Studio Quality Music and Artist Promotion



BOY GEORGE FACING JAIL SENTENCE
[BBC, 12/6/08]
Singer Boy George has been found guilty of falsely imprisoning a male escort at his flat in east London. Audun Carlsen, 29, said the Culture Club frontman attacked him as he tried to escape the Shoreditch flat and handcuffed him to the bed. The musician, whose real name is George O'Dowd, alleged Mr. Carlsen stole photographs from a laptop. He denied one count of false imprisonment. He will be sentenced on 16 January 2009, but was told he was likely to face jail. Judge David Radford said: "The fact that your bail is being continued does not imply that this will be dealt with by a non-custodial sentence. "I don't want any false expectations created." O'Dowd did not give evidence himself during the trial.

CBGB INHERITANCE BATTLE GETS UGLY
[Aversion, 12/6/08]
Iconic New York rock club CBGB is long closed. Its operator, Hilly Kristal is dead and buried. His relatives are fighting like dogs and cats. Kristal's former wife, Karen, filed lawsuit against Kristal's heir, Lisa Burgman, claiming ownership of the club, according to the New York Times. Karen alleges she was the sole proprietor of the company that owned the club, and helped launch and worked at the joint for years before her divorce. Burgman, who looks to inherit a small fortune -- about $3 million by most estimates -- allegedly received all of Hilly's inheritance, minus a small sum sent to her brother. Burgman claims Karen signed over the club to her ex-husband when it fell on hard times and got behind in its rent in 2005.

SO LONG, FAREWELL "VON TRAPP" HOTEL
[BBC, 12/5/08]
The Austrian city of Salzburg has blocked plans to turn the former home of the von Trapp family, immortalised in The Sound of Music, into a hotel. The "Villa Trapp" had been expected to open this year. But the city's planning council blocked the move after protests from residents in the upmarket neighbourhood. The von Trapps were made famous in the 1965 film The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews as a nun-turned-nanny who cares for a widower's seven children. According to tourism officials, 40% of overnight stays in Salzburg - also famous as the birthplace of the composer Mozart - are from fans of the Sound of Music film. The hotel's developers had planned to provide 14 hotel rooms for guests to the villa. Austrians are already able to get married in the villa's chapel. But opponents of the scheme feared tourists would tie up traffic and make a nuisance of themselves. The developers say they will appeal against the ruling, although the process could take up to three years. The von Trapp family lived in the house from 1923 before fleeing the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938. After the von Trapps left, Nazi security chief Heinrich Himmler used the villa until 1945. A missionary order bought the residence after World War II, and later agreed to sell it for use as a hotel. It was not featured in The Sound of Music - which used a number of different Austrian buildings to portray the family's home.

"BOY GEORGE" ESCORT IS 'UNRELIABLE
[BBC, 12/5/08]
A male escort who claims he was attacked by the singer Boy George "can't really be relied upon", jurors have been told. Auden Carlsen, 29, accuses the former Culture Club frontman of handcuffing him and beating him with a metal chain. Boy George accuses Mr. Carlsen of stealing photographs of himself. The singer, being tried under his real name George O'Dowd, denies one count of false imprisonment at this flat in Shoreditch, east London, in April 2007.

AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC ICON ODETTA DIES AT AGE 77
[BBC, 12/4/08]
U.S folk singer Odetta, a civil rights campaigner and a major influence on Bob Dylan, has died at the age of 77. Born Odetta Holmes in Birmingham, Alabama, the classically-trained singer gave life to slave songs and folk tunes through her powerful voice. Becoming a folk star in the 1950s, Odetta influenced Bob Dylan as well as Harry Belafonte and Joan Baez. Despite being recently confined to a wheelchair, Odetta performed some 60 concerts in the last two years. She died of heart disease on Tuesday, December 2 at the Lennox Hill Hospital in New York. She had been admitted to the hospital some three weeks before suffering from kidney failure, said her manager Doug Yeager. She made her name performing songs sung by ordinary people - housewives and working men, as well as prison songs and slave plantation "spirituals". "What distinguished her from the start was the meticulous care with which she tried to re-create the feeling of her folk songs," Time magazine wrote in 1960. "To understand the emotions of a convict in a convict ditty, she once tried breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer." Recording several albums, Odetta was best-known in the U.S for taking part in the 1963 civil rights march on Washington, where she sang O Freedom. In a 1978 interview, Bob Dylan said: "The first thing that turned me on to folk singing was Odetta." He added he found "just something vital and personal" when he first heard her, and that her music convinced him to sell his electric guitar and play an acoustic one instead. First nominated for a Grammy in 1963, Odetta received two more nominations in the latter part of her career - one in 1999 and third in 2005. In 1999, she was awarded a National Medal of the Arts. President Bill Clinton said her career showed "us all that songs have the power to change the heart and change the world".

TRIAL OVER PICKFORD OSCAR OPENS IN LA
[AP, 12/4/08]
Jurors deciding the fate of Oscars awarded to silent film star Mary Pickford were treated during the trial's opening Wednesday, December 3 to a taste of Hollywood, complete with props, fancy visuals and a little intrigue. Pickford was part of early Hollywood's royalty and a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which presented her two Academy Awards over her lifetime. Heirs of a woman married to Pickford's third husband, actor and band leader Buddy Rogers, hope to sell a statuette given to the actress for her performance in 1929's "Coquette." They claim their mother, Beverly Rogers, wanted the Oscar sold and the money donated to charity. They also claim they are not bound to academy restrictions barring the sale of honorary Oscars awarded later to Pickford and Rogers. But the academy has sued to stop any sale, claiming that Pickford agreed to rules allowing the organization to purchase the award back for $10. They say they are trying to protect their most important symbol. Just in case anyone needed a reminder what that is, academy lawyers had placed a pair of Oscar statuettes on a table, the little gold men directly facing the jury box. To explain the case — and Pickford's importance to a jury comprised mostly of people too young to remember her work — Wednesday's opening statements featured a lengthy biography of the actress known as "America's Sweetheart." Before her marriage to Rogers, Pickford was the wife of Douglas Fairbanks, an influential actor, director and producer. Academy attorney Chris Tayback likened the pair to a contemporary power couple. "They were comparable to Brad and Angelina," Tayback said. To help jurors follow the story of Pickford's life and the journey of her Oscars, Tayback displayed photos of the actress, images of documents with highlighted passages and even a timeline onto a large screen near jurors. He also played the complete presentation of an honorary Oscar given to Pickford in 1976 in her lavish Beverly Hills home, which was a wedding gift from Fairbanks. It was that award — and a signature attributed to Pickford on a document agreeing not to sell any of her Oscars — that the academy claims gives it the right to block any sale. Attorneys for Rogers' heirs said Wednesday that they will introduce testimony casting doubt on whether Pickford signed that agreement, and contend that Rogers' heirs aren't bound to it anyway because they're not heirs to Pickford's estate. Besides, attorney Mark Passin told jurors, the agreement was signed after the 1976 Oscar was given to Pickford. "She already owned the statuette," he said, adding his contention that made the agreement "unenforceable." Passin said Pickford would have likely approved of selling her best-actress Oscar and donating the proceeds to charity.

EDMONTON FILMMAKER ACCUSED OF MURDER ENTERS NOT GUILTY PLEA
[CBC, 12/4/08]
An Edmonton filmmaker accused of luring and killing a man pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday, December 3. Mark Twitchell, 29, is charged in connection with the disappearance of John Altinger, 38. Police alleged Twitchell lured Altinger to a south Edmonton garage through an online dating service. They have never found Altinger's body, but they said they had enough forensic evidence to charge Twitchell. Twitchell did not appear in court Wednesday. Instead, a representative from his lawyer's office entered the plea. The date for Twitchell's preliminary hearing has been set for Oct. 5, 2009. Twitchell has elected to be tried before a judge and jury.

SWITCH TO DIGITAL TV 'MUST REMAIN ON TRACK' BROADCASTERS TOLD
[CBC, 12/4/08]
Canada's full transition to digital television "must remain on track" to keep up with technological advances, Heritage Minister James Moore said Tuesday, December 2. Canada's broadcasting industry must make the change to avoid being left in the dust by the United States, which is readying for an imminent digital switch, Moore said in a speech at the annual conference of the International Institute of Communications in Ottawa. "If better picture-quality signals are available from our neighbours, Canadians will turn increasingly to American stations," he said. "This will have an impact on Canadian broadcasters who rely on American programming and regulatory benefits, such as simultaneous substitution, to generate revenues and create Canadian programming. "The transition to digital is inevitable." The United States will switch over to digital transmission in February, 2009. Analog transmissions will stop in Canada by Aug. 31, 2011, and will be replaced by digital TV, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced in May 2007. That means people picking up free channels such as the CBC through the air with conventional "rabbit ear''-type antennas will no longer be able to do so. To properly receive the new digital programming, consumers with those aerials will have to buy converter boxes, which now cost about $200. Another option is to purchase a new TV set that is compatible with the new signals. But industry experts have said that by the time the changes take effect, the cost of the converter boxes could go as low as $60, and the need for these boxes could be completely eliminated by TV manufacturers, which would build them into the new sets. The U.S. has tried to ease the transition for its citizens by providing $40 coupons that reduce the cost of many of the boxes available at retailers to around $20 US. Canada has yet to announce such a program.

MISSING JUROR FOR 'SOPRANOS' TRIAL FOUND IN JAIL
[AP, 12/3/08]
A juror was AWOL for the murder trial of a former "Sopranos" actor but he has turned up — behind bars. The juror was absent Monday, December 1 when court opened for the trial of actor Lillo Brancato and testimony had to be delayed until the man was replaced with an alternate. Court officials said the juror was arrested during the weekend after being accused of punching his 15-year-old stepson in the face. Word of his arrest didn't reach the court until Monday. Prosecutors allege that Brancato — who got his start in the film "A Bronx Tale" and later appeared in "The Sopranos" — was involved in the killing of an off-duty police officer while trying to get drugs. The defense says the true culprit was Brancato's co-defendant, who was convicted on Oct. 30, 2008.

MAN CHARGED WITH THREATENING SHARAPOVA
[AFP, 12/3/08]
A former U.S university gridiron player has been charged with threatening Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, as well as his former coach. Leonard Taylor, a defensive back for the University of Wisconsin from 1995-98, was arrested on Friday, November 28 and faces charges of stalking and telephone harassment over calls he made to Barry Alvarez, his former head coach and now the University of Wisconsin athletic director. In the calls, Taylor threatened to kill Sharapova and her family as well as Alvarez himself, according to a criminal complaint released on Monday. Taylor's father, Leonard Taylor Snr, told police his son has been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic and stopped taking his medication about three months ago. According to the complaint, police were informed in September that the 32-year-old Taylor had been calling Alvarez at work and leaving "disturbing messages". Police contacted Taylor, who vowed to stop calling. However, he began calling again in November, voicing "excessive profanity, threats against Alvarez and references to how professional tennis player Maria Sharapova (had) done (him) injustices in various ways," the complaint said. According to the documents, Taylor left 29 messages on Alvarez's voice mail on November 24 and 25.

ETHIOPIAN POP STAR "TEDDY AFRO" GUILTY OVER DEATH
[BBC, 12/2/08]
Ethiopian pop star Teddy Afro has been convicted of the manslaughter of a homeless man killed in a hit-and-run incident in Addis Ababa in 2006. The singer was found guilty of running the man down in his car and driving away without reporting the incident. Ethiopia's best-known pop star was also convicted of driving without a licence. He faces between five and 15 years in prison when sentenced on Friday. Afro's music became an anthem for opposition protests in 2005. Many of his fans believe the charges against him were politically motivated. But Judge Leul Gebremariam dismissed Afro's defence in a long summing-up, says the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt, who was in the courtroom. There had been some confusion about which night the homeless man had died. On the first date the singer - real name Tewodros Kassahun - had an alibi: He was out of the country. On the second possible date, Afro claimed he had been out with friends. But the judge was not convinced and found him guilty on all charges. As sentence was passed, the singer tried to protest and was hushed by his lawyers. But as he left court, having regained his composure, Afro gave a thumbs-up sign to supporters and told journalists: "I never killed anyone, I didn't get justice from this court."

GEORGE MICHAEL TO GIVE AWAY NEW CHRISTMAS SONG
[Aceshowbiz, 12/2/08]
This holiday season, George Michael's new song "December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)" will be given to fans for free. The single is a self-produced song which is co-written by himself teaming up with his friend David Austin. Furthermore, through his spokesperson, George announced that the single hits radio airplays on Monday, December 1. He also revealed that the song will be available for free download on Christmas day, December 25 via his official website. In related news, George Michael is scheduled to head up to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for a one-off live performance in the country. He is going to headline a show taking place at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on the day his new Christmas song is released to the U.S. market.

