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	<title><![CDATA[Television ]]></title>
	<copyright>Copyright 2011 Copyright © 2011  Los Angeles Wave.  All rights reserved. </copyright>
	<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television</link>
	 			<description><![CDATA[]]></description>
		<language>en-us</language>
	<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jul 2011 01:17:57 PDT</pubDate>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 26 Jul 2011 01:17:57 PDT</lastBuildDate>
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			<title><![CDATA[Spanish-language talk show to film in Huntington Park]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Spanish-language-talk-show-to-film-in-Huntington-Park-125967544.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:06:42 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[HUNTINGTON PARK — Ana Maria Polo, a Latina cross between Judge Judy and Oprah Winfrey, plans to bring her Spanish-language TV show, 'Caso Cerrado (Case Closed)' to this city in mid-September.

The City Council has approved the request of Adrian Potinga, producer of the show, to film segments on Pacific Boulevard between Gage and Clarendon avenues for about 10 days, even though it means a limited closing of sections of Huntington Park's main business thoroughfare.

The segments will be filmed outdoors.

'Caso Cerrado' has been in production since 2002 and has received higher ratings than Oprah by comparison, Vice Mayor Andy Molina said.
Polo, a licensed psychologist, discusses items of interest and problems with residents and gives advice, Potinga said.

The show airs on the Telemundo network, which Potinga said is in the process of being bought by Comcast.

Molina said local residents may volunteer to appear on the show. He said the production company will hopefully hire a number of local residents as extras.

Potinga said a production crew of about 200 would no doubt shop in Huntington Park and patronize restaurants there.

In addition, he estimated 2,000 people a day as spectators to the outside taping of the show.

The show will be heavily marketed and Huntington Park will gain national, if not worldwide, recognition, Potinga said.

He also assured officials that the show will not seek fee waivers of any kind for licenses or other permits needed, as well as security.

Potinga, with offices in Glendale, said he will work out logistics with city staff and council members along with officials from the Greater Huntington Park Area Chamber of Commerce and the local Business Improvement District. 

The district is a semi-autonomous group of merchants whose purpose is to promote business on Pacific Boulevard and adjoining streets in the downtown area.

'I want to bring money to Huntington Park,' Potinga said.

'It's seems too good to be true,' said Mayor Ofelia Hernandez and Councilwoman Elba Guerrero.

Chamber Manager Dante D'Eramo said his organization has been briefed and will work with Potinga.
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			<title><![CDATA[Wife of Jayson Williams to join new 'Basketball Wives']]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/jayson-williams-wife-tanya-basketball-wives-nba-125845023.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">125845023</guid>		
			<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:09:19 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; The estranged wife of jailed basketball player Jayson Williams is the latest to be added to the cast of the forthcoming series, &quot;Basketball Wives L.A.,&quot; a rep for the VH1 show confirmed to CNN.

Tanya Williams told the New York Post she has shot three episodes so far.

&quot;I signed on to participate in the show to elevate the negative perception . . . that [it] is purposely filled with flighty, overly emotional and senselessly dramatic women,&quot; she told the Post via e-mail. &quot;Yes, my life is chaotic, dramatic and surreal, but I am also a businesswoman.&quot;

As we previously reported, the West Coast spin off of Shaunie O'Neal's Miami-based &quot;Basketball Wives&quot; will include Gloria Govan, fianc&eacute;e of L.A. Laker Matt Barnes; her sister, Laura Govan, former fianc&eacute;e of Gilbert Arenas; Kimsha Artest, wife of L.A. Laker Ron Artest; Jackie Christie, wife of Doug Christie, former player for the Clippers; and Imani Showalter, ex-fianc&eacute;e of Charlotte Bobcats' Stephen Jackson.

Williams, a former New Jersey Nets player, is currently serving time for the fatal shooting of his limo driver.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Betty White can't attend Marine Corps ball]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/betty-white-marine-corps-ball-125779353.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">125779353</guid>		
			<pubDate>Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:59:46 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

		
					
  
  
     
             	
  	  	  	  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  				  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  						  					  				  			  		  			  			  		  	  	  
				
											
																															
													



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																										<description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; Sorry Sgt. Ray Lewis - Betty White can't accept your invitation to your Marine Corps ball!

Although two Marines have had luck using YouTube to land dates with celebrities for their big events, it didn't work out this time.

&quot;I am deeply flattered and truly appreciate the invitation, as everyone knows I love a man in uniform,&quot; White says in a statement. &quot;But unfortunately I cannot accept, as I will be taping an episode of 'Hot In Cleveland.' Love, Betty White.&quot;

Lewis - like Sgt. Scott Moore and Cpl. Kelsey de Santis before him, who successfully asked out Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, respectively - got plenty of attention with his video invite.

The Marine (who cranks out a few sit-ups beforehand) introduces himself and says, &quot;I figured since we have one Marine asking Mila Kunis out to the Marine Corps ball, and we have another Marine asking out Justin Timberlake to the Marine Corps ball, I figured, hey, why not?...I would like to take Betty White.&quot;

The 89-year-old actress is Lewis' dream date because &quot;she's funny, she's sweet, she's mature. She's the all-around perfect woman.&quot; Lewis says he thinks he can offer White a good time. &quot;I think I could make her laugh, I think she could make me laugh, I think we could laugh together.&quot;

Unfortunately, it looks like Lewis will now have to turn to someone else for his jokes.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Emmy Awards pit Idris Elba and Laurence Fishburne against each other]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Emmy-Awards-pit-Idris-Elba-and-Laurence-Fishburne-against-each-other-in-Oustanding-Lead-Actor-Category-125607258.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">125607258</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:38:56 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[HOLLYWOOD — Two of Hollywood's most sought after actors, Laurence Fishburne and Idris Elba, have been nominated to compete against each other in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie category by The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, who announced all of its nominees for their PrimeTime Emmy Awards this fall.

Elba was nominated for his role as John Luther in the miniseries 'Luther' and Fishburne for his lead role in 'Thurgood.'

Among the endless list of nominees was also actress Taraji P. Henson, who was nominated for best lead actress in a miniseries or movie for her role in 'Taken From Me' The Tiffany Rubin Story.'

The PrimeTime Emmy Awards celebrate excellence in national primetime programming, awarding top honors at the annual creative arts and primetime awards ceremonies.

Among the nominees for an Emmy Award is also Rickey Minor, who was nominated in the Outstanding Musical Director Category for his musical direction of 'An Evening of Stars' Tribute to Chaka Khan.'

Actor Andre Braugher received a nod in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Owen in 'Men of a Certain Age.'

Elba received a second nod in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Lenny in 'The Big C.'

Also pitted against one another are two of Hollywood's most beloved actresses, Loretta Devine and Alfre Woodard in the Outstanding Guest Actress In a Drama Series category. Devine was nominated for her performance as Adele Webber in 'Grey's Anatomy,' and Woodard for her role as Ruby Jean Reynolds in 'True Blood.'

Another one of Los Angeles' gems is set to receive her due recognition this year as well. The veteran news anchor and philanthropist Christine Devine is scheduled to accept the prestigious Los Angeles Area Governors Award on behalf of the weekly news segment, 'Wednesday's Child' on FOX11.

The 63rd annual PrimeTime Emmy Awards are scheduled to air on Sept. 18 on FOX11 Television.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Q & A: Cedric the Entertainer]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Questions--Answers-Cedric-the-Entertainer-125547803.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">125547803</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:50:42 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[

Audiences everywhere have come to know Cedric the Entertainer as a comedian and actor. But beginning July 19, game show host will be added to his r&eacute;sum&eacute;, with the debut of the NBC summer series &ldquo;It&rsquo;s Worth What?&rdquo; In a teleconference with reporters last week, Cedric (who is also an executive producer), discussed a competition that taps into America&rsquo;s fixation on cost and value.

What was the most memorable moment from the show that you&rsquo;ve done so far?
Well so far I would say the most memorable moment we did, was we brought out a &hellip; live elephant in [comparing] the price of keeping a live elephant versus an elephant-sized diamond. And so I actually fed the elephant an apple. And then I taught the elephant how to Dougie, which is a dance.

What would you say is the most important thing you learned from the time you spent on the show?
Probably one of the most important things on there is that people who go on game shows are very serious and just &hellip; the rules of making sure that we followed the compliances. You know, because the thing about it is, as a host you&rsquo;re closer to the contestants than anything else. And so you&rsquo;re really wanting people to weigh in, and you&rsquo;ve just got to make sure that you don&rsquo;t trigger or give off any kind of signals that leads or misleads the people that are playing the game. And so that was the thing that I probably found that was most important for me was just trying not lead or mislead people because, you know, you won&rsquo;t be able to win. &hellip; The main thing is that you want the live experience to transfer to the people that are watching it on TV. &hellip; Well, if you&rsquo;re trying to get millions of viewers then you have to actually give them that experience because you can&rsquo;t say &lsquo;oh you had to be there otherwise it would have been so much better.' And so those were the real hard things that I felt like I learned as an EP on this show, looking at the show and analyzing it once we&rsquo;re inside and saying, &lsquo;You know, what makes this experience fun for the other people?&rsquo; We had to go back and revamp some things and try some things. And we took elements out the show we thought would make it speedier and more exciting to someone who&rsquo;s sitting at home watching it.

How would you do if you were a contestant on the show?
Oh, you know, I thought I was pretty good but it was definitely times when playing this game that I realized I have no idea what stuff costs. And so that&rsquo;s what makes the game really fun and fun to watch because we all assume we have our expertise, be it the price of women&rsquo;s shoes or what houses costs. And you just think that you know this. But it was a game where we had vacation rentals. And nobody knew that the Playboy Suite in Vegas was that expensive per night, like I had no idea. I was just thinking with all those Playboy bunnies in there, yes, you probably would have to spend a lot of money.

Have you always wanted to host a show like this?
Well growing up I would say in that real golden area of TV game shows when &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s Make a Deal,&rdquo; &ldquo;The Price is Right&rdquo; and &ldquo;Match Game&rdquo; and all those kinds of games were really very fun to watch I, as a kid, really would love the idea of being a host on a game show or being a member of the game show of some sort. So this was a great opportunity and something fun for me especially as a live entertainer &hellip; to be able to have that immediate and constant contact with someone who&rsquo;s playing the game and be the guy that&rsquo;s in charge, being the kind of ringmaster of the whole thing. And it&rsquo;s really fun on a show like this because you never know what&rsquo;s coming out next.

Do you find that you personally connect with the contestants at all?
You know, you do. And that&rsquo;s the thing, because all the contestants are chosen according to if they&rsquo;re going to bring some excitement to the show. But you find these really cool combinations &mdash; people who&rsquo;ve been best friends for 40 years and worked together or are coworkers. And so you find yourself kind of getting involved. We had some contestants where it was the landlord and tenant in one of her buildings. And their age difference was so fun to watch that you become involved. Because the older lady had kind of lived life she just was c&rsquo;est la vie about everything. She&rsquo;s like &lsquo;oh let&rsquo;s just do it.&rsquo; And the little young girl was like, &ldquo;I need this money.&rdquo; And you could just see their personalities crashing. And it was hilarious. You had to keep everybody understanding that we&rsquo;re playing a game and let&rsquo;s keep it cool. But, you know, you get involved with the contestants.

After doing this show, did it make you go into your attic or closet to search for gems of your own?
I tried to search for a few things. I was telling someone earlier I&rsquo;d been given very little chance to keep anything of value because before I can do my own yard sale or get anything out there, my cousins come through and rip and get my stuff. So if I had anything of value I bet you one of my relatives got it already.

How did your comedic side play into being the host of a show?
Again the opportunity of being a live standup and interacting with a audience &hellip; you have natural crazy reactions from the contestants when they win or lose. And so I&rsquo;m able to have some quick responses. And my comedic ability is able to be used right in there to keep the show up and light and funny and keep it moving. And so I thought that was a unique space for me and I had a good time doing it.

So how do you balance all of your starring roles and being on the executive side of things?
I guess my main thing is that I&rsquo;m actually very involved with my brand. It&rsquo;s important to get involved creatively with the shows. And so the creators, both Lara Spencer and Roy Banks, they were passionate about the show early on. And then when they brought me on as a host one of the things was to take advantage, not only of just my sense of humor and being a front man for the show, but what would make this show comfortable for me, what would be fun about it. That&rsquo;s where I put my producer hat on. [I was] looking at the show overall and not just as an opportunity to either walk out and be entertaining, but what&rsquo;s going to make the whole show entertaining.

Do you have any plans to ever return to standup at any point?
Oh definitely. I mean I&rsquo;m out touring now. I&rsquo;m out on the road touring and I love the standup. I love the live audience response. It&rsquo;s the only place where a comedian can get that reaction without having writers and executive producers and advertisers and all these things that you&rsquo;ve got to comply to. When you do a live standup show, it&rsquo;s your commentary, the things you&rsquo;ve been thinking about, and the audience&rsquo;s reaction to it. So I love that energy. I usually stay pretty busy touring throughout the year.

