Tag:

Talk

Robert Redford, A House of Dynamite, Foreign Oscar Race — Screen Talk

by jummy84 September 20, 2025

written by jummy84

Much like “Screen Talk” podcast co-host Ryan Lattanzio felt after leaving Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear missile thriller “A House of Dynamite” at Venice — which he rave-reviewed — Anne Thompson left a recent L.A. screening of the movie with her heart pounding in her chest.

Written by Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow’s real-time thriller about the banalities and actualities of a fictional-in-premise-only nuclear attack on the United States is Netflix’s best horse in the race at the Oscars this year. The film stars Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Idris Elba, Jonah Hauer-King, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Tracy Letts, and more — and while its ensemble will likely be left out of acting categories, the movie will play well to Oscar voters and audiences when it drops on Netflix in October. The streamer will give this gripping and intense film — which is a cautionary letter about the nuclear stockpile across the world — a theatrical, qualifying play in theaters starting October 10.

THE LIMEY, Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, 1999, (c) Artisan Entertainment/courtesy Everett Collection

On this week’s “Screen Talk” episode, we also remember the great Robert Redford, the filmmaker and actor and Sundance founder who died at home in Utah at the age of 89 on Tuesday. We each pick our favorite Redford movies: While Anne argues that “Out of Africa,” the 1985 Best Picture-winning romance he directed and starred in with Meryl Streep, has aged better than Alan J. Pakula’s timely (!) journalism thriller “All the President’s Men” from 1976, Ryan advocates for “The Way We Were” as a career-best Redford performance. He starred in that Sydney Pollack-directed film as a WASP opposite Barbra Streisand as a Marxist Jewish woman. From college on, they never could make their relationship work. But Pollack knew how to make commercial appeal and filmmaking artistry work at the same time.

We also discuss the latest, headline-dominating news that Jimmy Kimmel has been pulled from late-night airing by ABC after he made allegedly erroneous comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk. What does it mean for free speech on television? It’s not looking good. Much like the situation with Stephen Colbert getting axed from airwaves amid the Paramount-Skydance merger, there’s another combination of mega broadcasting forces at play here: Nexstar, America’s largest local TV broadcasting group, is amid a merger with similarly local-TV-operating Tegna. Both are in the FCC’s pocket, which is in turn in President Trump’s pocket.

This week’s “Screen Talk” also breaks down the major players in the Best International Feature Oscar race. France, due to its production stake in the film, has officially submitted Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or-winner “It Was Just an Accident” for the Academy Award. The country stands a good chance at a nomination, and possibly a win, after years of being snubbed. France could have won this year for “Emilia Pérez” until, well, we know what happened there. Other strong contenders include “The President’s Cake” from Iraq (a Sony Pictures Classics release), Norway’s “Sentimental Value” (Neon), and Brazil’s “The Secret Agent” (also Neon), though this is a category that is ever hard to predict. The deadline for submissions is October 1.

Listen to the podcast in this week’s episode below.

September 20, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

Guillermo del Toro and Yeon Sang-ho Talk Creative Process at Busan

by jummy84 September 20, 2025

written by jummy84

Two of cinema’s most imaginative voices came together at the Busan International Film Festival for an intimate conversation about their creative processes, revealing surprising connections between their work despite being separated by continents and cultures.

Guillermo del Toro and Yeon Sang-ho, both masters of blending the fantastical with deeply human stories, participated in a session at Netflix‘s Creative Asia conference. The conversation offered insights into how both directors approach their craft.

Both filmmakers traced their creative origins to childhood encounters with monsters and Japanese animation. Speaking about his formative years, del Toro said: “I’m not a good outdoorsy guy. I’m an indoor observer, reader, consumer of audiovisual media, storyteller. You know, if there was no movies, they would throw me out of a cliff to die.”

The Mexican filmmaker revealed how Japanese tokusatsu shaped his worldview: “So we watched all the series, not only Osamu Tezuka, but we watched all the Tsuburaya series, Ultraman, Ultraseven, Ultra Q. So I grew up like a Japanese kid.”

Yeon shared similar influences, explaining: “Actually, I think it’s right to say that I get inspiration from everything in life. But when I was young, at that time in Korea, Japanese animation was on TV, and I’m not a good sportsman.”

The conversation turned to their approaches to adapting existing material. On his adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” playing at Busan, del Toro detailed his decades-long relationship with the source material: “I saw the movie when I was seven, I read the book when I was 11, and since that time until now, I have made it a point to study… the lives of the Romantics. Percy B. Shelley, Mary Shelley, Lord Byron.”

His philosophy on adaptation is deeply personal: “You study all of that through decades and decades and decades and it becomes part of you. And then what you do is like you sing the same song with your own voice with different arrangements and it feels new because it matters to you.”

Yeon, who is adapting the Japanese manga “The Human Vapor,” expressed surprise at del Toro’s deep knowledge of obscure Japanese works, including the 1960 film “The Human Vapor,” demonstrating the cross-cultural pollination of genre filmmaking.

