Entertaining Posts: 04/14/11

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Sheen, studio fight over "Men" return talks

LOS ANGELES | Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:55pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Charlie Sheen and the makers of "Two and A Half Men" traded accusations on Thursday over whether the door was still open for the actor's return to the No. 1 television comedy

Warner Bros. Television strongly denied claims by Sheen that the studio was in talks to reinstate him, and made clear there was no chance of the fired star returning to the show.

But Sheen's lawyer insisted that there had been discussions this week about Sheen going back to his role as a womanizing bachelor.

Sheen, formerly the highest-paid actor on U.S. television, was booted out of the CBS series in March after he publicly insulted both the studio and series co-creator Chuck Lorre.

The actor, currently on a bizarre "Violent Torpedo of Truth" stage tour of North America, claimed this week he was in talks with his former bosses and that there was an 85 percent chance he would return.

"Those statements are false. As you know, there have been no discussions, there are no discussions and there will be no discussions, regarding his (Sheen's) returning to or having any involvement with the series," attorneys for Warner Bros. wrote in a letter to the actor's lawyer.

Sheen's lawyer, Marty Singer, told The Hollywood Reporter in response; "That's ridiculous. There absolutely have been discussions.

"As late as this Tuesday there have been discussions about Charlie coming back and everyone was involved," Singer said. He did not say who was involved in the talks.

Last month, there were unconfirmed reports that CBS chief Les Moonves wanted Sheen back.

But the Warner Bros. letter on Thursday appeared to rule out any hope of a reconciliation with Sheen, who has continued to trash his former bosses and some of his co-stars.

Sheen has been in and out of drug rehab in the last 12 months and was convicted last year of assaulting his then-wife. He filed a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. in March for unfair dismissal.

Warner Bros. and CBS have yet to say whether they will bring back "Two and A Half Men" in a different format or with a different star for the 2011-2012 season starting in September.

They have until mid-May to make a decision before the main TV networks present their new season line-up to advertisers in New York.

CBS is a unit of CBS Corp, and Warner Bros. Television is owned by Time Warner Inc.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Dean Gooodman)

Warner Bros. denies talks with Sheen on "Men"

LOS ANGELES | Thu Apr 14, 2011 4:08pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Charlie Sheen has had no discussions with producers about returning to his hit TV show "Two and A Half Men" and there will be none in the future, Warner Bros. Television said on Thursday.

The wayward actor was fired from the top-rated CBS comedy in March after he publicly criticized both the studio and series co-creator Chuck Lorre.

Sheen, currently on a bizarre one-man theater tour of North America, claimed this week he was in talks with his former bosses about a possible return.

Warner Bros. and CBS have yet to say whether they will bring back "Two and a Half Men" in a different format or with a different star for the 2011-2012 season which starts in September.

The comedy, in which Sheen starred as a womanizing bachelor, was the highest-rated comedy on U.S. television with about 14 million regular viewers.

CBS is a unit of CBS Corp, and Warner Bros. Television is owned by Time Warner Inc.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Dean Gooodman)

ABC cancels "All My Children", "One Life to Live"

LOS ANGELES | Thu Apr 14, 2011 4:39pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - ABC television said on Thursday it was canceling its long-running daytime soap operas "All My Children" and "One Life to Live".

The final episodes of the two shows will air in September 2011 and January 2012 respectively, ABC said in a statement.

"General Hospital", the second-most popular show in daytime TV, will remain on the air, the network added.

ABC said the two soap operas would be replaced by new programing focused on "transformation, food and lifestyle", saying that audience research had shown that these issues were of more interest to viewers.

"All My Children", about the lives of resident in fictional Pine Valley, made its debut on ABC in 1970. "One Life to Live" set in the fictional town of Llanview, began airing in 1968. Both shows have won multiple awards, including daytime Emmys, and earned praise for tackling social issues including alcoholism, AIDS and illiteracy.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing Steve Gorman)

Bigger stars, stronger industry to boost Cannes

By Nick Vinocur

PARIS | Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:53pm EDT

PARIS (Reuters) - Bigger stars on the carpet, a stronger film industry and the much anticipated comeback of U.S. director Terrence Malick are set to give this year's Cannes Film Festival a boost after a subdued 2010.

