By Crispian Balmer and Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - In his first public Mass, Pope Francis urged the Catholic Church on Thursday to stick to its Gospel roots and shun modern temptations, warning that it would become just another charitable group if it forgot its true mission.
In a heartfelt, simple homily, the Argentinian pope laid out a clear moral path for the 1.2-billion-member Church, which is beset by scandals, intrigue and strife.
Addressing cardinals in the frescoed Sistine Chapel the day after his election there, Jorge Bergoglio said the Church should be more focused on the Gospels of Jesus Christ.
'We can walk all we want, we can build many things, but if we don't proclaim Jesus Christ, something is wrong. We would become a compassionate NGO and not a Church which is the bride of Christ,' he said, speaking in Italian without notes.
The first non-European pope in 1,300 years, Bergoglio's initial steps suggested he would bring a new style to the papacy, favoring humility and simplicity over pomp, grandeur and ambition among its top officials.
Whereas his predecessor, Pope Benedict, delivered his first homily in Latin, laying out his broad vision for the Church, Francis adopted the tone of parish priest, focusing on faith.
'When we walk without the cross, when we build without the cross and when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly,' he told the massed ranks of cardinals clad in golden vestments.
'We may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, all of this, but we are not disciples of the Lord,' he added.
Earlier, Pope Francis had quietly slipped out of the Vatican to pray for guidance at one of Rome's great basilicas before returning briefly to a Rome hostel, where he had left his bags before entering the secret conclave on Tuesday.
Francis, who has a reputation for frugality and an understated lifestyle, insisted on paying the bill. 'He was concerned about giving a good example of what priests and bishops should do,' a Vatican spokesman said.
Father Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, who lives in the same residence in the winding backstreets of central Rome, told Reuters: 'I don't think he needs to worry about the bill. This house is part of the Church and it's his Church now.'
GOOD HEALTH
The new pontiff has postponed for a few days a trip to the papal summer retreat south of Rome, to meet Benedict, who last month became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, saying that at 85 he was too frail to lead the troubled Church.
Francis is, at 76, older than many other contenders for the papacy and his age was one of several big surprises about the selection of the Argentine cardinal. The Vatican said on Thursday he was 'in very good shape' despite having a lung partially removed more than 50 years ago.
Bergoglio is the first Jesuit pope, an order traditionally dedicated to serving the papacy, and the first to take the name Francis in honor of the 12th-century Italian saint from Assisi who spurned wealth to pursue a life of poverty.
No Vatican watchers had expected the conservative Argentinian to get the nod, and some of the background to the surprise vote began trickling out on Thursday.
French Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard told reporters: 'We were looking for a pope who was spiritual, a shepherd. I think with Cardinal Bergoglio, we have this kind of person. He is also a man of great intellectual character who I believe is also a man of governance.'
Ricard added that what Bergoglio said during cardinals' meetings before the conclave also impressed the 114 electors.
Despite never having been tipped for success, Austria Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said the Argentinian was clearly popular amongst the so-called princes of the Church from the start.
'Cardinal Bergoglio wouldn't have become pope in the fifth ballot, if he had not been a really strong contender for the papacy from the beginning,' he said.
Morale among the faithful has been hit by a widespread child sex abuse scandal and in-fighting in the Church government or Curia, which many prelates believe needs radical reform.
Francis is seen as a Church leader with the common touch and communications skills, in sharp contrast with Benedict's aloof intellectual nature.
The new style was immediately on display on Wednesday as he took his first tentative steps as pontiff into the public gaze, addressing cheering crowds gathered in the cobbled esplanade beneath St. Peter's Basilica.
'I ask a favor of you ... pray for me,' he urged the crowds, telling them the 114 other cardinal-electors 'went almost to the end of the world' to find a new leader.
CHANGE OF DIRECTION
Bergoglio's election answered some fundamental questions about the direction of the Church in the coming years.
After more than a millennium of European leadership, the cardinal-electors looked to Latin America, where 42 percent of the world's Catholics live. The continent is more focused on poverty and the rise of evangelical churches than questions of materialism and sexual abuse, which dominate in the West.
Italian media commentators said on Thursday the power of the Italian voting bloc amongst the cardinals, nearly a quarter of the total, had been undermined by the 'Vatileaks' scandal that revealed turmoil and corruption inside the Curia.
This reduced the chances of election of one of the front runners, Milan Archbishop Angelo Scola.
Italian bishops had egg on their faces on Thursday after it was revealed that they sent congratulations to Scola, assuming he had been chosen, just after Bergoglio appeared at the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica following his election.
Bergoglio was born into a family of seven, his father an Italian immigrant railway worker and his mother a housewife. He became a priest at 32, a decade after losing a lung due to respiratory illness and quitting his chemistry studies. He has a reputation as someone willing to challenge powerful interests and has had a sometimes difficult relationship with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.
Displaying his conservative orthodoxy, he has spoken out strongly against gay marriage, denouncing it in 2010 as 'an attempt to destroy God's plan,' and is expected to pursue the uncompromising moral teachings of Benedict and John Paul II, but with a great concern for the poor and social problems.
According to New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Francis raised gales of laughter from fellow cardinals at a relaxed dinner after his election, telling them: 'May God forgive you.'
At the Basilica of St. Francis in the Italian town of Assisi, the monks were overjoyed at Francis's choice of name. One of them, Father Guillermo Spirito, said he was also from Argentina.
'I have great admiration for his great humility, his simple, everyman manner. The last time I was with him was in 2010 and he told me that St. Francis was a paradigm of how to live the gospel,' he told Reuters.
Francis' inaugural Mass will be held on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Catherine Hornby, Antonio Denti, Naomi O'Leary, Tom Heneghan, Philip Pullella and Keith Weir; writing by Barry Moody; editing by Alastair Macdonald and Giles Elgood)
Thursday, March 14, 2013
New pope slips out of Vatican for morning prayer visit
By Philip Pullella and Crispian Balmer
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility.
Francis, the Argentinian cardinal who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300 years, went to Rome's 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore; there he prayed before a famed icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which is known as the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People.
'He spoke to us cordially, like a father,' said Father Ludovico Melo, a priest who prayed with the new pontiff. 'We were given 10 minutes' advance notice that the pope was coming.'
The first leader of the church to come from the Americas, home to nearly half the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Francis also takes the title of bishop of Rome.
In his first words to the crowd in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday evening he made clear that he would take that part of his role seriously and made good on the promise by visiting one of the Italian capital's most important churches.
From there, he asked the driver to go to a Rome residence for priests so that he could pick up bags he left there before he moved to a guesthouse inside the Vatican for the electoral conclave - a wry reminder that he did not expect to become pope.
Later on Thursday he was to go to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, to pay meet Emeritus Pope Benedict, who last month became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, saying that at 85 he was too frail to tackle all the problems of the Church. Francis is, at 76, older than many other contenders for the papacy.
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio's election has broken Europe's centuries-old grip on the papacy; he is also the first to take the name Francis, in honor of the 12th-century Italian saint from Assisi who spurned wealth to pursue a life of poverty.
His elevation on the second day of a closed-door conclave of cardinals came as a surprise, with many Vatican watchers expecting a longer deliberation, and none predicting the conservative Argentinian would get the nod.
The 266th pontiff in the Church's 2,000-year history, Francis is taking the helm at a time of great crisis.
Morale among the faithful has been hit by a widespread child sex abuse scandal and in-fighting in the Vatican bureaucracy, which many in the Church say needs radical reform.
A cartoon in Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper showed the new pope telling the crowd on Wednesday about his surprise at being elected and then, pointing to aides, he says: 'But that's nothing compared to the surprises in store for them.'
When he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he looked as startled as anyone, hesitating a moment before stepping out to greet the huge crowds gathered in the square below to catch a glimpse of the new pontiff.
'I ask a favor of you ... pray for me,' he urged the cheering crowds, telling them the 114 other cardinal-electors 'went almost to the end of the world' to find a new leader.
'Good night and have a good rest,' Bergoglio said before disappearing back into the opulent surroundings of the Vatican City - a far cry from his simple apartment in Buenos Aires.
'Yesterday he transmitted such humility, love and brotherhood,' said a woman outside the Roman church he visited on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday night, delighted priests, nuns and pilgrims danced around the obelisk in the middle of St. Peter's Square, chanting: 'Long Live the Pope' and 'Argentina, Argentina'.
In his native Argentina, jubilant Catholics poured into their local churches to celebrate.
'I hope he changes all the luxury that exists in the Vatican, that he steers the Church in a more humble direction, something closer to the gospel,' said Jorge Andres Lobato, a 73-year-old retired state prosecutor.
CHANGE OF DIRECTION
His unexpected election answered some fundamental questions about the direction of the Church in the coming years.
After more than a millennium of European leadership, the cardinal-electors looked to Latin America, where 42 percent of the world's Catholics live. The continent is more focused on poverty and the rise of evangelical churches than questions of materialism and sexual abuse, which dominate in the West.
They also chose a man with long pastoral experience, rather than an academic and Vatican insider like Benedict XVI.
'It seems that this pope will be more aware of what life is all about,' Italian theologian Massimo Faggioli told Reuters.
Bergoglio was born into a family of seven, his father an Italian immigrant railway worker and his mother a housewife. He became a priest at 32, nearly a decade after losing a lung due to respiratory illness and quitting his chemistry studies.
Despite his late start, he was leading the local Jesuit community within four years. Bergoglio has a reputation as someone willing to challenge powerful interests and has had a sometimes difficult relationship with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.
Displaying his conservative orthodoxy, he has spoken out strongly against gay marriage, denouncing it in 2010 as 'an attempt to destroy God's plan,' and is expected to pursue the uncompromising moral teachings of Benedict and John Paul II.
Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to become pope. The order was founded in the 16th century to serve the papacy and is best known for its work in education and for the intellectual prowess of its members.
The Vatican said his inaugural Mass would be held on Tuesday. U.S. President Barack Obama said the election of Francis 'speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world.'
AGE CONCERNS
In preparatory meetings before the conclave, the cardinals seemed divided between those who believed the new pontiff must be a strong manager to get the dysfunctional bureaucracy under control and others who were looking more for a proven pastoral figure to revitalize their faith across the globe.
Bergoglio was a rival candidate at the 2005 conclave to Benedict, but his name had not appeared on lists of possible contenders this time around, with many discounting him because of his age, thinking prelates wanted a younger leader.
The secret conclave began on Tuesday night with a first inconclusive ballot. Three more inconclusive ballots were held on Wednesday before Francis obtained the required two-thirds majority of 77 votes in the fifth and final vote.
Billowing white smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out to announce the news, drawing Romans and tourists to the Vatican.
According to New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Francis raised gales of laughter from fellow cardinals at a subsequent dinner, telling them: 'May God forgive you.'
(Additional reporting by Catherine Hornby, Antonio Denti, Naomi O'Leary, Tom Heneghan, Barry Moody and Keith Weir; Editing by Peter Cooney, John Stonestreet and Alastair Macdonald)
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility.
Francis, the Argentinian cardinal who has become the first pope born outside Europe in 1,300 years, went to Rome's 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore; there he prayed before a famed icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which is known as the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People.
'He spoke to us cordially, like a father,' said Father Ludovico Melo, a priest who prayed with the new pontiff. 'We were given 10 minutes' advance notice that the pope was coming.'
The first leader of the church to come from the Americas, home to nearly half the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Francis also takes the title of bishop of Rome.
In his first words to the crowd in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday evening he made clear that he would take that part of his role seriously and made good on the promise by visiting one of the Italian capital's most important churches.
From there, he asked the driver to go to a Rome residence for priests so that he could pick up bags he left there before he moved to a guesthouse inside the Vatican for the electoral conclave - a wry reminder that he did not expect to become pope.
Later on Thursday he was to go to the papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, to pay meet Emeritus Pope Benedict, who last month became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, saying that at 85 he was too frail to tackle all the problems of the Church. Francis is, at 76, older than many other contenders for the papacy.
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio's election has broken Europe's centuries-old grip on the papacy; he is also the first to take the name Francis, in honor of the 12th-century Italian saint from Assisi who spurned wealth to pursue a life of poverty.
His elevation on the second day of a closed-door conclave of cardinals came as a surprise, with many Vatican watchers expecting a longer deliberation, and none predicting the conservative Argentinian would get the nod.
The 266th pontiff in the Church's 2,000-year history, Francis is taking the helm at a time of great crisis.
Morale among the faithful has been hit by a widespread child sex abuse scandal and in-fighting in the Vatican bureaucracy, which many in the Church say needs radical reform.
A cartoon in Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper showed the new pope telling the crowd on Wednesday about his surprise at being elected and then, pointing to aides, he says: 'But that's nothing compared to the surprises in store for them.'
When he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, he looked as startled as anyone, hesitating a moment before stepping out to greet the huge crowds gathered in the square below to catch a glimpse of the new pontiff.
'I ask a favor of you ... pray for me,' he urged the cheering crowds, telling them the 114 other cardinal-electors 'went almost to the end of the world' to find a new leader.
'Good night and have a good rest,' Bergoglio said before disappearing back into the opulent surroundings of the Vatican City - a far cry from his simple apartment in Buenos Aires.
'Yesterday he transmitted such humility, love and brotherhood,' said a woman outside the Roman church he visited on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday night, delighted priests, nuns and pilgrims danced around the obelisk in the middle of St. Peter's Square, chanting: 'Long Live the Pope' and 'Argentina, Argentina'.
In his native Argentina, jubilant Catholics poured into their local churches to celebrate.
'I hope he changes all the luxury that exists in the Vatican, that he steers the Church in a more humble direction, something closer to the gospel,' said Jorge Andres Lobato, a 73-year-old retired state prosecutor.
CHANGE OF DIRECTION
His unexpected election answered some fundamental questions about the direction of the Church in the coming years.
After more than a millennium of European leadership, the cardinal-electors looked to Latin America, where 42 percent of the world's Catholics live. The continent is more focused on poverty and the rise of evangelical churches than questions of materialism and sexual abuse, which dominate in the West.
They also chose a man with long pastoral experience, rather than an academic and Vatican insider like Benedict XVI.
'It seems that this pope will be more aware of what life is all about,' Italian theologian Massimo Faggioli told Reuters.
Bergoglio was born into a family of seven, his father an Italian immigrant railway worker and his mother a housewife. He became a priest at 32, nearly a decade after losing a lung due to respiratory illness and quitting his chemistry studies.
Despite his late start, he was leading the local Jesuit community within four years. Bergoglio has a reputation as someone willing to challenge powerful interests and has had a sometimes difficult relationship with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.
Displaying his conservative orthodoxy, he has spoken out strongly against gay marriage, denouncing it in 2010 as 'an attempt to destroy God's plan,' and is expected to pursue the uncompromising moral teachings of Benedict and John Paul II.
Bergoglio is the first Jesuit to become pope. The order was founded in the 16th century to serve the papacy and is best known for its work in education and for the intellectual prowess of its members.
The Vatican said his inaugural Mass would be held on Tuesday. U.S. President Barack Obama said the election of Francis 'speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world.'
AGE CONCERNS
In preparatory meetings before the conclave, the cardinals seemed divided between those who believed the new pontiff must be a strong manager to get the dysfunctional bureaucracy under control and others who were looking more for a proven pastoral figure to revitalize their faith across the globe.
Bergoglio was a rival candidate at the 2005 conclave to Benedict, but his name had not appeared on lists of possible contenders this time around, with many discounting him because of his age, thinking prelates wanted a younger leader.
The secret conclave began on Tuesday night with a first inconclusive ballot. Three more inconclusive ballots were held on Wednesday before Francis obtained the required two-thirds majority of 77 votes in the fifth and final vote.
Billowing white smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out to announce the news, drawing Romans and tourists to the Vatican.
According to New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Francis raised gales of laughter from fellow cardinals at a subsequent dinner, telling them: 'May God forgive you.'
(Additional reporting by Catherine Hornby, Antonio Denti, Naomi O'Leary, Tom Heneghan, Barry Moody and Keith Weir; Editing by Peter Cooney, John Stonestreet and Alastair Macdonald)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Actor Ed Asner treated in hospital for exhaustion
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Veteran actor Ed Asner was rushed to a hospital on Tuesday night while performing in a one-man show in Gary, Indiana and was being treated for exhaustion, his publicist said on Wednesday.
Asner, 83, 'had to be taken off stage due to exhaustion and is resting comfortably at a Chicago-area hospital,' Charles Sherman told Reuters.
The actor, best known for his role as Lou Grant in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and a later dramatic series 'Lou Grant,' both of which won him Emmy awards, 'is expected to be released later today,' Sherman said.
Asner was performing a one-man show, 'FDR,' in which he plays President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Earlier in the evening he had conducted an acting class in Gary, but appeared disoriented when the performance began. Medical personnel were called.
Sherman said Asner, who has served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, had been slated to perform 'F.D.R.' in other cities later this week, and he did not know whether those performances would be canceled or rescheduled.
Last week another 'Mary Tyler Moore' veteran, Valerie Harper, revealed she is suffering from incurable brain cancer, and may have only months to live.
(Editing by Chris Michaud)
Asner, 83, 'had to be taken off stage due to exhaustion and is resting comfortably at a Chicago-area hospital,' Charles Sherman told Reuters.
The actor, best known for his role as Lou Grant in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and a later dramatic series 'Lou Grant,' both of which won him Emmy awards, 'is expected to be released later today,' Sherman said.
Asner was performing a one-man show, 'FDR,' in which he plays President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Earlier in the evening he had conducted an acting class in Gary, but appeared disoriented when the performance began. Medical personnel were called.
Sherman said Asner, who has served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, had been slated to perform 'F.D.R.' in other cities later this week, and he did not know whether those performances would be canceled or rescheduled.
Last week another 'Mary Tyler Moore' veteran, Valerie Harper, revealed she is suffering from incurable brain cancer, and may have only months to live.
(Editing by Chris Michaud)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Facebook's Sandberg says men need to mentor women more
By Liana B. Baker
(Reuters) - Sheryl Sandberg's new book 'Lean In' challenges men in the upper echelons of corporate America to take more women under their wing.
Sandberg is on a promotional blitz for the new book, which has been praised as an ambitious reboot of feminism and criticized as a manifesto directed to women from a privileged perch. On Tuesday, she said men need to amp up their mentoring of women, especially younger ones just starting out in their careers.
Noting that men hold 86 percent of the top jobs in corporate America, Sandberg said in a interview Tuesday that, 'We want women to get into those jobs, but if we don't get older men to mentor and sponsor younger women, this will never happen.'
Sandberg's book was born out of talks she gave starting in 2010 about how the world has scant female leaders in politics and corporations.
After studying at Harvard and working at the U.S. Treasury Department, Sandberg rose to the top of Silicon Valley, jumping from Google to Chief Operating Officer at Facebook while raising two children.
Sandberg acknowledged that there are stereotypes and double standards to tear down in mentoring relationships. An older man and a younger woman seen together at dinner or drinks looks like a date, while two men discussing business together looks perfectly normal, she said.
To underscore Sandberg's point, 'Lean In' highlights a study published by the Center for Work-Life Policy and the Harvard Business Review that found men in high positions at companies were nervous meeting a younger woman one-on-one.
She also recounts an encounter with Larry Summers, who as U.S. Treasury Secretary served as her boss. Working on a speech together one night until 3 a.m. in South Africa, Sandberg had to make sure no one saw her step out of Summers' hotel room so late at night. Men, for example, never have to worry about that situation and it helps them move up faster in a corporate environment, she said.
'I want everyone to have the same policies for everyone and get explicit about them,' Sandberg said.
Besides mentoring, she said male corporate executives need to be more cognizant of how women are perceived negatively once they start moving up. She calls this a 'likeability gap' that holds women back from being ambitious. Managers should think twice before they give a performance review that calls a woman 'aggressive,' she said.
'As a woman gets more successful, everyone likes her less. This completely changes how women are portrayed in the office. What I believe is if you can make people aware of this bias that we all face - men and women alike - we can change it,' she said in a separate television interview with Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Chrystia Freeland; Editing by Peter Lauria and L Gevirtz)
(Reuters) - Sheryl Sandberg's new book 'Lean In' challenges men in the upper echelons of corporate America to take more women under their wing.
Sandberg is on a promotional blitz for the new book, which has been praised as an ambitious reboot of feminism and criticized as a manifesto directed to women from a privileged perch. On Tuesday, she said men need to amp up their mentoring of women, especially younger ones just starting out in their careers.
Noting that men hold 86 percent of the top jobs in corporate America, Sandberg said in a interview Tuesday that, 'We want women to get into those jobs, but if we don't get older men to mentor and sponsor younger women, this will never happen.'
Sandberg's book was born out of talks she gave starting in 2010 about how the world has scant female leaders in politics and corporations.
After studying at Harvard and working at the U.S. Treasury Department, Sandberg rose to the top of Silicon Valley, jumping from Google to Chief Operating Officer at Facebook while raising two children.
Sandberg acknowledged that there are stereotypes and double standards to tear down in mentoring relationships. An older man and a younger woman seen together at dinner or drinks looks like a date, while two men discussing business together looks perfectly normal, she said.
To underscore Sandberg's point, 'Lean In' highlights a study published by the Center for Work-Life Policy and the Harvard Business Review that found men in high positions at companies were nervous meeting a younger woman one-on-one.
She also recounts an encounter with Larry Summers, who as U.S. Treasury Secretary served as her boss. Working on a speech together one night until 3 a.m. in South Africa, Sandberg had to make sure no one saw her step out of Summers' hotel room so late at night. Men, for example, never have to worry about that situation and it helps them move up faster in a corporate environment, she said.
'I want everyone to have the same policies for everyone and get explicit about them,' Sandberg said.
Besides mentoring, she said male corporate executives need to be more cognizant of how women are perceived negatively once they start moving up. She calls this a 'likeability gap' that holds women back from being ambitious. Managers should think twice before they give a performance review that calls a woman 'aggressive,' she said.
'As a woman gets more successful, everyone likes her less. This completely changes how women are portrayed in the office. What I believe is if you can make people aware of this bias that we all face - men and women alike - we can change it,' she said in a separate television interview with Reuters.
(Additional reporting by Chrystia Freeland; Editing by Peter Lauria and L Gevirtz)
Teenaged Olympic athlete Douglas to publish second memoir
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Olympic gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas, not yet 18, will publish her second memoir next month, publisher Zondervan said on Tuesday.
Douglas, 17, a gold medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics in both team and individual all-around gymnastics competition, will publish 'Raising the Bar', a follow-up to her 2012 best-selling memoir 'Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith', on April 30, the publishers said in a release.
Zondervan is a division of HarperCollins that specializes in Christian-oriented books.
The book will offer a behind-the-scenes look into Douglas' life, including color photos, personal stories and details on the athlete's present-day life - from walking red carpets and appearing on TV shows such as 'The Vampire Diaries' while also making time for friends, family and training.
''Raising the Bar' explores what it's like to be an everyday teen with a not-so-everyday life,' Zondervan said.
Douglas, who began training at age 6 and became the Virginia State Champion just 2 years later, made history last year when she became the first U.S. gymnast to take home a team and an individual gold medal in the same games. She was first African-American to win the individual gold.
Since the 2012 London Olympics thrust the young gymnast into the public eye, Douglas has appeared at the Democratic National Convention, the MTV Video Awards, on the cover of Time magazine and on special edition boxes of corn flake cereal, along with her gold medal.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Richard Chang)
Douglas, 17, a gold medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics in both team and individual all-around gymnastics competition, will publish 'Raising the Bar', a follow-up to her 2012 best-selling memoir 'Grace, Gold & Glory: My Leap of Faith', on April 30, the publishers said in a release.
Zondervan is a division of HarperCollins that specializes in Christian-oriented books.
The book will offer a behind-the-scenes look into Douglas' life, including color photos, personal stories and details on the athlete's present-day life - from walking red carpets and appearing on TV shows such as 'The Vampire Diaries' while also making time for friends, family and training.
''Raising the Bar' explores what it's like to be an everyday teen with a not-so-everyday life,' Zondervan said.
Douglas, who began training at age 6 and became the Virginia State Champion just 2 years later, made history last year when she became the first U.S. gymnast to take home a team and an individual gold medal in the same games. She was first African-American to win the individual gold.
Since the 2012 London Olympics thrust the young gymnast into the public eye, Douglas has appeared at the Democratic National Convention, the MTV Video Awards, on the cover of Time magazine and on special edition boxes of corn flake cereal, along with her gold medal.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Richard Chang)
Ridley Scott partners with Machinima to produce 12 science-fiction shorts
By Greg Gilman
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ridley Scott and his commercial company, Ridley Scott and Associates, have partnered with online network Machinima to produce 12 original sci-fi short films, Machinima announced on Monday.
RSA's directing talent will helm 'original high octane science fiction content' to be distributed through Machinima, which boasts the No. 1 entertainment channel on YouTube.
Machinima CEO Allen DeBevoise hopes the partnership with Scott will result in new franchises for the genre.
'By combining this unique incubation model together with our powerful partnership of established creative talent and scaled distribution to millions on Machinima,' DeBevoise said, 'we believe new Sci-Fi franchises will be born.'
Machinima's original content and scripted series are aimed at the 18- to 34-year-old male demographic, which recently delighted in the company's adaptation of 'Mortal Kombat' - a videogame franchise that inspired two Hollywood productions in the '90s.
The first season of the web series, called 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy,' has racked up more than 60 million views and inspired Warner Bros. to begin developing a new feature film. The second season kicks off this spring.
Scott, the director of science-fiction classics 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner,' is eager to take advantage of the medium that propelled 'Mortal Kombat' back into relevance and hopes his own original content will connect with the same audience.
'With new media transforming the way audiences connect with films and filmmakers, Machinima is a great partner for us as we embark on this new model of delivering original content to fans,' Scott said in a statement. 'It's a tremendous opportunity for pushing the creative boundaries for both our filmmakers and the audience.'
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Ridley Scott and his commercial company, Ridley Scott and Associates, have partnered with online network Machinima to produce 12 original sci-fi short films, Machinima announced on Monday.
RSA's directing talent will helm 'original high octane science fiction content' to be distributed through Machinima, which boasts the No. 1 entertainment channel on YouTube.
Machinima CEO Allen DeBevoise hopes the partnership with Scott will result in new franchises for the genre.
'By combining this unique incubation model together with our powerful partnership of established creative talent and scaled distribution to millions on Machinima,' DeBevoise said, 'we believe new Sci-Fi franchises will be born.'
Machinima's original content and scripted series are aimed at the 18- to 34-year-old male demographic, which recently delighted in the company's adaptation of 'Mortal Kombat' - a videogame franchise that inspired two Hollywood productions in the '90s.
The first season of the web series, called 'Mortal Kombat: Legacy,' has racked up more than 60 million views and inspired Warner Bros. to begin developing a new feature film. The second season kicks off this spring.
Scott, the director of science-fiction classics 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner,' is eager to take advantage of the medium that propelled 'Mortal Kombat' back into relevance and hopes his own original content will connect with the same audience.
'With new media transforming the way audiences connect with films and filmmakers, Machinima is a great partner for us as we embark on this new model of delivering original content to fans,' Scott said in a statement. 'It's a tremendous opportunity for pushing the creative boundaries for both our filmmakers and the audience.'
Monday, March 11, 2013
Olivia Newton-John: sweetheart, sex idol, rock chick, radio star
By Mike Collett-White
LONDON (Reuters) - With a range spanning the cardigan-clad sweetheart in the hit musical 'Grease' and the leotarded gym instructor in the raunchy single 'Physical', no one could accuse Olivia Newton-John of playing it safe in 40 years of singing country, pop and rock.
The Australian, who was born in England and is touring there for the first time in 35 years, admits to being terrified at some of the choices she made in a career boasting four Grammy awards and a lead role in the biggest musical movie hit in U.S. history.
'I like a challenge,' Newton-John, 64, told Reuters in an interview before starting a six-concert tour that ends on March 17 in Manchester.
'I was always afraid of these changes but I did them anyway, kind of 'face your fears' ... because I felt you also had to challenge yourself a little bit. But I was terrified.'
The 1981 release of 'Physical', a song from the album of the same name, was banned by some radio stations in the United States banned for raunchy lyrics such as 'There's nothing left to talk about/Unless it's horizontally.'
'I remember calling (manager) Roger Davies right after I'd finished it ... and going 'Oh, I'm not sure we should put this out, it's a little too risqué'. He said: 'It's too late, love, it's gone to radio'.'
Adding to the controversy was the video, in which Newton-John played a gym instructor in a tight leotard surrounded by oiled body-builders portrayed as gay in a twist ending.
FROM NICE TO NAUGHTY
'I look back now and it's hilarious, because that was so naughty in its time,' she recalled. 'That was another challenge that worked, thank goodness. It was either going to be a big success or nothing. There was no in-between with that song.
'It was banned in Utah and I did my television special for the Physical Tour in Utah. I remember I was probably so terrified I got sick right before the shoot.'
In fact, 'Physical' proved to be the pinnacle of Newton-John's solo career, topping the U.S. pop charts and becoming one of the best-selling singles of the decade.
By then, Newton-John had already left her comfort zone more than once. She recalled pursuing a career as a performer despite resistance from her parents, who wanted her to finish school.
She comes from an academic background - her grandfather was Max Born, a German-British Nobel Prize-winning quantum physicist.
'My grandfather apparently used to play music with Einstein, they used to play chamber music together, so it (the musical gene) goes back,' Newton-John said.
She left Australia for Britain in the 60s to make it as a pop star. By the early 70s, she had featured in the charts and on television before representing the United Kingdom at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fourth behind winners ABBA.
Then came a move to the United States, where Newton-John broke into the country music scene despite being considered an outsider. Her hit 'Let Me Be There' won her a country vocal Grammy.
SANDY IN SPANDEX
The next gamble came with 'Grease', the hit 1978 film adaptation of the Broadway musical that would turn her into a household name.
'Grease itself was a bold enough move - playing the second character in Grease, and for that to be so successful, I mean, who knew?'
Her character's transformation from clean-cut 'Sandy 1' to spandex-clad 'Sandy 2', out to snare John Travolta's Danny, was one that she took into real life, ditching the safety of soft pop and country for an edgier image and sound.
The name of her next album? 'Totally Hot'.
'The raunchy kind of image that Sandy 2 had, it gave an opportunity to change my direction a little bit and do something a little more fun,' she said.
'I did country, and then it was pop, and then 'Grease' kind of went into rock and so I got to change a little bit. Everyone does it now, but then it probably wasn't so common.'
Newton-John, now based on the west coast of the United States along with her family including daughter Chloe, said she would continue to record new music but may cut back on touring.
'I have so many ... other things I'm passionate about and involved in and I love singing and I love recording, but touring takes a toll and you're away from home a lot,' she explained.
Newton-John, who survived breast cancer in 1992, has set up a cancer centre in Australia and has campaigned on issues including deforestation, dolphin culling and fracking.
Why does she take on so many issues outside music?
'I think it's really for my mum,' she said. 'My mum was always writing letters to the council about problems, and so I think I owe that to her.'
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
LONDON (Reuters) - With a range spanning the cardigan-clad sweetheart in the hit musical 'Grease' and the leotarded gym instructor in the raunchy single 'Physical', no one could accuse Olivia Newton-John of playing it safe in 40 years of singing country, pop and rock.
The Australian, who was born in England and is touring there for the first time in 35 years, admits to being terrified at some of the choices she made in a career boasting four Grammy awards and a lead role in the biggest musical movie hit in U.S. history.
'I like a challenge,' Newton-John, 64, told Reuters in an interview before starting a six-concert tour that ends on March 17 in Manchester.
'I was always afraid of these changes but I did them anyway, kind of 'face your fears' ... because I felt you also had to challenge yourself a little bit. But I was terrified.'
The 1981 release of 'Physical', a song from the album of the same name, was banned by some radio stations in the United States banned for raunchy lyrics such as 'There's nothing left to talk about/Unless it's horizontally.'
'I remember calling (manager) Roger Davies right after I'd finished it ... and going 'Oh, I'm not sure we should put this out, it's a little too risqué'. He said: 'It's too late, love, it's gone to radio'.'
Adding to the controversy was the video, in which Newton-John played a gym instructor in a tight leotard surrounded by oiled body-builders portrayed as gay in a twist ending.
FROM NICE TO NAUGHTY
'I look back now and it's hilarious, because that was so naughty in its time,' she recalled. 'That was another challenge that worked, thank goodness. It was either going to be a big success or nothing. There was no in-between with that song.
'It was banned in Utah and I did my television special for the Physical Tour in Utah. I remember I was probably so terrified I got sick right before the shoot.'
In fact, 'Physical' proved to be the pinnacle of Newton-John's solo career, topping the U.S. pop charts and becoming one of the best-selling singles of the decade.
By then, Newton-John had already left her comfort zone more than once. She recalled pursuing a career as a performer despite resistance from her parents, who wanted her to finish school.
She comes from an academic background - her grandfather was Max Born, a German-British Nobel Prize-winning quantum physicist.
'My grandfather apparently used to play music with Einstein, they used to play chamber music together, so it (the musical gene) goes back,' Newton-John said.
She left Australia for Britain in the 60s to make it as a pop star. By the early 70s, she had featured in the charts and on television before representing the United Kingdom at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fourth behind winners ABBA.
Then came a move to the United States, where Newton-John broke into the country music scene despite being considered an outsider. Her hit 'Let Me Be There' won her a country vocal Grammy.
SANDY IN SPANDEX
The next gamble came with 'Grease', the hit 1978 film adaptation of the Broadway musical that would turn her into a household name.
'Grease itself was a bold enough move - playing the second character in Grease, and for that to be so successful, I mean, who knew?'
Her character's transformation from clean-cut 'Sandy 1' to spandex-clad 'Sandy 2', out to snare John Travolta's Danny, was one that she took into real life, ditching the safety of soft pop and country for an edgier image and sound.
The name of her next album? 'Totally Hot'.
'The raunchy kind of image that Sandy 2 had, it gave an opportunity to change my direction a little bit and do something a little more fun,' she said.
'I did country, and then it was pop, and then 'Grease' kind of went into rock and so I got to change a little bit. Everyone does it now, but then it probably wasn't so common.'
Newton-John, now based on the west coast of the United States along with her family including daughter Chloe, said she would continue to record new music but may cut back on touring.
'I have so many ... other things I'm passionate about and involved in and I love singing and I love recording, but touring takes a toll and you're away from home a lot,' she explained.
Newton-John, who survived breast cancer in 1992, has set up a cancer centre in Australia and has campaigned on issues including deforestation, dolphin culling and fracking.
Why does she take on so many issues outside music?
'I think it's really for my mum,' she said. 'My mum was always writing letters to the council about problems, and so I think I owe that to her.'
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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