Actress Diane Kruger, Jolie, Brad Pitt At Cannes Festival

German actress Diane Kruger, US director Quentin Tarantino, French actress Melanie Laurent, US actress Angelina Jolie, US actor Brad Pitt and US actor Lawrence Bender pose before for the screening of the movie "Inglourious Basterds" in competition at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2009. AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE

IFC acquires von Trier's, Loach's Cannes entries

Two past winners of the top Cannes Film Festival prize have picked up a U.S. distributor for their latest movies.

IFC Films says it has acquired North American rights to Lars von Trier's "Antichrist," which features Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg in a domestic tragedy loaded with graphic sex, torture and mutilation.

IFC also said Wednesday it has bought U.S. rights for Ken Loach's "Looking for Eric," a warm comedy about a troubled mailman who sets his life straight again with help from his imaginary friend — former soccer great Eric Cantona.

Both films are competing for the Palme d'Or, the Cannes prize that von Trier won for "Dancer in the Dark" and Loach won for "The Wind That Shakes the Barley." The winner will be announced Sunday.

Stars gather for opening of Cannes Film Festival

The evening gowns glittered, the red carpet was unfurled — and the 3-D glasses were at hand as the 62nd Cannes Film Festival opened Wednesday with the soaring animated adventure "Up."

"Up'"s delighted filmmakers from Pixar Animation joined the crowd of stars and cineastes on the red carpet in this French Riviera resort and said being invited to Cannes was a dream come true.

"We're just a bunch of animation geeks from northern California on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival," said a beaming John Lasseter, Pixar's creative maestro.

Edward Asner, who voices "Up'"s main character, did not come to Cannes. But his counterpart in the French-language version, crooner Charles Aznavour, was there.

Lacking star power from the "Up" voice cast, the biggest name on the red carpet was Academy Award-winning actress Tilda Swinton.

Inside, Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry serenaded the crowd with a version of Aznavour's "She," before Aznavour declared the festival officially open.

Organizers were hoping "Up" would provide a buoyant start before the festival plunges into 12 days of movies that take in passion, murder, Korean vampires and a band of Nazi-hunters led by Brad Pitt.

Members of the jury, led by French actress Isabelle Huppert will be wrangling over which auteurs — from a slate that includes Pedro Almodovar, Ang Lee, Quentin Tarantino and Ken Loach — should receive Cannes' coveted prizes. But on Wednesday, Huppert was in a gentle mood.

"I don't think we are here to judge," she said. "I think we are here to love films — and to see what we love more than others."

Huppert is one of only a handful of women ever to head the jury at the world's most prestigious film festival. She said the numbers didn't bother her: her predecessors — who include Sophia Loren and Liv Ullmann — were "women who count for a lot."

Fellow juror Hanif Kureishi, the British screenwriter of "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "The Mother," was more concerned with another omission.

"I'm not aware we've ever had a black or Asian president of the jury," he said. "It will be interesting to see when that will occur."

Scores of celeb-watchers waited patiently outside Cannes' waterside film complex Wednesday, hoping for a glimpse of the stars — any stars. Few knew who was due to arrive, but most didn't seem to mind.

'Slumdog' grosses ten times production cost; rakes in 800 cr

Economically, Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is going places where few Bollywood-connect movies ever dreamt of going. With an incredible BO retun, the profits are hitting the sky. Having already raked in more than ten times its production cost, the film is a goldmine! It is likely to hit the 170-million-pound mark in world-wide ticket sales, which is nearly 20 times the amount it cost to make, following the Oscar sweep, it has been predicted.

While foreign and subtitled films often struggle to make any inroads in American film market, the critically acclaimed film about an 18-year-old slum boy from rags to riches is expected to break records at the box office after its first nationwide release.

Slumdog opened in the US last November in just ten cinemas, but the Oscar sweep has caught the public's imagination and it will now get full nationwide release in the world's most lucrative film market.

The flick has already grossed over USD 163 million (about Rs 800 crore) – more than ten times the money that went into the making of the film.

Industry experts expect the movie to roar ahead on the box office with as many as eight Academy Awards in its kitty.

Made with a budget of USD 15 million (less than Rs 75 crore) by UK's ‘Film4’ and ‘Celador Films’ with a predominantly Indian cast and crew, the movie's worldwide business has exceeded USD 163 million through yesterday, it was reported on a website.

Among the movies currently running in US cinema halls, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is the fourth biggest grosser.

Best Motion Picture of the year has earned about USD 98 million in the US, while about USD 65 million have come from the other markets, Variety report said, adding that the box office observers believe it heading towards USD 200 million globally.

It is estimated to have done a business of about Rs 30 crore in India. The Delhi government declared tax-free status for the movie.

Freida Pinto in Woody Allen's film

Indian actress Frieda Pinto is going places post her successful debut in multiple Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

The model-turned actress has landed a role in legendary filmmaker Woody Allen's next film. The 24-year-old, who played the role of Latika in Boyle's film was stunned when the film took home eight honours including the Best Picture and Best Director, Best Original Score and Song at the Academy Awards ceremony.

Pinto credits Boyle with helping her to land the role in three-time Oscar winner Allen's film. "Yes, it's up (begins) in July. So thank you, Danny Boyle, for helping me take off," Pinto told US morning news programme Today.

The actress has become the cynosure of US media with fashion bible Vogue naming her one of the best dressed actresses.

Britney's dad testifies for restraining order

Britney Spears' father testified for nearly 90 minutes Monday about why he felt a long-term restraining order should be issued against three people, including the singer's former manager and an ex-boyfriend.

Jamie Spears was the first witness to testify in the restraining order case, and it did little to establish direct contact between Osama "Sam" Lutfi and his daughter since a conservatorship was established a year ago.

Calling Britney'" and repeating an allegation that he ground medication into his daughter's food, Jamie Spears said he thought his daughter's one-time friend and manager was a danger to the family.

But he acknowledged under questioning by Lutfi's lawyer that he was not aware of any conversations between his daughter and Lutfi. And the only evidence of communication between the two was a recent call Britney Spears made to Lutfi.

Lutfi's attorney, Bryan Freedman, said the hearing "couldn't have gone any better."

He said Jamie Spears' testimony did not demonstrate why a restraining order is necessary.

Jamie Spears said he did not know if the pair talked then or since. He said Lutfi had called Spears on other phones and tried to relay a "Merry Christmas" message through the singer's hairdresser and get her to call him.

He said the call from his daughter to Lutfi was found on a prepaid cell phone that his security detail confiscated from the singer last month. The phone listed the phone numbers of Adnan Ghalib, a paparazzo who once dated the singer, and Lutfi.

Jamie Spears testified his daughter told him the phone was given to her at a hotel by someone who said it was from Lutfi and Ghalib. The singer has a cell phone, but her father said he controls her access to it.

Ghalib did not appear during Monday's hearing and was not represented by a lawyer. Jamie Spears repeatedly referred to him as "Adan" during his testimony.

Obama keen to see Slumdog Millionaire

US President, Barack Obama, wants to watch Slumdog Millionaire, the White House has said.

Slumdog Millionaire, the exhilarating rags-to-riches fairy tale set in Mumbai, swept the Oscars with eight awards including the best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay; with A R Rahman becoming the only Indian to bag two Oscars for the best score and original song.

"I don't know if he has seen Slumdog Millionaire. I know he wants to," White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, told reporters during the course of his daily press briefing.

Gibbs said Obama has watched several movies recently. "I think that a lot of the movies that he has seen recently are movies that might also entertain a seven-and-a-10-year-old girl. Not sure that Slumdog Millionaire would be on that list," Gibbs said.

Kate Winslet wins first Oscar

British actress Kate Winslet will remember the year 2009 all her life. First, because she won her maiden Oscar this year for The Reader, and second, she was more talked about this year than ever before, and had gathered something of an informal lobby of supporters who wanted her Oscar dry-spell to end.

