Film production

July 2, 2007 -- Salem – Today Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski encouraged his fellow citizens to support Springfield, Oregon’s bid to host the premiere of The Simpsons Movie by casting their vote online by July 9.    » read more »

July 02, 2007 -- FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Department of Tourism is working to help the small Central Kentucky town of Springfield in its effort to host the world premiere of “The Simpsons Movie” later this month.

The tourism department’s web site has been outfitted with a link to the USA Today newspaper web site where the public can vote on which of 14 Springfields around the country should be the venue for the premiere of the 20th Century Fox movie based on the long-running animated series on the Fox TV Network.    » read more »

02 July 2007 -- The documentary filmmaker, whose latest movie Sicko opened nationwide June 29, met Borat creator Sasha Baron Cohen at last year's Toronto International Film Festival.

Cohen screened Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. It went on to gross more than $100 million. Cohen told Moore he had drawn inspiration from the documentarian's previous films, in which he often put himself into uncomfortable situations.    » read more »

02 July 2007 -- An animated rat feasted on last weekend's U.S. box office championship. Ratatouille, Pixar's computer-generated tale of a rodent who gets to cook in a French restaurant, topped the Stateside tally with $47.2 million.

This is the lowest opening figure for Disney's Pixar Animation unit since 1998, when A Bug's Life took in $33.3 million. The next five Pixar films, among them Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, and last year's Cars, enjoyed opening weekends between $57.4 million and $70.5 million.    » read more »

25 June 2007 -- The 18th annual Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, now underway in New York, is a collection of often harrowing films, both fictional and documentary. They run the gamut of subjects, from environmental destruction to voting rights, to genocide and sexual assault as a weapon in war.    » read more »

Jun. 07, 2007 -- AUSTIN – Texas Governor Rick Perry, joined by State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, Texas Motion Picture Alliance President Hector Garcia and actor Dennis Quaid, today signed House Bill 1634 which provides $22 million to help Texas attract jobs in television and film production.

“Today I am proud to sign a $22 million film incentive bill that will help reverse the export of Texas filmmaking talent, that will bring jobs and economic activity to our cities, and that will make the diverse and beautiful images of Texas more prominent in motion pictures,” Perry said.    » read more »

06 June 2007 -- Tom Sizemore left a Los Angeles court in handcuffs after a June 5 hearing on charges that he violated his probation on a drug case.

The 45-year-old actor was ordered held pending an afternoon hearing to determine if he should be granted bail, and to schedule a later probation violation hearing.    » read more »

May 31, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – A Hollywood director and producer, along with an entertainment company, have been indicted on obscenity charges, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney James R. Klindt for the Middle District of Florida announced today.    » read more »

31 May 2007 -- Harry Potter, the fictional young wizard who is the hero of best-selling books and movies, is getting his own theme park in Florida.

The Warner Brothers movie company, which has sold billions of dollars worth of tickets to various Harry Potter films, is teaming up with Universal's Orlando, Florida resort in a deal they hope will enchant visitors.

The park is supposed to look like the castle, magical town, and creepy (frightening) woods featured in the movies.    » read more »

May 30, 2007 -- SANTA FE — New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced that Hollywood Media Bridge will shoot the feature film, Conspiracy, in New Mexico.

Conspiracy tells the story of a Special Ops Marine (Kilmer), wounded in Iraq, who travels to Southern Arizona to start a new life on the ranch of his best friend. When he arrives, the friend has disappeared and no one in town will admit to knowing him. When the truth is revealed, our hero, who has put violence in his past, must decide whether or not to bring vengeance on the town.    » read more »

29 May 2007 -- For decades, the first choice of movie-obsessed audiences in India has been the Hindi-language films produced by the country's hugely popular film industry, known as "Bollywood." But a surprisingly successful run by the American-made Spider-Man 3 reveals the rising popularity in India of Hollywood movies. Anjana Pasricha has a report from New Delhi.

When Spider-Man 3 was released in India in early May, it was not just English-speaking audiences in the big cities queuing up to watch the film.    » read more »

Good Triumphs Over Evil, Favorite Character Announced

May 25, 2007 -- HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — The stamp character you picked, the power and wisdom of the mail reflects.

As the highly anticipated Star Wars stamps — 15 images from the movie — went on sale today at Post Offices nationwide, the U.S. Postal Service announced Yoda as the top pick of Americans who voted to determine which Star Wars character would be featured on a single stamp to be issued later this summer.    » read more »

New Standard Does Not Go Far Enough

Statement of John Kirkwood, President and CEO, American Lung Association:

New York, NY (May 14, 2007) – The announcement made by the MPAA to include the presence and depiction of tobacco use in movies as a “factor” in its rating system does not adequately address public health concerns.

Smoking in movies is a significant problem that needs to be addressed. The American Lung Association believes that tobacco use should be eliminated from new movies – especially those intended for children, teens and general audiences.    » read more »

14 May 2007 -- Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has asked India's Supreme Court to move an obscenity case against her and Hollywood actor Richard Gere to a nearby court.

Shetty's lawyer, Anand Grover, asked the court to transfer the case to Mumbai, where she lives. Her lawyer also asked for a stay on the proceedings against Shetty.

The case stems from a public appearance by Shetty and Gere, who repeatedly kissed and hugged the Bollywood star at an AIDS awareness event in April.    » read more »

For even the most popular movies, fame is often fleeting; but every so often - perhaps once or twice in a generation - a film transcends entertainment to become part of the culture. That is certainly the case for an outer space adventure that premiered in May 1977. The film's writer-director recently joined many of his technical experts and cast members for a special anniversary event at the Motion Picture Academy. Alan Silverman has more on 30 years of "Star Wars."    » read more »