ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: David Bowie exhibition lands in Chicago for only U.S. visit

CHICAGO (Reuters) - David Bowie has been best-known throughout his five-decade career as a prolific musician and songwriter, with hits like "Changes" and "Space Oddity" in constant radio circulation.

But he is also an actor and artist who helped design his own album covers, stage sets and costumes.

Now, 400 objects, from the multi-colored jumpsuit he wore as "Ziggy Stardust" to a cocaine spoon, are going on display in Chicago at the exhibit "David Bowie Is," running from Sept. 23 to Jan. 4, 2015 at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Tens of thousands of tickets already have been sold for the MCA show, the only U.S. venue for an exhibit that has drawn huge crowds in London, Toronto, Sao Paulo and Berlin.

"This exhibition repatriates David Bowie, the musical innovator, into the territory of cutting-edge visual and performing art that is his natural home," said Michael Darling, MCA chief curator.

The multi-media exhibit was originally organized for London's Victoria and Albert Museum by curators Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh. Visitors wear headphones that play clips of Bowie interviews and music, which change depending on which object is being looked at.

Speaking to reporters in Chicago on Friday, Marsh said the show reveals Bowie's "degree of obsession" with the creation of culture.

"That's really what we really wanted to bring out - is the nature of creativity," Marsh said. He said people leaving the exhibit say they feel inspired to create something of their own.

"One of the things David always says is 'Don't copy me, don't look at me. Look inside yourself,'" Marsh said.

One fan who plans a trip to Chicago for the show is Darrell Miller, 49, of Denver, who said he views Bowie as "like a living god, and I mean this with all sincerity. He's outerworldly."

Scott Furtwengler, 50, a Houston musician, who also plans to see the Chicago show, said he is inspired by the diversity of Bowie's style.

"To see all his work in one place, the costumes, the lyrics, the set designs, his notebooks - that's pretty amazing," said Furtwengler.

Bowie himself hasn't attended the show. This doesn't surprise Marsh - the show is called "David Bowie Is" because Bowie is always evolving, and doesn't want to get stuck in the past.

"I'm sure he's working now on what interests him, which is hopefully something we'll see in the future," Marsh said.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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ENTERTAINMENT The horror of genocide needs to be shown: UK film director

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The surviving prisoners didn't know what to expect when British troops entered the Nazi concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen in northwest Germany on April 15, 1945.

Nor did the soldiers - until the sight of the naked corpses piled high unfolded before their eyes.

Scenes of the living and the dead in the notorious camp, captured on tape by ordinary soldiers and newsreel cameramen at its liberation, are as relevant now as they were nearly 70 years ago, according to the director of a new documentary.

"The cameramen weren't really there thinking about creating documentary film-making, they were there in a state of trauma and shock just filming what they saw," director Andre Singer told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview.

Sidney Bernstein, a British producer and later founder of Granada Television, was commissioned at the time to assemble the footage into a film that would be a record of the atrocities.

It was to serve both as evidence to show the Germans the extent of the industrialized slaughter, and as timeless testimony to ensure that such crimes against humanity could never be repeated.

More than six million people died during the Holocaust, the genocidal killing of Jews, gypsies and others during the Nazis' rule over Germany and much of Europe.

Ultimately, the footage from Bergen-Belsen was consigned to the archives and the film project was shelved because of changes in the international situation after communist rule was imposed on eastern Europe.

In the documentary Night Will Fall, Singer tells for the first time the history of the planned film using archive footage and eyewitness testimony.

CHRONICLING ATROCITIES

A black and white frame shows human hair carefully sorted in dusted burlap sacks. Piles of spectacles with cracked lenses and mountains of clothes succeed it.

The remaining prisoners at Bergen-Belsen navigate a course between the corpses strewn around the camp, lying in different states of putrefaction.

A typhus epidemic killed nearly 14,000 of the 60,000 prisoners alive when the camp was liberated.

Scenes of battle were filmed from a distance during World War Two, so the close-ups captured by the soldiers at Bergen-Belsen were seen as different, even unique.

Visually explicit images such as those shown in the film become relevant in the broader context of how we document atrocities, Singer said.

Although using atrocity footage in film-making poses a different level of dilemma, it is the only way to have a new public understand what genocide means and why this was the worst genocide in history, he added.

"If you don't (use) atrocity footage it becomes more of an intellectual exercise. You don't shock people enough to take notice," he said.

