Aamir Khan missing at ‘Three Idiots’ promo

Updated at: 1847 PST, Saturday, December 12, 2009

MUMBAI: Aamir Khan as usual has come up with his new marketing innovation. For 'Ghajini 'he was seen everywhere. But for 3 idiots he is going to do a missing act. He will be playing a unique Hide and seek game with the audience where he'd be going to undisclosed locations anywhere in the country. Aamir has devised an alternate Reality Game (ARG) where he will be traveling through the country. You have to trace him down within 2 weeks. There will be seven clues to trace him before the release of the movie on Dec 25.The first clue would be given by none other than Sachin Tendulkar after the special screening of 3 Idiots this evening.

Gibraltar wins Miss World 2009

Updated at: 2218 PST, Saturday, December 12, 2009
JOHANNESBURG: Miss Gibraltar Kaiane Aldorino won the Miss World crown for 2009, defeating 111 other hopefuls at a glittering ceremony in South Africa. "Thank you South Africa, this is the most wonderful moment of my life," said a tearful Aldorino. Mexico came second, with South Africa taking third place.

James Cameron’s 'Avatar' premieres in London to cheers

Updated at: 1723 PST, Friday, December 11, 2009

LONDON: A delighted audience clapped and cheered as the lights came on after the world premiere of James Cameron's sci-fi extravaganza "Avatar" in London on Thursday.The 3-D epic about humans taking extraterrestrial form as they explore a distant world is reportedly one of the most expensive movies ever made, with a price tag well in excess of the $200 million spent to make "Titanic."The industry has been watching closely to see how audiences respond to Cameron's long-awaited film, which uses cutting-edge digital technology to create dizzying special effects. On Thursday, the film provoked a breathless response from many in the audience."It's brilliant, it's as good as the hype, both the 3-D effects and the story," said 28-year-old Victoria Blasdale."This was remarkable, Unlike anything I've ever seen before," added law maker John Whittingdale, who had joined the media, Cameron fans and families at the premiere.Stars Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana joined the crowds on a specially made blue carpet at London's Leicester Square before the gala screening at two massive side-by-side movie theaters.Cameron said the movie, set in the future on an alien planet being pillaged by humans for natural resources, deals with how indigenous people are treated by newcomers."It's a way of connecting a thread through history. I take that thread further back to the 16th and 17th centuries and to how the Europeans pretty much took over South and Central America and displaced and marginalized the indigenous peoples there," he said."There's just this long, wonderful history of the human race written in blood going back as far as we can remember, where we have this tendency to just take what we want without asking," he said.Weaver said she didn't consider the film a sci-fi movie. "I consider it an old-fashioned, epic swashbuckling romance," she said.There's a topical environmental message too. As humans exploit their new-found world the indigenous species of the planet harmonize with nature to fight back."There's a sense of entitlement — we're here, we're big, we've got the guns, we've got the technology, we've got the brains, we therefore are entitled to every damn thing on this planet," said Cameron, describing the attitude of humans in the movie."That's not how it works and we're going to find out the hard way if we don't wise up and start seeking a life that's in balance with the natural cycles of life on earth."Cameron conceived the story for "Avatar" in 1995 then waited a decade for technology to catch up so he could film it. The film mixes live action and computer animation to create an eye-poppingly vivid alien world."Avatar" is Cameron's first narrative film since 1997's "Titanic," which won 11 Academy Awards and has taken $1.8 billion worldwide at the box office."Avatar" opens around the world next week.

George Jones: new country music needs a new name

By CAITLIN KING, Associated Press Writer Caitlin King, Associated Press Writer – 1 min ago
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones isn't a big fan of where the genre has moved in recent years.
When asked about what he thought about music by today's top country stars, the 78-year-old said while they are good, "they've stolen our identity."
Jones made the comment during a recent interview when asked about music by artists like Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift.
"They had to use something that was established already, and that's traditional country music. So what they need to do really, I think, is find their own title, because they're definitely not traditional country music," he said.
"It's good to know that we still do traditional country music. Alan Jackson still does it, so does George Strait. We still have it, and there's quite a few of us that are going to hope that it comes back one of these days."
Still, his contemporaries haven't always stuck to traditional country, either. Fellow Hall of Fame member Johnny Cash was met with critical acclaim a few years ago by covering the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt." Asked whether he'd ever branch out to a completely different genre of music, like heavy metal or rap, Jones laughed and said: "Rap? That's tacky."
"How can you call that music?" he added. "Now, I love music, too. I love all kinds. I really do. I've got Brook Benton. I like his singing. Ray Charles. I've got an open mind. But now, you can't call rap, talking stuff like that, music. No, no, no, you've got to have another name for that."
Jones recently put out a new CD, through Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, called "A Collection of My Best Recollection." It includes some of his most requested songs from throughout his career, including classics like "White Lightning" and "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," as well as two previously unreleased ones.
"Only thing I would like to keep accomplishing is music for my fans and achieving some goals to keep them happy with what I record in the future," Jones said. "I've done just about everything else. The good Lord's been good to me ... I'm going to enjoy the rest of my life."

Jackson's 'This Is It' draws $20.1M worldwide

LOS ANGELES – The King of Pop is No. 1 again.
"Michael Jackson's This Is It" has landed on top of the domestic box office with $7.4 million in its first day and $12.7 million overseas.
That gives the film documenting Jackson's rehearsals for his planned concert tour a worldwide total of $20.1 million.
Distributor Sony said the $7.4 million domestic haul is the best ever for a movie on a Wednesday in October. "This Is It" was easily the No. 1 film domestically, coming in ahead of the $1.5 million gross for "Paranormal Activity," last weekend's top box-office earner.
Jackson died June 25, just before he was to begin a marathon run of comeback concerts in London. "This Is It" was built around more than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage shot between March and June as Jackson and his backup performers developed the numbers intended for his elaborate stage shows.
Sony said it expected strong results for the film this Friday and Sunday, though Saturday may leave a hole in the overall box office, falling on Halloween, when audiences typically are preoccupied with parties and trick-or-treating.
In a single day, "This Is It" climbed into the ranks of top-grossing music documentaries, just behind the $8.6 million domestic haul of "U2: Rattle and Hum."
By this weekend, "This Is It" is likely to shoot past such films as "Madonna: Truth or Dare" ($15 million) and "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" ($19.2 million) to become the No. 2 draw all-time on the music-documentary chart.
The No. 1 music documentary is "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert," which had a $31.1 million opening weekend last year and took in $65.3 million over its entire theatrical run.
Among the totals from other countries, "This Is It" brought in $1.9 million in Great Britain, $1.4 million France, $1.2 million in Japan and $1.1 million in Germany.
The film debuted in 99 countries Wednesday and expands to 10 more Thursday.
The film features Jackson doing all his biggest hits, including "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Thriller," "Human Nature" and "Smooth Criminal."

Could `Michael Jackson's This Is It' win an Oscar?

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – 9 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – "Michael Jackson's This Is It" comes too late in the year to be considered for a 2009 documentary Oscar, but the film about the late King of Pop's preparations for a series of comeback concerts could qualify for other Hollywood honors this year, including the Academy Award for best picture.
The film, which opened around the globe Tuesday and Wednesday has already earned rousing praise from fans and critics, who say it restores Jackson's reputation as a world-class entertainer. It already tops the box office with $20.1 million worldwide after just one full day in theaters.
Director Kenny Ortega, a longtime Jackson collaborator who was overseeing his London concert comeback, crafted the nearly two-hour film from more than 100 hours of footage recorded during rehearsals for the London shows, which were to have begun in July. Jackson died June 25 at age 50.
"What we did here was focus on telling a good story and creating a film for the fans really enabling them to understand what Michael Jackson had dreamed for them," Ortega said Wednesday.
He added it was his hope "the audience for this film will grow and that as many people come to see it as possible because I think that it's a wonderful story about a brilliant man. ... Awards, Oscars, that's all great wishful thinking."
It may be more than wishful, said Steven Gaydos, executive editor of the Hollywood trade paper Variety and a self-described cynic. With the Academy Awards best-picture slate expanded to 10 films this year rather than the traditional five, "This Is It" could find itself among the contenders, he said.
To qualify, the film must complete a seven-day run in Los Angeles County and filmmakers would need to "submit the proper paperwork," said Leslie Unger, spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which puts on the Oscars. The movie could also be considered in other categories, she said, including sound and film editing.
Sony, which paid $60 million for the global film rights, plans to keep "This Is It" in theaters for just over two weeks. The studio has not said whether it plans to submit the film in any of the Oscar categories.
Ortega, a veteran director, producer and choreographer who counts TV's "High School Musical" among his credits, could also find himself in contention for a best-director nod, Gaydos said.
"He did a masterful job putting this whole thing together," he said. "It was so powerful and interesting, so creative and well-done, I think he should be considered... Kenny just won over all these critics like me with Michael Jackson that anything interesting could go on with this guy."
The film can't be considered for a Golden Globe. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the annual ceremony, doesn't permit feature documentaries to enter, said spokesman Michael Russell.

Ortega said an Oscar nod would be a fitting recognition of Jackson's last work.
"He deserves one," he said. "Come on people."
___
Associated Press writer Marcela Isaza in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Company: Campbell's cut of perfume deal stinks

BY AP:ASSOCIATED PRESS 45 MINTS AGO

NEW YORK – A cosmetics-marketing company claims in a New York lawsuit that Naomi Campbell didn't hand over its cut of the proceeds from a fragrance-licensing agreement.
The lawsuit says the supermodel violated a 1998 contract by leaving Moodform Mission out of a deal made within roughly the past year.
It says she stopped paying Moodform Mission its share of proceeds from scents it helped develop. Those include Naomi Campbell, Cat Deluxe and Seductive Elixir.
A Campbell spokesman and a lawyer who has represented her didn't immediately respond to messages Tuesday. Neither did a representative for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co., which sells the fragrances.
Moodform Mission is based in Miami Beach, Fla., and London.
The lawsuit was filed late Monday and seeks unspecified damages

