Detective raises new question in Jackson death

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:51pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A detective testified on Monday that Michael Jackson's doctor said he noticed the singer stopped breathing earlier than prosecutors contend, raising a question of how closely the physician monitored Jackson after giving him the key drug that caused his death.

Prosecutors claim Dr. Conrad Murray was negligent in his care for the "Thriller" singer and on the day he died, Murray spent time covering up evidence of mistreatment instead of seeking help from paramedics after he discovered Jackson had stopped breathing.

Previously, prosecutors said that judging by phone records, as much as 20 minutes may have passed, but Monday a detective who questioned Murray two days after Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, offered times suggesting more than an hour elapsed.

Police detective Orlando Martinez testified that Murray admitted giving Jackson propofol -- the key drug responsible for his death -- between 10:40 a.m. and 10:50 a.m.

Murray told Martinez Jackson fell asleep around 11 a.m. and that after monitoring him for a time, the doctor went to the bathroom and came back to see he was no longer breathing.

"According to Dr. Murray, is this sometime shortly after 11 a.m. in the morning?," Deputy District Attorney David Walgren asked Martinez.

"Yes," the detective said.

Phone company officials and another detective testified last week that Murray was on a series of calls for business and personal reasons from 11:07 a.m. until noon. Prosecutors say phone records show paramedics were not called until 12:21 p.m.

Murray has admitted giving the anesthetic propofol to Jackson as a sleep aid at the singer's mansion, even though the drug is normally used in hospital settings. But he has pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter.

Following the preliminary hearing, which could end as soon as this week, a judge will determine if enough evidence exists for Murray to stand trial for involuntary manslaughter.

In other testimony Monday, pharmacist Tim Lopez said that through his business Applied Pharmacy Services, he sold Murray more than 250 vials of propofol between April and June 2009.

He also said he sold Murray exactly 20 vials of the sedative lorazepam which was also in Jackson's system and contributed to his death, according to coroners.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Michael Jackson fans mostly mum at doctor's hearing

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:09pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A plane flying a banner with a photo of Michael Jackson on Monday soared above the court where his ex-doctor stands accused of involuntary manslaughter, and the message with the picture was blunt: "Change charges to murder."

In the case against Dr. Conrad Murray, the plane and its banner were a rare instance of anything close to the spectacle of Jackson's 2005 trial and acquittal on child molestation charges. Back then, hundreds of Jackson fans from all over the world gathered daily near the courthouse and even saw their hero dance for them atop a vehicle one day after a hearing.

The lack of a swarming and adoring crowd has prompted the question of whether the "Thriller" singer's star has faded in the roughly 18 months since his death. But pop culture watchers say, probably not.

Murray's preliminary hearing, they say, has failed to generate excitement in the same way as other celebrity-related cases because Murray is not a star himself and the allegations against him were revealed months ago in court papers.

"It's not that Michael Jackson's fans don't still love him, they just don't feel compelled to take a stand and make a statement by showing up over this, because they've already made their minds up," said Cooper Lawrence, the author of "The Cult of Celebrity."

The preliminary hearings began last week into whether Murray should stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's June 25, 2009, death at age 50 from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol and the sedative lorazepam.

Murray was caring for the singer at the time, and prosecutors claim he is responsible for giving the singer too many drugs. Murray has pleaded not guilty. After the hearing, a judge will decide if enough evidence exists for a full trial.

A couple dozen Jackson fans have shown up every day outside the Los Angeles courtroom, waiting in a hallway and hoping to get a seat in the hearing. But aside from Monday's fly-over paid for by Jackson fans, there have been few incidents to grab the media's attention outside the court.

RED ARM BANDS

Bus operator Dana Brenklin, 34, is one of those die-hard Jackson supporters attending this month's hearings and wearing red arm bands to show their allegiance to the singer.

"I don't know why they (more Jackson fans) are not here. It's strange," Brenklin said. "I thought we would be filling up this whole hallway."

Few if any of the Jackson fans have traveled to Los Angeles from other parts of the world, as they did back in 2005.

