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Cruise, Holmes lovey-dovey Down Under
DPA

Sydney, Feb 17 (DPA) Hollywood glamour couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes defied rumours that their relationship was on the rocks with a great show of affection while cruising on Sydney Harbour.

The couple are in Sydney to attend the funeral of Kerry Packer, Australia's richest man, who died on Boxing Day at age 68.

Cruise is a personal friend of James Packer, heir to a family fortune derived from broadcasting, cattle and casinos. Like Cruise, Packer is a member of the Church of Scientology.

A state funeral is being held at the Opera House, attended by a galaxy of celebrities including Russell Crowe.

Cruise knows Sydney well. He lived in a mansion overlooking the harbour during his 10-year marriage to Oscar-winning Australian native Nicole Kidman.

A US lifestyle magazine claimed this week that the couple, dubbed TomKat by the tabloids, was about to split and were staying together only until Holmes, who is seven months pregnant, gives birth. 

The actors kissed and hugged during a cruise on the harbour.

Indo-Asian News Service

 
Favourites line up for Berlin Film Festival's top awards
DPA

Berlin, Feb 17 (DPA) After a slow start to this year's Berlin Film Festival, a number of stars and films have emerged as favourites to win the Berlinale's top honours as the festival enters its final days.

The 10-day festival is due to close on Feb 19. Leading the line-up of movies thought to be in the running for the coveted Golden Bear is "The Road to Guantanamo", a film by British directors Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross about the torture and mishandling of terrorist suspects at the US military camp in Cuba.

The premiere of the politically-charged Guantanamo movie, which blurs the line between documentary and feature film, helped to fire up the festival at the mid-way point.

Veteran American director Robert Altman's musical tribute to the marvels of live radio, "A Prairie Home Companion", is also thought to be vying for top honours, along with "Sehnsucht" ("Longing") by German director Valeska Grisebach.

Young Australian actors Heath Ledger - nominated for an Oscar for his role in the gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain" - and Abbie Cornish have been mentioned as possible candidates for Best Actor and Best Actress awards after playing a love-addicted junkie couple in "Candy" by Sydney-born director Neil Armfield.

The couple's life takes on a roller-coaster ride as they sink deeper into heroin addiction, with Cornish playing a young middle-class woman who has fallen for a lank-haired loser, played by Ledger.

Another possible contender for a best acting award is Vienna-born Paulus Manker, who played a hapless alcoholic poet in Austrian director Michael Glawogger's "Slumming".

A previous Golden Bear winner, Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion", which stars Woody Harrelson and Meryl Streep, was seen as offering a measure of light-hearted relief in a programme, which has been dominated by films exploring the harder edge to everyday life.

Speaking at a press conference following the premiere in Berlin, Streep said the movie helped to recreate something that was part of her childhood in the US. "We grew up listening to the radio in a more innocent time," she said.

Set in a small village just outside Berlin, "Sehnsucht" tells the story, in a slow-moving almost documentary style, of a young married man whose mundane life is suddenly turned on its head after he has an affair with another woman.

A total of 19 films have been competing at the 2006 Berlinale for the festival's Golden and Silver Bears. The jury is to announce the award winners Saturday.

But as past years have shown, the choices of the festival's juries tend to be very difficult to predict. Films that caused little excitement among reviewers have been selected in the past, and sometimes special last-minute awards are created.

With this in mind, "Grbavica", a film by Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic about the agony of women raped during ethnic cleansing campaigns has also drawn favourable comment at the festival and could be in the running.

The 31-year-old Zbanic's first feature film tries to illustrate the suffering of a Bosnian Muslim woman who gave birth to a child after being raped by a Serb soldier.

Named after a settlement in Sarajevo that was occupied by Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, "Grbavica" is the first ever Bosnian movie to be competing at one of the world's most prestigious film festivals.

Indo-Asian News Service

 
Political films losing appeal: Wajda
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 17 (IANS) Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda is concerned that political films are losing their appeal in Europe.

The director, who rose to prominence in Europe after World War Two, said this after he received a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival, contactmusic.com reported. 

He said people have lost the political perspective after major events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall.

He said: "Cinema can speak to people's consciences. I don't think I have wasted this life because I have contributed something to the course of political events. When the Wall still stood, everyone wanted to know what was happening behind it."

He added: "You had all these large cinemas, which were filled to the last seat. But there is no audience for political films now and it is pointless if there is no audience."

 
Spacey almost choked on a fly
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 17 (IANS) Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey almost choked on a fly while delivering a lecture to drama students in London, and everyone thought he was acting.

Spacey was giving a lecture at the Old Vic Theatre, where he is artistic director, when the insect flew into his mouth. He had to gasp "water" before anyone realised the display wasn't just another performance, according to contactmusic.com.

He recovered completely once he was given two glasses of water.

Moss is still the best, says Twiggy
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 17 (IANS) Sixties model Twiggy has declared that troubled supermodel Kate Moss is the world's one true supermodel.

Moss had a tempestuous year with her controversial relationship with rocker Pete Doherty and then a cocaine scandal, which led to her being dropped by major fashion labels including Chanel and Burberry.

But Twiggy insists Moss is still the best, according to contactmusic.com. 

She said: "There is only one supermodel for me and that's Kate. I think she is brilliant, the best model, she is the nicest girl I love her."
 
Ledger unsure about Oscar win
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 17 (IANS) Australian actor Heath Ledger is unsure of winning the best actor Oscar because he feels the other nominees are too good.

Ledger is nominated for "Brokeback Mountain" and is up against Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote"), Joaquin Phoenix ("Walk The Line"), Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow") and David Strathairn ("Good Night, And Good Luck"), contactmusic.com reported.

He said: "There are so many great actors who are nominated and who all deserve the award. Let's wait and see who will win. Of course, I am proud to be nominated. But it's already great to be involved in a movie that wins so many prizes and is received so well."
 
Madonna, husband headed for split?
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 17 (IANS) Pop diva Madonna has fuelled more speculation that she is about to split with husband Guy Ritchie.

According to contactmusic.com, Madonna was caught trying to evade a kiss from Ritchie and also neglected to thank him in her acceptance speech at the Brit Awards. 

The singer, who won for best international female, thanked her producer Stuart Price with whom she is rumoured to be having more than a professional relationship.

She closed her speech by saying: "Last, but certainly not the least, I would like to thank all of my British fans because without you I would just be another singer from across the pond."
 
Baldwin to pen divorce experiences
Indo-Asian News Service

New York, Feb 17 (IANS) Actor Alec Baldwin is going to write a book on the nasty divorce he went through with ex-wife Kim Basinger.

According to the publishing company, St. Martin, Baldwin plans to "share his personal insights". 

"He will reveal the unimaginable pressures involved in fighting a high-conflict custody battle while continuing to function as a busy actor and public advocate. Baldwin hopes the book will create opportunities for healing, and inspire both public debate and changes in antiquated divorce laws," pagesix.com reported. 

He is also planning to lead seminars for parents on divorce. The actor had to fight for the custody of his daughter, Ireland.
 
China emerging as new movie powerhouse
DPA

Berlin, Feb 18 (DPA) The Berlin International Film Festival is providing a snapshot of the changes in Asian cinema, as China seeks to emerge as a new movie powerhouse while Hong Kong struggles to keep up with its reputation.

Once known as the Hollywood of the East, Hong Kong's previously prolific film industry has watched its market in Southeast Asia shrink following a run of badly received films and due to competition notably from the real Hollywood but also other parts of Asia such as South Korea.

"The role of Hong Kong cinema is entering a new phase," said Hong Kong director Pang Ho-Cheung. 

"We now have to work out how Hong Kong films maintain their position in the market without losing their character."

But he confessed: "I don't have a solution to that problem. It is up to every director to do his best so that he or she can help the industry survive." 

In addition, more than eight years after Hong Kong was handed over to Beijing, hopes have also been fading that China might help to underpin movie making in the former British colony with filmmakers also having to confront new problems such as censorship.

This was the case with the critically acclaimed Hong Kong gangster movie "Internal Affairs", which was released four years ago.

For filmmakers like Ho-Cheung, dealing with the censors was a matter for the producers. His job was just to tell a story on film.

However, John Chong, the producer for "Internal Affairs", and "Isabella", said the industry was becoming used to censorship.

"We see it as a marketing issue," he said. "When we think we want to enter a market we have to co-operate with the censorship officials."

Nevertheless, censorship is clearly an issue for some Chinese moviemakers. "Although I try to be a pure artist, I am not," said Chen Kaige, the director of the film "The Promise".

"The truth is I have to listen to so many people about how to cut the film," he said.

In a sense "The Promise", which cost $30 million to make and is billed as China's most expensive film ever, also underscores the two sides of Chinese filmmaking as Beijing attempts to build up a new formidable reputation in move making.

China itself might produce 200 movies a year but most of them have very local storylines and never make it past the country's borders. On the other side are the big blockbusters such as "The Promise", which are financed by sources from around the world.

Meanwhile, film industry observers say that China will have to revolutionise its studio system so as to help bring forward the new generation of filmmakers currently emerging in the country.

Moreover, despite China's fast-paced economic change, there is still an enormous gulf in the business culture between mainland China and Hong Kong with members of the Hong Kong film industry saying they find it hard to understand what the Chinese taste in movies is.

"When filmmaking is so costly, a film industry cannot service a city of seven million people even if everyone of those seven million people go and see it," said Jacob Wong, curator for the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society.

Just over a decade ago, Hong Kong was pumping out about 200 films a year with action dramas shaping the former British colony's film genre. Now the number is down to about 40 with many filmmakers apparently hoping to find their salvation in romantic comedies.

The latest hope for the struggling Hong Kong film industry is Ho-Cheung's "Isabella", a drama about a police officer who is suspended for corruption and is confronted by a girl claiming to be his daughter.

Set in the mean streets of the former Portuguese colony of Macao during in the build-up to the handover to mainland Chinese rule, "Isabella" by director Ho-Cheung had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival Thursday.

Set against the backdrop of the tensions unleashed by the attempts to clean up the colony's corruption and violence ahead of the handover and Macao's inherent identity problems, "Isabella" does offer a measure of optimism.

Indo-Asian News Service

 
Former Black September guerrilla rebuffs 'Munich'
DPA

Damascus, Feb 18 (DPA) As the Steven Spielberg creation "Munich" - about the killing of Israeli athletes by Palestinian guerrillas at the Munich Olympics in 1972 - is ready to hit screens in the US, the Palestinian "mastermind" behind the operation said the details of the film were incorrect. 

He claimed the only truth in the film is the brutality of the Israelis. The film is "based on a story written by the Zionist Rovinch in 1984", claimed Abu Daoud, one of the masterminds of the operation.

The film is totally untrue, Abu Daoud said.

In September 1972, 11 Israeli athletes, two Germans and five Palestinian guerrillas were killed as the Palestinian Black September group kidnapped the Israelis, demanding release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. 

Images of the attack were shown on television screens around the world.

At his hospital bed in the Syrian capital Damascus, Abu Daoud, also known as Mohammad Oudeh, told DPA his version of the story behind the operation he says he personally planned.

Abu Daoud was asked to carry out commando operations in 1967 by Fatah movement leader by Abu Iyad.

He followed a training course in Cairo to form the first security apparatus for the Palestine Liberation Organisation in 1968. Yassir Arafat and Khalil al-Wazir, or Abu Jihad, were apparatus leaders at the time.

Abu Daoud said the intention of the Black September group was to exchange the Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

On Sep 5, 1972, an eight member Fatah commando team dined in the Railways restaurant in Munich and then took taxis to the Olympic Village. 

They decided to enter the village over the back wall and as they reached the wall, "the US Olympic team was returning to the village from a soiree so I helped them climb the wall and made my team enter" without being noticed by guards, Abu Daoud said.

At this stage Abu Daoud's role ended, but he followed the operation through television and radio news. He says he found out more details of what happened inside the village from the commandos who survived the operation.

He said instructions to the commandos were "not to kill any Israeli except defending yourself" and they were told to ask then Israeli prime minister Golda Meir to release some Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages.

"We told them that after 20 hours if Israel refuses our demands, ask the German authorities for a civilian plane to carry the hostages to any Arab country to enable us protect them," Abu Daoud said.

Planning the operation took three weeks and cost $5,000 without the plane tickets. 

Abu Daoud tells the story as he heard it from the other commandos who took part in the operation.

After entering the village and collecting the Israeli team, an Israeli Russian athlete tried to "snatch the rifle of a commando who was forced to shoot him; another athlete did the same thing and he was killed; a third ran away and the Palestinian commandos could have shot and killed him, but they didn't".

