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Thursdaze

has "borat" jumped the shark?

Hollywood Fest Awards Prizes

Terry Green's "Heavens Fall" won the best feature film prize at the 2006 Hollywood Discovery Awards, capping the annual Hollywood Film Festival in Los Angeles. Philippe Diaz' "The Empire in Africa" won the award for best documentary and Eelko Ferwerda's "American Dreams" won the best short film prize, with Mayur Deshpande winning best animated short or "Haptics." Meanwhile, in Beverly Hills the next night, organizers hosted the annual Hollywood Awards ceremony, named Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" the Hollywood Movie of the Year. Nearly 100,000 voters selected the winner via the Yahoo Movies and Entertainment Tonight websites. For a comp...

AWARDS WATCH: A 'Crisis for Independent Films'? Gotham Award Nominations Spark Debate

There's nothing like award season to bring out debate. Even at the Independent Feature Project's Gotham Awards, a relative newcomer and comparatively small player in the end-of-year accolade glut, the announcement on Monday that the Gotham's best film contenders included three studio pictures, Marti...

Wind Dancer Sets Development Fund

This week, Matt Williams' Wind Dancer ("Walker Payne", "What Women Want", "Where The Heart Is") announced a development fund from private equity investors to develop 12 - 15 feature films over the next three years. Citing an emphasis on comedies, action, teen, family and romantic, as well as charact...

AFM Announces Seminars for November Event

This year, the American Film Market (AFM) will host a record 13 sessions, with a broad range of topics and issues relevant to the global entertainment industry and feature a diverse cross section of entertainment executives, filmmakers and talent from across the globe. The series will kick off with the AFM Finance Conference on Friday, Nov. 3 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, with additional panels taking place at the JW Marriott Le Merigot Hotel through Tuesday, Nov. 7. The American Film Market takes place November 1-8 in Santa Monica, CA, and is North America's largest film market. For a full schedule of seminars, including participants, visit...

AP: "Cross" shows Jesus as being a black man

It's a familiar image for millions of Christians: Jesus Christ, with a crown of thorns, hanging from the cross. What color is he? In a controversial new film opening Friday, he is black. "Color of the Cross" tells a traditional story, focusing on the last 48 hours of his life as told in the Gospels. In this version, though, race contributes to his persecution. It is the first representation in the history of American cinema of Jesus as a black man. Filmmaker Jean Claude LaMarre set out to change that with "Color of the Cross." LaMarre, who plays Jesus, wrote, directed and financed the film. It will open in 30 theaters in predominantly black n...

HIFF 2006.2: 'Lost' on Oahu

LA Times: Notes from a writers' gathering in Texas

Only at the Austin Film Festival can legendary director-actor-producer Sydney Pollack wander through the 120-year-old Driskill Hotel's grand lobby entirely unmolested while "Mystic River" screenwriter Brian Helgeland gets mobbed by fans. As one repeat attendee put it, "This is the only festival where writers are treated like rock stars." The lively event, which will close its 13th incarnation on Thursday, remains the only major screenwriter-focused festival on the circuit. The weeklong array of panels, pitch competitions, parties and screenings is all about honoring the ingenuity and allure of the screenplay and the writers who craft them. Ja...