Eat Pray Love makes Julia Roberts Irritating

Christopher Tookey of the Mail Online says Eat Pray Love is pretty awful. No. He is not dismissing the romantic comedy, he means the leading character of Elizabeth Gilbert played by American leading lady of the screen Julia Roberts.

Eat-Pray-Love-Poster

The Story
While trying to get pregnant, a happily married woman realizes her life needs to go in a different direction, and after a painful divorce, she takes off on a round-the-world journey.

The film is an adaptation of the 2006 memoir “Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia” by American author Elizabeth Gilbert.

eat pray love poster

Eat Pray Love has a poor rating of 38% from 143 reviews so far, but had the highest debut at the box office with Roberts in a lead role since America’s Sweethearts in 2001. Apparently Julia Roberts is the only reason why people should see this movie as she “plays cinema’s most irritating leading lady for years,” said Tookey.

Crew
Directed by Ryan Murphy
Produced by Brad Pitt
Dede Gardner
Jeremy Kleiner
Julia Roberts
Stan Wlodkowski
Tabrez Noorani
Screenplay by Ryan Murphy
Jennifer Salt
Story by Elizabeth Gilbert (novel)
Narrated by Julia Roberts
Starring Julia Roberts
Billy Crudup
James Franco
Javier Bardem
Viola Davis
Richard Jenkins
Christine Hakim
Music by Dario Marianelli
Cinematography Robert Richardson
Editing by Bradley Buecker
Studio Plan B Entertainment
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) August 13, 2010
Running time 134 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $60 million
Gross revenue $81,928,119

Cast

Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert
Javier Bardem as Felipe, a man Gilbert falls in love with on her journey
Billy Crudup as Steven, Gilbert’s former husband
Richard Jenkins as Richard, a Texan whom Gilbert befriends at an Indian ashram
Viola Davis as Delia, Gilbert’s best friend
James Franco as David
Christine Hakim as Wayan, Gilbert’s best friend in Bali
El Hadji Diouf as Koko, a man Gilbert meets in Senegal.
Hadi Subiyanto as Ketut Liyer, Gilbert’s advisor in Bali
Tuva Novotny as Sofi, Gilbert’s best friend in Rome
Luca Argentero as Giovanni
Giuseppe Gandini as Luca Spaghetti
Rushita Singh as Tulsi, Gilbert’s best friend at the Indian ashram
Anakia Lapae as Tutti, Wayan’s daughter
Arlene Tur as Armenia, Wayan’s best friend

WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’

17 Sep 2010 19:22 Africa/Lagos

Waiting-for-Superman-Movie-Poster

American Airlines Sponsored Los Angeles Premiere of WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’

WHAT: AMERICAN AIRLINES SPONSORED LOS ANGELES PREMIERE OF WAITING
—– FOR “SUPERMAN”

A documentary from Davis Guggenheim and Lesley Chilcott,
filmmakers of “An Inconvenient Truth,” presented by
Paramount Vantage, Participant Media and Walden Media

WHEN: Monday, September 20, 2010
—–
Press Check-in at 6:00p.m.
Red Carpet Arrivals begin at 6:30p.m.
Screening starts promptly at 7:30p.m.

WHERE: PARAMOUNT THEATRE
——
At Paramount Pictures
5555 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood

WHO: Davis Guggenheim (Director), Lesley Chilcott (Producer) and
—- Geoffrey Canada (President & CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone),
Diane Weyerman (EVP Documentary Production at Participant),
Billy Kimball (Writer), Greg Finton (Editor)

Celebrities attending include: Jason Bateman
(Up in the Air), Dane Cook (My Best Friend’s Girl),
Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jason Lee
(My Name is Earl), Kevin Eubanks (Musician), Rob Reiner
(Director), Colleen Camp (Die Hard: With a Vengeance),
Robert Carradine (Lizzie McGuire), Justin Henry
(Kramer vs. Kramer), Timothy Blake (The Bad News Bears),
Crispin Glover, (Hot Tub Time Machine),
Mimi Rogers (The Loop)

ABOUT WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN”
—————————-
From “An Inconvenient Truth” director Davis Guggenheim comes
“Waiting for ‘Superman,” a provocative and cogent examination of
the crisis of public education in the United States told through
multiple interlocking stories-from a handful of students and their
families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and
reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a
dysfunctional system.

Waiting for ‘Superman’ opens limited (NY/LA) on 9/24 and expands
nationwide in October.

This film has been rated PG for some thematic material, mild
language and incidental smoking.

ALL PRESS MUST BE ACCREDITED TO COVER THE EVENT
———————————————–
For further information, please contact:
Broadcast – Gail Silverman – gail_silverman@paramount.com
Print/Online – Wendy Martino – wendy_martino@paramount.com
Photo – photo_rsvp@paramount.com
——————————–

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO)
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO)

/PRNewswire — Sept. 17/

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/19991206/PARLOGO
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Paramount Vantage

Official Awards of the 67th Venice Film Festival

Sofia Coppola wins Golden Lion for best Film at 67th Venice Film Festival

The 67th Venice International Film Festival was held from September 1-11, 2010. The news video of the highlights was shown on Supple magazine from the opening ceremony to the closing day.

John Woo the accomplised Asian and Hollywood director was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

The following is the complete list of the winners.

Official Awards of the 67th Venice Film Festival

VENEZIA 67
Golden Lion for Best Film:

Somewhere by Sofia Coppola (USA)

Silver Lion for Best Director:
Álex de la Iglesia for the film Balada triste de trompeta (Spain, France)

Special Jury Prize:
Essential Killing by Jerzy Skolimowski (Poland, Norway, Hungary, Ireland)

Coppa Volpi for Best Actor:
Vincent Gallo in the film Essential Killing by Jerzy Skolimowski (Poland, Norway, Hungary, Ireland)

Coppa Volpi for Best Actress:
Ariane Labed in the film Attenberg by Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece)

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress:
Mila Kunis in the film Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky (USA)

Osella for Best Cinematography:
Mikhail Krichman for the film Ovsyanki (Silent Souls) by Aleksei Fedorchenko (Russia)

Osella for Best Screenplay:Álex de la Iglesia for the film Balada triste de trompeta by Álex de la Iglesia (Spain, France)

Special Lion: Monte Hellman
‘Monte Hellman is a great cinema artist and minimalistic poet. His work has inspired this jury and it’s our honour to honor him’

ORIZZONTI
Orizzonti Award (full-length films):
Verano de Goliat by Nicolás Pereda (Mexico, Canada)

Orizzonti Special Jury Prize (full-length films):
The Forgotten Space by Nöel Burch and Allan Sekula (Netherlands, Austria)

Orizzonti Award (medium-length films):
Tse (Out) by Roee Rosen (Israel)

Orizzonti Award (short films):
Coming Attractions by Peter Tscherkassky (Austria)

Special Mention:
Jean Gentil by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas (Dominican Republic, Mexico, Germany)

The Jury, after viewing the 21 European short films in the Orizzonti competition, has decided the Venice Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards: The External World by David Oreilly (Germany)

CONTROCAMPO ITALIANO
Controcampo Italiano Award:

20 sigarette by Aureliano Amadei (Italy)

Special Mention: Vinicio Marchioni in the film 20 sigarette

LION OF THE FUTURE – “LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS” VENICE AWARD FOR A DEBUT FILM
Cogunluk (Majority) by SerenYüce(Turkey) – Giornate degli Autori – Venice Days

as well as a prize of 100,000 USD donated by Filmauro di Aurelio e Luigi De Laurentiis to be divided equally between director and producer

PERSOL 3-D AWARD FOR THE MOST CREATIVE 3-D FILM STEREOSCOPIC FILM OF THE YEAR:
Avatar by James Cameron (USA, UK)
How to Train Your Dragon by Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois (USA)

JAEGER-LECOULTRE GLORY TO THE FILMMAKER AWARD 2010:
Mani Ratnam

Premio L’Oréal Paris per il Cinema:
Vittoria Puccini

Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement
John Woo

67th Venice Film Festival Introduction by Marco Müller
Statistics of the 67th Venice Film Festival
Countries represented at the 67th Venice Film Festival
Ten possible route maps for “Orizzonti”
John Woo, Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement
Tickets and Passes

Claude Chabrol was a Superb Director, a Critical Mind and a Bon Vivant

Claude Chabrol
Photo: GERMANY, Berlin : French director Claude Chabrol pretends to film with his trophy after being awarded the Berlinale Camera prize in 2009.

The Berlinale was deeply saddened to hear of the death of the great French director Claude Chabrol. As one of the founders of the Nouvelle Vague, he ranked among the most celebrated and productive filmmakers of French cinema. He made 71 films over the 50 years of his career.

Nine of his films were presented at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 1959, he first participated in the Berlinale with his second feature film Les cousins (The Cousins), which won the Golden Bear. In more recent years, his entries to the Berlinale Competition included La fleur du mal (The Flower of Evil, 2003) and L’ivresse du pouvoir (A Comedy of Power, 2006). Claude Chabrol was invited to the Berlinale in 2009 to screen Bellamy. On this occasion, he was awarded the Berlinale Camera for his impressive oeuvre and remarkable contribution to film.

bellamy chabrol Photo: A scene from Claude Chabrol’s 58th film “Bellamy”.

Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick says of Claude Chabrol’s death: “We have lost a superb director, a critical mind and a bon vivant. In his psychological dramas and crime films, he relentlessly cast a critical eye on the bourgeoisie. Claude Chabrol was full of humour, and knew how to mix social criticism with fun and entertainment. Known for being a gourmet, he also attached great importance to excellent cooking for himself and his team when shooting his films.”

Press Office
September 13, 2010

Clarion Chukwurah Calls for legislation for the Unionization of the Nigerian Movie Industry

Clarion ChukwuraClarion Chukwurah

THE UNIONIZATION OF THE NIGERIAN MOVIE INDUSTRY

THE NIGERIAN MOVIE WORKERS’ UNION

MY BRIEF

UNIONIZATION OF THE NIGERIAN MOVIE INDUSTRY
BY: CLARION CHUKWURAH

HISTORY:

The Nigerian film industry, which in the context of this Unionization Bid Press Conference comprise only of Nigerian dramatic film content produced for commerce by independent Nigerian film makers working in Nigeria after independence, began as a celluloid film making industry without any clear cut structure with Wole
Soyinka’s “Kongi’s Harvest”, “Son of Africa” starring Funsho Adeolu, Ola Balogun’s directorial repertoire of, Ade Afolayan’s films, Hubert Ogunde’s films, Moses Olaiya’s films and Francoise Balogun’s Money Power, to Jab Adu’s ‘Bisi, daughter of the River’, Eddie Ugbomah’s films, Afolabi Adesanya’s ‘Vigilante’, and works by other film makers like “Black Goddess”, “The Mask”, “Vendor”, “Blues for a Prodigal” and a few others. A continuity of indigenous stories representative of the then current existing lifestyle and happenings in Nigeria/Black Africa socially and politically. This gradual growth of cinematic artistry was stifled by the economic downturn of Nigeria which put film stock completely out of the reach of the film makers’ financial ability and sent the Nigerian film industry to sleep, creating the vacuum that the present home video industry, the ingenious alternative of the new generation Yoruba and English television Plays, Soap Operas and TV. Movie Directors and Producers of the late 1980s and early 1990s across Southern Nigeria stepped in to fill, still without structure simply providing entertainment on a direct home based commercial sale format as opposed to the Cinema Culture of the Colonialists which replaced our original Village Square THEATRE IN THE ROUND entertainment format.

The present home video industry being a child of circumstance funded by non professionals have defied in twenty years every attempt at structurization that will define it as a colossal private enterprise independent of government, dependent only on itself and necessary Union negotiated bi-lateral trade agreements that will afford it constant smooth interaction on all levels of production and distribution with other Unionized Nations’ film industries throughout Africa and the World.

GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT:

In 1979, the Nigerian government set up a Nigerian Film Corporation with its 1979 Act under Brendan Shehu. It thereafter set up the Nigerian Film and Video Census Board. It set up in 1992, a committee to formulate for it a National Film Policy, and in 1996, a National Film Institute.

From 1999 – 2004 as DG/MD of the Nigerian Film Corporation, Dr. Hyginus Ozoemena Ekwuazi, drew up the modalities for the setting up of the Motion Picture Practitioners Council of Nigeria and the various guilds of the Nigerian home video industry and in a paper presented by Mr. Afolabi Adesanya, Managing Director and C.E.O of the Nigerian Film Corporation at the 50th General Assembly of the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON), at Lokoja, on Monday 17th, August, 2009, Mr. Afolabi Adesanya said, and I quote, ‘AT THE NIGERIAN FILM CORPORATION, WE ARE PUTTING IN PLACE A REGULATORY COUNCIL KNOWN AS THE MOTION PICTURE COUNCIL OF NIGERIA, (MOPICON) FOR THE FILM INDUSTRY TO ENSURE THAT PRACTITIONERS PLAY BY THE RULES. WHEN ESTABLISHED, MOPICON WOULD SET THE MINIMUM STANDARDS IN PRODUCTION, POST-PRODUCTION AND MARKETING AS WELL AS DISTRIBUTION. AND ALSO TO PUT IN PLACE A MECHANISM THAT WILL ENSURE THE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE FILM INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA .’

Through MOPICON the Nigerian Government is about to create a Government Parastatal through which intends to run the Nigerian film industry as another arm of Government like NTA, FRCN, as just another Broadcasting Network of the Nigerian Government BUT the Nigerian Film industry is a Private concern of Nigerian Film Workers and Owners comprising of learned professionals in the Arts and business men/women investors in the Arts and not a Government concern. The Government infringement so far is borne out of the seeming appearance that Nigerian Professionals in Film making don’t seem to have an idea of what to do in creating a structure for their industry with the externally funded internal conflicts tearing the various guilds and associations apart on a daily basis in the last eight years. This has given rise to my study of the Evolution Process of the American Film Industry which we presently are towing its line, my arrival at the need for UNIONIZATION OF THE NIGERIAN FILM INDUSTRY and consultations with Union leaders like Comrade Sylvester Ejiofor, Comrade Henry Odugala the General Secretary of Radio, Television and the Arts Workers Union who is here present representing himself and Rattawu President, on an immediate affiliation of a NIGERIAN MOVIE WORKERS UNION on the one hand and a NIGERIAN MOVIE OWNERS UNION on the other as a temporary arrangement while these two unions representative of the Nigerian film industry’s true practitioners not teachers, government appointees or employees, seek legislation for separate Unionization after having spent a minimum of three years paying tax through this affiliation to government which would afford the industry the right and credibility to seek and get legislation passed on our behalf by the National Assembly.

WHY WE NEED UNIONIZATION:

‘‘Before Hollywood, There Was Fort Lee…’’ which is to say before sophisticated structural organization, there would always be the years of seeming un-organization which are those years every industry spend in cutting her teeth.

As in other industries, the first organizations in the film industry proper are mostly the craft guilds, associations and benevolent societies created as learning and service organizations meant to maintain high standards of quality within each craft and these are often modeled like in Nigeria from inception as fraternal cliques along ethnic lines but no meaningful growth to the film industry, lifestyle of its practitioners or protection of their work can be gained from this initial style of the non uniform structure backed by law which
enables it to contest broadly in court and get the right amount of reparations in law. Right now, what is operative in the industry are poorly produced content, poorly paid practitioners, low budget/non existent product publicity, limited distribution and a Ghana Union influenced market strategy take over of Nigerian Actors’ jobs in Nigeria by Ghanaian Actors due to lack of a legislation backed structure that protects Nigerian Actors, equally operative, is the bane of movie owners and their hired producers giving the job of professionals to the un-trained at will in the face of Guilds who are powerless to stop this trend for lack of any legislative backing.

Unionization will afford correction of the un-organized image of the Nigerian Film Industry, the present impression to corporate bodies, the ordinary Nigerian, the Nigerian government and interested foreign partners. Unionization will open the door that foreign film industries have been waiting to walk through to interact with Nigerian film workers and owners based on merit, based on choice not reference. Unionization will enable the Nigerian movie workers request their right at any time through dialogue or necessary pressure from the Nigerian movie owners without any government interference because this are two market forces dependent on each other for production. Twice in the past, the Actors and Directors Guilds of Nigeria had called strikes because members wanted improved working terms, these strikes failed because they are registered only as associations, and not representative of all Movie Actors And Directors in Nigeria. The present coalition of guilds is still not representative of all movie makers in Nigeria neither can any one umbrella body represent workers and owners i.e. employees and employers without creating constant conflicts of interest.

Workers and Owners, have to belong to two separate unions on each side of a clear cut divide to actualize the industry as the money spinning machine it is being touted to be (by the UNDP Statistics? so called third or is it second largest in the World Film Industry) for its practitioners and government without resorting to government funding but legitimately request that 50% of the earnings of the Nigerian Film and Video Census Board from practitioners from inception to date be given back as Grant to fund the industry’s Unionization
costs, and henceforth be annually recycled into the funding of a piracy management task force under the Union run by industry players who are so trained for that purpose and union staff salaries. Unionization will also create the earning power for star actors to afford agents, entertainment lawyers and other relevant associate workers enabling the industry to take its proper form and shape. Unionization will separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls in the movie owners union with the right investment which will give each owner the proper motivation not just to make his/her money back but to run away with his/her profit.

What the Nigerian film industry needs are two unions representative, one; of the workers who are employed film makers as a Nigerian Movie Workers Union, two; the Nigerian Movie Owners Union representative of the Executive Producers who are owners therefore employers in the industry.

NIGERIAN MOVIE WORKERS: DEFINITION

There are industry definitions of the various employments of the film making personnel because these are not civil service jobs and so not carefully delineated, sometimes one title covers a number of different kinds of
responsibilities depending on the way a Producer, Director or Film Company defines the position. For instance, a gaffer can double as an electrician and/or a location scout and sometimes jobs overlap as in the case of an Art Director who is also the production designer but whatever the title or designation, a movie worker in the context of this presentation and Unionization is anyone who inputs non financially into the process of the final end product film content and therefore call the film their Artistic Investment.

NIGERIAN MOVIE OWNERS: DEFINITION

A producer in the existing Nigerian context is sometimes also the Executive Producer. In the context of this presentation and Unionization, a movie owner comprises of all persons/company who input financially into the production process that result in the end product that is the film content and therefore call the film their Financial Investment.

UNIONIZATION

I, as Clarion Chukwurah, a 31year veteran of dramatic arts in Nigeria, a career that has spanned the Nigerian stage theatre from 1979, television from the days of NTV in 1979 to NTA, to Celluloid Film, to the present Home Video Industry, and having represented my Country internationally severally as a Dramatist, and won Gold for Nigeria as an actress in South America, and having been consistently encouraged and assured of support by notable Nigerians in Nigeria and in the diaspora to come forward with a solution for structuring NOLLYWOOD, I have come forward with this call to Unionize the Nigerian Film Industry which consist of players from Northern Nigeria, Eastern Nigeria, Western Nigeria, the Niger Delta and the Middle Belt, asking that all representative bodies of the workers and owners of this industry from these sections of the Country send
stakeholders to a one week retreat at Akodo Resort in Lagos to brainstorm and work out the modalities for the Unionization of the Nigerian Film Industry right across Nigeria into two unions: The Nigerian Movie Workers Union and the Nigerian Movie Owners Union.

Each of these unions would be empowered to seek legislation to protect its work and members by paying tax to government. A movie workers union backed by legislation will ensure that no non union member works on any Nigerian film set, the union will ensure that only professionals work in the industry, the union will ensure that movie workers are paid nothing below the agreed fees, the union would provide a platform to look at, discuss and agree on the issues of royalties, so also will the union provide a platform for workers to pay tax to
the Nigerian government. And with this in place a movie owner will need to have the right budget to pay for the right equipment that a professional film maker require to produce the right quality of content, a movie owner will need to have the right budget to pay practitioners and by this the Nigerian film industry will no longer be an all comers affair where any happenstance can just jump into the fray and decide to produce a movie. Because, to produce a movie you will now need to belong to the movie owners union, or employ a producer from the workers union and produce by both the set rules of the workers union on the one side and
the owners union on the other side.

The quality of content will mirror the true quality of talent that this country has, workers will take their time to produce the right content and owners by virtue of the investment in each film will have the proper publicity and marketing network/budget that every film company should have to input into the distribution of each film in order to exhaustively tap profit from the sprawling market available in Nigeria and outside Nigeria.

I have consulted widely with my colleagues across the country in this Unionization Bid like Ms Zainab Ahmad, a notable Northern Film Producer, Mr. Madu Chikwendu, Regional Secretary of the Pan African Federation of Film Makers, Mr. Ebun Oloyede, of ANTP Lagos/Ogun State, Actors across the various sections of thecountry,some Guild Heads, and others. Therefore, I am also by this forum calling on GLOBACOM PLC, the communication giant which has most visibly identified with the Nigerian movie industry by Branding it’s products with Nigerian Movie Workers, to come forward and BRAND THIS HISTORICAL SEVEN DAY SUMMIT OF ONE HUNDRED STAKEHOLDERS of the Nigerian Film Industry at the Akodo Resort, Lagos, in my bid to bring all the representative bodies under one single umbrella that will represent our industry to the world and place us in a
position of strength in law as a private sector industry.

I like the game – Clint Eastwood, By Adrienne Papp

Clint-Eastwood

By Adrienne Papp

“It could be a great example in our crazy world for politicians and countries to use a little creativity along with leadership.” Clint Eastwood

“ Il buono, Il brutto, Il cattivo” alias The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, was a big hit movie in 1966 that started Clint Eastwood’s career as an instant International star, but it wasn’t the only role that found him second fiddle to Richard Burton in those days. A tough-guy action hero with an offbeat humor, an exceptional talent, and later on, a brilliant director, Clint Eastwood has made his mark in the World as a living legend and a never-before icon who has set a standard in Hollywood that is truly unmatched by anyone else.

Nominated for an Oscar, six wins and six nominations, The Bridges of Madison County, which he not only directed but also starred in opposite Meryl Streep, was the most successful romantic drama of our generation.

This kind of love happens once in a lifetime if one is lucky, but expressing this on the big screen with seemingly little or no action to go on makes Eastwood the ultimate director of all times. Playing away from typecast, he proves himself diverse yet again with only one of the exact same ingredience as before: Excellence.

Charting onto tougher life-lessons, Eastwood then acted and directed arguably the best picture of his life, Million Dollar Baby, expressing the everlasting sorrow produced by a painful estrangement from love by blood, – which then translates into a lost, but “tough” soul that has been seeking forgiveness for the past 25 years, despite the façade of a “Hell, do I care…” attitude. A critical and commercial triumph, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as earning Eastwood a nomination for Best Actor and a win for Best Director.

Both these movies linger with the soul for a lifetime. And, in one word, that is the trademark of Clint Eastwood.

The fact that he directed 9 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances just speaks about the magnetism and charisma he has on or off screen. Not a huge surprise then, that Clint Eastwood has again directed a new film that is vastly different from any other previous work.

This time the main character is Nelson Mandela in a breathtaking true story given life by such exquisite actors as Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus where the story is wrapped around rugby, a very popular sport in South Africa.

“This project wasn’t approached because of rugby, like Million Dollar Baby was not approached because of female boxing either. It is the story of the use of the game, – that’s what attracted me to the project and rugby. I like the game. The point however is that I try to tell about rugby as accurately as possible, but at the same token, the story is about the use of the game for reconciliation in a country that was on the verge of civil war when Mandela took office.”

As obvious as history shows us, there must have been traps and possible held backs  with such a task, which must have posed a need for a delicate balance for him as a director.

“Mandela knew that the white population still controlled the army, the economy and the police, – so he made the statement ‘We need every brick to build the country, regardless of what color it is.’ – and he did do. Yet, he did not strip a lot of the government offices, which is what politicians usually do, in which he is obviously a superior person, despite that he was in prison for 27 years.  The normal human emotion would have been to come in and be vengeful, – I think,” he says.  “Come in and strip everything down, – like we do it in this country, – but Mandela sort of looked at the bigger picture of everything. That is what attracted me to the story, and in fact it was almost one of the biggest obstacles to not make him too Christ-like, – but he is,” Clint concludes with a laugh-like smile. That famous one that supports what he means, yet charms you to your core, topping it with a voice that resonates with just the right decibel of authority and kind, unimposing intelligence. In other words, the qualities that make someone powerfully charismatic, yet deeply humble.

There is an understanding in Clint Eastwood that bubbles to the surface, but is hidden enough for the audience to discover layer after layer about the message unfolding in his films, unexpectedly reaching the deepest level of emotions in viewers. It’s a little bit like he seems in real life: starting a sentence, but then giving it up because there is just too much to say all at once and it is almost better to drop it and start anew scattering it all at once until one big painting becomes a Picasso. That is where genius is born.

When discussing the success of Mandela we touch on various points as to whether or not he was the ultimate success. “He wasn’t successful in his marriage,” Clint says, “in his relationship with his daughter, and other children he had. And, I think he has, I am told, a lot of regrets about that, but he also came in and said, he was going to serve one term and that is it. And, I know how that feels.”

While religion and culture separates people, this famous ’95 rugby event really did bring people together in a way that sport seldom does. They were dancing in the streets together and everybody was having a great time. You had not seen blacks playing rugby before 1995, but now you do in the fields everywhere, although not always in uniforms.  It is something people continue do to this day, thanks to the events of 1995.

Whether or not it is more difficult to portray a real story on screen than fiction depends on how well written the script is and whom one works with. On this film all of Clint’s actors were professional rugby players with just a few exceptions.

To the question as to whether or not he will play another role in one of his upcoming movies, which there is yet another one in the making right now, the answer is, “ Oh, I do not know. I never know what the last one is going to be, but I am at the age where they do not write a lot of great roles for people and I am happy in the back of the camera where I do not have to wear a tie and nobody is coming in saying ‘this won’t match,’ so there is a lot of advantages.”

What would he want the audience to capture from this latest movie?

“I would like the audience to understand this very unique kind of mentality that Nelson Mandela had… and think about it in terms of the whole world, – if we could solve a lot of problems in a non-military way, this would be a great example.”

Clint Eastwood, a five-time Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and People’s Choice Award winner, continues to fascinate through his movies, always conveying a message that touches us deeply with lingering thoughts that only an artist with the deepest understanding can create. He is someone who continues to write entertainment history with every role he plays and every film he directs.

About the Writer: Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist who has written for many publications including Savoir, Beverly Hills 90210, Malibu Beach, Santa Monica Sun, The Beverly Hills Times, Brentwood News, Bel-Air View, Celebrity Society, Celeb Staff, It Magazine, Chic Today, LA2DAY, among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles/New York-based publicity companies, Atlantic Publicity andAtlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities and world leaders. She also owns Spotlight News Magazine.

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Come and See Films From Wallonia Brussels @ Toronto 2010

tiff-films-call-to-action

Fantastic films from Wallonia Brussels will be showing at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. They are among the 300 films to be screened at the celebrated film festival from September 9-19 in Canada.

A must see is the world premiere of Djo Tunda Wa Munga”s VIVA RIVA!

BLACK OCEAN
Three young boys aboard a French naval vessel in 1974, unaware of the risks they run and the dramatic effects on our planet, take part in the nuclear tests in Mururoa, in the Pacific.
A raw acerbic story about the relation- ships of the men on board, confronted with discipline, violence, occasionally friendship but most of all by a solitude and distress that cannot be shared and is much too heavy to bear when one is only 18.
prod: Man’s Films
sales: Doc & Film screenings
09/12 07:15pm Scotiabank 4
09/16 03:00pm AMC 3
09/19 08:15pm Scotiabank 3

VIVA RIVA
Riva is an operator, a man with charm and ambition in equal measure. Kinshasa is an inviting place. With petrol in short supply in DRC’s capital, he and his sidekick pursue a plot to get hold of a secret cache – barrels of fuel they can sell for a huge profit. Of course they’re not the only ones who want the stuff.
prod: M G Productions
sales: Rezo Films screenings
09/10 06:30pm AMC 7
09/11 04:00pm AMC 9
09/18 09:15pm AMC 7

SAMMY'S ADVENTURES
A sea turtle who was hatched in 1959 spends the next 50 years traveling the world while it is being changed by global warming.
prod: nWave Pictures
sales: Studio Canal screenings
09/11 12:15pm AMC 7
09/18 03:00pm Scotiabank 4
09/19 12:45pm Scotiabank 4

22
’22nd of May’ depicts the various victims of a suicide bombing. Sam, a rather dreary-looking 40 year old,
works as a security guard at a shopping mall. His life is plunged into turmoil the day a young man carrying a backpack blows himself up in the mall. Fear, frustration and guilt are the central themes of this story.
coprod: Ryva Productio
sales: Epidemic screenings
09/13 06:45pm AMC 7
09/14 07:00pm AMC7
09/18 03:00pm AMC10

THE DITCH
At the end of the 1950s, the Chinese government condemned thousands of citizens – considered ‘right wing dissidents’ due their past activities, criticisms of the Communist Party or simply their middle-class backgrounds and families – to forced labour camps.
coprod: Entre Chien et Loup
sales: Wild Bunch screenings
09/15 08:00pm AMC 10
09/16 02:15pm AMC 10

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A high class prostitute and an eminent psychoanalyst discover that they share many things in common. They are both unhappy with their professions, seeking a way out that involves unique contact with each other’s worlds.
coprod: Artémis Productions
sales: Films Boutique screenings
09/14 06:00pm Visa Screening
09/18 09:00am Tiff Bell LB 1
09/19 06:45pm Scotiabank 4

THE SCREAMING MAN
Adam, sixty something, a former swimming champion, is pool attendant at a smart N’Djamena hotel. When the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to give up his job to his son Abdel. Terribly resentful, he feels socially humiliated.
coprod: Entre Chien et Loup
sales: Pyramide International screenings
09/15 06:15pm Tiff Bell LB 2
09/16 04:45pm Isabel Bader
09/19 06:00 AMC 6

Expecting Mary Comes to Tennessee on September 10

Uncharacteristically Loving
I was taken back when I saw the film “Expecting Mary” a few weeks ago because the characters were so uncharacteristically loving. In our culture today everything is about “what can I get” and “what can I give” only seems to arise when we remember we want to go to heaven or become more enlightened for reincarnation. The film and its characters display an unconditional sense of community, love, and non-judgment that has kept me very present to how I was loving/treating others.
Bridget Nielsen on Sep 01, 2010

EXPECTING MARY

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The award winning romantic family movie Expecting Mary starring popular Russian American actress Olesya Rulin, aka piano player Kelsi of the High School Musical fame will premiere in Tennessee on September 10, 2010.

Expecting Mary is the story of a young girl, who’s had all the trappings of an upscale life, but it’s only when she finds herself in a small New Mexico town, in a downtrodden trailer park, that she learns the real meaning of love, sacrifice and family, ” said Dan Gordon, the director.

Bridget Nielsen of Modern Mom said Expecting Mary has taught her more lessons on how to love and treat others as shown by the unique unconditional love of the personalities portrayed in the film.

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Expecting Mary will also be playing at the following locations:
Clarksville 16
Clarksville, Tennessee

Rocky Top Cinema 10
Crossville, Tennessee

Roxy 8
Dickson, Tennessee

Roxy 10
Lebannon, Tennessee

Thouroughbred 20
Nashville, Tennessee

Malco Roxy
Smyrna, Tennessee

Hollywood 27
Nashville Tennessee

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www.expectingmary.com

“The Hidden Face of Suicide” Premieres September 2 at Montreal’s World Film Festival

The Hidden Face of Suicide Trailer 2010-07-23 from Yehudit Silverman on Vimeo.

“The Hidden Face of Suicide” Premieres September 2 at Montreal’s World Film Festival

Critically acclaimed documentary The Hidden Face of Suicide will premiere Wednesday September 2, at Montreal World Film Festival according to a news release by Canadian-based ID Communications Inc.
The film recently won Best Documentary under 60 min at the Heart of England Film Festival.

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The Hidden Face of Suicide explores the taboo subject of Suicide. It was directed and produced by Yehudit Silverman. Focusing on the lives of suicide survivors, or those who must deal with the aftermath of someone who has taken their life, “The Hidden Face of Suicide” seeks to provide a voice for those whose lives are often shattered by the loss of a loved one.

“I am thrilled to have won an award for Best Documentary” says Ms Silverman about the Heart of England award. “This film has touched a deep chord with audiences where we have screened it, as most everyone knows someone or has been directly affected by a loved one’s suicide. It’s an honour to receive recognition, but I am even more pleased for the additional visibility to this issue as that is why I made the film in the first place – It comes from a personal experience of loss.”

“This award comes at a good time for us, as we prepare for the North American premiere for the film at the Montreal World Film Festival. This is also very special as Montreal is where the film was produced” says Dan Shannon of ID Communications, who represents the film for international sales. “We will also be active promoting the film online in terms of niche marketing for DVD and Video on demand following the North American premiere”, says Mr. Shannon.

The film has thus far been accepted in nearly half a dozen film festivals, with screenings at Montreal World Film Festival to take place on at the NFB Theatre, Sept 2 at 7:30pm and Sept 4 at 9:30PM.

The films trailer, more information about the DVD, and video on demand offers is available at http://www.hiddenfaceofsuicide.com

For press inquiries please contact martine@idcommunications.org
For international sales opportunities please visit
International documentary sales
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About ID Communications Inc.
ID Communications inc. is a Montreal-based boutique film, television and web marketing company specialized in the area of international sales representation and distribution for film, TV, DVD and web-based properties.