Parliament will decide NATO supply restoration: COAS

While talking to the media in Jaccobabad, Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani said that this is wrong impression that Pakistani fighter jets are unable to hit the NATO aircrafts.

He said that F-16 jets would be seldom used in war on terror, adding that restoration of NATO supply restoration would be decided by the Parliament.

Yuvraj vows to return stronger

 

India s cancer-stricken World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh has vowed to return “stronger than ever” to competitive cricket, saying he was responding well to treatment in the United States.

 

The ace all-rounder, named man of the tournament after India s World Cup win in April last year, is currently undergoing chemotherapy for a rare condition, mediastinal seminoma, a malignant tumour located between his lungs.

 

“I have immense faith in the doctors here and by the grace of God I shall be back to my best soon,” Yuvraj said from his hospital in Boston in remarks published in the Times of India newspaper on Wednesday.

 

“I am on medication and doctors have time and again told me that I am responding well and that I would be back playing cricket. I am a fighter and I will return stronger than ever.”

 

A senior Delhi-based oncologist who has been treating the 30-year-old Yuvraj, Nitesh Rohatgi also said Monday the cricketer would be able to start active training by May.

 

“Initially, I was angry and confused. I was even repentant and kept thinking I could have done some things in life differently,” said Yuvraj, an aggressive left-handed batsman and effective spinner.

 

“However, I have a counsellor here who has helped me get over the initial shock of learning that I am suffering from cancer. I have come to terms with it now.”

 

Yuvraj said he drew inspiration from American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win numerous Tour de France titles.

 

“I am currently reading Lance Armstrong s book  It s Not About The Bike . I m sure the book will motivate me and pull me through this difficult time,” he said.

 

Yuvraj had a dream run in the World Cup, scoring 362 runs and grabbing 15 wickets in nine matches. He has not played competitive cricket since taking part in two of three home Tests against the West Indies in November.

 

Thousands of well-wishers, including team-mates, officials and politicians, sent messages of support. “It is the love of family, friends and fans that has kept me going,” said Yuvraj, who has scored 8,051 runs in 274 one-dayers and 1,775 runs in 37 Tests since making his international debut in 2000.

 

“Till a couple of days ago, I was responding to posts and tweets on my accounts on social networking sites, but the sheer volume of comments praying for my well-being would require people to be hired to ensure everyone is responded to.”
Yuvraj also appealed for an end to media speculation about his illness.

 

“I have asked my mother and friends not to speak to the media, as things may get sensationalised,” he said.

 

‘Less troops, more drones is new US defense policy’

 

The plan, to be unveiled by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday and in budget documents next month, calls for a 30% increase in the U.S. fleet of armed unmanned aircraft in the coming years, the Wall Street Journal quoted defense officials as saying.

 

It also foresees the deployment of more special-operations teams at a growing number of small “lily pad” bases across the globe where they can mentor local allies and launch missions.

 

The utility of such tools was evident on Wednesday after an elite team—including members of Navy SEAL Team Six, the unit that killed Osama bin Laden—parachuted into Somalia and freed an American woman and Danish man held hostage for months.

 

The strategy reflects the Obama administration s increasing focus on small, secret operations in place of larger wars. The shift follows the U.S. troop pullout from Iraq in December, and comes alongside the gradual U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, where a troop-intensive strategy is giving way to an emphasis on training Afghan forces and on hunt-and-kill missions.
Defense officials said the U.S. Army plans to eliminate at least eight brigades while reducing the size of the active duty Army from 570,000 to 490,000, cuts that are likely to hit armored and heavy infantry units the hardest. But drone and special-operations deployments would continue to grow as they have in recent years.

 

At the same time, the Army aims to accentuate the importance of special operations by preserving light, rapidly deployable units such as the 82nd and the 101st Airborne divisions.

 

“What we really want is to see the Army adopt the mentality of special forces,” said a military officer who advises Pentagon leaders.

 

The new strategy would assign specific U.S.-based Army brigades and Marine Expeditionary units to different regions of the world, where they would travel regularly for joint exercises and other missions, using permanent facilities and the forward-staging bases that some advisers call lily pads.

 

Marines, for example, will use a new base in Darwin, Australia, as a launch pad for Southeast Asia, while the U.S. is in talks to expand the U.S. presence in the Philippines—potential signals to China that the U.S. has quick-response capability in its backyard, defense officials said.

