Tag: cinema

Actors union explains AI guardrails in strike deal

By Andrew MARSZAL LOS ANGELES, Nov 11, 2023 (AFP) – From computer-generated “extras” to AI “zombies,” new restrictions against the use of artificial intelligence in Hollywood were set out by the actors’ union Friday. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) reached a deal with studios like Disney and Netflix this week to end its nearly four-month strike. Its board members on Friday voted 86 percent in favor of ratifying the agreement. Besides a seven percent minimum […]

URGENT: Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida dies: minister

Rome, Italy (AFP) Italian actor Gina Lollobrigida, one of the last icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood, has died aged 95, culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said on Twitter Monday. “Farewell to a diva of the silver screen, protagonist of more than half a century of Italian cinema history. Her charm will remain eternal,” Sangiuliano wrote after Italy’s ANSA news agency reported her death. Lollobrigida, famed when younger for her biting wit and sensual beauty, underwent […]

‘Goodfellas’ actor Ray Liotta dead at 67

Actor Ray Liotta, who starred in Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic “Goodfellas,” has died suddenly in the Dominican Republic, officials and police said Thursday. He was 67. Liotta, whose blistering turn as real-life mobster Henry Hill in Scorsese’s crime masterpiece won universal admiration, was shooting a new film in the country when he died in his sleep. Police said emergency services were called early Thursday morning to a hotel in Santo Domingo where they found Liotta […]

Young Iraqi film students tell their own stories from Mosul

by Tony Gamal-Gabriel Agence France-Presse MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) – A budding Iraqi filmmaker yells “action!” as an actress clambers over rubble in Mosul’s Old City, proud students of a nascent film school in the former jihadist bastion. Mosul still bears the scars of the brutal reign of the Islamic State group, who overran the northern Iraqi city in 2014 and imposed their ultra-conservative interpretation of Islamic law. They destroyed everything from centuries-old churches to musical […]

Stanley Donen, famed director of ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ dies at 94

Stanley Donen, who directed such beloved Hollywood classics as “Singin’ in the Rain,” “On the Town” and “Charade,” has died in New York at age 94. His death of a heart attack was confirmed by one of his sons, Mark Donen, the Chicago Tribune reported. Donen, whose films were known as witty, stylish and energetic, worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, from Audrey Hepburn to Fred Astaire. Under Donen’s direction, Gene Kelly’s famously exuberant […]

Coen Brothers are surprise entry at Venice film fest

by Terry DALEY Agence France-Presse ROME, Italy (AFP)–Offbeat American filmmakers the Coen Brothers were the surprise entry in the 2018 Venice Film festival line-up, unveiled Wednesday, making their new western a contender for the Golden Lion award. “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is competing for the coveted gong alongside 20 other films featuring a raft of Hollywood stars, including Ryan Gosling, Natalie Portman and Willem Dafoe. Starring Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco and Liam Neeson, […]

Tax benefit lifts profit for Murdoch’s Fox

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Media-entertainment giant 21st Century Fox said Wednesday that profits had doubled in the past quarter, boosted by a one-time tax benefit from recently enacted US legislation. The group led by mogul Rupert Murdoch and his family reported a net profit for shareholders of $1.83 billion in the final three months of 2017, up from $856 million a year earlier. Revenues rose nearly five percent in the period to $8.04 billion for […]

Meryl Streep joins HBO’s ‘Big Little Lies’ season two

NEW YORK, United States (AFP0 — Meryl Streep will join the cast of “Big Little Lies” season two, US cable network HBO announced Wednesday, generating another boost for a hit drama already basking in awards glory. The triple Oscar winner will star opposite Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman in the second edition of a show that won plaudits for tackling domestic violence at a time when US society is increasingly focused on its treatment of […]

Israeli town names cinema for ‘Wonder Woman’ Gadot

JERUSALEM (AFP) — A cinema in northern Israel is to be named after Israeli-born Hollywood celeb Gal Gadot, star of the blockbuster hit “Wonder Woman,” the town of Upper Nazareth said Tuesday. “We are going to name the new cinema after Gal Gadot, an Israeli actress who brings honour to this country,” municipal spokeswoman Orna Yosef told AFP. “This is a message for our young people because Gal Gadot is an example of success, who […]

Saudi filmmakers, businessmen eye return of the silver screen

by Alison Tahmizian Meuse Agence France Presse DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Saudi filmmakers and major cinema chains alike are basking in the news the kingdom will lift its decades-old ban on movie theaters, opening a market of more than 30 million people. At the Dubai International Film Festival on Tuesday, short-film directors talked shop on a seaside veranda, the city’s iconic sailboat-shaped hotel in the background. And Saudi Arabia was on everyone’s mind. […]

‘Thor’ remains a box office smash, thundering into second weekend

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — After a smashing start in its first weekend in theaters, “Thor: Ragnarok” thundered to the box office top spot once again this week, taking $56.6 million, according to industry estimates released Sunday. The third “Thor” episode, boosted by the self-mocking humor of Chris Hemsworth as the powerful Norse god (alongside Cate Blanchett as Hela, goddess of death), has taken a total of $211.5 million since opening in North American cinemas […]

Netflix told their films should not win Cannes as festival opens

by Fiachra Gibbons Agence France-Presse CANNES, France – Cannes jury chief Pedro Almodovar fired a warning shot at streaming giant Netflix on Wednesday, declaring that the film that wins the festival’s top prize should be shown in cinemas. The online giant has refused to release its two movies in the running for the Palme d’Or to French theaters, sparking a huge row that threatens to overshadow the world’s top film festival, which officially kicks off its […]