Others Archive

Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to host Oscars

Published: November 4, 2009Posted in: America, HollywoodTags:

Los Angeles, Nov 4 (DPA) Actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are to jointly host the Oscars awards ceremony, producers of the prestigious film prize have announced.

Martin 64, has hosted the event twice before, but Baldwin, 51, has never before helmed the Academy Awards.

The co-hosts will take over their duties from Hugh Jackman, who pulled out of the running for the high profile gig last week.

The choice of the Hollywood veterans marks the first time since 1987 that the Oscars will have multiple hosts. It comes at a time when the awards show is struggling to maintain its relevance amid continuing viewer apathy and a lack of popular films deemed worthy of the prize.

Martin is best known as a standup comedian, comic actor and recently author, and Baldwin has a diverse Hollywood resume, most recently reviving his career as a venal TV executive on the sit-com ’30 Rock’.

The duo recently worked together on the film ‘It’s Complicated’, which hits screens late this year. In the movie, Martin and Baldwin play rivals competing for the affections of a character played by Meryl Streep.

‘New York’ to open Cairo film fest

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Entertainment, Hollywood, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Yash Raj Films’ ‘New York’ has been selected as the opening film at the 33rd Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) 2009.

The film will also compete in the ‘In Competition’ section at the fest, to be held Nov 10-Nov 20.

Directed by Kabir Khan who will also attend the event, the film stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh in the lead apart from Irrfan Khan in a pivotal role.

Recently screened at the Pusan International Film Festival, ‘New York’ released over 900 screens worldwide on June 26 this year. It is a contemporary story of three young friends whose lives are turned upside down by post-9/11 prejudices.

Also attending the festival will be Hollywood stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Lucy Liu and Tom Berenger.

Spielberg honoured for human rights work

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Europe, HollywoodTags:

London, Nov 3 – Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg has been honoured by the Anti-Defamation League for his work in human rights.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker, 62, will be presented with America’s Democratic Legacy Award at the league’s annual Los Angeles fundraiser Dec 9, reports contactmusic.com.

Executives have hailed the ‘Schindler’s List’ maker as a ‘true champion of human rights’ for his contributions to film and television, in addition to his philanthropic endeavours.

‘American Idol’ runner-up Adam Lambert and Israeli singer Noa Dori will be performing at the event.

Kate Hudson lost weight by giving up alcohol

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Europe, HollywoodTags:

London, Nov 3- Actress Kate Hudson had to give up alcohol to shed 20 pounds for her role in new movie ‘Earthbound’.

The Hollywood actress was forced to slim down to portray a terminally ill woman who falls in love with her doctor.

‘I love my glass of wine. I love tequila. To be in New York for two weeks and not have one beverage, I am not sure I have ever done that,’ femalefirst.co.uk quoted Hudson as saying.

‘My role demanded me to lose weight and the only way to do it was by cutting out drinking,’ she added.

Hudson, who is dating baseball star Alex Rodriguez, also talked about the joy at being a woman and the power she feels it gives her.

‘I love being a girl. I love clothes and I love the rituals of facials and body treatments. All the stuff girls get, make-up, scarves, hats. I love that we can be that powerful as a group,’ said Hudson.

Lalit Modi gives nod for biopic

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Business, Cricket, Entertainment, NationalTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi Tuesday gave his nod to Bollywood production house Percept Picture Company (PPC) for a ‘fictional biopic’ on his life, said a top official of PPC.

‘We had to wait for a bit but its through now. I had a meeting with him (Lalit Modi) in Mumbai at 11 in the morning and he is now very excited that he has committed for the film. It’s a fictional biopic like ‘Guru’ on Dhirubhai Ambani,’ joint managing director of PPC Shailendra Singh told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

‘The film is a great mix of entertainment, sports and a whole emotional vibe. Lalit’s story has all the ingredients – rags to riches, fame, money and all that Indian audiences are going to enjoy watching. Indians at large would love to watch a good cricket marketing film,’ he added.

Titled ‘The Commissioner’, the script of the biopic is being written by Shridhar Raghavan and is ‘under development’.

‘We’ve got all the information and the research has been done. He (Raghavan) will take a couple of more months to be ready with the story and we should do the principal filming in 2010 and should be in a position to release the picture by end of the year,’ said Singh.

Asked about the director and the cast, he said: ‘We can’t announce the director yet because we are still to finalise the choice, as it’s first the script, then the director and then the casting for us. However, other than the lead, casting won’t be much of an issue.’

‘But the apt choice would be Shah Rukh Khan. He is India’s number one superstar and the minute we have the product in its true form of presentation, we would approach him for sure,’ he said.

Other actors in consideration for Modi’s role are ‘Irrfan Khan and Shahid Kapoor’.

Singh is also keeping a no holds barred budget for the film.

‘There will be no compromise in this film. Mr. Modi won’t allow me to compromise. It is a typical A-list Bollywood film but we can only get the true perspective of the costing once we have the script in hand,’ he said.

‘However, Lalit Modi practically lives in an aircraft, so that’s one of our headaches. In the IPL, he flew every evening and attended two press conferences in different cities. It involves a lot of filming,’ he added.

Is Modi also going to invest or appear in his life’s story?

‘He will have an option to invest financially if he chooses to… But the only appearance he is making is by allowing us to make the movie on him and subsequently by being present at the press conference to announce the same,’ said Singh.

