Taylor Swift returns to No. 1 on U.S. album chart

By Keith Caulfield

Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:46pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Taylor Swift returned to the No. 1 slot on the U.S. pop album chart on Wednesday, knocking reigning champ Susan Boyle to No. 2, and holding Michael Jackson's new album to a No. 3 debut.

Swift's "Speak Now" sold 259,000 copies during the week ended December 19, according to Nielsen SoundScan -- enough to give it a third nonconsecutive week at No. 1. With sales of 2.6 million after just eight weeks, "Speak Now" is the year's third-best selling set, behind Eminem's "Recovery" (3.2 million) and Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" (3 million).

Boyle's "The Gift" followed close behind with 254,000 copies, and a six week-total of 1.6 million. It spent four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1.

Jackson's much buzzed-about "Michael" sold 228,000 copies, a little higher than initial industry prognostications last week. The late pop star topped the chart a year ago when his "This Is It" soundtrack opened to 373,000 copies.

Jackie Evancho's "O Holy Night" rose one to No. 4 with 191,000, and the "Glee" Christmas album fell two to No 5 with 158,000.

R. Kelly's "Love Letter" debuted at No. 6 with 154,000, an improvement on the 114,000-unit, No. 4 start for "Untitled" a year ago.

Diddy-Dirty Money's "Last Train To Paris" rolled in at No. 7 with 101,000 -- a number rather larger than initial forecasts. Diddy was last on the tally with his "Press Play" set in 2006, when it started at No. 1 with 170,000.

Nicki Minaj's "Pink Friday" fell two to No. 8 with 97,000 copies. Kid Rock's "Born Free" soared six to No. 9 (94,000), in the wake of sale advertising at major retailers last week. The "Glee, the Music: Season Two: Volume 4" album dropped two to No. 10 (87,000).

This year's "American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox came in at No. 28 with "Farmer's Daughter" (58,000). That sales figure beats the start of winner Lee DeWyze's "Live It Up" (39,000, No. 19) a few weeks ago.

Overall album sales totaled 12.50 million units, up 23% compared to the previous week, but down 17% compared to the comparable sales week of 2009. Year to date album sales stand at 303.94 million, down 13% compared to the same total at this point last year.

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Officials order new safety measures for "Spider-Man"

By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK | Wed Dec 22, 2010 7:19pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The beleaguered "Spider-Man" musical canceled its performance on Wednesday in order to put in place new safety measures for its complicated stage maneuvers, the show's publicists said.

The show was stopped after New York state safety inspectors and producer and director Julie Taymor agreed on Wednesday to additional safety measures after a leading stuntman was rushed to hospital when he fell from a high platform during a performance earlier this week.

It was the fourth injury to an actor in the $65 million musical, causing the inspectors to force new rules on the production that require a second stagehand and stage manager to back up all of the show's 38 stunts involving harnesses and ropes.

Much of the ambitious production's cost has been devoted to its hi-tech effects, unprecedented on Broadway, with actors flying through the air and at times over the audience.

"All of these accidents are a result of safety and health systems failures," Maureen Cox, Director of Safety and Health for the New York State Department of Labor, told reporters.

A spokesman for the show, whose full title is "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" and which has music written by U2's Bono and The Edge, said the actors and crew were currently practicing the new measures. New performances were due to resume on Thursday and all ticket-holders for the canceled performance would receive refunds.

The cancellation of Wednesday's show was the latest setback for the musical whose official opening date has been delayed several times with a latest date of February 7. Early in development, the show was plagued by financial and technical issues, before finally making it into previews. Ticket sales nevertheless have been strong, so far.

The incident involving the stuntman, Christopher Tierney, occurred when the aerialist was performing as a stunt double for the masked "Spider-Man" character. He plunged off the platform during a tense moment in one of the final scenes seven minutes before the end of Monday night's performance.

Audience members said they heard a thud while a fellow actress on stage appeared to scream and the audience went quiet while the stage was blacked out.

Cox said the investigation into why Tierney fell and whether the production had broken any safety codes was continuing, but the show and inspectors agreed in the meantime to the broader safety measures.

"At this point, we are satisfied that they have put in the appropriate controls," said Cox. "If they are not comfortable and haven't got everything in place, we have agreed that they wouldn't go, and so apparently that is the position that they are in right now."

(editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Christian Bale to star in Chinese massacre film

By Jonathan Landreth

Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:10pm EST

BEIJING (Hollywood Reporter) - Christian Bale, currently winning raves for his supporting role in "The Fighter," will star in "Nanjing Heroes," a Chinese film about the Nanjing Massacre, its director said on Wednesday.

Director Zhang Yimou's $90 million budget is roughly equal to that of John Woo's two-part period epic "Red Cliff," which was billed as the most expensive ever Asian-financed movie.

The Nanjing Massacre, when Japanese troops killed thousands of Chinese citizens in what was then the nation's capital in 1937, has been the subject of several recent Chinese and co-produced films. Bale will play an American priest called John who helps a great number of Chinese escape certain death.

"I met Christian in America and was impressed with his serious book research for the role," Zhang said after playing a five-minute video mash up of clips from Bale's Hollywood films, few of which have ever played theatrically in China.

The film will be shot about 40% in English and the rest in Mandarin Chinese, sources close to the project told The Hollywood Reporter. Zhang made no other cast or crew announcements.

Previously, Sony Pictures Classics distributed Zhang's films in the United States, but Sony does not appear to be involved at this time.

Zhang's highest-grossing film ever was 2002 period war film "Hero" starring Jet Li, which took in almost $54 million in the U.S. His new film comes at a time when China's movie business is booming at home and dominant in parts of Asia, but receives little attention elsewhere.

Asked if casting Bale was a move to raise Chinese cinema's profile in the U.S. market -- still 10 times bigger than China's box office -- Zhang said "It's the overall strategy for Chinese cinema to approach the world and broaden its influence but casting Bale was a coincidence because the script happened to have an English-speaking part in the lead."

Zhang will begin shooting the film on January 10 in a Republican Era (1911-1949) replica church built near Nanjing.

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"Spider-Man" cancels show due to new safety rules

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Sofia Coppola looks at Hollywood life in "Somewhere"

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:35pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sofia Coppola grew up around movies as the daughter of "Godfather" maker Francis Ford Coppola. The 39-year-old has written, directed and produced her fourth film, "Somewhere," due in theaters on Wednesday.

The film, which won the top prize at the Venice film festival earlier this year, takes place at a legendary Hollywood hotel, the Chateau Marmont, and it follows a famous actor (Stephen Dorff) who drifts through life until his daughter (Elle Fanning) shows up. Her visit forces him to rethink his ways and his relationship to her.

Coppola sat down with Reuters to discuss "Somewhere" and how her own life has affected her filmmaking.

Q: From where did the idea for an L.A.-centric movie come?

A: "When I wrote it, I was living in France. It was after I had done 'Marie Antoinette.' I was thinking about being far from home, from California. I was seeing the Chateau Marmont in tabloids and this idea of a movie star adrift at the Chateau Marmont was appealing to me."

Q: As mother of two daughters (Romy, 4, Cosima, 6 months) do you find themes of parenthood creeping into your movies?

A: "When I started writing 'Somewhere,' I just had my first daughter. The idea of parenthood was on my mind because I was experiencing it. I was thinking about how it changes your perspective and how it would affect this kind of character. It made me think of my own childhood and I tried to put in memories of that."

Q: So is this film autobiographical?

A: "Not autobiographical, but it's personal. My childhood was very different than in the movie. But the world is familiar to me so I tried to put personal things and memories into it."

Q: Like what?

A: "When I was writing the father/daughter story, I tried to think of little moments that I thought were fun as kid to get to do with my dad -- going into worlds that kids don't usually get to see. The scene where they're in the casino and he's telling her about craps was something I remember doing."

Q: Did you live in hotels growing up with your father?

A: "We would go on location with my dad when he was making films so I lived in a lot of different hotels. I always thought it was fun. You're away from real life, and you can run around and see interesting people and order room service. I still think it's fun.

Q: Chris Pontius -- from your ex-husband Spike Jonze's TV show and the "Jackass" films -- plays Stephen Dorff's buddy in "Somewhere." Were you apprehensive about approaching him since you and Spike are no longer together?

A: "No. I knew Chris back in that other part of my life but I felt that I could approach him. He was always friendly with me. I've seen him with my friend's kids and he was always sweet and funny with them. I thought it'd be fun to have him with Elle Fanning."

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Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton win lifetime Grammys

LOS ANGELES | Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:43pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British actress Julie Andrews, country icon Dolly Parton, jazz drummer Roy Haynes, and punk pioneers the Ramones will receive Grammy Awards for lifetime achievement next year, organizers said on Wednesday.

