2008 MTV Movie Awards Hosted by Mike Myers

The star of the Wayne's World, Austin Powers and Shrek films will host the 2008 MTV Movie Awards, announced the Associated Press.

The 17th annual show will air live from the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., on June 1.

The celeb-filled event is the network's irreverent nod to the typical awards shows. Categories for Golden Popcorn trophies include best kiss, best villain and best comedic performance.

Myers, star of the upcoming film "The Love Guru," previously hosted the show in 1997.

Mike Myers blew us away last time he hosted the MTV Movie Awards with his `Lord of the Dance' and over-the-top musical productions," Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music, Logo and Films Group, said in a statement Wednesday.

"He keeps creating iconic film characters that have been etched in the minds of MTV's audiences forever," Toffler said. "`The Love Guru' is sure to spur yet another cultural movement, so we're elated to have Mike back as our host."

"Hosting the MTV Movie Awards is like a party, but without having to do beer runs in your mom's minivan; we do beer runs in Will Smith's four-story motorhome," Myers, 44, said in a statement.

Nominees will be announced in May.

Palm Beach International Film Festival

The 13th annual Palm Beach International Film Festival will screen 141 films from Thursday, April 6, through April 17.


The films — which hail from the United States, Canada, China, England, Germany, Israel, Japan and Morocco — will include 12 world premieres and 10 American premieres.


"We're offering the best in independent and international film, and we're trying to reach as much of the community as possible," said Randi Emerman, the festival's executive director.


The opening-night film is The Grand, a mockumentary that follows six poker players as they make their way to the final table of a high-stakes tournament. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, actor/poker pro Gabe Kaplan and Shannon Elizabeth.


The reason the film sounds familiar is because it opened Fort Lauderdale's International Film Festival in October.


The festival will close with Young@Heart, a comedy about a chorus of senior citizens that specializes in reinterpreting Top 40 music. The movie won the Audience Award for Best International Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival.


Unlike most years, when screenings were spread throughout the county, this year's events will be centralized mainly at the Sunrise Cinemas at Mizner Park in Boca Raton.


Additional venues will include Cobb Jupiter 18, Cobb Downtown at The Gardens 16 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Atlantic University's DeSantis Center and Advent Lutheran Church in Boca Raton.


http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/arts/content/arts/film0320.html

Legendary Charlton Heston

Oscar-winning Charlton Heston, best known as the lone human survivor in Planet of the Apes and the Biblical epic The 10 Commandments, passed away on Saturday, April 5.

He was 84-years-old and had been battling Alzheimer's for years, said his family to the Associated Press.

In a statement made by Heston's family, agreed of his larger than life persona on the screen, as well as off.

"We knew him as an adoring husband, a kind and devoted father, and a gentle grandfather, with an infectious sense of humor," the statement said. "He served these far greater roles with tremendous faith, courage and dignity. He loved deeply, and he was deeply loved."

In all, Heston worked on screen for more than 50 years, in more than 100 films and TV productions, including The Ten Commandments, in which he played the lawgiver Moses; Ben-Hur, in which he commanded the epic production as the title's chariot-racing prince; and the original Planet of the Apes, in which he was, simply, the last real man on Earth.

Heston was nominated once for an Oscar—and he won once, claiming the 1959 Best Actor Academy Award trophy for Ben-Hur.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20080406/en_movies_eo/df20a83d9bfb_4b27_aee6_dcf447d8b3b9;_ylt=AnqmQLzKj1T52mHhlslOgOswFxkF

Star Wars vs. The Lord Of The Rings

Gollum was no match for Jedi Knight Yoda.

In a cable battle of the trilogies, the Star Wars prequels lead over the Lord of the Rings movies, averaging on the whole nearly 1 million more viewers, according to the latest Nielsen Media Research stats announced on the Associated Press.

The challenge was the first time Spike TV's Episode I-III films ran up against TNT's LOTR films in a chapter-for-chapter, night-for-night competition for bragging rights.

Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith, which aired on Sunday night, was the main winner, averaging 4.2 million viewers, the most for a movie in all of cable TV. TNT's Sunday night showing of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was also a big success, averaging 4 million viewers.

However, there was no competition when it came to the other films.

On Saturday, it was Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones (3.4 million) massacringThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2 million). On Friday, it was Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace (2.8 million) bypassing The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (1.9 million).

Though Stars Wars won the battle of the cable networks, fans of LOTR shouldn't fret over too much. LOTR won 17 Oscars to the Star Wars prequels' zero.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20080408/en_movies_eo/0f54ca0e52de_44e1_b6c2_1c4595b1c830;_ylt=AhBZG2NusGm_uoP6vlj98dQwFxkF

ACTION! At the Sun-Sentinal

On March 27, the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale was the set of Hollywood. Marley and Me, a new movie based on John Grogan's book starring Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, and Eric Dane. Grogan was a reporter and columnist at the Sun-Sentinel in Delray Beach, Fla.

