Entertainment News: First three days of the week

1. Oscar changes voting method for best picture: The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced a new voting procedure on Tuesday for the best picture Oscar nominees. The preferential voting system, in which Academy voters will rank their favorites in order of preference, is designed to accommodate the increase in best film nominees from five to 10 that was announced earlier this year. "Instead of just marking an X to indicate which one picture they believe to be the best, members will indicate their second, third and further preferences as well," Academy president Tom Sherak said......Good news for entertainment lovers, specially movie lovers.

2. Hoax video of Michael Jackson creates online stir: A hoax video purportedly showing Michael Jackson emerging from a coroner's van was an experiment aimed at showing how quickly misinformation and conspiracy theories can race across the Internet, German broadcaster RTL said Tuesday. The video was posted by RTL on YouTube for a single day a week ago and received 880,000 hits. The broadcaster has since removed the video from YouTube, but it has been picked up by other Web sites around the world. "We wanted to show how easily users can be manipulated on the Internet with hoax videos," spokeswoman Heike Schultz of Cologne-based RTL told The Associated Press. "Therefore, we created this video of Michael Jackson being alive, even though everybody knows by now that he is dead - and the response was breathtaking"........This shows the increasing power of web 2.0 application.

3. ‘Mad Men’ Is Renewed: “Mad Men,” the hit AMC period drama about a New York advertising agency, has been picked up for a fourth season, the cable channel said on Tuesday. “Mad Men” has been the cornerstone of AMC’s gradually expanding lineup of original programming. The show, starring, 'John Slattery' and 'Jon Hamm', won the Emmy Award for dramatic series the year after its premiere in 2007, and it is nominated for 16 more Emmys this month, including outstanding drama. In August the debut episode of its third season was the highest-rated “Mad Men” broadcast to date, drawing 2.8 million viewers. A premiere date for the fourth season has not been announced.

4. Madonna turns director-producer: Pop star 'Madonna', who acted in 1996 movie 'Evita', is now ready to go behind the camera with 'Wallis' - a film she will direct and produce. The film is about the twice-divorced American socialite 'Wallis Simpson' for whom Edward VIII gave up the throne, reported thesun.co.uk. The 51-year-old is trying to get 'David Tennant' and 'Cate Blanchett' to do the project.The final script is now written and the locations have been scouted. Madonna is now trying to assemble the cast and put the finances in place.

5. HBO Show for Scorsese: Martin Scorsese has been tapped by HBO to do more real-life work. He’ll be an executive producer of that cable channel’s new series “Boardwalk Empire,” HBO said on Tuesday in a news release. The series has been ordered for a 2010 debut. Steve Buscemi stars in the drama as Nucky Thompson, a man described as “equal parts politician and gangster,” who runs Atlantic City during the Prohibition era. 'Michael Pitt', 'Kelly Macdonald' and 'Michael Shannon' will also be featured in the series, for which Mr. Scorsese directed the pilot episode........Good news for Martin Scorsese fans. I love his work.....

6. Andy Lau apologizes for lying about marriage: Veteran Hong Kong actor-singer Andy Lau has apologized for lying about his marriage, saying he behaved inappropriately for a public figure. Lau denied that he was married in an interview with Hong Kong's Cable TV in February, but Hong Kong journalists last week discovered marriage records from the Clark County Recorder's Office in the U.S. state of Nevada that showed the 47-year-old star had wed Malaysian girlfriend Carol Chu in June 2008. Lau confirmed the nuptials in a brief message on his Web site late Saturday, saying he did not announce the marriage because he wanted to shield Chu from the press.....Paparazzi and stars are both friend and foe of each other :-)

7. Madonna wrapping up world tour in Israel: Madonna brought her mix of provocative music and spirituality to the Holy Land with a concert Tuesday in front of 50,000 fans who had endured a 16-year wait since the pop icon's last gig in Israel. Madonna is wrapping up her worldwide "Sticky & Sweet" tour with two concerts this week in a country whose place at the heart of the Mideast conflict has made it more of a magnet for diplomats than big-name performers.

8. Matt Damon to receive Lifetime Achievement Award: Oscar winning actor Matt Damon is all set to receive an honour for his contribution to the world of cinema. According to Variety, the actor will be presented the American Cinematheque Award at a ceremony next March, reports the Daily Express. The 38-year-old actor started his career with 1997 hit Good Will Hunting, which he co-scripted with pal Ben Affleck.
Previous recipients of the award include actor 'Samuel L. Jackson' and 'Julia Roberts' have been the previous recipients of the prestigious award......Isn't he too young for this award.

9. Dev D's call girl to walk the red carpet: Remember the call girl from the film 'Dev D', who could seduce in four languages, is all set to sizzle at Venice. The Bollywood actress, 'Kalki Koechlin' of French origin, played the role of 'Chandramukhi' in director 'Anurag Kashyap's' movie 'Dev D'. The movie was a modern take on 'Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's' Bengali novel 'Devdas'. Now, the movie will be screened at the upcoming Venice film festival and the actress known for her full pout will walk the red carpet with director 'Anurag Kashyap'. They have already declared there love in public. Unlike other Bollywood celebs, 'Kalki' has chosen Indian designer to dress her up. Designer 'Preeti S Kapoor' has designed a gown in green tone for the petite actress.

"Its good to be entertained"

Sources:
1. Hindustan Times
2. New-York Times
3. Washington Post