Ashton Kutcher suing California DMV over reality show

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Frustrated with the DMV? So is Ashton Kutcher.

The actor-producer is suing the California Department of Motor Vehicles for at least $1.44 million, saying it backed out of a planned reality series about the day-to-day drama and comedy at DMV offices.

Kutcher's Katalyst Productions and Soda and Pop, Inc., sued the department Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. In their complaint, they allege that the DMV committed to a 'docu-series' in 2010. It was to 'capture the variously humorous, emotional, dramatic, moving, humanizing and entertaining situations that arise on a daily basis at DMV's more than 170 offices across the state of California,' the lawsuit said.

DMV agreed to open up its offices for filming at least four half-hour episodes, and its agreement with Katalyst left open the possibility of up to six seasons, according to the plaintiffs. Katalyst made a deal to produce at least the first four half-hour episodes of the show for TruTV.

But DMV backed out, according to the suit, saying it no longer considered the project to be in its 'best interest.' Although Katalyst has offered to change the initial agreement, the lawsuit says, the DMV remain uninterested.

Katalyst says it has spent 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' developing the series, and is seeking at least $1.44 million in damages.

The DMV told TheWrap it does not comment on pending litigation.



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Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis split after 14 years

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star Johnny Depp has separated from his partner of 14 years, French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis, a representative for the actor said on Tuesday.

'Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis have amicably separated. Please respect their privacy and, more importantly, the privacy of their children,' Depp's publicist Robin Baum said in a statement.

The announcement follows widespread reports earlier this year that the couple's relationship was on the rocks, although Depp denied rumors of a split to British newspaper The Sun in May.

Depp, 49, began dating Paradis, 39, in 1998, following his split from British supermodel Kate Moss. The couple appeared together in Roman Polanski's 1999 film 'The Ninth Gate'.

Depp and Paradis have two children, Lily-Rose, 13, and 9-year-old Jack, and set up homes in France, Los Angeles and on a private island in the Caribbean.

The couple never married, although Depp has been married once before, to Lori Anne Allison between 1983 and 1985, and had a high-profile relationship with actress Winona Ryder in the early 1990s.

Depp rose to fame in the 1980s in the Fox television series '21 Jump Street', leading to films including 'Donnie Brasco', 'Chocolat' and the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise.

The actor is also known for his numerous collaborations with director Tim Burton in movies such as 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Sleepy Hollow' and 'Alice In Wonderland.'

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Dale Hudson)



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Mike Tyson coming to Broadway with "Undisputed Truth"

(Note: Profanity in paragraph 6)

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Mike Tyson and Spike Lee are heading to Broadway.

The former heavyweight champion and the Oscar-nominated director announced Monday that the boxing titan will star in his autobiographical one-man show 'Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth' at the Longacre Theater. It will run for just six nights, July 31 through August 5.

The expansive look at Tyson's struggles with drug abuse, professional triumphs and a series of personal setbacks was staged in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel.

The show apparently does not shirk from the seedier elements of Tyson's story, with the boxer discussing his encounters with prostitutes and the ear-chomping incident with Evander Holyfield.

'Undisputed Truth' marks the Broadway debuts of both Tyson and Lee.

Writing in Time magazine, Gary Andrew Poole called the Las Vegas show 'bizarre' and wrote, 'As a performer, Tyson forces many of his lines and has a nervous habit of saying 'and shit' at the end of practically every sentence. He paces the stage drinking water, often breathing hard into his microphone, and robotically moves his body across the stage.'

It apparently will be overhauled for the Great White Way, as Randy Johnson and not Lee directed the original stage version.

'It is an honor to work with Spike Lee,' Tyson said in a statement. 'I have always admired his work. Sharing the highlights and lowlights of my life with New York is especially important to me as I was born and raised in Brooklyn.'

Tickets range from $75 to $199. A limited number of VIP tickets, which include a meet and greet and photo with Tyson after the show, are available for $300, the producers said.



