Pure Style Magazine

(Relaxnews) - With film critic Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times and the staff of the Hollywood Reporter out in full force at the Cannes Film Festival among other leading international film journalists reporting on the daily news, events and film reviews, much of the big buzz involves new film deals at the market.

From the many announcements, some of the most intriguing news of the week surrounds the upcoming documentary films reported on by the Hollywood Reporter, on subjects ranging from FC Barcelona to the Libya liberation.

The director of Bourne Ultimatum and Bourne Supremacy, Paul Greengrass will take on Barca, a documentary about the FC Barcelona, This new project, his first documentary, is a portrait of the Spanish football club, which won all major league and tournament titles for four years, along with star players like Argentina's Lionel Messi.

Excited to film the story of Barcelona and coach Pep Guardiola, Greengrass announced, "They have given the world a rare glimpse of sporting perfection, and memories that will last for as long as the game is played."

Oscar winner The Artist's distributor, the Weinstein Company announced the acquisition of US rights to The Oath of Tobruk, about the uprising and war in Libya, and fall of Muammar Gaddafi, directed by French philosopher and journalist Bernard-Henri Levy.

Tobruk will be screened in the official Cannes program May 25 with four key figures from the Libyan revolution, invited by Lévy, in attendance.

Weinstein has also acquired Code Name Geronimo, a film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

It was also unveiled at Cannes, that Canadian filmmaker Ron Mann will direct Altman, a feature documentary about Robert Altman, the late American film director (Gosford Park, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, MASH). Due to be completed in 2013, the film is scheduled to include a touring exhibit, an illustrated book and music soundtrack.

In the mythic realm, Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) will co-direct a new stop-motion 3D version of the classic fairy tale Pinocchio, with Mark Gustafson. The dark atmospheric stories will be backed by the Jim Henson Company.

Rumor claims Daniel Radcliffe expressed interest in the Pinocchio project. Also, singer/actor Tom Waits and Christopher Walken are on del Toro's wish list for the voice cast.

RC

(AFP) - John Hillcoat aimed for Cannes gold on Saturday with "Lawless", a Prohibition-era rural gangster movie scripted by rocker Nick Cave, that he says is a parable for the "failed" war on drugs.

The film by "The Road" director Hillcoat features Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce with Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain as love interests in a violent slice of hillbilly moonshine myth-making based on a true story from the 1930s United States.

Hillcoat told reporters after a press screening here that a major reference for him were films about the real-life gangsters Bonnie and Clyde who operated during the Great Depression when alcohol was banned.

But he and fellow Australian Cave, with whom he worked on the 2005 outback Western "The Proposition", said they saw their ultra-violent new work as a commentary on modern times.

"There are a lot of parallels to today, with the economic crisis, the political crisis, the war on drugs," director Hillcoat said of his work, one of five US productions among the 22 vying for the Palme d'Or top prize on May 27.

He said he initially planned an opening montage that showed severed heads -- victims of Mexican drug cartels -- rolling across a nightclub floor, then junkies in 1980s New York, "until we landed on Prohibition".

"That was the birth of serious crime... and it feeds into everything that is going on today," he said, adding that he ditched the montage idea as it proved too complicated to pull off.

Cave, a musician, author, composer and occasional actor best known as a frontman of rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, said he also saw links to today and sought to reflect them in the score which he co-wrote.

"Prohibition still exists today. It still fails epically, with the so-called war on drugs," he said.

"So there was a kind of gleeful idea of fusing modern day concerns such as a Velvet Underground song about taking speed and amphetamines, like 'White Heat', and doing it in a kind of bluegrass, authentic American style that seemed to pull the present back to the past in some kind of pleasing way," he said.

"Lawless" is based on Matt Bondurant's family memoir "The Wettest County in the World", which Cave described as "a melancholic treaty on maleness and violence".

The film centres on three Virginia brothers who find their thriving bootlegging enterprise threatened by rivals and by corrupt law enforcement agents, and briefly features a machine-gun toting Gary Oldman as mobster Floyd Banner.

The drama, which sees its red carpet Cannes premiere on Saturday evening, got mostly positive initial reviews online after its press screening.

"After proving to be a problematic fit for the grim post-apocalyptic existentialism of 'The Road', director John Hillcoat is back on more fertile turf with Lawless, a muscular slice of grisly Americana rooted in flavourful Prohibition-era outlaw legend," wrote The Hollywood Reporter.

But Britain's Guardian newspaper slammed it, saying it "looks handsome but its cocktail of violence and sentimentality sticks in the throat" and argued that "the final flurry of self-adoring nostalgia is borderline-nauseating".

(Relaxnews) - A music clip featuring R&B star Mary J. Blige singing the rock anthem "Any Way You Want It" -- the 1980 classic by Journey -- showcases her performance in the upcoming film Rock of Ages.

In a Tina Turner-esque role, Blige joins the all-star film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Capturing all the glitzy spandex glamour of the hair band scene from the 1980s,  amidst an all-star cast featuring Tom Cruise.

This video of the track shows a collage of snippets from the film interspersed including Cruise as the rock star on stage, Russell Brand in the bathroom, Alec Baldwin as the long-haired middle-aged club owner, Julianne Hough as an aspiring singer, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as the singing and dancing leader of mothers protesting the rock song lyrics.

Rock of Ages hits theaters June 14-15 in Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, North America and UK; June 20-32 Sweden, Italy and European markets; on July 11 in France, and in Latin American markets during August.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9EukP0QsXU

Website: http://rockofagesmovie.com

RC

(AFP) - Global children's phenomenon The Wiggles announced the end of an era Thursday, with three of the quartet to retire from performing and a woman to don the turtleneck for the first time.

The four-man Australian singing and dancing outfit, famed for their colourful jumpers or "skivvies", said three of their original number would step into "backstage creative roles" at the end of a 2012 tour.

"We've been entertaining children around the world for 21 years now and it has been a fantastic ride in our Big Red Car," the band said in an open letter to fans.

"Singing, dancing and making music with you all has been great fun but it has also meant spending a long time away from our own families and friends.

"We tour eight months of the year and have performed more than 6,000 shows since The Wiggles began, and Murray, Jeff and Greg have decided it's time to spend more time at home."

The band said it would kick off a farewell tour in Singapore at the end of May which would take in Britain, the United States, Canada and New Zealand before returning for their final shows in Australia in November

Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook and Greg Page -- the original Purple, Red and Yellow Wiggles -- would then hand over their trademark pullovers to a "new generation of performers" which would include a woman, Emma Watkins, as the Yellow Wiggle.

"I've been a big fan of The Wiggles since I was a little girl, so it's a huge privilege to be invited to wear one of the skivvies and perform for a whole new generation of children," said 22-year-old Watkins.

The new trio were hand-picked by the band as successors after touring with the show for several years as Wiggles sidekicks Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword and Wags the Dog.

Blue Wiggle Anthony Field, the driving force behind the outfit, will remain on stage and his new colleagues -- Watkins, Lachlan Gillespie, 26, and Simon Pryce, 40 -- said they would be glad to have his "tremendous experience" to draw on.

Fatt, Cook and Page would continue to work on shows behind the scenes.

The group welcomed Page back to the fold in January after a five-year absence due to illness and they said it was great to have him back with them on stage for their finale.

"It's been so great having Greg back with us so far this year, and to finish our time on stage all together again seems so fitting," said Fatt, 58, who was last year fitted with a pacemaker.

Added Page: "With Murray and Jeff's decision to stop performing at the end of the year it's a nice sense of closure to also end my time on stage during the final tour with all the original members of the group."

First formed in 1991 as Page, Cook and Field studied to become pre-school teachers, The Wiggles have become a huge worldwide success, achieving acclaim with their albums, videos, television series and concert appearances.

They are among the highest-paid figures in Australian entertainment.

(Relaxnews) - This week, American rapper Jay-Z announced his plans to launch a two-day music festival in Philadelphia, featuring 28 acts he is handpicking himself across a variety of genres.

The event is slated for Labor Day weekend, September 1 and 2, and will be dubbed Budweiser Made in America festival, which will benefit the charity organization United Way Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.

Although the rapper didn't mention which acts are slated for the bill, he said nearly 30 acts will perform, with about 70 percent of them already confirmed. The performers, which include rap, rock, R&B, Latin and dance acts, will be divided across three stages at Fairmount Park.

The official lineup will be announced May 21, and tickets for the festival will go on sale May 23 via Ticketmaster and Live Nation. A limited number of two-day passes will be available for $99, plus service charges. Those who friend Budweiser on Facebook will have access to presale tickets, which kicks off May 22.

"I can't do half-baked work," Jay-Z said at the press conference according to reports. "So, I'm really putting my all into this...It's gonna be a great day in Philly."

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KJ9_J1NhQo

(Relaxnews) - Journalist and cinema industry insider Carlos Gomez provides exclusive insights to Relaxnews on what makes Cannes Cannes -- on a daily basis for the duration of the Festival.

I had a nightmare: I had to get into the cinema for the last screening of the day so I could get my article in on time. But at the entrance a white-tuxed bouncer told me, "Get lost." For no reason. So I showed him my pass, but he ripped it from my neck and ate it with a stupid grin. Except in doing so, the dumb ass slit his tongue. Because my pass was made of crystal. So then he was bleeding! A lot. And there was more coming. His white tuxedo was turning blood red. The brute started crying like a baby. Suddenly, he was a just tiny little thing swimming in his oversized suit. I stepped over him. And all the while, the clock was ticking! I was going to miss the deadline. A siren started wailing, and I wailed too.

