Hollywood Royalty Gets Real!

Ever wondered what celebrities look like off-camera? Ever fantasied about the off-screen Hollywood drama? The parties,the dirty secrets and the cat fights?

Wonder no longer cause Mario Testino-aka the world's most famous photographer-takes you inside Hollywood in his latest portrait collection "Let me in".

Testino's work oozes glamour as he snaps some of the most celebrated movie stars of our time in the most unusual ways.

"Let me in" shines a light on some of the most recognisable faces of the decade under Testino's magnetic eye. At home, at the Oscars. It doesn't really matter.

Testino has been collecting a personal archive of off-screen moments, often taken spontaneously before, during, and after official photoshoots for magazine covers of the likes of Vanity Fair or Vogue.

The result is a portrait not just of a generation of the most wanted and talked-about, but, as the tagline reads, an invitation to be part of the backstage parties and unstaged moments of Testino's life.

From Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow or Jake Gyllenhaal...The list goes on forever. One thing is for sure: it's strictly VIP in here!

Testino's "Let me in" includes 300 pages in color and black and white featuring more than 100 contemporary stars, an introduction by Michael Roberts, fashion director of Vanity Fair and a foreword by Nicole Kidman

Get your own copy on amazon, here.

Photo Credits: Mario Testino "Let Me in" Taschen GmbH; Ltd Sgd Mu edition (15 Mar 2007)

There's more to Jennifer than a hot body!

Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody strikes again with a High School tale gone psycho in the highly anticipated Jennifer's Body.

You should know upfront that this is a typical teen comedy...On acid! There's an impressive amount of cheesy dialogue of the likes of OMG, BFF and all that Paris Hilton baby talk.

And of course, there's Megan Fox playing the hot chick making the gentlemen go Hell, yeah!

But there's also a lot of blood, girl-on-girl action and a virgin sacrifice cause Jennifer's actually evil not just high school evil.

Things start to go officially off-the-rails when Jennifer is murdered by a Maroon 5 wannabe emo band hoping to get a record deal by sacrificing a virgin. But it all goes horribly wrong as Jennifer is far from being a sweet little virgin.

She becomes a devilish creature feeding on human flesh and sets off on a high-school boys killing spree. Jennifer seduces her class mates eating them alive to satisfy her insatiable appetite.

This is all good until her nerdy BFF Needy, played by Mamma Mia's Amanda Seyfriend, finds out determined to kill Jennifer and save the town's boys...Although she can't even finish gym class!

Jennifer's Body is a sexy horror flick with a wicked sense of humour that explores female relationships during high-school as both Jennifer and Needy depend on each other to reasure their personalites.

Fox's character is a teen femme fatale exploiting her sexuality to remain the woman she wants to be while Needy decides to step away from Jennifer's shadow in a desperate attempt to become the woman she wants to be.

The leading ladies' intoxicating relationship is by far most interesting point about Jennifer's Body. There's something rather fascinating about best friends competing for attention while battling their own insecurities.

Jennifer is abusive and possessive over Needy but is still dependent on her support. Needy is a clever and funny but still needs Jennifer by her side to battle her own insecurities.

"Hell is a teenage girl" reads the film's opening line and anyone who still remembers their high-school years would agree that it is a scary place where girls bitch hoping to become the next Queen B. It's all about being popular, hot and skinny.

Photo Credit: Doane Gregory

TM and 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Fim Coorporation

It's a va va boom premiere for Nine!

Cinema royalty walked the red carpet in true Hollywood style at the world premiere of Nine last night in London.

All eyes were on the film's leading ladies Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Kate Hudson who dazzled in Haute Couture gowns despite the chilly London weather.

Director Rob Marshall also attended the London premiere as well as the film's leading man Daniel Day-Lewis accompanied by Dame Judi Dench who plays the role of his confidant in the movie.

The 35 year-old Cruz stole the show in a turquoise Ralph Lauren long dress proving once again that her Spanish Enchantress title is well deserved.

On singing for the first time in a movie, she said: "I've never been able to sing professionally in any way before this movie. I'm very shy about signing."

Kate Hudson braved the cold in a stunning white Atalier Versace looking every inch of a Hollywood siren.