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Thai culture chiefs go Gaga over singer's "offensive" show

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's government has hit out at pop sensation Lady Gaga for a second time in as many weeks by filing a police complaint over the singer's 'offensive' use of its national flag during her sellout concert last month.

The Culture Ministry said Gaga's use of the flag, tied to the back of a motorcycle while dressed in provocative outfit, was 'inappropriate' and disrespectful to its people, a ministry official told Reuters, requesting anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media.

Lady Gaga performed before 50,000 fans in Bangkok on May 25 as part of a world tour that caused controversy in the Philippines and South Korea and prompted organizers to cancel her show in Indonesia after Islamic groups objected to her 'vulgar' style.

The Grammy Award winner had already upset some Thais when she Tweeted to her 24 million followers upon arrival in Bangkok her plans to buy a fake Rolex watch at one of the city's ubiquitous street markets.

The Tweet stirred debate in Internet chat rooms and on web boards, resulting in the Commerce Ministry lodging a complaint with the United States embassy, saying Gaga was undermining its efforts to stamp out piracy.

Many of Bangkok's indoor and outdoor markets are renowned for selling cheap replicas of coveted designer handbags and accessories. Gaga has made no comment on her Tweet.

The Culture Ministry said police would not prosecute Lady Gaga but it filed the formal complaint to show dissatisfaction.

The ministry has long been criticized for being overzealous in its censorship of films, music, television and some Western cultural practices in an attempt to preserve the traditional conservative values of a country that also has a reputation for racy night life and neon-lit go-go dancing bars.

(Reporting Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Martin Petty and Ron Popeski)



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A Minute With: Singer Colbie Caillat and dad, Ken

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In his book 'Making Rumours,' record producer Ken Caillat recounts with humor and detail the tumultuous year of betrayal, drama and rock 'n' roll excess behind recording Fleetwood Mac's 1977 'Rumours' album, which has sold over 40 million copies.

Caillat, who counts Billy Idol, The Beach Boys and Alice Cooper among his many producing credits along with Fleetwood Mac, has more recently been instrumental in the career of his singer-songwriter daughter Colbie Caillat, who has sold over 6 million albums worldwide and scored a major hit with 'Bubbly.'

Ahead of Father's Day on June 17, Reuters spoke with the talented dad-daughter team that is currently working on a Christmas album, and they spoke of collaborating and how the music industry has changed since 'Rumours.'

Q: What made you decide to write the book, Ken?

Ken: 'I couldn't listen to the album. I heard it as all work. I knew that I spent 14 hours a day on it. Up until a few years ago, I still had dreams, rather nightmares, about being in that studio. I thought it would help to write the book. I decided to in 2009. First, I did extensive research and got access to Warner Bros. Records' vaults of the recording sessions. Then I started writing. I got up at 7 a.m. and wrote it by the fireplace every day for about 90 days.'

Colbie: 'I love the book because it's about the band's personalities and what it takes to make a record like that. It's really cool for people who are fans of Fleetwood Mac to get the inside look. I was reading it on the plane and after each chapter, I'd listen to the song the chapter was discussing.'

Q: How does working with Colbie compare with your experience with Fleetwood Mac?

Ken: 'Fleetwood Mac was always pushy, cantankerous, opinionated and inebriated. Fast forward 30 years, and the whole situation is clean. Nobody smokes in the studio night or day. With Colbie, we just focus on the music. You can do things faster and cheaper now. We had 365 days to make 'Rumours.' When I talked with (former Fleetwood Mac singer) Stevie Nicks recently, she was about to make a record and told me she had only 13 days to record.'

Q: Do you two ever clash over the work?

Colbie: 'We argue creatively all the time. There are two songs I wanted to do for this Christmas record, and I don't want to do them anymore -- 'I'll Be Home for Christmas' and 'Winter Wonderland.' I'm not feeling it. But he wants it. We did this with my song, 'Rainbow.' He wanted people to do background 'oohs' and I was annoyed and didn't want it. But then I realized it was a good idea. You have to be nudged and open-minded.'

Q: Colbie, you grew up in what many would consider to be a cool, rock 'n' roll home around artists all the time. But did you ever have the typical, 'I can't stand my parents,' stage?

Ken: 'She doesn't have a problem calling me a dork.'

Colbie: 'Everyone can't stand their parents at times. He can't stand his parents sometimes. It's just when, maybe, you're around each other too much. Then, you step away from it. My parents influenced me to become a songwriter and learn how to play an instrument. I can appreciate that now, but at the time I was annoyed. They wanted me to take lessons and write songs. I just wanted to sing. I thought it was annoying but now, OK. (Turns to Ken). You were totally right and thank you.'

Q: Clearly Colbie was born with an incredible voice. But how would you know she had the potential to write songs?

Ken: 'I think everyone has the potential to be a songwriter. If they can make their hands play music, their mouth will correspond and jump in and join the party.'

Q: What's the biggest lesson you can teach Colbie in terms of your years of experience in the business?

Ken: 'It's a totally different game. I don't try to teach her anything. The only thing I've said in the past is to slow down and listen. She sometimes gets so booked up on things. She does vocals with me and races over to do a new vocal. I say 'you never get the chance to sit and listen to what we're doing.' That's what I tell most musicians these days. Slow down. Enjoy listening more, because it's all about the listening experience. I don't know if that's old fashioned, but it works for me.

'On her first record, I fought with her producer because Colbie was really co-producing the record. She knows what she wants. She says 'I like that and not that,' every step of the way. I was trying to encourage her to be involved in producing.'

Q: Colbie, you recently guest-starred on TV show 'The Playboy Club.' Do you plan on acting, too?

Colbie: 'He wants me to!'

Ken: 'Sure, why not! She thinks it's going to be difficult, and I keep promising her that they're going to write scripts and all she'll have to do is be herself.'

Q: He was right about your songwriting. Maybe you should listen to your dad.

Colbie: 'He'd been telling me for years to take lessons and write songs. I didn't. Finally, when I was 19, I said, 'Fine. I'll take a guitar lesson.' I went to my first guitar lesson and I came home that evening. I had learned the basic four chords and I wrote a song in my parents' bathroom that night where nobody could hear me. I started singing when I was playing the chords and was impressed by what he had said.

'If you just sing whatever you're feeling and learn a simple instrument, you can write a song. It was fast and easy, and I fell in love with the experience of writing. I was lucky that I had parents in the business who helped me find a great manager.'

Ken: 'She opens her mouth and golden rainbows come out. She's the luckiest girl in the world.'

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Dale Hudson)



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Book Talk: Michelle Obama on White House kitchen garden

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. first lady Michelle Obama has adopted healthy eating and fighting childhood obesity as one of her pet causes.

Her first book, 'American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,' tells of her experiences planting the first vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt and shares other stories of other community gardens across the country.

Obama, who did not accept an advance and will donate all author proceeds to the National Park Foundation, sat down with Reuters before her first and only book signing, at a Barnes & Noble near the White House.

Q: What inspired you to write the book?

A: My own experiences being a mom, trying to feed my kids right. What I realized when I started making some simple changes like ... adding more fruits and vegetables. Getting the kids to farmers markets. Engaging them in the process of understanding where their food was coming from. They took an interest, and their health outcomes changed pretty dramatically.

I thought, if I don't know these things, what's going on in other households where people have less information, fewer resources? So I started thinking about how a garden could begin a really good conversation ... The book is another extension of the garden. It's open to the public and it's in a place where the public can see it. But there are so many people around the country who have heard about the garden, who are curious about it, and they'll never have the chance to see it.

I wanted it to be a beautiful book with wonderful pictures that would draw people in, particularly kids. We tried to make this book pretty user-friendly so that kids would open it up and get engaged just from the pictures. And we wanted to tell other stories ... There are thousands of wonderful community gardens all across the country. I had visited some and I wanted to tell that story too, and also use the book as a way to talk about the work that we're doing with childhood obesity and childhood health (the 'Let's Move' initiative). So when we talk about that, we throw in a few recipes.

Q: Which is your favorite recipe?

A: I love the sweet potato bread. It's really good, and it's really moist. The corn soup is excellent. The linguine is good. The kids like the cauliflower mac and cheese, although I tell people to introduce kids to that early before they have the processed kind, because it's not as salty.

Q: What about the beehive? There was a concern about the proximity of the beehive to the White House and the president's basketball court.

A: Deep concern. Kids don't like bees - what kid likes bees? And then I've got this other kid, the president, and he doesn't like bees. It took a little convincing, but we had one of the staff who was a beekeeper. I assured everyone we would not be caring for the bees individually. We could just look from afar. Once we got the hive out there - it's up pretty high and it's not anywhere where (the dog) Bo could get to it, and it's very secure so it doesn't get knocked over by Marine One landing.

We all coexist very well together. The honey is amazing. I eat it almost every day in my tea with my snack. We give it as gifts. It's just a really good, personal touch. And it's delicious. We have brewed beer with it.

Q: After the Obamas leave the White House, what do you see the garden becoming or what do you hope it is?

A: I hope it's there forever. One of the beauties of the book is that all of the proceeds are going to go to the National Park Foundation, which is the foundation that will support the garden, hopefully forever. But it's really up to the next family that comes in. At least we have the legacy of what the garden has become, which is another reason why the book is so important.

Q: Any surprises? What was the biggest struggle with the garden?

A: We still struggle every day with it. Trying to figure out how to grow the right melon - we still haven't been successful with watermelon. Our pumpkins are still a little lame. We're doing some potatoes - I hope they turn out. This is the first season of red russets and different varieties. We won't know for another month or so how those are going.

Finding the proper structure for a public community garden (was hard). At first we didn't have beds that were enclosed, and we found that a big rain would come through and wash everything out. Fortunately we had gardeners who would help readjust everything. We found having those beds worked, especially since we have a lot of little kids coming through. It makes it easier for volunteers to come and not pull up the wrong thing.

Another surprise is how resilient gardens can be. They can be very fickle when it comes to the rain, but as I tell the kids, you can't break anything. It's dirt. That's why I've gotten so comfortable dealing with soil and dirt and plants and sprouts. Because you really have to try to mess it up. And that's the beauty. There's not much kids can get wrong.

They're in it to get dirty, they're in it to mess up. So there's a freedom that they have when they're in the garden that I really like. Especially when they're in the White House, it can be pretty intimidating. But you would be surprised at how little they focus on where they are. Instead they focus on what they're doing. Because they want to help, they want to engage. If they know that they can't damage anything ... it makes it just a fun experience for them.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant and Prudence Crowther)

Ben Affleck joins Hillary Clinton for Congo event

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ben Affleck will join Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday in Washington D.C. to draw attention to the high rate of preventable child mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The event, which will also involve USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is being called Child Survival: Call to Action.

Affleck is not there in his capacity as a Hollywood star, but in his role as the founder of Eastern Congo Initiative, a non-profit group that was formed in 2010 to foster economic and social development for the Congolese people.

Thursday's event will focus on the country's dubious distinction of having the fifth highest mortality rate in the world for children under five years old, the Eastern Congo Initiative said.

'We wouldn't allow four year-olds to die from preventable diseases in the U.S. - nor should we let it happen in Congo or anywhere else,' Affleck said in a statement.

Affleck next stars in and directs 'Argo,' a political thriller about the Iranian Revolution that debuts on October 12.



