Entertaining Posts

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Michael Jackson doctor says won't testify at trial

LOS ANGELES | Tue Nov 1, 2011 1:54pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's doctor said Tuesday he will not testify in his own defense during his trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the 2009 death of the pop star.

Dr. Conrad Murray was asked by the trial judge whether he wanted to take the witness stand before the defense rested its case in the six-week trial in Los Angeles.

"My decision is that I will not testify in this matter, judge," Murray said in court Tuesday.

Murray's attorneys told the judge they were resting their case Tuesday.

On October 25, attorneys for Murray had told the judge they had no plans for him to testify in his trial.

Murray denies involuntary manslaughter, or gross negligence, in the case and could face up to four years in prison if convicted.

Murray was at Jackson's side when the 50-year-old pop star was found not breathing at his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25, 2009. He was later ruled to have died from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol combined with sedatives.

Murray admits giving Jackson a small dose of propofol as a sleep aid, but his attorneys have sought to convince the jury that the singer somehow gave himself an extra dose of the drug, without Murray's knowledge, and thus killed himself.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Will Dunham)

Monday, October 31, 2011

Kim Kardashian files for divorce

LOS ANGELES | Mon Oct 31, 2011 1:48pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Reality TV star Kim Kardashian filed for divorce on Monday, just 72 days after marrying basketball player Kris Humphries in a lavish wedding.

Kardashian, 31, star of the TV show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians", filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court citing irreconcilable differences, according to court documents.

Ryan Seacrest, executive producer of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," said on his morning radio show that he had spoken to Kardashian and that she had confirmed the split.

"Yes @kimkardashian is filing for divorce this morning. I touched base with her, getting a statement in just a few mins," Seacrest added in a Twitter message.

Kardashian's publicist could not immediately be reached for comment.

The court papers, which were posted on celebrity news website TMZ.com, show Kardashian has asked the court to confirm that jewelry and other personal items, as well as earnings before and during the marriage, be considered separate property. It also notes the couple has a prenuptial agreement.

Kardashian and Humphries married on August 20 in southern California in a wedding reported to have cost $10 million, after dating for about nine months. More than three million U.S. viewers watched a two-part TV special earlier this month called "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian event".

Kardashian is one of the highest-paid reality stars on U.S. television with 2010 earnings estimated at $6 million from her TV show, clothing line, perfume, jewelry and tanning cream and other product endorsements and appearances.

Claims of tension in the marriage have spread across entertainment media for the past week, with reports of 26-year-old New Jersey Nets player Humphries' reluctance to play his role in the Kardashian brand and differences over where the newlyweds should make their home.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Chris Michaud)

Label to release posthumous Amy Winehouse album

LONDON | Mon Oct 31, 2011 8:22am EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Island Records, part of Universal Music, will release a posthumous album of Amy Winehouse's songs on December 5.

"Lioness: Hidden Treasures" will feature 12 tracks including previously unreleased recordings, alternative versions of existing classics and new Winehouse compositions, a statement on her website said on Monday.

The record has been put together by producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, who worked with the British singer before she died in July aged 27.

"It was said by all who worked with Amy that she never sang or played a song the same way twice," the statement read.

"It quickly became apparent to Salaam and Mark that they had a collection of songs that deserved to be heard, a collection of songs that were a fitting testament to Amy the artist and, as importantly, Amy their friend."

Lioness: Hidden Treasures will be Winehouse's third studio album following her 2003 debut "Frank" and multiple Grammy award-winning "Back to Black" released three years later.

The new record includes "Between the Cheats," a new Winehouse composition recorded in 2008 for possible inclusion on a third album, and "A Song For You," described as "heartbreaking and emotional."

It is a new version of the Leon Russell classic also sung by Donny Hathaway, Winehouse's favorite artist.

The recording features Winehouse's voice and her guitar and was made in a single take in London in 2009 as she "battled her demons."

Winehouse, famous for her distinctive voice, "beehive" hairstyle and public battles with addiction, was found dead in her north London home on July 23.

An inquest into her death found she had more than five times the legal driving limit of alcohol in her blood when she died.

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

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Eva Amurri, Susan Sarandon's daughter, marries beau

LOS ANGELES | Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:13pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Eva Amurri, the oldest child of Susan Sarandon, married former soccer pro Kyle Martino on Saturday, People magazine reported.

The couple, engaged since December, tied the knot in Charleston, South Carolina. Sarandon and her former partner Tim Robbins, who helped raise Amurri, hosted the weekend's festivities.

Officiating at the ceremony was Sister Helen Prejean, the nun portrayed by Sarandon in Robbins' 1995 film "Dead Man Walking." Amurri, 26, had a small role in the film, playing her mother's character as a child.

Amurri's film work has included roles in "The Banger Sister," "Saved!" and "The Life Before Her Eyes." Her father is Italian director Franco Amurri. She has two half-brothers, Sarandon's sons with Robbins.

Martino, 30, retired from Major League Soccer in 2008 and is now a soccer commentator. He and Amurri chose historic Charleston for their wedding because his parents live there.

(Reporting by Sheri Linden; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Animated "Puss in Boots" wins weekend box office

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