News & Gossip

**محمد أمين** · 16-12-2004, 02:24 PM

الرد: News & Gossip

Schwarzenegger Not Decided About Re-Election

Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger has yet to decide on whether he'll run for re-election as Governor of California - because he's too busy sorting out the state's problems. Last month marked a year since Schwarzenegger was elected to replace Gray Davis in the coveted position. And while he's been thrilled with his new political post, he's refusing to concern himself with 2006's election. He told CNN talk show host Larry King on Tuesday night, "I don't about (re-election) now. Now all I think about is the budget and... prison reform, education reform, energy reform. I keep my eye on the ball, that's the most important thing and that means that I'm thinking about how I can continue moving the state forward and how can I improve the economy, how can I improve education. That's what we have to concentrate on; not about me running for re-election and all this stuff. That's in the spring and the spring is the time when I have to make the decision. Right now I only think about the budget. We still have a challenging period ahead of us."

**محمد أمين** · 16-12-2004, 02:52 PM

الرد: News & Gossip

'Polar Express' finds a head of steam

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- After a slow start out of the station, "The Polar Express" just keeps chugging along.

Taking in nearly $10 million over the weekend, the holiday tale lifted its domestic total to $110 million with plenty of steam left for Christmas and New Year's.

A month ago, "The Polar Express" looked like it could be a train wreck, debuting with $30.6 million in its first five days, an unremarkable start given the movie's $170 million production cost and the luster of star Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis.

Adapted from Chris Van Allsburg's picture book, "The Polar Express" follows a doubting boy as he regains his faith in the spirit of Christmas during a magical train trip to the North Pole.

The movie was created through "performance-capture" technology, with Hanks and other actors going through the motions on a bare soundstage. Their movements were recorded by infrared sensors, then re-created in digital imagery that resembles the computer animation of "Shrek 2" or "The Incredibles."

The technology allowed for semi-realistic renderings of its human characters, which include Hanks in multiple roles, among them the boy, the train conductor and Santa Claus.

**محمد أمين** · 18-12-2004, 01:10 PM

الرد: News & Gossip

Harrison Ford may lead charge in Falluja movie

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Producers at Universal Pictures are developing what would be Hollywood's first feature film about the war in Iraq, with actor Harrison Ford ready to portray a U.S. general in the movie, the studio said on Friday.

The combat drama would be based on the upcoming book "No True Glory," an account of the battle for Falluja by Bing West, a Marine veteran and former U.S. assistant defense secretary now covering the war as a foreign correspondent, a studio spokesman said.

A Universal-based production company, Double Features, recently optioned movie rights to the book, which will be adapted by West and his son, Owen, a veteran Marine rifleman. The book is due out in May from Bantam, a unit of the Random House publishing company.

Although Ford, 62, is "attached" to the project -- Hollywood parlance for a loose commitment to star in the film if it gets made -- he is not under contract, the studio said. And Universal has only given the go-ahead for development of a screenplay. No money has been earmarked for production yet.

Ford's best known roles include the swaggering "Star Wars" space hero Han Solo and the rugged adventurer Indiana Jones in the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" series.

In "No True Glory" he would play Maj. Gen. James Mattis, the U.S. Marine commander ordered to lead an assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, after four Americans contractors were killed and mutilated there by a mob in March 2004.

The offensive was halted the following month, and the Marines were withdrawn until U.S. forces renewed their assault on the Sunni Muslim city following the American presidential election in November.

While Ford would play a lead role in the film, the movie is envisioned as a broader look at the conflict in Falluja as a study of the connections between war and politics as seen through the eyes of the troops, their commanders and civilian leaders, Universal's spokesman said.

The Michael Moore documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," which focused on U.S. conduct of the war in Iraq, was a major box office success, but "True Glory" would mark the first feature drama about the war.

Meanwhile, several Iraq war projects are being developed for TV, including a pilot series from "NYPD Blue" co-creator Steven Bochco titled "Over There" for the FX cable channel.

Movie dramas about U.S. military conflicts in progress have been unusual since World War Two, with big studios tending to shy away from subject matter perceived as controversial until years after the fact.

Such was the case with such memorable Vietnam War movies as "The Deer Hunter," "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon."

"The Green Berets, starring John Wayne," was released at the height of the conflict in Indochina in 1968.

Robert Altman's "MASH," which came out two years later, was set in the Korean War but was widely seen as a commentary on Vietnam.

**Dr Ramy** · 18-12-2004, 03:27 PM

الرد: News & Gossip

thank you Mohamed for this new subject

i hope all the members like it just as i do

........

and here is a subject , i hope you like it

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Jackson hosts 200 kids at Neverland party

"I hope you have a wonderful day. Merry Christmas. I love you," the pop singer called out to the children Friday from the driveway of his estate.

Jackson, who faces trial next year on child molestation charges, appeared happy during the few minutes he spoke to the arriving throng.

One of the youngsters shouted, "We love you."

"I love you more," Jackson replied before putting an umbrella over his head and walking back toward his house.

Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said the entertainer chose to make an unusual personal appearance as a surprise for the last group of children touring Neverland before the Christmas holidays.

Bain said there was no relationship between the event and Jackson's upcoming trial.

Santa Barbara County authorities have charged Jackson, 46, with molesting a boy, conspiracy and administering an intoxicating agent, alcohol, to his alleged victim.

Investigators have carried out raids on Neverland, and in a recent court filing that seeks to introduce evidence of other purported crimes that went uncharged, prosecutors described the estate as "a veritable paradise" for children.

Friday's visitors, from six organizations and ranging in age from about 3 or 4 years to their teens, were bused to Neverland and then rode a train up from the parking lot. They included children with special needs from Santa Barbara and some affiliated with the First AME Church in Los Angeles, according to a list of groups issued to reporters. Jackson defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. attends the First AME church.

The Rev. Brenda Lamothe, executive assistant to First AME Pastor John Hunter, said the church did not authorize a group to go to Neverland.

Bain said charitable and civic groups bring children to Neverland at least three times a month to play on the amusement park rides, see its zoo and watch movies.

Neverland, in the scenic Santa Barbara County countryside, is a fairy-tale theme park with streams, waterfalls and a lake. The grounds are decorated with bronze statues of children at play.

**محمد أمين** · 24-12-2004, 12:43 AM

الرد: News & Gossip

'Friends' suit takes on raw tradition

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Writer Janis Hirsch faced a painful ritual at one sitcom: She'd get a tap on the shoulder from one or another male colleague, turn around and find them exposing themselves.

"You learn to laugh with it even if it steals your soul," she says.

Television shows, especially comedies, are created in an often brutal atmosphere. "It's one of the few places on earth where everybody says exactly what's on their minds," says veteran writer Dennis Klein. "It's as dark and nasty as possible."

But if the tradition of the raucous, freewheeling "writers room" is the Hollywood status quo, Amaani Lyle is fighting it. The 31-year-old former writer's assistant for "Friends" has filed a lawsuit that has landed before the California Supreme Court.

Lyle alleges the raw ***ual remarks that peppered writers' work sessions and conversations added up to harassment, even though they weren't aimed directly at her or other women in the room.

Her suit, which also alleges demeaning remarks were made about blacks and constitute racial harassment, names "Friends" producers Warner Bros. Television Productions and Bright Kauffman Crane Productions, as well as writers Adam Chase, Greg Malins and Andrew Reich. (Warner Bros. Television Producers is a unit of Time Warner, as is CNN.)

Lyle worked for four months in 1999 before she was told she was a poor typist and fired. But Lyle, who is black, claims she was let go after pressing for black characters on the ***ually charged NBC comedy about six pals in New York. It ended a successful 10-year run last season.

Her suit has galvanized the entertainment industry and news organizations, who argue it could imperil professional freedom of speech. Lyle supporters say workplace anti-discrimination laws will be undermined if the defense prevails.

Harassment -- or free expression?

The state Supreme Court will decide whether the lawsuit, dismissed in 2002 by a Superior Court judge and then reinstated in part last April by an appellate court, can go to trial. Briefs are being submitted now and the case may come before the high court next summer.

Warner Bros. admits that some, but not all, of the ***ually explicit talk Lyle is alleging did take place, said attorney Adam Levin, who represents the defendants. But that's not the point, he said. The banter was a vital part of the creative process, Levin contends, and Lyle had been warned about ***ually explicit discussions.

"California law does not prohibit discussions of *** in the workplace," Levin said. "The law prohibits targeted discriminatory harassment, such as demands for ***ual favors."

He flatly denied Lyle's claims that the writers made ***ual comments about cast members including Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer and Courteney Cox Arquette.

Janis Hirsch, who has written for several shows, says "you learn to laugh with it even if it steals your soul."

For writers, professors or news reporters whose jobs might involve discussion of delicate issues including ***, restraints on speech would be a First Amendment violation, he said.

But Lyle's attorney, Scott O. Cummings, contends the graphic discussion of writers' ***ual preferences and experiences amounted to a hostile work environment. He said the defendants are trying to duck responsibility by hiding behind free speech protections.

"It's ridiculous to say this had anything to do with the creative process," he said.

Lyle, now serving with the Air Force in Europe, was unavailable for comment.

Both sides have their supporters.

"We shouldn't be exempting certain industries and segments of our workplace from these laws," says Elizabeth Kristen, project director for the Legal Aid Society's Employment Law Center in San Francisco. "If you exempt the studios, other industries might claim that they need to have exemptions from discrimination laws and other laws."

The case raises an important question about the balance of creative freedom and workplace protection, says Erwin Chemerinsky, a Duke Law School professor.

"What's important here is that the workplace be open to everybody, that there not be a hostile workplace," he said, and a jury should be allowed to weigh whether the writers' remarks were necessary to storytelling.

But Crispin Sartwell, a writer ("Six Names of Beauty") who teaches at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Penn., says he's inclined to side with the "Friends" scribes and the cause of unfettered expression.

"The show was so concentrated on ***ual titillation ... they're practically obliged to explore that," said Sartwell. "They're writing 'Friends,' for God's sake."

Making the 'really truly funny stuff'

Members of the media, including Los Angeles Times Communications LLC and the American Society of Newspaper Editors, filed a friend of the court brief warning of a chilling effect on the exchange of ideas and information for newspapers and others if the suit prevails. The Writers Guild of America, west, Inc., argued in another brief that restrictions on the writing process would muzzle those who create all forms of entertainment.

"Murphy Brown" creator Diane English, "All in the Family" creator Norman Lear and "ER's" John Wells were among 11 prominent TV writers whose names were attached to the guild's filing.

"It's always very hard to describe the process of what writing a comedy series is really about," English said. "It involves so critically the ability to completely be open and let yourself go. It's the only way the really truly funny stuff is born."

"If we all had to watch what we said in the sanctity of the writers' room, I really, really worry about the ability to do our job," she said.

But rooms vary, Hirsch contends. When she worked on "Murphy Brown," the jokes could be blue but the tone was never hostile.

"When there's a woman running the show, it's not tolerated. ... We had big laughs with Diane English around but you wouldn't dare" be vicious, said Hirsch. She finds the same true of "Eve," the UPN show she writes for now and which is headed by a woman.

On sitcoms dominated by men the tone can be angry and anti-female, she said. The choice is suffer a "mean room" or leave, Hirsch said, because suing could damage a career.

So far, writers say they haven't heard calls for restraint because of the lawsuit. But newcomers should be aware they're in for a collegial but intense experience, cautioned Klein, whose credits include "Cosby" and "The Larry Sanders Show."

"It's a very tough atmosphere and if you don't love it it's not going to work for you at all," he said. "And if you're touchy it's awful for you."

**محمد أمين** · 23-02-2005, 05:38 PM

الرد: News & Gossip

Pitt and Aniston not 'model' couple

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston are shown in this 2000 file photo.

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Sculptors in London's Madame Tussaud's museum were forced to break up a waxwork figure of Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston embracing following their separation last month.

"It involved quite a lot of work, because they were entwined and had their arms around each other," said museum spokeswoman Diane Moon Monday. "Jen had one of her hands on Brad's chest and her other hand was resting on his bottom."

The procedure, which involved remolding their arms, cost around 10,000 pounds, or the equivalent of $19,000, and the separated figures have been put back on display with their backs to each other.

Pitt, one of Hollywood's leading stars, and Aniston, who became a household name on the television series "Friends," were married in July 2000 and their entwined figure was installed in July 2004, after the museum decided they were a "safe couple."

The only other couple to be installed in the wax museum was actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, but they were separate figures.

Despite the cost of separation, Moon is hopeful the couple, who separated in January this year, will reunite.

"We would like them to get back together again because that would be a nice happy ending and we don't mind spending the money entwining them again," she said

**se77ab** · 10-03-2005, 03:14 PM

الرد: News & Gossip

Schwarzenegger Not Decided About Re-Election

**ام اي عزيزي** · 13-04-2005, 07:37 PM

الرد: News & Gossip

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Saudi Arabia Criminalizes Forced Marriages

Schools Boost Muslim Integration in Holland

Islam Key Factor in Deciding Next Pope

Nigerian Muslims Threaten to Boycott Population Census

US Says Willing to Talk With Islamists

Long-Searched-For Happiness: Prayers

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