Statistics can explain the wonderment that most felt at Kate Winslet being Oscar-less thus far.

At age 33, she is the youngest actress to have six Oscar nominations. In fact, she has even defeated veteran Sean Penn, who has only five nominations.

Meryl Streep holds the record for most oscar nominations at 15 (the way she understands it, she also holds the record for losing most often). After Streep is Katherine Hepburn with 12 nominations.

Winslet stands alongside Thelma Ritter and Deborah Kerr with six nominations and what is worth noting, at a much younger age.

Somehow, Winslet had been denied an Oscar thus far, despite all in the industry claiming that she is easily among the finest actresses of her generations. Some commentators went as far to say that she is the Meryl Streep of her generation.

During her emotional acceptance speech, Winslet mentioned all her fellow nominees and paid a special tribute to Meryl Streep by saying, "I want to acknowledge my fellow nominees, these goddesses. I think we all can't believe we are in the same category as Meryl Streep at all. I'm sorry Meryl but you have to just suck that up."

'Slumdog' composer Rahman wins 2 Oscars

In just one night, Indian film composer A.R. Rahman equaled the number of Oscars his fellow Indians had taken home during the first 80 years of the Academy Awards.

The 43-year-old composer, hailed in India as the Mozart of the Madras, won Oscars Sunday for best original soundtrack and best original song, both from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire."

Other Indians to collect Oscar gold before him were costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, honored for "Gandhi" in 1982, and arthouse director Satyajit Ray, who received a lifetime achievement award in 1992.

"I was excited and terrified," the soft-spoken Rahman said as he collected his first Oscar, for best original soundtrack. "The last time I felt like that was during my marriage."

Rahman competed against himself in the best song category with two nominations, for "O ... Saya" and "Jai Ho." He won for the latter, the title of which translates in English to "Be Victorious."

Rahman is no stranger to success in India. His fans there and elsewhere have made him one of the world's best-selling recording artists, on par globally with the Rolling Stones and Madonna.

He believes music and film can bring people together despite boundaries of race, nationality and religion.

"All my life, I had a choice of hate and love. I chose love, and I'm here," he said as he collected his second Oscar.

Long an advocate of the universality of music, Rahman has called on people to be open to all styles, from heavy metal to jazz to hip hop to R&B.

Danny Boyle, who won the best director Oscar for "Slumdog Millionaire," said that he attempted to give Rahman the leeway he needed to pursue various musical forms in scoring the movie.

"I'm really happy and grateful it worked out," Rahman said.

Slumdog Millionaire bags 8 Oscars; India celebrates

It was the day of the Slumdog at the Oscars!

Out of the ten Oscars that it was nominated for, Slumdog Millionaire swept eight Oscars, which included two Oscars for music maestro A R Rahman, Best Director for Danny Boyle and Best Sound Mixing for India's Resul Pookutty.

The film opened its Oscar account by winning in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for Simon Beaufoy.

After that, there was no looking back as the film went on a dream run to win awards in Film Editing for Chris Dickens, Best Cinematography for Anthony Dod Mantle and Sound Mixing for India's Resul Pookutty.

36-year-old Resul Pookutty created history by becoming the first Indian to bag the Oscar for Best Sound mixing. Pookutty shared the Oscar with Ian Tapp and Richard Pryke for their collaborative work for the film

"This is unbelievable. I share this stage with two magicians...I dedicate this award to my country," Pookutty said while accepting the award.

The biggest success for India came with a double Oscar treat for Rahman for Best Original Music Score and Best Song (Jai Ho).

The composer was overwhelmed and interspersed his speech with Hindi as well as Tamil on receiving the coveted trophy here Sunday.

"There is a dialogue from an old Hindi film - "Mere paas ma hai" - which means I have nothing but a mother. My mother is here, I have her blessings. I am glad she could be here," said Rahman.

He ended the acceptance speech by saying "God is great" in Tamil, something he says after winning every award.

