Movies and TV

Berlin is mad about film right now thanks to the Berlinale film festival. I'd never heard of it, but they say it's the next biggest film event after Cannes. There's a boatload of stars including Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie (who just bought a house around the corner from me), Robert DeNiro and Cate Blanchett. I watched the red carpet outside the Palast Berlinale just one night but only recognised Jeff Goldblum and William Dafoe.

I watched a game show called Quiz Taxi on German TV last night. I could only understand parts of it, but it's a brilliant concept: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on wheels.

Contestants get into what they think is an ordinary taxi cab, but they soon discover the truth. They earn money by answering questions until they reach their destination. Three questions wrong and they lose everything (and also have to get out of the taxi wherever they happen to be!).

The best part is the wildcards: they can phone a friend, or they can pull over and ask some random pedestrians. It's sad but funny to see old men in hats shuffle away slowly from the screaming girls in the back of a taxi.