Japanese animated film director Kon dies at 46

Acclaimed Japanese animated film director Satoshi Kon, known for "Tokyo Godfathers," "Millennium Actress" and other prize-winning movies, has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 46.

Considered one of Japan's most exciting directors of animated films, or "anime," Kon was born in 1963 on the island of Hokkaido and debuted as a comic book artist at age 23 while still an art student at Musashino Art University near Tokyo. He began making animated films about 1990, establishing a style that blurred the boundaries of reality and fantasy.

Kon died Tuesday, his wife Kyoko said in a statement released on his official website, Kon's Tone.

In his Oscar-nominated 2003 film "Tokyo Godfathers," loosely based on the 1948 John Ford movie "3 Godfathers," Kon featured three homeless people instead of three cowboys, breaking with the clean and ritzy image of the Japanese capital. Kon's characters — a drag queen, a runaway high school girl and a former professional bicycle racer — pick up an abandoned infant from a garbage dump on Christmas Day and set out to find its parents.

The 2006 film "Paprika," based on a novel by popular writer Yasutaka Tsutsui, uses breathtaking cutting-edge animation and won a prize at the Brussels anime festival in 2007. Kon was working on his first children's film, "The Dreaming Machine," at the time of his death.

In a "Goodbye" statement released Wednesday, Kon said his doctor told him in May that he had terminal pancreatic cancer which had spread to his bones, and had at most six months to live. Two months later, his condition worsened and his doctor said his days were numbered. So he decided to go home and die there, he wrote.

"My biggest regret is 'The Dreaming Machine.'" he wrote. "I really worry about the film, and the staff."

The film is based on an original story, characters and a unique view of the world that "nobody else but Satoshi Kon could understand or create," he said.

He thanked his parents, his wife and his fans for their support.

"Thank you everyone," he said. "I'll go ahead now."

Prakash Raj weds Pony Verma

Actor-director Prakash Raj is a happy man these days. After all, he tied the knot with choreographer Pony Verma yesterday, in a gala affair in Mumbai.

The marriage, which was conducted in Punjabi style, was attended by family members and close friends of the two.

Prakash Raj’s mother, his two daughters, his sister and her family, and his close associates, directors Radhamohan and Viji, actor Kumaravel, cinematographer KV Guhan and Tanya Samthani were moving about, making the guests feel comfortable.

Dressed in a maroon Sherwani, Prakash looked every bit of a Punjabi munda and needless to say, was grinning from ear to ear! His wife Pony Verma too was blushing throughout and the couple indeed looked like they were made for each other.

Pony is a famous choreographer in Bollywood and has made actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor dance to her tunes. She had also choreographed for Prakash Raj’s latest Tamil offering, Inidhu Inidhu. Before the marriage, she was working on Hemamalini’s project, Tell Me Oh Khuda.

Kajol Says Karan Is More Than A Brother For Her

Karan is not Kajol’s rakhi brother, but she certainly values him more than a brother and says that she is grateful to have him in his life.

Kajol adds, “Karan is my friend and have always felt that connection with him. Definition of a friend for me is somebody that you chose and not that you are born with.”

She further adds, “Karan is more than a brother. It`s a unique and fantastic friendship which I am grateful to have in my life.”

There are some plans in the actress house as she says that her daughter has lot of cousins and all of them would come home, so they will have a party.

Kajol further speaks about relationships and says, “Friendships, relationships comes from the heart and Rakhi is a great way to reaffirm that with your brothers. But, if you do not tie a rakhi, it does not make you a less friend or less of a relationship.”

Heroine Charging 3 Crores?

Bollywood actress, Sonam Kapoor is one of the most popular actresses in Bollywood. The actress is not only increasing her market in films but also ameliorating her market in ad world. According to the latest reports, Sonam Kapoor has signed for Coca-Cola Company. The company has offered a whopping amount of Rs.3crore for the ad.

Sonam Kapoor is also working for a top skin care products. Coca-Cola prefers only young faces and new comers for their ads. Earlier, the company has roped the celebrities like Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Imran Khan and Kalki Koechlin when they stepped in to the Bollywood.

Now, the company has taken the stylish ‘Aisha’ girl, Sonam Kapoor and became one in the list of famous celebrities.

Fantasy Football

Sophie Monk struggling with image in LA

Sophie Monk has revealed that she has had a "tough" few years in Hollywood.

The 30-year-old Australian actress, singer and model, who moved to Los Angeles to further her career five years ago, said that people there tend to judge her on her looks without realising she has a sense of humour.

Monk told Who magazine: "It's been a tough, tough time. Over here, I'm a celebrity, but they're not sure what I've done and I struggle with that.

"In Australia, they know I've had a successful music career, that I'm a bit of a comedian. But here they just go by visual, which is tricky for me. Most blonde bombshell types don't have much personality, or they just marry a rich old man. My sense of humour is what's carried me through.

"I would be settled down and married like all my friends if I was in another career. I know I don't want to always live in the spotlight, I want a normal life. In ten years' time, I hope I'll have kids and be married to a loyal man. I want to cash in, then go home."

Fantasy Football

Coalition plans $60m film fund

The Coalition plans to establish a $60 million temporary film fund to boost production of mid-budget features if it wins the next Federal election.

The announcement was made today at the Australian International Movie Convention and forms part of the Opposition government’s newly-unveiled arts policy, which will also provide a $24.35 million boost to the regional arts scene and loans of up to $35,000 for Australia’s young musicians.

Support for the fund, which will provide matching loans to film distributors of eligible Australian films with production budgets between $7 million and $30 million, marks a win for the Screen Producers Association of Australia, which called for a similar scheme earlier this year.

The fund will match dollar-for-dollar the investments made by distributors, providing loans of between $2 million and $10 million. The fund and the distributor will recoup their advances side-by-side, with SPAA predicting the fund will deliver up to 1100 full-time jobs and trigger production of up to 18 films worth $270 million.

The fund will invest over three years and be wound up after five years, with SPAA predicting almost three-quarters of the government's investment to be returned over seven years.

The net cost of the fund, which will be overseen by Screen Australia, is estimated to be $31.9 million by 2014.

The Coalition also said it will rejig the Producer Offset to allow interim assessments so that producers can receive the proceeds of the rebate before the end of the financial year. However, it has not outlined a mechanism to do this – the Offset legislation currently resides in the Tax Act.

Fantasy Football

Ramesh Sippy's 'Sholay' turns 35 on August 15

It would be injustice with Ramesh Sippy's 'Sholay', simply saying the best movie in 70s, rather 'Sholay' is the most successful cult of film that Bollywood has ever produced, turned 35 on the 64th Independence Day this year.

From all the angle of the film, whether it is the performance of the artists, the production, the music or the dialogues, the movie is par excellent. There is not a single unnecessary line or shot, every thing is well connected and the intensity never drops.

The movie is always remembered for Dharmendra and Hema Malini pair, friendship between two heroes, the versatile actor Sanjeev Kumar who played the role of an honest police officer whose hands were chopped losing his family, and above all, the most popular villain artist Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh, who appeared as the ferocious dacoit in the film.

According to the movie viewers, ‘Sholay’ is the only film in the industry which is appreciated for many reasons and all the characters are highly commended. Especially, the audiences love the character Gabbar, imitate him in daily conversation, completely ignoring his mean streak once they see the movie till this date.

The movie was produced when Amitabh Bachchan was a rising star, who had proved himself in Anand and Zanjeer. The movie brought a lot of success and popularity to Big B than Dharmendra.

Fantasy Football

Arya’s answer to allegation

It seems Arya prefers silence than coming out with a counter allegation on a complaint against him by the producers of his forthcoming film ‘Chikku Bhukku’ that he was not extending co-operation to dub for the movie.

“I don’t want to make any comments about the complaint. But I will speak at an appropriate time,” the actor says and adds: “I don’t see any difference between my movies and giving same cooperation to all my producers and directors.”

In their complaint with the Tamil Film Producers Council, ‘Chikku Bhukku’ producers Media One Global Entertainment have alleged that Arya did not turn up for the dubbing on several occasions despite repeated requests.

“As a result, we have incurred heavy loss for booking the studios. Also, the actor is not showing interest in the film’s promotion and is keener on releasing his other film, ‘Boss Engira Baskaran’,” they added.

Fantasy Football

Halle Berry opens up about breakup

Halle Berry speaks out for the very first time about her breakup with long-time boyfriend Gabriel Aubrey earlier this year.

In Vogue's September issue, the 44-year-old Oscar-winning actress, mother and cover girl was candid in her first formal interview in three years.

She commented about the current state of tabloid culture and the biggest misconception of her. "That I am this brooding, twisted, lovesick person who just can't get it right in life. Every story about me is so heavy and dramatic. That's not how I do life," Berry told the magazine.

She adds: "As if I'm still stuck in all the muck of the past. And I am so not."


Later in the interview, Berry cleared the air on what really happened with Aubrey, with whom she has a daughter Nahla.

"By the time [the breakup] hit the papers -- full of rumors and lies, with people having to make up problems between us -- Gabriel and I had long dealt with it. We were done," she said. "And we were on a good foot."