He shared the second Oscar for best original song for the film's theme number Jai Ho with noted Indian lyricist Gulzar.

"All my life I had a choice between hate and love. I chose love and I am here," said Rahman after receiving his second golden statuette.

British filmmaker Danny Boyle won the Best Director award. Boyle was visibly excited and overwhelmed as he said "I want to thank my dad, my sisters and my wife... one person we haven't thanked is the choreographer who directed the last song in the film - Longines. I want to thank him too," said Boyle after receiving the award.

The film also won an Oscar for Best Motion Picture. The announcement for Best Picture saw a jubilant cast and crew of the film, celebrating together on the stage.

Amitabh Bachchan hits out at critics for mixed 'Delhi 6' reviews

Mega star Amitabh Bachchan has hit out at film critics for judging the recently released 'Delhi 6' and the Oscar bound 'Slumdog Millionaire' on different yardsticks.

Bachchan said 'Delhi-6' portrays the philosophy that the system needs strength, honesty and needs to look within.

"The system...Needs strength..Needs an honesty... Needs to look within... A philosophy, ironically, portrayed so beautifully in Delhi-6 and an aspect, so mercilessly criticised in the reviews and opinions," the mega star wrote on his blog.

"Are we being reluctant and fearful then, of looking into the mirror?? he asked.

The actor said the same "learned critics" had derided those who had expressed negative opinion on 'Slumdog Millionaire', vociferously defending the contents of the film, by arguing, that those who opposed it, did so, because they were reluctant to accept someone who was showing them a mirror.

"So then, metaphorically speaking, or should it rather be, philosophically speaking, what are we saying - 'Slumdog..' is ok and 'Delhi 6' not?" the actor said adding that he was baffled at the reviews given by critics.

Taking a dig at critics for the mixed reviews of ‘Delhi 6´, Bachchan said, “they (critics) are masters of the game. They are trained and knowledged in the job. Their opinion counts and forms basis of analysis in attracting the customer to the theatre.

Paris Hilton sweeps the Razzies

While the world waits to know about the best in cinema at the Oscars, the list of the worst performances of the year is out and the winners are - Paris Hilton and Mike Myers.

The Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies, which started in 1980, honour the worst in Acting, Direction and films as a spoof to the Academy awards. They are announced on the eve of the Oscar ceremony.

Paris Hilton was the star of this year's Razzies by taking home not one, not two but three trophies for worst actress The Hottie and the Nottie, supporting actress for Repo! The Genetic Opera and worst screen couple alongside her Hottie co-stars, Christine Lakin and Joel David Moore.

Hilton tied up with Eddie Murphy, who was the winner of worst actor, supporting actor and supporting actress for his multiple roles in Norbit in 2008.

The worst picture of the year award went to The Love Guru. The film bagged two more awards for worst actor (Mike Myers in the title role) and screenplay, which was co-written by Myers.

Uwe Boll claimed the worst-director Razzie for his three films - In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, 1968: Tunnel Rats and Postal. Boll was also given the award for worst career achievement.

Harison Ford starrer Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was named worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel.

The founder of the award, John Wilson was full of praise for winners Boll and Hilton. "She is the 21st century Zsa Zsa Gabor. She is famous for who she hangs out with. She's not famous for any talent she has yet exhibited. She may end up working with Uwe Boll. She could be the head vampire in Bloodrayne 3," said Wilson.

'Slumdog Millionaire' closing in on Oscars glory

Final preparations for the Oscars are being made, with uplifting drama "Slumdog Millionaire" poised to romp home in the race for the coveted best picture prize.

The red carpet was being vacuumed and streets surrounding Hollywood's Kodak Theater were sealed off to the public with the 81st edition of the Academy Awards less than 24 hours away.

The build-up to this year's ceremony has been dominated by the Bollywood-inspired "Slumdog", which has dominated other awards shows and is considered the overwhelming favorite for the best picture statuette.

