Maury Chaykin, a prolific and award-winning actor recently seen in the hit TV comedy Less Than Kind, has died.The veteran actor died in Toronto early Tuesday, his 61st birthday, his agent Paul Hemrend told CBC News. No cause of death was confirmed, but Chaykin had been battling kidney problems.Chaykin, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to an American father and Canadian mother, studied drama at the State University of New York in Buffalo.He moved to Toronto to join the theatre scene in the mid-1970s, and the city would remain his base for the rest of his life.Ferne Downey, national president of the actors union ACTRA, hailed Chaykin for his contribution to Canadian film and TV on Tuesday."Maury was an infinitely gifted actor who has left us an incomparable body of work that will be cherished for many generations to come," she said."We will miss his passion for his craft and his love and commitment to building our Canadian industry."An actor with more than 120 credits, Chaykin regularly appeared in the films of Atom Egoyan (Adoration, Where the Truth Lies, The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica, The Adjuster) and Don McKellar (Cooking with Stella, Blindness ).Other prominent appearances include Whale Music, Dances with Wolves and ...

Montreal journalist, director and dance filmmaker Philip Szporer has won the $6,000 Jacqueline Lemieux Prize for dance professionals.

Barney's Version, producer Robert Lantos's anticipated adaptation of Mordecai Richler's book, Robert Redford's drama The Conspirator and the Woody Allen comedy You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger will unspool at this year's edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, organizers announced on Tuesday.TIFF CEO and director Piers Handling and co-director Cameron Bailey unveiled dozens of titles that will be featured at the September gala, special presentation and masters lineups, many making their world or North American debuts.The bill includes new works from noted filmmakers such as Darren Aronofsky, Mike Leigh, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, John Cameron Mitchell and Susanne Bier.This year also marks the 35th edition of the popular annual celebration of film, and programmers have once again scoured the world for "the best cinema we can find from every part of the globe," Handling told media, donors and industry representatives gathered for the morning announcement."To continue to find these gems and to bring them to greater prominence is one of our key roles as a festival," Handling said, citing as an example the Argentine film The Secret in Their Eyes, which arrived at TIFF last year with no distribution deal, but left with a deal and acclaim that eventually ...

This year, the 35th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) runs from Sept. 9-19. Confirmed screenings, so far include:Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" Guillaume Canet's "Little White Lies" Barry Blaustein's "Peep World" Andy De Emmony's "West Is West" Emilio Estevez' "The Way" Steven Silver's "The Bang Bang Club" George Hickenlooper's "Casino Jack" David M. Rosenthal's "Janie Jones." Richard J. Lewis' "Barney's Version" Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" John Madden's "The Debt" Im Sang-Soo's "The Housemaid" Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" Francois Ozon's "Potiche" Ben Affleck's "The Town." Raul Ruiz' "Mysteries of Lisbon" Mike Leigh's "Another Year" Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Biutiful" Julian Schnabel's "Miral" Stephen Frears' "Tamara Drewe" Sylvain Chomet's "The Illusionist" Kim Jee-woon's "I Saw the Devil" Andrew Lau's "The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" Tran Anh Hung's "Norwegian Wood" Rachid Bouchareb's "Outside the Law" Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's "A Screaming Man" Anurag Kashyap's "That Girl in Yellow Boots" Mark Romanek's "Never Let Me Go" Mike Mills' "Beginners" John Cameron Mitchell's "Rabbit Hole" John Curran's "Stone" Richard Ayoade's "Submarine" Michael Winterbottom's "The Trip" Nigel Cole's "Made In Dagenham" Eric Lartigau's "The Big Picture" Rowan Joffe's "Brighton Rock" Tony Goldwyn's "Conviction" Kiran Rao's "Dhobi Ghat" Will Gluck's "Easy A" Malcolm Venville's "Henry's Crime" Ryan Fleck's/Anna Bolden's "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" Pierre Thoretton's "L'Amour Fou" Andrucha Waddington's "Lope" David Schwimmer's "Trust." Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Jack Goes Boating" Danis Tanovic's "Cirkus Columbia" Susanne Bier's "In a Better World" Alain Corneau's ...

British actor Daniel Craig, who has put his stamp on the role of James Bond, is to play journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the English-language adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.According to the Hollywood Reporter, Craig has signed up for what could be three movies in the series based on Stieg Larsson's best-selling novels.Blomkvist is a crusading reporter and a man whom women cannot resist.Swedish versions of Larsson's first two novels, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire, are already in commercial release.David Fincher, director of Fight Club and The Social Network, is set to helm the English-language remake.No actress has yet been announced for the role of Lisbeth Salander, the computer hacker and crime fighter with the disturbing past. Canadian Ellen Page, Rooney Mara and Emily Browning are among the names tipped for the female lead.Meanwhile, Craig's career as 007 is on hold. The financial woes of MGM have stalled any new movies in the James Bond franchise.In April, Bond's British producers, Michael Wilson and his half-sister Barbara Broccoli, announced that development of the next 007 feature, known as Bond 23, was suspended indefinitely.Craig is credited with reviving the Bond persona in ...

Let Me In (Let The Right One In - the American version)After the Swedish original earned raves, Matt Reeves (CLOVERFIELD) directs this remake of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. In Tomas Alfredson's 2008 film, a lonely 12-year-old finds a friend in his new neighbor, a girl who happens to be a vampire.

Drive Angry trailerNicolas Cage headlines this high-octane 3D thriller about a convicted felon who breaks out of prison to prevent the cult that murdered his daughter from sacrificing his infant granddaughter on the night of the full moon. With just three days to go before the ritual killing, Milton crosses paths with knockout waitress Piper, who agrees to help him by stealing her ex-boyfriend's mean, cherry-red muscle machine. Between that high-performance car and Milton's own black '71 Challenger, they may have a shot at taking down the cult and saving his granddaughter's life. But charismatic cult leader Jonah King isn't running scared, because when hell is unleashed on Earth, he will be the most powerful man alive. Unfortunately for Milton, the cops are quickly closing in, and a savage serial killer known only as "The Accountant" is looking to have some bloody fun on the open roads. With each passing minute, Milton's last shot at redemption is fading, so he teams up with Piper to defeat Jonah's legions of loyal disciples, avenge the death of his daughter, and prevent the crazed cult leader from plunging the entire world into infernal darkness.

As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror...

As a deadly battle rages over Jigsaw's brutal legacy, a group of Jigsaw survivors gathers to seek the support of self-help guru and fellow survivor Bobby Dagen, a man whose own dark secrets unleash a new wave of terror...

The UK Film Council has been axed as part of the austerity measures being undertaken by the British coalition government.British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced a round of cuts Monday to the department for culture, media and sport, including abolition of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.The UK Film Council, which has an annual operating budget of £15 million ($24 million), was set up by the previous Labour government to develop and promote British film. It also fostered the move to digital projection in the U.K.It has funnelled $255 million in lottery money to produce over 900 films since 2000, including works such as Gosford Park, Man on a Wire and The Last King of Scotland.It is the highest profile of 16 public bodies cut on Monday as Britain seeks to tame its huge deficit.The Museums, Library and Archives Council, which has raised standards at regional museums, delivered national museums programs and fostered digitization in libraries and archives, is also to be abolished.Many of the programs it delivers, including funding of regional museums, are not expected to survive reviews of government spending down the road.Both agencies will be wound down by April 2012.Other British cultural organizations Hunt placed under review ...