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Julianne Moore to lead Venice Film Festival jury this fall

Julianne Moore has been selected to serve as president of the main competition jury for the Venice International Film Festival this year, festival director Alberto Barbera announced Friday.

The Oscar-winning actor will preside over a jury that includes French director Audrey Diwan, whose film "Happening" won the Golden Lion last year, author Kazuo Ishiguro ("Never Let Me Go") and Iranian actor Leila Hatami ("A Separation"). Also on the jury are Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo ("The Inner Cage") Argentinian filmmaker Mariano Cohn ("Official Competition") and Rodrigo Sorogoyen ("The Candidate").

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Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to UK sexual assault charges

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of sexually assaulting three men a decade or more ago.

Spacey, 62, spoke clearly as he denied five charges during a hearing at London's Central Criminal Court.

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Heard faces high legal hurdles seeking to reverse Depp win

The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard libel trial, which generated intense interest for two months earlier this year as a livestreamed, no-holds-barred soap opera featuring one of Hollywood's biggest stars, is not fading away quietly.

Earlier this month, Heard's lawyers filed a 51-page motion asking Judge Penney Azcarate to set aside the jury's verdict, which gave $10 million to Depp and $2 million to Heard on competing defamation claims.

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'Squid Game,' 'Abbott Elementary' vying for Emmy nominations

"Succession" and "Ted Lasso" are in the hunt for Emmy nominations that could add to their previous trophy hauls, but they're up against hungry newcomers.

When the bids are announced Tuesday, the social satire "Succession," a 2020 top-drama winner, may face a showdown with "Squid Game." The South Korean hit about a brutal survival contest is vying to become the first non-English language Emmy nominee.

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Iran arrests 3rd outspoken filmmaker in escalating crackdown

Iran has arrested an internationally renowned filmmaker, several newspapers reported Tuesday, the third Iranian director to be locked up in less than a week as the government escalates a crackdown on the country's celebrated cinema industry.

The arrest of award-winning director Jafar Panahi and wider pressure on filmmakers follows a wave of recent arrests as tensions escalate between Iran's hard-line government and the West. Security forces have detained several foreigners and a prominent reformist politician as talks to revive Tehran's nuclear accord with world powers hit a deadlock and fears grow over the country's economic crisis.

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Lebanese Georges Chakra in Fendi caps fashion week

Fendi’s ultra-white, sanitized runway for once put the couture, not the décor, in the spotlight to cap Paris Fashion Week Thursday.

Veteran Lebanese couturier Georges Chakra treated guests to a glistening open-air rooftop display to cap fall — with a view of the iconic Arc de Triomphe — in gowns that followed the colors of the rainbow.

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Review: 'The Sea Beast' is a charming, animated adventure

For a young imagination, there is something uniquely captivating about a stowaway story on the high seas. The stakes are great, but the adventure is so far removed from any reality most kids know that it becomes a purely transportive experience. It is a fantasy you can get wrapped up in and put away when it's over.

Disney veteran Chris Williams ("Big Hero 6") said it was the rollicking adventures he grew up watching, "King Kong," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Treasure Island" and "Lawrence of Arabia" among them, that made him want to make movies. And with " The Sea Beast," an animated fantasy adventure which debuts on Netflix on Friday, Williams, who directed and co-wrote, has made something quite winning for all ages.

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'Minions' set box office on fire with $108.5 million debut

Families went bananas for Minions this weekend at the movie theater. " Minions: The Rise of Gru " brought in an estimated $108.5 million in ticket sales from 4,391 screens in North America, Universal Pictures said Sunday. By the end of the Monday's July Fourth holiday, it will likely have earned over $127.9 million.

The film is on track to become one of the biggest openings ever for a July Fourth holiday weekend, a record previously held by "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" which made $115.9 million in its first four days in 2011. Including international showings, where "Minions: The Rise of Gru" is playing in 61 markets, its worldwide gross is sitting at $202.2 million through Sunday.

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Ukraine protests Russian film screening at Czech film fest

An international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary kicked off Friday amid controversy following a protest by Ukraine over the screening of a Russian film alongside Ukrainian-made movies.

Prior to the start of the 56th edition of the festival, several leading Ukrainian filmmakers along with Ukraine's ambassador to Prague protested the scheduled screening of "Captain Volkonogov Escaped."

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Imagine Dragons offer light at the end of the tunnel

"Mercury — Act 2," Imagine Dragons (Interscope)

If you were hiding under your bed after listening to the last album by Imagine Dragons, it's time to come out. The second volume of "Mercury" is upbeat, often Caribbean-spiced and throbbing. It's the sound of a band getting its arena groove back.

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