Ready for his Close-up
After a screening of Munyurangabo at the City of Angels Festival, director Lee Isaac Chung discusses filmmaking in Rwanda and encourages our readers to support African cinema.
Crafting Interiors
Actress Ayako Fujitani talks to Asia Pacific Arts about working with Michel Gondry in "Interior Design," his entry to the film Tokyo!.
Subscribe to the APA Newsletter
A. R. Rahman holds up his two Oscars.
March 6, 2009: News Bites
Slumdog Millionaire takes home the Oscar, A.R. Rahman returns to India even more a hero, and Frieda Pinto decides to work with Woody Allen. All this and more in the latest edition of News Bites.
Slumdog takes it all the way home
The Oscars took place on February 22nd, and luckily for the Slumdog crew, there were no upsets in any of the major categories. After winning Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and many other producing, directing, and editing awards in the last few months, Slumdog Millionaire was the clear frontrunner to take home the Best Picture prize. The entire cast, including the kids from the Mumbai slums that played younger versions of Jamal and Lathika, were flown in and clothed in designer clothing for the ceremony. As the night progressed, it became clear that Slumdog was going to sweep. A. R. Rahman took home not one, but two, Oscars: one for Best Song ("Jao Ho") and one for Best Score. Danny Boyle pranced like Tigger as a tribute to his childen, when his name was called for Best Director. The entire cast and crew piled onstage when Best Picture was announced, and as the Oscar tally for the night went up to eight, audiences from the US to India shared in their joyful celebratio.
In addition to Slumdog, two Japanese productions had big nights at the Oscars. First, director Kunio Kato picked up a prize for Best Documentary Short, rising to the stage only to thank his pen and entertain American audiences with the familiar phrase: "Domo Arigato Mr. Robato." And in one of the biggest (but welcomed) upsets of the night, the Best Foreign Language Film went to Japan's Departures, which you can read more about here or you can listen to a podcast here. --Ada Tseng
Pussycat Dolls, Indian government remix "Jai Ho"
Everyone is getting on the Slumdog Millionaire bandwagon. Even though viewers from India had criticized the film for highlighting the slums of Mumbai, their government recently bought the rights to the Oscar-winning theme song, "Jai Ho," to rally the public in its general election campaigns next month. But A.R. Rahman's hit song isn't just stirring up Indian political sentiment. In late February, the Pussycat Dolls recorded an English remix to producer/composer A.R. Rahman's "Jai Ho." Lead singer, Nicole Scherzinger teamed with producer Ron Fair and collaborated with Rahman for this cover. Can't an original song (with foreign lyrics) be appreciated for what it is without the gloss of American remixing? --LiAnn Ishizuka
Freida Pinto joins cast of Woody Allen film
After all the hype and success of Slumdog Millionaire, actress Freida Pinto must have had her share of future projects to choose from. Now, she has officially signed onto her next film, and she's set to join Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas in Woody Allen's next feature. The film is set to start shooting in London this summer. In the meantime, Pinto has been spending her time modeling and collecting endorsement deals. After impressing fashionistas with her red carpet wear, she recently graced the cover of India's Vogue and became the latest face of Estee Lauder.--Ada Tseng
Shin Hae Chul and N.E.X.T. first tour to U.S.
In their first performance on American shores, South Korean veteran pop star Shin Hae Chul and his band N.E.X.T. head to Hollywood for their "Awakening World Tour," which is scheduled for July 4th. The Korean pop musician will debut the release of his New EXperimental Team (N.E.X.T.) experimental rock album this year. Since the late 80s and early 90s, Shin Hae Chul has been South Korea's top male pop singer, and since his 1998 Monocrom album, he has popularized the techno dance scene. The Awakening World Tour will take place at the Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood. For more information, click here. --LiAnn Ishizuka
A film rendition of Never Let Me Go
It was recently announced that a film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's critically-acclaimed novel Never Let Me Go was given the green light. First attached to the project were screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) and Mark Romanek, who had previously directed One Hour Photo. Earlier this week, it was announced that Kiera Knightley would play one of the leads, along with actors Andrew Garfield (Lions for Lambs) and Carey Mulligan (Pride and Prejudice). The novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2005. The story follows three young friends, and it takes place in Britain during a time when humans are being cloned to provide donor organs for transplants. Filming is expected to begin in April of 2009. --Ada Tseng
Dengue Fever Makes Music for Lost World
Popular psychedelic fused funk group Dengue Fever is making an appearance at the San Francisco Film Festival to provide a live soundtrack to the film adaption of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World. The group will continue to have a busy schedule, as they prepare for the DVD release of their biopic Sleepwalking through the Mekong, which will be released in April. The biopic featured their tour in Phnom Penh and showed them meeting musicians from Cambodia’s golden era of music during the 60s and 70s. An American and European tour will accompany the promotion of the DVD release. –Kanara Ty
Oasis unable to perform in China
British rock band Oasis recently received news that China has decided to cancel two of their concerts that were scheduled to take place on April 3rd and April 5th, 2009. Oasis released a statement: "Representatives from the Chinese government have revoked the performance licenses already issued for the band and ordered their shows in both Beijing and Shanghai to be immediately canceled." This statement was issued after Chinese authorities discovered that band member Noel Gallagher had appeared at a "Free Tibet" concert in the U.S. in 1997. The band has sold over 50 million records worldwide and won numerous UK singles and multiple awards. They are desperately hoping that officials in China will reconsider their decision and allow the band to perform. Three concerts in China have been canceled for now, and the rest of the Southeast Asian portion of their tour will proceed as planned with a Hong Kong performance on April 7th. --Kristie Hang
"Bud Bundy" in Bollywood Boys
A former star of the hit series Married With Children, David Faustino, has signed on for James L. Bills’ newest comedy, The Bollywood Boys.The story centers on Faustino and his co-star Corin Nemec, who play a couple of struggling filmmakers who are using mob money from Mumbai to break into the industry. With a has-been Indian star as their lead, they try to bridge Hollywood and Bollywood by making a musical. Bills, who also wrote the screenplay, is ready to take on this challenge in the summer. --Joyce Huang
Michel Gondry takes on The Green Hornet
After Stephen Chow dropped out of the director's chair due to creative differences, Seth Rogan and his crew needed a new leader to help helm their next superhero comedy film. Who would have known that Michel Gondry was in the running, or even interested? The director of Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, tons of mind-blowing music videos, and the most recent collaboration Tokyo! is an intriguing choice for The Green Hornet, and although Chow is not directing anymore, he will still be on hand to play Seth Rogan's sidekick Kato. The film is supposed to be released in the summer of 2010. --Ada Tseng
Date Posted: 3/6/2009