Posted 5-14-08

NewsRoom Entertainment Shorts

NewsRoom
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Jackson's Neverland Auction Cancelled

Michael Jackson has had a last minute reprieve from a Los Angeles-based real estate investment company that stopped the foreclosure auction of his Neverland Ranch in California.

The auction was due to take place today, but was called off after the loan on the property, reported to be worth US$23.5 million was bought by Colony Capital LLC off New York-based private equity and hedge fund group Fortress Investment Group.

British music mag NME reports that a spokesperson for Michael Jackson issued a statement, which said the singer was "pleased with recent developments involving Neverland" that would "allow me to focus on the future".

The 2,500-acre property near Santa Barbara, which had roller coasters, a Ferris wheel and a zoo with exotic animals, reportedly fell into disrepair after Jackson was acquitted of child molestation charges in 2005.

He has also struggled to pay his debts in recent years, resulting in the financial difficulties with Neverland Ranch.

Colony Capital, which has some US$39 billion in investments, says it is "very comfortable" holding the loan while it negotiates payment terms with Michael Jackson.

Bookies Pick Rushdie For Best Of The Booker

British bookies have put Salman Rushdie as the frontrunner to once again win a best of the Bookers award for his 1981 novel Midnight's Children, which centres on a Indian boy born just after partition.

The one-off Best of the Booker award marks the 40th anniversary of the Booker Prize, with six prize winning authors nominated.

The six shortlisted books, chosen from the list of 41 Booker Prize and Man Booker Prize winners, are: Pat Barker's The Ghost Road (1995), Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda (1988), JM Coetzee's Disgrace (1999), JG Farrell's The Siege of Krishnapur (1973), Nadine Gordimer's The Conversationist (1974), and Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children (1981).

The only time that a celebratory award has previously been created for 'the Booker' was in 1993 for the 25th anniversary when Salman Rushdie won the Booker of Bookers for Midnight's Children.

Bookmakers William Hill has offered Rushdie 6/4 odds as the favourite to win again, with second favourite Pat Barker at 3/1, followed by Peter Carey at 4/1, JM Coetzee at 5/1, Nadine Gordimer at 8/1 and JG Farrell at 10/1.

The Best of the Booker Prize winner will be chosen by public vote and will be announced at the London Literature Festival on July 10.

Readers can vote for their favourite author on the Man Booker website at:
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/vote


Speed Racer Heading For A Loss

Speed Racer, the latest movie from Matrix makers the Wachowski brothers, looks set to be a box office flop that could make a loss for movie studio Warner Brothers.

Speed Racer, based on a Japanese anime TV series, made its debut at the US box office over the weekend. While it came in second spot with takings of US$20.2 million, that was far below the US$50.5 million taken in by Marvel Studios' Iron Man in its second weekend.

Warner Brothers said that Speed Racer, starring Emile Hirsch, did not perform to their expectations. The movie studio's president of theatrical distribution, Dan Fellman, said it will be difficult to recoup Speed Racer's US$120 million budget.

The film has also been savaged by critics, registering a meagre ranking of 37 out of a 100 on www.metacritic.com, a score gained by averaging 37 reviews from major papers and magazines.

Wall Street Times reviewer Joe Morgenstern gave it a zero, calling it a "toxic admixture of computer-generated frenzy and live-action torpor succeeds in being, almost simultaneously, genuinely painful - the aesthetic equivalent of needles in eyeballs".

Reviewer Stephanie Zacharek for Salon.com also rated it 0, saying "it's so jaded and crass that I almost wonder if it's a highly unscientific experiment designed to gauge how little audiences will settle for these days"

Iron Man Rules US Box Office

Marvel Studios first feature film continues to rule the North American Box Office with an iron fist.

Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow, took the number one slot for a second consecutive weekend, raking in US$50.5 million after garnering receipts of US$100.75 million in its debut weekend.

The opening weekend was the second-best non-sequel movie opening of all time, bettered only by Spider-Man's debut in 2002, and the 10th best movie debut ever. Iron Man is the first film to be released by Marvel Studios, a new division established by the comic book company in 2005, with Paramount Pictures distributing.

Iron Man beat new entry Speed Racer, which took in US$20.2 million, according to Media By Numbers. Speed Racer, based on a Japanese anime TV series, stars Emile Hirsch and is directed by the Wachowski brothers, who also made the Matrix trilogy.

What Happens In Vegas, a comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, made its debut at number three, taking in US$20 million.

The top five at the North American box office was rounded out by Made of Honour (US$7.6 million) and Baby Mama (US$5.8 million).

Jazz Pull Out OT Victory, Tie Series With Lakers

The Utah Jazz managed to pull out an overtime victory Sunday in the fourth game of their series with the Los Angeles Lakers, 123-115.

The win puts the series even at 2-2, as the Jazz held the Lakers to two field goals in overtime and went 9-for-9 from the foul line while outscoring the Lakers 15-7.

The Jazz opened the series with two losses against League MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, but have played strong at home to turn it into a best-of-three series.

Bryant, who said he was fighting back spasms from early in the first quarter, finished with 33 points and 10 assists.

Winning The Nobel Spells The End For Lessing

Winning the Nobel prize for Literature has been a "bloody disaster," says octogenarian writer Doris Lessing.

Last year Lessing, 88, became only the 11th woman to win the prestigious award in 106 years.

However in an interview on the BBC's Radio 4, she said winning the award has caused a huge upswing in media demands on her time that meant writing a full novel was next to impossible.

"All I do is give interviews and spend time being photographed," she told Radio 4's Front Row.

Lessing said the constant media demand has sapped her energy and has stopped her writing, meaning she is probably going to give up writing novels altogether.

Iranian-born Doris Lessing moved to Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, as a child before moving to England in 1949. Her debut novel The Grass is Singing was released the following year and she went on to write more than more than 50 novels, plays, memoirs and collections of short stories.

Her best known works include The Golden Notebook, considered by many to be a feminist classic, and The Good Terrorist.

DMX Arrested On Animal Cruelty Charges

American rapper DMX is out on bail after being arrested over animal cruelty and drug possession charges.

Britisg music mag NME reports that Maricopa County police seized unspecified illegal drugs, five pit bull puppies and weapons from DMX's Arizona home.

The 3am raid on the rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, came after a seven month inquiry into animal abuse claims. Police reported that DMX first barricaded himself in his bedroom when officers arrived in the early hours, but surrendered without offering further resistance.

The arrest comes one week after DMX was arrested for speeding.

Bees Gees Musical In The Pipeline

Broadway will be filled with the sound of falsetto next year as work gets underway on a musical based on the music of the Bee Gees.

Robin Gibb told reporters that the project is already in the pipeline, with a possible stage debut on London's West End or Broadway in the next 12-16 months.

Robin announced the musical plans after unveiling a green plaque in Westminster, in central London, to honour the achievements of the multiple Grammy Award-winning Bee Gee's, the band he formed with his brothers Barry and Maurice, Robin's twin brother who died in 2003.

The green plaques are put up by Westminster Council to honour and celebrate the achievements of some of Westminster's most famous former residents.

So far 77 green plaques have been put on local buildings associated with people who have made lasting contributions to society, such as Jane Austin, Oscar Wilde and TS Eliot.

The Bee Gee's plaque was placed outside the former home of the band's manager and producer Robert Stigwood, where the brothers Gibbs wrote many of their famous songs.