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Following the acclaimed opening night debut of La La Land, the HFPA met director Damien Chazelle and his star  (and twice Golden Globe nominee) Emma Stone (Golden Globe nominee Ryan Gosling having been kept from the Lido by filming duties on Blade Runner). “Venice is the perfect launching pad for a movie like La La Land” said 31 year-old Chazelle, 31 years old, whose second film had the honor of opening the 73rd Venice Film Festival.

Anyone who first encounters Ana de Armas' talent in Hands of Stone.

The Venice Film Festival opened with a bang – or rather a shimmy and a song – here in a sunny Lido with the world premiere of La La Land, as Damien Chazelle’s sophomore feature lived up to all of its pre-festival buzz (and augured well for a continuing festival streak). From the long tracking shot that envelops an ensemble dance number that erupts from a traffic jam on a freeway ramp  (how has no one ever filmed this before?!), to its fanciful duel ending, the film is both an homage and a fresh updating of the Hollywood musical.

The 73rd Venice International Film Festival opens this year under the shadow of a tragedy – the earthquake that made scores of victims in Central Italy on August 24 - and wrapped in the glow of what seems to be its unique power – the fact that, for the past three years, Venice has anointed the favorite title, the one to beat come awards season. The tragedy led to the cancellation of the traditional gala, after the screening of the opening film – this year, the highly anticipated La La Land, directed by Whiplash’s Damien Chazelle and starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as lovers in a musical-fantasy version of Los Angeles.

Gene Wilder was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin June 11, 1933 and in a career spanning five decades made comedy history. He was twice nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor, Comedy, once in 1972 for Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and again in 1977 for Silver Streak.

Sony’s low budget horror gem Don’t Breathe left audiences gasping for air after a stunning $26. 1 million domestic debut.

In 2009, when Fede Álvarez uploaded a 5-minute short titled Panic Attack to YouTube in his native Uruguay, it stirred a big enough commotion in Hollywood to produce multiple offers and enable him to continue his career in the United States. Álvarez eventually struck a deal with Sam Raimi’s Ghost House to direct the remake of Evil Dead.

“I’m not sure if this is true, but recently somebody told me that I have made more movies with women directors than any other producer in Hollywood. ” Notes Jenno Topping, President of Film and Television at Chernin Entertainment.

In Order of Disappearance is a Norwegian black action comedy that aims its barbs straight at the heart of social democracy. A hit in Norway after a stellar debut at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival, the film stars Stellan Skarsgård as a quiet and peaceful snowplow driver who goes into full-on revenge mode after a death in the family.

This late August box office session was pretty slow and offered no quarter for newcomer Ben-Hur. MGM and Paramount’s remake of the Hollywood golden-age classic failed to throw Suicide Squad off its perch.