Entertaining Posts: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Judge issues gag order in Jackson death trial

LOS ANGELES | Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:08pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The judge in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's doctor issued a gag order for attorneys on Friday after a defense counselor appeared on a television show telling details about the case.

The judge's order came at midday on Friday, the fourth day of the widely-watched trial in which prosecutors are trying to prove that Dr. Conrad Murray is responsible for the drug overdose that led to the pop star's death on June 25, 2009.

Prosecutors brought to the courtroom paramedics who responded to the call for help, as well as other witnesses, to try to prove that Murray was negligent in his care and covered up Jackson's use of the anesthetic propofol, which is the principal cause of Jackson's death.

But the day's bombshell came with Judge Michael Pastor's gag order, which followed an appearance by defense attorney Matthew Alford on NBC's morning chat show "Today."

"The attorneys for the parties in this case ... are ordered not to comment to anyone outside of their respective teams either directly or indirectly regarding any aspects of this case, whether orally or in writing," Pastor said in court.

Alford said on "Today" that one witness had changed his testimony several times and declared Jackson was addicted to propofol.

In Friday's testimony, paramedics who rushed to the singer's bedside told jurors they were optimistic he might live because they arrived within five minutes of being called. But they soon saw Jackson was unresponsive.

"I knew that we got there very, very quickly. It meant we'd have a good chance of restarting the heart if that was the issue," said paramedic Richard Senneff.

COLD SKIN, DEAD EYES

But Senneff said that he quickly realized Jackson had been down for more than five minutes. "His skin was very cool to the touch," Senneff said. "When I took a first glance at him, his eyes, they were open and his pupils were dilated. When I hooked up the EKG machine it was flatlined."

The call for help was received at 12:22 p.m., paramedics arrived at 12:26 p.m. and made it to Jackson's bedroom one minute later and worked feverishly to revive Jackson.

Senneff testified that he was on the phone with doctors at a nearby hospital and they recommended at 12:57 p.m. that Jackson be declared dead. Murray demanded that Jackson nevertheless be taken to the hospital for further treatment.

The pop star was pronounced dead later that day at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angles.

In trying to prove Murray's negligence, prosecutors have spent much of this first week creating a timeline between when Jackson stopped breathing and Murray called for help. During those precious minutes, prosecutors claim Murray was trying to cover up evidence of Jackson's use of the anesthetic propofol, which ultimately caused the singer's death.

Earlier in the day, jurors heard a voicemail Murray left for one of his heart patients at 11:49 a.m. PDT (2:49 p.m. EDT) on June 25, 2009 -- seven minutes before he is believed to have found Jackson unresponsive in his bedroom.

Prosecutors seek to prove Murray failed to properly monitor Jackson after giving him a dose of propofol. They claim that instead of watching Jackson in the singer's bedroom, Murray was busy on his cellphone before discovering at around 11:56 a.m. that the "Thriller" singer had stopped breathing.

Murray admits administering propofol but denies involuntary manslaughter. His lawyers have argued that Jackson caused his own death by giving himself an extra dose of propofol, mixed with prescription sedatives, without Murray's knowledge.

Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Witnesses earlier this week described frantic scenes at Jackson's house on the morning of his sudden death, when the 50 year-old singer was found lifeless in bed and hooked up to an IV machine, a urine collection device and an oxygen feed.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

A look behind the making of "Terra Nova" dinosaurs

By Matt Hurwitz

LOS ANGELES | Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:57pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Everybody knows what dinosaurs look and sound like. After all, who hasn't seen the "Jurassic Park" movies.

So what if your boss is Steven Spielberg -- the guy who created that movie and is chiefly responsible for those dinosaurs? And he says that for his new TV show, "Terra Nova," make me dinosaurs but don't make them look or sound like "Jurassic Park" dinosaurs?

"You can see the dilemma," deadpanned Michael Graham, the supervising sound designer for Spielberg's new Fox series, "Terra Nova," which debuted on TV earlier this week.

"Everybody who's seen that movie knows -- that's what they sound like! That is the vocabulary of dinosaurs," Graham said.

In "Terra Nova," humans are sent back in time to escape the overcrowded and polluted future of 2149. And they go WAY back to prehistoric times with when massive animals with scaly skin, sharp teeth and names that end with "-aurus" ruled Earth.

The show drew a solid audience of 9.7 million viewers on its debut night last Monday, and reviews were mostly positive. The New York Times said the story was "lavishly produced by television standards, at a level of visual and technical sophistication" befitting its two years from script to screen.

The dinos of "Terra Nova" don't look or sound like their theatrical predecessors, and for good reason. Jack Horner, the show's paleontology expert who worked with Spielberg on "Jurassic Park" made sure of it.

"Jack set our show in the Cretaceous Period, 85 million years ago," explains visual effects supervisor Kevin Blank. "That's a period where the fossil record is the least defined. They only know about 10 percent of what existed at that time."

So Blank and his team were able to give audiences dinos that audiences may have heard of, like the menacing Carnotaur and the gentle, long-necked Brachiosaurus, as well as some we probably haven't.

NEW DINOS, LOUD ROARS

The Slasher Tails in the premiere episode, for instance, never existed but they might as well have, says executive producer Brannon Braga. "We needed a big, climactic dinosaur, so I thought, 'What's one that didn't exist but could have existed?' Then we just go for the Jack Horner seal of approval, in terms of appearance and behavior. We do that for any animal we create."

Creating the behavior of dinos is "the fun part" for the writers. "You can't just throw a dinosaur up on screen, especially if it's one you're making up," says Braga. "They have to have specific behaviors. Maybe they travel in packs, like the Slashers do. And maybe one scouts the area, and when it finds it's pretty, calls for others. First there are two Slashers ... and then there are a dozen others."

But it is most important that even the made-up dinosaurs look real to audiences. "If a six-year-old who loves and studies dinosaurs spots something that doesn't look right, they'll cry 'Fake!' And Jack says he gets those letters all the time," said Blank.

And that all leaves one critical question. How do the special effects wizards create the sound of a dinosaur?

They're a mixture of sounds, it turns out, but one element is common, they all roar.

"You can use a bear, a lion, a cougar, and we manipulate them so that they fit the size of the creature," said Graham.

For the Carnotaurs, Graham and his team sought to come up with a new terrifying sound. "That was a challenge. The producers definitely didn't want to hear the T. Rex sound. So we had to create a new, intimidating dinosaur sound."

Rick Steele, Graham's chief dino sound designer, injected the sound of a bird -- a condor, in this case -- into the Carno. "You hear it at the tail end when they attack," he explains.

"The hardest part," Steele said, "is to try and create a personality," making the dino vocalizations match the expressions the animators put on their faces.

"Remember, these aren't monsters - they're characters."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Cancer comedy "50/50" hits home for Anjelica Huston

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Fri Sep 30, 2011 5:00pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar winning actress Angelica Huston has often played quirky roles in films like "The Addams Family" and "The Royal Tenenbaums." This weekend, the 60 year-old Hollywood star plays her most "normal" character to date in the cancer comedy "50/50."

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young man whose life changes drastically when he is diagnosed with cancer. Huston plays Diane, his overbearing mother.

Huston's own husband, sculptor Robert Graham Jr., died three years ago, and she talked to Reuters about that life-changing event and how it impacted her character in "50/50." She also revealed she's working on a memoir.

Q: It takes a minute or two to even recognize you in "50/50." What made you decide to wear a frosted wig?

A: "The way I look in life is a bit dramatic for what I wanted for her. Certain roles demand that you take a big step outside yourself. I wanted her to be a middle class woman living in Seattle who shops at the mall, wears blazers and probably would have played golf if she weren't having to go through this ordeal with a son who's sick and a husband who has Alzheimer's."

Q: Did you draw on your own experiences for the role?

A: "I lost my husband a year before I made this movie. So it came from a deeply personal place. I took everything -- all of my experience from the five months I spent with him in (intensive care) to day-to-day occurrences in the hospital -- which was kind of ludicrous at the same time as being heartbreaking. I think so much of what a caregiver does is to bring love and humor to a situation in which they have absolutely no power. That's what I was kind of channeling for Diane."

Q: Is that one of the reasons you accepted the role?

A: "It was coincidental. I don't think it hurt that I'd had the experience. Although, God, I prefer not to have had the experience, no question about that. I didn't accept the role because it was cathartic, I accepted it because it really touched me. I fell in love with this woman who is going through this horrible ordeal, whose presence was suffocating to her son. I understood it from quite a few points of view, from his point of view as well as my own, and the character's."

Q: Were there days on the film that hit too close to home?

A: "Yes. Not to talk about cancer when cancer is in the room is not to talk about the elephant in the room. To be able to talk about the elephant in the room was for me quite a relief at the time. At the same time that it's painful, it's also a wonderful way of exorcising demons and pulling in the demons to have a closer look at them."

Q: Switching gears. You're currently filming the upcoming TV drama "Smash" set in the world of Broadway. Is this your first time doing a TV series?

A: "I've guested a few times, but I've never done a series. I play a Broadway producer and I'm shooting in New York, so I'm out of my comfort home and ground, Los Angeles."

Q: What made you decide to take a series?

A: "Well, I'm a single woman now. I think work is very important for me right now. Something to do with my time, particularly since my life has changed so radically over the last couple of years. But it's good. It takes my mind off other things."

Q: In what way?

A: "The death of a parent is one thing. But the death of a chosen mate is very different because it's the life that you've chosen, not the life that was given to you. The surprise factor when it doesn't go your way is really life changing. You're never prepared for it. You're given hope until the last minute and that's part of what makes it shocking."

Q: You've lived quite a life. Any plans for a memoir?

A: "I started writing my memoirs last year, and I think the publisher is looking at (a publication date of) 2013. I've been asked to write it through the years and this seemed like a good time to do it."

Q: What can we expect to see in it?

A: "So far its memories, dreams, reflections. I'll see what shape it takes."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Art auction will benefit Elton John's AIDS charity

NEW YORK | Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:45pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Works by Jeff Koons, Keith Haring and four other artists are expected to raise more than $1 million for Elton John's AIDS Foundation (EJAF) when they are sold at auction in November, Sotheby's said Friday.

Artists including Jim Hodges, Howard Hodgkin and Tracey Emin will also be represented in the November 10 sale of contemporary art during Sotheby's fall auctions.

"All of us at EJAF are tremendously grateful to Sotheby's and to all of the amazing artists who have so generously contributed truly special pieces," John said in a statement.

Artist Cecily Brown donated "Don't Bring Me Down," an oil on linen that is expected to fetch as much as $600,000.

The Keith Haring foundation contributed an untitled work from 1981 depicting three bare-chested men in the trademark graffiti style of the late pop artist, who died of AIDS in 1990 at 31.

Koons' silkscreen "Monkey Train" is estimated to sell for $40,000 to $60,000, Sotheby's said.

"The works on offer ... have been donated directly from an enticing mix of today's leading contemporary artists," said Tobias Meyer, the auction house's worldwide director of contemporary art.

"Their connection to EJAF is certain to appeal to a wide range of today's collectors and philanthropists," he added.

An art auction featuring works by Koons, Jasper Johns and Chuck Close for relief efforts in Haiti raised nearly $14 million earlier this month, setting records for four artists and exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $10 million.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Witnesses describe chaotic scene at Jackson home

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:03pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former bodyguard for Michael Jackson testified on Thursday that the pop star's doctor asked him to grab vials of medicine and an IV bag before an ambulance was called for Jackson the day he died.

Witnesses on the third day of the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray over Jackson's 2009 death described a chaotic scene at the singer's mansion that day, and attorneys for the physician challenged their recollections.

Prosecutors say Murray, who has admitted to giving Jackson the powerful anesthetic propofol that morning as a sleep aid, had discovered Jackson was not breathing at around 11:56 a.m.

Jackson's personal chef described Murray running frantically down the stairs at the singer's Los Angeles mansion between 12:05 p.m. and 12:10 p.m. on June 25, 2009.

"His energy was very nervous and frantic and he was shouting, 'Get help, get security, get (Jackson's then 12 year-old son) Prince'," chef Kai Chase testified.

Bodyguard Alberto Alvarez was one of the first members of the household to arrive in Jackson's bedroom.

"While I was standing at the foot of the bed, he (Murray) reached over and grabbed a handful of vials and then he said 'Here put them in a bag'," Alvarez testified.

Alvarez said Murray then pointed toward an IV stand by Jackson's bed and told him to grab one of the saline bags hanging there and take it away.

The bag had "what appeared to me like a milky white substance. I recall seeing it at the bottom of the (saline) bag," Alvarez said.

MILKY SUBSTANCE

Prosecutors say the milky substance was propofol, which authorities deemed to be the main cause of Jackson's death.

Prosecutors have suggested Murray was trying to cover up evidence of the drugs he had given Jackson by having them bagged up, and not immediately calling for an ambulance.

But Murray's defense attorney, Ed Chernoff, questioned Alvarez's memory of that day.

"Can you think of any reasons why Dr. Murray would conspire with you to hide evidence," Chernoff asked Alvarez, after the guard had admitted that he did not know Murray well.

Alvarez did not get a chance to answer because prosecutors objected and the judge squashed the inquiry.

Chernoff also grilled Alvarez about how, according to his testimony, he could have found the time within a minute or less of walking into Jackson's bedroom to usher the children out the door, bag up the drugs and take down an IV bag, before calling for an ambulance at 12:20 p.m.

"I'm very efficient, sir," Alvarez said, to chuckles in the courtroom.

Asked why he complied with Murray's request to remove the bag and vials of medicine, Alvarez told the court, "I thought we were packing to get him ready to go to the hospital."

Chase, the chef, was grilled by defense attorneys about why, when Murray asked her to get help, she first went to get Jackson's son Prince.

"I want to ask you why you did not get security?" said attorney J. Michael Flanagan.

"Because at the time what I saw was a human being (Prince) in front of me and that was the best choice I could make," Chase said.

Murray's defense team has argued that Jackson gave himself sedatives and extra propofol when the doctor was out of the room, and the additional dose killed him.

Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)

Elton John brings "million dollar piano" to Vegas

By Cynthia Johnston

LAS VEGAS | Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:13pm EDT

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Singer Elton John opened his new Las Vegas act at Caesars Palace on Wednesday, tickling the ivories on his new "million dollar piano" nicknamed Blossom that lit up to reflect the mood of each song.

"The Million Dollar Piano" show marks the beginning John's three-year residency at Caesar's theater, The Colosseum, and Wednesday's performance was the first of 16 shows scheduled through October. A second series begins in February.

Long-known for his flamboyant costumes, John walked onto a Roman-inspired golden stage in a glittering silver cape, removed to reveal a glimmering black coat and golden shoes before sitting down to play on a custom piano covered with more than 68 LED screens.

"It's great to be back here at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace," he told the crowd, joking that in the 2-1/2 years since he last performed on the stage, both he and singer Celine Dion who also played there had children. "Miracles happen here, I tell you."

He played favorites including "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Bennie and The Jets" and "Circle of Life" to a welcoming crowd that responded with standing ovations to nearly every song.

"It was just a warm feeling. You feel him, his presence," said audience member Robert Kang, of Washington D.C.

John, who said the idea for the show was born just four months ago, was accompanied by band members Davey Johnstone on guitar, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, Nigel Olsson on drums with a special appearance by percussionist Ray Cooper.

But major star of the show -- other than John -- was his piano, which he named Blossom after jazz singer Blossom Dearie, that lit up with color and imagery to reflect the mood of each song, showing glimmering blue dots for a rendition of "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues".

John joked that the piano, which weighs nearly 3,200 pounds and was close to four years in the making, was so capable it even contained an aquarium as the piano lit up with a seascape.

"I think Blossom is pretty good, don't you?" he said.

The 64-year-old British singer was a child piano prodigy who rose from a part-time pub player to become one of the most successful recording artists of all time. He previously completed a 5-year residency at the Colosseum in 2009 with "The Red Piano", which ran for 241 shows.

His spokesman said last week that John was in talks to make a film about his life, responding to media reports about a planned biopic called "Rocketman". The singer/songwriter has sold an estimated 250 million records and won an Oscar and several Grammys.

Newspapers and websites have reported that "Rocketman" would be produced by John's partner David Furnish and Steve Hamilton Shaw and executive produced by the singer himself.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Frantic calls, crying kids at scene of Jackson death

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:29pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Witnesses on day two of the Michael Jackson death trial told of a panic-stricken doctor and the pop star's children crying in disbelief with their father lying unresponsive on his bedroom floor, mouth agape and eyes wide open.

Faheem Muhammad, the ex-chief of Jackson's security team, testified on Wednesday that Jackson's oldest children reacted in horror when they saw their father's lifeless body.

Another witness said Dr. Conrad Murray, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death, telephoned the singer's assistant before calling an ambulance and may have sought to hide evidence of drug use.

Prosecutors claim Murray not only caused Jackson's death by giving him the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid, along with other sedatives but that the physician also was negligent in his care of the "Thriller" singer and failed to get timely medical assistance.

Murray admitted giving Jackson propofol -- the principal cause of his death -- but his defense attorneys claim Jackson administered more propofol to himself, leading to an overdose. Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Wednesday's most dramatic testimony came from Muhammad, who told of a panicked call from Murray that brought the security chief rushing to the singer's bedroom. There he saw Murray and another guard already in the room and Jackson's oldest children, Prince and Paris, taking in the frantic scene.

"Paris was on the ground balled-up crying and Prince, he was just standing there, he had a real shocked -- just slowly crying -- look on his face," Muhammad said.

Muhammad said that, around the same time, Murray asked himself and the other guard, "Does anybody know CPR?" Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the common procedure to restart a heart in a person who has suffered cardiac arrest.

TIMELINE FOR HELP

In other testimony, prosecutors sought to draw a timeline between when Murray found Jackson unresponsive at 11:56 a.m. (2:56 p.m. EDT/1856 GMT) on June 25, 2009, and when the doctor finally sought help.

Initially, Murray called the singer's personal assistant, Michael Williams, at 12:13 p.m./1613 GMT with the message "Call me right away," rather than calling for an ambulance.

Williams testified that he called Murray back at 12:15 p.m., and was told Jackson had suffered "a bad reaction."

"When I hear a 'bad reaction,' I wouldn't think anything fatal, personally, and I wasn't asked to call 911," Williams said. He said Murray told him to get to Jackson's mansion immediately.

An ambulance was finally called at 12:20 p.m. and it was already there when Williams arrived at the Jackson mansion.

"It was real frantic. I got there when the gurney (carrying Jackson) was coming down" from the bedroom, Williams said.

The assistant said that at the hospital where Jackson was later pronounced dead, Murray made a request that seemed strange. "He said, 'There's some cream in Michael's room that he wouldn't want the world to know about,' and he requested that I or someone would give him a ride back to the house, so that he could get the cream," said Williams.

Prosecutors have suggested Murray probably wanted to return there to remove evidence of the drugs that he had given Jackson before he died.

Earlier on Wednesday, a lawyer who drafted Murray's contract to provide medical services for Jackson said the doctor had assured her multiple times in the days before his death that the singer's health was good.

"Dr. Murray told me repeatedly that Michael Jackson was perfectly healthy, in excellent condition," Los Angeles attorney Kathy Jorrie said on the witness stand.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant, Bob Tourtellotte )

Scarlett Johansson says privacy invasion is unjust, wrong

Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:50pm EDT

(Reuters) - Actress Scarlett Johansson on Wednesday spoke out for the first time since leaked nude photos of her appeared on several websites, saying that being a celebrity does not give others the right to invade her privacy.

Earlier this month, the "Iron Man 2" star joined the growing list of Hollywood celebrities, including "High School Musical" actress Vanessa Hudgens and "Friends With Benefits" star Mila Kunis, who have had private photos leaked online at the hands of hackers.

In an interview with CNN, Johansson said celebrities are no different than anyone else when it comes to the right of privacy.

"Just because you're an actor or make films or whatever doesn't mean you're not entitled to your own personal privacy ... if that is sieged in some way, it feels unjust. It feels wrong," said Johansson.

The actress said life in the spotlight -- and in this case, asserting herself in instances where her privacy has been invaded -- can be a struggle.

"It's an adjustment, but I think there are certain instances where you give a lot of yourself and finally you have to kind of put your foot down and say, 'Oh wait, I'm taking it back.'"

Within hours of the photos appearing online on September 15, Johansson's lawyer fired off cease and desist letters to multiple websites. The photos have been taken down by most outlets.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Michael Jackson images dominate opening of death trial

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:01pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Images of Michael Jackson lying dead in a hospital and rehearsing the day before his death, along with recollections of the singer as a troubled "lost boy," made for a heart-wrenching opening on Tuesday to the manslaughter trial of the doctor hired to care for him.

In opening arguments two years after Jackson's death by drug overdose of propofol and sedatives, prosecutor David Walgren told jurors the "Thriller" singer "literally put his life in the hands of Dr. Conrad Murray."

"That misplaced trust in the hands of Conrad Murray cost Michael Jackson his life," Walgren said.

But Murray's lawyers argued Jackson "caused his own death" by giving himself extra medication in a bid to sleep. "He died so rapidly, so instantly, he didn't even have time to close his eyes," defense attorney Ed Chernoff said in opening arguments.

Murray denies he is guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson on June 25, 2009, but admits giving the 50-year-old pop star a dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid. He faces a prison sentence of up to four years if convicted. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks.

The Texas cardiologist, who was paid $150,000 a month to care for Jackson, wiped away tears during Tuesday's opening statements as Chernoff defended him.

Jackson's lifeless body was found at his rented Los Angeles mansion just three weeks before a series of 50 planned London comeback concerts titled "This Is It" were scheduled to begin.

Kenny Ortega, the co-director of the concerts, testified that Jackson was excited about the shows because he wanted his young children to see him perform.

"LIKE A LOST BOY"

But on June 19, six days before his death, Jackson turned up at rehearsals in Los Angeles in a worried state. "Michael seemed chilled, lost and incoherent," Ortega recalled.

"I was feeding him, wrapping him in blankets to warm his chills, massaging his feet to calm him and calling his doctor," Ortega wrote in an email to concert promoters hours later. "It broke my heart. He was like a lost boy ... He is terribly frightened it is all going to go away," Ortega put in the email.

Four days later, Jackson was back "full of energy, full of desire to work, full of enthusiasm," Ortega said. Ortega hugged Jackson goodbye after another good day of rehearsals on June 24. On June 25, the director and choreographer said he got a call saying "We lost him."

Chernoff told jurors Murray was trying to wean the pop star off propofol, which Jackson called "milk."

He argued that a frustrated Jackson, tired and under pressure to get the concerts ready, gave himself eight lorazepam anti-anxiety pills to sleep in the early hours of June 25. When he still could not rest, he added propofol.

"We believe the evidence will show... that when Dr. Murray left the room, Michael Jackson self-administered a dose of propofol that with the lorazepam created a perfect storm within his body that killed him instantly," Chernoff added.

"The whole thing is tragic, but the evidence is not that Dr Murray did it," Chernoff said.

Walgren opened the prosecution case by showing jurors a photo of a thin Jackson lying dead on a hospital gurney. He later played video of Jackson's last performance -- an emotional rehearsal of "Earth Song" filmed on June 24, 2009.

Footage of the rehearsals was made into Jackson's posthumous concert movie "This Is It" in 2009 and it became a global box office hit.

Jackson's parents, Joe and Katherine, his sisters, Janet and La Toya, and other family members were in court on Tuesday, while outside dozens of fans outside the courtroom held sunflowers, pictures of the dead pop star, and placards saying "Justice for Michael."

(Writing by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Bill Trott)

Rock and Roll Hall unveils nominees for 2012

Tue Sep 27, 2011 4:24pm EDT

(Reuters) - Trailblazing women in rock such as Joan Jett and Heart's Wilson sisters, as well as iconic rappers the Beastie Boys were among 15 music acts nominated on Tuesday for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.

"From vocal groups to hip-hop, from singer-songwriters to hard rocking artists, this group represents the spirit of what we celebrate at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," president and chief executive Joel Peresman, said in a statement.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, whose "I Love Rock N' Roll" became an anthem of the musical genre fame, and "Crazy on You" singers Heart, led by Ann Wilson and her sister Nancy Wilson, are both first-time nominees.

They are joined by rockers Guns N' Roses, The Cure, The Small Faces/The Faces and R&B artists The Spinners, Rufus with Chaka Khan, bluesman Freddie King and 1980s rappers Eric B. & Rakim among those nominated to the Hall for the first time.

Repeat nominees who failed to make it into the institution in previous years were the Beastie Boys, funk rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers and War, as well as disco-era songstress Donna Summer and 1960s artists Donovan and Laura Nyro.

The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland on April 14.

Acts are eligible for induction 25 years after their first release. This list of nominees all put out first albums in, or prior to, 1986. Inductees will be decided by 500 voters who include previous inductees and record industry insiders.

Days prior to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the institution will celebrate the grand opening of it's new Library and Archive -- the world's largest collection of materials dedicated to rock 'n' roll.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

North Irish farmer boots scantily clad Rihanna off land

BELFAST | Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:30am EDT

BELFAST (Reuters) - Global pop star Rihanna was thrown out of a corn field by an angry farmer in Northern Ireland after he spotted her posing for cameras in a skimpy top.

The Grammy Award winning singer, whose hit singles include "Rude Boy" and "S&M," was using the backdrop of the field near the town of Bangor for a video shoot on Monday ahead of three concerts in Belfast this week.

Crowds of local men and schoolgirls gathered at the side of the field when the singer and her entourage rolled up and she stripped down to a bandana bikini and torn blue jeans.

Irish newspapers reported that she briefly posed topless.

"The young lady in question was ceasing to be dressed in an appropriate manner," farmer Alan Graham, a deeply religious Protestant local council member, told Ireland's national broadcaster RTE on Tuesday.

"I felt the thing was inappropriate and I requested that the filming end at that stage."

Mr Graham admitted he had no idea who the 23-year-old singer was when he got a call last week asking to use his field for a pop video. After filming stopped, he spoke briefly to the star who he said was understanding.

"She was most gracious and we shook hands and we parted on good enough terms," he said.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries, editing by Paul Casciato)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Michael Jackson's doctor on trial in singer's death

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Tue Sep 27, 2011 1:12am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than two years after Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest at his mansion, the doctor who was treating the "Thriller" singer will come before a jury Tuesday charged with responsibility for his death.

Dr. Conrad Murray's trial is expected to give the public a glimpse into the King of Pop's final days as he rehearsed for a series of concerts aimed at restoring a career shattered by a 2005 child molestation trial, despite his acquittal.

Jackson's parents, his sisters Janet and La Toya, and other family members are expected to attend the trial, which could run until late October and is being televised live.

Medical examiners have determined Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, at his rented Los Angeles mansion was due to an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and sedatives.

