Donnerstag, 18. Februar 2010

The Danish World Famous Movie Star From the Era of the Silent Films - Asta Nielsen

Asta Nielsen (1881-1972) started on her road to fame and influence when she was accepted into the acting school of the Royal Danish Theatre at the age of 18. Twenty years old she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Jesta, and it's typical for her that this Number One "career-stopper" of women at that time did not stop her. Instead of hiding her child or putting her up for adoption she kept her and even had the audacity to keep her own Miss-title instead of attaining a fake Mrs-title.

When staying in hotels she signed the visitor's book as "Miss Nielsen and daughter". She married three times and her last, very late marriage was with a much younger man, Anders Christian Theede, who is reputed to have been an avid fan. So were her two prior husbands, the movie maker Urban Gad and Ferdinand Wingardh.

Many may have been shocked by such an affront to society and the double standard, but then she shocked the world with more than that. For instance, the reason why she is almost unknown in USA is the erotic explicitness in much of her acting. Her film were heavily censored by the Americans and it was in Europe she gained her fame. She made 74 films and of these 70 were made in Germany as the Germans took her to their heart as Die Asta (i.e. The Asta). In The year 1924 she was starring with a rising star, Greta Garbo, who eventually was to surpass her in fame, but not in acting skills. Actually, she did not find her performance very high class.

In the 1920s she had formed her own studio in Berlin, but with the rise of Nazism she made up her mind to return to Denmark even though the Nazi propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels, offered her many new opportunities in this new Germany of Nazis. Back in Denmark she did not obtain the position she wished for, maybe because she was known as "difficult" which in reality means that she set high standards and had her own ideas of film and film making. For instance, she stopped filming and only worked on stage when the movie industry had the new feature of sounds. She knew that that was not convergent with her acting style.

However, she may have had a rich life even after the German experience of becoming so very famous as she now started to write and to make collages. Also she did her best to help Jews in Germany by sending money and food parcels to concentration camp-prisoners. As to her writing it was primarily autobiographical and in "Den tiende muse" (1945-46) (i.e. "The Tenth Muse") she gives a most interesting portrait of herself, her career and the time of the silent movie.

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Ava Gardner - Her Hollywood Career and Her Hollywood Husbands

Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood's most beautiful female stars; some would say the most beautiful of all. Her personal life was as fascinating as the plots of the movies she made and received as much public attention. She was married and divorced three times, and to three of Hollywood's top stars: Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra. Sinatra privately admitted that he never got over losing her. In addition she had flings with rich and famous men, from Howard Hughes, owner of RKO studios, to Dominguin, the Spanish bullfighter.

The seventh and youngest child of poor tobacco farmers and a barefoot tomboy as a young girl, Gardner was invited for an interview at MGM on the grounds of her astonishingly good looks which a talent scout had noticed in a photographer's window in New York. She moved to Hollywood in 1941, where, after five years busy learning her trade in 'B' parts, in everything from unbilled bits to romantic leads in East Side Kids movies, she was perfect as Kitty Collins, the film noir temptress of 'The Killers' in 1946, leaving Burt Lancaster such a shell that he doesn't resist being assassinated.

Ava's tumultuous love life attracted as much public interest as her professional life on screen. Even before she was famous she had attracted the passionate attentions of one of the biggest stars in Hollywood at the time, Mickey Rooney, whom she had met in 1941, shortly after she arrived in LA. Rooney was the hero of MGM's Andy Hardy series and a major figure in Hollywood. Ava, the ingenue, was flattered by his attention and they married in January 1942. The marriage foundered after just 12 months due mainly to Rooney's determination to continue carousing with his bachelor friends instead of staying home with his lovely young wife.

Ava's second husband was band leader Artie Shaw, in 1945. Shaw married eight times in all, and Ava was wife number 6. He criticised and made fun of her lack of formal education, to the point of being abusive. Ava reacted badly and began to drink heavily. The marriage, unsurprisingly ended after just one year.

Ava's third and final attempt at marriage was to singer, actor, and future superstar, Frank Sinatra. When they began a relationship Sinatra was already married and Ava received heavy criticism for being a marriage wrecker. They married in 1951, just 72 hours after the legal ending of Sinatra's first marriage. Sinatra's career had hit a low and it was through Ava's influence that he landed the role of Maggio in 'From Here to Eternity' in 1953, for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and which stabilised his career. The marriage could not withstand Sinatra's jealous temperament and Ava's drinking and the couple separated in 1954 and divorced 3 years later. Sinatra never got over losing her.

She was now a Hollywood star, but she did not immediately get much interesting work; she was cast for her looks as a goddess in 'One Touch of Venus' in 1948 and her voice was dubbed among the chocolate box surroundings of 'Showboat' in 1951. In 'Pandora and the Flying Dutchman', also in 1951, she has her most rounded role, as a conflicted temptress who drives men to ruin but also yearns to join James Mason in the afterlife.

Gardner shimmers in 'The Barefoot Contessa' in 1954 as a star modeled on Rita Hayworth but channeling her own personal and career demons. She moved to Spain in 1955 following her tempestuous marriage and divorce from Sinatra, and many of her subsequent movies were made abroad. Her perspiring, fraying glamour fits well into the all-star worlds of 'The Sun Also Rises' in 1957, 'On the Beach' in 1959, and 'The Night of the Iguana' in 1964.

Wonderfully witch-like in the little-seen 'Tam Lin' in 1970, she also gamely shows up in 'Earthquake' in 1974 and 'The Cassandra Crossing' in 1976. In 1968 Ava moved to London and spent her final years almost as a recluse. She suffered a stroke in 1989 that left her bedridden, and her third husband Sinatra paid all her medical expenses. He hadn't forgotten her.

Ava suffered a second stroke which further limited her, and she died in London of pneumonia on January 25, 1990. She was 67.

I'm Chris Whiteley. I hope you enjoyed the article. Take a look at Ava Gardner on Hollywood's Golden Age when you get the time.

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Teens and Celebrity Gossip

Teenagers feel a definite pull toward celebrity gossip sites. Teenagers love to read about their favorite celebrities and it's taken for granted that people in this age bracket are more interested in celeb gossip than the others. The coming of online entertainment portals has ensured that teenagers have easy access to paparazzi scoops these days. They need not head for seedy bookstalls to buy tabloids or magazines anymore. They can log in to the internet and check up the latest, real-time updates on their favorite celebrities.

Celebrity gossip sites don't just update the teens about their favorite icons. Lots of teens look forward to the celeb gossip sites as learning experiences. Entertainment news sections are high on fashion. Teens that have a knack for fashionable clothes and accessories check out these pages to find out what the trends are. Teens have an eye for fashion and when they see their celebs wearing their clothes and accessories a particular way, they learn and emulate that in their own way. There is nothing wrong in being fashion conscious unless you let it control your life. Teens today know where to strike the balance.

Other than fashion, another area where celebrity gossip sites have a positive influence is one of inspiration. The icons who are elevated to the platform of being tagged teen icons are achievers. Celeb gossip sites write about them because they could attain what others couldn't. You have to give it to them for being good enough in their respective fields. They could hold the limelight firmly on themselves because they have the confidence, even if it is a little misplaced sometimes. The inspirational aspect works better if the icon is a self-made person. There's no harm in the desire to be famous and there must not be any judgmental issues on this.

Many critics may point out that celebrity gossip sites do more good than harm to the teens. They feel that teenagers are led astray when they find that their icons are living the carefree life. Celeb gossip sites keep mentioning their confrontations with the law, their drunken brawls, their illegitimate affairs, their pregnancies and abortions. But I feel it's a case of point of view. It's how you see it. If you are a sensible teenager, you will look upon this entertainment news trivia as something that you must not do, rather than something you try to emulate. You always have the right to pick what you want to do and what you want to discard. The question of following paparazzi updates is the same.

Love it or hate it, you cannot ignore celebrity gossip anymore. It has made pores in all strata of society. Teens are most likely to be influence by celeb gossip because they are naturally inclined towards the rich and the famous. If you are a concerned parent, you might want to regulate their partaking of entertainment news. But if you decide to abolish it altogether, you might be pulling yourself for some trouble. It's not easy to keep the glittering world of glamour far away from impressionistic teens!

Jeebas Entertainment Blog has everything that you might want to read about celebrity gossip or Hollywood rumors. Jeebas redefines what you took to be celeb gossip and entertainment news. The paparazzi scoops on this blog are as close to real time as possible.

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Indian Film Industry - Myths Vs Reality

Bollywood, probably the most glamorous of all different wings of the Indian Film Industry has developed from an entity of entertainment to actually a full fledged industry of its own. Known for catering to the best of talent in its field and probably with one of the best pools of artists, the industry has grown from strength to strength. The industry has stood the test of time and is more glamorous than ever, attracting talent from across the nation and in recent years, from abroad too. However as with any other industry there are certain myths attached to the overall structure and image of the industry. Mentioned henceforth are some of the myths attached to the industry that stand on loose ground with little or no proof to substantiate them.

