Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped...

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Oscars telecast review: Guys, it’s not about you

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Would it shock you to learn that this year’s Oscars producers also produced “Chicago“? Not at all? OK.Self-referencing was the order of the evening Sunday at an overstuffed Oscars telecast where host Seth MacFarlane and producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron decided the ceremony was All About Them.That was the only explanation for a lengthy opening sequence centered on how MacFarlane...

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UK’s BRIT Awards slammed as celebration of bland

LONDON (Reuters) – “Sensible” and “sober” are words not normally associated with rock and roll, but they summed up how music critics viewed Wednesday night’s BRIT Awards ceremony at the London O2 Arena.Viewing figures for commercial broadcaster ITV1, which aired British pop’s biggest night live, were the highest for a decade, so organizers, advertisers and the acts who performed were unlikely to care...

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Jennifer Hudson, Zeta-Jones to sing in Oscars musical tribute

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Oscar winners Russell Crowe, Jennifer Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones will perform at the Academy Awards in a tribute to the resurgence of big-screen musicals, organizers said on Wednesday.The performance, which will also feature Oscar nominees Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman from “Les Miserables,” is part of the several musical acts at the annual Hollywood awards on Sunday.“We...

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Quirky comedy film “Prince Avalanche” charms Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) – Cinema has a new odd couple in “Prince Avalanche“, a low-budget film set in the remote, fire-ravaged forests of Texas and starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as an unlikely pair of workers painting markings on a seemingly endless road.The tedium of their work allows space for them to argue, bicker, compete and bond in David Gordon Green‘s oddball remake of a 2011 Icelandic movie...

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Grammys pay tribute to Shankar, King, Temptations

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ravi Shankar passed away in December before he could attend The Recording Academy‘s Special Merit Awards celebration where he was to receive a lifetime achievement award. But the 91-year-old sitar master, Indian music promoter and friend to The Beatles got the call a few days before he passed away, and that meant everything to his family.“I was very excited to hear about the lifetime...

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Humble Damon cheers Oscar hopeful, friend Ben Affleck

BERLIN (Reuters) – It seems that wherever Matt Damon goes to promote his movies he is asked about something else altogether – his old friend and collaborator Ben Affleck, whose Iranian hostage drama “Argo” is in the running for a Best Picture Oscar.Damon shared a screenplay Academy Award with Affleck for the 1997 film “Good Will Hunting” and has gone on to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood,...

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California boy to be arraigned in “swatting” prank on actor Kutcher

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Prosecutors charged a 12-year-old boy on Thursday with making a false emergency call that sent police swarming to the home of actor Ashton Kutcher in a “swatting” prank.The name of the boy, who was arrested by Los Angeles police in December, was withheld due to his age. He was scheduled to be arraigned in a juvenile court in Los Angeles on Friday.The trend toward placing false...

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How Ang Lee Took a Tiger by the Tail to Create ‘Life of Pi’

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – It would have been foolish to predict what “Life of Pi” – has become: a box-office phenomenon that has swept one country after another, a game changer in its use of 3D and computer graphics and a critical darling with 11 Oscar nominations including best picture, director, screenplay, cinematography and two for composer Mychael Danna.“It still comes as a surprise,” director...

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Beyonce brings electricity at Super Bowl halftime

Lights out? Blame Beyonce‘s electrifying performance.If naysayers still doubted Beyonce‘s singing’s talents — even after her national anthem performance this week at a press conference — the singer proved she is an exceptional performer at the Super Bowl halftime show.Beyonce opened and closed the performance belting songs, and in between she danced hard and heavy — and better than most contemporary...

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World Chefs: Thomson dishes up Washington state from Seattle to Spokane

NEW YORK (Reuters) – When food writer Jess Thomson moved to Seattle, Washington, she expected to find the adventuresome cooking for which the city is famous. But she admits to being pleasantly surprised by the rich diversity of the rest of the state.The 150 recipes in her book “Dishing Up Washington” attempt to capture the authentic regional flavors of the entire state, from Seattle to Spokane, Yakima...

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Mike Tyson’s Controversial ”Law & Order: SVU” Episode Moved Up a Week

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – NBC is sticking with its decision to cast Mike Tyson in an upcoming episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” In fact, it’s moving the episode up a week from its original air date.Tyson’s guest spot on “SVU” – which sparked outrage online, in light of Tyson’s rape conviction – will air February 6. The episode was originally scheduled to air on February 13.On the...

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Relativity Buys Into Jim Carrey Heist Comedy ”Loomis Fargo”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – Relativity Media has acquired worldwide rights to the Jim Carrey heist comedy “Loomis Fargo,” which it will finance, produce and distribute, the studio announced on Thursday.Jared Hess, who co-wrote and directed “Napoleon Dynamite,” will direct the movie from a script by Emily Spivey that also counts Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer as writers. Inspired by true events, it tells...

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UK’s Prince Charles takes first “Tube” trip since 1986

LONDON (Reuters) – Four million Londoners cram onto the city’s Underground passenger railway nearly every day, but it is a rarer event for Prince Charles. He rode the British capital’s bustling commuter network on Wednesday for the first time since 1986.The heir to the British throne and his wife Camilla took a one-stop journey from Farringdon to King’s Cross on the Metropolitan Line as part of celebrations...

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Muse to play anniversary gig for War Child charity

LONDON (Reuters) – British rock band Muse will headline a gig in London next month to mark the 20th anniversary of War Child, a charity that aims to protect young victims of conflicts around the world.The gig on February 18 at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire will be the fifth time War Child has staged a concert in association with the BRIT Awards, Britain’s top pop honors which take place this year at...

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Conference suggests ways Broadway can be better

NEW YORK (AP) — A conference on how to make the Broadway experience better for theatergoers has come up with some prescriptions: Be brave in the stories that are told onstage and embrace youth and technology.“Broadway, I don’t think, has boldly gone where it needs to,” said “Star Trek” actor George Takei, riffing off his old show’s motto. “I have a sense that Broadway hasn’t entered into the 21st...

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‘Argo,’ Lawrence, Day-Lewis win at SAG

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The CIA thriller “Argo” continues to steamroll through awards season, winning the top honor for overall cast performance at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.SAG’s lead-acting honors Sunday went to Jennifer Lawrence won for her role as a troubled widow in a shaky new relationship in the lost-souls romance “Silver Linings Playbook” and Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in the Civil...

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Opera about Nazi atrocity shown in Austria

VIENNA (AP) — Thousands of children were murdered by the Nazis because they fell short of the Aryan ideal. On Friday, a hushed audience gathered in Austria’s Parliament to watch the world premiere of an opera depicting how the Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children at a Vienna hospital during World War II.The killings were part of a greater campaign that led to the deaths...

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Arhoolie Records set highlights 50 years of roots-music

BOSTON (Reuters) – Chris Strachwitz discovered the first performer for his Arhoolie Records label by quizzing roadside field hands, a prosperous cotton farmer named Mr. Tom Moore, and a man called Peg Leg at a railroad station in Navasota, Texas.As Strachwitz tells it, Peg Leg identified a highway worker and former tenant farmer who entertained local folks: Mance Lipscomb.“Mance Lipscomb, Texas Sharecropper...

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