VERY FUNNY THINGS. NEW AMERICAN COMEDY is the title of the thematic retrospective to be dedicated by this year's San Sebastian Festival to new trends in American comedy movies. Comedy, a genre that already had an extremely long-standing Hollywood tradition, has seen a revival in recent decades thanks to a contemporary angle with place for irreverence, non-political correctness and social satire. A new generation of directors, screenwriters, actors and comedians have become today's...

The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express, today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Cinemania sections, as well as Special Screenings and the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival lineup. The 11th edition of the Festival will take place from April 18 to April 29 in New York City. The Spotlight section screens 34 films, 22 narratives and 12 documentaries that demonstrate the breadth of films at the Tribeca Film Festival. Nineteen films in the selection wi...

I was not surprised that "The Artist" was named the year's best independent feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards at beautiful Santa Monica Beach surfing over all the competition on a tidal wave to the Oscars on Sunday. The film also won awards for director Michel Hazanavicius, lead actor Jean Dujardin and cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman, taking home prizes in four of the five categories in which it was nominated. Indie Spirit Award voters made the Oscar favorites, the...

'The Artist' Dominates Independent Spirit Awards I was not surprised that "The Artist" was named the year's best independent feature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards at beautiful Santa Monica Beach surfing over all the competition on a tidal wave to the Oscars on Sunday. The film also won awards for director Michel Hazanavicius, lead actor Jean Dujardin and cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman, taking home prizes in four of the five categories in which it was nominated...

    Overall Attendance Tracking Up as the AFM® Expands Conference Series to Five Days and Introduces Industry Conversation Series with Visionaries, Trendsetters The 2011 American Film Market (AFM) opens today with more than 90 new buying companies, buyer registration tracking up 10 percent and general attendance tracking higher versus 2010, AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf announced. Buyers from China are up more than 50% and from Germany up more than ...

  One need not look up at the skies in the Canadian metropolis of Toronto to see stars. There will be as many stars at street level (make that red carpet level) as there will be in the heavens as the 2011 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival continues through this Sunday. Brad Pitt, George Clooney, James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Salma Hayek and Viggo Mortensen will be backing a flurry of Hollywood and indie movie bows in Toronto, as will Keira Knightley, Clive Owen, Ge...

The 33rd Annual Aspen Filmfest, will run September 21-25,  Aspen Film announces today the line-up for Aspen Filmfest, a five-day feast of film and fall color for movie lovers of all ages and inclinations. The 33rd annual edition will be held September 21 - 25, 2011. With an emphasis on independent productions from around the world and a uniquely intimate scale, Aspen Filmfest champions filmmaking at its finest. Positioned at the start of the awards season, the festival will showcase pre...

For most of the planet, the official end of summer does not come until the autumn equinox on September 21. However, for people in the film industry, the Fall season begins in only a few weeks, with the beginning of the autumn film festival cycle. Kicking off (startingly early this year) in Montreal on August 18 with the Montreal World Film Festival and then dashing across the pond to the Venice Film Festival, which begins on August 28, and then back across to the Toronto Film Festival, ...

DreamWorks Animation SKG today announced its feature film release slate through 2014. The Company's current plan features six original films and is anchored by three sequels based on its hit Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and How to Train Your Dragon franchises. DreamWorks Animation's theatrical release schedule is currently planned as follows: Kung Fu Panda 2 for May 26, 2011 and Puss In Boots for November 4, 2011; Madagascar 3 for June 8, 2012 and Rise of the Guardians for November 21, 2012;...

SXSW FILM ANNOUNCES 2011 FEATURES LINEUP The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year's Festival, March 11 - 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.  "This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discove...

Now even though I was scheduled to attend this event, I had a very important dinner meeting this night at a nearby SB Lebanese restaurant 'Zaytoon' (yum, great belly dancer, shisha and garden decor by the way) so I did not attend. But I was told later that Franco was '127 hours late' arriving after an Oscar rehearsal and red carpet interviews were nil as he ran in faster than the speed of light but here is a short recap of the James Franco award panel for 'Outstanding Performance' hosted...

  by Marla Lewin We will be attending another Shorts Film Fest this time here in Los Angeles. They proclaim themselves to be the largest short film festival in the world with 285 film screenings and 9 days of educational panels, interactive and entertaining events. Their host venue is the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters located at 8000 Sunset Blvd. West Hollywood CA 90046. They tell me that the festival has quickly become the industry standard for showcasing and awarding undiscov...

More than 50 Hollywood stars have been set as presenters at "The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards" which took place Sunday, January 11, 2009 at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast on NBC . Presenters included Simon Baker, Elizabeth Banks, Drew Barrymore, Pierce Brosnan, Sandra Bullock, Gerard Butler, Don Cheadle, Glenn Close, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sean Combs, Patrick Dempsey, Johnny Depp, Cameron Diaz, David Duchovny, Aaron Eckhart, Zac Efron, Laurence Fishburne, Megan Fox, Ricky ...

More than 50 Hollywood stars have been set as presenters at "The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards" which took place Sunday, January 11, 2009 at The Beverly Hilton with a live telecast on NBC . Presenters included Simon Baker, Elizabeth Banks, Drew Barrymore, Pierce Brosnan, Sandra Bullock, Gerard Butler, Don Cheadle, Glenn Close, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sean Combs, Patrick Dempsey, Johnny Depp, Cameron Diaz, David Duchovny, Aaron Eckhart, Zac Efron, Laurence Fishburne, Megan Fox, Ricky Gervais, Jake G...

The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) announced today that Anna Faris (“House Bunny” “Scary Movie” series, “Lost in Translation”) will be honored with BIFF’s special Rising Star Tribute, presented by offshore bank and trust company Ansbacher (Bahamas) Limited and Chopard. The announcement was made by BIFF Founder & Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool.The Festival’s Rising Star Award is given to an actor or actress whose noteworthy performances have put them on the path ...

 Wednesday, September 10-------Only in America could a disheveled, overweight mumbler become a bonafide movie star. Seth Rogen, the pudgy star of the current hit Pineapple Express, as well as other box office sensations Knocked Up, The 40 Year Old Virgin and Superbad, may have found the director of his dreams in indie bad boy Kevin Smith (the auteur of such slacker hits as Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dazed And Confused and  Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back).The Weinstein Company, run by the brothers ...

Festival Director Kathy Loizou said: ‘Showcomotion is ten years old this year and Pixar Animation Studios are helping us celebrate our anniversary in style. Mark Walsh, the Supervising Animator on the Disney•Pixar film Ratatouille, is a special guest at the festival. Mark will talk about the work of Pixar Animation Studios over the last ten years, including such classics as Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. The Showcomotion Special 10th Anniversary Talk is on Wed...