Reuters Entertainment News Summary

09/11/2016 0:58

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Gordon-Levitt examines whistleblower's motivations in 'Snowden'

When veteran filmmaker Oliver Stone was casting an actor to play former NSA contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden in a film, he said he went to only one person - Joseph Gordon-Levitt. "I don't know why, he just looked like, and felt like, and acted like he was one of that generation, very much the same age and computer knowledgeable," Stone told Reuters last month in Los Angeles.

Actor Ewan McGregor admits to nerves in debut as director

Scottish actor Ewan McGregor admitted to being "very nervous" about making his directorial debut with the movie adaptation of Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "American Pastoral." The film, which premiered Friday night at the Toronto International Film Festival, also sees McGregor in the lead role of the hard-working man in late 1960s America whose family begins to fall apart after his daughter Merry (Dakota Fanning) becomes politically radicalized.

Philippine revenge drama wins Venice Film Festival's top prize

A nearly four-hour long movie about a woman's thirst for revenge and her feelings of forgiveness after 30 years in jail for a crime she did not commit won the Venice Film Festival's top prize on Saturday. Director Lav Diaz has described "Ang Babaeng Humayo" ("The Woman Who Left") as a testimony to the struggles of the Philippines after centuries of colonial rule.

First openly gay Miss America contestant shines light on LGBT issues

The first openly lesbian Miss America contestant will not only vie for the crown at the 95th annual pageant in New Jersey this weekend, she will also aim to spotlight the injustices faced by gay and transgender people. "We are still fighting for visibility," 23-year-old Erin O'Flaherty, who was crowned Miss Missouri in June, said during a media event in Atlantic City ahead of Sunday's contest final. "So it's really important for me just to exist in this capacity as completely who I am and be open and proud about it for the LGBT community."

'Birth of a Nation' cast deflect rape controversy to spotlight film

"The Birth of a Nation" director Nate Parker and his cast are playing challenging parts this weekend as they try to keep the spotlight trained on their acclaimed slavery drama while acknowledging concern about a rape case involving Parker. The day after "Birth of a Nation" received a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival, the 36-year-old writer, director and lead actor didn't shy away from questions on Saturday about his 2001 trial and acquittal on rape charges that have dominated conversation around the film.

Director wants audience to shut up for a bit after seeing Holocaust film

Andrei Konchalovsky does not expect "Rai" to change the course of the world, but he hopes the Holocaust drama about evil in the name of good will inspire some compassion, the veteran Russian director told Reuters at the Venice film festival on Friday. "Rai" (Paradise), a black-and-white World War II drama about three individuals whose lives cross paths and are forced to make life-altering choices, is one of 20 films competing for the coveted Golden Lion that will awarded on Saturday.

'A United Kingdom' tells historic tale of love defying prejudice

A new film about the true story of an African king and white British woman whose marriage triggered a political crisis is first and foremost a love story, its star and director said. "A United Kingdom," which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, stars British actor David Oyelowo as Seretse Khama, a tribal king who would go on to become the first president of Botswana.

Larson back at Toronto Film Festival with shoot-em-up caper 'Free Fire'

After winning an Oscar for playing an abducted mother in "Room," actress Brie Larson returned on Friday with a movie in which she becomes trapped in a warehouse with a group of trigger-happy men. Larson, who helped debut "Room" a year ago at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win best actress at this year's Academy Awards, stars alongside an ensemble including Armie Hammer, Cillian Murphy and Sharlto Copley in "Free Fire," a dark comedy featuring a tense two-hour shoot-out.

Denzel Washington says 'The Magnificent Seven' like being a kid again

As a pastor's son, Denzel Washington never got to watch Westerns as a child, but playing around with guns and horses in Antoine Fuqua's remake of "The Magnificent Seven" was like being a kid again, he said at the Venice film festival on Saturday. Fuqua's take on a story about hired guns in the Old West protecting a town from thieves will close the 73rd edition of the world's oldest film festival on Saturday. It premiered in Toronto and screens in Venice in the out-of-competition section.

DiCaprio's 'Before The Flood' aims to make climate a U.S. election issue

Hollywood heartthrob and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio said he rushed to release his upcoming climate change documentary "Before the Flood" ahead of November's U.S. presidential elections to issue a clarion call to U.S. voters in time to influence their decisions. "We wanted this film to come out before the next election because ... the United States is the largest contributor to this issue," DiCaprio said to the audience after the film's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday.

09/11/2016 0:58