licorice planet

Public trust in TV ‘has fallen’

More than half the population trusts TV producers less than it did a year ago, a poll commissioned by the Edinburgh TV Festival suggests.

Recent phone-in scandals and faked TV competitions have knocked public confidence, with 79% saying they would not enter a TV phone contest again.

Nearly half of the 2,216 people surveyed – 48% – said they did not trust television very much at all.

The YouGov poll was conducted online in early August.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents – 72% – believe TV phone-in competitions are difficult to trust because there is no way of telling whether or not people have a fair chance of winning.

The survey said 59% believe documentaries generally told the truth “but with some distortions at the editing stage”.

But reality TV fared worse – 60% of those surveyed said the shows were “generally misleading as a result of severe and dishonest editing”.

The survey comes ahead of a media debate at this year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, called Trust Me… I’m In Telly, to be held on Friday.

The panel will be chaired by broadcaster Nicky Campbell, who will be joined by Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan, BBC Vision director Jana Bennett, media journalist Ray Snoddy, ITV director of TV Simon Shaps and the chief creative officer of Endemol UK, Tim Hincks.

 Missing Constable sketch is found

A missing sketch by celebrated artist John Constable has been rediscovered at the British Library in London.

Scholars lost track of the drawing of a church after it was sold by Constable’s grandson Eustace at Christie’s in 1896.

It was found in an elaborate sketchbook on the life of Constable’s rival JMW Turner, which was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1919.

It moved to the British Library in the 1970s. The pencil drawing is titled Hyam Church, Suffolk.

The sketchbook was compiled by Warrington businessman and justice of the peace, John Platt, who died in 1902.

Artistic rivalry

Mr Platt inserted the Constable sketch into a page of his scrapbook where he discussed the rivalry between Turner and Constable.

“People knew this sketch existed but didn’t know where it had gone,” said the British Library’s curator of topography, Felicity Myrone, who found the drawing while carrying out research.

“We don’t know yet whether it was a study for a later oil painting but it’s quite possible that it was,” she added.

Scholars are now trying to find out how Mr Platt came to acquire the sketch.

The Constable work was one of over 1,600 items that Mr Platt inserted into his 13 gilt-edged scrapbooks.

Welsh rockers win Kerrang! honour

Welsh rock band Lostprophets have been named best British band at the Kerrang! awards for the second year in a row.

Four-times nominees Enter Shikari won best live act, with US band My Chemical Romance securing best international band – also from four nominations.

San Francisco metal group Machine Head scooped best album for The Blackening, while fellow Americans 30 Seconds To Mars won best single for The Kill.

Birmingham heavy metal veterans Judas Priest won the hall of fame honour.

The band formed in 1968 and continue to record and tour. They have sold around 30m albums around the world.

Recognition

Other winners at the awards ceremony, which took place at The Brewery in east London, included Chicago rockers Fall Out Boy, who triumphed in the best video category for This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race.

Fellow Chicago band Madina Lake were name best international newcomers, with Gallows taking the British equivalent trophy.

Industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails were presented with an icon award by Hollywood actress and rock singer Juliette Lewis in recognition of their long-standing career.

The were founded by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio almost 20 years ago.

Experimental heavy rock band the Deftones were also honoured with the classic songwriter award for “creating memorable and timeless songs”.

Lostprophets, who formed 10 years ago in Pontypridd, beat Muse, Enter Shikari, Biffy Clyro and Funeral For A Friend to the best British band title.

Last year they had double Kerrang! success, winning the award for best album as well.

Machine Head and Enter Shikari won an additional two gongs – Hard Rock Hero and Spirit of Independence respectively.

Winehouse leads Mobo nominations

Singer Amy Winehouse leads the way at this year’s Music of Black Origin (Mobo) Awards with four nominations.

The 23-year-old, who has just cancelled a string of US gigs because of ill health, is up for best UK female, best R&B act, best video and best song.

Rapper Dizzee Rascal has also been nominated for four awards – best UK male, best hip hop act, best song and best video for Sirens.

The 12th annual Mobo Awards will be held at the O2 arena on 19 September.

Winners will be chosen by the public, with voting taking place on the award show’s website.

‘An honour’

Winehouse, who has reportedly been in rehab recently, will go up against Beverley Knight, Corinne Bailey Rae, Joss Stone and Jamelia for best UK female.

Speaking of Winehouse’s recent health issues, Jamelia said: “I just hope she gets better very soon and can come back and continue to give us the great music she has been doing.

“I think it’s fantastic she has been nominated. I think she could have been nominated for a few years now. So yes, it’s about time and hopefully she’ll perform for us at the Mobos.”

The four-time Mobo winner – who will also be presenting the awards ceremony – added she was pleased to have received a nomination herself.

“To be acknowledged for the music that I’ve made and I’ve grown up listening to is fantastic. It’s always an honour,” she said.

“I’m unbelievably excited about hosting. I’ve hardly done any presenting before, so to be asked to do such a huge thing, yes, slightly nervous.”

UK garage performer Kano, who is also up for best hip-hop act, will compete against Lethal Bizzle, Sway and Wiley for best UK male.

Rapper Kanye West takes on 50 Cent in the best hip-hop category.

Winehouse’s Rehab is nominated for best song, alongside Dizzee Rascal’s Sirens – a re-run of their stand-off at this year’s Mercury Music Prize.

Other contenders for the best song award are Ne-Yo, Amerie and Robin Thicke.

Rihanna’s hit single Umbrella, which remained at number one in the UK charts for 10 weeks, does not feature in the category.

‘Excited and anxious’

The Barbadian pop star, who won best R&B act last year, was not disappointed as she said being picked for best video – for Umbrella – was just as important.

“I put a lot in the song and the video. The video meant a lot to me, being nominated for best video is definitely an honour,” she said.

On the night of the awards the star revealed she would be feeling “nervous, excited and anxious”.

When asked if she can still stand her all-pervasive song, she said: “I love to perform it, it’s one of my favourite songs to perform.”

The 19-year-old star admitted she is a big fan of Winehouse’s and even bought her album, Back to Black, three times because friends kept stealing it from her.

“I love her so much. If she wins that would be so great,” she said.

Rihanna is also the only female in the male-dominated best international act going up against the likes of P Diddy, Akon and TI.

The former Sugababes singer, Mutya Buena, is up for her first Mobo award for best UK newcomer, along with Shola Ama’s sister Sadie Ama.

Reggae artist Shaggy, nominated in the best reggae category, will join R&B singer Jamelia in hosting the event.

He promised the ceremony would be “climactic”.

He added: “I think it’s going to be wonderful. I’m happy to be involved with it.”

The event will be broadcast on BBC Three on 19 September, with edited highlights on BBC One two days later.

Smoking Stones avoid stage fine

The Rolling Stones flouted England’s new smoking ban when two band members lit up on stage at London’s O2 arena.

But the venue will not be fined after Greenwich Council said it was “satisfied” the incident was a one-off.

Guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood both smoked cigarettes during the first of the band’s three gigs at the former Millennium Dome.

The maximum fine for a venue that allows people to break the ban, which came into force on 1 July, is £2,500.

A spokeswoman for the O2 said: “A band member appeared to have a cigarette, however it was extinguished almost faster than the message to put it out got to stage.

“We are sure it was an oversight and are grateful for their co-operation.

“Along with the rest of the country, we take the smoking ban seriously.”

A spokesman for Greenwich Council said: “We have received no complaints from members of the public. We have reminded the O2 of their obligation to enforce the smoking legislation.”

Richards, with a cigarette in hand, told concertgoers that “it’s been a long haul” and “it’s good be back” before launching into two songs.

The band are due to stage two more performances at the O2 arena, rounding off their Bigger Bang tour, which has been on the road for two years.

Richards also got into trouble for smoking on stage at a gig at Scotland’s Hampden Park last year.

The veteran rocker escaped a fine after Glasgow City Council revealed the venue’s stage was not covered by the Scottish smoking ban, which came into force in March 2006.

Were you at last night’s concert at the O2? If so, you can send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124. If you have a large file you can upload here.

Pop singer Hayes in race arrest

Former Savage Garden singer Darren Hayes has been arrested on suspicion of racially abusing a member of staff at a Thai restaurant, police have said.

The pop star, 35, handed himself in to police after an incident at the restaurant in Soho, London, on 22 July.

“He has been released on bail pending further inquiries,” a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said.

