Venice Film Festival, Moore's Latest
and Star Wars!
August 2005 Movie News
Security Rules The Festival: Nervous times. It appears that even show biz has to bow down to world politics and make some adjustments. This year at the Venice Film Festival the number of films being shown has been reduced to 54 (last year 71 were shown). The producer in charge of the festival, Marco Miller, reported that the time was required for security personnel to check the theaters between screenings. No word yet on how the paparazzi will be treated: they usually jam the docks to take photos of the stars as they arrive by boat. I'm sure that the stars won't mind if most of them are escorted away. While most of the films are naturally non-American, the U.S. does have a few films in contention, including George Clooney's Goodnight, and Good Luck and John Turturro's Romance & Cigarettes.
This year Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese animation master, will be honored by the festival for his career work in film and the arts.
Be Afraid.: That's right. Michael Moore, the king of opinionated documentaries, is focusing on the nation's health care system. The working title is Sicko, and already the HMOs are battening down their hatches and warning/training employees on what to say or do when and if the filmmaker approaches them.
Episode III Comes To Earth!: Yep, the final installment, Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith, will be released on DVD by Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on November 1. So if you want to hear Anikan/Darth wail his famous "Noooooo!", reserve your copy today. Or at least plan your finances accordingly.
More Star Wars. A Price On War Relics?: Indeed. It appears that everything has a price, including Darth Vader's and Luke Skywalker's old light sabers. Each of them are reported selling at $60,000 a pop at a Beverly Hills auction. No word yet on the body of Jar Jar Binks, which I'm sure just about everyone would like to see. But I'm sure that's probably not available. Pity.
And Lastly, The Romance Is Over: No, not a famous Hollywood couple. Apparently Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse had a falling out and the well-known clown is running into Shrek's arms. It has to be financial (Shrek is no beauty!). McDonald's Corp. said that it has signed a two-year, non-exclusive deal to promote DreamWorks Animation SKG beginning with Shrek 3 in 2007.
