UPDATE 1-Boyd Gaming quarterly profit falls 11 pct - Casino

* To not exercise option to buy MGM's Borgata interest
* Adj EPS $0.02 vs est $0.05
* Rev falls 4 pct to $595.4 mln vs est $589 mln
Oct 25 (Reuters) - Casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp (BYD.N)
posted an 11 percent drop in its quarterly profit amid a
continued weakness in consumer spending, especially at its Las
Vegas properties.
Separately, Boyd also said it will not exercise its right
to match the offer MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) got for
its non-controlling 50 percent interest in their joint-venture
Borgata resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Earlier this month, casino operator MGM Resorts said it
received an offer for its 50 percent stake in the Borgata
casino hotel. It valued the offer at just over $250 million.

Boyd reported third-quarter net income of $5.6 million, or
6 cents per share, down from $6.3 million, or 7 cents per
share, a year earlier.
Excluding special items, the profit was 2 cents a share,
compared with the average analyst estimate of 5 cents a share,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net revenue at Boyd, which runs Las Vegas properties that
cater mainly to local residents rather than tourists, fell 4
percent to $595.4 million. Analysts had expected revenue of
$589.0 million.
The company owns and operates 16 casinos in six states,
including a 50-percent stake in Borgata.
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China's Communist Party birthplace holds fashion summit - Fashion

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shanghai, birthplace of China's ruling Communist Party and now home to shops selling Ferraris, Hermes and Louis Vuitton, will host Italy's high-profile fashion summit, attended by executives from the biggest luxury brands.
The Milano Fashion Global Summit, usually held in Milan, takes place in Shanghai Friday, organizers said.
China is expected to become the world's biggest luxury goods market in five to seven years, fueled by increasingly wealthy and brand-conscious consumers.
It is tipped to become the third-largest consumer market by 2015 as 75 million households join the middle class and total urban consumption hits 13.3 trillion yuan ($2 trillion), Bank of America Merrill Lynch has said.
($1=6.680 Yuan)
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Casey Affleck joins Ben Stiller in Tower Heist - Comedy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Casey Affleck has joined the all-star cast of the action comedy "Tower Heist."
Matthew Broderick and Judd Hirsch have also been added to the Universal Pictures movie. Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe and Michael Pena were previously cast.
"Heist," directed by Brett Ratner, is about an overworked manager (Stiller) of an illustrious tower residence. He leads a team of defrauded workers in a heist of its penthouse tenant, a Bernie Madoff-type Wall Street capitalist (Alda) who pulled a Ponzi scheme and swindled the staff.
Affleck will play Stiller's friend who also works under him in the penthouse. He is a straight arrow and wants to turn Stiller and the other co-conspirators in.
Broderick will play a Wall Street-type who is actually one of the good guys; he lost his job and joins Stiller's gang.
For Affleck, the "Heist" represents his first movie since starring in this summer's indie feature "The Killer Inside Me" and the unveiling of his much-ballyhooed pseudo-documentary "I'm Still Here."
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Rangers down Yanks to reach first World Series - Tv Series

ARLINGTON, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas Rangers reached the World Series for the first time in their 50 years as a franchise by beating the New York Yankees 6-1 on Friday to win the American League Championship Series.
The win gave them a 4-2 triumph in the best-of-seven series and put them into the Fall Classic against the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants, who lead it 3-2.
Rookie closer Neftali Feliz struck out former Ranger Alex Rodriguez for the final out, igniting wild celebrations on the diamond and among the crowd of more than 51,000 at Rangers Ballpark.
Starting pitcher Colby Lewis won his second game of the series by throwing eight sterling innings and giving up three hits, and designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero drove in the first three runs to lead the Rangers to victory.
The Rangers rejoiced in the middle of the diamond after winning the American League pennant for a first time and eliminating last year's World Series winners, hugging each other and falling into a massive pileup near the mound.
After more hugs, they sprayed ginger ale in glee and poured the soda over each other's heads in deference to slugger Josh Hamilton, who has overcome drug and alcohol abuse.
Hamilton, who batted .350 with four home runs and seven runs batted in, was named Most Valuable Player of the series.
"This group is here because they don't know how to fail," said Hamilton, choked with emotion. "The chemistry of this team is like something I've never known anywhere."
ICE COLD
Guerrero, who had been ice cold at the bat without a single RBI, made up for lost time on Friday as the Yankees walked Hamilton intentionally three times to take their chances with the designated hitter.
His groundball out in the first brought home the first run, but it was his ringing two-out, two-run double to dead center that really set the Rangers on their way.
The blast off Yankees starter Phil Hughes snapped a 1-1 tie and was followed by a two-run homer by Nelson Cruz off reliever David Robertson that gave Texas a four-run lead and broke the game open.
Lewis, meanwhile, mowed down the vaunted New York attack, which had led the league in runs scored. The right-hander did not give up his first hit until a fifth-inning double by Rodriguez, who scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 1-1.
The Texas pitcher kept the pressure on even after getting some breathing room thanks to the Rangers rally, striking out the side in the eighth inning before giving way to Feliz.
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PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - Oct 20 - Arts

Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not
verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
--The chief executive of Australia and New Zealand Banking
Group (ANZ.AX), Mike Smith, yesterday joined rival banks in
indicating that increased funding costs would push mortgage
rates higher in the short term. Financial markets think there
is just a 40 percent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia
will raise rates from the current level of 4.5 percent when it
next meets on November 2. Page 1.
--Retail investors have largely shunned the A$6 billion
float of rail network QR National, with brokers saying many
appear wary of the forecast low dividend yield. The level of
retail participation in the float was unlikely to be as high as
other blue-chip floats, bankers advising QR National yesterday
indicated. Today is the deadline for investors to secure
guaranteed allocations of stock in the initial public
offering.
Page 1.
--In a move that has shocked the media industry, media
baron James Packer yesterday made a surprise raid on
free-to-air television broadcaster Ten Network (TEN.AX),
spending A$250 million on a 16 percent stake. The raid -
conducted by UBS for one of Mr Packer's private companies at
A$1.50 a share - sees Mr Packer overtaking WIN Corp's Bruce
Gordon as Ten's largest shareholder. Ten shares closed at
A$1.41 yesterday. Page 1.
--Resource giant Origin Energy (ORG.AX) yesterday announced
that it had halted exploration drilling at one of its
Queensland coal seam gas projects after cancer-causing
chemicals were detected during routine testing. Origin said
that cancer-causing agents known as BTEX were detected in
surface water at a mine near Miles, 300 kilometres west of
Brisbane. Page 1.
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
--Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday vowed not to
abandon the people of war-torn Afghanistan, saying Australian
troops could remain there for at least a decade. In a historic
parliamentary debate on Australia's future in Afghanistan, Ms
Gillard pledged Australia's ongoing commitment, backed by
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. Mr Abbott said withdrawal was
not an option, as it would make Australia look like a
"fair-weather friend" to its allies. Page 1.
--The Northern Territory's (NT) Child Protection Minister,
Kon Vatskalis, yesterday admitted that remote indigenous
communities were in a state of "total collapse" and that the
Federal Government's intervention needed to be re-examined. An
11-month inquiry into the NT's child protection system, which
delivered its report on Monday, detailed the systemic failures
of the NT's Department of Families and Children. Page 1.
--More taxpayer funds are being spent on consultants to
administer inspections of homes affected by the Federal
Government's failed home insulation scheme than on the safety
checks themselves, it has been revealed. Up to A$85 million is
slated to be spent on safety checks for the 50,330 homes fitted
with the batts, at the cost of A$1689 for each house.
Electrical contractors are reportedly being paid up to A$800
for each house inspected. Page 3.
--One of Australia's most senior performing arts
professionals will move on from her position at the Sydney
Opera House after a management restructure. Rachel Healy, the
Opera House's director of performing arts, was yesterday told
her position had been abolished. Ms Healy, who had spent four
years in the role, was instrumental in the Opera House's push
to produce and present its own shows rather than being a hall
for hire. Page 3.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
--The New South Wales Government is expected to back an
independent report that recommends ethics classes be introduced
into public schools by next year. Education Minister Verity
Firth will today release the report, which details the results
of trials of the classes held in 10 schools over 10 weeks this
year. The report recommends that the Government adopt the
model used for ethics classes in the trial if it decides to
proceed. Page 1.
--Police believe that a champion jockey who was yesterday
found dead in his bed at his Brisbane home died from an
accidental drug overdose. Stathi Katsidis, who was due to ride
strong chance Shoot Out in the Cox Plate on Saturday,
reportedly died in his sleep. Police sources said his death
was not suspicious and was consistent with an overdose. Page
1.
--Senior judges in New South Wales (NSW) say that the
tradition of attorneys-general defending the court system from
attacks by media and politicians is breaking down. The
situation has deteriorated to the point that there may be a
need to appoint someone to become a public defender of judges,
Justice Peter McClellan, the Chief Judge at Common Law in the
NSW Supreme Court said yesterday. Page 1.
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Cameron, Avatar scribe in Fantastic reunion - Sci Fi

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Laeta Kalogridis, who worked with James Cameron on "Avatar," will rewrite the script for "Fantastic Voyage," a remake of the 1966 sci-fi classic that Cameron is producing.
The long-in-development project has seen Shane Salerno and Cormac and Marianne Wibberly among the scribes who have attempted to tackle the script. Director Paul Greengrass also flirted with the project this year but never committed.
"Voyage" revolves around a team of scientists who are shrunk to atomic size and sent in a miniature submarine inside the body of a scientist to save his life.
Cameron is producing with his Lightstorm Entertainment partner Jon Landau.
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In Japan, 3D films get kicked by new samurai flicks - Movies

TOKYO (Reuters) - Hollywood 3D movies may be huge in Japan, but a wave of new samurai films threatens to tarnish their image by dazzling audiences with old-school action and some clever new twists to the sword-and-kimono stories.
From the works of filmmaking legend Akira Kurosawa, such as "Seven Samurai," to dramas aired on public broadcaster NHK, samurai fare has long been a staple of Japanese entertainment.
But several films in the genre are hitting theaters in a big way this autumn, led by Takashi Miike's "13 Assassins," fresh from its Venice film festival world premiere last month, kicking off a run of six major releases over three months.
The boom highlights the growing importance of older audiences to Japan's film business as the population rapidly ages and retirees with ample time and money return to the multiplexes to take in the kind of movies they enjoyed back in the samurai cinema heyday of the 1950s and '60s.
"People are retiring, the kids have left home and it's just the husband and wife with time on their hands," said Masao Teshima, president of Asmik Ace Entertainment, the studio behind "The Lady Shogun and Her Men" and "Abacus and Sword."
"There's a market for samurai dramas made for such people," he told Reuters, noting that those aged 60-65 represent Japan's biggest population segment.
Indeed, Toho release "13 Assassins," a remake of a 1963 film about a band of samurai hired to bump off the cruel brother of a Shogun, opened at a solid No. 3 on the last weekend in September, despite tough competition in a crowded market from 3D holdovers "Umizaru: The Last Message" and "Resident Evil: Afterlife."
One weekend later, "Lady Shogun," which Asmik is co-distributing with Shochiku, swashbuckled to a No. 2 debut, according to box office tracker Kogyo Tsushinsha, boding well for the upcoming four samurai movie releases.

� Continued...
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Dark thriller Inhale exposes moral dilemmas - Documentary

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Director Baltasar Kormakur, the Icelandic filmmaker behind "101 Reykjavik" and "Jar City," essentially has crossed fiction with documentary filmmaking to expose the worldwide criminal conspiracy to sell body organs to patients in the West.
"Inhale," opening Friday through IFC Films, is a most visceral movie, and that includes a few unnecessary sequences in which you get close-ups of a dying child, a shattered leg, a wound being sutured and, finally, human lungs about to be extracted from a still-living being.
The thriller certainly works in a dark palette. Cinematographer Ottar Gudnason shoots the film's New Mexico landscapes -- from desert vistas in suburban Santa Fe to crummy, crime-ridden streets masquerading for Ciudad Juarez across the border -- so that most of the color drains away, leaving cool, ominous tones of black and gray. James Newton Howard's music often features a guitar not only to pick up a local flavor but, again, to establish a mood that is dark with foreboding.,
Enormous pressure is bearing down on Santa Fe D.A. Paul Chaney (Mulroney). He is going to court with a case hugely unpopular with the city's Latino community -- always bad for someone who might one day run for elected office, as his friend, gubernatorial candidate James Harrison (Sam Shepard), is quick to point out. Meanwhile, he and his wife, Diane (Diane Kruger), are running out of time in their search for a lung donor for their daughter, Chloe (Mia Stallard).
The screenplay by Walter Doty and John Clafin from a story by Christian Escario keeps twisting the vise that grips these three lives tighter and tighter as the story progresses. When Paul learns he might be able to save his daughter with an illegal transplant in Juarez, he risks his life to plunge into one of the world's most notorious, crime-infested cities.
Life is cheap here, but the organs of life come at a dear price. The scenes in Juarez, where the ante gets upped seemingly by the minute, have a nearly unbearable intensity. As Chloe's situation takes a turn for the worse, Paul meets people who are potentially life savers as well as monsters. A mythical Dr. Novarro might not exist or he might be a police chief named Aguilar (Jordi Molla) or compassionate ER doctor Martinez (Vincent Perez). There also are street gangs in two different age brackets -- street kids led by one (Kristyan Ferrer) who carries firearms and finds crafty ways to get money out of the gringo stranger and older, homicidal gangsters more than willing to beat anyone to death.
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Josh Groban makes drastic changes for new album - Music

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Josh Groban is a rare commodity in the music business: a safe bet.
Classically trained, celestially voiced, the kind of sweet-faced, well-mannered, personable young man who probably gets hand-knit sweaters as gifts from fans in lieu of panties, Groban is virtually immune to the vagaries of pop-music trends.
His most recent album, the 2007 Christmas record "Noel," sold 5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and topped the Billboard 200. All told, he has sold almost 20 million albums in the United States.
Because his material appeals to adults whose taste and preferences are stable, Groban can depend on their loyalty. No one would have batted an eye had he released another collection of holiday tracks every couple of years, toured theaters and arenas, dropped in again on Oprah and "Today" and "Glee," headlined public-TV pledge drives and generally reaped the quiet but lucrative rewards of mainstream, middle-of-the-road success.
Instead, Groban, 29, decided to make some drastic changes. He split from his former manager, Brian Avnet, and signed to Q Prime, known for managing guitar extremists Metallica and Muse. He also parted with longtime producer David Foster and teamed with Rick Rubin, the bearded Zen master behind the Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash and Danzig.
On his new record, "Illuminations," due November 15 on Reprise, Groban co-wrote more of the material than he ever had on previous albums, and also recorded a song by an unlikely favorite: goth-rock cult star Nick Cave.
The new partners are especially head-scratching given that Groban's music is possibly the most un-rock stuff out there. With a voice ranging between tenor and baritone, Groban draws more comparisons to Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli than Eddie Vedder or James Hetfield. It's easy to imagine him singing on the radio in the 1940s; his music, which nods to Broadway, opera and European pop, typically finds its truest expression in the kind of swelling, inspirational ballads that accompany first dances at weddings.
Moreover, Groban's older audience still buys physical albums: His breakthrough song, "You Raise Me Up," has sold a relatively modest 977,000 downloads, despite being covered by artists around the world and by "American Idol" contestants who want to bludgeon the judges with their range.
"I was in such a cozy position," Groban says of the period after "Noel" blew up and soundtracked family Christmas dinners across the world. "I had the No. 1-selling album of the year and I could have just kept doing that. But then I started to have an itch."
RUBIN SANDWICH
Groban first appeared on the music scene when he was barely out of high school, working as a rehearsal singer for events like the Grammy Awards and performing at former California Gov. Grey Davis' inauguration. He studied drama at Carnegie Mellon for a few months but dropped out to focus on music.
He released a self-titled album in late 2001 that has so far sold 5.1 million copies, according to SoundScan. After a galvanizing star turn on the TV dramedy "Ally McBeal," he would perform for everyone from Oprah Winfrey to the Prince of Wales, and release three more studio albums ("Closer," "Awake" and "Noel") and three live sets ("Josh Groban in Concert," "Live at the Greek" and "Awake Live") during the next nine years. The success of "Noel" as 2007's best-selling album is doubly impressive since it came out in October of that year and only needed 10 weeks to claim the title.
Amid the post-"Noel" haze, Groban met Rubin while at lunch with Madonna's manager Guy Oseary. "I told Guy I wanted to meet Rick and he set it up, and it turned out we had a lot in common," Groban recalls. "I followed up with Rick to say that I enjoyed chatting with him and wanted to be friends, and then he heard some music and said he wanted to produce on the record."
Rubin says he wasn't apprehensive about working with Groban, despite the fact he had never tackled a project of this nature. "I like working with different kinds of artists," he says, "and working in Josh's medium seemed like an exciting challenge."
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LVMH says to buy stake in Hermes for 1.45 billion euros - Fashion

PARIS (Reuters) - French luxury goods group LVMH (LVMH.PA) said on Saturday it was buying a minority stake worth 1.45 billion euros ($2 billion) in family-controlled handbag maker Hermes (HRMS.PA) but would not seek to take over the group nor influence its strategy.
The move will see LVMH, which owns champagne brand Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, eventually hold a 17.1 percent stake in Hermes, which is known for its high-end leather handbags and silk scarves.
"The objective of LVMH is to be a long-term shareholder of Hermes and to contribute to the preservation of the family and French attributes, which are at the heart of the global success of this iconic brand," LVMH said in a statement on Saturday.
LVMH said it had bought 15,016,000 shares of Hermes, or a 14.2 percent stake. Once it converts certain derivative instruments of Hermes shares, LVMH said it would hold a total of 18,017,246 shares, or a 17.1 percent stake.
Hermes was not immediately available to comment.
LVMH has chosen to invest at a time when Hermes shares are at record highs after a 65 percent rally since July.
The company has long been the subject of market speculation over whether some family members would sell their shares, altering the capital structure of the group or even making it a takeover target.
Management have reiterated the founding family's devotion to Hermes, in which they own a 70 percent stake.
It was not immediately clear whether LVMH bought its shares on the open market or from family members.
"LVMH fully supports the strategy implemented by the founding family and the management team... LVMH has no intention of launching a tender offer, taking control of Hermes, nor seeking board representation," LVMH added in the statement.
Hermes is widely regarded as one of few luxury companies that has continued to grow throughout the consumer spending slump, and it is has also been one of the top beneficiaries of upturn in demand as the economy recovers.
LVMH, the world's biggest luxury group, also sounded an upbeat note in its third quarter results about the economic recovery boosting consumer demand.
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Wynn Resorts files to sell more shares - Casino

NEW YORK Oct 22 (Reuters) - Casino operator Wynn Resorts
Ltd (WYNN.O) filed with U.S. regulators to sell additional
shares, capitalizing on a stock price that has more than
doubled in just under a year.
Wynn, which operates casinos in Las Vegas and Macau, filed
a shelf registration and prospectus with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission on Friday, allowing it to sell an
undisclosed number of shares at its discretion in one or more
offerings.
Shares in Wynn, which was founded by billionaire Steve
Wynn, closed at $104.42 on Friday, more than double their price
on Nov. 2, 2009, when they hit $51.73.
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INTERVIEW-Olympics-We learned our lessons, says French bid boss - Board Games

PARIS Oct 5 (Reuters) - France intend to get their strategy
right in Annecy's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics after failing
twice to secure the summer Games, the chief executive of Annecy
2018 Edgar Grospiron told Reuters in an interview.
Paris, the favourites for the 2012 Games, lost out to London
after failing in their bid for the 2008 Olympics which went to
Beijing.
Grospiron, 41, a popular figure in France since winning a
moguls gold medal at the 1992 Albertville Games, said the
lessons of the unsuccessful Paris bid had been taken on board.
London edged the French capital after benefiting from Prime
Minister Tony Blair's behind-the-scenes work and the leadership
of bid head Seb Coe.
The Paris bid was led by mayor Bertrand Delanoe, not a
figure with a reputation in the sports world, and the Annecy
submission will be backed instead by prominent French sports
personalities.
"The lessons from Paris have been learned and our strategy
is different," Grospiron said.
"We need a lot of people supporting us. It means we have to
work closely with Jean-Claude Killy and Guy Drut but also with
all the influential people at the international level."
Killy, a triple alpine ski champion at the 1968 Grenoble
Winter Games, and Drut. the 1976 Montreal Games high hurdles
champion, are both members of the International Olympic
Committee (IOC).
Marie-Jose Perec, who won three Olympic titles including the
200-400 double at the 1996 Atlanta Games, is also supporting the
bid.
Grospiron said Annecy would need the backing of politicians
plus International Rugby Board president Bernard Lapasset and
UEFA president Michel Platini.
Annecy, who were asked by the IOC to change their original
plan to build 10 venues, are in a three-way battle with Munich
and Pyeongchang in the vote on July 6 next year.
"We know that we have not won anything yet but morale is
going up," Grospiron said. "Clearly, we almost caught up and
Annecy's situation is more comfortable than a few months ago."
Perec told Reuters she would play an active role in the bid.
"I could not imagine myself not supporting a French bid,"
she told Reuters. "I will go to the international bodies to show
them that everything has been done in Annecy to host the Games."
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- Longoria to host MTV show, not eyeing music career - Comedy

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria may be hosting next month's Europe Music Awards for MTV, but she has no ambition to pursue a career in pop.
The 35-year-old, best known for her portrayal of Gabrielle Solis in the hit comedy series, will be in Madrid on November 7 to take charge of the annual awards ceremony, one of the music world's biggest nights outside of the United States.
"No, I'll definitely leave the music to the professionals," she said, when asked whether she was considering a career in music.
Longoria has made a spoof rap video for the show, in which she wears a black swimsuit and at one point rhymes "host" with "French toast."
"They handed it (the script) to me the day of the recording," she told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"They said 'Here are you words' and I thought 'Oh my God, this is pretty terrifying."
The actress, married to basketball player Tony Parker, said her love of music, Spanish roots and previous experience at hosting shows meant she was suitably qualified to do the job.
Previous hosts of the MTV Europe Music Awards have included Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Katy Perry and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
"I have some tough competition," Longoria said, adding, "I'm excited about it and I love to be challenged in new ways.
"I love Shakira, Kings of Leon and Katy Perry and Linkin Park - the performers they have lined up are amazing."
Longoria added that part of the appeal was to "expect the unexpected and anything goes and that raises the stakes on the night."
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Actor Josh Gad sells family comedy to CBS - Comedy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Back to You" and "Woke Up Dead" actor Josh Gad is near a deal for a comedy project at CBS.
The actor-comedian landed a script deal at the network for "Adopted Family." The premise: When a teenage girl shows up on his doorstep, a man discovers his new wife has a daughter he didn't know existed.
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Fishing, kayaking Sarah Palin debuts TV show trailer - Tv Series

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hiking in the Alaskan snow, bear-watching, fishing, kayaking and family -- that apparently is what Sarah Palin loves best, according to a trailer for her new TV reality show released on Friday.
Better known for rallying conservatives and Tea Party followers at political meetings, the former U.S. vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor is the subject of an eight-part TV series making its debut on November 14.
"I'd rather be doing this than in some stuffy, old political office. I'd rather be out here being free," Palin says in the trailer for "Sarah Palin's Alaska."
The brief clip shows Palin having fun in Alaska countryside with her husband Todd and five children, kayaking down rivers, watching wild bears playing, and trekking across snow-filled hills.
The TV show on channel TLC is the latest media venture for Palin, the polarizing Republican who is widely thought to be weighing a run for U.S. president in 2012. Her second book "America by Heart" is expected to be published in late November after her 2009 best-seller "Going Rogue".
Palin's eldest daughter Bristol, 19, a single mother and a paid speaker on the topic of abstinence before marriage, is currently a contestant on popular TV show "Dancing with the Stars."
Bristol Palin's former boyfriend Levi Johnston is also working on his own upcoming TV show which chronicles his bid to be elected mayor of Wasilla, Alaska -- a post once held by Sarah Palin.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant, editing by Christine Kearney)
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Reality series Wipeout getting winter run - Tv Series

