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| Confidante put drugs in Britney's food, singer's mom testifies Friday, Oct 26, 2012 05:55 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The one-time confidante of Britney Spears said he crushed up drugs in the pop singer's food to help her sleep and disabled her phone lines during the height of her meltdown five years ago, Spears' mother testified on Friday. Lynne Spears told the Los Angeles jury in a civil trial that Sam Lutfi, Britney's self-styled manager at the time, described his actions to her in a January 2008 exchange at her daughter's Los Angeles home. "Those were his exact words," Lynne Spears said on her first day on the witness stand. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gore's Current TV hires bankers to assess future: source Friday, Oct 26, 2012 05:39 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Current TV, the liberal cable news channel started by former Vice President Al Gore, has hired JP Morgan and The Raine Group to assess strategic options that may include a sale or strategic partnership with another media company, according to a person with knowledge of the operation. The channel, founded in 2005 by Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt, is also seeking new funding and talking with venture capitalists and other parties, the person said on condition of anonymity because the talks were private. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger to reprise "Conan" movie role Friday, Oct 26, 2012 12:33 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arnold Schwarzenegger is reprising one of his most famous movie roles - Conan the Barbarian - for an upcoming sequel, Universal Pictures said on Friday. Schwarzenegger, 65, will play the sword-swinging hero in "The Legend of Conan," 30 years after the film that launched the Austrian body-builder as a Hollywood star. "I always loved the Conan character, and I'm honored to be asked to step into the role once again," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justin Timberlake apologizes for "distasteful" homeless video Friday, Oct 26, 2012 12:22 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Justin Timberlake apologized on Friday for what he called a "distasteful" video that features homeless people in Los Angeles congratulating him and new wife Jessica Biel on their wedding. The video was made by a friend of Timberlake's and intended as a humorous gift for the couple's lavish wedding in Italy last week. The joke backfired when gossip website Gawker got hold of the video and celebrity news site TMZ.com tracked down one of the homeless men, who said he had been paid $40 for appearing in it. ... Full Story | Top |
| HBO delays launch in Nordic battle with Netflix Friday, Oct 26, 2012 12:03 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Premium cable network HBO delayed the launch of video and online distribution of its programming in four Scandinavian countries, giving a head start in the region to a video streaming service by rival Netflix Inc. HBO Nordic, the joint venture that runs the service, said in a statement to Reuters it had "slightly" pushed back the start date in Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. It did not give a new launch date or a precise reason for the delay. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rome's Affordable Art Fair brings splash of neon to Eternal City Friday, Oct 26, 2012 11:54 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italy's capital, heaving with marble and masterpieces, may not want for art. But Rome's first "Affordable Art Fair" tapped into a hunger for fresh, contemporary works as it opened with a splash of neon on Friday. Crowds packed the event on its opening night to browse works from over 50 galleries, all of them by living artists and for sale at prices between €100 and €5,000 ($130-$6,500). "The organizers thought that this being Rome, the people would arrive a bit late. ... Full Story | Top |
| NBC Olympics coverage boosts Comcast quarterly results Friday, Oct 26, 2012 09:25 AM PDT (Reuters) - Comcast Corp posted higher quarterly profit on Friday after its NBC Universal media unit scored $1.2 billion in additional revenue from its London Olympics coverage The leading U.S. cable TV operator, whose shares rose 2.3 percent, also benefited from adding Internet users. Because of the Olympics, "broadcast actually made money for the first time in a long time," said Macquarie analyst Amy Yong. The London Olympics coverage helped NBC Universal's revenue climb more than 30 percent to $6.8 billion from a year earlier. The games drew a record audience that averaged 31. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's top bank turns vaults into Milan art museum Friday, Oct 26, 2012 07:04 AM PDT MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's biggest retail bank has turned its historic headquarters in Milan's central La Scala square into a majestic modern art museum displaying Italian post-war works from the likes of Lucio Fontana and Renato Guttuso. Palazzo Beltrami, a superb Milanese building which blends Neoclassical style with eclectic features, was built in 1911 as a prestigious new head office for Banca Commerciale Italiana, now part of domestic bank giant IntesaSanpaolo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Publicis hit by 'wait-and-see' advertisers Friday, Oct 26, 2012 05:32 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Europe's weak economy took a heavy toll on third-quarter growth at advertising agency Publicis, which joined rivals in saying that demand would be extremely difficult to predict. What had been hailed as a banner year for the advertising industry is ending on a sour note. The expected boost from big promotional campaigns alongside the Euro 2012 soccer tournament, Olympic Games and U.S. presidential election has been tempered by tough business conditions that led companies to cut marketing spending sharply in September. ... Full Story | Top |
| German publisher Burda bids for social network Xing Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:21 AM PDT  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German publisher Burda has bid to take over professional social network Xing AG as it further reduces its dependence on traditional printed media. Privately held Burda said it had raised its stake in Xing to 38.89 percent, exceeding a legal threshold, which triggered the mandatory offer. Burda is offering 44 euros per share for the remaining stake, valuing Xing at 240 million euros ($311.03 million), a 20 percent premium to Thursday's closing price. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iranian lawyer and filmmaker win EU's Sakharov Prize Friday, Oct 26, 2012 04:02 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's prize for human rights and freedom of thought was awarded to two Iranians on Friday, a lawyer and a filmmaker who have both been cut off from the outside world for defying the country's leadership. Imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, 49, and filmmaker Jafar Panahi, 52, were awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for their courage in defending their own and others' basic freedoms, the parliament said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Herman Munster returning to TV: sans neck bolts Friday, Oct 26, 2012 03:26 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - When actor Jerry O'Connell moves into 1313 Mockingbird Lane, he will leave behind the green make-up and neck bolts from the classic 1960s TV comedy, "The Munsters." O'Connell, 38, who stars as Herman Munster in a new version of the TV series, is taking a more subtle approach to the tale of the family of monsters and ghouls living in the crumbling mansion. "Mockingbird Lane", due to air on Friday as a one-hour NBC special, features Portia de Rossi as Lily and Eddie Izzard as Grandpa. Reuters spoke with O'Connell about stepping into the shoes of late actor Fred Gwynne. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK police to make arrests over BBC's "tsunami of filth" Friday, Oct 26, 2012 01:15 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British police investigating alleged sexual abuse by one of the BBC's most celebrated TV stars said on Thursday some 300 victims had come forward and they were preparing to make arrests in a scandal that has thrown the broadcaster into disarray. Detectives said they had been staggered by the number of people who had come forward since the late Jimmy Savile's crimes were first revealed just over three weeks ago. ... Full Story | Top |
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