The Last King of Scotland (2006) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The Last King of Scotland ( 2006 ) R | Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970's. Director: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 42 titles created 01 Dec 2010 a list of 34 titles created 14 Apr 2011 a list of 22 titles created 10 Jan 2012 a list of 47 titles created 14 Nov 2015 a list of 32 titles created 6 months ago Title: The Last King of Scotland (2006) 7.7/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

Won 1 Oscar. Another 47 wins & 30 nominations. See more awards » Videos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles , from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s. Director: Taylor Hackford Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment. Director: Davis Guggenheim A politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved and affected by it. Director: Stephen Gaghan A widower is determined to get to the bottom of a potentially explosive secret involving his wife's murder, big business, and corporate corruption.

Director: Fernando Meirelles 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row. Director: Bennett Miller A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century." Director: James Marsh The story of Harvey Milk , and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official. Director: Gus Van Sant Alex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan. Director: Alex Gibney In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.

Director: Luc Jacquet After the death of Princess Diana , Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted. Director: Stephen Frears Two documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district. Directors: Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman Stars: Kochi, Avijit Halder, Shanti Das A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit. Director: Tony Gilroy Edit Storyline In the early 1970s, Nicholas Garrigan, a young semi-idealistic Scottish doctor, comes to Uganda to assist in a rural hospital. Once there, he soon meets up with the new President, Idi Amin, who promises a golden age for the African nation. Garrigan hits it off immediately with the rabid Scotland fan, who soon offers him a senior position in the national health department and becomes one of Amin's closest advisers.

However as the years pass, Garrigan cannot help but notice Amin's increasingly erratic behavior that grows beyond a legitimate fear of assassination into a murderous insanity that is driving Uganda into bloody ruin. Realizing his dire situation with the lunatic leader unwilling to let him go home, Garrigan must make some crucial decisions that could mean his death if the despot finds out. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com) Rated R for some strong violence and gruesome images, sexual content and language | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 19 January 2007 (USA) See more » Also Known As: El último rey de Escocia See more » Filming Locations: $142,899 (USA) (29 September 2006) Gross: Did You Know? Trivia The Times journalist is played by Dr. Dick Stockley who is a British doctor who lives and works in Kampala, Uganda. See more » Goofs (at around 44 mins) When Drs Garrigan and Junju are discussing the chest X-ray it is the wrong way round - back to front.

See more » Quotes Performed by The Nyonza Singers (as Nyzonza Singers) Choir Master: Wassanyi Serukenya Story of Idi Amin's Ugandan rule from his personal doctor's POV 20 September 2006 | by fivepoints (Los Angeles, United States) – See all my reviews I saw this movie at a free Pre-Screening in Hollywood 9-19-06. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly. THE GOOD: Forrest W. acted his butt off in this one. Amazing. In fact, all of the actor's performances were terrific. The shooting locations were beautiful. There was a lot of suspense in the film and at times I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next scene. I must admit the story was really good. There were absolutely wonderful camera shots and angles. THE BAD: Gratuitous sex and violence. Say what you will about Alfred Hitchcock being from another era in film making, but his ideas about implied violence and sex in most of his films were good ones.

THE UGLY: I would have enjoyed the film a lot more if it had been told from the POV of Idi Amin, one of his wives or a Ugandan in his cabinet. CONCLUSION: Would I pay to see this film? Yes. END 128 of 231 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Forest Whitaker - IMDb IMDb Actor | Producer | Director Forest Steven Whitaker has packaged a king-size talent into his hulking 6' 2", 220 lb. frame. He won an Academy Award for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, and has also won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. He is the fourth African-American male to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, following in ...

See full bio » Born: a list of 44 people created 11 Aug 2011 a list of 35 images created 06 Oct 2011 a list of 29 people created 27 Feb 2013 a list of 35 people created 14 Dec 2013 a list of 30 people created 04 Mar 2014 Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of Forest Whitaker's work have you seen? User Polls Won 1 Oscar. Another 55 wins & 50 nominations. See more awards » Known For 2013 Nelson Mandela (Video short) Narrator (voice) 2007-2009 American Dad! (TV Series) Daniel Turlington / Ron Turlington / Turlington - Live and Let Fry (2009) ... Daniel Turlington (voice) - Chimdale (2009) ...

Ron Turlington (voice) 2003 Deacons for Defense (TV Movie) Marcus Clay 2002 The Twilight Zone (TV Series) Narrator 1999 Witness Protection (TV Movie) Steven Beck 1993 Lush Life (TV Movie) Buddy Chester 1993 Last Light (TV Movie) Fred Whitmore 1990 Criminal Justice (TV Movie) Jessie Williams 2012 Rising from Ashes (Documentary) (executive producer) 2011 Serving Life (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer) 2011 Monte Carlo (executive producer) 2009-2011 Brick City (TV Series documentary) (executive producer - 11 episodes) - Judgment Day (2011) ... (executive producer) - Election (2011) ... (executive producer) 2004 First Daughter (executive producer) 2003 The Twilight Zone (TV Series) (consulting producer - 2 episodes) - Burned (2003) ...

(consulting producer) 2001 Green Dragon (executive producer) 1998 Black Jaq (TV Movie) (executive producer) Soundtrack (5 credits) 2013 Black Nativity (performer: "Can't Stop Praising His Name", "Jesus Is On the Mainline", "Be Grateful", "As") 2006 The Last King of Scotland (performer: "The Last Scottish Rite 1-4", "Kay's Lament") 2004 First Daughter (writer: "Thought I'd Seen It All", "Fall", "Free", "You 'n Mego", "Oooops", "Whatever", "Sea of Dreams", "Dance My Dreams (Theme Song from First Daughter)") Hide 1995 Waiting to Exhale (soundtrack executive producer) Hide 2008 Dewmocracy (Video Game) (story) Hide 2007 Death and Taxis (special thanks) 2006 American Pets (Video short) (special thanks) 2000 Battlefield Earth: Evolution & Creation (Video documentary short) (special thanks) 2000 American Masters (TV Series

 documentary) (thanks - 1 episode) 2013-2016 Good Morning America (TV Series) Himself - Guest / Himself 2016 Good Morning Britain (TV Series) Himself - Plays Saw Gerrera 2006-2016 Live!

with Kelly (TV Series) Himself / Himself - Guest 2007-2015 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Himself / Himself - Producer, Dope 2015 A 'Taken' Legacy (Video short) Himself 2015 Drew Pearson Live (TV Series) Himself - Special Guest 2008-2014 Le grand journal de Canal+ (TV Series documentary) Himself 2006-2014 Tavis Smiley (TV Series) Himself / Himself - Guest 2014 45th NAACP Image Awards (TV Movie documentary) Himself 2009-2013 Made in Hollywood (TV Series) Himself 2013 Larry King Now (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2013 Oprah's Next Chapter (TV Series) Himself 1996-2013 Charlie Rose (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2013 BET Awards 2013 (TV Special) Himself 2013 Behind the Truth (Video documentary short) Himself 2013 Africa (TV Mini-Series documentary) Himself - Narrator - The Future (2013) ...

Himself - Narrator (uncredited) - Sahara (2013) ... Himself - Narrator (uncredited) - Cape (2013) ... Himself - Narrator (uncredited) - Congo (2013) ... Himself - Narrator (uncredited) - Savannah (2013) ...

Himself - Narrator (uncredited) 2011 Serving Life (TV Movie documentary) Narrator 2011 Lopez Tonight (TV Series) Himself 2010-2011 Rachael Ray (TV Series) Himself 2009 Shooting Blue (Video documentary short) Himself 2009 Independent Lens (TV Series documentary) Himself / Narrator 2008 Vantage Point: An Inside Perspective (Video documentary short) Himself 2008 Vantage Point: Plotting an Assassination (Video documentary short) Himself 2008 American Idol (TV Series) Himself 2008 King (TV Movie documentary) Himself 1998-2008 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary) Himself 2008 Access Hollywood (TV Series) Himself 1994-2007 Biography (TV Series documentary) Himself / Himself - Friend 2007 Fashion News Live (TV Series) Himself 2007 Miradas 2 (TV Series documentary) Himself 2007 Five News (TV Series) Himself - BAFTA Nominee 2007 Saturday Night Live (TV Series) Himself -

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(TV Series) Himself 2007 Film 2016 (TV Series) Himself 2006 Jimmy Kimmel Live!

