Madame Tussauds ready for Hollywood close-up

By Laura Isensee
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Clint Eastwood has holed up on Hollywood Boulevard waiting for John Wayne and busloads of visitors to join him, as Madame Tussauds prepares to open its latest wax museum in the tourist mecca this summer.
The $55 million complex, featuring more than 100 celebrity waxworks spread across three floors, is the biggest attraction to join the teeming thoroughfare in years.
It also represents the latest attempt to restore some glamour to the faded area, whose 10 million annual visitors make it one of the world's busiest tourist attractions.
While Hollywood conjures up images of beautiful movie stars and fabulous wealth, the neighborhood itself offers an awkward mix of must-see sites like the Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater juxtaposed with tawdry souvenir stores and costumed characters hustling tourists for money.
A decade ago, the area was much worse and gang-related crime was rampant. But since 2000, $700 million of public money has been poured into the area, which in turn has attracted $5.5 billion of private investment, according to Los Angeles city officials.
"To be very blunt, it was a rough area ... Hollywood has come back as a really viable and competitive tourist destination," said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.
Key to the comeback has been the Hollywood & Highland shopping mall, which opened in 2001. It houses the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are handed out.
Madame Tussauds will attempt to depict Hollywood's glamorous side when it opens on August 1 on the site of a former parking lot adjacent to Grauman's, the movie theater famed for the imprints of stars' hands and feet on its concrete tiles.
A red carpet, flashing cameras and Joan Rivers' gravity-defying likeness -- complete with microphone in hand -- will greet visitors.
They can join an A-list party with stars like Jennifer Lopez, pose with old Hollywood icons like Charlie Chaplin and even give an awards speech, projected on a screen, in front of Oscar-winner Meryl Streep.
"It's all about immersing yourself, getting into the scene with the figure and feeling like you've met them," said Paul Williams, creative director of Madame Tussaud's U.S. locations.
Rachel and Scott Brown, newlyweds from Houston, echoed that sentiment as they took a picture with Arnold Schwarzenegger's hand- and footprints on Thursday. "You just feel a closeness to them because they've been here," Rachel Brown said.
Madame Tussauds' flagship museum has been one of London's top tourist draws since the 19th century, thrilling visitors with such exhibits as the Chamber of Horrors even as guide books like Lonely Planet decreed it "unbelievably kitsch and terribly overpriced."
Madame Tussauds branched out to the United States in 1999 with a museum in Las Vegas, and there are also sites in New York City and Washington D.C. as well as in Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The Hollywood museum has been in the works for eight years, said Adrian Jones, a general manager at Midway Attractions, a division of Merlin Entertainments Group, the closely held parent of Madame Tussauds as well as other themed attractions. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Hollywood, Bollywood meet Bradford: "City of Film"

By Paul Lauener
LONDON (Reuters) - Bradford, an industrial city in the north of England, has been named the world's first "City of Film" by the United Nations, ahead of more immediately famous movie capitals such as Hollywood or Cannes.
UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural arm, said it was awarding Bradford the title on the basis of its historic links to the production and distribution of films, its media and film museum and its "cinematographic legacy."
The honor may be a surprise to many as Bradford, previously known as the "wool capital of the world," is probably best known as a city of around 500,000 people that was once a center of the industrial revolution.
"Becoming the world's first City of Film is the ultimate celebration of Bradford's established and dynamic history in film and media," said Colin Philpott, director of Bradford's highly regarded National Media Museum.
"With the UNESCO City of Film designation, Bradford will now go on to achieve inspirational projects in film."
While not as glamorous as Los Angeles or the French Riviera, Bradford does have a strong tie to cinema and film.
It has been the location for several movies including "Yanks," starring Richard Gere, and "The Railway Children," a 1970s classic about the tribulations of Victorian children whose father goes missing.
Monty Python's ground-breaking "The Meaning of Life" and the controversial hit "Rita, Sue and Bob Too," about a married man who cannot choose between two teenage lovers, were also filmed in the city.
And in recent years Bradford has developed a close relationship with Bollywood too, hosting the International Indian Film Festival awards in 2007.
Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "Slumdog Millionaire" who originally hails from Bradford, said the city had played a crucial role in the story of cinema and deserved to be recognized.
"This is superb news for Bradford and is testimony to the city's dedication to the film and media industry," he said.
Bradford's seven floor National Media Museum has 3D cinemas and a 'Magic Factory', which explains the basic principles behind photography, television and animation.
The museum attracted more than 700,000 visitors in 2007, making it one of the most popular museums in Britain outside London.

Source: Reuters

Kuwaiti director stages an Arabic Richard III

By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - It's Shakespeare, but with a twist. The dialogue is in Arabic, women wear veils and a despot is persuaded to seize power on a TV chat show as world leaders call in encouraging words.
Kuwait-based director Sulayman Al-Bassam's "Richard III: An Arab Tragedy," which is part of the Muslim Voices Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, translates the 16th century play into a modern, Arab context.
"The project is not necessarily to make just a version of Richard III," Bassam said in an interview. "The project is to address a whole series of very relevant questions in which Shakespeare and Richard III are very useful traveling partners.
Although his version is faithful to the original text, Bassam admitted there were times when he was led to rewrite or to write new things and he took some liberties in the translation.
The play, commissioned by Britain's Royal Shakespeare Company and first staged in 2007, will travel to Australia after its week-long New York run ends on Saturday. English subtitles accompany the Arab dialogue.
Bassam, 37, plays two minor roles -- a young prince who is executed in Richard's bloody rise to power, and a servant boy who becomes a henchman.
"That keeps me on my toes," he said.
The play is part of his larger project of using Shakespeare's works to hold a mirror up to contemporary civilization and to challenge perceptions about the Arab world.
In an earlier work, Bassam set Hamlet in a conference room in an unnamed Gulf state. In his version, Hamlet -- a young, foreign-educated prince -- evolves from a state of disillusionment to adopting "a radical Islamic agenda."
Bassam, who claims his work does not aim to advance any political position, said audiences often see the play through the prism of their own knowledge base and sometimes reach for a literal reading of the play.
"That's the funniest bit, how many Richard IIIs are created in people's minds as we do this in different parts of the world," he said.
Bassam's said his next project will be to adopt Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", which he said will pay tribute to the Islamic cultural movements of the 1950s and 1960s Egypt.
He is excited about staging the play in New York and enjoys introducing Western audiences to the Arabic language.
"A lot of audiences that we play to have never heard more than twenty or thirty seconds of the language," he said. "So, just the fact of listening to the language for an hour and 52 minutes and engaging it has a not insignificant value."
(Reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Patricia Reaney)

Source: Reuters

Graffiti star Banksy in secret art launch

By Paul Lauener
LONDON (Reuters) - Anonymous graffiti artist Banksy, who enjoys a cult following around the world, has returned to his home town of Bristol in western England to launch his biggest exhibition to date.
Typically for a man who keeps his identity secret, the whole project has been shrouded in mystery, with media, local councilors and even staff at the museum only finding out about the project on Friday, the day before it was due to open.
It has over 100 exhibits, including 70 new works. One of the pieces is a sculpture designed to convey a mother bird and two chicks in a nest but using three CCTV cameras instead to symbolize Britain's surveillance society.
"This is the first show I've ever done where taxpayers' money is being used to hang my pictures up rather than scrape them off," Banksy was quoted by the BBC as saying. "This show is my vision of the future."
Many of Banksy's works are hidden amongst the art museum's more traditional paintings, mimicking a 2003 stunt when he smuggled a work into the Tate Britain gallery in London and stuck it to the wall. It went undiscovered for hours.
Banksy became famous through illegal outdoor graffiti, including painting on the West Bank barrier and leaving a life-size figure of a Guantanamo Bay detainee at the California theme park Disneyland.
Simon Cook, deputy leader of Bristol council who has responsibility for arts, said he was thrilled Banksy was back, despite his controversial nature.
"Everybody assumed it (his new exhibition) would be in Los Angeles, in New York, in London, but he insisted it came to Bristol... and it's just him coming home," Cook said.
A PR company representing Banksy released a statement, which it said came directly from the artist, explaining why he was staging the show in Bristol.
"Banksy, who is rumored to hail from the Bristol area, but has never revealed his full identity due to ongoing legal complications, is mounting the show as a salute to the city, which supported his early street career," it read.
From small time graffiti artist to global star, Banksy's work has become so valuable that several of his street works have been salvaged and sold, including a painting on a wall in London that fetched 208,100 pounds ($340,000) in an online sale in 2008.
One of the highest sums paid for a Banksy at auction was 288,000 pounds for "Space Girl and Bird."
(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: Reuters

Malawi court allows Madonna to adopt second child

By Mabvuto Banda
BLANTYRE (Reuters) - U.S. pop star Madonna was allowed to adopt a second child from Malawi Friday after the country's Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling in a case that has been criticized by local rights groups.
Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo said Madonna had shown an interest in helping Malawi orphans and that 4-year-old Mercy James would have a better life with the star.
He said a lower court had erred in turning down the adoption request because Madonna was not resident in Malawi.
"We find the judge in the lower court to have dwelled so much on media reports on the issue of residence and to us this was not evidence enough to deny Madonna a chance to adopt Mercy James. We therefore grant Madonna the adoption order," Munlo said.
"Madonna has shown that she is bold, and compassionate enough to come forward to adopt Chifundo James."
The Supreme court ruling cannot be challenged.
Madonna's lawyer said the singer welcomed the ruling. "I've just talked to Madonna and she's very excited about this news," lawyer Alan Chinula told Reuters.
Malawi's government came under fire after Madonna adopted a 13-month-old child, David Banda, in 2006, with critics accusing it of giving her special treatment by skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children.
Rights groups accused the government of giving Madonna, a U.S. citizen, special treatment. The government had supported Madonna's attempt to adopt Mercy, saying she was a worthy mother.
The Eye on Child non-governmental organization that has been protesting the adoption said it was disappointed.
"Of course we are disappointed with the ruling because we know that adoption should only be granted as the last resort," said executive director Maxwell Matewele.
"But we also appreciate that the ruling is looking at guidelines that may help to deter would-be child traffickers."
An AIDS epidemic in the southern African country has orphaned more than one million children and Madonna has set up a charity for Malawian children.
In her ruling in April, High Court judge Esimie Chombo warned against celebrity adoptions, saying they could lead to child trafficking.
Madonna has entertained millions around the world with hits like "Material Girl" and "Papa Don't Preach," creating a fair amount of controversy along the way.
The star, who was divorced last year from British film director Guy Ritchie, is one of the music industry's most successful singers, with album sales of more than 200 million.

Source: Reuters

"Pelham" must deal with "Hangover" at box office

By Carl DiOrio
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The stars come out at the box office this weekend, with the two films opening in wide release featuring top-name talent.
Sony unspools a remake of the 1974 subway-hijacking thriller "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, while Paramount debuts the PG-rated comedy "Imagine That," toplined by Eddie Murphy.
Yet the fight for the No. 1 spot could prove to be a rematch of last weekend's slugfest between Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' R-rated comedy "The Hangover" and Disney/Pixar's 3-D animated feature "Up."
"Hangover" captured the box-office flag with a much stronger-than-expected opening-weekend gross of $45 million, and its midweek grosses have been equally outsize. If its strong word-of-mouth can generate sufficient sophomore-session momentum, it should register at least half as much box office this weekend as last.
"Up" had looked like a repeat box-office victor last weekend until final figures showed that "Hangover" had a better Sunday than originally estimated. "Up" dropped only 35 percent from its first Friday-Sunday tally, so it would seem likely to hold up decently this frame and compete for one of the top three spots in the weekend rankings.
The original "Pelham" featured Walter Matthau in a transit-cop role that has been tweaked for Washington in the remake. As the hijacker, Travolta steps into the role originated by Robert Shaw.
There also was a 1998 "Pelham" telefilm, starring Edward James Olmos in the Matthau role and Vincent D'Onofrio as the hijacker.
Sony distribution president Rory Bruer believes "Pelham" has a lot going for it this weekend.
"We have two big stars in a mano-a-mano confrontation, and it just works beautifully," Bruer said. "So we expect the results to be fantastic, certainly as it plays into the rest of summer."
Must-see interest in the film is strongest among older males, and "Pelham" -- which has James Gandolfini and John Turturro in supporting roles -- looks set for a first-frame haul in the $20 million-$25 million range. That should be enough to finish in one of the weekend's medal positions, with a shot at a No. 1 bow if the movie overperforms lustily.
Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick ("Over the Hedge"), "Imagine" casts Murphy as a father whose daughter (Yara Shahidi) helps him apply fantasy-world solutions to real-life problems. Prerelease tracking shows OK family interest, and the film might bow with a gross in the teen millions.
"It's a bit of a sapling among redwoods," one industryite observed.
Limited releases unspooling Friday include Vivendi's "Call of the Wild 3-D," a family adventure starring Christopher Lloyd that's set for 15 playdates, and Sony Pictures Classics' sci-fi thriller "Moon," starring Sam Rockwell, which debuts in eight locations in New York and Los Angeles.
(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

