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Feb 23, 2009

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' Clip From 2009 Oscars


At the end of the 81st Annual Academy Awards, a brief preview of 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' has been shown as part of a montage for the prestigious awards.

Another snippet from "" has been shared during the broadcast of the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Aired at the end of the coveted award show, the eight-second compilation of clips was a part of a montage. While it shows several footage seen in the trailer, it still includes extra never-before-seen scenes. The video footage begins with an aerial shot of the Hogwarts Express making its way amidst the white snow-covered ground. It also provides brief shots of Harry looking in the Pensieve, Ron and Hermione looking upwards at something and Draco drawing out his wand on the Hogwarts Express. Another footage presents Dumbledore and Harry in a cave as Dumbledore grasps a chain to lift the Voldemort's old boat from the waters.


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Kiss of Glory

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz picked up the first statue at last night's 81st Annual Academy Awards - best supporting actress for her role in 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona.' Check out more winners and highlights from the show....


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Crushing out the competitions that include last week's topper 'Friday the 13th', Tyler Perry's latest comedy 'Madea Goes to Jail' lands atop the North American box office over the weekend.See larger image

"", another comedy movie from filmmaker , has become a big hit at the North American box office over the weekend. Bringing back to the big screen the tough-talking, pistol-packing granny, the Lionsgate film has sold an estimated $41.1 million worth of tickets from the 2,032 theaters it was screened.

With the impressive bow, "Goes to Jail" secured the top rank as the best opening for any Lionsgate release, surpassing the $33.6 million debut for "". It has also been claimed to be the fifth-biggest bow for any film in February by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp unit, and marked Perry's largest debut since his previous best opening was the $30 million bow for "" in 2006.

Though Perry has one of the best track records in Hollywood, the success of "Goes to Jail" still came as a surprise to many analysts who predict that it will open only around $25 million. The percentage of patrons aged under 25 for this Perry's latest has doubled to 35% from the turnout last September for his "".

Aside from "Goes to Jail", "" and "" have also experienced a great weekend. The Pierre Morel-directed "Taken" climbed up a spot to #2, earning approximately $11.4 million over the three-day weekend, while stop-motion picture "Coraline" has shot up two spots to the third position with the preliminary figure of around $11 million.

Slipping down two places to the fourth position was the star-studded romantic comedy "". The , and -starring film pulled in about $8.5 million to the estimated total of $70.1 million. Oscar-winning movie "" rounded up the top five box office with the earning of around $8.1 million.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for February 20-22:

  1. "" - $41.1 million
  2. "" - $11.4 million
  3. "" - $11 million
  4. "" - $8.5 million
  5. "" - $8.1 million
  6. "" - $7.8 million
  7. "" - $7 million
  8. "" - $7 million
  9. "" - $6 million
  10. "" - $4.5 million
source : aceshowbiz.com


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In a memory

The late Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' earned him an Oscar. I watch almost most of his Film and he's really a living talent, can't be replaced...An All Time Best Actor as for me.

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Check Out This: Oscar Winner List

Best Picture - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Actor In Leading Role - Sean Penn, MILK
Actress In Leading Role - Kate Winslet, THE READER
Directing - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Foreign Language Film - DEPARTURES
Music (Song) - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Music (Score) - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Film Editing - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Sound Mixing - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Sound Editing - THE DARK KNIGHT
Visual Effect - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Documentary Short - SMILE PINKI
Documentary Feature - MAN ON WIRE
Actor In Supporting Role - Heath Ledger, THE DARK KNIGHT
Short Film (Live Action) - SPIELZEUGLAND (TOYLAND)
Cinematography - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Makeup - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Costume Design - THE DUCHESS
Art Direction - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Short Film (Animated) - LA MAISON EN PETITS CUBES
Animated Feature Film WALL-E
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Writing (Original Screenplay) - MILK
Actress In A Supporting Role - Penelope Cruz, VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

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'Slumdog' strikes it rich with 8 Oscar wins

The film's eight trophies -- including best picture, direction, adapted screenplay and cinematography -- cement the reputation of Fox Searchlight as a champion of work that Hollywood won't risk.

"Slumdog Millionaire" -- a love story that combines artistic ambition with broad commercial appeal -- won a leading eight Oscars on Sunday night, including the best picture trophy.

While the film's triumphs at the 81st annual Academy Awards marked an amazing outcome for a movie filled with subtitles, scenes of torture and a Bollywood dance sequence, the wins also cemented the reputation of distributor Fox Searchlight, which has become Hollywood's top advocate of the kind of daring works that movie studios have all but abandoned.

Director Danny Boyle's fictional account of a Mumbai orphan's surprising winning streak on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" also won Oscars for direction, adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing, original score, original song and sound mixing.

The wins for the film -- produced by a British company, co-financed by a French distributor and made by a largely Indian cast and crew -- dramatized the global compass reading of contemporary movie production, as other top Oscar winners showed.

The best supporting actress winner was Spain's Penelope Cruz for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"; Australian actor Heath Ledger was posthumously named best supporting actor for "The Dark Knight"; and British star Kate Winslet won best actress for "The Reader." The only acting winner with a U.S. birth certificate: Sean Penn, who played the title character in "Milk."

Host Hugh Jackman opened the broadcast with a song and dance routine about the economic recession, and though he didn't reference Hollywood cost-cutting specifically, belt-tightening was very much a part of the Oscar ceremony backdrop.

In a show business shakeup that has cost scores of film executives their jobs and left numerous movies in limbo, studios are scaling back not only on provocative dramas but also on the companies they established to produce and distribute them.

In the last year, Warner Bros. closed its two specialty film divisions, Warner Independent Pictures (the original distributor of "Slumdog Millionaire") and Picturehouse, while Paramount closed the doors of its Paramount Vantage unit. ThinkFilm, a leading distributor of nonfiction films, has vanished, and the Weinstein Co. has scaled way back.

At the same time, the big movie studios are steering clear of highbrow literary dramas, aiming their resources at mass-appeal works including family-friendly animation, superhero stories and established franchises such as James Bond and Harry Potter.

As others have ditched movies that require patient marketing to build grass-roots audience interest -- "Slumdog Millionaire" debuted in just 10 theaters last November and didn't reach its widest national release until last weekend -- Fox Searchlight has become Hollywood's unequaled home for films made outside the normal studio channels.

A tiny cog in Rupert Murdoch's global News Corp. media conglomerate, Fox Searchlight not only was able to steer "Slumdog Millionaire" to its multiple Oscar wins, but also turned it into a solid box-office hit, with domestic gross set to pass $100 million.

"It's a triumph for this kind of film," Boyle said backstage, minutes after he thanked Fox Searchlight from the lectern of the Kodak Theatre.

By far the most successful of the studio-owned specialty film divisions, Fox Searchlight had never before won the top Oscar, although it had best picture finalists three of the last four years with a varied slate of original, audience-pleasing works: 2007's "Juno," 2006's "Little Miss Sunshine" and 2004's "Sideways."

While the best picture prize will make a nice ornament for Fox Searchlight's lobby, the trophy also serves as a validation of the company's patient, disciplined approach to making and distributing movies from outside the studio system -- even as the company's peers are folding their tents.

Some of these companies were done in by profligate spending and steep overhead, which Fox Searchlight has consistently avoided. The company refuses to pay its actors more than $500,000 -- often a tiny fraction of their standard, multimillion-dollar salaries -- and carries a staff of about 75.

"I believe that size, in some ways, is the enemy of creativity," said Peter Chernin, News Corp.'s president and chief operating officer, who launched the Fox Searchlight division more than 15 years ago. "The less money you risk, the more risks you can take. It gives you a chance to take more shots."

Fox Searchlight was formed in 1994, and its early returns were unremarkable. But in the company's third year, the division released the hit British comedy "The Full Monty" (written by "Slumdog Millionaire's" Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy). Peter Rice, a Fox production executive, took over Fox Searchlight in early 2000, and the company and its core team -- marketing head Nancy Utley and distribution chief Steve Gilula -- flourished.

"They were there when I needed them, and they left me alone when I was doing fine," said Alexander Payne, director and co-writer of the wine-tasting comedy "Sideways."

Unlike bigger movie studios, which produce almost all of their movies, Fox Searchlight and other so-called independent distributors often buy completed movies at film festivals. Fox Searchlight has enjoyed an incredible run with its festival acquisitions, buying the teen comedy "Napoleon Dynamite" for $3 million (it grossed $44.5 million) and the beauty pageant comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" for $10.5 million (it grossed nearly $60 million).

When the British producers of "Slumdog Millionaire" first shopped the movie to American distributors nearly two years ago, Fox Searchlight refused to pay the $5 million asking price.

When the film came Fox Searchlight's way once again, Rice bought distribution rights from Warner Bros. for $2.5 million.

Filmmakers (and the company's competitors) say Fox Searchlight's real gift is marketing and publicity, creating a system where the movie -- rather than flashy, pricey advertisements -- is allowed to sell itself. One common tactic: dozens of free screenings around the country, weeks before a film hits theaters.

"We were in a different city every night," said Valerie Faris, who co-directed "Little Miss Sunshine" with husband Jonathan Dayton. "It was all about building up anticipation."

Fox Searchlight's handling of "Slumdog Millionaire" has been especially skillful. Though the film features scenes of a brutal police interrogation, abject poverty and child abuse, Fox Searchlight has positioned it as a feel-good romance.

"At first, you hear that it's in Hindi and that it's violent," said Bob Berney, the former head of Picturehouse. "And then you start hearing from moviegoers, 'It's changed my life.' That's better than any advertisement."

At a time when a lot of dramas -- not to mention movies with subtitles -- have struggled at the box office, "Slumdog Millionaire" has grossed $98 million in domestic theaters, and with the Oscar wins could soon pass "Juno" (total gross: $143.5 million) as Fox Searchlight's highest-grossing film.

"Fox Searchlight has established its supremacy by identifying the soul of their films," said Jason Reitman, the director of "Juno" and "Thank You for Smoking," another Fox Searchlight hit. "No other studio has been able to match their ability to find the accessibility point of such tricky subjects as middle-aged wine tasters, beauty pageants, teenage pregnancy and now the slums of India."

Times staff writer Chris Lee contributed to this article.

source: theenvelope.latimes.com

Red carpet glamour rules the night

Celebrities didn't skimp on the jewels and fabulous gowns.

Hollywood is the stuff of fairy tales, and at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, celebrities dressed the part. Recession may be reality, but the gowns and jewels were pure escapist fantasy. Because let's face it, if stars aren't glamorous, they aren't doing their job.

There was a magical-princess aura to many looks, in a palette of pales keeping with the spring season's trend for powdery colors. The best was Sarah Jessica Parker's silver embroidered, sea foam silk tulle Dior Haute Couture bustier gown, cinched at the waist, with an enormous ballerina skirt, followed by Penelope Cruz's 1950s vintage Pierre Balmain strapless ivory lace gown, hand-embroidered with gold bullion threads.

Miley Cyrus' ivory silk chiffon Zuhair Murad confection, with scalloped tiers and foil-like embroidery, was too much dress for a 16-year-old. Similarly, Marisa Tomei's dove gray, one-shoulder Versace gown with spiraling origami pleats was so ornate, you barely noticed her. Anne Hathaway looked like a mermaid in Giorgio Armani Prive's champagne-colored mermaid gown, covered in half-dollar-sized clear paillettes, but I wonder whether it crunched when she sat.

Taraji P. Henson, in a rippling cream chiffon Roberto Cavalli column, offset by a red Mary Norton clutch, was the evening's best dressed. I loved it when she lifted her skirt to show Ryan Seacrest her shoes and you could see her Spanx. That's reality.

Henson's 19th century diamond flower Fred Leighton necklace exemplified the statement-jewelry trend. Amy Adams also wore an impressive Leighton piece, a 1950s colored gem and diamond collar. Viola Davis fastened a 1950s Leighton clip brooch to the front of her fabulous gilded Reem Acra goddess gown.

Freida Pinto proudly showed off a diamond ring of East Indian provenance. Her one-sleeved, midnight-blue beaded lace John Galliano gown was an interesting choice. I liked the way the shape echoed that of a sari, but somehow it aged her, especially with her hair up.

Red dresses, the surest way to va-va-voom glamour, were also popular -- Adams in red Carolina Herrera with a sculptural pleated bodice and Heidi Klum in a red silk taffeta RM by Roland Mouret gown, slit high.

Kate Winslet wore a one-shouldered blue-gray Yves Saint Laurent gown (the silhouette was all over the fall runways in New York last week). But what I really loved was her hair -- a sculptural flip styled by Renato Campora (he explains his technique on the Image section blog All the Rage, latimes.com/alltherage).

Hairstyles looked more modern than ever, particularly Henson's sleek bob and Jessica Biel's easy 'do, the front pulled back and the rest tumbling loosely around her shoulders.

Brooks Brothers dressed the evening's "biggest littlest" stars, the children from "Slumdog Millionaire," in tiny tuxedos. Brad Pitt was in head-to-toe Tom Ford, and as usual, Giorgio Armani had quite a pack of fellas, including Sean Penn and Anil Kapoor. Burberry dressed Hugh Jackman in three different tuxes, and Dev Patel. I only wish Patel's Brooks Brothers bow tie had been bigger. It would have balanced out those cute ears.

It's been fun to watch Mickey Rourke do the red-carpet rounds because he actually takes risks, unlike so many stars. On Sunday night, he wore a Jean Paul Gaultier white wool tuxedo with a black vest and chained, zipped-up watch pockets. Around his neck was a photo pendant of his recently deceased pooch Loki. Gotta love it.

I'm all for self-expression, but Philip Seymour Hoffman's black knit cap made him look as if he were en route to a jewel heist. Lord knows he was in the right place.

source: theenvelope.latimes.com

Live from the Red Carpet at the Oscars

I'm on the Red Carpet at the Oscars, blogging away with my trusty BlackBerry (all times Central).

7:37: I'm back up in the press room after some major security checkpoints. But I'd be remiss if I didn't pass along one last Red Carpet note, as Steppenwolf veteran Michael Shannon, supporting actor nominee for "Revolutionary Road," stopped by to give a shout-out to the folks back home.

“All my friends are back at Red Orchid Theater on Wells Street having an Oscar party," he said."I just want to say hi to all them."

As he glanced around the mobs on the red carpet, he added: "This is pretty far away from Chicago."
7:12: Adding to the press blow-off list: James Franco, Gus Van Sant, Melissa Leo and DeKalb native Richard Jenkins.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick just blew by as well.

At this point the publicists are rushing the nominees into the theater, though Viola Davis made time to chat even though she was an early arriver. How long had she been on the red carpet?

"Hours," she said, then exhaled.

Daniel Craig didn't take questions but stopped to visit and sign autographs for two of the "Slumdog" kids, Tanay Chheda, 12, and Ashutosh Lobo-G, 15. The boys were thrilled.

Whose autographs had they collected?

"I got James Bond. I got Anne Hathaway," Tanay enthused.

"We got Anne Hathaway! Woh!" Ashutosh gushed.

When Meryl Streep saw the "Slumdog" boys, she exclaimed, "You're so wonderful! Oh my God!"

They got her autograph.

Before they left, I asked Tanay, "Who's the best James Bond?"

"Actually, all of them are really good, but Sean Connery is the best."

6:39: Sean Penn just walked pass literally two feet in front of us and didn't turn his head a millimeter as the press folks called out, "Sean! Sean!" Poor guy, getting pestered by reporters on a red carpet. What a nuisance.

Others who have blown by us: Seth Rogen, Zak Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Judd Apatow, though his wife Leslie Mann turned back to give us a friendly wave.

6:22: John Legend revealed to Osbourne that he'll be singing the "WALL-E" nominated song "Down to Earth," although he hasn't actually seen the movie. Osbourne informed him that it's worth seeing.

The song's original singer, Peter Gabriel, pulled out in protest of the song being shortened for a medley.

The veterans' club: Louis Gossett Jr. made the rounds, as did the ever-incredible Mickey Rooney, who was moving gingerly, but, hey, he's 88.

6:13: It took her almost an hour, but Virginia Madsen finally made it to us, looking fab as always, in red.

This was her first time back since her supporting actress nomination for "Sideways."

"That night was so amazing I didn't want to come back until more time had passed," she said.

Her next movie is "The Haunting in Connecticut," and she's also moved into producing; her first project is an adaptation of Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" starring Julia Stiles.

And, no, she hasn't been back to Chicago recently but said to her native city: "I miss you. I miss Chicago."

5:55: I just asked Robin Swicord, nominated screenwriter of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, whether she'd prefer for the Oscar show to run in reverse order.

"I think everybody would like to see it go in reverse order," she laughed, "although there's something nice about building up. I think we'd be very sleepy by the time we got to the red carpet."

5:49 Things have definitely grown more chaotic. While Robert Osbourne has been talking to the likes of Glover (who came back), Anthony Hopkins, and Zak Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, many of the major nominees have been doing some TV show's interviews on a platform almost directly in front of us.

First came director Danny Boyle and what looked like the entire "Slumdog Millionaire" cast, followed by acting nominees Viola Davis, Melissa Leo and Taraji P. Henson.

Miley Cyrus stopped right in front of us but didn't take questions; she just wanted to show us her flowy dress that looks like it was assembled from large glittery moth wings.

The Soweto Gospel Choir also didn't take questions but did stop to serenade us with beautiful song. We'll take that over canned answers any day.

5:12: At 3:10 California time we have our first press bleachers blow-off: "Milk" star Emile Hirsch, who chatted with Robert Osbourne after Virginia Madsen, speed-racered right by us but posed for the photographers' bleachers.

Miley Cyrus returned to Osbourne to plug her Hannah Montana movie coming out in April. She's an optimist, as evidenced by this quote; "Let's hope we're here next year getting something for that."

5:00: "Hey, everybody, Danny Glover!"

So announced Robert Osbourne at 3 p.m. in Hollywood, thus derailing my efforts to get a who's-showing-up-first pool going in the press bleachers.

Osbourne asked if Glover wanted to talk to him. Silence followed.

"Everybody, Miley Cyrus has entered the arena!" Osbourne announced a few minutes later.

She didn't talk either.

Ah, finally, our first talker...Chicago's own Virginia Madsen, reflecting happily on her Oscar-nominated "Sideways" experience. Can't see her yet, but I'm counting on her to visit us print folks.



4:50: Red carpet host/interviewer Robert Osbourne just introduced himself and took a straw poll on fans' favorite best picture nominee.

"Slumdog Millionaire," cheers.

"Benjamin Button," cheers.

"Milk," cheers.

"The Reader, cheers.

"Frost/Nixon," a smattering of claps.

"You should see it," Osbourne told the crowd. "It's a great movie."

4:44: Screams are coming from the bleachers. Has our first carpet walker arrived?

Here they come, and it's a young couple being tracked by a video crew gesturing for the fans to cheer. They have no idea who these two are either.

Still waiting for the first actual star...

4:30: Here's the scene: The red carpet is an "L" shape, and the stars, when they arrive, walk down the long part of the "L," then turn right and head into the Kodak Theatre complex.

TV crews and fan bleachers flank the long part. I just saw Mario Lopez disappear into the corner. The print press bleachers is just past the right angle on the far side, followed by a phlanx of still photographers and the grand mall entrance.

I'm in the front row of the press print bleachers, which was a lucky draw, though by the time many of the nominees have survived the TV folks, they opt to bypass the pen-and-paper folks.

Star presenters have been asked to skip the carpet this year so their appearances will remain a surprise. Will that reduce the wattage out here? We'll see.

Three hours and 15 minutes before the show begins, I'm wondering who will be the first celeb to stroll this maroon-side-of-red carpet.

If I were in a pool for such a thing, I'd have Sally Kirkland.

source: chicagotribune.com

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