She plays a fashion journalist who confronts Day-Lewi's character throughout the film. Kudson has been spotted during the past days with her new beau baseball star Alex Rodriguez.

The Australian Nicole Kidman lighted up Leicester square in a formal suit flaunting her killer legs in a short pleated skirt.

Kidman previously stunned critics with her performer in a movie musical in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! as the beautiful Parisian courtesan Satine.

Nine is the story of the famous film director Guido Contini as he tries to balance his creative troubles and the many women in his life. Ah,it's playboy's life!

Nine opens in cinemas worldwide December 25.

Photo Credit: AP, REUTERS.

Polanski's $2.7m jail bail-out

Director Roman Polanski is set free from jail after paying a staggering £2.7m bail-out to the Swiss authorities who arrested him at the Zurich airport last September.

The 78-year-old will now be placed under house arrest at his holiday home in the Alpine resort village of Gstaad.

The Pianist director surrendered his passport and personal documents as part of the bail-out agreement as well as the compulsory use of an electronic tag to track his movements at all times.

Polanski was arrested last September 26 by the Swiss police at the request of the US authorities as he travelled to Switzlerland to receive a lifelong achievement award.

The Oscar-winning director has been a fugitive for the US authorities since fleeing the country after pleading guilty to charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with an underage girl during a party in 1977.

Polanski was initially accused of raping the 13-year-old aspiring model Samantha Geimer plying her with pills and champagne in a hot tub at Jack Nicholson's Hollywood mansion.

Have Yourself a Merry Movie Christmas!

Is there a better way of celebrating Christmas than to cuddle up with the family and watch those feel-good Christmas classics that always put a smile on your face?

At Cinema Paradiso Web we've done the work for you and selected some of the best Christmas movies titles.

Get your cosy pyjamas on cause you're soon going to be walking a Christmas Wonderland!

Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life is to Christmas what Robin is to Batman. An unmissable classic about a depressed family-man who's saved by angels from suicide and returns home with a renewed faith in life and love on Christmas Eve.

George Seaton's Miracle on 34th Street tagline reads "Capture the spirit of Christmas with this timeless classic" and you sure will be!

A heart-warming story about an old man who's institutionalised while claiming to be the real Santa Claus and the young lawyer who defends his case only to rediscover his own faith in Christmas miracles.

Will Ferrell shines in Elf as the misfit Buddy rescued as a baby by Santa and raised up as an elf in North Pole.

As Buddy discovers his human-like condition he then sets off to New York hoping to find his real family and bring a little merry Christmas.

Ferrell's comedy genius makes Elf an instant Christmas classic with its charming mood and wicked sense of humour.

Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is a cult tale of Christmas gone wrong as the six-feet-under Jack Skellington tries to take over Christmastown and all he ever gets is an epic disaster.

Jack spreads chaos and mayhem across the idyllic town until Santa arrives just in time to save Christmas teaching the witty skeleton a lesson on how to get Christmas right.

Have Yourself a Merry Movie Christmas!

Follow us on Twitter at @CinemaParadisoW and tell us about your favourite Christmas movie!

Love at first bite.

Romance and vampires do the trick in Stephenie Meyer's best-selling Twilight saga and its latest movie adaptation New Moon.

There's something about an ordinary girl falling for a drop-dead-gorgeous vampire who's willing to sacrifice himself for her love that makes teens go gaga.

In fact, Twilight vampires sacrifice their thirst for blood in return for a highly romanticised concept of love that makes good girls go bad.

But there's no need to lock up your daughters when RPattz's in town as Meyer's vampires get little wish-fulfilment. They may well be the ultimate sex icons but they can't enjoy any of it.

Twilight is for many a Mormon's tale that boils in desire but remains disturbingly unconsummated in an attempt to promote chastity and abstinence.

There's gorgeous Edward and a whole bunch of shirtless werewolves but none of them would dare to touch the film's heroine, Bella. This ain't Gossip Girl!

At the end of the day, this vampire romance is written by a straitlaced Mormon who doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke and had never read a vampire book or seen an R-rated movie prior to the release of Twilight.

