Bahamas drops charges in Travolta extortion case AP

NASSAU, Bahamas A judge in the Bahamas dismissed charges Monday against two people accused of trying to extort money from John Travolta after the prosecutor said the actor no longer wanted to pursue a case stemming from the death of his teenage son.

Prosecutor Neil Braithwaite had submitted a motion to drop the case after a jury had already been picked and a retrial about to start for the two defendants.

"The Travolta family has said that this matter has caused them unbelievable stress and pain and they wish to put this whole thing behind them," Braithwaite said.

Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and his attorney, politician Pleasant Bridgewater, were accused of threatening to release private information about the January 2009 death of Travoltas 16-year-old son Jett at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama.

Lightbourne, who was among the medics who treated Jett, allegedly sought $25 million from the actor with the assistance of Bridgewater, who resigned her seat in the Bahamas Senate after she was charged in the case.

A judge declared a mistrial in October after a Bahamian lawmaker suggested the still-deliberating jury had acquitted one of the suspects.

Travolta had testified during that trial and one of his attorneys said in October that he had been prepared to testify again if necessary. But the actor said Monday that the delay in prosecuting the case had prompted his decision not to take the stand again

"The long-pending status of this matter continued to take a heavy emotional toll on my family, causing us to conclude that it was finally time to put this matter behind us," he said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Therefore, after much reflection I concluded that it was in my familys best interest for me not to voluntarily return to The Bahamas to testify a second time at trial."

Full Text RSS Feeds | ShareWorx Social Network

Tony Blair cancels London appearance over protests AP

LONDON Tony Blair on Monday canceled a planned public appearance in London to promote his new memoir over concerns about potential disruption from protesters.

The former British prime minister said he didnt "want the public to be inconvenienced by the inevitable hassle caused by protesters," during his appearance on Wednesday at Waterstones bookstore in central London.

"I know the Metropolitan Police would, as ever, have done a superb job in managing any disruption, but I do not wish to impose an extra strain on police resources, simply for a book signing," Blair said in a statement.

Earlier, Blair told ITV television that a bookstore signing session could cause unnecessary "hassle and cost" for police. Protesters demonstrating against Blairs decision to join the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq hurled shoes and eggs at him in Dublin on Saturday.

Anti-war demonstrators had planned to rally outside Blairs signing, and he said he was also worried that the far right British National Party might attempt to cause trouble.

"You end up just causing a lot of hassle for people and cost when there are better things for the police to do and its not as if we need to do it," said Blair, who added that the book was "selling fantastically."

"It is sad at the same time, frankly. If people want to have a book signed, people should protest but not try and physically prevent you doing it."

Waterstones managing director Dominic Myers said the cancellation of the signing "is a matter of regret that because of the likely actions of a minority, our customers are now not able to meet a three-times elected prime minister of the United Kingdom, whose book has become our fastest-selling autobiography ever."

Blair was paid a 4-million-pound $7-million advance for the memoir "A Journey," which mounts a strong defense of his policies during his years as prime minister from 1997 to 2007.

The book is a best-seller � currently No. 1 in Amazons British rankings and in its U.S. top 10 � but it has sparked protests from opponents of his policies, especially the invasion of Iraq.

A Facebook group calling on people to "subversively move Tony Blairs memoirs to the crime section in book shops" has more than 7,000 members. Members have submitted shots of the book sitting on the fantasy, true crime and horror shelves at stores.

Full Text RSS Feeds | ShareWorx Social Network

Chinese film on 1960 labor camps cheered in Venice

By Silvia Aloisi

VENICE | Mon Sep 6, 2010 9:19am EDT

VENICE Reuters - A powerful Chinese film on the plight of political prisoners condemned to forced labor camps in the late 1950s wooed critics in Venice on Monday, with some tipping it as a strong contender for the festivals top prize.

"The Ditch" tells the little-known story of some 3,000 people deported for "re-education" to labor camps on the edge of the Gobi desert, in western China, and struggling to survive extreme climate and acute food shortages.

Billed as right-wing enemies by the government for even mildly criticizing the Communist party or simply because of their background, many died of starvation, disease and exhaustion in the ditches that served as dormitories.

Director Wang Bing spent three years tracking down survivors and wardens of the Jiabiangou and Mingshui Camps for the film, a surprise entry in the main competition line-up that was only revealed on Monday.

"For 10, maybe 20 years, independent Chinese cinema has focused above all else on the social problems of the poorest working classes in contemporary China," Bing says in the production notes.

"The Ditch is perhaps the first film to deal directly with contemporary Chinas political past, talking as it does about the Rightists and what they endured in the re-education camps. Its still a taboo subject."

