IN FRANCE, FILM FESTIVAL GIVES TOP PRIZE TO 'MARIA'

In France, film festivalgives top prize to 'Maria'
DEAUVILLE, France -- The Deauville Film Festival awarded its top prize Sunday to "Maria Full of Grace," a documentarylike tale of the travails of a teenage drug runner from Colombia.
The wrenching feature debut from writer-director Joshua Marston tells the story of a pregnant 17-year-old who swallows rubber-wrapped heroin pellets to smuggle them by plane to New York.
Nicole Kassell's "The Woodsman," starring Kevin Bacon as a child molester trying to build a new life after 12 years in prison, won the festival's jury prize.
Director Claude Lelouch headed the 10-member jury that judged 10 movies in the main competition.
The 30-year-old festival at the Normandy resort, which started Sept. 3, is a European showcase for mainly American movies.
Newsroom reality show?Company pitches idea
PHILADELPHIA -- A film company has prepared a demo for a reality TV series that would take viewers behind the scenes of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Blue Chip Films, based in Norwalk, Conn., is trying to find a network to air "Deadline [at] The Philadelphia Inquirer."
"I always loved that movie, 'The Paper,' with Michael Keaton, and it occurred to me, why was that such a great idea as a feature film, but nobody's done anything on TV about it," Blue Chip president Nick Verbitsky said last week.
During the summer, Verbitsky's crew went out with city desk reporters on a day when three bodies were found in the city. He said he anticipates following reporters and photographers covering all types of news and sports events.
Remake of classic 'Dinner'reverses racial roles
MADISON, N.J. -- Shooting for a remake of a great movie classic brought some Hollywood stars to the area and to the borough's restored, 88-year-old train station.
The movie, tentatively titled "The Dinner Party," is based on the 1967 film, "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner," starring Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier, about a white couple whose daughter brings a black boyfriend home to dinner.
Columbia Picture's remake reverses the racial roles and stars Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac and Zoe Saldana. Kutcher plays Saldana's white boyfriend, and Mac has taken on Spencer Tracy's old role -- the father.
Notable deaths
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Rose M. "Rosie" Gacioch, a player for the Rockford Peaches from 1945-54 whose experience helped inspire the 1992 film "A League of Their Own," died Thursday. She was 89. Gacioch died at a nursing home in this Detroit suburb, The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reported. Gacioch joined the All-American Girls Baseball League in 1944. She led the league in triples in 1946 as an outfielder. Gacioch, who was played in the movie by Rosie O'Donnell, was known for her blunt manner of speaking, relatives told the newspaper.
NEW YORK -- Fred Ebb, who wrote the lyrics for such hit Broadway musicals as "Chicago" and "Cabaret" as well as the big-city anthem "New York, New York," died Saturday of a heart attack.
Ebb died at his home, said David McKeown, an assistant to composer John Kander, Ebb's longtime collaborator. The lyricist was believed to be 76, although Ebb always was "sweetly vague" about his age, said director Scott Ellis, who worked with him on several shows.
Today's birthdays
Actress Eileen Fulton ("As the World Turns") is 71. TV producer Fred Silverman is 67. Former White House spokesman Larry Speakes is 65. Actor Richard Kiel is 65. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & amp; Tears) is 63. Actress Jacqueline Bisset is 60. Singer Peter Cetera is 60. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) is 52. Record producer Don Was is 52. Actress Jean Smart is 45. Country singer Bobbie Cryner is 43. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 43. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 39. Actor Louis Mandylor is 38. Olympic gold medal runner Michael Johnson is 37. Rock musician Steve Perkins (Porno For Pyros; Jane's Addiction) is 37. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic is 33. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 31. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flats) is 29. Actor Scott Vickaryous is 29. Singer Fiona Apple is 27. Actor Ben Savage is 24. Actor Mitch Holleman ("Reba") is 9.
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