Singh also hinted at a presence of major cricket players in the movie.

‘They are a part of the script because it happens to be based on IPL that has around 200 cricketers in it. They do happen to be a part of the cast unless any cricketer has a strict objection to being in the film,’ he said.

Ranji Trophy: Zaheer, Agarkar restrict Punjab

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Cricket, National, SportsTags:

New Delhi, Nov 3 – Comeback paceman Zaheer Khan took three wickets and discarded all-rounder Ajit Agarkar four wickets as Mumbai restricted Punjab to 242 for nine on day one of the Super League Ranji Trophy match at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh Tuesday.

Electing to bat, Punjab were propelled by a century from Ravi Inder Singh (104) after their batsmen failed to get their act together.

Zaheer had sustained a shoulder injury in the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May-April which kept him out of action for four months. He bowled 16 overs and gave away 45 runs.

At Meerut, Karnataka piled up a massive 372 for five after being sent in to bat by Uttar Pradesh. Manish Pandey, who shot to limelight with a century for Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL, made an unbeaten 194.

Test star Rahul Dravid was run out three short of a century. When Karnataka were struggling at 27 for three, Dravid and Pandey put on a 273-run stand to take their side to safety.

For Uttar Pradesh, Bhuveneshwar Kumar took two for 97 while R.P. Singh finished with 1-75.

At Delhi, Railways were 242 for four after they won the toss and decided to bat against Tami Nadu. Sanjay Bangar made an unbeaten 111 and Faiz Faizal scored 70. R. Ashwin took 2-84.

At Ahmedabad, Gujarat were reduced to 237 for seven by Orissa after they decided to bat first. Gujarat were stuggling at 89 for four when skipper Parthiv Patel(83) and Rujul Bhat(46) joined hands to steady the scoring. Ashraf Makda produced some late fireworks, smashing four sixes and a four in his unbeaten 23-ball 31 when stumps were drawn.

For Orissa, Dhiraj Singh took 4-88 and Debasis Mohanty 2-26.

At Poona Club Ground, Maharashtra were bowled out for 179 by Bengal. Winning the toss and batting, Maharashtra batsmen fell like nine pins with Azhar Ansari(52) and Sangram Dilp Atitkar (44) being the exceptions.

Ranadeb Bose was the best bowler for Bengal, taking five wickets for 67 while Ashok Dinda took 3-65. Bengal were 52 for two at stumps.

At Vadodara, Delhi posted a massive 300 for two after it decided to bat against Baroda. Opener Shikhar Dhawan was batting at 122 and Rajat Bhatia was unbeaten at 70.

At Hyderabad, Hyderabad (India) scored 237 for six against Himachal Pradesh. Electing to bat, the hosts were soon reduced to 121 for five before a 77-run stand between wicket-keeper Abhinav Kumar (70 not out) and Syed Quadri (47) pulled Hyderabad out of troubled waters .Vikramjeet Malik took two for 58 for Himachal Pradesh.

Brief scores:

Punjab vs Mumbai: Punjab 242 for nine (Ravi Inder Singh 104; Ajit Agarakar 4-41, Zahir Khan 3-45, Dhawal Kulkarni, 2-68)

Karnataka vs Uttar Pradesh: Karnataka 372/5 (Manish Pandey 194 (batting), Rahul Dravid 97; Bhuveneshwar Kumar 2-97)

Railways vs Tamil Nadu: 242/4 Railways( Sanjay Bangar 111 not out, Faiz Faizal 70; R Ashwin 2-84)

Gujarat vs. Orissa: Gujarat 237/7 (Parthiv Patel 83, Rujul Bhat 46, Ashraf Makda 31 not out; Dhiraj Singh 4-88, Debasis Mohanty 2-26).

Bengal vs. Maharashtra: Maharashtra 179 all out (Sangram Dilp Atitkar 44, Azhar Ansari 52; Ranadeb Bose 5-67, Ashok Dinda 3-65); Bengal 52/2 (Arindam Das 38).

Delhi vs. Baroda: Delhi 300/2 (Shikhar Dhawan 122 not out, Rajat Bhatia 70 not out. Guarav Chabra 65; Salim Veragi 1-34).

Hyderbad (India) vs. Himachal Pradesh: Hyderbad (India) 237/6 ( T.Suman 45, Abhinav Kumar 70 batting, Syed Quadri 47; Vikramjeet Malik 2-58)

Australia fined for slow over rate

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: Cricket, National, SportsTags:

Mohali, Nov 3 – Australia have been fined for slow over rate during the fourth One-day international against India.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting was fined 20 percent of his match fee while his players were docked 10 percent. Australia defeated India by 24 runs at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium here Monday.

Match referee Chris Broad imposed the fine after Ponting’s side was ruled to be two overs short of its target at the end of the match.

‘In accordance with the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct regulations governing over-rate penalties, players are fined five percent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, while the captain is fined double that amount,’ ICC said in a statement.

Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch…

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: PhotosTags:

Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch of Sony
Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch of Sony’s new notebook ”Vaio x”, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch…

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: PhotosTags:

Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch of Sony
Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch of Sony’s new notebook ”Vaio x”, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch…

Published: November 3, 2009Posted in: PhotosTags:

Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch of Sony
Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor at the launch of Sony’s new notebook ”Vaio x”, in New Delhi on Tuesday.

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