TIFF heads Cameron Bailey and Piers Handling gave details on galas and other festival highlights taking place in Toronto this September, including its opening film. In other news from Tuesday’s round-up of briefs, Jeremy Renner and Bill Condon eye a WikiLeaks pic and Steven Spielberg set to honor Stanley Kubrick at an L.A. museum. Futuristic Action Thriller Looper to Open 2012 Toronto International Film Festival Looper is set in 2072, a mob target is sent 30 years into the past where a hired gun awaits. Rian Johnson directed the film, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. This is the third year the festival has not opened with a Canadian film, which was its previous policy. “Rian Johnson is a film auteur known for combining different genres to give his projects an original spin,” Piers Handling, director and CEO of TIFF commented. “We’re thrilled to have Looper open the festival.” 3 Arrested in Separate Dark Knight Rises Incidents A Maine man was arrested with weaponry after he told authorities he was on his way to shoot a former employee after watching the movie. In California, a man was arrested after witnesses said he made threats alluding to the Aurora, CO shooting when the movie didn’t start. And in Arizona, a man who appeared intoxicated was confronted at the movie causing a “mass hysteria” leading 50 people to flea the theater, A.P. reports . Jeremy Renner, Bill Condon Eye WikiLeaks Film Renner is looking to play Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder through Dreamworks. The studio is also talking to Bill Condon to direct, Deadline reports . Warner Bros. Makes Donation to Victims of Colorado Shooting The amount was not disclosed and the studio did not make an official announcement. The studio said it was working with the state’s governor’s office and would give through givingfirst.org, Deadline reports . LACMA, Steven Spielberg to Honor Stanley Kubrick and More Leonardo DiCaprio and museum trustee Eva Chow will charm the second annual Art + Film Gala, which will also honor artist Ed Ruscha, both who will have exhibitions of their work at the museum this fall, THR reports .
One of North America’s biggest annual film events released details of its lineup Tuesday morning including 17 Galas and 45 “Special Presentations” that will screen in the 37th Toronto International Film Festival in September. Festival CEO and Director Piers Handling as well as TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey announced the lineup this morning in Toronto at a live event about this year’s festival, which includes 38 world premieres. As revealed earlier , Looper with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis will open the festival. Debuts from directors worldwide including Andrew Adamson, Ben Affleck, David Ayer, Maiken Baird, Noah Baumbach, J.A. Bayona, Stuart Blumberg, Josh Boone, Laurent Cantet, Sergio Castellitto, Stephen Chbosky, Lu Chuan, Derek Cianfrance, Costa-Gavras, Liz Garbus, Dustin Hoffman, Rian Johnson, Neil Jordan, Baltasar Kormákur, Shola Lynch, Deepa Mehta, Roger Michell, Ruba Nadda, Mike Newell, François Ozon, Sally Potter, Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman, Eran Riklis, David O. Russell, Tom Tykwer & Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski, Margarethe von Trotta, Joss Whedon and Yaron Zilberman are in the lineup. TIFF takes place September 6 – 16. Today’s lineup follows. More details from the festival will be announced the coming weeks… “We are thrilled to announce so many exciting and prestigious films today, with many more to follow,” said Handling in a statement. “This year’s Festival is looking particularly strong with bold, adventuresome work coming from established and emerging filmmakers.” “This year we present our most diverse Gala programme to date with films from Japan, China, India, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, USA and Canada,” added Bailey. “Toronto’s red carpet is a global one and we’re excited to welcome some of the world’s best filmmakers and greatest stars to Canada.” Toronto lineup details provided by the festival : Galas : Looper by Rian Johnson, USA World Premiere (Opening Night Film) In the futuristic action thriller Looper , time travel will be invented – but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good… until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. Also starring Emily Blunt, Paul Dano and Jeff Daniels. A Royal Affair by Nikolai Arcel, Denmark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany North American Premiere A Royal Affair is a gripping tale of brave idealists who risk everything in their pursuit of freedom for the people. Above all, it is the story of a passionate and forbidden romance that changed an entire nation. Starring Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander. Argo by Ben Affleck, USA World Premiere When militants storm the U.S. embassy in 1979 Tehran, six Americans manage to slip away. Knowing it’s only a matter of time before they are found, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist comes up with a plan to get them out of the country: a plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies. Starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Kyle