LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Lindsay Lohan will stand trial on March 18 on charges she lied to California police about a June car crash and violated probation, raising the possibility she could be sent back to jail.
A judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday set the trial date on charges related to the car crash and said the court will hold a hearing at the same time on whether Lohan in the incident violated probation from a 2011 jewelry theft.
The star of the movie 'Mean Girls,' who has been in and out of rehab and jail since 2007, wore a black sleeveless dress and looked tired at the brief court hearing. She arrived in Los Angeles late Tuesday from New York and has abandoned her longtime lawyer in favor of new attorney Mark Heller.
Lohan has pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing police when she said she was not behind the wheel of her sports car, which smashed into a truck in Santa Monica, California in June.
Lohan, 26, left court without speaking to the media.
The former 'Parent Trap' child star has been in and out of trouble since a 2007 arrest for drunk driving and cocaine possession.
Sautner warned Lohan that she could be found in violation of probation even if she is acquitted on charges connected to the car crash because the standard of proof is lower.
Lohan was ordered to appear at Wednesday's hearing because she decided to switch lawyers, firing longtime attorney Shawn Holley this month.
She was arrested in New York on a misdemeanor assault charge on the same day in November that the Santa Monica car crash charges were filed. The Manhattan district attorney's office has not filed a criminal complaint in the assault case.
Lohan's appearance in Los Angeles had been in doubt after Heller wrote to the court earlier this week saying was suffering from an upper respiratory infection and could not appear.
'Glad to see you're feeling better,' Judge Stephanie Sautner told Lohan at the hearing.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
UK's Prince Charles takes first "Tube" trip since 1986
LONDON (Reuters) - Four million Londoners cram onto the city's Underground passenger railway nearly every day, but it is a rarer event for Prince Charles. He rode the British capital's bustling commuter network on Wednesday for the first time since 1986.
The heir to the British throne and his wife Camilla took a one-stop journey from Farringdon to King's Cross on the Metropolitan Line as part of celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of a transport service affectionately known to Britons as the 'Tube'.
The short journey was a rare enough event to cause some confusion at the prince's press office, which initially said he had last ventured onto the Tube in 1979.
'This is just to let you know that it has come to our attention that The Prince of Wales has travelled on the London Underground more recently than 1979. In 1986 The Prince and Princess of Wales travelled by tube to Heathrow Airport to open Terminal 4,' a spokeswoman said in an email to media.
'We're sorry that our previous information was incorrect. Our archives of Royal engagements prior to 1988 are not computerized and in this particular instance a search under 'The Prince of Wales takes the Tube' did not bring up an event which had been logged as the 'official opening of Terminal 4'.'
(Reporting By Estelle Shirbon, editing by Paul Casciato)
The heir to the British throne and his wife Camilla took a one-stop journey from Farringdon to King's Cross on the Metropolitan Line as part of celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of a transport service affectionately known to Britons as the 'Tube'.
The short journey was a rare enough event to cause some confusion at the prince's press office, which initially said he had last ventured onto the Tube in 1979.
'This is just to let you know that it has come to our attention that The Prince of Wales has travelled on the London Underground more recently than 1979. In 1986 The Prince and Princess of Wales travelled by tube to Heathrow Airport to open Terminal 4,' a spokeswoman said in an email to media.
'We're sorry that our previous information was incorrect. Our archives of Royal engagements prior to 1988 are not computerized and in this particular instance a search under 'The Prince of Wales takes the Tube' did not bring up an event which had been logged as the 'official opening of Terminal 4'.'
(Reporting By Estelle Shirbon, editing by Paul Casciato)
A Minute With: Rapper T.I. dips into comedy in "Identity Thief"
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Tip 'T.I.' Harris has seen and done it all - three Grammy Awards, a novel, time in jail, a fashion line, TV reality show, businessman and several movies.
Now the Atlanta-based singer is dipping into comedy, appearing in the film 'Identity Thief' as an armed enforcer on the trail of a character played by Melissa McCarthy who is on the run from many of those she's swindled.
T.I., 32, sat down with Reuters ahead of the movie's February 8 release to talk about the film, what's left on his to-do list, and his personal views on gun control.
Q: How did you wind up in a comedic film?
A: 'I met with (director) Seth (Gordon) and learned he was the director of one of my favorite comedies, 'Horrible Bosses.' I asked him how would this movie compare to 'Horrible Bosses' and he said it's going to be better. I said, 'I'm in.''
Q: Were you OK taking a supporting role rather than a lead?
A: 'I actually enjoyed the fact that all of the heavy lifting was not on my shoulders. It was Jason (Bateman) and Melissa's show, so the stage was set for me to not screw it up, you know what I mean?'
Q: Last year you appeared on television's 'Hawaii Five-O' and 'Boss.' Do you have role models of hip-hop stars who have successfully crossed over to acting?
A: 'Will Smith and Ice Cube. Looking at the roles Cube has been able to acquire, he created those opportunities for himself. So I think I could take that approach.'
Q: Is there a certain perception of you out there that might hinder you from being taken seriously as an actor?
A: 'I think people might wonder whether or not T.I. can be anything other than T.I., so it's constantly having to reassure people that I'm able to do what I already know I can do.'
Q: For some, T.I. is a successful recording artist and for others he's someone who had several stints in jail on drugs and weapons charges. Can you confidently say that the past is the past?
A: 'I'm not gonna say anything. It's day by day, you know what I'm saying? I'm saying today this is how I am, this is where I am. And tomorrow hopefully will be better than today.'
Q: In 2011 after your last prison term, you showed a softer side by starring in the VH1 reality series 'T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle,' with your wife and six kids. Was that an attempt to right your past transgressions?
A: 'Nah. I think it's a showcasing of who I am today. I don't think that it any way diminishes the mistakes of yesterday. It just makes a correction if people assume that the mistakes of yesterday are ever-present today. It gives people a stage of truth and knowledge to judge from. So if you must judge, at least you can judge from fact.'
Q: You've just released your eighth album, 'Trouble Man II: He Who Wears the Crown.' You also have a your own urban fashion line, A.K.O.O. What else do you need to check off your to-do list?
A: 'Just to remain relevant and meaningful to the cool young consumer of today. The cool kids are out there being admired by others in their peer group, so you want to find ways to continue to put yourself on their minds.'
Q: How do you do that?
A: '(Social media) is a big aspect for those kids. ... So with Instagram, if you take pictures it has to be a picture worthy of showing. If you say something on Twitter, it has to be something that's worthy of listening to.'
Q: With gun control being a hot-button topic today, and with your own experiences with firearms, what are your thoughts on gun ownership?
A: 'I can't possess a firearm (due to previous convictions), so whether they make them illegal or not is gonna be the same thing for me. But I see a need for them. I've been in circumstances where I've had them every day and nothing happened. I've been in circumstances where I didn't have them, and I needed them. In certain areas of society, having a firearm is just as common as having bottled water.'
Q: In what way?
A: 'If you're a shopkeeper, a barbershop owner, a convenience store owner and you handle cash in and out of this area, if everyone knows that you don't have a firearm, then you are basically prey. In these areas, bullets are just as common as sticks of gum, you know what I'm saying? So I think I speak for those people.'
(Reporting by Zorianna Kit; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Will Dunham)
Now the Atlanta-based singer is dipping into comedy, appearing in the film 'Identity Thief' as an armed enforcer on the trail of a character played by Melissa McCarthy who is on the run from many of those she's swindled.
T.I., 32, sat down with Reuters ahead of the movie's February 8 release to talk about the film, what's left on his to-do list, and his personal views on gun control.
Q: How did you wind up in a comedic film?
A: 'I met with (director) Seth (Gordon) and learned he was the director of one of my favorite comedies, 'Horrible Bosses.' I asked him how would this movie compare to 'Horrible Bosses' and he said it's going to be better. I said, 'I'm in.''
Q: Were you OK taking a supporting role rather than a lead?
A: 'I actually enjoyed the fact that all of the heavy lifting was not on my shoulders. It was Jason (Bateman) and Melissa's show, so the stage was set for me to not screw it up, you know what I mean?'
Q: Last year you appeared on television's 'Hawaii Five-O' and 'Boss.' Do you have role models of hip-hop stars who have successfully crossed over to acting?
A: 'Will Smith and Ice Cube. Looking at the roles Cube has been able to acquire, he created those opportunities for himself. So I think I could take that approach.'
Q: Is there a certain perception of you out there that might hinder you from being taken seriously as an actor?
A: 'I think people might wonder whether or not T.I. can be anything other than T.I., so it's constantly having to reassure people that I'm able to do what I already know I can do.'
Q: For some, T.I. is a successful recording artist and for others he's someone who had several stints in jail on drugs and weapons charges. Can you confidently say that the past is the past?
A: 'I'm not gonna say anything. It's day by day, you know what I'm saying? I'm saying today this is how I am, this is where I am. And tomorrow hopefully will be better than today.'
Q: In 2011 after your last prison term, you showed a softer side by starring in the VH1 reality series 'T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle,' with your wife and six kids. Was that an attempt to right your past transgressions?
A: 'Nah. I think it's a showcasing of who I am today. I don't think that it any way diminishes the mistakes of yesterday. It just makes a correction if people assume that the mistakes of yesterday are ever-present today. It gives people a stage of truth and knowledge to judge from. So if you must judge, at least you can judge from fact.'
Q: You've just released your eighth album, 'Trouble Man II: He Who Wears the Crown.' You also have a your own urban fashion line, A.K.O.O. What else do you need to check off your to-do list?
A: 'Just to remain relevant and meaningful to the cool young consumer of today. The cool kids are out there being admired by others in their peer group, so you want to find ways to continue to put yourself on their minds.'
Q: How do you do that?
A: '(Social media) is a big aspect for those kids. ... So with Instagram, if you take pictures it has to be a picture worthy of showing. If you say something on Twitter, it has to be something that's worthy of listening to.'
Q: With gun control being a hot-button topic today, and with your own experiences with firearms, what are your thoughts on gun ownership?
A: 'I can't possess a firearm (due to previous convictions), so whether they make them illegal or not is gonna be the same thing for me. But I see a need for them. I've been in circumstances where I've had them every day and nothing happened. I've been in circumstances where I didn't have them, and I needed them. In certain areas of society, having a firearm is just as common as having bottled water.'
Q: In what way?
A: 'If you're a shopkeeper, a barbershop owner, a convenience store owner and you handle cash in and out of this area, if everyone knows that you don't have a firearm, then you are basically prey. In these areas, bullets are just as common as sticks of gum, you know what I'm saying? So I think I speak for those people.'
(Reporting by Zorianna Kit; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Will Dunham)
Monday, January 28, 2013
Barbara Walters, hospitalized after fall, recovering from chicken pox
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Celebrity newswoman Barbara Walters, who was hospitalized earlier this month after falling and injuring her head, is recovering from chicken pox, her co-host Whoopi Goldberg said Monday on 'The View' talk show.
Goldberg said Walters, 83, who is in a New York hospital, has been told to rest and is not receiving visitors.
'You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago and then was running a temperature,' Goldberg said on the show.
'But it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood. Barbara has the chicken pox,' Goldberg adding, saying Walters had never had the illness as a child.
Walters, 83, had been admitted to a Washington hospital during President Barack Obama's inauguration weekend after she fell and cut her head at the British ambassador's residence, her network ABC said.
Goldberg joked: 'She's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors, and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching.'
ABC-TV said Walters, who created the long-running talk show after working decades as one of television news' best-known journalists, was transferred to a New York hospital late last week from Washington and was expected to be discharged soon.
Despite Goldberg's light-hearted remarks about the illness, usually associated with children, chicken pox can be serious for adults and the elderly, accompanied by more severe itching from hundreds of blisters.
Headaches, fever and chills, sometimes leading to pneumonia, can follow if the illness is not properly treated and precautions are not taken, or if the patient has a compromised immune system.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Philip Barbara)
This article is sponsored by real estate news.
Goldberg said Walters, 83, who is in a New York hospital, has been told to rest and is not receiving visitors.
'You all know that she fell and cut her head 10 days ago and then was running a temperature,' Goldberg said on the show.
'But it turns out it is all the result of a delayed childhood. Barbara has the chicken pox,' Goldberg adding, saying Walters had never had the illness as a child.
Walters, 83, had been admitted to a Washington hospital during President Barack Obama's inauguration weekend after she fell and cut her head at the British ambassador's residence, her network ABC said.
Goldberg joked: 'She's been told to rest, she's not allowed any visitors, and we're telling you, Barbara, no scratching.'
ABC-TV said Walters, who created the long-running talk show after working decades as one of television news' best-known journalists, was transferred to a New York hospital late last week from Washington and was expected to be discharged soon.
Despite Goldberg's light-hearted remarks about the illness, usually associated with children, chicken pox can be serious for adults and the elderly, accompanied by more severe itching from hundreds of blisters.
Headaches, fever and chills, sometimes leading to pneumonia, can follow if the illness is not properly treated and precautions are not taken, or if the patient has a compromised immune system.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Philip Barbara)
This article is sponsored by real estate news.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Actor Burt Reynolds reportedly in intensive care with flu
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - American actor Burt Reynolds is battling the flu in the intensive care unit of a Florida hospital, CNN reported on Friday.
The 'Smokey and the Bandit' actor arrived at the unnamed hospital with dehydration and was later transferred to intensive care, Reynolds' manager, Erik Kritzer, told CNN.
'He is doing better at this time,' Kritzer was quoted as saying on Friday afternoon. 'We expect, as soon as he gets more fluids, he will be back in a regular room.'
Reynolds, 76, is famous for roles in 1970s movies including 'Deliverance' and 'The Longest Yard.' More recently, he won a Golden Globe award for his role as a porn king in 1997 film 'Boogie Nights.'
Reynolds had heart bypass surgery in 2010.
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Xavier Briand)
The 'Smokey and the Bandit' actor arrived at the unnamed hospital with dehydration and was later transferred to intensive care, Reynolds' manager, Erik Kritzer, told CNN.
'He is doing better at this time,' Kritzer was quoted as saying on Friday afternoon. 'We expect, as soon as he gets more fluids, he will be back in a regular room.'
Reynolds, 76, is famous for roles in 1970s movies including 'Deliverance' and 'The Longest Yard.' More recently, he won a Golden Globe award for his role as a porn king in 1997 film 'Boogie Nights.'
Reynolds had heart bypass surgery in 2010.
(Reporting By Lisa Richwine; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Xavier Briand)
Thursday, January 24, 2013
"Black Swan" choreographer named dance director of Paris ballet
(Reuters) - French dancer Benjamin Millepied, who was the choreographer of the film 'Black Swan,' was on Thursday named director of dance at the Paris Opera Ballet, one of the world's oldest and most prestigious dance companies.
Millepied, 35, who last year married the Oscar-winning star of 'Black Swan,' Natalie Portman, with whom he has a son, will take up his new role in October 2014.
The announcement by the director of the Paris Opera, Nicolas Joel, ended months of speculation over the successor to Brigitte Lefevre, director of dance at the Paris Opera since 1995, who plans to retire at the end of the 2013-14 season.
The same position was held for several years by Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who died in 1993.
A statement from Paris Opera said Millepied was born in Bordeaux and trained at the Lyon Conservatory.
He joined the School of American Ballet as a teenager before joining New York City Ballet where he became a principal dancer in 2002.
He was both the choreographer and a dancer in the 2010 film 'Black Swan,' a psychological thriller that received five Academy Award nominations and won Portman the best actress award.
Millepied retired in 2011 to focus on choreography and moved to Los Angeles where he founded the L.A. Dance Project, which made its debut last September.
Millepied is also the new face of Yves Saint Laurent's men's fragrance 'L'Homme Libre' - French for 'The Free Man' - and also features in ads for Air France.
Almost all the 150-plus dancers in the Paris company are trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School with admittance to the corps de ballet decided by an annual competition.
Lefevre joined the Paris Opera Ballet School when she was 8 years old and entered the corps de ballet aged 16, so Millepied's appointment came as a surprise to many.
(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Eric Walsh)
Millepied, 35, who last year married the Oscar-winning star of 'Black Swan,' Natalie Portman, with whom he has a son, will take up his new role in October 2014.
The announcement by the director of the Paris Opera, Nicolas Joel, ended months of speculation over the successor to Brigitte Lefevre, director of dance at the Paris Opera since 1995, who plans to retire at the end of the 2013-14 season.
The same position was held for several years by Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who died in 1993.
A statement from Paris Opera said Millepied was born in Bordeaux and trained at the Lyon Conservatory.
He joined the School of American Ballet as a teenager before joining New York City Ballet where he became a principal dancer in 2002.
He was both the choreographer and a dancer in the 2010 film 'Black Swan,' a psychological thriller that received five Academy Award nominations and won Portman the best actress award.
Millepied retired in 2011 to focus on choreography and moved to Los Angeles where he founded the L.A. Dance Project, which made its debut last September.
Millepied is also the new face of Yves Saint Laurent's men's fragrance 'L'Homme Libre' - French for 'The Free Man' - and also features in ads for Air France.
Almost all the 150-plus dancers in the Paris company are trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School with admittance to the corps de ballet decided by an annual competition.
Lefevre joined the Paris Opera Ballet School when she was 8 years old and entered the corps de ballet aged 16, so Millepied's appointment came as a surprise to many.
(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Eric Walsh)
Booker winner Mantel says play next "logical step"
LONDON (Reuters) - Double Booker prize-winning author Hilary Mantel said the characters in her historical novels about the rise of Thomas Cromwell will take the next 'logical step' to a stage adaptation at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) this year.
Mantel said in a video interview on the RSC website this week that she has always longed to give 'solid form' to her depictions of Cromwell, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in her 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies' books.
'From the moment I started writing Wolf Hall the characters were fighting to be off the page,' Mantel said in the video.
The 60-year-old Mantel said she was delighted to have playwright Mike Poulton, whose works have garnered some of the theatre world's top awards, recreate her novels for the stage.
'He's the man who knows about the stagecraft,' she said. 'I'm the one who knows the characters inside out.'
The first woman and first Briton to win the Booker twice for her novels set in Henry VIII's court said she has been inspired by the RSC since the age of 15 when she went alone to its Stratford-upon-Avon home and watched four plays in three days.
'It was a shaping experience, so it really is a dream come true for me to have the opportunity to see the RSC present my plays,' she said.
Mantel is working on a third novel in the trilogy.
The RSC also said on Wednesday that David Tennant will star in the title role of 'Richard II' in winter 2013, making his return five years after a turn as Hamlet which earned him a best Shakespearean performance trophy at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in 2009.
'Both plays will be directed by Royal Court Associate Director Jeremy Herrin, making his RSC directing debut,' RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran said.
The world premiere of 'Wendy & Peter Pan' by Ella Hickson and directed by Jonathan Munby will round out the winter season, the RSC said.
Tickets for the RSC's winter 2013 season, which begins in October 2013 and runs until March 2014 will go on sale for members on February 11 and for the wider public on March 18, the RSC said.
(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Patricia Reaney)
Mantel said in a video interview on the RSC website this week that she has always longed to give 'solid form' to her depictions of Cromwell, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in her 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies' books.
'From the moment I started writing Wolf Hall the characters were fighting to be off the page,' Mantel said in the video.
The 60-year-old Mantel said she was delighted to have playwright Mike Poulton, whose works have garnered some of the theatre world's top awards, recreate her novels for the stage.
'He's the man who knows about the stagecraft,' she said. 'I'm the one who knows the characters inside out.'
The first woman and first Briton to win the Booker twice for her novels set in Henry VIII's court said she has been inspired by the RSC since the age of 15 when she went alone to its Stratford-upon-Avon home and watched four plays in three days.
'It was a shaping experience, so it really is a dream come true for me to have the opportunity to see the RSC present my plays,' she said.
Mantel is working on a third novel in the trilogy.
The RSC also said on Wednesday that David Tennant will star in the title role of 'Richard II' in winter 2013, making his return five years after a turn as Hamlet which earned him a best Shakespearean performance trophy at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in 2009.
'Both plays will be directed by Royal Court Associate Director Jeremy Herrin, making his RSC directing debut,' RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran said.
The world premiere of 'Wendy & Peter Pan' by Ella Hickson and directed by Jonathan Munby will round out the winter season, the RSC said.
Tickets for the RSC's winter 2013 season, which begins in October 2013 and runs until March 2014 will go on sale for members on February 11 and for the wider public on March 18, the RSC said.
(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Patricia Reaney)
Whitney Houston's mother wonders if she could have saved singer
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Whitney Houston's mother has told People magazine that she questions her skills as a parent and wonders if she could have saved her superstar daughter from the drug use that played a role in her death.
'Was I a good mother?' Cissy Houston, 79, was quoted as telling the celebrity magazine in an advance excerpt released on Wednesday from the magazine's Friday edition.
'I still wonder if I could have saved her somehow. But there's no book written on how to be a parent. You do the best you can.'
Whitney Houston drowned accidentally in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub on February 11, 2012, after taking cocaine and after a well-chronicled battle with drug addiction. She was 48.
Cissy Houston, a singer in her own right, talked to People about her daughter's personal life and career while promoting her upcoming memoir, 'Remembering Whitney.'
In the memoir, Cissy Houston says she was not aware of the early 'partying' days of her daughter, known to the family as 'Nippy.'
'I had no idea about Nippy's 'partying.' And the truth is, back then I didn't really want to know about it,' she writes, according to excerpts released to People.
Cissy Houston also discussed her daughter's ex-husband Bobby Brown, who has had his own substance abuse problems and run-ins with the law. 'He didn't help her, that's for damn sure,' Houston told the celebrity magazine of Brown.
The Grammy-winning singer left behind her only child, Bobbi Kristina, 19, who was hospitalized twice with anxiety after her mother's death.
Last fall, Cissy, Bobbi Kristina, the singer's brother and sister-in-law starred in a 14-episode reality show for cable channel Lifetime about their struggle to cope after Houston's death called 'The Houstons: On Our Own.'
Houston told the magazine she was 'worried' about granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and 'trying to make sure she doesn't (follow the same path)' as her famous mother.
Cissy Houston's interview with People, and excerpts from her memoir, can be found in the issue which reaches newsstands on January 25.
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Claudia Parsons)
'Was I a good mother?' Cissy Houston, 79, was quoted as telling the celebrity magazine in an advance excerpt released on Wednesday from the magazine's Friday edition.
'I still wonder if I could have saved her somehow. But there's no book written on how to be a parent. You do the best you can.'
Whitney Houston drowned accidentally in a Beverly Hills hotel bathtub on February 11, 2012, after taking cocaine and after a well-chronicled battle with drug addiction. She was 48.
Cissy Houston, a singer in her own right, talked to People about her daughter's personal life and career while promoting her upcoming memoir, 'Remembering Whitney.'
In the memoir, Cissy Houston says she was not aware of the early 'partying' days of her daughter, known to the family as 'Nippy.'
'I had no idea about Nippy's 'partying.' And the truth is, back then I didn't really want to know about it,' she writes, according to excerpts released to People.
Cissy Houston also discussed her daughter's ex-husband Bobby Brown, who has had his own substance abuse problems and run-ins with the law. 'He didn't help her, that's for damn sure,' Houston told the celebrity magazine of Brown.
The Grammy-winning singer left behind her only child, Bobbi Kristina, 19, who was hospitalized twice with anxiety after her mother's death.
Last fall, Cissy, Bobbi Kristina, the singer's brother and sister-in-law starred in a 14-episode reality show for cable channel Lifetime about their struggle to cope after Houston's death called 'The Houstons: On Our Own.'
Houston told the magazine she was 'worried' about granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and 'trying to make sure she doesn't (follow the same path)' as her famous mother.
Cissy Houston's interview with People, and excerpts from her memoir, can be found in the issue which reaches newsstands on January 25.
(Reporting By Zorianna Kit; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Claudia Parsons)
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Actress Lake Bell finds her directorial voice "In A World"
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - In a world where men rule the voice-over industry, actress Lake Bell brings a tale of women versus men and old versus new in her directorial debut comedy.
'In A World,' which premiered at the Sundance Film festival this week, follows voice-over artist Carol (Bell) attempting to follow in the daunting footsteps of her father (Fred Melamed), a famous and respected voice who is struggling to stay relevant as new talent emerges.
Written and directed by Bell, 33, who is best known for supporting roles in movies such as 'No Strings Attached' and 'What Happens in Vegas,' 'In A World' is a quirky comedy with an unlikely heroine.
Bell talked to Reuters about the struggles of being in the voice-over world, her disdain for women with 'sexy baby' voices, and what her superhero power would be.
Q: What drew you to the voice-over world for your film?
A: 'I always envisioned that I was going to be one of the great voice-over artists. I thought I was going to kill it when I got to Hollywood. Since I was a kid, I loved accents, I collected them ... I would manipulate my voice to make people laugh all the time. I liked this idea of being a blind voice - you could be any ethnicity, you could be from any country, you could be any race. I thought it was so cool that you wouldn't be judged by who you are.'
Q: Your character, Carol, has to struggle with being a woman trying to break into the male-dominated world. Is that echoing the real-life industry?
A: 'I started getting into the idea of the omniscient voice, the people who announce and tell you what to buy or how you should think about things, they help form your opinions. These random people from the sky, they always were male, and I thought it was an interesting subject to attack because why aren't there any ladies? What are we, not omniscient? Are we not God?'
Q: How much of your own career struggles are reflected in Carol's story?
A: 'What's interesting about Carol's message is that she is a woman trying to find her voice, literally and also figuratively. As a filmmaker, I'm definitely embarking on this really beautiful journey of finding what my comedic voice is or what my filmic voice is.
'I'm lucky enough to have friends who took a chance on me and be in this film with me and respect me enough to let me direct them to do something different than maybe they've ever done before. There's definitely parallels in feeling like I'm finding my own voice.'
Q: Was this an autobiographical film for you?
A: 'It's not anymore. Draft one is autobiographical, but by draft 25, it's something else after so many rewrites, it takes on its own life. That's what's so cool about writing, you never know where it's going to lead. I often like to write when I'm acting in something else because then I can show up and be part of the machine and be around creative people, and then come home and go off into different worlds in my head.'
Q: What do you want people to take away from watching this?
A: 'I would hope in a fantasy world that the message is, people would somehow become aware of their own voice and respect it, because it's a privilege. Women are plagued by the 'sexy baby' vocal virus that is taken on, that is rampant in this nation. I just think that people should take themselves more seriously and give themselves a little more credit.'
Q: Do you have a dream role you'd like to play?
A: 'The dream role is that I'm a superhero. I want to be a superhero ... I want to have a superhero outfit because I like dressing up a lot. That would be fun.'
Q: What would your superhero power be?
A: 'Right now, it'd be quelling the 'sexy baby' (voices) of the world and extinguishing them.'
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Christopher Wilson)
'In A World,' which premiered at the Sundance Film festival this week, follows voice-over artist Carol (Bell) attempting to follow in the daunting footsteps of her father (Fred Melamed), a famous and respected voice who is struggling to stay relevant as new talent emerges.
Written and directed by Bell, 33, who is best known for supporting roles in movies such as 'No Strings Attached' and 'What Happens in Vegas,' 'In A World' is a quirky comedy with an unlikely heroine.
Bell talked to Reuters about the struggles of being in the voice-over world, her disdain for women with 'sexy baby' voices, and what her superhero power would be.
Q: What drew you to the voice-over world for your film?
A: 'I always envisioned that I was going to be one of the great voice-over artists. I thought I was going to kill it when I got to Hollywood. Since I was a kid, I loved accents, I collected them ... I would manipulate my voice to make people laugh all the time. I liked this idea of being a blind voice - you could be any ethnicity, you could be from any country, you could be any race. I thought it was so cool that you wouldn't be judged by who you are.'
Q: Your character, Carol, has to struggle with being a woman trying to break into the male-dominated world. Is that echoing the real-life industry?
A: 'I started getting into the idea of the omniscient voice, the people who announce and tell you what to buy or how you should think about things, they help form your opinions. These random people from the sky, they always were male, and I thought it was an interesting subject to attack because why aren't there any ladies? What are we, not omniscient? Are we not God?'
Q: How much of your own career struggles are reflected in Carol's story?
A: 'What's interesting about Carol's message is that she is a woman trying to find her voice, literally and also figuratively. As a filmmaker, I'm definitely embarking on this really beautiful journey of finding what my comedic voice is or what my filmic voice is.
'I'm lucky enough to have friends who took a chance on me and be in this film with me and respect me enough to let me direct them to do something different than maybe they've ever done before. There's definitely parallels in feeling like I'm finding my own voice.'
Q: Was this an autobiographical film for you?
A: 'It's not anymore. Draft one is autobiographical, but by draft 25, it's something else after so many rewrites, it takes on its own life. That's what's so cool about writing, you never know where it's going to lead. I often like to write when I'm acting in something else because then I can show up and be part of the machine and be around creative people, and then come home and go off into different worlds in my head.'
Q: What do you want people to take away from watching this?
A: 'I would hope in a fantasy world that the message is, people would somehow become aware of their own voice and respect it, because it's a privilege. Women are plagued by the 'sexy baby' vocal virus that is taken on, that is rampant in this nation. I just think that people should take themselves more seriously and give themselves a little more credit.'
Q: Do you have a dream role you'd like to play?
A: 'The dream role is that I'm a superhero. I want to be a superhero ... I want to have a superhero outfit because I like dressing up a lot. That would be fun.'
Q: What would your superhero power be?
A: 'Right now, it'd be quelling the 'sexy baby' (voices) of the world and extinguishing them.'
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Christopher Wilson)
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Singer Shakira, soccer star Gerard Pique welcome baby
(Reuters) - Singer Shakira gave birth to her first child, a boy, on Tuesday in Barcelona, the Colombian pop star said on her website.
The 'Hips Don't Lie' singer and her boyfriend, the Spanish soccer player Gerard Pique, named the six-pound, six-ounce (three kilograms) boy Milan.
'Milan (pronounced MEE-lahn) means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious, and in Sanskrit, unification,' the star said in a statement posted on her website.
'Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth,' the couple joked in a statement. Pique is a defender for Spanish La Liga runner-up FC Barcelona.
Shakira, 35, announced her pregnancy in September after bowing out of a performance in Las Vegas.
The couple last week asked fans to donate gifts such as mosquito nets and vaccines to help needy children in an online baby shower. Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Shakira has signed on to be a judge on the upcoming season of the hit singing contest 'The Voice,' which is broadcast by U.S. network NBC. She and R&B singer Usher will replace judges Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green.
The singer fist met Pique, 25, in 2010, but only confirmed that they had been in a relationship in March 2011.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Elaine Lies)
The 'Hips Don't Lie' singer and her boyfriend, the Spanish soccer player Gerard Pique, named the six-pound, six-ounce (three kilograms) boy Milan.
'Milan (pronounced MEE-lahn) means dear, loving and gracious in Slavic; in Ancient Roman, eager and laborious, and in Sanskrit, unification,' the star said in a statement posted on her website.
'Just like his father, baby Milan became a member of FC Barcelona at birth,' the couple joked in a statement. Pique is a defender for Spanish La Liga runner-up FC Barcelona.
Shakira, 35, announced her pregnancy in September after bowing out of a performance in Las Vegas.
The couple last week asked fans to donate gifts such as mosquito nets and vaccines to help needy children in an online baby shower. Shakira is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Shakira has signed on to be a judge on the upcoming season of the hit singing contest 'The Voice,' which is broadcast by U.S. network NBC. She and R&B singer Usher will replace judges Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green.
The singer fist met Pique, 25, in 2010, but only confirmed that they had been in a relationship in March 2011.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Elaine Lies)
Michelle Obama again picks designer Wu for inaugural gown
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was one of the biggest questions of Monday's inaugural celebrations: not what would President Barack Obama say, but what would his wife, Michelle Obama, wear?
The first lady cemented her reputation as an international style trend-setter with her choice of a Jason Wu red sleeveless ball gown in the evening, and a striking business-style blue navy coat and dress for the ceremonial daytime events.
It was a huge win for U.S. designer Wu making one of his ball gowns her choice for a second straight inauguration.
The first lady appeared for her first dance of the night with the president at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball for U.S. service members in a ruby-colored chiffon and full-length velvet gown custom made by the New York-based designer.
Her shoes were from the London-based Malaysian-Chinese designer Jimmy Choo, and she wore a diamond-embellished ring handmade by jeweler Kimberly McDonald of New York.
Michelle Obama helped make Wu a household name by choosing a white chiffon gown he designed for the balls celebrating her husband's first inauguration in 2009. Wu, now 30, has since had significant commercial success, but his creations in the two inaugurations has won him a place in U.S. fashion history.
Dressing the first lady, a Harvard-trained lawyer known for her style, can be a huge boost for a fashion designer or retail chain.
Praised for wearing high-end designers as well as pieces from mass-market stores, the first lady has won over fashion critics in her four years in the White House.
'Icon's a big word and it sometimes gets over used, but I think if we're going to use it, we can use it now,' said Steven Kolb, chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, adding, 'What makes her a real icon is the work that she does and the woman that she is.'
Dresses, sweaters, shoes and belts she has worn have sold out at retailers from designer showrooms to mass market chains including Gap Inc., J. Crew and Target Corp., for which Wu has designed low-priced fashions.
Earlier on Monday, the first lady wore a navy coat and dress by designer Thom Browne, inspired by the fabric of a man's silk tie.
Her belt and gloves were from J.Crew, a chain that is a fixture in U.S. shopping malls; the necklace and earrings were designed by Cathy Waterman. The suede boots were by Reed Krakoff, as was the short blue cardigan she wore to a celebratory lunch in the Capitol.
BIG-TICKET INDUSTRY
Best known for men's clothing, Browne boasts a string of design awards, most recently, a prestigious National Design Award for fashion from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution.
'She likes well-tailored clothes, so the inspiration was doing something that looked tailored and structured and fitted through the body and somewhat A-line for the skirt and the dress,' Browne told the Los Angeles Times.
Style mavens credit the 49-year-old first lady with changing the way American women put together their outfits, and, by patronizing U.S. designers, bolstering a multibillion-dollar industry.
A 2010 study from New York University's Stern School of Business found that a single appearance by the first lady can generate $14 million in value for a company.
Famed for her toned arms, Obama set a trend for sleeveless tops. Her cardigans and belted dresses have prompted many working women to switch from blazers and suits in the workplace.
'Michelle looks good however, wherever, whatever she does. Michelle looks good in her sleeping gown,' said Sharon Johnson, a therapist who came from Baltimore to watch the inauguration, and joked that she is still looking for the green leather gloves Obama wore on Inauguration Day four years ago.
'Her beauty is so far inside, and shines so far outside,' Johnson said.
When Michelle Obama held the Bible for her husband during his official swearing-in on Sunday, she wore a dark blue dress by Reed Krakoff, the creative director for the Coach leather goods company, who has become a fashion designer.
On Sunday night, she wore a sleeveless black sequined dress by Michael Kors to an inaugural reception for supporters.
At that reception, President Obama weighed in on what he termed the most 'significant' event of the inaugural weekend, his wife's hotly discussed new hairstyle.
'I love her bangs,' Obama said. 'She looks good. She always looks good.'
Interest in Michelle Obama's clothing has extended to the outfits worn by her two daughters. On Monday, the White House said Malia, 14, was wearing a J.Crew ensemble and Sasha, 11, wore a Kate Spade coat and dress.
Obama is a far bigger influence on U.S. fashion than most of her predecessors. Laura Bush favored suits by Oscar de la Renta and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, is best known for wearing a range of brightly colored pants suits.
Even stylish Jackie Kennedy wore mostly European designers.
Obama's fashion choices have not always been applauded. Some Americans were angry when she wore a red gown from a British label - Alexander McQueen - to a 2011 state dinner for China's president.
Kolb dismissed such concerns, noting that fashion is a global business and that U.S. designers are thrilled when, for example, Kate Middleton, the wife of Britain's Prince of Wales, wears their clothing.
'At the end of the day, we get up in the morning and we look in our closet and we have to feel good about what we put on,' he said.
At the end of the inaugural festivities, Michelle Obama's outfits and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Alina Selyukh; Editing by Alistair Bell and Christopher Wilson)
The first lady cemented her reputation as an international style trend-setter with her choice of a Jason Wu red sleeveless ball gown in the evening, and a striking business-style blue navy coat and dress for the ceremonial daytime events.
It was a huge win for U.S. designer Wu making one of his ball gowns her choice for a second straight inauguration.
The first lady appeared for her first dance of the night with the president at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball for U.S. service members in a ruby-colored chiffon and full-length velvet gown custom made by the New York-based designer.
Her shoes were from the London-based Malaysian-Chinese designer Jimmy Choo, and she wore a diamond-embellished ring handmade by jeweler Kimberly McDonald of New York.
Michelle Obama helped make Wu a household name by choosing a white chiffon gown he designed for the balls celebrating her husband's first inauguration in 2009. Wu, now 30, has since had significant commercial success, but his creations in the two inaugurations has won him a place in U.S. fashion history.
Dressing the first lady, a Harvard-trained lawyer known for her style, can be a huge boost for a fashion designer or retail chain.
Praised for wearing high-end designers as well as pieces from mass-market stores, the first lady has won over fashion critics in her four years in the White House.
'Icon's a big word and it sometimes gets over used, but I think if we're going to use it, we can use it now,' said Steven Kolb, chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, adding, 'What makes her a real icon is the work that she does and the woman that she is.'
Dresses, sweaters, shoes and belts she has worn have sold out at retailers from designer showrooms to mass market chains including Gap Inc., J. Crew and Target Corp., for which Wu has designed low-priced fashions.
Earlier on Monday, the first lady wore a navy coat and dress by designer Thom Browne, inspired by the fabric of a man's silk tie.
Her belt and gloves were from J.Crew, a chain that is a fixture in U.S. shopping malls; the necklace and earrings were designed by Cathy Waterman. The suede boots were by Reed Krakoff, as was the short blue cardigan she wore to a celebratory lunch in the Capitol.
BIG-TICKET INDUSTRY
Best known for men's clothing, Browne boasts a string of design awards, most recently, a prestigious National Design Award for fashion from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution.
'She likes well-tailored clothes, so the inspiration was doing something that looked tailored and structured and fitted through the body and somewhat A-line for the skirt and the dress,' Browne told the Los Angeles Times.
Style mavens credit the 49-year-old first lady with changing the way American women put together their outfits, and, by patronizing U.S. designers, bolstering a multibillion-dollar industry.
A 2010 study from New York University's Stern School of Business found that a single appearance by the first lady can generate $14 million in value for a company.
Famed for her toned arms, Obama set a trend for sleeveless tops. Her cardigans and belted dresses have prompted many working women to switch from blazers and suits in the workplace.
'Michelle looks good however, wherever, whatever she does. Michelle looks good in her sleeping gown,' said Sharon Johnson, a therapist who came from Baltimore to watch the inauguration, and joked that she is still looking for the green leather gloves Obama wore on Inauguration Day four years ago.
'Her beauty is so far inside, and shines so far outside,' Johnson said.
When Michelle Obama held the Bible for her husband during his official swearing-in on Sunday, she wore a dark blue dress by Reed Krakoff, the creative director for the Coach leather goods company, who has become a fashion designer.
On Sunday night, she wore a sleeveless black sequined dress by Michael Kors to an inaugural reception for supporters.
At that reception, President Obama weighed in on what he termed the most 'significant' event of the inaugural weekend, his wife's hotly discussed new hairstyle.
'I love her bangs,' Obama said. 'She looks good. She always looks good.'
Interest in Michelle Obama's clothing has extended to the outfits worn by her two daughters. On Monday, the White House said Malia, 14, was wearing a J.Crew ensemble and Sasha, 11, wore a Kate Spade coat and dress.
Obama is a far bigger influence on U.S. fashion than most of her predecessors. Laura Bush favored suits by Oscar de la Renta and Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, is best known for wearing a range of brightly colored pants suits.
Even stylish Jackie Kennedy wore mostly European designers.
Obama's fashion choices have not always been applauded. Some Americans were angry when she wore a red gown from a British label - Alexander McQueen - to a 2011 state dinner for China's president.
Kolb dismissed such concerns, noting that fashion is a global business and that U.S. designers are thrilled when, for example, Kate Middleton, the wife of Britain's Prince of Wales, wears their clothing.
'At the end of the day, we get up in the morning and we look in our closet and we have to feel good about what we put on,' he said.
At the end of the inaugural festivities, Michelle Obama's outfits and accompanying accessories will go to the National Archives.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and Alina Selyukh; Editing by Alistair Bell and Christopher Wilson)
Monday, January 21, 2013
Berlusconi sex trial verdict due after February vote
MILAN (Reuters) - Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi will not face a verdict in a trial where he is charged with paying for sex with a juvenile prostitute until after elections next month, according to a decision by judges that could help his political comeback.
A new timetable of hearings set by Milan judges on Monday shows the last session in the trial will be held on March 11, well after the February 24-25 elections.
The decision will be welcomed by Berlusconi, who had feared a verdict in the middle of his campaign for a fifth term in office. Milan judges last week rejected his request to have the trial suspended until after the elections.
Berlusconi, who has surged in opinion polls in recent weeks but still lags the centre-left Democratic Party, is charged with paying for sex with a minor, and denies all charges.
The judges on Monday again rejected a bid by Berlusconi's lawyers to have the trial halted.
The lawyers, Niccolo Ghedini and Piero Longo, justified their new request by saying they are both standing for Berlusconi's party in the Veneto region and would not be able to campaign if the trial went ahead.
Judge Giulia Turri said the argument was 'too generic'.
According to the new timetable, the prosecutor in the case is expected to make her final arguments and request Berlusconi's to be convicted on February 11.
Berlusconi could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison but would not serve time unless he also lost the two appeals allowed by Italian law, usually a lengthy process.
The nightclub dancer at the centre of the case, 20 year-old Moroccan Karima El Mahroug, more widely known under her stage name 'Ruby the Heartstealer', made a brief appearance in court last week.
Berlusconi is charged of paying for sex with her when she was under 18, which is a crime in Italy.
He is also accused of abusing the power of his office as prime minister to have her released from police custody when she was briefly held over separate theft allegations.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 28.
(Reporting By Manuela D'Alessandro, Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Jon Boyle)
A new timetable of hearings set by Milan judges on Monday shows the last session in the trial will be held on March 11, well after the February 24-25 elections.
The decision will be welcomed by Berlusconi, who had feared a verdict in the middle of his campaign for a fifth term in office. Milan judges last week rejected his request to have the trial suspended until after the elections.
Berlusconi, who has surged in opinion polls in recent weeks but still lags the centre-left Democratic Party, is charged with paying for sex with a minor, and denies all charges.
The judges on Monday again rejected a bid by Berlusconi's lawyers to have the trial halted.
The lawyers, Niccolo Ghedini and Piero Longo, justified their new request by saying they are both standing for Berlusconi's party in the Veneto region and would not be able to campaign if the trial went ahead.
Judge Giulia Turri said the argument was 'too generic'.
According to the new timetable, the prosecutor in the case is expected to make her final arguments and request Berlusconi's to be convicted on February 11.
Berlusconi could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison but would not serve time unless he also lost the two appeals allowed by Italian law, usually a lengthy process.
The nightclub dancer at the centre of the case, 20 year-old Moroccan Karima El Mahroug, more widely known under her stage name 'Ruby the Heartstealer', made a brief appearance in court last week.
Berlusconi is charged of paying for sex with her when she was under 18, which is a crime in Italy.
He is also accused of abusing the power of his office as prime minister to have her released from police custody when she was briefly held over separate theft allegations.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 28.
(Reporting By Manuela D'Alessandro, Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Journalist Barbara Walters hospitalized after fall at Washington party
(Reuters) - Veteran journalist Barbara Walters was admitted to a Washington. D.C., hospital over the weekend after she fell and cut her head at the British ambassador's residence, a spokesman for the ABC television network said on Sunday.
Jeffrey Schneider, a senior vice president with ABC News, said Walters fell on the stairs on Saturday evening while attending an event.
'Out of an abundance of caution,' Walters, 83, went to the hospital, where she remained for observation on Sunday, Schneider said.
'Barbara is alert (and telling everyone what to do), which we all take as a very positive sign,' Schneider said in a written statement.
(Reporting by James B. Kelleher, editing by Stacey Joyce)
Jeffrey Schneider, a senior vice president with ABC News, said Walters fell on the stairs on Saturday evening while attending an event.
'Out of an abundance of caution,' Walters, 83, went to the hospital, where she remained for observation on Sunday, Schneider said.
'Barbara is alert (and telling everyone what to do), which we all take as a very positive sign,' Schneider said in a written statement.
(Reporting by James B. Kelleher, editing by Stacey Joyce)
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Hundreds attend NYC memorial for Internet activist Aaron Swartz
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Supporters of Aaron Swartz, the 26-year-old Internet activist who committed suicide last week, gathered in New York to remember the computer prodigy on Saturday, with some calling for changes in the criminal justice system they blame for his death.
Swartz, who at 14 helped create an early version of the Web feed system RSS and believed the fruits of academic research and other information should be freely available to all, was found dead a week ago in his Brooklyn apartment.
The city's chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.
He had been facing trial on federal charges he used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer networks to steal more than 4 million articles from JSTOR, an online archive and journal distribution service.
Swartz, who had also worked on the popular website Reddit, had faced a maximum sentence of 31 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.
'He told me about the 4.5 million downloads of scholarly articles, and my first thought was why isn't MIT celebrating this?' Edward Tufte, an emeritus professor of computer science at Yale University and a friend of Swartz, said to applause from the crowd gathered in The Cooper Union's Great Hall in Manhattan.
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, Swartz's partner, criticized what she described as MIT's 'indifference' to the saga, saying the school could have acted to end his prosecution.
The president of MIT said this week the school was investigating its role in Swartz's case. JSTOR has said in a statement it settled any dispute with Swartz in 2011 and praised his 'important contributions to the development of the Internet.'
CALL FOR CHANGE
At the memorial, attended by hundreds of friends and supporters, the strongest criticisms were reserved for prosecutors in the office of Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts.
Roy Singham, the chairman of ThoughtWorks, a software consultancy firm where Swartz worked, called the case against Swartz 'an abuse of state power' intended to intimidate Swartz. He called for the reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act under which Swartz was prosecuted.
Swartz's partner said it all became too much for him to bear.
'He was so scared and so frustrated and more than anything so weary I just don't think he could take it another day,' Stinebrickner-Kauffman said, adding the pair had discussed getting married after the trial.
Ortiz has defended her office's actions, saying prosecutors 'took on the difficult task of enforcing a law they had taken an oath to uphold, and did so reasonably.'
She said they offered Swartz a deal to plead guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud and computer fraud and spend six months at a low-security facility.
Swartz was remembered as a precocious talent who began addressing technology conferences as a teenager and whose quirks included being loath to wash his dishes and preferring bland foods like crackers and white rice.
Many speakers said he was by far the smartest and most intellectually curious person they had known, and called on those in attendance to continue his work of trying to widen the public's access to information and communication channels.
Stinebrickner-Kauffman said Swartz disliked grand ceremonies and would have been uncomfortable with some aspects of his own memorial.
'But memorial services are for the living,' she said, repeating it several times like a mantra, 'and last Friday he forfeited his right to decide that.'
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Xavier Briand)
Swartz, who at 14 helped create an early version of the Web feed system RSS and believed the fruits of academic research and other information should be freely available to all, was found dead a week ago in his Brooklyn apartment.
The city's chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide by hanging.
He had been facing trial on federal charges he used the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computer networks to steal more than 4 million articles from JSTOR, an online archive and journal distribution service.
Swartz, who had also worked on the popular website Reddit, had faced a maximum sentence of 31 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.
'He told me about the 4.5 million downloads of scholarly articles, and my first thought was why isn't MIT celebrating this?' Edward Tufte, an emeritus professor of computer science at Yale University and a friend of Swartz, said to applause from the crowd gathered in The Cooper Union's Great Hall in Manhattan.
Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, Swartz's partner, criticized what she described as MIT's 'indifference' to the saga, saying the school could have acted to end his prosecution.
The president of MIT said this week the school was investigating its role in Swartz's case. JSTOR has said in a statement it settled any dispute with Swartz in 2011 and praised his 'important contributions to the development of the Internet.'
CALL FOR CHANGE
At the memorial, attended by hundreds of friends and supporters, the strongest criticisms were reserved for prosecutors in the office of Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts.
Roy Singham, the chairman of ThoughtWorks, a software consultancy firm where Swartz worked, called the case against Swartz 'an abuse of state power' intended to intimidate Swartz. He called for the reform of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act under which Swartz was prosecuted.
Swartz's partner said it all became too much for him to bear.
'He was so scared and so frustrated and more than anything so weary I just don't think he could take it another day,' Stinebrickner-Kauffman said, adding the pair had discussed getting married after the trial.
Ortiz has defended her office's actions, saying prosecutors 'took on the difficult task of enforcing a law they had taken an oath to uphold, and did so reasonably.'
She said they offered Swartz a deal to plead guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud and computer fraud and spend six months at a low-security facility.
Swartz was remembered as a precocious talent who began addressing technology conferences as a teenager and whose quirks included being loath to wash his dishes and preferring bland foods like crackers and white rice.
Many speakers said he was by far the smartest and most intellectually curious person they had known, and called on those in attendance to continue his work of trying to widen the public's access to information and communication channels.
Stinebrickner-Kauffman said Swartz disliked grand ceremonies and would have been uncomfortable with some aspects of his own memorial.
'But memorial services are for the living,' she said, repeating it several times like a mantra, 'and last Friday he forfeited his right to decide that.'
(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Xavier Briand)
Barbra Streisand to receive Lincoln Center's Chaplin Award
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barbra Streisand will add the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Chaplin Award to her roster of honors, in recognition of her achievement as a director, writer, producer and film star, the group said on Friday.
Streisand, who shot to fame in the 1960s on Broadway and as a major recording star, will receive the honor at the 40th Annual Chaplin Award gala in New York on April 22 which will feature celebrity guests and a host of film and interview clips.
'The Board is very excited to have Barbra Streisand as the next recipient of The Chaplin Award,' Ann Tenenbaum, The Film Society of Lincoln Center's board chairman, said in a news release.
'She is an artist whose long career of incomparable achievements is most powerfully expressed by the fact that her acclaimed 'Yentl' was such a milestone film.'
The group cited Streisand as the first American woman artist to receive credit as writer, director, producer and star of a major feature film.
It also noted she is the only artist to receive an Academy Award, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Directors Guild of America award, Golden Globe, National Medal of Arts and Peabody Awards, France's Legion d'honneur and the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. She was also the first female film director to receive a Kennedy Center honor.
'We welcome her to the list of masterful directors who have been prior recipients of the Chaplin Award Tribute,' added Tenenbaum, referring to luminaries such as Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Martin Scorsese.
Stars ranging from Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor to last year's recipient, Catherine Deneuve, have received the award, which was renamed for its first recipient Charles Chaplin, who returned to the United States from exile to accept the commendation in 1972.
Streisand, 70, starred in such hits as 'The Way We Were' and 'Funny Girl,' for which she won an Oscar, and went on to direct films including 'The Prince of Tides' and 'The Mirror Has Two Faces.'
More recently she has returned to screen acting, in 'Meet the Fockers' with Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, and 'The Guilt Trip,' a Christmas 2012 release co-starring Seth Rogen.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Streisand, who shot to fame in the 1960s on Broadway and as a major recording star, will receive the honor at the 40th Annual Chaplin Award gala in New York on April 22 which will feature celebrity guests and a host of film and interview clips.
'The Board is very excited to have Barbra Streisand as the next recipient of The Chaplin Award,' Ann Tenenbaum, The Film Society of Lincoln Center's board chairman, said in a news release.
'She is an artist whose long career of incomparable achievements is most powerfully expressed by the fact that her acclaimed 'Yentl' was such a milestone film.'
The group cited Streisand as the first American woman artist to receive credit as writer, director, producer and star of a major feature film.
It also noted she is the only artist to receive an Academy Award, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, Directors Guild of America award, Golden Globe, National Medal of Arts and Peabody Awards, France's Legion d'honneur and the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. She was also the first female film director to receive a Kennedy Center honor.
'We welcome her to the list of masterful directors who have been prior recipients of the Chaplin Award Tribute,' added Tenenbaum, referring to luminaries such as Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Martin Scorsese.
Stars ranging from Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor to last year's recipient, Catherine Deneuve, have received the award, which was renamed for its first recipient Charles Chaplin, who returned to the United States from exile to accept the commendation in 1972.
Streisand, 70, starred in such hits as 'The Way We Were' and 'Funny Girl,' for which she won an Oscar, and went on to direct films including 'The Prince of Tides' and 'The Mirror Has Two Faces.'
More recently she has returned to screen acting, in 'Meet the Fockers' with Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, and 'The Guilt Trip,' a Christmas 2012 release co-starring Seth Rogen.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Friday, January 18, 2013
Schilling to sell bloody sock worn in Red Sox 2004 World Series
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, owner of a bankrupt video game company, plans to auction off a blood-stained sock he wore in the historic 2004 World Series championship.
The sock, worn by Schilling in Game Two of the first World Series won by the Red Sox in 86 years, is expected to fetch more than $100,000 when it hits the auction block next month, Chris Ivy, director of sports at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, said on Thursday.
Schilling took the mound after having an unorthodox surgical procedure done on his injured right ankle, enabling him to pitch in Game Two of the team's four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The sock had been on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, since 2004, Ivy said.
Online bidding for the sock will open at $25,000 on February 4, followed by a live auction in New York on February 23, he said.
Last year, the state of Rhode Island sued Schilling and the former head of a state economic development agency over a $75 million loan guarantee the agency made to 38 Studios, a failed video game company owned by the retired baseball player.
The quasi-public agency made the loan in 2010 to lure Schilling, who promised to bring 450 jobs to the economically depressed state from neighboring Massachusetts. The deal was brokered by former Rhode Island governor Donald Carcieri.
38 Studios filed for bankruptcy in June, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers responsible for repaying roughly $100 million, including interest, to private investors who had bought bonds the state issued on behalf of the company.
The lawsuit charges some of the defendants committed larceny and permitted the video game company to rely on financial assumptions that were based on 'known false assumptions.'
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and David Gregorio)
The sock, worn by Schilling in Game Two of the first World Series won by the Red Sox in 86 years, is expected to fetch more than $100,000 when it hits the auction block next month, Chris Ivy, director of sports at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, said on Thursday.
Schilling took the mound after having an unorthodox surgical procedure done on his injured right ankle, enabling him to pitch in Game Two of the team's four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The sock had been on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, since 2004, Ivy said.
Online bidding for the sock will open at $25,000 on February 4, followed by a live auction in New York on February 23, he said.
Last year, the state of Rhode Island sued Schilling and the former head of a state economic development agency over a $75 million loan guarantee the agency made to 38 Studios, a failed video game company owned by the retired baseball player.
The quasi-public agency made the loan in 2010 to lure Schilling, who promised to bring 450 jobs to the economically depressed state from neighboring Massachusetts. The deal was brokered by former Rhode Island governor Donald Carcieri.
38 Studios filed for bankruptcy in June, leaving Rhode Island taxpayers responsible for repaying roughly $100 million, including interest, to private investors who had bought bonds the state issued on behalf of the company.
The lawsuit charges some of the defendants committed larceny and permitted the video game company to rely on financial assumptions that were based on 'known false assumptions.'
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and David Gregorio)
Thursday, January 17, 2013
"Dear Abby" advice columnist Pauline Phillips dead at 94
(Reuters) - Pauline Phillips, the 'Dear Abby' newspaper columnist who dished out advice to millions of confused, troubled and lovesick readers in America and around the world, has died at the age of 94, her daughter said on Thursday.
Phillips, whose twin sister Esther wrote the rival 'Ask Ann Landers' column, died in Minneapolis on Wednesday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
'I have lost my mother, my mentor and my best friend,' daughter Jeanne Phillips said in a statement released by the syndicator of the 'Dear Abby' column, Universal Uclick.
'My mother leaves very big high heels to fill with a legacy of compassion, commitment and positive social change. I will honor her memory every day by continuing this legacy,' Jeanne Phillips added
Phillips' family announced in August 2002 that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Phillips had brought daughter Jeanne in to collaborate on the syndicated newspaper column in 1987 and in December 2002 turned over all responsibility for it to her.
(Reporting By Eric Kelsey; Editing by Sandra Maler)
(This story corrects name of her sister's column in 2nd paragraph)
Phillips, whose twin sister Esther wrote the rival 'Ask Ann Landers' column, died in Minneapolis on Wednesday after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
'I have lost my mother, my mentor and my best friend,' daughter Jeanne Phillips said in a statement released by the syndicator of the 'Dear Abby' column, Universal Uclick.
'My mother leaves very big high heels to fill with a legacy of compassion, commitment and positive social change. I will honor her memory every day by continuing this legacy,' Jeanne Phillips added
Phillips' family announced in August 2002 that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Phillips had brought daughter Jeanne in to collaborate on the syndicated newspaper column in 1987 and in December 2002 turned over all responsibility for it to her.
(Reporting By Eric Kelsey; Editing by Sandra Maler)
(This story corrects name of her sister's column in 2nd paragraph)
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
In online baby shower, Shakira seeks mosquito nets, vaccines for the poor
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singer Shakira and Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué are asking fans to donate gifts like mosquito nets and vaccines for the world's poorest children in an online baby shower to mark the couple's first child.
The 35-year-old Colombian pop star, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and the FC Barcelona center back said on Wednesday they had launched a 'virtual living room' for purchase of life-saving items which will be distributed to children and communities in some of the poorest parts of the world.
The singer, who has not announced her due date but has posted recent photographs indicating the baby is likely due later in January.
'To celebrate the arrival of our first child, we hope that, in his name, other less privileged children in the world can have their basic needs covered through gifts and donations,' the couple said in an announcing the 'Inspired Gifts' program.
Fans and supporters can enter the virtual shower and pay for items ranging from a $5 mosquito net, which protects babies from malaria or $10 for polio vaccines for 17 children, to the top-priced $110-item - therapeutic food, which is a peanut-based paste that can save an acutely malnourished child.
The virtual shower can be accessed at http://uni.cf/baby.
Shakira has also been working on her eighth studio album and will fill in for Christina Aguilera as one of the regular coaches for the next season of the U.S. singing competition 'The Voice.'
Shakira first publicly confirmed her relationship with Piqué in March 2011 and revealed in September that they were expecting their first child.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The 35-year-old Colombian pop star, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and the FC Barcelona center back said on Wednesday they had launched a 'virtual living room' for purchase of life-saving items which will be distributed to children and communities in some of the poorest parts of the world.
The singer, who has not announced her due date but has posted recent photographs indicating the baby is likely due later in January.
'To celebrate the arrival of our first child, we hope that, in his name, other less privileged children in the world can have their basic needs covered through gifts and donations,' the couple said in an announcing the 'Inspired Gifts' program.
Fans and supporters can enter the virtual shower and pay for items ranging from a $5 mosquito net, which protects babies from malaria or $10 for polio vaccines for 17 children, to the top-priced $110-item - therapeutic food, which is a peanut-based paste that can save an acutely malnourished child.
The virtual shower can be accessed at http://uni.cf/baby.
Shakira has also been working on her eighth studio album and will fill in for Christina Aguilera as one of the regular coaches for the next season of the U.S. singing competition 'The Voice.'
Shakira first publicly confirmed her relationship with Piqué in March 2011 and revealed in September that they were expecting their first child.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud, editing by Jill Serjeant and Cynthia Osterman)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
A Minute With: Patti Smith on her photography show
TORONTO (Reuters) - Singer Patti Smith is best known for her rock 'n' roll songs from the punk era of the 1970s, but visitors to a new photo exhibition will see a different side of the musician, poet and artist.
The 70 photos in Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) 'Camera Solo' show, which runs from February 9 to May 19, include poetic images of gravestones, religious iconography and objects that belonged to dead writers and artists.
'The show expresses a lot about my inner life -- about a certain vision I have of the world, my travels, my aesthetic vision and some of the wonderful things I've seen, the people I've met,' Smith said in an interview.
'Hopefully, it will inspire people to learn more about some of the artists or places I've shown, or to embark on their own studies or adventures.'
The 66-year-old artist, whose songs include her rendition of 'Gloria' and 'Because the Night,' hopes the Polaroid snapshots will rekindle a sense of appreciation for the commonplace.
The show includes photographs of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's slippers, author Virginia Woolf's bed, writer Susan Sontag's grave and poet Arthur Rimbaud's fork and spoon.
In a 2010 memoir 'Just Kids' Smith wrote about her love affair and friendship with Mapplethorpe, which lasted until his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989 at age 42.
Smith, a mother of two was married to guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith who died in 1994. She released the album 'Banga' last year and will begin a music tour in Japan.
She spoke to Reuters about the show and Polaroid photography, a pre-digital technique that produces an instant print.
Q: What inspires you as a photographer?
A: 'Truthfully, I don't really think of myself as a photographer. I don't have all the disciplines and knowledge of a person who's spent their life devoted to photography. I've been taking pictures most of my life, but more seriously in the last decade ...
'Light inspires me. I'm drawn to architecture -- often graves, statues, trees -- things usually that are quite still ... I've been taking pictures continuously since 1995 until the end of Polaroid film. I'm taking very few pictures now because I have very little film left, most of it expired.
Q: Are your pictures about nostalgia or trying to hold on and remember that person?
A: It's not nostalgia. I'm not really a nostalgic person. I'm memory-oriented, so a sense of remembrance ... All of these things are to bring all these people and things up to date, to walk with us. These are artists, family, people that we love -- people that pass away. We can keep them with us always.
Q: So you aren't out there snapping everything -- you are being quite selective?
A: I never snapped everything. Polaroid by its nature makes you frugal. You walk around with maybe two packs of film in your pocket. You have 20 shots, so each shot is a world.
Q: Was there anything that you learned from Mapplethorpe in doing your photography?
A: 'The one thing that we had in common is that both of us had a very good sense of composition. It's the same type of work ethic but I work quite differently. The atmosphere of my pictures is different. I drew a lot from 19th-century photographers and I don't really strive for the things that Robert strived for -- the deepest blacks and the most radiant whites.
'Robert was a real photographer. He was an artist, but he also really immersed himself in every aspect of how to project light in his work. In any event, we had a different eye, but we understood each other.
Q: How would you say photography intersects with your other creative work?
A: I think of myself really as a writer. So perhaps the pictures are somewhat literary, but I think they also stand on their own.'
Q: Do you identify with the punk scene, a romantic tradition or is it more organic?
A: 'I was involved in the pre- and post-punk scene in the 1970s ... I'm where I am today. I have two grown children, I've experienced a beautiful husband. I'm a widow. I'm doing my work. I feel unfettered by any scene. I feel like I've moved through many scenes, scenes before the punk movement and scenes after the punk movement, and the punk movement is in flux. It's still going on and it was going on before it had the name 'punk movement.'
Q: How do you reflect on the fact that you not only pushed music forward, but you also pushed things forward for women in the music scene?
A: 'I think I work in two worlds. I'll always try to kick through a wall. I did that when I was younger and I still have my way of doing that ... People have said that I've opened up things for women, but look what they've done.'
(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Paul Casciato)
This news article is brought to you by SPACE NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The 70 photos in Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) 'Camera Solo' show, which runs from February 9 to May 19, include poetic images of gravestones, religious iconography and objects that belonged to dead writers and artists.
'The show expresses a lot about my inner life -- about a certain vision I have of the world, my travels, my aesthetic vision and some of the wonderful things I've seen, the people I've met,' Smith said in an interview.
'Hopefully, it will inspire people to learn more about some of the artists or places I've shown, or to embark on their own studies or adventures.'
The 66-year-old artist, whose songs include her rendition of 'Gloria' and 'Because the Night,' hopes the Polaroid snapshots will rekindle a sense of appreciation for the commonplace.
The show includes photographs of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's slippers, author Virginia Woolf's bed, writer Susan Sontag's grave and poet Arthur Rimbaud's fork and spoon.
In a 2010 memoir 'Just Kids' Smith wrote about her love affair and friendship with Mapplethorpe, which lasted until his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989 at age 42.
Smith, a mother of two was married to guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith who died in 1994. She released the album 'Banga' last year and will begin a music tour in Japan.
She spoke to Reuters about the show and Polaroid photography, a pre-digital technique that produces an instant print.
Q: What inspires you as a photographer?
A: 'Truthfully, I don't really think of myself as a photographer. I don't have all the disciplines and knowledge of a person who's spent their life devoted to photography. I've been taking pictures most of my life, but more seriously in the last decade ...
'Light inspires me. I'm drawn to architecture -- often graves, statues, trees -- things usually that are quite still ... I've been taking pictures continuously since 1995 until the end of Polaroid film. I'm taking very few pictures now because I have very little film left, most of it expired.
Q: Are your pictures about nostalgia or trying to hold on and remember that person?
A: It's not nostalgia. I'm not really a nostalgic person. I'm memory-oriented, so a sense of remembrance ... All of these things are to bring all these people and things up to date, to walk with us. These are artists, family, people that we love -- people that pass away. We can keep them with us always.
Q: So you aren't out there snapping everything -- you are being quite selective?
A: I never snapped everything. Polaroid by its nature makes you frugal. You walk around with maybe two packs of film in your pocket. You have 20 shots, so each shot is a world.
Q: Was there anything that you learned from Mapplethorpe in doing your photography?
A: 'The one thing that we had in common is that both of us had a very good sense of composition. It's the same type of work ethic but I work quite differently. The atmosphere of my pictures is different. I drew a lot from 19th-century photographers and I don't really strive for the things that Robert strived for -- the deepest blacks and the most radiant whites.
'Robert was a real photographer. He was an artist, but he also really immersed himself in every aspect of how to project light in his work. In any event, we had a different eye, but we understood each other.
Q: How would you say photography intersects with your other creative work?
A: I think of myself really as a writer. So perhaps the pictures are somewhat literary, but I think they also stand on their own.'
Q: Do you identify with the punk scene, a romantic tradition or is it more organic?
A: 'I was involved in the pre- and post-punk scene in the 1970s ... I'm where I am today. I have two grown children, I've experienced a beautiful husband. I'm a widow. I'm doing my work. I feel unfettered by any scene. I feel like I've moved through many scenes, scenes before the punk movement and scenes after the punk movement, and the punk movement is in flux. It's still going on and it was going on before it had the name 'punk movement.'
Q: How do you reflect on the fact that you not only pushed music forward, but you also pushed things forward for women in the music scene?
A: 'I think I work in two worlds. I'll always try to kick through a wall. I did that when I was younger and I still have my way of doing that ... People have said that I've opened up things for women, but look what they've done.'
(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Paul Casciato)
This news article is brought to you by SPACE NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Lindsay Lohan pleads not guilty to car crash charges
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lindsay Lohan pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three charges related to a June traffic accident that led a judge to revoke the troubled actress' probation last month.
Lohan, 26, who did not attend the hearing, was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing police when she said she was not behind the wheel of her sports car, which smashed into a truck in Santa Monica, California.
Lohan's not guilty plea was entered in a Los Angeles court by her attorney.
The 'Liz & Dick' actress is on probation for a 2011 jewelry theft and could be sent to jail if she is found to have violated the terms of her probation.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Jane Godfrey, who will also preside over Lohan's probation hearing, on Tuesday ordered the actress to attend a January 30 pretrial hearing. A date for Lohan's probation hearing will be set at that time.
Lohan has been in and out of rehab and jail since a 2007 arrest for drunk driving and cocaine possession.
The former 'Parent Trap' child star was arrested in New York on a misdemeanor assault charge on the same day that the Santa Monica car crash charges were filed.
The Manhattan district attorney's office has not filed a criminal complaint in the assault case.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)
This article is sponsored by Travel to France.
Lohan, 26, who did not attend the hearing, was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving, lying to police and obstructing police when she said she was not behind the wheel of her sports car, which smashed into a truck in Santa Monica, California.
Lohan's not guilty plea was entered in a Los Angeles court by her attorney.
The 'Liz & Dick' actress is on probation for a 2011 jewelry theft and could be sent to jail if she is found to have violated the terms of her probation.
Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Jane Godfrey, who will also preside over Lohan's probation hearing, on Tuesday ordered the actress to attend a January 30 pretrial hearing. A date for Lohan's probation hearing will be set at that time.
Lohan has been in and out of rehab and jail since a 2007 arrest for drunk driving and cocaine possession.
The former 'Parent Trap' child star was arrested in New York on a misdemeanor assault charge on the same day that the Santa Monica car crash charges were filed.
The Manhattan district attorney's office has not filed a criminal complaint in the assault case.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)
This article is sponsored by Travel to France.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Jodie Foster comes out as gay at Golden Globes
BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - Hollywood actress Jodie Foster confirmed long-running speculation that she is gay by coming out at the Golden Globes awards on Sunday, but joked she wouldn't be holding a news conference to discuss her private life.
The notoriously private Foster stunned the audience of stars and Hollywood powerbrokers as she accepted a life-time achievement awarded by announcing she was now single.
'Seriously, I hope that you're not disappointed that there won't be a big-coming-out speech tonight,' she said, 'because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age.'
Foster said she had always been up front with trusted friends and family about her sexual orientation.
'But now apparently, I'm told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference ... that's just not me,' she said.
Foster, 50, then talked to her 'ex-partner in love' Cydney Bernard, from whom she recently split, and their two sons in the audience.
'Thank you Cyd, I am so proud of our modern family, our amazing sons,' Foster said.
Over the years, Foster had come under withering criticism from the gay community for not publicly recognizing she was gay.
The two-time best actress Oscar winner for 'The Silence of the Lambs' and 'The Accused' said she had valued her privacy because of her early acting career, which started at the age of three.
'If you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler, if you'd had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you, too, might value privacy above all else,' she said.
(This story is corrected with spelling of Bernard's first name to Cydney in paras 6 and 7)
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Mary Milliken; Editing by Jon Boyle)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The notoriously private Foster stunned the audience of stars and Hollywood powerbrokers as she accepted a life-time achievement awarded by announcing she was now single.
'Seriously, I hope that you're not disappointed that there won't be a big-coming-out speech tonight,' she said, 'because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age.'
Foster said she had always been up front with trusted friends and family about her sexual orientation.
'But now apparently, I'm told that every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference ... that's just not me,' she said.
Foster, 50, then talked to her 'ex-partner in love' Cydney Bernard, from whom she recently split, and their two sons in the audience.
'Thank you Cyd, I am so proud of our modern family, our amazing sons,' Foster said.
Over the years, Foster had come under withering criticism from the gay community for not publicly recognizing she was gay.
The two-time best actress Oscar winner for 'The Silence of the Lambs' and 'The Accused' said she had valued her privacy because of her early acting career, which started at the age of three.
'If you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler, if you'd had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you, too, might value privacy above all else,' she said.
(This story is corrected with spelling of Bernard's first name to Cydney in paras 6 and 7)
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Mary Milliken; Editing by Jon Boyle)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Justin Timberlake releases "Suit & Tie," first single in 5 years
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Justin Timberlake unveiled on Sunday his first single in more than five years, 'Suit & Tie,' featuring rapper Jay Z and producer Timbaland and said a new album would be released later in 2013.
Timberlake, 31 and newly married to actress Jessica Biel, had teased his fans last week with a cryptic tweet saying 'I think I am ready' and linking to a video showing him walk into a studio.
Timberlake, a six-time Grammy winner and former member of boy band N'Sync, took a break from music after his 2006 album 'Futuresex/Lovesounds' and worked as an actor in movies such as 'The Social Network.'
He said in an open letter on his website that the new album is titled 'The 20/20 Experience' but gave no further details.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jon Boyle)
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Timberlake, 31 and newly married to actress Jessica Biel, had teased his fans last week with a cryptic tweet saying 'I think I am ready' and linking to a video showing him walk into a studio.
Timberlake, a six-time Grammy winner and former member of boy band N'Sync, took a break from music after his 2006 album 'Futuresex/Lovesounds' and worked as an actor in movies such as 'The Social Network.'
He said in an open letter on his website that the new album is titled 'The 20/20 Experience' but gave no further details.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jon Boyle)
This news article is brought to you by STOCK MARKET BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Miss New York is crowned Miss America
(Reuters) - Miss New York won the 2013 Miss America crown on Saturday at the annual pageant which tapped into the reality TV format by incorporating fan participation that pulled one contestant into the semifinals.
Mallory Hytes Hagan, 23, scored in the talent competition with a tap dance to James Brown's 'Get Up Offa That Thing,' and wowed judges with an unadorned, off-the-shoulder white evening gown.
'Oh, my God, thank you!' Hagan, from Brooklyn, said as she was crowned at the end of the two-hour live broadcast from Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on ABC.
The first runner-up was South Carolina's Ali Rogers, followed by Alicia Clifton from Oklahoma, Wyoming's Lexie Madden and Miss Iowa, Mariah Cary.
Montana's Alexis Wineman, who has spoken about having been diagnosed with autism when she was 11, was chosen by fans online and made it to the semifinals. Fourth runner-up Cary discussed having Tourette's syndrome.
The judging panel, which included teenage Olympic gold-medal gymnast McKayla Maroney, 'Dancing With the Stars' dancer Cheryl Burke, former Miss America Katie Stam Irk, former 'Entertainment Tonight' host Mary Hart and ABC weatherman Sam Champion, was permitted to return one eliminated contestant to the semi-finalists' pool. They chose Washington's Mandy Schendel.
In the competition's final segment, each of the five finalists answered a question about current events. Hagan was asked whether, in the wake of the Newtown school massacre, armed guards should be put in schools.
'I don't think the proper way to fight violence is with violence,' she said, indicating she opposes the idea.
Hagan, whose crown comes with a $50,000 college scholarship, said education and other measures such as extended waiting periods for gun ownership were more appropriate.
The pageant, held since 1921, is put on by the Miss America Organization.
Contestants compete in local and state pageants before going on to the national competition. In all, 53 women representing the 50 U.S. states, the Virgin Islands, Washington and Puerto Rico vied for the title.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud in New York; Editing by Xavier Briand)
This news article is brought to you by TECHNOLOGY NEWS HIGH PR - where latest news are our top priority.
Mallory Hytes Hagan, 23, scored in the talent competition with a tap dance to James Brown's 'Get Up Offa That Thing,' and wowed judges with an unadorned, off-the-shoulder white evening gown.
'Oh, my God, thank you!' Hagan, from Brooklyn, said as she was crowned at the end of the two-hour live broadcast from Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on ABC.
The first runner-up was South Carolina's Ali Rogers, followed by Alicia Clifton from Oklahoma, Wyoming's Lexie Madden and Miss Iowa, Mariah Cary.
Montana's Alexis Wineman, who has spoken about having been diagnosed with autism when she was 11, was chosen by fans online and made it to the semifinals. Fourth runner-up Cary discussed having Tourette's syndrome.
The judging panel, which included teenage Olympic gold-medal gymnast McKayla Maroney, 'Dancing With the Stars' dancer Cheryl Burke, former Miss America Katie Stam Irk, former 'Entertainment Tonight' host Mary Hart and ABC weatherman Sam Champion, was permitted to return one eliminated contestant to the semi-finalists' pool. They chose Washington's Mandy Schendel.
In the competition's final segment, each of the five finalists answered a question about current events. Hagan was asked whether, in the wake of the Newtown school massacre, armed guards should be put in schools.
'I don't think the proper way to fight violence is with violence,' she said, indicating she opposes the idea.
Hagan, whose crown comes with a $50,000 college scholarship, said education and other measures such as extended waiting periods for gun ownership were more appropriate.
The pageant, held since 1921, is put on by the Miss America Organization.
Contestants compete in local and state pageants before going on to the national competition. In all, 53 women representing the 50 U.S. states, the Virgin Islands, Washington and Puerto Rico vied for the title.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud in New York; Editing by Xavier Briand)
This news article is brought to you by TECHNOLOGY NEWS HIGH PR - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Evan Rachel Wood expecting first child with actor Jamie Bell
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Evan Rachel Wood said on Friday that she and her husband, British actor Jamie Bell, are expecting their first child.
'Thanks for all your warm wishes,' Wood, 25, wrote on her Twitter account. 'We are very happy. I'm gonna be a mama!'
Moments earlier, Wood posted a picture of the pregnancy book 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' on the social media site.
It will be the first child for both Wood and Bell, who wed in October.
Wood rose to Hollywood stardom for her roles in 2008's 'The Wrestler' and the 2003 coming-of-age drama 'Thirteen.' She was nominated for an Emmy award for the 2011 television mini-series 'Mildred Pierce.'
Bell, 26, found fame as the teen star of 'Billy Elliot,' about a ballet dancer growing up in a tough coal mining town in northern England. He won a British BAFTA award for the role and has since appeared in adventure movies such as 'The Eagle.'
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; editing by Philip Barbara)
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
'Thanks for all your warm wishes,' Wood, 25, wrote on her Twitter account. 'We are very happy. I'm gonna be a mama!'
Moments earlier, Wood posted a picture of the pregnancy book 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' on the social media site.
It will be the first child for both Wood and Bell, who wed in October.
Wood rose to Hollywood stardom for her roles in 2008's 'The Wrestler' and the 2003 coming-of-age drama 'Thirteen.' She was nominated for an Emmy award for the 2011 television mini-series 'Mildred Pierce.'
Bell, 26, found fame as the teen star of 'Billy Elliot,' about a ballet dancer growing up in a tough coal mining town in northern England. He won a British BAFTA award for the role and has since appeared in adventure movies such as 'The Eagle.'
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; editing by Philip Barbara)
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Prolific sex abuser Savile "groomed a nation": UK police
LONDON (Reuters) - The late British TV presenter Jimmy Savile, honored by both the queen and the pope, sexually assaulted hundreds of people, mainly children, at BBC premises and hospitals over six decades of unparalleled abuse, a police-led report said on Friday.
Savile, one of Britain's biggest TV stars in the 1970s and 1980s, abused youngsters at 13 hospitals where he did voluntary work as a porter and fundraiser, and even at a hospice treating terminally ill patients.
The youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy, and the last of the 214 offences of which he is suspected took place just two years before his death in 2011 at the age of 84.
'He groomed a nation,' said Commander Peter Spindler, who led the police investigation and said the scale of his crimes were without precedence.
A one-time professional wrestler, Savile became famous as a pioneering DJ in the 1960s before becoming a regular fixture on TV hosting prime-time pop and children's shows until the 1990s.
He also ran about 200 marathons for charity, raising tens of millions of pounds (dollars) for hospitals, leading some to give him keys to rooms where victims now allege they were abused.
While many colleagues and viewers thought the cigar-chomping Savile was weird, with his long blonde hair, penchant for garish outfits and flashy jewellery, he was considered a 'national treasure', honored not just by the queen but also by the late Pope John Paul II who made him a papal knight in 1990.
However, Friday's report said he took advantage of his fame to commit predatory offences across Britain, including 34 rapes or serious sexual assaults. Of his alleged victims, 73 percent were under 18 and 82 percent were female. The oldest was 47.
In all, 450 people have given information about him and detectives said more victims were likely to come forward. However, the report, issued jointly by London police and the NSPCC children's charity, said some would never feel able to break their silence.
'He hid in plain sight, behind a veil of eccentricity double-bluffing those who challenged him, from vulnerable children right up to and including a prime minister of the time,' said Peter Watt from the NSPCC.
He said Savile had 'cunningly' built his life's work around getting access to children to abuse.
STARTED IN THE 1950S
His offending began in 1955 in the northern English city of Manchester and the last attack was in 2009. He abused 33 people at the BBC from 1965, including a girl in 2006 at the last recording of popular weekly show 'Top of the Pops', one of the programs which had made him famous.
He targeted people at hospitals over 30 years from 1965, including at the renowned Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London. Other attacks took place at schools where children had written to him as part of his 'Jim'll Fix It' show.
Although a few allegations had been made when he was alive, these were never pursued and both police and prosecutors said lessons had to be learned to ensure there could be no repeat.
Despite rumors and suspicions, his alleged sex crimes only came to light when broadcaster ITV aired allegations against him in October.
That prompted allegations the BBC had covered up claims of sex abuse after it was revealed it had dropped its own expose shortly after Savile's death but had run tribute shows.
Those revelations plunged the BBC into weeks of turmoil, rattling staff and audiences, and led to resignation of the publicly funded broadcaster's director general just 54 days into his job.
A lengthy report last month cleared of the BBC of any cover-up but said it had missed numerous warnings.
While there was no evidence Savile was part of a pedophile ring, detectives are looking at whether he was part of 'an informal network' of abusers.
They have questioned 10 men, including Jim Davidson, a comedian who hosted prime-time shows on the BBC in the 1990s, former BBC radio DJ Dave Lee Travis, and Max Clifford, Britain's most high-profile celebrity publicist. They deny any wrongdoing.
A household name in Britain for much of his life, Savile's crimes will now ensure notoriety in death.
'I want us to forget Jimmy Savile - he is not worthy of memory,' said Peter Saunders of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood.
(Editing by Louise Ireland and Stephen Addison)
This news article is brought to you by TRAVEL FRANCE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Savile, one of Britain's biggest TV stars in the 1970s and 1980s, abused youngsters at 13 hospitals where he did voluntary work as a porter and fundraiser, and even at a hospice treating terminally ill patients.
The youngest victim was an 8-year-old boy, and the last of the 214 offences of which he is suspected took place just two years before his death in 2011 at the age of 84.
'He groomed a nation,' said Commander Peter Spindler, who led the police investigation and said the scale of his crimes were without precedence.
A one-time professional wrestler, Savile became famous as a pioneering DJ in the 1960s before becoming a regular fixture on TV hosting prime-time pop and children's shows until the 1990s.
He also ran about 200 marathons for charity, raising tens of millions of pounds (dollars) for hospitals, leading some to give him keys to rooms where victims now allege they were abused.
While many colleagues and viewers thought the cigar-chomping Savile was weird, with his long blonde hair, penchant for garish outfits and flashy jewellery, he was considered a 'national treasure', honored not just by the queen but also by the late Pope John Paul II who made him a papal knight in 1990.
However, Friday's report said he took advantage of his fame to commit predatory offences across Britain, including 34 rapes or serious sexual assaults. Of his alleged victims, 73 percent were under 18 and 82 percent were female. The oldest was 47.
In all, 450 people have given information about him and detectives said more victims were likely to come forward. However, the report, issued jointly by London police and the NSPCC children's charity, said some would never feel able to break their silence.
'He hid in plain sight, behind a veil of eccentricity double-bluffing those who challenged him, from vulnerable children right up to and including a prime minister of the time,' said Peter Watt from the NSPCC.
He said Savile had 'cunningly' built his life's work around getting access to children to abuse.
STARTED IN THE 1950S
His offending began in 1955 in the northern English city of Manchester and the last attack was in 2009. He abused 33 people at the BBC from 1965, including a girl in 2006 at the last recording of popular weekly show 'Top of the Pops', one of the programs which had made him famous.
He targeted people at hospitals over 30 years from 1965, including at the renowned Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London. Other attacks took place at schools where children had written to him as part of his 'Jim'll Fix It' show.
Although a few allegations had been made when he was alive, these were never pursued and both police and prosecutors said lessons had to be learned to ensure there could be no repeat.
Despite rumors and suspicions, his alleged sex crimes only came to light when broadcaster ITV aired allegations against him in October.
That prompted allegations the BBC had covered up claims of sex abuse after it was revealed it had dropped its own expose shortly after Savile's death but had run tribute shows.
Those revelations plunged the BBC into weeks of turmoil, rattling staff and audiences, and led to resignation of the publicly funded broadcaster's director general just 54 days into his job.
A lengthy report last month cleared of the BBC of any cover-up but said it had missed numerous warnings.
While there was no evidence Savile was part of a pedophile ring, detectives are looking at whether he was part of 'an informal network' of abusers.
They have questioned 10 men, including Jim Davidson, a comedian who hosted prime-time shows on the BBC in the 1990s, former BBC radio DJ Dave Lee Travis, and Max Clifford, Britain's most high-profile celebrity publicist. They deny any wrongdoing.
A household name in Britain for much of his life, Savile's crimes will now ensure notoriety in death.
'I want us to forget Jimmy Savile - he is not worthy of memory,' said Peter Saunders of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood.
(Editing by Louise Ireland and Stephen Addison)
This news article is brought to you by TRAVEL FRANCE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
UK's Savile abused hundreds over six decades: report
LONDON (Reuters) - The late British TV presenter Jimmy Savile physically abused hundreds of people over six decades, according to a police-led report on Friday which said he carried out attacks at the BBC and at hospitals where he did voluntary work.
Of his victims, 73 percent were under 18 and 82 percent were female. The oldest was 47 and the youngest just 8.
'Savile's offending footprint was vast, predatory and opportunistic,' Commander Peter Spindler told reporters.
Savile, one of the BBC's biggest stars of the 1970s and 80s received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth for charity work. He died in 2011, aged 84, a year before allegations about his abusive behavior emerged in a TV documentary.
Friday's report said he had committed 214 criminal offences including 34 rapes or serious sexual assaults across the country.
His offending first occurred in 1955 in the northern English city of Manchester and the last attack was in 2009, the report said. He abused people at the BBC from 1965 including in 2006 at the last recording of popular weekly show Top of the Pops.
He also targeted people at hospitals over 30 years from 1965, including at the renowned Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London.
'It is now clear that Savile was hiding in plain sight and using his celebrity status and fund-raising activity to gain uncontrolled access to vulnerable people across six decades,' the report said.
In all, 600 people had come forward to police with information of which 450 related to Savile.
The report, issued jointly by London police and the NSPCC children's charity, said it was likely there would be more victims who did not feel able to come forward.
Friday's report is one of 14 launched since the allegations about Savile emerged, including four at the BBC.
The revelations about Savile plunged the BBC into weeks of turmoil and led to resignation of the publicly funded broadcaster's director general just 54 days into his job.
OTHER STARS QUESTIONED
Detectives have also been looking into allegations against Savile acting with others and into related sex crimes which had no direct link to Savile.
They have since questioned 10 men, including Jim Davidson, a comedian who hosted prime time shows on the BBC in the 1990s, former BBC radio DJ Dave Lee Travis, and Max Clifford, Britain's most high-profile celebrity publicist.
They all deny any wrongdoing.
A one-time professional wrestler, Savile became famous as a pioneering DJ in the 1960s before becoming a regular fixture on TV hosting prime-time pop and children's shows until the 1990s.
He also ran about 200 marathons for charity, raising tens of millions of pounds for hospitals, leading some to give him keys to rooms where victims now allege they were abused.
While many colleagues and viewers thought the cigar-chomping Savile was weird, with his long blonde hair, penchant for garish outfits and flashy jewellery, he was considered a 'national treasure', honored not just by the queen but also by the late Pope John Paul II who made him a papal knight in 1990.
Despite rumors and suspicions, his sex crimes only came to light when rival broadcaster ITV aired allegations against him.
That prompted allegations the BBC had covered up allegations of sex abuse after it was revealed it had dropped its own expose shortly after Savile's death and had run tribute shows about him instead.
A lengthy report last month cleared of the BBC of any cover-up but said it had missed numerous warnings and proved incapable of dealing with the scandal when it finally broke.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)
This news article is brought to you by LINUXOS.PRO - where latest news are our top priority.
Of his victims, 73 percent were under 18 and 82 percent were female. The oldest was 47 and the youngest just 8.
'Savile's offending footprint was vast, predatory and opportunistic,' Commander Peter Spindler told reporters.
Savile, one of the BBC's biggest stars of the 1970s and 80s received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth for charity work. He died in 2011, aged 84, a year before allegations about his abusive behavior emerged in a TV documentary.
Friday's report said he had committed 214 criminal offences including 34 rapes or serious sexual assaults across the country.
His offending first occurred in 1955 in the northern English city of Manchester and the last attack was in 2009, the report said. He abused people at the BBC from 1965 including in 2006 at the last recording of popular weekly show Top of the Pops.
He also targeted people at hospitals over 30 years from 1965, including at the renowned Great Ormond Street children's hospital in London.
'It is now clear that Savile was hiding in plain sight and using his celebrity status and fund-raising activity to gain uncontrolled access to vulnerable people across six decades,' the report said.
In all, 600 people had come forward to police with information of which 450 related to Savile.
The report, issued jointly by London police and the NSPCC children's charity, said it was likely there would be more victims who did not feel able to come forward.
Friday's report is one of 14 launched since the allegations about Savile emerged, including four at the BBC.
The revelations about Savile plunged the BBC into weeks of turmoil and led to resignation of the publicly funded broadcaster's director general just 54 days into his job.
OTHER STARS QUESTIONED
Detectives have also been looking into allegations against Savile acting with others and into related sex crimes which had no direct link to Savile.
They have since questioned 10 men, including Jim Davidson, a comedian who hosted prime time shows on the BBC in the 1990s, former BBC radio DJ Dave Lee Travis, and Max Clifford, Britain's most high-profile celebrity publicist.
They all deny any wrongdoing.
A one-time professional wrestler, Savile became famous as a pioneering DJ in the 1960s before becoming a regular fixture on TV hosting prime-time pop and children's shows until the 1990s.
He also ran about 200 marathons for charity, raising tens of millions of pounds for hospitals, leading some to give him keys to rooms where victims now allege they were abused.
While many colleagues and viewers thought the cigar-chomping Savile was weird, with his long blonde hair, penchant for garish outfits and flashy jewellery, he was considered a 'national treasure', honored not just by the queen but also by the late Pope John Paul II who made him a papal knight in 1990.
Despite rumors and suspicions, his sex crimes only came to light when rival broadcaster ITV aired allegations against him.
That prompted allegations the BBC had covered up allegations of sex abuse after it was revealed it had dropped its own expose shortly after Savile's death and had run tribute shows about him instead.
A lengthy report last month cleared of the BBC of any cover-up but said it had missed numerous warnings and proved incapable of dealing with the scandal when it finally broke.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)
This news article is brought to you by LINUXOS.PRO - where latest news are our top priority.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
"Snakes on a Plane" director David R. Ellis dies in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - David R. Ellis, the child actor and former stuntman who went on to direct gory films including 'Snakes on a Plane', has been found dead in a Johannesburg hotel.
Ellis, 60, was last seen alive in a restaurant on Saturday. His body was discovered in a bathroom by a hotel manager at the weekend. There was no indication of foul play or robbery, police said in a statement on Tuesday.
'It is unknown what was the cause of death,' South African police said.
Ellis was in South Africa shooting a movie.
His 2006 film 'Snakes on a Plane' about reptiles slithering through a jet inflicting gruesome deaths on passengers spawned numerous parodies, massive internet hoopla and was one of the most heavily hyped films of the North American summer season.
The film's star, Samuel L. Jackson, threatened to quit when the studio considered changing the title, saying he had taken the job based on the name.
'So talented, so kind, such a Good Friend. He'll be missed. Gone too soon!' Jackson tweeted on Tuesday.
Ellis also directed other B-list thrillers including 'Shark Night' and 'Cellular'.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz, editing by Paul Casciato)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Ellis, 60, was last seen alive in a restaurant on Saturday. His body was discovered in a bathroom by a hotel manager at the weekend. There was no indication of foul play or robbery, police said in a statement on Tuesday.
'It is unknown what was the cause of death,' South African police said.
Ellis was in South Africa shooting a movie.
His 2006 film 'Snakes on a Plane' about reptiles slithering through a jet inflicting gruesome deaths on passengers spawned numerous parodies, massive internet hoopla and was one of the most heavily hyped films of the North American summer season.
The film's star, Samuel L. Jackson, threatened to quit when the studio considered changing the title, saying he had taken the job based on the name.
'So talented, so kind, such a Good Friend. He'll be missed. Gone too soon!' Jackson tweeted on Tuesday.
Ellis also directed other B-list thrillers including 'Shark Night' and 'Cellular'.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz, editing by Paul Casciato)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Actor Depardieu denies leaving France for tax reasons
PARIS (Reuters) - Film star Gerard Depardieu denied that he was leaving his homeland for tax reasons on Monday, saying that, although he now had a Russian passport, he was still very much French.
In an interview with sports channel L'Equipe 21 - his first since a row broke out in December over his decision to buy a house over the border in Belgium - Depardieu said that if he had wanted to leave to avoid tax hikes he would have gone earlier.
'I have a Russian passport, but I remain French and I will probably have dual Belgian nationality. But if I'd wanted to escape the taxman, as the French press say, I would have done it a long time ago,' he said.
Depardieu was speaking in Zurich on the sidelines of a football awards ceremony after receiving a new Russian passport on Sunday from President Vladimir Putin.
The 63-year-old star of 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Green Card' has been accused by French government leaders of trying to dodge a proposed new tax rate for millionaires.
But in a letter last month to Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who labeled the actor 'pathetic', Depardieu said he was leaving because success was now being punished in France.
Hollande's original proposal to introduce a 75 percent rate on income over 1 million euros ($1.31 million) was struck down by France's Constitutional Court.
While he has said he will press ahead with a tax on the wealthy, it remains unclear whether the redrafted text will be as severe on top earners.
(Reporting By John Irish; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
This article is brought to you by ONLINE DATING.
In an interview with sports channel L'Equipe 21 - his first since a row broke out in December over his decision to buy a house over the border in Belgium - Depardieu said that if he had wanted to leave to avoid tax hikes he would have gone earlier.
'I have a Russian passport, but I remain French and I will probably have dual Belgian nationality. But if I'd wanted to escape the taxman, as the French press say, I would have done it a long time ago,' he said.
Depardieu was speaking in Zurich on the sidelines of a football awards ceremony after receiving a new Russian passport on Sunday from President Vladimir Putin.
The 63-year-old star of 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Green Card' has been accused by French government leaders of trying to dodge a proposed new tax rate for millionaires.
But in a letter last month to Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who labeled the actor 'pathetic', Depardieu said he was leaving because success was now being punished in France.
Hollande's original proposal to introduce a 75 percent rate on income over 1 million euros ($1.31 million) was struck down by France's Constitutional Court.
While he has said he will press ahead with a tax on the wealthy, it remains unclear whether the redrafted text will be as severe on top earners.
(Reporting By John Irish; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
This article is brought to you by ONLINE DATING.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Schwarzenegger is back, and Hollywood hopes he's still a star
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As he famously droned on-screen in his signature 'Terminator' movies, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back.
A year after leaving the California governor's office and becoming tabloid fodder for fathering a boy with his family's housekeeper and splitting with his wife, Maria Shriver, the 65-year old former bodybuilder will star in no less than three Hollywood movies over the next 12 months.
None are likely to win Schwarzenegger an Oscar. Indeed, the movies, and Schwarzenegger's own fee, are low-budget compared with his global blockbusters of yore. But studio executives are betting that overseas fans especially will once again respond to a personality whose 24 films generated worldwide ticket sales of $3.9 billion, according to boxoffice.com.
'He is still a worldwide star who resonates with action audiences around the world,' said Rob Friedman, the co-chairman of the Lionsgate motion picture group, which is scheduled to release his next two films. 'The Last Stand' will open on January 18, and 'The Tomb' in September.
'Ten,' the third film, is scheduled for release in January 2014 by Open Road Films, a joint venture of the AMC and Regal Theater chains.
'When you have left the movie business for seven years, it's kind of a scary thing to come back because you don't know if you're accepted or not,' Schwarzenegger said at a Saturday press event for 'The Last Stand.'
'There could be a whole new generation of action stars that come up in the meantime.'
The actor said he was 'very pleasantly surprised' by what he called a 'great reaction' to his cameo in the 2010 action film 'The Expendables,' which featured fellow action stars Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. The film grossed $103.1 million in U.S. ticket sales and $274.5 million worldwide.
Since then, Schwarzenegger appeared in a second 'Expendables' and says he will join a fifth installment of the 'Terminator' if it is made.
Comcast's Universal Pictures wants to 'do a bunch' of new films based on the 30-year-old 'Conan The Barbarian' movie, said Schwarzenegger, in which he would reprise his role as a barbarian.
He added that Universal, after 10 years of prodding by Schwarzenegger, also wants to do a sequel to the 1988 comedy 'Twins,' in which he and Danny DeVito played mismatched twins, to be called 'Triplets.'
Schwarzenegger no longer commands the $25 million paychecks he cashed in his heyday and will get between $8 and $10 million for each of his next three films, according to two people with knowledge of his salary but who were not authorized to speak publicly about it. He also gets a percentage of the profits, according to one of the people.
The new Schwarzenegger calculus banks on his films doing outsized business overseas while operating within budgets that are a fraction of the $200 million cost of his last action film, the 2003 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.' The budget for 'The Last Stand' is estimated at $50 million, according to movie resource site IMDB.com.
'He has significant value outside the United States and Canada, where he is still revered by people who have grown up with him throughout the years,' said Jere Hausfater, chief operating officer of film production company Aldamisa International, which hopes to do a film with Schwarzenegger in the future.
What audiences will see is a aging star who isn't afraid of showing his drooping muscles and widening paunch, or of making fun of being past his prime. In the 'The Last Stand,' a less than rock hard Schwarzenegger plays a retired Los Angeles policeman who becomes the sheriff of a small border town and is then called on to stop a violent drug lord from crossing.
In 'Ten' he plays an aging drug agent, and in 'The Tomb' an older prison inmate.
'We all go through the same dramas, we look at the mirror and say, what happened? You once had muscles and slowly they are deteriorating,' said Schwarzenegger at 'The Last Stand' press event.
'The great thing in the movie is that they we're not trying to play me as the 35-year-old action hero but the one who is about to retire, and all of a sudden there is this challenge where he really needs to get his act together.'
The one-time muscle man compares his career metamorphosis to that of his friend Clint Eastwood, who transitioned from his Dirty Harry days to a wiser person who's not afraid to make fun of his slipping abilities in recent films like 'Trouble with the Curve.'
'That's called evolution,' said Sylvester Stallone, who stars with Schwarzenegger as aging inmates in 'The Tomb.' 'There are no more wooly mammoths. Things change, but the one thing you cannot replace is charisma. Certain people have it, and will have it until the day they die.'
Schwarzenegger's infamy in fathering a son outside of his high-profile marriage to Shriver initially seemed to hurt his popular appeal. Within weeks of the disclosure, 'The Governator,' a comic book that would feature his likeness, was canceled.
Ultimately, though, moviegoers will be less interested in Schwarzenegger's political adventures and personal scandals than in what he puts on the screen, says Peter Sealey, founder of The Sausalito Group and a former Columbia Pictures president of marketing and distribution.
'The movie-going audience really don't care about things like infidelity, DUIs,' added publicist Howard Bragman, vice-chairman of the firm called Reputation. 'They overlook a lot. Ultimately, it remains, how are the movies? Is he credible? Is he going to be a joke?'
(Reporting by Ronald Grover and Zorianna Kit; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Cynthia Osterman)
A year after leaving the California governor's office and becoming tabloid fodder for fathering a boy with his family's housekeeper and splitting with his wife, Maria Shriver, the 65-year old former bodybuilder will star in no less than three Hollywood movies over the next 12 months.
None are likely to win Schwarzenegger an Oscar. Indeed, the movies, and Schwarzenegger's own fee, are low-budget compared with his global blockbusters of yore. But studio executives are betting that overseas fans especially will once again respond to a personality whose 24 films generated worldwide ticket sales of $3.9 billion, according to boxoffice.com.
'He is still a worldwide star who resonates with action audiences around the world,' said Rob Friedman, the co-chairman of the Lionsgate motion picture group, which is scheduled to release his next two films. 'The Last Stand' will open on January 18, and 'The Tomb' in September.
'Ten,' the third film, is scheduled for release in January 2014 by Open Road Films, a joint venture of the AMC and Regal Theater chains.
'When you have left the movie business for seven years, it's kind of a scary thing to come back because you don't know if you're accepted or not,' Schwarzenegger said at a Saturday press event for 'The Last Stand.'
'There could be a whole new generation of action stars that come up in the meantime.'
The actor said he was 'very pleasantly surprised' by what he called a 'great reaction' to his cameo in the 2010 action film 'The Expendables,' which featured fellow action stars Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. The film grossed $103.1 million in U.S. ticket sales and $274.5 million worldwide.
Since then, Schwarzenegger appeared in a second 'Expendables' and says he will join a fifth installment of the 'Terminator' if it is made.
Comcast's Universal Pictures wants to 'do a bunch' of new films based on the 30-year-old 'Conan The Barbarian' movie, said Schwarzenegger, in which he would reprise his role as a barbarian.
He added that Universal, after 10 years of prodding by Schwarzenegger, also wants to do a sequel to the 1988 comedy 'Twins,' in which he and Danny DeVito played mismatched twins, to be called 'Triplets.'
Schwarzenegger no longer commands the $25 million paychecks he cashed in his heyday and will get between $8 and $10 million for each of his next three films, according to two people with knowledge of his salary but who were not authorized to speak publicly about it. He also gets a percentage of the profits, according to one of the people.
The new Schwarzenegger calculus banks on his films doing outsized business overseas while operating within budgets that are a fraction of the $200 million cost of his last action film, the 2003 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.' The budget for 'The Last Stand' is estimated at $50 million, according to movie resource site IMDB.com.
'He has significant value outside the United States and Canada, where he is still revered by people who have grown up with him throughout the years,' said Jere Hausfater, chief operating officer of film production company Aldamisa International, which hopes to do a film with Schwarzenegger in the future.
What audiences will see is a aging star who isn't afraid of showing his drooping muscles and widening paunch, or of making fun of being past his prime. In the 'The Last Stand,' a less than rock hard Schwarzenegger plays a retired Los Angeles policeman who becomes the sheriff of a small border town and is then called on to stop a violent drug lord from crossing.
In 'Ten' he plays an aging drug agent, and in 'The Tomb' an older prison inmate.
'We all go through the same dramas, we look at the mirror and say, what happened? You once had muscles and slowly they are deteriorating,' said Schwarzenegger at 'The Last Stand' press event.
'The great thing in the movie is that they we're not trying to play me as the 35-year-old action hero but the one who is about to retire, and all of a sudden there is this challenge where he really needs to get his act together.'
The one-time muscle man compares his career metamorphosis to that of his friend Clint Eastwood, who transitioned from his Dirty Harry days to a wiser person who's not afraid to make fun of his slipping abilities in recent films like 'Trouble with the Curve.'
'That's called evolution,' said Sylvester Stallone, who stars with Schwarzenegger as aging inmates in 'The Tomb.' 'There are no more wooly mammoths. Things change, but the one thing you cannot replace is charisma. Certain people have it, and will have it until the day they die.'
Schwarzenegger's infamy in fathering a son outside of his high-profile marriage to Shriver initially seemed to hurt his popular appeal. Within weeks of the disclosure, 'The Governator,' a comic book that would feature his likeness, was canceled.
Ultimately, though, moviegoers will be less interested in Schwarzenegger's political adventures and personal scandals than in what he puts on the screen, says Peter Sealey, founder of The Sausalito Group and a former Columbia Pictures president of marketing and distribution.
'The movie-going audience really don't care about things like infidelity, DUIs,' added publicist Howard Bragman, vice-chairman of the firm called Reputation. 'They overlook a lot. Ultimately, it remains, how are the movies? Is he credible? Is he going to be a joke?'
(Reporting by Ronald Grover and Zorianna Kit; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Cynthia Osterman)
French actor Depardieu meets Putin, picks up Russian passport
MOSCOW (Reuters) - French film star Gerard Depardieu met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea town of Sochi and obtained his Russian passport, the Kremlin said on Sunday, after he left his homeland to avoid a new tax rate for millionaires.
Putin signed a decree on Thursday granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu, who objected to French Socialist president Francois Hollande's plan to impose the 75 percent tax rate. His decision to quit France had prompted accusations of national betrayal.
The Russian president and Depardieu were shown on state-run Channel One shaking hands and hugging each other early on Sunday during what the Kremlin said was a private visit by the actor to Russia.
'A brief meeting between the president and Depardieu took place,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 'On the occasion of his visit to Russia, he was handed a Russian passport.'
Peskov did not say whether Putin personally gave Depardieu the passport or if he picked it up through standard procedures. He said the actor also told Putin about his career plans.
Depardieu, star of the movies 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Green Card', is a popular figure in Russia, where he has appeared in many advertising campaigns, including for ketchup. He also worked there in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.
Putin asked Depardieu whether he was pleased with his work in the movie, TV footage of their meeting showed, with the French actor saying he had already sent Putin some excerpts from it.
Depardieu bought a house in Belgium last year to avoid the French income tax increase. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called Depardieu's decision to seek Belgian residency 'pathetic' and unpatriotic, prompting an angry response from the actor.
Putin said last month that Depardieu would be welcome in Russia, which has a flat income tax rate of 13 percent, compared to the 75 percent on income over 1 million euros ($1.30 million) that Hollande wants to levy in France.
He offered Depardieu a Russian passport, saying he had a close, special relationship with France and had developed warm ties with the actor, even though they had rarely met.
Some of Putin's critics said the passport move was a stunt and pointed out that the president announced last month a campaign to prevent rich Russians keeping their money offshore.
($1 = 0.7666 euros)
(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; Editing by Pravin Char)
This article is brought to you by FREE PERSONALS.
Putin signed a decree on Thursday granting Russian citizenship to Depardieu, who objected to French Socialist president Francois Hollande's plan to impose the 75 percent tax rate. His decision to quit France had prompted accusations of national betrayal.
The Russian president and Depardieu were shown on state-run Channel One shaking hands and hugging each other early on Sunday during what the Kremlin said was a private visit by the actor to Russia.
'A brief meeting between the president and Depardieu took place,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 'On the occasion of his visit to Russia, he was handed a Russian passport.'
Peskov did not say whether Putin personally gave Depardieu the passport or if he picked it up through standard procedures. He said the actor also told Putin about his career plans.
Depardieu, star of the movies 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Green Card', is a popular figure in Russia, where he has appeared in many advertising campaigns, including for ketchup. He also worked there in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.
Putin asked Depardieu whether he was pleased with his work in the movie, TV footage of their meeting showed, with the French actor saying he had already sent Putin some excerpts from it.
Depardieu bought a house in Belgium last year to avoid the French income tax increase. French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called Depardieu's decision to seek Belgian residency 'pathetic' and unpatriotic, prompting an angry response from the actor.
Putin said last month that Depardieu would be welcome in Russia, which has a flat income tax rate of 13 percent, compared to the 75 percent on income over 1 million euros ($1.30 million) that Hollande wants to levy in France.
He offered Depardieu a Russian passport, saying he had a close, special relationship with France and had developed warm ties with the actor, even though they had rarely met.
Some of Putin's critics said the passport move was a stunt and pointed out that the president announced last month a campaign to prevent rich Russians keeping their money offshore.
($1 = 0.7666 euros)
(Reporting By Alexei Anishchuk; Editing by Pravin Char)
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Mandela recovers from surgery, lung infection: official
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has recovered from a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones that kept him in hospital for nearly three weeks, the government said on Sunday.
Mandela, 94, who has been in frail health for several years, spent most of December in a Pretoria hospital - his longest stay for medical care since his release from prison in 1990.
He has been receiving treatment at his Johannesburg home after he left hospital on December 26.
'President Mandela has made steady progress and clinically, he continues to improve,' the Office of the Presidency said in a statement.
Mandela had recovered from his surgical procedure and the lung infection, it said, citing his medical team. He has made steady progress and was slowly returning to his daily routine.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.
He became South Africa's first black president after the first all-race elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid.
MORAL COMPASS
Mandela has been mostly absent from the political scene for the past several years due to poor health, while questions have been raised as to whether his ruling African National Congress (ANC) has lost the moral compass he bequeathed it.
Under such leaders as Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo, the ANC gained wide international respect as it battled white rule. Once the yoke of apartheid was thrown off, it began ruling South Africa in a blaze of goodwill from world leaders who viewed it as a beacon for a troubled continent and world.
Close to two decades later, this image has dimmed as critics accuse ANC leaders of indulging in the spoils of office, squandering mineral resources and engaging in power struggles.
Mandela's 'Rainbow Nation' of reconciliation has come under strain under President Jacob Zuma, a Zulu traditionalist with a history of racially charged comments, including a statement in December where he reportedly said dog ownership was for whites and not part of African culture.
Mandela has spent much of the past year at another home in Qunu, his ancestral village in the poor Eastern Cape province.
His poor health has prevented him from making public appearances for about two years, although he has continued to receive high-profile visitors, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
(Editing by Angus MacSwan)
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY MUSIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Mandela, 94, who has been in frail health for several years, spent most of December in a Pretoria hospital - his longest stay for medical care since his release from prison in 1990.
He has been receiving treatment at his Johannesburg home after he left hospital on December 26.
'President Mandela has made steady progress and clinically, he continues to improve,' the Office of the Presidency said in a statement.
Mandela had recovered from his surgical procedure and the lung infection, it said, citing his medical team. He has made steady progress and was slowly returning to his daily routine.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.
He became South Africa's first black president after the first all-race elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid.
MORAL COMPASS
Mandela has been mostly absent from the political scene for the past several years due to poor health, while questions have been raised as to whether his ruling African National Congress (ANC) has lost the moral compass he bequeathed it.
Under such leaders as Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo, the ANC gained wide international respect as it battled white rule. Once the yoke of apartheid was thrown off, it began ruling South Africa in a blaze of goodwill from world leaders who viewed it as a beacon for a troubled continent and world.
Close to two decades later, this image has dimmed as critics accuse ANC leaders of indulging in the spoils of office, squandering mineral resources and engaging in power struggles.
Mandela's 'Rainbow Nation' of reconciliation has come under strain under President Jacob Zuma, a Zulu traditionalist with a history of racially charged comments, including a statement in December where he reportedly said dog ownership was for whites and not part of African culture.
Mandela has spent much of the past year at another home in Qunu, his ancestral village in the poor Eastern Cape province.
His poor health has prevented him from making public appearances for about two years, although he has continued to receive high-profile visitors, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
(Editing by Angus MacSwan)
This news article is brought to you by CELEBRITY MUSIC NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Mandela recovers from surgery, lung infection-official
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has recovered from a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones that kept him in hospital for nearly three weeks, the government said on Sunday.
Mandela, 94, who has been in frail health for several years, spent most of December in a Pretoria hospital - his longest stay for medical care since his release from prison in 1990. He has been receiving treatment at his Johannesburg home after he left hospital on December 26.
'President Mandela has made steady progress and clinically, he continues to improve,' the Office of the Presidency said in a statement.
Mandela had recovered from his surgical procedure and the lung infection, it said, citing his medical team.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.
He became South Africa's first black president after the first all-race elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz: Editing by Angus MacSwan)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Mandela, 94, who has been in frail health for several years, spent most of December in a Pretoria hospital - his longest stay for medical care since his release from prison in 1990. He has been receiving treatment at his Johannesburg home after he left hospital on December 26.
'President Mandela has made steady progress and clinically, he continues to improve,' the Office of the Presidency said in a statement.
Mandela had recovered from his surgical procedure and the lung infection, it said, citing his medical team.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mandela has a history of lung problems dating back to when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He spent 27 years in prison, including 18 years on the windswept Robben Island off Cape Town.
He became South Africa's first black president after the first all-race elections in 1994 brought an end to apartheid.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz: Editing by Angus MacSwan)
This news article is brought to you by INTERNET NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Venezuela searches for fashion boss Missoni's plane
CARACAS/MILAN (Reuters) - Venezuelan emergency services mounted a sea and air rescue mission on Saturday after a plane carrying fashion executive Vittorio Missoni went missing off the coast of Venezuela.
The plane carrying Missoni, 58, his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, another couple and two Venezuelan crew members disappeared after taking off from the resort of Los Roques, an archipelago off the coast of Venezuela, Italian media said.
'It disappeared yesterday. They have been looking for it with helicopters and ships, but have not found anything yet. They are still searching for it this morning,' the Italian consul in Venezuela, Giovanni Davoli, told Reuters by phone.
Missoni is the oldest son of the founders of the fashion house famous for its exuberantly coloured knits, featuring bold stripes and zigzags. He is co-owner with siblings Luca and Angela, who handle the technical and design sides of the firm.
'The Missoni family has been informed by the Venezuelan consulate that Vittorio Missoni and his wife are missing, but we don't know any more,' said Missoni spokeswoman Maddalena Aspes.
Other members of the Missoni family are travelling back to Italy from a holiday in France, Aspes said.
Missoni and his siblings took over managing the company from their parents Ottavio and Rosita in 1996, aiming to relaunch the brand to a larger, younger market as rivals Gucci and Burberry have done. Under Vittorio's tenure, Missoni has opened hotels in Edinburgh and Kuwait and launched the Missoni Home collection.
By 2011, the brand's appeal was wide enough for U.S. mass-market retailer Target to ask it to design a collection.
The brand will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year.
(Reporting by Jennifer Clark and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Louise Ireland)
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
The plane carrying Missoni, 58, his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, another couple and two Venezuelan crew members disappeared after taking off from the resort of Los Roques, an archipelago off the coast of Venezuela, Italian media said.
'It disappeared yesterday. They have been looking for it with helicopters and ships, but have not found anything yet. They are still searching for it this morning,' the Italian consul in Venezuela, Giovanni Davoli, told Reuters by phone.
Missoni is the oldest son of the founders of the fashion house famous for its exuberantly coloured knits, featuring bold stripes and zigzags. He is co-owner with siblings Luca and Angela, who handle the technical and design sides of the firm.
'The Missoni family has been informed by the Venezuelan consulate that Vittorio Missoni and his wife are missing, but we don't know any more,' said Missoni spokeswoman Maddalena Aspes.
Other members of the Missoni family are travelling back to Italy from a holiday in France, Aspes said.
Missoni and his siblings took over managing the company from their parents Ottavio and Rosita in 1996, aiming to relaunch the brand to a larger, younger market as rivals Gucci and Burberry have done. Under Vittorio's tenure, Missoni has opened hotels in Edinburgh and Kuwait and launched the Missoni Home collection.
By 2011, the brand's appeal was wide enough for U.S. mass-market retailer Target to ask it to design a collection.
The brand will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year.
(Reporting by Jennifer Clark and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Louise Ireland)
This news article is brought to you by GAMING NEWS - where latest news are our top priority.
Ex-film star Bardot may seek Russian nationality
PARIS (Reuters) - Former French screen goddess Brigitte Bardot on Friday threatened to follow Gerard Depardieu in asking for a Russian passport, in protest not at tax hikes, but at the treatment of two circus elephants.
The animals, named Baby and Nepal and owned by a touring circus, are thought to be carrying tuberculosis and were ordered to be put down by a court in Lyon, southern France, on Friday as a precautionary measure.
Bardot's threat comes a day after fellow actor Depardieu caused a storm in France by becoming a Russian citizen in protest at high tax rates proposed by the Socialist government, which he accuses of penalizing success.
'If those in power are cowardly and impudent enough to kill the elephants... then I have decided I will ask for Russian nationality to get out of this country which has become nothing more than an animal cemetery,' Bardot said in a statement.
Owners Cirque Pinder also said on Friday they would appeal to save the elephants, which first tested positive for tuberculosis in 2010 but have since been kept in a zoo in Lyon away from the general public.
Bardot, who first rose to fame as a screen siren in the 1956 Roger Vadim film 'And God Created Woman', has become an increasingly controversial figure with her outbursts on animal rights, but also on gays, immigrants and the unemployed.
Since retiring from the screen in the 1970s she has become a semi-recluse, devoting herself to her Brigitte Bardot Foundation for animal rights, and has frequently taken aim at Eid al-Adha festivities when Muslims ritually slaughter sheep.
In 2008 she was convicted for a fifth time in 11 years for incitement to religious hatred, over a 2006 tract on Eid al-Adha in which she said the Muslim community in France was 'destroying our country by imposing its acts'.
(Reporting By Vicky Buffery, editing by Paul Casciato)
This news article is brought to you by STOCK MARKET BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
The animals, named Baby and Nepal and owned by a touring circus, are thought to be carrying tuberculosis and were ordered to be put down by a court in Lyon, southern France, on Friday as a precautionary measure.
Bardot's threat comes a day after fellow actor Depardieu caused a storm in France by becoming a Russian citizen in protest at high tax rates proposed by the Socialist government, which he accuses of penalizing success.
'If those in power are cowardly and impudent enough to kill the elephants... then I have decided I will ask for Russian nationality to get out of this country which has become nothing more than an animal cemetery,' Bardot said in a statement.
Owners Cirque Pinder also said on Friday they would appeal to save the elephants, which first tested positive for tuberculosis in 2010 but have since been kept in a zoo in Lyon away from the general public.
Bardot, who first rose to fame as a screen siren in the 1956 Roger Vadim film 'And God Created Woman', has become an increasingly controversial figure with her outbursts on animal rights, but also on gays, immigrants and the unemployed.
Since retiring from the screen in the 1970s she has become a semi-recluse, devoting herself to her Brigitte Bardot Foundation for animal rights, and has frequently taken aim at Eid al-Adha festivities when Muslims ritually slaughter sheep.
In 2008 she was convicted for a fifth time in 11 years for incitement to religious hatred, over a 2006 tract on Eid al-Adha in which she said the Muslim community in France was 'destroying our country by imposing its acts'.
(Reporting By Vicky Buffery, editing by Paul Casciato)
This news article is brought to you by STOCK MARKET BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
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