(TV Series) Himself 2006 2006 BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards (TV Movie documentary) Himself 2006 American Pets (Video short) Himself 2006 Capturing Idi Amin (Documentary short) Interviewee 2005 2005 BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards (TV Movie documentary) Himself 2004 Närbild (TV Series documentary) Himself 2004 Film Trix 2004 (Documentary short) Himself 2004 Shooting 'Panic Room' (Video documentary) Himself 2004 UFC 46: Supernatural (TV Special) Himself 2002-2003 The Twilight Zone (TV Series) Himself - Host 2001 Caiga quien caiga (TV Series) Himself 2001 Intimate Portrait (TV Series documentary) Himself 2000 Battlefield Earth: Evolution & Creation (Video documentary short) Himself - 'Ker' 2000 American Masters (TV Series documentary) Himself - Actor / Director 2000 VH-1 Where Are They Now?

(TV Series documentary) Himself 2000 The Daily Show (TV Series) Himself 1995 1995 VH1 Honors (TV Movie) Himself 1989 Ebony/Jet Showcase (TV Series) Himself 2013 Movie Guide (TV Series) Cecil Gaines 2009 Buscando a Penélope (TV Movie documentary) Himself 2007 Maquillando entre monstruos (TV Movie documentary) Himself 2003 VH1: All Access (TV Series) Himself Music video: Directed Jagged Edge 's video "Goodbye" See more » Publicity Listings: 8 Interviews | 14 Articles | 3 Pictorials | 2 Magazine Cover Photos | See more » Height: Did You Know? Personal Quote: You must ask yourself if you're standing up for what you know is right, if you're spending time with people close to you, if you're treating others with kindness and compassion. These question are your moral compass, they're your north star... There will always be forces-things like jealousy, greed, and anger-trying to push you away from the ideas you believe in and the causes you care most about...

See more » Trivia: In 2015 received an honorary doctorate from California State University, Dominguez Hills. See more » Trademark: His left eye, which can not open fully due to the hereditary condition ptosis. See more » Star Sign: The Last King of Scotland - Movies - Review - The New York Times The New York Times Movies |An Innocent Abroad, Seduced by a Madman Search Movies | Movie Review | 'The Last King of Scotland' An Innocent Abroad, Seduced by a Madman The Last King of Scotland Directed by Kevin Macdonald Continue reading the main story Strange to think that the flamboyantly lethal nut job Idi Amin died in Saudi Arabia just three years ago. About 80 at the time, he had fled Uganda in 1979 after murdering upwards of 300,000 souls. Larger than life physically and metaphorically, he was a former heavyweight boxing champion with a brilliant sense of leadership as a performance: as a dictator, his methods were brutally antediluvian, but his public relations cunning was consummately 20th century.

Smiling into cameras, he dropped provocations like bombs: “I don’t like human flesh. It’s too salty for me.” The queasily enjoyable new fiction film “The Last King of Scotland,” based on the novel by Giles Foden and directed by Kevin Macdonald, creates a portrait of this famous Ugandan dictator from inside the palace walls. Furiously paced, with excellent performances by Forest Whitaker as Amin and James McAvoy as the foolish Scotsman who becomes the leader’s personal physician, the film has texture, if not depth and enough intelligence to almost persuade you that it actually has something of note to say. It would make a terrific double bill with Barbet Schroeder’s mesmerizing 1974 documentary, “General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait,” of which Mr. Macdonald has obviously made a close and fruitful study. As it also happens, “The Last King of Scotland” would make an even better double bill with Stephen Frears’s forthcoming film “The Queen,” a sly peek at the current British monarch in the wake of the death of Princess Diana.

(Amin once wrote milady: “Dear Liz, if you want to know a real man, come to Kampala.”) Amin was an amateur merchant of death compared with the historic British monarchy, but he absorbed the lessons of its colonial tyranny fatally well. “The Last King of Scotland” makes the case that Amin was rational enough to understand his country’s tangled relationship with British imperialism and to inject that sociopolitical understanding into words. If this lecture feels a little too neat and contrived, well, that’s entertainment. Photo Forest Whitaker as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Credit Neil Davidson/Fox Searchlight Pictures And how! Cannily designed to please and repulse, “The Last King of Scotland” uses a self-anointed outsider, Nicholas Garrigan (Mr. McAvoy), as its initially empathic point of entry. Arriving in Uganda in the early 1970’s, this young doctor evinces an understandable wide-eyed enthusiasm and wonderment at the sights and sounds around him.

He’s alive to his exciting new world, which the exceptional cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who shot Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later” and Lars von Trier’s recent films, paints in deeply saturated color. The otherworldly Fauvist palette, as well as the interludes of frenetic cutting, at times recall the Brazilian art-house exploitation flick “City of God,” though Mr. Macdonald, who has a background in documentary, proves somewhat savvier about the politics of representation. Continue reading the main story Crucial to that savvy is the director’s vision of Amin as Dr. Frankenstein and monster both. A period fiction with a high-gloss historical finish, “The Last King of Scotland” is also a very contemporary, pointedly resonant film about blowback. That said, and despite some background filler, Mr. Macdonald isn’t interested in furnishing history lessons, and the details of Britain’s African adventures remain largely unstated. In 1888, much as it did throughout Africa and the world, the British government gathered together dozens of different ethnic groups and various kingdoms under its control, naming this new protectorate and commercial venture Uganda.

Many pounds of profit later, in 1962, Britain granted Uganda its independence; the African nation has been struggling to recover ever since. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In 1971 Amin ousted Milton Obote, who had become president after tossing out the country’s king five years earlier. (Mr. Obote himself may have been responsible for half a million deaths.) “The Last King of Scotland” opens shortly after Amin has seized power, and his madness had yet to take at least visible bloom. After a brief spell working at a clinic run by a white British doctor (Adam Kotz) and his wife (a very fine, almost unrecognizable Gillian Anderson), Garrigan signs on with Amin. The Scot eagerly makes the transition from rural slum to Amin’s Kampala compound, embracing his ready-made privilege as he drinks in the general’s charisma and hungrily feeds on his praise. A master of manipulation, this Amin knows a choice morsel when one flies into his trap. Despite his vaguely Falstaffian proportions, Mr. Whitaker doesn’t look like the man he’s playing, a point that becomes less crucial as the performance takes root.

As much a seducer as a destroyer, his Amin changes moods on a dime depending on the gas percolating in his bowels or the threats on his person, real and imagined. It’s a role rich in gristle and blood, and Mr. Whitaker makes the most of it, even if the performance and the film’s essential conception of Amin never push deep or hard enough. This actor can play devious, as his brilliant turn in “The Color of Money” showed early in his career. But what you need in a film about a man who fed the corpses of his victims to the crocodiles is something more, something hateful and vile. Photo James McAvoy, left, and Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland. Credit Neil Davidson/Fox Searchlight Pictures “The Last King of Scotland” delivers shocks worthy of the horror film it becomes. Garrigan is the kind of man who exploits his own boyishness, successfully with women, perilously with Amin, and Mr. McAvoy expertly makes the character’s naïveté seem at first appealing, then foolish and finally odious in the extreme.

As a stand-in for all the white men who have unwisely and cravenly journeyed into the proverbial heart of darkness, the character effectively serves his purposes, and you shake your head, tsk-tsk, right on schedule. Clearly, the film means this journey to be as inwardly directed as outwardly bound, though the larger message here, one that might make you blanch after you nod, is that the misery of other people makes unsettling entertainment, no matter how pretty the pictures and valuable the players. “The Last King of Scotland” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). There is brutal violence from start to finish, including a scene of very graphic, believable-looking torture. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND Opens today in New York and Los Angeles.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald; written by Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock, based on the novel by Giles Foden; director of photography, Anthony Dod Mantle; edited by Justine Wright; music by Alex Heffes; production designer, Michael Carlin; produced by Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer and Charles Steel; released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Running time: 121 minutes. WITH: Forest Whitaker (Idi Amin), James McAvoy (Nicholas Garrigan), Kerry Washington (Kay Amin), Simon McBurney (Stone), Gillian Anderson (Sarah Merrit) and Adam Kotz (Dr. Merrit). The Last King of Scotland Director Kevin Macdonald Inside the big picture show. Jan. 31 2007 12:24 PM Based on True Events By Kim Masters Catching up on homework: Well, we finally got around to slipping The Last King of Scotland into the DVD player. For some reason it took a while to bring ourselves to watch the bloody mayhem that must be a part of any movie about Idi Amin—and part of many films angling for Oscar.

