Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts in "Rust and Bone"

Schoenaerts is not new to the big screen — he has appeared in more than 20 films including “Bullhead”, nominated for a foreign language film Academy Award earlier this year.

But for thousands of journalists and critics in Cannes for the annual cinema showcase, a press screening on Thursday of the moving love story Rust and Bone (“De Rouille et d’Os”) was their first look at the physically imposing 34-year-old.

Within minutes of the movie ending, Schoenaerts was being asked about his prospects in Hollywood.

“It’s funny you say so, because last week they called me for ‘Rambo 34′, and I said I’ll do it if I get 35 and 36 as well,” he joked at a press conference.

“There’s definitely stuff moving in the States, but I’ve got time, I’m not in a hurry. I’m quite young I guess.”

He may hope to replicate the success of French actor Jean Dujardin, who was little known outside France until the Cannes world premiere last year of “The Artist” which set him on a path to global fame and a best actor Oscar.

AVOIDING MELODRAMA

In Rust and Bone, Schoenaerts plays the central character Ali, a gruff hulk of a man who befriends a Marineland employee called Stephanie, played by Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, after she loses her legs in an accident at work.

Down on his luck and sleeping with five-year-old son Sam in his sister’s garage on the southern French coast, Ali lives hand-to-mouth before taking up brutal but lucrative bareknuckle fighting for extra cash.

It takes a major shock to shake him from his emotional torpor, and at the film’s end there was warm applause from the notoriously picky critics and reporters in Cannes.

Largely positive early reviews focused on the performances, although some faulted a plotline they felt was implausible.

“Schoenaerts is as good as Cotillard at avoiding the trap of melodrama, and they sustain a film that’s not as obviously notable as ‘A Prophet’ but, much more quietly, makes a considerable mark,” wrote Derek Malcolm in London’s Evening Standard.

Cotillard likened her co-star to Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis, while one online review drew comparisons between Schoenaerts and rising British star Tom Hardy.

Schoenaerts admitted feeling anxious about acting with Cotillard, who was in character when he first met her on set.

“I saw Marion before the rehearsal, she was in a wheelchair, she looked totally depressed and I thought … ‘It’s not going to work out very well with Marion’ and I thought ‘What do I do? Should I talk to her?’”

Rust and Bone is loosely based on a collection of short stories by Craig Davidson, and is one of 22 movies in the festival’s main competition.

French director Jacques Audiard wowed audiences with his gritty prison drama “A Prophet” in 2009, and although in Rust and Bone he swaps cramped, dark cells for bright sunshine and expansive seascapes, he again tells the story of a man who is down and out and must fight for survival and redemption.

Audiard said he could not have made the movie 10 years ago, because modern special effects allowed him to recreate Stephanie’s impressively realistic severed limbs.

“Now things are much easier,” he said. “You just (use) special devices and you can do away with a large section of the legs. Now you can use a handheld camera to produce special effects. It’s tremendous progress.”

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)

Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah‘s film depicts the aftermath of last year’s overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak — filmed while the uprising and its uncertain aftermath were still unfolding, and with a cast that includes non-actors.

The movie depicts the relationship between wealthy Tahrir Square revolutionary Reem and Mahmoud, a poor horseman from the Pyramids who has been involved in an attack on protesters.

The characters on both sides are more complicated than they initially appear. Veteran director Nasrallah said his goal was to make them all human.

He said Thursday that the film was “a love letter” to the Egyptian people at a tumultuous time.

Actor Bill Murray plays with a camera during a photo call for Moonrise Kingdom at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. Photo: Joel Ryan / AP

Murray has been soaking up the atmosphere on the French Riviera, where he joined other stars for the opening night premiere of Wes Anderson‘s “Moonrise Kingdom.” The 61-year-old actor has been to Cannes before but his attendance is never assured, leaving film publicists to cross their fingers and hope he shows.

But he hit Cannes in high style, first appearing for the Wednesday photo call in the aforementioned jacket, with checkered pants. At the fancier, black-tie premiere, he wore a mangled purple and orange bow tie, reportedly tied by his driver en route to the event.

Usually, he was dancing. He sashayed down the red carpet, took pictures of the photographers and blew kisses to onlookers, charming the crowds at Cannes‘ famed Croisette promenade. Murray has now stared in Anderson’s “Rushmore,” ”The Royal Tenenbaums,” ”The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

“Sometimes, when you work with a director you know, you not only may never see him again, sometimes you hope you never seen him again — and that goes for the director as well,” said Murray. “They can’t wait for you to leave. They drive you to the airport to make sure you leave. That happens.

“With Wes, I’ve never gotten a ride to the airport.”

“Moonrise Kingdom” is about two 12-year-olds (newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) in love and running away together on a New England island in 1965. Murray, along with Bruce Willis, Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton make up the more cynical adults in pursuit.

“I really don’t get any other work but through Wes,” joked Murray. “The making of these films has become more of a fun adventure all the time. I’m just delighted. I’ve known Wes a pretty long time and he just gets better.”

