Tag: slumdog millionaire (last 300)
10 ‘Slumdogs’
(NYT) Oscars planned for 10 arthouse nominees, a ‘disaster,’ but the ‘Slumdog’ rule yielded some popular favorites. Movies now ranked, tallied via instant runoff voting.
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(NYT) Oscars’ expanded shortlist (the ‘Slumdog’ rule) actually includes some good movies: ‘D9,’ ‘An Education,’ ‘A Serious Man,’ ‘Up.’
‘Slumdog’ real estate
(ToL) ‘Slumdog’ child star Rubina Ali’s shanty destroyed after parents demanded pricier flat. They’re moving to behind Bandra railway station.
‘Darjeeling’ very limited
(Allbusiness) Wes Anderson on ‘Darjeeling’ vs. ‘Slumdog’: ‘I can take a subject that you’d think would be commercial and turn it into something that not a lot of people want to see.’
Wes has ‘Slumdog’ envy
(New Yorker) Wes Anderson: ‘Why did this India movie [Slumdog] become a big hit and mine didn’t?’ Response: Indian actors and story, vs. bourgeois American family drama with India as exotic background.
Wyclef copying Maya?
(Vid) ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ by Wyclef Jean and Cyndi Lauper, with vague ‘Paper Planes’ vibe. (ht: Joolz)
Von Trier’s self-mutilation film
(New Yorker) Anyone expecting DP Anthony Dod Mantle to revisit ‘Slumdog’ will be disappointed. ‘Antichrist’ is set in Seattle and the wilds of the Northwest, as far from Mumbai as can be imagined.
India begins recognizing camp
(Iggy) Anuvab: Bollywood is both deferential and accusatory with ‘Slumdog’... Camp ’80s legend B. Subhash (musical ‘Tarzan’) can’t get a film funded now. He wants to make a musical about 26/11.
‘Slumdog’ killed the TV star
(Newsweek) The Oscars are indeed doubling # of best pic nominees because of ‘Slumdog.’ Without any megahits, the ratings continue to slide.
Behind the ‘Slumdog’
(WaPo) Rubina Ali’s father turned down Danny Boyle’s offer of a flat, saying he didn’t want to move from the slum. ‘Slumdog’ grossed $300M.
Welcome to Dumberica
(HuffPo·L) Maher: The Slumdog kid learned about cricket just by being alive. Americans are so dumb, 24% don’t know who we fought in the Revolutionary War. (ht: Abhi)
President Watches ‘Slumdog’
(Hindu) President Pratibha Patil, with VP Hamid Ansari, composer A.R. Rahman and lyricist Gulzar watched Slumdog Millionaire, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan auditorium Sunday. The Tourism Minister, the S&T Minister and the CBI Director were in attendance.
Slumdog dance class
Leave the dinette set
500 Days of Slumdog
(WSJ) 500 Days of Summer has a dance number, part ‘Enchanted’ and part ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ that’s endearing in its unchained exuberance.
‘Slumdog’ star moves into flat
(WaPo) Azhar Ismail moved into new flat. Mother’s happy to have her own bathroom. Doesn’t want his dad in the new house because he does drugs.
‘Slumdog’ star moves into flat
Oscars double best picture slots
(Reuters) ‘Slumdog’ wins best picture, and Oscars suddenly doubles the # of nominees they accept. Hmm...
Bollywood adopts ‘Slumdog’ in Macau
(WaPo) After criticizing ‘Slumdog’ for showing poverty, Bollywood at IIFA now rushes to claim it as one of its own.
‘Slumdog’ star’s flat located in Santa Cruz
(WaPo) ‘Slumdog’ producers have completed the purchase of a $50K Santa Cruz West flat for child actor Azhar Ismail. They’re looking for one for Rubina Ali.
‘Slumdog’ extras’ homes torn down
(WaPo) Bombay workers spared Azharuddin Ismail’s hastily rebuilt slum home but not those of ‘Slumdog’ extras.
Aziz is a Trekkie
(Tumblr Vid) Aziz Ansari as Star Trek transporter engineer in MTV Movie Awards spoof. At 2:45. Starts with ‘Slumdog’ spoof.
Boyle buys Azhar a flat
(Reuters) Danny Boyle and his producer flew into Mumbai and bought Azharuddin Ismail a $42K flat, promising one for Rubina Ali as well. (ht: @_nilanjana_)
Not a soda jerk
(Tabloid) Rubina Ali made more for the 3 day Schweppes ad shoot by Ridley Scott than for ‘Slumdog,’ claims her father.
Rubina’s home gone too
‘Slumdog’ Arabia
(NY Press) ‘An Arab of Convenience’ poked fun at how Americans confuse desis and ‘Slumdog’ with Arabs. Check out the very funny ‘Tabouleh Song.’
‘Slumdog’ Actor’s Home Demolished
(NYT) In a scene reminiscent of the gritty landscape from the hit movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ municipal workers on Thursday demolished the home of one of the young children who starred in the rags-to-riches tale.
‘Slumdog’ star’s home demolished
(WaPo) The Mumbai slum home of Azhar Ismail, one of the child stars in ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ has been demolished by city authorities.
Ignoring the seamy underside
(WSJ) Indian officials crow about a vibrant democracy but ignore reform, letting criminals run for Parliament. It’s like how self-appointed guardians reacted to ‘White Tiger’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’
This... is... BANDRA!
(Celebuzz Photos) Gerard Butler, Priyanka Chopra and the ‘Slumdog’ child actors during Butler’s backpacking holiday in India.
‘Slumdog’ actress update
(WaPo) Rubina Ali’s house is flooded and filled with scorpions and rats. An Indian businessman from Qatar offered to pay for her college. Her estranged mother reappeared, pulling her stepmom’s hair.
SlumWow
(Vid) Maher: ‘But if the doorbell rings you’ve still got to get up. What you need is your own Slumdog from India. Introducing the SlumWow.’ If you act now they’ll double your order: ‘Mumbai one, get one free.’
Mad drama in ‘Slumdog’ case
(AP) Khurshid Begum, the estranged mother of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star Rubina Ali, filed a complaint with Mumbai police, while the father denied selling Ali and called the complaint a custody ruse.
‘Slumdog’ father denies selling child
(BBC) The father of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ child star Rubina Ali denied selling his daughter, saying he’d been approached by people pretending a rich sheikh from Dubai wanted to adopt her for a better life.
‘Slumdog’ bonanza
(WaPo) The makers of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ have donated $747,500 to Plan, an int’l charity which aims to educate 5,000 slum kids.
White guilt
(Twitter) ‘Why does seeing Anoop in the bottom two make me want to buy Slumdog Millionaire on DVD. Me and my stinkin’ white guilt...’
Punching your buttons
(Vid) Air India and, of course, the desh get big-upped in this ‘Swades’ clip. This musical theme was used as Latika’s ringtone in ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’
‘Slumdog’ Wheel of Fortune
(Vid) A ‘Slumdog’ sock puppet parody: I was on the L train reading L mag eating El Pollo Loco reading L. Ron Hubbard when our train hit LL Cool J. J. I pick the letter J. (ht: KP)
Anil Kapoor plugs the SM DVD on ‘The Soup’
(Comcast) Anil Kapoor grills Joel Mchale on Satyajit Ray and such, while he infuses the show with his usual dose of awkwardness.
In yo’ face
(BBC) ‘The biggest film this year is Slumdog Millionaire, which is not a 3D film. And The Reader doesn’t gain by being 3D, so there’ll be room for both side-by-side.’ [Some would say the ‘The Reader’ has enormous, 3D, side-by-side advantages.]
One stereotype at a time
(Twitter) Tweet: ‘Watching Slum Dog Millionaire for the 2nd time & all I can think of is Anoop Dog (American Idol).’ And, ‘Your eyebrows and your days are numbered’: [via]
Interview with the ‘Slumdog Diplomat’
(NYT) NYT: Did you do any scouting or interviews as research?
Vikas Swarup: No. None... Google took me wherever I needed to go. Without Google I couldn’t have written the book in two months.
‘Slumdog’ something-aires
For once, the movie’s better than the book
(NYT) When ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ started winning picture awards, the Teaneck Public Library director went out and bought copies of ‘Q&A.’ There would be requests the next day.
‘Slumdog’ to open in China
(AP) ‘Slumdog’ cleared Chinese censors and landed one of the 20 slots allowed by the gov’t for major foreign films.
‘Slumdog’ hurts health tourism
(WSJ) The image of India created by Slumdog will have a direct impact on the reputation of Indian products and services abroad.
Gibreel and Saladin saves ‘Slumdog’
(New Yorker) Rushdie said ‘Slumdog’ ‘piles impossibility on impossibility.’ This from the author of a story where two survive a fall from an exploding airplane and are transformed into an archangel and a devil respectively.
Rushdie v. Boyle
(New Yorker) Rushdie dings ‘Slumdog’ as if he owns India. Half of movies is filming what you know; the other half is learning. Boyle’s sincere and probing curiosity was guided by colleagues who know the terrain.
Gulzar on ‘Slumdog’
(Screenindia) Gulzar did the Hindi lyrics for ‘Jai Ho.’ ‘A.R. doesn’t use the harmonium to compose. It’s him, his BlackBerry with his voice and me. He stores his ideas and tunes and even records his voice on that.’
Congrats on ‘Slumdog’
Anoopdog Millionaire, the mashup
(Vid) The inevitable Anoop Desai — ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ mashup, because America can handle only one stereotype at a time :) It’s cute, actually.
Arundhati Roy on Slumdog
(Dawn) The debate around the film has been framed in absurd terms. On the one hand we have the old ‘patriots’ parroting the line that ‘it doesn’t show India in a Proper Light’.
Swarupification
(Guardian) This article lauding Vikas Swarup for ‘Q&A’ and 8 Oscars pretty much gets the whole ‘Slumdog’ backstory wrong. (ht: Sapna)
Watering down ‘Jai Ho’
(WSJ) A Pussycat Dolls songwriter in LA worked with Rahman in Chennai over Skype. ‘We formatted it so his music would fall into our formats for verse and chorus.’ The original has been in the iTunes top 10 all week.