A statement from Hayes’ solicitor said the singer was “deeply upset” and “strenuously denies” the allegation.

“Darren is unable to comment to any extent as the incident is presently under investigation by the police, with whom he has co-operated fully,” the statement said.

‘Totally abhorrent’

“Anyone who knows Darren will recognise that the particular nature of the allegation is totally abhorrent to him and contrary to everything for which he has stood.”

Hayes formed Savage Garden with producer Daniel Jones in 1994.

They enjoyed nine UK top 20 hits between 1997 and 2000, including Truly, Madly, Deeply, To The Moon And Back and I Knew I Loved You.

The Brisbane-born singer released his third solo CD, a double album called This Delicate Thing We’ve Made, on Monday.

Singer Faulkner scores top album

Singer-songwriter Newton Faulkner has hit the top spot in the UK album chart, confirming him as one of this year’s hottest new artists.

Hand Built By Robots was released last month and now sits above Elvis Presley and Amy Winehouse in the rundown.

Faulkner rose to prominence supporting James Morrison and Paolo Nutini.

In the singles chart, Kanye West’s Stronger has held onto number one for a second week, holding off a challenge from Sean Kingston’s Beautiful Girls.

ITV axes ‘insensitive’ docu-drama

ITV has dropped a docu-drama about the 1989 Marchioness pleasure boat disaster after one bereaved relative described it as “distressing and insensitive”.

The £2m film, which has already been made, portrays the events that led to 51 people losing their lives.

But ITV drama consultant Nick Elliott said the writing and production were not “quite good enough”.

Margaret Lockwood Croft, whose son died, earlier said it “sensationalises and misrepresents” what happened.

The tragedy occurred when the pleasure boat, packed with young party-goers, collided with a dredger on the Thames in London.

“If we are broadcasting a programme about a massive issue we have to be able to say we stand by this film in every respect,” Mr Elliott said.

“I have always had certain problems with the writing and production of this film and we do not feel that these creative issues have been resolved.

“If we put this film out we would be attacked because I don’t think it is quite good enough. It is costing us £2m not to broadcast it.”

Mrs Lockwood Croft recently told the Daily Telegraph that most families and survivors were not consulted while the film was being made.

But Eileen Dallaglio, whose daughter died in the accident, told the paper it was “crucial” that the film was broadcast, describing it as “an excellent adaptation of the full horror of what happened”.

 Malawi official to visit Madonna

A Malawian social worker has been given the go-ahead to travel to London and assess Madonna’s suitability to adopt a child from the African country.

Penstone Kilembe said the government had reversed an earlier decision, allowing him to visit the pop star.

The official told Reuters Madonna was “looking forward to this so her adoption process is not hampered”.

He had warned blocking his visit could have jeopardised Madonna’s attempt to adopt David Banda.

Mr Kilembe added that the refusal of Kate Kainja, the Malawian minister of women and child development, to grant him permission to assess Madonna and husband Guy Richie’s suitability to adopt the boy could have caused the entire process to “crumble”.

Earlier in August he even indicated that the child might have to be sent back to his village.

‘Misunderstanding’

The country’s High Court will rely on the director of Malawi’s child welfare services’ testimony to rule on whether the singer should be granted final approval to adopt the child.

He has denied reports that Ms Kainja accused him of obtaining an air ticket and money from Madonna without government approval.

She was reported in a Malawian newspaper as saying that Mr Kilembe had “personalised the whole issue” and that other officials could make the assessment in his place.

He said the matter was a “misunderstanding” which “has now been resolved”, adding that Madonna has been informed of the proposed visitation dates.

The proposed visit will last for two weeks from 4 September, Mr Kilembe said.

Last October, the star was granted an 18-month interim custody order enabling her to take David Banda out of Malawi.

The adoption will only receive final approval when the country’s authorities are satisfied that the child is being properly looked after.

First $4bn summer for US cinema

Summer box office takings in North America have broken the $4bn (£1.98bn) barrier for the first time.

High school comedy Superbad led the charge, topping the chart for a second week with takings of $18m (£8.91m).

Mr Bean’s Holiday, Rowan Atkinson’s latest outing as the goofy character, made its debut at four behind The Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3.

Action thriller War and The Nanny Diaries starring Scarlett Johansson were also new entries.

The Simpsons Movie. Stardust, Hairspray and The Invasion complete the top 10 line-up.
TOP FIVE NORTH AMERICAN FILMS
1 Superbad – $18m
2 The Bourne Ultimatum – $12.4m (pictured)
3 Rush Hour 3- $12.3m
4 Mr Bean’s Holiday – $10.1m
5 War – $10m

Box office analysts Media By Numbers say the $4bn figure outclasses summer ticket sales of $3.95bn (£1.95bn) set in 2004.

Their estimates suggest that this summer’s box office returns will stand at $4.15bn (£2.05bn) by the time the season officially ends on 3 September.

But they added that actual summer ticket sales are expected to be about 606m, only the sixth-best in modern times.

The best season in recent times was in 2002, when 653.4m cinema tickets were sold.

“Whether it be sequels, originals, comedies or action movies, this particular mix of films brought in audiences in a record-breaking way,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Media By Numbers president, referring to the summer’s cinematic offerings.

Sir Norman’s swansong is released

The last screen role of veteran performer Sir Norman Wisdom is being shown with the release of a short film.

The 92-year-old, who came out of retirement to play a vicar plagued by a fly in a cafe, suffers from vascular dementia and lives in a care home.

Expresso, which will raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support, features Dame Judi Dench on a foreword for the DVD.

In a message released with the film, Sir Norman said he was “a lucky little devil” to make a return to a film set.

“I had a great day – every minute was worth an hour,” added the comic actor, who urged everyone to watch the “wonderful” 10-minute film, which captures a number of customers at the coffee shop.

‘In stitches’

He was given a visual role so he would not have to remember any lines, said the film’s producer Martin Nigel Davey.

“But on the day he was alert and had everyone around him in stitches.

“We were filming with him for about five hours and kept changing his performance so it produced even more laughs.

“He may be 92 but he was still an absolute professional,” added Mr Davey.

“Sadly his condition has gone a bit downhill since January and he needs more care now.”

In July 2006, Sir Norman, who lives on the Isle of Man, underwent an operation to fit a pacemaker in Liverpool.

He announced his retirement from show business at the age of 90 in February 2005.

Fans urged to boycott Winehouse

Amy Winehouse’s father-in-law has urged the singer’s fans to boycott her music until she seeks treatment for what he called a drug addiction.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, Giles Fielder-Civil said he was concerned that Winehouse and her husband, Blake, would die without medical help.

He said: “Perhaps it is time to stop buying records. It’s a possibility, to send that message.”

But the singer’s father, Mitch, said a boycott would not aid her recovery.

‘Rock bottom’

He contacted the Victoria Derbyshire show after he heard Winehouse’s in-laws being interviewed.

“It won’t send any message to Amy at all, unfortunately. If I thought it would, it would be a great idea,” he said.

“The only way out of this is not sectioning them, not locking them up. At some point they are going to reach rock bottom.”

Recent photographs of Winehouse and Fielder-Civil appeared to show blood seeping out from her ballet shoes, while Fielder-Civil’s face was covered in bloodied scratches.

When asked what he had thought of the pictures, Mitch said: “I thought that here are two people that are completely out of control.”

He added: “As a parent it was sickening – worse than sickening, I wanted to die, but I can’t die.

“I can’t think of things like that because I have another son, I have a daughter that needs me, although she doesn’t think she needs me at the moment.”

Giles Fielder-Civil said he believed his son and daughter-in-law had been taking cocaine, crack cocaine and possibly heroin.

His wife, Georgette, said she feared for both Winehouse and Fielder-Civil if they continued to take drugs.

“I think they both need to get medical help before one of them, if not both of them, eventually will die,” she said.

Suicide fear

Her husband added: “We’re concerned that if one of them dies, the other will die.

“They’re a very close couple and if one dies through a substance abuse, the other may commit suicide.”

However, Mitch Winehouse said he had spoken to his daughter on Sunday and she sounded fine.

“We are not talking about people who are in imminent danger of death,” he said.

Mr Fielder-Civil said he wants Winehouse’s record company, Island Records – part of the Universal Music group, to do more.

“They could either say: ‘Until you sort yourself out we’re not doing any more work together,’ or they take responsibility and make the pair enter a proper rehabilitation unit, where they can’t leave until they’re sorted out’,” he said.

But Mr Winehouse said that, during a meeting with the label, some people had been “crying their eyes out because of their love for Amy”.

In a statement, Island Records said: “We have been doing everything we can to help with Amy’s personal problems over the past few weeks.

“She has our full support – professionally, emotionally and financially. We’ve advised her to take complete rest during this difficult period and have put all her promotional commitments on hold.”

Mr Fielder-Civil added that Winehouse should not be eligible to win awards for her music.

“This isn’t a personal affront against her, but we shouldn’t be condoning her addiction by a rewarding her with these particular awards,” he said.

Winehouse is currently nominated for a Mercury Music Prize, an MTV Video Music Award and four Mobo awards for her 2006 album Back To Black.

Wilson plea over ’suicide’ claims

Film star Owen Wilson has asked to be allowed to “heal in private” following news reports he was taken to hospital in Los Angeles after a suicide attempt.

“I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time,” Wilson said in a statement.

A Cedars-Sinai Medical Center spokeswoman told the AP news agency Wilson, 38, was in a “good condition”.

No official reason has been given for Wilson’s hospitalisation.

Hit comedies

Santa Monica police and fire department issued a statement saying that medical help was sent to Wilson’s address in Santa Monica, on Sunday.

The statement said “a person” was taken to a local hospital, but did not provide any details.

Wilson’s spokeswoman, Ina Treciokas, did not comment on the actor’s statement or discuss his medical condition.

Wilson is regarded as one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars, having appeared in a string of hit comedies.

The Wedding Crashers, in which he and Vince Vaughn starred as two men who show up uninvited at weddings in order to get dates, grossed $285m (£142m) at the global box office in 2005.

His other films include Starsky and Hutch, Zoolander, and You, Me and Dupree.

He was nominated for an Oscar in 2002 for his writing work on The Royal Tenenbaums. He also starred in the film with brother Luke Wilson and friend Ben Stiller.

Wilson currently has two films in production – Tropic Thunder, and Marley and Me, with Jennifer Aniston.

He was also due to travel to the Venice Film Festival next month for the premiere of his latest film, The Darjeeling Limited.

French star sued for hero comment

French actress Fanny Ardant is being sued by the son of a former Italian policeman killed by the extremist Red Brigades group in the 1970s.

The actress sparked a controversy when she told an Italian magazine she considered the jailed founder of the Red Brigades her “hero”.

She has since apologised for causing offence but the policeman’s son, Piero Mazzola, has said that is not enough.

In Italy it is illegal to praise someone who has committed a crime.

Ardant said she admired the founder of the Red Brigades group, Renato Curcio, because he had never abandoned his leftist ideals, adding she “considered the Red Brigades phenomenon to be very moving and passionate”.

‘Praising a murderer’

The Red Brigades murdered Christian Democrat leader Aldo Moro in 1976.

Ardant later said: “My words have caused suffering to those who have suffered and for that I ask for forgiveness.”

Mr Mazzola, a lawyer whose father was shot along with a colleague near Venice in 1974, said her apologies were not enough.

“Curcio was convicted for killing my father, among other crimes. So, together with my family, I have filed legal proceedings against Ardant because she is praising a murderer,” Mr Mazzola told Reuters news agency.

“I just can’t see how killing people can be called heroism,” he said. “She may see the Red Brigades as passionate while sipping champagne in Paris, but for us it’s very different.”

Ardant is due to attend this week’s Venice Film Festival as the lead actress in the Italian film L’Ora di Punta.

But the president of Italy’s Veneto region, Giancarlo Galan, has asked her not to come to the festival and Italian media reports that Ardant may cancel her trip for fear of overshadowing the film’s release.

The Marxist Red Brigades group, whose aim was to overthrow capitalist Italy, attacked government and business targets in the 1970s and early 1980s.

It was largely disbanded in the 1980s but an offshoot of the group, which calls itself the Red Brigades-Communist Combatant Party, carried out an assassination of a government advisor in 2002.

Stars out for Venice film opening

Stars have been arriving at the Venice Film Festival, which opened with the British film Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy.

This year’s gala – celebrating its 75th anniversary – also sees the premiere of Kenneth Branagh’s thriller Sleuth, with Sir Michael Caine and Jude Law.

