ENTERTAINMENT NEWS on aforadio.com : MONDAY,AUGUST 16,2010
Posted in E-News on 15. Aug, 2010
Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed memorials may be about to be removed from Harrods
Royal family won’t patronise Harrods again until memorials are removed
(credit :telegraph uk /Tim Walker/
Eager for Harrods to regain the patronage of the Royal Family, the store’s new Qatari owners are considering the removal – at a discreet interval after Mohamed Fayed steps down as the company’s honorary chairman in November – of the two memorials that the Egyptian tycoon erected to the memory of his son, Dodi, and Diana, Princess of Wales.
“I can’t see a member of the Royal Family resuming patronage while they remain in the store,” a senior courtier tells Mandrake. “One of the memorials is entitled Innocent Victims, which is consistent with Mr Fayed’s bizarre claims that the Duke of Edinburgh had a hand in the deaths of the princess and his son. Obviously, this is offensive in the extreme.”
It was Fayed’s allegation that Prince Philip “ordered” the car crash which killed Diana and Dodi which proved the final straw for the Windsors. In 2000, when they ceased to be patrons, the coats of arms of Prince Philip, the Queen, the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother and the Prince of Wales were removed from the four corners of the iconic shop’s Knightsbridge premises.
Since the Qatari royal family bought Harrods in a £1.5 billion deal in May, there has been much talk of a “step change” in the way that the business conducts itself. I disclosed the following month how the new owners appeared to be trying to mend fences with Prince Philip by inviting his friend Joanna Lumley to open the store’s summer sale. In the event, the actress had to withdraw, citing work commitments.
A spokesman for Harrods insists that no decision about the future of the memorials has been made. One potential stumbling block had been seen as the building’s listed status, but Helen Bowman, of English Heritage, confirms that the memorials could legally be removed. “These are temporary structures, and, as such, were not part of the original assessment of the building’s architectural and historic merit. We appreciate, however, that there may be affection for them.”
Innocent Victims, which was unveiled in 2005, is a 3m high bronze statue of Diana and Dodi dancing on a beach beneath the wings of an albatross. An earlier memorial, unveiled in April 1998, consists of photographs of the pair behind a pyramid-shaped display that holds a wine glass still smudged with lipstick from Diana’s last dinner as well as a ring Fayed’s son purchased for her the day before they both died during a visit to Paris.
Prince Charles warns of ‘environmental crisis’
The Prince of Wales is preparing to go into battle again over what he sees as the tyranny of modern architecture – just weeks after being embroiled in the bitter, headline-making row over the proposed £3 billion redevelopment of Chelsea barracks.
The prince has written a new book called Harmony, to be published in October, in which he spells out how he believes mankind has lost out in the modern age by forsaking traditional architecture in favour of modern designs.
He bemoans how areas as diverse as architecture, farming and medicine have each abandoned the classical balances with nature that existed in pre-industrial times.
The heir to the throne warns that this disassociation from nature has triggered “the greatest environmental crisis in the history of mankind”.
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Stallone durable at box office with “Expendables”
Credit: Reuters/Thomas Peter /LOS ANGELES | Sun Aug 15, 2010 12:17pm EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sylvester Stallone outmuscled Julia Roberts at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday to score the biggest opening of his career with his new film “The Expendables.”
The action hero’s all-star mercenary thriller earned an estimated $35 million across the United States and Canada during its first three days of release, distributor Lionsgate said.
The opening, which was in line with bullish expectations, marks a boost not only for Stallone, who directed and co-wrote the project as well, but also for Lionsgate, whose Lions Gate Entertainment Corp parent is fending off a hostile takeover from investor Carl Icahn.
Julia Roberts, whose career has been almost as cold as Stallone’s in recent years, followed at a distant No. 2 with “Eat Pray Love.” The big-screen adaptation of a bestselling memoir of a woman’s international search for herself, opened with $23.7 million, also in line with expectations.
The female-skewing drama was released by Sony Corp’s Columbia Pictures, which topped the box office last weekend with “The Other Guys.” The Will Ferrell cop comedy fell to No. 3 with $18 million, taking its 10-day total to $70.5 million.
A third newcomer, the comic-book adaptation “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” bombed at No. 5 with $10.5 million. It marks the second disappointment this month for General Electric Co-owned distributor Universal Pictures, following “Charlie St. Cloud.”
Stallone, 64, was last in theaters with a pair of modest retreads revisiting his glory days, 2008’s “Rambo” and 2006’s “Rocky Balboa.” They opened to $18 million and $12 million, respectively.
His best opening, before accounting for ticket-price inflation was the $33 million start for the children’s movie “Spy Kids 3D” in 2003. On an adjusted basis, he did better with a pair of films in 1985: “Rambo: First Blood Part II” and “Rocky IV,” with about $45 million each, according to tracking firm Box Office Mojo.
“The Expendables,” whose multinational lineup includes English tough guy Jason Statham, Sweden’s Dolph Lundgren and Chinese martial-arts veteran Jet Li, revolves around a team of mercenaries who inflict carnage on a fictional South American dictatorship. Bruce Willis and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have cameos. Roberts’ older brother Eric, from whom the actress was once estranged, plays a villain.
The film was made by independent producer Avi Lerner’s Nu Image/Millennium for about $85 million. Lionsgate paid $20 million for distribution rights.
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“Toy Story 3″ top-grossing animated film of all time
A scene from ”Toy Story 3”.
Credit: Reuters/Disney/Pixar
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Woody and his pals have elbowed aside the green ogre, with Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 3″ climbing above Paramount/DreamWorks’ “Shrek 2″ to become the top-grossing animated film worldwide.
Walt Disney Studios announced Friday that “Toy” has taken in $920 million at the global box office, topping “Shrek’s” $919.8 million. Globally, it’s Disney’s fourth-highest-grossing film, trailing two of the instalments in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.”
The 3D toon also has crossed the $400 million mark domestically, the second Disney film to hit that level, after 2006’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” which took in $423 million domestically.
In 1995, Pixar launched the “Toy Story” franchise, with its central characters of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and their fellow toys.
Released June 18, “Toy Story 3,” directed by Lee Unkrich, recorded Pixar’s highest-grossing opening weekend, taking in $109 million in North America, and was the 11th Disney/Pixar title to debut in the No. 1 position on its opening weekend of wide release. The movie will be released on Blu-ray and DVD November 2.
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Who Are TV’s Top Earners?
Hugh Laurie, Oprah Winfrey, Charlie Sheen
Network and studio executives tell TV Guide Magazine they’ve adopted a get-tough policy on salaries for stars of the new fall shows. While the salary for a lead has been $150,000 to $200,000 per episode in recent years, most deals for stars of new series were between $75,000 and $125,000. “No one broke the bank on anything this year,” says one former studio head.
A case in point is a negotiation with a veteran film actor who for years has been coveted by several networks to do series TV. He was in discussions for a lead role in one of the new dramas that made the fall schedule. His asking price was $250,000. The network and the studio said no way. When the actor refused to go below $200,000, the network and studio moved on and hired someone else.
Why the hard line? The broadcast networks have been in a cost-cutting mode since ad revenues were hard-hit by the recession. While the ad market is recovering, they are also coping with a changing long-term financial picture as DVR playback and online viewing have greatly diminished the ratings on the second network run of shows, once the source of windfall profits.
There is an effort to keep talent costs down on their veteran hits as well. ABC’s Brothers & Sisters, which once had four actors earning $150,000 or more per episode, will lose Rob Lowe and have only 18 episodes next season instead of the typical 22. Some regulars will appear in fewer episodes. Marg Helgenberger’s new deal with CSI also calls for her to have a lighter workload next season and helps to trim the show’s budget in the face of declining ratings.
If a show is on the rise, it’s a different story. The stars of The Big Bang Theory—Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco—all currently make well under $100,000 per episode. Their bank accounts are about to benefit from the show’s rise to the top of Nielsen rankings among viewers in the 18 to 49 age group and a successful sale into syndication. “I think they’ll give an extra year to their studio, Warner Bros., in exchange for each of them getting $150,000 to $200,000 an episode,” says one network executive. “They’ll get bumps from there and could get up to $300,000 an episode. If it’s a hit show, you start paying.”
Additional reporting by William Keck and Michael Schneider
The top earners, by category:
Drama (per episode)
Hugh Laurie (House) $400,000+
Christopher Meloni & Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) $395,000 (each)
David Caruso (CSI: Miami) $375,000
Marg Helgenberger (CSI) $375,000
Mark Harmon (NCIS) $375,000
Laurence Fishburne (CSI) $350,000
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) $350,000
Denis Leary (Rescue Me) $350,000
Gary Sinise (CSI: NY ) $275,000
Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy) $250,000
David Boreanaz (Bones) $200,000
Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice) $200,000
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife ) $175,000
Dana Delany (Body of Proof ) $150,000
Lauren Graham (Parenthood) $150,000
Jada Pinkett Smith (HawthoRNe) $150,000
Jimmy Smits (Outlaw) $150,000
LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles) $125,000
Chris O’Donnell (NCIS: Los Angeles) $125,000
Mark Feuerstein (Royal Pains) $125,000
Jason Lee (Memphis Beat) $125,000
Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds) $125,000
Tom Selleck (Blue Bloods) $125,000
Michael Weatherly (NCIS) $125,000
Matt Bomer (White Collar) $100,000
Nathan Fillion (Castle) $100,000
Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds) $100,000
Jon Hamm (Mad Men) $100,000
Cole Hauser (Chase) $100,000
Alex O’Loughlin (Hawaii Five-0) $100,000
Timothy Olyphant (Justified ) $100,000
Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0) $80,000
Angie Harmon (Rizzoli & Isles) $75,000
Anna Paquin (True Blood) $75,000
Blair Underwood (The Event) $75,000
Zachary Levi (Chuck) $60,000
Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) $40,000
Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) $40,000
Ashley Tisdale (Hellcats) $30,000
Late Night/Talk Syndication (per year)
Oprah Winfrey $315 million
Judge Judy Sheindlin $45 million
David Letterman (The Late Show) $28 million
Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) $25 million
Conan O’Brien (The Conan O’Brien Show) $10 million
Ellen DeGeneres (The Ellen DeGeneres Show) $8 million
Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) $6 million
Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately) $3.5 million
George Lopez (Lopez Tonight) $3.5 million
Reality (per year)
Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) $15 million
Joel McHale (The Soup) $2 million
Piers Morgan (America’s Got Talent) $2 million
Kate Gosselin (Kate Plus 8) $250,000 per episode
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi (Jersey Shore) $30,000 per episode
Comedy (per episode)
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) $1.25 million
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) $550,000
Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Housewives) $400,000
Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons) $400,000
Julie Kavner (The Simpsons) $400,000
Tina Fey (30 Rock) $350,000
Jeremy Piven (Entourage) $350,000
Steve Carell (The Office) $297,000
Angus T. Jones (Two and a Half Men) $250,000
David Duchovny (Californication) $200,000
Kevin Dillon (Entourage) $200,000
Adrian Grenier (Entourage) $200,000
Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly) $180,000
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) $175,000
William Shatner ($#*! My Dad Says) $150,000
David Spade (Rules of Engagement) $150,000
Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) $100,000
Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) $85,000
Betty White (Hot in Cleveland) $75,000
Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000
Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory) $60,000
Ty Burrell (Modern Family) $50,000
Jane Lynch (Glee) $50,000
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) $40,000
Matthew Morrison (Glee) $30,000
Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) $30,000
Dylan and Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) $20,000 (each)
Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) $15,000
News (per year)
Matt Lauer (Today) $16 million +
Katie Couric (CBS) $15 million
Brian Williams (NBC) $12.5 million
Diane Sawyer (ABC) $12 million
Meredith Vieira (Today) $11 million
Bill O’Reilly (Fox News) $10 million
George Stephanopoulos (ABC) $8 million
Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) $7 million
Shepard Smith (Fox News) $7 million
Wolf Blitzer (CNN) $3 million
Christiane Amanpour (ABC) $2 million
Lawrence O’Donnell (MSNBC) $2 million
Eliot Spitzer (CNN) $500,000
THIS MAY BE THE BIGGEST HOAX SINCE USHER’S CONFESSIONS!!! THE LEAD SONG ON FANTASIA’S NEW ALBUM . . . IS ABOUT HER BEING ANTWAUN’S MISTRESS!!! (LYRICS)
Here’s what happened. Yesterday, MediaTakeOut.com got hold of the LEAD SONG off of Fantasia’s new album – which is coming out in just a few weeks, and it’s entitled LUCKY.
And the song – is all about her being the MISTRESS to some other lady’s man. And it typical HOODRAT fashion, Fantasia is particularly GRAPHIC when she describes the ENCOUNTERS with the spoken for man.
Here is the song:
Damn, she get to have it every day.
What a lucky girl! Ooohh, well tonight I’ll take her place.
I’m a lucky girl! Damn, do you spread her legs this way?
What a lucky girl! Ummm, you’re the king at this foreplay.
I’m a lucky girl!”
.
Hook:
I know you got a girl and I know that I’m wrong,
but a hard man’s good to find.
Yeah, she get to have it all year long,
so can I just get tonight?”
Hilary Duff, Mike Comrie Marry
The actress and her hockey player boyfriend tie the knot in California.
Actress, singer and entrepreneur Hilary Duff can add another title to her résumé: wife.
Duff and her boyfriend Mike Comrie, a hockey player for the Edmonton Oilers, married on Saturday (August 14) in California. UsMagazine.com reports the couple tied the knot at a Montecito mansion in a sunset ceremony.
Duff’s mother walked the bride down the aisle and sister Haylie served as the actress’ maid of honor. Duff swapped vows in a Vera Wang dress in front of 100 guests.
The actress and the athlete announced their engagement in February after Comrie popped the question during a vacation in Hawaii. “After having been together for over two years, they are very excited to share this happy news. They are thankful for all of your warm wishes,” Duff’s rep said at the time.
Comrie told “Hockey Night in Canada” in October that the pair first bumped into each other at an Idaho resort. “We were all on the same plane and it was kind of, I guess, maybe a bit of a fluke,” Comrie said. “It [was] one of those things where we were all in a group … we spent the weekend all hanging out.”
“[Comrie's] a great guy. I’ve never met anyone who could say a bad word about him. He’s generous, caring, funny. We just laugh our heads off, which I need in my life,” Duff gushed to Us last year. “He’s unique. I wouldn’t want to be with someone who wasn’t unique.”
Duff recently scored a Choice TV Female Scene Stealer Teen Choice Award for her role on the soapy CW hit, “Gossip Girl.” The actress presumably drew from her personal experience as a child star to pull off the role successfully: Duff played Olivia Burke, a screen starlet who trades in the celebrity lifestyle for a typical college experience at New York University.
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Boyle picks paramedic in duet competition
Scot singing sensation Susan Boyle has chosen a New York paramedic to duet with her on her second album.
The 49 year old, who shot to international fame last year on the back of her performance on Britain’s Got Talent, set out to give another wannabe the chance for a shot at the big time, and launched a global competition to find someone to sing with on her next disc.
She told potential competitors, “Last year my dream of becoming a recording artist came true after auditioning on Britain’s Got Talent. Since then, I’ve had an absolutely fantastic time. It’s been a real gift to me and now I would like to pass on the gift to someone else… I’m hoping that people who have always wanted to sing will give it a try. I wish you all good luck.”
Singing hopefuls uploaded auditions to Boyle’s website, and the I Dreamed A Dream star has now picked her lucky winner.
Mum-of-three New Yorker Amber Stassi – a Big Apple paramedic – saw off competition from thousands of other entrants to land the prize of singing with Boyle.
The 33 year old says, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win this competition. I can’t believe I spoke with Susan – and that Susan and even Simon Cowell has seen my audition. This is crazy!”
Stassi will jet into London later this month to lay down her vocals with Boyle in a recording studio.
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Lythgoe denies Lopez ‘diva’ reports
The executive producer of American Idol has denied reports Jennifer Lopez is out of the running for a judging job on the hit U.S. talent show because of her diva demands – insisting the star is “a wonderful woman”.
Following the announcement that Ellen DeGeneres has stepped down from the panel after just a year on the series, and the planned departure of Simon Cowell, Idol bosses are eager to sign up two big names to boost the show’s appeal.
Lopez and Steven Tyler were in the running as the favourites to take a seat at the judging panel, but reports suggested Lopez had been pulled from the possible replacements due to her escalating demands.
But executive producer Nigel Lythgoe hints the Jenny From The Block hitmaker still has a chance of landing the role and admits he has never witnessed her demanding ways.
He tells Extra, “These people don’t know Jennifer Lopez. She’s a wonderful woman. I’ve never seen her be a diva in her life!”
And Lythgoe is adamant former judge Paula Abdul is definitely not returning, insisting he wants attention to focus on the new talent and not the judging panel.
He adds, “Paula is under contract to another company so I don’t think that she enters the frame on this occasion.
“As far as I’m concerned, I would like the attention to go on the kids, because it’s about the talent that comes on this show and sings.”
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Neil Patrick Harris Expecting Twins
A rep for Neil Patrick Harris tells ET that the “How I Met Your Mother” star and his partner David Burtka are expecting twins!
Harris also tweeted the exciting news on Saturday, writing: “So, get this: David and I are expecting twins this fall. We’re super excited/nervous/thrilled. Hoping the press can respect our privacy…”
The great news continues for Harris, who’s also garnered Emmy noms for Best Supporting Actor (“HIMYM”), Guest Star (“Glee”) and Special Class Programs (2009 “Tony Awards”).
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Tila Tequila injured at concert
HARRISBURG, Ill., Aug. 15 (UPI) — Reality TV star Tila Tequila says she will sue organizers of an Illinois Insane Clown Posse concert where she was reportedly attacked with rocks and bottles.
Fans of the underground hip-hop group pelted her with rocks and bottles during the Saturday “Gathering of Juggalos” in Hardin County, in southern Illinois, CNN said Sunday.
The star of MTV’s “A Shot at Love with “Tila Tequila” and Playboy model received cuts and bruises as a result of the attack, a witness told CNN.
Tequila said in a Twitter message she plans to sue concert organizers, the report said.
“Pretty soon, the owners who run the Juggalos will be bankrupt,” she said.
Tequila described the incident to her Twitter fans: “I went onstage and immediately, before I even got on stage, dudes were throwing huge stone rocks in my face, beer bottles that slit my eye open, almost burnt my hair … cuz they threw firecrackers on stage.”
Tequila removed her top and bared her breasts, which further incited the crowd of about 2,000, CNN reported.
( credit upi )
Tila gave TMZ a very detailed account of what happened, saying: “I went onstage and immediately, before I even got on stage, DUDES were throwing HUGE STONE ROCKS in my face, beer bottles that slit my eye open, almost burnt my hair on fire cuz they threw fire crackers on stage, and they even took the sh*t out of the port-0-potty and threw sh*t and piss at me when I was onstage.”
She went on to say: “These people were trying to kill me. So then after the last blow to my head with the firecracker they threw at me exploded, my bodygaurd and the other security grabbed me and ran as fast as they could to the shitty trailor. Since their security SUCKS, the 2 thousand people ran after us, trying to kill me. They almost got me so they finally reach the trailor, blood all over myself, cant stop bleeding, then all of a sudden, all 2 thousand people surround the trailor and busts the windows!!! Even the guys INSIDE with me were shaking! Their hands were shaking cuz they were so scared! So 3 guys inside the trailor had to grab a table and push it over the broken windows and grabbed all the chairs they could find so hold the people from outside back. It was scary as hell!”
( credit :tmz)
