Reuters, LOS ANGELES: As preparations for next Sunday's Academy Awards move into high gear, the show's producers have booted a number of familiar elements.
Gone will be the movie montages -- like last year's salute to horror movies -- that often contribute to the broadcast's unwieldy running time. While there will be film clips from the ten best picture nominees and brief filmed introductions to different segments of the show, "Within the body of the show, we are not doing any film montage sequences," said Bruce Cohen, who will produce with Don Mischer.
Gone too will be the relatively new tradition, established just two years ago, of using five presenters to offer tribute testimonials about each of the best actor and actress nominees. "We're not going to do that this year," Cohen told the Hollywood Reporter. "What we did love about it was that it was a moment where each of the nominees really gets their due. (But) we found a version of that, without using the five people on stage, from the 1970 Oscars, and we stole it."
The producers also have enlisted the nominees' mothers to participate in promotion and pre-show activities, and some of them will be in the audience for the telecast.
This year's producing team is restoring individual performances of the four nominated songs, which were eliminated last year. Producers were upset that Cher, a major audience draw, was not nominated for her Burlesque ballad, "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me."
"We were surprised, and we were disappointed," Cohen says when of the song, which won its composer Diane Warren a Golden Globe but failed to earn an Academy nomination.
They have lined up most of the other names associated with the songs that were nominated, though: Oscar perennial Randy Newman will perform his "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3"; Mandy Moore and Zachary Levy, who sang the duet "I See The Light" on the "Tangled" soundtrack will reteam with composer Alan Menken; and Gwyneth Paltrow, who sings "Coming Home" in "Country Strong" will reprise that tune on the broadcast.
Because English pop singer Dido, who was nominated along with Rollo Armstrong and A.R. Rahman for the song "If I Rise," from "127 Hours" was not available, the producers have drafted Florence Welch from Grammy-nominated act Florence + the Machine to appear with Rahman.
"We feel we really lucked out, and this is a good year to bring the best song performances back," Cohen says.
Emmys honor former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young
AP, NEW YORK: Former U.S. Ambassador and Atlanta ex-Mayor Andrew Young is being honored by the Emmy Awards for television work more than 50 years ago.
As a young minister living in New York, Young made frequent appearances on the CBS-TV show "Look Up and Live" from 1957 to 1960.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said Wednesday that Young was one of the first black Americans with a regular television presence. Currently, he hosts the syndicated show "Andrew Young Presents."
The academy said it is giving Young an award for lifetime achievement on Friday, presented by former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw. The Emmys give out this award irregularly, with Walt Disney Co. chief Robert Iger the most recent recipient in 2005.
As a young minister living in New York, Young made frequent appearances on the CBS-TV show "Look Up and Live" from 1957 to 1960.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said Wednesday that Young was one of the first black Americans with a regular television presence. Currently, he hosts the syndicated show "Andrew Young Presents."
The academy said it is giving Young an award for lifetime achievement on Friday, presented by former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw. The Emmys give out this award irregularly, with Walt Disney Co. chief Robert Iger the most recent recipient in 2005.
AP critics split on Oscar best picture winner
AP, LOS ANGELES: Associated Press Movie Writers David Germain and Christy Lemire agree on who will win five of the six top categories at Sunday's Academy Awards, but they are divided on the biggest of all.
Germain predicts "The King's Speech" will be crowned best picture, while Lemire picks "The Social Network." They both agree David Fincher will earn the directing Oscar for "The Social Network."
Here are their predictions, with both sounding off on best picture, Lemire offering their take on best actor and director, and Germain giving their opinion on best actress, supporting actor and supporting actress.
___
BEST PICTURE
Nominees: "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech," "127 Hours," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit," "Winter's Bone."
GERMAIN:
The British monarchy has staying power, and so does "The King's Speech." It seemed the early favorite after premiering late summer at film festivals, but the it was relegated to also-ran status once "The Social Network" debuted and began its near-sweep of critics' honors.
Then guilds representing directors, actors and producers — whose memberships have a lot of overlap with Oscar voters — dethroned "The Social Network" by giving their top awards to "The King's Speech."
There's still a chance "The Social Network" could pull off an upset. It's a biting commentary on the here-and-now, masterfully written, produced and performed.
But "The King's Speech" is a virtually flawless work — elegant yet enormously entertaining, regal yet slyly amusing, momentous yet deeply personal. It's a tale of unlikely camaraderie among the highborn and the common folk and, surprisingly, an Everyman story whose Everyman just happens to be the king of England.
Old-time costume dramas such as "The King's Speech" used to rule the Oscars, but edgy contemporary stories such as "The Social Network" have taken over in recent years. In a once-and-future-king swing back to historical pageants, "The King's Speech" will reign come Oscar night.
LEMIRE: "The King's Speech" is a gorgeous film, but it's also a very safe film. It hits all the notes you expect it to hit and does so beautifully. They may as well hand out checklists at the door for all the elements that tend to appeal to Oscar voters: It's about the British monarchy, it's historical, it focuses on a character overcoming adversity.
"The Social Network," meanwhile, is daring from its first moments. It grabs you with Aaron Sorkin's smart, snappy dialogue. It moves you with David Fincher's fluid, virtuoso directing. It takes topics that might have seemed alienating and complicated — computer coding and competing lawsuits — and makes them vibrant and almost sexy. It pulsates with energy, leaps off the screen with bold performances, and it couldn't be more contemporary.
Who isn't on Facebook? You probably found our Oscar picks because someone you're "friends" with posted them there.
"The Social Network" was the early favorite to win the best picture Oscar because it truly is the best picture of the year, and the best picture for our times.
___
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees: Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"; David O. Russell, "The Fighter"; Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"; David Fincher, "The Social Network"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "True Grit."
LEMIRE: No one else but David Fincher could have directed "The Social Network." Aaron Sorkin's dense, sprawling script required a deft hand; his words, and his complex, "Rashomon"-style structure bring out the inherent sense of movement in Fincher's directing style.
Technically, this is the least show-offy film Fincher has ever made. "The Social Network" is all about character, the drama of evolving relationships, the way greed and ambition bring people together and tear them apart. And yet he pulls off a signature Fincher-ish feat in his depiction of the Winklevoss twins, played by one actor — the commanding and charismatic Armie Hammer — in two separate roles.
Even if — heaven forbid — "The King's Speech" is named best picture, it seems unlikely that Tom Hooper would get best director, even though he won that honor at the Directors Guild Awards, which traditionally are an excellent predictor of Oscar success.
Directing "The Social Network" simply feels like the more impressive achievement.
___
BEST ACTOR
Nominees: Javier Bardem, "Biutiful"; Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"; Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"; Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"; James Franco, "127 Hours."
LEMIRE: Colin Firth takes what could have been a mawkish, heavy-handed role — that of England's King George VI, overcoming a lifelong stammer with the help of his unorthodox speech therapist — and he makes it funny yet biting, subtle yet heartbreaking. He humanizes a figure who would otherwise seem aloof and remote, and makes him flawed and recognizably human.
Firth has demonstrated tremendous range over nearly three decades as an actor, from comedies such as the original "Fever Pitch," "Love Actually" and the "Bridget Jones" movies to the dramas "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and "Where the Truth Lies" to even a fantasy ("Nanny McPhee") or a musical ("Mamma Mia!").
He was deeply moving in a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor last year — that of a gay man mourning the death of his longtime partner in "A Single Man" — and he would have won if Jeff Bridges hadn't also been competing in the category, and had it not been Bridges' time to win, finally, for "Crazy Heart."
Now, it's Firth's time.
___
BEST ACTRESS:
Nominees: Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"; Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"; Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"; Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine."
GERMAIN:
At least Annette Bening will not lose this time to Hilary Swank, who has won in two of the three years that Bening previously had Oscar nominations.
Swank missed out on a nomination for her sturdy role in "Conviction," and Bening probably would be a lock to win were it not for a career performance by Natalie Portman as a ballerina going bonkers in "Black Swan."
Portman just loses herself in the role and sucks the audience in after her as her character spirals into a fantastic world of delusion. It's one of those showy roles too irresistible to pass up for academy members, whose acting branch is the largest block of voters.
Hollywood would love to give veteran Bening an Oscar, so she and hubby Warren Beatty can have a matching set. And Bening is very deserving as a stern, sardonic yet loving mom whose same-sex spouse cheats on her in "The Kids Are All Right."
But this is a year when Portman's cuckoo bird beats Bening's cuckolded lesbian.
___
SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Nominees: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"; John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner, "The Town"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"; Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech."
GERMAIN:
Christian Bale used to talk about how he envied the late Heath Ledger on the set of "The Dark Knight." As the Joker, a role that won Ledger a posthumous Oscar two years ago, Ledger got to carom around with wicked abandon in a supporting role while Bale had to remain all anal and repressed in the title role as Batman.
With "The Fighter," it was Bale's turn to carom in the supporting role. As boxer-turned-drug-abuser-and-criminal Dicky Eklund, Bale bobs and weaves and rants and brays around lead player Mark Wahlberg. Bale jabbers and pulsates with a ferocity that's truly surprising given the many stoic, tightly wound roles he has played.
He faces superb competition. Mark Ruffalo's prince of laid-back charm in "The Kids Are All Right," John Hawkes nearly out-Bales Bale for quiet menace in "Winter's Bone" and Geoffrey Rush practically steals "The King's Speech," a huge accomplishment given how extraordinary Colin Firth is in the title role.
But Bale does steal "The Fighter" from Wahlberg in the same way Ledger stole "The Dark Knight" from him. And now Bale will follow fallen pal Ledger as an Oscar winner.
___
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees: Amy Adams, "The Fighter"; Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"; Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"; Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"; Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom."
GERMAIN:
Melissa Leo just would not go quietly, the way most moderately successful actresses do once they hit 40.
After presumably peaking as a regular on TV's acclaimed "Homicide: Life on the Street" in her 30s, Leo surged back in her late 40s and now 50s with two Oscar nominations, including this one for her role as the overbearing matriarch of a boxing clan in "The Fighter."
Actors love her, figuring if she can do it, why not them? Some may love her a little less after Leo paid for her own Hollywood trade ads to rustle up Oscar votes, a move that generally smacks of desperation.
But backlash from Leo's ads won't deprive her of an Oscar. Hailee Steinfeld will.
With a remarkable film debut, 14-year-old Steinfeld has vaulted into the ranks of child stars. Just like her character — a precocious teen who hires a lawman to track her father's killer in "True Grit" — Steinfeld shows poise and self-possession far beyond her years.
And this is the one category where both debut performances and child actors have had Oscar success. The youngest actors to win Oscars — 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal for "Paper Moon," 11-year-old Anna Paquin for "The Piano" and 16-year-old Patty Duke for "The Miracle Worker" — all earned their awards as supporting actress.
Germain predicts "The King's Speech" will be crowned best picture, while Lemire picks "The Social Network." They both agree David Fincher will earn the directing Oscar for "The Social Network."
Here are their predictions, with both sounding off on best picture, Lemire offering their take on best actor and director, and Germain giving their opinion on best actress, supporting actor and supporting actress.
___
BEST PICTURE
Nominees: "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech," "127 Hours," "The Social Network," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit," "Winter's Bone."
GERMAIN:
The British monarchy has staying power, and so does "The King's Speech." It seemed the early favorite after premiering late summer at film festivals, but the it was relegated to also-ran status once "The Social Network" debuted and began its near-sweep of critics' honors.
Then guilds representing directors, actors and producers — whose memberships have a lot of overlap with Oscar voters — dethroned "The Social Network" by giving their top awards to "The King's Speech."
There's still a chance "The Social Network" could pull off an upset. It's a biting commentary on the here-and-now, masterfully written, produced and performed.
But "The King's Speech" is a virtually flawless work — elegant yet enormously entertaining, regal yet slyly amusing, momentous yet deeply personal. It's a tale of unlikely camaraderie among the highborn and the common folk and, surprisingly, an Everyman story whose Everyman just happens to be the king of England.
Old-time costume dramas such as "The King's Speech" used to rule the Oscars, but edgy contemporary stories such as "The Social Network" have taken over in recent years. In a once-and-future-king swing back to historical pageants, "The King's Speech" will reign come Oscar night.
LEMIRE: "The King's Speech" is a gorgeous film, but it's also a very safe film. It hits all the notes you expect it to hit and does so beautifully. They may as well hand out checklists at the door for all the elements that tend to appeal to Oscar voters: It's about the British monarchy, it's historical, it focuses on a character overcoming adversity.
"The Social Network," meanwhile, is daring from its first moments. It grabs you with Aaron Sorkin's smart, snappy dialogue. It moves you with David Fincher's fluid, virtuoso directing. It takes topics that might have seemed alienating and complicated — computer coding and competing lawsuits — and makes them vibrant and almost sexy. It pulsates with energy, leaps off the screen with bold performances, and it couldn't be more contemporary.
Who isn't on Facebook? You probably found our Oscar picks because someone you're "friends" with posted them there.
"The Social Network" was the early favorite to win the best picture Oscar because it truly is the best picture of the year, and the best picture for our times.
___
BEST DIRECTOR
Nominees: Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"; David O. Russell, "The Fighter"; Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"; David Fincher, "The Social Network"; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "True Grit."
LEMIRE: No one else but David Fincher could have directed "The Social Network." Aaron Sorkin's dense, sprawling script required a deft hand; his words, and his complex, "Rashomon"-style structure bring out the inherent sense of movement in Fincher's directing style.
Technically, this is the least show-offy film Fincher has ever made. "The Social Network" is all about character, the drama of evolving relationships, the way greed and ambition bring people together and tear them apart. And yet he pulls off a signature Fincher-ish feat in his depiction of the Winklevoss twins, played by one actor — the commanding and charismatic Armie Hammer — in two separate roles.
Even if — heaven forbid — "The King's Speech" is named best picture, it seems unlikely that Tom Hooper would get best director, even though he won that honor at the Directors Guild Awards, which traditionally are an excellent predictor of Oscar success.
Directing "The Social Network" simply feels like the more impressive achievement.
___
BEST ACTOR
Nominees: Javier Bardem, "Biutiful"; Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"; Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"; Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"; James Franco, "127 Hours."
LEMIRE: Colin Firth takes what could have been a mawkish, heavy-handed role — that of England's King George VI, overcoming a lifelong stammer with the help of his unorthodox speech therapist — and he makes it funny yet biting, subtle yet heartbreaking. He humanizes a figure who would otherwise seem aloof and remote, and makes him flawed and recognizably human.
Firth has demonstrated tremendous range over nearly three decades as an actor, from comedies such as the original "Fever Pitch," "Love Actually" and the "Bridget Jones" movies to the dramas "Girl With a Pearl Earring" and "Where the Truth Lies" to even a fantasy ("Nanny McPhee") or a musical ("Mamma Mia!").
He was deeply moving in a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor last year — that of a gay man mourning the death of his longtime partner in "A Single Man" — and he would have won if Jeff Bridges hadn't also been competing in the category, and had it not been Bridges' time to win, finally, for "Crazy Heart."
Now, it's Firth's time.
___
BEST ACTRESS:
Nominees: Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"; Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"; Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"; Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine."
GERMAIN:
At least Annette Bening will not lose this time to Hilary Swank, who has won in two of the three years that Bening previously had Oscar nominations.
Swank missed out on a nomination for her sturdy role in "Conviction," and Bening probably would be a lock to win were it not for a career performance by Natalie Portman as a ballerina going bonkers in "Black Swan."
Portman just loses herself in the role and sucks the audience in after her as her character spirals into a fantastic world of delusion. It's one of those showy roles too irresistible to pass up for academy members, whose acting branch is the largest block of voters.
Hollywood would love to give veteran Bening an Oscar, so she and hubby Warren Beatty can have a matching set. And Bening is very deserving as a stern, sardonic yet loving mom whose same-sex spouse cheats on her in "The Kids Are All Right."
But this is a year when Portman's cuckoo bird beats Bening's cuckolded lesbian.
___
SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Nominees: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"; John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner, "The Town"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"; Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech."
GERMAIN:
Christian Bale used to talk about how he envied the late Heath Ledger on the set of "The Dark Knight." As the Joker, a role that won Ledger a posthumous Oscar two years ago, Ledger got to carom around with wicked abandon in a supporting role while Bale had to remain all anal and repressed in the title role as Batman.
With "The Fighter," it was Bale's turn to carom in the supporting role. As boxer-turned-drug-abuser-and-criminal Dicky Eklund, Bale bobs and weaves and rants and brays around lead player Mark Wahlberg. Bale jabbers and pulsates with a ferocity that's truly surprising given the many stoic, tightly wound roles he has played.
He faces superb competition. Mark Ruffalo's prince of laid-back charm in "The Kids Are All Right," John Hawkes nearly out-Bales Bale for quiet menace in "Winter's Bone" and Geoffrey Rush practically steals "The King's Speech," a huge accomplishment given how extraordinary Colin Firth is in the title role.
But Bale does steal "The Fighter" from Wahlberg in the same way Ledger stole "The Dark Knight" from him. And now Bale will follow fallen pal Ledger as an Oscar winner.
___
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees: Amy Adams, "The Fighter"; Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"; Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"; Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"; Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom."
GERMAIN:
Melissa Leo just would not go quietly, the way most moderately successful actresses do once they hit 40.
After presumably peaking as a regular on TV's acclaimed "Homicide: Life on the Street" in her 30s, Leo surged back in her late 40s and now 50s with two Oscar nominations, including this one for her role as the overbearing matriarch of a boxing clan in "The Fighter."
Actors love her, figuring if she can do it, why not them? Some may love her a little less after Leo paid for her own Hollywood trade ads to rustle up Oscar votes, a move that generally smacks of desperation.
But backlash from Leo's ads won't deprive her of an Oscar. Hailee Steinfeld will.
With a remarkable film debut, 14-year-old Steinfeld has vaulted into the ranks of child stars. Just like her character — a precocious teen who hires a lawman to track her father's killer in "True Grit" — Steinfeld shows poise and self-possession far beyond her years.
And this is the one category where both debut performances and child actors have had Oscar success. The youngest actors to win Oscars — 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal for "Paper Moon," 11-year-old Anna Paquin for "The Piano" and 16-year-old Patty Duke for "The Miracle Worker" — all earned their awards as supporting actress.
Judge tells Lindsay Lohan guilty plea means jail
Reuters, LOS ANGELES: Lindsay Lohan was warned on Wednesday that any plea bargain on her jewelry theft charge would involve jail time, but the troubled actress seemed set on rejecting any deals and opting instead to risk a trial.
Lohan, 24, was given until March 10, to consider a plea deal offered by prosecutors on a charge that she walked out of a Los Angeles jewelry store in January without paying for a $2,500 necklace.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed at Wednesday's hearing -- the latest in a series of trips to court that have halted Lohan's once promising movie career.
But celebrity website TMZ.com, citing unnamed sources connected to the case, said prosecutors want Lohan to plead guilty and serve six months in jail to avoid a possibly longer sentence if convicted at trial of stealing the necklace.
Lohan and her lawyers had been hoping for an arrangement that would avoid any more time behind bars. The actress spent two weeks in jail last summer on a probation violation in a 2007 drunk driving and cocaine conviction.
But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz told her sternly that "this case does involve jail time. Period. If you plead (guilty) in front of me and the case is resolved in front of me, you are going to jail, period."
Lohan pleaded not guilty to grand theft at an initial hearing earlier in February, and has told friends she believed the necklace was on loan.
Schwartz said on Wednesday he doubted Lohan and her lawyers would accept a plea deal. "I get the impression you are not going to accept the (prosecutors') offer, okay. I don't have a crystal ball, and I'm not privy to any inside information, but that is the feeling that I got."
TMZ.com reported that Lohan told a friend after leaving the courtroom she was not guilty and would not accept going back to jail. She has until March 10 to consider her response.
"I don't care that you are Lindsay Lohan versus John Doe," Schwartz lectured the "Mean Girls" actress. "You will be treated exactly the same as anyone else, no better or worse."
Lohan, dressed in cream pants and a low-cut black blouse, said little during Wednesday's hearing, conferring quietly with her attorney and answering the judge, "yes, your honor," when asked if she understood what he said to her.
Lohan faces a separate court hearing before a different judge in her 2007 drunk driving conviction. She remains on probation in that case and in January completed a court-ordered three month stay in rehab -- her fifth stint in treatment in three years.
Schwartz said he would recommend psychological counseling for Lohan as part of her sentence, telling her "I don't want you to be a repeat offender....I want you to get on with your life and move on."
Lohan made her name as an 11-year-old in the Disney movie "The Parent Trap" and went on to have hits with "Freaky Friday" and "Herbie Fully Loaded".
But she lost her lead part in a movie about 1970s porn actress Linda Lovelace while she was in rehab last year.
Lohan, 24, was given until March 10, to consider a plea deal offered by prosecutors on a charge that she walked out of a Los Angeles jewelry store in January without paying for a $2,500 necklace.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed at Wednesday's hearing -- the latest in a series of trips to court that have halted Lohan's once promising movie career.
But celebrity website TMZ.com, citing unnamed sources connected to the case, said prosecutors want Lohan to plead guilty and serve six months in jail to avoid a possibly longer sentence if convicted at trial of stealing the necklace.
Lohan and her lawyers had been hoping for an arrangement that would avoid any more time behind bars. The actress spent two weeks in jail last summer on a probation violation in a 2007 drunk driving and cocaine conviction.
But Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz told her sternly that "this case does involve jail time. Period. If you plead (guilty) in front of me and the case is resolved in front of me, you are going to jail, period."
Lohan pleaded not guilty to grand theft at an initial hearing earlier in February, and has told friends she believed the necklace was on loan.
Schwartz said on Wednesday he doubted Lohan and her lawyers would accept a plea deal. "I get the impression you are not going to accept the (prosecutors') offer, okay. I don't have a crystal ball, and I'm not privy to any inside information, but that is the feeling that I got."
TMZ.com reported that Lohan told a friend after leaving the courtroom she was not guilty and would not accept going back to jail. She has until March 10 to consider her response.
"I don't care that you are Lindsay Lohan versus John Doe," Schwartz lectured the "Mean Girls" actress. "You will be treated exactly the same as anyone else, no better or worse."
Lohan, dressed in cream pants and a low-cut black blouse, said little during Wednesday's hearing, conferring quietly with her attorney and answering the judge, "yes, your honor," when asked if she understood what he said to her.
Lohan faces a separate court hearing before a different judge in her 2007 drunk driving conviction. She remains on probation in that case and in January completed a court-ordered three month stay in rehab -- her fifth stint in treatment in three years.
Schwartz said he would recommend psychological counseling for Lohan as part of her sentence, telling her "I don't want you to be a repeat offender....I want you to get on with your life and move on."
Lohan made her name as an 11-year-old in the Disney movie "The Parent Trap" and went on to have hits with "Freaky Friday" and "Herbie Fully Loaded".
But she lost her lead part in a movie about 1970s porn actress Linda Lovelace while she was in rehab last year.
Paltrow to join Coldplay husband in UK charts
Reuters, LONDON: Actress Gwyneth Paltrow looks set to enter the British music charts when the weekly ranking is confirmed, entering a domain normally dominated by husband and Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin.
Boosted by her appearance on the "Glee" television series aired this week in Britain, the 38-year-old Oscar winner is at number 24 with her version of "Singing in the Rain/Umbrella" and at number 29 with a cover of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You."
Combined with a third song which she performs on the TV show, tracks featuring Paltrow have sold more than 10,000 copies, according to midweek data provided by the Official Charts Company. The final chart positions are confirmed on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Grammy-winning British singer Adele looks set to retain her position at number one in the singles chart with "Someone Like You," the song she performed at last week's Brit awards.
And she looks set to top the album chart too with "21," so far outselling the rest of the top five combined.
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: "The impact of Gwyneth Paltrow and the continuing Brits effect demonstrates how powerful TV can be in influencing music tastes and interests in the digital world.
"The Brits downloads started selling immediately after they were performed on TV, and the instant impact of this week's 'Glee' performances underlines the same power."
Boosted by her appearance on the "Glee" television series aired this week in Britain, the 38-year-old Oscar winner is at number 24 with her version of "Singing in the Rain/Umbrella" and at number 29 with a cover of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You."
Combined with a third song which she performs on the TV show, tracks featuring Paltrow have sold more than 10,000 copies, according to midweek data provided by the Official Charts Company. The final chart positions are confirmed on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Grammy-winning British singer Adele looks set to retain her position at number one in the singles chart with "Someone Like You," the song she performed at last week's Brit awards.
And she looks set to top the album chart too with "21," so far outselling the rest of the top five combined.
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: "The impact of Gwyneth Paltrow and the continuing Brits effect demonstrates how powerful TV can be in influencing music tastes and interests in the digital world.
"The Brits downloads started selling immediately after they were performed on TV, and the instant impact of this week's 'Glee' performances underlines the same power."
Judge tells Lohan day of reckoning coming soon
AP, LOS ANGELES: A judge on Wednesday gave Lindsay Lohan roughly two weeks to decide if she will fight or take a plea deal in a felony grand theft case, but either decision could send the troubled starlet back behind bars.
Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz told Lohan he would sentence her to jail if she accepted a plea deal involving the theft of a $2,500 necklace from an upscale jewelry store.
"If you plead in front of me, if this case is resolved in front of me, you are going to jail," Schwartz said. "Period."
Lohan, 24, has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Rejecting the deal would trigger a hearing during which prosecutors would present some of their evidence to another judge. Schwartz said that judge would sentence Lohan for a probation violation if she determined Lohan should stand trial.
That could mean Lohan is sentenced to jail even before the theft case is tried.
Schwartz has said he thinks the actress violated her probation in a 2007 drunken driving case, and two other judges have warned Lohan she faced a return to jail if she got into trouble again.
That was before police began investigating the "Mean Girls" star last month after the necklace was reported missing from the store in the Venice area of Los Angeles. The necklace was given to detectives by an unidentified Lohan associate before police could serve a search warrant.
Wearing high-waisted white pants and a low-cut black top, Lohan told Schwartz she understood her options. She left the courtroom wearing sunglasses and clutching her mother's hand.
Prosecutors gave Lohan's attorney Shawn Holley a copy of surveillance video from the jewelry store and police reports in the case. The potential evidence will now be reviewed by Lohan and Holley, who must decide how to proceed before the actress returns to court on March 10.
Schwartz told the actress he was treating her like any other defendant and wanted her to know precisely what she was facing.
"I want you to get on with your life," Schwartz said.
He said he doubted Lohan would take the plea deal, which prosecutors declined to discuss after the hearing.
Lohan has lived with the near-constant prospect of returning to jail since May, when she missed a court hearing in the DUI case and a judge revoked her probation. She was sentenced to jail twice and rehab twice last year alone, but her incarcerations have been shortened by jail overcrowding.
Schwartz did not talk in detail about a report he received from probation officials, but said he thought Lohan's release conditions should be modified if she is placed back on probation. He also said Lohan should receive psychological counseling and get a new sobriety sponsor to "to get your life back on track."
Lohan's father, Michael Lohan, agreed with the judge's assessment after the hearing, saying his divorce from his wife had created many of their daughter's problems.
Michael Lohan believes his daughter should fight the theft case.
"I don't see Lindsay as a criminal," he said. "This is all a result of her addiction."
The theft case is not the former star's only legal concern. On Monday, she was cited for driving 59 mph in a 35 mph zone in West Hollywood, sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
Prosecutors in Riverside County are also considering whether to charge Lohan with misdemeanor battery for an altercation with a rehab worker at a Betty Ford Center facility in December. She received three months of treatment at the facility after failing a drug test last year.
The constant cycle of court appearances has kept Lohan's career stalled. She lost her part in a biopic of porn star Linda Lovelace during her recent rehab stint and has not appeared in any major projects since 2007, when she was arrested twice and charged with drunken driving and cocaine possession.
Superior Court Judge Keith Schwartz told Lohan he would sentence her to jail if she accepted a plea deal involving the theft of a $2,500 necklace from an upscale jewelry store.
"If you plead in front of me, if this case is resolved in front of me, you are going to jail," Schwartz said. "Period."
Lohan, 24, has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Rejecting the deal would trigger a hearing during which prosecutors would present some of their evidence to another judge. Schwartz said that judge would sentence Lohan for a probation violation if she determined Lohan should stand trial.
That could mean Lohan is sentenced to jail even before the theft case is tried.
Schwartz has said he thinks the actress violated her probation in a 2007 drunken driving case, and two other judges have warned Lohan she faced a return to jail if she got into trouble again.
That was before police began investigating the "Mean Girls" star last month after the necklace was reported missing from the store in the Venice area of Los Angeles. The necklace was given to detectives by an unidentified Lohan associate before police could serve a search warrant.
Wearing high-waisted white pants and a low-cut black top, Lohan told Schwartz she understood her options. She left the courtroom wearing sunglasses and clutching her mother's hand.
Prosecutors gave Lohan's attorney Shawn Holley a copy of surveillance video from the jewelry store and police reports in the case. The potential evidence will now be reviewed by Lohan and Holley, who must decide how to proceed before the actress returns to court on March 10.
Schwartz told the actress he was treating her like any other defendant and wanted her to know precisely what she was facing.
"I want you to get on with your life," Schwartz said.
He said he doubted Lohan would take the plea deal, which prosecutors declined to discuss after the hearing.
Lohan has lived with the near-constant prospect of returning to jail since May, when she missed a court hearing in the DUI case and a judge revoked her probation. She was sentenced to jail twice and rehab twice last year alone, but her incarcerations have been shortened by jail overcrowding.
Schwartz did not talk in detail about a report he received from probation officials, but said he thought Lohan's release conditions should be modified if she is placed back on probation. He also said Lohan should receive psychological counseling and get a new sobriety sponsor to "to get your life back on track."
Lohan's father, Michael Lohan, agreed with the judge's assessment after the hearing, saying his divorce from his wife had created many of their daughter's problems.
Michael Lohan believes his daughter should fight the theft case.
"I don't see Lindsay as a criminal," he said. "This is all a result of her addiction."
The theft case is not the former star's only legal concern. On Monday, she was cited for driving 59 mph in a 35 mph zone in West Hollywood, sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
Prosecutors in Riverside County are also considering whether to charge Lohan with misdemeanor battery for an altercation with a rehab worker at a Betty Ford Center facility in December. She received three months of treatment at the facility after failing a drug test last year.
The constant cycle of court appearances has kept Lohan's career stalled. She lost her part in a biopic of porn star Linda Lovelace during her recent rehab stint and has not appeared in any major projects since 2007, when she was arrested twice and charged with drunken driving and cocaine possession.
Oscar is golden, but film business shows some tarnish
Reuters, LOS ANGELES: Oscar week is upon Hollywood and the champagne is flowing freely at numerous parties celebrating the world's top movie honors, but when the film industry wakes up with a hangover from Sunday's awards, it faces a cold reality.
Digital technologies are rapidly changing the way movies are delivered to consumers. DVD sales are continuing their multi-year decline with no end in sight. Theater attendance is off a whopping 23 percent so far in 2011 compared to the same point one year ago. And not even 3D is saving it, anymore.
Financial and analysts say movie makers and distributors need to keep up with rapidly changing consumer behavior in an era when entertainment is cheap and readily available on the Internet. Many in Hollywood agree, and are working to change. But profitable new ways of doing business have been slow to come, and the consequence could be an industry on the decline in much the same way as music industry was in the 2000s.
"The trends that we see today are similar in many ways, although I don't think we're the same as the music industry," said Mitch Singer, chief technology officer for Sony Pictures Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp. "Revenues are declining, people are finding other ways to access our content," he said.
Attendance at U.S. and Canada theaters so far this year is down to 173 million tickets sold compared to 225 million for the same time period in 2010 -- a decrease of 23 percent, according to tracking firm Hollywood.com Box Office.
There are bright spots for the movie industry, especially internationally. The Motion Picture Association of America on Wednesday said global box office receipts in 2010 hit $31.8 billion, an increase of 8 percent from the year before.
The Asia Pacific region saw the most growth with a 21 percent uptick. But the trade group acknowledged U.S. and Canada box office results were flat in 2010, at $10.6 billion.
Worse, consumers bought only $10 billion in home video entertainment products in 2010, compared to $14 billion in 2004 when the DVD market was booming, reports IHS Screen Digest.
'ARE STUDIOS DEAD?'
Jeffrey Korchek, vice president of legal and business affairs at Mattel Inc, recently wrote an opinion piece for The Huffington Post titled "Are Studios Dead?" in which he argued movies are becoming low-value commodities because companies such as Netflix and Coinstar's Redbox make renting so cheap.
Redbox rents movies for $1 a day at kiosks, a price studios grumble about, and Netflix, with some 20 million subscribers, lets consumers stream all the movies they want for $7.99. Amazon.com this week rolled out a streaming movie service for customers who pay $79 a year for free shipping on other items.
Overall spending in home entertainment rentals has declined to $6.3 billion last year from $8.6 billion in 2001, according to IHS Screen Digest.
"Where is the movie business' Steve Jobs, the person who knows what people want to see before they do, knows that giving content away for free on the Internet isn't such a good idea and who creates excitement, brand loyalty and an enduring corporate culture?" Korchek wrote.
But if there is no single superhero leading the industry, the studios are taking some steps to secure the future.
They have invested in 3D and looked at ways consumers can receive movies in homes faster, as well as created systems for selling digital copies of films directly to customers.
There are now 8,455 screens with 3D technology in the United States, accounting for over 20 percent of all screens, according to the National Association of Theater Owners.
Thanks in part to higher ticket prices of $3 or more, 3D movies could account for 30 percent of box office results in 2011, said Eric Wold, an analyst with Merriman Curham Ford.
But already there are signs of weakening in the 3D market, and Matthew Lieberman, a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers' entertainment division, said consumers are becoming more thoughtful in choosing which films they want to see in 3D.
"The ability to maintain that price premium is definitely a point of concern," Lieberman said.
Elsewhere, several Hollywood studios this year will roll out a system called Ultraviolet, which will allow consumers to register a movie purchased online so they can stream the film through laptops, Blu-ray players and any future device.
"We anticipate a lot of consumers signing up for Ultraviolet," said Sony's Singer, who oversees Ultraviolet. He added that the overall market for digital downloads of movies and TV shows could grow to $480 million this year.
But compared to the billions of dollars Hollywood is accustomed to raking in from movies, that figure looks far less than golden -- the color of an Oscar.
Digital technologies are rapidly changing the way movies are delivered to consumers. DVD sales are continuing their multi-year decline with no end in sight. Theater attendance is off a whopping 23 percent so far in 2011 compared to the same point one year ago. And not even 3D is saving it, anymore.
Financial and analysts say movie makers and distributors need to keep up with rapidly changing consumer behavior in an era when entertainment is cheap and readily available on the Internet. Many in Hollywood agree, and are working to change. But profitable new ways of doing business have been slow to come, and the consequence could be an industry on the decline in much the same way as music industry was in the 2000s.
"The trends that we see today are similar in many ways, although I don't think we're the same as the music industry," said Mitch Singer, chief technology officer for Sony Pictures Entertainment, a division of Sony Corp. "Revenues are declining, people are finding other ways to access our content," he said.
Attendance at U.S. and Canada theaters so far this year is down to 173 million tickets sold compared to 225 million for the same time period in 2010 -- a decrease of 23 percent, according to tracking firm Hollywood.com Box Office.
There are bright spots for the movie industry, especially internationally. The Motion Picture Association of America on Wednesday said global box office receipts in 2010 hit $31.8 billion, an increase of 8 percent from the year before.
The Asia Pacific region saw the most growth with a 21 percent uptick. But the trade group acknowledged U.S. and Canada box office results were flat in 2010, at $10.6 billion.
Worse, consumers bought only $10 billion in home video entertainment products in 2010, compared to $14 billion in 2004 when the DVD market was booming, reports IHS Screen Digest.
'ARE STUDIOS DEAD?'
Jeffrey Korchek, vice president of legal and business affairs at Mattel Inc, recently wrote an opinion piece for The Huffington Post titled "Are Studios Dead?" in which he argued movies are becoming low-value commodities because companies such as Netflix and Coinstar's Redbox make renting so cheap.
Redbox rents movies for $1 a day at kiosks, a price studios grumble about, and Netflix, with some 20 million subscribers, lets consumers stream all the movies they want for $7.99. Amazon.com this week rolled out a streaming movie service for customers who pay $79 a year for free shipping on other items.
Overall spending in home entertainment rentals has declined to $6.3 billion last year from $8.6 billion in 2001, according to IHS Screen Digest.
"Where is the movie business' Steve Jobs, the person who knows what people want to see before they do, knows that giving content away for free on the Internet isn't such a good idea and who creates excitement, brand loyalty and an enduring corporate culture?" Korchek wrote.
But if there is no single superhero leading the industry, the studios are taking some steps to secure the future.
They have invested in 3D and looked at ways consumers can receive movies in homes faster, as well as created systems for selling digital copies of films directly to customers.
There are now 8,455 screens with 3D technology in the United States, accounting for over 20 percent of all screens, according to the National Association of Theater Owners.
Thanks in part to higher ticket prices of $3 or more, 3D movies could account for 30 percent of box office results in 2011, said Eric Wold, an analyst with Merriman Curham Ford.
But already there are signs of weakening in the 3D market, and Matthew Lieberman, a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers' entertainment division, said consumers are becoming more thoughtful in choosing which films they want to see in 3D.
"The ability to maintain that price premium is definitely a point of concern," Lieberman said.
Elsewhere, several Hollywood studios this year will roll out a system called Ultraviolet, which will allow consumers to register a movie purchased online so they can stream the film through laptops, Blu-ray players and any future device.
"We anticipate a lot of consumers signing up for Ultraviolet," said Sony's Singer, who oversees Ultraviolet. He added that the overall market for digital downloads of movies and TV shows could grow to $480 million this year.
But compared to the billions of dollars Hollywood is accustomed to raking in from movies, that figure looks far less than golden -- the color of an Oscar.
Clooney says women, drugs rule him out of politics
Reuters, LOS ANGELES: Actor George Clooney will play a flawed presidential candidate in his latest movie, but he has again rejected the notion of running for politics in real life.
"I didn't live my life the right way for politics, you know," the Oscar-winning actor told Newsweek magazine in a cover story about his humanitarian work in Sudan.
"I f**ked too many chicks and did too many drugs, and that's the truth," said Clooney, who has twice been declared People magazine's sexiest man alive.
Clooney, 49, said a smart political campaigner would "start from the beginning by saying, 'I did it all. I drank the bong water. Now let's talk about issues' That's gonna be my campaign slogan: 'I drank the bong water.'?"
Clooney, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his supporting role in "Syriana", gave a similar rejoinder in 2007 to suggestions that he should run for the U.S. Senate against Republican Mitch McConnell.
Clooney, a political liberal, was named a United Nations messenger of peace in 2008 for his efforts to draw international attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
He told Newsweek his job in the region was to "amplify the voice of the guy who lives here and is worried about his wife and children being slaughtered".
"And if he finds me and asks, 'You got a big megaphone?' and I say 'Yes.' 'You got a decent-size mountain to yell it from?'. 'Yeah, I got a pretty-good sized mountain.' 'Will you do me a favor and yell it?' And I go 'Absolutely.'"
Clooney is currently working on the movie "The Ides of March" about an idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate who gets a crash course in dirty politics. Clooney will direct and star in the film, and he co-wrote the screenplay.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
"I didn't live my life the right way for politics, you know," the Oscar-winning actor told Newsweek magazine in a cover story about his humanitarian work in Sudan.
"I f**ked too many chicks and did too many drugs, and that's the truth," said Clooney, who has twice been declared People magazine's sexiest man alive.
Clooney, 49, said a smart political campaigner would "start from the beginning by saying, 'I did it all. I drank the bong water. Now let's talk about issues' That's gonna be my campaign slogan: 'I drank the bong water.'?"
Clooney, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his supporting role in "Syriana", gave a similar rejoinder in 2007 to suggestions that he should run for the U.S. Senate against Republican Mitch McConnell.
Clooney, a political liberal, was named a United Nations messenger of peace in 2008 for his efforts to draw international attention to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
He told Newsweek his job in the region was to "amplify the voice of the guy who lives here and is worried about his wife and children being slaughtered".
"And if he finds me and asks, 'You got a big megaphone?' and I say 'Yes.' 'You got a decent-size mountain to yell it from?'. 'Yeah, I got a pretty-good sized mountain.' 'Will you do me a favor and yell it?' And I go 'Absolutely.'"