Among the arrivals on the first day were Rupert Everett and Vanessa Redgrave and director Jane Campion.

The key winners will be unveiled at the festival’s climax on 8 September.

Ang Lee, who won the festival’s top prize – the coveted Golden Lion – in 2005 for Brokeback Mountain, will unveil his new film Lust, Caution.

Oscar potential

Film-maker Tim Burton, whose credits include Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, will be honoured with the Golden Lion lifetime achievement award.
VENICE – HEADLINE FILMS
Atonement - by British director Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, based on Ian McEwan’s novel.
Lust, Caution (pictured) - from Oscar-winning Taiwanese director Ang Lee, who won Venice’s Golden Lion in 2005 for Brokeback Mountain.
Sleuth - remake of 1972 thriller from British director Kenneth Branagh, starring Sir Michael Caine and Jude Law.
I’m Not There - charts the life of Bob Dylan using different actors including Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett.
It’s A Free World - director Ken Loach’s film about migrant labour in the UK.

Other films in the main competition include Michael Clayton, a thriller starring George Clooney, while Brad Pitt is expected in the Italian city for the debut of his western, The Assassination of Jesse James.

Woody Allen’s latest project, Cassandra, will also be shown, with an appearance by its stars Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor.

A series of Spaghetti westerns, curated by director Quentin Tarantino will also run throughout the festival.

For the first time a prize for a film with a gay theme or characters will be awarded.

Atonement, based on the best-selling novel by Ian McEwan, is only the second feature film from 35-year-old director Joe Wright.

The film is already being touted as having Oscar potential, including the performance of Keira Knightley.

Knightley told a Venice news conference that McEwan’s novel was “a beautifully drawn character study”.

At last year’s Venice festival, Dame Helen Mirren took the best actress prize for her role in The Queen, and went on to win a host of honours culminating in an Oscar.

Taiwan protest

Taiwanese authorities have protested about the festival listing Ang Lee’s film as originating from Taiwan, China – suggesting the island state is still part of the People’s Republic.

China and Taiwan set up separate governments in 1949, but Beijing still considers Taiwan as part of its territory.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council blamed China for influencing the festival programme, saying “the black hand of China has entered the pure world of art” in a statement on its website.

China’s state-run China Film Group, which is distributing Lust, Caution on the mainland, said they were not involved in any lobbying to secure the Taiwan, China label.

Scary Spice set for US dance show

Pop star Melanie Brown, better known as Scary Spice, is to compete in the next series of US TV hit Dancing With The Stars, it has been revealed.

The 32-year-old will be joined on the show by British actress Jane Seymour and singer Marie Osmond.

Other contestants include Las Vegas performer Wayne Newton, boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and model Josie Maran.

The show is the US version of Strictly Come Dancing. The last series featured Heather Mills McCartney.

She was knocked out in the sixth week, and the show was eventually won by Olympic gold medallist Apolo Anton Ohno.

Ohno, an ice-skater, beat former boyband star Joey Fatone in the final, which took place in May this year.

The forthcoming series debuts on US TV network ABC on 25 September.

As with Strictly Come Dancing, each celebrity is paired with a professional dancer and faces a public vote to remain in the competition each week.

Brown joins 11 other stars in the upcoming shows, at the same time as she prepares for the Spice Girls reunion tour, which kicks off in Canada in December.

The remaining competitors include Beverly Hills 90210 actress Jennie Garth and billionaire Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.

Actress Sabrina Bryan, racing driver Helio Castroneves, soap actor Cameron Mathison and model Albert Reed complete the line-up.

Fans flock to musical phenomenon

More than one thousand chanting and singing fans have gathered in London to meet the cast of High School Musical 2.

Stars of the made-for-TV family movie, including lead actors Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, attended the event at HMV’s flagship store on Oxford Street.

“You can never get used to it, it’s an adventure,” said Efron, who plays school basketball captain Troy Bolton.

The film’s debut broke TV viewing records in the US last week. UK viewers can see it on Disney on 21 September.

Despite the crowds in London, many passers-by were baffled as to what High School Musical was all about.

It began life as a low-budget movie on the US Disney Channel, one of ten such films the company produces every year.

Vanessa Hudgens, who plays the shy, academic Gabriella Montez, was just pleased to have got a part.

“I’d been out of work for a year and I just thought: ‘Oh wow – musical!’” said the 18-year-old actress.

‘Just insane’

Hudgens, along with the rest of the cast, had no idea that High School Musical would turn into something more than just a few weeks’ work.

The plot is a familiar one – sporty Troy falls for clever Gabriella despite their different backgrounds. There are a few ups and downs, and a lot of singing and dancing.

It is Grease for the noughties but even more innocent.

But something about the show caught the imagination of its pre-teen audience.

The soundtrack became 2006’s biggest-selling album in the US and led to a series of huge stage shows.

On YouTube there are dozens of clips – many featuring fans performing the songs themselves – and around the world, schools are starting to put on their own versions of the show.

In all, Disney is thought to have made about $100m (£50m) on the film, which cost just $4m (£2m) to make.

“You can never get used to it, it’s an adventure,” says 19-year-old Efron, who has become a heart-throb after his starring role.

Hudgens is equally overwhelmed. “Once it started to blow up it was just insane, it really hasn’t sunk in yet,” she says.

Word of mouth

But in an era where all ages seem to be listening to the same music, how has this phenomenon sneaked under the radar?

One answer is the now fragmented nature of television.

The original movie was made for and shown by the Disney Channel, becoming a word of mouth hit in the playground.

And while the sequel may have broken viewing records for a cable channel in the US last week (17.2 million tuned in at one point) it has remained largely a teen-only cult.

The zesty, upbeat songs have received relatively little airplay on mainstream radio, yet more than three million albums have been sold. Press coverage has also been rather thin – this is a phenomenon of multi-channel TV, the internet and live events.

Of course, the question with all teen crazes is: how long will it last? Disney clearly has long-term plans for the franchise – with more than 100 tie-in products, ranging from shoes to backpacks, due to hit stores in time for Christmas, while an ice-skating spin-off launches next month.

And High School Musical 2, with its story about summer jobs, will be followed by a cinema release of the final chapter, in which the students graduate.

After all, the cast cannot remain high school students forever.

Opera legend Pavarotti ‘worsens’

Opera star Luciano Pavarotti’s health has worsened and he is in a “very serious” condition, Italian media say.

Pavarotti, 71, has been suffering from pancreatic cancer and was released from hospital on 25 August after a series of tests were carried out.

He is now being treated at home in the northern city of Modena surrounded by family and friends.

Pavarotti had surgery for the cancer in July 2006 in New York and has not made any public appearances since then.

Tour

This week it was announced Pavarotti was to receive a prize from the Italian government for his work promoting the country’s culture.

He is the first person to receive the award.

“This prize fills me with joy and pride,” Italy’s Ansa news agency had quoted Pavarotti as saying.

He had been admitted to hospital in Modena on 8 August with a fever. He was released two weeks later after diagnostic tests.

Despite hopes that he would be able to resume his farewell tour this year, his health has not allowed him to return to the stage.

The BBC’s David Willey in Rome says the singer developed respiratory problems during the summer while on holiday at his villa on the Adriatic coast.

The tenor has undergone five bouts of chemotherapy since his cancer surgery last year, says our correspondent.

Pavarotti last sang in public in Italy at the beginning of 2006, when he performed his signature Puccini aria Nessun Dorma at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin.

Kidman reveals miscarriage trauma

Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman has revealed she lost a baby in the early years of her marriage to Tom Cruise.

She told Vanity Fair magazine she suffered the miscarriage when she was 23-years-old.

“From the minute Tom and I were married, I wanted to have babies. And we lost a baby early on, so that was really very traumatic,” she said.

The 40-year-old star and Cruise, who were married for over 11 years, went on to adopt two children.

‘No regrets’

“My mother has an adopted sister, so it’s been part of our family, and I knew it would probably play out somewhere in mine. I didn’t think it would happen so early but it did,” she said.

The couple, who divorced in 2001, adopted Bella, now 14, and Connor, 12, two years after they lost their baby.

The actress also revealed before she married Cruise her agents had warned her that becoming Mrs Cruise would mean her career would “die”.

She said: “I was appalled. I was like, ‘Hello? I’m in love, and I don’t care if it’s shooting myself in the foot. I’d much rather be married and have a family.

“I just saw a guy who rides around on a motorbike and happens to be the biggest movie star in the world. But I was in love with him, which is why I think we lasted 11-and-a-half years together. I have no regrets in that relationship.”

Kidman, who married country singer Keith Urban last year, said she is desperate to have a baby with him.

“I’m yearning to have one. I think it would be very sad if I wasn’t able to have a baby. Keith knows I want one, and he has been getting there slowly,” she said.

Kidman also revealed she was engaged to another man before her marriage to Urban. There has been speculation it could have been pop star Lenny Kravitz or US tycoon Steve Bing, both of whom she previously dated.

“It just wasn’t right. I wasn’t ready. We weren’t ready,” she said.

The Oscar-winning star talked about how she found life “lonely” after winning the award in 2003 for her part in The Hours.

She also described her husband’s stint in rehab over his battle with alcohol “painful”.

She added: “I’ve learned an enormous amount having a relationship with someone who is in recovery.”

The Australian actress who famously joined the Church of Scientology with Cruise during their marriage revealed her children are also Scientologists.

Cruise is now married to Dawson’s Creek star Katie Holmes, who gave birth to their first child, daughter Suri, in April last year.

The full interview appears in the October issue of Vanity Fair, out on Friday.

Brad Pitt speaks of parenting joy

Hollywood actor Brad Pitt has described bringing up his four children as “the most fun I’ve ever had”.

The 43-year-old star has three adopted children with actress Angelina Jolie and the couple had their first child together last year.

“I love it and can’t recommend it any more highly – although sleep is non-existent,” he said.

Pitt, Jolie and their family have arrived at the Venice Film Festival which opened last week.

‘Complex and complicated’

“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had and also the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever experienced,” he said.

“It makes me much more efficient because when I work I really have to focus, I know I’ve less time to get things done. Actually I’m quite pleased by it,” he added.

Pitt is promoting his latest film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which depicts the last year of the famous outlaw’s life.

Ben Affleck’s younger brother, Casey, plays fellow gang member Robert Ford.

As he arrived at the festival, Pitt was cheered by the crowd, but proved less popular with photographers who booed him for refusing to take his sunglasses off.

The Ocean’s Thirteen star said he was proud of his new film.

“This is a very complex and complicated film that isn’t part of the current zeitgeist of film-making – it’s more a throwback to some of the great films of the Seventies,” he said.

“I think it’s a delicious film, it sits and breathes like good wine, and it’s ultimately my favourite kind of film-making,” he added.

The movie is one of the favourites to win the Golden Lion prize for best film.

Other strong contenders are the remake of Sleuth, starring Sir Michael Caine and Jude Law, and Keira Knightley film Atonement.

Elvis hit makes chart comeback

The 1956 Elvis number one hit, Hound Dog, has reached number 14 in the UK music charts 30 years after the singer’s death.

Sean Kingston has topped the chart after holding second place last week with Beautiful Girls.

Rapper Kanye West dropped one place to number two with his track, Stronger.

Newton Faulkner’s Hand Built By Robots stayed at number one in the album charts, keeping Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black from reaching the top spot.

The highest new entry in the singles chart was The Creeps (Get on the Dancefloor) by Freaks, which charted at number nine.

Other new entries included former Neighbours soap star turned singer Natalie Imbruglia’s Glorious at 23.
UK TOP FIVE SINGLES
1. Beautiful Girls – Sean Kingston
2. Stronger – Kanye West
3. Hey There Deliah – Plain White T’s
4. With Every Heartbeat – Robyn with Kleerup
5. Shut Up and Drive – Rihanna

Scottish singer KT Tunstall climbed 18 places to chart at number 21 with Hold On.

She was closely followed by Athlete, who climbed 17 places to reach 31 with Hurricane.

Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars spends its 52nd week in the chart at number 61, making it the first single since New Order’s Blue Monday to clock up a full calendar year in the top 75.

Former Beatle Ringo Starr was one of two new entries to hit the album chart, with his Photograph – The Very Best Of album charting at 26.

Hey Venus by Super Furry Animals charted at 11.

Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad jumped six places to number six in the album chart.

The King by Elvis Presley didn’t fare as well as his Hound Dog single, and fell two places to number four.

Maroon 5 climbed 24 places to 17 with It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, and London teenager Kate Nash remained in the top 10 with Made of Bricks, which fell one place to five.