Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie has helped open a primary school for girls in war-ravaged Afghanistan.
The Changeling star, who is also the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, had donated USD 75,000 toward the school’s construction in Tangi when she had visited the place in 2008, reported TMZ.
Admissions are going on in the school, which has a capacity of 800 girls divided in two shifts. Classes are slated to start coming Monday.
The building has eight classrooms, four administrative buildings, a well and eight latrines, according to UNHCR website.
“This is what we needed here and I believe there is a need for every community if we want to build the future of our country to build schools and get education,” a former teacher said about the actress’ contribution.
Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hollywood. Show all posts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
James Cameron to make 'Titanic' in 3D
Acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron has confirmed that he’ll bring the 3D version of Titanic on the big screen by 2012.
“We’re targeting spring of 2012 for the release (of a 3D version of Titanic), which is the 100th anniversary of the sailing of the ship,” contactmusic.com quoted him as saying.
The movie was released in 1997.
Cameron also revealed that he would put his latest epic film Avatar back into movie theatres by releasing a director’s cut later this year.
“The wild card is that we might be re-releasing the movie this fall. It’s kind of gotten stomped out (in theatres since the release) of Alice in Wonderland. The word we’re getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple of hundred million dollars on the table as a result,” he said.
“The question is (that) the appetite (is) still going to be there after the summer glut of movies. We’re going to assess that. We’re talking about may be adding in additional footage and doing something creative,” he added.
“We’re targeting spring of 2012 for the release (of a 3D version of Titanic), which is the 100th anniversary of the sailing of the ship,” contactmusic.com quoted him as saying.
The movie was released in 1997.
Cameron also revealed that he would put his latest epic film Avatar back into movie theatres by releasing a director’s cut later this year.
“The wild card is that we might be re-releasing the movie this fall. It’s kind of gotten stomped out (in theatres since the release) of Alice in Wonderland. The word we’re getting back from exhibitors is we probably left a couple of hundred million dollars on the table as a result,” he said.
“The question is (that) the appetite (is) still going to be there after the summer glut of movies. We’re going to assess that. We’re talking about may be adding in additional footage and doing something creative,” he added.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Academy Awards under way; ‘Avatar,’ ‘Hurt Locker’ lead Oscar parade
The 82nd annual Oscars are under way in Los Angeles. An introduction of lead acting nominees and a song-and-dance number by Neil Patrick Harris opened Sunday night’s show before hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin took over.
“Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” are the favourites in an expanded field of 10 best-picture nominees. Each has nine nominations.
Academy Awards voters are expected to go very big or very small on their best-picture winner at Sunday’s Oscars.
The two favorites in the expanded field of 10 best-picture nominees are the as-big-as-it-gets blockbuster “Avatar” and the critical darling “The Hurt Locker,” which drew a tiny fraction of the audience its mammoth competitor pulled in.
Either movie would represent a first at the Oscars. James Cameron’s “Avatar” would be the only science-fiction film ever to take home the best-picture prize. While war films have done well at the Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” would be the first winner centered on the war on terrorism, a subject that has stirred little interest among movie audiences shell-shocked by news coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The other eight films competing for best picture: the football drama “The Blind Side,” the sci-fi thriller “District 9,” the British teen tale “An Education,” the World War II saga “Inglourious Basterds,” the Harlem story “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” the Jewish domestic chronicle “A Serious Man,” the animated adventure “Up,” and the recession-era yarn “Up in the Air.”
Intermittent showers and then a downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning pounded Hollywood Sunday afternoon, but a plastic tent over the red carpet kept celebrities dry as they entered the Kodak Theatre.
“It’s a beautiful day,” said Anika Noni Rose, a voice star of “The Princess and the Frog.”
Among other celebrities arriving early were “Precious” stars Mo’Nique and Paula Patton, accompanied by her husband, soul singer Robin Thicke, Anna Kendrick of “Up in the Air” and Ed Asner, voice star of “Up.”
“This is my first Oscars and the Saints won the Super Bowl - I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said “The Hurt Locker” star Anthony Mackie, a native of New Orleans whose team won this year’s football championship.
Leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences widened the best-picture category from the usual five films to expand the range of contenders for a ceremony whose predictability had turned it into a humdrum affair for TV audiences.
Oscar ratings fell to an all-time low two years ago and rebounded just a bit last year, when the show’s overseers freshened things up with lively production numbers and new ways of presenting some awards.
The overhaul continues this season with a show that farmed out time-consuming lifetime-achievement honours to a separate event last fall and hired Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as the first dual Oscar hosts in 23 years.
But Sunday’s ABC network Oscar broadcast could have several million fewer viewers after the network switched off its signal to 3.1 million Cablevision subscribers in the greater New York area in a dispute over fees.
Going into the show, Oscar frontrunners “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” lead with nine nominations each, including director for Cameron and Bigelow, who have a personal history that spices up the competition. They were married from 1989-91.
Cameron took the directing prize at the Golden Globes, but Bigelow earned the top honor from the Directors Guild of America, whose recipient almost always wins the same award at the Oscars.
If it happens, Bigelow would be the first woman in the 82-year history of the Oscars to win best director.
Four first-time winners are expected to triumph in the acting categories.