The subtle art of renouncing

It was my alarm clock: I still had a full hour in which to get to the Palais des Festivals to make it on time for the first screening of the day. Fresh. Rested. Stress-free.

I hadn't smoked or drank anything, I swear. It was just one of the little subliminal messages my brain sends me to tell me: "It's OK, relax, you won't be able to see everything or do everything." As if I didn't already know that!

Frustration, my friend!

I have been following this magnificent vanity fair long enough to know that Cannes is a lesson in frustration. Every day, you have to accept that you will have to renounce something. Renounce hanging around until 3 in the morning to attend a private gig by Ron and Keith, i.e. half of the Stones. Renounce seeing every movie in every competition section -- there are so many parallel ones you just get confused anyway. Renounce calling back, be it only out of politeness, all the people texting or emailing you in the hope that your presence at their beach/boat/restaurant will guarantee them a mention on page 3 of one of the beautiful newspapers you are toiling away for. Renounce writing about everything you see or hear -- thus avoiding getting in trouble with everyone you could upset with your "truths". "Truths... which truths? my brain asks, laughing its head off. We'll talk about it once I've had a little sleep, OK?

(Relaxnews) - For a long time, Ruth Bourdain, the Twitter avatar and virtual mash-up of Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain, enjoyed a cult following for their snarky, acid-tongued persona. But there's a new Twitter food sheriff in town, and he's called Angry BFlay.

Though the fake Twitter account and parody of US food TV personality Bobby Flay was created last October, tweets from @AngryBFlay were sporadic at best.

But after a long silence that was broken in April with cheeky, saucy quips about produce aisle spray and wet T-shirt contests, and irresistible urges to dry rub his own rib cage, @AngryBFlay has garnered 23,034 followers on Twitter as of May 18.

Ruth Bourdain, which was created in 2010 and has 54,442 followers, has issued 2,270 tweets. Angry BFlay has sent out just 63.

Perhaps one of the most stinging criticisms of Ruth Bourdain, meanwhile, comes from one-half of the avatar's inspiration.

To popular food blog Grub Street New York, the real Bourdain who is a fan himself, said he felt his Twitter persona had  ‘lost gas,' while @AngryBFlay is just getting angrier and funnier.

His favorite BFlay tweet?

"F*** holes in my cheese. It's just wasted space where more cheese could be."

Ruth Bourdain won the inaugural humor award last year at the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards.

(Relaxnews) - Friday afternoon, some of the cast of Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, the animated family film presented out of competition, were present for a photocall on the Croisette. David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jessica Chastain as well as Chris Rock and Ben Stiller tried to hold their own and not be overshadowed by the movie's 'star,' Alex the lion. 

(Relaxnews) - The latest viral video from Ridley Scott's upcoming film Prometheus, features Noomi Rapace as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in a foreboding video message.

The Prometheus video shows Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Iron Man 2) sending a request to the Weylund Company to send her to the place where the secrets to life will be answered.

As she speaks to the camera, the term 'Yutani" comes up on the screen for face recognition.

Damon Lindelof, the writer behind the mysteries of TV's Lost, was the screenwriter.

Meanwhile, an official announcement has been made that Ridley Scott's 1982 Blade Runner, which launched his brand of sci-fi thrillers, will return with a continuation of the story.

Harrison Ford may not return for the sequel, but the film's original screenwriter Hampton Fancher has come on board to develop the story with Scott, who plans on a female protagonist.

Prometheus debuts in markets May 30-June 1, rolling out through June and July around the world.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeZinBCMfAc

Website: http://www.projectPrometheus.com

RC

(Relaxnews) - American R&B artist R. Kelly is officially returning to the music scene after undergoing throat surgery last year with his 11th studio album, Write Me Back, set for a June 26 release via RCA Records.

Kelly, who has sold more than 50 million albums around the globe, released the album's first single, "Share My Love," in February.

The track "Feelin' Single," which is circulating on the web, will be available digitally on May 29. His last LP was his 2010 release Love Letter.

Kelly has won three Grammy Awards and was named number one hip hop/R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.

Kelly also announced back in December his plans to add 32 new chapters to his "Trapped in the Closet" song series, on IFC. "Twenty-two chapters exist thus far in the soap opera series that begins with a one-night stand and weaves into an extended tale of sex and lies, starring Kelly's alter ego, Sylvester," writes MTV.

Listen to the track "Feelin' Single": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2S9iLPBd_w