UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News

[United Press International]

*Security stepped up for Jackson court date
SANTA MARIA, Calif., April 29 (UPI) -- On the eve of his
California court date, Michael Jackson's new legal team is replacing
Nation of Islam security with guards from a private firm.
CNN said security is expected to be tight at the Santa
Barbara County courthouse in Santa Maria when the entertainer
arrives Friday to hear the charges a grand jury returned in a sealed
indictment against him last Wednesday.
The grand jury was investigating seven felony counts of lewd
or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and two counts of giving
the child an intoxicating agent.
The singer pleaded not guilty to those counts in an initial
arraignment in January.
A statement on Jackson's Web site promises free "Keep the
Faith Caravan" buses will transport fans to the courthouse.
The Santa Maria Police Department, the Santa Barbara County
Sheriff's Department and Santa Barbara Superior Court are
coordinating security for what is expected to be a massive crowd.

*Acclaimed poet Thomas Gunn dead at 74
SAN FRANCISCO, April 29 (UPI) -- British poet Thomas Gunn,
who published more than 30 books, has died at his San Francisco home
of an apparent heart attack. He was 74.
Gunn, considered to have written some of the best poetry of
his time, died Sunday in his sleep, said Mike Kitay, Gunn's partner
of 54 years, BBC reported Thursday.
"I thought he was possibly the best living poet in English,"
said Wendy Lesser, an author and editor of the literary journal The
Threepenny Review. "Unlike most poets, he was equally at home in
rhyme and non-rhyme, in free verse and patterned rhythms."
Gunn, part of a group of British poets known as The
Movement, along with Philip Larkin and Kingsley Amis, published his
first book, "Fighting Terms," at age 25.
Gunn received many literary awards, including the
prestigious David Cohen British Literature Prize last year.
Gunn, born in 1929 in Kent, England, moved to San Francisco
in 1954. He taught at the University of California at Berkeley,
Calif., from 1958 to 1966 and from 1973 to 1990.

*'Trading Spaces' star gets own NBC show
LOS ANGELES, April 29 (UPI) -- "Trading Spaces" star Vern
Yip may be getting his own home makeover show on NBC, The Hollywood
Reporter said Thursday.
One of the TLC show's most popular interior designers, Yip
has been offered a one-hour special/backdoor pilot called "Design
Intervention," the trade paper said
Each episode of the show would be about a family who began
building their house by themselves or bought an older house to
renovate themselves, but wasn't able to finish it and is now living
in a giant mess.
Yip and his team of experts will rescue the family and
complete the project.
Production on "Design Intervention" is scheduled to begin in
June.
Yip is the second "Trading Spaces" star to get a primetime
show on a major U.S. broadcast network. Former "Trading Spaces"
carpenter Ty Pennington is the star of ABC's breakout hit, "Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition."

*Animal activists upset over 'Batman' film
LONDON, April 29 (UPI) -- Animal rights activists in London
are reportedly outraged over plans to film the latest "Batman" flick
at an animal-research facility.
Director Christopher Nolan said he will use North London's
National Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill as a location
for his upcoming star-studded prequel, "Batman Begins," the World
Entertainment News Network said Thursday.
"We felt this building offered a unique visual element for
our movie," said a Warner Brothers spokesperson. "Neither Warner
Brothers Pictures, nor the filmmakers, cast or crew of 'Batman
Begins' wish to endorse or condemn any social or political position
by choosing to film the facade of the institute."
Members of the Mill Hill Anti-Vivisection Alliance, however,
have vowed to disrupt filming at the facility.
Alliance member Pat Kinnunen told the Hendon Times: "It is
extremely sad that this has to go ahead. I believe this institute is
all about cruelty to animals and it is an awful shame that this is
the location that has been chosen to shoot the 'Batman' film."

