Categories
People

You going to go?

Jackson funeral set for Tuesday in downtown L.A.
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) ñ Michael Jackson’s funeral is being scheduled for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7, at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, sources said.
AEG Live, which owns the basketball arena and the adjacent Nokia Theater, will use both facilities and the surrounding plaza. There’s no word yet on how ticketing will be handled.
Earlier speculation had the funeral being held everywhere from Neverland to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Categories
People

May he rest in peace!!

Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden dies at 97
LOS ANGELES (AFP) ñ Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden, known for his distinctive nose and roles opposite Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “On The Waterfront,” has died, officials said Wednesday. He was 97.
Malden’s passing was announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), where he served as president from 1989 to 1992.
A statement distributed by the Academy said the actor, who starred in more than 50 films, died at home surrounded by family members. No cause of death was disclosed.
Born Mladen Sekulovich in Chicago in 1912 to a Serbian father and Czech mother, Malden was the eldest of three sons and grew up in Gary, Indiana.
He developed a love of acting after appearing regularly in school plays and in productions organized by his father at a local church.
Malden worked in Gary’s steel mills from 1931 until 1934 before accepting a scholarship to Chicago’s Goodman Theater.
Another scholarship student, Mona Greenberg, became his wife in 1938. The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last year.
After tying the knot Malden forged a successful Broadway career, appearing in landmark productions such as Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” and Tennessee Williams’s “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
During this time he developed working relationships and lifelong friendships with director Elia Kazan and co-star Brando.
Malden’s recreation of the role of Mitch in “Streetcar” earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1951, and he scored another nod in that category for playing Father Barry in “On the Waterfront.”
After moving to Los Angeles in 1959 to pursue his film career, Malden landed roles in films including “One-Eyed Jacks,” “The Cincinnati Kid,” “Birdman of Alcatraz,” and “Patton.”
In the 1970s, Malden made a transition to television, starring in the popular series “The Streets of San Francisco” which introduced Michael Douglas. Douglas credited Malden as his mentor ever since.
Besides his work on stage and screen, Malden was equally famous for a string of TV commercials for American Express travelers checks in the 1970s and 1980s in which he famously implored: “Don’t leave home without them.”
Of his American Express ads, in which he invariably sported a Trilby hat and came over as a hard-nosed detective who’d seen it all, Malden once said: “It was a pleasure. It was a joy. I loved every minute of it.”
“I’m a workaholic,” Malden said. “I love every movie I’ve been in, even the bad ones, every TV series, every play, because I love to work. It’s what keeps me going.”

Categories
Canada

Happy Canada Day!!!

O Canada!
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Categories
Rumours

I’m thinking of pulling out of it too!!

Weaver Out Of Ghostbusters Sequel
Sigourney Weaver has pulled out of the second Ghostbusters sequel.
The actress was reported to be joining former co-stars Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd in a spooky new movie, 20 years after Ghostbusters II – but she insists she isn’t part of producers’ plans.
The actress tells TVSquad.com, “I think they’re trying to create something new completely with the Ghostbusters, although I know Bill is in it. I don’t expect to have anything to do with it, although I wish them well.”
Aykroyd has suggested the new film, in which the original Ghostbusters hand over control of their spook-chasing responsibilities to a team of hot young ladies, could start shooting before the end of the year.

Categories
People

Just so you know…

…’I’m not dead yet,’ say stars killed off in online rumour frenzy
For those struggling to keep track:
Dead: Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, Billy Mays and David Carradine.
Not Dead: George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Rick Astley, Jeff Goldblum, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres and Natalie Portman.
The recent spate of celebrity deaths has fuelled fake alerts of dead stars, who have had to issue denials about the exaggerated reports of their demise.
There are three main ways these arise. First, there are several long-running rumours that seem to be recycled every few years. Jeff Goldblum dying on a set in New Zealand seems be an old rumour ñ in the past, Tom Hanks was targeted ñ that resurfaces every few years.
New technology is also causing problems, as people pass along breaking news, often without verifying the information. There are many websites where it is possible to plug in a celebrity’s name and it will spit out a realistic parody news story that looks like a real web news page. TMZ.com says the site fakeawish.com was responsible for the false Clooney rumours.
Then there are the hackers, who are also getting in on the action. Twitter accounts seem to be particularly sensitive, as Spears, DeGeneres and Cyrus reportedly had their accounts on the microblogging service hacked, with fabricated tweets of their demise.
Luckily, there is also a cottage industry of websites in the business of debunking these false reports. Snopes.com is a repository of urban legends and how these rumours come about. Museumofhoaxes.com is another good site examining this phenomenon and recently had a blog post noting it’s not just an Internet thing: a news story in The New York Times in April 1945 detailed a flood of celebrity death rumours following president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death.
The dubious claims of death are so pervasive, they have already been co-opted by malware writers.
“Every time a disaster happens or news about some celebrity reaches the media, malware writers try to take advantage of it,” wrote McAfee researcher Guilherme Venere in a blog posting. “Watch out for spam offering links to `news’ or `pictures’ of deceased celebrities.”
The lesson here is, when in doubt, use a search engine to confirm first and forward later.

Categories
People

May she rest in peace!!

Funeral held for Farrah Fawcett
The life of Charlie’s Angels star Farrah Fawcett was celebrated Tuesday at a private funeral in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
Her longtime companion, Ryan O’Neal, was among pallbearers who accompanied the casket, covered in yellow and orange flowers, into the Roman Catholic cathedral.
Fawcett’s friend Alana Stewart and Charlie’s Angels co-star Kate Jackson were among early arrivals before the hearse pulled up, accompanied by 10 motorcycle officers.
Fans and news media watched from across the street. The service was closed to the public. Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 after a public battle with cancer. O’Neal and Stewart were at her side.
“After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away,” O’Neal said in a statement last week. “Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world.”
Farrah Fawcett poses for photographers on the red carpet before a 2006 Comedy Central event in Los Angeles. (Associated Press)
Diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2006, Fawcett’s battle with the disease was documented in Farrah’s Story, which aired last month on NBC.
Stewart, a producer of the documentary, said Fawcett was “much more than a friend; she was my sister.”
“Although I will miss her terribly, I know in my heart that she will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her,” Stewart said in a statement.
Fawcett and O’Neal, 68, have a son, 24-year-old Redmond, who has been jailed since April 5 on drug charges.
Last week, a judge granted his request to attend Fawcett’s funeral.

Categories
Music

Did you buy any of these?

Michael Jackson Breaks Billboard Charts Records
As predicted, Michael Jackson is once again the King of the Pop charts.
Based on preliminary sales numbers from Nielsen SoundScan, the entire top nine positions on Billboard’s Top Pop Catalog Albums chart will house Jackson-related titles when the tally is released in the early morning on Wednesday (July 1). Nielsen SoundScan’s sales tracking week ended at the close of business on Sunday (June 28) night.
Jackson himself has a record eight out of the top 10, while a Jackson 5 compilation also finds its way into the upper tier.
The King of Pop’s “Number Ones” will fittingly lead the pack at No. 1 with 108,000 (an increase of 2,340%) while “The Essential Michael Jackson” and “Thriller” are in the Nos. 2 and 3 slots with 102,000 and 101,000, respectively. Last week “Number Ones” was the only Jackson title on the chart, at No. 20 with 4,000 copies; both “Essential” and “Thriller” re-enter the tally this week.
Additionally, his classic 1979 studio set “Off the Wall” re-enters at No. 4 with 33,000 while his 1987 album “Bad” returns at No. 6 with 17,000. At No. 5, the Jackson 5’s “The Ultimate Collection” debuts with 18,000. Jackson’s fourth studio album for Epic Records, 1991’s “Dangerous,” re-enters at No. 7 with 14,000 while his 2001 compilation “Greatest Hits: HIStory — Volume 1” also comes back to the list at No. 8 with 12,000. Finally, Jackson’s 2004 box set “The Ultimate Collection” charts its first week on the Pop Catalog chart, arriving at No. 9 with 11,000.
The lone non-Jackson-related set in the top 10 is a reissue of the “Woodstock” movie soundtrack, which bows at No. 10 with 8,000.
Collectively, Jackson’s solo albums sold 415,000 this past week. That’s extraordinary, since his titles sold a combined 10,000 in the week that ended June 21. Of the 415,000 total, 58% were digital downloads.
Additionally, the 415,000 albums sold just last week is nearly 40% more than what Jackson’s catalog had sold the the entire year up through June 21 (297,000).
Speaking of digital albums, on the Top Digital Albums chart, Jackson has a record six out of the top 10 slots, including the entire top four. “The Essential Michael Jackson” leads the Top Digital Albums list with 80,000 downloads sold, while “Thriller” is No. 2 with 57,000.
With the Black Eyed Peas’ “The E.N.D.” moving back to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 chart with 88,000, this week marks the first time that a catalog album has sold more than the No. 1 current set on the Billboard 200 albums chart. (All three of Jackson’s top sellers on the Pop Catalog chart outsell “The E.N.D.”)
Ironically, the feat almost occurred when Jackson re-issued “Thriller” in February 2008. The set relaunched with 166,000, re-entering at No. 1 on the Top Pop Catalog chart. That week, Jack Johnson’s “Sleep Through the Static” led the Billboard 200 chart with 180,000 while Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” was at No. 2 with 115,000.
Catalog albums are ineligible to appear on the Billboard 200 albums chart, though they can chart on the all-encompassing Top Comprehensive Albums list. On the latter chart, Jackson’s “Number Ones,” “Essential” and “Thriller” are at Nos. 1-3, followed by the Black Eyed Peas’ “The E.N.D.” at No. 4.
Jackson places a record 25 songs on the 75-position Hot Digital Songs chart (21 solo hits and four with his siblings), smashing the mark of 14 charting titles established by David Cook in the June 7, 2008 issue. Jackson’s Halloween radio staple, “Thriller,” moves 167,000, which is good for second place on the chart behind the 203,000 shifted by the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.”
“Thriller” was also Jackson’s best seller in the week before his death with 5,000 downloads, which translates to a 3,551% jump. Jackson’s total volume of downloads this week — including his tracks with the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons — account for 2.6 million downloads, a remarkable number considering last week’s cumulative sum was 48,000. Moreover, Jackson becomes the first act to sell more than 1 million song downloads in a week.
Besides “Thriller,” Jackson places five other songs in the top 10 including “Man In The Mirror” (No. 3, 165,000), “Billie Jean” (No. 4, 158,000), “The Way You Make Me Feel” (No. 6, 136,000), “Beat It” (No. 7, 134,000) and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (No. 8, 125,000).
Not surprisingly, each of the tracks in the top 10 of Hot Digital Songs were among the top 10 most-played Jackson selections at radio following his passing. According to research provided by Nielsen BDS of monitored airplay from over 1,600 terrestrial and satellite radio stations and cable music channels, “Billie Jean” was the Jackson track with the most spins for the week ending June 28 with 4,540 — 97% of which occurred after news of his death became public. The track posted only 318 plays in the prior week.