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Despite Oscars for Kate Winslet and for Slumdog Millionaire, a host of key British movie industry insiders have warned of terminal decline - unless Brussels steps in. Vanessa Thorpe reportsThe story of British film has a happy ending at last. Right? We heard the strings swirl as Slumdog Millionaire swept the board, as Mike Leigh was recognised in Europe and Hollywood as a unique auteur, as Daniel Craig's James Bond and Daniel Radcliffe's Harry Potter drew the crowds into the multiplexes. What's more, Kate Winslet has finally won her Oscar for The Reader and is walking off into the sunset, hand in hand with her equally feted (and British) director husband, Sam Mendes.So when a House of Lords select committee was convened to look into the future of the British film industry, its members must have half-hoped they would hear a little feelgood news at a time when so much else in the economy was teetering. After all, almost one-sixth of all the films shown around the world last year were Bri

Why is gangster Jacques Mesrine an icon across the Channel 30 years after his death? UK film-goers are about to find outNo less than the British or the Americans, the French have always loved their movie gangsters, especially if they have an intellectual or political edge. The latest addition to this canon arrives in the UK next month with two films Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy No 1, starring Vincent Cassel in the lead role. Both films tell the story of Jacques Mesrine, the legendary master-criminal who was killed in Paris in 1979. They have been massive critical and box office hits in France, where Le Monde has described them as 'brilliant exercises in style'. For the critic of the fashionable and influential magazine Les Inrockuptibles, they are 'a searing political indictment' of recent French history. The first film, Killer Instinct, was nominated for nine Césars (the French equivalent of the Oscars) in January. And Mesrine is everywhere in France - a f

Authorities say a parolee who robbed a Michigan bank was caught when he tried to hitch a ride from an undercover police detective. Mark E. White was arraigned Friday on charges that include bank robbery and making a false bomb threat. He is being held at the...

Emma Watson made light of her wardrobe malfunction on 'Late Night with David Letterman.' The 19-year-old British beauty noted that when it comes to red carpet etiquette, she still has a lot to learn. Source: Hartley EngelPublished: Jul 11, 2009

Married since May 2005, Beverly Hills 90210 star Jason Priestley and his wife, Naomi Lowde, welcomed a little baby boy into the world on Thursday. Their new son was born in LA and joins big sister Ava, 2. Either they haven't decided yet or are keeping it private, but the name has not been released. When it comes to being a good dad, Jason knows how to do things right. In an interview with AOL after Ava was born, Jason said: 'It is just the three of us, we don't have any help. We are all in it together. I've got to make sure that I keep my wife fed and watered so she can keep our baby fed. It is a beautiful cycle of life going on. I love it. I'm so lucky and blessed to be able to have this time with my wife and daughter.' Who knew that Jason Priestley was such a down to earth family guy? He definitely just earned a few extra points in my book. Photo Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images.

It's little wonder that Handsome Furs' new album, Face Control, draws its inspiration from the road. The Montreal duo's 2007 debut Plague Park was a smart juxtaposition of husband Dan Boeckner's anti-modernist wailings and wife Alexei Perry's coldly mechanical beats and synthetic flourishes. What followed was an extensive touring schedule that has accounted for much of the couple's spare time since.

King of Pop's words take on new clarity and meanings more...

When the news repeatedly presents images of war, readers often find themselves hoping for cease-fire, or at least someone to lead them through the conflicts. Poet Fred Marchant does the latter in his fourth book, The Looking House, in which he explores literal battles as well as those of the ...

The endurance of "The Ugly American" may say less about its literary merits than about its failure to alter attitudes.

A FREE PRESS IS A VITAL COMPONENT in a democracy. Little wonder, then, that in Burma (also known as Myanmar), where the military have ruled with an iron fist since 196