The new generation of filmmakers will come into its own at this year's Venice film festival, where 41-year-old US director Darren Aronofsky will raise the curtain with "Black Swan", organisers said Thursday. "Venice is getting younger," said director Marco Mueller as he presented the selection for the world's oldest moviefest, set for September 1-11. The average age of ...

TORONTO (Reuters) - World premieres by directors Robert Redford and Emilio Estevez are among the highlights of this year's Toronto International Film Festival, which will feature a slimmer lineup of movies than in years past. The 35th edition will screen about 290 films, below the typical roster of around 350 titles, the festival's CEO and director, Piers Handling, said ...

Leading British film-makers have reacted with horror to the announcement of plans to abolish the UK Film Council, a body responsible for funding 900 British films over the past decade. Director Mike Leigh, whose films include Oscar-winning movie Happy-Go-Lucky and the Oscar-nominated Vera Drake, said the unexpected axing of the body, set up in 2000 with 75 staff, was "extremely ...

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - The Sarajevo Film Festival opens on Friday with the world premiere of "Circus Columbia," a romantic saga set in the period that led to the region's 1992-95 war, by Bosnia's Oscar-winning film director Danis Tanovic. The film tells the story of Divko, a Bosnian who returns as a wealthy man to his home town in southern ...

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - An actor who traded lawsuits with the motion picture academy after being detained outside the Oscars has been charged with criminal trespass. The City of Los Angeles has filed charges against Michael AvMen and his wife, Mandy, for attempting to attend the Academy Awards without tickets in March. They have been ordered to appear in court ...

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Can "Inception" safely dream of Oscar glory? That's one conundrum that will linger long after average moviegoers have stopped debating the ambiguities of Christopher Nolan's twisty new thrill ride into the subconscious. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences failed to reward Nolan's most recent movie, mega-grossing "The Dark Knight," with a ...

Oscar-winning Spanish film stars Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem wed earlier this month at an intimate ceremony in the Bahamas, the actress' publicist told AFP Wednesday. The couple "were married in the beginning of July at a friend's house in the Bahamas. It was a small ceremony with just family members. Penelope wore a dress designed by her longtime ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Spanish actors Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz have joined the ranks of Oscar-winning married couples after tying the knot in the Bahamas earlier this month, according to several celebrity magazines on Tuesday. The family-only ceremony took place at a friend's house, the magazine reports said. Cruz wore a John Galliano dress. It was not clear when ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials on Thursday said they are looking into claims that Oscar-winning director and actor Mel Gibson physically abused his former girlfriend and the mother of one of his children. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's office released a statement saying it was "gathering information regarding the allegations" and would disclose no other details because the ...

Academy Award-winning directors Kathryn Bigelow and Michael Moore have been elected to the board of governors that oversees the Oscars. The academy announced Wednesday that Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker") and Moore ("Bowling for Columbine") were among 15 new or returning members elected to three-year terms on the board ...