The film, warmly applauded at a press screening, is unlikely to be released in its home country, where authorities remain sensitive about how such topics are portrayed.

Still, Bing said he hoped the film would be an opportunity for younger Chinese like him -- he was born in 1967 -- to learn about their countrys past.

"I wanted to talk about our history, past events that can be criticized because of the way in which the Chinese suffered, and show them so that people can reflect on them," he told reporters, speaking through a translator.

DOCUMENTARY STYLE

Shot like a documentary, The Ditch focuses on the last three months of life in an annexe camp where the 1,500 prisoners who had survived until then were moved in 1960, as drought ravaged the whole of China.

Initially forced to plough 4,000 hectares of barren land in the middle of nowhere, they are later left to waste in underground dormitories as food runs out and many cannot stand on their feet.

Barely 500 people came out of that experience alive when authorities finally decided to send the prisoners back home.

"Everything in the film really happened at the camp. Nothing has been made up or added," says Bing, who used many non-professional actors for his first feature film after a string of documentaries.

The Ditch is one of 24 titles vying for the Venice film festivals top Golden Lion prize which will be awarded on Saturday.

Also in competition and premiering on Monday is "Essential Killing," a different struggle for survival with Vincent Gallo as a suspected Taliban fighter on the run from U.S. forces in Afghanistan and later in Europe.

With very sparse dialogue, and not a single word uttered by its lead character, the film by Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski follows Gallos escape through a snow-blanketed forest, and also stars Emmanuelle Seigner as the mute woman who briefly helps him.

Editing by Paul Casciato

Full Text RSS Feeds | ShareWorx Social Network

A hoax? Joaquin Phoenix film gets viewers guessing

By Mike Collett-White

VENICE | Mon Sep 6, 2010 7:51am EDT

VENICE Reuters - Whether a hoax or not, a new documentary about Joaquin Phoenix and his transition from acclaimed, brooding actor to bearded, shambolic hip-hop wannabe has captivated viewers at the Venice film festival.

"Im Still Here" was directed by Casey Affleck, a successful actor and Phoenixs brother-in-law.

The guessing game over whether the picture was genuine documentary or ironic "mockumentary" poking fun at an intolerant and narrow-minded public and press began long before the release of the movie.

It mirrors internet chatter following Phoenixs now infamous television interview with David Letterman last year, when a confused, mumbling performance also prompted suspicions that it was all an elaborate act.

"I can tell you that there is no hoax," Affleck told reporters after his directorial debut was screened to reporters on Monday in Venice, where it is out of competition.

"That never even entered into my consciousness until other people began to talk about the movie," he added at a briefing where he was asked repeatedly about whether certain scenes, and the movie in general, were genuine.

But he conceded that audiences were likely to be confused.

"Im very interested to hear those sorts of reactions and I appreciate that point of view, and I understand how a lot of this movie could be confusing in terms of, oh well, it seems like somethings real or not real."

Affleck said Phoenix was in Venice, but was unsure whether he would turn up at the red carpet premiere later in the day.

CANDID CAMERA

Whether real or not, Im Still Here offers a sometimes excruciating insight into the life of a celebrity and into the mind of Phoenix.

He is at times funny and coherent and at others childish, aggressive and paranoid as he struggles to live with his decision in 2008, which the media greeted with breathless disbelief, to give up acting and take up hip hop.

After his Letterman appearance, Phoenix clasped his head in frustration at how badly it went.

"Im just going to be a god damned joke forever," he said, before launching into an expletive-ridden tirade and bursting into tears.

The candid film includes footage of him apparently taking drugs, surfing the internet for call girls, hosting prostitutes, diving off a stage to attack a heckler and vomiting.

It also features rap star Sean Combs, who, after several failed attempts on Phoenixs part to set up a meeting, agrees to listen to a demo of his hip-hop music.

Combs face as he listens to three demo tracks is one of the movies highlights, and Phoenix leaves crestfallen when Combs makes clear he will not produce his record.

Again, though, reporters asked whether Combs was in on the joke. Affleck replied: "The role that he played in Joaquins life was to be the bearer of bad news. He was the hammer that crushed the dream. All of that is a little bit of an act."

Comedian Ben Stiller also appears when he comes to Phoenixs home to ask him to consider playing a part in his recent movie "Greenberg."

Editing by Paul Casciato

Full Text RSS Feeds | ShareWorx Social Network

Giant hay bale kills former ELO cellist

Thomson Reuters is the worlds 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.

Full Text RSS Feeds | ShareWorx Social Network