Iran drama wins top award at Berlin film festival

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Lady Gaga breaks iTunes records, says on "drunk diet"

LOS ANGELES | Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:47pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" has become the fastest-selling single ever on Apple's iTunes store worldwide, racking up more than one million downloads in five days, Apple said on Friday.

Apple said the song -- a Madonna-influenced dance track that the 24 year-old singer performed after "hatching" from a giant egg at the Grammy Awards -- had hit the No. 1 spot on iTunes in 23 countries.

"Born This Way", the title track of a new album to be released in May, also went straight to the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles charts earlier this week.

The flamboyant performance artist also revealed her secret for staying so thin, and how she gets her creative juices flowing.

"I am on the drunk diet," she told Sirius XM radio on Friday.

"I live my life as I want to, creatively. I like to drink whiskey and stuff while I am working. But the deal is I've got to work out every day, and I work out hung over if I am hung over. And it's about the cross-training and keeping yourself inspired. I have to say, I do a ton of yoga," she added.

The singer said in a television interview last weekend that she also smoked marijuana while writing her songs.

After headline-grabbing outfits, live performance stunts and a best-selling tour, Lady Gaga may be turning her thoughts to a possible new career -- in movies.

Asked if she saw herself becoming an actress, she told Sirius XM ; "I think at some point, yes. I think I'm sort of destined for that screen at some point."

But if there was a movie of her life, Lady Gaga said she would like to be played by Marisa Tomei -- the Oscar-winning actress from "My Cousin Vinny".

"I am such a Marisa Tomei fan. All my friends call me Marisa when I get angry. Because my New York accent just flies out of my body and I start smacking my gum," she said.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)

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Paparazzi lie in wait for prince's bride-to-be

By Michael Holden

LONDON | Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:44am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - When Kate Middleton said "yes" to Prince William's marriage proposal, she was not just agreeing to become the wife of a future British king.

She was also signing up to massive media intrusion in her private life and years of intense attention from paparazzi photographers.

The question she and her future husband will now be pondering is whether that attention can be managed or if they will suffer from the same insatiable press frenzy that ultimately led to the death of William's mother, Princess Diana.

"There's huge interest. William has become the star of the royal family that his mother was and Kate's an attractive girl, so from a paparazzi point of view she potentially means a lot of money," said Max Clifford, Britain's best-known publicist.

"And these days the paparazzi are anyone -- anyone with a camera, anyone with a mobile phone," he told Reuters.

The couple's wedding on April 29 comes almost 14 years after Diana was killed with her lover Dodi al-Fayed when their limousine crashed into the wall of a Paris tunnel as they tried to escape from a posse of chasing paparazzi.

A British inquest in 2008 concluded the actions of the photographers were partly to blame for the fatal accident.

So far William and Kate, who began dating while at university in Scotland, have been largely spared the level of scrutiny that Diana suffered, partly through media restraint and because of more robust action from the royal family itself.

MOBBED

However, Middleton was mobbed by photographers on her way to work on her 25th birthday in 2007 and later that year formally complained to Britain's media watchdog, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), after one newspaper published a picture of her which she said was taken as the result of harassment.

William has also complained that photographers on motorbikes had aggressively followed them after leaving a nightclub, while Queen Elizabeth has written to editors about paparazzi intruding on the royal family's privacy.

The crucial factor for the future will be the attitude of newspaper and magazine editors. If they do not use or pay for paparazzi pictures, there will clearly be less incentive for photographers to hound the royal couple.

"The judgment that editors will make will be 'can we justify showing this photo, breaking this news story, with our readers?'" Clifford said.

"Is it going to put them off or make more of them want to buy the paper or magazine? And that's the most important thing to all newspaper editors."

He predicted the couple's easy ride would continue initially, because upsetting the popular newlyweds is likely to upset their readers too.

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Michael Jackson estate earns $310 million in revenue

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Thu Feb 17, 2011 9:14pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's estate has generated $310 million in revenue from album sales, a film, merchandising and other products since the "Thriller" singer died in 2009, according to court papers filed on Thursday.

His estate's administrators have used $159 million to pay down the pop star's debt, which when Jackson died amounted to more than $400 million, court records show.

"Although there remain unresolved creditor claims, pending litigation and additional challenging business, tax and legal issues, and the estate is not yet in a condition to be closed, the executors have made substantial progress in reducing the estate's debt," the documents state.

The records, which were made public as part of the estate's probate proceedings, are the most detailed accounting yet of the finances of Jackson's estate from his death until December 31, 2010.

Beneficiaries of the estate are Jackson's children, his mother and various charities. Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain were named administrators in a will the "Thriller" singer signed before he died in June 2009 from an overdose of drugs, most prominently the anesthetic propofol.

The singer's physician at the time, Dr. Conrad Murray, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death and has pleaded not guilty.

Jackson's 1982 release "Thriller" remains the best selling album of all time. Industry players think his estate can generate cash for years to come, just as dead stars like Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Elvis Presley continue to rake in millions.

Among the projects making money for Jackson's estate are the new album "Michael," which contains previously unreleased songs, and the concert movie "This Is It," which compiled videotaped rehearsals for a series of comeback concerts in London. Various merchandising and licensing deals have also swelled the coffers. Jackson's recordings are released by Epic Records, a unit of Sony Corp.

Noteworthy costs included a $900,000 payment to Forest Lawn Memorial cemetery where Jackson's body is interred, and $35,000 in expenses listed as "costume for memorial."

Administrators paid $27.2 million in taxes, as well as $5.3 million for Jackson family members and properties he owned. They made $4 million in mortgage payments on his properties.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Dean Goodman)

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Feel-good "Idol" right for the times, producer says

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES | Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:59pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Is "American Idol" and its new judging panel going soft this year?

Yes, says executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. Brutal honesty was the right tone when the TV talent show and Britain's Simon "Mr. Nasty" Cowell brought a breath of fresh air to U.S. television 10 years ago.

But times have changed, economically and socially, and that's why newcomers Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and old hand Randy Jackson sent a record 300 plus wannabe pop stars from nationwide auditions onto a second round in Hollywood this year.

"I believe these are times when we need to be warmer, brighter, and we need to think we have a future," Lythgoe told reporters on a conference call on Thursday.

"If we can translate that into kids coming on this show from flipping burgers one day to ending up as the star of a television series, then we are showing everyone there is a way out of our lives," Lythgoe said.

Lythgoe said judges and producers have been less harsh and more willing to give contestants a second chance in the early stages of the top-rated show. Some 60 contestants are still in with a chance of making it to the top 12.

"The judges this year have been particularly finicky and careful about giving people a second opportunity because they know everyone screws up with nerves," he said.

"American Idol" has undergone a major revamp in its 10th season following the exit of Cowell in May, four years of declining ratings for broadcaster Fox and lackluster record sales for recent winners.

Some 22.8 million viewers tuned in to Wednesday's episode, down from 24.1 million a week earlier, but the show is holding onto its status as the most-watched show on U.S. television.

"We have held up brilliantly considering we are in the 10th season and we have lost two stars in Paula (Abdul) and Simon. We are in a very good place," Lythgoe said.

The addition of Aerosmith frontman Tyler to the panel, along with Tyler talking of starting work on a much-delayed new album with the band, has led to fevered speculation that the veteran rockers might play a role on the TV show.

But the usually chatty Lythgoe was tight-lipped when asked about a possible Aerosmith tie-in or performance.

"I can say nothing about it. I am terrible sorry. I can say nothing", he said.

"I am not doing a show with Aerosmith. I am doing a show with Steven Tyler... Aerosmith just aren't in my thoughts when I am dealing with Steven Tyler," he added.

(Editing by Christine Kearney)

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