Quvenzhane Wallis to play title role in adaptation of Annie
MUMBAI: Though she couldn‘t take home an Oscar for Best Actress in Beasts of the Southern Wild, Quvenzhane Wallis has
MUMBAI: Discovery will air a special showing the true story that inspired the Oscar winning film ?Argo?.
The special ?Argo: Inside Story? airs on 31 March at 8 pm.
The Oscar winning film had chronicled the Central Intelligent Agency?s (CIA) attempt to rescue six Americans during the 1978 Iran hostage crisis. The film, which won the Best Picture Award, is based on real-life events.
Discovery?s special gains access to the top players involved in the crisis to hear their side of the story, including the CIA?s "chief of disguise", Tony Mendez, who was called upon to devise the rescue plan. The one-hour special narrated by actor Bray Poor, gives an inside look at the dramatic escape and how Mendez forged identity documents and elaborate disguises to get past the security agents at the Tehran airport.
The CIA had to come up with a convincing reason for the six people being in Tehran in the first place, and devise a way for them to leave without arousing suspicion. The operation became an elaborate scheme involving fake identification cards, a phantom movie production and unprecedented cooperation between the United States and Canada.
Mendez, who had limited access to materials once inside Iran, recalls how he forged official documents in the office of the Canadian Ambassador. "One of the stamp pads had dried out and I had to mix the right ink color," Mendez recalls in the special. "So I went over to the Canadian Ambassador?s liquor cabinet and got a bottle of Scotch and poured some on [the pad]."
The special reveals how the Americans prepared for their departure, the true story about the agency?s involvement and their reasons for keeping it secret for nearly two decades.
MUMBAI: A new host for the Oscar Awards Seth MacFarlane brought cheer for US broadcaster ABC.
The ratings were up by 20 per cent over last year in the 18-49 demo which advertisers covet. It was up by three per cent in terms of overall viewers, with 40.3 million.
The ratings were the best for Oscar since 2010. There were a lot of musical numbers including one about actresses? breasts being exposed in films.
The Academy said, "If the Oscars are about anything, they?re about creative freedom. We think the show?s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and host Seth MacFarlane, did a great job, and we hope our worldwide audience found the show entertaining."
MUMBAI: Star India?s English movie channel Star Movies will air the Oscar Awards live on 25 February at 6 am with a repeat at 8 pm. The broadcaster will be celebrating this month as the month of the Oscars.
There will be a programming initiative, ?Hollywood Premiere Oscar Special?, as the channel premieres four Oscar nominated titles - ?The Artist?, ?The Descendants?, ?The Kids are Alright? and ?War Horse?, every Saturday night at 9 pm.
There is also a month long ?Oscar Fever? festival where every night at 7 pm films that won or were nominated for Oscar Awards air like ?Titanic?, ?Black Swan?, ?Brokeback Mountain?, ?127 Hours? and ?Jaws?.
Commenting on the Oscars, Star India Senior Vice-President English Programming Rasika Tyagi says, "Star Movies has been the Home Of The Oscars in India, for over a decade. In addition to telecasting the event live on 25th February, our Hollywood Premieres slot will showcase Oscar winning titles like The Artist, The Descendants and War Horse every Saturday night at 9 pm though February. Star Movies? viewers can also watch 30 Oscar winning films on weekdays at 7 pm with our Oscar Fever festival."
To take the Oscar Award Ceremony beyond the event itself, the broadcaster has launched an Oscar Microsite that provides all that is needed to know about Oscar nominees and buzz around the globe. Along with the microsite the channel is running a Predict and Win contest that provides the participant an opportunity to visit the Oscars Live in Los Angeles next year.
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