MOSCOW (AP) _ Hollywood star Will Smith slapped a male television reporter who he said tried to kiss him on the lips as he walked down the red carpet for the Moscow premiere of ``Men in Black III.''The reporter from the Ukrainian television channel 1+1, Vitalii Sediuk, made headlines at the Venice Film Festival in September when he presented a bouquet of clearly unappreciated purple hydrangeas to

Runway Cop (Korea)Opening May 31Comedy. Directed by Shin Tae-ra. Detective Cha Cheol-soo (Kang Ji-hwan) does not care about the way he looks or what others think of him. He is fat and does not wash enough. His hair is always greasy and his clothes smell. But assigned to investigate a drug case in Korea’s flashy fashion industry, he is ordered to lose at least 20 kilograms and pretend to be a fashion model to investigate the case undercover. Granny is in 1st Grade (Korea)Opening May 24Drama. Dire

Many times Hollywood came calling, wanting to make her book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” into a movie. But Heidi Murkoff said “Huh?”It’s a best seller, yes, with some 40 million copies in four editions in print. But it’s a self-help book, packed with answers to the burning questions a lot of pregnant women and their husbands ask. Murkoff, 53, didn’t see a movie in that.“These movie pitches never survived my gut check,” Murkoff says. She was waiting for somebody who “got it,” that “What

'Taste of Money’ to compete at Cannes film fest along with Hong Sang-soo’s ’In another Country’Regardless of whether or not director Im Sang-soo has met any real-life chaebol families, this is how he imagines their lives to be in his latest drama: They have a Philippines-born housemaid, are ruthlessly immoral, commit murder with no shame, speak Korean with a smattering of English, and are utterly unhappy. Just a couple of days before the opening of this year’s Cannes film festival, Im’s “Taste o

‘Taste of Money’ to compete at Cannes film festival along with Hong Sang-soo’s ‘In Another Country’Regardless of whether or not director Im Sang-soo has met any real-life chaebol families, this is how he imagines their lives to be in his latest drama: They have a Philippines-born housemaid, are ruthlessly immoral, commit murder with no shame, speak Korean with a smattering of English, and are utterly unhappy.Just a couple of days before the opening of this year’s Cannes film festival, Im’s “Tast

22 movies compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or during 12-day film festivalCANNES, France (AP) ― Wes Anderson opened the 65th Cannes Film Festival with his meticulously composed ode to young love, “Moonrise Kingdom,’’ while less mannered theatrics surrounded the annual French Riviera extravaganza. Anderson and his star-studded cast declared the festival officially begun at the opening ceremony Wednesday night shortly after striding down the absurdly glamorous Cannes red carpet, a seaside gauntl

“Tokyo Waka: A City Poem” by John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson of the United States won the Best Feature Film Award of this year’s Green Film Festival in Seoul (GFFIS), including prize money of 10 million won ($8,668), organizers said Tuesday.Tokyo Waka was selected as the best feature film, as it broadly reflected social and cultural viewpoints while signifying the relationship between the environment and mankind rather than simply concentrating on environment, the competition’s jury said.“The

Director of ‘Love Letter’ criticizes Japanese media’s coverage of the nuclear disasterFor those used to seeing Iwai Shunji’s sentimental romantic films such as “Love Letter” and “Hana and Alice,” his latest film may come as a surprise.The film, titled “Friends after 3.11,” is a documentary with no fictional narrative. The anti-nuclear film deals with the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and Shunji’s own friends who were affected by the catastrophic event. “I’m a filmmaker but I’m also a human

Chinese actress Lan Yen has announced on Friday that she is a lesbian, according to Chinese news reports.The 26-year-old Lan said that she “would not choose men in reality” during a press conference introducing her new movie. The bold announcement caught many by surprise.She also told the reporters that her “eternal idol” was late Leslie Cheung, a world-renown Chinese actor who was also known to be homosexual. Lan Yen is an emerging actress who recently gained fame by starring in the Hong Kong e

Granny is in 1st Grade (Korea)Opening May 24Drama. Directed by Jin Gwang-gyo. Nan-ee, a 70-year-old illiterate woman, lives with her granddaughter in her rural hometown. She has just lost her son to a car accident and is still grieving. One day, Nan-ee finds out her late son had left her a letter while he was alive. Anxious to find out what’s in the letter, Nan-ee decides to learn how to read and write for the first time in her life. At first, she makes her 7-year-old granddaughter, Dong-ee, tea

There’s one thing everyone will be able to agree on regarding Tim Burton’s cinematic reimagining of the old TV series “Dark Shadows”: This isn’t your mother’s gothic soap opera.The original, which ran from 1966 to 1971, smashed the daytime-TV mold by introducing cool supernatural storylines into the usual heat of love triangles and broken hearts. Long before staid afternoon dramas like “General Hospital,” in order to attract young viewers, juiced up their storylines with fantastical elements, an

Korean directors Im Sang-soo and Hong Sang-soo vye for the Palme d’Or awardPARIS (AFP) ― Druggy roadtrips, soul-searching drama and stylish gangland flicks go head to head on the French Riviera next week as a galaxy of stars and directors converge for the Cannes film festival.David Cronenberg, Ken Loach and Michael Haneke headline the pick of 22 international filmmakers vying for the Palme d’Or award at the 65th edition of the world’s top cinema showcase from May 16 to 27.Star-wise, the 2012 lin