Glenn Close in 'Sunset Boulevard' film
LOS ANGELES, July 10 (UPI) -- Glenn Close, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Norma Desmond in the Broadway show of "Sunset Boulevard," says she will do the movie.
Close will star with Ewan McGregor, who is currently starring in the London's West End production of "Guys and Dolls." The $57 million film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical is expected to be ready for release for Christmas 2006, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The musical is based on Billy Wilder's 1950 film about the doomed romance between fading film star Norma Desmond and writer Joe Gillis. The 1950 film starred Gloria Swanson and William Holden.
Close made the role her own when she opened the Broadway stage production in 1994.
NY Latino Film Festival features 70 films
NEW YORK, July 10 (UPI) -- The sixth annual New York International Latino Film Festival will feature more than 70 domestic and international Latino films.
The film festival, which is presented by HBO, will take place from July 26 - 31 will include panel discussions, educational forums and special cultural events as well as screening of the films.
"It has always been our mission to highlight the diversity of Latino film and to provide a platform for Latino filmmakers from across the world to showcase their work," said Calixto Chinchilla, the head of the film festival. "This year's offering will take us from a favela (slum) in Brazil to the streets of downtown New York, truly capturing the broad essence of Latino culture."
The festival opens with a special screening of "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer" starring Elizabeth Pena, America Ferrera, Lucy Gallardo, Jorge Cevera, Jr., Steven Bauer and Rick Najera.
Judy Collins promotes album, book
NEW YORK, July 10 (UPI) -- Judy Collins is on a 15 U.S. city tour in support of her new CD "Portrait of An American Girl," her first studio album in nearly a decade.
The legendary singer has recorded an eclectic group of songs for the album, which includes personal songs she has written, along with covers of such songs as "Sally Go 'Round the Roses," "Drops of Jupiter" and "Pacing the Cage."
Collins also is promoting her book "Morning, Noon, and Night." The book describes her approach to the creative process and breaks down each day of that process into morning, noon, and night, giving readers insight into how to stay creative throughout the entire day.
The book includes an array of anecdotes from her childhood in Seattle, through her turbulent years as a young performer, to the steady creative life she has built for herself maintaining a rigorous performance schedule of about 60 concerts annually.
'The War of the Worlds' special edition
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y., July 10 (UPI) -- Following the opening of the Steven Spielberg film, "War of the Worlds," New York-based Reader's Digest has published a special print edition of the classic.
The new edition of the "The War of the Worlds" is set in modern type on creamy white paper, with a leatherette binding and gold stamping. As a bonus, the volume also contains another of H.G. Wells' adventures, "The Time Machine," where the mysteries of the distant future are only an instant away for a curious inventor.
A unique four-page newsletter about H.G. Wells and the enduring legacy of "The War of the Worlds" also comes with this special edition.
The volume is available exclusively from rd.com for $24.98 plus $4.99 for shipping and handling and will be on sale online only until mid-July.
