People talk 1/24/04

Magazine ordered to help pay court costs

LONDON -- A High Court judge ruled Friday that a celebrity magazine that published unauthorized wedding photos of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones must pay the bulk of the couple's legal costs. On Friday, Lindsay said Hello! also must pay 75 percent of the costs of the first hearing and 85 percent of the costs of the damages hearing. The claimants estimated the total costs at $7.4 million. Hello! ran pictures smuggled from the lavish wedding at New York's Plaza Hotel.

Wife of Paul McCartney requires operation

LONDON -- Paul McCartney's wife, Heather, must undergo major pelvic surgery nearly two months after the birth of her baby, her spokeswoman said Friday. Metal plates inserted in her pelvis following a road accident 11 years ago need to be replaced as a result of the pregnancy, spokeswoman Anya Noakes said. Heather Mills McCartney, 36, had her first child, Beatrice, on Oct. 28. The plates were inserted to hold her pelvis together after it was shattered in an accident in August 1993.

In-law files lawsuit against Dom DeLuise

LOS ANGELES -- Dom DeLuise's daughter-in-law is suing him for $2 million, claiming the comic actor conspired to cut her off financially. Brigitte DeLuise, who's estranged from her husband, actor David DeLuise, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court. She alleges that her husband assured her that all assets would be "both of theirs." After a falling out with Dom DeLuise, her lawsuit claims, he conspired with his financial advisers, Page & Ma Business Management, to limit her rights and access to funds. Ownership of a West Hollywood home is part of the dispute. Brigitte and David DeLuise married in September 1994. She sued for divorce last May.-- From wire reports

DiCaprio is 'in the zone' for conservationism

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Leonardo DiCaprio wants activists to use the Internet to protect the environment. The 29-year-old actor and conservationist appeared Thursday at the Natural Resources Defense Council's regional headquarters for the opening of an environmental museum with Internet-ready computers. The "Titanic" star hopes activists will use computers in his new "Leonardo DiCaprio e-Activism Zone" to access information about environmental issues and to send e-mails to public and corporate officials. Also on hand were comedian Larry David and his wife Laurie David, who dedicated a museum and gift store known as the David Family Environmental Action Center that houses the computers.

LONDON -- Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams broke his wrist in a fall from the stage during a gig in Liverpool, his publicist said Friday.

Adams, 29, plunged from the stage during a concert at Liverpool's Royal Court Theater on Thursday. Fans said Adams struggled to continue the show before retiring, clutching his arm.

A spokesman for the Royal Liverpool University Hospital confirmed Adams had been treated for a fracture to his arm.

The office of publicist Richard Wootton said Adams was to be examined by a specialist in London on Friday. The publicist said it was too early to say whether the rest of the tour would be canceled.

The former singer with North Carolina alt-country group Whiskeytown, Adams gained rave reviews for his 2002 album "Gold," which spawned the Grammy-nominated single "New York, New York." He has since gained a reputation for prolific recording and prodigious rock 'n' roll partying.

He began a British tour Jan. 17 in support of his latest album, "Rock'n'Roll," and two recently released EPs.

----

On the Net:

http://www.ryan-adams.com

------

NEW YORK -- Paige Davis is trading in "Trading Spaces" for Broadway -- at least temporarily.

The host of the popular TLC television series about couples who redecorate each others' homes joins the New York company of "Chicago" in June. Davis will star as Roxie Hart June 22-Aug. 8 while "Trading Spaces" is on hiatus.

The performer is no stranger to the long-running revival of the Kander and Ebb musical. She's appeared as one of the merry murderesses in the Broadway production of the show as well as in its national and international tours. Davis also was in the Las Vegas production in which she understudied Chita Rivera as Roxie.

------

TRENTON, N.J. -- A senior official with the Philadelphia Orchestra will become the new administrator of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

Simon Woods will become the NJSO's president and chief executive officer in March, officials said Thursday. He succeeds Lawrence Tamburri, who left Dec. 31 to take a similar job at the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The appointment comes just months after the NJSO named veteran conductor Neeme Jarvi as its new music director. The orchestra also recently completed the $25 million purchase of 30 rare Italian string instruments, including a dozen Stradivarius and three Guarneri del Gesu violins.

