K-Pop’s newest princess on the block

There’s a new K-Pop princess on the block.

Blessed with powerful vocals and tonnes of sex appeal to boot, Gina Choi, or G.NA to her fans, is looking to take the Korean market by storm.

The 23-year-old star, who started her music career as leader of now-defunct Korean girl group Five Girls,got her big break in July this year when she sang a duet with Korean superstar Rain.

“It was an amazing experience for me. I felt really blessed to be able to work with such an amazing artiste, especially someone internationally well-known. It gave me hope to do better for the future,” the Canadian-born siren told Yahoo! Singapore.

Though considered still a rookie in the ultra-competitive K-pop music industry, G.NA is under no illusions on what it will take to establish herself and succeed.

“Besides singing, artistes need to be diverse and versatile through various other media like radio and television,” she said.

“You have to be willing to make many sacrifices, and listen to what your record label tells you to do. You have to be able to adapt to the industry and environment, and that took me a long time.” 

The busty singer also admitted that flaunting her sex appeal helped her carve out a name for herself. Constantly having to fend off media speculation that she underwent plastic surgery to enhance her bust, G.NA insists she is a  natural D-cup.

“Having sex appeal definitely helps in gaining popularity, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of the more important factors. I never saw myself as a sex symbol, but because people say I have a sexy side, I guess I do see myself as that,” she said.

G.NA, who also had to watch as all her fellow Five Girls members successfully made it big in the K-Pop world before her — one of whom was Wonder Girls’ Yubin — she admits the road to success has been anything but smooth sailing.

“It was actually a little difficult for me, but it gave me hope to move on each day,” said G.NA, who is a huge fan of Christina Aguilera.

“It took me five years to get to where I am right now, and I don’t regret a single moment. I’m very happy, I think every year that went by has helped me learn new things. Singing is my number one passion and it keeps me going,” she added.

How then, is this down-to-earth star going to differentiate herself from other Korean artistes?

“Probably the different types of genre that I sing. I try to show my audience in Korea,” said the artiste who has dreams of making it big overseas one day.

“For me, my dream is to go international, but my goal for now is to get my name up in Korea,” she said.

Watch the video I’ll Back Off So you Can Live, of one of the hits from her debut album Draw G’s First Breath.

Carina Lau: It's a beautiful misunderstanding

    "I know that this beautiful misunderstanding (referring to their relationship) has been great (for the media and fans) to watch," said Carina Lau.

Speaking at a promotional event for her latest movie, Detective Dee, in Beijing recently, the actress spoke openly about the alleged love triangle - one that has been ongoing for many years.

Carina had no qualms about praising her "rival-in love" Maggie Cheung, saying that the latter was "quite good" and "very pretty".

"Everyone has been chasing this news for so many years (such that) it's useless for me to clarify them now. Iunderstand the mentally of the media and fans," she quipped.

On her husband being constantly linked to Maggie Cheung, the 44-year-old actress expressed, "We are all smart people. Being entangled in such a relationship for all these years certainly makes for a good movie or drama script. I'm happy for Tony."

She added, "Every girl is envious that I have such a lady-charmer (Tony Leung) beside me. If I were a guy, I would be envious of Tony too."

In July this year, a photo of Carina Lau in an intimate pose with Chinese tycoon surfaced in the tabloids. Media reports claim that the actress was cheating on her husband.

When probed on Tony's reaction towards the incident, the actress emphasised that their "relationship would not be crippled so easily."

Contrary to his missus' graciousness during interviews, Tony refused to answer questions on his private life, choosing to only talk about work during his appearance at a Cartier event in Shanghai yesterday

Michael Jackson film deal outlined in court papers

 Columbia Pictures and concert promoter AEG Live have struck a deal to make a Michael Jackson movie using video of his "This Is It" concert rehearsals taken days before the King of Pop died in June, according to court documents.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge must first approve the deal at a hearing on Aug. 10. AEG Live spearheaded the deal between Columbia, a division of Sony Corp's Sony Pictures Entertainment, and executors of Jackson's will.

Details of the movie agreement, and the $60 million in revenue that Columbia has agreed to pay for the film rights, were released in court papers filed late on Tuesday.

Jackson's estate and AEG Live, which is controlled by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, will share in profits from the film with the estate getting 90 percent and AEG Live getting 10 percent, court documents showed.

