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  • Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016
Gabrielle Union: "Birth of a Nation" can spur conversation on race 
Colman Domingo, left, embraces fellow actor Gabrielle Union as they arrive on the red carpet for the film "Birth of a Nation" during the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. (Chris Young/The Canadian Press via AP)
By John Carucci, Entertainment Writer
TORONTO (AP) -- 

Gabrielle Union feels the conversation that "Birth of a Nation" can create about race and sexual violence will have more impact than the controversy surrounding filmmaker Nate Parker.

A 17-year-old rape allegation against Parker and his co-writer Jean Celestin while they were students at Penn State University has loomed in the headlines and threatened to overshadow the film. Parker also directed, and stars in the true account of the 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner.

"This movie is so much bigger than me, than Nate, but it includes all of us in moving this conversation forward," Union told the Associated Press on Saturday at a junket for the film at the Toronto International film Festival.

Parker was acquitted in the case. Celestin was initially found guilty of sexual assault in the same case, but the conviction was later overturned when the accuser declined to testify for a retrial. The accuser killed herself in 2012.

More

  • Sunday, Sep. 11, 2016
Toronto sneak peak of "Hidden Figures" moves Henson to tears
Taraji P. Henson, a cast member in "Hidden Figures," poses at a photo call for the film on day 3 of the Toronto International Film Festival at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
TORONTO (AP) -- 

"Hidden Figures," a drama about an African-American mathematician at NASA in the early 1960s, isn't finished yet, but a sneak peak of about 30 minutes of footage was enough to move one of its stars, Taraji P. Henson, to tears.

Twentieth Century Fox previewed the film Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival for press, before its producer and co-composer Pharrell Williams treated wet festival-goers to a brief outdoor concert. The film is about a trio of lesser-known NASA figures Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), Katherine Johnson (Henson) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) who played an integral role in the program that put John Glenn into space.

As the three took the stage for a Q&A following the screening, Henson was fighting back tears, exclaiming "It's so important."

"If I had known about these women coming up, maybe I would have aspired to be a rocket scientist," the "Empire" star said. "Not to say that I have a bad More

  • Friday, Sep. 9, 2016
DiCaprio unveils climate change film "Before the Flood"
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, left, and director Fisher Stevens arrive on the red carpet to promote the film "Before The Flood" during the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 9, 2016. (Michelle Siu/The Canadian Press via AP)
TORONTO (AP) -- 

Leonardo DiCaprio has unveiled his climate change documentary "Before the Flood" at the Toronto International Film Festival, saying the film is intended to "give the scientific community a voice."

The film was directed by Fisher Stevens. It chronicles DiCaprio's exploits around the globe to raise awareness about climate change.

DiCaprio is a United Nations Ambassador of Peace. He was greeted by fans outside the film's premiere Friday.

The Academy Award-winning actor says, "We are truly at a turning point in history." He says this issue "depends on the education of the public and the evolution of our species to combat what is the largest crisis we've ever faced."

Stevens says the film's release is intentionally timed to the U.S. presidential election.

The film will air Oct. 31 on National Geographic.

  • Friday, Sep. 9, 2016
Jane Fonda and Robert Redford team up on Netflix film 
In this Nov. 30, 2015 file photo, actor Robert Redford attends The Independent Filmmaker Project's 25th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

Jane Fonda and Robert Redford are teaming up on Netflix.

The network says Fonda and Redford will star in the new film "Our Souls at Night," which is set to premiere on the platform in 2017.

Netflix said Friday the two actors will play a couple in the film, which they last did in 1979's "The Electric Horseman."

Bruce Dern and Judy Greer also star. Production is set to begin Monday in Colorado.

  • Friday, Sep. 9, 2016
Yahoo CEO could reap $44 million if she leaves after sale 
In this Feb. 19, 2015, file photo, Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer delivers the keynote address at the first-ever Yahoo Mobile Developer's Conference, in San Francisco.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
By Brandon Bailey, Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- 

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer stands to collect a $44 million severance package if she leaves after Verizon completes its purchase of the once-mighty internet company.

Mayer hasn't announced plans to leave, but industry observers say she's unlikely to stay after the $4.8 billion sale closes early next year.

The 41-year-old executive stands to collect $3 million in cash and almost $41 million worth of stock options and awards under a "golden parachute" agreement described in a regulatory filing Friday. In a filing last spring, Yahoo said Mayer could walk away with $55 million in compensation, but the estimates can vary with the value of Yahoo's stock and the date she leaves.

Mayer has been CEO for four years but failed to reverse a long-standing slide in Yahoo's advertising business. After an unsuccessful effort to spin off its investment in the Chinese internet giant Alibaba, Yahoo Inc. began entertaining offers for its core business More

  • Friday, Sep. 9, 2016
James Cameron talks "Avatar" sequels, Cirque du Soleil show 
In this May 29, 2014 file photo, director James Cameron speaks at a news conference announcing a new show by Cirque du Soleil based on his movie "Avatar" in Montreal. Cameron, who plans four film sequels, served as a consultant on “Toruk The First Flight,” a stadium show that opened in Montreal in November and has since toured North America. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)
By Mark Kennedy, Drama Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

The first "Avatar" sequel is still years away from hitting movie theaters, but fans of the blue-hued Na'vi can get their fix at a touring Cirque du Soleil show that James Cameron helped create — without his having to reveal too much of what's up his cinematic sleeve.

Cameron, who plans four sequels starting in 2018, served as a consultant on "Toruk — The First Flight," a stadium show that opened in Montreal in November and has since toured North America.

The writer and director suggested to the Cirque team things that the Na'vi might do or how they might think about certain things, but said he largely let writer-directors Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon create freely.

"I was just a cheerleader on the side with some pom-poms," Cameron said this week when the show stopped in Brooklyn. "Interestingly, left to their own devices, the Cirque guys creatively wound up resonating very, very closely to the overall arc of the four-sequel saga More

  • Thursday, Sep. 8, 2016
New rules may allow you to bypass the cable box 
In this March 17, 2015, file photo, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on net neutrality on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)
By Tali Arbel, Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

You may soon have more options for a cable box than renting one from your cable company.

The Federal Communications Commission has a plan to make cable companies provide apps that could be used on devices made by tech companies like maybe Roku or Apple. It says Americans spend billions each year renting boxes and believes there is a better way.

The FCC says the new rules mean more choices and will make it easier for TV lovers to search for and find video they want.

Its January proposal was opposed by the TV and cable industries, criticized by the U.S. Copyright Office and dozens of lawmakers. A revised plan released Thursday adopts some cable-industry suggestions.

The FCC's five commissioners will vote on the plan later this month. If approved, most cable customers could choose another device to watch cable within two years.

The changes would succeed the CableCard, which consumers were supposed to stick into another More

  • Thursday, Sep. 8, 2016
Alfonso Cuarón sets next film in 1970s' Mexico City 
Alfonso Cuarón
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón is coming back to earth, and his home country, for his next film. The "Gravity" director's new project will take on a year in the life of a middle class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s.

Participant Media announced the untitled film and collaboration Thursday.

Cuarón said that the still-untitled film is close to his heart and that it will be his first to film in Mexico since his 2001 coming-of-age road trip movie "Y Tu Mamá También."

This will be Cuarón's first film since "Gravity," which won seven Oscars in 2014, including Best Director.

Cuarón will write, direct and co-produce the new film alongside longtime collaborators like "Children of Men" producer Gabriela Rodriguez.

No cast was announced.

  • Thursday, Sep. 8, 2016
Small businesses get Facebook tools to advertise to global customers
In this June 11, 2014 file photo, a man walks bast a Facebook sign in an office on the Facebook campus in Menlo Park, Calif. (AP file photo)
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Facebook is expanding its services to small businesses that want to sell to customers in other countries.

The social media company said Thursday it's adding features to its small business sites that allow companies to search for and advertise to customers in other countries. Businesses will be able to choose which countries they want to target, and can aim at customers in specific regions or the entire world. The features will be available to small businesses around the world.

Sixty million businesses have Facebook pages, and more than 1 billion people using the social media site are connected to at least one business in another country, the company said. In the U.S., more than 60 percent of Facebook users are connected to a company in another country.

Catalysts for the expansion included data that showed Facebook users and small businesses are increasingly engaging in cross-border transactions, the company said. It also has had More

  • Thursday, Sep. 8, 2016
Amazon slashes price, adds Alexa to new Fire tablet 
This undated image provided by Amazon shows color options of the new Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet. (Amazon via AP)
By Mae Anderson, Technology Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

Amazon wants to be under the Christmas tree this year. It's cut the price of its new Fire tablet almost in half and added its popular voice assistant, Alexa, in hopes of making it a hot holiday item, despite a slump in overall tablet sales.

The new Fire HD8 tablet will cost $90, down from $150. Mixed-use battery life is up to 12 hours from 8, and the base storage is doubled to 16 gigabytes.

The biggest change is that the tablet will have Alexa functionality. That means that when users tap and hold the tablet's home button, they can ask the assistant for anything from weather reports to news queries, and also get the device do things like adjusting the lights or temperature on compatible smart-home devices.

The tablet market in general has been slumping. Most people have already bought one who wanted one and see little reason to upgrade. Worldwide tablet shipments fell 12.3 percent to 38.7 million in the second quarter, according to More

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