'DWTS' producer: Give Chaz Bono a chance to dance (AP)

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Thu Sep 1, 10:00 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – ""Dancing With the Stars" executive producer Conrad Green says despite controversy over the casting of its first transgender contestant, "Dancing" remains a family show and viewers should check out the new season before passing judgment.

Chaz Bono, who was born female but underwent surgery to become a man, is among the cast of 12 celebrities set to appear on the ABC hit when it premieres later this month — a decision that's drawn ire from some "Dancing" fans and conservative media groups.

Dan Gainor of the Culture and Media Institute calls Bono's casting "a ridiculous, agenda-driven move by `Dancing With the Stars.'"

"This is the latest example of the networks trying to push a sexual agenda on American families," he said Thursday.

The organization is not calling for a boycott of the show, but online group OneMillionMoms.com is. It says on its website that the casting of Bono and openly-gay reality star Carson Kressley "is completely unacceptable and Christians should not watch the show, no excuses!"

Besides Bono and Kressley, the new cast includes basketball star Ron Artest; World Cup soccer player Hope Solo; reality stars Robert Kardashian and Kristin Cavallari; TV personalities Nancy Grace and Ricki Lake; singer-actress Chynna Phillips; actors David Arquette and J.R. Martinez; and Italian actress Elisabetta Canalis, who may be better known in the United States for being George Clooney's ex-girlfriend.

Green says the show has no agenda other than entertainment and always seeks to represent a range of people.

"I think we've had three gay or transgender contestants out of about 120 on the show, so what we're really doing is reflecting some of the makeup of this vast array of people that make up American society," he said in an interview Thursday.

The show remains family friendly, he said, adding that he has young children of his own.

"We're not going to be dwelling on Chaz's sexuality any more than we dwell on anyone's sexuality on the show," he said. "We're not going to be going into things that are going to make it difficult for you to watch with your children at all."

Bono wasn't cast to stir controversy, but because he's "a great guy and he's got a really interesting story," Green said. "He comes from Hollywood royalty as a family and is familiar to loads of our audience throughout his life."

Green said no sponsors of the show have expressed concern over Bono's casting and he doesn't expect that any will. He noted that Bono has been "on every talk show in the country," including "Oprah," without backlash.

Bono is the only child of Cher and Sonny Bono.

Cher has taken to Twitter this week to blast the "stupid bigots" who she says have "viciously attacked" her son since the "Dancing" cast was announced on Monday. She praised his courage for appearing on the show and wrote: "bet VAST MAJORITY of People will LOVE CHAZ on DWTS !"

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the network and "Dancing" producers for casting Bono. Spokeswoman Sharda Sekaran said that despite some negative response, his appearance on the show may help foster better understanding about transgender people.

"This community faces a lot of misunderstanding, fear and hatred, and all too often, violence," she said. "But these are people just like anybody else, who are part of everyday things as normal as entertaining audiences on a dancing show.

"Even with the negative reaction, it gives people exposure and access to the story of a real-life transgender person."

Bono said on his Twitter page Thursday that he is "overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I received from everyone."

"I don't listen to the haters, but embrace the love," he wrote.

Green said Bono's casting and the resulting conversation has boosted awareness of the show, but he hopes dancing supplants controversy when the show premieres on Sept. 19: "I hope that a lot of the people who appear to be upset at the moment will give him a chance and maybe realize it's not quite as bad as they think."

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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen can be reached at www.twitter.com/APSandy.

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Online:

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www.twitter.com/Cher

www.onemillionmoms.com

http://www.mrc.org/cmi/

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http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars

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Producer ordered to pay $3M in harassment suit (AP)

LOS ANGELES – A Los Angeles jury has ordered film producer Jon Peters to pay his former assistant more than $3 million after finding she was subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

The jury on Friday awarded Shelly Morita $822,000 in compensatory damages and $2.5 million in punitive damages.

City News Service reports that Peters' attorneys plan to appeal the verdict.

Morita sued Peters five years ago, alleging he fondled her at his Malibu home and climbed into bed with her in an Australian hotel during the 2005 filming of "Superman Returns." She claimed that she couldn't find work in Hollywood after suing Peters because of his pull in the industry.

Peters produced several acclaimed films, including "A Star Is Born," "Flashdance," "The Color Purple," "Batman" and "Rain Man."

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Film producer ordered to pay $3 million in sex scandal (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A jury found movie producer Jon Peters was guilty on Friday of sexual harassment and ordered the man behind films such as "Batman" to pay more than $3 million to a former personal assistant.

The nine-woman, three-man panel awarded Shelly Morita $822,000 in compensatory damages. They found that Peters created a hostile work environment and acted with malice, which led to a second phase of the trial in which they awarded the Morita an additional $2.5 million.

Peters, a onetime hairdresser turned movie mogul whose producing credits include "The Color Purple," "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and "Superman Returns," was not present for the verdicts. Along with former business partner Peter Guber, he also ran Sony Pictures movie studio for a time.

Morita, a 44-year-old single mother, sued Peters and his company, J.P. Organization Inc., in December 2006.

She claimed he inappropriately touched her and alleged that he crawled into bed with her when they were in Australia during the filming of "Superman Returns."

In his testimony, Peters, 66, denied any wrongdoing. His attorney said the verdicts will be appealed.

(Reporting and writing by Sheri Linden; Edited by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Music producer killed by gunmen in Jamaica (AP)

KINGSTON, Jamaica – A Jamaican music producer for a top reggae label has been shot to death outside his home in an upscale neighborhood of the Caribbean island's capital.

Police in Kingston say Joel Chin was attacked late Tuesday after he stepped out of his car in the driveway of his home. Police have not disclosed a possible motive.

Chin was the grandson of Vincent "Randy" Chin, a pioneering reggae producer from Jamaica who established VP Records in New York. The company has made stars out of artists like Sean Paul and Beenie Man.

VP Records says Joel Chin moved from New York to Jamaica two years ago to spend more time on music.

The label says the 35-year-old was instrumental in launching the careers of several reggae stars.

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Film producer Jon Peters accused in harassment case (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hollywood producer Jon Peters' former personal assistant testified on Friday that he crawled into bed with her uninvited at an Australian hotel.

Shelly Morita's testimony came in a Los Angeles Superior Court trial of her $1 million sexual harassment lawsuit against the 66 year-old producer of such films as "Superman Returns" and "Batman".

Peters, who spent time working as a hair stylist in the 1970s, is thought to be one of the inspirations for actor Warren Beatty's womanizing hairdresser in the 1975 film "Shampoo." He was not in court on Friday.

Morita, 44, said that when she and Peters were staying in separate hotel rooms in Australia during the making of "Superman Returns" in 2005, she was startled to find her boss lying next to her in the middle of the night.

"He said, 'I can't sleep ... I'm lonely, let me just stay here with you,'" Morita testified. Morita said she repeatedly told Peters to leave, and that he eventually did.

She also told the court that later on the trip, Peters urged her to share a joint of marijuana with him.

"He leaned over and pushed his face against my mouth and blew smoke," she said. "I pushed him off. He laughed and thought it was funny."

Peters denies the allegations and his lawyers contend that they were concocted with help from an attorney representing plaintiffs in other cases against Peters.

Peters launched his producing career with the 1976 film "A Star Is Born" featuring Barbra Streisand.

Morita, who filed her lawsuit in 2006 after quitting her job, is seeking $1 million for emotional distress and $500,000 in lost wages, plus punitive damages.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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Producer says Jennifer Lopez will return to 'Idol' (AP)

NEW YORK – An executive producer of the hit musical reality TV show "American Idol" says celebrity judge Jennifer Lopez will return for another season. Lopez hasn't said anything.

But executive producer Nigel Lythgoe (LITH'-goh) was on the "On-Air with Ryan Seacrest" program on Wednesday morning and made the announcement. He acknowledged it wasn't official. But he added he was "delighted to say that all three judges" and the show's "brilliant host" are back for the next season.

Seacrest is the show's host. Singer-actress Lopez debuted as a judge this past season. The other judges are Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler and record producer Randy Jackson.

"American Idol" is due to return to Fox television in January for its 11th season.

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TV producer ordered to Mexico on murder charges (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A judge on Tuesday ordered a former producer for the TV show "Survivor" extradited to Mexico to face charges that he killed his wife two years ago while they were on holiday in the resort town of Cancun.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Chooljian determined that Bruce Beresford-Redman, who has been jailed since November 2010 awaiting a decision, should be sent to Mexico for a trial because there was enough circumstantial evidence to show probable cause he could have murdered his wife.

The U.S. is required to send Beresford-Redman to Mexico within 60 days but he can appeal the judge's ruling, which would extend the process for an undetermined period of time, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors said.

