March 29, 2009

Manuel Uribe uses modified truck to go outside

Manuel Uribe reacts after spending his first night on his new modified truck outside his mother's house in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, Monterrey March 20, 2009. Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg).
Manuel Uribe reacts after spending his first night on his new modified truck outside his mother's house in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, Monterrey March 20, 2009. Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg)

A paramedic checks the blood pressure of Manuel Uribe before a TV interview in his new modified truck in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, in Monterrey March 20, 2009. Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg).

A paramedic checks the blood pressure of Manuel Uribe before a TV interview in his new modified truck in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, in Monterrey March 20, 2009. Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg).

Manuel Uribe greets children wearing Spring costumes at a esplanade in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, in Monterrey March 20, 2009. Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg).

Manuel Uribe greets children wearing Spring costumes at a esplanade in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, in Monterrey March 20, 2009. Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg)

Manuel Uribe (C) waits for an interview next to his wife Claudia Solis (L) and a TV host at an esplanade in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, in Monterrey March 20, 2009.  Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg).

Manuel Uribe (C) waits for an interview next to his wife Claudia Solis (L) and a TV host at an esplanade in the suburb of San Nicolas de los Garza, in Monterrey March 20, 2009. Uribe, who once weighed 1,235 pounds (560 kg), will use a modified truck with the help of a driver who will help him to go out anytime he wants to. Uribe, who is unable to walk due to his swollen legs, has been confined to his home for years. Friday was the first time in six bedridden years Uribe was able to go to work. He currently weighs 705 pounds (320 kg)

March 13, 2009

Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend, doctors charged


Anna Nicole Smith is shown with her attorney Howard K. Stern and Smith's newborn daughter Dannielynn Hope at home in the Bahamas in this publicity photo released to Reuters by 'Entertainment Tonight' television program Nov. 2, 2006.


March 13 -- Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend Howard K. Stern and a doctor were arrested Thursday on charges of giving thousands of prescription drugs to the former Playboy playmate that led to her 2007 fatal overdose death.

Smith's attorney, Stern and doctor Sandeep Kapoor were arrested and later released from a Los Angeles County jail Thursday night after each posted a $20,000 bond, a police spokesman said.

tern and doctors Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich, who is expected to come Monday, were each charged with three felony counts of conspiracy and several other charges of fraudulent prescriptions.

The doctors and Stern devised a plan to use fake names so that Smith could be prescribed "thousands of pills," California Attorney General Jerry Brown said.

The prescriptions were issued between June 2004 and January 2007, just two weeks before Smith's death.

"These individuals repeatedly and excessively furnished thousands of prescription pills to Smith, often for no legitimate medical purpose," Brown said.

Smith,39, died of drug overdose on February 8, 2007 in Florida. Her death came just months after her 20-year-old son Daniel also died of a lethal combination of drugs. Smith has a daughter, who was born days before the tragic death of her son.

Smith's assets were estimated at 710,000 U.S. dollars in May. As the widow of late Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II, she had been fighting Marshall's family for years over his estimated 500 million dollars fortune.

On October 18, 2007, Stern had filed his creditor's claim in the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing a contingent fee agreement on file in bankruptcy court.

In the court filing, Stern specified that his 6 percent payment "is conditioned upon recovery in the Marshall litigation."

(Agencies)


Madonna wins in custody row with Guy

Singer Madonna (L) and director Guy Ritchie arrive on the red carpet at the 61st Cannes Film Festival May 21, 2008.

Singer Madonna (L) and director Guy Ritchie arrive on the red carpet at the 61st Cannes Film Festival May 21, 2008

March 12 -- New York court lawyers agreed to a last-minute deal Wednesday, giving the cusody of two sons to pop star Madonna.

The pop singer and her ex-husband Guy Ritchie, a British movie director, have been locked in a fight over the living arrangements of their two sons, Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3.

The pair were heading for a New York court showdown Wednesday because Guy wanted the boys raised in the UK.

A report from UK media said that the New York court lawyers agreed to a last-minute deal that allows Rocco and David to live their 50 year old mom, Madonna, while their 40 year old father, Guy, will get regular visits and see them in the UK during holidays.

