Close up: Innocence of Muslims

The big story A violent reality check emerged this week: the moving image still has power to shock and disturb on a global scale. The crude anti-Islamic film Innocence of Muslims – allegedly a 13-minute trailer for a longer piece, which seems not to exist – showed that film, for better or worse, does retain the power to influence world events . The first most people became aware of the film was on (ironically enough) the 11th anniversary of 9/11 when protestors in Egypt beseiged the US embassy ; already the story was a news event, rather than a film one. Events soon spiralled, with the death of the US ambassador in Libya and the identification of the film-maker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula . As our critic Peter Bradshaw pointed out , the instant dissemination afforded by the digital age has only amplified the effect of the film; we still don't know whether calls for restraint will overcome the impulse to wreck. In the news Universal 'removes' director of Keanu Reeves film 47 Ronin Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa beats crowdfunding record for film Scientology lawyer calls Vanity Fair 'bigoted' over Tom Cruise article France submits Untouchable for foreign language Oscar Fifty Shades of Grey film: EL James hopes for cameo Rupert Wyatt to drop out of directing Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Robocop fans' fury over first pictures of Joel Kinnaman's 'unrobotic' suit On the blog O Brother, Where Art Thou? Mitt Romney might well ask Will Steven Spielberg's Lincoln stand tall at the Oscars? Red Dawn – trailer review The Sweeney is off to a Flying Squad start at the UK box office Clip joint: Fathers Cine-files: Kino, Rome Resident Evil: Retribution creeps to the top of the US box office Watch and listen You can now watch a superb British film on the Guardian website, as the award-winning comedy Skeletons becomes the latest in our series of watch-on-demand films . Starring stand-up comics Ed Gaughan and Andrew Buckley alongside Jason Isaacs, Skeletons is a film that really deserves a look, if you missed it first time around. Further reading ParaNorman directors: 'Children will handle the scares. They're such dark little things' Penélope Cruz: 'Twice Born is a homage to motherhood' The Sweeney – review Toronto film festival – review Chilli with Oliver Stone To Rome with Love – review In the paper In G2 Film & Music tomorrow, Lost in Showbiz considers the prospect of a TOWIE film, and there's interviews with Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins. The cover story in the Guide on Saturday is Looper, the new science fiction film starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and we speak to director Rian Johnson, while elsewhere there's a look at bawdy political comedy The Campaign, and Weekend magazine speaks to JK Rowling. And finally Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook