I’m getting to this a wee bit late, but hey : The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis has announced plans for the inaugural Internet Cat Video Film Festival, which is… exactly what it sounds like. LOL? The Aug. 30 event will take place as part of the Walker Open Field program; its organizer has elaborated on the details at the program’s site: Walker Open Field welcomes cat lovers (and challenges haters – c’mon, you know who you are) to openly release your cat-video-induced giggles and emotions that are otherwise muffled by computer screens and constrained by cubicles. Rejoice and be free like my favorite triumphant slow-motion kitten playing in the video below. Let’s transform this singular small screen viewing experience into a shared celebration with the larger-than-life projection of these silly clips out on the Open Field. Not only am I totally down with this, but I recommend everyone attend this year before the scene is overrun with scenesters and marketers and gifting suites flanking bumper-to-bumper traffic in which Harvey Weinstein barks bidding-war instructions to his SUV full of subordinates (“She licks herself! We can release it unrated !” etc. etc.) beneath a smoggy pall of industry anomie. Or, failing that, you can always elect your favorites for inclusion here . Anyway, about that slo-mo kitty: [ Animal via Gawker ; photo via Walker Open Field ]
New York Times writer Jon Caramanica explains why ‘No Such Thing as White Jesus’ is ‘what Nas needs right now.’ By Rob Markman Frank Ocean Photo: Karl Walter/Getty Images
Comedian made his debut and crooner made his comeback at the New Orleans music festival. By Rebecca Thomas Trey Songz, Kevin Hart and Tank at the 2012 Essence Music Festival Photo: Kirill Kuletski and Collins Metu
‘Brown Sugar’ singer continues his comeback with a spirited performance at New Orleans’ Superdome. By Rebecca Thomas D’Angelo performs at the 2012 Essence Music Festival Photo: Getty Images
Also in Monday morning’s round up of film news, more winners from the Edinburgh International Film Festival as well as fest news from Karlovy Vary and Shanghai.And Spider-Man opens overseas to some impressive numbers China’s Here, Then Takes Best Pic at Edinburgh Fest The feature by director Mao Mao won Best Film in the International Feature Competition, while One Mile Away by director Penny Woolcock won Best British Feature. Andrea Riseborough and Brid Brennan jointly won Best Performance in James Marsh’s Shadow Dancer . More awards from the Edinburgh International Film Festival can be found here . Around the ‘net… Beasts of the Southern Wild Ferocious; To Rome With Love Strong: Specialty Box Office After a slew of festival accolades including prizes at Sundance and Cannes, Beasts Of The Southern Wild swarmed the box office. With no stars and a first-time feature filmmaker, the pic nevertheless resonated with specialty audiences in-the-know. In New York and Los Angeles, the Louisiana Bayou-set film averaged an impressive $42,309 in four theaters, Deadline reports . Spider-Man Opens Overseas with $52.2M The pic opened in 13 overseas markets in Asia and Europe, out-performing even The Avengers in some countries including India, Deadline reports . Pulled Film Reinstated at Karlovy Vary Film Festival The world premiere of director Sara Csehalmi’s Dear Betrayed Friends had been taken out of the Czech Republic’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s East of the West competition when post production funds ran out. The cancellation sparked a debate in Hungary where film productions have suffered recently, THR reports . Shanghai Fest Reflects Growing Biz Local businesses are concerned about growing competition from Hollywood. The Shanghai Film Festival had one of its biggest editions in 15 years. 300 domestic and foreign-produced films screened in 33 cinemas, Variety reports .
Norway didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for Snoop Dogg, stopping the rapper for pot possession. Fortunately, it didn’t throw the book at him either. Upon arriving at Oslo airport today in the country’s capital, Snoop was held by customs after a canine unit sniffed out a small amount of marijuana. Knock us over with a feather. This hasn’t happened since … January . Lucky for Snoop, Norway marijuana laws are lax; up to 15 grams is generally considered personal use and punishable by a fine of 5000 kroner ($827). So no criminal charges for the Doggfather, though he was also found to possess a large amount of cash exceeding legal limits and fined for that too. Total penalties: 52,000 kroner, or $8,600, which he paid – he was carrying massive amounts of cash after all – and then was sent on his way. Not a bad day for Norwegian customs officials or Snoop really. Customs officers who stopped him told the news outlet that he was polite throughout and they were not aware of who he was until he showed ID. Snoop Dogg, who was in Norway to perform as one of the headliners of the Hove Festival, was asked by VGTV why he was five hours late to the event. “Man, shut the f–k up,” he snapped, in big white shades emblazoned with his moniker. “I’m here… be happy I’m here and ask some real questions.” Point taken.
Norway didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for Snoop Dogg, stopping the rapper for pot possession. Fortunately, it didn’t throw the book at him either. Upon arriving at Oslo airport today in the country’s capital, Snoop was held by customs after a canine unit sniffed out a small amount of marijuana. Knock us over with a feather. This hasn’t happened since … January . Lucky for Snoop, Norway marijuana laws are lax; up to 15 grams is generally considered personal use and punishable by a fine of 5000 kroner ($827). So no criminal charges for the Doggfather, though he was also found to possess a large amount of cash exceeding legal limits and fined for that too. Total penalties: 52,000 kroner, or $8,600, which he paid – he was carrying massive amounts of cash after all – and then was sent on his way. Not a bad day for Norwegian customs officials or Snoop really. Customs officers who stopped him told the news outlet that he was polite throughout and they were not aware of who he was until he showed ID. Snoop Dogg, who was in Norway to perform as one of the headliners of the Hove Festival, was asked by VGTV why he was five hours late to the event. “Man, shut the f–k up,” he snapped, in big white shades emblazoned with his moniker. “I’m here… be happy I’m here and ask some real questions.” Point taken.
Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round up news, iTunes heads to major Asian markets for music and movies. World’s oldest and biggest LGBT film festival announces its winners, the Directors Guild names awards dinner chair, while BAFTA announces its new chairman. CBGB film festival locks its program and Hayden Christensen can proceed with a lawsuit. iTunes Heads to More of Asia Apple launched the iTunes store in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan as well as Brunei, Cambodia, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam the online outfit said Wednesday. In addition to local and international music offerings, customers will also be able to rent or purchase movies, of course. The major studios should be happy with iTunes’ new reach. Winners Unveiled at World’s Oldest LGBT Film Festival San Francisco’s Frameline Film Festival awarded its Juried Outstanding First Feature to Facing Mirrors by Negar Azarbeyjani while Outstanding Documentary went to The Invisible Men by Yariv Mozer. Thom Fitzgerald’s Cloudburst took Best Feature Film in the Audience Award category, while Call Me Kuchu by Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall took Best Documentary Film. Best short in the category went to Mitsuyo Miyazaki’s Tsuyako . For more winners and descriptions, see the Frameline website . Michael Stevens Named Chair of DGA Awards Michael Stevens will serve as the chair of the 65th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards Dinner taking place at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles on February 2, 2013. Stevens is an Emmy Award-winning producer, director and writer of more than 30 prime-time event and concert specials. CBGB Film Festival Locks Slate The CBGB movie is being made but for those who need more, there’s the CBGB Film Festival. The world premiere of The Rise and Fall of The Clash is on tap as well as debuts of Bob and the Monster about Bob Forrest as well as What Did you Expect? The Archers of Loaf live at Cat’s Cradle /. The festival takes place at the Landmark Sunshine Cinema in New York July 5 – 8. See the site for more details. Around the ‘net… BAFTA Appoints John Willis its Chairman Willis replaces Tim Corrie as head of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Willis is head of production company Mentorn Media and a 30 year-member of BAFTA, winning a BAFTA award for Best Factual Program in 1976 for Johnny Go Home , Deadline reports . Scarlett Johansson Hacker Must Pony up $66K to Actress Computer hacker Christopher Chaney of Jacksonville, FL circulated nude photos of Scarlett Johansson and Christina Aguilera after breaking into the email accounts of their mutual stylist. He received a 71 month prison sentence from federal prosecutors and ordered to pay $150K to his victims including $66,179.46 to Johansson, $7,500 to Aguilera and $76,767.35 to The Secret Life of an American Teenager actress Renee Olstead, Vanity Fair reports . Whoopi Goldberg Opens Kickstarter Campaign The View talk show host is hoping to raise $65K on the crowd-funding site for her documentary on stand-up comedian Moms Mabley who rose to national prominence in the ’60s. Indiewire speaks with Goldberg. Court OKs Hayden Christensen Lawsuit Star Wars actor Hayden Christensen and his brother Tove have been given the go-ahead to pursue a lawsuit against USA Networks an appeals court said Tuesday. The pair along with Forest Park Pictures claim the network’s show Royal Pains , about a doctor who makes house-calls to the rich and famous in the Hamptons is eerily similar to a pitch they made in 2005 about a doctor who makes house calls in Malibu, California, Reuters reports .