`Michael Jackson's This Is It' to open worldwide

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Tue Oct 27, 8:16 am ET
LOS ANGELES – When Michael Jackson died in June, he was just days away from launching a 50-show run of comeback concerts in London.
Now, video footage of preparations for those performances have become "Michael Jackson's This Is It," a documentary opening worldwide Tuesday.
The simultaneous showings around the globe will be anchored by a star-studded premiere at the Nokia Theatre, a 7,100-seat concert venue across the street from Staples Center, where many of Jackson's rehearsals — and his high-profile public memorial — were held.
Longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega, who directed and produced "This Is It," is expected to attend, as are members of Jackson's band and the executors of his will. Entertainers including Snoop Dogg, Smokey Robinson and Zac Efron are also on the guest list.
Fans are likely to swarm the area, too: Many waited in line for days to buy tickets for advance screenings of "This Is It" at the new Regal Cinemas on site, which will show the film to sold-out audiences Tuesday on all 14 of its screens.
The film, culled from more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage, shows an enthusiastic King of Pop meticulously crafting his moves and performing some of his most beloved hits. No critics have seen it, but Sony — which paid $60 million for the film rights — showed a 12-minute clip to entertainment journalists last week.
Some of Jackson's family members and friends have seen "This Is It" in its entirety. Elizabeth Taylor, a longtime friend of the pop star, posted her thoughts Monday on Twitter.
"It is the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen," she wrote on the micro-blogging site. "It cements forever Michael's genius in every aspect of creativity."
The 77-year-old actress added that she "wept from pure joy at his God-given gift" and urged her fans to see the film "again and again."
"This Is It" opens in theaters Wednesday for a limited run, lending it some of the exclusivity of Jackson's aborted concert stand in London.
"We think the 16 days is right. It's sort of a special event that you want to frame in a special way," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony.
Jackson died June 25 at age 50. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled the death a homicide, caused primarily by the powerful anesthetic propofol and another sedative. Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has not been charged with a crime but is the focus of the police investigation.
Jackson's 50 comeback concerts at London's O2 arena were to have begun in July.
___
Associated Press writer Mesfin Fekadu and Movie Writer David Germain contributed to this report

'Balloon boy' reminder that TV is full of shams

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer Frazier Moore, Ap Television Writer – Mon Oct 19, 7:49 am ET
NEW YORK – When 6-year-old Falcon Heene threw up twice while being interviewed about his role in last week's balloon ordeal, he summed things up for millions of onlookers.
Sickening.
Viewers had been riveted Thursday by the sight of a flyaway helium balloon feared to be carrying the child. The media wrung the story for all its suspense and tragic possibilities.
Then it turned out to be a happy mistake. Falcon was pronounced safe at home the whole time.
Then it turned out to be what authorities have called a hoax. On Sunday, days after Falcon turned to his dad during a CNN interview and declared "you said we did this for a show," authorities said Richard and Mayumi Heene had cooked up the stunt to land themselves a TV reality series.
Sickening.
But somehow inevitable. It's endemic of the more and more seductive urge to dismiss truth, responsibility and other traditional values in favor of hustling for fame on the genre that continues to be labeled, with less and less cause, "reality TV."
Until last week, the most recent breakout star in "reality TV" may have been former Illinois First Lady Patti Blagojevich, who competed last June in the Costa Rican jungle as a surrogate for her husband on NBC's reality TV series "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!"
Though she didn't prevail as Queen of the Jungle, her appearance was successful by other measures: She made some money, had a TV platform for defending her disgraced husband, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (who has pleaded not guilty to wide-ranging federal charges), and emerged with more dignity than many of her fellow contestants.
Meanwhile, we mustn't forget (and how could we?) the summer's depraved personalities who had their brush with reality shows. Like Brian Lee Randone, the self-proclaimed preacher who was once on a show called "America's Sexiest Bachelor," who in September was arraigned for allegedly torturing and murdering an ex-porn actress.
And just a few weeks earlier, Ryan Jenkins, known as a sweet-talking, suave contestant on VH1's "Megan Wants a Millionaire," was found dead by suicide days after his ex-model wife was discovered killed and mutilated.
Last Thursday the "reality TV" of the so-called balloon boy could have had its own dread conclusion, and the sky-high drama was instantly validated by TV's most credible voices: news reporters and anchors.
The vision of a shiny, mushroom-shaped balloon swept aloft kept viewers spellbound, breathless and (let's face it) titillated. On-air commentators and experts kept busy speculating on how fast and far it might fly, when it might come down, and how much damage might result when it did. Meanwhile, voices were raised that maybe the child wasn't on board after all, raising questions of whether the boy had fallen from the balloon — introducing another potentially tragic set of circumstances.
If the sheriff who wants to charge him is correct about the scheme, Richard Heene must have felt like P.T. Barnum for a few hours, seizing the world's attention and his position to make the most of it.
Then viewers' memories were stirred: Wasn't this a guy who, with his wife and three sons, had appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap"? Turned out he's a veteran of reality TV!
But then reports began to surface that Heene had approached production companies about launching his own reality series. TLC network said Heene had pitched the network on a show some months ago, but that it passed. Earlier this year, RDF USA, which produces "Wife Swap," had had a show in development with the Heenes but in a statement Friday said "we are no longer in active development with the family."
Now facing criminal charges, with his credibility maybe damaged forever, Heene could find to his dismay that his TV career lies in tatters.
But when did deceit or misbehavior give pause to reality TV?
Nearly a decade ago, the Fox special "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?" rode bad taste and bad faith to huge ratings. Only later did former Air Force nurse Darva Conger admit she took part in the "Multimillionaire" matchup as a lark, then fibbed her way through her marriage vows, declaring she "was playing a role."
And Rick Rockwell, the would-be actor-comic whose very status as a multimillionaire was being questioned only days after the broadcast, turned out to have had a restraining order issued against him years earlier after an ex-girlfriend accused him of striking her.
Their marriage was almost instantly annulled. But reality TV was in it for the long haul.
Now, whatever legal woes Richard Heene may face, he's known around the world. In the hands of the right producer, he's promotable and marketable. Never mind that the boy in the balloon wasn't really in the balloon. This alleged scam may have given Heene a boost beyond his wildest dreams.