 

Yet many of the proposed bases will be secret and could temporarily house small commando teams, the officials said.

“There are going to be times when action is called upon, like Tuesday night, when it will be clearly advantageous to be forward deployed,” a military official said, referring to the Somalia operation. “On the other hand, most of the time it will help you to be there to develop host nation or regional security.”

 

The Pentagon still will invest in some big-ticket items, including the F-35 stealth fighter, as a counterweight to rising powers, including China—although the department is poised to announce this week that it is going to slow procurement of the new plane, said defense officials.

 

Mark Wahlberg apologizes for 9/11 comments

LOS ANGELES: Actor Mark Wahlberg apologized for saying events may have turned out differently had he been on one of the planes that crashed on 9/11, after incurring the wrath of critics and one victim’s widow.

“If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry,’” the actor said in an interview with Men’s Journal magazine that was released one day earlier.

“The Fighter” star, 44, was scheduled to be on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2011 and made the comments in that context, but after media outlets reported that a widow of one 9/11 victim called his comments “disrespectful,” the actor issued a formal apology.

“To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with, and to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible. I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention,” Wahlberg said in a statement.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who started his career in music as rapper Marky Mark, transitioned into film and is currently promoting “Contraband,” a high-octane action movie in which he plays a former smuggler forced to protect his brother-in-law. AGENCIES

”Black Swan” continues its twirl overseas

LOS ANGELES: Despite “Tangled’s” continued lock on first place, “Black Swan” landed just a feather away from taking the top spot at foreign theaters over the weekend, missing No. 1 by a mere $131,664.

An obvious “Oscar Bump” is strongly in play as international audiences in 29 territories boosted the mainstream art house wonder over the $150 million mark in global revenue with $16.7 million in weekend receipts.

Third place got an unexpected visitor as the Franco-Belgian comedy “Nothing to Declare” in just four territories earned an impressive $13.95 million and is approaching $50 million worldwide. For a film that most people stateside have never heard of, that’s not a bad haul.

In six more territories than last week another Oscar darling, “The King’s Speech,” held steady in fourth place with $13.2 million and a global cumulative that is just a shilling shy of $200 million. And other Oscar contenders continued to make their mark in the Top 20, with “True Grit” in ninth place and “The Fighter” in 19th place, having just crossed the $100 million mark in global dollars.

Here are the top 20 movies at international theaters last weekend, followed by international gross for the weekend (excluding North America), number of theater locations, number of territories, worldwide gross to date (including North America), and number of weeks in release as compiled Wednesday by global media measurement company Rentrak Corp. and provided by Hollywood.com:

“Tangled,” $16,871,286, 4,400 locations, 44 territories, $490,473,734, 12 weeks.

2. “Black Swan,” $16,739,622, 3,484 locations, 29 territories, $155,421,621, 11 weeks.

3. “Nothing to Declare,” $13,956,964, 1,129 locations, four territories, $46,882,950, three weeks.

4. “The King’s Speech,” $13,211,028, 3,893 locations, 26 territories, $199,976,798, 12 weeks.

5. “Sanctum,” $11,958,392, 3,856 locations, 13 territories, $45,453,535, two weeks.

6. “The Green Hornet,” $10,787,977, 7,822 locations, 59 territories, $200,046,313, five weeks.

7. “Yogi Bear,” $9,278,119, 4,246 locations, 31 territories, $155,338,796, nine weeks.

8. “Kokowaah,” $8,524,143, 876 locations, three territories, $21,659,756, two weeks.

9. “True Grit,” $8,469,692, 3,385 locations, 16 territories, $177,921,814, eight weeks.

10. “Gulliver’s Travels,” $7,644,591, 1,992 locations, 36 territories, $183,300,808, eight weeks.

11. “Tron Legacy,” $6,289,869, 2,075 locations, 26 territories, $356,084,840, nine weeks.

12. “No Strings Attached,” $5,525,670, 3,098 locations, 17 territories, $71,811,219, four weeks.

13. “Gnomeo and Juliet,” $5,348,317, 3,633 locations, seven territories, $34,476,335, one week.

14. “Just Go With It,” $5,229,806, 4,463 locations, 13 territories, $44,182,893, one week.

