Iranian director portrays disintegrating marriage (AP)

BERLIN – An Iranian director is competing at the Berlin film festival with a portrayal of a disintegrating marriage that highlights a clash between traditional and modern ways of living and thinking.

Asghar Farhadi's "Nader and Simin, A Separation" screened on Tuesday. Farhadi was honored as best director in Berlin two years ago for his previous movie, "About Elly."

The new film chronicles the events that follow a wife's unsuccessful petition for a divorce, which she seeks when her husband refuses to leave Iran with her and her daughter. He worries about leaving behind his father, who suffers from Alzheimer's.

The wife then moves out and the man hires a pregnant, pious young woman who agrees to take care of his father, without telling her husband. One afternoon, a blazing argument is followed by the woman suffering a miscarriage — setting in motion a chain of events that shakes the family and sees the characters repeatedly dragged into court.

"One of the aspects of this film is the struggle between those who are led by tradition and those who are led by a more modern aspect of life," said Farhadi, speaking through an interpreter.

That can be seen both in the wife's struggle with her husband over the family's future and in the worries of the care giver, who is seen seeking religious advice on whether she can change a male patient's clothes.

Farhadi said a high divorce rate in Iran is one side-effect of a "great wish to be more modern." But he insisted his film is as much more universal than an Iranian story.

"It's about the human being and his weaknesses and faults," said actress Leila Hatami, who plays the wife in the film.

"Nader and Simin" is one of 16 movies competing for the festival's top Golden Bear award, which will be awarded on Saturday.

Iran has been in the spotlight at this year's event due to the absence of one of the jury's official members, Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who was sentenced last year to six years in jail on charges of working against the ruling system. He is also banned from leaving Iran, shooting films or scriptwriting for 20 years.

"I think no director anywhere in the world has not felt sorrow and sadness," Farhadi said of Panahi's plight.

Farhadi's film was followed by a contrasting competition entry: American actress-filmmaker Miranda July's second movie as a director, "The Future."

The quirky relationship tale follows a month in the life of a couple who are about to adopt a sick cat and it's narrated by the cat.

"It's hard to talk about longing and love in a new way," July said of that decision.

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"G.I. Joe" sequel narrowing in on director (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Directors F. Gary Gray and Jon M. Chu are looking like the hot candidates to direct Paramount Pictures' "G.I. Joe" sequel.

The franchise follow-up is a high-priority project for the studio, which hopes to have production underway by June for a 2012 release.

Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has met with a number of directors in recent days, including Gray, Chu and "Unknown" director Jaume Collet-Serra. Paramount execs will commence their talks this week.

Chu, of course, is no stranger on the studio lot, having directed "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never," which opened to $29.5 million last weekend. Before that, he directed two installments in Disney's "Step Up" dance franchise.

For that matter, neither is Gray, who directed "The Italian Job" for Paramount to $168 million worldwide in 2003. He was last in theaters with the 2009 action thriller "Law Abiding Citizen."

Released in August 2009, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra" grossed $150.2 million domestically and $152.3 million internationally for a total of $302.5 million worldwide.

"Cobra" was directed by Stephen Sommers, who previously announced he wouldn't be returning to the franchise.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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Singers vs Director in Walkuere ' scale ' (AP)

By Mike SILVERMAN, the associated press Mike Silverman, For The Associated Press – Wed Dec 12, 3: 43 am ET

Milan, Italy – not speeches from the pit orchestra this time. No tear-off gassing of demonstrators. No parade of political and social personalities.

But performance depending on the season of Richard Wagner's "Die Walkuere" on Friday night at La Scala did do a little unexpected news: the debut of an exciting tenor Dutch, Frank van Aken, in the role of Sigmund.

While Daniel Barenboim conducts a reading of the score filled with magical moments — together with some irregular ones — van Aken and the rest of the cast excellent bravely coped with a new production by Director Guy Cassiers that seemed to offer two bad ideas for every good.

Leading opera house Italy is stop cycle of four Wagner's "Ring" to the rhythm of an opera a year, in a production shared with the Berlin Staatsoper unter den Linden.

"Die Walkuere," the second installment, show Wotan, King of the gods, by failing in his attempt to wriggle out of the curse that has brought upon himself by stealing a golden ring. By the end of the Opera has sent his son, Siegmund, to death in battle and stripped of his daughter preferred, Bruennhilde, of his immortality, putting to bed on a rock surrounded by fire.

Are passed from production ballerinas that mixed with the main singers during "Das Rheingold last season." Instead, Cassiers, gives us a hodgepodge of cluttering the stage, together with infinite murky video projected on the walls behind the symbol set.

These videos especially distract from the action, rather than add intuition. Act 2, for example, a large metallic globe turns over the head of Wotan while he sums up the storyline in a crucial monologue. How to morph images in and out of focus on the surface of the globe, our focus is inevitably couched, trying to decipher their and away from Wotan.

Occasionally, the projections are effective. During the "ride of the Valkyries," as of Bruennhilde sisters sing heroes transport deaths Valhalla, a mass entwined bodies, some human, some equines, writhe suggestively in the background.

But Cassiers cannot quit while he is later. That the mass scattereth fragmentary forms that hold metastizing through the next scene, interfering with some of the most beautiful music of Wagner, including metastasizing cry ecstatic "Or hehrstes Wunder!" when it learns that she is pregnant with baby of Siegmund.

At the end of the evening, the magic fire which Wotan summons to protect Bruennhilde arrives looking like a cluster of tanning lamps from a tanning salon who descend from its shape asleep, dripping of what appears to be wax.

Amidst this gimmickry, performers were practically left to fend for themselves. As Sieglinde, mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier sang and acted with his usual compelling intensity, even if the age is draining some heat from his voice. Bass Vitalij Kowaljow sang demanding music of Wotan tirelessly and with a solid, pleasant and tone, but dramatically made little impression.

Soprano Nina Stemme, as close to an ideal Bruennhilde as one can find today, gave an exceptional performance, with a vibrating sound, constant in all its variety. You should get even a good sportsmanship award to tolerate the night of the ugliest costume, a dark dress, glitter caked that had a huge bag of fabric grouped and protruding from behind his life.

Van Aken, who learned only Thursday that he'd be replacing a sick Simon O'Neill, showed promise to be a nice addition to the rank of heldentenors, who specialize in heavier Wagnerian roles. Had a little difficulty supporting some passages soft, low, but her voice expanded and strengthened as it climbed the ladder, taking a call, heroic quality at the top.

By completing the ranks of soloists were rich half Ekaterina Gubanova-expressed as wife of Wotan, Fricka and bass John Tomlinson, who blasted sinister note low as husband of Sieglinde, Hunding.

A season of Tuesday opening, first revoked his wand Barenboim, appealed to the President of Italy, sitting in Royal box, to protect Italian cultural institutions against budget cuts threatened. Outside the police State Opera who have clashed with demonstrators protesting cuts both culture and higher education.

Friday focus to Barenboim, was all about the course. Chose arditezza slow rhythms in places where other conductors accelerating, as in music that describes Siegmund and Sieglinde flight through the forest. And brought to the fore section woodwind repeatedly, adding warmth accustomed to many passages.

But had serious problems of coordination between orchestra and soloists. With van Aken, given the lack of time to test, that was understandable. With other singers, less so.

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