Sheriff: Balloon boy hoax may have conspirators

AP

By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writers Dan Elliott, Associated Press Writers – 28 mins ago
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The lawyer for the man accused of perpetrating the balloon boy hoax to promote a reality show said Monday that he expects authorities to bring charges against his client in the coming days as investigators analyze e-mails that show Richard Heene and an associate discussing the stunt months ago.
Lawyer David Lane said he expects charges to be filed by Wednesday and that Heene and his wife Mayumi are willing to turn themselves in. Lane declined to say directly whether he believes the incident was a hoax but said the Heenes are innocent unless convicted.
"If they (prosecutors) can prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, that's one thing. If they can't prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, that's another," he told The Associated Press.
In addition to drawing up possible felony charges against the 48-year-old Heene, investigators say they want to question an associate of his after e-mails surfaced showing the two had discussed a balloon hoax months ago as part of a public relations campaign for the reality show.
Robert Thomas of Denver claimed Heene had told him he was planning a media stunt to promote a proposed reality show. Thomas, a self-described researcher, sold his story to Gawker.com and provided the Web site with e-mail exchanges between him and Heene. Thomas said the show would feature Heene as a mad scientist who carries out various scientific experiments.
"This will be the most significant UFO-related news event to take place since the Roswell Crash of 1947, and the result will be a dramatic increase in local and national awareness about The Heene Family, our Reality Series, as well as the UFO Phenomenon in general," according to a copy of the show's proposal provided to the site by Thomas.
Gawker.com editor-in-chief Gabriel Snyder confirmed the New York-based Web site paid Thomas, but declined to say how much for the story billed with the headline: "Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax."
Snyder said Thomas was planning to meet with investigators, though sheriff's officials did not return messages seeking confirmation. Messages left for Thomas by The Associated Press were not returned.
Thomas, 25, said in his Gawker.com story that the plan he knew about did not involve Heene's children.
The emergence of the e-mails is the latest twist in a story that played out live on national television on Thursday when a silver, helium-filled balloon floated away from the Heenes' home with 6-year-old Falcon believed to be aboard. But he was never in the balloon.
Some flights at Denver International Airport had to be changed to a different runway, but the airport remained open during the balloon's flight, airport spokesman Chuck Cannon said Monday. Previous reports said the airport was temporarily shut down.
The National Guard provided two helicopters in an attempt to rescue the child, costing several thousand dollars. When the balloon landed without the boy, officials thought he had fallen out and began the grim search for his body.
Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden announced Sunday that he's seeking charges, including felonies, against Richard and Mayumi Heene. Alderden said the stunt two weeks in the planning was a marketing ploy by the Heenes, who met in acting school in Hollywood and have twice appeared on ABC's reality show "Wife Swap."
"We certainly know that there's a conspiracy between the husband and wife, you've probably seen some of the e-mails and some of the things on the Internet suggesting that there may be other conspirators," Alderden said.
Alderden said documents show that a media outlet has agreed to pay money to the Heenes with regard to the balloon incident. Alderden didn't name the media outlet but said it was a show that blurs "the line between entertainment and news."
It wasn't clear whether the deal was signed before or after the alleged hoax, or whether the media outlet was a possible conspirator.
"Let's call it (my statement) short of speculation that a media outlet was in on the hoax, but let's not discount the possibility," he said.
In an e-mail Sunday to the AP, Snyder said editors at Gawker.com had not contacted the Heene family or offered them money for their story, referring to Alderden's reference to a deal being struck by a media outlet.
"No, that wasn't us," Snyder said.
The sheriff said he expected to recommend charges of conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, making a false report to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant. Federal charges were also possible.
The most serious charges are felonies and carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Alderden said they would be seeking restitution for the costs, though he didn't have an estimate.
As Alderden told reporters Sunday that the whole thing was a hoax, the Heenes were shopping for snacks at Wal-Mart, where Richard Heene told the AP he was "seeking counsel."
"This thing has become so convoluted," Heene said, tears welling in his eyes. He said his wife was holding together better than he was.
Once investigators got a good look at the "flying saucer" they determined that the thin mylar balloon covered with foil and held together with duct tape would not have been able to launch with the 37-pound-boy inside, according to Colorado State University physics professor Brian Jones.
Alderden said he didn't know whether the 6-year-old had been hiding in the rafters of the family's garage during an intense five-hour search, as the family claimed.
"For all we know he may have been two blocks down the road playing on the swing in the city park," the sheriff said.
The sheriff said all three of the Heenes' sons knew of the hoax, but likely won't face charges because of their ages. The oldest son is 10.
Alderden said investigators had an "aha" moment that the story was a hoax when Falcon turned to his father during a CNN interview Thursday and said what sounded like "you had said we did this for a show" when asked why he didn't come out of his hiding place.
On Friday, Falcon got sick during two separate TV interviews when asked again why he hid.
Alderden said they didn't question the family Friday because they wanted to keep the family's cooperation by maintaining the appearance that they believed their story. That's the same day the sheriff gave a press conference in which he said he believed the saga was a "real event." He said Sunday that those assurances were part of his effort to keep the family's trust.
Records show that police have responded to the house at least twice in the past year, including a possible domestic violence incident in February. No charges were filed.
Alderden said officials tried Saturday to persuade Mayumi Heene, 45, to go to a safe house, but she declined.
Alderden said the children were still with the parents Sunday and that child protective services had been contacted to investigate their well-being. On "Wife Swap," Heene was portrayed as erratic, at one point throwing a glass of milk on a participant on the program.
"Clearly, from all indications, Mr. Heene has somewhat of a temper," Alderden said.
Lane said Alderden should "put up or shut up" about domestic violence.
"For the sheriff to put out for public consumption that Richard is a wife beater and not have any charges even considered to be filed is irresponsible and is designed solely to turn the public even more against the Heenes, in particular Richard," Lane said.
Heene has a profile listed on a Web site that helps people get cast in reality shows, and the producer of "Wife Swap" said it had a show in development with the Heenes but the deal is now off. TLC also said Heene had pitched a reality show to the network months ago, but it passed on the offer.
___
Associated Press writers Catherine Tsai, P. Solomon Banda and AP contributor Breck Larson in Fort Collins provided material for this report.
(This version CORRECTS that sheriff said some parts of Heene story were in doubt sted definitely untrue. )

Polanski undergoing medical treatment: lawyer

REUTERS

20 mins ago
GENEVA (Reuters) – Film director Roman Polanski, arrested in Switzerland three weeks ago to face extradition in a U.S. sex case, has been moved from jail for medical treatment, his French lawyer said on Saturday.
"All I know is that he has been taken from prison for medical attention. I don't know where he is or when he will be returned to prison," French lawyer Herve Temime told Reuters.
He said he did not have any other details.
Temime said last week after visiting Polanski in a Zurich jail that he was depressed and tired and expressed concern about his medical condition.
Polanski, 76, was arrested in relation to the U.S. case involving sex with an underage girl dating back over 30 years, when he arrived in Switzerland on September 26 to collect a life-time achievement award at a Swiss film festival.
Polanski, who holds French and Polish citizenship, pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 and spent 42 days in prison undergoing psychiatric tests.
However, he fled the United States before the case was concluded because he believed a judge would sentence him to up to 50 years behind bars despite a plea agreement for time already served.
Polanski, who won the best director Oscar for 2002 Holocaust film "The Pianist," was also accused of giving drugs and alcohol to the girl.
Folco Galli, spokesman for Switzerland's Federal Office of Justice, declined to comment on whether the film-maker had been moved to hospital, or on the state of his health.
"He is still in detention. If necessary he has all the medical care (needed). It can be in prison or in hospital, in general," he told Reuters.
U.S. authorities have up to 60 days to make a firm extradition request. U.S. judicial sources have said the complex extradition process could take years if Polanski challenges it.
(Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

NYC neighbor sues Madonna over loud music, dancing

AP

58 mins ago
NEW YORK – One of Madonna's New York neighbors says the superstar's loud music and frequent dance sessions are causing a commotion.
Karen George, of Manhattan, lives above Madonna in a building on Central Park.
She said in a lawsuit filed Friday against the building's co-op board that the Material Girl is using her apartment as a rehearsal studio, forcing neighbors to endure "blaring music, stomping and shaking walls," for up to three hours each day.
George complained about "unreasonably high-decibel, amplified music" and vibrations pouring through walls, ceilings and radiators.
The building's board says it has already threatened to evict Madonna.
Madonna's representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Madonna Opens Up About Her Divorce, Wanting To Work With Eminem

Oct 15 2009 3:08 PM EDT

She also tells Rolling Stone that her earlier hits are 'so geeky, they're cool.'
By Eric Ditzian

