Cate Blanchett’s history lesson for Letterman

Cate Blanchett has given US talk-show king David Letterman a lesson in Australian history, displaying her sharp Aussie humour on the host’s popular late night show. The Oscar-winning actress tore the host to pieces with her wit and charm when she appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman earlier this week to promote her latest film, Blue Jasmine.

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Only God Forgives is like a drug for Gosling

Ryan Gosling’s latest film, Only God Forgives, has deeply divided critics and the Canadian actor concedes that the blood-spattered crime thriller set in Bangkok’s underworld of boxing clubs and brothels may not appeal to everyone. “The film is kind of like a drug,” the former child star who appeared on The Mickey Mouse Club TV show, told reporters ahead of the film’s opening in New Zealand next Thursday.

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France shows support for Polanski after sex crime arrest

French authorities expressed solidarity with Roman Polanski’s family Monday after authorities arrested the filmmaker on a 1970s sexual-offense charge involving a 13-year-old girl. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he hoped authorities would respect Polanski’s rights “and that the affair (will) come to a favorable resolution,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

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‘The September Issue’: Humanizing the Devil

Going into The September Issue, a documentary chronicling the production of a single, record-breakingly huge issue of Vogue in 2007, we already knew that the magazine’s editor, Anna Wintour, wears Prada, drinks Starbucks and favors sunglasses indoors and that her weapon of choice is more frosty glare than flaming pitchfork.

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Asian Film Fireworks for the Fourth

For eight years now, the New York Asian Film Festival has earned “Wow”s and “Huh?”s from Manhattan audiences with its savory mix of action and art-house works from the continent that produces more movies than any other. In its scope and vigor, this is the New York film festival, and it’s run not by a heavily subsidized arts institution but by a few knowledgeable guys from Brooklyn who want to share their enthusiasms with the fanboys of the tristate area.

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