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Royal couple in spotlight at first official visit

By Dylan Martinez

TREARDDUR BAY, Wales | Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:57am EST

TREARDDUR BAY, Wales (Reuters) - Prince William and bride-to-be Kate Middleton performed their first official engagement as a couple on Thursday, giving them an early taste of the life in the spotlight that awaits them.

International media and hundreds of local well-wishers descended on Trearddur Bay, on the Welsh island of Anglesey, to greet the couple as they attended the launch of a new lifeboat.

Middleton, 29, had her hair pulled back in a ponytail on a blustery but sunny afternoon and wore a beige, knee-length coat with dark brown trim, dark scarf, gloves and a feather fascinator.

The couple shook hands with local officials ahead of a service of dedication for the new boat.

Middleton poured champagne over the bow of the "Hereford Endeavour," Trearddur Bay lifeboat station's new inshore lifeboat for the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).

They then went on a walkabout, looking relaxed as they greeted well-wishers who turned up to catch a glimpse of the young celebrities, and spoke to members of the lifeboat crew.

Although a relatively minor ceremony, for Middleton it offered a brief glimpse of the kind of official duties she will have to perform first as princess, and eventually as queen.

RELATIVE PRIVACY

The event is close to where William, 28, has been working as a search and rescue pilot for the Royal Air Force, and is seen as the couple's way of thanking the community for respecting their privacy while they lived there together in recent months.

The period of grace is unlikely to last, however, despite tabloid reports that Queen Elizabeth, William's grandmother, has told the couple they would be allowed to remain out of the spotlight for the first two years of their marriage.

The issue of their exposure to the media is a sensitive one, given that William's mother Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997 after being pursued by photographers. She was 36.

The couple marry on April 29 in Westminster Abbey in a ceremony expected to be watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world. They are expected to settle in Anglesey following the wedding.

Anglesey locals generally welcomed the couple's presence.

"I think their effect on Anglesey is wonderful," said Karen Knight who works in a village store.

"He's (William) been seen out and about and they say he's fabulous and mixes with all the locals," she told the WalesOnline website. "My sons have seen him a couple of times out having a meal in a local pub."

Middleton and William travel to Scotland on Friday for the 600th anniversary celebrations at St Andrews university where they first met as students in 2001.

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U2 to play Glastonbury festival

LONDON | Thu Feb 24, 2011 6:36am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish rockers U2 will perform at the Glastonbury music festival this year, joining Britain's Coldplay and U.S. singer Beyonce as the main headline acts.

The band had to cancel their scheduled appearance at one of the world's biggest outdoor music events last year when lead singer Bono injured his back.

U2 will play the Pyramid stage, which can be seen by tens of thousands of fans standing on a grassy slope, on Friday, June 24.

"After the disappointment of U2 being unable to play last year, we're now doubly excited at the prospect of the Friday night supergroup breaking the sound barrier," said Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis.

U2 guitarist the Edge added: "It's more a way of life than a festival. I made it last year to the Friday show -- got to play with Muse, got to hang out, ate a veggie burger and fries, and got to play on the Pyramid Stage.

"I have to say there is something really special and iconic about that stage. So we're all looking forward to coming back to pick up where I left off. And we're so excited to get to play in front of the world's greatest festival audience."

Eavis, an English dairy farmer now in his 70s, has developed Glastonbury from a small, free music festival into a major event in the pop calendar attracting some of the biggest acts and around 150,000 paying fans living on site in tents.

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"King's Speech," "Social Network" lead Oscar picks

By Stephen Galloway

Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:29pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Who will take home Oscar statuettes on Sunday. Based on behind-the-scenes info, The Hollywood Reporter picks the winners in the key races.

BEST PICTURE - "The King's Speech"

Three factors favor the Weinstein Co. film over its only serious rival, "The Social Network":

Precedent: "Speech" scored wins at the producers, directors and screen actors guild awards. True, it lost to "Social Network" at the Golden Globes, but the Globes are hardly a litmus test for the Oscars anymore.

Voters' Ages: Academy members average out at 57, meaning they're far more likely to identify with "Speech's" middle-aged heroes than "Social's" young cast.

The Voting System: In the Best Picture race, voters rank the 10 nominees in order of preference; if no movie gets more than 50 percent of first-place votes, the bottom vote-getters are eliminated and their votes transferred. So it's important to be placed second and third on lots of ballots, rather than just be No. 1. Being widely liked counts more than being deeply loved. And a whole lot of voters really like "Speech."

