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Ranbir Kapoor Was Once Harshly Turned Down By Natalie Portman (Photo Credit – Instagram)

Ranbir Kapoor is an exceptional actor who has given phenomenal performances in his career and many more. Bollywood is inspired by and looks up to Hollywood and the actors there. Ranbir is also among those who admire their work. His picture of kissing Robert de Niro’s knee went viral on social media, but did you know he once had an awkward interaction with the Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman? Keep scrolling for the deets.

For the unversed, Natalie has worked with the late actor Irrfan Khan in the movie New York, I Love You. It was an anthology film with multiple short films by several directors. Her story was directed by Mira Nair. She has received numerous accolades and awards, including the Oscar for her performance in the Black Swan. Meanwhile, Kapoor comes from a long line...

Named “The Netflix for Indie Film” by The Wall Street Journal, Fandor’s goal is to preserve film art and culture.

I love blockbusters as much as the next guy (probably more!), but sometimes it’s nice to break out of the mainstream and watch something a little more elevated. If you’re a cinephile who seeks substance over blockbusters, Fandor might be just what you’re looking for.

Specializing in indie films, international cinema, documentaries, and classic movies, Fandor gives viewers a curated experience for film buffs who appreciate the artistry and diversity most larger platforms don’t offer. With films from acclaimed directors and hidden gems from around the world, it differentiates itself from services like The Criterion Channel and Kanopy by offering a broader range of indie-focused content. Whether you’re into arthouse films or hard-to-find international flicks, Fandor promises a unique viewing experience you won’t find anywhere else.

Taiwan-born actor Shu Qi has completed production of her feature film directing debut, “Girl.”

While plot and cast details of the new film remain under wraps, “Girl” is Shu Qi’s original story that she wrote and directed after a prolonged development period. Shu Qi does not appear in the film.

The picture is financed by Taiwan’s Cmc Entertainment, Wow momentum, J.Q. Pictures and Aranya Pictures, and produced by Mandarin Vision. The film is executive produced by Yeh Jufeng, a Midas-like producer behind “A Sun,” “The Great Buddha+” and the Shu Qi-starring “The Village of No Return.”

The film is expected to be completed at an unspecified date in 2025. Mandarin Vision also serves as the film’s international sales agent, outside mainland China.

“I am so happy that the filming is wrapped. I look forward to sharing this film with audiences everywhere,” Shu Qi said in a prepared statement.

Pluto TV, Paramount’s free streaming service, has revealed its May highlights. The Pluto TV May 2024 schedule includes Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming, more anime content, new channels, and new film additions.

Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience.

The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies. It offers a wide array of genres, languages, and categories featuring movies, television series, sports, news, lifestyle, kids, and much more.

Pluto TV can be easily accessed and streamed across mobile, web, and connected TV devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Pluto TV’s growing international footprint extends across three continents and over 35 markets.

Pluto TV May 2024 Programming

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, And Pacific Islander Heritage Month

To pay tribute, Pluto TV...

The first two seasons of Master of None were defined by unpredictability. While the larger arc of each season tended to involve the love life of Dev, a modestly successful actor played by Aziz Ansari — who co-created Master of None with fellow Parks and Rec alum Alan Yang — individual episodes could take place anywhere and be about anyone. One installment might be a black-and-white homage to neorealistic Italian cinema where Dev learns to make pasta, while another might be the story of Dev’s friend Denise (Lena Waithe) gradually coming out to her family.

The title “Gaza Mon Amour” carries threatening echoes of those cutesy auteur short anthologies in which assorted drifting souls find love in the same scenic city streets. Happily, Palestinian twin filmmakers Arab and Tarzan Nasser’s entirely self-contained feature is nothing so slick or glib, though it boasts internationally flavored romantic whimsy in spades. Mixing a minor-key midlife love story with gently politicized farce against the turbulent backdrop of the Gaza Strip, the Nassers’ amiably shaggy film does, in fact, feel a little like a gossamer-weight short that has been stretched to breaking point at a hair under 90 minutes — only just sustained by its vivid sense of place and the unforced charisma of stars Salim Daw and Hiam Abbass.

Such charms have made “Gaza Mon Amour” well-liked on the festival circuit: It secured spots at Venice and Toronto in the fall, before being named Palestine’s submission for the international feature Oscar.

Mumbai, Oct 19 (Ians) Acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur says many filmmakers call him with complaints about how several Ott executives try to control them without even knowing the field properly.

The director, who is President of the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (Ftii) Society, and Chairman of the institute's governing council, is going to try and rectify the situation.

"So many filmmakers calling me complaining about production executives at Studios and Ott's telling them what to do, but with no knowledge of filmmaking. I am going to suggest a 'Producing and Film Appreciation Course' at the f@FTIIOfficial as prerequisite for studio executives," Kapur tweeted.

Last month, Kapur was announced as the President of Ftii Society, and Chairman of its governing council.

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, had tweeted to confirm the news: "Happy to inform that renowned international film personality #ShekharKapur has been appointed as...

Rose McGowan is accusing Natalie Portman of being in “fake support of other women” after she accessorized her 2020 Oscars look with the names of all the female directors who were not recognized by the Academy.

While walking the red carpet Sunday, Portman, 38, wore a black cape embroidered with the names of several female directors like Greta Gerwig and Lulu Wang who were snubbed for Best Director nominations — which activist and actress McGowan said she found “deeply offensive to those of us who actually do the work.”

On Tuesday, McGowan spoke out against Portman’s fashion statement on Facebook, asserting her...

Rose McGowan called Natalie Portman a “fraud” for her Oscars ensemble that featured the names of snubbed female directors, including Greta Gerwig, Marielle Heller and Lorene Scafaria.

“The kind of protest that gets rave reviews from the mainstream media for its bravery. Brave? No, not by a long shot. More like an actress acting the part of someone who cares. As so many of them do,” McGowan wrote on Facebook. “I’m not writing this out of bitterness, I am writing out of disgust. I just want her and other actresses to walk the walk.”

Though Portman has been vocal about the industry’s lack of attention toward female filmmakers (only five woman directors have ever been nominated in the 92-years history of the Oscars), McGowan wrote that Portman’s recent fashion statement was “deeply offensive” to activists like herself.

McGowan called out Portman for only working with two female...

Here are a few interesting and/or noteworthy projects that were recently added to IMDbPro's database of development titles.

Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing – Nicole Kidman plans to produce and star in a remake of Alan Pakula's lesser-known love story about a young American abroad who strikes up a May-December romance with a British tourist. The film holds a special place in the actress' heart, as it also inspired hubby Keith Urban's hit album and tour, Love and Pain and the Whole Crazy Thing.

Annie – It's definitely not a hard-knock life for Will Smith's kids. The mega-star who helped kick start young Jaden Smith's movie career with last year's Karate Kid now has plans to produce an adaptation of the popular Broadway musical about Little Orphan Annie for his daughter Willow.

Apostles of Infinite Love – It's been a busy week for actor-filmmaker Richard Ayoade, who was recently tapped to adapt a feature version of Dostoevsky's The Double and who's debut film Submarine is currently screening at Sundance. Ayoade is also eying a directing gig for this family drama written by Victoria Strouse about three siblings trying to stop their youngest sister from a cult. Ben Stiller's producing via his Red Hour Films.

Sex on the Moon – Hot off their Golden Globe win for The Social Network, producers Scott Rudin, Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti are now going for the "Moon." The trio have optioned Ben Mezrich's upcoming nonfiction book about a NASA employee who convinces his intern girlfriend to steal moon rocks from the space program's heavily-secured headquarters.

Bigger Than Jesus – New York, I Love You producer Pamela Hirsch and her big apple-based Birdland Film have cast veteran Irish thesp Ciaran Hinds in Terry Loane's indie flick about a small time crook who recruits a group of monks to win an international singing contest so that he can use the money to pay off a Dublin mobster.

If you know of something in the works, you can submit it via our online submission form.

Actress Christina Ricci has set out on a new career - as an eating disorder counsellor.

The 28-year-old star has been candid about her battle with anorexia during her teen years.

And according to reports, the New York, I Love You star has registered for a series of online classes to become a certified counsellor to girls struggling with their self-esteem.

