LOS ANGELES (AFP) ―Michael Fassbender’s last movie might be called “Shame,” but the German-Irish actor has nothing to feel bad about as he rides a wave of success and aims at Hollywood gold this awards season.The 34-year-old’s big-screen career has exploded with a string of movies in the last four years, before his Golden Globe nod last week for his role as a tortured sex addict in “Shame,” his latest film with director Steve McQueen.His meteoric rise has included an award-winning role as Northe

“You know what’s a drag about being a grown-up?” a friend asked the other night. “Nobody makes movies for me anymore.”He’s not entirely correct, but I know how he feels. Hollywood’s focus on young viewers has been intensifying for decades _ at least since the original “Star Wars,” if not before ― and this year was no exception. From the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” installment to the third “Transformers” blockbuster, the box-office biggies of 2011 were largely cinematic junk food marketed t

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) ― The silent-era tale “The Artist” heads the Golden Globes with six nominations, among them best comedy or musical, and acting honors for its French stars, Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo.Tied for second-place with five nominations Thursday are the 1960s racial tale “The Help” and George Clooney’s Hawaiian family story “The Descendants.” Both films are up for best drama, while Clooney was nominated for best dramatic actor and “The Help” earned acting slots for Viol

A 33.19-carat diamond ring once owned by the late Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor sold for 10.1 billion won ($8,818,500) to Korean conglomerate E-Land Group at a Christie’s auction in New York on Tuesday.The ring was given to the late actress by her fifth husband, actor Richard Burton in 1968. He had purchased the ring through an auction for $ 300,000 at the time. The ring was estimated to sell for $2.5 million to $3.5 million during Tuesday’s auction.Taylor, who died of congestive heart failure

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― “The Help,” a film about the lives of black housekeepers in the U.S. south before the civil rights era, and hit silent movie “The Artist” topped nominations at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards on Wednesday.“The Help” scored four nods for the SAGs including best actress for Viola Davis, while “The Artist,” a black-and-white tribute to the silent movie era, was shortlisted in three categories.On the small screen, Emmy-winning sitcom “Modern Family” won five nominations incl

DUBAI (AFP) ― A tale of forbidden love in the Gaza Strip won the top prize at the eighth Dubai Film Festival on Wednesday, where a new generation of Arab women directors stole the spotlight.“Habibi” (My Love in Arabic), directed by Susan Youssef, won Best Arab feature film, and the film’s star, Maisa Abdel Hadi, won best actress.The film, which also won the best editor award, tells the story of two Palestinian lovers, Qais and Leila, growing increasingly religious under the control of the Islami

An actor who played a detective and a monk on Chinese television has been arrested after 13 years on the run from charges of attacking a police officer, state media said on Thursday.Ji Siguang, who performed under an alias, was accused of involvement in the assault on a police officer in 1998 in the

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Eddie Murphy is to star in a television film under development by HBO about Washington’s colorful and controversial former mayor Marion Barry, the U.S. cable channel said Tuesday.In an email to AFP, it confirmed a report in The Washington Post that Spike Lee will direct Murphy ― seen most recently in the comedy caper “Tower Heist” ― in the still-untitled project.Barry was well into his third term as mayor when, in an FBI sting operation caught on video, he was busted in Januar