Wednesday, June 8, 2011

'Harry Potter' First Screen Test: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint In Original Scene

As the epic, eight episode "Harry Potter" book-to-film series closes in on revealing its final chapter, it's easy to take for granted that its stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, are now full-fledged adults. With so many movies, the progression has been so gradual and natural on screen that one almost forgets just how young the three leads were when the film series began.

So here's a reminder.

Warner Bros. has released a video of the three in their very first screen test for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," years ahead of maturation but still nailing down their respective parts. Watson, as Hermoine, is a know it all reading about Nicolas Flamel, while Radcliffe and Grint, as Harry and Ron, shrug in confusion. Even then, it was obvious that they embodied the parts.

Also included is a brief look back at the other films of the series, similar to a recent YouTube user's video called "Through The Pensieve."

As for what's next for the now-grown stars? Radcliffe will be singing at the Tonys in support of his hit role in "How To Succeed in Business," while Watson will take on "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," and, hopefully, get a boyfriend.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," hits theaters July 15th.

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Archie goes desi, dances to Bollywood songs

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The iconic red-haired Archie, a comic book heartthrob with a perpetually hassled look and two girlfriends, will soon be dancing to Bollywood numbers in the book's Indian avatar published in Hindi and Malayalam.

Seventy years after its birth in the US, 12 titles of the popular Archie comics will be published in 2011 by Variety Book Depot and distributed by EuroBooks, a leading publisher of children's books in India, a release by the publisher said late Monday.

Commenting on the launch of the book in Hindi and Malayalam, Jon Goldwater, co-CEO of Archie Comics, said: "Archie Comics have entertained fans for several generations. We wanted to give our fans in India something they could relate to. The move is to bring in some Indian flavour to the comic. It will be the same Archie, the same Veronica and Betty but with a 'desi' twist."

"Fans can now expect Archie and Veronica to dance to the popular Bollywood number 'Aakhon ki gustakhiyaa' or see the gang sing some popular songs like the college classic 'Purani jeans' and oldie 'Kankariya maar ke jagaya' as smart chicks walk past the brood," he added.

The company plans to launch 36 titles by 2012.

The 12 titles in the first phase will include seven titles of the Archie-Betty-Veronica marriage saga. The books have been planned in such a sequence that they will bring to an end the vexed love triangle between Archie, Betty and Veronica.

The remaining five titles will explore the world of Archie and his friends through their funny escapes. Each title will be priced at Rs.30.

The 12 titles in the launch include "Archie Marries Veronica: The Proposal", "Archie Marries Veronica: The Wedding", "Archie Marries Veronica: It's Twins", "Archie Marries Betty: Will You Marry Me?", "Archie Marries Betty: The Wedding", among others.

Archie made his first appearance Dec 22, 1941. Drawn by Bob Montana and written by Vic Bloom, publisher John Goldwater hoped the comic book would appeal to the fans of Andy Hardy movies starring Mickey Rooney.

Goldwater promoted Archie as America's newest boyfriend, "Archibald 'Chick' Andrews", modelled on a red-haired friend. He gave Archie two girlfriends, Betty and Veronica.

Eventually, Goldwater felt that Archie needed a good friend. And Jughead was born.

Over the years, Archie's gang grew and even changed with the times. In 2010, the publishers introduced the first gay character Kevin Keller in Archie comics.

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Katrina is ex-rated!

Katrina Kaif believes in keeping her friendships with her men alive long after the romance is gone.

Constantly rated as one of the world's hottest women, Kat is also a very diplomatic person.

She is the one who actually initiated a conversation with Kabir Khan, making sure he casts her with Salman Khan in Ek Tha Tiger though her personal relationship with Salman is over.

Likewise now she is trying to ensure that she and Ranbir Kapoor (her other ex) also do Ayan Mukherjee's next for Karan Johar.

A source says, ``Karan has not signed Katrina for this project. In fact Ayan is currently in Simla writing the film. However Kat has got Ayan to make a verbal commitment to her and leaked out information saying that she is the girl that Ayan has chosen to team up with Ranbir so that all speculation on whether girls like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma may make it to this project opposite RK Junior are nixed.''

Apparently Deepika is still very much in the running for this film; till Kat signs on the dotted line, one can never tell.

Also Kat's dates are choc-o-block reportedly. She has six to seven outdoor shoots with Salman for Ek Tha Tiger and in November she will start Yash Chopra's next with Shah Rukh Khan. The film also has a second leading lady.

Ayan also wants to go on floors this November. In which case Kat will have to juggle her dates diary quite a bit to accommodate

this film. However Kat who sees it as a personal triumph that she is able to do two movies with her two exes is ensuring she finds her way into the Ranbir Kapoor project.

Incidentally Ranbir and Kat had not exchanged a single word after their break up a few months ago.

But a personal friend says, ``Both are now on talking terms. They started talking after three months.'' Guess it is all preparation for a normal atmosphere on the set if and when Kat signs Ayan's film.
Ravishing Raveena Tandon, who grooved to songs like "Tu cheez badi hai mast mast" and "Kisi disco mein" in her heydays, will now be seen shaking a leg once again in "Bbuddah - Hoga Terra Baap".
Raveena Tandon
"Helllllooooo everybodyyy! Super super cool song I'm shooting for 'Bbuddah... Hoga tera baap'! Chandigarh ki kudi-chandigarh ki star!! Super fun! (sic)," Raveena posted on her Twitter page. However, the 36-year-old, who is now seen in few films only, clarifies that the song is not an item number. "Can't call it an ITEM number though as I'm fully clothed!! hahahhaah! But a super dance track by Vishal shekhar and sung by my fav!! Sunidhi," she added. 

Raveena has earlier said she has only a brief appearance in "Bbuddah", but she is more than delighted with the chance of working with megastar Amitabh Bachchan once again. The Puri Jagannath-directed film will release July 1.

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Dimple, Shilpa's `happy birthday connection'

Famous numerologist Sanjay B Jumaani has come up with some surprising similarities between the Bollywood actors Dimple Kapadia and Shilpa Shetty, both of whom celebrate their birthdays on June 8.

``The birth dates of Dimple (8+6+1957=36) and Shilpa (8+6+1975=36) add up to the same number 36, and also add up to the same number 43, on their name spellings. It's a big coincidence, and this is the main reason why they are similar in so many ways,'' said Jumaani. He further added that both made their debuts in films whose titles
began with the letter `B' -- Bobby (Dimple) and Baazigar (Shilpa).

Both were unlucky in their first relationships, he said, and explained that Dimple's marriage with Rajesh Khanna didn't last, just like Shilpa's long-standing link-up with Akshay Kumar.

Both also have one man in common between them -- Akshay Kumar, who is now the son-in-law of Dimple.

``Both have had their younger sisters making an entry into films, though they never quite reached the same heights. Dimple's sister Simple made her unsuccessful film debut, while Shilpa's sister Shamita also did not do well in their debut projects in films,'' said Jumaani.

Coincidentally, both have sisters whose names begins with the letter `S'. The planetary effect: Jumaani said both Dimple and Shilpa are ruled by Mercury, which is the planet of communication. Futuristically, as Jumaani noted, they can do very well if they set up institutes of acting but, away from their places of birth. Air signs do better far from their place of birth. No wonder; Shilpa got so much acclaim abroad, winning the prestigious Big Brother. Mumbai or Bollywood made Dimple so popular and is indeed away from her place of birth, Gujarat. Both are equally moody and very often, misunderstood.

Some differences?: Jumaani pointed out, both are number `8'. People who belong to this number should not marry early in life.

Sachin, Deepika bow down to Katrina Kaif

He may be the cricket legend, but Sachin Tendulkar will have to bow down to beauty because the Bollywood sensation Katrina Kaif yet again topped the list of the sexiest women 2011 with her average rating being higher than that of Sachin.

The poll was conducted by the world's largest men's lifestyle magazine – FHM. "Katrina's average is higher than Sachin Tendulkar's and she replaces Deepika Padukone who won the crown in 2010," says Kabeer Sharma, executive director, FHM, India. The FHM 100 Sexiest Women poll is based entirely on online polls and SMS with over 35,000 entries being cast this year.

Interestingly, the more Katrina says that she doesn't believe in these titles - sexy, beautiful, gorgeous, the more she is getting 'caught' in various such titles and tags over and over again. "If somebody is graciously giving me something why should I refuse it," smiles Katrina. And she would definitely want to keep these titles. "When I grow old, I would like to tell my grand children about the titles I won," said Katrina, who is sans make up most of the time when she is not shooting. "If you come and stand near my house you will always find me without make up. And even when I am visiting my friends or going out for family dos, I don't use make up," she added. Katrina Kaif has previously been voted the Sexiest Woman in the World by FHM India in 2008 and 2009.

Kabeer Sharma, Executive Editor of FHM India, says, We'd love to say 2011 was a close contest...only 'Sheila' made sure it was far from. A feat that becomes even more significant because no woman in the world across all 28 editions of FHM has ever won the sexiest woman in the World title three times in the last 17 years that we've been making the list.

Though Katrina's film career is currently not at its peak with not many releases happening, she is still the toast of the season as not too long ago she was the only Bollywood actress to feature on the India Today's Elite Power list and has the most google searches than any other Indian celebrity. If that wasn't all Katrina was immortalized by Mattel who created a one-of a-kind 'I Can Be a Movie Star' Barbie Doll sketched on her image.

Udita Goswami wants an American accent

Actress Udita Goswami might not be seen in many films in Bollywood as of now. But the actress is gearing up to do some projects in Hollywood. She recently spent more than two months at Los Angeles meeting up a few filmy people there. The actress has even hired an international manager so she is hopefull that her stint there will be better than the one on desi turf. DNA spoke to the actress about Hollywood, turning scriptwriter and more…

Talking about preparing for her big leap, she says, “I am working on my American accent for now. I have a dialect coach and I do about two hours of training, thrice a week. I need to have a good command over the accent before I go there. My agent thinks I have a versatile face and can play different characters, not just Indian. So American-English accent should be my primary way of talking.

But Hollywood isn’t the only thing on Udita’s mind, she is also writing a script. She says, “I’ve had this idea for a very long time. I had started writing, then got confused and stopped. But I’m finally completing it now. The story is ready, I’m working on the screenplay now and I’ve realised that every scene can’t be from a girl’s point of view!”

Quiz her if it is inspired by her (convoluted) love life (with director Mohit Suri) and she says, “Yes, a lot of it is from my real life — but how I can’t reveal. That’s why it’s so special. It’s a sweet, romantic and mature love story. And everything’s real.” She adds, “I wrotethe scenes with Naseerudin Shah in mind and no one else. 

He’s just perfect! I’ll approach him when the script is ready and then I can act out all the scenes! I have my reasons for wanting him in the film too but I can’t tell now.”

Ask her about good friend Gerard Butler? “So, big deal! I am friends with Gerard Butler. I am friends with so many more in LA. Denzil Washington too. Look, I am not into this whole name dropping thing. It’s so wannabe, it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” she says.

Katrina Kaif voted FHM's sexiest woman

Actress Katrina Kaif tops the Sexiest Women 2011 list of men's lifestyle magazine FHM, edging out Deepika Padukone who won the title last year. Kaif had won the title in 2008 and 2009 too.

The FHM 100 Sexiest Women list is based on online and SMS voting and saw a whopping 35,000 responses this year.

"We'd love to say 2011 was a close contest, only Sheila made sure it was far from. A feat that becomes even more significant because no woman in the world across all 28 editions of FHM has ever won the Sexiest Woman in the World title three times in the last 17 years that we've been making the list. 

Her average is higher than Sachin Tendulkar's and she replaces Deepika Padukone who won the crown in 2010," said Kabeer Sharma, executive editor FHM India, in a statement.

Katrina seems to be the toast of the season -- she was the only Bollywood actress to feature on the India Today's Elite Power list and is also the most Google-searched Indian celebrity.

Shooting Begins For Heroine


Madhur Bhandarkar's much-awaited film Heroine - with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Arjun Rampal and Arunoday Singh - begins production today (June 8) in Mumbai.

The excitement is palpable for Bhandarkar and Arjun Rampal as both took to Twitter:

"On the sets of Heroine, with beautiful Ash and @mbhandarkar268 wish us luck. Will keep u all posted," tweeted Arjun Rampal, on the heels of this tweet from Bhandarkar: "@rampalarjun starts shooting for Heroine!!!"

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is not on Twitter, though she sometimes tweets from husband Abhishek Bachchan's Twitter account. Aishwarya returns to film shoots after a 9-month break. Her last release was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish, with Hrithik Roshan.

Heroine
, a UTV production, was announced at this year's Cannes Film Festival and is reportedly being filmed in a start-to-finish 45 day schedule.

Salman Impresses Again, Ready Grosses Rs. 41 Crore


Last year it was his rural action-drama Dabangg that broke the dry spell at the box office by earning Rs.48.25 crore in the opening weekend, and this year Salman Khan's comedy Ready has brought the much needed respite at the box office by grossing Rs.41 crore over the weekend.

Trade pundits, however, admit that Ready is not on par with Dabangg in terms of content and appeal and many not enjoy a long innings at the box office, but it is an entertaining film and got a good opening.

"Ready has had a good opening. The occupancy has been 90-95 percent. It is more of a family entertainer. One would not see the kind of action that was in Dabangg and Wanted," Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (Cinemas) of Wave Cinemas said.

"Salman is perfect in the film he has done full justice to his character. Asin, is also good in the film," he added.

In contrast to Rs.18 crore Dabangg, a small town cop drama shot in Wai in Maharashtra and partly in the UAE, Ready, shot entirely in Thailand, is expensive, has an urban setting and is said to have cost Rs.50 crore.

Released on 1,900 screens, Ready earned Rs.13.5 crore on the opening day, Rs.12.5 crore on Saturday, and Rs.15 crore on Sunday.

"People are enjoying the film a lot, specially Salman Khan, although the shows have not been back-to-back houseful like Dabangg and Wanted. The audis have witnessed 80 percent occupancy," said a source in PVR.

Shot in the exotic locales of Thailand, the film is about happy-go-lucky guy Prem (Salman). He mistakenly helps a girl Sanjana (Asin Thottumkal) escape from marriage and later falls for her. Paresh Rawal, Arya Babbar and Mahesh Manjeraker also feature in it.

Just like Salman's 2008 hit Wanted, his Ready is performing much better in single screen theatres. Confirming this, Piyush Raizada of Delite Cinemas said their shows are going houseful.

"The response to Ready is terrific. Till now, our shows are going housefull. Everyone is appreciating Salman's acting. It is too early to say whether the film will be as big as Dabangg because today, every day counts because of the number of shows being played today," he said.

At a time when most of the big-budgets, with big names like Akshay Kumar starrer Patiala House, Abhishek Bachchan's Game and Dum Maaro Dum failed to stir the box office, Salman's magic worked again as Ready has brought smiles on the faces of distributors, cinema hall owners and audiences alike.

"I really enjoyed the film. Salman is really good. The first half is a bit boring but the film picks up after the interval and I couldn't stop laughing till the end," said Madhu Verma, a housewife.

College student Priya Chawla liked it so much that she wants to watch it again.

"I found the movie extremely entertaining from the very first scene. Some of the one liners are hilarious and they could become popular pick-up lines. Salman is superb with his comic timing. I plan to watch it again," she said.

Last year too, when the box office was reeling under flops, Salman bailed it out with Dabangg and conquered it not only by earning the maximum profits of reportedly Rs.145 crore, but scooped the maximum awards, including a National Award for the best entertainer of the year.

Ritika Sinha, also a college sudent, said the film lacks focus, but has some really good punch lines.

Trade pundits, however, admitted that Ready will not enjoy long stay at the box office like Dabangg.

"The film doesn't seem to sustain for long. We are looking at the occupancy. If it drops down to 50 per cent then we will put another film. However, film is doing really well on single screens," said the source from PVR.

Piyush Raizada said: "Gone are the days when films had to run for many days to be declared a hit. Today, in two to three weeks a film is declared a hit."

Kristen Stewart snuggles up to Man of the Year Garrett Hedlund

Look our Robert Pattinson. The Twilight star wore a skimpy mini-dress as she laughed and joked with her On The Road co-star at the Glamour awards.
What a man: Kristen Stewart gets cosy with Man of the Year Garrett Hedlund     
 Stars and celebs from across the globe headed to London last night for the oh-so glamorous Glamour awards.

Although Kristen Stewart lost out on the title of Film Actress of the Year to Gemma Arterton, she looked far from disappointed as she partied the night away with
On The Road co-star Garrett Hedlund.

The handsome actor was crowned Man of the Year and seemed keen to celebrate his win with his US buddy.


The gorgeous pair cuddled up for pictures as Kristen flaunted yet another Balmain mini-dress.


Garret previously gushed about Kristen in an Access Hollywood interview about On The Road. He said: “Kristen’s phenomenal. She’s so focused, especially on this role… she’s so amazing and the world is going to get to really see that in this one.”


Let’s hope dear Robert Pattinson isn’t the jealous type!


Also enjoying themselves at the awards were The Saturdays girls who won best band and Kim Kardashian, who stole the show in a figure hugging black dress as she collected her award for Entrepreneur of the Year.


Jessie J ditched her trademark bob and opted for long, flowing hair extensions and a sensational black sequin gown. She won the Woman of Tomorrow accolade while Sarah Burton, who designed Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, was awarded Designer of the Year.


Full list of Glamour Award winners here:


Presenter of the Year:
Davina McCall
Designer of the Year: Sarah Burton
Filmmaker of the Year: Jane Goldman
Theatre Actress of the Year: Naomie Harris
TV Personality of the Year: Dannii Minogue
Pandora Breakthrough of the Year: Ellie Goulding
Writer of the Year: Dawn French
Sportswoman of the Year: Jessica Ennis
Band of the Year: The Saturdays
Accessory Designer of the Year: Victoria Beckham
Radio Personality of the Year: Fearne Cotton
TV Actress of the Year: Lenora Crichlow
Comedy Actress of the Year: Miranda Hart
Entrepreneur of the Year: Kim Kardashian
UK Solo Artist of the Year: Adele
Film Actress of the Year: Gemma Arterton
Woman of Tomorrow: Jessie J
Editor's Special Award: Rosie Huntington Whiteley
Man of the Year: Garrett Hedlund
Outstanding Contribution: Stevie Nicks

Sonakshi excited about Telugu ‘Kick’s remake

After ‘Dabangg,’ Sonakshi’s next film with Salman, ‘Kick,’ will have more footage for her than she had in her debut. Says the confident newcomer, “‘Kick’ is a remake of a South Indian film. Mine is a very good role. There’s definitely much more scope for me in ‘Kick’ than ‘Dabangg.’ And I am going to make the best of it."

While Sonakshi is part of ‘Dabangg 2,’ she’d love to be a part of the film that ‘Dabangg’ director Abhinav Kashyap makes, although the ‘Dabangg’ producer Arbaaz Khan and he parted bitterly recently.

Sonakshi’s brother Kush is now assisting Abhinav. Says Sonakshi, “Kush wants to direct films. He’s assisting Abhinav in directing ads. I don’t think Abhinav is directing another feature film right away. As and when Abhinav makes a film, I’d love to be part of it.”

She now starts three back-to-back films. “There’s ‘Kick’ with Salman Khan, ‘Rowdy Rathore’ with Akshay Kumar and ‘Vishwaroopam’ with Kamal Haasan. Then there’s ‘Dabangg 2’ coming up. I am so glad I’m working throughout the year. Getting success is easier than sustaining it.”In ‘Vishwaroopam,’ Sonakshi gets to sport both Indian and western looks. “I love to see myself in saris. I hope I get to wear lots of them. We start shooting in June.”Prospective producers will have to wait for a year. 

Sonakshi has no time. “I can’t do any more projects for a year.” Including the one with Ranvir Singh she is so keen on? “He’s quite a bundle of talent, isn’t he? Yeah, there are talks of a project with him. It’d be a good combination.”Sonakshi says she doesn’t feel older but yes, wiser. “I realized when pushed to the wall I can fight back. There were many attempts to corner me. But thankfully I could take the beating on my chin.

I always thought I was a lazy person. But I realized I could work hard. As long as I enjoy my work, how does it matter what people say about me? I guess being talked about is better than being ignored.”

Parineeti and Raghav Marriage: Pari and Raghav are about to tie the knot, wedding date revealed

Parineeti and Raghav Marriage: The relationship between Hindi cinema's cutie point Parineeti Chopra and politics' macho man Raghav ...