Audience stars in Britain's Last Night of Proms (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Chinese piano superstar Lang Lang wowed them, Wagnerian soprano Susan Bullock got a laugh as a "British Brunnhilde," but the stars of the Last Night of the BBC Proms were standing in the middle of the Royal Albert Hall.

The 700 or so "Prommers" who pay 5 pounds ($8) each for standing room in the cavernous, sold-out 5,000-seat oval hall on Saturday night gave almost as good a show as they got from the soloists, the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner and the 140-strong BBC Symphony Chorus.

Sporting everything from British Union Jack vests to horned Viking helmets, and armed with a formidable array of noisemakers, flags and spluttering balloons launched in a valiant but vain attempt to reach to the hall's vertiginous ceiling, the Prommers kept up their side of the bargain for a high-spirited celebration of the end of the Proms season.

They cheered the stagehands and the musicians tuning up, and generally set the tone for an event on the musical calendar as important for some as the Wagner festival in Bayreuth or Vienna's New Year's Concert.

Nor is it just for natives or anglophiles.

Anne Bucht said she'd flown to London on short notice, and at considerable expense, from her home in Malmo, Sweden, after her daughter Amelie, married to an Englishman, called to say she'd got two tickets at the last minute.

"I waited for it for 20 years," said Bucht, who usually watches the concert on Swedish television to revel in "the joy of everyone," and because Sweden has nothing like it.

Gardner, whose podium was mischievously bedecked with coloured streamers and big, white "L" signs that learner drivers display on their cars, paid special tribute to the Prommers, some of whom queued for as long as 10 hours to buy a ticket entitling them to stand for a concert lasting at least three hours more.

"It's you, the Proms audience, that needs to have the biggest accolade. With your vociferous, passionate, sometimes unruly support you really guarantee that the Proms remain a cornerstone of our cultural identity in this country," he said to an outburst of cheering, applause and blaring noisemakers.

SEA OF UNION JACKS

The final Proms concert traditionally includes a large dollop of Britannica, including rousing audience singalong versions of Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory," the stirring "Jerusalem" by Hubert Parry, not to mention "Rule, Britannia!" and "God Save the Queen" to end the formal programme.

Although it is a blatant celebration of Britishness, at least one Irish, one French and one American flag joined the sea of waving Union Jacks.

The first half of the concert was devoted to a heady international mix, including a new concert overture written by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Bartok's "Miraculous Mandarin" suite, Bullock singing Brunnhilde's immolation scene from Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" and, in recognition of the composer's 200th birth year, Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Soloist Lang Lang, whose latest CD is called "Liszt - My Piano Hero," put all his stunning technique, plus the dramatic body language for which he is famous, into a performance that Liszt, who practically invented the concept of showman, probably would have applauded.

But it was Bullock, the daughter of a policeman who hauled home a junked piano that spurred his daughter into a career in music, who brought down the house in her show-stopping, and previously secret, "British Brunnhilde" outfit featuring a red-white-and-blue winged helmet, a huge red rose on a white shield and a spear that shot off a shower of confetti.

"There's so much depressing stuff going on around us all the time that I think on one Saturday night in the year people should come together and have a good old singsong and join hands and have fun and just celebrate for a change," she told Reuters in an interview the day before the concert, which was her first appearance at the Last Night of the Proms.

(Writing by Michael Roddy; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

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2.5 stars for "Two and a Half Men" cast's Letterman Top 10 (Reuters)

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Ashton Kutcher, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones had the usual awkward interaction with David Letterman during a brief appearance on Thursday's "Late Show" -- but they didn't pay much attention to each other as they read a Top 10 List via satellite.

Anyone hoping to see how they gel together comedically will have to wait for "Two and a Half Men" to return. The three had the disadvantage of trying to play along with Letterman, in New York, from their set in Burbank. His unpredictability can make him hard enough for guests to deal with in person.

Letterman didn't make it easy Thursday. He said of Kutcher, "Why is John Fogelberg there?," a joke plenty of people would have missed even if he had gotten the name right: He was trying to point out that Kutcher's beard and long hair give him a slight resemblance to a mid-'80s Dan Fogelberg, the now-deceased singer-songwriter. Paul Shaffer at least helped Letterman out with the right name.

The trio didn't have the best material to work with, either: just a predictable Top 10 list titled "Reasons to Watch the New Season of 'Two and a Half Men.'" Cryer got to read the only item that made us laugh (No. 5), and reading a list didn't give them much opportunity to joke with each other.

It didn't help that Kutcher leaned off to his left throughout the bit, probably because he's much taller than his co-stars. But it added to their disconnect.

Letterman quipped at the end: "I think they were under the impression this was a rehearsal." The cast's laughter was delayed, suggesting how much they were hampered by the satellite relay.

We'll give the appearance 2.5 stars out of a possible 5 -- and not do any Fogelberg-era jokes about the metric system. You can see what we mean in the video here: http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/two-and-half-men-stars-get-just-25-stars-letterman-top-10-list-video-30834

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Toronto film fest mixes stars, music, Oscar bait (AP)

TORONTO – There's a broader vibe than the usual Hollywood A-listers this year at the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the world's top cinema showcases and a prelude for contenders at the Academy Awards.

Stars such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Glenn Close, Robert De Niro and Viggo Mortensen are on the guest list for the 11-day festival that opens Thursday with an unusually heavy emphasis on music and documentaries.

Pitt is on hand for the premiere of "Moneyball," a film he has been trying to bring to the screen for years as both star and producer. Directed by Bennett Miller ("Capote"), "Moneyball" casts Pitt as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, who rebuilt his team on a shoestring budget applying a fresh statistical approach to find under-appreciated players.

"Baseball had relied on a form of statistics that just hadn't been questioned, and this discovery that had been around for 30 years but had been dismissed showed that there's much more to it," Pitt said. "There's a lot of talented people out there who aren't being used."

Pitt's "Ocean's Eleven" pal Clooney stars in two Toronto films, the family drama "The Descendants" from director Alexander Payne ("Sideways") and his own latest directing effort, the political saga "The Ides of March," in which he plays a presidential candidate opposite Ryan Gosling as an ambitious press secretary.

Weisz has three films playing Toronto: the 1950s drama "The Deep Blue Sea"; the sexual thriller "360," co-starring Anthony Hopkins and Jude Law; and the British spy tale "Page Eight," the festival's closing-night premiere that co-stars Bill Nighy and Ralph Fiennes.

Fiennes has a second film at Toronto, too. He directed and stars with Vanessa Redgrave and Gerard Butler in the Shakespeare adaptation "Coriolanus." Redgrave also has another Shakespeare film at the festival, playing Queen Elizabeth I in "Anonymous," which stars Rhys Ifans as an aristocrat some scholars believe is the actual author of the Bard's work.

Other highlights among the 260 feature films playing Toronto: Williams and Seth Rogen in actress Sarah Polley's latest directing effort, the marital tale "Take This Waltz'; Close in the cross-dressing story "Albert Nobbs," about a 19th century Irishwoman who disguises herself as a male butler; De Niro, Jason Statham and Clive Owen in the action thriller "Killer Elite"; and Mortensen, Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender in the Sigmund Freud-Carl Jung drama "A Dangerous Method."

Polley, who grew up in Toronto and still lives there, said that unlike industry-dominated festivals such as Cannes and Venice, Toronto draws regular film fans that give filmmakers a sense of how their work might play in the real world.

"The audiences are so enthusiastic," Polley said. "It's a great launching pad for a film. You get your optimum audience here. If a film's not loved by audiences here, it's probably not going to be loved by an audience anywhere, so it's a great first shot."

The 36th Toronto festival is putting music on a pedestal, as well, with documentaries about Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Pearl Jam and U2, the Irish rockers who are the subject of Thursday's opening-night gala.

In "From the Sky Down," director Davis Guggenheim (the Oscar-winning Al Gore documentary "An Inconvenient Truth") traces the genesis of U2's 1991 album "Achtung Baby" and follows singer Bono and his band mates today as they prepare for a live performance of those songs.

The festival typically starts with a Canadian film, but "we were looking at a number of ideas of just opening up what's possible in terms of opening night," said Cameron Bailey, co-director of the Toronto fest, which also premiered Guggenheim's 2008 film "It Might Get Loud," featuring U2 guitarist The Edge, Jimmy Page and Jack White.

"The fact that it's Davis Guggenheim is as important as the fact that it's U2. Our audiences like his films and like his filmmaking. I like how he's able to get under the skin of these very prominent figures, whether it's the guitarists in `It Might Get Loud' or Al Gore or with this one on U2."

Also on a musical note: Jonathan Demme directs "Neil Young Journeys," his third concert film featuring the rocker, this time in a solo show at Toronto's Massey Hall at the end of his tour to promote the album "Le Noise."

Cameron Crowe combines his two occupations, filmmaker and rock journalist, to direct "Pearl Jam Twenty," a portrait of the Seattle-area music stars built on rare archival material and candid new interviews with Eddie Vedder and his band mates.

McCartney is at the heart of "The Love We Make," Albert Maysles' chronicle of the former Beatle's preparations for a memorial concert after the Sept. 11 attacks. The film screens at Toronto on Friday, the night before its TV premiere on Showtime and two days before the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11.

The attacks left stars, filmmakers, studio executives and fans stranded in Toronto 10 years ago. The festival briefly shut down before resuming with a subdued air.

To mark the 10-year anniversary, all festival screenings on Sept. 11 will be preceded by a four-minute film featuring directors and other industry professionals looking back on that day and its aftermath.

"From the Sky Down" marks the first time the festival has opened with a documentary, and the nonfiction department also offers one of the festival's most potentially divisive films with "Sarah Palin — You Betcha!"

Director Nick Broomfield ("Biggie and Tupac," "Kurt and Courtney") spent 10 weeks during winter in Palin's hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, where he interviewed her parents, friends, church members and others who have known the former governor and Republican vice presidential candidate.

"The idea was to go with a pretty open mind, not with a lot of preconceptions," Broomfield said. "It's almost like we made a diary of what we found rather than going out to nail her."

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Rising stars Aldean, Shelton shake up CMA noms (AP)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a decade toiling away at the microphone without much recognition, Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton are breaking through in a big way.

Two of country's leading men nabbed their first Country Music Association Awards entertainer of the year nominations Tuesday, upsetting recent trends and leading a popular pack with five nominations apiece. They join previous entertainer winners Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban in the CMA's most prestigious category. Paisley and Swift also are up for five awards.

"To be honest, I secretly hoped that I'd get this nomination one day, but I never thought I actually would," Shelton said in a statement. "After 10 years of watching my friends receive this incredible honor, I got pretty used to being a cheerleader for them, ya know?"

He began receiving more nominations last year, winning two awards at the 2010 CMAs. But his move into television as a coach on NBC's "The Voice," an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry and the success of his single "Honey Bee" — not to mention his marriage to Miranda Lambert — has helped bring him to the forefront of country music.

Like Shelton, Aldean has been slowly gaining awards show attention the last few years after hitting the trifecta of arena tours, platinum albums and radio airplay. But his previous nominations pale compared to the ones he earned Tuesday morning. Along with entertainer of the year, he took nominations in three coveted categories — album of the year for "My Kinda Party," single of the year for "Don't You Wanna Stay," featuring Kelly Clarkson, and male vocalist of the year.

"That's kind of the cool thing about this whole deal for us," Aldean said in a phone interview. "A lot of this stuff is first-time stuff for us. I think the general consensus whenever we get nominations, especially the big ones, is that's pretty special. Not only for me but my whole camp, for everyone involved. We're all kind of experiencing this stuff for the first time, so I think everybody's genuinely excited and sometimes surprised. It's a good feeling to know when you've been working all this time and people are taking notice."

The Band Perry and Jake Owen made the initial announcement of five categories Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Jerrod Niemann and two-time nominee Thompson Square announced the remainder of the nominees later at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Zac Brown Band and The Band Perry were next with four nominations apiece. Kenny Chesney was nominated for three awards, including male vocalist of the year, but country music's top touring draw was left out of an entertainer of the year category he won four straight times before essentially taking a year off.

Swift, who won entertainer of the year in 2009, is also up for female vocalist of the year with Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Sara Evans and Lambert, who won the honor last year on her 27th birthday.

Lambert's husband, Shelton, will defend his male vocalist of the year award this year against Paisley, Urban, Aldean and Chesney.

The Band Perry will compete with Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Zac Brown Band and Little Big Town in the vocal group category. And the sibling trio is nominated with Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Thompson Square and Chris Young in the new artist of the year category.

Coveted album of the year nominations went to Shelton for "All About Tonight," Aldean for "My Kinda Party," Swift's "Speak Now," Paisley's "This is Country Music" and "You Get What You Give" by Zac Brown Band.

Paisley and Carrie Underwood will host the award show for a fourth time live Nov. 9 from Nashville on ABC.

"I definitely think over the last couple of years you've seen some artists get in there that aren't the typical ones you're used to seeing in there," Aldean said. "That kind of tends to happen every few years. It seems like over the last couple of years you're starting to see some of that. But it's still a little surprising."

___

AP writer Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report from New York.

___

Online:

http://www.cmaworld.com

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McCartney, Pacino, Damon, other stars remember 9/11 (Reuters)

TheWrap Staff

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Do you remember where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001?

TheWrap asked a number of actors, filmmakers, producers, writers and bloggers, some New Yorkers and others not even U.S. citizens, to remember where they were on that fateful day, and how it changed them.

PAUL McCARTNEY

"I was on my way back to England, and we were at JFK on the tarmac, and the pilot just suddenly said, 'We can't take off. We're going to have to go back to base.' And out of the window on the right-hand side of the airplane, you could see the twin towers. You could see one plume of smoke, and then you could see two shortly thereafter.

I said, 'Well, that's an optical illusion, you know.' Then one of the stewards came to me and said, 'Look, there's been something really serious happened in New York, and we've got to get you out of here.'

I ended up in Long Island watching it on TV, watching the whole story unfold -- like everyone else in the world -- wanting to go into New York, but nobody was allowed back in.

