Hollywood

June 9, 2008 -- ALAMOGORDO -- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures and director Michael Bay will return to New Mexico to film major sequences for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The next installment of the box office hit Transformers is expected to hit theaters next summer.

“Transformers was a huge success and I am pleased that Dream Works, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay have decided to return to New Mexico to film the second installment,” said Governor Richardson.

The first film, starring Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox and John Turturro, grossed more than $700 million worldwide.

The current production has been prepping in Alamogordo since April and expects to begin filming in the fall.    » read more »

May 30, 2008 -- SANTA FE — New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced that the Lifetime Original Movie “Sex & Lies in Sin City,” produced by The Konigsberg Company and Sony Pictures Television, will be shot primarily in New Mexico.    » read more »

May 30, 2008 -- SANTA FE -- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced the television series, Crash, based on the Academy Award-winning motion picture, will be shot in New Mexico.

Crash will be produced by Lionsgate and Starz Entertainment. The production will begin shooting in June and will wrap up in October. They expect to hire approximately 145 New Mexico crew members, as well as local actors and background talent.

Since Richardson took office, over 95 major feature film and television projects have shot in the state, adding over $1.6 billion dollars to New Mexico’s economy.

Source: New Mexico Governor

01 June 2008 -- A large fire has destroyed some movie sets on a back lot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles County, California.

Hundreds of firefighters battled the blaze that broke out before dawn Sunday, about 15 kilometers from the city of Los Angeles.

Fire officials say the blaze began on a sound stage known as "New York street," built to look like New York City. It swept through a set from the 1980s hit movie Back to the Future, and a vault containing tens of thousands of archived videos and film reels.

But Universal chief Ron Meyer told reporters nothing irreplaceable was lost from the vault, because copies of the archives are stored elsewhere.

Fire officials also say the King Kong attraction at the adjacent Universal Studios theme park was damaged.    » read more »

Beverly Hills, CA, May 27, 2008 — Actresses Shirley Jones, Ann Rutherford and Carroll Baker will join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a special centennial tribute to Academy Award®-winning actor James Stewart on Thursday, June 12, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The celebration will feature film clips and onstage conversations with Stewarts’ friends and colleagues as well as daughters Kelly Stewart Harcourt and Judy Stewart Merrill.

Jimmy Stewart: Pictured here: Publicity portrait of James Stewart, 1947. (credit: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library)    » read more »

Beverly Hills, CA ,May 27, 2008 -- The 1997 Best Picture nominee “Good Will Hunting” will be screened as the next feature in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Great To Be Nominated” series. The story of a mathematical genius searching for purpose in his South Boston life will screen on Monday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Following the screening, editor Pietro Scalia, producer Lawrence Bender, co-producer Chris Moore, and production designer Melissa Stewart will participate in a discussion about the film.    » read more »

May 26, 2008 -- LOS ANGELES, CA — Directors Guild of America President Michael Apted made the following statement on the passing of Director Sydney Pollack:

"Sydney Pollack was the recipient of the DGA Honors John Huston Award for Artists Rights in 2000.

Sydney Pollack: Photo by NYCArthur (CC)

"Called the quintessential 'actor's director," Sydney let the dialogue and the emotion of a scene speak for itself. Not given to cinematic tricks, his gentle and thoughtful touch and his focus on the story let us inhabit the world he created in each film.    » read more »

Beverly Hills, CA, May 15, 2008 — “The War Tapes” and “The Ground Truth” will screen as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Spring 2008 “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, May 28, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission is free.    » read more »

Beverly Hills, CA, May 7, 2008 — “Two Hands,” “Dear Talula” and “Deliver Us from Evil” will screen as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Spring 2008 “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, May 21, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission is free.

The 2006 Oscar®-nominated documentary short subject “Two Hands" spotlights pianist Leon Fleisher, who at the height of his career lost the ability to play with his right hand. The documentary tells the story of his 35-year quest to find a cure for his mysterious ailment, and how he went on to reinvent himself as a teacher, conductor and performer of music written for the left hand.    » read more »

You Betcha!

Beverly Hills, CA, May 5, 2008 — The 1996 Best Picture nominee “Fargo” will be screened as the next feature in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Great To Be Nominated” series. The dark comedy about a kidnapping, a string of murders and their investigation by a pregnant cop will screen on Monday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Following the screening, cast member Peter Stormare (“Gaear Grimsrud”), art director Thomas P. Wilkins, set decorator Lauri Gaffin, supervising sound editor and rerecording mixer Skip Lievsay, costume designer Mary Zophres, casting director John Lyons, and line producer John Cameron will participate in a panel discussion about the film.    » read more »

Beverly Hills, CA, May 8, 2008 — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will screen a Warner Bros. digital restoration of the 1938 classic “The Adventures of Robin Hood” on Sunday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. The program also will explore behind-the-scenes secrets from the making of the film.

Robin Hood Gallops onto Academy’s Screen: Pictured are Lili Damita visits her husband Errol Flynn during the production of THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, 1938, on location at Bidwell Park in Chico, Calif., which depicted the film's Sherwood Forest setting. (Photo credit: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library Via Oscars.org)    » read more »

Beverly Hills, CA, April 10, 2008 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in association with the Film Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, will present “A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis” on Thursday, May 1, at 8 p.m. in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Hosted by Robert Osborne, the program will honor the legendary actress with an evening featuring clips of her indelible screen performances as well as onstage discussions with several of her colleagues, friends and family, including Joan Leslie, James Woods, Kathryn Sermak, Gena Rowlands, and Davis’s son, Michael Merrill.    » read more »

04/06/2008 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today released the following statement regarding the death of Charlton Heston:

"Maria and I were deeply saddened to learn of Charlton Heston's death. Charlton entertained millions of people around the world during his legendary film career and his many larger-than-life roles will live on forever.

Charlton Heston in 1963

I had the privilege of working with him in my movie "True Lies," and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and his wonderful family.

He cared deeply about his craft and he loved his family, his work and his country with all his heart.    » read more »

March 17, 2008, Beverly Hills, CA — A weekend-long salute featuring five of director Ingmar Bergman’s Academy Award®-nominated and winning films will be presented by the Academybeginning Friday, April 4, at 7 p.m. at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.    » read more »

14 March 2008 -- India's Supreme Court has suspended legal proceedings against Hollywood actor Richard Gere, who faced obscenity charges for publicly kissing Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty last year.

Friday, the court indefinitely stayed the arrest warrant issued against Richard Gere and granted him permission to travel to and from India.

Richard Gere embraced and kissed Shilpa Shetty on her cheek at the public AIDS awareness event in New Delhi last year, prompting Hindu hard-liners to allege the pair had offended India's conservative culture.    » read more »