UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News

[United Press International]

*Love negotiates to resolve drug charges
LOS ANGELES, May 5 (UPI) -- Courtney Love's legal team is
reportedly negotiating a deal to resolve drug charges stemming from
her October arrest in Los Angeles.
Charges against the singer would be dropped under the deal
if Love completes a drug treatment program, the World Entertainment
News Network reported Wednesday. If Love fails to complete the
program, she'll be sentenced to 90 days in jail, according to the
plea agreement.
Love allegedly tested positive for several drugs, including
cocaine, following her arrest. Officers testified they arrested Love
after she broke windows at her boyfriend's house, and she admitted
she was on prescription painkiller Oxycontin.
Love still faces charges of illegal possession of
prescription painkillers in a separate case.

*Gorgoroth singer sentenced to prison
FORDE, Norway, May 5 (UPI) -- The lead singer of Norwegian
black metal band Gorgoroth was sentenced to 18 months in prison on
charges of ritual violence.
The vocalist known as Gaahl was also ordered by a court in
Forde Tuesday to pay $11,000 to the victim, plus an additional
$4,300 in damages, Roadrunner Records' Blabbermouth.net reported
Wednesday.
The singer was accused of performing ritual violence that
included collecting blood from his victim and drinking it. The
victim was hit and kicked several times in the face, causing severe
cuts on his head, a broken nose and major dental damage.
Gorgoroth drew international attention in February when the
band was accused of "offending religious feelings" during a concert
in Poland. The band was also suspected of breaching Polish law by
displaying severed and impaled heads of sheep as part of its stage
act.

*Oasis singer tested positive for drugs
MUNICH, Germany, May 5 (UPI) -- Oasis lead singer Liam
Gallagher tested positive for drugs after a bar fight in Germany,
the BBC reported Wednesday.
Prosecutor Anton Winkler in Munich said the singer and
another unnamed member of the band had large amounts of alcohol and
drugs in their blood.
Winkler said it was unlikely the matter would come to trial,
but a fine could be imposed.
German authorities have been investigating the band on
suspicion of assault, damaging property and resisting arrest in
connection with the incident, the BBC said.
Gallagher's management paid a $300,000 fine before the band
left Germany, but the singer and other band members remain under
investigation.
The BBC also said the five computer consultants and estate
agents who were involved in the fight are likely to face charges of
causing grievous bodily harm.

*Music artists to get millions in royalties
NEW YORK, May 5 (UPI) -- New York's Attorney General has
reached a settlement that will mean millions of dollars in back
royalties for musicians.
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's two year investigation
found that many record companies stopped sending royalty checks
after losing contact with their artists, the New York Daily News
reported Wednesday.
He found Elvis Presley's estate to be due $9,659; country
singer Vince Gill due $15,889; 1980s boy band New Edition owed
$72,157, and the Fontaine Sisters were owed $106,787.
However, the biggest prize goes to the estate of 1950s
Rhythm & Blues singer Tommy Edwards, which will receive $229,723.
The settlement, which only covers royalties since August
2001, requires companies to publicize the unclaimed cash and find
artists who are owed money.
Spitzer said $25 million has already been returned to
various performers, and an additional $25 million is set to be
returned.
Companies involved in the settlement include Sony Music
Entertainment, Sony ATV Music Publishing, Warner Music Group, UMG
Recordings, Universal Music, EMI Music Publishing, EMI Music North
America, BMG Songs, Careers-BMG Music Publishing, BMG Music and the
Harry Fox Agency.

[United Press International]

*L.A. porn industry reports 5th HIV case
LOS ANGELES, May 6 (UPI) -- A fifth Los Angeles porn actor
has become infected with HIV, in an outbreak that has halted the
U.S. sex film industry.
The Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation said an
actress who works under the name Miss Arroyo tested positive for
HIV, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. The actress reportedly
contracted the virus when she had unprotected sex with actor Darren
James during a March 30 film shoot.
James, who is HIV positive, is believed to have brought the
virus into the Los Angeles-based porn industry after shooting a sex
film in March in Brazil with an HIV-infected actress.
The outbreak has resulted in a moratorium on filming until
at least June 8, with hundreds of porn actors being tested for the
HIV/AIDS virus.

*Naomi Campbell wins privacy suit
LONDON, May 6 (UPI) -- Naomi Campbell has won an invasion of
privacy lawsuit against a British newspaper that printed photos of
the supermodel leaving a Narcotics Anonymous clinic.
Campbell prevailed over the Daily Mirror Thursday in a
verdict that previously had been overturned in the appeals process
regarding an article published in February 2001, Britain's The
Guardian reported.
The British court ruled that receiving treatment for drug
addiction was more important than the right of the public to know
about it and that the Daily Mirror had hindered Campbell's progress.
"People trying to recover from drug addiction need
considerable dedication and commitment, along with constant
reinforcement from those around them," said Lady Hale of the court.
"Blundering in when matters are acknowledged to be at a fragile
stage may do great harm."
Campbell agreed the Daily Mirror had the right to publish
news about her drug addiction, but exceeded its rights by reporting
details of her treatment in an article that made her feel "shocked,
angry, betrayed and violated," she said.

*Reggae producer 'Coxsone' Dodd, 72, dies
KINGSTON, Jamaica, May 6 (UPI) -- Reggae producer Clement
"Coxsone" Dodd, credited with launching Bob Marley's career, has
died of a heart attack in Kingston, Jamaica. He was 72.
Dodd, who started the city's famous Studio One label and
developed the renowned Coxsone Downbeat sound system widely used
throughout Jamaica, died Tuesday in his Kingston studio,
Billboard.com reported Thursday.
Dodd began recording the ska sound, reggae's predecessor, in
the late 1950s, and in 1963, opened Studio One, Jamaica's first
black-owned studio.
That same year, Dodd signed a trio known as the Wailers,
with members Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston, to his
Studio One label, BBC reported. Marley went on to have international
fame as the genre's most popular artist.
Dodd also helped launch reggae artists such as Lee "Scratch"
Perry, Dennis Brown and Freddie McGregor.
Dodd continued producing reggae hits into the 1980s, before
relocating to Brooklyn, N.Y., to open a record store, Coxsone's
Music City.
Dodd's classic Studio One recordings have been extensively
reissued by Heartbeat Records, a division of Rounder Records.
He is survived by his wife and several children.

*Bobby Brown back in court, again
ATLANTA, May 6 (UPI) -- An Atlanta judge has said R&B singer
Bobby Brown must stand trial on charges that he allegedly hit his
pop singer wife Whitney Houston.
Houston accompanied her husband to Wednesday's brief hearing
concerning last December's alleged domestic abuse, smiling at Brown
during the proceeding and leaving the courtroom arm-in-arm, USA
Today reported Thursday.
No trial date was set on the misdemeanor battery charges. If
convicted, Brown could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine,
USA Today said.
Brown told "Dateline NBC" that the Dec. 7 incident was "a
little spat."
"We play like that. We play slap-box," Brown said. "That's
what we do. ... I guess she just took it a little serious, and
she'll tell you the same thing."
Wednesday's incident is the latest in a tumultuous six
months for the couple, who have been married 12 years.
Brown has served time for multiple probation violations, as
well as for non-payment of child support for two children he has
with another woman, and Houston checked into a drug rehabilitation
center in mid-March.

[United Press International]

*Phil Spector murder case may be suicide
LOS ANGELES, May 7 (UPI) -- Music producer Phil Spector's
attorneys have released a forensic expert's report suggesting the
woman Spector is accused of killing may have committed suicide.
Defense attorneys submitted evidence Thursday contradicting
the Los Angeles County coroners' report that Lana Clarkson's
February 2003 death was a homicide, the Los Angeles Times reported
Friday. Spector was charged with that crime.
"The physical evidence is not consistent with homicide,"
Spector's defense lawyer, Marcia Morrissey, told the Times.
"The coroner rejected the obvious implication of the
evidence -- that this was a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound."
The report said that Clarkson was killed with the gun in her
mouth, confirming earlier reports that gunshot residue was found on
Clarkson's hands.
Clarkson also had a broken thumbnail, the report said, which
defense attorneys said supports their argument that she fired the
gun.
Toxicology records show that Clarkson's body tested positive
for alcohol and hydrocodone, an addictive painkiller.
Authorities have alleged that Spector, who is free on $1
million bail, killed Clarkson at his Alhambra, Calif., mansion after
meeting her that night at the House of Blues.

