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| US-INDUSTRY Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:56 PM PDT Greek court rules deliberations in suit against Reuters invalid ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek court has ruled deliberations in a lawsuit by Piraeus Bank against Reuters over a story it published were inadmissible on technical grounds. The ruling, obtained by Reuters on Thursday, also postponed deliberations against a second defendant in the case - reporter Stephen Grey who wrote the article. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rhythm & Hues asks court to let auction continue Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:56 PM PDT By Brent Lang and Pamela Chelin LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - A California bankruptcy court judge approved Rhythm & Hues' request to allow it to continue its auction process. Brian Davidoff, an attorney for Rhythm & Hues, told Judge Neil W. Bason in a hearing Thursday that his client needed more time, because it had decided to invite a previously disqualified bidder back into the auction process. He said three bidders remain in contention for the right to the financially troubled visual-effects company behind "Life of Pi" and "Babe. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-PEOPLE Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:54 PM PDT Trailblazing TV journalist Barbara Walters to retire in 2014 (Reuters) - Pioneering journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a U.S. evening news program, plans to retire in May 2014 after more than five decades as a prominent figure on U.S. television, a source familiar with her plans said on Thursday. Walters, 83, is expected to announce her retirement to viewers herself in the coming weeks, the source said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pioneering rock journalist Paul Williams dies at 64 Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:54 PM PDT  By Steve Pond LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Paul Williams, a pioneering music journalist who started the first magazine devoted to rock 'n' roll criticism, died on Wednesday in Southern California. He was 64. Williams was the founder of Crawdaddy! magazine and the author of more than two dozen books about music, popular culture and new-age philosophy. He died of complications related to Alzheimer's, which came on after he suffered a brain injury in a 1995 bicycle accident. Williams was a 17-year-old student at Swarthmore College when he launched Crawdaddy in 1966. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-TELEVISION Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:52 PM PDT Trailblazing TV journalist Barbara Walters to retire in 2014 (Reuters) - Pioneering journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a U.S. evening news program, plans to retire in May 2014 after more than five decades as a prominent figure on U.S. television, a source familiar with her plans said on Thursday. Walters, 83, is expected to announce her retirement to viewers herself in the coming weeks, the source said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Miramax, Martin Scorsese to develop 'Gangs of New York' TV series Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:51 PM PDT  By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Miramax and Martin Scorsese are developing a television series based on Scorsese's 2002 film "Gangs of New York," the studio announced on Thursday. Scorsese's film, which starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel-Day Lewis, was set in 19th century New York when gangs ran the city and corruption was rampant. The series will expand that focus, drawing from organized gangs at the turn of the century and shortly thereafter, not just in New York, but other cities such as Chicago and New Orleans, looking at the birth of organized crime in America. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Boardwalk Empire" taps "Killing" vet Eric Ladin to play J. Edgar Hoover Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:49 PM PDT  By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Could the feds be preparing to close in on Nucky Thompson? Eric Ladin - aka, campaign manager Jamie Wright on the AMC drama "The Killing" - has been cast in the upcoming fourth season of HBO's period gangster drama, starring Steve Buscemi as Atlantic City kingpin Thompson. Ladin will play FBI director J. Edgar Hoover - an addition to the show that just might prove to be problematic to Thompson as he attempts to strengthen his position in the world of organized crime. The HBO drama has been bolstering its cast for the fourth season. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-FILM Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:48 PM PDT A Minute With: "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer on "The Host" LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Twilight" author Stephenie Meyer brings her romantic futuristic thriller "The Host" to movie fans on Friday, trading the vampires and werewolves for aliens who invade planet Earth, taking over human bodies. The film stars, Saoirse Ronan as Melanie Stryder, whose body is taken over by an alien soul called Wanda. Eventually the two-in-one female team work to save the human race from total annihilation. Candice Bergen to play Robin Williams' wife in holiday comedy By Lucas Shaw NEW YORK (TheWrap. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Amazing Spider-Man 2': B.J. Novak revealed as newest castmember Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:48 PM PDT  By Greg Gilman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "The Office" star B.J. Novak will appear in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," director Marc Webb revealed Thursday on Twitter. "Day 38. A supposed rumor about a Dunder-Mifflin takeover of Oscorp?" Webb tweeted with a link to a picture of a dapper-looking Novak. Webb has been busy tweeting various cryptic images from the production's set since filming began in February. TheWrap has reached out to Sony Pictures for more details on which character Novak will be playing in the film. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan to co-host CNN Morning Show Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:46 PM PDT By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - CNN has tapped Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan to co-host the cable news network's new morning show, which will premiere this spring. In addition, the network said that Michaela Pereira will join CNN from KTLA Morning News in Los Angeles, as the program's news anchor. The network did not give a name for the new program, when it announced its morning roster on Thursday. The Bolduan move is a surprise given that speculation had centered on "OutFront's" Erin Burnett joining Cuomo as co-host in the mornings. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nat Geo announces military shows 'Battleground Afghanistan' and 'EyeWitness War' Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:45 PM PDT By Tim Molloy NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - National Geographic Channel announced the two new war docuseries, "Battleground Afganistan" and "EyeWitness War," following in the bootprints of its successful war series "Inside Combat Rescue." "Battleground Afghanistan" follows the men of the Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, as they attempt to locate, disrupt and destroy the Taliban. "EyeWitness War" follows the men and women of the Army, Navy, Drug Enforcement Administration, Coast Guard and other forces as they deal with battles, drug trafficking and explosives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Don Payne, 'Simpsons' co-executive producer and 'Thor' screenwriter, dies of cancer Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:43 PM PDT By Greg Gilman LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Don Payne, a co-executive producer of "The Simpsons" and "Thor" screenwriter, died in Los Angeles on Tuesday after battling cancer. He was 48. The University of California, Los Angeles graduate won four primetime Emmys with "The Simpsons" since joining the Fox show's writing staff in 1998. Payne wrote 16 episodes, including "Fraudcast News," which earned him the 2005 Writers Guild Paul Selvin Award. "Don was a wonderful writer and an even more wonderful man," said "Simpsons" showrunner Al Jean in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," buffed up with 3D, aims to conquer Box-Office world Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:40 PM PDT By Todd Cunningham LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "G.I Joe:Retaliation" reports for box-office duty Wednesday night, after a nine-month delay. The world's most famous toy soldier and his mates will battle the evil agents of Cobra In the movie, but in the multiplexes, it will be all about 3D. Paramount last May took the unusual step of delaying its $135 million sequel to "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," originally scheduled to be released last June 29, in order to convert it to 3D. ... Full Story | Top |
| "The Host" review: Invasion of the boring snoozers Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:33 PM PDT  By Alonso Duralde LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Here we go again: No sooner did the "Twilight" franchise pack up and head to that shiny coffin in the sky that we get another Stephenie Meyer story about the Special-est Girl in the World and the cute boys who fall madly in love with her. No bloodsuckers or lycanthropes this time, however; now it's all about glittery dust-bunny aliens who have taken over all the human bodies and turned them…polite? "The Host" posits an alien invasion whereby almost all of humanity has been body-snatched, resulting in a planet that's clean, well-fed and kind. ... Full Story | Top |
| "The Shining": 33 Years Later, "Room 237" asks why moviegoers can't leave the overlook Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:28 PM PDT By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "The Shining" hit theaters more than three decades ago, but as the upcoming documentary "Room 237" makes clear, many moviegoers had a hard time leaving the Overlook Hotel. The Stanley Kubrick horror film has inspired a fervent coterie of analysts, many of whom devote countless hours to devising elaborate interpretations for what the story of a hotel caretaker going mad (a scenery-gnawing Jack Nicholson) actually means. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fay Kanin, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Academy President, dies at 95 Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:27 PM PDT  By Brent Lang LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Fay Kanin, an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning screenwriter, died Wednesday of natural causes. She was 95. In addition to her award-winning work, Kanin served as the second female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, the nonprofit organization behind the Academy Awards, from 1979 to 1983. "She was committed to the Academy's preservation work and instrumental in expanding our public programming," the Academy said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Taylor Swift to guest-star on 'New Girl' season finale Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:25 PM PDT  By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The second season finale of "New Girl" just took a Swift turn. "Red" singer Taylor Swift has booked a guest-starring spot on the season capper of the Fox sitcom, which airs May 14. Swift will play Elaine, a guest at the wedding of Cece (played by Hannah Simone) and Shivrang (played by Satya Bhabha). Though primarily known for ever-so-humbly winning every music award known to mankind and inviting speculation about her love life in song, Swift has had some acting experience. ... Full Story | Top |
| "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" takes $2.2 million in early Wednesday shows Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:24 PM PDT By Todd Cunningham LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" is off to a solid start at the box office, taking in $2.2 million in early Wednesday evening and midnight shows. Paramount's PG-rated action sequel opens officially on Thursday but got a jump on the long weekend with screenings at 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday, taking the midnight-opening concept a step beyond the norm. Analysts expect "Retaliation' to dominate the Easter weekend box office and take in around $45 million over the four-plus days. Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum star in the sequel to the 2009's "G.I. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Room 237" review: The secrets of the universe, as hidden in "The Shining" Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:22 PM PDT By Alonso Duralde LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - If you thought "The Shining" was simply Stanley Kubrick's film version of Stephen King's novel, you are apparently wrong, at least according to the never-seen interviewees of the new documentary "Room 237." The movie is really an indictment of the U.S. government's genocide of the indigenous population. Or it's the director's attempt to tell a story about the Nazi holocaust. Or it's Kubrick's confession that he helped to fake the Apollo moon landing. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Place Beyond the Pines" review: Ryan Gosling + Bradley Cooper = overwrought daddy issues Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:21 PM PDT  By Leah Rozen LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Better to have a film with a reach that exceeds its grasp than a movie with no ambition in its pretty little empty head beyond regurgitating the same tired old pabulum. "The Place Beyond the Pines," director-cowriter Derek Cianfrance's follow-up to his 2010 corrosive marital drama, "Blue Valentine," is plenty ambitious. If, in the end, it collapses on itself from trying to carry too heavy a symbolic load, one can still admire its attempted reach and several of the performances. ... Full Story | Top |
| CA-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:50 PM PDT Actress Ashley Judd opts not to enter Kentucky Senate race WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Actress Ashley Judd's next role will not be as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Judd said on Wednesday she has decided not to run in 2014 to try to unseat Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, after considering such a candidacy for months. ... Full Story | Top |
| William Faulkner archival material to be sold at auction Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:49 PM PDT By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Letters, an unpublished short story and William Faulkner's Nobel Prize medal could sell for more than $2 million when archival materials of the author are sold at auction in June, Sotheby's said on Thursday. Faulkner, whose books include "The Sound and the Fury" and "Sartoris," is considered one of the most important American authors of the 20th century. A native of Mississippi, he set much of his work in the American South and often in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek court rules deliberations in suit against Reuters invalid Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:30 PM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek court has ruled deliberations in a lawsuit by Piraeus Bank against Reuters over a story it published were inadmissible on technical grounds. The ruling, obtained by Reuters on Thursday, also postponed deliberations against a second defendant in the case - reporter Stephen Grey who wrote the article. Piraeus Bank last year sought damages of 50 million euros when it sued the news agency and Grey over a story on property deals between the bank and companies linked to the family of its non-executive chairman. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trailblazing TV journalist Barbara Walters to retire in 2014 Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:22 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Pioneering journalist Barbara Walters, the first woman to co-anchor a U.S. evening news program, plans to retire in May 2014 after more than five decades as a prominent figure on U.S. television, a source familiar with her plans said on Thursday. Walters, 83, is expected to announce her retirement to viewers herself in the coming weeks, the source said. "It was very much her decision. I think she will best explain it herself," the source told Reuters. ABC will broadcast a series of specials and tributes to Walters in the weeks before her exit, the source added. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-MUSIC Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:01 PM PDT Demi Lovato back for "X Factor," 2 new judges yet to be announced LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Demi Lovato will return as a judge on TV contest "The X Factor" for a second year, broadcaster Fox announced on Thursday, but there was no word on two more open positions on the celebrity panel. The 20-year-old former Disney Channel star will be back in her seat when the show returns in the fall of 2013 along with creator Simon Cowell. ... Full Story | Top |
| Demi Lovato back for "X Factor," 2 new judges yet to be announced Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:00 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Demi Lovato will return as a judge on TV contest "The X Factor" for a second year, broadcaster Fox announced on Thursday, but there was no word on two more open positions on the celebrity panel. The 20-year-old former Disney Channel star will be back in her seat when the show returns in the fall of 2013 along with creator Simon Cowell. "I couldn't be happier that Demi wants to come back this year," Cowell said in a statement. "She's a superstar in her own right and was a fantastic mentor last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Perform teams up with Sporting News for U.S. push Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:13 AM PDT By Keith Weir LONDON (Reuters) - British digital rights company Perform joined forces on Thursday with the owner of historic U.S. media brand Sporting News to accelerate its expansion in the North American market. Perform, floated in London two years ago, has built its business on buying up online rights to major sports events and supplying video clips or live content to groups like newspaper websites and bookmakers. A few hours after the announcement of the formation of the U.S. venture, Perform joint chief executives Oliver Slipper and Simon Denyer announced that they had each sold 9. ... Full Story | Top |
| FX to launch new cable channel for younger adult audience Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:11 AM PDT (Reuters) - FX Networks will launch a new cable channel aimed at young adults ages 18 to 34 with programming that includes current hit comedies "The League" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," executives said on Thursday. The channel, called FXX, will debut September 2 and reach 74 million homes in its first year, News Corp-owned FX Networks said in a statement. Adults aged 18 to 34 is one of the key demographic groups prized by advertisers. The FX channel is aimed at a slightly older audience, 18 to 49, while a third sister network, movie-focused FXM, is aimed at ages 25 to 54. ... Full Story | Top |
| French actress files complaint over Hollande liaison rumor Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 09:40 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - A French actress has filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor for breach of privacy over Internet rumors alleging she has a relationship with President Francois Hollande, the prosecutor's office said on Thursday. A spokesperson for the prosecutor's office told Reuters that actress Julie Gayet had filed a complaint against "persons unknown", a common formulation under French law, on March 18 over rumors circulating on Twitter and blog sites for some weeks. A lawyer for Gayet did not immediately respond to phone calls and Hollande's office declined to comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| New album, NBC's "The Voice" make for awesome times for Blake Shelton Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 09:34 AM PDT  By Vernell Hackett NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Country music singer Blake Shelton has never been one to shy away from his feelings, so when it came to recording his new album he sought out songs that reflected his current state of mind. Life, he says, is "pretty awesome." "It's all where I am in my life right now. I'm very content with my life. I'll be happy if it stays like this for a long time," Shelton, 36, told Reuters of his new album "Based on a True Story... ... Full Story | Top |
| US-ARTS Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:08 AM PDT Argentina's Isol wins world's biggest children's book prize STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Argentinian author and illustrator Isol won the world's biggest prize for children's literature on Tuesday with the jury for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award praising her ability to expose the absurdities of the adult world to children. She beat "War Horse" author Michael Morpurgo, the former British Children's Laureate, America's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" writer Eric Carle, and British fantasy writer Terry Pratchett among others to the annual prize. ... Full Story | Top |
| Moving picture of life and death in Pompeii at London exhibition Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:08 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - An exhibition showing daily life and tragic death in the ill-fated Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum opened in London on Thursday to glowing reviews and the highest advance tickets sales at the British Museum in five years. Over 450 objects, many of which haven't been seen outside Italy, are arranged to show everyday life in the Roman Empire before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD79, burying the two Southern Italian cities in volcanic ash. ... Full Story | Top |
| Actress Ashley Judd opts not to enter Kentucky Senate race Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 07:20 AM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Actress Ashley Judd's next role will not be as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Judd said on Wednesday she has decided not to run in 2014 to try to unseat Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, after considering such a candidacy for months. "After serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities & energy at this time need to be focused on my family," she wrote on Twitter. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Criminal Minds" star Vangsness tops with church-going Americans Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 05:35 AM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Criminal Minds" star Kirsten Vangsness topped a list on Thursday of the most appealing TV actors among faith-based audiences, while Sandra Bullock was the most popular movie star among that group. Vangsness, 40, who plays fun-loving FBI technical analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS show "Criminal Minds, is openly gay and announced her engagement to her longtime girlfriend in 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-REVIEW Summary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:40 AM PDT Book Talk: Clive Cussler probes coal country, strikes in new book NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best-selling adventure author Clive Cussler, who published his first book 40 years ago, is still entertaining fans. His newest novel, "The Striker," released this month, has already sold thousands of copies. "The Striker," Cussler's 55th book, follows detective Isaac Bell's investigation into union strikes in early 1900s coal country. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" review: Saturday morning cartoon writ large By Alonso Duralde LOS ANGELES (TheWrap. ... Full Story | Top |
| Book Talk: Clive Cussler probes coal country, strikes in new book Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:40 AM PDT  By Billy Cheung NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best-selling adventure author Clive Cussler, who published his first book 40 years ago, is still entertaining fans. His newest novel, "The Striker," released this month, has already sold thousands of copies. "The Striker," Cussler's 55th book, follows detective Isaac Bell's investigation into union strikes in early 1900s coal country. It contains many of the hallmarks of his earlier work. The story pits young Bell against another detective and his ruthless sponsor, both bent on fomenting violence between miners and industrialists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt says to go to jail without a fight Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:12 AM PDT  MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt said on Thursday that he will return to jail for his conviction linked to the 1993 Mumbai bombings, giving up a long-running legal battle for his freedom. The high-earning actor has been on bail since 2007 when he appealed against an original sentence of six years for the illegal possession of weapons in a case linked to the attacks that killed 257 people. Last week India's Supreme Court rejected his final appeal against his conviction but reduced his sentence to five years and ordered him to return to custody within four weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
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