A tale of two L.A. festivals

(FESTIVAL, FILMS, LAFF, AFI, YELDHAM, SCREENINGS, WHICH)

By Kirk Honeycutt
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Hollywood might be the heart of English-language moviemaking, but when it comes to film festivals, the city lacks a major-league franchise.
Not that Los Angeles has no film festivals. One of its two big ones, the Los Angeles Film Festival, successfully wrapped its 2009 edition Sunday. But the casual movie fan couldn`t be blamed for puzzling over the identities of the two festivals, LAFF and AFI Fest. However, recent leadership changes at both fests and economic realities of the recession might more forcefully define those identities.
LAFF, which has settled into the cozy confines of Westwood Village and nearby venues for several editions, is produced by parent organization Film Independent (FIND). Rebecca Yeldham, producer of such films as "The Motorcycle Diaries" and "The Kite Runner," came on board as festival director only three months before the current edition began, following the resignation of Rich Raddon.
Although she did inherit a significant support network in FIND exec director Dawn Hudson and LAFF director of programing Rachel Rosen, the wrapped fest was a learning experience for her. Where things go from here is, as she put it, "to be determined."
At the moment, the festival is a bit of this and a bit of that. But like AFI Fest, you won`t find many acquisition execs at its screenings. Neither festival tends to premiere must-see indie films. In its recent edition, LAFF showed several Sundance hits, and even in its narrative competition -- a place where one would expect new films -- "Turistas" played at Venice last year. The fest also included splashy premieres of such studio films as "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and "Public Enemies" to bring crowds to Westwood.
Yeldham did open the festival for the first time with a world premiere of a film without a distributor. "Paper Man" did the trick: It attracted an audience filled with film scouts, studio execs and heads of independent companies.
Yeldham pronounced herself pleased with the results -- "It was a magical night for the audience and the filmmakers," she said -- but reviews of the film were tepid, and few of the execs at opening night were seen during the remainder of the festival.
Because major premieres of new works are unlikely only a few weeks after Cannes has wrapped, LAFF seeks to create "events." These range from a screening of a restored print of the 1971 cult film "Billy Jack" to "Poolside Chats" at the W Hotel and "Festival Conversations" at various venues where festivalgoers interact with filmmakers, writers and others.
Yeldham promises to increase such events. The way of the future, she said, can be seen in the new Artist in Residence component, where "The Kite Runner" novelist Khaled Hosseini and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Thom Mayne curated favorite films and participated in discussions related to those selections.
Yeldham insisted that despite being a production of FIND, "we want the Los Angeles Film Festival to be a celebration of cinema from wherever the films may come, not just American independent filmmaking."
Across town, AFI Fest plays the role of the city`s long-established festival. For more than 23 years, the festival has been presented by the American Film Institute. Its declared ambition has been to survey cinema from around the globe. Coming near year`s end, AFI Fest tends to be a roundup of the most significant films of the year. But, again, few new films.
Rose Kuo came aboard as artistic director last year following the departure of Christian Gaines. AFI Fest, which runs October 30-November 7, will undergo significant changes, some, Kuo said, dictated by "new economic realities."
The festival is moving its main venue from the ArcLight Cinemas to Grauman`s Chinese. The festival will shrink from 11 days to nine and offer free tickets to all screenings.
"We are asking the public who can be part of our philanthropy to be a patron and contribute to the festival," Kuo said. "Those who can will get a pass, which gives priority entry at the door. All individual tickets to general screenings will be complimentary for all screenings, including a limited number of individual gala tickets."
If all major L.A.-based film curators -- which would include LAFF, AFI and the city`s two cinematheques, the American Cinematheque and UCLA Film & Television Archive -- came together with studio support to create a single festival, it might rival such attention-grabbers as Austin`s South by Southwest or even Sundance. But organizational egos and branding needs always have prevented the formation a superfestival in L.A.  Continued...
Original article

"Bruno" is Borat-lite, and a little tedious

(BRUNO, BORAT, BARON, COHEN, COHEN`S, FUNNY, AUSTRIAN)

By Kirk Honeycutt
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - We all knew Borat. Borat was a friend of ours. Bruno, you`re no Borat.
Unfair to be sure, but because everyone is going to compare Sacha Baron Cohen`s "Bruno" to his insanely funny "Borat," let`s be honest: While pushing the PC envelope in new and imaginative ways as well as the MPAA`s R rating, especially insofar as the male member is concerned, "Bruno" is only intermittently funny and all too often the "ambushes" of celebrities and civilians look staged. The movie is even a tad -- dare we say it? -- tedious.
Admirers of the British comic`s gifts for caricature and improvisation and nearly everyone who found themselves laughing uncontrollably at Baron Cohen`s unrepentant anti-Semitic Kazakhstani in "Borat" probably will turn out for Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles` latest mockumentary. So boxoffice should be solid for Universal`s July 10 release. It`s unclear though whether Baron Cohen can continue to bring his TV characters into the real world, or something approximating it, without diminishing results. Based on the evidence here, such results seem inevitable.
For one thing, where the focus was laser-sharp in "Borat," it`s fuzzy in "Bruno." Bruno, for those really out of step with modern culture, is Baron Cohen`s gay Austrian fashion expert with his own TV show, "Funkyzeit." Early in the movie, Bruno makes such a disastrous spectacle of himself at a designer`s show during Milan Fashion Week, he is schwarz-listed.
He abruptly decides to go to Los Angeles, accompanied by his lovelorn assistant, Lutz (Gustaf Hammarsten), to become a celebrity. One`s heart sinks right there. "Borat" zeroed in on bigotry and Western hypocrisy for its satire. The target of Hollywood and vacuous celebrityhood has so many quivers in its bull`s-eye, there is nothing left to hit.
Perhaps a victim of his own success, Baron Cohen probably is too well know to get away with so many sneak attacks on unsuspecting people no matter how he transforms himself physically. A few times in "Bruno," one senses a real victim. More often, especially with such demi-celebrities as Paula Abdul or LaToya Jackson but even with a determined dominatrix, one senses a more than willing victim.
In a recording session that ends the film, where everyone from Elton John to Snoop Dogg to Sting to Bono shows up, the film drops any pretense that these are not invited guests.
Baron Cohen has better luck outside of L.A. In the Middle East, Bruno does get chased by angry Hasidic Jews. And in trying to mediate a panel featuring an Israeli and Palestinian leader, his mixing up of Hamas and hummus is genuinely funny.
Bruno`s adopted African baby paraded before a black audience is not funny. It`s embarrassing, as is any joke that bombs, yet the comic keeps going back to it nevertheless. This is one of several instances where an audience might experience both exasperation and tedium with the comic`s relentless act of running a joke into the ground.
Bruno`s attempt to go hetero, assisted by two Christian ministers who specialize in such conversions, yields better results. Even here, though, Bill Maher beat him to the punch with "Religulous."
Borat was, despite his cheerful bigotry, somehow a lovable character. His questions sprang from the sweet innocence of a third-world bumpkin wallowing in isolated ignorance. With Bruno, you mostly feel annoyed. A gay Austrian fashionista would be no ignorant rube. He would be sophisticated, savvy and certainly aware of prejudices against gays. Would he really prance semi-naked through Middle Eastern holy sights?
The calculations behind Baron Cohen`s ambushes too often are mean-spirited. We sense, as we never did with Borat, the comic behind the character. Especially when his accent keeps changing -- from an unconvincing Austrian to his own British and even to a whisper of Borat himself.
Consequently, the character`s gayness reads false. Baron Cohen needs to spend more time in certain gay bars if he wants to learn how to do "flamboyant" and "fabulous." It`s a ghost of the real thing.
Tech credits are just fine for what essentially is an un-reality show.
(Editing by Dean Gooodman at Reuters)
(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)
Original article