Praising Yeon’s transition from animation to live-action, del Toro called it “very rare that an animation director transitions so beautifully to live action.” He emphasized animation as “a pure form of art,” particularly stop-motion, which he continues to pursue alongside his live-action work.

Yeon reflected on the different strengths of each medium: “Animation and live-action have somewhat different appeals. In animation, almost all drawing styles exist. You can convey something just through the shape of appearance, which is a really big appeal, and depending on how you make it move, the way emotions are expressed changes a lot, so it has a broader range for conveying emotions. Live-action films definitely have authenticity that comes from the talents that actors possess, so there’s definitely a different kind of delivery power from that.”

He continued: “Since I’m doing a lot of live-action film series now, I have a desire in one corner of my heart to someday make some legendary animation like Osamu Tezuka or works like those I loved so much when I was young. When I work on projects with creatures, there’s somewhat the joy I had when doing animation.”

Both directors shared stories about embracing unexpected moments during production. Recalling the “Train to Busan” production, Yeon shared a specific example: “Originally, since I did animation, I try not to draw as much as possible. But when some explanation is needed, I do draw. The most representative case was when filming ‘Train to Busan’ – there was a scene where zombies were being dragged away in the ending, but that scene didn’t exist originally. We said we should add such a scene, but the staff couldn’t accurately understand what kind of scene it was, so I spent about a day drawing that scene. Amazingly, it’s almost identical to the image that appears in the movie now.”

He also shared another production story: “We had a past scene, so we worked quite hard to do the set dressing. We came after setting it up, but the night before, there was an incredibly heavy rain. It rained and all the mud was washed away, and the floor we had set up became completely muddy. At first, we thought we were unlucky and tried to clean it up, but as we tried to clean it, the look itself matched so well with the past. When such accidents happen, the accident isn’t really an accident but makes the film really special.”

Expanding on this philosophy, del Toro said: “As you age, you learn to, when you’re a young director, you talk a lot. When you are older, you listen a lot. And you know who’s talking all the time? The movie… And if you learn to listen, you make a better movie by realizing that accident is telling you this is what the movie wants to be.”

When asked about maintaining human elements within spectacular set pieces, del Toro emphasized that “everything is drama” regardless of scale. He described filmmaking as “poetry with hardware,” explaining how technical elements like camera movement and editing create emotional impact.

“Film is poetry with hardware,” he said. “You have a dolly track, you have a lens, you have a camera… you’re using hard things to produce symphonic movement.”

Both directors stressed the collaborative nature of their work. Noting that all visual elements work together, del Toro said: “Wardrobe is set design. Set design is cinematography. Cinematography is wardrobe. There’s no difference. You’re creating a single image.”

He shared advice from makeup effects master Dick Smith, quoting Laurence Olivier: “When you’re an actor in a rain scene, let the rain do some of the acting for you.” This philosophy extends to every element of production, where “everything is acting.”

The conversation touched on handling negative criticism. Yeon offered his perspective: “Actually… I feel what kind of thoughts critics have about certain works. I feel it, and sometimes there might be a gap between that person and me. When there’s a gap, I try to respect and understand it enough, but it doesn’t have a big influence on my work.”

Meanwhile, del Toro revealed he no longer reads reviews, positive or negative: “If you believe the good ones, you have to believe the bad ones. And I don’t want to.”

He emphasized depth of connection over breadth of audience, sharing how Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil” transformed him despite playing to an empty theater: “It doesn’t matter how many people liked it or not. It changed my life.”

Addressing the current industry landscape, Yeon drew historical parallels: “I think this way. Since I did animation, those who really like animation will know, but there used to be something called videodeck. When videodeck first started to emerge, a genre called OVA (Original Video Animation) began to appear in Japan.” He noted that while streaming offers global simultaneous release, theatrical films have different timing across countries and provide different depths and delivery methods, making them “completely different” experiences.

Focusing on the “size of ideas” rather than screen size, del Toro noted that content must work effectively in both home and theater environments.

The session concluded with advice for first-time directors. Offering a marriage metaphor, del Toro said: “Making a movie is not a date, it’s a marriage. So don’t marry that easy. Marry people you really give a fuck about.”

September 20, 2025 0 comments

Bollywood

Chunky Panday And Bhavana Pandey Talk Fashion At The Filmfare Glamour And Style Awards

by jummy84 September 9, 2025

written by jummy84

#ChunkyPanday and #BhavanaPandey share their go-to style accessories and reveal who they think is the next-gen fashionista , only at the #BlendersPridePackagedDrinkingWaterFilmfareGlamourAndStyleAwards2025. âœ¨
#BlendersPrideGlamourAndStyleAwards2025 #FilmfareGlamourAndStyleAwards2025 #BlendersPridePackagedDrinkingWaterXFilmfare #GlamourAndStyleAwards #filmfareawards #filmfare

September 9, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

Palestine-Set ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ Is Talk of Venice

by jummy84 September 3, 2025

written by jummy84

Rarely does a Venice film get a standing ovation at its press conference, but in advance of its world premiere at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” has already received a glowing reception from filmgoers and critics on the Lido.

