CAST UNVEILED FOR NEW "JAMES BOND" FILM: "SKYFALL"

Javier Bardem at TIFF 2010

If there was ever any doubt Javier Bardem is a major International Star now, that answer now would appear to be a clear and decisive "yes".  The Spanish Actor has just been cast in the upcoming 23rd James Bond Film, Skyfall, to be helmed by American Beauty Director Sam Mendes.

Reprising his role for a third time will be Daniel Craig, despite rumours of now-in-Toronto Idris Elba taking-over the Role as the first Black James Bond.  Dame Judi Dench will be returning also and appearing for the first time will be French Actress Bérénice Marlohe and Naomie Harris.

The Film will be released in the UK first on October 26, 2012.  Filming will take place at Pinewood Studios in London and also across Scotland, Turkey and China.

See Photos from the Cast Unveiling here.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

EXCLUSIVE ACADEMY AWARDS TV SPOT FOR "BIUTIFUL"

 Maple Pictures was wonderful enough to give us this exclusive Premiere of the Academy Awards Television Spot for Biutiful, which is now in theatres in Ottawa and Toronto. This Friday, the Film starring Oscar winner Javier Bardem, expands to Calgary, Montreal and Halifax and next Friday (February 25, 2011), the release widens also to Edmonton and Vancouver.

Watch the TV Spot in full below:

They are also holding a contest which could win you and your Friends to a Private Screening of your own for Biutiful and also an Oscars Prize Pack which includes the following DVDs: Winter's Bone, Restrepo, The Cove, The Hurt Locker, Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire and Amores Perros.  Click here to enter.  Deadline is March 3, 2011.

Click here to read my review of Biutiful.

BIUTIFUL - MOVIE REVIEW

Still from Biutiful

Alejandro González Iñárritu's latest effort is a portrait of dying Man, struggling in a race against time to ensure the one thing constant in his life, his loving Children, are cared for after he passes on. Despite being prolonged by lengthy nuances, it possesses true heart thanks to its tragic Hero.

Biutiful centers around Uxbal (Javier Bardem) who deals in underground affairs, including selling the labour of illegal immigrants in Barcelona. Having separated from his mentally unstable and Alcoholic Wife Marambra (Maricel Álvarez), he finds himself drawn back to her both out of love and a need for a Maternal figure in their Children's lives.

Hai (Cheng Tai-Shen) is Uxbal's Business Associate and together they are caught in a dangerous struggle to keep the illegal Chinese immigrants whom they are harbouring, under the radar from Police. At the same time they must find these people Employment as the future of Uxbal's Children is dependent on this much-needed income and thus, a driving force in his fight to live.

RENEE ZELLWEGER & COLIN FIRTH REUNITE AT "THE KING'S SPEECH" AUDI PARTY

Renée Zellweger & Colin Firth

She hasn't looked this good in years!  Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth did a Bridget Jones's Diary reunion of their own reunion at Château Marmont last night as Audi hosted a part for Oscar Contender The King's Speech. 

The Party was full of talent including the likes of Amanda Seyfried, Michelle Williams, Busy Phillips, Cory Monteith, Gerard Butler and Orlando Bloom.

The Party comes one day after the annual Oscars Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where Nominees showed-up in full force except for a noticably absent Director David Fincher for The Social Network.



THE NEW YORK TIMES' ACTORS WHO DEFINED CINEMA IN 2010

Vincent Cassel in The New York Times

I look forward to this every year! The New York Times has just published their annual Photos of The Actors Who Defined Cinema in 2010 and as expected, the Black & White Portraits are stunning.

Among those photographed by The New York Times' Solve Sundsbo this year are the likes of James Franco, Natalie Portman, Jesse Eisenberg, Vincent Cassel, Annette Bening, Javier Bardem, Matt Damon and more.  My favourite is the above Gene Kelly-like shot of Cassel.

Click here to see the complete series of Portraits or purchase Sunday's edition of The New York Times which includes a free Magazine with these photos.  Portman will be gracing its Cover in case you needed that extra incentive.

I know I don't own these Photos, but I can't help posting a couple more of my favourites because I love them so much!

JAVIER BARDEM AT TIFF PREMIERE OF "BIUTIFUL"

Eat Pray Love star and Oscar winner Javier Bardem arrived in Toronto Thursday night to promote his latest film Biutiful, from director Alejandro González Iñárritu.  Pictured above is Bardem leaving the Wintergarden Theatre, signing one autograph and heading straight into his SUV.  The film continues to gain a lot of Oscar buzz for Bardem in the Best Actor race.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W.)

EAT PRAY LOVE REVIEW

You will have an uncontrollable urge to eat Pasta and Thin-Crust Pizza after seeing this. Sony Pictures' Eat Pray Love might take a few liberties with the Elizabeth Gilbert memoir in which it is based upon, but overall it succeeds as a movie-going experience.

Eat Pray Love, directed by Glee's Ryan Murphy, follows the story of successful writer Liz Gilbert (Julia Roberts) who decides that she is no longer satisfied with her marriage, leaving her husband Stephen (Billy Crudup). As predicted by a Medicine Man named Ketut (Hadi Subiyanto) whom she visits in an off-chance in Bali, she will lose everything before going on a year-long journey, which brings her back to him full circle.  He predicts she will gain everything back again in due time, but in order to do so she must complete this said journey. Thus, in finding herself, she takes a transcontinental trip leaving her life, possessions and friends like Delia (Viola Davis) in New York.  She travels to Italy, India and finally Indonesia. 

Liz is forced to face her biggest inner-demon - that is - finding and loving herself. Along the way though, she gets involved with an alluring young actor in David (James Franco); learns Italian while gaining much weight from Italy's sumptuous cuisine; masters the art of Meditation in India while befriending a no-nonsense Texan named Richard (Richard Jenkins) and finally finds love in Indonesia unexpectedly with a world-traveling Brazilian hunk Felipe (Javier Bardem).  All play a pivotal role in teaching her life lessons.  Oh, yeah.

NYC PREMIERE OF EAT PRAY LOVE & JAMES FRANCO ON EAT PRAY LOVE

*scream*  That's Javier Bardem and Julia Roberts at the New York premiere last night of Eat Pray Love held at Ziegfeld Theatre.  Doesn't she look amazing in a jacket Stella McCartney, daughter of this man, and shorts of by DVB (David Victoria Beckham)?

I just finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love literally minutes ago in what seemed like the quickest read ever, and am psyched to see it this Friday.  In the film, Bardem will play Felipe, a sexy Brazillian world traveler whom Roberts' character falls in love with after a journey of self-discovery which takes her across three countries.

Interestingly, James Franco who appears only early in the film as the younger lover David who devastates Roberts' character, covers the September issue of Esquire Magazine also.  In his interview, he's asked what he thought about the book Eat Pray Love and he replied frankly, "What can I say about Eat Pray Love? Let’s see (pauses for 15 seconds) You know, in Eat Pray Love, my character mostly appears in the first 20 pages of the book. (smiles) And I can definitely say I read the first twenty pages."  Hey - why work harder than you have to, right?  I call that efficiency!

I've done a quick search for early reviews of the movie and there appears to be some sort of an Embargo as there is nothing published yet still.  And generally that's a bad sign.  But let's be honest though, critics generally are tougher on Chick Flicks, so I say - walk in with low expectations.  I don't care as I am going to love it - any excuse to stare at Roberts for 133 minutes!  Let yourself go, B*tches!!

UPDATE: Ouch.  The Critics are mauling the Baby Lamb that is known as Eat Pray Love.  Click here for the scathing reviews.

(Photo credit: Associated Press)

JULIA ROBERTS ON GAINING 11 LBS. FILMING EAT PRAY LOVE

PopSugar has posted trascripts for a Press Junket my current obsession Julia Roberts for Eat Pray Love. She talks about working with Javier Bardem and putting on 11 lbs from all the eating in Italy.... but she definitely isn't feeling the Indian Cuisine.

On Italian cuisine: "...they did go to great elaborate pains to make food that I had to eat endlessly in the heat. So there was this one plate of pasta that was — all other circumstances removed — delicious pasta. It was simple spaghetti. It was delicious..."

On Indian cuisine: "India, well let's just say this. I, as a mother, pack like a 10-pound box of medicines and Band-aids and alcohol and all these things — which I never had to open — and a 10-pound box of snacks, so that might have been my favorite bite. Every time I turned to that box late at night, a granola bar."

Ouch! How could anyone not love Indian food?  Clearly she was eating in the wrong places!

THAI FILM WINS BIG IN CANNES

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, better known as just "Joe" in Thailand, pulled a surprise upset for the coveted Palme D'Or Award at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, which concluded last night. His film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is described as a dying man's meditation of his past lives and ghostly relatives, winning high points with this year's Jury, led by President and acclaimed filmmaker Tim Burton.  The film apparently contains a sex scene between a Princess and a Catfish. How original!

As predicted, Oscar winner Javier Bardem took home the award for Best Actor in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful, sharing the award with Italian actor Elio Germano in Daniele Luchetti's Our Life. Apparently Bardem's girlfriend Penélope Cruz was seen in tears after he thanked her in his Acceptance Speech.