Mad Hot Ballroom Tagged Articles at Cinematical

These people just landed a part in a movie and you didn't:

Sorry boys, but Jessica Alba has officially become a math nerd. Oh yes, Variety tells us the actress has signed on to star in An Invisible Sign of My Own, based on the book by Aimee Bender. Marilyn Agrelo (Mad Hot Ballroom) will direct the flick, which follows a woman who becomes obsessed with numbers and math ... and then lands a gig as a second-grade math teacher. Hot, steamy gratuitous love-making scene not included.

Val Kilmer has decided he needs more action in his life, as the dude has hopped onboard the crime thriller Fake Identity for Nu Image/Millennium Films. The film, to be directed by Dennis Dimster-Denk (or Triple D, as I like to call him), tells of a doctor (Kilmer) who, while working in Chechnya, helps a woman escape from her would-be assailant and then watches a whole movie's worth of crazy stuff happen to him. (Variety)

I know, I've totally been waiting for Michael Caine to kick some serious ass too! Luckily, Variety tells us the actor has joined the British crime thriller Harry Brown. Who's Harry Brown, you ask? Well, he's an "elderly former serviceman drawn to vigilantism while living in a run-down 'burb rife with gangs, guns and drugs." Daniel Barber directs, while Emily Mortimer co-stars as a policewoman. And LL Cool J raps ... "Caine gonna knock you out ..."

Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine are working to create global change. The husband and wife directing duo are not only filmmakers but humanitarians, and the two have created the nonprofit organization, Shine Global, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those devastated by unyielding catastrophes. On Shine Global's website their mission in their films is most eloquently stated: "To illuminate the positive efforts made by children and their families to overcome devastating odds." This is exactly what they intend to do with their upcoming film War/Dance.

The film is already receiving attention and is being distributed by ThinkFilm; its first screening will be at the Sundance Film Festival. For nearly 20 years, Uganda has been plagued with a civil war that is causing great devastation to its people. War/Dance profiles three individuals directly affected by this civil war as they find hope through dance at Uganda's annual dance and music competition. Children who are displaced by the war look forward to traveling to this competition, free to enjoy themselves through this incredible form of self-expression.

This won't be the first time we see a documentary that brings light to a drearier part of our world through dance. In a less extreme circumstance, but still bearing the same influence on the audience and the children in the film, was Marilyn Agrelo's Mad Hot Ballroom. Instead of Ugandan children, the subjects were the children of lower income families in New York City. Typically, these kids most often fall into drugs and a life of crime, but teachers with a passion for dance manage to instill that same passion in the hearts of their students. Through the documentary, the audience was able to see with their own eyes the children's incredible transformation.

Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine have set out to make a film that directly rocks the global perspective on Ugandan children. It is their way of hoping to contribute to the relief of these communities ... and I for one am sold. I look forward to more documentary filmmakers not only opening everyone's eyes, but also using the proceeds of their films to directly donate to their causes. Paramount donated 5% of An Inconvenient Truth ticket sales to Alliance for Climate Protection and Shine Global is doing the same; all proceeds from War/Dance will directly fund the individuals projected on the screen. It's amazing how easy they are making it for us to contribute; all we have to do is buy a ticket to sit down and watch a film.

Today Show critic Gene Shalit may not love those gay cowboys (yes, we know, they're sheepherders, but "cowboys" sounds so much more rugged and manly), but the rest of the film critics sure do. Brokeback Mountain stomped all over the competition at the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics' Choice Awards, snagging wins in three cats, including Best Picture. The film also won honors for Michelle Williams for Best Supporting Actress, in an award shared with Amy Adams for Junebug, and for Ang Lee as Best Director. The BFCA wins bode well for the films shot at Oscar gold next month - five of the six past years winners of Best Picture at the Critics' Choice.

Brokeback's Heath Ledger lost out to Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote, and Reese Witherspoon declared, "I love critics! This year, anyway," as she took the Best Actress prize for her portrayal of June Carter in Walk the Line. Paul Giamatti snuck in a surprise victory over George Clooney for Best Supporting Actor, while Crash won the screenplay and ensemble awards.  March of the Penguins continued to dominate the documentary scene, beating out Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Murderball, Mad Hot Ballroom and Grizzly Man, in a race that could end up closely mirroring the Oscars. However, two documentaries that I think should get noms - Favela Rising and Boys of Baraka - were ignored in the Critics' noms in spite of Favela Rising winning the International Documentary Association's top award for feature lenth documentaries in November (actually Favela shared the award with another film, Our Brand is Crisis, but still, other documentary filmmakers thought it rocked). Look for interviews with directors of several documentaries on the Oscar shortlist within the next month here on Cinematical, because we love you, and we know you need your serious film talk to wash the taste of Bloodrayne out of your mouths. 

Complete list of 2005 Critics Award winners and nominees is here.