Kate Winslet is attached to star in The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society, which Kenneth Branagh is set to direct for Fox 2000.
This reunites Winslet with Branagh for the first time since she played Ophelia in his bigscreen Hamlet in 1996.

The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society is adapted by Don Roos from the bestseller by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

It’s a love story set in the London and the Channel Islands after WWII. Winslet will play a magazine columnist who enters into a correspondence with a man from Guernsey, and learns how the islanders used a book group during the war as cover to outwit their German occupiers.

Captivated by their stories of the occupation, and how the books came to influence their lives, she decides to travel to Guernsey herself, a journey that changes her forever.

In a recent interview with Variety, Branagh described the project as “a beautiful romance, very touching and uplifting.”

The project is being produced by Paula Masur and Mitchell Kaplan, with Branagh’s regular partner David Barron. Shooting is scheduled for March, according to the Daily Mail.

The book was first published in the U.S. in 2008. It was the first and only novel by Mary Ann Shaffer, an editor and librarian, whose niece Annie Burrows helped her finish it when Shaffer became terminally ill. Shaffer died aged 74 a few months before the novel was published.

Source: Variety

Actress Kate Winslet is set to fete her Mildred Pierce co-star Guy Pearce with a special award for his career achievements at an event recognizing notable Australians.

Pearce will be one of three guests of honor, alongside basketball player Luc Longley and musical duo Air Supply, at the 9th annual G’Day USA Los Angeles Black Tie Gala on January 14.

G’Day Usa Organising Committee Chairman Wally Mariani says, “We are thrilled to have Kate Winslet present her Mildred Pierce co-star Guy Pearce with the Excellence in Film & Television Award at this year’s G’Day USA Los Angeles Black Tie Gala, especially the night before the Golden Globes, when they are both nominees.”

The prizegiving is part of the three-week G’Day USA Australia Week programme.

Previous honorees include Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and Naomi Watts.

Source: Contactmusic

Kate Winslet’s make-up collection for Lancôme is finally available in the UAE! The beauty giant recently announced its support to the Golden Hat Foundation created by Kate, who has been a brand Ambassadress for four years.
Lancôme promises to donate at least Dhs700,000 of its sales profits to the non-profit foundation which raises money to better the lives of autistic children. Kate said, “I’ve been thinking about setting up this project for a long time, and Lancôme’s instant offer of support is a huge display of confidence and generosity,” adding, “Lancôme has given me the strength to go all the way and I know that this will open many doors.” What a sweetie!

Source: AHLAN!

Kate Winslet has been invited to return to Branson’s Necker Island for Christmas and New Year, along with her tediously surnamed boyfriend Ned Rocknroll.

The Titanic star was a guest at Richard’s £60 million private Caribbean island this summer, when the Great House they were staying in went up in flames after being struck by lightning.

Kate, 36, escaped the terrifying inferno and carried Richard’s 90-year-old mum, Eve, to safety.

A source said: “Richard’s invited her and the kids back to thank her for her bravery in saving his mother.”

Richard is fixing the house ahead of daughter Holly’s wedding, due later this month.

Source: Mirror

Kate Winslet, who presently shares a $2.2 million New York apartment with ex-husband Sam Mendes, now looks forward for a live-in relationship with new beau Ned Rocknroll.

The pair has been inseparable since their meeting on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island this summer.

“Kate and Ned have barely spent a day apart since they met,” the Daily Mail quoted a friend as saying.

“They have been traveling together recently but are hoping to find a base that they can call home.”

“Sam isn’t keen on them moving into the New York place, which they own jointly, so Kate is looking for something else, either in the States or Britain,” the friend added.

Source: Hindustan Times

Kate Winslet is set to see the doomed ship Titanic for real — courtesy of billionaire Sir Richard Branson.

The Virgin boss had recently divulged his plan to join other tourists paying 38,000 pounds each for a submarine 12,500ft dive to the wreck of Titanic in the North Atlantic, the Daily Mail reported.

“It is something I am very keen to do. I’m deadly serious about this and I would love to invite Kate to come with me,” Branson said.

“Wouldn’t it be something if the star of Titanic really got to go down to the real ship? I’m going to talk to her but I’m sure it’s an opportunity she will jump at.”

It is one of the most iconic images in film history. When Kate Winslet stood on the prow of the Titanic in the blockbuster 1997 film, it turned her into an overnight superstar.

Source: The Times of India

The new trailer for Titanic 3D has been released whetting fans’ appetites for Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet tale of forbidden love.

Director James Cameron has converted the 1997 box office smash into 3D following the success of his last film Avatar.

The movie made DiCaprio and Winslet household names and won a whopping 11 Oscars — a feat only achieved by Ben-Hur and The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.

Leo and Kate plays star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose in the movie, which also stars Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bill Paxton, Bernard Hill, David Warner and Victor Garber.
The promo shows the couple falling in love on the Titanic and features the famous drawing scene where Jack sketches Rose in the nude.

The trailer also features the scene where Jack yells out: “I’m the king of the world!”

On Twitter Katy Perry announced to her fans: “I seriously can’t wait for Titanic 3D!!!”
HollyProsserx said: “omg the Titanic 3D trailer is absolutely beautiful!”
LovaticBoy posted: “Just watched the Titanic 3D Trailer. Omg goosebumps.”

Titanic became the highest grossing film of all time after raking in $1.8 billion worldwide until it was surpassed by Avatar in 2010 when it took $2.7 billion.

The movie is released in cinemas on April 6, 2012.

Dr. Ian Lipkin, expert who advised on Soderbergh’s movie, says we must be better prepared for outbreak of deadly disease

It’s a classic Hollywood tale: scientists race against time to decode a killer virus that is spreading across the world. But the scientist who advised Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh on his new thriller, Contagion, says the events and themes of his latest film carry a very real warning for our times.

Dr. Ian Lipkin, professor of epidemiology, neurology and pathology at New York’s Columbia University, was recruited as a senior technical adviser on Soderbergh’s blockbuster. The film, which opened in cinemas on Friday, charts the emergence of a deadly infectious disease that ignites a pandemic.

Scientists are first alerted after Beth Emhoff, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, becomes sick after returning from a business trip to Hong Kong and dies two days later. As the virus quickly spreads and the death toll rises, it is down to a team of scientists — including Dr Erin Mears, played by Kate Winslet — to decode the virus so that a vaccine can be produced.

According to Lipkin, the plot is anything but unrealistic. Virus outbreaks are an increasing threat in the 21st century, he says, because of greater international trade and travel, urbanization, loss of wildlife habitats and inadequate investment in infrastructure for surveillance, vaccine production and distribution.

“Scientists have been accused of overreacting and crying wolf over the threat of virus outbreaks after the influenza pandemic of 2009,” Lipkin told the Observer. “Sars [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome] didn’t progress beyond a few locations, but outbreaks and pandemics will occur and we need to get our heads out of the sand and realize the real risks that we face. More than three-quarters of all emerging infectious diseases originate when microbes jump from wildlife to humans.

“Our vulnerability to such diseases has been heightened by the growth in international travel and the globalization of food production. In addition, deforestation and urbanization continue to displace wildlife, increasing the probability that wild creatures will come in contact with domesticated animals and humans.”

Lipkin says societies need to be more proactive in combating the dangers. “People need to understand that science is critical to address these kinds of challenges and respond in real time,” he said. “We need to be prepared. We need better bio-surveillance, with better detection and better ability to develop vaccines. However, our public health system is underfunded and overwhelmed, and we need more scientists.”

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