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"Gone With The Wind" actress Ann Rutherford dies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ann Rutherford, an actress most known for a small role playing Scarlett O'Hara's optimistic younger sister in 'Gone With The Wind,' has died in Los Angeles.

Rutherford, who had a career in film, radio and television, died at her home on Monday in Beverly Hills after suffering from heart problems, a close friend and fellow actress Anne Jeffreys told The Los Angeles Times. The Times said she was 94.

Under contract with MGM, she first came to prominence as regular opposite Mickey Rooney in the long-running Andy Hardy film series playing Hardy's teenage girlfriend, Polly Benedict.

She was cast in dozens of other films, including with Vivien Leigh in the classic 1939 film 'Gone With The Wind,' which Rutherford told The Times she had implored then studio head Louis B. Mayer she wanted to do because, 'I just wanted to watch the book come to life.'

She retired from films around 1950 but returned in the early 1970s including guest appearances on the 'The Bob Newhart Show.'

(Reporting By Christine Kearney, editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)



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Katy Perry to star in new comic book

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pop star Katy Perry will become the latest celebrity to be depicted in the biography comic book 'Fame' series, publisher Bluewater Productions said on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old's life shown in 'Fame: Katy Perry' has her moving from a Californian churchgoing upbringing under her Christian parents to bouncing around several music labels in Los Angeles until striking a deal that landed her first big hits, 'I Kissed A Girl,' and 'Hot n Cold.'

Perry, who has delved into colorful, fantasy-filled recreations of herself in music videos not unlike a comic book character, will also be the subject of a 3-D concert documentary due for release next month.

Her marriage to actor and comedian Russell Brand ended late last year.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Dale Hudson)



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If it's Tuesday, Clinton must be in Batumi

BATUMI, Georgia (Reuters) - If it's Tuesday, this must be Batumi.

A sunny day in early June finds U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Georgia's Black Sea resort of Batumi, a beach town decidedly off the beaten path of high-level diplomacy.

The resort, with modern high-rise hotels contrasting with ornate, tsarist-era buildings, is the sixth stop in the seven countries that Clinton is visiting during an eight-day trip to Scandinavia, the Caucasus and Turkey.

In the final of the four years she says she will serve as secretary of state, Clinton had made time to tour the Arctic by boat, to dine in Copenhagen's Tivoli gardens and to visit this town on the Black Sea.

While renowned for her work ethic and mastery of detail, Clinton at times seems to be looking ahead to the next chapter of her life and willing to do things that she might not have done earlier in her tenure as secretary of state.

In the past few months, Clinton has gone whale-watching off the coast of Mexico, danced and drank beer at a bar in the Colombian Caribbean port of Cartagena and, in Norway on Saturday, took a two-hour cruise through the Arctic on a research trawler.

WAITING TO EXHALE

Work, however, follows her everywhere.

To take just one example, while en route to Denmark last week, Clinton called U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan from her plane to discuss the worsening crisis in Syria, in which government forces have killed more than 10,000 people, according to the United Nations.

In Copenhagen on Thursday, Clinton said she hankers to do ordinary things after two decades near the pinnacle of American politics.

'I would like to be able to just take a long walk,' she told Danish students. 'I'm just looking forward to exhaling and seeing what else lies ahead.'

Asked if she could rule out running for U.S. president in 2016, she replied: 'Yes.' She unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2008 in a tough battle against Barack Obama, who went on to win the presidency and then asked her to serve as his secretary of state.

The five nights that she spent during her current trip in Denmark, Norway and Sweden - countries with which the United States has few, if any, disagreements - was an unusual expenditure of time for a U.S. secretary of state.

Swedish diplomats told their American colleagues they believed it had been more than three decades since a U.S. secretary of state had come to Sweden just for bilateral talks rather than for an international conference or wider meeting.

At each stop in Scandinavia, Clinton warmly thanked the Nordic countries, known for their commitment to aid donations and their involvement in global challenges. Aides said Clinton made the visit to show her appreciation.

