Oscars 2008 were, well, a yawn to watch. But the prestige associated with the gold statues is still unsurpassed in cinema. And this year was significant in that a Pakistani managed to work on a film that not only picked up a prestigious Academy Award nomination but also won!

The man is Mir Zafar Ali, a visual effects specialist, and the film he worked for was the high-profile flick, The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman and "Bond" man Daniel Craig.

The Golden Compass picked up the award for Best Visual Effects and Mir Zafar Ali was one of the 'Effects Technical Director' at Rhythm and Hues, the US-based company that worked on this particular film. Those of us who've seen the film do not recall a Pakistani man up onstage picking up the Oscar. And the only reason for that is that only the main four supervisors went and picked up the trophy.

However, Mir Zafar Ali is actually mentioned in the full credits of the film.

Academy Award isn't his only accomplishment. The Golden Compass also managed to pick up a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award as well.

'The Messenger of Peace' will be a remake of Moustapha Akkad's 'The Message', a 1977 Hollywood classic starring Anthony Quinn which is often applauded by Muslims as an example of how commercial Western cinema can respect Islam.

'We have only the utmost respect for Akkad's work but technology in cinema has advanced since the 1970s and this latest project will employ modern film techniques in its renewal of the first film's core messages,' producer Oscar Zoghbi, who worked on the original, said in a statement.

LAC Board of Governors Chairman Attaul Haq Qasmi told MusicPakistan.net no more commercial theatre activities would be held at LAC halls.

He said the council was bound to allow those commercial plays which had got the halls booked in advance but after three months 'vulgar' theatres would cease to exist.

He said he had asked the authorities to prepare a list of professional theatre producers who would stage plays selected by the council.

He said he had also asked officials to look for new script writers.

Officials say the decision to end commercial plays was taken after several complaints about 'vulgar' dances and 'immoral' dialogues in the commercial plays being staged at Alhamra.