Last year, Madonna turned 50, and now she's fast approaching the three-decade mark of her music career, a span during which she's sold more than 200 million records and become the most successful female artist ever. In the midst of her Sticky & Sweet Tour — at $408 million in sales, the highest-grossing solo tour in history — the superstar sat down with Rolling Stone to talk about her past hits and scandals, her collaborations that never worked out and how she has coped with her divorce from director Guy Ritchie last year.
"What can I say? It was a challenging year," she said about the breakup. "I think work saved me, and I'm very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown myself off a building, Life is an adjustment. It's different. My sons aren't with me right now, they're with their father, and I'm not comfortable with the idea of my children not living together."
While Madge professed that she refuses to "apologize for anything" that's happened in her career, from nude pictorials to scandalous performances, she does have a few regrets, including an attempted collaboration with Eminem that never worked out.
"I wanted to work with Eminem," she revealed. "I don't think he wanted to work with me. Maybe he's shy."
But the Queen of Pop has had more than enough successful creative partnerships throughout her career, including with songwriters on early hits "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin."
"I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me," she explained. "I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn't a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be like a virgin? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They're so geeky, they're cool."
When it comes to writing her own material, Madonna confessed that she's a terrible arbiter of what will become a hit. "I've never been a good judge of what things are going to be huge or not," she said. "The songs that I think are the most retarded songs I've written, like 'Cherish' and 'Sorry,' a pretty big hit off my last album, end up being the biggest hits. 'Into the Groove' is another song I feel retarded singing, but everybody seems to like it."

Father of Smith's baby due to testify

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Ap Special Correspondent – 26 mins ago
LOS ANGELES – The father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter is due in court to testify at a preliminary hearing in the case involving the celebrity model's drug-overdose death.
Defense attorneys said they had been notified by the prosecution that Larry Birkhead, the musician who proved he was the father of Smith's daughter by DNA testing, would be among those called to testify Wednesday — the second day of a preliminary hearing for two doctors and Smith's former attorney-boyfriend, Howard K. Stern.
Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Dr. Khristina Eroshevich and Stern are charged with conspiring to illegally provide Smith with controlled substances before her death. The three have pleaded not guilty to the drug charges. Their lawyers maintain they are blameless in the death of a strong willed woman who directed her own course of medical treatment.
It was unknown what information Birkhead could add to the story of Smith's death. Defense attorney Adam Braun said that an audio recording of authorities interviewing Birkhead was turned over to him recently. He said he had not had time to study it and would ask to delay Birkhead's testimony.
Birkhead has been raising Smith's now three-year-old daughter, Dannielynn.
Also on the witness list for Wednesday are the bodyguard who tried unsuccessfully to revive Smith when she was found unresponsive in her bed at a Florida casino hotel on Feb. 8, 2007, and a toxicologist who analyzed the drugs in Smith's body.
Her death at age 39 was ruled an accidental overdose.
Tuesday's single witness, California Department of Justice investigator Danny Santiago, painted a portrait of Smith in her final days as being ill, confused and isolated in a hotel room with a cornucopia of prescription drugs.
He offered evidence he collected from Florida authorities and others about the drugs she was given and the many fake names that were used to get them for her. He said some were in the name of her lawyer-boyfriend, Howard K. Stern.
Prosecutors allege Smith was victimized by her boyfriend and doctors who provided her with a lethal amount of prescription drugs. However, when Deputy District Attorney Renee Rose suggested they might have caused her death, Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry stopped her line of questioning.
"There is not a murder charge," Perry said. "The cause of death is not an issue."
Smith's autopsy concluded she died of "acute combined drug intoxication," and the drugs involved were chloral hydrate combined with Benadryl, clonazepam, diazepam and lorazepam. Clonazepam and Soma, both muscle relaxants, and the sedative diazepam were among medications found in her hotel suite.
On Tuesday, Rose played a video of Smith's appearance on the 2004 American Music Awards in which the flashy blond introduced Kanye West, calling him "a freakin' genius" in a performance noted for her slurring words. Some thought she was drunk but Stern's attorney said she had taken the medication diazepam for a seizure she had suffered.
"Video is video," Sadow said later outside court. "We're not running from it. It's what she was on that day. It just depends on the context of why she was that day. We all have bad days.
"She had medical problems," he said. "If she's on medication for that, that would explain her activity."
The preliminary hearing is to result in a determination by the judge of whether there is enough evidence for the three defendants to stand trial. Stern is named in all 11 counts of the complaint. The doctors each face six counts, including conspiracy, and if convicted could be sentenced to as much as five years, eight months in prison. It was not clear what sentence Stern might face if convicted.

Art experts find possible new da Vinci

By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press Writer Rob Gillies, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 7 mins ago
TORONTO – A new painting by Leonardo da Vinci may have been discovered thanks to a centuries-old fingerprint.
Peter Paul Biro, a Montreal-based forensic art expert, said Tuesday that a fingerprint on what was presumed to be a 19th-century German painting of a young woman has convinced art experts that it's actually a Leonardo.
Canadian-born art collector Peter Silverman bought "Profile of the Bella Principessa" at the Ganz gallery in New York on behalf of an anonymous Swiss collector in 2007 for about $19,000. New York art dealer Kate Ganz had owned it for about 11 years after buying it at auction for a similar price.
One London art dealer now says it could be worth more than $150 million.
If experts are correct, it will be the first major work by Leonardo to be identified in 100 years.
Biro said the print of an index or middle finger was found on the painting and that it matched a fingerprint from Leonardo's "St. Jerome" in the Vatican. Biro examined multispectral images of the painting taken by the Luminere Technology laboratory in Paris. The lab used a special digital scanner to show successive layers of the work.
"Leonardo used his hands liberally and frequently as part of his painting technique. His fingerprints are found on many of his works," Biro said. "I was able to make use of multispectral images to make a little smudge a very readable fingerprint."
Technical, stylistic and material composition evidence also point to it being a Leonardo. Biro said there's strong consensus among art experts that it is a Leonardo painting.
"I would say it is priceless. There aren't that many Leonardos in existence," Biro said. He said he had heard that one London dealer felt it could be worth 100 million British pounds (more than $150 million).
Silverman said his Swiss friend saw it first and told him it didn't look like a 19th century painting. When Silverman took a look at the painting at the Ganz gallery in 2007, he thought it might be a Leonardo, although that seemed far-fetched. He hurriedly bought the painting for his Swiss friend and then started researching it.
"Of course you say, 'Come on, that's ridiculous. There's no such thing as a da Vinci floating around,'" Silverman said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I started looking in the areas around da Vinci and all the people who could have possibly done it and through elimination I came back to da Vinci."
Last year, Silverman bumped into Nicholas Turner, a former curator of drawings at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the British Museum. Turner said it was a Leonardo and other leading art experts have backed it up as well.
Silverman said thanks to the fingerprint image at the Luminere Technology laboratory it was confirmed.
"That was icing on the cake," he said.
Silverman describes the Swiss private collector as a very rich man who has promised to buy him "lunch and dinner and caviar for the rest of my life if it ever does get sold."

Madonna shoes offered to Gypsy charity in Romania

Tue Oct 13, 6:45 am ET
BUCHAREST, Romania – Madonna is putting her shoes where her mouth is.
The Queen of Pop has offered one of her favorite pairs of Christian Dior shoes to a charity supporting Gypsy child education. Organizers said Tuesday the skyscraper gold heels, which are autographed by Madonna, will be sold at the Ovidiu Rom annual ball later this month.
Madonna drew international attention by saying during an August concert in Bucharest on her "Sticky & Sweet'" tour that widespread discrimination against East Europe's Gypsies, also known as Roma, should end.
Thousands of fans responded by booing her.
"Madonna's very mild comment regarding equality shone a spotlight on a common European attitude toward Gypsies," Leslie Hawke, president of Ovidiu Rom, told The Associated Press. "We're thrilled to have her donation because she is such an icon of innovation and vigor and 'can do' spirit."
Hawke's son, actor Ethan Hawke, will attend the ball and speak to guests.
Guests at the ball will make donations to win raffle tickets for the auction of donated prizes. This year's items also will include a gold chain provided by actress Vanessa Redgrave.

Model Heidi Klum gives birth to daughter

Tue Oct 13, 6:17 am ET
BERLIN – German-born model Heidi Klum has given birth to a daughter, Lou Sulola Samuel — her fourth child.
Klum, who is married to Grammy-winning singer Seal, says on her Web site that the baby was born on Friday.
In the message posted Tuesday, Klum says: "She is beautiful beyond words and we are happy that she chose us to watch her grow over the coming years."
Klum already has two young sons with Seal, whom she married in 2005. The 36-year-old also has another daughter from a previous relationship.
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On the Net:
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_ce/storytext/eu_germany_people_klum/33714446/SIG=10t52lfj7/*http://www.heidiklum.com/en

Christie Brinkley, ex-husband work on settlement

By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press Writer Frank Eltman, Associated Press Writer – 21 mins ago

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. – An attorney for Christie Brinkley's ex-husband says they've been discussing a proposed settlement in their court spat over details of their 2008 divorce.
Brinkley's attorney, Peter Caronia, issued a statement early Tuesday saying a settlement had been reached. That was just hours before the factions were due to face off in a Long Island courtroom.
Later, an attorney for ex-husband Peter Cook, James Winkler, insisted nothing had been set in stone.
Caronia's statement claimed there was an agreement denying Cook's requests — including anger management for the former supermodel.
The dueling exes have accused each other of violating a divorce settlement reached after Cook admitted an affair with a 19-year-old babysitter.

