Academy's 'Keeper of the Oscars' dead at 48

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Steven Miessner, the motion picture academy's devoted "Keeper of the Oscars" who each year donned his signature white gloves to get the golden statuettes ready for their closeup before a worldwide audience, is dead at age 48.

Miessner died at his

home on Wednesday

of a heart attack.

Leading up to the Academy Award ceremony, Miessner would take loving custody of the Oscars as they arrived from the R. S. Owens foundry in Chicago, logging them into a computer file, keeping them safe and secure, and then on the big night, giving the coveted statuettes one last rubdown backstage before handing them to the show's trophy presenters.

He would then record which individually-numbere d Oscar was presented to whom and later, arrange with the winners to get their statuettes properly engraved.

Academy colleagues, stagehands and reporters alike marveled at Miessner's dedication and enthusiasm as he worked with the statuettes — a job that was actually a year-round process, according to Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"He maintained the computer files on the current whereabouts, so far as can be known, of every Oscar ever awarded," Unger said. "He also was the liaison with R.S. Owens when a vintage statuette needed refurbishing."

In addition to his Oscar duties, Miessner was an executive assistant to academy executive director Bruce Davis and president Sid Ganis.

A member of the academy staff since 2002, Miessner "was central to the day-to-day operations of the organization," said Unger.

He is survived by his mother, Virginia Miessner, a sister and a brother.

Funeral services were pending.

Academy's 'Keeper of the Oscars' dead at 48

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Steven Miessner, the motion picture academy's devoted "Keeper of the Oscars" who each year donned his signature white gloves to get the golden statuettes ready for their closeup before a worldwide audience, is dead at age 48.

Miessner died at his

home on Wednesday

of a heart attack.

Leading up to the Academy Award ceremony, Miessner would take loving custody of the Oscars as they arrived from the R. S. Owens foundry in Chicago, logging them into a computer file, keeping them safe and secure, and then on the big night, giving the coveted statuettes one last rubdown backstage before handing them to the show's trophy presenters.

He would then record which individually-numbere d Oscar was presented to whom and later, arrange with the winners to get their statuettes properly engraved.

Academy colleagues, stagehands and reporters alike marveled at Miessner's dedication and enthusiasm as he worked with the statuettes — a job that was actually a year-round process, according to Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"He maintained the computer files on the current whereabouts, so far as can be known, of every Oscar ever awarded," Unger said. "He also was the liaison with R.S. Owens when a vintage statuette needed refurbishing."

In addition to his Oscar duties, Miessner was an executive assistant to academy executive director Bruce Davis and president Sid Ganis.

A member of the academy staff since 2002, Miessner "was central to the day-to-day operations of the organization," said Unger.

He is survived by his mother, Virginia Miessner, a sister and a brother.

Funeral services were pending.

Web site helps time mid-movie bathroom breaks

NEW YORK (AP) -- The mid-movie dash to the restroom can turn us into calculating Hussein Bolt wannabes: Ah, this looks like a lull — time to dash.

When we return to our seats, we pray the answer to "What did I miss?" isn't "Darth Vader is really Luke's father" or "the girlfriend is really a guy."

The Web site RunP

ee.com can help with such anxious guess work.

The site provides recommended opportunities to race to the restroom. It tells you when the action or romance wanes, and gives you a cue ("Baby O.J. is taken from Bruno") for your exit.

The site tells you how long you've got and even summarizes what you missed. Since early July, RunPee.com is available as an iPhone app, too.

Launched last August, RunPee took off earlier this summer. It's been one of the season's runaway hits — a clever idea that has spawned a lot of word-of-mouth from moviegoers.

"Helping your bladder enjoy going to the movies as much as you do," the site boasts.

It was created by Dan Florio, a 42-year-old Flash developer who got the idea during the three-hour-plus "King Kong" remake in 2005.

Florio, who lives in Orlando, Fla., with his wife, does everything for the site, though he gets some help from his wife and his mother. He's become a regular opening day attendee of movies, busily taking notes in the back row.

On Friday, he's planning a double-feature of "Funny People" — which runs nearly 2 1/2 hours — and "Aliens in the Attic."

"I never intended to refocus my energies on this," says Florio. "And I never thought that I'd be seeing every single movie that comes out, either."

The site averages 3,000-6,000 visitors a day, Florio says. The iPhone app is available on iTunes for $1. It's not a huge moneymaker (Florio estimates he'll make $800 this month) but is providing him a little extra cash.

He believes that not only do moviegoers benefit from the service, but theater owners do, too.

"Lots and lots of people comment: `Ah! I can get that 64-ounce drink now!'" Florio says.

Florio designed the site to be wiki-based with break times submitted by users, but it's turned out that he's done most of the work. Finding the right moments and recording the correct time is more work than it might sound — most moviegoers leave their stopwatches at home.

