The current Evil Dead remake project has hit a snag. Star Lily Collins has reportedly dropped out of the movie.

The actress’ camp is citing scheduling conflicts as the main reason for her decision to let go of the project. This is a big blow to the remake of the Sam Raimi-directed horror classic. The remake also has Raimi behind it so it’s also a sought after project in Hollywood because of its pedigree.

No one has been talking about what exactly the scheduling conflict really is. But many think that the conflict may be with Collins’ promotion work for Mirror Mirror, one of the Snow White movies coming out. Another project Collins is involved in is the film adaptation of The Mortal Instruments, which will be directed by Scott Stewart.

Raimi will have to go back and look for a replacement for Collins. For the remake, Raimi won’t be sitting on the director’s chair, he’ll be donning the producer’s hat instead. Fede Alvarez has been chosen to direct the Evil Dead remake. According to the production schedule, filming should begin by March so that it will be ready in time for an April 2013 domestic release.  The script was co written by Alvarez with Rodo Sayagues with a little help from the renowned Diablo Cody.

Oh, and if you’re wondering why Lily Collins is in the film, rumors are the new remake will feature a femal lead. Yes, a female lead — think Ash with PMS.

Star Wars creator George Lucas said that he is planning to retire – from making big budget movies. He made this claim after production for his new movie Red Tail ended.

According to Lucas, “I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.”

George Lucas had a hard time making Red Tail, his World War II epic. The movie wasn’t refused by all of the major studios, forcing Lucas to finance the movie on his own and even publicize it himself. Lucas had such a bad experience that he said that he is not going to do any blockbusters (except for any future Indiana Jones sequels). He said he will just concentrate on smaller, experimental and esoteric movie projects that will be more at home in art house cinemas.

Another factor that has turned him off of big budget movies are the constant criticisms he’s getting from fans of his Star Wars movies. The main flak he’s been getting is from the constant tinkering he’s been doing with the movies. He said that he chose the path of independence but only traded the interference of major film studios for the harsh fanboy criticisms. Lucas defended his actions by saying that it’s his movie, and it has his name on it so he has the right to change it to the way he wants it. He said that there’s no point in making any more Star War movies if all he’ll get are the kind of negative comments from fans and pronouncements about what a “terrible person” he is.

Lucas’ friend, celebrated director Francis Ford Coppola, said that it’s time for Lucas to “show his other side” now that he’s proven his talents in making commercial movies.

The big question is, will Lucas really follow through with his plans? And will this mean he’s finished doing stuff to the Star Wars movies?

TorrentFreak, a popular Bittorrent news site, has recently listed the most pirated films of 2011. According to the TorrentFreak list, the most downloaded (pirated) movie that was released last year was Fast Five, the fifth installment in the Fast and The Furious series of movies. The movie, which stars Paul Walker and Vin Diesel (returning to the franchise after appearing in just the first movie), posted more than nine million downloads over the year. Following Fast Five, the second most downloaded movie was The Hangover II. Third place is Thor. Each movie saw eight million downloads. The other movies that are included in the top ten list are:

• Source Code
• I Am Number Four
• Sucker Punch
• 127 Hours
• Rango
• The King’s Speech
• Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows 2

An interesting fact about the list is that the movies that occupied numbers two through five in terms of box office receipts (the movies that earned the most money) – Transformers: Dark of The Moon, Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 – were not in the list of the most downloaded movies. The four movies earned a combined 3.4 billion dollars globally last year.

Another interesting trend is that the total volume of downloads for 2011 is lower than the downloads tracked for 2010. The total download volume tracked for 2010 was 92 million. Only 72 million was tracked for 2011. The trend was also seen in the number of television shows that were downloaded last year.

But more than the acquisition of a hot property, Hollywood is all abuzz because the terms of the agreement is just coming to light, and it’s one that Hollywood insiders are not comfortable with, to say the least.

According to the agreement between Ubisoft and Sony, the latter is giving Ubisoft a level of control over the film that has not yet been seen in other agreements. Ubisoft has approving authority over the film’s budget, the principal cast, the final script and even the release date. This level of control is unheard of, Hollywood insiders even mentioned that even top tier directors are not given the level of control Ubisoft was given. A number of studios that have showed interest in the Assassin’s Creed property backed off when it found out the demands Ubisoft wanted for the deal. Only Sony agreed to the stipulations set by the gaming company, hence it got the deal to make the Assassin’s Creed movie.

The big question is will this set a precedent for other companies that are sitting on a much-desired property that Hollywood wants to turn into a movie?

It seems every time you turn around the nine candidates trying to secure the party’s nomination are attempting to out-conservative each other. No matter the issue – from immigration to taxes to health care – the contenders seem to be pushing the envelope further and further to the right to appeal to an ultra-conservative base of voters.

Ayn Rand was an ideologue who used her pen to craft a story that embodied her unbending philosophy of self-reliance, free-market capitalism and a laissez-faire government apparatus. The movie adaptation of her book was heralded by conservative voices as a must-see for any true Republican voter. However, when it was released earlier this year, Atlas Shrugged hit movie theaters with a thud.

Atlas Shrugged never made it to a full-theater release and at the height of its run showed in less than 500 theaters. As a result, it grossed only about $5 million – a fraction of the costs associated with the movie’s production. Two sequels were in the works, but it remains unclear whether they will actually be made now.

Without a doubt, Ron Paul, a 12-time Congressman, is the most closely associated with Ayn Rand’s philosophy. As a Libertarian, Paul shares many of the hands-off attitudes Ayn Rand had toward government in relation to issues of business and industry. It’s not hard to imagine half the people who turned out for Atlas Shrugged at a movie theater wearing a Ron Paul shirt.

However, while Paul considers Ayn Rand a great influence he also distances himself in interviews from some of her more militaristic viewpoints. These attitudes toward homosexuals and certain foreign entities are much more in line with Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry’s respective stances on domestic and foreign relations, particularly regarding social issues.

In the end, it is Ron Paul who is stuck with the specter of Ayn Rand. And with approval polls hovering around 1 percent for the Texas Libertarian, it does appear he is facing challenges similar to those felt by the producers of Atlas Shrugged.

When he died of drug-related heart failure, River Phoenix was working on a drama called “Dark Blood” for Sluizer. It tells the story of a desert hermit living near a nuclear testing site waiting for the world to end. When a Hollywood couple on a driving honeymoon breaks down nearby, Phoenix’s character “Boy” takes them prisoner because he desires the woman and wants to create a better world with her, according to an IMDB summary.

Sluizer – who directed the Jeff Bridges and Kiefer Sutherland psychological thriller “The Vanishing” – told The Hollywood Reporter he still has the original film footage from “Dark Blood” and has re-edited it. Sluizer said he believes with some voice over work he can deliver a final version to be released next year.

He plans on asking River Phoenix’s brother Joaquin to assist. “The voices of both brothers are very much alike,” Sluizer, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Before his death at 23, River Phoenix had roles in 24 movies. In honor of his return to the silver screen, here’s a list of favorite performances:

• Stand By Me: In many people’s minds, Phoenix’s performance as the tough, yet vulnerable, Chris chambers was his best ever. The 1986 drama told the story of a group of young boys who go on a journey to view the body of a missing child who had been hit by a train.
• My Own Private Idaho: Starring opposite Keanu Reeves, Phoenix played Mike Waters in the 1991 movie directed by Gus Van Sant. The poignant drama tells the story of two Portland street hustlers who are best friends in a troubled relationship.
• I Love You to Death: Phoenix plays Devo Nod, the young friend of a middle-aged woman who repeatedly tries to have her pizza shop owner husband killed due to his infidelity. The comedy starred Kevin Kline and Tracey Ullman.
• The Mosquito Coast: In this Harrison Ford movie, Phoenix plays Charlie Fox, the son of an eccentric inventor who sells his house and moves his family to Central America to build an ice factory in the middle of the jungle.
• Sneakers: Phoenix has a supporting role as Carl Arbogast in this light spy-thriller starring Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Dan Aykroyd.

About Author

Stanford Diligence wishes he was Clint Eastwood because that would be boss, beside spending day and night into movies, you can find Stanford doing UFX Markets Trading, screening, couch casting, writing, singing and other activities. He learned a lot of market trading methods from an old hollywood star which he wants to keep a secret.

ForeverGeek, the go to place for all things geeky on the internet, has recently opened the ForeverGeek forum. ForeverGeek is a wonderful site filled with geek-related news and info and the new forum is a natural extension of a site that has thrived on geek appeal. The ForeverGeek forum will be filled chockfull with new discussions on various movies and films. Film geeks will be able to discuss films and even actors with other people with the same interest, which will make for a fun discourse on topics that are interesting, fun and sometimes irreverent.

Of course, the ForeverGeek forum is not just limited to film talk. Other topics and subjects that are of interest to geeks with different interests also have dedicated sections in the ForeverGeek forum, like gaming, gadgets, anime and even a general section where any kind of random geek questions or topics can fit in. This is the new home for the geek.

Privacy concerns become a bigger issue now that Netflix is trying to integrate with Facebook so you can allow your Facebook friends to automatically know what movie you are watching, liked, and what movies you have seen in the past.  It might sound like a neat way to keep up with what your friends are watching, but with major privacy concerns and the 1988 law looming over Netflix, even the FTC has expressed concerns over this social interaction.

This is not the first time Netflix has faced privacy issues with the FTC, however.  Recently, Netflix ran a contest for analysts to examine over 500,000 Netflix users and their movie watching habits, to try to predict what movies they would want to see next.  For the company it was a huge success, but when the FTC put their foot down, Netflix had to cancel their second attempt to run a similar contest.

According to the Video Privacy Protection Act, someone who rents a video has to sign a consent form in order for the video rental company to be able to reveal what movies that person has rented from them, and now that Facebook is wanting to reveal this information without a consent form, it is causing quite a stir with privacy activists.  Netflix is claiming that the law is too generic to apply to their situation, but they are not the only ones facing privacy issues over this right now.  Facebook has already been to this rodeo before.  In 2007, Facebook’s integration with Blockbuster revealed what users were watching on the video rental site, and the result was a big, fat lawsuit.  The social networking giant also revealed other activity from a user when visiting websites other than Facebook, but the case was eventually resolved with a settlement.

Netflix users need to know that the company keeps a record of every movie you rent from them.   And it’s not quite as anonymous as you might think.  Even though the 1988 VPPA law is restricting the video rental company from distributing your renting habits now, this could all change in the near future, as privacy becomes a more difficult thing to protect.  It seems that privacy is always the thing needs to be sacrificed in order for technology to march on, but hopefully advancements in the protection of privacy will also stem from the surge of technological achievement.  Until then, Netflix will keep trying to find a way to integrate with Facebook, as this would greatly increase their exposure.  Although, according to their fanpage, many Netflix users are still angry at the price increase and they are not likely to be a source of much sympathy.

John is a writer for a website that compares the best identity theft protection services and writes reviews like Trusted ID reviews to help consumers better protect their identities.

More Matrix Movies?

It would seem that at a recent event in London Keanu Reeves stated that he had been out to lunch with the Wachowski brothers and that talks of two more Matrix movies were held. According to the insider at the event the brothers have the script to split into two not three movies and that Reeves has the potential to once again take on the Neo character. Whilst the first Matrix movie was an awesome film it is safe to say that the two sequels were more about the cash cow than anything else. It wasn’t so much that they were bad films they were just not as enjoyable as the first and they went way too overboard on the special effects.

The other rumor that has come of this is that the brothers have also met up with James Cameron to discuss pros and cons of 3D and are once again looking to push the boundaries of 3 dimensional film making (much as Cameron did with Avatar).

In terms of this being true it has only come from one person that has stated that Reeves has said this and there has been no confirmation either way as of yet.

Kick-Ass 2 In The Works?

Another big rumour to hit the world over the past couple of weeks (thanks to British newspaper the Daily Mail) is that the Kick-Ass 2 screenplay is being worked on by Jane Goldman. Kick-Ass was easily my top movie from 2010 and when I spotted this I simply had to dive in to do a bit more research. Sadly what I found was nothing more than false promises from a newspaper (surprise, surprise).

First of all she only co-wrote the first movie with Matthew Vaughn and it was based on a comic book and not a cartoon (as the mail had said). This I already knew and I should have known that this fact would have been one to stop me from getting too excited.  Mark Millar and John Romita Jr, authors of the comic book are planning to write a sequel but until this has been done how can the screenplay be written?

This doesn’t mean that Kick-Ass 2 won’t happen but things need to be starting soon before Chloe Moretz who plays Hit-Girl gets too old for the role.

Batman Rumours

A lot of rumous have been going around recently on who will be in the next Batman movie, who is going to play what character and what the story is going to be based around. Decisions have been made and actors have stepped forward to take on the roles too.

It would seem that Anne Hathaway is set to be cast as Selina Kyle (Catwoman). No reference to Catwoman has currently been made so perhaps we will see a transition much like we did with Harvey Dent and Two Face in A Dark Knight.

Also confirmed is Tom Hardy as Bane. Hardy has more recently been seen in the blockbuster hit Inception and this time it looks like Bane will be played in the way he was supposed to be played, a ruthless, intelligent criminal that is more than a match for Batman. I try not to think about when he was played alongside Poison Ivy.

Rumors of the Riddler and Penguin have fizzled out and people think that Nolan didn’t want to go after a character that is too similar to the Joker as he would have been compared to the fantastic performance that Heath ledger put in.

Another rumor that has been started is that there is a possibility of Batman 4 from Nolan and Bale. Neither has confirmed that this is the case but it is also safe to say that neither has stated that they will not do another sequel.

Bond 23

The safe thing to say is that finally this movie has had confirmation and both Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes (director) are returning for another go. Whilst the speculation is that the movie will conclude a trilogy of events there has been no formal word to whether this is true or not. Other rumors are that Rachel Weisz is set to play the villain in the movie (this is an old rumor that started back in March 2010) and that the movie title could be one of the following:

Red Sky At Night, The Property Of A Lady, Risico and The Hildebrand Rarity.

Arnie Is Back?

Another rumor that has been confirmed is that Arnold Schwarzenegger is making a return to acting. Although stating that he has no intentions of returning to action movies that made him famous (booo) he has stated that he is reading three scripts that he is currently interested in.

So there you have it, the rumors and the real truth behind them all. Are there any rumors you have heard recently that you are unsure of, let me know and I will see if I can find out for you!

Guest Bio: Ryan is a internet marketer working for a company that deal with finance lease. If you want to follow him on Twitter you can find him @ ryanogs.

The team of Infographiclabs created this most successful movies infographic for us and ForeverGeek.

Click the image for larger view.

I’m never a fan of real-life action mixing with animation, and after viewing the brief trailer, I have no reason to believe this movie will turn me into a believer.

The good news is that Hank Azaria (always a pleasure to watch) will play the evil Gargamel and Neil Patrick Harris will play an expectant father who has his world turned upside down by the Smurfs.
The plot consists of the Smurfs tumbling out of their magical world into our own and looking to find their way back, all while evading Gargamel.

Other players include Kenan Thompson, Katy Perry (in her first “acting” role), Wolfgang Puck, Alan Cumming, John Oliver, Fred Armisen, Jeff Foxworthy, Sofía Vergara, Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Paul Reubens, B.J. Novak, Anton Yelchin, Jayma Mays, and Adam Wylie.

I’m not sure if this movie will tank or not, but I do know that Smurfette is gonna be hot in 3D!

Can’t wait a whole year to get Smurf’d?  Get your blue fix at SmurfHappens.com.

It’s the first time I’ve seen this Twitter pay-for play, and I don’t like it one bit.

Currently, a visit to Twitter will show you that “Toy Story 3″ is trending. You would think that a decade of anticipation would be enough, but the head honchos at Disney decided to hedge their bets and pay for placement.

Part of Twitter’s societal impact is because it is the ultimate media filter, putting “regular people” in the driver’s seat. By allowing companies to pay for a homepage presence, and appear amongst “free” content, a line is being blurred. It’s unfair to say a topic is trending if no one is talking about it. (Though I’m sure people are talking about tomorrow’s TS3 opening).

Learn more about the Twitter ad model.

Pixar/Disney have also allegedly resorted to a viral video campaign that places the newly created character, Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear, in a series of 1980′s TV ads. That would be akin to me appearing at the premiere of a Charlie Chaplin movie. The “Bear” ads were uploaded by a user who also posted a series of real 80s products…pretty slick.

New merchandise means new money, and in this department, TS3 is taking no chances. Thirteen new characters are being introduced tomorrow, meet them here.

Host Aziz Ansari from NBC’s Parks and Recreation led the bleeping show, which featured about a thousand curse words that were “censored.”

Twilight stars led the award-winning pack but Sandra Bullock stole the headlines with her first appearance since getting dogged by Jesse James. A kiss on the lips with Scarlett Johansson should help the soon-to-be-divorced Bullock move on.

In my opinion, Tom Cruise (as fictional movie exec Les Grossman) and J. Lo stole the show with an entertaining and amusing dance number. Take note fallen stars…this is how you reclaim your stardom.

Here is a full list of winners, chosen by fans:

Best Female Performance: Kristen Stewart (New Moon)

Best Breakout Star: Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)

Best Scared as Sh*! Performance: Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer’s Body)

Best Kiss: Stewart and Robert Pattinson (New Moon)

Best WTF Moment: Ken Jeong (The Hangover)

Best Villain: Tom Felton (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

Biggest Badass Star: Rain

Best Male Performance: Pattinson

Best Comedic Performance: Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover)

Best Movie: New Moon

Open to everyone from students to professionals, the grand prize is a cool $5,000 and a meeting with the industry pros. Secondary prizes are awarded to students, the best original score and a People’s Choice Award.

Judges include acclaimed producers and Oscar-winning directors. This is a great way to get your work in front of the general public and potentially flag the attention of well-connected industry insiders.

View and vote on entries here.

Matthew Vaughn, who recently directed the box office bust “Kick-Ass,” will take control of the the next “X-Men.”  Singer stays on as a producer.

The big question comic book fans are asking if whether or not “X-Men: First Class,” which will give moviegoers a taste of Professor X and Magneto before they had superpowers, will be released in 3-D.

Would you pay a few dollars extra to see the characters jump off the screen?

Other potential “comic book” movies getting the three-dimensional treatment are “First Avenger: Captain America,” “The Avengers” and “Thor.”

Corey Haim, the troubled teen idol, died from a possible drug overdose last Wednesday. Haim was brought to Providence St.  Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California in order to perform attempts to revive him and save his life. But the efforts were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at 3:30 am. He was 38 years old.

Haim gained popularity starring in many 80s movies, his most popular being the Joel Schumacher directed The Lost Boys where he starred opposite Corey Feldman. Both Haim and Feldman appeared together and separately in many 80s movies and both have also struggled with drug addiction. The two got reunited when they did the reality show The Two Coreys in 2007, but it was canceled.

Haim was born in Toronto in December 23, 1971.

If last July’s announcement from Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures will be our basis, then Raimi is going to direct a movie based on the geek-attracting Warcraft universe. Many a geek have lost sleep playing the excellent real time strategy games of Warcraft, and we haven’t even touched on the kind of insane obsession people have on World of Warcraft, the MMORPG that has been the cause of many breakups, divorces, and a growing number of 20 year old virgins.

The Warcraft universe would really be perfect for Raimi, whose vision is perfect for the kind of high fantasy world that Warcraft will absolutely require. Even though a screenwriter has also been announced last October (Robert Rodat, who wrote The Patriot) and the film is in the outline/story phase it looks like Raimi actually hasn’t made a final decision yet. It seems that the Spider-Man announcement took some of the wind off his sails and he’s now reconsidering all of his options before committing fully to a project. Rumblings are that he is leaning towards making a small film first — maybe to take the slimy taste off his mouth after being shafted by a big movie studio — especially since he had a lot of fun making “Drag Me To Hell.” But, again, everything’s still up in the air.

I think it’s high time that Scorsese starts receiving these awards to commemorate his achievements in filmmaking. the man is a superstar and one of the most brilliant directors of our time. Many of his films can be considered as some of the most important masterpieces of our time. I’m a huge fan of Scorsese and his films transcend fads and trends and are things of beauty.

I think it is wonderful that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (whose votes the Golden Globe Awards are based on) have seen it as the appropriate time to give Scorsese a well deserved award.

Swayze was 57.

Swayze was diagnosed to have stage 4 pancreatic cancer in January 2008. Even though he was sick and and with the cancer spreading to his liver, he still managed to work and completed filming for his TV series The Beast.

He will be forever remembered for Dirty Dancing and Ghost.

Rest in peace, Mr. Swayze.

We always knew “Bruno” would be controversial and what’s happened in Britain and Ukraine is just more proof that not everyone can handle the film.

According to Reuters, Ukraine has banned “Bruno” from being shown in theaters and sold in DVDs after its culture ministry commission decided that the film “included an artistically unjustified exhibition of sexual organs and sexual relations, homosexual acts in a blatantly graphic form, obscene language, sadism, anti-social behavior which could damage the moral upbringing of our citizens.” The commission’s decision is not surprising since Sacha Baron Cohen’s previous film “Borat” was also banned in Ukraine. Time reported that Deputy Culture Minister Tymofiy Kokhan, head of the commission, told them that 9 out of the 14 commission’s experts voted to ban the film. Evhen Minko, chief editor of media-watchdog magazine Telekritika,is however concerned because he says that the comission’s decision shows that they do not understand the film at all. Taras Karasiychuk, director of the Gay Alliance of Ukraine, stated though that the comission’s decision was not really out of a moral standpoint but to earn points with the elections coming up. He says, “It’s more populism than a desire to protect morals.”

Meanwhile in Britain, where the film is enjoying great popularity, Universal Studios decided to release an edited version of “Bruno” so that younger audiences can see the film. The edited version, which will be just about 2 minutes shorter the original version, will open in British theaters in July 24 and can be seen by anyone 15 and above. Now this decision clearly does not show intolerance or ignorance but sound judgement.

The “Moneyball” script was written by Oscar-winners Soderbergh and Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List). It is based on the Michael Lewis’ non-fiction novel about the Oakland Athletics and their GM Billy Beane. According to Amy Pascal the decision to back out was due to the fact that they got “a much different final draft” than the one they agreed to produce. It must be so different for them to decide to pull the plug when it was already scheduled to shoot tomorrow in Phoenix.

Director Steven Soderbergh and star Brad Pitt is now left scrambling around looking for another studio to fund the film. No news yet as to how they are doing on this one but you can be sure that for them this whole fiasco came from the left field.

As for Columbia only the film coming out and the box office will tell if they made the right decision or if they’ll be regretting it all when “Moneyball” starts raking in cash. Of course, that’ll only happen if “Moneyball” actually gets to go on production.

Last week it was Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail’s home that was demolished by the municipal crews. Early today it was Rubina Ali Qureshi’s house. Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail played the young Salim while Rubina Ali Qureshi played the young Latika. In a very sad case of life imitates art Rubina tearfully told the Associated Press, “I’m feeling bad. My house had been demolished. I’m thinking about where to sleep.” So much for the applause what these kids is a clean safe home where they know they just won’t get evicted without being given notice, which is what happened according to Rubina’s stepmom Munni Qureshi. Qureshi says that the police did not give any notice before the demolition. In fact Rubina, who was in a nearby market when the demolition started, ran back as soon as she heard the news but returned only to find rubble. It’s not as if she could do anything about it and judging from the police’s heavy handed tactics, which lead to Rubina’s father getting beat for resisting,she was better off not being there during the whole process. Of course that doesn’t give any comfort when night falls and they end up huddled together under the stars with no roof over their heads…

A lot of really old films are really great but I have to admit that I am one of those who find myself not giving most of them a chance. Scorsese knows this and that is why his foundation is working so hard to expose people to old masterpieces. As Scorsese said in a press con in France, “To be appreciated, they have to be seen. Now, they should be seen as they were intended to be seen, but audience awareness can build in surprising ways…The more audiences see these films, the more they want to see other films like them, then what happens is the audience changes, which means the movies that are being made change.”

Along with Martin Scorsese other celebrated directors such as Abbas Kiarostami, Wim Wenders, Stephen Frears, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu, who all serve in the board of the World Cinema Foundation, are very much active in pushing for the preservation of old obscure films.

The Slumdog kids now evidently the new Hollywood darlings. When they got home, however, it was back to reality. Sure they were given a heroes welcome with huge crowds waiting at the airport and in the streets of Mumbai waiting to greet them, but when it was time to go home it was back to the slums they went.

The good news is that Amarjeet Singh Manhas, the chairman of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, said that Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail are going to be given a new apartment in the suburbs of Mumbai. That was a few days ago and still no news. You would think that with all the money they helped make the producers would dole out a bit more to give them nicer digs – FAST. After all when those in power want something to happen even just a place for rent takes less than a week to find. Hopefully though the good news will come soon.

On a sadder note Azharuddin was given a reality check when father Mohammed Ismail slapped and kicked his son in public (See article Scumdad Millionaire for photos and details). It is said that it happened due to Azharuddin not wanting to go out and instead rest when his father ordered him to do otherwise. A shocker some claim but remember that these kids live in the real world. The father has apologised but still it is not an excuse. Yes. It may be a reality check but this kind of thing is one of the realities we hope will change wherever in the world you may live.

Not wanting to end in a sad note the latest good news connected with the movie is that child sponsorship in India has risen! The sponsors money goes to the education and health care of kids in need. Now called the “slumdog effect’ we hope that the ripples will reach farther and farther as more people see the movie.

According to Milk’s producers though that is quite alright since their goal in making the movie is not so much to make money (though we can be sure they wanted to make enough to at least make a profit!) but to be able to tell the world about Harvey Milk’s story. They seem to have succeeded at that but we’ll have to see just how lasting and huge its impact will be. For the young gay and women who have been inspired by the movie we can be sure at least that there is more awareness about the role Harvey Milk played to help advocate social change.