"Wild Things" movie gets author Sendak's blessing

By Jill Serjeant Jill Serjeant – 16 mins ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Turning a classic children's book into a Hollywood movie takes courage.
When that book is Maurice Sendak's dark but beloved "Where the Wild Things Are" and the illustrated original consists of just nine simple sentences, it also helps to have the author's blessing.
Director Spike Jonze had both when he set out to bring the award-winning 1963 book to the big screen in a version that is both a departure and an homage designed to appeal to adults as well as children.
Five years in the making, Jonze's part live-action, part puppetry, part computer-animated version of "Where The Wild Things Are" arrives in North American theaters on Friday to a mixture of glowing reviews and deep reservations.
The book is a spare but lavishly illustrated tale of a rambunctious boy who dons his wolf suit and goes in search of mischief but falls back on his imagination when he gets sent to his room. It has been one of 10 all-time best selling books for children since the 1970s.
But Jonze, the man behind the quirky 1999 film "Being John Malkovich," said he did not intend to make a traditional kids' movie.
"I set out to make a movie about childhood," said Jonze, who also co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Dave Eggers.
"It's about what it's like to be 8 or 9 years old and trying to figure out the world, the people around you and the emotions that are sometimes predictable or confusing.
"He (Sendak) is very proud of it," said Jonze, who also made a documentary with the 81-year-old author that will be shown on HBO on Wednesday.
TOO WILD FOR KIDS?
In the biggest departure from the book, lonely but playful Max (played by newcomer Max Records) runs away from home and sails to a wilderness inhabited by fanged and furry Wild Things that are looking for the kind of leader that Max wants to be.
The film was shot near Melbourne, Australia, and features sand dunes, sea shores and fire-ravaged woods instead of the green forest that magically grows in Max's bedroom in the book. It has the kind of art house feel rarely seen in Hollywood's standard kids fare.
The Wild Things are voiced by actors including James Gandolfini of "The Sopranos" and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and given physical substance by other actors wearing vast body suits made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.
John Leonard of New York magazine called it a "fabulous treehouse of a movie" but David Denby of the New Yorker wondered how young children would react. "I have a vision of 8-year-olds leaving the movie in bewilderment," Denby wrote. "Why are the creatures so unhappy?"
Sendak, who is a producer on the movie, has dismissed suggestions that parents might think the screen version too scary for their children. Amazon.com says the book's target age range is 4- to 8-year-olds.
"I would tell them (parents) to go to hell. That's a question I will not tolerate," the author told Newsweek when asked about the movie's fright potential.
Talking to reporters, Jonze said Sendak's book was initially criticized by librarians and psychologists because it depicted a kid who was wild, who yelled at his mother and who acted out.
"It wasn't teaching kids a lesson," Jonze said. "But it was true and kids recognized that and it became popular because kids loved it. I think the movie has the same intention (of) not trying to condescend to kids."
Jonze also came under pressure from Warner Bros studio executives, who were expecting a more family-friendly treatment. Media reports last year said the studio delayed the release for 12 months and asked for more work on the estimated $80 million production.
Jonze declined to detail his discussions with Warner Bros, saying, "It was just not a fun part of the process.
"But in the end we made the movie we wanted to make and now they (Warner Bros) are embracing it."
(Editing by Bill Trott)

"New" Michael Jackson single a "mistake"

20 mins ago

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Jackson didn't do it his way after all.
Hours after the pop singer's first posthumous single "This Is It" was released amid great hype on Monday, it emerged that the tune had been recorded 18 years ago by an obscure Puerto Rican singer.
Moreover the co-author of that tune, "My Way" songwriter Paul Anka, threatened to sue Jackson's estate for proper credit and his share of royalties.
The administrators of the estate quickly acknowledged Anka's claims and granted him 50 percent of the copyright, a potentially massive payday for the 68-year-old Canadian crooner. And an equally massive loss for the estate.
"They realize it's a mistake, they realize it's my song, they realize it's my production of his vocal in my studio and I am getting 50 percent of the whole project, actually, which is fair," Anka said in a video posted on the TMZ gossip Web site.
The song dates back to 1983, when it was known as "I Never Heard" -- a co-write between Jackson and Anka -- and intended for inclusion on an Anka album. But the pair fell out, Jackson took the master tapes and Anka got them back.
The song was eventually released in 1991 after Anka placed it with an unknown Latin singer named Sa-Fire.
Both "I Never Heard" and "This Is It" share the same vocal and piano line, although the latter track boasts new overdubs from Jackson's brothers.
But "This Is It" had been promoted as a new Jackson recording, one of a multitude of unreleased recordings likely to come out in the next few years.
It was released online around the world nearly four months after the singer died in Los Angeles of a prescription drug overdose at the age of 50.
Fans will be able to buy it when a two-disc album hits the shelves in two weeks to coincide with the October 28 worldwide release of the Jackson rehearsal-footage movie "This is It."
LYRICS FIT THE BILL
"The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour," said a spokesman for Jackson's estate. "We are thrilled to present this song in Michael's voice for the first time, and that Michael's fans have responded in unprecedented numbers. The song was co-written by the legendary Paul Anka."
A spokeswoman for Sony Music declined to comment. One of the estate's two administrators, John McClain, worked with Jackson at the Sony Corp unit. The other executor is music attorney John Branca.
McClain, who is also a co-producer of the "This is It" album, had said in a statement earlier on Monday that the song "only defines, once again, what the world already knows -- that Michael is one of God's greatest gifts."
Some critics begged to differ. Jon Pareles, the chief pop critic of The New York Times, said in a blog it "won't be on anyone's list of best Michael Jackson songs, even if it's a long list" and hoped there was something better in the Michael Jackson vaults of album outtakes.
The "This Is It" movie is based on rehearsal video shot in Los Angeles in the weeks before Jackson's planned 50 comeback concerts in London. It was the subject of a $60 million deal between Jackson's estate and closely held concert promoter AEG Live and Sony's Sony Pictures unit.
Sales of Jackson's records spiked after his death and the release of the movie and album will add to the value of the "Thriller" singer's estate, estimated at around $400 million.
Sony Music said the first disc of the album will feature some of Jackson's greatest hits plus two versions of the "new" single.
The second disc will include unreleased versions of some of the singer's classic tracks and a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth" performed by Jackson and never heard before.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant and Dean Goodman; editing by Bill Trott)
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