People talk 10/22/02

Oasis cancels show after Philippine blasts

MANILA, Philippines -- The British rock group Oasis canceled its concert in the Philippines after a spate of deadly bombings in the country and in Indonesia.

The band was scheduled to perform Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum in suburban Quezon City.

"Due to recent terrorist attacks in both Bali and the Philippines, Oasis has regretfully decided not to play its show in Manila on Wednesday," the band's British agent, Ben Winchester, said in a statement released Monday by Midas Promotion.

The statement said, "The band did not wish to perform a show under the extreme security precautions that would have to be taken in order to guarantee crowd and band safety."

Midas Promotion said negotiations are ongoing for a new concert date, and that ticket-holders should wait for an announcement.

So far this month, six bombs have killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 200 others in the Philippines. One of them ripped through a passenger bus in metropolitan Manila on Friday, killing two people and injuring 20, police said.

Oasis became wildly popular in the mid-1990s. The group's 1995 album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" debuted at No. 1 in the United Kingdom and became the second-best selling album in British history.

Redford dissatisfied with N.C. debates

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Robert Redford wants more debate on the issues in North Carolina's Senate race.

"What I think the people deserve and are not getting, whether it's the state of North Carolina or pretty much anywhere else in the country, we are entitled to forthright and forthcoming information and I think we are entitled to a debate on a particular issue," the actor said in an interview with the Asheville Citizen-Times, published Sunday.

Redford was reacting to an Oct. 13 column by the newspaper urging Democratic candidate Erskine Bowles and Republican Elizabeth Dole to schedule a face-to-face debate to discuss issues of particular interest to residents of western North Carolina's mountains.

Dole has not accepted the newspaper's invitation, but Bowles has.

Last week, the two candidates held their second debate in the campaign to succeed retiring Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C.

Redford is in the Asheville area to shoot his latest movie, "The Clearing," in which he plays a businessman who is kidnapped.

The 65-year-old actor and director said he knows neither Bowles nor Dole, and his comments were not meant to support either political party.

Kid Rock's assistant faces drug charges

FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- A man traveling aboard Kid Rock's tour bus was charged with drug possession after a concert in West Palm Beach.

Kevin Joseph McMahon, 36, who identified himself as the rap-rocker's personal assistant, was arrested and released Sunday from St. Lucie County Jail after posting $16,000 bond. Kid Rock and members of his band weren't on the bus, police said.

McMahon and the bus driver were the only people aboard the vehicle, which was headed to Nashville. Kid Rock and his band, which opened a concert for Aerosmith on Saturday, were flying to Nashville, police said.

McMahon could not be reached for comment. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.

Authorities were tipped by a driver who said drugs were aboard the bus. Police stopped the bus was stopped on Florida's Turnpike and did a top-to-bottom search.

No police officials were available to elaborate on the driver's tip.

McMahon was carrying cocaine, and a drug-sniffing dog found a package of rolling papers, a marijuana joint and $3,717 in cash in a silver metal briefcase, according to the police report. McMahon told police the drugs and paraphernalia were his.

Kid Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, is engaged to actress Pamela Anderson.

Shock rocker Cooper promises new haunts

PHOENIX -- Alice Cooper promises to make Halloween even scarier this year.

The rock star -- who's frightened audiences for years with gruesome concert performances featuring guillotines lopping off heads and infant dolls gushing blood -- has opened his latest haunted house attraction.

"The whole key of our haunted house is to scare people in many different ways," said house director Steve Kopelman. "And you try to get them when they least expect it."

"Alice Cooper's Nightmare: The Breakdown," which opened Oct. 2 and runs through Nov. 2, is the sequel to 2001's "Alice Cooper's Nightmare," the Phoenix shock rocker's first foray into the haunted house business. Cooper executives first came to Kopelman three years ago to create the attraction.

This year, the effects are better, Kopelman said, with lifelike props, high-tech robots and computer movement systems staffed by the same company used by major theme parks.

The house's budget has also been increased, and a second house has debuted in San Antonio. House operators hope Cooper-themed attractions will show up in other areas of the country for future Halloweens.

Cooper, 54, is touring and won't be at the houses, but there are about 30 actors at each one to handle the task of frightening the roughly 1,000 people who go through each night.

Anderson unapologetic for wanting more fans

CHICAGO -- Paul Thomas Anderson makes no apologies for wanting more people to see his latest movie.

"You always think about an audience when you're making a movie," the director and writer of "Punch-Drunk Love" told the Chicago Tribune last week. This time, he said he wanted more people to enjoy his film.

The 32-year-old Anderson established a loyal cult following with his first three films, "Hard Eight" (1997), "Boogie Nights" (1997) and "Magnolia" (1999).

With "Punch-Drunk Love" starring Adam Sandler, the goal was "to try to make a movie that I would want to watch. I'm very proud of 'Magnolia,' but I really don't want to watch it. But I would like to watch this on a Saturday night," he said.

-- From wire reports