Internet Jihadist Makes Violent Threats Against David Letterman

-- Breaking News --

Internet Jihadist Makes Violent Threats Against David Letterman

Recent calls from a jihadist to cut the tongue off of David Letterman over a joke he made on his CBS show have put the spotlight back on Hollywood's reactions to such threats.

On Wednesday, The Site Monitoring Service, a private intelligence organization that watches online activity, said that the threat against Letterman had been posted a day earlier on the Shumuka al-Islam forum, a popular Internet destination for radical Muslims.

The contributor, who identified himself as Umar al-Basrawi, was reacting to what he said Letterman did after the U.S. military announced on June 5 that a drone strike in Pakistan had killed Al Qaeda leader Ilyas Kashmiri.

Al-Basrawi wrote that Letterman had made reference to both Usama bin Laden and Kashmiri and said that Letterman had "put his hand on his neck and demonstrated the way of slaughter."

"Is there not among you a Sayyid Nosair al-Mairi ... to cut the tongue of this lowly Jew and shut it forever?" Al-Basrawi wrote, referring to El Sayyid Nosair, who was convicted of the 1990 killing of Jewish Defense League founder Meir Kahane. Letterman is not Jewish.

A rep for Letterman did not respond to request for comment from FOX411 Thursday. Letterman is filming live episodes this week, so it remains to be seen how or if he will respond on air to this latest threat. Thursday's show will be the first since the threats were made public.

Al-Basrawi, which is likely to be an alias, has made some 1,200 postings to the Muslim website, said Adam Raisman, an analyst for the Site Monitoring Service. The private firm, part of the Site Intelligence Group, provides information to government and commercial clients on what jihadists are saying on the Internet and traditional media. Raisman said the online forum is often used by Al Qaeda.

Muslim extremist groups in the past few months have increased calls for people to take violent action against certain targets in the West, he said.

"The concern is that there is someone who will read it, agree with it and say, 'I want to be the Sayyid Nosair of 2011 and kill David Letterman,"' Raisman said.

The FBI is also looking into the threat, said Jim Margolin, spokesman for the bureau's New York office. "We take every potential threat seriously," he said.

But Letterman was not the first entertainer to have death threats made against him for making jokes related to Islam.

Last week, fans of “South Park” looking to purchase the “complete 14th season” of the show on DVD were shocked to learn that an episode for which creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker received death threats had been eliminated from the disc set internationally.

Last year, Comedy Central, the network that airs “South Park” decided to censor the second of a two-part episode after a New York-based radical group Revolution Muslim called on its followers to retaliate against Parker and Stone. The group even released addresses of Comedy Central’s New York office and the team’s Los Angeles production offices.

"When unique and deeply insightful creative talents like those behind 'South Park' are able to express themselves freely, we all benefit," Viacom said at the time. "However, the safety of our employees is our unquestioned number one priority, and therefore we have decided to take these precautionary measures."

Author Salman Rushdie spent years in hiding after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini urged he be killed for blasphemy after writing the book "The Satanic Verses."

Filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed on an Amsterdam street in 2004 by a Dutch Muslim angered by his film "Submission," a fictional study of abused Muslim women.

source(foxnews)

More about → Internet Jihadist Makes Violent Threats Against David Letterman

Elvis fans mark singer's death at Graceland

Breaking News -- Elvis fans mark singer's death at Graceland

Their candles flickering in the warm Tennessee night, fans quietly stood vigil over Elvis Presley's grave early Tuesday to mark the 34th anniversary of the singer's death.

"Thank you so much for being here and continuing to honor the legacy of my father," said a message from Lisa Marie Presley that was read to fans at the gates of Graceland. "Your ongoing love and support mean very much to me and my family."

Presley died at the Memphis, Tennessee, mansion on August 16, 1977, and is buried on the grounds. Fans began filing past his grave bearing candles Monday night.

Graceland hosts a week of events leading up to the annual commemoration, featuring tribute concerts, appearances by contemporaries and onetime sidemen and fan parties.

The "King of Rock n' Roll" was 42 when he was found dead in his bathroom at the mansion, which he bought after hitting it big 20 years earlier.

While his death was ruled the result of an irregular heartbeat, the autopsy report was sealed amid accusations that abuse of prescription drugs caused the problem.

More than three decades later, he remains one of the top-selling acts in music.

In 2010, Forbes magazine estimated his estate's annual take from music sales, a Las Vegas show, Graceland visits and licensing at $60 million.

source(CNN)

More about → Elvis fans mark singer's death at Graceland

Lucille Ball Biography and Videos

Breaking News -- Lucille Ball Biography and Videos -- www.biography.com

Television comedienne and film actress. Born on August 6, 1911, in Jamestown, New York, to Henry Durrell Ball and his wife Desiree. The oldest of the couple's two children (a brother Fred, was born in 1915), Lucille's childhood was a bit of a hardscrabble affair, one shaped by tragedy and a lack of money.

Ball's father Henry, or Had as he was known to his family, was an electrician and not long after his daughter's birth he relocated the family to Montana for work. Then it was off to Michigan, where Had took a job as a telephone lineman with the Michigan Bell Company. Life came undone in February 1915 when Had was struck with typhoid fever and died. For Ball, just three years old at the time, her father's death not only set in motion a series of difficult childhood hurdles, but also served as the young girl's first real significant memory.

"I do remember everything that happened," she said. "Hanging out the window, begging to play with the kids next door who had measles the doctor coming, my mother weeping. I remember a bird that flew in the window, a picture that fell off the wall."

Desiree, still reeling from her husband's unexpected death and still pregnant with Fred, packed up and returned to Jamestown, New York, where she eventually found work in a factory and a new husband, Ed Peterson. Peterson, though, wasn't a fan of kids, especially young ones, and with Desiree's blessing, he moved her to Detroit without his wife's young son or daughter. Fred moved in with Desiree's parents while Lucille was forced to make a new home with Ed's folks. For Ball that meant contending with Peterson's stern mother who didn't have much money to lavish on her step-granddaughter. The family, Lucille would later recall, lacked enough money even for school pencils.

Finally, at age 11, Lucille reunited with her mother when Desiree and Ed returned to Jamestown. Even then, Ball had an itching to do something big and when she was 15, she convinced her mother allow her to enroll in a New York City drama school. But despite her longing to make it on the stage, Ball was too nervous to draw much notice.

"I was a tongue-tied teenager spellbound by the school's star pupil, Bette Davis," said Ball. The school finally wrote her mother. "Lucy's wasting her time and ours. She's to shy and reticent to put her best foot forward."

She remained in New York City, however, and by 1927 Ball, who had started calling herself Montana and later Diane Belmont found work as a model, first for fashion designer Hattie Carnegie, and then, after overcoming a debilitating bout of rheumatoid arthritis, Chesterfield cigarettes.

In the early 1930s, Ball, who had dyed her chestnut hair blonde, moved to Hollywood to seek out more acting opportunities. Work soon followed, including a stint as one of the 12 "Goldwyn Girls" to promote the 1933 Eddie Cantor flick, Roman Candles. She landed as an extra in the Ritz Brothers film, The Three Muskateers, and then in 1937, earned a sizeable part in Stage Door, starring Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.

Watch Lucille Ball Videos 

More about → Lucille Ball Biography and Videos

Police Academy star Bubba Smith dies

Breaking News -- Police Academy star Bubba Smith dies -- source (CNN) -- Former college and pro football star Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, who went on to an acting career after his retirement from sports, was found dead at his home, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said Wednesday. He was 66.

Police and fire officials were called to Smith's home after "he was found unresponsive" and pronounced him dead, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of operations and investigation for the coroner.

An autopsy will be performed to determine cause of death, Winter said. However, asked if there was any reason to believe the death was due to anything other than natural causes, he replied, "Not at this time."

An imposing 6 foot 8 and 260 pounds, Smith was considered one of the most fearsome pass rushers of his day. The No. 1 overall pick in the 1967 National Football League draft, he played nine seasons in the NFL -- for the Baltimore Colts, Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers.

Sports Illustrated gallery: The NFL goes Hollywood

He played for the Colts in two Super Bowls and was also a two-time Pro Bowl pick.

Smith was one of the anchors of an overwhelming defense that was heavily favored to win Super Bowl III. Nonetheless, the New York Jets, led by Joe Namath, defeated the Colts in the 1969 championship of pro football, widely considered one of the biggest upsets in U.S. sports history.

The Colts atoned for that embarrassment -- somewhat -- two years later in a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, but Smith reportedly said he was so dismayed by the game's sloppiness that he never wore his Super Bowl ring.

Smith was sidelined by a severe knee injury during an exhibition game in 1972, and the next season joined the Raiders. He told Sports Illustrated in 1973 that "not playing was terrible. I didn't want to show my face in public. I don't know if it was that we were losing or what, but it almost drove me crazy."

After retiring from pro football in 1975, Smith landed small roles on TV series such as "Good Times," "Charlie's Angels" and "Semi-Tough," according to IMDb, before landing his signature role as Lt. Moses Hightower in the first "Police Academy" movie in 1984. He reprised the role in all six movies in the popular comedy franchise.

