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Over the 96 years of Academy Awards history, over 900 men and women have been honored with acting nominations. On July 4, 2024, the oldest surviving acting winner (or nominee) has turned 100 years old. Our research shows that Eva Marie Saint joins a very short list of centenarians who received Oscar acting nominations, with four winning the award.

A star of stage, radio, TV and film, Saint won the Best Supporting Actress statue in 1955 for her debut movie performance in “On the Waterfront;” she is also the earliest surviving acting winner, and one of the last stars of the Golden Era. She later starred alongside Cary Grant in one of Alfred Hitchcock‘s most acclaimed films, “North by Northwest” (1959), and became known to a younger generation as Clark Kent’s adoptive mother in “Superman Returns” (2006). Although she’s never received another Oscar nomination, she’s earned five Emmy nominations, winning Best Miniseries Supporting Actress...

I.E. Entertainment, the global distribution outfit founded and run by industry veterans Indra and Erlina Suharjono, has come on board to handle worldwide sales for Cathay Film Company’s “Coolie.”

The TV miniseries is inspired by the little-known history of enslaved Chinese ‘coolies’ in Cuba in the 1860s. It begins shooting this week in the Dominican Republic and will also include locations in Panama.

I.E. Entertainment will introduce “Coolie” to buyers for the first time at the Asia Television Forum & Market (Atf), which runs this week in Singapore.

The eight-episode English and Chinese language drama series is a global production from Meileen Choo’s Singapore-based Cathay Film Company and features a multinational ensemble cast from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cuba and Colombia.

Arvin Chen is directing. In-Ah Lee (“Land of Plenty,” “Don’t Come Knockin’” “The Way I Spent the End of the World”) is the series’ executive producer. Ed Buhr...

Arvin Chen is to direct “Coolie,” a limited series featuring enslaved Chinese workers in 19th century Cuba.

The eight-part series is the first to emerge from Cathay Film Company, a recent production venture launched by Singapore-based industry veteran Meileen Choo.

In the mid-1800s, when the African slave trade was outlawed throughout the Americas, plantation owners in Cuba instead began trafficking indentured servants from China and other parts of Asia. These, so-called coolies were often treated as slaves, but some integrated into Cuban society and joined the country’s fight for independence from Spain. The provided a low-cost workforce for farms, restaurants, factories and were instrumental in setting up Chinatowns across the world.

With Hong Kong actor Louise Wong in the lead role as a young woman who departs from southern China to marry a political exile working on a sugarcane plantation in Cuba, the narrative sees her join forces...

“Perfect Days,” which world premiered in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, is reminiscent – in some ways – of “Groundhog Day,” but whereas in the latter film Bill Murray’s character, Phil, is trying to escape the repetitive nature of his existence, in Wim Wenders’ film the protagonist, Hirayama, is “embracing it,” the German director tells Variety.

Both films show the lead characters waking at the same time each morning, but whereas, in “Groundhog Day,” Phil is awoken by an alarm clock, in Wenders’ film, as he points out, Hirayama, played by Cannes best actor winner Koji Yakusho, “wakes up on his own, or he wakes up because there’s an old lady brushing the street outside, always on time. He doesn’t need an alarm clock. He doesn’t even own one.” There is a sense that this is a man in harmony with nature, and at peace with his existence,...

Director Scott Derrickson has closed a deal to direct the “Doctor Strange” sequel, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

A search is underway for a screenwriter with an eye toward a spring 2020 production start. Derrickson wrote and directed the 2016 first film that starred Benedict Cumberbatch, who will also return to play the doctor-turned-Sorcerer Supreme Steven Strange.

Benedict Wong and Rachel McAdams also starred in the first film and are expected to return for the sequel.

See Video: 'Avengers: Infinity War': Bruce Banner and Doctor Strange Explain Thanos to Tony Stark

“Doctor Strange” grossed $677 million worldwide. The character was last seen playing a crucial role in “Avengers: Infinity War,” which has earned more than $2 billion at the global box office.

Derrickson’s other directing credits include “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” “Sinister,” “Strange” and “Deliver Us From Evil.” His writing credits include “Devil’s Knot,” “Sinister 2” and “Land of Plenty.

by StaffDirectors’ cinema, now: Tiff’s three-year-old Platform program returns for 2017 with more original voices and visionary films.

Last year, Platform included celebrated works such as William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth — currently playing at Tiff Bell Lightbox — Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, and Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award Best Picture winner, Moonlight. The 12 films in this year’s programme are another showcase for the artistry of a group of bold, dynamic voices in contemporary cinema.

Sweet CountryIf You Saw His Heart

This year’s lineup presents 12 films from eight countries on five continents. All selected films will compete for the Platform Prize, to be awarded by a jury made up of award-winning filmmakers Chen Kaige, Małgorzata Szumowska, and Wim Wenders.

The program will open with the world premiere of The Death of Stalin, from award-winning director-writer Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, Veep). The historical epic follows the final days leading up to the Soviet dictator’s death.

Fourth of July movies: A few recommended titles that should help you temporarily escape current global madness Two thousand and seventeen has been a weirder-than-usual year on the already pretty weird Planet Earth. Unsurprisingly, this Fourth of July, the day the United States celebrates its Declaration of Independence from the British Empire, has been an unusual one as well. Instead of fireworks, (at least some) people's attention has been turned to missiles – more specifically, a carefully timed North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile test indicating that Kim Jong-un could theoretically gain (or could already have?) the capacity to strike North America with nuclear weapons. Then there were right-wing trolls & history-deficient Twitter users berating National Public Radio for tweeting the Declaration of Independence, 140 characters at a time. Besides, a few days ago the current U.S. president retweeted a video of himself body-slamming and choking a representation of CNN – courtesy of a gif originally created by a far-right Internet...

Cannes - "Did you see the Lisandro Alonso?!" came the eager text from a friend not in Cannes, mere minutes after I had, indeed, seen Alonso's "Jauja" -- an Argentine western turned existential comedy turned, well, any number of alternate-dimension subgenres. I  envied him his excitement. Alonso has built up a fiercely devoted band of admirers with his opaque brand of slow-cinema puzzle picture, as demonstrated in the likes of "Liverpool" and "Los Muertos"; for those of us who have never gained access to that club, "Jauja" is unlikely to bring us much closer. Intermittently playful, consistently confounding, finally petrified, it's a film of fussy, cultivated austerity; Alonsolytes will debate what it's hiding, while others will suggest "an actual movie" as the answer. Initially, improbably, it seems that we're in for more hand-holding than usual from Alonso, as proceedings open with a lengthy block of text that helpfully gives context...

Argentine director Lisandro Alonso has built a cult following around a handful of elegant, minimalist films made for meditative minds. In comparison to his earlier work, the most surprising thing about Jauja (Land of Plenty) is its relative verbosity and the traces of actual narrative in the screenplay written by poet and journalist Fabian Casas. Another prime attraction is actor Viggo Mortensen in the role of a dizzy 19th century army captain whose search for his missing daughter in the wilds of South America turns into a long existential journey. Whether these elements will suffice to enlarge the director’s circle

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Hunger Games DoP Tom Stern and 12 Years a Slave cinematographer Sean Bobbitt among those chosen for jury duty.

The 21st Camerimage, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography (Nov 16-23), has revealed the competition jurors who will judge entries at this year’s event in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Jury members of the main competition jury are:

Tom Stern, cinematographer (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, The Hunger Games);Ed Lachman, cinematographer (Erin Brockovich, The Virgin Suicides, I’m Not There);Todd McCarthy, journalist and film critic;Denis Lenoir, cinematographer (Paris, je t’aime, Righteous Kill, 88 Minutes);Adam Holender, cinematographer (Midnight Cowboy, Smoke, Fresh);Timo Salminen, cinematographer (The Man Without a Past, La Havre, The Match Factory Girl);Franz Lustig, cinematographer (Don’t Come Knocking, Land of Plenty, Palermo Shooting);Jeffrey Kimball, cinematographer (Top Gun, Mission: Impossible II, The Expendables).Polish Films Competition

Jost Vacano, the cinematographer behind several Paul Verhoeven films including Total Recall, RoboCop and [link...

The uneducated Oscar follower will think that Michelle Williams big break came in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain as Alma, the young wife that discovers her husband’s dark secret. The truth is Ms. Williams started gaining independent attention in films like The Station Agent (2003), in which she was nominated along with her co-stars for Cast Ensemble by the Screen Actors Guild Awards; she also captured attention as “Ruby” in Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Prozac Nation (2001) with Christina Ricci and as Lana in Wim Wenders’ Land of Plenty (2004), a performance that netted her a Best Actress nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards. When Williams was cast as Alma in Lee’s film, in her minimal screen time, Williams was able to make an undeniable impression. As Alma makes her progression from a loving and devoted wife and mother to an enigma of confusion after she witnesses her husband Ennis (Heath Ledger...

Kate Winslet as Rose, Titanic 3D The Hunger Games will easily top the North American box for the third weekend in a row. Gary Ross' dystopic adventure tale collected $12.9 million on Friday, April 6, according to studio estimates found at Box Office Mojo. The film will likely earn somewhere between $35-$40 million over the Easter weekend. If so, it will be down around 30-35% compared to a week ago — or about half its 62% drop-off rate last (non-holiday) weekend. The Hunger Games should cross the $300 million mark at the domestic box office on Sunday. Its current total is $282.23 million. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg's American Reunion landed at no. 2 on Friday. At 3,192 locations, the R-rated comedy took in $9.2 million — including $660,000 earned at Thursday midnight screenings. Its weekend total could reach $25 million. If those estimates are correct, Universal will claim that American Reunion far surpassed the $18.7 million earned by the original...

HollywoodNews.com: This year’s winner of the Hollywood Fashion Awards – Best Dressed at Gala Ceremony was actress Michelle Williams.

Michelle dressed in a blue chiffon Nina Ricci gown. See video below:

Michelle Williams – See Photo Gallery Below

My Week With Marilyn Monroe ◄ Back Next ►Picture 1 of 15

Michelle Williams in "My Week With Marilyn Monroe"

Last month, Academy Award-nominated Michelle Williams was also honored with the “Hollywood Actress Award,” for her performance in “My Week with Marilyn,”at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which took place October 24, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Michelle Williams’ performances have established her as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and respected actors earning her two Academy Award® nominations.

Williams was last seen in Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine opposite Ryan Gosling. Williams’ captivating performance earned her an Academy Award® nomination for Best Actress as well as Golden Globe and Broadcast...

Venerable Filmmaker Praises ‘Avatar,’ Talks 'Pina' & Speaks Candidly About Hollywood’s Current 3D Dilemma While it might not seem apparent at first, given his films haven't made much of a commercial dent in recent years, Wim Wenders, is still ahead of the curve. In 1997, over a decade before its use became prevalent, he shot sequences of his "The End of Violence" film in HD, he cast Michelle Williams as his lead in the little seen "Land Of Plenty" before she became fully noticed in "Brokeback Mountain," and for his latest trick he's shot "Pina," a documentary about the medium…...

HollywoodNews.com: The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment, are pleased to announce that Academy Award-nominated actress Michelle Williams will be honored with the “Hollywood Actress Award,” at the festival’s Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place October 24, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. “It is a privilege to honor Michelle Williams for her excellent talent and remarkable career,” said Mr. de Abreu.

The Hollywood Film Awards Gala launches the awards season. In the past eight years a total of 73 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Awards.