The latest film from Oscar-nominated Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania is a dramatization of what happened when Red Crescent volunteers attempted to speed their way through a mountain of bureaucratic obstacles in January 2024 to save six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was trapped inside a car in northern Gaza with several dead relatives who had been wiped out by the Israeli Defense Force.

Prior to the question and answer portion of the press conference, star Saja Kilani read a statement on behalf of “The Voice of Hind Rajab” cast and crew that noted: “‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ does not need our defense. This film is not an opinion or a fantasy. It is anchored in truth. Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people. Her voice is one amongst tens of thousands of children that were killed in Gaza in the last two years alone.”

She added, “Behind every number is a story that never got to be told. Hind’s story is about a child crying out, ‘Save me.’ And the real question is, how have we let a child beg for life? No one can live in peace while even one child is forced to plead for survival.” (You can read the full statement below.)

Ben Hania, who has covered several Middle Eastern and North African conflicts in both her narrative work (“The Man Who Sold His Skin”) and her non-fiction work (“Four Daughters”) said, “When I heard the first time the voice of Hind Rajab, there was something more than her voice. It was the very voice of Gaza asking for help, and nobody could answer.” That, and a “strong desire, and the feeling of anger and helplessness gave birth to this movie.”

Producer Nadim Cheikhrouha shared that he and Ben Hania were actually getting ready to make a different film before they heard the story of Rajab. Both thought, “We can’t stay just watching what’s happening and do some other stuff. We need to do this movie, and we need to do it quickly,” said the producer. “We had this feeling of emergency.”

Joaquin Phoenix, James Wilson, Rooney Mara, Andrea Romeio, Amer Hlehel, Clara Khoury, Nadim Cheikhrouha, Kaouther Ben Hania, Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees and Odessa Rae attend the 'The Voice Of Hind Rajab' red carpet during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 03, 2025 in Venice, Italy. — Joaquin Phoenix, James Wilson, Rooney Mara, Andrea Romeio, Amer Hlehel, Clara Khoury, Nadim Cheikhrouha, Kaouther Ben Hania, Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees and Odessa Rae attend the ‘The Voice Of Hind Rajab’ red carpet during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 03, 2025 in Venice, ItalyGetty Images

The pair were able to go into production with only a few partners, though the list of producers for “The Voice of Hind Rajab” now includes Brad Pitt and his company Plan B Entertainment, as well as Oscar-winning directors Jonathan Glazer and Alfonso Cuarón, and couple Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara. “The fact that all those names joined the movie means something,” said Ben Hania. “I never in my life thought that could be possible. So I’m very grateful for their support.”

Listening to the stars of “The Voice of Hind Rajab” talk about the film, the prevailing sentiment was clear. “It’s not a film for us. It was really a duty to go and do this,” said Amer Hlehel. “We needed that film to express ourselves as actors and artists.” Kilani added, “Usually with a film, you create a character, you build this narrative in your head, but this film, there was no acting.”

A key choice Ben Hania made in order to capture authentic responses from her actors was to not let them listen to the real-life voice recordings of Rajab that are used in the film until they were on set shooting each scene. “It’s one thing to read the script and to know exactly what she said, and we rehearsed that, but it’s a whole different aspect when you hear her voice,” said Kilani.

“There were a lot of tears, and also the team was in tears. Everybody. We were in a very small and closed set, and everyone was engaged,” said actress Clara Khoury. “The whole film set, because of the cause, because of what’s happening in Gaza and the genocide, the ongoing genocide that is not stopping yet.”

Actor Motaz Malhees, who plays the Red Crescent volunteer who is the first to speak to Rajab, shared that he felt a deeply personal connection to her story, having lived in the West Bank as a child. “It wasn’t easy. I felt like I died a thousand times hearing Hind’s voice. From the first moment, it just sent me back to my childhood. So it wasn’t a new thing for me. It’s a life I lived,” he said. “There were two times where I couldn’t keep filming. I had a panic attack, and I had the support from everyone also. It was hard, but it’s a responsibility for me.”

Anticipating certain criticisms of the film, which dramatizes a true story, Ben Hania said, “When you amplify the voice of Palestinians, you are always personally accused of being exploitative, and it’s another way to silence you.” But her hope is that “things should change. We’ve seen that the narrative all around the world that those dying in Gaza are collateral damage in media. And I think this is so dehumanizing, and that’s why cinema art and every kind of expression is very important to give those people a voice and a face.”

“The Voice of Hind Rajab” has already been chosen as Tunisia’s submission for Best International Feature, and has been pegged as the new frontrunner for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Should it find an even bigger platform, its actors might be recognized in the awards fray as well, with Malhees, Kilani, Hlehel, and Khoury being campaigned for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, and Ben Hania to be recognized in various categories, as she also wrote the film.

