Thursday, May 31, 2012

Nazi Victim’s Family Told to Return Artifact





A state appellate court in Brooklyn has ordered the family of a Holocaust survivor to return an ancient gold tablet to a German museum.


The decision turns on its head the familiar scenario of Holocaust victims suing to reclaim property stolen or extorted from them by the Nazis. But in this case, according to court papers, the precious 3,200-year-old Assyrian artifact had been looted, not from the survivor, but from the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, at the close of World War II.


It is not clear how the survivor, Riven Flamenbaum, came into possession of the tablet after his liberation from Auschwitz in 1945, when he was sent to a displaced persons camp in southeastern Germany.


But when Mr. Flamenbaum immigrated to the United States four years later, he arrived in New York with a wife he had met at the camp and the inscribed gold tablet, which is about the size of a passport photo.


Only after Mr. Flamenbaum’s death in 2003 did his children discover that the thin golden square had been stolen from the museum.


The museum subsequently sued for its return, and in 2010 a Nassau County Surrogate Court judge ruled in favor of the Flamenbaum family, citing the failure of the museum to ever report the tablet as stolen, and the impossibility of discovering how Mr. Flamenbaum acquired it. The appellate ruling reverses that decision.


Raymond J. Dowd, the lawyer who represented the museum and who has represented the families of Holocaust victims trying to recover lost art, called the decision historically significant.


“The principle that property taken unlawfully should be returned is consistent with the rights of Holocaust victims,” he said. “This precedent will help those seeking return of stolen works that are museums not only in the U.S. but throughout Europe.”


But a lawyer for the family, Seth A. Presser, said the decision had “caused a remarkably inequitable result” and that it would be appealed.


“We believe that the court has misapprehended certain facts and, as a result, misapplied New York law,” he said.


The four-judge appeals panel unanimously ordered the surrogate court to oversee the return of the tablet, which sits in a safe-deposit box.


A team of German archaeologists discovered the tablet in 1913 while digging in an area of Iraq now called Qual’at Serouat, according to court papers. It wound up in the Berlin museum in 1926 and when the war broke out in 1939 was placed along with other antiquities in storage for safekeeping. When an inventory was conducted at the end of the war, the tablet was missing.


Mr. Presser said the family had no plans to sell the tablet. Mr. Flamenbaum’s daughter, Hannah, previously told AOL News, “It was all he had left from ‘that bitter time,’ and he wished to hand it down to his children and future generations to serve as a reminder of the brutality and decimation of his family at the hands of the Nazis.”



Source & Image : New York Times

Summer Series That Come and Go




None


The list of new television shows arriving this summer is a long one — that’s true of every part of the calendar nowadays — but the season feels quieter than it has in recent years. Cable networks like USA, TNT and Syfy that have aggressively introduced high-profile series seem to be in a consolidation mode, with the season’s biggest news — outside of “The Newsroom” on HBO — involving award-winning shows embarking on their final go-rounds: “The Closer,” “Damages,” “Breaking Bad.”


In the wake of “Downton Abbey” many of the summer’s more interesting-sounding shows are British imports on channels like Encore, Ovation and DirecTV’s Audience Network. There’s a lot of cultural mixing and matching: “Hit and Miss,” a British mini-series being shown by DirecTV, stars the American actress Chloë Sevigny (as a hit woman who used to be a man); “Copper,” set in post-Civil War New York, is the first original drama for BBC America.


But it isn’t all Emmy winners and foreign accents; the summer also brings new shows starring Charlie Sheen, Bristol Palin and Snooki, as well as the return of “Dallas.” Here’s a chronological guide to some season highlights.


‘LONGMIRE’ (A&E, SUNDAY) Set in Wyoming and filmed in New Mexico, this contemporary western stars Robert Taylor (Agent Jones in “The Matrix”) as a widowed frontier sheriff who looks and acts the part — when he’s not using a French press to make his morning coffee. The obligatory female sidekick is played by Katee Sackhoff of “Battlestar Galactica”; the series is based on the Walt Longmire mystery novels by Craig Johnson.


‘PUSH GIRLS’ (SUNDANCE, MONDAY) This reality series is being pitched as a female counterpart to the cult-favorite wheelchair-rugby documentary “Murderball”: its subjects are attractive Los Angeles women — a model, an actress, a former competitive swimmer — who are paralyzed from the neck or waist down.


‘SAVING HOPE’ (NBC, THURSDAY) The latest Canadian show to be used as a summer rental by the American networks looks like a cross between “Life on Mars” and “A Gifted Man”: a big-deal surgeon (Michael Shanks) lies in a coma after a taxi crash, but his spirit walks around the hospital trying to help out and chatting with the ghosts of the less fortunate patients.


‘THE RUNAWAY’ (OVATION, JUNE 9) Fans of the dapper Eli Gold on “The Good Wife” can see another side of the man who plays him, Alan Cumming, in this six-episode British melodrama about a pair of star-crossed lovers in the East End of London. Mr. Cumming shows up in Episode 2 as a kindly drag performer who takes in the young heroine after she’s escaped from a brutal women’s prison.


‘THORNE’ (ENCORE, JUNE 12) David Morrissey (“State of Play,” Season 3 of “The Walking Dead”) stars, along with Eddie Marsan, Sandra Oh and Natascha McElhone, in this two-part crime drama from Britain’s Sky satellite-TV network, which is beginning to join BBC and ITV as a source of dramas for the American market.