The badly beaten body of Monica Beresford-Redman was found in a sewer at a resort hotel where the couple and their children were vacationing in April 2010. Beresford-Redman had reported his wife was missing three days before she was found.

Mexican authorities believe the two had an argument, he beat her to death, then dumped her body.

Beresford-Redman has proclaimed his innocence, saying in a statement that he was "devastated at her loss" and "incensed at the suggestion" that he could have killed his wife.

At Tuesday's extradition hearing, defense attorneys Richard Hirsch and Vicki Podberesky claimed that statements from the couple's 6 year-old daughter suggested there was no animosity between them while on the Cancun vacation with their family.

But U.S. prosecutors, who have reviewed the case made by Mexican authorities, believe there is enough evidence to show Beresford-Redman killed his wife for three reasons: collecting insurance money, getting sole custody of their children and continuing an extramarital affair.

According to court papers filed in Los Angeles, Monica Beresford-Redman was hit on the head, her face and body were badly beaten and the cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation. Mexican police searched the couple's hotel room in Cancun and found blood spatter in several areas.

The couple's two young children are currently being raised by their grandparents.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Greg McCune and Cynthia Johnston)

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Noted film producer signs on as Quinnipiac mentor (AP)

HAMDEN, Conn. – A film producer and director whose work includes the hits "Home Alone" and "Mystic Pizza" has signed on as a mentor for students in Quinnipiac University's School of Communications.

Scott Rosenfelt will be a professional-in-residence in film, video and interactive studies for the 2011-12 academic year.

In addition to "Home Alone," his prominent films include "Teen Wolf" and "Extremities." He has also produced and directed several award-winning independent films.

Rosenfelt's work at Quinnipiac will include critiquing students' projects, giving guest lectures and helping students win internships in Los Angeles and New York. He will also launch a weekend workshop for aspiring producers.

He said in a statement released by Quinnipiac that he wants to help students develop their own visions without being hindered by the industry's myths and roadblocks.

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"Spider-Man" producer Laura Ziskin dies of cancer (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Laura Ziskin, the Hollywood producer who helped turn "Pretty Woman" heroine Julia Roberts into a star and brought "Spider-Man" to the big screen, died on Sunday after a public battle with breast cancer. She was 61.

According to a statement from Sony Pictures, where her production company was based, Ziskin died at her Los Angeles home after fighting the disease for seven years.

In 2008 Ziskin, along with other entertainment notables including newswoman Katie Couric, co-founded Stand Up To Cancer, an advocacy group for cancer research. Later that year -- and again last September -- Ziskin produced all-star telethons that aired live on the major U.S. networks.

In addition to making movies, Ziskin also produced the Academy Awards broadcast twice, and served as president of Fox 2000 Pictures, a feature film division of 20th Century Fox.

She was perhaps best known for producing the three "Spider-Man" movies starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. The trilogy grossed $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office. The franchise is currently being overhauled with a new cast and a focus on the superhero's early years.

Among the films Ziskin championed at Fox 2000 was the searingly brutal drama "Fight Club," starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Following an advance screening that left other studio executives bewildered and angry, Ziskin boldly proclaimed it was brilliant, according to author Sharon Waxman's "Rebels on the Backlot."

Still she did blanch at one comical line -- "I want to have your abortion -- and begged director David Fincher to replace it. He reluctantly agreed, but the new line was even more grotesque and she begged him to revert to the old line. He refused, according to the book.

Ziskin, a Los Angeles native who started out as a personal assistant, started making features in the mid-1980s. She teamed with actress Sally Field to produce "Murphy's Romance," a 1985 comedy-drama for which James Garner received an Oscar nomination.

She hired hot young stars Kevin Costner for "No Way Out" (1987) and Dennis Quaid for "D.O.A." (1988), and helped transform Roberts into Hollywood's biggest sensation with "Pretty Woman," the 1990 smash which she executive produced.

Ziskin rescued legendary Hollywood scribe Buck Henry ("The Graduate") from a long dry spell by recruiting him to write the adaptation for "To Die For," a dark comedy directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Nicole Kidman.

By the time it was released in 1995, Ziskin was ensconced at Fox 2000 where she also oversaw such films as "Courage Under Fire," "One Fine Day," "Soul Food" and "The Thin Red Line."

In 2002, she became the first woman to produce the Oscar broadcast solo. The show, presented for the first time at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, also marked the first Oscarcast appearance of the Cirque du Soleil acrobatic troupe. She also produced the 2007 ceremony.

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2004, and underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, a stem-cell transplant and radiation. The cancer returned in 2009, having spread to her liver and bones.

Sony Pictures said a memorial would be planned. Ziskin is survived by her husband Alvin Sargent, an Oscar-winning screenwriter ("Ordinary People," "Julia") who collaborated on the "Spider-Man" films; and a daughter from her first marriage.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman)

(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)

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"Mad Libs", "Get Smart" producer Leonard B. Stern dies (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Leonard B. Stern, the prolific writer and producer whose credits included "The Honeymooners," "Get Smart" and the word game "Mad Libs," died Tuesday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 87.

The three-time Emmy Award winner also created "McMillan and Wife," the breezy crime drama starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James that aired on NBC from 1971-77.

Stern penned "Abbott & Costello in the Foreign Legion" (1950) and a pair of Ma & Pa Kettle films before his stint on "The Jackie Gleason Show," where he wrote "Honeymooners" sketches for the variety show and the series it spawned.

"It's funny, and it deals with hope and dreams," Stern said of 'The Honeymooners' in an interview with the Archive of American Television. "It makes you comfortable that you're not them. I don't know, it's kind of a mystery. Gleason used to say, 'It's funny and it's never going to go out of style because it makes you laugh and it's not current.'"

In the 1960s, the native New Yorker created the sitcoms "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster" starring Marty Ingels and John Astin; "Run Buddy Run," a "Fugitive" satire starring Jack Sheldon; and "He & She," starring Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss as two young love birds.

Later, Stern wrote 17 episodes and served as executive producer on the classic spy spoof "Get Smart," starring Don Adams, and then wrote for "The Good Guys" starring Bob Denver.

Stern's film credits include screenplays for "The Jazz Singer," starring Danny Thomas (1952); Just You and Me, Kid," starring George Burns and Brooke Shields (1979), which he also directed; and Arthur Penn's "Target," starring Gene Hackman (1985).

Stern also was involved in publishing. "Mad Libs" -- a party game in which one player prompts another for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story, hopefully with funny results -- was invented in 1953 by Stern and Roger Price.

Asked how the game was developed, Stern said, "I was writing for 'The Honeymooners' and Roger was at the house. I was doing a polish on a script and I said, 'I need an adjective. And Roger said, 'Naked!' ... Out of this came this word game where you somebody asked you for an adjective or noun and parts of speech."

The two and partner Larry Sloan went on to form Price Stern Sloan, which published the first Mad Libs book in 1958. The company was purchased by Putnam Berkley in 1993.

Stern's survivors include his wife of 55 years, actress Gloria Stroock, who played Hudson's secretary on "McMillan & Wife."

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"Glee" producer Adam Anders launches record label (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – After co-producing more than 100 Billboard Hot 100 hits for Fox's "Glee," the show's executive music producer, Adam Anders, is looking to capture some of that lightning in a bottle for recording artists on his own label.

Anders Music Records' first release is the self-titled debut album of singer/dancer/actor Shane Harper, who plays the recurring character Spencer Walsh on the Disney Channel sitcom "Good Luck Charlie."

Also in the works are albums by Montana native Zac Poor and Texas singer/songwriter Ben Burgess. Universal Motown will be the distributing label for Poor's album.

"When you do a standard distribution deal, you are being boxed into one system," Anders says. "By saying, 'Let's do everything in-house,' we can make the decision as to when we need a major."

Harper's first single, "One Step Closer," was featured on "Good Luck Charlie" in April. Radio Disney added the song to its playlist and Abercrombie & Fitch's Hollister stores used the song and Harper's image in promotional activities.

"One Step Closer" has sold close to 3,000 digital tracks since its March 31 release, while the album has sold fewer than 1,000 units since its April 12 bow, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The sales total for the album, which is available as a download at retailers like iTunes and Amazon, doesn't include CD sales at concert venues during Harper's current tour with Greyson Chance and Cody Simpson, which wraps May 18.

"I don't believe in putting out a single and then if it doesn't hit, drop the artist," Anders says. "We are here to develop artists -- there is no timetable to getting it right."

In addition to appearing on "Good Luck Charlie," Harper, 18, has danced in "High School Musical 2" and Nickelodeon's "Dance on Sunset." Anders signed Harper to a production deal when he was just 15 and "at 18," the producer says, "he was ready to make an album."

For Poor, the label's second signing, Anders and his wife, Nikki, who performed together as a duo before focusing on production, have developed a reality TV show, "The Poor House," which they're shopping to networks. The label has already placed a Poor song with the Facebook game Nightclub City.

Anders notes that Poor's debut album, which he says is about half finished, will be released "with a mixtape approach to help build buzz" before its release.

"With Shane, Disney offers platforms," Anders says. "With Zac, we have to create them."

Anders Music's latest signing is Ben Burgess, a singer/songwriter from Dallas who co-wrote "Chillin' in the Summertime" for the Jonas Brothers' Disney Channel show "Jonas

L.A."

"We will move much quicker; he figured it out on his own," Anders says of Burgess, who has landed songs on TV and in independent films as an unsigned artist.

A native of Stockholm, Anders grew up in Tampa, Fla., and moved to Nashville after graduating high school. He was playing bass for Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman when he met his future wife Nikki Hassman, a singer with whom he has collaborated on writing songs.

Before joining the creative team of "Glee," Anders co-wrote the Backstreet Boys' 2000 hit "More Than That" and composed and produced tracks for Disney's "Camp Rock," "High School Musical 3" and "Hannah Montana: The Movie."

Anders Music's first three signings range in age from 18 to 24, and Harper's "One Step Closer" features a sunny, pop sheen that will be familiar to fans of the 128 Hot 100 hits that Anders has co-produced, nearly all of them with his musical partner Peer Astrom and "Glee" executive producer Ryan Murphy.

Still, Anders insists he isn't limiting his roster to the young performers he has been associated with through his work for Disney and "Glee."

"I'm 35 and I tend to gravitate toward younger artists," he says. "But if the singer is 30 and the music's great, I'll consider it."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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'Toy Story 3' Producer 'Surprised' by Best Picture Nod

The gang over at Pixar is celebrating its 'Toy Story 3' Academy Award nominations today, most notably for Best Picture. "Lee Unkrich [director] and I called each other, and John Lasseter [executive producer] at 5:45," producer Darla K. Anderson tells PopEater. "We were all whooping it up and texting each other. It's really fun."

Anderson says that watching the nominations being read was a nerve-wracking experience for herself and fellow 'Toy Story 3' colleagues.

"When they read off the nominations, we were at the bottom of the second half of the list, and I thought, 'Oh, my God. Come on.' My heart was pounding. The potential was killing me. I personally was surprised."

"It's something you don't take for granted, what a gigantic honor it is, such a huge honor, to be nominated for an Academy Award."

She notes that, "I'm here at Pixar, which is exactly what I want. I want to be with the 400-plus people who made this film possible. We'll definitely be celebrating. It may be as simple as gathering somewhere and hugging each other," she said this morning.

As the film's lone producer, Anderson would have chief honors of accepting the Oscar if they win Best Picture.

The team knew they were going out on a limb with their animated tale in some respects, but she says, "When this film was finished and in the can, I have to be honest, I felt really an enormous amount of peace."

She says that as a producer, she didn't have to leave any stones unturned in the making of the film, and they made sure that it was exactly how they wanted it to turn out.

"We did take a lot of risks on this film -- we had some moments of loss and poignancy," she said. "We risked Andy giving the toys away, and a lot of intensity, along with a lot of laughter. And I wasn't sure how people would respond to the film -- but I knew we told the story we wanted to tell, and took the story to all those places we wanted to take it."

'Toy Story 3' received five major nominations, including best picture, animated feature, sound editing, original song and adapted screenplay.

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Kara DioGuardi: I Was Date Raped by Well-Known Music Producer

In her soon-to-be-released memoir, former 'American Idol' judge Kara DioGuardi reveals she was molested as a child and date raped by a well-known music producer, E!Online.com reports.

In the book, 'A Helluva High Note,' DioGuradi opens up about a family friend's son who repeatedly molested her when she was only 11. "On one particular day, he took me into the back shed of his house and put his hands all over my breasts and vagina," she writes. "I remember freezing and not knowing what to do."

DioGuardi, whose new Bravo show 'Platinum' debuts next month, also reveals how a well-known producer date raped her after dinner. "Within a few hours, he was on top of me, pumping, sweating, and speaking to me in Spanish, not a word of which I could understand," she writes.

The former 'Idol' judge said she never told anyone for fear it would affect her career.

She also discusses her struggles with getting pregnant during her final season of 'Idol.' She ended up asking the producers to let her out of her contract. "I wanted a child and there was no way I could get pregnant under the stress of eighteen-hour work days and live TV," she writes. "I had undergone three unsuccessful rounds of IVF during Season 9."

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