Syrian soap causes Ramadan stir ( September 6th, 2010 )
DAMASCUS (AFP)
A Syrian soap opera that tackles such taboos as homosexuality, corruption and extra-marital sex in the predominantly conservative Muslim country is proving hugely popular during Ramadan.
The TV drama “Ma Malakat Aymanukum,” which takes its name from a verse in the Koran that loosely translates as “What your right hand possesses,” depicts the lives of [...]
‘The American’ reigns at weekend box office ( September 6th, 2010 )
LOS ANGELES (AFP)
Spy thriller “The American” rocketed to the top of the North American box office to beat out crime action flick “Takers,” preliminary figures showed Sunday.
The debut weekend for George Clooney’s atmospheric thriller, hailed by critics as a visually captivating but restrained departure for the Hollywood star, took in 12.3 million dollars in US [...]
Detective Dee brings Tang Dynasty whodunnit to Venice ( September 5th, 2010 )
VENICE, Italy (AFP)
Hong Kong’s Tsui Hark unveiled his latest blockbuster, a Tang Dynasty whodunnit, at the Venice film festival Sunday while Kelly Reichardt cast her feminine eye on the Wild West in “Meek’s Cutoff”.
Tsui’s “Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame” filled the screen at the Lido with kung fu action, intrigue and period [...]
Greek island lovers star in taboo-breaking documentary ( September 5th, 2010 )
ATHENS (AFP)
A taboo-breaking documentary has exposed the seedier side of vacations in Greece with a focus on a once-legendary army of lovers that courted — and bedded — thousands of tourists two decades ago.
Titled “Colossi of Love”, the documentary highlights the halcyon days of the kamaki (Greek for harpoon) suitors in the 70s and 80s [...]
Deneuve, Depardieu at Venice filmfest ( September 5th, 2010 )
VENICE (AFP)
French cinema icons Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu came together again at the Venice film festival on Saturday as the oddest of couples in a farce with attitude: “Potiche”.
Based on a play of the same name, the comedy relates the unlikely transformation of bourgeois housewife Suzanne Pujol (Deneuve) into company executive and her complex [...]
In Venice, Maggie Cheung still playing hard to get ( September 5th, 2010 )
VENICE, Italy (AFP)
Chinese megastar Maggie Cheung, in Venice for the screening of Isaac Julien’s art film “Better Life”, has shunned the celluloid since becoming the first Asian actress to win in Cannes in 2004.
The recognition for “Clean”, she said, “concluded one stage of my life” following her 2001 divorce from the film’s French director, Olivier [...]
In Venice, Maggie Cheung still playing hard to get ( September 5th, 2010 )
VENICE, Italy (AFP)
Chinese megastar Maggie Cheung, in Venice for the screening of Isaac Julien’s art film “Better Life”, has shunned the celluloid since becoming the first Asian actress to win in Cannes in 2004.
The recognition for “Clean”, she said, “concluded one stage of my life” following her 2001 divorce from the film’s French director, Olivier [...]
Deneuve, Depardieu at Venice filmfest ( September 4th, 2010 )
VENICE (AFP)
French cinema icons Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu came together again at the Venice film festival on Saturday as the oddest of couples in a farce with attitude: “Potiche”.
Based on a play of the same name, the comedy relates the unlikely transformation of bourgeois housewife Suzanne Pujol (Deneuve) into company executive and her complex [...]
Hong Kong’s Woo accepts career award at Venice filmfest ( September 4th, 2010 )
VENICE, Italy (AFP)
Veteran Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo accepted a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the Venice film festival on Friday, dedicating the honour to his “dear mother”.
“When I was a younger man, when becoming a filmmaker was a crazy dream, I learned that the impossible could become possible,” said the 63-year-old Woo, who [...]
Deneuve, Depardieu together again at Venice filmfest ( September 4th, 2010 )
VENICE (AFP)
Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu, fixtures of French cinema, on Saturday come together again as the oddest of couples at the Venice film festival in a farce with attitude: “Potiche”.
Based on a play of the same name — which translates with difficulty as “trophy wife” — the comedy relates the unlikely transformation of bourgeois [...]