Xavier Dolan film to compete at Venice Film Fest

Canadian director Xavier Dolan will unveil his latest film alongside new work by Stephen Frears, Terry Gilliam, Errol Morris and Hayao Miyazaki at the 2013 Venice Film Festival.

Organizers unveiled in Rome today the lineup for the upcoming 70th edition, which runs Aug. 28-Sept. 7.

Young Quebec filmmaker Dolan's new drama Tom à la ferme will screen in competition for the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion. Based on a play by Michel-Marc Bouchard, Dolan's film tells the story of a gay man who attends the funeral of his lover, only to learn that no one knew of the deceased's sexuality nor their relationship.

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Altogether, 20 films will vie for the Golden Lion, including:

• Es-Stouh, directed by Merzak Allouache.
• L'Intrepido, directed by Gianni Amelio.
• Miss Violence, directed by Alexandros Avranas.
• Tracks, directed by John Curran.
• Via Castellana Bandiera, directed by Emma Dante.
• Child of God, directed by James Franco.
• Philomena, directed by Stephen Frears.
• La Jalousie, directed by Philippe Garrel.
• The Zero Theorem, directed by Terry Gilliam.
• Ana Arabia, directed by Amos Gitai.
• Under the Skin, directed by Jonathan Glazer.
• Joe, directed by David Gordon Green.
• Die Frau des Polizisten, directed by Philip Groning.
• Parkland, directed by Peter Landesman.
• Kaze Tachinu, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
• The Unknown Known, directed by Errol Morris.
• Night Moves, directed by Kelly Reichardt.
• Sacro Gra, directed by Gianfranco Rosi.
• Jiaoyou (Stray Dogs), directed by Ming-Liang Tsai.

Famed director Bernardo Bertolucci will preside over this year's jurychoosing the Golden Lion.

The contenders are largely auteur films, with the list also including a surprising two non-fiction titles: Rosi's doc about the highway that circles Rome and Oscar-winner Morris' new film about Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. secretary of defense.

"Venice on paper takes more risks, for example, taking two documentaries in competition — a first by any festival — and organizing an auteur cinema to support and promote these films," festival director Alberto Barbera told a news conference in Rome.

• George Clooney, Sandra Bullock space drama to open Venice film fest

The Alfonso Cuaron space thriller Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, was previously announced as the Venice opener. It will screen out of competition, along with films like:

• The Armstrong Lie, American documentarian Alex Gibney's film about disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong.
• Yurusarezaru Mono, a Japanese samurai remake of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven that stars Ken Wantanabe.
• Locke, a 90-minute, director-screenwriter Steven Knight's real-time thriller starring Tom Hardy.
• The Canyons, Paul Schrader's erotic thriller, written by Bret Easton Ellis and starring Lindsay Lohan.
• Palo Alto, a screen adaptation of actor Franco's short stories directed by Gia Coppola, granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola.
• Aningaaq, a new film from Mexican filmmaker Jonas Cuaron, who also co-wrote the screenplay for opener Gravity with his father, Alfonso.

Overall, the festival will screen more than 50 new feature films from more than 30 countries and the majority of which will be world premieres. The film programs also include sections focusing on new trends in filmmaking, shorts and restored classics.

Showbiz Analysis with Lana Wood

Lana Wood landed her first major acting role at the age of 8, when she was cast as the younger version of her sister Natalie Wood in the John Waynewestern, The Searchers. Her early career path had little to do with following her sister’s success and everything to do with growing up on the set with a sibling where acting and show business were simply a way of life. “That’s how I grew up, I was on sets all the time. I was in public school very very little. There was always a teacher on the set when Natalie was under age and still in school, so I would go to the studio school as well. It was just something that was,” said Wood. Whether it was familiarity or a little bit of genetic predisposition, Wood notes that acting “was simply a continuation of everything I had always known my entire life.”

Fascinatingly, Lana Wood would make her own unique mark in the industry, carving out a career that would veer away from the girl-next-door image her older sister had perfected. Instead, Wood lit up film and television screens for decades as the quintessential beautiful bad girl. From Peyton Place to 007, Lana Wood’s acting and voluptuous beauty threw her into roles she described as “marvelous fun.”

Perhaps her most iconic character, Bond girl Plenty O’Toole (Diamonds Are Forever), wasn’t without Wood’s own special touches. “I wanted to make her (Plenty) as innocent and sweet as humanly possible. I literally changed my voice and my speech pattern (for the role).”

While one might believe Lana Wood masterfully created her own bad-girl brand, Wood notes it wasn’t intentional. “It had to do with how I was perceived. I didn’t choose it,” she says, “I was typecast.”  Still, being repeatedly typecast means you’re doing something pretty convincing as an actor.

Today, Lana Wood juggles acting with her active role as a grandmother. Her sister Natalie’s tragic death in 1981 still weighs heavy, but Lana is quick to share the heartfelt and fascinating tales of their life together. While the backdrop in her life may have been Hollywood glamour, Wood’s warmth and outgoing personality prove that playing a great bad girl has always been just an act.

Listen to my interview with Lana Wood here or on iTunes.

Nancy Berk, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, humorist and entertainment analyst. The host of the showbiz podcast Whine At 9, Nancy digs a little deeper as she chats with fascinating celebrities and industry insiders. Her book College Bound and Gagged: How to Help Your Kid Get into a Great College Without Losing Your Savings, Your Relationship, or Your Mind can be seen in the feature film Admission starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.

Rosamund Pike to Star in Gone Girl Movie Adaptation

The Gone Girl is here. British actress Rosamund Pike has been cast as the lead character in the upcoming movie adaptation of Gillian Flynn‘s bestseller, Gone Girl, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

Pike, 34, nabbed the role over several better-known actresses who were reportedly considered for the part, including Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, Emily Blunt, and Olivia Wilde.

The actress will star opposite Ben Affleck in the film version of the thriller that follows a wife who goes missing on her fifth wedding anniversary, and a husband who becomes the lead suspect in her disappearance.

Meanwhile, as production on the David Fincher-directed film moves forward, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry have been named as possible actors for supporting roles, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Reese Witherspoon will serve as a producer.

So who is Rosamund Pike, anyway? The blonde actress recently costarred withTom Cruise in Jack Reacher, and will grace the screen alongside Martin Freeman, Simon Pegg, and Pierce Brosnan in the August action flick The World’s End.

But she’s perhaps best-known for playing Jane Bennet in the 2005 adaptation ofPride & Prejudice.

Gone Girl was one of the bestselling books of 2012. The New York Times called it a “dazzling breakthrough,” and wrote that the story is “wily, mercurial, subtly layered and populated by characters so well imagined that they’re hard to part with.”