LONDON, England -- "All the best things happen in the dark, and that's all that matters," London Film Festival Artistic Director Sandra Hebron quipped to an audience of more than 300 reporters in a nice twist on some of the Hadron Collider stories that have been dominating the headlines recently.

She was talking at London Film Festival's own bid to grab some headlines with its announcement of the line-up for this year's event.

The opening reel unwinds on October 15th with the world premiere of "Frost/Nixon," director Ron Howard's adaptation of Peter Morgan's stage play about the historic encounter between British TV showman David Frost and the disgraced ex-U.S. President three years after Watergate. Watch a clip from the film below.

Another American President comes under the spotlight at LFF in the shape of George W. Bush. Oliver Stone has aldready tackled Nixon and JFK on-screen and now turns his attention to Bush in "W." It is already causing controversy in the U.S. as it is a rare feature about an incumbent President.

A recent feature of the London Film Festival is to make use of the city's landmark venues. Hence the world premiere of the latest Bond movie "Quantum of Solace," which will be shown free in an open-air screening in Trafalgar Square moments after it's world premiere in nearby Leicester Square. It's hoped the stars might wander the short distance from one venue to the other to delight their fans.

Former Bond girl Eva Green is among the stars expected to shine in London this year. Hollywood-hunters can look forward to the likes of Peter O'Toole, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro and Rachel Weisz as well as directorial delights from Steven Soderbergh, Michael Winterbottom and Danny Boyle

Boyle is currently the focus of critical acclaim at Toronto Film Festival with his latest film "Slumdog Millionaire." It is the rags-to-riches story of a boy from Mumbai who becomes a star on the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," and it will close LFF on October 30th.

-- From CNN's Neil Curry

Labels: benicio del toro, festival of festivals, frost/nixon, london film festival, Penelope Cruz, Peter O'Toole, quantum of solace, rachel weisz, ron howard, slumdog millionaire

TORONTO, Canada -- The hectic junket schedule continues at Toronto. I have a few hours set aside for "Miracle at St. Anna" -- the new Spike Lee (right) movie about the contribution of African-American troops in World War II.

This is the movie, remember, that caused Spike Lee to criticize Clint Eastwood about the lack of African-American troops in his two World War II movies from 2006, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters from Iwo Jima," which in turn caused Clint Eastwood to say Spike Lee should "Shut his face." All rather awkward; and Spike quite clearly does not want to go into it again with me.

Regardless, we have a good time during my whopping 20 minute time slot with him. He talks about shooting the film in Italy; filming a war epic -- and what moved him about the story.

I also ask him about a rumor I'd heard that when Barack Obama told Spike his first date with Michelle was to see "Do the Right Thing" -- Lee's 1989 story of a scorchingly hot day in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn where hatred and resentment spills into violence -- Spike apparently said: "Well, thank God I made it or you'd have had to take her to "Soul Man" or "Driving Miss Daisy" and she'd never have wanted to see you again."

Spike laughs it off and says Obama did take Michelle to "Do the Right Thing" and to Baskin Robbins after -- but he refuses to go into any more detail. Hmmm...

-- From CNN's Katie Walmsley

Labels: barack obama, clint eastwood, do the right thing, flags of our fathers, letters from iwo jima, miracle at st anna, spike lee, toronto film festival

TORONTO, Canada -- We wait around two-and-a-half hours for the "Brother's Bloom" junket , finally give up and head to Guy Ritchie's "RocknRolla." Then we traipse back down to "Brothers Bloom," where they seem to have sorted themselves out a bit.

"Brothers Bloom" is a terrific new film by Rian Johnson -- a sort of semi-fantastical and very funny story of two conmen and their worldwide journey of elaborate lies.

Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody play the two brothers, while Rachel Weisz plays their victim, an eccentric woman who has barely ever left her mansion.

Interviewing Brody, I found myself wanting to ask things like: "How are you such a good actor? How do you do it? How does your mind work?" But I had to content myself for practicality's sake with just asking him what it is about acting that he loves.

Brody says he loves to try on different hats and that doing comedy is great for him because as quite a serious person it's something different. I compliment him extravagantly on the film (which I genuinely think is brilliant) and he seems happy.

Weisz and I both bond over being north London girls who went to sister schools and now live in almost the same area of Manhattan. She is absolutely stunning in person and also extremely warm and friendly. She tells me about the process she went through with the director for pulling some of the weirder clothes out of her wardrobe to try and create a "look" for her character, Penelope, including giant lace-up Victorian clown shoes. Why did she have those in the first place?

-- From CNN's Katie Walmsley in Toronto

Labels: adrien brody, mark ruffalo, rachel weisz, rian johnson, the brothers bloom, toronto film festival

LONDON, England -- After mixed reviews for 2006's "The Fountain," which had its world premiere at Venice (several critics booed the film at the press screening but it received a 10-minute standing ovation at the public screening the next night), Darren Aronofsky has finally scored the Lido's top prize with his latest film "The Wrestler," starring Mickey Rourke (pictured), Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.

This win and the film's storyline, which is more conventional than earlier films like "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream," should propel Aronofsky into a more commercial global market -- and, of course, put the film into Oscars contention.

The Silver Lion for Best Direction went to Russia's Aleksei German Jr for "Paper Soldier," the story of a doctor working with the first Soviet cosmonauts; Best Actor went to Silvio Orlando for his portrayal of the father of a young girl who commits murder in Pupi Avati's "Il Papa di Giovanna"; and Best Actress went to Dominique Blanc as a woman who can't cope with her independence in "L'Autre."

Labels: mickey rourke, the wrestler, venice film festival

TORONTO, Canada -- Press kicked off early on Thursday morning with the "Appaloosa" junket. It's a Western based on Robert B. Parker's novel, which stars and is directed by Ed Harris. Harris has cast Viggo Mortensen as his fellow hired gun, Jeremy Irons as a local thug and Renee Zellwegger as a mysterious widow.

The movie is the kind of subtly written and acted work you would expect of Harris -- and it is a great showcase for both his talents and Mortensen's.

Mortensen in person is modest bordering on shy -- and quite earnest, but in a way that mostly suggests he has very personal feelings about the film.

Ed Harris is, aside from being extremely attractive, quietly excited about the film, which has clearly been a passion project for him. Jeremy Irons talks about watching Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" during filming and realizing his accent in "Appaloosa" and Daniel Day Lewis' in "There Will Be Blood" are basically the same.

They all clearly enjoyed the experience of filming a western in the desert near Santa Fe, New Mexico. It sounds like a grown-up version of playing cowboys and indians but with really expensive props.

-- From CNN's Katie Walmsley in Toronto

Labels: apaloosa, ed harris, renee zellwegger, toronto film festival, viggo mortensen, western

LONDON, England -- We at The Screening Room were pretty pleased to hear that Italian Uberto Pasolini's directorial debut "Machan" has won the Europa Cinemas Label as Best European film at Venice.

It's a really touching story of a group of slum dwellers in Colombo, Sri Lanka who are desperate for an escape route to the West which they perceive to be a land of riches. One day they stumble upon a flyer advertising a handball tournament in Bavaria, which seems like a present from the gods. Cue the creation of the entirely fictitious Sri Lanka National Handball Team.

Pasolini started his career as a runner on the Cambodia genocide movie "The Killing Fields" and was Oscar-nominated as a producer for Brit comedy "The Full Monty." He said that he was inspired to make the film by a news story about a group of 23 Sri Lankan men who, posing as the National Handball Team of Sri Lanka, disappeared during a handball tournament in Germany.

"The impulse to make 'Machan' stems from the discovery of an absurd true event that inspired me to confront the immigration policies of the West in a non-didactic, humorous way," he said.

Hopefully the film will benefit from the commitment from the Europa Cinemas program, which says it will do its best to extend the film's run via promotion in 48 European countries.

-- From CNN's Mairi Mackay

Labels: machan, uberto pasolini, venice film festival

LONDON, England -- Many hacks, paps, critics, and movie industry types have upped sticks from the Lido and climbed aboard planes to Toronto, Canada where this one of this year's big film festivals has just kicked off.

Notable premieres include: Spike Lee's "Miracle at St. Anna," about a group of African-American U.S. soldiers in Italy in World War II; "The Lucky Ones," about returning Iraq War veterans on a road trip home starring Tim Robbins; and "The Secret Life of Bees," which stars Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah in an adaptation of the Sue Monk Kidd best seller.

Labels: toronto film festival

VENICE, Italy -- I caught up with critic of 14 years and Venice veteran Lee Marshall to find out what he's excited about and why.

What's special about Venice?

It doesn't have the business side of things like Berlin and Cannes and it doesn't have the razzmatazz of Cannes -- it is just about watching films. Its location on the Lido and time of year in August make it gorgeous. If Cannes is all about in-your-face glamour then Venice is its laid back equivalent. Berlin in February has the weather going against it and in such a big city, sometimes the festival can get lost.
What are your thoughts on the line-up at Venice this year?

I've always liked Venice the best, but for me this year is quite weak. The selection is disappointing on paper but I'm still hoping for some pleasant surprises.

Possible Golden Lion winners?

Guillermo Arriaga's "The Burning Plain" will be among prize winners and Charlize Theron could be looking at a best actress award.

Worst film?

Barbet Schroeder's "Inju, the Beast in the Shadow." An embarassingly bad film that should never have been in competition.

What films are you really excited about?

Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea." It is pitched to a much younger audience than say, "Spirited Away," but for me it was 90 minutes of pure pleasure. Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married" -- Demme is a very varied director who works in several different genres and I admire that about him.

Marco Bechis' "BirdWatchers" -- I liked his last film and he is the least parochial of the Italian directors who are in festival.

Thoughts on the so-called Italian film renaissance?

Whenever there are one or two good Italian films people always start talking about a "renaissance." The Italian film industry puts out on average three or four decent films each year. Mueller was probably kicking himself for not getting Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah" and Paolo Sorrentino's "Il Divo" (both of which won prizes at Cannes earlier this year.)

Why do you love film festivals?

It's not for the big films like the Coen brothers' "Burn After Reading" but for the chance to see the small films that may never get distribution in your territory.

It really highlights how inflexible the system is. The film buff in Britain will have a different take than France or Italy, simply because there are films that they will never have seen.

-- From CNN's Mairi Mackay