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Archive: July 2009 (281-290 of 322)

Jul 5 2009 04:55 PM ET

Madonna celebrates Michael Jackson in London concert

Madonna paid tribute to Michael Jackson on the opening night of her "Sticky and Sweet" concerts in the same London arena Jackson was due to perform his comeback concerts later this month. After a Jackson impersonator performed many of the late pop music mega-star's signature moves to "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something," Madonna told the crowd "Let's give it up for one of the greatest artists the world has ever known. Michael Jackson: Long live the king!"

Jul 5 2009 03:17 PM ET

Final tally for Michael Jackson memorial: 1.6 million people register!

by Nicole Sperling

The registration process for free tickets to Michael Jackson's public memorial service has closed. Now AEG, the company behind the memorial, is charged with the unenviable task of sorting through 1.6 million registers, "scrubbing" all entries to eliminate duplicates and those suspected to have been made by auto-entry, and randomly drawing 8,750 tickets. Fans selected will receive an email on July 5 after 11 am PST with instructions on how to obtain their two free tickets. Tickets will be distributed on July 6 at an off-site location. The service will be held on July 7 at the Staples Center or the live simulcast at the Nokia Theatre.

Jul 4 2009 10:04 PM ET

Michael Jackson memorial: TV networks sort out broadcast plans

by Adam B. Vary

Tags: In Memoriam, Television

Broadcast and cable networks are beginning to sort out their plans for the July 7 public memorial for Michael Jackson, according to the Associated Press. Although all the video will come via the same pool feed from the Los Angeles Staples Center, ABC, CNN, HLN (formally Headline News), MSNBC, E!, CNN en Espanol and CNN International all plan to broadcast the memorial live, starting at 10 a.m. (PDT). Several networks are sending their top anchors for the event, including Charles Gibson for ABC and Anderson Cooper for CNN. Katie Couric will cover the event from the Staples Center for CBS, but the network hasn't released how it intends to broadcast the memorial. NBC, meanwhile, is not planning live coverage, instead choosing to air a one-hour highlight special in prime-time. Fox News has not announced its plans.

Jul 4 2009 09:13 PM ET

'Harry Potter' star Rupert Grint has swine flu

by Sean Smith

Tags: Movie, Movie Biz

Actor Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, has contracted swine flu three days before the London premiere of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, AFP reports. According to his publicist, the actor took three days off filming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but is expected to join his co-stars on Tuesday for the premiere.

Jul 4 2009 09:13 PM ET

Former Beatles and Stones manager Allen Klein has died

by Nicole Sperling

Tags: In Memoriam

Iconic and infamous music business entrepreneur Allen Klein has died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 77.

Klein — a controversial manager whose clients included Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles — founded Allen Klein & Co. in the late 1950s. Today, ABKCO is one of the world’s leading independent music companies.

The New Jersey-born accountant’s rise to fame began with Cooke, who he helped land an unprecedentedly lucrative recording deal in 1963. He then moved on to the Rolling Stones — and, when their relationship ended, he walked away with the rights to some of the band’s classic hits like “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” He also represented the Beatles during the tumultuous months before their 1970 breakup.

Along the way, he earned a reputation as a dogged businessman with a take-no-prisoners negotiating style.

Klein is survived by his longtime girlfriend Iris Keitel, an ABKCO executive, and three adult children.

Jul 4 2009 08:40 PM ET

Michael Jackson memorial: Over 1.3 million ticket registrants so far

by Adam B. Vary

Tags: In Memoriam, Musics, Television

The Michael Jackson public memorial on July 7 has received 1,359,956 registrations for free tickets as of 1 p.m. pacific daylight time on Saturday, according to a release by Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine. That number is certain to climb much higher before the 6 p.m. deadline today (to register click here for the ticket registration site), especially since Sunshine also announced that event producer AEG has changed the legal terms for the tickets to allow non-U.S. residents to register for the ticket lottery. (The 8,750 people picked in the lottery to receive two tickets will be notified via e-mail by 3 p.m. tomorrow.) The site received over 500 million hits just 90 minutes after going live yesterday.

For those unable to receive tickets, E! has announced it will carry the entire memorial on its cable network and stream it live on its website.

Jul 4 2009 03:38 PM ET

Powerful sedative found in Michael Jackson's home

by Nicole Sperling

The Associated Press has reported that the sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's home, according to a law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity. The drug, also known as Propofol, is an intravenous anesthetic used often in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. It is very unusual to have it in a private home. Experts say the drug can lead to cardiac arrest, especially when combined with others.

Jul 3 2009 06:16 PM ET

Michael Jackson memorial tickets available via online lottery

by Adam B. Vary

Tags: In Memoriam, Musics

Michael Jackson's public memorial — to be held Tuesday, July 7 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles — will be open to 17,500 attendees chosen through a free, online lottery system at StaplesCenter.com, officials involved with the plan said at a news conference today. Tim Leiweke, head of AEG, the company that had been producing Jackson's comeback concert "This Is It," explained that 11,000 of those tickets will be for the actual memorial in Staples Center, and 6,500 will be seats at the Nokia Theater across the street where fans can watch a live feed, which will also be open to all broadcast and cable networks.

Registration for the seats will conclude on Saturday at 6pm (PT), at which time 8,750 names will be randomly selected to receive two tickets to either the Staples Center or the Nokia Theater. The recipients will be contacted via e-mail between 11am and 8pm (PT) on Sunday with a special code which, when entered at Ticketmaster.com, will provide further instructions on how to pick up the hard tickets and wristbands required for the Tuesday event.

Leiweke, L.A. city officials, and family spokesman Ken Sunshine all stressed that no one without a ticket and a wristband will be allowed within the Staples Center area. There will be no broadcast of the video from outside the Staples Center itself, and no public funeral procession. Sunshine said that the memorial is still being developed, and "no [further] details are forthcoming." There was no comment, either, on reports that the 100 hours footage of Jackson's rehearsals for "This Is It" at the Staples Center may become a feature film.

UPDATE: According to a release by Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine, StaplesCenter.com has received over 500 million hits as of 11:30 a.m. (PT), averaging 120,000 per second. The site has added an additional server to handle the massive influx of traffic. The release also stresses that duplicate registrations for Jackson tickets will not be accepted and do not increase one's chances of getting a ticket to the memorial.

Jul 3 2009 03:28 PM ET

Michael Jackson was reportedly working on two albums at time of death

by Nicole Sperling

Tags: Misc.

Billboard magazine is reporting that at the time of Michael Jackson's death, the aging pop star was working on two albums in addition to preparing for a 50-show concert series. One album, the website reports, was in the pop vein, while another would be made up entirely instrumental classical compositions. Jackson's pop album was a collaboration with songwriter Claude Kelly and Akon, who says Jackson was motivated by his fans and by his children, who had never seen him perform live. For the classical album, composer David Michael Frank was invited to Jackson's Holmby Hills home a few months ago looking for help with orchestration.

Jul 2 2009 11:52 PM ET

David Carradine likely died of asphyxia, expert says

by EW staff

Tags: In Memoriam, Movie

Thai authorities have concluded that actor David Carradine died of asphyxiation, and a private pathologist who examined the late Kill Bill star's body agrees, the Associated Press is reporting. Dr. Michael Baden conducted his examination at the request of the family of Carradine, who passed away in Bankgok on June 4 under mysterious circumstances. Baden says that it still isn't clear whether Carradine died accidentally or was killed; toxicology reports and other elements of the Thai investigation have yet to be released.