Entertaining Posts: 04/27/11

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Katie Holmes settles libel suit on drugs claim

LOS ANGELES | Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:43pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Katie Holmes has reached a settlement in her $50 million defamation lawsuit against celebrity magazine Star over an article that falsely suggested she was a drug addict, her representative said on Wednesday.

Star magazine also published an apology in its May 9 edition, on news stands on Wednesday, and said it was making a "substantial donation" to a nonprofit dance foundation supported by the actress.

Holmes, the wife of Tom Cruise, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles in March over a January edition of the magazine with the coverline "Addiction Nightmare. Katie Drug Shocker!"

The inside story made no allegations of drug use but referred to counseling sessions in the Church of Scientology. Cruise is one of Hollywood's leading Scientology followers, and his five-year marriage to Holmes is a frequent source of speculation in celebrity media.

Star magazine said in its printed apology that the magazine "did not intend to suggest Katie Holmes was a drug addict or was undergoing treatment for a drug addiction."

Holmes was seeking $50 million in damages but the financial terms of the settlement were confidential, her representative said in a statement. Star magazine is published by Florida-based American Media Inc, whose group includes tabloid weekly The National Enquirer.

"I'm pleased that this lawsuit could be resolved amicably and accept American Media's apology. With this dispute out of the way, I look forward to once again focusing my attention on my family and career," Holmes said in a statement.

Holmes' attorney, Aaron Moss, said the lawsuit should serve "as a lesson to other tabloids that if they print false and defamatory stories about Katie, she will stand up for her legal rights."

Star magazine's donation will go to the Dizzy Feet Foundation, a charity that helps underprivileged American youngsters pay for dance classes.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)

Grammy, Broadway producer John Cossette dies at 54

LOS ANGELES | Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:22pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Broadway musical producer John Cossette, who also followed in his father's footsteps to stage the Grammy telecasts and other entertainment award specials, has died at age of 54, his family said.

Cossette served as executive producer of several Grammy Awards, along with the BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards and Latin Grammy Award ceremonies.

He also produced the Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet," about the Memphis recording origins of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.

"We are deeply saddened to report that John Cossette, 54, has passed away. We ask that you please respect our privacy during this incredibly emotional time," his wife, Rita, and two daughters said in a statement on Tuesday.

They did not give the cause of death, nor the time or place of Cossette's passing.

Cossette was the son of Pierre Cossette, known as the father of the Grammy Awards telecast for his influence in persuading the major networks to air the annual music industry ceremony, who died in 2009 at the age of 85.

The Recording Academy, which sponsors the Grammys, described John Cossette in a statement as a "remarkable live television producer."

"However, it was his warmth, easy-going nature, passion for music and the arts, and tireless dedication to the Grammy Awards and Latin Grammy Awards that was unmatched," Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, and Latin Recording Academy president Gabriel Abaroa said in a joint statement.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Steve Gorman and Greg McCune)

Film-maker Aronofsky to chair Venice fest jury

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Lindsay Lohan makes clean breast of things for Leno

LOS ANGELES | Wed Apr 27, 2011 1:50am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Flashing her cleavage in a low-cut top, actress Lindsay Lohan said she felt "kind of numb" after being sentenced to 120 day behind bars for probation violation.

"It was definitely shocking," Lohan told talk-show host Jay Leno in a taped interview that aired on Tuesday, her first public comments since she was briefly locked up on Friday. "I was kind of numb."

Lohan, 24, greeted by a standing ovation from at least one segment of the excitable "Tonight Show" studio audience, talked with Leno for about 10 minutes on Monday after he had finished taping that night's show.

The top half of her black aviator jumpsuit was liberally unbuttoned, offering an inadvertent peek whenever she gestured with her hands. After the genial chat, she and Leno hugged and then clasped hands while continuing their conversation off-microphone.

Lohan was jailed for five hours on Friday, and will stand trial in June on a charge of stealing a $2,500 gold necklace from a Los Angeles jewelry store. The judge ruled that the theft charge was a violation of her 2007 probation for drunken driving, and sentenced her to 120 days in jail and 480 hours community service. She was released on bail pending an appeal.

It was the latest setback in the actress' bid to revive a flagging movie career, after almost four years of trips to drug and alcohol rehab, and jail.

Leno asked if she ever thought she would end up in court over her latest alleged misdeed.

"Not when I was here when I was 12," she said with a laugh, referring to her "Tonight Show" debut as a freckled youngster promoting her breakthrough role in a remake of "The Parent Trap."

More seriously, she added that her latest run-in with the justice system was "definitely a wake-up call," and that she was "a big girl" who was taking responsibility for her misdeeds.

Lohan attributed some of her troubles to success at an early age. "I think being young and being in the position I was in, you don't really take the time to appreciate what you have, and it is all a kind of whirlwind and people make decisions for you," Lohan told Leno.

"But I am not a kid anymore. I am 24. I have made a lot of mistakes and I recognize that, but I am in the clear now and as long as I stay focused, I will be able to achieve what I want to achieve," Lohan added.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman and Jill Serjeant: Editing by Mohammad Zargham)