Entertaining Posts

Friday, March 25, 2011

Just call me Lindsay. Not Lohan

LOS ANGELES | Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:39pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is planning to join the ranks of Madonna, Prince and Bjork -- by dropping her last name, according to her mother.

"Lindsay is dropping the Lohan and just going by Lindsay," Dina Lohan told AOL celebrity news site Popeater.com on Friday.

The decision appears to be motivated by a desire to distance the "Mean Girls" actress from her estranged father Michael Lohan, who was charged earlier this week with assaulting his girlfriend and who has a history of run-ins with the law.

Dina Lohan told Popeater that she and her younger daughter Ali -- also an aspiring singer and actress -- are officially changing their last names to her maiden name, Sullivan.

Dina and Michael Lohan divorced in 2007 -- the year Lindsay was arrested for drunk driving and cocaine possession and starting a downward spiral of trips to rehab, failed drug tests and jail. The former "Parent Trap" child star is currently facing trial on a jewelry theft charge that could send her back behind bars if convicted.

Dina Lohan said her 24 year-old daughter had been thinking about dropping her last name for some time. But it was only after the infamous 2010 TV ad for online brokerage E*Trade, featuring a baby as "that milkaholic Lindsay", that the actress realized she no longer needed it.

Lindsay Lohan filed a $100 million lawsuit against E*Trade last year, saying the commercial violated her privacy, but the two sides later settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Lindsay's plans to go single with her name failed to impress many fans on the Popeater website. "Your name is not your problem Lindsay. It's your inflated ego, unwillingness to stay out of trouble that are," read a comment by Stephanie.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Madonna-backed group ends plans for Malawi school

LOS ANGELES | Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:48am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A charitable group backed by pop star Madonna has scrapped its plan to build a school for impoverished girls in Malawi due to mismanagement, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The organization, Raising Malawi, has ousted its board of directors and replaced its members with a new set of officials that includes Madonna and her manager, the Times reported.

"A thoughtful decision has been made to discontinue plans for the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, as it was originally conceived," Michael Berg, co-founder of Raising Malawi, said Thursday in an e-mail to the center's members who had contributed to the project, according to the Times.

Berg, a co-director of the spiritual and educational organization Kabbalah Center International in Los Angeles, could not be reached for comment on Thursday night.

The Times said the effort to build the Malawi school had collapsed after spending $3.8 million on the project and its executive director left in October amid criticism of his management style and cost overruns.

Madonna lent $11 million of her money to the organization. She has been a frequent visitor to Malawi and has adopted two children from the country.

On Thursday, the singer issued a statement to the Times saying she was still intent on working with Raising Malawi.

"There's a real education crisis in Malawi," she said in the statement given to the Times. "Sixty-seven percent of girls don't go to secondary school, and this is simply unacceptable."

A spokeswoman for Madonna could not be reached on Thursday night.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte, editing by Anthony Boadle)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Elizabeth Taylor laid to rest at private service

LOS ANGELES | Fri Mar 25, 2011 12:08am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor was given a small private funeral service attended by family and close friends in the Los Angeles area on Thursday, a day after she died of congestive heart failure.

The Oscar-winning actress, 79, was laid to rest at the Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, outside Los Angeles -- the same place where her close friend, singer Michael Jackson, was buried in 2009.

Taylor's service was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., but started 15 minutes later than planned at the actress' request.

Her spokeswoman said in a statement Taylor wanted the service to include the announcement: "She even wanted to be late to her own funeral."

The coffin for Taylor was draped by a blanket of gardenias, violets and lily of the valley, and the actress who was known for her violet eyes was interred at Forest Lawn's Great Mausoleum beneath a marble angel.

The service lasted about one hour and included a reading of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem "The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo" by actor Colin Farrell, described as a "close friend" of Taylor.

Other poems were read by Taylor's son, Michael Wilding, grandson and daughter Liza Burton Tivey. Her grandson, Rhys Tivey performed "Amazing Grace" on a trumpet.

Taylor, who married eight times (twice to actor Richard Burton), is survived by four children, 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Her representatives previously had said that a public memorial would be announced at a later date.

Forest Lawn is also the burial place of many Hollywood celebrities, including Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Walt Disney.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Royal wedding recording to be online within hours

LONDON | Wed Mar 23, 2011 8:15am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - The official recording of the royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29 will be available to download within hours of the service finishing.

Decca Records, part of the Universal Music label which also released the recordings of Prince Charles's wedding in 1981 and Princess Diana's funeral in 1997, will have a recording of the royal nuptials for sale on the net within hours and then release the official album of the marriage ceremony on May 5.

The physical album will include a booklet containing the order of service, readings, vows, hymns and blessings, as well as all the music. The format of release will be digital download, CD, vinyl and cassette to cater for all consumers.

The ceremony will be released digitally by Decca on the world's leading download and streaming platforms immediately following the service in London's Westminster Abbey.

"Thanks to digital technology we will be able to deliver it worldwide almost instantly -- it will be the fastest we have ever released an album of this stature," said David Joseph, chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK.

Musicians already confirmed to perform at the ceremony include The Choir of Westminster Abbey, The Chapel Royal Choir, The London Chamber Orchestra and The Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.

The Choirs will be under the direction of James O'Donnell and The London Chamber Orchestra conducted by its Music Director and Principal Conductor Christopher Warren-Green.

Hundreds of millions of people are expected to tune in and watch the wedding next month, and Decca is predicting the album will score well in digital charts around the world.

No pop acts have yet been announced for the ceremony.

Elton John performed a revised version of his hit "Candle in the Wind" at Diana's funeral, and it went on to become one of the best selling singles of all time.

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

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

British rock stars to play Japan benefit concert

LONDON | Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:53am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British rock stars including Richard Ashcroft, Paul Weller and Liam Gallagher of Oasis fame will play a charity gig next month to raise funds for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.

The benefit concert will be held at the Brixton O2 Academy in south London on April 3, and the lineup includes Beady Eye, the band which Gallagher formed after Oasis broke up, Primal Scream, The Coral and Graham Coxon of Blur.

"With images beamed worldwide as they occurred, the horrific tragedy that beset Japan in recent days has affected everybody," Beady Eye said in a statement on its website.

"In response, a collection of Britain's finest rock musicians have heeded the rallying call and come together to present a very special one-off event.

"Beady Eye -- who still have fond memories of their concert in Sendai as Oasis in 2002 -- are delighted their idea for a benefit gig has come together so quickly and with such fantastic support."

The concert follows Monday's announcement that Universal Music was putting together a digital-only album featuring tracks from some of its leading artists, including Justin Bieber and U2, to raise money for victims of the Japanese disaster.

More than 9,000 people have been confirmed dead after the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami, while more than 13,500 are reported missing.

Tickets to the concert go on sale from Friday morning and can be ordered via www.gigsandtours.com, www.ticketweb.co.uk and www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Steve Addison)