Hong Kong's Wong Kar-wai back with kung fu epic

Hong Kong art house director Wong Kar-wai, whose slow-paced, pensive films earned him laurels at international festivals such as Cannes, where he won best director, has just come out with The Grandmaster, his latest kung fu epic. The fruit of eight years of labor and selected as the opening movie for February's Berlin International Film Festival, The Grandmaster tells the legendary tale of Bruce Lee's master Ip Man, played by Wong's long-time collaborator and Cannes' best actor award winner Tony Leung.

Twilight picks up the best of the worst award at Razzies

The final installment of the Twilight saga has dominated the shortlist for this year's Razzies, which single out the worst movies of the last 12 months, according to the BBC. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2, which made $814 m at the box office, has 11 nominations in 10 categories, including worst film and worst sequel. Its stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are also listed in the "worst screen couple" category. Critically reviled blockbuster Battleship received seven nominations. Among them was worst supporting actress for pop star Rihanna, who made her acting debut as a US Navy Seal in the film, which was based on the classic grid-based boardgame. Other notable nominations included actor-director Tyler Perry, who was cited for worst actor and worst actress - thanks to his cross-dressing role in Madea's Witness Protection.

No joke: Obama screens TV comedy at White House

A "trophy wife" as first lady, a hapless college-aged son who burns down a fraternity house, and a daughter frantically taking pregnancy tests in a White House bathroom - this TV comedy had better be funny. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama held a private screening at the White House with the cast and crew of 1600 Penn, an NBC series about a dysfunctional first family.

Idol judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj play nice after feud

New American Idol judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj shrugged off their widely publicized feud on Tuesday as a "trumped-up thing" that was merely a passionate difference of opinion over the TV talent show's contestants. In their first big media appearance ahead of the hit show's return to Fox television on Jan 16, the two pop stars showered each other with praise while barely looking at each other.

Sony Pictures executive denies Zero Dark Thirty advocates torture

Sony Pictures executive Amy Pascal lashed out on Friday at a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who accused Osama bin Laden film Zero Dark Thirty of promoting torture and urged fellow Academy members not to vote for it in the Oscars race. In a strongly worded statement, Pascal said the "attempt to censure one of the great films of our time should be opposed".

British singer David Bowie released his first new song in nearly a decade on Tuesday in a surprise launch coinciding with his 66th birthday. Where Are We Now?, produced by long-term collaborator Tony Visconti, is a melancholic look back to the time Bowie spent in Berlin in the 1970s with an accompanying video featuring black-and-white footage of the city when it was still divided.

Kate Winslet's husband Ned RocknRoll stops press

British actress Kate Winslet's husband won a court battle on Tuesday stopping The Sun newspaper from printing photographs of him "semi-naked" at a private fancy dress party several years ago. Lawyers for Ned RocknRoll, 34, who married the Titanic star in December, argued that there was no public interest in The Sun publishing the pictures, that it would be a breach of his privacy and it could lead to Winslet's children being bullied.

Snakes on a Plane director David R. Ellis dies in South Africa

David R. Ellis, the child actor and former stuntman who went on to direct gory films including Snakes on a Plane, has been found dead in a Johannesburg hotel. Ellis, 60, was last seen alive in a restaurant on Saturday. His body was discovered in a bathroom by a hotel manager at the weekend. There was no indication of foul play or robbery, police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Rushdie, Amis targeted in critical maulings of 2012

Their status as literary heavyweights could not save them from the savage sarcasm of critics. Novelists Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie, and former poet laureate Andrew Motion were all up for critical mauling of the year in a shortlist published on Tuesday.

Reuters

(China Daily 01/13/2013 page4)