Smith was a two-time All-America defensive end at Michigan State University. He played in what the national media dubbed "the game of the century" between Michigan State and Notre Dame in 1966, a 10-10 tie that resulted in the two teams' splitting the vote for that year's national championship.

Smith was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988, an event he called "the jewel in my crown, for my collegiate days were very special to me."

Smith was born on February 28, 1945, in Beaumont Texas. His father was a high school football coach and his mother had earned two college degrees. According to his member biography on the College Football Hall of Fame website, he said he took his parents with him when he went to speak to youth groups "to demonstrate my respect for them."

More about → Police Academy star Bubba Smith dies

New Hook-Up Alert, George Clooney and Stacy Keibler

Breaking News -- New Hook-Up Alert, George Clooney and Stacy Keibler – THGossip -- In the least surprising news of the week, George Clooney is having no problem moving on from Elisabetta Canalis.

About a month after his split with that model, the actor has been spotted in Italy with former WWE Diva Stacy Keibler, who reportedly spent time at Clooney's villa in Lake Como on July 8 and subsequently Tweeted: "I'm in heaven."

"They have a lot of friends in common and run in the same circles," a friend tells the latest issue of Life & Style. "George isn't ready for anything serious. This fling is purely for fun."

Keibler has guest-starred on such hits as How I Met Your Mother and Chuck. She's also danced with the stars and is a serious cutie.

More about → New Hook-Up Alert, George Clooney and Stacy Keibler

Braylon Edwads Biography

Breaking News -- Braylon Edwads Biography -- www.braylonedwards.com -- One of NFL’s most dynamic wide receivers and perhaps one of their most gifted athletes, Braylon Edwards is known as a deceptive route runner with uncompromising downfield explosiveness. His unique embodiment of agility and strength also allow Edwards to dominate the field as a possession receiver making him a triple threat. 

Beginning and quitting his football career in the same week at the age of 12, Braylon’s father Stan Edwards, a collegiate football alumnus from the University of Michigan, took the opportunity to teach his son one of life’s most valuable lessons, “Never quit. 

If there is something, anything you really want to do, don’t let anything stand in your way, never be a quitter.” He encouraged young Edwards to go back and see the season through before making a decision to quit and the rest is history. From that season forward Braylon modeled himself after his football childhood heroes, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Braylon explains, “Jerry was an extra hard workers on and off the field, he always gave his best, he was the ultimate team guy and always presented himself with their best foot forward.”

Braylon established himself as a top recruit during his senior year at Bishop Gallagher High Schools, and boasting 63 receptions for 740 yards and eight touchdowns. An easy decision, Braylon committed to the University of Michigan, his father’s alma mater where Braylon dominated collegiate football from 2001-2004 shattering record after record, and even managed to clock the third fastest 200 meter time at 21.81 seconds for Michigan’s track team. Before bursting into the NFL, Braylon set season records for receptions (97) and yards (1,330) as well as career records for 252 receptions, 3, 541 yards and 39 touchdowns, not only a Big Ten record but impressive enough to earn him what he considers his most revered accolade thus far; the Fred Biletnikoff Award. This award is given to the nation’s top wide receiver each year, in Braylon’s words “the award represented the epitome of what I had worked so hard for all those years.” His incredible play also earned him The Big Ten Conference MVP and a consensus All-America selection, but perhaps the most important result of Braylon’s hard work and outstanding performance was being drafted in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft as the third overall pick to to the Cleveland Browns. Braylon secured a starting position by mid season of his rookie year. In a short span Edwards cumulated 512 receiving yards and three touchdowns, with a seemingly effortless break down of opposing defenses. 

