Fittingly, Richard Gere’s new Wall Street thriller Arbitrage had a screening this week hosted by The Wall Street Journa l, Brioni, and high-end jeweler Piaget. But the Peggy Siegal Company fete was hardly a frivolous bacchanal. Gere and his fellow stars Susan Sarandon and Brit Marling wondered out-loud why more investment bankers weren’t in jail, and writer/director Nicholas Jarecki noted his goal was to turn a “paper crime into a blood crime”. Reporting from the red carpet, I quickly discovered this smart movie is clearly a result of a smart cast – and you can make the same discovery via the video below! Plus do you catch that clear angling for an Oscar nom for Gere…? Nice to see his co-stars supporting him so strongly! Follow Movieline on Twitter . Follow Grace on Twitter .
Also in Monday morning’s round-up of news briefs, a Fox studio co-head prepares to leave, consolidating leadership at the movie giant. Author Salman Rushdie says a controversial book he published in ’88 would “never be published today.” And remembering film professional/journalist Sandy Mandelberger. Hezbollah Leader Calls for More Protests Against Anti-Muslim Movie Sheik Hassan Nasrallah called for protests to continue Monday as the fall out from the anti-Muslim video Innocence of Muslims appears to be continuing into another week. The news comes after the U.S. State Department called for the removal of non-essential personnel from its embassies and consulates in Tunisia and Sudan,” Deadline reports . Fox Filmed Entertainment Co-Chief Tom Rothman to Exit Studio Co-Chairman Tom Rothman is exiting Fox at the end of the year. Jim Gianopulos will become the sole Chairman/CEO at the studio, which will be consolidated into the freshly dubbed Twentieth Century Fox Film, Deadline reports . The Master Sets Specialty Box Office Record It’s not every weekend that a specialty film can claim a record, but The Master opened with an incredible $145,949 per-theater average, the best limited release ever for a live-action film, topping another record-breaker from earlier this year, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom , which bowed with with an average of $130,749 at four locations, Deadline reports . Salman Rushdie: ‘ Satanic Versus would not be published today’ The author said he thinks a climate of fear and reprisal exists today that would prevent him from getting his controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Versus from being published today. He said the banning of the book in many countries and the subsequent threats on his life including a fatwa by Iran’s then supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini, had created a “long-term chilling effect,” BBC reports . RIP Arthur Sandy Mandelberger Mandelberger was a film professional and journalist, most recently Editor in Chief of FilmFestivalToday. He died at 57 on August 29th and is survived by his mother Eta and his partner of 37 years, Richard and sisters Miriam and Fanny. He battled cancer for nine years and asked that any donations be made to the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
She has won a slew of awards around the worldwide festival circuit and an Indian Academy Award nomination for titles including Fire , Water and Bollywood/Hollywood , but Indian-born filmmaker Deepa Metha’s latest Midnight’s Children may never be available to Indian audiences because the current government’s aversion to the film, which had its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival , has made the title unpalatable to distributors. The story, written by Salman Rushdie, who himself received a death Fatwa from the late Ayatollah Khomeini for another one of his novels, The Satanic Verses mirrors India’s history told through the emotional coming-of-age of a young man. India’s ruling Congress Party is the same party of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who ruled the world’s largest democracy from the mid-’60s to the late ’70s and again in the ’80s. The story includes a scathing indictment of the Prime Minister who was assassinated in 1984, causing the ire of officials though no outright ban is currently in place. Instead, distributors apparently fear soft reprisals and are avoiding the title. “Salman has often said that the book was his love letter to India,” said Metha as quoted in the Hindustan Times . “I think the film reflects that love. What a pity if insecure politicians deprive the people of India to make up their own minds about what the film means, or does not mean, to them.” This is not the first time that Metha has run afoul of authorities at home. Hindu right-wingers prevented her from filming Water in the country and she shifted production to neighboring Sri Lanka (where she also filmed Midnight’s Children ). And Rushdie’s Satanic Versus remains banned in India. “Ultimately, Midnight’s Children is about the emotional growth of a young man that parallels his country,” said Metha. “An allegory that almost everyone is relating to, despite color, gender, geographic boundaries.” Midnight’s Children will open in 40 countries beginning this fall. [Source: Hindustan Times , BBC ]
