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Archive: December 2010 (31-40 of 92)

Dec 21 2010 03:59 PM ET

'Driving Miss Daisy' recoups $2.6 million investment

Categories: Stage

There might be trouble on the set of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, but one Broadway show is seeing plenty of success. The producers of Driving Miss Daisy announced via press release that the play has recouped its $2.6 million investment in just a little over nine weeks. (It is the first Broadway show of the 2010-11 season to fully recoup.) Miss Daisy — which stars James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, and Boyd Gaines — also recently announced it is extending its run through April 9, 2011.

Dec 21 2010 02:52 PM ET

FCC approves net neutrality plan

by Margaret Lyons

Categories: Misc., Tech

The Federal Communications Commission voted today to approve some regulations for net neutrality. In a 3-2 verdict, the Commission ruled that broadband providers cannot block access to or discriminate against sites. Committee Chairman Julius Genachowski called the plan a “strong and sensible framework,” but it’s already meeting with blowback from both sides of the aisle, including members of the FCC itself. The plan distinguishes between wired and wireless Internet, banning only the former from “unreasonable discrimination” of web traffic. Democrats on the committee feel the regulations don’t go far enough, while Republicans say the rules overstep the committee’s bounds and will stifle economic growth. [CNET, Washington Post]

Dec 21 2010 12:16 PM ET

Brother of 'Harry Potter' actress pleads guilty to attacking her

by Kate Ward

Categories: Harry Potter

Ashraf Azad, the 28-year-old brother of 22-year-old Harry Potter actress Afshan Azad, has pleaded guilty of assaulting her last May, the BBC reports. Ashraf allegedly was upset that Afshan — known for playing Padma Patil in the Harry Potter movies — was dating a man who was not Muslim. Though Ashraf and father Abdul Azad were cleared of charges of attempted murder, Ashraf is facing jail time. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 21.

Dec 21 2010 12:09 PM ET

Lindsay Lohan under investigation for criminal battery

by Kate Ward

Categories:

Image Credit: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.comA rep from the Palm Desert Police Department confirmed to EW that Lindsay Lohan is a suspect in a criminal battery case. According to police, an altercation between the actress and “a female adult” took place in Palm Desert, Calif., near the Betty Ford Center — where Lohan has been seeking treatment — on Dec. 12. The victim plans to prosecute, and though no arrests were made at the scene, the incident is being investigated as a misdemeanor. After police authorities complete the ongoing investigation, the District Attorney’s Office will determine whether or not to press charges. UPDATE: Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, issued the following statement: “At this time, we are declining to comment on the underlying facts surrounding this incident, as we await the completion of the police investigation. It should be noted, however, that it was Ms. Lohan who called 911 to request police assistance at the time this incident occurred.”

Dec 21 2010 10:06 AM ET

Bret Michaels engaged to longtime girlfriend

by Margaret Lyons

Categories: Weddings

Bret Michaels, 47, and longtime girlfriend Kristi Gibson, 39, are engaged. Michaels proposed to his on-again off-again companion of 16 years on last night’s finale of Bret Michaels: Life As I Know It. The couple has two daughters together.

Dec 21 2010 09:26 AM ET

'Spider-Man' stunt double injured after crashing to stage

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Stage

Christopher Tierney, the main stunt performer in the Broadway production Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, fell approximately 30 feet during last night’s performance and needed to be hospitalized for minor injuries, according to the Associated Press. The accident occurred about seven minutes before the end of the show, which was then halted. “The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Actors Equity and the New York State Department of Labor have met with the Spider-Man company today to discuss additional safety protocols. It was agreed that these measures would be enacted immediately,” the show’s spokesperson, Rick Miramontez, said in a statement. “Tomorrow’s matinee has been postponed and will be rescheduled. Tomorrow evening’s, and all subsequent performances will proceed as scheduled.”

Dec 20 2010 08:38 PM ET

Steve Landesberg, 'Barney Miller' co-star, dies at 65

by Benjamin Svetkey

Categories: In Memoriam

Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesBarney Miller star Steve Landesberg has died at age 65, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The character actor with the hangdog face and laconic charisma had most recently starred as lazy psychiatrist Myron Finklestein in the Starz cable-TV comedy series Head Case, but also had a role in 2008′s Forgetting Sarah Marshall and a small turn in 2007′s Wild Hogs. His most famous part, though, was as Det. Sgt. Arthur Dietrich, the unflappable know-it-all policeman on the ’70s sitcom Barney Miller. Landesberg had fought a long battle with cancer.

Dec 20 2010 05:48 PM ET

MGM out of bankruptcy

by Benjamin Svetkey

Categories: Movie Biz, Movies

MGM has officially emerged from bankruptcy. A press release today from the debt-hobbled studio confirms that after seven weeks the company has been restructured, with $500 million in financing. Spyglass Entertainment heads Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum will serve as co-chairman and CEOs. No word yet on when the next James Bond movie will restart pre-production, but the restructuring should help clear the way for 007′s return.

Dec 20 2010 02:04 PM ET

Iranian director sentenced to 6 years: report

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Lawsuits, Movie Biz, Movies, Politics

Iranian film director Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to six years in prison and banned from making films for 20 years, according to Reuters, citing the Iranian Student News Agency. Panahi, who made such award-winning films as The White Balloon (1995) and The Circle (2000), had supported the political opposition and was arrested in March for making a film without government permission and inciting political protests. He engaged in a hunger strike during his recent imprisonment. In his statement to the court, Panahi, 50, dismissed the official charges, saying that his house was raided by the authorities and his film collection was seized and deemed “obscene.”

Dec 20 2010 01:47 PM ET

Shania Twain to remarry

by Kate Ward

Categories: Weddings

Two years after divorcing her husband of 14 years, Robert “Mutt” Lange, Shania Twain is trying her hand at marriage once again. A rep for Twain confirmed to People that the singer is engaged to Frédéric Thiébaud, a Swiss executive. The couple began dating shortly after Twain’s well-publicized divorce; Thiébaud split with his wife, Marie-Anne, after it was rumored she had an affair with Lange.