Cannes: 'Uncle Boonmee' Wins Palme d’Or, Best Actress Binoche, Best Actor Bardem and Germano

Javier Bardem and Juliette Binoche with Best Actor and Best Actress Award
63rd Cannes Film Festival Closing Ceremony, May 23rd

Hache/Getty

Cannes Film Festival juries handed out their awards Sunday.

Thailand's 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives' wins Palme d'Or

Competition jury president Tim Burton announced the winner of the Palme d’Or: the complex critics’ fave from Thailand, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul.


The runner-up Grand Prix prize went to Of Gods and Men, (Deux Hommes et des Dieux) directed by Xavier Beauvois.

Best Actor Co-winner Javier Bardem in a scene from 'Biutiful'

Best Actor prize was shared by Javier Bardem for Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Biutiful (comme tout le monde) and Elio Germano for La Nostra Vita.

Best Actor Co-winner Elio Germano in a scene from La Nostra Vita

Juliette Binoche, Best Actress Award for 'Copie Conforme'
Closing Ceremony, 63rd Cannes Film Festival
Juliette Binoche wore a Cartier platinum, diamond & onyx Panthere necklace
(Photo by Eric Ryan/Getty Images)

Best actress went to Juliette Binoche for Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy (Copie Conforme).

Tournée at Cannes

Photosource: Nicolas Genin

French actor-turned-director Mathieu Amalric won Best director prize for his colorful burlesque film, Tournée.


Best screenplay went to another well-reviewed film, Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry (Shi). “A profound story of an elderly woman in search of the fundamental poetry from her life. Aside from being sentenced with an Alzheimer’s disease, she faces another dilemma when her teen-aged grandson who is under her care is found to be one of the assaulters of a girl from his junior-high school who had committed suicide.” Check out the trailer after the jump.

As far as any Cannes awards impact on potential Oscar contenders, Bardem has a shot. Biutiful will get released in the States, as does Manville, who will be shepherded by Sony Pictures Classics. While there will be more acquisitions news to come, most of the films announced as winners will never reach U.S. theaters.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Palme d’Or
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Grand Prix (runner-up)
Des Hommes Et Des Dieux (Of God and Men), directed by Xavier Beauvois

Prix de la Mise en Scene (best director)
Mathieu Amalric for Tournée (On Tour)

Prix du Scenario (best screenplay)
Poetry by Lee Chang-dong

Camera d’Or (best first feature)
Año Bisiesto directed by Michael Rowe

Prix du Jury (jury prize)
A Screaming Man directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Prix d’interpretation feminine (best actress)
Juliette Binoche for Certified Copy (directed by Abbas Kiarostami)

Prix d’interpretation masculine (best actor - a Tie)
Javier Bardem for Biutiful (directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu)
&
Elio Germano for La Nostra Vita (directed by Daniele Luchetti)

Palme d’Or (short film)
Chienne d’Histoire directed by Serge Avedikian

Also winning awards at the Festival de Cannes:

UN CERTAIN REGARD
Prize of Un Certain Regard: Ha Ha Ha, directed by Hong Sangsoo
Jury Prize: Octubre, directed by Daniel Vega & Diego Vega
Special Prize: The three actresses—Adela Sanzhez, Eva Bianco, and Victoria Rapos—from Ivan Fund & Santiago Losa’s Los Labios (The Lips)

DIRECTORS’ FORTNIGHT
Art Cinema Award: Pieds nus sur les limaces, directed by Fabienne Berthaud (France)
Prix SACD/SACD Prize: Illégal, directed Olivier Masset-Depasse (Belgium – Luxembourg – France).
Label Europa Cinemas: Le Quattro Volte, directed by Michelangelo Frammartino (Italy)
PRIX SFR: “Cautare,” directed Ionut Piturescu (Romania) and “Mary Last Seen,” directed by Sean Durkin (USA)
Palm Dog Award: Vuk, the goatherd’s dog in Le Quattro Volte, directed by by Michelangelo Frammartino

INTERNATIONAL CRITICS’ WEEK
Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique: Armadillo, directed by Janus Metz
SACD Prize: Bi, dung so! (Bi, Don’t Be Afraid!), directed by Phan Dang Di
ACID/CCAS Support: Bi, dung so!, directed by Phan Dang Di
OFAJ (Very) Young Critic Award: Sound of Noise, directed by Ola Simonsson & Johannes Stjaerne Nilsson
Canal+ Award for Best Short Film: “Berik,” directed by Daniel Joseph Borgman
Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film: “Deeper Than Yesterday,” directed by Ariel Kleiman

FIPRESCI CRITICS AWARDS
Cannes Competition: Tournée” (On Tour) directed by Mathieu Amalric
Un Certain Regard: Pal Adrienn, directed by Agnes Kocsis
Director’s Fortnight/Critics’ Week: Todos vos sodes capitans, directed by Olivier Laxe

QUEER PALM AWARD
Kaboom, directed by Gregg Araki

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Source: Indiewire.com

Demi Moore Attends New Cartier Flagship Store Opening in Saint Petersburg

Bernard Fornas, CEO and President of Cartier International, and Demi Moore
wearing Cartier diamond and emerald drop earrings and diamond bracelet
attend the opening of the new Cartier Flagship Store on May 22, 2010
in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Demi Moore and Cartier — an evening under the stars on the Neva River
A nocturne in three movements, the inauguration of the opening of the first Cartier boutique in Saint Petersburg, located on the banks of the Moyka River, was celebrated as a grand troika. A cocktail reception, followed by dinner at the Mikhailovsky Castle and then a nighttime cruise on the Neva River.

Inauguration of the Maison Cartier
Arriving aboard a Riva, the American actress Demi Moore, straight from Hollywood, appeared arm-in-arm with the President and CEO of Cartier International, Bernard Fornas.

Bernard Fornas, CEO and President of Cartier International, and Demi Moore
wearing Cartier diamond and emerald drop earrings and diamond bracelet
attend the opening of the new Cartier Flagship Store on May 22, 2010
in Saint Petersburg, Russia

HRH Prince and Princess Alexander of Yugoslavia
attend the opening of the new Cartier Flagship Store on May 22, 2010
in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Greeted by a swarm of paparazzi, together they hosted more than 300 guests, including Alexander, the Crown Prince of Yugoslavia (a great-grandson of Grand Duchess Pavlona) and his wife, Katherine, the Crown Princess of Yugoslavia.

Yuri Molchanov, vice governor of Saint-Petersburg and his wife
attend the opening of the new Cartier Flagship Store on May 22, 2010
in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Evening at the Mikhailovsky Castle
Bernard Fornas, the President and CEO of Cartier International, received his guests at this fortress erected by Paul I for a gala dinner that was preceded by a private concert under the baton of Maestro Valery Gergiev. Landscape architect Louis Benech created a formal garden at the entry of the castle especially for the occasion.

Aerial view of the Mikhailovsky Castle as a part of the opening of the new
Cartier Flagship Store on May 22, 2010 in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Nighttime cruise along the Neva River
Following dinner, guests boarded a chartered boat for an enchanted cruise along the Neva River.

Fireworks on Neva river as a part of the opening of the new Cartier Flagship Store
on May 22, 2010 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Wonder if Sara Palin was able to watch the Red Carpet Arrivals from the comfort of her house in Anchorage, Alaska. Hmmm.

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Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan's 'The Fall' Available for Pre-Order Online Now

A new crew of vampires will be stalking the best-seller lists soon. . .

Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Fall, book two of The Strain Trilogy is now available for pre-order through online retailers.

Guillermo del Toro (left) and Chuck Hogan (right); The Strain book signing

The Fall will go on sale at bleeding-edge bookstores on 9/21/2010.

"It took the world just 60 days to end, And we were there to account for it - our omissions, our arrogance ..." - Eph (First line of The Fall)

Can't wait!!!

