Case dismissed against Anna Nicole Smith boyfriend

LOS ANGELES | Thu Jan 6, 2011 4:09pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Thursday dropped the criminal charges against the ex-boyfriend of dead model and TV actress Anna Nicole Smith even after he was convicted two months ago of supplying her with drugs before her death.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry dismissed two counts of conspiring to provide prescription drugs against Howard K. Stern, 42, Smith's lawyer and boyfriend at the time of her death in 2007, saying there was "insufficient evidence," despite the fact a jury had convicted him in October.

The judge did say that prosecutors could decide to retry him on the two felony accounts if they desired.

Judge Perry also dismissed three of four charges on which Smith's former psychiatrist, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, was convicted. The judge let stand one count against her of unlawfully obtaining a prescription by using a false name, but he reduced it to a lesser misdemeanor.

The judge dismissed the charges at Thursday's sentencing for the two defendants, saying there was no evidence of a conspiracy and that he believed Smith suffered from chronic pain and needed the drugs.

"This case should never have been brought," Stern's lawyer Steve Sadow said outside the court. "It was a waste of time and a waste of effort. And it impacted people's lives in a horrible way."

Stern called the trial "totally inappropriate" and Eroshevich said she was "grateful" at the outcome.

The two were convicted on October 28 after a lengthy trial in which prosecutors claimed they and another of Smith's doctors conspired to furnish her with drugs during her life. A third defendant, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, was acquitted on all charges.

Smith, a Playboy model and TV star who also was famous for marrying an 89-year-old oil tycoon who was 63 years her senior, died of an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 39.

Stern and the doctors were never charged with her death, but prosecutors tried to paint a picture of physicians who overprescribed medication to a drug addict, and a companion, Stern, who worked with them to keep the actress supplied.

While Stern was convicted of the two charges, the jury acquitted him of seven other counts, and back in September after both sides had rested their cases, Judge Perry slammed prosecutors for an over-aggressive pursuit of the defendants.

Prosecutors had no immediate reaction outside the court on Thursday, but one day earlier, they signaled that Stern and Eroshevich would escape prison when they recommended to Judge Perry that both should receive probation.

(Reporting and Writing by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Greg McCune)

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"Twilight" and Katy Perry among People's Choice winners

LOS ANGELES | Thu Jan 6, 2011 1:03am EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Twilight" again stole the limelight at the People's Choice awards on Wednesday, on a night that also saw big wins for singer Katy Perry and actor Johnny Depp at the start of the Hollywood awards season.

Organizers said a record 175 million votes were cast on social media and on the Internet for the favorite stars of television, movies and music in an awards show that is totally fan-driven.

Despite being the earliest of Hollywood's glittering awards shows, the People's Choice picks gave few clues this year to the likely winners of industry-voted honors such as the Oscars or the Screen Actors Guild honors.

"The Twilight Saga; Eclipse" the third installment of the popular vampire romance, won for favorite movie and favorite drama. "Twilight" star Kristen Stewart beat veterans like Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts to take the favorite movie actress trophy .

"I can't believe this. You guys are unreal! For movie number 3 already?" said "Twilight" actor Taylor Lautner, accepting the trophies. "Twilight" and its cast are not expected to be among Oscar nominees when they are announced on Jan 25.

"Alice in Wonderland" star Johnny Depp took home the favorite movie actor trophy for the second year running.

Television honors went to musical comedy "Glee" and its scheming cheerleader played by Jane Lynch, while medical drama "House" picked up trophies for best drama and best actress for Lisa Edelstein.

The remake of "Hawaii Five-O" and the Twitter inspired comedy "$#*! (Bleep) My Dad Says" won for favorite new TV shows.

Katy Perry, whose infectious pop hits "California Gurls" and "Teenage Dream" dominated the charts last year, picked up trophies for favorite female artist and favorite web celebrity, beating the flamboyant Lady Gaga. "I've had an incredible year!," she told the audience.