"Transformers" sequel tramples on box office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The "Transformers" sequel was well on its way to becoming the biggest hit of the year so far after selling a better-than-expected $126 million in tickets during its first three days at the North American box office, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Saturday.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," a follow-up to the smash robot hit of 2007, is on course to challenge the seemingly impregnable five-day opening record of $203.8 million set last year by Batman sequel, "The Dark Knight."
The biggest movie of the year so far is "Star Trek," which has grossed $244 million in seven weeks of release across the United States and Canada.
A clearer picture of "Transformers"` trajectory will emerge on Sunday, when the Viacom Inc-owned studio issues sales estimates for the weekend. Earlier in the week, Paramount had conservatively forecast a five-day haul in the $130 million to $150 million range. But industry pundits countered that a tally of at least $175 million was more likely. The film reportedly cost about $200 million to make.
The $126 million figure covers sales for Wednesday through Friday. The film earned $60.6 million on its first day, breaking the old record for a Wednesday release of $44 million set by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in 2007. It fell just short of the all-time single-day record of $67 million, set last year on a Friday by "The Dark Knight."
The "Transformers" sequel earned $36.7 million on Friday. Nine movies have made more than that on a Friday, but that was their first day of release.
The film also opened worldwide on Wednesday, but got an early start last weekend with a No. 1 bow in Britain and No. 2 in Japan behind a local release.
The first "Transformers" was the third-biggest film of 2007 in North America, ending up with $319 million. It opened on the Monday before the July 4 holiday, so comparisons are difficult. They have plenty in common though: director Michael Bay reunites with young stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Robots rampage across the landscape, and things explode.
Critics were mildly favorable toward the first film, but mostly appalled by the sequel, according to Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com ), a Web site that analyzes reviews.
Original article

"Transformers" in high gear already

By Gregg Kilday
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Debuting Wednesday to an estimated $60.6 million, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" already has begun its triumphal rounding of the box office bases that should see it set a record or two by weekend`s end.
Once Michael Bay`s sequel to the 2007 hit based on the Hasbro toy line staked out the upcoming weekend, there was never any question that it would dominate overall sales. Competitors steered clear of the date, with only Warner Bros. fielding the feel-good weepie "My Sister`s Keeper" in a modest bit of counterprogramming.
So the new "Transformers" -- machine-tooled with the help of a budget said to have approached $200 million -- isn`t really competing against the other current releases: The Paramount release is out to do battle against the record book.
If Paramount`s first-day sales estimate holds, the sequel already can claim the distinction of the biggest Wednesday opening ever. It vaulted ahead of 2007`s "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which bowed to a one-day gross of $44.2 million.
It came unexpectedly close to challenging "The Dark Knight," which holds the records for biggest opening-day gross and best single-day gross: It collected $67.2 million when it opened last year on a Friday. And it squeezed ahead of 2007`s "Spider-Man 3," which debuted to $59.8 million, which had enjoyed runner-up status to "Knight" in the best single opening-day list.
"Transformers`" accelerated takeoff was turbo-charged with the help of $16 million from midnight screenings, included in that $60.6 million opening number.
Entering the weekend, the Paramount/DreamWorks co-production -- which is looking to draw in a wide audience base with the help of its fast-rising stars, Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox -- looks on track to surpass the debut of the first "Transformers," which opened on a Monday evening and collected $155.4 million in its first 6-1/2 days. By the close of business Sunday, the sequel probably will have passed that mark and in just its first five days.
In doing so, it also would overshadow 2004`s "Spider-Man 2," which holds the record for the best Wednesday-through-Sunday opening with $152.4 million.
"Transformers" still would have a hard time challenging "Dark Knight" for the best five-day gross of all time, $203.8 million. "Dark Knight" was a hit with the fans and critics. Not so "Transformers," which as of Thursday had a low-ball 22 percent approval rating at Rottentomatoes.com.
But Bay`s movies have never depended on critics. During the Friday-to-Sunday portion of its debut, the first "Transformers" pulled in $70.5 million. If its sequel maintains its momentum, it will best that number, attracting $80 million-$90 million and possibly more as it heads toward a five-day gross of at least $150 million-$175 million.
The holdovers at the multiplex will have to settle for doing business in "Transformers`" shadow. Disney`s rom-com "The Proposal," last weekend`s top grosser, Warners` breakout comedy "The Hangover" and Disney/Pixar`s animated "Up" should all move down a notch, as they register numbers in the high-teen millions.
"Sister`s Keeper," starring Cameron Diaz in the tale of a family dealing with one daughter`s leukemia, is aiming to lure older female moviegoers from the "Transformers" juggernaut. One of its selling points is that it`s directed by Nick Cassavetes, who directed "The Notebook," a leggy, summer sleeper. "Keeper," though, is probably looking at a gross around the $10 million mark for its opening weekend.
For the handful of moviegoers who turn a deaf ear to "Transformers," the specialty arena will host several new titles.
Miramax will present Stephen Frears` period romantic drama "Cheri," starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates and Rupert Friend.
Roadside Attractions may benefit from the world`s focus on events in Iran as it releases Cyrus Nowrasteh`s "The Stoning of Soraya M.," which examines the plight of one Iranian woman.  Continued...
Original article

