Category: Articles

2012 Jan 27

Kate Winslet to receive honorary César award

British actress Kate Winslet is to receive an honorary César award at France’s equivalent of the Oscars next month, it has been announced.

Roman Polanski, who directed the 36-year-old in recent release Carnage, will present her with the prize.

French drama Poliss, written, directed by and starring Maiwenn lead the shortlist with 13 nods, including best film and director.

The Minister picked up 11 nods and silent film The Artist was up for 10.

The French silent film, which is one of the leading contenders at this year’s Academy Awards, was re-released in France on Wednesday.

“Don’t forget that the César awards were created in homage to the Oscars,” French Film Academy president Alain Terzian told The Hollywood Reporter.

He added that the Césars symbolically take place in the same weekend as the Oscars.

“It’s an homage I want to permanently pay,” said Mr. Terzian.

He said they are expecting The Artist stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, both up for César acting prizes, to attend the French ceremony, before flying to the US for the Oscars.

The Artist and Poliss will compete alongside The Minister, Declaration Of War, Le Havre and Untouchable in the best film category.

Poliss, about a police child protection unit, was presented with the jury prize at last May’s Cannes Film Festival.

British film The King’s Speech received a nomination in the best foreign film category, and was joined by Black Swan, Drive, The Kid With The Bike, Melancholia and Iranian Oscar hopeful A Separation.

French actor-director Guillaume Canet will preside over the annual awards in Paris on February 24.

Source: BBC News

2012 Jan 27

“Labor Day”, starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin, will shoot in Massachusetts this summer

Director Jason Reitman is gearing up for his next project, Labor Day, which will star Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.

The movie is based on Joyce Maynard’s book of the same name and is set on a late summer Labor Day holiday weekend in the 1980s. It opens with a divorced, depressed single mom (Winslet) who encounters a large, bleeding man (Brolin) while shopping with her 13-year-old. He asks for a ride and against their better judgment, they agree. Meanwhile, they learn that police are searching their town for an escaped convict. The story is mostly told through the eyes of 13-year-old Henry, who spends most of his time daydreaming or watching TV.

As we reported last month, there have been rumors that the movie would be filmed in the Boston area next summer and now, based on the casting call below, it looks like the rumors are true.

Chrystie Street Casting recently issued a casting call for the part of Henry, which Reitman has stressed is crucial to the movie because, “we’ve got to find someone very special.” He has also implied that he has not ruled out using an unknown actor for the role.

But, the casting call also confirms that the movie will be filming in Massachusetts in June. You can check out the complete listing below:

Chrystie Street Casting is casting Labor Day, a feature film. Chrystie Street Casting has cast the films Young Adult, Precious, Shakespeare In Love, Good Will Hunting, Cider House Rules, Pineapple Express, The Wrestler, and 200 other major films, as well as the TV series Pan Am. Jason Reitman (Juno, Up In The Air), dir.; Suzanne Smith Crowley & Jessica Kelly, casting. Shooting begins June 2012 in MA.

Seeking — Henry: boy, 13 years old (submit ages 10-14), Caucasian, a true innocent, has taken over the role of caretaker and protector to his fragile and reclusive mother Adele, an observant boy who understands his mother’s loneliness, but is too young to understand why he cannot entirely fill it, when a new man enters the picture the friend-less Henry is both exhilarated by the relationship and threatened by the prospect that he is no longer needed by his mother, LEAD; Eleanor: girl, 14 years old (submit ages 10-14), Caucasian, a skinny girl, a product of a broken home, newly moved from a big city to live with her father and is already bored with the small town entertainments, an intelligent girl, learned how to get what she wants with wit, calculations, and her newly developed sexual awareness, to Henry she is the mysterious hot girl who seems to know everything about the world that he doesn’t, LEAD; Barry: boy, 15 years old (submit ages 12-17), Caucasian, mentally challenged, could be Down’s Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy, the wheelchair-bound son of Evelyn (the lead character’s only friend), can only communicate through gurgles and mumbles, is perhaps more engaged in the world around him than his mother realizes, seeking actors who have either condition described above, supporting role.

