Tom Jones leads New
Year Honours
Tom Jones has worked in the music
industry for more than 40 years.
Tom Jones has been made a knight in the New
Year's Honours list, leading a host of names from the entertainment
world. The 65-year-old, whose hits include Delilah and It's Not
Unusual, has been honoured for services to music. Playwright Arnold
Wesker and jazz musician John Dankworth are also knighted, while
former BBC Radio head Liz Forgan is made a Dame. TV star Bruce
Forsyth, 77, is made a CBE, and actors Imelda Staunton, Robbie
Coltrane and Sanjeev Bhaskar OBEs.
Broadcaster and former Newsnight presenter Peter Snow
becomes a CBE along with sculptor Rachel Whiteread, while the OBE
roll-call includes writer Jeanette Winterson and television chef
Gordon Ramsay. MBEs go to Coronation Street actor Roy Barraclough,
singer/songwriter Eddi Reader and 1950s singing trio the Beverley
Sisters - Babette, Joy and Teddie.
Imelda Staunton
Jones, from Pontypridd in Wales, is one of the
most famous pop singers of the past four decades. He began his
musical career in 1963 as vocalist in the group Tommy Scott And The
Senators and has gone on to sell millions of records around the
world. Dankworth, whose career in jazz spans more than 50 years, is
also honoured for his services to music. The performer, composer and
conductor has also served as musical director for such greats as Nat
King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Sophie Tucker and many
others.
Beverly Sisters
Forsyth, who recently presented the BBC's
Saturday-night hit show Strictly Come Dancing, said he was
"quick-stepping with delight" at his CBE for services to
entertainment. The veteran entertainer, who rose to fame presenting
games shows like The Price is Right and Play Your Cards Right, made
a comeback on Have I Got News For You in 2003. He said: "I'm very
happy to receive the CBE. I'm delighted and I can put this all down
to having done Have I Got News for You. "It proved to everybody that
I'm still a performer and still reasonably funny. "I wish I could
wear it [the CBE] when I'll be with all my family to see in the New
Year. It will be a double celebration because a couple of months ago
I was made a great-grandfather." Staunton's OBE follows a hugely
successful year for the actress, who won a Bafta for her role as
Vera Drake in Mike Leigh's Oscar-nominated film in February.
Coltrane, who stars as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films and played
Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, in the TV drama hit Cracker, said he was
"absolutely delighted" to be honoured for his services to drama.
Actor and writer Bhaskar first came to public attention when he
starred in the BBC ensemble comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me,
which ran to three series on radio and TV. He followed it up with
The Kumars at No 42, in which he plays the role of Sanjeev Kumar,
who tries to host and broadcast a chat show from his parents' living
room. The Beverley Sisters, who were the first UK female group to
break into the US top 10 charts, are all appointed MBEs. They were
best known for close-harmony hits like Sisters, I Saw Mummy Kissing
Santa Claus and Drummer Boy. Barraclough, who has had numerous
stints in Coronation Street, becomes an MBE. He is also well-known
for his Cissie and Ada double act with the late Les Dawson.
Arrests made in
J-Lo video case
Jennifer Lopez
Lopez and Marc Anthony's wedding video back to
the couple for $1m (£580,000). Tito Moses and Steven Wortman
allegedly attempted to ransom the video after trying to sell it to US
media outlets. A copy of the couple's wedding video was in a laptop
computer stolen from Mr Anthony's car in New Jersey in October.
Marc Anthony
The pair have been arraigned on charges of
conspiracy, attempted grand theft and possession of stolen property.
According to a criminal complaint filed against them, Mr
Moses, 31, and Mr Wortman, 49, unsuccessfully tried to sell the video
to media outlets including People magazine, Us Weekly and the Access
Hollywood TV show before approaching Mr Anthony's production company.
A New York police detective, posing as an associate of Mr Anthony,
engaged in a series of negotiations between 20 and 27 December before
the pair were arrested. Mr Anthony and Ms Lopez were married in June
2004 in a ceremony at her Los Angeles home.
____________________
Parisian Patisserie for pets
Photo: Proprietor Harriet Sternstein is an
award-winning pastry chef.
Paris is well known as a canine form of
paradise, with the city's 200,000 dogs welcome in department stores
and even allowed to eat at the table in the best restaurants. Now
though one entrepreneur has ingeniously combined Parisians' two real
passions - for their pets and gourmet food - to produce the perfect
Parisian patisserie: a bakery devoted to dogs. It sells bacon biscuits
in the shape of a cat, or garlic and cheese flavour, and even
bone-shaped cookies made of real foie gras. All are on offer here,
sugar and salt-free for the sensitive pet. 'Pastries and pets':
The boutique's owner is an award-winning pastry chef. But - whisper it
quietly, so that spoilt Parisian pooches don't hear - she's an
American. Harriet Sternstein moved to Paris from the United States
with her dog Sophie-Marie, a golden labrador with a love of biscuits
and glamorous pink nail varnish. Sophie-Marie provided the inspiration
for the new business for her owner, who decided the best way to make a
living was to combine her biggest enthusiasms - pastries and pets. And
so far, the patisserie Mon Bon Chien has been a real hit with
Parisians - both the two- and four-legged varieties. "Everything is
made in the back of the boutique," said Ms Sternstein.
"Every day, I make 200 to 300 biscuits and special
orders are taken on a daily basis. "The Parisians come - and the first
time they think it's very funny and they look at it, and buy the ones
that they think are the cutest. Then the dogs come back and choose
which flavours they like the best. "It's not so much a matter of the
form that they're in, but the taste. We have peanut butter bears, we
have vegetable stars, we have foie gras, which is actual foie gras
that you and I would eat," she explains. "Those are the butterflies
and then their little shapes; we also have the bacon cats. "I change
flavours, based on what's going on for the holidays. We did a whole
Halloween one, Christmas and next, I think it will be Valentine's
Day." The biscuits can also be eaten by humans, although Ms Sternstein
advises using your back teeth to chew them rather than your canines!
-By Carolinne Watt.
____________________
Gwyneth's haunted house
Photo: The
33-year-old is adamant her London home is haunted and wants to create
a good energy before she gives birth to her second child .
Gwyneth Paltrow is planning to have her home
exorcised, it has been reported. The 33-year-old is adamant her London
house is haunted and wants to create a good energy before she gives
birth to her second child. Gwyneth and husband Chris Martin have
repeatedly said their £3.5 million mansion in Belsize Park is full of
'bad energy'. The couple have apparently blamed their home for
Gwyneth's turbulent second pregnancy and have sought help from the
London Kabbalah Centre - as recommended by pop pal Madonna. It is
rumoured that ten male Kabbalah followers will read a series of psalms
and blow a ram's horn as part of the exorcism. There were reports last
year that Gwyneth and Chris were going to up-sticks and move across
the pond to New York, but it looks as though the couple will be
staying in the UK, if the exorcism goes to plan.
_____________________
Actor Matt Damon weds in New
York
Photo: Damon's
breakthrough film was Good Will Hunting
Bourne Identity star Matt Damon has married his
girlfriend Luciana Barroso in New York, his publicist confirms.
Damon and Barroso, who is three months pregnant with the couple's
first child, were thrilled, said his Los Angeles-based spokes woman.
No more details from the marriage were released to the media.
Oscar-winner Damon, 35, and Barroso, 30, have been together for about
two years and got engaged in September. Damon currently stars in
Syriana.
The actor first rose to stardom in 1997 independent movie
Good Will Hunting, which he co-wrote and starred in with his friend
Ben Affleck. The movie earned the pair an Oscar for best original
screenplay. After flops The Legend of Bagger Vance and All the Pretty
Horses failed to excite fans Damon rebounded in 2002 with spy thriller
The Bourne Identity. Other recent successes include Ocean's Eleven,
Ocean's Twelve and The Bourne Supremacy. He is currently filming The
Good Shepherd, in New York.
_____________________
MIXED EMOTIONS ON LENNON'S
DAY
Passions ran high at Strawberry Fields in
Central Park on Thursday, as the whole world seemed to gather to
remember John Lennon.
One man called Alan said he thought Lennon was
murdered by the CIA
Police and park officers gently herded a diverse
crowd of fans, well-wishers, journalists and conspiracy theorists
around the intimate memorial space, shaded by elm trees, that is named
after one of Lennon's most personal songs. Outside the Dakota Building
opposite, on Central Park West - where Yoko Ono still lives, and where
Lennon was gunned down by the waiting Mark David Chapman - a man who
would only give his name as Alan, was carrying a placard that read
"CIA Killed Lennon". "I loved his music more than anything.
Today more than ever," said Alan. His profound
belief is that Chapman was programmed by the CIA to assassinate the
former Beatle, in case he became a hindrance to the incoming Reagan
administration. There were several loud voices around Strawberry
Fields saying the same thing, but the vast majority were there simply
to remember, and share their appreciation. Sitting on a bench to one
side of the commotion, but enjoying the anniversary atmosphere, was
83-year-old Milton Wind, who lives just a few blocks away. "I come
here most days, I love the park. I remember when he moved into the
Dakota," he said. "It was a terrible time when he was shot. I was
always a Beatle fan because I liked the message." Pointing towards the
mosaic in the centre of the memorial, which is inscribed with the word
"Imagine" he was full of memories: "He was good. It's not just empty
words."
People stood ten-deep around the mosaic, where fans
had come since dawn to lay messages, and place candles. Anne
Fothergill and her husband, from Wales, had been asked to place a
special tribute by a relative: "It was a card with a stone heart, with
a hole through it and ribbons attached. We've taken some photos so she
knows we've done it." Guitarists played Beatles classics, and a large
group of schoolchildren from Rhode Island gave an impromptu but
polished performance of Lennon songs, beginning with Give Peace A
Chance. Native New Yorkers were definitely in the minority, with many
visitors making a special trip to the city just to pay their respects.
Australian Sarah Rafferty is travelling around America and planned her
New York visit around the anniversary. "I was born in '83 and
discovered John's music when I was a teenager," she said. "Anyone can
love it. It will always be timeless. It's great just to be around
people who all share the same love for the music and his words. It's
togetherness." As if to emphasize Lennon's enduring and broad appeal,
Sarah was chatting to a brand-new acquaintance: 55-year-old John
Buckley McQuaid, a Dubliner who now lives in Denmark. "I'm here
because of Lennon's effect on my life," he said. "It all looks
different because of him. These days more than ever, we have need of
heroes, and he was the last of mine."
Completing the newly-formed group of Lennon
aficionados was Renata Mosca, 19, from South Africa. "I grew up with
it, and my parents played it for me," she said. "If your parents
danced to it back then, it's got to be something special." She also
had a sheepish admission about her favourite Beatle: "My one is Ringo.
He's just lovely, though you can't really separate them." Like so many
others, Lennon had come to see New York City as a safe haven and a
place to start anew.
Unlike most though, he could never be anonymous.
Even in death, he continues to attract genuine fanatics, as the
wild-eyed speculation continues. As for the killer himself, Chapman
comes up for parole again next year. It's been refused three times
already, and he remains in a New York State prison. There's a keen
sadness felt here that after growing to trust the city and thoroughly
embodying its values, Lennon's life was snuffed-out so easily on the
kerbside of his own home. The sentimental outpourings were intense in
1980 and still are today. A moment of silence was due to be observed
in the park at the time of the shootings, and then again about 25
minutes later, at the moment he is believed to have died, 25 years
ago. Traditionally, Yoko Ono lights a candle in the window of their
apartment as a sign of solidarity with those who observe, into the
night. -By Math Vells.
|
ANY FUTURE FOR HOLLYWOOD STARS WHO TURN 40?
 Photo:
Halle Berry will reach her 40th birthday on 14th of August.
Halle Berry,
David Schwimmer, Samantha Fox and Chris Evans all turn 40 in 2006.
It is a landmark birthday many celebrities would prefer the world
to overlook. Of this quartet, it is perhaps the most famous of
them all, Oscar winning Berry, who has the most to dread.
Hollywood has a huge
downer on women over 40. With Berry seemingly still in her prime,
stunningly good looking and much in demand, perhaps she will prove
an exception to the rule. But Hollywood is littered with tales of
aging starlets who see their careers take a nosedive after they
pass the big 4-0. "A perfect example would be Michelle Pfeiffer,"
says James Parish, a Hollywood historian and author of Katharine
Hepburn: The Untold Story. The 47-year old Scarface and Batman
Returns actress has not had a leading movie role in years. "She
does very few films - not because she's not talented, not because
she's not pretty in a mature way, but just because there aren't
many parts for women over 40," says Mr Parish. "Particularly when
you're known for playing a sex kitten it's very hard to play that
part when you're in your 40s."
'Fresh flesh'
 Photo:
"She deserves to work,
she is a wonderful actress and Hollywood is pretty cruel with
women that cross 40."
Antonio Banderas on Melanie Griffith.
Working Girl star Melanie
Griffith, 48, is in the same boat. "She deserves to work. She is a
wonderful actress and Hollywood is pretty cruel with women that
cross 40," says Griffith's husband, Antonio Banderas. "Sometimes
here you feel Hollywood just goes for fresh flesh. I know it's the
economy and financial things but I feel bad for her because I feel
they are misusing an actress who still has a lot of things to
say." Hollywood men tend to fare better although George Clooney,
44, has decided that his days in front of the camera are numbered.
"An acting career usually has about a shelf life of ten years
before people get sick of seeing you," he explains. "It's a good
thing to have a job to fall back on and I really do enjoy
directing." Val Kilmer, 45, has plenty of work although he
recognises Hollywood's "unforgiving" approach to ageing stars.
"It's a tough business, even if you're talented. I used to think
it was full of hypocrisy but now I see it as a very honest town."
'Biased towards youth'
 Photo:
Michelle Pfeiffer has found
it harder to get roles in recent years.
It is a town in the
business of putting bums on seats. Young stars attract younger
audiences and they appeal to advertisers. "Most of the movie
audiences are under 30 because older people have been discouraged
from going to films," says Mr Parish. "A lot of the films aren't
very appetising to see. It's not very comfortable to go to the
theatre with everyone screaming and yelling and it's just much
more convenient with home entertainment becoming so much more
sophisticated to remain at home." Hollywood has always been biased
towards youth. Ever since the early 1900s, with advancing years,
A-list celebrities have seen their star power wane. "Before the
film stock that they used in cameras and lighting were very
sophisticated people looked much older on screen than they were
and so an actress, literally by the time she was in her mid 20s,
was considered nearly a has been," says Mr Parish. "Eventually it
worked out that by the 1930s a woman could be a star into her mid
30s or even her mid-40s. As we progressed past World War II and up
to the present time it got to be a pretty standard rule of thumb
that once a movie actress got to be over 40 then supposedly,
psychologically, America's young kids didn't want to see her
playing leading roles so they wrote fewer parts for them." -By
Peter Bows.