Spokesmen for both Columbia and AEG Live declined comment.

But media reports have circulated since last month of a possible movie deal using the more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage AEG Live shot as the "Thriller" singer prepared for a series of 50 shows in London.

Those concerts were widely billed as Jackson's "comeback" after his career flagged in the 1990s and 2000s, but he died suddenly of cardiac arrest in Los Angeles on June 25, only days before the shows were to begin.

Also tied to the movie deal is a merchandising agreement with Bravado International Group, a division of Universal Music Group that is owned by Vivendi SA and will see to the sale of Jackson-themed products.

That agreement needs to be approved by L.A. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff, who is overseeing the probate process on Jackson's will.

MILLIONS IN REVENUE

Howard Weitzman, an attorney representing the executors of Jackson's will, lawyer John Branca and music industry executive John McClain, said this week the deals could generate "millions of dollars of revenue to Michael Jackson's estate."

According to his will, Jackson's estate will be put into a family trust benefiting his mother, Katherine, his three children and charities.

Randy Phillips, the chief executive of AEG Live, said last month that a movie release of the rehearsal footage could help the Jackson estate erase its debt. The 50-year-old "Thriller" singer was said to be $500 million in debt when he died.

Separately, the celebrity news program Entertainment Tonight reported on Wednesday that Jackson's family had signed papers clearing the way for him to be buried at Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles.

Plans for Jackson's burial have remained largely a mystery. A public memorial was held in Los Angeles, but Jackson's body has still not been buried pending results of toxicology tests as part of a police probe into the full cause of his death.

Police and U.S. drug agents investigating his death are probing the possible role of doctors who prescribed powerful medication to the singer. No date has been set for the release of an autopsy on Jackson.

A representative from Forest Lawn was not immediately available to comment.

Judge okays Jackson deal, burial planned

 A judge on Monday approved a deal for the sale of Michael Jackson merchandise, but delayed making a decision on a traveling exhibition dedicated to the King of Pop, amid objections from the singer's mother.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff, who is overseeing matters related to Jackson's estate, approved the deal between the co-executors of Jackson's will and Bravado International Group, a division of Universal Music Group owned by Vivendi SA.

But Beckloff postponed until Friday a decision on whether to approve concert promoter AEG Live's plans for a traveling exhibition of Jackson memorabilia. He did so amid objections from attorneys for Jackson's mother, Katherine, who said the planned exhibition may not bring enough money to the estate.

On Aug. 7, Beckloff approved a deal between Jackson's estate, AEG Live and Columbia Pictures, a division of Sony Corp, for a movie to be released Oct. 30 using footage from the pop star's final rehearsals.

The executors of Jackson's will, longtime attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, have said the deals will generate millions of dollars for the estate.

Separately, Michael Jackson's father said his son's body will be buried at a Los Angeles cemetery on Aug. 29, which would have been his 51st birthday, the New York Daily News reported on Monday.

Joe Jackson told a Daily News reporter the plan was finalized in recent days.

Media reports last week said Jackson, who died June 25 of cardiac arrest, was buried in a private ceremony in early August. But those reports were based on unnamed sources and never confirmed by Jackson family representatives.

A Jackson family spokesman did not return calls seeking comment Monday, nor did a spokesman at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn cemetery, where Joe Jackson said his son would be buried.

A public memorial for the singer was held in July, but there was never an official confirmation the "Thriller" singer was buried after the event.

The reason behind Jackson's cardiac arrest remains a mystery. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office has completed its autopsy report but its findings remain sealed until police conclude their investigation.

Los Angeles police are looking into the role prescription drugs may have played in Jackson's death and the actions of doctors who were treating him in the weeks before he died.

ANALYSIS - In need of cash, Hollywood looks to India, China

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Disney's $4 billion purchase of "Iron Man" moviemaker Marvel Entertainment signals a possible wave of media industry consolidation, but the cash to do deals may come from India or China, not Hollywood or Wall Street.

Even before Walt Disney Co and Marvel Entertainment Inc made their announcement on Monday, Hollywood watchers said Indian firm Reliance ADA Group's recent $325 million investment in Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks movie studio was a sign that opportunity exists for similar deals.

