Sarah Palin supports daughter Bristol at `Dancing' (AP)

LOS ANGELES � Sarah Palin may be outspoken, but she kept her opinions to herself on "Dancing With the Stars."

The former vice-presidential candidate was in the ABC ballroom Monday to cheer on her daughter, whom she called "Bristol the pistol."

Palin had only good things to say about her daughter's competitors and the show's three judges when interviewed briefly by show host Tom Bergeron.

Palin praised the "courage, joy and exuberance" of the dancers and kept mum about the judges, saying, "It's like a hockey game. You're not going to chew out the refs before your team is up."

Bristol Palin was the night's final performer, collecting 22 points out of 30 for her quickstep with professional partner Mark Ballas.

So what's it like to have mom in the audience?

"It's awesome," the 19-year-old said.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Review: 'Social Network' epic and intimate at once (AP)

Checking into Facebook sporadically while writing my review of "The Social Network," I notice my hairstylist commenting on how freakishly hot it's been in Los Angeles, an old friend announcing she's flying back to Dallas from a business trip in New Jersey and a sports colleague posting a photo of himself while on assignment in Wales covering the Ryder Cup.

My dog trainer has seven new friends. A classmate from my college newspaper is celebrating a birthday.

They're all the usual mundane updates and observations that have become second nature in an age when we must share the meaningless immediately � all part of who we are and how we live and work. But the origin tale of Facebook itself is filled with high drama, betrayal and rage � just one of the many fascinating contradictions that make "The Social Network" so smart, meaty and compulsively watchable.

Director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin have gotten together to create an epic tale about how we're able to tell the world about the tiniest details of our lives; they depict potentially dry, unwieldy topics � computer coding and competing lawsuits � and they do it in an intimate way. These are two guys who aren't exactly checking their smart phones constantly for new friend requests, but "The Social Network" represents the best of what they do: Fincher's mastery of fluid, visual storytelling, Sorkin's knack for crisp, biting dialogue. It's sharp, funny and tense, has great energy and pulsates with the thrill of discovery.

Why we think people are itching to discover so much about us is another conversation for another time. But at age 19, Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg figured out that we'd want to do just that, and he determined it while screwing around on his computer one night in 2003, drunkenly miffed after his girlfriend dumped him. At least, that's how the story goes; Facebook itself calls the movie fiction. Still, here we are now, 500 million users strong worldwide � and here Zuckerberg is, billions of dollars richer.

Zuckerberg himself is the biggest contradiction of all: a socially inept guy who came up with a revolutionary way for others to connect, a hugely inventive genius who's also depicted as being small, petty and back-stabbing. He's coy about his own life and likes but he's become obscenely wealthy by urging others to divulge theirs. In starring as Zuckerberg, Jesse Eisenberg rises beautifully to the challenge of portraying an unlivable protagonist and making us feel engaged by him � or even want to see him succeed, depending on your perspective. And perspective is everything, as you'll find in "The Social Network." Eisenberg hones the awkward intelligence that's become his trademark in films like "The Squid and the Whale" and "Adventureland," but there's an edge to it now, a bitterness that makes him the most dangerous nerd ever.

Based on Ben Mezrich's book "The Accidental Billionaires," "The Social Network" couldn't be more timely, with Trent Reznor's synth-heavy score contributing to the contemporary, techie vibe. But it's a classic tale of ambition, greed, ego and self-destruction. It looks like a Fincher film with its dark, smoky warmth, similar to "Fight Club," "Panic Room" and "Zodiac." And yet it's his least show-offy film from a technical standpoint (although how he digitally depicts a set of twins is seamless). "The Social Network" moves with great verve but it's all about the dialogue. And that's where Sorkin comes in � his 162-page script packed neatly into a two-hour film with patter so brisk, especially off the top, it'll make you feel as if you're watching a 1940s screwball comedy.

Fincher cuts back and forth between the creation of what we now know to be the juggernaut of Facebook and the depositions in two lawsuits against Zuckerberg. One is from a group of Harvard classmates, twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence) and Divya Narendra (Max Minghella), who say Zuckerberg agreed to help them establish their own on-campus social network, then stole his idea and formed his own. The other is from his former business partner and only close friend back then, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), who says he was cheated out of millions after providing the earliest financial backing.

Each is certain of his telling of the events; "The Social Network" lets us watch them all play out and gives us enough credit to decide for ourselves. And the performances all around bring these various versions of the truth to life.

Eisenberg is at the center of it all, but Garfield is just as strong: He's the realist in the equation, but he's also more emotionally invested. And Justin Timberlake is, totally unsurprisingly, charismatic as hell as Sean Parker, the Napster co-founder who encourages Zuckerberg's ambition, as well as his darker instincts.

Just as you can't stop yourself from checking into Facebook more than once a day, you'll find yourself drawn to "The Social Network" again and again. It's easily one of the year's best.

"The Social Network," a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language. Running time: 120 minutes. Four stars out of four.

___

Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions:

G � General audiences. All ages admitted.

PG � Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

PG-13 � Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children.

R � Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 � No one under 17 admitted.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Placido Domingo to leave Washington National Opera (AP)

WASHINGTON � Placido Domingo said Monday he will leave the Washington National Opera when his contract expires next year, leaving a company with a higher artistic profile that is still struggling to support itself.

Domingo, 69, has been artistic director of the Washington National Opera since 1996 and served as its general director since 2003. The Spanish tenor holds the same title with the Los Angeles Opera and renewed his contract there last week through 2013.

In a letter to the opera's board obtained by The Washington Post, Domingo writes that the opera has been transformed into an internationally celebrated company. Still, he raised the possibility of a merger to sustain the opera in Washington.

"I think it is time for the company to go in new directions, including studying the possibility of a merger with the Kennedy Center," he wrote. "And you can rest assured that I will do everything I can to help during this, my last year as general director."

The opera has struggled financially in recent years as a stand-alone company.

Domingo is credited with raising the company's profile by bringing more big productions and international stars to Washington. He led the company's 2002 tour to Japan and created a young artists program to develop new talent.

"He will be missed, but all good things must come to an end," Washington National Opera President Kenneth Feinberg said in announcing Domingo's departure. "Placido's association with WNO was essential to the company's artistic development and helped it to gain recognition nationally and internationally."

Feinberg said the opera hopes to continue artistic collaborations with Domingo in the future.

Under his current contract, Domingo will return to Washington early next year to sing "Iphigenie en Tauride" and will conduct performances of "Madama Butterfly" and "Don Pasquale."

Domingo is best known to popular music audiences for his "Three Tenors" performances with Jose Carreras and the late Luciano Pavarotti.

___

Online:

Washington National Opera: http://www.dc-opera.org/

Placido Domingo: http://www.placidodomingo.com/

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Prosecution, defense rest cases in Smith trial (AP)

LOS ANGELES � Prosecution and defense attorneys rested their cases Monday in the seven-week drug conspiracy trial of Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer-boyfriend and two doctors charged with providing her with excessive amounts of opiates and sedatives while knowing she was an addict.

Superior Court Judge Robert Perry planned to hear defense motions to dismiss the case before jurors returned for final arguments Thursday.

Perry has indicated he planned to throw out some charges before the case is submitted to the jury. He suggested prosecutors had overreached the evidence when they filed the 11-count indictment.

Jurors were told the case would be placed in their hands next week.

Much of the testimony focused on whether Smith, a former Playboy model and reality TV star, was addicted to prescription drugs or instead seeking relief from chronic pain.

The prosecution called a long parade of witnesses, but the defense called only one, an expert on pain management. None of the three defendants testified.

Howard K. Stern, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich have pleaded not guilty to three conspiracy charges and other drug counts. They are not charged in Smith's 2007 drug overdose death, which was ruled accidental.

The prosecution's last witness was Dr. Tim Botello, a psychiatrist who testified that Eroshevich overstepped the physician-patient boundaries when she flew to the Bahamas with medications that were administered to Smith after the death of Smith's son Daniel.

Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Brad Brunon, who represents Eroshevich, Botello insisted Smith should have been treated by a psychiatrist licensed in the Bahamas.

Brunon, however, has noted that some drugs Eroshevich brought with her, including Methadone, were not available in that country.

Botello suggested other drugs could have been substituted.

Brunon asked Botello: "Did any of (her) doctors say she was using drugs to get high?"

"I did not see that," the witness said.

Jurors also heard a stipulation read by Stern's attorney Steve Sadow that prosecutors had spent $24,386 in travel expenses to bring two nannies from the Bahamas to testify.

At the end of their testimony, the judge said their credibility had been seriously undermined.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Judge declares mistrial in Buju Banton drug case (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. � A Florida judge on Monday declared a mistrial for Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton, who was accused of conspiring to buy cocaine from an undercover police officer last year.

U.S. District Judge James Moody made the decision after the 12-person jury sent him a second note saying they couldn't reach a verdict.

In an earlier note, jurors said they were having trouble reaching an agreement shortly after returning from a weekend recess. Moody then sent them back to keep trying. Deliberations had begun Thursday after a four-day trial.

The jurors declined to tell reporters about their deliberations.

Banton's attorney has asked Moody to release Banton on bond. He has been held without bond since his Dec. 10 arrest.

The attorneys and Moody discussed scheduling a new trial in December.

Banton, a four-time Grammy nominee, had been charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and aiding two others in possessing a firearm during the course of cocaine distribution. He faced up to life in prison.

Banton's attorney, David Markus, had argued that the singer was entrapped by a U.S. government informant.

"We were hoping to get a good verdict today. That said, 12 jurors did not believe Buju did it," said Banton's attorney, David Markus. "The government tried to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and they did not do it."

Before being led away in leg shackles, Banton reached out his arms to about two dozen family, friends and fans seated in the federal courtroom in Tampa.

"Thank you all. Love you, too," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Preston declined to comment after court adjourned.

The 37-year-old singer, whose real name is Mark Myrie, testified that he talked a lot about cocaine with the informant, Alexander Johnson, but he was only trying to impress the man, who claimed to have music industry connections, and not secure a drug deal.

Johnson testified that Banton admitted involvement in drug trafficking, and he wanted to give Johnson money so he could buy and sell cocaine.

Excerpts from their recorded conversations from July 2009 through December were played for the jury.

Banton said he never wanted nor expected Johnson to set up a cocaine deal, despite what he said in the recordings. The singer had told Johnson that he financed drug deals, wanted to sell drugs in Europe, buy drugs from the Caribbean and South America and use Johnson's boat to transport drugs.

Johnson testified that he surprised Banton with cocaine at an undercover police warehouse in Sarasota on Dec. 8. Surveillance video shows Banton peering over co-defendant Ian Thomas' shoulder at the cocaine, and the singer tasting the drugs with a finger.

On Dec. 10, Thomas and another co-defendant, James Mack, were arrested at the warehouse after trying to buy the drugs. Banton was not present and was arrested at his Miami-area home.

Thomas and Mack pleaded guilty, and each faces up to life in prison. Neither testified in the trial that began Monday in Tampa federal court.

Banton's new album, "Before the Dawn," will be released Tuesday. The album's 10 songs, including one titled "Innocent," were recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, last year before Banton's arrest.

"It speaks volumes about what's going on now in Buju's life," said his manager, Tracii McGregor. "Buju has said his body is locked away, but Buju is with us, he lives through his music."

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Wyclef Jean treated for exhaustion

Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.

NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

'Wall Street' finds buyers with $19M debut weekend (AP)

LOS ANGELES � Wall Street shark Gordon Gekko is making millions at the box office again.

Oliver Stone's "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," with Michael Douglas reprising his 1987 Academy Award-winning role as trader Gekko, debuted at No. 1 with a $19 million weekend.

The animated adventure "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" opened in second-place with $16.1 million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," Fox, $19,011,188, 3,565 locations, $5,333 average, $19,011,188, one week.

2. "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," Warner Bros., $16,112,211, 3,575 locations, $4,507 average, $16,112,211, one week.

3. "The Town," Warner Bros., $15,605,171, 2,885 locations, $5,409 average, $48,692,072, two weeks.

4. "Easy A," Sony Screen Gems, $10,600,497, 2,856 locations, $3,712 average, $32,714,215, two weeks.

5. "You Again," Disney, $8,407,513, 2,548 locations, $3,300 average, $8,407,513, one week.

6. "Devil," Universal, $6,605,960, 2,811 locations, $2,350 average, $21,859,425, two weeks.

7. "Resident Evil: Afterlife," Sony Screen Gems, $4,954,791, 2,642 locations, $1,875 average, $52,073,588, three weeks.

8. "Alpha and Omega," Lionsgate, $4,735,271, 2,625 locations, $1,804 average, $15,164,944, two weeks.

9. "Takers," Sony Screen Gems, $1,622,302, 1,413 locations, $1,148 average, $54,885,175, five weeks.

10. "Inception," Warner Bros., $1,247,006, 907 locations, $1,375 average, $287,053,292, 11 weeks.

11. "The Other Guys," Sony, $992,812, 1,047 locations, $948 average, $116,966,981, eight weeks.

12. "The American," Focus Features, $896,382, 1,315 locations, $682 average, $34,607,381, four weeks.

13. "Eat Pray Love," Sony, $704,613, 855 locations, $824 average, $79,040,308, seven weeks.

14. "Machete," Fox, $642,832, 682 locations, $943 average, $25,733,677, four weeks.

15. "Despicable Me," Universal, $582,585, 610 locations, $955 average, $245,514,665, 12 weeks.

16. "The Expendables," Lionsgate, $564,081, 852 locations, $662 average, $102,070,047, seven weeks.

17. "Catfish," Universal, $452,580, 57 locations, $7,940 average, $811,280, two weeks.

18. "Nanny McPhee Returns," Universal, $394,275, 765 locations, $515 average, $28,226,225, six weeks.

19. "The Last Exorcism," Lionsgate, $344,675, 707 locations, $488 average, $40,773,301, five weeks.

20. "Get Low," Sony Pictures Classics, $317,164, 354 locations, $896 average, $8,317,497, nine weeks.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice

___

Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount and Paramount Vantage are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue Pictures is owned by Relativity Media LLC; Overture Films is a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Max Weinberg splits as Conan O'Brien's bandleader (AP)

NEW YORK � Conan O'Brien's longtime bandleader Max Weinberg isn't following him to TBS.

O'Brien confirmed Monday that Weinberg won't be joining him on "Conan," his new late-night program set to debut in November. Weinberg had been O'Brien's musical sidekick for 17 years, on both "Late Night" and the "Tonight Show."

"Max has been a huge part of my life for the past 17 years and he is an incredible band leader and musician," O'Brien said in a statement. "I hope he can find time to stop by the show, sit in with the band and pretend to find my monologue funny."

Weinberg, who's also the drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, said his time with O'Brien and crew was "a deeply rewarding experience" and that he does "look forward to dropping by."

Guitarist Jimmy Vivino will take over as bandleader, a "Conan" spokesman said. Vivino is a longtime member of the band, which was previously named "The Max Weinberg 7" and later "Max Weinberg and the Tonight Show Band." A new name hasn't yet been announced.

O'Brien's short-lived stint as NBC's "Tonight Show" show host ended in January. "Conan" premieres Nov. 8.

___

Online:

http://www.tbs.com/shows/conanobrien

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Sober and single, Stones rocker Ron Wood goes solo

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES | Mon Sep 27, 2010 4:23pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones never have to worry about fading away as long as Ron Wood is around to keep them in the tabloids.

The 63-year-old guitarist has been adding a dose of hilarity to the band since 1975, the fan-friendly clown prince who defuses occasional tensions between the prickly pair of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

But with the band off the road for the past three years, Wood has been putting his talents to use in other areas: he squired a Russian teenager, got divorced by his second wife, suffered a drug and alcohol relapse, and went through a few more nubile gal pals.

