Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped...

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Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped...

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‘Argo’ wins best picture on scattered Oscar night

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just as Oscar host Seth MacFarlane set his sights on a variety of targets with a mixture of hits and misses, the motion picture academy spread the gold around to a varied slate of films. “Argo” won best picture as expected, along with two other prizes. But “Life of Pi” won the most awards with four, including a surprise win for director Ang Lee.“Les Miserables” also won three Academy...

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Romanian cinema triumphs again with top Berlin award

BERLIN (Reuters) – Romania claimed another major scalp on the European film festival circuit this weekend when “Child’s Pose” won the Golden Bear in Berlin, underlining the country’s emergence as a powerhouse of hard-hitting cinema in the post-Communist era.The film, directed by Calin Peter Netzer, tells the story of Cornelia, an obsessive mother who uses every trick in the book to prevent her son...

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Romanian film “Child’s Pose” wins Berlin Golden Bear

BERLIN (Reuters) – “Child’s Pose”, a Romanian drama about a domineering mother using her social position to try to save her son from jail, won the Golden Bear for best picture at the Berlin film festival on Saturday.The movie, directed by Calin Peter Netzer and starring Luminita Gheorghiu in the central role, had been among the favorites for the coveted prize, which extends the remarkable success...

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Ex-Israeli security chiefs speak out in Oscar documentary nominee

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Oscar-nominated documentary “The Gatekeepers” focuses on Israel, but its director says that all countries can gain insight about the risks that arise if secretive security agencies operate without adequate restraints.In “The Gatekeepers,” six former heads of Israeli internal security and intelligence agency Shin Bet reflect on their failures and successes in gathering information...

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Affleck wins directors award as ‘Argo’ hurtles to Oscars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actor-turned-filmmaker Ben Affleck won the top honor from his peers at the Directors Guild of America on Saturday for the movie “Argo“, cementing the Iran hostage drama’s frontrunner status for the Oscars.The Hollywood directors‘ recognition for Affleck, however, is an awkward result for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which failed to nominate him for Best...

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Why is Beckham sitting on the bench for nothing?

PARIS (AP) — David Beckham has won league championships in three countries on two continents, earns millions of dollars in endorsements and his name is practically synonymous with celebrity itself. He has his own cologne, for goodness sake. So why is he even bothering to sit on the bench for the Paris Saint-Germain football club?His royal highness of football doesn’t need the money — and he’s said...

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Singer Randy Travis pleads guilty to DWI, gets probation

DALLAS (Reuters) – Grammy Award-winning country singer Randy Travis on Thursday pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated and was sentenced to two years probation for an incident in which Texas State Troopers found him lying naked near his crashed car.Travis, 53, was ordered to serve at least 30 days at an in-patient alcohol treatment facility and was not charged for threatening the troopers who...

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Patty Andrews of Andrews Sisters rallied troops

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Patty Andrews never served in the military, but she and her singing sisters certainly supported the troops.During World War II, they hawked war bonds, entertained soldiers overseas and boosted morale on the home-front with tunes like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” and “I Can Dream, Can’t I?”Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing Andrews Sisters trio, died Wednesday...

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Actress Ashley Judd and race car driver Dario Franchitti split

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – American actress Ashley Judd and her Scottish race car driver husband Dario Franchitti are ending their marriage after 11 years.The movie star, 44, and the Indianapolis 500 race car driver, 39, married in 2001 and have no children.“We have mutually decided to end our marriage. We’ll always be family and continue to cherish our relationship based on the special love, integrity...

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Animal shelters are real winners of ‘Puppy Bowl’

LOS ANGELES (AP) — There will be a winner and a loser every Super Bowl Sunday. But at the “Puppy Bowl,” it’s always a win for animal shelters.The show provides national exposure to the shelters across the country that provide the puppy athletes and the kittens that star in the halftime show, and introduces viewers to the different breeds and animals that need homes, animal workers say. Many shelters...

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Chris Brown investigated for possible assault

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown is under investigation for an alleged assault in a West Hollywood parking lot, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said early Monday.Deputies responding to a report of six men fighting Sunday night found the scene clear, but were told by witnesses that there had been a brief fight over a parking space.“The altercation allegedly...

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Hostage film “Argo” wins producers award as Oscars loom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Iran hostage drama “Argo” continued its trophy-winning streak on Saturday, taking the top prize at the Producers Guild Awards in the latest boost to its chances at the Oscars.Guild picks regularly go on to win at the film industry’s most prestigious event – for the last five years, the producers’ choice of best-produced film has taken the best picture Oscar.“I’m really surprised....

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Disney says JJ Abrams to direct next ‘Star Wars’

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s official. The force is with J.J. Abrams.The Walt Disney Co. issued a statement Friday night confirming reports that had been circulating for two days that Abrams, Emmy-award-winning creator of TV’s “Lost” and director of 2009′s “Star Trek” movie, has been pegged to direct the seventh installment of the “Star Wars” franchise.“J.J. is the perfect director to helm this,” said...

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“Hansel and Gretel” is Grimm news for weekend box-office rivals

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Hansel and Gretel,” a Grimm’s fairy tale on special effects and 3D steroids, is ready to wreak some box-office havoc this weekend on its way to the number one spot.Paramount has exerted considerable marketing muscle behind the R-rated action fantasy, and it seems to be connecting. “Hansel and Gretel” will take in more than $ 25 million over the three days, industry analysts...

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From bombastic to beloved, Joachim Sauer’s trip to Wagner’s “grail”

BERLIN (Reuters) – In his youth, theoretical chemist Joachim Sauer found the music of Richard Wagner “bombastic”. All that changed when he was in his early 20s with a chance encounter with Wagner’s ‘Siegfried’.Now the annual Wagner summer festival in Bayreuth is one of the few occasions when the media-shy Sauer is seen in public with his wife, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.This year, the bicentenary...

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Vegan pizza, smoked salmon Oscars on offer at post-Oscars ball

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hollywood’s elite will chow down on vegan pizza and kale salad in addition to the traditional smoked salmon Oscars at the annual Governor’s Ball after next month’s Academy Awards ceremony, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck announced on Tuesday.Unveiling his menu for the year’s biggest movie party, Puck said chicken pot pie with shaved black truffles, mini Kobe burgers, Japanese...

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