Entertaining Posts

Friday, September 30, 2011

Art auction will benefit Elton John's AIDS charity

NEW YORK | Fri Sep 30, 2011 1:45pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Works by Jeff Koons, Keith Haring and four other artists are expected to raise more than $1 million for Elton John's AIDS Foundation (EJAF) when they are sold at auction in November, Sotheby's said Friday.

Artists including Jim Hodges, Howard Hodgkin and Tracey Emin will also be represented in the November 10 sale of contemporary art during Sotheby's fall auctions.

"All of us at EJAF are tremendously grateful to Sotheby's and to all of the amazing artists who have so generously contributed truly special pieces," John said in a statement.

Artist Cecily Brown donated "Don't Bring Me Down," an oil on linen that is expected to fetch as much as $600,000.

The Keith Haring foundation contributed an untitled work from 1981 depicting three bare-chested men in the trademark graffiti style of the late pop artist, who died of AIDS in 1990 at 31.

Koons' silkscreen "Monkey Train" is estimated to sell for $40,000 to $60,000, Sotheby's said.

"The works on offer ... have been donated directly from an enticing mix of today's leading contemporary artists," said Tobias Meyer, the auction house's worldwide director of contemporary art.

"Their connection to EJAF is certain to appeal to a wide range of today's collectors and philanthropists," he added.

An art auction featuring works by Koons, Jasper Johns and Chuck Close for relief efforts in Haiti raised nearly $14 million earlier this month, setting records for four artists and exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $10 million.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Witnesses describe chaotic scene at Jackson home

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:03pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former bodyguard for Michael Jackson testified on Thursday that the pop star's doctor asked him to grab vials of medicine and an IV bag before an ambulance was called for Jackson the day he died.

Witnesses on the third day of the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray over Jackson's 2009 death described a chaotic scene at the singer's mansion that day, and attorneys for the physician challenged their recollections.

Prosecutors say Murray, who has admitted to giving Jackson the powerful anesthetic propofol that morning as a sleep aid, had discovered Jackson was not breathing at around 11:56 a.m.

Jackson's personal chef described Murray running frantically down the stairs at the singer's Los Angeles mansion between 12:05 p.m. and 12:10 p.m. on June 25, 2009.

"His energy was very nervous and frantic and he was shouting, 'Get help, get security, get (Jackson's then 12 year-old son) Prince'," chef Kai Chase testified.

Bodyguard Alberto Alvarez was one of the first members of the household to arrive in Jackson's bedroom.

"While I was standing at the foot of the bed, he (Murray) reached over and grabbed a handful of vials and then he said 'Here put them in a bag'," Alvarez testified.

Alvarez said Murray then pointed toward an IV stand by Jackson's bed and told him to grab one of the saline bags hanging there and take it away.

The bag had "what appeared to me like a milky white substance. I recall seeing it at the bottom of the (saline) bag," Alvarez said.

MILKY SUBSTANCE

Prosecutors say the milky substance was propofol, which authorities deemed to be the main cause of Jackson's death.

Prosecutors have suggested Murray was trying to cover up evidence of the drugs he had given Jackson by having them bagged up, and not immediately calling for an ambulance.

But Murray's defense attorney, Ed Chernoff, questioned Alvarez's memory of that day.

"Can you think of any reasons why Dr. Murray would conspire with you to hide evidence," Chernoff asked Alvarez, after the guard had admitted that he did not know Murray well.

Alvarez did not get a chance to answer because prosecutors objected and the judge squashed the inquiry.

Chernoff also grilled Alvarez about how, according to his testimony, he could have found the time within a minute or less of walking into Jackson's bedroom to usher the children out the door, bag up the drugs and take down an IV bag, before calling for an ambulance at 12:20 p.m.

"I'm very efficient, sir," Alvarez said, to chuckles in the courtroom.

Asked why he complied with Murray's request to remove the bag and vials of medicine, Alvarez told the court, "I thought we were packing to get him ready to go to the hospital."

Chase, the chef, was grilled by defense attorneys about why, when Murray asked her to get help, she first went to get Jackson's son Prince.

"I want to ask you why you did not get security?" said attorney J. Michael Flanagan.

"Because at the time what I saw was a human being (Prince) in front of me and that was the best choice I could make," Chase said.

Murray's defense team has argued that Jackson gave himself sedatives and extra propofol when the doctor was out of the room, and the additional dose killed him.

Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Philip Barbara)

Elton John brings "million dollar piano" to Vegas

By Cynthia Johnston

LAS VEGAS | Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:13pm EDT

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Singer Elton John opened his new Las Vegas act at Caesars Palace on Wednesday, tickling the ivories on his new "million dollar piano" nicknamed Blossom that lit up to reflect the mood of each song.

"The Million Dollar Piano" show marks the beginning John's three-year residency at Caesar's theater, The Colosseum, and Wednesday's performance was the first of 16 shows scheduled through October. A second series begins in February.

Long-known for his flamboyant costumes, John walked onto a Roman-inspired golden stage in a glittering silver cape, removed to reveal a glimmering black coat and golden shoes before sitting down to play on a custom piano covered with more than 68 LED screens.

"It's great to be back here at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace," he told the crowd, joking that in the 2-1/2 years since he last performed on the stage, both he and singer Celine Dion who also played there had children. "Miracles happen here, I tell you."

He played favorites including "Your Song," "Rocket Man," "Bennie and The Jets" and "Circle of Life" to a welcoming crowd that responded with standing ovations to nearly every song.

"It was just a warm feeling. You feel him, his presence," said audience member Robert Kang, of Washington D.C.

