(Reuters) – An American rap artist who drew criticism for using a disparaging line about people with autism in a song lyric has apologized. J Cole said he had removed the line, which referred to rivals as “autistic” and “retarded,” from the song “Jodeci Freest... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Dennis Farina, the former Chicago cop turned film and television actor best known for his role as wise-cracking detective Joe Fontana on the hit NBC police drama “Law & Order,” died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday, his publicist said.... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Michael Jackson’s mother testified on Monday in her wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live that the late pop star denied he was abusing prescription drugs when she confronted him in the years before his death. Katherin... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Screen Actors Guild, which represents film, television and other performers in the United States, on Monday said Rita Moreno will receive its lifetime achievement award at its annual awards ceremony in January. Moreno, 81, has been ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Dennis Farina, the former Chicago cop turned film and TV actor best known for his role as wise-cracking detective Joe Fontana on the hit NBC police drama “Law & Order,” died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday, his publicist said. He was ... More »
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – Studios brought A-list surprises to San Diego’s Comic-Con on Saturday to promote upcoming superhero blockbusters. Comic-Con is the largest annual gathering of fans of the comic book, sci-fi and fantasy genres, drawing around 125,000 peopl... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Despite hip surgery that forced the cancellation of part of her tour, Lady Gaga still earned an estimated $80 million in the past year, propelling her to the top of Forbes list of highest earning celebrities under 30 years old. Canadian po... More »
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romanian experts believe that three out of seven paintings stolen last year from a Dutch museum, a haul that included works by Picasso and Monet, have been destroyed by fire, the team’s head told Reuters on Monday. Their findings appeared... More »
MALIBU, California (Reuters) – A pair of Australian surfing legends, undaunted despite their middle age, strapped tiny 3D cameras to their boards and went in search of big waves whipped up by Pacific storms. The result was the documentary feature “Storm Surfer... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Although “American Horror Story: Asylum” bested HBO’s fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” in picking up the most Primetime Emmy nominations on Thursday, the fright-filled FX miniseries could face another tough year at the fickle Emmys. “It’s... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “House of Cards,” a sleek 13-episode political drama released all at once gave Internet-streaming service Netflix its first Emmy nominations on Thursday in a closely watched contest for the future of television entertainment beyond broa... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ryan Gosling’s latest film, “Only God Forgives,” has deeply divided critics and the Canadian actor concedes that the blood-spattered crime thriller set in Bangkok’s underworld of boxing clubs and brothels may not appeal to everyone. “The f... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Gabriela Cowperthwaite was a mom who took her kids to SeaWorld when the death of a killer whale trainer at one of the marine parks sparked her latest filmmaking project. The documentary “Blackfish” was originally conceived without a poi... More »
(Reuters) – The younger brother of country music superstar Randy Travis was hit with more charges on Thursday stemming from his arrest earlier in the week on suspicion of making and distributing methamphetamine from his home in North Carolina, authorities said... More »
(Reuters) – Mike Darnell, who left the Fox TV network earlier this year after shepherding hit shows like “American Idol” and “So You Think you Can Dance,” joined Warner Brothers to oversee the studio’s reality programming, the company said on Thursday. Darnell... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A real-life mystery over who blew the cover on JK Rowling writing a detective novel under a pseudonym was uncovered on Thursday when the culprit was revealed to be – her law firm, which apologized unreservedly for the leak. Rowling, whose Ha... More »
(Reuters) – Johnny Rotten may not like it but he is starting to become Johnny Icon. The 57-year-old former frontman of the anarchic 1970s punk band the Sex Pistols is to receive an award for his contribution to music from the music rights organization BMI, alt... More »
Hong Kong (Reuters) – Late kung fu superstar Bruce Lee may be an international icon, but he is still not the complete local hero in Hong Kong. Fans are marking his death 40 years ago this weekend with art gallery shows, exhibitions and even street graffiti but... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rapper Jay Z’s latest album “Magna Carta Holy Grail” debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, while besting industry forecasts. “Magna Carta Holy Grail” sold 528,000 copies in its first week, according to figure... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Once a hotbed for avid fans of cult comic and fantasy genres, San Diego’s Comic-Con has become an important stop for film studios and directors looking to gauge the responses of the convention’s savvy audience. Gareth Edwards, director ... More »
ZURICH (Reuters) – Singer Tina Turner has married her long-time partner in a civil ceremony in Switzerland ahead of a Buddhist celebration at their home on the banks of Lake Zurich on Sunday. The 73-year-old “Simply the Best” singer tied the knot with German-b... More »
ROME (Reuters) – It may have set Sophia Loren on the road to Hollywood stardom, but the Italian state broadcaster thinks the Miss Italia beauty contest is showing its age, and is dropping its coverage after 25 years. Predictably in a country where skimpily cla... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Daryl Hannah defied the ingenue stereotype early in her career to transform into a futuristic robot, a mermaid and a sword-wielding killer, and in her latest role she battles age and sexist stereotypes as a lesbian basketball pl... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – The world-famous Vienna Boys’ Choir faces a financial crisis that could put it out of business if it does not reach a deal over the rent for its concert hall and school. The choir, whose roots go back to the 13th century, may have to pay 200... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Four members of Pussy Riot danced on an oil pipeline in garish masks, tights and short dresses in a new video released on Tuesday, comparing President Vladimir Putin to an “ayatollah in Iran” and attacking his allies in Russia’s rich energy ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop singer Justin Timberlake and hip-hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis each received six nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards, which were announced on Wednesday. Timberlake, 32, made his long-awaited return to music earlier this yea... More »
DALLAS (Reuters) – U.S. country music singer Randy Travis’ condition has stabilized after emergency surgery last week to relieve pressure on his brain following a stroke, but it may take months for the Grammy winner to recover, doctors said on Monday. Travis, ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The death of “Glee” actor Cory Monteith over the weekend comes just weeks before production begins of the fifth season of the Fox musical comedy, throwing it into disarray at a time when the creators needed to revive the waning series. ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – R&B singer Chris Brown had his probation revoked on Monday by a judge in Los Angeles after he was charged in a hit-and-run traffic accident last month. Brown, who has been on probation for criminal assault for beating his former girlfri... More »
(Reuters) – Canadian authorities said on Monday they will perform an autopsy including toxicology tests to determine the cause of death of actor Cory Monteith, the 31-year-old heartthrob of Fox’s musical-comedy television series “Glee” who was found dead on Sa... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – A postage stamp depicting France’s cultural symbol Marianne has touched off a flurry of controversy after one of its creators revealed it was inspired by a topless feminist activist who hacked down a Christian cross in Kiev last year with a c... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Actress and comedian Jenny McCarthy will be joining ABC’s popular daytime talk show “The View” in September for the start of its 17th season, the network said on Monday. Barbara Walters, a founder of the show, said McCarthy will be a perma... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson and multi-millionaire art collector Charles Saatchi confirmed on Monday they were getting divorced, a month after a newspaper published photographs of him with his hands around her throat outside a London restau... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – A detective novel secretly written by J.K. Rowling surged to the top of bestseller lists on Monday after the true identity of the author was revealed, embarrassing some publishers who had rejected the manuscript. Rowling, whose Harry Potter ... More »
(Reuters) – Canadian actor Cory Monteith, 31-year-old heartthrob of Fox’s musical comedy television series “Glee”, was found dead on Saturday in his Vancouver hotel room, police said. Police and paramedics found no signs of foul play and the cause of death was... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Actress Halle Berry and French actor Olivier Martinez were married over the weekend in France, her representative said on Sunday. Berry, 46, a best actress Oscar winner for the 2001 film “Monster’s Ball,” is pregnant with the couple’s chil... More »
SUN VALLEY, Idaho (Reuters) – Liberty Media Corp chairman and cable pioneer John Malone, whose offer to buy Time Warner Cable Inc was rejected by its management, sees Time Warner Cable as a buyer of other cable operators in an industry that needs to be consoli... More »
DALLAS (Reuters) – Grammy award-winning country music singer Randy Travis is out of emergency surgery but still in critical condition after suffering a stroke in a Texas hospital, representatives for the singer and the medical facility said late on Wednesday. ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – British pop star Sting will perform songs from his new album, “The Last Ship” at ten concerts later this year that will benefit New York’s Public Theater art organization. The singer, who shot to fame in the band the Police, said the conce... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Citing the power of artists and academics to open minds, President Barack Obama on Wednesday awarded 24 medals to people including “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and writer Joan Didion who he said touched his life and the lives of Amer... More »