After tough negotiations with the German and Israeli authorities, Golda Meir refused the group's demands, so the commandos asked for a civilian plane. The Germans "accepted", but under pressure from Israel they led the commandos with the hostages to a "trap at a military airfield" where the massacre took place.

The plane was empty and ready at the airport but after examining the plane, the German police opened fire and a gun battle ensued. Eleven Israeli athletes, two Germans - one officer and a pilot - and five Palestinian commandos were killed.

Abu Daoud accuses Israeli security forces of planning the trap and German security of carrying it out.

Negotiations with the kidnappers had lasted 15 hours at the Olympic Village and there were two hours of shooting at the airport.

"I am not sorry for the operation," said the ailing militant, who is ready to carry out similar operations as long as the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land exists. 

There was an attempted assassination on Abu Daoud in 1981 in Poland when a man entered a cafe where he was sitting and shot him seven times in different parts of his body. He was hospitalised in Poland and Germany.

Indo-Asian News Service

 
'Pride & Prejudice' makes right moves but feels empty
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Film: "Pride & Prejudice"; Cast: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn and Judi Dench; Director: Joe Wright; Rating: * 1/2

Take away all the lavish costumes, and sumptuous mounting, the terrific cast and the breathtaking eye for detail, and we are left wondering if we really need another adaptation of Jane Austen's tale of matchmaking, especially since director Gurinder Chaddha did a spunky job of it in "Bride & Prejudice".

The ironic humour is not lost in the plot. There are portions of this immensely charming adaptation that would have made Jane Austen smile. 

Director Joe Wright sure gets the mood of the feminine-centric Bennet family right. The bustle and the giggles that accompany every eligible and not so eligible bachelor's visit, topped by Brenda Blethyn's dead-on hysterics as Mrs. Bennet, just leave us smiling in approval. 

But beneath all the right moves, there is a vast emptiness in this adaptation. It is more like a guy who has got it right and wants to show off doing Jane Austen than a heart-felt rendition or even a hilarious homage like Chadha's "Bride & Prejudice".

There is a severe shortage of layering in the plot. The scenic cinematography by Roman Osin just skims over every coy curl and glamorous giggle to bring alive a vibrant though finally vacuous variant on 19th century England.

The endless ritual of matchmaking orchestrated by scene after scene of merrymaking, dancing and boisterousness begins to appear as un-intellectual as most of these characters who are desperate to 'belong'.

Director Joe Wright gets a fix on Austen. But fails to take the characters anywhere where we haven't already seen them go. There are, of course, bouts of high drama and low melodrama, each balancing the other one out with systematic celerity. 

What is lacking is a sense of unpredictability in the narration, and not only because we know our Jane Austen but also because the rhythms of narration are too rounded. 

And the performances, barring Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland as Mrs. and Mr. Bennet, too prim and propah to be anything but a caricaturised representation of genteel England. 

Sure, these people are funny. But they are also sincere in their satirical postures. As we see them here, they appear largely ridiculous. 

Keira Knightley's Elizabeth and Matthew Macfadyen's Darcy are way too giggly and grim, respectfully. Martin Henderson and Aishwarya Rai in Chadha's film were more fun to watch.

A lot of the characters from the novel come alive in this remake with flustered flawlessness. They have got the tenor right. But they look like they'd like to be somewhere else. The class-consciousness aspect of the novel is done too seriously. And the sequence where the amazing Judi Dench insults Keira is more of a squib than a squirm.

You can't wait for this novel-on-film to end - not only because you know it all but also because everyone is too busy getting it right and forget to have fun.  
 
Richards and Campbell in 'Wild Things' instalment
Indo-Asian News Service

Los Angeles, Feb 18 (IANS) Actresses Denise Richards and Neve Campbell are set to team up again for another steamy instalment of the hit film "Wild Things". 

The original movie also starred Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacaon and Bill Murray, said hollywood.com. 

The new film will be called "Backstabbers" and the producers are now looking for actors to do the other roles.

The plot for the new movie will focus on a rich New York man who plans his wife's kidnapping but is unaware that his mistress and bodyguard are planning to double-cross him. 

Although the new movie will have the same cast as the first one it is not being billed as a sequel to "Wild Things". It has already been made as a straight-to-video-production.
 
Clarkson suffered from eating disorder
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 18 (IANS) Singer Kelly Clarkson, who hit the limelight through "American Idol", suffered from an eating disorder after she was turned down by music bosses during her days of struggle.

Clarkson was determined to slim down after she lost out an audition to a less talented singer just because of her weight, reported contactmusic.com 

She said: "When I was younger, I tried out for a part and this other girl beat me who was not as musically gifted as me. She couldn't really sing, but she was beautiful and they wanted her for the part. 

"That really upset me and I had a time for a while when I didn't eat a lot because it was disturbing and I was so young.

"But I snapped out of it pretty quick. It was only for about six months. I'm a very spiritual person and I believe that God has so much more to offer than that kind of Hollywood life."

She added: "I feel sorry for girls who have that, because I totally understand where they are coming from. But at the same time, it's almost like, 'Get over your insecurity and move on'. I work out with people from my label. People want you to look a certain way and that's great if you enjoy doing that kind of thing. But I just think you are who you are and millions of people love me the way I am."
 
Elton offers counselling to Madonna
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 18 (IANS) Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish have been offering marriage counselling to Madonna and Guy Ritchie.

"Elton and I have spoken to Madonna plenty of times lately. She and Guy are close friends of ours. They both need to concentrate on their careers if they want their relationship to work," Furnish was quoted as saying by ananova.com.

"If they neglect that, their relationship will inevitably disintegrate. They will be fine if they don't neglect what they love to do. If that means they can't see each other, that's the way it has to be."

Furnish also added that work had kept him away from Elton who he married in a gay ceremony. 

He said: "We know what it's like to be under so much pressure. We had our lovely wedding and honeymoon, but I haven't seen Elton for the past two weeks because I've been busy with the Aids charity and my own projects. Couples have to compromise. That's what Guy and Madonna have to remember and they'll make it."
 
Clooney to donate Casino profits to Africa
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 18 (IANS) Oscar- nominated actor George Clooney is planning to give the profits of his money-making venture - his proposed hotel and casino in Las Vegas - to Africa.

According to contactmusic.com, Clooney is in the process of building a casino called Las Ramblas. It will demand customers to come dressed-up. Clooney in an interview with Larry King said, "I'm taking 25 percent and giving it to Africa." 

He says the formal dress code is inspired by his childhood when he used to watch his aunt, the singer Rosemary Clooney, to perform in Las Vegas. He recalls, "It's gonna be like when I used to go and see Rosie sing in casinos where everyone used to wear a jacket."
 
Prince shuns Hilton
Indo-Asian News Service

New York, Feb 18 (IANS) Socialite Paris Hilton was shunned by singer Prince in a London club after he sneaked out of the back when she attempted to toast him.

According to Newsweek, Hilton was drinking the powerful liquor absinthe at the Kabaret Prophecy club. She then got into the DJ box and announced, "I'm celebrating my birthday and Prince is in the house, so I want to play his new single because he's hot."

When Prince heard this he was hiding under a hood. He quickly headed for the exit. But Hilton continued to dance until 3:30 a.m.
 
Spears plans comeback
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 18 (IANS) After turning wife and mother, pop singer Britney Spears is ready to come back as a star.

According to ananova.com, she says, "This may sound weird, but I miss travelling. I miss the road, seeing different places and being with the dancers and having fun. That feeling of being on the stage, knowing it's your best - I love that. I needed a break. I needed to be hungry again."

She also said the pop scene is dull right now and she can change that. She added, "It's been boring. Nothing's been wow to me." 

She also slammed the paparazzi saying how hard it has become for her to be a normal mum. She said, "I don't really go out with him (Sean Preston). And it's kind of sad because I can't walk down the street with a stroller. I'm not expecting people to pity me. I'm just telling the truth."
 
Streep urges young actresses to keep clothes on
Indo-Asian News Service

London, Feb 18 (IANS) Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep is advising young actresses to not take their clothes off just to give their careers a boost.

According to ananova.com, Streep advised actresses Keira Kinghtley and Scarlett Johansson not to feel pressured to pose naked for more publicity. Both of them had recently posed naked together for the magazine Vanity Fair.

Streep says, "They obviously feel that, to emerge from the pack, they need to distinguish themselves by being more willing to do that than anyone else. It's not about the roles they aspire to - it's that they have to sexualise themselves. (The new generation) have it drilled into their heads that they need to glamorise themselves (in order to succeed)."