The 2011 Hollywood Film Festival has also announced that they will honor Academy Award-nominated actor Christopher Plummer with the “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award” for “Beginners,” actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

New York Film Critics Circle Awards chairman Armond White cut a dapper figure as the evening’s host on Monday night, but he was also something of a jerk at his own show. Highlights included his snide suggestion that presenter Tony Kushner should explain why “The Social Network” deserved to win best picture and choosing to praise presenter Michelle Williams for the 2004 “Land of Plenty” (back when she was best ...

The New York Press‘ Armond White reaffirmed his rep as the world’s angriest film critic at last night’s NY Film Critics’ Circle Awards, throwing barbs at any movie that dared to win despite him hating it. Some on-stage highlights from the circle’s chair:

White suggested presenter Tony Kushner, awarding Best Picture to The Social Network, could “explain why it won.”—because Armond hated it. White only discussed the 2004 film Land Of Plenty when introducing Blue Valentine’s Michelle Williams. “I can’t imagine what you’ve said about me since then if you had to go back that far to say something nice,” she responded. White muttered “at least Greenberg didn’t win anything,” having previously suggested in print that director Noah Baumbach’s mother should have had a “retroactive abortion.”

Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky got off a good one back (”Keep it up, you give...

The New York Press‘ Armond White reaffirmed his rep as the world’s angriest film critic at last night’s NY Film Critics’ Circle Awards, throwing barbs at any movie that dared to win despite him hating it. Some on-stage highlights from the circle’s chair: White suggested presenter Tony Kushner, awarding Best Picture to The Social Network, could “explain why it won.”—because Armond hated it. White only discussed the 2004 film Land Of Plenty when introducing Blue Valentine’s Michelle Williams. “I can’t imagine what you’ve said about me since then if you had to go back that far to say something nice,” she responded. White muttered “at least Greenberg didn’t win anything,” having previously suggested in print that director Noah Baumbach’s mother should have had a “retroactive abortion.” Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky got off a good one back (”Keep it up, you give...

Hollywood 30s ingenue whose return to acting gained her an Oscar nomination for Titanic

When Gloria Stuart, who has died aged 100, was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar for her spirited performance in James Cameron's Titanic (1997), there were few filmgoers who remembered her earlier acting career in the 1930s. Stuart played the 101-year-old Rose (portrayed in the rest of the film by Kate Winslet), who recalls the time when she was 17 onboard the doomed liner. ("I can still smell the fresh paint," she says.)

Sixty-five years earlier, Stuart stood out as a blonde ingenue in James Whale's comedy-thriller The Old Dark House (1932), in which she wore a tight evening gown and was chased by Boris Karloff as a sinister butler. Stuart recalled how Whale told her: "When Karloff chases you through the halls, I want you to be like a flame or a dancer." She was both.

Gloria Stuart, a beloved Hollywood actress who is best known for her portrayal of older version of Kate Winslet's Rose DeWitt Bukater in "Titanic", has died at the age of 100, Associated Press reported. On Monday, September 27, Gloria's daughter, Sylvia Thompson, confirmed that the star passed away of respiratory failure at her Los Angeles home on Sunday night, September 26.

Sylvia shared, "She also was a breast cancer survivor. She did not believe in illness. She paid no attention to it, and it served her well. She had a great life. I'm not sad. I'm happy for her." "Poor Little Rich Girl" actress Gloria fought off the breast cancer 20 years ago and was diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago.

Gloria turned 100 on July 4 and celebrated the birthday at the "Academy Centennial Celebration with Gloria Stuart" with a party hosted by "Titanic" director James Cameron and his wife Suzy Amis. Gloria...

Beloved Hollywood actress Gloria Stuart, who played the older version of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic, has died at the age of 100.

Stuart passed away on Sunday at her Los Angeles home, reports The Washington Post.

Her daughter, writer Sylvia Thompson, tells the newspaper Stuart was diagnosed with lung cancer several years ago and had also previously battled breast cancer.

The actress began working in Hollywood in the 1930s and starred in over 40 films during her career, including The Invisible Man, Here Comes the Navy and Poor Little Rich Girl.

After a nearly a decade away from the spotlight, she returned to the big screen in 1997, as the 101-year-old version of Kate Winslet's character Rose in James Cameron's Titanic.

She became the the oldest actress ever to be nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in the film.

Stuart published her autobiography, I Just Kept Hoping, in 1999, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000.

She last appeared on the big screen in Wim Wenders' Land of Plenty in 2004.

The star was honoured by the Screen Actors Guild for her years of service in June, weeks before celebrating her centenary on 4 July.

In addition to her daughter, Stuart is survived by four grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Gloria Stewart who appeared as the elderly 'Rose' in the mega hit 'Titanic' has passed away at 100 years of age. Ms. Stewart who was diagnosis with lung cancer a few years ago succumed to the illness illness the Sunday the 26th. Gloria, who changed her name fron Stewart to Stuart for career purposes, was a founding member of 'SAG' which is the Screen Actor's Guild'. 'Street of Women' was Ms. Steward's first film in 1932. She made her last film, 'Land of Plenty' in 2004. This is a career that spanned 78 years. In all those years she won...

Gloria Stuart, the elegant actress who found fame late in her seven decade Hollywood career when she earned an Oscar nomination for her role as the elderly Rose in 1997's Titanic, passed away on Sunday in her West Los Angeles home. She was 100 years old.

Born Gloria Frances Stewart on July 4, 1910 in Santa Monica, California, she grew up in southern California and attended Santa Monica High School and the University of California at Berkeley, where she first became interested in acting. After dropping out of college and marrying Blair Gordon Newell in 1930, she continued to explore acting in productions at the Pasadena Playhouse. Hollywood studios began to take notice of the petite blonde actress, and she soon signed a contract with Universal Studios, but not before changing her surname from "Stewart" to "Stuart" as she believed it would look better on a theater marquee.

Her first appearance at Universal was in 1932's Street of Women, the same year in which she was named one of WAMPAS Baby Stars (young women the industry believed had the most potential for movie stardom.) She appeared in varied roles assigned to her by the studio, but it was her new friendship with director James Whale that led to her most memorable roles from this era, in the horror/thrillers The Old Dark House, Kiss Before the Mirror and The Invisible Man. Underutilized at Universal, she moved on to Warner Brothers, where she would work regularly through the end of the decade, with notable movies including Gold Diggers of 1935 and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.

In 1934, she divorced Blair Gordon Newell, and in the same year married screenwriter Arthur Sheekman, who wrote movies for the Marx Brothers. It was at dinner one evening with Harpo and Groucho Marx that Ms. Stuart learned about a new group that they and other actors were forming - the Screen Actors Guild. She believed actors needed protection from working too many long hours and joined their cause, becoming one of SAG's founding members. In 1935, Gloria and Arthur welcomed a daughter, Sylvia, and in 1939 the family left on a tour around the world, only returning home to California when World War II began. It was during this time in Europe that Ms. Stuart became interested in art, and in the years that her acting career waned she focused instead on creating furniture, decoupage, painting and eventually fine art printing.

Ms. Stuart retired from acting in 1946, and remained so until 1975, when she resumed her career with a role in the TV movie The Legend of Lizzie Borden. After the death of her husband Arthur in 1978, she appeared in a variety of roles through the remained of the 1970s and 1980s, including "Murder, She Wrote", "The Waltons", My Favorite Year, Mass Appeal, and Wildcats.

It was her role in James Cameron's 1997 epic Titanic, however, that gained her massive stardom, with her portrayal of the 101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater remembering the final hours of the Titanic as intertwined with meeting her first love, captured the public's imagination and affection. Her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. At the age of 87, the nomination - her first - made her the oldest person ever nominated for an Oscar. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2000, and detailed her more than 70 years in the film industry in her biography "I Just Kept Hoping". Her work in Titanic was followed by a steady stream of roles in TV and film, most notably two films with director Wim Wenders: The Million Dollar Hotel in 2000, and Land of Plenty in 2004.

