People talk 6/5/02

Creed announces new summer tour

NEW YORK -- Creed, which canceled part of its "Weathered" tour after lead singer Scott Stapp was involved in a car accident, is heading back to the stage.

The multiplatinum rock group is scheduled to begin a 30-date tour on July 11 in Virginia Beach, Va., according to a statement from the band's publicist.

In April, Creed scrapped a tour that was supposed to run through May 31 after Stapp's vehicle was rear-ended by a sport utility vehicle in his hometown of Orlando, Fla.

Although a police report indicated no one was injured in the accident, a representative for Creed said Stapp suffered back injuries, including a torn disc in his lower back and a bulging disc in his neck.

Doctors say Stapp is healthy enough now to resume touring, according to the statement. The band is expected to tour through at least October.

The group's latest disc, "Weathered," has sold more than 5 million copies since its release in November.

Theater plans proceed despite Ventura veto

MINNEAPOLIS -- The board of the Guthrie Theater plans to proceed with a proposed $125 million complex on the Mississippi riverfront, despite Gov. Jesse Ventura's veto of state funding.

The project's future was in question last month after Ventura rejected selling bonds to raise $24 million for the planned three-stage theater.

But after the board meeting, Guthrie artistic director Joe Dowling said Monday, "The general unanimous mood of the board was, 'It's not a question of if, it's a question of when"' the project will be completed.

However, Dowling said, Ventura's veto means an indefinite delay in groundbreaking, which had been set for October.

The Walker Art Center, which owns the Guthrie's current performing space, wants to demolish the 39-year-old theater as part of an expansion. Guthrie officials also want to move to a bigger space.

Dowling said the Guthrie plans to approach the 2003 Legislature to seek the full $35 million the theater had asked for this session. If the Guthrie has to wait until the 2004 session to get the money, he said, the new theater can't meet its planned opening date of 2005. He said the project can't be built as envisioned without state money, and the board doesn't want to scale back the design.

In February, the Guthrie announced plans for the new Guthrie on the River complex and a campaign to raise $75 million in private funds for it.

Dowling said the Guthrie already has $60 million in commitments from people, corporations and foundations.

The proposed new theater would recreate the Guthrie's famed thrust stage in a 1,100-seat auditorium. The other stages would be a proscenium, or "picture frame" stage, for contemporary works and a smaller studio stage for student and experimental productions.

French architect Jean Nouvel designed the new Guthrie, which would be built in the Historic Milling District of downtown Minneapolis. The design includes a stainless steel curved exterior on one portion and a 150-foot-long glass and steel lobby cantilevered 50 feet over the ground and extending toward the Mississippi.

Faberge collection on display in Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Faberge meets neon on the Las Vegas Strip when a rare collection of Russian treasures makes its debut at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in August.

Marc Glimcher, art curator and chairman of the gallery in the Bellagio hotel-casino, has secured a deal to exhibit the Kremlin Museum's Faberge collection.

"They have offered quite a number of things all related to Faberge and the collections of the Czar and Czarina," Brian Cantor, director of the gallery's retail operations, told The Associated Press.

More than 125 Faberge items will make up the "Faberge and The Age of Imperial Russia" exhibit at the Bellagio for five months, beginning in late August, Cantor said.

Among the items will be a number of what many consider to be the greatest of the Faberge Easter eggs, commissioned by the Imperial family from the workshops of Peter-Karl Faberge.

Accompanying the collection currently housed in the Armory Museum at the Kremlin in Moscow will be art objects from the imperial wardrobe and jewelry, among others.

Included will be a tin box of Faberge jewelry found hidden in the floorboard of a Faberge manager's car just before he was arrested during the 1917 Communist revolution that has never been shown outside Russia, Glimcher said.

Terrorist movie plots still hits after attacksLOS ANGELES -- Moviegoers want to see films with patriotic themes and wouldn't shy away from movies dealing squarely with the events of Sept. 11, a new poll shows.

A poll conducted for The Hollywood Reporter showed that 76.3 percent of the 1,041 adults surveyed are interested in seeing a film portraying the heroism of passengers on doomed airliners on Sept. 11.

Respondents also displayed a high interest in movies depicting the personal stories of World Trade Center survivors and the hunt for Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group.

A smaller number, 53.4 percent, said they would be interested in scenes recreating the events of Sept. 11.

The poll, taken in March and titled "Hollywood & Politics," also showed that 76.5 percent of respondents disapprove of presenters and winners at the Academy Awards expressing their political beliefs.

Respondents also named their most- and least-admired celebrities based on their political views.

On the most-admired list were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oprah Winfrey and Bono. Among the least-admired were Jane Fonda, Alec Baldwin and Barbara Streisand.

The survey was conducted by E-Poll and released last week.

--From wire reports