Wang Jianlin, a rags-to-riches mogul, is taking over AMC Entertainment and promising to integrate it into a global brand called the Wanda Group.

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China Tycoon Places Risky Bet on U.S. Movie Market

Cannes, France —Whether it’s the weather, the traffic or the movies, perhaps the best word to describe the Cannes Film Festival this year is “stuck.” From the outset, when organizers announced the directors competing for the festival’s top honor, Cannes seemed stalled in a past era: Of the 22 films competing for the Palme d’Or this week, not one is directed by a woman, a nod to the mythical image of the heroic auteur that Cannes is famous for championing in its 66-year history. Read full article > >

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Cannes Film Festival 2012: Stalled in the past, with few surprises

Studios are finding a business opportunity by looking beyond young movie audiences.

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Older Faces on Screen Draw an Overlooked Crowd

What happens when people stop being polite and start getting real? According to the last few seasons of MTV's “The Real World,” they get drunk, hook up and make innumerable questionable decisions. What happens when strangers come to live on a family farm in rural Arkansas, grow their own food, give up modern-day conveniences and attempt zero waste? While it may not sound like a compelling reality show by MTV's standards, that's exactly the premise of the independent film, “The Garden Summer,” which debuted to a sold-out crowd in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 16. It also premiered in Conway, Arkansas, on May 18. Inspired by the idea of social capital, then-Georgetown graduate student Hailey Wist came up with an idea for a social experiment that would challenge people like her to live off the land. The ultimate goal was “to inspire, not preach.” Wist already had a location in mind for the experiment – a farm in the Ozarks that had been in her family for generations. Despite not knowing much about gardening, she had the assistance of her mother and aunt, both avid gardeners. All that was left to do was find people willing to give up modern conveniences to spend the summer living a bit more simply. “Will I get warm bodies?  I don't know.  Probably not,” she mused in the film’s trailer. Four willing “suburbanites” – Seth Amos, Marie Barker, Ben Williams and Emilee Cleary – eventually signed on without much persuasion. Wist said she sought out people who were strangers to each other, but who she also wanted to get to know better. In preparation of their summer, the group had to decide what produce they would grow and what they could sell at the local farmers market. They also decided that coffee, cooking oil and booze would be the only three things they would source outside of the 100-mile radius of their garden. When the group met at the farm in May to plant their garden, friendships took root immediately; everyone was getting along and having fun. However, the summer was not without challenges. When the group returned weeks later to live within Wist's parameters, it took only a week and a half before they started “airing grievances” by candlelight on the front porch of the farmhouse. Everyone obviously had a stake in the garden; their ability to eat and make money depended upon its success. As the creator of the concept, Wist became the leader by default, but being everyone's boss was not a role that came easy to her. Maintaining a garden makes for long days of hard labor. Along with the close quarters of communal living, “there was a lot to be cranky about,” Wist said. Unlike some of the other reality-based programs that portray alcohol-induced arguments over hook-ups and break-ups, the rifts featured in “The Garden Summer” were rooted in the division of labor in the garden and expectations over what “local consumption” really meant. In fact, a budding romance between Wist and Williams wasn't really featured in the film at all. Over the course of the summer, the group made friends with locals who taught them, among other things, how to make soap and butter. They also welcomed a steady stream of visitors from the “outside,” and found that showing off all they'd accomplished always gave them new energy. It certainly didn't hurt that one of those friends was James Beard award-winning chef Mike Lata, who helped them prepare a field feast with the food they'd grown. “The Garden Summer” turned five typical consumers of modern conveniences into producers and contributors to their community. While Wist remains very much a part of the Charleston food community, she admits her farm experience has been difficult to completely replicate in her real life. But if farming isn't in her future, filmmaking might be, at least according to part-time Charleston resident and actor Bill Murray. “To make a movie that is lousy is difficult,” he said after attending Wist's first screening. “So to make one that is good, it's quite an accomplishment.”

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Documentary cultivates real-life lessons

The Wanda Group will buy AMC Entertainment, making the world’s largest theater group, the companies said.

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AMC Theater Deal Links China to Hollywood

TV celebrity Keith Lemon says he wants his new movie to replicate the success of the Carry On movies.

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Lemon ‘wants Carry On success’

Warning: The following contains minor spoilers for “The Avengers.” Odds are if you had never heard the word “shawarma” before this month, you have by now. Towards the end of the box office juggernaut “The Avengers,” Iron Man – played by Robert Downey Jr. – asks the rest of the superhero team if they've ever tried shawarma because he heard there is a good restaurant for it nearby. In an extra scene that hardcore fans know was shot mere weeks ago, we witness Thor, Captain America, Bruce Banner and the rest of the heroic clan quietly enjoying shawarma after casually saving the world. The cameo has worked its movie magic for the Middle Eastern wrap of spit-roasted meat. Media from Los Angeles to Boston have reported that shawarma sales are “skyrocketing.” Pierre Dagher, the owner of Shawarma Mediterranean Grill in Centennial, Colorado, said that a group of high school kids ran into the restaurant after seeing “The Avengers” and immediately told him of the scene. Dagher, who has been in business for 18 months and hasn't seen the movie yet, said business has been brisk in the past week or so. At a different Shawarma Mediterranean Grill in Miami, Florida, owner Mike Besereni told us that he can't say the same about a marked increase in business, but regular customers at his five-year old establishment now often mention “The Avengers” when they come in. Besereni was happy to hear it: “Oh yeah, definitely – free advertising! Donnie Gabai of Atlanta's decade-old Pita Palace, on the other hand, said the movie's impact has been significant for his business, especially over this past weekend. “We've definitely seen an increase of people [coming in and] talking about it,” he said. Several large groups of visitors to the Shawarma Café & Grill in Carmichael, California treated the restaurant like a tourist attraction. “[Sunday] I was supposed to shut down my restaurant at 6pm, but we stayed open until 8,” said owner Armen Sargsyan. “Right away after the movie, people Google searched and found my restaurant. They took pictures, they were so excited to be there,” he said. “They called their friends and more people came, and more people came.” Elat Burger in Los Angeles, however, is the one which might be considered a bona fide tourist attraction for the rest of the summer, if not beyond. It's the official location of “The Avengers” shawarma eating scene in question. The owner, who answered the phone when we called, was quite busy and didn't want to be identified. He would tell us that business has been booming, and that there was quite a lot of commotion around the place when the likes of Downey, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson showed up to shoot the scene. At that point, we had to end our conversation. He had to get to his customers – none of whom were wearing iron suits this time … that we know of.

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The lunch of heroes: ‘The Avengers’ sparks interest in shawarma

Old home movies are being used to help trigger the forgotten past of people with dementia and other memory loss.

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Old films to aid memory recovery

“Casablanca” is widely considered one of the greatest movies of all time, and now a whole new audience will have the chance to “like” it — Warner Brothers will stream the film on Facebook on Wednesday in honor of its 70th anniversary. Read full article > >

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‘Casablanca’ to screen for free on Facebook Wednesday

Mr. Sorkin said last year that he was inclined to adapt Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs for Sony. But no deal had been set until now.

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Media Decoder Blog: Aaron Sorkin Signs On as Screenwriter for Steve Jobs Biography

Chefs with Issues is a platform for chefs and farmers we love, fired up for causes about which they're passionate. Michael Anthony is the chef-partner at New York City's Gramercy Tavern . Last week, he received the James Beard Award for Best Chef NYC – but he almost didn't live to see that day. In late October of last year, I underwent open heart surgery. There was no warning, no history of disease, no serious abuse that led the inner lining of my ascending aorta to tear. Sometimes things just break. While attending a signing for the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook , I began experiencing chest pain. As I think anyone else my age (early 40s) would feel in that moment, I was in complete disbelief. I was both embarrassed that I might pass out and concerned that whatever I was experiencing might keep me from celebrating my colleagues’ big moment. After a quick exit, I returned to Gramercy Tavern. I knew something was seriously wrong. I was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital. Within a few hours of arriving, it was determined that I needed emergency open heart surgery. There was very little time to spend with my wife, no chance to see my children and no second option. Strange how a lifetime is ultimately translated into only minutes – clarified, distilled, precise and yet unfair. There was just enough time to gather what was wrong with my heart and who was sent to fix it: Dr. Charles Geller . In times like this we can feel thankful for competent, well-trained, extremely disciplined professionals like him. Yet what I was most struck with was his warm and confident smile. Maybe because I was introduced to him while lying on my back, it seemed clear by his build that Dr. Geller was no stranger to the pleasures of the table. He asked me about my profession and seemed to shudder with excitement when I told him about being a chef. He allowed me, despite the intensity of the moment, to believe that he was on my side. He explained calmly what we were about to experience together. In an instant, I became indebted to him forever. I woke up a day later with many questions swirling through my head. The immediacy of the surgery hadn’t allowed me to contemplate what this might mean for my career as a chef. There had been more pressing issues at hand. Now that I had made it through and was starting to wrap my head around what happened, I wondered if my body, the body that had just betrayed me, would recover enough to allow me to return to the kitchen. I also wondered why this had happened to me. Why now? I have always felt proud of my diet and the health-conscious cooking that we serve at the restaurant. I lead a balanced lifestyle, but wondered if this condition was at all related to my being a chef. While some of my larger questions have remained unanswered, I have since been told by a number of doctors that it does not seem likely that my diet or lifestyle had much of an effect on my condition. What I did learn from this experience was what I took away from the hospital staff, who left me feeling the same as Dr. Geller did, which was deeply cared for. The optimism and warmth I received from them was overwhelming and powerful. Of course, these folks were carefully trained to perform the technical aspects of their jobs, but what stood out to me was how they listened to me and responded with thoughtful and gracious gestures. They rose above the call of duty to be encouraging, which stiffened my resolve to bounce back. When I returned home from the hospital, I didn’t know where to start. Would I have a different outlook on life? On cooking? How would this experience change me? Eventually, I realized that at the core of this powerful exchange was hospitality – the very same force that distinguishes what we do every day at Gramercy Tavern. It is all of the caring things the staff did to make me feel they were genuinely on my side that I will remember long after the memory of the names of the drugs and the details of my surgery fade. After my surgery and homecoming, the gestures of encouragement poured in: get well cards, concerned emails, thoughtfully chosen books and poems, inspirational movies and carefully packed handmade food. I appreciated everyone who reached out during this time, but it dawned on me that the cooks had a special ability to connect and communicate by the food they shared . Some simply nourished and others dazzled but everyone told a story. With the help of these restaurant folk and their deliveries, I eased my way back in to being myself again by tasting each expression: barley and basil brought solidarity in tough times, kale and beet salad reconnected me with the garden, chicken fricassee invoked nostalgia, parsnip soup acted like a familiar handshake, poached lemon char sparked dreams, chocolate chip cookies felt just like a pat on the back. Each bite made me feel a profound sense of thanks to those who lent a hand or a meal when I needed it most. Through the careful choices and deliberate styles, informal gestures and intricate work, whether immediately consumed or painstakingly preserved, we communicate so much with those who are at the receiving end of a thoughtful meal. Their gestures pushed me to develop enough strength to return to the kitchen to reenter this dialogue, and this generosity of spirit made me feel unbelievably proud to belong to the restaurant industry. While we work day in and day out to provide for our guests, my experience reminded me why taking care of each other comes first. Previously – Serving up gratitude in troubled times What have food-based gestures of kindness in troubled times mean to you? We'd love to hear your story in the comments below.

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Chefs with Issues: Food for the heart

The Festival de Cannes (Cannes Film Festival to the rest of us) gets underway on Wednesday, and as of this posting I’ll be packing my bags for the 10-day marathon of five-movie days, black-tie nights and rushed baguettes-et-fromage in between. Read full article > >

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Cannes Film Festival: let the movie marathon begin

Renoir’s “Grand Illusion,” from 1937 (and now newly restored), may have lessons for a Europe bitterly divided at present.

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Renoir’s Vision for a United Europe in ‘Grand Illusion’

Boston University mourned three study-abroad students killed in New Zealand while visiting locations where “The Lord of the Rings” movies were filmed.

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3 Boston University students die in New Zealand

If there’s a trend in the movie biz these days, it isn’t stories with young female heroines, although, admittedly, something’s going on there (see “The Hunger Games,” “Brave,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild”).Rather, it’s movies with an established brand. Read full article > >

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Summer movie preview: Putting their trademark on big-screen sizzle