Prosecutors say Murray caused Jackson's death by giving him propofol as a sleep aid, and failing to monitor him properly.

Murray denies the charge of involuntary manslaughter but faces a prison sentence of up to four years if convicted.

His defense team is expected to argue that Jackson was addicted to various painkillers and sedatives and gave himself the fatal dose of propofol, possibly by swallowing it.

Ed Chernoff, the lead attorney for Murray, said in closed-door arguments Monday that Jackson, 50, was "desperate" around the time of his death.

"We think that Michael Jackson was involved in certain acts that ended his own life," Chernoff said, according to a court transcript.

WILL DAUGHTER PARIS TESTIFY?

The trial is expected to hear testimony from the paramedics who transported Jackson to the hospital, medical experts, Jackson's choreographer and Murray's girlfriends.

Celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, who once represented Jackson and has closely watched the criminal case against Murray, said that Jackson's 13-year-old daughter Paris might also be called to testify, in what would likely be one of the most dramatic moments of the trial.

"She not only has things to say, but she can say it in a compelling way," Geragos told Reuters. Paris Jackson was at the house when the singer stopped breathing.

The case is one of a small but growing number of U.S. criminal prosecutions of doctors for alleged malpractice.

Geragos said he believes prosecutors could have a difficult time winning a conviction -- and that a hung jury with no conviction or acquittal is more likely.

"Jurors are loathe to convict doctors in this type of a situation," Geragos said, adding that many times jurors don't want to second-guess doctors.

The responses of the 12-person jury to written questionnaires made public last week shows that none of them reported having a negative experience with doctors.

At the time of his death, Jackson was readying himself for 50 planned shows in London called "This Is It."

The first prosecution witness is expected to be Kenny Ortega, the choreographer and film director who was hired to stage the London shows and who was conducting rehearsals with Jackson in Los Angeles.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Jackson appeared drunk at news conference: lawyer

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Mon Sep 26, 2011 5:09pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson was unconscious backstage before a London news conference for his "This Is It" concert series, and he appeared drunk during the announcement itself, an attorney said in court on Monday.

The revelation came during a hearing in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Jackson's former physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, a day before opening arguments are scheduled to start.

Murray's defense lawyers wanted a video of the news conference shown to jurors in the trial, but the judge in the case ruled against it. The defense team is widely expected to argue Jackson was a drug addict whose habits led to his death.

Nareg Gourjian, an attorney for Murray, said in court on Monday that the "Thriller" singer's March 2009 news conference in London to announce a series of concerts in the city began 90 minutes late because "Jackson was unconscious on the sofa."

Gourjian said Jackson appeared "hung over," citing the chief executive of concert promoter AEG Live which was organizing the shows. He argued it was "readily apparent from watching the video that Mr. Jackson was under the influence."

But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who is presiding over Murray's trial, ruled against showing the tape to jurors. Pastor said the video was irrelevant because it occurred months before Jackson died.

Pastor also denied a request by prosecutors to present evidence that investigators sought four times to contact Murray, after the doctor met with Los Angeles police detectives two days following Jackson's death.

The involuntary manslaughter case against Murray stems from Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, at age 50. Medical examiners determined Jackson died of an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and sedatives.

Prosecutors said Murray caused Jackson's death by giving him propofol as a sleep aid at the singer's Los Angeles mansion and not properly monitoring him.

Murray has pleaded not guilty, and his defense attorneys are expected to seek to show Jackson administered a fatal dose himself while Murray was out of the room.

Attorneys for both sides are scheduled to begin opening arguments on Tuesday before a jury of seven men and five women. Murray faces a maximum of four years in prison if convicted.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Charlie Sheen settles lawsuit over "Men" firing

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.

The Situation: Christie Vetoes $420,000 break for "Jersey Shore"

NEW YORK | Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:45pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey vetoed on Monday a $420,000 film tax credit dubbed the "Snooki Subsidy" for the reality show "The Jersey Shore," citing the state's budget crunch.

Christie, a longtime critic of the raucous MTV show that offers a less than flattering portrayal of life in the Garden State, said in a statement the money would be better spent on "projects that actually benefit the state."

In a letter to the Economic Development Authority, which awarded the hit show $420,000 in film tax credits, Christie said it was not just a matter of money. It was personal, too.

"As chief executive, I am duty-bound to ensure that taxpayers are not footing a $420,000 bill for a project which does nothing more than perpetuate misconceptions about the state and its citizens," Christie said in the letter.

Since the show first aired in 2009, the outrageous antics of the tanning-bed loving, party-going cast have made "Snooki" and "The Situation" household names in America.

At the same time, some Italian-Americans insulted by negative stereotypes perpetuated by the cast have called for an end to the show.

While elected officials in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, where the "Jersey Shore" was filmed in its early days, cheered the boost to the local economy, politicians from the rest of the state have been less than thrilled.

Christie, who was never a fan, said that in the current difficult fiscal climate, the state had no business giving the show a tax break.

"We must ensure that our limited taxpayer dollars are spent on programs and projects that best benefit the state of New Jersey," Christie said in the veto letter.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

3D "Lion King" rules box office for second week

By Lisa Richwine

LOS ANGELES | Mon Sep 26, 2011 6:58am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Lion King" fended off Brad Pitt to keep the box-office crown for a second straight weekend.

Walt Disney Co's 3D re-release of the animated classic rang up an estimated $22.1 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales over three days as families turned out to see lion cub Simba's return to theaters.

Baseball drama "Moneyball" starring Pitt took second and family film "Dolphin Tale" finished a close third, according to studio projections released on Sunday.

Ticket sales for "The Lion King 3D" have far surpassed industry expectations for a movie that debuted in 1994 and will soon hit stores on Blu-ray disc. The film has grossed $61.7 million in North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters since its release last weekend, plus $16 million in international markets, where it came out more than a month ago.

Combined, the "Lion King" re-release has brought in $77.7 million around the world. Disney will extend the planned two-week run in theaters, said Dave Hollis, executive vice president for motion picture sales and distribution at Disney.

"We are working to meet that demand," Hollis said.

Baseball and math didn't quite add up to a box-office win for "Moneyball," which finished in second place with $20.6 million domestically. Pitt plays real-life Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, who used unconventional statistical analysis to field a small-budget team of overlooked players to make an unlikely playoff run.

The movie won positive reviews from critics and received an A rating from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

The film was based on a nonfiction book by Michael Lewis and cost about $50 million to produce. Sales hit the high end of studio projections, said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Columbia Pictures, which released the film.

Close behind was another story from the animal kingdom. "Dolphin Tale" brought in an estimated $20.3 million to take third place, a strong showing for a family film against the mighty performance from "Lion King."

The movie, starring Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, is based on the true story of a dolphin that loses its tail in a crab trap and is rehabilitated with a prosthetic tail. The real dolphin that inspired the story portrays the dolphin in the film.

The movie won a rare A+ rating from audiences polled by CinemaScore. Also offered in 3D, the film was produced by Alcon Entertainment for about $37 million.

'TWILIGHT' STAR FINISHES FOURTH

Action film "Abduction," starring and produced by "Twilight" heartthrob Taylor Lautner in his first major role outside the popular vampire and werewolf series, pulled in $11.2 million to take fourth place.

In "Abduction," Lautner plays a teenager on the run after he discovers his parents aren't who he thought they were and his life has been a lie. He pieces together the truth while being pursued by the FBI and killer assassins. The film cost Lions Gate Entertainment about $35 million to make.

Spy thriller "Killer Elite," starring Robert de Niro, Clive Owen and Jason Stratham, finished in fifth place with $9.5 million. The film is the first movie released by Open Road Films, a joint venture between theater owners Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Inc.

The weekend also saw surprise summer hit "The Smurfs" crossing a milestone with more than $500 million in global ticket sales since the 3D live-action and animated family film debuted in July.

Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, released "Moneyball" and "The Smurfs." "Dolphin Tale" was released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. Lions Gate Entertainment distributed "Abduction."

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Pink Floyd pig flies again to mark albums reissue

LONDON | Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:19am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - A large inflatable pig flew above London's Battersea Power Station on Monday in a stunt designed to mark the re-issue of British band Pink Floyd's 14 studio albums by record label EMI Music.

The animal, measuring 30 feet long and 15 feet high, was inflated with helium at dawn for the event, held 35 years after the making of the iconic album cover for "Animals" featuring a similar flying pig.

EMI had planned to use the same inflatable which had been kept at a workshop since the original shoot, but two weeks ago it was deemed not to be airworthy and a replica was made.

The artwork on the Animals album was a combination of the background of Battersea Power Station taken on December 2, 1976, and the pig photographed on December 4.

On December 3 that year, the pig slipped its moorings and floated into the Heathrow airport flight path before being recovered by a farmer in Kent, southeast England.

Under the banner "Why Pink Floyd ... ?," EMI Music is releasing all 14 Pink Floyd studio albums remastered and available digitally. They are also available as one Discovery Box Set.

Also on sale from Monday are special editions of one of the band's most acclaimed albums, "The Dark Side of The Moon," extended to feature unreleased music from Pink Floyd archives.

Pink Floyd, behind seminal albums The Dark Side of the Moon, "Wish You Were Here" and "The Wall," is one of the most successful rock bands of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million albums worldwide.

The group, also famous for its acrimonious split and one-off reunion at charity concert Live 8 in 2005, re-signed to long time record label EMI in January in a five-year deal.

The agreement also brought to an end a legal dispute between the sides over EMI's right to "unbundle" their records and sell individual tracks online.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

Netflix edges out HBO for Dreamworks deal: report

LOS ANGELES | Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:59am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc has won a deal to pipe Dreamworks Animation movies starting in 2013, the first time a major Hollywood studio has chosen Internet streaming over traditional pay TV, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told the newspaper the deal, worth $30 million per picture to Dreamworks over a number of years, was "game-changing" and represented a bet that viewers would soon no longer make distinctions between content streamed on the Internet or through cable.

The Netflix deal means Dreamworks -- the studio behind family friendly fare from "Shrek" to "Kung Fu Panda" -- is eschewing premium pay-TV operator HBO in favor of online streaming, the Times reported. HBO is a unit of Time Warner Inc. "We are really starting to see a long-term road map of where the industry is headed," Katzenberg was cited as saying to the newspaper in an interview.

The content agreement comes days after Netflix, which has seen its share price decline sharply after a series of missteps, sealed an agreement to broadcast TV shows from Discovery Communications Inc.

Netflix needs to add more content to its streaming service to keep drawing in new customers and fend off competition from the likes of Amazon.com, Google Inc and Apple Inc.

Shares of the one-time Wall Street darling have fallen 50 percent in two months. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has apologized for failing to explain moves adequately, from a surprise price hike in July to a separation of its DVD-mail from streaming services, and the company is trying to win customers back.

But adding customers is suddenly proving difficult, with Netflix on the receiving end of heated complaints from customers still upset over the price hike announced in July.

It cut its subscriber forecast by 1 million, saying it now expected to have 24 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter. The last time Netflix reported a subscriber decline was the second quarter of 2007, when Blockbuster was aggressively pushing a DVD rental package called Total Access.

According to the Times, Netflix was quick to pump up the Dreamworks deal.

"This is one of the few family entertainment brands that matter," Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos was quoted as saying. "It's also a signal to people that we are in no way moving away from movies. Our programing is just reflecting more and more what people want."

Netflix and Dreamworks were not available for comment.

(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Jane Goodall stages unique live, film premiere

By Jill Jacobs

NEW YORK | Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:53pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World renowned primatologist Jane Goodall began her groundbreaking research into chimpanzees over 50 years ago in Tanzania's Gombe National Park, leaving an indelible imprint on the way humans view animals.

On Tuesday this week, the 77 year-old animal researcher and United Nations Messenger of Peace, is featured in an unusual event in 500 movie U.S. movie theaters.

The one-night only "Jane Goodall Live!" features the U.S. premiere of documentary "Jane's Journey," about her life with appearances by Angelina Jolie, Pierce Bronson, and Charlize Theron. There also will be a live question-and-answer session with Goodall and her friend and musician Dave Matthews.

Reuters spoke to the anthropologist about the upcoming event, what people can do to make a difference in keeping the planet healthy, and what humans can learn from animals.

Q: What will audiences discover on "Jane's Journey?"

A: "The film was long in the making by German independent filmmaker, Lorenz Knauer, and it's been running in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain other European countries for several months. The audience response is similar to the response I receive at my lectures, as they leave teary-eyed, saying, 'What can we do?'

"We haven't been doing enough to help the planet." The message of let's wake up and take care of this planet, we've been stealing from our children before it's too late, is the message I hope that audiences will embrace."

Q: At what age did you know that working as an animal conservationist would be your life's calling?

A: "From a tiny, tiny age I loved animals, observed animals, went on nature walks, watched "Dr. Dolittle" and fell in love with Tarzan. I was 11 when I decided that I would go to Africa and live with animals and write books about them.

"It was in Africa that I met Louis Leakey, the late renowned paleontologist, who gave me this opportunity to go out and study chimpanzees. I had no degree of any sort then. What an amazing and extraordinary journey it really has been."

Q: Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Dave Matthews are just a few of the high-profile celebrities who are helping to get your message out. How does it feel to have a whole new generation of people becoming familiar with your work?

A: "I find it really necessary. I wouldn't mind if they weren't familiar with my work, per se. The important thing is to understand that every one of us makes a difference, every day, and we can live with a lighter ecological footprint.

"When you have people like Angelina Jolie getting behind the film, that can attract some people who might not otherwise be interested and then hopefully they get the message, too. In fact, that's what's been happening. In Europe, the film received the 'Green Oscar.'"

Q: What can we humans learn from the animal world?

A: "First of all we should learn a bit of humility, that we are of course different, but not as different as we may think. From chimpanzees, I have substantiated my belief of the tremendous importance of the first couple years of life and the kind of experiences a child has. The human child psychologists have been talking about that for a long time. In chimpanzees, it's so easy to trace the effects of a traumatic experience, because unlike us, they don't try to hide the way they feel, they just act the way they feel."

Q: If chimps could talk what would they tell humans?

A: They would probably tell us to leave them alone, get out of the forest and protect the forest. That's probably what they would tell us to do.

Q: So what can one person do to make a difference?

A: "Each person can just spend a little bit of time each day thinking about the consequences of what you buy, what you eat, what you wear and how you interact with people. If millions of people think about the consequences, they start to change and then we achieve the kind of change we must see on this planet."

Q: What do you think has been your greatest achievement and what are you most proud of in your work?

A: "People from all over the world continue to tell me that, 'In The Shadow of the Man,' published in 52 languages, has had a lasting impact on them. Also helping people understand that animals do have personalities, minds and feelings and that they matter as individuals.

"The other accomplishment I'm most proud of is starting Roots and Shoots so we involve young people for caring for our planet before it's too late."

More information can be found at the following websites:

www.rootsandshoots.org/

www.JaneGoodallLIVE.com

www.fathomevents.com/jane

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Jon Katz new book explores life after pets die

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:56pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Best-selling author and animal advocate Jon Katz has been writing about dogs for over a decade. Many of his own, past a present, have taken center stage fiction and nonfiction books such as "The Dogs of Bedlam Farms," "A Dog Year," "Izzy and Lenore" and "Rose in a Storm."

Katz wrote his latest, "Going Home: Finding Peace When Pets Die," which comes out on Tuesday, to provide guidance, support and advice for people on how to handle the loss of a pet.

Reuters spoke with Katz to discuss his new book and how people can cope with life when the family pet passes away.

Q: What was the biggest surprise for you in researching books about pets and grieving?

A: "I found that almost every book had to do with the afterlife. Not a single book said, 'This is what is known about things that will help you grieve.' So I started talking to vets and psychologists and gathering information and interviewing maybe 200 different people about what was helpful to them."

Q: And what did you find?

A: "People need to bring rituals into grieving. Memorial services, remembrances, pictures -- those are concrete things that make grieving tangible. The Internet offers all kinds of opportunities for this like making digital albums and Facebook pages. People used to have to hide grief. You couldn't go to your boss and say, 'I need a week off, my cat died.' You probably still can't, but you do need to say, 'I'm having a tough time.'"

Q: No doubt your own personal experience went in to this.

A: "I'm one of those people who has always struggled with emotions and revealing them. When my dog Orson died, I did this very male thing of 'It's just a dog and I'll just move on.' I was very slow to grasp the emotion. But Orson is the reason I started writing about dogs. He's the first (dog) book I wrote and HBO did a movie about him ("A Dog Year"). Writing this book inspired me to go back and look at the impact of his loss and on my life, as well as other dogs that I've lost."

Q: You ended up putting Orson down. How does one deal with the guilt of making such a decision?

A: "It's important to remember that the animals are not grieving with us. They're very accepting. They're not lying there thinking 'How could you do this to me? Why aren't you keeping me going?' Pets don't do the human things of guilt and anger and recrimination that we do. They come and go with great acceptance.

"One idea that I advocate is the dealing with guilt directly. Acknowledge the good life, remember the good things you did with your pet -- the places you took them, the affection you showed them. Remind those who have lost a pet that they generally gave their pets a good life and that's a good thing, so don't forget that."

Q: Is there any way to prepare for a pet's death?

A: "If you're going to love animals and have a life with them, the odds are you're going to lose them. It's helpful when you get a dog to accept the fact that this dog is not going to be with you your whole life."

Q: Is getting another dog acceptable in getting over the previous one? It's not a betrayal to the one you lost?

A: "I'm always happy when people choose to get another dog because it's a healthy and healing thing to do, and there are millions of them needing homes. But there is no single time frame to do it in because grieving is an intensely personal experience. In my case, I get another dog as soon as I feel ready. As a dog lover, it is right for me to have them.

"With children, I don't think it's good if you go out and immediately get another dog or cat. Animals are not disposable any more than people. Children need to see that the loss is important, and the family should take time to honor that."

Q: Is grief more difficult if you rescue an animal?

A: "When you rescue something, it's very different than if you adopt or buy. Rescuing implies saving. When you rescue something and then lose it, it can be a huge factor in the intensity of the grief. I have two rescues, Izzy and Frieda. I'm working on a book about Frieda now, 'Frieda and Me: Second Chances.' She opened my eyes to that world of dogs that nobody wants who are often the dogs you love most."

Q: The pet industry is bigger than ever, and it seems like people grieve over the death of animals more so today than ever before. Do you agree?

A: "Today people are developing very powerful relationships with animals. The whole idea of community is breaking down. American culture is being increasingly disconnected and fragmented. Families are breaking up and Americans spend so much time in front of screens that they're not spending time with each other."

Q: And that means...

A: "We need connection. We need support, love, affection. We need to bond and animals are filling this hole. And they're doing great work at it -- unconditional love, nonjudgment

and companionship you can absolutely rely on. It's a little troubling to think they are doing this instead of people."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Jury selected for Jackson doctor's trial

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:38pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 12-person jury was selected on Friday to hear the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's former doctor in a process one prosecutor likened to "speed dating."

The panel of seven men and five women includes one man who said he briefly met Jackson when he worked at Walt Disney Co in the 1980s and the singer was starring in a "Captain EO" film that was a Disney theme park attraction. That juror told attorneys he could approach the trial fairly.

The jurors have a wide range of professions, including a bookseller, school bus driver, paralegal and professor, according to questionnaires released after the selection.

Half of the panelists selected were Caucasian and five were Hispanic. The panel also includes one African American juror. Jackson was black and so is the defendant, Dr. Conrad Murray.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor limited the amount of time lawyers for both sides could question potential jurors on Friday, when the first day of direct questioning began. He aimed to seat the panel quickly and stay on track to begin the trial's opening arguments on Tuesday.

Friday's proceeding is the culmination of weeks of close scrutiny of the jury pool. Earlier this month 370 potential jurors completed a 30-page questionnaire, beginning the process of narrowing the pool to the 12 people now selected.

Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the "Thriller" singer's death on June 25, 2009, at age 50.

Prosecutors said Murray caused Jackson's death by giving him the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid at the singer's Los Angeles mansion and not properly monitoring him.

Defense attorneys are expected to say Jackson administered a fatal dose himself while Murray was out of the room.

FAMILIAR CASE

At the start of Friday's questioning, all the potential jurors said they were familiar with the case, and on Friday some of them were asked to speak about their views of Jackson in open court.