Photo' Set to host NBC's summer series &quot;It's Worth What?&quot; Cedric the Entertainer is seen here on set of the game show he says will tap into America's fixation with cost and value. (Courtesy of NBC)]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Tracy Morgan to return to Nashville to apologize for anti-gay rant]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Tracy-Morgan-to-return-to-Nashville-to-apologize-for-anti-gay-rant-124250424.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">124250424</guid>		
			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:38:02 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; Comic Tracy Morgan returns to Nashville on Tuesday to apologize to those he offended when he went on an anti-gay rant during a stand-up comedy routine.

Morgan will be in the city with members of the Gay &amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to deliver a face-to-face apology to people who were in the Ryman Auditorium and to work with the Tennessee Equality Project, GLAAD said.

&quot;By not only apologizing, but sending a message of support for gay and transgender people, Tracy will help many realize that no one should be treated differently or subjected to violence,&quot; GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said.

Morgan is a star of the hit NBC sitcom &quot;30 Rock&quot; and a &quot;Saturday Night Live&quot; veteran.

Details of Morgan's anti-gay remarks, delivered during a June 3 show, emerged after an audience member posted them on a Facebook blog, which was picked up by Jezebel magazine.

&quot;He mentioned that gay was something kids learn from the media and programming, and that bullied kids should just bust some ass and beat those other little f**kers that bully them, not whine about it,&quot; Kevin Rogers wrote in the blog post.

Morgan said that if his own son told him he was gay, he would &quot;pull out a knife and stab&quot; him, Rogers wrote.

&quot;The sad thing is that none of this rant was a joke,&quot; Rogers wrote. &quot;His entire demeanor changed during that portion of the night. He was truly filled with some hate towards us.&quot;

Morgan later apologized in writing and followed up with a phone call last week to the president and staff of GLAAD.

&quot;I know how bad bullying can hurt,&quot; Morgan told GLAAD. &quot;I was bullied when I was a kid. I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. I never want to use my comedy to hurt anyone.&quot;

Morgan said his family &quot;knew what it was like to feel different.&quot;

&quot;My brother was disabled and I lost my father to AIDS in 1987,&quot; he said. &quot;My Dad wasn't gay, but I also learned about homophobia then because of how people treated people who were sick with that.&quot;

&quot;Parents should support and love their kids no matter what,&quot; Morgan said. &quot;Gay people deserve the same right to be happy in this country as everyone else. Our laws should support that. I hope that my fans &mdash; gay, straight, whatever &mdash; forgive and I hope my family forgives me for this.&quot;

On Friday, Morgan visited homeless gay, lesbian and transgender teens in New York. He has also agreeed to record a public service announcement for GLAAD's upcoming &quot;Amplify Your Voice&quot; campaign, the group said.

 CNN's Rachel Wells contributed to this report.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Judge rules against Charlie Sheen in fight over firing]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Judge-rules-against-Charlie-Sheen-in-fight-over-firing-123975364.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">123975364</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:42:29 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[(CNN) — A private arbitrator, not a judge, will decide if Charlie Sheen's lawsuit against the producer and studio that fired him from his hit CBS TV sitcom will ultimately be heard by a jury in a court trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Warner Bros. Television and producer Chuck Lorre fired Sheen from "Two and a Half Men" in March, after a two-week public meltdown by the star that included attacks on Lorre.

Sheen sued them for $100 million, accusing them of breaking his contract, which paid him a reported $1.2 million an episode.

The actor pushed for a public trial, but the defendants argued it had to be settled in arbitration.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman, after hearing arguments from both sides in an earlier hearing, ruled Wednesday that the arbitration clause in Sheen's contract is valid.

"We're very gratified by the court's ruling enforcing the parties' arbitration agreement," Warner Bros. Television said in a statement to CNN.

Sheen's lawyer said the case could still go to a public trial.

"It will be the arbitrator, not the judge, who will make the decision whether the case will go to arbitration or to court," attorney Martin Singer said.

The arbitrator should make that decision within a month, Singer said.

CBS announced in May that Ashton Kutcher would join the sitcom next season as it continues without Sheen.

CNN's Rachel Wells contributed to this report.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Tracy Morgan apologizes for homophobic rant]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Tracy-Morgan-apologizes-for-homophobic-rant-lgbt-gay-123645699.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">123645699</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jun 2011 11:25:46 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[

(CNN) &mdash; Tracy Morgan's character on the hit show &quot;30 Rock&quot; is often taken to task by his boss for insensitive remarks, and now the actor finds himself in hot water over homophobic remarks.

According to Jezebel, Morgan went into a rant during a comedy show on June 3 in Nashville, Tennessee, and reportedly made several anti-gay statements including saying &quot;how he'd stab his son to death if he said he was gay.&quot;

The site links out to a note on the Facebook page of Kevin Rogers titled &quot;Why I No Longer Like Tracy Morgan&quot; in which Rogers details what he said happened at the show.

&quot;The sad thing is that none of this rant was a joke,&quot; Rogers writes. &quot;His entire demeanor changed during that portion of the night. He was truly filled with some hate towards us.&quot;

The venue where the show was held, Ryman Auditorium, issued the following statement to CNN regarding the incident'

&quot;The Ryman Auditorium regrets that people were offended by statements made by Tracy Morgan during his June 3 appearance. The Ryman does not control the content presented by people appearing on its stage, nor does it endorse any of the views of, or statements made by, such persons.&quot;

The Human Rights Campaign is the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization and issued a statement on Friday calling for action from both Morgan and his employer, NBC Universal.

&quot;Hateful remarks that mock youth suicides and the very real emotional and sometimes physical bullying LGBT kids face on a daily basis have no place in a comedy routine,&quot; the organization's vice president of communications, Fred Sainz, said. &quot;I'm shocked that Tracy Morgan would find humor in so viciously attacking our youth. If these allegations are true, Tracy Morgan must immediately accept responsibility and apologize. His employer, NBC Universal, also must come forward and condemn these atrocious comments.&quot;

On Friday, Morgan did issue an apology. The actor and comedian said in a statement to CNN, &quot;I want to apologize to my fans and the gay &amp; lesbian community for my choice of words at my recent stand-up act in Nashville. I'm not a hateful person and don't condone any kind of violence against others. While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.&quot;]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Oprah relinquishes her throne after 25 years]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Oprah-last-show-122574639.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">122574639</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 25 May 2011 02:33:00 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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(CNN) &mdash; Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey signs off Wednesday after 25 years, capping off three days of a farewell show that included appearances by Hollywood's top celebrities.

Winfrey announced in 2009 that she is leaving the show that catapulted her into a household name and made her a part of American culture.

Her popularity and credibility go hand in hand' If she gushed about a book, it became an instant best-seller. An appearance on her show was almost always followed by a rise in profile for the guest.

The talk show queen taped a teary finale last week that included a surprise tribute from superstars, including Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jordan, Will Smith and Madonna.

The finale aired in three parts from Monday, and featured surprise appearances as &mdash; one by one &mdash; dozens of Winfrey's famous friends took to the stage to pay tribute to the talk show host at Chicago's United Center.

Show producers kept her out of the loop about the guests.

Winfrey, who has in the past made it clear that she does not like surprises, gasped as her celebrity friends made appearances to thunderous applause, sometimes after a clue phrase.

&quot;Pulling off this surprise has been mission impossible,&quot; Hanks said Monday, a nod to the famous movie starring Cruise, who walked on stage right after.

On the first two days, Winfrey took in the scene in an arena filled with giant photographs of memorable show moments and thousands of adoring admirers.

The final &quot;Oprah Winfrey Show&quot; will broadcast Wednesday. The talk show queen has kept her plans for the final show a secret &mdash; leaving her fans with one last surprise.

Winfrey is one of the most recognizable talk show hosts, and has built a media empire, including launching her own cable television network, OWN.

&quot;My vision for OWN is to create a network that inspires our viewers and makes them want to be who they are on their best day,&quot; Winfrey said in a statement at the time.

As Winfrey devotees mourn the end of her 25-year run, some speculate who &mdash; if anyone &mdash; can fill her void.

Some already have a leg up on the competition.

&quot;I've spent seven to eight years training at Oprah University,&quot; joked Mehmet &quot;Dr. Oz&quot; Oz, a Winfrey protege whose show will upgrade to 83 time slots and stations where &quot;The Oprah Winfrey Show&quot; had aired.

Oz added that he is grateful for the opportunity to take over the time slot, which is among the most sought-after in TV land.

As the fans await the final show, there was no shortage of messages on Winfrey's website.

&quot;It was great to see Oprah being honored for she has taught the world how to give back and let's pray that we will continue to apply the lessons learned,&quot; read one post.










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			<title><![CDATA['Idol' creator Simon Fuller gets Walk of Fame star]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Idol-creator-Simon-Fuller-gets-Walk-of-Fame-star-122477204.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">122477204</guid>		
			<pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 17:11:37 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

		
					
  
  
     
             	
  	  	  	  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  				  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  						  					  				  			  		  			  			  		  	  	  
				
											
																															
													



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																										<description><![CDATA[HOLLYWOOD — 'American Idol' creator Simon Fuller, who received the 2,441st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday, thanked the entertainers he has managed during his 30-year career for making the honor possible.

'Whenever I see that star, I won't see my name, I'll see all names of the people I've worked [with] and all those amazing artists and people that have helped me achieve this stuff,' Fuller said at the star-studded ceremony in front of the W Hollywood hotel on Hollywood Boulevard.

Fuller has managed the careers of singing's most successful female group, the Spice Girls, as well as Annie Lennox, Amy Winehouse, 'American Idol' champions Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and David Cook and soccer star David Beckham.

'You deserve this more than anyone I know,' Underwood told the honoree.

Fuller thanked a long list of people associated with 'American Idol,' which, when the television season concludes this week, will be the most-watched prime-time series for the seventh consecutive season, extending its own record.

Fuller said Simon Cowell, a judge on the series for its first nine seasons, 'was there at the very beginning and he worked with me on an idea I had that was just a little jewel and he helped me polish it and worked closely with me and helped develop this idea right — right through to the global phenomenon it has become.'

'What you did for 'American Idol,' I personally will never forget,' Fuller told the  audience that included 'Idol' judges Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez, Lopez's husband, entertainer Marc Anthony, Spice Girl-turned-fashion designer Victoria Beckham and this season's 'Idol' finalists.

Fuller also said that 'without Mike Darnell,' Fox Broadcasting's president of alternative entertainment, 'I'm not so sure you guys would have heard of 'American Idol.''

'We had that show turned down by every single network,' Fuller said. 'Mike Darnell understood the show and helped make it the hit that it is.'
The ceremony came one day before 'Idol's' final performance show of the season and two days before its 10th winner is announced at Nokia Theatre.

Born May 17, 1960, in Hastings, England, Fuller began his career in 1981 at Crysalis Records, a British label. In 1983, he was responsible for bringing Madonna's first hit 'Holiday' to the company.

Fuller's discovery of the British musician Paul Hardcastle prompted him to form his own management company, 19 Entertainment, named for Hardcastle's chart-topping Vietnam War song '19,' in 1985.

Fuller created 'Pop Idol,' the singing competition series that premiered on Britain's ITV network in 2001 and led to more than 120 other versions, most famously 'American Idol.'

Fuller is also the creator of the Fox summer series 'So You Think You Can Dance.' Versions also air in 16 other nations.

Fuller sold 19 Entertainment to the New York-based entertainment content and intellectual property company CKX in March 2005 in a cash and stock deal worth more than $200 million. He formed a new company, XIX Entertainment in 2010.

Fuller entered the fashion industry in 2006 in a joint venture with designer Roland Mouret, which includes a store in London. He also manages the careers of British tennis star Andy Murray and the 2008 Formula One driving champion Lewis Hamilton.
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			<title><![CDATA[Questions & Answers: Blair Underwood and Lisa Vidal ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Questions--Answers-Blair-Underwood-and-Lisa-Vidal--122208814.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">122208814</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 21:22:20 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[

At a time when reality shows are dominating the television airwaves, the cast of &ldquo;The Event&rdquo; has helped NBC carve out a loyal audience of science-fiction buffs. For two seasons, they have been engrossed in its complex tale of extraterrestrial beings who, after crash-landing in Alaska, have either been captured and detained by the U.S. government or covertly blended into the general population. Central to the story' how the situation is being handled in the White House, as seen through the eyes of the president (Blair Underwood) and first lady (Lisa Vidal). On a break while filming the season finale last month, the two stars spoke to the Wave about a wide range of issues &mdash; including playing the roles, their take on their real-life counterparts and reuniting onscreen after first working together 15 years ago.