Audience darling Sandra Bullock is the best-actress favorite for “The Blind Side,” which brought her the first Oscar nomination of her career. Jeff Bridges, nominated four times previously without a win, looks like a lock for best actor for the country-music tale “Crazy Heart.”
Both Bullock and Bridges already had won other awards this weekend. At Friday’s Spirit Awards honoring independent film, Bridges earned the best-actor prize for “Crazy Heart.”
On Oscar eve Saturday night, Bullock won the worst-actress prize at the Razzies for her romantic comedy flop “All About Steve.” A good sport about her worst-actress nomination throughout awards season, Bullock was a rare winner who showed up to accept her Razzie, tugging a little red wagon full of DVDs of “All About Steve” for the Razzies audience.
Front-runners for the supporting categories are veteran Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who had been virtually unknown in Hollywood until his star-making turn in “Inglourious Basterds,” and Mo’Nique, a performer known for lowbrow comedy who showed unsuspected dramatic depths in “Precious.” Mo’Nique won the supporting-actress honor Friday at the Spirit Awards.
“Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” are the favourites in an expanded field of 10 best-picture nominees. Each has nine nominations.
Academy Awards voters are expected to go very big or very small on their best-picture winner at Sunday’s Oscars.
The two favorites in the expanded field of 10 best-picture nominees are the as-big-as-it-gets blockbuster “Avatar” and the critical darling “The Hurt Locker,” which drew a tiny fraction of the audience its mammoth competitor pulled in.
Either movie would represent a first at the Oscars. James Cameron’s “Avatar” would be the only science-fiction film ever to take home the best-picture prize. While war films have done well at the Oscars, Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” would be the first winner centered on the war on terrorism, a subject that has stirred little interest among movie audiences shell-shocked by news coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The other eight films competing for best picture: the football drama “The Blind Side,” the sci-fi thriller “District 9,” the British teen tale “An Education,” the World War II saga “Inglourious Basterds,” the Harlem story “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” the Jewish domestic chronicle “A Serious Man,” the animated adventure “Up,” and the recession-era yarn “Up in the Air.”
Intermittent showers and then a downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning pounded Hollywood Sunday afternoon, but a plastic tent over the red carpet kept celebrities dry as they entered the Kodak Theatre.
“It’s a beautiful day,” said Anika Noni Rose, a voice star of “The Princess and the Frog.”
Among other celebrities arriving early were “Precious” stars Mo’Nique and Paula Patton, accompanied by her husband, soul singer Robin Thicke, Anna Kendrick of “Up in the Air” and Ed Asner, voice star of “Up.”
“This is my first Oscars and the Saints won the Super Bowl - I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said “The Hurt Locker” star Anthony Mackie, a native of New Orleans whose team won this year’s football championship.
Leaders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences widened the best-picture category from the usual five films to expand the range of contenders for a ceremony whose predictability had turned it into a humdrum affair for TV audiences.
Oscar ratings fell to an all-time low two years ago and rebounded just a bit last year, when the show’s overseers freshened things up with lively production numbers and new ways of presenting some awards.
The overhaul continues this season with a show that farmed out time-consuming lifetime-achievement honours to a separate event last fall and hired Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin as the first dual Oscar hosts in 23 years.
But Sunday’s ABC network Oscar broadcast could have several million fewer viewers after the network switched off its signal to 3.1 million Cablevision subscribers in the greater New York area in a dispute over fees.
Going into the show, Oscar frontrunners “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” lead with nine nominations each, including director for Cameron and Bigelow, who have a personal history that spices up the competition. They were married from 1989-91.
Cameron took the directing prize at the Golden Globes, but Bigelow earned the top honor from the Directors Guild of America, whose recipient almost always wins the same award at the Oscars.
If it happens, Bigelow would be the first woman in the 82-year history of the Oscars to win best director.
Four first-time winners are expected to triumph in the acting categories.
Audience darling Sandra Bullock is the best-actress favorite for “The Blind Side,” which brought her the first Oscar nomination of her career. Jeff Bridges, nominated four times previously without a win, looks like a lock for best actor for the country-music tale “Crazy Heart.”
Both Bullock and Bridges already had won other awards this weekend. At Friday’s Spirit Awards honoring independent film, Bridges earned the best-actor prize for “Crazy Heart.”
On Oscar eve Saturday night, Bullock won the worst-actress prize at the Razzies for her romantic comedy flop “All About Steve.” A good sport about her worst-actress nomination throughout awards season, Bullock was a rare winner who showed up to accept her Razzie, tugging a little red wagon full of DVDs of “All About Steve” for the Razzies audience.
Front-runners for the supporting categories are veteran Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who had been virtually unknown in Hollywood until his star-making turn in “Inglourious Basterds,” and Mo’Nique, a performer known for lowbrow comedy who showed unsuspected dramatic depths in “Precious.” Mo’Nique won the supporting-actress honor Friday at the Spirit Awards.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Cameron’s 'Avatar’ wins best drama honour at Globes
The science-fiction blockbuster “Avatar” won best drama at the Golden Globes and picked up the directing honor for James Cameron on Sunday, raising the “Titanic” filmmaker’s prospects for another Academy Awards triumph
