Swiss actor Bruno Ganz is most well-known for his portrayal of Hitler in Downfall

As the cardinals deliberated in Rome last week, halfway around the world in Hollywood another Pope was being picked. A new television drama about the Vatican has selected as its pontiff an actor best known for playing Adolf Hitler.

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Stuff of fantasy: Wes Anderson's 'Moonrise Kingdom'

Tom Sutcliffe: Wes Anderson is so animating

I finally "got" Wes Anderson the other day. Which is not to say that I hadn't "got" him before – in the sense of liking his work and always being willing to substitute his vision of the world for mine for an hour or two. Though I'm not very fond of fey art-house whimsy (see references to Miranda July passim), there has always been something about.

Ridley Scott has created a stir by revealing that he is returning to the project that first made his name - the sci-fi action thriller Blade Runner, this time with a female lead protagonist

Blade Runner with a female lead: All-action gals... just like mother

It's no surprise Ridley Scott is to remake his sci-fi action thriller with a woman in the lead role. David Connett explains

Tom Cruise

Screentalk: How to get a break in Hollywood

It was a relief for the LA movie production community when a California state assembly committee said yes to a five-year extension for the state's tax-incentive programme.

Trending: Just in from dystopia watch

Cinematic dystopias are having a big year. The biggest, in fact, since 2009, when The Road and Terminator: Salvation both warned of a bad future. Now, we have The Hunger Games, which takes place in a US ravaged by some sort of (yes) "apocalyptic" event. Then there's the remake of Judge Dredd called Dredd. Finally, another dystopian remake, of Total Recall, set in a Fascist future where "Euroamerica" and "New Shanghai" vie for global superiority.

Giraud in 2008 in front of a fresco made from his artwork

Jean Giraud: Artist hailed for his work in film and comics

A household name in his native France, where Libération dedicated six pages as well as its front page to his passing, the visionary comic book artist Jean Giraud enjoyed a multi-faceted career.

Active-duty Navy Seals on a live training exercise in Act of Valor

Real Seals on the silver screen

They're the stealthy elite squad who killed Bin Laden, but now a team of real US Navy Seals have stepped out of the shadows to star in a movie

Sigourney Weaver - Lanvin. Sigourney Weaver is a goddess and it therefore makes sense to dress her like one. Resisting the urge to match is normally a golden rule of the red carpet and it is true that, for her big entrance, Ms Weaver is just the same colour not only as the carpet but also the drapes that form a backdrop. Still, this (also draped) red silk gown was designed for her by fashion darling du jour, Alber Elbaz, still whipping up a quiet storm at Lanvin and is therefore not only perfectly proportioned but also has the Lanvin signature of a large and suitably exotic piece of costume jewellery at one shoulder. Also very Lanvin is the fact that the dress is tied loosely at the waist with nothing more fussy than a piece of grosgrain ribbon (tied by Elbaz himself or by one of his ambassadors one likes to think).

You just can't keep a strong woman down

On screen Sigourney Weaveris fearless and Amazonian. Arifa Akbar finds out how the off-screen version measures up

Sigourney
Weaver as
Lieutenant
Ripley in the
first of the
‘Alien’ films

Sigourney Weaver: You can't keep a strong woman down

On screen the actor is fearless and Amazonian. Arifa Akbar finds out how the off-screen version measures up

'Blade runner' springs a surprise and qualifies for World Championships

The Blade Runner is finally going to take on the world.

'Blade Runner' hits Olympic standard

Oscar Pistorius had a night without sleep after achieving his dream of an "A" standard 400m qualifying time for both the World Championships and Olympic Games at a meeting in Lignano, Italy, on Tuesday.

Not Fade Away: Rolling Stones photos found after 40 years

Previously unpublished images from a 1970 studio photo shoot by Peter Webb are going on show after being lost in an attic for 40 years. Matilda Battersby talks to the photographer

Cowboys & Aliens: Unlikely battles

When Frankenstein met Wolf Man in 1948, they spawned a line of bastard movies that continues to today's monster mash-ups. Kaleem Aftab on the new wave of cross-genre films

Idris Elba: 'I'm so hot right now'

The Wire made him everyone’s favourite baddie, Luther, everyone’s favourite cop. Tim Walker meets the master of modern crime drama
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'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

Masculinity in crisis?

'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'
Have US shock jocks gone too far?

Have US shock jocks gone too far?

An incendiary remark from Rush Limbaugh may be the beginning of the end for outspoken right-wing US broadcasters
The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey pays more income tax than big cities of the North

The ‘Beverly Hills’ of Surrey

Elmbridge pays more income tax than big cities of the North
Heavenly Bodies

Heavenly Bodies

Michael Landy's artistic marriage made in heaven... and hell
'He will always be a friend': Jackie Stewart backs Polanski

'He will always be a friend'

Jackie Stewart backs Roman Polanski
The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in