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"World of Cinema" is courtesy of Darius Kadivar
Jimmy Stewart: Much to admire, no dirt to find For biographers seeking to chronicle the misdeeds of mid-century superstars, James Stewart presents a problem: small-town upbringing; major Hollywood figure for decades; decorated war hero; faithful husband and loving father, untouched by scandal. Celebrity biographer Marc Eliot faces the challenge with "Jimmy Stewart," a thorough examination of the actor's life and career, with not a sniff of sensation. Peter Bogdanovich had written that Stewart had an affair with Kim Novak while they were making "Bell, Book and Candle" and "Vertigo." Eliot checked it out with Novak. "She said she had been in love with Richard Quine, the director of 'Bell, Book and Candle,' " Eliot remarked. "She added that Jimmy was married, and there was no way that she would have an affair with a married man." Speaking by telephone from New York, Eliot said he had devoted three years to researching and writing "Jimmy Stewart." He spent a year trying to win over Kelly Stewart Harcourt, one of Stewart's twin daughters. Finally, she agreed to be interviewed, as long as she would not appear to be authorizing the book. "I wanted to find out what it was like for Stewart to become a father, and then to have twin daughters, as well as adopting his wife's two sons," said Eliot. "As he grew older, he matured, and I think the family was a great help." In 1949, after being known for years as Hollywood's No. 1 bachelor, Stewart married Gloria Hatrick McLean, a beautiful divorcee with connections in East Coast society. He was 41. Why did Stewart wait so long to marry? "Jimmy was incredibly shy around women, especially Hollywood
women," Eliot remarked. "Marlene Dietrich all but attacked
him, and Ginger Rogers was crazy about him. These were not women who
reminded him of his mom and what a family life was all about."
The author believes that Stewart adored Margaret Sullavan; she had
worked with him and Henry Fonda in summer theater. But Sullavan married
Fonda. Stewart was grateful to Sullavan for helping his early Hollywood
career by insisting on him as co-star in her films. Drafted into the Army in 1941, he advanced from private to colonel, flying 20 bombing missions over Germany. After the war, he was concerned that his studio, MGM, had no plans for him. Then Frank Capra borrowed him for "It's a Wonderful Life," and his career revived. In the decades that followed, Stewart remained a screen favorite in Hitchcock thrillers, comedies, dramas and an abundance of Westerns. Even when the features dwindled in the 1980s, he remained current with TV appearances on the Johnny Carson, Dean Martin and Carol Burnett shows, as well as the repeated TV screenings of "It's a Wonderful Life." "In the history of American movies, James Stewart was probably the purest of actors," Eliot said. "One reason was that he was not interested in directing, producing or having a film company. He was basically an actor. "Because of that -- and with the guidance around him -- he was able to focus on his character, which he developed and played with variations. I think the character he played was closer to him, more so than any other actors who developed lifelong personas." Richard Schickel, film historian and reviewer for Time magazine, has a different view of Stewart, one that reflects Stewart's performances in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo." "This is one angry man," Schickel said. "Think of 'It's a Wonderful Life,' 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.' A Stewart performance I admire greatly is in 'Anatomy of a Murder.' He's playing a kind of foxy guy, but when he gets in that courtroom he can really rip and snort. "Everybody thinks of him as this adorable, aw-shucksy kind of guy. What about the Anthony Mann Westerns; those are really smart, tough performances. I think he was very clever in the conduct of his career in that he set aside the aw-shucksy side of his younger years. As he matured, he became a much tougher figure to be reckoned with."
Iranian new wave filmmaker Farrokh Ghaffari dies in Paris TEHRAN, Dec. 18 (Mehr News Agency) -- Farrokh Ghaffari, one of the original new wave filmmakers of Iran, died in Paris on Sunday. He was 85 years old. The Paris-based director recently had heart surgery, but he could not recover from the operation and finally passed away at the hospital, the Persian service of CHN reported on Monday.