Studios wary of Oscar`s new best-picture rule

By Elizabeth Guider
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - If ever there were a time that the town needed a jolt of adrenaline, Wednesday was it -- but from, of all places, the staid, mostly predictable Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences?
What everyone thought would be another sleepy announcement about an arcane rule change in the documentary or foreign language category turned into the headline of the day -- opening up the Oscar race to 10 best picture nominees.
The rationale is not that hard to fathom: The awards telecast has been dwindling in the ratings for a decade; at the same time, folks have been carping about the tilt of the noms -- too arty, too downbeat, too too -- or the exclusion of comedies or the relegation of animation to its own category. Some had even hazarded aloud that, of all things, the Golden Globes were the guys with the right idea, even if their 10 best pic noms are bifurcated by genre.
So with one masterstroke, all the goal posts have been shifted.
Most folks were gobsmacked by the news, with many -- think all those filmmakers who believe their films have been snubbed -- applauding the stratagem. As for wannabe Oscar consultants, now is the time to hang out that shingle.
"I think (Academy president) Sid Ganis has a great marketing mind and that this is a brilliant move," media consultant Michael Levine said. "After all, the biggest sin these days is irrelevance, and whether the expansion ultimately resonates with the public or not, the move will get a lot of attention. Sometimes you just have to do something bold to re-energize a classic brand."
But from a different perspective, longtime Oscar maven Tony Angellotti, who now consults for Universal and Disney Animation, thinks the move could well dilute "both the quality and the impact of the award. I would imagine the studios are grieving over this. They`ll have to spend more money and not likely see a return -- just what they don`t need in a recession."
In fact, one studio executive compared the Academy bombshell to getting doused with a bucket of cold water. He confided that he has enough trouble every awards season figuring out whom they have to satisfy with an Oscar campaign and which talent they can safely neglect or do less for.
"Were we behind this move by the Academy? No way," one top studio executive said. "We`re going to have to spend more money in marketing campaigns for one or more unlikely winner, and mostly there`s very little financial upside even when we do win. All of this takes enormous time and energy, and now it`s extra time and energy."
Another studio executive shook his head in dismay. "This likely means more filmmakers will want to see their movies open late in the year so they can still be in release during the crucial period between nominations (February 2) and the actual telecast (March 7). It`s simply going to clog up the distribution pipeline or mean we have to consider re-releasing one title or another. Don`t even mention what it might do to DVD campaigns."
The studio naysayers were reluctant to speak for the record, however, as they know that the town has become obsessed with and obsessive about awards. They do not want to appear churlish.
The most obvious contingent of happy faces might very well be the talent behind, say, "Up." Almost certainly a shoo-in in the still-to-remain animation category, the Disney/Pixar hit now stands a much better chance of getting into the top 10 noms as well. So too -- given what`s out there so far this year -- is a film like "Public Enemies," Michael Mann`s upcoming period actioner about John Dillinger, which is well crafted and acted, neither too arty nor too populist.
Other pictures that could benefit are the little gems that have "a small but passionate fan base," as another consultant put it, a la "Once" or "The Visitor" or more ambitious movies that got overlooked because they came out at the wrong moment or whatever -- think "Revolutionary Road."
Whatever the consensus around town about the Academy`s bias, the organization has never really turned its back on well-made commercial movies; it just doesn`t have much of a feel or appreciation for warmed-over popcorn -- meaning sequels and other material derived from nonliterary sources like, you guessed it, those proliferating comic-book adaptations.
That`s why the sixth (or whatever it was) iteration of Batman, meaning "The Dark Knight," did not make it into last year`s best picture list, not because the Academy was appalled by how much money the film made.  Continued...
Original article

