In The Special Relationship, which premiered on May 29, 2010, on HBO, Peter Morgan’s Tony Blair is an intelligent and decent executive with the ability to learn and apply lessons of political strategy. Tony Blair reportedly saw parallels between himself and Bill Clinton, who turned the tide for the Democratic Party with his charisma and a message that was fashioned to resonate with voters.

Bill Clinton had a hand in boosting Blair’s candidacy – the former US president hosted him at the White House before elections were held in the United Kingdom. Tony Blair was a loyal friend, too – he stood by Bill Clinton when the Monica Lewinsky scandal erupted.

The two leaders may have differed on strategies and world policies (they disagreed on what NATO should do in former Yugoslavia, where slaughter and brutality rose), but The Special Relationship isn’t about that.

The film subtly focuses on the fragile but always-there “special relationship,” – a phrase invented by Winston Churchill for the connection between the United States and Britain, – which is seen through a British eye.

The special relationship has often been there between leaders of the two countries – there were Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, and then there were Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. The two leaders have shared a unique, at times tumultuous, political equation – this is what The Special Relationship is all about.

The Special Relationship is Peter Morgan’s third film based on Tony Blair. The first film was 2003’s The Deal, which chronicled the former prime minister’s rise to power. The Oscar –nominated second part The Queen (2006) focused on the protocol conflicts in the wake of the death of Princess Diana. The Queen won Helen Mirren (who played the titular role) an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.

The Special Relationship’s Tony Blair is inexplicably drawn to the Bill Clinton way of thinking. Cherie Blair (played convincingly by Helen McCrory) jokes about her husband’s submissive meekness in Clinton’s presence. “Clinton hair, Clinton tie, everything except the tarty girlfriend,” she says, even as her husband wonders about what to wear and how to look.

The Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal also has its moment in the spotlight in The Special Relationship.

A scene shows beleaguered Bill Clinton readying to tell his wife, Hillary, (played by Hope Davis), the truth about Monica Lewinsky.

“It’s much more serious than I let on,” Bill Clinton says in The Special Relationship.

Later, on the way to a formal event after publicly acknowledging his misconduct, Bill Clinton asks Hillary how she wants to handle the appearance. “You first? Me a few steps behind? Together?”

Hillary’s reply? “I have to find my way through this on my own time. By myself, OK?”

The Special Relationship also reveals the impact the Lewinsky scandal had on the wives of the two leaders and their friendship.

Satyajit Ray’s Feluda, Bengal’s best-loved detective, will return to the silver screen soon. Sandip Ray, the son of India’s only Oscar-winning film director Satyajit Ray, plans to base his next movie on the popular Feluda story Gorosthaney Sabdhan (Caution in the Graveyard).

Pradosh Chandra Mitter, better known as Feluda, is a young, keen-eyed detective who in 1965 made his appearance in Sandesh, a Bengali children’s magazine, with Feluda-r Goendagiri.

Based in Kolkata, Feluda – he with the fondness for Charminar cigarettes, betel leaves, yoga, reading and travelling – prefers to use his immense brain power instead of muscle power to fight crime and solve mysteries. Along with Topshe (his nephew) and Lalmohan Ganguly (Jatayu, the best-selling writer of crime novels), Feluda solves mysteries that confound everyone –  even the police.

Satyajit Ray loved writing and making films for children. His easy to read, crisp stories – he wrote 35 Feluda stories – remain a favorite with readers of all ages. The relationship between Feluda and Topshe is like that between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson – Topshe learns by being around Feluda; Feluda bounces his thoughts off Topshe to set off a chain of logical thinking before the denouement. “The Three Musketeers” – as named by Lalmohan Babu – embark on journeys in India and abroad to bring criminals to book.

Speaking about his new movie project, Sandip Ray said shooting of the Gorosthaney Sabdhan film will begin in June 2010. No other details have emerged yet, but we’ll keep you posted on who’s playing the crime fighter.

