A Russian company has spent $89 million building Eastern Europe's largest production facilities in a field outside Moscow and hopes to lure Hollywood majors to shoot and produce movies.
The idea is to create a modern flagship studio that will make Russia a competitively priced destination for film projects and in turn modernize the local industry.
Full StoryBatman flick "The Dark Knight Rises" held on to the top spot at North American box offices this weekend despite last week's mass shooting in Colorado, according to figures released Sunday.
Twelve people were killed and 58 wounded when a gunman sprayed bullets into a midnight premiere of the final installment of the Batman trilogy in Aurora, Colorado on July 20.
Full StoryEnjoyed the music-packed Olympics opening ceremony? Now you can buy the album — and thousands have.
The soundtrack album, which went on sale as a download minutes after Friday's ceremony ended, has topped the iTunes album chart in Britain, France, Belgium and Spain, and has reached No. 5 in the United States.
Full StoryMetallica vocalist James Hetfield had warned things could get perilous at the start of the band's fifth tour of Mexico, saying "We're very focused on how dangerous this show is."
The audience of more than 22,000 believed it too. Many of the fans were visibly terrified Saturday night as the band re-enacted its burn-down-the-stage performance from 1998's "Cunning Stunts" video album.
Full StoryVeteran actress Lupe Ontiveros, who appeared in scores of TV shows and movies including "Desperate Housewives," ''Selena" and "As Good As It Gets," has died. She was 69.
Ontiveros died Thursday at a hospital in Whittier, Calif., a suburb southeast of Los Angeles, after a brief battle with liver cancer, according to longtime friend and family spokesman Jerry Velasco.
Full StoryThe producer of this year's Emmy Awards said it's a challenge to decide who to include in the ceremony's memorial tribute.
About three-dozen stars and other industry notables typically are honored in the "in memoriam" segment, although many more are deserving, executive producer Don Mischer said Friday.
Full StoryMadonna was on the receiving end of an angry backlash from her fans on Friday for ending a Paris concert after just 45 minutes.
With the Internet awash with criticism of the U.S. pop queen, tweets posted by disappointed fans included: "Madonna branded a slut and booed in Paris," and "Only 45 minutes for 200 euros a ticket."
Full StoryAmazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, announced Friday they are donating $2.5 million to the campaign to defend Washington's same-sex marriage law.
With the gift, Washington United for Marriage has raised more than $5 million for its referendum campaign.
Full StoryThe United States said it was "very concerned" about a Syrian offensive in Aleppo, Syria, but rejected comparisons to Libya where NATO-led forces intervened last year to protect civilians.
"We are very concerned about the situation in Aleppo," White House spokesman Jay Carney said, condemning Syrian President Bashar Assad's "heinous, reprehensible" assault on Syrian civilians.
Full StorySix suspected rebels, including three women, have been killed in a security sweep in Russia's restive North Caucasus, the interior ministry said on Friday.
The ministry's spokesman in the Caspian Sea province of Dagestan, Vyacheslav Gasanov, said special forces cornered the suspects in a private house in the regional capital, Makhachkala. He said they refused to surrender and five of them were killed in a skirmish on Friday.
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