Drowning in an Industry That's Circling the Drains

The last film I saw from Scotland being advertised on TV was "N.E.D.S.", while not my cup of tea, I tip my hat to the cast and crew to getting their film made. However the writer and director is well known in the UK, and he's already made a couple of films and been in quite a lot of films too, so it's no surprise that what little money our professional bodies are giving out, went to that director and project.

Again, the Scottish film industry is putting out the same films again and again - dark comedies, or kitchen-sink dramas - "Donkeys" (which had a big hoopla, then vanished!), "Red Road", "Wild Country" (although that was a werewolf horror film that didn't quite work, but Peter Capaldi was excellent) a few years back, Gamerz (a nice original idea yet just vanished after being in Cineworld for two weeks!), "Valhalla Rising" didn't even get a cinema release in it's own country! Hallum Foe flopped, and I'm struggling to name other Scottish films in the last 5 years.

Surely it's time to try different genres? Where are our "Back to the Future", "Ghostbusters", "Scott Pilgrim", "Inception" and even the re-booted version of "Batman" which is filmed in the UK yet, known as an American film. At least "Kick Ass" had a go at it (and again, suffered at the box office, but DVD sales have secured a sequel, "Balls to the Wall").

The UK (or, England) has two massive franchises - James Bond (23 films and counting!) and Harry Potter (I think there will be 8 films by the time the last part is released) and they have made billions and billions of pounds worldwide.

In Holland in 2009, 66 films were made. In Scotland there was about 6. Can you name them? There needs to be a change - different genres, that might be a bit more affordable, to be explored. Romantic comedies like "The Decoy Bride" with David Tennant and Kelly MacDonald, and "Fast Romance", a low-budget romantic comedy with some well known names involved. I just hope for the sake of the latter, a distribution deal within the UK can be found, but I don't doubt for a second they'll get picked up in Europe.

I was told by the head of Creative Scotland in a recent radio interview that I had finished my first film, Night is Day, and what could they do to help me and I was told right now they have no money and that when my movie was finished, it would be my calling card and I was to pitch another movie idea to them then and they'll see what they can do. So I need to make a film first, before they'll help me make a film? So how do I get money to pay all of my cast and crew? Lottery funding? Nope. Max out my credit cards ala Kevin Smith? Nope, not in today's financial market. Give the script to a casting agent and hope that Harvey Keitel reads it and part-funds it and stars in it ala Tarantino? Or make a shock-horror film about zombies in the woods in a cabin and hope that it gets banned in cinemas so a low-key UK distributor buys it and then I'll go on to make Spider-Man 10 ala Sam Raimi?

There is so little support and affection for new talent in Scotland, anybody trying to break through the ranks are stopped at the first hurdle and forced to go think of something new to try. Well not this filmmaker. I've got ideas for films that international audiences will lap up - not ground-breaking, thought-provoking, award winning movies - but fun films where you can go to the cinema for 2 hours (well, an hour and a half, if I have my way...) and forget what's going on outside in the world. Then hopefully like the soundtrack enough to go out and buy it!

So tell me Scotland - what does it take for a rising filmmaker in this country to make it? Will I be forced to move country just to get some recognition?

Surely, I'm not alone in thinking there needs to be a change?

But rest assured, I am not giving up.

Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo: An Action Sitcom

The misadventures of Sheriff Lobo is an American action sitcom which is aired from 1979 to 1981 on NBC. It was renamed as Lobo for its second season and aired on Tuesday nights, at 8:00 p.m. eastern time.

The characters of the series are Sheriff Elroy P. Lobo played by Claude Akins, Birdwell "Birde" Hawkins played by Brian Kerwin, Perkin, Rose Lobo Perkins played by Cydney Crampton, Janet Lynn Curtis in the role of Margaret Ellen, Sarah Cumberland played by Leann Hunley, and Alexandre Waverly by Ben Cooper. Sheriff Lobo is actually a spin-off character from another TV series named as B.J. and the Bear, Rose Lobo Perkins is the wife of Perkin in series, the idea of it can also be gained from her name that she is also Sheriff Lobo's sister. Margaret Ellen is a waitress and Alexander Waverly is the district Attorney. Birdwell "Birde" Hawkins is a new deputy of Lobo, who is so honest and inexperienced, and is totally unaware of Lobo's schemes.

Sheriff Lobo, in invented Orly County, Georgia, is the main enforcer of the law who is assisted in his plans by Deputy Pekins. Sheriff Lobo is actually one of the leading criminals, offenders, and his associate Deputy is one whose schemes always upsets and makes worse the situation. Where as the new deputy of Sheriff Lobo is honest.

As discussed before that Lobo is one of leading offenders and always looking to make quick money. But the quality of the Lobo, which series shows, is that he does his job brilliantly when serious crimes threatened Orly County and its people. This quality shows Lobo as an intelligent man and an able police officer.
The principle of the series was repaired completely when the second season began in 1980. When the governor of Georgia visits County he relocates, reassigns Lobo and the deputies to his crime fighting task force, SCAT abbreviated as the Special Crimes Action Team in Atlanta, reporting to Chief J.C. Carson, the role of whom is played by Nicolas Coster. Detectives Peaches whose role is played Amy Botwinick, and Tara Buckman in the role of Brandy are the new coworkers of Lobo.

The new format of series includes Nell Carter as Sgt. Hildy Jones. According to an interview which was given by the president of NBC, Fred Silverman to The New York Times, the research showed that the show's performance is well in rural areas, but not as well in urban areas. Due to this reason it was decided to move the show from rural Orly County to urban Atlanta. But the new format decreased the popularity of the series and the show was cancelled after the end of its second season.

A True Television Sensation - True Blood

Drawn from The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series written by Charlaine Harris, the HBO show True Blood has become a television sensation. After winning both a Golden Globe and an Emmy in the very first season, how could it be anything else but a smash hit? What is so ironic about this is that several well known critics panned the show initially including the New York Post critic that said, "everyone would be dying of boredom...[it] won't so much make your blood run cold as it will leave you cold". Clearly, critics are not always correct when it comes to deciding what the audience will like.

True Blood is set in Bon Temps, Lousiana, a small, rather backwoods town. Sookie Stackhouse is the mind-reading waitress at Merlotte's, a local bar. The adventures begin when Sookie meets and then falls in love with 173-year old vampire, Bill Compton. Turns out that thanks to technology and synthetic blood supplies, vampires don't have to prey on humans anymore and they can live just fine around people...well, at least at night.

The show is produced by Alan Ball, the man behind another well-received HBO series, Six Feet Under. Ball also wrote several of the early shows, as well as directing at least two. Our mind-reading heroine, Sookie, is played by Anna Paquin who won an Academy Award for her role in the film, The Piano. The creepy slash lovable vampire is played by Stephen Moyer who is best known for his role in The Starter Wife.

Other regular cast members include:

* Sookie's brother, Jason, played by Ryan Kwanten
* Her best friend, Tara Thornton, played by Rutina Wesley
* Her boss, Sam Merlotte, played by Sam Trammell
* The cook at Merlotte's, Lafayette Reynolds, played by Nelsan Ellis
* Det. Andy Bellefleur, played by Chris Bauer
* Jason's co-worker and friend, Hoyt Fortenberry, played by Jim Parrack
* Fellow waitress, Arlene Fowler, played by Carrie Preston
* Nordic vampire, Eric, played by Alexander Skarsgard

When True Blood premiered on September 7, 2008, viewership didn't look promising, with only 1.44 million viewers for the first episode. Compared to past HBO show premieres, like Big Love with 4.56 million viewers, it was anyone's guess what would happen. However, viewership has virtually exploded in the three seasons that True Blood has been titillating fans and now the series has become the most watched HBO show since the popular series, The Sopranos.

127 Hours: Gripping or Boring?

Hello guys,

127 Hours: Gripping or Boring?

Just finished watching the critically acclaimed 127 hours by Danny Boyle, after going in with one advert shooting through my head 'amazing, power, magnificent etc etc.' I was ready to be let down by yet another award movie that only the snobs like i.e. (Oscar award panel) I was surprised that this film was not all that appeared it was not a desperate struggle to cut his arm off but a psychological battle with himself up to that point of why he always isolates himself from affection and is this rock just his comeuppance, really. The trailer did mislead really as it made it look like similar movie buried. The difference was the actor (no offence to Ryan Reynolds who is amazing). James Franco was spot on with his portrayal.

The story as everyone knows is of hiker... going out into the desert and cliff by himself and getting trapped by a rock and left for 127 hours to survive until the inevitable choice... do I cut my arm off to get free?

The film made on a she string budget by genius Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) made this film not to shock which it did, people passing out in cinema but to make people think what they would, wait an die of starvation or cut your arm off and wait for someone to come 5 seconds later and it to be for nothing? That's the overriding question that has to be asked really.

James Franco who I have seen little of in a serious acting role i.e. Spiderman which I couldn't stand and the wonderfully underrated pineapple express which he played against character really. But within this you could see he had worked on trying to get the right balance between desperation and over acting and he did with a twist of insanity when has talking to himself very funny.

The awards season always does bring out these sort of movies 'art house' flicks that love to bore people into the ground and then at the end say bravo mentioning no names 'hurt locker' but this was made for a wider public to see it was made to be marketed as a film you just had to see. This film is not for the easily amused or the easily distracted it is for the ones who as my brother would say live within each movie they watch and feel what the character feels.

This film does have Barlington's seal of recommendation!

Hollywood Loves Men In Uniforms

For as long as movies have been made, many of the greatest stories that have been told have revolved around a character in uniform. Perhaps because like a costume, it stands out from a crowd, but a uniform can also evoke emotions, good and bad, by what it represents.

Of course there is also the fact that many of our great heroes have worn uniforms, and Hollywood loves a great hero. There were hundreds of movies after World War Two that revolved around characters from the army, navy and air force. These movies are still extremely popular and some of Hollywood's favorite stars over the past sixty years have worn them from John Wayne to Gene Kelly to Clint Eastwood to Tom Hanks to Ben Affleck, and this list really could go on forever.

If you mention some movie titles like Top Gun, An Officer and a Gentleman or A Few Good Men, it is difficult to imagine the lead characters in anything but their uniforms. Tom Cruise was of course in two of those movies, and it is fair to say he has had to wear one on the screen in quite a lot of films. Apart from Top Gun and A Few Good Men, he has also had to wear one since the early days in Taps as a military cadet, in the Last Samurai as a Civil War officer and as a German Second World War officer in Valkyrie.

Some uniforms elicit an immediate reaction. In a movie like the creepy Apt Pupil, based on the Stephen King novella, a young boy discovers that his neighbor is a Nazi war criminal and blackmails him to dress up in the full attire and kill. This outfit has scared millions of people around the world in so many movies, from Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List to the bad guys in Raiders of The Lost Ark.

Steven Spielberg has definitely enjoyed dressing his characters in a good uniform. In his first six directed movies, there were uniformed characters everywhere - Ben Johnson in The Sugarland Express, Roy Schneider in Jaws, countless characters in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, John Belushi in 1941, Raiders of the Lost Ark's Nazis, and of course, all those chasing E. T. The Extra Terrestrial.

It is not just military uniforms that Hollywood seems to love, and the movies have paid tribute to other uniformed heroes and villains. In a movie like Copland with Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta, a full array of police uniforms are seen on screen.

Firemen have been up on screen in a number of films, the most memorable possibly being Ron Howard's Backdraft. Since the 9/11 tragedy, there have also been many films like The Guys that have paid tribute to the heroic firemen who lost their lives in New York.

In many ways these different movies pay homage to the man in uniform. The actors may never quite live up to the real heroics we hear of daily, but it is great to know that storytellers of the silver screen recognize real heroes and know that people want to see their stories.

Musical Strength in Country Strong

Who knew that Spidey himself, Tobey Mcguire, could produce a feature film about the tolling effects of today's music industry on an artist? No, this movie isn't about pop icons or heavy metal rockers. It represents country music; the stuff that hits so close to home for so many of us.

Country Strong, starring Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow and decorated country singer and actor Tim McGraw, is an honest account of a fallen-from-grace country star who is having difficulty facing issues with her marriage, her sobriety, and the mistakes of her past that landed her in rehab. Paltrow does an excellent job representing the emotional toils and drunken binges her character Kelly Canter encounters during the film, and Tim McGraw's role of the broken manager/husband was well played (even though he never sang a lick in the entire movie!)

Surprisingly, the stars of the film turned out to be Garrett Hedlund who played Beau Hutton, a deep rooted country boy who sang and played strictly for the sake of the music, and Leighton Meester who portrayed a young beauty queen turned country pop princess named Chiles Stanton with the sole dream of becoming the next Taylor Swift. However opposite they may seem, these two had amazing on-screen chemistry as their characters became entwined in a heart-pounding romance. By far the most amazing scene in the movie was when Meester and Hedlund sang a song their characters co-wrote called "Give in to Me." It was so reminiscent of Johnny and June Carter Cash that it sent chills up my spine.

Hedlund, Meester, and Paltrow all sang and performed their own songs in the film, which made it seem very authentic. Each represented a different aspect of country music and did a great job molding their voices to fit the genre. Even those of you who aren't particularly fans of country music will enjoy Country Strong not only because the music is so pure, but because each character is in some way relatable to any musician or music lover in any genre.

DVD Rental for Sport Lovers

For people that don't love sport, and I must count myself among them, the perennial enthusiasm of the seasoned sports fan is a sight to behold.

There's little else any more that would induce the general population to turn out, wave banners, discuss previous and likely future performance with an Aristotelian seriousness and buy pies in such large numbers.

Match after match and season after season, whether they're particular fans of football, rugby, ice hockey, baseball, basketball or darts or some other even more obscure pastime, the glee taken in the game itself remains.

So, if being a sports enthusiast is about the joy of that present moment, the familiar rules of the game being bought to life again in a novel way, what good is DVD rental to sports fans?

There are three primary reasons: one practical and two to do with the films and match DVDs that sports enthusiast can watch.

The practical reason is that sports enthusiast are out and about - watching sport and playing it - and that means that they can appreciate a service which delivers by post and from a long list of pre-selected titles.

There are a number of DVD rental services in the UK but none that cater specifically to sports fanatics.

However, most of the sites such as Lovefilm include a big selection of sports related films.

Finally, since they often tend to be one and the same person, the sports fanatics and the game fan, note that many DVD rental services also have a game rental service.

The importance of a good DVD rental service for the sports fan thus assured we can move on to what these sports enthusiast will actually be watching.

We can all name a few sports related films that have become classics. Look at chariots of fire, for example.

However, there are far more movies that, while they might not be as famous, still have the power to get the heart of any rabid sports enthusiast racing.

Sandra Bullock's Oscar winning performance in The Blind Side is a good recent example. As is the film The Wrestler from the same year.

Ring-based films in general have a good pedigree from Russell Crow in Cinderella Man to Hillary Swank in Million Dollar Baby.

Finally, there are hundreds of DVDs which simply document the matches themselves.

In the UK, where football rules, there seems to be a DVD for every club.

Mad About You, Created By Paul Reiser And Danny Jacobson

Mad About You is an American Sitcom which is created by Paul Reiser and Danny Jacobson. It aired from September 23, 1992 to May 24, 1999 on NBC Network. It ran for seven seasons and divided into 164 episodes, approximately the length of each episode was 22 minutes.

The main characters of the series are Paul Buchman, Jamie Buchman, Murray the name of a dog, Fran Devanow, Lisa Stemple, Ira Buchman, Sylvia Buchman, Burt Buchman, Mabel Buchman, and Mark Devanow.

Buchman was the student of the New York University Film School, after attending the school he struggled for recognition before finally succeeding in filmmaking in New York City. He lives with his wife, dog, and daughter in Union Square. Jamie Buchman who is the daughter of Gus and Theresa Stemple has a shop of boyfriends; I mean after seven friends at Yale University, she met Paul Buchman by stealing his copy of The New York Times with a fantastic excuse. She has not a good relationship with her mother-in-law.

Murray is the dog of Paul and Jamie Buchman. Murray sometimes chases an invisible mouse, and ends up banging his head against something. One day Jamie found the real mouse that was chased by Murray. Fran Devanow is the best friend of Jamie; he was the regional Vice President at Farrer-Gantz Public Relation and hired Jamie as her assistant. Fran left Farrer-Gantz in 1989 in order to spend her time with her five years old son and husband named as Mark. When Fran left her post, Jamie was promoted to that post. Fran breaks her relationship with Mark after 10 years of their marriage; this incident shocked both Jamie and his hubby Paul. Jamie also has a sister who is three years older than Jamie, her name is Lisa. Lisa has some psychological issues. Lisa blames Jamie for all of her problems because she thinks that Jamie did not allow her to relate others, and tethered her to a lifetime of insecurity and neurosis. Ira, who is the cousin of Paul and appeared in Mad About You in "The Wedding Affair" episode. He worked for Paul's father, Burt, at Burchman's Sporting Goods. Paul and Ira both were close friends but opposition com out when Ira took ownership of Buchman's Sporting Goods upon Burt's retirement.

The show received overall 274 in Nielsen ratings, during the first season its rating was 54, then 31, 11, 37, 24, 32, and 85 in the remaining seasons respectively.

Martial Law, Broadcasted by CBS Network

Martial Law is an American television series that is broadcasted on CBS Network from September 26, 1998 to May 13, 2000. It completed its two seasons consisting of 44 numbers of episodes, the length of each episode was adjusted to 45 minutes. The series of Martial Law is created by Carlton Cuse. The show attained a surprised hit and broadcasted internationally. It has also been broadcasted on Bravo, in the republic of Ireland and UK, throughout the week. In Britain the show "Martial law" is aired on "Five" from 1988 to 2005. The episodes of the series replayed on "ITV4" from 2005 to 2007. After 2009 the series is given the right to show replays. It scored high ratings in 98 when it was broadcasted on Britain's "Channel 5", at 8pm on Sunday. Martial Law is also broadcasted on Australia's Seven Network, ATV in Hong Kong, TV4 and TV3 in Sweden, Sky1 and Channel4 in New Zealand.

The characters of the series are Sammo Hung as Sammo Law, Arsenio Hall as Terrell Parker, Kelly Hu as Grace, Tammy Lauren as Dana Dikson, Louis Mandylor as Louis Malone, Tom Wright as Benamin Winship, and Gretchen Egolf as Amy Dylan. Sammo Hung is a Chinese Law officer and expert in Martial Arts, comes to Los Angeles in search of a colleague and remains in the United States. In many scenes you will see that Hung does not speak, the reason behind this is that Hung is not fluent in English. Dana Dickson exists in supporting cast, but excited the show after sixth episode named as Extreme Measures. Arsenio Hall joined the cast in ninth episode, and his work was to help out the Sammo and the gang on cases.

Sammo Law actually works for the police department; he is transferred to Los Angeles, America, he is there because when American techniques do not work, he eploys some Chines cop work in order to done the job. He is the advisor of Grace "Pei Pei". The series of Martial Law has two season plots.

In season one plot Chinese Govt. sent Sammo in order to arrest and old opponent named as Lee Hei. Sammo's goal was to capture Lee Hei and end of his criminal organization. But unfortunately season's one plot line remained unresolved due to which it ended. The season two starts with Sammo mentioning Lee Hei's death. Some of the main characters like Tammy Lauren left the series after a few episodes.

Simple Yet Elegant Star Susie Abromeit

Susie Abromeit although seen in very few selected but high budget movies, yet she has a unique style and persona in the hearts of her fans. Also she is a very decent actress as she is rarely seen in the late night parties. She is simple and always carries a sweet smile on her face. When it comes to jewelry, Susie is very selective and she has been seen with very light jewelry in movies or in parties. Although she always carry very light jewelry but it is always noticeable because of her unique persona. While we see other celebs are so cautious about their looks and always carry make-up artists with them Susie is able to mark her presence wherever she goes just with her cute smile and her uncomplicated looks. Susie is rarely seen wearing heavy jewelry while other celebs carry as much as they can. She is always seen with minimal jewelry and that makes her out of the crowd. Like for example at the premiere for Johnny Depp's movie Public Enemies which released in June 2009 all the actress were seen with competitive dress codes and heavy jewelry but Susie wore a black short dress with silver jewelry which was very less but Susie looked as sweet as ever.

Susie Abromeit is one amongst many actresses who has excelled in many fields along with acting. Susie Abromeit is multi-talented star who is a singer, an actress, an athlete, professional story teller, lover, fighter etc. She has achieved lots of awards in her life as a student as a player, as a singer and as an actor. Her name was includes in the Dean's list and Honor Roll at Duke University. She also played tennis for the same university and her team went on winning indoor NCAA's. She is a very good singer and a song writer too. Susie loved composing her own music and playing guitar.

Apart from all the talent she has she is a very good actress too. She is best known for her work is in the movies like Sex Drive and I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell and Battle. Susie had been like a guest spot on a spy show, 'Burn Notice', along with many small parts in 'Sydney White' with Amanda Bynes and the comedy movie 'Sex Drive'. 'One Tree Hill' fans have recognized Susie from her two episode appearance as a "Peyton Actress". Susie did a great work in the comedy 'I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell', which played in select theaters. Susie has also worked on many projects, including the science fiction/action film, Battle: Los Angeles, Moth Man which appeared in March 2010.

By looking at all the talent she has we can say that she is not just a star, she is a super star. As a person also there are very few persons who are multi-talented and have excelled in all the fields they work in. Susie Abromeit is one of them and we should be proud to have her in our industry and our country.

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Article Submitted On: February 01, 2011

5 Great Disney Princesses

It's hard not to love the Disney Princesses as we've met them over the years - in many ways, they define a classic Disney movie. Disney movies are the stuff fairytales and dreams are made of, and the Princesses are part of that. What little girl didn't grow up wanting to be a Princess when she was older - no doubt thanks to Disney! Let's take a look at 5 superb Disney Princesses!

Snow White was the first ever princess, appearing in her namesake 1937 movie - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Still ranked as one of the top 100 movies of all time - along with Fantasia - the movie is an animation based like most stories on an original tale by Brothers Grimm. Snow White only becomes a princess toward the end of the movie, when a prince rescues her with a kiss. In the original fairy tale, the prince does not kiss her, but carries the coffin back to his castle, and the piece of apple stuck in her throat gets dislodged.

Cinderella, a 1950s classic recently given the rare honour of a Disney sequel tells the heart warming story of an adopted girl who lives under the care of her cruel aunts - but after a sneaky night at the ball, she meets the prince and he falls in love. We can all dream.

Princess Aurora is from Sleeping Beauty, the story of a beautiful princess that is cursed to sleep on on her sixteenth birthday and never awake unless she feels true loves kiss. Raised as a peasant girl, the prince falls in love with her the moment they meet (by chance?) in the forest - but you know the rest of the tale.

Princess Jasmine, from the 1992 classic Aladdin and numerous sequels. Based on an Arab fairytale, Jasmine - the Sultan's daughter - is bored of not experiencing life and her impending arranged marriage, and chooses to run away. She meets a street urchin called Aladdin, and after a long and involved adventure, Jasmine ends up rescuing Aladdin from certain doom. She is a wonderfully strong heroine, perhaps one of the first to bless a Disney movie.

Finally, Mulan brings it home for east-asia. The story is based upon a Chinese folktale, about a girl who just doesn't fit in with the expectations of women of her time. She is strong and independent, and initially suffers a lot of self loathing because of this. However, she goes on to save China - no small feat, one presumes - which of course gives her a great deal of confidence as well as bringing honor to her family and country.

Casting Calls - What To Do

A casting call has come your way, and you finally get your first chance. Or maybe it's another chance to get that role or get that part and say goodbye to the life of wishing and wanting to be an actor. This next opportunity could be the moment that changes your life forever. You can already start to imagine what you will say to those friends at school or family members that thought you would never make it.

Does some of this sound familiar? Well if so, be aware. It can be a double edged sword. Yes, having a drive and a passion is a good thing because it can make you take risks. Having drive challenges you and leads to new doors opening. So imagining a better future and believing in your dream is a most necessary step to success. But the other edge of this sword is if your mind is all wrapped up in the "what will happen when I get the role" you have forgotten the most important part... "Getting the role first". Your audition can be very important for you in achieving your goals.

Also you are putting more pressure on yourself than is necessary, this is the first tip in auditions. Be completely present with the audition, not what may happen if you get it or when you get it. The audition is your chance to be an actor. It may just be for one person and a camera who is seeing multiple people do the same thing, but this casting call is your chance to act, so enjoy it. Fall in love with the moment. Just by changing the way you look at a casting call can make you come across more relaxed during your audition.

Changing your casting call from being something you have to succeed at to something that is a chance for you to act and show what you've got. This will lead to a more desired outcome at your casting call. Being desperate to get the role is good to drive you to get to the casting call, but does not serve you once you are there.

Another really great tip is for you to arrive on time at your casting. Better yet, be at least 30 minutes early! If you happen to get there more than 30 minutes early, don't go in yet. Seeing everyone else at the audition can get you more nervous. Go take a walk and get your head around your audition. Get your brain clear, and this should really help you at your casting call. Then, go in 30 minutes early.

Film News: A Close Race for Best Picture Award

Over the last year, we've seen a number of films released that have broken box office records, set new heights for action onscreen and found new ways of captivating the audience. Film makers have broken the boundaries of what was previously not possible and writers have kept the upper hand by creating storylines that truly have been impossible to guess.

Recent months have seen the release of mindbender Inception, the captivating The Kings Speech, and the underdog smash hit that was The Social Network. All three films excelled in their respective genres, with Christopher Nolan intelligently pulling us into a dream within a dream within a dream, Jesse Eisenberg portraying antihero Mark Zuckerberg, which won the praise of critics and audiences and Colin Firth's depiction of the 'reluctant king' George VI overcoming his battle with stammering, which won the hearts of audiences far and wide.

A fierce battle has already begun between these three films for the most prestigious prize this year, the Best Picture award. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts recently released its list of nominees for the forthcoming BAFTA awards next month with all three appearing on their nominations for Best Film. The trio of films have also swept the board across different categories also, with Colin Firth and Jesse Eisenberg both being nominated for Best Actor and Christopher Nolan, Tom Hooper and David Fincher all being nominated for the Best Director Category. It also looks set to be another successful year for British actors, actresses and filmmakers, with many being nominated in the highest categories for their roles in this year's most popular films.

Many have high hopes for Britain to lead the way this year at the BAFTA and Academy Award ceremonies. This won't be the first time Colin Firth has been nominated, but it will definitely bring a boost to his profile should he win an award. The same can be said for Jesse Eisenberg, as a new face to the movie sphere, winning an award for best actor will definitely increase his credibility amongst the casting directors in Hollywood.

It looks set to be a difficult decision for the judging panel to decide who should win these prestigious awards, as all three films have been produced with the highest of quality in mind and film reviewers and audiences alike have definitely noticed this. The Social Network saw a major boost to audience figures due to word of mouth promotion, whilst Inception was billed by film studios as 2010's 'must see film of the year'. The Kings Speech has benefitted from the enormous praise it's received from the various industry figures admiring its style and content and of course, its lead actor. It's hard to say who will be the clear leader this year, as the Golden Globes has already shown.

Film news insiders predict that this could be an indication that this year, the judges will have to make a lot of incredibly tough decisions to make what they believe to be the best movie of 2010 win.

Andrew Joyce lives, eats and breathes film.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Joyce

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Reality Show Auditions - Getting to The Next Level

You have finally landed your reality show audition. You really want to get onto this show. Maybe it's your all time favorite reality show! You are going to want to shine and stand out to the audition directors. If it's an open casting call, it can even be more tough to get seen.

The thing to remember here is to have fun! Remember you are doing something you really want to. You are in a Reality Show Casting, enjoy it for what it is. If it's a reality show audition, then, that means it's something you are already excited about. Have fun with it! The best way to do this is to be present at your casting call with what is going on around you, before, during, and after the casting. Enjoy the experience of being in the casting call.

Don't be concerned with thoughts of where this may take you, or what you could achieve by getting onto your favorite tv show. Don't be thinking of what your future may hold if you succeed and get onto your reality show. You want to get to the next level of auditions. Don't be thinking about how much money you may make or win. All of these thoughts of the future potentials will put increased pressure on yourself to succeed at this audition. You will be overly concerned at failing the casting call. Be yourself at this reality show open audition. Remember that there is no failure, because you have already achieved. You are there doing it already! Consider yourself already being on the show called "Reality Show Castings". See the casting call as the event. If there is another one after this great, if not no worries, as here you are now to enjoy this one reality show casting call right now. Relax and be yourself. If you are trying to be something you think they are looking for, it comes across as fake. And this is a reality show audition for a reason, not a fake show audition. Listening is very important, listen to what is being asked of you by the casting directors, or the assistant directors. Sometimes it may feel as if you are being herded around at an open casting call. So, even if you are being herded, pay attention and have some fun!

Also, you may feel a bit nervous. Just by acknowledging you are nervous, observing that in yourself and making the choice to change it will start to reverse the nervousness. Remember a little is good, breathe deeply and have Fun at your audition! It will show through, and get you to the next level of casting calls.

10 Shows That Changed Television

I guess there is an official list of the ten shows that changed television. Here is mine:

1. The George Gobel Show (1954 to 1960)
George Gobel called himself Lonesome George. Son of a butcher and a Sottish immigrant I think his humor came from the dust of his dad's butcher shop. In those early days of television, his fuzzy face would come on and keep us laughing for thirty minutes.

2. The Milton Berle Show (1948 to 1956)
Milton Berle was born in Harlem the son of a varnish salesman. I'm sure that he learned lots of jokes from his father. His mother loved the stage and Milton was a child star. He was known for stealing jokes and being down right corny. But he kept us laughing until he was driven out my more trendy comedians. But he was Mr. Television and was given credit for putting hundreds of thousands of television sets into the homes of the working class who loved his corn. He called himself Uncle Milty.

3. Gunsmoke (1955 to 1975)
Unlike George and Milton it is still easy to find James Arness playing the role of Marshall Dillon in old Dodge City. "You got three minutes to get out of Dodge, Mister!" With a great supporting cast and gripping stories Gun Smoke entertained us for 20 years and I still find myself watching Festus, Doc, and Kitty eyes wide open.

4. Dragnet (1951 to 1959, 1967-1970)
Smart-mouthed Detective Joe Friday and his bright, refined associate played by Ben Alexander thrilled us with action on the streets of Los Angeles. Dragnet after being made into two rather good movies was made into a rather corny movie. The last movie was like a comic strip rather than the true life drama based on the real Dragnet of the Los Angeles Police. "This is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent."

5. Your Hit Parade (1950 to 1959)
After a long run on radio, Your Hit Parade hit the television screen. Snooky Lanson, Dorothy Collins, Gisele Mackenzie, and Russell Arms thrilled us with their singing. I met one of the backup singers for Snooky Lanson in case Lanson became ill (which he never did). The backup singer told me he was popular in Mexico and Europe and that is where he made his living. We shared a cab. He was successful. He had a very nice home (at least from the outside).

6. Jackie Gleason Show (1950 to 1959)
Gleason, Art Carney, Audry Meadows, and Jane Kean kept us laughing. Gleason played Ralph Kramdem, the bus driver, Carney played Ed Norton, the sewer worker, and the women, the poor house wives who had to live with them. Sometimes Gleason played other roles such as Reginald Van Gleason III, Rudy the Repairman, Joe the Bartender, The Poor Soul, Rum Fenwick Babbitt, Charlie Bratton, and The Bachelor. Occasionally you can still watch The Honeymooners. Great acting makes great comedy.

