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Thursday, January 12, 2006 --
Pitt, Jolie - expecting most beautiful baby in the world -- Sorry to just parrot the news here, but this is an extremely busy week!
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PUBLISHED BY:
www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-12
BEIJING, Jan. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Angelina Jolie is expecting a baby this summer, fathered by her long-rumoured paramour, actor Brad Pitt, Pitt's spokeswoman said this morming.
Publicist Cindy Guagenti also confirmed reports that Pitt has filed papers to become the legal adoptive father of Jolie's two adopted children, son Maddox, 4, and daughter Zahara, who is about 11 months old.
Guagenti acknowledged Jolie's pregnancy but declined to give further details, including when the baby was due, or to say whether the couple had plans to marry.
"Yes, I'm pregnant," the People magazine quoted Jolie as telling charity aid worker Monday in the Dominican Republic, where she is filming "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon.
Pitt, 42, and Jolie, 30, met in 2004 while working together on the film Mr and Mrs Smith, in which they played married assassins ordered to kill each other. The movie ends with the two still alive and happily married.
Rumours of an affair heated up after Pitt and his ex-wife, former "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston, split up in January 2005. Tabloid reports speculated that Pitt wanted children but that Aniston was not ready for motherhood.
A spokesman for Aniston said the actress would have no comment on Jolie's pregnancy. "Jennifer is not in the practice of commenting on the lives of other people," he said.
Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, recently toured quake-devastated areas in Pakistan with Pitt and met with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
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Wednesday, January 11, 2006 --
 A Note from Mr. Blackwell -- Welcome to my annual Mery-go-round of Fashion Fiascos - The 46th Annual Worst-Dressed Women List. To put it mildly, it is not a pretty sight. 2005 turned out to be a particularly bad year for couture chaos, wardrobe wrecks and styistic sleaze. From overexposed, underdressed and over-the-top Pop Tarts to the beyond-bad Bling-Bling brigade, the fashion landscape was littered with a litany of taste-free terrors. Even formerly best-dressed beauties seemed to lose their designer dazzle during the year - and the usually reliable Red Carpet showstoppers at the Oscars and the Emmys had less impact than in the tinsel-strewn past. T
he result, unfortunately, had a been-there, done-that aura about it that left me wondering whether Hollywood's Dress-to Impress haute couture has become flat, predictable and rather forgettable. I predict a different, far less stuffy and overproduced look for the 2006 Glamour Girls. After all, elegant simplicity is eternal. Looking like you wore the closet is not. And, of course, we are all secretly hoping for a Bjork appearance. After this year, we all need a good laugh!
My choices are based purely on a wardrobe choice - these women may be fabulously talented in their respective fields, but when it comes to fashion, they resemble weary weeds in a lovely garden. From style-challenged songbirds to an Oscar winning actress to a fashion empire Empress to a couple of "It" girls, my latest List runs the gamut from tacky to wacky without missing a beat.
Of course, other members of my fashion garden rise above the groundcover like glorious roses on a trellis - hence my FABULOUS FASHION INDEPENDENTS LIST. These women are a welcome sight as they glow and blossom with effortless beauty and memorable style.
So, without further ado, let's take a look (if you dare) at the 46th ANNUAL WORST-DRESSED WOMEN LIST. Please- don't let their mistakes happen to you! After all, dressing well really is the best revenge! Happy 2006!
Love,
Mr. Blackwell
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THE 46TH ANNUAL WORST AND BEST DRESSED WOMEN LISTS
The Worst Dressed Women of 2005
10.) Renee Zellweger: Renee runs he gamut from Kewpi Doll Dreck to Red Carpet Wreck - Just take your pick. She looks like a painted pumpkin - on a pogo stick!
9.) Lindsay Lohan: Drowning in "grown-up" growners, the Teen Scream defines "Fashion Fright" - looks like she's aged 30 years . overnight!
8.) Shakira: A Symphony of Style-Free Fiascos has scandalized her bod - Coiffure by Medusa . clothes by The Marquis De Sade! Hopeless!
7.) Anna Nicole Smith: Her Supreme Court battle proves every fashion "dog" has their day - unless she's mistaken for "Queen Kong" . in cheap lingerie! Fashion lunacy - in living, unforgiving color!
6.) Paris Hilton: The Burger Queen Sensation may be very rich - but she still looks like yesterday's cheesecake . with a side of kitsch! Hot? I think not!
5.) Mariah Carey: Fashion's Hari-Carey Strikes Again! The world applauds your musical emancipation . but please - leave that body to our imagination!
4.) Eva Longoria: Now that Eva is America's most successful primetime flirt . she can afford to bury the bikiniwear - and buy a skirt! Gorgeous face, garish taste . what a waste!
3.) Jessica Simpson: It's time to sack the stylist and divorce the "designer" . she resembles a cut-rate Rapunzel - slingin' hash in a Vegas diner!
2.) Mary Kate Olsen: In Bag Lady rags that look depressingly decayed - forget the "accessories" and buy some "Raid!"
And
1.) Britney Spears: When it comes to Couture Chaos, this Tacky Terror should take a bow - looks like an over-the-hill "Lolita" . From the "Princess of Pop" to the ultimate "Fashions Flop!"
Fabulous Fashion Independents of 2005
Reese Witherspoon, Kirsten Dunst, Kathy Hilton, Dionne Warwick, Ginny Mancini, Nicole Kidman, Carolina Herrera, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Moss and Natalie Portman.
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Tuesday, January 10, 2006 --
 Picker's Picks - New on DVD
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Constant Gardener
No, this movie is not about a compulsive bonsai trimmer. Apparently it's this really great film about a man, Ralph Fiennes, trying to figure out the mystery behind his wife's, Rachel Weisz, murder. I'm still waiting for Ralph Fiennes to lighten up a bit in his role taking choices, and no, that movie he did with JLo does not count. He's a wonderful dramatic actor, but I think he's long overdue for a Farrelly brothers film.
Red Eye
Rachel McAdams is kidnapped by the creepy Cillian Murphy on a plane flight. Wes Craven does a great job with this suspense thriller. That's the word on the street. Trust me when I say this is on the top of Netflix queue (well, this and the other movies on this list).
Saraband
This is the sequel to the 1970's Ingmar Bergman film, Scenes From a Marriage. The enchanting Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson reprise their roles as a couple who can't quite get marriage or divorce right.
Hustle and Flow
Terrence Howard makes an impact as a man planning a career change. He decides to go from pimp to rap star. Sometimes it's intriguing to switch careers. I didn't know either of those fields were hiring. Definitely something to check into.
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Monday, January 09, 2006 --
 Google Movies Success Story -- Here's an interesting press release we recieved. It definitely provides food for thought:
GOOGLE AND INDIE FILM BREAK RULES OF DISTRIBUTION
Filmmaker Turns Down $125,000 Advance to Make History Online
LAS VEGAS, NV, and HOLLYWOOD, CA - January 6, 2005 -- The producers of the award-winning independent feature film WATERBORNE announced plans today for a groundbreaking film distribution model in conjunction with Google Video. Google Founder Larry Page unveiled the new Google Video Store from CES in Las Vegas today.
WATERBORNE, which debuted to rave reviews and won an Audience Award at the prestigious SXSW Film Festival, will be among the first independent feature films to be available on the Google Video Store for the new “download-to-own,” distribution model. (please see
link)
* The filmmakers turned down a $125,000 advance from a distributor to embrace the online distribution model thru Google Video. Why?
* Until now, only pirated films, television shows, music videos, and low-end exploitation titles were available for paid download through
the Internet. This is the first time an award-winning festival favorite like WATERBORNE is releasing through the download-to-own distribution model. By coupling independently created content with Google, the largest and most powerful delivery system in the world, the filmmakers are pioneering a dynamic new model for independent film distribution.
* In addition to streaming the film for free for the first week of release, a digital file of the film can be downloaded to own for a price of $4.99. Unlike the copy-protected downloads of iTunes Video and other online services, which limit how the viewer can watch their content, with Waterborne, the consumer may do anything they want with their purchased product, view it not just their computer but on any monitor, burn it to a DVD, or even transfer it to a Video iPod.
* Now, anyone, anywhere in the world with a broadband connection has access to new content for paid download. This model benefits the
consumer tremendously, taking away the geographic and time constraints of delivery, and the high costs of packaging, shipping, and shelving of traditional distribution. Using Google Video, audiences will have 24-hour, instant access to Waterborne, at an attractively low cost.
"We're excited that independent filmmakers like Ben Rekhi are using Google Video to distribute their work and discover new audiences around
the world" said Jennifer Feikin, Director of Google Video.
Director Ben Rekhi shares a similar enthusiasm, "When we set out to make WATERBORNE, we aimed to think outside the box of conventional filmmaking. Now in releasing it, we want to continue this forward-thinking mentality by embracing new methods of film distribution. The internet is going to revolutionize the film industry just as it has the music industry.”
Adds producer Smriti Mundhra, “In the traditional distribution framework, a film of this size would be lucky to get released in a
handful of theaters, reaching a few thousand viewers at best. But by utilizing Google Video’s radical new model, WATERBORNE will get an
audience of millions. For those of us working outside the studio system, this kind of exposure is tremendous.”
“A lot of people think we are crazy for turning down a six-figure advance to dive into the unknown perils of online distribution,” confesses Rekhi. “But its time that someone put their money where their mouth is. No one ever got ahead by playing things safe.”
THE FILM
WATERBORNE is an independent feature film that follows the fictional aftermath of a bio-terrorist attack on the water supply of LA. Starring Christopher Masterson (Malcolm in the Middle), Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite), Ajay Naidu (Office Space), Jake Muxworthy (I Heart
Huckabees), Chris Berry (The Alamo), Mageina Tovah (Spider Man 2), Lindsay Price (90210), and Indian Member of Parliament Shabana Azmi
(Fire).
*AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE ON DVD - 2/21/06
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Tuesday, January 03, 2006 --
 Picker's Picks - New on DVD
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Wedding Crashers
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn are hilarious and adorable in this movie. These guys get giddy about wedding season because they know that the female guests are notoriously, uh, in touch with their horniness when the attend these commitment ceremonies. This movie actually made my top ten list of best films of 2005. It's wonderful to see comedy movies made for adults (or sneaky teenagers) again. Isla Fisher is wonderful as the eccentric girl who woos Vaughn's character. It's one of the star-making turns of the year, but I still don't know why we don't know her as a household name yet.
My Date With Drew
Brian Herzlinger is determined to meet and go out with Drew Barrymore. He has had a major crush on her since he saw her in E.T. when he was in second grade. So, he makes a documentary to go out with his celeb sweetie. Hmm... that gives me an idea. Anybody willing to fund my new documentary that I tentatively am titling, My Tryst With Ewan?
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Sunday, January 01, 2006 --
 Happy New Year! -- By Turlough O'Carolan
Millennia are fairly common things:
In a billion years are quite a few.
Long or short, their roundness pleasure brings:
Life needs some pretext to begin anew.
Each millennium's a fresh, blank page:
No future ever stretched so fair and far.
Now we wait upon the empty stage
In hopes we'll catch a glimpse of who we are.
Underneath is something vast and free:
Millennia are chains across a sea.
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Wednesday, December 28, 2005 --
 Chronic-les of Narnia -- Can't get enough of The Chronicles of Narnia? Check out the digital short that ran on Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks ago, as it sweeps the web... it's high-larious!
