Director Jane Campion
Jane Campion To Head Cannes Jury
Oscar-winning New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion is headed to Cannes where she will head the 66th Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury at the 66th edition of the festival taking place May 15 – 26. Campion won the Short Film Palme d'Or for her 1986 short film Peel and later won the Palme d'Or for The Piano in 1993 (the only female filmmaker to do so in the award's history), which later lead to an Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay and a Best Director nomination. The Piano screened in the 1993 New York Film Festival. Past heads of the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury include Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Michel Gondry, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Martin Scorsese and John Boorman.
2012 Winning Actors to Present at Oscar Ceremony
Last year's Academy Award-winning actors Meryl Streep, Jean Dujardin, Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer will present Oscars at this year's telecast. Streep is the most nominated actor with 17, including three Oscar wins. She won last year's Lead Actress category for her performance in The Iron Lady. Dujardin won the award for Male Lead for The Artist (NYFF '11). Spencer took Supporting Actress for The Help, while Plummer won Supporting Actor for Beginners.
Javier Bardem in Skyfall
Skyfall Wins British Awards
The latest James Bond feature, already the biggest box office success in the franchise's 50 year history, won prizes at the Evening Standard Film Awards Monday night, taking home both the film of the year and blockbuster of the year awards. The feature is up for eight BAFTA Awards, including Outstanding British Film and Best Supporting Actor nods for Javier Bardem and Judi Dench, The Guardian reports.
Robert De Niro Gets Cemented in Hollywood
The actor had his hand and footprints at the famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood. De Niro received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Silver Linings Playbook. Said De Niro at the event: “I love New York and I'm proud to be a citizen of Hollywood. Thank you for this honor and thank you for making [me] feel at home here,” BBC reports.
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival to Fete Patricio Guzmán
Chilean-born documentary filmmaker Patricio Guzmán will receive a tribute at the 15th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. As part of the festivities, several of Guzmán's films will screen at the festival, which takes place in Greece's second largest city March 15 – 24, and he will attend the event to discuss his work with audiences. Guzmán won a European Film Award for Best Documentary in 2010 for Nostalgia for the Light.