DALLAS (Reuters) – Grammy award-winning country music singer Randy Travis is responding to treatment for a heart condition that has kept him hospitalized in critical condition since Sunday, his doctors said on Wednesday. The cause of his illness was a virus, a... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hip-hop artist J. Cole’s album “Born Sinner” outsold rapper Kanye West’s “Yeezus” and Wale’s “The Gifted” to climb to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, notching Cole’s second chart-topping record. “Born Sinner,” relea... More »
(Reuters) – Tribune Co will separate its publishing business from its more-profitable broadcast division, it said on Wednesday, following the path taken by Time Warner Inc and News Corp. Media companies have been shedding their print assets to allow a greater ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – British actor Idris Elba may be best known as an enterprising Baltimore drug lord on the HBO series “The Wire,” but he has a growing presence in sci-fi films and will play South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela in his first bi... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s will use proceeds from its potential IPO to fund acquisitions, media reported on Wednesday, as the firm looks to broaden its mobile services. The group will not include most of its finan... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Television commentator Elisabeth Hasselbeck is leaving ABC’s daytime talk show “The View” after a decade to join the Fox News Channel as a co-host on morning talk show “Fox & Friends,” Fox News said on Tuesday. Hasselbeck, 36, a conserv... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Ailing U.S. country singer Randy Travis has undergone a procedure to place a device in his heart that will help it pump on its own, his publicist said on Tuesday, as the singer remained in critical condition in a Texas hospital. Travis,... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – American actress Amanda Bynes, wearing a long blue wig and sweat pants, appeared briefly in court on Tuesday on charges of marijuana possession and throwing a bong out a window and a judge postponed her case until September. Bynes, 27, mad... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rapper Jay Z is taking promo to the next level, selling a million copies of his latest album to Samsung for smartphone distribution and going on a six-hour Twitterthon with fans. The American musician holds the title for most No. 1 albu... More »
LOS ANGELES/MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish opera tenor Placido Domingo has been admitted to a Madrid hospital after suffering a pulmonary embolism – a blood clot in his lung, his U.S. publicist said on Tuesday. Domingo, 72, was hospitalized on Monday in his hometo... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Italian actress and long-time Hollywood star Sophia Loren is set to return to the big screen in a short film directed by her son, which they are shooting in Naples this week. Loren, 78, will star in her son Edoardo Ponti’s adaptation of Jean C... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – After killing off Batman’s Robin and re-inventing the X-Men, Scottish comic book writer Grant Morrison is looking for other superhuman legends to transform with his pen. Morrison – who has also taken on Spiderman and Superman in a 25-year ca... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British singer Elton John has postponed a summer tour because he is suffering from appendicitis, his website said on Tuesday. The 66-year-old “Candle in the Wind” singer was due to perform in London’s Hyde Park on Friday as part of a Europea... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian government dismissed the head of the revered but scandal-plagued Bolshoi Theatre on Tuesday, six months after a hit man hired by one of its dancers threw acid in the face of its ballet director. Anatoly Iksanov was replaced by Vl... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – This year looks set to be the biggest ever for sales of single records in Britain, thanks in part to smash hits like “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” according to the Official Charts Company. Single sales have ris... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian government replaced the head of the Bolshoi Theatre on Tuesday following a series of scandals including an acid attack that left the artistic director of its ballet company almost totally blind. Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – U.S. country music legend Randy Travis is in critical condition in a Texas hospital because of complications from a virus, the singer’s publicist said on Monday. Travis, 54, one of country music’s best-selling artists who had a string o... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Photographers are camped outside the hospital, social media are buzzing, and stores are touting baby goods ahead of the expected arrival this week of the future heir to the British throne. Britain is officially on baby watch with Prince Will... More »
LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) – Bruce Springsteen jumped off the stage and into a frenzied German crowd of 45,000 fans on Sunday in Leipzig to pluck a sign with a hand-written request scrawled on it – as he has been doing all summer on his popular tour across Eur... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Phillips and her husband, rugby player, Mike Tindall are expecting their first baby in the New Year, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Monday. Phillips’ mother, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, her fa... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Folk rockers Mumford and Sons climbed to the top of the British album chart on Sunday, as sales of their 2012 album ‘Babel’ rose in the week after they played the final set at this year’s Glastonbury music festival. The four-piece band haili... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Multi-millionaire art collector Charles Saatchi said on Sunday he would divorce celebrity chef Nigella Lawson, citing his “disappointment” that she had not defended him after photographs of him grabbing her neck during a row caused a public ... More »
