Prosecutors on Tuesday began wrapping up their case against Michael Jackson, opening the way for what promises to be a celebrity rollcall of witnesses in the singer's defense. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon said he intended to rest his case next week after more than two months of testimony into accusations that Jackson, 46, molested a teenage boy and conspired to imprison his family at Neverland Valley Ranch.
The stars came out in New York on Tuesday as the Tribeca Film Festival opened its fourth season by rolling out the red carpet for headliners Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn at the US premiere of Sydney Pollack's thriller, The Interpreter. The movie, the first ever allowed to shoot inside UN headquarters, launched a 13-day cinematic celebration that boasts 59 world premiere features.
British singer Sting went back to the classroom this week, assuming the role of a musical mentor for a group of college students. The one-time school teacher surprised students in a music composition class at the University of Illinois at Chicago, barging in with MTV cameras in tow to speak and jam with them on Monday.
The Cannes film festival leaves politics to the politicians this year, focusing on feature movies and leaving no room for documentaries like Michael Moore's Bush-bashing polemic that won last year's top prize. As well as featuring some of the world's great directors, there will also be an out-of-competition premiere for the eagerly awaited final installment of George Lucas' Star Wars series, organizers said Tuesday.
British group Coldplay, whose much delayed album is finally hitting the airwaves, could be the band that makes or breaks music giant EMI. "This is the high-stakes album of the year for EMI," said Numis Securities analyst Paul Richards of the world's third largest music group.
People who secretly videotape movies when they are shown in theaters could go to prison for up to three years under a bill that cleared the US Congress on Tuesday. The bill also toughens penalties for hackers and industry insiders who distribute music, movies or other copyrighted works before their official release date.
US television and radio broadcasters on Tuesday said they plan this summer to issue guidance on how to avoid violating decency standards with an eye to heading off further regulation by Congress. A National Association of Broadcasters task force is gathering best practices for member stations and plans a consumer awareness effort to try to calm Congress and parent groups growing more concerned about racy programs.
A new play tracing the journey of Rachel Corrie from comfortable American home to death in a Gaza refugee camp paints the young peace activist as neither a traitor nor a saint. The 23-year-old campaigner was killed in 2003 trying to stop an Israeli army bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home in the Rafah camp in the Gaza strip. A personal testimony, the show makes no pretence of impartiality.
NBC could create Internet blogs for its top news anchors and celebrity interviewers as it seeks to maintain the appeal of US network news, its top executive said on Tuesday. NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker said entering the generally opinionated world of blogs might be one way television networks could keep their grip on viewers who increasingly use the Internet for news.
RSS