As film critic Andrew O'Hagan explains "the fundamental problem lies in the film’s philosophy, which hankers constantly after a creepy purity imposed from above."

In Meyer's world the young and beautiful are doomed and love seems unobtainable. But for thousands of adolescents across the world abstinence has never been so sexy.

No matter how dangerously patronising or ridiculously puritanical the Twilight phenomenon may seem it's here to stay...And fans can't get enough of it!

Keep reading "No sex in New Moon please, we're vampires", here.

Photo Credit: Vanity Fair magazine outtakes.

Images by © Peggy Sirota/Corbis Outline

James Cameron works his Avatar magic!

The countdown for the 3-D epic blockbuster Avatar is finally on and James Cameron's fans are already hyperventilating.

Avatar is surely the season's hottest ticket for both movie goers and critics alike. The hype around it grows bigger by the day and it's rather contagious.

The reasons behind the euphoria are fairly simple; Avatar is James Cameron's first movie after his smashing hit Titatic that won him 11 Oscars and made a colossal £1.8 billion worldwide box office.

Will Cameron produce something as big and exciting? Can he please both the critics and his legions of fans? Will it be both cash and kudos for Avatar?

An eye-popping, heart-stopping, jaw-dropping scifi adventure that will take 3D movies to a whole new level and may well be the industry's ultimate weapon against piracy.

Avatar is a $500 million big-screen extravaganza that will play on over 8,000 3D screens worldwide and more than 16,000 2D cinemas across the globe.

It is the most expensive Hollywood blockbuster ever made that is bound to revolutionise cinema after a long ten year in-the-making process combining top digital 3D imagery and live action.

Avatar tells the story of Jack Sully; a paraplegic ex-marine war veteran sent to establish a human settlement on the distant planet of Pandora.

But the blue-skinned, 9ft tall alien N'avi natives make this task rather complicated and Sully must infiltrate in their community transplanting his human DNA into N'Avi "avatars.

However things don't go as planned when Sully falls in love and goes local fighting against human destruction.

Avatar hits theatres worldwide December 18.

The stars of Nine are Vogue Ladies

US Vogue goes behind the scenes of the upcoming musical Nine with the film's leading ladies Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Kate Hudson looking picture perfect.

They talk movies, dance routines, fashion and living la dolce vita in this new adaptation of Federico Fellini's iconic film 81/2 .

Hollywood royalty brought together by Chicago's director Rob Marshall to play the roles that made Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale international stars during the sixties.

This all-star cast is completed by Daniel Day-Lewis, Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie, Judi Dench and Italian diva Sophia Loren looking better than ever. Talk about a Hollywood overdose.

Nine is the story of famous film director Guido Contini as he suffers from director's block and struggles to put his personal life back on track.

He tries to balance his creative troubles and the many women in his life, including his wife, played Cotillard, his mistress, played by Cruz, his muse, played by Kidman, and his agent played by Dench.

Contini is also confronted by a journalist played by Hudson, a prostitute, played by Fergie, and his omnipresent mamma played by Loren.

Read the complete Vogue interview here.

Zac Efron is still a High School sweetheart

Surely London girls are going gaga over Hollywood's leading men; first it was the Twilight gang and now it's the High School Musical star Zac Efron!

The 22-year-old worked the red carpet in true Hollywood style during the Leicester Square UK premiere of his latest film Me and Orson Welles.

The perma-tanned Efron proved once again that, when it comes to keeping fan girls happy, no one does it better than him.

The former Disney star was all smiles as he signed autographs for an army of hyperventilating teens while posing for the cameras outside the cinema entrance.

He was joined by co-stars Claire Danes- who plays Efron's love interest- and Christian McKay who steals the show as the iconic Orson Welles in this coming-of-age period drama set in 1937 New York.

Me and Orson Welles is the story of a teen actor who stars in Welles' Julius Caesar theatre production and ends up falling for a rather ambiticious assistant.

Bite me, RPattz!

Thousands of Twilight fans flocked to the New Moon premiere at London's Battersea Evolution arena attended by British heartthrob Robert Pattinson.

