Entertainment

Racial barriers still hold back Hollywood’s black talent

(Reuters) – When Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won the best-acting Oscar categories and Sidney Poitier was honored with a lifetime achievement award in 2002, the night was a watershed for black actors in Hollywood. Since then the debate about Hollywood diversity among the African American community has continued to ebb and flow, but one fact remains constant: nearly all black actors are still only being recognized by the Academy Awards for playing specifically black […]

Online music going for a song, says U.S. bill seeking more cash for composers

WASHINGTON Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:23pm EST (Reuters) – Songwriters need to make more money when their music is played on online services like Pandora and elsewhere, according to a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday by a Republican congressman. The measure, introduced by Representative Doug Collins of Georgia, would give songwriters more leeway in arguing for higher royalties before a special court that mediates disputes over payments. The proposal is […]

Actors Kevin Hart, Forest Whitaker are big winners at NAACP awards

By Mary Milliken PASADENA, California Sun Feb 23, 2014 12:45am EST (Reuters) – Comedian and actor Kevin Hart won the coveted Entertainer of the Year at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, while Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker was honored with awards for both his career and his latest role as a White House butler. One week before the Academy Awards, one of the frontrunners for best picture “12 Years a Slave” won the best motion […]

Maria von Trapp of ‘Sound of Music’ fame dead at 99

Sun Feb 23, 2014 12:41am EST (Reuters) – Maria von Trapp, a member of the Austrian family whose escape from Nazi Germany and subsequent musical career inspired the famed musical “The Sound of Music,” has died at the age of 99, according to newspapers quoting her brother. Von Trapp died Tuesday but the news was confirmed Saturday by her half-brother Johannes von Trapp, according to the New York Daily News. Von Trapp died of natural […]

Entering the Realm of Blogging

By Nikki Veron Cruz AT this point, we are very much familiar with the terms “blogging”, “blogger”, and “blogs”. I would usually approach the concept of blogging with vague indifference simply because I feel that everyone now has the opportunity to claim that he is an online writer. Lately I have realized the infinite hub of useful, useless, insightful information that blogging sites cater on. Which led me to the elementary conclusion that yes, the […]

10 killed as resort building collapses in South Korea

(Reuters) — Ten people attending a welcoming party for new university students were killed when a building at a South Korean mountain resort collapsed late on Monday (February 17), emergency officials said, trapping dozens in snow and rubble for several hours. About 560 students had gathered in the auditorium of the golf resort in the mountains in the city of Gyeongju, around 375 km (235 miles) southeast of Seoul. Heavy snow had built up on the roof of the […]

Taylor Swift Back in Manila for Red Tour

We are pretty sure Swifties fan in the Philippines are celebrating as the country singer and 7-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift is set to come back to Manila this coming June 6 at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Red Tour started with several sold-out stadiums in headlining sold-out venues in North America, Australia, New Zealand, The UK, and Germany. February 13, 2014, Thursday, Taylor Swift announced on her website about her comeback in Southeast Asia. She […]

‘Now 49’ compilation knocks ‘Frozen’ from Billboard 200 top spot

By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES Wed Feb 12, 2014 6:53pm EST (Reuters) – The latest edition of the “Now That’s What I Call Music!” franchise featuring chart hits by Lorde and Katy Perry debuted at the top of the weekly Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, pushing the “Frozen” film soundtrack off its pedestal. “Now 49,” a 21-track compilation that includes songs by Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, sold 98,000 copies in its […]

Comic great Sid Caesar of “Your Show of Shows” dies at 91

By Alex Dobuzinskis and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES Wed Feb 12, 2014 7:23pm EST (Reuters) – Sid Caesar, who pioneered TV sketch comedy during the 1950s as the star and creative force of “Your Show of Shows,” a launch pad for the likes of Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Woody Allen and an inspiration to generations of comedians, died on Wednesday. He was 91. Caesar, in failing health for at least a year, died at […]

Longtime NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw diagnosed with cancer

LOS ANGELES Tue Feb 11, 2014 7:33pm EST (Reuters) – Veteran news anchor Tom Brokaw, the face of “NBC Nightly News” for more than two decades, has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow, the network said on Tuesday. Brokaw, 74, stepped down as anchor in December 2004 but has remained with the network as a special correspondent, currently covering the Winter Olympics coverage in Sochi, and has […]

Actor Hugh Jackman returning as Tony Awards host for fourth time

NEW YORK Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:22pm EST (Reuters) – Award-winning actor Hugh Jackman will return to host the 68th annual Tony Awards, which honors the best of Broadway, organizers said on Tuesday. It will be the fourth time Jackman will emcee the ceremony on June 8 from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where it will be broadcast live on the CBS television network. He hosted the ceremony from 2003-2005 and picked […]