AP - Jerry Reed, a singer who appeared in the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies, has died of complications from emphysema at age 71, his longtime booking agent said Tuesday. -- read full article
AP - Don LaFontaine, the man who popularized the now loved-catch phrase, "in a world where..." and lent his voice to thousands of movie trailers, has died. He was 68.
AP - On Sept. 9, the U.S. publisher of "Harry Potter" will premiere a highly ambitious series with a mystery ending for readers and a couple of puzzlers for the industry: How big is the market for a multimedia story — and can a phenomenon be conceived by a publisher rather than created by the public? -- read full article
Reuters - An amateur film of Marilyn Monroe on
the set of "Some Like It Hot" has surfaced in Australia almost
50 years after it was shot and is being put up for auction.
AP - Jerry Lewis raised a record $65 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in his annual Labor Day telethon, a benefit that also made a pitch for those inconvenienced by Hurricane Gustav.
Reuters - Australian singer Jason Donovan, who
made his name alongside Kylie Minogue in the soap opera
"Neighbours," is to release his first album in 15 years after a
roller-coaster career. -- read full article
AP - The Bayreuth Festival board on Monday named half-sisters Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier to replace their father at the helm of the German festival dedicated to the music of composer Richard Wagner.
Reuters - The lucrative summer moviegoing
season in North America ended on a lackluster note on Monday as
ticket sales limped to a new record while attendance slumped to
a three-year low.
AFP - Oscar-winner Helen Mirren admitted she loved snorting cocaine and only stopped due to the capture of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, in an magazine interview out this month.
Reuters - "The Dark Knight" led
the foreign box office for a third consecutive weekend -- and
fourth overall -- as its international sales hit $417 million.
