Venice Watch: Director's Praise For Robin Williams

VENICE, Italy (AP) — VENICE, Italy — The Venice Film Festival is bringing 11 days of red carpet premieres, innovative movies and Hollywood glamour to the Italian city. Williams gained dramatic credibility, and an Academy Award nomination, with his performance as a fast-talking army radio DJ during the Vietnam War in the 1987 movie. At a Venice news conference, the director recalled how Williams had improvised scenes with Vietnamese performers on the set of the movie. "[...] his interest in the people was so fascinating that he was able to pull out their behavior and how they thought and functioned, which really brought a life to 'Good Morning Vietnam' up and above what the story details were," Levinson said. The creator and star of hit sitcom "Girls" says technology has created new possibilities for creative expression. [...] that whenever I talk to young women I encourage them to take that road and make their own work and not to wait for permission to have their stories get told. Dunham, who got an Emmy nomination this year for her role on "Girls," was speaking at a Venice Film Festival event on Saturday sponsored by Miu Miu Women's Tales, a series of short films by directors including Zoe Cassavetes and Miranda July.