ESTRANGED RELATIVE ARRESTED IN HUDSON KILLINGS
[AP, 12/2/08]
Police arrested the estranged brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson on Monday, December 1 in the shooting deaths of the entertainer's mother, brother and young nephew, taking him from a prison where he had been held on a suspected parole violation. William Balfour, 27, was arrested at Stateville Correctional Center on a warrant accusing him of murdering the relatives of the singer and Oscar-winning actress, said Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond. Until Monday, police had identified Balfour only as a "person of interest" in the investigation. He had not been formally charged as of Monday night, said Tandra Simonton, spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office. Balfour's attorney said Monday night that his client told him he is innocent. "He vehemently denies that he is guilty in this case," Joshua Kutnick told reporters outside police headquarters. "Any evidence pointing to Mr. Balfour is not even thin. It is very, very weak," Kutnick said. The bodies of Jennifer Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were discovered Oct. 24 at the family's home on the South Side of Chicago. The body of 7-year-old Julian King was found three days later in a sport utility vehicle on the West Side. All three had been shot. Balfour's mother told reporters outside the police station Monday night that authorities don't have a case against her son. "If they found gun powder on his hands, you got a case; if they found a gun on him, he had a case; if they found a fingerprint on the truck that he did this, you got a case; but they don't have nothing," Michelle Davis-Balfour said. Jennifer Hudson was a finalist in the 2004 season of "American Idol" and won her Oscar in 2007 for her film debut, a supporting role in "Dreamgirls." She has mostly stayed out of the spotlight and close to her family since the killings. Her publicist did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press on Monday.

ZIMBABWEAN CHOREOGRAPHER CREATES MUGABE DANCE
[CBC, 12/1/08]
A Zimbabwean choreographer now living in Britain is creating a dance chronicling the life of dictator Robert Mugabe. Award-winning choreographer Bawren Tavaziva says My Friend Robert will draw upon his own personal experiences and memories of growing up in his homeland. "It was a project that I could not ignore," Tavaziva told The Guardian newspaper. "Choreographing it will mean that I won't be able to return home for at least one year: it will just be too dangerous for me personally, but it's a statement I needed to make at this time — I owe it to my country." Mugabe, who has had an iron-grip on the country's government since 1980, is now locked in a standoff with the opposition over a power-sharing deal. He's kept all key ministries for his party, causing opposition leaders to denounce the move and thereby jeopardizing a September power-sharing deal. Aid agencies say the delay in forming a unity government has exacerbated the country's humanitarian crisis. Inflation is now at 231 million per cent and the country will have to rely on food aid to feed nearly half its population. Born in rural Zimbabwe in 1976, Tavaziva came to his profession through a dance program in the capital of Harare, created by The National Ballet, targeting under-privileged youngsters. Since then, he's performed all over Africa as well as Europe. Living in Britain since 1998, the choreographer is the creative director of Tavaziva Dance.

GLASTONBURY LICENCE 'IS ASSURED'
[BBC, 12/1/08]
Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis says the music festival will never lose its licence because it has become too important to the local economy. "The local economy gets £100m a year," he told Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. "So there's no discussion about not allowing the festival a licence any more. They won't stop it now." Glastonbury was last refused a licence in 2002 after surrounding villages raised concerns about crime. The decision was later overturned.

