Paris Jackson to talk about film debut
Michael Jackson’s 13-year-old daughter, Paris, is working on her movie debut - and she will talk about it in public for the first time this week.
Paris, who was 11 when her father died in 2009, will star in a live action/animated film called “Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys,” based on a famous book series for teenagers.
The film’s website says Paris plays heroine Lundon O’Malley in a story in which magic “turns a dolphin into a human, a teenage boy into a dragonfly and a loving jellyfish queen into an evil fairy godmother.”
The website, linked from her Twitter page, adds that she will be on Ellen DeGeneres’ television show on Wednesday, talking about the movie for the first time.
Her movie-debut news follows a tough few months for the Jackson family, when the star’s doctor, Conrad Murray, stood trial for involuntary manslaughter over Michael Jackson’s death on June 25, 2009.
Murray was sentenced last month to the maximum four years, although he is likely to serve less than half of that because of California’s chronic prison overcrowding.
“Paris Jackson will talk to Ellen about what life has been like for her and her family in the past few months. She’s also starring in the new film, “Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys,” Miss DeGeneres’ website said.
“The theme of the movie, saving the planet, is a cause close to both Paris and her father’s heart,” it said.
Paris famously cried at her father’s funeral but managed to speak through her sobs: “Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father … you could ever imagine … And I just wanted to say I love him … so much.”
More recently, she appeared onstage with her brothers, Prince Michael, 14, and Blanket, 9, at a tribute concert for their father in Cardiff, Wales, in October.
Haitian president asked Winfrey to come back
Oprah Winfrey’s trip to Haiti included dinner with the country’s president.
Miss Winfrey told reporters she dined with President Michel Martelly and his wife, Sophia. The president previously said he hoped the television personality would be a goodwill ambassador for Haiti. Miss Winfrey said no formal role was discussed, but the president made her promise to return to Haiti, and she did.
She spoke Tuesday as she visited Caribbean Craft, a well-known business that produces carnival masks, sculptures and paintings for export. The business received a loan through a program launched earlier this year by former President Bill Clinton and has had success reaching high-end customers.
Miss Winfrey said she will be featuring the venture in a program about Haiti on her Oprah Winfrey Network.
Bosnian Serb war victim wants Jolie’s film banned
The head of a group for Serbs held prisoner during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war says Angelina Jolie’s movie “In the Land of Blood and Honey” should be banned in the Serb-run part of the country.
Branislav Djukic of the Bosnian Serb Association of Camp Prisoners told the Associated Press on Tuesday that although he has seen only the trailer, he already can say the movie “is showing lies” and portraying Serbs as the only ones who raped women during the war.
Miss Jolie’s movie will be released in the U.S. on Dec. 23 and is a heavy drama about a Serb soldier who finds his ex-lover, a Muslim Bosnian woman, among sex slaves in a camp.
The movie was praised by a selected audience of 11 non-Serb war-victim groups who saw it in Sarajevo earlier this month.
Joel gets portrait at NYC’s Steinway Hall
The Piano Man is now officially a Steinway man.
A Billy Joel portrait has been unveiled in New York City at Steinway Hall, home to the famed piano maker Steinway & Sons.
Mr. Joel is one of just two living artists included in a collection featuring greats such as Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. He’s the only non-classical performer.
The 62-year-old pop legend joked Monday about his painting’s proximity to one of Vladimir Horowitz, saying he doesn’t know “how crazy” Horowitz is about having him that close.
Mr. Joel’s painting features him standing upright in a leather jacket, with a Steinway in the foreground.
Mr. Joel said the jacket was one of the few items of clothing bought without a female companion. He said he wore it for years, but his girlfriend recently dismissed it as a 1980s relic.
’Survivor’ star Hatch released from prison
Reality-television star Richard Hatch has been released from a Rhode Island state prison after serving a nine-month sentence for failing to pay back taxes.
Mr. Hatch, winner of the first season of the CBS reality show “Survivor,” was released Monday, a state prison official said.
Mr. Hatch, 50, served six weeks at a state minimum-security facility as a transition after spending most of his sentence in federal prison.
The Newport resident had spent more than three years in prison for not paying taxes on his $1 million “Survivor” winnings. He was released in 2009 and ordered to refile his 2000 and 2001 taxes and pay what he owed.
He went back to prison in March for violating the terms of his supervised release by failing to settle his tax bill. He had claimed he was “financially destitute.”
Mr. Hatch said Monday night he was “happy” to have been released but didn’t know where he would be staying. He maintained he’s innocent of failing to pay his taxes.
Man arrested in Kiss bassist’s hacking case
A Connecticut man affiliated with the Anonymous hacking group has been arrested on federal charges for an attack on a website belonging to Kiss bassist Gene Simmons.
Kevin Poe of Manchester, Conn., made his initial appearance Tuesday in federal court in Hartford, Conn., and was released on $10,000 bond. It wasn’t immediately known if he had retained an attorney.
Mr. Poe was indicted in Los Angeles on two counts: conspiracy and unauthorized impairment of a protected computer. If convicted of both, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Authorities say Mr. Poe and others linked to Anonymous conducted a so-called “denial of service” attack in October 2010 against Mr. Simmons’ computer systems, sending tens of thousands of electronic requests designed to overload the server.
No other arrests have been made.
ESPN hockey analyst due in court on DWI
Ex-NHL player Matthew Barnaby is due in court on the drunken-driving charge that led to his firing from ESPN last week.
The former hockey analyst is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, where he lives.
Erie County sheriff’s deputies arrested Mr. Barnaby early Dec. 4 after finding him behind the wheel of a Porsche Cayenne that had front-end damage, was missing a front tire and was sparking as he drove on the rim.
The sheriff’s office says Mr. Barnaby failed field sobriety tests and refused a breath test.
Mr. Barnaby’s arrest may jeopardize an agreement that allowed the 38-year-old from Ottawa to avoid potential deportation following a domestic-related arrest earlier this year.
Mr. Barnaby’s lawyer was in court Tuesday morning and unavailable to comment.
• Compiled from Web and wire service reports.
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