Gorosthaney Sabdhan – one of the most popular stories in the Feluda series – deals with the colorful case of the Godwins, an old Calcutta-based family. Why has the grave of Thomas Godwin, dead and gone for many years, been dug up? The Three Musketeers unravel the puzzle over the course of a few days. During this time, they end up discovering unknown facets of their city. The old Calcutta, the capital of British India, and the history of the city play an important role in the story.

Other Feluda stories that have been adapted into movies are Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress), Jai Baba Felunath (The Elephant God), Bombay er Bombete (Buccaneers of Bombay), Koilash-e Kelenkari (Chaos In Kailash) and Tintorettor Jishu (Tintoretto’s Jesus). Sonar Kella and Jai Baba Felunath were directed by Satyajit Ray; the other three films were directed by Sandip Ray.

Several other Feluda stories have also been made into television serials.

Sandip Ray also wants to bring Professor Shonku, his father’s famous science fiction character, alive on screen. He said he plans to direct a film based on Professor Shonku’s expedition in two years.

The books on Professor Shonku include Byomjatrir Diary, followed by Professor Shonku o Harh, Professor Shonku o Macaw, Professor Shonku o Egyptio Aatonko and Professor Shonku o Chi Ching.

Sandip Ray, who started his career at 22 as assistant director on his father’s film Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977), debuted as a director with Phatik Chand (1983). A noted photographer, he worked as director of photography on Satyajit Ray’s last three films – Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People, 1988), Shakha Proshakha (The Branches of the Tree, 1991) and Agantuk (The Visitor, 1991).

He also guided the children’s magazine Sandesh, founded by his great-grandfather Upendrakishore Ray, and continued by his grandfather Sukumar Ray and his father Satyajit Ray. He continues to be the editor of Sandesh.

In 2003, Sandip Ray began working on adapting Satyajit Ray’s 1962 story Bankhubabur Bandhu into a Bengali television film. Directed by Koushik Sen, the film was aired on TV in 2006.

He recently penned Aami aar Feluda, an account of his time growing up around the detective.

Meanwhile, Disney channel has acquired The Kathmandu Caper – the first-ever animated TV movie based on Satyajit Ray’s detective series – from Kolkata-based DQ Entertainment. The 60-minute TV movie takes Feluda, Topshe and Lalmohan babu to Nepal to solve a series of mysterious crop failures.

The director is also reportedly in negotiations with Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) and Twilight star Kirsten Stewart for important roles in the film. Hrithik Roshan’s Kites movie is now nearing release.

Hrithik Roshan’s wife Suzanne recently tweeted that her husband had been signed on for Paani. “H has signed Paani…” she wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Paani is reported to be a modern take on Romeo and Juliet.

Speaking about what led to Paani, Shekhar Kapur, who has won international acclaim for Bandit Queen, Elizabeth, Elizabeth: the Golden Age and New York, I Love You, said he was in a tony Mumbai neighborhood when he was struck by an irony – his friend showered for half an hour in his swanky apartment on the 30th floor while the slums just below his apartment building had no water.

The inequity in the distribution of the natural resource most necessary for human survival set the director thinking and led to the development of the story.

After romancing Barbara Mori in Kites (scheduled to release May 21), this will be Hrithik Roshan’s second film with a foreign actress.

Hrithik Roshan will play the part of a poor person living in the seedier parts of Mumbai sometime in the future. He will meet the wealthy Kirsten Stewart in the tony section of the megacity and they’ll fall in love.

Reports said Shekhar Kapur had his eyes on someone fair, delicate and pretty to play the new-age Juliet, and that Kirsten Stewart fit the bill perfectly.

Shekhar Kapur has been cautious about revealing casting details. He said he had been accused of talking about projects that never happen. But, he said, Paani is a film that I’m definitely making, and in 2010.

He dismissed reports that Kristin Stewart was already on board for Paani. He said he and the Twilight star had had just one conversation. “She still needs to read the script. People are jumping to conclusions,” Shekhar Kapur posted on his Twitter page.

A spokesperson for Kirsten Stewart has also denied the actress’ association with Paani.

Reprising her role of Bella Stewart, Kirsten Stewart will be seen with heart-throb Robert Pattinson in Eclipse, the third instalment of the Twilight series in June 2010.

This year, Shekhar Kapur is also teaming up Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts to direct a film on famed English explorer George Mallory. The director will helm Mallory, which will be produced by Julia Roberts’ Red Om Films and Kevin Townsend’s Science+Fiction.

George Mallory – remembered for having said “Because it’s there” when asked “Why do you want to climb Mt Everest? – embarked on the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the 1920s. On his third expedition, George Mallory disappeared with his climbing partner Andrew Irvine in 1924 when they were 800 feet from the summit before the clouds closed in.

Mallory, set in post-World War I England, chronicles Mallory’s attempts to scale Mount Everest and the toll the obsession for the mountain takes on his marriage.

No decisions on casting have been taken yet, but Shekhar Kapur said he is very excited to be working on this “fantastic story.”

Photo: Avatar movie poster

James Cameron, whose earlier work includes the Academy award-winning Titanic, told LA Times that his focus in Avatar 2 will be on creating a different environment and he will concentrate on the oceans of the fictional planet.

After showcasing groundbreaking 3D technology as the Na’vi flew across Pandora, the 55-year-old director plans to create an equally rich, diverse and imaginative aquatic environment that will lead to an immersive, transportive experience.

Avatar doesn’t stop there – there may be a potential third film as the filmmaker explores the universe beyond Pandora.

We can incorporate more into the Avatar story as we expand across the Alpha Centauri AB system, James Cameron was quoted as saying.

The Golden Globe-winning director will have to cut the costs and time for Avatar 2 ; the first film cost hundreds of dollars and was in production for years.

The challenge, he said, will be to do what the Avatar team did before at half the price and in half the time. It seemed impossible, he said, but it would be an accomplishment even if the team could reduce costs and time by 25 percent.

Avatar will return to theaters in August 2010 with an extra six minutes of footage. Avatar was released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 22, 2010, Earth Day – a cause James Cameron espouses.

James Cameron believes that Avatar works on the DVD format because of the storytelling, the characters and the vibrancy of the imagery, adding that people are going to want to own Avatar because they want to relive the experience of being in the alluring world of Pandora.

Photo: Vivek Oberoi in Ram Gopal Varma's Rakta Charitra

For Ram Gopal Varma, only real life inspires reel life. So after he calls packup for the last time on Rakta Charitra, his bio-pic on the life of outlaw-politician Paritala Ravi, the director plans to work on a film based on the Swami Nithyananda sex scandal.

RGV is currently working on the script of God and Sex, and has said that the film would explore “all that goes on” inside ashrams. He is yet to make any decisions on the cast of the movie.

Swami Nithyananda shot into the limelight last month after an alleged romp in the bed with South Indian actresses Ranjitha and Yuvarani (according to some reports), and has since resigned from his post as head of Dhyanapeetam Ashram.

Ram Gopal Varma has not had a great run in Bollywood in the last few years, with some disastrous failures such as Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag (2007) and several horror flicks. His latest movie Rann, cast superstar Amitabh Bachchan in the leading role, but did not do well at the box office either. The director’s fascination with horror flicks has not ended despite few successes, and 2010 will see a 3D horror film from Varma titled ‘Warning.’

Ram Gopal Varma clarified that his upcoming film, God and Sex,  won’t be only about godmen and sex.

“My whole idea is to take a hard look at what happens behind the close doors of an ashram. That doesn’t necessarily mean sexual activities. It’s about power politics; it’s about [an] industry running behind [it],” Varma told IANS in an interview.

From the Nithyananda scandal, the director has drawn the conclusion that one can win over God but not over sex.

