Key winners at Cannes, Berlin festivals compete for foreign-language honors at Oscars

October 2nd, 2009 Giant marionettes celebrate unified BerlinBERLIN — The first of a pair of giant marionettes has awakened in Berlin and started the search for her missing partner as part of a massive-scale street performance celebrating German reunification. The 7.5-meter (25-foot) wooden doll hanging from a crane and clad in a bright yellow rain slicker and hat launched her search Friday with the help of dozens of handlers and puppeteers.

October 1st, 2009 Steve Martin competes for top bluegrass honorsNASHVILLE, Tenn. — Comedian Steve Martin said it'll feel like the Academy Awards if he wins at the 20th annual International Bluegrass Music Awards.

September 30th, 2009 Spain selects post-Pinochet film for OscarsMADRID — The Spanish Cinema Academy on Tuesday selected a film set in Chile after the Pinochet dictatorship as the country's nomination to compete for the Oscar for best foreign language film. "El Baile de la Victoria" (Dance of Victory) was directed by Fernando Trueba, who won the Oscar for best foreign language film with "Belle Epoque" in 1993.

September 10th, 2009 Win a chance to sit alongside Oscar's red carpetLOS ANGELES — Oscar fans can win a chance to be a part of the 82nd Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says fans can enter a lottery for bleacher seats alongside Oscar's red carpet.

September 8th, 2009 LONDON - Directors of Pixar Animation Studios in the US have been awarded the Venice Film Festival's lifetime achievement award, making them the first team to bag the honour. Pixar has made 10 films, four of which have won best animation Oscars, with chief creative officer John Lasseter, 52, and other directors helming hits like 'Finding Nemo' and 'Toy Story'.

September 2nd, 2009 LONDON - The voting pattern for deciding the best movie at the Oscars is all set to change. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences which presents the Oscars said preferential voting will now decide the best film.

August 1st, 2009 Academy's 'Keeper of the Oscars' dead at 47LOS ANGELES — Steven Miessner, the motion picture academy's devoted "Keeper of the Oscars" who each year donned his signature white gloves to get the golden statuettes ready for their closeup before a worldwide audience, is dead at age 48. Miessner died at his home on Wednesday of a heart attack.

August 1st, 2009 Academy's 'Keeper of the Oscars' dead at 48LOS ANGELES — Steven Miessner, the motion picture academy's devoted "Keeper of the Oscars" who each year donned his signature white gloves to get the golden statuettes ready for their closeup before a worldwide audience, is dead at age 48. Miessner died at his home on Wednesday of a heart attack.

July 14th, 2009 Tony Leung breaks arm in training for kung fu filmBEIJING — Cannes best actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai broke his left arm while sparring with martial arts instructors as he prepared to portray Bruce Lee's kung fu master in a Wong Kar-wai movie, a publicist said Tuesday. One of the kung fu instructors kicked Leung during a practice session on Monday, breaking a bone in his left forearm, Agnes Leung, a publicist at Wong's production house Jettone Films, told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

June 25th, 2009 Oscars double down with 10 best-picture nomineesBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The Academy Awards will have 10 best-picture nominees instead of the usual five starting next year, improving the odds for films such as "The Dark Knight," a fan and critic favorite that was snubbed last time.

June 24th, 2009 Oscars doubling best-picture nominees to 10BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — The best-picture lineup at the Academy Awards is doubling from five films to 10, a move organizers said Wednesday will open the field to more worthy movies and possibly boost the ceremony's TV ratings.

May 13th, 2009 Curtain 'Up': Cannes opens with animated adventureCANNES, France — After nine hits and four Academy Awards for films including "WALL-E" and "Ratatouille," the Pixar Animation gang finally feels it has made it to the grown-ups' table with "Up," the first animated movie to open the Cannes Film Festival. The Oscars compartmentalize animated films into their own category.

May 13th, 2009 Cannes to show film by fiance of Roxana SaberiCANNES, France — When Cannes Film Festival organizers chose an Iranian film for their lineup, they couldn't have guessed how timely it would become. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" is co-scripted by Roxana Saberi, the U.S.-Iranian journalist released from jail Monday after serving four months of an eight-year sentence for allegedly spying for the United States.

May 12th, 2009 Cannes chief says Sean Penn a hard act to followCANNES, France — The head of the Cannes Film Festival says Sean Penn is a hard act to follow. The Academy Award-winning actor served as the president of last year's Cannes jury, and festival director Thierry Fremaux says he'll be missed.

May 12th, 2009 Huppert follows Penn as Cannes jury presidentCANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival faced a problem this year — how to replace passionate, attention-grabbing actor Sean Penn as jury president? For starters, organizers recruited a 2009 jury that includes actress Robin Wright Penn, who is in the midst of divorcing the Academy Award-winning "Milk" star. And as jury president, the festival opted for a French icon in Isabelle Huppert, who has starred in almost 100 films and twice won Cannes' best-actress prize.