‘DALLAS’ (TNT, JUNE 13) It’s Southfork, the next generation: Josh Henderson and Jesse Metcalfe play the squabbling sons of the oilmen J. R. and Bobby Ewing in this revival of the hugely popular nighttime soap, back after a 21-year hiatus. Larry Hagman is back as evil J. R., and Patrick Duffy returns as good Bobby, and Linda Gray, Charlene Tilton, Steve Kanaly and Ken Kercheval will also reprise their roles. And if it doesn’t work out, TNT can just pretend it was all a bad dream.


‘41’ (HBO, JUNE 14) The 41st president, and the first one named Bush, is the subject of this documentary directed by Jeffrey Roth (“The Wonder of It All,” about men who walked on the Moon) and produced by Jerry Weintraub. The odds are good that it will be sympathetic: When Mr. Weintraub was the subject of an adoring HBO documentary, “His Way,” George H. W. and Barbara Bush were among the people interviewed.


‘BRISTOL PALIN: LIFE’S A TRIPP’ (LIFETIME, JUNE 19) America’s most famous pregnant teenager lets us in on her life as a single mom in this reality series, first announced more than a year ago.


‘SNOOKI & JWOWW’ (MTV, JUNE 21) The Mutt and Jeff of “Jersey Shore,” Jennifer Farley (JWoww) and Nicole Polizzi (Snooki), terrorize Atlantic City in this spinoff series. It seems likely that most of the funny moments are in the trailer at mtv.com, including the pregnant Snooki’s declaration that “the fact that I can reproduce is very scary.”


‘THE NEWSROOM’ (HBO, JUNE 24) After a successful detour into feature-film screenwriting (“The Social Network,” “Moneyball”) Aaron Sorkin returns to television with a 10-episode drama about — what else? — television, his third behind-the-scenes look at the medium, after “Sports Night” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Jeff Daniels, who’s great in the trailers, plays a cable-news anchor, with colleagues played by Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr. (of “Spring Awakening” on Broadway), Alison Pill, Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire”), Sam Waterston and Jane Fonda. There will be journalism and idealism, but Mr. Sorkin has said that it will really be about the relationships.


‘ANGER MANAGEMENT’ (FX, JUNE 28) Charlie Sheen, whose antisocial behavior got him booted from CBS’s “Two and a Half Men,” resurfaces in the cozier environs of FX playing another funhouse-mirror version of himself. Named Charlie, as were his characters in “Spin City” and “Two and a Half Men,” the protagonist is a former baseball player whose anger issues derailed his career; now he’s a therapist helping others to calm down. What could go wrong? Along with new seasons of “Wilfred” and the excellent “Louie” on Thursday nights, “Anger Management” should be part of the most diverse block of prime-time comedies on television.



Source & Image : New York Times

Kicking Off Tour, Madonna Shows She's No Lady (Gaga)





TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Pop superstar Madonna kicked off a new world tour on Thursday wishing peace on the Middle East even as she showcased grim dance routines depicting violence and bloody gunmen among her more colorful numbers.


Madonna, 53, mixed hit songs over three decades in music with tunes from her recent album, "MDNA," before a packed audience, and she took a sly dig at younger diva, Lady Gaga.


"She's not me!" Madonna belted out at the end of "Express Yourself," which she had reworked to include a sampling of Lady Gaga's recent "Born This Way."


That song from Lady Gaga, who emerged on the pop music scene about four years ago and has enjoyed a huge following, was noted by many fans and critics as being very similar to Madonna's late 1980s dance club smash.


Since Lady Gaga, 26, released "Born This Way," there has been speculation that a generational challenge was in the works and comedians have poked fun at any imagined rivalry between the two women.


Despite occasional lighthearted touches such as a baton-twirling routine in cheerleader formation and a psychedelic homage to Indian philosophy, the dominant mood at Thursday's concert in Tel Aviv seemed more grim with a stage shrouded in black and red and costumes that often appeared ominous.


VIRGIN SACRIFICE


"Like a Virgin," a dance tune that helped propel Madonna to stardom as risqué pop ingénue in the 1980s, was performed as a mournful cabaret with violin accompaniment. At one point, the singer was trussed up and hoisted into the air by four male dancers, then lowered onto a platform as though into a volcano - a virgin sacrifice.


For "Gang Bang," Madonna wrestled with armed intruders whom she then dispatched with a pistol - their "blood" spattering across an enormous video backdrop. In a routine for "Revolver", she wielded a Kalashnikov rifle, used by many modern-day insurgents, while one of her dancers favored an Israeli Uzi.


The exertions never sapped her confident singing, though she did become somewhat breathless during remarks to the audience at Ramat Gan stadium on Tel Aviv's outskirts.


"I chose to start my world tour in Israel for a very specific and important reason. As you know, the Middle East and all the conflicts that have been occurring here for thousands of years - they have to stop," she said to cheers.


A devotee of Jewish mysticism, Madonna had dubbed the first leg of her 28-country "MDNA" tour the "Peace Concert" and distributed free tickets to some of the Palestinians who attended from the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.


Among them was a woman named Yasmine, who declined to give her last name in light of Palestinian calls to boycott the Madonna concert and other cultural events in Israel. She offered a mixed assessment of the show.


"I wasn't a fan of the intro. It was too aggressive and massacre-like," Yasmine said. "Her (Madonna's) speech about peace and the mention of Palestine was heartfelt, though."


Avihay Asseraf, an Israeli who dedicated a Facebook page to Madonna's visit, was more sanguine about the darker displays.


"That's how she chose to express herself this time," he said. "Ultimately this is a show, a spectacle, and it's all for fun."


(Reporting by Dan Williams; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)



Source & Image : New York Times

Thunder: Lil Wayne Welcome but Needs Ticket





OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Thunder say Lil Wayne is welcome to attend a playoff game in Oklahoma City, but needs to buy a ticket just like everyone else.


