News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008 News For Sunday Sep 7, 2008

Entertainment Entertainment

`100 Things' co-author Dave Freeman dies in LA - Added 1 week ago

Dave Freeman, co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die," a travel guide and ode to odd adventures that inspired readers and imitators, died after hitting his head in a fall at his home. He was 47. Freeman died...

Bollywood's 'Hari Puttar' film sparks lawsuit - Added 1 week ago

Let's see Hari Puttar get out of this one. Bollywood producers set to release a film called "Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors" are working to fend off a lawsuit filed by Warner Bros. that claims the movie title hews too...

Fourth `Idol' judge a straight-shooting hitmaker - Added 1 week ago

Scooching in between Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson sounds intimidating, if not a little scary. But Kara DioGuardi, the newly-installed fourth judge on "American Idol," is confident she'll find her niche...

Another Wagner joins leadership bid for Bayreuth - Added 1 week ago

As the annual Bayreuth Festival moves toward its conclusion later this week, the real drama is unfolding behind the scenes over a successor to 89-year-old director Wolfgang Wagner. The furor increased Monday with news...

Deputy pulls gun during stop of Diddy's entourage - Added 1 week ago

A sheriff's deputy pulled a gun on members of Diddy's entourage during a routine traffic stop over the weekend, but the situation was quickly resolved and a spokesman for the entertainer said the deputy was professional...

'Battlestar Galactica' franchise steams ahead - Added 1 week ago

Need proof the television ratings system is dead, a victim of the TiVo, the ubiquitous satellite dish and schizophrenic viewing habits? Take a look at what's happening with "Battlestar Galactica." If the traditional...

'Spore' designer spills on explicit creatures - Added 1 week ago

Will Wright is not offended by the explicit monsters some folks have created using his evolution simulator, no matter which private parts they may resemble. In fact, Wright said he's been impressed with the indecent...

'Thunder' pulls in $16.3M, holds off 'House Bunny' - Added 1 week ago

The action comedy "Tropic Thunder" clung to the top spot again at the weekend box office with $16.3 million, while the campus romp "The House Bunny" debuted in second place with $14.5 million. The top 20 movies at U.S....

'Promises to Keep' a hit for Biden - Added 1 week ago

The publisher of Sen. Joe Biden's memoir, an instant best seller for the presumed vice presidential nominee, is being reissued in paperback with a first printing of 100,000. The Random House Publishing Group released...

`Idol' alum Ace Young to make Broadway debut - Added 1 week ago

Another "American Idol" alum is heading to "Grease" on Broadway. Ace Young, who competed on season five of the Fox show, joins the cast Sept. 9, playing Kenickie in the revival of the popular musical. The 27-year-old...

Video-game news: Europe's big show - Added 1 week ago

Real news from the virtual world: _CONTINENTAL CONGRESS: The Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany, is the biggest annual video-game event in Europe, and it keeps getting bigger. This year, more than 203,000 people...

Fall films: Bond, Bush, high school divas - Added 1 week ago

Hollywood's heavy hitter, Harry Potter, has been sidelined for fall, with the sixth adventure about the boy wizard transported from its original November release into next summer's schedule. Good thing the season has a...

Gill, Matthews, Seger perform on Little Feat CD - Added 1 week ago

Vince Gill didn't need coaxing to record tracks for a new CD featuring classics by influential '70s group Little Feat. "Since I was about 18 or 19 they've been my favorite band," Gill told The Associated Press...

Fourth child on the way for Charlie Sheen - Added 1 week ago

Make that "Two and a Half Men," three daughters and a baby on the way for Charlie Sheen. The actor is expecting a child with wife Brooke Mueller, Sheen announced Monday in a statement. "Brooke and I are thrilled!" the...

Van Cliburn to perform at Liberty Medal ceremony - Added 1 week ago

Classical pianist Van Cliburn will perform next month during the 2008 Liberty Medal ceremony in Philadelphia honoring former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The Texas native, now 74, was only 23 when he won the...

Matthews, Crow kick off Democratic convention - Added 1 week ago

Singing at the Democratic convention, Sheryl Crow dedicated her song "Strong Enough" to Barack Obama and then added a twist to the lyrics for the occasion. "Are you strong enough to be my man, or my president?" Crow...

Susan Lucci, Toni Braxton set for ABC's `Dancing' - Added 1 week ago

Susan Lucci, Toni Braxton and Lance Bass will hit the floor on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." They are among 13 celebrities slated to compete on the new season of the top-rated dance contest, premiering Sept. 22. The...

Barenaked Ladies singer survives plane crash - Added 1 week ago

The lead singer of the Canadian pop band Barenaked Ladies and three other people survived a plane crash in rural southeastern Ontario, authorities said Monday. Ed Robertson's Cessna 206 floatplane crashed in a wooded...

Andy Dick won't face sex battery charge - Added 1 week ago

Prosecutors say they won't charge Andy Dick with sexual battery stemming from his arrest last month. The "NewsRadio" actor with a reputation for crude public behavior is still scheduled to face a judge later this week...

Highlights of Hollywood's fall, holiday schedule - Added 1 week ago

Highlights of the fall film slate (release dates are subject to change, and some films will play in limited release): Late August-September: APPALOOSA: Hired lawman (Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris) take on a tough...

Rushdie says mother's gossip was inspiration - Added 1 week ago

Salman Rushdie says his mother's gossip had a strong influence on his literary career. Rushdie says his mother was a "world class gossip" and that it was from her that he got a feel for talking about secrets. He says...

Robert Caro speaks of the LBJ centennial - Added 1 week ago

As the centennial of Lyndon Johnson's birth approaches, historian Robert A. Caro would like to think of his longtime subject at his happiest and most fulfilled: Not when Johnson was president, in anguish over Vietnam,...

Davis, Wolfson attending convention for Fox - Added 1 week ago

Longtime Clinton confidant Lanny Davis and Howard Wolfson, Hillary Clinton's former communications director, once anticipated being very busy at this week's Democratic National Convention. They never envisioned going...

`Thunder' reigns again with $16.1 million weekend - Added 1 week ago

The action comedy "Tropic Thunder" weathered a rush of new movies to remain No. 1 for a second-straight weekend with $16.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Paramount-DreamWorks release...

Former Bond Sean Connery launches autobiography - Added 1 week ago

He's recognized around the world as the iconic face of James Bond. But in Britain, Sean Connery is also well known as a proud Scot, and on Monday he returns to his hometown to launch his autobiography. "Being a Scot"...

West, Lopez, Daughtry among stars in Denver - Added 1 week ago

Never mind those stinging "celebrity" ads, or the rebuttal by Paris Hilton. Musicians, artists and Hollywood types are descending on Denver _ and so what if Barack Obama doesn't need their star power? He'll get it...

For fall: Bond's back, Hollywood does high school - Added 1 week ago

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Highlights of Hollywood's fall, holiday schedule - Added 1 week ago

Highlights of the fall film slate (release dates are subject to change, and some films will play in limited release): Late August-September: APPALOOSA: Hired lawman (Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris) take on a tough...

`Hamlet 2' rocks with racy musical numbers - Added 1 week ago

"Rock Me Sexy Jesus." "You're As Gay As the Day is Long." "Raped in the Face." These aren't insults. They're song titles from the new film "Hamlet 2," which opened over the weekend. The movie follows an eternally...

Robert Caro speaks of the LBJ centennial - Added 1 week ago

!!-- pobj:NY301-0102531150 -->!!-- pobj:NY305-0521560800 -->!!-- pobj:NY302-0729581150 -->!!-- pobj:NY304-0829570800 -->!!-- pobj:NY303-0911561149 -->As the centennial of Lyndon Johnson's birth approaches, historian...

Davis, Wolfson attending convention for Fox - Added 1 week ago

Longtime Clinton confidant Lanny Davis and Howard Wolfson, Hillary Clinton's former communications director, once anticipated being very busy at this week's Democratic National Convention. They never envisioned going...

At writing camp, schlepping goes with scholarship - Added 1 week ago

It's billed as the oldest writers' conference in the nation, a gathering at a picturesque mountaintop retreat where literary giants, book editors and up-and-coming novelists have been coming together once a year since...

Will star wattage in Denver help or hurt Obama? - Added 1 week ago

Back in 2004, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was in Boston for John Kerry's coronation as the Democratic nominee, staging a big hip-hop summit to draw new voters. This year, though he's a Barack Obama supporter, he plans...

