Wei said the film’s nomination shows “arts and culture can have a greater power than politics.”
The comments are seen as a mild criticism over the Venice festival’s listing of the film as coming from Taiwan, China – a reference that makes the self-governed, democratic island seem like it comes under Beijing’s rule.
Trial over Golden Globes rights delayed a month
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A trial to resolve a dispute over broadcast rights to the Golden Globe Awards has been delayed for at least a month.
Opening statements in the struggle for one of Hollywood’s glitziest award shows had been scheduled to begin Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Representatives for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and dick clark productions say U.S. District Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank notified them on Friday that another judge would have to handle the case.
No other details were immediately released.
If the case begins in early October, a ruling will likely not come until three months before the January show.
Producers negotiated a deal to keep the Globes on NBC through 2018, but the Hollywood Foreign Press Association says the agreement is invalid.
