Angelina Jolie added to Oscar show

LOS ANGELES: Now Angelina Jolie has another reason to accompany her Oscar-nominated husband Brad Pitt to the Academy Awards on February 26: Jolie will serve as a presenter, producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer  announced on Wednesday.

Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” was not nominated for any Oscars this year. She did, however, supply a voice for one of the Best Animated Feature nominees, “Kung Fu Panda 2.”

She was last nominated for “Changeling” in 2008, and had something of an eye-opening public debut on the 1999 Academy Awards, when the won the Best Supporting Actress award for “Girl, Interrupted” and kissed her brother.

Pitt is nominated twice, for his lead role in “Moneyball” and for producing that Best Picture nominee. He also appears in another Best Picture nominee, “The Tree of Life.”

In recent days, the Academy has also added Cameron Diaz and Halle Berry to the lineup of Oscar presenters, which currently stands at 12: Jolie, Diaz, Berry, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Jennifer Lopez and the cast of “Bridesmaids”: Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig.

AMPAS also announced that Milla Jovovich will host the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards on Saturday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Kuestendorf film festival begins in snowy Serb village

DRVENGRAD: Serbia’s quirky Kuestendorf film festival is a long way from Cannes — instead of a red carpet, there is a carpet of snow, and boots and winter sweaters replace tuxedos.

Yet the event, held in a rustic mountain village that was once a filmset, has attracted a strong international following for its offbeat charm and its bold stance in defence of independent film-making.

As the film and music festival’s founder, Serb director Emir Kusturica, puts it, the week-long event is dedicated to “defending the dignity of author films that are facing the terror of the market”.

“It is getting more and more difficult to have a project survive in this new world of the liberal market,” Kusturica’s daughter Dunja, in charge of film selection for the festival, told AFP.

This year, in its fifth edition, Kuestendorf drew French screen star Isabelle Huppert and US director Abel Ferrara among its guests.

As they arrived by helicopter or by car at Drvengrad, the movie-set wooden village hidden in rough mountains in southwestern Serbia, there was no red carpet and no hailstorm of camera flashes.

At the heart of the festival is a wooden structure that houses a screening hall, restaurant and the cafe “Prokleta avlija” (The Cursed Yard), named after a book by Ivo Andric, the only former Yugoslav Nobel Prize winner.

It is a place with a relaxed air where big-name stars mingle with film students, journalists and other guests.

“I am delighted… to be able to mix with people whose works I admire,” says 22-year-old director Lee Filipovski from Canada. “Emir has set up something that allows the breaking of rather rigid rules.”

The festival’s creator, Sarajevo-born Kusturica — a two-time Golden Palm winner at the Cannes film festival — relishes mixing with the guests at Drvengrad, which has been his home since 2006.

With his famed unruly hair, he greets guests at mealtime, chats with movie-industry hopefuls and informs people of upcoming screenings and concerts.

He is also happy to accompany guests who want to try their skills on the nearby ski slopes.

For Huppert, a first-time guest at Kuestendorf, the “plethora of directors, great directors” is on par with the Cannes guestlist.

This year, Kuestendorf brought together winners from better-known festivals — four Golden Palms winners from Cannes, one Golden Bear from the Berlinale and one Golden Globe for the best foreign film.

Thierry Fremaux, the artistic director at Cannes, described Kuestendorf as a “unique festival in times when it is difficult to invent a new form”.

“I hope that young author-directors discovered by the Kuestendorf festival will one day appear in Cannes — first simply to come and see the films and eventually, one day, maybe, with a short or long film in competition,” Fremaux said.

Huppert, smiling and relaxed, talked to the press before joining a workshop with young authors to discuss at length with them her 1991 film “Madame Bovary”, directed by Claude Chabrol.

Kusturica also welcomed directors from South Korea and Turkey, Kim ki-Duk and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, together with French rising star Tahar Rahim.

Belgian’s directors-brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne were also there, along with Iranian director Marjane Satrapi and her compatriot, actress Leila Hatami, star of the 2011 film “A Separation”.

Hatami chaired this year’s Kuesterndorf jury, which also included French producer Pierre Edelman and Serbian actor-producer Zoran Cvijanovic.

It will award Kuestendorf’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Egg awards to the best among some 20 movies in competition from Belgium, Britain, Estonia, Italy, Canada, France and the United States. AGENCIES

Depp, Jolie bring old Hollywood glamour to ‘The Tourist’

PARIS: If there were a perfect recipe for a hit movie, an Oscar-winning director setting the magnetic Johnny Depp and the mesmerising Angelina Jolie against a Parisian and Venetian backdrop would surely do it.

“The Tourist”, an action romance thriller, is the first foray into Hollywood for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who came to prominence four years ago scooping an Oscar for best foreign film with “The Lives of Others.”

Based loosely on French movie “Anthony Zimmer”, the German director and screenwriter”s Hollywood entry recalls Tinseltown”s older traditions with beautiful sets, an elegant wardrobe and quirky dialogue, while keeping a European style.

“Some people say the glory days of the Hollywood era are over and that we don”t have people like Humphrey Bogart or Lauren Bacall,” von Donnersmarck told Reuters ahead of the film”s premiere on Friday.

“Of course we do. We have people like Depp, who are even cooler than Bogart, and Angelina Jolie, who is Betty Davis and Marilyn Monroe all in one.”

Depp”s character is a nerdy mathematics teacher who gets embroiled while on holiday in a web of deceit spun by Jolie”s vulnerable femme fatale and chased by a dogged English detective played by “Da Vinci Code” bad guy Paul Bettany.