Chandler. The Company You Keep by Robert Redford, USA North American Premiere Jim Grant (Robert Redford), a civil rights lawyer and single father, must go on the run when a brash young reporter (Shia LaBeouf) exposes his true identity as a former 1970s radical fugitive wanted for murder. Sparking a nationwide manhunt, Grant sets off on a cross-country journey to clear his name. Also starring Susan Sarandon, Terrence Howard, Anna Kendrick, Stanley Tucci, Chris Cooper and Nick Nolte. Dangerous Liaisons by Hur Jin-ho, China North American Premiere As war looms in Shanghai, glamorous libertine Mo Jietu (Cecilia Cheung) runs into playboy Xie Yifan (Dong-gun Jang), an ex-boyfriend who’s never stopped loving her. She persuades him to play a treacherous game: Xie must seduce the innocent and naïve Du Fenyu (Zhang Ziyi) and then dump her. But the game becomes increasingly dangerous as Xie falls in love with Du, leading them all to tragic and shocking consequences. English Vinglish by Gauri Shinde, India World Premiere Money, fame and a knowledge of English. In India, these 3 factors play a huge role in how society judges an individual. English Vinglish is the story of Shashi, a woman who does not know English and in turn is made to feel insecure by her family and society at large. The film is the lighthearted yet touching and transformational journey of Shashi. Circumstances make her determined to overcome this insecurity, master the language, teach the world a lesson on the way to becoming a self assured and confident woman. This film marks the comeback of India’s biggest female star, Sridevi. Free Angela & All Political Prisoners by Shola Lynch, USA/France World Premiere Legendary radical activist Angela Davis’ words and actions made her a revolutionary icon in the 1960s. The documentary Free Angela & All Political Prisoners tells the dramatic story of how a young philosophy professor’s social justice activism implicates her in the botched kidnapping attempt of a judge that ends in bloody shootout. Newsweek asks: what would prompt Angela Davis, “the daughter of the black bourgeoisie, to take a desperate turn to terrorism?” Great Expectations by Mike Newell, United Kingdom World Premiere Based on the Charles Dickens classic. Orphan Pip rises from humble beginnings thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Moving through London’s class-ridden world as a gentleman, Pip uses his new status to pursue Estella, a beautiful, heartless heiress he’s always loved. The shocking truth behind his fortune will have devastating consequences for everything he holds dear. Starring Holliday Grainger, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Jeremy Irvine. Hyde Park on Hudson by Roger Michell, United Kingdom World Premiere In June 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Academy Award® nominee Bill Murray) and his wife Eleanor (Olivia Williams) host the King and Queen of England (Samuel West and Olivia Colman) for a weekend at the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park on Hudson in upstate New York. With Britain facing imminent war with Germany, the Royals are desperately looking to FDR for support. But international affairs must be juggled with the complexities of FDR’s domestic establishment. Seen through the eyes of Daisy (Academy Award nominee Laura Linney), Franklin’s neighbour and intimate, the weekend will produce not only a special relationship between two great nations, but also a deeper understanding of the mysteries of love and friendship. Inescapable by Ruba Nadda, Canada World Premiere One afternoon, on a typical day at work, Adib is confronted with devastating news: His eldest daughter, Muna, has gone missing in Damascus. Now Adib, who has not been back in over 30 years, must return to Syria and deal with his secret past in order to find her. Inescapable is a thriller about a father’s desperate search for his daughter and the chaos of the Middle East he left behind. Starring Alexander Siddig, Marisa Tomei and Joshua Jackson. Jayne Mansfield’s Car by Billy Bob Thornton, USA/Russia North American Premiere Jayne Mansfield’s Car is a funny, poignant and searching look at three generations of fathers and sons in the South during the tumultuous ‘60s. It follows the family’s heartfelt — and sometimes hilarious — struggles with long-held resentments, secrets, the memories of war, and how life, death and loss shaped them all. Starring Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon, Billy Bob Thornton and John Hurt. Love, Marilyn by Liz Garbus, USA World Premiere Nearly 50 years after her death, two boxes of Marilyn Monroe’s private writings and musings were discovered in the home of her acting coach. These papers, brought to life in this innovative documentary film by some of our contemporary icons and stars, give us a new understanding of Monroe — revealing her carefully guarded inner life. Featuring Elizabeth Banks, Lindsay Lohan, Evan Rachel Wood, Ben Foster, Uma Thurman, Paul Giamatti, Viola Davis, Jeremy Piven, Ellen Burstyn, Adrien Brody, Marisa Tomei and Glenn Close. Midnight’s Children by Deepa Mehta, Canada/ United Kingdom World Premiere “Born in the hour of India’s freedom. Handcuffed to history.” Midnight’s Children is an epic film from Academy Award-nominated director Deepa Mehta, based on the Booker Prize-winning novel by Salman Rushdie. At the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, as India proclaims independence from Great Britain, two newborn babies are switched by a nurse in a Bombay hospital. Saleem Sinai, the illegitimate son of a poor Hindu woman, and Shiva, the offspring of wealthy Muslims, are fated to live the destiny meant for each other. Their lives become mysteriously intertwined and are inextricably linked to India’s whirlwind journey of triumphs and disasters. Starring Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami, Rajat Kapoor, Seema Biswas, Shriya Saran, Siddharth, Ronit Roy, Rahul Bose, Kulbushan Kharbanda, Soha Ali Khan, Anita Majumdar, Zaib Shaikh and Darsheel Safary. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mira Nair, USA North American Premiere Based on the best-selling novel of the same title, that was translated into 25 languages, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a riveting international political thriller that follows the story of a young Pakistani man chasing corporate success on Wall Street, who ultimately finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American dream, a hostage crisis and the enduring call of his family’s homeland. Starring Riz Ahmed, Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland and Liev Schreiber. Silver Linings Playbook David O. Russell, USA World Premiere An intense, loving, emotional and funny family story from The Fighter director, David O. Russell. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence find themselves partners in a secret arrangement to rebuild their broken lives. Robert De Niro yearns to get closer to his son (Cooper), as he tries to keep the family afloat with his compulsive bookmaking. Jacki Weaver and Chris Tucker co-star. Thermae Romae by Hideki Takeuchi, Japan North American Premiere Ancient Roman architect Lucius (Hiroshi Abe) is too serious. His inability to keep up with the fast-moving times costs him his job. When a friend takes the dejected Lucius to the public bathhouse to cheer him up, Lucius accidentally slips through time and resurfaces in a modern-day public bath in Japan. There, he meets aspiring young manga artist Mami (Aya Ueto), along with others of the “flat-faced clan.” Shocked by the many inventive aspects of Japan’s bathing culture, Lucius returns to ancient Rome and garners tremendous attention when he implements these novel ideas back in Rome. As he time-slips back and forth between ancient Rome and modern-day Japan, Lucius’ reputation as the ingenious, new bath architect begins to grow. Twice Born by Sergio Castellitto, Italy/Spain/Croatia World Premiere Gemma visits Sarajevo with her son, Pietro. Sixteen years ago they escaped the war-torn city while the boy’s father remained behind and later died. As she tries to repair her relationship with Pietro, a revelation forces Gemma to face loss, the cost of war and the redemptive power of love. Starring Penelope Cruz and Emile Hirsch. Special Presentations : A Few Hours of Spring by Stéphane Brizé, France North American Premiere Forty-eight-year-old Alain Evrard is obliged to return home to live with his mother. This situation causes all the violence of their past relationship to rise to the surface. Alain then discovers that his mother has a fatal illness. In the last months of her life, will they finally be capable of taking a step toward each other? Anna Karenina by Joe Wright, United Kingdom International Premiere The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic love story, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s timeless novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to surround her. Also starring Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
My name is Katherine and my love for Justin started a long time ago. It all started when I saw JUSTIN BIEBER in his first official video, “One Time.” I totally felt in love with him, I became his fan (belieber) since 07/07/09. I couldn’t believe how much I loved his music, his covers, etc. I had never felt that way for any other artist, it was an amazing feeling so I also wanted to go to one of his concerts! I couldn’t go to his tour in the US. When I had the chance to go to one of his concerts, it was when he was in Mexico . The same month of the concert I read on bieberfever.com that I could win a meet & greet! I told my mom and that same day I started to promote bieberfever. My mom was excited and she helped me with everything because she knew that to meet Justin Bieber was the only thing I have wanted for years! I did everything I could to promote bieberfever I prayed everyday so I could win. One day before the concert I received the e-mail that I waited for so long. I was in Mcdonald’s with some friends when I got the e-mail. I screamed, “I’m gonna meet Justin Bieber.” It was the 3rd best day ever. (1st one was when I met Justin and second was going to the concert). The day of, I went for my meet and greet bracelets. I waited for 40 minutes and before I went with him the people from ocesa told us it’s just a photo, so don’t even try. Kenny came out and he said hi, then