HBO taps Hollywood for "Too Big to Fail" finance movie

LOS ANGELES | Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:35pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cable network HBO on Monday unveiled the cast for its upcoming financial crisis movie "Too Big to Fail," led by Paul Giamatti as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Ed Asner as investor Warren Buffett.

Based on a book of the same name by New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, "Too Big to Fail" looks at the men and women on Wall Street and in Washington who managed the U.S. economy as it went into a tailspin in 2008 fueled by toxic mortgages.

The TV movie will center around former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (played by William Hurt) and the events over a few weeks when he and his staff worked feverishly with Wall Street bankers and Washington policy makers to keep the U.S. economy from slipping into another Great Depression.

Key to the story are characters like billionaire Buffett, known as "the Oracle of Ohama," who wields an enormous amount of influence on Wall Street, as well as current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner, portrayed by Billy Crudup.

Other important figures include Washington power players Michele Davis (Cynthia Nixon) and Jim Wilkinson (Topher Grace), former Lehman Brothers chief executive Dick Fuld (James Woods) and U.S. Representative Barney Frank (Dan Hedaya).

The TV movie is written by Peter Gould and directed by Curtis Hanson, who was nominated for an Oscar for his film "L.A. Confidential" and won the Academy Award for adapted screenplay for the same movie.

Other key roles and actors include:

Ayad Akhtar as Neel Kashkari

Kathy Baker as Wendy Paulson

Michael O'Keefe as Chris Flowers

Tony Shalhoub as John Mack

Joey Slotnick as Dan Jester.

Time Warner Inc-owned HBO is the U.S.'s premium cable network and the most Emmy-nominated network every year since 2001.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith

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Courteney Cox and David Arquette separate

LOS ANGELES | Mon Oct 11, 2010 6:54pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Cougar Town" star Courteney Cox and her actor husband, David Arquette, have agreed to a "trial separation" but remain married while they work through the reasons for their split, the pair said on Monday.

"We remain best friends and responsible parents to our daughter and we still love each other deeply," Cox and Arquette said in a joint statement released by their representatives.

The two married in 1999 and have one daughter, Coco Riley Arquette, who was born in 2004.

Cox, 46, first gained notoriety on television sitcom "Family Ties" in the late 1980s, and went on to star in the smash hit TV comedy "Friends." Her career has included numerous films, and she is currently starring in the TV comedy "Cougar Town."

Arquette, 39, began acting in the 1990s and gained a measure of Hollywood fame playing the somewhat dimwitted role of Deputy Dewey, opposite Cox's reporter character, Gale Weathers, in the hit "Scream" horror movies.

In their statement, Cox and Arquette said that their separation "dates back for some time."

"The reason for this separation is to better understand ourselves and the qualities we need in a partner and for our marriage," they said

The pair also asked that "our friends, family, fans and the media...show us respect, dignity, understanding and love at this time."

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Sheri Linden)

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Eastwood on Hoover film: DiCaprio in, Phoenix out

NEW YORK | Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:03pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Director Clint Eastwood on Monday shot down rumors that Joaquin Phoenix might return to acting by portraying J. Edgar Hoover's protege and purported lover in a biopic on the controversial, first FBI director.

Eastwood told Reuters that Leonardo DiCaprio was definitely lined up to play Hoover. But Phoenix, who recently revealed his charade to quit acting and become a rap singer, was not in talks to play Clyde Tolson.

"No. I don't know where that came from...didn't he become a rapper?" Eastwood said, when asked about recent reports Phoenix was being considered for the role. Phoenix had taken on rapping in a hoax that surrounded the making of a mock documentary film called "I'm Still Here" about his supposed transition.

Oscar-winning director Eastwood did say that DiCaprio definitely wants the role of Hoover. "It's a great role for him," Eastwood said, adding that the film's makers were "in the process" of signing contracts with DiCaprio.

The Hollywood legend, who after turning 80 years-old this year, is about to release his latest directorial effort "Hereafter" that tackles mortality and possibilities of an afterlife, said his next project on Hoover would focus on many aspects of the man's complicated life.

"He was a very complex person. The homosexual aspect is just one of many. I would say that's the least of his problems. But he was also very clever, whether rightfully or wrongfully, he was very clever about keeping himself in a certain position in life, so it is an interesting study," Eastwood said.

Hoover, who died in 1972, was the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he served nearly four decades at the helm of the U.S. law enforcement agency.

Following his death, Hoover fell under sharp criticism for keeping secret files on prominent citizens, politicians and celebrities, including Martin Luther King, Jr. He also became the subject of conjecture over whether he was gay and if Tolson, Associate Director of the FBI, was his lover.

Eastwood said that by growing up in the 1930s and 40s, he could capture the mythology of Hoover in pop culture at the time, which had "comic books with him on the cover with machine guns and all that."

"He is a fascinating character, and I think I am the right person to do it , not because I knew him or anything, but I did grow up with him," Eastwood said. "He was an iconic figure."

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Actor Morgan Freeman to get AFI lifetime award

LOS ANGELES | Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:32pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman will receive a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute, the AFI said on Monday, calling him an "American treasure" .

Freeman, 73, who won an Academy Award for his work in boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby" and a Golden Globe for "Driving Miss Daisy", has played roles ranging from God to presidents in a 40-year career on both stage and screen.

Known for his mellow voice and calm demeanor, he was last seen playing former South African president Nelson Mandela in the 2009 movie "Invictus".

"Morgan Freeman is an American treasure," Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, said in a statement.

"Across decades, whether playing a prisoner, a president or God, he embodies a calm authority that demands respect for the character and for the art form. His gifts to the cultural record are also underscored by his unmistakable voice that echoes through the hearts and minds of movie lovers around the world."

Freeman will be presented with the award -- the AFI's highest honor -- at a gala dinner in June 2011 that will later be broadcast on television.

Freeman joins the likes of Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood, Gene Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock who are also among the 39 actors honored by the AFI since 1973.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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South Africa clears employee at Oprah school of sex charges

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Author Rushdie writing memoir of years in hiding

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON | Mon Oct 11, 2010 9:45am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Salman Rushdie is working on a memoir of his years in hiding after Iran's then supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a death edict against him in 1989 for writing "The Satanic Verses," deemed blasphemous to Islam.

The British author has also just published a children's book called "Luka and the Fire of Life," which he wrote for his younger son Milan, and has almost completed the screenplay for a movie version of acclaimed 1981 novel "Midnight's Children."

The 63-year-old said of the memoir that there was an "information vacuum" to fill, and that he finally felt it was time to confront a difficult period in his life.

"I'm beginning to write this memoir," Rushdie told Reuters in an interview. "I've written about ... 100 pages of book and I reckon very roughly that feels like a quarter of the story. I'm aiming, in my mind, for the end of next year (to finish it).

"So far I feel that I'm right -- I'm not getting churned up and upset, I'm just writing it and I'm feeling quite pleased to be writing it."

He said he hoped to finish the memoir by the end of 2011, although timing would depend on whether the movie of Midnight's Children, to be directed by Indian-born filmmaker Deepa Mehta, was made next year.

The Satanic Verses, which appeared in 1988, was Rushdie's fourth novel.

The allegorical fantasy about the struggle between good and evil was seen by many Muslims as blasphemous, leading to riots and calls for the novel to be banned.

In 1989, a fatwa was proclaimed forcing the writer into hiding which he only fully emerged from nine years later, despite occasional public appearances between 1989 and 1998.

"A lot of people don't know what happened under that shroud of secrecy," Rushdie said.

PUTTING RECORD STRAIGHT

He added that while the broader context of the fatwa would be part of his book, its main strength would lie in the fact that it was "essentially a human story.

"It's about what it was like, not just for me, but for my children, people who were close to me, my mother."

The memoir would also help him put the record straight.

"It's true that there being a kind of information vacuum allows people to speculate or to invent maliciously and that has been a little frustrating, but the truth is that until quite recently I was not ready to write this book."

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Malaysia Islamists object to Adam Lambert concert

KUALA LUMPUR | Mon Oct 11, 2010 6:58am EDT

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's Islamist opposition party on Monday demanded that authorities cancel a planned concert by U.S. glam rocker Adam Lambert that they say is promoting "gay culture" in the mainly Muslim country.

The Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) has also threatened to call "as many of its members and supporters" to proselytize to concert-goers if the performance by the former "American Idol" runner-up goes ahead on Thursday, a party official said.

"Adam Lambert's shows... are outrageous, with lewd dancing and a gay performance that includes kissing male dancers, this is not good for people in our country," said PAS Youth leader Nasrudin Hasan. Homosexual sex is a criminal offence in Malaysia.

PAS is Malaysia's second-largest political party with close to a million members and is a partner in a rainbow opposition grouping led by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Foreign acts often draw protests from PAS, which since 2007 has campaigned against performances by singers including Beyonce, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne and Mariah Carey.

Police in May broke up a demonstration by Islamists including PAS supporters protesting against a concert by U.S. rapper Pitbull, underscoring a deepening tide of Islamic conservatism in the country.

An official from Malaysia's Arts, Culture and Heritage Ministry was reported saying that the singer, had signed a contract agreeing to abide by the Ministry's rules on performances, which can require foreign performers to tone down their acts to suit local sensibilities.

(Reporting by Razak Ahmad; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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