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( 84)[ 47.1991] Berlin celebrates European cinema Organisers say this year's Berlin Film Festival, which opens on Thursday with period epic Man to Man, will celebrate a revitalised European cinema. Of the 21 films in competition for the Golden and Silver Bear awards, more
^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
than half are from Europe with France particularly well represented. Festival director Dieter Kosslick says this strong showing signals "a new consciousness for European films". "They're on an incredible winning streak," he told the Reuters agency. "This is
^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^
n't to say there aren't any good American films," he continued. "It's just that there are more good European films." However, Mr Kosslick refused to accept that widespread opposition to the Iraq war had turned audiences against Hollywood imports. "There is
^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^
no anti-American mood," he said. Some 350 films will be screened at this year's festival, with a further 300 shown at the European Film Market that runs alongside it. More than a dozen celebrities are scheduled to attend, among them Will Smith, Kevin Spacey
^^^^^^^^
and Keanu Reeves. But Mr Kosslick says more would be coming had the Academy Awards not been brought forward to 27 February. "I'm not worried that we won't be able to fill the red carpet with stars," he said, though he admitted the festival may be moved to Ja
^^^^
nuary next year to avoid a similar clash. The 10-day Berlinale runs until 20 February.
(317)[ 47.1991] Berlin hails European cinema Organisers say this year's Berlin Film Festival, which opens on Thursday with period epic Man to Man, will celebrate a revitalised European cinema. Of the 21 films in competition for the Golden and Silver Bear awards, more than
^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
half are from Europe with France particularly well represented. Festival director Dieter Kosslick says this strong showing signals "a new consciousness for European films". "They're on an incredible winning streak," he told the Reuters agency. "This isn't t
^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^
o say there aren't any good American films," he continued. "It's just that there are more good European films." However, Mr Kosslick refused to accept that widespread opposition to the Iraq war had turned audiences against Hollywood imports. "There is no an
^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^
ti-American mood," he said. Some 350 films will be screened at this year's festival, with a further 300 shown at the European Film Market that runs alongside it. More than a dozen celebrities are scheduled to attend, among them Will Smith, Kevin Spacey and K
^^^^^^^^
eanu Reeves. But Mr Kosslick says more would be coming had the Academy Awards not been brought forward to 27 February. "I'm not worried that we won't be able to fill the red carpet with stars," he said, though he admitted the festival may be moved to January
^^^^
next year to avoid a similar clash. The 10-day Berlinale runs until 20 February.
(294)[ 11.5271] Eurovision 'greats' to do battle Stars of the Eurovision Song Contest from the show's 50-year history are to compete against each other to celebrate the contest's anniversary. Viewers will choose 14 past songs to be performed by the original artists or oth
ers in the spirit of the originals. Past Eurovision performers include Abba, Celine Dion, Bucks Fizz, Nana Mouskouri, Lulu and Julio Iglesias. Fans will then vote as usual to pick the all-time best Eurovision song during the show in Denmark in October. The f
irst contest was organised by the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, in 1956, and has become an annual event pitting pop giants against musical minnows - with often surprising results. While some regard it as an essential celebration of continental talent
^^^^^^^^
, others see it as an equally unmissable parade of the reasons some countries do not normally produce international stars. The 50th annual contest will be held in Kiev, Ukraine, in May, after Ukrainian singer Ruslana won last year. The 50th anniversary speci
al will be held in Denmark later this year because the Danish Broadcasting Corporation came up with the idea for the all-time contest. A plan to hold it in London was scrapped because of problems finding a suitable venue. Ireland has been the most successful
country in the show's history with seven victories, followed by the UK, France and Luxembourg with five each.
^^^^^^
(320)[ 8.9054] Label withdraws McFadden's video The new video of former Westlife singer Brian McFadden has been pulled after a Dublin school complained about being associated with his song Irish Son. St Fintian's High School says it is clearly identified in the video, wh
^^^^
ile McFadden never went there. McFadden makes claims that he was beaten at his own school in the song's lyrics, saying it had "cell blocks". The performer's record label Sony BMG has withdrawn the video and issued replacements to television stations. The lab
el believed the school name was fictitious until they received the complaint. They have said the reference to the school was unintentional and coincidental. The head of Christian Brothers' school St Fintian's, Richard Fogarty, said the video implied that th
e 24-year-old pop star had attended his school and was abused there. "The school has always treated its pupils with respect," Mr Fogarty said in a statement. McFadden makes specific references to the Christian Brothers in his song, but did not attend St Fint
ian's. Corporal punishment was outlawed in Irish schools in 1982 when McFadden was two years old. McFadden, whose debut solo album is released next week, has said that every song is autobiographical and "a true story". Alcoholism and domestic violence are a
^^
mong the other topics dealt with in his songs, half of which have been written with Robbie Williams' former collaborator, Guy Chambers. McFadden, who quit chart-topping group Westlife in March, went to number one in September with his first solo single Real
To Me. He enjoyed 12 chart-toppers with the boy band before parting company with them.
( 82)[ 8.2121] Angels 'favourite funeral song' Angels by Robbie Williams is the song Britons would most like played at their funeral, a survey has suggested. While the melancholy hit topped the UK poll, Europeans favoured Queen's more upbeat anthem The Show Must Go On as
their first choice. Frank Sinatra's My Way was second in the UK vote with Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life in third place. More than 45,000 people were surveyed by digital TV station Music Choice. The European chart, which included Den
^^ ^^^^^^^^
mark, France and Germany, put Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven in second and AC/DC's Highway to Hell in third. Queen's Who Wants to Live Forever was highly favoured by both UK and European voters. Both lists featured only one traditional or classic song ea
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^
ch, with Britons requesting the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards' Amazing Grace and their continental counterparts opting for Mozart's Requiem. "Wanting to share your most treasured musical gem with those you're leaving behind is the perfect way to sign off and le
ave a lasting impression," Music Choice music and marketing manager Simon George said.
(361)[ 7.4517] Spike Lee backs student directors Film-maker Spike Lee says black representation is stronger than ever in cinema and TV but the true power in entertainment lies behind the camera. The She Hate Me director urged students at his old Atlanta university, Moreh
^^^^
ouse College, to seek "gatekeeper positions" behind the scenes. Lee told them to "work up the corporate ladder because everybody can't be an actor, everybody can't make a record". He spoke as part of a discussion panel, then led a retrospective of his films.
^^^^
Returning to his old university, which educates only African American students, Lee discussed the challenges facing black people in the entertainment industry. "Even Denzel (Washington), he's getting $20m a movie. But when it comes time to do a movie, he h
as to go to one of those gatekeepers," Lee said. He told aspiring young film-makers in the audience not to ignore non-traditional routes to getting a movie made, including raising funds independently and releasing films straight to DVD. "It's a huge market,"
^^^^
the 47-year-old director said. "It's not something that should be looked upon as a stepchild." Lee has made more than 25 films, including Jungle Fever, Do the Right Thing, Summer of Sam and 1986 hit She's Gotta Have It.
(309)[ 7.3552] Global release for Japan hit film Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, Howl's Moving Castle, is to be released in 50 countries around the world, its distributor has said. Howl's Moving Castle set a Japanese box office record last week, taki
ng 1.5bn yen (7.7m) in its first two days. Miyazaki won an Oscar earlier this year for Spirited Away, Japan's first Academy Award for nearly 50 years. Howl's Moving Castle is based on a children's fantasy novel by UK author Diana Wynne Jones. It tells the st
^^
ory of an 18-year-old woman who ages dramatically after falling under a witch's spell. She heads to a moving castle kept by Howl, a wizard, and searches for a way to become normal again. A spokesman for distributor Toho said the film "has received strong int
erest from domestic audiences and foreign media and viewers alike". "We have a good feeling about this film. We saw very good viewer response," he added. The film's worldwide release will start in South Korea on 24 December, and France on 12 January.
^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^
(273)[ 6.7425] Elvis fans hold birthday bash Elvis fans around the world have been marking the legendary singer's 70th birthday on Saturday. A three-day Elvis convention took place in Blackpool, England, over the weekend with the aim of finding the best European Elvis im
^^ ^^^^^^^^
personator. His Graceland, Tennessee, home was the focus for US celebrations with four days of events including a concert by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Elvis' single Jailhouse Rock became the UK's number one on Sunday. Fans in France celebrated with a t
^^ ^^^^^^
ribute concert by Elvis cover bands and a special exhibition of memorabilia is on display in Bonn, Germany. Jailhouse Rock is now the 999th number one single in UK pop history. Record company SonyBMG are releasing Elvis' 18 number one singles at the rate of
^^
one a week in Britain, complete with original artwork and a collector's box. Hit single One Night will follow next week - with the chance of becoming the 1,000th number one as interest surrounding Elvis' birthday grows. HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said:
"It would be a fantastic and truly fitting way to celebrate Elvis' landmark birthday."
(259)[ 6.3213] Aviator wins top Globes accolades The Aviator has been named best film at the Golden Globe Awards, with its star Leonardo DiCaprio named best actor. Hollywood veteran Clint Eastwood took the best director prize for Million Dollar Baby while its star Hilary
Swank was best actress. Quirky comedy Sideways was named best screenplay and best comedy. Ray star Jamie Foxx was best actor in a musical/comedy while Briton Clive Owen and Natalie Portman won prizes for best supporting roles in Closer. The Aviator, in whi
ch DiCaprio plays millionaire Howard Hughes, edged ahead of its rivals at the Beverly Hills ceremony by winning the best original score prize. This give it a total of three awards while Million Dollar Baby, Sideways and Closer took two Golden Globes each. Ac
^^^^^^^
cepting his best dramatic actor prize, DiCaprio described director Martin Scorsese as "one of the greatest contributors to the world of cinema of all time". Annette Bening won best actress in a musical/comedy for Being Julia while Spanish movie The Sea Insi
de was named best foreign language film. Swank, who previously won the Golden Globe and Oscar for Boys Don't Cry, paid tribute to Million Dollar Baby director and co-star Clint Eastwood. "You guided us so brilliantly, while you also, in my humble opinion, ga
ve the performance of your career," she said. Foxx was nominated for three awards but was beaten to the best supporting actor title by Owen and the best actor in a TV movie prize by Geoffrey Rush in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. A BBC co-production,
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers was also named best TV movie. Mick Jagger and Dave Stewart won the best original song award for Old Habits Die Hard from movie re-make Alfie, while Ian McShane was named best actor in a TV drama for his lead role in Deadwo
od. Other UK hopes Kate Winslet and Imelda Staunton went home empty-handed despite lead actress nominations for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Vera Drake respectively. Winning a Golden Globe is said to improve a film or performer's chance of subs
equently winning an Academy Award. Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes split awards by genre - one prize for dramas and the other for musicals and comedies. The Globes also honour the best in television, with suburban series Desperate Housewives named best
^^^^^^^
TV comedy show. Actress Teri Hatcher beat fellow Desperate Housewives stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman to the best comedy actress prize. Hatcher thanked the show's cast, crew and "a network who gave me a second chance at a career when I couldn't have
^^
been a bigger 'has been'". Cosmetic surgery series Nip/Tuck beat The Sopranos and Deadwood to the best television drama title. Arrested Development star Jason Bateman was named best TV actor in a musical or comedy series. The Golden Globes are awarded by th
e Hollywood Foreign Press Association, comprising film reporters based in Los Angeles and working for overseas outlets. Robin Williams, a five-time Globe winner for such films as The Fisher King and Good Morning, Vietnam, received the Cecil B DeMille award f
or career achievement. He dedicated his prize to Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who died last year.
( 17)[ 5.9037] Blue beat U2 to top France honour Irish band U2 have been honoured at France's biggest music awards, but were beaten to a prize by boy band Blue. U2 received a special achievement prize at the NRJ Music Awards, but Blue beat them to the international group
^^^^^^
award. US band Maroon 5 was named best new international artist, and took the best international song title for This Love. More than five million radio listeners voted in the awards. The international male and female prizes went to Usher and Avril Lavigne r
espectively. Collecting his band's award from model Naomi Campbell at the Cannes ceremony, U2 frontman Bono said in French: "I'm not from this country but I'll make a little confession to you - it's at the Cote d'Azur I feel at home." Hosted by radio group
NRJ, the ceremony featured performances from Usher and Jennifer Lopez, who was accompanied by dancers clad in schoolgirl outfits. US pop act Black Eyed Peas picked up the best international album gong for Elephunk. Singer Jenifer also took home two awards, f
or best French female singer and best French album. French-Canadian pop star Roch Voisine was named best Francophone male artist.
(348)[ 15.9082] Muslim group attacks TV drama 24 A British Muslim group has criticised the new series of US drama 24, which is about to be aired on Sky One, claiming it portrays Islam unfairly. The Muslim Council of Britain has complained to broadcasting watchdog Ofcom. I
^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^
t says the programme breaches editorial guidelines. The group's members met with Sky executives on Tuesday after viewing previews of the first five episodes. The drama, now in its fourth series, begins on Sunday evening. The new series portrays a Muslim fami
^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^
ly as a sleeper terrorist cell. The Muslim Council of Britain said in a statement: "We are greatly concerned by the unremittingly hostile and unbalanced portrayal of Muslims in this series of 24 based upon a preview of the first five episodes that we have se
^ ^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^
en." "There is not a single positive Muslim character in the storyline to date. At a time when negative stereotypes of Muslims are on the increase we feel that Sky - as a major UK broadcaster - has a responsibility to challenge these insidious views, not hel
^^ ^ ^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^ ^ ^
p to reinforce them." But Sky denied the programme breached broadcasting guidelines. A spokesperson said: "During a useful meeting yesterday, Sky listened to the concerns raised by representatives of the council. Sky does not believe that the episodes that i
^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
t has reviewed to date breach Ofcom's programme code." Fox TV, which shows the series in the US, is broadcasting public service announcements showing Muslims in a positive light after complaints about the series.
^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^
( 6)[-11.7801] Actor Foxx sees Globe nominations US actor Jamie Foxx has been given two nominations for Golden Globe awards, with Meryl Streep, Morgan Freeman and Cate Blanchett also up for prizes. The stars were shortlisted on Monday for supporting roles, with the main
^^^
nominations still to come. Foxx has starred in Collateral and Ray. Clive Owen, David Carradine and Natalie Portman are also up for awards. The Golden Globes, Hollywood's second most prominent awards, are the first major nominations to be announced. Last year
^^^ ^^^ ^^^
, The Lord Of the Rings: The Return Of the King was named best drama movie while Lost In Translation won best musical or comedy. Sean Penn, Charlize Theron, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger all won acting awards - mirroring the eventual Oscars outcome. The Go
^^^ ^^^ ^^^
lden Globes ceremony will take place on 16 January, with the Oscars following on 27 February.
^^^
( 5)[-12.8287] Children vote Shrek 2 best film Young UK film fans voted animated Hollywood hit Shrek 2 best film at the children's Bafta awards on Sunday. More than 6,000 children voted in the only category chosen by fans. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, runner
^^^ ^^^ ^^^
-up in the poll, was the choice of the Bafta experts who named it best feature film. BBC One Saturday morning show Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow won two awards - best entertainment and best presenters for Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood. Former Playschool pr
^^^ ^^^ ^^^
esenter Floella Benjamin was awarded the Special Award for outstanding creative contribution to children's film and television. She first appeared on Playschool 25 years ago and was made an OBE in 2001 for services to broadcasting. South American-themed cart
^^^
oon Joko! Jakamoko! Toto! won the honour for pre-school animation and its writer Tony Collingwood for original writer. Debbie Isitt won the award for best adapted writer for her work with Jacqueline Wilson's The Illustrated Mum, which won the award for best
^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^
schools drama. Schools' Factual (primary) - Thinking Skills: Think About It - Hiding Places Schools' Factual (secondary) - In Search of the Tartan Turban Pre-School Live Action - Balamory Animation - Brush Head Drama - Featherboy Factual - Serious Dese
^^^
rt Interactive Bafta - King Arthur International category - 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter
(149)[-12.9053] Little Britain two top comic list Little Britain stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams have been named the most powerful people in TV comedy, in a poll by listings magazine Radio Times. The duo kept Phoenix Nights creator Peter Kay at number two and The Offi
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^
ce star Ricky Gervais in third place. A Radio Times panel compiled the list, taking the comedians' critical acclaim and financial success into account. Newcomers to the annual list included Nighty Night star Julia Davis at seven and Black Books' Tamsin Greig
^^^ ^^^ ^^^
at 19. Lucas and Walliams won numerous awards for Little Britain in 2004, including National Television, Royal Television Society and British Comedy awards. More than 1.8 million people watched the first episode of the latest series of Little Britain on BB
^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^
C Three in October, giving the digital channel its highest rating ever. They topped the Radio Times list after rising from 10th position last year. Other big risers over the past year included presenting duo Ant and Dec at five, up from 13 in 2004, Stephen
^^^ ^^^ ^^^
Fry rising nine places to 15 and BBC Three controller Stuart Murphy, who moves to number 18 from 32 last year. Last year's winner, chat show host Graham Norton, fell to number 16 following relatively few television appearances in 2004. Production companies a
^
lso featured in the top 50, including Steve Coogan's Baby Cow, which created Nighty Night among others, Hat Trick - behind The Kumars at Number 42 - and The Vicar of Dibley production company Tiger Aspect.
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(287)[-13.1575] Goodrem wins top female MTV prize Pop singer Delta Goodrem has scooped one of the top individual prizes at the first Australian MTV Music Awards. The 21-year-old singer won the award for best female artist, with Australian Idol runner-up Shannon Noll takin
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g the title of best male at the ceremony. Goodrem, known in both Britain and Australia for her role as Nina Tucker in TV soap Neighbours, also performed a duet with boyfriend Brian McFadden. Other winners included Green Day, voted best group, and the Black E
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yed Peas. Goodrem, Green Day and the Black Eyed Peas took home two awards each. As well as best female, Goodrem also took home the Pepsi Viewers Choice Award, whilst Green Day bagged the prize for best rock video for American Idiot. The Black Eyed Peas won a
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wards for best R 'n' B video and sexiest video, both for Hey Mama. Local singer and songwriter Missy Higgins took the title of breakthrough artist of the year, with Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian taking the honours for best pop video. The VH1 First Mus
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ic Award went to Cher honouring her achievements within the music industry. The ceremony was held at the Luna Park fairground in Sydney Harbour and was hosted by the Osbourne family. Artists including Carmen Electra, Missy Higgins, Kelly Osbourne, Green Day,
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Ja Rule and Natalie Imbruglia gave live performances at the event.
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(183)[-13.9900] Stern dropped from radio stations Controversial DJ Howard Stern has been dropped from four US radio stations because he keeps promoting his move to a network broadcasting on satellite. Cidatel Broadcasting said Stern had transformed his show into a "contin
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uous infomercial promoting Sirius, his new satellite radio employer". Stern will join the Sirius subscription service, which is not governed by US regulators, next year. Citadel pulled Stern's show from stations in New York and Pennsylvania. Stern had been h
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oliday for two weeks but his show did not return to the four stations as expected on 3 January. Citadel said it did not yet know whether it would return to its network. Stern announced in October that he was leaving conventional radio, where his syndicated
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show goes out across the US, for the relatively restriction-free satellite service. The DJ's broadcasts are well known for landing in trouble with regulators for obscene and sexually explicit rantings. Stern was dropped by six stations owned by media giant C
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lear Channel in 2004 after it had to pay the Federal Communications Commission $1.75m (950,000), over breaches indecency laws. Media giant Viacom has also reportedly agreed to the FCC's demands that if Stern is issued with another indecency violation then hi
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s show must be pulled from all of its stations. Viacom has also been hit with record fines of $3.5m (1.8m) over Stern and two other New York DJs. But Stern continues to be one of the most popular talk show hosts, particularly in the 25-54 age category.
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(121)[-14.0142] Holmes wins '2004 top TV moment' Sprinter Kelly Holmes' Olympic victory has been named the top television moment of 2004 in a BBC poll. Holmes' 800m gold medal victory beat favourite moments from drama, comedy and factual programmes, as voted by television
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viewers. Natasha Kaplinsky's Strictly Come Dancing win was top entertainment moment and a Little Britain breast feeding sketch won the comedy prize. The 2004 TV Moments will be shown on BBC One at 2000 GMT on Wednesday. Double gold medal winner Holmes toppe
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d the best sports moment category, beating Maria Sharapova's Wimbledon triumph and Matthew Pinsent's rowing victory at the Olympics. She then went on to take the overall prize of Golden TV Moment. The sight of former royal correspondent Jennie Bond with doz
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ens of rats crawling over her in ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here was named best factual entertainment moment. Michael Buerk's return to Ethiopia, 20 years after originally reporting its famine, topped the factual category for BBC programme This Worl
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d. Long-running soap EastEnders won the best popular drama moment title when character Dot confided in Den Watts that she was unwell.
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(260)[-14.1098] South Bank Awards honour hit soap Coronation Street has become the first soap to triumph at the South Bank Show Awards, which traditionally reward highbrow and groundbreaking culture. The soap beat fellow ITV1 show Filthy Love and Channel 4's Shameless to
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win the best TV drama prize on Thursday. Little Britain was named best comedy while Franz Ferdinand beat Morrissey and The Libertines to the music award. Shane Meadows' Dead Man's Shoes picked up the best film award, beating Shaun of the Dead and My Summer o
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f Love. The two award ceremonies reflect the achievements the industry believes have been made in the last year. In 2004, Coronation Street pulled away from its BBC One rival EastEnders in the ratings and dominated other TV awards. Last year, the South Bank
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Award for best TV drama went to Steven Poliakoff's period piece The Lost Prince, while Bloody Sunday, about the 1972 killings in Northern Ireland, won in 2003. In other South Bank categories, Little Britain's second series beat Nighty Night and The Green Wi
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ng to the comedy trophy while Alan Bennett's The History Boys won in the theatre category. Author David Mitchell made up for losing out in the Booker Prize to Alan Hollinghurst by beating him to the literary award with his book Cloud Atlas. Shameless, State
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Of Play and Clocking Off creator Paul Abbott got a lifetime achievement award while former Grange Hill actress Amma Asante won the breakthrough award for writing and directing her first film, A Way Of Life.
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(189)[-14.4840] Patti Smith to host arts festival Rock star Patti Smith has been made artistic director of this year's Meltdown festival, to be held at London's South Bank Centre in June. The punk pioneer follows Morrissey, David Bowie and Nick Cave in directing 15 days o
f concerts and events. Smith has yet to decide the line-up for Meltdown, which begins on 11 June. "I want to touch on all aspects of our culture, perhaps with readings from Genet, and I have an idea for Jeremy Irons to read Proust," she said. The 58-year-ol
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d US singer of Because the Night told The Observer newspaper that the festival would be her response to these "material, exploitative and greedy times". "It is important we explore the new, but we should also salute the best art there is, aesthetically and s
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piritually," she said. Last year's Meltdown festival, directed by the ex-Smiths star Morrissey, included appearances by singer Jane Birkin, Nancy Sinatra and playwright Alan Bennett. He also persuaded punk band The New York Dolls to reform for a reunion show
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.
(331)[-14.8639] Rock band U2 break ticket record U2 have smashed Irish box office records with ticket sales for their Dublin concerts, after more than 150,000 were sold within 50 minutes. Tickets for the two concerts at the city's Croke Park stadium were released at 8am o
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n Friday morning. "Nothing like it has ever been seen in Ireland before," said Justin Green, spokesman for organisers MCD Promoters. "We could have sold a million tickets." The Dublin dates on June 24 and 25 form part of the worldwide Vertigo tour. The tour
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begins in San Diego on 28 March and will cover 13 US cities. The band will also play 24 European gigs, finishing in Lisbon in August. Mr Green said that ticket outlets had been "bombarded" by U2 fans. "Unfortunately there's thousands and thousands of disapp
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ointed fans all over the country which is disappointing, but there's only two dates confirmed," he said. Many fans camped on the streets of the Irish capital for three days to ensure they were first in line at Ticketmaster in St Stephen's Green Shopping Cent
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re, where the tickets went on sale on Friday. However the majority of tickets, priced at between 59.50 and 80 euro each, were sold online. Earlier this week, Bono announced that the band would play two shows at the venue, which holds almost 80,000 people, du
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e to the phenomenal demand for tickets.
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(262)[ 5.0537] Hanks greeted at wintry premiere Hollywood star Tom Hanks was in London's Leicester Square for the UK premiere of Polar Express. The West End landmark was turned into a festive landscape complete with snow and carol singers to celebrate the arrival of the
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animated film. "This is Leicester Square like you've never seen it before," said Hanks, who plays five roles in the movie. Polar Express is based on a children's book which tells the story of a young boy's journey to meet Santa Claus. The 48-year-old actor c
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rossed a three-metre high bridge built in the square, which he said was "almost impossible to get across". Hundreds of fans greeted the star, all wearing Santa hats, and mince pies were on offer. Hanks said that the new film has an "elegant message". "Christ
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mas is a special time of the year and you get out of it what you put into it," added the two-time Academy Award winner. "I believe in the spirit of Christmas and I think that's embodied in Santa Claus," he said. Polar Express uses technology similar to that
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used in Lord of the Rings to bring Gollum to life. The "performance capture" technique enables Hanks to play a number of roles, including the eight-year-old boy who is at the centre of the story, and Father Christmas. It is directed by Robert Zemeckis, who
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has previously worked with Hanks on Forrest Gump and Castaway.
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(350)[-5.3745] Oscar nominees gear up for lunch Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Hilary Swank are among those due to attend this year's Oscar nominees luncheon on Monday. They will join more than 100 nominees from the 24 Oscar categories at the annual event, which will
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take place at the Beverly Hilton hotel, Los Angeles. British hopefuls, including Kate Winslet, Imelda Staunton and Sophie Okonedo are also expected to attend. This year's Oscar ceremony will be held on Sunday 27 February. Martin Scorsese's The Aviator is le
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ading the field at this year's Oscars with 11 nominations, while other multiple nominees include Million Dollar Baby and Sideways. Oscar nominees Swank and Foxx were among the winners at the Screen Actors Guild awards at the weekend, one of the many ceremoni
es held in the run-up to the Oscars. Swank won Best Actress for Million Dollar Baby while Foxx triumphed for his performance as Ray Charles in the biopic Ray. Sideways was also among the winners, taking the prize for best cast performance. The next major fil
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m award ceremony of the season is the Bafta awards, which take place at London's Odeon Leicester Square on 12 February. Many of those nominated for Oscars including DiCaprio, Foxx and Staunton - an Oscar nominee for her performance in Vera Drake - have also
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been nominated for Baftas.
(281)[-8.5630] Bennett play takes theatre prizes The History Boys by Alan Bennett has been named best new play in the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. Set in a grammar school, the play also earned a best actor prize for star Richard Griffiths as teacher Hector. The Produc
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ers was named best musical, Victoria Hamilton was best actress for Suddenly Last Summer and Festen's Rufus Norris was named best director. The History Boys also won the best new comedy title at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards. Partly based upon Alan Bennett
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's experience as a teacher, The History Boys has been at London's National Theatre since last May. The Critics' Circle named Rebecca Lenkiewicz its most promising playwright for The Night Season, and Eddie Redmayne most promising newcomer for The Goat or, Wh
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o is Sylvia? Paul Rhys was its best Shakespearean performer for Measure for Measure at the National Theatre and Christopher Oram won the design award for Suddenly Last Summer. Both the Critics' Circle and Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice award winners
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were announced on Tuesday. Chosen by more than 11,000 theatre fans, the Theatregoers' Choice Awards named US actor Christian Slater best actor for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Diana Rigg was best actress for Suddenly Last Summer, Dame Judi Dench was best
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supporting actress for the RSC's All's Well That Ends Well and The History Boys' Samuel Barnett was best supporting actor.
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(110)[-8.6961] Usher leads Billboard nominations R&B singer Usher is leading the race for the Billboard awards with nominations in 13 categories, including best male. Alicia Keys has 12 nominations for the awards, which will be held on 8 December at the MGM Grand in Las
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Vegas. Other multiple nominees include Maroon5, OutKast, Kanye West, R Kelly, Gretchen Wilson, Hoobastank and Jay-Z. Soul singer Stevie Wonder will receive Billboard's Century Award, the magazine's highest honour for creative achievement, at the ceremony. T
he awards will be hosted by American Idol presenter Ryan Seacrest, and will feature performances by Usher, Gwen Stefani, Nelly and Green Day. Usher and Keys will be battling it out for prizes including artist of the year, Hot 100 songwriter of the year and B
illboard 200 album of the year for their respective albums Confessions and The Diary of Alicia Keys. Maroon5 and OutKast are also up for artist of the year, while OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a finalist for Billboard 200 album of the year, alongs
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ide Josh Groban's Closer. The awards honour the year's leading artists and songs as determined by their performance on Billboard's weekly charts.
(205)[-9.8434] T in the Park sells out in days Tickets for Scotland's biggest music festival have sold out in record time, five months before the event is held. The 12th annual T in the Park festival, which takes place at Balado near Kinross in July, sold out just four d
ays after the line-up was announced. Green Day, the Foo Fighters and Keane are among the acts that had already been lined up to appear at the event. However, the organisers have revealed Scots favourites Travis as well as soulman James Brown will also appear
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. Last year tickets sold out 10 weeks before the festival but organisers confirmed that all 130,000 for the two-day event had been sold. Geoff Ellis, CEO of festival organisers Big Day Out Ltd, said this year's event promises to be the best yet. "After last
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year's sell-out, we did think this year's event would sell slightly earlier, however this is way beyond our expectations," Mr Ellis said. "We are extremely proud that fans are so excited about T in the Park that they have made absolutely sure that their pl
ace at Balado is booked for 2005, and we will deliver one of the greatest events yet for them in July." More than 120 acts will play on eight stages over the weekend of 9 and 10 July. Brit Award winners Keane and The Streets are among the main attractions, w
hile The Killers and dance act The Prodigy are also on the bill. Both Green Day and The Foo Fighters last played at the festival in 2002, the same year Oasis and Basement Jaxx were among the headline acts.
(354)[-9.9609] Lopez misses UK charity premiere Jennifer Lopez cancelled an appearance at the UK charity premiere of her new movie saying she was too ill to fly. The actress and singer dropped out at the last minute and has now cancelled all European promotion of the fil
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m Shall We Dance? and her new album. She said: "I very much wanted to be in London but unfortunately I'm not well. At the advice of my doctors I'm unable to travel." Co-star Richard Gere attended the event held in aid of the tsunami appeal. Thousands braved
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the cold weather to see the stars in London's Leicester Square. The red carpet boasted waltzing dancers in honour of the film's ballroom dancing theme. The film's director Peter Chelsom said he was disappointed that Lopez did not attend. "It's a shame. I kn
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ow it's true that she's not well because she has also cancelled her promotional tour. I've heard she has swollen glands." Gere, 55, greeted the crowd and signed autographs, accompanied by his wife Carey Lowell. Other stars who turned out on the night include
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d Honor Blackman, Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly and actress Anita Dobson. Lopez issues a statement apologising for her absence. "I'm so proud of Shall We Dance and was looking forward to visiting London," she said. "This film was a labour of love
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for me, and I want to thank everyone involved in bringing it to you, from the cast, to the film director, to the crew." Lopez appeared at the Grammy awards on Sunday, singing a duet with her third husband Marc Anthony.
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(143)[-10.0698] George Michael to perform for BBC George Michael is to perform live at London's Abbey Road studios as part of a BBC Radio 2 special next month. The session, which will broadcast on 18 December, will also see him talk about how his biggest hits came about.
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Michael's appearance is part of the station's Sold on Song initiative, which explores the art of songwriting. The station also confirmed that Chris Tarrant will be hosting a one-off New Year's Eve programme. He left London's Capital FM this year after 17 yea
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rs. The former breakfast show host - who attracted some of the highest ratings in Britain, despite only broadcasting to London - will offer his own individual take on the year in the two-hour show. "This should be great fun," Tarrant said. "I've had a fantas
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tic year and I know that lots of other people have as well. I'm definitely looking forward to being on Radio 2." Other Christmas specials from Radio 2 include singer Jamelia hosting a Christmas Day concert from the London Community Gospel Choir, while actor
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Christopher Lee will read Fireside Tales from the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, E Nesbit and Ambrose Bierce. Comedian Harry Hill will host a spoof nostalgia show on Christmas Day, while singer Jamie Cullum will perform a live concert for the station.
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( 5)[-10.3118] Children vote Shrek 2 best film Young UK film fans voted animated Hollywood hit Shrek 2 best film at the children's Bafta awards on Sunday. More than 6,000 children voted in the only category chosen by fans. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, runner
-up in the poll, was the choice of the Bafta experts who named it best feature film. BBC One Saturday morning show Dick and Dom In Da Bungalow won two awards - best entertainment and best presenters for Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood. Former Playschool pr
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esenter Floella Benjamin was awarded the Special Award for outstanding creative contribution to children's film and television. She first appeared on Playschool 25 years ago and was made an OBE in 2001 for services to broadcasting. South American-themed cart
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oon Joko! Jakamoko! Toto! won the honour for pre-school animation and its writer Tony Collingwood for original writer. Debbie Isitt won the award for best adapted writer for her work with Jacqueline Wilson's The Illustrated Mum, which won the award for best
schools drama. Schools' Factual (primary) - Thinking Skills: Think About It - Hiding Places Schools' Factual (secondary) - In Search of the Tartan Turban Pre-School Live Action - Balamory Animation - Brush Head Drama - Featherboy Factual - Serious Dese
rt Interactive Bafta - King Arthur International category - 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter
( 75)[-10.5356] Spark heads world Booker list Dame Muriel Spark is among three British authors who have made the shortlist for the inaugural international Booker Prize. Doris Lessing and Ian McEwan have also been nominated. McEwan and Margaret Atwood are the only nominees
to have previously won the main Booker Prize. The new 60,000 award is open to writers of all nationalities who write in English or are widely translated. The prize commends an author for their body of work instead of one book. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Saul
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Bellow, Milan Kundera and John Updike also feature on the 18-strong list of world literary figures. But other past winners of the regular Booker Prize, such as Salman Rushdie, JM Coetzee and Kazuo Ishiguro have failed to make the shortlist. The prize, which
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will be awarded in London in June, will be given once every two years. It will reward an author - who must be living - for "continued creativity, development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage". An author can only win once. The internati
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onal award was started in response to criticisms that the Booker Prize is only open to British and Commonwealth authors. Margaret Atwood (Canada) Saul Bellow (Canada) Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia) Gunter Grass (Germany) Ismail Kadare (Albania) Milan K
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undera (Czech Republic) Stanislaw Lem (Poland) Doris Lessing (UK) Ian McEwan (UK) Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt) Tomas Eloy Martinez (Argentina) Kenzaburo Oe (Japan) Cynthia Ozick (US) Philip Roth (US) Muriel Spark (UK) Antonio Tabucchi (Italy) John Updike (US) Abra
ham B Yehoshua (Israel)
(103)[-11.4650] Shark Tale DVD is US best-seller Oscar-nominated animation Shark Tale has raked in $80m (42.4m) in the first week of its US DVD release becoming the year's best-selling home video so far. The tally for its DVD and video sales soared past the film's opening
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week US box office takings of $56m (29.7m). Shark Tale is now the sixth-highest earning DVD for first week sales. The all-time first-week record is held by 1995's Lion King followed by Shrek 2, Finding Nemo, the original Shrek, and Monster's Inc. Shark Tal
e, whose voice cast includes Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renee Zellweger and Martin Scorsese, sold more than 6 million DVDs and videos across the United States and Canada. It becomes the highest first-week earner for February, outshining My Big Fat Greek Wed
ding which sold four million units in 2003. Films which are expected to earn strong home video returns are usually timed for release in the busiest retail season which falls before Christmas. The best-selling home video of last year was the Dreamworks hit Sh
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rek 2, which took an estimated $458 m (242.7m) in North America alone.
( 24)[ 47.4087] De Niro film leads US box office Film star Robert De Niro has returned to the top of the North American box office with his film Hide and Seek. The thriller shot straight to the number one spot after taking $22m (11.7m) at the box office. De Niro recently
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spent three weeks at the top with comedy Meet The Fockers, which was at number five this week. Oscar hopefuls The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby and Sideways all cashed in on their multiple nominations with stronger ticket sales. In Hide and Seek, De Niro pla
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ys a widower whose daughter has a creepy imaginary friend. Despite lukewarm reviews from critics, the film took more than the expected $18m (9.5m). "The element of a real actor in a psychological thriller certainly elevated it," said Bruce Snyder, president
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of domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox. Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby led the Oscar hopefuls with $11.8m (6.3m), coming in at number three during its first weekend of wide release. The Aviator, a film biography of Howard Hughes that leads the Os
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car field with 11 nominations, was at number six for the weekend with $7.5m (4m). Oscar best-picture nominee Sideways entered the top ten for the first time in its 15th week of release. It came in seventh $6.3 (3.35m). Last week's top film, Ice Cube's road-t
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rip comedy Are We There Yet?, slipped to second place with $17m (9m), while Coach Carter fell two places to number four, taking $8m (4.25m) in its third week. Rounding out the top ten were In Good Company - starring Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson - Raci
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ng Stripes and Assault on Precinct 13.
(180)[ 47.4087] De Niro film leads US box office Film star Robert De Niro has returned to the top of the North American box office with his film Hide and Seek. The thriller shot straight to the number one spot after taking $22m (11.7m) at the box office. De Niro recently
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spent three weeks at the top with comedy Meet The Fockers, which was at number five this week. Oscar hopefuls The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby and Sideways all cashed in on their multiple nominations with stronger ticket sales. In Hide and Seek, De Niro pla
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ys a widower whose daughter has a creepy imaginary friend. Despite lukewarm reviews from critics, the film took more than the expected $18m (9.5m). "The element of a real actor in a psychological thriller certainly elevated it," said Bruce Snyder, president
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of domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox. Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby led the Oscar hopefuls with $11.8m (6.3m), coming in at number three during its first weekend of wide release. The Aviator, a film biography of Howard Hughes that leads the Os
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car field with 11 nominations, was at number six for the weekend with $7.5m (4m). Oscar best-picture nominee Sideways entered the top ten for the first time in its 15th week of release. It came in seventh $6.3 (3.35m). Last week's top film, Ice Cube's road-t
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rip comedy Are We There Yet?, slipped to second place with $17m (9m), while Coach Carter fell two places to number four, taking $8m (4.25m) in its third week. Rounding out the top ten were In Good Company - starring Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson - Raci
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ng Stripes and Assault on Precinct 13.
(123)[ 19.8929] De Niro completes box office coup Robert De Niro has completed a transatlantic box office double by topping the UK and US film charts with two different films at the same time. Comedy sequel Meet the Fockers, in which he stars with Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoff
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man and Barbra Streisand, shot to the top of the UK chart at the weekend. It took 7.2m in three days - eight times more than the number two, Closer. Assault on Precinct 13 was in third. At the same time, US audiences were won over by his new thriller Hide an
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d Seek. In Meet the Fockers, he picks up the role of an uptight father and ex-CIA agent from 2000 hit comedy, Meet the Parents. It is a big leap to his role in Hide and Seek, a supernatural horror in which he plays a widower whose daughter's imaginary frien
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d turns nasty. In the UK box office chart, Meet the Fockers pushed Closer off the top spot while police action movie Assault On Precinct 13, starring rapper Ja Rule, made 750,000 in its first weekend. London Underground thriller Creep was another new entry a
t six while quirky comedy Sideways, which got five Oscar nominations last week, entered in eighth place. The Oscar nominations do not seem to have had an impact on fans' choices at cinemas. Leading contenders The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby and Ray all suff
ered substantial drops in takings compared with the previous weekend.
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(124)[ 17.8596] Boogeyman takes box office lead The low-budget horror film Boogeyman has knocked Robert de Niro thriller Hide and Seek from the top spot at the UK box office. The film, in which a young man is forced to revisit a traumatic childhood experience, took 788,43
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9 in its first three days on release. Hide And Seek, which was knocked off the top of the US box office by Boogeyman last month, fell one place. Oscar nominee Hotel Rwanda was also a new entry in the chart, at number five. The film, which scored Oscar nomina
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tions for Don Cheadle and British actress Sophie Okonedo, made 507, 596 in its first week of nationwide release. Comedy sequel Meet The Fockers and Shall We Dance?, starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere, completed the top five. Clint Eastwood's Million D
ollar Baby re-entered the charts at number eight, following its recent success at the Oscars. The boxing drama, which won four awards including best film and best director, has made 4.4m to date. Two other new entries, a remake of the 1965 film Flight of the
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Phoenix, and the teen comedy Harold and Kumar Get The Munchies, debuted outside the top 10.
(265)[ 16.9233] Horror film heads US box office A low-budget horror film produced by Evil Dead director Sam Raimi has topped the North American box office. Boogeyman, which focuses on a man who returns to his childhood home to confront his traumatic past, took $19.5m (14.
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9m) in three days. Last week's chart-topper, the Robert de Niro thriller Hide and Seek, fell to number four. Other new entries included The Wedding Date, a comedy starring Will and Grace's Debra Messing, at number two. The road-trip comedy Are We There Yet?
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and multiple Oscar nominee Million Dollar Baby completed the top five. Other Oscar contenders, including The Aviator and Sideways, continued to perform strongly at the box office. The Aviator has taken $75m (40m) so far, while Sideways has taken $46.8m (24.
8m) in a more limited release. Boogeyman, which cost just $7m (3.5m) to make, performed well even though it was not screened to critics before release - normally a sign that a film will get bad reviews or perform poorly at the box office. "I certainly belie
ve it's a genre where people are going to be more moved by the marketing materials for the movie than by what the critics say," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony Pictures, which released the film in the US. Overall the weekend box office was str
ong despite the fact that it was American football's Super Bowl weekend - a time when cinema admissions generally fall. This year, the top 12 films grossed around $91m (48.3m), compared to 2004's Super Bowl weekend when the total box office was $73.4m (38.9m
).
(156)[ 8.6543] Soul sensation ready for awards South West teenage singing sensation, Joss Stone, has been nominated in three categories in Wednesday's Brit awards. The 17-year-old from a small east Devon village near Cullumpton, received nominations for Best Solo Female,
Best Urban Act and Best Breakthrough Artist. Her second album Mind, Body & Soul reached number one in the UK charts last October and went straight into the US charts at number 11. Ms Stone is due to perform at the 25th award ceremony at London's Earls Court
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. The teenager also has Grammy nominations in the US, normally dominated by home-grown acts. Born Jocelyn Stoker, the Devon diva started her career in a BBC talent programme, and was then discovered at a New York audition by a US record executive, Steve Gree
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nberg. The 17-year-old singer is hoping to tour in Japan, Australia and the US in 2005.
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(152)[ 7.1975] Fockers retain film chart crown Comedy Meet The Fockers has held on to the number one spot at the North American box office for a second week. It took $42.8m (23.7m) at the weekend, making its overall takings more than $163m (90m) in 12 days, according to
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studio estimates. It took $19.1m (9.9m) on Christmas Day alone, the highest takings on that day in box office history. The sequel to the Ben Stiller comedy Meet The Parents stars Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. The success of Meet the Fo
ckers could help produce record box office revenue for 2004, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the industry's tracker Exhibitor Relations. "We've had a much stronger than anticipated final week of the year that helped the industry end on a high note," sa
id Mr Dergarabedian. Meet the Fockers also broke the box office records for the most money taken on New Year's Eve, when it made $12.2m (6.2m), and New Year's Day, when it took $18m (9.4m). The previous New Year's Eve record was set in 2000 by Cast Away wit
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h $8.5m (4.5m). The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had held the New Year's Day title with $12.8m (6.7m). However, Christmas takings were down 26.5% on 2003's figures - which was blamed on Christmas falling over a weekend this year. This weekend's
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top 12 films took an estimated $125.4m (65.8m), a 4.3% increase on the same weekend last year. But there were no major releases last week to provide competition to Meet the Fockers or Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which finished in second
place with $14.7m (7.7m). The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, ended up in third position after taking $11.2m (5.9m). Comedy Fat Albert - co-written by Bill Cosby - moved down the chart to fourth place after taking $10.7m (5.6m).
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(357)[ 6.4993] Brit awards for Devon music acts Devon singer Joss Stone and rock band Muse won coveted Brit awards during the event's 25th anniversary. Seventeen-year-old Stone, from near Cullumpton, won two awards: best British female act, and best urban act out of thre
e award nominations. Muse, whose members met in south Devon, beat Franz Ferdinand, Jamie Cullum, Kasabian and The Libertines for best British live act. The band has sold about two million records worldwide. After beating Amy Winehouse, Jamelia, Natasha Bedi
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ngfield and PJ Harvey to the best British female prize, Joss Stone said: "I don't know what to say. I don't like doing this at all. I'd like to thank my family for being really supportive and everybody that made my record with me." "I don't even know what to
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do right now. Thank you all you guys for voting for me, I feel sick right now." Viewers of digital music TV channel MTV Base voted Stone the winner in the best urban act category. Ms Stone also performed her song Right To Be Wrong, backed by a gospel choir,
at the 25th award ceremony at London's Earls Court. Her second album Mind, Body & Soul reached number one in the UK charts last October and went straight into the US charts at number 11. The teenager also has Grammy nominations in the US, normally dominate
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d by home-grown acts. Born Jocelyn Stoker, the Devon diva started her career in a BBC talent programme, and was then discovered at a New York audition by a US record executive, Steve Greenberg. Indie Rock group Muse consists of Matthew Bellamy, Chris Wolsten
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holme and Dominic Howard who met in their early teens in Teignmouth, south Devon. Dominic Howard said of winning: "We love playing live, it's very important for our band. So to win something like this really feels great." The trio met aged 13 and formed the
band Gothic Plague, changing its name to Fixed Penalty, Rocket Baby Dolls and finally Muse. The band released its first self-titled EP in 1998. The third studio album, Absolution, was released in 2003, providing the hit singles Time Is Running Out, Hysteria,
and Butterflies And Hurricanes.
(177)[ 6.3551] Brits return Keane to number one Brits success has helped return Keane's award-winning album Hopes and Fears back to the top of the UK album chart. The debut album, which took the best British album title at the Brits on Tuesday, moved up seven places from
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number eight to number one. Also capitalising on Brits success were the Scissor Sisters whose eponymous album moved three places to number two. U2's latest single Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own took the top spot in the singles chart, ahead of Elvis
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. The track, from their current album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, pushed Eminem's Like Toy Soldiers from number one to number three. Elvis' Wooden Heart, which entered the chart at number two, is the sixth in a series of 18 reissues to mark the 70th an
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niversary of Presley's birth. There are currently six re-released Elvis' tracks occupying spots in the top 40 singles chart including Are You Lonesome Tonight at number 20, It's Now or Never at number 27 and Jailhouse Rock at number 37. Soldier, by Destiny's
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Child, Ti and Lil Wayne, debuted at number four, while Almost Here, the duet from former Westlife star Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem, fell from number three to number five. There was more follow up to Brits success for Franz Ferdinand won best rock act a
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nd best British group last week. Their self-titled album moved from 13 to number four. Last week's number one album Tourist, by Athlete, fell to number three.
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(346)[ 6.3551] Brits return Keane to number one Brits success has helped return Keane's award-winning album Hopes and Fears back to the top of the UK album chart. The debut album, which took the best British album title at the Brits on Tuesday, moved up seven places from
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number eight to number one. Also capitalising on Brits success were the Scissor Sisters whose eponymous album moved three places to number two. U2's latest single Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own took the top spot in the singles chart, ahead of Elvis
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^
. The track, from their current album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, pushed Eminem's Like Toy Soldiers from number one to number three. Elvis' Wooden Heart, which entered the chart at number two, is the sixth in a series of 18 reissues to mark the 70th an
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
niversary of Presley's birth. There are currently six re-released Elvis' tracks occupying spots in the top 40 singles chart including Are You Lonesome Tonight at number 20, It's Now or Never at number 27 and Jailhouse Rock at number 37. Soldier, by Destiny's
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Child, Ti and Lil Wayne, debuted at number four, while Almost Here, the duet from former Westlife star Brian McFadden and Delta Goodrem, fell from number three to number five. There was more follow up to Brits success for Franz Ferdinand won best rock act a
^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^
nd best British group last week. Their self-titled album moved from 13 to number four. Last week's number one album Tourist, by Athlete, fell to number three.
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(127)[ 5.3841] The Producers scoops stage awards The Producers has beaten Mary Poppins in the battle of the blockbuster West End musicals at the Olivier Awards. The Producers won three prizes at the UK's most prestigious annual theatre awards, while Mary Poppins won two.
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Mel Brooks' hit show triumphed in the battle for best new musical, where it was up against Mary Poppins and Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. Alan Bennett's The History Boys was the big winner in the straight theatre categories, picking up three tro
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phies. But all eyes were on the musical prizes after The Producers, Mary Poppins and The Woman in White all had high-profile openings in the last six months. The Producers' Nathan Lane, a last-minute replacement for Richard Dreyfuss, beat his former co-star
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Lee Evans to win best musical actor. Lane has already left the production. A smash hit on Broadway before moving to London, the show also won best musical performance in a supporting role for Conleth Hill, who plays director Roger DeBris. Mary Poppins' awar
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ds came for best choreography and best musical actress for its star Laura Michelle Kelly. It led the nominations going into Sunday's ceremony at London's Hilton hotel, up for nine awards. Both shows are stage adaptations of 1960s films. The History Boys, set
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in a grammar school in the early 1980s and partly based on Bennett's experiences as a teacher, was named best new play. It also won best actor for Richard Griffiths, who beat his Harry Potter film co-star Michael Gambon, nominated for Endgame, as well as J
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onathan Pryce and Ben Whishaw. The play also won National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner best director and Bennett got a special award for outstanding contribution to British theatre. Dame Judi Dench, who starred in All's Well That Ends Well at th
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e Gielgud, lost out in the best supporting role category to Amanda Harris, who played Emilia in Othello for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Olivier Awards have been handed out by the Society of London since 1976. - Best lighting design - His Dark Materia
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ls designed by Paule Constable at the Olivier - Best sound design - The Woman in White designed by Mick Potter at the Palace - Best new opera - Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Royal Opera House - Outstanding achievement in opera - Thomas Ades and the Ro
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yal Opera House for the world premiere of The Tempest - Best costume design - All's Well That Ends Well designed by Deirdre Clancy at the Gielgud - Best Revival - Hamlet by William Shakespeare at The Old Vic - Best set design - His Dark Materials desig
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ned by Giles Cadle at the Olivier - Outstanding musical production - Grand Hotel at the Donmar Warehouse - Best supporting role in a musical - Conleth Hill for The Producers at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - Best theatre choreographer - Matthew Bourne and
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Stephen Mear for Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward - Best actor - Richard Griffiths for The History Boys at the Lyttelton - Outstanding achievement or performance in an affiliate theatre - Andrew Scott for A Girl in A Car With A Man at the Jerwood Theat
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re Upstairs at the Royal Court - Best new dance production - Rambert Dance Company's Swamp at Sadler's Wells - Outstanding achievement in dance - San Francisco Ballet for their season at Sadler's Wells - Best performance in a supporting role - Amanda H
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arris for Othello at Trafalgar Studios - Best actress - Clare Higgins for Hecuba at the Donmar Warehouse - Best musical actor - Nathan Lane for The Producers at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - Best musical actress - Laura Michelle Kelly for Mary Poppins at
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the Prince Edward - Best director - Nicholas Hytner for The History Boys at the Lyttelton - Best new play - The History Boys by Alan Bennett at the Lyttelton - Best new musical - The Producers at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - Special award - Alan Benn
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ett for his outstanding contribution to British theatre
(130)[ 0.5394] Poppins musical gets flying start The stage adaptation of children's film Mary Poppins has had its opening night in London's West End. Sir Cameron Mackintosh's lavish production, which has cost 9m to bring to the stage, was given a 10-minute standing ovati
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on. Lead actress Laura Michelle Kelly soared over the heads of the audience holding the nanny's trademark umbrella. Technical hitches had prevented Mary Poppins' flight into the auditorium during preview performances. A number of celebrities turned out for t
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he musical's premiere, including actress Barbara Windsor, comic Graham Norton and Sir Richard Attenborough. The show's director Richard Eyre issued a warning earlier in the week that the show was unsuitable for children under seven, while under-threes are b
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arred. Mary Poppins was originally created by author Pamela Travers, who is said to have cried when she saw Disney's 1964 film starring Julie Andrews. Travers had intended the story to be a lot darker than the perennial family favourite. Theatre impresario S
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ir Cameron Mackintosh has said he hopes the musical is a blend of the sweet-natured film and the original book.
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(148)[-0.9508] Dame Julie pops in to see Poppins Mary Poppins star Dame Julie Andrews watched the hit stage version of her classic film at a charity performance in London's West End. It was the first time Dame Julie, who shot to fame as the nanny in the 1964 Disney movie
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, had seen the musical, staged at the Prince Edward Theatre. She watched Laura Michelle Kelly, 23, reprise the role on stage. The show has been one of the West End's hottest tickets since opening in December, winning two Olivier Awards. Kelly was named best
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musical actress at last month's ceremony and the musical also won best choreography. But Kelly said she was "very nervous" about meeting Dame Julie because she was "my absolute hero". The gala performance saw Dame Julie, 69, return to the theatre where she
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had her first starring role in a performance of Humpty Dumpty in 1948. The Mary Poppins musical has been masterminded by theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Richard Eyre with choreography by Matthew Bourne. Sir Cameron said he hoped the
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production, which cost 9m to bring to the stage, was a blend of the sweet-natured film and the original book by PL Travers. Proceeds from Thursday's show will go to charities including Absolute Return for Kids (Ark), international relief agency Operation US
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A and drama school Lamda.
(373)[-9.8860] Jarre joins fairytale celebration French musician Jean-Michel Jarre is to perform at a concert in Copenhagen to mark the bicentennial of the birth of writer Hans Christian Andersen. Denmark is holding a three-day celebration of the life of the fairy-tale a
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uthor, with a concert at Parken stadium on 2 April. Other stars are expected to join the line-up in the coming months, and the Danish royal family will attend. "Christian Andersen's fairy tales are timeless and universal," said Jarre. "For all of us, at any
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age there is always - beyond the pure enjoyment of the tale - a message to learn." There are year-long celebrations planned across the world to celebrate Andersen and his work, which includes The Emperor's New Clothes and The Little Mermaid. Denmark's Crown
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Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary visited New York on Monday to help promote the festivities. The pair were at a Manhattan library to honour US literary critic Harold Bloom "the international icon we thought we knew so well". "Bloom recognizes the dar
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ker aspects of Andersen's authorship," Prince Frederik said. Bloom is to be formally presented with the Hans Christian Andersen Award this spring in Anderson's hometown of Odense. The royal couple also visited the Hans Christian Anderson School complex, wher
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e Queen Mary read The Ugly Duckling to the young audience. Later at a gala dinner, Danish supermodel Helena Christensen was named a Hans Christian Andersen ambassador. Other ambassadors include actors Harvey Keitel and Sir Roger Moore, athlete Cathy Freeman
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and Brazilian soccer legend Pele.
