Spielberg: People need relief from the headlines

Escapist Hollywood movies are benefiting from the current sense of global crisis, the film-maker Steven Spielberg said yesterday.

Speaking as his new film The Terminal launched the Venice film festival, Spielberg said: "Hollywood has always been there, either to reflect the crisis with very conscientiously minded stories or with films of pure escape - science-fiction, fantasy, comedy. These films typically work much better when the world is in flux.

"The world has shown us that people need relief from the headlines ... sometimes we do feel compelled to escape into the movies.", reports Guardian.

Sure, the movie may have opened in the United States months ago, but it gave Venice a chance to parade the biggest crowd-pleaser in any festival's arsenal: American celebrities. Other red-carpet walkers expected: Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, Will Smith, John Travolta and Al Pacino.

Before the opening-night gala, Spielberg praised the glorious lagoon city, saying it helps people rediscover their sense of wonder. "The festival, the city and the islands around it are a place rich with charm where cinema finds a magical setting," he said in a column published in Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Magic there may be. But this year's 11-day festival is also about grim realities, particularly among the 21 films jostling for the prestigious Golden Lion awards, writes Chicago Sun Times.

Read earlier news stories by PRAVDA.Ru

&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/culture/2003/02/06/43056.html ' target=_blank> Berlinale Film Festival to Feature Many Russian Films

&to=http:// english.pravda.ru/culture/2001/09/13/15086.html ' target=_blank> First International Puppet Festival To Open In Moscow