*Stagehand falls to death at Bowie concert
MIAMI, May 7 (UPI) -- A David Bowie concert was canceled
when a spotlight technician fell to his death minutes before the
British singer was set to take the stage in Miami.
The 44-year-old Broward, Fla., resident, whom authorities
have not yet publicly identified, was climbing toward a spotlight
when he fell 45 feet from a chain ladder Thursday, landing on his
head, Ignatius Carroll, a Miami Fire Department spokesman said in
Friday's Miami Herald.
His fall, in the darkened back area of the stage, was
visible to some concertgoers and caused a boom heard throughout the
entire James L. Knight Center. Stagehands immediately obscured the
scene by lowering a concert banner and black cloth, the Herald said.
The victim was one of three spotlight technicians working
the show, none of whom were wearing safety tethers, said Delrish
Moss, Miami police spokesman.
Clear Channel Entertainment, who has asked concertgoers to
save their ticket stubs, said it will announce within 48 hours
whether tickets will be refunded or if the concert will be
rescheduled.
Bowie is scheduled to play Saturday in Atlanta.

*Tony judges: 'Assassins' is a revival
NEW YORK, May 7 (UPI) -- Tony Award judges have decided
Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins" is a revival, not a new Broadway
musical, a vote that may affect potential Tony winners.
The Tony Award administration committee ruled Thursday after
days of debate over "Assassins" status in what one source called a
"measured and intelligent discussion" and a "very close vote," the
New York Post reported Friday.
The decision is good news for "Wicked," the $14 million
musical about the witches of Oz, which is a favorite to win a Tony
for best musical now that "Assassins" has been assigned to another
category.
The ruling is bad news, however, for "Wonderful Town," a
struggling revival of Leonard Bernstein's 1956 musical, with hopes
of its Tony win likely dashed now that it must compete against
"Assassins" for the best revival award.
The critically-acclaimed "Assassins" was first produced in
1991 at an off-Broadway theater, which fueled the argument that it
was a new play because it had never been produced on Broadway.
The 2004 Tony Award nominees are scheduled to be announced
Monday.

*Posh Spice ends rap career
NEW YORK, May 7 (UPI) -- Victoria Beckham's advisors have
halted the former Spice Girl's foray into the rap world, ending a
hip-hop project and her ties with Roc-A-Wear fashions.
Damon Dash, New York-based hip-hop producer and Roc-A-Wear
chief, said the British singer previously known as Posh Spice was no
longer working with his company or on a music project he was
producing, Hellomagazine.com reported Friday.
"Her management wasn't happy with her affiliation with
hip-hop," Dash said. "They nipped it in the bud."
Dash signed Beckham last year to be the face of Roc-A-Wear
fashions, a business relationship that expanded to include a rap CD.
With Beckham off the music project, Dash said he has
stripped her vocals from the tracks and is looking for a singer to
replace Posh.
"I want people to hear the album but it will be with another
artist," Dash said. "A lot of work went into it and I don't want to
throw it all away."

[United Press International]

*'Pink Panther' to start filming in NYC
NEW YORK, May 8 (UPI) -- Kevin Kline, Beyonce and Steve
Martin are the new stars of the latest "Pink Panther" movie, the
stars announced during a New York news conference.
"Inspector Clouseau seduces Beyonce? Yep. That's in," Martin
told the media Friday at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Martin co-wrote the screenplay and will take over the role
of French police Inspector Jacques Clouseau, made famous by Peter
Sellers, reported the New York Post.
Beyonce said the movie's rehearsals were "a wonderful
experience." She added, "I don't know how I'm going to say my lines,
I'm laughing so hard."
The feature film is set to being filming in New York City
next week.

