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WASHINGTON  (AFP) - A US judge has refused to allow the public release of information divulged by the CIA to the producers of the film "Zero Dark Thirty," a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday. The Hollywood movie about the hunt for 9/11 mastermind terrorist Obama bin Laden relied on information disclosed to its director Katherine Bigelow and the movie's screenwriter Mark Boal by the US Central Intelligence Agency. The names of key figures involved in the planning of the top secret mission were sought by the non-governmental group Judicial Watch, which had argued in a court filing that since they had been revealed by US intelligence, they no longer could be classified as secret. [caption id="attachment_154056" align="alignleft" width="280"] Bin Laden[/caption] Judicial Watch in its suit in US District Court criticized the Barack Obama administration, which it said "gave the Hollywood filmmakers unusual access to classified intelligenc...

By Dotun Ibiwoye A documentary film titled: ‘Electricity Power Situation in Nigeria:The true story’, which is first of its kind, has been produced by Project Light Up Nigeria. National Co-ordinator of the project, Mr. Frank Aja Ukpabi, disclosed this in a statement made available to HVP. He explained  that the objective of producing the documentary was to recognise and encourage those contributing towards steady electricity power supply in the country. [caption id="attachment_342547" align="alignnone" width="412"] File photo: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State (2nd left) with other state officials during the switching on of the Festival of Lights, last Thursday night, in Lagos.[/caption] Ukpabi said the documentary will serve as a wake-up call for those lagging behind in executing electricity power projects in the public and private sectors, while functioning as an informative tool for Nigerians at home,in the Diaspora and international community. ...

OTTAWA (AFP) - The Toronto International Film Festival, which opens in September, will showcase movies about the origins of WikiLeaks, the rise of Nelson Mandela, and slavery in America, organizers announced Tuesday. North America's largest film festival opens in six weeks, with fiction taking a backseat to movies about actual events. Bill Condon's "The Fifth Estate," starring Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will kick off the 38th edition of the festival. "This dramatic thriller based on real events reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century's most fiercely debated organization," a statement said. The film chronicles the beginnings of WikiLeaks and asks "the defining question of modern time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society - and what are the costs of exposing them?" The film also stars David Thewlis, Stanley Tucci, Lau...

Now, it looks like the real contenders are separating themselves from the pretenders. Last week, we saw Damilola Adegbite and Bobby Obodo exiting the quest to join Nuella Njubigbo, Uche Iwuji, Michael Okon and Gideon Okeke who were the first set of contenders to leave the quest after failing to meet the bill. Maybe it is not so surprising that Ejiro Okurame and Kenneth Okolie are bowing out this week because of their poor run for a while  Kenneth Okolie particularly ought to have been ousted long before now but his cumulative votes kept him hanging on until this week when his luck completely ran out. Ejiro, on the other hand, had it coming for her week in, week out, in trickles but not good enough to keep her in this week. The number of people who have exited the quest is now four men and four women, leaving 21 apiece of the original 25 that were nominated for this year's edition of Sexiest in Nollywood. For better understanding of progress in the quest, the contenders were quarter...

Lagos -With a looming merge and the impending introduction of the fake Emerald housemates, it’s set to be a dazzling week on Big Brother: The Chase! The housemates are unaware of the drama that’s set to unfold on Friday – but they’re doing a good job of creating their own after a tough day of nominations. With the nominations in and the Heads of House having both influenced proceedings, Angelo, Annabel, Bassey, Dillish and Pokello are the housemates in the eviction firing line this week. While it was the end of the road for serial nominee Natasha and Selly as they were evicted from Big Brother: The Chase during Sunday night’s live eviction show. Natasha failed to survive yet another week in the nomination firing line, while Selly found herself heading home after being swapped with Elikem in Oneal’s ‘save & replace’ decision last Monday. IK delivered a stunning double blow after receiving the verified voting results from the SizweNtsalubaGobodo auditor, calling out Selly and Natash...