Ram Gopal Varma is juxtaposing God and sex in his new movie. “I thought about the interesting contrast between God and sex. You take all the bigwigs like N.D. Tiwari, a big politician, to Swami Nithyananda to S.P.S. Rathore – they fell prey to sex, interestingly. So no matter, even if you win over God, you can’t win over sex,” he said.

What really inspired him about the Swami Nithyananda story? Not the sex, he says. It was the fact that the self-proclaimed godman was watching Kannada film songs. That, he says, revealed how “normal” a man he is. “In his private life, beyond closed doors, he is a normal man,” Ram Gopal Varma Varma said.

“They earn in millions. No one is bothered where this money comes from. All are bothered that he had sex,” he added.

Vivek Oberoi, a follower of Swami Nithyananda and part of the Rakta Charitra cast, does not have a hand in Varma’s decision. Elaborating on the film, Varma said that he was intrigued by the number of scandals that godmen get involved in.

The director isn’t worried about rubbing followers and devotees the wrong way. He said his film would get more publicity. That just might work in its favour!

We will be keeping an eye on the movie, and when shooting begins, hope to bring you a few photos from the sets of God and Sex.

Photo: Roman Polanski

Though Roman Roman Polanski has been granted bail, he is expected to stay at his home in his Swiss home, the Alpine chalet, under electronic surveillance.

Federal Office of Justice said in a statement: “Polanski will be released from custody as soon as bail has been transferred, ID and travel documents have been lodged and the electronic monitoring system has been installed and tested.”

Alpine chalet, the USD 1.6 million home in one of the world’s most splendid winter resorts, is expected to be the place where Polanski would be put in house arrest under video surveillance. This tiny place in Switzerland has long been known as a celebrity hangout and boasts of famous names like Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson having visited the place.

The Alpine chalet offers an excellent view of the snow-clad mountain peaks and a tiny village with a population of 2500. Polanski will have all the luxuty facilities in his winter resort, but he will be under electronic surveillance all the time.

Polanski would be granted bail the moment he is able to produce the bail amount of USD 4.5million, surrenders his identity documents and is fitted for an electronic bracelet that allows authorities to monitor his whereabouts.
If Polanski ever tries to leave his home or tries to remove a monitoring device, then the device would alert the authorities.

Roman Polanski is currently in his tiny dentention cell in Zurich for raping a 13-year girl in United States more than three decades ago, and then fleeing the country.

Photo: Robin Wright Penn will star in the The Conspirator

The Conspirator is set in the time after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Mary Surratt (Robin Wright Penn), is charged as a co-conspirator in President Lincoln’s assassination.

Surrat is charged because she owns the boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (played by Tony Kebbell) and his accomplices had planned the attacks.

James McAvoy plays a not-quite-sympathetic defence lawyer, Fredrick Aiken, assigned to the case, who later comes to believe in Surratt’s innocence.

Photo: James McAvoy on the sets of The Conspirator; Photo Credit: The Playlist

Alexis Bledel plays Fredrick Aiken’s wife, Justin Long his best friend, and Rachel Wood plays Mary Surratt’s daughter.

Photo: Evan Rachel Wood on the sets of The Conspirator Photo credit: The Playlist

Kevin Kline is Abraham Lincoln’s War Secretary in the movie, while Tom Wilkinson will essay the rold of Reverdy Johnson, an U.S. senator and ex-attorney general who is sympathetic to Surratt.

The Conspirator has been written by James D. Solomon and produced by Brian Peter Folk, Robert Redford, Greg Shapiro, Robert Stone, and Webster Stone.

The movie will be released in 2010.

Photo: The Bride in Kill Bill: Vol. 2

Tarantino announced the movie during a press meet for Inglorious Basterds, at the Morelia International Film Festival in Mexico, on October 3, 2009.

He said that Kill Bill: Vol 3 will be set ten years after the Bride’s last violent encounters to allow her some peace time with her daughter.