(246)[-11.2312] Abba queen enters music rich list The woman behind the Abba musical Mamma Mia! has joined a list of British-based music millionaires. Producer Judy Craymer is the highest new entry in the Sunday Times' music rich list, with a 67m fortune. Ms Craymer remort
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gaged her home to finance her idea of a musical based around Abba's hits, which has since become a global triumph. Teenage soul singer Joss Stone is a new entry on a list of Britain's young music millionaires with 5m. Ms Craymer, who developed Mamma Mia! wi
th playwright Catherine Johnson and members of Abba, is at number 31 on the music rich list. But taking the top spot for a second year is former record label boss Clive Calder, whose wealth has risen to 1.3bn. Mr Calder is the man behind acts including Britn
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ey Spears. He made his fortune by selling his independent label Zomba to record giant BMG. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is second on the list with 800m - up 40m on last year. Andrew Lloyd-Webber's wealth rose an estimated 300m on last year, to 700m, whil
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e theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh's fortune rose from 340m to 400m. His recent hits have included the West End show Mary Poppins. But Pop Idol mogul Simon Fuller has seen his wealth plummet from 220m last year to 75m after selling his entertainmen
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t company 19 for less than expected, according to the Sunday Times. Joss Stone, the 17-year-old soul singer from Devon, was a new entry in the young music millionaires list. The list also features Charlotte Church, Coldplay, Daniel Bedingfield, Will Young an
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d David and Victoria Beckham. At number one is Dhani Harrison, son of the late Beatle George Harrison, who has inherited 140m. The Beckhams - who qualify thanks to Victoria's former singing career - are in second place with 75 million between them - up 10m o
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n last year.
( 77)[-11.7111] Beastie Boys win sampling battle US rappers Beastie Boys have won their long-running battle over the use of a sample in their song Pass the Mic. The punk-rappers used three notes of music from flautist James Newton's Choir in their track from 1992. Althoug
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h the group had paid a licence fee for the sample, Mr Newton said his copyright had been infringed. But the US Court of Appeal upheld its original decision that the group did not have to pay an additional fee to license the underlying composition. The Beasti
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e Boys - Michael Diamond, Adam Horowitz, and Adam Yauch - are considered to be one of early pioneers of sampling music. Sampling, now a standard practice among musicians, involves taking a segment of one track and using it in a different song. A three-judge
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panel of the court held in 2003 that the band had abided by copyright protections by paying a licence fee for a sample of Mr Newton's recording. That finding upheld a lower-court dismissal of the case in favour of the Beastie Boys. "We hold that Beastie Boy
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s' use of a brief segment of that composition, consisting of three notes separated by a half-step over a background C note, is not sufficient to sustain a claim for infringement of Newton's copyright," Chief Judge Mary Schroeder wrote in her opinion. Mr Newt
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on is a critically acclaimed jazz and classical flutist, composer, performer, and university professor. Mr Newton and the Beastie Boys were not available for comment.
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(150)[-11.7451] Belle named 'best Scottish band' Belle & Sebastian have been named the best Scottish band of all time after a three month-long public poll. The group beat Travis and Idlewild into second and third place respectively. Franz Ferdinand, who recently picked up
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five Brit Award nominations, ended up in 15th place, while the Eurythmics wound up at a lowly 38. Other Scottish acts, such as the Mull Historical Society who also featured in the top 50, performed at a party in Glasgow where the result was announced. Scott
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ish-based band Snow Patrol, who finished 14th in the vote and have been nominated for a pair of Brit Awards, were among the performers who covered well-known Scottish pop songs at the party on Wednesday night. Indie stalwarts Belle & Sebastian have enjoyed
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a chart career stretching back to 1997. They were the surprise winners of the Brit Award for best breakthrough act two years later. Scottish bands from earlier musical eras also made it into the final list, including 1970s tartan boy band the Bay City Roller
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s and goth favourites the Jesus and Mary Chain. Scottish magazine The List recently compiled a list of the top 50 Scottish bands of all time, but left the final decision to the public. The magazine's music editor Mark Robertson said: "The idea behind the pr
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oject was simple - to rediscover the very best of Scottish music, from the finest musical talent spanning from the age of 70s rock through to 80s pop, right up to today's international stars." "Everyone has strong opinions about this and we wanted to open it
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up to the public to decide," he added. BBC Radio Scotland presenter Vic Galloway, who has been involved in the project, said it had been "great fun" to look back at Scotland's musical heritage and take note of up-and-coming Scottish acts.
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( 78)[-11.8013] Volcano drama erupts on BBC One Supervolcano, a docu-drama about a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone National Park in the US, is among the highlights on the BBC One this winter. The 178m winter schedule also includes the return of Doctor Who and a drama abo
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ut Angela Cannings, who was wrongly convicted of killing two of her babies. Sarah Lancashire and Timothy Spall will star in the real-life drama, Cherished. ITV also unveiled their festive season on Tuesday, which includes Stephen Fry in a remake of Tom Brown
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's Schooldays. Supervolcano, follows in the footsteps of last year's Pompei, which drew 10 million viewers to BBC One in October 2003. The programme merges science, drama and computer imagery to reveal what could happen if Yellowstone - home to the only cur
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rently active supervolcano in the world - were to erupt again. BBC Two will run a two-part documentary, The Science Behind Supervolcano, in conjunction with the transmission. Other educational highlights include a documentary about infamous Mongolian warrior
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Genghis Khan and Grandchild of The Holocaust. Grandchild of The Holocaust, part of the BBC commitment to Holocaust Memorial Day, follows Adrian, 13, on a journey to uncover the truth about what happened to his grandmother in Auschwitz and Belsen. New drama
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includes Archangel, an adaptation of the Robert Harris best-seller, which stars Daniel Craig on the trail of Stalin's diaries in Communist Russia. And Sarah Waters' gets her second adaptation on BBC One with Imelda Staunton and Charles Dance lined up to sta
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r in Fingersmith. The adaptation, about a conman in Victorian England, will make an interesting contrast to Julie Burchill's Sugar Rush - a lesbian teenage drama part of Channel Four's winter season. On a lighter note, Jessica Stevenson will star in new BBC
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One sitcom, The World According to Bex, penned by My Family creator Fred Barron and the Two Ronnies return for a celebration of their classic comedy series. Fry's portrayal of headmaster Dr Arnold dominates a muted Christmas schedule on ITV1, which sees the
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channel retreat from broadcasting blockbuster movies in favour of extended soap episodes and popular quiz shows. Sir Paul McCartney, wife Heather Mills and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will join a celebrity edition of Who Wants to be a Milli
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onaire? on Christmas Day. Also on Christmas Day, John Nettles will return in a one-off edition of Midsomer Murders, while two episodes of the new Miss Marple drama will air over the festive period. Films on ITV1 include Gus Van Sant's Finding Forrester, star
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ring Sean Connery, and classics such a Mary Poppins, Star Wars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. In contrast, BBC's Christmas season includes terrestrial debuts of the first Harry Potter film, Shrek and Steven Spielberg's AI, as well as new epipsodes of th
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e Vicar of Dibley and the final Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.
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(228)[-11.9574] Celebrities get their skates on Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne will join EastEnders' actress Scarlett Johnson on BBC One's Strictly Ice Dancing. The one-off Christmas special will also star television presenter Carol Smillie and Jessica Taylor fr
om Liberty-X. Each celebrity will be paired with a professional skater to impress a panel of judges and win the audience vote. The BBC is yet to confirm the final two stars who will battle it out to become Ice King or Queen. Veteran presenter Bruce Forsyth
^^^ ^^^
and Tess Daly will host the programme, which follows hot on the heels of the current Saturday night series Strictly Come Dancing. The celebrities will have to practise a stipulated ice dance and perform it at an ice rink with their partner. The judges will h
^^^ ^^^ ^^^
ave 50% of the vote to decide who wins the contest, with the ice rink audience making up the rest of the vote. The show forms part of the BBC's festive schedule. Ice skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are to front a similar celebrity ice dance sh
^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
ow for ITV, titled Stars on Thin Ice. The contestants on Stars on Thin Ice will each be paired up with a professional skater and will learn a new routine every week. At the end of the series, one celebrity will be crowned the winner.
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(161)[-12.2411] Levy tipped for Whitbread prize Novelist Andrea Levy is favourite to win the main Whitbread Prize book of the year award, after winning novel of the year with her book Small Island. The book has already won the Orange Prize for fiction, and is now 5/4 favo
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urite for the 25,000 Whitbread. Second favourite is a biography of Mary Queen of Scots, by John Guy. A panel of judges including Sir Trevor McDonald, actor Hugh Grant and writer Joanne Harris will decide the overall winner on Tuesday. The five writers in li
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ne for the award won their respective categories - first novel, novel, biography, poetry and children's book - on 6 January. Small Island, Levy's fourth novel, is set in post-war London and centres on a landlady and her lodgers. One is a Jamaican who joined
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British troops to fight Hitler but finds life difficult out of uniform when he settles in the UK. "What could have been a didactic or preachy prospect turns out to hilarious, moving humane and eye-popping. It's hard to think of anybody not enjoying it," wrot
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e the judges. The judges called Guy's My Heart is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots "an impressive and readable piece of scholarship, which cannot fail but leave the reader moved and intrigued by this most tragic and likeable of queens". Guy has publis
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hed many histories, including one of Tudor England. He is a fellow at Clare College, Cambridge and became a honorary research professor of the University of St Andrews in 2003. The other contenders include Susan Fletcher for Eve Green, which won the first n
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ovel prize. Fletcher has recently graduated from the University of East Anglia's creative writing course. The fourth book in the running is Corpus, Michael Symmons Roberts' fourth collection of poems. As well as writing poetry, Symmons Roberts also makes doc
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umentary films. Geraldine McCaughrean is the final contender, having won the children's fiction category for the third time for Not the End of the World. McCaughrean, who went into magazine publishing after studying teaching, previously won the category in 1
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987 with A Little Lower than Angels and in 1994 with Gold Dust.
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(113)[ 56.0289] BBC to pour 9m into new comedy The BBC is to invest 9m in developing new comedy and entertainment programmes outside London. The changes come as part of a shake-up of several departments to create shows that appeal to a wider range of people. Changes are a
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lso being made to teams in the factual and daytime departments outside London. Director of television Jana Bennett said the changes were about "getting the best ideas on screen as efficiently and effectively as we can". "The new structure in each genre is de
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signed to ensure that happens," she said. A number of new roles are being created in each department, including a head of comedy commissioning based in Glasgow. The new person will be in charge of the 9m budget and their role will be to develop shows outsid
^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^
e the capital, both within the BBC and with independent production companies. Jane Lush, controller of entertainment commissioning, said, "Entertainment and comedy are incredibly important to our audiences; I'm confident these changes will help us get the ve
ry best programmes on screen." Similar positions will also be created in the other departments, with the new commissioning editor for documentaries based in Bristol and the daytime commissioning editor in Birmingham. Ms Bennett said the new roles would benef
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it those making programmes within the BBC as well as those making shows for the channel independently. "A strong independent sector and a flourishing in-house production base are not mutually exclusive and will stimulate the competition that will deliver the
best ideas to the audience," she said.
(228)[ 4.4920] Celebrities get their skates on Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne will join EastEnders' actress Scarlett Johnson on BBC One's Strictly Ice Dancing. The one-off Christmas special will also star television presenter Carol Smillie and Jessica Taylor fr
om Liberty-X. Each celebrity will be paired with a professional skater to impress a panel of judges and win the audience vote. The BBC is yet to confirm the final two stars who will battle it out to become Ice King or Queen. Veteran presenter Bruce Forsyth
and Tess Daly will host the programme, which follows hot on the heels of the current Saturday night series Strictly Come Dancing. The celebrities will have to practise a stipulated ice dance and perform it at an ice rink with their partner. The judges will h
ave 50% of the vote to decide who wins the contest, with the ice rink audience making up the rest of the vote. The show forms part of the BBC's festive schedule. Ice skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are to front a similar celebrity ice dance sh
ow for ITV, titled Stars on Thin Ice. The contestants on Stars on Thin Ice will each be paired up with a professional skater and will learn a new routine every week. At the end of the series, one celebrity will be crowned the winner.
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(208)[ 0.7573] Elton plays Paris charity concert Sir Elton John has performed at a special concert in Paris to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami. The British singer played to a 2,700-strong audience on Sunday at the French capital's Bastille opera house. T
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he concert was also part of an attempt to bring a broader range of events to the famous venue. Money raised will go to the Fondation pour l'Enfance (Foundation for Childhood) which aims to rebuild a children's shelter in Sri Lanka. Sir Elton played hits from
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his vast back catalogue to a sell-out crowd which included former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing and his wife Anne-Aymone. The veteran pop star played piano accompaniment throughout the concert which lasted for three hours without an interval. H
e told the crowd: "Throughout the years, I've done a lot of drugs and alcohol. It's true that I was a nightmare, impossible. For the last 14 years I've been normal. Now my drug is called David" - a reference to David Furnish, his partner. The crowd, who gree
ted each song with a standing ovation, also included French singer Charles Aznavour and British ambassador Sir John Holmes. Sir Elton has also teamed up with Phil Collins to record a version of Eric Clapton's 1991 hit Tears In Heaven to raise money for the r
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elief fund. A release date has yet to be set for the recording, which was organised by Sharon Osbourne.