LOS Angeles (Hollywood Reporter) - ABC is moving its summer reality staple "Wipeout" to the big leagues, giving the obstacle-course competition series its first run during the regular TV season.
Beginning in January, "Wipeout" will return with a "winter wonderland"-themed course, complete with slippery ice and such new stunts as the Spanker Sleds, the Wipeout Ski Lift and the Polar Bear Run.
The network has ordered eight episodes, which will be considered part of the show's recent fourth season.
"Wipeout," produced by Endemol USA, averaged 9.2 million viewers and a 3.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic during its Tuesday run in the summer.
The move gives ABC additional hole-plugging ammo during midseason.
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Jason Alexander brings screwball comedy to Song - Comedy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "They're Playing Our Song" centers on a frank, sexy and neurotic relationship, circa late '80s, that is patterned loosely on its young creators Marvin Hamlisch (a.k.a. Vernon Gersch) and Carole Bayer Sager (a.k.a. Sonia Walsk).
We're talking a little bit spunky, a little bit brassy, a lot of poetry and oceans of heart. Oh, and music played by a backstage band that would have had boomers dancing in the aisles if Westwood's Freud Playhouse had any.
Stephanie J. Block captures Sonia's newly liberated woman unleashed at full force, dressed in a dazzling succession of Kate Bergh's posthippie fantasies. Block sings, dances and engages in sex with equal good nature and aplomb. Jason Alexander's power lies in his work as a consummate screwball comedy man; it even turns out he can dance and sing.
Although writer Neil Simon's obsession with Block's former lover Leon gets tired fast, nothing stops the madly careening love affair between Vernon and Sonia, despite the fact that they are as mismatched in physique and style as they are in neurotic dynamics and tone, leading to a nonstop barrage of good-natured humor that the audience responds to with split-second, laugh-track-quality precision.
Both stars are willing to share the play, to feed the straight lines as well as deliver the punches. They also ignite sexually in quiet, intimate ways that everyone will recognize.
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Homer Simpson is Catholic, Vatican paper declares - Entertainment News

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Simpsons" just got a blessing from the Vatican.
The official Vatican newspaper has declared that beer-swilling, doughnut-loving Homer Simpson and son Bart are Catholics -- and what's more, it says that parents should not be afraid to let their children watch "the adventures of the little guys in yellow."
"Few people know it, and he does everything to hide it. But it's true: Homer J. Simpson is Catholic", the Osservatore Romano newspaper said in an article on Sunday headlined "Homer and Bart are Catholics."
The newspaper cited a study by a Jesuit priest of a 2005 episode of the show called "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star". That study concludes that "The Simpsons" is "among the few TV programs for kids in which Christian faith, religion and questions about God are recurrent themes."
The Simpsons pray before meals, and "in its own way, believes in the beyond," the newspaper quoted the Jesuit study as saying.
It's the second time the animated U.S. TV series, which is broadcast in 90 countries, has been praised by the Vatican.
But executive producer Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly on Monday he was in "shock and awe" at the latest assertion, adding that the Simpsons attend the "Presbylutheran" First Church of Springfield.
"We've pretty clearly shown that Homer is not Catholic," Jean said. "I really don't think he could go without eating meat on Fridays -- for even an hour."
In December 2009, the Osservatore Romano described the show as "tender and irreverent, scandalous and ironic, boisterous and profound, philosophical and sometimes even theological, nutty synthesis of pop culture and of the lukewarm and nihilistic American middle class."
"The Simpsons", which introduced the catch-phrase "D'oh", is the longest-running prime-time TV series in the United States and is now in its 22nd season.
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Ed Asner returning to primetime TV in CMT sitcom - Comedy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Can Ed Asner do for CMT what Betty White did for TV Land?
A seven-time Emmy winner, Asner is returning to primetime television in CMT's first scripted sitcom, "Working Class."
The "Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Lou Grant" star is joining previously announced lead Melissa Peterman in the series about a blue-collar single mom who moves her family to a well-to-do suburb. Asner plays her misanthropic neighbor. The show will premiere in January.
The move marks the 80-year-old actor's first regular series commitment since NBC's short-lived "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in 2006. He also was recently cast as Warren Buffett in HBO's TV movie "Too Big to Fail."
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Young voters pose skeptical questions to Obama - Magic

* Obama on end of skeptical questions
* Hopes for greater cooperation with Republicans
By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama
faced some skeptical questions from young people and defended
his policies, from job creation to immigration, on Thursday in
an effort to rev up Democratic voter enthusiasm for the Nov. 2
midterm elections.
Obama appeared at a live television event in his latest
attempt to reach young people and recapture some of the magic
from his 2008 presidential victory as polls show the Democrats
trailing in the congressional vote.
One man peppered Obama with questions about his economic
policies and asked whether he would deserve re-election in
2012. "Why should we still support you going forward with your
monetary economic policies, and if the economy doesn't improve
over the next two years why should we put you back in?" he
asked.
Obama said he took office when the country was in the
throes of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression
and the $814 billion economic stimulus he pushed through
Congress "no doubt" saved or created 3 million jobs.
"While the economy was contracting when I came into office,
it's now growing," he said. "With respect to the private
sector, we've seen job growth nine consecutive months."

� Continued...
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Film simulates Afghan capture of Prince Harry - Documentary

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A documentary film to be aired on British television this month will examine what might happen if Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth's grandson, were kidnapped while on military duty in Afghanistan.
"The Taking of Prince Harry," on public broadcaster Channel 4 on October 21, recreates a helicopter crash in the south of Afghanistan and the subsequent capture of the royal, who is third in line to the throne.
Harry served with British forces in Afghanistan in 2008, becoming the first member of the royal family to see action since his uncle Prince Andrew flew helicopters in the Falklands War in 1982.
Harry, 26, has spoken of his desire to return to Afghanistan, which he was forced to leave prematurely after news of his presence there was leaked.
"The Taking of Prince Harry raises questions about the far-reaching ramifications for Britain should Prince Harry be granted his wish to return to Afghanistan and be captured -- and asks if Britain is prepared for this potential ransom note," Channel 4 said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for the broadcaster added that Channel 4 had contacted the royal family about the film, but had received no response.
The concept of the feature-length documentary has already come in for criticism.
"What these people forget is there is still a war going on," said tabloid newspaper The Sun's in-house security expert Andy McNab. "This comes at a bad time and is in bad taste.
"It's highly likely Harry will be going back to Afghanistan now they have spent so much money on his Apache (helicopter) training. But it's not just insensitive to Harry, it's insensitive to all the troops and the mums, dads, wives and kids with lads out there."
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TV script puts gender spin on Three's Company - Comedy

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox has picked up a script for a comedy series whose rather provocative name won't last beyond the development phase.
Now dubbed the untitled Liz Meriwether project, or "Chicks and Dicks," the script is described as a "reverse 'Three's Company,'"
The show is an ensemble comedy centering on an optimistic Midwestern woman who moves into a New York apartment with three juvenile guys.
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Lebanese fashion designers reign supreme despite crisis - Fashion