"It's not fun," says Florio. "I would literally have to pay someone to do this."

Generally, the better the movie is, the harder it is to find a break. The 96-minute "Up," for example, is one film where no bathroom break is advisable. But there are suggested options — after all, movies that children flock to are the kind where bathroom breaks are often unavoidable.

There are, of course, limits to the usefulness of RunPee. But it's also found friends in cyberspace like WhereToWee.com, a site in the works that tells you where the nearest restroom is.

Police in Parker-Broderick case arraigned in Ohio

ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- Two Ohio police chiefs accused of snooping on the surrogate mother for actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick were charged with several felonies on Friday.

Special prosecutor T. Shawn Hervey said the men conspired to take items from the woman's eastern Ohio hom

e to sell to celeb

rity photographers.

At an arraignment Friday, Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter was charged with two counts of burglary, one count of receiving stolen property, one count of theft in office, one count of unauthorized use of property or services and one count of tampering with evidence.

Bridgeport Police Chief Chad Dojack, 30, was charged with two counts of complicity to burglary and one count of complicity to receiving stolen property.

Both men pleaded not guilty and are free on their own recognizance. Neither of the men could be reached for comment. There are no residential telephone listings for them.

Hervey said that Carpenter is alleged to have entered the home of Michelle Ross and removed items from the home identifying Ross as the surrogate mother. Along with Dojack, Carpenter attempted to sell the items to photographers, Hervey said.

Carpenter, 32, also is accused of using his office to commit the crimes, destroying evidence and illegally using a law enforcement computer system, Hervey said.

"It is extremely troubling that the persons sworn to uphold the law and protect the public are now charged with violating those oaths," Hervey said.

He also said it was troubling that society "is so celebrity crazed that a market exists and tens of thousands of dollars are exchanged for pictures and stories of celebrity scandal."

"Unfortunately, the city and Belmont County are now living their own Hollywood soap opera," the prosecutor said.

The alleged burglary took place in mid-May in the eastern Ohio town of Martins Ferry, and the allegations against Carpenter and DoJack surfaced about a week later.

Ross is no longer believed to be staying in the Martins Ferry area, officials have said.

The surrogate mother gave birth to twins June 22 at an Ohio hospital was not home at the time of the alleged burglary.

Shriya Saran - symbol for over confidence

If you ask any top heroine “Are you trying for number one place?” they will politely say “I don’t believe in number game” But, in the background, they would be striving hard to catch that number one place. We can understand their hidden thoughts from their interviews to media.



Recently Shriya was asked “booking you for films reduced due to Nayanthara, Tamanna & Trisha?” Here is Shriya’s reply “Who said? It’s not like that. I am always busy. If Nayanthara, Tamanna and Trisha are like gold, then I am Platinum. Don’t you know the difference between Platinum and Gold?” Yes. Nobody denies that she got 50 lakh rupees for appearing in one song sequence and she has got 3 big films viz. Kanthaswamy, Jaggubhai and Kutty. But her recent mega flop Thoranai and her size zero appearance in it failed to pull audience to the theatres and also producers and directors are reluctant to book her because of her new size zero anatomy. After giving 4 mega flops, Nayanthara has only one film ‘Aadhavan’ in Tamil. So, she is trying to enter in Bollywood through Prabhu Deva. Trisha also faced severe setback as her most expected big films Beema, Kuruvi and Sarvam did not fare well in box office. Trisha also has only one Tamil film ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’ as she supposedly quitted from ‘Aadukalam’ and she is going to act in Hindi film ‘Khatta Meeta’ in 2010. Nayanthara and Trisha were previously demanding 1 Crore per film. Due to their present dull scenario, Nayanthara is ready to settle for 75 Lakhs and even lesser than that. Trisha is ready for anything between 50 to 60 Lakhs while Shriya signs for 50 Lakhs per film. But Kollywood producers are ready to give more than 50 Lakhs to Tamanna before she demands.





British-born Canadian writer and economist Stephen Leacock said “It is the wishes and likings of the mass which largely dictate what the rest of us shall see and hear” So, all top heroines definitely know that for every door that shuts ten will open and they can always hoist their sail when the wind is fair.

Meera Jasmine Mandolin Rajesh affair collapses

When western culture is spreading its hands and occupying our young generation minds... Our marriage system becomes diluted as living together without marriage has become the new fashion. Even lovers say it is the best concept to get to know each other... But, most of the cases are not succeeding at all. More room for fear for commitment make this system absolutely painful with no peace of mind.



