SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2015 Silence of the Lambs director to get Venice award ilence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme is to be present- ed with the Visionary Talent award at the upcoming Venice Film SFestival, organizers announced yesterday. Demme, who will receive the prize on September 3rd, was described by Festival direc- tor Alberto Barbera as a member of “that generation of cinephile auteurs who revolutionized Hollywood in the Seventies” and who was capable of moving easily between studio and independent pro- ductions, and from fiction to documentary work. The 71-year-old is a regular in Venice and is due to chair the jury for the Horizons world cinema section of this year’s festival which runs September 2-12 in the city of canals. Demme has made over 30 films in a career spanning five decades, including 1991’s “The Silence of the Lambs,” for which he won the best director Oscar, the acclaimed “Philadelphia” (1993) and “Married to the Mob” (1988). His Nicki Minaj latest film, “Ricki and the Flash”, starring Meryl Streep, was released in the United States earlier this month. Last year’s Visionary Talent award went to US actress Frances McDormand in recognition of her Minaj to open MTV’s 30-year career. — AFP Jonathan Demme 2015 Video Music Awards icki Minaj will open the MTV Video Music Awards this Dead rats anyone? Hollywood Sunday, MTV has announced. The female MC will join pre- Nviously announced performers Justin Bieber and The Weeknd at the ceremony. Pharrell Williams, Demi Lovato, gets creative to promote movies Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Tori Kelly, A$AP Rocky and Twenty One Pilots will also hit the VMA stage. Minaj provided a ant to create buzz for a space movie? Take journalists to a After the media day, “The Martian” trailer became one of the prelude to the announcement via Instagram post. She shared a real NASA lab. Promoting a horror film? Order up taxider- top entertainment news stories, garnering 4.8 million views on photo of a sonogram featuring a Moonman statue in place of a Wmied rats and have zombies deliver them. Hollywood stu- Facebook and 3.3 million views on YouTube in just 48 hours. “It gestating baby. The singer’s post both teased the news of her dios are going to ever more creative lengths to attract attention in a makes sense for studios to spend money to get journalists to performance and nodded to the rumors that she and boyfriend jam-packed entertainment market where social media plays a key tweet and use social media because they believe it somehow will Meek Mill were expecting a baby. role in promoting content. For Matt Damon’s October film “The turn into box office dollars,” said Entertainment Weekly film The VMA lineup continues to boost its star power as the event Martian,” in which an astronaut is stranded on Mars, 20th Century reporter Nicole Sperling. Trailers are becoming the fast, bite-size draws nearer. Miley Cyrus will host the proceedings, and Kanye Fox Studios hosted a media day last week at the US National way to attract an audience at a time when five or more movies a West will be receiving the ceremony’s highest honor, the Michael Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory week are released in the United States.In August, movie reporters, Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Minaj’s association with this in Southern California just to promote a trailer. including from Reuters, received a visit from two men with zombie year’s edition of the awards show already made headlines earlier Journalists got a sneak peek at the first 50 minutes of the film, makeup, mimicking the creepy twin characters from Focus Features this summer, when the rapper tweeted her frustration that her toured the lab and interviewed Damon at its Mission Control which latest horror movie, “Sinister 2.” The “twins” delivered a wooden box music video “Anaconda” had not been nominated for Video of is usually reserved for scientists working on operations such as land- with a taxidermied rat and a USB card with a link to the movie’s lat- the Year, the top category at the show. Her comments evoked ing the Curiosity rover on Mars in 2012. “We’re in a world with a very est trailer. “The people covering the industry are in some ways responses from a host of celebrities and musicians, most notably crowded marketplace,” said “The Martian” producer Aditya Sood. tastemakers, so even if people aren’t reading our magazines or arti- Taylor Swift, who responded as though Minaj had called her out. “We want to make sure that people get the message that the cles, they’re reading our Twitter feed,” Sperling said. —Reuters The two pop divas have since settled their beef. The VMAs will air movie’s coming out.” live from Los Angeles on Aug 30. — Reuters Lee, Rowlands, Reynolds to receive honorary Oscars irector Spike Lee and actress Gena Rowlands will receive hon- orary Oscar awards this year and film star Debbie Reynolds Dwill be awarded a humanitarian prize, Academy Award organ- izers said Thursday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences emphasized the “extraordinary contribution” that the three legends have made to show business throughout their long careers. “We’ll be celebrating their achievements with the knowledge that the work they have accomplished-with passion, dedication and a desire to make a positive difference-will also enrich future genera- tions,” Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. The honorees will receive the awards-which look just like the Oscars that will be given out at the Academy Awards in February-at the Governors Awards in November. It will be the seventh annual Governors Awards, held in Hollywood. None of the honorees have won an Oscar, though they have all been nominated. Lee, 58, earned a best screenplay nomina- tion for 1989’s “Do the Right Thing,” and his 1997 “4 Little Girls” earned a best documentary nomination. His influence on the film industry has extended from mainstream hits such as “Malcolm X” and “He Got Game” to cutting examinations of contemporary urban American life in dozens of independent films. Rowlands received best actress nominations for 1974’s “A Woman under the Influence” and 1980’s “Gloria.” Reynolds, who will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, first captivated audiences in 1952’s “Singin’ in the Rain.” She was later was nominated for an Oscar for her lead role in 1964’s “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and helped found a group that works to combat mental health issues. Last year, singer Harry Belafonte earned the humanitarian award. Japanese ani- mator Hayao Miyazaki and French director Jean-Claude Carriere took Gena Rowlands displays her hands Debbie Reynolds poses on arrival for Spike Lee arrives at the Costume home the honorary awards. — AFP after making her handprints at her the World Premiere of the 40th Institute Gala Benefit. — AFP photos Hand and Footprint ceremony. Anniversary Restoration of Cabaret..