As the recession took hold in late 2007, Hollywood saw financing from U.S. hedge funds and banks dry up, and experts say Indian and Chinese firms are now in a better position to invest. For its part, Hollywood needs overseas cash to continue expanding globally where growth opportunities are strongest.

"If you have capital to invest, you can probably cut a better deal now than any time in the last ten years," said Larry Gerbrandt, principal at consultancy Media Valuation Partners.

"A lot of Indian and Chinese companies have excess capital these days and Hollywood, aside from the fact there's a certain glamour factor, those (Indian and Chinese) markets also need content, so there's interesting deals to be made."

Sky Moore, an attorney who worked with Reliance as it put together the DreamWorks financing package, said a bigger deal could be in the offing within two years.

"I think the bigger move is buying a studio, and I don't know if it will be (a company from) India or China, but I think somebody is going to buy a studio," Moore said.

STUDIO TARGETS

The Disney/Marvel deal fueled speculation DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc, maker of the "Shrek" movies and a separate company from DreamWorks Studios, could be next on the acquisition target list because of its solid position in the marketplace and focus on the lucrative family market.

Moore and Gerbrandt also named Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc as a potential acquisition target, although they said they had no specific information of any deal in the works.

Rumors of MGM's potential sale have surfaced for years. The storied Hollywood studio faces looming payments on $3.7 billion of debt from a 2005 buyout of the firm, and earlier this week it replaced its CEO and hired a turnaround expert.

Chinese film studios are strengthening ties with their peers across the Pacific. The Huayi group, which Morgan Stanley called "China's Warner Bros for tomorrow," has said it is seeking capital to expand and has developed movies with Hollywood majors such as Sony Pictures. Its larger rival, The China Film Group, is reportedly keen on developing projects in the United States as well.

India's expanding reach into Hollywood has included Reliance's purchase of about 50 U.S. theaters and Indian entertainment company UTV's investment of tens of millions of dollars over the last three years in several movies, including "The Happening" and "The Namesake," Moore said.

"It's not about bringing Bollywood to Hollywood, it's about mainstream worldwide English-language entertainment," he said.

Hollywood studios have also made big investments in India. Warner Bros, a division of Time Warner Inc, has signed multi-picture deals with Indian companies People Tree Films and Ocher Studios.

Twentieth Century Fox, a division of News Corp, has started a joint venture with Asian broadcaster Star to create films for India under the name Fox Star Studios.

Foreign investment in Hollywood is nothing new, of course. In the 1990s, German tax credits spurred production of U.S. movies, and before that Japan's Sony Co in 1989 bought Columbia Pictures. Sony also has a stake in MGM.

David Molner, managing director of Screen Capital International, a media and entertainment financing firm, said that absent foreign investment, Hollywood could simply have to endure a slowdown due to lack of capital.

"Either the Asians lead the pack or we have a lull," he said. "Mostly because they're probably going to be the fastest out of the blocks as the economy recovers."

Bill Gates tops Forbes 400 rich list for 17th straight year

Yoshita Singh Boston, Sep 23 (PTI) Microsoft founder Bill Gates has retained his position as the richest man in the US with a net worth of USD 54 billion, topping Forbes ''400 Richest Americans List'' for the 17th year in a row. Industrialist Warren Buffett, Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, has bagged the second place this year with fortunes worth USD 45 billion.

While worth USD 27 billion dollars, software company Oracle''s co-founder and CEO Larry Ellison is the third richest American. Among others in the list, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg ranks 35th with a net worth of USD 6.9 billion.

Zuckerberg is richer than Apple''s boss Steve Jobs and media mogul Oprah Winfrey. Jobs comes 42nd on the list with a net worth of USD 6.1 billion while Winfrey is on the 130th position with total valuation of USD 2.7 billion.

The list also names four Indian Americans - Syntel''s Bharat Desai (rank 252), venture capitalist Kavitark Ram Shriram (288), software mogul Romesh Wadhwani (290) and Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla (308) - among the 400 richest people in the US. Commenting on Gates, who has topped Forbes 400 list for the 17th consecutive year, the publication said Gates "is not (just) the world''s richest man.

he is the most generous person on the planet.

" Till date, the "software king" has cut cheques totalling USD 28 billion. Most of his donations have passed through his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which now has a USD 33 billion endowment, including contributions from his "buddy and bridge partner Warren Buffett".

