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The other film news stories of the week in short...

Kubrick: dead man griping

Everyone has an eccentric friend who thinks Eyes Wide Shut– that useless sex thing with Cruise and Kidman – is one of Stanley Kubrick's best films. Well, the great man has returned from beyond the grave to put such oddballs in their place.

R Lee Ermey, scene-stealer in Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, has revealed that the director, who died during post-production on Eyes Wide Shut, felt the film was doomed.

"Stanley called me about two weeks before he died," Ermey told Radar Online. "We had a long conversation about Eyes Wide Shut. He told me it was a piece of shit and that he was disgusted with it and that the critics were going to have him for lunch. He said Cruise and Kidman had their way with him – exactly the words he used."

So take that, Shutters (as I’ve just decided to call them).

Gongs roll in for His & Hers

His & Hers, Ken Wardrop's already highly lauded documentary, picked up the audience prize at the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, which ended on Sunday. The film also did well at the JDIFF Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards, securing best documentary and seeing its cinematographer, Kate McCullough, pick up The Michael Dwyer Discovery Award. However, the DFCC panel awarded Best Irish Film to Ivan Kavanagh's searing The Fading Light. That film opens at the Irish Film Institute on March 12th.

Another box- office milestone

Avatarhas just become the biggest film ever. What's that you say? Isn't this ancient news? Well, though Jim Cameron's picture took the worldwide record a month ago, it didn't manage to grab the Irish title until last week. As Avatar finally begins to drift out of cinemas, it becomes clear that, considering differences in ticket prices, former box-office champ Titanicput many more bums on seats. As of last weekend, Avatarhad raked in €9,747,390 on this island. Can it become the first film ever to make it into eight-figures? It looks as if it may be too late for that.

Ribbon, Prophet neck and neck

The race for best foreign- language picture Oscar is as close as that for overall best film this year. Both The White Ribbonand A Prophethave significant degrees of support. Jacques Audiard, director of the latter, will thus have been doubly pleased to sweep the board at last week's César Awards. The prison drama picked up an impressive nine gongs at last weekend's event (often described as the French Oscars).

Mind you, Oscar voters have a habit of awarding the weirdest movies the prize in this category. Don’t rule out a staggering upset.

Telly chops films down to size

Just one more thing, ma'am. NBC and Working Title are joining forces to develop TV versions of various popular movies. Among the titles being earmarked for the small screen are Bridget Jones, Nanny McPheeand Billy Elliott. There are also suspicions that the alliance may remake such classic shows as Murder, She Wroteand (sacrilege!) Columbo.

Read more and have your say on this week’s film features on Donald Clarke’s blog: irishtimes.com/blogs/screenwriter