Entertainment News
Alex's Entertainment Report
Alex
Star Wars love has moved off screen - stars Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen are reportedly dating each other in real life. The pair play lovers Senator Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker in the new Star Wars instalment, Attack of the Clones - and got together on the set of the blockbuster. A source on set tells British tabloid The Sun, "It was obvious from the early read-throughs in Los Angeles that they were attracted to each other. Then one evening on set in London, Natalie took Hayden by the hand and they darted off to her dressing room. At about 10pm he came out looking like the cat who got the cream!" Portman, who attends top American University Harvard, broke up with her on-campus boyfriend when romance blossomed with her co- star.
`````
British superstar Elton John is refusing to go out without an armed guard - after receiving hordes of hate mail. The heightened security measures taken by the singer - who ironically stars in a TV commercial campaign for Britain's Royal Mail - were revealed yesterday by his boyfriend David Furnish. Asked by a reporter if he and Elton go to the cinema, David replied, "All the time, but we have armed security with us at all times." He added that considering two of Elton's "closest friends", John Lennon and designer Gianni Versace, had been shot dead, "you don't won't to take risks". When pressed as to whether there have been any threats to his lover's life, Furnish admitted, "We've had a couple of not-so-nice letters - I think it's just part of being a celebrity."
`````
Bad boy rapper Eminem's big screen debut movie has finally been given a title - 8 Mile. The semi-autobiographical film had been working under the title of The Untitled Detroit Project, but now it seems to finally have a moniker, referring to a road in the Michigan city which separates black and white communities. Meanwhile the film's producer Brian Grazer has laughed off reports of a romance between Marshall Mathers III and co-star Kim Basinger. Grazer says, "They're not having an affair. They're so not, actually. If they were, I would go, 'I don't know.' But they're actually not."
`````
Frazier star David Hyde Pierce has joined the select band of American TV actors commanding $1 million per show. The 42-year-old funnyman, who stars alongside Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane's brother Niles, has reportedly signed a new deal with Paramount to appear in the sit-com until 2004 that, though starting around $750,000 an episode, could bump up to over $1,000,000 per episode by the end. Grammer recently signed a two-year contract making him the highest paid TV comedy actor ever at a massive $1.6 million per episode.
`````
I caught a story on one of the Entertainment Programs a few days ago. It's about a new movie that's coming out, "I Am Sam". It stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Sean Penn. Here's a description from Yahoo Movies:
"Sam Dawson (Sean Penn) is a mentally-challenged father raising his daughter Lucy (Dakota Fanning) with the help of an extraordinary group of friends. As Lucy turns seven and begins to intellectually surpass her father, their close bond is threatened when their situation comes to the attention of a social worker who wants Lucy placed in foster care. Faced with a seemingly unwinnable case, Sam vows to fight the legal system and forms an unlikely alliance with Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), a high-powered, self-absorbed attorney who takes his case pro bona as a challenge from her colleagues. Together they struggle to convince the system that Sam deserves to get his daughter back."
The few scenes with Sean Penn that I saw were unbelievable! Michelle Pfeiffer looks great in it also. This is the type of movie that will make you think. The movie comes to theatres on December 28th.
~~ Alex
Alex's Site
The September 11th Fund
George Clooney
Actor George Clooney speaks to the media while Executive Director and CEO of the September 11th Fund, Joshua
Gotbaumb, looks on at a press conference held by September 11th Fund officials in New York December 12, 2001.
The September 11th Fund announced today a new $75 million Cash Assistance Program to help those were injured,
lost loved ones, or lost their homes or jobs as a result of the September 11 tragedy.
Photo by Shannon Stapleton
The First Liberty and Justice Award
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand received the Liberty and Justice Award from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition civil rights organization
at a star-studded gala that also marked founder Jesse Jackson's birthday.
Among those who dropped by the Beverly Hilton hotel Tuesday night were House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt of
Missouri, boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard, comedian Chris Tucker and singer Smokey Robinson, who also performed.
Motown Records' Berry Gordy arrived to accept the group's Legend Award.
A major fund-raiser for Democratic politics and liberal causes, Streisand, 59, was honored by the group Jackson
founded 30 years ago.
