In this Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016 file photo, actor and director Tim Robbins poses with his Berlinale Camera Award after he is honored for his lifetime achievement at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
PRAGUE (AP) --
An annual international film festival in the western Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary is kicking off with an award for American actor, director, and producer Tim Robbins.
Robbins won an Oscar in 2004 for best supporting actor in "Mystic River" and was nominated for a best director for his 1995 movie "Dead Man Walking." Friday's opening night at the 53rd edition of the festival is honoring his outstanding contributions to world cinema.
U.S. producer and director Barry Levinson who won the Academy Award for "Rain Man" in 1988 will receive the same award at the event's closing night on July 7.
The event opens with the screening of "Loves of a Blonde," a 1965 movie by Milos Forman to honor the Czech born filmmaker who died in April.
This image released by Hallmark Media shows Hunter King, left, and Tyler Hynes in a scene from "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. (Joshua Haines/Hallmark Media via AP)
Two new Christmas TV movies have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding.
"Christmas in the Spotlight" debuts Saturday on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world's biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger as a pro football player, who meet and fall in love โ not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
"It's clearly inspired by Taylor and Travis, but I don't know them and I don't know what is going on behind the scenes. I only know what's been put out there," said Eirene Tran Donohue, a longtime, devoted fan who jumped at the opportunity to write a script even loosely based on her favorite musician.
She was inspired by the couple's support of each other's accomplishments, particularly Kelce's ease with dating the star despite the glare of the spotlight, adding, "I love the way that he celebrates her."
Tran Donohue wants fellow Swift fans to know she wrote the script with them in mind.
"There are so many Easter eggs," she said of little details added that a Swift fan would pick up on. "I put in as many as I could."
Then, on Nov. 30, Hallmark will air "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story." Instead of a nod to Swift, it's an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark's headquarters is also in Kansas City, so it makes sense why the company chose the Chiefs to be highlighted.
In this story, written by Julie Sherman Wolfe, sparks fly when a new employee for the Chiefs organization (Tyler Hynes) meets a woman โ played by Hunter King โ whose family's dedication to the team goes back generations.
Sherman Wolfe, a San Francisco 49ers fan, said she got the call a week after Super Bowl LVIII, when the Chiefs... Read More