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The top Western fashion designers suffered massively when purses around the globe snapped resoundingly shut during the financial crisis.
But Lebanese designers, who hail from a land where Fashion TV is the channel of choice at the swankiest bars, say they have managed to escape the brunt of the crisis because of two things -- affordable haute couture and rich Arab clients.
It's fair to say that Lebanon just doesn't do casual. High heels, form-fitting dresses and salon-styled hair are part of many Lebanese women's daily routine.
Renting a designer dress to wear at a wedding is far more acceptable, than, horror of horrors, opting to purchase a generic high-street gown.
So it's no surprise that the country's top designers became more famous for their elaborate, long, sequined and chiffoned collections than classical ready-to-wear lines. And their clientele keep coming back for more.
In fact Elie Saab, whose slinky, decidedly feminine dresses are a red-carpet favorite for many Hollywood A-listers, said his pret-a-porter lines suffered for a few months in the United States due to the crisis, and not his haute-couture lines.
"Lebanese designers have always been distinctive with their haute-couture, not pret-a-porter. What they present to the world is distinctive," Saab told Reuters.
Saab was speaking just before his first fashion show in Beirut in 18 years, where he showed his Autumn-Winter 2010/2011 ready-to-wear collection to mark the official opening of the opulent Beirut Souks shopping district in the city center.
But even that collection, already shown in Paris, was full of evening dresses frilled with lace, tulle and sequins in deep colours that he said were reminiscent of being in a "night-time forest."
Scarlett Johansson, Carey Mulligan and Emily Blunt have already been spotted wearing some of the collection's designs on the red carpet.
"If you go to a French fashion house, (for haute couture), the price is unnatural, it's as if they're saying 'we don't want to sell'. That's why haute couture is successful in Lebanon."
"It's the beauty of the piece ... and the prices are appropriate for women of the world," Saab said.
HAUTE COUTURE LUXE
Abed Mahfouz, whose dresses have been worn by Beyonce and Victoria Beckham, agrees.
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Avatar special edition set for November release - Sci Fi

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Avatar" fans will get new glimpses of Pandora next month, when special-edition discs of the sci-fi film hit store shelves.
The home-video sets arrive November 16 domestically and November 15 abroad, Fox Home Entertainment said Tuesday.
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions of the James Cameron film will include 45 minutes of footage that wasn't in the original theatrical version and 36 minutes more than included in an August re-release of the winter blockbuster. The special-edition discs also are the first to include bonus special features on the film.
But the movie is presented in 2D on the discs. "Avatar" won't be released in 3D Blu-ray until 2011.
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UPDATE 2-MGM Resorts, Tracinda sell shares, price falls - Casino

* Offering priced at $12.65 per share
* MGM could raise close to $600 million
* Shares down 11.1 percent
(Adds stock downgrade, updates share price)
LOS ANGELES, Oct 13 (Reuters) - MGM Resorts International
(MGM.N) shares fell more than 11 percent on Wednesday as both
the largest casino operator on the Las Vegas Strip and its
biggest shareholder sell stock in the company.
MGM and Tracinda Corp, the investment vehicle of
billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, said late on Tuesday they would
sell up to 47 million and 32 million shares, respectively. The
offer price was set at $12.65 -- 7 percent below Tuesday's
close.
The new shares could raise close to $600 million for MGM --
which is focused on paying down $12.9 billion in debt -- but
will also dilute the holdings of current shareholders by around
10 percent.
The sale will also cut Tracinda's stake to about 30 percent
from the current 37 percent. Kerkorian once owned more than
half of MGM, but the holdings fell after a May 2009 stock
offering.
"This was unexpected, timing is curious, and reason(s)
unclear," Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka said in a
research note, referring to the Tracinda sale. "MGM's offering
should bolster liquidity, but we believe some investors would
prefer to see a $1.5 to $2 billion-plus deal that more fully
addresses debt maturities through 2013."
MGM also reported on Wednesday that preliminary
third-quarter results were lackluster, but largely in line with
Wall Street expectations.
Soleil Securities downgraded MGM to "hold" from "buy,"
citing operating results that do not support the notion of an
accelerating recovery on the Las Vegas Strip, where yet another
new resort, the Cosmopolitan, is slated to open in December.
The casino industry has been hit hard by the recession and
global financial crisis, which led to a sharp drop in gambling
revenue and hotel room rates.
Investors in MGM, and other Vegas casino operators
including Wynn Resorts Ltd (WYNN.O) and Las Vegas Sands Corp
(LVS.N), were buoyed by Nevada's report last week that Strip
casinos won 21 percent more money in August than a year
earlier.
But MGM's write-offs for the quarter -- another $182
million for impairment to the CityCenter, the $8.5 billion
project that opened on the Las Vegas Strip in December, and $46
million for CityCenter condominiums -- were worse than
expected, according to Janet Brashear at Sanford Bernstein.
"Continued write-offs make the financial picture more
uncertain, especially as it relates to CityCenter liability;
however, the pending Borgata sales represents progress in
resolving loose ends," she said in a research note.
MGM said it found a buyer for its 50 percent stake in the
Borgata resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at a price that
would generate around $250 million.
MGM has been looking to sell its stake after New Jersey
regulators questioned the suitability of Pansy Ho, the
company's joint venture partner in China's Macau.
Barclays Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of
Barclays Plc (BARC.L), is the sole underwriter for MGM's stock
offering.
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Analysis: Crackdown on dissent risks stoking Thai crisis - Radio Stations

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Months after the Thai army forced an end to weeks of anti-government protests, the government says widespread restrictions on dissent are still essential for peace. But the risk is that they end up sparking more unrest.
From high-profile arrests to the shutting down and censoring of thousands of websites, the measures used by authorities to keep a lid on simmering tensions are threatening to worsen the conflict, alienate rivals and discredit the administration of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
"Thailand is in uncharted territory and the government's response to dissent could lead to a bolder display of resistance," Jacob Ramsay, senior Southeast Asia analyst at Control Risks, a strategic consulting firm based in Britain.
"Once authorities start to react to that it has no choice but to do so with more force. It's a vicious cycle."
The tough line on dissent is also a public relations gamble for Abhisit, the seemingly progressive Oxford-educated premier who has to call an election by the end of 2011.
While the curbs will please his backers, they make it harder to convince voters he is serious about national reconciliation and close a social and political divide at the heart of five years of mass anti-government protests and civil unrest.
In the latest case, a director of prominent online newspaper Prachatai was arrested in September after arriving on an overseas flight at Bangkok's main airport over a comment posted two years ago deemed a breach of lese majeste and computer crime laws.
Lese majeste, or insults to the monarchy, are punishable by up to 15 years in prison in largely Buddhist Thailand where many regard King Bhumibol Adulyadej as almost divine. Critics say the military-backed government is using the law to silence opponents.
"It isn't clear where the line is. The law does not guarantee freedom of speech or give us protection," Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the director of the Prachatai website, told Reuters after she was released on bail.
Since a spasm of political violence killed 91 people in April and May, Bangkok and six province remain under emergency rule, which bans political gatherings and gives the government power to impose curfews, censor media and detain suspects without charge.
At least 185 protesters remain in detention and thousands of web-pages have been shut since April on top of over 100,000 blocked since 2007. Dozens of community radio stations and a cable television channel run by the "red shirt" movement were forced off air.
'DEMOCRATIC FACADE'
Recent action against dissidents also raised questions over who is calling the shots -- Abhisit, who has voiced concerns about the use of anti-crown law, for political purposes or the army and its establishment allies.
Political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak said the recent arrest "exposes Thailand's solidifying soft civil-military authoritarianism."
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UBS starts U.S. entertainment sector with neutral bias - Entertainment News

* Sees cable network assets as organic growth opportunity
* Starts Time Warner, Discovery Comm, Viacom with "buy"
* Starts Scripps Networks, Walt Disney with "neutral"
Sept 21 (Reuters) - UBS began coverage of the U.S.
entertainment sector with a neutral bias and said it considers
cable network assets as one of the few organic growth
opportunities in media.
The brokerage started coverage of Time Warner Inc (TWX.N),
Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA.O) and Viacom Inc (VIAb.N)
with "buy" ratings.
"Investment in programming has been a driver of growth in
audience share over the past few years, with cable ad growth
significantly outperforming the TV networks," analyst John
Janedis said in a note to clients.
The analyst, who started Scripps Networks Interactive Inc
(SNI.N) and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) with "neutral" ratings,
said technology is making the film business model more
challenging.
"Properly responding to these changes will be a key factor
in maintaining the health of the business model," Janedis
said.
Last week, Credit Suisse said streaming video offerings
from Netflix (NFLX.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Google TV will
catch on with consumers eager to cut the cable cord and
downgraded the U.S. entertainment sector to "underweight."
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Anne
Pallivathuckal)
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UK Lib Dem leader calls for patience on coalition - Celebrities

LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg urged party members on Sunday not to panic about a slide in poll ratings after he led them into Britain's first coalition government since World War Two.
Clegg's Lib Dems have seen their support slump since they became junior partners in a Conservative-led administration following the general election in May.
The government will next month announce spending cuts of up to 25 percent in many departments as it seeks to erase a budget deficit running at 11 percent of national output.
Those measures are likely to prove deeply unpopular and some critics say the fresh-faced Clegg, 43, who is deputy prime minister, risks leading the Lib Dems into oblivion.
"This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are condemned to take as a government some very, very difficult decisions on sorting out the public finances," Clegg told BBC television in an interview at the start of his party's annual conference in Liverpool, northwest England.
"You have to hold your nerve and play it long and see the benefits of what we're doing over a period of time," he added.
No one expects the Liberal Democrats to quit the coalition immediately, but the partnership could be jeopardised if they fail to secure cherished electoral reform in a referendum next year or perform poorly in local elections.

TRIDENT TENSIONS
The left-leaning Lib Dems and the centre-right Conservatives were not regarded as natural partners before the general election in May which ended 13 years of Labour rule.
However, they reached a coalition agreement within five days after the Lib Dems signed up to swift spending cuts because of the financial crisis in the neighbouring euro zone.
Tension remains. The Lib Dems argued for alternatives to a planned multi-billion-pound renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent, and are also uneasy with planned school reforms and the construction of new nuclear power plants.
Clegg said the government had to examine Trident in the same way as it assessed other expensive government schemes.
"The two coalition parties don't see entirely eye-to-eye on this," he said. "I don't think people would understand why we would exempt Trident from the same financial pressures when people are having some of their benefits qualified."
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Delhi Games vie with Mohali cricket test for eyeballs - Board Games

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Marksmen Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang will have to jostle for Wednesday's headlines with cricketer Vangipurappu Laxman despite winning India's first gold medal in the Delhi Commonwealth Games on Tuesday.
While the 10m air rifle pair were shooting down the gold at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting range, Laxman was leading India to a thrilling one-wicket test victory over Australia some 265 kilometers away in Mohali.
In a country where industrial productivity takes a beating every time the cricket team walks out to play, the shooters will have to share the column space with the cricketer from Hyderabad.
The clash between cricket and Commonwealth Games was avoidable but Indian cricket bosses rejected the worried organizers' request to reschedule the two-test series.
Olympic champion Bindra was optimistic that his feat would not go unsung and cricket, for once, would take a back seat.
"The Commonwealth Games will definitely dominate coverage," said the babyfaced shooter. "I would like to live under the illusion that this gold will be on the front pages tomorrow."
He could not have asked for tougher competition in attracting Wednesday's headlines than Laxman's heroics.
The stylish cricketer braved back pain to guide India to a dramatic victory in the test which rival captains Ricky Ponting and Mahendra Singh Dhoni rated as one of the best they have played in.
Cricket chiefs also turned down the cash-strapped organizers' request to stump up $22 million and come on board as a lead partner of the Games.
With disappointing turnouts at the Games venues so far, former test cricket Maninder Singh does not see it as a direct clash between cricket and Commonwealth Games.
"I don't think scheduling of the cricket series actually matters," he told Reuters. "I'm not sure how many people would go to the stadium in the next three-four days when there is no cricket match. Let's be honest, cricket will rule the roost.
"I have been swapping channels all day to catch both the Commonwealth Games and the Mohali test and I know there are many who did the same," said the former left-arm spinner.
"The Mohali test was one of the best I have seen and Laxman? ... What a player!"
The second test starts on October 9 in Bangalore, while the Commonwealth Games close on October 14.
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Modern voting, 19th century campaigns in Venezuela - Radio Stations

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's voting system is world class, but campaign excesses by President Hugo Chavez, government and opposition officials are reminiscent of elections in the 19th century, a top electoral official said.
Venezuelans choose a new parliament on Sunday after a tight race that will return the opposition to the National Assembly after they boycotted the last elections in 2005, and could even give them a majority of votes, if not seats.
Vicente Diaz, the most critical voice among the leadership of the National Electoral Council, said participation by all political parties showed a growing confidence among politicians and voters in the reliability of the system on election day.
But he said Chavez had repeatedly crossed the line during the campaign by appearing alongside candidates at presidential events and using speeches broadcast on all television and radio stations to attack opponents.
Some Venezuelans fear delays or confusion over tallying the results from Sunday's elections, given a complicated two-sheet ballot paper and the fact that some candidates will be elected directly while others will be chosen by parties.
But most observers say the final results will be reliable.
"We have an electoral system, from the point of view of procedure, technology, guarantees and audits that is worthy of the 21st century, and we have the campaign control of the 19th century," Diaz told Reuters in an interview late on Tuesday.
"In the 19th century, candidates competed against the state," Diaz said, sitting below a portrait of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar riding through a stormy night.
During nearly 12 years in office, Chavez has amassed far-reaching powers, and most branches of the state are openly politicized and appear to work in favor of the president.
Diaz said Chavez had also overused a law under which he can force all broadcasters to transmit his speeches, which are often several hours long. He uses the tool, known as a "cadena," extensively during campaigns.
"The cadenas promote government works and impede the opposition from transmitting its message," Diaz said in his office, where two flatscreen TVs showed the main government and main opposition news channels.
Diaz said he had made six requests for investigations into the president's campaign behavior, and that all of them had been rejected by his peers in the council.
NO THREAT OF BOYCOTT
By ignoring the abuses, Diaz said, the council effectively allowed public figures from both ends of the political spectrum to mix campaigning and official events.
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UBS starts U.S. entertainment sector with neutral bias - Entertainment News

* Sees cable network assets as organic growth opportunity
* Starts Time Warner, Discovery Comm, Viacom with "buy"
* Starts Scripps Networks, Walt Disney with "neutral"
Sept 21 (Reuters) - UBS began coverage of the U.S.
entertainment sector with a neutral bias and said it considers
cable network assets as one of the few organic growth
opportunities in media.
The brokerage started coverage of Time Warner Inc (TWX.N),
Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA.O) and Viacom Inc (VIAb.N)
with "buy" ratings.
"Investment in programming has been a driver of growth in
audience share over the past few years, with cable ad growth
significantly outperforming the TV networks," analyst John
Janedis said in a note to clients.
The analyst, who started Scripps Networks Interactive Inc
(SNI.N) and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) with "neutral" ratings,
said technology is making the film business model more
challenging.
"Properly responding to these changes will be a key factor
in maintaining the health of the business model," Janedis
said.
Last week, Credit Suisse said streaming video offerings
from Netflix (NFLX.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Google TV will
catch on with consumers eager to cut the cable cord and
downgraded the U.S. entertainment sector to "underweight."
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Anne
Pallivathuckal)
Watch Entertainment News Online

Book Talk: Derek Landy lauds the skeleton who stormed his life - Movies

CANBERRA (Reuters) - As a fan of horror movies, martial arts and detective stories, Derek Landy thought he was set for a career writing screenplays until a skeleton detective stormed his imagination -- and children's bookshelves.
The snappily dressed Skulduggery Pleasant popped into Landy's mind while he was traveling, and within months was down on paper in the first of the Irish writer's best-selling fantasy novels, "Skulduggery Pleasant," that was published in 2007 and was this year voted Irish Book of The Decade.
Landy, from County Dublin, has just released the fifth book in the series, "Skulduggery Pleasant: Mortal Coil," which follows Pleasant and his teenage sidekick Valkyrie Cain as they try to protect a known killer from an unstoppable assassin.
Turning his hand to children's books was quite a shift for Landy, who had written two films since being thrown out of art college, one about zombies called "Boy Eat Girls" and the other a thriller in which everyone dies called "Dead Bodies."
Landy spoke to Reuters about his life with a skeleton:
Q: You released both the fourth and fifth books in the series this year. How did you fit it all in?
A: "I stopped having a life. I had been promising myself a break for about a year or two, a break between Skulduggery books when I could do something different, but it hasn't worked out according to plan. But as it is, it is still fantastic and I am really enjoying it and nowhere near the start of burn-out."
Q: You have said this will be a nine-book series.
A: "Absolutely. I don't know what will happen afterwards. If I get to the end of the nine books and the characters are still alive then they may come back in two years' time but I don't know how the last book ends yet. They could be dead."
Q: So you aren't fed up with Skulduggery yet?
A: "I am kind of wary of it and I expected it to hit me certainly by now but it hasn't and I am hugely thankful for that. But it is important for me to do something completely different in between the Skulduggery books while still sticking to the Skulduggery schedule."
Q: You say he just arrived in your head one day?
A: "It was kind of weird. Ideas don't really come like that. Writers might get a hint of an idea that you expand but with Skulduggery, his name came to me and it told me who he was and what he was and what he was like. I don't know why his name popped into my head but it told me everything I needed to know and suddenly I was writing a book."
Q: Is it true that a Skulduggery film is under development?
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UPDATE 2-Citi ordered to pay actor Larry Hagman $11.5 mln - Movies

* Citi ordered to pay $1.35 mln compensatory damages
* Also to pay $10 mln punitive damages for serious conduct
* Citigroup says disagrees with filing, reviewing options
(Adds Hagman's age, background)
By Joseph A. Giannone
NEW YORK, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Larry Hagman, the actor who
played the villainous J.R. Ewing in the 1980s TV show "Dallas,"
has won his case that he was victimized by Citigroup Inc (C.N),
and the bank was ordered to pay over $11 million in damages.
The total award includes $10 million in punitive damages
that Citi must pay to charities selected by Hagman, $1.1
million in compensatory damages and nearly $440,000 in legal
fees.
Hagman, who also played astronaut Anthony Nelson in "I
Dream of Jeannie" in the 1960s TV show, had requested $1.35
million in damages. He could not be reached for comment.
Hagman accused Citi in May 2009 of a breach of fiduciary
duty and breach of contract, fraud by misrepresentation and
omission, failure to supervise and violation of federal and
state law, according to the ruling by an arbitration panel of
FINRA, a self-regulatory body of the U.S. financial industry.
The allegations stemmed from unspecified securities held in
Citi accounts, as well as the purchase of a life insurance
policy.
Hagman received the unusually large award after the
arbitrators found Citigroup Global Markets "engaged in serious
misconduct," meeting FINRA's standards for punitive damages,
the ruling said.
"We are disappointed and disagree with the panel's finding
and we are reviewing our options," said Citigroup spokesman
Alex Samuelson.
Hagman, who turned 79 last month, continues to appear on TV
and in movies, including the 1998 political spoof "Primary
Colors." More recently he has played off his role as a Texas
oilman to become a spokesman for a solar energy company.
According to Solar World, Hagman's California home was the
largest residential producer of solar power in the United
States.
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It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a hockey superhero! - Entertainment News

DETROIT (Reuters) - Pow! Wap! Goal!
The National Hockey League is teaming up with Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men and other iconic comic book heroes, to create a new series of superheroes representing each of the 30 league cities and incorporating hockey elements as a way to market the sport.
Under the deal, the NHL and SLG Entertainment, led by Lee's Pow! Entertainment, will form Guardian Media Entertainment LLC (GME) to create 30 "Guardian" superheroes. Starting in January, the new heroes will be used on the Internet, mobile phones, novels and comic books, gaming, in arenas, broadcast, merchandise, and promotional and sponsorship materials.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the characters will be co-owned by the NHL and SLG Entertainment.
"It really is important for us primarily for the cultivation of the next generation of fans," Brian Jennings, NHL executive vice president for marketing, said in a telephone interview. "You want to be relevant as a brand and GME is part of our overall marketing mix."
Each "Guardian" has been derived from its corresponding hockey team, complete with special powers representative of each team and city, but the heroes are not set in the world of hockey, Jennings said. They will be introduced during the 2011 NHL All-Star Game on January 30 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
No word on whether NHL superstars Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals or Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins are being fitted for black spandex, but the idea will be billed at the New York Comic Con on Friday as Lee's new superhero franchise.
"I've always believed that every great plan starts with a great story," Lee said. "In the creation of GME and its unique and unprecedented relationship with the NHL, I truly believe we have the perfect combination."

� Continued...
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U.S. court keeps spying claims against Mattel alive - Entertainment News

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Mattel Inc will answer accusations it spied on rival toymakers by infiltrating their private showrooms around the globe, after a U.S. court denied its motion to dismiss claims filed by rival MGA.
In an escalation of a long-running battle over MGA's popular "Bratz" dolls, MGA Entertainment Inc accused Mattel of gaining entry to toy fairs with false credentials to steal trade secrets. It says Mattel then concealed evidence about these activities, according to court filings.
MGA has accused Mattel employees of gaining access to private showrooms of toy makers -- including Hasbro Inc, Lego and Sony Corp -- armed with fake business cards and spy cameras, to steal price lists and other sensitive information.
It made the accusations in August, four weeks after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco said a lower court judge had wrongly granted Mattel ownership of the $1 billion franchise of multi-ethnic, fashionable Bratz dolls.
Mattel sought to have MGA's most recent trade secret allegations dismissed. But U.S. District Judge David Carter, based in Southern California, ruled the allegations can survive because Mattel has also accused MGA of destroying evidence.
The two sets of allegations "share a logical relationship," Carter ruled.
However, he denied MGA's attempt to recover damages resulting from court injunctions that had once been imposed on MGA, only to be overturned.
MGA Chief Executive Isaac Larian called Mattel's conduct "shameful" on Wednesday. Representatives for Mattel were not immediately available for comment.
Trial is currently scheduled for Jan. 11, though further pretrial motions will be decided before then.
The case in U.S. District Court, Central District of California is Bryant v. Mattel Inc, 04-9049.
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Problem gamblers may recover without quitting - Casino

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pathological gamblers may often be able to recover from their destructive habits without giving up gambling altogether, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among nearly 4,800 Australian adults they surveyed, the 44 men and women who appeared to be recovering pathological gamblers had largely beat their problems without completely giving up the habit.
Ninety percent were still sometimes playing the lottery, hitting the casino or betting on sports -- despite no longer screening positive for problem gambling.
The findings, reported in the journal Addiction, are in line with what has been seen in the treatment of alcohol abuse. That is, some people in recovery can successfully cut back on drinking, rather than abstaining completely. This approach is sometimes referred to as "harm reduction."
And the results suggest that problem gamblers, too, can recover even if they do not quit altogether, lead researcher Dr. Wendy S. Slutske, of the University of Missouri in Columbia, told Reuters Health by email.
Traditionally, abstinence has been the cornerstone of treatment for pathological gambling, being strongly espoused, for example, by the support group Gamblers Anonymous. But recent research has suggested that therapy aimed at "controlled gambling" can be effective.
This is important, Slutske's team notes in the report, because if controlled gambling, rather than complete abstinence, is a treatment goal, it's possible that more pathological gamblers will seek help.
The current findings are based on phone interviews with 4,764 Australian twins who were part of a national registry used for health-related research. All completed a standard questionnaire that screens people for lifetime and more-recent gambling problems.
Some signs of pathological gambling include a preoccupation with gambling, feeling the need to take increasingly bigger risks, taking time from work or family life to gamble, and hiding the habit from others.
In this study, 104 participants, or about 2 percent, screened positive for a lifetime history of pathological gambling. Of those men and women, 28 screened positive for the problem in the past year, while 32 met only some of the criteria for pathological gambling in the past year, and were considered problem gamblers.
Another 44 men and women did not report any symptoms in the past year; they were considered the "recovery" group.
Of that recovery group, 90 percent said they still gambled at times -- though considerably less often than their counterparts who did report symptoms in the past year. For example, people in the recovery group gambled on an average of 54 days in the past year, versus 176 days among those who screened positive for pathological gambling in the past year.
The study has its limitations, including the fact that it assessed participants at one time point. A study that follows people over time, Slutske and her colleagues note, could help uncover the factors that allow some gamblers to recover "in the absence of abstinence." It could also show whether their recoveries last for the long haul.
"I don't think that we know yet how people (in recovery) are able to continue to gamble without problems," Slutske said, "and more research might be needed to answer this question."
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Christina Hendricks joins Superman cartoon - Arts

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - James Denton, Christina Hendricks and Anthony LaPaglia are lending their pipes to "All-Star Superman," the animated adaptation of one of the most acclaimed comics of the past decade.
The story begins with the Man of Steel (Denton) oversaturated by radiation during a rescue mission near the sun, accelerating the degeneration of his cells. Knowing that he has a limited time before he dies, Superman sets out on a journey that sees him revealing his secret to Lois Lane (Hendricks), giving Lex Luthor (LaPaglia) an epiphany on humanity and ensuring the safety of Earth for when he is gone.
Also in the cast are Ed Asner as Perry White and Frances Conroy as Ma Kent along with Linda Cardellini, Arnold Vosloo and Matthew Gray Gubler.
The Warner Bros. film is due to be released in the spring.
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League reaches tentative agreement with match officials - Board Games

The deal is still subject to ratification between the league's board of governors and the union representing its officials, the NHL said on its website. Both sides will have no comment until the new deal is ratified.
The previous contract expired on August 31 and the league's officials and linesmen had been working through the pre-season games without a deal in place.
The regular season opens October 7 with five games, including one in Helsinki, Finland, between the Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue; Editing by Ian Ransom)
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UBS starts U.S. entertainment sector with neutral bias - Entertainment News

* Sees cable network assets as organic growth opportunity
* Starts Time Warner, Discovery Comm, Viacom with "buy"
* Starts Scripps Networks, Walt Disney with "neutral"
Sept 21 (Reuters) - UBS began coverage of the U.S.
entertainment sector with a neutral bias and said it considers
cable network assets as one of the few organic growth
opportunities in media.
The brokerage started coverage of Time Warner Inc (TWX.N),
Discovery Communications Inc (DISCA.O) and Viacom Inc (VIAb.N)
with "buy" ratings.
"Investment in programming has been a driver of growth in
audience share over the past few years, with cable ad growth
significantly outperforming the TV networks," analyst John
Janedis said in a note to clients.
The analyst, who started Scripps Networks Interactive Inc
(SNI.N) and Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) with "neutral" ratings,
said technology is making the film business model more
challenging.
"Properly responding to these changes will be a key factor
in maintaining the health of the business model," Janedis
said.
Last week, Credit Suisse said streaming video offerings
from Netflix (NFLX.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Google TV will
catch on with consumers eager to cut the cable cord and
downgraded the U.S. entertainment sector to "underweight."
(Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Anne
Pallivathuckal)
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UPDATE 3-SuperGroup super hot as sales soar - Celebrities

* Q1 total sales up 59.8 pct to 32.8 million pounds
* Q1 retail sales up 62.7 pct, wholesale sales up 53.9 pct
* CEO says does not expect growth to slow
* SuperGroup shares down 4.2 pct at 1,101 p, index flat
(Adds CEO, analyst comment, updates shares)
By James Davey
LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - SuperGroup (SGP.L), the British
company behind the Superdry fashion brand worn by celebrities
such as David Beckham, reported soaring sales, underscoring its
status as one of the hottest fashion labels around.
But shares in the retailer and wholesaler, which listed at
500 pence in March, fell 4.2 percent to 1,101 pence by 1204 GMT,
valuing the business at about 823 million pounds ($1.27
billion), having risen 7 percent on Monday. The FTSE All Share
index was 0.2 percent lower.
"It's had a very strong run, so it's just a bit of profit
taking," said Nick Bubb, analyst at Arden Partners.
SuperGroup, which had Britain's most successful IPO so far
this year, said on Tuesday total sales jumped 59.8 percent to
32.8 million pounds in the three months to Aug. 1, its fiscal
first quarter.
Founder and Chief Executive Julian Dunkerton, who along with
SuperGroup's other management shared 105 million pounds of the
120 million pound IPO proceeds, forecast a successful year
outcome and said he would not expect growth in sales of the
company's trademark T-shirts, hoodies, check shirts and jogging
bottoms to slow, despite tough macro headwinds.
"I see no reason to believe that we will not continue
growing in the nature that we have been growing. Young people
have to look good," he told Reuters.
Dunkerton said SuperGroup, unlike fashion brands such as
French Connection (FCCN.L), would sustain its growth because it
was hitting a gap in the market for quality, value for money,
branded clothing that is not reliant on one product or one logo.
SuperGroup, whose clothes are a favourite of film stars
Leonardo DiCaprio and Zac Efron, trades from 49 stand-alone
Superdry and Cult stores in Britain and 64 concessions and has a
wholesale business in 34 countries.
The company has a 20 stores a year opening programme and
sees scope for 150 Superdry and Cult stores in UK/Ireland.
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Hungarian artists alongside greats in London show - Arts

LONDON (Reuters) - Hungarian artists hang alongside some of Europe's greatest painters in a new blockbuster exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts put together at the 11th hour after the original show fell through.
"Treasures from Budapest: European Masters from Leonardo to Schiele" opens on Friday and features around 230 works from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest and Hungarian National Gallery.
The London exhibition was scrambled together in only a few months when a show featuring treasures from the Prince of Liechtenstein's collection was canceled in December following a dispute over the export of one of the prince's paintings.
Kathleen Soriano, director of exhibitions at the Royal Academy, said the Hungarian museums offered the institution "carte blanche" to select works for the show and within three months they had made their choices.
For the Hungarian partners, the exhibition at one of Britain's top galleries was a rare opportunity to showcase one of Eastern Europe's finest collections and teach the West something about the history of Hungarian art.
"First of all it helps focus London's cultural interest on East and Central Europe, and more specifically on Budapest," said Ferenc Csak, general director of the Hungarian National Gallery.
"Secondly, the idea is to choose a selection of Eastern European art and present it alongside the international artists," he told Reuters.
And so a 1711 self-portrait of Adam Manyoki, one of Hungary's foremost painters of the 18th century, hangs in the same room as portraits by the likes of Peter Paul Rubens, Frans Hals and Joshua Reynolds.
And Philip de Laszlo's portrait of Pope Leo XIII dated 1900 shows how he was inspired by earlier papal paintings which he would have seen while working in Rome, notably that of Pope Innocent X by Diego Velazquez.
ALTARPIECE, MASTER DRAWINGS
The opening room of the exhibition is dominated by the towering "St. Andrew Altarpiece" from Hungary in 1512, made for a small village church and which survived Turkish and Protestant iconoclasm when many medieval religious works were destroyed.
At the heart of the exhibition is a selection of more than 80 old master drawings, which include works by Leonardo da Vinci, Albrecht Duerer and Giambattista Tiepolo.
Many came from the Esterhazy collection, acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts in 1871. The collection began in the 17th century and expanded during the rule of Prince Nikolaus II Esterhazy.
It includes one of the most priceless works in the exhibition, the so-called "Esterhazy Madonna" by Raphael, which an 18th century Esterhazy prince probably obtained from Austrian statesman and collector Prince Kaunitz.
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PRESS DIGEST - Singapore newspapers - Sept 30 - Movies

SINGAPORE, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The following are stories
from Singapore newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not verified
these stories.
STRAITS TIMES
Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew was admitted
into hospital late on Wednesday for treatment of a chest
infection. Lee, who is minister-mentor in the cabinet of his
son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, suffered a fall on
Monday and had gone to hospital on Tuesday for physiotherapy.
- The government on Wednesday rejected a suggestion by a
censorship review committee to allow R-rated movies to be
screened in suburban areas. It did, however, agree to let
companies provide R-rated content via video-on-demand services.
BUSINESS TIMES
- Junket operators, who organise visits to casinos and
provide credit to gamblers, may make an appearance in Singapore
seven months after the opening of the city-state's first
casino. Singapore's Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) said on
Wednesday it has received licence applications from junket
operators endorsed by Resorts World Sentosa, which is owned by
Genting Singapore (GENS.SI). CRA did not say how many
applications were received.
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