BITS AND PIECES 10/13 PART 2
Billie
--Director Roman Polanski will make British legal history by suing American
magazine Vanity Fair via a video link from France. The Oscar-winning filmmaker
won the right not to appear in person because he fears extradition to the US -
from where he fled in 1977 after being found guilty of statutory rape with a
13-year-old girl. Polanski is suing Vanity Fair after it accused him of
propositioning a woman on the way to the funeral of murdered wife Sharon Tate
in 1969. The case starts on November 3 at London's High Court. His spokesman
says, "Mr. Polanski has permission to give his evidence via a video link. We
cannot comment further."
--Julia Roberts managed to defuse a potentially embarrassing celebrity show -
by trading the program for exclusive coverage of her new movie. When she found
out celebrity-themed TV channel E! was planning to do a special on her love
life, Julia was not pleased, according to gossip source Page Six. The Love
Chain show would have focused on her many romances, from an early marriage to
Lyle Lovett and relationships with Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric and Benjamin
Bratt to her current marriage to Danny Moder. But instead of getting angry,
clever Julia kept her cool - and offered thrilled TV bosses an exclusive about
her new movie Mona Lisa Smile if they promised to axe the idea.
--Al Pacino may have settled his legal battle with ex Beverly D'Angelo, after a
court hearing they were due attend was scrapped at the last minute. After they
split, the Insomnia star and his long-time girlfriend became embroiled in a
court war over their twins Anton and Olivia. Beverly, star of the National
Lampoon Vacation movies, wanted to move to Los Angeles to get her film career
going again, but New York native Pacino was not happy with the idea. But after
the hearing late last week was canceled, legal pundits speculate the pair
reached an out-of-court settlement. The agreement may end up costing Pacino a
fortune - he already pays Beverly about $95,000 a month in maintenance.
--Actor Val Kilmer has accused Rolling Stone magazine of misquoting him in an
article which has sparked ire in the American state of New Mexico. The
publication's October 16 issue features a story on Kilmer headlined "Mr.
Difficult", and it quotes the star as saying he lives in the "homicide capital
of the south-west" and 80 per cent "of the people in my county are drunk". But
the 43-year-old Batman Forever star, who owns a ranch in San Miguel County
south of Pecos, plans to ask Rolling Stone to apologize for the article,
explaining, "I didn't say I live in the homicide capital of the south-west." He
says another comment that he carries a gun in his car while driving with his
children because there are so many drunk drivers in the area "doesn't make
sense". Rolling Stone spokeswoman Claudia Diromauldo says the magazine has yet
to hear from Kilmer, adding, "Our only comment is, Rolling Stone stands by the
article." Kilmer says the northern New Mexico community has embraced him and
he's saddened by the comments attributed to him. He urges, "You can ask anyone
who knows me, I've never said a racist or prejudiced thing in my life." State
Senator Phil Griego, a Democrat whose district includes Kilmer's ranch, had
earlier said that if the actor doesn't like San Miguel County he's welcome to
leave. Kilmer plans to call Griego, whose San Jose home isn't far from his
ranch, to talk about the article.
--Halle Berry has hit back at critics who believe her Oscar-winning status
should have stopped her from appearing on the cover of the latest issue of
men's magazine FHM. The screen beauty, who scooped last year's coveted best
actress Academy Award for her efforts in Monster's Ball, appears in boxing
gloves and a slinky outfit alongside the headline "Halle Berry: The undisputed
sexiest woman in the world" for the publication's November issue. But her
decision to pose for the magazine's cover has sparked ire among a handful of
critics, who believe her prestigious award should steer her to front more
serious publications. But her representative hits back, "Well, for one thing,
Gothika, which is Halle's new thriller, is aimed at a young male audience. So
this photo shoot and the interview make sense. And, please tell me, why can't
Halle be the Oscar-wining actress who is still a sexy pin-up, an artist
straddling every film genre? Just because she won an Oscar for Monster's Ball
doesn't mean she can't be the world's sexiest woman!"
--Movie star Reese Witherspoon's brother has been placed on two years probation
after pleading guilty to attempted sexual battery and trespassing. John Draper
Witherspoon was arrested on October 5th 2002 following an incident in which he
entered a neighbor's property and started to undress a sleeping woman. The
neighbor says Witherspoon kissed her on the neck and face before leaving when
she woke up. The defendant's lawyer, Ed Yarbrough, says Witherspoon was drunk
and can't remember what he did, although he doesn't dispute the woman's version
of events. Witherspoon now attends weekly sessions at the Vanderbilt Institute
For The Treatment Of Addiction in Nashville, America and has to attend for a
minimum of two years as part of the plea bargain. However, the unnamed woman
filed a civil lawsuit - a case still pending - seeking $600,000 in November
2002.
--Former Cheers star Ted Danson had his wedding anniversary saved by comedienne
Ellen DeGeneres, after he ran out of ideas on how to celebrate it. The actor
and his wife Mary Steenburgen celebrated their eighth anniversary Tuesday, but
their traditional way of marking the occasion was hampered by their heavy
workloads. During an appearance on DeGeneres' chat show, Danson explained, "I'm
in a jam. We fell in love on a river, so every year on our anniversary we try
to get on a river. We've been on Colorado, San Juan, and this year I don't know
what to do. We're both working so I'm desperately trying to figure out how to
celebrate our anniversary." DeGeneres stepped in to save the day by handing him
a bundle of items related to bodies of water: a pair of tickets to go and see
Mystic River, Justin Timberlake's Cry Me A River CD, DVDs of The River Wild and
A River Runs Through It, a picture of Melissa Rivers, and a picture of Gene
Hackman "just for the hell of it".
Charlie McCollum
Mercury News
--"Carnivale'' -- HBO's wonderfully surreal fantasy drama -- has seen its
audience drop from an opening 5.2 million last month to under 3 million. That's
way off what HBO's hit series such as ``The Sopranos'' and ``Six Feet Under''
attract. If my e-mail traffic is an accurate reflection, the main problem may
have been HBO's hubris in scheduling it against the start of the networks' new
season. Throwing an established show like ``The Sopranos'' into the September
maelstrom is one thing; tossing an unproven one like ``Carnivale'' proved to be
something else entirely. Here's hoping HBO shows the same patience that it did
with ``The Wire,'' which did better its second season than its first.
--For all the fans of Fox's ``Keen Eddie,'' the very appealing cop drama that
failed to find enough of an audience over the summer to stay on the schedule,
there's good news. Bravo has signed a deal to show all 13 ``Keen Eddie''
episodes that were produced, including seven that never aired on Fox. The
earliest the cable channel can start to run the series is January.
--Fans of Fox's ``The O.C.'' should take note that if baseball's league
championship series don't go the full seven games, Fox will use whatever time
opens up Tuesday-Thursday to air six repeat episodes of the summer hit. It
returns with fresh installments on Oct. 29. Among the episodes scheduled to
air: the summer ``finale'' of ``The O.C.'' that was pre-empted in the Bay Area
in September for a Giants game. As of now, the cliffhanger is scheduled to air
at 9 p.m. Thursday, but remember, the championships need to end early for this
to happen.
--One of the small joys in TV world the past few weeks has been repeats of
early episodes of ``The West Wing'' on Bravo (usually 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday).
Today, Bravo is airing 11 straight hours of ``West Wing'' installments from the
White House drama's second season, starting at 3 p.m. My favorites in this
mini-marathon: ``Shibboleth'' (10 p.m.), a wonderful Thanksgiving episode
directed by Laura Innes from ``ER,'' and ``Noel'' (midnight), the Christmas
segment that won a best supporting actor Emmy for Bradley Whitford as Josh.
--``Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' says goodbye this week (10 p.m.
Tuesday, NBC) to assistant district attorney Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March),
the smartest and most appealing A.D.A. in the ``L&O'' world. March is being
replaced by Diane Neal, a former model with limited acting credentials, as
A.D.A. Casey Novak.
--NBC's heavily promoted new comedy, ``Coupling,'' is doing so badly that its
viewership is down almost 25 percent from what the dreadful ``Good Morning,
Miami'' was doing behind ``Will & Grace'' on Thursdays last year. Guess the
network is still looking for that Next Big Comedy Hit.
ASSOCIATED PRESS.....
--MACON, Ga. - A popular rapper was arrested after police said they found drugs
in his vehicle during a routine traffic stop. James E. Maxwell, 30, known in
the hip-hop scene as Sonny Spoon, was stopped Saturday afternoon for a
seat-belt violation, said Macon police spokeswoman Melanie Hofmann. Hofmann
said Maxwell consented to a search of his 1985 Suburban, which led police to
illegal drugs with a street value of about $6,600. He was charged with felony
possession of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute "ecstasy" and
trafficking in cocaine, she said. Maxwell, head of a Macon record company, is
heard throughout the Southeast and on popular mix albums.
--SAN DIEGO - Joan Kroc, the billionaire widow of McDonald's Corp. founder Ray
Kroc, died Sunday after a brief bout with brain cancer. She was 75. Kroc was
known in recent years as a major donor to organizations working to promote
world peace, including namesake think tanks at the University of Notre Dame and
the University of San Diego. She inherited the San Diego Padres after her
husband died in 1984 and sold the baseball club in 1990 to a group led by Los
Angeles television producer Tom Werner. Kroc died at her home in Rancho Santa
Fe, a wealthy enclave north of San Diego, several months after being diagnosed
with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, said Dick Starmann, her spokesman.
--Jon Cryer is thrilled to star in the new CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men,"
with Charlie Sheen, but isn't letting himself be too optimistic. The sitcom is
the actor's sixth since 1989, and he's had high hopes crushed before. He said
he's gotten used to cancellations. "I get into a nice delusional state where I
kind of think that this was all just one long show where I just have big
two-year hiatuses and for some reason they just keep changing the name of my
character," said the actor, who first gained fame playing Phil "Duckie" Dale in
John Hughes' "Pretty in Pink." Cryer might have better luck with his current
show than he's had in the past. "Two and a Half Men" was number 12 in the
Nielsen ratings last week, making it one of the fall's most successful new
shows. He said he copes with the unpredictability of television by not letting
himself worry about things he can't control. "Executives are insane in this
business, and actors are insane, because we are all held responsible for things
we really have no power over," he said. "Once you step back from it, then you
can kind of enjoy the craziness."
--BERKELEY, Calif. -- James Watson was one of five Nobel Prize winners at a
conference marking the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA the twisted
double helix inside every cell that provides the genetic blueprint for
everything from hair color to cancer. The co-discoverer of DNA called on
scientists to analyze the genetic codes of tens of thousands of people to
better understand the link between genes and disease. In the keynote speech
Saturday, Watson agreed with other scientists that the Human Genome Project for
mapping the roughly 30,000 genes in human DNA will not lead to a cure for
cancer and other diseases anytime soon. But he said once the project's
potential is realized, "I think the importance of the human genome ... will be
every bit as great as the double helix."
--Rap superstar 50 Cent was the big winner at the World Music Awards in Monaco,
taking home five prizes including best-selling artist of the year, while Norah
Jones won the prize for best-selling pop female artist. Eminem, Justin
Timberlake and Russian girl duo t.A.T.u., were among the many other winners at
the event held Sunday night in the tiny Riviera principality of Monaco.
Russia's pop sensation t.A.T.u. won three awards, including best-selling pop
group, while rapper Eminem was honored as best-selling pop/rock artist and
best-selling pop/rock male artist. Best-selling dance artist award went to
Timberlake. The big winner was 50 Cent, whose music draws on his dangerous past
when he hustled crack in a gritty neighborhood of New York City, where he grew
up. The rapper won awards for best-selling pop male artist, best-selling R&B
artist and best-selling new artist. Jones, whose folksy, sensuous voice earned
her five Grammys earlier this year, won her second award for best-selling adult
contemporary artist. Robbie Williams, Shakira and Dido were other winners.
--Former Gov. Jesse Ventura has been ordered to pay frequent Ventura critic
Leslie Davis $258.40 for damaging Davis' sign. Davis was awarded the amount —
the cost of the sign — on Monday for an incident that happened outside the
St. Paul studios of Twin Cities Public Television in July. Davis, a frequent
irritant of Ventura's who has written a book critical of the former governor,
said Ventura took his sign and destroyed it. A long-standing feud between the
two now includes a restraining order against Davis prohibiting him and fellow
Ventura critic Bill Dahn from having any contact with Ventura or being within a
block of the Twin Cities Public Television studio for the next year while
Ventura works there. Ventura has until Oct. 29 to appeal the sign ruling.
--Clocking air miles in support of his new release, "Mystic River," Clint
Eastwood charmed a packed house during a screening of the drama at London's
National Theater last Tuesday. The 73-year-old star -- who said he has no plans
to retire, intending to "go on like Methusalah" -- dismayed fans of Western
movies, however, by confirming that his 1992 Oscar winner "Unforgiven" was his
swan song as a gunfighter. "Barring someone coming along with a brilliant
script, and I haven't seen one yet, yeah, that was it," Eastwood confessed.
"The story drives everything. To just put on the boots and jump in the saddle
without the things that give life to drama, you don't have it." He also said
that he was grateful that spaghetti Westerns gave him his start, adding: "If
I'd stayed on being a cowboy on the plains of Spain, I'd have been retired long
ago."
--Dean Cain is currently in Vancouver shooting the family film "Bailey"
opposite Tim Curry and Jennifer Tilly. In his own words, he plays "a geeky
scientist guy who undergoes a little bit of a change in the middle of the movie
-- I become less of a geek and more of a regular guy." But before you go
comparing that to a big-time character change, like say Superman or something,
the transition is better compared to Cain's current career arc. The actor, who
is perhaps best known for his caped crusades on "Lois & Clark: The New
Adventures of Superman," is making a move toward big-budget studio fare, hot
off his starring turn opposite Denzel Washington in MGM's current release "Out
of Time." "I felt very comfortable playing opposite (Denzel), and I felt very
comfortable in that big-time movie arena," Cain says in response to positive
buzz on his role as Chris Harrison. "I really like that, and I would like to
continue making more movies like that. Fortunately now after having done this
movie and playing opposite Denzel, people are taking me a lot more seriously.
I'm the same actor I was before, but (director) Carl Franklin and Denzel gave
me a shot." He may get another shot thanks, again, to MGM: Cain is on a short
list of actors being considered for another project at the studio. But for now,
he has "Bailey." "I watch all these kids' movies all the time, and I wanted to
be able to do something that I can watch with my son."
--Marking his first foray into film since his Emmy-winning turn on "The
Shield," Michael Chiklis is set to star in the indie comedy-drama "Make Someone
Happy." Set in the blue-collar community of City Island, N.Y., the film centers
on a dysfunctional, working-class family whose lives are turned upside down by
the surprise arrival of the father's (Chiklis) son from a previous
relationship. Raymond De Felitta ("Two Family House") is directing from his own
screenplay. Chiklis is in production on the third season of FX's "The Shield,"
which will premiere in January. Among the other accolades he has received for
his work as corrupt cop Vic Mackey are a Golden Globe, the Television Critics
Assn. Award for best drama actor and an Emmy nomination this year. His credits
include "The Commish" for ABC and the miniseries "The Three Stooges." Last
week, De Felitta started lensing "The Thing About My Folks," starring Paul
Reiser, who also written and produced the project.
"STUPIDITY IS NOT A HANDICAP. Park elsewhere!"
CliffB
pusss...@aol.com wrote on 10/13/03 9:57 AM:
> --Rap superstar 50 Cent was the big winner at the World Music Awards in
> Monaco,
> taking home five prizes including best-selling artist of the year, while Norah
> Jones won the prize for best-selling pop female artist. Eminem, Justin
> Timberlake and Russian girl duo t.A.T.u., were among the many other winners at
> the event held Sunday night in the tiny Riviera principality of Monaco.
> Russia's pop sensation t.A.T.u. won three awards, including best-selling pop
> group, while rapper Eminem was honored as best-selling pop/rock artist and
> best-selling pop/rock male artist. Best-selling dance artist award went to
> Timberlake. The big winner was 50 Cent, whose music draws on his dangerous
> past
> when he hustled crack in a gritty neighborhood of New York City, where he grew
> up. The rapper won awards for best-selling pop male artist, best-selling R&B
> artist and best-selling new artist.
I wonder if he added trailer-park Carnie girl princess Stephanie to his
stable?