Meanwhile, Modonna and her latest boyfriend, Brazilian model Jesus Luz, were seen leaving the NYC Kabbalah Center on Monday night, where they attended a Purim celebration.

(Agencies)

March 11, 2009

Victoria Beckham delays baby

Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham and his wife Victoria pose at a party at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in this July 22, 2007 file photo.


March 11 -- Victoria Beckham has reportedly told husband David she won't have another baby while he is living in Italy.
Although David is keen to have a fourth child, Victoria has reportedly told him it is not feasible while he is playing soccer for AC Milan and she and their three sons - Brooklyn, 10, Romeo, six, and Cruz, four - are living in the US, where David was playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
A source said: "The baby issue is a bit of a sore point. In Victoria's eyes it's not the right time. David's future with Los Angeles Galaxy is so uncertain that planning for another child is, in Victoria's eyes, premature. First, they need to sort out where they are going to be living.
"Her refusal has upset David as he feels his life is going in the right direction. He's loving playing soccer again and what would complete everything for him would be a fourth child."
David, 33, has just had his loan move to AC Milan extended and is trying to make the deal permanent so he can extend his career with the England national team.
However, Victoria, 34, is said to be reluctant to relocate the family to Italy and is happy to stay in Los Angeles as the boys have settled in school and she is busy carving out a successful fashion career.
The former Spice Girl - who spent the weekend in Milan to watch her husband play in a match and spend some time with him - has been flying back and forth to Italy to visit her husband and the gruelling trips are beginning to take their toll.
The source added to Britain's Daily Express newspaper: "David feels guilty that Victoria is exhausted and it's difficult for him to tell her how happy he is. He starts to tell her all the great stuff that's happening to him and she tells him she's feeling dreadful. There is a divide and it ends in disagreement."
Previously, Victoria has made no secret of her desire to have another baby, especially a daughter.
She recently said: "If it happens, I'd love it. You can't choose what you have but after three boys I would love a girl."
(Agencies)

Attorney denies "romanic relationship" between Davis, Brown

Chris Brown and Rihanna perform during the Z100 Jingle Ball in New York Dec. 13, 2008.


March 12 -- The attorney of Tina Davis, who was reportedly the woman who sent a lengthy "intimate" text message to Chris Brown, denied the rumored "romantic relationship" between Davis and Brown Wednesday.
"The relationship between Ms. Davis and Mr. Brown is that of manager and client," declared attorney Marshall B. Grossman in a written statement.
"There has never been any other relationship. The rumors in circulation are false. There are no emails between Ms. Davis and Mr. Brown of the type which have been described in media report," said Grossman.
U.S. media reported that Davis, also Chris Brown's manager, and the R&B star had a relationship in the past. Also it was rumored that the text message which caused altercation between Brown and Rihanna was sent by Davis.
Grossman stressed in the statement: "If the source of the false rumors is identified, legal action will be taken."
In fact, the two had been rumored to be romantically involved since 2005, but Brown's representative shot down the supposition in November 2007, saying the two only "have a strictly professional relationship."
The singer-songwriter Brown allegedly assaulted Rihanna, a 21-year-old Barbadian singer and former beauty queen, in a Los Angeles district after a pre-Grammy Awards party last month. His arrest just hours before the Grammy ceremony on Feb. 8 made sensational entertainment headlines.
The prosecutors charged him with two felony counts including assault and making a criminal threat against Rihanna, but last Thursday, a Los Angeles court postponed the arraignment of Brown for until April 6.
If convicted on the two felony counts, Brown faces a sentence ranging from probation to four years and eight months in state prison, prosecutors said.
(Agencies)

Michael Jackson moves to Rod's

U.S. pop star Michael Jackson receives the Diamond Award during the World Music Awards at Earl's Court in London in this Nov. 15, 2006 file photo. Jackson turns 50 on Aug. 29, 2008.


March 12 -- Michael Jackson is renting Rod Stewart's house.
The pop superstar will live in the "Maggie May" singer's Essex mansion when he comes to London to play his 10-show residency at The O2 arena in July.
The house boasts 180 acres, has its own soccer pitch field and is located 3.5 miles outside Greater London.
A source said: "It's going to be perfect for Michael and his kids."
It has also been revealed Jackson - who has three children, son Prince Michael, 10, daughter Paris, nine, and five-year-old son Prince Michael II - will be releasing new music ahead of his shows.
Concert promoter Randy Phillips said: "There will be a new Michael Jackson single before the first date.
"Michael has got some new music and he is looking for a new way of disseminating his material to his fans."
The singer - who has not performed a full-length concert since 2001 - is also said to be planning some spectacular visual effects, including a complicated trick that will see him floating across the stage.
Phillips explained: "He wants to use some technical effects that have never been seen before."
Jackson's arrival in Britain will also be memorable - he has reportedly hired the $6,929-an-hour Challenger 604 plane that featured in the last James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
A source said: "He has taken an option on it to hire it for his trip to London in July."
(Agencies)

Nicole Richie's marriage doubts

Caption Celebrity socialite Nicole Richie (L) and her boyfriend Joel Madden arrive for Richie's court appearance in Glendale Superior Court in Glendale, California, July 27, 2007. Richie was sentenced on Friday to four days jail for driving under the influence of drugs.


March 11 -- Nicole Richie is unsure whether she will marry Joel Madden.
The 27-year-old star - who has 14-month old daughter Harlow with Joel, and is currently expecting her second child with him - is content with her relationship and refuses to plan too far ahead.
She said: "I don't know about the future. I make it a custom not to plan the future. I may plan to and I may not."
Despite having no plans to walk down the aisle in the near future, Nicole is totally committed to Joel and is keen to praise him.
Asked to name the Good Charlotte rocker's three best qualities, she replied: "Good father! Talented musician! Good personality!"
Nicole is equally as glowing about her daughter, saying she is the most important person in her life.
She explained: "Harlow means everything to me. She had a close resemblance to Joel at the time of birth, but she now looks like me because of her green eyes and blonde hair, but she also resembles Joel."
Although she loves being a mother, Nicole believes it is important to spend some time away from Harlow.
She revealed to Vivi magazine: "I wear jeans and a T-shirt and no make-up when I am with my daughter. But I take care of my adult time too. I like to go to restaurants and bars in high-heeled shoes and dresses when I have free time. Because I am still 27 years old, you know?"
(Agencies)

March 2, 2009

"Slumdog" brings Hollywood closer to Bollywood

March 3 -- The largely Indian cast and crew of "Slumdog Millionaire" who gleefully stormed the stage at the Academy Awards signaled a closer nexus between the world's biggest movie industries, with experts hoping for a happy ending.

India, home to the world's most prolific movie industry, has long tried to draw wider audiences, including by recently forging ventures with Hollywood studios looking to offset sluggish box office sales with new markets and cheaper production costs.

Now, the thumping success of "Slumdog" and a global financial crisis, which has pulled the plug on much Wall Street funding for movies, are bringing Hollywood and Bollywood closer together.

Like India's IT industry, Bollywood may now aggressively tout cheaper facilities for animation films and post-production. "Slumdog" also showcased India's prowess in music and sound mixing, with Oscars for A.R. Rahman and Resul Pookutty.

"India is an important domestic market for all foreign studios and also offers opportunities to cut costs," said Rajesh Jain, head of KPMG India's entertainment practice.

"The Oscars will raise the industry's visibility further."

Studios including Sony Pictures, Walt Disney, NBC Universal, Viacom and Warner Brothers have already put more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in India for stakes in local TV channels and ventures with Bollywood studios.

Their first efforts, including Disney's first Hindi animation flick, failed to set the Indian box-office on fire, but analysts say they will be encouraged by the success of "Slumdog," which became the eighth movie ever to win eight Academy Awards.

"The Oscar wins for 'Slumdog' only bodes well for the Hollywood-Bollywood connection," said Nelson Gayton at the UCLA Entertainment and Media Management Institute in Los Angeles.

"The critical and commercial success of the film speaks to global audiences for films of Indian content, especially if they do so well in the USA to begin with," he said.

It bodes well for Indian films too, he said, which while popular in the sub-continent have rarely met with global success.

CUTTING COSTS

"Slumdog Millionaire" was based on a novel by Indian author Vikas Swarup and filmed largely in the squalid slums of Mumbai.

It was directed by Briton Danny Boyle and distributed and marketed by Fox Searchlight, but many of the cast and crew, including co-director, Loveleen Tandan, are Indian.

The movie is seen by many in the industry as showing a way forward for Hollywood and Bollywood studios eyeing new markets.

"The Oscars have provided a huge platform to showcase Indian talent. It's a foot in the door," said Vijay Singh, chief executive of Fox Star Studios in India, which is looking to make Bollywood films with Indian studios and directors.

"We're going to see more Hollywood studios want a link into India, tapping more resources here, and we're also going to see more Indian directors look to appeal to larger audiences."

Before Boyle, filmmakers of Indian origin, including Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta, made films such as "Monsoon Wedding" and "Earth," that were set wholly or partly in India, and produced and marketed by Hollywood studios.

India has touted itself as a low-cost destination for Hollywood filmmakers, much like Canada has done, highlighting its lush locales, hi-tech studios and cheap labor costs.

Yet differential state taxes, an antiquated license system and reams of red tape have hamstrung its ambitions.

Long dominated by family-owned production and distribution firms, India's film industry has been bogged down by formulaic fare and box-office revenues of less than 10 percent of Hollywood's because of low ticket prices.

Now, the entry of large corporations, institutional finance, a move to a Hollywood-style studio system and the mushrooming of multiplexes are all transforming the industry and drawing more foreign studios eager for a share of the pie.

India's filmed entertainment sector, estimated at about 2.2 billion dollars, is forecast to grow by more than 9 percent every year over the next five years, according to consultancy KPMG.

STEPPING OUT

Initially, Hollywood studios were content with limited releases of their biggest blockbusters in movie-mad India, dubbing some films in regional languages in a market where racy action flicks and lavish song-and-dance spectacles rule.

In recent years, Hollywood studios looking to cut costs began shipping animation and post-production work to India, tapping its reputed software services skills and affordable workforce.

With "Slumgdogs" Oscar wins, studios may ship more high-end animation and visual effects work to India, said KPMG's Jain.

"Studios will also be looking to tap content, directors and other talent from India," he said, pointing to "Slumdog"'s Freida Pinto who has been signed by American director Woody Allen.

India's UTV Motion Pictures has co-production deals with Disney and Fox Searchlight, while Indian businessman Anil Ambani's Reliance Entertainment has tied up with a handful of production houses including those of Hollywood stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts to develop and co-finance films.

Reliance Entertainment, in which billionaire investor George Soros owns a small stake, also sealed a deal last September with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG for a new 1.2-billion-dollar Hollywood film company.

More such deals are in the offing as Hollywood tries to fill the 18 billion dollars hole left by Wall Street, according to Gayton.

"These dollars need to be replaced from some alternative source, perhaps not at the same level ... but it seems to me India and China are well positioned to fill that gap," he said.

"The impact of the Spielberg deal was the message that India is here as a major global player in media and entertainment."

(Agencies)

Britney's Circus: in cages, scantily clad, wearing sparkles


March 3 -- Britney Spears posted a set list of songs on her web site one day before her Circus tour, revealing to fans what they can expect from the stage show Monday.
On her web site, Britney said that the songs to be staged include a mix of tracks from throughout her career, and the concert will go in a three-ring-circus set design. The first act will be titled "Circus," followed by the songs "Circus" and "Piece of Me."
Britney will also perform "Boys," new single "If U Seek Amy" and more in the "House of Fun (Anything Goes)" segment. In the following, Britney will take her fans to the "Freakshow /Peepshow," followed by the "Electro Circ." For those sections, Britney has a slew of fan favorites lined up, including "Slave" and "Toxic."
From a clip on the web site, Britney seems to be back to her old form: dancing in cages, scantily clad and wearing sparkles.
The tour kicks off Tuesday in New Orleans, near the place where Britney grew up in Louisiana.
(Agencies)

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