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Suge Knight, former rap mogul, arrested in fatal hit and run in L.A.

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 31 Januari 2015 | 22.19

Sheriff's deputies booked the former hip-hop mogul Marion "Suge" Knight on suspicion of murder after they said he hit and killed a man with his pickup truck, seriously injured another and then fled.

His lawyer said he was an innocent victim who accidentally ran over his friend as he tried to escape a group of attacking thugs.

The incident was the latest in a long line of brushes with death and the law for the 49-year-old founder of Death Row Records, one of the genre's leading labels.

Knight started the label that helped solidify West Coast rap with Dr. Dre, who had been a member of the legendary group N.W.A. The label also launched the career of Snoop Dogg and had Tupac Shakur in the last months of his life.

Knight had gotten in an argument with a man at a location where cast and crew were taking a break from filming a promotional video for the biopic Straight Outta Compton, about the rise of N.W.A., according to authorities and a person familiar with the project who was not authorized to speak publicly about it and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Security guards asked Knight to leave, and the argument escalated a short while later at a fast-food restaurant about five kilometres away, ending with Knight striking the men and taking off.

'An intentional act'

"Looks like he drove backwards and struck the victims and drove forwards and struck them again," sheriff's Lt. John Corina said. "The people we talked to say it looked like it was an intentional act."

Terry Carter, 55, who was a friend of Knight's and not involved in the altercation, died at a hospital, Corina said. A 51-year-old man was injured. Neither his name nor his condition were disclosed.

Defence attorney James Blatt said Knight was called to Tam's Burgers in Compton for a meeting and was attacked by four people as he slowed his pickup truck. The men beat him through his truck window and threatened to kill him.

Marion "Suge" Knight

Marion "Suge" Knight is seen in a Las Vegas police booking photo after his arrest for allegedly stealing a photographer's camera in October. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via Getty Images)

Corina disputed that account. He said the 51-year-old victim, who had argued earlier with Knight, is the only one who exchanged blows with Knight through the window before he got run over.

"To see the argument happen, it's one thing," said 17-year-old Robert Smith, who was eating in the restaurant. "Seeing the car incident, that was shocking."

Knight surrendered early Friday and was booked on suspicion of murder. He was being held on $2 million US bail.

At 6-foot-4 and weighing 325 pounds, Knight's reputation as an imposing figure is credited, in part, with helping create Death Row Records when he strong-armed another label to release Dr. Dre from his contract, said Chuck Creekmur, CEO of allhiphop.com.

Knight was at the centre of one of the most notorious rap conflicts of the 1990s, pitting rappers Tupac Shakur against Biggie Smalls in an East Coast versus West Coast rivalry.

Knight was sent to prison for nearly five years for badly beating a rival with Shakur at a Las Vegas hotel, just hours before Shakur was fatally shot while riding in Knight's car just east of the Strip.

Smalls, whose real name was Chris Wallace, was shot to death in a similar attack six months later.

Helped immortalize Compton

Many of the records Knight released helped immortalize Compton, the L.A.-area city where Thursday's crash occurred, in hip-hop folklore as a gritty and violent urban environment, although crime there has dipped significantly there since its 1990s peak.

Knight and Dre later had a falling out and Dre left. The record company eventually declared bankruptcy and was auctioned off.

Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, another former N.W.A. member, were at the film location Thursday, but they didn't see Knight, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity. Filming was shut down for the day and not resumed Friday.

The history of Knight's run-ins with the law goes back more than 20 years and includes assault and weapons offences.

In November, Knight pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed over an incident in which a celebrity photographer accused him of stealing her camera in Beverly Hills. Because of prior convictions, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

He has felony convictions for armed robbery and assault with a gun. He pleaded no contest in 1995 to assaulting two rap entertainers at a Hollywood recording studio and was sentenced to five years of probation.

He also served timed for probation violations.

Last August, Knight was shot six times at a West Hollywood nightclub. No arrests have been made.


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Black or White contains 'a few treasures'

FILM REVIEW

Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer square off in Mike Binder's racially-charged family drama

CBC News Posted: Jan 30, 2015 11:27 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 30, 2015 11:27 AM ET

Academy Award winners Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer are locked in a racially-charged custody battle in the new family drama Black or White.

Costner plays a grieving widower fighting to raise his bi-racial granddaughter (Jillian Estelle), while Spencer plays the paternal grandmother determined to raise her granddaughter closer to her African American roots.

As far as new movies go "this is not a good one," says CBC film critic Eli Glasner, "but you might find a few treasures in the middle of the muck."

The film from The Upside of Anger director Mike Binder is "sentimental, schmaltzy and heavy-handed but underneath are some great performances and a conversation about race that's worth having."

Black or White (which premiered at TIFF under its alternate title Black and White) is in theatres this weekend.

Watch Eli's full review in the video titled "3 stars for Black or White" above.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.


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Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, loses appeal against AEG

A California appeals court on Friday upheld a jury's decision that the promoter of Michael Jackson's ill-fated comeback concerts was not responsible for his death.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal issued a 39-page ruling a week after attorneys for Katherine Jackson argued for a new trial. The court found the verdict in favour of concert promoter AEG Live LLC was legal.

Jackson-AEG Suit

Katherine Jackson claimed executives exercised undue control over her son's doctor, Conrad Murray, and failed to properly investigate before he was hired. (Matt Sayles/The Associated Press)

The court also upheld rulings by a trial court judge that narrowed the case to a single claim that AEG negligently hired, retained and supervised the doctor later convicted of causing Jackson's death.

Jackson died in June 2009 while preparing for his This Is It shows.

His mother sued AEG, claiming executives exercised undue control over the doctor and failed to properly investigate before he was hired.

A jury listened to five months of testimony during the 2013 trial before siding with AEG.

The justices noted that jurors seemed to understand the case and did not appear confused by jury instructions or the verdict form, as Katherine Jackson's attorneys have contended.

Lawyers for the Jackson family matriarch had been hoping to restore some claims against the promoter that Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos dismissed early in the case, but the court found no basis to do so.

It determined that Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death, was an independent contractor of AEG and not an agent of the company.

"Today in a strongly worded opinion, the court of appeal found what took a jury two days to see through and that is that AEG was in no way responsible for the tragic death of Michael Jackson," AEG attorney Marvin S. Putnam said.

Kevin Boyle, an attorney for Katherine Jackson, said his office was still reading the ruling and did not have an immediate comment.


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Casey Kasem's children say elder abuse investigation into widow stalled

Kasem's wife and his children from a previous marriage fought over the radio personality's care

CBC News Posted: Jan 30, 2015 7:30 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 30, 2015 8:26 PM ET

The children of Casey Kasem are urging Los Angeles police to make progress in an elder abuse investigation focusing on the radio legend's widow.

Kasem's children claimed at a Friday news conference that the investigation into Jean Kasem's care that began last June has stalled.

But police spokeswoman Jane Kim says detectives are still actively investigating, though she wouldn't provide details.

The district attorney's office says no case has been presented to prosecutors.

Kasem's wife of more than 30 years and his children from a previous marriage fought over the radio personality's care in his final days.

Daughter Kerri was appointed caretaker and has said her stepmother's actions shortened Kasem's life.

Jean Kasem has denied she caused her husband harm. Her lawyers did not respond to calls seeking comment Friday.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.


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Suge Knight arrested in fatal hit and run in L.A.

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 30 Januari 2015 | 22.19

Authorities say rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight has been arrested on a murder charge in a fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles.

Sgt. Diane Hecht of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's information office said Knight was arrested at about 3 a.m. PT and is being held on $2 million bail.

Hecht says Knight is being held at the West Hollywood sheriff's station.

Knight turned himself in to authorities early Friday after his attorney said the rap mogul accidentally ran over and killed a friend and injured another man as he fled attackers.

Officials say that a red pickup truck struck the men in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant. A 55-year-old man died at a hospital and a 51-year-old man was injured but Corina did not immediately know his condition.

"We are confident that once the investigation is completed, he will be totally exonerated," attorney James Blatt said earlier by telephone.

Late Thursday, Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. John Corina told reporters that the crash occurred around 3 p.m. PT in the parking lot of the restaurant in the Los Angeles-area city of Compton and then the driver took off.

"Looks like he drove backwards and struck the victims and drove forwards and struck them again," Corina said.

"The people we talked to say it looked like it was an intentional act," he said.

The Sheriff's Department said in a statement that two people were in the parking lot when the red pick-up arrived and its driver became involved in an argument with them.

Suge Knight Deadly Accident

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigator photographs the scene of an accident at a parking lot in Compton, Calif. on Thursday night. (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)

"The argument escalated and the driver backed up striking one of the victims. The driver then drove forward driving over both victims," the sheriff's statement said. "Various witnesses described the driver as being Marion Suge Knight."

The empty truck was found late Thursday night in a West Los Angeles parking lot, Corina said.

He said the rap mogul was seen driving a red pickup truck 20 minutes earlier in a different part of town where a video was being shot.

Witnesses also spoke of an argument.

"To see the argument happen, it's one thing," said 17-year-old Robert Smith, who was eating in the restaurant. "Seeing the car incident, that was shocking."

Blatt said it was an accident.

"He was in the process of being physically assaulted by two men and in an effort to escape he unfortunately hit two (other) individuals," the lawyer said. "He was in his car trying to escape."

Compton has been immortalized in hip-hop folklore, including on many of the records Knight released, as a gritty and violent urban environment, though crime has dipped significantly there since its 1990s peak.

Knight founded Death Row Records, one of rap's leading labels, in the 1990s, releasing labels by artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur.

He later declared bankruptcy and the company was auctioned off.

Knight has a long history of run-ins with the law ranging from assaults to driving violations.

In November, he pleaded not guilty to a robbery charge filed over an incident in which a celebrity photographer accused him of stealing her camera in Beverly Hills. Because of prior convictions, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

He has prior felony convictions for armed robbery and assault with a gun. He pleaded no contest in 1995 and was sentenced to five years' probation for assaulting two rap entertainers at a Hollywood recording studio in 1992.

He also serve timed for probation violations.

Last August, Knight was shot six times at a Los Angeles nightclub. No arrests have been made.


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Want to own Justin Bieber's running shoes or bedding? We tell you how

Justin Bieber fans will have the opportunity to bid on some of the pop star's childhood possessions during an online auction that begins on Saturday, with proceeds going to support a local charity in Stratford, Ont.

Among the items up for grabs is a Toronto Maple Leafs comforter, a matching pillowcase and a pair of size 7 Nike high-top shoes.

"At Christmastime, Justin autographed each item for us, and we made a certificate of authenticity that his grandmother signed," said Theresa McMurray, executive director of the Stratford House of Blessing, which runs a food bank and offers help to those in need socially, spiritually, physically and economically.

Justin Bieber bed

Bids in the eBay auction for Justin Bieber's possession can be submitted between Saturday at noon and noon on Feb. 7. (Stratford House of Blessing)

​ It was Bieber's grandmother who came up with the idea of auctioning off her grandson's possessions on eBay for charity. 

"When they put their house up for sale, they had people inquire with them as to buying some of the items they saw in Justin's bedroom," McMurray said.

"They thought, 'This would be a great idea to not only support a local charity, but also to give Justin's fans the opportunity of owning some of his childhood items.'"

McMurray said the family chose to donate the proceeds of the auction to the House of Blessing because when he was a child, Bieber and his mom used some of the charity's services. 

"This is the way they want to give back to the community ... so that others can be helped in the same way," she said.

As well as the food bank, the House of Blessing offers cooking classes, life skills workshops and a Christmas toy drive.

The auction will close at noon on Saturday, Feb. 7.

Bieber shoes

One lucky bidder will get these autographed size 7 Nike shoes, worn by Justin Bieber in 2010. (Stratford House of Blessing)


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Best new movies and videos for week of Jan. 26: The Watchlist

In Theatres

Paddington - 95 minutes of pure joy. A bear bumbles his way into London and looks at life with fresh eyes. Any more charming and it would be toxic.

5 stars for Paddington3:00

  • On mobile? Watch full review of Paddington here. 

Selma - Ava DuVernay's directing style can cut two ways. It may seem a little affected at times but there's also an impressive sense of stillness for a film about the historic civil right's march. Yes, David Oyelowo was left out of the Oscar conversation but that doesn't take away from his powerful telling of how Dr. King found his voice. 

  • On mobile? Watch the full review of Selma here.

Still Alice - A story about a woman struggling with a true-life identity crisis. The movie about a linguist battling Alzheimer's disease lifts itself above movie of the week status with Julianne Moore's harrowing and yet clear-eyed performance.

Still Alice's Oscar-worthy performance3:16

  • On mobile? Watch the full review of Still Alice here.

Leviathan - Director Andrey Zvyagintsev has tried to frame this tale of small-town corruption as a universal story, but the shadows of Putin's Russia are all over this slow-paced story that is nominated for a best foreign language Oscar. 

  • On mobile? Watch the Leviathan trailer here.

On video, Netflix or VOD

The Humbling - Available on VODThe Humbling is in many ways Al Pacino's Birdman, except better. Pacino strips down to his soul in this film about an actor in the midst of a mental breakdown. Bonus points for the inclusion of Greta Gerwig as the free radical that helps Pacino's character find his second wind. 

3.5 stars for The Humbling2:03

  • On mobile? Watch the full review of The Humbling here.

A Walk Among the Tombstones - Forget Taken 3. If you want to remember when Liam Neeson was more than an aging action figure, check out this surprisingly thoughtful detective story set in New York at the brink of the new millennium.

A Walk Among the Tombstones: FILM REVIEW3:00

  • On mobile? Watch the full review of A Walk Among the Tombstones here.

Get On Up - Speaking of overlooked performances, Chadwick Boseman channels the Godfather of Funk in all his gaudy glory in this impressionistic look at James Brown. The nonlinear storytelling nicely compliments the frenetic performances.

  • On mobile? Watch the Get On Up trailer here.

Tracks - Think of Tracks as a desert version of Wild. Mia Wasikowska plays Robyn, the ultimate introvert who embarks on a 3,200 km hike through the Australian outback with the help of four camels. It's a film about solitude, strength and the occasional comic interruption courtesy of Adam Driver.

  • On mobile? Watch the Tracks trailer here.

The Book of Life - Certainly the most unusual looking animated film of 2014, The Book of Life brings a series of Mexican fables to life with a tale of spirits, gods and battling balladeers. While some of the song selections ruin the spell, there's a lot to love in these clunky characters.

  • On mobile? Watch The Book of Life trailer here.

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Mordecai Richler gazebo a poor tribute to a great author, widow says

The widow of one of Canada's most celebrated authors says she has doubts about whether Montreal will ever honour her late husband.

Richler Gazebo 20150129

The gazebo on Mount Royal sits in disrepair, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015 in Montreal. The gazebo is supposed to be renamed to commemorate author Mordecai Richler but the project has been stalled for four years. (Ryan Remiorz/CP)

Florence Richler remains hopeful but is "dubious" the city will begin repairs to a 1920s gazebo that was supposed to be named after Mordecai Richler, who died in 2001.

Calling Richler "one of the greatest novelists in Canada and around the world," the City of Montreal announced in 2011 it planned to revamp the shanty bandstand on the eastern flank of Mount Royal and rename it the "Mordecai Richler Gazebo."

The city was supposed to renovate the already-dilapidated gazebo and turn the area around it into a speaker's corner by 2012.

Richler, who was born in Montreal in 1931, was known internationally for his literary talent and penned classics such as The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz and Barney's Version, which were both set in Montreal and made into feature films.

Work on the gazebo has been delayed several times since the project was announced and, despite meeting with the mayor's office last week, Florence Richler said the city couldn't even offer a timeline for when repairs would begin.

"Oh you know very well (Montreal is) very good at procrastinating," she told The Canadian Press in a phone interview from Toronto. "I even, tongue-in-cheek, offered to buy the paint."

She said the city gave "the usual excuses" for the delays.

"I think more sophisticated people would call it incompetence," she added.

City says it'll do something soon

Catherine Maurice, a spokeswoman for Mayor Denis Coderre, said work should begin on repairs to the gazebo in the spring — but she couldn't give a date.

She said a company was approved by city council last October to carry out the work and that the most recent delays were due to bureaucratic wrangling.

"The mayor wanted to make clear that he also hoped to honour Richler in other ways than just the gazebo," she said, adding Coderre would like to outline his other ideas for celebrating the author in the next few months.

Richler left Montreal in the '50s for Europe but returned 20 years later. His city of birth —as well as prominent streets and neighbourhoods — often figured as settings for his writing.

'I think more sophisticated people would call it incompetence.'- Florence Richler

While Richler remains feted around the world, in some quarters of Quebec his sour critiques of the province's nationalist movement earned him scorn.

Florence said her late husband was critical of "everyone and everything — nothing to do with Quebec specifically."

"I'm sure that if he had been, oh, an arch-nationalist and supporter of every level of government, something might have been done (to honour him) a lot sooner — perhaps in his lifetime," she said.

'It's a political hot potato'

BOOKS Concordia Richler 20131128

Florence Richler, widow of author Mordecai Richler, with her son, Jacob, at the inauguration of the Mordecai Richler reading room at Concordia University, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2013 in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/CP)

Jack Rabinovitch, who was a good friend of Mordecai Richler and who founded the Giller Prize, said it is "terrible" the city has yet to honour the literary giant.

"The fact remains that (Richler) was one of the best writers that Montreal has ever produced," he said. "He knew about what went on in Montreal in the '40s and '50s and wrote about it honestly."

Rabinovitch argues Richler deserves a street name, not a bandstand on Mount Royal.

Sharon Wilensky, the co-owner of a landmark Montreal deli that features in a couple of Richler novels under a different name, also believes a gazebo is insufficient.

"The gazebo doesn't really represent anything about him," said Wilensky, who has a share in Wilensky's Light Lunch. "But (if the city) is not going to do anything, then at least they can do that."

She believes Montreal has not yet paid tribute to one of its most celebrated authors because "it's a political hot potato."

"I wouldn't say he was misunderstood, but people have mixed feelings about him, so I think there is a worry about a negative reaction to him being honoured," Wilensky said.


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Worker killed by scaffolding on Martin Scorcese's Silence movie set in Taiwan

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 Januari 2015 | 22.19

Scaffolding collapses during repairs on film lot before filming begins

The Associated Press Posted: Jan 29, 2015 6:36 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 29, 2015 8:15 AM ET

External Links

(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)

A worker has died in an accident at a Taiwan film lot during preparations for the shooting of a new Martin Scorsese movie.

Taiwan's Central News Agency said Chen Yu-lung was killed and two other men were injured Thursday after scaffolding around a building being torn down suddenly collapsed.

The lot belongs to the Chinese Culture and Movie Center, which issued a statement saying the contracting film crew bore responsibility for health and safety.

The news agency said shooting had not yet begun on the movie, a historical drama titled Silence about two Jesuit priests in 17th century Japan.

"Everyone is in shock and sorrow and expresses their deepest concern and sympathy to the families of the individual who died and those who were injured," a spokesman for the film said in a written statement carried by Deadline Hollywood's website.

The cast includes Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield of The Amazing Spider-Man movies.

Scorsese is in Taiwan to shoot the film, but it wasn't known if he was on the lot.

With files from CBC News

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Angelina Jolie left 'speechless' by visit to Iraqi refugee camp

Angelina Jolie is calling for more assistance and global action in the Middle East after she visited displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugees on Sunday.

In an impassioned op-ed published in Wednesday's New York Times, the 39-year-old actress, filmmaker and special envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, gave a dramatic retelling of her weekend tour of the Khanke refugee camp in northern Iraq, and how it has changed since her last visit in 2012.

"I have seen nothing like the suffering I'm witnessing now," wrote Jolie, who has visited Iraq on four previous occasions.

"For many years I have visited camps, and every time, I sit in a tent and hear stories. I try my best to give support. To say something that will show solidarity and give some kind of thoughtful guidance. On this trip I was speechless."

The United Nations estimates 3.3 million people are displaced in Iraq after more than a decade of conflict.

Khanke also houses 50,000 Syrian refugees who have fled nearly five years of fighting at home.

Reaching out to rape, torture victims

Jolie, who is raising six children with her husband, Hollywood actor Brad Pitt, describes being dumbfounded by the horrific stories from women and children who were victims of extreme violence such as rape and torture.

"How can you speak when a woman your own age looks you in the eye and tells you that her whole family was killed in front of her?" Jolie wrote.

"Nothing prepares you for the reality of so much individual human misery: for the stories of suffering and death, and the gaze of hungry, traumatized children."

'Tinkering at the edges'

The United Nations says it has assisted in the construction of 34 new camps in Iraq in the last six months. But the international body warns that serious funding shortfalls have impeded its ability to help survivors of violence and human rights abuses.

In her N.Y. Times piece, Jolie points out that the UN's refugee agency is being stretched beyond its original intent to help people return to their homes after conflict because persistent unrest in Syria and Iraq means that millions may never make it home.

She called for a multi-pronged solution: one that would see more support for countries supporting refugees and more money to fund UN humanitarian work. She also called on the entire international community "to find a path to a peace settlement." 

"The plain fact is we cannot insulate ourselves against this crisis," Jolie declared. "The spread of extremism, the surge in foreign fighters, the threat of new terrorism — only an end to the war in Syria will begin to turn the tide on these problems. Without that, we are just tinkering at the edges." 

The UN promoted Jolie to special envoy in 2012 after the actress served 10 years as UNHCR goodwill ambassador.

In her time with the agency, Jolie has been on 50 field missions to more than 30 counties including Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria.

Angelina Jolie

Since 2001, Angelina Jolie has been on more than 50 UN field missions to more than 30 countries. Here, she meets with Syrian refugees in Lebanon in 2012. (Jason Tanner/UNHCR/Reuters)


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Thorn Birds novelist Colleen McCullough dies at 77

Bestselling Australian author Colleen McCullough, whose novel The Thorn Birds sold 30 million copies worldwide, has died at age 77 after a long illness.

McCullough died Thursday in hospital on remote Norfolk Island, HarperCollins Australia publishing director Shona Martyn said in a statement.

McCullough had continued producing books despite a string of health and eyesight problems by using dictation, Martyn said.

"Ever quick-witted and direct, we looked forward to her visits from Norfolk Island and the arrival of each new manuscript delivered in hard copy in custom-made maroon manuscript boxes inscribed with her name," Martyn said.

McCullough wrote 25 novels throughout her career. Her final book Bittersweet was released in 2013.

Her first novel Tim was published in 1974. It became a movie starring Mel Gibson, who played a young, mentally disabled handyman who had a romance with a middle-aged woman.

Her second novel, The Thorn Birds, published in 1977, became a U.S. television mini-series in 1983 starring Richard Chamberlain, Rachel Ward and Christopher Plummer. It won four Golden Globe awards.

Before becoming an author, McCullough studied neuroscience and spent 10 years as a researcher at Yale Medical School in the United States. She established the neurophysiology department at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital.

She is survived by her husband, Ric Robinson.


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CRTC to allow U.S. Super Bowl commercials starting in 2017

Canada's broadcast regulator plans to ban Canadian specialty TV channels from blacking out U.S. Super Bowl ads in favour of Canadian ones, starting with the big game in early 2017.

The decision won't take effect in time for this Sunday's game in Phoenix between the New England Patriots and defending champion Seattle Seahawks, but it could be in place for next year if Bell Media — the rights holder for the 2016 event — waives its rights to switch ads.

In a speech to a London, Ont., business audience earlier Thursday, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais says the new rule will be officially in place for the Super Bowl that ends the 2016 NFL season, which will air in early 2017.

Under the decades-old current rules, Canadian television stations can take broadcast feeds for foreign events like the Super Bowl and then substitute in their own Canadian ads for the broadcast.

That process — known as simultaneous substitution, known as simsub — has been a consistent thorn in the side of Canadian TV viewers who want to see some of the high-production value ads that U.S media companies and advertisers come up with for those events.

"Viewers dislike it, particularly when it is exercised during major live broadcasts such as the Super Bowl or the Academy Awards," CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais said Thursday. "They tell the CRTC — and we receive many complaints — that they want to see the newest American commercials as and when they are broadcast. And they rightly resent the fact that simsub is often mistimed, causing viewers to miss, for example, key plays during a big game."

But simsub has also been lucrative for television stations, to the tune of $250 million a year to the industry as a whole. So the CRTC threw local affiliates a bone in making its decision on Thursday — local affiliates will still be allowed to simultaneously substitute advertising, but specialty channels (like Bell-owned TSN, which will show Sunday's game) will be banned from doing so.

Thursday's move stops well short of stopping simsub altogether. So Canadian viewers of other U.S. broadcasts, such as CBS's The Big Bang Theory, will still see Canadian-focused ads wrapped around the American-produced show.

But for the Super Bowl, at least, the regulator made it clear that it will watch Canadian networks closely to ensure they're handling it appropriately.

"If, for example, a Canadian broadcaster cuts back to an NFL game late and causes viewers to miss a play, it could be forced to pay rebates to viewers for its mistake," Blais said.

Blais also announced that broadcasters will lose the ability to switch ads, along with mandatory carriage privileges on cable and satellite services, if they shut down transmitters that allow Canadians access to free, over-the-air TV signals.


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Taylor Swift threatened with nude photos after her Twitter, Instagram hacked

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 28 Januari 2015 | 22.19

Taylor Swift appears to be the victim of a double-hack attack Tuesday with breaches of the pop star's Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Hackers first broke into the 24-year-old's Twitter account and began sending out tweets to her 51.4 million followers, reports The Verve, urging fans to follow the profile @lizzard, who claims to be the leader of the hacker group "Lizard Squad."

The profile, which has since been suspended, was the source of Tuesday's most sinister message.

The handle's owner claimed to posses stolen nude images of Swift, which they would release in exchange for a small amount of Bitcoin. 

The offending tweets were quickly deleted and Swift regained control of her Twitter account, brushing off the threat with a series of tweets.

"Have fun photoshopping," Swift said, egging on the perpetrators, "cause you got NOTHING."

Swift is the owner of Twitter's fourth most-popular account with more than 51 million followers, making Tuesday's breach one of the biggest in the micro-blogging site's history.

A separate group of hackers made good on their threat to release intimate images of dozens of celebrities last summer when they posted a cache of photos online, including Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence.

Hackers said they'd stolen data belonging to 100 actors and singers in an iCloud security breach.

The hack was seen as a blow to Apple, and sparked a wider discussion about the nature of privacy, security and celebrity in the digital age.

Celebrities affected by the leak threatened Google with $100-million lawsuit in October over its alleged failure to remove the images from its search results. 


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Sly Stone successful in unpaid royalties case, awarded $5M by jury

Funk legend Sly Stone was awarded $5 million US on Tuesday in a breach-of-contract suit that claimed his business partners and his own company cheated him out of royalties.

A Los Angeles Superior Court jury ruled for the 71-year-old performer in his action against his ex-manager Gerald Goldstein, attorney Glenn Stone and Even St. Productions Ltd.

"It's a good day for Sly, it's a good day for entertainers in general," said one of his attorneys, Nicholas Hornberger. "This was an important verdict for people that are artists, entertainers, music composers, etc."

Stone, whose real name is Sylvester Stewart, led the group Sly and the Family Stone to a string of hits in the 1960s and early '70s including Everyday People, Dance To The Music and Family Affair. But heavy drug use began to take a toll.

His lawyers say Stone's career was long eclipsed and he was destitute when Goldstein and Glenn Stone convinced him to become an employee of and co-owner of Even St. Productions with them in 1989.

Stone assigned royalty rights to the company and was supposed to receive some of the money it collected for him but Goldstein and Glenn Stone arranged to get it through shady accounting, Hornberger argued.

"They met him, they signed him up ... but what they really wanted was his royalties," Hornberger said.

Gregory Bodell, the attorney for Goldstein and Glenn Stone, said the performer approached his clients to revitalize his career and promised to make comeback records that he never recorded.

Sly Stone

Sly and the Family Stone took the stage at the 2006 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, but public performances have been rare in the last two decades. (Mark J. Terrill/The Associated Press)

His clients weren't seeking the performer's royalties because he didn't have any, in part because he owed millions to the Internal Revenue Service, Bodell said.

Sly Stone testified that he had not received any royalty payments between 1989 and 2000.

But Bodell said his clients helped to pay off the IRS, renegotiated royalty issues with record companies and over 20 years obtained millions of dollars in royalties for the performer — perhaps as much as $9 million.

Jurors assessed $2.5 million in damages against Even St. Productions, $2.45 million against Goldstein and $50,000 against Glenn Stone.

Bodell said the award will be challenged.

Even St. Productions filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2013. A message left for a lawyer representing the company was not immediately returned.


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Tom Cruise wiretapped Nicole Kidman, Scientology documentary reveals

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief premiered Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival to a packed house — not with a star-studded red carpet, but with police protection.

A week before the premiere, the Church of Scientology took out full-page ads in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times claiming the documentary is filled with falsehoods.

Based on Lawrence Wright's 2013 book of the same name, Oscar winner Alex Gibney's film claims that the church routinely intimidates, manipulates and even tortures its members, tracing the rise of the religion and its founder, former science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, and his successor as head of the church, David Miscavige. Gibney also interviewed several former Scientology believers, including past executives.

Canadian director speaks out

Paul Haggis

Canadian director Paul Haggis, who appears in the documentary, has made headlines for speaking out against the Church of Scientology. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Canadian Paul Haggis, director of the Oscar-winning Crash, left the church in 2009 after decades of membership.

"I was really stupid. I was part of this for 30 years before I spoke out," he says in the film. "I was deeply ashamed."

As Haggis climbed "the bridge" to the most enlightened levels of Scientology, he finally learned Hubbard's ultimate theory: That a tyrannical galactic overlord named Xenu dropped frozen bodies from millions of years ago into volcanoes, and those spirits attach themselves to modern people today. Scientology is the means of ridding the body and mind of those spirits to become "clear."

Another former member who left the church in 2013 said its approach is "like brainwashing."

Former church members followed

Several former church members featured in the film attended Sunday's premiere. Two said they were followed to Utah by Scientology investigators who photographed them at the Salt Lake City airport.

Alex Gibney

Going Clear filmmaker Alex Gibney poses for a portrait during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on Monday. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

The Church of Scientology released a statement Sunday that characterizes these former believers as "the usual collection of obsessive, disgruntled former Church members kicked out as long as 30 years ago for malfeasance, who have a documented history of making up lies about the church for money."

The church says Gibney refused to meet with the 25 members it offered as sources. Gibney says the church declined all requests for interviews, as did Miscavige and movie stars John Travolta and Tom Cruise, both of whom are Scientologists.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's split

kidman cruise

Actors Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise married in 1990 and divorced in 2001. Going Clear suggests Scientologists help break up their marriage.

The film traces Cruise's relationship with the church, and claims it intentionally broke up his marriage with Nicole Kidman because she was not a believer. Scientology's biggest celebrity spokesman was largely absent from the church during his nearly 10-year marriage to Kidman.


4 takeaways from Going Clear, as observed in reviews of the film:

  • The documentary alleges that church leaders worked to "facilitate the break-up" of Kidman and Cruise by, among other things, making Cruise feel paranoid about his relationship, so much so that he ordered a tap on Kidman's phone.
  • The film claims church members worked to turn the couple's children, Connor and Isabella, against their mother in an attempt to sway decisions about custody.
  • Going Clear also alleges that the church tried to set Cruise up with future Homeland actress Nazanin Boniadi and even tried to give her a makeover to make her more attractive to the newly divorced actor.
  • The film also suggests that the church is holding sensitive information about John Travola's sexual orientation over the Saturday Night Fever star's head in an attempt to ensure his loyalty to Scientology

Michael Pena, Erika Christensen, Kelly Preston and John Travolta

From left to right: Actors Michael Pena, Erika Christensen, Kelly Preston and John Travolta attend the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre 45th anniversary gala in August. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Degradation and torture

Members deemed to have somehow erred against the church were subject to degradation and torture, according to the film. They were deprived of sleep, fed scraps and forced to do hard labour. Sometimes they were beaten. One man was required to mop a bathroom floor with his tongue, according to the film.

Gibney and Wright said the church has threatened them with litigation. Former members have said they have fared far worse: they've been slandered online, followed, filmed and seen their loved ones stalked and intimidated.

Former Scientology spokesman and senior executive Mike Rinder said he hopes the film will raise public awareness about the church's methods.

"I would love it if the FBI, after seeing this film, said, 'We need to do something more energetic.'"

The Sundance Film Festival continues through Feb. 1. 


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Who you gonna call for Ghostbusters 3? Director hints with Twitter pic of 4 female stars

Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones appear to be choices for the remake

CBC News Posted: Jan 28, 2015 7:56 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 28, 2015 7:56 AM ET

Ghostbusters 3 director Paul Feig gave a Twitter hint at which Hollywood stars will make up the female cast of the classic movie remake.

Feig tweeted a photo Tuesday of these comedians:

  • Melissa McCarthy.
  • Kristen Wiig.
  • Kate McKinnon.
  • Leslie Jones.

A few hours later, he tweeted: "In other news, #Ghostbusters will be hitting theatres July 22, 2016. Save the date!"

In October, Feig said his remake will centre on a cast of "hilarious women." At the time, Bill Murray, who starred in the original film, suggested McCarthy and Wiig as options for female leads.

"Melissa [McCarthy] would be a spectacular Ghostbuster," Murray said. "And Kristen Wiig is so funny — God, she's funny."

Feig previously worked with McCarthy and Wiig, stars of Bridesmaids.

McKinnon and Jones are on TV's Saturday Night Live.

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Birdman, Downton Abbey top cast winners at SAG Awards

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 27 Januari 2015 | 22.19

Oscar hopes for Birdman got an enormous updraft over the weekend with big wins from the acting and producing guilds, possibly sending the comedy soaring over the perceived Academy Awards front-runner Boyhood.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's elegantly crafted backstage romp won best ensemble Sunday night at the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild, a day after it also won the top honour at the Producer Guild Awards. Both guilds are seen as highly predictive of which film will triumph at the Oscars, which will be held Feb. 22.

Richard Linklater's Boyhood, the acclaimed indie made with the unprecedented real-life time-elapse of 12 years, has long held as the awards seasons favourite. But Birdman fills the role of a classic Oscar winner, like Shakespeare in Love, as a celebration of showbiz. Its fortunes look especially bright considering the last seven Producers Guild Awards winners have also won best picture at the Academy Awards.

"Actors love this movie for showing the courage actors have to kind of go out there and lay it on the line," Birdman star Michael Keaton said backstage at the SAG Awards. He accepted the best ensemble award with his co-stars including Emma Stone, Edward Norton and Zach Galifianakis.

Yet Keaton also lost at the SAGs, held Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Instead, most outstanding actor went to The Theory of Everything star Eddie Redmayne, whose exceeding technical performance as Stephen Hawking has equally drawn raves. Looking down at his blue statuette — "this very wonderful skinny man," he said — Redmayne dedicated the SAG Award to sufferers and victims of ALS.

The other Oscar favourites — Julianne Moore, Patricia Arquette and J.K. Simmons — all cemented their front-runner status in a glamorous, self-congratulatory ceremony that can serve as a test-run for acceptance speeches.

Moore, widely considered the best-actress favourite, won most outstanding actress for Still Alice, in which she plays an academic with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. Accepting the award, she recalled an early lesson on the soap opera "As the World Turns," in which she played twin sisters, good and evil.

"Then I realized it was super boring to act by myself," said Moore.

Accepting the award for most outstanding supporting actor for his performance as a domineering jazz teacher in Whiplash, Simmons thanked all 49 actors who appear in the drama.

"All of us actors are supporting actors," said Simmons, a veteran character actor. "Each of us is essential, completely crucial to the story because if there's one false moment, the train comes off the rails."

Boyhood star Arquette added the latest in a nearly uninterrupted string of supporting actress awards. "This little movie is about human beings and it's about bringing real life onto the screen," she said backstage.

Predictive powers of the SAGs​

Patricia Arquette

Actress Patricia Arquette accepts her SAG award for outstanding performance for her role in Boyhood at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday night. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Because actors make up the largest portion of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the SAG Awards are also considered one of the most telling Oscar previews. Last year, the top four winners — Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong'o, Jared Leto — all went on to win Academy Awards after first scooping up SAG awards.

The predictive powers of the SAGs have been more checkered in matching its top award with eventual best-picture Oscar winners. In the last six years, SAG best-ensemble and Academy Award best-picture winners have lined up three times (ArgoThe King's Speech and Slumdog Millionaire), while diverging just as often. Last year, the actors chose American Hustle over eventual Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave; in 2011, they picked The Help over The Artist; and in 2009, Inglourious Basterds defeated The Hurt Locker.

So Sunday's SAG Awards made two things clear: the Oscar race will be a nail-biter that likely pits Birdman against Boyhood; and the other best source of drama will probably be Keaton and Redmayne vying for best actor.

Big wins from the small screen

Sunday's show kicked off with a pair of wins for the Netflix prison series Orange Is the New Black, honouring it as best ensemble in a comedy and naming Uza Abuda most outstanding actress in a comedy series.

Downton Abbey

From left to right, actresses Joanne Froggatt, Sophie McShera, Laura Carmichael, and Phyllis Logan, winners of Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for 'Downton Abbey,' pose in the press room. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Best ensemble cast in a drama series went to Downton Abbey, the second time the series has won the category.

Two actors who usually reside on the big screen won the SAG awards for performances in a miniseries or TV movie: Mark Ruffalo (for HBO's A Normal Heart) and Frances McDormand (for HBO's Olive Kitteredge). Kevin Spacey (House of Cards), William H. Macy (Shameless) and Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder) also collected awards.

Mother-daughter moment

Debbie Reynolds, the Singin' in the Rain star, was honoured with the SAG lifetime achievement award, which her daughter, Carrie Fisher, presented.

Debbie Reynolds

Actress Debbie Reynolds, left, accepts the life achievement award from her daughter actress Carrie Fisher at the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

The 82-year-old Reynolds embarrassed Fisher with a story, recalling that her bun in the famous musical led her to warn her daughter ahead of playing Princess Leia in Star Wars.

"I said, 'Well, Carrie, be careful of any weird hairdos,"' said Reynolds. "So luckily George gave her two buns."

She also remembered 1964's The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

"In that movie I got to sing a wonderful song 'I Ain't Down Yet,'' said Reynolds. "Well, I ain't."


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Sam Smith gives credit to Tom Petty in 'amicable agreement' over Stay With Me royalties

British soul singer Sam Smith and American folk rocker Tom Petty have settled a copyright dispute that centres on the similarities between Smith's 2014 track Stay With Me, and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' 1989 hit I Won't Back Down.

tom-petty-620

American rocker Tom Petty wrote I Won't Back Down with ELO's Jeff Lynne for his 1989 album Full Moon Fever.

Despite being written decades apart, the songs' choruses sound strangely alike —so much so, that publishers for I Won't Back Down (written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne) contacted the publishers of Stay With Me (written by Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips) to set the matter straight.

After a close listening, Smith, Napier and Phillips "acknowledged the similarity," a representative for Smith told Rolling Stone magazine.

"Although the likeness was a complete coincidence, all involved came to an immediate and amicable agreement in which Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are now credited as co-writers of Stay With Me along with Sam Smith, James Napier and William Phillips." 

  • On mobile? Watch Sam Smith's video for Stay With Me here
  • On mobile? Watch the video for I Won't Back Down here
  • On mobile? Listen to the songs overlaid here​

It's not clear how much Petty and Lynne will make as co-writers of the hit, or whether the pair will be paid retroactively.

Smith's gospel inspired ballad was one of the biggest songs of 2014 and its one of the 22-year-old hit maker's most successful singles to date.


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New York clinic that treated Joan Rivers faces lawsuit over comedian's death

81-year-old suffered cardiac arrest during examination of her throat and vocal cords

Thomson Reuters Posted: Jan 26, 2015 5:59 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 26, 2015 8:51 PM ET

The daughter of late comedian Joan Rivers filed a medical malpractice lawsuit on Monday against the New York outpatient clinic that treated the entertainer a week before her death last year.

Rivers, who was 81, suffered cardiac arrest during an examination of her throat and vocal cords at the Yorkville Endoscopy centre on Manhattan's Upper East Side and died a week later, on Sept. 4, at a New York hospital.

Earlier this month a government health agency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, found the Yorkville facility had fallen short of the conditions necessary to qualify for coverage as a supplier of outpatient surgical services.

The clinic was given until March to correct its deficiencies or face revocation of its federal accreditation and funding.

The malpractice lawsuit was filed by Rivers' only child, her daughter Melissa, in New York state Supreme Court seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

The lawsuit alleges that the Yorkville clinic failed to properly advise the elder Rivers about the risks of her treatment and acted with reckless disregard for her health and safety.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.


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2015 Juno Award nominations to be announced today

New

Watch the announcement being livestreamed here from Toronto, starting at 11 a.m. ET

CBC News Posted: Jan 27, 2015 9:53 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 27, 2015 10:15 AM ET

The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences is revealing today from Toronto the artists in the running for the 44th annual Juno Awards.

Tuesday's announcement by CARAS will be part of a special presentation from The Danforth Music Hall starting, at 11 a.m. ET.

Watch a livestream of the announcement here or on mobile here.

The Junos recognizes excellence in popular Canadian music in 41 categories, including best songwriter, album and single of the year.

Kiesza

Calgary's Kiesza is one of four performers announced to play the 2015 Juno Awards ceremony in Hamilton, Ont. in March. (Adam Gasson/MTV Europe/Getty Images)

The awards will be handed out in a a star-studded gala on March 15 from Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre.

A number of big Canadian acts are slated to perform, including:

More announcements on Juno performers and hosts are expected in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the 2015 awards gala range from $39 to $149, and can be purchased at FirstOntario Centre, by phone at 1-855-872-5000 and online at Ticketmaster.ca.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.


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Miss Universe pageant pits contestants in high-stakes battle for the crown

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 24 Januari 2015 | 22.19

Contestants from 88 countries will vie for the title of Miss Universe on Sunday in Florida. The women arrived in Miami nearly two weeks ago ahead of the main event, in which Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, will pass on her crown.

Today Show personality Natalie Morales will host the show, at 8 p.m.

Will another Latina take the crown?

Beauty pageants are big business in Latin American countries, where girls are groomed from an early age. "There's a lot of pride," Miss Colombia Paulina Vega said.

"Latin women, Latin people, are very emphatic. They have it in their blood, right? So, it could be true that maybe between the Latin women there may be more competition," Miss Bolivia Claudia Tavel said. "And we hope that this year, like brothers, we'll support (each other) and that Miss Universe will be a good-hearted woman, and be a Latina."

At 19, Miss Venezuela Migbelis Lynette Castellanos is one of the youngest contestants in the pageant. She especially is feeling the heat — three of the last six titles have gone to Venezuelans.

"I have the pressure and the support from all the Venezuelans," she said.

Hair and high-stakes 

Roommates Miss USA Nia Sanchez and Miss Australia Tegan Martin quickly hit it off. They even started a web series: #watchNiaandTegan. 

"Our video for today is her trying to teach me how to talk in an Aussie accent. ... We'll do some self-defence moves, we'll do some hair advice. We've got a lot of stuff going on," Sanchez, 24, said.

"We've been doing everything together," Martin, 22, said. "... I feel like I've known her my whole life."

Mourning from afar 

Miss France Camille Cerf says it's been difficult to be away from her country in the aftermath of this month's terrorist attacks.

"I can't really feel what's happening there, so it's making me really sad," Cerf said. She did have a message for her people: "They don't have to be afraid. They have to hope and think about good things."

Middle East conflict 

Miss Israel Doron Matalon took an Instagram selfie with Miss Japan, Miss Slovenia and Miss Lebanon — and started a Middle East spat.

Miss Universe controversy

Miss Lebanon (second from the left) was criticized for this selfie with Miss Israel (on the left) at the Miss Universe pageant.

​ 

Lebanon and Israel are longtime foes, and Lebanon doesn't have relations with its neighbour. Lebanese Tourism Minister Michel Pharon said that "if there was bad intentions" from Miss Lebanon Saly Greige, measures could be taken against her.

Griege said Matalon took the photo without her permission. Matalon said it was a joint photo and was saddened that Griege was being criticized at home. "We need to remember that we represent the country and the people, not the government and not the political issues," she said.

X-Men Gown

Miss Indonesia Elvira Devinamira, 21, nicknamed a gown after an "X-Men" character because of the scalelike sequins that change color from silver to pink when she moves her hand up or down the dress.

"I call it `Mystique.' It's fun," said Devinamira, who worked with the designer on the gown. In the comics, Mystique's superpower is mimicking the voice and appearance of any person.

Dessert? Yes, Please 

Miss USA Nia Sanchez says she is counting down the minutes until she finishes the swimsuit competition and she can finally indulge in her favorite treat.

"I have a jar of Nutella I'm going to have backstage," she said.

Maybe she got the idea from fellow chocaholic Miss Norway Elise Dalby, who says she believes one piece of chocolate a day makes all her troubles go away.

Homecourt Advantage 

Miss Venezuela Migbelis Lynette Castellanos might not be competing in her home country, but it's the next best thing. The host city of Doral is often referred to as "Doralzuela" for its many Venezuelan residents.

"I'm feeling at home," she said.

Meanwhile, Miss Great Britain Grace Levy is still trying to gin up support from her native land.

"Brits are quite fickle. They're not very supportive of beauty pageants, and I think it will take a Great Britain win for them to be a lot more supportive."

And the one truly at home, Miss USA Nia Sanchez says she feels less pressure competing in the U.S. More than 30 friends and family members, including her 8-year-old brother and grandparents, are part of her cheering squad.

"I feel like I can just go in there and have fun and really enjoy myself because I'm in a comfortable zone," said Sanchez, who is from Nevada.

Did you know?

  • Miss Great Britain Grace Levy, 25, was featured on a popular dating show called Take Me Out. She went on a date with a fire-dancing hippie.
  • Miss China Yanliang Hu has a father who is a firefighter and mother who is a policewoman. She once stole her mother's uniform and wore it to a police exhibition.
  • At 6 feet (1.83 meter) tall, Miss Peru Jimena Espinosa is one of the tallest contestants.
  • Miss Japan Keiko Tsuji has a black belt in karate.
  • Miss Colombia Paulina Vega is the granddaughter of famous tenor Gastón Vega. Her grandmother, Elvira Castillo, was Miss Atlántico 1953 (Colombia).
  • Miss Finland Bea Toivonen is following in her mother's footsteps. Her mother was Miss Universe Finland 1985 and competed in Miami 30 years ago.

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Law & Order showrunner creating Canadian Arctic-set thriller at CBC

The Canadian Arctic will be the setting of a new CBC thriller to be written by René Balcer, a veteran writer and showrunner behind NBC's hit crime series Law & Order.

The Council is an hour-long mystery-thriller centred on a murder investigation in an isolated northern outpost that reveals an international plot to control the region's natural resources.

Rene Balcer

René Balcer, the Montreal-born TV writer, producer and showrunner, has had a lifelong interest in the Arctic and its indigenous Inuit culture. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Born in Montreal, Balcer fostered his lifelong interest in the Arctic and Inuit culture when he worked in the region as a college student.

"There isn't a writer who is a better fit for this show than René," said JoAnn Alfano, Executive Vice President of Scripted Programming for NBCU International Television Production, in a statement.

"He has a unique ability to weave complex mysteries with character-based drama. His personal connection to the story and knowledge of the arctic and Inuit culture will bring a unmatched level of authenticity."

He won an Emmy for his work executive producing the long-running American crime drama Law & Order.

Balcer wrote for the popular series for 20 seasons.

The Council will be produced by Vancouver-based production company, Lark Productions, and will be distributed by NBCUniversal International Television Production.

No release date has been set.


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'Stay away' from Jennifer Lopez's new movie The Boy Next Door

FILM REVIEW

Stay away from Jennifer Lopez's new ham-fisted thriller, says CBC's film critic

CBC News Posted: Jan 23, 2015 11:38 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 23, 2015 11:40 AM ET

Jennifer Lopez plays a single mom who becomes the focus of her handsome young neighbour's dangerous obsession in the new thriller The Boy Next Door.

The popstar, actress and American Idol judge (who hasn't had a hit movie since she was "Jenny From The Block") swaps her on-stage swagger for serious-teacher glasses as Claire — a newly separated teacher who falls into the 19-year-old arms of Noah (played by Ryan Guzman.)

But the high school student quickly morphs into a stalker after JLo agrees to help him with his chicken. Then, the "movie shifts from ominous to obvious at light speed," says CBC film critic Eli Glasner.

"[It's] the kind of film that flunks even the most basic requirements," says Glasner who censures the film for its "ham-fisted storytelling and lack of tension." 

The Boy Next Door is in theatres now.

Don't miss Eli's full review (and its inventive use of Popsicle sticks) in the video above.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.


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The Humbling: Al Pacino's 'most honest' performance in years

Al Pacino plays a washed up actor having an affair with a younger woman in The Humbling.

The new dramedy from Rain Man and Good Morning, Vietnam director, Barry Levinson, follows the unravelling of stage-and-screen star Simon Axler, who loses his grip on reality and falls in love with a "reformed lesbian" (played by Frances Ha actress Greta Gerwig).

The Humbling, which made its North American premiere at TIFF last September, is based on the novel of the same name by Philip Roth, also stars Kyra Sedgwick, Dianne Wiest, Charles Grodin, and Mandy Patinkin.

Pacino fans who exalt the actor for his performances in classics like The Godfather trilogy and Scarface may be relieved to see that the affectations of his more roles (like in Scent of a Woman and Righteous Kill) are absent from this portrait.

This movie "rescued Al Pacino from becoming a parody of himself,' says CBC film critic Eli Glasner. "It's one of the most honest performances we've seen from Pacino in years."

The Humbling is in theatres this weekend.

Watch Eli's full review in the video above.


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Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany to have Regina street named after her

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 23 Januari 2015 | 22.19

Regina-born TV star Tatiana Maslany could soon have a street named after her.

The City of Regina announced Thursday that the name of the celebrated star of Orphan Black will appear on a street sign in the new Skywood development.

Skywood is on the northwest edge of the city, north of Lakeridge.

A city hall committee is in charge of choosing potential names for new streets.

In the past, sports figures, politicians and war heroes have made the list.

Maslany, 29, who grew up in Regina and went to LeBoldus High School, has received numerous awards for her acting.

She has a huge fan base from her success in Orphan Black, a science fiction drama in which she portrays multiple clones.

There's no word yet on whether the new neighbourhood will have a Maslany Street, Maslany Place, Maslany Way, Maslany Crescent — or all of them.


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Sundance Film Festival kicks off with record number of Canadian films

Sundance opens today with a record-breaking number of Canadian films crashing the cozy ski resort town in Park City, Utah.

Over the next 10 days, the influential showcase for independent cinema—founded 31 years ago by actor Robert Redford—will screen 10 Canadian feature films, including:

  • Chorus - a heart-felt Quebec drama, directed by François Delisle, which tells the story of a woman seeking solace in music after the death of her young son. 
  • The Amina Profile - a documentary exploring the mystery around a lesbian Syrian blogger who goes missing, directed by Sophie Deraspe.
  • The Forbidden Room - an experimental ode to silent movies, directed by Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson.
  • Hellions - a horror film about real demons disguised as trick-or-treaters on Hallowe'en night, screening in the Park City at Midnight program, directed by Bruce McDonald

At the indie forefront

Carolle Brabant, executive director of Telefilm Canada, attributes the record turnout of Canadian films at the festival to the nation's distinct voice and style.

How to Change the World

Greenpeace co-founder and Canadian activist, Bob Hunter, is profiled in the documentary How to Change the World. (Met FIlm Production/Sundance Institute)

"The Canadian selection includes narrative features, documentaries, genre films and children's films," Brabant said in a statement.

"[The line-up] stands out for its abundance, quality and diversity, confirming that our country is at the forefront of indie filmmaking."

A Canadian documentary has even been selected as one of the opening night films.

​How to Change the World looks back at the rag-tag group of Vancouver neighbours who would go on to found the environmental activism group Greenpeace.

Thrilling premiere

The world premiere of Bruce McDonald's new horror movie Hellions marks the Ontario-born director's first return to the festival since his second feature, Highway 61, screened there in 1992.

The 55-year-old industry veteran says he's still surprised by the reaction he gets when he tells colleagues he's screening at Sundance.

"It's very impressive to all my friends and industry people," McDonald told CBC News. "I can't tell you how many emails and [messages I get, saying] 'Oh my god, you're in Sundance? That's awesome.'"

Sundance 2015: Bruce McDonald on Canada's creative voice2:00

  • On mobile? Watch the clip here

McDonald, who helmed such films as the mockumentary Hard Core Logo and the Ontario-set thriller Pontypool, argues that Canada's cinematic originality is partly a reaction to the Hollywood movie machine.  

"There is an inventiveness to how we make films," ​said McDonald. 

"There is a tendency among Canadian films not to compete on the star or budget power level but in a more inventive, fresh, hopefully original kind of storytelling."

Seeds planted at Sundance 

Film Spirit Awards Boyhood SAG nomination

Richard Linklater's Oscar-nominated film Boyhood generated big buzz after its premiere at Sundance last year. (IFC Films/Associated Press)

With the multiple Oscar nominations for Boyhood and Whiplash, both of which bowed at last year's Sundance, this year's awards season is feeding the festival's reputation as a place to discover smart indie films with big box office potential. 

More than 12,000 submissions from around the globe were culled to the 118 feature-length documentary and narrative films featured during the festival.

The Interview James Franco Seth Rogen premiere Dec 11

Actor James Franco, seen here with The Interview co-star Seth Rogen, has three offerings at Sundance. (Kevin Winter/Getty )

Among the highlights: James Franco, in his first appearances since The Interview-Sony hack scandal, has three films in Park City — two at Sundance and one at the concurrent, even-more-indie festival, Slamdance. Funny folks Jack Black and Sarah Silverman take dramatic turns in feature films; Bobcat Goldthwait premieres a documentary about comic Barry Crimmins; and comedian Tig Notaro stars in her own documentary, Tig.

Other starry offerings include: Z for Zachariah, in which Margot Robbie believes she's the last woman on Earth, until she discovers Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Sleeping With Other People, starring Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie; the gambling drama Mississippi Grind, starring Vancouver-born actor Ryan Reynolds, Alison Brie and Alfre Woodard; Lila & Eve with Jennifer Lopez and Viola Davis; Slow West with Michael Fassbender; and the closing-night film, Grandma, starring Lily Tomlin.

The Sundance Film Festival continues through Feb. 1.


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Barack Obama takes questions from YouTube stars

Most popular content creators get to ask U.S. president questions

The Associated Press Posted: Jan 22, 2015 7:33 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 22, 2015 8:26 PM ET

U.S. President Barack Obama picked three of the most popular YouTube content creators for an interview Thursday, hoping to reach an audience typically not tuned to the daily give-and-take of Washington and its politics.

Obama-YouTube-interviews

U.S. President Barack Obamais interviewed by YouTube content creator GloZell Green. (YouTube)

But the weirdness, the limit-pushing, the cuteness that has contributed to the questioners' success in social media was not much in evidence. Instead, Obama encountered fairly mundane questions about current affairs.

If there were viral moments, they came during his session with a popular YouTube fixture, GloZell Green. She offered Obama three samples of her trademark green lipstick as gifts for his daughters — and for the woman she called Obama's "first wife."

Obama cracked, "You know something I don't?"

Green corrected herself and referred to Michelle Obama as "first lady."


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Jennifer Aniston's role in Cake 'like going back to acting class,' she tells Q

Jennifer Aniston became America's sweetheart playing Rachel Green on the hit TV comedy Friends.

Now, in her latest film, Cake, she took on her riskiest and darkest role yet — playing a woman living with chronic pain, loss and addiction.

"For me it felt like I was going back to acting class," the 45-year-old admitted in an interview with CBC Radio's culture, arts and entertainment show Q.

Aniston strips down for her role in Cake as Claire Bennett — a woman struggling to cope under the shackles of chronic physical and emotional pain.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston reveals a darker side of herself in her portrayal of a drug-addicted woman in the indie drama Cake. (Cinelou Releasing)

The star's physical transformation and raw, emotional performance earned her Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild award nominations.

Aniston admits she couldn't have pulled it off during her decade playing coffee-serving Rachel on Friends, which ended its run in 2004.

"No way. Absolutely not. You have to have a level of life experience and wisdom to be able to access those parts of yourself ... in my 20s, I think I was doing just fine being Rachel."

Listen to Aniston's full interview with Q guest host Candy Palmater on CBC Radio one at 10 a.m.

The conversation will also be posted online after the broadcast, here.

Cake opens in theatres this weekend.


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Talking Heads' David Bryne to bring cultural mashup to Canada

Multi-disciplinary event to debut at Toronto's Luminato Festival on June 22 and 23

The Canadian Press Posted: Jan 22, 2015 9:58 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 22, 2015 10:00 AM ET

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A multi-disciplinary colour guard event masterminded by David Byrne will debut in Toronto during the Luminato Festival.

Boasting appearances from stars including Nelly Furtado, Kelis and St. Vincent, Byrne's Contemporary Color will have its world premiere at the Air Canada Centre on June 22 and 23.

The show heads to New York on June 27 and 28.

  • On mobile? Watch a promo video here

The production will pair 10 high school colour guard — or flag-spinning — teams with an array of artists.

In addition to the former Talking Heads frontman himself, Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus, Dev Hynes and How to Dress Well are among the artists who will participate.

A form of competition found in schools around North America, colour guard finds teams of 20 to 40 people performing acrobatic routines to music with props including flags, rifles and sabres.

Byrne says he discovered colour guard after a high school team asked to use his music back in 2008.

"I was stunned at what I was seeing," Byrne said in a statement.

"And being a musician, I naturally wondered to myself: what if these performances had really great live music? Wouldn't that lift it to another level?"

Tickets for the event begin at $39 and go on sale Jan. 23.

With files from CBC News

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Madonna 'profoundly grateful' for arrest of Israeli hacking suspect

American pop icon Madonna is expressing her gratitude after the arrest Wednesday of an Israeli man suspected of hacking the computers of a number of artists and selling their unreleased music online.

"I am profoundly grateful to the FBI, the Israeli Police investigators and anyone else who helped lead to the arrest of this hacker," the singer said on her Facebook page Wednesday.

"This invasion into my life - creatively, professionally, and personally remains a deeply devastating and hurtful experience, as it must be for all artists who are victims of this type of crime."

An unauthorized leak of several unfinished songs from her upcoming album, Rebel Heart, forced the music industry veteran to release six tracks from the record in December.

The full 19-track album isn't due out until March 10.

Police raided the home of a 38-year-old Tel Aviv man on Wednesday, arresting him and seizing computers and other evidence, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

The FBI and Israel's national cyber unit reportedly launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from an international recording artist.

Madonna's attorney in Israel told Haaretz that the theft of "sketches of songs, photos and other personal material" had been going on for a long time, and had cost the Queen of Pop millions of dollars in damages.

Madonna iPod Instagram

Madonna posted this picture of a smashed iPod in her Instagram feed in Decmeber after the unauthorized release of unfinished songs were distributed online. (madonna/Instagram)

The singer posted a picture of a smashed iPod on her Instagram feed back in December with the caption: "This broken ipod is a symbol of my broken heart! That my music has been stolen and leaked! I have been violated as a human and an artist!"

It's not clear which other musicians were hacked.

The unnamed suspect was due in court Wednesday to face charges of intellectual property theft and aggravated fraud.


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'I don't know why it's so hard to believe women': Jay Leno on Cosby allegations

Former NBC late night host Jay Leno voiced his support on Wednesday for the women who have come forward claiming they were sexually assaulted by comedian Bill Cosby.

Leno, who stepped down as host of The Tonight Show last year, was asked at a National Association of Television Program Executives conference what he thought of the allegations against Cosby.

"I don't know why it's so hard to believe women. I mean, you go to Saudi Arabia and you need two women to testify against a man; here you need 25," he replied.

'I don't know why it's so hard to believe women. I mean, you go to Saudi Arabia and you need two women to testify against a man; here you need 25.'- Jay Leno

Over the last three months, more than a dozen women have come forward alleging that Cosby had sexually abused them. Many of those allegations are decades old and fall outside the statute of limitations for criminal or civil cases.

Cosby's attorney Marty Singer has dismissed the allegations as "discredited" and "defamatory."

At Wednesday's conference, Leno added that he supported the way the allegations against Cosby were brought into the spotlight, after standup comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby a rapist during a performance last October.

"He made a flat-out statement that reverberated around the world. If that was on TV, it would have been edited. If it were on any other medium, it would have been edited," Leno said.

"But because somebody just filmed it and put it out there, you're getting your news raw and unfiltered, which I think is fantastic."

Leno's comments come after actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Cosby's son on television, told music trade magazine Billboard that he found it painful to hear the claims that the comedian sexually abused more than a dozen women.

Warner, who played Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the 1980s and 1990s, said the allegations do not match Cosby's reputation.

"The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me and great for a lot of people," Warner was quoted as saying.

"Just as it's painful to hear any woman talk about sexual assault, whether true or not, it's just as painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this."

The 44-year-old Warner joined Cosby Show actors Phylicia Rashad and Keshia Knight Pulliam in defending the 77-year-old comedian.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that nearly 40 per cent of the tickets originally purchased for Bill Cosby's two comedy shows in the Denver earlier this week were refunded, according to an official for the company that runs the venue.

According to his website, Cosby next performs Jan. 30 in Sandusky, Ohio, with a pair of Feb. 8 shows scheduled in Boston.


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'She was our flower,' friend says of celebrated fiddler

Fleur Mainville, the celebrated fiddler from Pictou, died Wednesday.

She leaves behind her husband, Andrew Heighton, and their two adopted children. Pictou residents also knew her as an active volunteer and fundraiser.

Friend and fellow musician John Spyder MacDonald played with her many times.

"She had a beautiful touch on the fiddle and she was also a fabulous singer," he told the CBC's Information Morning on Thursday.

"She didn't record a lot of her singing because she didn't start singing until after she met her husband. She said he brought the singing out in her."

MacDonald met Mainville when she was 14, when her music teacher contacted him about getting her some playing time. He brought her up to Cape Breton for a St. Andrew's Day event. She played Out On the Myra.

"She sang that with this pure, sweet voice. I knew she was a singer then," he said.

She played with David Gunning and many other musicians. 

"She was one of those that stood out from the rest and you knew, 'This girl's got it.' And she was so humble and a very giving person," MacDonald said. "She probably couldn't count the number of benefits she played at over the years."

Mainville also taught music to children and gave young dancers a stage to perform on.

"It was always about somebody else. It was never about her. That's one of the great things about her and one of the things we're going to miss," said MacDonald.

Mainville and her husband adopted a boy, 10, and a girl, five, in 2014.

"That makes it even harder. It's a devastation, really," MacDonald said. "As her name says, she was our flower. She will be sadly missed by everybody."

Mainville was 37, and died after a long struggle with cancer. 


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Tatiana Maslany, Canadian star of Orphan Black, reportedly tests for new Star Wars movie

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 21 Januari 2015 | 22.19

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29-year-old Regina-born actress reportedly up against Dragon Tattoo star Rooney Mara

CBC News Posted: Jan 21, 2015 9:40 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 21, 2015 9:56 AM ET

Tatiana Maslany, the Regina-born star of the cult sci-fi television series Orphan Black, is in the running to play the lead in a new Star Wars movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Rooney Mara

American actress Rooney Mara was nominated for an Oscar for her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The industry publication reports the 29-year-old is screen testing for a space drama spin-off that will be directed by Britain's Gareth Edwards, who helmed Godzilla and Monsters.

Maslany is said to be up against Girl With the Dragon Tattoo star Rooney Mara and Oscar-nominated The Theory of Everything actress Felicity Jones for the part.

The Canadian talent is no stranger to high-profile competition.

This Sunday, Maslany will take on big-screen heavyweights Robin Wright, Maggie Smith, Claire Danes, Viola Davis and Julianna Margulies at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Lucasfilm has released few details about the Star Wars spinoff film, other than it is slated to be released on Dec. 16, 2016.

The yet-unnamed movie is one of two Star Wars stand-alone films that the studio has up its sleeve.

Fans are already counting down the days to the release of the franchise's next instalment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, due out on Dec. 18.

Disney, Lucasfilm and representatives for Maslany have not commented on the casting process for the Edwards project.

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.


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Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year star, shocked by attacks following diversity speech

The award-winning actress says she's received a barrage of abuse following Critics' Choice Awards speech

The Associated Press Posted: Jan 20, 2015 1:55 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 20, 2015 1:55 PM ET

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Interstellar: FILM REVIEW 2:56

Interstellar: FILM REVIEW 2:56

Jessica Chastain says she has received a barrage of abuse following her recent speech at the Critics' Choice Awards.

The American actress, who was honoured as Most Valuable Player at last Thursday's ceremony, used her time onstage to make a plea to Hollywood executives and actors on the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The 37-year-old American actress implored those in attendance to "stand together against homophobic, sexist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic and racist agendas."

Speaking to The Associated Press Tuesday, Chastain acknowledged she was shocked by messages she's received since the ceremony - calling the reaction "strange."

"I've had really terrible people who are racists comment on the speech and say really terrible things. I'm understanding that some people in this world, how much hate they can have," she said. 

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

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Justin Bieber to be roasted on Comedy Central, responds to SNL jokes

Justin Bieber, Canada's notorious pop music export and celebrity underwear model, is offering himself up to be the butt of the jokes on a Comedy Central roast next month.

The cable network series features a panel of comedians who insult the show's so-called honoured guest with biting humour.

"For years I have wanted Comedy Central to roast me," wrote 20-year-old Bieber on Twitter on Tuesday. "They said only if I provided them w/ more material so for a year now I have worked hard."

A comedic treasure trove

The last 12 months could be considered a treasure trove of material for any comedian. The music industry bad boy has had a number of reported brushes with the law, including:

While the Miami and California cases were resolved with fines and/or probation, Bieber still faces charges after the Stratford incident.

That's not to mention an alleged dust-up with actor Orlando Bloom and some monkey business with authorities in Germany.

The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber will tape in Los Angeles on March 7.

No air date has been set.

Previous roast subjects have included James Franco, David Hasselhoff, and Canadians William Shatner and Pamela Anderson.

Bieber reacts to SNL parody

Bieber was most recently made fun of on a Saturday Night Live sketch this past weekend.

The parody, spoofing Bieber's new Calvin Klein underwear campaign, featured comedian Kate McKinnon's well-honed impression of the tattooed and frequently shirtless celebrity. 

VIDEO: SNL spoofs Justin Bieber's Calvin Klein campaign2:05

  • On mobile? Watch the SNL Bieber parody here.

Despite being painted as pouty and immature, Bieber took the jokes in stride.

"Well played," he tweeted to SNL during the broadcast, followed up with the acronym "LOL."


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