Gloria Stuart, a leading lady of the 1930s who enjoyed a career revival for her performance as Old Rose in 1997's "Titanic," died of respiratory faiure in her sleep at her Los Angeles home on Sunday. She was 100.

The spry, engaging actress became the oldest Oscar nominee when, at age 88, she was nominated as best supporting actress for her performance, for which she needed old-age makeup, as a Titanic survivor who returns to the site of the disaster.

As the older version of the character played by Kate Winslet (who was nominated for best actress), the two became the first performers to be nominated for playing the same character in the same film.

In July, Stuart -- who once joked that James Cameron cast her because he needed an actress who was "still viable, not alcoholic, rheumatic or falling down" -- was feted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts...

Michelle Williams has signed with CAA for representation. The actress, who was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in Brokeback Mountain, next will appear in Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are. She also is attached to star in Charlie Kaufman's untitled directorial debut, which is set to begin filming in early summer 2007. She has signed on to appear in Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan. Williams' credits include Land of Plenty, The Station Agent and Me Without You. Her theater credits include Cherry Orchard, Killer Joe and Mike Leigh's Smelling a Rat. Williams had been repped by the Gersh Agency.

BERLIN -- Teddy Hoon-Tack Jung, president of Korean production, distribution and talent management company iHQ, has greenlighted the company's first English-language movie to shoot in the U.S. IHQ said Friday that American Zombie, from Korean-American director Grace Lee, is part of the company's mandate to "engage in international co-productions and target the North American market." Shooting on the $1 million project is set to begin in April in Los Angeles and will be produced by L.A.-based LeeLee Films. LeeLee is headed by In-Ah Lee, whose producer credits include the Wim Wenders-helmed films Don't Come Knocking and Land of Plenty.

BERLIN -- Teddy Hoon-Tack Jung, president of Korean production, distribution and talent management company iHQ, has greenlighted the company's first English-language movie to shoot in the U.S. IHQ said Friday that American Zombie, from Korean-American director Grace Lee, is part of the company's mandate to "engage in international co-productions and target the North American market." Shooting on the $1 million project is set to begin in April in Los Angeles and will be produced by L.A.-based LeeLee Films. LeeLee is headed by In-Ah Lee, whose producer credits include the Wim Wenders-helmed films Don't Come Knocking and Land of Plenty.

The CineVegas Film Festival on Monday announced its roster of films for this year's event, which will be held at the Palms Casino Resort and Brenden Theatres on June 10-18. The festival, in its seventh year, will open with MTV Films' Hustle & Flow, directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton. It will close nine days later with the world premiere of George A. Romero's Land of the Dead, the most recent of the director's zombie flicks. Romero will receive the Vanguard Director Award before the premiere. Director Wim Wenders also will be presented with a Vanguard Director Award before a screening of his Land of Plenty. The festival's Marquee Award will be given to Christopher Walken on June 14. The actor will participate in a talk with a moderator before the screening of his film, King of New York.

VENICE -- In very different ways, Paul Jeffries and his niece Lana have each gone the extra mile in their love for their homeland, America. Paul was with Special Forces in Vietnam and Lana has been a missionary in Africa and the Middle East. Now they are both in Los Angeles dealing with their reaction to the events known as 9/11.

Wim Wenders has crafted a thoughtful exploration of the impact of that infamous day on two Americans who love their country but seek to defend it in conflicting ways. In a political year, Land of Plenty could connect with audiences interested in examining how fear and prejudice can affect individuals and society as a whole.

The setting is a Los Angeles rarely seen in movies, a part of the city that could be any place in the Third World, where people are so poor it is known as the hunger capital of America. Lana, played with sparkling intelligence by Michelle Williams, has returned from Tel Aviv to live and work at a mission house in downtown L.A. Her mother has died and she wants to connect with her Uncle Paul, who has been out of touch for many years.

