Altman and "A Prairie Home Companion" the hit of Berlin

A Prairie Home Companion, the new film written by Garrison Keillor (who also stars) and directed by Robert Altman, was a crowd-pleaser at The Berlin International Film Festival, and is considered a strong contender to win its Golden Bear award. (The winner will be announced Saturday the 18th.) In the movie, Keillor does his last show (if only!), with an all-star, Altman ensemble cast that includes Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, and Tommy Lee Jones. As everyone knows, it was filmed at Fitzgerald Theater, making it the second Twin Cities-based movie in the past few months to be a hit in Germany. (The other is Factotum, based on the Bukowski novel.) The Golden Bear isn't the only award nomination Altman is waiting to hear about: the 80-year-old director is up for a lifetime achievement Oscar. If he wins, it will be his first Academy Award.