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The young cast of Slumdog Millionaire have reportedly left the slums of Mumbai to attend the Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Rubina Ali (Latika) and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (Salim) were initially forbidden from attending by their families.

However, the Daily Mail reports that the youngsters have now been told they can take part and will join Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (Jamal) and other child stars on the red carpet this Sunday.

Ali, nine, said: "I'm very happy that I'm going to the Oscars. My friends are saying, 'your fate is so good'."

The children will reportedly spend two days in a five-star hotel during their stay in Los Angeles.

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Beyoncé has said that Etta James, whom she plays in new film Cadillac Records, is one of her heroes.

Beyoncé told The Mirror that she performed for James when the soul star was coaching her for the movie.

She said: "You can imagine how scary it is when you’re singing someone's song dressed as them and they are watching.

"I knew she was very tough and I was really nervous. My heart was racing. At the end, I hugged her and wanted to cry because she's one of my heroes."

Beyoncé added that it was vital for her portrayal of James to be "raw and honest" to make it as real as possible.

James recently told concertgoers that she could not stand Beyoncé after the singer performed her hit 'At Last' at Barack Obama's inauguration, She later insisted that the comments were made in jest.

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Jewish human rights organisations have claimed that Kate Winslet should not be awarded a best actress Oscar for The Reader.

Holocaust education groups have denounced the film as "the worst Holocaust film ever made" and a "repellent form of revisionism", claiming that it portrays female prison camp guard Hanna Schmitz too sympathetically.

"Essentially it takes a woman who serves in, is responsible for, is complicit in, you pick the words, in the deaths of at least 300 Jews - and her big secret shame is that she's illiterate," said Mark Weitzman, head of The Simon Wiesenthal Centre.

Trudy Gold, chief executive of the London Jewish Cultural Centre, told Jewish News: "This is just one of a spate of films portraying sympathetic Nazis. This woman acted monstrously, there’s no question about that.

"The question is have we gotten to the point where we have to make heroines out of Nazis? I do find it a bit sick."

Winslet has already won a Bafta and Golden Globe for her role in the movie.

The 81st annual Academy Awards take place on Sunday.

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The inaugural recipient of the Heath Ledger Scholarship has been named.

Australian actor Oliver Ackland beat 150 applicants to win the award at a ceremony in Los Angeles last night.

Accepting his prize, Ackland admitted that he felt "surreal", adding that he had entered the competition "an hour before the entries closed" not expecting to be successful.

The scholarship, which was backed by Ledger's ex-girlfriend Naomi Watts and fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman, was designed to help struggling Australian actors make their mark on Hollywood. The prize package included $10,000 and fully-paid flights between Australia and the US.

Famous faces on the judging panel included Brothers & Sisters star Rachel Griffiths and Ledger's Ned Kelly director Gregor Jordan.

Speaking to People, Jordan said: "[Ackland is] a great actor and he's really likeable... He's got [a sort of] Jude Law look. Maybe he's an Aussie Jude Law, who knows?"

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Heath Ledger's father has warned fans that his son is not guaranteed to win an Oscar on Sunday.

The Australian star has been awarded a posthumous nomination in the best supporting actor category for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Speaking to TMZ, Kim Ledger said: "You can't expect to win something like this. [The Academy] could just as easily turn left, as it could go right. You can't take anything for granted."

"I'm extremely proud," he added, hinting that he "may say a few words" if his son does win.

He revealed that most of Ledger's family have travelled from Australia to Los Angeles for the event but admitted that the ceremony will be a "bittersweet" affair.

The 81st annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday night.

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Steve McQueen has praised Michael Fassbender's performance in his BAFTA-winning biopic of IRA member Bobby Sands.

The Hunger director said that it was the human element of Sands's story that raised his attention.

He told The Mirror that he had spoken to a number of people involved with the hunger striker as well as prison officers.

Talking about Fassbender's preparation for his portrayal of Sands, he said: "It was more to do with how he was going to occupy that character.

