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ENTERTAINMENT

Christie co-hosting 'Today' to promote NJ shore

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is co-hosting NBC's "Today" on Friday morning as part of a campaign to proclaim that the state's shore is ready for business seven months after being devastated by Superstorm Sandy. The governor, who has made several appearances on national talk shows, follows Laura Bush and Sarah Palin as political figures who have been guest co-hosts on the morning show. Full Story

Brown hounded for calling Manila 'gates of hell'

Dan Brown's description of Manila as "the gates of hell" in the American novelist's latest book has not gone down well with officials in the Philippine capital. The book "Inferno," which is being sold in the Philippines, describes a visitor to the city who is taken aback by poverty, crime and prostitution. Full Story

Shelton, Underwood coming to aid of Oklahomans

Blake Shelton has a date and location for his benefit and fellow Oklahoman Carrie Underwood is writing a large check to help benefit those affected by this week's storms in their home state. Organizers say Shelton's "Healing in the Heartland" benefit concert will be held May 29 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The event will be televised live on NBC. Full Story

Writer Chinua Achebe honored in Nigeria funeral

Writer Chinua Achebe shunned Nigeria's corrupt politicians and twice turned down national honors, never fearing to criticize those he felt ruined his country. On Thursday, however, the lawmakers and the country's elite came to praise him. Hundreds attended Achebe's funeral among the rolling hills of his eastern Nigeria home, a service that saw President Goodluck Jonathan literally hold up the writer's books. The gold plaque... Full Story

87-year-old woman loses to Trump in civil case

An 87-year-old grandmother took on billionaire Donald Trump. And on Thursday, she lost. Jurors sided with the real estate mogul-turned-TV showman in a weeklong civil trial focused on Jacqueline Goldberg's claim that Trump cheated her in a bait-and-switch scheme connected to condos in a Chicago skyscraper he built. Full Story

CBS up, 'Idol' down as traditional TV season ends

CBS strengthened its dominance over the television industry this year at the same time that the unprecedented reign of "American Idol" came to a close. The traditional television season ended Wednesday. Though that marker is losing its meaning with more fresh programming airing during the summer, it's still a good time to take stock on where the industry stands. Full Story

West Bank and romance prominent in 'Omar'

One of the more buzzed-about films at the Cannes Film Festival, "Omar," is set in the West Bank, and the Palestinian conflict is a key part of the plot. But the film's lead actor, Adam Bakri, says the location or political motif isn't that important. Full Story

Warrant for rapper Tim Dog, despite death reports

Lack of a death certificate or of a burial site and sparse obituary information led to talk in hip-hop circles that rapper Tim Dog, who owes thousands of dollars to women he was convicted of swindling, faked his own death in February. The 46-year-old, whose real name is Timothy Blair, is best known for a 1990s song "F--- Compton" that criticized West Coast rappers. Full Story

WWII historian taking on American Revolution

An award-winning and best-selling World War II historian is turning to an older conflict for his next project: the American Revolution. Henry Holt and Company announced Thursday that Rick Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and reporter, plans a trilogy covering the years 1775-1781. Full Story

Mary J. Blige faces $3.4M federal tax lien in NJ

Mary J. Blige and her husband have been hit with a $3.4 million tax lien in New Jersey. Court documents show the Internal Revenue Service filed a notice of a lien on the nine-time Grammy Award winner Feb. 7. That was two days before the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul was honored at a pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles. Full Story

New Victory Theater offers Bob Marley, Shakespeare

A new musical featuring the songs of Bob Marley, the world premiere of William Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" by the innovative Fiasco Theater company and an Australian take on "Peter Pan" are among next season's offerings at The New Victory Theater. A total of 15 productions from seven countries are on tap from the city's first and only full-time performing arts theater for kids and... Full Story

Coen, Guirgis on tap at Atlantic Theater Company

The world premiere of Ethan Coen's first full-length stage play, a revival of "The Threepenny Opera" and a new play by Stephen Adly Guirgis will highlight the Atlantic Theater Company's upcoming season. The company unveiled its slate of 2013-14 offerings Thursday, which also includes a stage adaptation of Alan Sillitoe's beloved short story "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" adapted by British playwright Roy... Full Story

Cannes crime: 2nd jewel theft during film festival

Thieves outsmarted 80 security guards in an exclusive French Riviera hotel and made off with a necklace that creators say is worth a staggering 2 million euros ($2.6 million) — in the second such jewelry heist during this year's Cannes Film Festival. The De Grisogono jewelry house said Thursday that the necklace was stolen after a party for festival attendees at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc... Full Story

Singer Nick Carter to release memoir Sept. 24

Nick Carter isn't only writing songs — he's written a book. The Backstreet Boys singer will release a memoir, "Facing the Music and Living to Talk About It," on Sept. 24 via Bird Street Books. The 33-year-old is the first in the group to release a book. Full Story

Banned Iranian director Rasoulof coming to Cannes

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, whose movies are banned in his country and who has been sentenced to jail by the Islamic regime there, is coming to Cannes for a screening of his latest film, publicists for the movie said Thursday. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" tells the story of an Iranian author secretly writing his memoirs — and authorities' attempts to destroy the manuscript. Full Story

Lea Michele has book scheduled for 2014 release

Lea Michele has stories to share about the many auditions she has passed. The "Glee" actress has a deal with Harmony Books, a Random House Inc. imprint. Harmony Books announced Thursday that "Brunette Ambition" will come out in the spring of 2014. The publisher is billing the book as a combination memoir, style guide and advice book. Full Story

Payne back on the road with 'Nebraska' at Cannes

Shooting the Midwest in monochrome came naturally for Alexander Payne in his father-son road trip "Nebraska." Payne premiered his black-and-white follow-up to "The Descendants" on Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival, where the gentle tale drew largely enthusiastic reviews for both its warmth and its colorless cinematography. Full Story

Review: Google music plan solid, serendipitous

Google's new music service offers a lot of eye candy to go with the tunes. The song selection of around 18 million tracks is comparable to popular services such as Spotify and Rhapsody, and a myriad of playlists curated along different genres provides a big playground for music lovers. The All Access service represents Google's attempt to grab a bigger piece of the digital music... Full Story

Russian court denies Pussy Riot's Alekhina parole

A Russian court denied parole on Thursday to a member of the Pussy Riot punk group. The ruling came despite letters that singers Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel and Patti Smith have sent, urging Russia's courts to free Maria Alekhina and the other Pussy Riot still in prison, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. Full Story

Rolling Stones exhibit opening in Cleveland

Over the years, curators at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum have occasionally had trouble coaxing reluctant stars to help put together major exhibitions. Not so with members of The Rolling Stones, who made time in their packed anniversary schedule to help. "Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction," opening Friday and running through March 2014, covers two floors at the museum and... Full Story

La Scala scales back on productions due to crisis

La Scala's manager says the 2013-14 season will have three fewer operas than usual due to the economic crisis. Stephane Lissner said Thursday that the season will feature 10 operas instead of the usual 13. They will include three by Giuseppe Verdi in honor of the bicentennial celebration of his birth on Oct. 10, 1813. The Dec. 7 gala season opener will be Verdi's `'Traviata" conducted by Daniele Gatti. Full Story

Sorrentino serves up a cinema banquet at Cannes

Paolo Sorrentino has a thing about food — appropriately enough, for the director of a sumptuous feast of a film, "The Great Beauty." The Italian auteur's Cannes Film Festival entry is a journey through Rome in the company of observant but aimless writer Jep Gambardella (actor Toni Servillo). Sorrentino's camera takes viewers through the sacred, profane and teeming streets — to medieval churches and grand... Full Story

Darius Rucker rides 'Wagon Wheel' to top of charts

Darius Rucker is a fan of Old Crow Medicine Show, but says he didn't really get what was so infectious about the string band's signature hit "Wagon Wheel" at first. Then he heard the faculty band at his daughter's school play the song and it all started to open up for him. Full Story

Debbie Reynolds: We all knew Liberace was gay

In the new film "Behind the Candelabra," veteran entertainer Debbie Reynolds has just three major scenes to flesh out one of the most complicated figures in piano-playing showman Liberace's life: his loving but sometimes manipulative mother Frances. The Oscar-, Tony- and Emmy-nominated Reynolds didn't need to do any homework for the part. She knew Frances. Reynolds joined Liberace's inner circle while both were doing stage... Full Story

Photographer and forester Wayne Miller dies at 94

Photographer Wayne F. Miller, who created a ground-breaking series of portraits chronicling the lives of black Americans in Chicago after serving with an elite Navy unit that produced some of the most indelible combat images of World War II, died Wednesday. He was 94. Miller was also known for his work as a curator on an international photojournalism exhibition called "The Family of Man" and... Full Story

Obama honors Carole King at White House concert

President Barack Obama, saluting Carole King's five decades as an award-winning singer-songwriter, said Wednesday that music often is a place where people seek comfort and inspiration during trying times. Two days after much of Moore, Okla., was flattened by a powerful tornado that killed 24 people, Obama pledged anew that the nation will assist with the town's recovery and rebuilding for as long as it... Full Story

Dallas exhibit reunites art JFK saw before death

Artist Jack Zajac said learning earlier this year that his bronze sculpture was among the last works of art ever seen by President John F. Kennedy left him feeling "reverential." Zajac's small sculpture of a bound goat was among a collection of impressive artwork that decorated the president's Fort Worth hotel suite in hopes of creating something special for the first couple's overnight stay. Full Story

Publisher: Sen. Warren book coming out in 2014

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite among liberals for her forceful advocacy for consumers and criticisms of the financial industry, has a book deal. The Massachusetts Democrat has an agreement with Henry Holt and Company for a book, currently untitled, to be released in spring 2014, the publisher announced Wednesday. Full Story

Douglas, Damon dramatize a steamy showbiz affair

The idea of Michael Douglas playing Liberace might seem nearly as outrageous as Liberace himself. Liberace, forever hailed as Mr. Showmanship, was the excess-to-the-max pianist-personality whose onstage and offstage extravagance were legendary and who wowed audiences in Las Vegas and worldwide to become the best-paid entertainer on the planet during his heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s. Full Story

Jennifer Lopez to open cellphone stores

"Jenny from the Block" wants the block to buy Verizon phones from her. Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez on Wednesday announced she's opening a chain of 15 cellphone stores and a website under the Viva Movil brand. The aim is to sell Verizon phones and services to Latinos. Full Story

Dallas exhibit reunites art JFK saw before death

Artist Jack Zajac said learning earlier this year that his bronze sculpture was among the last works of art ever seen by President John F. Kennedy left him feeling "reverential." Zajac's small sculpture of a bound goat was among a collection of impressive artwork that decorated the president's Fort Worth hotel suite in hopes of creating something special for the first couple's overnight stay. Full Story

Restaurant learns online reviews can make or break

It was the customer service disaster heard around the Internet. An Arizona restaurateur, fed up after years of negative online reviews and an embarrassing appearance on a reality television show, allegedly posted a social media rant laced with salty language and angry, uppercase letters that quickly went viral last week, to the delight of people who love a good Internet meltdown. Full Story

Cannes: Scott Thomas' glorious dip into darkness

To convince Kristin Scott Thomas to play the bloodthirsty matriarch of "Only God Forgives," director Nicolas Winding Refn appealed to Scott Thomas — how else? — with the flattery of his own mother. "That's how he got me to do the film," Scott Thomas said in a beachside interview Wednesday. "He said, `You're my mother's favorite actress.' So I had to. It was a good... Full Story

Redford swept away in shipwreck saga 'All Is Lost'

Robert Redford makes actions speak louder than words in shipwreck drama "All Is Lost." He doesn't have much choice. A man-versus-nature tale about a lone sailor adrift on the Indian Ocean, J.C. Chandor's movie has no dialogue, just a few lines of voiceover at the start and a couple of heartfelt expletives. Full Story

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