The economic recession may be ending but the independent film industry's shakeout continues to roll, as we were recently reminded by Disney's October decision to gut its Miramax division, cutting staff by more than 70%. It won't be the last to fall under the knife, industry insiders predict, pointing to Universal's Focus Features as the next likely victim. "Very few people think Focus is going to survive," says one industry executive who asked not to be named. It's ...

There is a special place reserved in the history of film for the gothic kitsch of "Hammer horror."

The new horror movie "Paranormal Activity" could be filling movie studio marketing departments with fear. Using a campaign of limited showings, social media and word-of-mouth fan buzz, the film has managed to become a breakout hit without the aid of a glitzy marketing campaign -- or even a traditional movie trailer. According to Variety, the very low-budget film (it reportedly cost $11,000), which played in fewer than 200 theaters, raked in $7.1 million over the weekend -- a record for ...

The harsh reality of life and death in Gaza is a common theme for Palestinian filmmakers. But it was the 2004 death of a young Palestinian woman -- not at the hands of a militant attack or an Israeli incursion -- that struck a note with two filmmakers. Their animated film, "Fatenah," is inspired by her struggle with breast cancer, which is still a sensitive subject in the Palestinian territories. "The amount of trouble she has to go ...

Though her days of battling Kristen Cavallari and Speidi in the realm of reality TV are officially behind her, no way is Lauren Conrad headed for the unemployment line. But she doesn't expect to run up the aisle to collect an Oscar, either. The former "The Hills" star, best-selling author, fashion designer and spokesperson spent her week launching a second clothing line and finalizing a deal to convert her semi-autobiographical novel "L.A. Candy" into a feature film. ...

A retired prosecutor whose comments in a 2008 HBO documentary threatened to derail a 31-year-old sex case against film director Roman Polanski now says he lied. David Wells told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday that he "buttered up" his role in the Polanski case for the documentary crew. He said he lied about trying to goad a judge to sentence Polanski to prison in 1978 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Wells' comments in "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" ...

If you think you were confused and challenged by the famously labyrinthine plot of "Chinatown," imagine how the screenwriter felt. "I did lose my way many times," said Robert Towne in a recent interview. "It took an ungodly amount of time to work on it -- it was 10 months of solid work, and before that, there were several months of letting it gel enough to write it." The process was worth it to Towne, however -- he walked away ...

Filmmaker Roman Polanski has been arrested on an arrest warrant stemming from a decades-old sex charge, Swiss police said Sunday. The Academy Award-winning director pleaded guilty in 1977 to a single count of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, acknowledging he had sex with a 13-year-old girl, but fled the United States before he could be sentenced. U.S. authorities issued a warrant for his arrest in 1978. He was taken into custody trying to enter Switzerland on Saturday, Zurich ...

Filmmaker Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland on an arrest warrant issued 31 years ago in connection with a rape charge. The Academy Award-winning director pleaded guilty in 1977 to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in the United States, but fled the country before he could be sentenced. Authorities in the United States issued a warrant for his arrest in 1978. He was taken into custody on Saturday, Zurich police said. Polanski has lived in France for decades ...

It could be Matt Damon's most weighty role to date. The athletic Bourne star gained 30 pounds, as well as donning a false moustache and prosthetic nose, to look the part for his latest role as salary man whistle-blower, Mark Whitacre, in Steven Soderbergh's comedy "The Informant!" Damon remembers Soderbergh describing the look he hoped Whitacre would have in the film as "doughy." "He just said 'doughy,'" Damon told CNN at the film's North American premiere during ...