Livewire

Shirley MacLaine,the actress who won an Oscar in Terms of Endearment as a mother whose relationship with her daughter encounters many ups-and-downs over a long period,is as mean and spiteful on screen as anyone has ever seen her for her film Bernie. Directed by Richard Linklater,Bernie is based on the true story of a hateful millionaire widow,Marjorie Nugent (MacLaine),who is befriended by a much younger companion Bernie Tiede,the town’s beloved assistant funeral director. But when he grows tired of her ever-increasing demands,he shoots her. Talking about her character,MacLaine,78 says,“Everybody hated her. I think she would drive Mother Theresa to murder. I loved experimenting with being absolutely horrifically irascible.”

Victoria Beckham had her soccer-superstar husband “David in mind” when helping create a new special edition of Range Rover’s off-road vehicle,the “Evoque”. “I’ve stayed very true to myself. I’ve designed a car that I want to drive,a car that I think David wants to drive,” the former Spice Girl said in Beijing,where she was promoting the vehicle. Beckham,who admitted she had never done a project like this before,said she had learned “an enormous amount. I did a lot of research and not just with cars,old and new,but boats,planes,movie stars,different locations,” she said. The vehicle has bespoke luxury accessories,such as a four-piece leather luggage set and a hand-sewn leather wallet for the owner’s manual signed by (Victoria) Beckham.”

Kevin MacDonald,the director’s latest non-fiction movie is on the life of iconic Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley. Talking about the film Marley,MacDonald says “misconception about Marley starts with the idea he was just a pot-smoking,lazy Caribbean guy who didn’t do very much. And actually,as you see in the movie,he’s driven and ambitious and hard working and disciplined.” Also talking about the conspiracy theories on who shot Marley,he says “If you listen to any two people in Jamaica they’ll give you two different conspiracy theories. There was a CIA file on Marley,but then there was a CIA file on everybody. I’m sure the CIA was involved in bringing arms into the country,for instance. But I don’t believe there’s any evidence that suggests Bob himself was targeted by the CIA.”