When I went down to the Florida Atlantic University's downtown campus in Fort Lauderdale, there were movie trucks, trailers, added security, and a buzz of who we would get to see. Down the street from Sun-Sentinel, Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson were shooting a walk through on the street, according to one of the crewmen.

Bonnie Gross, a professor at FAU and product development manager for the online division of the Sun-Sentinel, stated in class that the whole atmosphere at the building is one of awe.

She said that she would let some of her interns go down to the set, which were a few floors below her, to get a look at the whole movie production.

Some employees, according to the Sun-Sentinel, were asked to be extras on the movie, and they jumped at the chance.

When asked what their experience so far on the set is like, here is what they had to say:

• "I still think Eric Dane looks sexier on TV." - -Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub, home and garden editor


• "I haven't seen so many people sitting around doing nothing since the O.J. trial." -- Joe Demma, investigations editor


• "I feel like I'm so much in the way. I was afraid to put my lunch in the fridge." -- Debra R. Gibbs, Help Team assistant editor


• "Thank God I've lost 10 pounds because my desk is wedged in between two carts of stuff." -- Gail Gedan, The Skinny blogger and copy editor


• "Alan Arkin needs to sound angrier. He's shouting too nicely to be an editor." -- Kathy Bushouse, education reporter


• "First let me say, I never even knew that Josh Groban worked here. And to think, a few columns about his dog has turned into...huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Not Josh Groban. John Grogan. John Grogan? That was the funny little guy from the Palm Beach office, right? Well, until I see Halle Barry in here to play me, I'm not that invested. However, let it be known, the camera loves me!" -- Sherri Winston, lifestyle columnist

I for one would have loved to have been there. All the excitement, and meeting Jennifer Aniston, what a rush that would be.

Unfortunately, however, I was there for school and so was unable to skip school. Perhaps work?

Picture by Lou Toman/Sun-Sentinel / March 24, 2008

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/sf-0324marley-me-extras,0,1176568.story

Women's International Film Festival

This years' Women's International Film Festival is not a small event. The festival, which starts Friday, March 28 and will run through April 6, will have more then 100 films from 15 countries, including features, documentaries and shorts culled from more than 350 submissions, reports the Sun-Sentinel.

The festivals opening film is Steam which stars former Brat Packer Ally Sheedy, Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Kate Siegel and Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately). The story, as described by Dan Hudak from the Sun-Sentinel, is about three women of different ages as they deal with adversity.

Sheedy and Siegel are to walk a pink carpet before the 8 p.m. world premiere at the Gusman Center in downtown Miami.

Though the films feature women in major creative roles, by no means are they all stereotypical "chick flicks."

The Run is an action movie about a young British couple on vacation in Costa Rica who are asked to carry drugs back to the U.K.

Sublet follows a lonely old man who relishes the attention he receives upon running an ad to sublet his apartment.

The Toxic Clouds of 9/ 11: A Looming Health Disaster chronicles health issues in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

In addition to the films, the festival will offer workshops and seminars for aspiring filmmakers, a "Family Fun Fest" in Peacock Park in Coconut Grove, and "WIFF Around the Globe," a weeklong series that spotlights women's films and cultures throughout the world.

If you do decide to go, the Women's International Film Festival runs from Friday, March 28 through April 6, with screenings and events at 10 venues in South Florida. Screenings are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, $7 for WIFF members, and $8 for seniors/students; special event prices vary. Call 305-653-9700 or go to womensfilmfest.com.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/movies/sfl-mvwiffpnmar24,0,5929797.story

Risqué Jamie Lee Curtis on AARP

Jamie Lee Curtis went shirtless to pose for AARP The Magazine.

Curtis appears with gray hair and wading in water up to her chest on the cover of the magazine's May/June issue, which will be available Monday, reports the Associated Press.

The star of such movies as "True Lies," "A Fish Called Wanda" will be eligible for membership in AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and over, when she celebrates her birthday on November 22.

"I want to be older," she tells the magazine, reported the Associated Press. "I actually think there's an incredible amount of self-knowledge that comes with getting older. I feel way better now than I did when I was 20. I'm stronger, I'm smarter in every way, I'm so much less crazy than I was then."

Curtis, who is married to Christopher Guest and the mother of two children, says she reached a turning point two years ago when a tabloid published a photo of her and gave her weight as 161 pounds.

"I was like, `How dare you — I'm not 161 pounds!' I was indignant. I got home and I went on a scale and I was 161 pounds. I was in denial about it," she says.

"So I started a really healthy way of eating, just avoiding things that I had been shoving in my mouth. Over the course of a year, I dropped about 20 pounds," Curtis says.

"Now, I get up at 5 a.m. every day, filled with energy. I play tennis three times a week, and I do yoga."

Curtis says that growing older means stripping down to a bare essential of yourself.

"I've let my hair go gray. I wear only black and white. Every year I buy three or four black dresses that I just keep in rotation. I own one pair of blue jeans. I've given away all my jewelry, because I don't wear it," she says.

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/inprint.html