I was lucky enough to attend a screening at the Fox Lot of Danny Boyle’s much hyped film, “Slumdog Millionaire” (openng tomorrow in select theaters). The word that came to my mind while watching the first 15 minutes was…WOW! I mean that in the most profound way possible. I went in hearing a lot of buzz and often that predicates sure disappointment in a film experience, but this was not to be the case with “Slumdog”.

Gritty, powerful, in some cases difficult to watch, “Slumdog” keeps the promise of a Danny Boyle experience. It soars in the beginning of the film where powerful and real performances by the young actors keep the viewer mesmerized. Boyle shows the underbelly of Mumbai’s slums in an unapologetic and disturbing depiction of real life.

Boyle takes the viewer on an intense ride through Mumbai using the noisy backdrop of the city and a storyline that zig zags from past to present.

It was toward the end of the movie that I realized this was Boyle’s homage to Bollywood. The story became a little softer and the yearning for love became a bit more obvious. It was when the movie ended on a glorious song and dance number that one could truly say this was a well executed blend of Hollywood and Bollywood.

I’m off to see it again when it opens. Sure I’ll catch things I didn’t see the first time around, including the soulful eyes of the children showing triumph is the face of pure hardship. Hats off Danny Boyle! Well done.

Happy Diwali everyone! We’re celebrating India’s festival of lights with the classic, award winning Indian movie “Guide”

Considered by many one of India’s best movies of all times, we’re giving it to you free. You can watch it right now, right here
Career best performances by Waheeda Rehman and Dev Anand make this love story one to watch, again and again.

Enjoy!

Toronto Film Festival has selected 27 international festival selections to screen at their September festival. Stay posted for more news.

GALA PRESENTATION
“The Good, The Bad, The Weird”
Kim Jee-woon, South Korea
North American Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
“Adoration”
Atom Egoyan, Canada
North American Premiere

“Un conte de Noël”
Arnaud Desplechin, France
North American Premiere

“Entre les murs”
Laurent Cantet, France
North American Premiere

“Gomorrah”
Matteo Garrone, Italy
North American Premiere
Winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.

MASTERS
“24 City”
Jia Zhang-ke, China
North American Premiere

“Four Nights with Anna”
Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland/France
North American Premiere

“Of Time and the City”
Terence Davies, United Kingdom
North American Premiere

“Le Silence de Lorna”
Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, Belgium/France/Italy
North American Premiere

“Three Monkeys”
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey/France/Italy
North American Premiere
Winner of Best Director at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

REAL TO REEL
“Blind Loves”
Juraj Lehotský, Slovakia
North American Premiere

VISIONS
“Liverpool”
Lisandro Alonso, Argentina/France/Netherlands/Spain/Germany
North American Premiere

VANGUARD
“Waltz with Bashir”
Ari Folman, Israel/France/Germany
North American Premiere

DISCOVERY
“Hunger”
Steve McQueen, United Kingdom
North American Premiere
Winner of this year’s Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

“Medicine for Melancholy”
Barry Jenkins, USA
Canadian Premiere

“The Paranoids”
Gabriel Medina, Argentina
International Premiere

“Three Blind Mice”
Matthew Newton, Australia
International Premiere

“Tony Manero”
Pablo Larraín, Chile/Brazil
North American Premiere

“Tulpan”
Sergey Dvortsevoy, Germany/Switzerland/Kazakstan/Russia/Poland
North American Premiere
Winner of this year’s Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
“Acne”
Federico Veiroj, Uruguay/Argentina/Spain/Mexico
North American Premiere

“Linha de Passe”
Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, Brazil
North American Premiere
Linha de Passe garnered Best Actress at Cannes 2008

“O’Horten”
Bent Hamer, Norway/Germany/France
North American Premiere

“Lion’s Den”
Pablo Trapero, Argentina/South Korea/Brazil North
American Premiere

“Restless”
Amos Kollek, Israel/Germany/Canada/France/Belgium
North American Premiere

“Revanche”
Götz Spielmann, Austria
North American Premiere

Jaman was at the LA Film Festival where the buzz was all about a little film by the name of HottieBoomBaLottie. Catchy title. A bit provocative and promising all at once. The house was full as the audience waited for the world premiere of this much talked about movie by first time writer, director and actor Seth Packard.

The basic plot was predictable; nerdy boy is in love with the hottest girl at school and ends up with the nice girl at the end. But, Packard handles the film in a youthful, refreshing way giving the audience plenty to laugh about. Quite an accomplishment for a 25 year old novice. The film was a bit fun and delightful and a bit realistic, taken from the filmmaker’s real life experiences.

A feel good film, without being sappy. Looking back I find myself smiling as a few of the scenes come flashing back to me. It’s that kind of warm and fuzzy film. Well done Seth. Congratulations from all of us at Jaman. We look forward to big things from you. Here’s a look at the trailer

This is pretty cool.

I watched the trailer from one of my favorite movies, Dil Se.