So while I was kind of sitting out there twiddling my thumbs thinking of what to do, was there any role I could play in this, the idea came to me that maybe we could do a concert, maybe get something together. And that thing grew into a conversation with Harvey Weinstein, who said that MTV was putting one together and maybe we should all get together on that. it was a kind of post-fear. We were emerging from the fearfulness of the immediate impact, and now you were seeing the emotion releasing through music, which I always think is a great thing. You could see particularly the firefighters and the volunteers and their families and victims' families were able to release this emotion that had been pent up. It was a great feeling. It was a really great feeling."

AL PACINO

"It was the most terrifying, the most heartbreaking day. I was on a plane the evening before it happened, September 10.

I was in Los Angeles, and all I wanted was to get back to my home -- New York.

I couldn't get back, the planes wouldn't move. It was devastating."

MATT DAMON

"I lived in lower Manhattan at the time. So I just remember walking out of my apartment and seeing it and then going back in and watching CNN 'cause I was so hungry for information, trying to figure out what's going on.

I just remember being glued to my television despite the fact that it was happening kind of right outside my door."

JANE ROSENTHAL (Founder of Tribeca Productions and the Tribeca Film Festival)

"I had just dropped my daughter off at school for second grade, and I was driving to the office. I was supposed to meet with Spike Lee and Harvey Weinstein to talk about "Rent," which we'd been trying to put together.

When I heard the noise, I thought it was a car crash. I turned around in my car, and went further into Wall Street, and around that time I heard the second plane hit. I was listening to New York One. My first reaction was that it was a terrorist attack.

I was on South Street Seaport going north. To get to 30th Street it took almost three hours. I called my husband from a payphone and told him to pick up my daughter. I heard the Pentagon had been hit. At that point, I thought the end of the world was coming. I was probably in a state of shock -- complete disbelief.

When I think back to that day, to how my first instinct was to get out and get to my kids, versus all the fire and police who chose to run in and save people. I think, 'What makes you run in versus run out of a disaster? That has been something I've thought about quite a bit.

That feeling has propelled me to do as much for downtown as I can. Certainly, what we've done with the film festival and the dinners downtown. In a period of duress, what's your instinct, and what does that say about you as an individual?

For me, it's been personally doing everything I can for downtown. Bob (De Niro) and I are on the national 9/11 Memorial Museum board, and the opening will be quite spectacular on September 11.

TOM HARDY

"I was at a wig-fitting. I was doing a French Foreign Legion film, and I was going out to North Africa, Morocco. We'd just done 'Black Hawk Down,' and they shelved that immediately. There were a lot of war films that year being made. A lot of work was being done in North Africa. Everyone had started panicking. And I was executing holy men in a scene three days later in a mosque in Morocco. It was a thing called 'Simon, French Foreign Legion Deserter' it ended up being called. So it was a very odd situation to be in because there I was playing a soldier in North Africa. We had a plane on standby to get us out if anything kicked off.

Immediately, it was a life-changing event. I have friends who serve, I have a lot of friends in special forces, I have very, very close friends who deal in very serious operations all over the Middle East that were affected post-9/11 ... I'm still really thrown by the loss and the amount of people on that day, and that whole situation, to be honest.

I'm a bit thrown. I've got friends who were in the building, in the twin towers. I have friends who are servicemen, what can you say?"

GUS VAN SANT

"I was living on Canal Street and out my window I could see the towers, and I heard an explosion and eventually realized that one of them was on fire. Our office was even closer, so we were eight blocks away on the roof looking at the towers falling.

And we evacuated away from the dust and smoke that was coming our way. I was sort of typical of some reactions where I wasn't really aware of how big a moment it was, which was something that happened with other people in the Tribeca area and Wall Street area. Some people continued working.

We traveled uptown from where we were, and we were on 57th Street, and we realized that people uptown felt it was a downtown problem, and people upstate felt it was a, like, a Manhattan problem.

And elsewhere it was a national problem -- I think if you were in Delaware, you saw it more objectively, like, 'This is a national emergency. This is an amazing, horrible, historical event.' But if you were there, there were many different reactions, and mine was probably one as a result of some kind of shock."

BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD

"I was on Christopher Street, below the 14th Street line, which is kind of like the cut-off, and I heard all this noise and opened my windows. I remember my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, saying, 'Where's the other tower?' The first tower had already fallen and we were just looking at one tower.

I was so used to seeing the twin towers, I couldn't even understand, really, what I was seeing. I remember it took me awhile to figure out, 'Oh my God, one of the towers is missing!' cause it's just unthinkable. And then we saw the second tower fall, and my husband was sobbing and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to be late to class!' I was getting ready to go outside and my husband was like, 'Are you out of your mind?! You're not going outside right now!'"

ROSEANNE CASH

"My daughter Carrie was in seventh grade, and I took her to school in a taxi because there was a meeting that morning., I went into the cafeteria and she went up to her classroom. At about 8:45, I heard a rumble overhead. The plane went right over the school, and shook the building.

I looked around the room, and one of the mothers said, 'That plane is going to crash.' About five minutes later, somebody came to the door and said a plane had just crashed into the north tower.

And I said to one of the teachers who was sitting with me, 'I bet it was that plane that just went over.' At first we thought it was just a commuter plane that had gotten lost. We couldn't conceive that an airliner had actually done it. We stopped the meeting and walked out in the hall, and a woman was out there crying. She said it was a passenger jet, and then we freaked.

I started to walk out the building to go look at the towers, because there was a straight view right down the street. Another mother was coming in, and she was as white as a sheet. She said a second plane had just hit, and I said, 'What are you talking about?' I thought that she was confused.

So I went around to the corner, and you could see both towers burning. There were these black holes, and smoke. A lot of smoke. We were standing there, and my friend Robin Rue, who's a literary agent, said, 'All this in the name of god.' That's when I really realized what had happened, that it was a terrorist attack.

NICK NOLTE

"I was watching TV when it happened. I didn't see the first plane. I saw the second plane. And then on the anniversary of 9/11, I was drunk and picked up for drunk driving.

The reason that picture got on television was, all the cameras were pointing at the place where the terrorists were supposed to hit.

And then there was no news, so they picked that picture up and sent it back."

JOEL EDGERTON

"I was at record launch at a Chapel Street in Melbourne, at a place called Revolver. I'd just finished shooting a movie and one of the locations was a place called The Twin Towers, in Melbourne. And my brother sent me a text message saying, 'A plane has just landed in the twin towers.'

And I was just imagining a two-seater plane landing in this very small building in Melbourne, thinking, 'What is he talking about?' Then the reality of what happened hit and this poor guy was on stage in the second set of his LP launch, and the room just started clearing one by one.

And I remember on my way home thinking, 'That poor guy thinks he's the worst musician in the world.' And then I spent all night watching TV. I remember feeling it was the most worried I'd felt ever in my life, just in general about humanity and about the world, even though it was something so far away from me."

PEREZ HILTON

"I woke up, went upstairs to the roof of my building in the West Village, and saw the World Trade Center with a big hole in it. Then I fell to my knees. I went downstairs, went running to the bank on Christopher Street, got all my cash out, went to the supermarket, and got in hurricane survival mode because I'm from South Florida. I thought it was the end of the world; I didn't know what to think.