Scooter came out and I was like is this possible? I said hi to Scooter and then the white Kenny came to see how many girls were in line. I went in the room and saw Justin. He was talking with Kenny and then Kenny told him that we were there. He stood up and said, “Hi!” to me and I hugged him. I couldn’t believe it, I was hugging Justin Bieber. I was so happy, I was the happiest girl in the world. I looked to the eyes and his face haha and he smiled at me. After they took the picture, I held Justin’s hand. I saw Alfredo and I was like, “Omg I am living my dream.” I didn’t know what to do, I dreamed about all these moments millions of times. I started crying as I left the room, I was crying because of happiness. Then we saw Scooter and all the girls took at picture with him. Then we took our place in the concert and the concert was amazing. I was screaming that I met Justin and all the girls was jealous. I dreamed about telling my Bieber experience and I’m doing it right now. I feel so blessed for everything!! Read more: My name is Katherine and my love for Justin started a long time…
My name is Kelsey (11) and this is MBE. It was June 3rd 2012, the day I met Scooter and Adam Braun at a Pencils of Promise charity b-ball game in Greenwich, Connecticutt . My mom and my friend Kayla decided to go see him. We were very surprised because there were only around 20 other beliebers there and we were all very respectable for Scooter because we all knew he was there for PoP and not for Justin. When we got in there I was shaking, we got in there kinda late and as soon as I saw Scooter I immediately froze. It was so crazy to see Scooter standing 5 feet in front of me so we sat down and watched the game for a bit. When Adam took a break from the game, we went over to him and asked him for a picture . Without hesitation he said yes! Me and Kayla stood next to him and he took the picture. Then we saw all the other girls start asking Scooter for pictures so we walked over and waited for our turn. We took a picture with him but it came out kinda blurry cause my mom was shaking SO much. I think she has bieber fever (or maybe Braun fever). We walked away and my mom was like, “Hey! I didn’t get a picture,” so we had to go back and ask him for another picture and he was very nice! We wanted a picture with Brad but as soon as we went over to ask him, he started to walk away with other beliebers. Thank you very much Scooter and Adam for taking the time out of a special day to take pictures with us! You were both very nice! Even though I didn’t meet Justin, this will still be a moment I will never forget and I will see u again Scooter cause I will meet Justin. -Kelsey Continued here: My name is Kelsey (11) and this is MBE. It was June 3rd 2012,…
Brooke Hogan has finally figured out how to make her not look like a fucking beast of a man when posing in her bikini and that is to make whoever is takign the pic stand a quarter mile away, allowing us to kinda make her out, cuz compared to a fucking scenic landscape, bitch looks small, tight and ready to be fucked by her dad…. The sad thing about this Brooke Hogan twitter bikini pic, is that I have never seen her look so hot….and that is because I can hardly see her….but I am sure Hulk already has his people on it, zooming and mastering the shit for him to jerk off to…cuz fucking your family, especially your daughter cuz you made her, is what Florida Trash do….
‘We are praying for the families and loved ones of the victims,’ Republican presidential candidate says in statement. By Kevin P. Sullivan People on the scene at the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado on Friday Photo: Thomas Cooper/ Getty Images
No, really — I’m asking: “Scalpers reportedly are re-selling The Dark Knight Rises ’ midnight IMAX tickets for $65-$100 apiece on both Craigslist and StubHub for NYC’s AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13 — higher even than for Avengers . Yet this may be my favorite Dark Knight Rises pre-release factoid so far: ‘All the major circuits have asked for more frequent pickups from their Brink’s Truck drivers to deposit the record amount of cash they are anticipating,’ a Warner Bros exec told me today.” [ Deadline ]
With a year to go before Pacific Rim hits theaters, Guillermo del Toro ( Hellboy , Pan’s Labyrinth ) hit Comic-Con with stars Charlie Hunnam , Ron Perlman , Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day to preview the giant robot-monster movie, inspired by the Japanese sci-fi pics he watched as a kid. His vision for the film? Dirty, epic, and realistic — so much so that Del Toro and his crew built functioning, practical robots and entire sets with hydraulics (“a huge engineering feat!”), putting his actors in the thick of the action rather than go the CG route. Del Toro called the experience “the best I’ve had on any film set in all my life.” Day remembered it slightly differently: “You tortured the f*** out of us!” Developed with writer Travis Beacham, Pacific Rim is set years into a war between humans, piloting massive robots called Jaegers, and giant monsters from the sea that threaten to wipe out civilization. When his passion project At the Mountains of Madness folded, Del Toro turned his