Sarandon's success
 There
are exceptions to the rule. At 59 Susan Sarandon's career does not
appear to have been jinxed by being of a certain age. Four out of
her five Oscar nominations came after the age of 40. She was named
best actress for Dead Man Walking in 1996. "She still plays
leading roles, she plays mature women and she's able to find
enough quirky roles and dramatic roles so that she's not reduced
to guest starring or fifth billing," says Mr Parish. Katharine
Hepburn is also an example of an actress that bucked the trend.
"Up to the end she had a very strong physical stamina. And she
happened to be possessed with great cheekbones so even though when
she got into her 50s and 60s, she was not spring chicken anymore,
she certainly looked very striking and appealing and she had this
great vitality," says Mr Parish.
RALPH LAUREN
 
Who's Rip Off Today Then?
Sarah Ferguson has topped the fastest
movers list for the past hour. That's what going on holiday
with the Queen and being sprayed in the face with a bottle of
champagne does for you. Eagle-eyed traders have pounced on
SARFER stock - she got 2170 column inches on Saturday. Seven
celebs got more press coverage than she did, but at 1.80 with
a potential dividend of 2.33 her yield is already over 100 per
cent and her price has shot up by nearly 47 per cent in the
last 24 hours. Tom Hanks is another fastest mover - that'll be
the herd of nuns chasing him. He's notched up a few
controversial inches surrounding his new film based on the
Da Vinci Code. Certain religious groups are literally
having 'nun' of it. Tom costs 2.85 and as yet has no potential
dividend, but once today's inches are inputted that should all
change. Simon Cowell is another fastest mover. His price has
gone up 35.93 per cent in the last 24 hours leaving him a bit
pricey at 9.24. He may be fairly quiet all year round, but put
a tone deaf dork with a funky dance routine in front of him
and he becomes a lean, mean, column-inch-generating-machine.
The X Factor starts on Saturday and we can't wait (for
the inches). One to avoid today is Prince Harry. He costs an
absolute fortune at 1228.73 with a potential dividend of 1.29.
Who on earth is buying him? And do you want to buy this piece
of old rope we're selling, it's a bargain, honest.
 Children
cook up royal food treat
Photo: Charles and Camilla enjoyed the fruits of the students'
labour.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of
Cornwall have sampled further organic delights as they visited an
"edible school yard" near San Francisco. Camilla enjoyed a
slice of pizza while Charles told children he was "thankful for
all nature's gifts" as he ate some autumn harvest soup. All the
food was made by children, who are taught how to grow and cook
organic food at the garden in Berkeley. The US visit earlier took
in a farmers' market in the Californian hills.
Camilla, taking a mouthful of the pizza, made with
potato, onion and rosemary from the garden, said: "I'm always
eating." The prince warned her: "Don't darling - it's hot,"
noticing she had some food stuck on her lip. Inside the kitchen,
the couple sat with children to enjoy the soup. The garden was
dreamed up by one of America's best-known restaurateurs, Alice
Waters. Her Chez Panisse Foundation, named after her own
restaurant, transformed wasteland at the Martin Luther King Middle
School into the one-acre garden 10 years ago.
Photo: The prince wore a University of California tie.
Up to 350 children, between the ages of 12 and
14, now have weekly lessons on how to look after chickens and
prepare their own food. Ms Waters, who accepted the idea that she
was the US equivalent of Jamie Oliver, said she thought the royal
visit would bring much-needed recognition to the project.
"Everybody needs a prince," she added. Camilla, wearing a long
blue coat, and Charles, wearing a University of California tie,
were greeted with huge cheers as they arrived at the school. They
were greeted by Ms Waters and Maria Shriver, wife of California
governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The royal couple shook hands with
pupils. Frankie Whitty, 12, said Charles had asked her about her
homework. "He asked me if I'd seen the new Harry Potter film," she
said. "But it hasn't come out yet." The couple's tour of the US
has so far included visits to Ground Zero in New York and to
people affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In San
Francisco they also toured the farmers' market before watching the
popular Beach Blanket Babylon musical.
_________________________________________________________________________
Arab-American
comedians find the funny in time of fear
Photo: Maysoon
Zayid, co-founder of the Arab-American Comedy Festival, in New
York, Nov. 4, 2005.
Four years after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, a cadre of Arab-American actors and comedians is finding
growing success mining personal experiences for material. Perhaps
nowhere is this more evident than in New York, where the third
annual Arab-American Comedy Festival begins this week. The show,
which runs through Thursday, consists primarily of separate nights
of standup comedy and theatrical pieces. Co-founder Dean
Obeidallah says no topic is off limits, certainly not U.S.
President George W. Bush or terrorism. But contributors this year
are more willing to make fun of the Arab-American community and
how it has been treated by others. "In the past, we may have been
resistant to mock ourselves a little," said Obeidallah, 35, a
lawyer-turned-comedian. Co-founder Maysoon Zayid, an actress and
comedian, said the show essentially uses stereotypes to shatter
them. "We're not scary, we're not the enemy," she said. "We're
really funny." In many ways, Zayid said, the Arab-American
entertainers are following the path blazed by black and Hispanic
Americans who have channeled their communities' frustrations into
success on stage. Arab Americans have certainly had no shortage of
material since Sept. 11, even though it wasn't obvious to them at
first. "Immediately after, I was concerned about talking about
being Arab on stage in New York City," said Obeidallah, who is
half-Sicilian, half-Palestinian. "The first time I went on stage I
didn't even use my last name. A club owner said, 'Don't talk about
being Arab for a while.'
 That evolved over time to where I talk
about it much, much more." Sometimes it's just too easy,
especially now that the heightened sense of alert among Arab
Americans has become an almost normal, often absurd state, he
said. Obeidallah said he once listed the cell phone number of his
friend Osama (not bin Laden) under "Osama cell" on his own phone.
A friend expressed concern when he saw the reference. "I was like,
are you kidding?" Obeidallah said. The festival attempts to
carefully blend the political and the personal. References to
Palestinian suicide bombers are in, as are jabs at nosy,
matchmaking mothers. There are jokes about Arabs worrying about
Arab terrorists, and even a musical. "The fact that we are
commenting on ourselves is important instead of other people
commenting on us," said actor Waleed Zuaiter, an associate
producer for the festival. Zayid, for instance, bills herself as
"a 30-year-old Palestinian Muslim virgin from New Jersey with
cerebral palsy." "I'm a virgin by choice," Zayid often says. "My
father's choice." Zayid said she doesn't make fun of Jews, but she
considers Zionism and Israel legitimate targets. One of her jokes
involves Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, boxer Mike Tyson and
a pink negligee. That's all she'll reveal. The performers come
from a variety of religious and professional backgrounds, and many
different countries. Organizers hope the show attracts an audience
well beyond Arab Americans. "We respect where we live, we respect
our community at large," said actress Jana Zenadeen. "We're here
to bring people in and share our culture with them."-By N Toosi
_________________________________________________________________________
McCartney's fans in space
treated to concert that's out of this world
Photo: Paul
McCartney gestures during a concert in Anaheim, Ca. Saturday night
It was Good Day Sunshine for the international
space station crew Sunday morning. NASA astronaut Bill McArthur
and Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev were treated to a live
wake-up call of the Beatles classic in a first-ever concert linkup
to the space station. On Earth, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney
performed the hit and another song, English Tea, on Saturday night
before a cheering crowd as part of his 11-week U.S. tour. The
performance was beamed from the West Coast to the space station
crew 335 kilometres above Earth and broadcast on NASA television,
which showed live feeds from space. McArthur and Tokarev bobbed up
and down and sipped from squeeze pouches through the show, getting
a rousing cheer from the audience. "I can't believe that we're
actually transmitting to space!" McCartney said. "This is
sensational. I love it." McArthur, who did a couple flips, noted
McCartney's creative achievements and thanked him for playing the
songs. "That was simply magnificent," McArthur said. "We consider
you an explorer just as we are." It is a tradition to wake
astronauts up with recorded songs, but this marked the first time
astronauts listened to live music from space. The rock icon came
up with the idea after learning that NASA's Mission Control used
Good Day Sunshine to wake up the Space Shuttle Discovery
astronauts in August with word that conditions were favorable to
return to Earth. The wake-up call marked the space station crew's
44th day of a planned six month mission in space.
The
Family Stone (2005) Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
It's the season of good
will, but there's not much of it going round in yuletide comedy The
Family Stone. Diane Keaton plays the head of the clan and leads the
assault on Sarah Jessica Parker as the uptight New Yorker who
threatens to marry her son (Dermot Mulroney). Although it sounds
like a mean-spirited twist on Meet The Parents, writer/director
Thomas Bezucha swaps the slapstick for a surprisingly tender if
sometimes too cloying account of a family in upheaval. Initially
things aren't promising with Meredith coming across just as annoying
as her spiteful in-laws. Only Luke Wilson exudes the Christmas
spirit, playing the would-be brother-in-law who takes an
inexplicable shine to her. "You have the freak flag," he explains.
"You just don't fly it." Gradually though, the cracks in everyone's
armour begin to show and with Claire Danes' arrival (typically
soulful as Meredith's sister), an all-out bitch-fest becomes an
engaging ensemble piece.
"TEAR-JERKING
FINALE": In a fearless and funny bit of writing, Meredith drops
a clanger at the dinner table about the suitability of gay couples
as parents. It's a testament to the skilful script that she still
inspires sympathy without the crutch of being stereotypically kooky
or cosy. Parker carries it off well and likewise Rachel McAdams
(playing the youngest Stone) reveals an endearing vulnerability
beneath her viciousness. It's Keaton, however, who anchors the story
with a formidable countenance that becomes her character's greatest
virtue. Bezucha hammers the point home a little too strongly in a
tear-jerking finale, but despite its flaws, The Family Stone
sparkles bright with originality. -Bt S. Paramchel.
Theron: "I
started changing her ways, focusing on her craft rather than her
career."
Photo: Actress Charlize Theron smiles during a
press conference for the movie North Country during the Toronto
International Film Festival.
The Monster Oscar made Charlize Theron more
than another pretty Hollywood face, but it took her a while to get
there. Since her high-profile coming out party in 1996's 2 Days in
The Valley, she had been involved in a series of movies that
either bombed critically, or commercially, or both. But rather
than worry about it, the 30-year-old Theron says she started
changing her ways, focusing on her craft rather than her career.
Her award-winning portrayal of the Monster serial killer was the
beginning of that new vision.
And now there is North Country, a telling
expose of sexual harassment and the precedent-setting Minnesota
class action suit that resulted from it. Opening Oct. 21, the Niki
Caro film features Theron as the divorced mother of two who
initiates the suit after trying to survive unwanted advances at an
iron mine near the small town where she lives. With that kind of
ammunition, Theron and director Caro, of Whale Rider fame, decided
against elaborate physical remodelling for the lead actress,
although she did agree to gain 25 pounds, rounding out her
model-thin five-foot-10-inch figure. Physically, they kept the
movie simple. Emotionally, they tried to keep it subtle. But what
was most unsettling? "The events took place not 40 years ago, but
in 1989 and the case was settled in '95," says Theron, still
shaking her head in disbelief. North Country is a difficult story
to tell, but both Theron and Caro decided to hire a first-rate
cast to tell the tale with lots of finesse. Most notably, they
signed two other best actress Oscar winners: Sissy Spacek (Coal
Miner's Daughter), who plays Theron's mother, and Frances
McDormand (Fargo) who portrays Theron's best friend. Fact is, it's
the first time three best actress Oscar winners have appeared in
the same film. So North Country's Oscar potential must have
figured into Theron's rationale for doing the film. "I don't
really think that way," she says. "It would be selfish and self-centred
to say I might have a chance ever again in my career." That
doesn't mean she'll stop challenging herself with assorted acting
experiences. As she looks back, she agrees "it wasn't an easy
journey," especially arriving in Los Angeles as a former model
with a South African accent and ambition, but not much else. It
was during her early days in Hollywood that she experienced her
only moment of sexual harassment: "Most people understand pretty
quickly that I won't put up with much." But I just got to L.A. and
didn't have an agent," Theron recalls. "A famous director [whom
she won't name] had arranged a meeting," but it ended up being
rescheduled for his house on a Saturday night. "I had never been
on a movie audition in my entire life so I thought, 'Well, maybe
that's what they do.' "The director answered the door in his
pajamas and served drinks. "I lasted about 10 minutes and left,"
she recalls. Perhaps times have changed but Theron says she
hasn't, although she's in a more secure place professionally --
and personally. Her five-year relationship with Irish actor Stuart
Townshend helps. "He challenges me and keeps me on my toes," she
says. And so do her varied roles. On the lighter side, Theron is
featured in five episodes of the sitcom Arrested Development this
season. Later this year, she can be seen as the statuesque hired
killer in the film version of the animated MTV show Aeon Flux.It's
the film in which she injured herself attempting a hand spring. "I
landed on my neck with my body straight," says Theron, who
suffered a herniated disc in her third and fourth vertebrae last
year. After seven weeks of bed rest, "intense physiotherapy and
cortisone treatments," she was back on the shoot. "The show,"
Theron proudly says, "did go on."- By Bob Tomson.
A Hitler comedy
Photo: Dani Levy is no stranger to controversy.
Filming starts on a controversial new project
this month - a comedy, in German, about Adolf Hitler. It is the
work of the Swiss Jewish director Dani Levy, who in 2005 had a big
hit with a comedy called Alles auf Zucker! - about Jews in Germany
today. The new film, Mein Fuehrer - The real truth about Adolf
Hitler, will portray the Nazi leader as a weakling helped to the top
by a Jewish comedian. Mr Levy says Nazi leaders have been "put on
pedestals" in documentaries.
It is time to take them down, he says. The Berlin and
Brandenburg Film Board, a public body, put up more than $500,000 to
help finance the film. Mr Levy's film Alles auf Zucker! (Go for
Zucker!) was a huge risk, but was well received. His new project is
even more ambitious. Another recent German film, The Downfall,
provoked an anxious debate here about where the boundaries lie with
its grim dramatisation of Hitler's last days in the bunker.
-By Ray Fulong.
 Lulu
relights her fire
Photo:
Lulu is re-recording her vocals for the single Relight My Fire - 13
years after first recording the track .
It has been revealed
that pint-size singer Lulu is preparing for another session with
Take That. Lulu is re-recording her vocals for the single Relight My
Fire with Gary, Jason, Mark and Howard, who plan to re-release the
single in April - 13 years after they first recorded the track. It
was announced late last year that Lulu would accompany the lads on
their tour and she is certainly getting into training for the part.
The songstress has studio time booked for rehearsals in preparation
for the concerts, where she will be joining the backing dancers to
get into shape for the hectic tour schedule. Relight My Fire was
first recorded back in 1993 and was a smash hit flying in at number
one in the UK charts. The new version of the single is due to be
released just before Take That embark on their 30-date sellout
nationwide tour in May.
 Dame
Judi Dench: "I am not an intellectual".
Photo: Dame Judi plays a widowed theatre owner in Mrs Henderson.
Presents
Dame Judi Dench has admitted she never reads
the plays she stars in, saying she merely takes roles "because
someone asked me to". The respected actress told US magazine
Newsweek that she was no intellectual. "I've got myself into real
trouble by saying yes to a play, then going to the first reading and
realising, 'This is a bummer!'," she said. US magazine Premiere
predicts Dame Judi will be Oscar nominated for her role in Mrs
Henderson Presents.
Golden Globe nominee: In the movie Dame Judi
plays a widow who opens a nude theatrical review in 1930s London. It
earned Dame Judi her sixth Golden Globe nomination. Mrs Henderson
Presents also earned eight nominations at this year's British
Independent Film Awards, including best film and best director for
Stephen Frears. Dame Judi and co-stars Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly and
ex-Coronation Street star Thelma Barlow have also been nominated.
 Britney's
popularity to plummet?
Photo:
Kevin Federline has struggled to find a label willing to launch his
tune Popozao.
It seems Britney Spears may be in for a disappointing 2006 - a US
poll predicts the new mum's popularity will plummet this year.
However the news is brighter for talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, with
her reign over American television expected to continue. Meanwhile,
Britney's hubby will be hoping his own popularity will soar with the
release of his debut rap single. Kevin Federline has struggled to
find a label willing to launch his tune Popozao. But the former
backing dancer is convinced that once we hear it, the track will
storm straight to the top of the charts.
 Madge
pimps her ride
Photo:
Madge is ditching her snazzy range of motors to delight legions of
boy racers with a Pimp My Ride-style video for her next single .
Queen of Pop Madonna
is getting Tim Westwood onside to jazz up her Ford Cortina in the
video for her new single. The Ford banger is a world away from the
£300,000 Mercedes Maybach limo she relaxes in whilst at her home in
LA. Madge is ditching her snazzy range of motors to delight legions
of boy racers with a Pimp My Ride-style video for her next single
Sorry. UK Pimp My Ride host Tim Westwood will make a cameo
appearance in the new video by taking the Cortina and shaping it up
so it looks as good as new. The idea behind the video is a
rags-to-riches story and the track it is being made for will be
remixed by the Pet Shop Boys. It seems Madonna likes a bit of car
bling in her video's - for her No1 single Music in 2000, Ali G
turned up dripping with gold and diamonds whilst driving her limo.
U2 awarded human rights
accolade
U2 are playing stadium gigs in America as part
of the Vertigo tour
Irish rock band U2 has been awarded a
prestigious accolade by campaign group Amnesty International.
The band have won the 2005 Ambassador of Conscience Award for their
"21 years of commitment" to equality. The body's secretary general
Irene Khan said the band had shown "leadership in linking music to
the struggle for human rights and human dignity worldwide has been
ground-breaking and unwavering". U2's Bono is a respected campaigner
on global debt issues and human rights.
Ms Khan said: "From Live Aid in 1985 and Amnesty
International's 1986 Conspiracy of Hope tour, through to Live 8, U2
has arguably done more than any other band to highlight the cause of
global human rights in general and Amnesty International's work in
particular." She added: "They have inspired and empowered
millions with their music and by speaking out on behalf of the poor,
the powerless and the oppressed."
 Photo:
Parfitt (left) and Rossi (right) first met in 1965.
Art for Amnesty founder Bill Shipsey said U2
would be worthy candidates of the award for their music alone. "With
songs like Pride (In The Name of Love), MLK, Miss Sarajevo, Mothers
of the Disappeared, Walk On (written for Burmese political activist
Aung San Syu Kyi)... U2 has helped spread the human rights message
of Amnesty International to a global audience," he said. U2 are
currently in the middle of a world tour, with dates in December in
the US and in Australia at the start of 2006.
The enduring appeal of
Status Quo
 Status
Quo have cancelled tour dates after guitarist Rick Parfitt was hit
by a health scare. The masters of the 12-bar boogie are no strangers
to the troubled world of rock stardom.
The band have fallen victim to musical snobbery,
health problems and internal unrest over the decades over the years.
But Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi have enjoyed huge commercial
success over the decades, and their popularoty endures. Parfitt, now
57, first met fellow frontman Francis Rossi at a holiday camp in
1965. Guitarist and singer Rossi, now 56, had been a co-founder of
south London-based beat band The Spectres in 1962, together with
bassist Alan Lancaster. They were later joined by organist Roy Lynes
and drummer John Coghlan, but the quartet struggled to achieve
success. Parfitt joined in 1967 and the band became Status Quo.
Status Quo have regularly appeared on Top of the Pops.
Psychedelic debut:
Psychedelic debut hit Pictures Of Matchstick Men was a hit in both
the UK and US. Despite their early success, changing fashions
meant the 1970s did not look promising. But the release of their
album Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon did hint at their direction towards
a simpler, "boogie" style of music. The frilly shirts and frock
coats were ditched in favour of the denim and long hair that would
endure throughout their career. The decade would go on to provide
them with hits such as Paper Plane, Hello!, Caroline, Down Down,
and their famous cover of John Fogerty's Rockin' All Over the
World, but see the depature of Lynes. The 1980s also brought more
disquiet amongst the original line-up. Coghlan left in 1982, to be
replaced by Pete Kircher, while tensions between Lancaster and
Rossi and Parfitt were growing.
Court cases: In
1985, Status Quo were on top of the world when they opened Live
Aid at Wembley Stadium, but it would prove to be Lancaster's last
outing with the band. He tried to take out a High Court injunction
to prevent Status Quo performing without him. But Rossi and
Parfitt secured the rights to the name and re-formed the band with
a new line-up. They were joined by John "Rhino" Edwards on bass,
Jeff Rich on drums, and keyboardist Andy Brown. Their 1980s
hits included In The Army Now and Burning Bridges, and in 1988 the
band re-recorded Rockin' All Over The World as Running All Over
The World to promote Bob Geldof's Race Against Time charity run.
Status Quo sprinted into the 1990s on a high by entering the
Guinness Book Of Records after completing four charity concerts in
four UK cities in the space of 12 hours in October 1991. But they
found a younger music establishment less open to their sound. In
1995 Rossi and Parfitt took the BBC to court after Radio 1
declined to playlist them. Despite the lack of airplay, Fun, Fun,
Fun still managed to reach number five.
Rick Parfitt has been
hit by health problems in recent years.
Drink and drugs :
Health problems hit in 1997 when Parfitt's old lifestyle of drink
and drugs began to take its toll and he underwent a quadruple
heart bypass after doctors warned he could die at any time. But he
went on to make a full recovery, admitting he was still fond of
the "odd pint". In 2001 the band - which now featured drummer
Matthew Letley - cancelled thee concerts after Parfitt was
diagnosed with repetitive strain injury (RSI) and could not play
the guitar. Earlier this year, the band found themselves snubbed
again, by organisers of the Live 8 concert. Rossi said they were
"desperate" to join the Hyde Park concert, but despite opening its
Live Aid predecessor, they were kept off the bill. But Parfitt and
Rossi put the setback behind them, making a cameo appearance in
Coronation Street and releasing their 33rd album, The Party Ain't
Over Yet - 40 Years of Status Quo. It was issued to tie in with
the tour which has just been cancelled in light of Parfitt's
health worries. Status Quo remain defiantly unfashionable, but
they still have legions of supporters around the world. They, like
many in the music business, will be hoping Parfitt and Rossi can
bounce back once again.
 Is
Mariah Carey engaged?
Photo: Mariah Carey
poses during a photocall for the award to recognise the global sales
of seven millions copies of The Emancipation of Mimi, presented in
Munich, southern Germany, on Nov. 30.
New York insiders are talking about Carey. Mariah
Carey has fuelled rumours she is engaged to mystery boyfriend Maek
Sudack - by sporting a huge sparking ring on her engagement finger
at Tuesday's Billboard Awards. The singer, who picked up an
astonishing five awards at the ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada, was
last week rumoured to have accepted a proposal from Sudack, the
record executive who helped relaunch her career. Rumours suggest she
plans to step down the aisle next June.
New-look Pooh 'has girl friend'
Photo: Pooh has been the subject of several
legal battles.
After 80 years in Hundred Acre Wood Winnie
the Pooh is to get a female friend, replacing Christopher Robin,
according to reports. The Walt Disney Company has decided to
pair Pooh up with a red-haired six-year-old tomboy for its 2007
series, newspaper USA Today reported. Disney said My Friends
Tigger and Pooh will keep the "trust, friendship and happiness" of
AA Milne's stories. Pooh is being re-branded as part of its 80th
anniversary celebrations.
"We got raised eyebrows even in-house at first, but
the feeling was these timeless characters really needed a breath
of fresh air that only the introduction of someone new could
provide," Nancy Kanter of the Disney Channel told USA Today.
Disney said the new series will emphasise the active side of
Pooh's adventures as described in Milne's original 1926 book to
appeal to activity-loving children of pre-school age. Preston
Kevin Lewis, director of the Pooh franchise, told Reuters: "Trust,
friendship and happiness - Pooh doesn't lose any of those things,
it just changes how we talk about him." But that is unlikely to
please Pooh purists, who can point out that the original stories
were written specifically for Milne's son, Christopher Robin
Milne.
Court battles: Casting a shadow over
Pooh's 80th anniversary are continuing court battles over the rights
to the franchise. Milne's granddaughter, Clare Milne, who lives in
England, is trying to reclaim the rights from Stephen Slesinger, the
company that owns the North American merchandising rights. Disney
obtained the rights from Slesinger in 1961, but the agency later
sued Disney claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties.
Milne's case was dismissed by a US court this week, and Slesinger's
claims against Disney were thrown out last year - although further
appeals are likely in both cases.
________________________________________________________________________
 Sopranos
creator honored by New Jersey governor
Photo: Richard J.
Codey (center) and David Chase (third from left), pose with their
wives and cast members from the TV series The Sopranos at the
governor's mansion in Princeton, N.J. Codey honored Chase with the
Governors Award for Filmmaking.
David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, has
received a first-of-its-kind filmmaking award from the governor.
Chase, a New Jersey native, was presented with the award Friday by
acting Governor Richard Codey during a reception at the governor's
mansion.
 The
governor said Chase's "creative writing and rich character
illustration have produced a show unlike anything else on
television.'' The Sopranos, a serial drama that portrays the life of
fictional New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, starts its sixth season
on HBO in March. Criticized by some Italian-American groups for
advancing a stereotype, it has been lauded by millions of viewers,
including television critics, for its originality and inventiveness.
Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Chase was raised in New Jersey as
the only child in an Italian-American family. Several Sopranos cast
members were on hand to help Chase celebrate: James Gandolfini, who
plays Tony Soprano; Tony Sirico, who plays Paulie Walnuts; Dominic
Chianese, who plays Uncle Junior Soprano, and Steve Schirripa, who
plays Bobby `Bacala' Baccalieri. The Governor's Award for Filmmaking
will be given annually to prominent filmmakers who have made
substantial contributions to New Jersey's motion picture and
television industry, Codey's office said.
Continues
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Stones 'smash own
concert record'
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones' 2005 tour of North America
is the most successful US concert tour of all time, according to US
trade publication Pollstar. The veteran rockers broke their own
11-year-old record by selling $162m (£94m) worth of tickets, playing
42 performances before 1.2m people. U2 were second with 78 US and
Canada shows in, making $138.9m (£80.1m). Celine Dion came third on
the list, having made $81.3m (£47.1m) from 155 dates at Caesars
Palace in Las Vegas.
Sir Paul McCartney and the Eagles complete the top
five, with ticket sales of $77.3m (£44.8m) and $76.8m (£44.5m)
respectively.
Biggest draws: According to Pollstar,
ticket sales for the Top 100 shows rose to $3.1 billion (£1.8bn),
breaking last year's record of $2.8bn. (£1.6bn) This was due in part
to a rise in the average ticket price from $52 (£30) to $57 (£33).
Actual ticket sales were 36.1m, down 1.5m on 2004. The previous
record for a US tour was $121m (£70.1m), set by the Rolling Stones
in 1994. With the Stones and U2 touring elsewhere in 2006, Pollstar
predicts the Who, Prince and Queen with Paul Rodgers will be next
year's biggest draws in the US and Canada.
Actress Staunton's
many characters
Imelda Staunton, star of the Oscar-nominated
film Vera Drake, has been made an OBE in the New Year Honours list.
Imelda Staunton, one of the UK's hardest working character
actresses, has been a mainstay of British drama and independent
films for 29 years. A career built on solid, down-to-earth roles,
has served her well, but has often left her overlooked when it came
to success in bigger roles. But 2005 has proved to be a stellar year
for Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, who was born in
Archway, north London, in January 1956. She won a Bafta for the role
as post-war backstreet abortionist Vera Drake in January, and
attended the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild awards, and the
Oscars, where she was nominated for best actress. Roles in box
office hits like Nanny McPhee and Mrs Durrell in the TV film My
Family and Other Animals have added to the successful year, which
has culminated in her OBE for services to drama.
Big screen: Staunton's successful career
as an actress first beckoned when she was just 17 with offer of a
place at Rada. A variety of successful stage roles followed,
including A Chorus of Disapproval and The Corn is Green for which
she won Laurence Olivier Awards for best supporting actress. She
also won an Olivier Award in 1991 for best actress in a musical for
Into the Woods. One of her early screen roles was in the critically
acclaimed 1986 series of Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective,
playing Nurse White. Much of her work after this was on the small
screen, with a big screen outing in the black comedy Peter's
Friends, playing alongside some of the UK's best-known talent
including Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh.
Vera Drake was critically acclaimed
across the world.
But it was in 1993 that Staunton captured
international attention when she appeared in Branagh's Hollywood
version of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, playing the
naive yet lusty maid Margaret. The same year saw her celebrated on
the small screen alongside Richard Briers and Adrian Edmondson in If
You See God, Tell Him. Since then, Staunton has firmly placed
numerous dramas, plays and films under her belt, including Sense And
Sensibility alongside Thompson, Waiting For Godot and Grease. Her
vocals have also been called into action, lending her voice to
Chicken Run.
'Long career': In 2003 she appeared in two
British films, Stephen Fry's Bright Young Things and I'll Be There,
which starred Charlotte Church, although neither were starring
roles. But it was her powerful role in Vera Drake that brought
Staunton worldwide acclaim in 2004 when she won awards at the
European Film Awards and the Venice Film Festival Director Mike
Leigh described Staunton as "exactly the right person for the job".
"She is brilliant. She has great warmth, compassion and humanity and
a great sense of humour," Leigh added. "Also she has not a grain of
sentimentality, she is very rooted in the real world." Although it
may have taken nearly three decades to receive the level of
adulation she is getting now, Staunton is satisfied with the path
her career has taken. "I've always wanted a long career, not an
instant one - a long career. "And I'm having it, you know, I work
all the time in England. I've got theatre awards, I have a career, a
good career," she said.
Photographer charged in Witherspoon incident
Photo: Actress Reese Witherspoon in Beverly
Hills, California.
ANAHEIM, California- A photographer was charged
with child endangerment and battery for allegedly striking a
five-year-old child with his camera and shoving another out of the
way to take pictures of Reese Witherspoon and her children. Todd
Wallace, 44, was charged Friday and was due back in court Wednesday,
Assistant City Attorney Patrick Ahle said. The photographer also is
charged with battering the five-year-old's mother, who is a friend
of Witherspoon, and two employees at a Disney theme park, said
Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez. Wallace became angry when the
Legally Blonde star and her friends declined to be photographed
Sept. 2 at Disney's California Adventure and cursed them, Martinez
said. Wallace was initially cited for misdemeanour assault and
battery of the two employees. The incident left some of the children
in tears. Tabloids must realize that "battering and endangering a
child to get a picture for their magazines is criminal and not
business as usual," said Witherspoon's lawyer, Blair Berk. A phone
message left for Wallace early Saturday was not immediately
returned. He served more than four years in prison after a 1993
conviction of second-degree burglary and receiving goods by fraud,
according to state corrections records. In August, prosecutors
decided not to charge photographers whom Witherspoon said chased her
from her gym and trapped her outside the West Los Angeles gated
community where she lives with her husband, actor Ryan Phillippe,
and their two children.
Nearly naked Pam is back in China ads
Photo: An advertisement of anti-fur campaign
featuring actress Pamela Anderson is posted at a Shanghai subway
station.
SHANGHAI, China- A year after raising the
censors' hackles with bus stop ads, Pamela Anderson's nearly naked
image is returning to China on phone cards telling people not to buy
fur. The Canadian-born actress appears topless with her back to the
camera and an arm partly hiding her right breast behind the slogan,
"Give fur the cold shoulder," in English. Behind her, an image of
falling snow appears above Chinese characters reading "Cold
shoulders are nothing compared to the pain they feel" and "Please
don't wear fur." Government-owned China Telecom and People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals have printed 70,000 of the phone cards,
a toned-down version of Anderson's bus and train stop ads that were
altered three times to reduce the amount of skin on show before
being approved for public display, the animal rights group said
recently. "The people of China deserve to know about the immense
suffering of animals killed for their fur," said Anderson in a
statement released by PETA.
Esquire Magazine
names Jessica Biel sexiest alive
Photo: Jessica Biel at her unveiling as Esquire
magazine's 2005 'Sexiest Woman Alive' in New York Thursday.
Photo: Posing by the upcoming magazine cover
Jessica Biel has been proclaimed "the sexiest
woman alive" by Esquire magazine. The actress dons the cover of
Esquire's November issue, following last year's honouree, Angelina
Jolie. The 23-year-old Biel, who began as a teenager on the family
TV series 7th Heaven, plays a supporting role in the upcoming
Elizabethtown and starred earlier this year in Stealth. "It seemed
like it would be great -- having named Anglina Jolie sexiest woman
of the year last year -- to try to come up with somebody who was on
everyone's radar screen, but who was also fresh," said Esquire
editor-in-chief David Granger. "It just seemed like Jessica Biel's
moment." The magazine also picks a woman for three older age
brackets: the Chinese actress Gong Li, 39; the 47-year-old Sharon
Stone; and Rene Russo, 51. "It's easy to appreciate womanhood
without any consideration of age," Granger says. "Youth isn't the
automatic turn-on it used to be."
Oprah's show helps nab
sex offender
FARGO, North Dakota- The same week Oprah Winfrey
began devoting time on her show to tracking down sex offenders, she
has a collar to show for it. William C. Davis, 33, of Wadesville,
Ind., was arrested in Fargo on Thursday, two days after the
talk-show host broadcast his face and offered $100,000 for
information leading to his capture. Jean Rosenthal of Moorhead,
Minn., recognized Davis as "Mark," a neighbour of her friend Karie
Miller. She called Miller on Wednesday, and the 29-year-old Fargo
deli worker discovered the man's identity Thursday morning on a
website. "His picture came up and I started shaking so bad, I
couldn't hold my coffee," Miller told the Forum of Fargo in Friday
editions. Davis, who was on the FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives list,
was one of several fugitive sex offenders shown on Winfrey's program
Tuesday. The reward, offered by her production company, applies to
fugitives presented on the show and on
www.oprah.com.
Davis faces felony charges of molesting three
Indiana boys last year and failing to register as a sex offender. He
was convicted of child molestation in 1992. Davis, arrested by FBI
agents, was in jail, awaiting an extradition hearing to return to
Indiana. Miller was in shock after learning of her neighbour's
background. She had helped care for him since he broke his leg in a
car accident a few weeks ago. "I've been cooking for him; I've been
doing his laundry," she said.
Jon
Stewart went to Canada to talk of all that's wrong with America
Photo: Jon Stewart
Celebrated satirical newsman Jon Stewart went to
Canada to talk of all that's wrong with America, but his Canadian
audience couldn't help but put this country - and it's
insecurities-on the agenda. "Mention us on your show," one man
screamed out as Stewart prepared to take his final bow. "What should
I say about you?" asked the affable TV host. "Toronto rocks," was
the reply to which Stewart retorted "that strikes me as a relatively
insecure request. I think Winnipeg knows." Stewart couldn't lose
returning to his stand-up roots, exercising a deft hand before an
audience that clearly loved him. The Daily Show host proved he
hadn't lost his chops as a comic, albeit one with weighty issues on
his mind. Lamenting that the modern human lacks even an elementary
understanding of the modern world they've created, Stewart tore into
a gag about video gaming on his home PC. "As far as I'm concerned,
there's eight really smart gerbils in that box." On science's
pre-occupation with curing erectile dysfunction, he was blunt.
"We're hard, move on to cancer." On U.S. President George W. Bush
and the rush to war in Iraq, he was merciless. "He's not
stupid. . .he's not a retarded man. . .he just doesn't give a shit
about you, or anything," Stewart said to howls of approval. "Germany
didn't want to got to war (in Iraq). I don't know how to say it any
more simply than that." While the United States remains mired in the
fragile politics of Iraq and the Middle East, Stewart served notice
to his neighbours to the north. "You may be next, I don't know.
You'll all be at some hockey game somewhere and you come out and our
flag will be flying." The event that would precipitate a hostile
takeover by American forces? Tim Horton is mistaken for a terrorist.
Stewart clearly relished the freedom of language a stand-up enjoys
as opposed to a TV host, with expletives punctuating most jokes.
"You're thinking, 'You're not the nice man from the TV. You're a
dirty little man.' " Notably absent, though, were any vitriolic
attacks on the media - a practice Stewart frequently engages. Last
year, when invited on CNN's Crossfire as comic relief, Stewart
launched into host Tucker Carlson for his "partisan hackery." Last
week at an industry panel discussion, Stewart tore a strip from some
of America's most powerful magazine editors, including those from
Time and Vanity Fair, for failing to live up to journalistic
standards. Not so funny. But on Friday, despite the lengthy
meditations on an America polarized by foreign policy, science,
religion and race relations, Stewart proved himself to be a very
funny man. On white people co-opting black slang without knowing
anything of black culture he offered sage advice: "You might as well
talk like a pirate." With numerous Emmy awards for the Daily Show
and an ever-growing audience, Stewart understood the crowd would be
hungry for his musings on current events - regardless of the night
being billed as stand-up. The collective sigh North America took
when it was revealed that the mysterious deaths of 17 elderly people
in Toronto was actually due to legionnaires' disease, for Stewart,
was a sad reflection on society's obsession with the next big killer
disease. "Thank god, it's that disease we don't think will sweep the
planet." Latecomers to the show became fodder for a gag on SARS, the
respiratory illness that made Toronto the pariah of travel
destinations in 2003. "We were worried sick," Stewart said to the
people, who were unfortunate enough to have seats near the front.
"We thought you had SARS. We thought to ourselves, get out the
masks." Stewart ended the night with an encore that drew humour from
his home life, a place his faithful audience clearly relished being
invited into. By Greg Bonell
______________________________________
Mozart Magic in Austria
Photo: All kinds of Mozart
memorabilia can be found in Salzburg.
Austria is celebrating the 250th birthday of
one of its most famous sons - the composer, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. Salzburg, the city of his birth, is hoping to cash in
with a mixture of kitsch and high culture and its Mozart industry is
going into overdrive this month. An enterprising local dairy has
developed a new Mozart yogurt and a Mozart dessert drink - flavoured
with chocolate, hazelnut and marzipan. The yogurt is one of hundreds
of new products being developed for the composer's 250th birthday on
27 January. As well as yogurt, you can buy Mozart sausage, Mozart
baby bottles and Mozart perfume. Traders here are hoping for a
bumper year. Some Austrians think it all too much, including Kurt
Palm, himself the author of a new book about Mozart. "The new slogan
for 2006 is not sex sells, but Mozart sells. If Mozart could see
what happens now only in Austria, in Vienna or Salzburg this year,
he would either only laugh about it or he would be disgusted," he
says. But for Salzburg, Mozart-marketing and tourism brings in the
money. The city's mayor Heinz Schaden says the composer is one of
the city's most important sources of income. "It's probably
difficult to calculate it in euros but if you make an opinion poll
with all the tourists who come to Salzburg, many would say I want to
see the city where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. Salzburg is
hard to imagine without Mozart. He put this city on the map."
'Exciting': But amidst the kitsch,
Salzburg has not forgotten what really matters about Mozart: his
music. This summer there will be a chance to see every opera that
Mozart wrote. For the first time, the famous Salzburg Festival is
staging all 22 operas in five weeks. Suzanne Staehr from the
Salzburg Festival says it is a huge logistical and artistic
challenge. "Normally we show five or six operas in a festival
season. Next season we will show 22 operas. But when should this
experiment be done except in the anniversary year - and where else
but Salzburg? The city of his birth takes on this challenge," she
says. World-famous musicians and conductors will be performing
Mozart including Simon Rattle, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Riccardo
Muti. It is a prospect that even excites jaded Salzburgers. "For
real Mozartians there can never be too much Mozart and in any case
there is going to be a lot of Mozart, we perhaps haven't heard so
much before and that's going to be exciting, discovering the
undiscovered Mozart," a shopper in central Salzburg says. "Mozart is
a very famous citizen of Salzburg and we are proud to have him and
we enjoy celebrating his 250th birthday," says a local civil
servant. "We hope many people come to Salzburg - the more often they
come the better it is for us." In the ice rink in Salzburg's Mozart
Square, there is even the chance to go skating to the strains of the
Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute. All this Mozart may be
too much for some people, but Salzburgers know when they are on to a
good thing. -By Bethany Bel
______________________________________
Bono goes to lunch at White
House
Photo: Bono previously met President Bush at The
White House.
U2 frontman Bono shared his views on global
issues with US president George W Bush during lunch at the White
House. During the one hour 40 minute meeting Bono and Mr Bush
discussed debt relief, AIDS, malaria and world trade, said
presidential spokesman Scott McClellan. Mr McClellan said they also
talked about the concerts U2 were due to perform in Washington.
"They had a very good discussion about some of our common
priorities," Mr McClellan added.
Bono received the lunch invitation to follow talks he
had with Mr Bush at the G8 summit in Scotland in July. 'Moral
force': Bono also planned to meet National Security Adviser
Stephen Hadley after Wednesday's lunch, before U2's concert at the
MCI Centre in Washington, DC. Ahead of the meeting, Bono told
Rolling Stone magazine that he had no fear of meeting Mr Bush or any
other world leader. "I'm throwing a punch, and the fist belongs to
people who can't be in the room, whose rage, whose anger, whose hurt
I represent," Bono said. "The moral force is way beyond mine, it's
an argument that has much more weight than I have. So I'm not
feeling nervous."
______________________________________
King Kong was less of a
box-office brute than Hollywood expected
Photo: Actress Naomi
Watts from the film "King Kong" at the MTV Times Square Studios,
New York.
King Kong was less of a box-office brute than
Hollywood expected, taking in $50.15 million in its first weekend, a
sturdy start but unremarkable by Hollywood blockbuster standards.
Universal Pictures' action spectacle about a giant ape took over the
top box-office spot from Disney's The Chronicles of Narnia: The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which slipped to second place with
$31.2 million and lifted its 10-day total to $112.5 million,
according to studio estimates released Sunday. Premiering at No. 3
with $12.7 million was 20th Century Fox's ensemble comic drama The
Family Stone, featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Luke
Wilson and Claire Danes in a tale of an uptight businesswoman
meeting her fiancé's relations during a holiday visit. The
cowboys-in-love drama Brokeback Mountain, which led the Golden
Globes with seven nominations, broke into the top 10 with $2.4
million playing in just 69 theatres, compared to 3,568 for King
Kong. Hollywood analysts generally expected King Kong to have a
debut weekend at least in the $60 million range. Though it came in
lower than expected, King Kong led Hollywood to a solid weekend,
with the top 12 movies grossing $121.2 million, up 22 per cent from
the same weekend last year. That was good news heading into the
holidays, when studios are counting on a strong finish to help snap
a prolonged slump in which movie attendance has fallen seven per
cent compared with last year. Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong
did out-gross the opening weekend of his The Lord of the Rings: The
Fellowship of the Ring, the first of his J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy
trilogy that debuted with $47.2 million. But factoring in a 12 per
cent rise in admission prices since that 2001 film's release, King
Kong sold about 7.9 million tickets, 450,000 fewer than Fellowship
of the Ring. And King Kong did not measure up to the first five days
of Fellowship of the Ring, which debuted on a Wednesday and had
grossed $75.1 million domestically by Sunday. Also opening
Wednesday, King Kong got to $66.2 million in its first five days.
Still, distributor Universal was high on the long-term prospects for
the film, which received rave reviews both as a visual-effects
spectacle and as a drama about a majestic ape that falls for a woman
(Naomi Watts). Along with its domestic haul, King Kong took in $80
million overseas in its first five days.
The studio hopes King Kong follows the long-term
pattern of another three-hour epic, Titanic, which opened with a
modest $28.6 million weekend then sailed on to become the modern
box-office champ with $600 million domestically. "The expectation or
the guessing or hypothesizing of what it was going to do is based on
a lot of misunderstanding and ignorance over how a three-hour movie
plays that doesn't come with legions of fans," said Marc Shmuger,
vice-chairman of Universal Pictures, who brushed aside suggestions
that King Kong had not lived up to expectations. "This is not
Tolkien. This is not the Harry Potter fan base." Grosses for King
Kong jumped 40 per cent from Friday to Saturday, a huge increase for
a non-family film and a sign that good word-of-mouth was pulling in
audiences, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker
Exhibitor Relations. "A movie like King Kong just automatically
creates an expectation that it will break all kinds of box-office
records," Dergarabedian said. "But much like Titanic, which started
very slow, sometimes it's not always about opening weekends.
Sometimes, it's how the film plays in the long run." Estimated
ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian
theatres, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures
will be released Monday.
1. King Kong, $50.15 million.
2. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe, $31.2 million.
3. The Family Stone, $12.7 million.
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, $5.9 million.
5. Syriana, $5.5 million.
6. Walk the Line, $3.6 million.
7. Yours, Mine & Ours, $3.4 million.
8. Brokeback Mountain, $2.4 million.
9. Just Friends, $1.95 million.
10. Aeon Flux, $1.7 million. -By D. German
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