“Move over, Barbra, now there's Barbie - Charleston Gazette” plus 4 more

Move over, Barbra, now there's Barbie - Charleston Gazette
Kirsten Dunst serves as star witness in NYC burglary trial - AZCentral.com
MJ's 'This is It' booking opens Sept 27 in India - New Kerala
Police: TV Contestant Killed Actress Girlfriend - KOLO TV Reno
AEG president: Jackson movie will offer insignt into star's life - Eagle-Tribune

Move over, Barbra, now there's Barbie - Charleston Gazette

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 04:35 PM PDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Who says there aren't any good movie roles for 50-year old women?

Barbie, the timeless, top-heavy blond bombshell who has played more than 100 roles during her half-century career as a doll, is finally making it to the big screen.

Universal Studios announced last week that it had bought the rights to make a live-action movie based on the legendary doll and her numerous incarnations, which have ranged from flight attendant and cheerleader to paleontologist and presidential candidate.

The upcoming Barbie movie follows a trail most recently blazed by G.I. Joe and the Transformers. Laurence Mark, the man who brought us "Jerry Maguire," will produce the Barbie movie, but so far, no details have been released regarding a plot or a cast. With that in mind, I propose the following possibilities -- for a mere half-percent of the movie's domestic gross.

Valley of the Dolls In this remake of the Sharon Tate, Patty Duke and Barbara Parkins classic, an aging Barbie, a strung-out Hannah Montana doll, and a laid-off Cabbage Patch Kid fall on hard times and share a house in the San Fernando Valley. There, they bond as they struggle with their faltering careers, their love lives and their growing dependency on prescription drugs and plastic surgery -- the only type they've ever known.

Hello, Dolly! Barbie moves to a big city and takes on the singing matchmaker role played by Barbra Streisand during the 1969 movie with a similar name and plot.

Mannequin Barbie plays a doll in a toy store window that comes to life only in the presence of its perfectionist maker, portrayed by Matthew McConaughey.

Barbie-Ella Barbie takes on the Jane Fonda role in a remake of the 1968 Roger Vadim sci-fi classic, in which she, in a variety of futuristic, skimpy outfits, travels to the planet Sogo to retrieve Dr. Durand Durand, a scientist capable of saving Earth from some type of threat.

Barbara's Body Barbie stars in a can't miss forumula -- a teenage vampire chick flick in a role patterned after Megan Fox's character in a movie with a similar name.

Widow of Chuckie Good old-fashioned gold-digging wins out over supernatural creepiness, after Barbie, in a moment of weakness, enters -- then rapidly and decisively exits -- a relationship with horror movie doll icon Chuckie.

Kenny Maguire Since Laurence Mark, the man who produced "Jerry Maguire," is in charge of producing the first Barbie movie, he may be tempted to shoot a sequel to his signature film -- only this time using a Ken character as the male lead, rather than Tom Cruise. Show ends as tearful Ken confronts Barbie at a family gathering and tells her, "You complete me -- except for that anatomically incorrect place on my pelvis."

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Kirsten Dunst serves as star witness in NYC burglary trial - AZCentral.com

Posted: 25 Sep 2009 08:51 AM PDT

NEW YORK - "Spider-Man" actress Kirsten Dunst has served as a star witness against a man charged in the theft of her designer purse from a New York City hotel suite while she was on a movie set.

The 27-year-old Dunst on Thursday gave jurors a rundown of the August 2007 theft. She says she was filming the comedy "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" at the SoHo Grand hotel when she discovered her $2,000 Balenciaga bag and its contents, including $2,000 in cash, were missing. The purse and her credit cards were eventually returned.

Thirty-five-year-old James Jimenez is charged with burglary. His lawyer has pinned the blame on a co-defendant who pleaded guilty to attempted burglary.

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MJ's 'This is It' booking opens Sept 27 in India - New Kerala

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 12:34 AM PDT

Mumbai, Sept 26 : In line with the global trend, Sony Pictures Entertainment in India announced today that in India too, the booking of the much-awaited movie Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT will begin as early as 27 September, an entire month before the film opens in multiplexes on 28 October.

Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT will be available worldwide for a limited two-week engagement beginning Wednesday 28 October. The film will release across India with over 150 prints. Tickets for all shows are available for purchase beginning this coming Sunday, 27 September.

Moviegoers can purchase tickets by visiting select Fame and Cinemax properties as well or through online booking on their respective websites.

'We anticipate a major demand for this film because of the huge fan following of Michael Jackson in India and also because the film has a limited two week only engagement in theatres. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the King of Pop perform larger than life,' said Kercy Daruwala, Managing Director - SPE Films India. 'We have a host of activities planned around the film which we will be revealing in the days leading to the release,' he added.

The film's world gala will be in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on Tuesday, 27 October. Other locations, including Mumbai, Moscow, Tokyo, Sydney, Paris, and many others will host their own non-simultaneous premiere activities.

Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from March through June, 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show.

Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius, and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show. Kenny Ortega, who was both Michael Jackson's creative partner and the director of the stage show, is also directing the film, which is being produced by Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware.

Executive producers are John Branca and John McClain. The film will be distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing.

--IBNS

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Police: TV Contestant Killed Actress Girlfriend - KOLO TV Reno

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 03:52 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A self-proclaimed preacher who was on the TV
beauty pageant "The Sexiest Bachelor in America" will be arraigned next week for allegedly torturing and murdering his girlfriend, an ex-adult movie actress.

Brian Lee Randone, 45, was charged last week with one count of murder and one count of torture. He was scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 29 and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Randone remained jailed Friday on $2 million bail. Robison did not know whether he had an attorney.

Randone was arrested on Sept. 11. Prosecutors said he beat and choked Felicia Lee during a domestic dispute at their apartment in the foothill community of Monrovia, northeast of Los Angeles.

He then dialed 911 to report she was unconscious, investigators said.

"It appeared to be torture prior to the murder," Sgt. Brian Schoonmaker, a homicide detective working the case, said Friday. Lee apparently suffered dozens of injuries in the 24 hours before she died, Schoonmaker said, but he did not provide details.

The two had lived together for only a few months, Schoonmaker said. Investigators were still trying to determine the motive for the killing.

In 2000, Randone appeared on the Fox special "The Sexiest Bachelor in America." He vied with contestants from other states but did not win.

A Fox spokeswoman said Friday that she was not immediately familiar with the show.

Lee, who was born in Singapore, had parts in the movies "Rush Hour 2" and "The Fast and the Furious" and had done some modeling for the Playboy television channel, according to her Web site, which she shut down last year.

She also appeared in several adult movies under the name Felicia Tang. Candace Kita, a model who had worked with her, said Lee was
nude in the movies but did not portray any sex acts.

Randone was involved in ministry as a mime and did "some evangelistic types of entertainment," Schoonmaker said. He did not know when or where Randone performed.

According to the CBS blog "48 Hours Crimesider," Randone had a Web site in the early 2000s advertising a ministry that offered "critically-acclaimed performances."

According to "Crimesider," Randone said on the Web site that he had no plans to "try to be sexy" in the pageant, where he represented his home state of Nebraska.

"I hope to talk about qualities that are really important, what's inside, such as faithfulness, love, commitment and self-control, the masculine characteristics of a Christian," he said.

He also wrote that "we are all sinners" and that sin "is as small as thinking a bad thought and/or as big as murder."

"Because of sin, we deserve hell. I know that if there is one thing I deserve in life its (sic) hell," he said.

Randone has a bachelor's degree from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and a master's of divinity degree from Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported.

He worked as a mime on the campus of Baylor University in Texas in 1996, the newspaper said.

Lee's murder is reminiscent of another case last month, in which Ryan Jenkins, a former contestant on the reality TV show "Megan Wants a Millionaire," allegedly killed his wife, ex-model Jasmine Fiore, in Los Angeles, then fled to Canada and killed himself.

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AEG president: Jackson movie will offer insignt into star's life - Eagle-Tribune

Posted: 26 Sep 2009 09:07 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As dozens of buoyant Michael Jackson fans queued up in the Nokia Plaza to be among the first to see their idol's last performance, others watching the scene expressed mixed emotions.

Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, which bankrolled Jackson's "This is It" tour and is a key player in the film, recalled the moment he got the news of Jackson's death. "Well, at first it lets all the air out of you, and you sit here and you're stunned at how quickly it happened and occurred. You're in denial. You can't believe it. You're looking around, saying, 'What happened?"

Zip ahead some three months, to Thursday afternoon — about an hour before the opening of the nearly two-and-a-half day waiting line for advance tickets to "Michael Jackson's 'This is It"' concert documentary. Leiweke reunited with musicians, singers and dancers from the tour in a press conference held in the plaza, which is directly across the street from the Staples Center, the site of Jackson's rehearsals, the last of which took place just hours before his death June 25.

"It's mixed feelings, first of all, to see these guys again, and to be in this space," noted singer Darryl Phinnessee. "You know, we finished rehearsing at quarter to midnight the night before Michael died, and he was energetic and up and doing his thing, as you'll see in the movie."

Crafted from hundred hours of rehearsal footage, "This is It" is directed by longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega, who had been working with Jackson on the concerts.

"You see the music, the studios, the rehearsals, the dancers, the auditions, the costumes," Leiweke said. "You see all of the behind-the-scenes, and then you finally see the last few days of the dress rehearsals, and you begin to see the genius of Michael: the dancing, the singing, the choreography, and his concept of creating a one-time performance that no one would ever forget."

Leiweke said the movie also will provide proof that AEG had Jackson's well-being in mind.

"I think we still are hurt," Leiweke said. "Some of the things that people have said about us, which are so untrue, this movie's going to restore his legacy, and prove that we, in fact, gave Michael a second chance here. And an opportunity to make the kind of comeback he was dreaming of. And that we created an environment for him that was probably the best environment that the guy had the last 10 or 15 years of his life. And I'm very proud of the way we treated Michael, and very proud of the partnership that we had with him. And this movie is an opportunity to celebrate that, and we could get past all of the gossip and all of the innuendo."

"This is It" is set to open in cinemas worldwide Oct. 28.