Van Johnson, the 1940s wholesome heartthrob actor, best known for his movies “A Guy Named Joe” and “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo,” died Friday in Nyack, New York. He was 92.

Dec 12, 2008–Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controversial photographs in sexywardrobe helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday, at age 85.

Nina Foch, the Oscar-nominated, Dutch-born actress who often worked in films, theater and television and was a respected coach of aspiring actors and directors, died Friday in Los Angeles of complications from the blood disorder myelodysplasia. She was 84.

Inventive cinematographer  CLAUDIO MIRANDA is in charge of the visual style of David Fincher's “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which should bring him an Oscar nomination.  Miranda has known David Fincher since 1985. From his first jobs as a stage manager, electrician and best boy, he moved on to gaff Fincher’s “The Game,” followed by the watershed feature “Fight Club” in 1999.  

MATTEO GARRONE is the director of the highly acclaimed crime drama, GOMORRAH, Italy's entry for the 2008 Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar. Garrone was born in Rome in 1968. He graduated from art school in 1986 and worked as an assistant cameraman and then spent several years dedicated to painting. In 1996 he won the Sacher Award for his short film SILHOUETTE. In 1997 he directed his first feature film, TERRA DI MEZZO, produced by his own company, Archimede, and distributed by Tandem. SILHOUETTE won the Special Jury Award and the Cipputi Award at the Turin Film Festival.