Damsels in distress, sexy vampires and hot werewolves made the day for thousands of schoolgirls who queued for long hours just to catch a glimpse of the saga's leading man.

The 23-year-old RPattz was all smiles while working the red carpet in true Hollywood style in front of his GCSE fan base screaming their hearts out "Bit me, Rob!".

Pattinson's co-star and onscreen werewolf rival- the 17-year-old Taylor Lautner- seemed to enjoy the attention of his UK Team Jacob fans. New Moon's leading lady Kristen Stewart did not seem as happy but that's not unusual really...

The Twilight Saga: New Moon opens across UK cinemas this Friday. Lock up your daughters, the sexiest vampire in town is back!

Exclusive Steven Soderbergh film preview

Ocean's Twelve director Steven Soderbergh's new movie premieres next month but you can now catch a glimpse of his upcoming The Girlfriend Experience at the BFI Southbank venue today.

As part of this exclusive BFI preview, Londoners will get a first look of Soderbergh's new drama set in the days leading up to the 2008 US Presidential elections and meet the film's star Sasha Grey.

The Girlfriend Experience tells the story of a Manhattan call-girl (played by adult film star Sasha Grey) as she encounters broke bankers, erotic bloggers and a sexy personal trailer.

An experimental film shot and edited by Soderbergh where he explores "the fraught relationship between our professional and personal lives" in the age of post-crisis.

As if credit crunch drama wasn't enough, we get to see a porn star hitting the big screen making this movie a rather hot ticket!

Meet Sasha Grey:

You better not mess with Sir Michael Caine!

Michael Caine's new movie hits the screen with a bang as yobs, hoodies and druggies from London's worst council states give him a really, really bad time.

Caine is Harry Brown, an East-London pensioner who sees how lifelong friend Len is savagely murdered by a bunch of blood-loving yobs.

Police becomes increasingly inefficient and Len's death is likely to be soon forgotten. This is when Harry Brown steps in and decides to take matters into his own hands.

Good-old Harry rescues his long-forgotten rough ways as a former Royal Marine and the hunt begins...Justice has never been so bloody and fun to watch!

Described as a modern urban western, this indie thriller from first-time director Daniel Barber is a shocking and brutal portrayal of the hoodie sub-culture in the so-called Broken Britain.

Michael "King of Cool" Caine on Harry Brown:

11th BFI International Film Festival

The 11th BFI International Film Festival- the UK's largest Black world cinema event- kicks off today at the BFI Southbank venue for the second year running.

The festival opens with the award-winning documentary Good Hair-produced and narrated by US comedy star Chris Rock- where he attempts to answer his 4-year-old daughter -How come I don't have good hair?-dilemma.

By good hair she means long, straight and shiny hair as opposed to her natural curly African and apparently impossible to manage hair.

Rock then embarks on a mission across hair salons all over America in an attempt to answer his daughter's question and find out why out why Afro-American women spend more than $ 9 billion a year in weaves, extensions and wigs chasing after good hair.

A provocative documentary that will surely spark controversy with comments such as "It's [grooming] kinda like a torture session", "sex with a weave is a little awkward" or a scene where a women asks herself "so my nappy hair isn't worth anything?".

This celebration of black cinema continues with titles such as Dennis Dortch's A Good Day to be Black and Sexy or Stascha Bader's study on Jamaican society and politics in Rocksteady: The Roots of Reggae.

For further information, click here.



Chris Rock on Good Hair:

BFI Europe Since 1989

It's been twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the British Film Institute celebrates this key event in European history with a series of films exploring the continent's identity since the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.

Europe Since 1989 starts today at the BFI Southbank venue offering a pan-European collection of films covering issues such as the fall of communism and the re-shaping and formation of contemporary Europe.

The main titles include the German Oscar-winning picture The Lives of the Others, Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem's drama Mondays in the Sun and French director Jean Renoir's The Land is Mine amongst others.

BFI Europe Since 1989 also features a series of documentaries such as the Czech Dream- a satire on Euro-consummerism- and classics such as Vincente Minelli's musical An American in Paris.

For further information about the programme, tickets and dates, click here.

Hollywood stars light up the capital.

Hollywood funnyman Jim Carrey turned on London's biggest-ever coordinated Christmas lights switch-on themed after Disney's upcoming A Christmas Carol .

Jim Carrey turned on Oxford Circus' emblematic lights simultaneously joined by his fellow co-stars Colin Firth and Bob Hoskins who did the honours at the nearby Regent Street and St Paul's Cathedral respectively.

The 47-year-old actor who voices Scrooge in Disney's animated version of the classic Charles Dickens tale celebrated London's Christmas spirit as he switched on the Oxford Circus lights.

He said:" I want to thank the people of Britain for the legacy of Charles Dickens and the chance to tell this story. It feels great to be a part of all this tradition."

Asked about London's decorations Colin Firth, who voices Scrooge's enthusiastic nephew, said: "Well I think it's all a bit tacky and over the top quite frankly but why not?

"That's what Christmas is all about."

The film stars later attended A Christmas Carol world premiere at Leicester Square breaking the Guinness record for the largest 3-D film premiere.

Take a look at Robert Zemeckis' upcoming A Christmas Carol:

A further first-look featurette:

French Film Festival UK

The 17th edition of the French Film Festival UK continues at South Kensington's Cine Lumiere venue running until December 6.

This year's edition includes Jacques Audiard's Cannes Grand Prix winner A Prophet and a special section dedicated to comedy genius Jacques Tatti featuring a newly restored version of the classic Mr Hulot's Holiday.

The festival will also showcase seven Cesar award winning film Seraphine and director Pierre Marcel will present his latest documentary Tabarly based on sailor Eric Tabarly's true story after he disappeared on his way to the Fife Regatta in Scotland.

For more information, click here.

London Film Festival Highlights

Sadly enough, The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival edition has come to an end after sixteen days of world cinema leaving behind some memorable moments

Just as memorable as London-born actress Carey Mulligan's performance in the upcoming An Education where she plays a a 60's schoolgirl who begins to question her life goals when she meets a suave playboy played by Peter Sarsgaard.

She's got the perfect combination of sweet naivete and ruthless determination just as her movie character Jenny.

Mulligan's definitely got Hollywood potential and is already being tipped as a future Oscar nominee in next year's edition




The highly anticipated "Nowhere Boy" premiered during the Festival's closing gala and delighted critics and movie-goers alike.

This John Lennon biopic based on Julia Baird's Imagine This: Growing Up with My Brother John Lennon explores his early years as a Liverpool teen discovering a rock n roll world.



For more movie highlights click here.

Citizen Kane is back!

Orson Welles' masterpiece hits the big screen once again as part of the BFI Southbank "Of Dreams and Cities: Arquitecture in Film" programme.

The film opens this Friday 30th of October at the Southbank BFI venue and weekly session will run until mid November.

This is a unique opportunity to enjoy Orwell's iconic Citizen Kane on the big screen so don't hesitate to pre-book your tickets!

Synopsis

Extravagant media tycoon Charles Foster Kane contemplates a crystal ball minutes before he dies as he pronounces his very last word: rosebud.

Intrigued by the mystery behind his death, reporters track down the people who lived and worked with Kane including his friends,employees and even mistresses.

What follows is the fascinating tale of a man who fell off the top of the world. Remember, it's all about rosebud!




An interesting video where millionaire Donald Trump discusses his thoughts of the classic by Orson Welles. Worth Watching!

Why "New Cinema Paradiso"?

Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore's masterpiece celebrates cinema and romance with a tale of star-crossed lovers in a film about movies.

Cinema Paradiso explores Salvatore Da Vita's lifelong story from his early childhood years as a young Sicilian boy in love with movies until he triumphs as a Cinecitta film-maker in Rome.

What happens in between is a poignant coming of age tale shaped by the girl who breaks his heart and Alfredo; the town's projectionnist who teaches all about the magic of movies.

Tornatore's Oscar-winning picture is an ode to cinema and a timeless classic that has inspired me to write about my passion for movies.

My New Cinema Paradiso is all about the heart-stopping films, jaw-dropping stories and eye-popping movie stars that will grace the London screens in the following months.

Get ready...Lights, action, camera!