Read the full statement from “The Voice of Hind Rajab” cast and crew below:

“On behalf of all of us actors, and in the name of the entire team, we ask, isn’t it enough? Enough of the mass killing, the starvation, the dehumanization, the destruction, the ongoing occupation. ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’ does not need our defense. This film is not an opinion or a fantasy. It is anchored in truth. Hind’s story carries the weight of an entire people. Her voice is one amongst 10s of 1000s of children that were killed in Gaza in the last two years alone. It is the voice of every daughter and every son with the right to live, to dream, to exist in dignity, yet all of it was stolen in front of unblinking eyes, and these are only the voices we know. Behind every number is a story that never got to be told. Hind’s story is about a child crying out, ‘Save me.’ And the real question is, how have we let a child beg for life? No one can live in peace while even one child is forced to plead for survival. Let Hind Rajab’s voice echo around the world. Let it remind you of the silence that has been built around Gaza. Let it name the genocide that silence protects and let it pierce the word enough, not tomorrow, not someday, now. For justice, for the sake of humanity, for the future of every child. Enough.”

“The Voice of Hind Rajab” premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

September 3, 2025 0 comments

Celebrity News

‘RHOA’ Alum Kandi Burruss Shuts Down Phaedra Parks Reunion Talk + Defends Kenya Moore Following Controversial Series Exit

by jummy84 September 3, 2025

written by jummy84

Screenshot

‘RHOA’ Alum Kandi Burruss Shuts Down Phaedra Parks Reunion Talk + Defends Kenya Moore Following Controversial Series Exit

Stop holding up the prayer line for #KandiBurruss and #PhaedraParks to work things out! ?

Speaking with #KekePalmer for her Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast, Kandi once again shut down any chances of a reunion with her former bestie, Phaedra. She also shared that Phaedra has never tried to reach out following their viral fallout, noting: “We just don’t speak.”

During the chat, Kandi also stood ten toes down behind her support of #KenyaMoore. As you may recall, the salon owner parted ways with #Bravo last season after sharing explicit images of newcomer #BritEady. The crazy ordeal was retaliation after Brit threatened her with a firearm. Brit eventually filed a lawsuit against the network, and, according to reports, Kenya wasn’t asked to return for season 17.

Baby, This Is Keke Palmer

September 3, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

Jesse Plemons’ Role in ‘Bugonia’ Is the Talk of Telluride

by jummy84 September 1, 2025

written by jummy84

You have to see “Bugonia” to appreciate how far out there Jesse Plemons goes with Teddy, the obsessed conspiracy freak beekeeper who kidnaps Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of Big Pharma company Auxolith, convinced that she is an alien out to destroy the earth. This week, “Bugonia” played Venice and Telluride to upbeat response from critics and audiences. It’s one of two Focus films at Telluride likely to figure in the Oscar race, along with Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet.” Will Emma Stone and Plemons both go for lead? That is the remaining question.

All Plemons knew to begin with, he said, was what Yorgos Lanthimos told him: The movie was an adaptation of a Korean film (“Save the Green Planet!”) from the early 2000s. Plemons looked up the synopsis. Then he finished “Kinds of Kindness” (2024). Then he read the script. “Are you kidding me?” he said.

How did it read that first time? “Like an explosion,” he said. “It was really funny. I laughed so much, I was so moved, all that range of emotions and responses. We didn’t know when we were going to do it. Maybe there was some disbelief, or I hadn’t fully allowed myself to think like I’m actually playing this part.”

Five months later, Plemons read the script again, “knowing that it was real and that it was going to happen, and maybe Yorgos had made some little adjustments at that point, but I had a very different experience reading it. It was a much heavier experience. And also I felt: ‘How am I going to do this?’ I was a little scared.”

He had never been this scared before approaching a role, because “I loved the script so much,” he said, “and I loved the part so much. To try and find my way in and do it justice was intimidating.”

Naturally, Plemons jumped down the rabbit hole of internet conspiracy theories. “It’s infinite,” he said. “Because it’s so timely, and because there are so many Teddies out there in varying degrees, most of them lesser degrees that I was, it was fascinating.”

He was seeking the odd story that “does something to you,” he said, “gets your motor running and gets you excited.”

And the screenwriter Will Tracy (“The Menu”) was also helpful. “I’m always curious how these things happen,” Plemons said, “and where they come from.”

The character Teddy starts with a specific look: Rumpled, filthy long shorts and shirts, straggly greasy long hair, scruffy beard. He’s compassionate about bees, but he’s angry at the local Big Pharma company that put his mother into a coma with an opioid recovery drug. In one scene he admits to having sampled alt-right, alt-lite, and Marxism, without finding his proper niche.

It’s intense to watch Teddy go up against the wily Fuller. He shaves her head so her fellow aliens won’t be able to trace her. He chains her to a bed in the basement. And he has his accomplice cousin (Aidan Delbis) stand guard with a rifle. When she doesn’t give him what he wants, he tortures her.

