Holly to bolly: Richard Gere speaks out against Trump's travel ban, Coen brothers working on Scarface remake and more

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Richard Gere has used the press conference for the Berlin Film Festival as a platform to speak out against President Donald Trump’s immigration policy and travel ban. Speaking at the conference, just before the world premiere of his new film The Dinner, the actor and activist said that he found it discouraging to see term ‘refugee’ go through such a dispiriting change of meaning in the United States.

“The most horrible thing that Trump has done is conflated two words – refugee and terrorist,” Gere, 67, told more than 100 journalists. “It means the same thing in the US now. That’s what he’s accomplished to a large segment of our population.” In the film, Gere plays a famous politician and added that he takes encouragement from protests against the current president.

* Reuters

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Coen brothers working on Scarface remake

The famous filmmaker brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are working on a remake of Scarface. Universal Pictures announced on Friday that “an explosive reimagining” of the gangster classic will be released in August 2018. Diego Luna is set to star in the role famously played by Al Pacino in Brian De Palma’s 1983 remake of the 1932 original and the Coen brothers are in the process of polishing the script.

The brothers recently worked on screenplays for Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. No director has yet been announced for the project.

* Associated Press

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Alia Bhatt says stepping into Madhuri Dixit’s shoes is impossible

Actress Alia Bhatt, who features in a new version of the 1990s hit song Tamma tamma for her upcoming movie Badrinath Ki Dulhania, says stepping into the shoes of Madhuri Dixit – who danced on the original track – is an impossible job.

Bhatt dances in the song in with Varun Dhawan, which launched in Mumbai this weekend. She said before shooting the song, she went to meet the original actress and was so nervous that she had nightmares about messing it up.

However, she explained that she was not attempting to recreate the song, only make a tribute to it.

“I am not trying to step into Madhuri Dixit’s shoes. That is a totally impossible task,” she said.

The new version has been re-structured around the original vocals and has a new rap verse. The film, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, is directed by Shashank Khaitan, and is slated for release on March 10.

* IANS

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Matt Reeves may replace Ben Affleck as the director of The Batman

Matt Reeves, the well-regarded filmmaker behind Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and the upcoming War for the Planet of the Apes is in early talks to replace Ben Affleck as the director of The Batman, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Affleck was developing the project but officially resigned last week, although he will still act as the lead role.

“Performing this role demands focus, passion and the very best performance I can give,” Affleck said in a statement. “It has become clear that I cannot do both jobs to the level they require. Together with the studio, I have decided to find a partner in a director who will collaborate with me on this massive film.” The studio moved quickly to find a replacement

* National Staff

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Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroes on display at London’s British Museum

Ten screenprints by American pop artist Andy Warhol of Marilyn Monroe were put on display at London’s British Museum this week to flag a spring headline exhibition The American Dream: Pop to the present.

The prints, created after the actress’s death in 1962, hang side by side. More than 200 works by 70 artists will go on show in “a comprehensive survey of printmaking across six decades of turbulent U.S. history”, according to the museum. The exhibition opens on March 9.

* Reuters