Movie Awards Round-up

It was a night of celebrations on Sunday, reports Reuters as the vampire movie “Twilight” swept the board at the MTV Movie Awards in LA. It came away with five awards including best movie and best kiss.

The late Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded Best Villian however one of the surprises of the evening was that “Slumdog Millionaire” walked away empty-handed, having been nominated in six categories.

The highlight of the evening was the much-talked about stunt that saw Sasha Baron Cohen’s character “Bruno” landing in Eminem’s lap. It was later revealed that this stunt had been wholly scripted and Eminem was in on the gag from the start.

Check out the full article on Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUKN3141592220090601?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

…and you can see the full winners list here: http://uk.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUKTRE5500KT20090601

Film Review: Last Chance Harvey

Harvey played by Dustin Hoffman is a song writer who goes to London and meets Kate (Emma Thompson) where they develop a gentle and socially entertaining relationship. Good dating film.

An opportunity to see good acting from Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, in a London setting.

By Londonbill

Film Review: Drag Me to Hell

A horror film in which Christine Brown, a young female loan officer, working in a Los Angeles bank who is hoping to be promoted, played by Alison Lohman, gets hell for refusing to extend a desperate old woman’s home loan.

Take your date as its not completely over the top.

By Londonbill

Film Review: Terminator Salvation

A new Terminator film…
Set in 2018, John Connor (played by Christian Bale) leads us humans against the machines from the future.  Arny is not in it except a short clip from 1984. Connor makes his way deep into Skynet and uncovers a plan to wipe out all of us humans.

Some have said it would have been better if Terminator really was terminated, once and for all. But if you like that type of thing Terminators can go on and on – they don’t age.

By Londonbill

Get Your Feature Film Script Funded

Filmaka.com have just announced a new competition which could see you gain funding to direct your own feature-length script.

Each month, the Smoke and Mirrors competition is giving 15-20 lucky filmmakers the chance to win $500 and the opportunity to go on and make another film with $1000 worth of funding. Three of those winners are then put forward to compete for feature funding at the end of the year.

If you want to take part, your entry needs to be 1-3 minutes long. The closing date is 21st June 2009.

To find out more information, and to enter, click here

Kevin Spacey to Star in Indie Comedy Father of Invention

Empire reports that Kevin Spacey is set to star in the indie comedy Father of Invention, as a bankrupt ex-billionaire.

The plot sees Spacey play a once humble inventor who turned egomaniac when his creations finally took off. But he loses everything when one of his inventions goes horribly awry, and after eight years in federal prison, he is released, homeless, penniless but determined to rebuild his fortune.

View the full story at http://www.empireonline.com/news/feed.asp?NID=24504.

Anne Hathaway to Play Judy Garland in Film and on Stage

Reuters reports that Movie kingpin Harvey Weinstein has signed Oscar-nominated Anne Hathaway to play singer Judy Garland in both film and stage adaptations of the biography Get Happy: The Life of Judy Garland.

In a statement, Weinstein called Hathaway “brilliantly talented” and said “she will be a true class act in this challenging role.”

Garland, of course, is the legendary movie star of Hollywood’s Golden Age who portrayed Dorothy in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, starred opposite Mickey Rooney in the “Andy Hardy” films and was twice Oscar-nominated for roles in A Star is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg.

She also enjoyed a long singing career and scored a No. 1 Grammy-winning album with “Judy at Carnegie Hall” from her 1961 concert at the famous Manhattan venue.

Garland was married five times, including to producer Vincente Minelli with whom she had daughter Liza Minelli. She died at age 47 due to an accidental drug overdose after years of battling addiction problems.

Hathaway, 26, is one of Hollywood’s rising stars who got her first big break in 2001 Disney movie The Princess Diaries, and more recently starred in movies like Brokeback Mountain and The Devil Wears Prada.

This past year, she was nominated for a best actress Oscar playing an addict who returns home for her sister’s wedding, in Rachel Getting Married. At the Oscars, she sang part of a song with host Hugh Jackman, wowing the crowd that, for the most part, knew her only for her acting.

Original story – http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSTRE52M70D20090323

Guardian Student Media Awards

“The Guardian Student Media Awards have sought out the very best student writers, designers, broadcasters, editors and photographers for over 30 years.

And this year one of those people could be you.

Enter the 2009 Guardian Student Media Awards and soon you could be playing against real media heavyweights including the likes of Andrew Rawnsley, Rankin, Jonathan Freedland, Rachel Newsome and Emily Barr – all previous winners. Along with 100s of others, these guys were mere mortals like you before making it big in the media.

As well as choosing individual and category winners, our esteemed panel of judges will pick out one overall winner who displays particularly outstanding talent and promise. That person will undertake an extended six-week work placement at the Guardian and receive a subsistence allowance of £1,650.”

The categories, instructions and application forms are all on http://www.guardian.co.uk/student-media-awards-2009.

New Film and Movie Search Engine

We’ve created a custom Google search to help people search for film and movie news and information.  You can use it at http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=018436150521358100921:fft8th8lcok&hl=en.

You can also get the code to add it to your web page or you can add to your iGoogle page.

Please let us know if you have any suggestions about the websites we should add to it, or would like to volunteer to contribute.

We’ve also incorporated the search into a Google Gadget, that has five feeds, three of which are changable, to bring you the latest film news and release information.  You can preview the Gadget and use the search on our Film Search page.

Contacting Us
There are a number of ways you can contact us.  As well as using the contact form on our website, you can email info@ownafilmcompany.com or text us on +44 7624 80 81 82. Just make sure you start your text with the keyword FILMS.

Social Networking for the Entertainment Industry from ACTORSandCREW

There are a number of social networks out there, like MySpace and Facebook, but while those huge social networking sites are valuable, they have the disadvantage of being open to everyone. For actors and crew members, it’s great to have a profile on a large social networking site, but the chances are good that those sites won’t facilitate connections with other people in the business. For that, you need a highly targeted site that is specifically designed to link talented actors, DPs, costume designers, and others with those who are doing the hiring.

If you’re an actor or a crew member, how do you tell the great social networking sites from those that are ho-hum? First, ensure that the site is a networking and employment site that serves film, television, and theater professionals worldwide. Second, make sure its search engine is designed in such a way as to increase the types and number of collaborations for the people who use it.

The third criterion is probably the most important, and differentiates the best from the rest. You must be able to upload high-quality video, audio, and photography, as well as documents. The quality must be better than that offered by, for example YouTube or GoogleVideo. When that’s the case, the playback quality has HD clarity and can display at a large size – making you look and sound your best.

Lastly, the site should have direct access to industry job databases and the inside scoop on film production companies, film festivals, casting calls, and so forth. Generalized social networking may be the hallmark of Web 2.0, but in this niche, a networking site is also a vehicle for actors, crew members, and producers to find one another.

Established in 2005, ACTORSandCREW is the DBA for Broadsword Communications, Inc. The company has thousands of members in more than 80 countries, and throughout the US. Their website is http://www.actorsandcrew.com.