Academy members voted for 12 Years without watching it

Director and producer Steve McQueen celebrates after accepting the Oscar for Best Picture for 12 Years a Slave with Lupita Nyong’o and Benedict Cumberbatch at the Academy Awards. PHOTO: FILE

In the lead up to the 86th annual Academy Awards, one prevalent meme on social media was that some Oscar voters simply didn’t want to watch the film 12 Years a Slave. There was the lurking suspicion that the film’s triumph might have had as much to do with its subject matter as its actual quality. A recent report by The Los Angeles Times revealed that that was actually true. Two anonymous members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences apparently never saw Steve McQueen’s eventual Best Picture winner, despite placing the film atop their Oscar ballots.

As host Ellen DeGeneres put it, to equal laughs and winces from the audiences: “Possibility number one: 12 Years a Slave wins best picture. Possibility number two: You’re all racists.”

Worse than the chance that some Academy members bypassed their critical faculties after viewing Steve McQueen’s film and voted for it out simply as a sense of duty though, is new reports claiming that some plumped for it without even having watched the movie.

One anonymous voter admitted to the Hollywood Reporter that the reason she did not watch the film was to avoid “more terrible stuff to keep in my head.” The voter claimed that they “never liked movies with severe violence”.

Putting aside the fact that grown adults couldn’t bring themselves to watch not a snuff film but a historical drama, in spite of that being their one job, the report lends weight to the view that cinematic excellence does not always come first at the Academy Awards. These voters are a worrying statistic but they are, so far, in the minority. There are more than 6,000 members in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and only two voters categorically confirmed that they chose not to watch the film before voting for it.

Satyamev Jayate 2: Javed Akhtar speaks up for Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan. PHOTO: AFP

MUMBAI: Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar finds it a “shame” that certain people have abused actor-filmmaker and “Satyamev Jayate 2″ host Aamir Khan and doubted his intentions of amassing donations via the social issue-based TV show.

“Shame! Instead of appreciating Aamir, the great grandson (great grand nephew) of Maulana Azad for highlighting the real issues, some sick people are abusing him,” Akhtar posted on his Twitter page Monday.

Aamir made his TV debut with “Satyamev Jayate” (SMJ) in May 2012 and the show, dealing with sensitive social issues like female foeticide, domestic violence and child abuse, received a warm welcome from TV viewers after it went on air on Star Plus.

Some of the episodes dealing with female foeticide and malpractices in the medical field recorded the highest ratings.

The show’s second season went on air on STAR India channels March 2. Its first episode dealt with the issue of rape, and the second episode, beamed Sunday, talked about police force.

A defamatory campaign against Aamir began on a social networking site, alleging that when at the end of the show, Aamir asks for donations for Humanity Trust, the money is used for masjid construction assistance and placement assistance for Muslim youth.

In reaction to it, Aamir registered a complaint with the Mumbai police and clarified that the “malicious messages are wrong and baseless”.

Did you know? : Lady Gaga’s charity spends more on expenses than grants

Pop sensation Lady Gaga, who has made millions go gaga over her eccentric persona and music, has been accused of spending her charity foundation’s millions  on expenses instead of philanthropic efforts.

According to tax records, she took in more than $2.5 million in 2012 for her Born This Way foundation, but only paid a single $5,000 grant, reports the Daily Mail.

The charitable foundation spent millions on consultants, lawyers and publicity experts. In addition, it spent more than $500,000 on its 23 day event Born To Be Brave bus tour, which covered cities in the United States, ‘inspiring’ the disillusioned youth.

In what are whopping and shocking numbers, the non-profit organisation paid $406,552 for legal fees, $300,000 for ‘strategic development’ and $150,000 for ‘philanthropic consulting’ out of its $2.66 million revenue.

The New York Post reports that the total expenses reached $1.85 million. Woah!

Gaga, who topped the ‘Top 20 Celebs Gone Good’ list (DoSomething.org) in 2012, launched the organisation in 2011 with a personal donation worth $1.2 million and also gave $1 million to victims of Hurricane Sandy (2012).

300’ sequel conquers the weekend box office

300: Rise of an Empire, based on Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel Xerxes, is the sequel to 2006 blockbuster 300. PHOTO: FILE

LOS ANGELES: 

The action film 300: Rise of an Empire, battled its way to $45 million in ticket sales to win the weekend box office race, smashing its way past the animated filmMr Peabody & Sherman.

Set in ancient Greece, 300: Rise of an Empire is the blood-splattered sequel to the 2006 blockbuster 300. It takes place before and after the earlier film when 300 Spartans marched to their deaths in a battle against the Persians.

In the sequel, an alliance of Greek city-states wage battle on the seas against the Persians.

Mr Peabody & Sherman, based on the Peabody’s Improbable History segments in the 1960s animated TV show starring the characters Rocky and Bullwinkle, collected ticket sales of $32.5 million at US and Canadian theatres.

The movie, which features the talking dog Mr Peabody and his adopted boy, Sherman, exceeded studio 20th Century Fox’s expectations for an opening from about $25 million to $30 million. The movie was directed by Rob Minkoff, who also directed the 1994 animated film The Lion King, which was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two for its soundtrack.

Last week’s box office winner, Non-Stop, was third with $15.4 million in sales. The film stars Liam Neeson as an alcoholic US air marshal racing to stop a string of murders on an international flight.

The Lego Movie, took the No. 4 overall spot with $11 million, according to Rentrak. The animated hit based on the colourful plastic building blocks has now totaled $225 million since its February 7 release.

Rounding out the top five, Son of God, based on The Bible television mini-series produced bySurvivor producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, collected sales of $10 million

Communicating in the universal language of cinema

Braun and Agrelo urged students to use social media in order to make an impact. PHOTO: PUBLICITY

KARACHI: 

Picture this: Abdullah Shahmeer, a young student, has a plot to share. A story of a 14-year-old boy who wants to pursue his interest in writing, but coming from a land-aristocracy background and its traditional values, he is shunned by his landlord father when he reveals his interest. The plot thickens when he plans to rebel against the norms of his class structure.

“Scenes are little stories about people wanting things badly,” said Ted Braun, who was one of two American film directors addressing young, aspiring film-makers in attendance at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist) on Tuesday morning.

Braun, along with Marilyn Agrelo, conducted a film-making workshop on ‘The Art of Cinematic Storytelling’ — the foundation of which is laid through a character using which one tells a story. The plot develops accordingly and there is a set style to follow. In the entire story-telling atmosphere, “Hope and fear, together pulls a dramatic question,” added Braun.

Braun stressed on the need to have an impact, and Agrelo said that one needs to teach the audience to watch more.

“I have actually been surprised and enlightened by the young crowd here,” Agrelo said about her experience. “And to see what they go through, it’s very different from the US. I hope they get to make great films here in Pakistan.”

What was Braun taking back from his teaching experience here in Pakistan at this two-day workshop? “I am taking back particular problems and challenges these young film-makers have here in Pakistan. The commonality lies on the line of shared dreams and of course the love for cinema. Cinema is a universal language which the audience can understand on a global level.”

He even gave a tip to aspiring young film-makers, saying, “For emerging young talent, film-making and social media tools can get the stories out. This is just beginning to develop here in Pakistan, where we see the old and the new coming together. Pakistan is a very entrepreneurial society; there is a desire to do something in everyone out here. You can certainly feel it.”

As many as 40 students enrolled in the workshop from various institutes of Pakistan, including Hyderabad and Quetta. Shehram Mokhtar, Head of Media Sciences, Szabist said, “A very diverse group of young people are present in the audience, and have delivered a very positive feedback. Our only desire was exposure for these young film-makers, so that they can learn about the general techniques of storytelling.”

The two day film-making workshop ended on Tuesday evening at Szabist, Clifton campus

A tour across the musical landscape of France

Juliette de Massy came across as an effervescent, sensitive, warm, friendly performer, passionately involved in her work, with a store of musical intelligence. She performed at the Alliance Francaise on Tuesday evening. PHOTOS COURTESY: ALLIANCE FRANCAISE

KARACHI: I must confess that I am not an expert in French poetry set to music. That is probably why I could not recognise any of the melodies that were sung in a rhythmically strong performance by the soprano Juliette de Massy on Tuesday evening at the Alliance Francaise in Karachi, as she took the audience on a compelling musical journey across the landscape of France.

In fact, the only melody with which I was thoroughly familiar was Debussy’s masterpiece Clair de Lune, one of the finest tone poems ever written, which was played to perfection by Samuel Bore. It was the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree and received the widest, loudest and longest applause in the evening’s entertainment.

I tend to gravitate more towards opera, especially the works of Mozart, Wagner, Richard Strauss, Verdi and Massanet, and the instrumental music of Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Albeniz, Tarrega, Manuel de Falla and Turina. And yet, curiously enough, two of the three arias that I enjoy the most and those that give me immense pleasure when I listen to them are by Frenchman – the Berceuse from Joycelyn by Benjamin  Goddard, the only composition that has survived from his repertoire and  Printemps sa commence by Camille St. Saens, which is a great favourite with opera-goers.

De Massy must be congratulated for bringing virtually unknown vocal gems to the public’s attention. She does not have a huge voice but she knows how to use it. She came across as an effervescent, sensitive, warm, friendly performer, passionately involved in her work, with a store of musical intelligence. She had none of those ‘diva moments’ or quirks that some sopranos suffer from.

She was passionately interested in her songs and was extremely helpful by giving short introductions to the pieces she sang. Her diction was perfect. Her poise was remarkable. Now and then she gave a wry smile when members of the audience started to applaud before she has finished her song. The audience loved her.

They also loved Samuel Bore. He made a jolly good accompanist and also gave a polished performance when he was doing a solo on the keyboard, never putting a finger wrong, quick to recognise the music’s nooks and crannies.

Debussy who featured in the programme was among the greatest and most important of 20th century composers, both by reason of his own achievements and by the paths he opened for others to explore. His use of block-chords, of harmony with a modal flavour and based on the whole-tone scale, the delicate colours of his orchestration and his technique of layering sounds, yet wholly lyrical style of his vocal writing proclaim him as an innovator of the first degree. The contrast with Poulenc who also appeared in the musical fare is interesting. Poulenc’s music is eclectic yet strongly personal in style. It is essentially diatonic and melodious embroidered with 20th century dissonances derived possibly from the mixture of gaiety and manic depression.

On a purely personal note, I have a suggestion for the future. When Roberto Franceschinis, the Italian consul asked me a year ago what kind of music would go down well in Karachi, I answered unhesitatingly ‘i canzone di Napoli’ (Neapolitan folk songs). I believe the Alliance Francaise could also have a bash at something similar, such as Cabaret – the kind of songs that were immortalised by Maurice Chevalier, Tino Rossi, Lucienne Boyer and Edith Piaf that evoked the ambiance of Marcel Pagnol’s films. …There is no substitute for melody and lyricism, messieurs. It has been known to work every time.

Dead Indian guru in freezer for 'deep meditation'

A hoarding featuring an image of Indian spiritual leader Ashutosh Maharaj stands outside the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan in Nurmahal on the outskirts of Jalandhar on March 11, 2014. PHOTO: AFP

CHANDIGARH: An Indian guru declared dead has been in a deep freezer in his ashram for nearly six weeks with followers confident he will return to life to lead them, his spokesperson said.

Devotees placed Ashutosh Maharaj, whom authorities declared clinically dead on January 29, in the freezer and have been watching over his body in the sprawling ashram in a small town in northern Punjab state.

Maharaj, reportedly in his 70s, is one of India’s many gurus or god-men who headed the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (Divine Light Awakening Mission) and claims to have millions of followers around the world.

Mission spokesperson Swami Vishalanand insisted their leader was not dead but was in fact in a state of samadhi, the highest level of meditation, and was therefore still conscious.

Vishalanand told AFP that followers were now waiting for him to end his meditation. Until then, the ashram in Nurmahal town would stay open with followers performing their own mediations and spiritual sessions.

“Mahara-ji (a Hindi term of respect) is still sending messages through followers in their meditative stage to protect his body till he returns,” he said earlier this week.

The decision to place him in the freezer was challenged in court by a man claiming to be his former driver, who alleged several followers were not releasing the body as they were seeking a share of the guru’s properties, local media reports said.

But the court rejected the man’s petition after receiving information from authorities confirming his death, reportedly from a heart attack, said Reeta Kohli, additional advocate general of Punjab state.

“The court rejected his pleas after the Punjab government said that the man is clinically dead and that it is up to his followers to decide what they want to do with the body,” Kohli told AFP.

Senior district police officer Gurinder Singh Dhillon said police “cannot interfere” now that the court has made its ruling.

Maharaj’s website, which says the mission was founded in 1983 and has spiritual centres around the world, has thanked its followers for standing by the mission while the guru undertakes his meditation.

Vishalanand said scores of spiritual leaders throughout history have traveled to the Himalayas for months of samadhi in freezing temperatures, before returning to life.

Another spokesperson, who heads a nearby village where many of Maharaj’s followers are living, has told local media that they will simply wait.

“When we close our eyes, we can talk to the Maharaj, who has assured us he will come back,” Lakhwinder Singh told the Indian Express newspaper.