Jackson's family members, including his mother Katherine, his father Joe and his sister La Toya, have attended the hearings, and fans have cheered them on during their walks down the courthouse hallway. They have given the same praise to the prosecutors. One fan exclaimed, "Those are our attorneys."

But Brenklin remembers an entirely different scene at the 2005 child molestation trial in Santa Maria, California, northwest of Los Angeles.

Back then, she traveled to the arraignment with a bus full of Jackson supporters from a church. Once there, she saw vendors selling memorabilia and so many people milling around that she could barely even see Jackson walking in.

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Michael Douglas says tumor gone, cancer may be beat

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:24pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, who revealed in August that he had throat cancer, said on Monday that his tumor is gone and chances are good he has beaten cancer.

In an interview with U.S. morning news and talk show "Today," Douglas told co-host Matt Lauer, "I feel good, relieved.

"The tumor is gone. But, you know, I have to check out on a monthly basis now to maintain. I guess there's not a total euphoria. I'll probably take a couple of months of getting checked out. But it's been a wild six-month ride," Douglas said in a transcript of the interview released by the NBC network.

A portion of the segment will air on Tuesday, and the full interview will air on "Dateline NBC" on January 23.

Lauer asked Douglas about putting on weight after radiation treatments, and Douglas said he had been "eating like a pig." He is working out in a gym and even planning for an upcoming film role as famed pianist Liberace, he said.

"I think the odds are, with the tumor gone and what I know about this particular type of cancer, that I've got it beat," Douglas told Lauer.

Douglas, 66, made a surprise announcement in August that doctors had diagnosed him with stage IV throat cancer but he was optimistic he would recover. Given the late stage of the tumor, however, many fans were concerned.

In the months since, Douglas has only sporadically appeared in the media and has been seen most often in paparazzi pictures walking the streets of New York with family members.

On "Today," Douglas told Lauer he had lost 32 pounds during treatment, but had recently added back 12 pounds. He said he had lost a lot of muscle mass and that radiation treatment caused his salivary ducts to stop functioning for a time.

Douglas is one of Hollywood's brightest stars, having worked in movies from "The China Syndrome" to "Fatal Attraction," "The American President" and "Wall Street," which earned him an Oscar for his role as money manipulator Gordon Gekko.

He also won an Oscar for producing "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and in the 1970's starred in TV crime show "The Streets of San Francisco." He is the son of veteran actor Kirk Douglas and is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones, with whom he has two children.

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No family secret to acting, says Streep's daughter

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:26pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It must be tough being the daughter of a living film legend -- especially when acting is your own chosen profession.

Just ask Mamie Gummer, the 27 year-old daughter of Meryl Streep, who is about to make her most-high profile appearance yet as one of the stars of ABC's new TV show "Off The Map".

Asked on Monday what advice her double Oscar-winning mother has given her so far, Gummer shot back with an answer worthy of Streep's caustic fashion diva character in hit comedy movie, "The Devil Wears Prada."

"We don't really talk shop at home," the actress told television journalists. "It's not like we own a line of pizza joints, and there is a secret ingredient."

Gummer, one of Streep's four children with her sculptor husband Don Gummer, said that despite studying theater at college, her decision to take up acting professionally was far from automatic.

"I was hyper-aware of the ramifications that decision would hold. It was a long process," she said.

Streep, 61, the star of movies ranging from musical "Mamma Mia!" to dramas "Doubt" and "Out of Africa", won Oscars for "Sophie's Choice" and "Kramer vs Kramer", and she is considered among the world's finest living actresses.

Gummer made her Broadway debut in a 2008 revival of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." She has appeared in the TV lawyer series "The Good Wife" and HBO's historical mini-series "John Adams".

In "Off the Map", she plays Mina Minard -- one of six doctors who are running away from personal problems by going to work in a tiny clinic in a fictional South American jungle.

The series, a cross between "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" that is filmed entirely in Hawaii, makes its debut on the ABC television network on Wednesday.

Gummer said she took the TV role because of "the opportunity it afforded me to live with a character for a long time. Hawaii wasn't a bad draw, and I am a big fan of 'Grey's Anatomy' and I knew the quality of the work would be good."