To be considered, e-mail recent pics, age, and contact info as soon as possible to labordaycasting@gmail.com. No phone calls. Professional pay provided. SAG Film Agreement.

Source: Backstage

2012 Jan 13

Winslet to star in Branagh romance

Kate Winslet is attached to star in The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, which Kenneth Branagh is set to direct for Fox 2000.
This reunites Winslet with Branagh for the first time since she played Ophelia in his bigscreen Hamlet in 1996.

The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society is adapted by Don Roos from the bestseller by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

It’s a love story set in the London and the Channel Islands after WWII. Winslet will play a magazine columnist who enters into a correspondence with a man from Guernsey, and learns how the islanders used a book group during the war as cover to outwit their German occupiers.

Captivated by their stories of the occupation, and how the books came to influence their lives, she decides to travel to Guernsey herself, a journey that changes her forever.

In a recent interview with Variety, Branagh described the project as “a beautiful romance, very touching and uplifting.”

The project is being produced by Paula Masur and Mitchell Kaplan, with Branagh’s regular partner David Barron. Shooting is scheduled for March, according to the Daily Mail.

The book was first published in the U.S. in 2008. It was the first and only novel by Mary Ann Shaffer, an editor and librarian, whose niece Annie Burrows helped her finish it when Shaffer became terminally ill. Shaffer died aged 74 a few months before the novel was published.

Source: Variety

2011 Dec 22

Kate Winslet to present top Aussie award to Pearce

Actress Kate Winslet is set to fete her Mildred Pierce co-star Guy Pearce with a special award for his career achievements at an event recognizing notable Australians.

Pearce will be one of three guests of honor, alongside basketball player Luc Longley and musical duo Air Supply, at the 9th annual G’Day USA Los Angeles Black Tie Gala on January 14.

G’Day Usa Organising Committee Chairman Wally Mariani says, “We are thrilled to have Kate Winslet present her Mildred Pierce co-star Guy Pearce with the Excellence in Film & Television Award at this year’s G’Day USA Los Angeles Black Tie Gala, especially the night before the Golden Globes, when they are both nominees.”

The prizegiving is part of the three-week G’Day USA Australia Week programme.

Previous honorees include Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and Naomi Watts.

Source: Contactmusic

2011 Dec 15

Hats off to Kate Winslet!

Kate Winslet’s make-up collection for Lancôme is finally available in the UAE! The beauty giant recently announced its support to the Golden Hat Foundation created by Kate, who has been a brand Ambassadress for four years.
Lancôme promises to donate at least Dhs700,000 of its sales profits to the non-profit foundation which raises money to better the lives of autistic children. Kate said, “I’ve been thinking about setting up this project for a long time, and Lancôme’s instant offer of support is a huge display of confidence and generosity,” adding, “Lancôme has given me the strength to go all the way and I know that this will open many doors.” What a sweetie!

Source: AHLAN!

2011 Dec 08

Richard Branson invites Kate Winslet to spend Christmas at Necker Island

Kate Winslet has been invited to return to Branson’s Necker Island for Christmas and New Year, along with her tediously surnamed boyfriend Ned Rocknroll.

The Titanic star was a guest at Richard’s £60 million private Caribbean island this summer, when the Great House they were staying in went up in flames after being struck by lightning.

Kate, 36, escaped the terrifying inferno and carried Richard’s 90-year-old mum, Eve, to safety.

A source said: “Richard’s invited her and the kids back to thank her for her bravery in saving his mother.”

Richard is fixing the house ahead of daughter Holly’s wedding, due later this month.

Source: Mirror

2011 Nov 27

Kate Winslet to move in with new beau

Kate Winslet, who presently shares a $2.2 million New York apartment with ex-husband Sam Mendes, now looks forward for a live-in relationship with new beau Ned Rocknroll.

The pair has been inseparable since their meeting on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island this summer.

“Kate and Ned have barely spent a day apart since they met,” the Daily Mail quoted a friend as saying.

“They have been traveling together recently but are hoping to find a base that they can call home.”

“Sam isn’t keen on them moving into the New York place, which they own jointly, so Kate is looking for something else, either in the States or Britain,” the friend added.

Source: Hindustan Times