Aamir Khan returns with ‘Talaash’

 
MUMBAI: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan returns to the big screen Friday in his first commercial film release for three years, taking up the role of a mustachioed police inspector in a Mumbai crime thriller.
In "Talaash" (Search), promoted as a darker tale than the industry's typical mix of glamour, action and comedy, Khan stars alongside popular actress Kareena Kapoor as a prostitute and Rani Mukerji as his wife.
Producer-actor Khan has given little away about the eagerly-anticipated film, which is set in the underbelly of India's entertainment capital and has been described by the star as an "intense suspense drama".
"I want the suspense to be there, that's part of the promotions. Sometimes being quiet also might promote it," Khan said.
"I found it fulfilling... the suspense part of it. But at its heart, it's a story about someone coming to terms with loss... it is a very emotional story at its core," Khan told the Press Trust of India ahead of the release.
The star reportedly had to learn to swim for scenes in "Talaash" -- a film that "proves once again this actor's films are not to be skipped and completely worth the wait", said a review in the DNA newspaper.
Directed by Reema Kagti and co-produced by Khan, "Talaash" marks the 47-year-old's first appearance in a movie since art film "Dhobi Ghat" (also known as "Mumbai Diaries") was released in 2010, directed by his wife Kiran Rao.
Khan's last commercial hit was "3 Idiots" in 2009, a coming-of-age comedy about three engineering students which became the highest grossing Bollywood movie of all time.
His 2001 film "Lagaan" (Land Tax) became the third Hindi-language movie to be Oscar-nominated for best foreign language film.
This year Khan launched a 13-episode Sunday morning television show that won plaudits for tackling some of India's darkest social problems, drawing comparisons between him and US chat show host Oprah Winfrey.

AFP

Cameron tips Hobbit to spark film tech revolution

WELLINGTON: Oscar-winning director James Cameron on Wednesday predicted Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" would do for high-definition film-making what his own hit "Avatar" did for 3D movies. Jackson has filmed "The Hobbit" at a groundbreaking 48 frames a second rather than the standard 24, a move that drew mixed critical reactions when a preview was screened in Las Vegas in April. But Cameron, a surprise guest at the premiere of the first instalment of "The Hobbit" in Wellington on Wednesday, said he faced similar scepticism pioneering modern 3D techniques on "Avatar", now the highest grossing film of all time. He said Jackson's latest movie was destined to be a hit, making it easier for him (Cameron) to employ 48 frames a second which eliminated the "strobing" seen in standard films. "If there is acceptance of 48, then that will pave the way for Avatar (sequels) to take advantage of it," Cameron told reporters. "We charged out ahead on 3D with Avatar, now Peter's doing it with the Hobbit. It takes that kind of bold move to make change." Jackson this week likened the higher shooting rate to the introduction of compact discs, saying it was the way of the future for film. "I personally think it's fantastic, but it's different," he told Radio New Zealand. "I remember when CDs came in and there was a nostalgic feeling that the sound of a needle on vinyl was what music should sound like -- suddenly you've got this pristine clarity and a lot of people were nay-saying it." Cameron said Jackson was a singular film-maker who had turned the New Zealand film industry into a global force. "He's elevated the industry to a global level, where people from all over the world -- artists, film-makers, special effects technicians and so on -- come here to work, that's unique," he said. "It's really only happened a couple of times before, in Los Angeles and maybe London... it's the first time it's been done by a single film-maker." Cameron, who owns a farm in New Zealand, said he was on the property working on scripts for sequels to "Avatar", complaining: "Unfortunately it's too damn distracting because it's so beautiful". He said he hoped to have the scripts completed by February and begin filming by the end of next year. "I want to get these scripts nailed down, I don't want to be writing the movie in post production," the director said. "We kind of did that on the first picture, I ended up cutting out a lot of scenes and so on and I don't want to do that again." Cameron, originally from Canada, said he was enjoying the relaxed lifestyle in New Zealand. AFP

Second "Hobbit" movie gets new name, July 2014 release for third

 
LOS ANGELES: The third film in the upcoming "Hobbit" movie trilogy will be released worldwide in July 2014, the movie studios behind the venture said on Friday, and the second film now has a new name.
The third film -- "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" -- will open in movie theaters on July 18, 2014 - just seven months after the newly titled second film "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" arrives on December 13, 2013. The second film originally carried the "There and Back Again" title.
The first film, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" starring British actor Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, has already been set for a December 14, 2012 opening.
Director Peter Jackson, Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, and MGM announced in July that the 3D-film adaptation of the classic novel by J.R.R. Tolkien would be split into three films rather than the two originally envisaged.
Warner Bros. executives said they believed the third movie would play well in the summer - the most lucrative period for the movie industry and the launch pad for action-packed blockbusters.
"We wanted to have a shorter gap between the second and third films of ‘The Hobbit' trilogy. Opening in July affords us not only the perfect summer tentpole, but fans will have less time to wait for the finale of this epic adventure," Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. said in a statement.
"The Hobbit" is the prequel to Tolkien's epic fantasy "The Lord of the Rings" which Jackson made into three Oscar-winning films about 10 years ago. (Reuters)

REUTERS

US hit comedy actor slams own show

 
LOS ANGELES: An actor on "Two and a Half Men" has lashed out at his own hit US television show, urging viewers to stop "filling your head with filth," after apparently undergoing a religious revelation.
Nineteen-year-old Angus T. Jones, who reportedly earns $350,000 an episode playing the character Jake in the show starring Ashton Kutcher, made the comments in Christian testimony recorded in his production trailer.
"Jake from 'Two and a Half Men' means nothing. He is a nonexistent character ... ," Jones said, in an extended video posted by the Forerunner Christian Church on YouTube on Monday, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"If you watch 'Two and a Half Men,' please stop watching 'Two and a Half Men.' I'm on 'Two and a Half Men,' and I don't want to be on it," he added.
Jones signed up for a new one-year-contract in May for "Two and a Half Men" -- whose former central star Charlie Sheen was sacked after he underwent a public meltdown -- the LA Times said.
"Please stop watching it; stop filling your head with filth. Please. People say it's just entertainment," he said in the video, viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTju7uI8-1o&feature=plcp.
"Do some research on the effects of television and your brain, and I promise you you'll have a decision to make when it comes to television, and especially with what you watch."
Sheen was replaced by Kutcher last year on the top-rated TV show, after he criticized its producers in a series of increasingly colorful and apparently drug-fueled media appearances.
A spokesman for Warner Bros, which produces the show along with CBS, declined to comment. "We are not commenting on the comments made by Angus T. Jones," spokesman Paul McGuire told.
In an apparent reference to Satan, Jones said in the newly-posted video: "A lot of people don't like to think about how deceptive the enemy is. He's been doing this for a lot longer than any of us have been around.
"There's no playing around when it comes to eternity," he added.

AFP

Rock star reception for Jackson and Hobbit cast

 
WELLINGTON: Director Peter Jackson and the cast of "The Hobbit" received a rock star reception at the Tolkien epic's world premiere in Wellington on Wednesday, cheered on by 100,000 screaming fans.
Crowds wearing crooked wizard hats and pointed elf ears packed the New Zealand capital's entertainment strip, jostling for position on balconies and rooftops for a glimpse of stars such as Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.
After a flyover by an Air New Zealand Boeing 777 decked out in Hobbit-themed livery, a huge roar erupted as the cast slowly made their way down the red carpet.
Carrying signs such as "I bags Bilbo" and "Team Smeagol", spectators chanted the names of characters from the movie, a three-part prequel to the hugely successful "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Statues of cave trolls and dwarves specially erected for the occasion added to the Middle Earth flavour, combining with the costumed hordes to create an atmosphere which actor Elijah Wood described as "surreal".
The loudest cheers were for hometown favourite Jackson, who has been credited with single-handedly turning the New Zealand film industry into a multi-billion dollar success.
The normally reclusive director, sporting his trademark tousled hair and beard, appeared more than a little Hobbit-like even in his premiere-night suit, admitting he felt slightly overwhelmed as he signed autographs and shook hands.
Jackson said it was a relief finally to present the first instalment of his latest saga to fans after a troubled shoot marred by lengthy delays.
"It's emotional and very humbling to see all these people in my hometown who've turned out," he told reporters.
"It's been two years with this narrow focus on the film where we're trying to keep everybody out. You have security, you don't want people to know what you're doing.
"Then you get to that moment where filming's over and 100,000 people come along to the premiere, it's kind of like the whole world has turned upside down."
Mia Ramsden, who travelled from Melbourne in Australia for the premiere, camped overnight dressed as the elf queen Arwen to claim a prime position to view the stars.

AFP

Gold Christmas tree for a mere $4.2 million in Tokyo

 
TOKYO: For those seeking a glow to their Christmas this year, a jewelry store in downtown Tokyo has just the answer: a pure gold revolving "tree" covered in Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell and Cinderella.
The tree-like ornament is made of 40 kg (88 pounds) of pure gold, standing about 2.4 meters (7.9 ft) high and 1.2 meters in diameter. It is decorated with pure gold plate silhouette cutouts of 50 popular Disney characters and draped with ribbons made of gold leaf.
The price tag? A mere 350 million yen ($4.2 million).
But the ornament is actually a deal, said Tomoko Ishibashi, in the marketing department of Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewelry, which runs the Ginza Tanaka jewelry store.
"Right now gold is over 4,400 yen per gram. We used pure gold and had an expert craftsman form each Disney character by hand," she said of the decoration, which took 10 craftsmen two months to complete.
The combination of gold and Disney characters had spectators mesmerized.
"It is very vivid and the gold is very pretty," said Takashi Miura, a 36-year-old jeweler. "The characters on it are also really cute and it really looks like a Christmas tree."
For those with less ready cash, the store offers a scaled-down version that features 20 Disney characters and stands 25 cm high for a mere 2 million yen ($243,000).
While nobody has yet made a down payment on the larger tree, the miniature has already found buyers, Ishibashi said. (Reuters)

4D scans show fetuses yawn in the womb

 
LONDON: Growing into a fully formed human being is a long process, and scientists have found that unborn babies not only hiccup, swallow and stretch in the womb, they yawn too.
Researchers who studied 4D scans of 15 healthy fetuses also said they think yawning is a developmental process which could potentially give doctors a new way to check on a baby's health.
While some scientists have previously suggested that fetuses yawn, others disagree and say it is nothing more than a developing baby opening and stretching its mouth.
But writing in the journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday, British researchers said their study was able to clearly distinguish yawning from "non-yawn mouth opening" based on how long the mouth was open.
The researchers did this by using 4D video footage to examine all the times when fetuses opened their mouths.
Nadja Reissland of Durham University's department of Psychology, who led the study, said the function and importance of yawning in fetuses is still unknown, but the findings suggest it may be linked to fetal development and could provide a further indication of the health of the unborn baby.
"Unlike us, fetuses do not yawn contagiously, nor do they yawn because they are sleepy," she said. "Instead, the frequency of yawning in the womb may be linked to the maturing of the brain early in gestation."
The study was carried out on eight female and seven male fetuses from 24 to 36 weeks gestation. The researchers found that yawning declined from 28 weeks and that there was no significant difference in how often boys and girls yawned. (Reuters)

Twitter unveils email sharing

 
SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter on Thursday introduced a new feature to the globally popular one-to-many text messaging service -- the ability to email "Tweets" directly from the message stream.
The new feature made its debut as the San Francisco-based firm rolled out improved applications for using the service on iPhones or smartphones powered by Google-backed Android software.
"You can retweet any (Twitter messages) to your Twitter followers, but sometimes you want to share with another group, like your college roommates or your parents or a friend who isn't yet on Twitter," engineer Stefan Filip said in a blog post.
"That's why we're introducing the ability to email a Tweet directly from twitter.com."
The feature will be rolled out to all users of Twitter -- which allows its members to post brief comments, links or pictures -- in the coming weeks, according to Filip.
Updates to Twitter applications for iPhone and Android were designed to improve search results and highlight photos, videos and news shared at the service. (AFP)

Elton John dedicates Beijing show to Ai Weiwei

 
BEIJING: Pop-rock balladeer Elton John dedicated his Beijing show to Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei -- a controversial move the artist said Monday was unlikely to make the nation's cultural minders happy.
After the Icelandic singer Bjork chanted "Tibet, Tibet" at a 2008 concert in Shanghai, authorities refused numerous Western acts permits to perform in China for years.
Concert-goers said John told his audience of more than 12,000 people on Sunday at the Wukesong arena, built to host the basketball tournament at the Beijing Olympics, that the show was dedicated to Ai.
"I met him before the show, he didn't say anything about it," Ai told.
"When he did it, it was a big surprise."
The Ministry of Culture, he added, "are probably not too happy about this, but there is not much that they can do about it. He is a very popular singer who has a lot of influence".
Ai, 55, is a world-renowned conceptual artist and outspoken critic of China's communist government.
He disappeared into police custody for 81 days last year, drawing worldwide headlines and casting a spotlight on the government's growing concern over social unrest, especially as "Arab spring" street protests rocked the Middle East.
After being released he was convicted of tax evasion, fined $2.4 million by the Beijing tax bureau and barred from leaving the country for one year.
He has described such treatment as the government's way of quelling his social activism and efforts to protest a wide range of alleged official abuse.
It was unclear whether John's public support for Ai would have consequences for other Western acts hoping to perform in China.
At a 2008 concert in Shanghai, Bjork chanted "Tibet, Tibet" at the end of her song "Declare Independence", in a public protest against China's rule of the Himalayan region and open support for the Tibet independence movement.
A number of Western acts were subsequently refused permits to perform in the country by China's cultural minders.

AFP

US actor Larry Hagman dies at 81: family

LOS ANGELES: US actor Larry Hagman, who became famous for his role of J.R. Ewing in the US television show "Dallas," has died at the age of 81 after losing a battle with cancer, his family said. "When he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones," the family said in a statement. "It was a peaceful passing, just as he had wished for." According to the statement, Hagman died late Friday afternoon at Medical City Dallas Hospital from complications from cancer. No other details were given. (AFP)

Rolling Stones turn back clock with hit-filled comeback

LONDON: The Rolling Stones rocked London on Sunday as they thrilled a 20,000 crowd in the first of five concerts to mark their 50th anniversary.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were joined by their original bass player Bill Wyman at the O2 Arena as the ageing rockers performed their first major concert for five years.
Lead singer Jagger made light of criticism of the ticket prices for the sold-out gig, with fans paying up to £406 ($650, 500 euros) for a standard seat, and thousands of pounds more on ticket re-selling sites.
"How're you doing in the cheap seats? They're not that cheap though, that's the problem," Jagger joked as the concert began.
The band opened with "I Want to be Your Man", with 69-year-old Jagger strutting around the giant stage dressed in a silver jacket and trilby, before launching into "Get Off of My Cloud".
US soul diva Mary J Blige joined Jagger to sing the female lines of "Gimme Shelter" and legendary rock guitarist Jeff Beck joined the four-piece to play "I'm Going Down".
The Stones welcomed another former member, guitarist Mick Taylor, on to the stage to play on several songs.
Tickets for Sunday's gig and the second London concert on Thursday were snapped up in seven minutes last month.
They are the first part of the "50 And Counting" performances to mark the Stones' half century in the music business, with a concert in New York and two in Newark, New Jersey to follow next month.
Diehard fans seemed undeterred by the cost of the tickets, with some believing it might be their last chance to the see their heroes in action.
Jill Roberts, a 52-year-old housewife from England who was making her way into the O2 for the concert, said: "It's hard to justify that kind of money but a lot of people were prepared to pay it.
"It's an awful lot of money but I guess it's just a one-time thing. I don't think I'll be coming again anyway."
She first saw the Stones play eight years ago. "I want to experience it again, because they are such good musicians," she said.
The band have been rehearsing in Paris, where they played a concert for just 350 people at a small club on October 26, although tickets for that surprise gig were priced at just 15 euros (£20).
US music magazine Billboard reported in August that the Stones would earn a total of $25 million for the four shows -- and that was before the extra date in New York's Barclays Center on December 8 was added to the itinerary. (AFP)