Source: Reuters

MTV uses anime to fight human trafficking in China

By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - One of China's most sought-after actors is starring in an animated short film about human trafficking and sexual exploitation, issues that have plagued the country, and the rest of Asia, for decades.
Zhang Hanyu, who won the Chinese equivalent of an Oscar at the Golden Horse awards in Taiwan last year, lends his voice to the Mandarin version of "Intersection," will be shown on Music Television (MTV) China this weekend.
Thai and English versions have already been broadcast on MTV's Southeast Asia channels, and versions in other Asian languages are planned.
The film is told from the perspective of five people, including a brothel owner, a trafficker and the victim. Both humorous and darkly depressing, "Intersection" is designed to put its message across in a medium young people can relate to.
"I hope the animation will stir meaningful conversations among youth about how we can fight against this tragic form of modern-day slavery," Zhang said.
Chinese actress Yuan Quan and Taiwanese singing and acting veteran Alec Su also give their voices to the film, described by MTV as an "adrenaline-fueled animation."
"Intersection" was produced by MTV EXIT's (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign, which works with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to raise awareness about human trafficking.
MTV EXIT previously has worked with such international stars as Angelina Jolie and South Korean pop sensation Rain.
"We're using a different medium, animation, to alert young people about the risks of human trafficking," said Olivier Carduner, USAID's Mission Director for Asia.
The film is also meant to be used by nongovernmental organizations and schools to spread its message.
Of the 2 million women and children trafficked every year, the United Nations estimates that 30 percent are in Asia.
China has said it was making progress in fighting the problem, both domestically and from Southeast Asian nations such as neighboring, poverty-stricken Myanmar. It has resorted to harsh punishments, including the death penalty, to deter it.
The trafficking of women into China in particular is driven by poverty and a skewed sex ratio in parts of the countryside, which makes it difficult for many farmers to find wives.
Poverty also forces many desperate Chinese to try to illegally enter other countries by paying traffickers known as "snakeheads," who often charge their victims exorbitant sums of money and force them to work as virtual slaves when they arrive.
In April, state media reported that Chinese police had broken up a ring trying to smuggle about 300 mainly young people into Costa Rica.
(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Source: Reuters

