Monty Python star Michael Palin to receive top British TV award

LONDON (Reuters) - Film and television star Michael Palin, who made his name as a founder of comedy group Monty Python, is to receive one of the British entertainment industry's highest accolades.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) said on Friday that Palin, who turns 70 this month, would be presented with an Academy Fellowship at the organization's annual TV awards ceremony on May 12.

BAFTA Chairman John Willis said the award recognized the contribution Palin had made to the industry over five decades.

"(His) amiable onscreen manner belies the seriousness of his craft," Willis said in a statement.

Palin started out writing television series and wrote and starred in some of Monty Python's best-known sketches including "Dead Parrot" and "The Lumberjack Song".

He won a BAFTA best supporting actor award for the 1988 comedy film "A Fish Called Wanda".

But from the late 1980s he turned his attention to travel documentaries, appearing in "Around the World in 80 Days", "Pole to Pole", and, most recently, "Brazil with Michael Palin".

Palin said it was a "very high honor" for anyone working in television to be awarded a BAFTA Fellowship.

"I'm well aware that any success I've had is down to team work. I've been blessed throughout my career with the inspiration and support of others," he said.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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Witherspoon pleads no contest, video of drunken arrest posted on Internet

(Reuters) - Academy award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon has pleaded no contest to a charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $100 fine after she was arrested with her husband following an evening out in Atlanta last month.

The deputy solicitor of the Municipal Court of Atlanta, Ronda Graham, said in a statement on Thursday that "the pending criminal matters against Ms. Reese Witherspoon and Mr. Jim Toth have been resolved."

Toth, 42, entered a guilty plea to drunk driving and received a $600 fine. He must also complete 40 hours of community service.

In a video of the arrest posted on the celebrity website TMZ, Witherspoon is shown accusing the state trooper who arrested her of harassment.

"Do you know my name?" she asks. "You're about to find out who I am."

The video was viewed more than 120,000 times on YouTube by Friday afternoon, and was picked up by other media outlets.

Witherspoon, who won a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of the country singer June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," apologized for her actions in an interview on the "Good Morning America" television show on Thursday.

She said she panicked after Toth was arrested and had told the officer "crazy things" after having too many glasses of wine in an restaurant in Atlanta, where she is filming a movie.

"I have no idea what I was talking about. And I am so sorry. I was so disrespectful to him," the mother-of-three said.

They were stopped after Toth crossed a double line on the road and then failed a blood-alcohol test.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; and Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Monty Python star Michael Palin to receive top British TV award

LONDON (Reuters) - Film and television star Michael Palin, who made his name as a founder of comedy group Monty Python, is to receive one of the British entertainment industry's highest accolades.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) said on Friday that Palin, who turns 70 this month, would be presented with an Academy Fellowship at the organization's annual TV awards ceremony on May 12.

BAFTA Chairman John Willis said the award recognized the contribution Palin had made to the industry over five decades.

"(His) amiable onscreen manner belies the seriousness of his craft," Willis said in a statement.

Palin started out writing television series and wrote and starred in some of Monty Python's best-known sketches including "Dead Parrot" and "The Lumberjack Song".

He won a BAFTA best supporting actor award for the 1988 comedy film "A Fish Called Wanda".

But from the late 1980s he turned his attention to travel documentaries, appearing in "Around the World in 80 Days", "Pole to Pole", and, most recently, "Brazil with Michael Palin".

Palin said it was a "very high honor" for anyone working in television to be awarded a BAFTA Fellowship.

"I'm well aware that any success I've had is down to team work. I've been blessed throughout my career with the inspiration and support of others," he said.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Louise Ireland)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Beyonce, J.Lo to headline London charity concert for women

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Florence & The Machine are teaming up for a four-hour charity concert in London next month to benefit women's health and education projects around the world.

The "Sound of Change Live" concert on June 1 in London's Twickenham sports stadium could fund at least 120 projects supporting girls and women in more than 70 nations, if all the tickets are sold, organizers said on Wednesday.

Organized by the Chime for Change campaign, founded by Italy fashion house Gucci, every ticket buyer will be able to choose which project their ticket will fund in what organizers said was a world first for such a venture.

Beyonce, currently on a European tour, will play a 45-minute set. She will be joined in the venture by singer and dancer Lopez, R&B artist John Legend, British indie sensation Ellie Goulding and rapper Timbaland, with more performers still to be announced.

U.S. actors James Franco, Blake Lively and Jada Pinkett Smith will be among the presenters.

"Our goal is to have a great time together while we unite and strengthen the voices of girls and women around the world," Beyonce said in a statement.

Rock promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who helped put on the Live Aid and Live Earth charity concerts, will produce the concert which will also be broadcast internationally.