Additional links
The Strain Trilogy Facebook Group
Guillermo del Toro Facebook Group
Guillermo Del Toro's Monster Cameo Appearance in 'The Hobbit'
Guillermo del Toro on Our Obsession with Vampires
Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan's 'The Strain' TV Adaptation in the Works
The Strain (Book review)
Guillermo del Toro Talks 'The Strain' Vampire Trilogy

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50 Stars Gather in Cannes for amfAR'S Cinema Against AIDS Gala 2010

Jennifer Lopez arrives for the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS benefit
63rd Cannes International Film Festival
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Cap d'Antibes, May 20, 2010
(AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Mick Jagger, Marion Cotillard, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton, Alain Delon, Patti Smith, Gerard Butler, Grace Jones and Kristin Scott-Thomas were among the illuminati attending Thursday May 20th amfAR's 17th Cinema Against AIDS banquet. The benefit held at a luxury hotel in the French Riviera town of Cap d'Antibes, raised $6.7 million (euro5.36 million) for AIDS research and boasts the festival's highest density of stars. At the first party in 1994, chairwoman Elizabeth Taylor presided, and Sharon Stone was the spirited auctioneer.

Sharon Stone usually emcees the annual event, but her shooting schedule prevented her from attending this year's gala, so other celebrities took turns revving up the crowd. Russell Crowe, Michelle Williams, and designer-cum-movie director Tom Ford were among those who took to helped lead the auction.

The evening's entertainment was provided by punk icon Patti Smith and R&B singer Mary J. Blige, who captivated the crowd with her acapella rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven."

A feeling of insider camaraderie permeated the event - where a single seat cost $6,000.

Following a confusing technical description of the 6-liter bottle of Dom Perignon, Michele Williams told the crowd: "If you know what that word is, you're rich enough to buy it." The champagne fetched $80,000.

Other high-fetching lots included a day with former President Bill Clinton, which went for $220,000, and a flight in a fighter jet, which reached $170,000.

Attendees from the film, fashion and music world include Emily Blunt, Elizabeth Banks, Kate Beckinsale, Sean Penn, Diane Kruger, Kristin Scott Thomas, Naomi Watts, Rachel Bilson, Mary J Blige, Alan Cumming, Naomi Campbell, Kirsten Dunst, Benicio Del Toro, Harvey Weinstein, Giorgio Armani, Ana Beatriz Barros, Roberto Cavalli, amfAR Chairman Kenneth Cole, Peter Dundas, Cuba Gooding Jr., Eva Green, Natalie Imbruglia, Ryan Kavanaugh, Karl Lagerfeld, Diego Luna, Bar Refaeli, Carine Roitfeld, Mallika Sherawat, Joss Stone, Charlene Whitstock, Milutin Gatsby, Michel Litvak, Vincent Roberti and more.

Cinema Against AIDS 2010 was presented by Bold Films, the Weinstein Company, and Palisades Tartan, to benefit amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.

Last year, the event brought in just $4.5 million - roughly half the money raised in 2008. Since 1985, amfAR has invested more than $307 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.

"It's a hard economy out there and it's nice to remember that we have to give back," Weinstein said.

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Rachel Portman is First Woman Composer to Receive Richard Kirk Award at BMI Film/TV Awards

Richard Kirk Award recipient Rachel Portman
2010 BMI Film/TV Awards
Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage

BMI presented the Richard Kirk Award for outstanding career achievement to Rachel Portman at the annual BMI Film & Television Awards on Wednesday, May 19 in Los Angeles. Portman made history as she became the first woman composer to receive the honor. Staged at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the black-tie, invitation-only dinner saluted the composers of the past year's top-grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking cable network programs. BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and BMI Vice President, Film/TV Relations Doreen Ringer Ross hosted the event.

The Richard Kirk Award is bestowed on composers who have made significant contributions to the realm of film and television music. As the 2010 honoree, Rachel Portman joins an elite list that includes David Newman, Thomas Newman, Christopher Young, George S. Clinton, Harry Gregson-Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, Michael Kamen, Mark Mothersbaugh, Danny Elfman, Alan Menken, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin, John Barry and John Williams.

Rachel Portman composes music propelled by nuanced elegance and quirky wit. The first woman composer to win an Academy Award®, she has created rich scores for films including the Oscar-winning Emma, Nicholas Nickleby, Grammy- and Oscar-nominated Cider House Rules, Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated Chocolat, Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Hart’s War, Marvin’s Room, Beloved, The Joy Luck Club, The Manchurian Candidate, Infamous, Lake House, The Duchess, Benny and Joon and the recently finished Never Let Me Go, among others. The Oxford University graduate has also contributed acclaimed original music for top-tier television projects, including HBO's Grey Gardens, Four Days in July, Jim Henson’s Storyteller, Ethan Frome and the BAFTA-winning Oranges are not the Only Fruit.

