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'The Kite Runner' Is Banned in Afghanistan
17 January 2008 (WENN)
Oscar favorite The Kite Runner has been banned in Afghanistan, because of a graphic scene showing the sexual assault of a young boy. The movie, which is set in the war-torn country, won't be screened there after the culture ministry deemed the attack scene "ethnically orientated" - because the boy was raped by another from a different community. Indian movie Kabul-Express was banned in 2007 on similar grounds. Deputy culture minister Najib Malalai says, "When one member of an ethnic group is attacked by people from a different one, it makes it seem that ethnicity was the cause for this type of act. It cannot be accepted." The four young stars of the movie have already fled Afghanistan for the U.S. fearing they would be targeted because of the harrowing scene.

'Kite' Flies at U.S. Box Office
17 December 2007 (StudioBriefing)
The independent film market had a new hit of its own over the weekend. In limited release, the Paramount Classics/DreamWorks The Kite Runner opened with $450,970 in 35 theaters or an average of $12,885 per theater. The film, set in Afghanistan and California between 1979 and 2000, had received mixed reviews on Friday. Lou Lumenick in the New York Post observed: "There was no shortage of sobbing at the screening I attended, but in the final analysis this is more an entertaining than a profound film that somehow seems rushed and overlong at the same time." But Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times awarded it four stars, writing, "How long has it been since you saw a movie that succeeds as pure story? That doesn't depend on stars, effects or genres, but simply fascinates you with how it will turn out? Marc Forster's The Kite Runner, based on a much-loved novel, is a movie like that." Two other indie films also performed solidly, due in large part to awareness brought about by Golden Globes nominations last week. Universal Pictures/Focus Features' Atonement, which nabbed seven nominations, earned $1.9 million or an average of $15,835 per theater. Miramax's No Country for Old Men, which counted four Globe nominations, took in $3 million

Critics Choice Nominees a Mixed Bag
12 December 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Once again pointing up the lack of consensus over which motion picture deserves best film honors, the Broadcast Film Critics Association divided its major nominations among seven films for its annual Critics Choice Awards. Into the Wild led with seven nominations; Juno received six; and Atonement, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, Sweeney Todd and Hairspray each received five. All of the films received best picture nominations with the exception of Hairspray. Also nominated for best picture were American Gangster, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Kite Runner, and There Will Be Blood.Winners are due to be announced during an awards telecast on VH1 set for January 7.

Young Afghan Actors Spirited Out of Country by Paramount
6 December 2007 (StudioBriefing)
Paramount delayed the release of The Kite Runner for six weeks so that four boys who appeared in the movie and their families could be whisked out of Afghanistan and relocated in the United Arab Emirates, the Associated Press reported today (Thursday). In one scene, one of the boys witnesses the rape of his friend. Although the film was not scheduled to be released in Afghanistan, there was fear that should pirated copies get into the country, residents there might harm the young actors. The film is due to open on Dec. 14.

'No Country for Old Men' Named Best Picture by National Board of Review
6 December 2007 (WENN)
In a year with no one film as a specific front-runner of the awards season, the National Board of Review has given a leg up to the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men, honoring it as Best Picture, as well as with the group's ensemble cast award and adapted screenplay honor. In a reflection of the lack of heavyweight pictures and performances favored for potential Academy Award nominations, the National Board spread around its awards to a number of movies and actors. Tim Burton was named Best Director for Sweeney Todd, while former Oscar winners George Clooney (Michael Clayton) and Julie Christie (Away From Her) were honored as Best Actor and Actress; the supporting awards went to two highly acclaimed performances: Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone (which also starred Affleck). The Diving Bell and the Butterfly won the Foreign Film Award, with Body of War and Ratatouille named the best documentary and animated films, respectively. A group of film aficionados and academics, the National Board is not a critics' group per se, but has gained its fame by handing out the first honors of the awards season. Winners named by critics' groups in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles will follow in the next week, with the Golden Globe nominations being announced on Thursday, December 13.

Other awards include: Breakthrough Performance by an Actor - Emile Hirsch, Into The Wild; Breakthrough Performance by an Actress - Ellen Page, Juno; Best Directorial Debut - Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone; Best Original Screenplay (tie): Diablo Cody, Juno and Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl.

In addition to its Best Picture award, the National Board of Review also names the top ten films of the year, in alphabetical order: The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Atonement, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bucket List, Into The Wild, Juno, The Kite Runner, Lars And The Real Girl, Michael Clayton, and Sweeney Todd. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

'No Country for Old Men' Named Best Picture by National Board of Review
5 December 2007 (WENN)
In a year with no one film as a specific front-runner of the awards season, the National Board of Review has given a leg up to the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men, honoring it as Best Picture, as well as with the group's ensemble cast award and adapted screenplay honor. In a reflection of the lack of heavyweight pictures and performances favored for potential Academy Award nominations, the National Board spread around its awards to a number of movies and actors. Tim Burton was named Best Director for Sweeney Todd, while former Oscar winners George Clooney (Michael Clayton) and Julie Christie (Away From Her) were honored as Best Actor and Actress; the supporting awards went to two highly acclaimed performances: Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone (which also starred Affleck). The Diving Bell and the Butterfly won the Foreign Film Award, with Body of War and Ratatouille named the best documentary and animated films, respectively. A group of film aficionados and academics, the National Board is not a critics' group per se, but has gained its fame by handing out the first honors of the awards season. Winners named by critics' groups in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles will follow in the next week, with the Golden Globe nominations being announced on Thursday, December 13.

Other awards include: Breakthrough Performance by an Actor - Emile Hirsch, Into The Wild; Breakthrough Performance by an Actress - Ellen Page, Juno; Best Directorial Debut - Ben Affleck, Gone Baby Gone; Best Original Screenplay (tie): Diablo Cody, Juno and Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl.

In addition to its Best Picture award, the National Board of Review also names the top ten films of the year, in alphabetical order: The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, Atonement, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Bucket List, Into The Wild, Juno, The Kite Runner, Lars And The Real Girl, Michael Clayton, and Sweeney Todd. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

Producers Postpone 'The Kite Runner' Over Rape Scene
15 October 2007 (WENN)
The producers of new movie The Kite Runner have decided to postpone the release of the film, so they have time to get the film's young stars out of their native Afghanistan - and avoid local ethnic tensions. The three young actors in the adaptation of the 2003 bestseller are involved in a harrowing rape scene in the film and the boys' families feared they'd be targeted once news of the controversy spread through their local community. So producers at Paramount Vantage have agreed to postpone the film's U.S. release for six weeks - and relocate the young stars and their families in the United Arab Emirates until the growing fuss over the film ends. Director Marc Forster accepts the decision by his producers, telling Entertainment Weekly magazine, "Everybody's primary concern is the safety and welfare of those kids." The film will now be released on December 14. The three boys are expected to attend the movie's U.S. premiere.