attentions to Pacific Rim , channeling an outsized amount of energy into making it his most ambitious project to date. Given the Japanese sci-fi flicks that inspired the film — not to mention the upcoming Godzilla reboot bringing kaiju culture back into the mainstream — it’s easy to guess that genre aficionado Del Toro has crafted in Pacific Rim a love letter to said films. That love is abundant, but he insists that the pic will be forging its own path rather than referencing what’s come before. “I wouldn’t compare it to a Godzilla film,” said Del Toro. “[I told my crew] we should not reference other movies. We should not go and re-watch Gamera or re-watch Gojira or War of the Gargantuans because we love them, right? So we said, let’s create the world that we’re doing. We should not be doing a referential film.” So what should you know about Pacific Rim ? Del Toro and his cast shared the essentials of the characters and robots vs. monsters universe of the film. THE CHARACTERS Hunnam plays Raleigh Antrobus, a former soldier called back into action who partners with Rinko Kikuchi’s Mako Mori to co-pilot an obsolete Jaeger. “When you meet me in the beginning of the story I’ve suffered a giant loss, and not only has it killed my sense of self-worth, it’s also killed my will to fight and keep on going,” Hunnam explained. “Rinko and a couple of people bring me out of retirement to try to help in this grand push. And I think that journey is a very relatable one; I think everybody in their life has fallen down and not felt like getting back up, but you have to no matter how difficult it is.” Kikuchi, who earned an Oscar nomination for Babel and appeared in Rian Johnson’s Brothers Bloom , plays a newbie pilot who, like Raleigh, has also suffered great loss in her life. “The idea is that two people that are really, really hurt, can become one,” Del Toro said of the partnership between the two characters. “Both in the robot metaphorically, and in life. They meet when they’re two empty pieces and connect almost like a puzzle.” Making the leap to big screen action is Day ( It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia ), as Newt Gotlieb. “You need big tough guys and strong guys and the people that you believe could fight and save the world,” said Day, “and then in the case of my guy, you think, how does the sort of everyman who you’d think couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag — how’s that guy going to contribute? What I think people will latch onto with my character is how flawed he is in his attempts to help save the world.” Rounding out the cast is Del Toro regular Perlman, whose Hannibal Chow is a black marketeer specializing in the illicit monster trade. “I have a relationship with the powers that be whereby I have the right to sell all these fallen monsters on the black market to rich people who have way too much money and are looking to collect rare and exotic, strange shit. So I have no moral compass, I have no scruples whatsoever — I’m just a profiteer, and in this case a war profiteer. But the war is not amongst countries, it’s a war against time for all of humanity.” THE SETS In his pursuit for realism, Del Toro approximated faux-oil-splattered lenses and imperfect camera work to add believability to the visual experience. That desire for verisimilitude extended to his sets — some of which were outfitted with their own systems of shocks to make real the sort of effects that might otherwise be achieved with CG. “We built a lot of things that were oversize and difficult in order to bring that tactile effect,” Del Toro explained. “We built a whole street of Tokyo and we rigged it with pneumatic shocks, so every time the monster took a step the whole street would vibrate and the cars would jump and the walls would shake and the lampposts would shake and the air conditioning units would fall.” THE ROBOTS With names like Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha, the Jaegers of Pacific Rim are as tall as buildings and operate between two human pilots, connected by a neural link. “I wanted each robot to have a personality and for you to feel when the robot gets hurt, or when the robot wins,” said Del Toro. “I want to make the audience feel for those machines as much as they feel for the humans — and also, frankly, for the kaiju.” Del Toro and his team designed the robots with real world mechanics in mind, with parts that served practical functions. And when it came time to film, he called on his cast to jump into their rigs for the aforementioned “torture.” “The cockpit of the robot which is in the head, is almost three stories high,” described Del Toro. “And we mounted it on hydraulic shakers so in battle every time they got hit, it would really hit. And I wanted to do it with the actors, I didn’t want to do it with the doubles.” “The first time they were in,” he recalled, “Charlie came to visit the first group of actors — I won’t say who they were — and said, ‘Crybabies!’ This machine, which is the interface between the robots and them, flows with their bodies. It was a huge engineering feat. It was real. We could have done it CG, but why do that? [Laughs]” “Every guy broke. The only one that never complained was Rinko.” Stay tuned for Movieline’s chat with Rinko Kikuchi and read more from Comic-Con 2012 here . Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña are two L.A. cops who are on a hit list after they confiscate a drug gang’s cache of bling, firearms and cash during a traffic stop in one of the city’s most notorious precincts in the upcoming crime drama End of Watch . In this first clip from the film, a clean-shaven (and smooth skulled) Gyllenhaal and Peña share a moment of levity while on patrol with some chatty back-and-forths about each setting each other up on dates. The pair bond about hooking up, with Peña’s character Officer Zavala telling his officer buddy to pick someone from his background: “Sweet brown sugar,” he croons. Gyllenhaal’s Officer Brian Taylor launches into female character voice in playful mocking, spurning Peña to do a bit of tit-for-tat. The clip shows a moment of levity compared to the official trailer (below) which is chock-full of all the action and firearms to be expected from a film about police and drug cartels. End of Watch is directed by David Ayer, whose directorial debut Harsh Times also took place in South Central L.A. John Lesher produced the feature, which will be released September 28th in the U.S. End of Watch also stars Anna Kendrick, Cody Horn and America Ferrera. The film’s trailer below: [Source: Digital Spy ]
Also in Wednesday afternoon’s round-up of news briefs, Amy Adams re-teams with David O. Russell on a pic; the Academy ups exec in newly-created post; Sundance Institute adds 10 titles to new initiative; And Bollywood’s first superstar dies. Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer and Tommy Lee Jones Set for Malavita The film revolves around mafia family, the Manzonis, who are re-located to Normandy, France under the witness protection program. They try to fit in, but they soon find themselves falling back into familiar ways. Also joining the EuropaCorp/Relativity Media production are Dianna Agron ( Glee ) and John D’Leo ( Wanderlust ). The film begins production this summer. Luc Besson will direct from a script he is adapting from author Tonino Benacquista’s book Badfellas . Academy Appoints Andy Horn CFO The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science promoted Andy Horn to its newly created post of Chief Financial Officer. He will report to the organization’s CEO Dawn Hudson. Horn has served as the Academy’s Controller since joining the staff in 2001. During that time, he has managed the year-round, day-to-day financial activities of the organization. For the annual Academy Awards, Horn participates in devising the budget and reviews expenditures, and has been involved in contract negotiations with the ABC Television Network and the CIM Group, owners of the Hollywood & Highland Center. James McAvoy’s Welcome to the Punch Headed to U.S. IFC Films will release director Eran Creevy’s action-thriller Welcome to the Punch , starring James McAvoy, Mark Strong and Andrea Riseborough. I the film, former criminal Jacob Sternwood (Strong) is forced to return to London from his Icelandic hideaway when his son is involved in a heist gone wrong. This gives detective Max Lewinsky (McAvoy) one last chance to catch the man he has always been after. Sundance Institute to Host 10 Indies for Digital Platforms Release The organization, which organizes the annual Sundance Film Festival, will be released on a variety of online digital platforms via its Artist Services initiative, which supports Sundance alumni in locking down distribution. Films that are immediately available to rent, download and stream include Brother to Brother (starring Anthony Mackie), Children Underground (nominated for an Academy Award), Enemies of the People (current News and Documentary Emmy Award nominee) and Dirty Work (executive produced by Edward Norton). The films will be available through various portals including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Entertainment Network, SundanceNOW, VUDU and YouTube. For more information and additional titles, visit the Sundance Institute’s website . Around the ‘net… California Fire and Life Headed for the Big Screen Savages author Don Winslow’s 2007 thriller will be developed by Hutch Parker Entertainment. The story revolves around rising star cop Jack Wade who takes a career fall and becomes an arson investigator. But he happens upon the charred corpse of a young woman and becomes obsessed with finding her killer, Deadline reports . Amy Adams Re-teaming with David O. Russell The actress is boarding Sony Pictures’ drama formerly known as American Bullshit . The true story centers on con-man Mel Weinberg who worked with the FBI in a complex corruption case. Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner are also on board, THR reports . Bollywood’s First Superstar Dead at 69 Rajesh Khanna, who played the romantic lead in a number of Indian films, making him Bollywood’s first huge star, died Wednesday in Mumbai. He began his career in the mid ’60s, taking the lead role in 120 of the 170 movies he appeared in. He was the first to have screaming fans show up consistently when he appeared in public. Women married his photograph and wrote him letters in their blood, The Guardian reports .