Gates'' stake in the company, he co-founded, is now worth USD 16 billion. "Gates regularly sells shares in the software giant, pouring proceeds into investment outfit Cascade, which accounts for 70 per cent of his wealth.

" Other investments include trash-collector Republic Services, investment firm Gamco, AutoNation and an inflation-hedging fund, Forbes said. Gates and Buffett are coaxing America''s richest to pledge half their fortunes to charity.

"You keep making the list, I''ll keep milking it," Forbes quoted Buffett as saying. Buffett plans to give away 99 per cent of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his children, and it all has to be spent 10 years after he''s gone, Forbes added.

Forbes said the net worth of its rich list climbed 8 per cent this year to USD 1.4 trillion compared to USD 1.27 trillion last year. Wealth rose for 217 members in the list, while 85 saw a decline.

"Owls of Ga'Hoole" swoop into movie with Aussie accents

CANBERRA (Reuters) - When American writer Kathryn Lasky created a world of good and evil owls, she didn't envisage them with Australian accents but somehow it fit the movie screen adaptation of her "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" books.

The 3D animated movie "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," which hits U.S. theaters on Friday, is based on the first three of the 15 books in the fantasy series written by Lasky between 2003 and 2008 about a post-human world of owls.

The movie, described as a cross between "Watership Down" and "The Lord of the Rings," was directed by Zack Snyder of "300" and "Watchmen" fame and produced by Oscar-winning Sydney-based animation house, Animal Logic, as well as Australia's Village Roadshow production company, which also collaborated on the 2006 dancing penguin film "Happy Feet."

The film features a list of top Australian actors voicing the owls including Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, Sam Neill and Abbie Cornish. U.S. actor Jim Sturgess voices the hero, Soren, and Britain's Helen Mirren is the evil owl Nyra.

Lasky, 66, a prolific writer with over 100 fiction and non-fiction books to her name, said she was happy with Snyder's decision to cast Australians in the majority of the roles.

"I didn't envisage the owls having Australian accents but it is fine with me," Lasky told Reuters in a telephone interview from her Boston home.

"It gives a certain 'je ne sais quoi.' Harry Potter had these British accents. For American filmgoers, I think particularly with fantasy, it is a little value adding to have a different accent as it adds something exotic."

The film follows the young barn owl Soren as he is kidnapped by the owls of the St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls which brainwashes its wards into becoming soldiers for the Pure Ones who believe Barn Owls are superior to all others.

The evil Pure Ones are mounting an offensive against the wise and peaceful band of winged warriors known as the Guardians of Ga'Hoole who protect "owlkind."

Although the books were aimed at young adults, Lasky said adult and historical themes run throughout. One book includes material based on a World War II speech by Winston Churchill, and battles based on the Normandy Invasion and the ancient Battle of Thermopylae also appear in the series.

That particular battle was also the subject of Snyder's 2006 movie "300," but Lasky said it was pure coincidence she had written it into her series. She added that her use of history should not be taken too seriously.

"I don't write with an instructive purpose in mind...but I don't see why history has to be exclusively the realm of historical fiction books and not fantasy," said Lasky who is now writing a spin-off series from Ga'Hoole about wolves.

"I also use a lot of Shakespeare. Why not reuse this stuff? It is great. I always give credit and I think it adds to the richness of the writing."

Lasky said she was involved in the making of the film in a minor way. This is her first book adapted to screen.

"The sceenwriters consulted me and everyone listened to what I had to say which was great and I was impressed with the final script," she said. "The film is incredibly faithful to the spirit of the books and the characters."

Samuel L. Jackson hosts charity golf tournament

     London, Sep 23 (IANS) Hollywood actor Samuel L. Jackson hosted a charity golf championship in Switzerland to raise money to build a hospital in Cambodia that will treat people free of charge.

'We are here in Switzerland to raise funds trying to do the best we can to make life easier for other people. I always try to do the best thing,' femalefirst.co.uk quoted Jackson as saying.

'We as citizens of the world have the responsibility to help and support other people in whatever way we can. We have to take care of each other,' he said.

The money that was raised by the golf championship for the Samuel L. Jackson Foundation and the Swiss Red Cross will to go towards a new hospital in Cambodia.

Celebrities taking part in the tournament and supporting the charities included 'Harry Potter' actor Rupert Grint, 'W' star Ioan Gruffudd and Colin Salmon.

The new hospital is being built in Takeo, one of Cambodia's poorest provinces, and is supported by the Swiss Red Cross.

Researchers use Twitter tweets to measure moods

    NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Twitter is for more than just tweeting.

Using millions of Twitter messages, or tweets, from the popular social networking site, researchers at Northeastern University in Boston have created a Twitter Mood Map to measure the moods of the nation.

People are happiest in the morning and in the evening, with happiness peaking on Sunday morning and dipping Thursday night, they found. Twitter users appeared most gloomy at mid-afternoon, shifting to better moods in the evening.

Not surprisingly, people appeared happier on the weekends, with residents of California, Miami and southern states among the most content, they learned.

A colourful time-lapse video on the website http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/amislove/twittermood/ shows the happy moods pulsating from the U.S. east coast to the west coast and back again.

The researchers are the first to admit the findings are not terribly scientific -- Twitter users tend to be tech-savvy, live in large cities and are a fraction of the total population -- but according to the results they have potential as a tool for providing real-time analysis of critical issues.

"Even though individual tweets are pointless to anyone besides your followers, in aggregate there is a lot of meaningful information that can be an instrument to see how people feel about things, whether it's public reaction to a politician's speech or a consumer attitudes about a brand," said Sune Lehmann, one of the researchers.

Lehmann and others used a psychological word-rating system to analyze key words in some 300 million Twitter messages as happy or sad. They then created maps based on the location of the messages and the general moods they evoke.

The map could be useful not only to collect public opinion but to mobilize users quickly, such as in a drive for emergency relief donations.

"The potential there is tremendous, on both an individual and societal level," said Johan Bollen, a computer scientist at Indiana University not involved in the project. "It's absolutely crucial to have real-time indicators about how the public feels, not in months, but in a matter of hours and days."

Website ranks most influential tweeters

  NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Actor Ashton Kutcher has more than 5 million and when singer John Mayer closed his account his devotees numbered 3.7 million but having a huge following on Twitter is no guarantee of being influential.

Researchers at Northwestern University said with new technology they can sift through the tens of millions of tweets sent each day on the microblogging website to pinpoint the most influential people on the hot topic of the day.

And it may not be the celebrity with the most followers.

"People think that just because you have a huge number of followers you may potentially be an influencer, and that is not the case," said Professor Alok Choudhary, the chair of the electrical engineering and computer science department at Northwestern University in Illinois.

Sports star LeBron James, for example, may influence people when he tweets about basketball but he does not have as much clout if he voices his ideas about the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice, according to Choudhary.

"The idea was how do we determine what are the important tweets and who are the people who really influence others in real time," he explained in an interview.

Using massive dating mining of texts, network analysis and real-time response measures Choudhary and Ramanathan Narayanan, a graduate student at the university, developed a website to rank the most influential tweeters on a topic.

The site, www.pulseofthetweeters.com, resulted from Narayanan's thesis project.

Although Twitter, which limits tweets to 140 characters, is only four years old it has become an immensely popular social networking website, similar to Facebook and LinkedIn, with 145 million users and an average of 90 million tweets per day.

"So, which tweets should you read? Which tweets are being read by media experts on any given subject, such as politics, law, fashion, food? We provide that information," said Narayanan.

The recently launched site also determines whether the tweets are positive, negative or neutral and filters out spam.

"A lot of people think that just because you tweet a lot means you may have influence or you are important. But there are a lot of junk tweets, so to speak. Our technology filters those out," Choudhary explained.

The researchers believe the technology could identify trends and the people who are influencing them.

"Our premise is that influencers are those that dynamically change the opinions of people on specific topics, or the topic of the moment. So in real time we can determine how people are getting influenced for an important topic," he added.

Hollywood tie-ups galore for Bollywood in 2008

New Delhi, Dec 29 (IANS) The over $2 billion Indian film industry finally managed to lure Hollywood biggies like Warner Bros and Walt Disney to invest in it in 2008. What's more, some homegrown production majors also managed to penetrate Western projects.

Among notable deals were Yash Raj Films collaborating with Walt Disney,Ramesh Sippy with Warner Bros for the next Akshay Kumar-starrer and Reliance BIG Entertainment with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG to produce 36 films.

