A controversial documentary about Japan’s annual dolphin slaughter screened at the Tokyo international film festival on Wednesday, despite attempts by hunters to have it banned. And reactions were mixed. Now the Japan hunting town where the doc was filmed may sue.

‘The Cove,’ an award-winning film by Louie Psihoyos, depicting the annual slaughter of dolphins in the Japanese coastal town of Taiji, was belatedly included in the festival after pressure from Hollywood actors such as Ben Stiller.

Fishermen in Taiji had been waging a battle to get the screening cancelled. They allege hidden cameras were used to film covertly and that the documentary contains factual errors. According to the Guardian, in a letter to the foreign ministry, the Taiji council and the town’s fisheries co-operative claimed the “defamatory” film had failed to present scientific evidence to support its claim that dolphins contain dangerously high levels of mercury. They also denied dolphin meat was deliberately being mislabelled and sold as whale meat, and said ‘The Cove’ was filmed without permission, calling it an “insult” to the town’s 400-year history of dolphin hunting.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said the concerns had been passed on to festival organizers but, as the event is a private one, whether or not to go ahead with the screening was up to them.

Now the AFP says the Taiji fisheries cooperative has written a letter of protest to the organizer of the film festival. An official said, “We’ve heard that the film includes factual errors, and so we may take some sort of action, including legal steps, if we watch it and find problems.”

Approximately 300 people attended Wednesday’s screening. Comments in a question-and-answer session varied from revulsion to a spirited defense of Japanese traditions.

Hiroshi Hatajima, a 42-year-old office worker from Tokyo, told the Associated Press, “Westerners say it’s OK to kill and eat cows, but not dolphins,” pointing out, “That kind of special treatment isn’t going to register with a lot of Japanese.”

Hatajima said the film was well-made but “comes across as somewhat propaganda-like.”

Foreign minister, Katsuya Okada, recently urged the dolphin hunt’s critics to respect Japan’s culinary traditions. “People in different countries eat all kinds of things, depending on their culture,” he told reporters. “I’d like people to understand that cultures are diverse.”

Meanwhile the director, Louie Psihoyos, faces arrest for alleged trespass during the making of the film. He argues the cove is located in a national park.

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Columbus Short is in negotiations with Rainforest Films to reprise his role as DJ Williams in the sequel to 2007’s ‘Stomp the Yard,’ according to The Hollywood Reporter.

This will come as a surprise to anyone who read reports that Short shot down talks of a sequel to the urban dance flick back in 2008. Comingsoon.net spoke to the actor on the set of ‘Armored’ and he laughed at the suggestion of his involvement in a sequel, saying, “No. Come on! Some things are better left alone. I’ve learned that. I had my share of a sequel. I was in the ‘Save the Last Dance’ sequel.” It seems there may have been a change of heart.

Writer-director Rob Hardy, an executive producer of the original, will reportedly direct. Hardy wrote and directed 2005’s ‘The Gospel,’ a modern retelling of the parable the Prodigal Son, and ‘Trois,’ one of the highest grossing African-American films of the 2000s.

‘Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming’ is due to film in Atlanta next month.

The rest of the cast is still TBA but Chris Brown and Ne-Yo, who were both in the first movie, are unlikely to reappear in the sequel. Brown’s character, Duron Williams, would have to come back in ghost form. And Ne-Yo would need to find time between acting in the Sci-fi movie ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ and writing and singing the final song of the upcoming Disney movie, ‘The Princess and the Frog.’

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Australian actress Nicole Kidman addressed members of the US Congress on Wednesday to demand action on violence against women. Speaking in her role as a goodwill ambassador for the UN Development Fund for Women, Kidman told a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee that violence against women was “the most systematic, widespread human rights violation in the world.”

At the same time, however, Kidman conceded that Hollywood may contribute to the problem. According to the Guardian, when asked whether the movie industry had “played a bad role” in spreading images of women as sex objects, the ‘Stepford Wives’ star said, “Probably.” She added, however, that the industry had also “contributed to solutions.”

Kidman also said that she herself is mindful of the roles she chooses, saying, “I can’t be responsible for all of Hollywood but I can certainly be responsible for my own career.”

The actress attracted huge crowds to the event, a rarity for meetings of congressional subcommittees.

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Chris Weitz, director of ‘The Twilight Saga: New Moon,’ the second movie based on Stephenie Meyer’s teen vampire romance series, may also direct ‘Breaking Dawn,’ the fourth installment. But he isn’t getting excited just yet. First, Weitz has to prove he’s up to the task with ‘New Moon,’ which hits screens November 20.

Weitz’s previous projects include ‘American Pie’ and ‘About a Boy,’ so he might not have seemed like the most obvious choice for ‘Twilight.’ But he was also behind 2007’s fantasy adaptation ‘The Golden Compass’ and says he felt a connection to the ‘Twilight’ material. The Hollywood Reporter asked Weitz about the talk surrounding movie number four.

“No official offer has been made,” the director said. “The fans have been enthusiastic about the footage and the trailer, and the studio responds to that by feeling good about me. We’ll have to see how people feel about the entire movie, not only the studio but the fans, before the verdict is out whether I direct Number 4. David Slade is doing a great job on the third film, and by the time that comes out, he’ll be the flavour of the moment.”

Weitz also addressed the question of how he has dealt with the problem that heartthrob vampire Edward Cullen, played by Rob Pattinson, is gone for most of the book.

“There are two heartthrobs in this movie, not just Rob but Taylor Lautner,” said Weitz. “Part of the point was that Edward was away. Readers of the book know this and appreciate it. The story is about loss and heartache; he is present as an absence. Bella is always thinking of him and affected by him…And the middle of the movie is sustained by Kristen’s amazing performance and by Taylor doing a lovely job as her best friend. There are people who would like nothing more that two hours of Rob Pattinson standing there, and I sympathize with them. But I think they’ll appreciate getting him back after the second act.”

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The documentary ‘By the People: The Election of Barack Obama,’ will debut on HBO, October 26. But there was a time when producer Edward Norton worried it wouldn’t get made.

Contact Music says the American president ignored advice from his aides to scrap the doc, which chronicles his rise to the top, because he thought the film would offer the public an interesting slant on the American political process.

‘Fight Club’ star, Norton, had approached the Illinois Senator in 2006 about making a film to document his political ascendance and was already making the movie when Obama announced a run for the White House. Norton became concerned that his main subject would be persuaded by his advisors not to be a part of a film as he fought for the presidency, so he approached Obama and implored him not to back out.
 
Norton explains, “We thought, ‘Maybe this guy will run for President in 2012…’ and I went down and met him and we discussed the idea of a long-term political diary, chronicling his experiences… and they let us begin that.

“By the late summer of the first year that we were doing this… we began to grasp that this was going to happen now.

“I went back to him and said, ‘I’m sure that everyone will tell you that this has gotta stop… I implore you, no matter what happens, this’ll be an incredible window on the country and how people react to your candidacy.’

“Sure enough, when they set up the campaign team, they tried to scotch us immediately… and he stood up for it and said, ‘I think this’ll be an important record of the experience and they let us have an unprecedented amount of access.”

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After Christian Bale famously threw an on-set tantrum, during the filming of ‘Terminator Salvation,’ and the recording leaked online, director McG (a.k.a. Joseph McGinty Nichol) passed the incident off as no big deal, saying conflict is common during filming. “I don’t think there’s been a film I’ve made where there hasn’t been some kind of physical fight,” he said. “I mean, I’ve been headbutted by an A-list star. Square in the head. An inch later and my nose would have been obliterated. It was Bill Murray. You know, it’s a passionate industry.”

But Murray says there’s no truth to the claim, which supposedly occurred on the set of ‘Charlie’s Angels.’ He told London’s The Times, “That’s bulls***! That’s complete crap!.. I don’t know why he made that story up. He has a very active imagination.” Just because he didn’t head butt him, however, doesn’t mean Murray is fond of the director. “No! He deserves to die,” he adds, then suggests, “He should be pierced with a lance, not headbutted.”

The comic actor with an uncanny knack for pathos has long had a reputation for being difficult. Back in 2005 he told Time magazine, “If it keeps obnoxious people away, that’s fine.

“It makes me think of that line you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. People say this to you with a straight face, and I always say, ‘Who. Wants. Flies?’”

Of director Wes Anderson, however, Murray has kinder things to say. The two have worked together on five films including ‘Rushmore,’ ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ and ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.’ And Murray currently features in ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox,’ Anderson’s screen adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s novel. George Clooney plays Fox and Murray plays his friend and lawyer, Badger. Murray calls the animated film “charming” and says of Anderson, “We’ve done five films together now and we look out for each other. There is a great sense of trust and loyalty between us.”

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Someone forgot to pass on some pertinent information to Sarah Bradford before a recent audition. The 22-year-old model-turned-actress, who grew up with Matt Damon after her mother married his father when she was small, told New York Magazine that she never asked her sibling for acting advice but did wind up going for a part in one of his movies — and got quite the shock when informed that the character she was trying out for would be Damon’s lover.

Bradford explains, “Five months ago, I went in for a reading for this movie Matt’s in, ‘The Adjustment Bureau;’ it’s in production right now in New York. It was for a character named Elise — she is basically queen bee at this ballet academy — and all of a sudden they say, ‘Are you aware that if you get this role, you’ll be playing Matt’s love, having a love affair with your brother?’ My jaw dropped. My manager just completely wasn’t told. I’m no longer with that manager.”

Fortunately, everyone was willing to work something out. “I just read for a more appropriate role in the movie, Elise’s friend, and I got the part,” says Bradford. And all’s well that ends well. “It’s very exciting. What parents wouldn’t want their children to work together?”

Sarah Bradford will appear in the forthcoming ‘When the Devil Comes.’

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Emmy Award winner Spike Lee plans to release a concert film of Tracy Morgan’s stand-up comedy.

Contact Music says the project will be filmed in a similar way to ‘Passing Strange,’ the musical Lee shot on Broadway and released earlier this year. It follows Lee’s latest projects on basketball stars Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Morgan was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy in a Comedy Series for his role as Tracy Jordan, a caricature of himself he plays on ‘30 Rock.’ But he warns fans of the hit NBC show that his stand-up is something else entirely.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Morgan said “My stand-up is nothing like the TV show. My sense of humour is a turkey, and I pull it out of the oven and baste it in reality.”

The former ‘Saturday Night Live’ comedian credited Lorne Michaels in the interview, saying “Lorne helped build my confidence up, being in front of an all-white audience and all that.” But the memories of his early days in the biz aren’t all good ones. In a recently leaked clip from his audiobook entitled ‘I Am the New Black,’ (released this week), Morgan slams SNL colleagues Cheri Oteri and Chris Kattan, accusing them of looking down on him back in the day and gleefully observing that their careers have floundered.

Of his own abilities, Morgan is confident, telling GQ, “I do comedy for real people …I’ve been funny my whole life. This is a gift God gave me.”

Morgan’s run at his own television stint, ‘The Tracy Morgan Show,’ was cancelled after a single season.

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In the debate over whether media can affect behaviour, Matt Damon comes down squarely on the “Yes” side. The actor, who has starred in action films such as ‘The Bourne Identity’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’ now draws the line at gratuitous violence.

People magazine’s 2007 sexiest man alive, whose mother specializes in “non-violent conflict resolution,” told the Independent’s James Mottram that the amount of violence in a script  affects his decision whether or not to take the role. He said, “Now I always look at the violence [in a script]. I don’t want it to be gratuitous. Because I do believe that that has an effect on people’s behaviour. I really do believe that. And I have turned down movies because of that.”

Damon’s mother, however, still doesn’t approve of his career choice. When he first became famous, she told the press that her son had become a product. “He’s not a human being any more,” she said. “He’s a cog in the capitalist system.” Matt says she still “doesn’t think much” of the film industry. “She doesn’t give a sh*t about the star system.”

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Director Ridley Scott is in talks with Angelina Jolie for ‘Gucci,’ a drama about murder in the famous fashion dynasty.

Variety says Scott is talking with Jolie to play Patrizia Gucci, who was sentenced to 29 years in prison for plotting the murder of her ex, Maurizio Gucci.

The drama recaptures the glamorous days of the Gucci family dynasty in the 1970s and 80s. Infighting plagued the family and the brand until Maurizio, grandson of founder Guccio Gucci, came out on top of a power struggle to run the business. But, just as he was working to reestablish the brand name, Maurizio was gunned down by a hitman in front of his Milan office building in 1995.

His estranged wife, Patrizia Reggiani Gucci, who he had recently left for another woman, was first charged with the murder in 1997 and sentenced to 29 years (later converted to 26 on appeal) in 1998. Called the “black widow” by the Italian press, Patrizia has always maintained her innocence. She admitted to having paid the group who killed her husband but claimed that she had been blackmailed. Her story was that the gang had put her often-voiced desire to see her husband dead into practice without her consent, and then demanded money from her to keep quiet.

In 2004, while campaigning for a retrial, her daughters claimed that Patrizia was not in command of her mental faculties at the time of the murder, saying their mother had undergone brain surgery to remove a tumour in 1992 that had affected her ability to reason.

Variety says the script for the movie is still being developed and Scott has approached Leonardo DiCaprio to play Maurizio, though the ‘Body of Lies’ star is not attached at this point.

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