Barbra Streisand receives the Liberty and Justice Award from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Started the evening with '60 Minutes II', but, didn't take any notes & don't remember much
except for Charles Grodin did the Andy Rooney-thing.
On ABC, 'Drew Carey' had Adam West (the original TV Batman) and Max Gail,
(Wojo from Barney Miller) as guest stars, portraying a gay couple to whom he rents a room.
Tonight, Thursday, CBS is looking to kick ratings-ass. 'Survivor: Africa' is fresh,
followed by the series finale of 'The Amazing Race', and then 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'.
NBC is countering with a fresh 'Friends', then 2 episodes of 'Will & Grace' (at least
one will be fresh), a fresh 'Just Shoot Me' with Ray Liotta, followed by 'ER', where
Eriq LaSalle & Michael Michelle kiss a steady paycheck good-bye.
ABC starts the evening with a rerun, then a fresh episode of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway', a fresh
'Regis', and then 'PrimeTime Thursday'.
The WB has a fresh 'Popstars', a repeat 'Maybe It's Me', then a fresh 'Charmed'.
Faux starts the night with a repeat 'Family Guy', then a fresh 'The Tick', followed by a fresh
'Fornication Island'.
AMC has one of my favorites, 'Harold & Maude', as well as 'The Music Man'. Really like the song
'Trouble' (We got trouble....That starts with a 'T'....And that rhymes with 'P'....And that stands for 'Pool').
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
``The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis''
Caroline Kennedy
Forget that big museum show about her clothes. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' real legacy was words.
So said Onassis' daughter, Caroline Kennedy, during a reading Wednesday from her new book, ``The Best-Loved
Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.''
``She really did believe in the power of words,'' Kennedy told 120 listeners, many of them junior high and
high school students, at the Countee Cullen Regional Library in Harlem.
The book, published by Hyperion, is a selection of Onassis' favorite poems, edited and introduced by her daughter.
Kennedy read some of them Wednesday, including part of Robert Frost's ``The Gift Outright,'' which the poet read
at her father's inauguration. It begins, ``The land was ours before we were the land's. She was our land more than
a hundred years before we were her people.''
She also read from Langston Hughes' ``Let America Be America,'' in which Hughes rails against injustice and
declares, ``O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath - America will be!''
Kennedy said Countee Cullen, the Harlem Renaissance poet for whom the library branch is named, had been among her
mother's favorites, and she read two of his poems.
``The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis''
New! Updated!
(10 Dec., 2001)
The official BartCop Astrologer, Geneva, has done good, again!
Currently, look at the charts of George Harrison.
Very interesting reading!
Alterations In ''My VH1 Music Awards''
Mariah Carey
The cable network VH1 has removed from future airings of My VH1 Music Awards a segment that mocked Mariah
Carey for her bizarre summer appearance on MTV's Total Request Live--an event that preceded the
singer's much-chronicled breakdown.
VH1 insists the clip was cut because of time constraints encountered when re-airing the awards show. But
a producer and writer for the My VH1 Music Awards tell Rolling Stone that the network was pressured by
Carey's representatives to remove it.
The beef is over a series of segments titled "Music 2001: What the Hell Was That?", in which writer and
former Daily Show correspondent Brian Unger takes jabs at everyone from Wayne Newton and Marlon Brando
to Michael Jackson. Unger also targets Carey's infamous July 2001 appearance on Total Request Live, during
which she performed a semi-striptease for the audience, read a love letter from her mother to host Carson
Daly, and basically left everyone scratching their heads.
"Mariah Carey's people--and there are a lot of them, but apparently not enough to keep her mental breakdowns
off the air--called [VH1 President John] Sykes and were offended by what I had to say, which tells me we were
right on target," Unger tells Rolling Stone.
Jay Karas, whose Kanpai Pictures produced the awards show, backed up Unger's story. "It was pulled because
Mariah and her people were upset about the piece," he said.
Mariah Carey & VH1 'My Music Awards'
PFAW ''Spirit of Liberty'' Awards
Neil & Matt & Trey
Neil Young may be Canadian, but the veteran rock star was honored Tuesday for promoting freedom and justice
in his adopted country.
People for the American Way, a free-speech advocacy group formed 20 years ago to combat the so-called
``religious right,'' presented Young with its Spirit of Liberty lifetime achievement award during its
annual fundraising dinner in Beverly Hills.
Young, in turn, raised a few eyebrows among the liberal crowd by defending anti-terrorist measures that
have angered civil rights groups. But he urged the audience to ensure the controversial measures were only temporary.
Also honored at the event were four filmmakers, who were presented with Defenders of Democracy Awards:
``South Park'' creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker; ``Boys Don't Cry'' director Kimberly Peirce; and
``Dogma'' director Kevin Smith.
Parker, dressed in a garish stars-and-stripes suit, had his own surprise. He declared that he and Stone
were proud Republicans. ``It's true,'' he added, apparently earnestly, as the audience wondered if the
wacky comic was just joking.
PFAW ''Spirit Of Liberty'' Awards
Another Big Contract At NBC
Katie Couric
"Today" show co-host Katie Couric is ready to cash in her image as America's sweetheart with a
guaranteed $65 million deal that could climb as high as $100 million.
The reigning queen of morning TV is said to be on the verge of inking a new, five-year deal with
NBC worth $13 million a year, sources say.
That alone would make her the highest-paid news person in TV history.
With added incentives such as a built-in syndication deal, the total value of Couric's deal could
eventually top $100 million.
Earlier this year, Couric - who currently earns between $5 million and $7 million a year - met with
top syndicators about hosting her own daytime talk show, which would allow her to spend more time with her daughters.
One company, DreamWorks, reportedly spent upwards of $1 million producing a "We Love You, Katie"
video in an effort to woo her.
And CBS was said to have also held "preliminary" talks with Couric, where she was offered a spot in prime
time on "60 Minutes" and a series of prime-time specials.
Katie Couric
Wednesday Night In Hollywood
''Ali'' Film Premiere
Muhammad Ali (L) jokes with actor Will Smith as they arrive for the premiere the new film "ALI" at Grauman's
Chinese Theater in Hollywood, December 12, 2001. The film of how Ali both ignited and mirrored the conflicts
of his time and ours to become one of the most admired fighters in the world is set to open in theaters on
December 25. Smith plays Ali in the movie.
Photo by Fred Prouser
Liz Smith Is Reporting...
Liza & David
'Remember who you are!" as they say in "The Lion King." Liza Minnelli insists these words, uttered by her new beau
and now fiancé, showbiz entrepreneur David Gest, are what put her on the road to recovery - morale, health and
career-wise - causing her to lose weight and "get my act together."
First off, Liza says, "I was raised an Episcopalian. That's what I am and always will be. So I have not been
studying Catholicism, nor taking catechism classes on Wednesdays at St. Patrick's with Cardinal Egan's aide.
We are going to marry March 16 at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 51st Street and Fifth Avenue. Then we are
inviting 1,200 people to a reception after. That will probably turn into an elegant jam session for about eight hours."
Gest, who never once stopped hand-holding his bride-to-be as we talked, told me about casing the Regent Hotel
ballroom on Wall Street and deciding that the art deco place was just right for their celebration. "This will
be a once-in-a-lifetime party, I hope. Maybe it will help bring Wall Street back to life. My conductor, Don
Parisi of Clear Channel, is bringing in 100 people from Madison Square Garden to help produce this, as
a gift. I'd like to transport everyone from the church down [to the Garden] in limousines, where a 60-piece
orchestra will be playing. So many famous people we both know have asked if they can entertain to pay tribute to Liza and me."
Gest, who solidified his romance with Liza during the taping of the Michael Jackson special at the Garden,
has been nominated (along with Jackson) for two NAACP Image Awards. And there is every possibility of some
wins at the next Emmy's. The producer says they made $24 million for the two shows, seen on TV, which
he and Jackson own in perpetuity. He is enthusiastic about his situation: "I know Liza will work again
because she wants to, but believe me, I intend to take care of her. She will never have to do anything again. I will support her!"