MONTREAL ACTOR MICHAEL RUDDER SAYS "I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS" AFTER ESCAPING MUMBAI BLOODBATH
[CBC, 12/1/08]
Michael Rudder was out cold, hooked up to a battery of monitors, slumped in his hospital bed. A familiar, engaging face on the Montreal stage, Rudder didn't look good with a bullet lodged in his gut — one of four that sliced into him as he dined with friends at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai. But, as the doctor described how he hoped to take the bullet out on Tuesday, December 2, Rudder suddenly came to cheerful life. "Hey," he said, "you're Terry Milewski" — and he stuck out a limp, bandaged hand. And, boy, was he ready to talk. A simple "what happened?" was all it took to unleash the story of a man who played dead to save his life — on the floor in a pool of blood next to the bodies of two American friends after attacks in the Indian city, which began on Wednesday, November 26 and killed dozens. "We heard gunshots and, the idiot that I am," said Rudder, "I went towards them thinking, what's that? The staff shushed me back and said, 'It’s just gangsters, sir, it’s not a problem, just go back to your table.' And there was my sorta fatal error, really, because I did go back to my table and I said, 'Apparently it's just some kinda gangster activity and it's no big deal.' Five minutes later, we were just ripped to shreds by bullets." Rudder came to India to learn about meditation. His American friends, a father and his 13-year-old daughter, were part of his study group. "They're gone. They died in each other's arms as a matter of fact, right at the same table I was sitting at." The bullets kept coming. Rudder described it cinematically. "I found myself in a Bruce Willis Die Hard moment," he said, "where my arm — had a lovely white shirt on — and it just exploded into red. And, while I was taking that in, I got a bullet in my leg. So I quickly got myself on the floor to get a bullet in the butt as I was going down — and then another bullet, still another bullet grazed my head. So I just laid there in utter shock." But Rudder had learned something from the movies. "My intention, once the bullets started flying, was to pretend, as I've learned from so many Second World War movies, that I was dead." And playing dead worked — up to the point where it might have been fatal. That point arrived when the gunmen threw grenades and fire filled the room with smoke. Now, Rudder had a choice: suffocate or run. "If I would've sat there and said, 'Oh, I don't feel well, I don’t think I’ll get up from the floor and watch the smoke come in and suffocate me,' I think I would've been kind of an idiot." Instead, Rudder made his move. "To tell you the truth, I followed the bloodstains," he said. He followed a trail of blood left by other fleeing victims, and somehow staggered out through a kitchen door onto the street where, yes, he grabbed a taxi to the hospital. "I just crawled out and got down to the service exit off the kitchen, walked out into the street, which was cordoned off, and one of those wonderful yellow-and-black cabs came roaring out of nowhere, bundled me into it. They zoomed us over here to the Bombay Hospital." It's a first-rate hospital. Rudder seemed almost jovial as he joked about all the attention he's getting. "I’m an actor. Apparently, they're showing clips of my work on TV." Then, he turned to the CBC camera filming him for the interview. "So — get me work!" He won't be working for a while, though. In the meantime, he is philosophical about what happened. "I think it’s awful that all these people are dead, I lost two very good, beautiful people, but as we all know, you can walk out on the street in the morning and get clipped by a bus. Really, it's just tragic, but really, I think we're due to see more of this before we see less of it." And he kept returning to the movies. "I've shot those movies where the guy runs through a hail of bullets — but to actually run through a hail of bullets is close to acting but nothing like it, you know." Still, he calls himself "lucky." Once the doctors pull that bullet out, he'll face a long recovery. But there was a hint of a song in his voice when he insisted, "I'll be home for Christmas."

"LIVE EARTH INDIA" IN MUMBAI SCRAPPED
[CBC, 11/30/08]
Live Earth India, a massive concert promoting environmental awareness, has been cancelled due to the terror attacks in Mumbai. A statement sent out late Friday night, November 28 by the organizers — including former U.S. vice-president Al Gore — said that the Dec. 7 event was called off. The statement said that everyone involved with the concert was "stunned and saddened by the tragic events of the past few days" in which gunmen attacked two hotels and several major sites in Mumbai. The siege, which lasted three days, ended with at least 195 dead, including two Canadians, and scores injured. The statement did not allude to any future event in India or Mumbai. It concluded by saying: "our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims of this terrible attack, with the bereaved, with the people of Mumbai and with everyone in India."

TOMMY HUNTER'S SON PLEADS GUILTY TO ASSAULTING FATHER
[CBC, 11/30/08]
The son of Canadian music legend Tommy Hunter has pleaded guilty to assaulting his father in their home. Mark Hunter, 41, pleaded guilty on Friday, November 28 and is to be sentenced in January. Assistant Crown attorney Janine Hodgins says police were called to the home in Puslinch Township, Ont., west of Toronto, shortly after midnight on Oct. 17th. Tommy Hunter said that the two got into a heated argument that night and his son shoved him, causing him to fall down. The 71-year-old musician, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman," was a major music star who first began performing on the CBC in 1956. Eventually, he was handed his own program, The Tommy Hunter Show, on CBC Radio in 1960. The show, which featured guest shots by country stars such as Shania Twain and Garth Brooks, ran until 1992 on television. His last televised special was in 2003 — it drew one million viewers. The Juno Award-winning performer was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1984 and became a Member of the Order of Canada two years later. Hunter continues to perform and is slated to launch a tour of Ontario and Western Canada in early January, 2009.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE ARCHITECT DIES
[BBC, 11/30/08]
The Danish architect of the iconic Sydney Opera House, Jorn Utzon, has died at the age of 90, after suffering a heart attack. Mr. Utzon, an award-winning architect, put "Denmark on the world map with his great talent," said Danish Culture Minister Carina Christensen. Having won a competition in 1957 to design the building, he left the project before it opened in 1973. Mr. Utzon never visited the completed landmark, after disputes about costs. He had quarrelled with the Australian client and the costs overran by 1,000%. Even decades later he declined invitations to return to Australia, but did design, with his son, a new wing which opened in 2006. In 1998 he told Associated Press news agency: "It's part of education - I can't be bitter about anything in life." Most of the interior of the opera house was not completed according to his plans after government-appointed architects took over the job. The Sydney Opera House planned to dim the lights on the sail-shaped roof on Sunday, November 30 to mark Mr. Utzon's death. The chairman of Sydney Opera House Trust, Kim Williams, said: "Jorn Utzon was an architectural and creative genius who gave Australia and the world a great gift. "Sydney Opera House is core to our national cultural identity and a source of great pride to all Australians. It has become the most globally recognized symbol of our country." Mr. Utzon also designed the National Assembly of Kuwait and several prominent buildings in Denmark. Danish Minister of Culture Carina Christensen paid tribute to him, saying: "Jorn Utzon will be remembered as one of the Danes who in the 20th century put Denmark on the world map with his great talent." Mr. Utzon won several international awards, including the Alvar Aalto Medal for architecture and France's Legion of Honour. In 2003 he won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize for his design of the opera house.

BRUCE WILLIS SETTLES DISPUTE WITH MALAYSIA COMPANY
[AP, 11/28/08]
A Malaysian technology conglomerate has repaid $900,000 to Bruce Willis after the actor filed a lawsuit demanding a refund of his investment. Martin Singer, Willis' lawyer, says the federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles has been "amicably resolved." The Kuala Lumpur-based Petra Group said Willis invested $2 million last year in its subsidiary, Green Rubber, a developer of technology that can recycle rubber in old tires. Petra returned $1.1 million to the star of the "Die Hard" action films earlier this year when he decided to pull out his investment. Willis sued last week to get the remaining $900,000, plus interest and other compensation. Singer says the initial investment has been repaid, but Willis was not given all the interest owed him. The actor remains a shareholder in the company.

"CHEF ABROAD" ESCAPES THAI AIRPORT CHAOS
[CBC, 11/28/08]
P.E.I. chef Michael Smith, star of the television show Chef Abroad, and his production crew have made it out of Thailand, where airports are under siege by anti-government protesters. The Thai prime minister has declared a state of emergency at two airports in Bangkok, which have been paralyzed since they were occupied by thousands of anti-government protesters on Tuesday night, November 25. Thousands of travellers were stranded, including Smith, who had been filming in the north of the country. "We made a decision late last night that things were getting to the point where we needed to leave," Smith told CBC News Thursday. "We managed to get out of Bangkok and drove 15 hours to the south to Phuket. And really it's the only remaining international airport in all of Thailand that's operating. So we were able to get ourselves onto a plane that just left us here in Kuala Lumpur, but we're out of Thailand." Smith said the hotel where they were staying arranged for ground transportation. If everything goes smoothly, he should be back home on P.E.I. Saturday afternoon.

CANADIAN ACTOR RECOVERING IN MUMBAI AFTER BEING SHOT
[CBC, 11/28/08]
Canadian actor Michael Rudder "took three bullets" during the Mumbai attacks, but is now stable and recovering in hospital, according to an organizer of the spiritual retreat the Montreal performer had enrolled in. Rudder had been in the restaurant of the Oberoi Hotel when militants stormed in, Bobbie Garvey, vice-president of the U.S.-based Synchronicity Foundation, told CBC News on Thursday afternoon. After being hit by three bullets, Rudder "was taken to the hospital. He did have surgery [that was] very successful. He was in intensive care for a little while, but he is very stable and he is healing at the moment," she added. Rudder was one of two Canadians from the Synchronicity delegation wounded in the attacks. Yoga teacher Helen Connolly of Markham, Ont., was grazed by a bullet during the Wednesday attacks. "She's absolutely fine. She's staying with one of our Indian host families right now, getting ready to come back to Canada," Garvey said. Rudder is a voice actor who has played roles in cartoons, commercials and video games, including top sellers Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3. He has also performed in the animated PBS series Postcards From Buster. Throughout his career, he has also worked in theatre, television and film, receiving a 1989 Genie Award nomination for best-supporting actor for the film Buying Time — a movie about young thieves ordered to perform community service in a seniors residence. Altogether, there were about two dozen people in the Synchronicity meditation group, Garvey said, including Rudder, Connolly and two unnamed individuals from British Columbia who remain in Mumbai.

JOHN FORTE: OUT THE SLAMMER BY CHRISTMAS
[Vibe, 11/28/08]
Thanks to President Bush, rapper and producer John Forte will be out the pen by Christmas. In 2000, Forte was sentenced to 14-years in prison after he was found with 31 pounds of liquid cocaine at the New Jersey International Airport. Two female couriers set him up. He has served seven years, and faces five additional years of supervised probation. According to the Washington Post, Forte has been chosen as one of 16 people to receive clemency from Bush. One person who lobbied for Forte’s early release is singer Carly Simon, who along with her son (a former prep school pal of Forte), held the Grammy-winning artist down since his arrest. Simon reportedly sent messages to Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch on his behalf. When Forte was first arrested, Simon put up $250,000 towards his $650,000 bail. Besides being a solo artist and producer for The Fugees, Forte has worked with everyone from Tricky to Herbie Hancock. His friends range from Mark Ronson, to regulars at Martha’s Vineyard, where Forte was known to charm women, guzzle Guinness, and dress sharp. In a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, Forte said that the company he kept caught up with him. "I allowed elements to be near me -- not drugs but people," he said. "That's what caught me up. I was too accessible. I was too here, I was too there. The price the government wants me to pay for that is fourteen years." Forte will be released Dec. 22, 2008.

CINCINNATI MAN FOUND GUILTY IN SHOOTING OF T.I.'s CHILDHOOD FRIEND
[CBC, 11/28/08]
A Cincinnati jury has convicted a local man of murder in the 2006 shooting of a friend of Grammy-winning rapper T.I. Hosea Thomas was found guilty on Wednesday, November 26 on 11 counts, including murder, felonious assault and illegally having a gun. T.I.'s boyhood friend and assistant Philant Johnson, 26, was killed as he rode in a van with the rapper. Three other people were injured. T.I. testified during the trial that he believed the shots were aimed at him. Prosecution lawyer Set Tieger said Thomas became irate when he was not admitted to a VIP room at the Club Ritz in Cincinnati where T.I. and Yung Joc were to appear. There was a scuffle involving Thomas outside the club and the shooting occurred after T.I. left the club with his entourage in a van. A friend of Thomas who witnessed the shooting testified that he saw his buddy fire the shots and that he was scared. He said that Thomas and his brother paid him $800 to stay quiet about the incident. He said he eventually went to police with his story after becoming suicidal. Padron Thomas also testified against his brother. It took the jury less than a day to reach its verdict. Thomas will be sentenced Dec. 23, 2008 and faces life in prison.

MEL GIBSON FACING "PASSIONATE" DEPOSITION
[E! Online, 11/27/08]
Looks like Mel Gibson is in for a grilling. A Los Angeles judge has ordered the Oscar winner to sit for a deposition in a battle over money from his megahit The Passion of the Christ. Screenwriter Benedict Fitzgerald claims he was screwed out of $10 million from the 2004 blockbuster and wants to ask Gibson to explain why. In a ruling today, Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Alarcon agreed. According to Fitzgerald's court documents, Gibson got the writer to accept a lower-than-normal fee to cowrite Passion by insisting it was a very low-budget indie production and that Gibson himself would refrain from taking any revenue until he had properly compensated his crew. Some $600 million later, Fitzgerald wants some payback. Gibson has been trying to keep the potentially embarrassing spat on the down-low. He successfully convinced the judge to keep all his money matters out of the public eye—only the dueling lawyers can go over the books. Gibson was also trying to dodge the dep to avoid answering questions about how he budgeted Passion and to justify some unusual line items, such as why he charged his kids' school tuition to the production. In a court declaration, Gibson claims he was in the dark about such matters, insisting his production company's accountant handled the cash flow. The actor also says he is super busy right now shooting the Martin Campbell-directed thriller Edge of Darkness, Gibson's first starring role since 2000's What Women Want. "Production would be severely disrupted if I had to miss a day or more of shooting to attend (a) deposition in Los Angeles," Gibson states, adding that he's in practically every scene. But his lawyer says that if the judge orders him to be deposed, he'll find some time to squeeze it in.

GUNS N' ROSES LAWYER BLASTS DR PEPPER
[Reuters/Billboard, 11/27/08]
The lawyer for Guns N' Roses and Axl Rose has castigated Dr Pepper, accusing the soda maker of failing to deliver on its promotion to offer free soda in celebration of the band's new album, "Chinese Democracy." Guns N' Roses was never involved in the campaign. Beverly Hills-based Alan Gutman has written to Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. president and CEO Larry Young, accusing the company of operating an online redemption scheme that was an "unmitigated disaster which defrauded customers." Band frontman Rose did not take any action when, in March, Dr Pepper put out a press release offering free soda to any American if the long-awaited Guns N' Roses album came out before the end of 2008. However, Rose has reacted to the news that fans have been unable to get their soda since the November 23 release of "Chinese Democracy." Gutman is demanding that Dr Pepper makes good on its offer by extending the period for the offer; he also wants full-page apologies in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Gutman's letter makes clear his view that the original campaign was an "exploitation of my clients' legendary reputation and their eagerly awaited album" and "brazenly violated our clients' rights." He is also seeking an "appropriate payment ... for the unauthorized use and abuse of their publicity and intellectual property rights," with the threat of further action if an acceptable offer is not made. "Now is the time to clean up the mess," Gutman says. Dr Pepper's Web servers crashed under the demand for coupons that could be exchanged for free drinks. Dr Pepper extended the November 23 promotion for an extra day, but the company's Web site was inaccessible for a substantial part of it. "Dr Pepper was completely unprepared for the traffic to its site," Gutman says in the letter, describing the promotion as a "complete fiasco." Gutman adds, "The entire point of your campaign has been to use public interest in Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses as a lure to increase consumer awareness of Dr Pepper." He further states that "mocking undertones" in the online promotional content represent a "raw and damaging commercial exploitation of our clients' rights," adding that the association is "even more damaging in light of your shoddy execution of your disingenuous giveaway offer." The soda maker declined to comment. Dr Pepper was considering extending the promotion, according to a source close to the situation.

RAPPER MC BREED DIES AT FRIEND'S HOME AT AGE 37
[AP, 11/25/08]
It was in the gritty, blue-collar city of Flint that Eric Breed grew up amid the dimming opportunities of a declining auto industry. That starkness was vivid in the lyrics of what would be the rapper's biggest hit, 1991's "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'." Breed, known professionally as MC Breed, died Saturday, November 22 at a friend's home in Ypsilanti, about 30 miles southwest of Detroit, a Washtenaw County medical examiner's spokesman said Monday. Toxicology reports were pending, but no foul play was suspected in the 37-year-old's death. Breed had suffered from kidney failure, according to The Detroit News and The Flint Journal. "More than just an artist, we mourn the loss of a beloved father, son, brother and friend," his family said in a statement. "We are thankful and blessed to have been in his presence and want him to be remembered for his creative, caring, talented and hardworking spirit." Breed released 13 albums from 1991 to 2004, and collaborated with artists such as Tupac Shakur and Too Short. He moved to Atlanta in the 1990s, but always identified with his tough Flint roots. The lyrics from "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'" included: "I'm from F-l-i-n-t'n. A city where pity runs low. If you ever shoot through my city, now you know. Cause we are strictly business and we also got our pride, and if you don't like it, I suggest you break wide." The single was from his first album, "MC Breed & DFC," which sold between 2.5 million to 4 million copies. Breed was a "musical legend of Flint," said Carter McWright, owner of local record store Music Planet. "One thing about Breed is he had that flow, that rhythm," McWright said. "He knew how to flow with it." Funeral arrangements were being completed Monday in Flint. Breed is survived by three daughters and two sons; his parents; two brothers; and a sister.

HOLLYWOOD LAWYER GETS 3 YEARS IN WIRETAP CASE
[AP, 11/25/08]
A prominent Hollywood attorney was sentenced Monday, November 24 to three years in prison in a wiretapping scheme that targeted the former wife of MGM mogul Kirk Kerkorian. Terry Christensen declined to make a statement in federal court, saying only that he couldn't express things any better than he had in a previous letter about his remorse over working with private eye Anthony Pellicano. Pellicano and Christensen were accused of recording phone conversations of Lisa Bonder Kerkorian in her child support dispute with Kirk Kerkorian. Bonder Kerkorian, a former tennis pro, was married to Kerkorian, now 91, for 28 days in 1999. Christensen paid Pellicano $25,000 up front and promised $100,000 more if he could identify the true father of the girl, prosecutors said. DNA tests later showed movie producer Steve Bing was the biological father. Christensen, 64, was sentenced for conspiracy to commit wiretapping and aiding and abetting a wiretap. He will remain free on $100,000 bond pending an appeal. "In a real sense, the legal community and justice are victims of this crime," U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer said before imposing her sentence, which also included three years' probation and a $250,000 fine. Pellicano, 64, was convicted of wiretapping and conspiracy to commit wiretapping and is scheduled to be sentenced next month. He could also face time for a separate illegal wiretapping and racketeering conviction earlier this year that involved tapping the phones of such stars as Sylvester Stallone on behalf of his clients and paying police officers to access protected government databases. The case against Christensen was built on recorded conversations he had with Pellicano in which prosecutors said they discussed Bonder Kerkorian's private phone calls.

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