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The small yellow minions of “Despicable Me 2” upstaged Johnny Depp at the weekend movie box office. The animated “Despicable” sequel hauled in an impressive $82.5 million in the United States and Canada from Friday through Sund... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Veteran British chat show host Michael Parkinson revealed on Sunday that he had prostate cancer, but said he was living a normal life and hoped to make a full recovery. Parkinson, 78, who interviewed Muhammad Ali, Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire... More »
MACAU (Reuters) – The film Barfi scooped top honors in India’s version of the Oscars at a ceremony in the Chinese gambling haven of Macau on Saturday that also celebrated a century of Bollywood, which makes up a big chunk of a multi-billion-dollar film industr... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones blasted through the past into the present on Saturday with a rip-roaring show in London’s Hyde Park that paid homage to their last concert here 44 years ago. Frontman Mick Jagger strutted, howled and belted his way through... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Oscar-winning writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash first explored a father’s journey with George Clooney in their 2011 hit “The Descendants,” and now they turn their focus on a teenager’s coming-of-age story with an all-star cast in their lat... More »
(Reuters) – “The Lone Ranger,” Walt Disney Co’s big-budget Western starring Johnny Depp, wrangled just $19.5 million in ticket sales in its first two full days at U.S. and Canadian movie theaters, trailing far behind the $59.5 million racked up by animated seq... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – The surviving members of the British comedy troupe Monty Python lost a High Court battle on Friday over tens of thousands of pounds in royalties from their hit Broadway musical “Spamalot”. Mark Forstater, who helped produce the 1975 film “Mo... More »
TAIPEI (Reuters) – A dark figure stands alone in the centre of a bleak, shadowy landscape in one painting, while an ethereal tree-like form claims attention in another. The haunting black-and-white paintings are the work of Gao Xingjian, the first Chinese-born... More »
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – It probably seemed like a good idea to Federal Reserve officials at the time. But their decision to stick Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke out on live television two weeks ago to explain how the Fed aims to scale back and eventually en... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Lovable villain Gru is back as a doting father in “Despicable Me 2,” but while he swaps his villainous world domination schemes for princess parties, his yellow, spiky-haired Minions rustle up trouble in the film. “Despicable Me 2,” out... More »
(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc said that it will buy Qwiki Inc, a mobile app for creating videos in Apple Inc’s iPhone, as it tries to increase its presence in the world of smartphones and tablets. The company paid about $50 million for the deal, tech blog AllThingsD c... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Nearly 50 years after writing the conceptual art book “Grapefruit,” writer, artist and peace activist Yoko Ono has released a sequel that she hopes will inspire people and get them thinking and reading. “Acorn,” a book of 100 “instructiona... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc has hired the former chief executive of French luxury group Yves Saint Laurent for “special projects” reporting to Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. “We’re thrilled to welcome Paul Deneve to Apple,” spokeswoman Kristin Hugue... More »
MILAN/PARIS (Reuters) – Hutchison Whampoa is losing patience with Telecom Italia over lack of progress on a proposed merger of their Italian mobile phone units, people familiar with the talks said, casting doubt on prospects for a deal. The Hong Kong-based con... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British TV presenter Michael Palin is taking up his first acting role in more than 15 years, joining a drama about soldiers producing a newspaper from the battlefields of World War One. Palin, 70, a former member of the Monty Python comedy t... More »
(Reuters) – Tribune Co said on Monday that it would acquire 19 television stations from Local TV Holdings LLC for $2.73 billion in cash, making it the largest TV broadcaster in the United States. The purchase from New York private equity firm Oak Hill Capital ... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Zynga Inc’s decision to bring in the head of Microsoft Corp’s Xbox business to replace founder Mark Pincus is a bold stroke that was hailed on Wall Street, but it still leaves questions as to who is ultimately in charge at the trouble... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Jennifer Lopez would not have performed a private concert in Turkmenistan at the weekend had she known about charges of human rights violations in the Central Asian nation, her publicist said on Monday. Human rights campaigners, who acc... More »