Among the most hotly anticipated titles in competition at Cannes this year is "The Tree of Life," a period drama starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn and directed by Terrence Malick, who makes a comeback at Cannes after failing to finish his movie on time last year.

Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, known for stark and emotional movies like "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark," is also back in the running with "Melancholia," a science fiction drama starring Kirsten Dunst and Kiefer Sutherland.

Pedro Almodovar, the Spanish director known for his colorful images, takes a new tack with "The Skin That I Inhabit," a revenge story featuring Antonio Banderas about a surgeon on the hunt for the men who killed his daughter.

Unveiling the list of nominated movies for the festival, an oasis for independent filmmakers, organizer Thierry Fremaux told journalists that the movie business was almost fully recovered from a year marked by financing woes for art-house productions.

Last year's competition on the French Riviera lacked buzz with fewer Hollywood A-List stars than normal and a backdrop of economic gloom -- as well as a volcanic ash cloud that created chaos for air travel across Europe just before the gathering.

"The official selection this year bears witness to the good health of the market for cinema," Fremaux told a news conference ahead of the May 11 to 22 festival.

"The Festival has been through some tough years but we can now see that movie production is making a comeback."

Taking care to watch every film submitted for a place in the competition, volunteer screeners whittled down 1,715 films -- some 60 more than last year -- to a list of 49 full-length features, 19 of which will be in the main competition.

WOODY ALLEN MEETS NICOLAS SARKOZY

Other titles in competition for the Palme d'Or, or Golden Palm, top prize include "Ishimei," a 3-D samurai movie directed by Takashi Miike, Nanni Moretti's "Habemus Papam," a film about the relationship between a pope and his therapist, and Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin" about a boy who goes on a shooting spree at school.

As always in Cannes, much attention is given to movies which are not nominated for any award but shown during the festival to drum up some buzz ahead of their box office release.

That is the case with Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," a romantic comedy shot on location featuring Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates and a cameo appearance from France's first lady Carla Bruni, which will open the festival on May 11.

Another movie sure to catch the attention of the French public is "L'Exercise de l'Etat," which tells the story of President Nicolas Sarkozy trying to find his wife the day after he won the 2007 presidential election.

In a sign the sometimes arcane festival is warming to technology, titles were submitted over the internet for the first time, many of them shot on cheap digital cameras, with an increase in movies using 3-D imagery, Fremaux said.

Ozzy Osbourne pays off $1.7 million tax debts

LOS ANGELES | Thu Apr 14, 2011 12:40pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne and his wife have quickly paid off their $1.7 million U.S. tax debts, a week after learning about their financial troubles from the news media.

Sharon Osbourne, a tough-talking reality TV personality who also manages her husband's career, said on Thursday the federal tax bill had been paid, and she was now on a mission to find out why the Internal Revenue Service filed a lien on one of the British couple's Los Angeles-area residences.

"At 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon I received a phone call from my publicist who had a reporter on the other line informing her that the IRS had just put a lien on one of our properties," Osbourne said in a statement released to gossip writer Perez Hilton. She linked to it from her Twitter feed.

"I then contacted my accountant who said they knew nothing about any lien. The lien has been paid. I do intend to find out how this lien happened without the knowledge of myself or my accountants. I hope none of this reflects negatively on mine and Ozzy's moral character."

In earlier Twitter messages, Osbourne, a judge on TV show "America's Got Talent", appeared to point the finger at the couple's financial advisers but also took personal responsibility for the mess.

"Just because you're paying someone doesn't mean they're doing the job correctly," she wrote on Friday. Three days later she added, "You can't rely on anyone but yourself. You have to be on top of your own business affairs. My fault ... lesson learned."

According to the lien, filed on April 4, the couple owed $718,948.25 for the 2008 tax year, and $1,024,175.03 for 2009. A lien attaches to all property, such as a house or car, and usually gives the IRS first call on the sale proceeds.

A British tabloid recently speculated that the Osbournes own at least seven properties worldwide, including at least two in the Los Angeles area.

Ozzy Osbourne, 62, helped popularize heavy metal in the 1970s as the lead singer for Black Sabbath, a band that reveled in satanic imagery. After he was thrown out for excessive drug use, he launched a successful solo career guided by his wife, now 58. They have three children, and won a new generation of mainstream fans earlier last decade with a hit MTV reality show that documented the clan's eccentric lifestyle, ear-splitting arguments and deep familial bonds.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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