Born in Tehran in 1921, he left Iran for Belgium after he finished middle school. Shortly afterwards he went to France and studied French literature at the University of Grenoble. Ghaffari returned home in 1941 and established the National Film Center of Iran in 1950. Ghaffari's debut film "South of the City" (1958), which took a critical look at the impoverished south side of Tehran, was banned, but it was renamed "Competition in the City" several years later and was screened. His "Night of the Hunchback" (1964), an adaptation of a story from "The Thousand and One Nights", inspired a serious movement toward literature in Iranian cinema. With the help of Iranian actor/director Jalal Moqaddam, he wrote the screenplay which focused on the bitter political and social atmosphere dominating Iran in the 1960s. Ghaffari gave up filmmaking after that movie and devoted himself to research on Iranian cinema and some administrative duties at Iranian state TV before the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Ghaffari left Iran for France before the revolution and never returned home.Along with Ebrahim Golestan and Fereidun Rahnama, he is regarded as one of the founders of Iran's intellectual new wave cinema.
GINA NO MORE MARRIED:Actress blames media for break-up (bbc) Actress blames media for break-up The 79-year-old claims "endless attacks, slander and violence" from the press forced Rigau to end their relationship and their wedding plans. She told news agency Reuters that she plans to get the law changed. "If these people know they will be taken off the air and they will have to pay massive fines then I'm sure the vileness will stop," she said. "It's a disgrace, it can't be allowed to go on," the veteran actress added. After 22 years of dating, the couple were due to marry in Rome in January. 'Total crisis' However Spanish magazine Hola reported yesterday that Rigau had ended their relationship because of "constant, unfounded and unlawful" media interference. Rigau, who she has described as being in "total crisis", is 34 years younger than Lollobrigida. She says she "feels responsible" for his suffering as he was "linked" to her.
Gina Lollobrigida in 1956 Her screen career, which started in the 1940s, includes Trapeze (1956) and Come September (1961) which won a Golden Globe award. In the 1980s she appeared in the US television drama Falcon Crest, which gained her a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress. Lollobrigida also worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, such as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, and Sean Connery. She divorced her first husband, Yugoslavian doctor Milko Skofic, in 1971 after 22 years. They had one son together.
Ciaran Hinds & Aghdashloo: Star shines in Herod nativity role (bbc)
Title of Harry Potter 7 revealed
It will be called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The announcement was made on the writer's official website. Despite the publication date not being known, the book is tipped to be a big seller, like the rest in the series. Speculation about the plot has surrounded the book after Rowling admitted two characters will die - some think it could be Harry Potter himself. 'Elated and overwrought' The title has certainly got some fans excited. Harry, 13, from Leicestershire
emailed BBC Newsround and said: "It sounds interesting, but a
bit sinister." Book chain Waterstone's children's buyer, Sam
Harrison, said the announcement had been greeted with "huge excitement"
among Potter fans. "This is a wonderfully intriguing and ominous
title, with all the sense of magic and adventure that any true Potter
fan has come to love and expect," Harrison added. I'm now writing
scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or
even more In a recent web posting, she said she has been working hard on the last book. "I'm now writing scenes that have been planned, in some cases, for a dozen years or even more," she said. She also described feeling "alternately elated and overwrought" at writing it and joked she cannot decide if she wants to finish it or not. The first four novels in the series have been turned into films, while the fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, is currently in production and is due for release in July 2007. Helena Bonham Carter joins the cast as the evil Bellatrix Lestrange and Imelda Staunton will play the part of dark arts teacher Dolores Umbridge. Spielberg opens Holocaust archive
Important goals The interviews are mainly with Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, but also gay, Roma and political prisoners who were persecuted by the Nazi regime. Witnesses, liberators of the concentration camps and people who testified in trials conducted after World War II also feature in the archive, which is the largest of its kind in the world. In 2004, Berlin's Jewish Museum was granted access to 1,000 interviews, but this is the first time a non-US organisation has been given use of the entire catalogue. Douglas Greenberg, director of the Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education at the University of Southern California, said one of the organization's most important goals was to provide access to the archive to as broad an audience as possible.
Iran’s Panahi mulls over setting “Offside” trap for superstars
He is seeking nomination at the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2007.
The nomination announcement will be on Dec. 14 and the presentation of "The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards" will be live telecast on NBC Television on Jan. 15, 2007.
“Offside” is about six Iranian girls who disguise themselves as boys to enter Tehran’s Azadi Stadium to watch the 2006 World Cup Asian zone qualifier between Iran and Bahrain but they are arrested one after another.
The movie shared the grand jury prize Silver Bear with Pernille Fischer Christensen's "En Soap" last February.
It also won the Best Audience Award at the Tokyo FILMeX held from Nov. 17 to 26.
Tahmineh Milani's film "The Unwanted Woman" scoops up Asia-Pacific awards
TEHRAN, Nov. 25 (Mehr News Agency) – Iranian director Tahmineh Milani's "The Unwanted Woman", known as "Extra Wife" in Iran, bagged the best director and best screenplay at the 51st Asia-Pacific Film Festival awards late Friday in Taipei, the largest city of Taiwan. Starring Amin Hayaii, Merila Zarei, Parsa Piruzfar, and Elsa Firuz-Azar, the film is about a 35-year-old woman named Sima who sets out on a journey along with her husband and five-year-old daughter. They are accompanied by Saba, a young widow who has recently lost her husband. During the trip, Sima suspects that a secret relationship has developed between her husband and Saba. When they encounter a storm, they stop for a short stay in a small town where the police are searching for a man who has murdered his wife. Milani's other credits include "Two Women", "The Hidden Half", "The Fifth Reaction", "Kakado", "What Else Is New?", "The Legend of a Sigh", and "Children of Divorce". "The Fifth Reaction" received the best film award at the Swiss Tout Ecran Film Festival in 2003. The 51st Asia-Pacific Film Festival hosted 54 films from 13 countries.
Hollywood Photographer Firooz Zahedi & Requel Welch
Although Firooz Zahedi is widely known as a celebrity photographer whose work appears regularly in Vanity Fair, Town and Country and In Style among many other publications, this exhibition of mural sized Iris prints, shows another aspect of his work. Botanical forms; flowers, leaves, and palm fronds, almost abstract in their simplicity, appear in serene, sophisticated compositions. In this work Zahedi searches for the pure and simple form; his art and craftsmanship revealed in these richly textured photographs. Firooz Zahedi was born in Tehran, Iran in 1949. He was raised in England and came to the United States in 1969 to attend Georgetown University and its school of Foreign Service. He served as a diplomat in Washington D.C. before enrolling at the Corcoran School of Art. He began his photographic career working at Interview Magazine with encouragement from Andy Warhol and a portfolio of photographs of Elizabeth Taylor in Interview that brought him into the public eye. Romantically Related to Taylor although the Hollwood Star denied any intentions of getting Married again, http://www.rte.ie/arts/2006/1027/taylore.html he was also seen in company of many other celebrities as here with friend Raquel Welch.
Shiva Rose and Jay Jonroy awarded at FLIFF 2006 For David and Layla film
Shiva Rose is the daughter of Parviz Gharibafshar http://www.newrozfilms.com/screenings.htmFLIFF 2006 - Spirit of Independents Award: Jay Jonroy, Writer/Producer/Director (Almodovar's VOLVER won Best Picture Award) FLIFF 2006 - Best Breakthrough Performance Award: Shiva Rose, Actress* Persian American actress "Shiva Rose (Layla) excels as a self-reliant damsel in distress worth rooting for." VARIETY
First pics of Shohreh Aghdashloo in The Nativity Story
French Cinema Sex Icon Anicée (Alvina) Shahmanehs dies Famous in France, England and Japan for her role in Friends a romantic
comedy of the 1970's, Anicée Shahmanesh whose stage name was
Anicée Alvina died today at age 53 in Paris announced the French
daily Le Figaro.
QUEEN MEETS BOND (GRAIG)
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II meets actor Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, during the world premiere Tuesday of the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale" at the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square in London
Veteran western star Palance dies Nov. 11, 2006
SON OF A GUN: James Bond guns set for auction
US novelist William Styron dies
How Ed Harris learned Beethoven
Iranian actor Jamshid Mashayekhi to receive acclaim in France
TEHRAN, Nov. 1 (Mehr News Agency) – Veteran Iranian actor Jamshid Mashayekhi will be venerated during the Hafez Night at Palais de la découverte (Discovery Palace) in the French capital Paris on Nov. 15. The 72-year-old Mashayekhi started his stage career in the late 1940s. Ebrahim Golestan's "Brick and Mirror" (1965) was his debut film and Bahman Farmanara's "A Little Kiss" (2005) was the last feature-length film he acted in. French scholar and translator Charles-Henri de Fouchecour, who is well-known for his research on great Persian poet Hafez, is also scheduled to be honored at the event organized by Iran's Cultural Office.
17th Annual Festival of Films from Iran at The Gene Siskel Film Center By Barbara Scharres
http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/ The Gene Siskel Film Center welcomes you to the 17th Annual Festival of Films from Iran, September 30 through October 29. One of the major showcases for new Iranian cinema in the Western world, this year's festival presents thirteen features, all Chicago premieres.
The Gene Siskel Film Center annually scouts Iranian films at the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran, where a large number of newly completed Iranian productions receive their world premiere. We maintain ongoing contact with producers, directors, and distributors in order to create a comprehensive look at trends, themes, and new talent through this festival. We're pleased to present the Chicago premieres of new films by a number of directors whose careers this festival has been following, including Bahman Farmanara's A LITTLE KISS, Alireza Amini's TIME FROZE, Nasser Refaie's ANOTHER MORNING, and Maziar Miri's GRADUALLY. . . Oscar-nominated Majid Majidi's THE WILLOW TREE, which was withdrawn from last year's festival at the last minute due to a print availability problem, premieres here in advance of its U.S. release. The Gene Siskel Film Center thanks the many individuals, companies, and agencies in Iran and in the U.S. whose invaluable efforts, good will and support have made this year's festival possible. Special thanks to Farabi Cinema Foundation, an agency which promotes Iranian cinema around the world, and its international affairs director Amir Esfandiari and his staff, especially Reza Tashakori. Special thanks to Mohammad Atebbai of Iranian Independents for advice and cooperation. Thanks to Alireza Shahrokhi and Ali Haji Ghasemi, CIMA Media International; Katayoon Shahabi and Ziba Shahpoori, Sheherazad Media; Mohammad Reza Safiri, CinemaIran; and New Yorker Films. The Festival of Films from Iran would not be possible without the vital interest and generous support of many friends including: Mehrnaz Saeed-Vafa, Artistic Consultant; Amir Normandi, Community Affairs Consultant; Simin Hemmati-Rasmussen, Cultural Affairs Consultant; Hossein Khandan, CinemaIran; Mohammad Pakshir; and Narimon Safavi of the Gene Siskel Film Center Advisory Board. Chicago Public Radio is the exclusive radio sponsor of the 17th Annual Festival of Films from Iran.
Iranian director bemoans mullahs' restrictions Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi, whose film Half Moon has been highly praised here, said it is increasingly difficult to work in Iran, where his latest movie has been banned because a woman sings in it. "Imagine my frame of mind when, having placed all my hopes in this film, after having done everything so that Iranians could see it, the government then decides it cannot be screened. What energy have I got left to continue making films?" he said, on the sidelines of the San Sebastian film festival. Half Moon tells the story of a group of Iranian Kurd musicians en route to a concert in Iraq but includes a taboo subject: "women singing". "In my country it is forbidden to listen to a woman's voice," explained the film director. And in the film the musicians are accompanied by a female singer, Hesho, whose voice is heard several times during the film. "I censored myself so that this film could be screened in Iran, but I did not get permission in the end, notably because this woman sings alone." The film is also a metaphor of the difficulties encountered by Iranian filmmakers. "I wanted to reflect a small part of what artists suffer in Iran, where it is more and more difficult to make films." The problems along the road faced by Mamo, the oldest musician and leader of the group, in the film "are the same as those that artists in my country face daily." Ghobadi, who won the top prize at the San Sebastian film festival, the Concha de Oro, in 2004 for his film Turtles Can Fly, said he regretted the total lack of collaboration from Iranian authorities. "We tried for two months to get equipment, but the Iranian government did not want to help us," he explained. Not even to get the pistol which appears in a scene. "A policeman finally lent us his," Ghobadi said. "You cannot imagine the difficulties encountered by a director
in Iran," added Kambiz Arshi, an actor in Ghobadi?s latest film. |
