Kennedys open up for TV documentary

The Kennedys may be America’s most famous political dynasty, but it took one of their own to get them to open up about their private lives and their place in U.S. history.

Filmmaker Rory Kennedy, 43, the youngest of the 11 children of slain U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his wife, Ethel, persuaded her mother to give her first extended interview in more than 20 years for an upcoming HBO documentary that is also the first film about the Kennedys to come from within the family.

Ashton Kutcher bringing ‘Punk’d’-like series to Web

Katalyst Network, the television and film production company founded in 2000 by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, has partnered with virtual media company Machinima to produce a new show, “Prank Lab,” the companies said on August 1.

The first 40 episodes of the show will air on Machinima Prime, a new premium content channel that officially launched Aug. 1. “’Prank Lab’ is a celebration of sophomoric humor,” Anthony Batt, president of Katalyst, told TheWrap.

Tang Wei to play tragic writer

Actress Tang Wei has been cast to play the lead role in Ann Hui’s film about tragic Chinese writer Xiao Hong who lived in the early 20th century.

The film “The Golden Age” will be a biopic of Xiao who was born in 1911 and died at the age of 30. Xiao, whose real name was Zhang Naiying, had an eventful life. She experienced an unhappy childhood, ran away from an arranged marriage, was abandoned when she was pregnant and narrowly escaped being sold to a brothel.

Natalie Portman marries

Natalie Portman said “I do” on August 4 to her fiance of two years, French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, on the scenic central California coast of Big Sur, according to People.

The pair exchanged vows after dark in a Jewish ceremony at a private home. Portman, 31, first met Millepied, 35, on the set of “Black Swan” in the fall of 2009, for which Portman won the best actress Oscar.(SD-Agencies)