2011 Nigerian Film Festival For Hollywood will be organized to promote artistic and technological exchange between Nigerian filmmakers and Industry Leaders in Hollywood. Over 50 films will be featured in this film festival and many workshops, music video showcases and premiere galas will also be some of the highlights of this festival.

This year’s Nigerian Film Festival has the theme of raising the Nigerian film industry’s standard in respect to financing, marketing, distribution and production quality. You must also know that discounted guests hotel accommodations will be provided by the ultra-chic W Hotel, Hollywood.

Every year, NICOCUSA facilitates interesting partnerships and contracts between businesses in the US and Nigeria. If you are interested to watch this film festival, then grab your tickets soon. For more information on submissions and registration, please visit www.nicocusafilmfestival.com.

You would be thrilled to know that the historical Paramount Theatre Centre was inaugurated in 1929 and it was designed by the famous architect and visionary, John Eberson. The same theatre will witness the upcoming 2011 Homegrown Hollywood Film Festival.

2011 Homegrown Hollywood Film Festival will be produced by 3’O Clock Productions. This will be an inaugural event that will screen films with Anderson, Indiana roots. Some of the films that will be shown during this event have been shot in Anderspn.

Keep in mind that the tickets for this event are on sale now and you too can purchase online through the Paramount Theater website. You can also purchase the tickets from the box office located at 1124 Meridian Plaza in Anderson. There is another option to buy the tickets and it is through telephone.

Money collected from the ticket sales will be given for the benefit of the historic Paramount Theatre Centre and Ballroom.

This Festival offers the greatest cultural diversity ever: here you are welcome to enjoy everything from listening to concerts to watching new musicals. Here is the list of things everybody should know about it this event:

• in 2005, the New York Musical Theatre Festival got the 21st Jujamcyn Theatres Award. That is an important $100,000 prize given to a not-for-profit institution that made a great contribution to the development of the theatre;
• main aim of the Festival is to support, discover and promote new musical theater artists, producers, and projects;
• the Festival is a very successful event where were born a number of expensive and popular Broadway plays.

This year the Festival will take place: September 28 – October 18, and if you DO want to visit it, you should think of tickets beforehand. And remember – think of Vacation Rental Deals beforehand.

If there is Oscars then there is also Razzies in Hollywood. One appreciates the best work done in movies and the other appreciates the worst work done. This year none other than Paris Hilton and Mike Myers made the headlines for receiving the Razzies Awards for their worst performance in 2008.

Mike Myer got the Razzies for his acting in The Love Guru, in which he acted as well as co-wrote. He was honored with Worst Screenplay, Worst Picture and Worst Actor of 2008. According to John Wilson, the organizer of the Razzies Award Ceremony, Mike has not given a good movie for a quite some time and he truly deserves this award for his worst acting in The Love Guru.

On the other hand, Paris Hilton joined Mike being awarded with the Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actress of 2008. She got the Razzies for her worst performance in The Hottie and the Notties and her acting in Repo! The Genetic made her grab the Worst Supporting Actress Razzies Award.

Amongst other Razzies nomination, the name that shocked everyone was Pierce Brosnan for Worst Supporting Actor for Mamma Mia!. Indiana Jones: Kingdom of Crystal Skull got the Worst Sequel and Remake Razzies Award.

If you have been keen all these days to know about the latest awards in Hollywood, then here is the news for you. Recently, Aussie export Sophie Monk came close in grabbing the acting award for the best celebrity nude movies scene of the year category. Not just coming close to the award, she even grabbed it.

Having starred alongside another Aussie export Simon Baker and Winona Ryder in the movie “Sex and Death 101”, Monk posed for nude scenes matching with the movie’s name. Apart from Monk, the movie’s director, Daniel Waters received the best director award for the same film at the recently held Seattle Film Festival in Washington.

Though Monk got this award for nude scene in “Sex and Death 101”, the best nude scene according to Mr. Skin was Mischa Barton’s scene in “The O.C’s”. Mr. Skin also nominated Mena Suvari in “Stuck”, Penelope Cruz in “Elegy”, Angelina Jolie in “Wanted” and Amy Smart in “Mirrors”.

Where to get tickets in 5 minutes? That is a great question! Opinions were different, some are claiming to get to the nearest box office, some will tell you to call to your friend, who works in this box office and ask him to get your tickets (of course, with paying him some extra money)… But to my mind, it sounds too boring. Why not use online tickets’ services.

First of all, you’ll be able to make everything even without leaving your house and thus saving your time (I think it is really valuable if you can afford visiting the best concerts). Then, the online booking is as easy as ABC, a lot of discounts are offered. What is more, you have an opportunity to choose what you want with the help of a very convenient navigational map.

For example, if you really think about visiting Leeds festival, there is no better way to do it as to buy tickets online. I would like to recommend you to think about early entry Leeds Festival Tickets. Yeah, just compare these prices: early entry $56.00 and their usual prices are near $240.00. Impressive difference. The festival will take place from Friday, 22 August 2008 to Sunday, 24 August 2008 in Bramham Park (UK). Hot event indeed!

Then, the second concert I would die to visit is Stevie Wonder show. If to think where to get Stevie Wonder Tickets, the answer, actually, will be the same – online booking.

Do you like Stevie? I think, he is not just a singer he is a real musical icon. His songs are an adorable mixture of Soul, Funk and Motown. Love his gentle and so pleasant voice. What is more, he is a great lover of tours, so it is better to hurry up and buy tickets. 

And finally, the third event I am dying to attend. Janet Jackson concert. Love her songs, her style and her shows. She is always so damn beautiful. Her concerts are always so bright, expressive and full of surprises. Janet Jackson Tickets can be bought online as well. But, be very careful, people buy them more than quickly.

So good luck dear music-lovers. Hope you will really enjoy the concerts and everything will be fine with tickets’ buying!

Select your dress, tie your laces, and get ready for the upcoming 34th Seattle International Film Festival. On May 22, ‘Battle in Seattle’ will inaugurate the SIFF 2008. The premiere will dramatize the events that shook the world when World Trade Organization was hosted by Seattle.Battle in Seattle is set in the fall of 1999. It is about a few characters who were hurled into the anarchy of the infamous anti-globalization protests against the WTO. This stirred up Seattle. The movie has similarity of structure with the Oscar-winning film “Crash”. The result is multiple stories yielding a great drama.

Caste:

• Charlize Theron
• Martin Henderson
• Woody Harrelson
• André Benjamin
• Michelle Rodriguez
• Ray Liotta
• Connie Nielsen
• Channing Tatum.

You can purchase the Tickets for SIFF Opening Night Gala at $50 each. However, the VIP Experience tickets will cost around $200. These are limited. Rush if you want these VIP ones.

During the evening a red carpet welcome will be hosted to welcome expected guests, director Stuart Townsend and stars of the film Charlize Theron and Martin Henderson at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall. It will be followed by a gala party.

The Oscars are the most-watched and extremely popular annual broadcast in the US. Only last year, more than 40 million Americans tuned in to them. For many years it’s not a ceremony, it’s a fashion show, a must-visit party, an opportunity to show yourself and strike up acquaintances. And this show is jeopardized because of … simply producers’ unwillingness to share fees with writers. All these strikes are nothing more as a try to have it their own way. Writers claim for better fees for films and TV shows that move to the Internet and producers are not used to share their profits. Whether the two sides arrange their differences remains really uncertain. But, we all remember, that the Golden Globes Ceremony was annulled.

Meanwhile, we can  inform you about potential nominees, in the acting categories: George Clooney, Cate Blanchet, Jodie Foster, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julia Roberts and etc. 

Everything is not so clear with the best-picture category: “No Country for Old Men”, “Sweeney Todd”,  “Juno” and others.

It’s better to keep our fingers crossed!

The Cannes Film Festival considered to be one of the most popular and a buzz word. This festival was founded in 1939 and is very old indeed. Moreover, it is rather prestigious and very influential. It is the annual festival, its name goes from the city Cannes. The next festival will be held in May 2008. And this festival will be the 61st.

The organization of the Cannes Film Festival is the following: there are several sections: the 1st one – is the official selection – also, it is the most important event of the Festival. Then, the attention of audience can be drawn to the parallel sections – there it is possible to view non-competitive programs, their main aim to tell people more about cinema. And, of course, other sections – as a rule, they are organized by other people within the Cannes Festival. And, no doubts, I can’t but mention, the most significant events of the Festival: exhibitions, masterclasses, tributes and many other.

Award of the Cannes Festival: the Palme d’Or (or known as “Golden Palm”. This award is given to the best film). There are a lot of other awards, but they are not so significant as the “Golden Palm”.

The Juries of the Festival. Of course, it is one of the most interesting topics to discuss, but I will only touch upon it. Traditionally, jurors can be chosen from various celebrities, artists and other stars. Their decisions must be unbiased and fair.

History of the Cannes Festival. Everything started at the end of the 1930s – with the fascist intervention and preparation to the Mostra de Venise. The French Minister made a decision to set a cinematographic festival, namely an international festival in France. A lot of time was spent while Cannes was chosen as a city to held it. The first Festival was hold from 1 to 30 September 1939, the war put an end to the Festival. After the war it work was renovated. Because of the money problems, there were no festivals in 1948 and 1950; the award “Golden Palm” was created in 1955. Nowadays, this Festival considered to be a very influential one and it is a great opportunity to show yourself and a film there. But, Forbes publishing house, for example, criticize it, because, according to its point of view, it is more a show, that an artistic festival. Also, it is highly promoted by the press.

The Venice Film Festival (official name sounds like that: Italian Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica di Venezia), yeah, it is not English – it is Italian. To tell the truth, I’ ve heard this title many times but only recently understood, that I don’t know a lot about it, so it is exactly the time to change the situation for better and enlighten myself. 

Shame on me, but the Venice Film Festival considered to be the oldest film festival in the world. Just think about it – in the whole world! The first Festival was hold in 1932 and since that date it took place every year in the end of August or early in September. Location: the Lido, Venice, Italy; the historic Palazzo del Cinema. It can be called one of the most prestigious festivals in the world.

It goes without saying, that each festival has its own Awards and this one is not an exception, so its awards are: the Leone d’Oro (or more well-known as Golden Lion). As a rule, it is given to the best film, that was shown at the Festival. The second, but not the worst award – the Coppa Volpi, this award is given to the best players.

At the 8th of September, has just finished the 64th Venice International Film Festival. Tim Burton was awarded with the Golden Lion Award. The best film – Se, Jie by Ang Lee.

Very interesting peculiarities of this festival – it is a place for those who hate Hollywood soap operas and happy ends, by the way, here happy ends considers to be something unusual. And, at the Venice Film Festival exits the following custom, while taking a floor – to say something acid-tongued about Hollywood. And, actually, its representatives are not very welcomed guests here.