Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.

Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped in 2006, causing a sensation in Austria and abroad. Priklopil committed suicide.

Kampusch had always refused to respond to claims that she had had sex with Priklopil, but in a German television interview on her 25th birthday last week said she had decided to reveal the truth because it had leaked out from police files.

The film, “3,096 Days” – based on Kampusch’s autobiography of the same name – soberly portrays her captivity in a windowless cellar less than 6 square metres (65 square feet) in area, often deprived of food for days at a time.

The emaciated Kampusch – who weighed just 38 kg (84 pounds) at one point in 2004 – keeps a diary written on toilet paper concealed in a box.

One entry reads: “At least 60 blows in the face. Ten to 15 nausea-inducing fist blows to the head. One strike with the fist with full weight to my right ear.”

The movie shows occasional moments that approach tenderness, such as when Priklopil presents her with a cake for her 18th birthday or buys her a dress as a gift – but then immediately goes on to chide her for not knowing how to waltz with him.

GREY AREAS

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays the teenaged Kampusch, said she had tried to portray “the strength of someone’s soul, the ability of people to survive… but also the grey areas within a relationship that people don’t necessarily understand.”

The British actress said she had not met Kampusch during the making of the film or since. “It was a very isolated time, it was a bubble of time, and I wanted to keep that very focused,” she told journalists as she arrived for the Vienna premiere.

Kampusch herself attended the premiere, looking composed as she posed for pictures but declining to give interviews.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild Zeitung last week, she said: “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.”

The movie, made at the Constantin Film studios in Bavaria, Germany, also stars Amy Pidgeon as the 10-year-old Kampusch and Danish actor Thure Lindhardt as Priklopil.

“I focused mainly on playing the human being because… we have to remember it was a human being. Monsters do not exist, they’re only in cartoons,” Lindhart said.

“It became clear to me that it’s a story about survival, and it’s a story about surviving eight years of hell. If that story can be told then I can also play the bad guy.”

The director was German-American Sherry Hormann, who made her English-language debut with the 2009 move “Desert Flower”, an adaptation of the autobiography of Somali-born model and anti-female circumcision activist Waris Dirie.

“I’m a mother and I wonder at the strength of this child, and it was important for me to tell this story from a different perspective, to tell how this child using her own strength could survive this atrocious martyrdom,” Hormann said.

The Kampusch case was followed two years later by that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The crimes prompted soul-searching about the Austrian psyche, and questions as to how the authorities and neighbors could have let such crimes go undetected for so long.

The film goes on general release on Thursday.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.

Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped in 2006, causing a sensation in Austria and abroad. Priklopil committed suicide.

Kampusch had always refused to respond to claims that she had had sex with Priklopil, but in a German television interview on her 25th birthday last week said she had decided to reveal the truth because it had leaked out from police files.

The film, “3,096 Days” – based on Kampusch’s autobiography of the same name – soberly portrays her captivity in a windowless cellar less than 6 square metres (65 square feet) in area, often deprived of food for days at a time.

The emaciated Kampusch – who weighed just 38 kg (84 pounds) at one point in 2004 – keeps a diary written on toilet paper concealed in a box.

One entry reads: “At least 60 blows in the face. Ten to 15 nausea-inducing fist blows to the head. One strike with the fist with full weight to my right ear.”

The movie shows occasional moments that approach tenderness, such as when Priklopil presents her with a cake for her 18th birthday or buys her a dress as a gift – but then immediately goes on to chide her for not knowing how to waltz with him.

GREY AREAS

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays the teenaged Kampusch, said she had tried to portray “the strength of someone’s soul, the ability of people to survive… but also the grey areas within a relationship that people don’t necessarily understand.”

The British actress said she had not met Kampusch during the making of the film or since. “It was a very isolated time, it was a bubble of time, and I wanted to keep that very focused,” she told journalists as she arrived for the Vienna premiere.

Kampusch herself attended the premiere, looking composed as she posed for pictures but declining to give interviews.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild Zeitung last week, she said: “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.”

The movie, made at the Constantin Film studios in Bavaria, Germany, also stars Amy Pidgeon as the 10-year-old Kampusch and Danish actor Thure Lindhardt as Priklopil.

“I focused mainly on playing the human being because… we have to remember it was a human being. Monsters do not exist, they’re only in cartoons,” Lindhart said.

“It became clear to me that it’s a story about survival, and it’s a story about surviving eight years of hell. If that story can be told then I can also play the bad guy.”

The director was German-American Sherry Hormann, who made her English-language debut with the 2009 move “Desert Flower”, an adaptation of the autobiography of Somali-born model and anti-female circumcision activist Waris Dirie.

“I’m a mother and I wonder at the strength of this child, and it was important for me to tell this story from a different perspective, to tell how this child using her own strength could survive this atrocious martyrdom,” Hormann said.

The Kampusch case was followed two years later by that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The crimes prompted soul-searching about the Austrian psyche, and questions as to how the authorities and neighbors could have let such crimes go undetected for so long.

The film goes on general release on Thursday.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.

Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped in 2006, causing a sensation in Austria and abroad. Priklopil committed suicide.

Kampusch had always refused to respond to claims that she had had sex with Priklopil, but in a German television interview on her 25th birthday last week said she had decided to reveal the truth because it had leaked out from police files.

The film, “3,096 Days” – based on Kampusch’s autobiography of the same name – soberly portrays her captivity in a windowless cellar less than 6 square metres (65 square feet) in area, often deprived of food for days at a time.

The emaciated Kampusch – who weighed just 38 kg (84 pounds) at one point in 2004 – keeps a diary written on toilet paper concealed in a box.

One entry reads: “At least 60 blows in the face. Ten to 15 nausea-inducing fist blows to the head. One strike with the fist with full weight to my right ear.”

The movie shows occasional moments that approach tenderness, such as when Priklopil presents her with a cake for her 18th birthday or buys her a dress as a gift – but then immediately goes on to chide her for not knowing how to waltz with him.

GREY AREAS

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays the teenaged Kampusch, said she had tried to portray “the strength of someone’s soul, the ability of people to survive… but also the grey areas within a relationship that people don’t necessarily understand.”

The British actress said she had not met Kampusch during the making of the film or since. “It was a very isolated time, it was a bubble of time, and I wanted to keep that very focused,” she told journalists as she arrived for the Vienna premiere.

Kampusch herself attended the premiere, looking composed as she posed for pictures but declining to give interviews.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild Zeitung last week, she said: “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.”

The movie, made at the Constantin Film studios in Bavaria, Germany, also stars Amy Pidgeon as the 10-year-old Kampusch and Danish actor Thure Lindhardt as Priklopil.

“I focused mainly on playing the human being because… we have to remember it was a human being. Monsters do not exist, they’re only in cartoons,” Lindhart said.

“It became clear to me that it’s a story about survival, and it’s a story about surviving eight years of hell. If that story can be told then I can also play the bad guy.”

The director was German-American Sherry Hormann, who made her English-language debut with the 2009 move “Desert Flower”, an adaptation of the autobiography of Somali-born model and anti-female circumcision activist Waris Dirie.

“I’m a mother and I wonder at the strength of this child, and it was important for me to tell this story from a different perspective, to tell how this child using her own strength could survive this atrocious martyrdom,” Hormann said.

The Kampusch case was followed two years later by that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The crimes prompted soul-searching about the Austrian psyche, and questions as to how the authorities and neighbors could have let such crimes go undetected for so long.

The film goes on general release on Thursday.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.

Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped in 2006, causing a sensation in Austria and abroad. Priklopil committed suicide.

Kampusch had always refused to respond to claims that she had had sex with Priklopil, but in a German television interview on her 25th birthday last week said she had decided to reveal the truth because it had leaked out from police files.

The film, “3,096 Days” – based on Kampusch’s autobiography of the same name – soberly portrays her captivity in a windowless cellar less than 6 square metres (65 square feet) in area, often deprived of food for days at a time.

The emaciated Kampusch – who weighed just 38 kg (84 pounds) at one point in 2004 – keeps a diary written on toilet paper concealed in a box.

One entry reads: “At least 60 blows in the face. Ten to 15 nausea-inducing fist blows to the head. One strike with the fist with full weight to my right ear.”

The movie shows occasional moments that approach tenderness, such as when Priklopil presents her with a cake for her 18th birthday or buys her a dress as a gift – but then immediately goes on to chide her for not knowing how to waltz with him.

GREY AREAS

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays the teenaged Kampusch, said she had tried to portray “the strength of someone’s soul, the ability of people to survive… but also the grey areas within a relationship that people don’t necessarily understand.”

The British actress said she had not met Kampusch during the making of the film or since. “It was a very isolated time, it was a bubble of time, and I wanted to keep that very focused,” she told journalists as she arrived for the Vienna premiere.

Kampusch herself attended the premiere, looking composed as she posed for pictures but declining to give interviews.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild Zeitung last week, she said: “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.”

The movie, made at the Constantin Film studios in Bavaria, Germany, also stars Amy Pidgeon as the 10-year-old Kampusch and Danish actor Thure Lindhardt as Priklopil.

“I focused mainly on playing the human being because… we have to remember it was a human being. Monsters do not exist, they’re only in cartoons,” Lindhart said.

“It became clear to me that it’s a story about survival, and it’s a story about surviving eight years of hell. If that story can be told then I can also play the bad guy.”

The director was German-American Sherry Hormann, who made her English-language debut with the 2009 move “Desert Flower”, an adaptation of the autobiography of Somali-born model and anti-female circumcision activist Waris Dirie.

“I’m a mother and I wonder at the strength of this child, and it was important for me to tell this story from a different perspective, to tell how this child using her own strength could survive this atrocious martyrdom,” Hormann said.

The Kampusch case was followed two years later by that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The crimes prompted soul-searching about the Austrian psyche, and questions as to how the authorities and neighbors could have let such crimes go undetected for so long.

The film goes on general release on Thursday.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Oscars telecast review: Guys, it’s not about you

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Would it shock you to learn that this year’s Oscars producers also produced “Chicago“? Not at all? OK.

Self-referencing was the order of the evening Sunday at an overstuffed Oscars telecast where host Seth MacFarlane and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron decided the ceremony was All About Them.

That was the only explanation for a lengthy opening sequence centered on how MacFarlane would fare as host, and numerous reminders throughout the show of how much we all enjoyed “Chicago.”

Thanks, guys, but we kind of took care of praising “Chicago” when it won Best Picture in 2002.

The Oscars are always a treasure trove of hilarious narcissism – it’s inherently obnoxious to hear some of the richest and best-looking people alive praise one another and themselves.

This year had plenty of the usual silliness – as when best supporting actor Christoph Waltz praised Quentin Tarantino for going on a “hero’s journey” to make films. And it won’t exactly reduce Hollywood’s sense of self-importance that no less than Michelle Obama handed out the Best Picture. (“Argo” won.)

Inflated egos are to be expected. But we can usually count on the producers and host to share the spotlight. Not so this year.

You can’t really blame MacFarlane for turning the opening into a “Family Guy” episode, with all of his show’s requisite pop culture references, parody songs and gay panic jokes. MacFarlane brought in William Shatner to play Captain Kirk critiquing the show from the future.

The “Ted” director and star made it all of eight minutes before his first gay joke. He sang a song about actresses’ “boobs” with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, then clarified that he isn’t a member.

“Oh, trust me,” Captain Kirk said from the future. “In July 2015, you join the chorus.”

The theme of the night was celebrating musicals, but it was hard to find anything else consistent about the ceremony. Like many an overstuffed blockbuster, the three-and-a-half-hour show refused to leave anything out.

Studio slates are so dominated by CGI monstrosities that Oscar voters now nominate pretty much every grown-up movie they see for Best Picture. Rather than make hard decisions, they give us a grab bag.

And so we get extended ceremonies like this one, which somehow always manage to cull names from the “In Memoriam” segment, but not boring parts of the show. Key figures like the host and producers are allowed to protect their vanity pieces, and viewers just have to deal.

We were occasionally rewarded for our patience. Shirley Bassey and Adele gave spectacular performances of Bond songs from five decades apart. Jennifer Hudson delivered another excellent rendition of “And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going” from “Dreamgirls.” And we learned that Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron are good dancers.

But of course they are.

Catherine Zeta Jones did a commendable job on “All That Jazz” from “Chicago” – but couldn’t we have left it at that? The producers also reunited their cast as presenters – to remind us once again how much we apparently still cherish their decade-old film.

Near the end of the ceremony, Tarantino made his hero’s journey to the stage to accept his well-deserved award for Best Original Screenplay and remind us of the importance of writers.

One thing the best writers do is keep it short. Maybe next year should be a tribute to writers.

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UK’s BRIT Awards slammed as celebration of bland

LONDON (Reuters) – “Sensible” and “sober” are words not normally associated with rock and roll, but they summed up how music critics viewed Wednesday night’s BRIT Awards ceremony at the London O2 Arena.

Viewing figures for commercial broadcaster ITV1, which aired British pop’s biggest night live, were the highest for a decade, so organizers, advertisers and the acts who performed were unlikely to care too much about what experts thought.

Gordon Smart, showbusiness editor at the Sun tabloid, summed up the mood, writing: “Well, rock’n'roll is officially dead. Where have all the rock stars gone?”

The big winner on the night, one that was widely predicted, was Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sande, who picked up the coveted British album award for “Our Version of Events”, her debut which was the UK’s top seller of 2012.

She also won the best British female honor, and English singer Ben Howard was the only other multiple winner, claiming the male solo artist and breakthrough categories.

“Welcome to the new boring,” said Daily Telegraph music critic Neil McCormick, describing Howard, Sande and other winners Mumford & Sons (best group) and One Direction (BRITs Global Success Award).

“All – to different degrees – extremely talented, vibrant, emotional, committed, entertaining musical performers beloved of enormous audiences,” he wrote. “And all as dull as dishwater.”

He concluded his review with a rallying cry: “I just hope there is some young punk out there, watching that, thinking the music business needs a right royal kick up the posterior.”

CASH BEFORE CUTTING EDGE

The BRITs have long had a reputation for putting commercial success above artistic originality, and 2013 was no exception.

Will Hodgkinson of The Times newspaper said the lack of spark at the glitzy ceremony perhaps reflected broader economic and social concerns in Britain.

“When times are hard people behave well and hang on to their jobs, which is why the high jinks and chaos of the past, like Jarvis Cocker wiggling his bum at Michael Jackson, was sadly absent,” he said.

In one of the most frequently recalled moments of BRITs history, Cocker invaded the stage while Jackson was performing in 1996 before being escorted away by security.

Even last year had a frisson of controversy, when Adele’s speech was cut short to make way for Blur to perform, prompting her to raise her middle finger.

Adele picked up another award in 2013 – best single for Bond theme tune “Skyfall” – but she did not attend, preferring to rehearse for her upcoming performance at the more widely viewed Oscars ceremony on Sunday.

Nick Hasted, writing in the Independent, said what was most “depressing” about the BRITs was how they were dovetailing with other awards like the Mercury Prize and the BBC’s “Sound of…” poll identifying up-and-coming talent.

“As it shrinks, the music industry is becoming ever more adept at controlling what enters the mainstream,” Hasted said. “The moribund album charts, lacking inspiration and challenge, show how well they’ve succeeded.”

Critics did have more positive things to say about many of the performances, which included Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift from the United States and Sande, Howard, Mumford & Sons, One Direction, Muse and Robbie Williams from Britain.

And there was good news on the TV viewing front. According to the Guardian, the average audience was just over 6.5 million, a 27.8 percent share and the highest since 2003.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; editing by Stephen Addison)

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“Silver Linings” wins four honors at indie film awards

SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) – Quirky comedy “Silver Linings Playbook” dominated the Independent Spirit Awards on the eve of Hollywood’s Academy Awards ceremony, winning four prizes including for Best Feature.

Jennifer Lawrence, 22, who plays a feisty young widow in “Silver Linings Playbook,” was named best actress and David O. Russell picked up the best directing honor on Saturday.

Lawrence and Russell are also in the running for Oscars on Sunday, where “Silver Linings Playbook” is nominated for Best Picture.

“When you make a film from the heart, there is no such thing as genre. They are just real people, and if it’s funny in or of itself, that’s what happens and that’s what my whole cast taught me,” Russell said in accepting his award.

Austrian drama “Amour,” about an elderly couple coping with the effects of the wife’s debilitating stroke, won the Best Foreign Film award on Saturday, strengthening its march toward expected Oscar success on Sunday.

The Independent Spirit Awards are handed out by the Los Angeles-based non-profit group Film Independent and are widely considered the top honors for low-budget and art house movies in the United States.

The ceremony, held in a tent on California’s Santa Monica beach, are a more laid-back affair than the formal and glitzy Academy Awards ceremony. Bruce Willis, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Renner, Daniel Radcliffe, Amy Poehler and other celebrities were treated to a casual lunch.

The awards for “Silver Linings Playbook” largely shut out rival fantasy movie “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” which won one award for cinematography but lost in three other categories.

First-time director Benh Zeitlin, 30, had been considered a front-runner at the Spirit Awards for the mythological film, set in a Louisiana swamp.

“Benh Zeitlin is a young man, so Benh Zeitlin will be back,” Russell quipped on stage.

“Amour” director Michael Haneke, 70, who also won honors at the Cesar Awards in France on Friday, was on hand to accept his award on Saturday. “I have the impression I’m the oldest man here,” he joked.

Backstage, the veteran German director told reporters through a translator that he was looking forward to the Oscars, where “Amour” is a contender in five categories including for Best Picture.

“I feel wonderful. It’s a complete surprise of course. No one expected that a film with themes like aging and death would have such success. It’s been very rewarding for everyone involved,” Haneke said.

Helen Hunt was named Best Supporting Female for her role as a sex therapist in “The Sessions,” while her co-star John Hawkes, who plays a paraplegic, took the Best Male Lead award.

Backstage, Hawkes told reporters that the role was a physical challenge, but worth it.

“Anytime people notice your work, it gives you more confidence,” Hawkes said.

“The Invisible War,” an insight into rape and sexual assault in the U.S. military, won the Best Documentary award.

Amy Ziering, one of the film’s writers, made an emotional acceptance speech, telling service members “you are heard. You are not alone and you are no longer invisible.”

Matthew McConaughey was a winner for his supporting role as a male stripper in comedy “Magic Mike.” The actor, who has enjoyed the biggest critical success in his career for the film, accepted the trophy saying, “I had to take my pants off to win an award.”

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, Editing by Jill Serjeant and Paul Simao)

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Jane Lynch hosting new NBC game show, “Hollywood Game Night”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Jane Lynch is hosting the new NBC game show “Hollywood Game Night,” which will pit A-list contestants against mere mortals in a cocktail-party atmosphere.

NBC has ordered eight episodes of the series, from Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner.

“With Jane Lynch on board as our host, we now have a key component in place that will further enliven the sheer fun of a raucous Hollywood party that will include real everyday people,” said NBC president of alternative and late night programming Paul Telegdy. “Her exuberant wit and ability to think quickly will be the perfect match for our show which will give viewers a fresh look inside the off-set lives of their favorite celebrities – and allow them a chance to win money as well.”

Added the Emmy winner: “I’m so thrilled to let the world in on the fun with Sean at ‘Game Night‘! The format is sure to provide a lot of unexpected results that will keep everyone off-balance and entertained.”

The show promises a loose, festive atmosphere with flowing drinks, passed hors d’oeuvres and a live house band. One of two non-celebrity contestants will win a cash prize.

The series is produced by Hazy Mills Productions (“Grimm,” “Hot in Cleveland, “Soul Man”), Mission Control Media (Syfy’s “Face Off”), and Universal Television. Hayes, Milliner, Michael Agbabian and Dwight D. Smith are the executive producers.

Lynch will soon appear on Broadway in “Annie.”

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Justin Timberlake to do double duty on “Saturday Night Live” in April

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – No word on whether he’ll wear a suit and tie for the occasion, but Justin Timberlake is coming back to “Saturday Night Live.”

Timberlake will return to NBC‘s sketch-comedy institution on March 9, pulling double duty as the episode’s host and musical guest.

The “Sexy Back” singer is no stranger to the show, having made 16 appearances in the past, including four hosting stints. (He last hosted the show in May 2011, with Lady Gaga as musical guest.)

Timberlake’s latest album, “The 20/20 Experience,” is out March 19, with the first single, “Suit & Tie,” already released.

For the return of “SNL” on March 2, actor Kevin Hart will perform hosting duties, with “Thrift Shop” musicians Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as musical guests.

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Jennifer Hudson, Zeta-Jones to sing in Oscars musical tribute

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Oscar winners Russell Crowe, Jennifer Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones will perform at the Academy Awards in a tribute to the resurgence of big-screen musicals, organizers said on Wednesday.

The performance, which will also feature Oscar nominees Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman from “Les Miserables,” is part of the several musical acts at the annual Hollywood awards on Sunday.

“We are pleased to have been able to amass so much talent to create the celebration of musicals of the last decade that we envisioned,” Oscars producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan said in a statement. “We are thrilled that so many talented actors have agreed to bring our vision to life.”

Musicals have had a revival over the past decade in Hollywood. Death row drama “Chicago” won six Academy Awards in 2003, including top prize Best Picture, and girl-group drama “Dreamgirls” scored two Oscars in 2007 while television’s “Glee” has won six Emmy awards since 2010.

R&B singer Hudson won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2007 for her role in “Dreamgirls” and Zeta-Jones won the same award for “Chicago” in 2003.

Crowe, who stars in “Les Mis,” won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2001 for his role in the Roman drama “Gladiator.”

“Les Mis” scored eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Original Song. “Les Mis” actors Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit and Samantha Banks will also join the musical tribute.

Singers Adele, Shirley Bassey, Norah Jones and Barbara Streisand will also perform at the awards show.

Adele is nominated for an Oscar for her song “Skyfall” in the James Bond film of the same name, and Jones will perform Oscar-nominated song “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from “Ted.”

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Doina Chiacu)

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Jay-Z, Timberlake perform at first London Olympic park concert

LONDON (Reuters) – Rapper Jay-Z will return to the London Olympics site this summer where he performed at the 2012 Paralympics as the sporting complex takes on a new life as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z were named on Tuesday by live music promoter Live Nation Entertainment as headline acts for the Wireless Festival on July 12 and July 13.

Other acts will include Snoop Dogg, John Legend, Frank Ocean, Emeli Sande, Rita Ora, and DJ Calvin Harris.

Last month Live Nation said it had secured exclusive rights in 2013 to host concerts in the Olympic Park and Stadium complex in east London that was designed so it could be transformed into a space for entertainment, leisure and work after the Games.

The announcement was a boost for the British government which pumped public money into the London 2012 Games, adamant the Olympic site would not become an expensive white elephant.

“This is a stellar line up of stars that is set to bring the house down this summer at Queen Elizabeth Park London. It proves that our fantastic Olympic park is now a destination of choice for world class musical events,” London Mayor Boris Johnson said in a statement.

Live Nation said this would be Jay-Z’s only European show this year and Timberlake’s sole British festival appearance.

Earlier this month the two U.S. singers appeared together at the Grammys to perform their collaboration “Suit & Tie” off Timberlake’s first new album in seven years that is due out on March 18.

Live Nation plans to hold the Wireless Festival and Hard Rock Calling events at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and avoid a repeat of previous years when the concerts were staged in London parks and triggered complaints from nearby residents.

Concert-goers were surprised in July when microphones were suddenly switched off on Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen in mid-duet when a Hyde Park concert ran over time.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Fergie, Josh Duhamel expecting their 1st child

NEW YORK (AP) — Her hump, her hump, her lovely lady lump: Fergie is pregnant with her first child.

A representative for the Black Eyed Peas singer confirmed the news Monday. Fergie’s actor husband Josh Duhamel tweeted about the news with joy, saying: “Fergie and Me and BABY makes three.”

The 37-year-old Fergie and 40-year-old Duhamel married in 2009. She joined the Black Eyed Peas when the group released its third album, “Elephunk,” in 2003. The foursome is known for its pop-inspired hip-hop tunes like “My Humps,” ”I Gotta Feeling” and “Boom Boom Pow.”

Fergie launched her solo debut, “The Duchess,” to much success in 2006. It featured five Top 5 hits, including “Fergalicious” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.”

Duhamel has appeared in the “Transformer” films and most recently in “Safe Haven.”

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Record sales double for Grammy performers, young and old

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Grammy performers did not go home with just trophies last weekend. Winning bands like indie-pop trio fun. and British folk band Mumford & Sons saw sales of their singles and albums more than double after appearing on the music industry honors show.

Sales figures released on Friday by Nielsen showed a 182 percent increase in sales of fun.’s hit single “We Are Young” following their Song of the Year and Best New Artist Grammy victories on Sunday.

Album of the Year winner’s Mumford & Sons saw sales of its “I Will Wait” single shoot up 116 percent, while Australian artist Gotye’s “Making Mirrors” album from 2011 increased 124 percent from the week before the annual music telecast.

Rising R&B star Frank Ocean, who took home two Grammys, saw sales of his album “Channel Orange” climb 140 percent.

The numbers mostly reflect a single night of sales increases from the prior week, predominantly digital downloads, immediately following the Grammy Awards show in Los Angeles on February 10.

Sales figures for the full week will be released as usual by Nielsen SoundScan on Wednesday and will include both digital and physical album sales.

Grammy winners were not the only ones to benefit from the annual music industry showcase.

Veteran rockers The Band saw its greatest hits package climb 203 percent after a multi-artist tribute at the show to late drummer Levon Helm.

Sales of “Take Five,” the distinctive 1959 tune by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck who died in December, shot up 248 percent after a tribute by fellow jazz musicians Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Kenny Garrett, according to Nielsen.

The Grammys also proved a boost for the blossoming career of 26 year-old southern California artist Miguel. After performing his single “Adorn” on the show, sales rose 229 percent compared with the week prior.

Mumford & Sons, Frank Ocean, Gotye and The Band record on labels owned by Universal Music Group; the music of Miguel and the late Dave Brubeck is released by units of Sony Music, and FUN. is signed to record label Fueled by Ramen, a unit of privately-held Warner Music.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

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Quirky comedy film “Prince Avalanche” charms Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) – Cinema has a new odd couple in “Prince Avalanche“, a low-budget film set in the remote, fire-ravaged forests of Texas and starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as an unlikely pair of workers painting markings on a seemingly endless road.

The tedium of their work allows space for them to argue, bicker, compete and bond in David Gordon Green‘s oddball remake of a 2011 Icelandic movie called “Either Way”.

In competition at the Berlin film festival, where it premieres on Wednesday, “Prince Avalanche” has received mostly warm reviews, with the Hollywood Reporter calling it an “odd little gem of a movie”.

Green, best known for stoner comedy “Pineapple Express”, took an unusual approach to making the film: he decided to adapt an Icelandic picture even before he had seen it.

“I watched the film for the first time really with the intension of remaking it, which is really strange,” he told reporters in Berlin.

He set the action in the late 1980s rather than today, because it allowed him to cut his characters off completely from an outside world with no Skype, mobile phones or iPads – generally a time when “things were more pleasant.”

LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE

For Hirsch, there were parallels with his most famous role to date in Sean Penn‘s 2007 “Into the Wild” in which he plays Christopher McCandless, who turns his back on society and wanders into the Alaskan wilderness.

In “Prince Avalanche” his character Lance is just the opposite – a young drifter who hates being away from the buzz of the city and the company of his girlfriends.

“I love shooting in nature, that’s for sure, but I think because I’m so identified with the part in ‘Into the Wild’ I like the idea of playing a character that didn’t really like nature and hated to be alone from the beginning,” he said.

“I certainly love nature and I love being in the wilderness, but I was raised in Sante Fe, New Mexico but also in Los Angeles, California.”

Green rushed to shoot the movie, which took just 16 days to film, in order to capture the devastation caused by a 2011 wildfire at Bastrop State Park.

He kept his crew to a minimum – no more than 10 people on set at any time – and allowed the actors to improvise.

The barren landscape, which was quickly recovering its color and vitality, was captured by Green’s regular director of photography Tim Orr.

Rudd, best known for comic roles and most recently starring in “This is 40″, plays Alvin, the boyfriend of Lance’s older sister who is introverted, serious and constantly seeking to better himself, including learning German using a language tape.

By contrast, Lance hates sleeping in tents, hunting for food and painting roads, and can’t wait for the weekend when he can get back to civilization.

Gradually the two misfits begin to get along, helped by Alvin’s personal crisis and a crate of hooch left by a mysterious old truck driver played by the late character actor Lance LeGault, to whom the movie is dedicated.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Ryan O’Neal wins appeals ruling in defamation case

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan O’Neal may have enough evidence to show that he was defamed by a man who claimed the actor stole a valuable portrait of the late Farrah Fawcett, an appeals court ruled Thursday.

A divided panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that O’Neal’s case against Craig Nevius, a former Fawcett associate, should be allowed to proceed and that the actor may be able to win some damages. One justice disagreed and wrote that the case should be dismissed.

O’Neal sued in July 2011, claiming he was defamed by Nevius‘ comments that the actor had stolen a Fawcett portrait created by Andy Warhol. The painting is the subject of a separate lawsuit between O’Neal and the University of Texas, which claims Fawcett left the artwork to the school after her 2009 death.

Nevius’s attorney, Lincoln Bandlow, said he would appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court. He had appealed a lower court’s ruling allowing the case to go forward.

O’Neal’s suit seeks more than $ 1 million in damages. He claimed in the case that Warhol gave him the portrait and he intends to bequeath it to his only son from his longtime relationship with Fawcett, Redmond O’Neal.

Nevius’ comments that O’Neal stole the artwork were made in interviews with Star magazine and “Good Morning America,” and he cooperated with UT investigators searching for the portrait.

Although Nevius initially denied he accused O’Neal of stealing the painting, he acknowledged in a later court filing that he made the claim to university investigators.

“The inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence here would support a jury’s finding that Nevius harbored strong ill-feelings toward O’Neal,” the justices siding with O’Neal wrote. The dissent argues that Nevius’ comments were constitutionally-protected speech and the case should have been dismissed.

O’Neal’s fight with UT over the portrait returns to court on Feb. 27.

The actor and Nevius have battled in court for years.

Nevius collaborated on a documentary of Fawcett’s fight with cancer but sued the actor claiming he interfered in the project and removed him from it shortly before Fawcett’s death. The case was dismissed before trial.

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Universal dates mystery Illumination movie for 2015

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Universal Pictures announced Tuesday that it will release a new movie from “Despicable Me” producer Illumination Entertainment July 4 weekend in 2015. The studio would not disclose anything else about the movie, which will be Illumination’s sixth feature film since Chris Meledandri founded it in 2007.

However, we can tell you what it will and won’t be. It will be an original, animated movie, a spokesman for Meledandri and Universal told TheWrap. That means it won’t be the reboot of the Grinch that Illumination and Universal are cooking up.

In its ambiguous Monday announcement, Universal said the new Illumination movie will be released in 3D, and the studio’s new spin on the iconic Dr. Seuss character will also be a 3D feature. Still, “original” crosses off Grinch.

It also won’t be a live-action film, Meledandri’s spokesman said. Though Universal has said Illumination will, at some point, make a live-action movie, the only such project the production company has kicked around is a Dr. Seuss biopic.

Illumination has an exclusive financing and distribution deal with Universal, and thus far has made “Despicable Me,” “The Lorax” and “Hop.” The company has two more projects on deck before this untitled feature: the sequel to “Despicable Me,” due out July 3, and a spin-off of that franchise, “The Untitled Minions Project,” due out in 2014. This new movie won’t be “Despicable Me” related, Meledandri’s spokesman said.

So what will it be? Stay tuned.

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The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr crowned NME Genius

LONDON (Reuters) – Guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr who made his name with cult British rock band The Smiths in the 1980s was named on Tuesday as the winner of this year’s NME Godlike Genius Award.

Marr, 49, founded The Smiths with Morrissey in 1983 and the two musicians co-wrote the band’s songs for four albums before going their separate ways in 1987.

The guitarist has also played with Billy Bragg, The Pretenders, The The, Modest House and The Cribs, and has led his own band, Johnny Marr and The Healers, for over a decade.

Marr will collect the award on February 27 when the music magazine holds its annual prize ceremony in London — two days after he releases his debut solo album “The Messenger”.

“The NME seems to be good at giving this award to people I like so I’m in good company. I guess it means that some things are alright with the world,” Marr said in a statement.

NME editor Mike Williams said Marr had played a role in rewriting the history of music with The Smiths.

“He’s continued to push boundaries and evolve throughout his career, working with some of the best and most exciting artists on the planet,” said Williams.

Previous winners of the NME Godlike Genius Award include The Clash, Paul Weller, The Cure, Manic Street Preachers, New Order & Joy Division, and Dave Grohl. Last year’s winner was Noel Gallagher.

NME awards are handed out in 22 categories with music fans casting votes.

This year four acts have received four nominations including the Rolling Stones, LA sisters Haim, Australian rock band Tame Impala and British alternative hip hop artist M.I.A.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

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“Argo,” Warner Brothers capitalizing on awards at box office

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – “Argo,” which seems to have been snatching up every award in sight lately, would be the front-runner in this one, too, if it existed: Best Use of a Sudden Slew of Honors.

Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage thriller has been in release since October 12, but following the Oscar nominations on January 10 – and subsequent honors from the Producers Guild, Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild and BAFTA – the box-office grosses have risen in four of the last five weeks. It’s domestic total is $ 123.7 million, and nearly $ 14 million of that has come since the nominations – in weeks 14 through 18.

“Argo” established itself as a hit when it opened in 3,232 theaters, its largest distribution to date, to $ 19 million and two weeks later took the No. 1 weekend spot in its third week. It cemented that status in late November when it crossed the $ 100 million mark, but that was quite a while ago. And in the first week of 2013, “Argo” nearly dropped out of sight. It was down to 302 theaters, grossed less than $ 800,000 and fell out of the top 20 films.

But this past weekend, it grossed $ 2.5 million after Warner Bros. added 470 theaters to raise the location count to 1,405, and returned to the top ten for the first time since Thanksgiving. For some exhibitors, this is the second booking for “Argo,” and that’s unusual.

“It’s an extraordinary situation,” Warner Bros. executive vice president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein told TheWrap, “but then this has been an extraordinary ride for an extraordinary film.”

Since its seven Oscar nominations, with Warner Bros. steadily upping its screen count, “Argo” has posted week-to-week percentage gains of 59, 80, 12 and, this past weekend, 23 percent.

Goldstein said that he would like to add more screens this week, but it could be tough because of the four openers crowding the market. On Valentine’s Day, his studio is rolling out the drama “Beautiful Creatures,” Relativity debuts its romance “Safe Haven,” the Weinstein Company has its animated “Escape From Planet Earth” and Fox has “Good Day to Die Hard.”

“Argo” comes out on DVD on February 19, so the post-nominations box-office run for the movie, which cost about $ 45 million to make, will likely slow. But there is, of course, one more chance for a bump with the Oscars on February 24, and Warner Bros. has shown it knows how to capitalize on hardware.

“Lincoln” is still leading the Best Picture nominee pack at the box office, with $ 174 million, followed by “Django Unchained,” “Les Miserables,” “Argo” and “Life of Pi.” The international grosses of several of the films – “Pi” with $ 455 million, “Les Miz” with $ 215 million and “Django” with $ 187 million – top their domestic totals. “Argo” has made $ 75 million abroad.

There is no direct correlation between box office and Oscar success. Kathryn Bigelow’s 2009 movie “The Hurt Locker” is Exhibit A. It beat out “Avatar” for Best Picture despite a domestic total of $ 17 million, compared to the $ 750 million total for James Cameron’s 3D epic.

On the other hand, plenty of blockbusters – “Forrest Gump,” “Titanic” and “Lord of the Rings” – have taken home the big prize. And 20 of the past 34 Best Picture winners have made $ 100 million or more at the box office, suggesting Academy voters can appreciate a film that resonates with a mass audience.

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Taylor Swift kicks off Grammys, Adele wins best pop solo award

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country-pop singer Taylor Swift brought the circus to the Grammy stage on Sunday, kicking off the annual awards with a lively performance and British singer Adele picked up the show’s first award.

The Black Keys, Skrillex and Gotye started the night strong, each picking up multiple awards prior to the televised ceremony.

The 55th Grammy Awards will hand out their gramophone-shaped trophies in more than 80 categories, but only a handful of winners are announced during the three-hour live telecast airing on CBS. More than 60 categories were announced prior to the televised show.

The top categories are dominated this year by male artists, with British folk band Mumford & Sons, indie-pop trio FUN. and R&B singer Frank Ocean going into the show with six nominations each, including Album of the Year.

Swift kicked off the live telecast dressed as a ringmaster with a circus-themed performance of her infectious chart-topping hit “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” backed by dancers in jester and acrobat costumes.

The 23-year-old singer picked up an early Grammy for her collaboration with T-Bone Burnett and The Civil Wars on the song “Safe and Sound” from “The Hunger Games” movie soundtrack.

Britain’s Adele, 24, who swept the Grammys with six major awards last year, landed another this year for Best Pop Solo Performance for her live rendition of “Set Fire to The Rain.”

The singer recognized the other female nominees in the audience, saying, “We work so hard, we make it look so easy.”

Presenting the award, rapper Pitbull joked that Jennifer Lopez, who joined him onstage in an asymmetric dress with a daring slit up to the top of her thigh, “inspired the memo,” referring to an advisory issued by CBS asking all performers and presenters to keep their breasts, buttocks and genitals covered.

VETERANS AND NEWCOMERS

The Grammys have a reputation for pairing up old-timers and newcomers, and this year had several collaborations.

Veteran Elton John took the stage with rising British star Ed Sheeran, 21, to sing a stripped down duet of “The A Team,” Sheeran’s song for which he’s nominated in the Song of the Year category.

One of the night’s leading nominees, New York indie-pop trio FUN., lived up to their name with a performance of “Carry On,” while rain fell on stage, soaking the band as they played.

The band, which received six nominations, was the only act to be nominated in the top four categories of Album, Song and Record of the Year and Best New Artist.

Rockers The Black Keys, formed by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, started the night strong, picking up two Grammys – Best Rock Album for “El Camino” and Best Rock Song for “Lonely Boy.” Auerbach was also named the Producer of the Year in the non-classical category.

The band went into the night with five nominations, including top categories Album of the Year and Record of the Year.

British folk band Mumford & Sons went into Sunday’s awards with a leading six nominations. They picked up one win for Best Long Form Music Video for “Big Easy Express,” a collaboration with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Old Crow Medicine Show.

Australian singer Gotye, 32, picked up two Grammys for Best Alternative Album for “Making Mirrors” and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Somebody That I Used To Know” featuring Kimbra.

DJ Skrillex, 25, who won three Grammy awards last year, picked up three more, including Best Dance/Electronica Album for “Bangarang.”

Jay-Z and Kanye West picked up two awards, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for their collaboration “N****s in Paris.” Jay-Z’s wife, Beyonce, won Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Love on Top.”

(Additional reporting by Nichola Groom and Sue Zeidler; Editing by Jill Serjeant, Peter Cooney and Stacey Joyce)

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Grammys pay tribute to Shankar, King, Temptations

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ravi Shankar passed away in December before he could attend The Recording Academy‘s Special Merit Awards celebration where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award. But the 91-year-old sitar master, Indian music promoter and friend to The Beatles got the call a few days before he passed away, and that meant everything to his family.

“I was very excited to hear about the lifetime achievement award a week before my dad passed away, one day before he went into surgery,” Shankar’s daughter, Norah Jones, said in an email to the Associated Press a few hours before the ceremony. “He knew about it and was very happy, and also that he and my sister, Anoushka, were both nominated in the same category for a Grammy (this year) was a special thing as well. We all miss him and are very proud of him. I will forever be discovering and re-discovering his music from all walks of his long and amazing life.”

Jones and Anoushka Shankar‘s acceptance of their father’s award Saturday afternoon at the Wilshire Ebert Theatre in Los Angeles was one of many memorable moments in the ceremony honoring performers and non-performers alike.

The crowd made a happy birthday video for Carole King, saluted husband-and-wife songwriters Marilyn and Alan Bergman on their 55th anniversary, and swooned as Charlie Haden paid tribute to his wife and family.

Shankar, singer-songwriter King and jazz bassist Haden were honored with lifetime achievement awards along with classical pianist Glenn Gould, who made his final public performance in the same theatre, blues guitarist Lightnin’ Hopkins, The Temptations and pop singer Patti Page, who like Shankar passed away in the last two months.

Special merit awards also were handed out to non-performers. Chess Records founders Philip and Leonard Chess, husband-and-wife songwriters Marilyn and Alan Bergman, and former Capitol Records executive Alan Livingston won the Trustees Award given to non-performers. And MIDI developers Ikutaro Kakehashi and Dave Smith and ribbon microphone manufacturer Royer Labs won technical Grammys.

Haden noted the importance of his family in his acceptance speech.

“I thank my brother Jim for letting me listen to his jazz records,” Haden said. “I heard Charlie Parker and that changed my life forever.”

For King, it was James Taylor who sent her down a new path. She noted in her video message he forced her to get up and sing one of her own songs in concert when she really didn’t see herself as a performer: “I guess he was right.”

The Bergmans, who wrote “The Way We Were,” turned in a romantic acceptance speech, adding another special moment to a partnership that produced some of our most well-known songs.

“I just want to say this in public: I’m married to the most remarkable woman in the world,” Alan Bergman said.

“Oh, cut it out,” Marilyn Berman responded.

___

Follow AP Music Writer Chris Talbott at http://twitter.com/Chris_Talbott .

___

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