One woman said she remembers him from his days as a singing child star with the Jackson 5 decades ago. Murray's lead defense attorney, Ed Chernoff, asked if she thought Jackson was particularly childlike as an adult. The woman said "no."

Chernoff also asked potential jurors if they believed that, due to a childlike nature, Jackson was less able to make reasonable decisions.

"Does anyone think Michael Jackson should be held to a different level of responsibility?" Chernoff asked the potential panelists. None of them said Jackson should.

The answers to that question could be a key determining factor for Murray's attorneys if they seek to show the "Thriller" singer bore some responsibility for his own death, which medical examiners have said resulted from an overdose of propofol and sedatives.

Deputy district attorney David Walgren used an analogy to jurors: Imagine a drunken driver listening to music and hitting a pedestrian who was also not paying attention as he walked into the street.

That hypothetical appeared to be an attempt to elicit views of whether Murray or Jackson was most at fault. Potential jurors' responses varied, but some of them said the driver might be guilty if he bore some responsibility for the death.

Murray faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison if convicted.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Cynthia Johnston)

Ravi Shankar still making magic sitar music at 91

By Jordan Riefe

LOS ANGELES | Fri Sep 23, 2011 3:38pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Baby boomers may remember classical sitar player Ravi Shankar from his legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock, or his influence on popular music culture at the time.

But what the 91-year-old musical icon remembers most about Monterey was hearing live rock 'n' roll for the first time. It was loud, he recalls, and he walked out on Jimi Hendrix burning his guitar.

The three-time Grammy winner appears for one night, September 29, in Los Angeles at the Disney Concert Hall, and ahead of the show he spoke to Reuters about his music, his memories of the '60s and his friendship with late Beatle George Harrison.

Q: You collaborated with many high-profile Western artists in the past. In what direction are you taking your music now?

A: "Mostly I'm playing concerts. I just finished five concerts in Europe, in London, Birmingham and the Edinburgh Festival, then I went to Oslo, Norway. I finished those and now I'm looking forward to playing San Francisco and Escondido."

Q: What's on the program for the Disney Hall show?

A: "I always decide what I will play at the last moment, but I can tell you the format. I always start with very traditional classical music. The first I think will be very traditional almost dating back to 16th century. The second is a more later development known as contemporary-classical music. Another raga, an Indian raga. It's more popular, not in the pop sense, but it's a more popular second song. Of course the form we play is known as raga. Popular music with a lot of rhythmic variations."

Q: Can I take you back to the Monterey Pop Festival? It was a landmark concert and introduced you to your largest American audience. What are your memories of that show?

A: "I'll tell you very frankly, I went to see the whole night show with people like Jimi Hendrix and The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, Otis Redding, the Mamas and the Papas, all these people were performing. This was my first orientation to listening in person to live performances of rock 'n' roll. It was very loud for me. I'm not used to such loud music.

"But when The Who started breaking their instruments after the songs, and they are kicking them and breaking all the instruments -- and Jimi Hendrix, after a wonderful performance, which I was so impressed with, then he took off his guitar and then he put benzene on the guitar and burned it. That I could not take. I just walked out and said, "I won't be here."

Q: But two years later at Woodstock, you did it all again.

A: "It was a horrible experience because it was raining. We went by helicopter, which landed behind the stage. There were a half a million people, it was raining, drizzling, there was mud everywhere and everybody was, most of them, were high on drugs, y'know. And this was very difficult for my instrument, and I was not happy because of the whole environment."

Q: Still, you gained fame in the West from those events

A: "There was one issue that always bothered me. They mixed my music with drugs and all that type of free love and everything. That's what I objected to. I wanted to bring them consciousness of our music to relate to like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart -- you don't go to hear a concert being on grass or misbehaving like that."

Q: Did you ever express that to an audience?

A: "I said, 'I don't want to be treated -- or my music -- to be treated like that.' So I, many a times, would walk out of my concerts until they stopped smoking and behaved properly. I didn't want to reach them on drugs, but I did want to play them our music, our Indian classical music which connected more with -- not religion but a more spiritual energy."

Q: Your introduction to the rock world came through George Harrison. What brought the two of you together for the 1971 benefit concert for Bangladesh?

A: "I was in Los Angeles at that time and I was thinking of giving a concert or two, raising as much as I could, and help them. George came to my house and said, 'Let's do it in a bigger way and raise as much as we can.' He phoned Bob Dylan and all his friends, and the show happened. One show sold out immediately, so they had another show in the afternoon. The crisis became known around the world within 24 hours."

Q: Harrison studied sitar under you before composing "Norwegian Wood" and "Within You Without You," both of which used the instrument. Was George a good student?

A: "He was a wonderful student, he was like my family, my friend and we had a wonderful time. He flew into Mumbai in 1974 and 1975 where I had a festival for 45 minutes with my musicians, and after intermission he had his group and he helped promote the concert all over the United States. He was a wonderful friend."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Actor Sean Penn worked to get Americans from Iran

CARACAS | Fri Sep 23, 2011 2:55pm EDT

CARACAS (Reuters) - U.S. actor Sean Penn engaged in attempts to secure the release of two Americans freed by Iran this week, flying to Venezuela to ask President Hugo Chavez to intervene with Iran's leader, a source close to the release process said on Friday.

Since Tehran freed Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer on Wednesday details have emerged about the efforts to win their freedom, which involved the United Nations, Iraq and Oman -- as well as Chavez, who is a fiery critic of the United States.

Venezuela's deputy foreign minister told Reuters on Thursday that Chavez brought up the case with his Iranian ally Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after being alerted to the Americans' plight by friends in U.S. "intellectual circles."

"The American 'intellectual' who took up the case with him was Sean Penn," the source told Reuters.

"Penn was very committed to the case ... He flew to Caracas several months ago to raise it with Chavez and he kept on it," the source said.

Penn's spokeswoman in the United States confirmed this account, but would give no further details.

The two Americans had been in Iranian custody since their arrest in July 2009 on the border with Iraq, where they said they were hiking. They were jailed for espionage.

Penn, known for his political and social activism, won best actor Oscars for his roles in the Clint Eastwood-directed drama "Mystic River" in 2003 and as slain gay politician Harvey Milk in the 2008 movie "Milk."

The actor, screenwriter and film director was sharply critical of the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush, and was involved in humanitarian efforts following Haiti's earthquake and Hurricane Katrina.

In January, Chavez joked that Washington should end a diplomatic stand-off with Caracas by appointing either Penn, Bill Clinton or director Oliver Stone as its next ambassador to Venezuela. "We have a lot of friends there," Chavez said.

The source said the State Department had been aware of Chavez's involvement in the attempts to free the hikers and did not try to block it. On Thursday, a State Department spokesman said only that they were happy Fattal and Bauer were safe.

(Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Editing by David Storey)