Cate Blanchett says Russell Crowe is ”not always easy”

London, May 21 (ANI): Cate Blanchett has revealed that working with Russell Crowe is ”not always easy”.

The Oscar winning actress plays Maid Marian alongside Russell in Ridley Scott”s epic blockbuster ‘Robin Hood’ and hinted at a sometimes tense atmosphere on set.

“Russell is not always easy – his reputation both as an actor and as an intimidating presence precedes him, but he”s always after making the best possible film,” the Mirror quoted her as telling Parade.com.

“I”m not backward in coming forward, so we had some, shall I say, ”robust” conversations. When I”m working, I like to push it right to the edge. I believe if you”re going to do something, you should do it all the way,” she added.

The ‘Elizabeth’ star also said that she tried to hold her own with the guys.

“The biggest challenge was they expected me to look more gorgeous than my male co-stars, which isn”t easy when you”re doing action stuff,” she revealed.

“I loved the horse riding, and the moment where Marian gets all chainmailed up and rides off into battle. We had to ride these wild, wild ponies; some of them were really difficult to get on and none of them had saddles. We all galloped off and it was thrilling,” she added. (ANI)

Cate Blanchett says Russell Crowe is ”not always easy”

London, May 21 (ANI): Cate Blanchett has revealed that working with Russell Crowe is ”not always easy”.

The Oscar winning actress plays Maid Marian alongside Russell in Ridley Scott”s epic blockbuster ‘Robin Hood’ and hinted at a sometimes tense atmosphere on set.

“Russell is not always easy – his reputation both as an actor and as an intimidating presence precedes him, but he”s always after making the best possible film,” the Mirror quoted her as telling Parade.com.

“I”m not backward in coming forward, so we had some, shall I say, ”robust” conversations. When I”m working, I like to push it right to the edge. I believe if you”re going to do something, you should do it all the way,” she added.

The ‘Elizabeth’ star also said that she tried to hold her own with the guys.

“The biggest challenge was they expected me to look more gorgeous than my male co-stars, which isn”t easy when you”re doing action stuff,” she revealed.

“I loved the horse riding, and the moment where Marian gets all chainmailed up and rides off into battle. We had to ride these wild, wild ponies; some of them were really difficult to get on and none of them had saddles. We all galloped off and it was thrilling,” she added. (ANI)

Sandra Bullock ‘murder plot’ bogus

London, April 19 (ANI): The FBI says the murder plot against Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock, reportedly arranged by her husband Jesse James” so mistress Michelle McGee, is bogus, according to a report.

According to law sources, McGee”s ex-husband Shane Modica received a call from an unknown person who claimed that McGee wanted to bump off both Bullock and Modica.

According to TMZ.com, the FBI has deemed the tip ”not credible”.

Modica also said that the caller claimed he received his killing orders before Bullock”s husband James”s affair with McGee came to light, reports the Sun.

The FBI reported they have had prior run-ins with the mystery caller and have since concluded the threat to be bogus. (ANI)

Sandra Bullock ‘murder plot’ bogus

London, April 19 (ANI): The FBI says the murder plot against Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock, reportedly arranged by her husband Jesse James” so mistress Michelle McGee, is bogus, according to a report.

According to law sources, McGee”s ex-husband Shane Modica received a call from an unknown person who claimed that McGee wanted to bump off both Bullock and Modica.

According to TMZ.com, the FBI has deemed the tip ”not credible”.

Modica also said that the caller claimed he received his killing orders before Bullock”s husband James”s affair with McGee came to light, reports the Sun.

The FBI reported they have had prior run-ins with the mystery caller and have since concluded the threat to be bogus. (ANI)

Bullock ‘hiding out in Hollywood Hills amid Jesse James affair claims’

Washington, March 29 (ANI): In the wake of her husband Jesse James” cheating scandal, Sandra Bullock is hiding out at her pre-marital Hollywood Hills mansion, it has emerged.

A friend of the actress has confirmed that Bullock is dealing with her husband”s tawdry affairs within the confines of the three-bedroom house she purchased for 1.485 million dollars in 2001.

The Oscar-winning actress has welcomed well-wishers and supporters to the home, reports Radaronline.com.

A neighbour said: “There has been alot of activity at the house.”

“There have been a few cars going in and out of her gate and people going in there in the last few days.

“There has been more activity here in the last week than in the last year.”

“It”s usually very quiet here,” the neighbour added. (ANI)

Fawcett omission from Oscar tribute no accident

The executive director of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has defended a decision to not include Farrah Fawcett in the Oscars’ In Memoriam segment.

Bruce Davis says it was a difficult decision for the committee that assembles the segment to omit Fawcett and he is not surprised that some fans and family members are upset.

Davis says his colleagues thought Fawcett was best known for her “remarkable television work” and would be more appropriately honoured by at the Emmy Awards.

Davis added “an unusual number of extremely distinguished screenwriters” died this year and the Academy tried to honour as many of them as possible in the short segment.

Actor Gene Barry was also omitted.

An Oscar and a Razzie? Bullock set for bizarre double

LONDON: Sandra Bullock is on the brink of a rare double this weekend which could see her become the first actress to win an Oscar and a slightly less-coveted Razzie award in the space of 24 hours.

The star is regarded as the favorite to win the best actress prize at Sunday’s Oscars for her performance in ‘The Blind Side’, a role which has already won Bullock a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.

However, the popular leading lady is also expected to see one of her less successful roles honored at Saturday’s Golden Raspberry Awards, the irreverent Oscars parody intended as an annual salute to Hollywood’s worst of the worst.

Bullock is up for a Razzie for her performance in ‘All About Steve’, which suffered a critical savaging on its release last year. Unlike most celebrity Razzie winners Bullock has vowed to attend on Saturday if she wins.

Anti-Avatar mails to ‘Hurt’ Oscar bid?

LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering action against a producer of ‘The Hurt Locker’ who sent out multiple emails urging academy members to vote for his movie in the Oscar best-picture category and “not a $500 million film”, an obvious reference to close-competitor ‘Avatar’.

The emails by Nicolas Chartier, one of four nominated producers for ‘The Hurt Locker’ and who put up the financing to make the front-running film, violated the academy’s rule against sending mailings that “attempt to promote any film or achievement by casting a negative light on a competing film or achievement”, according to academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger.

“My naivete, ignorance of the rules and plain stupidity as a first-time nominee is not an excuse for this behavior and I strongly regret it,” Chartier wrote in an email. His emails might ruin director Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar hopes, which are high after she bagged the Critics Choice awards and the Baftas for the movie.

Anna Friel bares all for Breakfast at Tiffany’s role

London, September 20 (ANI): Actress Anna Friel dropped her layers on stage for her role in classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The Pushing Daisies star was said to have left fans with dropped jaws as she stripped off at the preview at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket.

“The guys in the front row couldn’t believe it, their eyes were on stalks. It looked like they were about to pass out,” News of the World quoted one as saying.

The 33-year-old stars as Holly Golightly, the role made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 Oscar-winning movie.

The play opens on September 29. (ANI)

Whoopi Goldberg recalls ‘mooning’ Patrick Swayze

Washington, Sept 16 (ANI): Actress Whoopi Goldberg remembers late actor Patrick Swayze as a “funny man” who repeatedly flashed his bare bottom while she shot for their hit movie Ghost.

The 53-year-old American actress insists she has fond memories of their time together.

“Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can’t ever repay. I believe in Ghost’s message, so he’ll always be near,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying,

She recalls, “The camera would be on me and he’d be off to the side and he’d moon me! It was the greatest.”

She credits Swayze with helping her win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ghost.

“Because of Patrick Swayze, I got that movie Ghost. Because of Patrick Swayze, I have an Oscar.”

Swayze lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 57 on Monday. (ANI)

Penelope Cruz admits she wants kids in future

London, September 13 (ANI): Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz has finally revealed her secret “baby desire”.

The star, whose animated Disney film ‘G-Force’ hits the big screen later this month, has admitted that she wants to have children in future.

Her confession comes at a time when she is rumoured to be pregnant with her current beau Javier Bardem’s child.

“Of course I want to have my own kids, as well as adopt some. I love children and I have a tendency to become a mother to everyone around me. I believe in family, love and children and my life wouldn’t be complete without children,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

Although unconfirmed, rumours that the happy couple were expecting their first child started in early August, when Cruz was pictured on some red carpets looking tired, and sporting what could be a baby bump.

Cruz refused to comment on the rumour. (ANI)

Ang Lee ‘working on film version of Life of Pi’

Nevada (US), Sept 9 (ANI): Oscar winner Ang Lee is working with a writer on film adaptation of Yann Martel’s fantasy “Life of Pi” about a boy from Pondicherry, India, who survives 227 days after shipwreck, according to reports.

Lee is quoted as saying: “It’s a very strong story, but it’s hard to crack.”

Acclaimed Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, welcoming the film adaptation of this India influenced story, urged Lee to handle the Pi’s spirituality exploration and holistic edge with cultural sensitivity.

Expected to be released in 2011, Canadian Martel’s (Manners of Dying) Man Booker Prize and other awards winning novel is an adventure tale about 16-years old Pi Patel stranded on a lifeboat with a hyena, orangutan, an injured zebra, and a hungry Bengal tiger in Pacific Ocean on his voyage from India to Canada.

It has sold well over one million copies and was a global publishing phenomenon. Keith Robinson adapted it into a play and toured England.

Oscar nominated M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense), Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men), and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen); and Dean Georgaris (What Happens in Vegas) have already dropped this project after preliminary exploration.

The Fox 2000 high profile film adaptation will be produced by Gil Netter (Personal Effects). (ANI)

Helen Mirren-starrer ‘Prime Suspect’ set for remake in US

London, Sep 4 (ANI): British TV drama ‘Prime Suspect’, starring Dame Helen Mirren, is set for a remake in the US.

Seven series, written by Lynda La Plante and starring Oscar winner Mirren as police chief Jane Tennison, ran between 1991 and 2006.

“Our intention is to create another classic television show from this brilliant original format,” the BBC quoted NBC’s Angela Bromstad as saying.

Hank Steinberg will write the initial two-hour pilot show.

“Hank Steinberg was key in helping us secure this project, and we are incredibly excited about this modern vision for the show,” Bromstad said.

Prime Suspect, originally a co-production between ITV’s Granada and the Boston-based network WGBH, first aired in the US in 1992 as part of the Mystery series. (ANI)

Naked Joile’s on-screen lesbian romp unveiled

London, Sept 4 (ANI): Angelina Jolie bares all for some girl-on-girl action as her raunchy role in 1998 TV movie “Gia” is revived.

The flick features the Oscar winning hottie in some sizzling and sensual scenes with Lost actress Elizabeth Mitchell.

Jolie, 34, and Liz, 39, played lovers in Gia.

Now, film bosses have come up with an uncut, uncensored version of the film, which is based on a real life story, reports the Sun.

The revived edition is an improved high definition video version.

Angelina plays a tragic supermodel Gia Carangia who got contracted HIV due to the use of an infected injection needle and died at 26 in 1986. (ANI)

Hilary Swank supports pet re-homing drive

Washington, September 4 (ANI): Actress Hilary Swank has urged people to support a new scheme to rehouse unwanted pets.

The ‘Million Dollar Baby’ star became an ambassador for the Home 4 the IAMS Holidays Pet Adoption Campaign, which helps animals in shelters find new owners.

“I’m so proud to be working to help raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

“Last year, the program’s adoption goal was to get one million pets adopted in just three months, but this year the goal is even bigger.

“We’re on a mission to find loving homes for 1.5 million orphaned pets between October 1st and January 4th,” she added.

The animal loving Oscar-winner has previously adopted many pets, most recent being her two dogs, Karoo and Rumi. (ANI)

Now, preferential voting for best film Oscar

London, Sept 2 (ANI): The voting pattern for deciding the best movie at the Oscars is all set to change.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which presents the Oscars said preferential voting will now decide the best film.
Under the system, voters will rank nominees in their order of preference from 1 to 10.

The nominee who bags the most votes will be declared the winner.

The same preferential voting is used by the Academy in its nominating process.

However, it is being introduced to judge films for the first time since 1945.

The new voting procedure has been brought in to bring in more movies to compete for the award. Now 10 films can be accommodated in the category, which allowed only 5 previously.

The BBC quoted Academy president Tom Sherak as saying: “Instead of just marking an X to indicate which one picture they believe to be the best, members will indicate their second, third and further preferences as well,”

He said this would “establish the best picture recipient with the strongest support of a majority of our electorate”.

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be declared on February 2, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. (ANI)

Mirren to star in big-screen remake of Graham Greene’s novel Brighton Rock

London, Aug 28 (ANI): Actress Dame Helen Mirren is set to star in new film Brighton Rock, adapted from Graham Greene’s classic 1939 novel of the same title.

The Oscar winner will play amateur detective Ida Arnold in the movie.

The plot revolves around teenager Pinkie, who seduces a young waitress after she stumbles on evidence linking him and his gang to a revenge killing committed by Pinkie.

Mirren will have the task cut out to find the truth behind the killing.

Rowan Joffe has written the script and will direct the film too.

And he intends to make it look as contemporary as possible.

“We’re making Brighton Rock as contemporary as we possibly can because the story feels ‘modern’. It’s too alive, too vibrant and too relevant to be contained in the late 1930s,” the BBC News quoted him as saying.

Also starring in the film, set in 1964, is Sam Riley, who will play the lead character Pinkie Brown apart from Pete Postlethwaite and Happy Go Lucky’s Andrea Riseborough.

Shooting is scheduled to start in October this year. (ANI)

Jolie’s late mum left hefty inheritance to grandkids

Washington, Aug 25 (ANI): Angelina Jolie’s late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, has left a big chunk of her estate to her three grandchildren children, who were born before she lost her cancer battle in January 2007.

The actress passed away at the age of 56, following a lengthy fight against ovarian cancer.

And Bertrand has left her estate to her Oscar-winning daughter and son, James Haven.

As executors of the estate, Jolie and Haven put the final court papers in to a Los Angeles court earlier this month.

Bertrand had left her beloved grandchildren 100,000 dollars each, but only the ones she had met before her tragic demise.

Jolie and partner Brad Pitt’s adopted kids, Maddox and Zahara, as well as their biological daughter, Shiloh, will receive a large part of their grandmother’s will.

However, adopted Pax and twins Knox and Vivienne will not receive inheritance.

Pax was adopted two months after his grandmother’s death, while the twins were born in July 2008.

Bertrand also left money to her sister, brother, and nephews, reports Contactmusic.

Her estate’s total worth was 661,000 dollars. (ANI)

Kate Winslet set to star in 1945 US TV mini-series ‘Mildred Pierce’?

London, Aug 20 (ANI): English actress Kate Winslet is reportedly set to star in a US TV mini-series of the 1945 film ‘Mildred Pierce’.

Winslet, 33, is said to be on the verge of signing up for the film, which landed screen legend Joan Crawford an Oscar.

“At 33, Kate would be young to play the mother of a late-teenage daughter but she would be great at nailing the compassion and the hard edges of the role,” the Daily Express quoted a film insider as saying.

Winslet’s last TV role was in 2005, playing a parody of herself in Ricky Gervais’s Extras. (ANI)

Spielberg ready to recreate invisible rabbit “Harvey” with new funding from India

Nevada (US), Aug.20 (ANI): With new funding from India, Oscar winner Steven Spielberg is ready to move ahead with production and we all shall be able to see six-plus foot invisible rabbit “Harvey” in the near future.

Indo-American Rajan Zed says they were glad to see the legendary director back in filmmaking. Spielberg has not reportedly produced after Transformers since separating from Paramount Pictures. Deal with India’s Reliance on Monday breathed life back into Spielberg’s dormant DreamWorks Studios and he can now start directing “Harvey”.

Spielberg’s directorial project “Harvey” is remake of Oscar winner James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story) starring 1950 film based on Mary Chase Pulitzer Prize-winning play, about amiable and eccentric bachelor Elwood P. Dowd and his friendship with imaginary Harvey. Oscar nominated Henry Koster (The Bishop’s Wife) directed the 1950 Harvey, which won an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

It is reportedly a co-venture between the new DreamWorks, Disney and 20th Century Fox. Spielberg and Don Gregory (Fire in the Dark) will be the producers. While casting and pre-production is expected to begin immediately, the production will begin in early 2010.

As Oscar winner Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) has reportedly said no to the role of the polite Dowd, Spielberg will be looking for another likable top-notch leading actor who can convincingly talk to the invisible rabbit. (ANI)