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17 FEBRUARY 2008.- |
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18 FEBRUARY 2008.- IRISH FILM&TV AWARDS 
Click Here to see PHOTOS
Click Here to watch videos
Source: Ireland online
Rene Russo and Mel Gibson helped make last night's Irish Film and Television awards (IFTA) one of the most memorable yet.
The Irish Film and Television Awards, often derided as a veritable 'Who's That?' of big and small screen 'stars' actually got a few names to attend this year, and first names at that.
It was hard to know who was more surprised: them or us.
"I've had such a good time," actress Rene Russo gushed.
"I'm not here for that long and this is my first time so I had to get a quick trip yesterday and it was amazing. I had the best ice-cream in the world in a place overlooking the Irish Sea, where is that? Do you know the name of it?" she asked, drawing blank looks from the media.
"We can't afford good ice-cream," one offered, mournfully. Struggling to get back onto firmer ground, we asked Ms Russo about her Irish connections.
"No, I actually don't have any," she said before someone prompted her about her co-star in the remake of the Thomas Crown Affair. "My Irish connection is Pierce Brosnan," she corrected herself.
No sign of Pierce last night and, in truth, some of the biggest Irish film stars didn't brave the chill or the red carpet outside the Gaiety Theatre. Not that the thousand or so film fans lining South King Street minded. They have seen the usual suspects. They were here for Mel.
The Oscar-winning director arrived last.
"I would like to do another production here," he told us adding that he was enjoying Dublin very much but "will only be in town for a few days".
He was whisked off, however, only seconds after confirming those all-important Irish connections (Longford).
Mel Gibson was was given a standing ovation as he collected the Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award.
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Click Here to see PHOTOS
|
Rene Russo and Mel Gibson helped make last night's Irish Film and Television awards (IFTA) one of the most memorable yet.
The Irish Film and Television Awards, often derided as a veritable 'Who's That?' of big and small screen 'stars' actually got a few names to attend this year, and first names at that.
It was hard to know who was more surprised: them or us.
"I've had such a good time," actress Rene Russo gushed.
"I'm not here for that long and this is my first time so I had to get a quick trip yesterday and it was amazing. I had the best ice-cream in the world in a place overlooking the Irish Sea, where is that? Do you know the name of it?" she asked, drawing blank looks from the media.
"We can't afford good ice-cream," one offered, mournfully. Struggling to get back onto firmer ground, we asked Ms Russo about her Irish connections.
"No, I actually don't have any," she said before someone prompted her about her co-star in the remake of the Thomas Crown Affair. "My Irish connection is Pierce Brosnan," she corrected herself.
No sign of Pierce last night and, in truth, some of the biggest Irish film stars didn't brave the chill or the red carpet outside the Gaiety Theatre. Not that the thousand or so film fans lining South King Street minded. They have seen the usual suspects. They were here for Mel.
The Oscar-winning director arrived last.
"I would like to do another production here," he told us adding that he was enjoying Dublin very much but "will only be in town for a few days".
He was whisked off, however, only seconds after confirming those all-important Irish connections (Longford).
Mel Gibson was was given a standing ovation as he collected the Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award.
20 FEBRUARY 2008.- SEXI SCRABBLE
WOWWWWWWWWWW/!!!
Source: RSS
It's official, Scrabble has become sexy and if you don't believe me, check out this $20,000 Swarovski crystal studded scrabble board. Now, Scrabble has some serious celebrity fans in the form of Mel Gibson, Sting and Keanu Reeves, so if you want to get your hands on this then you'd better start saving!
The scrabble board was made by toymaker Hasbro to mark its 60th birthday. The board consists of over 30,000 Swarovski crystals which sit on a glass board. It truly is a stunning piece!
The Scrabble board will go up for auction in the summer with proceeds going to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
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WOWWWWWWWWWW/!!! |
It's official, Scrabble has become sexy and if you don't believe me, check out this $20,000 Swarovski crystal studded scrabble board. Now, Scrabble has some serious celebrity fans in the form of Mel Gibson, Sting and Keanu Reeves, so if you want to get your hands on this then you'd better start saving!
The scrabble board was made by toymaker Hasbro to mark its 60th birthday. The board consists of over 30,000 Swarovski crystals which sit on a glass board. It truly is a stunning piece!
The Scrabble board will go up for auction in the summer with proceeds going to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
22 FEBRUARY 2008.- MEL GIBSON BUYS DENDY CINEMA CHAIN
From now on, FREE popcorn for Mel Gibson´s fans at Dendy Cinema Chain.
Fan Card, ESSENTIAL!!!
GET IT ONLINE!!!
Source: The Age (Australia)
Hollywood actor Mel Gibson has succeeded in his quest to take control of the Dendy Cinema chain, claiming the prize for $21 million after a drawn out and bloody takeover battle.
Entertainment company Becker Group announced on Friday that it had sold the cinema chain, known for its preference for screening art-house flicks, to Mr Gibson's company Icon Film Distribution Pty Ltd.
About 75 per cent of Becker Group was recently acquired by regional television broadcaster Prime Media Group Ltd for about $24 million.
As part of that deal, Becker's film assets, including the Dendy chain, were supposed to be sold back to major Becker shareholders Russell and Richard Becker for $15.5 million.
But the sale was scrapped last year after another company associated with Mr Gibson, Dolphete Pty Ltd, threw a spanner in the works by convincing the Takeovers Panel to intervene.
Dolphete accused Prime and Becker of acting in concert and not giving Becker shareholders enough information about the cinema asset sale.
At the time, Prime and Becker had similar interests, with hospital magnate Paul Ramsay holding 41 per cent of Prime and 19 per cent of Becker.
Dolphete was understood to be behind a counter bid for Becker shares, but it was unable to stop Prime taking control of the group despite more rumblings to the Takeovers Panel.
Becker said the sale of the Dendy Cinemas and its film distribution assets to Icon marked the conclusion of a competitive bidding process.
"Icon was selected based on various parameters including value, timing and transaction certainty," Becker said.
Becker managing director Warwick Syphers, who is also head of Prime, said Becker would now focus on growing its television production assets.
Prime shares closed unchanged at $3.50 after rising as high as $3.60.
Dendy operates six cinemas: two in Sydney, two in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and one in Canberra.
...BAD NEWS! Apparently, to get the fan card online is not an easy task.
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From now on, FREE popcorn for Mel Gibson´s fans at Dendy Cinema Chain.
|
Hollywood actor Mel Gibson has succeeded in his quest to take control of the Dendy Cinema chain, claiming the prize for $21 million after a drawn out and bloody takeover battle.
Entertainment company Becker Group announced on Friday that it had sold the cinema chain, known for its preference for screening art-house flicks, to Mr Gibson's company Icon Film Distribution Pty Ltd.
About 75 per cent of Becker Group was recently acquired by regional television broadcaster Prime Media Group Ltd for about $24 million.
As part of that deal, Becker's film assets, including the Dendy chain, were supposed to be sold back to major Becker shareholders Russell and Richard Becker for $15.5 million.
But the sale was scrapped last year after another company associated with Mr Gibson, Dolphete Pty Ltd, threw a spanner in the works by convincing the Takeovers Panel to intervene.
Dolphete accused Prime and Becker of acting in concert and not giving Becker shareholders enough information about the cinema asset sale.
At the time, Prime and Becker had similar interests, with hospital magnate Paul Ramsay holding 41 per cent of Prime and 19 per cent of Becker.
Dolphete was understood to be behind a counter bid for Becker shares, but it was unable to stop Prime taking control of the group despite more rumblings to the Takeovers Panel.
Becker said the sale of the Dendy Cinemas and its film distribution assets to Icon marked the conclusion of a competitive bidding process.
"Icon was selected based on various parameters including value, timing and transaction certainty," Becker said.
Becker managing director Warwick Syphers, who is also head of Prime, said Becker would now focus on growing its television production assets. Prime shares closed unchanged at $3.50 after rising as high as $3.60.
Dendy operates six cinemas: two in Sydney, two in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and one in Canberra.
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...BAD NEWS! Apparently, to get the fan card online is not an easy task. |
22 FEBRUARY 2008.- MEL GIBSON IN MALIBU
Click here to see photos
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Click here to see photos |
24 FEBRUARY 2008.- A DOZEN GREAT FILMS
"GALLIPOLI" AND "THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY"
Source: World Politics Review
In honor of this weekend's awards event, I decided to take a look through the history of cinema, in search of the best films on world politics. A fool's errand it was, trying to narrow down a long history of moviemaking into just a dozen great movies. But I persevered.
The best works tell stories of human beings, almost subliminally revealing the politics that drive the narrative. They show how individuals shape history, and how history dominates the lives of all people, large and small.
These are my own favorites, based on my un-computerized memory, colored by childhood and youth impressions, and probably biased by my own history and personal interests. (Other WPR editors will join in with their own lists in coming days on the blog, and invite readers to submit choices as well.) My list is in chronological order according to the period in which each film is set, not ranked in order of preference.
1. Lawrence of Arabia: The 1962 classic by director David Lean, starring a luminous Peter O'Toole, tells the romanticized story of British officer T.E. Lawrence and his exploits in Arabia during World War I, based on Lawrence's book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom." Despite the many controversies around inaccuracies in the film, it stands as one of the seminal works on the Middle East. In stunning desert images it shows how Arabs fought against the Turkish-Ottoman Empire after the British gave them promises of post-war independence. The story lays the foundation for some of today's most intractable geopolitical problems.
2. Gallipoli: Another moving WW I film, it tells the story of Australian troops fighting in one of the bloodiest campaigns of that war, the Battle of Gallipoli. With memorable music and wrenching performances by a young Mel Gibson and Mike Lee, the 1981 movie showed how political and military decisions far from the battlefield determined the fate of common men swept up by the forces of history.
3. Reds: Warren Beatty's masterpiece recounts the events of the Russian Revolution through the eyes and life of John Reed, an American intellectual known for his classic book "Ten Days that Shook the World." Beatty directed, produced, wrote and starred in the movie. The film shows the way communist revolution became the ideological -- even the spiritual -- engine of committed young idealists of the time.
4. Europa, Europa: This astonishing true story traces the life of a young Jewish boy who pretends to become a Nazi in order to survive World War II. He joins the Hitler Youth and is studied as a specimen of Aryan perfection by Nazi scientists, eventually becoming part of the Nazi army, hiding his terrifying secret until the last day of the war.
5. Ghandi: Director Richard Attenborough tells the life story of the man who took on the British Empire and won. Ben Kingsley stars as Ghandi, the leader of India's non-violent independence movement. He convincingly shows Ghandi's political evolution, and the gradual but decisive success of his version of "asymmetrical warfare" against colonialism.
6. The Last Emperor: A Beautiful, at times dreamy, film by director Bernardo Bertolucci. It tells the story of Puyi, China's last emperor, from his privileged, surreal existence in the Forbidden City, to the Japanese attacks during World War II, and Mao's revolution, culminating in the end of Puyi's life and the final closing of an era in world history.
7. The Year of Living Dangerously: Another Australian film starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt. This gripping tale is set in post-colonial Indonesia in the 1960s, during the Cold War days of communist insurrections and Western-backed dictatorships. The story is told from the perspective of expatriates covering the story with a certain emotional distance, punctuated by the profound dilemma faced by native Indonesians, aware of the wretchedness of life in an impoverished country.
8. The Killing Fields: Also a story told through the eyes of a Western journalist in a country caught in the political crosswinds of the worldwide communist revolution, the Killing Fields tells the heartbreaking history of the Cambodian genocide at the hands of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. The killings of millions is undisputed, and yet, justice has only now, in the last few months, started grinding its wheels, long after the most egregious perpetrators passed away -- unpunished.
9. The Lives of Others: Last year's winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film, this drab and haunting movie tells a Cold War story that shows the human price of communism, as practiced behind the Berlin Wall. The story looks at the difficult moral choices individuals are forced to make in their personal, professional and artistic lives in order to survive in a one-party totalitarian state.
10. Good-Bye Lenin: A bookend story for Reds, it serves as an epilogue to the communist revolution. This hilarious and poignant story looks at the end of communist rule in East Germany, through the eyes of an everyday family. During the turbulent days of 1989, when young Eastern Europeans are challenging Communist governments and Gorbachev's Perestroika is opening up the East, an East German woman has a heart attack and falls into a coma. While she lies unconscious, the Berlin Wall falls and life in Berlin is turned on its head. When she wakes up, the doctor tells her children to protect her from shocking experiences -- but everything about life now is shocking. Her children recreate the absurdities of the old era to protect their mother from the stunning changes taking place.
11. Three Kings: Anyone who paid close attention to this film would have learned why Iraqis, particularly the Shiites in the country's south, were so skeptical when American forces showed up again at their doorstep in 2003. It tells the story of three American soldiers, played by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube, in the aftermath of the U.S. war against Iraq in Kuwait. The soldiers are trying to steal a treasure of gold hidden in southern Iraq when they get caught up in the tragically ill-fated uprising of Iraqi Shiites against Saddam Hussein. The uprising followed a call by President George H.W. Bush for Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein. The Shiites take on Saddam's forces, but America does nothing to help when Saddam slaughters them.
12. No Man's Land: A bitter comedy set in the fields of Bosnia during the Balkan wars of the early 1990s. Two, later three, enemy soldiers find themselves trapped in a no man's land between combatants. It shows the tragicomic inefficacy of United Nations peacekeeping forces with a mandate to remain neutral and uninvolved, and the absurdities of the war.
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"GALLIPOLI" AND "THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY" |
In honor of this weekend's awards event, I decided to take a look through the history of cinema, in search of the best films on world politics. A fool's errand it was, trying to narrow down a long history of moviemaking into just a dozen great movies. But I persevered.
The best works tell stories of human beings, almost subliminally revealing the politics that drive the narrative. They show how individuals shape history, and how history dominates the lives of all people, large and small.
These are my own favorites, based on my un-computerized memory, colored by childhood and youth impressions, and probably biased by my own history and personal interests. (Other WPR editors will join in with their own lists in coming days on the blog, and invite readers to submit choices as well.) My list is in chronological order according to the period in which each film is set, not ranked in order of preference.
1. Lawrence of Arabia: The 1962 classic by director David Lean, starring a luminous Peter O'Toole, tells the romanticized story of British officer T.E. Lawrence and his exploits in Arabia during World War I, based on Lawrence's book "Seven Pillars of Wisdom." Despite the many controversies around inaccuracies in the film, it stands as one of the seminal works on the Middle East. In stunning desert images it shows how Arabs fought against the Turkish-Ottoman Empire after the British gave them promises of post-war independence. The story lays the foundation for some of today's most intractable geopolitical problems.
2. Gallipoli: Another moving WW I film, it tells the story of Australian troops fighting in one of the bloodiest campaigns of that war, the Battle of Gallipoli. With memorable music and wrenching performances by a young Mel Gibson and Mike Lee, the 1981 movie showed how political and military decisions far from the battlefield determined the fate of common men swept up by the forces of history.
3. Reds: Warren Beatty's masterpiece recounts the events of the Russian Revolution through the eyes and life of John Reed, an American intellectual known for his classic book "Ten Days that Shook the World." Beatty directed, produced, wrote and starred in the movie. The film shows the way communist revolution became the ideological -- even the spiritual -- engine of committed young idealists of the time.
4. Europa, Europa: This astonishing true story traces the life of a young Jewish boy who pretends to become a Nazi in order to survive World War II. He joins the Hitler Youth and is studied as a specimen of Aryan perfection by Nazi scientists, eventually becoming part of the Nazi army, hiding his terrifying secret until the last day of the war.
5. Ghandi: Director Richard Attenborough tells the life story of the man who took on the British Empire and won. Ben Kingsley stars as Ghandi, the leader of India's non-violent independence movement. He convincingly shows Ghandi's political evolution, and the gradual but decisive success of his version of "asymmetrical warfare" against colonialism.
6. The Last Emperor: A Beautiful, at times dreamy, film by director Bernardo Bertolucci. It tells the story of Puyi, China's last emperor, from his privileged, surreal existence in the Forbidden City, to the Japanese attacks during World War II, and Mao's revolution, culminating in the end of Puyi's life and the final closing of an era in world history.
|
7. The Year of Living Dangerously: Another Australian film starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver and Linda Hunt. This gripping tale is set in post-colonial Indonesia in the 1960s, during the Cold War days of communist insurrections and Western-backed dictatorships. The story is told from the perspective of expatriates covering the story with a certain emotional distance, punctuated by the profound dilemma faced by native Indonesians, aware of the wretchedness of life in an impoverished country.
8. The Killing Fields: Also a story told through the eyes of a Western journalist in a country caught in the political crosswinds of the worldwide communist revolution, the Killing Fields tells the heartbreaking history of the Cambodian genocide at the hands of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. The killings of millions is undisputed, and yet, justice has only now, in the last few months, started grinding its wheels, long after the most egregious perpetrators passed away -- unpunished.
9. The Lives of Others: Last year's winner of the Oscar for best foreign language film, this drab and haunting movie tells a Cold War story that shows the human price of communism, as practiced behind the Berlin Wall. The story looks at the difficult moral choices individuals are forced to make in their personal, professional and artistic lives in order to survive in a one-party totalitarian state.
10. Good-Bye Lenin: A bookend story for Reds, it serves as an epilogue to the communist revolution. This hilarious and poignant story looks at the end of communist rule in East Germany, through the eyes of an everyday family. During the turbulent days of 1989, when young Eastern Europeans are challenging Communist governments and Gorbachev's Perestroika is opening up the East, an East German woman has a heart attack and falls into a coma. While she lies unconscious, the Berlin Wall falls and life in Berlin is turned on its head. When she wakes up, the doctor tells her children to protect her from shocking experiences -- but everything about life now is shocking. Her children recreate the absurdities of the old era to protect their mother from the stunning changes taking place.
11. Three Kings: Anyone who paid close attention to this film would have learned why Iraqis, particularly the Shiites in the country's south, were so skeptical when American forces showed up again at their doorstep in 2003. It tells the story of three American soldiers, played by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube, in the aftermath of the U.S. war against Iraq in Kuwait. The soldiers are trying to steal a treasure of gold hidden in southern Iraq when they get caught up in the tragically ill-fated uprising of Iraqi Shiites against Saddam Hussein. The uprising followed a call by President George H.W. Bush for Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein. The Shiites take on Saddam's forces, but America does nothing to help when Saddam slaughters them.
12. No Man's Land: A bitter comedy set in the fields of Bosnia during the Balkan wars of the early 1990s. Two, later three, enemy soldiers find themselves trapped in a no man's land between combatants. It shows the tragicomic inefficacy of United Nations peacekeeping forces with a mandate to remain neutral and uninvolved, and the absurdities of the war.
25 FEBRUARY 2008.- HOLLYWOOD´S 10 MOST SUCCESSFUL ON-SCREEN PAIRINGS
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, playing Los Angeles cops in the lucrative Lethal Weapon series, have generated a combined $955 million as on-screen partners.
Source: Forbes
On-screen pairings are a fickle science. The right chemistry lulls audiences into buying even the most absurd plot lines. (Julia Roberts' hooker with a heart of gold in Pretty Woman comes to mind.) The wrong formulation ( Bonfire of the Vanities, Gigli) guarantees box office lead.
While audiences may measure their favorite film duos with ineffable metrics like emotional resonance, even tears spilled, Tinseltown's bean-counters track performance in much more concrete terms: grosses. Hollywood's most successful film duos, as measured by their box office bang, are a mixed lot, including the leads of Tinseltown's highest-grossing film, a pair of animated children's toys and several iterations of the buddy-cop tag team.
In terms of box office gross, as provided by Box Office Mojo, the most successful film duo in history is Spider-Man's Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. That big-budget franchise grossed $2.5 billion worldwide at the box office. (In all, it is believed to have cost nearly $600 million.) The original 2002 flick inspired the memorable kissing scene, in which Maguire's unmasked Spider-Man kissed Dunst's Mary Jane Watson upside down in the rain. "We wanted the audience to need them to be together for the picture to work," said Spider-Man director Sam Raimi in 2002. "When I saw Kirsten Dunst and Toby perform a scene together, they made that connection."
Titanic minted superstars of its relatively unknown co-stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Their doomed love story wooed audiences to theaters for an unheard-of eight months. Titanic nabbed Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director and went on to gross $1.8 billion worldwide, more than any other film in history.
The cop action-comedy genre has produced some of cinema's most successful celluloid partnerships. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, secret agents in 1997's Men in Black and the 2000 sequel, grossed over $1 billion together at the box office. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, playing Los Angeles cops in the lucrative Lethal Weapon series, have generated a combined $955 million as on-screen partners. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan round out Tinseltown's most successful police partners thanks to Rush Hour and its requisite sequels, which have grossed just under $850 million.
The box office figures on the list, from Box Office Mojo, are not inflation-adjusted. As such, none of Old Hollywood's iconic pairs, like Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, or Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, make the cut. Films where three primary characters share the spotlight ( Shrek, Harry Potter) were also excluded. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, who memorably united for three films ( Joe Vs. the Volcano, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail) fell short, banking $518 million. They were, surprisingly, edged out by Crocodile Dundee co-stars (and marrieds in real life) Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski. The three Dundee flicks grossed $607 million.
Cartoon characters also clinched a spot on the list. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen provide the voices for Woody and Buzz Lightyear, respectively, in the Pixar-produced, Walt Disney-distributed (nyse: DIS - news - people ) 1995 blockbuster animated feature Toy Story, which grossed $354 million. Four years later, the pair reprised their roles for a sequel that booked $485 million worldwide. Hanks and Allen may soon move up the list of Hollywood's Most Successful On-Screen Pairings. They are at work on a third Toy Story sequel, slated for release in 2010.
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Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, playing Los Angeles cops in the lucrative Lethal Weapon series, have generated a combined $955 million as on-screen partners. |
On-screen pairings are a fickle science. The right chemistry lulls audiences into buying even the most absurd plot lines. (Julia Roberts' hooker with a heart of gold in Pretty Woman comes to mind.) The wrong formulation ( Bonfire of the Vanities, Gigli) guarantees box office lead.
While audiences may measure their favorite film duos with ineffable metrics like emotional resonance, even tears spilled, Tinseltown's bean-counters track performance in much more concrete terms: grosses. Hollywood's most successful film duos, as measured by their box office bang, are a mixed lot, including the leads of Tinseltown's highest-grossing film, a pair of animated children's toys and several iterations of the buddy-cop tag team.
In terms of box office gross, as provided by Box Office Mojo, the most successful film duo in history is Spider-Man's Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. That big-budget franchise grossed $2.5 billion worldwide at the box office. (In all, it is believed to have cost nearly $600 million.) The original 2002 flick inspired the memorable kissing scene, in which Maguire's unmasked Spider-Man kissed Dunst's Mary Jane Watson upside down in the rain. "We wanted the audience to need them to be together for the picture to work," said Spider-Man director Sam Raimi in 2002. "When I saw Kirsten Dunst and Toby perform a scene together, they made that connection."
Titanic minted superstars of its relatively unknown co-stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Their doomed love story wooed audiences to theaters for an unheard-of eight months. Titanic nabbed Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director and went on to gross $1.8 billion worldwide, more than any other film in history.
The cop action-comedy genre has produced some of cinema's most successful celluloid partnerships. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, secret agents in 1997's Men in Black and the 2000 sequel, grossed over $1 billion together at the box office. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, playing Los Angeles cops in the lucrative Lethal Weapon series, have generated a combined $955 million as on-screen partners. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan round out Tinseltown's most successful police partners thanks to Rush Hour and its requisite sequels, which have grossed just under $850 million.
The box office figures on the list, from Box Office Mojo, are not inflation-adjusted. As such, none of Old Hollywood's iconic pairs, like Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, or Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, make the cut. Films where three primary characters share the spotlight ( Shrek, Harry Potter) were also excluded. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, who memorably united for three films ( Joe Vs. the Volcano, Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail) fell short, banking $518 million. They were, surprisingly, edged out by Crocodile Dundee co-stars (and marrieds in real life) Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski. The three Dundee flicks grossed $607 million.
Cartoon characters also clinched a spot on the list. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen provide the voices for Woody and Buzz Lightyear, respectively, in the Pixar-produced, Walt Disney-distributed (nyse: DIS - news - people ) 1995 blockbuster animated feature Toy Story, which grossed $354 million. Four years later, the pair reprised their roles for a sequel that booked $485 million worldwide. Hanks and Allen may soon move up the list of Hollywood's Most Successful On-Screen Pairings. They are at work on a third Toy Story sequel, slated for release in 2010.
26 FEBRUARY 2008.-"LOST" (The pics, of course)
Click Here to see THE RESCUED PHOTOS from eternal oblivion
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Click Here to see THE RESCUED PHOTOS from eternal oblivion |
26 FEBRUARY 2008.- NOSTALGIA FOR "APOCALYPTO"?
Click Here to read reportage
David Esquivel, click Here to read interview (Spanish)
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Click Here to read reportage |
28 FEBRUARY 2008.- A SMILE, PLEASE
...Left Right Left, KEEP MARCHING!!!
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...Left Right Left, KEEP MARCHING!!! |
29 FEBRUARY 2008.- THE PUGLIESE POP CULTURE COLLECTION
Claymore ("Braveheart") and the hat worn by the Wicked Witch of the West ("The Wizard of Oz")
Source: Channel4
A New York City auction house is set to put a pop culture collection under the hammer.
The items, which will go on sale in Las Vegas in mid March, were gathered over several decades by Anthony Pugliese.
It is understood he now wants to share his treasure trove with the world.
The collection covers 850 objects from the worlds of motion pictures, popular music, magic, television and politics.
Among the memorabilia up for grabs is the Indiana Jones chalice, the Christopher Reeve's 'Superman' suit, the hat made famous by the Wicked Witch of the West in 'The Wizard of Oz.', and the sword used by actor Mel Gibson in the filming of the film "Braveheart".
Other key items include the gun that killed Lee Harvey Oswald and a rocking chair used by former US President John F Kennedy.
Wallace's Claymore
"Every man dies. Not every man really lives." (William Wallace, "Braveheart")
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Claymore ("Braveheart") and the hat worn by the Wicked Witch of the West ("The Wizard of Oz") |
A New York City auction house is set to put a pop culture collection under the hammer.
The items, which will go on sale in Las Vegas in mid March, were gathered over several decades by Anthony Pugliese.
It is understood he now wants to share his treasure trove with the world.
The collection covers 850 objects from the worlds of motion pictures, popular music, magic, television and politics.
Among the memorabilia up for grabs is the Indiana Jones chalice, the Christopher Reeve's 'Superman' suit, the hat made famous by the Wicked Witch of the West in 'The Wizard of Oz.', and the sword used by actor Mel Gibson in the filming of the film "Braveheart".
Other key items include the gun that killed Lee Harvey Oswald and a rocking chair used by former US President John F Kennedy.
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Wallace's Claymore |
1 MARCH 2008.- IRISH MINISTER CONGRATULATES MEL GIBSON & IFTA WINNERS
Cömhghairdeas!
Thar cinn!
Source: PR from Irish Film & Television Academy
Ireland's Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Séamus Brennan T.D. today congratulated Mel Gibson and the 37 winners of Irish Film & Television Awards in Dublin at the weekend, while 621,000 people tuned in to watch the IFTAs on RTÉ Television.
The Irish Film and Television Awards were held on 17 February 2008. Guests attending the show included Irish talent Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney, Michael Fassbender, Neil Jordan, Fionnula Flanagan, Elaine Cassidy, Victoria Smurfit, Lenny Abrahamson, Mark O’Halloran; and international guests included Mel Gibson, Bo Derek, John Corbett, Mary McDonnell, Kevin Dillon, Dominic Purcell, Ayden Callaghan and Rene Russo.
Presenting 37 awards to Ireland’s top names in the film and television arena, the IFTAs also presented renowned actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson with the Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award.
The awards show was a resounding hit with Irish audiences drawing 621,000* viewers. An average of 563,000 people tuned in over the 90 minute broadcast, recorded as live in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre. On average, 41% of people watching television were tuned to the Irish Film and Television Awards on RTÉ One.
Arts Minister Seamus Brennan T.D. was among the esteemed guests at the ceremony, and today he praised the talented winners and Mel Gibson on their achievements.
“Congratulations to all the IFTA winners, who should enjoy this well-deserved recognition for their creative contributions to the Irish film and television industry. The Awards reflect the wonder poll of acting and technical talent we now have in the Irish film and television industries. My congratulations also to Mel Gibson on his well deserved honour from the Academy for his achievements in filmmaking both in front of and behind the camera. In 1994, Gibson’s ‘Braveheart’ showcased to the world what Ireland has to offer international filmmakers and we would be delighted to welcome him back to film in Ireland again. Awarding the achievements of our film and television industry is important to build awareness and deepen interest, involvement and opportunities in this cultural sector.”
Speaking after the show Mel Gibson commented; “I think these Awards create awareness and a pride, and it may spur young people to come up and try and achieve. The more work that happens, the more proficient they’ll get, and the more proficient they get, the more they can change the planet, you can change the world, you can change life with a work of art you know?” He added: “I met the Minister for the Arts this evening and he seems cut from the same cloth as Michael D. Higgins, who was here when I was here with Braveheart.”
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Cömhghairdeas! |
Ireland's Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Séamus Brennan T.D. today congratulated Mel Gibson and the 37 winners of Irish Film & Television Awards in Dublin at the weekend, while 621,000 people tuned in to watch the IFTAs on RTÉ Television.
The Irish Film and Television Awards were held on 17 February 2008. Guests attending the show included Irish talent Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney, Michael Fassbender, Neil Jordan, Fionnula Flanagan, Elaine Cassidy, Victoria Smurfit, Lenny Abrahamson, Mark O’Halloran; and international guests included Mel Gibson, Bo Derek, John Corbett, Mary McDonnell, Kevin Dillon, Dominic Purcell, Ayden Callaghan and Rene Russo.
Presenting 37 awards to Ireland’s top names in the film and television arena, the IFTAs also presented renowned actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson with the Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award.
The awards show was a resounding hit with Irish audiences drawing 621,000* viewers. An average of 563,000 people tuned in over the 90 minute broadcast, recorded as live in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre. On average, 41% of people watching television were tuned to the Irish Film and Television Awards on RTÉ One.
Arts Minister Seamus Brennan T.D. was among the esteemed guests at the ceremony, and today he praised the talented winners and Mel Gibson on their achievements.
“Congratulations to all the IFTA winners, who should enjoy this well-deserved recognition for their creative contributions to the Irish film and television industry. The Awards reflect the wonder poll of acting and technical talent we now have in the Irish film and television industries. My congratulations also to Mel Gibson on his well deserved honour from the Academy for his achievements in filmmaking both in front of and behind the camera. In 1994, Gibson’s ‘Braveheart’ showcased to the world what Ireland has to offer international filmmakers and we would be delighted to welcome him back to film in Ireland again. Awarding the achievements of our film and television industry is important to build awareness and deepen interest, involvement and opportunities in this cultural sector.”
Speaking after the show Mel Gibson commented; “I think these Awards create awareness and a pride, and it may spur young people to come up and try and achieve. The more work that happens, the more proficient they’ll get, and the more proficient they get, the more they can change the planet, you can change the world, you can change life with a work of art you know?” He added: “I met the Minister for the Arts this evening and he seems cut from the same cloth as Michael D. Higgins, who was here when I was here with Braveheart.”
1 MARCH 2008.- IRISH AND INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES PRAISE MEL GIBSON´S OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD CINEMA
"My ole Mum would really have loved to have been here to see this. But, em, maybe she’s watching? I’d like to thank you all from the very bottom of my heart.”
Source: PR from Irish Film & Television Academy
Dublin, Ireland, March 01, 2008 - Irish and international colleagues of Mel Gibson bestowed praise on the career of the world renowned director/producer and actor at the Irish Film and Television Awards in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre at the weekend.
Mel Gibson was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award at the Irish Film & Television Awards in Dublin by his ‘Braveheart’ co-star, Irish actor Sean McGinley. In his tribute to the Australian filmmaker, McGinley reflected on his time with Gibson;
“He is remembered with warmth and affection by everyone I know who worked on the film, and it goes without saying that we take some pride in his achievements ever since, and I hope you won’t mind if I say this, on behalf of us all here, we will always think of him as one of our own.”
Others recognising the merits of Mel’s career to date included his ‘Air America’ co-star Robert Downey Junior. Downey said “You are a man amongst men,” adding “the value of Mel, amongst his many other contributions, is his sincere artistry, his determination and his inability to not give a thousand percent to his vision - and believe me he is a man of exceptional vision.”
Building on the idea of Mel’s extraordinary vision and creativity, Oscar winning director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Far and Away) said: “Congratulations on this much deserved acknowledgement from the IFTA. I really wish I could be there with you… Having watched all the films that you’ve directed, I just have to say without a doubt, you are an artist of uncommon vision.”
Acknowledging her friendship and working relationship with Mel Gibson, screen actress Rene Russo travelled to Dublin especially to attend the IFTA ceremony. Whist here Gibson described the actress as “a woman of extraordinary soul”, and Russo, who starred opposite Gibson on three motion pictures, stated “Mel, Ireland, it doesn’t get better than that!” Speaking on the red carpet at the IFTAs, the actress also commented: “I would really go half way around the world for him - which I did, and would do it again. He’s an amazing human being.”
‘Lethal Weapon’ director Richard Donner also expressed his deep friendship with Gibson saying “I miss you, you went to Ireland without me.”
The Irish Film & Television Academy’s decision to honour Mel Gibson with their inaugural Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award stems from the success of Mel’s Irish filmed feature ‘Braveheart’. The multi-award winning film was shot on location in Ireland in 1994 and was the first major production to avail of the newly introduced tax breaks. As a result Ireland’s landscape, facilities and pool of talented crew and actors was brought to an international stage, helping to establish the successful industry in Ireland today.
Speaking about the award, Aine Moriarty, CEO of the Irish Film & Television Academy said:
“The Academy holds Mr. Gibson’s film achievements in the highest regard. His drive, vision and determination have inspired so many young Irish filmmakers over the past three decades who have followed his creative journey in filmmaking, both in front of and behind the camera, moreover since he filmed the epic Braveheart here, which won five Academy Awards.”
Morgan O’Sullivan, the Irish co-producer on ‘Braveheart’, said of Gibson’s time in Ireland: “Braveheart indeed was a wonderful experience, it was a daunting task for you which you did with great aplomb and great energy. I will always remember your energy. It’s thanks to you that I suppose we’ve got the scale of industry that we’ve got today, and we wish you well this evening.”
Finally, receiving his award with a standing ovation from the 850 capacity crowd, Gibson expressed his thanks for the honour, remembering his mother Anne Reilly, who was born in County Longford.
“Thank you so much for this incredible honor. I’m really happy and pleased to be here…I remember with a great deal of fondness great memories of my time here and all the men and women that worked with me and helped me achieve my vision. Some of them were just fledging at the time and now they are kinda like veterans of camerawork and other aspects of film-making art, which is really gratifying to see how they’ve risen so far, when you saw where they started... I simply can’t express how moved I am and my ole Mum would really have loved to have been here to see this. But, em, maybe she’s watching? I’d like to thank you all from the very bottom of my heart.”
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"My ole Mum would really have loved to have been here to see this. But, em, maybe she’s watching? I’d like to thank you all from the very bottom of my heart.” |
Dublin, Ireland, March 01, 2008 - Irish and international colleagues of Mel Gibson bestowed praise on the career of the world renowned director/producer and actor at the Irish Film and Television Awards in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre at the weekend.
Mel Gibson was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award at the Irish Film & Television Awards in Dublin by his ‘Braveheart’ co-star, Irish actor Sean McGinley. In his tribute to the Australian filmmaker, McGinley reflected on his time with Gibson;
“He is remembered with warmth and affection by everyone I know who worked on the film, and it goes without saying that we take some pride in his achievements ever since, and I hope you won’t mind if I say this, on behalf of us all here, we will always think of him as one of our own.”
Others recognising the merits of Mel’s career to date included his ‘Air America’ co-star Robert Downey Junior. Downey said “You are a man amongst men,” adding “the value of Mel, amongst his many other contributions, is his sincere artistry, his determination and his inability to not give a thousand percent to his vision - and believe me he is a man of exceptional vision.”
Building on the idea of Mel’s extraordinary vision and creativity, Oscar winning director Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Far and Away) said: “Congratulations on this much deserved acknowledgement from the IFTA. I really wish I could be there with you… Having watched all the films that you’ve directed, I just have to say without a doubt, you are an artist of uncommon vision.”
Acknowledging her friendship and working relationship with Mel Gibson, screen actress Rene Russo travelled to Dublin especially to attend the IFTA ceremony. Whist here Gibson described the actress as “a woman of extraordinary soul”, and Russo, who starred opposite Gibson on three motion pictures, stated “Mel, Ireland, it doesn’t get better than that!” Speaking on the red carpet at the IFTAs, the actress also commented: “I would really go half way around the world for him - which I did, and would do it again. He’s an amazing human being.”
‘Lethal Weapon’ director Richard Donner also expressed his deep friendship with Gibson saying “I miss you, you went to Ireland without me.”
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The Irish Film & Television Academy’s decision to honour Mel Gibson with their inaugural Outstanding Contribution to World Cinema Award stems from the success of Mel’s Irish filmed feature ‘Braveheart’. The multi-award winning film was shot on location in Ireland in 1994 and was the first major production to avail of the newly introduced tax breaks. As a result Ireland’s landscape, facilities and pool of talented crew and actors was brought to an international stage, helping to establish the successful industry in Ireland today.
