Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts

Chris Brown returns to court for probation issues


LOS ANGELES (AP) — With the woman he assaulted throwing him a kiss, Chris Brown walked into court Wednesday to face allegations he failed to complete his community labor sentence for Rihanna's 2009 beating.


A judge asked for more information and scheduled another hearing in two months.


Rihanna, the glamorous singer whose bruised face became a tabloid fixture after she was beaten by her then-boyfriend on the way to the Grammys, has been dating Brown again.


She arrived with the R&B star, his mother and two other women and blew him a kiss as he entered the courtroom. They left together after the short proceeding in which Superior Court Judge James Brandlin set the next hearing for April 5.


Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, said he was disturbed about the way the district attorney handled the matter and said he would be filing a motion opposing the prosecution's move to modify Brown's fulfillment of his community labor sentence.


Prosecutors, who said they could find no credible evidence that Brown had completed his community labor in his home state of Virginia, asked that he start all over and put in 180 days in Los Angeles County.


Prosecutors have suggested there was either sloppy record keeping or fraudulent reporting.


The judge noted during the brief court session that a prosecution filing did not request revocation of Brown's probation and he, therefore, would not revoke it.


A motion filed Tuesday also raised for the first time in Brown's felony assault case several incidents that prosecutors said demonstrate Brown has ongoing anger management issues.


The motion cited a Jan. 27 fight between Brown and fellow R&B star Frank Ocean, and a 2011 outburst in which Brown threw a chair through a window after he was asked about the Rihanna attack on "Good Morning America."


The filing represents a dramatic shift in the case against Brown, who was repeatedly praised by the judge overseeing his case for his completion of domestic violence courses and his community service work in his home state of Virginia.


That changed in September, when prosecutors raised concerns about Brown's community service after he logged 701 hours in seven months — an amount that had previously taken him more than two years to achieve.


Los Angeles investigators traveled to Richmond, Va., to investigate Brown's service, which was only described in broad strokes by Richmond Police Chief Bryan Norwood, who was overseeing the singer's community labor.


"This inquiry provided no credible, competent or verifiable evidence that defendant Brown performed his community labor as presented to this court," Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray wrote.


Brown's attorney Geragos blasted the court filing, saying the prosecutor ignored interviews "where sworn peace officers stated unequivocally that Mr. Brown was supervised and did all of the community service."


"I plan on asking for sanctions from the DA's office for filing a frivolous, scurrilous and frankly defamatory motion," he said Tuesday.


Brown's case was transferred to Brandlin after a recent shuffling of judicial assignments.


After pleading guilty to the Rihanna attack, Brown was given permission to serve 180 days of community labor in his home state of Virginia, but only as long as he performed manual labor such as graffiti removal and roadside cleanup.


Given problems with documentation and statements from some witnesses who contradict Brown's claims of work, prosecutors asked Brandlin to order Brown to repeat his service in Los Angeles.


Brown spent one-third of the hours he logged in Virginia working night shifts at a day care center in rural Virginia where his mother once served as director and where the singer spent time as a child.


A detective who checked on Brown's work nine times at the Tappahannock Children's Center found the singer, his mother and a bodyguard at the center on each visit.


The records said Brown waxed floors or performed general cleaning at the center.


A professional floor cleaner contracted to work at the daycare center told investigators he had been cleaning the floors during the months Brown reported working at the facility.


"Claims that the defendant cleaned, stripped and waxed floors at that location have been credibly contradicted," prosecutors said in the filing.


Brown's mother, Joyce Hawkins, no longer had a formal role at the day care center but had her own set of keys and coordinated her son's work at the facility, prosecutors said.


Murray stated in her filing that Norwood's report on Brown's service was "at best sloppy documentation and at worst fraudulent reporting."


Richmond police spokesman Gene Lepley declined to discuss the allegations.


"We believe it would inappropriate to comment on a matter that's before the court," Lepley said.


According to the motion, officials with Virginia's probation office told investigators that Brown's arrangement to be supervised by Norwood was "extremely unusual" and had not been approved by the agency. No one from Virginia's probation department oversaw Brown's hours, prosecutors said.


The motion noted that the only records the department has to indicate Brown was supervised were officers' overtime sheets. Five of 21 days that officers logged overtime for Brown were spent providing security for the singer's concerts.


The allegations are the latest pre-Grammy controversy for Brown, who was arrested shortly after the 2009 ceremony for his attack on Rihanna. He has since returned to the awards show by performing and winning an award in 2011 for his album "F.A.M.E."


Brown and Ocean are competing against one other for the Best Urban Contemporary Album category at Sunday's Grammys.


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AP writers Anthony McCartney and Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.


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Disney working on standalone 'Star Wars' films


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disney is mining The Force for even more new films.


Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger says screenwriters Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are working on standalone "Star Wars" movies that aren't part of the planned new trilogy.


Iger told CNBC on Tuesday that the standalone movies will be based on "great 'Star Wars' characters that are not part of the overall saga." The films would be released during the six-year period of the new trilogy, starting in 2015 with "Star Wars: Episode VII."


Disney confirmed last month that "Star Trek" director J.J. Abrams will direct the seventh installment of the "Star Wars" saga.


Disney bought "Star Wars" maker Lucasfilm last year for more than $4 billion.


The "Star Wars" prequel trilogy was released from 1999 to 2005.


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Joe Pesci settles dispute over 'Gotti' film payday


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Joe Pesci has settled a lawsuit filed against a company planning a biopic on the Gotti crime family.


The Oscar-winner sued Fiore Films in July 2011 claiming the filmmakers reneged on a deal for a $3 million role in the film and were offering him a lesser part in the project and a lower payday.


Pesci's attorney Jessica Trotter confirmed Monday that a settlement had been reached in the case but said she could not provide any details.


Michael Froch, an attorney for Fiore Films, said he could only confirm the case had been dismissed.


Pesci's lawsuit stated the actor gained 30 pounds in anticipation of playing a childhood friend and enforcer of crime boss John Gotti Sr.


The film, "Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father," has not started filming.


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Keys sings national anthem on piano at Super Bowl


Alicia Keys performed a lounge-y, piano-tinged — and live — version of the national anthem ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday.


The Grammy-winning singer played the piano as she sang "The Star Spangled Banner" with her eyes shut. Her publicist said the performance was live, days after halftime performer Beyonce admitted singing along to a prerecorded track at the Inauguration.


Keys' version was soft and featured additional lyrics: She added "living in the home" before belting "home of the brave" as she finished the song.


Before Keys hit the field, Jennifer Hudson performed "America the Beautiful" with the 26-member Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus.


The students and Hudson wore green ribbons on their shirts in honor of the 20 first-graders and six adults who were killed in a Dec. 14 shooting rampage.


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CeeLo, Kyle Bush, others party for Super Bowl


NEW ORLEANS (AP) — CeeLo was looking for a little New Orleans action. David Gregory was taking the weekend off from "Meet the Press." And Paul McCartney was hanging out at a party that included Pitbull and Flo Rida.


It was a rich and eclectic mix of stars of all wattages on Friday night, as partying got under way in earnest before Sunday's big game.


CeeLo was the featured performer at ESPN Magazine's "Next" party, which had a guest list that included Michael Phelps, NASCAR driver Kyle Bush, Kelly Rowland, Anthony Mackie, Jeremy Piven, Josh Hutcherson, and current and former football players like Emmitt Smith, Cris Carter, DeSean Jackson.


CeeLo performed with his old rap clique Goodie Mobb: The group, which was an offshoot of OutKast before CeeLo became a solo hit, is coming out with a new album later this year. Though the ESPN party was the main event of his night, he made it clear it would not be his only one: "New Orleans has got a lot to offer, I may get into a little trouble."


The stars were spread out across New Orleans: McCartney gave a rock royalty air to the Rolling Stone party, which featured performances by Flo Rida and Pitbull and guests that included Chace Crawford and Sofia Vergara.


At Audi's Super Bowl lounge, Will Ferrell, Jeremy Renner and Olivia Munn mingled, and Playboy attracted Neil Patrick Harris, David Arquette and others. Back at the ESPN party, Gregory, a Redskins fan, admitted to playing hooky from his weekly political show for the big game.


"To get a chance to come to New Orleans on top of it all, it doesn't get much better than this. I love sports, I love the Super Bowl, so this is a great opportunity," said Gregory, who was rooting for the Ravens.


Mackie, an actor and New Orleans native, was excited to have the Super Bowl in his hometown once again, though he's still smarting that the Saints aren't in it; the team fared poorly this season after being hit with significant sanctions by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell over allegations of bounty hits on opposing players.


When asked what he would say to Goodell if he saw him, Mackie said: "I'd tell him congratulations. What he wanted to happen happened, so now the saints are going to come back twice as hard next season."


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Follow Nekesa Mumbi Moody on at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi


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CNN's Sanjay Gupta adds fiction to his workload


LOS ANGELES (AP) — When doctors get called on the carpet by other doctors, it's productive but not always pretty, as neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta describes it.


Closed-door meetings in which physicians candidly dissect cases that went awry can verge on "dignified versions of street fights," said CNN's globe-trotting correspondent.


He drew on such sessions — commonplace for hospitals, if little publicly known — for his first novel, "Monday Mornings," and is a writer-producer on a new TNT series based on the 2012 book.


The drama, from veteran producer David E. Kelley ("Boston Legal," ''The Practice") and with a heavyweight cast that includes Ving Rhames, Alfred Molina and Bill Irwin, debuts Monday (10 p.m. EST). That's also the day the show's fictional Chelsea General Hospital holds its weekly reviews.


In the real world, such meetings to scrutinize complications and mistakes in patient care can lead to new guidelines, Gupta said.


"They can be simple, like never sedate a patient until they're strapped in on the table," he said, the outcome of an unrestrained patient having taken a tumble. "Some changes are big, some are small, but they are always important. We are always redefining medicine."


In the first episode of "Monday Mornings," brash but dedicated neurosurgeon Dr. Tyler Wilson (Jamie Bamber, "Battlestar Galactica") is grilled for failing to check a patient's medical history. Gupta said he learned his own "searing" lesson, about carefully reviewing lab results, without any harm to the patient.


Do the forums ever become a stage for office politics?


"People do jockey for position in these situations," Gupta replied. "If someone's at the lectern (under scrutiny), anyone can ask questions, not just the chairperson of the department. So the nature and tone of it can change pretty quickly."


The most disturbing inquiries involve an apparently reckless M.D. with "a disregard for the person on the operating table or in the hospital," he said. "You can imagine your own mother or loved in the position of the patient, and those are the most indelible ones of all."


The meetings make for gripping drama on "Monday Mornings." But is a show that focuses on medicine's failures as well as its triumphs potentially a hard sell for audiences?


"ER," TV's once-reigning hospital drama, aired a powerful first-season episode in which decisions by Dr. Mark Greene, the caring, steady lead character played by Anthony Edwards, cost a pregnant woman her life. The story line was a rarity on the show that routinely focused on medical heroics.


The key to making the TNT series work is the "likability" of its physicians, said Bill D'Elia, a producer on "Monday Mornings."


It's crucial to "understand their motivation, understand how good they are, how much they care. So it's not black-and-white" when a character blows it, D'Elia said.


As is the case with non-TV doctors, Gupta said.


A mistake is made and "you think that's a bad doctor. You may even think that's a bad human being, and in some cases you might be right," he said. "But a lot of times you're not, and I think showing the rest of the story, how it may continue to get discussed" is illuminating.


Besides writing for "Monday Mornings," Gupta, 43, makes sure it depicts surgery and the world of medicine accurately.


How Gupta fits the tasks into his already demanding schedule is a medical mystery. As D'Elia said, he never knows if he's talking to the doctor in Atlanta, where Gupta lives with his family and practices, or in another city, sometimes far-flung, as part of his award-winning work for CNN (which, like TNT, is part of Time Warner subsidiary Turner).


"When I talk to him I have this (mental) picture of him in front of a green screen so he can input wherever he is," D'Elia said. "He's as likely to be in Pakistan as New York."


Since joining CNN in 2001, Gupta has covered events including the quake and tsunami in Japan, Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. In 2003, while embedded with a Navy medical unit, he reported from Iraq and Kuwait and acted as a doctor as well as a reporter, performing brain surgeries in a desert operating room.


That same year, he got a spot on People magazine's list of the "sexiest men alive."


He anchors the weekend medical affairs program, "Sanjay Gupta MD," is on the staff and faculty at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and is an associate chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital.


In 2009, he was approached for the position of surgeon general in the new Obama administration, a post he says he declined because it would have halted his work as a neurosurgeon. He's said he's a supporter of the Affordable Care Act and wants to see it fully implemented to give more Americans coverage.


Gupta learned his work ethic from his parents, who moved from India in the 1960s to work at a Ford plant in Detroit, where he grew up, and is surprised when people ask how he does it all.


"There's a lot of people who work a lot harder than I do and aren't known," he said.


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Online:


http://www.tntdrama.com


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Lynn Elber can be reached at lelber(at)ap.org and on Twitter (at)lynnelber.


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Beyonce admits Inauguration Day pre-recording


NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Beyonce answered critics of her Inauguration Day performance the best way she could — with another sterling performance of the national anthem.


The difference?


On Thursday, it was live: She admitted during her Super Bowl news conference that when she performed for President Barack Obama and the nation, she decided to sing to a prerecorded track because she didn't have time to practice. Calling herself a self-proclaimed "perfectionist," she said wanted the day to go off without a hitch.


"I practice until my feet bleed and I did not have time to rehearse with the orchestra," she said, adding that she was also emotional that day. "Due to no proper sound check, I did not feel comfortable taking a risk. It was about the president and the inauguration, and I wanted to make him and my country proud, so I decided to sing along with my pre-recorded track, which is very common in the music industry. And I'm very proud of my performance."


It was the superstar's first public comments on what has become known as "Beyonce-gate." Her rendition of the anthem at the inauguration was critically praised, but it came under scrutiny less than a day later when a representative from the U.S. Marine Band said Beyonce wasn't singing live and the band's accompanying performance was taped. Shortly after, the group backed off its initial statement and said no one could tell if she was singing live or not.


With the controversy growing each day, and everyone from politicians to other entertainers weighing in, the inauguration performance threatened to overshadow her planned Super Bowl halftime show. So the 31-year-old, wearing a tight, cream mini-dress, addressed the issue as soon as she took to the podium Thursday afternoon.


She asked everyone to stand, and, with an image of the American flag behind her, performed a live rendition of the national anthem that mirrored the one on Inauguration Day. After, she said with a laugh: "Any questions?"


Despite her performance, there were.


When pressed about whether any sound was coming from her voice when she sang for the president, she said she was singing along to the track and not mimicking. And when asked if she would be singing live at the Super Bowl, she said: "I will absolutely be singing live.


"This is what I was born to do."


She added later: "I always sing live. ... The inauguration was unfortunately a time where I could not rehearse with the orchestra, actually because I was rehearsing for the Super Bowl. So that was always the plan."


Beyonce also got a chance to talk more in detail about the reason why she was in New Orleans — to perform at the halftime show. Calling it one of her career aspirations, she said when she arrived at the Superdome, she was so moved by the experience she took her shoes of and ran on the field, taking in the history at the famed venue.


"It really makes me emotional," she said. "When I am no longer here, it's what they're gonna show."


Beyonce has teased photos and video of herself preparing for the show, which will perhaps be the biggest audience of her career. Last year, Madonna's halftime performance was the most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance ever, with an average of 114 million viewers. It garnered more viewers than the game itself, which was the most-watched U.S. TV event in history.


But she would not give anything more away about the performance. While a Destiny's Child reunion was shot down by Michelle Williams, who is starring in a production of "Fela!", the third Destiny's Child member, Kelly Rowland, is in town. Beyonce laughed off questions of whether Rowland or Beyonce's husband, Jay-Z, would join her on stage.


"I can't give you any details, sorry," she said.


She also would not reveal her set list, though acknowledged she was having a hard time trying to "condense a career into 12 minutes."


Before the news conference, Beyonce's "Life is But A Dream" was shown to the media. The documentary about the star's life features her talking in-depth about intimate details of her life, including suffering a miscarriage; it will air on HBO on Feb. 16.


In it, she also reveals more of her 1-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, whom she called her inspiration.


"I feel like my daughter changed me and changed my life and has given me so much purpose," she said. She added that she was counting down until 9 p.m. Sunday, when her performance would be over — and she could be reunited with Blue Ivy.


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Follow Nekesa Mumbi Moody at http://www.twitter.com


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Patty Andrews of Andrews Sisters dead at 94


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing Andrews Sisters trio whose hits such as the rollicking "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B" and the poignant "I Can Dream, Can't I?" captured the home-front spirit of World War II, died Wednesday. She was 94.


Andrews died of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, said family spokesman Alan Eichler in a statement.


Patty was the Andrews in the middle, the lead singer and chief clown, whose raucous jitterbugging delighted American servicemen abroad and audiences at home.