Woods, the Philadelphia Orchestra's vice president for artistic planning and operations, said the NJSO post was a "unique opportunity" that offered tremendous possibilities for artistic growth.

"The combination of the Golden Age instruments, the appointment of Neeme Jarvi, (that) they are a very impressive collaborative model of working together -- these things position them for a really successful future," the 40-year-old told The Star-Ledger of Newark.

Woods' career has focused primarily on the artistic side of the industry. From 1988-97, he was a record producer at EMI Classics and worked with such prestigious artists as conductor Simon Rattle and tenor/conductor Placido Domingo.

He's also up for a Grammy next month for best classical album for producing a multidisc set of the Philadelphia Orchestra performing Schumann.

------

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- Bethany Hamilton, the world-ranked amateur surfing champion who lost her left arm in a shark attack, is tackling another kind of board.

The 13-year-old had always wanted to learn to snowboard, said her mother, Cheri. So after the Oct. 31 accident off the Hawaiian island of Kauai, she told her daughter, "As soon as you're well, you're going snowboarding, girl."

Hamilton did just that for the first time last Saturday at Steamboat Ski Resort in northwest Colorado. Within a few days, she went from sliding down the bunny hill to carving smooth turns on intermediate slopes.

Some snowboarding motions are similar to surfing, Hamilton said Wednesday, but there are some big differences.

"The (surfing) ride is way shorter and you have to paddle back out," she told the Steamboat Pilot & Today. With snowboarding, "it's one long run and you take the lift back up."

Also, snowboarding takes less arm strength than surfing because it doesn't require paddling to catch a wave, her mother said.

Hamilton, a Christian since she was 6 years old, said she believes the attack has a purpose, though she may not understand it now.

"For me, I just look up to God," she said. "I should be grateful for what I have."

------

On the Net:

http://www.bethanyhamilton.com

------

LOS ANGELES -- First it was a tie, then it was a rematch. Now it's a tie again.

"Mystic River" and "Seabiscuit" were chosen Thursday to share the annual Scripter Award, which honors the best film adapted from a book last year.

It was the first tie in the 16-year history of the award, which is given by The Friends of the USC Libraries.

Last week, the organization announced it would have a run-off vote between the two films, but that decision resulted in yet another dead-heat.

"Support for both films was incredibly strong and, in the end, the committee could not eliminate either of these worthy contenders," said Robert Towne, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of "Chinatown," who served as chair of the selection committee.

The award will be presented to "Mystic River" screenwriter Brian Helgeland and author Dennis Lehane and "Seabiscuit" screenwriter Gary Ross and author Laura Hillenbrand at a Feb. 15 dinner.

A group of film and literary professionals selected the Scripter nominees, which also included "Cold Mountain," "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World."

------

On the Net:

http://www.usc.edu/isd/partners/scripter/annual/

------

GUATEMALA CITY -- Mayan poet Humberto Akabal says he's declined Guatemala's top literature award because it's named for Nobel Prize winner Miguel Angel Asturias.

Akabal told the newspaper El Periodico that Asturias was the author of a 1923 essay that "offends the indigenous peoples of Guatemala, of which I am part."

He referred to a work, "The Social Problem of the Indian," that described indigenous cultures as decadent.

"I am not honored to receive this prize," said Akabal, whose works reflect the cultural vision of the Quiche people.

He said that "racism and discrimination is something that is still very latent in Guatemala and it has neither been reflected upon nor openly discussed."

Asturias, who died in 1974, won the 1967 Nobel Prize for literature.

------

OSLO, Norway -- Norway's newborn princess and designated future queen has been named Ingrid Alexandra.

The baby was born Wednesday in Oslo to Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. She's second in line to the throne, after her father.

In announcing the name Thursday, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said both names had long traditions in the Nordic region and within the royal family.

"I personally think it is a very nice name. It combines a much used Norwegian name, Ingrid, with another not so much used name in Norway but with rich royal traditions," the prime minister said.

The newborn princess could someday become the first female monarch in Norway in nearly 600 years.

Norway's last female monarch, Queen Margrete, assumed the Danish-Norwegian throne in about 1380 upon the death of her husband.