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[Mohamad]

Exclusive: U2's North American tour cancelled











LONDON/MUNICH (Reuters) - U2 frontman Bono left hospital in Germany on Tuesday after undergoing emergency surgery on his back, but the injury has forced the Irish band to postpone the entire North American leg of its world tour.


It also means the band will not be appearing at Glastonbury, one of the biggest live music events of the annual pop calendar.
Bono has been told to recuperate for at least eight weeks and band manager Paul McGuinness, speaking to Reuters outside the Munich hospital where the operation was performed on Friday, said the 50-year-old singer "feels awful" about the tour changes, which will affect over a million fans.
"Clearly this is a serious injury and the recuperation time necessary to rehabilitate Bono is a big problem for the U2 tour and has unfortunately necessitated the postponement of 16 shows in North America," he said.
"Those shows were to occur between June 3 in Salt Lake City and July 19 in Meadowlands Stadium."
The earliest possible date for Bono's return, according to the band's website, would be August 6 in Turin, Italy.
U2 were to have been the headline act on the main stage at Glastonbury on June 25, but that has now been canceled.
"I'm heartbroken," Bono said in a statement posted on the festival's website. "We really wanted to be there to do something really special -- we even wrote a song especially for the festival."
BLOW TO LIVE NATION
As well as the band and fans, the injury will also hit Live Nation, the music concert company which signed a 12-year deal to handle merchandising, digital and branding rights and touring for one of the world's most successful bands.
"Obviously Bono feels terrible about missing these shows and we are working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reinstate them and reschedule them for next year," McGuinness said.
"For a performer like him to miss shows is a terrible thing and he feels awful about it. He shouldn't. The most important thing is for him to get better and return to his full power as a performer."
Joerg Tonn, the neurosurgeon treating the star, described Bono's condition as a "sudden onset disease" which caused temporary partial paralysis. The injury happened while the singer was training in preparation for the tour.
"He was already in severe pain with partial paralysis of the lower leg. The ligaments surrounding the disc had an eight millimeter tear and during surgery we discovered fragments of the disc had travelled into the spine canal.
"The surgery was the only cause of treatment for full recovery and to avoid further paralysis. Bono is now much better with complete recovery of his motor-deficit.
"His prognosis is excellent but to obtain a sustainable result he must now enter a period of rehabilitation."
The 2009 part of the tour helped the band earn $109 million last year, according to music journal Billboard. The U2 360 Tour, so-called because fans surround a giant circular platform, was predicted to become the highest-grossing tour in history.
The band, with hits like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name", is one of the world's biggest. They have sold over 150 million records, according to unofficial estimates.
(Reporting and writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Steve Addison)

[Mohamad]

Jack Bauer turns fugitive on final "24

Cast member Kiefer Sutherland poses at the party for the television series finale of ''24'' in Los Angeles April 30, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni




TORONTO (Reuters) - After eight horrifying days, U.S. special agent Jack Bauer ended his career on television's hit action show "24" on Monday by turning into a fugitive from justice and being forced to escape the country he loved.
Entertainment | Television
It seemed a fitting end for Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) because during the show's eight seasons -- each one-hour episodes elapsed as if it were one hour in a day -- the tough-as-nails super agent always landed in trouble.
The cliffhanger ending also will undoubtedly leave loyal fans guessing about the plot of a planned movie based on the show now that it has gone off the Fox network for good.
Earlier this month, "24" executive producer Howard Gordon had promised fans that "to give Jack a happy ending didn't feel authentic," and he and Sutherland did not disappoint.
In Monday's gripping final two hours, Bauer came within a razor's edge of being executed with the tacit knowledge of U.S. president Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), even as he grew closer to assassinating a Russian president who conspired to sabotage a historic global peace agreement.
"Day 8" began earlier this year just as Bauer seemed to be at peace with himself and was preparing for a quiet family life, but he was reluctantly asked to help New York City's Counter Terrorism Unit stop the assassination of the president of fictitious Islamic Republic of Kamistan (IRK).
The attempt to save the IRK president failed and Bauer discovered the Russian -- a reluctant partner in the peace treaty -- was behind the assassination and working with former U.S. president Charles Logan, Bauer's nemesis since "Day 4".
Bauer threatened to unravel the conspiracy, and immediately became a target for murder. In the finale's last minutes, President Taylor stopped Bauer's assassination and advised him to flee the country, because the "Russians will be coming after you -- and so will we."
The final scene ended with an emotional goodbye between Bauer and his long-time trusted friend and colleague, Chloe O'Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub), before he disappeared off-grid.
While viewers say so long to Bauer on TV screens, expect him to return again in movie theaters.
When Sutherland, Gordon and the Fox television network announced in March that the show would be yanked off the air, they also said they were working on a movie. No details were available as a script was still in development.
"24" premiered on U.S. airwaves in November 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks in the United States, and over the course of eight seasons, its stories often echoed real-life events and controversies. Some episodes sparked heated debates about the effectiveness of torture, and others touched on issues of press freedom and nuclear arms.
During its run, the show garnered numerous Emmy awards, including best drama series in 2006. Sutherland was nominated for best actor seven times and won once