Speaking about the award, Aine Moriarty, CEO of the Irish Film & Television Academy said:
“The Academy holds Mr. Gibson’s film achievements in the highest regard. His drive, vision and determination have inspired so many young Irish filmmakers over the past three decades who have followed his creative journey in filmmaking, both in front of and behind the camera, moreover since he filmed the epic Braveheart here, which won five Academy Awards.”
Morgan O’Sullivan, the Irish co-producer on ‘Braveheart’, said of Gibson’s time in Ireland: “Braveheart indeed was a wonderful experience, it was a daunting task for you which you did with great aplomb and great energy. I will always remember your energy. It’s thanks to you that I suppose we’ve got the scale of industry that we’ve got today, and we wish you well this evening.”
Finally, receiving his award with a standing ovation from the 850 capacity crowd, Gibson expressed his thanks for the honour, remembering his mother Anne Reilly, who was born in County Longford.
“Thank you so much for this incredible honor. I’m really happy and pleased to be here…I remember with a great deal of fondness great memories of my time here and all the men and women that worked with me and helped me achieve my vision. Some of them were just fledging at the time and now they are kinda like veterans of camerawork and other aspects of film-making art, which is really gratifying to see how they’ve risen so far, when you saw where they started... I simply can’t express how moved I am and my ole Mum would really have loved to have been here to see this. But, em, maybe she’s watching? I’d like to thank you all from the very bottom of my heart.”
3 MARCH 2008.- NEW PHOTOS AND VIDEO
NEW!!! SPECIAL PHOTO ALBUM, IFTA 2008!!!
Click Here to see PHOTOS
NEW!!! Mel Gibson received a special award, after flying in on a private plane with his son, 17 March 2008
Click Here to see VIDEO
Thanks for Your Help!!!
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NEW!!! SPECIAL PHOTO ALBUM, IFTA 2008!!! |
5 MARCH 2008.- THIS AND THAT FROM THE MEMORY TRUNK, YEAR 2003
Click Here, please
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Click Here, please |
7 MARCH 2008.- HISTORICAL FIGURES WITH LINKS TO ROSS, THE BIDDLE BROTHERS
MRS SOFFEL 1984
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ("Ross residents remember links to the Biddle Boys, Simon Girty")
Mention Perrysville to anyone who has lived in Ross for a long time, and most people are likely to recall the village's connection to Pittsburgh's most famous jail escape.
Located along Perry Highway, also known as Route 19, just south of McCandless, Perrysville was the commercial heart of Ross at the start of the 20th century.
The village's one-room school and the White Horse Inn both played roles in the story of the Biddle brothers and their January 1902 breakout from the Allegheny County Jail.
The case drew national attention when it was discovered that the two men, both convicted of murder, were helped in their escape by Kate Soffel, the warden's wife. In 1984, it became the subject of a movie starring Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton called "Mrs. Soffel."
After their escape, Ed and Jack Biddle and Mrs. Soffel stayed overnight in the school, according to Grace Stanko, president of the Ross Township Historical Society. The next morning, one of the brothers went to the nearby White Horse Inn and asked for sandwiches.
"Perrysville was a small village, and everybody knew everybody," Mrs. Stanko said. "When a stranger came into the inn, someone figured this could be one of the men who had just escaped from jail in Pittsburgh."
In 1902, Perrysville had just one telephone -- at Hieber's store -- and someone used it to alert authorities about the whereabouts of the escapees.
"That's when the chase started," she said.
The trio stole a horse and sleigh and drove north over snow-covered roads into Butler County.
The three were near Prospect when they ran into a large posse of law officers.
Mrs. Soffel was wounded in the gunfight that followed, but she recovered. Her marriage, however, did not, and her husband, Peter, divorced her.
Both brothers were hit multiple times and soon died from their wounds.
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MRS SOFFEL 1984 |
Mention Perrysville to anyone who has lived in Ross for a long time, and most people are likely to recall the village's connection to Pittsburgh's most famous jail escape.
Located along Perry Highway, also known as Route 19, just south of McCandless, Perrysville was the commercial heart of Ross at the start of the 20th century.
The village's one-room school and the White Horse Inn both played roles in the story of the Biddle brothers and their January 1902 breakout from the Allegheny County Jail.
The case drew national attention when it was discovered that the two men, both convicted of murder, were helped in their escape by Kate Soffel, the warden's wife. In 1984, it became the subject of a movie starring Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton called "Mrs. Soffel."
After their escape, Ed and Jack Biddle and Mrs. Soffel stayed overnight in the school, according to Grace Stanko, president of the Ross Township Historical Society. The next morning, one of the brothers went to the nearby White Horse Inn and asked for sandwiches.
"Perrysville was a small village, and everybody knew everybody," Mrs. Stanko said. "When a stranger came into the inn, someone figured this could be one of the men who had just escaped from jail in Pittsburgh."
In 1902, Perrysville had just one telephone -- at Hieber's store -- and someone used it to alert authorities about the whereabouts of the escapees.
"That's when the chase started," she said.
The trio stole a horse and sleigh and drove north over snow-covered roads into Butler County.
The three were near Prospect when they ran into a large posse of law officers.
Mrs. Soffel was wounded in the gunfight that followed, but she recovered. Her marriage, however, did not, and her husband, Peter, divorced her.
Both brothers were hit multiple times and soon died from their wounds.
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