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René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo gave the world a charming gift when they debuted The Adventures of Asterix in 1959. 60 years on, through excursions off the page and across the big and small screens, our affection for the diminutive Gaul and his giant sidekick remains. The rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia are a powerful accessory.

This time – despite the ever-present threat of the Romans – the challenge faced by the feisty villagers comes from within. Getafix the Druid (brewer of the magic potion which sustains the village and gives Asterix his mighty powers) has taken a tumble and broken his leg. With his mortality mortifyingly evident and his present handicap, Getafix realises he needs an apprentice.

Armed with a shortlist from his fellow druid elders, protected by Asterix (Christian Clavier) and Obelix (Guillaume Briat) and accompanied by inquisitive young Impedimenta (Florence Foresti), Getafix (Bernard Alane) crisscrosses Gaul in search of a worthy...

‘La Cage aux Folles’ director Edouard Molinaro, who collaborated with Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles, dead at 85 Edouard Molinaro, best known internationally for the late ’70s box office comedy hit La Cage aux Folles, which earned him a Best Director Academy Award nomination, died of lung failure on December 7, 2013, at a Paris hospital. Molinaro was 85. Born on May 31, 1928, in Bordeaux, in southwestern France, to a middle-class family, Molinaro began his six-decade-long film and television career in the mid-’40s, directing narrative and industrial shorts such as Evasion (1946), the Death parable Un monsieur très chic ("A Very Elegant Gentleman," 1948), and Le verbe en chair / The Word in the Flesh (1950), in which a poet realizes that greed is everywhere — including his own heart. At the time, Molinaro also worked as an assistant director, collaborating with, among others, Robert Vernay (the 1954 version of The Count of Monte Cristo, starring Jean Marais) and...

Tiff announced their last batch of titles for their primo Gala and Special Presentation events and it comes as no surprise that we’ve got ourselves several future Venice (Bad 25, Love is All You Need, Spring Breakers, Passion and The Master) and left over Cannes titles (White Elephant, On The Road, The Paperboy) set for some Special Presentation spots, but it’s the World Premieres that Tonrot have managed to lasso that have got out attention. First up in the trio of Gala screenings announced, it’s their Closing Night Film in Song for Marion which may do wonders for both the fest and the title itself — as it may be this year’s The King’s Speech type. What Maisie Knew, Arthur Newman, Greetings from Tim Buckley and after a long post-production phase Nick Cassavetes’ Yellow (see pic above) are all repping the new wave of U.S...

As if the line-up couldn’t get any better, Toronto International Film Festival have went ahead with what looks to be their final announcement of premieres. Added to the slate is the oft-rumored The Master, showing in 70mm, as well as Brian De Palma‘s Passion, Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers, Peter Webber‘s WWII romantic drama Emperor, a Jeff Buckley biopic, as well as Cannes premieres such as Lee Daniels‘ The Paperboy (review here) and Walter Salles’ On the Road (review here). Check out the new additions below.

Galas

Song for Marion Paul Andrew Williams, UK Closing Night Film

A feel-good, heart-warming story about how music can inspire you. Song for Marion stars Terence Stamp as Arthur, a grumpy pensioner who can’t understand why his wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) would want to embarrass herself singing silly songs with her unconventional local choir. But choir director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton...