Entertaintment News

'Inglourious Basterds' wins SAG film award

2010-01-24T03:58:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES – While Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock's chances for Academy Award gold were advanced with their trophies at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the blockbuster "Avatar" may have felt a touch blue.

The computer-assisted performances in James Cameron's "Avatar" didn't make the cut for SAG nominations. But the groundbreaking sci-fi film remains a strong best-picture contender for the Oscars in March.

For Bridges of "Crazy Heart," Bullock of "The Blind Side" and for SAG supporting-acting honorees Mo'Nique of "Precious" and Christoph Walt of "Inglourious Basterds," there's reason to suspect the Oscar ceremony will be a happy rerun of Saturday's SAG Awards and last Sunday's Golden Globes.

All four were recognized at the Globes, as well, while "Avatar" was named best drama and Cameron won as best director.

He will face competition from director Quentin Tarantino, whose "Inglourious Basterds" won the SAG Award for best ensemble performance, which can be a precursor to the top Oscar award. Last year, SAG's movie cast award was presented to "Slumdog Millionaire," which went on to win the best picture Oscar.

"It was an honor to be part of it, Quentin," "Inglourious Basterds" cast member Eli Roth said in accepting the award for his fellow actors in the off-kilter World War II revenge saga.

Bullock declined — strenuously — to look ahead.

"Shhhhh. Shhhhh. Shhhhh," Bullock said backstage when she was asked to speculate on her Oscar chances. She won for her portrayal of a tenacious real-life mom, Leigh Anne Tuohy, who helped a youth in need, future NFL player Michael Oher.

"I would be a hostess or a waitress or a house restorer before I ever considered myself an actor, because I never thought I was good enough," she added.

Although respected by his peers, Bridges has largely been bypassed for major awards.

"I love being an actor — pretending to be other people and getting into the shoes of other folks," said Bridges, who plays a hard-luck, hard-living country singer in "Crazy Heart."

Waltz was honored for his role as an enthusiastically ruthless Nazi. Mo'Nique's trophy came for her searing portrayal of an abusive mother in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire."

On the TV side of the SAG Awards, the cast of AMC's 1960s Madison Avenue saga "Mad Men" won the trophy for best drama series ensemble for the second year in a row, while 19 cast members of Fox TV newcomer "Glee," about misfits in a high school singing club, accepted the award for best comedy series ensemble.

"Glee" claimed the best comedy series award at the Golden Globes.

Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey of NBC's "30 Rock" won for best acting in a comedy series, allowing Fey to get in a sly joke about NBC and its bitter late-night battle with Conan O'Brien in her acceptance speech.

"I just wanted to take a moment to say to everyone at NBC, we are very happy with everything, and happy to be there," she said. Both she and Baldwin won the awards last year.

Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall of Showtime's "Dexter," wearing a cap because of treatment he's receiving for Hodgkin's lymphoma, won best actor in a drama series. The award for best actress in a drama went to Julianna Margulies of CBS' "The Good Wife."

Kevin Bacon won as best actor in a movie or miniseries for the war-themed drama, "Taking Chance," while Drew Barrymore received best actress honors in the category for "Grey Gardens," about eccentric relatives of Jacqueline Onassis.

Betty White, 88, accepted a lifetime achievement award from Bull+ock for an enduring career that included "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Golden Girls," and showed her sharp comedic chops.

When Bullock joked that she finds White annoying, White shot back, "Isn't it heartening to see how far a girl as plain as she is can go."

"I should be presenting an award to you for the privilege of working in this wonderful business all this time. And you still can't get rid of me," White told the audience.

Actors in two highly critically acclaimed films went home empty-handed, including "Up in the Air" star George Clooney and the film's supporting actresses, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The cast of "The Hurt Locker" also lost out.

Clooney, however, was lauded by SAG President Ken Howard for helping organize Friday's telethon to raise money for earthquake-devastated Haiti, a rare reference to the tragedy.

Two honors not shown in the telecast went to stunt ensembles for the film "Star Trek" and the TV show "24."

Zombie master Romero's film targets discrimination

2009-09-09T06:46:00.000-07:00

VENICE (Reuters) – Zombie master George A. Romero had no particular conflict in mind when making "Survival of the Dead," the sixth installment in his long-running horror franchise, but rather discrimination in general.

More than 40 years after "Night of the Living Dead" launched Romero's career in 1968, the 69-year-old American is back to his independent movie making roots with a picture in competition at the Venice film festival.

The self-financed Survival of the Dead tells the story of a band of soldiers lured to an island that promises to be the one place on earth where they can escape from the living dead, who feed on human flesh and appear as if from nowhere.

But they become embroiled in a generations-old dispute between two families who have radically different ideas on how to contain the zombies.

Patrick O'Flynn wants to put a bullet through the head of every zombie he can find, while his arch rival, Shamus Muldoon, wants to keep the "dead" alive in the hope of finding a cure.

"I wasn't looking at Iraq and saying, well, lets make a movie about Iraq," Romero told reporters on Wednesday.

"It's much more about man's underlying inability to forget enmity, forget their enemies even long after they've forgotten what started the conflict in the first place.

"I think that part of the problem is that nobody looks at both sides of any issue, it's automatically: I'm on this side or I'm on that side."

RETURN TO INDEPENDENT ROOTS

According to production notes for the film, Survival of the Dead is the second movie in Romero's new cycle of independent pictures made outside the studio system.

"We've made a couple of studio films and it's just a very different process," Romero said.

"These last two films, it's really like going back to the very original films that I made where it was really private financing and real guerrilla-style film making."

Night of the Living Dead was reportedly made on a shoestring budget yet came to redefine the horror genre with its violence and satirical view of American society.

"I've had the flexibility in these films to do whatever I wanted to do. At least there's no policeman looking over your shoulder ... There's no committee. That's a wonderful freedom to be able to have."

Romero credited the zombie's lasting cultural impact more to video games, like the Resident Evil series, than to his movies. "It's really not the zombie films. I think ... it's much more video games that have kept them alive."

Variety's review on the movie from Venice was largely negative, saying it was "steeped in fan-pleasing gore but woefully thin on ideas, originality ... or directorial flair. This is easily the least frightening of all the Dead movies."

Veteran Australian actor Ray Barrett dies aged 82

2009-09-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Veteran Australian actor Ray Barrett, who became a familiar figure on British television in the 1960s and most recently appeared in the big-budget movie "Australia," has died at the age of 82.

Barrett died in a hospital on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland after falling at his home and suffering a brain hemorrhage, his agent Jane Cameron told Australian media.

Barrett studied music, elocution and acting before moving to England, where the craggy-faced actor became a popular television star in the 1960s, appearing in a long list of shows.

He was the voice of some characters in the popular children's puppet series "Thunderbirds" and "Stingray," starred in the long-running BBC show "The Troubleshooters" and appeared in "Dr Who," "The Saint" and "Dixon of Dock Green," among others.

He moved back to Australia in the mid-1970s, appearing in various TV shows over the years as well as the screen adaptation of John Williamson's play "Don's Party" and the movie "The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith."

His last major role was as the character Ramsden in Baz Luhrmann's epic "Australia," released last year.

"Ray Barrett was one of Australia's great leading men ... Few Australian actors were as capable of delivering understatement and highly crafted meaning," wrote actor/director Graeme Blundell, who appeared with Barrett in "Don's Party," in an obituary.

Barrett was awarded the Australian Film Institute's Longford Life Achievement Award in 2005 for his long and distinguished acting career.

Rapper Santana accused of threatening girlfriend

2009-08-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

TEANECK, N.J. – Rapper Juelz Santana is accused of threatening his girlfriend with a knife in his New Jersey home.

Teaneck police charged Santana, whose real name is LaRon James, with making terroristic threats and possessing a weapon. He's free on $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Municipal Court on Sept. 9.

Capt. Dean Kazinci says Santana's girlfriend told police a verbal dispute became physical Tuesday.

Kazinci says the rapper told officers the woman was the aggressor and she had the knife.

Police say the girlfriend, whose name was not released, had minor injuries that did not require medical treatment.

Santana records for Def Jam Recordings. His song "There it Go" was a top ten single in 2005.

Completely Cool at the "Inglourious Basterds" Premiere

2009-08-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles – They were the cool couple in black, he in a linen suit and she in a fabulous, form-fitting strapless leather dress. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie stopped traffic on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles on Monday, Aug. 10, as they joined Quentin Tarantino at the premiere of "Inglourious Basterds."

That's Tarantino's quirky film foray into World War II, with Pitt in the starring role. As Tarantino told reporters earlier at a press day for the film, "we've been wanting to work with each other for a little while now, and when I was writing this script with Aldo as the main character, Brad has been in my mind for a long time and he's always just been Aldo. It was Brad Pitt and then there was nobody else. I'm usually happy about having a second and a third choice, but not this time."

Tarantino got Pitt to play "this hillbilly, part Indian, who would know a lot about war history and Geronimo's battle plan, who would take a bunch of Jewish American soldiers, go behind enemy lines and do an Apache resistance against the Nazis," which should tell audiences that this is a slightly wacky, very R-rated war film.

No one seemed to worry much about the graphic violence as the movie unspooled at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, especially not Brad's German-born co-star Diane Kruger, who wore a minidress made with black glass fringe and a daringly low-cut open back.

"People are always asking me, 'Well, how is it going to go down in Germany?' People were cheering when we screened it there, because the truth is they've wanted to get rid of Hitler if they could, for years, get it over with for years," she said.

Joining in the cheering at the premiere were Tarantino fans Bridget Fonda, Sarah Silverman, Carla Gugino, Samuel L. Jackson, Tia Carrere, Tony Hawk, Christina Ricci, Jeremy Renner, Cloris Leachman, Maria Menounos, and the other stars of "Basterds" - Eli Roth, Melanie Laurent, B. J. Novak, Christoph Waltz, and Michael Fassbender.

Second Yves Saint Laurent art sale set for November

2009-08-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

PARIS (Reuters) – A second auction of art works once belonging to Yves Saint Laurent will be held in November after the main part of the late designer's huge collection was sold earlier this year, auctioneers Christie's said on Monday.

As well as modern art and Old Master pictures and drawings by artists including Picasso, Fernand Leger and Miro, the sale in Paris will include furniture and various Art Deco objects that decorated the sumptuous rooms of Saint Laurent's chateau.

The first sale of treasures belonging to Saint Laurent and his companion and business partner, Pierre Berge, raised more than 370 million euros ($525 million) in February in the biggest private auction seen in Paris in many years.

The second sale, to be held on November 17-19, will include almost 1,200 works housed in Chateau Gabriel, a 19th-century Normandy country house bought by the couple in the 1980s, as well as their two Paris residences.

As in the first sale, which included masterpieces by artists ranging from Picasso and Matisse to ancient Roman sculptures, 17th-century German silverware and art deco furniture, proceeds will be donated to AIDS research.

Berge and Saint Laurent built up one of the world's biggest and most important private art collections over some five decades but Berge decided to sell it all after Saint Laurent died in June 2008 at the age of 71.

Christie's said that after the auction of the main pieces of the collection in February, the second would present objects "of a more understated charm."

The two men decorated their country residence in a style inspired by the rarified atmosphere of Marcel Proust's novel cycle "A la recherche du temps perdu" ("In Search of Lost Time"), a great favorite of the late designer.

Among the items on sale is a large Ming Dynasty basin.

The first auction was hit by a dispute over two bronze sculptures looted from China in the 19th century.

China said the two Qing dynasty bronzes, seized from Beijing in 1860 during the Opium Wars, should be handed back because they had been taken illegally.

Berge rejected the claim but said he would give them back if China guaranteed human rights and allowed the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama to return home.

'Harry Potter' actor admits growing marijuana

2009-07-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

LONDON – A teenage cast member of the "Harry Potter" movies has appeared in a London court and admitted to growing marijuana.

Jamie Waylett pleaded guilty to growing the drug during a hearing Thursday at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.

The 19-year-old Waylett plays school bully Vincent Crabbe in all six installments of the film franchise.

Police found eight bags of cannabis and a knife during a search of a car Waylett was riding in. They then searched his mother's house and found 10 marijuana plants.

Waylett pleaded guilty to producing cannabis, which carries a maximum 14-year sentence. His friend John Innis pleaded guilty to drug possession.

Judge Timothy Workman said the pair would be sentenced Tuesday.

Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 19-25

2009-07-16T08:17:00.002-07:00

Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 19-25:

July 19: Country singer Sue Thompson is 83. Country singer George Hamilton IV is 72. Actor Dennis Cole is 69. Singer Vikki Carr is 69. Musician Commander Cody is 65. Actor George Dzundza is 64. Singer-bassist Alan Gorrie of Average White Band is 63. Guitarist Brian May of Queen is 62. Guitarist Bernie Leadon (Eagles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 62. Actress Beverly Archer ("Major Dad, "Mama's Family") is 61. Actor Peter Barton ("Sunset Boulevard," "Burke's Law") is 53. Drummer Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets) is 49. Actor Campbell Scott is 48. Actor Anthony Edwards ("ER") is 47. Singer Country singer Kelly Shiver (Thrasher Shiver) is 46. Actress Clea Lewis ("Ellen") is 44. Singer Urs Buhler of Il Divo is 38. Drummer Jason McGerr of Death Cab For Cutie is 35. Actor Jared Padalecki ("Supernatural," "Gilmore Girls") is 27.

July 20: Rockabilly singer Sleepy LaBeef is 74. Actress Diana Rigg ("The Avengers") is 71. Bassist John Lodge of the Moody Blues is 66. Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 65. Singer Kim Carnes is 64. Guitarist Carlos Santana is 62. Drummer Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols is 53. Actress Donna Dixon ("Bosom Buddies") is 52. Keyboardist Mick McNeil of Simple Minds is 51. Country singer Radney Foster is 50. Singer Chris Cornell (of Audioslave and of Soundgarden) is 45. Guitarist Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam is 43. Actor Reed Diamond ("Judging Amy," "Homicide: Life on the Street") is 42. Actor Josh Holloway ("Lost") is 40. Singer Vitamin C is 40. Actor Simon Rex is 35. Actor Charlie Korsmo ("Can't Hardly Wait," "Hook") is 31. Singer Elliott Yamin ("American Idol") is 31. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 29. Guitarist Mike Kennerty of All-American Rejects is 29. Actor John Francis Daley ("Freaks and Geeks") is 24. Dancer-country singer Julianne Hough ("Dancing with the Stars") is 21. Actress Billi Bruno ("According to Jim") is 13.

July 21: Singer Kay Starr is 87. Actor Paul Burke ("Dynasty," "Naked City") is 83. Movie director Norman Jewison is 83. Actress Patricia Elliott ("One Life To Live") is 67. Actor Edward Herrmann ("Gilmore Girls") is 66. Actor Leigh Lawson ("Tess") is 64. Singer Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) is 61. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau ("Doonesbury") is 61. Comedian-actor Robin Williams is 58. Singer-guitarist Eric Bazilian of The Hooters is 56. Comedian Jon Lovitz is 52. Actor Lance Guest ("Lou Grant") is 49. Singer Emerson Hart of Tonic is 40. Country singer Paul Brandt is 37. Actor Josh Hartnett is 31. Reggae singer Damian Marley is 31. "American Idol" runner-up Blake Lewis is 28. Keyboardist Johan Carlsson of Carolina Liar is 25. Actress Vanessa Lengies ("Stick It," "American Dreams") is 24.

July 22: Actor Orson Bean ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman") is 81. Actress Louise Fletcher is 75. Singer Chuck Jackson is 72. Actor Terence Stamp is 71. Game show host Alex Trebek is 69. Singer George Clinton is 68. Singer-actor Bobby Sherman is 66. Writer-director Paul Schrader is 63. Singer Don Henley is 62. Actor Danny Glover is 62. Actor-comedian-director Albert Brooks is 62. Composer Alan Menken ("Little Mermaid," "Little Shop of Horrors") is 60. Musician Al Di Meola is 55. Actor Willem Dafoe is 54. Singer Keith Sweat is 48. Singer Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls is 46. Actor-comedian David Spade is 45. Actor John Leguizamo is 45. Bassist Pat Badger of Extreme is 42. Actor Rhys Ifans ("Notting Hill") is 42. Musician Daniel Jones (Savage Garden) is 36. Singer Rufus Wainwright is 36. Actress Franka Potente ("The Bourne Identity") is 35. Actress Selena Gomez ("The Wizards of Waverly Place") is 17.

July 23: Actress Gloria DeHaven is 84. Radio personality Don Imus is 69. Country singer Tony Joe White is 66. Actor Larry Manetti ("Magnum, P.I.") is 62. Singer David Essex is 62. Singer-turned-Congressman John Hall (Orleans) is 61. Guitarist Blair Thornton of Bachman-Turner Overdrive is 59. Actress Belinda Montgomery ("Doogie Howser, MD") is 59. Actor Woody Harrelson is 48. Guitarist Martin Gore of Depeche Mode is 48. Actor Eriq Lasalle ("ER") is 47. Drummer Yuval Gabay (Soul Coughing) is 46. Guitarist Slash of Velvet Revolver (and Guns N' Roses) is 44. Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is 42. Model Stephanie Seymour is 41. Singer Sam Watters of Color Me Badd is 39. Actress Charisma Carpenter is 39. Singer Dalvin DeGrate of Jodeci is 38. Country singer Alison Krauss is 38. Drummer Chad Gracey of Live is 38. Actor-comedian Marlon Wayans ("The Wayans Brothers") is 37. Country singer Shannon Brown is 36. Actor Omar Epps is 36. Singer Michelle Williams (Destiny's Child) is 29. Actor Daniel Radcliffe ("Harry Potter" movies) is 20.

July 24: Jazz pianist Billy Taylor is 88. Director Peter Yates is 80. Actor John Aniston ("Days of Our Lives") is 76. Comedian Ruth Buzzi is 73. Actor Mark Goddard ("Lost In Space") is 73. Actor Chris Sarandon is 67. Comedian Gallagher is 63. Actor Robert Hays ("Airplane!") is 62. Actor Michael Richards ("Seinfeld") is 60. Actress Lynda Carter is 58. Director Gus Van Sant is 57. Country singer Pam Tillis is 52. Actor Kadeem Hardison is 44. Actress-singer Kristin Chenoweth is 41. Actress Laura Leighton ("Melrose Place") is 41. Actor John P. Navin Jr. is 41. Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez is 40. Basketball player-turned-actor Rick Fox is 40. Actor Eric Szmanda ("CSI") is 34. Actress Rose Byrne is 30. Actress Summer Glau is 28. Actress Elisabeth Moss ("The West Wing") is 27. Actress Anna Paquin is 27. Actress Mara Wilson is 22. TV personality Bindi Irwin ("Bindi: The Jungle Girl") is 11.

July 25: Actress Barbara Harris is 74. Drummer Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds is 66. Bassist Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire is 58. Supermodel Iman is 54. Cartoonist Ray Billingsley ("Curtis") is 52. Guitarist Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth is 51. Country singer Marty Brown is 44. Actress Illeana Douglas is 44. Actor Matt LeBlanc ("Joey," "Friends") is 42. Cellist Paavo Lotjonen of Apocalyptica is 40. Actor D.B. Woodside ("24") is 40. Actress Miriam Shor ("Swingtown," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") is 38. Actor James Lafferty ("One Tree Hill") is 24.

"Harry Potter" works box office magic at midnight

2009-07-16T08:17:00.001-07:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British boy wizard Harry Potter conjured his magic at box offices again, as the sixth film in the highly popular movie series earned a record $22.2 million at Wednesday midnight showings in the United States.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" from Warner Bros. beat the old record for Wednesday midnight screenings of $18.5 million held by 2008 Batman movie "The Dark Knight," said Hollywood.com Box Office President Paul Dergarabedian.

The debut "portends a huge and potentially record-breaking number for a single-day (box office) gross and best first five-day gross," among movies, Dergarabedian said.

The highest one-day U.S. box office record belongs to "The Dark Knight," which debuted on a Wednesday last summer to $67.1 million and went on to $203.7 million in its first five days. It earned $1 billion worldwide throughout its run in theaters.

The five previous "Potter" movies about the adventures of Harry and his friends at the Hogwarts school, based on the best-selling kids books by author J.K. Rowling, have raked in $4.5 billion worldwide since the first film in 2001.

But in recent weeks, some media reports have suggested the movies' fan base of teenagers and pre-teens may now be too old for the movies and that other franchises, such as the popular "Twilight" films, may steal some of Potter's audience magic.

Still, "Half-Blood Prince" hits theaters a full two years after the most recent "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," causing box office watchers to see a good deal of pent-up demand for the movie.

"Order of the Phoenix" also opened on a Wednesday and took in $140 million in its first five days, on the way to $938 million in total global ticket sales. Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner Inc.

Jackson death revives interest in Twitchell mural

2009-07-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES – When a Los Angeles gallery mounted a retrospective of Kent Twitchell's work earlier this year the acclaimed painter figured the one thing everyone would want to see was his "lost" Michael Jackson mural.

Twitchell's larger-than-life vision, showing the entertainer decked out in a white suit and matching fedora, stood 100 feet tall and 60 feet wide. Once planned for the entire side of a Hollywood building, it was so big it had to be mounted in sections across a two-story gallery wall, the bottom of it strung out along the floor.

When visitors arrived, they made a beeline straight past it, stopping instead to admire Twitchell's two-story portrait of Steve McQueen.

How things have changed.

"Since Michael died my phone is just ringing off the hook," said Look gallery owner Jerri Levi, who mounted the April exhibition. Collectors from around the world have inquired about buying the mural, she said, and others have asked whether it will be displayed again.

But for now Twitchell is keeping it safely rolled up and hidden away.

"It would be nice to see something happen with it eventually," he said this week. "But I don't want to just hawk it and I wouldn't want to get involved in something that might be seen as cheesy. I'm an artist, not an entrepreneur."

The mural was originally planned for the side of Hollywood's historic El Capitan Theatre building, and Twitchell, whose works dot the Los Angeles skyline, collaborated with Jackson on it for three years.

"The nicest guy in the world. Down to earth. Not pretentious at all," is how he remembers him.

The project, part of a Hollywood restoration taking place at the time, was shelved in 1993. Twitchell says he was never told why but suspects Jackson having become the target of a child molestation investigation that year played a role.

Originally Jackson wanted to dress in black leather for the mural, Twitchell said, but he told him he'd like to go for a classic 1930s Hollywood pose, outfitting him in something Cary Grant would have worn at the time.

"He said, 'Oh yes, I can see that,'" Twitchell recalled.

Natalie Portman signs on for comedy "Your Highness"

2009-05-31T08:17:00.001-07:00

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Natalie Portman is joining Danny McBride and James Franco in the fantasy comedy "Your Highness."

Written by Ben Best and McBride, the Universal Pictures project centers on an arrogant, lazy prince (McBride) who must complete a quest to save his father's kingdom. Joining him on the quest is McBride's more heroic brother, played by Franco.

Portman will play McBride's love interest, a warrior princess.

Director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express," "All the Real Girls") is shooting the film this summer in Northern Ireland.

Portman is working on "Hesher," an indie drama that marks her inauguration as a producer. She next stars with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire in the drama "Brothers," a remake of Susanne Bier's Danish film.

Spielberg's 2011 Christmas Present to Fans: Tintin

2009-05-31T08:10:00.001-07:00

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Belgium's intrepid cub reporter will be breaking his first big-screen story in time for Christmas 2011. Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced that Steven Spielberg's big-budget gamble The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn will hit theaters Dec. 23, 2011.

The two studios are coproducing the 3-D motion-capture event film, the first in a pair the E.T. director is doing with Lord of the Rings master Peter Jackson (who will helm the sequel). But in an unusual move, Paramount and Sony plan to roll out Tintin internationally up to two months before the U.S. release.

The strategy is the reverse of Hollywood's normal distribution pattern, but makes sense since it enables the partnering companies to capitalize on the comic book character's popularity abroad and build buzz, since Tintin is not well known stateside.

The film, which Spielberg started shooting in January, stars Jamie Bell as the titular hero and Daniel Craig as the despicable pirate Red Rackham. Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Toby Jones also star.

Tintin will face some family-friend competition during the 2011 holiday season, with Warner Bros. set to release Happy Feet 2 and Disney/Pixar unleashing The Bear and the Bow.

Nia Vardalos back in spotlight

2009-05-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Seven years after being catapulted to fame and fortune with her hit comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Nia Vardalos makes a long-awaited return to the big screen this month with another film that takes the Canadian-born actress back to her ancestral roots.

Vardalos, 46, became an overnight success in 2002, when the romantic comedy she wrote and starred in went on to become a monster hit, earning more than 350 million dollars worldwide after being made for only five million dollars.

The success of the film -- which also earned Vardalos a best original screenplay nomination at the Oscars -- allowed Vardalos to take her time deciding her next career move.

Although she starred in a short-lived television spin-off of "Greek Wedding", Vardalos has been largely inactive since 2002 preferring to focus on starting a family before relaunching her career with "My Life in Ruins."

Her new film, which goes on release in North America on June 5, sees her play a Greek-American history professor who returns to Greece to work as a tour guide in Athens.

Vardalos said the script for the film, which includes several scenes shot at the Acropolis and other historic sites, had fired her enthusiasm after years out of the spotlight as she attempted to start a family.

"When we got the permission to shoot this film, it was so exciting and it was the first that I had found something where I wanted to be on camera in for a long time," she told reporters in Beverly Hills.

"In 2004, I had come to the end of a 10-year infertility battle and I just chose to privately deal with it, so I stepped back out of acting," said Vardalos, who recently adopted a three-year-old girl with her husband.

"I was really happy to be offered a nice clean script that celebrates Greece and is a love letter to Greece," she adds.

Vardalos says that despite the commercial success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", her business relationships with her producers, who include actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, have not changed.

"The good news is that you strive for what happened with my first movie for your whole life," Vardalos said. "And so it happened and its like, 'oh that's over, the rest is gravy.'

"The greater news is that my producers are the same producers. They treated me like gold before 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' made a dime. And they don't expect anything from me, except let's have fun and let's tell fun stories."

Vardalos, who did not write "My Life In Ruins," continues to pen screenplays.

But she says she has resisted the temptation to try and regurgitate the formula from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" in an attempt to score another commercial bullseye.

"I write little movies and then the rest is up to the audience," she said. "It's the audience that made 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' a success.

"I think if you create with a financial goal in mind, artistically you are dead. Its best to tell fun stories and let the audience decide."

However Vardalos makes no apologies for the fact that "My Life In Ruins" and another upcoming film "I Hate Valentine's Day," which she wrote, directed and stars in, are both romantic comedies, like "Greek Wedding."

"I think that reviewers and the industry think that romance is dead," Vardalos said. "I think the audience wants it and needs it. I know I do.

"As I keep saying, as the average person, I like to escape into a movie. I like movies like 'Terminator' and 'Star Trek' as well."

Prince Harry plays polo on 1st official trip to US

2009-05-31T08:04:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK – Prince Harry reminded New Yorkers on Saturday how much his mother had loved their city, then climbed onto a pony for a rousing game of polo to raise money for impoverished children in Africa.

On a brilliantly sunny day on Governors Island in New York Harbor, the 24-year-old prince drew a crowd that included stars like Madonna, actresses Kate Hudson and Chloe Sevigny, and rapper LL Cool J, but also lots of ordinary New Yorkers out for a rare sight: a polo game in the city.

"You see this out in the Hamptons, but not so much in the city," said Vincent Hodgins of Manhattan, who brought his two sons to watch the prince play.

The Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic was a fundraiser for Sentebale, the charity that Harry has set up with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help poor children and AIDS orphans in that small African nation surrounded by South Africa.

"Prince Seeiso and I both lost our mothers when we were very young," Harry said in brief remarks before the match. "We set up Sentebale in their memory, and because my mother loved this city, it makes this occasion all the more poignant for me."

His team, named after the charity, proceeded to defeat the opposing Black Watch team 6-5. Harry assisted on the winning goal in the last seconds, drawing the biggest cheer of the afternoon. Both teams included prominent polo stars like Argentine Nacho Figueras, also a Ralph Lauren model, who played for Black Watch.

It was the second and final day of Harry's first official visit to the United States, which began with a sober visit Friday to the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. On Saturday morning, the prince toured Harlem's Children Zone, a community organization that offers families social and educational services. He and Prince Seeiso chatted with students working preparing for a Regents Exam.

"Who's the best pupil?" Harry asked the ninth-graders. "I was always the worst!"

Harry, the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, is third in line to the British throne, after his father and older brother, William. He's been dubbed the "party prince," and his New York trip seemed designed partly to counter that image with a focus on his charity work.

"I won't bore you with statistics, but please believe me when I say that Lesotho is a mere microcosm of what is so wonderful, but also so tragic about Africa today," he said before the match, reading from notes. "This beautiful kingdom has been ravaged by HIV/AIDS and poverty, leaving thousands of children without their parents."

The event was free to the public, but guests in the VIP tent on the opposite side of the field had paid from $50,000 a table down to $500 a head to picnic on the lawn. In true polo-watching fashion, there were more hats than at an Easter parade; for the women, they were topped by flowers, feathers and even butterflies climbing up a wire trellis.

Harry, though, was casual before the match in a navy blue blazer, open-collared shirt and white jeans, and loafers. And Madonna, accompanied by her sons, Rocco and David, was positively dressed down: She wore jeans and a denim jacket as she chatted with designer Marc Jacobs.

In the bleachers, Mike Hallman, visiting the city from North Carolina enjoyed the match with his family. "My kids have never seen polo before," he said. Added his 9-year-old son, Jason: "It's pretty exciting. I have never seen a prince."

Another spectator who'd never seen a polo match was LL Cool J.

"Hopefully, it'll be quite good," Harry told the singer during the reception.

"Are you going to win?" LL Cool J asked. "Mmmm. I don't know. Hopefully it's fixed," joked Harry.

The prince also said his visit had been "wonderful."

"It's been a whirlwind," he told The Associated Press. "I haven't had a chance to let the jet lag set in, and it's time to go already."

But his trip wasn't over after the match: Leaving Governors Island, the prince took a Coast Guard cutter up the Hudson River for an unannounced visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on Manhattan's west side.

He inspected the World War II aircraft carrier and checked out the cockpit of a retired British Airways Concorde jet. Museum president Bill White said the staff presented the prince with a section of the 1943 carrier's original wooden flight deck. Also present was a British Marine commando, Joe Townsend, who lost both legs while on duty in Afghanistan.

The prince's visit began Friday morning with a prayerful stop at ground zero. There, he spent about 15 minutes quietly speaking to a half-dozen relatives of 9/11 victims.

Harry then attached a wreath to a chain-link fence overlooking the Sept. 11 memorial under construction, bowing his head in silence for a few minutes. He also visited the firehouse across the street that houses Engine 10 and Ladder 10, which lost five members on Sept. 11, talking and laughing with firefighters there.

Later Friday, Harry formally named the British Memorial Garden in Hanover Square downtown to honor the 67 British victims of the terrorist attack. He also visited Manhattan's Veterans Affairs Medical Center, touring a clinic that treats veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and the prosthetics facilities.

How Can Angelina Jolie Be Pregnant Every Week?

2009-05-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles (E! Online) – How can mags get away with proclaiming Angie and Brad preggers and in love one week, breaking up the next, ready to adopt the week after? Are they really that volatile? Do mags just make s--t up?

—Carly, via Facebook

We're talking about a pair of bazillionaire mega-movie stars. Why wouldn't Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt be at least partially as volatile as the headlines claim? Sure, mags are responsible for their own drama-queen headlines. But in general, when it comes to this couple, I am told that the crazy Brangie reports are at least believed to be true by the people who gather and write them.

Still, let's dig a little deeper and take a look at a few of the rumors you mention, starting with the constant whisperings of pregnancy...

Of course many mags have just gotten this story wrong at one point or another; Angie has birthed one single baby and one set of twins, despite rumors of her being pregnant every second of every day. In fact, according to Star, Angelina is carrying a fourth messiah child right this very millisecond. This could be true or not—I really can't say I care.

But remember, reporters rely on sources, some of whom are more connected than others. When there's a very clear-cut story about a pregnancy, there's usually a source, or someone, who heard something that led someone to believe that Angie was preggers.

"There are a lot of reasons why someone could report a pregnancy," says CoverAwards founder and former Life & Style editor Mark Pasetsky. "They could have someone tell them they are pregnant, or just trying to get pregnant."

Many magazines say one thing on their covers and report something quite different on the inside.

A headline may scream something like the oh-so-fresh phrase "baby joy," but inside, the copy is all about some couple just talking about a baby. Remember that candy-colored headline from OK! magazine proclaiming Shiloh and Suri to be "best friends"? That was based on a report of some vague conversation between the parents about maybe arranging a play date.

Read the whole story—if you can stand it—and not just the cover.

But the most important point to remember here is that some celebrity couples really are that dramatic. Would you really be all that shocked if Brangelina were one of them?

Kiefer Sutherland, designer resolve issues

2009-05-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK – Kiefer Sutherland and the fashion designer he's accused of head-butting at a Manhattan night club said Friday they resolved their differences, clearing the way for the charges to be dropped. Sutherland and Jack McCollough issued a brief joint statement Friday to The Associated Press through Sutherland's attorney.

"I am sorry about what happened that night and sincerely regret that Mr. McCollough was injured," Sutherland said in the statement.

The star of Fox television's "24" was charged May 7 with third-degree assault in the alleged incident two weeks ago at a nightclub at the Mercer Hotel in the trendy SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The minor charge is comparable to a speeding ticket.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's office declined to comment on whether the charges would be dismissed.

But now that Sutherland and McCollough say they have resolved their differences, a prosecutor may go before a judge and ask that the case be dropped. That could happen at Sutherland's next scheduled court appearance on June 22.

"I appreciate Mr. Sutherland's statement and wish him well," McCollough said in the statement.

McCollough, of the high-end Proenza Schouler fashion house, said Sutherland head-butted him and broke his nose after an argument. The two were out following the gala at the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a fancy affair studded with celebrities.

The story spurred a media frenzy as a swarm of reporters gathered outside the 1st Precinct in Manhattan to watch as Sutherland arrived for questioning and was charged. Photographers also shadowed Sutherland and McCollough while rumors swirled about the nature of their altercation and what role, if any, actress Brooke Shields might have played.

Sutherland, who has won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his portrayal of dashing federal counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer on "24," pleaded no contest in October 2007 to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

He served 30 days in jail, in addition to 18 days for violating probation in a 2004 drunken-driving arrest.

Brazil fashion show to push for racial inclusion

2009-05-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

SAO PAULO – Organizers of Sao Paulo Fashion Week have promised to take steps to try to make sure that at least 10 percent of the models walking the runways will be blacks or Indians.

State prosecutors say they struck a deal with the event's organizers calling for proof that they will attempt to convince designers taking part to promote racial inclusion.

Noncompliance by organizers could result in a fine of as much as 250,000 reals ($125,000) in a nation where nearly 50 percent of the population is black and there is a large Indian minority.

Prosecutor Deborah Kelly Affonso said the deal announced Thursday with Luminosidade Marketing & Producoes followed a state investigation. It stemmed from complaints the event recently had fewer black models.

Giorgio Armani recovering after hepatitis

2009-05-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani said on Thursday he had had a case of hepatitis and is now recovering.

The 74-year-old said in a statement he had decided to "calm worries" after a high level of interest concerning his personal well-being in the last few days.

"I have in fact suffered from hepatitis by poisoning, which, certainly is not a rare illness. Nevertheless it is one which requires some time for a complete recovery," Armani said.

The designer, who counts numerous celebrities as his fans, added that he was recovering and that the company had continued to operate "normally with business as usual."

"My commitment both on the creative and management side has never relented," he said.

"Consequently there has been no shift in delegation of my authorities to any one of the executives and everything in the company is proceeding with the usual energy."

Armani is considered the doyen of Italian fashion. His clothes are known for their classically elegant lines and muted colors.

He is due to showcase his menswear collections for the Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani brands during Milan's fashion week in June.

Coco Chanel film brings curtain down in Cannes

2009-05-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

CANNES, France (Reuters) – A lavish portrayal of a brief affair between Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and fashion pioneer Coco Chanel in the early 1920s brings the curtain down on the Cannes film festival on Sunday.

The festival's closing film, "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky", directed by Dutch-born Jan Kounen, stars Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen in the title roles, and is based on Chris Greenhalgh's novel which weaves together fact and fiction.

The movie opens with the infamous 1913 premiere of "The Rite of Spring" in Paris, where Stravinsky's score and Vaslav Nijinsky's experimental choreography were greeted with boos, jeers and a near-riot.

Seven years later Chanel, who attended the premiere, is introduced to the impoverished composer, and invites him and his family to move into her villa.

Although the facts of what happened during the brief sojourn are hazy, in the film the characters have a passionate affair which feeds into their creative energy.

"I ... discovered that Coco attended the first premiere of The Rite of Spring and that Stravinsky lived in the house in 1920, that's a fact," Greenhalgh told reporters in Cannes.

"Other than that there was very little (information). I had the framework of the facts but the freedom to invent everything that happened inside the villa."

Early reviews have praised the look of the movie, which recreates the sumptuous Art Deco style of the villa and the fashions of 1920s Paris, but several said the actors failed to bring the historical characters fully to life.

SECOND CHANEL PICTURE THIS YEAR

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky is not the first feature film on the life of the fashion designer to be released this year, after Audrey Tautou portrayed her in "Coco Before Chanel".

Kounen said the coincidence was not necessarily a bad thing for his movie, because it forced him to speed up his production which was therefore less affected by the financial crisis.

Coco Before Chanel hit French cinemas in April but has yet to be screened in most other countries.

"When there are two films with the same character you have to work fast, you have to be out fast," he said. "The film exists partly thanks to the fact that there were two projects."

And while Kounen's movie focuses on the relationship between Chanel and Stravinsky, Coco Before Chanel is about her rise from humble beginnings to fame and fortune and her love affair with Arthur "Boy" Capel, who died in a car crash in 1919.

Coco Chanel & Igor Strvinsky has its premiere in Cannes on Sunday evening, when the main prizes at the end of the 12-day festival are handed out.

In the rumor-filled atmosphere that traditionally precedes the award of the Palme d'Or, French newspapers carried talk that the jury was split due to the imperious style of Isabelle Huppert, the French actress heading the panel.

The Journal du Dimanche said there was speculation that some members could quit the jury, leaving Huppert to present the award for best film among the 20 main competition entries almost alone on stage. The Chanel movie is out of competition.

Indie filmmakers in Cannes still dreaming of 3-D

2009-05-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

CANNES, France (Reuters) – When rock band U2 played at the Grand Palais of the Cannes film festival in 2007 to trumpet their new three-dimensional concert movie, backers of modern 3-D films hailed the coming of a new era in movies.

Two years later, independent producers and distributors making films outside Hollywood's major studios are still waiting for that day to dawn.

Many of them face the same hurdles major studios face -- a lack of theaters equipped to play 3-D films, especially in Europe and Asia, and questions over who will pay for the special eyeglasses to watch them.

They also face a hurdle of their own, lack of money, because independents are rarely as well financed as studios.

But much as The Walt Disney Co. did in 2005 with its 3-D version of "Chicken Little," a few indie producers are wading in, lured by the possibility of bigger box office from higher ticket prices and more fans.

Their involvement is good news for film fans, because in recent years independents have made many of the best movies with original tales like Oscar winner "Slumdog Millionaire."

Jonathan Wolf, executive vice president of U.S.-based trade group the Independent Film and Television Alliance, said that when special effects-filled movies became big business, people wondered if indies could keep pace with the majors.

At the time the answer was yes, and it is the same with 3-D.

"Anywhere there is commercial viability, there will be a market," Wolf said.

Three-dimensional images date back to early movies and gained popularity in sci-fi films of the 1950s. But they quickly faded due to unsophisticated technology.

New 3-D movies use improved eyeglasses and new digital projectors that improve the quality and theatrical experience.

INDIES IN 3-D

The opening night film in Cannes this year was Disney/Pixar's "Up," which will have 2-D and 3-D versions.

DreamWorks Animation Inc. enjoyed a $334 million global success this year with its $175 million "Monsters vs. Aliens," some of which came from 3-D, and Hollywood has a large slate of 3-D pictures ahead.

Ticket prices for 3-D films can range from $2 to $5 higher than normal, and distributors find the excitement of seeing some types of movies -- animated family films, action, fantasy and horror -- in 3-D lures more fans to theaters.

U.S. independent Lionsgate enjoyed a strong, $71 million global box office with its "My Bloody Valentine 3-D," which had a reported production budget of $15 million.

Joe Drake, president of Lionsgate's motion picture group, said his company saw opportunities in 3-D, but initially did not know how to make a 3-D movie. Still, it forged ahead, learned the technology and after a time, found it workable.

"The fact is, it's a very accessible, and not actually an over-complicated thing," Drake said.

He declined to give a figure on how much making 3-D added to "Bloody Valentine," but said it ran into "the millions."

Technology experts said 3-D can add as much as 10-15 percent to the cost of making a film, and DreamWorks chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg has said the additional cost for making one of his big-budget flicks is $15 million.

For now, the higher cost keeps 3-D in the realm of major studios or independents like Lionsgate that are well-financed and have their own -- or easily accessible -- distribution.

