Shooting of Peter Jackson's long-awaited movies based on the JRR Tolkein fantasy The Hobbit is due to start in July in New Zealand, star Ian McKellen said.
Reuters - A piece of the past is beautifully revived in NY Export: Opus Jazz, a note-perfect adaptation of Jerome Robbins' 1958 ballet in sneakers that updates the street-cool vibe of a piece reminiscent of his West Side Story.
Reuters - This hagiographic movie portrait of Germany's World War I flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known to posterity and followers of Charles Schulz's Peanuts comic strip as the Red Baron, is most impressive while bi- and tri-planes dodge and shoot at each other in the sky. On the ground, the film falls pretty flat.
Reuters - A groundbreaking comedian gets a step closer to immortality with American: The Bill Hicks Story, a portrait of the short-lived performer that will move fans while letting the uninitiated witness enough onstage highlights to leave them wanting more.
AP - A once-high-flying art dealer plans to admit swindling nearly $100 million from a star-studded clientele that included tennis great John McEnroe and the estate of actor Robert De Niro's father, the dealer's lawyer said Thursday.
Reuters - The husband of actress Sandra Bullock apologized on Thursday for causing her pain and embarrassment beyond comprehension after recent claims he cheated on her while she was filming her Oscar-winning role in The Blind Side.
Reuters - Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a likable movie for kids that will make adults chuckle as well because of the movie's key ingredient -- wit. This usually gets left off the To Do list by most filmmakers who aim at young audiences.
In Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.'s newest movie, Hot Tub Time Machine, a main character looks around a leg-warmer-dotted ski slope and asks Is there some kind of retro thing going on this weekend?
Playbill - Stage and screen star Ian McKellen reports on his website that The Hobbit, the two-film adventure based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, will begin filming this summer.
