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| Dixie Chicks |
Backstage at the Grammys Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines had "her first cry in three years" as the Chicks swept the board, winning in all five categories for which they were nominated. The comeback signalled a victory not only for their music but for freedom of speech – in 2003 the world's best selling female band had been sent into musical exile for stating they were "ashamed Bush is from Texas".
Death threats followed, right-wing radio stations boycotted their songs, and trucks publicly crushed crates of their CDs. But a new documentary
Shut up & Sing will now expose their three year ordeal. Co-directed by Cecilia Peck, documentary-maker and daughter of activist actor Gregory Peck, the film charts the career nose-dive of the Texan trio who stood up and spoke out.
Amanda Palmer catches up with Cecilia in London to talk about politics, cinema and how her father's legacy has influenced her own career.
Bollywood Acting Schools
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| Training for Bollywood |
In India, movies are without a doubt a national obsession, with the world's largest film industry, Bollywood, churning out over 1000 films a year to an estimated audience of three billion.
So it's little surprise that the one annual talent contest to find fresh Bollywood blood sets pulses racing amongst wannabe stars. But in front of the Bollywood lens, how you look is equally important to how you perform. Journalist Sapna Bhatia looks at the growing industry of acting schools and the grooming classes that promise to make Bollywood dreams come true.
The Host
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| The Host |
Premiering at last years Cannes film festival, South Korean monster flick
The Host has become an all time box office smash back home, with 13 million of the country's 48 million inhabitants having seen it.
Bringing equal doses of parody and homage to the Korean monster genre,
The Host is not one for the faint hearted, as a mammoth amphibian spawned from pollution caused by the US military, begins to terrorise its nearby town.