The Oscars: US President Donald Trump takes a dig at Oscar wins for Parasite, Brad Pitt-

At a campaign rally in Colorado, US President Donald Trump slammed the Oscars for giving the best picture award to the South Korean film, Parasite, and also took aim at Brad Pitt.

"By the way, how bad were the Academy Awards this year?" Trump asked the crowd at the rally on Thursday.

"And the winner is... a movie from South Korea! What the hell was that all about? We've got enough problems with South Korea, with trade. On top of it, they give them the best movie of the year! Was it good? I don't know. Let's get Gone with the Wind back please. Sunset Boulevard. So many great movies," he added.

"I thought it was the best foreign film, right?" he asked in reference to the best international feature film category, which Parasite also won.

Parasite made history by being the first foreign-language movie to win the Oscar for best film.

The response of the film's US distributor, Neon, came a few minutes later on Twitter.

"Understandable, he can't read," it said, accompanying a clip of the President's rant.

Trump also criticised the Oscars' for awarding Pitt for Best Supporting actor. "And then you have Brad Pitt, I was never a big fan of his," he said.

"He got up, said a small wise guy statement. Little wise guy. He's a little wise guy," said the President about a speech in which the actor said the time he had been given to talk was longer than former White House national security adviser John Bolton was given when he offered to testify at Trump's impeachment trial.

The president also lashed out at teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, TIME magazine's 2019 person of the year. "This year I got beaten out by Greta - you know Greta?" he asked.

"Last year I got beaten out - I've won it, but when the world revolves around all of us, we should be chosen... I mean, we've won it. But we should win it every single year."

Read more at: US President Donald Trump takes a dig at Oscar wins for Parasite, Brad Pitt- Cinema express

Oscars - Denmark: Mads Mikkelsen lends steely star power to Denmark's hunt for Oscar - by Eric Kelsey

Danish drama "The Hunt" has at least one advantage over its rivals in its bid to win the best foreign-language picture Oscar: the familiar face of Mads Mikkelsen.

Mikkelsen, the 48-year-old star of NBC television thriller "Hannibal," is no unknown to Oscar voters. The Danish actor has starred in three Oscar-nominated films over the last decade from the nation of about 5.6 million people.

Mikkelsen's work in Hollywood and his association with the upper echelon of the Danish film industry underscore his ability to maintain a high profile in both the United States and his home country.
But any mention of his global recognition may be greeted with a shrug from the tall Dane known for his steely countenance.

"Denmark is a small country and if I can make two films a year (here), people start getting sick and tired of you," Mikkelsen said wryly. "So this is kind of nice. I can do more than one (film) per year."


Read more: Mads Mikkelsen lends steely star power to Denmark's hunt for Oscar | Reuters

Oscars: Dutch special effects expert nominated for Oscar

Dutchman Erik-Jan de Boer has been nominated for an Oscar for the special effects he devised for film Life of Pi.

De Boer, 45, has worked in Hollywood for years and was also involved in films The Golden Compass and The Chronicles of Narnia. Life of Pi has been nominated for 11 Oscars.

Dutch film Kauwboy , a much-lauded children's film about a boy and a bird, failed to make the foreign film shortlist.

Read more: DutchNews.nl - Dutch special effects expert nominated for Oscar

France - Movie Industry: 'The Artist' triumphs at Oscars - by Charlie McCollum

The first time a silent, black and white film won the Oscar for best picture, it was 1929 and the movie was a World War I saga called "Wings."

The second time came Sunday night as "The Artist," a joyous low-budget movie about the silent era of Hollywood, won the top prize. It also took home three other Oscars including best director (Michel Hazanavicious) and best actor (Jean Dujardin).

Dujardin, the star of "The Artist," won for his role as silent film actor George Valentin, whose career is threatened by the coming of sound. "I love your country," he said in accepting the award he won over such actors as George Clooney and Brad Pitt. He is the first French actor to win the award.

Hazanavicius beat out a field that included Hollywood heavyweights Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Alexander Payne and Terrence Malick. Before "The Artist's" unexpected success, Hazanavicius was largely unknown outside of his home country where his claim to fame was the series of highly successful "OSS 117" spy parodies.

For more: 'The Artist' triumphs at Oscars - San Jose Mercury News

Oscar trivia: Here are fun facts about the Academy Awards

When the 84th annual Academy Awards are given out Sunday night, the winners could receive Oscars for speaking in American or French or British accents, or for not speaking at all.

