Newly wed George Clooney surprised fans with an appearance at New York Comic Con at the weekend. The actor, who married the human-rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin on September 27 in Venice, walked on stage during a panel discussion for the Disney fantasy film, Tomorrowland. "It's not lost on me that I'm spending my honeymoon at Comic Con," Clooney told the crowd to thunderous applause. The panel moderator Chris Hardwick asked him: "So what did you say, 'Honey we're going to Comic Con'?" To which Clooney replied: "She was as confused as you all were," Clooney replied. – AP
Jolie receives honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace
The American actress Angelina Jolie has been honoured by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as an honorary dame, for her work against sexual violence in war zones and services to British foreign policy. Jolie received the award during a private meeting with the queen on Friday. Jolie, 39, co-chaired a conference in London in June aimed at curbing war-related sexual violence. – AP
Snowden documentary gets standing ovation at premiere
The eagerly anticipated documentary Citizenfour, the story of the National Security Agency (NSA) whistle-blower Edward Snowden, received a standing ovation when it premiered at the New York Film Festival on Friday night. Members of Snowden's family were at the screening and his father, Lonnie Snowden, told the crowd: "The truth is coming and it cannot be stopped." The film presents an intimate portrait of Snowden, including his first meetings with the journalists – Laura Poitras, who directed the film, and Glenn Greenwald – with whom he shared thousands of documents revealing the NSA's widespread collecting of Americans's phone and email records. He is now living in asylum in Russia. – AP
Sharjah to stage Malayalam music concert in December
Well-known music directors from Kerala will come together for a musical night at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in December. Jamgraab, an event organised by Oneness Media Mill, will have Jassie Gift, Alphonse, Mejo Joseph, Gopi Sundar, Rahul Raj, Anil Johnson, Afsal Yousaf and Bijibal take the stage alongside singers from the Malayalam film industry on December 19. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/onenessmediamill. – The National staff
Mohenjo Daro to film in South Africa this month
Ashutosh Gowariker's hotly anticipated drama Mohenjo Daro, starring Hrithik Roshan and the newcomer Pooja Hegde, will begin shooting in South Africa this month. A collaboration between Disney India and Gowariker's production company, Mohenjo Daro is "an epic adventure and love story" set at the time of the Indus Valley civilisation. After Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Mohenjo Daro is Roshan and Gowariker's second film together. – The National staff
New album on the way from Bjork
Three years after her wildly ambitious Biophilia multimedia project, Bjork is working on a new album co-produced by the Venezuelan DJ Arca. The Icelandic singer, known for her sweeping vocal range and conceptual imagery, apologised in a Facebook message for missing the London premiere of the Biophilia Live film and said she was "already working on her next album," which will be out in 2015. Bjork, who rose to fame in the 1980s as a singer in the pop rock band The Sugarcubes, grew increasingly experimental as a solo artist, culminating in 2011's Biophilia, which uses multimedia – including a series of smartphone apps – to explore the links between technology, music and nature. - AFP
Actress driven to end hunger by poverty-stricken childhood
American actress Viola Davis, star of the critically acclaimed film The Help, says her drive to end childhood hunger is fuelled by memories of growing up in "abject poverty," stealing and crawling through maggot-filled bins to get food. She told a crowd of Hollywood luminaries that she "sacrificed a childhood for food and grew up in immense shame". The 49-year-old actress, who is now starring in the new US TV legal drama How to Get Away with Murder, was recognised at a Variety Power of Women luncheon on Friday for her work to end childhood hunger. Other honorees included Jane Fonda, Jennifer Lopez and Reese Witherspoon.
Davis said her work with the Hunger Is campaign to raise awareness about hunger in the United States has been “the joy of my life.” She thanked her colleagues and supporters for the chance to “share my testimony and begin the process of healing.” - AP
SNL comedian Jan Hooks dead at 57
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jan Hooks, whose comedy impressions during a five-year stint on the show included former US First Lady Nancy Reagan, Irish singer Sinead O'Connor and evangelist's wife Tammy Faye Bakker, has died at the age of 57. Hooks, from Decatur in Georgia, joined SNL in 1986. She was also in the cast of the sitcom Designing Women, was nominated for an Emmy Award for her appearance on the sci-fi comedy 3rd Rock From the Sun, and provided the voice of convenience store owner Apu's wife on The Simpsons for several years. "I was 15 years old when I first saw Jan Hooks on SNL. All of her characters spoke to me. She was one of the greats," said Parks and Recreation star and former SNL cast member Amy Poehler. One of her last TV roles was as the mother of Jane Krakowski's character, Jenna Maroney, on 30 Rock in 2010. Hooks died on Thursday in New York, her agent said. No other details were given. - AP
Korean and Iranian films share top prize at Busan
A Korean and an Iranian film, both exploring family and relationships, shared the top award at Asia's largest film festival yesterday, with jury members praising them for expressing "what it means to be a human being". End of Winter, from Kim Daehwan, and 13, from Hooman Seyedi, received the two US$30,000 prizes given for the New Currents award for first or second-time Asian filmmakers at the 19th Busan International Film Festival. Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, the New Currents jury head, and said End of Winter was a unanimous choice. The film is the tale of how a family deals with a shock announcement from their father. "[It] impressed us with its stylistic consistency, its skilful exploration of family relations, its elegant mastery of cinematic space, and its great ensemble cast," said Farhadi. The Iranian production 13 – the story of a young boy driven from the family home – showed "inventive camerawork" and "dynamism", Farhadi said. Farhadi, whose Oscar-winning A Separation (2011) also focused on issues of family, said the jury had been impressed by the ability of both films to portray "deep feelings" that were "very close to real life". - AFP