Hollywood Stars Visit Havana

Hollywood came to Havana on Thursday as Cuban writers and artists gave an award to Benicio del Toro, star of the 2008 movie "Che," in a ceremony attended by fellow actors Bill Murray, Robert Duvall and James Caan.

Murray stole the show when he improvised a version of the song "As Time Goes By," then jokingly passed around a hat, asking for money.

Their presence lent a bit of Hollywood glitz to warming U.S.-Cuba relations, and may have been the precursor for the making of a film in Cuba.

A spokesman for the group said del Toro was in town for the award, but that Murray, Duvall and Caan were working on a "research project.

When asked if he and his pals might make a movie on the communist-led island, del Toro told reporters: "That depends on the governments, on the American government."

Because of the long-standing U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, Americans have been forbidden, with some exceptions, from visiting the island or doing most business there.

Hollywood stars such as Robert Redford, Arnold Schwarzenegger and director Steven Spielberg have come to Cuba in the past but cultural exchanges slowed due to restrictions imposed by former U.S. President George W. Bush.

The group's spokesman said they were traveling under a license granted by the U.S. Treasury Department.

U.S. President Barack Obama offered earlier this year to "recast" relations with Cuba, which have been sour since the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power.

Obama has lifted travel restrictions for Cuban Americans and restarted immigration talks with Cuba that were suspended under Bush.

Last week, the United States said a Bush-era news ticker on the U.S. Interests Section building in Havana, which the Cuban government viewed as an affront, had been turned off.

Puerto Rican-born del Toro won acclaim here last year for his portrayal of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, an Argentine who fought alongside Castro in the Cuban revolution, in the title role of the two-part biopic "Che," directed by American Steven Soderbergh.

The International Tomas Gutierrez Alea Prize, named for the late Cuban director who made the 1994 film "Strawberry and Chocolate," "makes me feel small and proud at the same time," del Toro said. "It's an honor to win this prize."

Star-Studded New York, I Love You Poster

Stars are flocking to the Big Apple this fall – at least on the big screen – for the upcoming film New York, I Love You and here is a sneak peak of the star-studded poster.

The film features an all-star cast, including Orlando Bloom, Bradley Cooper, Rachel Bilson (and fiancé Hayden Christensen), Christina Ricci, Ethan Hawke, Shia LaBeouf, Blake Lively and James Caan.

The studio behind the project, Vivendi Entertainment, describes the movie as "a collaboration of storytelling from some of today's most imaginative filmmakers" who "create a kaleidoscope of the spontaneous, surprising, electrifying human connections that pump the city's heartbeat."

Natalie Portman, who stars in the film, also spent some time working behind the camera. She's credited as a screenwriter and one of 11 directors, along with Brett Ratner (whose credits include Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand).