Movie & News links for Tues., Dec. 21st, 2010: The year in unnecessary censorship, Jafar Panahi sentenced to prison in Iran, Happy Holidays from Ricky Gervais and more …

By Anthony Nicholas on Tue, Dec 21, 2010 at 5:51 pm

A special Holiday message from Ricky Gervais.

The Playlist gives us a first look at Terrence Davies' (The House of Mirth, Of Time and The City) latest film The Deep Blue Sea, starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston.

The Daily Beast gives us their top 10 books of 2010.

In honor of the acclaimed drama The King's Speech, the BBC has dug up the actual royal broadcast from its archive. Listen to the actual King's speech here.

Still wondering why the Golden Globes thought The Tourist, Burlesque and Red were among the best cinema had to offer in 2010? The judges were bribed by the studios!

You may complain about the tax cut compromise, but Larry David is thankful for his tax cuts.

One of the most overlooked films of the year (or years) 2007 Secret Sunshine — directed by Chang Dong Lee and starring Cannes Best Actress winner Do-yeon Jeon — finally gets a theatrical release (as well as a Video on Demand release this Friday via IFC Films). Here's the trailer:

Movie & News Links of the Day is a collection of (mostly random) movie and news links we hope will peak your interest and spark discussion. We encourage you to send us your suggestions for the next day’s post to [email protected] and leave comments.

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In some truly distressing news, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (Offside, The White Balloon, Crimson Gold, The Circle), maker of some of world cinema's most-celebrated recent films, has been sentenced to six years in prison and 20 years of silence. (He is barred from making any films, writing any scripts, traveling abroad or speaking to the media). Panahi was arrested after joining a public mourning for protesters who were killed during Iran's disputed presidential election last year.

In lighter fare, Jimmy Kimmel gives us This Year in Unnecessary Censorship: