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from Environment Forum:

Brad Pitt, Matt Damon give krill a star turn

There are no small parts, only small actors, or so the old show-biz saying goes. Now there are big stars -- Matt Damon and Brad Pitt -- playing two of the smallest parts ever. In a far cry from "Ocean's Eleven" (and 12 and 13) they're lending their voices to a pair of krill, small shrimp-like creatures that form the base of the Antarctic food web.

Pitt and Damon play Will and Bill, the krill, in "Happy Feet Two," the sequel to the 2006 dancing-penguins animated feature. Both films have conservation themes. The latest movie  opens  in mid-November.

These Hollywood names might help shine a spotlight on krill at a time when the species is under pressure, according to the Pew Environment Group. An international meeting under way now in Hobart, Tasmania, is expected to consider more protection for these tiny animals, which penguins, seals and whales depend on to survive.

Increasing demand for krill as feed for industrially farmed fish and for nutritional supplements has pushed the krill fishery beyond a sustainable level, the conservation group said in a statement. Krill fishing in some areas could outpace efforts to protect the well-known animals that rely on it.

“Existing efforts to regulate krill catch must be sustained and enforced, so that animals such as penguins and seals are not competing against industrial fishing vessels just to survive,” said Gerry Leape, a senior officer at the Pew group.

New fishing technologies enable fleets from multiple countries process krill continuously, bringing in much higher catches than a decade ago. An accelerating loss of sea ice that provides essential habitat for krill adds to the problem and threatens to deplete stocks in key feeding areas for penguins, seals and whales.

The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources is meeting in Tasmania from October 24 through November 4, and the Pew Environment Group is asking delegates to the commission to require observers on all krill-fishing vessels, set up a dedicated fund to monitor krill predators, and maintain smaller divisions of the ocean to manage krill to prevent local depletion that will harm penguins and other animals.

War films, what are they good for? — not box office

Iraq war films. They may be good for Academy Awards, but not for Hollywood’s b ox office receipts — not yet, anyway.

Ever since “In the Valley of Elah” hit movie theaters in 2007, we in the media have been writing stories looking at whether and when audiences might turn out in big numbers for films that in some way cover the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Several movies dealing with some aspect have come and gone in theaters with very little box office to show for it. The mostly low-budget movies include “Stop-Loss,” “Brothers” or even “The Kite Runner,” which had nothing to do with the current war but nevertheless was about Afghan culture. Even some big-budget films such as “Jarhead” (2005) or “The Kingdom” (2007), which feigned that they had nothing to do with the current conflicts but could not be watched outside the context of today’s headlines, failed to generate big returns.

So, with that as a backdrop and just coming off the Oscar victory for “The Hurt Locker” earlier this month, a good many movie reporters watched anxiously to see if this past weekend’s “Green Zone” could break the slump. It had a major Hollywood star in Matt Damon and top director with Paul Greengrass. The two had paired up before in two of the smash hit “Bourne” spy movies. It had all the makings of a box office smash, except that the story took place inside the US controlled green zone in Baghdad and covered the US military’s inability to find weapons of mass destruction following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The outcome: the movie flopped. You can read about “Green Zone” here and an interview with Damon here and this weekend’s box office story here.

It is obvious in Monday’s hindsight, that moviegoers still prefer escapist fantasy such as, “Alice in Wonderland,” over realistic war stories while the wars are ongoing.

Why is the box office for war movies interesting? Because in World War II, movies were used as propaganda films to pump up the war effort. Where Korea and Vietnam were concerned, it wasn’t until well after those conflicts ended that, generally speaking, audiences were able to watch meaningful movies about them. So, the question has been what about modern audiences and the current wars? And the answer is: overcoming whatever feelings people have about them, too, will take years.

Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus” named top movie for “grown-ups”

Clint Eastwood’s movie “Invictus”, featuring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, might not have bagged any of the top honors so far this awards season but it has come  top  of one annual list — “Best Movie for Grownups,” according to AARP The Magazine catering for the 50+ audience.

The ninth annual list ranking films for the 50+ audience — and ranking actors and actresses aged over 50 — also awarded Robert de Niro a Lifetime Achievement Award that will be presented at a Los Angeles Awards Gala on Feb. 16.

Other awards went to “Julie & Julia” for the ” Best Grownup Love Story,” “The Soloist” for the “Best Buddy Picture” and “Star Trek” for the “Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up.”

Top acting honors went to Jeff Bridges winning best male actor 50+ for country singer Bad  Blake in “Crazy Heart,” Helen Mirren for best actress 50+ in “The Last Station,” and the best supporting acting awards went to Alec Baldwin for “It’s Complicated,” and Kim Basinger for “The Burning Plain.”

“In 2009, 50+ actors and filmmakers took center-stage on the silver screen, turning in performances and films that were riveting and nothing short of daring,” added Bill Newcott, entertainment editor of AARP The Magazine. “Tackling war, apartheid, sexuality and adding real depth to romantic comedies, the 50+ Hollywood community shows once again that they are an integral, much-needed element of the film industry. And 60-year old Meryl Streep proved without a doubt that she is the leading lady of our times, a critical and box-office cottage industry.”

“The Informant!” Matt Damon feels fine looking fat

Much has been made of superstar Matt Damon adding 30 lbs of heft to take on his new role in Steven Soderbergh directed movie “The Informant!”. The movie hits U.S. theaters on Sept. 17, but it premiered at the Venice film festival earlier this week. You can read about it here.

“The Informant!,” whose backers hope to win an award for Damon playing a corporate whistle-blower in a U.S. agri-business, also debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this week. On Friday in Toronto, Damon was talking to the media about his role.

Notably, the most asked question was about the extra junk he put in his trunk. How’d he do it? Mostly by eating pizza and drinking beer, he said. And Damon, perhaps uncharacteristically of a movie star once named People’s magazine’s sexiest man alive, said he liked carrying the extra pounds! He also said fans watching him shoot the movie in the midwestern U.S. would tell him he looked good with his wig, mustache and full face.

Or, were they lying? You be the judge, click below to watch.