Malayalam based actress Meera jasmine gossiped with lot of persons for lot of times, finally settled with Mandolin Rajesh. Both were living together in get together concept for more than a year and now their affair has come to its climax. Meera jasmine is now accepting lot of movies in south Indian languages. Recently when media asked Meera jasmine about Rajesh, She replied angrily that "Don’t ask anything about him. I don’t want to speak about him".



When media asked Rajesh about Meera jasmine, he told that everything came to end and there is nothing in between them. Our culture has been built with lot of good factors like love, commitment and peace of mind. Since celebrities earn name and fame in short period they entirely forget our well worthy culture...whatever they are saying as the reason for adopting all these western culture systems...there is only one thing they never ever get which is core of our culture that is "peace of mind".

Shilpa Shetty temple controversy not serious: Police

Bhubaneswar, Aug 1 (IANS) No serious case was made out against Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty for apparently breaking the rules while shooting at Orissa's revered Sakhigopal temple, the police said Saturday, adding they were trying to find out if she had hurt religious sentiments.

Shetty was accused of entering the Gopinath Deb temple of Sakhigopal near Puri Thursday with her shoes on.

The temple authorities later filed a complaint with the Satyabadi police station against the actress.

"The temple executive Sachidananda Das along with some staff members of the temple have filed a complaint against Shilpa Shetty. They have complained that the Bollywood actress has violated the shrine rules," said officer in-charge of Satyabadi police station Prasanna Kumar Biswal.

"I was present when the actress reached the spot as we had instructions to go there for her protection. The crew had already taken the permission of temple authorities to shoot there. Since the complaint has come we are looking into the matter. No serious case is made out against the actress as per IPC (Indian Penal code)," Biswal said.

"We are trying to find out whether she has hurt the religious sentiments by entering the temple with shoes on. We are also discussing the matter with senior officials before we file a case," he said.

"Some people seem to have unnecessarily dragged in Shilpa Shetty. However, we are investigating the matter," Biswal said.

ADH Drops His Video for 'Tauba Tauba'

Bhangra singer ADH has given us hits such as 'Kurri' and 'Mirza' off his 3 albums. He's back this summer and has just released the video for his first single 'Tauba Tauba' from his upcoming album "Tauba Tauba."

The album "Tauba Tauba" is not set to be released till the fall but the video gives us a peak into what's to come. 'Tauba Tauba' is a song that features GOP Virk who is a rapper from the United States. The album is packed with 10 new tracks and will be released on the Moviebox label. Along with the collaboration with GOP Virk, the album also features the vocals of Kuldeep Manak, Hunterz, and Miss Pooja. The production team includes big names such as Bally Jagpal, Aman Hayer, and BS Productions. With all these big names, we can only hope that ADH's 4th album will bring us some hot, new music.

'Tauba Tauba' is a fun summer track. With it's chill beat and Punjabi lyrics this song is completed with GOP's rap. The calm vibe heard in the song is portrayed in the video with its poolside backdrop. The guys are seen surrounded by hot girls and look like they are having a good time.

Check out the video for 'Tauba Tauba' and let us know what you think? Is it a hot summer track?

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(3.7) 63

Anuya Bedroom scene effects

Siva Manasula Sakthi fame Actress Anuya is not happy about Madurai Sambavam movie producer's cheap publicity actions. Pune based Film Institute ex-student cum model Anuya’s debut movie SMS (Siva Manasula Sakthi) did not do well in box office. But her performance yielded her good name...



Thoothukudi movie Hero and Heroine Harikumar and Karthika acted in lead roles in "Madurai Sambavam". The movie as it name says it was completely shot in and around Madurai. Lyricist Eureka becomes Director from this movie and Anuya acted as encounter specialist with negative shade. We can say Anuya as the main villain according to story.



There is a hot bedroom scene in which Anuya lures hero Harikumar. Anuya requested director not to release that stills to public. Director Eureka and Hero Harikumar accepted that. But after seeing the stills producer felt that it is the best tool for pre-publicity before the movie release and he released that stills to media too. Anuya is upset of this action as she thought it would damage her image. Anuya concerns only about her name. But as an investor in this venture, producer need to concern about Name and Fame (money).

Kareena Kapoor's New Roles

Actress Kareena Kapoor has decided that she would be going for more reserved and conscious roles these days. We are all used to Kareena's role being the out-of-sight character, with strong and very assertive roles. Are we ready to let these images go just yet?

This time around however the Bollywood beauty has given up such roles and has taken up the role of a salwar-kameez-clad Punjabi role female in Raj Kumar Hirani's film 'Three Idiots' as well as Rensil's D'Silva's 'Kurbaan'.

"I play a quiet and nice Punjabi doctor", says Kareena about the role she plays in 'Three Idiots'. In 'Kurbaan', Kareena plays a role in the film that is close to her heart.

"I've got one of the best roles of my career. Rensil D'Silva is such a fine storyteller. I play a simple Delhi girl who finds out that her husband is a terrorist."