Just as he was getting started , a season ending knee injury plagued Cleveland’s # 17, but determination carried him through rehab in off-season for a full recovery in time for his second year debut. While he had an impressive second year with the Browns, it was Braylon’s third season with the team that fans witnessed the emergence of an incredible talent; a physically imposing stature, at 6’3″, 220 lbs. coupled with lightning speed, Braylon broke franchise records for receiving yardage (1,289) and receiving touchdowns with 16 (ranking him #2 in touchdowns in the NFL in 2007). His impressive play solidified Braylon’s first appearance in the Pro Bowl, the first receiver for the Browns to do so in almost two decades. 2008 was by far Braylon’s toughest year in Cleveland and with a fresh start in mind, Braylon Edwards concluded his time with the Browns and headed to The Big Apple. The New York Jets secured the rising star at a hefty price, trading Chansi Stucky, Jason Trusnik and giving up both the third and fifth round 2010 draft picks. The first season with the Jets also was Braylon’s first trip to the NFL playoffs. New York caught a glimpse of the prolific athleticism they acquired during the 2009 AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts. Braylon helped lead the Jets offensive attack, catching an 80-yard touchdown pass to put the Jets on the board; unfortunately, despite his best efforts the Jets finished the season with a 30-17 loss. In 12 games of the 2009 season, Edwards stacked 35 catches and 541 yards with four touchdowns. Just completing his sixth NFL regular season, Braylon Edwards racked in 53 catches for 904 yards (league average 358.0) and 7 touchdowns, but conceivably one of Braylon’s most sensational plays as a pro was leaping to complete the Mark Sanchez launched bomb to put the Jets in winning touchdown territory against the Colts this playoff season. His play coined him as “Mr. Clutch” to New Yorkers and football aficionados. Despite off-field turmoil Braylon stayed focus and has been the team’s most consistent receiver at 15.5 per catch average, ranking him 9th in the league. Leading the New York Jets to what the city hopes to be a Super Bowl Title, Braylon Edwards is accomplishing exactly what he set out to do, making his name mean something.

Off the field, the name Braylon Edwards means the most to the students that have benefitted from his social awareness and generosity. The first notable initiative was at the conclusion of the 2006 season, pledging a $500,000 endowment to the University of Michigan towards a scholarship endowment for football players, the largest pledge to the department by a current professional athlete. One year later, Edwards gifted one million dollars to 100 Cleveland college bound eighth graders as part of his “Advance 100 Program.” Not only does this program fund these lucky 100 junior high students’ college education, the program also establishes mentors and tutors for the recipients to ensure a high school diploma and success in their secondary education. Braylon’s big heart prompts him to continuously give back, “I feel I have an obligation to focus on education in any city I am in. When there is a need for education among the community’s youth, I feel compelled to help,” Braylon explains. Each year the Braylon Edwards Foundation, headed by his mother and President, Malesa Plater whom he identifies as the biggest influence of all he’s achieved, blesses students/athletes with a means to attain achievement through financial and educational guidance. Calling on his fellow teammates and celebrity connects; Braylon’s charities gain support from some of Hollywood’s most recognized names willing to donate their time to Edward’s charitable causes. As a result big money is given back to communities in need. A Philanthropist by definition, Braylon was recognized for his acts of good will by his hometown of Detroit receiving the “2009 Spirit of Detroit Award” for his continued support to the city.

With all his good, no one escapes occasional mistakes in judgment and this 27 year old is no exception. Facing some difficult times over these past two years, Braylon continues his journey to be the best version of Braylon both on the gridiron and in the community he is capable of being, “On the field I’m striving for Super Bowls, Pro Bowls and ultimately the Hall of Fame; off field, I really want to make a difference in the community, I want to do more than sign autographs, As my Mother always told me, God blessed me with an athletic gift, and with hard work, it can be exploited as a stepping stone to make a real impact on the kids and in
the community they live.”

More Info : http://www.braylonedwards.com/

More about → Braylon Edwads Biography

Amy Winehouse and the mysteries of addiction

Breaking News -- Amy Winehouse and the mysteries of addiction -- (CNN) -- Whether or not Amy Winehouse succumbed to the addiction she so vividly sang about, some will draw a cautionary tale from her untimely death.  Is there a lesson in her passing? Did rehab fail her, or did she fail to come back to rehab? For now, few details are known and these questions will have to remain unanswered.

We still don't know whether drugs caused her death. But what is certain, however, is that during her brief life, Amy Winehouse gave expression to a turbulent and troubling relationship with addiction. She gave interviews about previous experiences attending rehab and sang a song about not wanting to return.

With her simultaneously commanding and pleading tone, she emblematized the contradictory nature of addiction: The outward appearance of success, and the internal tumult and despair; the alluring mastery of an art, and the low self-worth beneath it; the pressure to enter treatment, and the internal drive for personal autonomy at any cost.

These contradictions are familiar to anybody who has struggled with addiction or has lived in close proximity to it. Addiction appears to result from a voluntary act. One drink, one pill, one line. And yet no matter the wreckage, no matter the addict's brilliance, intelligence, or insight, there is no stopping the next round.

Adding to the mystifying nature of addiction, often those people who appear most self-assured and independent are the ones who fall hardest.

Is it the quality of rebelliousness, a brilliant feature in its own right, that makes some addicts so hard to reach? Is it the constant drive toward novelty seeking, a trait often associated with success, that eventually leads to self destruction? Or does it have to do with the fleeting refuge that drugs provide from the turbulent offerings of reality?