Who you going to play? "Ghostbusters" back as game

By John Gaudiosi
NEW YORK (Reuters) - It's been 25 years since the Ghostbusters first saved Manhattan from the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Now, they're back in virtual form and talking about a third movie.
Actors Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson stepped into the recording studio to breathe life into their virtual characters for a new "Ghostbusters" game from Atari, which will be released June 16.
The setting is New York around 1991, two years after the events of the second movie in the series, "Ghostbusters II."
Players step into the role of a replacement prototype equipment technician and work with the Ghostbusters to resolve strange paranormal happenings that unfold just before the Museum of Natural History opens its "World of Gozer" exhibit.
Aykroyd and Ramis, who co-wrote the 1984 and 1989 films, worked with developer Terminal Reality to create the adventure, which both actors consider a third film in virtual form.
The game writers prepared the story line and the actors gave them feedback to make sure the dialogue was realistic for their characters.
They also checked out the new ghost-busting technologies introduced in the game, such as a beam for immobilizing ghosts and a slime launcher upgrade for the trustworthy proton pack.
"I was always taught ... to respect the writer, and I think we respect the programmers and engineers in this trade as creative people, which tends to result in the best product," said Aykroyd, who has championed the game through multiple publishers.
Sierra Games, a division of Vivendi, originally was slated to release the game last year, but after Activision purchased the company it passed on releasing "Ghostbusters" as well as "Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena."
Atari, however, stepped in and picked up both titles. Atari is owned by French game published Infogames.
POSSIBLE THIRD MOVIE
Todd Slepian, a producer for "Ghostbusters: The Videogame" at Atari, said the additional time gave the teams the opportunity to get the actors back in the studio for more dialogue.
The team also was able to add cooperative play to the cartoonish Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game while a game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was fine-tuned with competitive four-player online gameplay.
"There are over 30 ghosts in the game ranging from the green glob, Slimer, to fishermen ghosts to an assortment of golems and a T-Rex," said Slepian. "Players will come face to face with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man."
Ramis said getting everyone on board with the new game -- even Annie Potts reprised her role as the receptionist -- has rekindled their interest in doing a third live-action feature. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Conan loses viewers after "Tonight Show" debut

By Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Conan O'Brien ruled late-night television in his first week hosting "The Tonight Show," but viewers deserted him as the days progressed, complete ratings numbers released on Thursday showed.
O'Brien averaged 6.1 million viewers a night last week during his much-hyped opening stand on NBC's "The Tonight Show," compared to an average of 3.5 million viewers for his main competitor, CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman."
O'Brien's predecessor, Jay Leno, averaged 7.0 million viewers in his last week, ended May 29. O'Brien's debut on June 1 attracted 9.2 million viewers, the program's biggest Monday-night audience in four years. But by Friday, his number fell to 4.5 million viewers.
And preliminary data showed Letterman this past Tuesday beat "The Tonight Show" for the first time since October, attracting a 3.4 rating in households compared to a 2.9 rating for O'Brien.
O'Brien was back on top on Wednesday night, and ratings experts said they expect a back-and-forth race between O'Brien and Letterman in future months.
"It's not about one week, it's about how do you hold the audience season after season," said Larry Gerbrandt, a principal at Media Valuation Partners.
Letterman, 62, has agreed to stay on as host of "Late Show" through the 2011-12 television season, a source close to the situation said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, fourth-ranked NBC has lauded O'Brien's performance and touted the 46-year-old comedian's ability to bring in younger viewers. In his first week on "The Tonight Show," O'Brien increased the program's performance in the advertiser-friendly adults 18-49 demographic to a 2.3 rating, compared to an average 1.4 rating when Leno was hosting.
"Clearly (O'Brien's) come into his own as a late night host and obviously NBC has to be thrilled with the performance," Gerbrandt said.
The late-night picture is expected to get more uncertain for O'Brien in September, when Leno begins hosting a new comedy show in the 10 p.m. time slot on NBC. Leno hosted "The Tonight Show" for 17 years, and experts have suggested that some of O'Brien's current viewers could opt for Leno's show before calling it a night.
(Editing by Dean Goodman)

Source: Reuters

Just a Minute With: John Krasinski on "Away We Go"