Click here to view at You Tube.
Also, iTunes has it as a free download.
It's getting great reviews and buzz all over the place, so be sure and check it out (think: The Beastie Boys crossed with Cheech & Chong rapping about the movies!).
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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 --
 Fantastical Films Top Holiday Box Office -- King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe topped the weekend box office respectively, again.
Apes and lions may have ruled, but Wolf Creek (pictured) made a respectable debut at #9, considering it was released on Sunday (Christmas Day). Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire hung in at #10.
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Sunday, December 25, 2005 --
 Merry Xmas! -- Here's to turning it upside down!
Personally, I'll be watching irreverent movies today. Maybe Santa's Slay, the Badder Santa DVD, and Black Christmas... But for those with more traditional tastes, here are some safe bets:
It's a Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street
A Christmas Story
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
Elf
The Santa Clause
The Polar Express
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Tuesday, December 20, 2005 --
 Fun With Jim Carrey -- Did you guys see him on the David Letterman Show last night? He was hilarious as usual. He's funny in his upcoming movie, Fun With Dick and Jane, too.
Check out these great clips Sony sent us to share with you:
Home Invasion - Windows Media
Urine Test - Windows Media
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 Picker's Picks - New on DVD
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Brothers Grimm
Terry Gilliam directs this conglomeration of Grimm's Fairy Tales. Heath Ledger and Matt Damon play the siblings that stage fake exorcisms and whatnot, to only eventually become involved in an actual supernatural story. I enjoyed the spooky recreations of the twisted tales I heard as a child, but this is not a kid's film.
Exorcism of Emily Rose
Based on a true story, a priest is taken to court after he attempts to exorcise poor Emily with a fatal outcome. The possession scenes are well-done, and the court battle argument between the supernatural and science is intriguing. No spinning heads or flying pea soup here, but the demonic personality that Emily takes on is very creepy.
Must Love Dogs
Diane Lane searches personal ads to meet up with blind dates. The trailer has a scene in which she discovers that she answered her father's ad. Ew! Contrary to the title, there is no sign of bestiality in this movie.
One Day in September
You may want to check out the re-release of this 1999 documentary. Steven Spielberg's new film, Munich, is about the events that take place after the incidents in this film. Palestinian terrorists abducted an Israeli Olympic team and assassinated every last one of them. This may help as an educational precursor to the Spielberg's new picture.
Dark Water
Oh no! THE CEILING IS LEAKING!!! Have you ever tried to get that damp smell out of carpeting!?! WE'RE DOOMED!!! DOOMED- I tell ya...!!!!!
Grizzly Man
Probably one of the year's best documentaries, this follows the story of a man who fell so much in love with grizzly bears, that he was determined to live with them in the Alaskan wild for a few months every year. One year, he stays a little too long,. He gets mauled to death. Don't be squeamish, that scene is not shown or heard. Throughout the movie, we see footage taken and narrated by him during his nature stays, as well as interviews with his friends when they are still dealing with their loss.
Yes, this is kind of a slow week for movie releases. In the meantime, I'm considering my favorite films of the year for my first annual awards- The Pickys. That will probably be up on the site the first week of January. Happy holidays!
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Monday, December 19, 2005 --
 IPA Awards Announced -- My fellow members of the International Press Academy had their annual event yesterday (I was home sick with that cold that's going around...) and announced the following winners. Few surprises here!
MOTION PICTURES
Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Felicity Huffman -- Transamerica (IFC Films/The Weinstein Company)
Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Capote (Sony)
Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Reese Witherspoon -- Walk the Line (FOX)
Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Terrence Howard -- Hustle & Flow (Paramount Classics)
Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama
Laura Linney -- The Squid and the Whale (Samuel Goldwyn)
Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama
Danny Huston -- The Constant Gardener (Focus Features)
Actress in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical
Rosario Dawson -- Rent (Sony Pictures)
Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical
Val Kilmer -- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Warner Bros.)