'People across the world are looking forward to Indian films. They are keen to watch Indian cinema. Our films are appreciated by both critics and audiences worldwide and for that good collaborations with good content will definitely work wonders in the future,' Girish Johar, associate vice-president of UTV Motion Pictures, told IANS.

In 2007, Sony Pictures Entertainment-owned Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures was the first Hollywood studio to collaborate with an Indian production house. They co-produced 'Saawariya' with Sanjay Leela Bhansali Films.

Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 'White Nights', 'Saawariya', which introducedRanbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, was a box office disaster, but it did not dissuade other Hollywood production majors from investing in the Indian film market.

Following Sony, Hollywood studio Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures tied up with Raghav Bahl's TV 18 group and created a movie investment fund in early 2008.

Joining the league was Walt Disney Co. that invested in the Rs.13 billion ($324 million) Indian animation segment by inking a joint venture with Yash Raj Films (YRF).

Their first co-production 'Roadside Romeo' tanked at the box office, but Hollywood production house will still come out with at least one animated film every year with voice-overs from Bollywood actors.

Another mega Hollywood giant to enter the Hindi film industry was Warner Bros. It ventured as distributors with the dud 'Saas, Bahu Aur Sensex' and is now co-producing Akshay Kumar-starrer 'Chandni Chowk to China' (2009) with Ramesh and Rohan Sippy.

Warner Bros also signed a three-movie deal with People Tree Films and a one film tie-up with Tandav Films, which produced 'Khosla Ka Ghosla'. The production house has also brought in internationally acclaimed Indian filmmakerShekhar Kapur to direct a $200-million Hollywood fantasy-epic 'Larklight'.

While the Hollywood studios' production ventures bombed at the Indian box office, India's UTV Motion Pictures, which collaborated with 20th Century Fox to co-produce M. Knight Shyamalan's 'The Happening', raked in $31.5 million at the US box office in the opening weekend.

'We did 'The Namesake' with Fox Searchlight (2006) and then 'The Happening' with 20th Century and both have been hits. We are very positive so far as collaborations are concerned - both business and economics wise,' said Girish Johar of UTV.

UTV also entered into an exclusive pact with Disney for the sale and distribution of all their movies in India from January 2009.

Reliance BIG Entertainment didn't lag behind in laying its hands on entertainment infrastructure abroad - it signed $1.2 billion deal with ace filmmaker Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG to produce 36 films for the next six years.

Reliance also acquired over 200 theatres across 28 locations in North America to screen Bollywood and other regional content from India and other Asian countries.

Filmmaker Vipul Shah, who churned out blockbuster 'Singh is Kinng', was signed on by Fox Star for a multiple film deal. Shah called the deal 'the future of Indian cinema'.

'This is the future for Indian cinema - we have to partner with the best technical and creative talent from around the world, while keeping the Indian soul in our films intact,' Shah said.

The year also saw the India-Britain film co-production treaty coming into force. The treaty will allow Indian filmmakers to collaborate with a British producer and have access to a range of benefits, including tax breaks, sources of funding and practical support there.

Percept Picture Company, another Indian production house, is set to co-finance 'Racing The Monsoon', a sequel to Michael Douglas' 1984 starrer 'Romancing The Stone'.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra too is set to direct Hollywood project 'Broken Horses'.

On the other hand, Jennifer Lynch is the first Hollywood director to wield the megaphone for a Bollywood project. She is shooting a Hindi film titled 'The Hiss' with Mallika Sherawat in the main lead.

Down south, Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan was also roped in to star in two Disney productions - 'Marmayogi' and '19 Steps'. Earlier this year, the production house had bought the Home Video rights of Aamir Khan's directorial debut 'Taare Zameen Par' for release in the US.

However, the industry did experience tremors, thanks to the global meltdown, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and the losses in huge flops like 'Love Story 2050', 'Drona' and 'Yuvvraaj'.

'Entertainment and media segments will not be able to sustain the growth rate that we've projected because of the unprecedented global downturn,' said SmitaJha, associate director (Entertainment and Media Practice) at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC).

'In terms of filmed entertainment, the attacks are unlikely to have a permanent impact on the market though the after-effects of the meltdown and the attacks will impact consumer spending temporarily.'

