Danny Boyle
November 30, 2010
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Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner served as presenters and 2011 Spirit Awards host Joel McHale was also on hand today. Nominees for Best Feature include 127 Hours, Black Swan, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Winter’s Bone.
2011 SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
BEST FEATURE
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter’s Bone
July 5, 2009
Director Danny Boyle helped 10 year-old Ismail and his family by purchasing a brand new apartment in a Mumbai suburb for $42,000.
When asked about his new home, little Ismail said, "I like it here, it is really nice. But I will miss my old friends... Maybe I will go and visit them once in a while."
Boyle made a promise to the child stars months ago that he would help them move into a better home and set up funds for them through his Jai Ho Trust, and he's really gone above and beyond for these kids.
June 10, 2009
The same thing happened to the family home of Slumdog’s Rubina Ali, and Danny felt something needed to be done for the two kids once and for all.
The Jai Ho Trust, set up by Boyle and producer Christian Colsen provided the $50,000 to purchase a one-bedroom apartment in Mumbai for Ismail’s family.
The 250-square-foot apartment, located in a suburb north of Mumbai, will be transferred from the trust and put in Ismail's name when he turns 18, as long as he completes his schooling. A spokesman for the trust said, "We signed the papers on Monday. We have the keys and we will hand them to the family."
A separate search for a home for Rubina and her family is being conducted now. We love that Danny has taken these kids under his wing, and provided them with resources to succeed! We can’t imagine how tough it must be to grow up in the Mumbai slums.
May 27, 2009
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Boyle and producer Christian Colson flew into Mumbai this week to see how they could help the young stars of the movie, who are clearly still living in the slums.
They met with Ismail's family members at the private lounge of Mumbai's JW Marriott hotel on Tuesday and Boyle announced that he had just purchased the family a new home and is planning on doing the same for Rubina Ali.
Boyle says, "The homes are a concern. That is one of the reasons why we built the trust."
A spokesman for the Jai Ho Trust describes Ismail's new apartment as "comfortable, in a good neighborhood (and) near his school", with the property costing "upwards of two million rupees," which is roughly $42,000.
Danny has proven yet again that he has a heart of gold. He could have just carried on with his life after the success of his movie, and his Oscar win, but he's devoted a lot of time and money to help the kids and their family members live a better life.
May 14, 2009
Image by Splash News
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, who stared in the movie as the youngest version of Salim Malik, is now officially homeless after his home was torn down by authorities.
Ismail was reportedly asleep in his home on Thursday morning when a police officer woke him up and told him to leave. More than 30 homes in the area were then demolished by Mumbai authorities.
The child star says, "A police officer took a bamboo stick to hit me and I was frightened."
His mother, Shameem Ismail, adds, "They didn't give prior notice. We didn't even get a chance to take out our belongings. I don't know what I am going to do."
It's so heartbreaking to hear these stories about these amazing kids. Slumdog made over $300 million dollars worldwide, and the stars of the movie are homeless!? It's truly heartbreaking.
April 19, 2009
Rafiq Qureshi is reportedly trying to get his girl adopted for a whopping price of 200,000 pounds.
News of the World was tipped off by the adoption news so they sent a fake sheik to cover the story where Rafiq said: "I have to consider what's best for me, my family and Rubina's future."
He also said that the big bosses of Slumdog Millionaire have not kept their promise of buying them a house and that is why he was forced to put his daughter up for sale.
"We've got nothing out of this film," he declared. "They haven't looked after us. They gave some money at the start but they gave us nothing afterwards. They gave us around 150,000 rupees (£2,040). They've been talking about giving us a house, but all they do is talk. What they showed in the film is exactly how life is here. The government doesn't help us. We get nothing. We live in one room, seven of us sleep on the floor. I earn £2 to £3 a day. I have to consider what's best for me, my family and Rubina's future. We haven't got anything yet, it's all supposed to come later!"
Sad! Rafiq also revealed that he is hoping to sell his daughter to a wealthy family from Dubai.
April 16, 2009
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The filmmakers decided to take $742,000 and create a five-year program aimed at providing healthcare and education for children living in the slums. They joined forces with international child development organization called Plan.
Danny Boyle released a statement saying, "Having benefited so much from the hospitality of the people of Mumbai it is only right that some of the success of the movie be ploughed back into the city in areas where it is needed most and where it can make a real difference to some lives.”
In addition to the money donated, a separate trust called the “Jai Ho” trust was established for the film’s two youngest stars Rubina Ali, who played the young Latika, and Asharuddin Mohammed, who played young Salim. The trust will ensure they will grow up with proper education and housing.
Plan UK's chief executive Marie Staunton said in a statement, "Slumdog Millionaire has shown audiences around the world a snapshot of what life is like for one in six people on the planet. Education really is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so we will focus the funds on getting children into school, keeping them there and ensuring they are healthy."
What an amazing thing to do! Slumdog touched the lives of so many people this year, and continues to do so.
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