His exploits were dutifully recorded in the media, rendering almost quaint the international incident he stirred up in 1977 after a dalliance with the estranged wife of Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

But Wood has also found time to record his seventh solo album, one more than the combined outings of Jagger and Richards. "I Feel Like Playing," his first release in nine years, comes out on Tuesday through Eagle Entertainment.

Needless to say, the recording sessions provided a welcome distraction as well as an emotional outlet.

"I didn't quite know what it was I wanted to say, but I knew that I had to not weaken under the strain of leaving home and starting a new life, really, at such a late age," he told Reuters with a wry laugh during a recent interview.

He considers the album a celebration of what he called his "newfound freedom" as a single man.

"I think freedom is the operational word there," he said. "I'd been so much under the cosh (slang for "under pressure") for so many years that I wasn't really doing my own thinking. I was having all my thinking done for me."

That's probably because his career has often been waylaid by alcoholism and poor financial judgment, which obligated his wives and handlers to clean up the mess.

HIGH-POWERED FRIENDS

As he did with his other efforts, dating back to 1974's "I've Got My Own Album To Do," which he recorded while still a member of the Faces, the gregarious Wood recruited some high-powered friends for various tracks. Among the players: ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Guns N' Roses veteran Slash on guitar, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, and his former Faces bandmate Ian McLagan on keyboards. Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder helped write two songs. The uncredited producer is Bob Rock, best known for handling Metallica's big releases.

But the album is clearly a vehicle for Wood's singing and playing abilities, as well as a rare chance to display his songwriting chops. He wrote or co-wrote all the songs apart from a cover of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful," the first song recorded at the sessions in Los Angeles.

In a professional career dating back to the early '60s, Wood has written and played on songs with the Birds ("You're On My Mind"), the Creation ("The Girls Are Naked"), the Jeff Beck Group ("Plynth"), Rod Stewart ("Every Picture Tells a Story") and the Faces ("Stay With Me").

He also chipped in on about 10 album tracks with the Rolling Stones, but has not written anything in about 25 years. His musical contributions on the last few albums were limited to guitar overdubs after the songs were largely completed. Once again, he blames drugs and alcohol for fueling his insecurity.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Fla. judge declares mistrial in Buju Banton drug case (AP)

TAMPA, Fla. � A Florida judge on Monday declared a mistrial for the Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton, who was accused of conspiring to buy cocaine from an undercover police officer last year.

U.S. District Judge James Moody declared a mistrial after the 12-person jury sent him a second note on Monday saying they couldn't reach a verdict. They had been deliberating since Thursday, after a four-day trial.

Banton's attorney has asked Moody to release Banton on bond. He has been held without bond since his December arrest in South Florida.

Banton, a four-time Grammy nominee, had been charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and aiding two others in possessing a firearm during the course of cocaine distribution. He faced up to life in prison.

The 37-year-old singer, whose real name is Mark Myrie, testified that he talked a lot about cocaine with a U.S. government informant, but he was only trying to impress the man, who claimed to have music industry connections, and not secure a drug deal.

The informant, Alexander Johnson, testified that Banton admitted involvement in drug trafficking, and he wanted to give Johnson money so he could buy and sell cocaine.

Their recorded conversations from July 2009 through December were played for the jury.

Banton said he never wanted nor expected Johnson to set up a cocaine deal, despite what he said in the recordings. The singer had told Johnson that he financed drug deals, wanted to sell drugs in Europe, buy drugs from the Caribbean and South America and use Johnson's boat to transport drugs.

Banton said he was surprised when the informant presented him with cocaine at an undercover police warehouse in Sarasota on Dec. 8. Surveillance video shows Banton peering over co-defendant Ian Thomas' shoulder at the cocaine, and the singer tasting the drugs with a finger.

On Dec. 10, Thomas and another co-defendant, James Mack, were arrested at the warehouse after trying to buy the drugs. Banton was not present and was arrested at his Miami-area home.

Thomas and Mack pleaded guilty, and each faces up to life in prison. Neither testified in the trial that began Monday in Tampa federal court.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

"Titanic" actress Gloria Stuart dies

LOS ANGELES | Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:42pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Gloria Stuart, a leading lady in Hollywood in the 1930s who found modern-day fame playing a shipwreck survivor in 1997 movie "Titanic," has died, age 100.

Her daughter, Sylvia Thompson, told the Los Angeles Times that Stuart died Sunday night in her home in Los Angeles. She was diagnosed with breast cancer some five years ago, but had survived the disease.

"She just paid no attention to illness. She was a very strong woman and had other fish to fry," Thompson said.

Stuart was born July 4, 1910 in Santa Monica, California, and she studied drama and philosophy in college before starting her career in theater and later Hollywood movies.

She was a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild, the trade union that represents actors and actresses, and was under contract for Universal Studios and 20th Century in the 1930s.

Her early movie roles ranged widely from star turns in horror flicks such as "The Invisible Man" to playing opposite Shirley Temple in "Poor Little Rich Girl" and working in director Busby Berkeley's "Gold Diggers of 1935."

When her contract expired in the 1940s, she began to work less and less in films and later took up painting. Stuart retired from movies in 1946, then roughly 30 years later returned in TV movies and continued working into the 1980s.

It was director James Cameron's blockbuster "Titanic," which until 2009's "Avatar" was the highest-grossing movie of all time, that returned Stuart to stardom and earned her an Academy Award nomination at age 87 -- the oldest actress ever nominated for an Oscar.