The rapper created a stir Thursday night by posting on Twitter that he was "going to go to the Thunder game tonight but was denied by the team to be in their arena."


Thunder spokesman Dan Mahoney says Lil Wayne's representatives did contact the team requesting tickets but insisted that he sit on the front row, and none of those seats was available. Oklahoma City sold out every home game during the regular season and playoffs this season.


Mahoney says: "We'd love to have him at a game, but like anyone else, he needs a ticket."


Lil Wayne finished his tweet with "Go Spurs!"



Source & Image : New York Times

A Cattelan Billboard for the High Line







After his blockbuster retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York last fall, Maurizio Cattelan, who is just 51, said he was officially retiring from making art. What did that mean, exactly, coming from a jokester like Mr. Cattelan?


One answer comes in the form of a billboard, 75 by 25 feet, at 10th Avenue and West 18th Street in Chelsea, next to the High Line. It is a giant image of a woman’s 10 perfectly manicured and jeweled fingers, detached from their hands, emerging from a vibrant blue velvet background. It was unveiled on Thursday and can be seen from both the elevated pathway and the street.


The billboard is part of a High Line series that began last December with “The First $100,000 I Ever Made,” a blown-up photograph of a real $100,000 bill, the largest denomination the United States government ever printed, by the Los Angeles artist John Baldessari. This new billboard — the fourth — will be on view through June 30.


Mr. Cattelan created the image with the photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari as part of Toilet Paper, a two-year-old art magazine founded by the two men.


But what about Mr. Cattelan’s supposed retirement? “It’s not like it’s my own,” he said, laughing, about the billboard. “We worked together.” He explained that he is “in between moments,” adding, “I’m missing it, but it’s good to have distance.”


The billboard’s photograph was taken in Milan, and while Mr. Cattelan and Mr. Pierpaolo held casting sessions to find just the pair of hands to shoot, Mr. Cattelan said they happened on an old woman in a bar near the sessions and asked her to pose.


“It’s like a magic trick,” said Cecilia Alemani, director of the public art program at Friends of the High Line. “It’s almost cinematic in its format.”


Mr. Cattelan called the image “Surreal but verging on Pop,” adding that “it’s a bit gory but without the blood.”


But why show just those fingers and not the rest of the hand? “Fingers are something sexual, like penises,” he explained. “It doesn’t always have to be a cigar.”


MOON LANDING IN ARLES


The art world begins decamping to Europe later this month for Documenta 13, the huge show of contemporary art held in Kassel, Germany, every five years; for Art Basel in Switzerland; and for a round of important Impressionist, Modern and contemporary-art auctions in London.


Add one more draw. In Arles, in the south of France, a Roman amphitheater has been filled with 80 truckloads of sand, and from July 5 to July 8 there will be an evolving exhibition called “To the Moon Via the Beach,” by a group of 20 international artists including Pierre Huyghe, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Lawrence Weiner and Daniel Buren. Over the course of four days, the amphitheater will be transformed from a beach to a moonscape, with interventions from the artists and a team of sand sculptors led by Wilfred Stijger.


“It’s one enormous experiment,” said Tom Eccles, director of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Mr. Eccles is part of a group of artistic advisers that includes the artists Liam Gillick and Philippe Parreno and museum directors like Hans Ulrich Obrist, co-director of the Serpentine Gallery in London, and Beatrix Ruf, director of the Kunsthalle, in Zurich. The team was assembled by the Luma Foundation, led by the philanthropist Maja Hoffmann, as part of a major initiative to transform Arles into an art city.


The foundation has commissioned the Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry to design a cultural complex for Arles, but until that is completed, it is using different sites: This year the amphitheater is its outdoor studio. “This is the first major, large-scale example of what will become the foundation’s ongoing artistic program in Arles,” Mr. Eccles said.


ELLSWORTH KELLY AT THE MORGAN


On June 19 three sculptures by Ellsworth Kelly — one in bronze, another in mahogany and a third in redwood — will occupy the soaring glass atrium of the Morgan Library & Museum, where they will be on view through Sept. 9.


“They are totems,” Mr. Kelly, who turned 89 on Thursday, said in a telephone interview. “Each one is heavy at the top and smaller on the bottom.” He explained that when he was choosing the sculptures from his studio in Spencertown, N.Y., only works that could stand on their own were eligible; none of his much-loved wall pieces would work in the Morgan’s atrium. And, “I wanted each to be of a different material,” he said.


This is the third summer for contemporary art in the atrium. Last year “The Living Word,” a floating, iridescent cloud of Chinese calligraphy by the Conceptual artist Xu Bing, was on view. Before that were three steel sculptures by Mark di Suvero.


In addition to Mr. Kelly’s sculptures there will be studies, models and drawings that illustrate his working methods and his thinking. “This is an institution dedicated to the creative process,” said William M. Griswold, director of the Morgan.


MOMA ACQUIRES MORE DARGERS


Acquisitions that get attention at the Museum of Modern Art tend to be works by brand-name artists whose output is scarce and expensive. But a recent gift of 13 double-sided drawings by Henry Darger, the American outsider artist, underscores the breadth of the museum’s permanent collection.


Unrecognized in his lifetime, Darger, who died in 1973, tended to use popular images from comics and magazines and materials photographically manipulated at his local drugstore. “Darger was one of those standout, self-taught artists who has had an enormous influence on many generations of younger artists,” said Connie Butler, MoMA’s chief curator of drawings. “And we have had a long history of collecting so-called outsider material, which is a lesser-known piece of MoMA’s history.”