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Waltz, Pattinson & Witherspoon 'Water for Elephants' Circus is Coming to Town

The county of Ventura confirmed that a production company has taken out a film permit for Thursday to start shooting Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen’s best-selling Depression-era novel about a traveling circus.

On Sunday, circus trains and wagons painted with the words “Benzini Bros. Most Spectacular Show on Earth,” the circus in Gruen’s book, were spotted in Fillmore.


The lead roles are played by Oscar winners Christoph Waltz and Reese Witherspoon, Twilight's Robert Pattinson, and Emmy and Tony winner Hal Holbrook.

Pattinson plays “young” Jacob Jankowski, a 23-year-old Ivy League veterinary student who, after his parents are killed just before he’s about to graduate, ends up working with animals at a circus.

Holbrook is “old” Jacob, the story’s narrator, when he is “ninety. Or ninety three,” living not so happily in a nursing home, where he reminisces about his circus days.

Witherspoon plays Marlena Rosenbluth, a circus performer who does an equestrian act. Waltz, who won as Oscar this year for “Inglourious Basterds,” plays her husband, cruel animal trainer August Rosenbluth.

Richard LaGravenese penned the screenplay with Francis Lawrence directing.

Water for Elephants will be shot in Fillmore and other locations around the county starting Thursday for approximately 30 days.

According to Ventura County senior planner Becky Linder, Fillmore had rented a parking lot at Santa Clara and Mountain View streets to a company for a production called “Jerry Novak’s Big Adventure” aka WFE.

On Sunday, at the Santa Clara and Mountain View site, a dirt lot near the tracks of the Fillmore & Western Railway Co., a large rental fence had been erected with a black covering around it. A look inside a crack in the gate revealed more than 10 red, yellow and orange boxy circus wagons, some with ornate decorations.

In Gruen’s book, she describes circus wagons that “are painted scarlet, with gold trim and sunburst wheels, each emblazoned with the name ‘Benzini Bros. Most Spectacular Show on Earth.”

In Fillmore, “Benzini Bros. Circus” was printed in gold letters on some of the wagons.

Also, on the tracks next to the lot, about 10 old-fashioned railroad cars — boxcars, flatcars and passenger cars — sat on the tracks. Painted maroon, several of them were printed with “Benzini Bros. Circus” and “Most Spectacular Show on Earth.”

The Fillmore & Western Railway, which offers vintage train rides through Fillmore and Santa Paula, also coordinates and consults on film, TV and commercial productions that involve trains. The company would neither deny nor confirm filming activity.

Tai, the elephant from Have Trunk Will Travel will play Rosie in with Water for Elephants. The footage (after the jump) was taken in February 2008 in Las Vegas.

Water for Elephants Un-Official Site
Facebook Group
Twitter
IMDB

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Source: WaterForElephants.com

International Trailer & Stills From Guillermo Del Toro's ‘Julia’s Eyes’

The Spanish trailer for the Guillermo Del Toro produced $7.2 million dollar project Julia's Eyes has been released by TV news station Antena 3 (below). Guillermo del Toro produces via his Cha Cha Cha label in collaboration with Barcelona's production shingle Rodar y Rodar. The two previously worked on The Orphanage.

Synopsis
Julia returns to Bellevue with her husband to visit her sister Sarah, who is near blind due to a degenerative illness for which she has unsuccessfully undergone surgery. When they arrive, Julia finds that Sarah has taken her own life and none of her mysterious neighbors seem to be all that surprised.

Julia has to confront not only the loss of her sister, but also the loss of all hope halting her own impending blindness, as she suffers from the same illness and would appear to be destined for the same end as her sister.

Directed by Guillem Morales, Julia’s Eyes is shot from the POV of the main protagonist, a woman who is slowly going blind while trying to find clues about her twin sisters untimely death.

Lluís Homar (Broken Embraces) and Belén Rueda (The Orphanage) star in the thriller.

Variety reports that UK distribution shingle Optimum Releasing, has picked up the movie for future distribution in Britain.