It’s an all-over-the-map year as the Oscars recognize movies set in places like wartime Europe, 1960s Mississippi and modern-day Hawaii. Performances are all over the map too, from the broad comedy of Melissa McCarthy’s brash turn as sister of the groom in "Bridesmaids” to the quiet heartbreak of Glenn Close’s role as a woman with a secret in "Albert Nobbs.

”With nine films nominated for Best Picture, big stars on the red carpet and venerable comic Billy Crystal returning as host, it’s bound to be a long night filled with oohs and oh-nos. But whether or not you’ve seen the big contenders, you will want to be prepared before you watch the show.

For more: Oscar trivia: Here are fun facts about the Academy Awards | Fond du Lac Reporter | fdlreporter.com

Movie Industry: Oscars mean big business

This year's Academy Awards are expected to bring in big money for Hollywood, and not just for the winning pictures, but for nominees and advertisers as well.

Even though viewership of the annual Oscar broadcast has fallen 23 per cent in the past 10 years, the audience of 37.9 million people that watched the telecast last year was above the low of 32 million that tuned in back in 2008.

Advertisers hoping to appeal to the desirable demographic the Oscars attract — largely female and higher-income — are sending the cost of advertising on the telecast higher.

A 30-second commercial spot for the Academy Awards broadcast on ABC costs an average of Euro 1.3 million ($1.7 million) this year. A commercial of the same length on this year's Super Bowl cost advertisers more than twice that — Euro 2.59 million ($3.5 million).

For more: Oscars mean big business - Business - CBC News

CINEMA: Oscars celebrate Europe - from the glorious to the gothic

He may be good at playing the strong silent type but Jean Dujardin, the French actor tipped to win the Oscar for Best Actor on Sunday for his portrayal of a silent movie star in The Artist, is rarely lost for words. Unless he's discussing what it feels like to be the toast of Tinseltown.

'I'm very proud, I'm shocked, I'm ... doubted!,' a slightly abashed Dujardin said on hearing he had been nominated for an Oscar.

With 10 nominations under its belt, including a nomination for Best Picture, French director Michel Hazanavicius's ode to 1920's Hollywood looks set to be covered in glory at this year's Academy Awards.

For more: Oscars celebrate Europe - from the glorious to the gothic - Monsters and Critics

Belgium - Movie review: Oscar-nominated Belgium film 'Bullhead' marks a fierce debut - by Christy Lemire

"Bullhead," the Academy Award-nominated foreign-language film from Belgium, is a dark, haunting and wholly original exploration of what it means to be a man.

Writer-director Michael R. Roskam's auspicious feature film debut initially looks like a crime thriller, full of shady figures making secret nighttime deals, with a tension and a seamy, muted colour palette reminiscent of David Fincher. But eventually it reveals itself to be a character drama about the way the past shapes us and our inability to escape it, no matter how convincingly we believe we've transformed ourselves.

Matthias Schoenaerts gives a fierce and frightening turn as Jacky, a steroid-addicted cattle rancher who works out an arrangement with some meat-trading Flemish mobsters, only to try and back out when an investigating federal agent is gunned down. This sequence of events forces him to revisit a horrific incident from his childhood 20 years ago, as well as the people who were crucial to that pivotal moment.

Movie review: Oscar-nominated Belgium film 'Bullhead' marks a fierce debut - Winnipeg Free Press

Halle Berry: Death Threats Are Reason for Move to France - by Natalie Finn

Maybe America is getting a little crowded for Halle Berry.

E! News has confirmed that the Oscar winner filed a request in family court to be able to move to France with her daughter Nahla because she fears for her life.

Two men, including one convicted of stalking Berry, are no longer locked up and the actress has no interest in finding out what their plans are now that they're out.

For more: Halle Berry: Death Threats Are Reason for Move to France - E! Online

Oscars pick 9 movies for foreign film shortlist

Award-winning Iranian film "A Separation" was among nine movies on the shortlist for the Oscars' best foreign language film nominations announced on Wednesday.

"A Separation," which tells the story of a couple struggling with the decision of whether to leave their country, has won a slew of awards for the year's best foreign language film, including the Golden Globe, the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics.

Films from Germany, Denmark, Morocco, Taiwan, Poland, Israel, Belgium, Canada, and Award-winning Iranian film "A Separation" were among nine movies on the shortlist for the Oscars' best foreign language film nominations announced on Wednesday.

"A Separation," which tells the story of a couple struggling with the decision of whether to leave their country, has won a slew of awards for the year's best foreign language film, including the Golden Globe, the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics.

For more: Oscars pick 9 movies for foreign film shortlist - chicagotribune.com

Food, Inc: Oscar nomination for best documentary is revealing

In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, herbicide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.

Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as citizens and where we are going from here.

To view a clip of the movie click here

For more: Official Food, Inc. Movie Site - Hungry For Change? - About the Film

Screen Daily: Holland Film calls for clearer Oscar rules as Army is disqualified

For the complete rport from the Screen Daily click on this link

Holland Film calls for clearer Oscar rules as Army is disqualified

Holland Film, the national film body, has called for the rules for the foreign-language Oscar to be clarifed after the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences disqualified Jean van de Velde’s The Silent Army. The Silent Army is reported to have been rejected on the grounds that it is a new version of an already existing movie rather than an original film. The film was first released in the Netherlands as White Light. It was then re-edited before surfacing in Un Certain Regard in Cannes. Holland Film’s Claudia Landsberger said that the Academy’s rules regarding foreign-language Oscar eligibility are ambiguous and called for them to be more “clear and specific”.

NewsAmerica- European Cinema: Oscars - Dickens Meets Bollywood in Slumdog Millionaire

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European Cinema: Oscars - Dickens Meets Bollywood in Slumdog Millionaire

"Slumdog Millionaire" is the underdog that did make it to the top with eight Oscars. The film about a young slum kid rising to the top of the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" is as much a rags-to-riches story as it is about an India that's changing before our eyes. Director Danny Boyle had never been to India before making "Slumdog." He spoke to NAM editor Sandip Roy on the radio show New America Now long before the film became a monster hit."Slumdog" remained a hit in Europe over the weekend. Pic, which bagged seven BAFTA awards on Feb. 8, leapt up 15% in its sixth frame to gross $2.6 million at 410 for an exceptional income of $28.5 million for Pathe.

Note EU-Digest: Seven films funded by the EU's MEDIA film support program will compete in thirteen categories at this year's Academy Award ceremonies, to be held on Sunday 22 February. One of these MEDIA funded nominees, Slumdog Millionaire, will compete in the prestigious Best Film and Best Director categories. The MEDIA program will also be represented by three of the nominees for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, including Entre les Murs ("The Class", France), winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes film festival (IP/08/800). Last year, two films funded by MEDIA, the EU film support program, brought home Oscars. In the last three years, MEDIA funded films have won a total of eight Oscar awards. Seven films funded by the EU's MEDIA film support programme have been nominated for Oscars at this year's Academy Awards: Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany, Uli Edel), Entre les murs (France, Laurent Cantet), Waltz with Bashir (Israel/France/Germany, Ari Folman), Happy Go Lucky (UK/Mike Leigh), The Duchess (UK/France/Italy, Saul Dibb), Slumdog Millionaire (UK/US, Danny Boyle) and the award-winning documentary, Man on Wire (UK/US, James Marsh)

Playbill News: Oscars : EU's Movie Stars Javier Bardem (Spain), Marion Cotillard (France), Among Winners

Marion Cotillard - Best Actress Academy Award

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Oscars : EU's Movie Stars Bardem (Spain), Cotillard (France), Among Winners

Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as the famed French chanteuse Edith Piaf in the film "La Vie en Rose." Other winners at the 80th Academy Awards, which are currently being presented on ABC-TV, include Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton as well as Joel and Ethan Coen. Emmy Award winner Jon Stewart hosts the annual awards ceremony, which is being broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center. Best Foreign Film Award went to another EU country for "Counterfeiters" from Austria.

KalingaTimes.com: Oscars - For Bollywood, Oscars a big yawn again - Academy tends to favor European films as foreign nominations - by Priyanka Khanna

For the complete report from the KalingaTimes.com click on this link

Oscars - For Bollywood Oscars a big yawn again - Academy tends to favor European films as foreign nominations - by Priyanka Khanna

While the 80th Academy Awards for Merit has the global entertainment industry electrified, it has yet again bypassed India , the world's largest producers of films. Known as the world's most prestigious movie award, the glittering 13.5-inch statuette of a knight holding a crusader's sword on a reel of film continues to evade India , a land where filmmaking began at about the same time as the rest of the world. "Eklavya - The Royal Guard", India 's official entry this year for the Academy Award in Best Foreign Film category, failed to make it to the final list. It does seem the Academy tends to favor European films with France leading the foreign language film nominations with 34 in total and having bagged nine Oscars, and Italy following with 27 nominations and 10 wins. But the Oscar has also gone to movies with people from Arab, Far East and Slavic backgrounds.

Indian films never seem to have fitted the Oscar bill. Satyajit Ray, whom the Academy conferred with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" on his deathbed, never bagged a film-specific award. His "Pather Panchali" won 11 international awards, but no Oscar.