She played Old Rose, the counterpart of youthful passenger Rose (Kate Winslet) on the doomed ocean liner. Stuart's work helped frame the shipboard romance between the upper-class young Rose and working man Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio).

In her 1999 autobiography, "Gloria Stuart: I Just Kept Hoping," she wrote about the part that, "I knew the role I had wanted and waited for all these many years had arrived!"

After "Titanic," Stuart would work in a few more films and on television, but nothing would bring her a similar level of fame. She was married twice, to Blair Gordon Newell, from whom she was divorced in 1934, and to Arthur Sheekman, to whom she stayed married until he died in 1978.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

'Titanic' co-star Gloria Stuart dies at 100 (AP)

LOS ANGELES � Gloria Stuart, the Hollywood actress of the 1930s who gained an Oscar nomination 60 years later for her role as the spunky survivor in "Titanic," has died. She was 100.

Her grandson, Benjamin Stuart Thompson, says Stuart died in her sleep Sunday night at her Los Angeles home.

In her youth, Stuart was a blond beauty who starred in B pictures as well as higher-profile ones like "The Invisible Man" and two Shirley Temple movies.

She resumed acting occasionally in later years and was selected to play the elderly Titanic survivor portrayed by Kate Winslet as a young woman.

The 1997 "Titanic" became the biggest modern blockbuster up to that point. Both Winslet and Stuart, then 87, were nominated for Oscars.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

"Sound of Music" cast to reunite on Oprah's show

LOS ANGELES | Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:44pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The movie cast of "The Sound of Music" are reuniting for the first time in 45 years, with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer joining their seven fictional children in an October appearance on Oprah Winfrey's TV talk show, producers said on Monday.

Andrews, Plummer, Charmian Carr (Liesl), and the actors who played the six other von Trapp family children will talk about making the 1965 Oscar-winning movie and their lives since it went on to become one of the most popular movie musicals ever.

The reunion will be broadcast on October 29 on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", Winfrey's Harpo productions said.

Some of the real von Trapp children, who travel the world performing songs made famous by the movie, will also appear and pay tribute to the film on the TV show.

"The Sound of Music" won five Oscars, including best picture, and its soundtrack featuring hits like "My Favorite Things" and "Edelweiss" is one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time, having gone Platinum 12 times.

The movie is broadcast regularly on television and has won new fans in sing-along versions shown around the world.

Carr and some of the other, former child actors have come together in the past, but without stars Andrews, 74, who played the mischievous nun turned governess Maria, and Plummer, now 81, the stern Captain von Trapp who leads his family out of Austria just before World War Two.

Plummer, an award-winning Shakespearean stage actor, has sought in the past to distance himself from the movie and declined to attend a cast reunion for 40th anniversary of the DVD release in 2005.

But the actor told Reuters in a February interview he had made peace with his most famous role, despite being type cast as an uptight leading man for years after.

"It is not a film which I detest. The press have always got that wrong. I didn't hate the movie at all. I just didn't think my role was terribly exciting," Plummer said.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

MySpace to live stream Matador anniversary concert (AP)

NEW YORK � MySpace is planning to live stream the three-day anniversary celebration of the indie label Matador Records.

MySpace Music announced Monday that it will webcast much of "Matador 21: The Lost Weekend." The festival is taking place this weekend at the Palms Desert Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The concerts are to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Matador Records.

Among the most anticipated shows at the event is a performance by the reunited band Guided By Voices. Also performing � and being streamed on MySpace � are Pavement, Spoon, Liz Phair and the New Pornographers.

___

Online: http://www.myspace.com/matador21

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

'Sound of Music' cast to reunite on Oprah show (AP)

CHICAGO � The hills are alive again 45 years later, this time on the small screen.

Harpo Productions says the entire cast of the 1965 Academy Award-winning movie musical "The Sound of Music" will appear Friday, Oct. 29, on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

That includes stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Andrews had non-cancerous throat nodules removed in 1997, an operation that initially left her unable to sing. She will not sing on the TV program.

Plummer will talk about his relationship with the film over the decades.

The show will include a performance from the singing group The von Trapp Children, which features members of the real von Trapp family.

The musical's score includes such classics as "My Favorite Things" and "Do Re Mi."

___

Online: http://www.oprah.com

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Wyclef Jean hospitalized, suffering from 'stress' (AP)

NEW YORK � A representative for hip-hop singer Wyclef Jean (WY'-klef zhahn) says he has been hospitalized at an undisclosed location.

The 37-year-old Grammy Award winner checked into a hospital over the weekend. His representative Marian Salzman says he's "suffering from stress and fatigue based on the grueling eight weeks he's had."

Jean announced a bid for Haiti's presidency in August but ended it last week. No official reasons were given for Jean's exclusion although he's presumed not to have met constitutional requirements, including living in Haiti.

Jean was born on the outskirts of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince (port-oh-PRIHNS'). He grew up in New York and lives in New Jersey.

His rep says he "plans to take it easy" and will be released from the hospital this week.

Jean also is planning to release a new album.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Laura Innes enjoys keeping secrets for `The Event' (AP)

NEW YORK � Former "ER" star Laura Innes has traded in her hospital scrubs for NBC's mysterious new serial thriller, "The Event."

The 51-year-old actress plays Sophia Maguire. Little was revealed about Sophia on the show's premiere, but Innes says several "compelling facts" will be revealed in the second episode. "The Event" airs Monday nights.

Innes says she's having fun keeping the show's secrets.

She says her 20-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter have been badgering her for spoilers, but she's contractually obligated not to spill story lines � even to other cast members.

___

NBC is owned by General Electric Co.

___

Online:

http://www.nbc.com/the-event/

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

JK Rowling talks to Oprah on Harry Potter's future

NEW YORK | Mon Sep 27, 2010 12:30pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best-selling author J.K. Rowling will appear in a rare interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to talk about her life and career and the possibility of another Harry Potter book.

The 45-year-old British writer, who was rated by Forbes magazine earlier this year with an estimated wealth of $1 billion, talked to Winfrey for the first time from Edinburgh, Scotland in an interview to be broadcast Friday, her U.S. publisher Scholastic Inc. said Monday.

Rowling spoke about coping with fame, pressure and she "shares her thoughts on the possibility of ever writing another Harry Potter book in the future," Scholastic said in a statement.

She told Winfrey she realized her books about the boy wizard were popular and her life had changed forever when she saw an enormous line of fans outside a large store during her second U.S. book tour. She said the moment "felt Beatle-esque."

The author, who has not granted many media interviews, also told Winfrey that the cool composure she had displayed at the height of the Harry Potter mania was not quite what it seemed.

"You ask about the pressure. At that point, I kept saying to people, yeah I'm coping ... but the truth was there were times when I was barely hanging on by a thread," she said according to an early excerpt of the interview.

The books, which have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide, were transformed into top-grossing films.

The last Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was released in mid-2007 in more than 90 countries and sold 11 million copies in its first 24 hours in Britain and the United States alone.

A two-part film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" has been filmed, with part one slated for release in November.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Patricia Reaney)

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Comedies off to strong start as TV season begins

By James Hibberd

Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:29am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - If the opening of the fall TV season has proved one thing so far, it's that comedy has reclaimed the broadcast throne.

After the genre made promising gains last season with the launch of game-changers "Modern Family" and "Glee," this year's first couple of weeks of premieres are forming a pattern: popular comedies are returning to steady or better ratings than last year, and top dramas are coming back to lower numbers -- sometimes, a lot lower.

Of the seven highest-rated premieres so far, five were comedies. There was Fox's "Glee" (5.6 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic, up 60%; each ratings point in that demo equals about 1.3 million viewers), ABC's "Modern Family" (5.1, up 21%), NBC's "The Office" (4.4, up 7%), "CBS' "The Big Bang Theory" (4.9, up 4%) and "Two and a Half Men" (4.9, up 10%).

Of the two other top premieres, one was a drama (ABC's "Grey's Anatomy"; 5.4, down 21%) and the other was a reality show (ABC's "Dancing With the Stars"; 5.1, up 24%).

The "Grey's" slump was not without company. Part of the issue is the oft-reported observation that many of TV's dramas are a bit long in the tooth. Veteran series "House" (4.2) was down 37%, "CSI" (3.4) -- despite a guest appearance by Justin Bieber -- fell 17%, and "NCIS" (4.0) was down 17%.

Ratings for new shows followed a predictable bell-curve pattern of a couple delivering truly impressive opens, several performing solidly and a handful that blew up at the starting gate.

"Everybody has something to feel good about," CBS scheduling chief Kelly Kahl said.

Especially CBS, which is off to a great start. On Monday, "Hawaii Five-0" (3.9) didn't create quite the splash that many expected, though its rating is formidable, and freshman "Mike & Molly" (3.9) managed to be the second-highest-rated comedy in the network's block. Tuesday legal drama "The Defenders" (2.9) wasn't spectacular but didn't embarrass either. Thursday's "$#*! My Dad Says" (4.0) opened terrific. And on Friday, despite rumors of a troubled production, "Blue Bloods" (2.2) performed solidly in a tough time period and even won the night.

"All our new shows so far have at least gotten off the ground and look to have every opportunity to succeed," Kahl said.

Much has been made of CBS' bold scheduling shakeup for fall. And although at least one move clearly has paid off -- "Survivor" (4.0) is rocking its new Wednesday time period -- the jury is still out on the others. The network's comedies went big on Thursday for their first week, though whether the critically panned "$#*!" will maintain its numbers is a question. "Hawaii" was below "CSI: Miami" in its time period, and on Friday, "CSI: NY" drew a tad less than "Medium" at the post last year.

NBC has enjoyed a couple positive headlines. Monday's mystery thriller "The Event" (3.6) had a head-turning opening for the network in a competitive time period, and insiders hope audiences stick around for the next couple episodes, which critics say improve creatively on the pilot. At 10 p.m., action-thriller "Chase" (2.3) wasn't able to catch up with competitors. New spy dramedy "Undercovers" (2.1) underwhelmed, and Friday's Jimmy Smits legal drama "Outlaw" (1.1) looks DOA against "Blue Bloods."

"It's still the top of the first inning, but I'm happy with our start," NBC scheduling head Mitch Metcalf said. "We've set out what we planned to do, and that's to patiently hour-by-hour lay the foundation for a long-term turnaround.

Many expected NBC's "Community" (2.2) to get crushed by "Big Bang" on Thursdays, but the comedy delivered a typical number.

"They're different types of comedies," Metcalf said. "It's not an election where the winner takes all."

Thursday's new comedy "Outsourced" (3.6) was impressive. But the return to a civilian version of "The Apprentice" (1.4) is not doing the network any favors on the night.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Ozzy: Booze, not politics, prevented Israeli gigs (AP)

JERUSALEM � Ozzy Osbourne said that alcohol, not politics, has stopped him from playing in Israel until now.

Osbourne is in Israel this week as part of this year's international Ozzfest tour, along with Soulfly and Korn. Tuesday's performance will be his first ever in the Holy Land.

Asked why he hadn't played in Israel before, the heavy metal rocker, known for decades of decadence and substance abuse, told reporters in Tel Aviv on Sunday: "I guess I was drunk for so many years."

He said politics had nothing to do with it. "I try to stay away from politics. They don't understand me and I don't understand them," he said, sitting next to his wife Sharon.

Pro-Palestinian activists in Europe and the U.S. have urged artists to boycott Israel to protest the country's policies toward the Palestinians.

A number of performers, Elvis Costello and the Pixies, recently canceled shows here, angering local fans. Other artists, including Metallica, Elton John and Rihanna, have resisted boycott calls and played in Israel this year.

Osbourne, 61, pioneered heavy metal as front man for the band Black Sabbath.

Songs like "Paranoid," and "War Pigs," with their dark lyrics and heavy guitar riffs changed rock and roll and inspired many bands. Ozzy left the band in the late 1970s and has been performing solo since.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

'Harry Potter' author chats with Oprah Winfrey (AP)

NEW YORK � Will J.K. Rowling write another book about Harry Potter?

That's among the topics discussed on Oprah Winfrey's first interview with the author, whom she met recently in Edinburgh, Scotland. The interview will air Friday on Winfrey's television program.

Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic Inc., announced Monday that Rowling will also discuss how she has coped with the fame brought on by her famous series. The books spawned a movie franchise and theme park. More than 400 million copies of the books starring the boy wizard have been sold worldwide.

Forbes magazine has ranked Rowling as one of the richest women in Britain, with an estimated wealth of $1 billion.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Review: Chesney returns to familiar themes on CD (AP)

Kenny Chesney, "Hemingway's Whiskey" (BNA)

Kenny Chesney chose a contemplative Guy Clark song, "Hemingway's Whiskey," as the title of his new album, which might goad some to believe that the country star is extending the introspective mood prevalent on recent albums.

That's not wholly true. After taking a year off, Chesney returns by focusing on familiar themes: nostalgia, small town life, beachfront getaways and tequila. He occasionally uses those topics to meditate on life's bigger questions, as on the heart-tugging "The Boys Of Fall," the album's first hit. But the East Tennessee native also gets back to rocking out and kicking his feet through the surf.

"Live A Little" opens with a 1970s-rock guitar coda before Chensey declares that he needs to readjust his priorities and remember to enjoy himself. "Reality" makes the same point to a similar rousing beat, while "Round And Round" is a Skynyrd-style Southern blues number about the futility of getting rundown by common frustrations.

Chesney occasionally revisits subjects without capturing the power of earlier hits. "Coastal," for example, makes a disconcerting pun on "going postal," suggesting that a trip to the ocean would be a better way to blow off steam. But at its best, "Hemingway's Whiskey" finds the veteran star integrating his newly developed strength at looking inward into his outward-bound knack for getting a crowd on its feet.

CHECK OUT THIS TRACK: Chesney turns a cover of Deana Carter's "You And Tequila" into a surprisingly soulful duet with Vermont rocker Grace Potter.

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Simon Pegg, Michael Fassbender among 'Fable' cast (AP)

y LOS ANGELES � Peter Molyneux is upgrading the star power of his next "Fable."

The creative director of Microsoft Game Studios Europe has tapped Simon Pegg, Michael Fassbender, John Cleese and other actors to lend their accents to "Fable III," the third chapter of Lionhead Studios' role-playing saga set in the fictional realm of Albion. Pegg, who played Scotty in "Star Trek," will voice an attention-seeking soldier named Benn Finn.

"These people have really never come together before in any medium," Molyneux said. "For a lot of them, this is their first computer game they've ever done. Heading the cast is John Cleese, one of the founding fathers of 'Monty Python.' He's made fantastic films like 'Life of Brian' and the TV series 'Faulty Towers.' He's just a brilliant and incredible actor."

Cleese plays Jasper, a persnickety butler who guides the player along their journey to dethrone a tyrannical ruler named Logan, voiced by "Inglourious Basterds" actor Fassbender. Other voices will include Bernard Hill as the player's faithful mentor, Nicholas Hoult as a potential love interest and Naomie Harris as the leader of a rebel movement.

Zoe Wanamaker and Stephen Fry will also reprise their "Fable II" roles.

___

Online:

http://lionhead.com/Fable/FableIII/

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

Broken Bells finds its unique voice (AP)

NEW YORK � Brian Burton and James Mercer worked in secret for almost a year as they developed tunes for a group that would become the Broken Bells. That approach was probably for the best.

When word got out that Burton � the eclectic producer whose credits include being one-half of Gnarls Barkley and this year's long-awaited "Dark Night of the Soul" with Sparklehorse � and the Shins' leader were working together, plenty of expectations arose, most of them wrong.

"I think some people thought it would be a Shins record produced by Danger Mouse," said Mercer, referring to Burton's producer nickname.

"Or that I would be bringing beats," interjected Burton.

Or that it would be another side project for Burton, known for his unique collaborations including The Good, the Bad & the Queen that included the Gorillaz's Damon Albarn and the Clash's Paul Simonon.

What emerged is an album with a sound they call a "sci-fi space-pop album" and a group they insist is more than a one-off partnership.

"We just want to make sure that people understand that this is a band and this is what we are focusing on," said Mercer, whose Shins haven't released an album in three years.

"Sometimes we wish we were two guys nobody had ever heard of and this was our first band, because it would help us when people talk about it to not talk about everything else that we've done except for this album," Burton said.

The duo put out their debut self-titled CD earlier this year and recently launched the second leg of their American tour. The album has cemented their musical partnership � and friendship.

The pair, though admirers of each other's work, weren't exactly friends when they started working on the album at Burton's home. Instead, they were more interested in forging a new sound together.

"We wanted to make this beautiful, sad, kind of dark record because that's where we really crossed over in a lot of ways, but in a real psychedelic, catchy way," said Burton.

The band went lo-fi, using older technology to achieve a gritty retro-effect.

They found that they meshed both sonically and emotionally.

"I'd fly down there and stay at Brian's house (in Los Angeles), in his guest room, and then we'd wake up and have breakfast and go into the studio and work all day," said the Portland, Ore.-based Mercer.

They'd spend all day talking, too: "I think those conversations about your life, your world view, end up informing the lyrics," Mercer said.

Given the tone of the songs � moody and melancholy, and a bit depressing � those talks must have been pretty weighty. But the pair declined to explain the meaning behind songs like "The Ghost Inside," "The Mall & Misery" and "Sailing to Nowhere."

"When you reveal too much about the song's meaning, you can end up disappointing some people who had their own sort of take on it," Mercer said.

The songs represented the creative vision of both men, which was a unique experience for Mercer, who has carried the weight of songwriting for the Shins.

"It's very different for me because we just share the writing responsibility, we work together," he said.

"Either one of us always had veto power over any note, any lyric," added Burton.

It's certainly not as soulful as Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," but it has more groove than anything from the Shins. The music is rock-tinged with trippy vibe, and veers from a driving pace to a downbeat, morose tone. The pair believes it's unlike any music they've done before, which was their goal: to create a sound unique to the Broken Bells.

"When we were done with the record, this is the record that we wanted to make," said Burton. "This is the most comfortable I've been with an album after I've finished with it."

____

Online:

http://www.brokenbells.com

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds

MTV `Buried Life' quartet tackles new bucket list (AP)

LOS ANGELES � Duncan Penn schemes to meet and date Taylor Swift. Dave Lingwood tests himself and his tolerance for bruises in a mixed martial arts match. And the two, along with Jonnie Penn and Ben Nemtin, streak a soccer game and try to avoid getting busted.

These adventures and more are aimed at getting you and other viewers of the quartet's MTV series, "The Buried Life," to ponder this crucial question: What do you want to do before you die?

The Canadian 20-somethings obviously are having fun with their own bucket list, whether the item at hand is finagling access to the White House (last season) or posing as a country singer and his posse to get Duncan Penn and Swift together (in the sophomore season, debuting 10:30 p.m. EDT Monday).

Siblings Jonnie, 23, and Duncan, 26, and childhood friends Lingwood, 24, and Nemtin, 26, gained inspiration and their intriguing title from a 19th-century Matthew Arnold poem that evokes a longed-for "buried life" hidden by mundane demands.

The four take their roles as Pied Pipers of self-fulfillment beyond the frivolous, using their wits and growing number of TV and online followers to benefit others.

Those widely varying efforts include helping a Minnesota girl struggling with depression bring the disease to light in her town and trying to bolster a town hit by the deaths of four teenagers.

It's the same layered approach � enlighten, entertain and assist � the four took when they started the project online in 2006 as students.

Then, they used a relative's borrowed RV and lived off donated nutrition bars on a two-week summer trip. Now they've got the resources of a cable channel behind them but not, they stress, MTV's help. Each mission succeeds or fails by dint of their own industry and with the help of their growing online community of fans.

It's a peer group with a shared perspective, say "The Buried Life" friends.

"All the kids we've talked to, it's like innate, this feeling to give back. We talk about why that is a lot, why our generation has this desire to give back," said Nemtin.

Ask what it stems from and the answer is enough to warm a baby boomer's heart.

"It's hard to peg it down, but part of it is your generation giving us the tools and the freedom to be able to do that," Nemtin said, and his pals don't knock down the compliment.

Even if they're just being polite, or politic, the four are impressive nonetheless. One of their items on an early to-do list included having a TV show � and here they are, doing it on their own terms and with what appears to be as much heart as ambition.

"We just wanted to have fun and make a difference," said Lingwood.

"We're not saving the world," adds Jonnie Penn. "We're just doing nice, small things for people."

The four are eyeing larger goals as they draw deeper into their 20s, whether it's playing basketball with President Barack Obama or rescuing an island, albeit a small one, from deforestation.

"It's aspirational," Jonnie Penn said. "Our generation around the world is consistent in that we all want big things, really big things. What we've enjoyed with this project, and specifically this season, is going after really big things and seeing what it takes to complete them."

"Doing it with friends and siblings makes it that much more fun, even if you fail," he said.

The ultimate "Buried Life" goal, says Duncan Penn, is to spread the message of living life fully worldwide � not too shabby an entry on anybody's list.

___

MTV is owned by Viacom Inc.

___

Online:

http://www.theburiedlife.mtv.com

Powered by WizardRSS | Full Text RSS Feeds