Venice Film Festival delves into docus

ROME (Hollywood Reporter) - The late, groundbreaking ceremony Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni will be honored at the coming Venice Film Festival with a documentary about his life, one of iII nonfiction additions to the lineup.

The official program for Venice was announced last week, just news about sidebar and industry screenings continues to trickle in as the festival's opening approaches.

Director Carlo di Carlo's "Antonioni on Antonioni" is based on interviews with Antonioni. One of the authors of Italy's neo-realism movement and a Venice regular, Antonioni died last year at 94.

"Venezia Crepa" (Venice Dying) is a film around the overcrowding of Venice, its deteriorating architecture and its slow sink into the sea. It volition screen in the festival's industry section.

"Venezia '68," from Antonello Sarno and Steve della Casa, is a documentary about the widespread student riots of 40 years ago and the impact they had on the fete that year.

The Venice festival, in its 65th yr, starts Wednesday and concludes September 6.

/Hollywood Reporter

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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) on Sunday signed into law broad health care legislation that volition raise $100 million in state funds and fees on private companies to fund the state's wellness insurance legal philosophy, the Boston Globe reports. The law also bans some types of gifts given to medical professionals by drug companies, such as sporting event tickets and traveling expenses, and it requires that drug and medical device makers publicly expose gifts valued at more than $50. The law calls for the

What Other Indie Directors Should Join Team Apatow?

Photos: Getty Images; Courtesy of Sony (Green)

Today's release of Pineapple Express isn't only an event for its star and co-writer, Seth Rogen, or its producer, human comedy factory Judd Apatow. It also launches the career of its director, indie auteur David Gordon Green, in a brand-new direction. Not only is he better at staging fight scenes than Christopher Nolan, he applies his own brand of dreamy widescreen realism � previously seen in low-budget gems like George Washington and All the Real Girls � to a stoner action-comedy, complete with explosions.

Green follows Superbad's Greg Mottola � best known for his 1996 feature The Daytrippers � as indie directors whose careers take sudden right turns thanks to Apatow. What other auteurs could benefit from the Apatow touch � and how would they shake up the Apatow formula?

At last night's premiere, Green himself suggested Tom McCarthy, a utter choice. Not every modestly successful indie director is right, though: Wes Anderson's obsessive tendencies make him a inadequate fit with Team Apatow; Richard Linkater already fundamentally made an Apatow pic with School of Rock. We looked through our DVD assemblage and came up with a few more names.

Getty Images

Nicole Holofcener

Why Team Apatow could help her: The writer-director of such relationship-based gems as Walking and Talking and Lovely & Amazing has never seen her talky dramedies take

Steve Roden

   
Artist: Steve Roden

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Other
   

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Discography:


   
 Airforms

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 1

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Scarlett Johansson - Johansson And Obama Are Pen Pals

Hollywood beauty SCARLETT JOHANSSON has developed a pen pal relationship with Democratic presidential candidate BARACK OBAMA.

The pair has been exchanging regular emails, in which Obama confesses he is a "huge movie lover" and particularly fond of Johansson's performance in Lost in Translation.

The 23-year-old actress - who recently announced her engagement to actor Ryan Reynolds - is a longtime supporter of the Illinois senator. She even joked to reporters in January (08): "My heart belongs to Barack. I am engaged to Barack Obama.

She reveals their recent "thoughtful" correspondences with Obama in an interview with website Politico.

She says, "You'd imagine that someone like the Senator who is constantly travelling and constantly 'on' - how can he return these personal emails? But he does and in his off-time I know he also calls people who have donated the minimum to thank them.

"I feel like I'm supporting someone, and having a personal dialogue with them, and it's amazing."

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DJ Baselord

   
Artist: DJ Baselord

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Other
   

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Discography:


   
 Day Of Judgement

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 10

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Tunnelvision

Sergio Contreras

   
Artist: Sergio Contreras

   Genre(s): 
Dance
   Rap: Hip-Hop
   

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Discography:


   
 El Espejo

   Year: 2006   
Tracks: 12


   
 De Luz Y De Sal

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 12

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Sergio Contreras was no unknown to Spanish pop audiences when "Llena de Luz y de Sal" hit the securities industry in 2005. Contreras was a longtime medicine commercial enterprise veteran by the time he chose to focus on songwriting and performance, having worked for old age as a radio DJ and spinning in clubs end-to-end Andalusia. Born in Huelva, Contreras had developed a sharp musical auricle and longed to unite the flamenco music of his heritage and the R&B/hip-hop that he worked with as a DJ. Having earned a reputation in the part as a top DJ, he began work toward these ends in 2004 with "Racisme (Maqueta Asere)." Thanks to his grassroots fan base, Contreras was able to sell better than 5,000 copies. Though safe for an independently released debut record, the numbers did not satisfy his ambitions. His debut full-length, De Luz y de Sal, contained the teen anthem "Yo No Quise" and sold more than than 50,000 copies, earning the creative person his first gold record. Following a summer total of resilient performances and promotional newmarket, Contreras released his breakthrough work, El Espejo. The record landed him a position in Billboard's Top European one C and invitations to perform all over the continent. His 2006 release, El Espejo, a disk featuring new songs, video clips from his recent duty tour, and a number of his hits, sold better than 25,000 copies in its beginning month. In the footsteps of artists like Alejandro Sanz and El Barrio, Contreras is one of few Andalusian artists world Health Organization both honour their rich, folkloric heritage and live in the musical salute.