Gest added his caveats. "I don't feel that our sex life should be in the columns. I think I know who did that!" He
says he resents the inference that he has only been interested in older women. Mentioning Hollywood names: "Those
ladies were friends but I wasn't 'dating' them. I respect and like them. I have mostly young friends in the music
business where I am known for showcasing hot young talent. But I have also produced tributes to some of these ladies
as well as to Clint Eastwood, Joel McCrea and Frank Sinatra. Oh yes, and incidentally, the press is wrong. I love
dogs. I love Liza's dog, Lily."
Liz Smith Reports On Liza & David
Last Of Five Benefit Concerts
Bruce
Bruce Springsteen sings during a benefit concert at Convention Hall in Asbury
Park, N.J. Springsteen offered a few surprises to end his five-show string of
charity gigs at venerable Convention Hall. "Elvis is in the building,'' he announced, and Elvis
Costello came on stage to sing "Alison.''
Photo by Mike Derer
'Wasted Days & Wasted Nights'?
Freddy Fender
Singer Freddy Fender, who is battling health problems including hepatitis C, will have an operation next month
to receive a kidney donated by his 21-year-old daughter.
The 64-year-old Fender, who lives in Corpus Christi, Texas, said Tuesday that he also needs a liver transplant
because of cirrhosis. Doctors would like to do both operations at once to keep trauma to his body to a minimum,
but he can no longer wait for a liver to become available.
The transplant is scheduled for January at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Fender
is to receive the organ donated by daughter Marla Garcia of Jacksonville, Fla., who recently had a baby.
Freddy Fender
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
New HBO Movie
'Martin & Lewis'
HBO is mounting a movie about the long, stormy relationship between comedy team partners Dean Martin and Jerry
Lewis, the latter of whom will cooperate on the project.
Lewis will work with a screenwriter to shape the story, and serve as an executive producer. Lewis will be paid a
high-six figure sum for his services when the film is made. He has exhaustive archives of memorabilia and footage
of the routines the duo performed.
The pair formed in 1946, when they appeared on the same bill in East Coast clubs and found that they got laughs
when Martin's crooning was interrupted by Lewis, under the guise of a bumbling busboy. They teamed soon after and
hit the bigtime after appearing on ``The Ed Sullivan Show.''
They went on to make 16 movies before breaking up in 1956. The split reportedly came when Martin refused to play
a lowly police officer in the Lewis-scripted comedy ``The Delicate Delinquent,'' but the comics had been building toward a breakup for some time.
They rarely spoke over the intervening years as both enjoyed success; they were brought together for an emotional
reunion by Frank Sinatra during one of Lewis' telethons for muscular dystrophy, a moment that will surely be used in the film.
'Martin & Lewis' For HBO
Nirvana Wants A Divorce
Courtney Love
Calling her a greedy, volatile ``prima donna,'' the two surviving members of influential grunge rock group Nirvana
have sued to have the widow of Kurt Cobain thrown off the board controlling the band's musical legacy.
Cobain's widow Courtney Love last June sued to block the release of a boxed set of Nirvana greatest hits that would
have coincided with the 10th anniversary of the band's chart-topping ''Nevermind'' album.
Now the surviving band members, bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl, have counter-sued, saying Love is
incapable of handling her obligations to their three-way partnership controlling the band's music.
The court battle includes a fight for control of the song ''You Know You're Right, recorded by Nirvana just months
before Cobain's suicide in 1994 and originally included in the boxed set.
The filings also paint a classic portrait of the band paying its dues on the road before hitting the big time, often
sleeping in Novoselic's van or on friends' couches as they played small clubs for little money.
While they concede that Cobain was a gifted songwriter, lead guitar player and singer, Novoselic and Grohl claim the
three men formed an equal partnership, sharing expenses and working on their music together for countless hours.
Nirvana Wants A Divorce
''L'Angelo Misterioso''
Where's George?
Always the jokester, George Harrison sometimes went by the pseudonymous billing L'Angelo Misterioso
when he guested on other musicians' albums. Now that he's gone, Harrison is proving an even more mysterious angel.
While the intrigue over the whereabouts of his ashes continues to grow, now we're not even sure
where he spent his final moments.