A source tells Us magazine Star, "Christina went through hell and back growing up. For years she struggled with her self-esteem, so she knows how hard it is for young girls."

The source added that Ricci hopes "to learn how she can help them get better without having to go through all the pain she did as a child".

The ensemble anthology film, "New York, I Love You", has just revealed the first look into the movie that features 12 short films through its first trailer. Focusing on the Big Apple as the city where each of the short love stories take place, the video gives a sneak peek by presenting the star-studded cast ensemble from Hollywood's Shia Labeouf to Taiwanese Shu Qi.

Said to be the unofficial follow-up to 2007 romance drama "Paris, je t'aime", "New York" highlights on love stories in five boroughs of New York which are conjoined together to form one whole movie. Directed by 12 different helmers from the acclaimed Mira Nair and Shekhar Kapur to newcomers Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, it features the likes of Portman, Rachel Bilson, Kevin Bacon, Maggie Q, Robin Wright Penn, Orlando Bloom, Ethan Hawke, Blake Lively, Andy Garcia, Julie Christie, Christina Ricci, Hayden Christensen and many more as the stars of the unique flick.

Hollywood couple Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson have reteamed on the big screen again - a year after falling in love while making Jumper.

The pair has been coy about the romance, but Christensen and Bilson have confirmed they're dating.

And now they're playing co-stars again in all-star movie New York, I Love You, in which brunette Bilson is almost unrecognisable as a blonde.

The film, a series of short movies about the Big Apple, also features Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Kevin Bacon, Ethan Hawke, Robin Wright Penn and Julie Christie, among others.

Portman and Scarlett Johansson make their directorial debuts in the film.

Brett Ratner is in negotiations to direct Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment's remake of The Incredible Shrinking Man. Brian Grazer is producing the project, which has Eddie Murphy attached to star.

An updated version of the best-selling novel and 1957 sci-fi classic starring Grant Williams, "Man" is taking the comedic approach to the fantastical material, telling the story of a famous Las Vegas magician who is put under a spell that causes him to shrink. He must find a way to reverse the spell before he gets so small that he "disappears."

Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant penned the most recent draft of the screenplay for the project, which had previously seen Pete Segal and Keenen Ivory Wayans in the director's chair.

Universal president of production Donna Langley and executive vp production Peter Cramer will oversee for the studio.

Ratner, one of the town's most commercial directors, is currently helming one of the short subjects in the New York, I Love You anthology film.

Shia LaBeouf is making a trip to The Dark Fields, a thriller Neil Burger is directing for Universal. Leslie Dixon and Intermedia's Scott Kroopf are producing.

The story, by Burger and Dirk Wittenborn, follows a loser (LaBeouf) who gets his hands on a top-secret pharmaceutical drug that makes you smarter. He experiences sudden financial and social success but soon discovers that the drug has lethal and lasting side effects, including "trip-switching," a phenomenon in which time moves with a stop-motion quality. The thriller is said to be in the vein of Fight Club and The Game.

The script is based on the book by Alan Glynn.

Peter Cramer is overseeing for Universal.

LaBeouf next stars in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Eagle Eye. He is currently shooting the Anthony Minghella-scripted segment of the anthology film New York, I Love You.

LaBeouf is repped by Endeavor, John Crosby Management and lawyer Matt Saver.

Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie and John Hurt are starring in the late Anthony Minghella-scripted segment of New York, I Love You, an anthology of 12 short films set in each of the city's five boroughs.

Love is being helmed by a coterie of directors, including Natalie Portman, who is making her writing and directing debut.

Those cast in the anthology film include Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson, Chris Cooper, Anton Yelchin, Drea de Matteo, Ethan Hawke and Kevin Bacon.

Among those directing are such notables as Allen Hughes, Brett Ratner and Scarlett Johansson. Johansson's entry follows the journey of a lonely man and his vision of the city.

The movie follows on the heels of the similarly formatted Paris, je t'aime, which dealt with love encounters in the City of Lights.

The next city to get the anthology treatment, under what is being called the Cities of Love franchise, is Shanghai, followed by a location in South America and then Africa.

