"The Tree of Life", Brad Pitt reflects on paternal side, on screen and off (Associated Press, 18 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Associated Press (AP)", 18 May 2011

Pitt reflects on paternal side, on screen and off

By DAVID GERMAIN

CANNES, France (AP) -- You won't catch Brad Pitt doing fatherhood in a small way, on screen or in his real family life with Angelina Jolie.

In Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," which premiered this week at the Cannes Film Festival, Pitt plays a father of three in a drama that deals with the biggest of questions about our place in the cosmos.

In his home life, Pitt and Jolie are parents of six - three biological children, three adopted. For Pitt, who was childless into his 40s after his marriage with Jennifer Aniston broke up, it all happened in just a few years.

"I know it seems extreme from the outside, but I've always kind of operated this way. When I know, I know, and why mess around?" Pitt, 47, said in an interview.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Revelations could tarnish His legacy (Associated Press, 18 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Associated Press (AP)", 18 May 2011

Revelations could tarnish Schwarzenegger's legacy

By JULIET WILLIAMS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's political legacy in California already was tenuous.

He left the governor's office after seven years without making good on his central campaign promise to fix the state's budgeting system, then commuted the manslaughter sentence for the son of a political ally in one of his final official acts, drawing the condemnation of prosecutors and the family of a slain college student.

Now he's revealed to be the father of an out-of-wedlock child, a secret he kept during two gubernatorial terms.

No matter his accomplishments in office, Schwarzenegger may be best remembered as yet another philandering politician who got caught.

Cannes 2011: Neil LaBute turns his macabre hand to Agatha Christie (Guardian, 15 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Guardian, UK", 15 May 2011
Cannes 2011: Neil LaBute turns his macabre hand to Agatha Christie

American director promises 'a good romp and a cracking yarn' in film version of The Crooked House

By Charlotte Higgins in Cannes

Neil LaBute has carved a career from seriously disturbing plays and films – In the Company of Men, The Shape of Things – that plunge deep into the American male psyche and find it to be damaged, selfish and brutal.
But now the writer and director is turning to a gentler, politer and certainly more English material: Agatha Christie. And, he says, he promises "a good romp and a cracking yarn".
LaBute is to direct a film of Christie's novel The Crooked House, with a screenplay adapted by Julian Fellowes, of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey fame. Though LaBute has ventured into period drama once before – Possession, the AS Byatt novel whose adaptation he directed, flips between the 19th and 20th centuries – he is certainly more associated with dystopian urban fables than the tinkling tea-cups and well-appointed drawing rooms of Christie's classic murder mysteries.

Pirates of Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Johnny Depp steers 'Pirates' into critical seas of Cannes (AP)

Courtesy: "Associated Press (AP)", 14 May 2011

Depp steers 'Pirates' into critical seas of Cannes

By DAVID GERMAIN

CANNES, France (AP) -- Johnny Depp chuckled when asked if he was worried about the notoriously harsh critics at the Cannes Film Festival, where his new swashbuckler "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" played amid far more sober fare.

Depp said his family - French actress and romantic partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children - are the only critics he needs.

"My family have seen more of my movies than I have. In fact, a lot more, including this one," Depp said at a news conference Saturday before the "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequel screened. "They've been angels through this process, because I started out secretly testing characters on them to see how the reactions would be. When my daughter was little, we'd be playing Barbies, and I'd start doing these voices. Finally, she just said, `Stop.'

Azerbaijan pair Ell/Nikki wins Eurovision Song Contest (Associated Press, 14 May 201)

Courtesy: "Associated Press (AP)", 14 May 2011

Azerbaijan wins Eurovision Song Contest

By FRANK AUGSTEIN and MELISSA EDDY

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) -- A mother of two and an international relations student from Azerbaijan beat out the much-hyped Irish twins and 23 other finalists Saturday to secure their nation's first-ever win in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Nigar Jamal and Eldar Gasimov, who go by the name Ell/Nikki, won 220 points for their classic pop ballad with a catchy refrain, "Running Scared," meaning next year's songfest will be hosted in Baku.

"I'm the happiest man in the world right now," Gasimov, 22, shouted to the crowd of 36,000 who packed the Fortuna Duesseldorf Arena to watch the show.

In the past three years, Azerbaijan has finished in the first 10 at the songfest, but have never before reached the top.

Cannes: Diana film slams UK royals as 'gangsters' (Associated Press, 13 May 2011)

Courtesy: “Associated Press (AP)”, 13 May 2011

Cannes: Diana film slams UK royals as 'gangsters'

By JILL LAWLESS

CANNES, France (AP) -- A provocative new documentary that made its debut Friday at the Cannes Film Festival claims Britain's royals are racist "gangsters in tiaras" and Prince Philip is a womanizing psychopath.

The movie "Unlawful Killing" revives claims that Princess Diana - adored by millions as the "people's princess" but viewed in royal circles as an embarrassing loose cannon - was murdered by the British establishment. The film was screened Friday for the first time at the festival.

It bills itself as "the antidote to 'The King's Speech'" and depicts the royal family as feudal relics presiding over a network of official cronies at taxpayers' expense. Director Keith Allen says, however, it's "not an attack on the monarchy."

"I don't think it's anti-monarchy," he said. "I think it may be questioning capitalism."

Gilles Jacob: The Man Behind the Success of Cannes (Spiegel International, 13 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Spiegel International, Germany", 11 May 2011
'A Stairway Going Higher and Higher': The Man Behind the Success of Cannes
For over three decades, Gilles Jacob has presided over the Cannes Film Festival, turning it into the world's top celebration of global cinema and himself into the most powerful man in European film. He is not always universally admired in the US, but when he calls, the stars come flocking.
By Lars-Olav Beier
When the stars, the directors, the actors and the actresses have stepped out of their limousines in front of the Festival Palace in Cannes and have made their way through the cheering crowds, when they have survived the frenzy of hundreds of flashing cameras and have climbed the steps to the palace, they have only a few more meters to go before reaching the hallowed halls of cinema. They will have almost made it.
But there is still one man left to pass: Gilles Jacob.

Thinking the unthinkable on Europe's debt crisis: Spain is Next (Reuters, 12 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Reuters", 12 May 2011
Analysis: Thinking the unthinkable on Europe's debt crisis

By Luke Baker

BRUSSELS

(Reuters) - There is a solution to Europe's debt crisis. It's called proper fiscal and political union. The only problem is Germany, France, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands and quite a few others would never accept it.
For well over a year, Europe's leaders have been coming up with bold, multi-billion-euro measures to try to put a stop to the debt rot eating away at Greece, Ireland and Portugal, and which could soon affect other member states such as Spain.
The net result, especially when looked at through the eyes of the financial markets, is no improvement. Greece and the others are no closer to resolving their problems, and the likelihood of a debt default or restructuring has only risen.
For their next move, euro zone leaders are expected to decide to extend the maturities on 110 billion euros of loans already granted to Greece, could lower the interest rate, and may come up with a further package of support.

William and Kate: Dream Royal Wedding (Spiegel International, 30 April 2011)

Courtesy: "Spiegel International, Germany", 30 April 2011

Windsor Wonderland: William and Kate Celebrate Dream Wedding

Photo: AFP

Britain celebrated the royal wedding of William and Kate with a grand patriotic spectacle. Friday's ceremony also sent out a message: With these two at the helm as the future king and queen of England, the monarchy will be less distant from its subjects in the years to come -- and also a little more human.

Princess Diana and Kate Middleton (Spiegel International)

Courtesy: "Spiegel International, Germany", 29 April 2011

The Un-Diana: Why Kate Middleton Has a Better Shot at Success

Critics have disparaged the British royal house as a "fur-lined coffin," but that doesn't appear to bother Kate Middleton. The future princess has passed every test to become Prince William's future wife with aplomb. In contrast to Princess Diana, the commoner has a better chance of standing up to the intense pressure of royalty than the future king's mother. 

By Carsten Volkery
Kate Middleton sought to come across with as much modesty and innocence as she could muster. "I don't know the ropes really," she said in her first television interview after the announcement of her engagement to Prince William in November. She spoke of the complicated public life of being a royal and of her enthusiasm for her future role.

Courtesy: "Guardian, UK", 29 April 2011

Royal wedding: London prepares for global audience

Massive police operation swings into action before Prince William marries Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey

By Stephen Bates and Sandra Laville

The police and intelligence services have launched an unprecedented security operation as London prepares to celebrate the royal wedding in front of an estimated worldwide television audience of up to two billion.
The marriage of Prince William, the second in line to the throne, and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey will be among the first global news events of the social media age. It will also be the most important – and, courtiers hope, positive – event for the future of the monarchy in nearly 30 years.