Focus Features International has taken rights to France, Spain and Latin America; three territories where Spanish-language genre fare or thrillers have notched up substantial B.O. tallies.

Julia’s Eyes is set to be released in Spain on October 29, 2010.
North American distribution and theatrical release dates are unknown at this time.

Check out the cool production stills and Spanish international trailer after the jump.

Keep it tuned right here to Schmoozequeen.tv and the GDT Facebook Group for the latest updates on all things Guillermo del Toro.

Links:
Lensing Has Begun on the Guillermo del Toro Produced Thriller 'Julia's Eyes' (Los ojos de Julia)

* * *

Source: JoBlo.com ,Antena3.com

Cotillard, Farrell in Cronenberg’s ‘Cosmopolis’

Cannes Film Festival darling David Cronenberg has cast Colin Farrell and Marion Cotillard for his upcoming adaptation of Cosmopolis.

Cosmopolis tracks Eric Packer, a 28-year old billionaire who encounters odd characters and situations as he travels across midtown Manhattan in his luxurious stretch limo to get a haircut from his father’s old barber. Or, as Variety says, “the thriller follows a multimillionaire on a 24-hour odyssey across Manhattan. Farrell will play the asset manager who loses all his wealth over the course of one day. Cotillard will play his wife.”

Kinology, a Paris-based company is selling international rights at Cannes, and the film is being produced by Cronenberg’s company Antenna, and Alfalma Films out of Portugal. Plans are to shoot the film from March through May of 2011 in Toronto and New York.

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Source: IMDB

'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time' London World Premiere

Gemma Arterton and Jake Gyllenhaal,
World Premiere of 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'
Vue Westfield, May 9, 2010, London, England.
(Photo by Stuart Wilson/Getty Images for Disney)

Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton were spotted at the London premiere of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time yesterday (May 9) while doing some overseas promotion.

Gemma Arterton, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Jake Gyllenhaal (R)
(Photo by Jorge Herrera/Getty Images for Disney)

Joined by executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer, the Donnie Darko and the Clash of the Titans stars looked hot as they posed outside the Vue Westfield.

Gemma Arterton,World Premiere of 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'
Vue Westfield, May 9, 2010, London, England
(Photo by Jorge Herrera/Getty Images for Disney)

Gemma Arterton and Jake Gyllenhaal
(Photo by Jorge Herrera/Getty Images for Disney)

Sir Ben Kingsley and wife Daniela Lavender
(Photo by Jorge Herrera/Getty Images for Disney)

Gemma Arterton signs autographs
(Photo by Stuart Wilson/Getty Images for Disney)

Following the big premiere, the stars headed over to the Home House nearby for a swanky after party with industry bigwigs.

Prince of Persia is about a street urchin in Persia who is adopted by the king as his heir following a courageous battle.

Set in 9th century medieval Persia, a young adventurous prince uncovers a dangerous artifact in a remote mountain kingdom and with the help of an enemy princess, must stop a despot from unleashing a sandstorm that could destroy all mankind.

Walt Disney Pictures' Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time opens in theaters May 28, 2010.

Check out the cool clip and featurette after the jump.

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Two New 'Splice' TV Spots

Warner Bros released two brand new movie trailers for the upcoming film Splice from executive producer Guillermo Del Toro (The Hobbit, Hellboy) by director Vincenzo Natali (High Rise, Cypher) and starring Adrien Brody (Fantastic Mr. Fox) and Sarah Polley (Mr. Nobody).

Synopsis: Clive and Elsa are young, brilliant and ambitious. The new animal species they engineered have made them rebel superstars of the scientific world. In secret, they introduce human DNA into the experiment. The result is something that is greater than the sum of its parts: a female animal-human hybrid that may be a step up on the evolutionary ladder. They think they may have created the perfect organisim, until she makes a final shocking metamorphosis that could destroy them … and the rest of humanity.

Stay tuned to Schmoozequeen.tv for the latest movie news and join the Guillermo del Toro Facebook Group for all the latest Splice updates.

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David Fincher's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' in Pre-production

David Fincher, 2008 Telluride Film Festival

Pre-production on David Fincher's upcoming film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's international mega-hit novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is in full swing with the director currently in Stockholm going over locations reports Screen Daily.