Oscars` best picture race: 10 in 2010

By Gregg Kilday
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - There will be 10, count `em 10, nominees for best picture when the nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards are announced February 2.
In a move designed to let more movies share in the limelight that surrounds the contenders for Hollywood`s top award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Wednesday announced a rule change that doubles the number of movies that will be welcomed into the best picture category.
Academy president Sid Ganis characterized the move as a "return to the past" when the Academy regularly spread its largesse out among 10 -- and sometimes even more -- best picture nominees.
Speaking to the media at the Academy`s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, Ganis on Wednesday was flanked by posters listing the 10 nominees for 1939 -- widely regarded as the high-water mark for quality studio releases. That year, the lineup ranged from Westerns ("Stagecoach") to sophisticated comedies ("Ninotchka") to melodramas ("Dark Victory") to all-time classics like "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "The Wizard of Oz" and eventual winner "Gone With the Wind."
"Suppose you had to narrow that field down to five nominees? Which of these films would you keep? Whichever five movies you selected, you`d be losing five extraordinary films," Ganis asked rhetorically.
While the Academy hasn`t nominated 10 films since 1943, momentum for the course correction grew out of this year`s Oscar show. Its producers, Larry Mark and Bill Condon, made a concerted effort to acknowledge the whole range of movies produced during the past year in an effort to reach out to a wider audience.
In their post-show autopsy, they encouraged the Academy to consider opening up the best picture category, and the committee that reviewed the show championed the idea, recommending it to the board, which approved the change with virtually no opposition.
The move also comes in the wake of the howls of outrage from fans of last year`s "The Dark Knight," which earned eight nominations but didn`t crack the best picture circle. Arguably, a wider field of nominees would have included that movie, which also had a lot of critics in its corner. And if more popular entertainments are in the running for the big prize, that could in turn benefit the Oscarcast ratings, which have been in general decline, although they did experience an uptick in February.
Ganis acknowledged that "in discussions about this, we talked about what might have happened, and I would not be telling you the truth if I said the words `Dark Knight` did not come up."
One idea that didn`t fly in the internal discussions: Arriving at 10 pictures by nominating five dramas and five comedies, a la the Golden Globes.
"It`s about the best picture -- not the best something picture," Ganis said. "It`s a singular honor."
By sticking to one best picture category, the Academy also avoids being drawn into debates about whether a given film is properly considered a comedy or a drama. But Ganis did suggest that comedies, continually short-changed come Oscar time, could benefit.
"In casting a wider net, who knows what`s going to turn up," he said. "Maybe even a comedy in that group of 10."
Ganis, who will step down as Academy president this summer after four consecutive terms, insisted that having 10 noms "does not dilute" the honor. Pointing out that about 300 films are eligible each year -- in 2008, the number that qualified for best picture consideration was 281 -- he argued that to be one of 10 nominees is still an achievement.
Academy executive director Bruce Davis also said that the board was given assurances that including 10 best picture nominees would not result in a longer show. That assurance will be put to the test when the Oscars take place March 7.
(Editing by Dean Gooodman at Reuters)
Original article

"Watchmen" director`s cut headed to theaters

By Borys Kit
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The director`s cut of "Watchmen," featuring an additional 25 minutes of footage and the death of a supporting character, will receive a limited theatrical rollout during the weekend ahead of its July 21 home-video release.
The superhero saga, which was considered to be a bit of a box office disappointment during its first go-round in March, will screen in Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis and Dallas.
The rollout will culminate with a special screening July 25 at the Comic-Con International confab in San Diego, taking advantage of a Blu-ray Disc feature that will allow any viewer in North America to watch the movie at the same time as the audience at Comic-Con, see and hear director Zack Snyder comment on the movie, and even ask questions. The screening will then be archived and will be able to be accessed for future viewings.
"Comic-Con, it isn`t just comic book fanatics, it`s cinephiles as well. It`ll be cool to discuss what people are thinking," Snyder said at a "Watchmen" press day, held Wednesday at Warner Bros., where the news was unveiled.
The day was designed to showcase a bonus Blu-ray feature called Maximum Movie Mode as well as features to be seen in Snyder`s Blu-ray release of "300: The Complete Experience."
The theatrical rerelease is unusual, given that the costly movie grossed just $107.5 million domestically. Critics were also divided about the movie, with some saying it was too slavish to the graphic novel`s many devotees.
Snyder, however, stood by it. "I`m proud of the movie. It does everything I wanted it to," he said.
(Editing by Dean Goodman at Reuters)
Original article

Thai police will know how Carradine died in one month

Reuters Showbiz Week
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By Kittipong Soonprasert
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police said on Monday that the cause of U.S. actor David Carradine's death in a Bangkok hotel room would not be known until they had the results of the autopsy and toxicology tests in a month's time.
The police refused to give further details about their investigation into the 72-year-old actor's mysterious death, amid intense media speculation about causes ranging from suicide to murder via accidental autoerotic asphyxiation.
"We are still investigating but we will not make any assumptions about his death until we have gathered all the facts," the deputy Bangkok police chief, Lieutenant-General Amnoy Nimmino, told a news conference.
"We have to wait for the toxicology reports, the result of the autopsy and forensic evidence. We will know everything in one month."
Carradine, the star of U.S. 1970s show "Kung Fu," was filming the movie "Stretch" in the Thai capital when a maid found him dead in his suite at the plush Swissotel Nai Lert Park on June 4.
The police also refused to confirm the authenticity of a grainy photo published by a tabloid-style Thai newspaper, which said it was of Carradine's naked, hanging body.
Carradine's family said it was "profoundly disturbed" by the photo, printed on Saturday in the Thai Rath newspaper, and threatened legal action, the actor's brother, Keith Carradine, said in a statement issued by lawyer Mark Geragos.
"The family wants it understood that ... any persons, publications or media outlets will be fully prosecuted for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress if the photos are published," the statement said.
Thai Rath, the country's top-selling newspaper, is known for its lively coverage of crime and celebrities. It did not give a source for the photograph and the face could not been seen.
"I cannot say anything about this photograph," said Amnoy. "The media were not present at the crime scene and this picture was not leaked by the police."
Initial police reports said the actor had committed suicide, but relatives insisted Carradine would not take his own life.
Thai police and media then speculated that accidental autoerotic asphyxiation was a possible cause of death.
The Thai coroner has said it could be several weeks before the results of the toxicology tests and autopsy are known.
Carradine's family called on U.S. authorities on Saturday to help explain how he died, and a U.S. embassy official in Bangkok said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was discussing the case with Thai police.
Amnoy said the FBI was welcome to take part in the investigation, but only after Thai prosecutors had received a formal request from the U.S. government. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Family upset over photos of Carradine's body

Reuters Showbiz Week
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The family of late actor David Carradine is "profoundly disturbed" by photos published in Thailand that are said to be of Carradine's naked body hanging in his Bangkok hotel room, according to family attorney Mark Geragos.
Geragos said a statement from the actor's brother, Keith Carradine, shows that the family will take legal action against people or media outlets that publish the photos "for invasion of privacy and causing severe emotional distress."
The Thai-language newspaper Thai Rath published photos that show the body of Carradine, who died on June 3 in Bangkok where he was filming a new movie called "Stretch."
Mystery has surrounded his death following initial reports that he had committed suicide -- claims his family has denied repeatedly.
On Saturday, Geragos said Carradine's family had asked the FBI to look into the death.
The family has hired a forensics pathologist to examine the actor's body when it is returned to the United States.
Thai newspapers said the body left Bangkok on Saturday, which Geragos confirmed at the time. The body is expected to arrive in Los Angeles as early as Sunday.
A maid found Carradine hanging in the closet of his hotel suite at Bangkok's plush Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel.
With coroners awaiting results of toxicology tests, Thai media pointed to suicide or accidental autoerotic asphyxiation as possible causes of death.
Thai officials have said it could take several weeks before the results of an autopsy performed in Bangkok are released.
Carradine starred in the mid-1970s U.S. television show "Kung Fu" and the more recent "Kill Bill" movies,
(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: Reuters

"Up" retains altitude, tops box office again

By Bernie Woodall
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Up," the story of a floating house, its grumpy 78-year-old owner and an inquisitive 8-year-old accidental stowaway, remained atop the weekend box office in North America, selling $44.2 million of tickets its second weekend in theaters.
The family-friendly Disney/Pixar animated release about a house lifted by colorful balloons and the odd couple's adventures showed surprising staying power. Its weekend gross was down 35 percent from its opening weekend but still made a strong showing for a film in its second week.Movie industry analysts had predicted that "Up" would bring in less than $40 million.
"The Hangover," released by Warner Bros. Pictures, was a close second at $43.3 million. The film about a group of men trying to reconstruct what happened at a wild, Las Vegas bachelor party benefited from a good buzz and positive reviews. It also was the first big comedy released after a month dominated by action flicks.
Universal's "Land of the Lost," a new release starring Will Ferrell, finished a disappointing third at $19.5 million. It is a remake of a mid-1970s U.S. children's television series.
Four of the top five films attracted families with small children as recession-weary parents continued to seek entertainment at the movies.
"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," collected $14.7 million and landed in the No. 4 spot. It made about $54 million when it opened two weekends ago, and has taken in $127 million overall.
"Star Trek," a Paramount issue, also showed staying power, finishing fifth for the weekend in its fifth week of release. It brought in $8.4 million. Its cumulative total stands at $223 million.
ANGELIC WORLD GROSS
"Angels & Demons," from Sony/Columbia, earned $6.5 million in North America during the weekend and its worldwide gross surpassed the $400 million mark, making it the No. 1 film in the world in 2009.
The film, based on Dan Brown's popular novel about conspiracy in the Catholic church, is the follow-up to the Brown novel and 2006 movie, "The Da Vinci Code."
Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures, said the weekend pushed the "Angels & Demons" international gross to about $405 million. "The Da Vinci Code" brought in about $540.7 million globally.
The website rottentomatoes.com, which aggregates movie criticism, showed that positive reviews for "The Hangover" helped it prevail over "Land of the Lost" in their debut weekends. "The Hangover" gathered 75 percent positive reviews, compared to only 28 percent for "Land of the Lost."
A reason for the resilience of "Up" may be the fact that it had a 98 percent rating on the website.
Third among new released and seventh for the week overall was Fox Seachlight's "My Life In Ruins," which took in $3.2 million. It suffered from negative reviews -- only 12 percent positive criticism according to rottentomatoes.com. Its distributor is a unit of News Corp. Continued...
Source: Reuters

Universal Pictures calls "Bruno" suit frivolous

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Movie studio Universal Pictures on Friday responded to a lawsuit filed earlier this week against its parent company and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen calling it "frivolous" and saying its claims were "baseless."
California resident Richelle Olson sued Cohen and Universal Pictures' parent NBC Universal, the media division of General Electric Co., in Los Angeles Superior Court over an encounter with Cohen when he was filming his movie "Bruno."
Olson claims Cohen showed up at a charity bingo event in 2007 as the flamboyant gay Austrian character Bruno and pushed her. Olson says she fell and was surrounded by cameramen who attacked her. Later, she says she fainted, hit her head causing bleeding to her brain, and must now use a wheelchair.
But in its statement, Universal said: "filmed footage of the full encounter, which took place more than two years ago, clearly shows that Ms. Olson was never touched or in any way assaulted by Sacha Baron Cohen or any member of the production and suffered no injury."
Universal said "we expect each of the defendants to be fully vindicated."
"Bruno," which lands in theaters in July, follows Cohen's 2006 surprise hit "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," which made more than $260 million at worldwide box offices.
That comedy featured the comic actor in the role of a naive and rude journalist from Kazakhstan named Borat, who has unscripted meetings with dumbstruck Americans.
"Borat" attracted several lawsuits from individuals Cohen encountered while shooting that film. Both Borat and Bruno are characters Cohen invented for his "Da Ali G Show," which aired on British and American television.
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: Reuters

Hollywood to portray Kenya's "Pirate Whisperer"

By Alison Bevege
MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - When agents for Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson came looking for Andrew Mwangura in Kenya, he could not meet them -- he was on the run.
The man they call the "Pirate Whisperer" was dodging both local authorities and well-connected criminals who were chasing him for exposing the international links of a wave of hijackings afflicting the busy international shipping routes off Somalia.
"I said I was in trouble, come back again when the coast is clear," Mwangura told Reuters in an interview at Mombasa port.
Tinseltown plans to make an action movie about the piracy scourge. Jackson is to play Mwangura -- the quiet 47-year-old founder of the non-profit East African Seafarers' Assistance Program with seemingly unrivalled contacts with maritime groups, ships, ports and even pirates around east Africa.
Himself a former seaman, Mwangura breaks news time and time again on seizures and releases of ships by Somali pirates, revealing details of ransom payments in what has become a multimillion dollar business.
He is a hero to seamen, but a pain for the pirates' financiers, said to be sitting in Nairobi, Dubai and London, managing the business by calls to the gangs' satellite phones. There are strong suspicions that officials in the region could be involved, and Mwangura has not been shy of saying that.
FILM RIGHTS
Now Jackson and filmmaker Andras Hamori have secured the rights to his life story -- but getting a chance to sit down and talk scripts has been more difficult than expected.
Mwangura fell foul of the Kenyan government last year after the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks, was hijacked en route to Mombasa. Mwangura said the consignment was really for south Sudan -- and not Kenya, as officially claimed.
In October, on his way to a talk-show where he was due to speak to the relatives of the Russian and Ukrainian crew, Mwangura was arrested.
"They were waiting for me in Moscow and Kiev on camera. But I was taken to police headquarters for interrogation."
Mwangura spent nine days in jail. One frightening night, he said he was woken by security agents who wanted to take him out of the prison for reasons unknown.
"I think maybe they wanted to harm me," he said.
His cellmates joined hands to prevent the guards from taking him, and he was left in jail.
Mwangura was charged with making alarming statements to foreign media and for possessing $2 worth of marijuana. The government called him a frontman and spokesman for the pirates. Continued...
Source: Reuters