Amos Stevens
New Member
Thanks Little Dragon..hmm wonder why you highlighted that one 
Entertainment.
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Littledragon
Above The Law
Amos Stevens said:Thanks Little Dragon..hmm wonder why you highlighted that one
LOL yea wonder why..
Littledragon
Above The Law
Michael Jackson Says He Regrets Letting Accuser Into His Home, Asks For Fair Trial.
One day before jury selection in his child-molestation case is scheduled to proceed, Michael Jackson has released a video statement, responding to potentially damaging grand-jury leaks and asking for a fair trial.
"In the last few weeks, a
"These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children and me. I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position again." — Michael Jackson
large amount of ugly malicious information has been released into the media about me," Jackson said. "Apparently this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand-jury proceeding where neither my lawyers, nor I, ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false."
The singer's statement comes two weeks after ABC News released details of his accuser's testimony on "Good Morning America" and "Primetime Live," and three weeks after legal Web site The Smoking Gun first released the information contained in the transcripts of grand-jury testimony from March, which the judge had ordered to remain sealed (see "More Graphic Details Emerge In Jackson Case").
Jackson, dressed in a royal-blue shirt, said in the video statement that he allowed the accuser and his family into his home as he does "thousands of children who were ill or in distress" because he wants to help sick and needy children.
"Years ago, I allowed a family to visit and spend some time at Neverland," he said. "Neverland is my home. I allowed this family into my home because they told me their son was ill with cancer and needed my help."
The experience, however, has soured him to helping those in need, he said, and he regrets the decision: "These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children and me. I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position again."
The final part of the taped statement, which appears on his Web site, is a plea for potential jurors to keep an open mind.
"Let me have my day in court," he said. "I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I love my community and I have great faith in our justice system. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told."
For full coverage of the Michael Jackson case, see "Michael Jackson Accused."
— Jennifer Vineyard
One day before jury selection in his child-molestation case is scheduled to proceed, Michael Jackson has released a video statement, responding to potentially damaging grand-jury leaks and asking for a fair trial.
"In the last few weeks, a
"These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children and me. I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position again." — Michael Jackson
large amount of ugly malicious information has been released into the media about me," Jackson said. "Apparently this information was leaked through transcripts in a grand-jury proceeding where neither my lawyers, nor I, ever appeared. The information is disgusting and false."
The singer's statement comes two weeks after ABC News released details of his accuser's testimony on "Good Morning America" and "Primetime Live," and three weeks after legal Web site The Smoking Gun first released the information contained in the transcripts of grand-jury testimony from March, which the judge had ordered to remain sealed (see "More Graphic Details Emerge In Jackson Case").
Jackson, dressed in a royal-blue shirt, said in the video statement that he allowed the accuser and his family into his home as he does "thousands of children who were ill or in distress" because he wants to help sick and needy children.
"Years ago, I allowed a family to visit and spend some time at Neverland," he said. "Neverland is my home. I allowed this family into my home because they told me their son was ill with cancer and needed my help."
The experience, however, has soured him to helping those in need, he said, and he regrets the decision: "These events have caused a nightmare for my family, my children and me. I never intend to place myself in so vulnerable a position again."
The final part of the taped statement, which appears on his Web site, is a plea for potential jurors to keep an open mind.
"Let me have my day in court," he said. "I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen. I love my community and I have great faith in our justice system. I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told."
For full coverage of the Michael Jackson case, see "Michael Jackson Accused."
— Jennifer Vineyard
Littledragon
Above The Law
Lil' Kim Won't Get Maximum Sentence, Expert Predicts.
Now that Lil' Kim has been convicted of perjury, the two biggest questions surrounding the Queen Bee are how much time will she get and did she do herself a disservice by not copping a plea before the case went to trial?
Kim, who'll be
sentenced June 24, faces up to 20 years after being found guilty Thursday of three counts of perjury and one count of conspiring with a co-defendant; each count carried a maximum five-year term (see "Lil' Kim Found Guilty Of Lying To Grand Jury, Investigators").
The rapper, born Kimberly Jones, may have dodged a bullet, though, when she was acquitted on an obstruction of justice charge, which would have tacked on even more time to her sentence. After deliberating for two and a half days, the jury determined the hip-hop diva had lied to investigators about a 2001 shooting incident outside New York's Hot 97 radio station (see "Lil' Kim Indicted For Lying About Hot 97 Shootout With Capone"), but apparently were not confident she'd done so in order to disrupt the probe.
Just how much time Kim will serve is ultimately up to Judge Gerard Lynch, but at least one expert said the first-time offender certainly won't spend two decades behind bars.
"[When sentencing,] the judge is free to consider any other information about the offense and about the defendant, Lil' Kim," said Gerald Shargel, a noted criminal defense lawyer who has represented mobster John Gotti along with a who's who of celebrity defendants including current client Irv Gotti. "He's free to look at any additional factors and impose a non-guideline sentence. It always depends, in large part, on the judge, and Lynch has a reputation for fairness and balance. She'll get a prison sentence, but nothing like 20 years."
Y. David Scharf, a New York attorney whose clients include Donald Trump, kept a close eye on the Lil' Kim trial, he said, and feels the chips were stacked against the rapper before the trial even got started.
"The fact that [during her earlier grand jury testimony] she got up and denied meeting people when there were pictures of her with those people [put her] in a difficult situation," he said. "The only thing she had going for her was, was what she was going to say going to be believable? Once she lost her credibility on the witness stand, by having said things that were easily refuted, she was in big trouble."
In addition to using Kim's own words against her, prosecutors also relied on testimony from people such as former co-manager Damion Butler and Suif "Gutta" Jackson, a member of her former group Junior M.A.F.I.A, who cooperated as part of a plea bargain (see "Lil' Kim's Ex-Manager To Testify Against Her In Perjury Case").
"When they subpoena you, you go to court or they take your ass to jail. It's just that simple," said fellow Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease, another key witness for the prosecution. Cease said he testified under duress and that the case against Kim was so strong, she would have been convicted even if he hadn't taken the stand.
"They pulled pictures, interludes, shout-outs on the back of album," Cease said. "They was in there playing [Lil' Kim's] 'No Matter What They Say' video with all of us there. They had memos of when we flew places with the same names of the two people who copped out to the case [who] she said she didn't know. They got flight information, memos, pictures of her with these same people, so it wasn't about nothing we said. We just went in there and said what they already knew. Would I sit there and be that dumb and lie about something they already know? It's like asking to go that jail. That's what I felt she was doing. I felt she asked to go to jail. If I knew all this information, her lawyer knows all this information. If he didn't, he was dumb."
Cease said he agrees with Scharf, who believes Kim should've tried working out a plea deal rather than risking it all with a trial.
"Once she had given testimony that was able to be palpably proven as being untrue, she should have been looking for a way out of this case in the form of a plea bargain," Scharf said. "The trial strategy was undoubtedly that the jury would be star-struck and believe what she had to say, and how she would be able to explain away the hard evidence. But people don't realize New York juries are very savvy. They don't get star-struck. We're on the subway, on the street, we're seeing celebrities all the time. I find in trials and talking to juries and doing analysis of jury actions that they don't take what a celebrity says at face value. We have to have a bit of New York cynicism attached to it."
But once she'd gone the trial route, there was no avoiding the witness stand, Scharf said. "Defendants, unless they are tagged with a criminal history, need to get up on the witness stand and explain their actions. It was the only chance she had in this case for the jury to buy into what she was saying, buy into her explanations."
Scharf said he wasn't shocked by the verdict, but that at times he thought Lil' Kim, "if I were scoring it as a fight," was "ahead on points. But at the end of the day, some of the feedback that I've gotten is that the jury just couldn't reconcile what she was saying with other palpable proof such as the photographs the prosecutor had" showing Kim with Butler, whom she claimed she had not seen on the day of the shooting.
The attorney said he expects Kim will be sentenced to five to seven and a half years and that an appeal is likely. "I don't see any great appellate grounds for it," he said, "but an appeal will perhaps give her negotiating leverage that, after she is sentenced [may allow her to agree to] drop the appeal in exchange for a post-verdict, post-sentencing plea bargain, where she will have to do less time."
The February 25, 2001, shootout outside the offices of Hot 97 is believed to have stemmed from a beef between Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, who dissed Kim on Capone-N-Noreaga's 2000 album, The Reunion. As part of their plea agreement, both Butler and Jackson admitted to firing shots at Capone-N-Noreaga that afternoon.
— Chris Harris, with additional reporting by Shaheem Reid
Now that Lil' Kim has been convicted of perjury, the two biggest questions surrounding the Queen Bee are how much time will she get and did she do herself a disservice by not copping a plea before the case went to trial?
Kim, who'll be
sentenced June 24, faces up to 20 years after being found guilty Thursday of three counts of perjury and one count of conspiring with a co-defendant; each count carried a maximum five-year term (see "Lil' Kim Found Guilty Of Lying To Grand Jury, Investigators").
The rapper, born Kimberly Jones, may have dodged a bullet, though, when she was acquitted on an obstruction of justice charge, which would have tacked on even more time to her sentence. After deliberating for two and a half days, the jury determined the hip-hop diva had lied to investigators about a 2001 shooting incident outside New York's Hot 97 radio station (see "Lil' Kim Indicted For Lying About Hot 97 Shootout With Capone"), but apparently were not confident she'd done so in order to disrupt the probe.
Just how much time Kim will serve is ultimately up to Judge Gerard Lynch, but at least one expert said the first-time offender certainly won't spend two decades behind bars.
"[When sentencing,] the judge is free to consider any other information about the offense and about the defendant, Lil' Kim," said Gerald Shargel, a noted criminal defense lawyer who has represented mobster John Gotti along with a who's who of celebrity defendants including current client Irv Gotti. "He's free to look at any additional factors and impose a non-guideline sentence. It always depends, in large part, on the judge, and Lynch has a reputation for fairness and balance. She'll get a prison sentence, but nothing like 20 years."
Y. David Scharf, a New York attorney whose clients include Donald Trump, kept a close eye on the Lil' Kim trial, he said, and feels the chips were stacked against the rapper before the trial even got started.
"The fact that [during her earlier grand jury testimony] she got up and denied meeting people when there were pictures of her with those people [put her] in a difficult situation," he said. "The only thing she had going for her was, was what she was going to say going to be believable? Once she lost her credibility on the witness stand, by having said things that were easily refuted, she was in big trouble."
In addition to using Kim's own words against her, prosecutors also relied on testimony from people such as former co-manager Damion Butler and Suif "Gutta" Jackson, a member of her former group Junior M.A.F.I.A, who cooperated as part of a plea bargain (see "Lil' Kim's Ex-Manager To Testify Against Her In Perjury Case").
"When they subpoena you, you go to court or they take your ass to jail. It's just that simple," said fellow Junior M.A.F.I.A. member Lil' Cease, another key witness for the prosecution. Cease said he testified under duress and that the case against Kim was so strong, she would have been convicted even if he hadn't taken the stand.
"They pulled pictures, interludes, shout-outs on the back of album," Cease said. "They was in there playing [Lil' Kim's] 'No Matter What They Say' video with all of us there. They had memos of when we flew places with the same names of the two people who copped out to the case [who] she said she didn't know. They got flight information, memos, pictures of her with these same people, so it wasn't about nothing we said. We just went in there and said what they already knew. Would I sit there and be that dumb and lie about something they already know? It's like asking to go that jail. That's what I felt she was doing. I felt she asked to go to jail. If I knew all this information, her lawyer knows all this information. If he didn't, he was dumb."
Cease said he agrees with Scharf, who believes Kim should've tried working out a plea deal rather than risking it all with a trial.
"Once she had given testimony that was able to be palpably proven as being untrue, she should have been looking for a way out of this case in the form of a plea bargain," Scharf said. "The trial strategy was undoubtedly that the jury would be star-struck and believe what she had to say, and how she would be able to explain away the hard evidence. But people don't realize New York juries are very savvy. They don't get star-struck. We're on the subway, on the street, we're seeing celebrities all the time. I find in trials and talking to juries and doing analysis of jury actions that they don't take what a celebrity says at face value. We have to have a bit of New York cynicism attached to it."
But once she'd gone the trial route, there was no avoiding the witness stand, Scharf said. "Defendants, unless they are tagged with a criminal history, need to get up on the witness stand and explain their actions. It was the only chance she had in this case for the jury to buy into what she was saying, buy into her explanations."
Scharf said he wasn't shocked by the verdict, but that at times he thought Lil' Kim, "if I were scoring it as a fight," was "ahead on points. But at the end of the day, some of the feedback that I've gotten is that the jury just couldn't reconcile what she was saying with other palpable proof such as the photographs the prosecutor had" showing Kim with Butler, whom she claimed she had not seen on the day of the shooting.
The attorney said he expects Kim will be sentenced to five to seven and a half years and that an appeal is likely. "I don't see any great appellate grounds for it," he said, "but an appeal will perhaps give her negotiating leverage that, after she is sentenced [may allow her to agree to] drop the appeal in exchange for a post-verdict, post-sentencing plea bargain, where she will have to do less time."
The February 25, 2001, shootout outside the offices of Hot 97 is believed to have stemmed from a beef between Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown, who dissed Kim on Capone-N-Noreaga's 2000 album, The Reunion. As part of their plea agreement, both Butler and Jackson admitted to firing shots at Capone-N-Noreaga that afternoon.
— Chris Harris, with additional reporting by Shaheem Reid
Amos Stevens
New Member
Well I didn't see the first one,but I agree on the other two
Littledragon
Above The Law
Nas: '50's Got Five To Six More Albums To Go Before I Can Really Respond'.
Jadakiss and Fat Joe have responded to the challenges from America's top-selling artist of 2005, and Nas says he keeps being asked if he'll be next.
Hip-hop's most lyrical newlywed has been addressing 50 in British publications with comments
"There are lot of people waiting for me to make this next record and go after 50. If it's meant to be, it'll happen." — Nas
Nas
"Just A Moment"
Street's Disciple
(Sony Urban Music/Columbia)
Nas
"Bridging the Gap"
Street's Disciple
(Sony Urban Music/Columbia)
like one that appeared in New Nation: "He's out there posing for cameras like the Incredible Hulk and sh-- ... It's sad for a lot of real guys." Rumors on the Internet of Nas threatening 50's career definitely haven't slowed the questions.
So is it going to happen? Asked during his U.K. tour last week (see "Shots Fired At U.K. Nas Show; No Injuries Reported"), Nas left a veil of mystery around whether or not he'll respond on wax.
"Of course, there are lot of people waiting for me to make this next record and go after 50," explained Nas, who says he's still in honeymoon mode (see "Nas And Kelis Tie The Knot") and is about to get his "grind" back on and record some new material. "If it's meant to be, it'll happen. I don't think it's really that deep. We all love hip-hop. It drives people crazy, 'Come on, come on! Respond with something! Respond!' You gotta chill and let us do our thing. People are gonna talk, the media is going be like 'Nas do this, do that.' At the end of the day, I'm the one that goes into the studio and lays it down. You gotta wait.
"To sum it all up, 50 is still a new artist," he continued. "I would say he's got a good five to six more albums before I can really respond to him. With my other battles, it was different. This is not really my thing right here. I would say he would needs about five to six more albums."
When asked about being called out in "Piggy Bank," the rap veteran didn't seemed too fired up. He simply charges it to the game.
"It's reality, being put in a big publicity stunt," he said. "My name being in stuff like that is not out of the norm — it's just hip-hop music. You have moments where you'll be like 'Ah, this is not cool. Then you have moments when you're like 'I think this is cool. It keeps people listening.' So either way, it's all good.
"Why is it always Nas that people wanna go after?" he considered. "I think something about me intrigues a lot of artists. I'm not so crazy with media. I'm not so out there. Still, I care just the same as somebody who tours all year, who has 50, 60 videos a year," he joked. "I care about my music and I care about the game just the same. I think people are just curious."
Jadakiss and Fat Joe have responded to the challenges from America's top-selling artist of 2005, and Nas says he keeps being asked if he'll be next.
Hip-hop's most lyrical newlywed has been addressing 50 in British publications with comments
"There are lot of people waiting for me to make this next record and go after 50. If it's meant to be, it'll happen." — Nas
Nas
"Just A Moment"
Street's Disciple
(Sony Urban Music/Columbia)
Nas
"Bridging the Gap"
Street's Disciple
(Sony Urban Music/Columbia)
like one that appeared in New Nation: "He's out there posing for cameras like the Incredible Hulk and sh-- ... It's sad for a lot of real guys." Rumors on the Internet of Nas threatening 50's career definitely haven't slowed the questions.
So is it going to happen? Asked during his U.K. tour last week (see "Shots Fired At U.K. Nas Show; No Injuries Reported"), Nas left a veil of mystery around whether or not he'll respond on wax.
"Of course, there are lot of people waiting for me to make this next record and go after 50," explained Nas, who says he's still in honeymoon mode (see "Nas And Kelis Tie The Knot") and is about to get his "grind" back on and record some new material. "If it's meant to be, it'll happen. I don't think it's really that deep. We all love hip-hop. It drives people crazy, 'Come on, come on! Respond with something! Respond!' You gotta chill and let us do our thing. People are gonna talk, the media is going be like 'Nas do this, do that.' At the end of the day, I'm the one that goes into the studio and lays it down. You gotta wait.
"To sum it all up, 50 is still a new artist," he continued. "I would say he's got a good five to six more albums before I can really respond to him. With my other battles, it was different. This is not really my thing right here. I would say he would needs about five to six more albums."
When asked about being called out in "Piggy Bank," the rap veteran didn't seemed too fired up. He simply charges it to the game.
"It's reality, being put in a big publicity stunt," he said. "My name being in stuff like that is not out of the norm — it's just hip-hop music. You have moments where you'll be like 'Ah, this is not cool. Then you have moments when you're like 'I think this is cool. It keeps people listening.' So either way, it's all good.
"Why is it always Nas that people wanna go after?" he considered. "I think something about me intrigues a lot of artists. I'm not so crazy with media. I'm not so out there. Still, I care just the same as somebody who tours all year, who has 50, 60 videos a year," he joked. "I care about my music and I care about the game just the same. I think people are just curious."
Lollipop
Banned
I like American Idol!!
I love music, so I love American Idol these are the three finialist, they can sing!
COMMENTARY
By Craig Berman
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 10:02 a.m. ET May 18, 2005
When it comes to people it’s nice to impress in the record industry, Clive Davis is one of the top names on the list. While president of CBS records, he signed Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. He then left to found Arista Records, and the label subsequently inked the likes of Whitney Houston, Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, the Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin and Toni Braxton.
So it’s fair to say that Davis has seen some talented performers in his nearly 40 years in the business.
He saw another one while serving as a guest judge on “American Idol” Tuesday night: Bo Bice. And since Davis is also chairman and CEO of BMG North America — which produces the winner’s CD — Bice has a great shot at a record deal regardless of how the vote turns out.
“I’m going to make a prediction. We are going to have a great time making a very special album together,” Davis told Bice, after the second of Bice’s three songs of the night.
Carrie Underwood- slightly country
Bo Bice- Rocker, but did do The O'Jay's Money and did a great job
Vonzell Solomon- beautiful pop-soul sounding
I love music, so I love American Idol these are the three finialist, they can sing!
COMMENTARY
By Craig Berman
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 10:02 a.m. ET May 18, 2005
When it comes to people it’s nice to impress in the record industry, Clive Davis is one of the top names on the list. While president of CBS records, he signed Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. He then left to found Arista Records, and the label subsequently inked the likes of Whitney Houston, Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, the Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin and Toni Braxton.
So it’s fair to say that Davis has seen some talented performers in his nearly 40 years in the business.
He saw another one while serving as a guest judge on “American Idol” Tuesday night: Bo Bice. And since Davis is also chairman and CEO of BMG North America — which produces the winner’s CD — Bice has a great shot at a record deal regardless of how the vote turns out.
“I’m going to make a prediction. We are going to have a great time making a very special album together,” Davis told Bice, after the second of Bice’s three songs of the night.
Carrie Underwood- slightly country
Bo Bice- Rocker, but did do The O'Jay's Money and did a great job
Vonzell Solomon- beautiful pop-soul sounding
Littledragon
Above The Law
Jackie Chan takes on ...
Jackie Chan takes on ...
HONG KONG (AP) -- Jackie Chan battled copyright pirates, smashing fake designer watches with a hammer and using a chain saw to destroy a street-side stand hawking counterfeit bags and clothes.
The skit about Chan breaking up a counterfeit sales operation was organized by the International Trademark Association.
"It may be funny to watch our skit. But there's nothing funny about counterfeits," Chan said Thursday. He said piracy is seriously damaging the film industry in Hong Kong.
"Looking at the counterfeit problem, it really hurts," the 51-year-old action star said. "We used to make 300 movies a year here in Hong Kong. Now there are maybe 50 a year."
Chan, whose Hollywood movies include the "Rush Hour" films, used a flurry of karate chops against four assailants wearing Jackie Chan masks. He also cut a tie in half with scissors and ripped apart a pair of counterfeit shoes with his hands.
The trademark association said counterfeiting is an industry with a global market value of $500 billion. It produces goods ranging from baby formulas and DVDs to automotive and aviation parts.
Jackie Chan takes on ...
HONG KONG (AP) -- Jackie Chan battled copyright pirates, smashing fake designer watches with a hammer and using a chain saw to destroy a street-side stand hawking counterfeit bags and clothes.
The skit about Chan breaking up a counterfeit sales operation was organized by the International Trademark Association.
"It may be funny to watch our skit. But there's nothing funny about counterfeits," Chan said Thursday. He said piracy is seriously damaging the film industry in Hong Kong.
"Looking at the counterfeit problem, it really hurts," the 51-year-old action star said. "We used to make 300 movies a year here in Hong Kong. Now there are maybe 50 a year."
Chan, whose Hollywood movies include the "Rush Hour" films, used a flurry of karate chops against four assailants wearing Jackie Chan masks. He also cut a tie in half with scissors and ripped apart a pair of counterfeit shoes with his hands.
The trademark association said counterfeiting is an industry with a global market value of $500 billion. It produces goods ranging from baby formulas and DVDs to automotive and aviation parts.
Littledragon
Above The Law
Jackson's fate in jury's hands.
SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- The jury deciding pop star Michael Jackson's guilt or innocence on child molestation charges deliberated two hours Friday before calling it quits for the weekend.
When they reconvene jurors will have to wade through 14 weeks of testimony by more than 130 witnesses to determine whether the pop star is a sexual predator of young boys or a victim of a con.
"He's relieved that it's over," said his spokeswoman, Raymone Bain. "He has a great confidence in the justice system, and he's hoping and believing the jury is going to acquit him of these charges."
"This is the hardest part now -- the waiting game."
He'll await the verdict at his Neverland Ranch, about an hour away from the Santa Maria courthouse.
During closing arguments Friday, Jackson's lead defense attorney attacked the credibility of the teenage accuser and his family, saying their allegations against the pop star are "the biggest con of their careers."
Projecting transcript excerpts of their testimony onto a large screen, Thomas Mesereau Jr. pointed to "flip flops" in the accuser's various statements to show that "he's not truthful."
And he called the teen's mother "a complete liar and fabricator, a con artist," saying the family wanted to cash in on allegations with a civil suit, as they did four years ago with a lawsuit against J.C. Penney.
"It only takes one lie under oath to throw this case out of court," Mesereau told the eight women and four men on the jury. "You can't count the number of lies told by [the family]."
"I'm begging you to honor that principle of reasonable doubt," Mesereau said, arguing that prosecutors "can't prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, and they never should have brought it."
"You must throw this case where it belongs -- out the door," he said.
But prosecutor Ron Zonen, in his final rebuttal, said the consistency of the family's testimony was "remarkable," given they were on the stand for a collective 12 days. He also lampooned the idea that the mother, who "frankly can't string two consecutive sentences together that make sense," would be able to mastermind "such a vast fraud."
Zonen ended his presentation by replaying for the jury part of a police interview conducted with Jackson's accuser in July 2003. In it he said he was masturbated by Jackson, who allegedly told him the act was "natural."
"You just witnessed the worst seven minutes of this boy's life," said Zonen.
He said it was "not likely" the boy would make false charges and sustain them for two years, given the humiliation he has endured by coming forward.
Zonen also pointed to testimony about Jackson's relationship with another boy in the early 1990s, which allegedly included spending nearly every night for a year with the entertainer.
"This man has never had an adult companionship to that extent that any of us have heard of," the prosecutor said. "Are we expected to believe he's simply non-sexual?"
Another hospital visit
Jackson arrived on time, despite having visited a hospital near his Neverland Ranch Thursday.
His spokeswoman said comedian Dick Gregory, a family friend, had said he thought Jackson looked dehydrated and needed electrolytes. He was not admitted, Bain said, and his treatment at Saint Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital was not disclosed.
Twice during the trial, hospital visits by Jackson delayed the start of the proceedings. But Friday morning, Jackson walked into the Santa Maria courthouse unassisted.
Jackson's hair was slightly mussed, but his appearance did not appear to be otherwise unusual. He turned to wave to a throng of chanting, sign-waving fans who came to show their support.
Showing their support Friday were two of his sisters, Janet and Rebe, who had not been at the trial since testimony began February 28. Sister LaToya and brothers Jermaine and Randy were on hand, as were the singer's parents Joseph and Katherine.
Jackson was indicted more than a year ago on 10 felony counts, stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred in February and March 2003.
The charges include: four counts of committing a lewd act on a child; one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion; one count of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child; and four counts of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony.
Earlier this week Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville decided to allow the jury to consider the lesser included charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor, a misdemeanor, on the final four charges.
Prosecutors alleged that after a controversial documentary was broadcast Jackson and five associates plotted to control and intimidate the accuser's family to get them to go along with damage-control efforts, including holding them against their will at Neverland.
Jackson's lawyers have tried to paint his accuser's family as grifters with a habit of wheedling money out of the rich and famous.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not take the stand during the trial.
CNN's Dree De Clamecy, Ted Rowlands and Stan Wilson contributed to this report.
SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- The jury deciding pop star Michael Jackson's guilt or innocence on child molestation charges deliberated two hours Friday before calling it quits for the weekend.
When they reconvene jurors will have to wade through 14 weeks of testimony by more than 130 witnesses to determine whether the pop star is a sexual predator of young boys or a victim of a con.
"He's relieved that it's over," said his spokeswoman, Raymone Bain. "He has a great confidence in the justice system, and he's hoping and believing the jury is going to acquit him of these charges."
"This is the hardest part now -- the waiting game."
He'll await the verdict at his Neverland Ranch, about an hour away from the Santa Maria courthouse.
During closing arguments Friday, Jackson's lead defense attorney attacked the credibility of the teenage accuser and his family, saying their allegations against the pop star are "the biggest con of their careers."
Projecting transcript excerpts of their testimony onto a large screen, Thomas Mesereau Jr. pointed to "flip flops" in the accuser's various statements to show that "he's not truthful."
And he called the teen's mother "a complete liar and fabricator, a con artist," saying the family wanted to cash in on allegations with a civil suit, as they did four years ago with a lawsuit against J.C. Penney.
"It only takes one lie under oath to throw this case out of court," Mesereau told the eight women and four men on the jury. "You can't count the number of lies told by [the family]."
"I'm begging you to honor that principle of reasonable doubt," Mesereau said, arguing that prosecutors "can't prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt, and they never should have brought it."
"You must throw this case where it belongs -- out the door," he said.
But prosecutor Ron Zonen, in his final rebuttal, said the consistency of the family's testimony was "remarkable," given they were on the stand for a collective 12 days. He also lampooned the idea that the mother, who "frankly can't string two consecutive sentences together that make sense," would be able to mastermind "such a vast fraud."
Zonen ended his presentation by replaying for the jury part of a police interview conducted with Jackson's accuser in July 2003. In it he said he was masturbated by Jackson, who allegedly told him the act was "natural."
"You just witnessed the worst seven minutes of this boy's life," said Zonen.
He said it was "not likely" the boy would make false charges and sustain them for two years, given the humiliation he has endured by coming forward.
Zonen also pointed to testimony about Jackson's relationship with another boy in the early 1990s, which allegedly included spending nearly every night for a year with the entertainer.
"This man has never had an adult companionship to that extent that any of us have heard of," the prosecutor said. "Are we expected to believe he's simply non-sexual?"
Another hospital visit
Jackson arrived on time, despite having visited a hospital near his Neverland Ranch Thursday.
His spokeswoman said comedian Dick Gregory, a family friend, had said he thought Jackson looked dehydrated and needed electrolytes. He was not admitted, Bain said, and his treatment at Saint Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital was not disclosed.
Twice during the trial, hospital visits by Jackson delayed the start of the proceedings. But Friday morning, Jackson walked into the Santa Maria courthouse unassisted.
Jackson's hair was slightly mussed, but his appearance did not appear to be otherwise unusual. He turned to wave to a throng of chanting, sign-waving fans who came to show their support.
Showing their support Friday were two of his sisters, Janet and Rebe, who had not been at the trial since testimony began February 28. Sister LaToya and brothers Jermaine and Randy were on hand, as were the singer's parents Joseph and Katherine.
Jackson was indicted more than a year ago on 10 felony counts, stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred in February and March 2003.
The charges include: four counts of committing a lewd act on a child; one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion; one count of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child; and four counts of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony.
Earlier this week Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville decided to allow the jury to consider the lesser included charge of furnishing alcohol to a minor, a misdemeanor, on the final four charges.
Prosecutors alleged that after a controversial documentary was broadcast Jackson and five associates plotted to control and intimidate the accuser's family to get them to go along with damage-control efforts, including holding them against their will at Neverland.
Jackson's lawyers have tried to paint his accuser's family as grifters with a habit of wheedling money out of the rich and famous.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not take the stand during the trial.
CNN's Dree De Clamecy, Ted Rowlands and Stan Wilson contributed to this report.
Littledragon
Above The Law
The most unlikely hit of the summer.
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- "Crash," a film about race relations in Los Angeles with a cast including Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock and Matt Dillon, did not seem the obvious choice for an early summer success story.
But with the box office experiencing a slump this year, Lions Gate Films' pickup from the Toronto International Film Festival has become one of the season's few bright spots.
Its success can be credited to a bold release plan, an emotional marketing campaign and an aggressive screening program. For "Crash" has been able to do what few movies accomplish nowadays: It has attracted four very distinct demographic groups -- college students, upscale adult audiences, the urban market and females.
The result has been ticket sales of $36 million in just four weeks. The film could gross as much as $50 million -- a number that might exceed the final domestic grosses of the expected summer hits it opened against: 20th Century Fox's "Kingdom of Heaven" and Warner Bros. Pictures' "House of Wax."
And it hit that mark in an unconventional manner for a specialty film: by opening wide in the early summer instead of taking the more traditional route of opening in New York and Los Angeles in the fall, gaining traction through word-of-mouth and expanding to a critical mass just in time for Academy Awards consideration.
"Fall is a season when a lot of highbrow quasi-commercial pictures get released," Lions Gate Releasing president Tom Ortenberg said. "We didn't feel the need to wait that long and then compete in a crowded marketplace."
Lions Gate picked up the picture for $3.3 million in the fall and soon after pursued a wide release plan.
"We had great actors, a very promotable filmmaker and a lot of national press. We didn't want to waste it on a few city openings," said Ortenberg.
The film was perfectly timed in that writer director Paul Haggis was coming off his Oscar-nominated screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby," and Cheadle was fresh off his Oscar-nominated role in "Hotel Rwanda."
In retrospect, a platform release actually could have killed Haggis' directorial debut. While the film received mostly positive reviews around the country when it opened May 6 on 1,864 screens, film critics at the New York Times and Los Angeles Times issued scathing reviews.
"There was a lot of talk about a fall release in New York and Los Angeles, but there would be no conversations right now (about 'Crash') if we had done that," said John Hegeman, president of marketing at Lions Gate. "Our only bad reviews were in the New York Times and the L.A. Times."
Instead of betting on big-city reviews, Lions Gate instead relied on early data that showed the movie to have strong playability across different demos in addition to high marketability to those same groups. Although Ortenberg said the company spent less than $20 million to market the film, Hegeman added that the campaign went much deeper into each demographic than is usual. With four specific targeted audiences, the company bought more TV ads than it ever had before and spent more money than it usually does.
The other component to Lions Gate's marketing plans was a widespread screening program, targeting racial groups nationwide, both to get early feedback and also to spread the word about the film. Hegeman said Haggis, Cheadle and Dillon hosted screenings around the country to offer a "platform for people to talk." The film also received endorsements from such community leaders as Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa, the Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP leaders.
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- "Crash," a film about race relations in Los Angeles with a cast including Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock and Matt Dillon, did not seem the obvious choice for an early summer success story.
But with the box office experiencing a slump this year, Lions Gate Films' pickup from the Toronto International Film Festival has become one of the season's few bright spots.
Its success can be credited to a bold release plan, an emotional marketing campaign and an aggressive screening program. For "Crash" has been able to do what few movies accomplish nowadays: It has attracted four very distinct demographic groups -- college students, upscale adult audiences, the urban market and females.
The result has been ticket sales of $36 million in just four weeks. The film could gross as much as $50 million -- a number that might exceed the final domestic grosses of the expected summer hits it opened against: 20th Century Fox's "Kingdom of Heaven" and Warner Bros. Pictures' "House of Wax."
And it hit that mark in an unconventional manner for a specialty film: by opening wide in the early summer instead of taking the more traditional route of opening in New York and Los Angeles in the fall, gaining traction through word-of-mouth and expanding to a critical mass just in time for Academy Awards consideration.
"Fall is a season when a lot of highbrow quasi-commercial pictures get released," Lions Gate Releasing president Tom Ortenberg said. "We didn't feel the need to wait that long and then compete in a crowded marketplace."
Lions Gate picked up the picture for $3.3 million in the fall and soon after pursued a wide release plan.
"We had great actors, a very promotable filmmaker and a lot of national press. We didn't want to waste it on a few city openings," said Ortenberg.
The film was perfectly timed in that writer director Paul Haggis was coming off his Oscar-nominated screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby," and Cheadle was fresh off his Oscar-nominated role in "Hotel Rwanda."
In retrospect, a platform release actually could have killed Haggis' directorial debut. While the film received mostly positive reviews around the country when it opened May 6 on 1,864 screens, film critics at the New York Times and Los Angeles Times issued scathing reviews.
"There was a lot of talk about a fall release in New York and Los Angeles, but there would be no conversations right now (about 'Crash') if we had done that," said John Hegeman, president of marketing at Lions Gate. "Our only bad reviews were in the New York Times and the L.A. Times."
Instead of betting on big-city reviews, Lions Gate instead relied on early data that showed the movie to have strong playability across different demos in addition to high marketability to those same groups. Although Ortenberg said the company spent less than $20 million to market the film, Hegeman added that the campaign went much deeper into each demographic than is usual. With four specific targeted audiences, the company bought more TV ads than it ever had before and spent more money than it usually does.
The other component to Lions Gate's marketing plans was a widespread screening program, targeting racial groups nationwide, both to get early feedback and also to spread the word about the film. Hegeman said Haggis, Cheadle and Dillon hosted screenings around the country to offer a "platform for people to talk." The film also received endorsements from such community leaders as Los Angeles Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa, the Rev. Al Sharpton and NAACP leaders.
Littledragon
Above The Law
The Entertainment thread should be in the Entertainment section.
Now don't you think this should be in the Entertainment thread mods instead of Further Off Topic. Could you please change it there.
Now don't you think this should be in the Entertainment thread mods instead of Further Off Topic. Could you please change it there.
Littledragon
Above The Law
Among the sharks.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Psst -- hey, kid. Wanna see a great white shark?
Odds are you probably won't, not only because the species -- also known as the white pointer and white death -- is in serious decline (despite global protective measures), but also because examples of this giant fish are only found in certain parts of the world.
One of those places is the Farallon Islands, a small outcropping about 30 miles west of San Francisco. That's where Susan Casey saw the great white -- lots of great whites.
In her book, "The Devil's Teeth" (Henry Holt), Casey describes a part of the planet few people would ever want to visit. Straddling a confluence of powerful wind and ocean currents, the Farallones are lashed year-round by some of the worst weather in the hemisphere, and the surrounding waters are littered with shipwrecks (some dating back centuries) to prove it. ("The Devil's Teeth" is a nickname for a rocky area on one of the islands, not necessarily a shark reference.)
So remote and inhospitable is the area that the U.S. military used it for explosives testing, and sunken, rotting tankers in the area slowly belch oil. Yet, Casey said, this has had surprisingly little effect on the local fauna -- above or below the water.
"So here you have these islands that just happen to be an elephant seal colony," she said. And it's those elephant seals that attract a group of white sharks each year from September to November.
An SUV with teeth
Casey's first assignment in 2001 for Time magazine gained her a strings-attached pass to the islands (federal law strictly limits public access) to observe researchers Peter Pyle and Scot Anderson, whose Sharkwatch has helped shed light on a reclusive and decidedly mysterious animal. (Casey is a development editor for Time Inc., which, like CNN, is a division of Time Warner.)
Sharkwatch's lookouts sent out small boats to motor out to the sites of shark attacks to observe the animal's natural feeding habits. The information is valuable currency: Despite researchers' best efforts, few research facilities exist to monitor and study the animal in the wild.
And what is the great white? A much-misunderstood -- though certainly fearsome -- beast.
Few animal groups on the planet are as old or as well-designed as sharks, a subset of cartilaginous fish which have patrolled the world's waters for 400 million years with few changes to their current form. While early attempts on the evolutionary drawing board produced some oddities, the main assembly-line version has remained nearly identical throughout the ages -- the torpedo shape, stiffened fins and tail, underslung jaw, and an onboard sensor array on a par with that of a Seawolf submarine.
That's the basic model. The great white (which came into being perhaps 10 million years ago, around the time human-like creatures emerged on the world's evolutionary tree) is the reigning champ in its weight class. Imagine a full-sized SUV armed with teeth: three tons and 20 feet of ocean prowler.
The white shark is bigger and heavier than its first cousin the mako, and in its adult form seems to prefer a diet of marine mammals to that of its second cousin, the salmon shark (or others of its own kind, cannibalism being de rigueur for this crowd).
'I'm just a student of this'
Part of the reason white sharks are in decline is due to the morbid fascination they trigger in humans. Shark attacks bring out "Jaws' " Captain Quint in everyone, perhaps because the white shark in particular is a good reminder that humans did not come into being right at the top of the food chain.