Taylor Swift, whose "Speak Now" album was one of the biggest sellers of 2010, won best country artist. Swift's award was presented by singer Sir Elton John, a new parent with his partner David Furnish. "Elton! Congrats to you! You're a dad now," Swift told him, before thanking her own fans.

More than 44 awards were given out including one for best talk show host to comedian Conan O'Brien. O'Brien started 2010 by being forced out of his job on "The Tonight Show" and ended it by launching his own show on cable channel TBS.

"I want to thank everyone who made what could have been a horrible year into the best year of my life," O'Brien said.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)

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Horrified Michael Jackson children saw father motionless

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Wed Jan 5, 2011 9:37pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters)- Two of Michael Jackson's children watched horrified as the pop star lay motionless on his bed the day he died, a bodyguard for the pop star said in emotional testimony on Wednesday.

"Paris (Jackson) screamed 'Daddy' and she started crying, and Dr. Murray said, 'Get them out, don't let them see their father like this,'" Alberto Alvarez told a Los Angeles court.

Alvarez was testifying on the second day of a preliminary hearing that will decide if Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal doctor, should stand trial for involuntary manslaughter.

The court also heard that Jackson appeared dead when paramedics arrived, and that Murray made no mention to first responders that the singer had used the powerful anesthetic propofol.

Alvarez said he was alerted by phone on June 25, 2009, that something was wrong with Jackson He entered the pop star's room and saw Murray at the bedside. The doctor told him they needed to get an ambulance, Alvarez said.

The security guard said he was reaching for his cell phone, when he saw that Jackson's eldest two children, Prince and Paris, who were then 12 and 11, had walked into the room.

"I turned to the children and I told them, 'Don't worry children, we'll take care of it, please go outside.' And I escorted them out of the bedroom," Alvarez said.

Alvarez said Murray told him Jackson had "a bad reaction," and ordered him to bag up medical vials and an intravenous pouch before calling paramedics.

"He (Murray) then grabbed a handful of bottles or vials and instructed me to put them in a bag," Alvarez said.

Prosecutors are seeking to establish that Murray was negligent in his treatment of the "Thriller" singer and tried to cover up his errors. Murray had been hired to care for Jackson before his planned comeback concerts in London.

Murray has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter but has admitted giving the 50-year-old singer a dose of propofol as a sleep aid, at Jackson's request.

Coroners officials say the "King of Pop" died of a drug overdose, due mainly to acute intoxication of propofol.

Murray's attorney, Ed Chernoff, suggested to Alvarez on Wednesday that Murray could have intended to bring the medication to the hospital, or set it aside to make room for the paramedics.

Alvarez said Murray told him to take away an intravenous bag that had "a milky substance" inside, and put it with the other bottles in a plastic bag that was placed inside a canvas carrying case. He said he did not know where the bags went.

Members of Jackson's family, including sisters Janet and La Toya, mother Katherine and father Joe, watched the testimony on Wednesday.

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Beatles being paid directly by iTunes in deal

By Ed Christman

Wed Jan 5, 2011 9:26pm EST

NEW YORK (Billboard) - It seems that the EMI/Beatles deal that finally brought the Fab Four's catalog to iTunes may be more groundbreaking than originally thought.

According to industry sources, iTunes is paying the Beatles' royalties from digital download sales in the United States directly to the band's company, Apple Corps, and is paying the songwriting mechanical royalties directly to Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which controls most of the Beatles' song catalog.

That suggests the royalty split could be more lucrative for the Beatles than it would be under the typical provisions of a standard artist contract, which treat digital downloads as a retail sale.

Under a standard contract, a label issues an album, licenses the songs from music publishers, collects all wholesale revenue from the retailers and then distributes royalties to the artist and the publisher.

For superstar artists, the royalty typically equals about 20%-25% of retail revenue. So in the case of iTunes' Beatles sales, where tracks are sold to the merchant for about 90 cents and are retailed for $1.29, a standard contract with a typical superstar royalty rate of 20%-25% would pay the Beatles about 18 cents to 22.5 cents per track sale.

But because iTunes is making royalty payments to the Beatles and Sony/ATV, EMI may be treating its deal with the digital retailer as a licensing pact.

Under such deals, the licensee pays mechanical royalties directly to a publisher and revenue from use of a master recording is split evenly between an artist and a label, making it far more lucrative for the artist than a standard artist contract.

An EMI spokesman declined to comment, as did Sony/ATV and representatives at Apple Corps and iTunes. And a high-placed source familiar with the deal insists that it's "absolutely incorrect" that the agreement between EMI and Apple Corps is a licensing deal.

However one describes the EMI-iTunes deal for the Beatles' catalog, its similarities to a licensing pact put it at the center of a heated debate over the nature of download sales.

Since the dawn of the digital age, artists, managers and labels have wrangled over whether a digital download purchase should be considered a licensed use of a master recording or a retail sale, much like the sale of a CD. Labels, of course, insist the latter designation is correct and have paid artist royalties accordingly.

But some recording acts, like Cheap Trick and the Allman Brothers, have taken their labels to court claiming that sales of their downloads should be treated as licensing deals. While Cheap Trick ultimately settled with Sony, the Allman Brothers case is still ongoing.

In another closely watched case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in September voided a jury's decision on the royalty split issue that was favorable to Universal Music Group and against F.B.T., the music company that Eminem was originally signed to before Universal picked up his contract.

F.B.T. maintains that a digital download represents a licensing deal, which requires the higher royalty split. With the case sent back to the original court, UMG has filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the lower court's decision.

In addition to a potentially much more lucrative royalty rate, iTunes' direct payment of U.S. royalties to the Beatles and Sony/ATV would give the band greater accounting transparency over their iTunes sales than they would if EMI distributed the royalties.

Other label/superstar contract negotiations have resulted in far costlier give-backs -- for example, acts like AC/DC and Garth Brooks negotiated the return of their master rights.

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Co-host of Roger Ebert's new movie show speaks out

By Bryan Alexander

Wed Jan 5, 2011 9:14pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Ignatiy Vishnevetsky raised a lot of eyebrows when he was announced as the new host of "Ebert Presents At the Movies."

But the 24-year-old critic for the film website Mubi and the Chicago Reader says he is not daunted by the prospect of filling the massive shoes left by the man who hired him for the spot -- former host Roger Ebert.

"You have to be the best you that you can possibly be," Vishnevetsky tells The Hollywood Reporter. "There is a legacy here. But the best way to honor that legacy is not to be Roger Ebert or Gene Siskel."

Already comparisons are being drawn between the Moscow-born Vishnevetsky and former host Siskel, who died of cancer in 1999.

"Everyone has been characterizing me as this cold analytical egghead guy," says Vishnevetsky "But I'm a man of extreme passion."

Besides, he adds, "I lean more toward Ebert who I liked more as a critic."

Vishnevetsky replaces radio critic Elvis Mitchell and will host along with 38-year-old Christy Lemire, film critic for the Associated Press. Ebert will contribute a weekly segment using a computer-generated voice.

"I know it's a big deal," Vishnevetsky says. "But when someone gives you this type of opportunity it makes you want to work a lot harder."

While Vishnevetsky promises to "continue the tradition" of onscreen squabbles started with Siskel and Ebert, he says he gets along famously with his new co-host.

"It helps we get along well because otherwise it would be just endless, endless clashes," Vishnevetsky says.

Meanwhile Vishnevetsky insists he will not be held back by his tricky last name. Roger Ebert's press release announcing the appointment even came with a phonetic guide ("Ig.nah.tee Vish.na.vet.ski").

"It's spelled exactly as it's pronounced," Vishnevetsky says. "And even if someone misspells the name, they remember it."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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