While the American Folk Art Museum has significant holdings by Darger, this gift, from the artist’s estate, is MoMA’s largest acquisition of work by an outsider artist. Klaus Biesenbach, the director of MoMA PS1 and MoMA’s chief curator at large, organized “Disasters of War: Francisco de Goya, Henry Darger, Jake and Dinos Chapman” at PS1 and was instrumental in the acquisition.



Source & Image : New York Times

Review: 'I Am a Tree' is clumsy but evocative




NEW YORK (AP) — The beginning of Dulcy Rogers' evocative, but slowly evolving, family drama "I Am a Tree" reinforces a truism about any multi-character play acted by a single person: It's not easy.

The writer and performer of the one-act, one-woman show, which opened Thursday at the Theatre at St. Clement's, struggles at times to carry both ends of a dialogue, while intermittently hopscotching into narration mode and then back again.

The ambitious, rapid-fire approach works impressively in some cases, but takes some getting used to and too often blurs the lines between characters, whether intentionally or not.

It is Rogers' engaging vulnerability and bright genuineness that hold the audience through some early awkwardness. As her story gains momentum, she rewards the perseverance with a strangely compelling portrait of an unusual family and a thoroughly captivating, if gratuitously sentimental, final scene.

Under the direction of Allan Miller, Rogers alternates between her protagonist, Claire, and each of three additional characters that she visits one-by-one — a trio of long-lost aunts who help her on a quest to learn about a mother she hardly knew.

In these conversations, the performer punctuates each character's lines by skipping a few steps in one direction and turning back to face the other to continue the dialogue. The constant shuffling around becomes a distraction, particularly during bursts of shorter lines, or when Rogers speeds up.

The wordy play, which recently had a well-received run in Los Angeles, could benefit from light editing in a number of clever but convoluted sequences that feel too much like written language, rather than speech. As a result of the overwriting, coupled with Rogers' occasionally rushed delivery, meaning tends to get lost somewhere among the lovely stand of trees that elegantly lines the back wall of the stage.

The cryptic title refers to Claire's first meeting in the series of interviews with her eclectic group of aunts, none of whom she had known previously. As Claire approaches apprehensively, she observes the elderly woman standing in her yard with arms outstretched like branches, gazing up at the sky and proclaiming, "I am a tree."

The woman explains that it's a form of meditation that allows her to "become part of all that is around me. And I am gone. I am free."

The aunts are all lavishly eccentric in starkly different ways. Their lives and reminiscences are variously involved in entertainment, the arts, international diplomacy and high society.

The two people who loom largest in Claire's psyche are her parents, who also happen to be the characters Rogers plays in only very minimal doses during the production. Most of what we know about Claire's parents, we learn secondhand from other characters.

Her father is a cold, emotionally detached bioscientist who is stationed in an Arctic research facility and generally unreachable.

Her mother suffers from a mysterious mental illness that has relegated her to life inside a psychiatric institution.

In the climactic scene of "I Am a Tree," which is on display at St. Clement's through June 30, Claire confronts her mother, who does not speak at all.

Unfettered by the rigors of having to speak for two people at once, Rogers is at her most poignant, and her Claire blossoms unexpectedly.

___

Online: http://www.iamatreetheplay.com



Source & Image : Yahoo

Activision settles with 'Modern Warfare 2' makers




LOS ANGELES (AP) — The makers of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" and game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. have agreed to lay down arms in a legal fight over millions of dollars in royalties.

The two sides said Thursday that they had settled the matter out of court. The terms were not disclosed.

Activision, a subsidiary of France's Vivendi SA, said it doesn't believe the settlement's one-time expense will materially affect its earnings outlook for the current quarter or calendar year due to unexpectedly good performance recently.

Jason West and Vincent Zampella, former heads of Activision game studio Infinity Ward, had sued Activision for wrongful dismissal after the company fired them in March 2010. The pair claimed they were fired to avoid paying them bonuses and sought more than $36 million based on the game's profits following its release in November 2009. They later raised their claim to over $1 billion.

Activision countersued, accusing them of conspiring to take their secrets to rival Electronic Arts Inc. and breaching their contractual and financial duties. Activision also said West and Zampella poisoned the atmosphere at Infinity Ward against Activision, prompting dozens of developers to follow them out the door.

The pair later formed a new company called Respawn Entertainment LLC, which is currently developing games for EA.

Two weeks ago, Activision and EA settled a lawsuit over whether EA unfairly recruited the executives while they were under contract.

EA hailed the settlement between Activision and the game developers as a victory.

"Activision's refusal to pay their talent and attempt to blame EA were absurd. This settlement is a vindication of Vince and Jason, and the right of creative artists to collect the rewards due for their hard work," it said in a statement.

Shares of Activision rose 9 cents to $11.83 in after-hours trading after closing down 17 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $11.74. EA shares were unchanged after-hours but had closed down 53 cents, or 3.8 percent, at $13.62 in the regular session.



Source & Image : Yahoo

No charges to be filed in Utah 'Sister Wives' case




SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Criminal charges will not be pursued against a polygamous family made famous by the reality TV show "Sister Wives," a Utah prosecutor wrote Thursday in federal court filings.

The case against Kody Brown and his four wives — Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn — stars of the TLC show, has been closed, Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman wrote in a motion seeking to have a lawsuit against his county dismissed.

Brown moved his wives and 16 children from Lehi, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City, to the Las Vegas area in January 2011 after Utah authorities launched a bigamy investigation.

The Browns then sued Utah County along with Utah's governor and attorney general, claiming the state's bigamy statute violates their constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, free exercise of religion, free speech and freedom of association.

