NewsChannel 9 - Entertainment News

Former Bears first-round draft pick Dick Evey dies

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:55:05 -0400

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dick Evey, a former first-round draft pick who played eight seasons in the NFL, has died at the age of 72.

Lynn Gibson of Smith Funeral & Cremation Service in Maryville, Tenn., confirmed that Evey died Thursday at the Ben Atchley State Veterans Home in Knoxville after a long illness.

Evey played tackle from 1964-69 for the Chicago Bears, who selected him out of Tennessee in the first round of the 1964 NFL Draft. Evey played with the Los Angeles Rams in 1970 and the Detroit Lions in 1971.

Evey lettered at Tennessee in 1961, 1962 and 1963.

NYC lawsuit over alleged Brett Favre texts settled

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:50:49 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City lawyer for two massage therapists who sued retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre over racy text messages said Friday the case has been settled.

Lawyer David Jaroslawicz said Friday that the lawsuit has been resolved. He would not comment on the terms of the settlement.

Massage therapists Christina Scavo and Shannon O'Toole said Favre sent sexually suggestive texts to another therapist when he was with the New York Jets in 2008.

The women said they lost their part-time jobs with the Jets after they complained about the texts. They sought unspecified damages from Favre, the Jets and a team massage coordinator.

Lawyers for Favre and the Jets did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

Fox reality chief Mike Darnell exiting the network

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:50:09 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox reality chief Mike Darnell says he's leaving the network after an 18-year stay.

Darnell was named the network's President of Alternative Entertainment in 2007. He oversaw such programs as "American Idol," ''So You Think You Can Dance," ''Joe

Millionaire" and "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance."

Other shows he stewarded pushed the limits of propriety to new extremes, such as "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?" and "When Animals Attack."

The 50-year-old Darnell said Friday that in a changing media world, now is the perfect time for him to try something new.

He joined Fox in 1994 as Director of Specials.

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox parent News Corp., called Darnell "a pioneering force in shaping the reality programming genre."

Fox had no comment on a successor.

Jermaine Jackson plans to create new 'Jackson 5'

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:45:42 -0400

Jermaine Jackson is set to put together a new version of the 'Jackson 5' on an upcoming reality show.

The star, who shot to fame with his brothers in the sibling singing group, is to front a new web series in Australia which will audition wannabes and put them to a public vote as they attempt to win a place in an updated version of the band.

The new group will be known as JJ5 and the show will be aired online at JJ5TV.com, according to News.com.au.

Jackson will reportedly head Down Under next month to launch the series and begin filming the audition stages.

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Singer falls off stage at 'Great Gatsby' premiere party

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:43:44 -0400

The Great Gatsby star Iota suffered a suspected broken arm after falling off stage during his performance at a party following the film's premiere in Sydney, Australia this week.

The Australian singer/actor, who plays Trimalchio the Orchestra Leader in the Baz Luhrmann movie, performed a cabaret routine at a lavish bash after the movie's red carpet unveiling on Wednesday night.

However, the audience was left aghast when he toppled off the stage in front of the star-studded crowd.

The outlandish star refused to let the accident halt his performance and continued to sing as he climbed back on stage, but told the crowd he believed he broke his arm in the fall, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

He is said to have escaped without serious injury.

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'Rocky Horror' actor Tim Curry suffers stroke at LA home

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:42:10 -0400

The Rocky Horror Picture Show star Tim Curry has suffered a stroke.

The 67-year-old British actor is recovering after collapsing at his home in Los Angeles on Thursday.

His longtime agent Marcia Hurwitz has refuted speculation Curry is struggling to speak after falling ill, telling Britain's Daily Mail, "Tim is doing great. He absolutely can speak and is recovering at this time and in great humor."

No other details about Curry's health scare were immediately available.

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Chris Rock auctioning off role in upcoming movie

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:40:10 -0400

Funnyman Chris Rock is selling a walk-on role in his next movie to raise money for a breast cancer charity.

The comedian is giving one fan the chance to play a bit part in his upcoming film Finally Famous, which also stars Rosario Dawson and Gabrielle Union.

The winning bidder will be invited to bring a friend for a meet-and-greet with Rock, and they will be treated to an exclusive tour of the set.

Rock's auction on CharityBuzz.com ends on June 4 and the prize is expected to raise $15,000 for the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation.

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Actress Moore makes fun of Cannes fashion mishap

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:38:50 -0400

Actress Julianne Moore poked fun at her footwear mishap at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday by pretending to cut off her toes during an appearance on comedian Jimmy Fallon's late night talk show.

The Hours star donned a pair of too-tight silver stilettos to a screening of The Great Gatsby in France on May 15, and posed for photographs with her squished pinky toes hanging out off the side of her shoes, oblivious to her foot fashion faux pas.

Style critics rated Moore's look one of the worst of the week at the festival, and now the 52 year old has opened up about the cringe-worthy moment during an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

She explained, "There's so much pressure to look good, to look perfect, so you worry about your dress, you worry about your hair, you worry about your makeup and I thought I had everything under control, but I didn't have it, it was a mess.

"(My stylist) Leslie Fremar (and I), we picked out these sandals to wear to Cannes, and you have to be really careful about your footwear, because you have to be able to walk in it and stuff, and we noticed that there was kind of a narrow platform, and there was a possibility of my toes falling off. And I'm like, 'That's not gonna happen!'

"But what I didn't prepare myself for was the pivoting. So you know, you walk, you walk, you stop, you pivot... and I thought it all went fine... Then I went online to see a picture, and what did I see but 'toemageddon'... It was a disaster!"

And to make sure she never falls victim to another toe problem, she presented Fallon with a silver box containing what appeared to be her little digits, adding, "I needed to prevent this from happening again, so... you know what I did? I did what any reasonable person would do... I cut my toes off."

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Vin Diesel uses fans' suggestions for movies

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:37:15 -0400

Vin Diesel turns to his 42 million "Facebook angels" to help him cast his movies.

The XXX star admits he asks fans for advice every time he lands a new role and passes on their thoughts to casting directors and producers.

The actor says, "They were the first ones to suggest Dwayne Johnson and I working together (in Fast Five) and without giving (new film) Fast 6 away, that cameo at the end was strictly from the Facebook page.

"They all said, 'We had a dream of seeing you guys work together.'"

And he always takes his fans' recommendations seriously: "I have to listen to them... It's such a rare moment in Hollywood, where we're able to actually hear feedback from the audience and I think it makes for a better movie."

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Cannes: Dern a leading man again in 'Nebraska'

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:14:26 -0400

CANNES, France (AP) — For the aging, gruff patriarch of his father-son road trip "Nebraska," Alexander Payne tried to lure Gene Hackman out of retirement and considered the likes of Robert Duvall and Jack Nicholson. Bruce Dern calls them "the obvious guys."

"He said to me, 'I got an idea. Let's surprise them with you,'" Dern recalled of learning from Payne that he had the part. Payne, he says, continued: "'You haven't done this. You haven't done anything like this. Let's have fun. Let's knock their socks off.'"

Though the part, reticent and cantankerous, isn't the typical socks-knocking kind of stuff, Dern's unadorned portrait has been one of the most hailed performances at the Cannes Film Festival, where the black-and-white "Nebraska" premiered to warm reviews Thursday. For Dern, whose days as a leading man were largely in the 1970s, working with Payne on "Nebraska" was deeply meaningful.

"All during your career, you look for a certain kind of security from the people you're working with, people that believe you're talented, that you can do what you can do," says the 76-year-old Dern, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in 1978's "Coming Home." ''I've been overrated sometimes and I've been underrated, probably more than I've been overrated."

Dern is an eager storyteller, and during an interview Friday, his conversation took detour upon detour, ranging from the directions of Alfred Hitchcock to how best to cheat at boarding school. His co-star in "Nebraska," the former "Saturday Night Live" player Will Forte, calls him, with understatement, "a bit of a talker."

In the film, Dern stars as Woody Grant, a retired, alcoholic veteran showing signs of senility. When he receives a mass mailing promising him a $1 million award, he sets out down the road from his Montana home to collect it in person in Nebraska. His son (Forte) placates him by driving him, including a stop his father's old hometown: "The guy needs something to live for," says the son.

It's a sweet but unsentimental tale of a son giving his father a sense of decency late in life. It will be released in November by Paramount Pictures amid the fall award season.

Dern calls Woody "a monument to the people like that, that still exist in this country — a guy that's not going to leave, that's not going to get out." Dern risked, he says, "trying not to act."

"I said: 'I'll give you whatever you want. I won't give you what other directors want, because it's sparse,'" says Dern. "It's not a career-making role. I never smile. I never laugh. He never really gets angry except once. But there's no self-pity with Woody."

This is the second time a Dern has starred in a film by Payne. His 1996 feature debut, the abortion debate satire "Citizen Ruth," starred Laura Dern, Bruce's daughter. The actress lobbied Payne to cast her father.

"Both Derns will do anything you ask them to do," Payne told reporters. The director said he was as much drawn to Dern by his talent as by "who the man is."

"I like actors who can be ornery but heartbreaking at the same time," Payne said.

Dern, an avid lifetime runner, compared Payne's interest to him as coming on the 24th mile to the marathon of his career.

"I'll love him forever for that, for seeing in me that I could pull this off," Dern says of Payne. "He's different folks."

When Forte, early in the production, told Dern that he was having trouble adjusting to dramatic acting and establishing their relationship, Dern gave him some advice.

"I put my hand on his arm and I said, 'Just look at me every time in the movie and realize you may be working with a guy who's never going to make another movie,'" Dern says. "He got big tears in his eyes and said, 'Are you serious?' I said, 'No, it's all bull----. But you don't know that and I don't know that because if this fails, I'm done. They'll never let me play another lead in a movie.'"

The two spent weeks together in the close confines of a Subaru, says Forte: "I could just listen to him forever. He has the best stories. We became very close."

"I've been in some pretty good movies," says Dern. "This is the best movie I've been in. I hope it's as good a work as I've done."

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle

NBC to air Blake Shelton's benefit for Oklahomans

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:59:13 -0400

NBC and sister networks will air Blake Shelton's concert to help his fellow Oklahomans affected by this week's storms in their home state.

Shelton's "Healing in the Heartland" benefit will be broadcast live as a telethon by NBC on May 29, at 9 p.m. EDT. It will also air on cable networks Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT on either a live or delayed basis.

Joining Shelton in performing will be Grammy Award-winning artists Miranda Lambert, Reba and Vince Gill. Additional guests will be announced shortly, NBC said Friday. The concert will originate from Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

This week's disaster devastated Moore, Okla., and killed 24 people Monday.

Shelton, a resident of nearby Ada, announced plans for the benefit after Tuesday's episode of "The Voice."

Separately, singer Carrie Underwood has said she is donating $1 million in proceeds from her recent Blown Away Tour to the Red Cross for disaster relief. Underwood grew up in Checotah, Okla.

Actress Bynes tossed marijuana bong out window, police say

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:34:59 -0400

NEW YORK (AP) — Actress Amanda Bynes appeared in court in New York on Friday, where she has been charged with reckless endangerment.

Police said she threw a marijuana bong out of her Manhattan apartment building. Police responded after building officials reported that Bynes was rolling a joint and smoking pot in the lobby.

Prosecutors said when police went to her apartment on the 36th floor, she tossed the bong out the window and told them "it was just a vase."

Bradley Cooper happy with finding success in thirties

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:45:33 -0400

Actor Bradley Cooper is relieved he found Hollywood success in his 30s, insisting he would have gone off the rails if he had shot to stardom as a young adult.