Clooney is currently working on the movie "The Ides of March" about an idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate who gets a crash course in dirty politics. Clooney will direct and star in the film, and he co-wrote the screenplay.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
Randy Quaid may be allowed to stay in Canada
Reuters, VANCOUVER: Hollywood actor Randy Quaid is a step closer to being allowed to live in Canada, after fleeing from what he said was a conspiracy of "star whackers" who were out to get him, his attorneys said on Wednesday.
Canadian border officials have ended their efforts to send him back to the United States where he is facing criminal vandalism charges in a property dispute, the attorneys said.
Quaid's wife Evi was granted Canadian citizenship this month because her father was born in Canada, and she is now allowed to sponsor her husband to remain in the country as a permanent resident, lawyer Catherine Sas said.
A final decision on his residency request will be made by Canadian immigration authorities, but he can remain in the country while that happens.
Quaid, who appeared in films such as "Brokeback Mountain", "Independence Day" and National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies, thanked Canada for giving the couple a "the opportunity to live in peace."
The Quaids arrived in Vancouver in October, and filed for refugee status after they were arrested by Canadian police on a warrant from California.
The couple said they feared for their lives and needed to escape a mysterious group of "Hollywood star whackers" who they alleged were killing celebrities for their money.
"When Evi and I came to Canada in October last year, we could never have envisioned how things would unfold or how our lives would change," Quaid said in a statement.
Sas said the couple "looked forward to resolving all legal matters in the United States in the same positive matter."
The attorneys said that Canadian authorities have concluded the U.S. evidence was not strong enough to extradite Quaid from Canada, adding that should help his court case in California.
Quaid, the older brother of actor Dennis Quaid, has said he plans to do acting work in Vancouver, which has a large movie and television production industry.
Canadian border officials have ended their efforts to send him back to the United States where he is facing criminal vandalism charges in a property dispute, the attorneys said.
Quaid's wife Evi was granted Canadian citizenship this month because her father was born in Canada, and she is now allowed to sponsor her husband to remain in the country as a permanent resident, lawyer Catherine Sas said.
A final decision on his residency request will be made by Canadian immigration authorities, but he can remain in the country while that happens.
Quaid, who appeared in films such as "Brokeback Mountain", "Independence Day" and National Lampoon's "Vacation" movies, thanked Canada for giving the couple a "the opportunity to live in peace."
The Quaids arrived in Vancouver in October, and filed for refugee status after they were arrested by Canadian police on a warrant from California.
The couple said they feared for their lives and needed to escape a mysterious group of "Hollywood star whackers" who they alleged were killing celebrities for their money.
"When Evi and I came to Canada in October last year, we could never have envisioned how things would unfold or how our lives would change," Quaid said in a statement.
Sas said the couple "looked forward to resolving all legal matters in the United States in the same positive matter."
The attorneys said that Canadian authorities have concluded the U.S. evidence was not strong enough to extradite Quaid from Canada, adding that should help his court case in California.
Quaid, the older brother of actor Dennis Quaid, has said he plans to do acting work in Vancouver, which has a large movie and television production industry.
Caltech ends 310-game conference losing streak
AP, PASADENA, Calif: Caltech ended its 310-game conference losing streak in men's basketball Tuesday night, beating Occidental College 46-45 in its season finale.
Ryan Elmquist hit the go-ahead free throw with 3 seconds left for the Division III Beavers, who had lost every Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game they had played since Jan. 23, 1985.
"I hope that everyone who has participated in Caltech men's basketball is able to celebrate a little bit tonight," Caltech coach Oliver Eslinger said. "We still have goals and aspirations that we want to accomplish as a program, and this win is another step towards meeting these objectives."
Caltech is a famed private research university with a heavy emphasis on science and engineering. The school has just 950 undergraduates and doesn't give out athletic scholarships, but 31 alumni and faculty have won the Nobel Prize.
Caltech finished the season 5-20, its best record in 15 years. The Beavers went 0-25 last season and hadn't won more than one game in any of their previous eight seasons — but back in 2007, Caltech ended an NCAA-record 207-game losing streak with a victory over Bard College of New York.
The Beavers have a great sense of humor about their athletic struggles, but they still celebrated at the Braun Athletic Center after Occidental missed its desperation shot at the buzzer.
When Caltech won its last conference game more than 26 years ago, four-time NBA champion coach Gregg Popovich was running the bench at SCIAC rival Pomona-Pitzer.
Not everything is looking up athletically at Caltech: the women's basketball team finished its season 0-25, losing to Occidental 82-35 on Tuesday night.
Ryan Elmquist hit the go-ahead free throw with 3 seconds left for the Division III Beavers, who had lost every Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game they had played since Jan. 23, 1985.
"I hope that everyone who has participated in Caltech men's basketball is able to celebrate a little bit tonight," Caltech coach Oliver Eslinger said. "We still have goals and aspirations that we want to accomplish as a program, and this win is another step towards meeting these objectives."
Caltech is a famed private research university with a heavy emphasis on science and engineering. The school has just 950 undergraduates and doesn't give out athletic scholarships, but 31 alumni and faculty have won the Nobel Prize.
Caltech finished the season 5-20, its best record in 15 years. The Beavers went 0-25 last season and hadn't won more than one game in any of their previous eight seasons — but back in 2007, Caltech ended an NCAA-record 207-game losing streak with a victory over Bard College of New York.
The Beavers have a great sense of humor about their athletic struggles, but they still celebrated at the Braun Athletic Center after Occidental missed its desperation shot at the buzzer.
When Caltech won its last conference game more than 26 years ago, four-time NBA champion coach Gregg Popovich was running the bench at SCIAC rival Pomona-Pitzer.
Not everything is looking up athletically at Caltech: the women's basketball team finished its season 0-25, losing to Occidental 82-35 on Tuesday night.
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