�American Idol� accepts 15 year olds, no word on new judge

�American Idol� producers yesterday lowered the age limit for contestants to 15, but there was still no word on a new judge to replace Simon Cowell as auditions were announced for next month.

Fox television said auditions for season 10 would be held in six US cities, beginning in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 17. Producers of the TV singing contest, whose ratings have slid, said the minimum age this season would be 15 instead of 16.



�A lot of young, talented people are now seeking careers and representation before they turn 16,� said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, executive producer of �American Idol�.

�Lowering the age limit allows us to tap into this talent pool,� she said in a statement.

A month after Cowell bid farewell to �Idol� in the show�s May finale, there has been no word on who will replace him.

But auditions before the panel of judges are not due to start until September, after thousands of wannabe singers in cities around the nation will have been eliminated by producers in the mass July and August try-outs.

The schedule allows more time for producers to name a new judge and have him or her in place by September.

Last year, �Idol� producers enlisted celebrities ranging from country singer Shania Twain to actor Neil Patrick Harris to sit on the judges� panel, after the abrupt departure of Paula Abdul.

Ellen DeGeneres did not take up her new role as a judge until early 2010, when singers who made it past the first auditions performed in Hollywood. That move indicated a similar hiatus is possible this year for Cowell�s replacement.

�American Idol� has been the most-watched TV show in the United States for the past seven years despite a 9 per cent ratings drop in 2010 to an average 23.9 million, from a 2006 high of 30.8 million.

Cowell, 50, left to launch a US version of his British �X-Factor� talent show on Fox in the fall of 2011.

Johnny Depp off for more adventures in �Pirates�

In the next �Pirates of the Caribbean,� Johnny Depp�s seafaring character Jack Sparrow will face a woman from his past and board another buccaneer�s ship, the studio behind the film said yesterday.

The Walt Disney Co revealed those story elements for the new film as it announced that production has started.



�Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides� is the fourth movie in the franchise, which to date has earned more than US$1 billion (RM3.3 billion) at US and Canada box offices. It will hit cinemas in 3-D on May 20, 2011.

In the movie, Depp�s (picture) popular Sparrow character will run into a woman from his past, played by Oscar winner Penelope Cruz, Disney said. She will force Sparrow onto the Queen Anne�s Revenge, the legendary pirate ship run by Blackbeard, who will be played by Ian McShane.

Once onboard, Sparrow will need to keep an eye out on both Blackbeard and Cruz�s character.

Both McShane and Cruz are new cast members on the latest �Pirates� movie, taking the place of headliners Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.

Bloom, among other things, has a wedding on his agenda. Yesterday, his representatives told celebrity news outlets the 33-year-old actor is engaged to Victoria�s Secret model Miranda Kerr.

Vatican beatifies Blues Brothers ... well almost

Jim Belushi (L) and Dan Aykroyd perform as The Blues Brothers during the 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year dinner and concert in honor of Aretha Franklin in Los Angeles Feb 8, 2008.

Jake and Elwood, the loveable if hapless characters played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the classic 1980 film The Blues Brothers, have finally gotten Vatican recognition for their �Mission from God�.

To mark this week�s 30th anniversary of the film, which became a cult classic and spawned a fashion of wearing black hats and dark sunglasses to parties, the Vatican newspaper dedicated a full page and no fewer than five articles to it.



One of the articles says there is �no lack of evidence� that The Blues Brothers can be considered �a Catholic film�.

It notes that Jake�s release from prison and the commitment by him and Elwood to put their blues revival band back together to raise money to save an orphanage from forced closure has parallels with the Biblical story of the prodigal son.

Jake and Elwood � who say they are on a �mission from God� to raise the money to pay a back tax bill for the orphanage � and the band members, are symbols of �redemption obtained with sacrifice�.

The newspaper also notes that the film is sprinkled with Catholic and moral references such as the nun Sister Mary Stigmata, who they call �The Penguin�.

Elwood even passes up a chance for a one-night stand with a woman played by Twiggy in order to fulfil the mission, it says.

�This is a memorable film, and, judging by the facts, a Catholic one,� the newspaper said.

John Lennon handwritten lyrics sell for US$1.2 million

A statue of John Lennon stands at the facade of the Hard Days Night Hotel in Liverpool, England.

John Lennon�s handwritten lyrics to �A Day in the Life� sold for US$1.2 million (RM3.96 million) in New York yesterday, almost doubling the estimated price, Sotheby�s auction house said.

Considered one of the Beatles� greatest songs and the final track on �Sgt Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band�, the lyrics were sold to a private American collector on the telephone after an intense six-minute bidding battle, Sotheby�s said.



�The outstanding price achieved for these handwritten lyrics is testament to the iconic status of the Beatles, John Lennon and especially this song,� said David Redden, Sotheby�s Books and Manuscripts Department international chairman.

According to Sotheby�s, the record for Beatles lyrics at auction is US$1.25 million paid for �All You Need Is Love� in 2005.

Sotheby�s described �A Day in the Life� as �the revolutionary song that marked the Beatles� transformation from pop icons to artists.�

The single sheet of paper features a rough draft of the lyrics, including crossings out and a spelling error where �film� is written as �flim�.

