People talk 3/3/03

Myers' 'Austin Powers' based on his father

ASPEN, Colo. -- When comedian Mike Myers was growing up, anyone who wanted to be invited to his home more than once had to be funny.

"My dad was very like, if somebody came in the house that wasn't funny, it was like, 'Can't come anymore,"' said Myers, accepting the 2003 American Film Institute Star Award.

Myers, who grew up in Toronto, told the audience at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival that his characters -- on the big screen and on "Saturday Night Live" -- were all based on his family members.

"Wayne is me," Myers said Friday of the film "Wayne's World," while the 1960s swinger Austin Powers resembles his father, a native of Liverpool, England, who never let his son forget his roots.

"It would be 11 o'clock at night and the local TV station would have something with Peter Sellers or Alec Guinness and he'd say 'You're going to bloody watch this and you're going to bloody enjoy it. It's your bloody heritage."'

When his father died in 1993, Myers took a two-year break from acting because "nothing seemed funny to me." It was then that he crafted what would be the basis for his "Austin Powers" character.

Sean Combs to open restaurant in Detroit

DETROIT -- Sean "P. Diddy" Combs plans to open a restaurant in downtown Detroit, an associate of the hip-hop entrepreneur said.

The Justin's restaurant will open in four to eight months at a location yet to be determined, said Andre Suite, executive vice president of Justin's. Combs will have the final word on the location, he said.

"We want to be right where the rebirth is -- one of the attractions in the downtown area," Suite said.

There already are two Justin's, the original in New York and another in Atlanta. The restaurants are named after Combs' oldest son.

Besides the restaurants, Combs owns the Bad Boy record label, the Sean John clothing line and a market research company.

Fortune magazine once estimated the performer's annual earnings at more than $50 million. Sean John did a reported $325 million in sales in 2002.

Schwarzenegger donates tank to military museum

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Before he was the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger was just another soldier in the Austrian army. He was reunited with a part of his military past -- the tank he used to drive -- in a visit to a museum.

Schwarzenegger, 55, in town for an annual fitness exposition that bears his name, visited the Motts Military Museum in nearby Groveport on Friday. He donated the 47-ton tank to the museum in November 2000.

Standing beside the U.S.-built tank, Schwarzenegger told stories about his army days in 1965. One night, he left the tank's engine running to keep warm -- and fell asleep. He woke up at 5 a.m. and found the tank had rolled into a river. His punishment: three days in jail.

Museum director Warren Motts hinted that Schwarzenegger should donate his army uniform.

"We'll have to dig it out," Schwarzenegger said.

Court battle between Spears and 'avid fan'

LOS ANGELES -- A man who allegedly stalked Britney Spears is just "an avid fan" and his actions were simply misinterpreted by the pop star, his attorney said in court.

Simon R. Hiller told a Superior Court commissioner that his client, Masahiko Shizawa, 41, of Yokohama, Japan, is trying to resolve the matter with Spears privately.

Spears claims Shizawa sent her hundreds of love letters and photographs, and tracked her to her homes in Louisiana and Hollywood. Shizawa allegedly wrote "I'm chasing you" on one of the photos.

Spears, 21, is seeking a restraining order that would bar Shizawa from coming within 1,000 yards of her. The singer also is seeking attorney fees and court costs.

"He's not a stalker," Hiller said of Shizawa, a computer programmer and inventor. "He's an avid fan."

If the hasn't been resolved by April 18, a hearing on evidence will be scheduled.

Shizawa has returned to Japan but wants to settle the dispute so he can eventually come back to the United States, his attorney said.

-- AP