"He did an amazing execution of it."

The former Turner Prize winner added that the reaction to the film was mainly positive, though he admitted that before the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement eight years ago there may have been a different response.

Hunger recently beat Slumdog Millionaire to the best picture gong at the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

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It's not going to snag 11 Oscars, but The Dark Knight—Christian Bale and all—is nipping at Titanic's heels in the court of public opinion.
The 2008 blockbuster has surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, Warner Bros. announced late Friday.
According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the critically acclaimed Caped Crusader sequel—which actually could win eight Academy Awards on Sunday—is now in fourth place on the list of all-time box office grosses, behind only Titanic ($1.84 billion), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ($1.12 billion) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.07 billion).
The Dark Knight is currently sitting pretty with $1.001 billion, while the fifth-place Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is way back there with $974.7 million.
$533.1 million of that billion-plus sum was grossed in U.S. theaters, while $468 million was raked in overseas.
Warner Bros.' news comes along with the announcement that The Dark Knight is also now the top-grossing 2-D IMAX release of all time, with $64.9 million grossed worldwide

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Forget the guild awards. Forget the favorites. We're rounding up the theories—and starting some new ones—that say everything you think about Sunday's 81st Academy Awards is wrong.

Sorry about that in advance.

Why Slumdog Millionaire Won't Win Best Picture: It's 1999 again, Slumdog is Saving Private Ryan, The Reader is a Nazied-up Shakespeare in Love, and Harvey Weinstein is Harvey Weinsten.

Why Heath Ledger Won't Win Best Supporting Actor: Doubt is an actor's-actor movie, Philip Seymour Hoffman is an actor's actor, and actors cast the majority of votes.

Why Kate Winslet Won't Win Best Actress: Same as above, except insert Meryl Streep's name in place of Hoffman's. Or, alternately, it's 1994 again, Winslet is Ralph Fiennes, and Streep is Tommy Lee Jones, saving the Academy from presenting an award to a Holocaust heavy.

Why Sean Penn Won't Win Best Actor: Mickey Rourke is Robert De Niro; The Wrestler is his Raging Bull.
Why Mickey Rourke Won't Win Best Actor: Harvey Milk is Harvey Milk; Milk is his tribute; Sean Penn benefits by association.

Why Danny Boyle Won't Win Best Director: The DGA Award-Oscar connection has been less automatic this decade (diverging two out of nine times, to date) than any other decade outside of the DGA's beginnings in the 1940s. Plus, people think David Fincher is cool.

Why Penélope Cruz Won't Win Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams has the bigger part and just might be gaining, while a noted election prognosticator's computer told him Taraji P. Henson has the best statistical chance.

Why WALL-E Won't Win Best Animated Feature: It's the Annie Awards again, and Kung-Fu Panda is the surprise victor again.

Why Slumdog Won't Win Adapted Screenplay: Hmmm…that's a stumper.

Why Milk Won't Win Original Screenplay: An even bigger stumper. The other nominees in this category (WALL-E, Happy-Go-Lucky, Frozen River, In Bruges) failed to muster enough support for Writers Guild nominations.

Why The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Won't Win Best Visual Effects: Ditto what was said about the last two categories. Sometimes, a lock is a lock, and a CGI Brad Pitt is unbeatable.

Why Slumdog Won't Win Best Sound Mixing: The sweep is out; The Dark Knight, at least one oddsmaker's favorite in this category, is in; a measure of revenge is exacted.

[ Last edited by spratt89 at 2-22-2009 11:12 ]

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Mike Myers's comedy The Love Guru has picked up three gongs at the 29th annual Golden Raspberry Awards, held to honour the worst films of the past year.

The widely-panned feature was named as worst film and also won prizes for worst actor (Myers) and worst screenplay.

Paris Hilton earned both the worst actress and worst supporting actress awards for her roles in The Hottie And The Nottie and Repo: The Genetic Opera.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was this year's winner of the worst prequel, remake, rip-off or sequel award, while Uwe Boll took home the gongs for worst director and worst career achievement.

