Oscars 2014: And the winners are ...

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave – WINNER
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Actor
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club — WINNER

Best Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine – WINNER
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club – WINNER

Best Supporting Actress
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave – WINNER
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska

Best Director
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity – WINNER
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Original Screenplay
Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, American Hustle
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze, Her – WINNER
Bob Nelson, Nebraska

Best Adapted Screenplay
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, Philomena
John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave – WINNER
Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Feature
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen – WINNER
The Wind Rises

Best Original Song
“Happy,” Despicable Me 2; music and lyrics by Pharrell Williams
“Let It Go,” Frozen; music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez — WINNER
“The Moon Song,” Her; music by Karen O., lyrics by Karen O. and Spike Jonze
“Ordinary Love,” Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom; music by Paul Hewson, Dan Evans, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, a.k.a. U2; lyrics by Paul Hewson, a.k.a. Bono

Best Original Score
John Williams, The Book Thief
Steven Price, Gravity – WINNER
William Butler and Owen Pallett, Her
Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks

Best Production Design
Judy Becker (Production Design); Heather Loeffler (Set Decoration), American Hustle
Andy Nicholson (Production Design); Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard (Set Decoration), Gravity
Catherine Martin (Production Design); Beverley Dunn (Set Decoration), The Great Gatsby – WINNER
K.K. Barrett (Production Design); Gene Serdena (Set Decoration), Her
Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Alice Baker (Set Decoration), 12 Years a Slave

Best Film Editing
Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten, American Hustle
Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips
John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa, Dallas Buyers Club
Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger, Gravity – WINNER
Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave

Best Cinematography
Philippe Le Sourd, The Grandmaster
Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity – WINNER
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
Roger A. Deakins, Prisoners

Best Sound Editing
Steve Boeddeker and Richard Hymns, All Is Lost
Oliver Tarney, Captain Phillips
Glenn Freemantle, Gravity – WINNER
Brent Burge, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Wylie Stateman, Lone Survivor

Best Sound Mixing
Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith and Chris Munro, Captain Phillips
Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro, Gravity – WINNER
Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick and Tony Johnson, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland, Inside Llewyn Davis
Andy Koyama, Beau Borders and David Brownlow, Lone Survivor

Best Foreign Language Film
The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium
The Great Beauty, Italy — WINNER
The Hunt, Denmark
The Missing Picture, Cambodia
Omar, Palestine

Best Documentary — Feature
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom – WINNER

Best Documentary — Short
CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life – WINNER
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

Best Live Action Short
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium – WINNER
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

Best Visual Effects
Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould, Gravity – WINNER
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and Eric Reynolds, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Erik Nash and Dan Sudick, Iron Man 3
Tim Alexander, Gary Brozenich, Edson Williams and John Frazier, The Lone Ranger
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Ben Grossmann and Burt Dalton, Star Trek Into Darkness

Best Animated Short
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr. Hublot – WINNER
Possessions
Room on the Broom

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews, Dallas Buyers Club – WINNER
Stephen Prouty, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny, The Lone Ranger

Best Costume Design
Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster
Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby – WINNER
Michael O’Connor, The Invisible Woman
Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave

:worldcinitrend

Documentary film made on Shah Rukh's KKR

 

Shah Rukh Khan has always been fond of cricket as a sport and his passion for the game came out in public after the actor bought the team of IPL - Kolkata Knight Riders. While the team has seen its share of highs and lows, now a documentary film on the same is on the cards.

Venky Mysore, the CEO of Kolkata Knight Riders, revealed that the documentary film is almost complete and they are on the process of strategizing the plan on how the content should be disseminated across varied platforms. The documentary will have memories which will trace the career graph of the team. According to Venky, the idea developed from an informal conversation with Shah Rukh who was getting nostalgic about how his team has grown successful over the years.

With the coolest anthem and hottest cheerleaders, Kolkata Knight Riders now will also be one of the first IPL teams to have a documentary film made on them.

REFLECTIONS 2013: Best Choreography of 2013

Every year Bollywood says, Aaja nachle! And we do! How many of you are doing the signature Batameez Dil or Raghupati Raghav step when the song comes on the radio? It’s moments like that that remind you of the power of our choreographers. We now stop to glorify these brilliant creative minds who made our stars dance to perfection. They not only delivered a brilliantly choreographed number but it was one that had great entertainment value. Those that excel to the top of our list are the few special numbers that were more than just mere songs. Read on to find out which songs we thought excelled in choreography in the year 2013!


10. ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’ – Shuddh Desi Romance



The movie may be forgettable, however this celebratory number in the final credits stays with you. Acharya brought in a whole lot of fun yet kept the dancing in tact. Sushant and Parineeti were plenty expressive yet making sure they didn’t miss a step. The energy of the huge extras in the crew in real life authentic desi locations was a highlight. By the time the title line comes in the song you are fully prepared to get up and join the party! If a choreographer is able to incite that sort of an emotion, they’ve done their job right. This number was truly full of entertainment, which has to be credited a lot to the two performers as well as the master choreographer.

9. ‘Havan Karenge’ – Bhaag Milkha Bhaag



Perhaps the most unique song of the year has to be ‘Havan Karenga’ from Farhan Akhtar starrer Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. One distinctly remembers being mesmerised by the atmosphere the song carried with it. Ganesh Acharya created a very relatable mood with his down to earth bhangra which was only enhanced further by drawing on suggestions that javaans offered. Farhan performed like a true young javaan getting each subtle nuance right. The dormitory was used so effectively and whilst the atmosphere and characters were of utmost importance, it cannot be denied that the song had ample dancing! Future of Bollywood is likely to be one that does away with forcefully placed songs and instead opting for purposeful interludes in the screenplay. What Acharya portrays through his work in ‘Havan Karenge’ is that such a future will bring great challenges for choreographers but that doesn’t mean it will not bring to light some great dance numbers to remember just has ‘Havan Karenga’ is!

8. ‘Raghupati Raghav’ – Krrish 3



This list is more of a Remo D’Souza list than anything…or so we find as we compile the best choreographer of the year. Love for this Krrish 3 song may be debatable but there’s no denying we were all glued to the screen when Hrithik glided back into a dancing avatar. Remo gave him enough material so that we the audience got what we were waiting for, Hrithik doing what he does best, but also capturing the celebratory party atmosphere brilliantly. Arguably a song with lyrics such as this one had couldn’t have been easy to choreograph (you can’t disagree that the words make little sense!) yet Remo pulls it off with a killer signature step.

 7. ‘Chingam Chabake’ – Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

 

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ Bollywood dance number with hundred of extras, colourful ghangras and men in dhotis?! ‘Chingam Chabake’ brought all this and more to the screen. The choreography wasn’t overly complicated yet caught every word in the song. It was full on desi and full on fun! Remo D’Souza proved that he can make two of the most mediocre dancers (and that is putting it lightly) in the industry dance to perfection on his beats. ‘Chingam Chabake’ was not only the most entertaining number of the film but gave a true blue Dharma song without any western influence.

6. ‘Batameez Dil’ – Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani

 

Remo D’Souza has a way of delivering crowd pleaser moves. When we heard ‘Batameez Dil’ we really didn’t know how this would translate on screen. To imagine its energy level would be matched by the choreographer was not plausible as the song functions at an unnatural pace, yet Remo choreographed the number leaving no beat unmissed. However, more than the sheer plain choreographer it was the synchronisation of character movements, prop use and shooting techniques which made ‘Batameez Dil’ a visual treat with technical brilliance.

5. ‘One Two Three Four’ - Chennai Express


Rohit Shetty brought in the real pros of the South Indian dance form for his item song in Chennai Express to ensure we truly go that Tamilian flavour from the visual. Raju Sundaram delivered, as expected, with Priyamani matching his concept brilliantly with her inherent talent. Although Shahrukh isn’t the best of dancers, there was little opportunity to look at him with Priyamani in the picture. ‘One Two Three Four’ plants itself firmly on this list for its ability to bring us an unadulterated South Indian dance number.

4. ‘Duhaai’ – ABCD


It is only appropriate that the dance movie of the year feature on this list twice and whilst some may think it’s a perception thing, it truly is because it deserves to be here on this #4 spot. ‘Duhaai’ was a visual treat as it gave us a stage number with grand lighting, intricate dancer compositions and yet it kept true to a very delicate part of the script. The performers had to think beyond their complicated steps that had to be delivered to a professional level as they were also actors delivering a scene, essaying a situation and express intense emotions. Remo D’Souza take a bow for making first time actors do all that and more!

