movie news and industry happenings

Good Lord.... Paris Hilton in Indian director's 'Mother Teresa'? Thiruvananthapuram | February 12, 2006 11:15:06 AM IST Well known Malayalam director T. Rajeevnath, scouting for a suitable actress to play the title role in his film on Nobel Peace laureate Mother Teresa, has sent feelers to American actress Paris Hilton. "My agents in California have contacted Paris Hilton," Rajeevnath told IANS. The director said he was impressed when he read a report sometime ago in which the hotel heiress said she had refused to pose nude in Playboy magazine and decided then to shortlist her. The English film will be mostly shot in West Bengal and in several foreign countries. "The preliminary script has been readied with help from scriptwriter John Paul," the director said. Rajeevnath, 54, has won a national award for direction, besides quite a few international awards. His popular films include "Moksham", "Janani" and "Thannal". "Mother Teresa" will be his 11th commercial film and he... ... has already sold this idea to a few international production houses including the US-based First Serve International. "I am leaving for the US early next month to finalise the producer. A few production houses have evinced interest in producing this film. The budget is expected to be in the range of Rs.500 million ($11.3 million) to Rs.600 million," he said. "Although there are several actresses willing to play the role of Mother Teresa, the most widely respected and loved person, the history of the actress who is finally chosen for the role would have to be analysed thoroughly before she is chosen," said Rajeevnath. "All those whom I have contacted have agreed to do their bit to help me in this film. The cast includes Mithun Chakravarthy, Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal and several others. Veteran cameraman Santosh Sivan has also been roped in. The Ramoji Rao Film city has pledged full support for the venture," added the veteran director. Among the specialties of the film would be the character of former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, whose association with Mother Teresa is well known. "The proceeds of the film would go to the Missionaries of Charity. By June this year, the groundwork for the film would be complete and I propose to begin shooting in early 2007," said the director. Rajeevnath expects to get the blessings of the Pope for the film and also hopes to sign in sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar as music director. (IANS) http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=247275&cat=Entertainment

Ioan Online takes a final bow and bids everyone goodbye - Please Read It is with great sadness that I write this message to you, the followers and fans of Ioan and to those that I have also considered friends for years. After nine years, it's time that Ioan Online is brought to a close. This will be the last month of its operation, concluding on April 30, 2007. I am asked to post this short note from Ioan: "April, please accept my deepest thanks for your superb work over nine years. I was really lucky that you decided to start up the site. It is impossible to put into words how much I have appreciated your enthusiasm and support -- your taste, professionalism and integrity are impeccable. We've had a great run and I've sure all the people that have visited the site were as impressed as I was. Thank you again, April, very, very much. Lots of love, Ioan" Friends, it has been a LONG road. Nine years is a long time to invest in promoting and spreading the word about an actor. After seven years, the expenses got too high and I was ready to close down. The site began to cost me more than I was willing to put into it anymore. However, this site is so extensive and had been a huge help to Ioan's career and image that he decided to fund the site so that Ioan Online could continue. For the last two years I have been contracted by Ioan to continue this site and continue doing what I do, which is promoting him with clips, photos, updates, everything. You could also refer to him as 'my boss'. I have. I was happy to do this for him and very proud that I had the chance. Ioan is the reason that this site has lasted this long. He is the one who has made these past two years possible. I was asked to keep the news about the funding to private channels only, but was recently allowed to give out this information to promote understanding. Ioan comes from a very close-knit family. They are a very trusting, sensitive yet very kind people. This site is very special to him because he endorses it and puts his money into its existence. However, the comments said lately about his fianc�e have become too much for him to continue to do this. I don�t think that it was one person�s comments that are to blame at all, but the combination of many things said here and elsewhere. IoanOnline was a safe haven, and a site that he cared about deeply. Quite simply, the comments here, and other places as well, have upset him greatly as well as those in his family. He has had a very long think about it, he has decided that he can no longer support a website that gives a voice to these types of comments. He understands the consequences. He knows that I can't support this site on my own, and I can't afford to work on it on my own time. Working on this site was something I