Cannes runs until May 27 and has days of glamorous premieres to go, but the plaid-wearing Murray may have already made the festival’s signature fashion statement.

Kim Kardashian opted for a less than flattering outfit as she arrived at the BBC Radio 1 studios today

But Kim Kardashian certainly missed the fashion mark today as she arrived at London’s BBC Radio 1 studios wearing a very unflattering white ensemble.

The 31-year-old reality TV star opted for an unusual outfit, consisting of a Versace boxy top featuring gold stud detailing, teamed with a matching pencil skirt and black sandals.

However, Kim’s choice of clothes did very little to flatter her world-famous curves, with the skirt, also from Versace’s spring/summer 2012 collection, appearing to be too big and hiding her most famous asset – her derrière.

Kim was joined by her boyfriend Kanye West as she arrived for her interview

Despite her fashion mishap, Kim looked more than happy with her outfit as she made her way into the studios to be interviewed by Fearne Cotton.

And it wasn’t only Kim who stood out from the crowd for the wrong reasons as her boyfriend Kanye West, who accompanied her to the interview, looked more like he was ready for the gym than doing a promo tour of London.

The 34-year-old rapper, who is in London to perform alongside Jay-Z during their Watch The Thrones five-night stint in the capital, wore a pair of baggy shorts, a zip up tracksuit top and trainers as he headed inside.

The duo took time to meet fans and sign autographs after Kim's interview with Fearne Cotton

But Fearne didn’t appear to have a problem with either of her guests’ outfits, writing on her Twitter page that she was more than excited to have such world-class famous faces in her studio.

She tweeted: ‘Awesome to have @kanyewest and @KimKardashian at @BBCR1 Had a lovely chat with Kim and got a wave off K West!’

And during her interview on the radio station, Kim admitted that her presence in London could become a regular occurrence as the family were considering doing a spin-off in the capital.

Kim said that the group, who have already filmed different spin-offs of their Keeping Up With The Kardashians series in Miami and New York, are definitely thinking about doing a ‘Take London’ show.

She added that she and sisters Khloe and Kourtney were also considering opening a London branch of their hit clothing store Dash.

Source Mail Online

Nicole Scherzinger struggled in her thigh-high split dress as she made her way down the stairs at the London premiere of Men In Black 3

The Formula 1 driver couldn’t keep his hands off the gorgeous singer as she posed in the daring Cengiz Abazoglu gown and kept close to her side as she greeted fans on the blue carpet in Leicester Square.

Nicole was joined on the red carpet by her co-stars Will Smith, Emma Thompson, Joshn Brolin and Alice Eve and despite only having a small part in the movie playing ‘Lilly Posion’ the ‘Don’t Hold Your Breathe’ star was definetly the centre of attention at the premiere.

Nicole was helped down the steps by boyfriend Lewis Hamilton as she attempted to maintain her modesty by holding down the other side of the dress

Speaking of her fellow stars she told The Mirror: “I don’t have any scenes with Will, I but he’s a great friend.”

“He’s such an inspiration. I freak out just standing next to him! I auditioned for the role fair and square and I got it!” she gushed.

With all the excitement of her first film role, Nicole confessed that she was not missing her judging role on X Factor USA.

One of Nicole's entourage tried to help her with the gown, while the singer revealed a bit too much

The star was axed after only one season and this week Demi Lovato and Britney Spears were announced as he replacements.

According to the 33 year-old when asked how she felt about being replaced she said: “I’m just focusing on my music.”

Will Smith who is reunited with Tommy Lee Jones in the third instalment of the alien saga was joined on the blue carpet by Josh Brolin who plays Lee Jones in flashback scenes and admitted he loved being in the “iconic” films.

Nicole and Lewis were more than happy to pose up to photographers ahead of the screening

“There’s something about the idea that is a little twisted and little off, you never say ‘oh yeah that movie is just like Men In Black, there’s really nothing that’s just like Men In Black.” he said.

“So I enjoy being in something that I really believe will go down in the history of Hollywood, at least, as a really iconic film.”

The star has had a difficult year after rumours that his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith was on the rocks but insisted last night that he had never been happier.

“I’m very happy with my life and my career right now.“ he claimed. “Things are better than they have ever been so I wouldn’t try to go back and mess it all up”.

Source EntertainmentWise

It appeared as if Zach, a Reed College student, got an easy pass when he had to solve 'magic wand' on Wheel of Fortune with only two letters missing

When you’re on live TV, everything seems a lot harder. Just look at The Weakest Link – plenty of pretty clever people have been on that show, but when the lights are on you and the camera is whirring, somehow your brain just… stops.

Pity then poor Zach from Reed College, Portland, Oregon, who recently appeared on a special, student-filled edition of America’s Wheel Of Fortune show.

Confronted with the letters “M-A-G-_ -C” and “_-A-N-D” turned around, he got the first word – “magic” – but struggled with the second, guessing out loud “hand, band, yand, sand, band, cand, fand” before the timer went.

Only after the buzzer did Zach say the correct answer: “Wand” – but even then, he said it with a short a, so it rhymed with “manned” and not, say, “fond”.

“Uh. Wow,” was host Pat Sajak’s initial reaction, and to be honest, we can understand his lack of words.

But to make Zach here feel slightly better about himself – with the emphasis on the ‘slightly’, we should point out – here are some far more faily fails that should put his relatively minor blunder in proportion. Kind of. Maybe.

Dr. Nicholas Hitimana explaining the geranium essential oils processing method

A local oil processing firm, Ikirezi Oil Processors, has asked the government to avail 400 hectares of land to enable it to grow rawmaterials for its business.

The company was recently listed among several local firms that need a state bailout in the Karisimbi Business Partner report.

In an exclusive interview with The New Times, the firm’s Managing Director, Dr Nicholas Hitimana, noted that lack of enough materials had hampered the company’s efforts to boost their export capacity.

“We had secured enough market in UK, South Africa and France for our products for the next five years. We have commitments from our buyers to buy our products; but securing land to grow our raw materials to meet the required quantity is still our major challenge,” Hitimana explained.

Ikirezi produces oils from local plants including geranium, lemongrass, eucalyptus and patchouli mainly for export. The oils are mainly used in making perfumes and pharmaceuticals.

By Bosco R. Asiimwe, The New Times

Rwandan football fraternity woke up to sad news this morning of the passing of Amavubi midfielder Patrick Mafisango.

The player, who had this week earned a recall to the national football team, died early Thursday following a tragic road accident in Dar es salaam,Tanzania.

According to sources in Tanzania, Mafisango, who has been playing for champions Simba Sports Club, was driving when the accident occurred at about 3a.m (2a.m Rwandan time). It is believed he was trying to dodge a motorcyclist only for his car to overturn several times in the Tazara area. He died on the way to hospital.

Simba players were seen at Muhimbili National Hospital in a solemn mood, apparently struggling to come to terms with the reality that their colleague, who had been with them a day before, was no more.

The holding midfielder, who was the third top scorer in the Tanzanian league this season with 12 goals, was among experienced players who were summoned on Monday by Amavubi head coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojovic to beef up the national team ahead of the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifiers, which get underway next month.

Sredojovic recalled him to the team after he flew out to Tanzania to watch him play, as well as midfielder Haruna Niyonzima, who features for Young Africans.

He was due to make his return to the Amavubi fold after a year on the sidelines after falling out with former head coach Sellas Tetteh.

Congolese-born Mafisango and Niyonzima were expected to join the Amavubi camp tomorrow.

The former APR, Atraco and Tanzania’s Azam playmaker is understood to have been in talks with Simba for a new contract.

He will be remembered by many for his versatility and commitment on the pitch, which had made him a darling of many fans – both at club and national level.

She’s graced the Victoria’s Secret catwalk on numerous occasions, stolen the heart of Hollywood heart-throb Orlando Bloom and now Miranda Kerr is officially Australia’s most stylish woman.

Miranda Kerr shows off a lot of leg on the cover of Instyle Australia

At a ceremony in Sydney today Kerr received the Instyle and Audi Women of Style Awards’ highest honour – the Readers’ Choice Award.

Miranda features in the June issue

The 29-year-old model had already been given an award in the Beauty category for her line, Kora Organics by Miranda Kerr, which she shared with beauty entrepreneur Rebecca Morrice Williams.

On the red carpet, Kerr, wearing a pale blue Zampatti dress, said she was excited to be among the nominees.

“I have really put my heart and soul into (it), … so to be recognised for that is really special for me,” she said.

And Kerr knows what she believes makes a woman of style.

“I feel that means a woman is confident in who she is and she expresses herself through the clothes she wears.”

Logie award-winning actress Asher Keddie beat Bridesmaids star Rose Byrne and singer Natalie Imbruglia for the News and Entertainment category, while Pamela Easton and Lydie Pearson of Easton Pearson won the Fashion award.

Former Home & Away and All Saints actress Alyssa McClelland received a $10,000 InStyle and Audi Style Scholarship, to help with her dream of being a director.

Guests at the Sydney event included Collette Dinnigan, Layne Beachley, Kate Ritchie, Melissa Doyle, Kylie Gillies and Lisa Ho.

Miranda was eager to show off her floaty dress by Oz designer Carla Zampatti

WINNERS OF THE 2012 INSTYLE AND AUDI WOMEN OF STYLE AWARDS
Readers’ Choice: Miranda Kerr
Beauty: Co-winners Miranda Kerr and Rebecca Morrice Williams
News & Entertainment: Asher Keddie
Fashion: Pamela Easton & Lydia Pearson (Easton Pearson)
Arts & Culture: Co-winners Nikki Gemmell and Lally Katz
Lifestyle: Indira Naidoo
Charity & Community: Alison Thompson
Business: Kate Weiss
Design: Liane Rossler
Environment: Abigail Forsyth

Source News.com.au