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  • Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014
Danes hoping for 4th Oscar with "The Hunt"
A May 16, 2013 file photo of Danish director Thomas Vinterberg poses for photographers during a photo call for the jury of Un Certain Regard at the 66th international film festival, in Cannes. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File )
By Jan M. Olsen
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- 

When Danish director Thomas Vinterberg wrote the script for "The Hunt" — one of this year's contenders for Best Foreign Language Film — he pictured a young Robert de Niro as the lonely teacher whose life crumbles because of an innocent lie.

But when fellow Dane Mads Mikkelsen, known for his roles as the icy villain in the James Bond movie "Casino Royale" and the brilliantly evil Hannibal Lecter on TV's "Hannibal," signed on, his vision changed.

"It was really awesome when I got Mads," he said. "But, I had to rewrite the script."

Vinterberg says his original idea was that the lead character, Lucas, would be a young, tough blacksmith. However, he toned it down and turned him into a humble, quiet kindergarten teacher, popular with the children. The small-town teacher becomes the victim of a modern witch hunt over a 5-year-old's false accusation of pedophilia.

"I changed it because I thought More

  • Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014
Claudia Llosa shows 1st English film in Berlin
From left, actors Cillian Murphy, Jennifer Connelly, director Claudia Llosa and actress Melanie Laurent pose for photographers at the photo call for the film Aloft during the International Film Festival Berlinale in Berlin, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt)
BERLIN (AP) -- 

Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa, a winner of the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival five years ago, is back at the event with multinational new movie "Aloft" — her first work in English.

Llosa brings together Cillian Murphy, Jennifer Connelly and French actress Melanie Laurent in "Aloft," which uses flashbacks to explore the relationship between a mother and son. The director says forgiveness is a central theme.

Llosa said as she presented the film Wednesday: "Of course it's a challenge, directing in a language that is not your mother tongue — (but) I feel comfortable in English." She said her cast helped her find the right words.

"Aloft" is one of 20 films competing for Berlin's Golden Bear award, which Llosa's "The Milk of Sorrow" won in 2009.

  • Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014
Nominated costumes get museum treatment in LA
In this Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014 photo, 2014 Oscar-nominated costumes for "The Great Gatsby," by costume designer Catherine Martin are on display at the 22nd annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tonya Wise/Invision/AP)
By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

The burgundy velour suit Christian Bale finished with an ascot stands next to the slinky, leopard-print gown worn by Jennifer Lawrence in "American Hustle." Five of the flashy, low-cut dresses worn by Amy Adams occupy extra-small mannequins beside them.

These Oscar-nominated costumes are among the stars of FIDM Museum's 22nd annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibit, which features outfits from all five Oscar contenders this year: "American Hustle," ''12 Years a Slave," ''The Great Gatsby," ''The Invisible Woman" and "The Grandmaster." The free exhibit, on view until April 26, also features dozens of designs from other popular films, including "Man of Steel" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."

Curator Kevin Jones and his team inadvertently predicted the nominees when they requested the costumes months ago.

"I'd like to say that we have all this insider information and it's totally More

  • Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014
Nielsen: Olympics kickoff jolts NBC to week's win
NEW YORK (AP) -- 

The Winter Olympics are once again golden for NBC.

Nielsen says the first four nights of NBC's Olympics programming seized the top four slots in last week's audience ranking. Friday's opening ceremony took first place for the week. It was seen by nearly 32 million viewers.

Overall in prime time, NBC was seen by an average 17 million viewers.

But runner-up CBS held its own, with an average of nearly 10 million viewers. Its "Beatles: A Grammy Salute" anniversary special drew 14 million viewers to rank ninth.

Cable's AMC notched the eighth-ranked show, "The Walking Dead." It was seen by more than 15 million viewers.

The week's top-rated cable networks in prime time were History, AMC and USA.

NBC's "Nightly News" remained the top-rated evening newscast.

  • Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014
"Inbetween Worlds" debuts at Berlin Film Festival
BERLIN (AP) -- 

A drama highlighting the problems facing foreign forces' local helpers in Afghanistan, "Inbetween Worlds," made its debut Tuesday at the Berlin International Film Festival. Filmed in northern Afghanistan, the competition entry from Austrian-born director Feo Aladag follows the efforts of a German army captain to connect with locals via his interpreter, played by 18-year-old Mohsin Ahmady.

The movie was made largely in and around the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which is German forces' main base. Asked how it was to direct a movie as a woman in Afghanistan, Aladag replied that she expected it to be more difficult — though "of course, you have a headscarf and you're not running around in a T-shirt; you try to act respectfully." About half the film team were Afghans.