A federal judge later dropped the state from the case but allowed it to continue against the county.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups said he dismissed Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff because Shurtleff had assured the Browns they wouldn't be prosecuted under his policy that consenting adult polygamists won't be charged as long as they're not committing other crimes.

However, Waddoups noted that the Browns had reason to believe they could still face prosecution in Utah County, and agreed it could have a chilling effect on their ability to practice their constitutional rights in the state.

Buhman wrote in his Thursday motion that his county, too, had adopted the same state policy and would not pursue bigamy cases unless there was evidence of a victim or fraud.

"The criminal case against the Browns is closed and no charges will be filed against them for bigamy unless new evidence is discovered which would comport with the office's new policy," Buhman wrote.

The Browns' attorney Jonathan Turley said he was pleased that charges wouldn't be filed but noted the family didn't plan to drop the lawsuit, claiming state law remained "blatantly unconstitutional."

"I want to express our great relief for the Brown family that this long-standing threat has been finally lifted," Turley said in a statement. "The family has spent years being publicly denounced as felons by prosecutors and had to move to Nevada to protect their family and children."



Source & Image : Yahoo

Andy Garcia talks about 'Greater Glory'




NEW YORK (AP) — Andy Garcia can't understand why an episode of Mexican history as bloody as the Cristero War is barely known outside Mexico or even within the country.

That curiosity was part of the reason why he accepted the role of General Enrique Gorostieta in "For Greater Glory," a film the Cuban actor compares to epics like "How the West Was Won," ''Doctor Zhivago" or "Lawrence of Arabia."

"About 90,000 people died in three years (1926-1929). There was torture, priests being hung from telegraph poles. It was a very ugly moment in Mexican history," Garcia says of the conflict set off by the government's persecution of Roman Catholics. "The curious thing was I didn't know anything about it ... And when I started to ask some Mexican friends ... they didn't know anything about it."

In the film, which opens Friday in the U.S. after its debut in Mexico, Garcia plays an atheist and retired decorated general who accepts an offer to lead the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty in the war. He doesn't share their religious fervor, but he does believe in the basic right of freedom.

Garcia says he was intrigued by "For Greater Glory" from the moment director Dean Wright and producer Pablo Jose Barroso gave him the script and the book "La Cristiada," by French historian and columnist Jean Meyer, who lives in Mexico.

With a stellar cast that includes Eva Longoria as Gorostieta's wife and Ruben Blades as President Plutarco Elias Calles, "For Greater Glory" also stars Peter O'Toole — "Lawrence of Arabia" himself— as Father Christopher.

___

The Associated Press: So, from being fascinated by the story to actually filming the movie there was only one step?

Garcia: It was easy to commit to do this movie because, aside from the curious fact that people don't know the story, or maybe that they don't want people to talk about this, the script, the concept of the film, was extremely classical ... and I knew it was going to be a beautiful adventure.

AP: The film's historical situation can be compared to the religious ban in Cuba when Fidel Castro took power. As a Cuban-American Catholic, how do you see this parallel?

Garcia: It was similar to what happened in Cuba. When Fidel Castro took power he did abolish all religion ... The only religion was a "Papa Fidel" kind-of-thing. So there is a parallel there that one could sort of tap into emotionally. But that wasn't the reason to do the movie ... This is a universal theme about absolute freedom and when I looked at the movie, first and foremost I said as a filmmaker, as an actor, how was the quality of the material, the scope of the story, what is it gonna look like.

AP: There's a scene in the movie of you and Ruben Blades together that was not in the original script. I understand you two wrote it. What was it like to work with Ruben?

Garcia: When he got to Mexico, we had dinner that night. We talked about the story, what we thought was missing, and Ruben says, "But we must have a scene together!" And I said, "Actually I think that will be a good idea. The concept of these two leaders coming together and exploring the thematic of the movie could be very interesting." So we worked on the scene, we wrote it, and we presented it to the producer and the director and they liked it and we carved out a little moment to shoot the scene. And I think it is one of the most important scenes in the film.

AP: This drama takes place in the 1920s but its theme of freedom remains current and is universal. What do you expect the audience to take away from the movie?

Garcia: Well, I think that the overall essence is that freedom is a precious thing. People are fighting for freedom on a daily basis all around the world in contemporary society, and dying for it. This struggle has not gone away.

___

Sigal Ratner-Arias is the Spanish Entertainment Editor of The Associated Press. You can contact her at https://twitter.com/sigalratner

___

En Internet:

http://www.forgreaterglory.com/



Source & Image : Yahoo

'Hatfields & McCoys' is a ratings record-setter




LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys, the History channel proved the winner.

A miniseries about the warring families set basic cable viewing records, according to Nielsen Co. figures the channel released Thursday.

The three nights of "Hatfields & McCoys" were the top-rated entertainment telecasts ever for ad-supported basic cable, History said.

Wednesday's finale of "Hatfields & McCoys" was the most-watched of the three nights, with 14.3 million viewers. According to the History channel, that makes it the No. 1 non-sports and non-news program ever on ad-supported cable.

Parts one and two of the star-filled drama were right behind with 13.9 million and 13.1 million viewers, respectively.

Besides Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton, the miniseries' cast included Tom Berenger, Mare Winningham and Powers Boothe.

The previous top-rated basic cable entertainment program was TNT's 2001 Western drama, "Crossfire Trail," starring Tom Selleck and based on the Louis L'Amour novel.

"Hatfields & McCoys" starred Costner and Paxton as the patriarchs of the West Virginia and Kentucky clans whose violent clashes had roots in the American Civil War. The miniseries is to be released on Blu-ray and DVD July 31.

