By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK |
Fri May 18, 2012 12:28am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – China’s biggest political scandal in two decades is likely to have dashed playwright David Henry Hwang’s hopes of bringing his Broadway play “Chinglish” to mainland China anytime soon.

In a case of life imitating art, the comedy has so many similarities to events surrounding deposed Chinese politician Bo Xilai that Hwang says he doesn’t believe it would be acceptable to the authorities to allow a production to be mounted.

In the play, which premiered in Chicago last year before the Bo scandal erupted, an American businessman has an extramarital affair with a sexy Chinese female official and her boss is arrested on corruption charges.

There is also a British consultant “fixer” who arranges for the son of a Chinese official to go to a school in the UK. Beneath it all lies a power struggle, and there are many funny linguistic misunderstandings along the way.

In the real-life scandal, there are allegations of corruption surrounding Bo and his beautiful wife Gu Kailai, now a suspect in the murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood. He had been a former family friend who had among other things arranged for Bo’s son to attend an exclusive school in the UK.

There is an elusive French architect who appears to have shared both an affectionate and close business relationship with Gu. And beneath it all, a power struggle, with the ambitious Bo climbing his way toward the pinnacle of the Communist Party.

“It has always been my dream that the play could be done in China proper,” Hwang, a 54-year-old Los Angeles-born Chinese-American writer, said in an interview.

“However, the Bo Xilai case and the fact there are these similarities probably makes it less likely that the play could be performed in China, at least in the near future.”

He said the play could be mistaken for criticism from overseas. “The Chinese don’t like to feel an outsider is criticizing them – it’s ok if they are criticizing themselves.”

CRACKDOWN

Still, Hwang says he does expect the play to be produced in Hong Kong in the next 6-12 months, though even that might be a test of the territory’s more liberal environment.

There is now little hope of a theater production on the mainland for at least four or five years, he said.

“There are still pretty firm freedoms of civil liberties and freedoms of expression in Hong Kong, but the question is whether the play could ever be done in China,” he said. “Right now given the high profile of the Bo Xilai case, it is probably unlikely.”

He once had hopes of taking his Tony Award-winning play “M. Butterfly”, which was turned into a movie by David Cronenberg, to China but the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 stopped that plan, Hwang said. It still cannot be produced on the mainland.

Some Chinese may get the chance to catch a movie version of “Chinglish”, with plans for it to be directed by Taiwanese-American Justin Lin. But they are more likely to eventually see the film online than in Chinese cinemas, which are subject to tight restrictions on the number and type of foreign movies.

CULTURAL CONFUSION

Hwang received a barrage of excited emails from theater lovers struck by the similarities between his play, which debuted on Broadway in October, and the Bo scandal.

Fans have approached the dramatist and observed, “Wow, the Bo Xilai case really reminds me of your play,” Hwang said.

More broadly, he said, the play and the real-life case of Bo showed that Westerners were no longer such rare or respected characters in Chinese life.

“A Western businessman going into China now, A, is only one fish in a pond with a lot of other Western fish and B, doesn’t command the same kind of authority and respect that he or she would have 20 or 30 years ago,” he said.

However, Chinese art and life remain culturally far removed from Western ideals, he added. “Yes, China is changing and is becoming more like the West but that doesn’t mean it is like the West – that is an important distinction.”

(Reporting By Christine Kearney; Editing by Martin Howell and Mark Bendeich)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/entertainment/~3/9RdMe8TKFnU/entertainment-us-china-bo-chinglish-idUSBRE84H06020120518

NEW YORK |
Thu May 17, 2012 6:11pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin hasn’t yet figured out how to put the life of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on the silver screen, but he is certain it’s not going to be a straightforward biography.

Sorkin, who won an Oscar for his screenplay of Facebook film “The Social Network” and created TV drama “The West Wing”, said on Thursday he would be looking for an element of tension or an obstacle in Job’s life on which to hang the movie.

Movie studio Sony Pictures announced on Tuesday that Sorkin would adapt Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography of the enigmatic genius behind the iPod and the iPhone. Jobs, 56, died in October after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer.

“I know so little about what I am going to write. I know what I am not going to write. It can’t be a straight ahead biography because it’s very difficult to shake the cradle-to-grave structure of a biography, ” Sorkin told reporters at a news conference for his upcoming HBO drama “The Newsroom.”

Sorkin noted that “The Social Network” saw the Facebook story through the lens of an acrimonious lawsuit that pitted CEO Mark Zuckerberg against his Harvard friends over the creation of the social media network.

“Drama is tension versus obstacle. Someone wants something, something is standing in their way of getting it. They want the money, they want the girl, they want to get to Philadelphia – doesn’t matter … And I need to find that event and I will. I just don’t know what it is,” Sorkin said.

Sorkin said he would turn his full attention to the Jobs film in late June, once he has launched “The Newsroom”, which is set behind the scenes at a television network.

He said that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been hired by the film studio as a “tutor” on all the technical aspects of computers and on Jobs himself.

Wozniak and Jobs founded Apple from a garage in 1976. Wozniak stopped working for the company in 1987 but kept in touch with Jobs until his death.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, Writing by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/entertainment/~3/G95NRMIYWiU/entertainment-us-stevejobs-film-idUSBRE84G1H320120517

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES |
Thu May 17, 2012 1:43pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Time was when TV talent shows set out to turn wannabes into stars.

These days? Not so much. It’s the celebrity judges who are raking in the cash and using TV contests not only as a way to re-launch a fading career, but to further boost a thriving one.

For music stars in an era of weak record sales, the trend spells victory for their bank account, but for fans and the music industry always hungering for a new star, it’s a loss. And for TV networks, the once cheap-to-produce shows are ever more expensive, yet they don’t always pay off in bigger audiences.

As recent winners of “The Voice” and “American Idol” fade into obscurity, pop princess Britney Spears and ex-Disney Channel teen star Demi Lovato have signed up to judge “The X Factor,” while controversial radio DJ Howard Stern is the biggest star on the new season of “America’s Got Talent”.

Spears and Stern are among the most highly-paid TV judges, each earning a reported $15-$20 million annual salary – a bigger figure than many A-list Hollywood actors command for a movie.

“The whole playing field has shifted from when ‘American Idol’ started (2002) and the judges were people whose biggest hits were behind them. Now it is seen as a really viable option for current artists,” said Melinda Newman, a music blogger for entertainment website Hitfix.com.

Spears and Stern join a roster of celebrity TV judges that includes Christina Aguilera, Steven Tyler, Sharon Osbourne, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton who have seen their fame, record sales and endorsement deals skyrocket since they began sitting in front of the stage rather than on it.

Kelly Clarkson, the first “American Idol” champion and now a Grammy-winning singer with worldwide celebrity, joins the judge club next week on “Duets,” which pairs would-be singers with established stars.

Lyndsey Parker, managing editor of Yahoo! Music, said a lot of people were surprised at Clarkson’s decision, but “no-one is looking at that as a step back.”

With the focus on the judges, what happens to the wannabe pop stars these shows were supposed to discover and promote?

“The unfortunate thing is that as there becomes more emphasis on hiring famous names, it goes off the contestants,” Parker said.

IT PAYS TO JUDGE

Back in 2002, record producer Simon Fuller – the man behind Britain’s “Spice Girls” – created “American Idol” as a way to discover and sign new singers to his 19 Entertainment group.

Few people had ever heard of judge Simon Cowell, an acerbic British record producer. Host Ryan Seacrest was an ambitious Los Angeles radio DJ, Randy Jackson was a backroom record producer and Paula Abdul was an almost forgotten 1980s pop star.

Fuller’s format worked for several years, turning Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert into bonafide recording artists bringing in millions of dollars for record companies.

But by 2011, given the success of the show as the most-watched program on U.S. airwaves averaging well over 20 million viewers a week, the dynamic of making a celebrity had shifted.

That year, “Idol” champion Scotty McCreery saw his debut album sell more than one million copies, but his success was dwarfed by that of incoming judges Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Lopez, who had been dropped by her record company before joining “American Idol,” scored her biggest single ever with “On the Floor”, launched a fashion line, got her own Latin music talent show, multiple endorsement deals and a world tour. This week Lopez topped the annual Forbes list of the world’s 100 most powerful celebrities.

Tyler, 64, has won new fans, written a book and pulled Aerosmith back from the verge of an acrimonious break-up and into the recording studio for the band’s first album of original material since 2001.

“Tyler probably opened the door in a huge way because he is a rock legend. I think a lot of people were surprised that someone of his stature would do it,” said Parker.

Also in 2011 came “The Voice,” which has proven to be one of the few ratings winners for NBC. Yet, last year’s champion Javier Colon and runner-up Dia Frampton didn’t even crack the Billboard top 100 with their debut albums.

Moreover, while the show has been an NBC bright spot, it failed to challenge “American Idol” for overall viewers this year as strongly as some industry experts had predicted. About 15 million viewers tuned in for “The Voice” on average this year, compared to more than 19 million for “Idol”.

The stars of “The Voice,” however, fared better. Judges Aguilera and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine had one of the world’s biggest selling singles of 2011 with “Moves Like Jagger” which they first performed on the show. Country artist Shelton has seen his mainstream star soar since he joined “The Voice.”

Jermaine Paul, last week’s winner of the second season of “The Voice” has yet to produce an album. His cover version of “I Believe I Can Fly” fared well on iTunes the day after his win, but it was a blip compared to Maroon 5′s “Payphone” single with rapper Wiz Khalifa, which debuted on “The Voice” in April.

KING OF ALL MEDIA?

Now entering the fray are Spears and Stern, who were hired by Cowell in a bid to produce bigger ratings for their respective shows: “X Factor” which returns in Fall 2012 and “America’s Got Talent” which debuted this week.

Stern, the self-described “King of All Media” whose satellite radio show on SiriusXM is reported to earn him some $80 million a year, insists his reason for doing “America’s Got Talent” is simply that he is a big fan of talent shows.

“I didn’t need the money. I didn’t need more fame. I certainly feel famous enough. I certainly feel I am comfortable in my life and I am happy about that. I just love the show. And I thought, ‘wow, how much fun to do it,’” he told reporters in a news conference last week.

Yet for all the fanfare around his hiring, Stern’s first outing this week on “America’s Got Talent” was watched by about five million fewer people than last year’s season kickoff.

Then there is Spears. After almost 15 years as a global pop icon, the former Disney star now 30 and a mother of two kids, may have a different motive than Stern for joining “X Factor”.

“That is a steady paycheck without having to go on the road. That is how she makes her money now, not by record sales, but by touring and endorsement deals,” said Parker.

But will she bring more viewers? That is, after all, what producer Cowell and broadcast network Fox hope she will do. And if so, will those viewers create the world’s next big thing in music like “American Idol” once did?

Last season’s “X Factor” winner, Melanie Amaro, had little impact on the U.S. music scene with her first single and five months on, she is still working on her debut album.

Times have changed, and Andy Dehnart, editor of RealityBlurred.com, expressed concern for Spears. “I think ‘X Factor’ is a gigantic ego trip for Simon Cowell and I worry that Britney is another piece of that,” he said.

That’s not to say TV talent shows don’t occasionally still find stars who eclipse their mentors, such as British boy band One Direction.

But “now it seems like all the shows are trying to one up each other by stocking their judging panel with people who are already famous, and that does make it harder for the contestants to stand out,” said Parker.

(Additional reporting by Christine Kearney; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Patricia Reaney)

Article source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/entertainment-us-celebrityjudges-idUSBRE84G0OA20120517?feedType=RSS&feedName=musicNews

LOS ANGELES, May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Annenberg Space for Photography and Los Angeles public radio station KCRW (89.9FM and KCRW.com) are proud to announce a series of free live summer concerts to accompany the Who Shot Rock Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present exhibit.

Staged on the outdoor plaza adjacent to the Photography Space, these shows present an opportunity to experience live music in a unique location with a vista of architectural delight.  The Photography Space will offer extended evening hours and feature KCRW DJ sets and more in addition to incredible performances.

SATURDAY, JULY 14

MOBY Live Acoustic Performance + DJ Set with KCRW DJ Jason Bentley

SATURDAY, JULY 21

T. REX’s “THE SLIDER” 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION featuring
PORTUGAL. THE MAN
and
KCRW VS. T. REX SOUNDCLASH Remix EP Release Party with
KCRW DJs Dan Wilcox Gary Calamar

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4
A night of music celebrating
“CHIMES OF FREEDOM: THE SONGS OF BOB DYLAN”
featuring RAPHAEL SAADIQ, BAND OF SKULLS with KCRW DJ Anne Litt

WHAT: KCRW’s Who Shot Rock Roll: Live
WHERE:  Annenberg Space for Photography
2000 Avenue of the Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067
WHEN: July 14 + July 21+ August 4
TIME: 7pm
RSVP:  No tickets are needed for these events. Concerts are FREE, however RSVP is required. Guests must check-in for credentials upon arrival to gain access to concerts.

RSVP to each show separately here. Those who sign up are automatically entered to win a deluxe gift bag at the end of the series.

KCRW: KCRW 89.9FM is an NPR affiliate serving Southern California and licensed to Santa Monica College. The public radio station presents an eclectic mix of independent music, news, talk and arts programming.

THE ANNENBERG SPACE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY 

The Annenberg Space for Photography is a cultural destination dedicated to exhibiting both digital and print photography.  The venue is the first solely photographic cultural destination in Los Angeles. www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org

WHO SHOT ROCK ROLL EXHIBIT

Open June 23 – October 7 at the Annenberg Space for Photography, Who Shot Rock Roll, organized by the Brooklyn Museum with guest curator and author Gail Buckland, is the first major museum exhibit on rock and roll to spotlight the creative and collaborative role that photographers played in the history of rock music.

SOURCE The Annenberg Foundation

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.annenbergfoundation.org

Article source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-annenberg-space-for-photography-and-kcrw-announce-who-shot-rock--roll-live-151948015.html

By Mike Collett-White

CANNES, France |
Thu May 17, 2012 12:30pm EDT

CANNES, France (Reuters) – It is only day two, but the Cannes film festival has already uncovered a breakout star in Belgian Matthias Schoenaerts, who has earned critical acclaim and plenty of swoons for his portrayal of tough guy Ali in French drama “Rust and Bone”.

Schoenaerts is not new to the big screen — he has appeared in more than 20 films including “Bullhead”, nominated for a foreign language film Academy Award earlier this year.

But for thousands of journalists and critics in Cannes for the annual cinema showcase, a press screening on Thursday of the moving love story Rust and Bone (“De Rouille et d’Os”) was their first look at the physically imposing 34-year-old.

Within minutes of the movie ending, Schoenaerts was being asked about his prospects in Hollywood.

“It’s funny you say so, because last week they called me for ‘Rambo 34′, and I said I’ll do it if I get 35 and 36 as well,” he joked at a press conference.

“There’s definitely stuff moving in the States, but I’ve got time, I’m not in a hurry. I’m quite young I guess.”

He may hope to replicate the success of French actor Jean Dujardin, who was little known outside France until the Cannes world premiere last year of “The Artist” which set him on a path to global fame and a best actor Oscar.

AVOIDING MELODRAMA

In Rust and Bone, Schoenaerts plays the central character Ali, a gruff hulk of a man who befriends a Marineland employee called Stephanie, played by Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, after she loses her legs in an accident at work.

Down on his luck and sleeping with five-year-old son Sam in his sister’s garage on the southern French coast, Ali lives hand-to-mouth before taking up brutal but lucrative bareknuckle fighting for extra cash.

It takes a major shock to shake him from his emotional torpor, and at the film’s end there was warm applause from the notoriously picky critics and reporters in Cannes.

Largely positive early reviews focused on the performances, although some faulted a plotline they felt was implausible.

“Schoenaerts is as good as Cotillard at avoiding the trap of melodrama, and they sustain a film that’s not as obviously notable as ‘A Prophet’ but, much more quietly, makes a considerable mark,” wrote Derek Malcolm in London’s Evening Standard.

Cotillard likened her co-star to Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis, while one online review drew comparisons between Schoenaerts and rising British star Tom Hardy.

Schoenaerts admitted feeling anxious about acting with Cotillard, who was in character when he first met her on set.

“I saw Marion before the rehearsal, she was in a wheelchair, she looked totally depressed and I thought … ‘It’s not going to work out very well with Marion’ and I thought ‘What do I do? Should I talk to her?’”

Rust and Bone is loosely based on a collection of short stories by Craig Davidson, and is one of 22 movies in the festival’s main competition.

French director Jacques Audiard wowed audiences with his gritty prison drama “A Prophet” in 2009, and although in Rust and Bone he swaps cramped, dark cells for bright sunshine and expansive seascapes, he again tells the story of a man who is down and out and must fight for survival and redemption.

Audiard said he could not have made the movie 10 years ago, because modern special effects allowed him to recreate Stephanie’s impressively realistic severed limbs.

“Now things are much easier,” he said. “You just (use) special devices and you can do away with a large section of the legs. Now you can use a handheld camera to produce special effects. It’s tremendous progress.”

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)

Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/entertainment/~3/v5CYSELHTI4/entertainment-us-cannes-breakout-idUSBRE84G0OX20120517