Though the two remain good friends and continue to raise their daughter, Berry had a revelation of sorts.

"You realize you are not meant to go the distance with everybody. We were meant to bring this amazing little person into the world. And I think that's why we came together," the actress shared. "And because of that, we are going to be together forever, all three of us."

Fantasy Football

Sonam is likely to enter Hollywood

Bollywood's latest sensation Sonam Kapoor is likely to enter Hollywood if we are to go by the latest news. Her father Anil Kapoor has let the cat out of the bag by revealing that his daughter is considering taking up Hollywood projects.

The news is doing the rounds that Sonam, who has left for Toronto to shoot Anees Bazmee's Thank You, is planning to take up a Hollywood film after completing Mausam with Shahid Kapoor. Anil Kapoor said that his daughter has received lots of Hollywood offers and that they are currently reading the scripts.

Sonam has become one of the most-demanded actresses in Bollywood following the success of I Hate Love Storys and decent opening of her latest release Aisha.

Well, it looks like she is going to follow the footsteps of her father, who acted in the Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire.

Fantasy Football

Emma Thompson ready for a break

Emma Thompson has vowed to take a break from working.

The Oscar-winning British actress and screenwriter plans to take time off after steadily working for years so she can put her feet up.

"Next year, I'm going to take a sabbatical - I'm not going to fundraise or perform or travel, except in pursuit of new vistas with my family," she told the Hollywood Reporter.

"I've been meaning to do this for a long, long time, but it's been like putting the brakes on a large ship because there is so much going on," added the Nanny McPhee star.

Emma - who has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - also admitted she suffers from mild depression.

"I find the job I do emotionally very demanding," she said.

"I suffer from occasional mild depression, which I think is a very common thing - it's fantastically common in my country and probably in yours, too - and it's a very much hidden thing people don't talk about. I think it should be discussed."

Fantasy Football

Sean Bean getting divorced from wife Georgina

English actor Sean Bean is getting divorced from his fourth wife actress Georgina Sutcliffe.
Bean, 51, and Sutcliffe, 32, have been married for two years, and in divorce papers filed at the High Court they cited irreconcilable differences. The actor had met Sutcliffe in a bar, and their wedding, which had been planned for January 2008, was called off 'for personal reasons' but took place weeks later.

Months after the wedding, he was arrested when the actress accused him of assault, but she later withdrew the claim. Police were called to their North London home three times due to disturbances.

“Things are more settled. There will be no more divorce,” the Sun quoted him as having said in March.

Fantasy Football

Katrina to launch her sister in Bollywood

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is ready to promote Isabelle, her younger sister in Bollywood. As per sources, Katrina is going to set up her own production company. And source close to this afire have informed that she is all set to introduce her sister in the maiden venture of the production house.

However, some also expects that she will successful in movie making as well. So her fans can anticipate her to see her as a real life smart business lady in near future.

In New York, Isabelle is going to complete her acting course and Katrina is just waiting eagerly to present her sister in the Hindi movie industry with a good break.

According to other sources Katrina is also trying her best to give Isabelle her first break in Bollywood. She is talking to well-known Directors.

It is heard that she may be debuted in Farah Khan's film or in Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. So with whom Isabelle will start her career is still uncertain yet, but her performance in Bollywood will be worth-watching

Fantasy Football

Vivek marriage confirmed

Now we've heard it from the man himself. Vivek Oberoi has confirmed that he is getting married, even though he hasn't done it quite directly. News broke yesterday that Vivek would be marrying Priyanka Alva, but there was no word from him on what was happening.

But Vivek posted on his Twitter, "Hey tweeple...just wanna say a BIG thank u for all the love and the congratulatory msgs! My family and I are very very happy :) ...loadsa n loadsa special love to u all...thank u for sharing my happiness! :)"

And more details are emerging about the Vivek-Priyanka jodi as well. It seems that Priyanka, like Vivek, is very keen on social work and that she is involved with various charities. It's being said that the two first met when they were working together at an orphanage.

The match was later arranged by Vivek's parents Suresh and Yashodhara.

Fantasy Football

Pitt is Jolie’s real man

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie says the reason she loves her partner Brad Pitt is because he is a real man.

The “Salt” actress, who is raising six children with the Hollywood hunk, has praised her lover for having all of the “best” personality traits associated with being a father figure and movie star,

“He is a strong, intelligent, sensitive and he is a real man,” said Jolie.

Despite continuous speculation about their private life, the 35-year-old beauty admits they are stable enough in their relationship - which started back in 2005 shortly after they met during “Mr and Mrs Smith”.

“We are great and we can laugh about most of the things written about us because we’re ok,” Jolie said.

Fantasy Football