People talk 5/30/02

Movie to chronicle career of Mayor Rudy

LOS ANGELES -- Emmy-winner James Woods will play former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in a two-hour cable movie to air later this year on USA Network.

"Rudy!" is expected to chronicle Giuliani's tenure as mayor of the nation's largest city, culminating with his work after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Quality begets quality -- and we couldn't be more excited about James Woods coming on board this project," said Jeff Wachtel, USA Network's executive vice president for series and long form programming.

"The depiction of Rudy Giuliani requires an actor of complexity and intelligence -- two words that are synonymous with Jimmy's body of work."

Woods, 55, received Oscar nominations for his work in 1986's "Salvador" and 1996's "Ghosts of Mississippi."

The script for "Rudy!" is being written by Stanley Weiser, whose credits include "Wall Street," "Fatherland" for HBO and "Witness to the Mob" for NBC. The film will be based on the book "Rudy!" by The Village Voice senior editor Wayne Barrett.

Rapper receives fine for drug possession

OBERLIN, Ohio -- Snoop Dogg pleaded no contest to marijuana possession charges, and received a $250 fine and a suspended 30-day jail sentence.

The 30-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after his tour bus was stopped in nearby Amherst by the State Highway Patrol for speeding on Oct. 17.

Drug-sniffing dogs found six bags of marijuana weighing about 200 grams in the cargo hold of the bus.

Defense attorney Jay Milano entered the plea Tuesday on behalf of Broadus, who was not required to appear in Oberlin Municipal Court.

The rapper and his band were stopped during a concert tour titled "Puff, Puff, Pass 2001." Its name refers to sharing marijuana.

The band had played a show in Cleveland the night before and was en route to Detroit when the tour bus was stopped.

Oberlin is 30 miles southwest of Cleveland.

VH1 selects unlikely celebrity to host show

NEW YORK -- VH1 has picked Sharon Osbourne, the foul-mouthed matriarch of the Osbourne clan, to help pay tribute to a royal matriarch -- Queen Elizabeth II.

Osbourne will be the host of VH1's broadcast of the all-star concert celebrating the queen's Golden Jubilee. Osbourne's husband, Ozzy, will perform at the June 3 concert, along with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin and Paul McCartney.

A taped performance by Elton John, who will be on tour, will be shown.

VH1 is scheduled to air highlights from the concert on June 9.

The pop concert will be held in the garden of Buckingham Palace as part of a weekend of festivities to mark the queen's 50 years on the throne.

Sharon Osbourne has become a household name since this year's debut of her family's wacky hit reality show, "The Osbournes," on MTV, VH1's sister network.

Ailing opera singer lends voice to charity

MODENA, Italy -- He was hoarse, but Luciano Pavarotti didn't skip a singing engagement that's close to his heart -- the tenor's annual charity concert in his hometown of Modena in northern Italy.

The "Pavarotti & Friends" concert on Tuesday night raised funds for Angolan refugees in Zambia.

Pavarotti sang a 1990s Italian song "Miserere" in a duet with Andrea Bocelli, then thanked the crowd for its enthusiasm. He appeared tired, at one point leaning on a baby grand piano for support.

The 66-year-old sang other duets, including one with Gino Paoli, a veteran Italian singer and songwriter.

Other stars on the bill included Sting, Lou Reed and James Brown.

Pavarotti recently canceled two performances of "Tosca" at the New York Metropolitan Opera because he had the flu.

His father, Fernando Pavarotti, died Friday at 89 after being hospitalized for a week.

The tenor reportedly was at his father's bedside when he died.

"Even in such a difficult and delicate moment, Luciano wanted to be here for you and for the children of Angola," Bocelli said during the concert, according to the ANSA news agency.

ON THE NET

LUCIANO PAVAROTTI WEB SITE: www.lucianopavarotti.com/

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES WEB SITE: www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

-- From wire reports

------

LONDON -- Two prominent writers have pulled out of one of Britain's top literary festivals to protest its sponsorship by Nestle, which they accuse of predatory marketing in developing countries, organizers said.

Feminist author Germaine Greer and novelist Jim Crace, a former Booker Prize nominee, have canceled their appearances at the annual festival in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, which begins Friday and runs through June 9.

"I've discussed it with both of them and I know them well and in Germaine's case I understand her position in it," organizer Peter Florence said Monday.

"It's a personal matter for her and I respect that. I regret that Germaine won't be there and I'll miss her, but we disagree on our understanding of the situation."

The writers said they withdrew over concerns about Nestle's marketing of powdered infant formula in developing nations. The World Health Organization says in poor countries, where up to two-thirds of people have no access to clean water and where mothers often are unable to read instructions properly, baby formula represents a hazard to newborns.

"I'm not leading a boycott, this was an entirely personal decision, but I will not take part in an event where a Nestle banner is sported," Greer said in an interview published Monday in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"There's no clean money out there, but there are some things I stick to and this is one of them."

Florence said it was unlikely Nestle's sponsorship would affect attendance.

The Nestle Smarties Book Prize, which is a sponsor at the Hay-on-Wye festival for the first time, is supporting a children's event and is one of 98 sponsors. The event's main sponsor is The Guardian newspaper.

A Nestle spokeswoman said the company appreciates that "some of the authors feel strongly on the issue of infant formula, but we are sorry they are unable to discuss their concerns directly with us as we are always very willing to enter into debate on the subject."

Declining to be named, she said the company's marketing of infant formula in the developing world is now in line with World Health Organization rules.

But Greer told the Daily Telegraph that she had looked up the WHO pronouncements "which Nestle claims exonerates it -- but they don't." Crace told the newspaper that Nestle "has not earned the benefit of the doubt and there are all sorts of reasons not to let it off the hook yet."

------

On the Net:

Festival Web site: http://www.hayfestival.co.uk/

------

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Serenaded by drums and an orchestra, South African singer Miriam Makeba and Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina accepted the prestigious Polar Music Prize. Each will receive $100,000.

Johannesburg-born vocalist Makeba, whose "Pata Pata" (1967) was the first African song to reach the American Top 10 pop charts, and Gubaidulina, who was born in the central Russian city of Kazan, received their awards Monday from King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The annual prize, endowed by the late Stikkan Anderson, whose record company released the songs of Swedish supergroup ABBA, was founded in 1989 to honor exceptional and lifetime achievements that transcend music genres and break down musical boundaries.

"You inspired and electrified black township audiences and later wowed international audiences as you made them learn exotic click sounds," retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa said as he presented the 70-year-old Makeba to the audience.

Makeba, whose records were banned in South Africa in 1963 after she testified before the United Nations Committee Against Apartheid, thanked Sweden for its efforts in the fight against South Africa's system of white rule.

Gubaidulina, 70, who has been active as a composer since 1963, was cited by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music for her "intensely expressive and deeply personal musical idiom."

She studied at the Moscow Conservatory starting in 1954 and in 1975 co-founded the Astreya Ensemble, which specialized in improvising on rare Russian, Caucasian, Central Asian and East Asian folk music and ritual instruments.

"Her music is a journey straight into a world of singular sounds and shifting layers of expression," Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist said.

Gubaidulina moved to Germany in 1992 and lives near Hamburg.

------

On the Net:

Polar Music Prize Web site: http://www.polarmusicprize.se/