Entertaining Posts

Friday, October 28, 2011

Michael Douglas says can't forget being told of cancer

LOS ANGELES | Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:22pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran actor Michael Douglas said in a recent interview with Alec Baldwin that he will never forget when he was first told he had late-stage throat cancer in 2010.

The 66-year-old "Fatal Attraction" actor, who was diagnosed with the disease in August, underwent radiation treatment and chemotherapy and in January 2011, announced the tumor was gone. But five months earlier, the story was different.

"I'll never forget that moment when he (the doctor) looked up at me and looked back down. I knew, and he said 'Well, I guess we're going to have to take a biopsy, see there's a polyp here,' it was on my tongue. Two days later, he called me back and said 'you've got cancer,'" Douglas told Baldwin in a podcast posted earlier this week for New York public radio station WNYC.

Douglas said that just after filming "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" his throat felt "a little sore," but he thought it was from the stress of portraying financier Gordon Gekko, the role that earned him an Oscar in 1987's "Wall Street."

"I thought maybe it was from tension, from the part, where you haven't placed your voice, where you're swallowing your words and you speak from the back of your throat," he said. "I had a little bit of a sore gum and so I saw doctors."

He underwent seven weeks of treatments that cleared the cancer and now he has this advice for others: "the thing with cancer is that you want to get it as early as you can."

Douglas also touched on coming to terms with his eldest son Cameron's history of drug abuse and his jail sentence in 2010 for dealing methamphetamine and cocaine and possessing heroin.

"I think as far as drug addiction, your peer group plays a huge part of that," said Douglas. "In my oldest son's case, there was no end, until he was incarcerated."

After taking time to recover from cancer treatments, Douglas will next be seen in the title role of "Liberace," a film based on the life of the famous American pianist with Matt Damon playing his on-screen lover.

"Liberace was a lovely guy," said the actor. "I haven't played a lot of nice guys."

(Reporting and Writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Activists ask Lady Gaga to pose in lettuce dress

MUMBAI | Fri Oct 28, 2011 4:01am EDT

MUMBAI (Reuters) - First, Lady Gaga wore a dress made of meat. Now, how about one made of lettuce?

Indian animal rights activists have asked pop star Lady Gaga to pose in a lettuce dress and embrace vegetarianism during her visit to India this weekend, where she will be part of the star-studded unveiling of the country's first Formula 1 race.

Lady Gaga, who famously wore a meat dress at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, will be performing at an invitation-only show in a five-star hotel in New Delhi after the race on Sunday.

In a letter to the singer's publicist, PETA India said it hoped she would honor India's reverence for animals by turning vegetarian for the duration of her visit and posing for photos in a lettuce gown to promote the importance of not eating meat.

"If she agrees, we'll make her a dress entirely of lettuce and held together by pins and threads. It will be a full length gown, and we'll make sure it looks sexy," said Sachin Bangera of PETA India.

The dress would be constructed leaf by leaf on the singer's body, taking some five to six hours.

"Someone will be on hand to spray the lettuce with water so that it doesn't wilt," Bangera added.

Earlier this year, in an interview with Indian chat show host Simi Garewal, Lady Gaga said she would like to soak up the local culture by taking an Indian cooking class.

Excitement has been bubbling all week about the country's first Formula 1 Grand Prix, which is seen as a symbol of India's growing global clout while also highlighting its enormous disparities in wealth.

(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Elaine Lies)

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Charlie Sheen brings his "Anger Management" to FX

LOS ANGELES | Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:30pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Charlie Sheen, fired from his previous role on TV's "Two and a Half Men," will return to television in summer 2012, in his new "Anger Management" on FX, the network announced on Thursday.

The new sitcom, which had been previously announced but had yet to find a network, sees Sheen playing an anger management therapist who causes chaos in his patients' lives by using unconventional methods, the network said in a statement.

The new show is the latest in Sheen's bid to turn over a new leaf in his career after a turbulent year.

He was TV's highest-paid actor for his role as womanizing bachelor Charlie Harper in the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men," but was fired after a public dispute with the show and network executives at CBS, during which he lashed out at show creator Chuck Lorre. He was replaced by actor Ashton Kutcher.

Sheen ranted against his old employers and posted videos on the Web in which he bragged about his "winning" ways and the "tiger blood" he had running through in his veins.

All of that came after a year in which he found himself in legal trouble and in rehab for drug and alcohol use.

More recently, the star has seemed contrite. He settled a lawsuit with the "Two and a Half Men" producers, and appeared on TV talk shows admitting he was out of control. took to the stage at the Emmys -- TV's highest awards -- and said to the "Men" cast and crew, "From the bottom of my heart, I wish you nothing but the best for the upcoming season."

"Anger Management," in which Sheen retains a significant ownership stake, is loosely based on the 2003 film of the same name starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. FX has ordered 10 episodes, and production will begin in early 2012.

"We think that Bruce Helford, Joe Roth and Charlie Sheen have come up with a wonderful, hilarious vehicle for Charlie's acting talents, and a character we are very much looking forward to seeing him play," said John Landgraf, President and general manager of FX Networks, in a statement.

(Reporting and writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Jackson dependent on painkiller, trial expert says

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:02pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson was dependent on a painkiller that he received in large, regular shots, along with Botox treatments, in the months before his death, a Los Angeles court heard on Thursday.

But in the involuntary manslaughter trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, stemming from Jackson's 2009 overdose death, addiction specialist Dr. Robert Waldman could not say unequivocally whether he believed the singer was addicted to the painkiller.

Waldman was testifying as an expert witness for the defense as it neared wrapping up its case. The claim by Murray's attorneys that the "Thriller" singer was addicted to the painkiller Demerol and that he engaged in "doctor shopping" is a central part of the defense strategy.

Murray has admitted to giving Jackson nearly daily doses of the powerful anesthetic propofol as a sleep aid at the singer's Los Angeles mansion, and medical examiners found that was the chief cause of his June 25, 2009, death.

But Murray's attorneys argue that the physician was unaware the singer was getting shots of Demerol from a Beverly Hills dermatologist, and that it hampered Murray's efforts to get him to sleep.

Waldman said side-effects of Demerol withdrawal included anxiety and insomnia.

According to medical records presented on Thursday, Jackson received 900 milligrams of Demerol over three days in May 2009, from dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein.

Klein's records show he also gave Jackson Botox and Restylane for wrinkles and excess perspiration for several months in 2009. Waldman described the Demerol shots as "stiff doses" that were not needed with skin treatment injections.

"I believe there is evidence that he was dependent on Demerol," Waldman said of Jackson, adding the pop star was "possibly" addicted to the painkiller.

LAST WITNESS

But during an aggressive cross-examination by prosecutors, Waldman could not say for certain that Jackson was addicted to the drug. He also acknowledged that he was not officially certified as an addiction specialist.

Dependence is characterized by a physical need for a drug, while addiction is more serious because it also involves a person continuing with destructive behavior and use of a substance, despite bad consequences, Waldman said.

Dr. Paul White, a leading expert on propofol who is expected to be the defense's last witness, undercut prosecutors' attempts on Thursday to show Murray acted dangerously by combining sedatives with propofol in his treatment of Jackson.

"In anesthesiology, it's what we do every day," White told the jury. "We're polypharmacists. We combine drugs to achieve better effect, with less medication."

White also said it seemed unusual that Jackson would have died from the relatively small dose of 25 milligrams of propofol that Murray told police he injected into the pop star hours before he stopped breathing.

Attorneys for Murray, whose specialty is cardiology, claimed in opening arguments last month that Jackson caused his own death by giving himself an extra dose of propofol without Murray's knowledge. But the defense has yet to address that point as it lays out its case in detail.

The doctor, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Peter Cooney)

Justin Timberlake goes rogue for "In Time"

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES | Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:53pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Justin Timberlake may be riding a new wave of movie stardom as his new film, "In Time," sees its release in theaters on Friday, but the singer-dancer-actor still thinks he's an ordinary man.

Timberlake takes the lead role in the sci-fi, action thriller in which director Andrew Niccol takes audiences into a world where time has become the monetary currency.

"I found it (the movie) to be very provocative and it made me ask a lot of questions about myself, some of it which I still haven't come up with the answers for, but I like when a movie does that," "The Social Network" actor told Reuters.

In a world where everyone stops physically aging at 25, Timberlake's character, Will Salas, often finds himself with just 24 hours to live, in which he must find ways to earn time in order to prolong his life.

"I admired Will, I hope I would fight back the way he does," said Timberlake. "I've never gotten to play a character that I wanted to be like, I don't think, so I was eager to run in his shoes."

The 30-year-old "Sexyback" singer has been in the public eye since childhood as lead singer of boy-band juggernaut N*Sync in the 1990s, before shedding his child-star image to become a Grammy-winning solo artist and Hollywood heartthrob. Yet, he doesn't see himself as all that different than the kid who was born in Memphis, Tennessee.

"I think I've always looked at myself as an ordinary guy who gets to be in extraordinary situations," said the actor.

"Extraordinary" is an understatement. He has conquered pop music, moved into fashion and is doing his best to become a Hollywood movie star. He's doing a good job of it, too.

Timberlake has managed his ascendancy carefully, working in supporting roles in high-profile, low-budget movies like "Alpha Dog," voicing a role in animated "Shrek the Third," then breaking through in a key role in last year's award-winning "The Social Network."

This year, he starred in comedy "Bad Teacher" and alongside Mila Kunis in romance "Friends With Benefits." Timberlake is now setting his sights on being an action hero with "In Time."

FIGHTING TIME, SAVING WORLD

The world of "In Time" sees 'time' bartered for goods and services. Time can be given, received and stolen just by people locking arms with each other.

When Timberlake's character, Will, is given a windfall of 'time' from a wealthy person, he finds himself fighting against social boundaries and injustice in a city where inhabitants are segregated by time zones according to their level of wealth.

"The concept is pretty extreme and it's hard to take that idea and actually ground it to a point where you can actually do it and make it relevant to our society," said "Mamma Mia" actress Amanda Seyfried, who plays his love interest Sylvia.

The film has been compared to 1997's "Gattaca," which Niccol directed and 1998's "The Truman Show," which Niccol produced, both films presenting a future world that doesn't veer too far from present day.

"Andrew has this ability to toss you into another world, but in a world where you see the metaphors of what's happening today and right now," said Timberlake.

The film's themes of wealth inequality may resonate with some present day audiences, and Timberlake found it "serendipitous" that the release of "In Time" coincided with the Occupy Wall Street protests taking place across the U.S.

"I would put Will in the 99 percentile that are protesting Wall Street and Occupy LA," said the actor, adding that the film also addressed the multi-billion dollar beauty industry.

The film has received mixed reviews ahead of its release. Variety's Peter DeBruge found that it took advantage of Timberlake's action-hero potential, but the director was "incredibly surface-oriented" in addressing the themes.

The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy said Timberlake "capably carries the film but a glint of true rebelliousness, of a slightly unhinged element in his character's makeup, could have nudged the performance to another level."

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)