Paul is played by character veteran John Diehl who richly justifies Wenders' decision to cast him by delivering a multi-layered portrayal of a loyal soldier blasted to bewilderment by events in Vietnam. Exposed to Agent Pink exfoliate during that conflict, Paul's increasing psychological wounds are brutally punctured by watching the fate of New York's twin towers.

Grizzled, tired and sometimes drunk, Paul has formed a one-man defense unit, driving around the city with surveillance equipment, recording images and commentary covering potential suspects who invariably look like his idea of Arabs. He has a pal, Jimmy (Richard Edson), who has a contact or two in the police department and is always willing to run suspicious items through the more extreme elements of the Internet.

Roaming the city at night, Paul spots a man in a turban carrying boxes of Borax. Jimmy cracks an evil joke that it would be pretty funny when they're looking for a "dirty bomb" if terrorists turned out to use a heavy-duty cleaner, but Paul doesn't see the humor in it.

When the homeless man with the Borax boxes is gunned down in his cardboard crib close to Lana's mission house, Paul happens to be there on surveillance. His tape of the shooting ends up on network television and soon Lana is helping find out who the man was. Uncle and niece team up to get to the bottom of the shooting but Paul's paranoia becomes ever more extreme and dangerous. It will put Lana's sincere spirituality and concern for the troubled ex-soldier to the test.

Wenders' eye for locations and richly evocative work by director of photography Franz Lustig and production designer Nathan Amondson combine to give the film a powerful sensory impact. The music score and tracks featuring Leonard Cohen add greatly to the piece. Wenders' screenplay with Michael Meredith turns the cliche of the shell-shocked veteran on its head. The sense of wonderment and desire for understanding that envelop the old soldier and the young disciple create a mood of profound optimism.

Credits:

Director: Wim Wenders

Screenplay: Michael Meredith, Wim Wenders

Story: Wim Wenders, Scott Derrickson

Producers: In-ah Lee, Samson Mucke

Gary Winick, Jake Abraham

Executive producers: Peter Schwartzkopff, Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss

Director of photography: Franz Lustig

Editor: Moritz Laube

Production designer: Nathan Amondson

Costume designer: Alexis Scott

Composers: Thom & Nackt (cq)

Cast:

Lana: Michelle Williams

Paul: John Diehl

Hassan: Shaun Taub

Henry: Wendell Pierce

Jimmy: Richard Edson

Sherman: Burt Young

Youssef: Bernard White.

No MPAA rating

Running time -- 118 mins...

ROME -- German director Wim Wenders will receive the Robert Bresson award at the Venice International Film Festival, organizers said Tuesday. The award, named for the French director, is given annually in conjunction with Rai Cinema and Medusa films for work that expresses "sincerity and intensity." Wenders' film Land of Plenty is also expected to screen at the festival. Previous recipients of the award include Manoel de Oliveira, Giuseppe Tornatore, Theo Angelopoulos and Krzysztof Zanussi.

Michelle Williams is being lassoed to star in Ang Lee's cowboy love story Brokeback Mountain for Focus Features. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal are starring, while James Schamus, Michael Costigan, Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry are producing. Adapted by McMurtry and Ossana from a short story by The Shipping News scribe E. Annie Proulx, the story centers on two men (Ledger and Gyllenhaal) who meet one summer as sheepherders in Wyoming and form a bond and love that spans 20 years. The film tracks that time period and their evolving relationship. Williams would play Ledger's wife, Alma, who has to deal with her husband's secret love. Brokeback is slated to shoot in May. Williams gained attention for her work on the WB Network series Dawson's Creek. She most recently appeared in critical darling The Station Agent and has Miramax's Imaginary Heroes and Wim Wenders' Angst and Alienation in the can. She begins shooting The Baxter for IFC Prods. this week. Williams is repped by the Gersh Agency.