By Alexandria Sage CANNES (Reuters) - Folk music, Greenwich Village and a quick-footed cat star in the new Coen brothers movie at the Cannes film festival on Sunday, kicking off the first of five U.S. entries with its engaging misadventures of a struggling singer. "Inside Llewyn Davis" by directing duo Ethan and Joel Coen is a delightful tale about the early 1960s folk music scene, a tribute to artists living hand to mouth, and an ode to New York all at once. ...
By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A custom-made electric guitar played by the late John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles sold at a New York auction on Saturday for $408,000, said officials with the company behind the event. The semi-hollow-body guitar, manufactured by the VOX company, was sold to an unidentified U.S. buyer at the "Music Icons" event organized by Beverly Hills, California-based Julien's Auctions and held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Manhattan. ...
By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Native American actress Misty Upham never dreamt she would be walking the red carpet at Cannes to showcase a film shot on her reservation. Upham features in "Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian", focused on the relationship between World War Two veteran Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot, and Georges Devereux, his psychoanalyst. Upham said like Picard, played by Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, she is Blackfeet, the largest tribe in Montana state. ...
By Alexandria Sage CANNES (Reuters) - A film about baby-switching by Japan's Kore-eda Hirokazu that ponders nature versus nurture premiered at the Cannes film festival on Saturday, joining an Iranian challenger as contenders for the top prize. "Soshite Chichi Ni Naru" ("Like Father, Like Son") is one of two Japanese films out of the international roster of 20 vying to take home the Palme d'Or prize on May 26 from the world's largest film festival being held on the French Riviera. Japan has won four times before, most recently in 1997 with Shohei Imamura's "Unagi" ("The Eel"). ...
By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Europe's top trade official for the first time late on Friday officially cited Chinese mobile telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE Corp for violating anti-dumping and anti-subsidy guidelines. European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said he was prepared to launch a formal investigation into anti-competitive behavior by these Chinese companies in order to protect a "strategic" sector of Europe's economy. ...
(Reuters) - Ever wondered what went through author J.K. Rowling's mind when she wrote the first "Harry Potter" novel? Fans of books about the boy wizard will have a chance to bid on a unique first edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," annotated by the author, at a charity auction this month, the English PEN organization said on Friday. The book contains Rowling's handwritten thoughts and commentary about the book and the film adaptation, as well as 22 hand-drawn illustrations including one of a sleeping baby Harry and another of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. ...
By Jeff Sneider LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - With three major movies on the horizon, Marton Csokas is a hot commodity in Hollywood and now he's in negotiations to join Denzel Washington in Antoine Fuqua's Sony drama "The Equalizer." Washington stars as black ops vigilante Robert McCall, the former intelligence officer played by Edward Woodward on the 1980s television series created by Michael Sloan. Csokas will play a rogue CIA agent who protects the Russian mob and winds up crossing paths with the vengeful protagonist. ...