According to the death certificate filed December 4 with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services,
the "self-employed musician" passed away from "metastatic non-small lung cancer" on November 28 at 1:20 p.m.
at 1971 Coldwater Canyon in Beverly Hills--an address listed as the residence of Harrison's wife, Olivia.
Trouble is, no such address exists, says the city's tax assessor and postal officials.
Apparently the answer lies with family friend and longtime Hollywood security expert, Gavin De Becker. It was
De Becker who announced Harrison's death two weeks ago and it was his residence where the family had said
the former Beatle had died peacefully at the age of 58.
It just so happens that De Becker is one of the most sought-after authorities on helping his celebrity clients
maintain their privacy--and everyone knows Harrison craved his.
However, De Becker doesn't own any property on Coldwater Canyon Drive. (Sources tell E! Online that Harrison
died at a rented home on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in nearby Studio City--a property that De Becker does own.)
Meanwhile, the site where Harrison's ashes will be dispersed remains a mystery.
Just days after his passing, mainstream media, paparazzi and fans began staking out Vanasi, India--reportedly
the city where Olivia was planning to scatter her husband's ashes in the Ganges River.
However, Hari Krishna representatives who originally confirmed the story now say they have no idea when the
ceremony will take place. "The program has been postponed," a senior official of the International Society
for Hare Krishna tells the Associated Press. "They will come with ashes and scatter them in the sacred Ganges River secretly."
Where's George?
New Exhibition of Letters & Manuscripts
J.R.R. Tolkien
A new exhibition of letters and manuscripts of J.R.R. Tolkien gives insight into the very private man who
wrote ``The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy.
Tolkien was a reluctant celebrity, and one of the letters that went on display at The British Library on
Tuesday reveals his irritation at the loss of privacy that followed the success of his books - ``The Hobbit''
in 1937 and the trilogy in the 1950s.
Tolkien writes about how he is all set to move into a new apartment after the death of his wife, but complains
he will no longer be protected from ``Hoopers, Snoopers, Goopers, press-gangs, phone-bugs, and transatlantic
lion hunters and gargoyle-fanciers.''
Some of the correspondence comes from notes to his grandson that accompanied Christmas gifts and money, and are
written in his ornate, calligraphic hand, using a broad-nibbed pen.
Also on display are rare first edition copies of ``The Hobbit,'' and the first illustrated edition of ``The Lord
of the Rings'' trilogy.
Tolkien Exhibition
New Role For Gloria Reuben
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt's dramatic traumatic life story - she worked in South Carolina's cotton fields, then her mother
sent her away to live with an aunt in Harlem - is inching toward the screen. In 1997, it was to star Toni
Braxton. That fizzled. Last year, it was Jasmine Guy. That fizzled. "Problems arose that couldn't be overcome,"
is 74-year-old Eartha's take. Now, daughter Kitt Shapiro's producing and it will star Gloria Reuben, formerly
of "ER." Alliance is the production outfit.
Gloria Reuben as Eartha Kitt
Audio Files From BC
Bonus Page Link
Looking for some 'Garbage'?
Here are some MP3 files from BC
Aw, come on....isn't anyone curious?
2 days notice....this link will disappear in 2 days, and the files will be deleted...
Next Month's 29th Annual American Music Awards
Combs & McCarthy Hosting
Rapper Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and "Scream 3" actress Jenny McCarthy will host next month's 29th
annual American Music Awards.
The three-hour show from the Shrine Auditorium will be broadcast Jan. 9 by ABC-TV.
Rhythm & blues newcomer Alicia Keys, the classically trained pianist with the braids and big hit "Fallin',"
leads American Music Awards nominees with five nods, including nominations in both pop and R&B categories
for favorite female artist and favorite new artist.
Her bluesy "Songs in A Minor" was nominated in the R&B album category alongside Janet Jackson's "All For You"
and the late pop singer Aaliyah's album "Aaliyah."
Aaliyah, who died in an Aug. 25 plane crash, also was nominated for favorite female R&B artist. Mary J. Blige
received the third bid in the category. Keys faces Jackson and Jennifer Lopez for the top pop female artist award.