At the beginning, there was the inevitable "inspired by true events" claim that is also mandatory for many movies angling for Oscar. After that unfolds a preposterous tale—and there are major spoilers to come—that left us wondering, exactly which true events inspired this? At a glance, the only facts in the film are that there was a deranged dictator named Idi Amin in a place called Uganda and, at one time, a hijacked Air France airliner landed there. * The movie, based on an acclaimed novel by Giles Foden, tells the tale of a young Scottish doctor who finds himself a favorite of Idi Amin. The doctor can be rather plucky with Amin but generally ignores the growing evidence of the hideous truth. He busies himself with knocking up one of Amin's wives and then getting her an abortion. Unfortunately the boss is wise to him and has him hung by hooks thrust into his flesh. Far more fortunately, this hanging takes place at the airport at the exact moment when some Entebbe hostages are being released. A noble colleague sacrifices himself to free the bloodied doctor, who slinks off with the Entebbe hostages.

His doomed savior admonishes him to tell the world of the outrages perpetrated in Uganda. Advertisement This series of astonishing events made us curious about the truth upon which the story was based. It was late, so we were left with Wikipedia. (In the Internet age, truth is easy to come by—right?) We found that the character of the young doctor was loosely based on a fellow named Bob Astles, who was neither Scottish nor a doctor. Twice married, he was an English adventurer who worked for Amin while running a pineapple farm as well as an aviation service. He later said, "I kept my eyes shut, I said nothing about what I saw, which is what they liked." Astles eventually became the head of Amin's anti-corruption squad. "Until today, what Astles did or did not do during Amin's brutal tenure is conjecture," the Wikipedia article concludes. "He was feared, and considered by many to be a malign influence on the dictator; others thought he was a moderating presence." It's imperative for novelists to invent, of course, but why does the film industry have a compulsion to palm off stories based on "true" events that are not just miles but light-years from the truth?

Not that many people will see The Last King of Scotland—although more than might be expected, thanks to Forest Whitaker's almost assured best actor award. And how many of them will walk away thinking they've seen something that is more true than not? The bottom line is that Hollywood has little respect for the truth. When he was making JFK, Oliver Stone became enraged when George Lardner, a Washington Post reporter who had covered the assassination of John Kennedy, got hold of a script and denounced the story as preposterous. It wasn't fair, Stone said, to judge an unfinished movie by a screenplay. Pressed about whether the misrepresentations in the screenplay wouldn't also be in the film, Stone said the movie would represent an "essential truth," and that adherence to actual fact was less important. Advertisement And there you have the Hollywood attitude—the movie version is the one that counts. The only time we can remember that this approach was stuffed up the industry's nose was when the 1999 film The Hurricane was attacked for misrepresenting facts about boxer Rubin Carter. That episode did not teach the industry caution.

Instead, a lot of time and expense is devoted to re-creating the look and feel of a period with no regard to what actually occurred. Many will defend the Hollywood way as an exercise of the artist's prerogative. And obviously there are many immortal stories told in historical settings. But it would have been peculiar if Thackeray suggested that Vanity Fair was "inspired by true events" because his characters were caught up in the Napoleonic Wars. And, if you are dealing with something as momentous as the assassination of a president, you might want to stick to facts that were dramatic enough. If you have a strong story—a fiction about a young doctor and an African dictator—why not just embrace it for what it is and lose the tenuous "true story" claim? Diddling with history, as we've seen, can be a dangerous business. ( link ) Friday, Jan. 26, 2007 Advertisement Another helping : More scoop on the earlier report that Brad Grey was denied credit on The Departed. The academy is searching its soul. Last night, the academy decided that Brad Grey cannot accept an Oscar should The Departed win in the best picture category.

The academy also decided that only three of five producers will be permitted to accept the award for Little Miss Sunshine should it win. Advertisement The academy giveth, the academy taketh away. The academy has said it will let the Producers Guild decide the issue of who deserves a "produced by" credit for award purposes. The guild attempts to vet the question thoroughly. It decided that Grey didn't deserve the "produced by" credit for The Departed. But it also named five producers for Little Miss Sunshine. Here's where the academy parted ways with the guild. The academy has held that no more than three people should go on stage to receive the best picture award. So it booted two of the five Sunshine producers. It's a tough break for Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger, who first shopped the script around Hollywood, recruited the directors, and who, most importantly, were sufficiently involved throughout to get the "produced by" credit from the guild. The arbitrariness of this decision is apparent even to the academy, and we now hear that the group will re-evaluate its rules and consider whether it should just stick with the guild decisions on who gets to accept the best picture award in the future.

Advertisement It may be too late for Yerxa and Berger. But their picture did set a Sundance record when it sold for $10.5 million. It has silenced those who mocked Fox Searchlight for overpaying, as the film has grossed almost $100 million worldwide with more to come (pretty good margins for a movie that cost about $8 million). But no producer wants to be the one who was treated so unfairly that the academy had to reconsider its rules. 5:15 P.M. ( link ) Here's a scoop : Sources tell us that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided not to recognize Paramount chief Brad Grey as a producer on The Departed. Recall that Grey had helped to put the movie together as a manager/producer before he assumed his current role. The Producers Guild had denied him a "produced by" credit, a decision that he appealed unsuccessfully. The academy generally follows the guild's lead on this issue, but Grey nonetheless appealed. Now, that appeal has apparently been denied, meaning that should The Departed win on Oscar night, Grey will have to content himself with a quick hug in the aisle.

Since the film was released by Warner, and Paramount has Babel in contention, some in the industry feel that's the appropriate result. 2:07 P.M. ( link ) Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 Men in Black: Creative Artists Agency has just moved into its formidable new digs (our friends at Defamer have already noted the terror that struck a Century City denizen who observed an incursion of agents into a shopping-mall food court). The new location presumably will be quite comfortable once they get the air-conditioning trouble straightened out. Meanwhile, CAA's rivals can content themselves with the image of CAA agents, for once, sweating. But what of CAA's old home at the intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards? The gleaming I.M. Pei-designed monument to CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz's lofty dream? It seems just yesterday that ground was broken there with a feng shui ceremony and a flight of white birds. Well, the feng shui seems to have worked well for the agency, which dominates the industry. But it didn't do much for the chi between the former CAA partners who own the now-empty building.

Last May, the Los Angeles Times speculated that after CAA departed, the building would become "the most expensive Beverly Hills office space in memory." A tenant would ante up about $6 million a year—or a pricey $5 a square foot—for this influential address. But no one has stepped up. The building is owned by Ovitz and erstwhile partners Ron Meyer (the head of Universal Studios), producer Bill Haber, and former CAA Chief Financial Officer Robert Goldman. CAA has rented the building from them since 1995 and—according to at least one source with firsthand knowledge of the situation—is still paying rent. And the building—with its giant, custom-made Roy Lichtenstein painting still in the lobby—is standing vacant. More than a year ago, the owners hired the Cushman & Wakefield brokerage firm to lease the building. But then, nothing happened. "It's the weirdest thing," says veteran Beverly Hills real estate agent Gary Weiss. "All of us don't understand it." Maybe it's not so weird after all. The building has a curving facade, and the space inside is idiosyncratic and difficult to reconfigure.

With its soaring atrium, a tenant would be paying a lot for space that can't be put to use. When Ovitz was working on the plans, Weiss says, "I don't think they paid much attention to whether it was efficient or not." Then there's the question of what to do with the Lichtenstein. The canvas is gigantic—the artist worked on it in situ—so it's not something that could hang in one's living room or even in an ordinary office lobby. It would be a problem, in fact, to get it out of the building. Sotheby's has apparently advised that it can't be removed from its stretcher without damaging it. "You tell me how you move that," says a longtime CAA partner. The former CAA partners who own the building (and the painting) put Ovitz in charge of it back in the late 1980s, when it was conceived, and that's the way it is today. Meyer has since said that at the time, he was like an abused spouse in a trance. He could hardly have imagined the acrimony that would follow when the marriage split up, as it did in 1995.