[Mohamad]

Crystal and Lee to sing for "American Idol" title

Jill Serjeant
LOS ANGELES
Tue May 25, 2010 8:54am EDT
Performer Casey James poses at the party for the 12 finalists of the television show ''American Idol'' in Los Angeles March 11, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze face off on Tuesday in a tighter-than expected battle for the 2010 "American Idol" title that pitches the Season 9 front-runner against a dark horse who peaked at just the right time.
Entertainment | Television
Bowersox, 24, a dreadlocked single mom from Ohio, and DeWyze, also 24, who a year ago was working in a Chicago paint store, are expected to sing three songs apiece in Tuesday's live finale from Los Angeles.
The song choices are being kept secret but will likely include an original, inspirational song that the winner will instantly release as his or her first single.
Voting is expected to be close, given the transformation in the past three weeks of DeWyze from a shy, nervous performer to a confident bluesy singer and guitarist who brought the house down in last week's semifinals with his version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."
Bowersox, who also plays guitar as well as piano and harmonica, had previously been seen as a shoo-in for the title after virtually flawless performances throughout the season.
But in recent weeks, questions have arisen over how much Bowersox really wants the media attention and pressure that comes from being crowned "American Idol".
Bowersox, who struggled for years to make a living by playing in small town Ohio bars, and DeWyze are the last two standing from some 100,000 aspiring pop stars who auditioned last summer around the nation for the Fox TV singing contest.
Now in its 9th season, "American Idol" is still America's most watched TV show but has seen audiences slip by about 9 percent this year.
In recent weeks, less than 20 million viewers have been tuning in as the contest reaches its climax, compared to almost 30 million in 2006.
The winner will be announced at the end of a two-hour finale on Wednesday, and will get a recording contract and the chance to launch a Grammy-award winning career like those of previous "Idols" Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
Wednesday will also mark the departure of sharp-tongued British judge Simon Cowell, who announced in January that he was leaving to launch his own talent show "The X-Factor" on Fox in the fall of 2011. No replacement for Cowell has been yet been announced.

[Mohamad]

Lohan to undergo drug, alcohol tests

Mon, May 24 2010

BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) - Actress Lindsay Lohan was fitted with an alcohol monitoring device on Monday and ordered to undergo weekly random drug and alcohol testing after failing to appear for a probation hearing last week in a 2007 drunk driving case.
Entertainment | People
Brushing aside objections that the device would interfere with Lohan's upcoming projects, Beverly Hills judge Marsha Revel said the 23-year-old actress must now be tested for drug and alcohol use every week in Los Angeles.
Revel also ordered a probation violation hearing for July 6 that could result in further sanctions against the "Mean Girls" actress, whose movie career has fallen on hard times.
Lohan, who claimed she missed last week's probation hearing because her passport was stolen in France, appeared in court 10 minutes late on Monday looking nervous and dressed demurely in a white shirt and black pant suit.
She returned to Los Angeles this past Saturday after a week at the sun-drenched Cannes film festival on the French Riviera, where she was frequently photographed partying into the night.
The actress reluctantly agreed to the new conditions after her lawyer initially said they would interfere with plans for a photoshoot and an upcoming movie to be filmed in Texas.
"I am afraid she is going to have to delay them," Revel said. "She needs to submit to random testing here, not in Texas."
Judge Revel said Lohan has failed to complete alcohol education classes imposed as part of a 2007 sentence for reckless driving, drunken driving and driving under the influence of cocaine. She warned Lohan last October that she risked going to jail unless she took the matter seriously.
Lohan and her lawyer left court on Monday without speaking to dozens of journalist, photographers and camera crews.
Lohan was considered one of Hollywood's most talented young actresses after films like "Freaky Friday" and "Bobby".
But despite three stints in rehab in 2007, her movie career has slumped and her late-night partying at Hollywood clubs has become a staple of celebrity gossip columns.

[Mohamad]

Singer Christina Aguilera cancels summer tour

LOS ANGELES
Mon May 24, 2010 11:52pm EDT


Singer Christina Aguilera performs during a special live broadcast of ''Oprah'' at Radio City Music Hall in celebration of O Magazine's 10th anniversary in New York City in this May 7, 2010 photo.
Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson




LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop singer Christina Aguilera on Monday canceled plans for a summer concert tour blaming work on a new film and an upcoming album that squeezed rehearsal time, according to a statement from her spokeswoman.
Entertainment | Music | People | Lifestyle
The American singer will appear in new movie "Burlesque," due in theaters later this year, and she is currently promoting a new album "Bionic," which is set for release on June 8.
"The singer felt she needed more time to rehearse the show and with less than a month between the album release and tour date this wasn't possible," the statement said.
The North American tour had been set to start in July. New dates will be announced later this year, the statement said.
The first single from "Bionic," a tune called "Not Myself Tonight," debuted in March on Aguilera's official website and became available on iTunes in April.
But after peaking at No. 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the singer has also released a second single off her upcoming album, "Woohoo," featuring rapper Nicki Minaj.
Aguilera, 29, found pop success in the late 1990s and 2000s with hits like "Genie in a Bottle" and "What a Girl Wants," but in recent years she has faced stiff competition from a new round of singers including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.
"Bionic" will be her first album of new music since 2006's "Back to Basics."

[Mohamad]

Actor Gary Coleman "critical" in Utah hospital




Actor Gary Coleman arrives at the 6th Annual TV Land Awards in Santa Monica, California in this June 8, 2008 file photo.
Credit: Reuters/Chris Pizzello




LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former "Diff'rent Strokes" child star Gary Coleman was listed in "critical condition" in a Utah hospital on Thursday after reportedly injuring his head.
Entertainment | People
A spokeswoman for Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo declined to reveal anything beyond his condition, but said his family could release more information on Friday.
Coleman, 42, was hospitalized on Wednesday, after suffering what his brother-in-law told TMZ.com was a head injury after a fall. A spokesman for Coleman did not reply to an e-mail seeking comment.
Coleman, who lives in the nearby town of Santaquin, has already been to the hospital twice this year for seizure-related maladies. He also spent the night behind bars in January after being arrested at his home on domestic violence charges.

[Mohamad]

*** and the City 2" loses zing but still lures fans
































NEW YORK (Reuters) - "*** and the City" may have lost the scandalous story lines and antics that once left fans both shocked and delighted, but box office experts and devotees predict that won't stop fans flocking to the movie sequel.
Entertainment | Film
Women around the world are prepping their wardrobes for cocktail nights out and planning brunches and beauty treatments timed to watch Carrie Bradshaw and her three gal pals return in "*** and the City 2," that begins its worldwide roll-out on Thursday and opens in more than 30 countries by next week.
Similar to the first movie, many U.S. reviews have been less than flattering. USA Today called it a "mortifying mess", New York magazine "an epic eyesore," and the Los Angeles Times said "the satire is sagging, the irony's atrophied and the funny is flabby."
A few reviews were more positive. The Hollywood Reporter, for one, said the sequel has "more cutting edge humor" than the first film and for "the core audience, there will be no complaints about too much of a good thing. This picture is going to be a smash."
The first movie about four New York City women dealing with life and love raked in more than $415 million worldwide, and box office watchers expect solid ticket sales.
"Even if the movie is terrible, women don't care," said Hollywood.com box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. It's an event...and I think for a lot of women, this is their 'Star Wars.' These are the characters that they love."
Weeks before the debut, advance tickets were snapped up with more than 50 percent of early online ticket sales going in blocks of four or more, said Dergarabedian, "which means women are going in groups, they're making a girls night out of it, and that's music to the studio's ears, no question about it."
REVIEWS DON'T MATTER
Many women long ago planned shopping trips and other outings around the film, and to them reviews don't matter.
"The show is not supposed to cure cancer. It fulfills that fantasy of what New York City is to the people who don't live (here) and what it can be for those of us who do," said 39-year-old New York resident Monica Lozano.
In fact, screenings taking place just after midnight on Thursday, raked in $3 million, according to studio estimates.
The sequel, distributed by Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros, sees a return to celebrating the friendship of the four main characters -- Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha -- who reflect on marriage and motherhood, leaving behind their families for an unlikely extravagant holiday in Abu Dhabi.
Supporting characters from the TV series, such as Carrie's former boyfriend Aidan, appear in the sequel, and stars from Liza Minnelli to Miley Cyrus make cameo appearances.
And, of course, on display are many glamorous outfits that are sure to tantalize women everywhere who love fashion.
Much of the "*** and the City" success is owed to the idea that it made women believe there was no reason to be embarrassed about feeling good about your body and flaunting it, said Elle Magazine's fashion director Anne Slowey.
The show had a "phenomenal influence on the fashion industry," she said. "And it's a lot of fun. That's the bottom line. Fashion is fun. '*** and the City' is fun. It's the perfect marriage."
Cast members and trend experts said the influence of the franchise on pop culture has been nothing short of incredible since the groundbreaking TV series first aired in 1998.
"It's beyond anything that I could have hoped, dreamed for, pondered," Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie) told Reuters.
(additional reporting by Gemma Haines and Karina Ioffee, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

[Mohamad]

Sarah Ferguson to appear on Oprah



Sarah Ferguson, Britain's Duchess of York, signs copies of her book ''Helping Hand Books: Emily's First Day at School'' at the BookExpo America in New York May 26, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton




LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Britain's Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, will appear on Oprah Winfrey's talk show this coming Tuesday to discuss a videotape of her apparently offering to sell access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.
Entertainment | Television
In a statement on Thursday, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" said Ferguson will speak "about the recent video that has made headlines around the world." The show airs on June 1. No further details were announced.
This week, London's News of the World posted a video on its website in which Ferguson, who was divorced from Prince Andrew in 1996 after a decade-long marriage, seems to ask for $40,000 in cash and 500,000 pounds ($718,500) by wire transfer to introduce an undercover reporter to the prince.
The newspaper's "sting" operation has caused a major embarrassment for the 50-year-old Ferguson, also known as "Fergie," who has two daughters with Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth and fourth in line to the throne.
In a statement, Ferguson has said "It is true that my financial situation is under stress however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment and I am very sorry that this has happened."
The 50-year-old prince, also known as the Duke of York, and Ferguson have two daughters, 21-year-old Beatrice and Eugenie, 20.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" is among the top-rated daytime television talk shows in the United States and is seen on 215 U.S. stations and in some 144 countries around the world.
Celebrities often appear on Oprah's show to talk about their lives, and in some cases, attempt to redeem tarnished reputations after a scandal

[Mohamad]

Cowell exit is not only challenge facing 'Idol'

Jill Serjeant










LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The finale of "American Idol" drew its smallest audience since 2002 after a lackluster season that saw America's most-watched show lose its biggest star and posed challenges over how to recapture its sparkle.
U.S. | Entertainment | Television
An estimated 24.2 million viewers tuned in to the Fox network on Wednesday evening to watch Lee DeWyze beat Crystal Bowersox, and to bid farewell to British judge Simon Cowell -- an 18 percent drop from last year, according to preliminary ratings figures on Thursday.
The nine-year-old TV singing contest was the No.1 U.S. show of the night and has retained its top rating this season for the 7th consecutive year. But audiences were down nine percent this season to an average 23.9 million, compared to a 2006 high of about 30.8 million.
Fox entertainment chairman Peter Rice told reporters earlier this month that there was "no bigger question this summer" for the network than the replacement of Cowell.
The acid-tongued British judge has quit to launch his own show on Fox in 2011, saying he was bored after nine years on "Idol."
Cowell is not alone when it comes to "Idol" fatigue. Media watchers say Fox, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, and "Idol" producers need bigger fixes if the show is to recapture its buzz and retain its fans.
"If they are smart, they will look at this as a way to re-boot the show from top to bottom, starting with the auditions, which were once funny, to the weekly themes like Elvis and the Beatles, which are getting stale," Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak told Reuters.
The addition of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as a judge earlier this year was widely seen as a disappointment.
"Ellen was really dull. After that casting disaster, the Simon replacement is a pretty important one," said Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University.
DeGeneres signed a five-year contract with "Idol" and judges Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi have contracts that take them into 2011. But some "Idol" watchers think the entire panel should be thrown out.
"I would be really tempted to clean house on the panel and freshen the show up so much you would have to tune in because you know the dynamic would be so different," said USA Today music writer Brian Mansfield.
"I think they will be in real trouble if they succumb to the temptation to bring in another celebrity judge," he added.
Fox has already announced some tweaks to the 10th season, which starts airing in January 2011. The hour-long weekly results show will be cut by half, while contestants will get an extra 30 minutes in later stages of the contest to perform.
Aspiring singers can audition on MySpace for the first time in addition to try-outs before the judges in U.S. cities nationwide this summer, Fox said on Wednesday.
"American Idol" creator Simon Fuller believes the format has life in it yet. "I think 'American Idol' will continue for a few more years for sure...It has had a fantastic run, so I am not complaining," Fuller told Reuters earlier this month.
And Thompson said that although the show has a lot of problems to overcome, "'American Idol' performing mediocre is better than most series at their best, which is why I think it is probably going to be around for a while. It just may not continue to be No.1 every week."

[Mohamad]

The real Emmys fun happens at low-profile event



LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It's an event that has honored Sarah Silverman for her song "I'm F---ing Matt Damon" (from ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live"), blasphemed Jesus and featured nonagenarian fitness guru Jack LaLanne leading its audience in calisthenics.
Entertainment | Television | Media
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences calls it the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, but the event -- scheduled for August 21 at the Nokia Theatre and telecast in edited form the following Friday on E! Entertainment Television -- might more accurately be described as the Not Ready for Primetime Emmys.
Awards in 71 categories are handed out at the Creative Arts Emmys, more than double the amount at the Primetime Emmys, held a week later at the same venue. While the event has a handful of celebrity-friendly categories, like guest acting, the bulk of the awards are for below-the-line disciplines deemed too mundane for the big show, such as art direction, cinematography and sound editing.
The show's low profile has worked in its favor, making it one of the looser, edgier stops on the awards circuit.
"Because it's on a cable channel, not a broadcaster, and we know that the show is going to be edited, people tend to relax a little bit more with their language," TV Academy chairman and CEO John Shaffner says.
In recent years, the show has increased its celebrity quotient with high-profile hosts such as Penn & Teller, Neil Patrick Harris (who went on to host the Primetime Emmys in 2009) and George Lopez, and a growing number of TV star attendees and presenters, many of whom turn out to show support for the craftspeople on their shows.
One of the engines behind the evolution has been producer Spike Jones Jr., who started with the show in 1995 when it was just a modest dinner dance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
"It was noisy, people were smashed," Jones recalls. Although "3,000 people smashed is a lot of fun," he allows, "it was basically, 'Here's your award, here's your salad, have a nice day.'"
When the Emmys were moved to the Shrine Auditorium in 1998, the TV Academy decided to give the Creative Arts Awards its own telecast, albeit a modest one carried by TV Land. Jones was given just three cameras to cover the action and less than 24 hours to whittle the three-hour-plus show down to a 90-minute special airing the following night.
"That was nuts," Jones says. "We literally finished the show and all went to an edit facility. We were making edits that none of us really wanted to make. We'd say, 'Let's look away from the monitors so we don't have to see what's happening, because we're just killing this thing.'"
Although producers are now given four days to edit the show, the cuts can still be brutal, particularly when it comes to acceptance speeches. The TV Academy's generous policy of guaranteeing every winner face time on the telecast means that awardees' rambling lists of thank-yous are often cut down to mere soundbites.
"People complain, 'How come my son's speech was cut?' Well, he didn't say anything pithy," Jones says.
The most noteworthy acceptance speech -- and arguably the most famous moment in Creative Arts Emmy history -- came in 2007 when Kathy Griffin stepped to the podium to pick up the best reality program award for her Bravo show "My Life on the D-List."
"A lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus," Griffin said, holding up the statuette. "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my god now."
The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights denounced Griffin's remarks as "obscene and blasphemous," and the TV Academy announced that her speech would be edited for the telecast. But a funny thing happened on the way to Griffin's eternal damnation: She was invited back to host the ceremonies in 2009.
"Now that I've been around the block a few times, I've learned that's the way these things typically go," says Griffin, who affectionately refers to the Creative Arts Awards as "the Schmemmys." "I curse on CNN on New Year's Eve, I 'get in trouble,' I 'get banned,' then they look at the ratings, and I get invited back next year."
Nonetheless, there are limits to how far the show is willing to go. In 2007, Jones had planned to film a cold open for the telecast in which actors from different shows would sing the words to the Emmy-nominated song "D--k in a Box" from NBC's "Saturday Night Live," but TV Academy officials nixed the idea.
For many, the most controversial aspect of the Creative Arts Awards is the idea that their category is being shunted off to a separate-but-not-so-equal ceremony. But "Mad Men" costume designer Katherine Jane Bryant says she understands.
"It would be nice to be on primetime, like (the belo