Women-centric film 'Dhuaaan' impresses Julia Roberts

Mumbai, Oct 19 (IANS) Julia Roberts is impressed with Mrunalinni Dayal's forthcoming film "Dhuaaan - The Fire Within" based on a true story, but won't be able to attend the premiere due to prior commitments.

Roberts watched vignettes of "Dhuaaan" with Claire Raskind, the publicist of her film "Eat Pray, Love", while she was shooting for the film at the Ashram Hari Mandir in Pataudi, Haryana.

"Julia is very excited about 'Dhuaaan' because it's based on a true story of a female protagonist like 'Erin Brockovich', which is a film very dear to her. Secondly because the filmmaker is a woman," Raskind said in a press statement.

"It is a universal story of the fight against injustice, of a single individual against erring institutions. Julia has complemented director Mrunalinni on a commendable effort and wishes the film every success," she added.

Mrunalinni invited the Pretty Woman to attend "Dhuaaan" premiere here Dec 18. The actress won't be able to attend it, but she has requested her Indian spiritual guru Swami Shri Dharam Devji Maharaj, of Ashram Hari Mandir in Pataudi, to attend on her behalf.

"Julia, however, regrets being able to accept the invitation to personally attend the premiere in Mumbai in December and has requested her spiritual Guru Shri Swami Dharam Devji Maharaj to attend on her behalf," said Raskind.

Dharam Devji Maharaj, who has anointed her children with Hindu names, has confirmed his attendance.

Julia in Pataudi market was an affair to remember

Pataudi (Haryana), Oct 10 (IANS) Not many residents of this town could catch a glimpse of Julia Roberts while she stayed at Pataudi Palace for over three weeks. But when the Hollywood actress finally stepped out into the market for a shoot, the crowds couldn't take their eyes off her!

Julia shot a few scenes of her film "Eat, Pray, Love" at Pataudi market Thursday, a day before she left India.

"On Thursday, Julia had come to the Pataudi market to shoot a few scenes. It was the first time since she came here that the locals could see her for a while. Quite a crowd had gathered near the shooting area and people enjoyed watching her," a police official told IANS.

"The crowd had gathered because for so many days they only knew that there is some foreign actress who is here and they were finally getting a chance to see her," he said.

Julia came to India Sep 17 with her three children - four-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus and two-year-old son Henry - and their nannies. She left for Indonesia Friday.

The actress was staying at Pataudi Palace, the official home of the erstwhile prince of Pataudi and former India cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and his actress wife Sharmila Tagore.

The entire crew, including her Hollywood colleagues Billy Crudup, Javier Bardem and Richard Jenkins, director Ryan Murphy as well as members of the Indian crew also stayed at the heritage hotel, which is part of the Neemrana Group.

However, they were shooting at Hari Mandir Ashram, which was almost 900 metres from the palace. They even shot at the nearby Mirzapur village for a few days.

While in India, Julia had bouncers from New Delhi and burly Haryanvi cops for her security and moved around in a bullet-proof black Toyota Fortuner vehicle.

For her shoot, she was mostly dressed in loose ethnic Indian clothes, often coloured pyjamas, a kurta and a stole, teamed with rudraksh beads.

Julia will now be shooting in Indonesia for the last leg of her movie, which is based on Elizabeth Gilbert's memoirs, "Eat, Pray, Love". It features Julia as Gilbert who travels to Italy, India and Indonesia in search of peace.

Inside Julia's vanity van: Simple and ethnic Indian

By Radhika Bhirani and Ruchika Kher

Pataudi (Haryana), Oct 10 (IANS) Hollywood actress Julia Roberts' love for simplicity and appreciation of Indian craft were more than evident inside her personal vanity van as she shot here for the movie "Eat, Pray, Love".

Even as the Pretty Woman spent her last day in India Friday, her white air-conditioned vanity van told a story of its own.

With two rooms and a washroom, it had sparkling black flooring and her character Elizabeth Gilbert's name pasted on the door, as witnessed by these IANS correspondents.

Colourful pillows with traditional Gujarati embroidery and mirror work adorned her van, a sneak peek revealed. The white, blue and yellow pillows added an ethnic touch and were placed on a sofa-like couch.

One could also spot a baby chair for her children - four-and-a-half-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus, and two-year-old son Henry - and a TV set for her entertainment inside the first room.

"Julia's van had a bed inside the second room for her to lie down during breaks," a source from the production team told IANS.

"But most of the time, she either rested in the room allotted to her inside the (Hari Mandir) Ashram or went back to Pataudi Palace if she had longer breaks to catch up with her children."

In total, there were nine vanity vans for the "important members" of the cast and crew parked inside the Hari Mandir Ashram premises, said the source. There was also one separate makeup van and two mobile toilets parked for the convenience of the film unit.

A shed was especially made near the vanity vans where two huge ironing boards were placed to take care of the costumes.

The Oscar winner had been staying at Pataudi Palace, 40 km away from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, with her three kids and their nannies since Sep 17.

Pataudi Palace, which belongs to the erstwhile prince of Pataudi and former India cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, was converted into a heritage hotel after being acquired by the Neemrana Group of Hotels, which is reputed for restoring and managing heritage hotels.

The 41-year-old was here to shoot the India scenes of "Eat, Pray, Love" with her Hollywood colleagues Billy Crudup, Javier Bardem and Richard Jenkins under director Ryan Murphy's direction.

Based on author Elizabeth Gilbert's memoirs, "Eat, Love, Pray" features Roberts as Gilbert who travels to Italy, India and Indonesia in search of peace. The India part of the film was shot at the Ashram, the local market here and Mirzapur village, which is about eight kilometres from here.

Thursday is believed to have been her last day of shooting in India and sources said she left the country Friday.

Now she will shoot in Indonesia for the last leg of the movie. The shooting will be wrapped up in November. The film is expected to be released in 2011, she said.

A week in Indian summer, but unstarry Julia stays cool

By Mediapanga.com

Pataudi (Haryana), Sep 25 (IANS) No air-conditioner and no aides hovering nearby for her commands. Hollywood star Julia Roberts seems to have immersed herself in the spiritual atmosphere of the ashram where she is shooting for "Eat Pray Love" with not one starry tantrum in the week she has been here.

The Oscar winner's grounded behaviour was visible to all when she preferred to walk up to her car - a black, bullet proof Toyota Fortuner - waiting for her outside the Ashram Hari Mandir premises, instead of having it called inside. She is shooting at Pataudi, an hour's drive from the Indian capital.

"Julia always likes to walk till her car, rather than making the driver bring it inside for her convenience. When she is ready to leave the sets for the Pataudi Palace, she asks the production people to inform the driver to be ready," a unit source told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Another instance of her composed behaviour could be seen when she preferred to lounge in a room specially allotted to her inside the ashram during shot breaks instead of going back to her air-conditioned vanity van.

For her Thursday scenes, the actress wore classic blue jeans teamed with a casual pink-peach top and had her hair tied up neatly. She wore no accessories for the shoot, unlike the previous days when she sported rudraksh beads for the spiritual look. She is playing author Elizabeth Gilbert, on whose book the film is based.

After wrapping up her noon schedule, as witnessed by IANS correspondents, Roberts changed into a casual blue and red knee length floral dress and flat slippers to beat the sweltering heat. Despite the scorching sun, she chose to move out without shades, unlike most Bollywood stars.

However, her security is very tight. After Thursday's shooting, the star was escorted to her waiting car by a group of people that included security personnel, members of the production team and her personal bodyguards.

There are three bullet proof cars at her disposal. According to the source, the Toyota Fortuner with black tinted windows is only for Roberts' use and no one else is allowed to travel in it. She also has a specially-appointed chauffeur who wears a crisp white safari suit.

Tight security has also been arranged at the Pataudi Palace hotel, where the actress has been staying with her three kids - four-and-a-half-year-old twins Hazel and Phinnaeus and two-year-old son Henry -- and their nannies since Sep 17.

She has been shooting the India scenes of her new film with her Hollywood colleagues Billy Crudup, Javier Bardem and Richard Jenkins, under director Ryan Murphy's supervision. The 41-year-old will be in Pataudi till Oct 9 and is expected to leave for Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, thereafter.

Oprah's movie bags top Toronto award

London, Sep 20 (IANS) Hollywood diva Mariah Carey and TV show queen Oprah Winfrey's new movie "Precious" has scooped a top award at the Toronto Film Festival.

The gritty drama was Saturday honoured with the People's Choice award at the annual event in Canada, reports imdb.com.

"I made this film for every person out there who ever looked in the mirror and felt unsure about the person looking back. This is not an art film for a select few. This is a movie that everyone can relate to," said director Lee Daniels.

Last year's People's Choice award was won by underdog drama "Slumdog Millionaire", which then went on to sweep the board at the Oscars and Golden Globes earlier this year.

Lady GaGa is download queen!

London, Sep 7 (IANS) British pop star Lady GaGa has been crowned queen of the downloads as new figures show she is on the top of the all-time download charts.

Her single "Poker Face" has notched up 779,000 sales on downloads alone to top the charts while her first British release "Let's Dance" is at number three with 700,000, reported mirror.co.uk.

The list has been compiled by the Official Charts Company to mark five years since the launch of the download chart.

The entire top five has been released within the past 12 months which indicates how important download sales now are to the music industry. Digital sales now account for around 98 percent of the singles market.

"I am honoured to be the songwriter and performer behind the number one and number three all-time most downloaded songs in history in the Britain," said GaGa.

The chart reflects the growth of downloads over the past two years.

Denise Richards: One day, ‘I will spill my guts’

LOS ANGELES - Denise Richards has vowed to share the secrets she keeps — one day.

The actress, who has two children with ex-husband Charlie Sheen, wrote on her Twitter page on Tuesday that she plans to spill the beans about her life at some point in the future.

“Sorry had to vent (expletive) pisses me off sometimes..one day..I will spill my guts about EVERYTHING,” she wrote.

Redmond O’Neal arrested on drug charges

Reed Saxon / AP

LOS ANGELES - Redmond O’Neal has been arrested again, Access Hollywood has confirmed.

O’Neal, the son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal, was taken in custody on Dec. 29 on a felony drug charge.

According to the District Attorney’s office, the 24-year-old was found in possession of drugs, which is a violation of his probation.

Rosie O’Donnell calls relationship ‘delicious’

Bryan Bedder / Getty Images

Rosie O’Donnell said on her Sirius XM show that she was surprised by the headlines generated by her new relationship with Tracy Kachtick-Anders.

NEW YORK - Rosie O’Donnell is speaking out about life with her new girlfriend, Tracy Kachtick-Anders, whom just days ago, she confirmed she is dating.

“Did anybody hear I have a new girlfriend?” O’Donnell laughed on her “Rosie Radio” show on SIRIUS XM on Monday.

The two were spotted by the paparazzi holding hands in Miami on Dec. 29, and O’Donnell revealed that the headlines her new relationship has generated were a surprise.

'Up' Not Down With H'wood Guild Awards

In answer to your questions: Disney/Pixar's Up is ineligible for the Writers Guild awards because the animation studios are not signatory members of the union. (Kinda bites them in the ass at awards time, eh?) Up is technically eligible for the Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild awards. "But it'll be a cold day in hell before the directors or actors nominate an animated film," one source tells me. Some years the DGA didn't even include animated movies on the "reminders" list to members.

EXCLUSIVE: 'Spider-Man 4' Officially Has No Start Date As Of Today Because Of Script Problems; Sony "Unlikely" To Make Scheduled May 5, 2011, Release

This is a story I've been working on ever since I saw this December 11th email that went out to the Spider-Man 4 special effects crew that day:

Hey there--

We were just notified that our schedule is pushing. We will NOT be starting as planned. I’m terribly sorry for this news, and I hope this email reaches you in time to find other options. We do not know how long we are pushing, and we will not know until mid-January. By mid-January, we will be told how long the push is, whether it be 2 weeks, 2 months, or something else. The studio has every intention of making the movie, but we no longer have a confirmed start date.

Again, I’m terribly sorry, but Sam Raimi has story issues [that] need to be resolved before we are ready to shoot.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions.

VFX Team

At that point, it wasn't well known that the Spider-Man franchise director who also is helming the 4th installment had huge problems with the script that has run through screenwriters Jamie Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire, and Gary Ross. I'm even told Sam Raimi had been very vocal inside Sony that he "hated" it. Now Raimi and Sony are anxiously waiting for still another version from screenwriter Alvin Sargent, who wrote Spidey 2 & 3 and is married to Spidey franchise producer Laura Ziskind. "It is unlikely that May 11, 2011, date will be made," a Sony insider just told me today. "It depends on how quickly the script can get in." However, agents have told clients in the movie to already expect the film to be pushed back.

My sources say Sony still intends to release that summer, even if the new date is July 2011. But Spider-Man has always owned that coveted early May date. Even as far back as September 2008 when I reported my exclusive that Sony Locks In Sam Raimi & Tobey Maguire in 'Spider-Man 4'. And now this is a giant opportunity for other studios planning their 2011 schedules to grab this big opening.

Spider-Man 4 was supposed to start filming in February, and star Tobey Maguire echoed that repeatedly in publicity appearances for Brothers. Then it pushed to March. Then late March/early April. And now there's no date at all, according to my Sony insiders who emailed me: "Some decisions have been made over the holiday about Spider-Man 4. We will be extending the production hiatus on the film. The studio is firmly committed to this franchise but, for us, the script must come first. We intend to notify members of the crew immediately. As you know, Alvin Sargent is currently working on the screenplay. When we have more news, we will keep you posted."

I do know that Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal and Columbia Pictures president Matt Tolmach, who have shepherded the Spider-Man franchise from Day One, has been wrestling with this script problem for months. "I'm going to do everything I can to make May," she has repeatedly told Hollywood types involved with the movie. "But I'm not going to start a movie where the script isn't right yet. Not unless I want my career to be over."

Fortunately for Pascal, Sony is not yet "pay or play" on some of the talent negotiations which were still only at the tail end. Raimi is insisting that John Malkovich play the villain, so that won't change. But I do hear that it's now unlikely Anne Hathaway will be cast. "I'm not so sure we're going in that direction," an insider told me recently. Sony had been hot for her until bigwigs realized she'd cost too much and they probably don't need "such a big star" for the pic, I'm told. (See my previous, Anne Hathaway Wanted For 'Spider-Man 4')

As for those repeated rumors that Spider-Man 4 will and won't shoot in 3D, I've got to figure that's uppermost on Sony minds given the post-Avatar climate. Back in April, Sony Pictures' co-chairmen Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton told Forbes magazine they were considering making the 4th Spider-Man in 3D. Here were the quotes: "Could be," said Pascal. Lynton added: "People are paying a premium to see movies in 3-D and that's a very big deal. It's never been done before that someone says you have to pay more to see Spider-Man than a romantic comedy." More as I get it...