15. “Hereafter,” $4,487,711, 1,500 locations, 27 territories, $88,829,879, six weeks.

16. “The Tourist,” $4,234,232, 2,601 locations, 50 territories, $230,777,671, 10 weeks.

17. “Femmine Contro Maschi,” $3,362,288, locations NA, one territory, $10,450,509, two weeks.

18. “Detective K: Secret of a Peddler’s Inn,” $3,354,139, locations NA, one territory, $24,321,180, three weeks.

19. “The Fighter,” $3,321,450, 1,942 locations, 19 territories, $102,820,739, 10 weeks.

20. “Gantz,” $3,092,464, locations NA, one territory, $25,870,868, three weeks.

2011 SAG Award Winners

Last night the 17th annual SAG awards were held in Hollywood. ‘The King’s Speech’ was named top film and Colin Firth was honored for his role in the film. The King’s Speech also took the award for outstanding cast in a motion picture, the cast includes Geoffry Rush and Helena Bonham Carter.

Natalie Portman was given the award for the most outstanding performance by a female actor for her role ‘Black Swan’.

The top awards in Television were given to Steve Buscemi for his role in ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and the show also came out on top by taking the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.

‘The Fighter’ also took home two awards.

Overall it was a fairly regular ceremony with not too many surprises. Now speculation is whether the 2011 Oscars awards will be as predictable and has ‘The Social Network’ been knocked out of the Oscars race?

Complete list of winners after the jump!

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“The Kids Are Alright”
“The King’s Speech” – WINNER
“The Social Network”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network”
Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech” – WINNER
James Franco, “127 Hours”
Jeff Bridges, “True Grit”
Robert Duvall, “Get Low”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Benning, “The Kids Are Alright”
Nicole Kidman, “The Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman, “Black Swan” – WINNER
Hilary Swank, “Conviction”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christian Bale, “The Fighter” – WINNER
Mark Ruffalo, “The Kids Are Alright”
John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner, “The Town”
Geoffrey Rush, “The King’s Speech”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams, “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter, “The King’s Speech”
Mila Kunis, “Black Swan”
Melissa Leo, “The Fighter” – WINNER
Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”

TELEVISION

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
“Boardwalk Empire” – WINNER
“Dexter”
“The Good Wife”
“Mad Men”
“The Closer”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
“30 Rock”
“The Office”
“Glee”
“Modern Family” – WINNER
“Hot in Cleveland”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire” – WINNER
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie, “House”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife” – WINNER
Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”
Glenn Close, “Damages”
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock” – WINNER
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Chris Colfer, “Glee”
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”
Ed O’Neill, “Modern Family”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Betty White, “Hot in Cleveland” – WINNER
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Edie Falco “Nurse Jackie”
Jane Lynch, “Glee”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
John Goodman, “You Don’t Know Jack”
Al Pacino, “You Don’t Know Jack” – WINNER
Dennis Quaid, “The Special Relationship”
Edgar Ramirez, “Carlos”
Patrick Stewart, “MacBeth”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Claire Danes, “Temple Grandin” – WINNER
Catherine O’Hara, “Temple Grandin”
Julia Ormond, “Temple Grandin”
Winona Ryder, “When Love Is Not Enough”
Susan Sarandon, “You Don’t Know Jack”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
“Green Zone”
“Inception” – WINNER
“Robin Hood”

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES
“Burn Notice”
“CSI: NY”
“Dexter”
“Southland”
“True Blood” – WINNER

Film directors pick nominees for best movie

LOS ANGELES: Hollywood’s Oscar race narrowed further on Monday when a key directors’ group picked their top five movies and filmmakers, including David Fincher with his Facebook film “The Social Network.”

The Directors Guild of America, which represents men and women who make movies, also put the makers of “Black Swan,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Fighter” and “Inception” on its list of nominees for best directing efforts of 2010.

“Their inspired films radiate the passion and unique vision of each of these filmmakers, who are about to become part of our Guild’s rich history. My sincerest congratulations to all five nominees,” DGA president Taylor Hackford said in a statement, noting 2011 marks the group’s 75th anniversary.

The DGA honor is important because it is one of the most prestigious honors in the U.S. film industry, and because there is a strong correlation between DGA nominees and directors who will vie for Oscars, the world’s top movie honors.

