April 22, 2011
‘Glory,’ ‘Tombstone’ screenwriter Kevin Jarre dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kevin Jarre, who wrote the screenplays for the movies “Glory” and “Tombstone,” has died. He was 56.
His aunt, Patty Briley Bean, tells the Los Angeles Times that Jarre died unexpectedly of heart failure on April 3 at his Santa Monica home.
Jarre was a history buff who was entranced by the Civil War since childhood, when he’d received toy soldiers for Christmas. His research on a black regiment led him to write the 1989 movie “Glory,” which won three Academy Awards, including one for actor Denzel Washington.
His 1993 “Tombstone,” about the shootout at the OK Corral, got mixed reviews but was a hit.
Jarre also co-wrote “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” “The Devil’s Own” and “The Mummy.”
He was the adopted son of Oscar-winning composer Maurice Jarre.
Best of Bollywood Movie to Screen at Cannes
PARIS (AP) – Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur’s montage condensing the best moments in the history of Bollywood into 81 fast-moving minutes will be screening at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Festival organizers say “Bollywood, the Greatest Love Story Ever Told,” which Kapur produced, will be shown out of competition.
Kapoor shot to international fame as the director of the “Elizabeth” movies, starring Cate Blanchett as the British monarch.
The idea for “Bollywood” grew out of a conversation he had while serving on the jury of the 2010 Cannes festival, organizers said Friday.
The 64th edition of the prestigious Riviera movie extravaganza runs from May 11-22.
Bilson and Lagerfeld Team up for Ice Cream ads
By Alicia Rancilio
NEW YORK (AP) – Almost anyone interested in fashion would do anything to work with designer Karl Lagerfeld, even if it’s for an ice cream commercial.
Rachel Bilson jumped at the chance to star in a three-part short film series directed by the legendary Chanel designer for Magnum ice cream, which is launching in the United States.
“I was like, I’m working with Karl Lagerfeld. I could be doing something, like, really ridiculous and in, like, a big clown suit. It wouldn’t matter,” she said.
Bilson, 29, best known for her role on “The OC,” has also gained recognition for her sense of style and writes a column about fashion for In Style magazine. For Thursday night’s premiere for the ads at the Tribeca Film Festival, she wore a Chanel dress and carried a Chanel clutch.
“I was very young when I knew that I was into fashion,” Bilson said. She said she insisted on picking her own outfits at the age of 2.
“It was a young marriage between me and clothing,” she joked.
For the ads, Bilson was the right actress, Lagerfeld said.
“Rachel is great, you know,” he said. “She’s a very good actress. She can play with her face without even saying one word. It was an easy job. The company told her what they wanted and the spirit and she adapted.”
Bilson recently shot a TV pilot, “Hart of Dixie,” for the CW network. The show’s executive producer is Josh Schwartz, who created “The OC.” The CW hasn’t announced yet whether the show will be picked up for the 2011 fall TV season.
Shooting the pilot was “so much fun,” Bilson said.
The show is “really funny and quirky, but it has a lot of heart,” she said.
Writer Dana Schimmel contributed to this report.
Madelyn Pugh Davis, ‘Lucy’ writer, dead at 90
Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Madelyn Pugh Davis, a screenwriter who co-created the lines and slapstick that Lucille Ball brought to life in TV’s classic comedy “I Love Lucy,” has died. She was 90.
Davis died Wednesday at her home in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles after a brief illness, her son, Michael Quinn Martin, said Thursday.
Davis and her longtime writing partner, Bob Carroll Jr., crafted all episodes for the hit CBS TV sitcom’s first four years before they were joined by two other writers, said Lucie Arnaz, Ball’s daughter.
Whenever her mother was complimented on her success, Arnaz recalled, “the first words out of her mouth were, ‘I have these wonderful writers,’ or, ‘I can’t do it without my writers.’ Most of the time she was referring to Davis and Carroll.”
In turn, Davis’ son said, his mother would pay tribute to Ball’s ability to turn physical gags described in a script into something “much more amazing.”
Martin and his mom often watched reruns together of the classic sitcom that still airs worldwide.
“She was always kind of flabbergasted that people were still interested in it after all these years,” he said. His mother always got a laugh out of the show, sometimes noting she’d “cranked out” so many episodes that she couldn’t entirely recall them.
Davis and Carroll had worked on Ball’s radio comedy, “My Favorite Husband.” When the show moved to TV in 1953 as “I Love Lucy,” Ball took Davis and Carroll with her and added real-life husband Desi Arnaz to the cast.
The writing duo remained with the show during its 1951-57 run and then wrote for “The Lucy Show,” ”Here’s Lucy” and “Life With Lucy.” Carroll died in 2007 at age 87.
Ball, who died at 77 in 1989, is the subject of a one-woman show, “An Evening with Lucille Ball,” starring Suzanne La Rusch and directed by Lucie Arnaz.
Arnaz recalled Davis as “such a girlie girl, a lady,” someone who understood how to write for a woman.
Her nature, along with “her professionalism, wit and inventiveness,” made her an essential part of the success of “I Love Lucy,” said Tom Gilbert, co-author of “Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz,” slated for re-release in a new version in August.
“She softened the edges of the Lucy Ricardo character and made her more likable. I feel certain she was the force behind the marvelous interplay between the Lucy and Ethel characters as well,” Gilbert said, referring to co-star Vivian Vance’s Ethel Mertz.
The entertainment industry can be tough for women to crack but Davis, an Indiana native, got an unexpected assist, said her son: When she arrived in Los Angeles around 1944, male writers were scarce because so many were serving in World War II.
“On the flip side, if writers would come in to pitch a story they would always look at Bob, the man of the team, and that was a bit frustrating,” Martin said. After working with the pair, however, “they realized they were equals.”
Besides her son, Davis is survived by stepchildren, grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Services will be private.
Chinese Director Feng tackles 1942 drought
HONG KONG (AP) – China’s most successful commercial director says his new film will be a drama set against a 1942 drought that killed three million Chinese.
Feng Xiaogang announced in a live webcast on Chinese portal Sina.com on Thursday that he will adapt Liu Zhenyun’s 1993 novel called “Remembering 1942.” Liu’s work examines the suffering in China’s Henan province when the then-ruling Nationalist Party was preoccupied with a Japanese invasion.
Wang Zhonglei says his Chinese studio Huayi Brothers is investing 150 million Chinese yuan ($23 million) in the production. Director Feng says he is designing the set and eyeing a summer 2012 release.
Feng released another disaster drama last year. The earthquake epic “Aftershock” brought in 673 million yuan ($103 million).
Actor James Franco seeks Ph.D. in Houston
HOUSTON (AP) – James Franco has won a spot in a University of Houston creative writing program.
The university confirms that the actor nominated for the 2010 Academy Award for best actor in “127 Hours” has been accepted for the school’s doctoral program in literature and creative writing. Creative writing program director James Kastely tells the Houston Chronicle that Franco plans to enroll in September 2012.
Franco publicist Robin Baum did not respond to telephone and email messages left by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Kastely says 20 students are chosen from about 400 applicants each year.
The 33-year-old actor co-hosted the 83rd Academy Awards with actress Anne Hathaway in February. He also has been studying in a doctoral program in English at Yale University.
High court asked to reinstate FCC indecency policy
By Mark Sherman
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration asked the Supreme Court Thursday to reinstate a policy that allows federal regulators to fine broadcasters for showing nudity and airing curse words when young children may be watching television.
The administration is seeking the high court’s review of appeals court rulings that threw out the Federal Communications Commission’s rules against the isolated use of expletives as well as fines against broadcasters who showed a woman’s nude buttocks on a 2003 episode of ABC’s “NYPD Blue.”
Last year, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York threw out the FCC policy, saying it was unconstitutionally vague and left broadcasters uncertain of what programming the agency will find offensive. The challenge to the FCC rules arose over celebrities’ use of the F-word and S-word on live awards show programs.
In January, the same court said its ruling on the FCC policy compelled it to nullify a penalty of more than $1.2 million against ABC and 45 affiliates over less than seven seconds of airtime from “NYPD Blue.”
Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, the administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer, said the justices should hear the case because the appeals court has stripped the FCC of its ability to police the airwaves.
“The court of appeals’ decisions preclude the commission from effectively implementing statutory restrictions on broadcast indecency that the agency has enforced since its creation in 1934,” Katyal wrote. Katyal included a DVD of the “NYPD Blue” episode with the filing for the court’s convenience.
The “NYPD Blue” episode led to fines only for stations in the Central and Mountain time zones, where the show aired at 9 p.m., a more child-friendly hour than the show’s 10 p.m. time slot in the East.
In the “NYPD Blue” episode, actress Charlotte Ross played a police detective who had recently moved in with another detective. In the scene at issue, Ross disrobes as she prepares to shower. After her buttocks and the side of one of her breasts are briefly shown, the camera pans down and reveals her nude buttocks while she faces the shower.
Then the other detective’s young son enters the bathroom and sees the naked woman. Embarrassment ensues as the child retreats from the room.
The appeals court said ABC said the scene was intended to portray the awkwardness between a child and his parent’s new romantic partner, and the difficulty of adjusting to the situation.
The part of the case involving the awards shows has been to the high court before.
Three years ago, the justices narrowly upheld the policy, but in a ruling that pointedly avoided dealing with First Amendment issues. Instead, the court directed the appeals court to undertake a constitutional review.
For many years, the FCC did not take action against broadcasters for one-time uses of curse words. The policy flowed from a 1978 Supreme Court decision that upheld the FCC’s reprimand of a New York radio station for airing a George Carlin monologue containing a 12-minute string of expletives in the middle of the afternoon.
But, following several awards shows with cursing celebrities in 2002 and 2003, the FCC toughened its long-standing policy after it concluded that a one-free-expletive rule did not make sense in the context of keeping the air waves free of indecency when children are likely to be watching television.
The FCC said that some words are deemed to be so offensive that they always evoke sexual or excretory images. The policy essentially excluded news programming and some other broadcasts, including ABC’s airing of “Saving Private Ryan” in 2004.
HBO considers Pulitzer-winning ‘Goon Squad’ for TV
NEW YORK (AP) – HBO is interested in turning the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “A Visit from the Goon Squad” into a television series.
The network said on Thursday that it had a development deal with the book’s author, Jennifer Egan. Such deals are first steps in making TV series, but not every project in development makes it on to TV.
Egan’s novel about the passage of time won the Pulitzer for best fiction Monday. It talks about how technology has changed the way people live and communicate. Its main characters are a punk rocker who grows up to become an influential record producer and his assistant.
HBO spokeswoman Tobe (TOH’-bee) Becker says there are no timetables for when such a series might be ready for air.
Opening notes for Tribeca, courtesy of Elton John
By Jake Coyle, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – In a waterfront celebration a stone’s throw from where the World Trade Center towers stood, the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival opened with music and a movie Wednesday.
Tribeca has made flashy, populist festivities a central component over the years, so Elton John was a good fit. First, Cameron Crowe’s documentary on the collaboration between John and Leon Russell, “The Union,” screened. It was followed by a short performance by John.
“I’m honored. I’m frightened,” said John, introducing the film he had yet to see himself.
The event was held outdoors and for free at the World Financial Plaza downtown, where the hole in the skyline is still deeply felt and the rebuilding construction is prominent. The locale was fitting, since it was the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that initially drove Robert De Niro, producer Jane Rosenthal and her husband, the entrepreneur Craig Hatkoff, to found the festival with the aim of revitalizing its namesake neighborhood and downtown Manhattan.
“The Tribeca Film Festival started nine years ago with a flash of inspiration and a surge of passion,” said Rosenthal. “I could have never have imagined that we would find ourselves here today nearly a decade later.”
The festival trotted out other attractions too, including a performance of “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles with the PS22 elementary school choir, remarks from comedian Denis Leary and an introduction from Martin Scorsese.
“For me, movies and music have been inseparable. They always have been and they always will be,” said Scorsese. “And I know that the same holds true for Cameron Crowe.”
“The Union” documents the studio sessions between John and his idol, Russell, a famed singer, songwriter and piano player who was a ubiquitous session player early in his career and has been a sometimes-forgotten legend from the earlier days of rock ‘n’ roll.
Crowe, whose films include “Almost Famous” and “Say Anything,” captures the two musicians working with producer T Bone Burnett and John’s longtime lyricist, Bernie Taupin, as well as numerous guest musicians. Though Russell is apprehensive at the start of the collaboration – which would result in the album “The Union” – the 69-year-old is gradually stirred (subtly since he hides behind a cloud of white hair and beard) and enlivened by the work.
Russell, who underwent serious brain surgery during the film, wasn’t in attendance Wednesday but instead sent a video to thank Tribeca. Crowe, on location for another film, also sent a video message.
Opening with “The Union” sets the table for a Tribeca littered with music-related films. Among those in the lineup are documentaries on Kings of Leon (“Talihina Sky”), Ozzy Osbourne (“God Bless Ozzy Osbourne”), the Swell Season (“The Swell Season”) and Carol Channing (“Carol Channing: Larger Than Life”).
As the cool air floated off the Hudson River on Wednesday night, the conditions weren’t ideal for music playing. Between “Tiny Dancer” and “Rocket Man,” John confessed his hands were “ice.”
The coming music documentaries – and many other films – should be cozier in movie theaters throughout the festival’s run, through May 1.
TV On the Radio’s Gerard Smith dies of lung cancer
By Nekesa Mumbi Moody, Music Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – TV on the Radio bassist Gerard Smith died Wednesday of lung cancer, the band said in an announcement on its website. He was 36.
Smith’s death comes a little over a month after it was announced that he was battling the disease.
At the time, the band said Smith had health insurance, great medical care and had already seen “dramatic results.” However, Smith was unable to join the band on tour as they promoted their last album, “Nine Types of Light.”
In a recent interview, the rest of his bandmates declined to talk about his illness out of respect for Smith.
“We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer,” the band said on the website. “We will miss him terribly.”
The band canceled its concerts for the next few days, starting Wednesday in Detroit.
Smith had described himself as a subway performer in New York when he was recruited for the band, who have been hailed by critics for masterful albums like “Return to Cookie Mountain” and “Dear Science.”
Smith recalled in a 2008 interview with The Brooklyn Rail, a journal on the arts, politics and culture, how lead singer Tunde Adebimpe discovered him and added him to the band.
“I saw Tunde in the movie ‘Jump Tomorrow’ on IFC. And I was super addicted to film at that time. A year later, I was playing on the subway platform here, at the Bedford stop, and he kept giving me money. And then I was like, I recognize this guy. Then it finally clicked, and I said, ‘Dude you were in that movie! I loved that movie!’ That film had meant a lot to me, especially because there was a black actor that wasn’t in the ghetto, and there weren’t a lot of politics,” he said. “He was being a human being and not only a black actor. And that meant a lot to me.”
In that same interview, Adebimpe told Smith: “What you were playing was just so far and above what was normally down there that I can’t even describe it. I was just like, that dude’s awesome.”
Smith grew up in Long Island, N.Y., and studied fine arts in high school but would later abandon it.
“I had a difficult time, to say the least, toward the end of my fine arts career,” he told L.A. Record in 2008. “I started to look around and see that I was one of the few – if not only – black fine arts students and I saw that again in the art world itself.”
Smith didn’t expect that his stint in TV on the Radio would have lasting meaning
“I just never took it seriously … I never imagined that this would be a position that I would be in,” he said in the same interview.
Smith told the blog the Pistola Press in 2009, after the band went on hiatus, he was planning to use his time off to spend time with his son and get better at his craft, but also to embrace life.
“Yeah, trying to get back what little bit of life I can and appreciate that …” he said.
He and Adebimpe also scored the music for the 2010 documentary “The Lottery.”
Extradition hearing for TV show producer delayed
LOS ANGELES (AP) – A federal judge has delayed an extradition hearing for a reality TV show producer charged in his wife’s death in Mexico to allow his defense team more time to prepare.
An order signed Tuesday approved a request by attorneys for Bruce Beresford-Redman to delay the hearing from May 16 until June 27.
Mexican authorities want Beresford-Redman extradited so he can stand trial on an aggravated homicide charge filed after his wife, Monica, was killed at an upscale resort in Cancun last year.
Authorities allege that he killed his wife and placed her body in a sewer during a family vacation.
Beresford-Redman worked on “Survivor” and is a co-creator of the show “Pimp My Ride.”
His attorney asked for the delay because of filing requirements in other cases.
3-D erotic comedy shakes up Hong Kong box office
By Min Lee, Entertainment Writer
HONG KONG (AP) – A pioneering 3-D erotic comedy has taken the Hong Kong box office by storm, beating the first-day record set by “Avatar” and drawing viewers from mainland China as it eyes a global rollout.
The $3.5 million Cantonese-language production “3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy” had earned 17 million Hong Kong dollars ($2.2 million) as of Tuesday since opening last week on 73 screens, according to figures provided by producer Stephen Shiu. That’s nearly seven times the total take so far for Hollywood thriller “Scream 4,” which has earned HK$2.5 million ($320,000).
“Sex and Zen” – a remake of a 1991 Hong Kong movie by the same name – features full nudity and camouflaged lovemaking scenes but does not show actual sexual intercourse, as is common in pornographic films. The movie, which stars Japanese porn stars Hara Saori and Suo Yukiko and Hong Kong actress Vonnie Liu, tells the story of a sexually frustrated scholar in ancient China who loses himself in the harem of a duke he befriends.
The film brought in HK$2.78 million ($360,000) on its opening day last Thursday, eclipsing the previous first-day record set by James Cameron’s 2009 3-D sci-fi epic “Avatar,” which earned HK$2.63 million ($340,000) on its first day.
In Taiwan, where the movie opened Friday on 77 screens, it earned 17 million New Taiwan Dollars ($590,000) through Sunday. That figure is still inferior to Hollywood competition but marks the best opening weekend for a Chinese-language movie in Taiwan this year, Shiu said Wednesday.
Shiu, whose father Stephen Shiu Sr. served as executive producer on the original “Sex and Zen,” said he believes he has capitalized on a huge desire for 3-D erotic movies.
“We met people’s expectations. People have always thought that you need 3-D technology for this kind of content. So people were very curious,” he said.
“Sex and Zen” bills itself as the world’s first 3-D erotic film, although Shiu acknowledges that a South Korean production – last year’s “Natali” – hit the market before his release did. However, Shiu’s movie is still a pioneering attempt at using new 3-D technology in theatrical releases of erotic films, given that the market in the West is now largely dominated by DVD releases.
The movie’s Hong Kong performance has also been boosted by an influx of mainland Chinese viewers, whom Shiu estimates accounted for up to half of the business at some theaters. Although former British colony Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it still maintains a separate political system – and film regulatory regime. While Hong Kong has a film ratings system, mainland China doesn’t, which effectively rules out erotic content.
“Sex and Zen” received a restricted rating in Hong Kong, allowing only audiences aged 18 and older to see the film.
It’s not the first time mainland viewers have traveled to Hong Kong to evade censorship by Chinese authorities. Many mainlanders crossed over to watch the uncut version of Oscar-winning Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s sexually explicit 2007 spy thriller “Lust, Caution.”
Hong Kong theater operators have also sought to cash in on the novelty factor by staging women-only screenings.
“Sex and Zen” has also been released in about a dozen theaters in Chinese communities in the Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, but Shiu didn’t have box office results. The movie is scheduled to be released in South Korea on May 12, and in France, Italy and India in June. Shiu is also targeting a May release for Singapore, although the filmmakers are still working with local censors on the final cut.
‘Happy Days’ cast sue over merchandise sales
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Members of the “Happy Days” cast sued CBS Corp. on Tuesday, alleging they’re not getting a cut of the money made in sales of DVDs, lunch boxes, board games and other merchandises related to the television show.
The plaintiffs named in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court include Anson Williams, Marion Ross, Don Most, Erin Moran and Patricia Bosley, wife of the late Tom Bosley, who died last year. Two prominent members of the 1974 to 1984 sitcom, Henry Winkler and Ron Howard, are not party to the lawsuit.
The suit alleged that CBS cheated the plaintiffs of out of more than $10 million in revenue from the sale of products featuring their images, including gambling machines, T-shirts, board games, greeting cards and drinking glasses.
The actors claimed their contracts with the show’s producer, Paramount Television, which has been folded into CBS, guaranteed 5 percent of 100 percent of net proceeds from merchandises that use their name, voice or likeness. However, they said CBS has not shown them revenue reports and even told Moran that no money was owed to her.
“Despite this ongoing obligation, defendants adopted a ‘don’t ask, don’t pay’ policy,” the suit said. “If you don’t ask, then we don’t pay.”
CBS said it intends to honor its obligation.
“We agree that funds are owed to the actors and have been working with them for quite some time to resolve the issue,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.
Black Eyed Peas to start music academy in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) – The Black Eyed Peas are opening a school where local teenagers will learn video and music production using professional-quality equipment.
The six-time Grammy Award winners announced Tuesday that their Peapod Foundation together with the Adobe Foundation will open a Peapod Adobe Youth Voices music and multimedia academy in lower Manhattan.
The Peapod Foundation is the hip-hop group’s charitable organization; it’s administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation. The Adobe Foundation is the philanthropic arm of software maker Adobe Systems Inc., whose products include Acrobat, Flash and Photoshop. The two foundations already run three Youth Voices academies in California – in Los Angeles, Oakland and Redwood City.
The New York academy will offer classes to students ages 13 to 19 starting this July, the foundations said.
“Our passion for music and media was fueled by many generous people on our road to success,” Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am said. “Expanding the network of Peapod Adobe Youth Voices academies enables us to pay it forward, giving more youth the skills and encouragement they need to realize their dreams.”
The academy will be housed in a facility operated by Urban Arts Partnership, which runs after-school arts programs for teens who attend high-poverty schools.
Students will be accepted into the academy based on recommendations from teachers and demonstrated interests in subject areas such as camera work, editing and graphic design.
Online: http://www.peapodfoundation.org
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/philanthropy/foundation
No ruling yet in Sheen’s fight with Warner Bros.
By Anthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) – A judge will not immediately rule on Charlie Sheen’s contention that his $100 million lawsuit over his firing from “Two and a Half Men” should be handled in a public court rather than in private arbitration.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman listened to hours of argument Tuesday from Sheen’s attorneys and lawyers for his ex-employer, Warner Bros. Television.
The actor sued the studio and series executive producer Chuck Lorre on March 10, days after he was fired from television’s top-rated comedy. Warner Bros. cited a series of bizarre actions by the actor and his criticism of Lorre to end its contract with Sheen and scuttle the rest of the show’s current season.
Sheen’s attorneys claim an arbitration clause in his contract is unconscionable.
Hoover pulling ads from ABC over soap operas
David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – A Hoover executive whose wife and mother are big fans of two ABC soap operas that were canceled last week said he is yanking the vacuum-maker’s ads from the network in protest.
Hoover marketing executive Brian Kirkendall’s actions have becoming a rallying point for fans of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.” ABC said last week it will end the daytime dramas, each on the air for more than 40 years, and replace them with cooking and weight-loss shows.
The number of people who said they “liked” Hoover on Facebook has jumped from around 7,000 to more than 11,000 people in a day since Kirkendall announced his move on the social media site. A columnist for Soap Opera Digest also asked fans to make Friday a “buy Hoover day” to support the company.
“It was about as innocent as you can imagine something starting,” Kirkendall said on Tuesday. “Now I feel like I’m in the middle of a movement.”
Kirkendall said he was visiting his ill mother in North Carolina over the weekend and mentioned that the shows were being canceled. She reminded him that, as a toddler, Kirkendall would sit on the couch beside his mother as she folded laundry and watched the soap operas.
His wife was angry about the cancelations, too.
Hoover is one of many companies to advertise on the programs, and soap opera fans have started a grass roots movement to contact advertisers about the decision, said Carolyn Hinsey, columnist for Soap Opera Digest.
Kirkendall said he was overwhelmed by the number of calls Hoover received Monday.
“I’m not trying to be a martyr,” Kirkendall said. “I’m just reacting to what our consumers said.”
He said that as steward of Hoover’s brand identity, he made the decision before consulting with upper executives. But they seemed pleased by the amount of attention the decision was drawing.
ABC had no comment on the action on Tuesday, a spokeswoman said.
Hoover, a brand owned by Techtronic Industries Co., had bought time for six ads this week, four of them on soap operas, Kirkendall said. He would not detail how much money in ad spending Hoover had committed to ABC before this protest.
Hinsey suggested in a blog on Tuesday that consumers should buy Hoover vacuum cleaners, vacuum bags or other products on Friday and post their actions on Hoover’s website.
“Hoover couldn’t pay a PR person to get them the goodwill that they have gotten in the last 24 hours,” Hinsey said. She said protesters should keep their actions positive, but suggested soap opera fans interested in next week’s British royal wedding might want to watch some other network than ABC.
Kirkendall also wrote on Hoover’s Facebook site that the company is setting up an email address for fans of the shows to express their concerns.
The decision by ABC means that by next year, “General Hospital” will be its only daytime drama on the air.
Nick Cassavetes drops out of directing Gotti film
NEW YORK (AP) – Nick Cassavetes has dropped out of directing a planned biopic of John Gotti.
Executive producer Marc Fiore said Tuesday that Cassavetes had to withdraw due to a scheduling conflict. “Gotti: Three Generations” is scheduled to begin production in the fall.
The film is to star John Travolta as the leader of the legendary Gambino crime family. Joe Pesci is to play Gotti associate Angelo Ruggiero.
The famous mobster died in prison in 2002. His son, 47-year-old John “Junior” Gotti, sold film rights to Fiore last year for an undisclosed amount.
Action comedy ‘Gallants’ named HK best film
HONG KONG (AP) – The low-budget action comedy “Gallants” has been named best picture at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards.
The story of a kung fu master who wakes up from a coma to train his former students for one last tournament also swept the supporting role awards late Sunday, with Teddy Robin and Susan Shaw winning in their categories.
Veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark was named best director for his fantasy epic “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.” The movie’s female star, Carina Lau, won best actress for portraying an ancient Chinese empress.
Best actor went to Nicholas Tse, who played a reluctant informant in “The Stool Pigeon.”
Winners at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards, announced late Sunday:
Best film: “Gallants”
Best director: Tsui Hark, “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”
Best screenplay: Pang Ho-cheung and Heiward Mak, “Love In a Puff”
Best actor: Nicholas Tse, “The Stool Pigeon”
Best actress: Carina Lau, “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”
Best supporting actor: Teddy Robin, “Gallants”
Best supporting actress: Susan Shaw, “Gallants”
Best new performer: Hanjin Tan, “Bruce Lee, My Brother”
Best cinematography: Peter Pau, “Confucius”
Best film editing: Cheung Ka-fai, “Ip Man 2”
Best art direction: James Choo, “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”
Best costume and make-up design: Bruce Yu, “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”
Best action choreography: Sammo Hung, “Ip Man 2”
Best original film score: Teddy Robin and Tommy Wai, “Gallants”
Best original film song: “Here to Stay,” music, lyrics and performed by Jun Kung
Best sound design: Wang Danrong and Zhao Nan, “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”
Best visual effects: Lee Yong-gi and Nam Sang-woo, “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame”
Best new director: Felix Chong, “Once a Gangster”
Best Asian film: “Confessions” (Japan)
Professional achievement: Willie Chan
Lifetime achievement: Terry Lai
