Movie fans in India are handing out their own version of the Razzies, the annual Oscars spoof that spotlights Hollywood's worst performances.
The second Ghanta (bell) Awards and the fourth Golden Kela (golden banana) awards are doing the rounds of social media networks, with fans voting for the worst Bollywood films of 2011.
Big-ticket stars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are nominated in the worst actor categories at The Ghantas while the SRK caper Don 2 has been nominated in the "Worst Rip-Off" category for imitating "every Hollywood action film".
Organisers say no Bollywood star or filmmaker shows up to claim their prizes.
The Ghantas will be announced in February in Mumbai, while the Golden Kela ceremony will be held in New Delhi in March.
* Reuters
11 Oscar nods from ADFF line-up
Seven films screened at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival were nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards on Tuesday, with Asghar Farhadi's A Separation receiving nominations for original screenplay and foreign language film. Albert Nobbs received three nominations, including one for lead actress Glenn Close.
ADFF's 2011 Opening Night film, Canada's Monsieur Lazhar, was also nominated for the foreign language category. Two ADFF films were nominated for best documentary feature: If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, directed by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman, and Pina, Wim Wenders' innovative 3D profile of choreographer Pina Bausch.
Rounding out the alumni nominees from the 2011 ADFF is The Ides of March, nominated for best adapted screenplay. The remaining ADFF nominee, Chico & Rita - receiving a nod for best animated feature - screened at the festival in 2010.
Agneepath breaks box office records
The Hritik Roshan-starrer Agneepath has snatched the box-office record held by Salman Khan's Bodyguard for the Bollywood film with the biggest opening-day collections in history.
Released on Thursday, Agneepath collected Rs230 million (Dh17m), breaking Bodyguard's record of Rs216m, set on August 2011.
The film, which also features Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt, is expected to continue earning an average of Rs200m per day this week.
The trade analyst Komal Nahta predicted that Agneepath could break Bodyguard's other record of grossing Rs1 billion in a span of eight days by reaching the benchmark faster.
Demi Moore was convulsing, says 911 call
Demi Moore smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital last Monday and was "shaking, convulsing, burning up" and "semi-conscious, barely", according to a frantic 911 recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.
The recording captures the 10 minutes it took paramedics to arrive, as friends rushed to the collapsed star's side.
When the operator asks what Moore ingested, the friend replies, but the answer was redacted.
"Some form of ... and then she smoked something. I didn't really see. She's been having some issues lately. So I don't know what she's been taking or not," the friend says. "She smoked something. It's not marijuana. It's similar to incense."
While Moore's friends don't say exactly what she smoked, a popular drug known as Spice is sometimes labelled as "herbal incense". Asked if Moore took the substance intentionally, the woman says Moore ingested it on purpose.
Moore's publicist, Carrie Gordon, said she would not comment further on the emergency call or on the actress's treatment.
* Associated Press
Deadline extended for Abu Dhabi film fund
SANAD, the Abu Dhabi Film Festival's fund for Arab filmmakers, is issuing a final call for submissions for its current cycle. The deadline, formerly January 26, has been extended to February 5.
Now on its third year, SANAD supports films at two key stages of the production: development, with grants of up to US$20,000 (Dh73,000) per project and post-production, with grants of up to $60,000 per project.
The deadline for the next SANAD ("support" in Arabic) cycle will be June 26. For more information, contact sanad@adff.ae.
Unreleased ABBA track on new album
A new track by the disbanded 1970s pop group ABBA will be released on their special-edition album The Visitors.
The record, including the new track From a Twinkling Star to a Passing Angel, is the first official release by the Swedish group in 18 years. The special edition of The Visitors, originally released in 1981, will be available on April 23.
ABBA - Agnetha Faeltskog, Benny Andersson, Bjoern Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad - split in 1982 and has never reunited.
* Associated Press
Forthcoming web series set to feature UAE
A new online series, titled Sixpenny Globe, follows two 22-year-old American women travelling around the world on a budget of just US$30 (Dh110) a day. They hitchhike, couch-surf and street perform through 12 countries on four continents to prove that broader horizons don't have a price tag. Among the countries they visit are the UAE, Jordan, India and Egypt.
The series will be available on www.blip.tv, but no set premiere date has been announced. Visit sixpennyglobe.com for updates.
Follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest in arts and lifestyle news at twitter.com/LifeNationalUAE
