Christian Bale was blocked from visiting a human rights activist under house arrest in rural China by plainclothes guards Thursday, as video posted by CNN shows . The “ Dark Knight ” actor traveled eight hours from Beijing, where he was promoting the film, “ Flowers of War ,” to meet Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer and activist who has been confined to his home since being released from prison in September 2010. Read full article > >

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Christian Bale attempts to visit Chinese activist, is blocked by guards (Video)

The 2011 Academy Awards are now over – another year of filmmaking is officially in the books – and now that we’ve survived the red carpet, the three-hour-plus ceremony and Anne Hathaway’s various costume changes, we can politely congratulate The King’s Speech for winning the ceremony’s highest honor, Best Picture. Let’s get the big awards out of the way right now: Best Picture: The King’s Speech Best Director: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Figher Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter

The Screen Actors Guild held its annual award ceremony Sunday, showering even more praise on Oscar frontrunners Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), and The Fighter’s Christian Bale and Melissa Leo-each of whom also took home…

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Firth, Portman Win Big at SAG Awards

The nominations are out, and we finally have the list of ten films competing for Best Picture of the year. Sure, you have your obvious frontrunners in The Social Network, The King’s Speech and Black Swan, but there are seven other great films right alongside those three hoping that maybe this will be their year. Heck, Toy Story 3 was the best reviewed film of the year, as well as the highest grossing, so maybe it will swoop in and pull off an upset. Or how about The Fighter, which may sweep the supporting categories with wins for both Christian Bale and Melissa Leo (both of whom swept these categories at the Golden Globes). Then you have your second tier Best Picture contenders like 127 Hours, The Kids are All Right, True Grit and Winter’sBone that are more than capable of… Read More Read Comments

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Oscar Poll: Which Film Do You Want to See Win Best Picture?

Some celebrities aren’t just pretty faces. A few of them are also touched with that Yankee prowess for tinkering and invention. In this weekly series, we introduce you to the Patents of the Rich and Famous. And maybe you learn a little bit about how patent literature works along the way. Inventor: Steve McQueen Known For: The New York Times and Reuters called him “The King of Cool.” He was kind of like the Christian Bale of the 1960s — good looking, combative, popular with the ladies. He attained this status not only by choosing leading roles in popular action thrillers like The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt , but also by performing some of his own stunts . Take this car chase scene from Bullit . Look at McQueen gun down those hitmen: A dedicated motorcycle rider off-screen, McQueen claimed that he did all of his own stunts for the camera. While he may have liked to maintain that air of awesome, two other doubles helped out. That tidbit may mar your image of him, but know that he did patent an item necessary for the filming of that very scene. Invented Apparatus: ” Bucket seat shell ” These were the seats in the Ford Mustang used in the movie Bullitt . Rationale Behind Invention: It’s a design patent, so really, just to make McQueen (and the scene) that much cooler. The bucket seat shown above is a new variation, a new look, on an old idea. McQueen — and his doubles — would have been kept unharmed with another apparatus had he not taken the time to improve the look. Off Label Uses: We bet some die-hard McQueen lovers could find ways to incorporate the bucket seat into a number of different recreational activities. Future Directions: While gifting these bucket seats to long-time fanatic is a very nice gesture for the holiday season, up the ante and install some car seat extras: heated cushions and massage. Peruse more Celebrity Inventions .

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Celebrity Invention: Steve McQueen’s Bucket Seat

Nominations were announced this morning for the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild, which are awards given out by the Screen Actor’s Guild to honor the best performances of the year. You won’t find Best Picture or Best Director here – these are just for the performers, and, remaining consistent with previous awards and nominations handed out by critics organizations and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it’s looking like the same films are rising to the top. The King’s Speech and The Fighter both walked away with four nominations. The latter took home a Best Ensemble nod and three Best Supporting nominations for Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. Meanwhile, The King’s Speech won nods for Best Ensemble, Best Leading Actor (Colin Firth)… Read More Read Comments

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SAG Nominations Announced with The Fighter and King’s Speech On Top