"At first, I kept getting phone calls, because I was right out of college and didn't have a full-time job yet, I was so annoyed that people kept calling me early in the morning. I'm like, 'Let me sleep!' And then finally I picked up the phone and then I went upstairs and I saw and it was unbelievable.

Being in New York after that was just crazy because you were reminded of it daily for years after, but especially what I remember most vividly about that time was the smell in the air stayed for about six months or more, and then even longer because whenever it would rain there was this very specific smell from the World Trade Center disaster.

NOTE: Interviews conducted by Jordan Riefe, Steve Pond, Mikey Glazer and Sharon Waxman

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Top Europe reggae festival opens, Marley family stars (Reuters)

MADRID (Reuters) – Europe's largest reggae festival Rototom Sunsplash opens its gates on Thursday in the Spanish resort of Benicassim, where over 200,000 fans are expected over 10 days of Jamaican-inspired music headlined by leading members of the Bob Marley dynasty.

This year's 18th Sunsplash pays homage to the legendary reggae musician on the 30th anniversary of his death with concerts by his wife Rita, backing singer in Bob Marley & The Wailers, and the most famous of his children including Ziggy and Stephen.

Stephen Marley will open the festival on the main stage, where Ska pioneers Toots and the Maytals and Jamaican dancehall star Mr. Vegas are also expected to play on the first night.

Over 300 bands and DJs playing reggae genres from roots to rocksteady and ragga to dub will be performing on six stages during a festival which mixes reggae music with social forums as well as African and Caribbean arts and culture.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Iran's Shirin Ebadi will attend Rototom's social forum, which also hosts Tobin Tax campaigner Bernard Cassen and environmental activist Vandana Shiva.

"We've got people participating from over 100 different countries, this makes us a truly global festival with a global philosopy of tolerance behind it," festival director Filippo Giunta told Reuters.

"This year we can do it knowing that the local community approves and knowing that the public are going to come. We had 160,000 last year, we are expecting over 200,000 this year," Giunta said.

Rototom Sunplash decided to move to Spain from northern Italy in 2010, after what Giunta said was a clash between the festival's ideals and the ideas of some politicians in the country.

"They accused us of promoting the use of marijuana just because of the relationship of reggae and the Rastafarian religion, which considers it to be a holy plant," Giunta said.

Rototom is a non-profit collective which donates the income from Sunsplash to charities in Africa, Asia and Latin America, attracting speakers and activists from non-government organisations as well as reggae acts from the famous to the obscure.

"We've been to great reggae festivals in France but this has the biggest line-up," said 28-year-old Mariajo, from Madrid.

"I'm going for classics like Toots and the Maytals and (reggae poet) Linton Kwesi Johnson, but I don't think we'll stay for the full 10 days. That's a lot of reggae!"

(Editing by Mike Collett-White)

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Haunting New York show draws crowds, masked stars (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A haunted house, it's not. But for theatergoers including many high-profile celebrities hidden behind masks, "Sleep No More" certainly is haunting.

Dubbed "immersive theater" by directors Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle of British theater company Punchdrunk, the new show compels audience members to roam five floors and almost 100 rooms of the fictional 1930s McKittrick Hotel in search of performances -- small snatches of dance or largely silent scenes between actors -- that will lead them on an adventure.

With nods to the likes of filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick, the show sends its audience -- all wearing Venetian beak masks -- drifting though graveyards, creepy corridors and sinister hospitals looking for items and performances that interest them.

Attendees, who are prohibited from talking for the length of the performance, might find a bloody letter or two actors in a panic, then follow them on an adventure into the unknown.

"Sleep No More" is "a lifelike experience where you don't know what's around the corner," Doyle told Reuters.

The show, which opened in April, has thrilled theater fans and extended its run Off-Broadway. It also has attracted a long list of celebrities drawn to the kind of voyeurism they often experience in reverse in their own lives. Included among the audience, who are all required to don white masks similar to those in Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut," has been Natalie Portman, Kevin Spacey, Tobey Maguire, Hugh Jackman and Spike Lee.

On one night alone, audience members were unknowingly rubbing elbows with Justin Timberlake, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Neil Patrick Harris. The following night Matt Damon, Emma Stone and Emily Blunt wandered among the crowd.

Part of the attraction is that audience members are able to become lost in a world called "a voyeur's delight" and "a lovely evening in hell" by theater critics.

"We wanted to switch on the part of your brain that you aren't normally using in the theater," Barrett told Reuters. "What we want is a 360 experience where you get lost in this parallel world."

PUSHING THEATER BOUNDARIES

Barrett and Doyle believe that the anonymity encourages people to delve deeper into the experience and can bring out more voyeuristic impulses.

"Because you're anonymous, you're empowered to do things you might not do normally," Barrett said.

The performance is inspired by the themes of Shakespeare's Macbeth -- "guilt, betrayal, murder, ambition, suspense," according to Doyle. Items such as a letter from Lady Macbeth on a desk, and a famous quote from that play written in blood on a wall help evoke these themes.

"It is theater, but it's also dance. It's an art installation, it's performance art, it's nightlife," said producer Jonathan Hochwald.

Audiences are free to inspect letters, books, and trinkets sprinkled through the hotel, which was designed with the goal of "making sure there's detail everywhere," said Barrett. No sensory detail is neglected: the smell of dried leaves permeates a taxidermy shop, a forest feels cool and damp, and a candy store smells nostalgically sweet.

"It's the kind of thing that pushes an active experience, and that pushes conventional theater boundaries," Doyle said.

Added Barrett, "It encourages to trust their instincts and to carve out their own evening. There's no right way or wrong way to do it."

Depending on what one looks for and which actors one chooses to follow, "Sleep No More" is a different experience for each audience member -- a defining feature of this sort of immersive theater, said the directors.

"It's all about the individual response," Doyle said.

Some audience members see the production as offering an entirely different experience to the staid formats of musicals and plays shown on Broadway.

"I think there's always a hunger for something that enlivens the mind, that puts the audience into a position of control and power," said Barrett.

(Editing by Christine Kearney and Bob Tourtellotte)

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Music stars campaign to end hunger crisis in Africa (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A global social media campaign featuring a Bob Marley song was launched by some of the music industry's top stars on Tuesday to help stem the hunger crisis that is increasing in the Horn of Africa.

More than 150 stars including Lady Gaga, U2, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney are among the well-known figures using their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to urge fans to donate money to help the numerous families starving in the region.

The campaign, called "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend," can be found at www.imgonnabeyourfriend.org. It shows a video of Bob Marley & The Wailers' 1973 song, 'High Tide or Low Tide," accompanied by footage of malnourished children created by award-winning film director Kevin Macdonald.

About 3.6 million people are at risk of starvation in Somalia and 12 million people across the Horn of Africa, including in Ethiopia and Kenya, the United Nations says.

The drought-hit Horn of Africa urgently needs funds to rebuild agriculture and fight famine. The United Nations food agency has called for a high level meeting to help overcome the worsening crisis.

The "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend," campaign estimated it would reach over a billion people with partners such as Universal Music Group, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, MSN, YouTube and Twitter and the power of celebrities' reach. The combined power of using Facebook and Twitter pages alone will reach 730 million, the campaign said.

Donations or downloads of "High Tide or Low Tide," for $1.29 will go to the Save the Children appeal for east Africa and used for food, water and medicine.

Other stars participating include Sting, David Beckham, Eminem, Rihanna, Annie Lennox, Bruno Mars, Madonna, Ricky Martin and Lily Allen.

"High Tide or Low Tide" was chosen by the Marley family for the resonance of the single's lyrics, "I'm Gonna Be Your Friend" and can also be found on www.facebook.com/bobmarley.

The video starts with the slogan "The Worst Drought in Decades" and after showing images of starving and thirsty children, ends with a black-and-white image of the late Marley behind the message, "Millions of children are facing starvation."

"We must stand up together as friends to put a stop to this, to feed our children and to save their lives," Rita Marley, Bob Marley's widow, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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'Downton' stars collaborate on-screen and onstage (AP)

LONDON – There are secret romances, wars and endless back-stabbing on "Downton Abbey," the British TV series that follows the lives of the aristocratic Grantham family and their servants in the early 20th century.

But off-screen, there is music.

Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery, who co-star in the Emmy-nominated drama, are collaborating musically, and Dockery is hoping to sing on McGovern's next project with her folk rock band, Sadie and the Hotheads.

"She asked me to sing in the band and I'm hoping to be more involved in the second album that she's bringing out," Dockery says.

The band, which features McGovern on vocals and acoustic guitar, released their debut album, "I Can Wait," in 2007. Dockery, who has sung jazz, has performed backup with the group.

Dockery stars as McGovern's eldest daughter, Lady Mary Crawley, on the hit PBS "Masterpiece" series, which is nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, including one for outstanding miniseries or movie. McGovern is nominated for outstanding lead actress for her role as American heiress Cora Crawley, the Countess of Grantham.

Dockery and McGovern first worked together on music on the "Downton" set.

"It's quite a picture, actually, of us sitting in our trailers with our dresses hiked up playing the guitar all afternoon," Dockery says in a recent interview at Highclere Castle, a Victorian castle in the English countryside of Berkshire that sits amid 1,000 acres of breathtaking parkland. Highclere, often used for film shoots, doubles as the Downton Abbey estate.

Dockery, who starred as Eliza Doolittle in an Old Vic production of "Pygmalion" and played Ophelia in "Hamlet" at the Crucible Theatre, made her TV debut in the British miniseries "Hogfather" in 2006. McGovern, 50, has appeared onstage in New York and London, and earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress for her role in the 1981 movie "Ragtime." She was in last year's "Kick-Ass" and "Clash of the Titans."

"Downton" — which airs on PBS in the U.S. and ITV in the U.K. — is set in the late 1900s, shortly after the Titanic sinks. Its first season, which ended on the cusp of World War I, was a success. Each of its four episodes averaged more than 6 million viewers to rank with other "Masterpiece" successes, such as 2008's "Sense and Sensibility," according to Nielsen Co. ratings. It was also the U.K.'s top new drama of 2010.

The 30-year-old Dockery says if her acting career wasn't going so well, she'd be singing full time.

"I love music and I really think it's something I would have done had acting not worked out," says the British actress, who says she is mostly influenced by such jazz singers as Diana Krall, Peggy Lee and Blossom Dearie, as well as top-selling pop diva Adele.

"I find Adele a huge inspiration, not that my voice is anywhere near the range that she has," she says with a laugh. "I've always been able to sing, but I've only found my confidence with singing live over the last few years, maybe because I'm a bit more grown up."

"Downton Abbey," which co-stars Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, returns to ITV in the fall and to PBS in winter 2012.

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Online:

http://www.itv.com/dramapremieres/downtonabbey

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Mesfin Fekadu covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin

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Stars aim for bargains at NY charity-fashion event (AP)

By ALICIA QUARLES, AP Entertainment Writer Alicia Quarles, Ap Entertainment Writer – Sat Jul 30, 6:35 pm ET

WATER MILL, N.Y. – Kelly Ripa, Rachel Zoe and Emma Roberts had their strategies mapped out as they joined other stars on a mission to find the best bargains at a high-fashion shopping event for charity on Saturday.

Celebrities such as Donna Karan, Gayle King and actor Chord Overstreet also attended Super Saturday, which raises money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Jimmy Choo, Theory, Piperlime.com and One Kings Lane were among the 200 brand names that discounted their goods for the cause.

"You have to get a map and plot out the places you want to go," celebrity chef Katie Lee said. "You have to have a mission and a game plan."

Lee said she's scored amazing deals in the past, thanks in part to her hard-core focus: "I got about five Tommy Hilfiger bikinis for about twenty dollars and I still wear them and I love them, and I got cover-ups too."

Ripa had an alphabetical method to her buying spree, instead of jumping around from designer to designer. Once again acting as a co-host, she was excited to get a chance to shop — something that eluded her last time.

"Last year it did not go my way. I had a wedding to get to, so I was able to do the press line, but by the time I got off the press line, I was ushered into a car to go to the wedding. It was really sad," she said.

Roberts, who also co-hosted the event, said she was out the lookout for anything by the line Chloe.

Reality star, stylist and new mom Zoe did double duty by hosting a booth, as well as doing some shopping for clients. Zoe said she never has buyer's remorse over her Super Saturday purchases.

"I think just all of the finds you get and knowing every dollar you spend is for a great cause."

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Online: www.ocrf.org

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Fans, stars tweet the blues over Winehouse death (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Soul singer Amy Winehouse, who died unexpectedly at age 27, received numerous tributes on Saturday from ordinary fans around the world and music luminaries ranging from Tony Bennett to producer Mark Ronson.

The "Rehab" singer whose problems with substance abuse were well-documented, died at her home in London, and while it appears she has lost her battle with drink and drugs, an official cause of death has yet to be determined.

Nevertheless, fans speculated that she became another in a long list of singers, actors and other celebrities whose problems in the public limelight led to their demise -- Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Heath Ledger.

Winehouse was the top trending topic on Twitter where many tweets read like this one from gigglinben: "meh hate waking up to hear #amywinehouse is gone...dreaded it for ages...so young & so much talent sadly gone..hope she finds peace"

CRIerPourMoi posted: "her beautiful voice will be sorely missed. so unfortunate her disease got the best of her. RIP..."

The British singers' talent was discovered when she was 16, and her debut album "Frank" in 2003 earned acclaim. But it was her second CD, 2006's "Back to Black" that made her a star.

The record produced a string of memorable tunes, including "You Know I'm No Good," "Love Is a Losing Game" and "Rehab," which contained the line: "They tried to make me go to rehab. I said 'no, no, no.'" The album reached No. 1 in Britain and earned Winehouse five Grammys, pop music's highest honors.

RONSON CALLS WINEHOUSE "SOULMATE"

Ronson, the "Back to Black" producer, tweeted that Winehouse "was my musical soulmate & like a sister to me. this is one of the saddest days of my life."

Indeed, Twitter was alive with tributes from a who's who of the music world. Rapper and media mogul Diddy said "RIP Amy Winehouse" on the social network website and rocker Pete Wentz sent out "super sad to hear about the news. RIP. never take life for granted."

Some tweets had a harsher tone, such as this from mattissotrendy: "It's sad when anyone dies, but I find it hard to respect a drug addict. No matter how talented they were".

But singer/songwriter and Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas sought to pour cold water on many of the more sarcastic remarks by tweeting, "So many people saying that because it's not a surprise that Amy Winehouse passed, it's not sad. I hope you have more compassion for friends."

Music legend Tony Bennett, who recorded the classic pop standard "Body And Soul" with Winehouse last March, issued a statement calling her "an artist of immense proportions.

"I am deeply saddened to learn of her tragic passing. She was an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist and I am truly devastated that her exceptional talent has come to such an early end," Bennett said.

The U.S.-based Recording Academy, which gives out the Grammys, also issued a statement calling Winehouse "a dynamic performer and musician who seamlessly blended rock, jazz, pop, and soul and created a sound all her own."

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Fans, stars tweet the blues over Winehouse death (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Soul singer Amy Winehouse, who died unexpectedly at age 27, received numerous tributes on Saturday from ordinary fans around the world and music luminaries ranging from Tony Bennett to producer Mark Ronson.

The "Rehab" singer whose problems with substance abuse were well-documented, died at her home in London, and while it appears she has lost her battle with drink and drugs, an official cause of death has yet to be determined.

Nevertheless, fans speculated that she became another in a long list of singers, actors and other celebrities whose problems in the public limelight led to their demise -- Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Heath Ledger.

Winehouse was the top trending topic on Twitter where many tweets read like this one from gigglinben: "meh hate waking up to hear #amywinehouse is gone...dreaded it for ages...so young & so much talent sadly gone..hope she finds peace"

CRIerPourMoi posted: "her beautiful voice will be sorely missed. so unfortunate her disease got the best of her. RIP..."

The British singers' talent was discovered when she was 16, and her debut album "Frank" in 2003 earned acclaim. But it was her second CD, 2006's "Back to Black" that made her a star.

The record produced a string of memorable tunes, including "You Know I'm No Good," "Love Is a Losing Game" and "Rehab," which contained the line: "They tried to make me go to rehab. I said 'no, no, no.'" The album reached No. 1 in Britain and earned Winehouse five Grammys, pop music's highest honors.

RONSON CALLS WINEHOUSE "SOULMATE"

Ronson, the "Back to Black" producer, tweeted that Winehouse "was my musical soulmate & like a sister to me. this is one of the saddest days of my life."

Indeed, Twitter was alive with tributes from a who's who of the music world. Rapper and media mogul Diddy said "RIP Amy Winehouse" on the social network website and rocker Pete Wentz sent out "super sad to hear about the news. RIP. never take life for granted."

Some tweets had a harsher tone, such as this from mattissotrendy: "It's sad when anyone dies, but I find it hard to respect a drug addict. No matter how talented they were".

But singer/songwriter and Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas sought to pour cold water on many of the more sarcastic remarks by tweeting, "So many people saying that because it's not a surprise that Amy Winehouse passed, it's not sad. I hope you have more compassion for friends."

Music legend Tony Bennett, who recorded the classic pop standard "Body And Soul" with Winehouse last March, issued a statement calling her "an artist of immense proportions.

"I am deeply saddened to learn of her tragic passing. She was an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist and I am truly devastated that her exceptional talent has come to such an early end," Bennett said.

The U.S.-based Recording Academy, which gives out the Grammys, also issued a statement calling Winehouse "a dynamic performer and musician who seamlessly blended rock, jazz, pop, and soul and created a sound all her own."

(Editing by Eric Walsh)

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Pink Floyd star's son Charlie Gilmour jailed (AFP)

LONDON (AFP) – The son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour was jailed for 16 months on Friday for an alcohol and drugs-fuelled attack on Prince Charles' convoy during a student protest in London last year.

Charlie Gilmour, 21, had pleaded guilty to violent disorder in May but was granted bail until Friday's hearing at Kingston Crown Court in southwest London in order to complete his exams at Cambridge University.

The former model was found to have hurled a bin at Charles' car and was also accused of smashing a window at a high street store, and was photographed hanging from the Cenotaph war memorial in London during the riot on December 9.

Judge Nicholas Price, passing sentence, said: "It would, in my view, be wrong for me to ignore who the occupants of the three cars were and that's undoubtedly an aggravating feature."

"You should have known better than to behave in such a criminal and reprehensible way," he said.

The judge said Gilmour would spend half the sentence in jail.

David Gilmour adopted Charlie Gilmour when he married his mother Polly Samson. The couple watched from the public gallery as he was sentenced.

Gilmour claimed he had not known what the Cenotaph was.

"For a young man of your intelligence and education and background to profess to not know what the Cenotaph represents defies belief," he said.

Cambridge University would not confirm whether Gilmour would be allowed to resume his studies after he had served his sentence.

"The college notes the gravity of the offence and is firmly opposed to public disorder," said a spokesman for Girton College, where Gilmour studies. "Due legal process has been observed and Mr Gilmour has been tried and sentenced accordingly."

The court heard Gilmour had turned to drink and drugs after being rejected by his biological father, the writer Heathcote Williams, and had taken LSD and valium in the hours leading up to the violence.

Gilmour's barrister, David Spens, said the events of December 9 were a "slap in the face" for Gilmour, which prompted him to stop taking drugs the following day.

The protests last December involved thousands of students demonstrating against the British government's plans to raise university tuition fees to ?9,000 (10,045 euros, $14,825) per year.

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From stars to Skid Row: Royals end California tour (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Britain's Prince William and wife Kate ended their southern California stay on Sunday, bearing witness to both the poverty of Skid Row and the power of Hollywood.

In their first trip to the United States since marrying in April, the royal couple chose to favor charity and business over celebrity in their three-day visit.

But the glitterati of Hollywood were never far away, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge drew the movie stars and studio executives to help raise funds and awareness for their causes in the entertainment capital of the world.

At their final event at Sony Studios to support military families and a job fair for veterans, William said he would take ideas home to Britain, where he serves as a Royal Air Force pilot and Kate is a military wife.

"I am delighted, therefore, that our Foundation -- and in that I include Harry, my low-flying Apache, very average brother -- is a partner in today's event," William quipped to the crowd. "We have much to learn from you."

Earlier in the day and far from the media glare, the royal couple was given a private tour of Skid Row, the gritty terminus for the homeless in downtown Los Angeles and a growing population of single mothers after the economic recession.

The tour was a late addition to the royal agenda and served as preparation for a visit to the Inner-City Arts Center for children living around Skid Row, one of the largest concentrations of homeless people in the United States.

It was also a stark contrast to the opulent events on Saturday -- a charity polo match in coastal Santa Barbara and a black-tie dinner with Hollywood royalty.

OUTDOING HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR

Even with the emphasis on work and business, wherever they went William and Kate brought a royal glamour that even Hollywood couldn't emulate.

At the bright and airy arts center, Kate, dressed in a navy lace top and white pleated skirt from UK retail chain Whistles, donned a smock and painted a snail along with the kids. William, sans smock, appeared to paint something more abstract. It gave the couple an opportunity to be playful in public.

"William, do you know what you're doing? Start from the center," Kate said. He took the direction and returned to his canvas.

The day had started off on a glamorous note as the duke and duchess attended a private brunch with Hollywood notables like actress Reese Witherspoon and the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, to garner interest in Tusk, a charity for African wildlife conservation.

They had also charmed the stars at the gala on Saturday night, where A-listers like Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Barbra Streisand turned out to support the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, of which William is president. He asked the Hollywood power crowd to give opportunities to a new generation of British talent.

The California leg of the 11-day overseas visit had none of the large crowds of their Canadian tour, and most Californians had to resort to the media to get a glimpse of the royals.

But for the lucky few, like Vietnam war veteran Jose Ramos, the contact with the potential king and queen of Britain was special. He gave William his original jump wings from 1966.

"When he thanked me for being a veteran and serving in Vietnam, I offered them to him and he said he'd wear it proudly," Ramos said. "That was my original set. I don't give those out lightly for sure. I've worn them every day since I received them."

(Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Betty Ford helped pave road to recovery for stars (AP)

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – 1 hr 3 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Long before it became reality show fodder, Betty Ford helped create the original celebrity rehab.

The center that bears her name has a legacy of rehabbing Hollywood's elite. In the process it became a household name, a punchline, but — above all — a highly respected addiction treatment center.

Since its opening in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in 1982, stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Cash and, most recently, Lindsay Lohan have been among the more than 90,000 people who have received treatment at the center.

Taylor met one of her husbands, Larry Fortensky, while in treatment. Kelsey Grammer credited his stay there with saving his life. So, too, did Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin, who paid tribute to the former first lady on social networking site Twitter on Friday evening.

"She & Betty Ford Center helped me beat my addiction & she was an angel to many," Matlin wrote.

"One Day at a Time" actress Mackenzie Phillips, another Betty Ford alumna, wrote on the site, "RIP Betty Ford. A pioneer in treatment of addicts. We owe Mrs. Ford our gratitude and prayers. And love. She was one classy woman."

Ali McGraw, who was treated at the center in 1986, said in a statement Friday that she is grateful for what Ford has done for her.

"She changed so many of our lives with her courage and intelligence, her honesty and humility, and her deep grace," McGraw said. "Her vision impacted my own life as few people have."

Taylor's first stay at the center came in 1983 and provided another high-profile face to those struggling with addiction.

Cash soon became a patient after he broke five ribs and relapsed into abuse of painkillers. "I ended up in the Betty Ford Center for 43 days," Cash told The Associated Press in 1986. "I've had no drugs since then. It has been the best three years of my life, the most productive and the happiest."

One of Ford's defining characteristics was her candor, and that included confronting her own addiction head-on. She revealed a longtime addiction to painkillers and alcohol 15 months after leaving the White House, and regularly welcomed new groups of patients to rehab with a speech that started, "Hello, my name's Betty Ford, and I'm an alcoholic and drug addict."

"People who get well often say, `You saved my life,' and `You've turned my life around,'" Ford once said. "They don't realize we merely provided the means for them to do it themselves, and that's all."

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Underwood, stars align at ACM Lifting Lives camp (AP)

By CHRIS TALBOTT, AP Entertainment Writer Chris Talbott, Ap Entertainment Writer – Fri Jul 1, 3:49 pm ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Carrie Underwood turned in one of the most-talked about performances with Steven Tyler at this year's Academy of Country Music Awards. Three months later, though, it was another performance that night in Las Vegas that was on her mind.

Underwood met with participants in the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp this week. Developmentally disabled campers who attended the session last year joined Darius Rucker on stage during the awards telecast in April, an emotional highlight on a night with a lot of strong performances.

"Just what a special thing that was," Underwood said. "Everybody sitting in the audience and for everybody sitting at home, and obviously the campers on stage, they were loving every single second of it."

The campers were scheduled to reprise that song Friday night at the Grand Ole Opry with Rucker and perform another song they wrote and recorded during the camp, which was founded by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. It's aimed at teens and young adults from around the country with Williams Syndrome and other disabilities like autism and Down Syndrome.

Campers spent time with Gary Allan, Wynonna Judd, Little Big Town, songwriters Brett James and Odie Blackmon, and producer Mark Bright during the week leading up to their Opry performance. Underwood met with campers Wednesday, talked about her recording experiences, gave advice and posed for pictures.

"I was like shocked," said camper Mackenzie Mansour, a 16-year-old from Lone Oak, Texas. "I didn't know what to do. I was like, `Um, should I say hi to her or should I hug her?' I was like, `Gotta think.'"

Mackenzie didn't waste any time making an impression on Underwood, though: "I said, `Do you want me to sing with you?' She said, `No, I'll sing to you.'

"You can just tell how much they love it and how proud they are of themselves just from recording a song, writing a song," Underwood added. "I think we all kind of forget what a special gift that we have and we're able to participate in every single day. And music is definitely a universal language. Anybody can speak it. Anybody can love it. Anybody can be involved in it. You can just tell how happy it makes them.'"

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AP writer Caitlin R. King in Nashville contributed to this report.

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Online:

http://www.acmliftinglives.org

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Contact Chris Talbott at http://www.twitter.com/Chris_Talbott or http://www.twitter.com/AP_Country.

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Stars with criminal pasts honored at BET Awards (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R&B star Chris Brown, fully rehabilitated in the public eye after beating up ex-girlfriend Rihanna two years ago, led the list of winners with criminal pasts at the BET Awards on Sunday.

Brown took home four awards, including the viewers' choice prize, amid some confusion at the 11th annual celebration of black musicians, actors and sports people. He led the contenders with six nominations.

In an unfortunate turn, Brown's name was called as the winner of the viewers' choice award, and then Rihanna's. Canadian rapper Drake awkwardly appeared on stage at the Shrine Auditorium to accept on her behalf.

But at the end of the show, it was revealed that Brown was the actual winner and there had been a technical snafu. Alas, that was too late to save the lucky fan charged with announcing the winner from being savaged on Twitter.

Brown's music career stalled after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in February 2009, setting off a national debate on young, abusive relationships.

He publicly apologized, underwent court-ordered domestic violence counseling, and spent six months performing community service. Earlier this year he topped the U.S. pop album chart, a sign that his career was back on track.

"I know it's been a long road, so I just appreciate every blessing that's been in front of me," said Brown, dressed casually in white T-shirt, denim shorts and a silver kerchief.

He shared BET's best collaboration prize with Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. The latter spent most of 2010 behind bars on a weapons charge. Brown's other awards included best male R&B artist and best video.

MICHAEL VICK HONORED

Other winners included professional football player Michael Vick, on the comeback trail after serving 19 months in federal prison for his involvement in a dog-fighting ring. He was named best sportsman, but was not on hand to accept the award.

Representing the other side of the law was prison guard-turned-rapper Rick Ross, who was a frequent performer on stage. At one point, the portly star unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a notable pair of breasts.

"I feel like you should put a sports bra on," host Kevin Hart said afterward.

Soul star Cee Lo Green used his expansive girth to better effect during a tribute to Patti LaBelle. He dressed as the flamboyant R&B icon as he belted out her signature tune "Somebody Loves You Baby."

"You scared me," LaBelle said afterwards.

In a decision that averted a family feud, singer/actors Willow and Jaden Smith shared the Young Star award, while their father Will Smith looked on with tears welling in his eyes. Willow, who had a novelty hit last year with "Whip My Hair," thanked her parents for "letting us push harder and keeping us on track with our music and stuff."

Jaden Smith's 17-year-old friend Justin Bieber, ubiquitous on the awards circuit recently, appeared on stage to present an award and engage in some scripted salacious banter with female hip-hop artist winner Nicki Minaj, almost 10 years his senior.

(Editing by Todd Eastham)

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Winslet, Lopez nominated for Hollywood stars (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Kate Winslet and Jennifer Lopez are among nominees announced Tuesday to get their star on Hollywood's storied Walk of Fame next year.

Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson can also get their names on the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk in 2012, while actors Richard Burton and Malcolm McDowell, along with soul legend Barry White, will get posthumous stars.

"The committee has selected a fabulous slate of stars to add sparkle and luster to the Hollywood Walk of Fame over the next year," said John Pavlik, chairman of the Hollywood Walk of Fame Selection Committee.

"Simpsons" creator Matt Groening was also nominated, along with John Lasseter and Sumner Redstone from the film world, and musicians Boyz II Men and Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart.

The selection committee is part of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the golden stars on the stretch of Hollywood Boulevard near Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Kodak Theatre, home to the Oscars.

The nominees were chosen from hundreds of applicants considered at a June 17 meeting of the committee, whose decision was ratified by the Chamber's board of directors.

While the nominations are for 2012, those chosen have up to five years to schedule ceremonies to unveil their stars, after which their selection will expire.

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Daytime Emmys bid adieu to departing stars, shows (AP)

LAS VEGAS – Jonathan Jackson of "General Hospital" and Heather Tom of "The Bold and the Beautiful" earned trophies as supporting actor and actress at the Daytime Emmys on Sunday night.

Jackson, who plays Lucky Spencer on the ABC soap opera, brought his young son and daughter onstage with him to accept the first award presented on the live CBS telecast.

"It's Father's Day. I couldn't resist," he said.

Tom, a veteran soap star who plays Katie Logan Spencer the CBS show, won for the first time after five nominations in the supporting category.

"I have to thank the daytime community as a whole," she said. "You have been my home for most of my life and I am so grateful for that."

"Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" tied for best game show, fitting since the respective hosts, Alex Trebek and Pat Sajak, were to receive lifetime achievement awards later.

Earlier, the red carpet brought out the stars for a ceremony that seemed more like a bittersweet goodbye, with Oprah Winfrey, Regis Philbin, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" leaving the daytime airwaves.

Stars from "The Young and the Restless," including Tricia Cast and Tracey E. Bregman, thrilled fans as they walked the carpet in the middle of the Hilton casino. Fans pointed cameras and screamed, drowning out the jingling of slot machines as gamblers oblivious to the glamour played on.

Winfrey, who recently ended her lauded talk show after 25 years, will be honored for changing the face of daytime television during the show hosted by Wayne Brady.

The 38th annual ceremony honoring everything from soap operas to game shows to talk shows was to see a parade of stars like nominees Philbin and Meredith Vieira joining Winfrey on the way out.

Philbin is leaving his syndicated chat fest later this year, and he could retire with a trophy, having been nominated for best talk-show host.

Vieira ended her five-year run on the "Today" show earlier this month. She is a presenter and has multiple nominations, including one for best game-show host.

The ABC soaps "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" are bowing out after more than 40 years on the air, both victims of declining ratings.

"Erica Kane, forced retirement," Brady joked about the role played by Susan Lucci on "All My Children" as boos rang out.

ABC's "General Hospital" came into the ceremony with a leading 21 nominations, followed by CBS' "The Young and the Restless" with 20 and "Sesame Street" with 16.

"All My Children" vied for best daytime drama, along with "General Hospital," "The Young and the Restless" and CBS' "The Bold and the Beautiful," the two-time defending champion in the shrinking category.

"All My Children" co-stars Alicia Minshew and Debbi Morgan were up against each other for best actress in a daytime drama. Other nominees were Colleen Zenk of "As the World Turns," Susan Flannery of "The Bold and the Beautiful," Laura Wright of "General Hospital" and Michelle Stafford of "The Young and the Restless."

Best daytime actor nominees were Ricky Paull Goldin of "All My Children," Michael Park of "As the World Turns," James Scott of "Days of Our Lives," Maurice Benard of "General Hospital" and Christian Le Blanc of "The Young and the Restless."

The awards show was in its second year in Las Vegas, where it moved from Los Angeles after up-and-down ratings in recent years. The CBS telecast faced competition in its second hour Sunday from another splashy event, the Miss USA pageant held at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Sin City and shown on NBC.

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Online:

http://www.emmyonline.tv

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Daytime Emmys bid adieu to departing stars, shows (AP)

LAS VEGAS – Oprah Winfrey may be gone from daytime television, but the queen of talk is hardly forgotten.

Winfrey, who recently ended her lauded talk show after 25 years, will be honored for changing the face of daytime television at Sunday night's Daytime Emmy Awards, hosted by Wayne Brady and broadcast live on CBS from the Las Vegas Hilton.

The 38th annual show honoring everything from soap operas to game shows to talk shows might seem more like a bittersweet goodbye, with nominees Regis Philbin, Meredith Vieira, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" joining Winfrey on the way out.

Philbin is leaving his syndicated chat fest later this year, and he could retire with a trophy, having been nominated for best talk-show host.

Vieira ended her five-year run on the "Today" show earlier this month. She is a presenter and has multiple nominations.

The ABC soaps "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" are bowing out after more than 40 years on the air, both victims of declining ratings.

ABC's "General Hospital" came into the ceremony with a leading 21 nominations, followed by CBS' "The Young and the Restless" with 20 and "Sesame Street" with 16.

"All My Children" vied for best daytime drama, along with "General Hospital," "The Young and the Restless" and CBS' "The Bold and the Beautiful," the two-time defending champion in the shrinking category.

"All My Children" co-stars Alicia Minshew and Debbi Morgan were up against each other for best actress in a daytime drama. Other nominees were Colleen Zenk of "As the World Turns," Susan Flannery of "The Bold and the Beautiful," Laura Wright of "General Hospital" and Michelle Stafford of "The Young and the Restless."

Best daytime actor nominees were Ricky Paull Goldin of "All My Children," Michael Park of "As the World Turns," James Scott of "Days of Our Lives," Maurice Benard of "General Hospital" and Christian Le Blanc of "The Young and the Restless."

The show was in its second year in Las Vegas, where it moved from Los Angeles after up-and-down ratings in recent years. The CBS telecast faced competition in its second hour Sunday from another splashy event, the Miss USA pageant held at the Planet Hollywood hotel in Sin City and shown on NBC.

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