*Iran refuses permit for film
TEHRAN, Iran, May 8 (UPI) -- Iran has blocked Mohsen
Makhmalbaf from shooting his latest film, "Amnesia."
Variety.com reported that Iran's Ministry of Culture and
Islamic Guidance has refused the permit for the film that had been
set to begin shooting shortly in Tehran. France's Wild Bunch and
distributor Bac Films had been financing the project.
The film was to reflect "two decades of pain and suffering
by the Iranian people and artists," according to Makhmalbaf.
"It seems that the new censorship strategy intends to push
Iranian artists to migrate from the country," Makhmalbaf said in a
statement.
"In addition, during recent years the productions of Mohsen
Makhmalbaf and Makhmalbaf Film House have faced the problem of
improper screening, a kind of implied censorship."
Makhmalbaf last film "Kandahar, "and his earlier films "A
Time for Love" and "The Nights of Zayandehrud" have been banned in
Iran, Variety said.
"Many of these films are either prevented from showing, or
in a pretentious maneuver are shown in a couple of theaters for a
short time and disappear before anyone finds out about the
showings," he added.

*Rocker Ryan Adams mourns end of 'Friends'
LOS ANGELES, May 8 (UPI) -- U.S. rocker Ryan Adams has shut
down his Web site as a mark of respect for the end of NBC's
situation comedy "Friends."
ITV.com reported Saturday that after the fourth-most-watched
TV series finale ever was broadcast Thursday, Ryan closed his Web
site and dedicated it to the show's characters.
The Web site said, "Out of respect for Joey, Chandler,
Monica, Ross, Rachel and Phoebe ryan-adams.com will be temporarily
closed until further notice."
However, by clicking the tombstone on the Web site skeletons
wearing the character's hairstyles appear.

[United Press International]

*'Van Helsing' tops U.S. box office
HOLLYWOOD, May 9 (UPI) -- Universal's "Van Helsing" topped
the U.S. box office grossing $54 million in its premier week, the
Web site boxofficemojo.com. reported Sunday.
Paramount's "Mean Girls" added $14 million to its box office
of $42 million.
Fox's "Man on Fire" added $7.9 million to its box office of
$56 million.
In it debut week, "New York Minute," distributed by Warner
Bros., grossed $6.2 million.
"13 Going on 30," distributed by Sony/Revolution, added $5.5
million to its box office of $43 million.
New Line's "Laws of Attraction" added $3.5 million to its
box office of $12 million.
"Kill Bill Vol. 2," distributed by Miramax, added $3 million
to its box office of $58 million.
"Godsend" distributed by Lions Gates, added $2.7 million to
its box office of $11 million.
"Envy," distributed by DreamWorks, added $2.6 million to its
box office of $10 million.
"The Punisher," distributed by Lions Gates, added $1.2
million to its box office of $32 million.

*Comedian Alan King dead at 76
NEW YORK, May 9 (UPI) -- Comedian Alan King died Sunday at
age 76 of lung cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in
New York.
King was born Irwin Alan Kniberg Dec. 26, 1927, in Brooklyn.
Both of his parents were Russian immigrants.
The New York Times reported that King became the protege of
comedian Milton Berle when he was only a teenager. King's style,
however, was all his own. He grew into his own swaggering persona,
described as part impatient executive, part cranky citizen, part
bedeviled husband and father.
Over the years, King shared stages with the likes of Frank
Sinatra and Judy Garland, appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" 56
times, emceed President John F. Kennedy's inaugural party, hosted
the 1972 Academy awards, appeared in 29 films, shot an HBO special,
founded a pro tennis tournament and wrote five books.
King's charity work included fund-raising for the Nassau
Center for Emotionally Disturbed Children on Long Island; his
establishment of a chair in dramatic arts at Brandeis University;
and the founding of the Alan King Diagnostic Medical Center in
Jerusalem.
In addition to his wife, Jeanette, King is survived by two
sons, Robert and Andrew; a daughter, Elainie Gagne; and seven
grandchildren.

*Boston pianist wins Cole Porter prize
INDIANAPOLIS, May 9 (UPI) -- Adam Birnbaum of Boston has
been named the 2004 Cole Porter Fellow of the American Pianists
Association in a competition in Indianapolis.
The 25-year-old musician concluded the weekend competition
before a five-person jury with a round of unaccompanied solos. He
also played with the Buselli Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, the
Indianapolis Star reported Sunday.
Birnbaum played his arrangement of Jerome Kern's "All the
Things You Are" and Brent Wallarab's arrangement of "How Deep Is the
Ocean."
Birnbaum won a cash award of $15,000, career assistance,
publicity and professional engagements for two years, as well as
other benefits. The other five finalists received cash awards of
$1,500 each.

[United Press International]

*'Wicked' top Tony nominee with 10 nods
NEW YORK, May 10 (UPI) -- "Wicked," a Broadway musical about
the origin of "Oz's" Wicked Witch of the West, is the top Tony Award
nominee, earning nods in 10 categories.
"Wicked" picked up nominations Monday for best in the
categories that included musical, choreography, original score,
costume design, and for leading actress for stars Kristin Chenoweth
and Idina Menzel, Playbill reported.
Other best musical nominees were "Avenue Q," "Caroline, or
Change," and "The Boy From Oz," which stars popular Australian actor
Hugh Jackman.
Up for the Tony for best play are Pulitzer Prize-winners
"Anna in the Tropics," and "I Am My Own Wife," along with "Frozen"
and "The Retreat from Moscow."
"Assassins" received the next largest number of nominations,
earning recognition in seven categories that included best revival
of a musical, orchestrations, scenic design, and for its director,
Joe Mantello, and featured actors, Michael Cerveris and Denis
O'Hare.
The 58th Annual Tony Awards, honoring Broadway's 2003-04
season, will be handed out June 6 during a live CBS telecast from
New York's Radio City Music Hall.

*Family matriarch Olive Osmond, 79, dies
PROVO, Utah, May 10 (UPI) -- Olive Osmond, matriarch of one
of the biggest musical acts of the 1970s, has died at her Provo,
Utah, home. She was 79.
Osmond, who had suffered for the past 5 1/2 years from
numerous strokes, died Sunday surrounded by family, Salt Lake City's
Deseret News reported Monday.
"They've been anticipating this, but nothing prepares you
for the time, or (for) it to come on Mother's Day," family spokesman
Ron Clark told the newspaper.
Osmond and her husband, George, were parents to nine
children, with seven of them becoming successful performers.
The Osmonds Brothers garnered dozens of platinum and gold
albums during the 1970s as one of music's biggest acts. Donny Osmond
left his brothers for a successful solo career, as well as joining
sister Marie for a TV variety show that lasted four seasons. The
youngest, Jimmy, also performed.
Osmond is survived by her husband, nine children, 55
grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

*Eisner defends 'Fahrenheit 9/11' decision
NEW YORK, May 10 (UPI) -- The chief executive of Walt Disney
is defending his decision not to distribute the controversial
Michael Moore file "Fahrenheit 9/11."
In a letter to the editor of the New York Times published
Monday, Michael Eisner wrote, "The cowardly thing would have been to
be intimidated into distributing the film. We did not block its
distribution. There are many avenues for Mr. Moore to pursue to get
his film distributed."
The Times had criticized Eisner last week for not
distributing Moore's film, which is highly critical of the Bush
administration.
"The First Amendment does not say that The New York Times
must print every article presented to it or that the Walt Disney
Company must distribute every movie.
"If a government entity had blocked Mr. Moore's film from
being released, that would have violated the First Amendment, and we
would have quickly signed up to join any protest.
"In the case of 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' we chose a path that was
right for the company and its stakeholders.
"We would hope that The Times would recognize that the Walt
Disney Company has the same right of freedom of expression that it
is advocating for Mr. Moore."

*Bee Gees receive honorary degrees
MANCHESTER, England, May 10 (UPI) -- Disco superstars the
Bee Gees will receive honorary degrees from their Manchester,
England, hometown university, it was reported Monday.
University of Manchester Chancellor Anna Ford will make the
presentation to Barry and Robin Gibb Wednesday during a university
ceremony in the singers' honor, Britain's Sun reported.
Maurice Gibb, the third member of the popular trio, who died
last year, will receive a degree posthumously.
The Gibb brothers, born on the Isle of Man, moved to
Manchester in the 1950s, where they regularly performed until the
family relocated to Australia in 1958.
The Bee Gees had a string of hits during the 1960s, but went
on to international fame with disco hits during the 1970s such as
"Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever," songs made popular by John
Travolta's classic film "Saturday Night Fever."
The Bee Gees are the fifth most popular group in history,
selling more than 110 million copies of 28 albums, the Sun said.