And yet, despite the hysteria caused by shark attacks on humans, only a handful occur each year.
As Casey writes, "In any given year more than a thousand people will be maimed by toilet bowl cleaning products or killed by cattle. Less than a dozen will be attacked by a great white shark."
"I'm just a student of this, I'm no scientist or expert. I've read a lot," she said of her own background in sharkdom, which apparently was enough for her to return to the islands for a total of about three weeks over the next three years.
Sharkwatch was shut down in fall 2004, which was one reason Casey gained access -- to show what the program did. Private companies continue to offer sea excursions to the Farallones (and other San Francisco Bay Area sites) to learn about the wildlife, though nothing on the scale of Sharkwatch.
Casey's book offers a well-researched look into the history of the Farallones, the local wildlife (besides the sharks), and the messy and often violent chronicles of the humans who at one time or another saw fit to visit such an inhospitable place.
But it's the sharks that offer some of the most interesting tidbits. In one sense, they struggle to survive. In another, you wouldn't want to spend too much time near them when they're ready for feeding season around the Devil's Teeth.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Psst -- hey, kid. Wanna see a great white shark?
Odds are you probably won't, not only because the species -- also known as the white pointer and white death -- is in serious decline (despite global protective measures), but also because examples of this giant fish are only found in certain parts of the world.
One of those places is the Farallon Islands, a small outcropping about 30 miles west of San Francisco. That's where Susan Casey saw the great white -- lots of great whites.
In her book, "The Devil's Teeth" (Henry Holt), Casey describes a part of the planet few people would ever want to visit. Straddling a confluence of powerful wind and ocean currents, the Farallones are lashed year-round by some of the worst weather in the hemisphere, and the surrounding waters are littered with shipwrecks (some dating back centuries) to prove it. ("The Devil's Teeth" is a nickname for a rocky area on one of the islands, not necessarily a shark reference.)
So remote and inhospitable is the area that the U.S. military used it for explosives testing, and sunken, rotting tankers in the area slowly belch oil. Yet, Casey said, this has had surprisingly little effect on the local fauna -- above or below the water.
"So here you have these islands that just happen to be an elephant seal colony," she said. And it's those elephant seals that attract a group of white sharks each year from September to November.
An SUV with teeth
Casey's first assignment in 2001 for Time magazine gained her a strings-attached pass to the islands (federal law strictly limits public access) to observe researchers Peter Pyle and Scot Anderson, whose Sharkwatch has helped shed light on a reclusive and decidedly mysterious animal. (Casey is a development editor for Time Inc., which, like CNN, is a division of Time Warner.)
Sharkwatch's lookouts sent out small boats to motor out to the sites of shark attacks to observe the animal's natural feeding habits. The information is valuable currency: Despite researchers' best efforts, few research facilities exist to monitor and study the animal in the wild.
And what is the great white? A much-misunderstood -- though certainly fearsome -- beast.
Few animal groups on the planet are as old or as well-designed as sharks, a subset of cartilaginous fish which have patrolled the world's waters for 400 million years with few changes to their current form. While early attempts on the evolutionary drawing board produced some oddities, the main assembly-line version has remained nearly identical throughout the ages -- the torpedo shape, stiffened fins and tail, underslung jaw, and an onboard sensor array on a par with that of a Seawolf submarine.
That's the basic model. The great white (which came into being perhaps 10 million years ago, around the time human-like creatures emerged on the world's evolutionary tree) is the reigning champ in its weight class. Imagine a full-sized SUV armed with teeth: three tons and 20 feet of ocean prowler.
The white shark is bigger and heavier than its first cousin the mako, and in its adult form seems to prefer a diet of marine mammals to that of its second cousin, the salmon shark (or others of its own kind, cannibalism being de rigueur for this crowd).
'I'm just a student of this'
Part of the reason white sharks are in decline is due to the morbid fascination they trigger in humans. Shark attacks bring out "Jaws' " Captain Quint in everyone, perhaps because the white shark in particular is a good reminder that humans did not come into being right at the top of the food chain.
And yet, despite the hysteria caused by shark attacks on humans, only a handful occur each year.
As Casey writes, "In any given year more than a thousand people will be maimed by toilet bowl cleaning products or killed by cattle. Less than a dozen will be attacked by a great white shark."
"I'm just a student of this, I'm no scientist or expert. I've read a lot," she said of her own background in sharkdom, which apparently was enough for her to return to the islands for a total of about three weeks over the next three years.
Sharkwatch was shut down in fall 2004, which was one reason Casey gained access -- to show what the program did. Private companies continue to offer sea excursions to the Farallones (and other San Francisco Bay Area sites) to learn about the wildlife, though nothing on the scale of Sharkwatch.
Casey's book offers a well-researched look into the history of the Farallones, the local wildlife (besides the sharks), and the messy and often violent chronicles of the humans who at one time or another saw fit to visit such an inhospitable place.
But it's the sharks that offer some of the most interesting tidbits. In one sense, they struggle to survive. In another, you wouldn't want to spend too much time near them when they're ready for feeding season around the Devil's Teeth.
Attachments
Littledragon
Above The Law
Beyonce: Don't call it a breakup.
NEW YORK (AP) -- If you saw the breakup of Destiny's Child coming based on the title of their latest album, you were right on target.
" 'Destiny Fulfilled' ... is not a coincidence," Beyonce told AP Radio in an interview. "This was something that we thought about. And it was really important for us to end this chapter when we were successful."
Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams recently announced plans to disband after their world tour ends in the fall. The Grammy Award-winning trio have had a string of hits, including "Bootylicious," "Survivor" and "Independent Women (Part I)."
"We don't like the word 'breakup,' " said Beyonce. "We'd like to say that it's the end of a chapter in our lives."
Beyonce says the trio believes they're splitting up for the right reasons.
"Not because one person wants to go solo. Or not because we don't like each other. Or because we're not selling records anymore. But because it has to end at a certain point," the 23-year-old singer said.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NEW YORK (AP) -- If you saw the breakup of Destiny's Child coming based on the title of their latest album, you were right on target.
" 'Destiny Fulfilled' ... is not a coincidence," Beyonce told AP Radio in an interview. "This was something that we thought about. And it was really important for us to end this chapter when we were successful."
Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams recently announced plans to disband after their world tour ends in the fall. The Grammy Award-winning trio have had a string of hits, including "Bootylicious," "Survivor" and "Independent Women (Part I)."
"We don't like the word 'breakup,' " said Beyonce. "We'd like to say that it's the end of a chapter in our lives."
Beyonce says the trio believes they're splitting up for the right reasons.
"Not because one person wants to go solo. Or not because we don't like each other. Or because we're not selling records anymore. But because it has to end at a certain point," the 23-year-old singer said.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Littledragon
Above The Law
MTV, VH1 to show much of Live 8.
NEW YORK (AP) -- MTV and VH1 will telecast eight hours of the Live 8 concerts on July 2, the networks said Wednesday.
The performances, featuring artists U2, Coldplay, Madonna, Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z and Destiny's Child among many others, are being held in eight cities to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.
The telecast is a repeat performance for MTV, which showed the Live Aid concerts two decades ago. Like Live Aid, the Live 8 performances are being organized by Bob Geldof.
America Online, which owns the U.S. rights to the concerts and will beam them on the Internet, is also negotiating with ABC for a prime-time telecast on July 2 following the cable TV coverage. America Online is a division of Time Warner, as is CNN.
MTV, VH1 and MTV's college network mtvU will be on the air with the same feed from noon to 8 p.m. EDT that day, switching back and forth from different sites and also presenting packaged reports, like a look back at Live Aid.
Related networks CMT and VH1 Classic will air concert highlights the next day featuring artists geared to their audiences.
It will be the longest period MTV has gone live to cover an event since Woodstock '99, the network said.
XM Satellite Radio will carry the concerts live from Philadelphia, London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, America Online also announced on Wednesday. The Premiere Radio Networks will also carry concert coverage and performances tailored to three different radio formats -- urban, rock and pop.
Internationally, the MTV, VH1 and Music Factory networks will show hourly bulletins about the show.
NEW YORK (AP) -- MTV and VH1 will telecast eight hours of the Live 8 concerts on July 2, the networks said Wednesday.
The performances, featuring artists U2, Coldplay, Madonna, Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z and Destiny's Child among many others, are being held in eight cities to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.
The telecast is a repeat performance for MTV, which showed the Live Aid concerts two decades ago. Like Live Aid, the Live 8 performances are being organized by Bob Geldof.
America Online, which owns the U.S. rights to the concerts and will beam them on the Internet, is also negotiating with ABC for a prime-time telecast on July 2 following the cable TV coverage. America Online is a division of Time Warner, as is CNN.
MTV, VH1 and MTV's college network mtvU will be on the air with the same feed from noon to 8 p.m. EDT that day, switching back and forth from different sites and also presenting packaged reports, like a look back at Live Aid.
Related networks CMT and VH1 Classic will air concert highlights the next day featuring artists geared to their audiences.
It will be the longest period MTV has gone live to cover an event since Woodstock '99, the network said.
XM Satellite Radio will carry the concerts live from Philadelphia, London, Paris, Berlin and Rome, America Online also announced on Wednesday. The Premiere Radio Networks will also carry concert coverage and performances tailored to three different radio formats -- urban, rock and pop.
Internationally, the MTV, VH1 and Music Factory networks will show hourly bulletins about the show.
Littledragon
Above The Law
Avril Lavigne Engaged!
Early punks had Sid and Nancy. Kurt and Courtney belonged to Generation X. And now, today's youth will soon have their own punk — poppy, but still punk — rock couple to warmly embrace: Avril and Deryck.
Over the weekend, Sum 41
frontman Deryck Whibley asked for tie- and tank-top-sporting Canadian rock chick Avril Lavigne's hand in marriage, and the 20-year-old Avril accepted, according to Us Weekly.
Lavigne and Whibley started dating over a year ago, and have been friends for several years, the magazine reports. Both musicians call the same Canadian province — Ontario — home, but reportedly moved into a Los Angeles house they'd purchased together last year.
The magazine said Whibley proposed in Europe, where Lavigne is touring. Reports of the couple's engagement had surfaced — and were subsequently denied — last year (see "Sum 41 Singer Not Engaged To Avril Lavigne, His Reps Say"), but this time publicists for both rockers have confirmed the engagement, Us Weekly reports.
— Chris Harris
Early punks had Sid and Nancy. Kurt and Courtney belonged to Generation X. And now, today's youth will soon have their own punk — poppy, but still punk — rock couple to warmly embrace: Avril and Deryck.
Over the weekend, Sum 41
frontman Deryck Whibley asked for tie- and tank-top-sporting Canadian rock chick Avril Lavigne's hand in marriage, and the 20-year-old Avril accepted, according to Us Weekly.
Lavigne and Whibley started dating over a year ago, and have been friends for several years, the magazine reports. Both musicians call the same Canadian province — Ontario — home, but reportedly moved into a Los Angeles house they'd purchased together last year.
The magazine said Whibley proposed in Europe, where Lavigne is touring. Reports of the couple's engagement had surfaced — and were subsequently denied — last year (see "Sum 41 Singer Not Engaged To Avril Lavigne, His Reps Say"), but this time publicists for both rockers have confirmed the engagement, Us Weekly reports.
— Chris Harris
Littledragon
Above The Law
Will Smith: Rappers should know impact.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Will Smith has one big introduction to make at Tuesday night's BET Awards: Gangsta rappers, meet the rest of the world.
Smith told The Associated Press he hopes to impress the global significance of U.S. black culture on the show's audience and artists.
"The kids that are making these trends, making these songs, don't understand the level of effect that black Americans have around the world," he said in an interview. " ... Black Americans are so elevated, it's almost worship."
Smith, co-host of the show (8 p.m. EDT) at Hollywood's Kodak Theater with wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, said he witnessed the phenomenon recently while in Africa. Touring a village in Mozambique, he came across a shack on which someone had scrawled the name of slain rapper Tupac Shakur.
"I was asking the kids: What is it about Tupac? Why is that there? I kept asking why. They were saying we want to dress like you dress, wear all the things you wear, talk how you talk."
"The impression is that black Americans are the dragon slayers. Here we are 13 percent minority in a foreign land, and yet we can make laws, change laws. If Jesse Jackson shows up at Coca-Cola, something changes."
Smith, who won the first rap Grammy in 1988 for his squeaky-clean "Parents Just Don't Understand," said he wants hip-hop artists to recognize their importance and shift away from thuggish themes.
"It's real important to have balance of the imagery. Yes, there are people who fire guns in the street, but there's also doctors who go to work in those areas to feed their children."
The gangster lifestyle is celebrated in black communities for its strength, Smith said. "That's the image of survivors. The dude that sells the drugs or has the guns or is most willing to kill somebody is the dude that has the greatest potential for survival, or at least that's the perception. So that's what people strive for.
"What I'm trying to present and what a lot of other artists are presenting is a different approach to survival and a more sound approach to survival. It's a more long-term approach based on intellect and skills that can't be taken away from you: The smartest dude survives the best."
Smith picks out Common and Mos Def as other artists "that really have something to say that don't necessarily fit on the '106th & Park' top 10."
Now more well-known as a movie star ("Men in Black," "Bad Boys," "Independence Day") than rapper, the 36-year-old Smith maintains on his latest album "Lost And Found" that his nice guy image has worked against him.
"Black radio, they won't play me though," he raps in one song. "Guess they think that Will ain't hard enough. Maybe I should just have a shootout ... just ignorant, attacking, acting rough. I mean then, will I be black enough?"
Though his current single "Switch" is a top 40 hit, the man once known as the Fresh Prince said he no longer worries about album sales.
"I'm an entertainer. I make it and close my eyes," he said. "Sometimes it sells 14 million, sometimes it sells 300,000. For me it's about just doing what I do, and hoping that my artistry makes a difference."
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Will Smith has one big introduction to make at Tuesday night's BET Awards: Gangsta rappers, meet the rest of the world.
Smith told The Associated Press he hopes to impress the global significance of U.S. black culture on the show's audience and artists.
"The kids that are making these trends, making these songs, don't understand the level of effect that black Americans have around the world," he said in an interview. " ... Black Americans are so elevated, it's almost worship."
Smith, co-host of the show (8 p.m. EDT) at Hollywood's Kodak Theater with wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, said he witnessed the phenomenon recently while in Africa. Touring a village in Mozambique, he came across a shack on which someone had scrawled the name of slain rapper Tupac Shakur.
"I was asking the kids: What is it about Tupac? Why is that there? I kept asking why. They were saying we want to dress like you dress, wear all the things you wear, talk how you talk."
"The impression is that black Americans are the dragon slayers. Here we are 13 percent minority in a foreign land, and yet we can make laws, change laws. If Jesse Jackson shows up at Coca-Cola, something changes."
Smith, who won the first rap Grammy in 1988 for his squeaky-clean "Parents Just Don't Understand," said he wants hip-hop artists to recognize their importance and shift away from thuggish themes.
"It's real important to have balance of the imagery. Yes, there are people who fire guns in the street, but there's also doctors who go to work in those areas to feed their children."
The gangster lifestyle is celebrated in black communities for its strength, Smith said. "That's the image of survivors. The dude that sells the drugs or has the guns or is most willing to kill somebody is the dude that has the greatest potential for survival, or at least that's the perception. So that's what people strive for.
"What I'm trying to present and what a lot of other artists are presenting is a different approach to survival and a more sound approach to survival. It's a more long-term approach based on intellect and skills that can't be taken away from you: The smartest dude survives the best."
Smith picks out Common and Mos Def as other artists "that really have something to say that don't necessarily fit on the '106th & Park' top 10."
Now more well-known as a movie star ("Men in Black," "Bad Boys," "Independence Day") than rapper, the 36-year-old Smith maintains on his latest album "Lost And Found" that his nice guy image has worked against him.
"Black radio, they won't play me though," he raps in one song. "Guess they think that Will ain't hard enough. Maybe I should just have a shootout ... just ignorant, attacking, acting rough. I mean then, will I be black enough?"
Though his current single "Switch" is a top 40 hit, the man once known as the Fresh Prince said he no longer worries about album sales.
"I'm an entertainer. I make it and close my eyes," he said. "Sometimes it sells 14 million, sometimes it sells 300,000. For me it's about just doing what I do, and hoping that my artistry makes a difference."
Littledragon
Above The Law
The greatest song of all time.
(CNN) -- The song broke in the summer of 1965, a fired gun of a drum shot followed by words out of a fairy tale: "Once upon a time, you dressed so fine ..."
Even Bob Dylan must have known he was on to something when he wrote and recorded "Like a Rolling Stone."
Forty years later, the song remains Dylan's most representative and identifiable, from the stabs of organ (courtesy of Al Kooper, who snuck into the recording session and had never played organ), to the crashing rhythm section, to the twirling exclamation points of Mike Bloomfield's lead guitar, to the bursts of harmonica, to -- finally -- the sing-along chorus, belted in a triumphant voice somewhere between a sneer and a whine: "How does it feel? How does it feel?"
"It draws a line in the sand. Once you cross it, you can't go back," says rock critic Greil Marcus, author of the new book "Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads" (PublicAffairs).
Indeed, "Like a Rolling Stone" is like a gauntlet thrown down, Marcus observes in a phone interview.
It's a dividing line between Dylan the tentative folk singer, famous for writing others' hits (Peter, Paul & Mary's "Blowin' in the Wind," the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man") and Dylan the rock star, celebrated for his own ("Superstar Bob," as Nik Cohn and Guy Peellaert present him in their book "Rock Dreams"); a gateway from Top 40 pop to album rock (the song, six minutes and six seconds, was the longest non-dance record routinely played on AM radio up to that time); a roar of youthful defiance as the '60s started getting meaner.
And yet, it also seems less written by Dylan than channeled.
Indeed, though the words are important and the melody (based on a "La Bamba" chord progression) infectious, the song -- the recorded performance -- transcends them. It's not for nothing that Rolling Stone magazine named it the greatest song in rock history, ahead of "Satisfaction," "What's Going On" and even "Johnny B. Goode."
"It works on its own terms," says Marcus. "It puts you on the spot. It asks of you the fear and courage that it asks of its subject."
'This is where his style became a body'
Dylan wrote the song on the 1965 tour chronicled in the documentary "Don't Look Back." On June 15, he showed up in Columbia Records' New York studios and attempted a few takes, but the song refused to come together. The next day, with Kooper (a guest of producer Tom Wilson) present, Dylan tried again.
The first three takes set the stage, and then, on the fourth, Dylan and his band nailed it. They tried several more attempts, but never came close again.
Though the song screamed "single" to many, Columbia was uncertain. The song was six minutes. AM radio didn't play six-minute songs, and Dylan didn't want it cut in half, as was done with long songs such as the Isley Brothers' "Shout" or Ray Charles' "What'd I Say."
The song kicked off Dylan's 1965 album "Highway 61 Revisited."But the timing was right. A Columbia assistant sneaked the song, as is, into a New York club; it was a hit. Radio stations that dared play a truncated three-minute version found themselves besieged by listeners. The song rose to No. 2 and cemented Dylan's sound: "This is where his style became a body," says Marcus.
It also changed his audience. "It made itself a home on Top 40 radio," says Marcus. The exposure made Dylan exponentially bigger.
Indeed, the Dylan sound was quickly parodied and exploited. Gravel-voiced Barry McGuire took the P.F. Sloan-Steve Barri song "Eve of Destruction" -- which owes an obvious debt to Dylan -- to No. 1 later in 1965. A garage band named Mouse and the Traps did a Dylan sound-alike, "A Public Execution," which Marcus recalls inspired questions of, "Have you heard the new Dylan?" before the artist was revealed.
Even Dylan himself had fun with "Dylan," offering deeper vitriol ("Positively 4th Street") and burlesquing his own voice ("Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window") before, inevitably, he went off in another direction, as he's done so often in his career.
'In the air'
As with many Dylan songs, the subject has been much debated. An old girlfriend? A Greenwich Village folkie? Dylan himself?
Marcus steers clear of lyrical analysis, believing that any explanation is a "waste of time," though he observes that the spirit of the song is such that "if the song had been sung in any German-rooted language, it would have the same effect."
Greil MarcusWhich perhaps makes "Like a Rolling Stone" all the more serendipitous, something "in the air," as Marcus says.
It has stayed in the air, mysterious, thrilling and haunting.
There are the images, as sharp and inscrutable as Dylan ever produced: "the mystery tramp," "a chrome horse with your diplomat," "Napoleon in rags." There are the aphorisms: "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."
There is the phrase "rolling stone," whose pop music forebears Marcus traces to Hank Williams and Muddy Waters, giving the song both country and blues roots deep into the American soil.
There's the production, smoothed out by Bob Johnston, who guided Dylan through "Highway 61 Revisited," "Blonde on Blonde," "John Wesley Harding" and "Nashville Skyline."
There are the ensuing performances of the song: a clumsy, booed recital at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival that has entered legend; an angry, defiant blast -- like a lifted middle finger -- to close the bitter 1966 "Albert Hall" concert.
And, as Marcus writes, the song has the ability to stop time and silence listeners, as if they'd never heard it before.
By now, Marcus himself has heard "Like a Rolling Stone" thousands of times. When he talks about his book on radio shows, the host inevitably cues up the song to kick off the proceedings. Marcus listens, smiles, "and then [the song] goes away like smoke."
And how does it feel?
"I'm not even close to being sick of 'Like a Rolling Stone,' " Marcus says. "Every time I hear it, it's like the first time. I find that's even more true now than before. Now I don't just smile. I'm astonished."
(CNN) -- The song broke in the summer of 1965, a fired gun of a drum shot followed by words out of a fairy tale: "Once upon a time, you dressed so fine ..."
Even Bob Dylan must have known he was on to something when he wrote and recorded "Like a Rolling Stone."
Forty years later, the song remains Dylan's most representative and identifiable, from the stabs of organ (courtesy of Al Kooper, who snuck into the recording session and had never played organ), to the crashing rhythm section, to the twirling exclamation points of Mike Bloomfield's lead guitar, to the bursts of harmonica, to -- finally -- the sing-along chorus, belted in a triumphant voice somewhere between a sneer and a whine: "How does it feel? How does it feel?"
"It draws a line in the sand. Once you cross it, you can't go back," says rock critic Greil Marcus, author of the new book "Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads" (PublicAffairs).
Indeed, "Like a Rolling Stone" is like a gauntlet thrown down, Marcus observes in a phone interview.
It's a dividing line between Dylan the tentative folk singer, famous for writing others' hits (Peter, Paul & Mary's "Blowin' in the Wind," the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man") and Dylan the rock star, celebrated for his own ("Superstar Bob," as Nik Cohn and Guy Peellaert present him in their book "Rock Dreams"); a gateway from Top 40 pop to album rock (the song, six minutes and six seconds, was the longest non-dance record routinely played on AM radio up to that time); a roar of youthful defiance as the '60s started getting meaner.
And yet, it also seems less written by Dylan than channeled.
Indeed, though the words are important and the melody (based on a "La Bamba" chord progression) infectious, the song -- the recorded performance -- transcends them. It's not for nothing that Rolling Stone magazine named it the greatest song in rock history, ahead of "Satisfaction," "What's Going On" and even "Johnny B. Goode."
"It works on its own terms," says Marcus. "It puts you on the spot. It asks of you the fear and courage that it asks of its subject."
'This is where his style became a body'
Dylan wrote the song on the 1965 tour chronicled in the documentary "Don't Look Back." On June 15, he showed up in Columbia Records' New York studios and attempted a few takes, but the song refused to come together. The next day, with Kooper (a guest of producer Tom Wilson) present, Dylan tried again.
The first three takes set the stage, and then, on the fourth, Dylan and his band nailed it. They tried several more attempts, but never came close again.
Though the song screamed "single" to many, Columbia was uncertain. The song was six minutes. AM radio didn't play six-minute songs, and Dylan didn't want it cut in half, as was done with long songs such as the Isley Brothers' "Shout" or Ray Charles' "What'd I Say."
The song kicked off Dylan's 1965 album "Highway 61 Revisited."But the timing was right. A Columbia assistant sneaked the song, as is, into a New York club; it was a hit. Radio stations that dared play a truncated three-minute version found themselves besieged by listeners. The song rose to No. 2 and cemented Dylan's sound: "This is where his style became a body," says Marcus.
It also changed his audience. "It made itself a home on Top 40 radio," says Marcus. The exposure made Dylan exponentially bigger.
Indeed, the Dylan sound was quickly parodied and exploited. Gravel-voiced Barry McGuire took the P.F. Sloan-Steve Barri song "Eve of Destruction" -- which owes an obvious debt to Dylan -- to No. 1 later in 1965. A garage band named Mouse and the Traps did a Dylan sound-alike, "A Public Execution," which Marcus recalls inspired questions of, "Have you heard the new Dylan?" before the artist was revealed.
Even Dylan himself had fun with "Dylan," offering deeper vitriol ("Positively 4th Street") and burlesquing his own voice ("Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window") before, inevitably, he went off in another direction, as he's done so often in his career.
'In the air'
As with many Dylan songs, the subject has been much debated. An old girlfriend? A Greenwich Village folkie? Dylan himself?
Marcus steers clear of lyrical analysis, believing that any explanation is a "waste of time," though he observes that the spirit of the song is such that "if the song had been sung in any German-rooted language, it would have the same effect."
Greil MarcusWhich perhaps makes "Like a Rolling Stone" all the more serendipitous, something "in the air," as Marcus says.
It has stayed in the air, mysterious, thrilling and haunting.
There are the images, as sharp and inscrutable as Dylan ever produced: "the mystery tramp," "a chrome horse with your diplomat," "Napoleon in rags." There are the aphorisms: "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose."
There is the phrase "rolling stone," whose pop music forebears Marcus traces to Hank Williams and Muddy Waters, giving the song both country and blues roots deep into the American soil.
There's the production, smoothed out by Bob Johnston, who guided Dylan through "Highway 61 Revisited," "Blonde on Blonde," "John Wesley Harding" and "Nashville Skyline."
There are the ensuing performances of the song: a clumsy, booed recital at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival that has entered legend; an angry, defiant blast -- like a lifted middle finger -- to close the bitter 1966 "Albert Hall" concert.
And, as Marcus writes, the song has the ability to stop time and silence listeners, as if they'd never heard it before.
By now, Marcus himself has heard "Like a Rolling Stone" thousands of times. When he talks about his book on radio shows, the host inevitably cues up the song to kick off the proceedings. Marcus listens, smiles, "and then [the song] goes away like smoke."
And how does it feel?
"I'm not even close to being sick of 'Like a Rolling Stone,' " Marcus says. "Every time I hear it, it's like the first time. I find that's even more true now than before. Now I don't just smile. I'm astonished."
Littledragon
Above The Law
Three men in suits, avoiding boredom.
NEW YORK (AP) -- To hear them talk, it's no accident that two members of the comedy trio Stella share the same first name.
"It was by arrangement," declares Michael Ian Black.
"We arranged it," echoes Michael Showalter.
So why aren't all three of them named Michael?
"We tried," insists David Wain, who, with Michael and Michael, is occupied these days with a more pressing matter: bringing their screwball vision to TV in a series named "Stella."
Premiering 10:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday on Comedy Central, "Stella" features the madcap misadventures of three men who wear business suits but behave like children held back a couple of grades.
Sharing an earth-toned, kitsch-filled apartment in what looks like outer-borough New York City, they are happy-go-lucky comrades. Think: not so manic Marx Brothers, not so fractious Three Stooges -- or maybe Pee-wee Herman times three, minus the plaid.
Make no mistake, no one's named Stella. But "Stella" is replete with sight gags, surreal twists and loopy dialogue as each tale unfolds.
On the first episode, our heroes get evicted from their apartment after the downstairs neighbors complain to the landlord about their loud music. Suddenly homeless, Michael, Michael and David are out on the street. Bums. In suits.
Then, looking to buy a 3,000-square-foot co-op, they seek approval from the building's snobby co-op board. With a rousing dance number. In suits ... accessorized with skunk tails.
"They don't know that anybody thinks of them as dopes," says Wain, the Stella member who wears glasses.
"And they don't know that they're funny -- that's the farthest thing from their minds," adds Showalter, the one who slightly resembles talk-show host Joe Scarborough.
"They're total innocents," says Black, the one who neither wears glasses nor resembles Joe Scarborough. "They have the best of intentions."
"What they most want," says Showalter, "is not to be bored. That's the prime motivator for them at all times."
'We're about nothing, if not class'
Maybe that's also the case with him, Black and Wain. Even when taking a break to chat with a reporter at the sprawling Brooklyn loft where their series is shot, they amuse themselves, however deadpan, with the same thing that makes "Stella" tick: serial silliness.
"That's what we do," says Wain, who, with his partners, not only stars but also writes and produces. "Silly humor. We're silly."
The three have practiced sharply wrought silliness, both together and apart, since meeting at New York University in 1988. A few years later, they helped create the groundbreaking sketch comedy show "The State," which ran on MTV.
Among other projects was the 2001 comedy film "Wet Hot American Summer," which Wain directed and co-wrote. It featured Showalter, who was also in the original off-Broadway cast of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "How I Learned to Drive." Black was part of the Comedy Central series "Viva Variety" and more recently appeared on NBC's "Ed" as Phil Stubbs, the manager of Stuckeybowl.
Stella began in 1997 as a weekly nightclub comedy showcase they hosted as a sideline in Greenwich Village until last year.
"The woman who originally booked the room we appeared in was pregnant at the time," Black recalls, "and if it was a girl she planned to name the baby Stella. So we appropriated that name for the show. We thought it was classy.
"We're about nothing, if not class."
Eventually the name was applied to the troupe itself, while the three characters -- demented versions of the real-life Michael, Michael and David -- evolved in a string of comic videos created for the nightclub show.
Now viewable online, these hilarious shorts are as raunchy as the TV series is clean-cut.
The threesome made other refinements in adapting Stella to television.
"We didn't want to make a sketch comedy show," says Wain. "We've put a lot of effort into making sure a good story gets told to hang the jokes on."
So, how do they go about writing the show?
"I would say there's a huge overlap in our sensibilities," Black explains, "and then on the margins there are things that each of us likes that the others don't. For instance, Showalter worships at the altar of Benny Hill."
"The really stupid slip-on-the-banana-peel stuff!" says Showalter with approval. Then, turning to Black, he admits, "I don't know what your specialty is."
"Moliere," replies Black. "The entire Comedie-Francaise."
"I'm more influenced by the dadaists," announces Wain.
"Really?" says Showalter, an eyebrow raised. "Who's your favorite dadaist?"
"Ohhhh," says Wain, not missing a beat, "I wouldn't know where to start."
NEW YORK (AP) -- To hear them talk, it's no accident that two members of the comedy trio Stella share the same first name.
"It was by arrangement," declares Michael Ian Black.
"We arranged it," echoes Michael Showalter.
So why aren't all three of them named Michael?
"We tried," insists David Wain, who, with Michael and Michael, is occupied these days with a more pressing matter: bringing their screwball vision to TV in a series named "Stella."
Premiering 10:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday on Comedy Central, "Stella" features the madcap misadventures of three men who wear business suits but behave like children held back a couple of grades.
Sharing an earth-toned, kitsch-filled apartment in what looks like outer-borough New York City, they are happy-go-lucky comrades. Think: not so manic Marx Brothers, not so fractious Three Stooges -- or maybe Pee-wee Herman times three, minus the plaid.
Make no mistake, no one's named Stella. But "Stella" is replete with sight gags, surreal twists and loopy dialogue as each tale unfolds.
On the first episode, our heroes get evicted from their apartment after the downstairs neighbors complain to the landlord about their loud music. Suddenly homeless, Michael, Michael and David are out on the street. Bums. In suits.
Then, looking to buy a 3,000-square-foot co-op, they seek approval from the building's snobby co-op board. With a rousing dance number. In suits ... accessorized with skunk tails.
"They don't know that anybody thinks of them as dopes," says Wain, the Stella member who wears glasses.
"And they don't know that they're funny -- that's the farthest thing from their minds," adds Showalter, the one who slightly resembles talk-show host Joe Scarborough.
"They're total innocents," says Black, the one who neither wears glasses nor resembles Joe Scarborough. "They have the best of intentions."
"What they most want," says Showalter, "is not to be bored. That's the prime motivator for them at all times."
'We're about nothing, if not class'
Maybe that's also the case with him, Black and Wain. Even when taking a break to chat with a reporter at the sprawling Brooklyn loft where their series is shot, they amuse themselves, however deadpan, with the same thing that makes "Stella" tick: serial silliness.
"That's what we do," says Wain, who, with his partners, not only stars but also writes and produces. "Silly humor. We're silly."
The three have practiced sharply wrought silliness, both together and apart, since meeting at New York University in 1988. A few years later, they helped create the groundbreaking sketch comedy show "The State," which ran on MTV.
Among other projects was the 2001 comedy film "Wet Hot American Summer," which Wain directed and co-wrote. It featured Showalter, who was also in the original off-Broadway cast of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "How I Learned to Drive." Black was part of the Comedy Central series "Viva Variety" and more recently appeared on NBC's "Ed" as Phil Stubbs, the manager of Stuckeybowl.
Stella began in 1997 as a weekly nightclub comedy showcase they hosted as a sideline in Greenwich Village until last year.
"The woman who originally booked the room we appeared in was pregnant at the time," Black recalls, "and if it was a girl she planned to name the baby Stella. So we appropriated that name for the show. We thought it was classy.
"We're about nothing, if not class."
Eventually the name was applied to the troupe itself, while the three characters -- demented versions of the real-life Michael, Michael and David -- evolved in a string of comic videos created for the nightclub show.
Now viewable online, these hilarious shorts are as raunchy as the TV series is clean-cut.
The threesome made other refinements in adapting Stella to television.
"We didn't want to make a sketch comedy show," says Wain. "We've put a lot of effort into making sure a good story gets told to hang the jokes on."
So, how do they go about writing the show?
"I would say there's a huge overlap in our sensibilities," Black explains, "and then on the margins there are things that each of us likes that the others don't. For instance, Showalter worships at the altar of Benny Hill."
"The really stupid slip-on-the-banana-peel stuff!" says Showalter with approval. Then, turning to Black, he admits, "I don't know what your specialty is."
"Moliere," replies Black. "The entire Comedie-Francaise."
"I'm more influenced by the dadaists," announces Wain.
"Really?" says Showalter, an eyebrow raised. "Who's your favorite dadaist?"
"Ohhhh," says Wain, not missing a beat, "I wouldn't know where to start."
Littledragon
Above The Law
With just four days to go before the big event, Live 8 is still adding artists — and even a concert, finally nailing down a show in the last G8 nation left on its list.
Moscow has joined the roster of shows taking place on Saturday,
aimed at pressuring the leaders of the world's eight industrial powers to relieve debt and offer more aid to Africa (see "50 Cent Drops Off Live 8 Bill — But Destiny's Child And Linkin Park Sign On"). The concert in Red Square will be headlined by the Pet Shop Boys, who will be joined by a number of Russian bands, including Bravo, B-2, Moral Code X, Spleen and Valery Sutkin.
Also signing on for the cause is soul legend James Brown, who will perform on July 6 at the free concert in Murrayfield, Scotland, on the first day of the G8 summit in nearby Gleneagles. Brown joins a bill that will also feature Snow Patrol, Travis and Texas, according to a BBC News report.
And the lineup for the Tokyo show at Makuhari Messe has finally been unveiled, with headline spots by Björk and Good Charlotte, joined by Def Tech, Dreams Come True, McFly, Do as Infinity and Rize.
Due to the overwhelming response in England, organizers announced Tuesday (June 28) that they will release another 55,000 tickets for the show in London's Hyde Park. The tickets will give fans the chance to watch the show featuring Coldplay, Paul McCartney, a reunited Pink Floyd and U2 on giant screens (see "Pink Floyd Get Roger Waters For Live 8; Green Day In For Berlin Show"). The addition brings the potential live audience for the show to more than 200,000.
Meanwhile, the promoter of the German Live 8 concert — which has been moved from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the Siegessäule — is complaining that stingy German companies are not stepping up to support the show, according to Reuters.
"It is a disgrace that German business does not recognize the relevance of this event and has not gotten involved," promoter Marek Lieberberg said of the show featuring Green Day, Brian Wilson and Audioslave. "The German event in Berlin will be financed solely by foreign sponsors, and I find that embarrassing and shocking."
Free concerts will also be held in G8 nations Canada, France, Italy and the U.S. on Saturday, augmented by a concert in Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a smaller show in England featuring African bands.
Moscow has joined the roster of shows taking place on Saturday,
aimed at pressuring the leaders of the world's eight industrial powers to relieve debt and offer more aid to Africa (see "50 Cent Drops Off Live 8 Bill — But Destiny's Child And Linkin Park Sign On"). The concert in Red Square will be headlined by the Pet Shop Boys, who will be joined by a number of Russian bands, including Bravo, B-2, Moral Code X, Spleen and Valery Sutkin.
Also signing on for the cause is soul legend James Brown, who will perform on July 6 at the free concert in Murrayfield, Scotland, on the first day of the G8 summit in nearby Gleneagles. Brown joins a bill that will also feature Snow Patrol, Travis and Texas, according to a BBC News report.
And the lineup for the Tokyo show at Makuhari Messe has finally been unveiled, with headline spots by Björk and Good Charlotte, joined by Def Tech, Dreams Come True, McFly, Do as Infinity and Rize.
Due to the overwhelming response in England, organizers announced Tuesday (June 28) that they will release another 55,000 tickets for the show in London's Hyde Park. The tickets will give fans the chance to watch the show featuring Coldplay, Paul McCartney, a reunited Pink Floyd and U2 on giant screens (see "Pink Floyd Get Roger Waters For Live 8; Green Day In For Berlin Show"). The addition brings the potential live audience for the show to more than 200,000.
Meanwhile, the promoter of the German Live 8 concert — which has been moved from Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to the Siegessäule — is complaining that stingy German companies are not stepping up to support the show, according to Reuters.
"It is a disgrace that German business does not recognize the relevance of this event and has not gotten involved," promoter Marek Lieberberg said of the show featuring Green Day, Brian Wilson and Audioslave. "The German event in Berlin will be financed solely by foreign sponsors, and I find that embarrassing and shocking."
Free concerts will also be held in G8 nations Canada, France, Italy and the U.S. on Saturday, augmented by a concert in Mary Fitzgerald Square in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a smaller show in England featuring African bands.