Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped...

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Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped...

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Warner Bros. takes home Oscar gold, sales boost for “Argo”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Time Warner Inc‘s Warner Bros. basked in the golden glow of coveted Best Picture Oscar for its Iran hostage drama “Argo” on Sunday, giving the Ben Affleck film a likely boost for its ticket and home entertainment sales.Hollywood‘s big night often proves a boon to studios that take home Oscars, and this year the haul was spread among several major film companies.Among the Best...

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Tyler, Perry lead Songwriters Hall of Fame class

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Songwriters Hall of Fame is saluting 1970s and ’80s rock ‘n’ roll with its 2013 induction class.Joe Perry and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner will join the hall of fame this year along with the writers of iconic rock hits “Love Is a Battlefield” and “Heartache Tonight.” The ceremony will be held June 13 in New York.Aerosmith and Foreigner...

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Lawrence, Chastain, Riva in Oscar battle of youth versus experience

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A young widow, a bayou girl, an elderly woman, a mother and a CIA agent battle it out on Sunday for the Best Actress Oscar, a race that includes the youngest and oldest nominees in the category’s history.Jennifer Lawrence of “Silver Linings Playbook,” 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis from “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” 85-year-old star of “Amour” Emmanuelle Riva, “The Impossible”...

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Daniel Day-Lewis as Abe Lincoln makes unstoppable Oscar force

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – If there is one sure bet in this roller coaster movie awards season, it is that Daniel Day-Lewis will take home the Best Actor statuette at the Oscars on Sunday.Day-Lewis, known for his meticulous preparation, would become the first man to win three Best Actor Oscars, and awards pundits say it’s not hard to see why.The tall, intellectual actor has swept every prize in the long...

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Veteran British actor Richard Briers dies aged 79

LONDON (Reuters) – British actor Richard Briers, best known for the 1970s TV sit-com “The Good Life” but also for his Shakespearean roles, has died at the age of 79, prompting a flood of tributes for “a national treasure“.The actor, who spent a lifetime on the stage, had recently spoken publicly of battling a serious lung condition for years, saying that “the ciggies got me” after a lifetime smoking...

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Hugh Grant becomes father for 2nd time

LONDON (AP) — Hugh Grant says he has become a father for the second time.The “Four Weddings and a Funeral” star used his Twitter account to announce Saturday: “Am thrilled my daughter now has a brother. Adore them both to an uncool degree.”He said both children “have a fab mum” and: “To be crystal clear, I am the Daddy.”The birth was confirmed by Grant’s publicist, Carrie Gordon.Grant’s sometime girlfriend...

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Bosnian Roma family plays itself in stark film

BERLIN (Reuters) – When Bosnian director Danis Tanovic learned about a Roma family refused emergency medical care because they could not pay for it, he not only decided to turn their story into a film but managed to convince the couple to play themselves.The result is “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker”, a simple, powerful tale of one man’s struggle to provide for his partner and two daughters...

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“Good Day to Die Hard” takes $10 million in Asian box office

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Good Day to Die Hard” is off and running overseas. The Bruce Willis action film took in more than $ 10 million in its debut in seven Asian markets for Fox.“Django Unchained” was the top international moneymaker for the fourth consecutive week, adding $ 18.7 million from 66 markets. Quentin Tarantino‘s slave saga has now brought in $ 187 million overseas.“Good Day to Die...

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All eyes on Frank Ocean as Grammy Awards approach

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Everybody’s thinkin’ about Frank Ocean.Ocean is a cause celebre and the man with the momentum as Sunday’s Grammy Awards approach. One of six top nominees with six nominations apiece, the 25-year-old R&B singer turned cultural talking point will have the music world’s attention.It remains to be seen if it will be the “Thinkin Bout You” singer’s night, but there’s no question...

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Charlie Sheen revisits alter-ego in movie “Mind of Charles Swan”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – It’s a downward spiral for Charlie, a successful professional whose life slides into despair when his girlfriend breaks up with him.This Charlie could be Charlie Sheen, but it’s actually the fictional Charles Swan, a charming, immature character played by Hollywood’s favorite bad boy actor and filmed only a few months after Sheen‘s off-screen antics got him fired in 2011 from...

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Katie Holmes takes fashion line crosstown

NEW YORK (AP) — Katie Holmes and her business partner and stylist Jeanne Yang joined the New York Fashion Week frenzy last season with a show at Lincoln Center, only to leave it behind this time around.It wasn’t all the people, or even the paparazzi, that drove them away. It was their own clothes. Their look, which they describe as one of careful artistry and potential heritage pieces that women will...

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Bolshoi ballet chief heads to Germany after attack

MOSCOW (AP) — The artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet said he knows who ordered an acid attack that left him with severe burns to his eyes and face but won’t say, voicing hope that investigators will soon name the perpetrator.Sergei Filin checked out of a Moscow hospital Monday and headed to Germany for further rehabilitation.Filin, 42, wore shades and a bandage on his head, and skin on his face...

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NBC News President Capus to leave network

(Reuters) – NBC News President Steve Capus will be leaving the network in the coming weeks after struggles at the unit, including lower ratings for its flagship morning TV show, “Today.”No replacement has been named for Capus, president of NBC News since 2005, according to a company memo obtained by Reuters. In a statement, Capus said it was “now time to head in a new direction.”Three sources close...

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Filmmaker cries censorship as Italy political documentary blocked

ROME (Reuters) – A British filmmaker said on Friday he was a victim of censorship after a leading museum cancelled the Italian premiere of the documentary “Girlfriend in a Coma”, which is highly critical of Italy‘s political and economic situation.The museum where the film was to have been shown on February 13 cancelled the showing and said it could not be held until after the country’s elections...

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Roseanne Barr to Star in, Produce New Series for NBC

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – NBC is betting on the up-again-down-again Roseanne Barr, signing the television icon to an overall deal that calls for her to develop a show she will star in and produce for the network. She will executive produce the series with Steven Greener, with whom she collaborated on “Roseanne’s Nuts” for Lifetime.As part of the deal, Barr also will guest star in a three-episode arc...

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ABC orders pilots for “Big Thunder” drama, Gothic soap opera

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – ABC has ordered pilots for the dramas “Big Thunder” and “Gothica,” the network said Tuesday.“Big Thunder,” which is written by “Ice Age” writer Jason Fuchs (pictured) and executive produced by Chris Morgan (“Wanted,” “The Troop”) follows a brilliant doctor in late 19th century New York whose family is given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relocate to a frontier mining...

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Spielberg seen winning director Oscar for “Lincoln”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – American filmmaker Steven Spielberg is clear favorite among the public to win the best director award for his film about President Abraham Lincoln at the Academy Awards this year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.While the race to win best film at the February 24 ceremony was shaken up by “Argo” stealing the thunder of “Lincoln” at two award ceremonies last weekend, the best...

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Philadelphia opera co.: New name, new vision

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Opera Company of Philadelphia is getting a name change that officials say is in better harmony with its move toward more innovative programming and greater diversity in its repertoire.The company said Tuesday it will now be known simply as Opera Philadelphia. The new name and logo will appear on all of its brochures and ads.The announcement was made in conjunction with the...

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