Sean Penn picked the wrong year to attend the Oscars. Hollywood’s favorite rebel – and four-time best actor nominee – famously snubbed Academy Awards ceremonies in the past. Though he threatened, yet again, to bypass this year’s awards show, he turned up Sunday night in a sleek tux with wife Robin by his side. Penn went on to win the best actor gold for his Mystic River turn – but he also had to sit through one of the most lackluster awards ceremonies in years.Billy Crystal’s cracked...

Billy Crystal will host the Academy Awards for the eighth time this February 29 (CTV/ABC), he'll have his lucky charm in his pocket: his childhood's ttothbrush.Billy Crystal has created one of the most versatile and prolific careers in the entertainment industry, finding success in front of the camera, as a performer in film and television, and behind the scenes as a writer, director and producer.His family owned and operated the legendary Commodore label and record store, so Crystal grew up in ...

Minghella’s Cold Mountain opened the FestivalLove and war are the eternal themes of the cinema, and they will also usher in the Berlinale on February 5: Cold Mountain – an epos about the American Civil War by Anthony Minghella which is already being treated as a hot contender for the Oscar – is the first highlight of the festival. Alongside the director, leading actors Nicole Kidman and Jude Law were expected to stroll up the red carpet for the opening ceremony at the Festival Palast...but...

It didn’t matter to the packed audience inside or the crowd bundled up against a stiff wind outside the Lobero Theatre Tuesday night that Charlize Theron was running late. Golden Globe-winner Charlize is simply the hottest star on the planet and her presence meant another coup for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which opened last weekend with a tribute to filmmaker Peter Jackson and a host of national attention.On this night, Theron was honored with Outstanding Performance of th...

The truly gigantic success at the local box office of Erik Van Looy’s De zaak Alzheimer (The Alzheimer Case) and Jan Verheyen’s Team Spirit II, in combination with indigenous arthouse hits such as Tom Barman’s Any Way the Wind Blows and the Oscar-nominated French-Flemish-Canadian-UK co-production Les triplettes de Belleville (Belleville Rendezvous/The Triplets of Belleville) resulted in a quadrupling of admissions for Flemish films last year. A total of well over 1 million Flemish and Br...

Oscar – and Latin Flair - is in the air at Santa Barbara This year’s Santa Barbara Film Festival feels like an Academy Awards kick-off party thanks to appearances by directors, producers and screenwriters associated with Oscar hopefuls from Lord of the Rings to Monster. SBIFF unspooled Friday night with a screening of Argentina’s official Academy Award foreign language submission Valentin. Alejandro Agresti’s comedy, about a little boy who yearns for a mother, did not make it to the Osc...

Love and war are the eternal themes of the cinema, and they will also usher in the Berlinale on February 5: Cold Mountain – an epos about the American Civil War by Anthony Minghella which is already being treated as a hot contender for the Oscar – is to be the first highlight of the festival. Alongside the director, leading actors Nicole Kidman and Jude Law are expected to stroll up the red carpet for the opening ceremony at the Festival Palast. Fearing for the safety of his beloved Ada, the...

The opening of the Berlinale is still one month off – yet Festival Director Dieter Kosslick is pleased to be able to announce the first films in the Competition. Five entries are definite and they range “from tragic love story to political psychodrama, from historical thriller to intimate family saga”, as Kosslick explains. The entries are from Germany, Spain, Denmark, Croatia and the USA, and their celebrated directors, such as Romuald Karmakar or Academy Award-winner Ron Howard, are a gu...

Minghella’s Cold Mountain Will Open the FestivalLove and war are the eternal themes of the cinema, and they will also usher in the Berlinale on February 5: Cold Mountain – an epos about the American Civil War by Anthony Minghella which is already being treated as a hot contender for the Oscar – is to be the first highlight of the festival. Alongside the director, leading actors Nicole Kidman and Jude Law are expected to stroll up the red carpet for the opening ceremony at the Festival Pala...

Minghella’s Cold Mountain Will Open the Festival Love and war are the eternal themes of the cinema, and they will also usher in the Berlinale on February 5: Cold Mountain – an epos about the American Civil War by Anthony Minghella which is already being treated as a hot contender for the Oscar – is to be the first highlight of the festival. Alongside the director, leading actors Nicole Kidman and Jude Law are expected to stroll up the red carpet for the opening ceremony at the Festival ...

The 15th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival has commenced this past week. With over 200 films, from more than 60 countries playing for this year Festival, it’s clear to see why Palm Springs is well respect as a premiere North American Film Festival. The crowds are in full force to see the exciting mix and array of films. With the remodeling of the Signature Theater and Wyndam Hotel as Host Hotel the Festival also has a new fresh presentation.As well as the venues the Festival Di...

BERLINALE COMPETITION 2004: FIVE ENTRIES ALREADY CONFIRMED The opening of the Berlinale is still more than two months off – yet Festival Director Dieter Kosslick is pleased to be able to announce the first films in the Competition. Five entries are definite and they range “from tragic love story to political psychodrama, from historical thriller to intimate family saga”, as Kosslick explains. The entries are from Germany, Spain, Denmark, Croatia and the USA, and their celebrated director...

AWARD WINNING COMPOSER DANNY ELFMAN TO BE HONOREDAT THE 15TH ANNUAL PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS GALAElfman to Receive Frederick Loewe Award for Career Achievement in Film Composing The 15th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will honor Danny Elfman with the Frederick Loewe Award for Career Achievement in Film Composing at the festival’s annual Awards Gala, it was announced by chairman elect Earl Greenburg. The Awards Gala will be held on Sunday, Januar...

Oscar winners and Cannes Grand Jury [prize-winning shorts will be part of an outstanding international program of short films at the first-ever AEAF Short Film Festival on Sunday, December 7 at the Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. Along with some of the finest and funniest Australian short films produced in 2003, the films will screen to an opening night audience at the ninth annual Australian Effects & Animation Festival. A full program is online at www.dmw.com.au/html/short_film.htm...

Main Award Mannheim-Heidelberg, Best Fiction Feature Film goes to Plastic TreeRainer Werner Fassbinder AwardMatias Bize for "Sábado"Special Award of the JuryDaniel Lind Lagerlöf for "Miffo"Special Mentions of the International JuryRyuichi Hiroki for "Vibrator"Blanca Lewin in "Sábado"Best Short FilmAndrus Tuisk for "Perebisnes"Audience Award of Mannheim-HeidelbergGoran Rebic for "Donau, Dunaj, Duna, Dunav, Dunarea"Prize of the FIPRESCI-JuryAndre van der Hout for "De Arm van Jezus"Prize for the...