 3. ‘Nagada Sang Dhol’ – Ram-Leela


No one imagined that one could get so creative with garba. Samir and Arsh Tanna followed Bhansali’s instructions to the T and brought in their folk madness to the track. The song had to go through a few challenges as a classic garba number had already featured in a SLB film, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, therefore to entice audiences to fall in love with a new one was a task. Secondly the track itself was so exuberant and full of life that to match that energy with choreography and still adhere to pure garba was no easy feat. A remarkable achievement and especially impressive to see Indian folk return to the big screen in such a grand way!

 2. ‘Malang’ – Dhoom 3


Vaibhavi Merchant continues to deliver her best work with YRF with Dhoom 3. It was quite a challenge to deliver a song and excel the expectation we all had from it as this was one number we’d been hearing a lot about. However the aerial phenomena was wonderfully choreographed to perfection. The choreographer made sure the performers were more than prepared and therefore their performance came across looking professional. As the characters were circus artists it became even more crucial that the number look effortless, which it did.


 1. ’Bezubaan’ – ABCD


It is only appropriate that the dance movie of the year feature on this list twice. Remo D’Souza’s love for dance, hardships he’s faced and those that he’s seen his protégés face translated beautifully onscreen with ‘Bezubaan’ from ABCD. The choreography makes it to the #1 position for its technical brilliance, presentation, cinematography and most importantly, for its importance in the film’s screenplay. It was an emotionally moving point of the film that connected with you through dance which is why it has to be the choreography that stands out best in 2013.


We cannot end this discussion without giving a special mention to the amazing versatility of Remo D’Souza’s talent. From desi thumkas to videsi pirouettes, he’s done it all this year!
2014 is another year in what we consider to be a new golden age of cinema with a new way of making films. It’ll be interesting to see how our songs and their presentation evolve with time and how our choreographers meet these new challenges of a new age in Indian cinema!

First Look: Kirstie Alley and John Travolta Together Again - This Time in Bed

 

Kirstie Alley and John Travolta may be longtime buddies, but only recently have they taken their relationship to a whole new level.

On TV, that is.

 

Travolta makes his guest-star return to the small screen playing a hunky, if totally inept stagehand on the Jan. 8 episode of Alley's new TV Land sitcom, Kirstie, costarring Rhea Perlman and Michael Richards.

When Travolta's character is fired, Alley, who plays a Broadway diva, takes pity and consoles him with a one-night stand. Only, much to her chagrin, she can't get rid of him in the morning.


"He created his character and made him as dumb as dirt," Alley tells PEOPLE with a hearty laugh. "We had a really, really good time!"

Close friends for years – and costars in the 1989 comedy about a talking baby, Look Who's Talking, and its two sequels – the duo had a ball together on the TV set.

Says Alley: "John and I are fireballs together."

HAPPY NEW YEAR-MY DEAR FRIENDS

Robin Roberts Officially Comes Out as Gay in Facebook Post

Robin Roberts, anchor of ABC’s morning show “Good Morning America,” has come out as gay in an end-of-the-year post on her Facebook page.“GMA” host acknowledges longtime girlfriend in thank you to supporters

Roberts’ sexuality had been known to her family, friends and co-workers for some time, but her mention of longtime girl friend Amber Laign was her first public acknowledgement.

“I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together,” she wrote in the post, which was a thank-you for those who had supported her following her bone marrow transplant last year.

Roberts was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and took a leave from “GMA” to undergo the transplant in October of 2012. She returned to the show in February 20, 2013.

Be the Match Registry, a nonprofit organization run by the National Marrow Donor Program, said that it experienced a huge spike in donors the day Roberts went public with her illness.

CNN newscaster Anderson Cooper came out in a Q&A with Andrew Sullivan in July of 2012. And former “GMA” weatherman Sam Champion last year announced his plans to marry his boyfriend 

Best of 2013: 4 Casting Decisions That Trolled the Internet

From "Fifty Shades" to "Man of Steel 2," 2013 was the year when the Internet decided that it just wasn't going to take it anymore when it came to casting choices it didn't agree with.