(Reuters) – Music producer Pharrell Williams filed a lawsuit Monday asking a U.S. court to rule he has not violated any trademark that Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am owns for the phrase “I AM.” The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, said that will.i.... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – When the western television series “The Lone Ranger” first rode into U.S. homes in the 1949, the masked man was the dashing, charming hero and the Native American Tonto his loyal sidekick. When the movie opens in U.S. theaters on Wednes... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Games publisher Zynga Inc has replaced chief executive Mark Pincus with Don Mattrick, the Microsoft Corp executive who headed the critical Xbox business, Zynga announced on Monday. The news, reported first by AllThingsD, sent Zynga sh... More »
(Reuters) – Wall Street rewarded Rupert Murdoch’s move to create a separate entertainment company, giving 21st Century Fox one of the richest valuations in the media sector on its first day of trading. Investors had waited for Murdoch to split News Corp, givin... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co on Monday extended Bob Iger’s tenure as its chief executive by 15 months, allowing him to remain both CEO and chairman through June 30, 2016. Iger, 62, had planned to step down as CEO on April 1, 2015, and assume the sing... More »
(Reuters) – Google Inc notched a legal victory in its bid to create the world’s largest digital books library, winning the reversal of a court order that had allowed authors challenging the project to sue as a group. A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Ap... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s telecoms watchdog cut the fees mobile operators can charge each other for connecting calls on Monday, which is likely to lower customer phone bills in a nation battling recession. Competition in the Spanish market has heated up in re... More »
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Nokia shares surged on Monday after it announced plans to buy out Siemens AG’s share of their network equipment joint venture, betting on the technology to run 4G networks as it struggles in the smartphones business. Loss-making Nokia gain... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Singer and fashion designer Jessica Simpson gave birth to her second child, a boy named Ace Knute, at a Los Angeles hospital on Sunday. Simpson, 32, and her fiance, former football player Eric Johnson, also have a daughter, Maxwell Drew, w... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Apple Inc has applied for a trademark for “iWatch” in Japan, a patent official said on Monday, signaling the iPhone maker may be moving ahead with plans for a watch-like device as gadget makers turn their attention to wearable computers. The ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Bruce Springsteen treated his fans to a complete performance of “Born in the USA”, the 1984 album which shot him to global superstardom, as the centerpiece of a three-hour show in London on Sunday night. The Boss and his E Street Band played... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Teenage Olympian Gabrielle Douglas, rapper Kendrick Lamar, actor Jamie Foxx as well as singers Rihanna and Nicki Minaj were among the top winners at the annual BET Awards on Sunday. The BET Awards celebrate black musicians, actors and athl... More »
PILTON, England (Reuters) – British folk band Mumford & Sons brought the annual Glastonbury festival jigging to a close on Sunday, capping three days of music, good-natured mayhem and minimal mud. The bluegrass-inspired set completed a trio of headline acts af... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Sony, which is studying a partial spinoff of its studio at the urging of major shareholder Daniel Loeb, suffered its second box office misfire of the summer season when its action movie “White House Down” opened with ticket sales below ... More »
(Reuters) – Animated prequel “Monsters University” took home its second U.S. and Canadian box office title with $46.2 million in ticket sales over the weekend, fending off a red-hot debut from Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in female buddy comedy “The Hea... More »
PILTON, England (Reuters) – An octogenarian entertainer and a veteran country music singer had fans of all tastes and ages roaring on the final afternoon of the Glastonbury music festival on Sunday. The sun beat down on the sprawling 900 acre farm in southwest... More »
MIAMI (Reuters) – Third-generation oceanographer Fabien Cousteau will attempt to spend a record 31 days living and working underwater in a bus-sized laboratory submerged in the warm, turquoise Atlantic off the Florida Keys. If he succeeds he will beat the 30-d... More »
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – Cambodia has quickly reversed a ban on foreign media content on local radio stations after protests from broadcasters, the public and the United States, which had expressed concern about the flow of information ahead of a general electio... More »
PILTON, England (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones lived up to their reputation as one of the greatest rock’n’roll bands when they played to more than 100,000 revelers on Saturday during their first performance at Glastonbury, the world’s best-known music festival... More »
PILTON, England (Reuters) – Tomato fights, anarchic gymnasts and astrophysics drew festival-goers of all ages away from the mainstream music acts at Britain’s Glastonbury festival this weekend. The 1,500 hippies who paid one pound ($1.52) to attend the first G... More »
