Priyanka Chopra to attend 48th Annual Grammy

Priyanka Chopra, currently attending 62nd Berlin International Film Festival to promote her film Don 2, which is being showcased there, will be attending the 48th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Sunday evening.

Everyone knows Priyanka’s passion for music, so it is obvious that she is really excited to attend the award ceremony that honours outstanding music. She will be joined by heavyweights like Jimmy Iovine, the CEO of Interscope Records, and Troy Carter, the owner of her management company Atom Factory, at the event.

The actress who is in the process of releasing her international album feels this is the best global platform to meet and interact with people from the international music fraternity. She is also thrilled about meeting her favourite singing sensations at the award function.

Chinas inflation rate hits 4.5 percent in January

 

China s annual inflation rate hit 4.5 percent in January, the highest level in three months, data showed Thursday, after consumers splashed out on food and gifts over the Lunar New Year holiday.

 

The country s consumer price index, a key gauge of inflation, was higher than the 4.1 percent in December and ended five straight months of easing price pressures caused by government restrictions on lending and property purchases.

 

Analysts said the holiday, also known as the Spring Festival, was unusually early this year and had distorted the monthly data.

 

Retail spending typically soars during the week-long festival, the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar, as consumers ramp up spending on food, wine and gifts for family and friends.

 

Before January, inflation had eased for five months in a row after hitting a more than three-year high of 6.5 percent in July and analysts said the downward trend would likely resume in February as the economy continued to slow.

 

“It was inevitable that we would see some impact of the Lunar New Year holidays, which were in January this year but February last year, but it seems that this impact was bigger than expected,” said Brian Jackson, a senior analyst at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong.

 

Analysts had expected inflation to rise 4.1 percent, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey.

 

The market barely reacted to the data, with the Shanghai Composite Index up 0.37 points, or 0.02 percent, at 2,347.90 in late morning trade.

 

The rebound in inflation was driven by food prices, which soared 10.5 percent year-on-year in January compared with 9.1 percent in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

 

The producer price index, which measures the cost of goods at the farm and factory gate, rose an anaemic 0.7 percent in January compared with 1.7 percent in December, the statement said.

 

Bank of America-Merrill Lynch economist Lu Ting said the data was “significantly distorted” by the holiday “so investors definitely should not read too much into the inflation”.

 

There is mounting evidence that China s growth is slowing as the ongoing debt crisis in Europe and weakness in the United States hurts demand for Chinese exports, a key driver of the world s second-largest economy.

 

The International Monetary Fund this week warned that an escalation of Europe s fiscal woes could slash China s economic growth by half this year, and it urged Beijing to prepare stimulus measures in response.

 

But Chinese leaders have been very cautious about opening the credit valves for fear of reigniting inflation, which has the historic potential to trigger social unrest in the country of more than 1.3 billion people.

 

Late last year the central bank eased lending restrictions on banks and analysts expect similar moves in the coming months as authorities try to spur economic activity and prevent a damaging collapse in the property market.

 

Policymakers are also easing taxes and improving funding channels for small and medium-sized businesses which are huge employers but are often shunned by the major banks.

 

“There remains plenty of downward momentum in China, despite a moderation in the slowdown,” said Alistair Thornton, a Beijing-based analyst for IHS Global Insight.

 

“The property market remains in the throes of a correction, which is dragging down investment spending and spreading deflationary pressure (and) the eurozone will act as a drag on export growth this year.” 

 

Maine to host mustache film festival

 

Move over, Cannes. Maine will be playing host to its first-ever international mustache film festival, part of its annual pageant that celebrates the bristly facial hair.

 

The festival set for March 30 in Portland will feature short films with storylines that involve mustaches or a main character who wears a mustache, said Nick Callanan, head of No Umbrella Media, a video production company organizing the event.

 

The idea for the mustache film festival, believed to be the first of its kind, grew out of an annual mustache pageant held locally to benefit arts and cancer research organizations, he said.

 

This year s 2012 Stache Pag will feature contestants wearing all manner of mustaches, from handlebars to horseshoes, Callanan said. There are also the walrus and Fu Manchu styles, he said.

 

“It s just about men expressing themselves,” he said.

 

To be considered for the festival, films must be eight minutes or less and have a mustache theme or a main character with a mustache. Callanan said he has received submissions from as far away as Norway.

 

The films will be screened ahead of the pageant, which has been held annually for five years at bars, bowling alleys and elsewhere, he said.

 

What began as a gathering of friends mushroomed into an event that attracted some 450 people last year, he said.
The pageant includes categories for various types of mustaches, including the “Magnum, P.I.,” named after the amply mustachioed television character played by actor Tom Selleck.

 

Popular Hollywood movies that would be considered “mustache films” might include “Smoky and the Bandit,” starring Burt Reynolds with a thick mustache, “Tombstone” with Val Kilmer or films featuring action star Chuck Norris.

 

Proceeds from the film festival will be donated to Northeast Historic Film, a film preservation organization, and those from the pageant will be given to an arts support organization called MENSK and a cancer research fundraising group called My Stache Fights Cancer.
 

Oscars: The Academy won’t perform “Muppets” and “Rio” songs at the Oscars – AWARDS ALLEY

By Sean O’Connell
TrendPK.com: It doesn’t matter if you are a Muppet or a man. The Academy still doesn’t want to hear your song on Oscar night.

The Academy has decided not to perform the Oscar-nominated songs from “Rio” and “The Muppets” at this year’s Academy Awards, according to Deadline. It’s the latest change to the awards format in an effort to shake up a telecast that has grown decidedly stale in the past few years.

“It seems like a huge missed opportunity to me, and we certainly tried,” one song insider told the site, while another added, “It doesn’t make sense. They could have so much fun with Muppets and Rio staging.”

The site adds that the show is not locked yet, and the producers could change their mind, but why? The show’s too long as it is. Keep cutting. Get rid of most of the categories. Hand out the top eight categories, and shift the rest to a separate ceremony.

When it comes to the Oscars lately, people want less. The ceremony needs to be streamlined, and if it means Randy Newman doesn’t get to sing “Muppet or a Man,” I’m OK with that.

What about you?

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
– Harvey Weinstein
– The cast of “The Artist.”
– Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn.”
– Bennett Miller talks “Moneyball.”
– Producer Jim Burke for “The Descendants.”
– Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
– Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
– David Fincher, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
– Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
– Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
– Woody Harrelson for “Rampart.”
– Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
– Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
– Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
– Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
– Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
– Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
– Producer Grant Heslov for “The Ides of March.”

For complete Oscar and Film Festival coverage, visit our Awards Alley for the latest news items, reviews and interviews all season long.

Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.

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Oscars: Tom Hanks, “The Artist” and Martin Scorsese in today’s Oscar news – AWARDS ALLEY

By Sean O’Connell
TrendPK.com: The Oscar race is chugging through its last legs, and while many still are prepared to crown “The Artist” as last year’s Best Picture, small camps heralding “The Help” and “The Descendants” are gaining momentum.

Let’s run through the news of the day, to take a snapshot of the race at this moment:

Today officially is “The Artist” Day in the city of Los Angeles. At 2 p.m. PT, Councilman Tom Labonge presented “The Artist” with the “Made In Hollywood” honor to the film’s cast and crew, including Academy Award nominees Michel Hazanvicious Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, and Missi Pyle and Penelope Ann Miller. The honor was presented at RED Studios which substituted for Kinograph Studios in the film

- The Academy announced on its Twitter feed that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks and “American Idol” judge Jennifer Lopez will be official presenters.

- Mark Harris admits that “The Artist” likely is our Best Picture winner. But – and that’s a big “but” – he goes ahead and makes the case for “The Descendants,” “The Help” and “Hugo.”

- Jeff Wells reports from Leonard Maltin’s in-depth chat with “Hugo” director Martin Scorsese at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

- Harrison Ford is being recognized by the American Society of Cinematographers.

- And finally, EW’s Owen Gleiberman fears that the Oscars have lost touch with the mainstream audience. Well, yeah.

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
– Harvey Weinstein
– The cast of “The Artist.”
– Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn.”
– Bennett Miller talks “Moneyball.”
– Producer Jim Burke for “The Descendants.”
– Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
– Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
– David Fincher, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
– Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
– Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
– Woody Harrelson for “Rampart.”
– Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
– Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
– Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
– Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
– Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
– Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
– Producer Grant Heslov for “The Ides of March.”

For complete Oscar and Film Festival coverage, visit our Awards Alley for the latest news items, reviews and interviews all season long.

Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.

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Oscars: How does “The Help” SAG win shake up the Best Picture race? – ANALYSIS

By Sean O’Connell
TrendPK.com: Not so fast, Oscar prognosticators (myself, included). There might be a little more juice in this year’s Oscar race that previously assumed.

One night after “The Artist” seemed to button up a Best Picture Oscar by picking up the Directors Guild trophy for Michel Hazanavicius, Tate Taylor’s “The Help” threw its weight around the Screen Actors Guild awards, picking up key awards for Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Octavia Spencer), Female Actor in a Leading Role (Viola Davis) and Cast in a Motion Picture … the SAG equivalent of Best Picture.

A win by the “Artist” ensemble would have slammed shut any other film’s chances of topping Hazanavicius’ silent ode to old Hollywood in the coveted Best Picture race. But the show of support for Taylor’s period drama shows signs of life in what has been a landslide race up to this point. Could “The Help” build on its SAG momentum and turn the next few weeks into a frenzied contest for Oscar’s affections?

We shall see.

Elsewhere at the SAG awards (at least on the movie side), Christopher Plummer picked up yet another award for his work in “Beginners,” expertly playing a closeted homosexual coming out of the closet after his wife passes away.

But “Artist” lead Jean Dujardin threw a wrench into “Descendants” star George Clooney’s Oscar plans by picking up the SAG for Male Actor in a Leading Role. As THR’s main Oscarologist Scott Feinberg notes, Dujardin has a very good chance of taking Best Actor away from Clooney on Oscar eve, and this SAG win suggests a shift in momentum in that category.

“In so doing, Dujardin became the new frontrunner to win the best actor Academy Award, just like the last seven best actor SAG Award winners and all but four best actor SAG Award winners ever,” Feinberg writes.

So, the race – which we declared over just a few days ago – is back on. The ball is back in Harvey Weinstein’s court, because the bulk of today’s headlines are about “The Help,” and not “The Artist.” Plenty of time to swing momentum back to Hazanavicius’ gem, but the next big move has to happen soon.

And because we never tire of showing it, here is Davis and the cast of “The Help” picking up our Hollywood Ensemble trophy at the Hollywood Film Awards in October. Truly, this film’s awards journey started on our stage, and we couldn’t be happier for their success:

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
– Harvey Weinstein
– The cast of “The Artist.”
– Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn.”
– Bennett Miller talks “Moneyball.”
– Producer Jim Burke for “The Descendants.”
– Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
– Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
– David Fincher, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
– Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
– Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
– Woody Harrelson for “Rampart.”
– Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
– Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
– Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
– Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
– Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
– Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
– Producer Grant Heslov for “The Ides of March.”

For complete Oscar and Film Festival coverage, visit our Awards Alley for the latest news items, reviews and interviews all season long.

Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.

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"Beasts," "The House I Live In" win top awards at Sundance

PARK CITY: “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “The House I Live in” won the top awards at the Sundance Film Festival, making them likely favorites for independent movie audiences in 2012.

Directed by Benh Zeitlin and set in impoverished Louisiana, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” picked up the jury prize for best drama with its tale of the bond between a father and a daughter.

The documentary winner, “The House I Live In,” was one of many documentaries that looked at a struggling America at Sundance 2012, with its examination of America’s long failed war on drugs and critiques of U.S. drug policies, its court system, prisons and their impact on minorities.

“The war on drugs is a terrible scar on America,” said director Eugene Jarecki.

Special juries of industry professionals vote on winners, and those are considered the top prizes, but audiences also vote for their favorites.

“The Surrogate,” which stars Helen Hunt and John Hawkes and is about a man’s quest to lose his virginity while mostly confined to an iron lung, won the Audience Award for best drama.

The film, based on the real life poet and journalist Mark O’Brien, fetched one of the highest selling prices at the festival – a reported $6 million.

“Love is a journey, that’s it,” said director Ben Lewin when accepting his trophy, quoting a line from the film.

The Audience Award for documentary was given to “The Invisible War,” about an epidemic of sexual assault in the U.S. military.

Other documentary special jury prizes went to “Love Free or Die,” about the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson; and “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” about the Chinese artist and activist who was detained for 81 days last year.

Sundance, which is backed by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute for filmmaking, is the largest U.S. gathering for independent movies. Festival winners go on to become some of the most talked about films in art houses.

In addition to prizes for U.S. films, Sundance also gives awards in world cinema. Chile’s “Violeta Went To Heaven,” based on the life of Chilean folk singer Violeta Parra’s journey from a poor upbringing to national hero, won the jury prize for best drama, and “The Law In These Parts” was the jury’s pick for best documentary.

“Searching for Sugar Man,” about the search for an obscure 1970s Detroit folk singer known as Rodriguez, won the audience award for best world documentary as well as a special jury prize. AGENCIES

Dangerous Ishq at Cannes Film Festival

Director Vikram Bhatt plans to showcase his next 3D venture Dangerous Ishq at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival to be held between May 16 and 27.