Charlie Kaufman recommended Naomi Klein’s book “Doppelganger.” “It’s a companion piece, in some ways, to ‘Bugonia,’” Plemons said. “It’s so thorough on this subject. One line is talking about the shadow self, within individuals, within nations, and this line about how the oppressed can become the oppressors resonated with me. He has this deep, deep pain.”

“Doppelganger” helped Plemons to cope with the violence. “Maybe this was a way for me to rationalize it and not judge,” he said, “but I looked at it as the way a child’s rage comes out. There’s a lot about Teddy that’s childlike. Children are magical creatures. I’ve got a four and a seven year old. Everything’s just so raw? He’s kind of brilliant, and he’s kind of dumb, and also kind of childlike; he’s easily duped.”

When he unchains Fuller, thinking that she is the empress alien, they face off in a lengthy dinner scene over spaghetti and meatballs. “The dinner scene was as much fun as you can have as an actor,” he said.

When I ask Plemons about working with the non-pro Delbis, who likes to be called autistic, he chokes up. “Talking about this movie, I get emotional,” he said. “Aidan is the MVP of the movie, his presence, him being a part of the process, and being on set and watching. I was worried in some ways, making sure that this was going to be a positive experience for him. My mother is a teacher, and for a long time she specialized in teaching children with autism and so I’ve always had a special place in my heart. What he did, it’s not easy.”

Emma Stone stars as Michelle Fuller in director Yorgos Lanthimos' BUGONIA, a Focus Features release.
Credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved. — ‘Bugonia’Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

Plemons and Stone were promoting “Kinds of Kindness” when they were supposed to be rehearsing “Bugonia,” so they didn’t get as much time to play around as usual, just a few days and some fight choreography. “I wish there was more,” said Plemons. “This felt relentless. There was no opportunity to even process the scene that just happened, that took place today, because you have to look at what awful thing is coming. I didn’t know how I was going to do the third act, the endurance of that. The relentlessness probably helped, because I had to focus on what was at hand.”

Next up: In mid-September, Plemons starts the next “Hunger Games” installment, “Sunrise on the Reaping” (2026) opposite Florence Pugh. “There are a lot of parallels with the world that we’re living in now and what we’re all struggling with,” said Plemons, who plays head gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee, a role originated by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. That made Plemons hesitate for a moment. He had played Hoffman’s son in “The Master” in his early 20s. “It was one of the best classes I’ve ever taken,” he said, “because I have a few scenes with Hoffman and [Joaquin] Phoenix, but I was there for pretty much the duration of the shoot, and so I just watched.”

At this point, those of us watching Plemons are starting to believe there’s no limit to what he can accomplish.

September 1, 2025 0 comments

Kajol Once Shared Feeling Left Out On The Sets Of Ishq Despite Her Outgoing Personality

Bollywood

When Kajol Opened Up On Feeling Left Out On The Sets Of Ishq, “I Was Not Willing To Talk To Anybody..”

by jummy84 August 25, 2025

written by jummy84

When Kajol Admitted She Struggled With The Long Shoot & Group Dynamics Of Ishq (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Kajol is one of the most loved actresses in the film fraternity. She is known for her joyful nature and unapologetically bold personality. With a career spanning over three decades, Kajol has carved a niche for herself in the industry and continues to win hearts with powerful performances. Let’s look back at the time when Kajol reflected on the dynamics while shooting her 1997 film Ishq. Read on to know more.

Kajol Opened Up On The Dynamics On The Sets Of Ishq

In a conversation with The Mashable India, Kajol opened up about her experience of feeling left out on the sets of Ishq. She said, “Aamir was very friendly with the director, and so was Juhi, so these three were a close-knit group. And then there were me and Ajay. And eventually, it was just me. There were certain days on set when I was not willing to talk to anybody.”

Kajol Talked About Long Schedule & Daily Shooting Hours

Kajol further revealed that the long schedule and daily shooting hours made it even more difficult for her. Despite her outgoing nature, she addressed that even extroverts like her needed some quiet moments in life. “We spent 300 days together. That film took 300 days to be made. We have no idea what we did for so many days. We used to spend 8-10 hours everyday on the set. I can’t be talking to all of them at all times. I can try to be social, but I can’t constantly be chatting,” the Do Patti star concluded.

Kajol’s Upcoming Projects

Directed by Indra Kumar, Ishq is one of the most loved romantic-comedy films of Bollywood. It features Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, Ajay Devgn, and Kajol in lead roles. On the professional front, Kajol was recently seen in the mythological horror film, Maa. She will be next seen in Maharangi – Queen of Queens. Besides this, Kajol will also host a new talk show named ‘Too Much’ alongside Twinkle Khanna. The show will premiere on Amazon Prime.

For more entertainment news, stay tuned to Koimoi!

Must Read: Bollywood’s Cool Dad Club! From Varun Dhawan To Ranbir Kapoor & Other New Age Dads

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News

August 25, 2025 0 comments

Bollywood

Nikki Tamboli Reacted To Usha Nadkarni’s ‘They Are Big People They Don’t Talk’ Comment In Recent Interview

by jummy84 August 25, 2025

written by jummy84

Popular small-screen actress Usha Nadkarni had recently called her co-contestant on the sets of ‘Celebrity Masterchef’, Nikki Tamboli, for being arrogant in an interview. She said that she was one of the big people and did not talk to her. Now Nikki Tamboli has reacted to this comment of the actress and replied to Usha Nadkarni. Both Nikki Tamboli and Usha Nadkarni worked together in ‘Celebrity MasterChef’.

Usha Nadkarni

Usha Nadkarni said some things about Nikki Tamboli’s behavior in the interview, which the actress did not like. Talking to one of the media houses about her behavior, Usha Tai said, ‘I am the way I am and say things directly, but this does not make me arrogant. I have never pretended to be someone. Instead, I have always believed in looking real. I think my fans like me for this reason.’

Nikki Tamboli

Let us tell you that Nikki Tamboli again reacted to what Usha Nadkarni said about her. She said, ‘I have a lot of respect for Usha ji. Just because you are senior and I am junior, and I don’t flatter you or say yes to everything, it doesn’t mean that you can say anything about me. Please don’t think of me as arrogant. I know my personality. And my fans also know how I am. I respect you, but let me tell you that no one has the right to judge me.’

Nikki Tamboli

When Usha was asked if she liked Nikki, she said, ‘I don’t like nonsense. I am not angry with Nikki, but she is bigger, baba. We are all small people. We should not talk much. If we are smaller, we should remain small. I don’t talk much to bigger people, because she doesn’t talk. She never mixed and interacted with us ever on the show.’

August 25, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

What’s Next for Quentin Tarantino, and Film Critics — Screen Talk

by jummy84 August 24, 2025

written by jummy84

Quentin Tarantino‘s recent — and no doubt coveted — appearance on “The Church of Tarantino,” a long-running fan podcast run by Scott K., provided spicy details about the director’s next moves. He’s working on a play he hopes to take to the West End, and during the two-hour episode, he also explained why his purported 10th film “The Movie Critic” derailed. It turns out that Tarantino’s planned limited series, as announced in 2022 for an unspecified network or streamer, began as “The Movie Critic” before he whittled it down to a feature film version.

The Oscar-winning “Pulp Fiction” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” director first announced in 2024 that he would not move forward with “The Movie Critic,” about a film writer in 1970s Los Angeles circa the same time and place as “Once Upon a Time.” There wouldn’t have been, he insists, any overlaps in terms of characters, nor would there be an appearance from Cliff Booth (played by Oscar winner Brad Pitt). Of course, we now know that Booth and Pitt are returning for a new film, scripted by Tarantino and directed by David Fincher, for Netflix. Titled “The Adventures of Cliff Booth,” the period film went into on-location California production this past week.

On this week’s episode of IndieWire’s “Screen Talk,” co-hosts Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio recapped Tarantino’s podcast appearance — and specifically about how Tarantino rejected the notion that he is paralyzed by fear or indecision about his 10th and expected-to-be-final movie. For now, the Netflix movie and the eventual stage play will have to sate his fans.

Elsewhere on the episode, we share our own favorite movies from the 1970s in the wake of IndieWire’s ’70s Week, which ranked the decade’s 100 best movies, topped by Bob Fosse’s “All That Jazz,” along with interviews and insights about the era. Our mutual favorites include “Klute” and “Chinatown,” and we gave a shout-out to films like “A Clockwork Orange” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” that didn’t make the cut.

Speaking of podcast appearances, Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy gave a candid chat to The Black List founder Franklin Leonard about the studio’s recent successes. They talked about the bidding war for Zach Cregger’s sleeper horror “Weapons” — De Luca got the script at 8:30 a.m. on a Monday in January 2023 and by the next day the deal was closing at Warners’ production arm New Line. They also unpacked further the revolutionary deal for Ryan Coogler and “Sinners”; the filmmaker will get back the rights to the horror movie in 25 years, which is five years longer than Sony’s similar deal with Tarantino and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” a movie Warners chased. At this point, “Sinners” is a Best Picture Oscar frontrunner.

Listen to this week’s “Screen Talk” episode below.

August 24, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

‘Wind Talk To Me’ Wins Best Feature At Sarajevo Film Festival

by jummy84 August 23, 2025

written by jummy84

Stefan Ðorďević’s Wind, Talk to Me has snapped up the top prize at the Sarajevo Film Festival, taking the Heart of Sarajevo award for Best Feature Film. The Serbia-Slovenia-Croatia co-production, which earned €16,000 with the prize, is a blend of documentary and fiction and also stars the Serbian helmer and his family.