[United Press International]

*Classical music radio network is planned
NEW YORK, April 30 (UPI) -- Classical music has all but
disappeared from radio across American, but the ABC Radio Networks
and New York's WQXR are planning to do bring it back.
An announcement Wednesday by WQXR, the classical music
station of the New York Times, said it is negotiating with ABC Radio
for a classical radio network aimed at a national audience and for
markets without commercial classical stations. Programming would be
produced by WQXR independent of its current programming.
"Many classical listeners have been disenfranchised, and the
current economics of local radio ownership make it difficult for the
middle and small-market stations to establish the format on their
own," said Tom Bartunek, president and general manager of WQXR.
ABC Radio Networks distributes 10 24-hour formats and other
programming to 4,500 stations from coast to coast. If the national
classical radio network is established, it will begin broadcasting
early in 2005, Bartunek said.

*Michael Jackson gets cash boost
LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) -- Michael Jackson, plagued by
recent reports of near financial ruin, is due to get $3.5 million as
an advance for an upcoming album release, a source said.
The payout is from Jackson's longstanding contract with Sony
Music for his boxed-set compilation that the record company plans to
release in the fall, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The singer also is poised in the next year to collect
royalties that could total $5 million annually if his records
continue selling, the sources said, because Sony has almost recouped
the millions it has spent on Jackson through the years.
Jackson still has more than $270 million in debt, but his
financial outlook has improved with the current news.
Although Jackson's U.S. sales have slipped during the past
decade, the singer remains a strong seller overseas.
Since 2001, Jackson has sold 14 million albums, with
approximately 9 million of those selling outside the United States,
sources said.
The news came as Jackson appeared Friday in a Santa Maria,
Calif., court on child molestation charges.

*Ricky Martin, Celia Cruz win Latin honors
MIAMI, April 30 (UPI) -- The late Celia Cruz, Ricky Martin
and newcomer Juanes were the top winners, with three awards each, at
the Billboard Latin Music Awards in Miami.
Cruz, who died last July from cancer, won the Latin albums
top artist of the year award, as well as honors for top Latin
greatest hits album, for "Hits Mix" and the trophy for tropical
album, female, for "Regalo del Alma," the singer's final studio
album, Billboard reported Friday.
Martin won Latin pop album of the year, male, for "Almas del
Silencio," the singer's first Spanish-language album in five years.
"Tal Vez," the CD's first single, won an award as hot Latin
track of the year and Latin pop airplay track of the year.
Juanes was named the year's top songwriter, with several
radio hits from his album "Un Dia Normal."
"Fotografia," Juanes' duet with Nelly Furtado, which won for
Latin pop airplay track of the year, duo; and hot Latin track of the
year, vocal duo.
The awards were handed out Thursday at the Miami Arena
during a live telecast on the Telemundo Network.

*Third HIV case found in porn industry
LOS ANGELES, April 30 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles porn actress
has become infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, the
third HIV/AIDS case to hit the pornography industry this month.
Sharon Mitchell, clinic director where hundreds of
performers are receiving HIV tests, confirmed Thursday Czech actress
Jessica Dee tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS, the New
York Times reported Friday.
Dee reportedly worked on a sex video March 23 with Darren
James, the first Los Angeles actor to have been infected in the
recent outbreak.
The San Fernando Valley-based porn industry, which has had
no known HIV cases since 1999, has shut down filming for 60 days to
test and retest hundreds of actors.
James reportedly brought the virus to the United States
after working with an HIV-infected actress on a film in Brazil in
early March.
Another actress, Lara Roxx, a Canadian, who had worked with
James, tested positive for the HIV virus two weeks ago.
The moratorium on filming is expected to last until June 8.

[United Press International]

*Final Godzilla movie being filmed
BEIJING, May 1 (UPI) -- Japan's Toho Pictures is filming the
final Godzilla movie "Godzilla: Final Wars," in Shanghai in time for
the monster's 50th screen anniversary.
The green monster is set to lose his final battle to a fire
dragon and die by the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong, Xinhua,
China's main government-run news agency, reported Saturday.
Godzilla's child is killed accidentally by humans, which
drives the monster crazy, and he goes on a worldwide rampage,
according to a Chinese film company assisting in the production.
After several epic encounters, Godzilla faces the fire
dragon for a final battle.
Toho Pictures, which has produced 22 movies starring
Godzilla since 1954, is having the final movie filmed by several
teams at the same time in different countries. The Japanese premiere
is scheduled for Dec. 11.