In April 1994, the world witnessed the death of 800,000 men, women and children in the Rwandan genocide. The United Nations estimated that the three months of genocidal killing was accompanied by the rape of 150,000 to 250,000 women.

"There will always be places and circumstances where mankind will lose any kind of moral compass and will cause more genocide, more trouble, more deaths," Singer said.

"I think the hope is that at least by seeing documentaries like this, by putting them across, every generation will pause before moving onto something else."

Singer also emphasized the need to put atrocity images into context and humanize a story, moving away from "just piles of corpses".

The backbone of Night Will Fall is built on witness testimony that adds depth to the credibility of the archive footage.

"To me by far the most important feature in the film is the characters telling their stories. The documentary should be more than just a history lesson. It should be very much a story about the horror of genocide and mechanisms that we could put in place in the future to stop them," he said.

Night Will Fall opens in cinemas across Britain on Sept. 19.

(Editing by Tim Pearce; Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, covers underreported humanitarian, human rights, corruption and climate change issues. Visit www.trust.org)

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: Critics enamored with Broadway revival of 'Love Letters'

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In an age of instant messaging, digital communication and fleeting relationships, the revival of "Love Letters," a play about an enduring friendship recorded with pen and paper, is still capturing hearts on Broadway.

A.R. Gurney's play about two friends who shared their thoughts, emotions and lives by writing letters to each other for five decades debuted on Broadway in 1989, before the advent of cell phones and text messages.

But critics said a noteworthy revival that opened on Thursday night is as touching as it was more than two decades ago.

"After all these years, Gurney's bittersweet love letter to an oddly matched couple who maintain an epistolary friendship for half a century can still tug at the old heartstrings," said Variety, the trade magazine.

The Hollywood Reporter concurred, calling it "a rare work whose emotional richness requires no embellishment in order to become a full-bodied theatrical experience."

Dual Tony winner Brian Dennehy ("Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "Death of a Salesman") and Mia Farrow, best known for films such as "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "The Great Gatsby" play the two well-heeled friends whose lives, although apart, remained intertwined.

They are the first in a rotating cast of actors to appear in the limited-engagement play. Carol Burnett, Alan Alda, Candice Bergen, Stacy Keach, Diana Rigg, Angelica Huston and Martin Sheen will take on the roles in later performances.

Dennehy, 76, is Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, a conservative, upright, studious boy whose Ivy League education leads him to a career in law and politics.

Farrow, 69, plays Melissa Gardner, a wealthy, rebellious, free spirit, whose parents divorce when she is young. While Andy grows up in a tight-knit family, which she envies, Melissa is raised by an alcoholic mother and shuffled off to camp and her grandmother's house during school holidays.

The two actors are seated side-by-side at a table facing the audience on a stark stage as they read the love letters that began when they were seven-year-old classmates.

Through a correspondence that starts with birthday party invitations, thank you notes and valentines they bolster each other through lonely stints at boarding school, challenges in college, failed romances, accomplishments and disappointments, marriages and children with other people, and their own brief affair.

"The performances of both actors deepen and evolve as their characters do," said the New York Times. But the newspaper reserved special praise for Farrow.

"Ms. Farrow gives a remarkable performance, so vividly felt and fully realized that you forget that she is merely reciting notes and letters," it said. "Her portrayal cast a heartbreaking spell as Melissa's fragility slowly emerges."

The New York Daily News said that with less able actors "Love Letters" could have ended up a pity party.

"With this duo, though, the play emerges as sweet, elegant and touching, as two lives come together in vibrant focus. The evening also makes the case for the value of letter-writing."

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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ENTERTAINMENT A Minute With: Jane Fonda on learning from the young comic set

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Jane Fonda says one of the blessings of growing older is that "you learn what you can and can't do" and she freely admits she doesn't have what it takes to do comedy improv.

Fonda has 55 years in the business and two best actress Oscars on her shelf for 1978's "Coming Home" and 1972's "Klute."

But in her new comedy film "This is Where I Leave You," she was in awe of co-stars Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Adam Driver and Ben Schwartz when it came to going off script.

Fonda spoke to Reuters about playing the vivacious mother of a dysfunctional family, the chemistry with her cast and her new favorite actor.

Q: What drew you to the role of Hilary?

A: Well, I am 76 and it is unusual to find a character that is multidimensional, funny, sassy and still has some libido going for her. People don't write those kind of roles for older women very often.