Reports: McCartney to perform in Tel Aviv - Added 1 week ago

Sir Paul McCartney is set to perform in Israel, 40 years after his legendary band, the Beatles, were banned from playing in the Holy Land. Israeli media were abuzz with excitement on Sunday with news of McCartney's...

Doherty, Garth party with cast at '90210' premiere - Added 1 week ago

Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and the cast of the CW's "90210" toasted the teen drama's return to television Saturday night at a lavish invitation-only beachside premiere party. The sandy soiree was held inside tents...

Madonna kicks off `Sticky and Sweet' tour in UK - Added 1 week ago

Even at 50, the queen of pop just can't stop courting controversy. As Madonna kicked off her international "Sticky and Sweet" tour Saturday night, she took a none-too subtle swipe at the presumptive Republican nominee...

Stars of song, sport to top Olympic closing show - Added 2 weeks ago

A Spanish tenor, a British soccer star and a throng of kung-fu fighters are among the scheduled closing-ceremony attractions Sunday night as China concludes its first Olympics and hands over the role of Summer Games to...

Producer ready for Denver's Super Bowl of politics - Added 2 weeks ago

Producer Ricky Kirshner knows how to put on a big show. After handling the Super Bowl, a NATO summit and four national political conventions, he was ready for the Democratic gathering in Denver. Then he learned that...

Kattan files for separation 2 months after wedding - Added 2 weeks ago

Chris Kattan's marriage to his model wife lasted almost as long as a "Saturday Night Live" skit. The comedian filed for legal separation from model wife Sunshine Tutt after only eight weeks of marriage. The couple were...

Da Brat sentenced to 3 years for assault - Added 2 weeks ago

Da Brat was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for hitting a hostess in the head with a rum bottle during an altercation at a suburban Atlanta nightclub last fall. The 34-year-old rapper, whose given name is...

Maxwell announces first tour in 6 years - Added 2 weeks ago

Maxwell is back. The hair is not. The 35-year-old neo-soul singer, whose smooth voice and good looks have melted fans since the '90s, announced his first tour in six years. The North American tour kicks off in Boston...

Baby-name experts weigh in on Stefani's son `Zuma' - Added 2 weeks ago

Try saying "Zuma Nesta Rock" five times fast _ it's hard. That phonetic flow could be tough to master, let alone live down, for the newborn son of Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani. The stylish rock-star couple welcomed...

McMahon to sell home, but not to Trump - Added 2 weeks ago

Ed McMahon is on the move. McMahon has agreed to a deal with a private buyer for his hilltop home, said Howard Bragman, the former "Tonight" show sidekick's spokesman. Bragman declined to name the buyer or the selling...

Rosalind Belben, Rosemary Hill win literary award - Added 2 weeks ago

Novelist Rosalind Belben and first-time biographer Rosemary Hill have won Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes. Belben won the fiction prize for "Our Horses in Egypt," which tells the...

'Wire' actress arrested on minor drug charge - Added 2 weeks ago

An actress who appeared on the HBO series "The Wire" has been arrested on minor drug charges. Court records show Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, who played a killer of the same name on the televesion series, was charged after...

Michael Phelps to write new book - Added 2 weeks ago

Olympic superstar Michael Phelps will write a book telling the story behind his historic eight gold medal swims just in time for the holiday season, Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced Friday. In...

Gwen Stefani gives birth to second child - Added 2 weeks ago

It's Love, Angel, Music, and Baby No. 2 for Gwen Stefani, who on Thursday gave birth to a boy. Zuma Nesta Rock weighed 8 pounds and 5 ounces when he was born Thursday afternoon, according to publicist Dave Tomberlin. ...

Legal dispute among The Doors nears end - Added 2 weeks ago

The end is near for a bitter legal dispute between the three surviving members of The Doors now that the California Supreme Court has refused to take up their case. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger...

Faded rocker Glitter finally arrives in Britain - Added 2 weeks ago

A British news agency says that disgraced rocker Gary Glitter has returned to London. Glitter's return Friday ends a two-day odyssey after his release from a Vietnamese prison where he served time for molesting...

Jamie Foxx, Fran Drescher turn out for Obama party - Added 2 weeks ago

Celebrities aren't always coy about their love affairs. Jamie Foxx, Fran Drescher, Lucy Liu and Isaiah Washington were among the stars who proclaimed their love for Barack Obama Thursday night at a swanky soiree. VIP...