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| US-FILM Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 07:14 PM PDT "Iron Man 3" goes back to basics in a quest to save the U.S. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After battling grandiose villains and teaming up with other superheroes, it's back-to-basics for "Iron Man" in the third installment of the multi-million-dollar franchise featuring Robert Downey Jr. "Iron Man 3," which opens in most of the world this Friday and on May 3 in the United States, has Downey reprising his role of superhero industrialist Tony Stark from the first two films as well as last summer's "The Avengers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Laos-set 'The Rocket' takes Tribeca Film Festival's top prize Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 07:13 PM PDT  By Chris Michaud NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Australian film "The Rocket" picked up two top honors on Thursday at the Tribeca Film Awards, winning best narrative feature and best actor for the performance of a non-professional child actor. The film, set in Laos and shot in its native language, was directed by Australian filmmaker Kim Mordaunt. It chronicles the struggles of a displaced family led by a young boy and seeking a new home, and the suffering wrought by both war and economic globalization. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-MUSIC Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 05:29 PM PDT Mamma Mia! Bookie offers odds on ABBA reunion LONDON (Reuters) - A British bookmaker is taking bets on an ABBA comeback after singer Agnetha Faltskog hinted at a possible reunion for Sweden's most successful band. Faltskog, who has come out of retirement to release a solo album called "A", was asked by German's Die Zeit Magazine if she would be open to an ABBA reunion and she responded positively. ... Full Story | Top |
| CA-ENTERTAINMENT Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 05:29 PM PDT Midler wins raves on Broadway as Hollywood agent Sue Mengers NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bette Midler marked her return to Broadway after more than 30 years on Wednesday, and critics lined up to heap praise on her turn in the one-character play "I'll Eat You Last: A Conversation with Sue Mengers" in which she portrays the legendary Hollywood agent. The late Mengers was famous as a brash, foul-mouthed, witty and fearsome force of nature whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Faye Dunaway and Gene Hackman to name but a few and critics noted the comfortable fit between the show's star and its subject. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justin Bieber shrugs off "rumors" after Swedish drug find Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 05:28 PM PDT  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Teen idol Justin Bieber on Thursday seemed to shrug off the latest controversy surrounding his European tour after Swedish police said they had found drugs on his tour bus but could not link them to any single person. Bieber, 19, has made headlines in the past two months for showing up late for his own London concert, walking shirtless through airport security in Poland, posting a cartoon of himself in bed with a young woman, and expressing the hope that Holocaust victim Anne Frank would have been a "belieber" like his millions of fans. ... Full Story | Top |
| African diva Angelique Kidjo wins Songlines Best Artist award Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 05:27 PM PDT  By Angus MacSwan LONDON (Reuters) - African diva Angelique Kidjo was named Best Artist in Songlines magazine's annual world music awards on Friday, lauded for her high-energy shows and her championing of social causes. French veterans Lo'jo, who mix French folk with African and Arabic sounds, picked up the Best Group award and the young Zimbabwean band Mokoomba was chosen as top Newcomer. The Best Cross Cultural-Collaboration went to Dub Colossus for the blend of Ethiopian roots, reggae and dub beats on their latest album "Dub Me Tender Vol. 1+2". ... Full Story | Top |
| US-REVIEW Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:26 PM PDT Top of U.S. bestseller list NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nora Roberts' "Whiskey Beach" debuted at the top of the Publishers Weekly's bestseller list on Thursday. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Book Talk: Man seeks joy at end of life in debut novel by 69-year-old NEW YORK (Reuters) - Salesman or scammer, Jim makes and loses several fortunes in North America and the Brazilian jungle, but then loses himself as he runs over anyone who gets in his way. ... Full Story | Top |
| Book Talk: Man seeks joy at end of life in debut novel by 69-year-old Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:25 PM PDT By Nick Olivari NEW YORK (Reuters) - Salesman or scammer, Jim makes and loses several fortunes in North America and the Brazilian jungle, but then loses himself as he runs over anyone who gets in his way. Old and broke he falls in love with - or at least has serious sexual desires for - Mara, a beautiful and ambitious Israeli woman fifty years his junior. Strangely and perhaps even more unlikely, Mara falls for Jim - or perhaps what he could be if he could again rise from poverty. "The Dream Merchant: A Novel", published by Thomas Dunne Books for St. ... Full Story | Top |
| Coinstar bets on "Man of Steel," "Iron Man" to boost rental business Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:28 PM PDT By Chandni Doulatramani (Reuters) - Coinstar Inc raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast as it bets on a slate of movies scheduled to be released in the third quarter to boost its Redbox video rental business, sending its shares up 8 percent after the bell. Coinstar, which plans to change its name to Outerwall Inc, acquired Redbox in 2008 for its DVD kiosk business, and it has become its primary source of sales since then. Redbox, which accounted for about 87 percent of Coinstar's sales of $2. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-TELEVISION Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:24 PM PDT MTV eyes TV series based on 'Scream' film franchise LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - MTV has set its sights on turning the popular "Scream" horror film franchise into a television series, the U.S. cable network said on Thursday. MTV said it has ordered a one-hour pilot episode and that producer Dimension Films is in negotiations with the franchise's director, Wes Craven, to direct the pilot. 'M*A*S*H' actor Allan Arbus dies at age 95 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-INDUSTRY Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:24 PM PDT Time Warner Cable shifts away from "triple play" (Reuters) - Time Warner Cable Inc, the second-largest U.S. cable provider, will no longer aggressively push "triple play" packages of Internet, video and voice on its customers, moving away from the long-held industry practice of bundling the services together. Time Warner Cable is the first cable company in the U.S. to acknowledge that customers would prefer to only pay for television and Internet, as demand for landline service has been declining steadily with many people only using cellphones, even at home. ... Full Story | Top |
| Time Warner Cable shifts away from "triple play" Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:24 PM PDT  By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Time Warner Cable Inc, the second-largest U.S. cable provider, will no longer aggressively push "triple play" packages of Internet, video and voice on its customers, moving away from the long-held industry practice of bundling the services together. Time Warner Cable is the first cable company in the U.S. to acknowledge that customers would prefer to only pay for television and Internet, as demand for landline service has been declining steadily with many people only using cellphones, even at home. ... Full Story | Top |
| MTV eyes TV series based on 'Scream' film franchise Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:24 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - MTV has set its sights on turning the popular "Scream" horror film franchise into a television series, the U.S. cable network said on Thursday. MTV said it has ordered a one-hour pilot episode and that producer Dimension Films is in negotiations with the franchise's director, Wes Craven, to direct the pilot. The series is expected to air in summer 2014, said MTV, a unit of Viacom. The film series, about a masked serial killer who stalks his victims, began in 1996, and it had follow-up instalments in 1997, 2000 and 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Late actor Larry Hagman's flashy 'Dallas' belt buckle up for sale Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 01:31 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A ruby-adorned silver and gold belt buckle from the U.S. television drama "Dallas" forms the centerpiece of an auction of personal items of late actor Larry Hagman, who played the conniving oilman J.R. Ewing on the hit series. The buckle, with the initials "J.R.," is as garish and brazen as the character who wore it and is expected to fetch between $3,000 and $5,000 in a May 5 sale, Los Angeles auction house Bonhams said on Thursday. The large buckle has four rubies framing the initials of the villain on the show that was first broadcast between 1978 and 1991. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top of U.S. bestseller list Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 12:18 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nora Roberts' "Whiskey Beach" debuted at the top of the Publishers Weekly's bestseller list on Thursday. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Whiskey Beach" by Nora Roberts - (Putnam, $27.95) 2. "Daddy's Gone a Hunting" by Mary Higgins (Simon & Schuster, $26.99) 1 3. "Talking Eve" by Iris Johansen - (St. Martin's, $27.99) 4. "Starting Now" by Debbie Macomber (Ballantine, $26.00) 3 5. "Don't Go" by Lisa Scottoline (St Martin's, $27.99) 2 6. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-ARTS Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 12:04 PM PDT Painter Mark Rothko's Latvian hometown opens centre for his art DAUGAVPILS, Latvia (Reuters) - Modernist painter Mark Rothko's hometown in Latvia devoted a new centre to the late artist's work on Wednesday. The Mark Rothko Arts Centre opened in the eastern town of Daugavpils, the Baltic country's second biggest city, with six paintings from the private collection of the artist's daughter and son, who were present at the launch. Artist Richard Prince didn't infringe photo copyrights: U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Artist Richard Prince didn't infringe photo copyrights: U.S. court Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 12:04 PM PDT By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a closely watched case in the art world, American artist Richard Prince won a federal appeals court order Thursday holding that he did not infringe the copyrights of a photographer by incorporating his images into 25 paintings and collages. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reversed a lower court's finding that Prince must hand over artwork using the photos to Patrick Cariou, whose pictures of Rastafarians in Jamaica were incorporated into art, exhibited in 2007 and 2008. ... Full Story | Top |
| NY Times to roll out new products in search of revenue Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 10:28 AM PDT  By Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - New York Times Co reported a decline in quarterly revenue on weak advertising sales but said it would try to grow out of the slump by expanding its suite of digital products. The 11.2 percent drop in advertising revenue in the first quarter underscores the pressure that the New York Times faces to increase its subscription revenue, especially for its digital products, and find new veins of income. The company plans to roll out a line of lower-priced products - including an expansion into e-commerce and games - to attract more readers around the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Watchdogs to focus on new media in Nielsen/Arbitron deal: experts Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 10:27 AM PDT By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust regulators are likely to scrutinize new forms of advertising as they mull the planned purchase by television rating giant Nielsen Holdings NV of Arbitron Inc, which dominates radio ratings, legal experts say. The Federal Trade Commission, in assessing the $1.26 billion merger to ensure it complies with antitrust law, will likely focus on the emerging frontier - cross-platform data designed to tell advertisers in a holistic way what customers watch on television, listen to on the radio, look at online and see on their mobile devices. ... Full Story | Top |
| US-PEOPLE Summary Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 10:20 AM PDT Gwyneth Paltrow named People's most beautiful woman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow on Wednesday was named the world's most beautiful woman for 2013 by People magazine, knocking pop singer Beyonce out of the top spot. The 40-year-old mother of two credits a five-day-a-week exercise regimen for keeping her in shape as she grows older. ... Full Story | Top |
| A Minute With: Colin Firth from royal to ordinary 'Arthur Newman' Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 10:20 AM PDT  By Zorianna Kit LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After winning a Best Actor Oscar for playing a stuttering British royal in 2010 film "The King's Speech," Colin Firth is back on screen as a character who appears ordinary to the point of boring in indie drama "Arthur Newman." Opening in select U.S. movie theaters on Friday, Firth plays an American man who is dissatisfied with his life and hits the road with a new identity. Things get derailed when he meets Mike (Emily Blunt) a troubled young woman fleeing from her own issues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Midler wins raves on Broadway as Hollywood agent Sue Mengers Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 09:55 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bette Midler marked her return to Broadway after more than 30 years on Wednesday, and critics lined up to heap praise on her turn in the one-character play "I'll Eat You Last: A Conversation with Sue Mengers" in which she portrays the legendary Hollywood agent. The late Mengers was famous as a brash, foul-mouthed, witty and fearsome force of nature whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Faye Dunaway and Gene Hackman to name but a few and critics noted the comfortable fit between the show's star and its subject. ... Full Story | Top |
| Country singer charged in Georgia with threatening boat captain Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 09:09 AM PDT  By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia grand jury has indicted country music singer Billy Currington on charges of threatening an elderly charter boat captain. According to an April 15 police report, the captain told authorities he was taking two passengers on a tour near Currington's home on Tybee Island near Savannah when the singer began "screaming at them." Later, when the boat passed Currington's home again on the return trip, Currington was in his own boat with a camera and followed the charter boat back to the dock and threatened the boat captain, the police report said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mamma Mia! Bookie offers odds on ABBA reunion Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 08:56 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - A British bookmaker is taking bets on an ABBA comeback after singer Agnetha Faltskog hinted at a possible reunion for Sweden's most successful band. Faltskog, who has come out of retirement to release a solo album called "A", was asked by German's Die Zeit Magazine if she would be open to an ABBA reunion and she responded positively. "Maybe a charity concert? I would not say 'No' right away," she said. Her former husband Bjorn Ulvaeus and his fellow ABBA songwriter Benny Andersson vowed in 2008 not to reform the group that broke up in 1982 after nine British No.1 hits. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tate Britain releases shortlist for modern art's Turner prize Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 07:51 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - An artist who paints portraits of imaginary people joined a French-born filmmaker, a British-German performance artist and a British multimedia artist on the shortlist for modern art's most prestigious and controversial award on Thursday. The portraits of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, the first black woman to be named a finalist for the annual 25,000-pound ($38,200) Turner Prize, appear traditional but are of imaginary people with invented histories, the Tate Britain museum said. ... Full Story | Top |
| "The English Teacher" follows footsteps of "Weeds," "Nurse Jackie" Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 07:00 AM PDT  By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fans of "Nurse Jackie," "Weeds," and "The Big C" will recognize the quirky lead of "The English Teacher" as she steps out of her straight-laced life to encounter unexpected consequences, the movie's director said in an interview. In "The English Teacher," which has its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday, lead character Linda Sinclair, played by Julianne Moore, tries to mount a high school production of a play written by a former student (Michael Angarano) who has returned to his small hometown in Pennsylvania. ... Full Story | Top |
| Swedish police find drugs on Justin Bieber bus, no suspects Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 06:27 AM PDT  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish police said on Thursday they found drugs on teen idol Justin Bieber's tour bus in Stockholm, but had no suspects and were unlikely to pursue the case further. A police officer on crowd duty smelled marijuana on an empty tour bus outside the hotel where Bieber was staying just before his concert in the capital on Wednesday night, police spokesman Kjell Lindgren said. Police searched the empty bus after it had taken 10 to 15 individuals to the concert venue. "The police went onto the bus and searched it and found a small amount of narcotics," Lindgren said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Novelist Banks "stunned" by fan support over terminal cancer Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:47 AM PDT By Li-mei Hoang LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish author Iain Banks, who announced this month he was suffering from terminal cancer, said he was "stunned" by the messages of support he has received from his fans. The "Wasp Factory" author said he was deeply flattered and touched by all the responses left on the website Banksophilia, which was set up by his friend Martin Belk. "Good grief! - what an outpouring of love, affection and respect. I honestly had no idea," he wrote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Psy knocked from top of Korean charts by 63-year-old singer Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:05 AM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean rapper Psy, whose latest video "Gentleman" tracked global megahit "Gangnam Style" by going viral on the Internet, has been knocked from the top of the music charts in his native country by a 63-year-old easy listening pop singer. "Gangnam Style", which holds the YouTube record for most views with more than 1.5 billion, catapulted the sunglassed Korean with the garish jackets to world stardom and made him one of the best-known faces to grace the growing K-pop music scene. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish singer sparks identity debate on Arab talent show Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 01:18 AM PDT By Isabel Coles ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - A singer from Iraq's Kurdistan region has made it through to the semi-final of an Arab talent contest, igniting heated debates over Iraqi identity and politicizing the popular TV show. A panel of judges praised 24-year-old Parwaz Hussein and she was voted through to the next round of "Arab Idol", in which aspiring popstars from Morocco to Bahrain compete for a recording contract. ... Full Story | Top |
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