Morning News Bulletin

Good morning all

The Hollywood microsm of fantasy does not stop.

Here are some news bits for you to enjoy.

It's refreshing to see that a film with few recognisable stars in it, at least to the masses, winning an award. The LA Times reported earlier yesterday that Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone," a drama about a teenager living in Missouri's Orzak mountains who puts her life in danger in a hunt for her meth-maker father, was named best film of 2010 at the 20th-anniversary Gotham Film Awards on Monday evening in New York.

It is worth noting that last year's Gotham winner, "The Hurt Locker," won the Oscar for best film, director and screeenplay this year.

The film also won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in January, which means it has sustained praise over a year. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Lauren Sweetser, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt and Devin Breznahan, actors whom we aim to keep an eye on in future.

The Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You honors was awarded to Mike Ott's "Little Rock."

Davis Guggenheim's documentary "Waiting for Superman" garnered the Festival Genius Audience award, which was voted on by filmgoers online.

Career tributes were given to Oscar-winners Robert Duvall and Hilary Swank and director Darren Aronofsky and Focus Features Chief Executive James Shamus. Darren Aronofsky seems to get onto our blog often; we know.

The Gotham Independent Film Awards are presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project, the nation's oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers.

The Australian newspaper the Herald Sun reported today that Australian moviemakers were being encouraged to do business with China's filmmakers.

Western film-makers have usually struggled to get Chinese government approval to make co-productions with Chinese companies.

However a new alliance between Australian and Chinese screen producers would foster better filmmaking relations between the two countries.

The Screen Producers Association of Australia and China Screen alliance has been created to assit producers with getting through Chinese bureaucratic systems.

It will also provide services such as translators to help put producers directly in contact with one another.

A film producer from South Australia has already gained approval for a co-production with a Chinese film company.

Mario Andreacchio, who recently finished his children's feature The Last Dragon, said Chinese film makers were keen to work with Australian counterparts, the Herlad Sun said.

"In Xi'an alone they have over 300 film production companies," he told the newspaper.

The Screen Producers Association of Australia has said film production is booming in the fast growing economy of China, with 2010 box office takings expected to exceed US$1.5 billion," the paper said.

"That is expected to get to $4.5 billion in the next 5 years," SPAA executive director Geoff Brown told the Herald Sun.