And I thought, “I love this song! I want to do something more with this”.

Then I noticed those innocent looking buttons underneath the trailer. I attacked them with fervor, sharing with all my friends (after importing my gmail addresses in 1 easy step), posted to my facebook and added the movie to my list of favorite movies on Jaman.

Sharing with friends was good, but I wanted more.

Posting to my facebook gave me what I needed - the feeling of truly sharing my love for this film!

It was quite an enjoyable experience.

This is me and my jaman colleagues sitting pretty and satisfied, after experiencing the joy only social networking can bring. Try those buttons for yourself, you’ll see what I mean.

Watch your favorite movie, share it with your friends, post it to facebook and sink into the state of a shared job well done!

Super action packed new release, is an absolute blast! Jack Black as the voice of the Panda, Po, is unmatched and Angelina Jolie holds her own as the Tigress. I walked in hoping the movie would be bearable and as it went on, I felt myself lean into true enjoyment. What a true blissful moment, when a movie captures you completely. I find it strange to say that about an animated movie, but art is art after all. And the “Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting song” at the end, well, that closed the deal for me. Definitely worth a watch - kids or no kids.

Our Cannes festivities included hanging with Acclaimed director of Eklavya, Vidhu Vinod Chopra (VVC) and a gang of red-carpet ready folks on the beach front. That’s VVC himself third from the left and some of the Jaman crew, including our Big Man In Charge, Gaurav Dhillon. (Third from the right)

Yes, we’re beaming because we’re drinking champagne in Cannes, but also because we get to bring Eklavya, the Royal Guard, to the world. Now playing on Jaman, Eklavya was India’s submisison to the Oscars in 2008 and stars some of India’s best actors, including Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan and more. Variety International called Eklavya a “Shakespearean Tragedy”. The Times, UK says it’s a “Bollywood Epic”.

Now you get to decide. Watch it here

We’re just back from the whirlwind that is Cannes and finally thinking about the last week. It was a great festival for us. We came to bring Jaman to the attention of the Movie Industry in a big way, and we left feeling the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. From the “Getting Jiggy with Jaman” article, to our cocktail party that kept on going, to getting in front of key people who wanted to know more and more…we did indeed make our mark. It’s times like these that make the long hours, hard work, and extra under-eye coverup all worth it. Revolutionizing the movie business is hard work, but we’re getting there and last week proved us dead on. You keep on watching and telling your friends about us, and we’ll keep on bringing you those movies!

Bruce Weber’s documentary of Chet Baker’s life, “Lets Get Lost” screened last night as part of the Cannes Classic program. I got a ticket to the red carpet event and now have had a day to mull over the film. Can’t get the music out of my head - haunting, longing and oh so sad. Beautifully shot in black and white, the film received a heartfelt standing ovation. We then all headed over to Agnes B’s villa for the private after party that lasted until the sun came up and Chet Baker’s music played on…

Here’s just a glimpse at the amazing cinematography.

We’re sitting in the American Pavilion in Cannes and in walks Ms. Faye Dunaway. With a five decade career Dunaway has starred in a variety of films, from the most critically acclaimed including Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown and Network, to blockbusters such as The Towering Inferno and the notorious cult classic Mommie Dearest.

We paid our respects and walked away with a smile, reminded of the true glamour of Hollywood. What a lovely reprieve in the madness of Cannes.

Things are heating up here. Even the rain can’t stop the Jaman team from footing it around the Palais (the film market place). We packed extra shoes and won’t stop till we uncover what’s hot. I ran into Eugene Hernandez from indiewire a few minutes ago and made a new friend (Olivier) who promised to tell us about the celebrity sightings. Oh, and besides working at the Palais, Olivier happens to be an up and coming model. That’s just so French!

Wet and rushed on this scenic and yet very damp French morning, I am leaving the Majestic and ziping to the Village Int’l Riviera where I was hoping to reunite with all my Jaman folks to share our stories of celebrity, movies and most importantly get their take on all the buzz surrounding the new Indiana Jones movie.

Yesterday the narrow streets were all in motion as international press and film makers chatted about Jack Black and his attempt to bring his animated/soon to be blockbuster film Kung Fu Panda, to the independent film crowd. Last year we saw it with Jerry Seinfeld and Bee Movie, so it was only a matter of time before another costumed character walked the red carpet. I couldn’t tell if it was the 40 men in panda suits that upset me or the fact that the movie picked Cannes as a premiere ground. But seeing Angelina Jolie and Dustin Hoffman was reason enough to forget about the suits. Today, all eyes are on Indiana Jones’ newest film the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. As I think back to the Da Vinci code and how the World press tore it to shreds, I wonder why a movie that is already going to hit big on the screens is so insistent on premiering to this audience. Perhaps its the estimated $170M box office that its projected to take in.

Meanwhile I am looking forward to digging some of the edgier fare on the docket this year like The Third Wave and Los Bastardos. Pics and video coming soon!

Heading out to dinner to meet the team and celebrate two great days.