She could also deliver sentimental ballads like "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time" with a sincerity that caused hardened GIs far from home to weep.


From the late 1930s through the 1940s, the Andrews Sisters produced one hit record after another, beginning with "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" in 1937 and continuing with "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar," ''Rum and Coca-Cola" and more. They recorded more than 400 songs and sold over 80 million records, several of them going gold (over a million copies).


Other sisters, notably the Boswells, had become famous as singing acts, but mostly they huddled before a microphone in close harmony. The Andrews SistersLaVerne, Maxene and Patty — added a new dimension. During breaks in their singing, they cavorted about the stage in rhythm to the music.


Their voices combined with perfect synergy. As Patty remarked in 1971: "There were just three girls in the family. LaVerne had a very low voice. Maxene's was kind of high, and I was between. It was like God had given us voices to fit our parts."


The Andrews Sisters' rise coincided with the advent of swing music, and their style fit perfectly into the new craze. They aimed at reproducing the sound of three harmonizing trumpets.


"I was listening to Benny Goodman and to all the bands," Patty once remarked. "I was into the feel, so that would go into my own musical ability. I was into swing. I loved the brass section."


Unlike other singing acts, the sisters recorded with popular bands of the '40s, fitting neatly into the styles of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Bob Crosby, Woody Herman, Guy Lombardo, Desi Arnaz and Russ Morgan. They sang dozens of songs on records with Bing Crosby, including the million-seller "Don't Fence Me In." They also recorded with Dick Haymes, Carmen Miranda, Danny Kaye, Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante and Red Foley.


The Andrews' popularity led to a contract with Universal Pictures, where they made a dozen low-budget musical comedies between 1940 and 1944. In 1947, they appeared in "The Road to Rio" with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour.


The trio continued until LaVerne's death in 1967. By that time the close harmony had turned to discord, and the sisters had been openly feuding.


Bette Midler's 1973 cover of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" revived interest in the trio. The two survivors joined in 1974 for a Broadway show, "Over Here!" It ran for more than a year, but disputes with the producers led to the cancellation of the national tour of the show, and the sisters did not perform together again.


Patty continued on her own, finding success in Las Vegas and on TV variety shows. Her sister also toured solo until her death in 1995.


Her father, Peter Andrews, was a Greek immigrant who anglicized his name of Andreus when he arrived in America; his wife, Olga, was a Norwegian with a love of music. LaVerne was born in 1911, Maxine (later Maxene) in 1916, Patricia (later Patty, sometimes Patti) in 1918.


All three sisters were born and raised in the Minneapolis area, spending summers in Mound, Minn., on the western shores of Lake Minnetonka, about 20 miles west of Minneapolis.


Listening to the Boswell Sisters on radio, LaVerne played the piano and taught her sisters to sing in harmony; neither Maxene nor Patty ever learned to read music. All three studied singers at the vaudeville house near their father's restaurant. As their skills developed, they moved from amateur shows to vaudeville and singing with bands.


After Peter Andrews moved the family to New York in 1937, his wife, Olga, sought singing dates for the girls. They were often turned down with comments such as: "They sing too loud and they move too much." Olga persisted, and the sisters sang on radio with a hotel band at $15 a week. The broadcasts landed them a contract with Decca Records.


They recorded a few songs, and then came "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen," an old Yiddish song for which Sammy Cahn and Saul Kaplan wrote English lyrics. (The title means, "To Me You Are Beautiful.") It was a smash hit, and the Andrews Sisters were launched into the bigtime.


Their only disappointment was the movies. Universal was a penny-pinching studio that ground out product to fit the lower half of a double bill. The sisters were seldom involved in the plots, being used for musical interludes in film with titles such as "Private Buckaroo," ''Swingtime Johnny" and "Moonlight and Cactus."


Their only hit was "Buck Privates," which made stars of Abbott and Costello and included the trio's blockbuster "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B."


In 1947, Patty married Martin Melcher, an agent who represented the sisters as well as Doris Day, then at the beginning of her film career. Patty divorced Melcher in 1949 and soon he became Day's husband, manager and producer.


Patty married Walter Weschler, pianist for the sisters, in 1952. He became their manager and demanded more pay for himself and for Patty. The two other sisters rebelled, and their differences with Patty became public. Lawsuits were filed between the two camps.


"We had been together nearly all our lives," Patty explained in 1971. "Then in one year our dream world ended. Our mother died and then our father. All three of us were upset, and we were at each other's throats all the time."


Patty Andrews is survived by her foster daughter, Pam DuBois, a niece and several cousins. Weschler died in 2010.


A memorial service is planned in Los Angeles, with the date to be determined.


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Disney closing 'Epic Mickey' video game developer


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disney is saying goodbye to the developer of "Epic Mickey."


The interactive division of the Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it is closing Junction Point Studios. The Austin, Texas-based video game developer created 2010's "Disney Epic Mickey" and its 2012 sequel "Epic Mickey 2."


Disney says the closure is part of its "effort to address the fast-evolving gaming platforms and marketplace," and to align its resources with its key priorities.


Disney acquired Junction Point Studios in 2007. The studio was led by "Deus Ex" and "Thief" creator Warren Spector.


The original "Epic Mickey" was released for the Nintendo Wii, while "Epic Mickey 2" was available on all major consoles.


Disney unveiled plans earlier this month for a new franchise combining a toy line with a game called "Disney Infinity."


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Lucasfilm pushes pause on 3-D 'Star Wars' prequels


LOS ANGELES (AP) — The force isn't with the 3-D versions of the "Star Wars" prequels.


Lucasfilm said in a statement Monday that it's postponing the scheduled 3-D releases of "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack Of The Clones" and "Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" this fall to instead focus its efforts on "Star Wars: Episode VII."


The Walt Disney Co. confirmed Friday that J.J. Abrams, creator of the TV series "Lost" and director of 2009's "Star Trek" movie, will direct the seventh installment of the franchise, set for a 2014 release.


Disney bought "Star Wars" maker Lucasfilm last month for $4.06 billion.


"Episode I — The Phantom Menace" was released in 3-D last February and earned $22.4 million domestically its opening weekend.


The original prequels were released from 1999 to 2005.


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'Skyfall,' 'Game of Thrones' win SAG stunt awards


LOS ANGELES (AP) — The James Bond adventure "Skyfall" and the fantasy series "Game of Thrones" have picked up prizes for best stunt work from the Screen Actors Guild.


The stunt honors were announced Sunday on the red carpet before the official SAG Awards ceremony, as stars were gathering for their guild's big night.


JoBeth Williams and Scott Bakula announced the winners, noting the value of stunt players, who often are overlooked for their contributions to film and television.


"The stunt men and women of our union are critical to the work that gets done," Bakula said. "They keep us healthy, they keep us alive, they keep us working. They keep our shows working."


The SAG honors are the latest show in a puzzling Academy Awards season in which Hollywood's top prize, the best-picture Oscar, looks up for grabs among several key nominees.


Among nominees for the 19th annual guild awards are Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones for the Civil War epic "Lincoln"; Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway for the Victor Hugo musical adaptation "Les Miserables"; and Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Oscar recipient Robert De Niro for the oddball romance "Silver Linings Playbook."


De Niro and Jones are in an exclusive supporting-actors group where all five nominees are past Oscar winners. The others are Alan Arkin for the Iran hostage-crisis thriller "Argo," Javier Bardem for the James Bond adventure "Skyfall" and Philip Seymour Hoffman for the cult drama "The Master."


Honors from the actors union, next weekend's Directors Guild of America Awards and Saturday night's Producers Guild of America Awards — whose top honor went to "Argo" — typically help to establish clear favorites for the Oscars.


But Oscar night on Feb. 24 looks more uncertain this time after some top directing prospects, including Ben Affleck for "Argo" and Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty," missed out on nominations. Both films were nominated for best picture, but a movie rarely wins the top Oscar if its director is not also in the running.


Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" would seem the Oscar favorite with 12 nominations. Yet "Argo" and Affleck were surprise best-drama and director winners at the Golden Globes, and then there's Saturday's Producers Guild win for "Argo," leaving the Oscar race looking like anybody's guess.


The Screen Actors Guild honors at least should help to establish solid front-runners for the stars. All four of the guild's individual acting winners often go on to receive the same prizes at the Academy Awards.


Last year, the guild went just three-for-four — with lead actor Jean Dujardin of "The Artist" and supporting players Octavia Spencer of "The Help" and Christopher Plummer of "Beginners" also taking home Oscars. The guild's lead-actress winner, Viola Davis of "The Help," missed out on the Oscar, which went to Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady."


The guild also presents an award for overall cast performance, its equivalent of a best-picture honor. The nominees are "Argo," ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," ''Les Miserables," ''Lincoln" and "Silver Linings Playbook."


Yet the cast prize has a spotty record at predicting the eventual best-picture recipient at the Oscars. Only eight of 17 times since the guild added the category has the cast winner gone on to take the best-picture Oscar. "The Help" won the guild's cast prize last year, while Oscar voters named "The Artist" as best picture.


Such past guild cast winners as "The Birdcage," ''Gosford Park" and "Inglourious Basterds" also failed to take the top Oscar.


Airing live on TNT and TBS, the show features nine television categories, as well.


Receiving the guild's life-achievement award is Dick Van Dyke, who presented the same prize last year to his "The Dick Van Dyke Show" co-star, Mary Tyler Moore. Van Dyke's award will be presented by his 1960s sitcom's creator and co-star, Carl Reiner, and Alec Baldwin.


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Kutcher takes on tech idol Steve Jobs in 'jOBS'


PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Ashton Kutcher says playing Steve Jobs on screen "was honestly one of the most terrifying things I've ever tried to do in my life."


The 34-year-old actor helped premiere the biopic "jOBS" Friday, which was the closing-night film at the Sundance Film Festival.


Kutcher plays the Apple Inc. founder from the company's humble origins in the 1970s until the launch of the first iPod in 2001. A digital entrepreneur himself, Kutcher said he considers Jobs a personal hero.


"He's a guy who failed and got back on the horse," Kutcher said. "I think we can all sort of relate to that at some point in life."


Kutcher even embodied the Jobs character as he pursued his own high-tech interests off-screen.


"What was nice was when I was preparing for the character, I could still work on product development for technology companies, and I would sort of stay in character, in the mode of the character," he said. "But I didn't feel like I was compromising the work on the film by working on technology stuff because it was pretty much in the same field."


But playing the real-life tech icon who died in 2011 still felt risky, he said, because "he's fresh in our minds."


"It was kind of like throwing myself into this gauntlet of, I know, massive amounts of criticism because somebody's going to go 'well, it wasn't exactly...,'" Kutcher said.


While the filmmakers say they tried to be as historically accurate as possible, there was also a disclaimer at the very end of the credits that said portions of the film might not be completely accurate.


Still, realism was always the focus for Kutcher, who watched "hundreds of hours of footage," listened to Jobs' past speeches and interviewed several of his friends to prepare for the role.


The actor even adopted the entrepreneur's "fruitarian diet," which he said "can lead to some serious issues."


"I ended up in the hospital two days before we started shooting the movie," he said. "I was like doubled over in pain, and my pancreas levels were completely out of whack, which was completely terrifying, considering everything."


Jobs died of complications from pancreatic cancer.


Still, Kutcher was up to the challenge of playing Jobs, in part because of his admiration for the man who created the Macintosh computer and the iPod.


"I admire this man so much and what he's done. I admire the way he built things," Kutcher said. "This guy created a tool that we use every day in our life, and he believed in it when nobody else did."


The film also shows Jobs' less appealing side, withholding stock options from some of the company's original employees and denying child support to the mother of his eldest child.


Kutcher still found the man inspiring. Jobs had a singular focus, Kutcher said, and felt like anyone could change the world.


"I don't know if there's ever been an entrepreneur who's had more compassion and care for his consumer than Steve Jobs," Kutcher said. "He wanted to put something in your hand that you could use and you could use it easily... and he really cared about that."


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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy.


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Dr. Phil to interview alleged girlfriend hoaxer


NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Phil McGraw has booked the first on-camera interview with the man who allegedly concocted the girlfriend hoax that ensnared Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o.


A "Dr. Phil Show" spokesperson confirmed on Friday the interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo (roh-NY-ah too-ee-AH'-so-SO'-poh), the man accused of creating an online persona of a nonexistent woman who Te'o said he fell for without ever meeting face-to-face.


The ruse was uncovered last week by Deadspin.com, which reported that Tuiasosopo created the woman, named Lennay Kekua, who then supposedly died last September.


No further details of the "Dr. Phil" interview, including its airdate, were announced.


This interview follows the first on-camera interview with Te'o conducted this week by Katie Couric.


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Reports: JJ Abrams to direct next 'Star Wars'


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Another universe of sci-fi fans has been put in the hands of J.J. Abrams.


According to multiple trade reports, Abrams is set to direct the next installment of "Star Wars," which Disney has said will be "Episode 7" and due out in 2015. Disney bought "Star Wars" maker Lucasfilm last month for $4.06 billion.


The Emmy-award-winning director of the TV show "Lost" also captained the reboot of "Star Trek" for rival studio Paramount Pictures, with the next installment in that series, "Star Trek: Into Darkness," set to hit theaters May 17.


Citing unnamed sources, the news was reported earlier by Hollywood trade outlets The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and Daily Variety.


Messages left by The Associated Press for Abrams' representatives as well as Disney and Lucasfilm were not immediately returned.


Soon after the news broke Thursday afternoon, websites were flush with chatter. On Twitter, "J.J. Abrams," ''Star Wars" and "(hash)Star Trek" were all trending topics.


Despite denying his interest in directing the next "Star Wars" following The Walt Disney Co.'s October announcement it was buying Lucasfilm, many people pegged Abrams as the most obvious choice.


Abrams even spoke about the plot of the original "Star Wars" in the lecture series "TED Talks" in March 2007.


"He took the 'Star Trek' franchise, which was just drowning in misery, and he was able to bring that back to life," said Adam Frazier a staff writer for the entertainment website GeeksofDoom.com. "If there's anyone that can do it with 'Star Wars' I think it's him."


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Sundance stars sound off on gun violence in film


PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The Sundance Film Festival isn't home to many shoot-em-up movies, but action-oriented actors at the festival are facing questions about Hollywood's role in American gun violence.


Guy Pearce, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristen Bell and director Roger Corman were among those discussing the issue at the annual independent-film showcase.


Pearce is in Park City, Utah, to support the family drama "Breathe In," but he's pulled plenty of imaginary triggers in violent films such as "Lockdown" and "Lawless." He says Hollywood may make guns seem more appealing to the broader culture, but there are vast variations in films' approach to violence.


"Hollywood probably does play a role," Pearce said. "It's a broad spectrum though. There are films that use guns flippantly, then there are films that use guns in a way that would make you never want to look at a gun ever again — because of the effect that it's had on the other people in the story at the time. So to sort of just say Hollywood and guns, it's a broad palette that you're dealing with, I think. But I'm sure it does have an effect. As does video games, as do stories on the news. All sorts of things probably seep into the consciousness."


Skarsgard, who blasted away aliens in "Battleship," agreed that Hollywood has some responsibility for how it depicts violence on-screen.


"When (NRA executive director) Wayne LaPierre blames it on Hollywood and says guns have nothing to do with it, there is a reason," he said. "I mean, I'm from Sweden. . We do have violent video games in Sweden. My teenage brother plays them. He watches Hollywood movies. We do have insane people in Sweden and in Canada. But we don't have 30,000 gun deaths a year.


"Yes, there's only 10 million people in Sweden as opposed to over 300 (million) in the United States. But the numbers just don't add up. There are over 300 million weapons in this country. And they help. They do kill people."


Bell, who stars in in the dramatic competition film "The Lifeguard," said the issue is far more complicated than simply blaming Hollywood.


"There's a lot of things that are emphasized in our entertainment industry as plot points or interesting shorelines, but none of them seem to be as affecting the American public as the gun control," she said. "So I don't necessarily know that it's blamable on Hollywood, though I think there's a certain responsibility and we need to re-examine everything that we do."


Bell's co-star, Mamie Gummer, said she's often "perturbed" by on-screen violence.


"I really hate Quentin Tarantino's movies generally, and I thought 'Django Unchained' especially was really tough to bear in light of everything," she said. "Just the deep romanticizing of it, the fetishizing of it is creepy to me. Or maybe it's lost on me. I don't enjoy it."


Bell doesn't mind seeing violent films but advocates for greater awareness of mental illness and for stricter gun control.


"It's such a paradoxical issue. Because those movies don't bother me at all. And it doesn't bother me when I see people shoot guns. Yet I'm fully for more gun control in reality," she said. "Because I'm smart enough to recognize what's reality and what's not. And I think that's an issue that needs to be addressed... A lot of the people that are picking up guns have an inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy. And I think that's probably — though I do support gun control, a tighter gun control than we have now — that's an issue that deserves to be addressed because that's probably the root of it."


Ellen Page, who co-stars with Skarsgard in "The East," noted that gun restrictions are much more pervasive in her home country, Canada.


"You can't buy some crazy assault rifle that is made for the military to kill people. And like that to me is just like a no-brainer," she said. "Why should that just be out and be able to be purchased? That does not make me feel safe as a person."


Corman also cited Canada's response to movie violence.


"Canada sees the same motion pictures that we do. They play the same video games that we do. They see the same television that we do. Their crime rate — and specifically their murder rate — is a tiny fraction of ours," he said. The only difference is they have strong gun control laws and we (don't). I wish somebody would ask the head of the NRA how he explains that."


Skarsgard suggested it may be time to revisit the Second Amendment.


"The whole Second Amendment discussion is ridiculous to me. Because that was written over 200 years ago, and it was a militia to have muskets to fight off Brits," he said. "The Brits aren't coming. It's 2013. Things have changed. And for someone to mail-order an assault rifle is crazy to me. They don't belong anywhere but the military to me. You don't need that to protect your home or shoot deer, you know."


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AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ryanwrd .


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AP Movie Writer David Germain contributed to this report.


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Al Green: Turned down 'Together' time with Obamas


Al Green says if things had worked out, it would have been him serenading President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle at the inaugural ball.


Jennifer Hudson sang Green's classic "Let's Stay Together," leaving many to wonder why the soul legend wasn't singing his own hit for the first couple.


In a statement to The Associated Press, his representative said Green had been asked to sing, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from attending Monday's festivities. Green said he'd be honored to sing for the president in the future.


The Presidential Inaugural Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Obama famously sang a snippet of the song at an event last year that Green attended.


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Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's global entertainment and lifestyles editor. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi


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'Restrepo' director has sorrowful Sundance return


PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Sebastian Junger wishes his latest Sundance Film Festival documentary never had to be made.


It's been a bittersweet return for Junger at Sundance, where his war chronicle "Restrepo" won the top documentary prize three years ago.


Junger's back with "Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington," a portrait of his "Restrepo" co-director, who was killed covering fighting in Libya in April 2011. The film debuts April 18 on HBO.


Junger and producer James Brabazon, a long-time colleague with whom Hetherington covered combat in Liberia, were glad to share the film with Sundance audiences but uneasy coming to a festival that's billed as a celebration of film.


"It's an odd feeling. James and I are maybe the only filmmakers in the town who are in some ways quite sad our film exists," Junger said in an interview alongside Brabazon. "But it's also our opportunity to sort of communicate how extraordinary our good friend Tim Hetherington was.


"So I'm walking around, I'm seeing restaurants and street corners where Tim and I had conversations. I'm sort of flashing back. Yeah, it's a very kind of poignant experience."


A portrait of a U.S. platoon in Afghanistan, "Restrepo" earned an Academy Award nomination for best documentary. Six weeks after attending the Oscars, Hetherington was killed by shrapnel from a mortar round.


"Which Way Is the Front Line" chronicles Hetherington's early life in Great Britain, where he studied photography and first went overseas in 1999 to cover young soccer players in Liberia. In 2003, he returned there with veteran war photojournalist Brabazon to cover rebels trying to overthrow President Charles Taylor.


In 2007, Junger, author of the best-seller "The Perfect Storm," enlisted Hetherington to shoot photos and video for "Restrepo." The two spent a year filming a platoon in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous war zones, capturing both the boredom of waiting around for the fighting and tragedy as U.S. soldiers lost close friends in combat.


Hetherington was not the usual objective, fly-on-the-wall photojournalist. The new film reveals him as a chronicler of combat but also a humanitarian who engaged with his subjects and put his own life at risk to help them.


Brabazon recounts a day in Liberia when a doctor treating rebels was accused of being a government spy. A rebel leader dragged the man away at gunpoint, and Brabazon, who already had witnessed executions in Liberia, was convinced he was about to shoot video of another.


Hetherington was shooting video right next to him and stepped in to grab the gun hand of the rebel leader. He talked the man down, telling him not to shoot the doctor because he was the only medic the rebels had to tend their wounded.


"That for me more than anything demonstrated Tim's courage, bravery and central humanity," Brabazon said. "That wasn't another picture or part of the story for him. That was something that he needed to involve himself in as a human being with a very specific and concrete outcome. That person survived and was able to continue treating the wounded. That's how Tim saw war."


Hetherington had talked about leaving combat coverage behind, starting a family and settling down in a less-dangerous lifestyle. Though Hetherington had called Libya his last trip to a war zone, Junger and Brabazon said they're not sure he would have followed through and given up the front lines despite new opportunities that "Restrepo" had opened for him.


Junger and Hetherington had enjoyed the glitz of the Oscars, but they definitely felt out of place.


"If you're in the Hollywood world, the red carpet is in some ways, it's a savage sort of competition for attention," Junger said. "It's their combat zone, and we were just visiting it. ... We're kind of going to the zoo and seeing the pretty animals in some sense."


Hetherington enjoyed it and was bemused by all the attention, Junger said. Yet throughout Oscar season, the Arab Spring revolts were erupting in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere in Middle East. Hetherington and Junger kept telling each other they should be there rather than parading around Hollywood in tuxedos.


Soon after, Hetherington was there, back on the front lines.


"He is probably the only person who's managed to do this. He went from the red carpet at the Oscars to dead in a war zone in six weeks," Junger said. "People who make films that go to the Oscars usually don't get killed in war zones, and people who go to war zones aren't often on the red carpet. And he managed to do both."


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ABC News' Barbara Walters hospitalized after fall


NEW YORK (AP) — Veteran ABC newswoman Barbara Walters has fallen at an inauguration party at an ambassador's home in Washington and has been hospitalized.


Walters, 83, fell Saturday night on a step at the residence of Britain's ambassador to the United States, Peter Westmacott, ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said. The fall left Walters with a cut on her forehead, he said.


Walters, out of an abundance of caution, went to a hospital for treatment of the cut and for a full examination, Schneider said on Sunday. She was alert and was "telling everyone what to do, which we all take as a very positive sign," he said.


It was unclear when Walters might be released from the hospital, which ABC didn't identify.


Walters was TV news' first female superstar, making headlines in 1976 as a network anchor with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary. During more than three decades at ABC, and before that at NBC, her exclusive interviews with rulers, royalty and entertainers have brought her celebrity status. In 1997, she created "The View," a live weekday talk show that became an unexpected hit.


Walters had heart surgery in May 2010 but returned to active duty on "The View" that September, declaring, "I'm fine!"


Even in her ninth decade, Walters continues to keep a busy schedule, including appearances on "The View," prime-time interviews and her annual special, "10 Most Fascinating People," on which, in December, she asked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie if he considered himself fit enough to be president someday. (Christie, although acknowledging he is "more than a little" overweight, replied he would be up to the job.)


Last June, Walters apologized for trying to help a former aide to Syrian President Bashar Assad land a job or get into college in the United States. She acknowledged the conflict in trying to help Sheherazad Jaafari, daughter of the Syrian ambassador to the United States and a one-time press aide to Assad. Jaafari helped Walters land an interview with the Syrian president that aired in December 2011.


Walters said she realized the help she offered Jaafari was a conflict and said, "I regret that."


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AP Source: Lady Gaga to perform at inaugural ball


WASHINGTON (AP) — Watch out Beyonce (bee-AHN'-say) and Katy Perry. There's another diva set to perform during the inauguration festivities — Lady Gaga.


A person familiar with the inauguration tells The Associated Press that the pop star will perform at Tuesday's ball for White House staffers. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because that person wasn't authorized to publicly reveal the information.


The staff ball is typically a private affair. During the last inauguration festivities, Jay-Z reportedly performed at it.


According to one attendee, Jay-Z rapped a riff on one of his hit songs, "99 Problems but George Bush Ain't One," to the delight of the throngs of young staffers who worked to elect Obama in 2008.


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'Ripper Street' stars Macfadyen, 1880s London


PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Macfadyen is perfectly presentable in jeans and a crewneck sweater that coordinates nicely with the blue of his eyes.


But the look is far from the elegant attire he wore as Mr. Darcy opposite Keira Knightley's Elizabeth in the 2005 film "Pride & Prejudice." And his posture is just as casual, which he acknowledges might offend the aristocratic character's diehard fans.


"You're slouching! What are you doing? Stand up straight, man!" Macfadyen says, teasing himself.


He looks back fondly on what he calls the "iconic" role drawn from Jane Austen's novel. But the British actor who's also known to audiences for his part as an intelligence officer in the series "MI-5" ("Spooks" in the U.K.) welcomes the chance to switch gears.


"I, as most actors, want to mix it up and do different things. Otherwise it gets boring and tiresome, not only for yourself but for everyone else seeing you do the same kind of thing," he said. "The joy of being an actor is to play different parts, do something different."


Macfadyen's latest chance for diversity comes in "Ripper Street," an 1880s police drama set on the gritty and untamed streets of London's East End around the period that serial killer Jack the Ripper terrorized the area.


The series, starring Macfadyen as Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, debuts Saturday (9 p.m. EST) on BBC America after starting its British run this month. BBC America is home to another rough-and-tumble, 18th-century police drama, "Copper," set in 1860s New York City and the channel's first original scripted series.


The mysterious and brutal Jack the Ripper has been recycled throughout pop culture in films including 1979's "Time After Time" and 2001's "From Hell" with Johnny Depp. But series creator Richard Warlow said the killer is a backdrop and invisible character for "Ripper Street."


"What we wanted to do really was to tell stories about the streets down which he walked and committed his crimes in the wake of those terrible murders," Warlow said, "and how it affected the community and, most importantly, the police that tried and failed to catch him."


Each episode will include what he called a "stand-alone crime" as well as pull at the thread of Reid's life, including those surrounding him at work and at home.


Macfadyen said he was reluctant to take on another series after two plus-seasons on "MI-5" because of TV's demanding production schedules. Then the "Ripper Street" pilot script came his way last year.


"I thought the Jack the Ripper thing had been done before ... but I loved it. The thing that was most attractive was the language and the way he (Warlow) constructs the sentences ... they feel very muscular without feeling sort of wanky and silly. ... They feel very muscular."


There is an antiquated eloquence to the dialogue that contrasts with the drama's mean streets and violent sexuality of the first case tackled by Reid and his cohorts, police Sgt. Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn, "Game of Thrones") and American forensics whiz Capt. Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg, "The Ex List").


Macfadyen said he was drawn to his character's modern sensibility.


Reid isn't "a sort of stock detective character. He's a very free thinking, forward-looking kind of man, not a sort of jaded 'seen it all' copper. So I was intrigued by that," he said.


The detective's viewpoint is so expansive that he can't resist admiring the potential of an early version of a motion picture camera — even when he's just thwarted its use in making a 19th-century snuff film.


The scene had slipped Macfadyen's mind when he watched the episode at home in London and his wife, actress Keeley Hawes ("Upstairs Downstairs"), suddenly took alarmed note of what was unfolding on the screen.


"My 12-year-old stepson was watching and we said, 'OK, bedtime!" said Macfadyen, who has two children with Hawes.


But he considers the show "punchy and brave" for a mature audience and would like to see it go at least another season, in part for selfish reasons.


"Jerome, Adam and I get on so well, very happily. I know actors always say they love each other," he said, then smiled. "That's not always the case."


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