Alessandro Nivola to play blues mogul in "Chess"
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Alessandro Nivola, in  theaters with the horror remake "The Eye," will star in  "Chess," one of two competing movies revolving around Leonard  Chess, the record mogul who signed such acts as Muddy Waters  and Chuck Berry.
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Martin Scorsese's documentary on veteran British rock band the Rolling Stones will open the Berlin Film Festival this year, organizers said on Tuesday, with the Oscar-winning director and the band making an appearance.
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The cops got Tony Soprano Friday. James Gandolfini, who plays the Mafia boss on the Emmy and Peabody-winning HBO series "The Sopranos," was surrounded by lawmen when he arrived in New Orleans to begin his reign over one of the city's biggest Mardi Gras parades. His limousine was escorted by 10 motorcycle officers and two police cars.
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Good news for all John Travolta fans! For he  is  al  set to star in an upcoming  movie  along  with  James Gandolfini.
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Robert De Niro splashed up in Venice as  a tough-talking gangster with fins for the spectacular world  premiere of "Shark Tale" on Friday, which will be screened for  thousands in the city's famous St. Mark's square.
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Playbill - Actor and pop star Jon Secada, seen in Broadway's Cabaret and Grease revivals, dons the Biblical "coat of many colors" in a mini-tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starting Aug. 24 in Atlanta.
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Playbill - John Malkovich, the most famous alum of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will return to that city and that company on March 31 to star in Stephen Jeffreys Lost Land.
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ROME  - The 64th Venice Film Festival will open with Joe Wright's "Atonement," starring Keira Knightley, James McAvoy and Vanessa Redgrave, organizers said Friday.
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Robert De Niro said his fascination with the Cold War led him to direct the CIA saga "The Good Shepherd," which screened Saturday at the annual Berlin film festival.
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Dennis OâHare and Michael Cerveris will star in Red Bull Theaterâs Revelation Readings presentation of Brechtâs âEdward IIâ on Monday at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater in Manhattan. Information: (212) 279-4200. ... The soprano DÃ­sella LÃ rusdÃ³ttir will make her New York recital debut on Feb. 20 at Merkin Concert Hall. Information: (212) 501-3330 or kaufman-center.org.
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Spike Lee will pay tribute to black U.S. soldiers who fought during World War Two with a new film to be shot in Italy.
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Blue Man Group is on the move. The show's new home will be a custom-built, 1,750-seat theater at The Venetian hotel-casino, officials announced Thursday.
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Tony Danza will reprise his lead role as Max Bialystock in the Las Vegas version of Mel Brooks' hit Broadway show "The Producers."
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James Gandolfini, aka Tony Soprano, will reign as celebrity monarch Bacchus during the 2007 Carnival season. Gandolfini, who filmed scenes in New Orleans for his role in the movie "All the King's Men," plays the head of a New Jersey crime family on HBO's "The Sopranos."
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A Russian mob boss fed up with "unrealistic mafia shows" has written his own TV series - starring himself.  Plus other entertainment news in brief.
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Franco Zeffirelli, the legendary filmmaker  who has directed greats like Elizabeth Taylor and Placido  Domingo, will be the first Italian to receive an honorary  knighthood from Britain Wednesday.
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Emmy-winning "Sopranos" star Michael Imperioli is crossing over to the right side of the law with a stint on NBC's "Law & Order."