___

Online:

http://www.history.com



Source & Image : Yahoo

Blood, guts and guns as Madonna kicks off world tour




Dark Catholic imagery was spliced with blood, guts and guns as Madonna burst onto the stage at Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan stadium late on Thursday to kick off her hotly-anticipated MDNA world tour of some 30 countries.


The portentous tolling of a church bell opens the first set with bare-chested monks in burgundy robes swinging a giant golden censer in front of a giant red cross.


A plainchant melody turns into a Hebrew prayer as monks rise out of the floor, mixing Jewish and Catholic imagery as the Material Girl rises in silhoutte, shattering the backscreen as she launches into "Girl Gone Wild."


Guns feature heavily in the next two numbers, "Revolver" and "Gang Bang" with the Queen of Pop and her dancers repeatedly 'firing' into the audience with a variety of guns, as huge images of empty bullet casings fall to the ground.


"Bang bang, shot you dead, shot my lover in the head," she sings as brains splat onto the back screen behind her in a number which ends with her shooting down one of the dancers and flinging the gun onto the floor.


Several songs later, the tone changes as the singer nicknamed Madge transforms into a red-and-white clad majorette, with her signature conical bra making an appearance in "Vogue," a monochrome number which blurs the gender lines.


This time, it appears as a cage-like bustier over a white shirt complete with black tie and trousers: office-wear -- Madonna style.


In between sets, she addresses the audience, urging Israelis to end the conflict and seek peace.


"I chose to start my world tour in Israel for a very specific and important reason," she said, to wild applause and cheering.


"You can't be a fan of mine and not want peace in the world," she said. "We all bleed the same colour."


"If we can all rise above our egos and our titles and the names of our countries and our religions, and treat everyone around us with dignity and respect, then we are on the road to peace.


"If there is peace here in the Middle East, there can be peace in the whole world."


Excited fans were already pouring through the gates when they opened some four hours before the 9:45 pm (1845 GMT) start, with all 32,000 tickets sold out.


Turning heads at one of the main entrances was 41-year-old Cocoa Chandelier. Six-feet tall -- "without the heels" -- and with a bouffant easily adding another foot, she said she had never missed a single of Madonna's concerts.


"It's quite appropriate that it's starting here in Israel. She has adopted this culture and religion," Chandelier told AFP, dressed in copious quantities of fluorescent plastic beads and earrings to match.


"That's why we've come all the way from Hawaii -- to support her."


Israeli fan Carmit Zindani, 32, beamed: "There is simply nothing bigger than Madonna starting her world tour here in the Holy Land. She is one of us."


"She's a real queen, this is very exciting," said Roma Ryabchikov, a 26-year-old lawyer who flew in specially from Moscow.


The eye-popping extravaganza marked the start of the 53-year-old Queen of Pop's ninth world tour and her first since her "Sticky and Sweet" outing in 2008/2009.


From Israel, she is to move on to Abu Dhabi and then to Europe and the Americas before ending in early 2013 in Australia, where she has not performed in more than 20 years.


Kicking off her latest tour in Israel was a natural choice for the Catholic-born singer, who over the past decade has become deeply involved in the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah.


Since then, she has been back to the Jewish state several times, on both public and private visits, last performing here in 2009.


Officials said her two older children -- 15-year-old Lourdes, and 12-year-old Rocco -- would also take part in the show.


"This show is epic and bigger than anything she's done before. There are many more costume changes. We're taking 700 shoes on the road," her costume designer and stylist Arianne Phillips told the WWD website.


"Madonna changes outfits seven or eight times and the dancers change 10 to 15 times, depending on the dancer," she said.


Although all 32,000 tickets were completely sold out, a day ahead of the performance, the diminutive diva briefly met with members of the Palestinian Israeli Peace NGO Forum and handed them 600 tickets.


Since she arrived in Israel late on Friday on an El Al flight from New York, Madonna has reportedly spent much of time rehearsing, praying or attending Kabbalah events.


Her partner Brahim Zaibat, a French-Algerian model in his 20s, also flew in with her, as did her four children, Lourdes, Rocco, David and Mercy, with pictures of them enjoying the beach splashed across the newspapers.


More than 4,000 fans have flown into Israel to attend the concert, with each paying from $62 (50 euros) for a ticket up to $620 for a VIP package.


The Tel Aviv show is reported to have cost $3.9 million (3.1 million euros).


As for the outfits, Madonna has signed up a list of designers including Jean Paul Gaultier, Jeremy Scott, Alexander Wang, Dolce & Gabbana, Fausto Puglisi and J Brand.


She was also due to wear Prada and Miu Miu shoes, as well as footwear and lingerie from her Truth or Dare line.




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Diamond Jubilee: Prince Charles shares home movies




LONDON (AP) — Prince Charles is sharing some of the royal family's home movies in a documentary paying tribute to his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as she marks 60 years on the British throne.

The program includes shots of a 9-year-old Charles and his younger sister Princess Anne buried up to their necks in sand during a beach holiday in 1957 — with a corgi, the queen's favorite breed of dog, between them.

The documentary will be screened on BBC television Friday.

Britain is marking the queen's Diamond Jubilee with a series of events including a 1,000-boat pageant along the River Thames on Sunday and a service of Thanksgiving on Tuesday.

In the program, the prince praises "Mama" for providing "continuity in a time of immense change over 60 years."



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Main character upstaged in Vienna La Traviata




VIENNA (AP) — Verdi's La Traviata is a recognized showcase for the role of Violetta, the courtesan with the heart of gold who chooses honor over love only to expire in the arms of her paramour. But Violetta is upstaged in a new Vienna production of the opera by none other than Alfredo, her lover.

It's only partially Irina Lungu's fault — the slender Russian soprano looks and acts the part of the consumptive Violetta.

But voice was seldom more than pretty in a Vienna Festival performance heard Wednesday night. And that is not enough for a role that is among the most demanding in the repertoire with its coloratura flourishes that top out in high C territory, demanding changes of pace and haunting vocal soliloquies.

Violetta needs to be portrayed by a voice as multidimensional as her persona and Lungu's voice just did not have the breadth and suppleness to do so.

Although her tendency to slide into the upper registers diminished after the first act, she continued to struggle with the occasional top note — a distraction from her top-notch dramatic portrayal of a party girl turned faithful soul-mate to Alfredo, her first — and last — love.

Enter the upstager, Albanian tenor Saimir Pirgu, reprising his role as Alfredo ahead of his Met debut next year as the young man of good standing who falls for the big city woman of loose morals and finds the love of his life.

His acting encompassed the full scale of passionate to tender, to devastated, to ragingly furious — and so did his voice. His soulful rendition of "Dei Miei Bollenti Spiriti — one of Alfredo's signature arias — vividly evoked a man joyfully contemplating his happiness even while anticipating the tragedy of separation and worse ahead.

Pirgu confided that some tenors have a problem with singing Alfredo in dressing room comments ahead of the performance.

"They don't like the role because they don't like to be second," he said. He was second to none though on Wednesday with depiction that was right on vocally as well as dramatically.

Also in good voice Wednesday: Gabriele Viviani as Giorgio Germont, Alfredo's father; Dshamilja Kaiser as Annina, Violetta's maid; Guenther Haumer as Douphol, Alfredo's rival, as well as Tomas Juhas as Gastone and Krzystof Borysiewicz,, D'Obigny, members of the party bunch, and Guenes Guerle as the doctor.

In the pit, conductor Omer Meir Welber wove a lush musical tapestry from the first soft string strands of the prelude reflecting the fragility of the characters on stage to the return of the love theme just before Violetta's death and all the orchestral shadings in-between.

Also kudos to director Deborah Warner and Jeremy Herbert, responsible for the staging. Their tableaus — including a backdrop forest reflecting the changing seasons — complemented a generally enjoyable evening without threatening to upstage what opera is ultimately about:

The music.

____

George Jahn can be reached at http://twitter.com/georgejahn



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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS




Week ending May 27th, powered by Nielsen BookScan. Copyright 2012 The Nielsen Company.

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "11th Hour" by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown)

2. "Stolen Prey" by John Sandford (Putnam)

3. "Calico Joe" by John Grisham (Doubleday)

4. "The Innocent" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)

5. "Deadlocked" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

6. "The Wind Through the Keyhole" by Stephen King (Scribner)

7. "In One Person" by John Irving (Simon & Schuster)

8. "The Columbus Affair" by Steve Berry (Ballantine)

9. "Bring Up the Bodies" by Hilary Mantel (Holt)

10. "Canada" by Richard Ford (Ecco)

11. "The Witness" by Nora Roberts (Putnam)

12. "A Dance with Dragons" by George R.R. Martin (Bantam)

13. "Home" by toni Morrison (Knopf)

14. "The Family Corleone" by Ed Falco (Grand Central)

15. "Beautiful Sacrifice" by Elizabeth Lowell (William Morrow)

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. "It Worked for Me" by Colin Powell (Harper)

2. "The Amateur" by Edward Klein (Regnery)

3. "The Charge" by Brendon Burchard (Free Press)

4. "Killing Lincoln" by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard (Holt)

5. "The Skinny Rules" by Bob Harper with Greg Critser (Ballantine)

6. "The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson" by Robert A. Caro (Knopf)

7. "How Winning Works" by Robyn Benincasa (Harlequin)

8. "The $100 Startup" by Chris Guillebeau (Crown Business)

9. "The Real Crash" by Peter Schiff (St. Martin's)

10. "My Cross to Bear" by Gregg Allman (Morrow)

11. "The Art of Intelligence" by Henry A. Crumpton (Penguin Press)

12. "Service" by Marcus Luttrell with James D. Hornfischer (Little, Brown)

13. "Bombshell" by Suzanne Somers (Crown Archetype)

14. "The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier" by Ree Drummond (William Morrow Cookbooks)

15. "Fearless" by Eric Blehm (WaterBrook Press)

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS

1. "Explosive Eighteen" by Janet Evanovich (Bantam)

2. "Buried Prey" by John Sandford (Berkley)

3. "Southern Comfort" by Fern Michaels (Zebra)

4. "Full Black" by Brad Thor (Pocket Books)

5. "The Fifth Witness" by Michael Connelly (Vision)

6. "The Bourne Dominion" by Robert Ludlum (Grand Central)

7. "Vision in White" by Nora Roberts (Dell)

8. "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks (Vision)

9. "Mystery" by Jonathan Kellerman (Bellantine)

10. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith (Grand Central Publishing)

11. "Abuse of Power" by Michael Savage (St. Martin's)

12. "The Island" by Elin Hilderbrand (Reagan Arthur Books)

13. "Betrayal of Trust" by J.A. Jance (Harper)

14. "Sunrise Point" by Robyn Carr (Mira)

15. "White Cargo" by Stuart Woods (Signet)

TRADE PAPERBACKS

1. "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James (Vintage)

2. "Fifty Shades Darker" by E.L. James (Vintage)

3. "Fifty Shades Freed" by E.L. James (Vintage)

4. "The Last Boyfriend: Book Two of the InnsBoro Trilogy" by Nora Roberts (Berkley)

5. "Kill Alex Cross" by James Patterson (Grand Central)

6. "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Lawson (Broadway)

7. "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett (Perennial)

8. "Thank You Notes 2" by Jimmy Fallon (Grand Central)

9. "The Art of Fielding: A Novel" by Chad Harbach (Back Bay)

10. "Then Came You" by Jennifer Weiner (Washington Square Press)

11. "Summer Rental" by Mary Kay Andrews (St. Martin's Griffin)

12. "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing)

13. "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins (Large Print Press)

14. "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins (Large Print Press)

15. "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larsson (Vintage)



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USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS




1. "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James (Vintage)

2. "Fifty Shades Darker" by E.L. James (Vintage)

3. "Fifty Shades Freed" by E.L. James (Vintage)

4. "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

5. "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

6. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

7. "11th Hour" by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown)

8. "Explosive Eighteen" by Janet Evanovich (Bantam)

9. "Stolen Prey" by John Sandford (Putnam Adult)

10. "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing)

11. "The Last Boyfriend: Book Two of the InnsBoro Trilogy" by Nora Roberts (Berkley)

12. "Fifty Shades Trilogy Bundle" by E.L. James (Vintage)

13. "Serpent's Shadow" by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)

14. "The Enchantress" by Michael Scott (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

15. "On the Island" by Mary Higgins Clark (Simon & Schuster)

16. "The Innocent" by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing)

17. "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss (Random House)

18. "The Marriage Bargain" by Jennifer Probst (Indulgence)

19. "The Amateur" by Edward Klein (Regenry Publishing)

20. "Deadlocked" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)

21. "City of Lost Souls" by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry Books)

22. "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin (Bantam)

23. "Snatched" by Karin Slaughter (Dell)

24. "The Witness" by Nora Roberts (Putnam Adult)

25. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith (Grand Central Publishing)

Reporting stores include: Amazon.com, B. Dalton Bookseller, Barnes & Noble.com, Barnes & Noble Inc., Books-A-Million and Bookland, Booksamillion.com, Borders Books & Music, Bookstar, Bookstop, Brentano's, Davis Kidd Booksellers in Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Tenn., Doubleday Book Shops, Hudson Booksellers, Joseph-Beth Booksellers (Lexington, Ky.; Cincinnati, Cleveland), Powell's Books (Portland, Ore.), Powells.com, R.J. Julia Booksellers (Madison, Conn.), Schuler.

___

For the extended, interactive and searchable version of this list, visit http://booklist.usatoday.com



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WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLERS




Best-Selling Books Week Ended May 27th.

FICTION

1. "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

2. "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

3. "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss (Random House Children's Books)

4. "The Serpent's Shadow" by Rick Riordan (Disney-Hyperion)

5. "11th Hour" by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown)

6. "The Enchantress" by Michael Scott (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

7. "Stolen Prey" by John Sandford (Putnam)

8. "Middle School: Get Me Out of Here" by James Patterson, Chris Tebbetts (Little, Brown)

9. "Calico Joe" by John Grisham (Doubleday)

10. "Theodore Boone: The Accused" by John Grisham (Dutton Children's Books)

NONFICTION

1. "It Worked for Me" by Colin Powell with Tony Koltz (Harper)

2. "The Amateur" by Edward Klein (Regnery Publishing)

3. "Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence" by Sarah Young (Integrity Publishers)

4. "The Charge" by Brendon Burchard (Free Press)

5. "Killing Lincoln" by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard (Holt)

6. "The Skinny Rules" by Bob Harper with Greg Critser (Ballantine Books)

7. "StrengthsFinder 2.0" by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)

8. "The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson" by Robert A. Caro (Knopf)

9. "The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book" by Jeff Kinney (Abrams)

10. "How Winning Works" by Robyn Benincasa (Harlequin)

FICTION E-BOOKS

1. "Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James (Vintage)

2. "Fifty Shades Darker" by E.L. James (Vintage)

3. "Fifty Shades Freed" by E.L. James (Vintage)

4. "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

5. "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

6. "On the Island" by Tracey Garvis Graves (Tracey Garvis Graves)

7. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)

8. "11th Hour" by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown)

9. "Untraceable" by Laura Griffin (Pocket Star)

10. "The Marriage Bargain" by Jennifer Probst (Entangled Publishing)

NONFICTION E-BOOKS

1. "The Amateur" by Edward Klein (Regnery Publishing)

2. "Tune In Tokyo" by Tim Anderson (AmazonEncore)

3. "A Small Furry Prayer" by Steven Kotler (Bloomsbury USA)

4. "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House)

5. "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson (Little, Brown)

6. "It Happened on the Way to War" by Rye Barcott (Bloomsbury USA)

7. "The Skinny Rules" by Bob Harper with Greg Critser (Random House)

8. "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson (Penguin Group)

9. "Killing Lincoln" by Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard (Henry Holt & Co.)

10. "I Suck at Girls" by Justin Halpern (HarperCollins)

Nielsen BookScan gathers point-of-sale book data from about 12,000 locations across the U.S., representing about 75 percent of the nation's book sales. Print-book data providers include all major booksellers and Web retailers, and food stores (excluding Wal-Mart). E-book data providers include all major e-book retailers. Free e-books and those sold for less than 99 cents are excluded. The fiction and nonfiction lists in all formats include both adult and juvenile titles; the business list includes only adult titles. The combined lists track sales by title across all print and e-book formats; audio books are excluded. Refer questions to john.edwards(at)wsj.com.



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