Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
“Twilight” stars in UK premiere no-show
The crowds were there but the stars weren’t. Whatever the reasons, and several were reported in the media, the central cast of the hit Twilight vampire movies did not attend the London premiere of the third instalment on Thursday night, much to the waiting fans’ annoyance.
“Gutted” was a word used more than once among those who had queued in London’s Leicester Square for hours to catch a glimpse of their big-screen heroes.
Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner appeared by video message, which was enough to satisfy some of the “Twihards” in attendance. But many others felt short-changed by their absence, particularly as Pattinson, now an A-list Hollywood heartthrob, is a Brit. Most members of the media were aware they weren’t going to show up, but I wonder why the news had not got through to the fans? And would those fans have shown up had they known?
An own goal that will backfire? Probably not. Once the disappointment passes, it is hard to imagine many people keen enough to attend a premiere not actually going to see the movie.
from UK News:
What do you think of Michael Jackson’s single “This Is It”?
Michael Jackson's posthumous new single, "This Is It" began streaming online and playing on radio stations on Monday. The singer died four months ago from a prescription drugs overdose at age 50.
A series of 50 concerts scheduled at London's 02 Arena from July 2009 through March 2010 was also entitled "This Is It".
from UK News:
Would you exchange your Michael Jackson O2 tickets?
More than 50 million pounds worth of tickets were sold to see Michael Jackson perform at London's O2 Arena where he was scheduled for a series of 50 concerts before his death.
The King of Pop's run at the O2, scheduled to kick off in July, would have been the highest-grossing single concert engagement.
AEG Live tap dances through Michael Jackson woes
After Michael Jackson died on Thursday, concert promoter AEG Live found itself on shaky ground, with 50 shows in London scrapped and ticket buyers clamoring for refunds. The company in recent days has been forced to consider how much it could lose on the cancele
d shows, amid reports that it spent up to $30 million in production costs and as questions emerged about Dr. Conrad Murray. He is the physician AEG Live hired to care for Jackson and the one who was there when the singer died. He performed CPR on a bed, instead of the preferred method of placing him on a hard surface, like a floor.
Would AEG be the target of lawsuits? Will its insurors decline to pay out if they make a claim? Time will tell, but one outside observer is giving AEG, which is owned by companies controlled by Colorado-based billionaire Philip Anschutz, credit for the way it has controlled the damage that could’ve been caused — or may still be caused — by Jackson’s death.
Madonna said moving the kids to the U.S.
U.S. pop star Madonna has won a bid to move her children to the United States from Britain, ending a battle in her brutal divorce with British director Guy Ritchie, London’s Evening Standard newspaper reported on Friday.
The paper reported that Ritchie had wanted the couple’s biological son Rocco, 8, to be educated in Britain, but that Madonna’s lawyers argued he should not be split up from his siblings, Lourdes, 12, Madonna’s daughter from a previous relationship, and David, 3, who was adopted from an orphanage in Malawi.
Desperate Dan does the London catwalk
I’ve faced gun-toting rebels, driven through sand storms in Iraq and landed backwards on an aircraft carrier at 200 miles an hour, but had anything in my 16-year career as a Reuters correspondent really prepared me to face the withering stares and tight smiles in the hostile battleground of London Fashion Week?
Like any correspondent trained for war, I considered my protective body armour: an old Savile Row suit (bought on sale years ago), white double cuff shirt (still stain-free!), Hermes tie acquired nearly a decade ago and a worryingly scruffy pair of black shoes with flapping soles.
