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Rome to honor filmmaker Fellini in fall

ROME -- Rome will pay homage to Federico Fellini this fall -- the 10th anniversary of his death -- with exhibits, photo shows, concerts and screenings of clips from his movies.

"Romarcord" -- named after Fellini's Oscar-winning "Amarcord" -- will explore the director's relationship with the capital, where he lived for many years and set some of his classics, including 1960's "La Dolce Vita."

The tribute will begin in late September with a series of giant pictures displayed at some of Rome's sites that were significant to him, officials said this week.

Events also will include an exhibit with pictures, letters and sketches by Fellini, plus costumes and screenings of interviews and film clips; a concert featuring soundtracks from his films; and "Fellini Jazz," at the end of October, that will offer a jazz version of his soundtracks.

Fellini died on Oct. 31, 1993, at age 73. His career spanned some four decades and about 20 movies.

"La Strada," "Le Notti di Cabiria," "8 1/2" and "Amarcord" were winners of the Oscar for best foreign language film, and Fellini received an Oscar for lifetime achievement in 1993.

"La Dolce Vita," with its sexy scene of Anita Ekberg coaxing Marcello Mastroianni into the Trevi Fountain, was perhaps his most famous film.

Author accepts apology for plagiarism charge

LONDON -- Author Orlando Figes accepted a public apology from a tabloid newspaper that wrongly accused him of plagiarism.

Julia Schopflin, lawyer for Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Evening Standard, offered a public apology Friday and said it would pay Figes' court costs.

Figes had filed a lawsuit in the High Court against the Evening Standard over an article it published in May. The article said his book, "Natasha's Dance," had been ruled out of contention for a literary prize over claims that portions had been plagiarized.

The article appeared shortly after "Natasha's Dance" and five other books were short-listed for the 2003 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction.

David Price, representing Figes, told the High Court the newspaper had claimed the five prize judges had found "devastating" evidence of plagiarism and therefore dropped the book from the short-list.

Price said the Evening Standard apparently had been referring to an earlier review in the Times Literary Supplement that claimed there had been a "cavalier use of sources" in the book. Shortly afterward, Figes published a thorough rebuttal of the allegations.

Price said the prize judges short-listed "Natasha's Dance" in full knowledge of the Times Literary Supplement review and the rebuttal. If they had any doubts about the book's integrity, they wouldn't have short-listed it, he said.

The court was told that when the matter was brought to the Evening Standard's attention, the newspaper expressed regret. In light of this approach, Figes had not sought damages, Price said.

Festival to coincide with nun's beatification

CALCUTTA, India -- A film festival and music concert are among the events planned by followers of Mother Teresa when she is beatified in October.

Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic nun who devoted her life to helping the poor in the slums of Calcutta, died in 1997 at age 87.

Her beatification will take place at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on Oct. 19. It will be shown live in Calcutta.

Thousands of her admirers, including hundreds of nuns, are expected to watch the ceremony, which will be followed by a music concert, organizers said recently.

The film festival will begin on Nov. 1. The Rev. C.M. Paul, the festival's coordinator, said it will include "Something Beautiful for God" and the documentary "Hell's Angel," based on Christopher Hitchens' 1995 book, "The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice."

Hitchens' book accused Mother Teresa of consoling and supporting the wealthy and powerful while preaching resignation to the poor.

Last December, Pope John Paul II approved a miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, paving the way for her beatification. A second miracle would make her eligible for sainthood.

'Tomb Raider' model pushes tap water

LONDON -- First, she was Lara Croft. Now she's Miss Tap Water.

Nell McAndrew, the model for Lara Croft in the "Tomb Raider" computer games, launched a campaign Friday by Yorkshire Water to encourage people to give up bottled water in favor of the chilled tap variety.

"I was brought up on Yorkshire water," said McAndrew, who recently appeared on the TV show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!"

-- From wire reports