29th Annual American Music Awards To Be Hosted by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs & Jenny McCarthy
Wedding News
Judd - Franchitti
Hollywood star Ashley Judd married racing driver Dario Franchitti on Wednesday in a ceremony attended
by friends and family in the groom's native Scotland, her publicist announced.
The maid of honor was the bride's sister, singing star Wynonna Judd, and the groom's brother, Marino
Franchitti, served as best man, according to a brief statement issued in Los Angeles.
The star of such films as ``Where the Heart Is'' and ``Kiss the Girls'' wore a long, white gown of
silk and satin designed by Giorgio Armani, while the groom wore a jacket and traditional Scottish kilt, the statement said.
Judd followed in the footsteps of pop star Madonna when she posted the banns in Dornoch,
prompting speculation that her wedding to Franchitti, a Scot, would also take place at nearby Skibo Castle.
Wedding guests and Judd's family had been arriving in Scotland over the past week. Actor Edward Norton,
narrator in the movie ``Fight Club2,'' landed at Inverness, but he declined to say whether he was there for the wedding.
Judd - Franchitti Nuptials
``My Sweet Lord'' Re-Release
January 14
George Harrison's ``My Sweet Lord'' will be re-released in January, 31 years after the song first topped
the British charts, record company EMI said on Wednesday.
``We are releasing the single on January 14, with all proceeds going to charity,'' a spokesman said.
``But we have no name for the charity yet.''
``My Sweet Lord'' was the first number one single by a solo Beatle and appeared on Harrison's album
``All Things Must Pass,'' which was digitally remastered and reissued earlier this year.
''My Sweet Lord'' Re-Release
PETA & Pleather &
Britney
Britney Spears will bare her bodacious bod for animal rights in an upcoming PETA campaign. The
songstress has agreed to peel down for a PETA poster that should be available by Christmas.
It's an animal-rights about-face for Spears, who was slammed by PETA for performing at the MTV Awards
with a caged tiger on stage.
Britney has also signed on to model faux-leather duds on PETA's pleatheryourself.com Web site. "It's a lot
of fetish wear but also non-leather shoes, belts and bags," Mathews said. "Patricia Field is designing some outfits for the site."
It's 'Pleather' For Britney
Updated!
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' never seems to rest - and doesn't let little things like laundry or
housekeeping get in the way!
Damn near every show on TV must is listed - days & days worth of great reading.
If you have any questions about nearly any tv program, check out
BC TV!
``You Asked for It'' & ``Name That Tune''
Retro TV?
Perhaps signaling a nostalgia wave forming behind such recent retro successes as CBS' Carol Burnett special,
a producer has acquired domestic rights to veteran reality shows ``You Asked for It'' and ``Name That Tune.''
``You Asked for It'' is a classic wish fulfillment reality format during which audiences say what they'd like
to see -- such as a woman kissing a deadly cobra -- and the production makes it happen. The new take will
include challenges, revenges and hidden camera stunts.
Since ``You Asked For It'' is celebrating its 50th birthday, an anniversary special will be part of the pitch.
The special would be used to launch the series, and it would incorporate library footage, new material and a
host or hosts to be determined.
``Name That Tune'' likely would be a straight series pitch, also with a new host. The new ``Tune'' will be a
game-variety hybrid, perhaps including such new elements as live performances. The type of music used will
be selected according to the targeted demo.
Multiple international versions of both shows continue to run in territories worldwide. And the formats have
been adapted domestically in recent years. A show called ``Name That Video'' ran on VH1 earlier this year,
and a few years back NBC mounted a ``You Asked for It'' special.
Retro TV
Newest Reality TV Show For CBS
``American Fighter Pilots''
``American Fighter Pilots,'' planned for midseason on CBS, will be the first new TV series drawing on post-Sept.
11 action against terrorism by the United States.
Described by the network as a '``Top Gun'-like reality series,'' the program follows fighter pilot trainees at
work and home in footage shot before the attacks on New York and Washington.
Many of the pilots are now part of the U.S. anti-terrorist war, CBS said. They are being interviewed abroad
about their experiences during ``the current world situation,'' the network said.