“I”ve done a number of things where these characters are considered a little bit out (of the ordinary), so I wanted to see what I could do with a normal guy put into radically intense situations with various ticks,” said Depp, 47, whose character puffs constantly on an electronic cigarette.

Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures brings together Depp and Jolie for the first time, but according to von Donnersmarck their fame didn”t get in the way of filming. The pair had never met before making the film together.

“It doesn”t matter if the actors are incredibly famous or not known outside, the work is the same,” said the Russian literature and philosophy fan, who speaks five languages.

While a highlight may be Depp jumping over Venice”s rooftops in just his pyjamas, von Donnersmarck draws viewers in with an eye-catching Jolie dressed to kill in almost every other scene.

Jolie, known for performing daring stunts herself in films like “Salt” and “Mr and Mrs Smith”, said she was a little “jealous” that Depp got all the action in The Tourist, but said getting to wallow in Grace Kelly-style elegance made up for it.

“We wanted something that was a pleasure and an escape that you wish Paris and Venice were and everyone feels this elegance for a moment,” said Jolie, who uses an English accent for the role. “It felt like I was back in some of these old-time movies.”

Adding to the classy flavour, Timothy Dalton, best known for playing suave secret agent James Bond in the late 1980s, makes a cameo appearance as a sort of secret service chief guiding an increasingly forlorn Bettany.

“I had a simple job in this … you try to lend it a bit of weight, but somebody”s got to do it,” said the 39-year Bettany.

Indian actress questioned by ICC in spot-fixing scandal

MUMBAI: Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra has been questioned by the international cricket council anti-corruption and security unit regarding her alleged links with suspended Pakistani paceman Muhammad Asif in the spot-fixing scandal.

Sources aware of the ongoing investigations being held into the spot-fixing scandal involving three Pakistani cricketers, Test captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, said Neetu had also been questioned by the ICC officials.

“Neetu’s name came up during a scan of the phone records of Asif and his former girlfriend, Veena Malik also confirmed that he (Asif) had links with Neetu,” one source disclosed.

He said Veena, who was also questioned by the ICC ACSU official in Lahore after the spot-fixing scandal broke out, had told investigators that Neetu was allegedly a link between Asif and Indian

Angelina Jolie visits flood relief camps in Nowshera

NOWSHERA: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie Tuesday visited flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to draw the world’s attention towards the plight of 21 million people affected by the country’s worst-ever floods.

Jolie, the 34-year-old actress and roving envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, spent time talking to long-term Afghan refugees, Pakistani communities and aid workers in Nowshera.

It was Jolie’s fourth visit to Pakistan since she became a UNHCR goodwill ambassador in 2001.

“From what I understand the situation is on a scale that we have not really seen the likes of. It’s on a huge scale,” Jolie told reporters at a camp for the displaced.

“It is extraordinarily complex situation, it’s not just the floods,” said Jolie, referring to the 1.7 million Afghan refugees already living in temporary camps in the northwest.

She also

Angelina Jolie visits flood relief camps in Nowshehra

NOWSHERA: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie Tuesday visited flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to draw the world’s attention towards the plight of 21 million people affected by the country’s worst-ever floods.

Jolie, the 34-year-old actress and roving envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, spent time talking to long-term Afghan refugees, Pakistani communities and aid workers in Nowshera.

It was Jolie’s fourth visit to Pakistan since she became a UNHCR goodwill ambassador in 2001.

“From what I understand the situation is on a scale that we have not really seen the likes of. It’s on a huge scale,” Jolie told reporters at a camp for the displaced.

“It is extraordinarily complex situation, it’s not just the floods,” said Jolie, referring to the 1.7 million Afghan refugees already living in temporary camps in the northwest.

She also

Angelina Jolie makes low-profile visit to Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Actress Angelina Jolie has quietly returned to Haiti for meetings with Haitian and U.

Original post: 
Angelina Jolie makes low-profile visit to Haiti

Angelina Jolie To Visit Haiti With UN Body

GENEVA: The U.N. refugee agency says its goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie is heading to Haiti to meet with earthquake victims.

The Hollywood star spoke with hospitalized Haitian survivors in the neighboring Dominican Republic on Monday.

UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic said Jolie would travel to Haiti later Tuesday.

He provided no details of her planned itinerary for security reasons.

---

Angelina Jolie To Visit Haiti With UN Body was first posted on February 9, 2010 at 6:58 pm.
©2009 “India News“.

Angelina Jolie ‘Overshadowed’ St. John Fashion Brand

LOS ANGELES: Actress Angelina Jolie, the former face of U.S. luxury knitwear maker St. John, “overshadowed the brand”, the label’s chief told an industry publication as the company unveiled its new look.

St. John this week launched a new spring 2010 print advertising campaign starring British model Karen Elson, 30, a redhead who is married to White Stripes singer Jack White.

Absent from the promotion, was Hollywood superstar Jolie, 34, who was hired by St. John as its public face in 2005.

Jolie’s departure had been announced in June 2008.

St. John chief executive Glenn McMahon told Women’s Wear Daily she “overshadowed the brand. We wanted to make a clean break from actresses and steer away from blondes and cleanse the palette.”

Separately, McMahon said in a statement that “we needed to show a modern point of view of St. John. We are evolving the brand.”

During the years that Jolie promoted the company’s fashions, she became one of the most recognizable and sought-after celebrities in the world through her romance with actor Brad Pitt, their six children, and her charity work in Africa and other countries.

---

Angelina Jolie ‘Overshadowed’ St. John Fashion Brand was first posted on January 9, 2010 at 4:50 pm.