"He's painfully thin, he hasn't properly trained, he's battled pain medication ... can he make it through to the end? Secreted in an airport hangar somewhere in the Los Angeles area, Michael Jackson is hard at work rehearsing for his 50-date concert series, 'This Is It,' TheWrap has confirmed. 'He is fine and in great shape and is healthy and rehearsing in Los Angeles,' said friend and business associate Gary Pudney, executive producer of the World Music Awards, where Jackson made one of his rare public appearances in 2006. That may come as a surprise to those who saw recent photos of Jackson shopping in Bel-Air, where the King of Pop’s painfully thin frame swam inside a black silk morning coat. Jackson, his chin and cheekbones jutting out, looked nothing like a pop star about to embark on a strenuous 50-date concert tour." (TheWrap)
"China has said it will not join the growing trend of outsourcing food production by investing in overseas farmland, particularly in Africa, expressing doubts that such deals could improve its food security. Niu Dun, China’s deputy agriculture minister, said on Monday that Beijing preferred to depend on its own land to maintain self-sufficiency in grain, distancing the country from nations such as Saudi Arabia and South Korea, which are investing in land overseas. 'We cannot rely on [investments in] other countries for our own food security,” Mr Niu told the Financial Times in an interview at the Group of Eight’s first meeting on agriculture. “We have to depend on ourselves,' he said in the first comments on the subject by a senior Chinese policymaker. As the world’s biggest agricultural economy and its largest consumer and producer of cereals, any decision by China to invest in African arable land would have large implications." (FT)
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"BEST wishes to Julie Chen and CBS chief Les Moonves. Chen is pregnant with the couple's first child. Moonves, 59, who married Chen, 37, four years ago, has three grown children from his first marriage. Chen, who's due to give birth in October, will have to take maternity leave from 'The Early Show' and 'Big Brother,' whose fans have been speculating for more than two years about whether she was expecting or not. Well, now she is." (PageSix)
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"Contrary to trade paper speculation, Francis Ford Coppola won’t be bringing his new film, 'Tetro,' to next month’s Cannes Film Festival, declining an offer to screen his film out of competition (according to a report by Mike Jones on his Circuit blog). Meanwhile, Ang Lee, Jane Campion, Michael Haneke, Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Pedro Almodovar, Bong Joon-ho, Marco Bellocchio, Lars von Trier and Johnnie To are on tap for the French festival, according to a Variety report late last week. The lineup for the 2009 Festival de Cannes is set to be unveiled this Thursday in Paris and as the big day approaches, industry insiders are buzzing about the roster ..In a statement to Mike Jones on Friday, Francis Ford Coppola said, 'While I very much appreciate the invitation, this is an independent film, self-financed and self released, and I felt that being invited for a non-competition gala screening wasn’t true to the personal and independent nature of this film.' He will instead debut the movie at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 10th, ahead of a June 11th U.S. release by Coppola’s American Zoetrope." (IndieWIRE)
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"Later that night… a lucky few of us were shuttled off to Frank Sinatra’s swingin’ bachelor pad for the adidas/Jeremy Scott party and a night of classy fun. The entire event felt like a throwback to bygone days of decadence, and if you squinted hard enough, Peaches Geldof could almost pass for Anita Pallenberg. Almost. Impressively, the crowd still managed to achieve glamour despite the day’s hair-ruining heat. Among the usual pretties were Mark Cobrasnake, Busy P, Kanye West, Mekhi Phifer, Johnny Makeup, and many others, all out to cool off, hang out, and enjoy the Belvedere mixers." (Papermag)
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"Down on the Chelsea Piers at 23rd Street, there was more dancing (and dining) with the American Ballet Theatre hosting its thirteenth annual Culinary Pas de Deux. The program included 'Dancing with ABT Stars' along with demonstrations of salsa, hop-hop and tango. The soiree also featured sampling the culinary delectations of some of New York’s finest chefs -- Matt Hoyle of Nobu Fifty-Seven, Martin Howard of Brasserie 8 ½, Samuel Freund of One if by Land, Two if by Sea, Brian Young of Tavern on the Green, Larissa Raphael of Telepan, Joseph Paulino of Café des Artistes and mixologist Albert Trummer of Apotheke. Marvin Hamlisch leading the New York Philharmonic at last night's New York Moments. The African Rainforest Conservancy held its 18th annual Artists for African Rainforest Benefit at Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Center at the Stephan Weiss Studio on 711 Greenwich Street. There also was the compatible wines from several premier wineries to go with those samplings, as well as Mr. Trummer’s specially designed cocktails. ABT’s Principal Dancer Marcelo Gomes and Soloist Craig Salstein hosted. The money raised benefits the ABT’s Spring Season which opens with their annual Spring Gala on May 18th with Honorary Chairmen President and Mrs. Barack Obama. I hear there is at least a possibility that Michelle Obama will grace the evening with her presence." (NYSocialDiary)
"Pricey, star-driven thrillers and dramas will struggle for profitability as the recession intensifies a trend toward youth-dominated openings. That's the consensus after the weekend's soft opening for Universal's Russell Crowe starrer, the latest in a series of misfires by adult-oriented releases. Investigative-journo thriller 'State of Play' rung up just $14.1 million over its first frame, meaning the Americanized adaptation of a British miniseries must overperform dramatically overseas for the $60 million production to break even. The pic's travails reflect this rude awakening in Hollywood: Older demos may be resisting the recent enthusiasm for moviegoing. Certainly it's been months since anything has caught fire at the arthouses. But it's the ill-fated outings of studios' highest-profile adult fare that's stirred the most concern. 'Not as many adults are going to the movies because of the recession,' a highly placed studio exec lamented. 'More and more, it's the kids who come out and support the pictures over opening weekend and not as much the older adults.'" (TheHollywoodReporter)
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"Actress Lisa Rinna was back on the Howard Stern show today plugging her new Playboy spread and her new health and fitness book. The May issue of Playboy features the former 'Melrose Place' and 'Dancing with the Stars' star in a nude pictorial .. In her new book, entitled 'Rinnavation' (get it?) she credits Howard Stern with helping her to become more open with her sexuality. Lisa Rinna, who is married to 'LA Law' star Harry Hamlin, appeared on the original Melrose Place back in the early 90's. She then made a comeback a couple of years ago by making it to the finals of 'Dancing with the Stars.' After that, Rinna was scooped up by 'The TV Guide Channel' to do live, red carpet interviews. Rinna told Howard this morning that she was recently dumped by 'The TV Guide Channel.' Howard said she shouldn't sweat it, that the red carpet job was beneath her anyways. Lisa Rinna couldn't have agreed more! Rinna also went into excruciating detail about her sex life with her husband and how she learned to become a better lover by taking sex classes with a real life 'sexpert.'" (Gather)
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