TheSunNews.com: Entertainment - Wire

Nicole Kidman praises her red carpet marriage

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:30 EDT

Nicole Kidman's red carpet date travelled for 35 hours to join her in Cannes.

The actress's husband - musician Keith Urban - made the trip from Sydney, where's he's been filming "The Voice," to escort her up the famous Palais stairs at the Cannes Film Festival for the screening of her film, "The Paperboy."

And Kidman says his effort meant "everything" to her: "As long as he's there, he's my rock, everything's fine. I feel a little out to sea if he's not there."

Lady Gaga cancels Indonesian show after threats

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:05 EDT

Lady Gaga canceled her sold-out show in Indonesia after Islamist hard-liners threatened violence, claiming her sexy clothes and provocative dance moves would corrupt the youth.

The controversy was a blow to the predominantly Muslim country's reputation for combining free speech and democracy with a mostly moderate brand of the faith.

Fans were devastated, despite the promoter's offer of full refunds. Some accused police - who refused to issue a permit over concerns about security - of buckling to the will of a small group of thugs.

Nicole Kidman's red carpet marriage

Sun, 27 May 2012 06:21 EDT

Nicole Kidman's red carpet date travelled for 35 hours to join her in Cannes.

The actress's husband - musician Keith Urban - made the trip from Sydney, where's he's been filming "The Voice," to escort her up the famous Palais stairs.

And Kidman says his effort meant "everything" to her.

Will 'Amour' conquer all in Cannes prize race?

Sun, 27 May 2012 07:05 EDT

Love is in the air at the Cannes Film Festival, as the jury sits down Sunday to choose its prizewinners.

There's love in the face of death in Michael Haneke's "Amour," love in conflict with faith in Christian Mungiu's "Beyond the Hills" and love against the odds in Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone" - three favorites to take the top prize, the Palme d'Or.

The jury, which is led by Italian director Nanni Moretti and includes actors Ewan McGregor and Diane Kruger, director Alexander Payne and fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, will announce the prize winners at a ceremony later.

Correction: Cannes-Mud story

Sun, 27 May 2012 11:05 EDT

In a May 26 story about the film "Mud," The Associated Press erroneously reported the first name of the film's director. His name is Jeff Nichols, not David Nichols.

Pattinson leaves vampires behind in 'Cosmopolis'

Sun, 27 May 2012 08:26 EDT

Robert Pattinson has gone from playing a vampire to depicting another kind of bloodsucker - a billionaire financier whose world crumbles in the course of a nightmarish cross-town drive in "Cosmopolis."

The "Twilight" heartthrob stars in David Cronenberg's Cannes Film Festival entry as sleek, self-centered moneyman Eric Packer, who sees his fortune and sense of self evaporate during an eventful day in his stretch limo.

Pattinson's famously handsome face is on-screen in every scene, but "Twilight"'s young fans may be surprised and confused by a film that explores Cronenberg's fascination with physical, social and psychic violence.

'Men in Black 3' takes down 'Avengers' with $55M

Sun, 27 May 2012 12:20 EDT

The suits have knocked off the superheroes at the box office.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones' sequel "Men in Black 3" debuted as the No. 1 movie over Memorial Day weekend with $55 million domestically from Friday to Sunday.

That bumps "The Avengers" into second-place after three blockbuster weekends on top. "The Avengers" took in $37 million to push its domestic total to $514 million and become only the fourth movie ever to top half a billion dollars.

NC musician Doc Watson still in critical condition

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:49 EDT

Grammy-winning folk musician Doc Watson remains in critical condition at a North Carolina hospital after undergoing colon surgery this week.

A spokeswoman at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem says Watson remained in critical condition Saturday.

The 89-year-old Watson's daughter, Nancy, says the musician fell Monday.

Sweden's Loreen wins Eurovision song contest

Sat, 26 May 2012 20:49 EDT

Sweden's Loreen clinched the top spot at this year's Eurovision Song Contest with her dance hit "Euphoria," pushing aside competition from a sextet of Russian grannies and a Serbian balladeer.

Juries and television viewers from across Europe awarded Loreen a total of 372 points, handing her an easy win in an event that ended in the early hours Sunday in host country Azerbaijan. Sweden will take over hosting duties next year.

Softly spoken Loreen, a 28-year-old of Moroccan-Berber descent, thanked her fans for their support.

Country's George Jones released from hospital

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:09 EDT

Country music star George Jones has been released from the hospital.

In a news release from Jones' publicist on Saturday, Jones says he is improving, and "I look forward to seeing everyone soon."

Jones, regarded as the greatest voice in country music history, was hospitalized for the second time this year on Monday in Nashville, Tenn., with an upper respiratory infection. The 80-year-old spent a week in the hospital in March as well.

Reopening of Berlin Staatsoper faces new delay

Sat, 26 May 2012 05:29 EDT

Officials say Berlin's Staatsoper opera house will not reopen until 2015 after a new problem arose at the building site in the German capital.

City officials announced Friday that the opera's 19th-century home on the Unter den Linden boulevard won't be ready until April 2015.

It's the second delay: a year ago, the reopening was put back by a year to the beginning of the 2014-2015 season.

Zimbabwe arrests British music presenter

Sat, 26 May 2012 09:44 EDT

Organizers of a classical music festival in Zimbabwe say authorities arrested a prominent British music personality at a concert in the second city of Bulawayo.

The city's Academy of Music said Saturday that Petroc Trelawny, the presenter of top classical music programs for the British Broadcasting Corp., remained in police cells after being arrested at Bulawayo's City Hall late Thursday.

It said Trelawny, aged in his 40s and a long time supporter of the academy who had made previous visits, volunteered to introduce and be the compere at the concert for no fee.

Mexico's Michel Franco wins Cannes sidebar prize

Sat, 26 May 2012 14:29 EDT

"After Lucia" by Mexican director Michel Franco has won the top prize in the Cannes Film Festival's sidebar competition, Un Certain Regard.

It was chosen Saturday from a slate of 20 films by a jury headed by British actor Tim Roth.

Un Certain Regard focuses on new and emerging filmmakers.

Matthew McConaughey pulls off Cannes double header

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:09 EDT

To have one film competing at the Cannes Film Festival is a privilege. To have two, Matthew McConaughey says, is wonderful good fortune - and the reward for a spell of hard labor in the trenches of independent cinema.

In Lee Daniels' steamy Southern noir "The Paperboy," McConaughey plays a journalist who returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a murder.

In Jeff Nichols' "Mud," which screened Saturday as the festival's final competition entry, he is a story-spinning fugitive holed up on an island in the Mississippi who is befriended by two local boys.

Michelle Obama, daughters attend Beyonce concert

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:50 EDT

Michelle Obama is with the single ladies this weekend: The First Lady is at a Beyonce concert in Atlantic City.

Obama is at Revel Resorts with daughters Sasha and Malia where Beyonce is set to perform Saturday night. The singer's Atlantic City concerts are the first since giving birth in January to daughter Blue Ivy.

The crowd cheered loudly as Obama made her way to her seat in a shiny green dress. Some took photos while others screamed her name. One fan yelled, "This is history!"

Tear-jerker 'Mud' ends Cannes competition lineup

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:51 EDT

The Cannes film festival on Saturday wrapped up the movies in competition wading deep in the Mississippi river with "Mud," a heart-wrenching, Mark Twain-influenced tale of a teenage boy searching for the meaning of life in a harsh world and starring Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon.

With snake bites, shootouts, and a happy ending, it is proudly - even blatantly - inspired by the bard of the Mississippi. Stellar performances from 15-year-old Tye Sheridan - who starred in last year's Palme d'Or winner "The Tree of Life" - and McConaughey separate it from a pack of films in competition set in the colorful American South.

Director David Nichols' third film was the culmination of his film work so far and a decade of effort. The 33-year-old managed to scrape enough money together thanks to the critical success of his previous two pictures: 2007's "Shotgun Stories," and last year's award-winning "Take Shelter."

NC musician Doc Watson still in critical condition

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:46 EDT

Grammy-winning folk musician Doc Watson remains in critical condition at a North Carolina hospital after undergoing colon surgery this past week.

A spokeswoman at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem said late Saturday night that Watson remained in critical condition.

The 89-year-old Watson's daughter, Nancy, says the musician fell Monday.

Morocco hosts world's artists, imprisons its own

Sat, 26 May 2012 03:29 EDT

Morocco's glittering Mawazine international music festival wraps up this weekend with performances by Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, after nine days of showcasing the North African kingdom's cool factor - even as dissident Moroccan musicians are imprisoned for their anti-establishment lyrics.

The 11-year-old "Rhythms of the World" festival in the capital Rabat has always highlighted Morocco's contradictions as the country spends millions to lure top world artists to perform at generally free concerts, while much the country remains mired in poverty.

In past years the festival has been attacked by Islamists for inviting gay performer Elton John in 2010 and by activists for the cost of attracting Shakira and other high profile acts in 2011, but this year the theme of protest is freedom of expression.

Michelle Obama, daughters attend Beyonce concert

Sun, 27 May 2012 06:10 EDT

Michelle Obama was with the single ladies this weekend, joining 5,500 fans at a Beyonce concert in Atlantic City.

The first lady was with daughters Sasha and Malia at Revel Resorts, where Beyonce performed two dozen songs Saturday night. Obama's husband, President Barack Obama, did not attend.

Gov. Chris Christie was among the sell-out crowd packed into Revel's Ovation Hall.

'Winter's Tale' by Shakespeare gets African reboot

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:59 EDT

The deep, croaking-frog rhythm of the talking drums sound out across the stage as canoeists in animal hide row a condemned servant and royal infant into the unknown. The unified voice of a choir rises above the beats, singing in the Yoruba language of Nigeria's southwest at the start of a play that begins in its middle.

This isn't the William Shakespeare you know.

Instead, this is an African reboot of "The Winter's Tale," one of the lesser known tragicomedies written by the Bard about a child princess cast away out of jealous rage and later reunited with her royal family. A theater company in Nigeria is performing their version of the play, called "Itan Oginintin," at Shakespeare's Globe in London for a festival showing 38 Shakespeare plays in different world languages as part of the London Cultural Olympiad.