(BY ALI NADERZAD) Eklavya (The Royal Guard) has been voted India's official entry to the Oscars. Mumbai filmmaker and producer Vinod Chopra commented, I'm elated by the news. But this was only the first battle. The real one is still ahead. I'm leaving for the US on October 2nd and will start my groundwork there. I'm banking on my previous experiences at the Academy (of Motion Picture Arts and ... more >
Archives for September 2007
ARCHIVES
The Brave One
How many wrongs to make it right?
Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard and Naveen Andrews
Directed by Neil Jordan
Blurring the line between good and bad is a good bet for a screenwriter nowadays. Good versus evil is so passe. The good guys usually win and they're often uninspiring. Oftentimes I find myself rooting for the bad guy, hoping he'll change his ways. Which is why The Brave One, which stars Jodie Foster and opened in the US this past weekend, is my redemption--kind of. Foster plays Erica Bain, ... more >
We Own the Night
I don't need any more guns in my life, that's for sure
Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg and Eva Mendes
Directed by James Gray
At the Cannes Festival sometimes things can turn violent between journalists. Or at least that's what I feared upon exiting the Debussy theatre this past May after a press screening of James Gray's We Own the Night, which has its commercial release later this October. The film got copiously booed as end credits rolled--in my opinion because of its formulaic zeal, when you see the final scene, ... more >
Man from Plains
A fascinating chronicle of Carter’s 2007 book tour
Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter and Lillian Carter
Directed by Jonathan Demme
About a year ago former president Jimmy Carter launched on a national tour to promote his new book "Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid." Filmmaker Jonathan Demme tagged along to document the tour and record a nation's reaction to the new, if short-lived, controversy surrounding the book. Slated for release later this Fall, Man From Plains (Plains refers to Carter's Georgia hometown) shows both the ... more >