Kareena describes her previous characters as being very talkative, and now she really enjoys the new roles she has recently taken.'In 'Three Idiots', I'm soft and gentle and that's the real me" said Kareena.

According to Kareena "I like my silence to speak for me. Unfortunately, in this business I am constantly asked to voice my opinion on everything."

I guess we will just have to wait and see if the quiet Punjabi girl and the humble wife of a terrorist role that Kareena have taken on suits her.

What do you think about Kareena's new roles? Drop your comments below.

Namitha upset about Indira Vizha as it exploited her glamour

South Indian busty and sexy actress Namitha is totally upset of misusing her glamour in recently released Indira Vizha. Indira Vizha was released in July 10 in Tamil nadu and all over the world, but in most of the places it has been quitting from theatres after 10 days. The Indira Vizha producer cum director K Rajeshwar utilized 200% of Namitha’s Glamour in this movie which became over dose to cinema fans.



Most of the reviews not graded this as good movie in contrary to the huge hype created in media by producers... As usual, more hype means more disappointment - This is what exactly happened in the case of Indira Vizha. Already hero Srikanth was not happy for not promoting his image in posters and advertisements. Now Namitha expressed her un-happiness as the story, which was narrated to her, was totally forgotten and the Director exploited her Glamour to damage her image.

Shahrukh Khan's Injury Delays Filming of Latest Movie

We all know that Bollywood’s leading man Shahrukh Khan does it all. From acting in his movies to now producing them, Shahrukh Khan has no plans to slow down. He is currently working on a Sci-Fi movie titled ‘Ra.1’ but because of his recent health issues, Shahrukh Khan has been advised to stay away from doing any of his own stunts.

While shooting his film ‘Dulha Mil Gaya,’ Shahrukh Khan hurt his shoulder badly. In February, SRK even underwent a procedure to address this issue. Since then, he has been through multiple rounds of physical therapy to help his shoulder’s healing process because he has no plans of letting this slow him down. His new movie ‘Ra.1’ is a Sci-Fi film, which has been said to feature Hollywood style stunts.

Having already postponed the film’s release because of the injury, Shahrukh is eager to get the action sequences started. However, this week SRK visited his doctor who was less than happy about the filming schedule Shahrukh has coming up. Dr Irani said, “Shah Rukh Khan got back 90 percent of his movement but may need another month or two to get back his strength before he is ready to do stunt scenes.”

Since hearing this news, Shahrukh has switched focus to work on other films that are less physically demanding such as ‘Mr. and Mrs. Khan’ which also stars Kajol. This film is being shot in Los Angeles, California and while on set Shahrukh is supposed to be resting and exercising his shoulder muscles. A source said “Shahrukh Khan is keen that he goes for all his shootings without bothering to look after his shoulder all the time. But he will have to wait before he goes all out and does action scenes. His shoulder is healing slowly but surely.”

With all the various projects that King Khan has, it seems like he needs to take it easy to let his shoulder heal! His fans will understand a delay in his film due to his less than perfect physical condition. At the moment, ‘Ra.1’, directed by Anubhav Sinha, is set to be released in early 2010.

Let us know what you think of Shahrukh Khan’s ambitious work schedule. Should Bollywood’s busiest man concentrate on his movies or his health?

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Academy's 'Keeper of the Oscars' dead at 47 (AP)

LOS ANGELES - Steven Miessner, the motion picture academy's devoted "Keeper of the Oscars" who each year donned his signature white gloves to get the golden statuettes ready for their closeup before a worldwide audience, is dead at age 48.

Miessner died at his home on Wednesday of a heart attack.

Leading up to the Academy Award ceremony, Miessner would take loving custody of the Oscars as they arrived from the R. S. Owens foundry in Chicago, logging them into a computer file, keeping them safe and secure, and then on the big night, giving the coveted statuettes one last rubdown backstage before handing them to the show's trophy presenters.

He would then record which individually-numbered Oscar was presented to whom and later, arrange with the winners to get their statuettes properly engraved.

Academy colleagues, stagehands and reporters alike marveled at Miessner's dedication and enthusiasm as he worked with the statuettes — a job that was actually a year-round process, according to Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"He maintained the computer files on the current whereabouts, so far as can be known, of every Oscar ever awarded," Unger said. "He also was the liaison with R.S. Owens when a vintage statuette needed refurbishing."

In addition to his Oscar duties, Miessner was an executive assistant to academy executive director Bruce Davis and president Sid Ganis.

A member of the academy staff since 2002, Miessner "was central to the day-to-day operations of the organization," said Unger.

He is survived by his mother,

Miessner, a sister and a brother.

Funeral services were pending.

Kalpana Chowdary PHOTOS