Entertaining Posts

Monday, June 6, 2011

"Lonely Boy" singer Andrew Gold dead at 59

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jun 6, 2011 4:47pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Versatile singer/songwriter Andrew Gold, who enjoyed chart success in the 1970s with the songs "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You For Being a Friend," died in his sleep. He was 59.

The Los Angeles Times said he died at his home on Friday. He had been undergoing cancer treatment but was responding well to treatment.

Gold, the son of Oscar-winning composer Ernest Gold and singer Marni Nixon, got his break in 1973 when he joined Linda Ronstadt's band. He played a key role on such tunes as "You're No Good" and "When Will I Be Loved?"

He launched a parallel solo career in 1975 with a self-titled album on which he played most of the instruments. The track "Endless Flight" was later covered by Leo Sayer.

The following year he went to No. 7 on the U.S. singles chart with "Lonely Boy," a tune from his follow-up album "What's Wrong With This Picture?" Gold recorded the album while working on Ronstadt's "Hasten Down the Wind," with the artists sharing the same band.

With an opening line that went "He was born on a summer's day 1951," the resentful song about an elder son overshadowed by his baby sister seemed to mirror milestones in his own life, although Gold denied any autobiographical similarities.

His third album and personal favorite, 1978's "All This and Heaven Too," yielded the top-40 hit "Thank You For Being a Friend," a decidedly more optimistic tune. A cover version became the theme song for the 1980s sitcom "Golden Girls."

Another tune, "Never Let Her Slip Away," was a U.K. hit. Members of the Eagles were present during the session, and Gold later noted -- without rancor -- that they borrowed the song's opening for their hit "Heartache Tonight."

Gold continued recording, and teamed up in 1983 with British singer Graham Gouldman of 10cc to record three albums. He went on to work with artists such as Wynonna Judd, Vince Gill, Aaron Neville, and Celine Dion. In the 1990s he recorded the theme song for the sitcom "Mad About You." His last release was the 2008 covers set "Copy Cat," dominated by Beatles songs.

He is survived by his mother, wife and three daughters from his first marriage.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Katie Couric signs deal with ABC for daytime show

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Fox confirms Cheryl Cole out of U.S. "X Factor" show

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jun 6, 2011 12:12pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British singer Cheryl Cole has been dropped as a judge on the upcoming U.S. version of Simon Cowell's talent contest "The X Factor", broadcaster Fox and Cowell's production company said on Monday.

The official announcement ended almost two weeks of rumor and speculation about problems with the line-up of the much-anticipated TV show, due to debut in the fall of 2011.

Cole, who had been Cowell's personal choice for the panel, will be replaced by PussyCat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, who was previously announced as the co-host of the show.

Monday's brief statement by Fox and Syco, was the first official comment on reports that Cole had been replaced following the filming of two audition episodes of "The X Factor" last month.

The statement gave no reasons for the change and did not address how producers would handle the sessions already shot with Cole on the judge's panel.

Cole, a singer with the group Girls Aloud, is a household name in Britain but unknown in the United States. Media reports have said she was dropped because of fears that U.S. viewers would have difficulty understanding her strong Northern English accent.

Reports from Britain over the weekend had said that Cowell was fighting to keep Cole on the show.

"The X Factor" is the highlight of Fox television's upcoming fall television schedule.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

'Twilight' sequel shines brightest at MTV awards

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES | Sun Jun 5, 2011 11:32pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The MTV Movie Awards are turning into a free infomercial for the "Twilight" movie franchise.

For the third year in a row, the vampire romance was named best movie at the light-hearted -- and frequently X-rated -- salute to Hollywood's biggest crowd-pleasers.

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," which led the field with eight nominations, ended up with five awards. In a replay from last year Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart won for best male and female performance, respectively

The real-life couple won the award for best kiss, which Pattinson celebrated by running into the audience to smooch his co-star Taylor Lautner. Pattinson won an additional prize for best fight -- sharing the tub of gold popcorn with Bryce Dallas Howard and Xavier Samuel.

With categories such as those, nobody would ever confuse the MTV event with the self-congratulatory Academy Awards. The real point of the show is to promote upcoming buzzworthy movies targeted at MTV's youthful demographic.

Indeed a sneak preview screened of the fourth "Twilight film, "Breaking Dawn, Part 1," which opens November 18. Other exclusive clips were shown of the supernatural thriller "Super 8," which opens Friday, and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2," which opens July 15.

The awards are determined by fans' online votes, which probably accounts for Justin Bieber's win in the best jaw dropping moment category for his 3D concert film "Never Say Never." The Canadian teen idol beat seemingly edgier scenes from such films as "Black Swan" and "127 Hours."

The producers of "The Social Network" probably will not lose too much sleep wondering why Aaron Sorkin's Oscar-winning script lost the best line from a movie category to the critical bomb "Grown Ups." The winning quote, "I want to get chocolate wasted," was uttered by child actress Alexys Nycole Sanchez.

Ribald humor was the order of the night, thanks largely to host Jason Sudeikis. The "Saturday Night Live" comic directed a joke about oral sex to a mortified Selena Gomez, Bieber's 18-year-old girlfriend.

He also referenced the alleged nude photos circulating online of presenter Blake Lively when he introduced "what I believe is the real Blake Lively, but she won't confirm it."

The "Gossip Girls" actress, who has denied the self-portraits are of her, came backstage to pose for photos, but refused to answer any questions.

Other nonfamily-friendly moments saw Justin Timberlake grabbing Mila Kunis' breasts. She reciprocated by grabbing his crotch. The daredevil stars of "Jackass" made homoerotic references to Donald Trump, and footage screened of dogs engaging in sex.

(Editing by Vicki Allen)

New "X-Men" tops class at North America box office

LOS ANGELES | Sun Jun 5, 2011 11:07am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The fifth movie in the "X-Men" series took the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office in North America after selling about $56 million worth of tickets, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday.

The opening for "X-Men: First Class" was in line with the studio's relatively modest expectations but paled against most of the other films in the Marvel comic book franchise. The previous one opened to $85 million two years ago.

Sales data was not immediately available from the film's foreign showings in 75 countries.

"X-Men: First Class," which reportedly cost about $160 million to make before tax credits, is a prequel dealing with the formative years of the characters who go on form the "X-Men" stable of mutant superheroes.

Instead of hiring A-list talent, Fox went with critically acclaimed British director Matthew Vaughn ("Kick-Ass") and actors James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.

McAvoy and Fassbender play the lead roles originated by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in 2000's "X-Men" and two sequels. A 2009 spinoff, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," starred Hugh Jackman in the title role. Jackman has a cameo in the new film.

Critics and fans gave the new film the thumbs up and the solid start at the box office virtually guarantees more "X-Men" movies down the road.

"X-Men: First Class" also stars recent Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence, "Mad Men" actress January Jones and Kevin Bacon. Fox is a unit of News Corp. Marvel is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

Last weekend's champion, "The Hangover: Part II," slipped to No. 2 with $32.4 million, taking its 10-day total to $186.9 million. The raunchy comedy is well ahead of the pace of its 2009 predecessor, which earned $105 million at the same time and ended up with $277 million.

The films were released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by John O'Callaghan)