The expense precludes low-budget filmmakers whose costs are $5 million or less from venturing into 3-D. Moreover, the human dramas or comedies made on low budgets for limited release in art-houses have little to gain from 3-D, industry experts said.

However, the rule of technology is that costs decrease over time as commercial markets heat up, and executives envision a young Danny Boyle, for example, one day making a 3-D film that is as big a hit as Slumdog Millionaire, which he made in 2-D.

Pink slams American Idol finalists

2009-05-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

PINK has criticised this year's American Idol finalists for butchering her song.

The 13 singers had to perform a version of her song 'So What' during the show's finale.

Writing on her Twitter page, Pink, who is currently on tour in Australia, said: "I heard it through the grapevine that someone butchered my song last night on TV. Does that mean I've 'made it'?"

Pink appeared on American Idol in 2007 for the show's annual 'Idol Gives Back' episode but reportedly fought with the show's producers, who wanted to alter the lyrics to her song 'U and Ur Hand'.

She refused to change the track and instead performed her hit 'Who Knew'.

"Tulips & Pansies: The Headdress Affair" - A Night of Flowers and Fashion to be Remembered

2009-05-18T07:22:00.000-07:00

New York – If you hadn't yet become savvy to the fact that pollen season has begun in New York City, then the "Tulips & Pansies: The Headdress Affair" fashion show fundraiser thrown by Village Care New York on Thursday, May 14, was a true spring awakening, merging fashion and flowers for a good cause.

Fashion designers and florists, 17 duos in total, teamed up for the eighth annual VCNY event where there was more coming down the catwalk to look at than just a pretty dress. Each florist worked with a clothing designer to come up with an extravagantly decorative headpiece that models adorned, complementing the runway look. Lilies, orchids, poppies, roses and even palm leaves all served in the cast of foliage that stood high atop the models' crowns.

The event was hosted by James Aguiar from Full Frontal Fashion and Style Network and featured apparel designers including Tory Burch, Pamella Rowland, Ralph Rucci and Cynthia Steffe.

Winning accreditation from the judges for most entertaining design was Sara Jordan of Sara Claire and Esther, who paired fishnet stockings to her Bordeaux colored, man-tailored cropped jacket highlighting this season's special vintage embellishment - lace. "Lots of feathers," said Amy Wolk of Fleurs as she made final preparations backstage before the show, which proved to be essential to her winning top hat design that completed the cabaret inspired ensemble. The headdresses, each with their own themes, styles and inspirations, were floral masterpieces in height and length, some towering over four feet high and others spanning the same in width. Creativity was in full bloom with designs that included a fantasy bird's nest with eggs, a Greco-Roman Cleopatra hair style, a floppy "over the top" brim hat made of roses, and a Napoleon hat.

Fashion entrepreneur and founder of public relations firm People's Revolution, Kelly Cutrone chaired the event for Village Care New York along with Jack Curry. "This is the only place that helps people with HIV when they have no where else to go," said Cutrone. Having lived in the West Village area of Manhattan, she reaffirmed her loyalty to the cause, as well as her old neighborhood, shrugging her shoulders and saying, "What can I say. I'm a downtown girl."

'Angels & Demons' wins box office from 'Star Trek'

2009-05-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK – "Angels & Demons" took the box office from "Star Trek" by earning $48 million in its first weekend of release.

The haul was far less than the earlier Dan Brown adaptation "The Da Vinci Code" — which earned $77.1 million when in opened in 2006 — but still enough to topple the popular "Star Trek," according to studio estimates Sunday.

In its second weekend, Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek" took in $43 million, a strong number after its $75.2 million opening last weekend, excluding its Thursday midnight screenings. The cumulative total for J.J. Abram's reboot of the sci-fi franchise is $147.6 million.

Sony's "Angels & Demons" reunites Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard for the sequel to "The Da Vinci Code." It opened without the benefit of the buzz and controversy that propelled "The Da Vinci Code" to a $753 million worldwide total.

Overseas business was again strong for "Angels & Demons," which earned $104.3 million internationally. Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony, said the studio expects the film will eventually take in half a billion altogether in theatrical release.

"That chemistry (of Hanks and Howard) worked incredibly well with 'Da Vinci' and it looks like it's absolutely headed in that same vein, certainly on a lesser scale," said Bruer. "We never expected anything to the phenomenon of `Da Vinci.'"

Like "The Da Vinci Code," reviews were not illustrious for "Angels & Demons," but they were mostly better. Bruer called Brown's action-packed best-seller "a far more cinematic story" than "Da Vinci." In it, Hanks again plays Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon who's trying to prevent a series of murders at the Vatican.

"Sony positioned it well," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "They didn't try to say, `This is going to be "The Da Vinci Code."' It was actually quite the contrary. They tried to say this was not `Da Vinci Code,' that it was a different kind of movie."

"Angels & Demons" was the only new wide-release film of the weekend. Coming in third was "X-Men Originals: Wolverine," which earned $14.8 million in its third week, bringing its total to $151.1 million. The prequel to the "X-Men" franchise, starring Hugh Jackman as the mutant with metal claws, had a step drop-off in its second week.

On the whole, it was another robust weekend of business at movie theaters, which have been drawing large crowds throughout the recession. Dergarabedian pegs the year-to-date box office at a 16 percent increase over last year.

"We're headed toward a record breaking summer," said Dergarabedian. "If you've got a blockbuster in the pipeline, you're very happy about all the strength of the box office right now. Momentum is key in this business."

That's good news for the two blockbusters opening next weekend: "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" and "Terminator Salvation."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Angels & Demons," $48 million.

2. "Star Trek," $43 million.

3. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," $14.8 million.

4. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," $6.9 million.

5. "Obsessed," $4.6 million.

6. "17 Again," $3.4 million.

7. "Monsters vs. Aliens," $3 million.

8. "The Soloist," $2.4 million.

9. "Next Day Air," $2.2 million.

10. "Earth," $1.7 million.

"Wolverine" slashes rivals in debut

2009-05-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Comic book movie "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" slashed its rivals at box offices over the weekend with a $160 million worldwide debut, leaping to No. 1 on ticket charts in a solid start to Hollywood's summer.

The action adventure, starring Hugh Jackman as the heroic Wolverine who wields long claws as his weapons, raked in $87 million in the United States and Canada and helped push total ticket sales just slightly ahead of the same weekend last year, according to tracking service Hollywood.com Box Office.

Landing at No. 2 on domestic box office charts with $15.3 million was romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," starring Matthew McConaughey. Last week's No. 1, thriller "Obsessed," dropped to third place with a weekend haul of $12.2 million for a cumulative total of $47 million in two weeks.

But it was "Wolverine" that lured the vast majority of fans to theaters. It was widely watched as the first major film of the studio's summer movie season that runs through August and can account for 35 to 40 percent of the annual ticket sales.

The $87 million domestic box office for "Wolverine" was lower than the $98.6 million debut of last year's No. 1 film, "Iron Man,' and box office trackers had estimated an opening in a range of $85 million to $100 million.

But Chris Aronson, senior vice president of domestic distribution at "Wolverine" backer Twentieth Century Fox, said the studio was guiding industry watchers lower for reasons that included the movie being the fourth in the "X-Men" series.

"I'd been telling people that at anything over $70 million, we were going to be very happy," he said.

Moreover, Aronson said "Wolverine" enjoyed the second biggest domestic opening for an "X-Men" movie behind "X-Men: The Last Stand," which posted a $102 million debut in May 2006 and eventually earned $459 million globally.

The four movies in the "X-Men" series have combined for more than $1.1 billion in ticket sales around the world.

SALES TOPPED PRODUCTION COSTS

The Fox executive said ticket sales of $73 million in 101 markets outside the United States and Canada brought the global haul to $160 million. He called that figure "fantastic," and noted it topped the movie's production cost of around $130 million.

Aronson said "Wolverine" may have been affected by other issues including the flu outbreak that shut theaters in Mexico, where "Last Stand" took in $6 million at its debut.

In the United States, Aronson said, a Saturday night professional basketball game between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls likely reduced moviegoing in those cities. In Boston, ticket sales were off around 21 percent and in Chicago, they were down about 30 percent.

Finally, an early and unfinished copy of "Wolverine" had leaked on the Internet and may have kept some fans away. But the true impact of Web watching is hard to calculate. "I don't know that we'll ever know" the effect, Aronson said.

Rounding out the top five movies were comedy "17 Again" with $6.4 million ($48.5 million cumulative) at No. 4, and animated "Monsters vs. Aliens" with $5.8 million ($182.4 million cumulative) at No. 5.

Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of News Corp. Warner Bros. is part of Time Warner Inc. "Obsessed" was distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment unit Screen Gems. "17 Again" was distributed by Warner Bros., and "Monsters vs. Aliens" by DreamWorks Animation.

"Angels & Demons" director sees Vatican meddling

2009-05-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

ROME (Reuters) – Director Ron Howard accused the Vatican on Sunday of trying to hamper the filming and the Rome roll-out of his new movie "Angels & Demons," and challenged Catholic critics to see the film before condemning it.

The movie sequel to author Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" will premiere in Rome on Monday, with fictional symbologist Robert Langdon returning to the big screen to help the Vatican rescue kidnapped cardinals and find a ticking time-bomb.

The Vatican was outraged by "The Da Vinci Code" and the Rome archdiocese made no secret about denying Howard authorization to film parts of the follow-up inside its churches.

Howard said the Vatican also exerted its influence "through backchannels" to try to prevent him from shooting in areas around certain churches and got an event related to the film's premiere canceled, he said.

"There was supposed to be a reception or screening here in Rome that had been approved and I suppose that the Vatican had some influence over that," Howard told a news conference.

A Vatican spokesman declined to comment.

Fanning controversy, a 102-year-old Italian bishop was quoted in Italian media over the weekend calling the film "highly denigrating, defamatory and offensive to Church values and the reputation of the Holy See."

"My only frustration as a film-maker is that we actually reached out a couple of times, going back to March, to sort of offer opportunities for bishops and others just to see the film. And those opportunities have all been declined," Howard said.

"So far all the criticism, all of the complaints about the film have been coming from people who haven't seen it."

SECRET BLOODLINE

"The Da Vinci Code" upset the Vatican and some Catholics because of its storyline that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, creating a royal bloodline that Church officials kept secret for centuries.

Christians are taught that Jesus never married, was crucified and rose from the dead.

The storyline of "Angels & Demons" does not raise questions about Jesus Christ. It is billed as a "science-vs-religion" thriller that deals with an attempt to hijack a papal election.

Despite some criticism in Italy and the United States, reaction so far by Catholics to "Angels & Demons" has not been as thunderous as it was with the release of "The Da Vinci Code."

Tom Hanks, who again stars as Langdon, acknowledged that films thrive on controversy.

"The marketing department of any studio would love to create controversy over their films, but they can't do it on their own. They need a shared partner," Hanks said.

Dan Brown refused to discuss his next novel about Langdon's adventures, which publisher Random House has said will be called "The Lost Symbol" and will be released in September.

But Brown suggested that Howard was the ideal director for a film adaptation of the new book. Howard's adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code," which was panned by critics, earned more than $750 million at the box office worldwide.

"I am very certain that someday, in the hands of Ron Howard, it is going to make an absolutely terrific movie," he said.

Jackie Chan stages show at Beijing's Bird's Nest

2009-05-04T08:12:00.000-07:00

BEIJING – Jackie Chan and a host of Chinese pop stars performed at Beijing's massive Bird's Nest stadium on Friday without a hint of the uproar caused by the veteran action star's recent comments about freedom and China.

The 55-year-old "Rush Hour" star told a business forum last month that freedom may not be a good thing for authoritarian mainland China. Critics called his comments an insult to the Chinese people.

Chan's spokesman, Solon So, later said Chan's comments were taken out of context and that the actor was referring to freedom in the entertainment industry and not Chinese society at large.

There were no signs of protests as Chan took the stage Friday at the site of the Beijing Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies, with the 91,000-capacity stadium about three-quarters full as the concert got under way.

Chan told the crowd that organizers sold 70,000 tickets. The controversy over Chan's remarks was widely reported in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but largely ignored in mainland China.

Chan sang the patriotic song "Descendants of the Dragon." Other performers included Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee and Hong Kong's Emil Chau, Alan Tam, Joey Yung and Hacken Lee.

South Korean singer Rain and the South Korean boy band Super Junior were to perform later.

The concert, timed to coincide with China's May 1-3 Labor Day national holiday, is the first major event to take place at the Bird's Nest since the closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and Beijing Paralympics and came amid questions about the stadium's future.

Chan is known for his unique brand of action comedy, but has also dabbled in singing and sang with other stars at both the opening and closing ceremonies.

Madonna adoption case heard amid paternity dispute

2009-05-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

BLANTYRE, Malawi – Malawi's highest court began deliberating on Madonna's bid to adopt a 3-year-old girl from the southern African country, as a dispute erupted over whether a man trying to stop the proceedings is the girl's father.

Madonna was not at Monday's closed-door hearing at the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, and a ruling may not be announced for several days.

The 50-year-old pop star is fighting a lower court's decision that she cannot adopt Chifundo "Mercy" James because she had not been screened over time by Malawi authorities. The court said the rules were bent when Madonna adopted her son David from Malawi last year.

Madonna's Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula said he was "hopeful" the appeal would succeed, and argued the lower court had relied on outdated law to block the girl's adoption.

Madonna found the girl in 2006 at Kondanani Children's Village, an orphanage in the southern town of Bvumbwe just south of the commercial capital of Blantyre. It was the same year she adopted David, whom she found at another orphanage in the central Mchinji district.

On Sunday, a man told The Associated Press he was the girl's father, and has sought help from the Malawi Law Society to stop the adoption.

James Kambewa, a 24-year-old a security guard, acknowledged he has never seen the child, who according to court documents was placed in the orphanage when her 14-year-old mother died a few weeks after giving birth to her.

But Kambewa said he now wanted to claim custody of Chifundo.

"I may be poor, but I think I have what it takes to raise a daughter," he said. "I will fight the adoption."

The brother of the girl's mother told the AP the family does not know Kambewa.

"How can he claim he is the father when he hasn't been around all this time?" said Peter Baneti, who explained that the girl was put in the orphanage because there was no one to breast-feed the baby.

Baneti said he had agreed to the adoption on behalf of the family, and that Kambewa was "just an opportunist."

Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said in an e-mail message she doesn't know if Kambewa is the father.

"All I know is that Mercy has been in an orphanage since the day she was born," Rosenberg said.

Kambewa, in an interview to be aired Monday on CBS' "The Early Show," said he has only seen the girl "in newspapers and TV — not face to face." But he told CBS the girl "is a Malawian — so (I) need her to grow as a Malawian as well with our culture."

On the show, Kambewa wore a necklace bearing the girl's name.

Madonna has founded a charity, Raising Malawi, that helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's more than 1 million orphans, half of whom have lost parents to AIDS.

Amy Winehouse blocks paparazzi from London home

2009-05-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

LONDON – Amy Winehouse has won a court order banning the paparazzi from pursuing her outside her London home, a source close to the singer's management team said Saturday.

The singer sought the order to ban photographers if they follow her or approach her within 100 meters (yards) of her home, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not directly involved in the case.

Winehouse posted the anti-harrassment injunction outside her home.

The 25-year-old's drug problems have been front page news in Britain, where she was pictured puffing on what appeared to be a crack pipe last year.

Winehouse sought the injunction last month after moving from the north London neighborhood of Camden — known for its music scene and drug culture — to the more sleepy Hadley Wood area of Enfield, further north.

Best bets: ‘Wolverine’ claws way into theaters

2009-04-27T07:47:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder how X-Men’s Wolverine came to be? “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” has the answers and a whole lot of Hugh Jackman to boot. If you’ve seen that leaked, unfinished version on the Web, you know that Liev Schreiber co-stars as Sabretooth, while other mutants include Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), Bolt (Dominic Monaghan) and Gambit (Taylor Kitsch). If this film succeeds, get ready for a whole lot more X-Men origins stories. In fact, “X-Men Origins: Magneto” is already in the works. (Opens May 1)

Jim Jarmusch returns with his first film since 2005’s “Broken Flowers,” “The Limits of Control.” Isaach De Bankolé stars as a mysterious loner with criminal intentions. The film co-stars Bill Murray, John Hurt, Gael Garcia Bernal and Paz de la Huerta. Two things you can always count on with Jarmusch: You’ll leave the theater really thinking about what you just saw, and the soundtrack is sure to be great. (Opens May 1 in limited release)

Best bets: ‘Wolverine’ claws way into theaters

2009-04-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

Japanese pop star Kusanagi arrested for indecency

2009-04-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

TOKYO (AFP) – A pop star with ageing Japanese boy band SMAP was arrested for public indecency, police said, amid reports he was naked, drunk and acting erratically in a central Tokyo park.

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, 34, was arrested early in the morning near the Roppongi nightclub district after a local resident alerted police, a police spokesman said.

Television stations reported the arrest by flashing bulletins usually reserved for earthquakes and other major events, while television helicopters filmed the park from the air after sunrise.

Public broadcaster NHK placed a breaking news headline over its live footage of a parliamentary session on Japan's measures to fight Somali pirates.

"What's wrong with being naked?" Kusanagi reportedly yelled at a police officer who approached him.

The incident infuriated Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama, whose ministry has featured Kusanagi in its campaign to promote the 2011 start of nationwide terrestrial digital broadcasting.

"If the report is true, I'm immensely angry... I'll drop him off everything related to terrestrial digital broadcasting," he told reporters. "I'll never forgive him."

Boy band SMAP gained fame from the early 1990s and became hugely popular in Japan and elsewhere in Asia with a string of chart-topping hits.

Its members have used their fame to get roles in television dramas and movies, and Kusanagi has starred in films and featured in many commercials.

In South Korea, he is better known as "Cho Nan Kang" and liked for his good command of the Korean language.

SMAP, one of many successful pop groups formed by Japanese talent agency Johnny and Associates, is an acronym for "Sports Music Assemble People."

Tarantino back in Cannes with Almodovar, Campion

2009-04-23T06:09:00.001-07:00

PARIS (Reuters) – Quentin Tarantino returns to Cannes as part of a group of familiar faces at the world's biggest film festival that includes Pedro Almodovar, Ken Loach and New Zealand's Jane Campion.

Tarantino, who won the Palme d'Or for "Pulp Fiction" in 1994, presents his long-awaited World War Two caper "Inglourious Basterds" starring Brad Pitt in the main competition line-up announced by festival director Thierry Fremaux on Thursday.

He will be up against previous Cannes winners including Ken Loach, who presents "Looking for Eric" starring Eric Cantona about a postman looking for life lessons from the former France and Manchester United soccer star.

Campion, the first woman to win the Palme d'Or with the 1993 film "The Piano," is showing "Bright Star" about the 19th century English poet John Keats.

Spanish director Almodovar, who has not won the top prize yet, brings an emotional drama called "Broken Embraces," which stars his longtime favorite Penelope Cruz.

The 62nd edition of the festival will open for the first time with an animated feature when "Up," a 3-D comedy directed by one of the creators of "Toy Story," kicks off proceedings at the opening ceremony on May 13.

The red carpet glamour, an essential component of the festival despite its emphasis on independent arthouse fare, will be supplied by stars including Cantona and Cruz, Monica Bellucci and Brad Pitt.

Fremaux acknowledged that the festival could not ignore the global economic crisis but he brushed aside talk of empty hotel rooms and cost-shy studios cutting back on attendance.

"We are all of us going to see a festival that will not be unaware that the world is in crisis," he told a news conference. "We are going to try to make a festival which continues to be what it is," he said.

"We haven't felt the slightest reluctance on anybody's part, anyone saying 'we have to watch out because of the crisis'. I would say that ... more than ever Cannes is the rendezvous for creators and the industry."

The number of past Cannes participants certainly gives a sense of familiarity to the films that will be judged by jury president Isabelle Huppert.

Lars von Trier, who won the Palme d'Or in 2000 for "Dancer in the Dark," is back with "Antichrist" a psychological horror film, while Ang Lee, whose "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was a hit at Cannes in 2000, shows "Taking Woodstock," about the 1960s music festival.

Hong Kong action director Johnnie To brings "Vengeance," which, for French audiences at least, will be spiced up by the participation of veteran Gallic rocker Johnny Hallyday.

Tarantino back in Cannes with Almodovar, Campion

2009-04-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Campion, the first woman to win the Palme d'Or with the 1993 film "The Piano," is showing "Bright Star" about the 19th century English poet John Keats.

Spanish director Almodovar, who has not won the top prize yet, brings an emotional drama called "Broken Embraces," which stars his longtime favorite Penelope Cruz.

The red carpet glamour, an essential component of the festival despite its emphasis on independent arthouse fare, will be supplied by stars including Cantona and Cruz, Monica Bellucci and Brad Pitt.

Fremaux acknowledged that the festival could not ignore the global economic crisis but he brushed aside talk of empty hotel rooms and cost-shy studios cutting back on attendance.

The number of past Cannes participants certainly gives a sense of familiarity to the films that will be judged by jury president Isabelle Huppert.

Hong Kong action director Johnnie To brings "Vengeance," which, for French audiences at least, will be spiced up by the participation of veteran Gallic rocker Johnny Hallyday.

Schwarzenegger says his `Terminator' might be back

2009-04-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Arnold Schwarzenegger might be back as the Terminator after all, despite his day job as California governor.

Schwarzenegger confirmed in a Webcast interview that his image might appear in next month's "Terminator: Salvation," the fourth movie in the franchise about a showdown between humanity and machines.

The governor says he made it clear he had no time to shoot new footage but that the filmmakers are playing with technology to insert his image from the earlier "Terminator" movies.

Schwarzenegger says he told director McG he will come to the premiere of the movie, which stars Christian Bale as leader of the human resistance against machine conquerors.

Bai Ling cranks up moonstruck life for "High Voltage"

2009-04-18T06:14:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Chinese-American actress Bai Ling really thinks she is from the moon, and that her grandmother lives there. Really, truly.

The actress, who stars in the action movie "Crank High Voltage" that opened on Friday, has made the admission before, and she insists she is not crazy -- just inspired.

"I'm not really in reality. I'm in my own universe and my mind is a million miles somewhere else," said Bai, who won a Golden Horse award, a Chinese-language film honor, for her supporting role in 2004 movie "Dumplings."

"Why I feel like I come from the moon is because my mother told me I was found somewhere," she said, explaining that at night she often sees the grandmother who raised her in the celestial sphere.

During a stay at a mental hospital in China as a teenager, after a difficult spell in the army, Bai said she told the staff that she was of sound mind.

"I went to the nurse, I said, 'Nurse I'm not crazy. I'm an actress, I want to get out of here, I'm doing a movie,'" she told Reuters in a recent interview.

As improbable as it may have seemed at the time, Bai truly was a budding actress. Soon after her release from the hospital, she was cast in a stage play, then went on to win roles in a number of Chinese movies in the 1980s.

So, as impossible as it may seem that she's from the moon and no matter what some moviegoers may say about her sometimes odd fashion choices, she is, nonetheless, a solid actress.

GIRL, CRANKED

Her character in "Crank High Voltage," Ria, is rescued from Chinese thugs by hit man Chev Chelios (Jason Statham), who is on the run from a Mexican gang boss and the Chinese.

The movie is based on 2006 action flick "Crank," which also starred Statham and earned $45 million at global box offices.

Both films come from co-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor. Neveldine, who rolled around on Rollerblades while filming, said Bai was the perfect fit for Ria.

"We loved that she was off the wall, and she's out there," he said. "For us, directing her was about reigning her in, and that's a great thing."

Bai's breakthrough Hollywood role came in 1994 action movie "The Crow." In 1997, she starred in "Red Corner," a film about China's justice system that was banned in that country.

She said she had to apologize to Chinese government officials for "Red Corner," which allowed her to eventually return to the country for movie work.

But she said that one embarrassing mark on her career cannot be erased -- paparazzi photos of her in public wearing clothes that have sometimes left her nipples exposed.

"Sometimes my nipples just popped out, they want to see the sunlight maybe," she said, wearing a turtle-shaped ring.

The actress had to learn English as an adult to make it in Hollywood, a feat that has eluded many leading foreign actors. She attributes her quick study to "pillow talk."

A fan of the opera, she said that she does not prepare for her roles, drawing instead on her openness to life and sublime experiences, like the sight of rain falling from leaves.

"I don't know what's normal or not normal, I'm totally functional in society and I'm totally enjoying being alive in this place and giving my gift to my work," she said.

Jackie Chan: Chinese people need to be controlled

2009-04-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

BOAO, China – Action star Jackie Chan said Saturday he's not sure if a free society is a good thing for China and that he's starting to think "we Chinese need to be controlled."

Chan's comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders in China's southern island province of Hainan.

The 55-year-old Hong Kong actor was participating in a panel at the annual Boao Forum when he was asked to discuss censorship and restrictions on filmmakers in China. He expanded his comments to include society.

"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said. "I'm really confused now. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic."

Chan added: "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."

The kung fu star has not been a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy movement in his hometown of Hong Kong. Since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, voters have not been allowed to directly elect their leader. Several massive street protests have been held to demand full democracy, but Beijing has repeatedly said Hong Kong isn't ready for it.

The theme at Saturday's panel discussion was "Tapping into Asia's Creative Industry Potential," and Chan had several opinions about innovation in China.

He said that early in his career, he lived in the shadow of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee. He said that during his first foray into Hollywood, he struggled to establish his own identity, so he returned to Hong Kong. After spending 15 years building his reputation in Asia, Chan finally got rediscovered by Hollywood, he said.

Chan said the problem with Chinese youth is that "they like other people's things. They don't like their own things." Young people need to spend more time developing their own style, he added.

The action hero complained that Chinese goods still have too many quality problems. He became emotional when discussing contaminated milk powder that sickened tens of thousands of Chinese babies in the past year.

Speaking fast with his voice rising, Chan said, "If I need to buy a TV, I'll definitely buy a Japanese TV. A Chinese TV might explode."

'Die Hard' director indicted in wiretaps case

2009-04-18T06:12:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury on Friday indicted a Hollywood director who had withdrawn a guilty plea to a charge accusing him of lying to federal agents investigating a celebrity wiretapping case.

John McTiernan, who directed "Die Hard" and "Predator," was indicted on two counts of making false statements to the FBI about private investigator Anthony Pellicano and one count of perjury for allegedly lying to a federal judge while trying to withdraw his guilty plea.

His attorney, S. Todd Neal, said the indictment is "really nothing new" and promised to rigorously defend his client.

"The prosecutor has taken one count and tried to expand it into more charges in a new indictment," he said. "There seems to be retribution because John refused to play ball the way the prosecutors wanted and because we were successful on appeal."

McTiernan pleaded guilty in 2006 to making "knowingly false" statements to an FBI agent about Pellicano, whom he admitted hiring to wiretap a business associate.

But before he was sentenced, McTiernan asked the judge to withdraw his plea, arguing he didn't have adequate legal representation, was jet-lagged and under the influence of alcohol when he pleaded guilty.

The judge refused so McTiernan, 58, appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which vacated his four-month sentence and ruled that he was entitled to a hearing on whether he could withdraw his plea.

In February, he was allowed to reverse his plea.

Pellicano was convicted last year of wiretapping film producer Charles Roven for McTiernan and bugging phones of celebrities and others to get information for his clients. He was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.

`Harry Potter' sweeps into theaters 2 days early

2009-04-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES – Harry Potter and his school chums are heading back to class a little sooner than expected.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" now is opening Wednesday, July 15, two days earlier than its previous release date, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Tuesday.

