'Accused' gets International Emmy drama nod (AP)

NEW YORK – The British TV crime series "Accused" has been nominated for an International Emmy for best drama, replacing "Sherlock" which was withdrawn from the competition due to a rules violation.

"Sherlock," a contemporary version of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, was among the nominees announced Monday.

It was subsequently determined that "Sherlock" had also been entered by Boston public television station WGBH for a Primetime Emmy Award in the U.S.

The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said Friday that rules bar a program from being entered into the two Emmy competitions in the same year.

It's the second International Emmy nomination for "Accused." Christopher Eccleston received a best actor nod for his role in the anthology in which each episode tells the story of how an individual came to be on trial for a crime.

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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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Lady Gaga accused of copying "Judas" (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Lady Gaga on Friday was slapped with a lawsuit claiming her hit song "Judas" on the new album "Born This Way" was copied from a similar tune by a Chicago-based singer and songwriter.

Rebecca Francescatti, who filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Illinois on Wednesday, alleges "Judas" infringes upon the copyright of her song "Juda," which she recorded in 1999.

The Chicago musician claims that "substantial original portions" of "Judas" were lifted from the song that she re-recorded in 2005 for her album, "It's All About You."

Francescatti's "Juda" was engineered by Brian Joseph Gaynor, a member of DJ White Shadow, which worked with Lady Gaga on her new album "Born This Way."

DJ White Shadow claims to have written 17 of 20 songs on "Born This Way," the suit says.

The suit seeks profits from the sale of the record or damages of an unspecified amount.

Gaynor, DJ White Shadow, Interscope Records and its parent company Universal Music Group are also named in the suit.

A spokeswoman for Lady Gaga was not immediately available for comment, and a spokesman for Interscope declined to comment.

(Reporting and writing by Carly Mayberry; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Rocker accused of pharmacy robbery before show (AP)

MANSFIELD, Mass. – The bass player for a rock band has been arrested and charged with robbing a Massachusetts pharmacy of prescription painkillers just hours before a show.

Attleboro police say Michael Todd, bassist for Coheed and Cambria, entered the Walgreen's pharmacy after 1 p.m. on Sunday and showed the pharmacist a note on his phone saying he had a bomb.

Police say the 30-year-old Todd, of Anaheim, Calif., then made off with six bottles of Oxycontin and fled in a cab headed to the Comcast Center in Mansfield, where his band was to open for Soundgarden that night. He was arrested at the concert hall before the show, and the band played without him.

He's scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Attleboro District Court.

The band's website says the tour will continue.

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Accused Paris Hilton stalker jailed (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A 36-year-old man previously accused of stalking heiress Paris Hilton was charged and jailed Tuesday for violating a judge's stayaway order, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office said.

James Brian Rainford was arrested Monday for trespassing near Hilton's Malibu home, and was subsequently jailed in breach of the order from last January that prohibited him from coming within less than 200 yards (183 meters) of Hilton. His bail was set at $20,000.

"My stalker needs to leave me alone," Hilton said on her Twitter account Tuesday.

Paparazzi photographers outside Hilton's home had called police after they recognized Rainford, who was arrested last October for harassing the heiress.

In April, Rainford also attacked Hilton's then-boyfriend Cy Waits, for which he was sentenced to 227 days in jail. He was released early, as is customary for minor offenses in California.

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