AP Images

If 2013 had any lessons for Hollywood's casting directors, it was this one: You're probably doing it wrong. There's nothing new about the idea of fans complaining that [Actor A] won't do a particular role the justice it deserves -- just ask Michael Keaton, who probably still smarts a little about the reaction to his being named as Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman -- but this was the year where that kind of upset went over the top. Well, even more over the top than usual, perhaps.

STORY: Worst of 2013: Bring on the Ineffectual Bad GuysWhile some casting announcements were met with excitement -- step forward, Paul Rudd, who'll play the lead in 2015's Ant-Man, directed by Edgar Wright -- and some with bemused indifference (Bradley Cooper as Guardians of the Galaxy's Rocket Raccoon? Vin Diesel as Groot in the same movie?), this was a year when the Internet realized that, hey, maybe a petition could ensure that the audience gets exactly the character it imagined when reading the book in the first place. To wit…

1. Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam inFifty Shades of Grey: You might have thought that having E.L. James -- author of the original novel series the Sam Taylor-Wood-directed movie is based on -- announce the casting of the two lead roles would have dulled any negative reaction against the choices, but you'd have been very, very wrong. Hunnam and Johnson were, according to the mass hive mind of Fifty Shades fandom, entirely wrong for the parts -- so much so that a petition was launched to have them replaced.

As it turned out, fans got half of their wish when Hunnam left the project, with sources claiming that the fan reaction had played a part in his decision (He was replaced by Jamie Dornan, late of ABC's Once Upon a Time). Johnson continues to hang in there, presumably hardened by her experience with the all-too-early cancellation of Fox's Ben & Kate.

2. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort in The Fault of Our Stars: On first blush, the casting of Woodley and Elgort in the upcoming adaptation of John Green's YA novel about two teens in a support group who fall in love with each other seems perfectly sensible. Both are up-and-coming actors with affection for the source material, after all. What could go wrong? Oh, that's right -- the Internet (Curiously, Woodley was reportedly also up for the female lead in Fifty Shades of Grey at one point. Just imagine the outrage singularity that could have emerged had she won that role).

Green actually took to Tumblr to defend both actors. "Novelists do not cast movies, so these were not my decisions (although I did have a lot of input)," he wrote. "I’m defending them because I think they’re both perfect for their parts (and I’d tell you if I felt otherwise)… If the movie works, you’ll sit down in the theater and you won’t say, 'Oh look it’s Shailene Woodley,' or, 'Oh, look, it’s Tris from Divergent.' You’ll say, 'Holy wow Hazel Grace.'"

3. Gal Gadot in Man of Steel 2: If there's one thing to be said to try and comfort poor Gal Gadot about the online reaction to her being cast as the first cinematic Wonder Woman in the character's history -- amazingly, there's never been a Wonder Woman on the big screen before now, despite the character having been around for more than 70 years -- it's this: It's not you; no-one would have satisfied the fans on this one.

Of course, that didn't stop some fans complaining about Gadot personally -- that she was too skinny, too weak-looking, not busty enough, all manner of ridiculous complaints. Her previous experience, as well, came into question: Could someone who's appeared in theFast & Furious franchise really be an Amazon Princess, some wanted to know. (The answer is, of course, "Probably. Why not?") Gadot, for her part, seems to be taking such complaints in her stride, saying in a recent interview that she represents "the Wonder Woman of the new world." Take that, fanboys.

4. Ben Affleck in Man of Steel 2: Of course, the response to Gadot's casting was nothing compared to what followed the news that Ben Affleck would be playing Bruce Wayne and his more famous alter-ego in the 2015 follow-up to this summer's Superman reboot. Whether it was concern over his age, his looks or his past as Marvel's Daredeviland boyfriend to Jennifer Lopez, it appeared as if the fan knives were out for the Argodirector and star (There was, of course, a petition to have him dropped from the movie).

What was truly entertaining about the Affleck casting wasn't the backlash, though, but the backlash to the backlash, with former Batmen Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer coming out in favor of the news, alongside such other celebrity boosters as Joss Whedon andMatt Damon.

Studios should take note for future use: The best way to respond to fan upset isn't to ignore it or capitulate to it, but instead try to drown it out with a carefully-planned counter-assault fueled by celebrity power. After all, who would you rather listen to? Anonymous Internet complaining, or George Clooney telling you to cool down and that everything'll be okay in the end?