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)-PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 2008 report projected the Indian Filmed Entertainment to grow by about 13 percent cumulatively over the next five years and reach around Rs.176 billion by 2012.

But Jha also said the collaboration scenario would not be the same in 2009.

'So far as Hollywood collaborations are concerned, the overseas partners are bringing a studio model kind of outlook in the country with their strategic partnerships, which was earlier not present here. However, the number of projects and the budget is likely to be lower in 2009 than declared earlier,' Jha said.

Sarah Palin stirs passion in Hollywood

  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sarah Palin represents many things Hollywood liberals love to hate, from her opposition to gay marriage to her support for gun rights, yet she possesses two key qualities they admire -- star appeal and a great script.

Accordingly, Hollywood Republicans -- often overshadowed by their left-leaning peers -- are seeking to capitalize on the celebrity of John McCain's running mate in the Nov. 4 election to generate support in a town well-known for its lavish Democratic fund-raisers and events.

"She's certainly got star appeal and is the kind of candidate that is made for Hollywood. I offered to throw her a fundraiser myself," said MGM chief Harry Sloan, one of Hollywood's most vocal Republicans.

Palin has shaken up the White House race, boosted enthusiasm among previously apathetic supporters of McCain's presidential nomination and drawn support from women, rural voters and Southerners, according to recent polls.

Sloan said there were no plans for a Palin Hollywood fundraiser yet as her campaign managers were inundated with similar requests from all over the country after her national debut at the Republican National Convention on Sept. 3.

A campaign spokesman would not disclose McCain and Palin's movements beyond one week's time, but various Hollywood executives said they heard the Arizona senator and Alaska governor would be swinging through California later this month or early next month.

Democratic candidates have long enjoyed a fundraising advantage in Hollywood. Through the end of July, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama raised $5.2 million from the entertainment industry, compared with McCain's $885,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

"It's like 10 to 1 here in terms of performing artists who support Obama versus McCain. There are a significant group of Republican supporters in Hollywood, but they're just not as outspoken," said political analyst Allan Hoffenblum.

PERSONAL STORY

Hollywood is aligning again for Obama on Sept. 16 when Barbra Streisand will sing at a Beverly Hills event expected to raise as much as $9 million.

While some Hollywood political watchers see Palin helping to mobilize greater celebrity support around Obama, they said filmmakers, producers and other entertainment executives were fascinated by the personal story of McCain's running mate, including her "hockey mom" persona and passion for hunting.

"These people are interested in drama, and Sarah Palin, a pistol-packing mother of five, is clearly an interesting character. Politically, they may not agree with Sarah Palin but they are intrigued," said Joel Fox, a political analyst.

Long-time Democrat Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, attended the Republican National Convention. "It's important to show our organization has allies in both camps. Our issues are bi-partisan," said Glickman.

"The question is does she become a bigger draw than McCain? It's too early to draw any conclusions," he said.

Palin's arrival is encouraging to Hollywood conservatives like Robert Davi, who stars in director David Zucker's upcoming "An American Carol," a spoof about a liberal filmmaker who wanted to abolish the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

"A lot of times, conservative guys on the set feel intimidated and unable to speak their view," said Davi, describing Palin as "energizing."

For his part, Zucker, a former liberal Democrat turned conservative Republican, hopes his movie, also starring Hollywood Republican Jon Voight, could help change how Hollywood views movies with conservative themes.

"I think Hollywood is naturally drawn to making anti-American movies. This will be an unabashedly conservative piece of entertainment. If it does well, it will have a huge effect," Zucker said.

The film opens widely on Oct 3, weeks before Oliver Stone's left-leaning "W," about U.S. President George W. Bush.

Travel Postcard: 48 hours in Hollywood

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - It's been half a century since Hollywood's Golden Age and once again, Tinseltown is aiming to recapture its former glamour and magic.

Tattoo parlors, trashy souvenir shops and bleary-eyed lost souls still line Hollywood Boulevard. But with the Oscars now firmly entrenched in the district that is in the midst of a $1 billion, 30-year redevelopment, many locals are hoping its heading back to its former glory days.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge provide hints to make the make the most of 48 hours in Hollywood in the lead up to the Oscars on Sunday.

FRIDAY

7 p.m. - Kick off your stay with a cocktail at the kitschy, cool Beauty Bar that stands out on Cahuenga Boulevard, where small new clubs with velvet ropes are popping up all the time.

9 p.m. - Splash out at the new, chic Asian-fusion cuisine hotspot East Restaurant and Lounge owned by Hollywood nightlife impresario David Judaken on Hollywood Boulevard. Make sure to grab one of the "confession" booths and order the 'Drunken Tofu.'

11 p.m. - Head down to Vine Street to walk the red carpet staircase at the brand new $350 million W Hotel that is banking on Hollywood's revival as an entertainment hub.

Check out the hotel's hot new club, Drai's Hollywood, on the hotel's rooftop, with an open air bar and pool deck. Head inside to dance or lounge in the banquettes.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. - Head to 101 Coffee Shop on Franklin to shake off the hangover with signature items like the Cajun catfish and eggs as you get comfy in the 60s and 70s style retro brown leather booths.

11 a.m. - Head down Hollywood Boulevard's "Walk of Fame" and over to the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards are held. Walk the "plastic carpet" before it turns red later in the week and check out the statue of a man called Oscar on the ground floor at the end of the run.

12 p.m. - Head a few doors down to Grauman's Chinese Theater for a quick tour. It opened in 1927 with the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's film 'The King of Kings.' Compare your footprints with those of the stars like Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

2 p.m. - Mingle with a bit of old Hollywood and grab some lunch at Musso & Frank's Grill where the likes of Orson Welles and Ernest Hemingway once lingered. Listen out for Hollywood types who still come here to talk business and make sure you enter through the back like the locals have been doing for years.

3 p.m. - Keep walking along the Walk of Fame and opposite the historic Egyptian Theater built in 1922 duck into the alleyway and discover the rare vinyl LP store 'As the Record Turns,' a cozy alternative to the nearby independent music chain Amoeba Music that both attract die hard music fans and collectors.

4 p.m. - Keep heading back down the boulevard for a quick shop at the Hollywood & Highland Center where you will find boutiques such as Louis Vuitton and entertainment such as retro bowling alley Lucky Strike Lanes.

6 p.m. - Start your night off sitting at the bar at one of Hollywood's oldest gathering spots, Boardners, just off Hollywood Boulevard.

7 p.m. - Walk around the corner and grab a drink at Miceli's, billed as the oldest Italian restaurant in L.A. complete with singing waiters. It has been family owned and operated by the Miceli family since 1949 and has hosted everyone from Richard Nixon to Julia Roberts.

9 p.m. - Switch back to new Hollywood with a visit to The Hungry Cat located down the end of the courtyard alley off the Sunset + Vine retail complex for fresh fruit cocktails and seafood entrees between $15 and $25 in a modern setting.

11 p.m. - If there is nothing playing at the famed outdoor venue The Hollywood Bowl, head next door to The Hungry Cat for a late night visit to the intimate Ivan Kane's Cafe Was for nightly rock/jazz stylings and singer-songwriter sets.

SUNDAY

10 a.m. - Head to The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel that opened in 1927 and had the likes of Clark Cable and Marilyn Monroe stay before undergoing a major renovation in 2005. Peek inside the famed Blossom Ballroom, the site of the first Academy Awards in 1929, that reopened last year with the $ 4 million restoration of its original design elements.

12 p.m. - Catch a short cab ride along Hollywood Boulevard to 'Fresh Pressed,' where kids, adults and friends can collaborate with designers on hand to create your own T-shirts. Create slogans or scribble artwork to print the designs you like in under 30 minutes for $40.

Wander next door to "Everything's Jake" where stylish guys can shop for vintage suits and strum guitars and head across the road to a sprinkling of vintage and high end clothing stores. Grab lunch at Umami Burger with their own secret signature ketchup.

2:30 p.m. - To experience the buzz of the Oscars and try to catch a glimpse of the stars head to the Kodak Theater where the Academy Award ceremony will begin a few hours later.

Or for a different type of star gazing go to Griffith Park to climb up to the Griffith Observatory that sits on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood, offering a view of the Los Angeles basin.

5 p.m. - Finish the day while wandering back through the heart of Hollywood with a snack at hot dog joint Skooby's. Order the L.A.-style 100 per cent Turkey Frank that promises all natural Turkey, no nitrates (except for sea salt) and only 90 calories for that new Hollywood healthy glow. (Editing by Patricia Reaney