Lagos - The President, Association of Movie Producers, Zik Okafor, said that plans were on by the film industry to build a Nollywood Village. Okafor said in Lagos on Tuesday that the gesture was to mark Nollywood’s forthcoming 20 years anniversary celebration. ``We want to set up the Nollywood house, build a magnificent edifice with the inscription `Nollywood’ on it as they have in other climes. ``So that when anybody comes to Nigeria, there is a place they can go and say this is Nollywood village and can get what they want in one place. ``We have been operating from our homes, so we should have a base where we can be located,’’ Okafor said. According to him, we want a place that can contain television actors, different guild associations, creative designers and so many others in the same environment. The president said the place, where the village would be sited, would be announced during the anniversary. Okafor said a Nollywood foundation would also be set up to cater for veterans in...

The countdown hots up: After another week of intense voting, Damilola Adegbite and Bobby Obodo are the latest stars to exit the quest after failing to gather enough votes to stay in the quest The duo now complete a list of six stars: 3 men and 3 women who have dropped from the quest after Nuella Njubigbo, Uche Iwuji, Michael Okon and Gideon Okeke also failed to make the bill a week before. The quest is now left with 22 men and 22 women from the original 25 apiece who started the race. Interestingly, of the 10 stars put on the drop zone last week, 2 have been able to make it out to the safe zone after putting up an impressive outing last week in the polls. The duo of Alex Ekubo and Yvonne Okoro who were drawn up for eviction have not only survived twice but have shot up their lots in the quest to be counted among those looking good to go the distance. Now, those in the drop zone are Chita Agwu, Ejiro Okurame, Angela Okorie, Queen Nwokoye and Tope Osoba, in the female category. The male ...

Abuja -  Mr Tony Okoroji, the Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), says increase in Internet capability for live streaming and download of movies has reduced revenues earned from works of artists. Okoroji, on Tuesday in Abuja, said that it also prevented producers from monitoring the proliferating use of their works and licencing such use. He said that establishing a Collective Management Organisation (CMO) for the industry was therefore important in addressing the issues to achieve its sustainable growth. He said that a CMO would give the industry stronger force to negotiate better terms and protect the interests of the stakeholders. Okoroji said that the CMO would enable actors, producers and movie makers in the industry receive royalties for use of their works but advised that caution be taken in its establishment. He said that cooperation and mutual understanding was necessary in establishing a CMO in order to prevent selfish interests and personal gains. `` Collective m...

It seems the going is getting tougher and tougher with people only hanging on the fringes having to be left off the moving train in the Sexiest in Nollywood. Since the 'Quest' started a couple of months ago, several Nollywood stars have been drawn up to dry their luck with just 25 men and 25 women making it to the starting line. Now that the race has begun, some are finding it hard to keep with the pace of others. 3 men and 3 women were drawn up for eviction last week in the hope that the week's voting could come up to salvage the continuing presence in the 'Quest'. However, only Yvonne Okoro and Alex Ekubo made it back into the 'Quest' with the duo of Nuella Njubigbo and Uche Iwuji bowing out in the female category. Michael Okon and Gideon Okeke put up a good fight but yet failed to make it back. While Yvonne Okoro and Alex Ekubo are back, their stand isn't looking like anything built of cast iron. Their only consolation is that there are several others...

Lagos - A Nigerian Nollywood actor, [caption id="attachment_232331" align="alignright" width="278"] Emeka Ike[/caption] , on Saturday called for peaceful co-existence in the entertainment industry for the development of the sector. Ike in Lagos that said  there must be a prevailing peaceful atmosphere for the industry to develop. ``For development to take place in the industry, Nigerian actors need to work together to promote the sector. ``Most of the Nollywood actors do their film production without involving professionals in the industry. Such attitude affects the qualities of film produced,'' Ike said. He urged the Federal Government to work with the guild to identify the right people in the industry. ``The government needs to work with the Nigerian Guild of Actors to sanction the illegal practitioners in the industry," he said. He urged actors, irrespective of their tribes and ethnicity, to work together to promote the entertainment indus...