Fincher has landed in Stockholm where he joins the film's production designer to go over shooting locations for the upcoming film. There is already a highly successful Swedish-language film trilogy of the books out there. Fincher wants a "European look" for the film. All the exteriors will be shot in Sweden, however, due to tax incentives, studio work will be done in other countries.

The main locations, Hedestad and Hedeby Island, are fictional and were shot around Gnesta for the Swedish film. Fincher will likely choose a different part of the country for his shoot.

Stockholm film commissioner Ingrid Rudefors says the film will feature a "star-studded" cast. Steven Zaillian is still finishing the script and Fincher is still eying an unknown for the lead role of Lisbeth Salander.

Watch the original The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) trailer after the jump

Can hardly wait for Fincher's adaptation!

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Source: ScreenDaily.com, ThePlayListNation

'Dancing with the Stars' Pamela Anderson & Damian Whitewood Seal Mission Before Waltzing Off

Model, actress, mother, animal rights activist, and entrepreneur Pamela Anderson
and professional dancer Damian Whitewood
"Dancing with the Stars" (Adam Larkey/ABC News)

After a performing a classy, highly polished waltz number Canadian actress Pamela Anderson and her partner Australian dancer Damian Whitewood were voted off the Dancing with the Stars show in week 7 on Tuesday.

Pamela summed up her DWTS dancing debut with "This has been one of the best experiences in my life and that says a lot. I've had a lot of great experiences," said the double entendre-prone star. Host Tom Bergeron, who noted they'd been trying to get her on the show since the first season, praised her saying, "You've turned me into a 12-year-old boy every week." Pamela and Damian chat about their "Dancing" experience after the jump.

Pamela received a standing ovation as she took her final spin around the ballroom. "I wish everybody well, all the dancers," she said "It was a great experience."


Just days before before being voted off the show Pamela and Damian paid a visit to the office of the Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles, to deliver an important letter on behalf of PETA to His Excellency Gary Doer who hails from Winnipeg, Canada.

Ambassador Gary Doer and President Barack Obama
Washington, D.C., November 4, 2009

While accompanied by two PETA representatives, the dynamic dancing duo dropped off the letter which requests the Ambassador's help to put an end to the annual Canadian seal hunt. This is the first time Australian dancer Damian had heard of the Canadian seal hunt.

In the clip below Pamela shares details of the seal hunt while enroute to the Canadian Embassy.

"They killed 65,000 seal pups this year, and there's absolutely no market for them," Pam tells Damian. "We think that the Canadian government is subsidizing this for some reason."

Pamela calls the Canadian seal hunt "the biggest embarrassment to Canadians," and adds that hundreds of thousands of seal pelts have been stockpiled, "[so] we're wondering why they're still continuing the hunt."

Pamela adds that there's a ripple effect to this slaughter, with the overall numbers of polar bears dwindling as well since a prime source of their food is seals.

"It's just greedy fishermen trying to make a cash bonus on the side," says Pamela. "It's brutal and it's barbaric. It's 2010; why are we beating baby seals to death?"

During the annual seal slaughter—the largest massacre of marine mammals on Earth—tens of thousands of baby seals have their heads bashed in or are shot. Sealers hook baby seals in the eyes, cheeks, or mouth to avoid damaging their fur. They then drag them across the ice, often while the animals are still conscious.

The seal slaughter is an off-season profit venture for the fishing industry, and it accounts for less than 1 percent of Newfoundland's economy. It is not a subsistence activity for native peoples. Inuit sealing accounts for only about 3 percent of the slaughter. The European Union and the U.S. have banned seal products, and world leaders—including US President Barack Obama, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and His Holiness The Dalai Lama—have spoken out against the carnage.

Sheryl Fink, Senior Researcher, IFAW Canada
"Horrific cruelty observed during second day of seal hunt 4/9/10"

For more information on the annual Canadian seal slaughter please download Canada's Commercial Seal Seal Slaughter 2009, a 40 page report compiled by IFAW's Senior Researcher Sheryl Fink an annual observer of the seal hunt.

