Coming soon: a horror story on American Fritzl’s victim?

London, Sept 20 (ANI): Publishers and Hollywood studios have begun a multi-million dollar bidding war for the rights to sex slave Jaycee Dugard’s horrifying life story.

Fresh details of the American Fritzl’s victim have emerged, including that in the early days of her captivity, the terrified schoolgirl was so hungry she ate bugs and worms in the rambling back garden where she was held in tents and lock-up sheds, reports The Daily Express.

She had to use a garden hose to shower outside, even in winters, say detectives guarding her and her two daughters, fathered by kidnapper Phillip Garrido.

However, the public apparently is desperate for the full story of how Jaycee, now 29, survived after being snatched on her way to a school bus stop when she was only 11.

A New York literary agent, who estimates the book and film rights to be worth up to 12million dollars, said: “You couldn’t dream up a script like this. Americans can’t wait to hear the story from the girl who lived it.”

A Hollywood studio producer said: “Everyone is in the market for this story. Poor Jaycee’s life may have been hell for 18 years but she’ll never want for anything for the rest of it.”

Garrido, a registered sex offender, has been linked to six child abductions and murders stretching back years within a 400-mile radius of the ramshackle home in Antioch, California, where Jaycee was held. (ANI)

Beyonce to finally perform in Malaysia next month

Kuala Lumpur, Sep 19 (ANI): Beyonce Knowles is all set to perform in Kuala Lumpur next month, two years after cancelling her Malaysian concert.

Kuala Lumpur is one of her destinations in the ‘I Am…’ world tour which spans North America, Europe and Asia.

The ‘Baby boy’ singer is scheduled to stage her first concert in Malaysia at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, at 8pm on Oct 25, reports the Star Online.

The singer was originally slated to perform in Malaysia in 2007, but cancelled her concert following protests from PAS Youth and she headed for Jakarta instead.

The world tour comes with the release of her third studio album, ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’, which features hits like ‘If I Were a Boy’, ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)’, ‘Halo’, ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Broken-Hearted Girl’.

Beyonce, along with Black Eyed Peas and Jacky Cheung, will also perform at F1 ROCKS Singapore with LG on Sept 26. (ANI)

Jonathan Ross secures exclusive interview with Barbra Streisand

London, Sep 10 (ANI): American singer Barbra Streisand is to be interviewed by Brit film critic Jonathan Ross for an episode of his BBC One chat show.

An entire show, which has been branded as ‘Friday Night With Streisand and Ross’, will be dedicated to 67-year-old Streisand, reports the BBC.

The singer/actress will be discussing her career and also perform some of her classic hits and material from her new album, ‘Love Is The Answer’, on the programme which will be broadcast on October 2.

A spokeswoman for Streisand said the BBC One show would be the star’s first studio interview in the UK since she spoke with Des O’Connor in the 1980s.

Streisand’s new album is set for release in the UK on September 28.

It has a collection of jazz standards, which will show the singer performing tracks including ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ and ‘In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning’. (ANI)

Original Walt Disney drawings found in an attic office in Blackpool

London, Sep 9 (ANI): Original Walt Disney drawings have been recovered from an attic office in Blackpool, which could be worth up to 12,000 pounds each.

The 15 mint condition black and white and colour drawings were in the middle of hundreds of files gathered in over a century of Blackpool Illuminations.

Altogether the files have been valued at 500,000 pounds for insurance purposes, but it is thought the original Disney drawings alone could fetch up to 180,000 pounds altogether should they be auctioned off.

The material is being catalogued, and will be archived for future public viewing for the first time.

The Disney drawings had been sent from Hollywood to Blackpool by Walt Disney himself.

His studio was first approached in 1953 by Blackpool Council’s Illuminations staff, when they wanted to include characters, including Mickey Mouse, in their tableaux.

One of the drawings featuring Mickey shows how they wanted to animate him for the Golden Mile, but Disney demanded the characters be totally accurate to the original cinema blockbusters, and so sent off artists’ work to the English resort.

“The attic room is actually part of one of Blackpool’s original farmhouses built long before the town became a seaside resort,” the Telegraph quoted Colette Halstead, Illuminations’ creative development coordinator, as saying.

“The Illuminations department has just grown round it over the decades and old files and equipment like the ex Army field telephones used to co-ordinate the seven mile switch on were stored there.

“We are slowly moving to new premises and we were asked to catalogue the room’s contents when we came across the Disney material,” she added. (ANI)

S. African athlete Semenya tries to gloss over gender controversy

Johannesburg, Sep.9 (ANI): South African athlete Caster Semenya has completed her transformation from gender troubled sporting champion into national celebrity with a photo shoot in the country’s leading gossip magazine.

While the controversy rumbles on over whether the teenage runner is really male or female, her handlers have sought to end the debate with the aid of a costume change, make up and some studio lights.

With the front cover headline: “Wow, look at Caster now!” You magazine proudly boasts that it has turned her from “power girl” into “glamour girl” and apparently, “she loves it”.

Inside, the 800 m world champion – whose gender is being tested by the international athletics authorities – says the whole issue is a joke.

“It doesn’t upset me. God made me the way I am and I accept myself. I am who I am and I’m proud of myself,” The Sun quoted Semenya, as saying.

In the magazine, Semenya poses in skinny jeans, stilettos and a black and white evening dress.

News that the athlete would have to undergo testing was leaked before the 800m final at the world championships in Berlin, putting her under enormous pressure.

Following her victory, the ruling African National Congress seized upon her case to score political points, with left-wing firebrands such as Winnie Madikizela Mandela and ANC Youth League president Julius Malema accusing the athletics authorities of racism.

They have also sought to use Semenya to stir up populist feeling against what is seen as the right wing of the ANC, represented by Trevor Manuel, President Jacob Zuma’s planning chief.

Semenya received a heroine’s welcome in her home village in South Africa’s impoverished Limpopo province at the end of August, with VIPs and a 200-strong crowd singing a version of the Communist Party anthem, which included the lyrics: “My mother was a kitchen girl, my father was a garden boy, that’s why I’m a champion, that’s why I’m a champion.”

The cover shoot has reignited the debate in South Africa over the athlete’s appearance, with radio talk shows inundated with callers.

The 18-year-old has refused to be drawn on what she is going through at present, telling the magazine: “I don’t want to talk about the tests – I’m not even thinking about them.” (ANI)

Boy George plans comeback after prison release

Washington, September 8 (ANI): Former Culture Club frontman Boy George is drawing plans to head back to the studio and resurrect his career just fourth months after he walked free from jail.

The fallen pop star, real name George O’Dowd, was jailed in January for falsely imprisoning a male escort in his flat and beating the 29-year-old after a drug-fuelled nude photo shoot in 2007.

The 48-year-old was granted early release in May for his good behaviour, but was let off with a curfew and an ankle monitoring tag that was recently removed.

And now, the singer has revealed that he is preparing material for a new album of cover songs.

“I’m choosing songs that speak to me and have lyrics that reflect my personal journey and experiences,” Contactmusic quoted him as telling British newspaper The People. (ANI)

‘The Final Destination’ tops weekend box office

Washington, Aug 31 (ANI): The latest installment of Warner Brothers’ new ‘The Final Destination’ has topped the weekend box office after raking in 28.3 million dollars.

According to studio estimates, Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Inglourious Basterds’ came second with 20 million dollars.

‘Halloween 2′ landed the third spot with 17.4 million dollars while ‘District 9′ stood fourth with 10.7 million dollars, reports E! Online.

Sienna Miller’s ‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ rounded off the top five with 8 million dollars.

The weekend’s top-grossing films are:

1. The Final Destination, $28.3 million

2. Inglourious Basterds, $20 million

3. Halloween 2, $17.4 million

4. District 9, $10.7 million

5. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, $8 million

6. Julie and Julia, $7.4 million

7. The Time Traveler’s Wife, $6.7 million

8. Shorts, $4.9 million

9. Taking Woodstock, $3.7 million

10. G-Force, $2.8 million (ANI)

George Clooney to marry his Italian girlfriend?

London, Aug 31 (ANI): George Clooney may soon walk down the aisle with his Italian girlfriend, Elisabetta Canalis.

According to sources, the actor has asked his lover to move into his main home Studio City pad in LA.

“George has really fallen for Eli and wants her back with him in LA on a permanent basis,” the Daily Express quoted a source as saying.

The insider added: “It’s obviously a big step, particularly as George has been such a free spirit for so long. But it seems she really could be the one for him. Whether she goes along with the idea remains to be seen.”

Canalis is already known to have become a near-permanent resident at his Lake Como home.

She is said to have given her approval to his new abode on the Adriatic.

Clooney parted ways with his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Larson, last year. (ANI)

Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox to compete for Barbarella role

London, Aug 31 (ANI): In what could be the greatest showdown ever for the ultimate sex symbol tag, hotties Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox will audition for the role of Barbarella in a remake of the 1968 sci-fi classic of the same title, it has emerged.

“This will be the first time Angie and Megan have ever faced off for the same role,” the Daily Star quoted a studio insider as saying.

The source added: “Whoever gets the part will become the absolute number one Hollywood sex symbol on the planet.”

The original film had turned Jane Fonda into an international sex symbol overnight.

Now, whoever grabs the role will see herself as latex-suited blonde, and thigh-high-booted mercenary of the future.

Both Jolie and Fox have spoken about being compared to each other in the past.olie once said: “If it’s a comparison of looks, she can be the most beautiful but I have so much more going on.”

Fox said: “She’s a powerful human being. She could eat me alive.”

Dino De Laurentiis, who produced the earlier film, believes that only these two mega stars can guarantee that the 150-million-dollar project becomes a huge box office hit. (ANI)

Britney went on tour to avoid $100m loss: Book

London, Aug 30 (ANI): Britney Spears was forced to hit the road just months after a public breakdown because she faced financial ruin, says the author of a new book.

Best-selling author and journalist Steven Dennis claims in a new book, ‘Britney: Inside The Dream’, that she stood to lose as much as 100 million dollars if she failed to honor the tour commitments that she made prior to her meltdown.

Dennis spent six months writing and researching the book, reports the Daily Express.

Robert Baker, the studio director at the Millenium Dance Complex where Britney regularly trains, told him: “If Britney didn’t go on tour she could have been hit for 100 million dollars because she was contractually obliged for another album and another tour and there was a deadline.

“The whole contract was set up and a timetable was in place before Britney had her meltdown.

“Had she quit and walked away then the recouped advances, penalties and accrued interest would have been near the 100-million-dollar mark – for someone estimated to be worth just 60 million dollars to 65 million dollars.”

Since announcing her world tour, critics have voiced their concerns that Britney was taking part in a gruelling nine-month world tour at a time when she remained mentally vulnerable.

Legally, she has been under the control of her father since February because of her mental problems.

Dennis adds, however: “I think the chief reason behind her tour was to protect Britney – firstly, to return her to an identity and routine in which she felt safe and secondly to safeguard her financially.” (ANI)

Shakira goes wild, ‘unorthodox’ in her new music video

Washington, Aug 28 (ANI): Shakira is all set to go wild in the video of her upcoming music album.

The video will feature the 32-year-old throwing kicks and angry glances at the camera.

Fox News quoted Shakira as saying: “I’m less shy now that I hit my 30′s. After that happens you feel a little bit more free, you accept yourself in many different ways and your more comfortable in your own flesh.”

However, the Colombian lass will continue to set the screen ablaze by her sexy dance moves.he said: “I’m not a trained dancer. I did a little bit of gymnastic when I was 12; everything else it’s just me feeling the music. But I do have an unorthodox ways to approve my music or test it.”

“When I’m in the studio and I’m producing my own music, [I've got to] make sure I connect to it at a physical level. My body has to move and my hips have to move and if I don’t see that kind of reaction, that physical reaction, then I know that something is not working,” she added. (ANI)

Shakira goes wild, ‘unorthodox’ in her new music video

Washington, Aug 28 (ANI): Shakira is all set to go wild in the video of her upcoming music album.

The video will feature the 32-year-old throwing kicks and angry glances at the camera.

Fox News quoted Shakira as saying: “I’m less shy now that I hit my 30′s. After that happens you feel a little bit more free, you accept yourself in many different ways and your more comfortable in your own flesh.”

However, the Colombian lass will continue to set the screen ablaze by her sexy dance moves.he said: “I’m not a trained dancer. I did a little bit of gymnastic when I was 12; everything else it’s just me feeling the music. But I do have an unorthodox ways to approve my music or test it.”

“When I’m in the studio and I’m producing my own music, [I've got to] make sure I connect to it at a physical level. My body has to move and my hips have to move and if I don’t see that kind of reaction, that physical reaction, then I know that something is not working,” she added. (ANI)

McCartney says death rumours led people to think he was an impostor

London, Aug 27 (ANI): Sir Paul McCartney has disclosed that people often checked him over to make sure he wasn’t an impostor after the circulation of a conspiracy theory which claimed he had died in the 1960s.

About 40 years ago rumours about the former Beatle’s death in a 1966 accident had gained currency and conspiracy theorists proved the death with clues appearing on the cover of The Beatles’ last recorded album Abbey Road.

The Telegraph quoted McCartney as saying: “I think the worst thing that happened was that I could see people sort of looking at me more closely – ‘were his ears always like that?”"

The story, which still remains a popular Google search, circulated in October 1969 after a Detroit DJ claimed the Beatles had recruited a McCartney look-alike William Campbell, after the bass player’s death.

The cover of Abbey Road featured a bare footed McCartney and many believed this to hint dropped by the Beatles that the fourth member of the band was not alive.

The act was said to be the representation of a funeral procession and a car’s number plate with ’28IF’ was believed to refer to McCartney’s age had he been alive.

McCartney told the October edition of Mojo magazine: “It was funny really, but ridiculous. It’s an occupational hazard – people make up a story, and then you find yourself having to deal with this fictitious stuff.”

The star even explained the clues: “I knew why I’d had bare feet – ‘cos I’d kicked off my sandals. I knew the car that said ’28IF’ was a completely random car that had just been parked. It was madness.”

The Beatles’ original studio albums and Abbey Road are scheduled to be re-released in a remastered version on September 9. (ANI)

Megan Fox not to play Catwoman

Washington, Aug 27 (ANI): Megan Fox will not play Catwoman, as it was earlier speculated.

People magazine reports that Warner Bros. has not selected the sexy actress; in fact, there is no project at all for her to be cast in.

A studio rep said: “It’s rumor. It’s not true. There is no script. There is no project to be cast in.”

Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry have played the role in previous films. (ANI)

UK film industry facing most hostile environment in years, say insiders

London, Aug 25 (ANI): The stupendous success of Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is unlikely to be repeated, say insiders.

The ongoing credit crisis has hit independent film companies quite hard, as 59 such companies have wrapped up in past 18 months, while others are struggling for funds.

According to the report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers, indie companies such as Lucky 7, which made film Modigliani about the life of the Italian artist and Palm Tree UK, behind feature films Lost in Landscape and Winter Warrior, have gone bust.

The company Stormrider Films, which had scheduled to bring out “a British sci-fi feature film like no other ever produced in the UK” with CGI effects, called Kaleidoscope Man, has also gone bankrupt.

Christian Colson, producer of Slumdog Millionaire, fears that the trend might ultimately leave Britain drained of creativity

“It will be easier to get a 100m dollars film made than a really good 15m-dollar film,” The Independent quoted him as saying.

John Woodward, chief executive of the UK Film Council, admitted that independent film companies “are facing something of a perfect storm”.

“The debt which essentially financed their films is harder to secure… and the transition to digital has prompted a rise in piracy – so there’s a real strain on traditional fund raising.”

He, however, added that despite these challenges, the best projects were “still getting financed”.

The economic downturn has discouraged banks and high-risk investors to put in their money.

“Investors are more risk-averse than usual, so are either looking for more genre-driven material, more established directors, or bigger name cast before they’ll invest…,” said Andrea Calderwood, an independent film producer with Slate Films who won a BAFTA for the film The Last King of Scotland.

“Films are also taking longer to come together – either because the top talent is not available, or because financiers are taking longer to make decisions,” Calderwood added.

The PwC report stated that while big studio blockbusters were drawing huge audiences to cinema multiplexes, indie films were deteriorating.

It said: “The recession has sent hoards of consumers to the cinema and therefore large scale, expensive films such as Harry Potter remain in production and eagerly awaited. However, due to the credit crunch, sources of financing for smaller indie films have dried up – meaning many plots remain on the story board.” (ANI)

Macca breaks silence over friendship with Lennon

London, Aug 24 (ANI): Sir Paul McCartney has broken the silence over his friendship with his ‘The Beatles’ co-member John Lennon, and denied that they shared a sour relationship.

Macca seems considerate about his dead friend’s drug use, and believes that the complaints his pal made in interviews that he sabotaged songs in the studio could be excused, as he always expressed his love in the end.

“Oh, he was on drugs, wasn’t he? This is the trouble with history, with journalism. Whatever bad things John said about me, he would also slip his glasses down to the end of his nose and say, ‘I love you’,” Sky News quoted him as telling the Radio Times.

He added: “That’s really what I hold on to. That’s what I believe. The rest is showing off. John said so much crap that he later said he hadn’t meant. It’s bulls***. We were there. We all enjoyed it.

I never really criticised John. I’m not that critical. It’s a question of personalities. John’s was more abrasive than mine and that was good for his corner of the square that made up the Beatles. If we’d had two people like that – forget it – I don’t think it would have worked.”

McCartney further revealed that Lennon wasn’t the kind of man people thought he was.

He explained: “The image of John is seriously flawed because he was not the hard, mad man that people think he was. He was a very soft-centred guy and we had a lot more in common than people think. His favourite song when we were kids was Little White Lies, which was very sentimental. It was a smoochy old standard that his mum liked. That’s really what I hold on to. That’s what I believe. The rest is showing off.”

And, finally, he disclosed how the pair came together to form of the best-known and most successful writing partnerships in history.

He said: “The actual reason John and I started writing in earnest was because we’d be at a gig and the bands on before us would play songs we were about to do.”

The Beatles had split up in 1970. (ANI)

Bon Jovi ‘to go for world tour next year’

Washington, Aug 22 (ANI): Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora has revealed that the band may go for a world tour next year to promote their upcoming album ‘The Circle.’

“Next year. 2010, probably spring time we’ll get going. And we’re going to go for a long time. It’s going to be a big one,” Contactmusic quoted him as telling Rolling Stone magazine.

The rocker said that Jon Bon Jovi and him were planning to first release greatest hits collection before working on a new album, but as they started they couldn’t stop themselves from making new music.

He said: “We started having so much fun making this record, that we decided we would do a studio album first. It sounds fresh – I think we reinvented ourselves again.

“Jon and I had a wonderful time making it. We’re very proud of it – just getting down to mixing it right now. We hit a very prolific period in our songwriting.”

The long-awaited album will be out in November. (ANI)

Black Eyed Peas break US chart record

London, Aug 21 (ANI): American hip-hop group the Black Eyed Peas have broken a US chart record by notching up 20 weeks on top of the singles countdown.

The band’s song ‘I Gotta Feeling’ has claimed an eighth week at number one, following 12 weeks at pole position with ‘Boom Boom Pow’.

The record beats Usher, who held the number one spot for 19 weeks in 2004 with Yeah! and Burn.

“It is amazing to know that these songs have connected with so many people,” the BBC quoted Black Eyed Peas frontwoman Fergie as saying.

She also added that it was what had “kept them alive for so long”.

“With this kind of success your ego wants to take all the credit,” fellow Black Eyed Peas member Will.i.am said.

“But your heart reminds your soul that it was your heart that had you slaving and creating in the studio making the music.

“In the fight between heart and ego my heart always wins,” he added. (ANI)

Brad Pitt not starring in Sherlock Holmes

Washington, Aug 18 (ANI): Hollywood actor Brad Pitt isn’t joining the cast of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes.

The Daily Mirror had earlier reported that Pitt is set to arrive in London this week to begin filming scenes as Holmes’ nemesis Moriarty.

However, a studio rep has denied reports insisting it is completely inaccurate.

“Brad Pitt is not joining the cast of Sherlock Holmes and we’re extremely pleased with the production of the film,” Usmagazine quoted studio rep as saying.

“As planned, it will be released on Christmas Day, 2009. In order to complete the movie, we’ve scheduled a few days on set to shoot a couple of additional scenes, obtain pick-up shots, and perfect some of the visual effects elements, all of which is standard filmmaking practice,” the rep added.

Pitt had last worked with Ritchie 2000 film Snatch. (ANI)

Mel Gibson provides guest vocals for girlfriend’s new album

Washington, Aug 15 (ANI): Mel Gibson has swapped the big screen for a recording studio, as he has provided guest vocals for his girlfriend Russian singer Oksana Grigorieva’s new album.

The ‘Lethal Weapon’ star has provided guest vocals for two songs for Grigorieva’s latest LP, ‘Beautiful Heartache’, and directed videos to accompany four of the tracks.

“Mel is an incredible artist. He has a great voice. He is a visionary. He enabled me to produce this… for my music to live,” Contactmusic quoted Oksana as saying.

“The videos are like dramatic miniature films – a whirlpool of different, exciting, bright images,” she added. (ANI)