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Marc Forster says he doesn't like to do the same thing twice. After directing the gritty 2001 drama "Monster's Ball," for which Halle Berry won the best actress Oscar, he plunged into the 2004 period drama "Finding Neverland," which was nominated for numerous Academy Awards. Now, he's turned his creative eye to a new genre: the psychological thriller.

Marc Forster says he doesn't like to do the same thing twice. After directing the gritty 2001 drama "Monster's Ball," for which Halle Berry won the best actress Oscar, he plunged into the 2004 period drama "Finding Neverland," which was nominated for numerous Academy Awards. Now, he's turned his creative eye to a new genre: the psychological thriller.

Christopher Columbus has discovered Cannes. Half a millenium after bumbling onto the West Indies, the ancient mariner has landed on the shores of the French Riviera, as all adventuresome pop idols eventually must, for the Cannes Film Festival. Madonna, the first woman singer to explore herself on stage, was here all weekend. As usual with Chris, there is confusion.

"The Kid Stays in the Picture," a witty, colorful and poignant account of the life and times of producer Robert Evans, takes its title from a remark made by movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck. With scant acting experience, Evans had been cast as a matador in "The Sun Also Rises," and so chagrined at this turn of events were Ernest Hemingway, Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner and Eddie Albert that they sent Zanuck a telegram demanding Evans' removal.

"The Kid Stays in the Picture," a witty, colorful and poignant account of the life and times of producer Robert Evans, takes its title from a remark made by movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck. With scant acting experience, Evans had been cast as a matador in "The Sun Also Rises," and so chagrined at this turn of events were Ernest Hemingway, Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner and Eddie Albert that they sent Zanuck a telegram demanding Evans' removal.

Like the never-stay-dead movie character, the Terminator, graffiti vandalism along Orange County's highways seems to just keep coming back to life no matter what is done to kill it. But as discouraging as it seems, succumbing to defeat in the ongoing battle against this spray-paint blight would only invite further deterioration in victimized communities. That's why new efforts to involve citizens in attacking the problem on Orange County's freeways are especially welcome.

Bernie Lincicome of the Chicago Tribune on the U.S. soccer team losing to Iran in the World Cup: "The elimination of the United States from the [World Cup] will come as somewhat of a surprise, since so few Americans had any idea we were in it. "Or even what the World Cup is, though just four years ago it was we who were France [the host country], and how long will it take us to live that down? "It's kind of like hearing about a friend's wedding after the divorce.

AN hour's drive lies between this footloose beach city where director Gidi Dar lives and the enclave of black-clad Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem that is the focus of his latest movie. To many Israelis, the distance feels bigger -- say, a century or two. In a land crisscrossed by fault lines of faith and identity, one of the most pronounced is the rift separating Israel's secular majority from the devout Jews typically referred to in this nation of 7 million as ultra-Orthodox, or haredim.

ALONG with many other pairs of lovers, the Earth has often arranged to meet the sky up at the Griffith Observatory. Twelve-year-olds placed a cautious eye to the 12-inch Zeiss telescope and focused on the moons of Jupiter. The sun revealed its face to millions of teenagers who came to gawk into the mirrors of the celeostat.

Christopher Columbus has discovered Cannes. Half a millenium after bumbling onto the West Indies, the ancient mariner has landed on the shores of the French Riviera, as all adventuresome pop idols eventually must, for the Cannes Film Festival. Madonna, the first woman singer to explore herself on stage, was here all weekend. As usual with Chris, there is confusion.