FILM OPPORTUNITY U.S. actor and director Kevin Spacey said he sees opportunity for expanding film making in Africa, Asia and Europe.
   Spacey spoke about his international outlook during a brief visit to South Africa Saturday for the premiere of a local short film he helped produce and in which he stars.
   With backing from a whiskey company, Spacey ran a contest to ments — reported to total 320,000 pounds ($514,320) — were “conducted properly” and privately between the men, who are said to be good friends.
   Berezovsky, a once-infl uential Russian oligarch who sought asylum in Britain after falling out with President Vladimir Putin, never sought or obtained any benefi t from the friendship, his lawyer Mark Hastings said. His statement came after The Sunday Times reported that the Russian tycoon had sent cash to the prince through offshore companies 56 times from 2002 to 2008.
   The prince’s spokesman did not immediately answer questions about what the funds were used for or why they were needed.
   Michael is the queen’s fi rst cousin — his father was a younger brother find talent from the United States, Russia and South Africa.
   A script from each country was chosen, and Spacey starred in and helped produce the three fi lms, including South African Alan Shelley’s “A Spirit of a Denture,” which was given a red-carpet premiere in Johannesburg.
   The 26-year-old Cape Town writer-director’s movie is about a workaholic dentist who gets a visit from a pirate. PAYMENTS TO PRINCE
   Prince Michael, Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, received hundreds of thousands of pounds in fi nancial assistance from the self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky over several years, their representatives disclosed Sunday.
   Both sides stressed that the payof King George VI, the queen’s father. He is also distantly related to Tsar Nicholas II and speaks fl uent Russian. PUSH FOR PEACE
   “Homeland” star Mandy Patinkin has made a small push for peace while filming episodes of the hit TV show in Israel.
   Israel’s Channel 10 Sunday showed footage of the cast fi lming near Jaffa and actress Claire Danes leaving a restaurant.
   Patinkin is a supporter of the Israeli left that advocates a twostate solution to Israeli-Palestinian confl ict and an end to settlement building in the West Bank.
   “Homeland” is based on an Israeli drama, “Prisoners of War.” It tells the story of an American soldier freed from captivity in Iraq and a CIA officer who suspects him of being an al-Qaida turncoat. ‘DUCK’ DIES
   Donald “Duck” Dunn, the bassist who helped create the gritty Memphis soul sound at Stax Records in the 1960s as part of the legendary group Booker T. and the MGs and contributed to such classics as “In the Midnight Hour,” “Hold On, I’m Coming” and “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” died Sunday at 70.
   Dunn, whose legacy as one of the most respected session musicians in the business also included work with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s Blues Brothers as well as with Levon Helm, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, died while on tour in Tokyo.
   News of his death was posted on the Facebook site of his friend and fellow musician Steve Cropper, who was on the same tour. Cropper said Dunn died in his sleep.
   Dunn was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1941, and according to the biography on his offi cial website, was nicknamed for the cartoon character by his father.
   Dunn received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2007.
   He is survived by his wife, June; a son, Jeff; and a grandchild, Michael, said Michael Leahy, Dunn’s agent.