Over the past two decades, researchers have painstakingly tried to resolve these questions. While addiction is far from being cured, a great deal has been learned.

First and foremost, addiction is a disease. It manifests through interactions between a person's underlying biology, psychological makeup and environment.

Most people who use drugs do not go on to develop addiction, but for the sizeable minority who do, alcohol and drugs profoundly influence the motivational circuitry of their brain. As a result, unconscious factors constantly conspire to make future drug use more likely, no matter the consequences.

Addiction is chronic and relapsing. This notion of "chronicity" is vital for understanding why even after extended periods away from drugs the vulnerability to relapse continues. The long-term risk of relapse among people who often otherwise have striking capacities for self-discipline and discernment is one of the mystifying characteristics of the disease.

Consequently, effective treatment is founded not so much on any particular episode of care (though all episodes of care are important) as continuity of care. Recovery is not about rehab, but rather what happens after rehab. In this respect, addiction is very similar to many other medical illnesses with high relapse rates (including asthma, hypertension and diabetes), where success is measured by health outcomes over time.

Treatment works. A wide range of therapies and medical interventions are effective in helping people recover. Like all complex medical conditions, one size does not fit all, and the details of what works or doesn't work have a lot to do with someone's unique genetics, psychology and the supportiveness of his or her environment.

Addiction is often associated with depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders and other mental health problems, and often these issues need to be addressed for treatment to be successful. Additionally, people can be successful in treatment even if initially they were reluctant to enter it. This is why long-term health often requires creating a context that continually encourages recovery work.

Addiction is common, but treatment for addiction is tragically uncommon. In the United States, only 10% of people who need specialty addiction treatment actually receive it. These numbers are astounding given addiction's personal and societal cost, over $600 billion annually, as well as the evidence that treatment actually works.

Obstacles to treatment include the absence of insurance coverage for addiction services, the inadequacy of addiction training among many medical providers and the perpetual ambivalence among so many people who suffer from addiction. As for the multitudes who never get help, they are left to suffer through the consequences of untreated addiction, which claims relationships, careers, health, happiness and sometimes lives.

The association between creativity, drug use and mental health has been a constant throughout the history of music. Amy Winehouse died at age 27, tragically joining a group of brilliant but disenchanted artists who passed away while contending with the complicated burden of their early success. We still don't know the details as they pertain to Winehouse, but whatever refuge drugs offered was probably illusory.

More about → Amy Winehouse and the mysteries of addiction

Peter Stormare’s obsession with Billy Holiday

Breaking News --  Peter Stormare’s obsession with Billy Holiday -- Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan, April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing.

Billie Holiday died in a New York City hospital from cirrhosis of the liver after years of alcohol abuse, aged 43 (while under).

It will be very stretch to see the turn, Peter Stormare as Gaear followers silent Grimsrud in demonically”Fargo, and thinking, “This man moved to tears by music Billie Holiday,” but the man who pushed Steve Buscemi to custom wood chipper in the classic Coen Brothers “that he wants to be an artist after he cut to the bone of the music today and a woman’s life story.

“I grew up in the town of Swedish snowy, and when I heard and read music ‘Lady sings the blues”, I could not understand her, “said he, through the leadership of downtown Los Angeles on his way to shoot video for cooperation between Christina Aguilera and 5, Maroon . “It was a dagger story. I felt blood and pain, and I knew right then I had to leave to America and be an artist.”

The music has become a holiday story and deep-rooted passion for the actor, who steals scenes consistently funny character roles in films such as sadness “Lebowski great” and “Constantine” (in which he played the devil). This month, his record label and boutique, StormVox, is the release of “A Tribute to Billie Holiday,” the most high-level release yet. Last Best New Artist Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding, the producer Babyface and popular veteran standout Rickie Lee Jones are among the artists sharply with the selective criteria Holiday expensive re-imagine, does not mean feat given the oneness of origin.

“I will look around” is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, and notes Stormare, adding, “But Esperanza Spalding took the day view of it. I grew up in the theater where we play over and over again, and every time I hear that you can not remake of Hitchcock’s I think,” Why not? “This applies to music too.”

Known Stormare, a musician and songwriter in his band of blond Fargo, he can not compete with the originals. “” Strange Fruit “a milestone in the civil rights era,” he said. “It was Martin Luther King of music.” In contracting with Angela Bassett to read parts of the diary as holiday breaks, and confirmed that he was supposed to be the album that tells the story of her life, as well as to explore and catalog them.

“Tribute” was a labor of love, who also gave his bank account in the sawmill metaphorical. But felt he had no other choice.

“I had to sell my cabin in Big Bear to finance the album,” he said, laughing ruefully. “But I had to do it. I had to get this out of my system.”

Watch Billie Holiday Video :

Billie Holiday - Summertime

Billie Holiday - The Blues Are Brewin'

More about → Peter Stormare’s obsession with Billy Holiday

Crystal Harris Said : Sorry Hugh Hefner!

Crystal Harris Said : Sorry Hugh Hefner!

Breaking News -- Crystal Harris Said : Sorry Hugh Hefner! -- Source (THG) -- During an appearance on Howard Stern's radio show this week, Crystal Harris said she wasn't attracted to Hugh Hefner, she never saw him naked and they only had sex once, with it lasting for like "two seconds."

Now, the busty blonde has something to tell her former fiance: My bad!

"The Stern interview scared me, he's harsh," Harris Tweeted last night. "I was unprepared and blurted out things I shouldn't have said, I'm sorry."

Hmmm... we've all seen the interview, and Harris wasn't exactly berated inside a police interrogation room. What did she expect to discuss with Stern, America's debt ceiling debate?

Hefner has taken a broad, reasonable approach to the incident, saying this week that "Crystal shouldn't have been booked on the show at this sensitive time." He's right. It's almost as if she cares more about attention than doing the right thing.

More about → Crystal Harris Said : Sorry Hugh Hefner!

Madonna's film about King Edward VIII's romance

Madonna's film about King Edward VIII's romance

Breaking News - Madonna's film about King Edward VIII's romance with American divorcee Wallis Simpson will have its world premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival.

W.E, which the singer directed, screens out of competition at the event, which runs from 31 August to 10 September.

British actress Andrea Riseborough plays Mrs Simpson in the film, which contrasts her scandalous relationship with a contemporary romance.

In all, 21 titles will compete for the prestigious Golden Lion award.

The new film version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - starring Gary Oldman as John le Carre's legendary spy George Smiley - features in the competition line-up.

It is joined by Andrea Arnold's new adaptation of Wuthering Heights, Roman Polanski's new film Carnage, and Shame, the latest film from Turner Prize winner-turned-director Steve McQueen.

Other titles in contention include A Dangerous Method, David Cronenberg's new film about the conflict between the psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender play Freud and Jung, while Keira Knightley plays a troubled patient who comes between them.

Fassbender also appears in Shame, a family drama about a wayward brother and sister in which he stars opposite Carey Mulligan.

Polanski's and Cronenberg's films are both based on plays, by Yasmina Reza (God of Carnage) and Christopher Hampton (The Talking Cure) respectively.

Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster appear in Carnage, about two sets of parents who come together after their children fight at school.

New works from Abel Ferrara, Exorcist director William Friedkin and 'indie' film-maker Todd Solondz further swell the diverse line-up.

As previously announced, this year's festival will open with The Ides of March, a political drama which Venice regular George Clooney directs, produces, co-writes and appears in - also in contention.

Actor Al Pacino will be honoured at the event, while Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky will chair the competition jury.

Pacino's film Wilde Salome - an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's notorious 1891 play - will receive an out of competition screening, as will Steven Soderbergh's virus-based thriller Contagion.

The festival will close with Damsels in Distress, the latest feature from US film-maker Whit Stillman - his first film as writer-director since 1998's The Last Days of Disco.

The festival in Venice, together with the Toronto Film Festival - which runs concurrently - are often used as launch-pads for films hoping to triumph during the forthcoming awards season.

Last year's festivities saw Sofia Coppola - daughter of US film-maker Francis - receive the Golden Lion for her semi-autobiographical drama Somewhere.

source : BBC

More about → Madonna's film about King Edward VIII's romance

Your Highness Review and Trailer HD

Your Highness Review and Trailer HD 

Your Highness Review and Trailer HD - Your Highness is a 2011 fantasy comedy film directed by David Gordon Green, written by Danny McBride and Ben Best, and starring McBride, James Franco, Natalie Portman, and Zooey Deschanel. Filming began in the summer of 2009 in Northern Ireland and concluded in October 2009. The film was released in theatres on April 8, 2011.

Thadeous (Danny McBride) and Fabious (James Franco) are the sons of King Tallious (Charles Dance). They are both warriors, but Fabious is dashing and skilled whereas Thadeous is lazy and ineffectual. In order to celebrate his latest victory, Fabious decides to marry his virgin girlfriend Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), but the ceremony is interrupted by the arrival of the evil sorcerer Leezar (Justin Theroux), who kidnapps Belladona and imprisons her at his dungeon, intending to rape her when the two Moons converge, impregnating her with a dragon that will allow him to take over King Tallious' kingdom.

Thadeous and Fabious set to rescue her alongside their band of knights, which includes Fabious' best friend Boremont (Damian Lewis), and Thadeous' servant Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker). They visit the Great Wise Wizard, who gives them a magic compass and tells them that they must retrieve the fabled Sword of Unicorn from a labyrinth protected by a Minotaur. On their way there, they are betrayed by Boremont, who felt slighted when Fabious asked Thadeous to be his best man, and escape from him and the corrupt band of knights alongside Courtney.

While collecting themselves at a river, Thadeous, Fabious and Courtney are attacked by nymphs and captured by their leader, Marteetee (John Fricker), who imprisons them at an arena and prepares to kill them with magic. However, they are rescued by Isabel (Natalie Portman), a warrior that is seeking revenge for her father's murder at Marteetee's hands. With her help, the heroes escape, only to be betrayed by Isabel, who escapes after stealing the compass. Infuriated, Fabious decides to find the Sword of Unicorn alone, but is ambushed and captured by Boremont and his men.

Thadeous and Courtney go to a tavern, where they find Isabel and steal the compass back. Thadeous then discovers that Isabel wants revenge against Leezar for murdering their brothers and they join forces, entering the labyrinth. Thadeous retrieves the Sword of Unicorn and slays the minotaur before it rapes Courtney, proudly wearing its severed penis as a trophy. They then make their way to Leezar's castle, where they free Fabious and kill Boremont and his men as well as Leezar's minions. Fabious then kills Leezar before he is able to rape Belladonna, saving the kingdom.

After their victory, the heroes go back home, but Isabel goes a different way. Fabious and Belladonna marry as Thadeous retreats to his bedroom to masturbate before going to bed. There, he is approached by Isabel, who reveals that she has fallen in love with him. However, for them to have sex, he must first slay the witch that cast a spell on her, locking her in a chastity belt. She suggests that they cuddle first, but Thadeous, feeling renewed by his heroic deeds, is more interested in going on a new adventure.

Download Your Highness Movie

Your Highness Trailer :  

source review : Wikipedia

source video trailer : Official siye Your Highness

More about → Your Highness Review and Trailer HD

Jesse James and Kat Von D have broken up

Jesse James and Kat Von D have broken up

Jesse James and Kat Von D have broken up - Their engagement, announced in January, will not end as planned - in a late summer wedding on the one-year anniversary of when they started dating.

The couple confirmed the split themselves.

"I am so sad because I really do love her," James, who has been married three times before, tells People. "The distance between us was just too much."

Jesse, 42, and LA Ink star were trying to commute between Los Angeles, where Kat, 29, shoots her reality show, and his home outside Austin, Texas.

He moved there with kids Chandler, 16, and Jesse Jr., 14 (from his first marriage), and Sunny, 7 (from his second marriage) in the middle of last year.

James wanted the children to remain close with his third wife, Sandra Bullock, who lives in Austin, and with whom they had a close relationship.

Von D also confirmed the split on Twitter.

"I am no longer w Jesse," she writes, "and out of respect for him, his family and myself, thats all the info I'd like to share. Thanks for respecting that."

source : The Hollywood Gossip

More about → Jesse James and Kat Von D have broken up

Michael Jackson's mother plans tribute concert

Michael Jackson's mother plans tribute concert

Michael Jackson's mother plans tribute concert - Los Angeles CNN - Michael Jackson's mother and four of his siblings announced Monday a tribute concert for the late pop singer to be held in Wales in October, but the lineup for talent is still a secret.

Brothers Marlon, Tito and Jackie, sister La Toya and family matriarch Katherine Jackson attended the "Michael Forever The Tribute Concert" announcement at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Monday morning.

But the announcement exposed a major rift among members of the Jackson family, especially with Jackson brothers Jermaine and Randy, who did not attend the news conference. They objected to the show because it's scheduled to happen during the criminal trial of the doctor accused in Michael Jackson's death.

"We want to make clear that this does not reflect the position of the entire family," the two brothers said in a joint statement. "While we wholeheartedly support the spirit of a tribute that honors our brother, we find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael's death," they said.

While the head of the British company promoting the show, Global Events Live, hinted it could include a Jackson brothers reunion, the statement from Jermaine and Randy Jackson on Monday indicated that would not happen.

"In light of this, we feel it is inappropriate to be involved with such an ill-timed event and its promoter, Global Live," Randy and Jermaine Jackson said.

Their statement said the idea of the October concert was presented to the entire family in April "as an idea already in its advanced stages." The decision to go ahead with it "disrespects opinions and wishes expressed in the strongest terms" by some members of the Jackson family, they said.

La Toya Jackson said the "tribute will be something that's spectacular" and is "far, far, well overdue.'

The Jacksons' mother called it "a show fit for a king,"

"If my son were here today, he would feel the same way," Katherine Jackson said.

Executors for the late pop singer's estate were unaware of the planned tribute, estate spokesman Jim Bates told CNN.

"The estate has not been contacted and is not involved with Global Live Events in the UK tribute concert announced today," he said.

The show will "feature the world's most amazing music performers," according to the head of British promoter Global Live. The roster will be revealed online one act at a time over the next two weeks, starting Tuesday, Chris Hunt said. All profits from the show would go to several U.S. and British charities, including a cancer group created by the prince of Wales, Hunt said.

The October 8 show, in the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Wales, would be at least four hours long, Hunt said. The venue will seat up to 75,000 people, he said.

"I know my brother would be very, very proud to see all the artists that he admired and respected so much coming together for this event," Tito Jackson said.

Hunt presented the Jackson family with a $100,000 check that will go to a trust fund for Michael Jackson's three children, which they can access when they turn 21. The children, Katherine Jackson and unidentified charities are the sole beneficiaries of Jackson's wealthy estate.

source : CNN

More about → Michael Jackson's mother plans tribute concert

Glee : The 3D Concert Movie Trailer

Glee : The 3D Concert Movie Trailer

The film will star the majority of the show’s cast, included here are Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Dianna Agron, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Harry Shum, Chord Overstreet, Darren Criss, and Ashley Fink.

 

The first trailer for Glee: The 3D Concert Movie has been released today. Hitting theatres on August 12th, the film is a 3D version of the recent Glee concert tour, aka a money grab. Fans will undoubtedly love it but unless you enjoy the show, I can’t see any reason to go out and see this.

Admittedly, the kids here are very talented and I’m sure they put on a good concert but personally, I have no desire to see this. I used to watch the show and while the singing and dancing is quite good, the show itself is horrible. The first season was alright but after that it went downhill and the only reason people tune in anymore is to see the performances.

Considering this film is just that, performances, it may do well. None of the extra filler found in the show will be here, which is a welcome thought. Still, I’m not at all eager to see this and unless you’re a Gleek, I don’t think you’ll be running out to theatres for this one either.

Watch : GLEE: THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE -TRAILER [HD] 2011

source : http://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/glee-3d-concert-movie-trailer/

More about → Glee : The 3D Concert Movie Trailer

Sherwood Schwartz dies

Sherwood Schwartz dies

Sherwood Schwartz, the prolific television writer and producer best known as the creator of the iconic sitcoms "Gilligan's Island" and "The Brady Bunch," died Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. He was 94.

Schwartz's wife of 70 years, Mildred, confirmed to CNN that Schwartz had died after being hospitalized for an infection the past 10 days. She and the couple's daughter Hope Juber were with Schwartz when "he died peacefully" at about 4 a.m. (7 a.m. ET).

"He had a very good life," Mildred Schwartz said. "It's just too bad it had to come to an end."

Schwartz got his break in TV as a writer for "The Red Skelton Hour," for which he got two Emmy Award nominations, winning one. But he first left his most indelible mark by creating and producing two ensemble sitcoms: "Gilligan's Island," which aired for 98 episodes on CBS starting in 1964, and "The Brady Bunch," which aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974.

Neither show was among the most popular of its era, but both went on to enjoy much wider audiences in syndication, and Schwartz capitalized on their enduring popularity by producing numerous "reunion" specials, including "Rescue From Gilligan's Island" (1978) and "A Very Brady Christmas" (1988).

Schwartz was awarded a star on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame" in 2008, according to website IMDb.

"Sherwood was a wonderful writer and producer, but more importantly he was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend," said Florence Henderson, who starred as mom Carol on "The Brady Bunch."

"His sense of humor never failed him and I always looked so forward to hearing his stories. They were endless and made you laugh so hard that tears would be running down your cheeks. Most of these stories were about the mishaps in his own life."

Henderson said that ever since she met him, in 1969, "I don't ever remember him losing his temper. Ultimately, he was a wonderful teacher in life and again, in death, he taught us how to leave with dignity and courage."

Along with his wife and daughter, Schwartz is survived by three children, eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The family is planning a private memorial for the end of the week.

source : CNN

More about → Sherwood Schwartz dies