( 37)[-1.5497] Media seek Jackson 'juror' notes Reporters covering singer Michael Jackson's trial in California have asked to see questionnaires completed by potential jurors. Lawyers for news organisations said it was "really vital" for the responses of 250 potential ju
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rors to be made public "to serve as a check on the process". Santa Barbara County Superior Court is due to consider the request on Monday. Mr Jackson denies child molestation. It is estimated his trial will cost Santa Barbara county up to $4m (2.13m). Meanw
hile Michael Jackson's mother has said she is "100% certain" her son did not commit the child abuse charges he faces. The court is currently selecting 12 jurors and eight stand-by jurors for the trial, a process delayed until at least Thursday after a member
of the star's legal team was hit by family illness. Defence lawyers argued against the bid by Associated Press and other news organisations to have potential jurors' responses made public. "The release of the completed jury questionnaires does not serve an
y purpose other than to add to the sensationalist coverage of this case," a motion by Mr Jackson's lawyers stated. The estimated total costs of the trial, expected to last five months, range from $2.5m (1.33m) to $4m (2.13m) of local taxpayers' money. Those
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estimates do not include costs to the city of Santa Maria, the Superior Court or for the investigation and prosecution of the case. The cost of security and other needs around the courthouse has been estimated at $40,000 (21,000) per day, said Jason Stilwell
, a special projects manager at the county administrator's office. Mr Jackson, 46, denies plying a boy with alcohol and molesting him. His mother Katherine Jackson told US TV network Fox News on Sunday that her pop star son told her he was innocent. "I beli
eve that for one reason - I know his character," she said. "He loves children. You don't molest anything that you love." Describing Mr Jackson as "a good person", the mother-of-nine said she feared he would not be given a fair trial. "I can't sleep thinking
about what these wicked people might try to do to him," she said.
( 98)[-2.0184] 'Landmark movies' of 2004 hailed US film professionals have declared Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Passion of the Christ as two of the most significant cultural milestones of 2004. The American Film Institute (AFI) hailed Mel Gibson's biblical epic and Michael M
oore's political documentary as inspiring national debate. It claimed both film-makers "tossed Hollywood convention out the window". The Institute also cited the death of actor Marlon Brando and the changing landscape of TV news in the US. In referring to Ma
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rlon Brando's death on 1 July at the age of 80, the 13-strong AFI jury concluded "the art of screen acting has two chapters - 'Before Brando' and 'After Brando'. It credited the screen legend's "raw hypnotic energy" and his ability to create characters like
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Stanley Kowalski and Terry Malloy "that will live forever in the annals of film history". The list also acknowledges key influences and trends in the world of film and broadcasting. Among current trends, it highlighted the final broadcasts of veteran newsca
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sters Tom Brokaw, Barbara Walters and the impending retirement of CBS news anchor Dan Rather. It its place, the AFI fears, is a news landscape where "newscasters are more personalities than journalists" and balance and integrity are increasingly ignored. Th
e AFI also questioned "the long-term viability of evening news broadcasts", in the light of 24-hour news channels and the internet. The list also draws attention to the growing influence of US broadcasting regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FC
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C) The institute concluded the threat of regulation, which went into freefall following Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' during a live Super Bowl performance in February, "had a profound effect on television". "Unsure of how the FCC will rule on an is
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sue, the creative community has begun to self-censor their shows, a disturbing trend in a country founded on free expression," the AFI jury declared. To illustrate their point, the AFI cited ABC affiliates refusal to air Steven Spielberg's film Saving Privat
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e Ryan in an unedited form over fears of possible fines.
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(284)[-2.6927] Top of the Pops leaves BBC One The BBC's flagship pop music programme Top of the Pops is to move from BBC One on Fridays to Sundays on BBC Two. The new programme will combine with archive show TOTP2, mixing new music with footage of classic bands. The corp
oration said the new show "aims to appeal to a diverse audience of music lovers". The move is the biggest shake-up in the history of the show, which was first broadcast in 1964 and has always been on BBC One. Top of the Pops was relaunched in a blaze of publ
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icity in December last year in an attempt to reverse a long-term decline in audience figures. The All New Top of the Pops was fronted by newcomer Tim Kash and was put together by producer Andi Peters, who was brought back to the BBC from Channel 4 to revita
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lise the series. About three million people a week were watching the show on Fridays - less than half the total it was attracting in the mid-1990s - as the programme went up against popular ITV soap Coronation Street. But despite the relaunch audience figur
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es failed to rise and still remain around the three million mark. Tim Kash has since been replaced as host by Fearne Cotton. The new show will launch in Spring next year in an extended format. BBC Two controller Roly Keating: "It's an exciting new era for To
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p of the Pops. We want to make it bigger and better so that it becomes the ultimate pop music show for music lovers of every generation." Mr Keating described BBC Two as the "natural home" of Top of the Pops. He added: "The addition of Top of the Pops will a
lso extend BBC Two's offering to younger audiences." A BBC spokeswoman said Andi Peters would continue as executive producer on the show. She said that issues over the exact format of the programme and a time slot were still to be decided. The programme wil
l have a close relationship with the BBC Radio 1 chart show, which suggests the relaunched show may be transmitted at about 1900 on Sundays. "Hopefully the audience for Top of the Pops will find it on BBC Two. "We think that the new slot will create a buzz a
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round the programme as for the first time viewers will discover the news of who is number one as it happens."
(235)[-3.4024] Spider-Man creator wins profits Spider-Man creator Stan Lee is to get a multi-million dollar windfall after winning a court battle with comic book company Marvel. A judge has upheld Lee's demand for 10% of Marvel's profits from the hugely successful Spider
-Man films. Spider-Man and its sequel made $1.6bn (857m) at box offices worldwide. Of the cut now due to Lee, 82, who created Spider-Man in 1962, his lawyer said: "It could be tens of millions of dollars, that's no exaggeration." US District Court Judge Robe
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rt W Sweet ruled Lee should get a tenth of profits generated since November 1998 by Marvel TV and movie productions involving the company's characters. Lee took legal action in 2002, saying Marvel shut him out of "jackpot" profits from the first blockbuster
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film. He said the company - where he worked for more than 60 years - had gone back on agreement to give him the 10%. As well as Spider-Man, Lee co-created the Incredible Hulk, X-Men, Daredevil and Fantastic Four characters. He said: "I am gratified by the j
udge's decision although, since I am deeply fond of Marvel and the people there, I sincerely regret that the situation had to come to this." The ruling also means he is entitled to a slice of profits from DVD sales and certain merchandise. Marvel said it wou
ld appeal and did not expect the decision to impact on financial forecasts for 2004 and beyond. The New York court did not rule on Lee's claims to a share of profits from some Spider-Man and Hulk movie merchandise, which will be decided at a future trial, Ma
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rvel said.
(202)[-3.4484] Artists' secret postcards on sale Postcards by artists including Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin have sold just hours after the opening of the Royal Academy of Arts annual Secrets sale. The identity of the artist remains unknown until each work is bought and
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the signature is revealed on the back. "There are still some big names left, such as Mario Testino," said RCA spokeswoman Sue Bradburn. All postcards are priced at 35. The sale opened at 8am on Friday and will close at 6pm on Saturday. Ms Bradburn said there
was a big queue at the start of the sale but it had now gone down. She said the people that had bought the famous name postcards had arrived early and had spent time studying each work. "They would have known what to look for." The exhibition has been open
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for viewing since 19 November. Film director Ken Loach, fashion designer Hussein Chalayan and former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon have all designed postcards for the sale. Some of the contributing artists are students or recent graduates of the Royal College
of Art and other leading art colleges. Money raised from the sale will go towards the RCA's Fine Art Student Award Fund which supports students with grants and bursaries. The famous sale is now in its 11th year.
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( 72)[-3.5058] Lee to create new film superhero Comic book veteran Stan Lee is to team up with producer Robert Evans to create a movie featuring a new superhero. Foreverman will focus on a character who has to face problems in everyday life as well as using his special p
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owers to save the world. Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the film, have revealed few details about the project but say it has the potential to spawn a series of films. Lee is best known for his work on Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk. He is collabo
rating on the script with screenwriter Peter Briggs, who penned the recent comic book adaptation Hellboy. "We believe it to be truly a whole new franchise," said Gill Champion, president and chief executive of Lee's POW! Entertainment. "In this world where p
eople are looking for something different, Stan's idea was to create a concept not seen before to become an evergreen franchise for Paramount." Many of Lee's other creations, including X-Men and Daredevil, have been turned into films in the past five years.
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However, the Spider-Man series has been the biggest box office hit, with the 2002 original and its 2004 sequel taking almost $1.6bn (857m) worldwide. A third Spider-Man film is scheduled for release in 2007. Another Marvel Comics adaptation, The Fantastic Fo
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ur, will be released in cinemas this summer.
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(360)[-3.5317] Roundabout continues nostalgia trip The new big-screen version of The Magic Roundabout, released in the UK on Friday, is the latest attempt to turn children's television into box-office gold. Recent years have seen a less-than-successful adaptation of the
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1960s puppet show Thunderbirds and a moderately successful version of E Nesbit's Five Children and It, previously filmed by the BBC in 1991. He-Man and Transformers, which were cartoon favourites in the 1980s, will soon receive their own costly makeovers. Wi
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th screen versions of The A-Team, The Dukes of Hazzard and even Blake's Seven on the cards, nostalgia is clearly big business. But some critics complain that these expensive takes on iconic series of yesteryear do not match up to our fond memories of the ori
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ginals. The new version of The Magic Roundabout, which will be released as Sprung! in the US, replaces the stop-motion models of the 1960s TV show with polished, computer-generated animation. In a similar fashion, the 2004 Thunderbirds used human actors and
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special effects in place of the original's puppets and models. The films are squarely pitched at younger audiences. Pop stars Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue provide voices in The Magic Roundabout, while the now-defunct boy band Busted performed the Thund
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erbirds theme song. But while some reviewers have been won over, there has nonetheless been a significant backlash. "This CG-animated adventure airbrushes the sly charm and trippy otherworldliness which made the 60s stop-motion Roundabout a cult hit," writes
Stella Papamichael on the BBC Movies site. And the recent puppet comedy Team America: World Police was in part provoked by its directors' outrage that Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds was remade without its signature mannequins. Dan Jolin, reviews editor of E
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mpire magazine, says classic children's TV shows have a built-in audience that make them ideal for reinvention. "I can understand why people are taking these intellectual properties and repackaging them for the kids of today. "But I think it's backfiring. W
hat's next - The Clangers on some distant planet, with some giant CGI Soup Dragons chasing after them?" Despite Thunderbirds' disappointing global box-office performance - the film cost $42m (22m) but only recouped $21m (11m) - the nostalgia craze shows no s
igns of abating. It can therefore be only a matter of time before some other TV favourites receive the Hollywood treatment. After the success of Garfield: The Movie, Britain's shabby tabby surely deserves his own film vehicle. With only 13 episodes made of
the 1974 series, there is plenty of room to explore the lives of the pink cat, Professor Yaffle and the Mice of the Marvellous Mechanical Mouse Organ. Furry recyclers have already had one big-screen outing - 1977's Wombling Free. But with environmental is
sues still occupying our thoughts it is high time they made a comeback. Advances in special effects technology could do wonders for the BBC's supernatural comedy . And the success of Pirates of the Caribbean must surely herald a comeback for TV's most popul
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ar cartoon buccaneer, . It might also remind viewers the lewd character names often associated with the show never actually existed. The Magic Roundabout is out in the UK on 11 February. How about bringing Catweazle to the big screen? He could give Gand
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alf a run for his money! Thundercats!! I loved it. Should be fun to see on the big screen, if some effort is put in! it will bring my youth back! Get your hands off the Clangers! Is nothing sacred? Make a movie version of the Banana splits! What about Ke
anu Reeves and Richard Gere in a remake of The Wooden Tops? Or perhaps Robbie Williams could get his much mooted acting career off the ground by taking on the role of Andy Pandy. You forgot to mention the grearest of them all, Danger Mouse! But then again,
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it couldn't be better than the original series, could it? It's always nice to see these old toons re-released, but after the abysmal Thunderbirds movie (and the song!) I think I've been completely put off. Just leave these classics alone as good memories.
I think remakes are a good idea. As the world moves on people tend to look more and more into the past to things that make them feel safe. I believe this is the whole reason "retro" has become so popular. As long as a remake does justice to the original then
all it can do is create a wider audience and possibly entice a new generation of persons to enjoy and revive and old series. Personally i'd like to see cartoons such as Transformers, Thundercats and M.A.S.K. get full Hollywood remakes. Leave them alone, wh
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y ruin something that we all have very fond memories of in the first place? The thunderbirds film was apalling, not a patch on the puppet series I grew up with and the Magic Roundabout will never be the same without the voice of Eric Thompson. Love to see T
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ransformers with real actors and CGI. And make it at least a 15 rating. Part of the reason for the success of such classics as the Magic Roundabout was that the characters were not the sweet and cuddly creatures that you would expect. They were moody, sarca
stic, and rather human. Just looking at the pictures of the animations for the new film show that these characteristics have not been preserved. Dougal never smiled like that! Films of this sort have an unfortunate habit of Disneyfying everthing, and they ju
st lose the real magic that made the show special in the first place. I have fond memories of Bod (not least of which because I look like him) and would like to see someone attempt to make it into a film. It's got all the right material for an american bloc
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kbuster - no plot and no story. Bod would likely be played by Tom Cruise and would undoubtedly have a girlfriend or two. It's all very well and good remaking these classic TV shows and films with all the latest technology for a 'new' audience, but for me a
lot of the original charm is lost when they do this, and seems more like a money making exercise to cash in on the original success of the programme than reinventing or improving it. It maybe that to an audience who have never seen the originals they can wat
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ch them without prejudice, but to people who have grown up with all these shows such as Thunderbirds and Magic Roundabout which are part of our childhood, they are never going to live up to expectation. It does pose the question though that with all the long
line of remakes being made, are film-makers running out of original ideas? All I can say is bring back Danger Mouse, probably the greatest kids' show ever. I recently re-watched some episodes and realised that there was a level of humour shown in Danger Mo
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use that was completely lost on me when I was a child. There WAS a new Captain Pugwash cartoon made a couple of years back. Again, like so many of these nostalgia programmes, the animation - this time computer created flat-cell like animation - failed to ma
tch the original's cut out paper technique for inventiveness, and was woefully inadequate. We live in a sampling world - the music industry has been pludering past decades for inspiration, clipping sounds from 20 years ago is much cheaper and easier that doi
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ng something new. Seems that the film and TV is doing the same now - it's just cheaper to take ideas from the past and rework them, rather than being daring and trying something new. It got to be Mr.Benn. The story line about a man who changes in a fancy dr
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ess shop, steps into a door way and appears in another time and place would be amazing! If they got a decent producer and writer the story line could be great. And who to play the lead role? Well if it was a comedy then it would have to be someone like Steve
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Martin. If its going to be an adventure then Johnny Depp playing a role similar to the Pirates Of The Caribbean Character. Muffin the Mule perhaps ? After all, grannies and grandpas go to the cinema as well you know! Why can't the British film industry tr
y making Gerry Anderson's UFO or Captain Scarlet, or Saphire and Steel, or The Tomorrow People. In today's media, it seems the past is the future. TV shows such as Battlestar Galactica have new remakes, DJ's are sampling or re-working 70's and 80's music. E
ven computer games from 10-15 years ago are getting modern re-workings. Personally, I think it shows that no one has any originality any more! Why not just leave our misty-eyed nostalgia alone. Mary, Mungo and Midge. But of course for most of the episodes t
he lift would be out of order and they would have to use the stairs. Plus would Mary be more of a Vicky Pollard character as she lives in a high rise council block? Yeah but no but I wasn't even there! I'd like to see Mr. Benn, with Brad Pitt in the title r
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ole. Sean Connery could play the mysterious costume shop owner. It demonstrates a profound lack of imagination in today's film-makers that they continually try to remake and remodel the past in an effort to cash in on nostalgia. There are plany of modern ch
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ildren's book that would make excellent films or TV programmes, why not use them instead of rehashing the past? Mr. Benn with Rowan Atkinson as the lead. Would have loved to see Dungeons & Dragons made, but unfortunately the film that it was made into didn
't come up to scratch. The only one that isn't to be remade as yet is Thundercats, which I'd like to see. I'm an expat living in Norway, and I recently went through a period of buying the DVDs of many of my favourite children's programs for my 2 daughters.
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My dearest wish, however, is to see a feature length version of Noggin the Nog appear on The Big Screen!! Very Scandinavian... Rainbow! I believe that Childrens classics should be left well alone, and I will not be surprised if the Magic Roundabout does no
t do well at the Box Office, especially since it will be going up against The Spongebob Squarepants movie, popular among children because it's original, witty, and modern. The Magic Roundabout will never appeal to the children of today as it did all those ma
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ny years ago. How about classics like Chorlton and the Wheelies, Rentaghost, Terrahawks, Bod.....oh the list could go on and on!!! If a Transformers movie is indeed on the cards then I'll be the first one on Amazon buying a copy, eagerly waiting at the fro
nt door with a frothy mouth and a nervous twitch. Repackage my childhood and sell it to me at an extortionate price! I don't care! Till then I'll have to make do with the Citreon C4 advert. I'd luv to see Willow the Wisp on the big screen but sadly without
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the late Kenneth Williams doing the voices it wouldnt be the same. And who remembers Trap Door voiced by the late Willie Rushden, superb children's programme. Could Morph hold his own in a big screen movie??? Or even Jamie and the Magic Torch....hmmmmm, I co
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uld go on and on. Danger Mouse? At 34 I'm showing my age. :-) Noggin the Nog was one of the best children's programs. The problem with bringing it to the big screen is that no-one could approach Oliver Postgate's wonderful voices. So in general leave well a
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lone. The originals are good because they are of their time and the methods used are an integral part of the story. Just imagine what could be achieved by using CGI in a remake of Fingerbobs... the already disturbing hand antics of the bearded hippy, Yoffi
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could take on a whole new level with a more life-like Fingermouse Bob the Builder, Postman Pat and Fireman Sam together in an epic adventure of fire, post and bricks. In the ultimate struggle to save the women they love from the evil clowns, Krusty and Gobo
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. Will they triumph or will they fail miserably? Find out this Fall. One puppet show that I personally would love to see made into a live action movie is Joe 90. It would be worth the price of admission alone to see the large screen version of Joe's car. Of
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course, Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation is a rich seam of material worthy of big-screen, big-budget action. It was only that Thunderbirds The Movie was targetted as a children't movie that really let it down. After all, the children that remember those sh
ows with such affection are now the parents of children themselves. It's only because the people who were children when these programmes were first shown have grown up and are plundering their childhoods, isn't it? I'd hate to see Bagpuss with perfect anima
tion - I love that 'done in a shed' clunkiness and you couldn't recreate the magic. Perhaps if the remakes were done in a 'Look Around You' mock-authentic style I might be interested ... Chorton And The Wheelies or Jamie And His Magic Torch; that would be m
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ega! This re-gurgitation of old films and TV shows makes me angry - it is corporate laziness resting on the safety of other people's ideas, because it guarantees to bring in the $$$. The same can be said of modern day pop bands who release other peoples mat
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erial, Will Young etc. The sad fact is nostalgia sells big bucks in the short-term. The fact that they will be forgotten in 6 months time is irrelevant (e.g. Starsky & Hutch) Hence, the market is saturated with this mindless drivel, but it can only be stoppe
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d if people stop buying it! I pray they never do a remake of Chorlton And The Wheelies. I'm only 27 and don't remember the series from when it was on TV, but have the set on DVD and it's a classic. The fact it's so great comes from the fact that there were
very few special effects involved and compared to today's stuff it looks amateurish. Thats the appeal though, it's so innocent (like Chorlton himself) and it would be a real shame if they did remake it.
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( 91)[ 16.6282] Mutant book wins Guardian prize A book about the evolution of mutants and the science of abnormality has won the Guardian First Book Award 2004. Armand Marie Leroi, a lecturer at London's Imperial College, scooped the 10,000 prize for Mutants: On the form,
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varieties and errors of the human body. "It is profoundly cultured and beautifully written in the very best tradition of popular science writing today," said judge Claire Armistead. The award recognises and rewards new writing across fiction and non-fiction
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. A panel of literary experts, including novelists Hari Kunzru and Ali Smith, director Sir Richard Eyre and comedian Alexei Sayle chose the winner from a five-strong shortlist. The shortlist included Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, a novel
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about the magic arts at the turn of the 19th Century and The Places In Between, Rory Stewart's account of his trek, on foot, across Afghanistan. "What we found so impressive about Armand Marie Leroi's book was the scope of its reference, its elegance and it
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s inquisitiveness," said Ms Armistead, chair of the judges and the Guardian literary editor. "While the subject matter of Mutants unsettled some involved in the judging process, the overwhelming majority found it fascinating," she added. Her words were echoe
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d by Iris director Sir Richard Eyre who called Marie Leroi's work "extraordinarily thought provoking". The award, for first time authors, is open to books from genres including fiction, poetry, biography, memoir, history, politics, science and current affair
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s. Previous winners include White Teeth by Zadie Smith, in 2000, which went on to become a bestseller.
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(225)[-2.1936] Singer Ferguson 'facing eviction' Three Degrees star Sheila Ferguson is the favourite to be evicted from ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here on Monday. Bookmakers Ladbrokes says the singer has even odds of being the first contestant to be voted off
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the show. "It's going to be close but Sheila is favourite as she has shown herself to be a bit of a troublemaker," said Ladbrokes' Warren Lush. Comic Joe Pasquale remains odds on favourite to win the reality show. Mr Lush added that Nancy Sorrell's chances
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of an early departure had increased since the surprise arrival of husband Vic Reeves in the jungle camp last Wednesday. Notwithstanding, comedian Reeves remains 3/1 favourite to win the show, after Pasquale. Huggy Bear actor Antonio Fargas also remains a co
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ntender for eviction having "done nothing to live up to the pre-show hype". "There has been a big gamble on Natalie [Appleton] to go... but bookies fancy the millions at home will keep piling on the misery by putting her through more bushtucker trials," adde
d Mr Lush. The former All Saint star has performed dismally in bushtucker trials which have seen her plunged into glass tanks containing putrid waste and challenged to eat fish eyes. On Friday, Ladbrokes suspended betting after singer Brian Harvey quit the s
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how folllowing a blazing row with Janet Street-Porter. Harvey, who entered the camp a day later than other contestants after learning that his grandmother had died, reached the end of his tether following days of meagre rations and rows.
(228)[-2.3216] Celebrities get their skates on Former England footballer Paul Gascoigne will join EastEnders' actress Scarlett Johnson on BBC One's Strictly Ice Dancing. The one-off Christmas special will also star television presenter Carol Smillie and Jessica Taylor fr
om Liberty-X. Each celebrity will be paired with a professional skater to impress a panel of judges and win the audience vote. The BBC is yet to confirm the final two stars who will battle it out to become Ice King or Queen. Veteran presenter Bruce Forsyth
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and Tess Daly will host the programme, which follows hot on the heels of the current Saturday night series Strictly Come Dancing. The celebrities will have to practise a stipulated ice dance and perform it at an ice rink with their partner. The judges will h
ave 50% of the vote to decide who wins the contest, with the ice rink audience making up the rest of the vote. The show forms part of the BBC's festive schedule. Ice skating duo Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are to front a similar celebrity ice dance sh
ow for ITV, titled Stars on Thin Ice. The contestants on Stars on Thin Ice will each be paired up with a professional skater and will learn a new routine every week. At the end of the series, one celebrity will be crowned the winner.
( 35)[-3.0037] US 'afflicted' with awards fatigue The film world and media may be wild about the Oscars but cinema-goers and the TV-viewing public are sick of watching award ceremonies, according to some LA film critics. Bob Strauss, from the LA Daily News, thinks there
are just too many televised gatherings of stars showering praise on each other. He came up with a colourful but unprintable description for these glitzy events, which roughly translates a "celebrity love-in". This echoed the views of Oscars host and comedian
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Chris Rock, who whipped up a media storm for saying he rarely watched them, calling award shows "idiotic". "As Chris Rock accurately said, they're about celebrity and fashion," Mr Strauss said. The recent Grammy music awards proved to be a ratings loser, an
d it seems Oscars organisers are determined not to go the same way. Recently announced changes to the ceremony include lining up all five nominees on stage before announcing the winner. Unsurprisingly, this prompted press speculation that the changes were
aimed at boosting flagging advertising revenue. But Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger maintained the Oscars only generated excitement outside the industry when a blockbuster, such as Titanic or Lord of the Rings, was nominated. The near constant flow of US
film awards, representing directors, actors and producers' guilds, also means "few surprises" are left by the time the Oscar ceremony is upon us, he said. A quick scan of the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News bears this out - speculation about who
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will win seems to have ground to a halt. On Thursday, the Times simply printed a picture of the plastic tents going up outside the Kodak Theatre to protect the red carpet from rain. Variety and the Hollywood Reporter have also kept their focus firmly on in
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dustry-related news, while in the UK bets have closed on the best actor category, with Ray star Jamie Foxx a dead cert to win. Screen International's US editor Mike Goodridge thinks 2004's films have simply not grabbed the public's imagination. "Film-makers
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haven't produced films that people adore this year," he said. "They adored Saving Private Ryan for example - people loved it and it made a ton of money. "2004's films could be a reaction to 9/11 - there was a realisation in America that things might not be
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so rosy after all. "Audiences don't necessarily want to see darker films such as Million Dollar Baby, Aviator and Finding Neverland, which end with casualty." As to whether Rock could pep up the awards, the critics were not hopeful. Mr Strauss doubted wheth
er Rock would make an impact, but added: "I'm all for lower ratings though - there are far more important things going on than the Oscars." Mr Karger said the comic might boost younger viewers, but Mike Goodridge thought Rock's humour could prompt America's
conservative states to switch off. So despite all this, did the critics have any views on who would win? "Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby affected people emotionally, which is why it will beat Aviator, which was about technical artistry not feelings,"
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Mr Karger said. "Eastwood has it in the bag," added Mr Strauss. "Oscar voters often vote with their hearts not their heads." And Mr Goodridge said best film and director were between Martin Scorsese's Aviator and Million Dollar Baby. Mr Karger, whose favouri
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te film of the year was Mike Leigh's abortion drama Vera Drake, stayed upbeat about the awards despite his other comments. "I hope this is the year for small films to triumph," he said. "After all, it's still one of the biggest TV events of the year."
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(174)[-3.8825] No charges against TV's Cosby US comedian Bill Cosby will not face charges stemming from an allegation of sexual misconduct. Authorities in Philadelphia said they found insufficient evidence to support the woman's allegations regarding an alleged incident
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in January 2004. The woman reported the allegations to Canadian authorities last month. Cosby's lawyer, Walter M Phillips Jr, said the comedian was pleased with the decision. "He looks forward to moving on with his life," he said. District Attorney Bruce L C
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astor Jr, who was in charge of the case, said that detectives could find no instance "where anyone complained to law enforcement of conduct which would constitute a criminal offence. He also said that the fact the woman waited a year before coming forward,
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and she had had further contact with Cosby during that time, were also factors in his decision. The unidentified woman's lawyer, Dolores M Troiani, said her client was likely to sue the comedian. "I think that's the only avenue open to her. She felt, as we d
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id, that it's a very strong case and she was telling the truth." She also said that the woman supplied further evidence to prosecutors that she believed strengthened her allegations. Cosby emerged as one of the first black comics to have mainstream success i
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n the US. He was a successful stand-up before hosting the children's show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, and starring in The Cosby Show, one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1980s.
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(308)[-3.9196] DVD review: I, Robot Only one man recognises that robots are a threat to humanity - but that's fine because it only takes one man to save the day in the thriller I, Robot. Will Smith co-stars alongside more CGI robots than you can count and as a thrill-a-m
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inute kind of action film, it's perfectly adequate. You'll have forgotten it all tomorrow but you'll have a fun night with the film and all the extras. There is a one-disc version that has commentaries and a Making Of but the two-disc adds more. Unusually fo
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r this kind of film, the extras don't solely concentrate on the special effects. They're covered but there's also a general Production Diary and a Post-Production feature. Remember the National Lottery's draw machines Arthur and Guinevere? They were more ac
curate than this glossy Hollywood version of the tale. But as long as you're not expecting a documentary, live with it: King Arthur is a fun, exciting, totally shallow experience and looks excellent. Clive Owen is the brooding king, Keira Knightly rises abo
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ve her costume and Ray Winstone gives it all some grit. It's at its best in its battle scenes which are well done and are also the best part of the Making Of extra. Less flashy than a David Attenborough show and less detailed than a Simon Schama one, the BB
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C series British Isles nevertheless turned out to be quite engrossing. Admit it, the fact that this is one of the shows Alan Titchmarsh left Ground Force to present did mean that you expected something equally frothy. But Titchmarsh turns out to know his sub
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ject and the sight of our present-day landscape being peeled back to reveal the past was fascinating. He's now written an accompanying book, too.
(278)[-4.3336] Critics back Aviator for Oscars Martin Scorsese's The Aviator will win best film at the Oscars, according to the UK's leading movie critics. But several of those surveyed by the BBC News website think the veteran film-maker will lose the best director priz
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e to Clint Eastwood. Most of the critics tipped Jamie Foxx and Hilary Swank to scoop best actor and actress for Ray and Million Dollar Baby respectively. The jury comprised experts and critics from the top UK film publications. The panel also revealed which
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nominees they would personally prefer to win. All expect The Aviator to win best film, but many think it will be a close race between Scorsese's Howard Hughes biopic and Eastwood's boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. The other films nominated are wine comedy
Sideways, factual drama Finding Neverland, and Ray Charles biopic Ray. "I'm pretty sure this is the year of The Aviator, though my own choice would be Sideways," said the Observer's Philip French. "Sideways should win but it doesn't have a hope," said Jamie
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Graham of Total Film, a position shared by Film 2005 presenter Jonathan Ross. "The form going in to the Oscars points to The Aviator, but I liked Million Dollar Baby more," said Tim Dams, news editor of trade weekly Screen International. Five of the eight
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critics tipped Scorsese to win best director, with Mr Dams, Heat's Charles Gant and Empire's Angie Errigo plumping for Eastwood. Sideway's Alexander Payne, Ray's Taylor Hackford and British director Mike Leigh - nominated for period drama Vera Drake - are co
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nsidered outsiders in this category. "Up until recently I could have sworn Scorsese would get it just for being Scorsese," Ms Errigo told the BBC News website. "But I'm beginning to think Eastwood will get it." "I'd be very happy for Mike Leigh to win, but
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I don't think he has any chance," said Charles Gant, film editor of Heat. Foxx's portrayal of Ray Charles has already seen him win prizes at the Golden Globes, Baftas and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Mr Dams said this made him "out-and-out favourite" to be na
med best actor on Oscar night. "Everyone would be incredibly surprised if he didn't win," he said. "If you're a betting man, he's as close as you get to a certainty." "If Paul Giamatti was nominated for Sideways it would be a different game," says Total Film
's Jamie Graham. "But Foxx will and should win." With Vera Drake star Imelda Staunton nominated for best actress alongside Kate Winslet, Britain has a good chance of victory - on paper. Jonathan Ross, for one, will be very happy if Winslet wins for Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But while Wendy Ide of The Times still thinks Staunton has a chance, Heat's Charles Gant believes her Bafta win will cut little ice with Academy voters. "I'd like Staunton to win, but her chances are not that great," said Mr Ga
nt, who predicted a second Oscar for Hilary Swank. "I think Swank will win," said Mr French. "Imelda has got as far as she's going to get playing that role." Staunton is also the personal choice of Steven Gaydos, executive editor of industry magazine Variet
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y. But while he tipped Swank to win, he predicted it would be a close contest. "Everything has the ability to flip by one vote and go the other way," he told the BBC News website. "There's not a sense that it's obvious how it's going to go." Meanwhile, thous
ands of people have voted in a BBC Radio Five Live poll to find the best film never to have won a best picture Oscar. The audience voted overwhelmingly for The Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 Frank Darabont tale of hope and humanity, which received 52% of the
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online votes and 68% of the text messages. The other two finalists, Citizen Kane and A Matter of Life and Death split the remaining votes roughly equally. This year's Academy Awards will be shown in the UK by Sky Movies 1 at 0130 GMT on Monday. - Tim Dams,
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Screen International: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Angie Errigo, Empire: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Philip French, The Observ
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er: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Charles Gant, Heat: Film - The Aviator; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Steven Gaydos, Variety: Film - The Aviator; d
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irector - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Jamie Graham, Total Film: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Wendy Ide, The Times: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Sco
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rsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Jonathan Ross, Film 2005: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Tim Dams, Screen International: Film - Million Dollar Baby; director - Clint Eas
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twood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Angie Errigo, Empire: Film - The Aviator; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Philip French, The Observer: Film - Sideways; director - Martin Scorsese; actor - Jamie
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Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Charles Gant, Heat: Film - Sideways; director - Mike Leigh; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Steven Gaydos, Variety: Film - Million Dollar Baby; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Don Cheadle; actress - I
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melda Staunton. - Jamie Graham, Total Film: Film - Sideways; director - Alexander Payne; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Hilary Swank. - Wendy Ide, The Times: Film - Sideways; director - Alexander Payne; actor - Don Cheadle; actress - Imelda Staunton. - Jon
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athan Ross, Film 2005: Film - Sideways; director - Clint Eastwood; actor - Jamie Foxx; actress - Kate Winslet.
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(118)[-4.5078] Ocean's Twelve raids box office Ocean's Twelve, the crime caper sequel starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, has gone straight to number one in the US box office chart. It took $40.8m (21m) in weekend ticket sales, according to studio estim
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ates. The sequel follows the master criminals as they try to pull off three major heists across Europe. It knocked last week's number one, National Treasure, into third place. Wesley Snipes' Blade: Trinity was in second, taking $16.1m (8.4m). Rounding out th
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e top five was animated fable The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks, and festive comedy Christmas with the Kranks. Ocean's Twelve box office triumph marks the fourth-biggest opening for a December release in the US, after the three films in the Lord of the
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Rings trilogy. The sequel narrowly beat its 2001 predecessor, Ocean's Eleven which took $38.1m (19.8m) on its opening weekend and $184m (95.8m) in total. A remake of the 1960s film, starring Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Ocean's Eleven was directed by Osca
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r-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh returns to direct the hit sequel which reunites Clooney, Pitt and Roberts with Matt Damon, Andy Garcia and Elliott Gould. Catherine Zeta-Jones joins the all-star cast. "It's just a fun, good holiday movie," sa
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id Dan Fellman, president of distribution at Warner Bros. However, US critics were less complimentary about the $110m (57.2m) project, with the Los Angeles Times labelling it a "dispiriting vanity project". A milder review in the New York Times dubbed the se
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quel "unabashedly trivial".
(210)[-4.5078] Ocean's Twelve raids box office Ocean's Twelve, the crime caper sequel starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, has gone straight to number one in the US box office chart. It took $40.8m (21m) in weekend ticket sales, according to studio estim
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ates. The sequel follows the master criminals as they try to pull off three major heists across Europe. It knocked last week's number one, National Treasure, into third place. Wesley Snipes' Blade: Trinity was in second, taking $16.1m (8.4m). Rounding out th
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e top five was animated fable The Polar Express, starring Tom Hanks, and festive comedy Christmas with the Kranks. Ocean's Twelve box office triumph marks the fourth-biggest opening for a December release in the US, after the three films in the Lord of the
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Rings trilogy. The sequel narrowly beat its 2001 predecessor, Ocean's Eleven which took $38.1m (19.8m) on its opening weekend and $184m (95.8m) in total. A remake of the 1960s film, starring Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, Ocean's Eleven was directed by Osca
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r-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Soderbergh returns to direct the hit sequel which reunites Clooney, Pitt and Roberts with Matt Damon, Andy Garcia and Elliott Gould. Catherine Zeta-Jones joins the all-star cast. "It's just a fun, good holiday movie," sa
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id Dan Fellman, president of distribution at Warner Bros. However, US critics were less complimentary about the $110m (57.2m) project, with the Los Angeles Times labelling it a "dispiriting vanity project". A milder review in the New York Times dubbed the se
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quel "unabashedly trivial".
(239)[-4.6526] Snicket tops US box office chart The film adaptation of Lemony Snicket novels has topped the North America box office chart, displacing Ocean's 12. A Series of Unfortunate Events, starring Jim Carrey, took $30.2m (15.5m) in its debut weekend. Ocean's 12 fe
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ll to number two while new entry Spanglish entered the chart at number three, taking $9m (4.6m). A Series of Unfortunate Events also stars Scottish comedian Billy Connelly, while Carrey takes on a number of different roles in the surreal film. The only other
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new entry in the top 10 was re-make, Flight of the Phoenix, at number eight, starring Dennis Quaid. Carrey entertained crowds at the UK premiere of Lemony Snicket in London on Friday. The actor grabbed co-star Meryl Streep and whisked her around Leicester S
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quare. Based on the cult children's books by author Daniel Handler, the film follows three children who are orphaned when their parents die in a fire. They are taken in by their wicked uncle Count Olaf, played by Carrey, who schemes to get his hands on their
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fortune.
(107)[-4.9935] Franz Ferdinand's art school lesson Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, who shot to prominence in 2004, have won two Brit Awards. With their self-titled debut, Franz Ferdinand have achieved what most rock bands crave - high credibility and critical acclaim
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while also selling stacks of CDs. They have risen to the head of the UK's art rock ranks with an album of songs that are catchy, creative and original enough to sound fresh. With a cool, spiky, fun sound previously associated with bands like Talking Heads,
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they hit upon a style that had been out of fashion for a while and so was ripe for another airing. Their first UK single hit number three last January, followed by two more top 20 hits, while the album has sold more than 600,000 copies in 11 months on releas
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e. In September it was named album of the year winning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. On the festivals circuit, they have been one of the main attractions for huge crowds at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading/Leeds. They have also found success in
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Japan, Europe and the US. By September the album had sold 500,000 in the States and total sales were pushing two million worldwide. They have been nominated for three Grammy awards in the US as well as the US music industry's Shortlist award, but lost the S
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hortlist prize to US band TV on the Radio. Nevertheless Franz Ferdinand were the only UK band to win an MTV Video Music Award this year, taking the breakthrough video crown for Take Me Out. The four-piece met two years ago when drummer Paul Thomson was work
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ing at the Glasgow art school where bassist Bob Hardy was studying. Singer Alex Kapranos was studying English at university but had friends at art school, and the line-up was completed when guitarist Nick McCarthy moved from Munich, Germany, to the city. At
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the turn of the year, Kapranos told BBC News Online the band were fed up with serious bands in "that post-rock thing that seemed to be doing its damndest to avoid any bloody tune". "We want people to go away from the gigs humming the tunes that we were sing
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ing. But at the same time bringing an edge to it." Franz Ferdinand had a question they asked themselves every time they wrote a song, Kapranos said. "Where's the fun in that?" they pondered at every stage, making enjoyment the top priority and ensuring they
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did not disappear up their own muso posteriors. The band started out with a DIY ethic that saw them take over a disused art-deco warehouse in Glasgow and rename it The Chateau. The venue soon became legendary - so well-known that the police spent a month try
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ing to find it, eventually raiding it and arresting Kapranos. But the charges of running an illegal bar and contravening health and safety, fire hazard and noise abatement laws were dropped. The band took over an abandoned Victorian courtroom and jail inste
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ad, and named that The Chateau. The buzz about the band soon spread around the music industry and 40 record labels turned up to one gig in Glasgow - which the band thought was "totally ridiculous". "I'm really glad it was almost comical because we weren't ov
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erwhelmed by the seriousness of it," Kapranos said. They signed with independent label Domino, home of Smog, Sebadoh and Four Tet, in June 2003.
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(375)[-7.2672] Elvis set to top UK singles chart Rock 'n' roll legend Elvis is set to top the UK singles chart on Sunday, 27 years after his death. The re-release of hit song Jailhouse Rock was out-selling X Factor winner Steve Brockstein's cover of Against All Odds by 2
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,000 copies on Tuesday. If the record does make the top spot, it will be Elvis' 19th UK number one. The last time he topped the charts was with the remix of the little-known song A Little Less Conversation, which was number one in June 2002. If Jailhouse Roc
k does reach number one on Sunday, it will be the 999th in the history of the UK pop charts. The song first topped the charts in 1958. Chart analysts say Elvis could score the 1000th number one as well. His record One Night will be released the following wee
k, followed the week after by A Fool Such As I, as part of his record company SonyBMG's new Elvis campaign. It has called it "the most ambitious singles release campaign in the history of the UK record industry".
(110)[-10.9414] Usher leads Billboard nominations R&B singer Usher is leading the race for the Billboard awards with nominations in 13 categories, including best male. Alicia Keys has 12 nominations for the awards, which will be held on 8 December at the MGM Grand in Las
Vegas. Other multiple nominees include Maroon5, OutKast, Kanye West, R Kelly, Gretchen Wilson, Hoobastank and Jay-Z. Soul singer Stevie Wonder will receive Billboard's Century Award, the magazine's highest honour for creative achievement, at the ceremony. T
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he awards will be hosted by American Idol presenter Ryan Seacrest, and will feature performances by Usher, Gwen Stefani, Nelly and Green Day. Usher and Keys will be battling it out for prizes including artist of the year, Hot 100 songwriter of the year and B
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illboard 200 album of the year for their respective albums Confessions and The Diary of Alicia Keys. Maroon5 and OutKast are also up for artist of the year, while OutKast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a finalist for Billboard 200 album of the year, alongs
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