Motion Picture, Drama
Brokeback Mountain -- Focus Features
Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Walk the Line -- FOX
Motion Picture, Foreign Film
Mother of Mine -- (Nordisk Film Theatrical) Finland
Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe -- Buena Vista Pictures
Motion Picture, Documentary
Mad Hot Ballroom -- Paramount Classics
Director
Ang Lee -- Brokeback Mountain (Focus Features)
Screenplay, Original
George Clooney, Grant Heslov -- Good Night, and Good Luck.(Warner Independent)
Screenplay, Adapted
Robin Swicord -- Memoirs of a Geisha (Sony)
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Sunday, December 18, 2005 --
 Doubting Thomas -- It seems as though lying and telling tales is all the rage in movies this year — Pretty Persuasion, Cry_Wolf, The Brothers Grimm, and Rumor Has It…, to name a few.
Believe it or not, there’s another one coming down the pike. It’s called Doubting Thomas and it’s the story of a boy prone to telling tall tales. When he uncovers a plot to kidnap the President’s daughter, who will be visiting his school, no one believes him, and the race is on to thwart the plan.
The comedy stars four rising teen stars: (pictured, courtesy of StarLens.com) Forrest Landis (Flight Plan, The Skeleton Key) is currently on screen in Cheaper By The Dozen 2, reprising his role from the first Cheaper By The Dozen. He is joined by AnnaSophia Robb, most recently seen starring opposite Johnny Depp in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, and starring in Because Of Winn Dixie; Taylor Momsen, who starred in the hit films, Spy Kids 2 and How The Grinch Stole Christmas; and Timmy Deters, who counts Bad News Bears, Daddy Day Care, and Home amongst his credits.
This young cast is counter-balanced by a host of comic actors, including Lea Thompson, D.L. Hughley, Roger Bart, Rider Strong, Brian Posehn, and Suzy Nakamura.
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 Rumor has It... Fun Site -- In Warner Bros' new film Rumor Has It..., Jennifer Aniston plays a character determined to find the truth behind a rumor that her family
inspired The Graduate. Now you can devise silly rumors about your friends and have them wondering where it all started.
Here's how it works. Click on the following link, which will guide you through creating an obviously fake silly rumor about a friend, upload a photo (or use one on the site) and choosing the style of tabloid you'd like to create. When you are done, you can send the link to as many friends as you like, and they'll get a link in their email sent from you to the latest breaking (fake) scandal to hit the internet. It'll take them awhile to figure out that it's all a joke, so be prepared for them
to get a little worried at first!
http://rumormaker.com/
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Saturday, December 17, 2005 --
 Sony Online -- Sony has launched a couple of websites recently for upcoming films. Movie websites are often more fun and complex than the films themselves... Sony's outdone themselves with these.
Freedomland
The Da Vinci Code
Rocky Balboa (blog site)
Fun With Dick and Jane
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Friday, December 16, 2005 --
 Dracula and Frankenstein Double-Dip -- Soon to be available (December 26, 2005) as a boxed set are two really great classic-monster movies from the 1990s.
Francis Ford Coppola's visually stunning, passionately seductive version of the vampire legend in Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of my all-time favorites. It fills out the Dracula myth, adds gothic romance, lush costumes and gorgeous sets and settings — it’s a true modern masterpiece.
Director/star Kenneth Branagh also breathes new life into an old monster, with Robert De Niro starring in the title role. I must admit that when I first saw this Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I didn’t much care for it. But it’s aged quite well, and once you know what you’re in for (a rather verbose Frankenstein’s monster, totally true to the novel) it’s a fascinating, complex film perfect for staying in on a rainy afternoon.
There's no additional release material, and for some inexplicable reason Frankenstein is only available in pan-and-scan (Dracula is both full- and wide-screen). Still, it's a nice price and a good way to own two terrific gothic horror films.
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