Ontario's Stella sisters head for TV debut on Nashville

Two young Ontario-raised sisters — who've landed over nine million YouTube views for their soulful performance of a Robyn tune while playing percussion with empty butter containers — are set to sing for the first time on network television.

Lennon and Maisy Stella — a.k.a. the Stella Sisters — play the daughters of country music star Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton) on ABC's Nashville (airing on CTV Two in Canada) and will get to croon for the first time on Wednesday's instalment of the show.

In the episode, their characters perform a cover of a tune by country-music sensation Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) for a school talent show. The move upsets their mom, who's growing increasingly resentful as Juliette's star rises while her career sinks.

The Oshawa, Ont.-bred duo landed the parts earlier this year in Nashville, where they've lived with their parents — country music duo Marylynne and Brad Stella, a.k.a. the Stellas — since 2009.

"It's so weird to see Hayden and Connie because we've seen them in other things as well," Maisy, 8, said in a recent phone interview.

An Ice Princess fan

"Like, one of my favourite movies is Ice Princess and Hayden was in that and so I was freaking out when my mom told me that Hayden was going to be in the show because I love Hayden."

Connie Britton plays country superstar Rayna, mother of two daughters, in the series Nashville. (Katherine Bomboy-Thornton/ABC/Associated Press)

"It's really neat because they're all such nice people," added Lennon, 13.

It was a school talent show that also led to the Stella Sisters' YouTube rise in May.

Their parents were on a concert tour then and couldn't catch their school showcase, in which they sang Robyn's pop hit Call Your Girlfriend while making the beat through carefully choreographed hand movements and butter containers.

So they recreated the stunning performance on camera in their home and posted the clip to YouTube, where their parents have been showcasing clips of their girls for a couple of years now.

"It took about two days to learn, but when we were recording the video, Maisy's friend was actually over," said Lennon.

"She was upstairs in my room watching TV the whole time. I'm like, 'I'm so sorry!"' interjected Maisy.

"Maisy is a little distracted when her friend's over so it was hard because it took a lot of tries to get it," added Lennon.

YouTube sensations

The video, which was inspired by a YouTube clip of Swedish group Erato doing the same thing, has since netted nearly 9.6 million views and drawn interest from record labels as well as talk-show hosts Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Seacrest and Jeff Probst.

It's also inspired others to try to replicate their performance on YouTube.

"That's the coolest thing to see people cover — especially our version, when they say, 'Cover of Lennon and Maisy,"' said Lennon.

The sisters have been singing since they were toddlers and play piano, guitar, ukulele and drums. Their other hit YouTube clips include covers of When Your Mind's Made Up by the Swell Season and I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz.

"We've always been around music our entire lives," said Lennon, a bespectacled brunette with raspy vocals.

"Usually my instrument is my hand and my foot," noted blond Maisy, who is often seen in their YouTube clips stomping and clapping as she harmonizes with Lennon's lead vocals.

Love old country music

Since living in Nashville, the two have been able to hang out at the Grand Ole Opry and meet some of their idols.

"We love old country so when we saw Vince Gill it was like the biggest honour, we were so excited," said Lennon.

The two said they've been recording songs in the studio for Nashville but have no plans to make their own album just yet.

Instead, they plan to record one of their parents' original Christmas tunes and then see where it takes them.

On Tuesday, they were scheduled set to perform a live, online concert on Stageit.com.

"We're definitely going to stay with the music and stay with the acting as well," said Lennon.

"We sing separately and everything, but we want to sing together for as far as singing together will take us."

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New Bond film Skyfall makes debut before royalty

The latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, is getting its world premiere in London on Tuesday, with Prince Charles on hand to give it a royal seal of approval.

Daniel Craig was the first of the film's stars to arrive at the screening at the Royal Albert Hall in central London on Tuesday, where he was joined by co-stars Judi Dench, Javier Bardem and Naomie Harris.

Skyfall is the 23rd official Bond film, and Craig's third outing as the suave superspy. Harris is Bond girl Eve, a field agent racked by self-doubt, Dench plays spy chief M, battling a crisis with roots in her past, and Bardem plays Raoul Silva, a Bond villain bent on revenge.

Bardem said he was drawn to the role of Bond bad guy after seeing Jaws, the steel-toothed henchman in 1979's Moonraker.

Bond girl Berenice Marlohe poses on the red carpet. (Stewart Wilson/Invision/Associated Press)

With some critics hailing the Sam Mendes-directed Skyfall as one of the best Bond films of the half-a-century-old franchise, Bardem said the series' appeal showed that "they have been doing something really right, starting with the actors who have played Bond. They have all brought their own flavour to it."

Craig, dressed in a black Tom Ford suit, appeared to share a laugh with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla ahead of the premiere. Also on hand were Ben Whishaw, who plays Q, and Berenice Marlohe, who plays Bond girl Severine, as well as Olympic cycling champion Victoria Pendleton and model Kelly Brook.

Skyfall opens in Britain on Friday and in the U.S. on Nov. 9. Proceeds from Tuesday's royal gala are going to charities that help members of Britain's intelligence services.

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UN chief Ban Ki-moon 'jealous' of Gangnam Style's PSY

It was bound to happen. Two powerhouses of South Korea met Tuesday in New York for the first time.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and rapper PSY lavished praise on one another during a photo opportunity at UN headquarters.

'I'm a bit jealous. Until two days ago someone told me I am the most famous Korean in the world.'—UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

The South Korean pop singer, whose smash video for his song Gangnam Style has gone viral, was quick to joke with reporters about the encounter.

"So now you have first and second famous Korean in the same building," PSY said.

Ban joked that he now feels overshadowed by the star, whose video has scored more than half a billion views on YouTube.

The UN chief even risked a few of PSY's trademark dance moves from the video, prompting peals of laughter from the singer.

PSY told reporters he was touched that Ban had watched his video. He called the meeting a momentous occasion for him — even better than when Gangnam Style hit No. 2 on the Billboard Top 100 chart.

South Korean rapper PSY doubles over with laughter as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, an admirer and fellow South Korean, attempts to learn the Gangnam Style dance. (Sara Brittany Somerset/CBC)

The UN chief said the Korean pop star was "cool" and "energetic."

"He's so energetic he can help to end energy crisis," he said.

Ban's office said the encounter was arranged because the two men were mutually interested in meeting one another.

His spokesman, Martin Nesirky, told reporters that although the secretary general usually deals with weighty issues involving conflicts and wars, he also thinks it's important to engage other parts of society.

Ban joked that he was envious of the South Korean rapper.

"I'm a bit jealous. Until two days ago someone told me I am the most famous Korean in the world. Now I have to relinquish. I have no regrets," Ban said.

With files from The Associated Press

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10 emerging writers receive $50K Whiting Writers' Award

Middlesex author Jeffrey Eugenides doesn't remember everything about the night he was given a Whiting Writers' Award, but he has never forgotten how the honour received early in his career helped make his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel possible.

Eugenides, who on Tuesday night was to present the award to this year's 10 recipients, is one of many top American authors and playwrights who early in their careers won the honour. It is given to those who exhibit "exceptional talent and promise."

"I remember it was a very rainy night and on my way to the ceremony the back of my trousers became sopping wet," Eugenides, who won in 1993, said during a recent telephone interview. "It was a good way to forestall any moment of grandiosity because I assumed that everyone was looking at my soggy bottoms."

He said he was so excited to win that he has forgotten who handed him his Whiting. But he considers the prize the "first vote of confidence" from someone besides his publisher and values the award's "extreme practical" value and how it made him feel "part of the writerly world."

The prize money gave him priceless time to work on Middlesex, his second book and a major critical and commercial success. The Whiting award, established in 1985 by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, is now worth $50,000 US.

Each year, 10 prizes are given to a combination of authors, poets and playwrights. Past winners also have included Tony Kushner, Jonathan Franzen, David Foster Wallace, Mark Doty and Michael Cunningham.

Newest winners includes playwright-actress

Four playwrights, three fiction writers, two poets and one nonfiction writers were in the class of 2012. One of the winners, playwright Danai Gurira, also has a career as an actress. She has won an Obie and a Helen Hayes award for her stage work and her television credits include Treme and The Walking Dead.

'The award comes as a bolt from the blue...The Whiting gives great affirmation — and courage to continue'—Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts

Other playwrights announced Tuesday were Samuel D. Hunter, an Obie winner for A Bright New Boise; Mona Mansour and Meg Miroshnik. Alan Heathcock, whose story collection Volt was a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, was among the fiction writers receiving a Whiting.

"As a playwright, so often any accolades I get are inexorably tied to a specific production of a play," Hunter says. "So to receive an award based solely on my writing, and to be validated alongside poets and novelists and non-fiction writers, is deeply meaningful."

Novelists Anthony Marra and Hanna Pylvainen, poets Atsuro Riley and Danai Gurira and nonfiction author Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts also were honoured.

"The award comes as a bolt from the blue," says Rhodes-Pitt, who has just started working on her second book. "The Whiting gives great affirmation — and courage to continue."

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Douglas & McIntyre owner files for bankruptcy

The original company that became D&M Publishers published its first book in 1971. (CBC)

Independent publishing house D&M Publishers Inc. says it is filing for bankruptcy protection.

The Vancouver-based publisher says it is working to locate an investor or purchaser for its assets.

D&M, which includes Douglas & McIntyre and Greystone Books, says it plans to continue operations while it restructures.

It says its subsidiary New Society Publishers Inc. is a separate legal entity, is not included in the bankruptcy filing and will continue business as usual.

D&M identifies itself as "Canada's pre-eminent independent publisher, with over forty years of success."

It has published books that include the non-fiction work Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre, novels like Wayson Choy's The Jade Peony and art books such as The Art of Emily Carr.

The company, originally J.J. Douglas Ltd., was founded in 1970 in Vancouver and published its first book in 1971.

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Famous Emily Carr painting shows up at Calgary auction

Emily Carr established herself as one of Canada's most famous artists with her depictions of native life on Canada's West Coast. (CBC)

A piece of art from one of the most famous artists in Canadian history could end up in the hands of one Calgarian.

Emily Carr established herself as one of Canada's most famous artists with her depictions of native life on Canada's West Coast.

She died at the age of 73 on March 2, 1945, at her home in Victoria, B.C.

Her work now hangs in museums and prestigious art galleries around the world, and now, a piece has landed in Doug Levis's hands.

He runs an auction business that has been selling fine art for 20 years and says it's not often an Emily Carr piece turns up.

"This painting comes from a critical time period for her — 1928 was a trip where she went up to Skeena River and was painting the various indian villages in and around the area," Levis said, adding he got the art work from a consigner from Toronto. "I was very pleased that they offered it to me."

The watercolour painting is titled Kitseukla.

Monique Westra, a former curator at Calgary's Glenbow Museum, says Carr was 57 years old when she did the painting.

"There's only one other water colour from this trip that is in the collection of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, so it's a museum quality work, there's no question about it," Westra said.

Levis has the painting appraised at $300,000 to $350,000 but Westra says it could go for much more.

The auction is in Calgary on Nov.4.

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Stephen King surprises New Brunswick high school

Students in Sussex, N.B., got a pre-Halloween thrill when horror-master Stephen King paid them a surprise visit on Friday.

The author of more than 50 books and 200 short stories, who lives in Bangor, Maine, decided to visit Sussex Regional High School following a yearlong, multimedia effort by students and staff.

In a campaign to persuade him, they wrote nearly 1,200 letters, created parody music videos that were posted on YouTube, as well as artwork inspired by his body of work.

"I came because of all those letters. I was just blissed out to get them all," King told the students.

"After this year, it's just kind of surreal that he finally just kinda walks in the door without anyone knowing," said student Jed Webster. "It's just beyond me."

'It hasn't completely sunk in that he was here. It's absolutely ridiculous that he actually came to our school. I'm still a little flabbergasted by it.'

—Matt Beyer, student

"I think it's safe to say the whole school itself is still in a bit of shock," agreed student Matt Beyer. "It hasn't completely sunk in that he was here.

"It's absolutely ridiculous that he actually came to our school. I'm still a little flabbergasted by it," he said.

King, the renowned author of books such as The Shining, The Dark Tower series, and the recent JFK book 11/22/63: A Novel, offered a writing workshop for Beyer and 17 other students, giving critiques and advice.

He then addressed 80 students in the school's theatre, discussing his writing career and his stint as a high school teacher.

"I can't remember writing books because it's like dreams. That time just passes. I write from eight in the morning until about noon every day and when that time is going by for me, it just, I'm not in the world, I'm inside whatever the story is," said King, who was wearing a grey T-shirt and jeans.

"This is a little bit like being crazy, only they pay you for it, which is really good," he said, generating laughter.

Themes relevant to teens

"It was a wonderful experience," said teacher Sarah-Jane Smith, who helped spearhead the campaign, called Seeking Stephen King.

"He has such a wide range of genres he writes in — from suspense and horror, he has a comic series he does, Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me, he has that gigantic portfolio of short stories, which are great for reluctant readers, and when you look at Carrie and Christine, he attacks great themes relevant to the high school age, like isolation, looking for belonging, bullying and the perils of revenge," said Smith.

"He was such a humble and gracious man to come here and do that, and to give his time to the students, and to continue to give his time to our students," she said, referring to the fact that King took some of the students' writing home with him.

"He told the students he was honoured they shared their writing with him, and he wanted to know if he could keep it to take home with him, so he could really sit down and review and give suggestions, give feedback."

King also invited students to send him more work in the future, Smith said.

"It definitely did live up to everything I hoped it would be," she said.

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Ellen DeGeneres awarded Mark Twain humour prize

Some of the nation's top comedians hailed Ellen DeGeneres as a trailblazer Monday night as she received the highest U.S. humour prize.

The Kennedy Center is awarding DeGeneres the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The show will be broadcast Oct. 30 on Public Broadcasting Service stations.

"Thanks to everyone at PBS. I am so happy to be part of your farewell season," DeGeneres joked in accepting the prize and taking a jab at Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plans to stop funding public broadcasting.

On the red carpet before the show, DeGeneres said she doesn't see herself as political with her comedy, even though she's been a trailblazer.

"I just want to make people happy and make people laugh," she said.

DeGeneres, 54, began her career as a comedy club emcee in her native New Orleans. After a performance on Johnny Carson's show in 1986, he invited her over to his desk to chat. She was the first female comedian to receive that invitation from Carson.

Turning to acting, DeGeneres landed comedy series on Fox and ABC, eventually starring in Ellen from 1994 to 1998. She broke new ground and a taboo in 1997 when she came out publicly as a lesbian and her TV persona then became the first lead character on prime-time TV to reveal she was gay. A record 46 million viewers watched the episode.

Coming out on TV 15 years ago feels like another life, she said Monday night before the show.

"I did it because it was the right thing for me to do," DeGeneres said. "It was the right thing for me to do to not live with shame. I happened to help a lot of people, and it happened to create a ruckus."

Jimmy Kimmel called it a milestone.

"For a lot of people, Ellen is their only homosexual friend," he said. "She's there in their living room every single day."

On stage, he said DeGeneres was his inspiration.

"Because of Ellen, in 1998, I mustered the strength to come out of the closet — despite the fact that I'm not gay," he joked. "Thanks to Ellen, vests aren't just for magicians anymore."

Trailblazer

Sean Hayes said DeGeneres made his former gay-themed show, Will and Grace, possible. He said her "fearlessness" was her biggest contribution and that she changed America.

"We didn't have a voice, until there was you," he said before breaking into a rendition of the tune Till There was You.

Glee star Jane Lynch said DeGeneres "took one for the team."

"She's the one who went in there with a machete" and cleared the way for other shows with gay characters such as Glee, Lynch said. "Look where she is today."

Kristin Chenoweth said DeGeneres has always remained kind.

"She's not a mean girl comic," she said.

Career success

When DeGeneres first heard she was receiving the same honour that Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell won in recent years, she joked, "Why didn't I get this sooner?"

After DeGeneres came out on TV in 1997, her comedy show began to tank and was cancelled a year later. The feeling of rejection was enough to send DeGeneres into a depression. Still, Ellen paved the way for future shows to feature gay characters, from Will and Grace to Modern Family.

DeGeneres came back with a CBS comedy series, movie roles and even a stint as an American Idol singing competition judge. Forbes magazine has ranked her as the 47th most-powerful woman in the world and estimated her earnings at $53 million US last year.

'She's brilliantly shined a light on society, and that's what Mark Twain did'—Cappy McGarr, producer, Mark Twain Prize gala

Her hit TV talk show that debuted in 2003 is now in its 10th season. Among other achievements, that's where she eventually persuaded U.S. President Barack Obama to dance.

"She's brilliantly shined a light on society, and that's what Mark Twain did," said Cappy McGarr, an executive producer for the Mark Twain Prize show, when the award was announced.

The prize honours comedians in Mark Twain's tradition of satire and social commentary. Other past winners include Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin and Whoopi Goldberg.

John Leguizamo saluted DeGeneres and PBS for planning to air the show.

"How about that? A gay woman on PBS — with public money and the Kennedys," he said. "It's like the tea party's worst nightmare."

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Pussy Riot members sent to far-flung prison colonies

A lawyer for the two jailed Pussy Riot band members says they have been transferred to prison colonies hundreds of kilometres from Moscow to serve their sentence.

Mark Feygin said Monday that Maria Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were transferred during the weekend from Moscow prison, where they were kept since March. Feygin said prison authorities informed him that Alekhina had been sent to the Perm region in the Urals and Tolokonnikova to the central province of Mordovia. He could not confirm the information with his clients.

Alekhina, Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred in August for performing a protest prayer against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral in February, and given two-year sentences.

Samutsevich was released on appeal earlier this month.

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Bollywood romance movie mogul Yash Chopra dies at 80

Bollywood movie mogul Yash Chopra, whose classic love tales made him the Indian film industry's 'King of Romance,' has died after contracting dengue fever. He was 80.

Chopra's earliest major hits included the 1975 action film Deewar (Wall) and the romance Kabhi Kabhie — Love is Life in 1976, both of which helped establish Amitabh Bachchan as Bollywood's biggest star. The popular 1989 film Chandni (Moonlight) had Chopra's signature touches: romance, music and a European setting.

Bollywood celebrities, directors and hundreds of fans gathered at Chopra's house in south Mumbai to pay their condolences before the funeral to be held later Monday.

Bachchan posted a remembrance to his "friend first, a creative legend later" on his blog early Monday and recalled his 44-year association with Chopra.

"...all that shall remain will be that which he gave life to — his creativity, his emotion, his poetry on film and above all his humanity," the entry said.

He also directed Dil To Pagal Hai (The Heart Is Mad), Lamhe (Moments) and Veer-Zaara, which won the popular award at the International Indian Film Academy and the Golden Lotus award at India's National Film Awards. His final film, Jab Tak Hai Jaan (As Long As I Am Alive), is scheduled for release across India next month.

Dengue and other ailments

Chopra died Sunday in Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital. In addition to dengue, he suffered kidney ailments, according to Dr. Prakash Jiyavani.

"He passed away due to dengue and multiple organ failure," the Press Trust of India quoted a hospital spokesman, Sudhir, as saying. The spokesman uses only one name.

Chopra started his film career in the 1950s under the tutelage of his elder brother, late filmmaker B.R. Chopra. He founded his own studio Yash Raj Films and launched it with Daag: A Poem of Love in 1973, which won him one of his four Filmfare Awards for best director.

Chopra's films of the 1980s were shot in what were exotic locales for millions of Indians who had few opportunities to travel abroad. Chopra had the main protagonists of his films traipsing through tulip fields in the Netherlands or singing and dancing near Switzerland's idyllic lakes.

A popular legend among film-goers in India was that Chopra had shot so often in Switzerland that one of the lakes had been renamed Chopra lake.

He is survived by his wife and two sons. Elder son Aditya Chopra is a successful film director, and Uday Chopra runs the international branch of the family's production house.

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