People talk 051803

Magazine sued for use of unauthorized photos

LONDON -- Catherine Zeta-Jones and her husband, Michael Douglas, will begin the second round of their court battle in July against a magazine that printed unauthorized photos of their wedding.

High Court Judge John Lindsay said Friday that a hearing will begin on July 16 to determine the level of damages to be awarded to the couple.

Zeta-Jones, 33, and Douglas, 58, claimed victory when Lindsay ruled in April that Hello! magazine breached their commercial confidence by printing pictures of their $2 million wedding at New York's Plaza Hotel in November 2000. The couple had a $1.62 million deal for exclusive pictures with rival magazine OK!

But the judge's ruling didn't extend to a breach of their right to privacy, which he said was not protected under British law.

During the six-week hearing in April to determine liability, the couple testified that memories of their wedding day had been spoiled by the Hello! photos, one of which showed Douglas feeding his bride wedding cake.

Ex-governor attempts Everest's summit

SANTA FE, N.M. -- Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson hopes to reach the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest this week if the weather cooperates.

"Believe it or not, but the time has come to summit Everest," Johnson wrote recently in a mass e-mail to friends and family from an Internet cafe at the Everest base camp at 17,600 feet. Johnson, who left office Dec. 31, has been in Nepal since late March acclimating to the altitude.

Johnson said he and his team plan to set out from base camp this weekend, "subject to change because of weather," on the final five- to six-day climb. The mountain is climbed in stages.

Hundreds of people are trying to reach the summit to mark the 50th anniversary of the first ascent on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese guide Tenzing Norgay.

Johnson's permit to climb expires at the end of May, so if he is going to reach the summit, it has to be in the next couple of weeks, said Dee Johnson, who talked to her husband Wednesday by satellite telephone. She said she'll be glad when his expedition ends.

Nugent out of concert lineup for racial slurs

MUSKEGON, Mich. -- Derogatory racial remarks from rocker Ted Nugent have cost him a gig at the Muskegon Summer Celebration.

Festival officials canceled Nugent's concert following an interview last week with two Denver disc jockeys in which the DJs say he used slurs for Asians and blacks. The festival was scrambling to find a replacement.

Following discussions with community leaders, Summer Celebration's board decided "it was in the best interest of the community" to drop Nugent from the festival lineup, Austin said. The festival runs in late June and early July.

Nugent assistant Linda Peterson said she couldn't comment on the festival's decision.-- From wire reports

Russian pop duo t.A.t.U. barred from filming video in Moscow

MOSCOW -- They're the first Russian pop sensation to top music charts worldwide, but Moscow police weren't having any of it.

Authorities barred the Russian pop duo t.A.t.U. Thursday from filming their new video on Red Square.

Several hundred fans -- many dressed in the skimpy schoolgirl uniforms favored by the duo -- turned up to act as extras in what was supposed to be the band's video for the Eurovision song contest. But instead, Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, both 18, barely emerged from their trailer.

"It looks like Russia does not care for t.A.t.U. representing its country," said their producer, Ivan Shapovalov, after failing to get permission to let the filming go ahead.

The duo, whose skimpy outfits and flirtation with lesbianism made headlines around the world, had an international hit with "All the Things She Said," and became the first Russian band to break through the tough British singles chart.

Shapovalov created t.A.t.U. in 1999 to be deliberately provocative and fill what he saw as a gap in the teenage band market.

Russia chose the duo to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest later this month in Riga, Latvia.

Kris Kristofferson writing a memoir

NEW YORK -- Actor-musician Kris Kristofferson is writing a memoir, which Hyperion will publish in 2005.

"William Blake said, 'The Road to Excess leads to the Palace of Wisdom.' He also said, 'If the fool would persist in his folly, he'd become wise.' We'll see," Kristofferson, 66, said in a statement Thursday.

Kristofferson has written classic songs such as "Me and Bobby McGee," which Janis Joplin made famous, "Help Me Make It Through the Night." His film credits include Martin Scorsese's "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," "A Star Is Born," co-starring Barbra Streisand, and "Heaven's Gate," one of the most famous flops in Hollywood history.

GOP's Matalin writing book for her daughters

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. -- Republican strategist Mary Matalin is writing a book -- but not on politics.

Matalin, who was Vice President Dick Cheney's top public relations strategist until she resigned in December to spend more time with her young daughters, is writing the book for Matty, 7, and Emma, 5.

The book, slated for publication for Mother's Day 2004, is tentatively titled, "Letters to My Daughters." Matalin says it will be filled with motherly advice about life; "everything I want them to know (after I'm gone.)"

"I want to crystallize my own value system for them," said Matalin, 49, whose mother died at age 50.

Matalin -- wife of Democratic consultant James Carville -- said she also has been busy with remodeling their suburban Washington home, but is looking forward to joining the Bush administration's re-election campaign when it starts.

"I continue to advise the White House with a special emphasis on the vice president," she said Friday before giving a speech on politics to officials attending the New Jersey Hospital Association's annual meeting just outside Princeton.

XXXX XXXXX

LAS VEGAS -- Entertainer Charo has pulled her cry of "coochie coochie" off the Las Vegas Strip and has filed a lawsuit against the bankrupt nightclub where she performed, seeking $2.2 million in unpaid salary and damages.

Joe Reynolds, executive director at the Sevilla nightclub, said Charo quit after her Wednesday show, and conceded that she was owed money.

"But there's a discrepancy between their lawsuit and what we owe," Reynolds said Friday. He put the amount at $88,675, which the nightclub reported when it filed for Chapter 11 protection April 28 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas.

On Thursday, the entertainer and a contractor, M&H Building Specialties Inc., filed lawsuits in Clark County District Court against the club's parent company, Sevilla International Inc., and its president, Bart Delorenzo, of Denver.

M&H is seeking $1.2 million it claims it is due for building improvements.

Reynolds said ticket sales for Charo's "Bravo" show were disappointing since opening in January.

The show, featuring her distinctive hip-shaking, mangled English and flamenco guitar, returned to the Las Vegas Strip in November 2001 at the Venetian hotel-casino. It moved to the Sahara hotel-casino before moving to the Aladdin.

-- From wire reports