If all goes well then the film’s leading lady Karisma Kapoor, who makes her comeback with the film, will join the bandwagon of Bollywood stars to have walked the Cannes red carpet. In the film, Karisma plays the role of a supermodel who gives up her career to marry the man she loves. .

Dangerous Ishq also stars Rajniesh Duggall, Jimmy Sheirgill and Ruslaan Mumtaz and is set to release on May 11, 2012.

Iran film gains prominence with double Oscar nod

LOS ANGELES: Iran scored its first foreign language film Oscar nomination in 14 years on Tuesday dominating a field of movies with subjects ranging from Jewish refugees in wartime Poland to corruption in the Flemish beef industry.

“A Separation”, Iranian director’s Asghar Farhadi’s searing domestic drama, also scored a nod for best original screenplay, boosting the movie’s chances for Oscar gold to crown what already has been critically-acclaimed run at Western film festivals.

The foreign language film nominees were rounded out by Israeli film “Footnote”, “In Darkness” by Polish director Agniezska Holland, Canadian entry “Monsieur Lazhar” and “Bullhead” from Belgium.

But expected titles like Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In”, and Chinese film “Flowers of War” starring Christian Bale, were edged out of an often difficult to predict field of contenders.

“From a personal point of view, it means that being local and being universal are not opposite of each other,” “Separation” director Farhadi told Reuters about the nomination, speaking from Paris where he is working on his next film.

“For Iranian filmmakers in my country, it means that the power of cinema is still superior to that of political problems,” Farhadi told Reuters.

In recent years, the Iranian government has severely restricted some of its most acclaimed writers and directors, including film director Jafar Panahi, known for his gritty films that examine social issues in the Islamic Republic. He was jailed in 2010 and banned from making movies or traveling abroad by an Iranian court. Some of Hollywood’s most influential names, including Steven Spielberg, have called for Panahi’s release.

More recently in 2011, Iranian officials arrested four filmmakers on suspicion of selling their films to foreign broadcasters, and sentenced Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr, who appeared in “My Tehran for Sale,” to 90 lashes and a year in prison, which was later overturned by an appeals court.

“A Separation”, about an Iranian couple going through a divorce, won the top prize at Berlin’s film festival in February 2011, and a U.S. Golden Globe last week. It is the first Iranian film to be Oscar-nominated since 1998′s “Children of Heaven.”

THE THRILL OF A NOMINATION
Holland’s movie “In Darkness” chronicles the rescue of Jewish refugees in the Polish city of Lvov during World War II. It is Agniezska Holland’s second Oscar nomination following 1990′s “Europa Europa.”

Although she’s a veteran of awards ceremonies, Holland still felt a rush hearing her name announced.

“Every time is like the first time,” she gasped when reached in Warsaw. “And this film was more difficult than any of my movies in terms of the conditions, in terms of the ambition, in terms of the shooting.”

Joseph Cedar was in Jerusalem doing homework with his six-year-old son when he heard the title of his movie, “Footnote,” announced in Beverly Hills by Oscar organizers.

“We jumped up and down and screamed and mostly felt a great relief,” he told Reuters. “I’m still not sure it’s not a mistake.”

“Footnote” focuses on a father-son rivalry in Talmudic studies, but is not autobiographical. “I am a father and I am a son, but other than that it’s not directly linked to my own family,” said the director.

Filmmaker Philippe Falardeau was attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah when his “Monsieur Lazhar,” the Canadian entry, was announced as a nominee on Tuesday.

“When I heard the word ‘Canada’ I started screaming. I didn’t even hear the name of my film,” he said.

“Monsieur Lazhar” tells of an Algerian immigrant who takes over a classroom full of elementary kids after their teacher commits suicide. It is the second year in a row a Quebecois film has been in competition after last year’s “Incendies”.

“It’s quite ironic to see an intimate film exist alongside a big Hollywood production,” Falardeau said.

The fifth nominee, Belgian entry “Bullhead,” directed by first-time filmmaker Michael R. Roskam, is a crime drama focusing on corruption in the Flemish beef industry.

The 84th Academy Awards, the world’s top film honors, will take place on February 26 in Hollywood. AGENCIES

Avril Lavigne, Brody Jenner reportedly appear together once again

TrendPK.com: Although there were rumors of a recent split, it seems that Avril Lavigne and Brody Jenner may be very much together these days.

It is rumored that the two were recently spotted out to dinner at Culina in Beverly Hills and were definitely looking cozy throughout the night, states People. Lavigne and Jenner were allegedly kissing a cuddling while dining out together.

The two never confirmed that they had split, so it is very possible that they are back together or were never apart to begin with.

Do you like them together?

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