Apr 02
LOS ANGELES — Two eliminated “American Idol” singers say girl power worked against them because the show’s young female viewers favor male contestants.
During a teleconference Friday, 26-year-old Naima Adedapo (nay-EE’-mah ad-eh-DAH’-poh) of Milwaukee said teenage girls are a sizable part of the “Idol” audience and, as she put it, “Once they get a crush, we’re done.”
Thia Megia (THEE’-uh meh-GEE’-uh) of Mountain House, Calif., a teenager herself, said the male singers are “incredible” but also can count on the girl vote. Megia added that she wished she’d done upbeat songs besides the ballads that the show’s judges deemed overly safe.
“American Idol” usually cuts one low-ranking singer a week. Read full article…
Mar 25
PHILADELPHIA — Award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns is bringing his new film “Prohibition” to the National Constitution Center in the hopes of promoting more civil national discourse.
Burns, who has won acclaim for documentaries including “The Civil War” and “Baseball,” said at a news conference Friday that highlights from his new 5 1/2-hour, three-part series, premiering this fall on PBS, will kick off a forum called “Civility and Democracy in America.”
The forum at the Constitution Center, a museum dedicated to explaining the U.S. Constitution, will include a series of group discussions over the weekend and a large town hall-style exchange that will be taped for a future broadcast.
The Jan. Read full article…
Mar 20
NEW YORK — Sometimes it’s a fast-moving ooze: A street becomes a stream, grows into a river and then a raging mountain of moving debris. Sometimes, it’s a wet curtain of water crashing over a shoreline, tossing trees, ships and cars casually aside as a child would a stack of Legos.
Until a week ago, a tsunami was one of the most mysterious of natural events, its devastating power usually evident only in the aftermath. Yet from the first moments the earth started to shudder on March 11, Japan’s tsunami was one of the most recorded disasters ever to be captured on film, lending a visual power to story-telling unmatched since the Sept. Read full article…
Feb 28
This may be hard to believe, but Charlie Sheen’s media tour the last few days has made people view him less favorably.
Impossible, you say? Well, a new study conducted by HCD, a marketing and consumer research company, suggests that Sheen’s efforts to tell his side of the story in his battle with his employers over CBS’ hit sitcom “Two and a Half Men” may be working against him.
After viewing video of Sheen’s appearances this week on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 85% of the 748 Americans polled by HCD said they did not think Sheen could remain drug-free.
Read full article…
Feb 28
NEW YORK — Scream!
The cast of “Glee” could be planning a Michael or Janet Jackson tribute – that’s if “Glee” star Amber Riley can get her way.
“I think it would be prolific for us to do Janet Jackson,” said Riley, who stars as divalike glee club member Mercedes Jones.
Riley also said a tribute to the King of Pop is overdue.
“We did a mini tribute to Michael Jackson, but we really want to do a full tribute to Michael Jackson because his music is so timeless, so we really want to touch (on) that,” she said.
The cast’s sixth CD, “Glee: The Music, Vol. 5,” will be out on Tuesday. It will feature covers of Michael’s “Thriller” and “P.Y.T. Read full article…