Bollywood has no obscenity - Wrong. Totally flawed! It's a misnomer to be associated with the industry. Pick up a movie of Raj Kapoor. I would say that obscenity has been part and parcel of Bollywood almost since its inception days. If more such proof is needed just 'Google' the term and truth shall unfold itself. It's a fact though that the level of obscenity is not as frequent as in other film industries but that's a crucial factor determined by the type of audience that moves to theaters for entertainment.

The Duplicity Factor - Though it's a fact that actually many of Bollywood scripts are inspired by foreign films, the fact to take note of is that there is hardly any production industry in the world that does not indulge in Plagiarism at some level or the other. In fact quite a few Hollywood movies are inspired by Russian or Korean flicks. So in essence they all are the same. One good fact though is that the industry has always been honest enough to acknowledge the fact that the script or some other section has been copied. Hats off to the artists and the professionals involved at various levels.

It's biased in favor of men - Well to a large extent it may seem right in letter and spirit but nevertheless there have been sparks of brilliance by the fairer sex too. Farah Khan being an example! Its actually a fact that the industry is run by men but as a matter of fact there is something more than just that to back the statement up. Over the years the trend has been changing and is set to continue in favor of women. I guess the times ahead are the best judge of this orgy.

Its easier here than Hollywood - This is one aspect that most out bound people may be inclined to think but the ground reality is quite different. Making it big in the Indian Movie Industry if not tougher is as tough as any area of expertise in Hollywood. Just like Hollywood many Indian teenagers line up towards the industry motivated by the glamour factor and bright prospects.

A lot more is available at http://www.masalacity.com

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Review - My Name is Khan (2010) Movie

It has some scenes, especially one involving a child's death that will bruise you. Yet despite all this, My Name is Khan never becomes the empowering, inspiring Forest Gump-like epic. Mainly because the connective tissue tying it together is deeply flawed and in places, embarrassingly naive.

Khan is the story of Rizwan Khan, played by Shah Rukh, who has Asperger's syndrome. This milder form of autism impairs Rizwan's social communication skills and gives him some decidedly odd behavior patterns - he can't stand loud sounds or the colour yellow.

He rotates stones obsessively and can barely bring himself to hug someone. Rizwan is far from crazy but he definitely moves to the beat of a different drummer. Despite this he finds love and a family with Mandira, played by Kajol.

But post 9/11, their happy home falls apart and Rizwan embarks on a grand odyssey across America so that he can tell the American president that his name is Khan but he is not a terrorist.

My Name is Khan is on firm footing as long as director Karan Johar stays with emotional drama. He opens the film skillfully with airport security searching Rizwan and then moves into flashback.

The scenes of Rizwan's childhood are some of the strongest in the film. Zarina Wahab returns after years to give a lovely, nuanced performance as Rizwan's mother. But the film's delicate rhythm wobbles when we shift to San Francisco and into love story mode.

The first shaky sign is the entry of Navneet Nishan who seems like she has stepped in from some other, louder film.

The romance between Rizwan and Mandira is too designed and mawkish.

Kajol, struggling with a thin character, mostly veers between being hyper and cute.

Still, Karan, working with an ace technical team including cinematographer Ravi K Chandran and editor Deepa Bhatia, crafts some beautiful images and poignant sequences but the film loses balance irreparably as it moves into political mode.

The second half scrambles madly both literally and figuratively. Rizwan, obviously superman in another life, manages to shout down a hate-mongering Muslim doctor, have him arrested by the FBI, get arrested himself and in a ridiculous pre-climactic sequence, save the citizens of a small town when floods hit New Orleans.

Writer Shibani Bhatija squeezes in so much that by the end of two hours and forty minutes, even if Rizwan isn't exhausted, you are.

Rizwan is undeniably the best thing about My Name is Khan. Shah Rukh's performance has little subtlety about it - for that watch Hugh Dancy doing Asperger's in Adam - but it is heartfelt, endearing and more controlled than anything he's ever done before. Watch him in a lovely scene in which Kajol accepts his proposal or how he restrains his tears so that his eyes brim but never well over.

I recommend that you see Khan for him. The film itself is too uneven to give us the emotional high we were waiting for.

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Jimmy Shergill, Zarina Wahab.
Music: Shanka, Ehsaan, Loy
Director: Karan Johar
Producer: Gauri Khan/Hiroo Johar
Writer: Karan Johar/Shibani Bathija
Lyricist: Niranjan Iyengar
Choreographer: Farah Khan

Priya Roy is a freelance writer and well known author. She has been associated with Moviesworld4u.com. She provide useful advice through her articles that have been found very useful. To find Free latest hollywood movies, Latest Hitech News, bollywood movies, musics, videos, Watch Online Movies, horror movies, hindi dubbed movies, tv show visit http://www.moviesworld4u.com

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