By Iain Blair
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Thanks to hit television show "The Office," John Krasinski has become one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood -- in demand for TV and movies.
In his latest film, "Away We Go," he plays an earnest, expectant father on a cross-country road trip with pregnant girlfriend (Maya Rudolph) in search of the ideal place to call home.
Directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes, and co-starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Allison Janney and Catherine O'Hara, the film opened to mostly good reviews.
Krasinski, whose movie credits include "Dreamgirls," "Leatherheads" and "Shrek the Third," spoke to Reuters about making the film and why he'll stay on the hit comedy "The Office."
Q: How would you describe this film?
A: "It's about belonging and figuring out who you are, not only geographically but emotionally and mentally. It's not a pregnancy movie, but as Sam (Mendes) says, 'it's the catalyst to make us rethink where we're at and where we're going.' I think it's very timely -- rethinking who you are and who you want to be is something everyone's going through.
Q: Is it true the role was written with you in mind? That's very flattering for an actor.
A: "That's what they tell me. (Laughs) I keep telling (screenwriter) Dave Eggers, 'You know I'm not Ryan Gosling, right?' It's a great compliment. I remember reading the script and thinking, when 74 people pass, maybe I'll have a shot."
Q: You worked with Sam before on war film "Jarhead." This must have been a very different experience for you?
A: "One hundred percent different, especially as I have hair in this. I've seen Sam do two types of movies - the huge budget production with enormous sets and design and so on, and then the smaller, more intimate film like this. In my opinion, he's the greatest storytelling director we have, and there's plenty of great directors out there."
Q: How surprised were you to then get a call from him saying he was only considering you?
A: "I was on the set of "The Office" and my agent told me he wanted to talk, and we'd kept in touch a bit since "Jarhead." When he called and told me he couldn't imagine anyone else in the part, I really thought I was in the middle of some huge prank. I thought maybe George Clooney was behind it. It was totally surreal to get that call. If I read something like this, I'd be, 'Yeah, sure, that never happens.' But it did and I'm still amazed."
Q: How much of you is there in (lead character) Burt?
A: "I hope there's a lot of me, only because he's such an incredibly sweet guy. He's very earnest, and I hope everyone strives to be earnest. I hope I'm an earnest guy. I also hope I'm a little more focused and complex than Burt."
Q: You and Maya have great chemistry together. Any surprises working with her? Continued...
Source: Reuters

Russian art buyers more picky, UK sales hit target

By Mike Collett-White
LONDON (Reuters) - Russian art sales in London this week reflected what auction houses conceded was a "new reality" in the once-booming market, with hammer prices generally meeting targets but revenues down sharply on a year ago. Sotheby's dominated the "mid-season" sales, and their series of auctions raised 17.7 million pounds ($29 million), within the expected range of 15-22 million pounds although the tally includes the buyer's premium whereas estimates do not.
The final total, however, was less than half the 39.7 million pounds raised at the same time in 2008, reflecting more cautious buying during the global recession and reluctance among sellers to part with works of art now the market has cooled.
"Whilst it is clear that our clients are more selective than ever before in the new reality, they are prepared to compete tenaciously for works of high quality that are both fresh to the market and rare," said Jo Vickery, head of the Russian art department in London.
She added that demand had been strongest for "traditional and classical art" from the 19th and early 20th century.
At Sotheby's main sale on Monday, the top lot was "The Village Fair" by Boris Kustodiev, which fetched 2.8 million pounds including premium, an auction record for the artist and above estimates of 1.0-1.5 million pounds.
Another oil painting, "Nanny With Children" by Isaak Brodsky dated 1912, also set an auction record for the artist when it sold for 937,250 pounds, around twice its estimate.
The work was acquired in the 1950s by a collector in Italy who believed he was buying a long-lost work by Claude Monet.
GIANT VASES
The auction house also sold a pair of imperial porcelain vases dated 1848 for 2.6 million pounds, versus a pre-sale estimate of 1.2-1.8 million.
Russian art specialists MacDougall's raised 7.1 million pounds at its sale on Thursday, slightly above its pre-sale low estimate of 6.5 million.
The auction house said the total included a new auction record for artist Ilya Repin of 1.4 million pounds, smashing the previous best of 350,000 pounds set in 2006.
"Though it has not yet reached its peak of a year ago, the market is in recovery from it's winter blues, and some better works are even surpassing their pre-crisis peaks," said director William MacDougall.
The company raised a further 526,000 pounds at its inaugural Russian icon sale held on Monday.
Christie's held its main Russian auction of the week on Tuesday, and raised 4.1 million pounds, in line with expectations but well down on the 11.3 million of 2008.
(Editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: Reuters