Aladag said she was motivated by a lack of films about modern More

  • Monday, Feb. 10, 2014
DreamWorks Animation launches publishing unit
GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) -- 

DreamWorks Animation says it is launching a digital and print publisher that will produce books based on its roster of characters from movies such as "Kung Fu Panda," ''Madagascar" and "Shrek."

It says the first wave of DreamWorks Press books will likely hit shelves in time for the end-of-the-year holiday season.

DreamWorks Animation is partnering with The Perseus Books Group on distribution and sales.

Shares in DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., which is based in Glendale, Calif., rose 8 cents to $33.77 in afternoon trading Monday.

  • Monday, Feb. 10, 2014
150-plus Oscar nominees gather for annual luncheon
Bruce Dern arrives at the 86th Oscars Nominees Luncheon, on Monday, Feb., 10, 2014 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
By Jessica Herndon, Film Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- 

More than 150 Oscar nominees gathered at a Beverly Hills hotel on Monday to celebrate the joy of just being nominated.

Honorees in all 24 of this year's Oscar categories — from hairstylists to A-listers — turned out for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences annual nominees luncheon.

But the festivities held in a blue-hued ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel were not without a little business — like when Oscar show co-producer Craig Zadan told prospective winners to keep it moving on the big night.

"Please get to the stage quickly, really quickly," Zadan said. "The moment you reach the microphone, the timer begins and you will have 45 seconds to speak."

Seeking to tighten a broadcast that has approached four hours in recent years, Zadan warned potential group winners to select a designated speaker "who should begin to speak immediately before the whole group has assembled More

  • Monday, Feb. 10, 2014
Danish film director Gabriel Axel dies at 95
In this Monday, April 12, 1988 file photo, Gabriel Axel gestures backstage at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles after winning an Oscar for Best Foreign Language at the Academy Awards. Gabriel Axel, the first Dane to win an Oscar for best foreign film as of "Babette's Feast," has died at the age of 95. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
By Jan M. Olsen
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) -- 

Gabriel Axel, the first Dane to win an Oscar for best foreign film with "Babette's Feast" which he directed, has died at the age of 95.

His daughter Karin Moerch said in a statement that he died Sunday "quietly and peacefully after a long and eventful life." She did not say where he died or give the cause of death.

Born April 18, 1918, in Denmark's second city Aarhus, Axel divided his time between his homeland and France. He grew up in Paris where his father owned a factory and at age 18 he returned to Denmark to work as a carpenter making furniture.

But the theater drew him, and he enrolled in the Danish Royal Theater Actors' School, graduating in 1945.

Axel was born Gabriel Axel Moerch but he dropped his last name when he joined the theater troupe of French film and stage artist Louis Jouvet in Paris. Axel directed several large projects for French television, then returned to Denmark More

  • Monday, Feb. 10, 2014
Media study: time-shifting of TV content, multitasking on the rise
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

TV viewers increasingly are watching programs on their own schedule, according to a Nielsen company media study released Monday.

In the past year, time-shifting of television content grew by almost two hours, averaging 13 hours per month, the study found. Viewers averaged nearly 134 hours of live TV viewing a month in 2013, down nearly three hours from 2012.

Television still remains central to media consumption, the study found, despite the increase in time-shifted viewing and streaming video through a computer or smartphone.

On average, American consumers own four digital devices, the report found. The majority of U.S. households own high-definition TV sets, Internet-connected computers and smartphones, while nearly half also own digital video recorders and gaming consoles.

The average consumer spends about 60 hours a week viewing content across various platforms, Nielsen found. More

  • Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014
DiCaprio, Hill re-team for story of Richard Jewell
From left, Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Martin Scorsese arrive at 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival - Cinema Vanguard Award ceremony on Thursday, Feb, 6, 2014 in Santa Barbara, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
By Ryan Pearson, Entertainment Writer
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) -- 

Leonardo DiCaprio says he and "The Wolf of Wall Street" co-star Jonah Hill are "going to come up with something unique" as they re-team to tell the story of 1996 Olympics security guard Richard Jewell.

Hill will star as Jewell in the planned film, which was presented to the two actors as they searched for another joint project following the Oscar-nominated depiction of stockbroker excess.

"I think it's such a heartbreaking story and such an interesting story about the 24-hour news cycle: a man becoming a hero and then the world's biggest villain within 24 hours of each other -- and dying before he got to see his name cleared," Hill said in an interview Thursday night. He was at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival presenting an award to DiCaprio and "Wolf" director Martin Scorsese.

DiCaprio is expected to both produce and play Jewell's attorney.

"The whole premise of it is More

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