The program's executive producers include Tony Scott, who directed the 1986 film ``Top Gun'' starring Tom Cruise.
``American Fighter Pilots''
Foiling Crime In Real Life
Dean ''Superman'' Cain
Hunky "Superman" star Dean Cain chased down and helped capture rocker Rod Stewart's oldest son after he
allegedly beat a young patron at a posh Malibu, Calif., eatery.
Sean Stewart, 21, was busted after Cain and his brother witnessed the bizarre attack, tore after the
suspect and cornered him in a nearby store.
Jason Rogland, 19, suffered a concussion in the bizarre attack that left him unconscious outside the
restaurant Nobu on Cross Creak Road.
The assault occurred in front of the famed restaurant as Stewart and Rogland passed each other.
Stewart suddenly attacked Jason, kicking and punching him.
Standing nearby were Cain, who starred in the hit ABC series "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of
Superman," and his brother, Roger.
They quickly leaped into action and chased Stewart to a nearby video store, where they stood guard
until the cops came, a witness said.
Dean ''Superman'' Cain
Returning To The Big Screen
Cindy Crawford
The supermodel, super-celebrity whose 1995 action flick ''Fair Game'' super flopped at U.S. box offices, has
returned to movies in romance ``The Simian Line'' which opens nationwide the week of Dec. 17.
For Crawford, it marks a return to an entertainment medium she has failed to conquer after super success as a
model, TV show host, and video producer. And she's no longer taking a fast-track to movie stardom in a big-budget,
highly-promoted Hollywood film like ``Fair Game.'' She's chosen a low-budget independent film where she can earn some acting stripes.
More important to her, she was working with Award-winning director Linda Yellen, a veteran of the indie movie scene who is
known for her hands-on approach to filmmaking.
``It was like acting camp for two weeks,'' said Crawford.
Crawford says she saw a chance to work with a great group of colleagues. She took it, and she may be back for more.
``I wouldn't say I'm actively pursuing acting, but it's not something I'd say 'no' to. But with this one, it instantly was like, 'why not?'''
Cindy Crawford & Acting
NRA Opens Tora Bora Office
Really
Afghan tribal fighters, backed by devastating U.S. airstrikes and nighttime raids by American special forces,
overran al-Qaida's Tora Bora cave hide-outs on Tuesday and set a deadline for the surrender of fleeing members
of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.............
A sniper nest on top of a ridge contained three dead al-Qaida fighters, their bodies shredded by heavy machine gun fire.
Outside an al-Qaida gun training center, paper targets from the National Rifle Association littered the ground complete
with names and scores written in Arabic.
NRA's Tora Bora Office
Auction News Update
Salinger Letters Fail To Sale
A 35-year correspondence between "The Catcher in the Rye" author J.D. Salinger and his daughter Margaret failed
to sell at auction Wednesday.
Bidding for the 32 letters at the Sotheby's auction house started at $130,000 and was stopped at $170,000 because
it didn't meet the minimum price the seller was willing to accept, said Lauren Gioia, a Sotheby's spokeswoman. The
minimum price was not made public.
The letters begin in 1958 when Margaret "Peggy" Salinger was 2 and end in 1992 when Salinger advises her to terminate her pregnancy.
Wednesday's auction came a year after the publication of Margaret Salinger's "Dream Catcher: A Memoir," a best-selling,
tell-all autobiography in which she said the hermit-like author drank his own urine, spoke in tongues and rarely had sex with his wife.
J.D. Salinger, 82, has not published anything since 1965 and has remained publicly silent for years. He lives in Cornish,
N.H., with his third wife.
Salinger Letters Withdrawn
BC Entertainment Favorite Link
Moose & Squirrel Information One-Stop
http://geocities.com/mooseandsquirrel1
What a great site! Information and reference materials of the first order!
Between 'Moose & Squirrel' and 'Google', who needs 'refdesk'!
In TV, Movies, Music
The Top Fives
TELEVISION FILMS SINGLES AND TRACKS ALBUMS
By The Associated Press,
1. ``CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,'' CBS.
2. ``Friends,'' NBC.