LaBeouf and Christie's segment, written by the late Minghella and directed by Shekhar Kapur, who stepped in after the director died, centers on a woman who checks into a hotel that is in between worlds.

Shekhar Kapur has signed on to develop and direct "Larklight", a period fantasy Di Novi Pictures is producing for Warner Bros.

Kapur, who most recently directed and wrote Elizabeth: The Golden Age, is working with writer Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) to adapt Philip Reeve's novel.

The 2006 book, set in aVictorian-era alternate universe in which mankind has been exploring the solar system since the time of Isaac Newton, revolves around a brother and sister who team with a band of renegade space pirates to save the world from destruction at the hands of a madman.

"It's a $200 million project, probably the most expensive film I've made and will ever make," Kapur told the Indo-Asian News Service on the weekend.

Denise Di Novi is producing while Alison Greenspan is exec producing.

Last week, Kapur signed on to take over the director's chair for the late Anthony Minghella for his segment of the shorts ensemble New York, I Love You.

He has several projects in development, including "Solace" at New Line and "Paani", a futuristic film set in Mumbai centering on the scarcity of water.

The director who brought Elizabethan England to the big screen will carry on the legacy of a modern British legend.

Shekhar Kapur, the Indian-born helmer of movies such as Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, will direct one of the last pieces of writing from the late Anthony Minghella, a segment of the urban ode New York, I Love You.

Minghella had written but not cast or shot his segment of the episodic film, which was to have begun shooting in April in Manhattan.

Producers last week said they were awaiting word from the family before making a decision. According to Kapur, Minghella asked the director to carry out his work shortly before the English Patient director went in for surgery two weeks ago. "He told me his film was about the value of life and how people sometimes just throw away their lives, unable to look beyond into the real beauty of it," Kapur wrote on his blog.

Writer-director Anthony Minghella, who died early Tuesday in London of an apparent brain hemorrhage, leaves behind a legacy of acclaimed work and a wide range of projects.

At 54, the British filmmaker known for his adaptations of literary material was, in many respects, in the prime of his career.

Minghella and the Weinstein Co. recently concluded a deal with HBO and the BBC to air the adaptation of the literary franchise The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency as a movie and 13-episode television series.

The filmmaker also was attached to write and direct the adaptation of Liz Jensen's France-based psychological thriller The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, in development at the Weinstein Co., and had served as a producer on the recently wrapped The Reader, the adaptation of the Oprah Winfrey-blessed German novel from the Weinstein Co. and Scott Rudin that's set for release in the fall.

Minghella had written but not yet cast or shot his segment of New York, I Love You, the follow-up to the city-centric set of romantic vignettes Paris, je t'aime that was set to shoot in Upper Manhattan in April. A rep for the film said the producers were waiting for Minghella's family to respond about how they wanted to proceed with the segment but indicated that they likely would carry on with the segment with another director.

"We are shocked and deeply saddened by the loss of Anthony Minghella," the producers said. "His highly visionary work will continue to live on through the segment he wrote for New York,' I Love You.' "

They also said that they would dedicate the film to Minghella.

The BBC plans to air the two-hour pilot of Detective -- which, like the series, Minghella created and wrote with feature scribe Richard Curtis -- next week. HBO said it still plans to air the movie as a kickoff to the series next year.

CANNES -- Producer Emmanuel Benbihy has assembled a who's who of hot helmers to head to New York to shoot his upcoming project New York, je t'aime (New York, I Love You), with names including Zach Braff, Mira Nair, Park Chan-Wook and Fatih Akin.

Benbihy said in an interview that other directors signed to contribute to the $14 million project to date are Yvan Attal, Wang Xiaoshuai, Emanuele Crialese, Albert and Allen Hughes and Andrey Zvyagintsev.

Three more directors are to be added to the 12-strong lineup on the movie, which has the support of the city and state of New York and is co-produced by Benbihy's producer partner Marianne Maddalena, whose credits include Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes and the Scream trilogy.

The project also has backing from the recently announced Future Films and Grand Army Entertainment funding pact (HR 5/16).

"With 'NY, I Love You, ' we really want to surprise audiences with young, hip filmmakers with their own personal style and movie language," Benbihy said.