'Celebrities for seals' clips and additional information can be found at Canada’sShame.com

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Source: Abcnews.com, TheInsider.com, PETA, IFAW

New 'Splice' Full Length Movie Trailer & Official Website

In March we reported Splice was picked up Warner Bros Pictures after a successful showing at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Splice is a sci-fi thriller about a genetic experiment gone horribly wrong. Guillermo Del Toro (The Hobbit, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) is executive producer on the Vincenzo Natali (Cube, High Rise, Cypher) helmed film which stars Adrien Brody (Fantastic Mr. Fox) and Canada's sweetheart actor/director Sarah Polley (Away from Her, Dawn of the Dead, eXistenZ, The Sweet Hereafter, ).

Synopsis

Adrien Brody (Clive) and Sarah Polley (Elsa) are superstar genetic engineers who specialize in splicing together DNA from different animals to create incredible new hybrids. Now they want to use human DNA in a hybrid that could revolutionize science and medicine. But when the pharmaceutical company that funds their research forbids it, Clive and Elsa secretly conduct their own experiments. The result is Dren (played by Delphine Chanéac), an amazing, strangely beautiful creature of uncommon intelligence and an array of unexpected physical developments. And though, at first, Dren exceeds their wildest dreams, she begins to grow and learn at an accelerated rate—and threatens to become their worst nightmare.

Splice opens theatrically on June 4th.

Check out the Splice teaser and theatrical trailers, and featurette with Guillermo del Toro and Vincenzo Natali on the Splice website. Watch E1 Entertainment's trailer on YouTube (below). Additional format links listed below:

Trailer #1
Windows High Def - Low / Medium / High
Windows Media - Low / Medium / High
Quicktime High Def - Low / Medium / High
Quicktime - Low / Medium / High
Other Formats - Flash / iPod

Trailer #2 (April 2010)
Windows High Def - High / Medium / Low
Windows - High / Medium / Low
Quicktime High Def - High / Medium / Low
Quicktime - High / Medium / Low
Other Formats - Flash / iPod

Stay tuned to Schmoozequeen.tv for the latest movie news and more from Splice.

Join the Guillermo del Toro Facebook Group for the latest GDT news.

Additional Links:
Official Splice website
Splice on Facebook
Splice on IMDB

Previous Splice coverage:

'Splice' Hits Theatres This Summer
Silver Dark Castle 'Splice' Sundance Deal Going Down
'SPLICE' F--KS With Sundance Midnight Screening Audience In A Good Way
Vincenzo Natali & Guillermo del Toro's 'Splice' Premieres at Sitges Today | Watch
Guillermo del Toro 'Spliced': Vincenzo Natali's SPLICE To Premiere In Sitges
Vincenzo Natale's sci-Fi horror film 'SPLICE' opens this fall

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Source: movies.about.com

Inaugural 'Hero Complex Film Festival' feat Ridley Scott, Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Nolan Runs June 11-13

Leonard Nimoy/AP Photo by Jeff McIntosh

Just when you thought nothing could top Comic-Con along comes the Hero Complex Film Festival.

The LA Times Hero Complex Blog reports the first-ever Hero Complex Film Festival will take flight June 11-13 at the Mann Chinese 6 in Hollywood with five amazing films and on-stage appearances by three signature filmmakers.

Television and film icon Leonard Nimoy will be making one of his final Star Trek related appearances on Friday, June 11, 2010 at the Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, post screening Q&A session. Nimoy directed and starred in the film. Nimoy has just announced his retirement from acting. The Hero Complex Film Festival will be part of the long final farewell to the original Mr. Spock.

On Saturday June 12th, director Christopher Nolan goes back to Gotham with The Dark Knight the second half of a Nolan double-feature -- the gripping thriller Insomnia opens the program, and the filmmaker will appear on stage between the two films. Sneak footage from the highly anticipated July film Inception will be shown.

On Sunday, it's a double feature with two blockbuster science-fiction films -- Ridley Scott's Alien and Blade Runner. The Oscar-winning filmmaker will appear on stage between the two classics to discuss the powerful legacy of Blade Runner and his past (and future) with the deep-space horror franchise Alien.

Tickets will go on sale at Monday morning May 3, 2010 at 10 a.m. Sunday's May 2nd edition of the Los Angeles Times will have a full-page ad with more information about the tix sale.

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Source: Hero Complex Blog