A Hungarian love story about two slaughterhouse workers who connect in shared dreams won the top award at this year's Berlin Film Festival. On Body and Soul by writer-director Ildiko Enyedi contrasts the reality of the abattoir with the magical world of slumber. Enyedi was previously best known for her 1989 debut film, My 20th Century, which won the Golden Camera award in Cannes that year. The Golden Bear had been expected to go to the comedy The Other Side of Hope, which instead earned filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki a Silver Bear for best director. The jury award went to Felicite, a film by French-Senegalese director Alain Gomis about a singer in a Congolese nightclub. South Korea's Kim Min-hee received the best actress award for her role in On the Beach at Night Alone, about a woman coming to terms with the end of an affair. Georg Friedrich from Austria was named best actor for Bright Nights, in which he portrays a father trying to reconnect with his teenage son. — Associated Press
Annu Kapoor to publish four books
Veteran actor Annu Kapoor has announced his plans to publish four books. Kapoor said: "I have signed four books and they were supposed to be out by April. Due to my busy schedule, it is getting delayed. But a bunch of experts are working on it. One of the books is about iconic villains of Bollywood." The actor, who is 61 today, added: "Two or more books are in the pipeline and I'll write my autobiography once I am done with those. There are many things to be said through my autobiography. Every life has so many stories to tell. I have seen and heard so much that I have to recollect everything and shape them in the form of a book." Kapoor's most recent Bollywood movie was Jolly LLB 2. — IANS
James Earl Jones and Donald Glover cast in The Lion King
James Earl Jones and Donald Glover are lending their voices to Disney's upcoming remake of The Lion King. Director Jon Favreau announced the casting of the two men as voice actors. Glover, star and creator of television's Atlanta, will portray the adult Simba. Jones reprises the role of Simba's father, Mufasa, which he voiced in the 1994 animated film. Favreau is making a CGI-created live-action version of the movie, similar to Disney's remake of The Jungle Book, which he also directed. No release date has been announced for the new movie. A similar process is being used for Beauty and the Beast, which debuts next month. Favreau has directed Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and is again producing the next two Avengers films. — Associated Press
Chance the Rapper turning down millions
Chance the Rapper is reportedly turning down some very generous record label offers after he achieved a historic win at this year's Grammy Awards. According to The New York Post, the 23-year-old has turned down offers worth up to $10 million, after he beat Drake and Kanye West to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. A source says: "Every label is still trying to get him. He's making too much on his own. He was turning down $5 million advances before, and now it's like $10 million." In an interview with Vanity Fair, Chance the Rapper explained that he made his money from "touring and selling merchandise. And I honestly believe if you put effort into something and you execute properly, you don't necessarily have to go through the traditional ways". - IANS
Bollywood Music Project heads to Delhi
The Bollywood Music Project will be held in Delhi on March 25 and 26. The debut edition, held in Mumbai, enthralled audiences. At the Mumbai edition of the festival, performing artists included Arijit Singh, Hariharan, Papon, Rekha Bhardwaj, Sachin-Jigar, Sajid-Wajid, Sonakshi Sinha and Vishal-Shekhar. For the Delhi crowd, Bollywood icons will perform live in a multi-genre, multi-stage format. The line-up will include more than 50 artists supported by more than 200 musicians on three stages: The Experimental Stage, The Alternative Stage and The Emerging Artists Stage. Venue and artist line-up for the Delhi edition will be announced soon. A nationwide voice hunt, band hunt and DJ hunt will also be rolled out soon, where aspiring artists can submit online videos for a chance to open for headlining acts at the music festival. — IANS
Drummer for James Brown dies
Clyde Stubblefield, a drummer for James Brown who created one of the most widely sampled drum breaks ever, died on Saturday at the age of 73. His wife, Jody Hannon, said Stubblefield died of kidney failure. He had been suffering from kidney disease for 10 years. Stubblefield performed on several of Brown's classics in the 1960s and early 70s, including Cold Sweat, Say It Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud, I've Got the Feelin' and the album Sex Machine. But he was best known for a short solo on Brown's 1970 single, Funky Drummer. Rolling Stone magazine said it was sampled on over 1,000 songs and served as the backbeat for countless hip-hop tracks, including Public Enemy's Fight the Power, Dr Dre's Let Me Ride, LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out and Run DMC's Run's House. It even turned up on Ed Sheeran's Shirtsleeves and George Michael's Freedom `90. Hannon said Stubblefield saw "very little" in royalties and never expected them. But Stubblefield was held in high esteem by his fellow musicians. When Prince got wind in 2000 that Stubblefield was deep in debt from a fight against bladder cancer, he personally paid $90,000 to cover his bills, Hannon said. "Clyde was considered his favourite drummer," she added. -AP
Lisa Marie Presley’s legal troubles deepen
Lisa Marie Presley describes herself as deeply in debt and just out of a treatment facility in court papers that accuse her estranged fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, of having hundreds of inappropriate photographs of children on his computer. Lockwood has not been charged with anything and his lawyer said the accusations were inaccurate. Lockwood wants Presley to pay him $40,000 a month in spousal support and $100,000 in attorneys’ fees. He’s a musician who said he gave up his career to work with his wife, who’s a singer-songwriter. But Presley, who said her funds were mishandled by a business manager, says she owes millions of dollars in back taxes and credit card bills. Presley and Lockwood separated in June after 10 years of marriage. They have eight-year-old twin daughters together. — Associated Press
