Ghosts of China’s Maoist past haunt present in Venice film

September 4, 2014 0
Director Wang Xiaoshuai poses with cast members Qin Hao and Lu Zhong during the red carpet for the movie "Chuangru zhe" (Red amnesia) at the 71st Venice Film Festival

By Michael Roddy LONDON (Reuters) – The Chinese film “Red Amnesia” shown in Venice is partly a ghost story that may or may not have a ghost, but its portrayal of how the Cultural Revolution left a trail of twisted lives that haunts China today is unambiguous and devastating. The film by “Beijing Bicycle” director Wang Xiaoshuai is in competition for the Venice Film Festival’s top Golden Lion prize to be awarded on Saturday. “It’s now been over 30 years since the economic reforms began being implemented in China,” Wang said at a post-screening news conference on Thursday. “Yet we have not been freed from the influences of the past and in our minds, we have not completely been able to move on.” The film, which has the Chinese title “Chuangru zhe”, is the third in a trilogy by Wang that looks at the aftermath of the 1966-76 mass campaign launched by Mao Zedong to transform China into a militantly Communist society, which descended into violence, denunciations, purges and warfare.

VENICE WATCH: War film shocks; Pacino reminisces

September 4, 2014 0
Al Pacino arrives on the red carpet at the 3rd Annual Charity Gala during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Venice Film Festival is bringing 11 days of red carpet premieres, innovative movies and Hollywood glamour to the Italian city. Here’s what has been catching the eye of The Associated Press.

Toronto Film Festival to kick off season of buzz

September 4, 2014 0
Toronto Film Festival to kick off season of buzz

The commodity that most fuels the fervor of the annual Toronto International Film Festival is that elusive lifeblood of Hollywood’s awards season: buzz. That’s what the major films will be seeking at TIFF, …

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Anurag Kashyap in multi-year pact with Blumhouse, Ivanhoe to helm films

September 4, 2014 0

Washington, Sept 4 (ANI): Anurag Kashyap’s Phantom Films is in a multi-year pact with Blumhouse Productions and Ivanhoe Pictures to produce local-language genre movies in India, it has been revealed. The deal calls for the production of a minimum of ten films over five years and Kashyap is set to direct one of the movies in the planned slate, the Hollywood Reporter reported. Horror franchise expert Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Sinister) will offer its creative expertise in the partnership, while recently launched Asian focused film and television entity Ivanhoe Pictures will finance the films.

Comedian Joan Rivers moved to private room from intensive care – daughter

September 3, 2014 0
Comedian Joan Rivers arrives for the premiere of the documentary "Joan Rivers - A Piece Of Work" during the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah

Comedian Joan Rivers, who suffered cardiac arrest last week, has been moved out of an intensive care unit in a New York hospital and into a private room, her daughter said on Wednesday. Rivers, 81, is “being kept comfortable” in a private room at Mount Sinai Hospital on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, according to her daughter, Melissa Rivers. The comedian was placed on life support after she stopped breathing and suffered cardiac arrest during outpatient surgery on her vocal cords at a nearby clinic on Aug. 28. “My mother has been moved out of intensive care and into a private room,” Melissa Rivers said in a statement.

Apple says its systems not to blame for celebrity photo breach

September 3, 2014 0
The Apple logo is pictured at a retail store in the Marina neighborhood in San Francisco

By Edwin Chan and Christina Farr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The week before a crucial launch of its new iPhone, Apple Inc said intimate photos of celebrities including Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence were leaked online through the apparent hacking of individual iCloud accounts. Apple rushed to restore confidence in its systems’ security, saying the celebrity photo scandal that also ensnared swimsuit model Kate Upton, actress Kirsten Dunst and possibly dozens more was the result of targeted attacks on accounts storing personal data and not a direct breach of Apple systems. “We have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet,” Apple said in a statement. “None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find My iPhone.” The celebrity hacking that came to light over the long Labor Day weekend nevertheless ranks among the highest-profile public fiascos for Apple in recent years.