Although period drama "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" will start the night with the most nominations, 13, compared to 10 for "Slumdog," experts say that British director Danny Boyle's film is unbeatable.

"It would be the biggest upset in modern Oscars history to see 'Slumdog' lose," said Pete Hammond, a veteran awards season pundit and Maxim film critic.

"It hasn't stumbled once this awards season. It has had an unprecedented sweep. It's the equivalent of the perfect season in football or baseball."

Pundits say "Slumdog" has delighted audiences with its rags-to-riches plot about a Mumbai teaboy who rises out from poverty and enters a television quiz show to win millions and be reunited with the love of his life.

The against-the-odds triumph of the film's central character is mirrored by the movie's improbable march towards Oscars glory. Made for only 15 million dollars, the film features a cast of unknown actors and is partially subtitled.

The movie was also very nearly released straight to DVD in the United States last year, a move which would have ruled it out of Oscars contention.

Celina Jaitley alleges rude behaviour at Delhi airport

Celina Jaitley says she had a harrowing experience with the airport authorities in New Delhi when she was going through the security check for her morning flight to Mumbai.

In the city for a special Valentine event, Celina Sunday went through body frisking and her belongings being scanned. However, she was shocked after realising that her expensive state of art iPod and Blackberry were scratched while quite a few other things in her bag were broken.

"I agree that authorities there are doing their duty and we too are completely cooperating with the security measures. It is for our own benefit and I understand that we should comply with them. However, who gives them the right to mishandle things belonging to others? It was heartbreaking to see my stuff in a bad shape. Both my iPod as well as Blackberry have lost their sheen due to callous attitude of men who were doing the scan," Celina said.

Worse, the cops who were apparently responsible for the damage, were found smiling even as Celina was complaining against them.

"These guys don't know how to behave with women. I went up to the officer in charge and all he could say was 'Sorry'? Also, they told me in no uncertain terms that they couldn't repair what was broken. Moreover, the guys who did it were grinning in front of him. What a shame! Someone ought to teach these cops how to behave with women", she said.

It wasn't just the material loss that angered Celina. During the same time, she also saw an old female passenger being pushed around. When she approached the officer in charge, all she got from him was a casual 'sorry'.

Celina is thinking of approaching higher authorities and apprise them about what transpired with her at the airport.

"I was not only angry with them for breaking my stuff but for their misbehaviour with other women. They are there to secure us and not to humiliate, insult and manhandle us, especially women. They are misusing the power of uniform everywhere now-a-days. At the end of the day we are paying passengers and they can't break our things, insult us and indulge in indecent behaviour," she said.

First Wife then Maid accuses Adnan Sami of harassment

Pakistani singer Adnan Sami seems to have become controversy’s favourite child for the singer has landed himself in yet another controversy.

After being accused by wife Sabah Galadhari for treating her with ‘cruelty’, Adnan has now been accused of harassing and abusing his domestic maid.

According to reports, a case has been registered against him and court will hear the case on Monday.

The singer’s estranged wife has already filed for divorce on the grounds of ‘mental and physical torture’.

Mexico sets new kissing record

Mexico puckered its way to a new record on Valentine's Day, when nearly 40,000 people locked lips with their sweeties to beat the world record of simultaneous kisses, previously held by Britain.

The new record was set late Saturday, when 39,897 people crowded into the Mexican capital for the group smooch.

"There are 42,225 people on site, but unfortunately you did not all participate in the record," announced Carlos Martinez, a Guinness official who was monitoring the crowds.

"The number of participants is 39,987 and the new record for the number of people kissing simultaneously goes to Mexico," he said.

The British record had been 32,648 people.

Tourist groups and community activists organized the event to make a statement against violence in Mexico, where more than 5,300 people were killed in 2008 due to a rash of drug feuds and rampant criminal activity.

The group kiss also aimed to send a message to a local mayor who tried to ban kissing in the public square.

The kiss "sends a message to the whole world about Mexico's respect for al kinds of freedoms," said local tourist official Alejandro Rojas Diaz. AFP