Los Angeles Archive

Los Angeles, Nov 4 (DPA) Actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are to jointly host the Oscars awards ceremony, producers of the prestigious film prize have announced.

Martin 64, has hosted the event twice before, but Baldwin, 51, has never before helmed the Academy Awards.

The co-hosts will take over their duties from Hugh Jackman, who pulled out of the running for the high profile gig last week.

The choice of the Hollywood veterans marks the first time since 1987 that the Oscars will have multiple hosts. It comes at a time when the awards show is struggling to maintain its relevance amid continuing viewer apathy and a lack of popular films deemed worthy of the prize.

Martin is best known as a standup comedian, comic actor and recently author, and Baldwin has a diverse Hollywood resume, most recently reviving his career as a venal TV executive on the sit-com ’30 Rock’.

The duo recently worked together on the film ‘It’s Complicated’, which hits screens late this year. In the movie, Martin and Baldwin play rivals competing for the affections of a character played by Meryl Streep.

Los Angeles, Oct 30 (DPA) ‘This Is It’, the documentary movie that followed Michael Jackson’s concert rehearsals in the days before his shock death in June, earned $20.1 million at the US box office on its first full day of release, according to The Hollywood Reporter Thursday.

The film earned a $12.7 million internationally and another $7.4 million in the US, the report said.

The enthusiastic reception could prompt Sony Pictures to extend the movie’s two week screening window, as positive reviews and word-of-mouth approval send more fans to see the 90-minute documentary culled from some 100 hours of rehearsal footage.

The box office haul was released in conjunction with a report from Forbes magazine that identified Jackson as one of the year’s top earning dead celebrities. He earned $90 million in the year, including $72 million since his death.

Jackson was beaten by fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, who earned $350 million, and songwriting duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein who earned $235 million. But he came ahead of last year’s No. 1, Elvis Presley, with $55 million; ‘The Lord of the Rings’ author J.R.R. Tolkien with $50 million; and John Lennon with $9 million.

Jackson’s father Joe Jackson announced Wednesday night that a tribute museum to the star would be built in his hometown of Gary, Indiana. The Jackson patriarch, who has been accused of numerous attempts to cash in on his son’s talent, announced plans for the museum, hotel and performing arts centre together with Gary mayor Rudy Clay in Los Angeles. However there were no details on how the projects will be funded and it is unclear whether Jackson’s estate will back the effort.

Los Angeles, Oct 28 (DPA) Four months after Michael Jackson’s death from a drug overdose a documentary chronicling his last days was set to hit movie screens around the world Tuesday.

The official premiere was set for Tuesday afternoon at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, where Jackson’s public memorial was held. There will also be 18 other premieres taking place simultaneously in Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Korea, Norway, Peru, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay, Britain and New York City.

‘This Is It’ was cobbled together from about 100 hours of footage shot during the late King of Pop’s rehearsals for his 50-date comeback engagement in London’s 02 Arena. The movie was put together by longtime Jackson collaborator, Kenny Ortega, who was also directing the stage show. Sony Pictures bought the movie rights from concert promoter AEG for a reported $60 million, and advance ticket sales for the limited two-week run are on track to make the film the most successful concert movie ever.

Some diehard fans have come out against the movie, setting up a website at This-Is-Not-It.com that argues that the concert promoters facilitated Jackson’s drug use in a bid to get him to perform, even though it was clear he was unhealthy.

However, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, one of Jackson’s closest friends, has hailed the film as ‘the single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen’ after attending a secret preview screening last week. In a series of messages on Twitter the actress added: ‘I truly believe this film should be nominated in every category conceivable.’

Hailing the late entertainer as ‘a modern day prophet’ she wrote that ‘I wept from pure joy at his God given gift. There will never, ever be the likes of him again’.

Some Jackson family members are not planning to see the film, saying it will be too painful. Mother Katherine Jackson told the television programme Access Hollywood, ‘I don’t think I can bear to look at it right now. But eventually in time I will watch it’.

His sister La Toya even said she doubted that Jackson would have wanted fans to see him in rehearsal. ‘Michael always wants to give his best,’ she told the show. ‘This is a rehearsal. He wasn’t giving his all. He loves to give his all always. That’s just the way he is. He wants people to see him at the top of the ladder and not half-stepping because he doesn’t want to do a full-out rehearsal.’