7. Bananza (1959 to 1973)
Starring Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon and David Canary, Bananza is still showing here and there. This widowed rancher played by Greene spends his time getting his sons out of trouble. To me it was not as good as Gunsmoke but it had a flavor of its own and I liked the big guy, Hoss Cartwright, played by Dan Blocker. I also liked Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright. He was sort of a refined gunman.

8. The Odd Couple (1970-75)
Starring Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Al Molinaro, Penny Marshall, The Odd Couple shows the antiques of the slob sports writer, Oscar Madison (Klugman) and the fastidious news writer, Felix Ungar (Randall) as they live together after separating from their wives. It is still around occasionally.

9. The Show of Shows (1950-54)
The Show of Shows starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca with Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, and others. The skits were varied and funny but it was the stars that made the show. A "regular" cast would have fallen on its face.

10. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962-92)
Like John Boehner, tending to cry if the sun came out, I was glad to see Jack Parr leave The Tonight Show. I don't now what changed Parr. He had been an entertaining host, better than the any we have today, but then he started to cry and moan. Carson took over and was the greatest of all the shows stars. There is no late-night host that compares with him. His skits were clever and funny but it was his monologue that warmed up the viewers. He had a great fun with his guest, not looking down the ladies blouses and sniffing their perfume. He could get serious during an interview and like, Letterman, he could be insightful. He never forgot his Midwest roots which added to his charm. He was an ensign on the battleship Pennsylvania at the end of WWII.

O.K. So I like humor. There are so many good shows to choose from.

Fly Old Glory!

Yamla Pagla Deewana - The Deol Family

Well I think there should be more of family comedies written in the Bollywood industry. A perfect blend of comedy, emotions and drama all combined in the three hour Yamla Pagla Deewana - Now lets discuss more about the Deol family.

(Dharmendra) plays the con father with his younger son (Bobby) and the Hero is played none other than (Sunny). A decade ago there was Dillagi and Dara Singh was the father, Both brother were young and dynamic. In Yamla Pagla Deewana the father plays the dynamic dharmendra but the star goes to Sunny Deol - he is the main character just as he was in Dillagi 10 years ago He is the Big Brother of all times - I think the producers got their money cashed out the first week. Sunny's Macho & Bobby's simple love story takes them to the next level of brother hood.

They were very involved and were perfectly blending with each others comfort zones. The title song is a treat to the clubs and teenagers actually do the Dharmendra step coming in from ages. Bobby's quality in the movie was his acting skill and for a change the proposal to his woman in the movie was very simple and thank god they did not make a hype about it - usually his proposal in other movies are larger than life and it was perfect this time for him to be the cute one and his woman to be the intelligent one. Its a family movie, This time I mean not just the Deol Family Catch on People Yamla Pagla Deewana is funny.

Cheers.

How DirecTV Airs MLS Direct Kick Package

MLS Direct Kick package is one of the important sports packages of DirecTV. With this package subscribers can watch up to 130 Major League Soccer regional games including games of regular season and MLS Cup playoff matches. DirecTV delivers expansive coverage of various Soccer games.

With DirecTV subscribers can follow all 15 MLS teams throughout the season from all round the globe. MLS Direct Kick package of DirecTV delivers games from either a regional sports network or a local over-the-air station. These games are delivered to those subscribers who purchase this package. These games are otherwise not available to other DirecTV subscribers as they are delivered outside of a subscriber's local area.

This sports package does not include the national broadcasts of MLS games. Subscribers especially soccer fans can subscribe this package to watch different soccer games. Once this package is subscribed, subscribers become eligible for the ease and convenience of Automatic Renewal for next season.

Actually when subscribers sign up for any DirecTV sports packages, they become automatically eligible for Auto Renewal. Through Auto Renewal subscribers get automatically signed up for the next season's package at the lowest rate. Subscribers thus get an easy subscription of their favorite game for the next season at a special low rate without any hardship like filling up the form or making a call.

The Renewal fee will be added to subscribers' bill a few months prior to the start of the season. If subscribers do not want to subscribe for the next season package then they can cancel it prior to the start of the season. But sports subscription cannot be canceled, transferred, refund or credited after the season starts. Once the season starts subscribers can enjoy watching various MLS games. MLS teams consists of Eastern conference and Western conference. The names of MLS teams are given in the list below:

Eastern Conference: Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, D.C United, Kansas City Wizards, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC.Western Conference: Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houiston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders FC.Among all MLS teams Seattle Sounders FC of Western conference is a new team that kicked off its inaugural season on March in the opening game of the 2009 season. With MLS DirecTV Kick package and with DirecTV satellite service subscribers can thus watch all soccer games of regular season. With DirecTV they can watch expansive broadcast of all major soccer league played by major soccer league teams. MLS Direct Kick is a great package for subscribers especially for all great fans of Soccer.This article has been viewed 13 time(s).
Article Submitted On: January 31, 2011

Reality Show Casting Calls - Tips and Advice

Okay, so you have made the decision to go to the casting for a Reality Show. Either your friends convinced you to go the audition, or maybe your family coerced you that you would be perfect for a reality show audition. Or maybe you have just decided on your own that it's something you want to do. It doesn't matter why you decided that you wanted to audition for your favorite tv show. The great thing is you are going to give the audition a go.

But what now? What should you expect? What should you wear? What should you do?
Make sure to read ALL of the reality show casting call information, and any other casting advertisements for the show. Do a little research about the show, and what the show producers wish to create with this show. Get an idea of what it is all about, but try not to form an opinion.

Getting an idea about the reality show you wish to audition for prepares you and takes away some nervousness of the unknown. This is a good thing! But if you start to form opinions of what it's going to be like, and what's going to happen at your open casting call, and how you have to act, you are limiting yourself. Limiting yourself is not so good. Be open to the possibility for everything to be completely different. Show business really loves surprises! Remember this is entertainment and they are always looking to be new and different. Be prepared to do anything and have fun with that potential, go to the reality show casting call to enjoy the casting.

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the casting call. Plan to be 30 minutes early to your audition. You don't want to be late. Being late causes stress and you may miss out altogether. Have a bottle of water and some small high energy snacks. You may be there for awhile. Also with excitement, stress, and anticipation of your audition, you can get fatigued easily because you burn up carbohydrates quicker.

Now remember to be your self. Don't try and be something or someone else that you are not. You may think this makes you stand out, but, it's not what the reality show casting call directors are looking for. Even if you did get by the first open casting call by being something you are not, that will soon become apparent and this could ruin future opportunities. Good luck with your casting call, and break a leg!

Satellite TV Brings You Quality Programming For Kids

As a parent, it may occasionally be hard to find kids programming that meets your standards. Clearly, you will want to avoid programming that is excessively violent or trashy. Also, it would be great if there were at least some educational component within the show in question. While network television is lagging far behind when it comes to being able to provide this type of programming, satellite TV is excelling. On satellite parents will be sure to find different channels and programming that cater exclusively to little boys and girls. Should you be a parent who is concerned about your child's development and well being, then it makes sense to get satellite in order to have the quality kids programming that you insist upon having.

One great thing about having a satellite package is that it allows you a lot of different options for you and your child when you are picking out programming. Unlike other packages that offer a limited amount of programming for children, satellite offers a number of different channels that are devoted exclusively to children's programming. When you and your child are watching them in HD you will be able to enjoy the top notch programming and take advantage of the different shows that satellite has to offer.

It is very important for parents to be making these types of decisions in order for children to develop normally. A child who is exposed to too much violence as a young boy or girl can develop antisocial tendencies as he or she ages. In order to counteract that, it will be necessary to take steps to prevent violent programming from being watched and ensuring that educational programming is watched. It may take a little bit of effort in order to convince your son or daughter to only watch certain shows, but by using your parental authority you will be setting your son or daughter up for success over the long term. Educational programming balanced with reading is sure to lead to success in school.

A great time to practice control over the television is when your son or daughter has a play date. When there are friends who are over at your house with your son or daughter, then it is important that you are making sure that you are doing what is necessary to ensure that the group of boys and girls gathered are consuming good, wholesome television. By enforcing the good HD children's programming that is available you will be helping this impressionable young group learn a little bit more and have fun while doing so. Instead of giving in to the negative influence some families have, make sure to set positive standards in your household.

In order to get the children's programming that you want to get for your son or daughter make sure to sign up for satellite TV today. It will take just one phone call or email, and then you will be well on your way to making sure that your son or daughter has great children's programming.

The Mod Squad: An American TV Series

The Mod Squad is an American television legal drama, that originally aired from September 24, 1968 to August 23, 1973 on ABC. The show remained popular during its initial run of five seasons and 123 episodes. The Mod Squad was a bold TV series which redefined fashion, from hairstyles to language. Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas were the executive producers of the series. This series is actually based on the experiences of Bud Ruskin who remained as a squad leader for undercover narcotics cops.

Now, take a journey back to the turbulent '60s and relive the phenomenon known as The Mod Squad, a bold TV series that redefined fashion, from hairstyles to language. "Solid."

The Mod Squad was a police drama whose basic principle was that the youthful investigators were offered work fighting crime as an alternative to being imprisoned themselves. It attributed three young, hip crime fighters, who get close to criminals by using their hippie personas and youthful as an appearance, One White, One Black, and One Blonde.

The main characters of the series are Tige Andrews who played the role of Captain Adam Greer, Michael Cole played by Peter Cochran, Julie Barnes in a role of Peggy Lipton, and Lincoln B Hayes in the role of Clarence Williams III. Michael Cole's boyish good looks and brooding, deep voiced personality matched perfectly with his character's back story. In the series "The Mod Squad", it was the first major acting role of Lincoln B Hayes. Lipton's performance on the show "The Mod Squad" earned her four Golden Globe nominations during her tenure. She won a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best TV Actress in a Drama, in 1971. The performance of Tige Andrew was also amazing that he received both an Emmy and Golden Globe award nomination, and won a Logie Award for his work on The Mod Squad. They were the characters who changed the television landscape.

The show "The Mod Squad" depicted a multicultural society, and also focused on the issues of racial politics, drug culture, and counterculture. The format of early cop show was certainly entertaining, the cops had been seen to work for charity, but did not have a lot of fun. It was the drama which brought the cop show into the age of flower by making its cops young, hip, and full of attitude. Due to presenting the changed behavior of cops, The Mod Squad became a big hit and one of the few cop shows with a big audience of youngsters.

Oscar Predictions 2011: Which Movie Will Win the Best Picture Award?

The question of the year in the movie industry: Who will win the Best Picture award? Who will take another Academy Award home as winner and who will just spend the night applauding others? As no one knows for sure yet, let's take a look at the list of the Best Picture Nominees and try to come up with some system to make predictions.

Best Picture Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards:

Black Swan -- director: Darren Aronofsky; writers: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz; stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel;

The Fighter -- director: David O. Russell; writers: Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams

Inception -- Director: Christopher Nolan; Writer: Christopher Nolan; Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page

The Kids Are All Right -- director: Lisa Cholodenko; writers: Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg; stars: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore vand Mark Ruffalo

The King's Speech -- director: Tom Hooper; writer: David Seidler; stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter

127 Hours -- director: Danny Boyle; writers: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, stars: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara

The Social Network -- director: David Fincher; writers: Aaron Sorkin, Ben Mezrich; stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake

Toy Story 3 -- director: Lee Unkrich; writers: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack

True Grit -- directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen; writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen; stars: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld

Winter's Bone -- director: Debra Granik; writers: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, stars: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes and Garret Dillahunt

Hm, now that's a list of some pretty good movies, how are these guys in Academy Awards supposed to decide, who is better? Whom they should give the Oscar statue? Oh the tension... Maybe we can help out by comparing them -- how they were created, how they did in theaters and awards? Maybe we can develop some kind of system for determining the most likely winners...

You can see that most of them have really big names in cast and crew. Thought celebrity pressure can come from any of these movies; it's not clear how to evaluate one or another star's influence for popularity of the movie. Also, one should not forget that we all have our favorites, which is not good for making objective predictions. So we have to take some other, measurable and comparable things into account when deciding.

First thing we could look at is a) how much was invested in creating these movies b) how much they earned from them. In short -- were they successful and the effort worth the money?

List no. 1: 'Budget size vs. success'
Black Swan -- budget: 13,000,000; earnings: 83,250,375; ROI: 5.4The Kids Are All Right -- budget: 4,000,000; earnings: 20,803,237; ROI: 4.2The King's Speech -- budget: 15,000,000; earnings: 57,313,881; ROI: 2.8True Grit -- budget: 38,000,000; earnings: 137,963,519; ROI: 2.6Winter's Bone -- budget: 2,000,000; earnings: 6,271,086; ROI: 2.1The Fighter -- budget: 25,000,000; earnings: 72,680,740; ROI: 1.9The Social Network -- budget: 40,000,000; earnings: 95,408,473; ROI: 1.4Toy Story 3 -- budget: 200,000,000; earnings: 415,004,880; ROI: 1.1Inception -- budget: 160,000,000; earnings: 292,568,851; ROI: 0.8127 Hours -- budget: 18,000,000; earnings: 11,296,805; ROI: -0.4

What we get here is a very simple list of the Best Picture nominees according to return on investment [ROI] made in making them. The biggest return taking the first place, when going down to the smallest in the bottom. Basically, it shows how much money oscar nominees made in US from premier till January, divided by their estimated budget ($ numbers from IMDB and boxofficemojo.com). Conclusion - big budget is not everything you need for a blockbuster - "Black Swan" and "The Kids Are All Right" budgets were more than 10 times smaller compared to Inception, but they managed to make around 4 - 5 times more from one dollar invested. The biggest loser so far "127 Hours", which haven't managed to earn enough to cover costs yet. I didn't rank them according to gross earnings, as popular opinion and sales can easily be manipulated by increasing spending on advertising, ROI shows a lot more in this case.

Secondly, we could consider how have these movies done in professional competitions?

List no. 2: 'What do the pros think?"
The Social Network -- nominations: 55; Wins: 49; Oscar nom.:8; Total: 112The King's Speech -- nominations: 73; Wins: 16; Oscar nom.: 12; Total: 101Black Swan -- nominations: 71; Wins: 21; Oscar nom.: 5; Total: 97Inception -- nominations: 57; Wins: 27; Oscar nom.: 8; Total: 92True Grit -- nominations: 55; Wins: 12; Oscar nom.: 10; Total: 77127 Hours -- nominations: 55; Wins: 4; Oscar nom.: 6; Total: 65Winter's Bone -- nominations: 42; Wins: 19; Oscar nom.: 4; Total: 65The Fighter -- nominations: 32; Wins: 23; Oscar nom.: 7; Total: 62The Kids Are All Right -- nominations: 51; Wins: 3; Oscar nom.: 4; Total: 58Toy Story 3 -- nominations: 18; Wins: 18; Oscar nom.: 5; Total: 41

Here I added up all nominations with wins to see which movies were noticed the most in different awards. Here "The Social Network" takes lead, with "The King's Speech" and "Black Swan" still in top three before the big spenders "Inception" and others. Hmm do we see a trend here already?

Thirdly, it's very important to compare how viewers and critics evaluate these movies:

List no. 3: 'A, B, C... or F?'
Toy Story 3 -- IMDB: 8.7; metacritics.com: 92; average: 9.0The Social Network -- IMDB: 8.2; metacritics.com: 95; average: 8.9The King's Speech -- IMDB: 8.5; metacritics.com: 88; average: 8.7Winter's Bone -- IMDB: 7.5; metacritics.com: 90; average: 8.3Black Swan -- IMDB: 8.6; metacritics.com: 79; average: 8.3127 Hours -- IMDB: 8.2; metacritics.com: 82; average: 8.2Inception -- IMDB: 9.0; metacritics.com: 74; average: 8.2True Grit -- IMDB: 8.2; metacritics.com: 80; average: 8.1The Fighter -- IMDB: 8.2; metacritics.com: 79; average: 8.1The Kids Are All Right -- IMDB: 7.4; metacritics.com: 86; average: 8.0

I ranked these movies according to IMDB and metacritic.com rankings average. "Toy story 3" does very well here, by both viewers in IMDB and critics in metacritic.com. Some of the previous leaders spatter across the list giving an interesting perspective for possible Oscar evening winners.

And finally, to get the result we need to sum up all previous scores - from 1 to 10, the smallest score being the best:

List no. 4: 'The Grande Finale'
The King's Speech 8 Black Swan 9 The Social Network 10 Winter's Bone 16 True Grit 17 Toy Story 3 19 Inception 20 The Kids Are All Right 21 127 Hours 22 The Fighter 23

So here you go! Top 3 most possible Oscar winners according to our little calculation are: leader "The King's Speech", followed by "Black Swan" and "The Social Network". I guess this not a big surprise as "The King's Speech" already boast 16 wins in such awards as Golden Globes, British Independent Films and others. Let's not forget 12 Oscar nominations, which is a great accomplishment by itself.

A Handful of Britain's Best Up and Coming Actors

The BAFTA awards always provide an occasion to celebrate all things British, including England's best up and coming actors. While the awards are a great excuse to take note of those who are excelling now, they also give a reason to look towards the next couple of years and guess on who is soon to be seen on the red carpet. Below are a handful of British actors and actresses who may not be rewarded this year but will soon be all over the film news.

Tom Felton

Most notable for his performance in the Harry Potter series as Draco Malfoy, Felton hopes to use it as a stepping stone to further his career. Poised to shed the supporting actor role, Felton will star in Rise of the Apes as Dodge in 2011, which is to be set as a present day prequel to the film classic Planet of the Apes.

In The Apparition, Felton will be playing opposite Ashley Greene from the Twilight series as an expert in the supernatural who tries to help a family being haunted by a presence accidentally conjured during a University experiment some years earlier.

Felton also happens to be a budding musician in his band Feltbeats, so also be sure to check out this young heartthrob on Youtube.

Andrea Riseborough

Riseborough already has a TV BAFTA nomination under her belt for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchly, but bigger things are on her horizon as she recently appeared in Never Let Me Go. Riseborough also has a larger role as Rose in the upcoming film Brighton Rock.

Brighton Rock is an adaptation of the 1930s novel by Graham Greene about a troubled sociopath attempting to cover the tracks of a murder. The film is set in 1960s England and received great film reviews after its showing in the surprise film spot during the 54thLondon Film Festival. Riseborough is sure to impress the critics in her role opposite Sam Riley in this suspenseful thrill ride.

Will Poulter

Though young and relatively inexperienced, Poulter is sure to be a hit after his exquisite performance in Son of Rambow where he captured the imagination of the audience.

His most recent role, however, is certainly the best stepping stone of his young career as he played Eustace Scrubb in the wildly popular The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Scrubb is at first an annoying cousin on his visit to Narnia, but later becomes very generous after he is cursed with the plight of being a dragon. Although a children's tale, Poulter pulls off the role with brilliant effectiveness, which shines all the more bright when surrounded by the rest of his mediocre-at-best Narnia cast.

Emily Blunt

Sure Blunt has already had a pretty illustrious career with her award nominated roles in The Devil Wears Prada and The Young Victoria, but she is yet to break through with a big time win. This is all to change rather quickly as she is set to star in four films debuting in the next two years.

The first of which, The Adjustment Bureau, also stars Matt Damon who plays a charismatic United States Congressman. Damon meets the ballet star, Elise Sellas, played by Blunt, and the two try to uncover the forces preventing them from becoming the ever-so-cheesy couple the audience yearns for.

Blunt has also completed work on the animated film Gnomeo and Juliet as the voice of the lead female. A take on the classic Shakespeare play, Blunt's character falls into a forbidden romance with Gnomeo, voiced by James McAvoy. The film features music by both Lady Gaga and Elton John. Be sure to keep an eye out for the film trailer for this one.

Future film reviews are sure to include many headlines that include these British stars in the making. Be sure to keep an eye out for them in the coming years as they will no doubt haul in all of the necessary hardware to be considered a proper A-list celebrity.

Andrew Joyce is an avid movie viewer, who writes reviews and his opinions of what's happening on and off the silver screen.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Joyce

The Power of Personal Movie Reviews

A lot of people claim that baseball is America's favorite pastime, but movies are really America's favorite pastime. Consider this, if you go to a dinner party and there are several individuals there in regards to age, sex, and race, do you think everyone at that party is going to have the same interests? It's very unlikely. However, one interest that almost every American shares is movies. Some people might enjoy dramas and others might enjoy comedies, but movies nonetheless.

Movies are fun to discuss and can lead to opinionated yet harmless discussions. If you're at a dinner party, you can provide your own verbal movie review. This is very productive as far as socializing goes, especially since everyone interprets a movie differently. How a film affects one person can differ greatly from how it affects another person. Personal movie reviews, whether verbal or written, sometimes hold more value than professional ones.

While a professional movie reviewer might receive a paycheck for what he or she is doing, that individual is still only one person. Therefore, their opinion can only hold so much weight. It's when hundreds, or even thousands, of people leave their own analysis that it becomes significant. And this, of course, is much more beneficial for someone who is looking to find more information on a movie they are considering for rental or purchase.

There are many advantages to personal movie reviews, but one of the biggest advantages is that if these critiques are left online, the reviewers will often have an opportunity to leave a star rating. The following is a simple example. If 546 people leave a rating for A Beautiful Mind and the rating is 4.5 out of 5 stars, people are going to be inclined to watch A Beautiful Mind. However, if a 'professional' movie critic says A Beautiful Mind is just average and slow in parts, the person listening, or watching, is not likely to watch A Beautiful Mind. Simply put, this is a case of 546 opinions versus 1. Which do you think holds more value? 546 of course, the numbers don't lie. That being the case, it's important that you look for personal movie reviews and ratings the next time you're in search of a good movie. The days of the professional movie reviewer are over.

If you're not familiar with movie reviews and ratings, here are two tips. One, sign-in to whatever movie reviews site you're visiting. In most cases, it's not possible to leave a comment or a rating if you don't have an account. Your opinion holds value; therefore, it should be recorded. And don't worry; most film review sites are free. A second tip, but in regards to when you're looking at reviews, is to pay careful attention to the titles of people's critiques. You can usually find out all the information you need to know based on a reviewer's title. Now you know how to avoid all the misses and enjoy all the hits. One thing everyone can agree on is that there's nothing like a good movie.

Hindi Movies Online

By Ignacio Valdez Ignacio Valdez
Level: Basic PLUS

Ignacio Valdez is an Internet Marketer and SEO expert with several years of experience in Internet Marketing as well as IT Security and Network implementation.

There are a lot of movies around the world that catch our attention, today I would love to talk about Bollywood. It seems that this looks a lot like the "Hollywood" that we know on this side of the world. The headquarters for Bollywood movies and Hindi Movies Online would take please in a great country that we call India, which has great cultural roots as well as amazing folk dances that is delightful to the sight. The actors in these movies are very well chosen. In order to become an actor or actress in a Hindi movie you have to be very high skilled, also have a lot of experience in acting and performing.

What makes a good Hindi Movie? Great actors that know the culture of India and its surroundings, very well trained men and women in the art of acting and performing the Indian way. Naturally, most of the actors are native from India; we can mention some of them like: Anushka which has worked along with Akshay Kumar and Rishi Kapoor, which makes me remember of a really good movie that they performed together in which is called Patiala House, which has a great story line about a girl that has great love and support for her husband and encourages him to follow all of his goals, definitely this movie will give you a great overview of the Indian culture and the bond that exists between family members in this manner. Of course there are more movies like this which will make you cry, laugh and increase your cultural knowledge of the world that surrounds you.

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Article Submitted On: January 31, 2011

Lost Season One Review

The TV show Lost has truly been a life changing experience for the people involved, but it's also been a big part of many viewers' lives. If you have never seen the series, you might be wondering why. In this article, I will try to explain what Lost is about and why the series has been such a success.

Lost follows the survivors of Oceanic flight 815, after the plane crashed on an island. The people soon find out that they're not alone on the island and that's where it all starts. They should come up with a plan. Should they seek help? Try to communicate with the outside world? Every episode teaches us more about the island but at the same time raises new questions.

You will get to know more about the characters through flashbacks, which start on the plane, right before the crash. And as the series advances, the flashbacks go back further in time to teach us more about the characters. Every person in Lost has a story and we get to know them better thanks to the flashbacks. Some survivors turn out to be somehow connecter to each other, without them knowing. Their histories play a big part in the series and the flashback storylines connect up with the main, island story.

What really defines the show is its perfect blend of variety, the mystery, the big question and the unbelievably scenic backdrop. Ultimately, Lost is about the people and the stories they share. It is about choices, faith and compassion. The series tends to tell you the story of people and is the fundamental way to explore human nature and what people are capable of when driven to extremes.

Lost has been adopted by both mainstream television viewers as well as its fans. Because there are so many ways of interpretation the show, the series has a great fanbase. Over the six seasons of Lost, fans have been debating theories, shared their enthusiasm over events but most of all, they've enjoyed the series together. My advice is to watch a couple of episodes and see for yourself. If you've enjoyed the show, you can get the seasons on DVD or Blu-Ray. Lost is still one of the most sold TV series on DVD.

Why The King's Speech Is Favorite to Win the Oscar for Best Picture

The King's Speech is the ultimate Oscar bait movie. It has all the ingredients, World War II, a King, a disability and a story about overcoming the odds. A combination of these got the mediocre movie The Reader nominated in 2008, in a fairly weak category. This year, even with the nominations for Best Picture expanded to 10, there are many more films that would have proved worthy nominees. In terms of box office success, 2010 might not have been the best year for studios, but there were many films of the highest quality, something which was lacking in the previous years.

Coming back to the point, The King's Speech is a wonderfully acted drama, that features an insanely brilliant cast of British and Australian actors, featuring Oscar nominees Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter and Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush. There is no need to dwell on the story, as the title gives a major part of it away.

Technically speaking, the acting is great, the sets are wonderful and the script is perfect. The direction by Tom Hooper could be better, but he is still a rookie at his job, having directed only a handful of movies with most of his work being on the smaller screen.

The reason I predict The King's Speech to win the Academy Award for Best Picture is that it has a heart and is a feel-good story all the way. The people who made Slumdog Millionaire claimed that to be a feel-good story. Compared to that, The King's Speech is a much better choice and given the fact that Slumdog Millionaire managed to scoop up 8 Oscars including Best Picture, there is no reason why The King's Speech shouldn't do it as well.

The King's Speech may have been slow through the awards season, with a majority of the accolades going to Colin Firth and the screenplay of the film, but has been trailblazing its way through the guild awards, which makes it the heavyweight to beat come 27th February.

Shazman John is an avid movie fan who divides his time between his job as a content writer and watching movies at home. A hobby of his is watching and predicting film awards, something he has gotten very good at.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shazman_Peter_John

Hum Dono Rangeen - A Review

This Friday, the colored version of the Dev Anand classic Hum Dono will be released in theaters across India. It would be a refreshing change from the current crop of movies that today's youth are offered.

Our youngsters would love to see Hum Dono. They would identify with Dev Anand instantly. Dev Saab was a star of the golden era with a difference. In Hum Dono he is portrayed as a happy-go-lucky person, loving life, (chilling out in today's lingo) and the smile almost always was on his face.

People would flock to the theaters to see this film and Dev Saab would gently guide them into living life to the fullest whatever your circumstances are. You can be highly successful in life and be relaxed - that was and still is his mantra. He can be the role model for today's youth. He should color all his movies and begin a social revolution. He could be the icon of the middle class, peace loving, unemployed youth, who has a clear conscience.

The double role of Dev Anand in this movie establishes the versatility of the actor. The diverse attitudes, age gap, marital status was perfectly portrayed by him. This shows the level of hard work he could put in despite his calm demeanor, a lesson again for everybody, young or old.

Hum Dono is an evergreen classic which should appeal to all generations to come. Ever body would feel mentally enriched after watching this movie.

Three cheers for Hum Dono!!

Most Popular TV Shows in USA

If the list of the most popular TV shows is compiled, the list would contain hundreds of names. There are many shows that were aired in the past, when televisions had just made their appearances in an average person's home, which can be named here. At the same time, the shows being aired in the 1960's to 1970's like I Dream of Jeannie, I love Lucy etc still have dedicated fan followings even today.

This list of the most popular shows will try to mention as many shows as possible which were cult hits during their airing period. Some of the shows being mentioned here may still be airing even today, while some may have ended. The only thing common among these names is the fact that they were immensely popular while they were being aired.

In the comedy genre, the first name that comes to mind is of course Friends. It became popular not only in America but also in the other countries where it was aired. Similar comments can be the cartoon series "The Simpsons ", which pokes fun at the mindset of American people and politicians. Seinfeld, which basically deals with mundane everyday situations, definitely deserves to be here. Others include Everybody Loves Raymond, 30 Rock, Will and Grace etc.

The reality genre was defined by American Idol and Who Wants to be a Multimillionaire. Inspired from these, many similar series were created in various countries. The Survivor series, where a group of people had to survive in a remote tropical location too was replicated in many countries.

The X-Files was a viral hit as well and it became one of the first TV series to launch its episodes on DVD. Its simple theme music defined the mystery genre in the 1990's. The CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) series too was an instant hit at the time of its launch.

As far as sitcoms are concerned, apart from the ones mentioned above names like, Frasier, Scrubs, How I met your Mother, Prison Break, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The King of Queens etc instantly come to mind. Some other shows include: The Honeymooners, All in the Family, 24, Dallas, Dynasty, Taxi, Cheers, Bonanza, Sex and the city, Ally McBeal, Baywatch, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Law and Order, House, ER, Dancing with the stars, Lost, Deal or no Deal etc.

This list could go on and on. I have had to restrict myself to current ones as if I had written about them all, the length of this article would have been intolerable. These may be considered as the most popular shows on television ever as their names instantly come to mind.

V TV Series

The V TV series is a series that first broadcasted on ABC on November 3, 2009. It's a remake of the 1983 miniseries, created by Kenneth Johnson. Early this year, January 4, 2011 to be exact, the second season premiered on ABC.

So, what is V all about?

V TV series tells the story of the arrival of a technologically advanced alien species on Earth. They pretend to come in peace at first, but it soon turns out that they have, in fact other sinister motives.

The main cast exists of 9 people:

Elizabeth Mitchell (Erica Evans) who plays an FBI counter-terrorism agent. She later on becomes a meber and eventually leader of the counter-Visitor Resistance;
Morris Chestnut (Ryan Nichols) plays a Visitor who poses as human;
Joel Gretsch (Father Jack Landry) who plays a Catholic priets and former US Army chaplain. He isn't happy about he Visitors arrival and he sees his unease validated when he starts working with Erica;
Logan Huffman (Tyler Evans) is cast as Erica's teenage son, who will turn into a V "peace ambassador" and will be the love-interest of Lisa. While coming closer to Anna, he will drift away from his mother;
Lourdes Benedicto (Valerie Stevens) plays Ryans fiance and is, at start, unaware of his alien nature. When she discovers his secret she is murdered by Anny after she gave birth to Ryan's child;
Laura Vandervoort (Lisa) who plays a Visitor. She falls in love with Tyler and is later revealed to be Anna's daughter. Throughout the show she shows signs off human emotion and in the season one finale she joins the Fifth Column;
Charles Mesure (Kyle Hobbes) plays a former British SAS soldier, current mercenary who is on top of the wanted lists of a lot of law enforcement organizations. The Visitors are blackmailing him by holding someone close to him;
Morena Baccarin (Anna) plays the High Commander of the Visitors, they refer to her as their queen. She uses a telepathic pacification process (known as "Bliss") to maintain loyalty and control over her subjects;
Scott Wolf (Chad Decker) is cast as a television news anchor who will become the Visitor's spokesperson. He later joins the Fifth Column when he learns the truth about the Vs.