ACTOR - Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"

A year after he lost to Jeff Bridges (Firth was up for "A Single Man," Bridges for "Crazy Heart"), the two are in competition again. This time, Firth is a lock. He has scooped all the major awards so far, and there's little chance he'll lose when the Oscar envelope is opened. Among the other nominees, Javier Bardem is too dark in "Biutiful," Jesse Eisenberg too young in "Social Network" and James Franco's actions in "127 Hours" just too plain gruesome.

ACTRESS - Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"

Many insiders believe Annette Bening will win for "The Kids Are All Right," thanks to the support of the Academy's older voters. She'll be helped by her place on the board of governors, respect for her body of work and sympathy for three previous losses. But other veterans have lost to fresher faces: Remember Marion Cotillard's win over Julie Christie in 2008 and Juliette Binoche's over Lauren Bacall in 1997? It's a close race, but Portman has the showier role; that and the fact that she won the SAG Award get her the Oscar.

DIRECTOR - David Fincher, "The Social Network"

He lost at the DGA, but he's our pick for the Oscars. Why? The DGA has a huge TV contingent; they respected Tom Hooper's craftsmanship on "Speech," but Fincher's visual mastery means more with the Academy. Bad sign for Hooper: Even BAFTA opted for Fincher over his British rival.

SUPPORTING ACTOR - Christian Bale, "The Fighter"

Play ugly, play period and play with an accent. Bale does all three in "The Fighter." Add the fact that he's won nearly every other award, except BAFTA, and he's a lock. "Speech's" Geoffrey Rush won in 1997 for a more memorable lead role in Shine, but that will work against him as the Academy rarely gives actors a second Oscar.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"

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Judge tells Lindsay Lohan guilty plea means jail

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES | Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:55pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lindsay Lohan was warned on Wednesday that any plea bargain on her jewelry theft charge would involve jail time, but the troubled actress seemed set on rejecting any deals and opting instead to risk a trial.

Lohan, 24, was given until March 10, to consider a plea deal offered by prosecutors on a charge that she walked out of a Los Angeles jewelry store in January without paying for a $2,500 necklace.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed at Wednesday's hearing -- the latest in a series of trips to court that have halted Lohan's once promising movie career.

But celebrity website TMZ.com, citing unnamed sources connected to the case, said prosecutors want Lohan to plead guilty and serve six months in jail to avoid a possibly longer sentence if convicted at trial of stealing the necklace.

Lohan and her lawyers had been hoping for an arrangement that would avoid any more time behind bars. The actress spent two weeks in jail last summer on a probation violation in a 2007 drunk driving and cocaine conviction.

But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz told her sternly that "this case does involve jail time. Period. If you plead (guilty) in front of me and the case is resolved in front of me, you are going to jail, period."

Lohan pleaded not guilty to grand theft at an initial hearing earlier in February, and has told friends she believed the necklace was on loan.

Schwartz said on Wednesday he doubted Lohan and her lawyers would accept a plea deal. "I get the impression you are not going to accept the (prosecutors') offer, okay. I don't have a crystal ball, and I'm not privy to any inside information, but that is the feeling that I got."

TMZ.com reported that Lohan told a friend after leaving the courtroom she was not guilty and would not accept going back to jail. She has until March 10 to consider her response.

"I don't care that you are Lindsay Lohan versus John Doe," Schwartz lectured the "Mean Girls" actress. "You will be treated exactly the same as anyone else, no better or worse."

Lohan, dressed in cream pants and a low-cut black blouse, said little during Wednesday's hearing, conferring quietly with her attorney and answering the judge, "yes, your honor," when asked if she understood what he said to her.

Lohan faces a separate court hearing before a different judge in her 2007 drunk driving conviction. She remains on probation in that case and in January completed a court-ordered three month stay in rehab -- her fifth stint in treatment in three years.

Schwartz said he would recommend psychological counseling for Lohan as part of her sentence, telling her "I don't want you to be a repeat offender....I want you to get on with your life and move on."

Lohan made her name as an 11-year-old in the Disney movie "The Parent Trap" and went on to have hits with "Freaky Friday" and "Herbie Fully Loaded".

But she lost her lead part in a movie about 1970s porn actress Linda Lovelace while she was in rehab last year.

(Editing by Christine Kearney and Bob Tourtellotte)

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