Facebook celebrity game borrows from fantasy sports - Celebrities

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Your ability to predict whether a celebrity's star power will rise or fall is about to come in handy.
Launching on Sunday is FanSwarm, a Hollywood version of fantasy sports for Facebook users. But in this case your team consists of a group of celebrities who score points based on what's being said about them in tweets and on blogs.
Whether an actor scores a major role or freaks out in a hotel, it doesn't much matter, because players are scoring points whenever news is generated.
"We use an algorithm that reads the heat of the social graph to figure out if a celebrity is hot or not," said Doug Levin, president and CEO of nascent developer Ayeah Games. "You can gain points by betting on Charlie Sheen's and Lindsay Lohan's crazy careers."
It's not limited to actors, either. At launch, FanSwarm's data base will have about 2,000 names from which to choose including Sarah Palin, Bill O'Reilly and President Barack Obama.
FanSwarm users will compete to become king or queen of the entire userbase: the "Swarm." Additionally, they can build teams or leagues and compete on a smaller scale.
Players also earn points by playing mini games like TV trivia and by nominating new celebrities that are accepted into the data base.
FanSwarm will aggregate news content around the celebrities and encourage commentary.
Players choose a group of celebrities and put them into 20 different "scenes," the selection of which also increases or decreases points. Putting Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in the "beach" scene is a wise move, for example, but not if Jennifer Aniston also is there.
Levin said he got the idea for FanSwarm when he was disappointed that George Clooney didn't win an Oscar this year for "Up in the Air," but he had nowhere to go online and vent. And he knew he was on to something when he observed women reacting to Sandra Bullock's marital problems with Jesse James.
"The environment is a highly structured way for people to express themselves, and we encourage user-generated content," Levin said. "Leave a comment, get points, play with friends, map out your predictions about celebrities. Our research says people are interested in these ideas."
Levin has raised one round of angel funding for the company and next month begins raising venture capital. The business model includes micropayments for virtual goodies, and he intends on selling data to PR executives, talent management and anyone else interested in the blogosphere's opinion of a celebrity.
Watch Celebrities Online

TV networks want fair payment from cable, Web TV - Entertainment News

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The entertainment chiefs of five major U.S. television networks said on Tuesday they need to be fairly compensated if their shows are retransmitted on cable or Google Inc's Web TV, calling it a key industry issue.
"Everyone of these businesses is building these services out on our product," Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said about devices like Google TV at an industry panel discussion in Los Angeles.
Last week, Fox network parent News Corp blocked Fox shows for Cablevision Systems Corp subscribers in a dispute over fees paid to it for the right to retransmit free-to-air broadcast signals of its network shows. It was the latest in a series of stand-offs between pay-TV operators and U.S. networks.
Reilly called the issue of retransmission fees "probably among the most important" facing network TV, saying it was crucial "to get fairly compensated for the programs we make."
CBS Entertainment chief Nina Tassler agreed. "We invest a tremendous amount of time and money in making great shows and we should be justly compensated," she said.
Walt Disney Co's ABC, General Electric Co unit NBC Universal and CBS Corp's last week blocked the Web-based versions of some of their shows from Google's new TV service.
Tassler, whose network has some of the most popular U.S. shows including the "CSI" franchise and comedy "Two and a Half Men," said TV networks were the creative minds behind hit programing.
"There is great value to it and we have to protect that. It is important to provide (content), but we just have to be compensated," she said.
ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee called retransmission fees, the advent of Web TV, and the growth of online streaming "a critical moment in broadcasting."
Watch Entertainment News Online

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.
Watch Casino Online

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)
Watch Fashion Online

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."
Watch Comedy Online

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.
Watch Tv Series Online

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.
Watch Arts Online

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.
Watch Sci Fi Online

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...
Watch Movies Online

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.
Watch Documentary Online

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."
Watch Music Online

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.
Watch Fashion Online

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.
Watch Casino Online

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."
Watch Board Games Online

- 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."
Watch Comedy Online

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.
Watch Comedy Online

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)
Watch Tv Series Online

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.
Watch Tv Series Online

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.
Watch Comedy Online

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.
Watch Entertainment News Online