ENTERTAINMENT 2006

ENTERTAINMENT 2006

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ENTERTAINMENT: READ THE LATEST REVIEWS, RELEASES, FILMS, CDs, GOSSIPS AND NEWS

IN-DEPTH ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

HISTORY OF AMERICAN MUSIC AND GOSPEL SPIRITUALS: THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, SOUL, JAZZ, FOLK AND GOSPEL SPIRITUALS FROM THE 17th CENTURY TO PRESENT. INCLUDING: History and Early Origin of American Music, American Song, American Composers and American Singers from the Colonial Era to the 21st century. BY MAXIMILLIEN de LAFAYETTE...Read full article (A 70 page condensed edition)

RALPH LAUREN

TEN MOST WATCHED AMERICAN TV SHOW HOSTS

Photos from L to R: #1. Opra Winfrey. #2. David Letterman. #3. Jay Leno.

Not difficult to guess. And as predicted, according to a poll by the International News Agency, the 10 most watched American TV show hosts are in no particular order: 1- Jay Leno, (Audience. Age: Between 20 and 56. Gender: 65% men. 35% women). 2-David Letterman, (Audience. Age: Between 20 and 55. Gender: 60% men. 40% women). 3-Oprah Winfrey, (Audience. Age: Between 25 and 60. Gender: 97% women. 3% men). 4-Larry King, (Audience. Age: Between 30 and 75. Gender: 60% men. 40% women). 5-Lou Dobbs, (Audience. Age: Between 32 and 70. Gender: 70% men. 30% women). 6-Robert Osborne, (Audience. Age: Between 32 and 75. Gender: 56% men. 44% women). 7-Howard Stern, (Audience. Age: Between 18 and 47. Gender: 91% men. 9% women). 8-Paula Zahn, (Audience. Age: Between 35 and 65. Gender: 73% women. 27% men). 9-Bill O'Reily, (Audience. Age: Between 32 and 65. Gender: 74% men. 26% women). 10-Donald Trump's whatever, Apprentice, et al, ad infinitum... (Audience. Age: Between 21 and 40. Gender: 79% men. 21% women). Error margin: Between 2% and 5 %. Number of people who participated in the polls: 25,000 in all the United States, except Alaska.

Photos from L to R: #1. Paula Zahn. #2. Donald Trump. #3. Lou Dobbs. #4. Robert Osborne. #5. Larry King.

Adapting Nazi era opera calls for light touch. From New York to LA and London...

Tony Kushner doesn't mind when critics call him a ``political" playwright, a polemicist who mines humour, hypocrisy and human truths from the rougher chapters in world history. But when he decided to translate a 1938 Czech opera about a greedy town bully who meets his match in a pair of poor children, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angels in America knew the project called for restraint. As an allegory on Hitler's rise to power and a story once performed by Jewish children who would eventually be killed by the Nazis, the last thing Brundibar needed was a heavy rhetorical hand. "What great political art does is marry the personal and the political in a way that one isn't clobbering the other," Kushner says between rehearsals at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, where Brundibar and another Nazi-era theatre piece he adapted, Comedy on the Bridge, opened Nov. 16. "You don't want people saying, 'Oh, this is a play about Hitler.' " Brundibar is based on the 2003 picture book of the same name on which Kushner collaborated with his friend and literary hero, children's author-illustrator Maurice Sendak. It tells the story of a brother and sister who need to raise money to buy milk for their ailing mother and are hindered by a hostile organ grinder named Brundibar. Czech composer Hans Krasa created the opera for children in a Jewish orphanage in the years leading up to the Second World War. It was eventually performed 55 times at the Terezin concentration camp and was featured in a 1944 Nazi propaganda film, The Fuehrer Presents the Jews With a City. Krasa, and most of the children who performed in Brundibar, died at Auschwitz or other concentration camps. Sendak designed the sets for the Berkeley Rep production, which moves on to the Yale Repertory Theatre in February and New York's New Victory Theater in April. Euan Morton, who starred as Boy George in the Broadway production of Taboo, plays the title role. School-age children from the San Francisco Bay area make up the 29-member chorus. Kushner had done theatrical adaptations before (he is currently at work on a production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage for Meryl Streep), but never one from an opera libretto. It posed special challenges, including the fact that he didn't speak Czech. And since Krasa's estate still owned the copyright, he could not take many artistic liberties. "My problem was to make it sound like it was written from an English text for modern American stage actors," Kushner says. Even if there hadn't been that limitation, however, the playwright saw little room to improve on the original by Krasa and librettist Alan Hoffmeister. For a simple, 30-minute fable on the triumph of good over evil, it packs a surprisingly profound punch that becomes almost unbearable with the knowledge of the genocide that would darken the world after it was written, Kushner says. One of those moments comes during a lullaby the two siblings, Aninku and Pepicek, sing with their friends: "Now you are very old, your hair is soft and grey. Mommy, the cradle's cold. Blackbird has flown away."

In the Berkeley Rep production, the group performs against a backdrop drawn by Sendak that shows children happily flying through a forest on the backs of oversize blackbirds. The timeless song of loss and love offers an unsentimental view of how bereft parents can feel after their children grow up and leave home, but its historical context colours it for modern audiences. "We can't imagine what listening to that song would be like without thinking about the kids in Terezin singing it," Kushner says. "You listen to that and you can't get it out of your head, and you shouldn't get it out of your head." Director Tony Taccone, who co-directed the world premiere of Angels in America and oversaw three Berkeley Rep productions of other Kushner plays, set the production in an unnamed ghetto instead of Terezin, the setting for the Chicago Opera Theater's 2003 version of the Kushner-Sendak collaboration. Taccone made a similarly unsentimental decision when Devynn Pedell, the third-grader who plays Aninku, asked if she could wear the yellow Jewish star her grandfather had worn in a concentration camp. "I was the one who had to say 'no,'" Taccone says. "I don't want this to be a story only one community has access to." Morton, who earned a Tony Award nomination for his portrayal of gender-bending 1980s pop star Boy George, was drawn to the Brundibar role partly because of the chance to play a character of over-the-top evil. At Taccone's urging, however, he tempered his temptation to play Brundibar as a caricature of Adolf Hitler by imagining him as a pathetic, selfish boy. Still, the 28-year-old actor debated Taccone for hours about how much darkness to bring to the role. Although he wears the same moustache as Hitler, Morton ditched a German accent for his native Scottish brogue. But he won the argument to include a subtle Nazi salute in his movements. "I do think it's important not to patronize children," Morton says. "It's something I've been fighting for throughout this production." Kushner hired a Columbia University graduate student to translate Hoffmeister's libretto from the Czech and spent hours listening to a recording of Krasa's score while he crafted English rhymes to fit the music. "It's like being in deep conversation with an interesting writer. You get to discover more and more how they made choices and why they make sense," he says. -By Lisa Deff.

I'd love to direct, says Madonna

Madonna and Lourdes

Photo: Madonna attended the Harry Potter premiere with daughter Lourdes.

Madonna has revealed that the shooting of the latest documentary about her has made her want to follow film director husband Guy Ritchie behind the camera. I would love to direct," she said. "I felt very inspired by making this movie and I learned a lot about film-making. "I would like to do it on my own next time," continued the singer, whose film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret will be shown on Channel 4 on 1 December. Her latest album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, is top of the UK charts. Madonna's comments are part of an interview due to be screened on Channel 4.

'Incredible ballerina': In the program, conducted by TV presenter Dermot O'Leary, the mother of two speaks proudly about her nine-year-old daughter Lourdes and five-year-old son, Rocco. Viewers will see her describe Lourdes as "very musical". "She sings quite well and she's an incredible ballerina," she says. Earlier this month Madonna attended the London premiere of the new Harry Potter film with Lourdes, also known as Lola. There, she revealed, her daughter was left speechless after a chance encounter with one of its stars, Emma Watson. "In the middle of the movie she had to go to the bathroom," she told O'Leary. "Hermione was in there washing her hands and Lola's jaw hit the ground." But Madonna refused to discuss her recent riding accident, which left her with a broken collarbone and three cracked ribs. "I don't want to go there - I get flashbacks," she said. "I'm just starting to feel better."

JAZZ PIANIST, GEORGE KAHN HOLDS HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER
FOR PATH (PEOPLE ASSISTING THE HOMELESS)
NEW CATALINA BAR & GRILL, PERFORMANCE SET FOR TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 20th, 2005

Photo: Jazz Pianist, George Kahn

George Kahn, returns to the new CATALINA BAR & GRILL with a holiday performance benefiting PATH: People Assisting The Homeless, Tuesday evening, DECEMBER 20TH, at 8:00 PM – 10 PM. George Kahn brings his “Make It Real Tour 2005” back to Hollywood, appearing with an all-star ensemble. The dynamic Justo Almario, will perform on Saxophone; with session maven Karl Vincent on Bass, master trumpeter Ramon Flores and the fabulous M.B. Gordy on drums. Special Guest Vocalists, The Wright Combination will add their talents to this wonderful event. The Wright Combination has performed on stage and in studios with Liza Minelli, Vikki Carr, Patti LaBelle, Henry Mancini, Frank Sinatra, George Carlin, Carl Anderson, Dolly Parton and Telma Hopkins. “COMPARED TO WHAT”, George’s most recent CD release, hit #28 on the Jazz Charts, and is getting LOTS of airplay on local jazz station KKJZ as well as on radio stations across the country. The set will also include songs from George’s earlier releases “Midnight Brew”, “Freedom Vessel” and “Out of Time”. Come see for yourself why Alfredo Cruz calls George Kahn “…creative, entertaining, intelligent, sophisticated and stimulating.” The Catalina Bar and Grill is located at 6725 Sunset Blvd. (just east of Highland Avenue - parking on N. McCadden Place). Dinner reservations suggested. (323) 466-2210. There is a $15.00 cover, students with ID, $10.00. Please bring a donation to give to PATH when you arrive. Donations include NEW clothing, (including socks and underwear for men and women), blankets, toys, etc. All profits will go directly to PATH to help LA’s homeless.

Kate Moss is subject of four paintings by Stella Vine at London exhibit

New York grapevine is whispering that Kate Moss is the subject of four paintings by Stella Vine now on show at a London exhibit, including one based on a tabloid photo that allegedly shows her preparing a line of cocaine. A portrait titled Must Be the Season of the Witch is based on a photo of the 31-year-old supermodel that was published in a London tabloid in September. Vine said Friday she usually bases her work on press photos. Moss entered the Meadows rehab clinic outside Phoenix, Ariz., after the photo was published. She left the clinic in late October and has resumed her modelling career. Two of Vine's other paintings of Moss are also portraits. One shows a wide-eyed Moss holding a champagne glass. Another, titled Holy Water Cannot Help You Now, shows her holding a cigarette in her hand as paint drips from her face. The fourth shows Moss waving from a window in the Priory clinic where she was treated for alcohol and drug problems in 1998. It also features her boyfriend Pete Doherty, ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp and other celebrities. Vine said she became interested in painting Moss because of the spirit she saw in her eyes. "She's like Mona Lisa; she may not be the most beautiful woman in the world, but something comes through her eyes. ... There's a bravery in Kate's eyes," the 36-year-old British artist said. Vine gained attention last year with her painting of Diana, Princess of Wales, with blood dripping from her mouth. It was sold to Charles Saatchi, one of Britain's most influential collectors of modern art. The paintings of Moss are on display until Jan. 1 at Hiscox Art Projects, an exhibition space located in the office of a fine art insurer in East London.

Shania talks about everything but perfume

For a girl who had to cook for herself at the age of five and sang with aspirations of one day being a backup singer for Stevie Wonder, being awarded the Order of Canada was not even part of Shania Twain's wildest dreams. "Yeah, (the honor) is overwhelming and I don't even believe it," Twain said, in New York, letting out a loud guffaw Thursday towards the end of a daylong media blitz in Toronto. "So, I'm pretty excited." Twain was in town to promote her new fragrance, Shania by Stetson. But when a reporter has less than 10 minutes with one of Canada's biggest stars, questions must be chosen carefully and quickly. Fragrance didn't make the cut. "We ran out of time, I don't know what happened, but I gotta catch a plane," she said, apologizing for ending an interview to get to the airport.

She was flying to Ottawa where she'll receive the Order of Canada today alongside others who have made a difference to the country, including former B.C. premier David Barrett and athlete Catriona Le May Doan. Despite her international success as a country singer, pop star and spokesmodel for Revlon, Twain has not forgotten her less-than-humble beginnings. While she admits to having had a rough childhood in Timmins, Ont., where she basically raised herself, she won't get specific other than admitting sometimes going to bed with an empty stomach. "Hunger is one I can share comfortably . . . there are a whole host of problems that come with poverty," said Twain. Like almost any mom, she wants to protect her four-year-old son from just about everything bad. But she absolutely never wants her son to go through what she knew too well: wondering where the next meal is coming from. "I don't have any regrets," she said of her childhood, adding that a lot of times she simply couldn't depend on her parents -- not because they didn't want to be there, they just weren't always able to be there.

DID YOU READ THE FEATURE ARTICLE OF THE WEEK?

WHY MOVIES STARS, CELEBRITIES AND ORDINARY WOMEN POSE NAKED? By Maximillien de Lafayette. Brigitte Bardot: "Animals walk around naked and they have more loyalty than men. I have never been betrayed by my pets. But I have been cheated so many times by men and women who were fully clothed..."Josephine Baker: " I will strip by the name of God, if I have to feed those orphans...". WHY SOME WOMEN STRIP IN PUBLIC AND WHY STARS POSE NAKED? For one million reasons. And it has nothing to do with money, as many ingenious minds and rednecks believe or imagine. Kate Moss does not need to pose naked to make money. She appeared in full armored clothes on major glossy magazines covers. And she earns zillions, just by holding a product or looking at the camera. She does it because it is part of the fabric of the business. Almost 88% of stars and celebrities, including university professors, anchorwomen, women-wrestlers, top executives and moms posed in the nude at one time in their lives and careers for pragmatic, incomprehensible reasons, fantasy, celebrity quest, notoriety exposure... Read full article and see photos

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GLORIA LORING: HER LIFE, BOOKS, MUSIC AND STARDOM.

READ THE ARTICLE AND EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

She did it all with class, beauty, intelligence, style, talent, unique creativity, guts and warmth. And she excelled in everything she accomplished. Grande Dame Loring is a published author, a national speaker, a world-class actress, an international celebrity, a star of the American cinema and television, a leading figure of the American theater and concert halls, a singer, a composer, a lyricist, a songwriter, a producer, a certified yoga teacher, a member of Who's Who in America and The World Who's Who of Women and a humanitarian. This woman is almost 99.99% perfect. This is the kind of people who create and shape the greatness of a nation. This is the vintage of noble souls, warm hearts and bright minds who make the sun rise and shine over the hills, the prairies and the faces of people we love...And this is the kind of human beings who at every dawn, make the wild roses bloom in the valley and on the landscape of the human psyche.

U.N. official, Angelina Jolie appeal for urgent aid to Pakistan quake victims

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Fresh from a tour of Pakistan's devastated earthquake zone, actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie pleaded for swift aid to avoid a new disaster in the country with the onset of the brutal Himalayan cold. Her appeal was echoed by the top U.N. official coordinating the relief effort, who stressed the importance of immediate relief as winter descends and expressed concern that the focus of support may be shifting to long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation following the Oct. 8 quake. "It is important to start building new hospitals and schools as soon as possible, but it's most urgent to save the lives of thousands of children who could then make use of these schools," Jan Vandemoortele said in a statement Friday. He said the United Nations and other agencies had received less than half of the $550 million US they sought in a recent appeal. "We urgently need extra millions of dollars to reach the earthquake survivors and other vulnerable victims, especially before the winter sets in," he said. Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, appealed for donors to make good quickly on promised quake aid to Pakistan, which reached $5.8 billion at a conference a week ago.

"The pledges need to materialize soon," she said. "Because from what I'm understanding, there are so many wonderful pledges of money that could come in the next few years - but this winter is in the next few weeks, and so many people are in danger of possibly freezing to death." Accompanied by actor Brad Pitt, Jolie visited a mostly destroyed town and a camp for survivors of the 7.6-magnitude quake, which killed an estimated 86,000 people and destroyed the homes of more than three million in Pakistan-held Kashmir and neighboring regions. A further 1,350 died in Indian-held Kashmir. "You watch TV and you see the pictures, but nobody sitting at home has any idea what this really looks like," she told a news conference in Islamabad. "It's just unbelievable. You fly in a helicopter and you see . . . one house after another - just rubble, nothing standing."

Jolie said she had met with residents of a high mountain valley who had received little aid and were concerned about how they would survive the winter. Some people whose mountain homes were destroyed by the quake have sought refuge at lower altitudes, but others are expected to remain. Pakistan's top relief official, Maj. Gen. Farooq Ahmed Khan, said hundreds of troops, volunteers and aid groups were helping quake victims in high mountain villages build at least one room from the rubble of their homes and pitch tents nearby. On Saturday, the top agricultural official in Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, Chaudhri Abdul Shaoor, said authorities had begun distributing some 850 tons of seeds and fertilizer from international agencies. He said efforts to repair damaged farmland would begin after winter crops are harvested early next year. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who praised Jolie's work on behalf of refugees at the news conference, also toured the quake zone Thursday. He took reporters with him - unlike Jolie and Pitt, whose trip was not announced in advance. -By S. Gullerman.

U2's Bono says Martin mystifies him

Irish rock star Bono attends a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Friday, Nov. 25, 2005 prior to U2's sold-out show at the Corel Centre. While in Ottawa Bono met with political leaders and addressed world poverty.

Dividend Platinum Select - Apply Now Irish rock star Bono says Prime Minister Paul Martin's inability to further increase foreign aid mystifies him. The U2 lead singer says Martin and his Liberal party will feel it at the ballot box should he continue to resist meeting aid targets supported by most Canadians. Bono, speaking in support of the Make Poverty History project, says Canada could easily increase Third World aid as it's the only major industrialized country in a surplus position. He's in Ottawa for a U2 concert but spent the day meeting with party leaders, saying he wants to appeal to the better nature of people in what he calls a better country. Bono and Martin have been friends for some time - he spoke to the Liberal party convention two years ago -- and has long campaigned for Canada to give 0.7 per cent of its GDP to world relief.

Everybody wanted a piece of J.D. the rock star

Photo: J..D. Fortune, the rocker who grew up in Nova Scotia, won the reality TV show, Rock Star: INXS. He has boosted fan interest in the Australian band, particularly among women.

The newspaper, radio and television media certainly did; so did the common-folk scurrying around Toronto's Sony BMG offices, catering to the needs of the newest comeback band: INXS. "Hi J.D." the women, young and old called out. "Hey (insert name/term of endearment)," he'd call back. J.D. Fortune, new Canadian frontman to popular Aussie rock band INXS was so much in demand during a recent promotional stop that it was tough getting him for a promised interview. "I'll try to get you a few minutes with J.D.," a man in charge of the media told a reporter. Those coveted minutes turned out to be in between other engagements, and while Fortune smoked a cigarette outside. "Wait till the record comes out," he said, looking off into the distance. "Wait till it's No. 1." There are a few reasons for all of this fuss. INXS is indeed set to release it's new record -- the first since original lead singer Michael Hutchence hanged himself in 1997 -- today. Switch will be the band's 11th studio album and it's already generating buzz. A lot of that is due to the clever way the band built on the momentum of its hit reality TV show, Rock Star: INXS. Fortune, at least a dozen years younger than the five other band members, was chosen from among 15 contestants as INXS's new lead singer. The fact that he's Canadian adds to the local hype, of course. "J.D. has been telling us to expect a wild response (in Canada)," said Kirk Pengilly, guitarist and saxophone player with INXS. "Getting a Canadian singer has kind of made us honorary Canadians," said bandmate Garry Beers. The two reflected on the intense months leading up to and after the show. The band had started working on what would become Switch's songs before and during the TV show, a challenge since it wasn't clear who would be singing the lyrics. "The first day after (the show ended), apart from a barrage of press requests and everything like that we went straight to the studio and had five weeks to make a mixed album," said Pengilly. "We realized by the end of the mixing, just before we all went home, we hadn't even really been out to dinner with J.D., we hadn't even socialized because we didn't have time." Fortune co-wrote three of the 11 tracks. Original INXS band members know how to navigate the rock star world, but Fortune is new at this game. Born in Mississauga, the 32-year-old grew up in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. He moved to Toronto as a teenager, left high school early and worked a variety of jobs, including a short stint in the army, fronting a rock band called Juice and moonlighting as an Elvis impersonator. At one point he was living out of his car. To say things have changed is an understatement. Already, his anonymity is slipping away. "I was walking down Yonge Street, and that didn't work out well because there were 20 people following me," he said. "I feel like the mayor. It's so weird." But Fortune takes it all in stride. "This is a really good training ground for the onslaught of worldwide attention that this record deserves and will get."

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NCFJE Chanukah Telethon

Rabbi Perl with Bruce Adler

Blending joyful song and dance with heartfelt emotional appeals, the 13TH NCFJE annual Chanukah Telethon generated important support for the group's educational and social service programs. This broadcast one of most successful fundraising events to date for NCFJE of Long Island. “We are so deeply grateful for the remarkable generosity shown by our viewers,” said Rabbi Anchelle Perl, Director of National Committee Furtherance of Jewish Education on Long Island and Director of Chabad of Mineola. “Our supporters once again demonstrated their strong spirit of kindness and caring, and their support will allow us to continue to help the needy in the coming year.” The “Celebration 13” Telethon, which broadcast live from Long Island for four hours on December 11, aired in major markets across the Tri-State area and was also simulcast on the Internet. The show featured a lineup of political leaders, sports and entertainment figures. Live music by the Neshoma Orchestra included acts by Chassidic Sensation Avraham Fried, Broadway star Bruce Adler, Blue Fringe, Lenny Cocco & The Chimes, The Manhattan Day School Choir and The Kinderlach- Israel’s New Kid’s Band. The show aired taped segments from individuals and families whose lives were touched by the Committees programs of caring and compassion. In addition to thanking the donors, Rabbi Perl also thanked everyone involved in the production of the show. “Many talented people worked very hard on this year’s Telethon, and a broadcast of such quality wouldn’t be possible without their efforts,” the Rabbi said. “On behalf of all of us, we wish to offer our terrific production staff the appreciation they deserve.”

Rabbi Anchelle Perl, of Temple Beth Scholom, Mineola, NY, with Rabbi Israel Kestenbaum, director of The Chaplaincy’s Jewish Institute for Pastoral Care. Rabbi Perl is an outstanding human being, a great asset to our community. He is a scholar, a humanitarian...and lots of fun!