She also made time for a boat ride in each country.

She spent about half an hour cruising along Copenhagen's main canal with Denmark's foreign minister, taking in everything from the city's new black glass-enclosed royal theater to its iconic 'little mermaid' statue.

At Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt's invitation, she spent about four hours in meetings aboard a small luxury boat, passing red Swedish summer cottages as well as stately mansions as they cruised among the Stockholm archipelago's rocky islands.

DISCUSSING SYRIA IN THE ARCTIC

To suggest that the boat rides were simply sightseeing would be unfair. On the Stockholm cruise, she held meetings with Bildt, who likes to show the archipelago's rugged beauty to visiting dignitaries, as well as with the Swedish defense minister.

After a day of talks with Norwegian officials in Oslo, Clinton flew to Norway's Arctic city of Tromso to highlight the strategic importance of the Arctic region.

The two hours that she spent cruising the local fjord getting briefings aboard a research vessel sought to illustrate the geopolitical significance of the Arctic as its ice melts and vast mineral resources and new shipping routes become available.

After getting off the boat, and before flying to Stockholm, Clinton spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, again to discuss the violence in Syria.

From Sweden, Clinton flew to Armenia on Monday, urging it, and neighbor Azerbaijan, not to allow their long-standing territorial dispute to erupt into a regional conflagration. She is due to visit Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

In Georgia, she has diplomatically pressed the government to hold free and fair parliamentary elections.

Even the visit to Batumi, a resort town that is attracting five-star hotels and an investment from New York real estate mogul Donald Trump, has a foreign policy point.

Aides said the visit would dramatize the difference between the booming Georgian resort and the isolated towns in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two Georgian enclaves over which Russia tightened its control after a five-day war in 2008.

She wraps up her trip in Istanbul for talks on Syria on Wednesday night and a counter-terrorism conference on Thursday before returning to Washington that night.

On Friday, she will hit the ground running, holding talks with Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, hosting a lunch for Philippine President Benigno Aquino and meeting Annan to discuss Syria.

Asked in January what she would do after she left the State Department, Clinton said it would probably be 'a good idea to just find out how tired I am.' She then added: 'I will just work as hard as I can to the last minute.'

(Editing by Will Dunham)



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Rhode Island's Olivia Culpo crowned Miss USA

(Reuters) - Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island was named Miss USA on Sunday after saying it would be fair for transgendered contestants to win the pageant, giving her a crown that she will wear when representing the United States at the Miss Universe pageant later this year.

Culpo, 20, competed in the traditional swimsuit and evening gown competitions at the Las Vegas pageant, but also answered a question - tweeted in from an audience member - about an issue that earlier this year vexed the organizers of the Miss Universe pageant in Canada when a transgendered woman wanted to compete.

Culpo was asked if it was fair that a transgender woman would win Miss USA over a natural born woman, and she answered, 'I do think that would be fair, but I can understand that people would be a little apprehensive to take that road.'

She went on to say that there are 'so many people out there who have a need to change for a happier life. I do accept that because I believe it is a free country.'

The audience reaction seemed mixed initially but quickly turned to cheers and Culpo gave two thumbs ups.

Later, when the winner's crown was placed on Culpo's head, tears came to her eyes as she accepted the congratulations of fellow contestants and walked the stage as the new Miss USA in a flowing, purple evening gown that was among the few splashes of color in a competition that featured several white dress.

Culpo, of Cranston, Rhode Island, is a student at Boston University.

Her parents were both musicians, and she began playing cello in the second grade. She has played at the Boston Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City, and she continues to perform.

Miss Maryland, Nana Meriwether, was the runner-up, and contestants from Ohio, Nevada and Georgia rounded out the top five finalists. Miss Congenialtiy went to Miss Iowa, Rebecca Hodge, and the most photogenic award went to Miss Oregon, Alaina Bergsma

The Miss Universe pageant will be held in December, but a location has yet to be named.

Earlier this year, Jenna Talackova, who underwent gender-reassignment surgery at age 19 and holds legal documents affirming her identity as a woman, was initially kicked out of the competition in the Miss Canada division, but was later reinstated by the Miss Universe organization's owner, Donald Trump.

Talackova, now 23, went on to compete in last month's Miss Canada pageant but did not win.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Jackie Frank)



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Sarah Jessica Parker plans Obama fundraiser

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - 'Sex and the City' star Sarah Jessica Parker is borrowing a tactic from the George Clooney fundraising book, planning a campaign dinner for President Barack Obama and offering a chance to win two tickets with $3 online donations.

Parker, who is married to actor Matthew Broderick, sent an email to supporters and appeared in an advertisement on Sunday's MTV Movie Awards telling people of the online donations and tickets to the affair at her New York home.

'I'm hosting this event on June 14th because there is so much at stake this year and I want to keep doing what I can,' she wrote in the email. 'I hope you'll help me welcome President Obama and the First Lady to New York.'

The email ask for donations of '$3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered.' Parker's spokeswoman confirmed the event and the email but did not give further details about the cost of tickets for the fundraiser or how many people were expected.

Oscar winner Clooney hosted a dinner last month at his home in the Los Angeles area where some 150 people paid $40,000 a ticket to see the president.

The event raised nearly $15 million with more than half coming from small-amount donors who entered an online ticket raffle by pledging donations of $3 or more. The winners were Beth Topinka, a science teacher from New Jersey, and Karen Blutcher, who works at a public utility company in Florida.

(Reporting By Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Bill Trott)



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Obama takes time to relax in Chicago hometown

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Life's simple pleasures are complicated when you are the president of the United States.

Barack Obama, savoring fine late spring weather after a rare night under his own roof - the first since April, 2011 - took a three-block stroll early on Saturday through his old Chicago neighborhood. He was preceded by a wave of dark-suited secret service agents and stalked by a slow-rolling convoy of armored SUVs.

Looking relaxed and chatting with close adviser Valerie Jarrett, Obama was paying a visit on long-time Chicago friend Martin Nesbitt.

With the leafy street in Chicago's Hyde Park blocked off by police cars and flooded with security, the short walk looked anything but spontaneous. Yet Obama appeared in good spirits and shouted across the street to reporters to inquire if they had stayed up late the night before.

The president had jokingly told supporters the previous night that he was looking forward to puttering around his backyard and cooking in his own kitchen, but he told reporters he 'woke up too late' to fix his own breakfast.

Obama has plenty of reasons to crave a good night's sleep. Polls show him locked in a close race with his Republican rival Mitt Romney for the November 6 election and recent news on the economy has been grim.

Data on Friday showed unemployment creeping up to 8.2 percent in May, challenging his re-election campaign message that the economy is healing after the recession he inherited upon taking office in 2009.

(Reporting By Alister Bull; Editing by Vicki Allen)



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Home sweet home: Obama to sleep under own roof in Chicago

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, sneaking a break from the glamour of the White House, told supporters on Friday he was looking forward to spending a night in his own home and savoring life's simple pleasures.

'I am sleeping in my own bed tonight,' Obama said at an enthusiastic fund-raising event in Chicago, his adopted home town. 'I'm going to go into my pantry. I might cook something for myself, potter around in the back yard a little bit.'

Obama, joking with reporters last month after a NATO summit in Chicago, made it clear he missed visiting his home in the upscale Hyde Park neighborhood, after security and traffic concerns had made it impossible for him to go home for a night.

The president's wife and daughters were not expected to join him in Chicago, where he was attending three fundraising events after visiting Minneapolis to talk about the economy. Obama is scheduled to fly back to Washington on Saturday.

Obama last popped into his Chicago home in January, but did not spend the night on that occasion, the White House said.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; editing by Todd Eastham)



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