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Bono's one-time Sydney holiday home sells for record $55.4 million

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 07 Mei 2013 | 23.08

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Sydney harborfront mansion has been sold for a record-setting A$54 million ($55.4 million) to a Chinese-born businessman, reinforcing the city's growing status as a hot property destination, newspapers said on Thursday.

On the market for six years, the luxurious eight-bedroom "Altona" in exclusive Point Piper was bought in a secret deal with the businessman who currently lives in Melbourne, the newspapers reported.

The property and its heated waterside pool and boathouse, rented by U2 rock star Bono in 2006 for a family holiday, was last sold in 2002 for A$28 million.

While Australian capital city home prices rose by only 1.3 percent in March, top end Sydney properties have attracted strong interest from Chinese buyers, and almost three in four international sales have gone to Asian buyers in recent years.

The Altona sale beat the previous Sydney property sale record of A$45 million, but fell short of the national record of A$57.5 million paid in 2009 by mining services magnate Chris Ellison for a sprawling riverfront home in Perth.

(Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by Nick Macfie)


23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Why the Rock is the first pro wrestler (or athlete) to become a movie star

By Lucas Shaw

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Ask a group of pro wrestling fans to name their favorite lord of the ring and you might get 10 different answers.

Older fans grew up idolizing Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and "Nature Boy" Ric Flair while newer fans might list Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

Yet ask those same people to pick their favorite wrestler-turned-movie star and the decision gets a whole lot easier.

There's only one choice.

Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, has starred in three movies over the past three months, "Snitch," "G.I Joe: Retaliation" and "Pain & Gain," and each film was the top new release at the box office its opening weekend.

His next movie, "Fast & Furious 6," will have to face down "The Hangover Part III" and "Epic" to keep that streak alive, but no one questions whether it will be a hit. Every film in the franchise has been, and early projections suggest the only question is whether it will hit $500 million, $750 million or $1 billion worldwide.

Johnson is currently in the midst of a streak unheard of not only in the history of former wrestlers but also other athletes who tried to cross over into the film business. Hogan, Cena, Shaq and even O.J. Simpson made a few movies, but none of them became a bona fide movie star. (Note: One sage reader pointed out that we forgot about Olympic swimming gold medalists Johnny Weissmuller and Buster Crabbe, who became "Tarzan" and "Flash Gordon," respectively. How could we forget Weissmuller's yell?)

"Everyone sitting in my chair is trying to work with Dwayne," Jeff Kirschenbaum, co-president of production at Universal, which has released five movies starring Johnson, told TheWrap. "I don't think he's having a moment. This isn't his 15 seconds of fame. He now has enough experience and craftsmanship that it's going to be a long run."

While this isn't the first time Johnson has been atop the box office, this is his first uninterrupted string of hits. His early films ranged from financially successful ("The Scorpion King," "The Game Plan," "The Tooth Fairy") to disappointing ("Doom," "The Rundown").

"I don't know that no one took him seriously because of wrestling, but he's the only person who has ever truly emerged out of that," an individual close to Johnson, who declined to be identified, told TheWrap.

So how did this happen? How did a former football player and member of the inimitable Rock 'n' Sock Connection became one of the most successful actors working today?

It starts with protein.

"He wakes up at 4 a.m. just so he can eat protein," Kirschenbaum, skinny as the Rock is broad, said. "He goes back to bed for an hour and at 5 a.m. he works out - when most people aren't even awake. He woke up an hour early just so the protein is already there to build muscle."

Johnson's morning routine has become a Hollywood legend, alongside Sean Penn's partying and Amanda Bynes' drunk driving.

Ask anyone who's worked with Johnson why he has succeeded where others have failed and they jump to tell a story about those pre-dawn workouts. It's what Ric Roman Waugh, who directed Johnson in "Snitch," dubbed the actor's "sweat equity."

"A lot of people can say 'we worked hard and can stay up late'," Waugh said. "But if they could only understand the amount of stuff he's putting into one day, it's astounding. The sky could be falling in his world, but in that moment you need him to focus, he's 100 percent with you."

That workload has only increased over the past two years. Since resurrecting his wrestling career in 2012, Johnson has expanded his film and TV work. Not only is he starring in several movies this year, but he just produced his first film, "Snitch," and is about to host a competition show on TNT, "The Hero."

When he first decided to try his hand at acting, Johnson retired from the WWE at the height of his popularity. Yet his specific wrestling personality explains why Johnson found his way in Hollywood where the likes of Hogan and Cena did not.

Like most any other wrestler, he can use his hands or a two-by-four to destroy someone. He demonstrated as much in early films like "The Scorpion King," where he played a mercenary, and "Walking Tall," where he played a veteran eager to rid his town of corruption.

Kirschenbaum described those early performances as "raw," and those early characters as two-dimensional. That is where the career path of most former pro wrestlers both started and stopped.

"Most wrestlers have been straight-forward characters or amped up versions of the real individual," Adi Shankar, producer of "The Grey" and an avid wrestling fan, told TheWrap. "Hulk Hogan acted in a bunch of B-movies playing Hulk Hogan."

Instead, Johnson and his representatives experimented from the get-go, taking roles most wrestlers would not want to touch.

He played the straight man next to Sean William Scott in "The Rundown," which also called for him to get dry humped by a gaggle of baboons.

He then played a gay bodyguard in "Be Cool," and later entered the family area with "Tooth Fairy" and "Journey 2." All of his hits in 2013 feature action scenes, but "Snitch" is an adult drama and "Pain & Gain" is as quirky as a Michael Bay movie comes.

"Most action stars out there would never ever break their brand," Waugh, a former stunt man, said. "They would read a script and see a scene where they get beat down and say the guy has to punch me at least 10 times and hit me with a bat 14 times. Dwayne is completely fearless."

Unlike most of his peers, Johnson's popularity in wrestling was never predicated on physical prowess or intimidation.

"Stone Cold would get over because he'd beat everyone up. Shawn Michaels was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Mick Foley would just do crazy stuff," Shankar said. "The Rock got over because he was funny. You take humor out of the Rock and you don't have anything."

Shankar can remember when he first fell in love with The Rock. The Undertaker, one of the largest, most intimidating wrestlers in the WWE, had just battered and bruised the former football player. At the next event, The Rock came out and challenged him.

"He said 'Undertaker, you think you impress The Rock with your Mickey Mouse tattoos?' He acted like the Undertaker's goal in life was to come out and impress The Rock," Shankar recalled. "He wasn't a heavyweight champion at this point - just a guy coming up. The Undertaker had been around for a decade."

He was a showman first and a wrestler second.

"No matter how bad the show was, The Rock could cut a promo and save it," Shankhar said. "He could get on the mic and speak for three minutes and save a bad show."

Some claim the same now applies to poorly received films, with some dubbing Johnson franchise Viagra. Did your last sequel fail? Hire Johnson.

Some, like Waugh, love this term. Yet many chafe against the idea that Johnson saved their movies, believing it disrespectful to the previous success of the franchises he joined.

Whether Viagra or a supporting hand, there is one thing all directors and studio executives can agree on.

"My biggest concern on my next movie is that he's not in it,"Waugh said.


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Longest-serving soap actor charged in UK with rape

LONDON (Reuters) - William Roache, the world's longest serving soap actor according to Guinness World Records, was charged on Wednesday with two counts of rape against an underage girl, British prosecutors said.

Roache, 81, who plays Ken Barlow in the popular soap opera "Coronation Street", is the latest high-profile figure to be accused of sex crimes in Britain since the death of BBC television presenter Jimmy Savile in 2011.

Savile was one of the BBC's biggest stars in the 1970s and 1980s, but after his death police discovered he had allegedly committed sex crimes on an unprecedented scale, triggering an investigation that has netted several other celebrities.

"We have concluded that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Mr Roache to be charged with two offences of rape relating to a girl, aged 15, in 1967," said prosecutor Nazir Afzal in a statement.

Roache is expected to appear at Preston Magistrates' Court, in northern England, on May 14. Neither he nor his representatives have made any comment since his arrest earlier on Wednesday.

Roache's arrest was not directly related to Savile investigations.

Other high-profile figures arrested in connection with sexual crimes since the Savile probe began include celebrity publicist Max Clifford, glam-rock singer Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr, all of whom deny any wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas; Editing by Michael Roddy)


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Laura Bush, top country singers headline George Jones memorial

(Reuters) - Country music legend George Jones will be remembered in a public memorial service featuring former First Lady Laura Bush and a list of speakers and musical performers including Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson on Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jones, whose honky-tonk career spanned more than six decades, died in Nashville last week at the age of 81.

The memorial service will be open to the public, the singer's publicist announced.

Jones, known for such hits as "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and "Window Up Above," will get a royal tribute from some of country music's biggest musicians, including singers Charlie Daniels, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt and Wynonna Judd.

Speakers at the service will also include singer Kenny Chesney, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and TV news anchor Bob Schieffer.

The funeral will be broadcast on local and national television in the United States and on satellite radio.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Gary Hill)


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Beyonce, J.Lo to headline London charity concert for women

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez and Florence & The Machine are teaming up for a four-hour charity concert in London next month to benefit women's health and education projects around the world.

The "Sound of Change Live" concert on June 1 in London's Twickenham sports stadium could fund at least 120 projects supporting girls and women in more than 70 nations, if all the tickets are sold, organizers said on Wednesday.

Organized by the Chime for Change campaign, founded by Italy fashion house Gucci, every ticket buyer will be able to choose which project their ticket will fund in what organizers said was a world first for such a venture.

Beyonce, currently on a European tour, will play a 45-minute set. She will be joined in the venture by singer and dancer Lopez, R&B artist John Legend, British indie sensation Ellie Goulding and rapper Timbaland, with more performers still to be announced.

U.S. actors James Franco, Blake Lively and Jada Pinkett Smith will be among the presenters.

"Our goal is to have a great time together while we unite and strengthen the voices of girls and women around the world," Beyonce said in a statement.

Rock promoter Harvey Goldsmith, who helped put on the Live Aid and Live Earth charity concerts, will produce the concert which will also be broadcast internationally.

Ticket prices range from 55-95 British pounds each ($85-$150) and 52,000 tickets are on sale.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)


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Monty Python star Michael Palin to receive top British TV award

LONDON (Reuters) - Film and television star Michael Palin, who made his name as a founder of comedy group Monty Python, is to receive one of the British entertainment industry's highest accolades.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) said on Friday that Palin, who turns 70 this month, would be presented with an Academy Fellowship at the organization's annual TV awards ceremony on May 12.

BAFTA Chairman John Willis said the award recognized the contribution Palin had made to the industry over five decades.

"(His) amiable onscreen manner belies the seriousness of his craft," Willis said in a statement.

Palin started out writing television series and wrote and starred in some of Monty Python's best-known sketches including "Dead Parrot" and "The Lumberjack Song".

He won a BAFTA best supporting actor award for the 1988 comedy film "A Fish Called Wanda".

But from the late 1980s he turned his attention to travel documentaries, appearing in "Around the World in 80 Days", "Pole to Pole", and, most recently, "Brazil with Michael Palin".

Palin said it was a "very high honor" for anyone working in television to be awarded a BAFTA Fellowship.

"I'm well aware that any success I've had is down to team work. I've been blessed throughout my career with the inspiration and support of others," he said.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith; Editing by Louise Ireland)


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Witherspoon pleads no contest, video of drunken arrest posted on Internet

(Reuters) - Academy award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon has pleaded no contest to a charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $100 fine after she was arrested with her husband following an evening out in Atlanta last month.

The deputy solicitor of the Municipal Court of Atlanta, Ronda Graham, said in a statement on Thursday that "the pending criminal matters against Ms. Reese Witherspoon and Mr. Jim Toth have been resolved."

Toth, 42, entered a guilty plea to drunk driving and received a $600 fine. He must also complete 40 hours of community service.

In a video of the arrest posted on the celebrity website TMZ, Witherspoon is shown accusing the state trooper who arrested her of harassment.

"Do you know my name?" she asks. "You're about to find out who I am."

The video was viewed more than 120,000 times on YouTube by Friday afternoon, and was picked up by other media outlets.

Witherspoon, who won a best actress Oscar for her portrayal of the country singer June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," apologized for her actions in an interview on the "Good Morning America" television show on Thursday.

She said she panicked after Toth was arrested and had told the officer "crazy things" after having too many glasses of wine in an restaurant in Atlanta, where she is filming a movie.

"I have no idea what I was talking about. And I am so sorry. I was so disrespectful to him," the mother-of-three said.

They were stopped after Toth crossed a double line on the road and then failed a blood-alcohol test.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; and Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)


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Mirren, dressed as queen, reads royal riot act to noisy drummers

LONDON (Reuters) - Actress Helen Mirren has delivered another show-stopping performance as Britain's Queen Elizabeth after storming out of a London theatre dressed as the monarch to deliver an expletive-riddled tirade at a group of drummers ruining the play.

Infuriated by loud drumming outside the Gielgud Theatre, where Mirren is portraying the queen in the play "The Audience", she burst out in full costume during the interval on Saturday night to tell them to shut up, with a few swear words thrown in for good measure.

"I'm afraid there were a few 'thespian' words used. They got a very stern royal ticking off but I have to say they were very sweet and they stopped immediately," Mirren told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Mirren, 67, who last month added the best actress gong at Britain's top theatre honors to the Academy Award she won for the 2006 film "The Queen", said the drumming had got so loud it was disturbing cast and theatre-goers alike.

Audience members said they had tried unsuccessfully to silence the drummers, but the sight of one of Britain's most prestigious actors dressed as the monarch did the trick.

Footage captured on mobile phone and aired on Sky News showed an angry Mirren, attired in tiara and pearls, accosting the drummers, waving her arms and gesticulating angrily before the music was brought to a sudden stop.

"I literally walked straight off stage, straight up the stairs and straight out the stage door and banged my way through the crowd who were watching and said 'stop, you've got to stop right now' only I might have used stronger language than that," she told the newspaper.

"They were very sweet and stopped the minute they knew I wasn't just a batty old woman haranguing them on the streets of Soho on a Saturday night.

"I felt rotten, but on the other hand they were destroying our performance so something had to be done."

Liam Emerson, the musical director of the Batala London drummers who had been hired to advertise a gay festival later in May, said they had not intended to disturb anyone.

"Her language was very blue, which looking back on it is probably quite funny really," he told Sky News. "But once I realized it was Helen Mirren and we were right next to a theatre we kind of stopped and politely apologized."

(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Mike Collett-White)


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Justin Timberlake announces world tour, new album

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Justin Timberlake will embark on an international tour in October - his first in six years - and will release 10 new songs at the end of September, concert promoter Live Nation said on Monday.

"The 20/20 Experience," the singer's first album in seven years, was released in March and topped the U.S. album charts for three consecutive weeks.

He is now planning to release 10 news songs, and out-takes from the March release, in a second installment of "The 20/20 Experience" on September 30, record label RCA said.

The North American leg of Timberlake's tour will begin on October 31 in Montreal and finish on February 10, 2014, in Omaha, Nebraska. It will follow an abbreviated summer stadium tour with rapper Jay-Z.

The "Suit & Tie" singer will perform mostly in mid-sized cities, such as St. Louis, Indianapolis and Edmonton, that his "Legends of the Summer" tour with Jay-Z did not cover.

Live Nation has yet to announce the European, Australian and South American tour dates.

The release of "The 20/20 Experience" was the first new music from Timberlake, 32, since 2006 after the former N'Sync boy spent several years focusing on his movie career, launching his own record label, and marrying actress Jessica Biel.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and sandra Maler)


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Hip hop star Lauryn Hill gets three months for tax evasion

By David Jones

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A U.S. magistrate judge sentenced Grammy-winning hip hop artist Lauryn Hill to three months in prison, three months in home confinement and a $60,000 fine on Monday for federal tax evasion.

Hill pleaded guilty last year to three counts of failing to file tax returns on more than $1.8 million of income between 2005 and 2007 and faced up to three years in prison.

Hill has attributed her failure to pay taxes to years of pressure she experienced as a recording star while raising six children, forcing her to go underground and stay out of the public eye.

On the eve of her scheduled sentencing, Hill paid $504,000 in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and another $420,000 to the state of New Jersey, her attorney told the court. She still owes another $285,000 in interest and penalties.

"When the government is asking for 36 months and the judge gives three months, I think the judge gave a fair and reasonable sentence," Hill's attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters.

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 30 months to the maximum of 36 months.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo cited Hill's lack of a criminal record, her six children and her repayment of the back taxes as mitigating factors in the sentence.

Hill must report on or before July 8. Her attorney asked the court to assign the native of South Orange, New Jersey, to a facility close to home. The three months of home confinement following the prison stay is part of one year of supervised probation.

Hill told the court she pulled away from society because her life was in crisis, received veiled threats and was blacklisted because she did not conform to the norms of the music industry.

"I was being perceived as a cash cow, not a person," Hill said.

A new single by Hill, her first in several years, called "Neurotic Society," was posted on iTunes on Friday.

"Here is a link to a piece that I was 'required' to release immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline," her Tumblr social media page said on Saturday.

Her lawyers confirmed that she signed a new contract with Sony Worldwide Entertainment and was working on her first album of new material in more than a decade.

Hill's seminal 1998 solo album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" won the singer, a former member of the Fugees rap trio, five Grammy awards.

(Editing by Daniel Trotta, Andrew Hay and Philip Barbara)


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