Entertaining Posts: 09/23/11

Friday, September 23, 2011

Jury selected for Jackson doctor's trial

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)

Black Eyed Peas, Hudson join UK Jackson tribute

LOS ANGELES | Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:48pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Black Eyed Peas and Jennifer Hudson have joined the line-up of a controversial Michael Jackson tribute concert in Britain.

Promoters said the U.S. group and the "Dreamgirls" Oscar winner would perform at the "Michael Forever" tribute in Wales on October 8, along with Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Motown legends Gladys Knight and Smokey Robinson.

The tribute has the backing of Jackson's mother Katherine but siblings Randy, Germaine and Janet have said they will not be attending.

Black Eyed Peas co-founder will.i.am said Jackson's music had been an inspiration to him growing up in Los Angeles, and recalled working with the "Thriller" singer in 2007.

"The Black Eyed Peas wouldn't miss being at the Millennium stadium for this gig on October8: we all owe Michael such a lot," will.i.am said in a statement.

Grammy-winner Hudson, a former "American Idol" contestant, won an Oscar for her role in the 2006 movie musical "Dreamgirls."

The tribute concert comes more than two years after Jackson, 50, died in Los Angeles from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol.

But the venture has been plagued by problems, including criticism by some Jackson fans and the official administrators of Michael Jackson's estate over the line-up, ticket prices and confusion over charity donations.

The concert will take place during the trial in Los Angeles of Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Prosecutors have charged Murray with responsibility for Jackson's death and accused him of administering a lethal dose of anesthetic to help the singer sleep. Murray has pleaded not guilty.

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin on September 27 in the four to six week jury trial.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Taylor Lautner talks about his newest 'Abduction'

By Zorianna Kit

LOS ANGELES | Fri Sep 23, 2011 8:44am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Taylor Lautner, best known as werewolf Jacob Black in the "Twilight" film series, breaks away from the teen franchise to headline his own film, the thriller "Abduction," which he also produces.

Due in theaters on Friday, "Abduction" sees Lautner in the role of a teenager who goes on the run when he discovers his parents aren't really who he thought they were and his entire life as been a lie. While being pursued by the FBI and killer assassins, Nathan must put together the truth of his life.

Lautner, 19, sat down with Reuters to talk about the film, his abs, and why he doesn't have any "Twilight" memorabilia.

Q: Why you choose "Abduction" to launch your solo career?

A: "I knew it would be physically challenging because of all the stunts. But I knew it was going to be difficult to dive into this character's shoes and relate to the emotions he's feeling during this journey. As soon as Nathan figures out his entire life is a lie, it's tough to relate to."

Q: How so?

A: "If I found out my entire life was a lie, if my parents weren't who they said they were, where would I go? Where would I start looking for answers? Who would I trust? The truth is, I have no idea what I would do. Nathan's on the run, trying to stay alive and piece together pieces of the puzzle. It was tough."

Q: What was the key challenge in nailing the character?

A: "The biggest thing was just dropping Jacob Black, who I've played for the past three or four years and living in Nathan's shoes for three months."

Q: You produced "Abduction" through your company Quick Six. What did that entail for you?

A: "I attached myself and my production company to the script. There were other producers as well. We sold it to Lions Gate and the development process began. That's when we started talking about the character and the journey we thought he should go on and rewriting the script."

Q: How important was being part of the producing process?

A: "It was really fortunate because by the time you start filming, you feel like you already know the character inside and out because you've had a hand in creating him. I had five months before filming to create this character every single day."

Q: Having worked through producing, did it feel different working on 'Breaking Dawn' and being just an actor-for-hire?

A: "It made me more familiar with the moviemaking environment and made me respect producers and the director and everybody else much more. But the biggest thing was filming 'Abduction' right before 'Breaking Dawn' because it stretched me a lot as an actor."

Q: In what way?

A: "It really challenged me emotionally way more than I've ever been challenged. In 'Breaking Dawn Part One,' Jacob goes to a whole new place. He's very emotional. It was great to do 'Abduction' right before because it got me in that mode, expanding my horizons, getting ready for that performance in Breaking Dawn.'"

Q: In the "Twilight" films, you spend much of your time without a shirt on. In "Abduction" you have that moment as well. At what point do you say 'no more' to shirtless scenes?

A: "In the original script for 'Abduction,' there may have been four or five of those moments. And I cut it down for the only moment that would make sense. It can't be nonsense like, 'Oh it's hot outside so I'm going to take my shirt off.' Or like in 'New Moon,' when Bella gets cut and I'm like, 'Here, let me take my shirt off and help you with that.'"

Q: You've wrapped filming the "The Twilight Saga" series. "Breaking Dawn Part One" comes out in November. "Part Two" next year. Were there tears when you finished shooting for good?

A: "There were a few, yeah. I would be lying if I said there were none shed by me. And there were definitely others who were shedding as well (laughs)."

Q: Did you keep any memorabilia from the "Twilight" films?

A: "I wish. The one thing I would want is my motorcycle from the movie, but I don't know if I'd be able to get it. They did offer me my wig when we wrapped 'New Moon.' I turned it down because I hated that thing. (laughs) I should have taken it because I probably would appreciate it down the road."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Elton John in talks to make biopic "Rocketman"

LONDON | Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:40am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British singer Elton John is in talks to make a film about his life, his spokesman said on Friday, in response to media reports about a planned biopic called "Rocketman."

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

Playwright Lee Hall will provide the script.

Asked to comment on the reports, John's London spokesman replied only: "Just discussions."

He did not expand on whether anyone had been singled out to play the lead in the movie, although the Sun tabloid said Scottish actor James McAvoy had been tipped for the role.

John and Hall have worked together before on the hit musical adaptation of the dance movie "Billy Elliot."

"Rocketman will be a radically different kind of biopic," Shaw told Hollywood entertainment website Deadline, adding that it would be "non-linear and hyper-visual."

Initial reports of plans for a John biopic surfaced in early 2011.

The 64-year-old behind hits including "Candle in the Wind" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" 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.

The glam rocker has sold an estimated 250 million records and won an Oscar and several Grammys.

John, Furnish and Shaw have worked together before on a movie through their Rocket Pictures venture. Their 3D animation "Gnomeo and Juliet" grossed $190 million at the global box office, according to website boxofficemojo.com.

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