Talk to us about the season finale, which you shot today. Has it been emotional? 
Vidal' Yes, it was emotional today. We don&rsquo;t know if we are picked up yet so it is an emotional day. This cast and crew have been amazing. Everyone has gotten along. We have a very talented cast and a bunch of funny people. They are so endearing. We have gotten close in this short amount of time.
  Underwood' I feel like we&rsquo;ve jumped over so many hurdles to get to this point and to do that is a victory, i.e. having a pilot that got picked up &hellip; To get to 22 episodes when most of the shows that started when we did are no longer on the air, we&rsquo;ve had a rough time to go. We have to see where the [ratings and audience views] land and see what the network does. &hellip; I&rsquo;ll take the optimistic side and say that we are coming back. Though I just finished my last scene, it wasn&rsquo;t good-bye it was more &lsquo;we don&rsquo;t know yet, hopefully I will see you soon.&rsquo; This is not my first rodeo.

While the show sits in limbo, what are your plans?
  Vidal' Well, I am a very busy mom so I will be with my kids. I do have two projects that I&rsquo;m looking at right now, but are not for sure. I have my fingers crossed.
  Underwood' I&rsquo;m going to start an independent film in a couple of weeks called &ldquo;Shadow Fight.&rdquo; The character I play is Emmett. He is a former, promising fighter that has been in jail for 17 years. He gets out and he is basically trying to redeem himself and get back on track with his ex-wife, who I really want Jill Scott to play.

What has been the best part about working with each other?
Vidal' I am working with one of my best friends. We have been friends for about 15 years now. Blair and I worked together on a show 15 years ago called &ldquo;High Incident&rdquo; with Steven Spielberg for ABC and we played patrol officers. We were partners. It was one of my first experiences in Hollywood. I get to go to work with my dear buddy all the time. That is wonderful.
Underwood' I don&rsquo;t think you can pay enough for chemistry. My favorite acting to do and to watch is unspoken, without lines. I think when you have someone like Lisa, where we have known each other for so many years and we have a bond, you get an unspoken dynamic that works on screen and therefore works for the show.

Lisa, Have you met First Lady Michelle Obama and if not, what type of questions would you ask in order to gain a deeper insight into your role of the first lady?
 Vidal' I have never met the first lady, but the most amazing thing happened to me on my birthday. Before we started shooting &ldquo;The Event,&rdquo; I went to one of my favorite restaurants in L.A. There [was] a line of people outside and we wondered why the crowd. It turns out the first lady was in the restaurant. Talk about God giving me a window or a little peek into her life and who she is. I literally sat right across from her. I was facing her the entire night. I got to watch her with her daughters and some friends. She was graceful and beautiful. I just wanted to reach over and talk to her. But of course secret service was everywhere and I didn&rsquo;t want to bother her. It was really awesome to be able to observe a moment in her life. If I got to ask her questions &hellip; I would just want to know &lsquo;how do you do you?&rsquo; &hellip; I am always interested in wisdom, you know, &lsquo;what would you share with the world as far as experience and wisdom that you&rsquo;d want to pass along to everyone?&rsquo;

Did you take that experience and apply that to your role in &ldquo;The Event?&rdquo;
 Vidal' Yes. We know everyone was watching her, all eyes were on her yet she had this terrific way of being natural and elegant. It wasn&rsquo;t a put-on. You can tell that there is an awareness of being a person in the limelight, of being watched. &hellip; It was enlightening because there is that balance. I think that when you are a person who is in the limelight, who is always being watched, you have to find that balance.

Blair, have you had an opportunity to meet President Obama? If so, what did you gain from that encounter and how did you apply that to your role?
Underwood' We met 20 years ago when he was at Harvard. The next time I saw him was before the campaign and then saw him at his first state dinner with the prime minister of India. What I felt from college to the beginning of the campaign, right before Iowa for his primary, was an incredible sense of weight on his shoulders, just being attacked from all corners. I definitely try to think of that.

Lisa, you mentioned that the industry has improved for Latina actresses, what do you think has changed? Are people more tolerant or is there a demand for diversity, especially when considering the fact that our country&rsquo;s demographics have changed and Latinos are now the majority?
 Vidal' I think it&rsquo;s a combination of things that have helped change the type of roles that are available for Latinas. I&rsquo;m Latina, but I&rsquo;m an American. As much as I love my culture, I also have an American culture. I was born here, I was raised here, this is what I know. And I need to be able to identify with that. I feel that there is much more awareness amongst the Latin community and also those people that are in the powers of position are realizing that &lsquo;hey, there is a whole demographic here and we are not addressing it.&rsquo; We are not all maids &mdash; God bless the maids. I love them, they are working women. But, we are also doctors, lawyers and cops and mothers and whatever else you can think of. It is important to see that, too. It is important to tell the stories of where we come from and all that, but it&rsquo;s also important to tell the stories that have crossed over into American culture where we&rsquo;re living a life here too and showing the positive role models that there are out there in the world that are also Latin. Way back when I started out you didn&rsquo;t see a whole lot of those positive role models, and so they weren&rsquo;t creating those roles. I think we got tired of it. Again, there has been change, but there needs to be more change. Once we really represent what America looks like that&rsquo;s when things will come together and people will understand and feel like they belong and people can be respectful of each other.

Blair, how would you say the industry has changed?
Underwood' Now if a show comes on, the next night you can download it on iTunes or a number of places. How we are compensated for that as actors is still in flux. There is so much product and there are so many different outlets now, there are so many more cable networks than when I started. It&rsquo;s easier to have a hit, in that you don&rsquo;t have to garner as many numbers but it&rsquo;s also harder. I am grateful that I got in the business when I did and was able to build a career to the point where I could at least have somewhat of a name that provided me with leverage.

When the creators and producers of the show set out to fill the cast, was it always their intention to have the president and first lady be Latin?
 Vidal' It was always Latin. The president was always Latin and the first lady was always Latin. I thought it was great that they chose Blair and had him play this dark skinned Latino because that&rsquo;s what we look like. We look White, we look Black, we look Indian, we even look Chinese.
Underwood' The fact that this is a Latin character and a Latin family has been very interesting because talking to a lot of African-Americans who don&rsquo;t realize that you can be very dark skin and be Latin at the same time, the fact that race and nationality have nothing to do with each other. You can be German and be Black, you can be Cuban and be Black. There are a lot of Afro-Cubans. It is amazing to me how many people don&rsquo;t know that.

Tyler Perry has received backlash for his Madea films. What are your thoughts on his latest project, &ldquo;Madea&rsquo;s Big Happy Family?&rdquo;
Underwood' It served its purpose, which was to be entertaining. Listen, I&rsquo;ve often said what I appreciate about Tyler is that he puts people to work and that supersedes everything else. So, my focus is let&rsquo;s provide some balance for those images. I don&rsquo;t begrudge him for that. They are stereotypical, but you know what you are getting when you see his films. 

(Editor&rsquo;s note' NBC announced last week that &ldquo;The Event&rdquo; was not being renewed this fall, but at Wave press time, several cable channels were reportedly considering airing a new season of the series. The season finale airs May 23.)

Caption' In &quot;The Event,&quot; Underwood portrays the president of the United States and Vidal is cast as the first lady. (Photo courtesy of NBC)]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[How Oprah has changed the way we live]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/How-Oprah-has-changed-the-way-we-live-121793934.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">121793934</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 13 May 2011 12:06:13 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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From &ldquo;aha!&rdquo; moments to &ldquo;teachable&rdquo; moments, in 25 years &ldquo;The Oprah Winfrey Show&rdquo; has not just become a part of our popular vernacular, it&rsquo;s shaped our culture. Whether you&rsquo;ve tuned in each weekday afternoon or preferred to tune her out, &ldquo;Lady O&rdquo; has left her mark.

Here&rsquo;s a list of the top five ways &ldquo;Oprah&rdquo; has changed the way we live.

Weighty issues

Over the years, Oprah has chronicled every step of her personal weight struggles. Remember the red wagon full of fat she wheeled onstage?

From fasting and fad diets to embracing exercise and lifelong lifestyle changes, Oprah&rsquo;s candidness about issues surrounding weight created a cultural dialog that got us all talking about &ldquo;living our best life.&rdquo; With countless health tips from Dr. Oz and Bob Greene&rsquo;s frequent weight loss and diet suggestions, &ldquo;Oprah&rdquo; has served as the personal training team for legions of followers.

Reading

Oprah got people walking, and reading. During the 14 years of Oprah&rsquo;s Book Club, fans bought millions of copies of Oprah&rsquo;s 65 selected reading suggestions. A lit pick by Oprah guaranteed additional printings and big paychecks for publishers and authors.

Controversy colored her 2005 choice of James Frey&rsquo;s &ldquo;A Million Little Pieces&rdquo; when the author was forced to admit he had made up large sections of the story of drug addiction and recovery that he touted as nonfiction.

Nonetheless, it made for great discussions at Oprah-inspired book clubs across the country.

Race relations

Oprah has always credited the sacrifice and service of the men and women involved in the civil rights movement for paving a path for a poor African- American woman from the South to transform into a beloved billionaire businesswoman. In turn, Oprah&rsquo;s success has inspired millions more.

&ldquo;Oprah&rdquo; opened discussions about race in America. During her first season, Oprah taped a show in Forsyth County, Ga., where not a single Black person had lived for 75 years. Her presence inspired conversation and slow change. Twenty-five years later, 7,000 African-Americans call Forsyth County home, and millions of Oprah&rsquo;s diverse fans see commonalities where they once saw differences.

Give big

In 1997, Oprah invited viewers to help make a difference in the lives of others by donating their spare change. Remember all the tear-jerking episodes of school children collecting pennies and donating the proceeds from their lemonade stands?

This simple request grew into a charity known as Oprah&rsquo;s Angel Network, which gave funds to hundreds of organizations around the world dedicated to improving access to education and basic rights. Oprah&rsquo;s Angel Network closed down in 2010, but her desire to create awareness and &ldquo;give big&rdquo; continues to inspire her fans.

Taboo topics

Issues like abuse, infidelity and addiction weren&rsquo;t often talked about openly before Oprah became a household name.

Oprah&rsquo;s willingness to share her own experiences with childhood sexual abuse and other struggles, combined with her ability to attract guests willing to reveal their secrets, made it seem safer for the rest of us. Oprah&rsquo;s personal journey to overcome her past, shared in small moments with her viewers over countless episodes, is the essence of the show.

When reflecting on her 25th season, Oprah recently told her best friend, Gayle King, that the message of her program is' &ldquo;You are not the product of your circumstances. You are a composite of all the things you believe, and all the places you believe you can go. Your past does not define you. You can step out of your history and create a new day for yourself. Even if the entire culture is saying, &lsquo;You can&rsquo;t.&rsquo; Even if every single possible bad thing that can happen to you does, you can keep going forward.&rdquo;
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			<title><![CDATA[J.Lo and Marc Anthony team up for 'Q'Viva!']]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/jennifer-lopez-marc-anthony-q-viva-120817119.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">120817119</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:17:46 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[(CNN) — It's official' Jennifer Lopez is indeed working on a new reality show.

The "American Idol" judge and her husband, singer Marc Anthony, have linked up with "Idol's" creator for a new project.

"Q'Viva! The Chosen" will feature the superstar couple traveling to various regions of the Americas over the course of three months in search of performers for "the ultimate live show celebrating Latin music, artistry and dance."

"This is a show for the 21st century with an unprecedented global and local story," Lopez is quoted as saying in a press release about the show. "The Latin culture is a tapestry that is rich in passion, tradition and artistry. We are going to places where all of this talent lives and wouldn't have otherwise been discovered. This journey for me and Marc is going be exciting and groundbreaking."

The series will be filmed in three languages and broadcast simultaneously in 21 countries throughout North America, Central America and South America. The project is a partnership with the pair and Simon Fuller' s XIX Entertainment.

Fuller, the creator of "American Idol," said the show will be groundbreaking.

"Latin music and dance is loved all over the world but there has never been a particular show or live experience that truly celebrates its beauty and splendor," he said. "Q'Viva is that show."]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Oprah Winfrey: I can't save the soaps]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/oprah-winfrey-soap-operas-120690849.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">120690849</guid>		
			<pubDate>Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:17:06 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[(CNN) — Sorry fans of "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," but Oprah Winfrey says she can't save the canceled soaps.

Though fans of both long-running serials have hoped Winfrey would keep the shows alive by airing them on her OWN network, the talk-show titan says it is time for the soaps to say goodbye.

"I understand, being a fan of 'All My Children,' growing up watching the 'Young and the Restless,' and other soaps, what it feels like to have a show that you love go off the air... I understand the loyalty, I understand the sense of disappointment," Winfrey said in a video recording.

"I appreciate that you all think I could save the soaps, but here is the bone marrow truth," she went on. "The soaps have been an institution in broadcast history and television because they have the support of the audience."

Winfrey explained that the ratings for soap operas have declined over the years and that "there just are not enough people who are at home in the daytime to watch them, and because of that they are going off the air. Believe me, if there was a dime left to be made from them on broadcast television it would still be happening."

The media mogul, whose long-running talk show will air its final episode on May 25, pointed out that everything has an expiration date.

"Because all good things come to an end [and] all things have their time — as do the soaps, as does the 'Oprah Winfrey Show' — I will not be taking on the responsibility of trying to revive an institution that for all intent and all purpose indicates that [the] time has come for it to be over," she said. "So thank you for believing that I could save them, but I really can't."]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Toni Braxton and her sisters air their laundry on new reality show]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Toni-Braxton-and-her-sisters-air-their-laundry-on-new-reality-show-119377074.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">119377074</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 6 Apr 2011 21:29:00 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

		
					
  
  
     
             	
  	  	  	  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  		  			  			  				  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  					  						  						  					  				  			  		  			  			  		  	  	  
				
											
																															
													



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Grammy-Award winning artist Toni Braxton and her sisters are coming clean in a new reality TV series, &ldquo;Braxton Family Values,&rdquo; slated to debut at 9 p.m. Tuesday on WEtv. In a conference call Wednesday morning, Braxton and two of her feisty sisters &mdash; Tamar, the youngest Braxton sister clawing for the spotlight; and Trina, the &ldquo;wild card&rdquo; who marches to her own beat and consequently finds herself dealing with a drinking problem &mdash; talked to the media about their trials and tribulations in the entertainment business and their personal lives.

When did you realize you had a show on your hands?

Tamar Braxton' I knew ever since about 2007, '08. I asked my sisters and they were like, &ldquo;No, absolutely not, girl you are trippin,&rdquo; especially Toni. She was not interested. It took a while but she decided that it was time for her to tell her own story and we convinced her to do it. So, here we are.

Your image has been pretty controlled, but in the show we see some good times and some bad times &mdash; tears and fighting. Were you ever worried about how a reality show might portray you?

Toni Braxton' A little bit, I have to be honest. But I said, &quot;You know what, I am going to let people see the side of me that they haven&rsquo;t seen.&quot; I want them to see me as a sister and a mom. ... It was important to display another side of me.

Are there plans for the show to lead to a reunion of the Braxtons as performers again? Will there be a Braxtons album?

Toni' We are talking about it, but we will see what happens. ... We haven&rsquo;t made a decision yet.

Tamar' We had a Braxtons&rsquo; single out around 1990. It sold three copies &mdash; my mom, my dad and my grandma. So, I don&rsquo;t know, we are a little skeptical about it. You have people in different places in their lives.

In one of the episodes, Tamar talks about Lady Gaga. Are you a fan of hers?

Toni' Gaga is signed to Tamar&rsquo;s husband&rsquo;s record label. She is like family, she is like another little Braxton sister. Tamar links up with her all the time and has done things on her album, like the single that&rsquo;s out, &ldquo;Born This Way,&rdquo; that&rsquo;s Tamar you hear in the background.

Tamar' In that clip &mdash; and in my defense and Gaga&rsquo;s defense &mdash; I wasn&rsquo;t saying anything negative towards her. I was just saying that if I&rsquo;m good enough to sing background then I&rsquo;m good enough to sing a hook or a duet.

Toni, what would you say to your gay fans?

Toni' I want to thank you, boys, for showing me how to be more fabulous and making me a better girl.

So many stars rely on reality television for their longevity in the business. What was your reasoning behind doing the show?

Tamar' This was not a career choice or a career move, it was something that we felt was necessary to do. ... We all realized, not just Toni, that we had a story to tell. Trina had her thing with her husband and she went down the wrong path, and of course Toni with her financial and health situations and myself trying to balance being a wife and trying to launch my superstardom that is inside of me. Towanda is trying to find herself and then Traci realizing that life goes on and decisions that she made when she was a teenager, she has to live with them now as an adult. As females, not just celebrities, we thought it would make a difference in someone&rsquo;s life, that they can take with them and apply it to theirs.

Tamar, you&rsquo;ve been trying to strike out on your own for some time but your producer-husband Vincent Herbert does not feel you are ready. How has this impacted your marriage?

Tamar' It&rsquo;s not the fact that he doesn&rsquo;t think that I&rsquo;m ready.

Toni' No, he doesn&rsquo;t think she&rsquo;s ready. I can tell you, being a referee, that it&rsquo;s been challenging at times. ... He doesn&rsquo;t think she&rsquo;s ready because of her mouth. It gets her in trouble all the time. In addition, I think he&rsquo;s also worried about how it might affect their marriage if her career works out or if it doesn&rsquo;t work out.

How do you feel about being filmed and airing your personal issues?

Toni' I was definitely uncomfortable, I have to be honest. I finally said yes in 2008. Even a week before we started shooting I said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to do it, I changed my mind.&rdquo; I was uncomfortable with people being in my space and I have a special-needs son. I didn&rsquo;t want him to be exposed to that and I was uncomfortable with my health issues, the financial issues. It always comes up. That&rsquo;s the only thing people really have on me. But my sisters told me, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time for you to tell your story. Tell it. Stop letting other people read about what&rsquo;s not true.&rdquo; This gives me the platform to finally tell what&rsquo;s going on in my life with my health, what led to my financial woes.

Trina Braxton' It&rsquo;s definitely challenging sometimes to have someone following you and inviting them in every aspect of your life, but we found it to be very cleansing and it helped us to become closer as sisters. We enjoyed the challenge, to a certain degree.

Toni' One thing, they were not allowed in the bathrooms. I said, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s it. I have to be able to tinkle, brush my teeth and wash &hellip; in peace.&rdquo;

The series shows you rising above adversities, such as living with a debilitating illness, your marital separation and a very public bankruptcy. Have you at any time second-guessed this opportunity, whereby your life is filmed and broadcast to millions?

Toni' My marriage I don&rsquo;t talk about at all on the show. That is not even an option, because, having sons, I don&rsquo;t want them to know what&rsquo;s going on in mom and dad&rsquo;s life unless they hear it personally from mom and dad. Of all of my sisters, you will find that I am still the one who is aloof. But this was a platform to tell my story, in addition to me hanging out and having fun with my sisters.

How do you balance being an entertainer, mother and philanthropist?

Toni' I am still trying to balance it. Some days I have good days, some days I have bad days. For me, it&rsquo;s just about my health. Sometimes it gets very challenging for me to do a lot of different things, and I just try to work hard to make sure that I stay healthy because my goal is to be around for my sons. lupus can really be debilitating sometimes.

How has your illness impacted your music career?

Toni' When I got ill, the doctor told me that I would not be able to promote or do an album or be on stage and sing. They said, &ldquo;Maybe you could do a song or two here and there, but with your type of lupus we never know how it&rsquo;s going to make your body react.&rdquo; I thought I would never be able to perform again. That&rsquo;s why I called my [sixth album] &ldquo;Pulse,&rdquo; because I felt like I was getting my life back. One little beat, one little pulse let me know that I can do this. I knew it was going to be a tough road. ... It&rsquo;s just that sometimes with the lupus I get really fatigued.

What will your fans learn about you that they don&rsquo;t already know?

Toni' That I&rsquo;m human. When you are in the entertainment business people tend to think that you don&rsquo;t have feelings, that things just bounce off of you, that you don&rsquo;t cry or go through things. I think they will see that I am a woman and a mom and a human. I read the blogs ... but they don&rsquo;t really know the whole story. Sometimes I have to be honest, it hurts my feelings. I read things and I go, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s so not true.&rdquo; ... I want people to see how I am inside.

What do you hope will come from this show?

Tamar' I hope that families and friends can get healing, can move on and can communicate.

Toni' I think one of the reasons Tamar is saying that is because our parents were married for 35 years and they got a divorce. You never think that something like this will bother you when you are older but we found that we were really affected by it. Every family gathering is now always challenging because our heads of the household are no longer together and they don&rsquo;t like each other. I hope that people see and say, &quot;Wow, their family is like that, my family is like that, they are going through the same thing that we are going through.&quot;]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Kirstie Alley slams George Lopez for pig joke]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/kirstie-alley-george-lopez-pig-joke-118667234.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">118667234</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:08:20 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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(CNN) &mdash; &quot;Dancing With the Stars&quot; contestant Kirstie Alley is putting her foot down and blasting comedian George Lopez for comparing her to a pig on his talk show, reports Entertainment Weekly.

On Wednesday, Lopez made rude remarks about Alley's appearance on the ABC dance competition, saying she &quot;did a nice job, her little hooves tapping away.&quot; He added that prior to the show, &quot;she went to the market, and then she had roast beef, and this is her going all the way home!&quot; He then ran GEICO ad footage of a squealing piglet. (&quot;Lopez Tonight&quot; airs on TBS, which is owned by the parent company of CNN.)

Lopez has since tweeted, &quot;I misjudged the joke. No malice was intended and I apologize to Kirstie,&quot; but it looks like the former &quot;Fat Actress&quot; star isn't buying it and is taking her own jabs at the late-night host.

&quot;Don't worry about George's comments,&quot; the former Jenny Craig spokesperson told her Twitter followers. &quot;Just remember what happens to the big bad, drunk woolf ...falls in a boiling pot of vodka. Piggy laughs.&quot;

Update, 11'20 a.m.' Alley has since responded to Lopez's apology, tweeting, &quot;@georgelopez I don't need or want ur apology...I want your kidney dude..on behalf of ur X and all the women uv insulted...give it back.&quot;

In 2005, Lopez's then-wife donated her kidney when Lopez needed a transplant. He told People at the time, &quot;I can't pay her back, but what I can do is make her as happy as she thought I would when we first got married.&quot;

The couple has since separated, announcing in September, 2010 that their 17-year marriage had come to an end.
 
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			<title><![CDATA[Quincy Jones and UAE entrepreneur form joint venture]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/quincy-jones-united-arab-emirates-badr-jafar-117560068.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">117560068</guid>		
			<pubDate>Mon, 7 Mar 2011 20:06:53 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[Quincy Jones and a United Arab Emirates entrepreneur Monday announced a joint venture to develop multimedia opportunities across all entertainment platforms, including music, film, television, publishing and digital applications, in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Grammy Award-winning producer behind the all-time best-selling single "We Are The World" will serve as chairman of the board of the Global Gumbo Group, and Badr Jafar will serve as president.

They said they will initially focus on producing live entertainment opportunities in the Middle East for Western artists in collaboration with renowned Middle East and North African artists, but will also look to nurture new Middle Eastern and North African talent and acquire content from the region to introduce to the West.

"I have long been a vocal proponent of music and the arts being a great asset in building bridges between cultures, and from my many experiences starting in 1953 touring the Middle East and North Africa with Lionel Hampton and again in 1956 as the musical director and trumpeter for Dizzy Gillespie's first State Department Tour, I have witnessed that ability firsthand,'' Jones said.

"It is my hope that this partnership with my dear friend Badr Jafar will provide a cultural exchange between the West and the Middle East and North Africa that will foster a better understanding of these regions and an appreciation for our common values at this crucial time in the region's history," he said.

Jafar said the "partnership had been a long time in the making, and is being launched at an important time in our region of the world.''

"I am a great believer in the power associated with the principles of social entrepreneurship, and the Global Gumbo Group's mission is perfectly in line with these, using music and the arts to build on and promote mutual respect and appreciation across borders, while giving our youth in the West and the Middle East an opportunity to showcase their talents in our respective parts of the world, which in turn will lead to much needed collaboration and cooperation,'' Jafar said.

"There is no better person in the world to spearhead this venture than Quincy Jones, and I am truly grateful for his vision and commitment to making this world a better place for our future generations," he said.

The duo's first production, in association with Dawn Elder World Entertainment, will be a concert during Morocco's annual music festival in May. The Mawazine Festival will feature performances by The Global Gumbo All-Stars — Alfredo Rodriguez, Greg Phillinganes, Richard Bona, Lionel Loueke, Francisco Mela and Paulinho Da Costa — Patti Austin, Siedah Garrett, Naturally Seven and Riffat Sultana.

Jones said he will also unveil a new Arabic version of the 1990 hit "Tomorrow," originally recorded by Tevin Campbell for Jones' Grammy Award- winning Record of the Year "Back On The Block,'' to raise money to finance educational scholarships for some of the region's most promising youth.

Financed in part by the Maroc Cultures Association, the song and its video will feature some of the biggest Arabic stars from all 21 Middle Eastern countries, according to Jones.

He said the song will be co-produced by Moroccan-born producer RedOne, and the Arabic lyrics and indigenous music contribution provided by Iraqi-born composer Kadim Al Sahir, one of the biggest artists in the Middle East today.

Jones was an impoverished youth in Southside Chicago who went on to work beside such artists as Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Michael Jackson in a career spanning six decades.

A 27-time Grammy winner — the most of any living musician — and the all-time most-nominated Grammy artist with 79 nods, has taken on the roles of composer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, record producer and executive, film and television producer, magazine founder, multimedia entrepreneur and humanitarian.

Jafar, a United Arab Emirates business leader educated in the UAE and United Kingdom, is one of the owners and the executive director of the Crescent Petroleum Group of Companies.

