"Ira & Abby" and "Delirious" Among Top US Comedy Arts Festival Film Winners

The U.S. Comedy Arts Festival announced its film prize winners Saturday, with best feature going to Jennifer Westfeldt's "Ira & Abby," while best director went to Tom DeCillo for "Delirious." In other prizes, Taika Waititi won best screenwriter for "Eagle vs. Shark," and "King of Kong" won best doc. Etan Cohen's "My Wife is Retarded" took best short while "High Maintenance" by Phillip Van won best college short, and "Ice Cream, I Scream" took best foreign-language film. Kirk Fox and Shane Mauss won the festival's prizes for best stand up. [For a full list of winners, visit the USCAF's website.] [Brian Brooks] 
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HR: First Look chief Winterstern steps down

First Look Studios chairman and CEO Henry Winterstern is leaving his post effective immediately, a spokesperson confirmed Friday. First Look's board of directors is now in discussions with Winterstern regarding his future role, if any, with the company. The board, comprised of members Chris Cooney, Mitch Goldstein and Chas Phillips, accepted Winterstern's resignation, according to the spokesperson. Gregg Goldstein reports for The Hollywood Reporter. 
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AP: Film fest for Goober of 'Griffith' fame

Robert Redford has a film festival, and so does cousin Goober. Named for the actor who portrayed the goofy grease monkey in Andy Griffith's old television show, the 10th annual George Lindsey UNA Film Festival opened Thursday at the University of North Alabama, Lindsey's alma mater. The Lindsey festival doesn't have the reputation of Redford's Sundance Film Festival, and northwest Alabama isn't a resort spot like Park City, Utah. Paparazzi? Doubtful. Jay Reeves reports. 
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NYU Hosts 4th Fusion Film Festival

New York University's Fusion Film Festival will open its fourth edition Thursday March 1 and continue through March 3. The event spotlights the work of women directors and cinematographers "at every stage of development." The event is student organized. Thursday night's offering included a discussion with Oscar-winning doc filmmaker, Barbara Kopple, preceded by a screening of her latest (co-directed with Cecilia Peck), "Shut Up & Sing." For more information and a list of events, visit their website. [Brian Brooks] 
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NY Times: Trips to Nowhere and Everywhere, With Iran's Poet of the Cinema

The films of Abbas Kiarostami are at once simple and enigmatic, guileless in their formal and visual strategies and puzzling in their effects. A central figure in the blossoming of Iranian cinema in the 1990s, and a winner of the top prize at Cannes for "A Taste of Cherry" in 1997, Mr. Kiarostami, who is 66, has now settled into the pantheon of international master filmmakers, a status confirmed by the retrospective of his work that begins at the Museum of Modern Art today. The program, covering more than three decades and including shorts and features, documentaries and instructional films, provides plenty of opportunities to appreciate his plainness and to ponder his mysteries. A.O. Scott reports. 
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AP: David Lynch's art twisted like his films

What is it like to glimpse into the mind of moviemaker David Lynch? A new exhibition in Paris shows that it is every bit as twisted as a true fan could imagine. The exhibition, "The Air Is on Fire," is the most comprehensive showing of Lynch's visual art to date, and it includes paintings, photographs and countless doodles on Post-it notes, hotel stationery and napkins from Bob's Big Boy diner. Some sketches date back to 61-year-old Lynch's high school days when, oddly enough, the "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive" director worked his way toward the rank of Eagle Scout. Angela Doland reports. 
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HWR: Trio lined up for "Tokyo" tales

French directors Michel Gondry and Leos Carax and South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho are turning Japanese. They are in negotiations to write and direct a segment of the tentatively titled "Tokyo," a triptych feature telling three separate tales of the city. "It will be just like 'New York Stories' but set in Tokyo," said Bong, who just finished the script for his segment on a 26-hour plane ride from Australia to New York to promote his monster movie "The Host," which opens March 9 via Magnolia Pictures. Gregg Goldstein and Charles Masters report. 
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Weinsteins, Eyeing "Lives of Others" Remake, Renew Mirage Deal

The Weinstein Company (TWC) has scored a deal for remake rights to Oscar foreign language winner "The Lives of Others." TWC also announced tonight that it has renewed its exclusive first-look deal with Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella's Mirage Productions. The three-year pact includes Minghella and Pollack's production-related activities, according to the announcement. The two companies recently produced "Breaking and Entering," currently in theaters. Other projects on tap include "I Don't Know How She Does It," based on Allison Pearson's novel of the same name (written by Aline Brosh McKenna), to be directed by David Frankel. Also on the slate are "The Amulet of Samarkand," based on the first novel in Jonathan Stroud's "Bartimaeus Trilogy," adapted by Hossein Amini, "The Ninth Life of Louis Drax," based on a novel by Liz Jensen, to be written and directed by Minghella, "The Reader," based on the Bernard Schlink novel of the same name, and "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," a series for television, with a pilot written by Minghella and Richard Curtis, and to be directed by Minghella. [Eugene Hernandez] 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Ciccone Joining 42West

Susan Ciccone is leaving her post as VP of Publicity at Paramount Pictures to lead the West Coast film marketing division at 42West. She will start in the position as West Coast publicity chief in mid-April. 
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INDUSTRY MOVES: Rosen Leaves Rubenstein For Tribeca

Tammie Rosen is joining Tribeca Enterprises as the company's Director of Communications. She previously worked at leading New York PR firm Rubenstein Communications. In her new post, Rosen will oversee both day-to-day media relations for the Tribeca Film Festival, as well as media strategy for Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Productions.  
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Tarantino Launching Grindhouse Series at LA Theater

For the next two months, starting this weekend, Quentin Tarantino will program some 58 films at New Beverly Cinema retro movie house in Los Angeles as part of a 70s Grindhouse series leading up to Dimension Films' April 6th release of his film of the same name. "Grindhouse is a tribute to the movies I have loved for decades that have mostly been under-appreciated and forgotten," said Tarantino, in a statement. "I'm thrilled to have this chance to show the original works for a new generation to discover, and to give Los Angeles the rare opportunity to see these gems on the big screen." "Grindhouse" consists of a pair of features one directed by Tarantino ("Death Proof") and the other by Robert Rodriquez ("Planet Terror"). For more information on the series, visit the New Beverly Cinema website. [Euegne Hernandez]  
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Pusan Appoints New Co-Director; Names New Programmers

Lee Yong Kwan has been appointed co-director of the Pusan International Film Festival, joining current director, Kim Dong Ho, the festival announced recently. Additionally, Ahn Byung Yul, from broadcasting company MBC and PIFF programmer Jay Jeon will serve as deputy directors. Huh Moon Yung resigned as programmer for Korean cinema and will be replaced by Cho Young Jung and Lee Sang Yong. Cho is currently a program coordinator for Korean Cinema Retrospective, and Lee is a renowned film critic in Korea. Lee Soue Won, a professor at both Seoul and Pusan Universities, was also appointed as programmer for special Programs in Focus. Dosin Pak, meanwhile will join the programming team for the festival's Midnight Passion section. He is currently a program coordinator for PIFF. The 12th Pusan International Film Festival will be held October 4th to 12th and the Asian Film Market is slated for Oct 8th to 11th. [Brian Brooks] 
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NY Times: The Good, the Bad and Those Truly French

Marion Cotillard's feral portrait of the French singer Edith Piaf as a captive wild animal hurling herself at the bars of her cage is the most astonishing immersion of one performer into the body and soul of another I've ever encountered in a film. Her portrayal of Piaf, plucked from the streets of Paris and molded into a music hall legend, ignites Olivier Dahan's screen biography "La Vie en Rose," which opens the Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual Rendez-Vous With French Cinema series this evening at Alice Tully Hall. Stephen Holden reports. 
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Three Filmmakers Named for Sundance Fellowships

The Sundance Institute has announced three emerging filmmakers will receive its 2007 Feature Film Program fellowships and grants. Producer Chad Burris has been awarded the Mark Silverman Fellowship for new producers for writer/director Blackhorse Lowe's "The Left-Handed Path," a 2006 Sundance Screenwriters Lab project. Burris will receive a $5,000 pre-production grant and a year of mentorship from independent producers Meg LeFauve and Ed Saxon. Writer/director Victoria Mahoney has received the Lynn Auerbach Screenwriting Fellowship for her project "Yelling at the Sky," the story of a young sister in a tough New York neighborhood facing difficult life choices. Mahoney will receive a $2,500 grant for her 2006 Screenwriters and Directors Labs project and mentorship from screenwriters Walter Bernstein and John Gatins. Mahoney also received this year's Maryland Film Fellowship along with writer/director Tanya Hamilton, for "Stringbean and Marcus." Each will get $5,000 from the Producers Club of Maryland for the production of their features. [Brian Brooks] 
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SF Chronicle: SFIFF's 50 Memorable Years

A golden anniversary calls for cracking open those scrapbooks. To celebrate the San Francisco International Film Festival's 50th year, we'll recount some memorable events, tidbits and gossip from every year of the festival, beginning today with its first opening night in 1957. The years will be presented in chronological order in daily Datebook until April 26, when this year's festival begins. The inaugural San Francisco International Film Festival kicks off Dec. 4, 1957, at the Metro theater. Congratulatory telegrams are read from, among others, Vice President Richard Nixon, who is assumed to have heard about the opening from San Francisco Mayor George Christopher... Ruth Stein reports. 
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"Music Within" and "Away From Her" Bookend 1st AFI Dallas Fest

Steven Sawalich's "Music Within" will open the first AFI Dallas International Film Festival, while Sarah Polley's "Away From Her" will close the event, taking place March 22 - 31. The festival will feature 191 feature films and shorts and 201 screenings as part of its debut with Target awarding prizes of $25,000 to the "Target Filmmaker Award" winners of the narrative and international documentary competitions. The newly inaugurated "AFI Dallas Star" will be presented to Lauren Bacall, Jack Valenti, David Lynch, Laura Dern, Marvin Hamlisch, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Sarah Polley, and to Veronique Peck for Gregory Peck, posthumously on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and the 40th anniversary of AFI where he served as its first chairman of the board. indieWIRE will publish highlights of the festival soon. [Brian Brooks] 
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Dixie Chicks to be Honored at Texas Film Hall of Fame

The Dixie Chicks will receive the AMD LIVE! Soundtrack Award as part of the seventh annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards Friday, March 9, the Austin Film Society has announced. In the past year, the Chicks received five Grammys including Album of the year and saw the release of their doc, "Shut Up and Sing" by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck. Band members Martie Maguire and Emily Robison will receive the award. As previously announced, this year's ceremony will pay tribute to the Honorable Ann Richards, former governor of Texas, who acted as the ceremony's emcee from 2002 to 2005. Also, actorss Bill Paxton, Betty Buckley and director Richard Linklater will be inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Producer Elizabeth Avellan will receive the first ever Ann Richards Award in recognition of her barrier-breaking accomplishments in the filmmaking industry. Syndicated columnist Liz Smith, a Fort Worth native and 2001 Hall of Fame inductee, will serve as emcee. [Brian Brooks] 
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"Reign Over Me" to Screen at Upcoming SXSW Fest

The SXSW Film Festival has announced more additions to its festival, taking place March 9 - 17 in Austin. On Wednesday, March 14, the festival will host a screening of Mike Binder's "Reign Over Me," starring Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler. Pop star James Blunt will attend the March 10 world premiere of Steven Cantor's documentary, "James Blunt: Return to Kosovo," which chronicles Blunt's trip to the battlefields where he served as a British soldier before finding success in music. Actor Shia LeBeouf and director D.J. Caruso are scheduled to attend a screening of their film, "Disturbia," on March 9. Co-star of NBC series "Friday Night Lights," Connie Britton, is scheduled to attend a screening of her film with director Sarah Kelly, "The Lather Effect," on Wednesday, March 14. SXSW has also added a special panel entitled "A Conversation with Elizabeth Avellan," to be held March 12 at the Austin Convention Center. [Brian Brooks] 
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Oscar Winners Open Very Short Film Festival in Hollywood

Ari Sandel's Oscar-winning live action short "West Side Story" as well as Torill Kove's Oscar-winning animated short film "The Danish Poet" will join the other Academy Award-nominated shorts will screen at the opening night of the 2007 Very Short Film Festival, at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The four-day fest takes place March 8 - 11. [Brian Brooks] 
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AFP: Oscars show ratings rise in preliminary figures

Television ratings for this year's Oscars increased slightly according to preliminary figures on Monday, with female viewership increasing for the show hosted by comedian Ellen DeGeneres. Figures released by Nielsen Media Research showed a three percent increase on last year's audience, jumping from 38.9 million viewers to 39.9 million. Viewership for the Oscars has dipped in recent years. Last year's show hosted by John Stewart was the second smallest audience since 1998, and Sunday's figures were still well off the 42.1 million in 2005 and 2004's 43.5 million. AFP reports. 
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IHT: 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' wins 5 of France's top film awards

"Lady Chatterley's Lover," a French film version of D.H. Lawrence's novel, won five of France's top movie awards over the weekend. "Lady Chatterley's Lover," which had a modest performance at the box office, won the Cesar for best film Saturday. Marina Hands, in the lead role, was named best actress. The film, directed by Pascale Ferran, also won for photography, costumes and adapted screenplay. The thriller "Ne le dis a personne" (Tell no one) was the other main winner, with a best director award for Guillaume Canet and a best actor award for Francois Cluzet as a doctor searching for the truth about his missing wife. The ceremony, held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. The International Herald Tribune reports. 
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AFP: Director who inspired "Departed" hails Scorsese

The Hong Kong director of the gritty gangster flick that Martin Scorsese adapted as his Oscar-winning hit "The Departed" heaped praise on the man he said inspired him to make films. "It is an honour to have been able to help Martin win his first and long overdue Oscar," said Andrew Lau, whose 2002 film "Infernal Affairs" provided the story for Scorsese's movie set among the gangs of Boston. "He has always been my hero, his films were why I got into making films." AFP reports. 
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AFP: Mirren tipped for Palace tea invite after Oscar crown

Dame Helen Mirren could be invited to tea at Buckingham Palace after she was crowned as best actress at the Oscars for her stoic portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II. A meeting with Her Majesty would follow a glittering clean sweep for the British actress this awards season, after the role garnered her a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. At the Oscars, the film's director Stephen Frears suggested that he, Mirren and screenwriter Peter Morgan would visit the real Queen at Buckingham Palace in March. Robin Millard reports. 
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LA Times: Stars also rise in the East

Here, the stars arrived with snowflakes on their shoulders. Some of them walked in a little slower or spoke a little softer, but from the moment they checked their coats, everyone seemed equally ready to eat, to drink and to talk. Although the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood drew the world's attention Sunday night, the St. Regis Hotel in Midtown Manhattan drew the interest and appetites of some storied names from Hollywood's past. Open to all East Coast-based members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the party drew six Oscar winners and plenty of past nominees, providing an excuse to dust off the tuxes and reminisce. Josh Gajewski reports.  
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At The Razzies, "Basic Instinct 2" Named Worst Film of the Year

Amidst all the talk about the best movies of the year, not to be overlooked is that annual Razzies, which honor the worst in film. "Basic Instinct 2" won two prizes, named worst movie and its star Sharon Stone was named worst actress, according to an AP report in USA Today. Razzie founder John Wilson said about the film's star Sharon Stone, according to the report:

"Yes, she still has some excuse to drop her robe, but the dialogue, the story, the overall attitude of the character is cartoon-like," Wilson said. "You have to sort of wonder, is she vamping the movie or does she think she's giving a serious performance? Is she the lone person on the project who got the joke?"

"Little Man" from The Wayans Brothers came second.  
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LAT: Weinstein On Producers

In an LA Times editorial this weekend, Harvey Weinstein weighs in on the role of the producer today, in particular with respect to the Academy Awards and a recent rule that only honors up to three producers per film with a Best Picture Oscar and amidst concern that a "Little Miss Sunshine" best picture win would leave out two producers):

What really bothers me is that in trying to fix a problem that needs fixing, we haven't paid enough attention to how much the role of producer has changed over the years. In the independent film world, making movies has become so complicated that it sometimes takes a village to get it done.

Oscar show producer Laura Ziskin, an accomplished Hollywood producer, has decided to allow on stage all five producers of Sunshine if the film wins the top prize at the Academy Awards. 
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Errol Morris Talks To Oscar Nominees

In The Hollywood Reporter Anne Thompson chats with Errol Morris about his short film that will screen during this year's Oscar TV telecast. In under 5 minutes, Morris will feature interviews with some 130 Academy Award nominees.  
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A (Final) Look at the Red Carpet

In The New York Times today, reporter & blogger David Carr looks back at his past few months covering awards season from alongside the red carpet:

The carpet is as much a conceptual as a physical space, a thin ribbon separating those who have fame and the masses who bestow it. The "reporters" on the margins of this zone are not really reporting in any conventional sense of the word. They don't investigate, explain or even filter very much, which is part of why the movie stars are willing to play ball. Instead they inspect frocks, repeat sound bites and shout into the cameras about what the stars are "really like." In truth carpet reporters like me serve as grubby floor traders whose cumulative hunger (or lack thereof - few sights are more pathetic than B-listers biding time alone) determines the market value of the glittering commodities on display.

Meanwhile, on his Carpetbagger blog, Carr pledges today that his Oscar red carpet duty today will be his last. But, until then, he'll be offering regular Oscar night updates on the blog (he's also soliciting questions from readers that he may ask some of his interview subjects). 
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