That gives the movie a head-start on the weekend during what's shaping up as a highly competitive summer season for Hollywood, which has major franchise films opening virtually every week.

"Every day the kids are out of school in summer is just like an extra Saturday," Fellman said.

Warner Bros. also opened the franchise's most recent release, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," on a Wednesday in July 2007.

It's the second date change for the sixth installment in the adventures of the boy wizard. "Half-Blood Prince" had been scheduled for release last fall until the studio bumped it to this July to take advantage of an open weekend in the busy summer lineup.

The franchise stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as his best pals at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Madonna still keen to adopt Malawian child: report

2009-04-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

LILONGWE (Reuters) – U.S. pop star Madonna is still keen on adopting a second child from Malawi, despite a court ruling in the southern African country preventing her from doing so, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.

Madonna, who lost an appeal against a High Court decision refusing her bid to adopt a four-year-old girl named Mercy James, said she wants to provide education and a family environment for the young girl.

"I want to provide Mercy with a home, a loving family environment and the best education and healthcare possible. And it's my hope that she like David, will one day return to Malawi and help the people of their country," Madonna told the Nation on Sunday newspaper in an emailed response to questions.

"Though I have been advised that I cannot publicly discuss the pending appeal regarding my desire to adopt Mercy, I do want to say how much I appreciate the level of support that I have received from the people of Malawi and my friends around the world."

Malawi's government came under fire after Madonna adopted a 13-month-old child, David Banda, in 2006, with critics accusing it of giving her special treatment by skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children.

Madonna's lawyer, Alan Chinula, has already lodged a notice of appeal against the decision earlier this month but by last week the courts had not yet granted a date for the hearing.

In her ruling, Judge Esimie Chombo warned against celebrity adoptions, saying they could lead to child trafficking.

"Anyone could come to Malawi and quickly arrange for an adoption that might have grave consequences on the very children that the law seeks to protect," she said.

Madonna has entertained millions around the world with sexy high-energy performances and songs like "Material Girl" and "Papa Don't Preach," and created controversies along the way.

The star, who was divorced last year from British film director Guy Ritchie, is one of the music industry's most successful singers, with album sales of more than 200 million.

Michael Caine is not the retiring type

2009-04-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AFP) – With more than 100 films under his belt and two Oscars nestling on his mantlepiece, Michael Caine could be forgiven for contemplating retirement after more than half a century on the silver screen.

Yet though the 76-year-old actor's latest role sees him playing an aging magician struggling to adjust to life as a reluctant resident of an old people's home, Caine says there is no chance of his life imitating art.

"(General Douglas) MacArthur said 'Old soldiers don't die they just fade away,' and maybe it's the same with old actors too," Caine told reporters ahead of the North American release of his film "Is Anybody There?" on April 17.

"I don't think you ever retire from films -- films retire you," Caine says. "Sometimes, if you're unfortunate, after your first film.

"What happens is you say 'I'm going to retire.' And then someone turns up and gives you this script. So you're not retiring."

"I don't have my next movie and I'm not looking for one. But someone will give me a script possibly and I'll work again. If someone doesn't give me a script that I want to do, I'll retire."

"But there' won't be a great announcement or fanfare of trumpets. I just won't do anything. I'll stay at home and do what I always do, which is cooking, gardening and writing."

Born Maurice Micklewhite in 1933, Caine grew up in southeast London, the Cockney son of a charlady and a fishmarket porter. He fell in love with Hollywood after seeing the "Lone Ranger" as a five-year-old.

After changing his name, Caine secured uncredited roles in a string of films during the 1950s before his big break came in the 1964 classic "Zulu."

One of the actor's best known films -- "The Ipcress File" -- followed before Caine shot to stardom as the morally bankrupt title character of 1966's "Alfie," which earned him the first of six career Academy Award nominations.

Since then Caine has appeared in dozens of beloved film roles, from the swaggering thief Charlie Croker in 1969's "The Italian Job" to Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth in the two most recent Batman blockbusters.

Caine is contracted to reprise the role of Alfred in any follow-up to "The Dark Knight," but he believes a sequel will not happen for some time as director Christopher Nolan is committed to other projects.

Most recently Caine has finished work on a British crime thriller "Harry Brown," where he plays an aging Royal Marine who turns vigilante after his friend is killed on a crime-ridden London estate.

For Caine, the film was a chance to reconnect with his London roots.

"It was weird for me because we went back to these estates which fortunately are being torn down," Caine said. "They were the estates where I came from and there is still a mural on a wall in this estate, of me and Charlie Chaplin, who also came from there."

While "Harry Brown" echoes Caine's role in the cult 1969 British gangster film "Get Carter," his latest movie, "Is Anybody There?" takes the audience on a touching story about the unlikely friendship between the elder conjurer Clarence and Edward, a small boy who lives at the home, played by young actor Bill Milner.

Caine said he agreed to do the film after reading only half of the script and being reduced to tears.

"No script had ever done that to me before and I don't cry easily, believe me," Caine revealed. "I just thought it was a wonderful thing to do."

While Caine insists he has little in common with the struggle against aging and dementia of his character Clarence, recent experiences in his personal life had helped him prepare for the role.

"The film did give me an insight into why other people age and not me," Caine said. "But there was a sad aspect to it. For the dementia and Alzheimer's I was technically perfect because my best friend had just died of it.

"I'd just spent five years watching somebody deal with it, so I knew exactly about Alzheimer's and the confusion it causes."

Caine said he had few reservations about working with a young co-star in "Is Anybody There?" Milner, whose other films include recent independent hit "Son of Rambow," was 12 when filming took place.

"I never got the sense that Bill was a child actor," Caine said. "I just looked at him as if he was the same as me. And we were just friends.

"One reporter asked me the other day 'Did you give him any advice?' And I said no, he didn't need any advice. He never looked like he needed any help. He was just wonderful."

Talk of co-stars brings Caine on to the subject of "The Dark Knight" colleague Christian Bale, who made unwanted headlines earlier this year after his lengthy rant at a crew member on the set of an upcoming "Terminator" film was leaked onto the Internet.

Caine said he was "stunned" by Bale's outburst, which he described as "totally out of character."

"I'm more like that than Christian is," Caine said. "You're liable to get a volley off me if you walk into one of my takes."

He recounted an exchange with the late author and director James Clavell during filming of "The Last Valley" in 1970.

Clavell, who had been taken prisoner by the Japanese during World War II, had taken Caine aside after he had exploded in anger on set. ("I outdid Christian by about 30 minutes," Caine joked.)

"James Clavell told me that what he learned from watching the Japanese was they never lost their temper in front of strangers, because you expose too much of yourself," Caine said. "So he gave me this long lecture about anger. And since that day I have never lost my temper on a set. Now I go home and scream at the kids instead."

Miley Cyrus world's favourite teenage idol

2009-04-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Miley Cyrus is the world's favourite teenage idol.

The 'Hannah Montana' actress has topped an online poll about young celebrities, with almost a third of voters - 32 per cent - naming her the biggest rising star.

However, only 10 per cent of participants believe the 16-year-old singer-and-actress is a good role model.

Squeaky-clean band the Jonas Brothers finished second in the favourite idols poll with 27 per cent of votes, while former winner Britney Spears was demoted to third position.

According to the survey, fans are frustrated by the 'Womanizer' singer's turbulent personal life.

The pop princess received less than a quarter of votes and only four per cent of voters believe the mother-of-two is a positive influence.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old singer Taylor Swift - who starred alongside Miley in 'Hannah Montana: The Movie' - was named the celebrity with the most influence over adolescents.

The online questionnaire by PopEater.com - which was completed by 57,000 members - also saw the Backstreet Boys named as the greatest teen idols of the 90s, while Kirk Cameron won the award for the 80s and David Cassidy was the most popular star from the 70s.

Review: `Hannah Montana' fans will love new movie

2009-04-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES – "Hannah Montana: The Movie" just shouldn't be analyzed from an adult perspective — which, frankly, is irrelevant.

The big-screen version of the Disney TV series is not made for us — it's made for girls aged 6-14 and no one else — and so we must consider how they're going to respond to it.

Now, this will come as no surprise at all: They're gonna love it. And it makes sense, really.

If you were a 10-year-old girl, you would of course want to be small-town sweetheart Miley Stewart and/or her secret pop-star alter ego, Hannah Montana. Singer/songwriter/dancer/trendsetter Miley Cyrus makes both characters so likably harmless, so attractively accessible, it's hard not to be charmed.

Just you try to resist her endless supply of energy and moxie!

Even when she gets a little petulant and carried away with her celebrity lifestyle in Los Angeles — which prompts a return to Tennessee for some hometown reprogramming — she still has a magnetism about her.

Nevertheless, "Hannah Montana: The Movie" drags us all back to the fictional Crowley Corners to bang us over the head with the message that big cities are bad and small towns are good. And there's plenty of down-home singin' and cuttin' up to emphasize that point. (Amazingly, Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts just happen to live there, too. What are the odds?!)

The predictable (though beautifully photographed) film from director Peter Chelsom ("Serendipity," "Shall We Dance?") finds Miley's dad, Robby Ray (Cyrus' real-life father, Billy Ray), taking her home against her will to reconnect with her roots. As in the "Hannah Montana" 3-D concert film from last year, Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus have an obvious, comfortable bond on camera; the moments they share seem sincere and provide some much-needed substance amid the perkiness and pratfalls.

Back home, Miley bonds with Grandma Ruby (longtime character actress Margo Martindale, who's done far more interesting work) and finds her first boyfriend, Travis (Lucas Till), a non-threatening farmhand she's known since childhood. Hoedowns and horseback riding ensue.

But the idyll can't last forever: A British tabloid reporter (Peter Gunn) has followed her there, trying to dig up some dirt on Hannah. (For some strange reason, neither he nor anyone else can figure out that Hannah is just Miley in a blond wig; the Clark Kent routine even fools the sensitive Travis, who seemed to have such insight into Miley's true nature.)

But the reporter's portly presence also brings an unwelcome tone of sitcommy physical humor. Miley gets hit in the head a lot (with a coconut, a volleyball, etc.), and the second she places some fresh eggs in the back pocket of her denim overalls, you know she's going to fall on her butt and smash them. But Gunn's obnoxious Oswald Granger bears the brunt of the pain, skidding on a scattered pile of walnuts or tumbling face-first into a puddle of mud.

"Hannah Montana" didn't need all that, given the warmhearted family tone — the one element that may appeal to audiences beyond the tweens — and the catchiness of the pop tunes. Not only will you have "Hoedown Throwdown" stuck in your head as you leave the theater, you may end up trying to master the elaborate choreography right alongside your 10-year-old.

Resistance is futile.

"Hannah Montana: The Movie," a Walt Disney Pictures release, is rated G. Running time: 106 minutes. Two stars out of four.

Billy Bob Thornton's band cancels Canadian tour

2009-04-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

TORONTO – Billy Bob Thornton's band has canceled the rest of its Canadian tour after the actor compared the country's fans to mashed potatoes with no gravy in a testy interview that caused a sensation online.

The Boxmasters opened for Willie Nelson on Thursday in Toronto, where they reportedly were booed and met with catcalls of "Here comes the gravy."

A note posted on Nelson's Web site Friday said the Boxmasters were canceling the rest of their Canadian dates "due to one band member and several of the crew having the flu."

The cancellation came two days after Thornton made world headlines with a belligerent appearance on CBC radio's "Q."

The actor apparently didn't like that host Jian Ghomeshi started the interview with references to Thornton's Hollywood career.

Thornton refused to answer many of Ghomeshi's questions directly, mumbling: "I don't know what you're talking about." He later said Ghomeshi's producers had been told ahead of time not to talk about his film career.

Thornton also had some unkind words for Canadian crowds.

"Canadian audiences seem to be very reserved," he told Ghomeshi. "We tend to play places where people throw things at each other. Here, they just sort of sit there. And it doesn't matter what you say to 'em. ... It's mashed potatoes but no gravy."

Before his Thursday night gig, Thornton tried to clarify those remarks, saying he loved Canada and his "mashed potatoes" comment had been aimed at Ghomeshi.

Media around the world delighted in the story. Entertainment Weekly's Web site ran the headline, "Billy Bob Thornton: What's his problem?"

Britney Bagaikan "Tahanan" di Dalam Kehidupannya Sendiri

2009-04-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

Beijing (ANTARA News) - Bintang pop Britney Spears menjadi "tahanan" di dalam kehidupannya sendiri.

Kantor berita Xinhua melaporkan bahwa mantan manager Britney, Sam Lutfi, mengatakan kepada Pengadilan Tinggi Los Angeles bintang itu menderita "tekanan emosi" di bawah tindakan konservatif ketat ayahnya.

Ayah Britney, Jamie, diberi wewenang atas urusan keuangan dan pribadi putrinya tahun lalu dan dengan cepat mengeluarkan perintah pengekangan terhadap Lutfi.

Dalam proses pengadilan saat ini, Jamir berusaha memperpanjang perintahnya karena ia menyatakan Lutfi masih mengganggu putrinya dan bersekongkol untuk mengganggu wewenang hukumnya atas Britney.

Adik perempuan Lutfi, Christina, juga memberi bukti di pengadilan Kamis, yang menyatakan Britney meminta dia "membelikan telefon genggam dan menyelundupkannya ke Beverly Hills Hotel, tempat Britney tinggal.

Christina berkata, "Britney memberi tahu saya bahwa ia ingin memeluk Sam. Britney ingin Sam membantu dia mencarikan pengacara, dan memerlukan seseorang untuk membelikan dia telefon genggam pra-bayar."

"Ia ketakutan karena ayahnya memeras dia dengan hak kunjungan atas anak-anaknya," kata Christina.

Penyanyi yang berusia 27 tahun tersebut sudah memberi tahu Christina untuk menemui dia di tempat senam di Peninsula Hotel. Christina menyatakan ia memberi Britney telefon itu di tempat sauna, dan kemudian menyaksikan dia menyembunyikannya di lemari penyimpanan.

Christina menambahkan, "Ia bertanya kepada saya, `Apakakah Sam akan dapat membantu saya?`"

Telefon tersebut belakangan ditemukan oleh tim keamanan dan disita.

Rabu pagi, pengacara Jamie, Blair Berk, bersaksi bahwa Britney "sangat takut kepada Sam, sehingga ia bertanya apakah saya dapat membuat dia ditangkap, guna menjauhkan Sam darinya".

Berk membantah Britney tidak bahagia di bawah pengawasan ayahnya dan berkeras aktris itu tak meminta bantuan hukum dari luar.

Ia juga menyatakan klip suara di internet, yang diduga sebagai rekaman suara Britney, yang meminta bantuan seorang pengacara guna meloloskan dia dari pengawasan ayahnya, bukan dibuat oleh penyanyi tersebut.

Penutupan kasus perintah pengekangan akan diselenggarakan pada 21 April dan Lutfi dilarang mengadakan kontak dengan Britney sampai saat itu.

Sementara itu, Britney telah dilaporkan mendapatkan cinta dari agennya Jason Trawick.

Satu orang dalam mengatakan, "Britney dan Jason telah menjalin hubungan selama beberapa bulan sekarang. Mereka berusaha melakukannya secara diam-diam di Hollywood karena itu bukan reputasi bagus bagi seorang agen."

Jamie dilaporkan terkesan dengan hubungan baru putrinya. Seorang agen menambahkan, "Jamir benar-benar suka pada Jason. Ia telah melakukan apa saja yang dapat dilakukannya untuk membuat mereka bersama."

"Jamie benar-benar memantau siapa yang berada bersama Britney dan telah memberi Jason akses seratus persen ke Britney setiap waktu. Dalam lingkungan mereka, Jason dan Britney sangat terbuka dan berciuman di depan orang yang mereka percaya," katanya.(*)

Raikkonen Ingin Membalas di Shanghai

2009-04-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

ROMA, Kompas.com — Mantan juara dunia, Kimi Raikkonen, yakin tim Ferrari akan segera pulih dari kegagalan di dua seri lomba awal musim 2009 di Australia dan Malaysia.

Dalam dua lomba tersebut, tim kuda jingkrak gagal mendulang nilai. Dua pebalap mereka, Kimi Raikkonen dan Felipe Massa, bahkan tidak mampu menyodok ke urutan 10 besar.

Ferrari yang begitu dominan di ajang GP F1 sepuluh tahun terakhir, seperti tidak berdaya di hadapan jagoan baru F1, tim Brawn GP. Lebih buruk lagi, tim Ferrari bahkan menjalani taktik yang buruk yang merugikan Massa dan Raikkonen. Hasil ini membuat Presiden Ferrari Luca di Montezemolo meminta timnya melakukan perbaikan kinerja.

Bagi Raikkonen, lomba musim ini tampaknya akan menentukan masa depannya di Ferrari, setelah penampilannya yang buruk musim lalu. Raikkonen yakin timnya akan mampu memperbaiki penampilan di GP China menyusul penampilan buruk di Australia dan Malaysia.

"Kami belum memiliki poin sesudah dua grand prix dan tentu saja ini merupakan saat yang sulit buat kami," ungkap Raikkonen. "Namun, kami pernah menghadapi hal seperti ini sebelumnya. Kami tahu bagaimana harus bersikap dan kami akan membuktikannya di Shanghai."

Busyet! Rp 1 Triliun Nguap Karena Pembajakan

2009-04-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

TANJUNGPINANG, KOMPAS.com -- Vokalis grup Letto, Noe, menyentil sikap sejumlah partai yang menjadikan isu pembajakan karya cipta hanya sebatas wacana. Saat ini, menurutnya, belum ada partai politik yang konsisten ikut memberantas pembajakan lagu, padahal hal itu sangatlah merugikan negara.

"Dalam setahun Indonesia dirugikan sebesar sekitar Rp1 triliun akibat pembajakan lagu baik dalam bentuk CD, VCD maupun MP3," kata Noe di Tanjungpinang, ibukota Provinsi Kepri, Jumat.

Grup musik Letto datang ke Tanjungpinang untuk menghibur massa Partai Golkar yang akan berkampanye di lapangan parkir Kelurahan Senggarang, Kota Tanjungpinang.

"Beberapa partai hanya sebatas wacana memberantas pembajakan lagu, sementara partai lainnya sama sekali tidak menyentuh permasalahan itu," kata Noe yang menolak menyanyikan lagu sebelum menghibur massa Partai Golkar.

Dia menegaskan pembajakan lagu sepanjang tahun semakin banyak terjadi. Itu lebih besar merugikan artis dan produser dibanding pajak yang diberikan negara. "Semakin menggila saja. Kondisinya semakin mengkhawatirkan," katanya.

Karena itu, kata dia, banyak penyanyi yang terkenal tapi tidak mendapatkan penghasilan yang layak. Piringan CD, VCD dan MP3 lagu bajakan mencapai 94 persen, sementara piringan yang asli terjual hanya enam persen.

"Partai memiliki peranan yang cukup besar dalam mengatasi permasalahan itu," ujarnya.

Personel Letto belum tentu mendukung Partai Golkar meski diundang untuk menghibur massa partai tersebut. "Itu rahasia. Yang pasti kami mendukung partai yang memiliki komitmen membangun Indonesia," katanya.

"Seharusnya pemberantasan pembajakan lagu itu menjadi misi partai besar," kata Noe.

Dewi Sandra: Rasanya Sakit Banget

2009-04-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com -- Penyanyi Dewi Sandra Killick akhirnya angkat bicara soal gugatan cerai yang dilayangkan suami yang juga penyanyi Glenn Fredly ke Pengadilan Negeri (PN) Jakarta Selatan pada 17 Maret 2009 lalu.

"Rasanya sakit banget digugat cerai. Saya masih berharap rumah tangga saya dan Glenn masih punya umur yang panjang,” kata Dewi usai syuting program Play List di Studio Penta SCTV, Kebonjeruk, Jakarta Barat, Jumat (3/4) sore. Meski masih ingin langgeng dengan sang suami, Dewi harus tetap realitis.

Mantan istri aktor Surya Saputra ini harus merasakan kepedihan yang sama. Tiga tahun perkawinan Dewi dan Glenn yang ‘dirayakan’ di Bali itu sepertinya harus berakhir di meja persidangan PN. ”Tiga tahun perkawinan kami tidak bisa memaksakan kehendak masing-masing,” jelas Dewi.

Meski mengaku tetap berusaha untuk mempertahankan rumah tangganya yang baru seumur jagung, Dewi tetap saja ragu usahanya itu akan sia-sia belaka. ”Sepertinya percuma,” ujar Dewi lirih tanpa melanjutkan lagi kalimatnya.Sebenarnya, ketidakhadiran Dewi dalam sidang cerai pertamanya itu juga merupakan salah satu usahanya untuk mempertahankan mahligai rumah tangganya. Tetapi mungkin saja Dewi teringat pada ucapan Glenn lewat pengacaranya, Dodi Haryanto di persidangan yang tetap keukeuh berpisah. ”Saya tidak mau gagal lagi. Tapi sekarang saya menyerahkan semuanya pada Tuhan,” kata Dewi.

Aktris kelahiran Brasil, 3 April 1980 itu, menampik tudingan bahwa gugatan cerai yang dilayangkan suaminya terkait perbedaan agama atau kabar bahwa Dewi tidak bisa memiliki keturunan. ”Sejak dulu kami komit dengan kondisi yang berbeda,” katanya.

Dewi juga meminta kepada media agar tidak menjatuhkan vonis kepadanya bahwa dirinya tidak bisa memiliki anak. ”Menurut pemeriksaan dokter, saya ini wanita yang bisa memiliki anak. Jadi jangan hukum saya dengan kabar itu,” ujar Dewi yang sempat ditelepon Glenn, ”Dia telepon untuk mengucapkan ulang tahun pernikahan ke-3.”

Telkomsel Ingin Dongkrak Pengguna 3G Via iPhone

2009-04-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

Surabaya (ANTARA News) - Operator selular, PT Telkomsel, menginginkan pelanggan layanan 3G-nya naik setelah perusahaan itu meluncurkan iPhone 3G pekan lalu.

Vice President Area Jawa Bali Telkomsel, Gilang Prasetya, kepada wartawan di Surabaya, Kamis, mengatakan, hingga akhir 2008 lalu, pengguna layanan 3G Telkomsel secara nasional sekitar 6,5 juta pelanggan dan dipastikan naik pada akhir Maret lalu.

"Layanan 3G makin diminati pelanggan, karena memiliki banyak kelebihan. Produk iPhone 3G yang kami luncurkan merupakan salah satu upaya untuk memenuhi kebutuhan pelanggan terhadap layanan multimedia yang lebih berkualitas," katanya.

Setelah diluncurkan pertama kali di Jakarta pada pekan lalu, produk yang memadukan kombinasi ponsel yang revolusioner, iPod berlayar lebar dan terobosan baru perangkat Internet berkulitas, kembali diluncurkan serentak di empat kota, yakni Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, dan Makassar mulai Jumat (3/4).

Produk yang sudah dipasarkan di lebih dari 70 negara itu, sengaja menggandeng Telkomsel untuk pemasaran di Indonesia, karena operator seluler ini memiliki jaringan 3G paling luas dibanding operator lainnya.

"Kalau operator tidak memiliki jaringan 3G luas, fungsi iPhone tidak akan maksimal," tambah Manager External Communications Telkomsel, Suryo Hadiyanto.

Saat ini jaringan Telkomsel telah melayani hingga ke pelosok daerah dan seluruh provinsi serta kabupaten di Indonesia. Bahkan jaringan 3G Telkomsel telah menjangkau lebih dari 140 kota.

Pada 2009 ini, operator seluler terbesar di dalam negeri itu telah mengalokasikan investasi sebesar 1,5 miliar dolar AS, termasuk untuk menghadirkan jaringan 3G terbaik.

Gilang Prasetya mengatakan optimistis dalam tiga bulan kedepan, penjualan produk tersebut bisa menembus angka 5.000 unit untuk wilayah Jawa, Bali dan Nusa Tenggara. Khusus wilayah Surabaya, sekitar 5.000 pelanggan sudah teregistrasi untuk mendapatkan produk tersebut.

"Banyak pengamat bilang saat ini sedang krisis global, tapi untuk kebutuhan yang tergolong gaya hidup tetap saja bertumbuh. Apalagi, di kota-kota yang masyarakatnya sudah memiliki sense of technology cukup tinggi," ujarnya.

Peran Terbaru Salma Hayek

2009-04-02T06:46:00.001-07:00

Beijing (ANTARA News) - Aktris Salma Hayek berpeluang memainkan peran utama dalam film adaptasi dari buku "News of a Kidnapping".

Buku itu ditulis oleh pengarang Kolombia Gabriel Garcia Marquez, kata produser Eduardo Constantini.

Produser Argentina tersebut mengatakan Sutradara Meksiko Pablo Pedro Ibarra akan membuat film itu dengan ditemani rekannya Salma Hayek, dan pengambilan gambar dimulai pada Oktober di Bogota dan Meksiko.

Constantini berkata, "Salma Hayek sangat tertarik pada proyek ini, dia telah membaca naskahnya dan berminat tapi belum secara resmi menandatangani untuk ikut."

Buku tahun 1996 tersebut adalah kisah sesungguhnya mengenai penculikan 10 wartawan oleh penyelundup narkotika bereputasi buruk di Kolombia, Pablo Escobar.(*)

'American Idiot' Menuju Pentas Broadway

2009-04-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

California - Sukses album 'American Idiot' milik Green Day di tahun 2004 sepertinya belum akan berakhir. Album tersebut akan diadaptasi ke pentas broadway sebagai karya drama musikal.

"Itu tidak masuk akal. Tapi aku menyukainya. Ketika orang melihatnya, itu akan menjadi impian terliarku," ujar Billie Joe Armstrong sang vokalis dan gitaris Green Day dikutip detikhot dari Aceshowbiz, Rabu (1/4/2009).

Untuk menggarap proyek itu Green Day bekerja sama dengan Michael Mayer, sutradara peraih Tony Awards berkat 'Spring Awakening'. Rencananya drama musikal itu akan tayang perdana di Berkeley Repertory Theater, California pada 4 September hinggal 11 Oktober 2009 mendatang.

Sang sutradara mengungkapkan bahwa kisah teater 'American Idiot' itu akan menampilkan tiga karakter yaitu Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy dan Whatshername. Akan seperti apa kisah itu tertuang dalam teater, Michael masih bungkam.

Sementara itu Green Day telah mereka album ke-8 yang akan diberi tajuk '21st Century Breakdown'. Rencananya album itu mulai dirilis 15 Mei mendatang dan singlenya 'Knock Your Enemy' siap diedarkan April 2009.

Pecahan Asteroid yang Jatuh di Sudan Berhasil Dikumpulkan

2009-04-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

KHARTOUM, KOMPAS.com — Untuk pertama kalinya, para ilmuwan berhasil mengumpulkan pecahan asteroid yang sudah teramati dengan saksama sejak mengarah hingga jatuh ke Bumi. Asteroid yang diberi nama 2008 TC3 tersebut jatuh ke kawasan Gurun Nubian, Sudan, Oktober tahun lalu.

Penemuan pecahan asteroid bukan pertama kali terjadi. Namun, yang unik dari penemuan ini karena asteroid tersebut sudah terlacak dengan baik saat mengarah hingga jatuh. Proses penemuan seperti ini belum pernah dilaporkan sebelumnya.

Asteroid sebesar mobil itu terlacak pertama kali oleh astronom Arizona, AS hanya beberapa hari sebelum jatuh ke Bumi. Jalur perjalanannya langsung dimonitor sejumlah teleskop dari seluruh dunia sehingga dapat diperkirakan lokasi jatuhnya.

Peter Jenniskens dari SETI Institut, California, yang menjadi penulis laporan pertama keberadaan asteroid tersebut kemudian melakukan perjalanan ke Sudan untuk melacaknya. Penelusuran yang menyeluruh akhirnya berhasil menemukan 47 pecahan untuk dianalisis.

"Asteroid ini terbuat dari material yang mudah pecah sehingga ia pecah pada ketinggian 37 kilometer sebelum berangsur-angsur jatuh perlahan," ujar Jenniskens. Menurutnya, jenis asteroid ini sangat langka dan jarang ditemukan.

Material penyusunnya disebut ureilite. Hasil perbandingan data menunjukkan asteroid 2008 TC3 tersebut termasuk muda dan baru mengarungi beberapa juta tahun di sekitar pusat tata surya.

Analisis terhadap pecahan-pecahan astroid tersebut akan memberikan banyak informasi untuk mengungkap proses pembentukan di ruang angkasa. Selain itu, para ilmuwan juga berharap dapat mempelajari lebih lanjut hubungannya dengan rute perjalanan asteroid agar dapat menyiapkan cara mengatasi asteroid lebih besar yang mungkin mengancam Bumi.

Menikmati Sensasi di Kegelapan Goa Kokas

2009-04-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

KOMPAS.com — Mengunjungi Kota Kokas, Kabupaten Fakfak, Papua Barat, terasa belum lengkap jika Anda melewatkan kesempatan menelusuri sisa-sisa peninggalan Perang Dunia ke-II yang terdapat di kota ini. Tidak main-main, pada periode 1942/1945, Kokas pernah menyandang gelar sebagai kota basis pertahanan tentara Jepang melawan sekutu.

Sebagai kota basis pertahanan militer, Kokas tentu menyimpan berbagai peninggalan. Salah satu saksi bisu peninggalan peristiwa paling bersejarah tersebut adalah bangunan goa atau benteng Jepang yang terdapat di pusat kota Kokas. Sepintas, tidak ada yang istimewa dari bangunan goa di tepi laut ini. Dari luar, hanya terlihat tiga buah bungker pengintai berukuran tak lebih dari 4 meter persegi.

Namun, siapa menduga, di belakang bungker-bungker ini terdapat goa persembunyian sepanjang 138 meter yang mengeruk perut bukit. Sebagai lokasi yang dirancang menjadi pusat pertahanan militer, goa ini dibangun tepat mengahadap arah laut. Dari goa inilah setiap kapal sekutu yang merapat di perairan kota Kokas akan dengan mudah terpantau tentara Jepang.

Meski difungsikan sebagai lokasi wisata, uniknya kita masih bisa menyaksikan bentuk goa ini alami sesuai aslinya. Tidak ada yang berubah, kecuali pintu pagar di ketiga mulut goa. Tertarik menyusuri setiap sudut goa ini? Sedikit perlengkapan berupa pelita atau senter perlu Anda siapkan sebelum memulai penyusuran. Di kedalaman, goa ini benar-benar gulita. Cahaya matahari hanya mampu memandu hingga di bibir goa.

Namun, justru di sinilah letak sensasi menyusuri goa berada. Rasa penasaran tidak akan serta merta terjawab saat Anda memasuki goa. Dalam minusnya cahaya, Anda masih harus meraba dan mencari 'kejutan' di setiap sudut goa yang Anda lalui. Rasanya terlalu sayang untuk melewatkan setiap detail kemewahan lorong di dalam goa. Anda akan menjumpai banyak ruangan yang disekat menyerupai kamar tidur.

Puas menikmati penyusuran, Anda bisa melepas lelah dengan menikmati keindahan pemandangan laut dan tanjung di depan goa. Panorama yang membentang luas tersebut bisa Anda jumput dari atas sebuah bukit.

Tunggu apa lagi? Untuk menyambangi goa ini, tersedia angkutan luar kota dari terminal Fakfak menuju pusat kota Kokas. Sepanjang perjalanan 2 jam, Anda akan dihibur dengan sejuknya udara dan panorama bukit di belantara Papua. Cukup dengan merogoh kocek sebesar Rp 25.000, sekali jalan, Anda akan diantar hingga tiba di lokasi goa berada.

Heidi Klum Kembali Berpose Bugil

2009-04-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Baru Maret 2009 lalu, pose tanpa busana Heidi Klum terpampang di sampul sebuah majalah pria edisi Jerman. Belum juga satu bulan berselang, Heidi sudah kembali berbugil ria. Kali ini untuk seorang fotografer asal Australia.

Heidi menanggalkan seluruh busananya untuk buku fotografi Russell James. Russell adalah salah satu fotografer fashion dan selebritis paling ternama di dunia.

Perkenalan Russell dengan Heidi dimulai lewat Victoria's Secret. Sudah bukan rahasia lagi kalau istri penyanyi Seal tersebut adalah salah satu model pakaian dalam tersebut. Sedangkan Russell, fotografer untuk Victoria's Secret.

Detikhot kutip dari Egotastic, Rabu (1/4/2009), ada tujuh foto yang menampilkan tubuh bugil model 35 tahun itu. Semua foto Heidi tersebut diambil di sebuah pantai.

Semua pose Heidi tersebut bisa dinikmati di buku Russell. Selain Heidi masih ada sederet perempuan cantik lainnya yang berpose tak kalah sensualnya.

MU Janji Bawa Tim Utama ke Jakarta

2009-03-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Kesebelasan Manchester United menjanjikan penampilan skuat utama dalam kunjungan pertama mereka di Jakarta, Juli mendatang. Meski demikian, belum ada kepastian siapa saja yang bakal bermain di Stadion Gelora Bung Karno tersebut.

"Tur Asia ini merupakan tur tim utama United. Namun, siapa saja yang bakal ikut masih harus melihat kondisi pemain setelah musim ini berakhir," tegas Direktur Komunikasi MU, Phil Townsend, dalam acara kerja sama MU dan Hutchison CP Telecom (HCPT) di Ritz Carlton Ballroom Pacific Place, Jakarta, Selasa (31/3).

Kunjungan MU ke Indonesia ini merupakan rangkaian tur mereka di Asia. Sebelum ke Jakarta, "Setan Merah" akan mampir di China dan Korea Selatan. Berdasarkan jadwal di situs MU, juara dunia antarklub tersebut akan bermain di Jakarta pada 24 Juli 2009. Setelah itu, mereka akan bertolak ke Malaysia sebagai lokasi terakhir dalam kunjungan mereka.

Dalam kedatangannya di Indonesia kali ini, MU juga menghadirkan pemain legendaris Bryan Robson. Robson mengakui, MU sudah mempelajari tim nasional Indonesia yang akan menjamu mereka Juli mendatang. "Kami sudah mempelajari Indonesia di kejuaraan Asia. Namun, karena Indonesia tidak pernah mencapai semifinal, kami tak terlalu banyak tahu," ungkap mantan gelandang "Setan Merah" tersebut.

MU sengaja memilih Indonesia karena negara ini memiliki jumlah pendukung terbesar kedua di dunia. Dari 333 juta pencinta MU di dunia, 28 juta di antaranya berasal dari Tanah Air.

"Kami memilih Indonesia karena di sini merupakan basis penggemar yang sangat besar dan memiliki hasrat besar (terhadap MU)," kata Direktur Komersial MU, Richard Arnold, dalam wawancara eksklusif dengan wartawan dari Kelompok Kompas Gramedia dan Trans7.

Sementara itu, HCPT selaku operator jaringan seluler 3 (Three) memilih kerja sama dengan "The Red Devils" karena tim ini merupakan tim yang banyak dicintai oleh penggemar sepak bola di tanah air. "Tujuan kami adalah menghadirkan sesuatu yang dicintai banyak orang di Indonesia," tutur Presiden Direktur HCPT, Manjott Mann.

Cina Bantah Lakukan Mata-mata Komputer

2009-03-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

Beijing (ANTARA News) - Cina secara tegas membantah melakukan mata-mata komputer seperti dituduhkan sejumlah pihak dan menyebut tuduhan itu kebohongan, kata pejabat tinggi Cina.

"Cina melakukan mata-mata komputer di dunia adalah bohong dan tuduhan itu merupakan upaya menodai Cina sebagai kekuatan raksasa di Asia," kata Jurubicara Kementerian Luar Negeri Cina Qin Gang dalam keterangan pers berkala di Beijing pada Selasa.

Dikatakannya, sejumlah pihak di luar Cina melakukan kebohongan dengan menyebutkan Cina melakukan mata-mata komputer.

Pihak tersebut, katanya, berupaya menodai Cina dengan sejumlah kebohongan tak berdasar.

Cina, katanya, bahkan selalu menentang berbagai bentuk tindak kejahatan di internet, termasuk di antaranya pembajakan ke komputer ke komputer lain.

"Sikap `perang dingin` diarahkan ke Beijing ketika dinyatakan bahwa kemajuan Cina sebagai kekuatan dunia merupakan ancaman antarbangsa," kata Qin Gang tegas.

Ia menyatakan kebohongan itu bukan yang pertama diarahkan ke Cina, yang selama ini dituduh sebagai sumber serangan komputer.

Beberapa peneliti Kanada membongkar gerakan luas mata-mata elektronik, yang menyusup ke komputer dan mencuri dokumen dari kantor pemerintah serta swasta di seluruh dunia, termasuk dokumen milik Dalai Lama.

Dalam laporan kepada suratkabar, kelompok dari Munk Center for International Studies di Toronto menyatakan sedikit-dikitnya 1.295 komputer di 103 negara dalam waktu kurang dari dua tahun oleh sistem mata-mata, yang disebutnya GhostNet.

Kedutaanbesar, kementerian luar negeri, kantor pemerintah dan pusat pengasingan pemimpin Tibet, Dalai Lama, di India, Brussels, London dan New York termasuk di antara yang diterobos, kata peneliti tersebut, yang menjejaki kegiatan mata-mata komputer beberapa waktu lalu, sebagaimana dilaporkan "New York Times" pada Sabtu (28/3).

Peneliti tersebut menyimpulkan bahwa komputer secara eksklusif berpusat di Cina "bertanggung jawab atas penerobosan itu", meskipun mereka tak mengatakan pemerintah Cina terlibat dalam jaringan tersebut, yang mereka gambarkan tetap bergiat.

Sistem tersebut dipusatkan pada pemerintah di negara Asia selatan dan Asia tenggara serta di kantor Dalai Lama, kata peneliti itu, yang menambahkan bahwa semua komputer di Kedutaanbesar India di Washington juga disusupi dan satu komputer NATO dipantau. (*)

Pulau Jawa dan Madura Terhubung

2009-03-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

Surabaya (ANTARA News) - Pulau Jawa dan Pulau Madura akhirnya terhubung dengan selesainya pembangunan bentang tengah yang menghubungkan antara sisi Surabaya dan sisi Madura pada Jembatan Surabaya - Madura.

Kepala Satker Proyek Jembatan Suramadu, Ir. Yudha Handita ketika dihubungi di Surabaya, Selasa, mengatakan bentang tengah tersebut akan menghubungkan antara pilar 46 dan pilar 47.

Yudha mengatakan terhubungnya bentang tengah sisi Surabaya dan sisi Madura akan dirayakan Selasa malam (31/3).

"Menurut jadwal pukul 22.00 WIB ada sambutan dari Kepala Balai Besar Jalan dan Jembatan Nasional Wilayah V, Ismail AG dan sambutan Menteri PU atau Direktur Jenderal Bina Marga Departemen PU Hermanto Dardak," katanya.

Menurut Yudha, pengerjaan selanjutnya setelah jembatan terhubungan adalah pengerjaan lantai jembatan, pengaspalan, penataan keramik dan pengerjaan lainnya.

"Kalau pengerjaan tersebut selesai, sesuai instruksi Wapres Jusuf Kalla jembatan akan diresmikan pada 12 Juni," katanya.

Sementara itu Kepala Satuan Kerja Sementara (SKS) Proyek Pembangunan Jembatan Nasional Suramadu sisi Surabaya, Ir Dwi Purtono MMT mengatakan pihaknya telah melakukan provisional hand over (PHO) atau serah terima pertama pekerjaan dari kontraktor pelaksana proyek kepada pemerintah.

"Ruas jalan akses menuju Jembatan Suramadu sisi Surabaya sepanjang 4,35 km, arus lalulintasnya mulai diatur dan ditertibkan. Pengaturan tersebut akan dilakukan pada, Selasa (1/4) bekerjasama dengan beberapa instansi, meliputi Polres Surabaya Timur, Dishub Kota Surabaya, Satpol PP Kota Surabaya dan pelaksana proyek," katanya.

Dia mengatakan sosialisasi pengaturan lalin tersebut dilakukan dalam tiga tahap.

Tahap pertama dimulai dari Jl Kedung Cowek hingga di depan SMA 19. Selama tahap tersebut pengaturan lalulintas dilakukan secara manual selama dua Minggu.

"Pengaturan manual maksudnya petugas mengatur dan mengarahkan pengguna jalan dengan gerakan fisik dan belum memanfaatkan lampu rambu lalu lintas," katanya.

Selama dalam tahap tersebut, ujar dia, petugas gabungan dari Polres Surabaya Timur, Dishub Kota Surabaya dan Satpol PP bersiap siaga dibeberapa ruas dan titik persimpangan jalan yang menjadi keluar masuknya kendaraan dari perkampungan.

"Pada tahap kedua, pengaturan lalulintas dilakukan secara otomatis, yakni dengan memanfaatkan lalu lintas di perempatan Jl Kenjeran," katanya.

Tahap ketiga, ujar dia, yakni menjelang peresmian dimulai, kendaraan yang melintasi jalan akses jika sebelumnya hanya terbatas di depan SMA 19, selanjutnya bisa langsung menuju hingga underpass didekat causeway sisi Surabaya.(*)