Movie News

HONG KONG - Ben Kingsley, famous for his Oscar-winning portrayal of Indian independence hero Mohandas Gandhi, is reaching deeper into the country's history with a new role as the Mogul emperor who ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal.

HONG KONG - More than a decade after Disney made a blockbuster animated film out of a folk tale about a young woman in ancient China who takes her father's place on the battlefield, a Hong Kong director is taking on the story of Hua Mulan with real actors.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - There's no doubt that "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" will rise to the top of the domestic box office again over the coming long holiday weekend.

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

In case anyone in the audience isn't sure when to cackle, coo, snicker or sigh, the makers of "Old Dogs" have provided a handy on-screen prompt.

As an icon prone to caricature, Orson Welles ranks right up there with Truman Capote and Ray Charles.

BALTIMORE - Filmmaker Tyler Perry has donated $1 million to the NAACP to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the civil rights organization.

BALTIMORE - Filmmaker Tyler Perry has donated $1 million to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the civil rights organization.

NEW YORK - Gael Garcia Bernal calls his latest film "provocative."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer have been given the keys to "Uncharted: Drake Fortune."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The narrative behind "The Princess and the Frog" is that Walt Disney Animation has rediscovered its traditional hand-drawn animation, which has been supplanted by computer-generated cartoons. But this misses the point about what allowed Pixar -- which Disney now owns -- DreamWorks and other CG-animation companies to upstage the one-time king of the animation world. It's a thing called story.

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Asian films, led by Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Syndromes and a Century," dominated the Toronto International Film Festival's best-of-the-decade poll results released Monday.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Since they are old dogs, there are no new tricks in Walt Disney's "Old Dogs," a shamelessly predictable, overly broad comedy aimed at the family audience starting Thanksgiving weekend. One could debate whether John Travolta or Robin Williams have reached an age to be mistaken for grandfathers, but they certain don't shy away from jokes their grandfathers would have groaned about.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Final box office figures for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" showed the movie's ticket sales rising to $142.8 million from an estimated $140.7 million last weekend, the studio behind the film said on Monday.

ATHENS (Reuters) - 20th Century Fox will make a profit with James Cameron's 3D sci-fi epic "Avatar," Fox Filmed Entertainment chairman Jim Gianopulos said in an interview, and dismissed reports the movie cost $500 million as "ridiculous."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Dark Void" will yield movie development matter.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director and comic actor Tyler Perry, whose films include the recent "I Can Do Bad All By Myself," has given $1 million to the NAACP in the largest gift ever by a single person to that civil rights group.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Uma Thurman soon will be making time with Rob Pattinson.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Warner Bros. is going to the dogs, signing on to acquire and develop "Nubs," a feel-good story of a pooch and a U.S. Marine based on a publishing sensation.

"Pirate Latitudes" (HarperCollins, 320 pages. $27.99), by Michael Crichton: It's pointless to complain about the cardboard characters, dreadful action-movie dialogue and wildly improbable plot points in Michael Crichton's latest — and last — book, published posthumously.

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Staten Island is regarded as New York's bastard stepchild of a borough, and unfortunately, this film is unlikely to enhance its reputation. A Tarantino-influenced crime drama featuring a tripartite story line that is far too precious for its own good, "Staten Island" will do nonexistent business in theaters after it opens Friday (November 20), but should garner video and television exposure thanks to its reasonably well-known cast.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Australian heartthrob Hugh Jackman is joining forces with Steven Spielberg in a futuristic movie about robot boxers, entertainment industry press reported Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Idris Elba has joined the cast of "Thor," Marvel Studios' film centering on the Norse god of thunder.

LONDON - The tiny King Kong figurine that helped launch the career of one of cinema's biggest monsters has sold for about 121,000 pounds ($200,000) at a London auction.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has lifted his suspension of a film promotion tax credit program for projects previously submitted by movie makers, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller announced.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The moon may be new, and the director may be different (Chris Weitz takes over the reins from Catherine Hardwicke), but otherwise, the second installment of the "Twilight" saga remains, for better or worse, exceptionally faithful to its 2008 beginnings.

The last time we heard from the hand-drawn animators at Disney, they offered up the barnyard tale "Home on the Range." The 2004 'toon was so forgettable it seemed as though it really might be the last time we ever heard from the hand-drawn animators at the studio where the art form was pioneered.

SALT LAKE CITY - Filmmakers around Utah are rushing to wrap their entries for a contest promoting the state as a desirable destination for film production.

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. actor Zac Efron takes another step away from the world of high school musicals that made him famous with a part in "Me and Orson Welles," which also features British newcomer Christian McKay in the title role.