Travolta heads to Paris
HOLLYWOOD star John Travolta headed to France to film in a Paris suburb that was at the epicentre of nationwide riots in 2005, the movie’s producer said.

Travolta will play a US secret agent on a high-risk assignment in Europe in a thriller titled From Paris with Love, which also stars Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, said EuropaCorp.

The 38-million-euro (RM181 million) film began shooting recently in the Alpine town of Annecy and will continue for the next three months in various locations across France.

It is directed by Frenchman Pierre Morel, whose last work, Taken, starring Liam Neeson, was also shot in Paris.

The scenes in the northern Paris suburb will be shot in the Montfermeil area in and around a high rise apartment block that is soon to be demolished as part of an urban renewal scheme.

Montfermeil, along with neighbouring Clichy-sous-Bois, was at the centre of riots in immigrant-populated suburbs by young people who complained of discrimination and social exclusion. The unrest spread across France from October 2005 and lasted for about three weeks.

Crystal returns
VETERAN funnyman Billy Crystal is to star in his first film in more than six years with a role in the comedy Tooth Fairy, entertainment industry press reports said.

Crystal, 60, the star of hits such as When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers, will join a cast that includes Julie Andrews, Dwayne Johnson and Ashley Judd when filming begins next week, Daily Variety reported.

Crystal, an eight-time host of the Academy Awards, last appeared in a live-action film in 2002’s comedy Analyze That, where he starred as an analyst treating Robert DeNiro’s mob boss in a sequel to Analyze This.

Since then Crystal has had voice-over roles in animated films including Howl’s Moving Castle and Cars. – AFP

Back together again
MARTIN Scorsese and Robert DeNiro are teaming up for their ninth movie together. The dynamic duo will collaborate on a film called I Heard You Paint Houses, a mafia flick about the assassin believed to have killed union leader Jimmy Hoffa.

The two have worked together on several classic films including Casino, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas.

Scorsese is directing the film with DeNiro playing the lead, mob hit man Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran, believed to have been responsible for more than 25 mob murders.

Steven Zaillian, who won an Oscar for Schindler’s List and who co-wrote Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, will write the adaptation. Scorsese and De Niro will jointly produce the film.

Kung Fu Panda sequel
DREAMWORKS Animation announced that it plans a sequel to its worldwide hit Kung Fu Panda.

The movie, to be called Pandamonium, will appear in theatres in June 2011 and like all DreamWorks Animation feature films starting in 2009, will be produced in stereoscopic 3D technology.

During its cinema run, Kung Fu Panda earned more than US$626 million (RM2,191 million), making it one of the most successful films of 2008 and DreamWorks Animation’s most successful original film ever.

The sequel will follow panda Po, the world’s biggest kung fu fan, as he continues his journey as the chosen one who fulfills an ancient prophesy while mastering the art of kung fu.

It will once again star Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and other original cast members and will be directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, head of story on Kung Fu Panda. – dpa