John, who said the idea for the show was born just four months ago, was accompanied by band members Davey Johnstone on guitar, Bob Birch on bass, John Mahon on percussion, Nigel Olsson on drums with a special appearance by percussionist Ray Cooper.

But major star of the show -- other than John -- was his piano, which he named Blossom after jazz singer Blossom Dearie, that lit up with color and imagery to reflect the mood of each song, showing glimmering blue dots for a rendition of "I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues".

John joked that the piano, which weighs nearly 3,200 pounds and was close to four years in the making, was so capable it even contained an aquarium as the piano lit up with a seascape.

"I think Blossom is pretty good, don't you?" he said.

The 64-year-old British singer was a child piano prodigy who rose from a part-time pub player to become one of the most successful recording artists of all time. He previously completed a 5-year residency at the Colosseum in 2009 with "The Red Piano", which ran for 241 shows.

His spokesman said last week that John was in talks to make a film about his life, responding to media reports about a planned biopic called "Rocketman". The singer/songwriter has sold an estimated 250 million records and won an Oscar and several Grammys.

Newspapers and websites have reported that "Rocketman" would be produced by John's partner David Furnish and Steve Hamilton Shaw and executive produced by the singer himself.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Frantic calls, crying kids at scene of Jackson death

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:29pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Witnesses on day two of the Michael Jackson death trial told of a panic-stricken doctor and the pop star's children crying in disbelief with their father lying unresponsive on his bedroom floor, mouth agape and eyes wide open.

Faheem Muhammad, the ex-chief of Jackson's security team, testified on Wednesday that Jackson's oldest children reacted in horror when they saw their father's lifeless body.

Another witness said Dr. Conrad Murray, who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death, telephoned the singer's assistant before calling an ambulance and may have sought to hide evidence of drug use.

Prosecutors claim Murray not only caused Jackson's death by giving him the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid, along with other sedatives but that the physician also was negligent in his care of the "Thriller" singer and failed to get timely medical assistance.

Murray admitted giving Jackson propofol -- the principal cause of his death -- but his defense attorneys claim Jackson administered more propofol to himself, leading to an overdose. Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Wednesday's most dramatic testimony came from Muhammad, who told of a panicked call from Murray that brought the security chief rushing to the singer's bedroom. There he saw Murray and another guard already in the room and Jackson's oldest children, Prince and Paris, taking in the frantic scene.

"Paris was on the ground balled-up crying and Prince, he was just standing there, he had a real shocked -- just slowly crying -- look on his face," Muhammad said.

Muhammad said that, around the same time, Murray asked himself and the other guard, "Does anybody know CPR?" Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is the common procedure to restart a heart in a person who has suffered cardiac arrest.

TIMELINE FOR HELP

In other testimony, prosecutors sought to draw a timeline between when Murray found Jackson unresponsive at 11:56 a.m. (2:56 p.m. EDT/1856 GMT) on June 25, 2009, and when the doctor finally sought help.

Initially, Murray called the singer's personal assistant, Michael Williams, at 12:13 p.m./1613 GMT with the message "Call me right away," rather than calling for an ambulance.

Williams testified that he called Murray back at 12:15 p.m., and was told Jackson had suffered "a bad reaction."

"When I hear a 'bad reaction,' I wouldn't think anything fatal, personally, and I wasn't asked to call 911," Williams said. He said Murray told him to get to Jackson's mansion immediately.

An ambulance was finally called at 12:20 p.m. and it was already there when Williams arrived at the Jackson mansion.

"It was real frantic. I got there when the gurney (carrying Jackson) was coming down" from the bedroom, Williams said.

The assistant said that at the hospital where Jackson was later pronounced dead, Murray made a request that seemed strange. "He said, 'There's some cream in Michael's room that he wouldn't want the world to know about,' and he requested that I or someone would give him a ride back to the house, so that he could get the cream," said Williams.

Prosecutors have suggested Murray probably wanted to return there to remove evidence of the drugs that he had given Jackson before he died.

Earlier on Wednesday, a lawyer who drafted Murray's contract to provide medical services for Jackson said the doctor had assured her multiple times in the days before his death that the singer's health was good.

"Dr. Murray told me repeatedly that Michael Jackson was perfectly healthy, in excellent condition," Los Angeles attorney Kathy Jorrie said on the witness stand.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant, Bob Tourtellotte )

Scarlett Johansson says privacy invasion is unjust, wrong

Wed Sep 28, 2011 12:50pm EDT

(Reuters) - Actress Scarlett Johansson on Wednesday spoke out for the first time since leaked nude photos of her appeared on several websites, saying that being a celebrity does not give others the right to invade her privacy.

Earlier this month, the "Iron Man 2" star joined the growing list of Hollywood celebrities, including "High School Musical" actress Vanessa Hudgens and "Friends With Benefits" star Mila Kunis, who have had private photos leaked online at the hands of hackers.

In an interview with CNN, Johansson said celebrities are no different than anyone else when it comes to the right of privacy.

"Just because you're an actor or make films or whatever doesn't mean you're not entitled to your own personal privacy ... if that is sieged in some way, it feels unjust. It feels wrong," said Johansson.

The actress said life in the spotlight -- and in this case, asserting herself in instances where her privacy has been invaded -- can be a struggle.

"It's an adjustment, but I think there are certain instances where you give a lot of yourself and finally you have to kind of put your foot down and say, 'Oh wait, I'm taking it back.'"

Within hours of the photos appearing online on September 15, Johansson's lawyer fired off cease and desist letters to multiple websites. The photos have been taken down by most outlets.