Greece contemplates faster cuts

21 September 2011 Last updated at 14:06 GMT Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will outline proposals to speed up spending cuts The Greek cabinet is meeting to discuss accelerating austerity measures aimed at securing further bailout funds to help ease the country's debt crisis.

An announcement on the measures agreed will be made later, a government spokesperson said before the meeting.

Late on Tuesday, the European Commission said "good progress" had been made on talks to release funds.

The commission said officials would return to Greece next week to review the progress in cutting debt.

Debt inspectors from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will visit Athens to carry out the review and continue policy discussions with the Greek government.

At stake is an 8bn euro (£6.9bn) tranche of aid which is urgently needed to help pay government bills, including public wages and pensions.

Greece is under pressure to plug a budget hole of more than 2bn euros to meet the terms of the 110bn-euro bailout from Europe and the IMF.

"We have to take supplementary measures... because of the recession and the weakness of the central administration have not produced the required results," said Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos ahead of the cabinet meeting.

"The choices we are making are, unfortunately, absolutely necessary."

US stimulus

The Greek debt crisis continued to unsettle markets on Wednesday, with major European exchanges sliding in early trading after booking gains in the previous session.

Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40 indexes fell about 1%, while the UK's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3%.

As well as the outcome of Greece's cabinet meeting, investors are also eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the US Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, after which it will announce whether it will implement any new measures to help stimulate flagging US economic growth.

Some observers expect the Fed to announce a third round of quantitative easing, through which it creates money to buy financial assets to boost demand in the economy.

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Julianne Moore Contemplates Divorce in ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’

After 25 years of marriage, Julianne Moore’s character suddenly asks her husband for a divorce, revealing she’s had an affair, in Warner Bros.’ new, endearing romantic comedy “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”

For suburban insurance man Cal (Steve Carell), who apparently hasn’t paid much attention to his wife, Emily—or his life—lately, the news comes completely out of left field, setting him on a road to discover just where he might’ve left the man he used to be.

To portray Cal’s about-to-be ex-wife, the filmmakers needed to find someone who would remain both sympathetic and likeable, despite the fact that she has seemingly ruined Cal’s life. Casting acclaimed actress Julianne Moore was an easy choice.

“She’s not exactly known for comedy, but she has such effervescence about her,” producer Denise Di Novi says. “She brought so much to the part, so much humor to the heartache. She played Emily with grace and charm. You can see why Cal views her as his soulmate.”

“Cal and Emily have been married for a long time but have become kind of disconnected,” Moore relates. “I loved that this story started with that, where they are past ‘how do I meet this person and fall in love with them and get married?’—so far past it that they are moving away from each other.”

Moore felt that the various facets of the story—divorce included—made this a modern, relatable film for audiences. “I think that people go to movies to see themselves, particularly with this genre. We want to laugh, we want to fall in love, but with the reality of marriages today, it’s natural to present that side of relationships, too. Families are complicated and I liked that this wasn’t going to be a traditional romantic comedy, but that it explored all sides of love.”

Despite the friction between Cal and Emily, Moore enjoyed working with Carell, whom she says “not only made me laugh, but was a really thrilling acting partner because he truly knows how to mine even the most nuanced bits of absurdity out of every moment.”

The feeling was mutual. Says Carell, “She’s the sweetest person, one of those people that you feel like you’ve known forever, even if you’ve just met. So when her character betrays mine in the film, of course I had to be mad at her, but it was really hard to do.”

Opening across the Philippines on Aug. 17, “Crazy, Stupid, Love” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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