The actor got his start with a series of small TV roles, including a stint fronting a travel show and a supporting part in Jennifer Garner's spy drama Alias, and paid the bills with odd jobs like working as a hotel doorman until his 2009 comedy The Hangover became a box office hit.

However, Cooper, 38, is convinced the years he spent trying to carve out an acting career were a blessing in disguise as he would have struggled to cope with fame at a younger age.

He tells U.K. morning show BBC Breakfast, "I definitely think that if I had been in this Hangover series at 21 years old, I'd be completely screwed, for sure. One benefit of age is that you realize what's important and what's not. So at 38 years old, I don't suffer something because I know that it's not going to give me what I want anyway.

"I'm wiser about what things mean to me. The idea of fame... it's not going to give me anything, so I'm not going to cherish it."

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Jaden Smith's 'Hangover' confession surprises father

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:42:27 -0400

Will Smith's 14-year-old son Jaden has confessed he has seen adult-themed movie The Hangover and its two sequels.

The teenager is legally too young to see the comedy film without being accompanied by an adult, but he shocked his Men in Black star father this week by admitting during a TV interview that he has watched them with his pals.

He even bragged of his Hollywood connections when he was name-checked in The Hangover Part II, fooling his friends into believing he had personally requested an onscreen shout-out.

Sitting alongside his father, Smith, who starred in a 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, tells U.K. talk show host Graham Norton, "(The characters) were talking about 'The boy that got lost, the Karate Kid, Jaden Smith.' It was so cool. I was like, 'I called them and asked them to say that,' to my friends."

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Tavis Smiley marks 10th year on PBS

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:33:50 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tavis Smiley has stood out in 20 years in broadcasting, and he has no intention of changing his style or substance.

He's the rare black host with national TV and radio platforms, one who sees his job as challenging Americans to examine their assumptions on such thorny issues as poverty, education, and racial and gender equality.

In other words, he doesn't squander his opportunities on PBS' daily talk show "Tavis Smiley," which marks its 10th year this month, or on public radio's "The Tavis Smiley Show" and "Smiley & West," the latter a forum for commentary he shares with scholar and activist Cornel West.

His quarterly "Tavis Smiley Reports" specials for PBS, in-depth looks at topics such as the relationship between the juvenile justice system and the teenage dropout rate, fit the same bold pattern.

Smiley, marking two decades in broadcasting this year, considers himself engaged in a calling as much as a career: "This is the kind of work I think needs to be done. I'm trying to entertain and empower people."

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger was a public TV executive overseeing New York station WNET when she became interested in launching a Smiley talk show as a companion to "Charlie Rose." The programs air back-to-back on a number of PBS stations.

"The two of them have very different styles. Tavis has done a great job of bringing a wide range of people on to public broadcasting," Kerger said. "He's constantly looking at the next big idea" to bring to the national dialogue.

Smiley, 48, also doesn't shrink from the repercussions that occur when his opinions, delivered on radio and in interviews in his distinctively punchy cadence, strike a nerve. He has drawn the ire of conservatives and, because of his insistent criticism of President Barack Obama's policies, that of some liberals and African-Americans.

Smiley contends that members of the Obama administration, whom he didn't identify, have pressured sponsors to drop their support of his projects, including his anti-poverty initiatives. The White House had no comment, said a spokesman, Kevin Lewis.

While Smiley said he understands the desire of blacks to stand protectively by the first African-American president, he's adamant about his right to take Obama to task on rising black unemployment, the use of military drones and other issues.

"This administration does not like to be criticized. And the irony of it is, there's nothing I have tried to hold the president accountable on that my white progressive colleagues have not," Smiley said. "They're labeled courageous critics, but if I say it, I'm an 'Obama critic.' There's race at play in the very question."

He's unlikely to find boosters on the right. National Review senior editor Jay Nordlinger in 2002 dismissed him as "the black leftist radio personality," and then-Fox News Channel commentator Glenn Beck spurred anti-Smiley letter-writing campaigns to PBS, Smiley said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the PBS show's underwriter since the start, has "consistently stood by our side," said a Smiley spokeswoman. But others have dropped out or donated money to his projects on the condition of privacy because they've heard from a displeased White House, according to Smiley.

"I don't have an anti-Barack agenda," he said, "but this is what I do: My job is to raise questions of accountability."

He interviewed Obama more than a half-dozen times before he was elected but not once since, Smiley said, although Vice President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and others in the administration have appeared on the PBS show.

The public reaction is more generous, Smiley said: While he's questioned on the street by people about his views on Obama, they give him the courtesy of a hearing — and continue to pay heed in other ways.

"Since Obama has been president, I've had not one, but two, New York Times best-selling books, been on the cover of Time and made its 100 list," the magazine's tally of the world's most influential people, in 2009, Smiley said.

The books are "The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto," written with West, and an inspirational text by Iyanla Vanzant that was published by Smiley's book imprint.

"Whether black or white America, people have their opinions ... but ultimately it hasn't stopped my work or momentum," Smiley said.

He's a popular keynote speaker for a wide range of events, including the upcoming unveiling of a monument to slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers (although one Peoria, Ill., event replaced him as speaker last year, reportedly related to his Obama stance).

The Indiana University graduate has received honorary degrees from universities including Tuskegee and Fisk, and he created an exhibition, "America I Am: The African American Imprint," that wrapped this year after a national tour.

His Tavis Smiley Foundation provides leadership training for youngsters.

"He's got a lot of energy, that man," PBS' Kerger said.

He also has a knack for controversy. In 2004, He left his first public radio show, on NPR, in a squabble over matters including its marketing budget.

He was fired from the "BET Tonight" talk show in 2001 after he offered an exclusive newsworthy interview to ABC instead of BET. There was speculation that new BET owner Viacom Inc. forced the decision, although BET founder Robert L. Johnson said it was his.

A commercial network talk-show job failed to materialize, but Smiley said he ultimately gained the advantage of producing and owning his PBS show. That's also a challenge because he is responsible for its funding.

The recession prompted some of his sponsors to drop out, including an auto insurance company, said Smiley. He's relatively candid about the financial issues he's faced but, understandably, would rather focus on his broadcasting track record.

As Smiley said in 2003 when he launched the PBS show, "Most of the issues that matter to white Americans matter to black Americans."

Smiley's program aimed for diversity from the start, with his first week's guest list including Bill Cosby, Wesley Clark, Newt Gingrich and Magic Johnson. His 10-year list also boasts, among others, former President Jimmy Carter, Coretta Scott King, Yo-Yo Ma, Toni Morrison and Prince.

Smiley welcomes celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie and Kanye West, but they have to be ready to talk about more than their latest projects.

When Harrison Ford was making the rounds to promote the new Jackie Robinson biopic, Smiley says his audience got something unique "because I'm the only black guy Harrison Ford is talking to."

It's a valid point in a genre dominated solely by white interviewers, including "Tonight" show host Jay Leno and his designated successor, Jimmy Fallon, and Fallon's "Late Night" replacement, Seth Meyers.

"Things that matter to me about Robinson, what he had to endure. ... My questions are going to be different than Jimmy Kimmel's," Smiley said. In his interview with Ford, he questioned the actor about whether Hollywood has a role in adding to American divisiveness.

Smiley speaks to an overwhelmingly white audience on his Public Radio International shows and on TV, and said he appreciates the opportunity to introduce them to a different perspective. Kerger said she looks forward to his "next 10 years" on public broadcasting.

So does Smiley, come what may.

"You're going to be challenged when you address inconvenient truths. Sometimes you're challenged with merit, sometimes without merit. I try to be authentic and be a truth-teller. I have no monopoly on the truth but can try to raise questions that get at the truth."

___

Lynn Elber is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. She can be reached at lelber(at)ap.org and on Twitter (at)lynnelber.