Recipients also include the Juilliard String Quartet, folk revivalists the Kingston Trio, and 101-year-old gospel legend George Beverly Shea.

They will receive their statuettes at an event in Los Angeles on February 12, a day before the 53rd annual Grammy Awards ceremony is held.

With the exception of the Ramones, all the lifetime honorees have won competitive Grammys. The lifetime awards will also be posthumous for most of the founding members of the Ramones and the Kingston Trio. Two of the original members of the Juilliard String Quartet, formed in 1946, are still alive.

Andrews, 75, became one of Hollywood's biggest stars by playing prim and cheery nannies in the 1960s movie musicals "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music." She and co-star Dick Van Dyke performed the Sherman brothers' "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in the former.

Parton, 64, a country music singer-songwriter and businesswoman with an irrepressible personality and voluptuous figure, won some of the best notices of her career in recent years with forays into folk and bluegrass. She is perhaps best known for her '70s pop crossover hits "Jolene" and "9 to 5."

Haynes, 85, noted for drum and cymbal techniques, played with the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane during a career spanning more than 60 years.

From their humble New York beginnings, the Ramones helped pioneer punk rock in the 1970s with such fast-paced songs as "Blitzkrieg Bop" and "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker." The quartet, whose members adopted Ramone as their last name, went through multiple lineup changes. Co-founders Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone died in the space of three years earlier this decade.

The Juilliard String Quartet has also gone through many lineup changes. Current violist Samuel Rhodes claims the second-longest tenure, of more than 40 years. Co-founders Raphael Hillyer and Robert Mann remain active in retirement.

The Kingston Trio, best known for "Tom Dooley," helped pave the way for the folk revival of the 1960s. Canadian-born Shea composed the popular hymn "The Wonder Of It All."

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Michael Jackson album fails to top pop chart

LOS ANGELES | Wed Dec 22, 2010 1:25pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's first posthumous studio album was the top seller around the world during its first week of release, his label said on Wednesday, but was held to a modest No. 3 debut in the United States.

The collection of unfinished recordings, simply titled "Michael," took the No. 1 slot in Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden, said Sony Corp-owned Epic Records.

It was also a top-five starter in Belgium (No. 2), Canada (No. 2), Japan (No. 3 ), Britain (No. 4), France (No. 4) and Denmark (No. 4).

In Germany, "Michael" was the biggest debut of the year, selling 85,000 copies, Epic said. Its British start of 113,000 copies was the best for Jackson since 1991's "Dangerous."

In the United States, the world's largest music market, "Michael" sold about 228,000 copies during the week ended December 19. Music trade publication Billboard reported last month that Epic was projecting first-week sales of about 400,000 copies.

"Michael" was bested by Taylor Swift's "Speak," which returned to No. 1 for a third, nonconsecutive week with 259,000 copies, and former chart-topper Susan Boyle's "The Gift" with 254,000 copies.

Jackson's previous release, the "This Is It" compilation soundtrack, debuted at No. 1 in the United States a year ago with 373,000 units. Jackson was the biggest selling artist in the United States last year, selling 8.3 million albums mostly in the wake of his death in June at the age of 50.

His fortunes had long been on the wane in the United States, where his career was overshadowed by his bizarre behavior and allegations of inappropriate contact with young boys. Foreign fans were more forgiving, and Jackson was planning a series of comeback concerts in London until he succumbed to an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

"Michael" marks the first of what is expected to be many forays into Jackson's trove of unreleased recordings by the executors of his estate. Big-name producers were hired to finish the tracks, and in some cases had to use digital technology to recreate Jackson's voice.

Clocking in at an economical 42 minutes, the 10-track album had critics wondering if Jackson, a notorious perfectionist, would have approved of it.

The New York Times described it as "a rush job," while Rolling Stone said it was "a grab bag of outtakes and outlines." Entertainment Weekly said it was a "solid" improvement on his last studio release, "Invincible." That 2001 album debuted at No. 1 in the United States with 366,000 copies, but was ultimately viewed as a commercial and creative disappointment.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Beatles' Abbey Road crossing wins protected status

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Chinese film to star Christian Bale

By Michael Martina

BEIJING | Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:15am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Zhang Yimou, one of China's best-known directors, and local movie moguls is hoping for an ascendance on the world's silver screens to match the country's rise on the global political and economic stage.

Winning that international audience may mean tying a Chinese story to a Hollywood face.

Zhang's newest project, a film to depict wartime Nanjing under Japanese occupation, will mark the first time a domestically-funded Chinese movie has placed a Hollywood actor -- Christian Bale -- in a leading role, producers told a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

"The strategy for China's film industry is to go abroad. It is a goal for the future and matches China's fast development," Zhang said at the unveiling of Bale as the leading man in the film, currently titled in English, "Thirteen Women of Nanjing."

The movie, set to begin filming in Nanjing, formerly known as Nanking, in early January, is based on a book by Yan Geling, depicting a religious man (Bale) who attempts to save a group of young women forced into prostitution at by the Japanese army.

"I think anyone who is doing artistic work has the responsibility for cultural exchange," Zhang said.

"We (China) have done many Nanjing-related films, but many of them were directed inwardly, and young people in the West may not know them. So we hope we can make a good film and more young people in foreign countries will see it," he added.

China's movie industry is not alone in wanting to expand its audience. The government -- from the State Council, or cabinet, to the Ministry of Culture -- has had its hand in promoting China's cultural footprint around the world.

The movie that plays on the volatile historical memory of Chinese who suffered under a brutal Japanese occupation during the World War Two may help carry a political reminder abroad.

An indication of that push, the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV hosted 99 film festivals in 47 countries in 2009, according to the official China Daily.

Zhang Weiping, chief producer at New Pictures Film Co Ltd, said many foreign investors had been interested in the film, but the 600 million yuan ($90 million) already invested in the project was generated entirely in China.

"Investors first and foremost think about the market, unlike Yimou, who is focused on art. We invited Bale to join because I am thinking about the market and because we want the world to better understand Chinese culture," the producer said.

"Hollywood stars are expensive, but they are worth it because they can influence the whole world," he added.

Zhang, the producer, said the expectation at the box office is one billion yuan, a goal that "did not pose a problem."

China's total take at the domestic box office is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan this year, a growth of 43 percent over 2009, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.

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Jennifer Hudson "Feeling Good" about weight loss

LOS ANGELES | Wed Dec 22, 2010 8:31am EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - She won't say how much weight she lost, but singer/actress Jennifer Hudson will say that in the nine months she's been a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, she has never felt better.

Hudson is even singing about it in a new tune, "Feeling Good," which is part of an ad campaign the dieting firm is launching on December 26 to coincide with its new nutritional PointsPlus program.

Weight Watchers said roughly 11 percent of its annual attendance at meetings takes place in January, as Americans look to atone for their holiday-related binges.

"Basically (the song) is the perfect way to describe this journey and how it's left me feeling," Hudson told Reuters. "If I could bottle everything inside me and tell others to help motivate them, then this is it."

Hudson and her gospel-grounded voice found their place on Hollywood's starmaking menu in 2004 when she was a finalist on "American Idol," and further when she won an Oscar for her supporting role in the 2006 musical "Dreamgirls." But in an industry obsessed with skinny women, Hudson has been challenged by her big size.

In April, Hudson announced she would become the new spokeswoman for Weight Watchers. It was about seven months after the birth of her son, David Jr., and at that time she had already lost some weight. By August, she told InStyle Makeover magazine she'd dropped to a size 6 from a size 16.

The company's marketing chief, Cheryl Callan, called Hudson a great spokeswoman because people identify with her as a real woman who struggles with weight and eating issues, yet has found success in Hollywood.

Hudson blogs about her diet on Weight Watchers' website, and she said that building a network of friends and a community of followers among the diet community gives her as much pleasure as losing weight has.

"That goes back to why I did the song," Hudson said. "I know so many people out there who are on the same path. Anything I can do to help them along, that motivates me, and inspires me."

Yet, Hudson said she is still grappling with knowing herself in her thinner frame. She said she still feels like the same woman, but is aware that people now view her differently.

"It's almost like there is a new person, but there is still the question of how do I want to represent myself, how do I wasn't to be perceived," she said.

She knows one thing, however, she is sticking to Weight Watchers in the new year. She has embraced its new PointsPlus program, which does away with calorie counting and assigns points to foods based on their overall nutritional value.

The new program favors foods that more easily convert to energy that is used, create a sense of satisfaction and encourage the consumption of natural foods versus those with added sugar and fat.

"It's one thing to lose weight," said Hudson, "but it's another thing to eat healthy."

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Dean Goodman)

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