IIFA acting workshop: bridging the industry divide

Kevin Spacey and Vidya Balan to conduct acting masterclass during the awards weekend. PHOTOS: FILE

Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey will conduct an acting workshop at the upcoming 15th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards, which are making their US debut this year. The Oscar winner will be joined by Bollywood megastar Vidya Balan, according to IMDb.

The IIFA extravaganza will be held April 23-26 in Tampa Bay, Florida.

For the workshop, the Oscar award-winning actor will join other dignitaries from the Hollywood and Bollywood fraternities to share insight and opinions on a variety of cinema-related subjects, reports IANS. Since IIFA has always been viewed as a platform to bridge the gap between the Indian film industry and the international audience, what  could be better than involving Hollywood in it?

“It has been our dream to be able to do this with the participation of Hollywood artistes being featured within our events, and this year as we debut in the US, we are proud to have achieved this with a masterclass that celebrates accomplished actors Kevin Spacey and Vidya Balan from the respective industries,” Andre Timmins, the Wizcraft International and IIFA director, said in a statement.

“This masterclass will be an enthralling event that will create a great platform for knowledge exchange in the world of film and media,” he added.

The IIFA Acting Workshop takes place during the main awards weekend, where keen participants attempt to delve into the minds of well-known names from the film world.

Spacey has given Academy Award winning performances in The Usual Suspects andAmerican Beauty, as well as memorable performances in Se7en, Beyond The Sea and most recently, as Francis Underwood in House of Cards.

He also has a rich history in the theatre world and he has been the artistic director of the Old Vic Theater Company in London for the last decade.

Spacey was made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth for his services to theatre and won the Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Actor for his stage role in The Iceman Cometh as well as a Tony award for Best Supporting Actor in Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers.

He has also featured in the Broadway and West End productions of Long Day’s Journey into Night as well as the title role in the Sam Mendes production of Richard III.

Vidya Balan is a household name in Bollywood. She has starred in movies such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects, and its more recent sequel Shaadi Ke Side Effects. It will be interesting to see the two industries coming head-to-head in order to impart knowledge at the IIFA Awards.

Bradley Cooper asks girlfriend to move to LA

Bradley Cooper, best supporting actor nominee for his role in "American Hustle, and his girlfriend Suki Waterhouse, share a moment before the show at the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. PHOTO: REUTERS

LOS ANGELES: Actor Bradley Cooper has reportedly asked his model-girlfriend Suki Waterhouse to move from London to Los Angeles.

The American Hustle star recently admitted that his girlfriend is “the one” and he now wants her to consider moving in with him, but the 22-year-old British model is reluctant as she is doing well in Britain.

“Suki’s career is flying in London. She’s one of the hottest people on the London fashion scene and doesn’t want to lose momentum,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted a source as saying.

“But Bradley is keen for them to live closer together, and has his home and production company, 22, in LA. He’s trying to tempt her to move so they won’t have to fly around the world to see each other,” the source added.

Oscar victors hit Governor’s Ball

Best Actress Oscar winner Cate Blanchett poses for a selfies with a reporter at the Governor’s Ball. PHOTOS: FILE

A sea of Oscar statuettes filled the Governor’s Ball on Sunday night as winners chatted, ate and celebrated with the film industry’s elite at the official Academy Awards party.

Winners also got their statuettes engraved with their names on the first stop in a string of parties on Hollywood’s biggest night.

The Governor’s Ball, decked out with walls of curtains made from florals giving the effect of a midnight garden celebration, is hosted by the Oscars organisers.

Singer John Legend provided the entertainment, singing hits including Ordinary People while guests ate a gourmet meal by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck.

An excited John Ridley, winner of Best Adapted Screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, entered the party clutching his Oscar, which he said was “overwhelming and humbling.”

“It’s heavy, but heavy with the weight of a career and responsibility and history. It’s a weight I never thought I would have in my hands,” he said.

Ridley celebrated with the cast including Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch and producers of the film, which also took home Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong’o and the night’s top prize for Best Picture.

Rising Kenyan star Nyong’o has been the toast of Hollywood this awards season and celebrated her win with her brother and mother Dorothy, who said she was “so happy” for her daughter.

Jonah Hill, accompanied by his mother, shared jokes with Julia Roberts while Kate Hudson, clad in a cream Versace gown, chatted to Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Leonardo DiCaprio, whose The Wolf of Wall Street came away empty-handed at the Oscars, did a quick few rounds of the room before making a swift exit.

June Squibb, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, but lost out to Nyong’o, said she was just happy to be at the glitzy show and after-party.

“I love every minute of it, I loved sitting there and just feeling like I’m part of it,” she said.

Bette Midler, who performed for the first time in her decades-long career at the Academy Awards, said she had fun during her performances and was left a little emotional by it.

Mads Mikkelsen, who was nominated for Best Foreign Film for The Hunt, but lost out to Italy’s The Great Beauty, was in high spirits, saying “we’re here to celebrate the winners.”

Steven Price, who won Best Original Score for Gravity, which took home a leading seven Academy Awards, said getting his Oscar engraved “was one of the most amazing things tonight.”

“No one had any idea that the film would connect. We were never sure that a story about a 50-year-old woman in space with very little dialogue would be something that people would go see,” Price said.

Elsewhere, pop star Lady Gaga, actors Naomi Watts and Robert De Niro were among the celebrities at the annual Vanity Fair party while Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian and Heidi Klum turned out for Elton John’s Hollywood Oscar event.

Preity Zinta to fight elections against Priya Dutt

BJP General Secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy desires Preity Zinta to fight the forthcoming elections against Priya Dutt. PHOTO:FILE

After her almost retirement from Bollywood and her subsequent failure in the IPL, actor Preity Zinta is reportedly aspiring to try her luck in politics now. She has never confessed to harbouring political ambitions and the prospect of Preity Zinta contesting the elections on a BJP ticket are amusing.

According to sources, Preity Zinta has plans to contest election against Sanjay Dutt’s sister, Priya Dutt. It has been reported that the dimpled-cheek girl, Preity Zinta, has been offered nomination by Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) General Secretary, Rajiv Pratap Rudy to fight election from the North-Central Mumbai constituency against Munna Bhai’s sister. It has been heard that Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who is a distant relative of Preity, was keen on  pitting some celebrity against Priya Dutt from the North-Central Mumbai constituency in the upcoming polls. So that’s how Priety is trying to help out, reported Times of India.

Although no confirmed statement has been released by the Kal Ho Na Ho star in regard to her probable jump into politics but having done with Bollywood and IPL, now politics may appear to be a golden milestone for this B-Town beauty. After the stars acting career went down, she has been trying out different fields. She also owns an IPL team with Ness Wadia and now politics seems to be her upcoming option. Her last movie Ishkq in Paris also seriously washed away from the box-office. However, it is only time to decide whether the Salaam Namaste girl with her probable new avenue receives a warm welcome from the masses or she is shown the exit door from politics.

According to sources, however, Preity Zinta has reportedly turned down the offer, but the party is still trying to convince her and doing their level best to bring her on the board.

Sinitta: Relationship with Cowell over

Music mogul Simon Cowell. PHOTO: FILE

LOS ANGELES: Singer Sinitta has admitted that her on-and-off relationship with Simon Cowell is finally over.

The music mogul welcomed a son with girlfriend Lauren Silverman Feb 14, and Sinitta feels that now they will never be romantically involved again, reports mirror.co.uk.

“The whole are-we-or-aren’t-we thing with Simon and I…being a bit stuck or hung-up on each other, but not being able to fully commit to each other and equally not being able to fully move on…In recent times we’ve finally been able to do that and him having a baby with Lauren certainly stops the yo-yo situation forever,” Sinitta told OK magazine.

“I think he’s met his match – they have so much in common, they suit each other and I think they deserve to be together. Lauren has made my best friend extremely happy and he’s finally found the woman he truly loves,” she added.

Paul Walker's last film set for April release in India

The later actor Paul Walker. PHOTO: AFP

LOS ANGELES: “Brick Mansions”, a crime-action drama starring the late actor Paul Walker as a fearless officer, will hit the Indian screens April 25 and the distributor says it will be an “absolute treat” for his fans.

Being released in India by PVR Pictures, the film allows Walker’s fans to see him in complete action.

“Paul Walker has a humongous fan base in India, and after the unfortunate incident last year, we believe this last film will be an absolute treat for his fans who love seeing him in character,” Deepak Sharma, Chief Operating Officer, PVR Pictures Ltd, said in a statement.

“Along with Paul’s presence on screen fighting crime, the action sequences choreographed for the film is very new-age and fundamentally different which will keep the audiences intrigued. We hope they thoroughly enjoy this film and his last performance,” he added.

“Brick Mansions” revolves around an undercover cop who tries to take down a ruthless crime lord with access to a neutron bomb by infiltrating his gang in a place called Brick Mansions

Did you know?: Blanchett, Adams make a post-Oscars stop at the tattoo shop

Best Actress Oscar winner Cate Blanchett spent Monday with her husband Andrew Upton, fellow nominee and pal Amy Adams, and her fiancé Darren Le Gallo at the Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlour in West Hollywood.

Thinking what Hollywood’s leading ladies Cate Blanchett and Amy Adams did after the Oscars? They possibly got inked.

Best Actress Oscar winner Cate Blanchett spent Monday with her husband Andrew Upton, fellow nominee and pal Amy Adams, and her fiancé Darren Le Gallo at the Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlour in West Hollywood, reported E! Online. The dynamic four were spotted chatting amicably outside the parlour.

Blanchett and Adams’ beau had clearly visible post-tattoo bandages; Blanchett’s is on her left wrist and Le Gallo’s is on his right forearm. What the tattoos were and whether they were coordinated remains unclear.

While both the ladies have not co-starred in any film, they may have connected after the recent passing of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who appeared with Blanchett in The Talented Mr Ripley and with Adams in Doubt, The Master and Charlie Wilson’s War, according to variety.com.

Both the actors have spoken about his death, with Blanchett dedicating her recent Bafta award to the late acting veteran.

Blanchett has been open about her fondness for Adams. While accepting her Oscar, she paid a tribute to her fellow nominees, including Adams.