In all but six years since the DGA began giving out awards in 1948, its winner of best director has won the Academy Award, and traditionally the winner of best director has often seen his or her film go on to take best movie from Oscar organizers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Last year’s DGA winner, Kathryn Bigelow with “The Hurt Locker,” for instance, also claimed the best director Oscar and her Iraq war film took home best motion picture.

“The Social Network,” a fast-paced movie that tells of the founding of website Facebook, already has been named best movie by numerous U.S. critics groups and on Saturday, the National Society of Film Critics also named it the No. 1 film.

Numerous other groups have made their choices, and still others like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with its Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild will name their winners later this month. Taken together, the critics and industry groups help narrow pundits’ picks for Oscars.

Fincher and his movie face strong competition from drama “Black Swan,” directed by Darren Aronofsky and telling of a woman on a journey of self-discovery through her dancing.

Director Tom Hooper’s “The King Speech,” a period drama detailing how Britain’s King George VI worked to overcome his stammering, has strong support among Oscar pundits.

Boxing film “The Fighter,” from David O. Russell, also figures prominently in the awards sweepstakes, and the DGA’s fifth nominee, Christopher Nolan and thriller “Inception,” has a loyal fan base owing to his mega-hit Batman movies.

The DGA gives out its awards on Jan. 29. Oscar nominees are named on Jan. 25, and their ceremony takes place on Feb. 27.

”True Grit” shoots its way to box office lead

LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning brothers Joel and Ethan Coen”s remake of John Wayne western “True Grit” gunned its way to the top of the North American box office, elbowing “Little Fockers” to second place, figures showed Sunday.

The new version of the 1969 classic starring Jeff Bridges as the drunken, hard-nosed US Marshal “Rooster” Cogburn, took in $15 million for a total of $110.4 million in its third weekend, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

“Little Fockers,” the third installment of Robert De Niro-Ben Stiller comedies about nightmare in-laws, fell to second place with $13.7 million after two weekends at the top of the box office, for a total of $124 million since it opened.

“Season of the Witch,” starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman as witch-escorting knights in Black Plague Europe, opened in third place with $10.7 million.

The 3-D sequel to the 1982 sci-fi cult “TRON: Legacy,” also starring Jeff Bridges and his computer-generated version of his younger self from the original movie, dropped one place to fourth with $9.8 million, for a four-week total of $147.9 million.

Ballet thriller “Black Swan,” starring Natalie Portman as a dancer in a New York company exploring the dark sides of the industry and her own sensuality, rose four notches to fifth place with $8.4 million, for a six-week $61.5 million total.

“Country Strong,” starring Gwyneth Paltrow as a fallen country-music star climbing her way back up to the top of the charts, opened in sixth place with $7.3 million.

Mark Wahlberg”s boxing drama “The Fighter,” fell one place to seventh with $7.0 million, followed by British historical drama “The King”s Speech,” featuring Colin Firth as a stuttering King George VI, which made $6.8 million.

The 3-D and partly computer animated family film “Yogi Bear” fell to ninth spot, earning $6.8 million, and animated Disney fable “Tangled,” about long-haired Princess Rapunzel, netted $6.2 million in the tenth spot.

Film producers, writers solidify Oscar race

LOS ANGELES: Film producers and writers on Tuesday jumped into Hollywood”s Oscar race with their choices of 2010”s best movies, including “The Social Network,” “The Fighter” and “Black Swan,” among others.

The Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America, which represent their respective groups in the film and television industries, annually issue lists of best movies, and their picks are closely watched in the race for Oscars.

Joining the three movies above on the Producers Guild list were seven other films that have received praise from critics and industry groups. Those titles include “The King”s Speech,” “127 Hours,” “Inception,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “The Town,” “Toy Story 3,” and “True Grit.”

The writers divide their top 10 into two groups, best original screenplay and best adapted screenplay.

Boxing film “The Fighter” made the list of five movies that will vie for original screenplay, along with ballerina story “Black Swan,” family comedy “The Kids Are All Right,” and dramas “Inception” and “Please Give.”

Facebook film “Social Network,” adventure “127 Hours,” crime drama “The Town,” western “True Grit” and independent movie “I Love You Phillip Morris” made the group of five competing for best adapted screenplay.

