Create your own free news widgets.

Tomorrow's directors face a struggle for cash and the whims of commissioning bodies, who might demand a certain actor or a popular theme. One answer is to use digital technology to hone skills in miniature as a showcase for talent, says Killian FoxLong before Bill Edwards settled into his current job as a graphic designer at the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in Wigston, Leicestershire, he harboured a dream of becoming an animator. At school in Plymouth, where he grew up, he was the best at drawing in his class. 'It was the one thing I was good at,' the 38-year-old recalls. 'The only thing I was good at.' But when he attempted to set his drawings in motion, he hit a brick wall.'A friend and I in Plymouth did a 10-second animation that took about two days to do. Then, during my degree course at the University of Derby, I tried some hand-drawn cel animation. I did a five-second piece and it took a lifetime. My feeling then was: 'Jesus, I'm interested in this but I don't real

'The concern about losing talent is a very British thing'Daniel Battsek, 50, whose first major job was as managing director of Britain's innovative Palace Pictures (1985-91), left for the US to become president of Miramax in 2005.America is a big country. It's the home of the film industry. The skills and the knowledge can be translated, but working in America requires a very different mind-set.I'm still slightly in that shock-of-the-new period at Miramax. It's a 24/7 job. There's always somebody on the phone, morning, noon and night, but that keeps the adrenaline rushing.When you're an Englishman in America you're going, 'Jesus, is there anyone else apart from British people working in this business?' At every Academy Awards and every Emmys you see an extraordinary amount of British involvement. It's typically British, the constant self-flagellation about not having an industry, and in many ways t's true. But look at the people in influential places: it's amazing how many Britons ther

The lukewarm reception for his latest release continues a cold streak 'The Ice Storm' director has weathered since his 'Brokeback' breakthrough.

Dancing Michael Jackson fans reportedly numbering in the thousands filled up a new york park where director Spike Lee hosted a ceremonial birthday bash for the late King of Pop, who would have turned 51 on Saturday. The party-goers danced beneath a shower of rain in Brooklyn's Prospect Park as a DJ spun Jackson's classic songs, says the Associated Press. "I was just like everyone else. I loved his talent," Lee said.

Rob Zombie's transition from scary heavy-metal maven to slash-and-splatter moviemaker is completed with Halloween II. The director of House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects is so mainstream he's a sequel sellout now.

Bangalore, Aug 29 :India's ambitious moon mission -- Chandrayaan-I -- has probably ended after losing radio contact since Saturday noon, said its project director M. Annadurai, but Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said scientists will evaluate the performance of the mission over the next two days before deciding whether or not to call it off.

"Chloe" is a star-studded break from form for the director Atom Egoyan, the first of his features for which he has not written the screenplay.

The writer-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor make action films that spoof the genre.

International News: Yoon Jeong-hee to star in Korean director's film -- Korean helmer Lee Chang-dong ('Secret Sunshine') has tapped Yoon Jeong-hee as the lead in his new film, tentatively titled 'Poetry.'

Cabaret at the Castle has chosen Grammy-nominated recording artist, television and Broadway star, Ilene Graff, to appear in celebration of 100th anniversary of the structure known today as the Magic Castle. Accompanied by her Musical Director-husband Ben Lanzarone, Graff performs songs from Broadway, the movies and the pop world with completely unique interpretations and arrangements. From Harold Arlen to the Beatles, the Bergmans to Sondheim, you?ve never heard these songs sung the way Ilene does. Graff?s career started on Broadway, performing in Promises, Promises, the original production of Grease (Sandy), and in the original cast of Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart?s I Love My Wife, creating the role of Cleo. Feeling honored that he tailored it to her specific talents, Ilene reprises ?her very own Cy Coleman song,? Love Revolution in her show, as well as pieces from Grease, Porgy and Bess, Gypsy and many others. First You Dream hits the Magic Castle on Monday, Sept. 14th, 2009 and