Venice is a city of lions. There’s the ubiquitous winged lion, the symbol of Saint Mark, seen everywhere in statuary and on banners. Last night, outside the Casino, one of the main buildings of the festival complex, I saw a winged lion statue, about 12 feet off the ground, with a single wine glass perched delicately if a bit precariously atop one of his meaty paws, left behind by some meticulous reveler. Other lions have no wings but appear not to mind much, standing guard at church entrances, outside restaurants or at the center of neighborhood squares. And everywhere you look, there are smaller lion faces gazing back at you: Some have important and obvious jobs to do, holding door-knockers or doorbells in their mouths. Others are free to simply be themselves, but all seem intent on keeping an eye on things.
Model Bar Refaeli poses for photographers on the “Carnage” red carpet at the 68th Venice Film Festival in Venice September 1, 2011. She has been demonstrating exactly why she is a Sports Illustrated cover girl soaking up the sunshine in Italy. And today Bar Refaeli stole the spotlight as she attended the premiere of Carnage at the Venice Film Festival this evening. The model looks simply stunning in a low cut black jumpsuit by Emilio Pucci which boasted lace detailing and a series of buttons
Despite a past laden with naked photos , no one said much when Brooke Burke was cast on Dancing with the Stars . But complaints have been pouring in from certain circles now that Chaz Bono, the transgender child of Cher and Sonny Bono, has been named a competitor on the new season of this ABC hit. So far, both Bono’s mother and Lacey Schwimmer have come to his defense . And we can now add George Clooney’s ex to that list, as fellow cast member Elisabetta Canalis tells E! News of Chaz’s inclusion: “I’m so happy to be on this show with him. He represents a big community, so we need it on TV. We need to talk about it, we need to see people.” Do you agree? Where do you stand on the issue?
Co-stars in Mildred Pierce , Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood stopped by the Venice International Film Festival this week. The former will next be seen in Carnage , while the latter has a role in George Clooney’s The Ides of March . Both movies are Oscar contenders, which means Winslet and Wood might square off against each other next year. So let’s start the competition now! Compare the styles of these stars and vote below.
‘I really felt like your blood was boiling,’ Ryan Seacrest recalls in interview with J.Lo. By James Dinh Jennifer Lopez (file) Photo: Getty/ Jason LaVeris Jennifer Lopez is one woman who fights for what she believes in, and that’s exactly what she did during a recent taping of “American Idol,” when she got into a fight with fellow judges Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler over their decision to pass on a hopeful contestant. “I think me, Randy and Steven got into our first fight,” J.Lo admitted when she called in to “On-Air With Ryan Seacrest” on Friday morning (September 2). “I got really, really upset. There was this that girl came in and sang and she was amazing, amazing. And Steven, as he will do when we’re doing our auditions, he’ll ask her for another song. I was like, I was surprised because I was ready to vote. I was like, ‘This girl is amazing.’ ” After the contestant sang another tune, Jackson and Tyler quickly decided to pass on her, leaving Lopez feeling as if she “was being punk’d.” In an effort to show the other judges their missed opportunity, J.Lo says she even urged producers to air the audition in a forthcoming episode. “The thing I recognized from that scene was there was blood boiling for one of the first times. I really felt like your blood was boiling,” Seacrest chimed in. During the interview, Lopez noticeably avoided any talk about her divorce from Marc Anthony , despite the fact that her soon-to-be ex discussed their split on ABC’s “Nightline” on Thursday night. Instead, Jenny from the Block spoke about her clothing line and gearing up to release the club-ready single “Papi.” Lopez, who shot the video last month, described the track as a “celebration of being with somebody you really love” and explained how the song came to life. “I was working in the studio with RedOne and his guys, and at the time, I was always king of like, I always use the word ‘papi,’ ” she recalled. “And they were like, ‘We’re going to write a song called ‘Papi,’ and we just wrote the song about loving somebody and just celebrating that.” Later this month, fans of the singer will see her perform the Latin-flavored single at the heavily-promoted iHeartRadio Festival , on a bill that also includes Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Jay-Z and more. Related Videos ‘Idol Party Live’ Season 10 Finale Show Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances Related Artists Jennifer Lopez
From left actor Ando Masanobu and actress Vivian Hsu arrive for the premiere of the film #39;Seediq Bale (Warriors of the Rainbow) at the 68th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011. Actress Vivian Hsu and actor Ando Masanobu walk the red carpet before the premiere of Taiwan#39;s film”Saideke Balai”at the 68th Venice International Film Festival at Venice,Italy,Sept. 1, 2011.
When the Weinstein Co. first announced their Apollo 18 project last year, they sent out a press release stating that Russian producer Timur Bekmambetov had discovered actual Apollo 18 footage that would be incorporated in their “documentary.” Just three hours later, the studio retracted the release with a new one that curiously did not mention the footage. But then they released a trailer for Apollo 18 that opened by claiming “the following is the recovered footage from Apollo 18.” Confusing much? On the eve of the film’s release, NASA is finally coming forward to talk about Apollo 18 .
Hey, look at that: Mere hours after allowing a brief peek behind the curtain at fest HQ, the team at the Telluride Film Festival have announced the line-up for its 38th installment, which gets underway tomorrow. In addition to unveiling the North American premieres of awards hopefuls The Descendants , A Dangerous Method , We Need to Talk About Kevin , Albert Nobbs and numerous others, the famously top-secret Colorado portal to the fall festival season will honor George Clooney, Pierre Étaix and Tilda Swinton with its coveted Silver Medallions. Read on for the full program.
Just ask Movieline Chief Critic Stephanie Zacharek, who is already stationed in Venice for the season’s first major film festival: Fall is the happening time for these organized movie galas. In honor of this fest upswing — and Movieline’s week-long seasonal cinema celebration — we contacted authorities at the Telluride, Toronto, New York, London and AFI film festivals to pick their brains about the programming process, their events’ unique identities in the fest circuit and much more. For festival novices, consider this a primer for the autumn film festivals. And for the seasoned vets out there, enjoy these behind-the-scenes accounts of the rigorous preparation that goes into selecting tomorrow’s award-winning films.