Absent from the writer”s list was “King”s Speech,” a drama about the stammering British King George VI that has made several best movie lists among critics.

Hollywood is counting the days until the February 27 Oscars, the industry”s biggest movie awards held in Los Angeles and given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Producers Guild and other industry honors can offer a guidepost for Oscar chances because many members of the PGA and WGA also belong to the Academy, whose members cast votes for the Oscars. Moreover, industry group and critics” lists also give a lift to movie theater ticket sales.

The PGA also nominates films for best documentary, and those choices include “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer,” about the former New York governor”s hiring of prostitutes, Rwandan genocide tale “Earth Made of Glass,” as well as “Inside Job” that aims to explain the banking crisis.

“Smash His Camera” about celebrity-chasing photographer Ron Galella, “The Tillman Story,” that examines the death of U.S. football star-turned soldier Pat Tillman in Afghanistan and “Waiting for Superman,” that details the failures of the U.S. educational system, rounded out the documentary nominees.

The honor for best-produced animated movie puts “Despicable Me,” up against “How To Train Your Dragon,” and “Toy Story 3.”

The Writers Guild picked six films for best documentary but only one, “Inside Job,” is shared with the producers. The writers other documentary nominees were: “Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin” About Him)?” “Freedom Riders,” “Enemies of the People,” “Gasland,” “The Two Escobars.”

The producers also unveiled TV nominees, and in the category for best TV drama, “Breaking Bad,” will compete against “Dexter,” “Lost,” “Mad Men,” and “True Blood.” Nominees for TV comedy went to the producers of “30 Rock,” Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Glee,” “Modern Family,” and “The Office.”

Back in December, the writers unveiled their TV picks.

The PGA hands out its honor at a gala ceremony in Los Angeles on January 22, and the WGA has its awards dinner on February 5. Oscar nominees will be named on January 25, and the top awards will be given out on February 27.

“Black Swan”: it’s a mystery and a bit of a thriller

Black Swan: A Must See Even if Ballet Ain’t Your Thing.

I don’t go to the ballet and have only seen one a long time ago. Interestingly, it was Swan Lake performed, as in the film Black Swan, at Lincoln Center in New York City.

It is an art form that doesn’t interest me and I say this at the outset, because, as in the case of The Fighter, about which I recently wrote, though I’m not drawn to the arena I was captivated by the motion picture itself.

Like The Turning Point and Billy Elliot, two major films that dealt with similar subject matter, Black Swan is elevated by a story of conflict, hopes, unfulfilled dreams and the fear of failure, and in those areas the movie soars.

Plus, it’s a mystery and a bit of a thriller, as we’re not really sure what’s going on at the beginning when we meet the young ballerina Nina Sayers, played so movingly by Natalie Portman. We see red marks on her body and it appears that perhaps her career will be cut short by a serious illness. Maybe it’s leukemia or Hodgkins, we don’t know. But we are saddened by the prospect, and that’s all I’m going to tell those of you who haven’t yet seen the film.

We are introduced to her mother, Erica, portrayed by the always surprising and still beautiful Barbara Hershey, and though we might be expecting a ballet version of Mama Rose, it’s not quite so. There are similarities in the sense that there is a competitive drive she instills in her daughter, but it’s not pathetic and there’s no cruelty. She has missed her own chances and, yes, there may well be a vicarious thrill she experiences in her daughter’s success, but she is loving and genuinely cares.

We also see the political world of ballet, the cutthroat competition exhibited by newly arrived dancer Lily, played by a fairly transparent but intriguing Mila Kunis. Lily is alternately likable and devious, and to the audience it’s clear she wants to be the star, and the only way to get the principal role is to get rid of the timid and haunted Nina, whom she aggressively befriends.

All this, as Nina fights to become the White/Black Swan and to seduce the choreographer with her persona. However, Thomas Leroy, played in a tough, yet loving manner by French actor Vincent Cassel, would prefer a true sexual dalliance, as he’d had with the soon to retire, now over the hill ballet star, Beth MacIntyre, whose performance is conceived so well by an embittered Winona Ryder.

The writing by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin, with the story by Heinz is taut and unpredictable, and the melodrama is kept to a minimum as any good suspense mystery should be. And it’s wrapped together in a wonderful package by director Darren Aronofsky to such an extent that you are gripped from almost the beginning right until the captivating end.

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