Entertaining Posts

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Tearful Jolie gets Sarajevo film festival award

SARAJEVO | Sat Jul 30, 2011 6:01pm EDT

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was close to tears as she received a special award during an unannounced visit to Sarajevo's film festival Saturday with partner Brad Pitt.

"I will start crying if you don't stop," Oscar-awarded Jolie told the audience who gave her a standing ovation at the city's National Theater.

Jolie chose Bosnia's 1992-95 war as the setting for her first film as a director. "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is due to be released in December.

She has also visited Bosnia as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N.'s refugee agency UNHCR and funded the construction of several houses for returnees in eastern Bosnia.

Festival director Mirsad Purivatra presented Jolie with a heart-shaped award when she appeared at the closing ceremony.

"Tonight we are giving the honorary Heart of Sarajevo to a great artist, not only for the great impact she has in the world of cinema but also for persisting and her active engagement in the complexities of the real world we live in," Purivatra said.

Jolie, dressed in a long peach dress, stood on stage with eyes full of tears waiting for the clapping to die down.

"I told Brad in the car I was afraid I was going to cry," she said, her voice breaking.

Jolie's film tells the story of a love affair between a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) woman and a Serb, who were on opposite warring sides during the conflict.

She planned to shoot parts of the film in Sarajevo and engaged a local crew. But she had to move to Budapest after some female victims of sexual violence objected to details in the plot and Bosnian authorities canceled a filming permit.

"I am so honored to be here at this festival," Jolie said after receiving the award. "There is no greater example of the strengths of the artists and the festival that began during the war and grew stronger every year."

The Sarajevo film festival was launched toward the end of the Bosnian capital's 43-month siege by Bosnian Serb forces.

Jolie presented Austrian actor Thomas Schubert with the award for the best actor for his role in the film "Atmen," directed by Karl Markovics.

Atmen, about a young offender searching for his mother, was also named best film in the festival.

Romanian actress Ada Condeascu won the prize for best actress for her role in the film "Loverboy."

(Editing by Andrew Heavens)

UK queen's granddaughter Zara weds in Scotland

By Ian MacKenzie

EDINBURGH | Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:21pm EDT

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zara Phillips married fellow athlete Mike Tindall on Saturday in a private ceremony in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

Prince William and wife Kate, who tied the knot in April in a public display of royal pomp and pageantry, and the British monarch herself were among the guests in the Canongate Kirk, where the Queen worships when staying in Edinburgh.

A few hundred fans waving Union Jack flags lined the street leading up to the church as guests sporting hats and kilts arrived for Britain's second royal wedding of the year.

After the ceremony, traditional Scottish bagpipe music was played as the newlyweds, the bride wearing an ivory floor-length dress and a full-length veil, emerged from the church to loud cheers from the crowd outside.

Phillips, 30, was considered something of a "royal rebel" when she was younger, having her tongue pierced as a teenager.

But the daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Mark Phillips has followed in her mother's footsteps to enjoy a successful horse-riding career.

In 2006 she won an individual gold on her horse Toytown at the World Equestrian Games in Germany, helped Britain win a team silver and was voted BBC sports personality of the year.

Tindall, a well-known rugby player Tindall, 32, was part of the England team that beat Australia to win the World Cup in 2003. The couple met during that tournament.

Their wedding was due to be followed by a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland.

Several thousand fans gathered outside the church and the palace hoping to catch a glimpse of royalty, police estimated.

However, the low-key festivities took many in Edinburgh by surprise. "Who's getting married?" asked Alberto Alvarez, 38, who has come from Spain for a holiday.

"I am very happy for them anyway," he added.

(Writing by Olesya Dmitracova; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Friday, July 29, 2011

Hugh Hefner and runaway bride patch things up

LOS ANGELES | Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:35pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hugh Hefner and Playmate Crystal Harris, his former fiance, have patched things up in no time flat.

Harris has apologized for saying this week on shock jock Howard Stern's radio show that sex with the 85 year-old Playboy founder lasted "like about two seconds," and that she never saw him naked.

"The Stern interview scared me, he's harsh," Harris, 25, said in a Twitter post on Thursday evening. "I was unprepared and blurted out things I shouldn't have said, I'm sorry."

The magazine mogul, who had previously accused Harris of lying about their relationship, welcomed his former lover's mea culpa in his own tweet that followed shortly about hers.

"Crystal apologized for her Howard Stern interview, which I appreciated," Hefner tweeted. "It didn't have much to do with reality."

Harris was Playboy magazine's Miss December 2009 and was engaged to Hefner a year later, but left him and the Playboy mansion five days before their planned wedding on June 18 of this year.

Hefner, who has cycled through a number of women in recent years, has since moved on to live-in girlfriends Anna Sophia Berglund and Shera Bechard, who also have appeared in his magazine.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

"Humble" foam pie protester admits Murdoch assault

LONDON | Fri Jul 29, 2011 5:01pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - A British protester who threw a plate of foam at Rupert Murdoch during a parliamentary hearing into the phone-hacking scandal pleaded guilty in court to assault Friday and quipped: "this has been the most humble day of my life."

Jonathan May-Bowles, a comedian who uses the name Jonnie Marbles, was borrowing the phrase famously used by Murdoch when he appeared before a panel of lawmakers earlier this month.

Speaking to a crowd of reporters and photographers outside court in London, May-Bowles raised a laugh when he said: "I would just like to say this has been the most humble day of my life."

The 26-year-old, from Windsor, west of London, hurled the "foam pie" at Murdoch's face toward the end of a meeting of the British parliament's influential Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

The 80-year-old's third wife, Wendi Deng, who was sitting behind the media mogul, immediately jumped up and appeared to hit the attacker. The parliamentary hearing was adjourned for 15 minutes and the room was cleared. Murdoch returned to finish giving his evidence, without his foam-spattered jacket.

May-Bowles, wearing an open-necked casual checked shirt, pleaded guilty to assault and causing harassment, alarm or distress. He will be sentenced on August 2.

(Reporting Peter Griffiths; Editing by Steve Addison)

Jill Scott still in shock over No. 1 "Light of the Sun"

By Sabrina Ford

NEW YORK | Fri Jul 29, 2011 2:19pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Six weeks have passed since R&B singer Jill Scott hit No. 1 on album charts with "The Light of the Sun," and she still finds herself in shock.

That may sound odd from the Philadelphia native whose debut album, "Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1" was released 11 years ago. Since then, she has recorded more music and become a well-respected actress with roles in films such as "Hounddog" and "Why Did I Get Married," as well as starring in HBO television series "Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency."

But for "Light of the Sun," Scott took a new path in her singing career. She veered into hip hop, and the road that heretofore was less chosen, proved to be a good direction. Scott kicked off her 18-city Summer Block Party tour this week in Boston and stopped in New York on Thursday night.

"I (still) don't believe it...I have a copy (of the Billboard album chart), but I still don't believe it," Scott told Reuters about her success with "Light of the Sun."

"Somebody sent me a text message, 'Congratulations on the No. 1 album,' and I thought they were talking about the R&B chart. I was really happy about that. Then I found out it was the No.1 album in the country. It's overwhelming," said Scott.

"Light of the Sun" marks other significant milestones for Scott. The record was her first project since a split from Hidden Beach Recordings last year, and it is the inaugural project for her Blues Babe imprint in collaboration with Warner Bros. Records.

On the new album, the classic rap songs she listened to growing up and the current hits she keeps in rotation today heavily influenced Scott, she said, whose musical style has typically been a fusion of soul, jazz and R&B.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

One of her personal favorites on the new album, "All Cried Out Redux" features Doug E. Fresh, who was a pioneer in rap music and among Scott's early favorites in the genre.

"As a child of hip-hop, having recording anything with Doug E. Fresh is just surreal," said Scott.

Houston rapper Paul Wall, whom Scott calls one of the "nicest guys in hip-hop," joins her on "So Gone (What My Mind Says)" representing the voice of a mesmerizing, but less than chivalrous, lover she can't seem to shake.

How did the transformation to hip hop come about?

Last year, Scott was on a neosoul tour opening for singer Maxwell, singing the songs with which her fans were familiar, such as "Lyzel in E Flat" and "The Way." But Scott said her head, and heart, were in hip-hop.

"I started thinking about what kind of music I needed to hear before I went on stage. I think that was the catalyst. I need to hear Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross and Mobb Deep," she said.

Hip-hop not only influenced the sound of this album but also Scott's recording style, approaching the music from the position of wanting to freestyle the beats, rhythms and lyrics.

"I went in and had fun. I didn't really write much. Some of the songs were recorded in one take. I freestyled pretty much the entire record," Scott said, echoing respected lyricists such as Jay-Z, who famously does not write down his lyrics.

"So Gone," for instance, was almost entirely improvised, Scott said.

In keeping with the old school theme of her album, Scott's Block Party tour is deejayed by acclaimed producer, master of turntables and fellow Philadelphian, DJ Jazzy Jeff.

The tour also reunites Scott with Doug E. Fresh. Vocalist Anthony Hamilton and R&B band Mint Condition open the show.

The tour next visits Detroit and has further stops in Chicago and Cleveland before ending on August 28 in Houston.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)