WikiLeaks says new documentary inaccurate, misleading

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:32:59 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — WikiLeaks characterizes the new documentary, "We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks," as biased and accuses its director, Alex Gibney of "errors and sleight of hand."

The publishing site released a statement Thursday announcing it had posted an annotated transcript of the film ahead of its Friday release.

No author is cited for the statement that accuses the film of inaccurately portraying the relationship between WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier who provided hundreds of thousands of classified American documents to the site.

The statement asserts that no one recently associated with WikiLeaks participated in the documentary.

Gibney was not immediately available for comment.

Emails show concern for Michael Jackson's health

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:31:15 -0400

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A stage manager who worked on Michael Jackson's ill-fated "This Is It" concert warned an AEG executive days before the star's death that he was in a physical and mental decline and needed help, according to an email shown to jurors on Thursday.

The message from John Hougdahl was written five days before Jackson died in June 2009. The stage manager told AEG executive Randy Phillips that he had seen Jackson deteriorate before his eyes and felt he needed help.

Jackson's mother, Katherine, is suing the entertainment giant's parent company, AEG Live LLC, for negligence in the hiring of Jackson's doctor, who was later convicted of killing the pop superstar with an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

The trial was recessed until Tuesday when AEG executive Paul Gongaware is scheduled to testify.

Oscar-winner Cotillard shines in 'The Immigrant'

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:08:08 -0400

CANNES, France (AP) — Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard has given her all, and even learned another language to play a Polish woman struggling with the realities of 1920s New York in James Gray's terse new film, "The Immigrant."

The drama, premiering Friday at the Cannes Film Festival, was filmed at Ellis Island, N.Y. -- where millions of immigrants arrived from Europe a century ago in search of a better life.

Cotillard, whose character's hopes are dashed when she is forced into prostitution, delivers a steely performance, of which large chunks are delivered in Polish, a language she learnt for the role.

She said that learning Polish spurred her on artistically.

"I create characters that have their own approach, their own physical language. When you have a different language to learn, it somehow helps to create that," she said.

Sylvester Stallone talks about the cast for 'The Expendables 3'

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:09:16 -0400

Sylvester Stallone is on the hunt for a "young Sigourney Weaver" to complete his cast for the next The Expendables movie.

The action man has taken to using Twitter.com to try and recruit veterans for The Expendables 3 after recently posting the note "Calling SEAGAL" in the hope of persuading Steven Seagal to join the project.

And, in his latest tweet, Stallone appears to be looking for a tough lady, writing, "A young Sigorney (sic) Weaver anywhere out there?"

He is also using the social media site to update fans on casting news, posting, "Talked to Wesley (Snipes) today... He can not WAIT to fight to the top again!!!!!!!" on May 15, and adding, "Just talked to Steven S. in Moscow... Sounds great and says he wants to be in EX3, if the part fits."

Nicolas Cage and Jackie Chan are also being considered as additions to the cast, according to multiple reports.

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Brad Pitt struggles to remember familiar faces

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:06:42 -0400

Brad Pitt fears he has a memory disorder which stops him from recognizing the faces of people he has previously met.

The Hollywood superstar often finds himself in trouble with acquaintances who he fails to remember - but is adamant his inability to recognize a face is down to suffering prosopagnosia, and not his inflated ego.

He tells Esquire magazine, "So many people hate me because they think I'm disrespecting them. So I swear to God, I took one year where I just said, This year, I'm just going to cop to it and say to people, 'OK, where did we meet?'

"But it got worse. People were more offended. Every now and then, someone will give me context, and I'll say, 'Thank you for helping me.' But I piss more people off. You get this thing, like, 'You're being egotistical. You're being conceited.' But it's a mystery to me, man. I can't grasp a face and yet I come from such a design/aesthetic point of view."

Prosopagnosia impairs patients' ability to recognize faces, and Pitt is determined to get tested for the condition soon.

He adds, "You meet so many damned people. And then you meet 'em again. I am going to get it tested."