Film

A film crew is working on the "definitive" documentary of Bob Marley's life. This is the first time ever that the singer's family has allowed the use of their private archives. Filming is taking place in Jamaica and the United States, as well as in Ghana, Japan and Britain.

A British actor who lives in Ireland will play the 16th President of the United States in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. The film will be based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by the American historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Tom Hooper's film tells how King George VI overcame a chronic stammer with the help of an Australian speech therapist after becoming monarch in 1936. The King's Speech is the big favourite in this year's British Independent Film awards.

The film version of The Hobbit is now expected to cost $500 million (€361 million). This would make it about $200 million more costly than the third part of the Pirates of the Caribbean, the most expensive film ever made.

Known to millions as "Sirius Black" in the Harry Potter films, English actor Gary Oldman has had a remarkable career in front of the camera. The 52-year-old has played characters such as Sid Vicious, Count Dracula, Lee Harvey Oswald and the Devil.

Danny Boyle's follow-up to his Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" tells the true story of Aron Ralston who cut off his arm after getting it trapped while climbing. The amputation scenes caused some people to faint at the Toronto Film Festival.

Oscar season begins on 1 September. A top candidate for an Academy Award next year is The Tourist by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Hollywood's two biggest names — Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp — star in this thriller set in Venice.

Fifteen years after Toy Story started a technological revolution in Hollywood, Buzz Lightyear, Woody and friends are back on the big screen again. The film continues the adventures of a boy and his box of toys, although it is a time for change.

Hollywood is not taking any risks this summer. The strategy is increasingly based on sequels and remakes. Iron Man 2 kicks off the season, quickly followed by Sex and the City 2 and Shrek Forever After. The only innovation is in the area of 3-D.