"Off the Map" is executive produced by "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes and created by Jenna Bans, a producer of "Grey's Anatomy".

Bans and Rhimes described the new series as a comedy-drama with a strong action element that takes doctors out of the city-based scenarios seen in other popular medical TV shows.

"Jenna put the scalpel in the hands of Indiana Jones -- and that's what feels fresh to me," Rhimes said.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Film directors pick nominees for best movie

By Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:12pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's Oscar race narrowed further on Monday when a key directors' group picked their top five movies and filmmakers, including David Fincher with his Facebook film "The Social Network."

The Directors Guild of America, which represents men and women who make movies, also put the makers of "Black Swan," "The King's Speech," "The Fighter" and "Inception" on its list of nominees for best directing efforts of 2010.

"Their inspired films radiate the passion and unique vision of each of these filmmakers, who are about to become part of our Guild's rich history. My sincerest congratulations to all five nominees," DGA president Taylor Hackford said in a statement, noting 2011 marks the group's 75th anniversary.

The DGA honor is important because it is one of the most prestigious honors in the U.S. film industry, and because there is a strong correlation between DGA nominees and directors who will vie for Oscars, the world's top movie honors.

In all but six years since the DGA began giving out awards in 1948, its winner of best director has won the Academy Award, and traditionally the winner of best director has often seen his or her film go on to take best movie from Oscar organizers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Last year's DGA winner, Kathryn Bigelow with "The Hurt Locker," for instance, also claimed the best director Oscar and her Iraq war film took home best motion picture.

"The Social Network," a fast-paced movie that tells of the founding of website Facebook, already has been named best movie by numerous U.S. critics groups and on Saturday, the National Society of Film Critics also named it the No. 1 film.

Numerous other groups have made their choices, and still others like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association with its Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild will name their winners later this month. Taken together, the critics and industry groups help narrow pundits' picks for Oscars.

Fincher and his movie face strong competition from drama "Black Swan," directed by Darren Aronofsky and telling of a woman on a journey of self-discovery through her dancing.

Director Tom Hooper's "The King Speech," a period drama detailing how Britain's King George VI worked to overcome his stammering, has strong support among Oscar pundits.

Boxing film "The Fighter," from David O. Russell, also figures prominently in the awards sweepstakes, and the DGA's fifth nominee, Christopher Nolan and thriller "Inception," has a loyal fan base owing to his mega-hit Batman movies.

The DGA gives out its awards on January 29. Oscar nominees are named on January 25, and their ceremony takes place on February 27.

(Editing by Jackie Frank)

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Bond girl, new Spider-Man among BAFTA nominees

LONDON | Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:21am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Bond girl Gemma Arterton and the next Spider-Man Andrew Garfield are among the five nominees for the BAFTA rising star award, organizers said on Monday.

Arterton, 24, starred in 2008 Bond film "Quantum of Solace" before taking on the lead role of Stephen Frears' countryside comedy "Tamara Drewe" which was released last year.

She is up against Andrew Garfield, 27, whose recent film credits include "The Social Network," among the frontrunners for Oscars glory this year.

He has also been named as the next Spider-Man, following in the footsteps of Tobey Maguire who starred in the title role for three movies of the hugely successful franchise. The re-boot of the series is due to hit theatres in 2012.

Aaron Johnson, most famous for his roles in John Lennon biopic "Nowhere Boy" and "Kick Ass," is also on the shortlist for the award, which is decided by popular vote and announced at the main Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony on February 13.

The BAFTAs are Britain's top film honors and are closely watched as part of the international awards season culminating in the Oscars in late February.

The final two rising star nominees are Tom Hardy and Emma Stone.

Previous winners of the award include James McAvoy in 2006, Eva Green in 2007, Shia LaBeouf in 2008, Noel Clarke in 2009 and Kristen Stewart in 2010.

BAFTA organizers have also announced the shortlist for best foreign film -- "Biutiful," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "I Am Love," "Of Gods and Men" and "The Secret in Their Eyes."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Steve Addison)

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"Bullitt" director Peter Yates dies aged 81

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