Jafar has a variety of other international and commercial interests, including aviation; shipping, as vice chair of the board of the Middle East's largest private container port operator; and real estate. He was the recipient of the Middle East's Energy CEO of the year award in 2010, and recently was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Last September, he launched the Pearl Initiative at the United Nations headquarters in New York, an initiative in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships to jointly promote corporate governance, accountability, transparency and good corporate social responsibility practices within the Middle East.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Watching the public unraveling of Charlie Sheen]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Watching-the-public-un-raveling-of-Charlie-Sheen-117355283.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">117355283</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 3 Mar 2011 14:53:03 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[In just 24 hours this week, actor Charlie Sheen managed a marathon of appearances that kept viewers enthralled.

The troubled 'Two and a Half Men' star was interviewed early Monday on 'Good Morning America' and 'Today,' and later on TMZ's live webcast, talk radio program 'Loose Cannons' and CNN's 'Piers Morgan Tonight.' The next day, he chatted on Howard Stern's radio show. He's also on the cover of the new People magazine.

During the interviews, the actor let loose a number of very quotable comments, saying that he's not bipolar but 'bi-winning,' that he 'was bangin' seven-gram rocks and finishing them because that's how I roll,' and that producers of his hit show 'picked a fight with a warlock.'

The common consensus quickly became that Sheen may well have issues beyond the current hiatus of his hit CBS sitcom.

Yet as uncomfortable as some of the moments may have felt for fans, Sheen's appearances made for compelling television that many of us couldn't turn away from.

'It's seeing somebody that has more than us, having less than us,' said Dr. Lillian Glass, author of the book 'Toxic Men.' 'We are watching this, and you feel like 'Hey, I may not have the millions, but I've got my act together.''

Dr. Drew Pinsky, whose new show premieres on HLN on April 4, told CNN's Piers Morgan in an earlier interview that he believes Sheen's issues have moved beyond substance abuse.

'The problem with him now is he's getting so impaired psychiatrically that eventually — provided he doesn't get really medically ill or harm himself or somebody else and the legal system steps in — eventually, the psychiatric system is going to step in,' Pinsky said.

Reacting to similar comments by Pinsky, Sheen told Piers Morgan 'To like have a prognosis about somebody you've never been in the same room with, based on his image in a media setting? He should be ashamed of himself ... got to dismiss these clowns.'

It's not as if this type of very public unraveling hasn't been seen before.

Celebrity meltdowns are as old as Hollywood, and in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, the events are more buzzed about than ever. Names like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan have become almost synonymous with the concept of troubled stars enduring very personal hardships very publicly.

But Glass said that unlike those young celebs, Sheen appears to currently lack a support system that could step in and help him. Consequently, she said, Sheen is out there in full glory — appearing gaunt and speaking angrily against many, from his show's creator to the media.

'When Britney Spears was having a meltdown, she had this great family support that was behind her,' Glass said. 'But when your team abandons you like [his publicist], like your producer. CBS is making millions and millions, so it would be in their best interest to keep him, but they can't because he is so out of control.'

Sheen's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, resigned Monday after his client's many appearances.

'I have worked with Charlie Sheen for a long time and I care about him very much,' Rosenfield said in a statement. 'However, at this time, I'm unable to work effectively as his publicist and have respectfully resigned.'

For years, the actor has been a darling of the tabloids for his colorful lifestyle' There have been marital breakups, rehab stints and public admissions of dalliances with prostitutes, which initially came to light in a high-profile trial involving accused Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in 1995.

Last October, police were called to a New York City hotel where a porn actress was found locked in Sheen's hotel bathroom. Sheen was transported to the hospital for what his publicist called an 'adverse allergic reaction.' A few months later, production on his show was halted as Sheen began an at-home treatment program.

On Feb. 14, Sheen said on the syndicated radio program 'The Dan Patrick Show' that people should avoid crack unless they can 'manage it socially.' About 10 days later, he told the 'Loose Cannons' radio show that he was at war with the creators and producers of his hit CBS sitcom.

But his more recent appearances have ratcheted the Sheen machine to another level.

On Monday, he allowed TMZ to record him in his backyard, where he was joined by some of his friends who weighed in during the interview. At one point, he paused after a request from one of his girlfriends to give her a hug and said, 'When the goddess speaks, the brain melts.'

As outrageous as Sheen's behavior may appear to some, Dr. Mike Dow said it's in keeping with someone in a battle against addiction.

Dow, who has not examined Sheen, is a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist who serves as an addiction recovery expert on the TLC series 'Freaky Eaters' and 'My Strange Addiction.' He said Sheen's behavior has appeared to be shocking, comical and delusional.

'I think in his mind, what we are seeing is what we see with a lot of addicts, which is defensiveness,' Dow said. 'Underneath it all, I do believe that what he really is, is scared because he knows that he is an addict.'

Dow said shows like his are popular because stories of addiction can be dramatic and Sheen's very public problems have the same appeal.

'I hope that what we do on our show, which is actually help people, far outweighs the Charlie Sheens, which is really just a train wreck,' Dow said. 'I hope he takes a page out of the Robert Downey Jr. handbook and gets his life and career back on track.'

Pax Prentiss, co-founder and director of the Passages Malibu Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center, said Sheen is not painting himself in a favorable light.

'I wish Charlie had some real clean time under his belt before he went on television and said the things that he has been saying,' said Prentiss, who has been sober for more than a decade after addictions to cocaine, heroin and alcohol. 'For one, he is saying he's cured, and it would be good if he had maybe six months of sobriety under his belt first. It takes away from what he is saying when you see him, and it's so obvious that he's had a drug problem.'

Jeff Jarvis, who blogs about media and news at Buzzmachine.com, said he worries that Sheen, in his current state, is being exploited. There is also a need for context to his media appearances, Jarvis said.

'I'm not against covering something that is wrong or insane or any of the things that he has done, but to act as if there is something to be learned from what he says right now is questionable,' he said.

Jarvis said he is in no way equipped to diagnose Sheen, but the writer has a concern that giving Sheen a stage at this point in his life is detrimental.

'His behavior, I would think, certainly is to act out and get attention,' Jarvis said. 'He is getting a lot of attention right now, and I think that affects his recovery and his career.'

Bob Garfield, host of NPR's 'On the Media,' said in an e-mail to CNN that 'The question is, just because someone is a celebrity, are the media absolved of the responsibility not to exploit his illness for the sake of audience?'

'Rhetorical question there,' he wrote. 'The answer is, when someone is coming mentally unhinged, it is ethically abhorrent to egg him on.'
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			<title><![CDATA[Questions & Answers: Tommy Davidson]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Questions--Answers-Tommy-Davidson-115702209.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">115702209</guid>		
			<pubDate>Wed, 9 Feb 2011 23:32:32 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[

In celebration of Black History Month, TV One is presenting &ldquo;Way Black When,&rdquo; a month-long, high-profile programming designed to &ldquo;reflect back on the golden age of black culture&rdquo; that emerged during the 1970s, &lsquo;80s and &lsquo;90s. All month, the one-hour talk show will air each weeknight, showcasing black pop culture icons across three decades &mdash; including athletes, comedians and actors. During a TV One promo shoot in Los Angeles, The Wave dropped by the set to visit funnyman Tommy Davidson, whose landmark show, &ldquo;In Living Color,&rdquo; is central to the discussion of the final decade to be explored by the special series.

Some would say that the &lsquo;The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air&rsquo; was able to cross color lines. What are your thoughts on that?
Will Smith was somehow able to make the black experience palatable for White America &mdash; who wasn&rsquo;t in contact or hadn&rsquo;t been exposed to either the black or urban experience, which are sort of intermixed. He was a good representation that gave them more absorbency and a little more open-mindedness because the images that the media puts out are so bluntly to the other side that America doesn&rsquo;t understand. I think he was able to do that on the show.

Which decade &mdash; the &lsquo;70s, &lsquo;80s or &lsquo;90s &mdash; was best for black pop culture and why?
I think the &lsquo;70s was best for black pop culture because it was the first time after the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement that black Americans were accepted. It was our time to go out there and show people who we were. Just as a people, our minds were changing. It was a different movement. All of a sudden living amongst each other was a good idea, peace became a good idea, education became a good idea. It was a good time. There was a lot of coming together of the cultures and it created this landscape of tolerance.

What movie best captures the &lsquo;90s black culture?
I would say somewhere between &ldquo;New Jack City&rdquo; and &ldquo;House Party.&rdquo; They had the styles, the trends and what we were all about. But you would also have to include &ldquo;School Daze.&rdquo;

What song or artist best captures the &lsquo;90s black culture?
I think Biggie and Tupac coming on the scene really set the stage for every hip-hop artist that is hot right now. That is when hip-hop lyrics took on a certain individuality and a certain personality that was able to transcend all social lines. They were an important force in music and hip-hop. They are what music is now. Had they not been gone, you might not even know who Jay-Z and Kanye West are.

Was there clothing or a hairstyle that you once rocked that if shown to you today would have you embarrassed?
[Laughing] In the &lsquo;90s Puffy tried to tell me. I went through a high-top fade phase, where it was short on the sides and had a box on the top. Everyone had one. [Puffy] asked me to cut my widows peak off and I was like &lsquo;Naw, I&rsquo;m not going to cut my peak off.&rsquo; When I watched &ldquo;Strictly Business,&rdquo; the movie I starred in with Halle Berry back in the day, this thing was sticking out so big that I was like, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s what he meant.&rdquo; On the big screen, that little thing looks like Dracula&rsquo;s cape, [some how] I turned into the hip-hop Eddie Munster, I don&rsquo;t know.

If you could relive any moment from the &lsquo;90s, what would it be?
It would be my &ldquo;In Living Color&rdquo; experience because we were able to finally get something really funny on TV.

What was it like revisiting the &lsquo;90s today?
It was good. I took another look at that period in time. That was my foundation, that is where I became a star. It happened so fast. I started out doing stand-up, then TV and movies and ended up here. I was just blessed to be a part of it.

Are there any fond memories you have of that era?
My favorite thing about the &lsquo;90s was that all of the actresses and actors that I worked around all saw each other, still talked and had dialogue. Competition didn&rsquo;t influence our relationships. There was no separation between our relationships; we were all friends. That is the one thing I do miss. What Hollywood has the tendency of doing is creating competition and if you are not able to assimilate, you will stop friendships believing that will give you success. I miss the genuine moments.

This show is supposed to take viewers on a trip back through &lsquo;Blackness.&rsquo; What does &lsquo;Blackness&rsquo; mean to you?
I guess I can construe it as when blacks use to be on TV, with new shows and movies coming out all the time. That has seemed to slim up. Now you mainly just have your Tyler Perry. The &lsquo;90s was an explosion of creativity. It was sort of like the Harlem Renaissance, where there were African-American poets, jazz musicians and others. We brought forth a whole new level of movie making, directing and producing. The &lsquo;90s was our growth period where stars were made &mdash; Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, Wesley Snipes, Martin, Will Smith. The &lsquo;90s were actually responsible for the lucrative position that Hollywood is in today, yet we find ourselves asking why we aren&rsquo;t on TV as much any more.

Why do you think the black presence is not as frequent on television or in films as it was in the &lsquo;90s?
I think it&rsquo;s a liberal choice on behalf of the networks and studios because they control that. It sort of reminds me of the old Negro baseball leagues versus the major leagues. They knew the men in the Negro leagues were talented, they knew they could play and they couldn&rsquo;t even beat them, but it was their choice if they were going to let them in the league or not. I think we are in that same position right now with television and film. It is their choice, but you would think that they would have continued to make the right choice, as they did then, since Black shows and films in the &lsquo;90s provided not only lucrative benefits and creativity, but brought us together as a country.

Do you think we will ever see as many blacks on television and in film again?
I think we will. Things happen for a reason.

Photo' Tommy Davidson, who starred on the landmark 1990s series &quot;In Living Color,&quot; is featured in the series &quot;Way Black When.&quot; Credit' Courtesy of TV One.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Writers of 'Inception' and 'Social Network' win WGA awards]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Writers-Inception-Social-Network-win-WGA-awards-115399709.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">115399709</guid>		
			<pubDate>Sat, 5 Feb 2011 21:30:09 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[HOLLYWOOD — Christopher Nolan, who wrote the screenplay for "Inception,'' won the Writers Guild of America award Saturday night for best original screenplay.

The other nominees, were the writers of "Black Swan,'' "The Fighter,'' "The Kids Are All Right'' and "Please Give''

Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the screenplay for "The Social Network,'' based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires,'' won for best adapted screenplay.

The other nominees were the writers of "127 Hours,'' "I Love You Phillip Morris,'' "The Town'' and "True Grit.''

Among television programs, the writers of "Mad Men'' repeated as winners for best television drama series, while the writers of "Modern Family'' won for best television comedy and the writers of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire'' won for best new series.

The 2011 Writers Guild Awards were presented in simultaneous ceremonies in New York and the Renaissance Hollywood hotel. The West Coast ceremony was hosted by "Modern Family'' co-stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet.

