Saturday, November 26, 2011
George Michael's condition worsened overnight say doctors
Doctors treating singer George Michael on the 13th floor of the Vienna AKH general hospital say his condition has worsened overnight.
He was hospitalised on Monday after a doctor was called to his suite at the Hotel imperial in Vienna's posh first district and diagnosed breathing difficulties.
He was taken by ambulance to the city's top Rudolfiner private hospital in the 19th district of the city, where a decision was taken to move him to the main general hospital - the AKH.
The hospital refused to say why the star was moved but it is believed it was decided that the singer's condition was so acute that it would be better if he was moved to the AKH - the biggest in Europe and where many of the continent's top medical experts are based because of the advanced facilities it offers for research as well as treatment.
The hospital has two skyscrapers, identified for navigating around the huge complex as the red tower and the green tower. He is currently in intensive care on the 13th floor of the red tower as a result of heart problems believed to be caused by the shortage of oxygen caused by his pneumonia.
On Thursday afternoon he was fitted into a special full-body bed designed to keep all the pressure off his lungs and to help them to function - so far without any sign of improvement.
Head doctor from the nearby Otto Wagner Hospital, Norbert Vetter, said that the reason a person with a lung problem was being treated in the cardiac unit probably lay in the fact that if there was a lung problem - and not enough oxygen being taken into the body - then that could affect the heart especially if the heart had already been damaged in some way. He added in the worst case the heart could cease to function.
AKH spokeswoman Karin Fehringer said: "We have no comment to make on this matter at the request of the patient."
But a hospital insider confirmed that the singer's condition had worsened. He said: "I have not seen him myself but cardiac specialists and internists are treating him round the clock." Internists specialise in treating adults with multi-system disease problems in hospitals.
A spokesman for his management team would only confirm his condition remained "bad".
Friday, November 25, 2011
The Most Beautiful Ad for Marriage Equality
GetUp! in Australia released a commercial on Thursday from the perspective of one half of a gay couple in love.
It builds to the big moment that they want legalized — a proposal to get married.
Polls in Australia show support for marriage equality has increased to almost two-thirds of voters. But Prime Minister Julia Gillard remains opposed, arguing that "the institution of marriage has come to have a particular meaning and standing in our culture and nation and that should continue unchanged."
In the commercial, the couple seems like any other that might fit that "meaning," except for their gender. Groups such as The Third Way in Washington have argued based on new research that it's a message of commitment like this one — and not about benefits or rights — that will be most effective with voters.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
This Looks Good - 'This Means War'
Mention “Spy vs. Spy” to anyone my age and they’ll likely think of the classic Mad magazine cartoon with the pointy-faced antagonists planting bombs near each other with a gusto usually reserved for the cat and mouse in the Itchy and Scratchy cartoons. But that could change next February, when bombastic filmmaker McG (Charlie’s Angels) unleashes his explosive love triangle comedyThis Means War, which finds rival spies Tom Hardy and Chris Pine fighting over Reese Witherspoon’s affections.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Adam Levine's Rock-Star Yoga
The 32-year-old singer, who is also a judge on NBC's The Voice, owes that body to a mix-and-match yoga regimen he practices at home, at the recording studio, and on the road. "At any Maroon 5 concert, you'll see a room backstage marked yoga," he says.
Living the plugged-in celebrity life in Los Angeles, Levine was aware of the yoga scene but initially kept his distance, turned off by what he calls "the cheesy clichés." But he began to worry that his gym routine was a dead end, hurting more than it helped: "Weights made my neck thick, and I would be like, 'I'm turning into a monster!'" As he grew increasingly frustrated by lower-back pain and tight hips and hamstrings, he decided to give yoga a try. That was five years ago, and Levine hasn't lifted a weight or entered a gym since. "Yoga takes what you have and molds and sculpts it, which is a much more natural way to look and feel," he says.
Credit Levine with a refreshing candor about the aesthetic payoff: "I don't like how people bullshit about how yoga is not about vanity." Not that he doesn't appreciate the spiritual benefits—Levine sees his routines as a therapeutic antidote to the distortions of his career. "Playing a show before thousands of people is a highly unnatural state," he says, "and when I get on the mat to do an hour of yoga before the show, I come out physically relaxed."