Boll said in a tongue-in-cheek rejection speech that the Razzies had ruined his life and that he would never be back.

Awards are voted upon by members of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, made up of around 750 people, including members of the general public. The pre-Oscar night ceremony was established in 1981 by copywriter and publicist John Wilson.

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Kate Winslet has admitted practising her Oscar-winning speech as an eight-year-old in her bathroom.

Winslet had just won the best actress award for her part in Holocaust drama The Reader, beating off competition from Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo and Meryl Streep.

She said: "I'd be lying if I hadn't made a version of this speech before. I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror.

"This would've been a shampoo bottle. Well, it's not a shampoo bottle now!"

Winslet thanked her family, as well as the cast and crew and dedicated the award to the late producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack.

Last week, Harvey Weinstein claimed that Winslet was the studio's fourth choice to take the lead part in The Reader, behind Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard and Naomi Watts, though he admitted that director Stephen Daldry always favoured the Titanic star.

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Madea Goes To Jail has opened at number one at the US box office in its first weekend on release.

Tyler Perry's cross-dressing comedy's $41 million take is enough to secure it the top spot over Oscar weekend. Taken, Coraline and Slumdog Millionaire all improve on their positions from last week, completing the top five along with He's Just Not That Into You.

Elsewhere, Friday The 13th plummets to number six with an 80% fall in ticket sales and comedy Fired Up debuts at number nine.

The US box office top ten in full:

1. (-) Madea Goes To Jail - $41,120,000
2. (3) Taken - $11,400,000
3. (5) Coraline - $11,031,000
4. (2) He's Just Not That Into You - $8,540,000
5. (9) Slumdog Millionaire - $8,050,000
6. (1) Friday The 13th - $7,825,000
7. (4) Confessions Of A Shopaholic - $7,019,000
8. (6) Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $7,000,000
9. (-) Fired Up - $6,000,000
10. (7) The International - $4,450,000

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Comedian Rob Brydon has denied rumours that he is going to star in a movie with Sir Tom Jones and Rhys Ifans.

Tabloid reports claimed that the Gavin & Stacey star was being lined up to appear in a British comedy titled The Codfather.

The film is about a "trawler crew who smuggle £10 million of drugs in a consignment of cod", according to The Sun.

Commenting on the rumours, Brydon said on his Twitter page: "Ha ha. No truth whatsoever about me being in a film about fish with Tom Jones and Rhys Ifans."

Jones and Brydon recently collaborated on the Comic Relief charity single 'Barry Islands In The Stream', which is released on March 9.

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Universal has reportedly started discussions with Glen A. Larson to make a film version of hit science fiction TV show Battlestar Galactica.

The movie script would not be related to the revived show in its final episodes on the Sci Fi Channel, but instead be based on the 1978 original that aired on ABC, The Hollywood Reporter claims.

It is believed that the adaptation from writer-producer Larson will still include major characters Adama, Starbuck, and Baltar.

Universal refused to comment on the rumours.

Last year, the Sci Fi Channel confirmed the commissioning of Caprica, a prequel series set around 50 years before the start of its version of Battlestar Galactica.

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Sean Penn last night thanked the "commies" at the Oscar ceremony in Los Angeles who voted for him as best actor.

The star won the award for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in the biopic of the openly gay California politician who was assassinated in November 1978.

Penn said: "Thank you. Thank you. You commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns. I did not expect this, but I, and I want it to be very clear, that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often.

"For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support."

Penn thanked director Gus Van Sant and paid his respect to a country that created "courageous artists".

"This is in great due respect to all the nominees, but courageous artists, who despite a sensitivity that sometimes has brought enormous challenge, Mickey Rourke rises again and he is my brother," he added.

Earlier this month, Rourke said that he hoped Penn would win the best actor award for his part in Milk, despite his own nomination in the same category for The Wrestler.

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Guy Ritchie has reportedly cast Sherlock Holmes as gay in his new screenplay.

The director has depicted the famous detective and his sidekick Dr. Watson as enjoying a homoerotic relationship.

Robert Downey Jr., who plays Holmes in film adaptation of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel, described the relationship as "badass".

"We're two men who happen to be room-mates, wrestle a lot and share a bed. It's badass," MusicNews quotes him as saying

Jude Law, who takes on the role of Dr. Watson, added that Ritchie intended to centre the movie's focus on the pair.

"Guy wanted to make this about the relationship between Watson and Holmes. They're both mean and complicated."

The film, which is expected to be released in November, follows the pair trying to foil a plot to destroy Britain.

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Paris Hilton scored a hat-trick at the Golden Raspberry Awards after picking up three 'Razzies'.

The socialite won worst actress and worst couple for her performance in The Hottie And The Nottie and worst supporting actress for her cameo in Repo! The Genetic Opera.

"Other than the fact she's infamous there's really no reason to put her in a movie," awards founder John Wilson told the BBC.

"I can't imagine anyone giving her billing above the title ever again."

Meanwhile, Mike Myers's comedy The Love Guru won worst picture and worst screenplay. The Wayne's World star was awarded worst actor in the film about an ice hockey player who turns to a mystic to improve his fortunes.

Both Hilton and Myers failed to turn up at the Los Angeles event to pick up their awards.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger has confirmed that he will be appearing in a cameo role in Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables.

Speaking on ABC's This Week, the Governor of California admitted that he could not turn down the chance to participate in his friend's big-budget action movie.

"Since I've become governor I've done three cameos when friends ask me, and Sly asked me if I would do a cameo," he explained.

"I said of course I would help you do a cameo, there's no two ways about that."

However, he dismissed speculation that his limited contribution in the movie was because of financial restraints.

"It had nothing to do with the budget crisis or with the budget negotiations because that will be done sometime in April," he insisted. "I enjoy him. He's a terrific director, writer and actor. And we hang out a lot of times together."

The Expendables, which is about a team of mercenaries attempting to defeat a South American dictator, is scheduled for release in 2010.

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Dan Aykroyd has revealed that Ghostbusters 3 may begin shooting this autumn.

The 56-year-old, who co-wrote and starred in the '80s comedies, revealed in an online chat to The Boston Globe that Office writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg had started working on a script for the sequel.

Aykroyd said: "Script commenced early summer. Hope to be in production by late fall 2009."

It has been rumoured that original cast members Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Aykroyd will reprise their roles in the sequel and hand over the ghostbusting reigns to a younger team.

The first Ghostbusters, released in 1984, grossed $292 million at the worldwide box office and was followed by a sequel in 1989.

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Summit Entertainment has handed Eclipse, the third movie in its Twilight saga, a summer 2010 release date.

According to Variety, the vampire sequel will land in cinemas on June 30, 2010, just seven months after the first Twilight sequel New Moon opens.

Eclipse, which screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg is adapting from Stephenie Meyer's novel, centres on Edward Cullen and Bella Swan attempting to solve a series of murders they suspect a vampire is responsible for.

Second Twilight instalment New Moon will begin production shortly under the direction of Chris Weitz. It is scheduled to arrive in cinemas this November.

Twilight has grossed $363 million at the worldwide box office since its release last year.

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Kate Winslet has insisted that she is unconcerned by criticism of her emotional awards speeches.

The Oscar-winning actress told MTV News that she was unfazed by the negative reaction in the British media following her double Golden Globes victory.

Winslet said: "I really don't care and quite frankly, I'm sad that my country can't be pleased with the successes of their own kind, as the US does."

Talking about last night's Academy Awards, she told The Daily Telegraph: "I got through it, I didn't blub, I remembered everybody and hopefully the Brits won't be able to be mean to me."

The Revolutionary Road star added that she would be getting "massively drunk" to celebrate her win.

Winslet picked up the best actress prize for her part in The Reader, her first Academy Award success after five past nominations.