The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
- Bollywood 'demigod' Khan casts spell on Moroccans
- New York critics pick 'Zero Dark Thirty' as best film
- Matthew Fox is lost to the dark side in ‘Alex Cross’
| Bollywood 'demigod' Khan casts spell on Moroccans Posted: 04 Dec 2012 05:02 AM PST MARRAKESH (Morocco): Bollywood "demigod and prince charming" Shah Rukh Khan whipped thousands of Moroccans into a frenzy at the Marrakesh film festival when he danced to the tunes of movie songs at the Jamaa El Fna square. Khan, 47, popularly known as "King Khan", was cheered at the square - a mecca of tourism in Morocco - where a giant screen was installed to show a preview of his latest Hindi movie, Jab Tak Hain Jaan (Till My Last Breath). In its 12th edition, the festival which runs until Dec 8 in this ochre city, is presenting a "special tribute" to Indian cinema as it celebrates its centenary. "I am pleased to present the star, the icon, the demigod of Indian cinema, Shah Rukh Khan," said an organiser as the arrival of the star sparked a roar from young fans, who braved gloomy and cold weather to catch a glimpse of him. Khan, who acted in some 80 films, was specially invited for the festival in Morocco, where Bollywood films rank alongside Egyptian movies in popularity. A true showman, he warmed up the atmosphere with more than half-an-hour song and dance performance on stage that had the crowds screaming in appreciation. Later festival organisers screened a preview of Jab Tak Hain Jaan, directed by legendary Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra who died in October in Mumbai, the home of India's Hindi-language movie industry, after more than five decades of movie career. Khan had acted in several box-office hit movies produced and directed by Chopra such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (Bravehearts Will Take The Bride Away), Dil To Paagal Hai (Heart Is Crazy) and Daar (Fear). He has also taken lead roles in other blockbusters such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Something Is Happening) and Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham (Sometimes Joy, Sometimes Sorrow) directed by another popular Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar. "This is the first time I am seeing Shah Rukh Khan. This is a dream. He was two feet away from me. He is so simple and modest," Khadija Ariba, a young student, told AFP. "I know all his films. They talk of love, injustice, humanity... things that we speak of. He is the prince of most girls." For many fans it was an "unforgettable" experience at Jamaa El Fna. "We watch movies on satellite channels and some movie theatres. But to be present here on Jamaa El Fna is unforgettable for me," said Ouadie El Ouwad. Ranked in 2001 as part of the World Heritage List by UNESCO, Jamaa El Fna - site of the April 28, 2011 bombing that killed 17 people - was teeming with joyful fans - mostly students and employees - who cheered Khan. "I left my workplace at 5 pm to see Shah Rukh Khan from close, but once here the place was already packed with people," said Ahmed, 32, a carpenter. "What I like most are his songs. And I have a friend, who speaks very good Hindi which he learned by watching his movies," he said as he straddled his motorcycle. Fifteen films are in the race for the top prize at the festival, including Touch of the Light by Taiwanese Chang Jung-Chi, The Attack by French-Lebanese Ziad Doueiri and Like a Lion by Samuel Collardey of France. The festival's jury comprises of Canadian Marie-Josee Croze, American James Gray, Moroccan Jillali Ferhati and French Lambert Wilson. On Friday the festival kicked off with a special ovation for French actress Isabelle Huppert. - AFP |
| New York critics pick 'Zero Dark Thirty' as best film Posted: 04 Dec 2012 12:50 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Film Critics Circle on Monday picked action thriller Zero Dark Thirty as best film and gave its top acting honors to Daniel Day-Lewis and Rachel Weisz in the first major movie awards leading up to Hollywood's Oscars. U.S. filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow won best director for Zero Dark Thirty, based on the decade-long U.S. operation to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden, and billed as a cinematic look at "the greatest manhunt in history." The organization announced the awards via Twitter. |
| Matthew Fox is lost to the dark side in ‘Alex Cross’ Posted: 03 Dec 2012 11:49 PM PST BEVERLY HILLS (USA Today/MCT) – It will take a moment for even the most die-hard fan of ABC's Lost to recognize the scary-thin, massively ripped and totally insane serial killer in Alex Cross. But when it kicks in, the realization hits harder than the mixed martial arts blow that the crazed hit man called Picasso delivers in a brutal early scene of the thriller, opening in Malaysia this week. The baddie is Matthew Fox, who played noble Dr. Jack Shephard on Lost for six seasons. "There are people who are going to be horrified by this," Fox, 46, says with a chuckle. "They are so attached to the idea of that (Lost) character and his ultimate goodness that to show up and see me doing this, well, they might not be happy." Neither is Tyler Perry, who plays homicide detective/ psychologist Alex Cross in his first dramatic role – a film reboot of the best-selling novels by James Patterson. Perry finds a formidable on-screen opponent in Fox, who dug deep to find darkness. Fox guesses he lost close to 40 pounds from his 200-pound frame during a five-month physical regimen before filming, incorporating weight loss as well as body sculpting "There were no French fries, man," Fox says, moments after placing two fries in his mouth during a recent lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel. He's not as thin today as he appears on-screen, and he enjoys the odd fry again, but he still focuses on his salad and healthy club sandwich. "Some of the meals were very, very leafy," he says. "I was craving all the things I love — pasta, steak, my mother's pie." Fox worked on mixed martial arts training along with the intense workouts. "I played college football (at Columbia). I thought I knew my way around exercise," Fox says with a sigh. "Either I was wrong, or things have changed drastically. Maybe it's both. This was full-bore. Many times I felt like throwing up." For the final step in his transformation, Fox shaved his hair "pretty much to the bone" to present himself to director Rob Cohen. As for the spooky and extensive tattoos seen on-screen? Those were already inked in. "I've been getting tattoos for a lot of years, and like a lot of people into it, it keeps building on itself," says Fox. "I'm probably really pushing the limit of an actor with tattoos." Cohen says Fox wouldn't allow pictures to preview his initial visit. "He wanted to surprise me. When I saw him and how ripped he had gotten, I thought, 'This is no Dr. Jack.' We were going where he hadn't gone before." That included a mental readjustment as well. Fox and Perry even kept their relationship chilly to ensure their tense performances. "We didn't really interact much," says Fox. "Those two guys essentially want to kill each other (on-screen). We didn't have moments where he was like, 'Dude, you look like a freak.'" "There was no joking around, no relaxing between them," says Cohen, adding that Fox "stayed by himself on set. He was very intensely internal." Fox admits that his Picasso character stayed with him even after he stopped shooting each day. "It was kind of incessant. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I would get back to the hotel room after a scene and do everything possible to take a break, to check out of it." However, Fox says his mental state had nothing to do with a real-life altercation with a Cleveland bus driver who said Fox assaulted her in August 2011. (Prosecutors did not charge Fox, and a civil lawsuit was later withdrawn.) He concedes that the incident might have been caused by his strange physical appearance. "I know I looked scary, and that was something I underestimated at the time. You sort of lose track. After five months of progression of changing my appearance, I never said, 'You have to be careful because you look like a Nazi skinhead.' "I can tell you this," Fox adds. "I have never hit a woman in my life. Never have and never will. That's not who I am." Though former Lost co-star Dominic Monaghan kept the controversy alive with a tweet disputing that assertion, Fox says he's moving on personally. He will, however, continue to explore the dark side on-screen, playing a Navy SEAL during a zombie apocalypse alongside Brad Pitt in World War Z, out next summer. "What has happened in the world has sort of fractured him. He doesn't know where he fits anymore," says Fox of his Z character. "He's a definitely a little unhinged." Cohen believes this dark side will truly highlight Fox's acting potential. "Lost shows a Matthew Fox he can easily access. But going to these other places, this is where he can really shine over time." As for Fox, he just wants the great parts that are coming his way. "If there are Lost fans out there expecting to see any version of Jack Shephard ever again — that was that. My choices going forward are going to be different. Whatever is next might be a good guy or a bad guy. Or something in between." |
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