3. ``60 Minutes,'' CBS.
4. ``Everybody Loves Raymond,'' CBS.
5. ``Law & Order,'' NBC.
(From Nielsen Media Research)
1. ``Ocean's Eleven,'' Warner Bros.
2. ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,'' Warner Bros.
3. ``Behind Enemy Lines,'' Fox.
4. ``Monsters, Inc.,'' Disney.
5. ``Spy Game,'' Universal.
(From Exhibitor Relations Co.)
1. ``U Got It Bad,'' Usher. Arista.
2. ``Family Affair,'' Mary J. Blige. MCA.
3. ``How You Remind Me,'' Nickelback. Roadrunner.
4. ``Hero,'' Enrique Iglesias. Interscope.
5. ``Turn Off The Light,'' Nelly Furtado. DreamWorks.
(From Billboard magazine)
1. ``Weathered,'' Creed. Wind-up.
2. ``Now 8,'' Various Artists. EMI/Universal/Sony/Zomba/Virgin.
3. ``Word Of Mouf,'' Ludacris. Disturbing Tha Peace.
4. ``Scarecrow,'' Garth Brooks. Capitol Nashville.
5. ``Britney,'' Britney Spears. Jive.
(From Billboard magazine)
The Top Fives
It's Official - Newest Category For Academy Awards
Best Animated Feature
For the first time ever, next year's Academy Awards will hand out an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Wednesday that nine films are eligible for
the award next March 24, after the Academy decided last year to create a category honoring the
once-overlooked genre. The list includes everything from traditional, hand-drawn animation
( The Trumpet of the Swan) to computer animation ( Shrek, Monsters, Inc.) and even animation mixed
with live action (yup, the Farrelly brothers' Osmosis Jones is eligible).
The decision to hand out a Best Animated Feature Oscar came last September, after years of lobbying
by frustrated animators, and after the Academy acknowledged the flood of animated films hitting multiplexes.
The nine eligible flicks were chosen from 13 entries. The most notable of the also-rans: Warner Bros.'
live-action Cats & Dogs, which featured computer-generated special effects, but apparently didn't
meet the Academy's rigid criteria.
Three nominees will be chosen by a 100-member screening committee led by Academy Governor Tom Hanks.
Half of the committee will be animators, and the other half will include members of the Academy's other branches.
Newest Category For The Academy Awards - Best Animated Feature
23 Years Later
Artwork Returned
The last of seven Norman Rockwell paintings stolen from a Minneapolis art gallery 23 years ago have been
recovered from Brazil and will be returned to their owner, the FBI said Wednesday.
The three works, worth more than $700,000, were among those stolen from Elayne Galleries during an exhibition in 1978.
All three appeared to be in good condition, authorities said.
One of the paintings, ``Spirit of '76,'' depicts an Edison, N.J., Boy Scout troop marching down a dirt road carrying
drums and an American flag. The skyline of New York City, including the then newly opened World Trade Center, is visible
in the painting's lower right corner.
A second work, ``So Much Concern,'' shows Scouts tending to a sapling. The third, ``A Hasty Retreat,'' depicts two
shoeless men and a dog running past a ``No swimming'' sign. Rockwell died in 1978.
After 23 Years, Norman Rockwell Paintings Returned
Theatre In Death Valley Junction
Marta Becket
When the theater lights dim and the audience is gone, Marta Becket slips off her ballet shoes and
reviews her work.
She eases her 77-year-old body into a creaky, old donated theater seat, alone with her thoughts
inside the cold, aging building.
It was a good show, a good audience for such a chilly night in this desert ghost town.
Watching her is the audience she painted on the walls long ago - kings, queens, nuns, monks,
ladies of the night. They were here before most tourists came to see her one-woman show, and they are her solace.
"After the show, when I'm alone and putting things away and just the stage is lit. I love that
moment. It's sort of a magic moment," Becket says.
This is a fairly
long story about an amazing woman. First read of her in the National Geographic years ago. If you're
ever in her neighborhood, do yourself a favor......oh, and 'klicken sie hier' and read the rest of this tale.
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"Boondocks" (9 Oct 01)
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
