LOS ANGELES ― French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand is asking Hollywood for its budget-weary producers, pressured directors and harried filmmakers yearning for a tax break.France has had a long and rich history of filmmaking, from the pioneering motion picture camera inventions of the Lumiere brothers to the groundbreaking work of filmmakers such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. But

LOS ANGELES ― China has become such an important market for U.S. entertainment companies that one studio has taken the extraordinary step of digitally altering a film to excise bad guys from the Communist nation lest the leadership in Beijing be offended.When MGM decided a few years ago to remake “Red Dawn,” a 1984 Cold War drama about a bunch of American farm kids repelling a Soviet invasion, the

Asian diners are still tucking into sushi at restaurants around the region despite fears that elevated radiation levels in Japan could reach the food chain and contaminate raw ingredients.In Taiwan’s Sushi Express chain, notices informed customers that all seafood was imported before Friday’s quake crippled two nuclear plants on Japan’s east coast sparking fires and explosions that resulted in radioactivity leaking.“The current supply and safety of Japanese food is normal,” reads a poster on the

HONG KONG (AFP) ― Acclaimed Chinese author Bi Feiyu on Thursday won Asia’s top literary prize for his “Three Sisters,” set during the Cultural Revolution.Bi edged out four other shortlisted authors to secure the $30,000 Man Asian Literary Prize with the story of three women who “strive to change the course of their destinies” in one of China’s most chaotic political periods.“When I entered the sho

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― In one life, Per Olov Enquist has been an oppressed child, an athlete, a journalist and a depressed and destructive alcoholic, but in another life ― the one that really counts in his eyes ― he is an author, a giant in the world of Swedish literature.Spry for his 76 years, Enquist tells AFP in an interview that he is savoring “a different life,” which is also the title of his latest work, an autobiography.“The last 20 years have been a fantastic time. I’ve written a lot of books

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. celebrities are rallying their fans to raise money for survivors of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, with Lady Gaga leading the charge and raising $250,000 in 48 hours. The larger-than-life pop icon announced her plan Monday to raise money for Japan by selling red and white wristbands bearing the message “We Pray for Japan” for $5 a piece via her online merchand

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) ― Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion and its oldest continuously practiced one, so it’s somewhat surprising there has never been a major U.S. museum exhibition on Vishnu, one of its most important deities.“Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior” is a new exhibit at Nashville’s Frist Center for the Visual Arts that aims to introduce American art audiences to th