‘Slumdog’ lubricates creative process
(Campaignserver) Hornby: Every one-off hit like ‘Slumdog’ encourages editors to take creative risks. ‘With a lot of luck, this might find its audience.’ (ht: anonandon)
GOP chair sends Jindal ‘slum love’
(Politico) Sliwa: ‘They say, oh, that’s the slumdog millionaire, governor. So, give me some slum love.’ GOP chair Steele: ‘... some slum love out to my buddy.’ [Not to be confused with slum lovin’.]
Disneyland millionaires
(Tabloid) Boyle accompanied youngsters Rubina Ali and Azhruddin Mohammed to Santa Monica Pier. All the child actors went to Disneyland.
It takes an Oscar
(ToI) The gov’t will give the two main child actors from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ more habitable homes after the movie’s Oscars success.
‘Jai’ gig
‘Slumdog,’ the ‘Transformers’ of the Oscars
(Greatbong) Faced with a choice between dumb action flicks and elitist ones nobody watches, the Academy used their get-out-of-jail-free card with ‘Slumdog’: intellectually untaxing, visually spectacular and unabashedly exotic.
Was ‘Slumdog’ a one-off?
(BBC) Theories abound on ‘Slumdog’s’ success. Was it the recession? Was it that ‘Benjamin Button was a film about death whereas Slumdog Millionaire was a film about getting the girl and several million rupees’?
Life in the slums
(CBS Video) CBS ‘Sunday Morning’ segment on ‘Slumdog’ and Dharavi. ‘Time Out Mumbai’ film critic quoted.
Anoopdog Millionaire
Boyle needles Warner
(ToL) It is thought that Slumdog was the only Warner Indep. film to be sold to a third party. Boyle at Oscars: ‘I thank everybody at Warner Bros for passing the film on to the extraordinary guy at Fox Searchlight.’
Bollystar, Hollystar, Farhan Akhtar
(WSJ) Film critic dreams of a global film: big-name Bollystar + big-name Holly + director like Farhan Akhtar.
Hollywood glum over flukey ‘Slumdog’
(WSJ) ‘Slumdog’ is the kind of fluke that’s tough for Hollywood to replicate on demand... The entire evening was a parade for the film. The cast arrived en masse on the red carpet, and most every warm-up interview wove in some mention.
‘Slumdog’ points to globalized Hollywood
(NYT) The evening was dominated by a little film that none of the studio execs wanted — bystanders at their own party... ‘Slumdog’ was test-screened in OC w/no marketing, and the room loved it... I awkwardly namasted. ‘I’m going to have to learn that.’
Slumdog: Bandra
(NYT) Photo) Bandra neighbors of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, a child actor in ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ watched the Oscars telecast.
Mandvi toasts ‘Slumdog’
(Daily Show) Aasif Mandvi wanders into the Daily Show’s Oscars skit, still hung over from ‘Slumdog’ parties. At 2:50.
Priyadarshan slags off ‘Slumdog’
(NYT) Priyadarshan dissed ‘Slumdog’: ‘We are one of the foremost nuclear powers in the world, our satellites are roaming the universe.’ [Also, our road drains don’t work, and I’ve had a sequel made with midgets and circus clowns.] (ht: Jef)
India ‘desperate for recognition’
(LAT) ‘Slumdog’ is ‘a Hollywood version of a Bollywood myth that’s inverted and speeded up,’ but ‘whether it’s a spelling bee or the Oscars, we’re desperate for recognition.’
Brown claims ‘Slumdog’ success
(AP) UK PM: ‘Last night was a great night for Britain.’ ‘Chariots of Fire’ won 4 Oscars including best picture. It was 15 years before another British film, ‘The English Patient,’ took the top prize.
Doyle sharing the wealth
(ABC) Rubina’s father said that when the young girl returns to Mumbai later this week, she will attend a better school, as will Azharuddin. The family will likely be moving into a new home, too, also funded by the producers.
Seacrest whiffs
(TWOP) Instead of trying to say the ‘Slumdog’ child actors’ names, Seacrest just held up the list. Seriously? They GAVE you the names, how hard is it to read them off? These pint-sized cuties deserved better. (ht: brimful)
Lost in tarnation
(Tabloid) Ryan Seacrest just interviewed the kids from ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ It might have gone a little better if he prepped himself on their names first ... and knew they didn’t all speak English.
Honest movie posters
From 2 to 5
(WaPo) The # of Indian Oscar winners leapt by 3: with double winner A.R. Rahman for score and song, and Resul Pookutty, part of the sound mixing team. [Missing hat tips: Loveleen Tandan, Suketu Mehta.]
Bandra slum celebrates child actors
(AP) ‘My eyes couldn’t believe that I was seeing Rubina in America,’ said Saba Qureshi, Rubina’s best friend, squealing every time Rubina came on screen. The Bandra slum is nestled between a major road and filthy train tracks.
This palette is too monochromatic
(Gettyimages) A.R. Rahman surrounded by backup dancers at Oscars. The entire series misidentifies singer in yellow as M.I.A.
I came for the frequent flier miles
Smile Slumdogs
(NYT) Beaufoy rattled off a list of places he never expected to be — ‘the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here.’ ‘Slumdog’s’ 8 Oscars was the largest total since LoTR’s 11 in ’04. ‘Smile Pinki’ won the doc selection, and Pinki was present.
Tandan gracious over Oscar credit
(ToL) Loveleen Tandan: A group of women in Chicago said I was not getting the right credit or awards for co-directing the film. It was whipped up out of proportion. It was always meant to be Danny’s film.
Tangra masala
(Newsweek) My parents came from prosperous families in East Bengal and lost everything in the sectarian riots before India’s independence. We lived in a Tangra slum in Kolkata. [Learned English, got into journalism, now lives in Delhi gated community.]
‘Slumdog’ is a popcorn movie
(Calendarlive) I’ve been astonished at some of the anti-’Slumdog’ backlash, by those who want it to be a position paper from Human Rights Watch. Demanding that poor people rend their garments on screen is patronizing,
‘Slumdog’ Russian trailer
Shopping in Bandra
Dharavi not just a slum
(NYT) Dharavi is an economic miracle exporting as far away as Sweden. Tokyo’s low-rise, high-density mixed-use cityscape and intricate street network have emerged through a similar Dharaviesque logic.
Last UK big winner: ‘English Patient’
(Telegraph) Slumdog Millionaire will need to win all 10 nominations to beat The English Patient, which won 9 in ’97... Photo of the 2 child actors on way back from U.S. visa interview for Oscars.
Ravi rules the Oscars
(WaPo) The Oscars original songs medley will be driven by Rahman’s ‘Slumdog’ songs and played by 4 dholis incluing DJ Ravi Drums and African, Japanese and Chinese percussionists.
‘Slumdog’ is a formula
(NYT) For four of the last five years Searchlight has had a best picture nominee that’s both a scrappy little underdog and a specimen of an established mainstream breed. ‘Slumdog’ is a twofer, a coming of age comedy and a crime drama.
Pinto dating Patel: Kapoor
(HT) Rumors about Freida and Dev have been spreading ever since it was reported last month that the ex-model had dumped her fiance Rohan Antao. Anil Kapoor’s comment on the speculation came when he appeared on a US radio station.
‘Ghettodawg Chamillionaire’
(Nonlineardroppings) If ‘Slumdog’ were set in America: Oh Danny Boyle! An utterly unlettered black kid from West Baltimore donning an east coast preppie accent? You never fail to amaze!
AR Rahman on Jay Leno
Pinto on Leno
‘Slumdog’ babies coming to Oscars
(AP) The child actors from ‘Slumdog’ will be flown to Los Angeles and put up in a five-star hotel for two days during the Oscars.
Don’t bet on ‘Button’
(SF Chron) ‘Slumdog’ and ‘Milk’ will be seen years from now as art, while ‘Button’ is a decaffeinated ‘Gump,’ arguably Fincher’s fifth-best film, tied with ‘Panic Room.’
Mediocre ‘Slumdog’
(MoJo·L) ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ wore badly. The game show schtick frayed halfway through, and the rest of the contrivances were worthy of a mediocre cable drama. If this had been a Hollywood movie, no one would’ve given it a 2nd look.
Slumdogme 95
Is ‘Slumdog’ true?
(FT) Slum resident: beggar kids are no longer purposely mutilated... It’s ‘inconceivable’ that a tea-boy from the slum would be allowed onto a quiz show... The ‘Brahmin-dominated caste system reserves little honour for wealth creation.’
Chennai calling
(WaPo) Rahman’s ‘Slumdog’ score jumps from a punk song by the Clash to a Hindi anthem to an aching sitar solo. ‘It was really fresh ground for me’... he scored ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ and the Mandarin ‘Warriors of Heaven and Earth.’
Italy’s Bhojpuri
(New Yorker) Next to Naples crime docudrama ‘Gomorrah’, ‘Slumdog’ seems like an adventure vacation... Some Italian audiences required subtitles, so parochial is the Neapolitan dialect.
Scenes from Gautam Nagar
(New Yorker) Video from Gautam Nagar, a slum near the Mumbai international airport where ‘Slumdog’ was filmed.
Underdog millionaire
(Newsweek) No one thinks that ‘The Reader’ can beat ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ except Harvey Weinstein, who goes to voters’ homes with the DVD and makes them watch his movies. [And his ‘Bride and Prejudice’ wasn’t nominated? Curious.]
‘Slumdog’ win better for Beaufoy
(MSNBC) Do the names Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor and Frieda Pinto mean anything to anyone? [Um, yes.] A best picture win didn’t do much for the actors in ‘The Last Emperor.’ Simon Beaufoy might reap most of the benefit.
‘Slumdog Millionaire’s’ kid stars face uphill battle
Nate Silver predicts Oscars
(NY Mag) Silver: ‘Slumdog’ is a serious film, which the Academy favors. If there’s an upset, it will be Milk; guilt over Prop 8 and the Brokeback snub of ’06 could split the vote, with Boyle getting Director and Milk getting Picture.
‘Slumdog’ stars grounded
(Yahoo) The child stars of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won’t go to the Oscars because their parents refused permission. ‘They told us to give them the money for the plane fares instead.’
Noop dey it is
(Wral) There is even talk of ‘Anoopdog Millionaire’ merchandise for the 22-yr-old Desai. His mom Nalini said she has always watched the show but never phoned in to vote.
Ringa ringa
(Time) ‘Since Slumdog, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the sales of Bollywood ringtones,’ says a wireless muckamuck. (ht: Sapna)
Ebert’s Oscar predictions
(Suntimes) If you’re a star in India, Oscar doesn’t care. It takes place in a world that for many was long ago. But Indians are among us, the novels are popular, and it’s the most exotic which speaks English... Beaufoy will win because ‘Button’ rehashes ‘Gump.’
‘Slumdog’ day afternoon
(New Yorker) Amitabh Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty have criticized ‘Slumdog,’ but it’s is also set in TV production and features other stories of the rising middle class. Those who focus on the poverty are betraying their bias.
Another ‘Slumdog’ ka-ching
(NYT) ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won the Writers Guild of America award for best adapted screenplay, given to Simon Beaufoy. ‘Milk’ won best original.
‘Slumdog’s’ BAFTA count
(AP) ‘Slumdog’ won 7 BAFTAs including movie, director, music (for A.R. Rahman), adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing and sound.
Slumdogs unite!
(NYT) This is why ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has become America’s movie of the year. Americans ‘resent people who appear to be living high off a system dominated by insiders with the right connections.’
Written in 8 weeks, and reads like it
(WSJ) Vikas Swarup, Dep. High Commissioner to S. Africa, wrote ‘Q&A’ in 8 weeks. It sold modestly and was retitled ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ after the movie was planned. The film makes radical changes [from ‘Maximum City’].
Dharavi agitated
(Reuters) Dozens of Dharavites protested hit pictures of ‘Slumdog’ cast and crew with slippers at a protest near the slum.
Rang de basanti
(Vid) Freida Pinto on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, in a fitted yellow satin number. She gets him to do the closing credits dance steps, and it’s hilarious.
Pieces of Rahman
(NYT) 2 songs from ‘Slumdog’ could give the Oscars a Bollywood flavor. Part of each song will be played in a single production number... Hugh Jackman will sing in a Baz Luhrmann number.
Boyle wins Directors Guild
(LAT) The Directors Guild of America named Danny Boyle best director of ’08 for ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’
He got game
(Guardian) Dhaliwal: Bachchan’s reaction to ‘Slumdog’ is like Spike Lee getting hissy with Quentin Tarantino after he proved he could make hipper films about black people than Lee could. (ht: Shruti)
“Then Danny Uncle selected us"
(Rediff) Video: The young cast of slumdog millionaire, the way they live(d) and they talk about getting the role.
How to beat ‘Slumdog’ for an Oscar
(NY Mag humor) ‘Benjamin Button’ should talk about M.I.A.’s Tamil Tiger connection. Or does that crap only work in presidential campaigns?
Slumdog villain
(Tabloid) Anil Kapoor — aka Indian Regis — was on a mission to flex his wallet last night, rollin’ up to the most expensive Chinese restaurant in town, in the most expensive car in town — a Rolls Royce Phantom.
Every literalist has his day
(Reuters) A Bombay activist claimed he named stray dogs after the ‘Slumdog’ crew. <-- Activist here. Point of title here -->. Sound of missing the point: *whoosh.*
Mo’ money, mo’ ‘Millionaire’
Rahman, Sukhwinder performing at Oscars
(NDTV) A.R. Rahman will adapt ‘Jai Ho’ to the live orchestra for his stage performance. Sukhwinder Singh will sing. Lyricist Gulzar will also show. [And M.I.A.?] (ht: Sapna)
The salaams of the day
(Vid) The full SAG ‘Slumdog’ acceptance speeches. Freida Pinto thanks the child actors and Loveleen Tandan. Anil Kapoor touches Hannibal Lecter’s feet. At 0:37. (ht: Meg)
Mah sentiments, they be injured
(Vid) Court summons issued to ‘Slumdog’ director, producer, Anil Kapoor in Andheri, Bombay. In Hindi.
Toiletspotting
(Vid) The outhouse scene in ‘Slumdog’ is homage to this Ewan McGregor toilet scene from Boyle’s ‘Trainspotting.’
‘White Tiger’ over ‘Slumdog’
(Telegraph) If you want a real insight into this life, forget this crass movie and read The White Tiger. It is, of course, a middle-class mind-construct of its own, but it chimes much more closely with my experience of Indian poverty.
What India Hates Slumdog Millionaire
(VF) Kunaal Roy Kapur (‘The President is Coming), filmmaker based in Bombay, on ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’
The Kapoor SAGa
Phoning home via ET
SAG paneer
(Gettyimages Photos) ‘Slumdog’ crew at SAG Awards. Irrfan Khan in skinny tie, Freida Pinto in blue gown.
Kapoor goes nuts again
(LAT) At SAG Awards, standing ovation, and each ‘Slumdog’ kid gets a trophy. Patel was happy to meet his first film crush, Kate Winslet. ‘We won, we won, we won,’ Anil Kapoor shouted into his cellphone at international-call level.
Slumdog keeps on winning
(Warnerbros) Slumdig Millionaire wins the top honor at the Screenwriter’s Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture.
Weekend box office
(Reuters) ‘Underworld’ prequel: 2nd place with $20.7M. ‘Slumdog’ box office up 80% with screen expansion.
Dannyboyle millionaire
(LAT) ‘Slumdog’ wins best picture at Producers Guild awards. Produced for only $14M, it will likely gross $160M worldwide.
$15M ‘Slumdog’ up against $150M ‘Button’
(LAT) Warner Independent closed, and ‘Slumdog’ may have gone straight to DVD. Then Fox Searchlight acquired rights for $2.5M and is revenue-sharing with Warner.
Some slum people dont mind slumdog
(BBC) “I had never been to a cinema hall before I watched Slumdog Crorepati (the Hindi version of Slumdog Millionaire). I really liked the film." “I don’t know how the director, who has come from outside, knew these areas and our lives so well."
‘Slumdog’ hardly an indie
(Slate) Danny Boyle has had many U.S. hits, and ‘Slumdog’ has Irrfan Khan and Anil Kapoor. If people want to laud the movie, fine, but let’s not pretend it was constructed from duct tape and spit by the Little Match Girl.
‘Slumdog’ is the grandma movie
(Slate) ‘Slumdog’ is a cute, inoffensive crowd pleaser that no one hates. My warm glow gradually congealed into faint annoyance. It’s the grandma movie. It will split the best-song vote, making Peter Gabriel’s Wall-E ballad the default winner.
Bollywood burns with envy
(WSJ) That a foreigner has made a smarter, sharper and slicker film on their home turf upsets Bollywood... Nargis Dutt said Satyajit Ray sold poverty abroad. Sudheer Mishra’s ‘Dharavi’ told the story of a taxi driver.
Best pic nominees are all niche
(WSJ) ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ ‘The Reader,’ ‘Milk’ and ‘Frost/Nixon,’ combined have brought in only $105M worldwide. [Similar complaints about the Booker Prize.] Rahman has sold more than 100M albums but isn’t well-known in the U.S.
‘Slumdog’ millionaires
(LAT) ‘Slumdog’ could double its to-date gross of $44.7M when it expands this weekend to about 1,400 theaters from 582.
Not a kutta, saala
(AP) Slum kids picket outside Anil Kapoor’s pad: ‘I am not a slumdog. I am the future of India.’ (see photo)
Academy going indie
(NYT) Each of the films selected for a best-picture nomination represents the auteur ideal, in which a director is bankrolled and left alone. ‘Slumdog,’ the leader, features actors you wouldn’t know if they showed up on your doorstep. [Kapooooor!]
Ouch, E.T.
(Tehelka) In a scene depicting Mumbai riots, Boyle wondered if he should have the Hindus wear T-shirts with pictures of Ram. Tandan went with a little blue boy instead... During ‘The Terminal,’ Spielberg asked how she spoke English so well. (ht: Dev)
Obscure Oscar noms
(Tribune) The Academy decided Jai Ho’ and ‘O Saya’ from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ were worthy. Yes, why would you want to hype Springsteen, Eastwood, Cyrus and Beyonce when you have A.R. Rahman? [Err, thank you Chicago Tribune.]
Slumdog gets numerous Oscar nominations
(Oscar) ‘Slumdog’ gets Oscar nominations for best picture, director, cinematography, editing, score, 2 out of 3 best song noms (‘Jai Ho’ and ‘O Saya’), sound editing, sound mixing and adapted screenplay. None for acting.
Dev Patel on ‘Time Out New York’ cover
(Time Out) With Bombay you can’t really tip your elbow in and test the temperature, There’s freedom there, no one cares about jaywalking. You can spit anywhere you like.
“Aslum dog minaire,"
(BBC) Some of the kids behind the movie still live in slums, though they do have high hopes for their future."Danny Boyle [the film’s British director] wanted to show the truth in the movie. If we only had to show something wrong or negative about India then we
Slumdog walkies
(ToL) Slum tours gain popularity. A R Rahman soundtrack and warming filter not including with tour. [via]
Slumdog and the myth of self
(IHT) American individualism and power of self battered by economic crisis, transplanting to India. An explanation for the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire.
Million Dollar Dog
(Culture11) Some criticism of slumdog millionaire. Though the early part is a criticism of the rest of the critics who praised the movie. [via]
Indian ‘Slumdog’ wouldn’t have won
(Bigadda) Bachchan: ‘Slumdog’ projects India with a dirty underbelly, which thrives even in developed nations. It’s just that an idea authored by an Indian and directed by a Westerner gets Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not.
Golden Globes not representative
(Suntimes) The Golden Globes are a joke, with less than 100 voters vs. the Oscars’ 6,000. You only need 25 votes to win.
Shit and saffron
(CNN) Boyle says Bombay slums smell of shit and saffron. He filmed in Juhu slum by the airport, and Dharavi.
Marketing ‘Slumdog’ in India
Scumdog Million-Hair
Big studios grouse over GoGlos
(NYT) Most of the actors were a charming Z-list of talent that was British and Indian, unknown, washed-up or on the rise. Although ‘Slumdog’ ruled, the Globes have diverged from the Oscars in best picture 4 years running.
A solitary voice against ‘Slumdog’
(Spout) ‘Slumdog’ is ‘hectic and sloppy... rigid and somewhat boring structure...’ love story is ‘sorely lacking.’ Its production backstory makes it a true underdog, but like ‘Juno,’ a teen sex comedy sold as an art flick, the results are meager.
Interview with the empire
(Vid) Simon Beaufoy, ‘Slumdog’ screenwriter: ‘I wanted to write an unashamedly romantic film... I’m English, I wear my heart on my sleeve, then cover it with a velvet tux.’
F. Pinto blowin’ up
Aseem on ‘Slumdog’
(NPR) Asked if Boyle is insensitive or appropriating, Aseem Chhabra said no, beggar pimps are real... The Hindi dub of ‘Slumdog’ will be called ‘Slumdog Crorepathi.’
The man behind ‘Slumdog’
Salman Rushdie is not a ‘Slumdog’ fan
(NYT) Salman Rushdie discusses his Oscar picks , and while he ‘really likes the Batman movie’, he is ‘not a very big fan of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. [via]
Thanks for the script
(Latimeslatimes) The ‘Slumdog’ cast stopped by Fox Searchlight’s party at Craft in Century City. The chairman will attend the Mumbai premiere next week and marvels at Warner Independent giving him the indisputable Oscar front-runner.
‘Jai Ho’
Pundits throw pun fit
(AP) AP story: ‘Golden Globes go slumming.’ Oops, title pun sounds racist. Revised: ‘Slumdog hits the jackpot’: [via]
‘Slumdog’ producer swore on primetime
(LAT) Darren Aronofsky flipped off his star Mickey Rourke, and ‘Slumdog’ producer Christian Colson seemed to utter a four-letter word when music cut into his speech. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is now a favorite for multiple Oscars.
The unlikely ‘Slumdog’ story
(Vid) LA Times blogger: Warner Independent gave away the ‘Slumdog’ rights to Fox Searchlight and were planning on releasing it straight to video.
Interview with Danny Boyle, Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto
Predicting ‘Slumdog’ Golden Globe
(LAT) The Golden Globes are voted upon by the Hollywood Foreign Press Ass’n, outlanders comfy with foreign-set films as long as the pix are popular in Hollywood... ‘Slumdog’ has better music, but ‘Button’ has a lush, symphonic sound.
Borat, Shah Rukh and the Jonas Brothers walk into a theater...
(Goldenglobes) Shah Rukh Khan and Sacha Baron Cohen will present at Golden Globes tonight at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET. ‘Slumdog’ is up for best picture, director, screenplay and score.
‘Slumdog’ sweeps Critics’ Choice
(LAT) At the Critics’ Choice Awards, ‘Slumdog’ won best film, best director for Danny Boyle, best writer for Simon Beaufoy, best young actor/actress for Dev Patel and best composer for A.R. Rahman. ‘Milk’ won 2 awards.
Director’s Guild awards may define Oscars
(NYT) Many ‘Slumdog’ fans can’t name any of its stars. Star worship ‘has been replaced by a culture of worshiping directors,’ so the Director’s Guild Awards heavily influence the Oscars.
Audible planes
Co-director for ‘Slumdog,’ but not at awards
(WSJ) Loveleen Tandan cast ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and pressed to have a third of ‘Slumdog’ done in Hindi. A feminist launched a campaign asking why she wasn’t co-nominee for best director at the Golden Globes. The Oscars rarely waive that rule as well.
Pinto in ‘GQ’
Real-life slumdog
(Guardian) His mother poisoned for marrying below caste, his father ill, Raja fell into the clutches of a beggar pimp who beat him with a red-hot iron rod if he didn’t make Rs. 100/day. Now he’s a state football star. (ht: Sapna)
‘Slumdog’ wins best cinematography
(LAT) ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won the Nat’l Soc. of Film Critics award for best cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle). Best supporting actress: Hanna Schygulla for ‘The Edge of Heaven.’ Best pic: ‘Waltz with Bashir.’
M.I.A. too electropunk for Rahman
(WSJ) Rahman worked with M.I.A. for ‘Slumdog.’ ‘She speaks my language, but her sensibility is completely different.’ He’s working on scores for ‘Paani’ by Shekhar Kapoor and ’19 Steps,’ an English martial arts flick by Disney.
‘Slumdog’s’ Bollywood forebears
(VF) Boyle mimicks ‘Black Friday’s’ 12 minute police chase... ‘Q&A’ has the accidental tour guide take on a new name, Raju, homage to the hero of ‘Guide.’
Freida Pinto on Leno tonight
Financial meltdown is like ‘Slumdog’
(NYT) Rich: The whole financial system is as corrupt as the game show in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and straight answers are as elusive as those from Mumbai call centers.
‘Slumdog’ earns SAG nom
(CNN) The outstanding cast nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards went to ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ ‘Button,’ ‘Doubt,’ ‘Frost/Nixon’ and ‘Milk’
Maya ‘Millionaire’
(Imeem) M.I.A.’s ‘Paper Planes (DFA Remix’ set to clips from ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ in which it was used. (ht: brimful)
Top ‘Dog’
(TNR·L) Latin American soap operas and oldish Indian melodramas have heroes attempting to recover something taken from them. If there is any justice, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ — a third of which is in Hindi — will win best Oscar.
Om nom nom nom nom
L.A. critics do the ‘dog
(LAT) L.A. Film Critics Ass’n gives best music to A.R. Rahman, director to Danny Boyle for ‘Slumdog.’
‘Slumdog’ picks up NYFC award
‘Slumdog’s’ challenges
(NYT Nov.) Indian censors insisted no cops above the rank of inspector should be shown torturing. Doyle found Indian actors too muscular as they were aiming for post-Salman Khan Bombay.
Mehta hooked up ‘Slumdog’ with gangsters
(Dailybeast) Amitava Kumar: Suketu arranged for gangsters to protect the ‘Slumdog’ shoot. Young men stare glassily at a TV broadcasting the porn movie ‘Queen of the Himalayas.’ A man is selling a Hindi translation of the Starr Report.
Tharoor praises ‘Slumdog’
(HuffPo·L) In ‘Slumdog,’ ‘Ram Mohammed Thomas’ — Swarup’s Amar-Akbar-Anthony — becomes ‘Jamal Malik’... ‘A Passage to India’ had Alec Guinness in brownface and dhoti, warbling away as Prof. Godbole.
Nachle on ‘Today’
‘Slumdog’ star on Letterman
‘Slumdog’ on Letterman
India’s answer to Einstein
(Rediff) Anil Kapoor: ‘I am negotiating to make a Hindi version of Slumdog. The film then can reach millions across India.’ [The film is already largely in Hindi.] (ht: AP)
You can’t live on subtlety
(New Yorker) A.Lane: As with other mutt-flavored titles, ‘Slumdog’ sounds like a rock album that decided to become a movie. Subtlety is not its prime concern here: -Come away with me. -And live on what? -Love.
‘Slumdog’ makes poverty glossy
(Slate) As we learned in ‘A Mighty Heart,’ getting interrogated by Irrfan Khan is not the way to spend your evening... Like ‘City of God,’ ‘Slumdog’ aesthecizes the poverty it supposedly critiques.
There are crowds, and there are CROWDS
(WSJ) ‘Slumdog’ plays in the midst of such crowds as to suggest that every citizen of Mumbai found work as an extra. [Macaca please, that was just the vada pav line.]
‘Slumdog’ is highly multiculti
(NPR) ‘Slumdog’ is set in India, financed in Europe, made by Englishmen, features Muslim characters in Hindi, with a climax hinging on a French novel. If there’s any justice it will be a huge hit. (ht: RK)
Ebert seconds ‘Slumdog’ Oscar nom
(Suntimes) Ebert: ‘Slumdog’ combines the suspense of a game show with the energy of ‘City of God.’ I walked out of Toronto and flatly predicted it would win the Audience Award. It did. And it could land a best picture Oscar nomination.
‘Slumdog’ plausible for best picture
(Tribune) After last year’s black-hearted ‘No Country,’ the Oscars may well be in the mood to embrace a fairy tale like ‘Slumdog’... Anil Kapoor plays a perfectly unctuous weasel.
M.I.A., Rahman collab on ‘Slumdog’
(NY Mag) A.R. Rahman: M.I.A. had followed my work for ages. I said, cut this ‘my idol’ crap. You have to teach me... Directors usually want loud effects, soft music. Danny wanted it loud: ‘Never put a cello in my film.’
Bollywood ‘Millionaire’
(NY Mag) Colors pop out, music swells, the morally ambivalent characters atone. The capricious, teasing god of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ is kicked off the screen by the exuberant god of Bollywood
‘Slumdog’ is all flash, no heart
(Filmcritic) The energy often disguises a worn-thin narrative arc. India is a blur of epileptic neon.
As the flash of Boyle’s imagery loses its sugar high, the limp proposition it’s covering up becomes evident.
Boyle and the ceiling baby
(Eastbayexpress) Loveleen Tandan (who worked on ‘Brick Lane’ and Mira Nair’s ‘Vanity Fair’) co-directed. For the first time since the dead baby crawled across the ceiling in Edinburgh, Boyle has found the perfect match for his showboat visual sense.
Idi Amin’s cinematographer in Bombay
(Salon) The real star of the film is the ‘maximum city.’ Boyle had never visited India before and shot half in Hindi, which he doesn’t speak, with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (‘28 Days Later,’ ‘The Last King of Scotland’).