Four-hour Filipino film wins top gong at Venice festival
A movie from the Philippines about a woman's thirst for revenge and her feelings of forgiveness after spending 30 years in jail for a crime she did not commit has won the Venice Film Festival's Grand Jury prize. Director Lav Diaz says the four-hour-long film Ang Babaeng Humayo (The Woman Who Left) is a testimonial to the struggles of the Philippines following centuries of colonial rule. "This is for my country, for the Filipino people, for our struggle, for the struggle of humanity," the 57-year-old said as he accepted the Golden Lion award for his black-and-white movie. Diaz, who once debuted a film at the Berlinale film festival that ran for more than eight hours, hopes the latest recognition will create an appreciation for lengthier films. "Cinema is still very young, you can still push it." Also recognised in Venice was Tunisian film The Last of Us (Akher Wahed Fina). Directed by Ala Eddine Slim, the film – the only Arab movie to be honoured at the festival – won the Lion of the Future Award for a Debut Film. – Reuters
Kim Kardashian has forensic hopes for kids
Reality-TV star Kim Kardashian wants her children – 3-year-old daughter North and 10-month-old son Saint – to be forensic investigators when they grow up. The 35-year-old says she is obsessed with crime-based shows and would like to see her children become investigators, reports People.com. “I’m gonna be that annoying, pushy mum and say I want to live vicariously through my daughter or son and have them be a forensic investigator,” Kim told women’s lifestyle media platform SheKnows. Kardashian says her obsession with “morbid” things can be traced back to the time when her father, late attorney Robert Kardashian worked on the O J Simpson murder trial in the 1990s. “I’ve always been into the most morbid things. I was really nosy when my dad was working on the O J trial and I would look through all his stuff, and I just wish I was in that field,” she says. “It’s the only type of TV I really like to watch. I love Making a Murderer. I love any murder show,” she adds. – IANS
Britney Spears's son says he's smarter than her
One of Britney Spears’s sons considers himself “much more clever” than his celebrity mum. Spears is mum to Sean Preston, 10, and Jayden, 9, from her marriage to Kevin Federline. Though she loves to help Jayden with his homework, Sean never wants his mother’s input as he doesn’t think she can be of much assistance, reports Marie Claire magazine. “I sit and do drawings with Jayden – he’s really good at it and I’m horrible. I do his homework with him, too, which I love,” Spears says in the interview. “Jayden lets me help him, which Sean Preston never will. He’s such a smarty-pants and thinks he’s so much more clever than me. I let him think that, but he is actually pretty cool,” she adds. – IANS
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler pick up a joint Emmy
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are sharing Emmy glory thanks to their appearance as Saturday Night Live hosts. The pair were honoured jointly in the best guest actresses in a comedy series category at Saturday's creative arts Emmy ceremony. Fey and Poehler won as co-hosts of last year's Christmas episode on SNL. The duo didn't attend the event in Los Angeles and veteran actor Bob Newhart accepted the Emmy on their behalf. The Emmy was the first for Poehler but part of a collection for Fey. She's won eight times before for acting and writing. – AP
Taylor Swift says she falls in love too fast
It looks like the most exciting relationship in years for gossip magazines on both sides of the Atlantic has gone sour. The box-office-dream hook-up between pop star Taylor Swift and actor Tom Hiddlestone (High Rise, Thor) looked like a PR dream, but this week Swift told Us magazine it is all over. "I don't think there's an option for me to fall in love slowly, or at medium speed," she says. "I either do or I don't. I don't think it through, really, which is a good thing and a bad thing." Moving onto the next level of relationship advice, she adds: "You don't look before you leap, which is like: 'Yay, this is awesome! Let's not think twice!'" Sadly, it turns out that Swift, like the rest of us, sometimes comes crashing down to Earth. "You're like: 'We used to be flying. Now we're falling. What's happening?'" – The National Staff
Ajay Devgn and Kajol to promote Shivaay in US
Bollywood actors and star couple Ajay Devgn and Kajol are pulling out all stops to promote Devgn's upcoming ambitious directorial venture Shivaay. On September 20, the couple will be heading to the United States for a tour called Meet the Devgns, which will include meet-and-greet events and press conferences in New York, San Francisco and Dallas. Devgn and Kajol are known to avoid the spotlight and have so far shied away from stage shows and performances. The meet-and-greet format will allow them to address the audience directly, something they're a lot more comfortable with. Indian newspaper DNA reported that the couple have been invited by Google, Facebook and Twitter to speak at their campuses. – Sonali Kokra
Mirzya will have premiere at BFI London Film Festival
Bollywood director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's upcoming romantic saga Mirzya will debut on October 6 at the 60th BFI London Film Festival. The film, which stars model Saiyami Kher and Bollywood veteran Anil Kapoor's son, Harshvardhan Kapoor, both newcomers to film, is written by the Grammy and Oscar-winning poet and lyricist Gulzar. Mirzya is loosely based on the love story of Mirza and Sahiban, the Romeo and Juliet of Punjabi folklore. Mehra will be joined by the lead stars, Kher and Kapoor, for the film's gala screening at the LFF on October 6. – Sonali Kokra
Kanye West plays NY Fashion Week party
Kanye West took to the stage on Friday night at New York’s Plaza Hotel, where the audience – a bit sweaty and cramped and made of up fashion and entertainment industry insiders – hung on to the rapper’s every move as he performed songs both new and old, even jumping into the audience to rap with the crowd. West and his wife, Kim Kardashian West, were honoured by Harper’s Bazaar at its annual ICONS event. It was just days after West, 39, debuted the fourth season of his Yeezy collection for Adidas to mixed reviews. “At the beginning of this performance I tried my best to not try. No, I tried to listen to all the reports and [expletive]... I tried my best to stop trying,” he said at the end of the performance. “But I just couldn’t do it! I couldn’t stop! No matter what they write, I just couldn’t stop!” If only, Kanye, if only. – AP