Before he starts filming Kill Bill: Vol 3, Quentin Tarantino will make another movie.

There is a lot of speculation about the story of Kill Bill: Vol 3.

Now that Bill is gone and the Bride has eliminated all her targets, who will she fight in the third instalment?

Some reports say that Vernita Green’s four-year-old daughter, Nikki, whose life the Bride spared when she killed Green, will be back for revenge. This is the most likeliest scenario.

Photo: Venita Green's daughter, Nikki, in Kill a still from Kill Bill: Vol.2

Other say that Sofie Fatale and Crazy 88, whose left arms were chopped off by the Bride, will return for vengeance. Maybe, maybe not.

Or will the Bride die in Kill Bill: Vol 3, passing on the mantle to her daughter? Remote chance.

All is possible, except Bill’s return from the dead, that is if he really died, a big stretch. No way.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2, that were released in 2003 and 2004, starred Uma Thurman as Beatrix Kiddo or The Bride, David Carradine as Bill, Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii, Vivica A Fox as Vernita Green, Julie Dreyfus as Sofie Fatale, Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver, Michael Madsen as Budd, and Gordon Liu as Pai Mei.

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 collectively grossed over US$300 million worldwide.

Photo: Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan in Kurbaan poster

In the poster a grim and bare chested Saif Ali Khan, six pack and all, looks at Kareena Kapoor, rather intensely, with what seems to be a bullet hole in his chest.

The movie that stars Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Vivek Oberoi, Diya Mirza, and Kiron Kher will be released on November 27, 2009.

Rensil D’silva has described Kurbaan as a romantic thriller set against the backdrop of terrorism.

Recently, Om Puri had revealed that he plays the role of a terrorist mastermind in the movie.

Photo: Saif Ali Khan in Kurbaan

Bollywood Hungama quoted the actor as saying, “I’m aware of the repercussions. I’m also aware other actors turn down parts of terrorists. But I’ve no such reservations. We cannot be moral and judgmental about the characters we play.”

He said that the plays fully committed jehaadi who does not stop short of even sacrifiing his wife ( played by Kiron Kher) for the cause.

Rensil D’Silva has written the screen play of Kurbaan. Karan Johar has been credited with the story.

Rensil is the scriptwriter of Rang De Basanti (2006), Luck (2009), and the upcoming Raavan (2010).

As we had reported earlier, Dharma Productions has entered into a tie-up with UTV for the distribution of Kurbaan and Wake Up Sid (October 2, 2009).

Dharma Productions’ forthcoming releases include Shahrukh Khan’s My Name is Khan (February 2010), and the animated flick Koochie Koochie Hota Hai (2010).

John Abraham will star in Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet

Now, reports say that John Abraham too will come onboard. But, the funny thing is that long back John Abraham had announced that he is part of Bombay Velvet along with Naseeruddin Shah and Kay Kay Menon. We had carried the report in March 2009.

Old hat, this.

In fact, I would take the news that Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan are part of Bombay Velvet with a huge pinch of salt, until the news in confirmed by Anurag Kashyap, Aamir Khan or Shahrukh Khan themselves.

Though, long back Anurag Kashyap has said in an interview that he wanted Aamir Khan to be part of Bombay Velvet.

Bombay Velvet is set in the 1960s and revolves around the crime scene in Mumbai then. Anurag Kashyap was quoted as saying that Bombay Velvet will be like the LA Confidential of India.

LA Confidential is a fantastic flick. It would be interesting to see if Kashyap can pull off a thriller on the same level.

Bombay Velvet, reportedly, will have three segments, with John Abraham, Aamir Khan, and Shahrukh, featured in each of them.

Anurag Kashap had said in an interview that he brought two writers on board, for Bombay Velvet, who criticised him most for No Smoking.

If Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan are indeed part of Bombay Velvet, then they probably have cameo roles in the movie.

It’s not clear what Danny Boyle’s role is in this production, but some reports say that Boyle will present the movie to further its chances in the international market.