Irish Short Film "Pentecost" Shortlisted For Oscars

An Irish Short film titled 'Pentecost' has been shortlisted for nomination for the Academy Awards.

Pentecost, a light-hearted film written and directed by Peter McDonald is one of just ten short films from across the globe that has made the shortlist. This will be scaled down to an ultimate five for the real night of the Oscars. The makers of Pentecost will get to know if their film is among the last 5 nominations on 24 January next.A total of 107 films had been initially selected in the category.

Peter McDonald’s nominated short film 'Pentecost' was funded by the Irish Film Board and stars Andrew Bennett, Michael McElhatton and Don Wycherley. It narrates the story of a young altar boy who is compelled  to serve at an important Mass and has to make a hard choice whether conform to the status quo or serve an extended ban from his passion in life… football.

The Academy Awards will be held on 26 February next in Los Angeles.

Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams to Overlook Music for the 84th Academy Awards

The Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer and Grammy-winning hip hop artist and producer Pharrell Williams will be working on the Oscar music broadcast for the very first time.

It will be the first time that both musicians will work on the awards broadcast, which ABC will telecast on February 26.

Hans Zimmer has won the Oscar for best score in 1995 for his work on 'The Lion King'. In addition, he has received eight other nominations, most recently for 2010’s 'Inception'.

Zimmer has scored 5 films this year varying from the comedy 'The Dilemma' to the animated movies 'Rango' and 'Kung Fu Panda 2' to the sequels 'Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides' and 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadow'.

The Grammy-winning Pharrell Williams composed the score for the 2010 animated movie 'Despicable Me' and his songs have appeared in films such as 'Fast and Furious', 'The Brave One', 'Knocked Up' and 'Mean Girls'.

New Set of Writers for Oscars to Depict a Sharp Focus on Comedy

Oscar producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer are exhibiting a strong focus on comedy for the 84th Academy Awards presentation to be held in February. The twosome have hired a group of veteran screenwriters to bring some humor to the show. The scribes boast credits for shows counting "Saturday Night Live" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and will be making an attempt to breathe new life into a program that in the last few years seemed to have fallen flat.

Many of the writers have a record of working with either Ratner or his Oscar host, Eddie Murphy, and will work chiefly with Murphy. They will put in writing bits for the actor-comedian ahead of time and will be backstage in the writers’ room the night of the event.

Ratner stated that he was new to this and that he wanted to feel comfortable, since he had to drive this whole thing. Hence he brought in guys with whom he had a personal relationship and with whom he had worked before.

The one, beyond doubt veteran Academy Awards scribe on the case is Jon Macks, who besides writing for the last 14 Oscar shows has also penned bits for the Emmys and the Country Music Awards.

Iranian movie ' Nader and Simin: A Separation' To Compete In Best Foreign Language Category

The Iranian drama ‘Nader and Simin : A Separation', that won top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, has been selected to represent Iran at the 84th Academy Awards. The film will be submitted in the Best Foreign Film category ahead of the Oscars ceremony on February 26. The film triumphed at the Berlin festival in February, as it won the Golden Bear award as well as top acting prizes for its entire cast.

Directed by Asghar Farhadi, the movie narrates the story of a crumbling marriage and looks at the clash connecting strict religious observance as well as the changing values of Iran's educated urban elite.

The movie is also set to be released by Sony Pictures Classics in US movie houses on December 30, in order to make it eligible to run in the Best Director and Best Screenplay categories.

‘Adaminte Makan Abu' Is India's Entry for The 84th Academy Awards

National award-winning Malayalam film 'Adaminte Makan Abu', has been named as India's official entry for 2012 Oscars.

The film won 4 National Awards that includes Best Actor, Best Cinematographer, Best Background Score and Best Feature Film. The movie is directed by debut filmmaker Salim Ahamed and stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab in the lead.

The premise of the film is about an old perfume seller Abu whose primary dream is to go on a Hajj pilgrimage like any devout Muslim.It is a simple story which describes human values,as it portrays how the seller struggles to collect money to go to Hajj.