On the reverse side is a neater version written in capital letters and with fewer corrections.

Apparently added later is the line: �I love to turn you on�, for which the song was banned by the BBC when it first came out in 1967 because the words were deemed to be a reference to taking drugs.

�Sgt Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band� topped the US and British charts, won four Grammy awards in 1968 and is ranked number 26 in Rolling Stone magazine�s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The lyrics once belonged to Mal Evans, the Beatles� road manager.

More �Predators� on the way

 

Just released, the international trailer for the new update on the 1995 film Predators shows glimpses of the creatures and a battle for survival. This horror adventure hits theatres July 9 in the US and a dozen countries.

The gore level makes this footage a �red-band� (age-restricted) trailer.



It stars Adrien Brody (The Brothers Bloom, The Pianist) as a mercenary who leads a motley crew of warriors, convicts and black-op types who discover they are being hunted by predators (pic).

Giant moons in the sky reveal they have mysteriously landed on another planet, faced with a terrorizing alien species of horrid-looking killers. The humans realize they must choose between being predators or prey.

Co-stars include Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) and Alice Braga (Repo Men). Produced by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids), the picture is directed by Nimr�d Antal (Control).

Predators rolls out worldwide through July and August.

Dancing, exhibits, grave visit mark Jackson anniversary

Jackson gestures during a news conference at the O2 Arena in London in this March 5, 2009 file photo


Backup dancers for Michael Jackson perform for the presentation of the game �Michael Jackson� during the Ubisoft media briefing at the Los Angeles theatre ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles on June 14, 2010.


In Tokyo, fans are planning a sleepover surrounded by his possessions; in Los Angeles, devotees will visit his grave; and on TV and radio stations around the world, lovers of the King of Pop�s music won�t stop �til they get enough.

Fans, museums and some members of Michael Jackson�s family will mark today�s one-year anniversary of the singer�s death with special exhibits, tributes and flash mob dances from Manila to Manhattan.



In the family hometown of Gary, Indiana, matriarch Katherine Jackson will unveil a monument to the singer outside the humble house where the legendary Jackson 5 began their singing career half a century ago. A memorial and candlelight vigil will follow, ending with the song �We are the World.�

Jackson�s children � Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket � are expected to mark today�s anniversary privately in Gary.

By contrast, in the Philippines prisoners who danced their way to fame with their �Thriller� YouTube video in 2007, will pay homage to the singer with some more fancy footwork.

Jackson�s sudden death at age 50 on June 25 last year in Los Angeles sparked an outpouring of grief around the world for the former child star, who was rehearsing for a series of London concerts aimed at reviving a career shattered by bizarre events as an adult and allegations of molesting children.

A year on, with Jackson�s personal doctor awaiting trial on a criminal charge of causing the singer�s death by giving him a powerful aesthetic as a sleep aid, memories are focused on the artist who won 13 Grammys and whose dancing rocked the world.

There are no major tributes planned by the official Michael Jackson estate, which now controls rights to the �Beat it� singer�s music, likeness and other memorabilia.

But Jackson�s estranged father Joe has helped organise a �Forever Michael� tribute at a Beverly Hills hotel tomorrow, where 1970s band The Chi-Lites and a niece of the Jackson clan are expected to perform.

Katherine Jackson, 80, has given the fund-raising dinner her blessing, and her self-published book of personal family photographs � �Never Can Say Good-bye� � will be sold there. But Michael Jackson�s estate is not part of the event.

Elsewhere, �The Ultimate Thriller� tribute stage show makes its way from Europe and the Middle East across the Atlantic for the first time, kicking off a US tour today near Boston.

Fans are expected to gather at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, where the Jackson 5 launched their careers, and Madame Tussaud in New York will install an exhibit as part of a global wax celebration of Jackson�s career.

Some of the more unusual events will take place in Asia, where Jackson had a devoted following even after his 2005 trial and acquittal on charges of abusing a young boy.

At the world�s only official Michael Jackson exhibition, fans selected at random will pay US$1,000 (RM3,200) for an opportunity to sleep the night inside the Neverland Collection at Japan�s Tokyo Tower. Some of the singer�s clothes, furniture and awards from his famed Neverland Valley Ranch in central California have been on display there since May.

The cemetery where Jackson is buried near Los Angeles will open its gates to all fans today but they will not be allowed into the vast mausoleum containing his body. Balloons, doves, radios and candles have also been banned in what officials hope will be a quiet and respectful occasion.

Yet, airwaves will be filled with Michael Jackson hits. MTV is among numerous TV and radio outlets planning wall-to-wall videos, retrospectives and documentaries throughout the weekend looking at the singer�s influence, key developments of the past year and how his family has fared.

And fans looking for ways to mark the anniversary by text or Twitter were offered a list of song-based, 140 character lines from mobile entertainment company Predicto.

They include �ABC EZ as 123 o simple as doe ray me abc baby u and me grl� and �Cuz this is thrilla thrilla nite there ain�t no 2nd chance against the thing w/40 eyz, girl.�

�Toy Story 3� beats Sandler, Cruise at box office

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