(When Meyer landed the job at Universal—a position that Ovitz had sought for himself—Ovitz's incredulous response at learning that Meyer had gotten the offer was enough to sour the relationship. Matters didn't improve when Ovitz later tried to purchase land in Malibu that Meyer had picked out for his dream house.) Now Meyer must wait for Ovitz to rent, sell, buy—do something with the building. One CAA agent said he'd heard a rumor that Ovitz may want to turn the space into a museum. Through a spokesman, Ovitz dismissed that idea. Certainly Ovitz has a big, expensive collection of modern art (not to mention an ego that could use a new monument, following his ill-fated tenure at Disney and the failure of his management company). And Lichtenstein is already there. Ovitz didn't respond to queries about what he intends to do with the building. ( link ) Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2007 The Field Shapes Up: This year's race for the best picture Oscar is starting to resemble the 2008 presidential campaign: so many contenders but no one compelling choice.

By now, you know that Dreamgirls pulled in the most nominations—eight—but was snubbed for best picture and best director. It is fascinating to imagine how this news is being received at Paramount headquarters, where Babel (from the studio's Vantage label) got seven nominations, including the big ones. All has turned out well for studio chief Brad Grey. He got to issue a press release proclaiming that his studio led with 19 nominations, knowing that his friends at his DreamWorks "label" were left to lick their gaping wounds. Yes, this was a bad day for DreamWorks (though not for composer Henry Krieger, who appears to be the single most nominated individual, with three best song nods for Dreamgirls). Clint Eastwood, having been snubbed by the Directors Guild, the Writers Guild, the Producers Guild, and the Screen Actors Guild, had to be at least a little surprised to be running another victory lap with his best director nod for Letters From Iwo Jima. "When it comes to the Academy, never overlook an old guy who can do it and do it well," chortled one voting member. The academy showed a healthy respect for diversity.

African or African-American actors got five of 20 nominations (Forest Whitaker, Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, Jennifer Hudson, and Djimon Hounsou). And the academy recognized all three of the three amigos—Alejandro González Iñárritu for Babel, Guillermo del Toro (for best foreign-language nominee Pan's Labyrinth), and Alfonso Cuarón for writing and editing Children of Men. As the dust settles, little light has been shed on the eventual best picture winner. Some think that since only Babel and The Departed were nominated in the influential editing category, the race comes down to those two. Others point out that a contingent of academy voters hates Babel and dreads nothing more than seeing it become this year's Crash. Another group seems inclined to go only so far for Scorsese—and especially for this movie, which seems to have a number of endings. So, if you need help with this year's office pool, don't call us. There are a lot of factions out there—making for mathematical possibilities too weird to contemplate. ( link ) Correction , Jan.

31, 2007: The article originally and incorrectly identified a hijacked Air France airliner as an El Al airliner. ( Return to the corrected sentence.) Idi and Me: 'The Last King of Scotland' : NPR 'The Last King of Scotland' View scenes from the film: Playing a character who is both loved and feared is a daunting task for any actor. Forest Whitaker embraced just such a challenge in making the film The Last King of Scotland, which opens in theaters on Wednesday. Whitaker plays Idi Amin, the late Ugandan dictator who took control of the former British colony in the 1970s and ruled with an iron fist. The film follows his story, seen through the eyes of a young Scottish doctor who finds himself thrust into Amin's inner circle. Both charismatic and cruel, Amin was accused of ordering the killings of an estimated 300,000 people before he was deposed and forced to flee to Saudi Arabia in 1979. During his rule, he gave himself a grandiose title — His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr.

Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular. Whitaker spent months in Uganda interviewing the dictator's family members and also with former government officials. He talked with those who had suffered at the hands of Amin. He even learned enough Swahili so that he could ad-lib dialogue with the Ugandan actors and extras working on the film. Audience Reviews for The Last King of Scotland ½ Brilliant drama with a stunning cast, and engaging story, The Last King of Scotland tells the story of the life of the personal physician of Ugandan dictator General Idi Amin, who is a brutal dictator. The story is a standout drama, one that is highly engaging from start to finish. In the role General Idi Amin is Forest Whitaker, who gives the role a sympathetic nature despite the fact that Idi Amin was a brutal dictator, but that's what makes Whitaker such a standout actor. Starring aside Whitaker is James McAvoy, who has great on-chemistry with Whitaker and both actors elevate the film significantly.

The Last King of Scotland is a superbly crafted drama well worth seeing if you want a riveting drama that is highly entertaining from start to finish. What makes the film what it is, is the performances, the well thought out script and unforgettable story, which is what stands out the most about the film. The performances are something quite unique as well, and like I said, Whitaker is truly superb, and I would say that this one of his best performances. The Last King of Scotland is a superb piece of film, one that is well worth seeing if you enjoy the genre, and with an incredible true story, excellent performances, and vivid storytelling, it's a film that will stay with you long after you've seen it. This is a film that is worth seeing, and there never is a dull moment to be had throughout the film. If you're interested in the subject, or simply want to watch a great drama based on real events, and then you can do no wrong watching this film, it's a film well worth seeing, and it's one of tense, thrilling drama that is brilliant in the way that it tackles its story.

Alex roy The Last King of Scotland | Film | The Guardian The Last King of Scotland Details: 2006, Rest of the world, UK, Cert 15, 121 mins Direction: Kevin MacDonald Summary: Idi Amin's deranged reign of terror, as seen by a young doctor appointed to be his personal physician The Last King Of Scotland · Film Review The Last King Of Scotland · Movie Review · The A.V. Club Share Tweet Because Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was such a murderous creep, it takes a lot to convince people that he might've also been a fun guy to party with. But in The Last King Of Scotland, director Kevin Macdonald has two strong persuaders: a kinetic style, and Forest Whitaker. As Amin, Whitaker gives a scarily charismatic performance, whipping quickly but naturally between joyous charm and steely rage. In the past, Whitaker has tended to lean too much on his low-key, mumbly side, playing off the irony that such a big man could be so gentle.

But with his guest stint earlier this year on The Shield, and now with The Last King Of Scotland, Whitaker has started to use his oversized frame and off-center gaze to exude real menace. He's perversely attractive. In Macdonald's hands, The Last King Of Scotland's breakneck rush through a heady half-decade of African nationalism plays like Boogie Nights: The Sub-Saharan Years. James McAvoy stars as a glib young Scottish doctor who wants to change the world and have a ball. When he meets Amin, McAvoy is initiated into the high life of state dinners, sports cars, nubile prostitutes, and high-level cabinet meetings. Macdonald—who previously directed the energetic documentaries One Day In September and Touching The Void—cuts together the first hour of The Last King Of Scotland to the rhythm of early '70s Afrobeat, driving viewers to identify with McAvoy's loyal defense of the madman who pays his bar bills. "I'm his doctor," McAvoy says to those who challenge Amin's ethics.

"It's not my job to judge." Of course, there must come a reckoning, and in The Last King Of Scotland, the loss of innocence consumes the whole final hour, during which time Whitaker appears less often, his screen time stolen by an increasingly weepy McAvoy. The climax of the movie juxtaposes McAvoy's attempts to flee the country with Amin's role in the Entebbe hijacking incident, which pushes audience identification past its limit. As one of the most famous hostage situations in modern world history takes place, audiences are asked to concern themselves primarily with the fate of one decadent doctor. The Last King Of Scotland makes a stronger case when it's demonstrating how opulent power-lunches corrupt absolutely. The Last King of Scotland | Fox Searchlight The Last King of Scotland 121 min Biography, Drama, History As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives one of the greatest performances of modern movie history. This is Amin's incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader's personal physician.

Due in part to Amin's unexpected passion for Scottish culture, Amin even proclaims himself "The Last King of Scotland". Seduced by Amin's charisma and blinded by decadence, Garrigan's dream life becomes a waking nightmare of betrayal and madness from which there is no escape. Inspired by real people and events, this gripping, suspenseful stunner is filled with performances you will never forget.

Question: Who was the "Last King of Scotland" in the film of that name?
Answer: Idi Amin