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By Hanna Rantala LONDON (Reuters) -Actors Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller say their new movie "Eternity" combines comedy, romance and big philosophical questions.     The movie is set in the afterlife, where people revert to the age at which they were at their happiest and have one week to choose their final destination.      Teller and Olsen play older married couple Larry and Joan Cutler, who upon their arrival are shocked to meet Joan's first husband, Luke (Callum Turner), who died in the Korean War and has been waiting for her ever since. In addition to choosing her eternity, Joan must also pick who to share it with.     "It makes people laugh, but it's surprisingly emotional because it's a sincere film," Olsen said at the movie's London premiere on Monday. "I think it makes us all reflect differently, whether it's about people we've lost or people we hope to be reunited with, or how we even analyse our personal relationships to different types of love." Teller said: "Death is something that's inevitable and this film is a really clever way to look at it. "I certainly don't think my character thought he'd be in a competition, a love triangle, for his wife."     The "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Whiplash" star said his performance was inspired by his own grandparents, who were married for six decades. His grandfather passed away last year.     "My grandfather was a marine back in the day, but he also was very sensitive to a woman's needs. My grandma never carried her own bag, never opened her own door. He was a great role model for me," Teller said.     Directed and co-written by David Freyne, the A24 film features an endless offer of happily-ever-afters. New arrivals face an array of ads and savvy salespeople touting realms ranging from Beach World, Food World and Workout World to Man Free World and Infantilization World. There is one caveat: the one-time choice is final.  Helping the trio navigate their transitions are afterlife coordinators Anna and Ryan, played by Da'Vine Joy Randolph and John Early. "When we were making it with the cast, we really reflected on what made us happy and who is important in our lives," said Freyne. "Even though it's set in the afterlife, it's less about death and more about life to me."     "Eternity" is out in theatres from November 26. (Reporting by Hanna RantalaEditing by Bill Berkrot)

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By Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Actor Brendan Fraser had never heard of a Japanese “rental family" service before working on the comedy-drama film “Rental Family.” "I had no idea that such a place was existent. But as it goes, they've been around since the '80s," Fraser said, referring to the professional stand-in service that provides clients with actors who can portray family members or friends at weddings and other events and also offers platonic companionship.  “Rental Family,” distributed by Searchlight Pictures, arrives in theaters on November 21. “Mental health issues are stigmatized no matter where you go,” said Fraser, the American-Canadian who won the best actor Oscar for his role in the 2022 film "The Whale." However, he emphasized that mental health issues often go unaddressed in Japan, and so he thought that a rental family service serves a purpose there.  In the film, Fraser portrays an actor named Phillip Vandarploeug, the only non-Japanese person at his “rental family” workplace in Japan, who pretends to be a little girl’s real-life father to help her get into a prestigious school.  While Phillip is hired by the girl’s mother, the girl  – played by Shannon Mahina Gorman – has no idea that an actor has been hired as her temporary father.  Phillip also takes on different roles playing husbands, fathers, best friends and even a journalist for a dried-up celebrity. Fraser, who is also an executive producer of the film, speaks beginning-level Japanese in the movie. But in real life, his proficiency is not even at that level, he said. While in Japan, he said he used a translation machine and that he once told a waitress he was having his period, rather than that he wanted to order a coffee. "I made the effort," he said. Actor Mari Yamamoto, who plays a fellow agency worker named Aiko, said that when her friends and family watched the movie at the Tokyo Film Festival, they could hear only sniffling and laughter in the theater – which she took as a good sign.  "Japanese people don't scream at a Beyonce concert, so I just have to let you know it's really hard to read, so I think a little sniffling meant it was incredible. That's how I interpret it," she added. (Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Manuel Ausloos PARIS (Reuters) -What might have been Moliere's next play if the 17th-century French playwright had not died after collapsing on stage while performing "The Imaginary Invalid"? It's a question French scholars, artists and an AI firm teamed up to answer. The result is "L'Astrologue ou les Faux Presages" (The Astrologer or the False Omens), a comedy that will debut next year in the Palace of Versailles, where Louis XIV, Moliere's patron, held court centuries ago. "What we thought was, let's try to recreate a bit of Moliere's creative process using the current state of AI," said Hugo Caselles-Dupre, a researcher in using AI for artistic creation, who was involved in the project. A FRENCH ICON Moliere holds iconic status in France, to the extent that French is sometimes referred to as "the language of Moliere". His plays, characterised by satirical wit and social commentary, are widely taught in French high schools and performed in theatres in the French-speaking world. Despite the patronage of Louis XIV, Moliere lived in hardship for many years and died of exhaustion at the age of 51, leaving his devotees to wonder who would have been his next target. According to the "Moliere Ex Machina" project backed by French artificial intelligence firm Mistral AI, he might have taken aim at astrologers. "We looked for what kind of play (Moliere) might have written. One of the subjects he addressed, but subtly woven into several of his other works, is astrology," Mickael Bouffard, an art historian and director of the play, said. The plot centres on Geronte, a gullible bourgeois who falls prey to a fraudulent astrologer scheming to marry off Geronte's daughter to a deceitful wigmaker, despite her love for another. The AI model was not left to run loose. The production was tweaked by scholars and researchers who corrected historical inaccuracies and other details. But the model offered scholars a deeper understanding of Moliere's craft, more than 350 years after his death. "I have learned things about Moliere that I had missed because they're so scattered throughout his work," Bouffard said. (Reporting by Manuel Ausloo; Writing by Inti Landauro; Editing by Ros Russell)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Joel Edgerton describes the American drama movie "Train Dreams" as a "Western epic sort of celebration of an ordinary life." “And I think there's something so dignified in this,” the Australian actor, who stars as an American logger named Robert Grainer, said. The film, which takes place in the 1900s and explores Robert's life, is based on a 2011 novella by Denis Johnson. Robert helps develop railroads across the United States, spending long spans of time away from his wife, Gladys Grainer, played by Felicity Jones, and their infant daughter. "Train Dreams," currently in limited theaters, will stream on Netflix on November 21. Edgerton said portraying Robert's struggles with work-life balance came surprisingly easy to him. "I know what it is to be in love. I'm in love right now. And I wrestle with how to marry work and life, and I felt like Robert was just me with an ax in his hand," the "Warrior" actor said. For director Clint Bentley, Edgerton has a special ability to convey a lot of emotion with even the smallest gestures. "The fact that he (Edgerton) can do so much with so little and that he can break your heart with just a look off in the distance or stumbling over a line. I think he's just such a powerful actor, but in such a humble way that it's really beautiful to watch," Bentley said. (Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Tom Hogue)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Joel Edgerton describes the American drama movie "Train Dreams" as a "Western epic sort of celebration of an ordinary life." “And I think there's something so dignified in this,” the Australian actor, who stars as an American logger named Robert Grainer, said. The film, which takes place in the 1900s and explores Robert's life, is based on a 2011 novella by Denis Johnson. Robert helps develop railroads across the United States, spending long spans of time away from his wife, Gladys Grainer, played by Felicity Jones, and their infant daughter. "Train Dreams," currently in limited theaters, will stream on Netflix on November 21. Edgerton said portraying Robert's struggles with work-life balance came surprisingly easy to him. "I know what it is to be in love. I'm in love right now. And I wrestle with how to marry work and life, and I felt like Robert was just me with an ax in his hand," the "Warrior" actor said. For director Clint Bentley, Edgerton has a special ability to convey a lot of emotion with even the smallest gestures. "The fact that he (Edgerton) can do so much with so little and that he can break your heart with just a look off in the distance or stumbling over a line. I think he's just such a powerful actor, but in such a humble way that it's really beautiful to watch," Bentley said. (Reporting by Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway; Editing by Tom Hogue)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Rollo Ross and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Actor Brendan Fraser had never heard of a Japanese “rental family" service before working on the comedy-drama film “Rental Family.” "I had no idea that such a place was existent. But as it goes, they've been around since the '80s," Fraser said, referring to the professional stand-in service that provides clients with actors who can portray family members or friends at weddings and other events and also offers platonic companionship.  “Rental Family,” distributed by Searchlight Pictures, arrives in theaters on November 21. “Mental health issues are stigmatized no matter where you go,” said Fraser, the American-Canadian who won the best actor Oscar for his role in the 2022 film "The Whale." However, he emphasized that mental health issues often go unaddressed in Japan, and so he thought that a rental family service serves a purpose there.  In the film, Fraser portrays an actor named Phillip Vandarploeug, the only non-Japanese person at his “rental family” workplace in Japan, who pretends to be a little girl’s real-life father to help her get into a prestigious school.  While Phillip is hired by the girl’s mother, the girl  – played by Shannon Mahina Gorman – has no idea that an actor has been hired as her temporary father.  Phillip also takes on different roles playing husbands, fathers, best friends and even a journalist for a dried-up celebrity. Fraser, who is also an executive producer of the film, speaks beginning-level Japanese in the movie. But in real life, his proficiency is not even at that level, he said. While in Japan, he said he used a translation machine and that he once told a waitress he was having his period, rather than that he wanted to order a coffee. "I made the effort," he said. Actor Mari Yamamoto, who plays a fellow agency worker named Aiko, said that when her friends and family watched the movie at the Tokyo Film Festival, they could hear only sniffling and laughter in the theater – which she took as a good sign.  "Japanese people don't scream at a Beyonce concert, so I just have to let you know it's really hard to read, so I think a little sniffling meant it was incredible. That's how I interpret it," she added. (Reporting by Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Corrects spelling of 'Cruise' in paragraph 8) By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -How does a person summarize the 45-year career of Tom Cruise in a four-minute speech? "Mission impossible," said director Alejandro Inarritu on Sunday as Hollywood celebrated the movie star with an honorary Oscar. Inarritu, who directed Cruise in an untitled film set for release next October, introduced the "Top Gun" star and said his talent extended beyond the dangerous stunts he has become famous for. "It is not how far he runs or how high he jumps," Inarritu said. "It's how precisely he decides to move, those tiny calibrations." Honorary Oscar statuettes were handed out to Cruise and three others selected by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. The 63-year-old Cruise, a four-time Oscar nominee who has never won the award, was chosen for work in films from "Risky Business" to two "Top Gun" movies and the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. He also has become a prominent champion for the movie business as it faces competition from streaming and social media. Accepting his award, Cruise talked about how seeing movies in a theater impressed him as a child. "Suddenly the world was so much larger than the one that I knew," he told a crowd of luminaries that included Steven Spielberg, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ariana Grande. He said he worked every job he could to earn money for movie tickets.   "I will always do everything I can to support this art form and to champion new voices, to protect what makes cinema powerful, hopefully without too many more broken bones," he said to laughter. Cruise broke his ankle while filming a stunt in 2017.  "Making films is not what I do. It's who I am," Cruise added. The gala also honored Dolly Parton with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable efforts, including founding a library that has provided more than 300 million books to children. She accepted her award via video. Other honorees were actor and choreographer Debbie Allen and production designer Wynn Thomas. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Kevin Buckland)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)