Ticket prices range from 55-95 British pounds each ($85-$150) and 52,000 tickets are on sale.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Bono's one-time Sydney holiday home sells for record $55.4 million

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Sydney harborfront mansion has been sold for a record-setting A$54 million ($55.4 million) to a Chinese-born businessman, reinforcing the city's growing status as a hot property destination, newspapers said on Thursday.

On the market for six years, the luxurious eight-bedroom "Altona" in exclusive Point Piper was bought in a secret deal with the businessman who currently lives in Melbourne, the newspapers reported.

The property and its heated waterside pool and boathouse, rented by U2 rock star Bono in 2006 for a family holiday, was last sold in 2002 for A$28 million.

While Australian capital city home prices rose by only 1.3 percent in March, top end Sydney properties have attracted strong interest from Chinese buyers, and almost three in four international sales have gone to Asian buyers in recent years.

The Altona sale beat the previous Sydney property sale record of A$45 million, but fell short of the national record of A$57.5 million paid in 2009 by mining services magnate Chris Ellison for a sprawling riverfront home in Perth.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Beyonce, J.Lo to headline London charity concert for women

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Florence & The Machine are teaming up for a four-hour charity concert in London next month to benefit women's health and education projects around the world.

The "Sound of Change Live" concert on June 1 in London's Twickenham sports stadium could fund at least 120 projects supporting girls and women in more than 70 nations, if all the tickets are sold, organizers said on Wednesday.

Organized by the Chime for Change campaign, founded by Italy fashion house Gucci, every ticket buyer will be able to choose which project their ticket will fund in what organizers said was a world first for such a venture.

Beyonce, currently on a European tour, will play a 45-minute set. She will be joined in the venture by singer and dancer Lopez, R&B artist John Legend, British indie sensation Ellie Goulding and rapper Timbaland, with more performers still to be announced.

U.S. actors James Franco, Blake Lively and Jada Pinkett Smith will be among the presenters.

"Our goal is to have a great time together while we unite and strengthen the voices of girls and women around the world," Beyonce said in a statement.

Rock promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who helped put on the Live Aid and Live Earth charity concerts, will produce the concert which will also be broadcast internationally.

Ticket prices range from 55-95 British pounds each ($85-$150) and 52,000 tickets are on sale.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bono's one-time Sydney holiday home sells for record $55.4 million

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Sydney harborfront mansion has been sold for a record-setting A$54 million ($55.4 million) to a Chinese-born businessman, reinforcing the city's growing status as a hot property destination, newspapers said on Thursday.

On the market for six years, the luxurious eight-bedroom "Altona" in exclusive Point Piper was bought in a secret deal with the businessman who currently lives in Melbourne, the newspapers reported.

The property and its heated waterside pool and boathouse, rented by U2 rock star Bono in 2006 for a family holiday, was last sold in 2002 for A$28 million.

While Australian capital city home prices rose by only 1.3 percent in March, top end Sydney properties have attracted strong interest from Chinese buyers, and almost three in four international sales have gone to Asian buyers in recent years.

The Altona sale beat the previous Sydney property sale record of A$45 million, but fell short of the national record of A$57.5 million paid in 2009 by mining services magnate Chris Ellison for a sprawling riverfront home in Perth.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Nick Macfie)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Why the Rock is the first pro wrestler (or athlete) to become a movie star

By Lucas Shaw

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Ask a group of pro wrestling fans to name their favorite lord of the ring and you might get 10 different answers.

Older fans grew up idolizing Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair while newer fans might list Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

Yet ask those same people to pick their favorite wrestler-turned-movie star and the decision gets a whole lot easier.

There's only one choice.

Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, has starred in three movies over the past three months, "Snitch," "G.I Joe: Retaliation" and "Pain & Gain," and each film was the top new release at the box office its opening weekend.

His next movie, "Fast & Furious 6," will have to face down "The Hangover Part III" and "Epic" to keep that streak alive, but no one questions whether it will be a hit. Every film in the franchise has been, and early projections suggest the only question is whether it will hit $500 million, $750 million or $1 billion worldwide.

Johnson is currently in the midst of a streak unheard of not only in the history of former wrestlers but also other athletes who tried to cross over into the film business. Hogan, Cena, Shaq and even O.J. Simpson made a few movies, but none of them became a bona fide movie star. (Note: One sage reader pointed out that we forgot about Olympic swimming gold medalists Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe, who became "Tarzan" and "Flash Gordon," respectively. How could we forget Weissmuller's yell?)

"Everyone sitting in my chair is trying to work with Dwayne," Jeff Kirschenbaum, co-president of production at Universal, which has released five movies starring Johnson, told TheWrap. "I don't think he's having a moment. This isn't his 15 seconds of fame. He now has enough experience and craftsmanship that it's going to be a long run."

While this isn't the first time Johnson has been atop the box office, this is his first uninterrupted string of hits. His early films ranged from financially successful ("The Scorpion King," "The Game Plan," "The Tooth Fairy") to disappointing ("Doom," "The Rundown").

"I don't know that no one took him seriously because of wrestling, but he's the only person who has ever truly emerged out of that," an individual close to Johnson, who declined to be identified, told TheWrap.

So how did this happen? How did a former football player and member of the inimitable Rock 'n' Sock Connection became one of the most successful actors working today?

It starts with protein.

"He wakes up at 4 a.m. just so he can eat protein," Kirschenbaum, skinny as the Rock is broad, said. "He goes back to bed for an hour and at 5 a.m. he works out - when most people aren't even awake. He woke up an hour early just so the protein is already there to build muscle."

Johnson's morning routine has become a Hollywood legend, alongside Sean Penn's partying and Amanda Bynes' drunk driving.

Ask anyone who's worked with Johnson why he has succeeded where others have failed and they jump to tell a story about those pre-dawn workouts. It's what Ric Roman Waugh, who directed Johnson in "Snitch," dubbed the actor's "sweat equity."

"A lot of people can say 'we worked hard and can stay up late'," Waugh said. "But if they could only understand the amount of stuff he's putting into one day, it's astounding. The sky could be falling in his world, but in that moment you need him to focus, he's 100 percent with you."

That workload has only increased over the past two years. Since resurrecting his wrestling career in 2012, Johnson has expanded his film and TV work. Not only is he starring in several movies this year, but he just produced his first film, "Snitch," and is about to host a competition show on TNT, "The Hero."

When he first decided to try his hand at acting, Johnson retired from the WWE at the height of his popularity. Yet his specific wrestling personality explains why Johnson found his way in Hollywood where the likes of Hogan and Cena did not.

Like most any other wrestler, he can use his hands or a two-by-four to destroy someone. He demonstrated as much in early films like "The Scorpion King," where he played a mercenary, and "Walking Tall," where he played a veteran eager to rid his town of corruption.

Kirschenbaum described those early performances as "raw," and those early characters as two-dimensional. That is where the career path of most former pro wrestlers both started and stopped.

"Most wrestlers have been straight-forward characters or amped up versions of the real individual," Adi Shankar, producer of "The Grey" and an avid wrestling fan, told TheWrap. "Hulk Hogan acted in a bunch of B-movies playing Hulk Hogan."

Instead, Johnson and his representatives experimented from the get-go, taking roles most wrestlers would not want to touch.

He played the straight man next to Sean William Scott in "The Rundown," which also called for him to get dry humped by a gaggle of baboons.

He then played a gay bodyguard in "Be Cool," and later entered the family area with "Tooth Fairy" and "Journey 2." All of his hits in 2013 feature action scenes, but "Snitch" is an adult drama and "Pain & Gain" is as quirky as a Michael Bay movie comes.

"Most action stars out there would never ever break their brand," Waugh, a former stunt man, said. "They would read a script and see a scene where they get beat down and say the guy has to punch me at least 10 times and hit me with a bat 14 times. Dwayne is completely fearless."

Unlike most of his peers, Johnson's popularity in wrestling was never predicated on physical prowess or intimidation.

"Stone Cold would get over because he'd beat everyone up. Shawn Michaels was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Mick Foley would just do crazy stuff," Shankar said. "The Rock got over because he was funny. You take humor out of the Rock and you don't have anything."

Shankar can remember when he first fell in love with The Rock. The Undertaker, one of the largest, most intimidating wrestlers in the WWE, had just battered and bruised the former football player. At the next event, The Rock came out and challenged him.

"He said 'Undertaker, you think you impress The Rock with your Mickey Mouse tattoos?' He acted like the Undertaker's goal in life was to come out and impress The Rock," Shankar recalled. "He wasn't a heavyweight champion at this point - just a guy coming up. The Undertaker had been around for a decade."

He was a showman first and a wrestler second.

"No matter how bad the show was, The Rock could cut a promo and save it," Shankhar said. "He could get on the mic and speak for three minutes and save a bad show."

Some claim the same now applies to poorly received films, with some dubbing Johnson franchise Viagra. Did your last sequel fail? Hire Johnson.

Some, like Waugh, love this term. Yet many chafe against the idea that Johnson saved their movies, believing it disrespectful to the previous success of the franchises he joined.

Whether Viagra or a supporting hand, there is one thing all directors and studio executives can agree on.

"My biggest concern on my next movie is that he's not in it,"Waugh said.

12.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Laura Bush, top country singers headline George Jones memorial

(Reuters) - Country music legend George Jones will be remembered in a public memorial service featuring former First Lady Laura Bush and a list of speakers and musical performers including Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson on Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jones, whose honky-tonk career spanned more than six decades, died in Nashville last week at the age of 81.

The memorial service will be open to the public, the singer's publicist announced.

Jones, known for such hits as "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Window Up Above," will get a royal tribute from some of country music's biggest musicians, including singers Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt and Wynonna Judd.

Speakers at the service will also include singer Kenny Chesney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and TV news anchor Bob Schieffer.

The funeral will be broadcast on local and national television in the United States and on satellite radio.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Gary Hill)

12.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Why the Rock is the first pro wrestler (or athlete) to become a movie star

By Lucas Shaw

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Ask a group of pro wrestling fans to name their favorite lord of the ring and you might get 10 different answers.

Older fans grew up idolizing Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair while newer fans might list Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

Yet ask those same people to pick their favorite wrestler-turned-movie star and the decision gets a whole lot easier.

There's only one choice.

Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, has starred in three movies over the past three months, "Snitch," "G.I Joe: Retaliation" and "Pain & Gain," and each film was the top new release at the box office its opening weekend.

His next movie, "Fast & Furious 6," will have to face down "The Hangover Part III" and "Epic" to keep that streak alive, but no one questions whether it will be a hit. Every film in the franchise has been, and early projections suggest the only question is whether it will hit $500 million, $750 million or $1 billion worldwide.

Johnson is currently in the midst of a streak unheard of not only in the history of former wrestlers but also other athletes who tried to cross over into the film business. Hogan, Cena, Shaq and even O.J. Simpson made a few movies, but none of them became a bona fide movie star. (Note: One sage reader pointed out that we forgot about Olympic swimming gold medalists Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe, who became "Tarzan" and "Flash Gordon," respectively. How could we forget Weissmuller's yell?)

"Everyone sitting in my chair is trying to work with Dwayne," Jeff Kirschenbaum, co-president of production at Universal, which has released five movies starring Johnson, told TheWrap. "I don't think he's having a moment. This isn't his 15 seconds of fame. He now has enough experience and craftsmanship that it's going to be a long run."

While this isn't the first time Johnson has been atop the box office, this is his first uninterrupted string of hits. His early films ranged from financially successful ("The Scorpion King," "The Game Plan," "The Tooth Fairy") to disappointing ("Doom," "The Rundown").

"I don't know that no one took him seriously because of wrestling, but he's the only person who has ever truly emerged out of that," an individual close to Johnson, who declined to be identified, told TheWrap.

So how did this happen? How did a former football player and member of the inimitable Rock 'n' Sock Connection became one of the most successful actors working today?

It starts with protein.

"He wakes up at 4 a.m. just so he can eat protein," Kirschenbaum, skinny as the Rock is broad, said. "He goes back to bed for an hour and at 5 a.m. he works out - when most people aren't even awake. He woke up an hour early just so the protein is already there to build muscle."

Johnson's morning routine has become a Hollywood legend, alongside Sean Penn's partying and Amanda Bynes' drunk driving.

Ask anyone who's worked with Johnson why he has succeeded where others have failed and they jump to tell a story about those pre-dawn workouts. It's what Ric Roman Waugh, who directed Johnson in "Snitch," dubbed the actor's "sweat equity."

"A lot of people can say 'we worked hard and can stay up late'," Waugh said. "But if they could only understand the amount of stuff he's putting into one day, it's astounding. The sky could be falling in his world, but in that moment you need him to focus, he's 100 percent with you."

That workload has only increased over the past two years. Since resurrecting his wrestling career in 2012, Johnson has expanded his film and TV work. Not only is he starring in several movies this year, but he just produced his first film, "Snitch," and is about to host a competition show on TNT, "The Hero."

When he first decided to try his hand at acting, Johnson retired from the WWE at the height of his popularity. Yet his specific wrestling personality explains why Johnson found his way in Hollywood where the likes of Hogan and Cena did not.

Like most any other wrestler, he can use his hands or a two-by-four to destroy someone. He demonstrated as much in early films like "The Scorpion King," where he played a mercenary, and "Walking Tall," where he played a veteran eager to rid his town of corruption.

Kirschenbaum described those early performances as "raw," and those early characters as two-dimensional. That is where the career path of most former pro wrestlers both started and stopped.

"Most wrestlers have been straight-forward characters or amped up versions of the real individual," Adi Shankar, producer of "The Grey" and an avid wrestling fan, told TheWrap. "Hulk Hogan acted in a bunch of B-movies playing Hulk Hogan."

Instead, Johnson and his representatives experimented from the get-go, taking roles most wrestlers would not want to touch.

He played the straight man next to Sean William Scott in "The Rundown," which also called for him to get dry humped by a gaggle of baboons.

He then played a gay bodyguard in "Be Cool," and later entered the family area with "Tooth Fairy" and "Journey 2." All of his hits in 2013 feature action scenes, but "Snitch" is an adult drama and "Pain & Gain" is as quirky as a Michael Bay movie comes.

"Most action stars out there would never ever break their brand," Waugh, a former stunt man, said. "They would read a script and see a scene where they get beat down and say the guy has to punch me at least 10 times and hit me with a bat 14 times. Dwayne is completely fearless."

Unlike most of his peers, Johnson's popularity in wrestling was never predicated on physical prowess or intimidation.

"Stone Cold would get over because he'd beat everyone up. Shawn Michaels was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Mick Foley would just do crazy stuff," Shankar said. "The Rock got over because he was funny. You take humor out of the Rock and you don't have anything."

Shankar can remember when he first fell in love with The Rock. The Undertaker, one of the largest, most intimidating wrestlers in the WWE, had just battered and bruised the former football player. At the next event, The Rock came out and challenged him.

"He said 'Undertaker, you think you impress The Rock with your Mickey Mouse tattoos?' He acted like the Undertaker's goal in life was to come out and impress The Rock," Shankar recalled. "He wasn't a heavyweight champion at this point - just a guy coming up. The Undertaker had been around for a decade."

He was a showman first and a wrestler second.

"No matter how bad the show was, The Rock could cut a promo and save it," Shankhar said. "He could get on the mic and speak for three minutes and save a bad show."

Some claim the same now applies to poorly received films, with some dubbing Johnson franchise Viagra. Did your last sequel fail? Hire Johnson.

Some, like Waugh, love this term. Yet many chafe against the idea that Johnson saved their movies, believing it disrespectful to the previous success of the franchises he joined.

Whether Viagra or a supporting hand, there is one thing all directors and studio executives can agree on.

"My biggest concern on my next movie is that he's not in it,"Waugh said.

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Laura Bush, top country singers headline George Jones memorial

(Reuters) - Country music legend George Jones will be remembered in a public memorial service featuring former First Lady Laura Bush and a list of speakers and musical performers including Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson on Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jones, whose honky-tonk career spanned more than six decades, died in Nashville last week at the age of 81.

The memorial service will be open to the public, the singer's publicist announced.

Jones, known for such hits as "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Window Up Above," will get a royal tribute from some of country music's biggest musicians, including singers Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt and Wynonna Judd.

Speakers at the service will also include singer Kenny Chesney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and TV news anchor Bob Schieffer.

The funeral will be broadcast on local and national television in the United States and on satellite radio.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Gary Hill)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Catherine Zeta-Jones seeks help again for bipolar disorder

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones has sought help again for bipolar disorder, in what her publicist called a "pro-active" move to take care of her health.

It's the second-known trip to a healthcare facility for the British actress since 2011, when news first broke that she suffers from bipolar II disorder - a milder form of the illness that is marked by sharp mood swings and erratic behavior.

"Catherine has pro-actively checked into a healthcare facility," publicist Cece Yorke said on Monday. "Previously Catherine has said that she is committed to periodic care in order to manage her health in an optimum manner."

Zeta-Jones, 43, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2002 musical "Chicago," underwent treatment in 2011 for what aides said was the stress of coping with the advanced throat cancer diagnosis and treatment of her husband, actor Michael Douglas.

No specific reason was given this time for her decision to seek help.

Bipolar II is a milder form of the disorder and is marked by less manic "up" moods but more depressive episodes, according to medical experts. It can be treated with medication or therapy.

Zeta-Jones was last seen on screen in February in the crime thriller "Side Effects," which received warm critical acclaim.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Philip Barbara)

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Jackson looked like hospice patient, paramedic tells wrongful death trial

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson looked pale, thin and like a hospice patient on the day he died in 2009, a Los Angeles paramedic told a jury on Tuesday in the wrongful death lawsuit involving the pop star and the promoters of a never-realized series of London concerts.

Richard Senneff, the first witness in the civil trial, testified that he was initially unaware that the person lying in pajamas on a bed in the rented Los Angeles mansion was the world famous pop singer.

"The patient appeared to be chronically ill to me," Senneff testified, saying he could see Jackson's ribs. "He was very pale and underweight. I thought perhaps this was a hospice patient."

Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, appeared "frantic" but never mentioned that the "Thriller" singer had taken the anesthetic propofol, Senneff said.

"He was pale, he was sweating, he was very busy," Senneff said of Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson through an overdose of propofol, which is usually used in surgical settings.

Senneff, who gave similar testimony in Murray's 2011 criminal trial, was testifying on Tuesday on behalf of Jackson's mother and his three children.

Jackson's immediate family accuses AEG Live, who were promoting a series of London concerts by Jackson, of negligence in hiring Murray as the singer rehearsed for what would have been a career comeback after years out of the musical spotlight.

AEG Live maintains that Jackson kept his dependency on propofol secret from outsiders, and that a proposed contract with Murray was never fully executed.

Jackson, 50, was pronounced dead in a Los Angeles hospital on June 25, 2009, a day after a rehearsal and three weeks before the first concert was due to take place in London.

Katherine Jackson, 82, and the singer's two oldest children Prince and Paris, are also on the witness list later in the civil trial along with singers Diana Ross and Prince.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)

12.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Catherine Zeta-Jones seeks help again for bipolar disorder

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones has sought help again for bipolar disorder, in what her publicist called a "pro-active" move to take care of her health.

It's the second-known trip to a healthcare facility for the British actress since 2011, when news first broke that she suffers from bipolar II disorder - a milder form of the illness that is marked by sharp mood swings and erratic behavior.

"Catherine has pro-actively checked into a healthcare facility," publicist Cece Yorke said on Monday. "Previously Catherine has said that she is committed to periodic care in order to manage her health in an optimum manner."

Zeta-Jones, 43, who won an Oscar for her role in the 2002 musical "Chicago," underwent treatment in 2011 for what aides said was the stress of coping with the advanced throat cancer diagnosis and treatment of her husband, actor Michael Douglas.

No specific reason was given this time for her decision to seek help.

Bipolar II is a milder form of the disorder and is marked by less manic "up" moods but more depressive episodes, according to medical experts. It can be treated with medication or therapy.

Zeta-Jones was last seen on screen in February in the crime thriller "Side Effects," which received warm critical acclaim.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Philip Barbara)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jackson looked like hospice patient, paramedic tells wrongful death trial

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson looked pale, thin and like a hospice patient on the day he died in 2009, a Los Angeles paramedic told a jury on Tuesday in the wrongful death lawsuit involving the pop star and the promoters of a never-realized series of London concerts.

Richard Senneff, the first witness in the civil trial, testified that he was initially unaware that the person lying in pajamas on a bed in the rented Los Angeles mansion was the world famous pop singer.

"The patient appeared to be chronically ill to me," Senneff testified, saying he could see Jackson's ribs. "He was very pale and underweight. I thought perhaps this was a hospice patient."

Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, appeared "frantic" but never mentioned that the "Thriller" singer had taken the anesthetic propofol, Senneff said.

"He was pale, he was sweating, he was very busy," Senneff said of Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of the involuntary manslaughter of Jackson through an overdose of propofol, which is usually used in surgical settings.

Senneff, who gave similar testimony in Murray's 2011 criminal trial, was testifying on Tuesday on behalf of Jackson's mother and his three children.

Jackson's immediate family accuses AEG Live, who were promoting a series of London concerts by Jackson, of negligence in hiring Murray as the singer rehearsed for what would have been a career comeback after years out of the musical spotlight.

AEG Live maintains that Jackson kept his dependency on propofol secret from outsiders, and that a proposed contract with Murray was never fully executed.

Jackson, 50, was pronounced dead in a Los Angeles hospital on June 25, 2009, a day after a rehearsal and three weeks before the first concert was due to take place in London.

Katherine Jackson, 82, and the singer's two oldest children Prince and Paris, are also on the witness list later in the civil trial along with singers Diana Ross and Prince.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Sandra Maler)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Michael Jackson's life and death back in spotlight in new trial

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Almost four years after his shocking death, the bizarre life and sorry demise of Michael Jackson will play out again in a $40 billion civil trial that pits the singer's family against the organizers of a musical comeback that never happened.

Opening statements are set for Monday in what is expected to be an emotional, three-month long jury trial that seeks to hold AEG Live, the promoters of the never-realized series of 2009 London concerts, liable for the wrongful death of the "Thriller" singer.

The lawsuit, brought by Jackson's elderly mother Katherine on behalf of the singer's three children, alleges that privately-held AEG Live was negligent in hiring the physician convicted in 2011 of his involuntary manslaughter to care for the singer while he rehearsed for the series of 50 shows.

Jackson, 50, drowning in debt and seeking to rebuild a reputation damaged by his 2005 trial and acquittal on child molestation charges, died in Los Angeles of an overdose of the powerful surgical anesthetic propofol and a cocktail of other sedatives in June 2009.

His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, is serving a four-year prison sentence after being found criminally negligent by administering propofol to Jackson as a sleep aid.

Murray's six-week trial in 2011 portrayed the former child star known for his stunning dance moves and spectacular public performances as a slurring, drugged-up man off-stage who slept with a toy doll on his bed and whose planned comeback tour was plagued with problems.

The civil trial in Los Angeles is expected to be just as sensational, although a request by TV networks for live coverage was turned down.

AEG Live contends that it did not hire or supervise Murray and claims that Jackson had prescription drug problems for years before entering into any agreement for the "This is It" London concerts.

The concert promoters also argue that they could not have foreseen that Murray posed a danger to Jackson.

SEX ABUSE TRIAL MAY BE REVISITED

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Yvette Palazuelos ruled last month that AEG Live can raise Jackson's 2005 child abuse case as it may be relevant to the singer's history of prescription drug abuse and despondency.

Jackson's two oldest children, Prince, 16 and Paris, 15, are on the witness list this time, although neither testified in Murray's trial. Singers Prince and Diana Ross are also potential witnesses along with the singer's ex-wives, Lisa-Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe.

"Any time you start injecting family members and rather sensitive issues (into the mix), there are going to be strong feelings," former federal prosecutor Marcellus McRae told Reuters.

Murray is not being sued but is also on the witness list, although he has made clear from jail that he will refuse to answer questions for fear of jeopardizing his appeal process.

McRae, now a trial lawyer with Los Angeles firm Gibson Dunn, said that while the criminal trial focused heavily on medical and scientific evidence - including a defense theory that Jackson gave himself the fatal dose of propofol - the jury in the civil case has a very different task.

"The jurors are going to be asked to decide to what extent a third party can be held liable for the actions of someone else.

"To what extent did they (AEG Live) have visibility into what Dr. Murray was doing, did they encourage what he was doing? To what extent was whatever Dr. Murray did a reasonable and foreseeable consequence," McRae said.

Katherine Jackson, 82, and her son's three children are seeking some $40 billion in damages from AEG Live for loss of the singer's earnings and other damages.

AEG Live has argued in court papers that the figure is absurd because Jackson's career was in a downward spiral at the time of his death.

The final amount will be determined by the jury should it hold AEG Live liable for negligence.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Paul Simao)

12.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Feminist author Mary Thom, 68, killed in NY motorcycle crash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Renowned feminist and former women's magazine editor Mary Thom was killed in a motorcycle crash over the weekend in Yonkers, New York, friends and colleagues said.

Thom, 68, a former editor of Ms. Magazine, crashed her motorcycle on the Saw Mill Parkway on Friday evening, said Eleanor Smeal, publisher of Ms. Magazine and a close friend of Thom.

An accomplished author, editor and journalist, Thom devoted her career to giving voice to women's rights issues in books, magazine columns and through her work within the women's movement, which mourned the loss over the weekend.

"We, who are Mary's friends and family haven't absorbed her loss yet: it's too sudden,'' said actress Jane Fonda and feminist authors Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan, three co-founders of the Women's Media Center, in a statement.

"Ms. Magazine, the Women's Media Center, the women's movement and American journalism have suffered an enormous blow."

Thom, an Akron, Ohio, native, spent more than a quarter century at Ms. Magazine and wrote a book about working her way from an entry level research position to executive editor in "Inside Ms.: 25 Years of the Magazine and the Feminist Movement," according to Smeal.

Thom also edited a book of letters sent to the magazine during the publication's formative years between 1972-1987.

Smeal said she would sorely miss Thom's virtually constant presence at the heart of the movement over decades.

"She was always there,'' Smeal said on Sunday. "She was always there as a guiding hand to make sure that the spirit of feminism came through in everything we wrote at the Women's Media Center and at Ms. Magazine. She will truly be missed."

Thom was an avid motorcycle enthusiast who never owned a car and had been riding for four decades, her nephew Thom Loubet told the Journal News newspaper in Westchester, New York.

She was a top editor at the Women's Media Center at the time of her death, Smeal said.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jackie Frank)

12.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Michael Jackson's life and death back in spotlight in new trial

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Almost four years after his shocking death, the bizarre life and sorry demise of Michael Jackson will play out again in a $40 billion civil trial that pits the singer's family against the organizers of a musical comeback that never happened.

Opening statements are set for Monday in what is expected to be an emotional, three-month long jury trial that seeks to hold AEG Live, the promoters of the never-realized series of 2009 London concerts, liable for the wrongful death of the "Thriller" singer.

The lawsuit, brought by Jackson's elderly mother Katherine on behalf of the singer's three children, alleges that privately-held AEG Live was negligent in hiring the physician convicted in 2011 of his involuntary manslaughter to care for the singer while he rehearsed for the series of 50 shows.

Jackson, 50, drowning in debt and seeking to rebuild a reputation damaged by his 2005 trial and acquittal on child molestation charges, died in Los Angeles of an overdose of the powerful surgical anesthetic propofol and a cocktail of other sedatives in June 2009.

His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, is serving a four-year prison sentence after being found criminally negligent by administering propofol to Jackson as a sleep aid.

Murray's six-week trial in 2011 portrayed the former child star known for his stunning dance moves and spectacular public performances as a slurring, drugged-up man off-stage who slept with a toy doll on his bed and whose planned comeback tour was plagued with problems.

The civil trial in Los Angeles is expected to be just as sensational, although a request by TV networks for live coverage was turned down.

AEG Live contends that it did not hire or supervise Murray and claims that Jackson had prescription drug problems for years before entering into any agreement for the "This is It" London concerts.

The concert promoters also argue that they could not have foreseen that Murray posed a danger to Jackson.

SEX ABUSE TRIAL MAY BE REVISITED

Los Angeles Superior Court judge Yvette Palazuelos ruled last month that AEG Live can raise Jackson's 2005 child abuse case as it may be relevant to the singer's history of prescription drug abuse and despondency.

Jackson's two oldest children, Prince, 16 and Paris, 15, are on the witness list this time, although neither testified in Murray's trial. Singers Prince and Diana Ross are also potential witnesses along with the singer's ex-wives, Lisa-Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe.

"Any time you start injecting family members and rather sensitive issues (into the mix), there are going to be strong feelings," former federal prosecutor Marcellus McRae told Reuters.

Murray is not being sued but is also on the witness list, although he has made clear from jail that he will refuse to answer questions for fear of jeopardizing his appeal process.

McRae, now a trial lawyer with Los Angeles firm Gibson Dunn, said that while the criminal trial focused heavily on medical and scientific evidence - including a defense theory that Jackson gave himself the fatal dose of propofol - the jury in the civil case has a very different task.

"The jurors are going to be asked to decide to what extent a third party can be held liable for the actions of someone else.

"To what extent did they (AEG Live) have visibility into what Dr. Murray was doing, did they encourage what he was doing? To what extent was whatever Dr. Murray did a reasonable and foreseeable consequence," McRae said.

Katherine Jackson, 82, and her son's three children are seeking some $40 billion in damages from AEG Live for loss of the singer's earnings and other damages.

AEG Live has argued in court papers that the figure is absurd because Jackson's career was in a downward spiral at the time of his death.

The final amount will be determined by the jury should it hold AEG Live liable for negligence.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Paul Simao)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More

Feminist author Mary Thom, 68, killed in NY motorcycle crash

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Renowned feminist and former women's magazine editor Mary Thom was killed in a motorcycle crash over the weekend in Yonkers, New York, friends and colleagues said.

Thom, 68, a former editor of Ms. Magazine, crashed her motorcycle on the Saw Mill Parkway on Friday evening, said Eleanor Smeal, publisher of Ms. Magazine and a close friend of Thom.

An accomplished author, editor and journalist, Thom devoted her career to giving voice to women's rights issues in books, magazine columns and through her work within the women's movement, which mourned the loss over the weekend.

"We, who are Mary's friends and family haven't absorbed her loss yet: it's too sudden,'' said actress Jane Fonda and feminist authors Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan, three co-founders of the Women's Media Center, in a statement.

"Ms. Magazine, the Women's Media Center, the women's movement and American journalism have suffered an enormous blow."

Thom, an Akron, Ohio, native, spent more than a quarter century at Ms. Magazine and wrote a book about working her way from an entry level research position to executive editor in "Inside Ms.: 25 Years of the Magazine and the Feminist Movement," according to Smeal.

Thom also edited a book of letters sent to the magazine during the publication's formative years between 1972-1987.

Smeal said she would sorely miss Thom's virtually constant presence at the heart of the movement over decades.

"She was always there,'' Smeal said on Sunday. "She was always there as a guiding hand to make sure that the spirit of feminism came through in everything we wrote at the Women's Media Center and at Ms. Magazine. She will truly be missed."

Thom was an avid motorcycle enthusiast who never owned a car and had been riding for four decades, her nephew Thom Loubet told the Journal News newspaper in Westchester, New York.

She was a top editor at the Women's Media Center at the time of her death, Smeal said.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jackie Frank)

12.23 | 0 komentar | Read More