Lady Gaga, 'First Man', Orson Welles: Entertainment round-up

Lady Gaga, the pop singer rarely seen without strikingly coiffed hair and heavy makeup, said on Friday she had to go natural for her first starring role in a movie.

Lady Gaga takes off the make-up for a movie role

Lady Gaga, the pop singer rarely seen without strikingly coiffed hair and heavy makeup, said on Friday she had to go natural for her first starring role in a movie. Gaga plays a girl-next-door character who achieves her dream of becoming a famous singer in "A Star Is Born", directed by co-star Bradley Cooper.

Neil Armstrong's sons defend 'First Man' against anti-American jibes

The family of astronaut Neil Armstrong on Friday defended a new film against accusations of anti-Americanism because it does not show him planting the U.S. flag to mark the first moon landing. "First Man," starring Canadian actor Ryan Gosling as the late astronaut, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this week and won rave reviews from critics, making it an early contender for Hollywood's awards season.

Bishop sorry for the embrace of Ariana Grande at Aretha funeral: report

The bishop who officiated at Aretha Franklin's funeral has apologized for being "too familiar" when he embraced singer Ariana Grande after her tribute to the Queen of Soul. Bishop Charles H. Ellis III of the Greater Grace Temple was criticized by many social media users for appearing to touch the side of the Grammy-nominated artist's breast after she sang at the funeral in Detroit on Friday.

Who's the mystery actor in horror remake Suspiria? Not me, says Tilda Swinton

He is a key character in the remake of 1970s horror movie "Suspiria", but no one has heard of the actor playing elderly psychiatrist Jozef Klemperer, and there are rumors he is actually co-star Tilda Swinton in disguise. Ahead of the film's world premiere on Saturday, Swinton, known for her remarkable physical transformations in films, read out a message from the actor, Lutz Ebersdorf, supposedly an 82-year-old retired performance artist and psychoanalyst, who chose not to attend the Venice Film Festival.

Coen brothers return to True Grit country with six tales of the Old West

Coen brothers fans get six movies for the price of one in "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", an anthology of Western stories starring, among others, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Tyne Daly and Tom Waits. The movie, by the team that pulled off an acclaimed remake of the John Wayne Western "True Grit" in 2010, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this week where it is one of three Netflix movies competing for the Golden Lion.

Venice Film Festival moves on gender equality, but no sign of quotas

The organizers of the Venice Film Festival signed a pledge on Friday to work toward gender equality, hoping to mollify critics who have accused them of sidelining women filmmakers. Venice follows other European film festivals Cannes and Locarno in pledging to get an equal number of men and women in its top management by 2020 – but it has ruled out any quota system for selecting films to compete.

Long live women filmmakers, even awkward ones, says Vanessa Redgrave

Vanessa Redgrave, who received a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival this week, added her voice to those calling for more visibility of female directors, even if she said women were sometimes hard to work with. The 81-year-old British actress was given a Golden Lion for her career that began on stage in the 1950s and led to an Oscar-winning movie career, at a festival that has been criticized for the small number of women directors in its line-up.

Aretha Franklin's gospel roots celebrated at Queen of Soul's funeral

A Detroit church swelled with the sound of gospel music on Friday as a family, friends, and fans of Aretha Franklin bid rousing farewell to the Queen of Soul at a funeral that featured tributes by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and singer Stevie Wonder. "Come on, this is a church service, lift your voice!" Bishop Charles Ellis III, the officiant, exhorted the congregation at the Greater Grace Temple, as the choir and orchestra swayed behind him.

She can sing, but can she act? Critics hail Lady Gaga: movie star

Most of the critics avoided the obvious headline to describe Lady Gaga's performance in "A Star Is Born", but they seemed to agree that the singer showed what it takes to lead a major movie. For audiences familiar with the pop diva known for high-concept outfits and extraordinary hair and makeup, Gaga is barely recognizable as Ally the girl-next-door who has given up on a music career until she is discovered by grizzled rock star Jackson, played by first-time director Bradley Cooper.

50 years in the making, Orson Welles' last film makes it to the screen

It is the stuff of movie industry legend: the director of the best film ever made leaves behind an unfinished movie destined never to be seen - until now. Orson Welles shot "The Other Side of the Wind" in the early 1970s but gave up on it, leaving behind 100 hours of footage when he died in 1985.

(With inputs from Reuters)