Boston Festival Celebrates Bridges and Burstyn
Actress Ellen Burstyn will be honored at this year's Boston Film Festival, 8 - 16 September at the screening of Requiem for a Dream, in which she stars. In addition, the fest will show two other films with Burstyn: The Yards and a restored version of the 1973 The Exorcist. Bridges will be honored along with the screening of his film The Contender. In addition, festival organizers announced the lineup for the fest, which includes Enlightenment Guaranteed from Doris Dorrie; Songcatcher (which will screen at Deauville) starring Janet McTeer; Cesar-award winning Venus Beauty Institute, and Shadow of the Vampire with John Malkovich as German director F. W. Murnau and Willem Dafoe as mysterious actor Max Shreck.

Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres Part Ways
The world's most famous lesbian couple, Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres announced their separation this week in a joint press release. Their split is "amicable" after three and a half years together. Shortly afterward, Anne Heche, 31 was seemed to have lost her way in Northern California where she knocked on a stranger's door babling nonsense. She was hospitalized after not being able to remember her first name. Could she be suffering from a broken hear? Heche recently directed DeGeneres, and Sharon Stone in a segment of the HBO film, If These Walls Could Talk II, about a lesbian couple trying to have a baby.

Harry Potter Actor Announced
Ending weeks of speculation, 11-year old British actor Daniel Radcliffe has been confirmed as the actor who will play Harry Potter in Warner Bros' Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone directed by Chris Columbus. Radcliffe recently played young David in the BBC version of David Copperfield. The cast is now mostly British and actors such as Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall are all in talks to star. Radcliffe joins newcomers Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in the cast.

Kim Basinger Fights for Circus Animals
Actress Kim Basinger and singer Belinda Carlisle from the go-gos are now appearing in a video about the evils of using animals in circuses. They filmed the video as part of a campaign called "Spotlight on Suffering" from Britain's National Anti-Vivisection Society. They join former supermodel Twiggy in the effort.

11-Year Old Makes Directing Debut
Who Says Hollywood is Obsessed with youth? Just this week is was announced that 11 year-old Chaille Stovall is in final negotiations to make his feature directing debut with Camp Grizzly. Stovall made his first film for the 30 x 30 Kid Flicks series at the age of eight for HBO. His film, Looking 4 God won first place in the National Children's Film Festival.

Daryl Hannah Makes a Splash in London
Daryl Hannah will reprise one of Marilyn Monroe's most famous roles on the London Stage in a theatre version of The Seven Year Itch. However, the famous scene in which Marilyn's dress flares when she stands above the subway grate will not be recreated. Spokesmen for the production have stated that Hannah is not "doing a Marilyn impersonation." It is unclear whether or not she will follow the precedent of other Hollywood actresses, notably Kathleen Turner in "The Graduate" and Nicole Kidman in "The Blue Room" by going naked.

Detector on the Internet
The Norwegian film Detector from Pal Jackman, will screen on the Internet 24 August, one day before its theatrical release. The film is also set to open the New Nordic Films sidebar of the upcoming Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund.

Scotts and Danes Unite to Make Digital Movies
Denmark's Zentropa Entertainment, Calyx Filmproduction and Trust Films Sales and Scotland's Sigma Films and Antonine Films Filmmakers have joined forced to create a production partnership to make digital movies. The plans, announced during the Edinburgh International Film Festival, will create a single company with the goal of making at least three films a year using digital technology.

IFILM and IFC Unite
IFC (the Independent Film Channel and IFILM have announced a partnership between the website and the TV channel. As part of the deal, IFILM will debut a TV show on the Independent Film Channel.

Pacino Stars Opposite Cyber Woman
Al Pacino, who is starring in the next film from writer-director Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show), won't exactly play opposite a real person. Instead, his next co-star will be a computer-generated "woman," Simone, who "plays" a woman who becomes an international film star overnight. Niccol was supposedly unable to find any real-life actresses who were right for the role. Shooting for the film will begin in September.

Arnold "Terminates" Website
Lawyers for Arnold Scwarzenegger have been busy this week, thanks to a company in Japan called Zero One Design. The company's website has been streaming a 15-second ad, which features Arnold promoting American entertainment overseas. Lawyers demanded the website remove the ad by 10 August, because of a copyright violation.