I liked the fact that it was a very well written film that had many different parts to it. It was funny, but it was also poignant. That doesn't happen often enough and I am so proud of Warner Bros that they stood behind a film like this. A big studio these days, they go for the tent poles and special effects, so I really want the movie to do well so that it will encourage more studios to do more films like this.

It spoke to family dysfunction which is universal and it showed that in spite of those issues we can heal and forgive.

Q: You say dysfunction, but I wouldn't mind being a part of this family.

A: Well it shows where you are coming from! Fortunately, Jonathan Tropper (author of the novel that inspired the film) found a way of writing about this kind of dysfunction that makes it kind of lovable. But it must be kind of hard if it was in real life.

They are all very wonderful, wonderful actors saying great words and some times it is their own words. I mean Tina and Jason were improvising. Really great, funny stuff that came out of their mouths.

Q: What was the chemistry like on set?

A: We got along really well. We shot it at a house on Long Island and we just got to the house to work in the morning and stayed and got to know each other. We looked forward to coming to work.

Q: Did you feel like the elder stateswoman of this cast?

A: No, I felt like a student because I can't do what they do. I can improvise. I improvised most of "Coming Home." But I don't know how to improvise comedy. I've done like Neil Simon comedies, but you say the words that were written and you don't improvise.

They have a whole other gift. When the film was over, Ben Schwartz got me into Upright Citizens Brigade and I tried. You either were born with that gene, and you can hone it and make it better. But if you weren't born with it, you can't do it. I don't have that kind of brain.

So, I just watched in awe and paid close attention and paid a lot of attention to Adam Driver. I mean this guy you could watch him forever and be fascinated. He is so interesting. His choices, his energy, his instincts as an actor are peerless.

I thought 'What's big deal?' Yeah, I saw him once, Adam Driver, in 'Girls.' And then from the very first table read, I thought 'Oh my God, I've never seen this before.' He is just unique and he is my new favorite actor.

Q: Are you looking for more comedy roles?

A: I am making a series right now with Lily Tomlin for Netflix that, like this film, has drama as well.

I love doing comedy. I would also love to do a drama again. You go for the word. You follow the good word. If it's written well, you go there.

(Reporting by Mary Milliken; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Cynthia Osterman)

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ENTERTAINMENT Fey, Bateman improv sibling love in 'This is Where I Leave You'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tina Fey and Jason Bateman called mutual friends when they learned they would co-star as siblings in the drama-infused comedy "This Is Where I Leave You," just to do a little reconnaissance on each other.

"We had never worked together," Fey said. "Well, we owned a restaurant together for 10 years. We owned an Arby's."

"But that's not really work," shot back Bateman. "That is pure pleasure."

And with that sibling-like familiarity, Fey and Bateman, two of the most popular comic actors of their generation, banter on for minutes - their way of promoting the Warner Bros. film that opens in U.S. theaters on Friday.

They play Wendy and Judd, the close middle siblings of the Altman family, brought together by the death of their father and asked by their mother to follow the Jewish ritual of "sitting shiva" for the seven days of mourning.

Judd has found his wife cheating on him with his womanizing boss and has only shared the news with Wendy, herself troubled by a lifeless marriage to a workaholic husband.

Jane Fonda plays the mother, Hilary, a vivacious, breast-enhanced, best-selling author who overshares her children's lives with readers. Fonda jumped at the chance to play a woman who is "sassy and still has some libido going for her."

Rounding out the clan are the eldest, Paul (Corey Stoll), who has stayed to run the family business and is struggling to conceive a child with his wife, and, the youngest, wild child Phillip (Adam Driver).

Phillip may bring home a much older girlfriend but acts like an adolescent, such as when he repeatedly touches the private parts of the young rabbi and childhood friend Boner (Ben Schwartz).

As the Altmans sit in a row greeting mourners, all the siblings' angst over their messy adult lives comes pouring out.

"ANY SCRIPTED LINES TODAY?"

"Rare is the family that doesn't have crazy dynamics," said Shawn Levy, who directed the film based on the best-selling book by Jonathan Tropper.

"Most of us can relate to siblings who drive us nuts but who also love us fiercely and parents who fail to live up to our childhood idealizations of them."

Levy, who has directed "Night at the Museum" movies, said he always allows for improvisation and that Fey and Bateman are "as good as it gets" at coming up with ideas.

"They don't do silliness funny, they do grounded funny, and so that told me they would mesh well," Levy said.

Fey not only improvised her own lines, he said, but offered up lines to other actors, even insults of herself. "Nobody else working would do that," Levy said.

Fonda, who claims to have little talent for comedic improvisation, said she was in awe of the cast's dexterity, particularly with the unscripted moments.

But one day, according to Fey, Fonda turned to Schwartz and asked: "Will you be saying any of the scripted lines today?"

(Editing by Eric Kelsey and Leslie Adler)

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CAMPAIGN NEWS Former Connecticut Governor Rowland found guilty of campaign law violations

NEW HAVEN Conn. (Reuters) - Former Connecticut Governor John Rowland violated U.S. election laws by taking under-the-table payments from a business owned by the husband of a candidate whose campaign he secretly advised, a federal jury found on Friday.

Rowland, a Republican who resigned from office a decade ago after admitting to taking gifts from people who did business with the state, was found guilty of seven criminal counts including two of falsifying records in a federal investigation.

Prosecutors had charged Rowland, 57, with negotiating a ruse deal for a nursing home company owned by Brian Foley to pay him $35,000 that was intended to compensate him for advising the 2012 congressional campaign of Foley's wife, Lisa Wilson-Foley.

They said the two worked out the back-channel deal to try to avoid linking the candidate with Rowland, who served 10 months in prison after the earlier corruption plea.

"Clearly, this is a sad day, but the jury made the right decision and sent a strong message to politicians who believe they're above the law," said Michael Gustafson, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for Connecticut. "The public wants and deserves transparency from its elected officials."

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton set a Dec. 12 sentencing date. Rowland could face up to 57 years in prison, though the longest sentence associated with any one charge is up to 20 years for falsifying records.

Federal prosecutors also accused Rowland of attempting to work as a paid, secret consultant to the 2009 Republican congressional campaign of Mark Greenberg.

After the verdict was read, the former governor left court, surrounded by weeping members of his family, and stepped into a waiting vehicle without answering reporters' questions.

His attorney, Reid Weingarten, vowed to appeal the verdict.

"We always believed the prosecution made a very large mountain out of a very small molehill," Weingarten told reporters.

Foley, the businessman, was the star witness during the two-week trial at U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut, testifying that he had worked out the sham deal with Rowland.

Rowland did not take the stand and the one witness his attorneys presented, a top executive at Foley's Apple Health Care, said that while Rowland did offer some advice about the business, the deal to pay him was a "ruse" to disguise his role with Wilson-Foley's campaign.

Both Wilson-Foley and Greenberg lost their congressional bids.

Foley and Wilson-Foley pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges earlier this year.

Rowland served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991 and as governor of Connecticut from 1995 until his resignation in 2004, after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge for accepting gifts from people who did business with the state.

The jury found Rowland guilty after about five hours of deliberations over two days. Weingarten, the defense attorney, said he was not concerned how quickly the jury acted.

"It's the verdict that matters, not how long it took," he said.

(Reporting by Richard Weizel; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Sandra Maler, Bill Trott and Jim Loney)

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS: Angelina Jolie to direct Richard Leakey biopic 'Africa'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie has been hired to direct "Africa," a feature film about paleoanthropologist and conservationist Richard Leakey and his campaign against ivory poachers that threaten Africa's elephants.



The film, Jolie's fourth directorial effort, is from Skydance Productions, the company behind recent "Terminator" and "Mission: Impossible" films. The screenplay is from Eric Roth, who won an Oscar for "Forrest Gump."



"I've felt a deep connection to Africa and its culture for much of my life," said Jolie in a statement.



Leakey, she said, emerged from the violent conflict with elephant poachers "with a deeper understanding of man's footprint and a profound sense of responsibility for the world around him."



Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison, son of Oracle Corp founder Larry Ellison, said: "It is very close to my heart, and I know that it will exceed my expectations in Angelina's hands."



Jolie will be joined by cinematographer Roger Deakins, who also worked on her next release "Unbroken," a Universal Pictures biopic of Louis Zamperini, the Olympic runner turned war hero that opens in December.



Universal said in July that it acquired worldwide rights to Jolie's "By the Sea," a drama in production, written and directed by the actress who is also co-starring with husband Brad Pitt.



(Reporting by Mary Milliken; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Tom Brown)





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