During the ceremony, "Murphy Brown'' creator Diane English received the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television; Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List'') got the Laurel Award for Screen; Seth Freeman ("Lou Grant,'' "Lincoln Heights'') and Susannah Grant ("Erin Brockovich,'' "The Soloist'') received Valentine Davies Awards; Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth ("Fair Game'') received the Paul Selvin Award for embodying the spirit of constitutional and civil rights; and Italian screenwriter Tonino Guerra received the Jean Renoir Award for Screenwriting Achievement.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
   — "Inception,'' Written by Christopher Nolan; Warner Bros.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
   — "The Social Network,'' Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich; Sony Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
   — "Inside Job,'' Produced, Written and Directed by Charles Ferguson; Co-written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt; Sony Pictures Classics

DRAMA SERIES
   — "Mad Men,'' Written by Jonathan Abrahams, Lisa Albert, Keith Huff, Jonathan Igla, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy, Tracy McMillan, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC

COMEDY SERIES
   — "Modern Family,'' Written by Jerry Collins, Paul Corrigan, Alex Herschlag, Abraham Higginbotham, Elaine Ko, Joe Lawson, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Dan O'Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Brad Walsh, Ilana Wernick, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker; ABC

NEW SERIES
   — "Boardwalk Empire,'' Written by Meg Jackson, Lawrence Konner, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Margaret Nagle, Tim Van Patten, Paul Simms, Terence Winter; HBO

EPISODIC DRAMA - any length - one airing time
   — "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword'' ("Mad Men''), Written by Erin Levy; AMC

EPISODIC COMEDY - any length - one airing time
   — "When It Rains, It Pours'' ("30 Rock''), Written by Robert Carlock; NBC

LONG FORM - ORIGINAL - over one hour - one or two parts, one or two airing times
   — "The Special Relationship,'' Written by Peter Morgan; HBO

LONG FORM - ADAPTATION - over one hour - one or two parts, one or two airing times
   — "The Pacific,'' Part Eight,'' Written by Robert Schenkkan and Michelle Ashford, Based in part on the books "Helmet for My Pillow'' by Robert Leckie and "With The Old Breed'' by Eugene B. Sledge with additional material from "Red Blood, Black Sand'' by Chuck Tatum and "China Marine'' by Eugene B. Sledge; HBO

ANIMATION - any length - one airing time
   — "The Prisoner of Brenda'' ("Futurama''), Written by Ken Keeler; Comedy Central

COMEDY/VARIETY - (INCLUDING TALK) SERIES
   — "The Colbert Report,'' Writers' Barry Julien, Dan Guterman, Eric Drysdale, Frank Lesser, Glenn Eichler, Jay Katsir, Max Werner, Meredith Scardino, Michael Brumm, Opus Moreschi, Peter Gwinn, Rich Dahm, Rob Dubbin, Scott Sherman, Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell; Comedy Central

COMEDY/VARIETY - MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES - SPECIALS
   — "National Memorial Day Concert 2010,'' Written by Joan Meyerson; PBS

DAYTIME SERIAL
   — "As the World Turns,'' Written by Susan Dansby, Lucky Gold, Janet Iacobuzio, Penelope Koechl, David Kreizman, Leah Laiman, David A. Levinson, Leslie Nipkow, Jean Passanante, Gordon Rayfield, David Smilow; CBS

CHILDREN'S EPISODIC & SPECIALS
   — "Happy Ha-Ha Holidays'' ("Imagination Movers''), Written by Michael G. Stern, Randi Barnes, Rick Gitelson, Scott Gray; Disney Channel

CHILDREN'S SCRIPT - LONG FORM OR SPECIAL
   — "Avalon High,'' Teleplay by Julie Sherman Wolfe and Amy Talkington, Based on the novel by Meg Cabot; Disney Channel

DOCUMENTARY - CURRENT EVENTS
   — "Flying Cheap'' ("Frontline''), Written by Rick Young; PBS

DOCUMENTARY - OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
   — "Wyatt Earp'' ("American Experience''), Written by Rob Rapley; PBS

NEWS - REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN OR BREAKING REPORT
   — "Sunday Morning Almanac'' ("CBS Sunday Morning''), Written by
Thomas A. Harris; CBS News
   — "The Flash Crash'' ("CBS News''), Written by R. Polly Leider; CBS News

NEWS - ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
   — "Resurrecting Eden'' ("60 Minutes''), Written by Jenny Dubin; CBS

RADIO

DOCUMENTARY
   — "2009 Year in Review,'' Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News

NEWS - REGULARLY SCHEDULED OR BREAKING REPORT
   — "CBS World News Roundup,'' Written by Paul Farry; CBS Radio News

NEWS - ANALYSIS, FEATURE OR COMMENTARY
   — "Passages,'' Written by Gail Lee; CBS Radio News

PROMOTIONAL WRITING AND GRAPHIC ANIMATION

ON-AIR PROMOTION (RADIO OR TELEVISION)
   — "CSI'' Promos, Written by Anne de Vega; CBS

TELEVISION GRAPHIC ANIMATION
   — "Sunday Morning, By Design'' ("CBS Sunday Morning''), Graphic Designer Bob Pook, Graphic Artist Diane Robinson; CBS News

VIDEOGAME WRITING
   — "Assassin's Creed' Brotherhood,'' story by Patrice Desilets, Jeffrey Yohalem, Corey May; lead script writer Jeffrey Yohalem; script writers Ethan Petty, Nicholas Grimwood, Matt Turner; Ubisoft]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Charlie Sheen leaves hospital after medical emergency]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Charlie-Sheen-hospital-hernia-Cedars-Sinai-114821029.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">114821029</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:24:27 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[(CNN) — Actor Charlie Sheen has left a Los Angeles hospital where he was being treated for severe pain related to a hernia, his representative said Friday.

Sheen left Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Thursday night after being rushed to the facility that morning, representative Stan Rosenfield said.

"Charlie has had a hernia condition for some time," Rosenfield said. "I was told by the person who made the 911 call that it was hernia-related."

Reporters and paparazzi converged on the medical center after reports hit the internet that Sheen was in the emergency room Thursday morning. The hospital refused to give any information about the actor, leading to rampant media speculation about Sheen's condition.

Tensions eased later in the day when Rosenfield announced that his client was in stable condition and was being treated for the hernia.

This was the second emergency trip to a hospital for Sheen in three months. 

He spent several hours in a New York hospital in October after police responded to an early morning call about "an emotionally disturbed person" at The Plaza Hotel, a law enforcement source said at the time. Sheen's representative blamed an "adverse allergic reaction" to a medication.

Sheen, the son of actor Martin Sheen, is the star of the hit CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men."

He is expected to return to the set of the show Tuesday, Rosenfield said.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[TV Review: 'Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story']]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Taken-from-Me-The-Tiffany-Rubin-Story-set-to-air-on-Lifetime-114695799.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">114695799</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:06:05 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[What would you do if your only child was kidnapped? Then what if those who were meant to protect and serve couldn't aid in his or her rescue? Would you travel the world in search for him or her?

Well, at least one mother did.

'Taken From Me' The Tiffany Rubin Story,' a Lifetime original movie airing Jan. 31 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, is based on the true story of Tiffany Rubin, a mother whose child was kidnapped by his father.

Tiffany Rubin (Taraji Henson) seems to have finally settled down in a balanced relationship after separating from an ex-boyfriend whom she has battled in court for visitation rights of their son Kobe. After a judge finds no reason to prevent Kobe from seeing his biological father, Jeff Lee, he asks to take Kobe on a week-long trip to Disneyworld in Florida. 

While Rubin has reservations – Lee has a history of not bringing their son back on time and has had some trouble with the law – she not only abides by the court order but feels obligated to allow the two to bond. But as days pass and no word from her son, Rubin becomes alarmed. Calling the hotel to which they were supposed to stay, she finds that there is no reservation under Lee. Yet things do not become clearer until she breaks into his apartment and finds that all of his belongings are gone.

Like any worried parent, she reaches out to the police, but only to have them interrogate her and list the number of reasons why her ex's actions could be found legal. She only needs one piece of information however' the country Kobe is in. 

Once she discovers his whereabouts – Kobe is in South Korea where his father is a native and is not subject to parental rights established by the states – she goes to major lengths, with the help of Mark Miller (veteran actor Terry O'Quinn), founder of the American Association for Lost Children, to bring him back home. But she will have to risk everything, including her freedom and marriage.

While the film is interesting, the characters seem a little disconnected, mainly due to casting choices. The son, played by Drew Davis, does not appear to be African-American and Korean, making the believability that he came from the two hard. Additionally, it seems far-fetched that Henson and the Korean guy were ever once a couple. 

Generally when couples separate and then are in the midst of one another – especially if things, such as in this case, ended on the wrong foot – that there would be some natural friction or maybe even a tell-tale sign that they still have feelings for one another. Not here; not in this film. And it doesn't hurt to mention that the two have very different personalities – he is a bad guy with a wrap while she is a teacher and loving mother. Giving the audience more background or insight into their past relationship may have helped.

Also, the father's depiction – practically a rebel without a cause who has had run-ins with the law and is currently being sought after by authorities in the U.S. – seems to be offbeat when compared to his character – the little of him that is seen – which seems to be mild-mannered with only a slightly sneaky quality. 

If it were not for the scenes where he is obviously proven to be untrustworthy – he did not check in to the hotel they discussed, took all of his belongings from his apartment in the states and took their son to another country – you might have a hard time believing he is capable of kidnapping his own son not only because there is little character building but his motive, though probable, seems unlikely. (Hint' It will circle you back to a previous point made earlier.)

But just as awkward was the pairing of Henson and her new husband. That too seems a bit mismatched in terms of their chemistry on screen. It does not seem as if they are a couple, mainly because there is a lack of real affection and since Henson's character pushes him away after Kobe is taken he gets less screen time with her.

Aside from this, Henson shines in terms of grasping the emotional rollercoaster a mother would naturally go through once her world has been shaken. She effortlessly captures feelings of guilt, distress, confusion, hopelessness, anger, fear, sadness and joy by bringing tension into her facial muscles and crinkling her forehead, while straining the veins in her neck. 

The highlight has to be when she discovers through the Central Intelligence Agency the whereabouts of her son but due to South Korea not being part of the international treaty that recognizes parental rights, they are at a standstill.

In one of her most frustrating moments – after more than five moths of trying to allow authorities to do what her tax dollars pay for and actively using the Internet to attempt contact with her ex and schools in the country, as well as reach out to Korean officials – she flips out, raising her voice to a deep strong tone and pounding the table with her hand, then just as quickly realizing she is losing her composure, only to revert back to her relatively calm, yet frantic demeanor.

Overall, 'Taken From Me' The Tiffany Rubin Story' is a good family film that is worth snuggling up on the couch with a bag of popcorn for a relaxed weekend.   
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			<title><![CDATA['American Idol' debut ratings down]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/American-Idol-debut-ratings-down-114344989.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">114344989</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:25:23 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[

The ratings are in for the first night of season 10 of &quot;American Idol,&quot; and things aren't looking up.

TV By The Numbers reports that the initial night of the  competition series was down 13 percent  overall from last season's debut  with an 18 percent drop in the coveted  18 -49 demographic.

In total, 26.1 million average viewers tuned in for the beginning of   season 10, versus the 29.945 million who watched the premiere of  season  9. That's more than the usual 10 to 15 percent drop in ratings  the show  has seen previously.

&quot;American Idol&quot; has seen a decrease in its ratings over the years since the all time high of the season finale in 2006.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[Ricky Gervais offers no apologies for Golden Globes jokes]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Ricky-Gervais-Golden-Globes-jokes-114335579.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">114335579</guid>		
			<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:27:26 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[You will not hear Ricky Gervais apologize for any of his jokes at Sunday's Golden Globe show.

         "I'm not sorry for anything I said, because I'm not going to apologize for being true to myself,"Gervais said in an interview aired Thursday on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight."

         Gervais is not worried that his cutting humor before the star-studded crowd made anyone dislike him, because he was just doing his job.

         "I don't care what people think of me," Gervais told Morgan. "I care if I've done a good job, and I care if I've told the truth."

         Gervais' jokes targeted many of Hollywood's biggest stars and the group that hired him to host the awards show for a second year.

         "They hired me for a job and if they didn't want me, they shouldn't have hired me," Gervais said.

         No one has the right not to be offended, he said.

         "Just because you're offended, it doesn't mean you're in the right," Gervais said. "A lot of people are offended by mixed marriage. It doesn't mean they're right."

         His job as comedian is to give people a release and to make them think, he said.

         "Comedy is laughing in the face of adversity," he said. "We use comedy as a sword, a shield, as a medicine, as a getting to know you. It's fundamental. It's a fundamental we understand comedy and we have humor, because it's built on empathy, and that's what being human is."

         The British comedian told Morgan he was just "confronting the elephant in the room" with one-liners about the bad movies and bad behavior of the actors sitting in front of him.

         "Don't forget, I've got to be an outsider," he said. "I mustn't come out there as everyone's mate and schmooze. That's nauseating. I've got to come out there, and I've got to roast them."

         The roasting of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which owns the show, brought laughs but raised eyebrows because of a lawsuit filed by its own former publicists days earlier accusing the small group of taking payola for nominations.

         The HFPA's president issued a statement later distancing the group from the jokes.

         "But he said to me beforehand he believes in freedom of speech," Gervais said. "Also, you know, all he said was, I think, if I remember, he said, 'Those attacks weren't necessarily the thoughts of' -- and they're not. All he said was, 'I didn't see the script,' which is fine, which is absolutely true."

         Gervais made his freedom to say what he wished a condition of employment, he said.

         "I wouldn't have it any other way, because if you start second-guessing and you're trying to find people that are like you, or change it to make certain people like you, you're finished," he said. "And you're finished as a comedian more than any other thing in the world."

         He expected groans mixed with laughter from his star-studded audience, he said. "I get as big a kick out of it."

         When introducing Robert Downey Jr., Gervais read a list of his less-than-successful movies.

         "He has done all those films, but many of you in this room probably know him best from such facilities as the Betty Ford Clinic and Los Angeles County Jail," Gervais told the audience.

         Downey quickly fired back.

         "Aside from the fact that it's been hugely mean-spirited, with mildly sinister undertones, I'd say the vibe of the show is pretty good so far," Downey said. "Wouldn't you?"

         Gervais told Morgan that Downey was joking and not really bothered by the introduction.

         "Why would he be? He's Robert Downey Jr. He's the coolest man in the world. Why would he care?"

         If you thought his Golden Globe jokes were offense, you should avoid his stand-up act, Gervais said.

         "There's nothing you shouldn't joke about," he said. "It depends what the joke is. Comedy comes from a good or a bad place, and I like to think that mine comes from a good place."

         Morgan probed Gervais about his atheism, a subject he joked about at the end of the awards show.

         He grew up "working-class kid" who went to church every Sunday, he said. While he's no longer a Christian, he said he lives "my life in a good way."

         "I'm good to people because it's the way I want to be treated," Gervais said. "And I don't believe I'll be rewarded in heaven."









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			<title><![CDATA[Oprah Winfrey opens up on loss, love and money]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Oprah-Winfrey-Piers-Morgan-interview-114149164.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">114149164</guid>		
			<pubDate>Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:04:36 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[(CNN) -- Oprah Winfrey, who was pregnant at 14 and lost the baby, said she thought about killing herself and saw the loss of the child as a second chance.

         In a wide-ranging interview that aired Monday during the premiere of CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight," the talk show queen also spoke about love, her long-term partner, Stedman Graham, and what she plans to do with all her money once she's gone.

         Winfrey, 56, said she was sent to live with her father in Nashville when she was a young teenager. He laid down the rules of his house early, and without knowing she was pregnant.

         "'I would rather see a daughter of mine floating down the Cumberland River,' he said, 'than to bring shame on this family and the indecency of an illegitimate child,'" Winfrey said, quoting her father.

         "He's saying that to me and I know that I am pregnant. So I'm thinking, well, I'm just going to have to kill myself," she said.

         Winfrey did not attempt suicide, though she said she tried things that were cries for help -- like drinking detergent.

         "When the baby died, I knew that it was my second chance," she said.

         Winfrey, best known for the "The Oprah Winfrey Show," now runs her own channel, appropriately titled OWN.

         She described her long-term partner, Stedman Graham, as someone who is "willing to stand in and stand up" for her.

         "The reason this relationship has worked as well as it has is because we each got to define ourselves in it and not in a traditional form. There's nothing about it that's traditional," Winfrey said. "I am a different kind of woman in that I am pretty assured that had I married I wouldn't have remained married."

         "I'm just not the marrying kind," she said.

         The talk show queen said she's had her heart broken twice.

         Winfrey also discussed what she plans to do with her massive fortune once she dies.

         "When I'm gone, everything that I have is going to go to charity because I don't have children. And I believe that that's what you should do," she said. "To whom much is given, much should be given back."

Michelle Obama photo by Lawrence Jackson/The White House; Oprah Winfrey photo via CNN.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[NBC, 'Modern Family' top Wednesday television ratings ]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/NBC-Modern-Family-television-ratings-113061494.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">113061494</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 7 Jan 2011 00:49:05 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[A two-hour episode of "Law & Order' Special Victims Unit'' that drew the series' largest audience since its 2008-2009 season finale, 10.06 million viewers, enabled NBC to be the most-watched network in prime time Wednesday.

NBC averaged 9.3 million viewers for its prime-time programming. Its other prime-time program, the game show "Minute To Win It,'' averaged 6.69 million viewers, finishing third in its time slot, according to live-plus same- day figures released Thursday by The Nielsen Co.

CBS was second, averaging 8.9 million viewers, with its combination of "Live to Dance'' and the 37th annual People's Choice Awards.

"Live to Dance'' averaged 7.65 million viewers to finish second from 8- 9 p.m. behind the ABC comedies "The Middle'' and "Better With You.'' Viewership for "Live to Dance'' was down 25 percent from the 10.22 million average viewership for its two-hour premiere on Tuesday.

The 37th annual People's Choice Awards averaged 9.52 million viewers, its second-lowest non-strike audience, ahead of only the 9.41 million average for the 2009 show.

The 2008 People's Choice Awards, which was forced to switch to what was dubbed as a magazine format because of a threat by actors not to cross a planned picket line by striking members of the Writers Guild of America, averaged 5.96 million viewers.

ABC was third averaging 7.36 million viewers, after being the most- watched network from 8-9'30 p.m.

The ABC comedy "Modern Family'' was the night's most-watched program, averaging 11.83 million viewers. ABC finished third with both "Cougar Town'' which averaged 6.57 million viewers from 9'30-10 p.m. and "Primetime' Celebrity Weight Loss — What Really Happens,'' which averaged 4.39 million viewers from 10-11 p.m.

Fox, which aired an original episode of "Human Target'' followed by a rerun of the series, was fourth, averaging 6.33 million viewers.

The CW, which showed two reruns of "Hellcats,'' was fifth, averaging 924,000 viewers.

ABC and NBC tied for first among viewers ages 18-49, the group advertisers pay more for because they watch less television and are harder to reach.

NBC was first among viewers 50 and older, a rare loss for CBS in the category. CBS was first among viewers ages 12-17 and tied NBC for the lead among viewers ages 2-11.

ABC, CBS and NBC all aired three hours of prime-time programming and The CW and Fox two hours each.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA['Monday Night Football,' CBS top television ratings]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Monday-Night-Football-CBS-television-ratings-112574069.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">112574069</guid>		
			<pubDate>Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:36:23 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	


																																						<description><![CDATA[With the unexpected absence of "Sunday Night Football'' and little first-run programming on the major broadcast networks, ESPN's "Monday Night Football'' was last week's most-watched prime-time program.

The Chicago Bears' 40-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 20 averaged 17.09 million viewers — nearly 5 million more than the week's most- watched broadcast program, a rerun of the CBS drama "NCIS,'' according to live- plus-same day viewing figures released Tuesday by The Nielsen Co.

The game was the third most-watched cable television program of 2010 and ninth most-watched of all time, outside of breaking news coverage.

It is unlikely that "Monday Night Football'' would have been the week's most-watched game if NBC's "Sunday Night Football'' matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings had not been postponed because of snow. All but one of this season's 15 "Sunday Night Football'' games have surpassed the average of 17.09 million viewers.

In a week with a combined 18 hours of first-run prime-time programming on the five major broadcast networks, CBS was the most-watched network for the 13th time in the season's 14 weeks, averaging 7.12 million viewers for its prime-time programming between Dec. 20 and Sunday.

As it has for each week of the season, CBS had the most-watched scripted series, half-hour comedy and new series.

Fox, which had the most original programming — 8 1/2 hours — among the five major broadcast networks, was second for the week, averaging 5.23 million viewers.

Fox was aided by a 31-minute runover of its afternoon NFL coverage, which averaged 23.6 million viewers, but is not considered a separate program under Nielsen rules.

"The OT,'' the 29-minute NFL postgame show which followed, averaged 11.86 million viewers, the second most for the week among programs on the five major broadcast networks.

Fox's next most-watched show was a rerun of "The Simpsons'' that followed. It was 20th among programs on the five major broadcast networks, averaging 6.45 million viewers.

ABC, which like CBS aired two hours of original programming, was third for the week, averaging 4.94 million viewers. Its most-watched program was a rebroadcast of the 2000 film, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas,'' which was 28th overall with 6.01 million viewers.

NBC, which aired 5 1/2 hours of original programming, was fourth, averaging 4.73 million viewers. Its most-watched program was the finale of "The Sing-Off,'' which was sixth, averaging 8.61 million viewers.

The CW, whose entire 10-hour schedule consisted of reruns, was fifth as usual, averaging 1.06 million viewers. Its most-watched program was "Nikita,'' which averaged 1.38 million viewers to finish 77th among the programs on the five major broadcast networks.

Both of the week's premieres finished third in their time slots among major broadcast network competition Dec. 20.

The Fox Broadcasting game show "Million Dollar Money Drop'' averaged 5.31 million viewers from 8-9 p.m., trailing the finale of the NBC singing competition "The Sing-Off'' and reruns of the CBS comedies "How I Met Your Mother'' and "Rules of Engagement.'' It finished 38th among the week's programs on the major broadcast networks.

The NBC comedy "Perfect Couples'' averaged 3.57 million viewers, finishing third in the 10-10'30 p.m. time slot behind reruns of CBS' "Hawaii Five-0'' and ABC's "Castle,'' and 61st for the week among programs on the major broadcast networks.

Fox finished first among viewers ages 18-49, the group ABC and NBC also target and advertisers covet. The football runover and "The OT'' were the week's most-watched major network programs among that group, with "The Simpsons'' finishing fourth behind "The Sing-Off.''

As usual, Univision was the most-watched Spanish-language network, averaging 3.04 million viewers for its prime-time programming. Telemundo was second, averaging 940,000, followed by TeleFutura, which averaged 890,000, and Azteca America, and Estrella TV, which both averaged 200,000.

The week's most-watched Spanish-language prime-time program was the Monday episode of a Univision telenovela. "Soy tu Duena'' averaged 6.69 million viewers, which would have put it 19th among the programs on the five major English-language networks.

Figures were not immediately available for cable television programs in addition to "Monday Night Football'' or the network nightly newscasts.

The week's 10 most-watched prime-time programs were ESPN's "Monday Night Football''; CBS' "NCIS,'' Fox's "The OT''; CBS' "60 Minutes Presents,'' "NCIS' Los Angeles'' and "Two and a Half Men''; NBC's "The Sing- Off''; and CBS' "Undercover Boss,'' "The Mentalist'' and "The Big Bang Theory.'']]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA['King's Speech,' 'Social Network,' 'Fighter' earn top Golden Globes nominations]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Kings-Speech-Social-Network-Fighter-Golden-Globes-nominations-111886299.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:58:14 PDT</pubDate>
			<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>																	

			
											
																															
													



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																																																			<description><![CDATA[BEVERLY HILLS — "The King's Speech,'' a historical drama about a British king with a stammer, earned a leading seven nominations Tuesday for the 2011 Golden Globe Awards, including a best dramatic film nod.

The film was nominated for best dramatic picture along with "The Social Network,'' "Black Swan,'' "The Fighter'' and "Inception.''

"The Social Network'' and "The Fighter'' each earned six nominations, while "Black Swan,'' "Inception'' and "The Kids Are All Right'' all earned four.

In addition to its nod for best drama film, "The King's Speech'' also earned nominations for best actor for Colin Firth, best actress for Helena Bonham Carter, supporting actor for Geoffrey Rush, best director for Tom Hooper, screenplay for David Seidler and best movie score for Alexandre Desplat.

Nominated along with Firth in the best-actor category were James Franco for "127 Hours,'' Ryan Gosling for "Blue Valentine,'' Mark Wahlberg for "The Fighter'' and Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network.''

For best actress in a motion picture drama, the nominees were Halle Berry in "Frankie and Alice,'' Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole,''  Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone,'' Natalie Portman in "Black Swan'' and Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine.''

Unlike the Oscars, the Golden Globes have two categories for best picture — one for musicals and comedies, the other for dramas.

In the best motion picture comedy or musical category, "Alice in Wonderland,'' "Burlesque,'' "The Kids Are All Right,'' "Red'' and "The Tourist'' were nominated for best picture.

In a twist, Johnny Depp came away with two nods in the best performance by an actor in a comedy or musical category, for "Alice in Wonderland'' and "The Tourist.''

Depp will compete with Paul Giamatti in "Barney's Version,'' Jake Gyllenhaal in "Love and Other Drugs'' and Kevin Spacey in "Casino Jack.''

The nominees for best actress in a musical or comedy were Annette Bening and Julianne Moore for "The Kids are All Right,'' Anne Hathaway for "Love and Other Drugs,'' Angelina Jolie for "The Tourist'' and Emma Stone for "Easy A.''

Rush reacted with surprise that his role as the real-life Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue resulted in a Globe nod for best supporting actor.

"Playing an Australian commoner called upon to teach a reluctant English king some life lessons for me was fascinating in itself,'' said Rush, who has won two previous Golden Globe awards. "Seeing a small scale project play into an international arena makes this all the more worthwhile.''

Rush will compete with Christian Bale of "The Fighter,'' Michael Douglas of "Wall Street' Money Never Sleeps,'' Andrew Garfield for "The Social Network'' and Jeremy Renner for "The Town.''

Best supporting-actress nominees were Amy Adams and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter,'' Helena Bonham Carter of "The King's Speech,'' Mila Kunis for "Black Swan'' and Jacki Weaver for "Animal Kingdom.''

Along with Hooper, the nominees for best director are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan,'' David Fincher for "The Social Network,'' Christopher Nolan for "Inception'' and David O. Russell for "The Fighter.''

The best animated feature film nominees were "Despicable Me,'' "How to Train Your Dragon,'' "The Illusionist,'' Tangled'' and "Toy Story 3.''

In the TV categories, the hit series "Glee'' was the top contender with five nods, followed by "30 Rock,'' "Boardwalk Empire,'' "Dexter,'' "The Good Wife,'' "Mad Men,'' "Modern Family,'' "Pillars of the Earth'' and "Temple Grandin'' tied with three nods apiece.

"30 Rock is back, bigger and better than ever,'' said Alec Baldwin, who earned a nod for best performance by an actor in a television comedy series. "We are very grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press.''

Baldwin is vying in the category with Steve Carell for "The Office,'' Thomas Jane for "Hung,'' Matthew Morrison for "Glee'' and Jim Parsons for "The Big Bang Theory.''

For best actress in a television series, comedy or musical, the contenders are Toni Collette for "United States of Tara,'' Edie Falco for "Nurse Jackie,'' Tina Fey for "30 Rock,'' Laura Linney for "The Big C'' and Lea Michele for "Glee.''

For best television drama series, HBO's "Boardwalk Empire'' was nominated along with Showtime's "Dexter,'' CBS' "The Good Wife,'' AMC's "The Walking Dead,'' and the category's three-time winner, "Mad Men.''

Nominees for best actor in a television drama series are Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire,'' Bryan Cranston for "Breaking Bad,'' Michael C. Hall for "Dexter,'' Jon Hamm for "Mad Men'' and Hugh Laurie for "House.''

Best actress in a television drama series nominees are Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife,'' Elisabeth Moss for "Mad Men,'' Piper Perabo for "Covert Affairs,'' Katey Sagal for "Sons of Anarchy'' and Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer.''

Fox Broadcasting's previous winner, "Glee,'' and ABC's "Modern Family'' are contenders for best television comedy or musical series, along with NBC's "30 Rock,'' CBS' "The Big Bang Theory,'' Showtime's "The Big C'' and "Nurse Jackie.''

The Golden Globe Awards are often promoted as an early indicator of who will win on Oscar night, but 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire'' is the only Golden Globe best picture winner that has gone on to win the best picture Academy Award in the past six years.

Earlier this year, the Golden Globe for best dramatic picture was awarded to "Avatar,'' but the Oscar for best picture went to "The Hurt Locker.''

Since the Golden Globes adopted the split drama/music format in 1963, 66 percent of the films that ended up with best picture Academy Awards had first received a Golden Globe.

The drama winner has gone on to win best picture 25 of 47 times —  54.3 percent — while the musical or comedy winner has won six times at the Oscars, including each of the first three years.

Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes will be handed out Jan. 16 in a live three-hour NBC telecast from the Beverly Hilton hotel. Ricky Gervais will return as host.

Two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro will receive the group's Cecil B. DeMille Award.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA['Storm Chaser' remembered with 'Dedication' episode]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/Storm-Chasers-Matt-Hughes-Dedication-Discovery-106750553.html</link>
				<guid isPermaLink="false">106750553</guid>		
			<pubDate>Fri, 5 Nov 2010 01:23:07 PDT</pubDate>
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																																																			<description><![CDATA[

(CNN) --  There was unexpected news folded into last night's  episode of the Discovery channel reality show, &quot;Storm Chasers.&quot;

After watching meteorologist Matt Hughes triumphantly track down  a  tornado in the fourth episode of the season, viewers learned that  Hughes  had passed away in Wichita, Kansas, on May 26.

According to a statement posted on the network's website, he died &quot;due  to an injury unrelated to his chasing activities.&quot;

Hughes' &quot;Storm Chasers&quot; cast mate and fellow meteorologist, Reed   Timmer, told CNN that &quot;Matt will be forever missed in Tornado Alley.&quot;

Timmer added, &quot;He was a great friend and his passion for storm chasing and meteorology was unmatched by anyone.&quot;

The network added, &quot;Our thoughts and prayers are with Matt's  family,  and we ask fans to kindly respect their privacy. A special  memorial fund  has been established to benefit Matt's two young sons.&quot;

To find out more, and to check future listings if you missed  last night's episode, head over to the Discovery channel's website.]]></description>
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			<title><![CDATA[NPR head says Juan Williams was fired for repeatedly crossing into opinion]]></title>
															<link>http://www.wavenewspapers.com/entertainment/television/NPR-head-says-Juan-Williams-was-fired-for-repeatedly-crossing-into-opinion-105492833.html</link>
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			<pubDate>Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:06:42 PDT</pubDate>
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(CNN) -- NPR's president and CEO defended Thursday the network's decision to terminate the contract of Juan Williams after the news analyst made remarks elsewhere that she said veered from analysis into opinion, adding that it was not the first time.

&quot;Juan Williams is a news analyst; he is not a commentator and he is not a columnist,&quot; Vivian Schiller said at an Atlanta Press Club luncheon. &quot;We have relied on him over the years to give us perspective on the news, not to talk about his opinions.&quot;

Williams responded with a comment posted on FoxNews.com that called his dismissal &quot;a chilling assault on free speech&quot; and described the NPR leadership as &quot;self-righteous ideological, left-wing. ... They loathe the fact that I appear on Fox News.&quot;

Williams' contract was ended Wednesday, two days after he said on Fox News' &quot;The O'Reilly Factor&quot; that he gets nervous when he sees people with Muslim garb on planes.

Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News personality, was seeking comment from Williams on O'Reilly's own controversial remarks made on the &quot;The View&quot; about Muslims.

&quot;Look, Bill, I'm not a bigot,&quot; Williams said. &quot;You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.&quot;

He continued, &quot;Now, I remember also that, when the Times Square bomber was at court, I think this was just last week, he said the war with Muslims -- America's war -- is just beginning. The first drop of blood. I don't think there's any way to get away from these facts.

&quot;But I think there are people who want to somehow remind us all -- as President Bush did after 9/11 -- it's not a war against Islam.&quot;

Williams told O'Reilly, &quot;You've got to be careful&quot; to point out that there are good Muslims. He noted that Americans don't blame Christians for the actions of Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing.

&quot;I gotta be careful; I have to qualify everything 50 times,&quot; O'Reilly said. &quot;You know what, Juan? I'm not doing that anymore. I'm not doing it any more. I will say Muslim terrorists, but I'm not going to say -- oooh! -- it's only a few, it's only a tiny bit. It's not, Juan. It's whole nations -- Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, whole nations.&quot;

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called Williams' remarks &quot;irresponsible and inflammatory ... and they should not pass without action by NPR.&quot;

An article on NPR's website said Williams' job as an analyst on the &quot;largely conservative and often contentious prime time talk shows of Fox News has long been a sore point with NPR News executives.&quot;

But Schiller said Thursday that &quot;we don't necessarily have an issue&quot; with Williams' appearances on Fox. &quot;However, we expect anybody that appears on our air, either as a journalist or as a news analyst, to conduct themselves according to our journalistic rules of ethics -- wherever they might be, in any form and in any venue.

&quot;There have been several instances over the years where Juan has strayed from that line and we have had discussions with him and we have asked him not to do it again. It's not the first time, quite honestly.&quot;

Schiller, a former CNN executive, did not detail any of the previous examples, but said Wednesday's remark proved fatal to Williams' NPR career. &quot;In this case, we decided,&quot; she said, &quot;that his integrity as a news analyst has been undermined by the fact that he has expressed these very divisive views and those two things are not compatible.

&quot;This is not a reflection on his comments, this is not a debate. Juan feels the way he feels. That is not for me to pass judgment on. ... His feelings that he expressed on Fox News are really between him and his psychiatrist, or his publicist, or take your pick, but it is not compatible with the role of a news analyst on NPR's air.&quot;

Schiller said the move does not mean that NPR is averse to airing controversial opinions. &quot;Nonsense,&quot; she said. &quot;We have people taking controversial opinions on our air all the time. ... The difference is those words generally come out of the mouths of the people we are interviewing; they don't come out of the mouths of our reporters or our news analysts.&quot;

She added, &quot;He's free to do that as a citizen, but he is not free to do that if he is also going to be a news analyst for NPR.&quot;

Asked why NPR did not take action sooner against Williams, Schiller said, &quot;We like to give people a second chance. We're not into the gotchas. Look, it's all new territory for us in journalism. People have made mistakes and we've had journalists that have sent out an ill-advised tweet here and there. Every news organizations, all of your news organizations, have experience in this.

&quot;We don't want to take these people out back and shoot them. We just want to say, 'Think about what you're doing. Think about this context. Let's use this,' as we say in parenting, 'as a teachable moment.' But there comes a point where it's not penetrating. And so, in this case, we decided we needed to take action.&quot;

The fact that the move against Williams -- who was working for NPR as an independent contractor -- occurred during NPR stations' pledge week did not factor into the decision, though she expressed regret that it could prove to be a &quot;distraction,&quot; adding, &quot;I feel badly about that.&quot;

Meanwhile, Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes announced Thursday that Williams has been signed to an expanded role with the network in a multiple-year deal.

&quot;Juan has been a staunch defender of liberal viewpoints since his tenure began at Fox News in 1997,&quot; Ailes said in a written statement. &quot;He's an honest man whose freedom of speech is protected by Fox News on a daily basis.&quot;

The Los Angeles Times reported that Williams got a three-year contract worth nearly $2 million that will involve more frequent appearances on the network and a column on FoxNews.com.

Williams defended his comments in a posting on FoxNews.com. &quot;This is not a bigoted statement,&quot; he said. &quot;It is a statement of my feelings, my fears after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 by radical Muslims.&quot;

He said he had made it clear &quot;that all Americans have to be careful not to let fears lead to violation of anyone's constitutional rights, be it to build a mosque, carry the Quran or drive a New York cab without fear of having your throat slashed.&quot;

But, he added, &quot;The fact is it was a group of Muslims who attacked the U.S. I added that radicalism has continued to pose a threat to the United States and much of the world. ... There is no doubt that there's a real war and people are trying to kill us.&quot;

Monday's conversation &quot;was in the best American tradition of a fair, full-throated and honest discourse about the issues of the day. There was no bigotry, no crude provocation, no support for anti-Muslim sentiments of any kind.&quot;

He said NPR had tried years ago to stop him from appearing on &quot;The Factor&quot; and then insisted that he not identify himself there as an NPR journalist.

NPR then demanded he sign a new contract that removed him from his staff position but allowed him to continue working as a news analyst, he said. &quot;The idea was that they would be insulated against anything I said or wrote outside of NPR because they could say that I was not a staff member.&quot;

He said they then began to cut his salary and his on-air role.

&quot;And now they have used an honest statement of feeling as the basis for a charge of bigotry to create a basis for firing me. Well, now that I no longer work for NPR let me give you my opinion. This is an outrageous violation of journalistic standards and ethics by management that has no use for a diversity of opinion, ideas or a diversity of staff (I was the only black male on the air). This is evidence of one-party rule and one-sided thinking at NPR that leads to enforced ideology, speech and writing. It leads to people, especially journalists, being sent to the gulag for raising the wrong questions and displaying independence of thought.&quot;

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who also is a Fox contributor, called on the next Congress to cut the radio network's funding when it convenes next year.

&quot;NPR has discredited itself as a forum for free speech and a protection of the First Amendment rights of all and has solidified itself as the purveyor of politically correct pabulum and protector of views that lean left,&quot; Huckabee said in a statement provided to CNN.

Huckabee called Williams &quot;refreshingly honest and candid,&quot; adding' &quot;There isn't a more honest and fair-minded person in journalism.&quot;

Huckabee said he &quot;will no longer accept interview requests from NPR as long as they are going to practice a form of censorship, and since NPR is funded with public funds, it is a form of censorship.&quot;

&quot;It is time for the taxpayers to start making cuts to federal spending, and I encourage the new Congress to start with NPR,&quot; he said.

Schiller said federal funding makes up only 1 percent to 2 percent of its budget, with most of its financial support coming from station fees, sponsorships and grants.

Williams was slated to discuss the matter Thursday night on O'Reilly's program.

He worked for 21 years at The Washington Post and hosted a national call-in show with NPR for a year along with being a news analyst for the radio network, according to his biography on NPR's website, which had disappeared by Thursday afternoon.

CNN's Victor Kong contributed to this report.
 
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