Jackie Chan to receive honorary Oscar

Jackie Chan is to receive an honorary Oscar along with film editor Anne V. Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman.The "Rush Hour" actor will pick up the Governor Award in November, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Thursday, reports variety.com."The Honorary Award was created for artists like Jackie Chan, Anne Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman - true pioneers and legends in their crafts," Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. "The board is proud to honour their extraordinary achievements," Isaacs added.Jackie, 62, won praise from the Academy for his "distinctive international career", which has seen him star in, write, direct and produce movies in his native Hong Kong, as well as achieve box office success around the globe.Meanwhile, Oscar-winning editor Coates is best known for her work on classic 1962 movie "Lawrence of Arabia", and her 60-year career has also seen her work on films including "The Elephant Man", "Out of Sight", "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Erin Brockovich".Stalmaster has worked in over 200 movies, including "The Graduate", "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Tootsie". He also helped launch the careers of the celebrities like John Travolta, Jon Voight and the late Christopher Reeve.The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy's 8th Annual Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland Center on November 12.

Source

‘Good books are based on thorough research’

Author Jagat Nepal’s latest book, Pahilo Sansad—based on Nepal’s first parliament—explores, among other things, the complex relationship between BP Koirala and king Mahendra. A political journalist for over a decade and a professor at the Tribhuvan University, Nepal has so far penned two other works of non-fiction. In this interview with The Post’s Samikshya Bhattarai, Nepal talks about his latest book, his reading habits and why good research makes good books. Excerpts:

Tell us about your book Pahilo Sansad?

Pahilo Sansad, as the title suggests, is based on Nepal’s first parliamentary meeting that was held almost 55 years ago. This book analyses official documents, the diary of the parliament, parliamentary relations, power and the role of the opposition and parliamentary accountability, among many others. I have been a journalist for more than a decade and was assigned to cover the last election.When I was working on it, I found out that the first parliamentary meeting had been recorded and archived. As I was always interested in politics and history, I thought this would be the perfect piece for me to work on. Then, I took the opportunity to talk to people like Tulsi Giri and Arthav Regmi who were the part of the proceedings at the time, which helped take the narrative forward.

How did you first come to love books?

I come from the generation that grew up during the 1990 People’s Revolution. So, the environment was very political and it really influenced our lives. I developed interest toward politics from a very young age. I began by reading biographies of political leaders. As for writing, I became interested in the prospect while I was working as a journalist. There were so many news and reports that I couldn’t pursue due to various circumstances, so I started keeping records and making diaries. Now, I have diaries that date back to the late 90s, which I treasure. This habit of keeping records of my reportings nudged me eventually to pen books.

What books are on your reading lists?

I plan on reading the biographies on Indian presidents because I am working on the biography of our former president, Ram Baran Yadav.

What books do you recommend as must-reads?

I have always loved BP Koirala’s work. I recommend people to read his biography, as well as his other books. They are all well-written and very inspirational. I also recommend the books by Leo E Rose, as they provide very good insight into the politics of the Nepal. Among recently published books, I loved Prayogshala by Sudheer Sharma.

What is good writing for you? What would you say makes a good writer?

Good writing, especially in non-fiction, comes through good investigation. But you need to invest a lot of time and money which is not always possible here in Nepal, as there is no funding for proper research. So, a large majority of the non-fiction books that you find in the Nepali market only touch upon the surface of a topic. There is lack of in-depth analysis of the subject matter. As for being a good writer, I think that you first need to get to the depth of the subject that you are working on and look at things through many perspectives to come up with good work.

Your advice for general readers?

When I first started reading books, I used to read many things, even those that didn’t have any importance to me. I have heard that Subarna Shamsher Rana used to do the same thing back in the day. He used to read almost all the books that were published, even those about birds and insects that didn’t interest him, as there were so few choices at the time. But now people have many books to choose from so they should read books on the topics that they are interested in. Rather than focusing on what others are reading, they should choose a book according to their own needs and interests.

Source

Singer Chris Brown arrested for 'pointing gun at woman'

US singer Chris Brown has been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after a woman told police he had threatened her with a gun.Beauty queen Baylee Curran told the LA Times Mr Brown had pointed the gun at her face after she had been admiring his friend's jewellery.Mr Brown came out of his home after a stand-off with police on Tuesday.Mr Brown's lawyer tweeted that his client was later freed, adding that the accusations were "demonstrably false".It is not yet clear if Mr Brown was charged or released on bail.The singer has several convictions for violence, including a 2009 assault on his then girlfriend, pop star Rihanna. Police went to Mr Brown's home following the emergency call early on Tuesday from Ms Curran, who by that time had left the property.Ms Curran told the LA Times that she and a friend had gone to Mr Brown's house with a business associate on Monday evening.She said she had been admiring the diamond necklace of a man who had been showing off his jewellery when the man got angry and told her to back away.That is when she says Mr Brown pulled out a gun, pointed it at her face and told her to get out."If somebody put a gun to your head, what would you do? Call the police," Ms Curran said on her Instagram account, AFP news agency reported.Once at Mr Brown's sprawling mansion, police officers were allegedly denied entry and had to wait for a judge to approve a search warrant before going inside to search for a weapon.It wasn't until Mr Brown's lawyer arrived that the singer eventually emerged.Police said about half a dozen people had been escorted out of the residence and would be interviewed.During the stand-off, Mr Brown posted videos online accusing the police of harassment."When you get the warrant for whatever you need to do, you're going to walk right up in here and you're going to see nothing, you idiots," he said in one Instagram video, posted to 30m followers.In another, Mr Brown also voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, saying: "You're all the worst gang in the world, the police."

Source

Delhi 'sex tape' minister Sandeep Kumar removed

A minister of the state government in the Indian capital, Delhi, has been removed after the emergence of what appears to be a sex tape.Sandeep Kumar was the minister for women and child development in the government, ruled by the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he had received an "objectionable" CD of Mr Kumar and sacked him.The AAP won a stunning victory in the Delhi state elections last year.Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters that Mr Kejriwal had "taken action" against Mr Kumar within 30 minutes of receiving the tape.It is not clear who sent the tape to the chief minister.Mr Kejriwal tweeted the decision on Thursday evening:Mr Sisodia said his party had a "zero tolerance policy towards corruption and scandals"."Ministers found taking bribes were removed immediately as soon as it was found. Action will be taken swiftly against any member irrespective of status or position," he was quoted as saying by the NDTV news channel.Mr Kumar has not yet commented on the development.He is the second minister to have been removed from the Delhi cabinet since the AAP came to power in February 2015.Last year, food minister Asim Ahmed Khan was removed for allegedly demanding bribes.And law minister Jitender Tomar quit after he was accused of faking his college degree.

Source

Justin Bieber's credit card declined

Grammy award winner Justin Bieber was left embarrassed after his credit card was not accepted at a Subway outlet.The 22-year-old pop star was recognised by a fan who offered to pay for his meal at the outlet in West Hollywood on Thursday, dailmymail.co.uk reports.According to a source, a fan of Bieber gave the bill for his impressive order of a foot-long sandwich, four bottles of milk and cookies.Bieber had come with his girlfriend Sofia Richie, who waited in his car.Meanwhile, Bieber is currently on a hiatus from Instagram after he shocked his fans when he decided to deactivate his account on the photo sharing platform after a public spat with his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez.The "As long as you love me" hitmaker opted to close down his profile when he had a feud with Selena, 23, over a comment he made about his fans being mean to the people he likes.

Source

Touching the sublime

In a way, history was made last week: the opera came to Nepal. Structured along a modern, Western musical tradition, Arjuna’s Dilemma opened at the Patan Museum’s Bhitri Chowk on Sep 2, Friday. It will continue to play till September 11 with a short break in the middle. It is not often that we get to witness such a spectacular vision involving music, visuals and performance and One World Theatre deserves to be thanked for taking on the challenge of bringing such a production to Nepal, one that charts new territory for the arts. 
Arjuna’s Dilemma exploits its chamber opera format optimally by playing out on the smallish, open air stage in the inner courtyard of the Patan Museum and is accompanied by an ensemble orchestra of just nine musicians, including the music director, Jonathan Khuner, on the piano. Even the acoustics is very different from what you would expect in a full-sized opera hall. Created by Douglas J Cuomo (of Doubt fame) with the specific intention of exploring the connections between Western and Eastern musical idioms and philosophical nodes, Arjuna’s Dilemma adapts itself well to a Nepali ensemble comprising the cast, key singers and musicians.
Deborah Merola (Founder -Director of One World Theatre), as the stage director, has contoured the performance part well through Salil Subedi’s Arjuna and Rajkumar Pudasaini’s Krishna. They were ably supported by Aruna Karki, Srijana Adhikari, Shanti Giri and Pashupati Rai as the female ensemble and Utpal Jha, Hemanta Chalise, Amrit Dahal and Hum BC as the male ensemble. Alize Biannicis exceptionally agile as always, in her personification of Gandiva or the bow of Arjuna. But it was Roy Stevens and Annalisa Winberg’s singing on stage, as they alternated between Arjuna’s and Krishna’s voices, which brought the production’s unique operatic elements to the fore. Both Stevens and Winberg belted out impressive solos on stage in Sanskrit, Hindi and English formally set to operatic vocal structures.
Hearing familiar Sanskrit verses in Steven’s tenor (he usually sings in baritone otherwise) was an experience indeed, and somewhat unsettling for its defamiliarising effect. Interestingly, they both sang alternately for often the same character and the variations in mood, thanks to the shifts from soprano to tenor or vice versa, added unexpected aural depth. As did Gurudev Kamat, who lent his voice beautifully to both Arjuna and Krishna through hymns and bhajans sung in the Hindustani classical tradition.
Arjuna’s Dilemma revolves round a miniscule but very significant part of The Mahabharata, the few minutes during which Arjuna lays down his Gandiva and refuses to go to war with his family and kin, friends and followers fighting on the Kaurava side. It was then up to Krishna, Vishnu incarnate during the Dwapar era apart from being Arjuna’s dearest friend and charioteer, to cut through the illusion or maya of existence and convince Arjuna of the inevitability of mortality and the demands of Time in the greater scale of things. We know what we are talking about here, The Bhagavad Gita of course. And Arjuna’s Dilemma reaches its performative and musical crescendo during the revelation of Krishna, when the mere charioteer transforms himself onstage into Vishnu, the protector of the universe. Rajkumar Pudasiani’s graceful transitions between iconographic manifestations of fearsome destructor and benevolent friend were a joy to witness, ably supported as he was by the ensemble and the solo singers. The playful pastiche of kathak, Nepali folk and Bollywood freestyle was extremely entertaining. Salil Subedi portrays Arjuna’s ‘dilemma’ to perfection, his histrionic abilities allowing him equal stature to Krishna’s grandeur. However, what I found perhaps most moving was the undercurrent of friendship between the two. For despite the differences between a great warrior and Vishnu incarnate, it was primarily a deep friendship that held the two together over the length of their lives on Earth. Both Subedi and Pudasaini reinforced that friendship through their bodily gestures while Stevens and Annalisa’s singing highlight the unbridgeable gap between the mortal and the divine. 
The music written by Douglas J Cuomo is extraordinary.  I have yet to come across a better amalgamation of Western and Eastern musical traditions that incorporate both vocals and instrumentals. The music flowed between classical Western and classical Hindustani, via the beat of jazz. It apparently took Cuomo nearly eight years to finalise the opera and his exquisite attention to detail comes through at every turn as the music glided across brief stretches of symphonic, pastoral peace to flow into Byzantine and Gregorian chants, to suddenly come up against obsessive, staccato repetitions like ‘stop my chariot, chariot, chariot!’ and the hymnal ‘O Krishna’. And then it fluidly moves into popular bhajans and glorious arias with equal ease, all woven together through the syncopatic ‘off’ beat of jazz. Arjuna’s Dilemma is essentially an American, modern piece and its flavour is unequivocally ‘jazz’ that gets highlighted through recurring percussion beats and saxophone pieces. In fact, Inap Shrestha comes on stage with his saxophone at a crucial moment to deliver a moving solo piece. On the other hand, Jagannath Dhaugoda holds up the Hindustani percussion tradition with panache. Both Gurudev Kamat and Rhythm Kandel are exceptionally proficient in their performances of Hindustani classical vocals--a difficult feat no doubt as they had to match their scales to the overarching Western classical and jazz tonality. The chorus sung by Lucia de Vries, Sabine Piccard, Rose Scwietz, Abby Buckland, Nadine Rogers, Naomi Saville and often led by Annalisa Winberg herself, was an extraordinary experience in itself as they created and held the mood at every single moment. And though I am no music aficionado but I believe that without the presence of Jonathan Khuner’s overall guidance, Arjuna’s Dilemma would not have been the magnificent show it is. It was his magic wand (the conductor’s!) that held all these disparate musical elements and modes together to create the sublime joy we experienced at Patan Museum that evening. His brilliant piano deliveries were aptly supported by Albertina Barcelo on the flute, Madhu Sudan Bagdas on the clarinet, Mark Don Rani on percussion, Roman Budhathoki and Rabindra Maharjan on violins, Manik Raz Maharjan on Viola and Sanjay Shrestha on cello. 
Greg Mitchell has presented us with an edgy, organic, multi-tiered set crafted from locally harvested bamboos by the graduating students of Kathmandu University’s art and design programme and was led by Utsab Maharjan. Current students from the same program created a host of artworks specifically for the opera under Mitchell’s guidance and these hold pride of place on the set, introducing unexpected visual surprises alongside props made by Sajan Thapa Magar. The operatic tradition has always leaned heavily towards the overwhelmingly spectacular and Mitchell’s contemporary set design, when supplemented by his luminescent lighting, held up the music and gave direction to the narrative while transporting us to a supra-real space. His costume designs were exquisitely materialised by Kalsang Lama. Lucy Peckham’s sound engineering brought the music to us and a host of people like Isu Shrestha, Kavita Srinivasan, Carolina Stevens, Ragendra Nath Shrestha, Atul Bhattarai and others must have laboured tirelessly to have made this extraordinary experience possible on a stage in Nepal, especially in a year following hard on the heels of the disastrous last.
Arjuna’s Dilemma is about one significant moment in The Mahabharata but in true operatic tradition that moment was transformed by Douglas Cuomo into a comprehensive experience of dissonance, ending in resolution and harmony. In a world wracked by war and terror, it is easy to misinterpret Krishna’s rousing call to Arjuna. But the opera’s libretto and music make us take a closer look at the deep structures that define our experiences and puts us in brief touch with the sublime if only for 70 minutes, but long enough for us to brace up and strive towards harmony in our own realities. 

Source