The project sees Ðorďević reuninte with his family to celebrate his grandmother’s birthday for the first time since his mother died. According to a synopsis, “this homecoming, driven by Stefan’s urge to complete a film about his mother as well as an attempt to make amends by rescuing a strat dog, will ignite an introspective journey.”

Elsewhere, Ivana Mladenović picked up the Heart of Sarajevo award for Best Director for her project Sorella Di Clausura while the ensemble cast of Fantasy – Sarah el Saleh, Alina Juhard, Mia Skrbinac and Mina Milovanoviċ – all won for Best Actress.

Yugo Florida star Andrija Kuzmanović took the prize for Best Actor while Best Documentary Film went to Ivette Löcker’s Our Time Will Come. The latter project focuses on a year in the life of an interracial couple.

Sarajevo’s four competition sections included feature, documentary, short and student films. The festival screened 15 world, six international, 28 regional and two national premieres throughout the eight-day event. A total of 50 films competed for the Heart of Sarajevo Awards.

The jury comprised of Ukrainian helmer Sergie Loznitsa, who served as president, actor Dragan Mićanović, director-writer-actor Emanuel Pârvu, writer-director Ena Sendijarević and Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle.

Here’s the full line up of the winners for the festival, which wrapped August 22:

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FEATURE FILM

WIND, TALK TO ME / VETRE, PRIČAJ SA MNOM

Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia

Director: Stefan Đorđević

Producers: Dragana Jovović, Ognjen Glavonić, Stefan Ivančić

Award in the amount of €16,000.

The filmmaker behind our Best Film takes a formally bold and inquisitive approach to his very personal subject, working with his collaborators to combine elements of fiction and documentary into a film of beguiling melancholy and delicate beauty. It is our please to present the HEART OF SARAJEVO to the producers and director of WIND, TALK TO ME.

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DIRECTOR

Ivana Mladenović, SORELLA DI CLAUSURA

Romania, Serbia, Italy, Spain

Award in the amount of €10,000 is sponsored by the United Nations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with UNESCO.

The punk spirit is never far away in this skilfully directed film, which flows like a dostojevskean river, stacking failure on failure, to finally arrive at a romantic comedy, but without the romance. The best director award goes to Ivana Mladenović, SORELLA DI CLAUSURA.

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTRESS

FANTASY ensemble – Sarah al Saleh, Alina Juhart, Mia Skrbinac, Mina Milovanović

Slovenia, North Macedonia

Award in the amount of €2,500.

In a film exploring the distances between how we understand ourselves and how others perceive us, our ensemble of talented actresses brought great charisma and authenticity to their roles. We proudly present the Best Actress Award to the ensemble quartet at the heart of FANTASY.

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTOR

Andrija Kuzmanović, YUGO FLORIDA

Serbia, Bulgaria, France, Croatia, Montenegro

Award in the amount of €2,500.

Our Best Actor brings depth and complexity to a performance of deceptive simplicity, as his character struggles to unlearn a lifetime of avoiding emotional closeness. Our Best Actor Award goes to Andrija Kuzmanović.

COMPTETITION PROGRAMME – DOCUMENTARY FILM

Jury:

Blake Levin (producer, USA)

Cíntia Gil (film curator, Portugal)

Veton Nurkollari (artistic director of DokuFest and film curator, Kosovo*)

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

OUR TIME WILL COME / UNSERE ZEIT WIRD KOMMEN

Austria

Director: Ivette Löcker

Award in the amount of €4,000 is sponsored by the Government of Switzerland.

AN OSCAR® QUALIFYING FILM

The Heart of Sarajevo award for best documentary feature goes to a film that combines the beauty and the challenges of creating togetherness, with the generosity and rigour of making films in the intimacy of lives being lived. It is a film that builds a cinematic time and space for the complexities of love and the politics of coexistence, valuing the richness that each person may bring to our common spaces.

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY FILM

THE MAN’S LAND / KACEBIS MITSA Georgia, Hungary

Director: Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani

Award in the amount of €2,000.

To a film that brings forward and challenges a centuries old custom. With unobtrusive, yet close and intimate camera work, and with precise editing, we are presented a film that speaks volumes about injustice and integrity. The Heart of Sarajevo for Best Short Documentary goes to Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani for her film The Men’s Land.

SPECIAL JURY AWARD

IN HELL WITH IVO

Bulgaria, United States

Director: Kristina Nikolova

Award in the amount of €2,500.

For the filmmaker’s deft ability to let her iconoclast subject’s charisma and talent erupt on screen, shaping a narrative of Ivo’s performances that push audiences into discomfort with honesty, compassion, and connection, the Special Jury Prize for Documentary goes to ‘In Hell With Ivo’ from director Kristina Nikolova.

SPECIAL MENTION

I BELIEVE THE PORTRAIT SAVED ME / MUA BESOJ MË SHPËTOJ PORTRETI

Kosovo*, Netherlands

Director: Alban Muja

To a formally daring film that uses re-enactment to tell a story of survival during the war, as well as the power of art, the jury is delighted to give a special mention to I Believe the Portrait Saved Me by Alban Muja.

COMPETITION PROGRAMME – SHORT FILM

Jury:

Teresa Cavina (festival programmer and script doctor, Italy)

Cem Demirer (cinematographer and director, Türkiye)

Nebojša Slijepčević (director and writer, Croatia)

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT FILM

WINTER IN MARCH / LUMI SAADAB MEID

Armenia, Estonia, France, Belgium

Director: Natalia Mirzoyan

AN OSCAR® QUALIFYING FILM

Award in the amount of €2,500.

The Heart of Sarajevo goes to the film done with exceptional precision and amazing creativity. It’s an authentic story of inner conflict that comes from facing your country falling into the moral abyss. The name of the film is WINTER IN MARCH directed by Natalia Mirzoyan.

SPECIAL MENTION

ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG

Bulgaria

Director: Lili Koss

The special mention goes to the playful film that is set against the backdrop of the Bulgarian rough 90’s, where children, left to grow up by themselves, invent their own world.

The narrative subtly emerges from witty smart and believable human interactions, directed with youthful energy and supported by vivid cinematography. The name of the film is ERASERHEAD IN A KNITTED SHOPPING BAG directed by Lili Koss.

COMPETITION PROGRAMME – STUDENT FILM

Jury:

Miroslav Mandić (director and writer, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Nađa Petrović (writer, screenwriter and director, Serbia)

Yorgos Tsourgiannis (producer, Greece)

HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST STUDENT FILM

TARIK

Serbia

Director: Adem Tutić

Award in the amount of €1,000 is sponsored by the Regional Cooperation Council.

A teenage boy floats through the spaces that define his youth, thanks to a visual approach dominated by the fuzzy depth of field, supported by intense acting and crisp dialogues. It is not a dreamy levitation, but the hardship caused by toxic masculinity of his peers and his family, primarily by his sensitive soul. For the deliberate aesthetics that employ remarkably sparse means and thus aptly convey important narrative issues, for the details that are thoroughly considered and subtly woven into the narrative, the award goes to TARIK directed by Adem Tutić.

SPECIAL AWARD FOR PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY

Jury:

Anna Croneman (producer and CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, Sweden)

Ivan Marinović (director, writer and producer, Montenegro)

Norika Sefa (director and writer, Kosovo*)

GOD WILL NOT HELP / BOG NEĆE POMOĆI

Croatia, Italy, Romania, Greece, France

Director: Hana Jušić

Award in the amount of €7,500 sponsored by Mastercard.

The award goes to – an intense mystery, set in isolation, that flirts with genre while creating something wholly on its own. Grounded in a strong sense of place, powerful performances speak volumes without excess dialogue in an atmosphere both familiar and uncanny. Its narrative challenges our assumptions and in doing so, it ultimately confronts us with feelings of not belonging.

SPECIAL YOUTH PERSPECTIVES AWARD

Jury:

Anja Jokić (youth policy specialist, Serbia)

Eréndira Núñez Larios (producer, Mexico)

Milan Stojanović (producent, Serbia)

DJ AHMET

North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia

Director: Georgi M. Unkovski

Award in the amount of €7,500 sponsored by the Council of Europe.

The Special Award Youth Perspectives goes to a film about young people challenging their community and tradition – a lighthearted and humorous, but highly moving story, enriched with endearing and lively performances by the young actors and colorful cinematography, which we believe has the potential to reach audiences, especially the young ones, around the world. For giving voice to youth from small community, this award goes to the producers and the director of the film DJ AHMET.

PARTNERS’ AWARDS

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM CANDIDATE

Jury:

Gregor Božič (director, cinematographer, Slovenia)

Kasia Karwan (film consultant, Poland)

Dominique Welinski (producer and film consultant, France)

THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD

Greece, United States

Director: Kevin Walker, Irene Zahariadis

The winner receives candidacy for the European Film Academy’s Best Short Film Award.

CICAE AWARD

Jury:

Alexander Omar Lang (film curator and programmer, Germany) Sylvie Da Rocha (artistic director, Cinema Zola, Portugal)

Diego Ginartes Rodríguez (film curator, programmer and cultural producer, Spain)

WHITE SNAIL

Austria, Germany

Director: Elsa Kresmer, Levin Peter

The International Confederation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) bestows this award on a film from the Competition Programme – Feature Film. The winning film receives CICAE support for distribution, exhibition, and audience outreach, through a network of 3,000 cinemas.

CINEUROPA PRIZE

Jury:

Srdjan Kurpjel (composer and sound editor, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Alfonso Rivera (film journalist and critic, Spain)

DJ AHMET

North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia

Director: Georgi M. Unkovski

The prize is awarded by the Cineuropa portal, the site dedicated to the European cinema and film professionals, and is given to a fil that besides having indisputable artistic qualities also promotes the idea of European dialogue and integration. The value of this award is €5,000.

August 23, 2025 0 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts