People talk 04/10/03

Jacko feeling insecure about Austrian concert

VIENNA, Austria -- Michael Jackson has canceled plans to appear in Austria next weekend because of concerns about security, an organizer of the event said Wednesday.

The 44-year-old pop singer has been scheduled to give a concert and introduce a charity project for children on Sunday in the western Austrian ski resort of Ischgl.

Mark Petrisch, a spokesman for the event's organizer, said Jackson was canceling the show because of security risks related to world political events.

Three actors sue electronics company

LOS ANGELES -- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington are suing Fry's Electronics for allegedly using their images in newspaper advertisements without permission.

Each actor seeks $10 million in damages. The lawsuit says the ads could diminish their "hard-earned and well-deserved reputations as major motion picture stars and risks the potential for overexposure."

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims the photos ran in the Los Angeles Times and other major newspapers.

Representatives of Fry's, which has its headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and stores in Texas, Arizona and Oregon, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Madonna to perform new songs on special

NEW YORK -- Madonna will perform songs from her new album, "American Life," in an MTV special in which she's also expected to talk about the anti-war video she created for the title song.

"Madonna on Stage and on the Record" is scheduled for April 22, the same day her album hits stores. The hour-long special will be taped in front of a studio audience that day and is set to air at 9 p.m..

The 44-year-old singer is expected to discuss the video for "American Life," in which she wears military garb next to dancers in camouflage on a fashion runway. At one point, what looks like a grenade is thrown in the direction of a President Bush look-alike, who uses it as a lighter.

Madonna said she made the video before the war began, and has withdrawn it out of respect for the troops.

Carson Daly will be the host of the show, which will include an interview with John Norris from MTV News and questions from the audience.

Hollywood madam turns focus to publishing

LOS ANGELES -- Convicted Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss says she'll turn her attention to promoting her new book, "Pandering," and developing a career as a publisher now that her probation has ended.

"I'll be a force to be reckoned with in publishing," said Fleiss, who was convicted of money laundering, tax evasion and attempted pandering. She was released from prison in 1999 after serving 21 months.

In releasing her from her probation, which ended Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall congratulated Fleiss, 37, for completing the final two years without incident.

Marshall had added six months to her probation after Fleiss admitted she'd used methamphetamines at one point and failed to submit to drug testing.

"We did go through a period of time where it appeared you were involved in some destructive activity," Marshall said Monday, adding more supervision was needed "to make sure you were on the right track."

Fleiss promised to send the judge a copy of her book.

-- From wire reports