'The Muppets' opens as best-reviewed wide release of 2011
Statler and Waldorf would have a thing or two to say about this. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the best movie of the year so far stars felt puppets from the 1970s.
The Muppets, which opens today, was poised to debut at a perfect 100 percent on the review accumulation site… but a pair of last-minute critiques dipped the film’s score to a still-stellar 98 percent. Perfection would have been a nice feather in the cap of writer-star Jason Segel, but the actor and Muppet champion can still take pride in his passion project being the best-reviewed wide release of the year. The nearest competitor is this summer’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, which scored 96 percent.
Not surprisingly, the film also scores considerably higher than its franchise predecessors. The most recent, 1999′s Muppets From Space, holds a score of 63 percent, and earlier installments The Muppet Movie (1979) and The Great Muppet Caper (1981) scored 90 percent and 74 percent, respectively.
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/11/23/the-muppets-best-reviewed-movie/
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/11/23/the-muppets-best-reviewed-movie/
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Whitney Houston Enjoying Family Feel on Detroit Set of 'Sparkle'
The Whitney Houston who came to Detroit last month to begin filming "Sparkle" is a different actress from the one who debuted on the big screen in 1992's "The Bodyguard."
How? "Well, I'm older now and more mature," said the singing legend via e-mail to the Free Press.
"Sparkle," which was scheduled to wrap filming Thursday, marks a return to movies for Houston, whose public and personal ups and downs have long been the subject of media attention.
It's been more than a decade since she starred in a feature film. In the 1990s, her appearances in hits like "Waiting to Exhale" made her the rare singing icon who segues successfully into acting.
Houston recalls those projects now with fondness.
"I was really scared to do 'The Bodyguard' and put Kevin Costner off for 2 years out of fear! 'Waiting to Exhale' was fun because it was an ensemble cast of great actors, and 'The Preacher's Wife' -- well, starring alongside Denzel Washington with Penny Marshall directing and getting to sing all those gospel songs made it a pleasure."
Houston has been busy rehearsing and filming during her stay here, but she thanked the Motor City for its hospitality. "Detroit has been a great temporary home," she messaged. "Everyone has been really kind and I have some family and friends here and the cast is now like family."
"Sparkle," a remake of the 1976 movie, began shooting in October. It has filmed at locations like Music Hall, Detroit Opera House, Masonic Temple, Fillmore Detroit and Cliff Bell's jazz club.
The movie was approved for a film incentive of $3.1 million on about $7.4 million of estimated in-state spending.
"Sparkle," which is set to be released in 2012, has a cast that includes "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, Derek Luke of "Antwone Fisher," Mike Epps, Carmen Ejogo, Tika Sumpter and Omari Hardwick. Pop-soul star (and NBC's "The Voice" coach) Cee Lo Green and Detroit singer Kem also have roles.
In the new version, Sparks has the title role -- played by Irene Cara in the original -- of a musical prodigy who forms a singing group with her two sisters.
Unlike the earlier movie, which was set in gritty 1950s New York, this one places Sparkle in an affluent neighborhood of 1960s Detroit during the height of Motown.
Houston portrays Sparkle's mother, Emma. The role was played by veteran character actress Mary Alice in the original, in which the character was named Effie.
Besides acting in the movie, Houston is an executive producer who's serious about the responsibility of updating a film that continues to have a special place in the hearts of many fans for giving African-American actresses of that era a chance to play glamorous, complicated leading roles.
"The biggest challenge for us as the production and for me, is to do justice to the story and for me to play my role to the best of my ability," said Houston.
In a recent interview, Houston told "Access Hollywood" that the project, which she's been involved with for more than a decade, was set at one point to star Aaliyah, who grew up in Detroit. It was put on hold after the 22-year-old singer-actress died in a plane crash in 2001.
Houston has been talking to nationally syndicated TV shows about the current production and her bond with Sparks. The family theme of the script seems to have filtered onto the set. Houston said via the Web that one of her favorite experiences working in Detroit was filming a dinner scene where all of the cast was present.
'Glee's' Idina Menzel on Parenthood, Being Pigeonholed and Her PBS TV Special
TORONTO - Stage and screen star Idina Menzel has originated the role of the green-skinned Elphaba in Wicked and Maureen in Rent.
And the Broadway belter has a recurring guest star role as Rachel's biological mother on Fox’s Glee.
But nothing compares to when Menzel and husband and Private Practice star Taye Diggs had a baby son,Walker Diggs.
“To me, it was a gift to have this intense love for someone that I’d never felt before, for a child, that makes you feel better than anything else you’ve done,” Menzel said backstage after performing over two nights for an upcoming PBS TV special recorded in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall.
She explained parenthood has changed her from a talented, yet self-absorbed artist bedeviled by doubts to enjoying first-time fulfillment.
“Ever since I had my son, I have more of a cup half-full perspective on life that he (Walker) has given me,” Menzel said with a broad smile.
“If I screwed up a high note, I go easier on myself,” she added, knowing as a mother she has a baby boy back home who loves her.
Menzel marked another milestone in Toronto, taking the Kitchener-Waterloo Orchestra and legendary maestro Marvin Hamlisch through a medley of hit songs from Glee, Wicked and Rent, and stories from a career that took her from a wedding singer in Long Island, New York to arousing bravos on Broadway and screen appearances.
For Menzel, a first-time TV special is about showing fans that connect her success with role-playing that she’s far more than just a Belle of Broadway with an acting bug.
“Everyone wants to pigeon-hole you, in my case as a green witch for Wicked or a rock singer for Rent,” she said.
“This (PBS special) gives you an opportunity to be myself and be genuine and to show a wide spectrum of talents,” Menzel added.
That proposition will be tested soon enough as Menzel’s PBS TV special to air in March 2012 will be followed by a live album and a DVD release.
The chance to be herself also follows Menzel and Hamlisch polishing her one-woman concert show performed with a host of orchestras in the U.S. and at Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
Her solo numbers are intertwined with set-up stories that recall being told by a bandleader to carry on singing during a wedding gig as a man had a heart attack on the dance floor “because the band always plays on, like it’s the Titanic,” or embarrassing herself in university by singing Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale” to impress a teacher she had a crush on who turned out to be gay.
She also tells, and colorfully embellishes, a story about being ignored at a dinner table by Barbara Streisand after she performed for her at a Kennedy Center Honors concert, only to learn at the end of the meal that the Broadway legend forgot her glasses and didn’t make out Menzel performing on stage.
Menzel also told of meeting Taye Diggs in 1996 on the Broadway set of Rent – “Did a little too much flirting back-stage, you know what I mean ladies?” – and of landing a recurring role on Glee after doubting she’d ever get work again after her pregnancy.
“I was having a baby, I was really fat and I get a script for Glee,” she recalled before the Gleeks in the Toronto audience erupted with cheers for her rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”
“I think it’s important to be vulnerable and intimate with an audience,” Menzel says backstage as around her the PBS production crew packed up for the morning flight back home across the border.
As if to underline that point, Menzel towards the end of her PBS special walked to the front of the acoustically perfect Koerner Hall stage, dropped her microphone, and filled the silent hall with an a cappella version of “For Good” from Wicked.
“’For Good,’ that’s my favorite part of the show. It’s stripped down, there’s no orchestra you can hide behind,” she explained.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/broadway-star-idina-menzel-parenthood-264397
But nothing compares to when Menzel and husband and Private Practice star Taye Diggs had a baby son,Walker Diggs.
“To me, it was a gift to have this intense love for someone that I’d never felt before, for a child, that makes you feel better than anything else you’ve done,” Menzel said backstage after performing over two nights for an upcoming PBS TV special recorded in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall.
She explained parenthood has changed her from a talented, yet self-absorbed artist bedeviled by doubts to enjoying first-time fulfillment.
“Ever since I had my son, I have more of a cup half-full perspective on life that he (Walker) has given me,” Menzel said with a broad smile.
“If I screwed up a high note, I go easier on myself,” she added, knowing as a mother she has a baby boy back home who loves her.
Menzel marked another milestone in Toronto, taking the Kitchener-Waterloo Orchestra and legendary maestro Marvin Hamlisch through a medley of hit songs from Glee, Wicked and Rent, and stories from a career that took her from a wedding singer in Long Island, New York to arousing bravos on Broadway and screen appearances.
For Menzel, a first-time TV special is about showing fans that connect her success with role-playing that she’s far more than just a Belle of Broadway with an acting bug.
“Everyone wants to pigeon-hole you, in my case as a green witch for Wicked or a rock singer for Rent,” she said.
“This (PBS special) gives you an opportunity to be myself and be genuine and to show a wide spectrum of talents,” Menzel added.
That proposition will be tested soon enough as Menzel’s PBS TV special to air in March 2012 will be followed by a live album and a DVD release.
The chance to be herself also follows Menzel and Hamlisch polishing her one-woman concert show performed with a host of orchestras in the U.S. and at Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
Her solo numbers are intertwined with set-up stories that recall being told by a bandleader to carry on singing during a wedding gig as a man had a heart attack on the dance floor “because the band always plays on, like it’s the Titanic,” or embarrassing herself in university by singing Cole Porter’s “Love For Sale” to impress a teacher she had a crush on who turned out to be gay.
She also tells, and colorfully embellishes, a story about being ignored at a dinner table by Barbara Streisand after she performed for her at a Kennedy Center Honors concert, only to learn at the end of the meal that the Broadway legend forgot her glasses and didn’t make out Menzel performing on stage.
Menzel also told of meeting Taye Diggs in 1996 on the Broadway set of Rent – “Did a little too much flirting back-stage, you know what I mean ladies?” – and of landing a recurring role on Glee after doubting she’d ever get work again after her pregnancy.
“I was having a baby, I was really fat and I get a script for Glee,” she recalled before the Gleeks in the Toronto audience erupted with cheers for her rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”
“I think it’s important to be vulnerable and intimate with an audience,” Menzel says backstage as around her the PBS production crew packed up for the morning flight back home across the border.
As if to underline that point, Menzel towards the end of her PBS special walked to the front of the acoustically perfect Koerner Hall stage, dropped her microphone, and filled the silent hall with an a cappella version of “For Good” from Wicked.
“’For Good,’ that’s my favorite part of the show. It’s stripped down, there’s no orchestra you can hide behind,” she explained.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/broadway-star-idina-menzel-parenthood-264397
On Facebook, It's Now 4.74 Degrees of Separation
(CNN) -- In the Facebook age -- when digital "friends" are just a click away -- the distance between people seems to be shrinking, according to data the social network released on Monday night.
The adage maintains there are "six degrees of separation" between any two people on Earth, meaning that any two people would know each other through no more than six intermediary contacts.
On Facebook, however, the average user is only 4.74 degrees away from any other Facebooker.
"Thus, when considering even the most distant Facebook user in the Siberian tundra or the Peruvian rainforest, a friend of your friend probably knows a friend of their friend," Facebook wrote in a blog post about its findings.
That conclusion comes from a non-peer-reviewed study of 721 million active Facebook users, released by Facebook in collaboration with the Università degli Studi di Milano, the blog post says.
Facebook calls the analysis "the largest social network studies ever released."
The Palo Alto, California, company says 99.6% of all Facebook users studied were separated by five degrees or less from any other Facebook user; 92% were separated by only four degrees.
Furthermore, that distance appears to be shrinking quickly.
"The average distance in 2008 was 5.28 hops, while now it is 4.74," Facebook says.
While online Facebook friends are more likely to be linked to far-flung friends-of-friends, their immediate circles of contacts are remarkably homogenous in terms of age and geography.
"We observed that while the entire world is only a few degrees away, a user's friends are most likely to be of a similar age and come from the same country," the company writes.
Within the United States, for instance, users on average are linked by three intermediary contacts.
Facebook compares its work to that of 1960s social psychologist Stanley Milgram's experiments to prove that people are separated by only six contacts.
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