*Spike TV ranks 52 best stock-car drivers
NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) -- Spike TV will rank the 52 greatest
U.S. stock-car drivers of all-time during five one-hour episodes
premiering Sunday.
An original series, "Spike 52: Greatest Drivers" will
profile the legends of stock-car racing -- from the sports' earliest
pioneers to today's mega-superstars. The series includes new and
archived interviews with stock car's biggest names including Richard
Petty, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Matt Kenseth.
"This five-part series is not just a list of the best
drivers ever -- but a memorable trip down victory lane profiling the
true giants of the sport," said Kevin Kay, executive vice president,
programming & production, Spike TV.
"Our audience is passionate about stock-car racing, so we
know that this ranking of the top 52 drivers will cause fun debates
amongst fans."
The five installments of "Spike 52: Greatest Drivers" will
air as part of Spike TV's "Motor-Mayhem"-themed month.

*Christian teens as likely to pirate music
WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- A Nashville, Tenn., music group's
poll suggests teenage Christian music fans are as likely to steal
songs as other music fans, the Washington Post reported.
An online survey of about 1,500 teens commissioned by the
Gospel Music Association showed 77 percent of born-again Christian
teenagers had illegally obtained or shared music, compared with 81
percent of all other teens. Statistics showed teenagers who bought
gospel, worship or contemporary Christian music fell into roughly
the same range.
Teens engage in such music piracy by copying CDs, illegally
downloading music or uploading music to the Internet to share with
others.
Christian music industry members suspected music piracy
after flat sales this year and a 5 percent drop in sales last year.
The industry has embarked on a campaign, "Millions of Wrongs
Don't Make It Right," and created a brochure for posting on
musicians' Web sites. The brochure features statements about music
piracy from Christian singers and highlights legal and moral reasons
to discourage teens from music piracy.

*Egypt singer beaten on stage
CAIRO, May 1 (UPI) -- An Egyptian singer was beaten by a
member of his audience while performing live on television from the
plateau where Egypt's pyramids stand.
Egyptian newspapers said Saturday artist Mohammed Mounir
suffered bruises on his face and hands when he was attacked by a
spectator who apparently did not like his singing.
The artist, taking part in a performance to promote Egypt's
bid to host the 2010 world soccer games, fell onto the stage and was
taken to hospital for treatment.
The assailant was arrested by police.

[United Press International]

*'Mean Girls' tops U.S. box office
HOLLYWOOD, May 2 (UPI) -- Paramount's "Mean Girls" grossed
$25 million in its premier week, topping the U.S. box office, the
Web site boxofficemojo.com reported.
Fox's "Man on Fire" added $15 million to its box office of
$44 million.
"Going on 30," distributed by Sony/Revolution, added $10
million to its box office of $35 million.
In their debut week: New Line's "Laws of Attraction,"
grossed $7 million, Lions Gate's "Godsend" grossed $6.9 million and
DreamWorks' "Envy" grossed $6.1 million.
Mixamax's "Kill Bill Vol. 2" added $5.8 million to its box
office of $53 million.
"The Punisher," distributed by Lions Gate, added $3.4
million to its box office of $30 million.
Buena Vista's "Home on the Range" added $2.2 million to its
box office of $46 million.
"Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed," distributed by Warner
Bros., added $2.1 million to its box office of $80 million.

*Williams says age is career factor
NEW YORK, May 2 (UPI) -- Vanessa Williams says Janet's
Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl half-time show
was indicative of the pressure on older pop stars.
"She's 37 and had a new album out," Williams says in More
magazine's May issue. "She's in that difficult age range now. It's a
hard place to be in, for a woman."
The 41-year-old Williams said age places a big impact on the
roles and opportunities in a show business career: "Turning 40 ages
you out of a lot of things, in term so of available roles. I thought
I would last forever, but when I was 38, L'Oreal dried up, my record
deal got dropped from the label, and I saw a distinct change in the
roles I was offered."
Williams is currently recording a collection of Christmas
songs, but she said she couldn't stretch her musical career.
"I don't want to sound like a hip-hop girl in her 20s," she
said. "I don't want to pander to that level."

*New ride at Disney's California Adventure
ANAHEIM, Calif., May 2 (UPI) -- Walt Disney Co.'s California
Adventure theme park in Anaheim, Calif., might get a spike in
attendance with it's new ride, Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
The $60-million ride, based on Rod Serling's classic
television series "The Twilight Zone," was built around the concept
of an abandoned building -- the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
The hotel has been struck by lightning during its 1930s
heyday and frozen in time and offers its guests a plunge down a
service elevator shaft, then races back up, in a series of
stomach-fluttering drops, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.
The ride has an innovative theme and lots of attention has
been paid to detail, from the "dead" palm fronds outside and the
vintage memorabilia inside.
"It's an improvement over anything that's there right now,"
said Al Lutz, editor of Miceage.com, who got to ride the Tower
during a recent preview.

[United Press International]

*Michael Jackson aides now at legal risk
SANTA MARIA, Calif., May 3 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Michael
Jackson's U.S. child molestation case could threaten the singer's
former staff with conspiracy charges to coerce testimony from them.
The addition of a conspiracy charge to Jackson's case Friday
added a new layer of legal woes to the singer's camp, with some
staff members facing serious charges if they are implicated in
Jackson's crimes, USA Today reported Monday.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon can use
the conspiracy charges to seek deals for testimony from staff
members that Jackson tried to cover up any misconduct.
Joseph Tacopina, a lawyer for two former Jackson employees,
said Sneddon wants to prove the pop singer used members of his staff
to bully the accuser and his family out of telling authorities about
the misconduct, USA Today said.
It is unknown at this time which Jackson staffers are at
risk, because Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney
Melville concealed their names, as well as almost half of the
13-page grand jury indictment document before making it public.

*Pro-Osbourne ruling left in place
WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday
left in place a lower-court ruling against two musicians who tried
unsuccessfully to get royalties on two Ozzy Osbourne albums.
In a petition to the high court, Robert Daisley and Lee
Kerslake said they were songwriters and performers who contributed
extensively to Osbourne's "Blizzrard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman"
albums.
They filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles in 1998.
Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and several corporate defendants asked
for summary judgment, which was granted by a federal judge.
An appeals court said the two musicians were told by Sharon
in 1986 that after a British settlement and Daisley's buy-out
agreement, they were not entitled to royalties. The appeals court
agreed with the judge and the two musicians asked the Supreme Court
for review.
The Supreme Court denied review Monday in a one-line order.

*Bart and Homer just got richer
LOS ANGELES, May 3 (UPI) -- "The Simpsons'" actors have
negotiated new Hollywood contracts that have almost tripled their
salaries on Fox's popular animated series.
Dan Castellaneta and Nancy Cartwright, voices for Homer and
Bart, respectively, will receive $8 million each for the 2004-2005
22-episode season, increasing their pay from $125,000 per episode to
more than $360,000, World Entertainment News Network reported
Monday.
"We couldn't be happier to have reached a multi-year deal
with the enormously talented cast of The Simpsons," a series
producer for Twentieth Century Fox Television said.

*Guns N' Roses 'Sweet Child' named top riff
LONDON, May 3 (UPI) -- Readers of Britain's Total Guitar
magazine have named Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine" as having
the best guitar riff in rock music history.
More than 2,000 readers voted the U.S. rock band's riff No.
1 over classics like Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and Deep
Purple's "Smoke On The Water," which came in third and fourth,
respectively.
"To a new generation of guitarists, Guns N' Roses are (sic)
more thrilling than the Sex Pistols," Total Guitar Editor Scott
Rowley said in announcing the results Monday.
Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was named second best
guitar riff.
"Riffs are an interesting measure of people's tastes because
they're usually easy to play and very catchy -- they're the hook of
the song," Rowley said.
The remainder of the top 10 included "Enter Sandman" by
Metallica at No. 5; "Layla" by Derek & The Dominoes/Eric Clapton at
No 6; "Master Of Puppets" by Metallica at No. 7; "Back In Black by
AC/DC at No. 8; "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix at
No. 9; and "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath at No. 10.