liked to do, but it was also a job to me. It took up a ton of my time, and time is precious these days with growing kids and evolving interests. I simply don't have the time to give freely to this any longer. I have enjoyed many, many years of running this website and promoting Ioan as best as I could. Many hours I have sat here creating, updating, rearranging, denying rumors and even giving scoops when I'm able. I have often thought of myself as the bridge between the fans and Ioan. Promoting him and sharing his works has been a joy of my life and one that I won�t soon forget. This site has so much of 'me' in it. The forum is dear to me because of so many friendships I've held here, and so many good times shared. Closing it down breaks my heart but this is the direction that I must go for now. Perhaps one day Ioan Online will be back stronger than ever. Perhaps not. That, really, is up to Ioan. I knew that this website wouldn't last forever, but had really hoped that something so painful wouldn't be the cause of the site's end. I have handled this to the best of my ability in order to keep the site open and accessible to fans of Ioan internet-wide. I did what was expected of me for the good of the site because it was my job to. I am very sorry that some friendships got hurt, and things were so rough for a lot of us members who've been around a long time. I would like to say that I regard a lot of you with fond memories and will keep them close to me in the years to come. I will miss the fun, happy times we used to share here. I will miss you. For the newer members, I have such respect for you. You joined at a tumultuous time, weathered the storm and kept so positive about everything. I admire you for your perseverance and your thoughtfulness. I will miss you as well. Patricia, Alice and Lynn, I have valued your help here on the forums as moderators more than you can know. I have valued your friendship and I will look back on our times here together and smile at the good times that we�ve shared. One of the biggest memories to smile about is how we laughed at the comment once about me spending too much time in the kitchen. Maybe now I should make that silly comment come true. I also very much enjoyed sharing Farscape with you. Thank you for the fun times and I wish you all the best in the future. Kathyf and Hoss, your efforts to keep the Calendar and quotes sections updated are very much appreciated. Thank you so much for your efforts, friendship, and your years of support have meant so much to me. June, your gallery work over the years has been exemplary. There isn�t anyone who could have done a better job and that�s including me. Be proud of what you�ve accomplished there. It�s brilliant and it shines. Thank you so much for your caring efforts and friendship. I hold you in high regard. My time with IoanOnline has been the most rewarding time that I've spent in my online life, hands down. Thank you all for making it special. And I send a huge thank you to Ioan for making these times possible. I wish him the best in his continuing career and life. For now I want to spend more time with my kids, focus on my six-year-old and his developmental challenges, focus on my four-year-old and give him more attention. I want to have more free time and not worry about keeping tabs on a website 24/7. I want to play more games and I want to make more videos. I want to create. I want to spend time doing the things I enjoy doing, and the things that make me happy. I am tired of the pain and disappointment that this has brought me and everyone. Extremely tired. I need a break. For all of the new people and those still interested in Ioan, I have asked stevieT if she�d like to create a forum not connected to Ioan Online and she has agreed. I feel like it�s something I owe to the new people who have been so supportive and kind. I don�t have a wish to see people scattered to the four winds if they still have an interest in following Ioan�s projects. I will not be the Admin but I will help stevieT set it up if she needs it. This is �in the works� and information and link will be forthcoming when they are ready. Again, IoanOnline.com will come to an end on April 30 of this month. That's less than two weeks from now. Please make efforts to get your friends' contact information to keep in touch if you�d like, as once April 30 comes, there will be no way to do so on this site. My contact information will also change. You are welcome to respond to this post, but please, let�s not go out in anger. I don't think that will help anyone anymore and I personally would like to remember everyone with as many positive thoughts as possible. I leave you with some lyrics from a song by Madonna that I've found most appropriate right now. It has haunted me lately. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your efforts in making the Ioan Online community a thriving, beautiful place to hang out. "This used to be my playground This used to be my childhood dream This used to be the place I ran to Whenever I was in need of a friend Why did it have to end And why do they always say Don't look back Keep your head held high Don't ask them why Because life is short And before you know You're feeling old And your heart is breaking" Lots of love and best wishes to all - April from http://www.ioanonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13857