People talk 6/11/03

Jackson makes second attempt at testifying

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Jackson has returned to Indianapolis for a second attempt at giving a court-ordered deposition in a copyright lawsuit.

Judge Philip Simon ordered Jackson to come back by Friday after the 44-year-old pop star fell ill before he could give a deposition here last month.

Jackson was briefly hospitalized May 21, but was released about two hours later and returned home to Los Angeles.

Simon ordered Jackson to return to Indianapolis by June 13 to complete the deposition, and said he might fine Jackson $1,000 a day for the delay.

Simon had ordered Jackson to give testimony in a lawsuit alleging that the Jackson 5 used the name of another Gary, Ind., band and two of their songs without license.

Brokovich law firm sues oil, gas companies

LOS ANGELES -- Erin Brockovich's law firm filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against more than 25 oil and gas companies, alleging that toxic fumes from an oil well on the Beverly Hills High School campus caused 21 former students to develop cancer, including three who died of the disease.

The Superior Court action states that the plaintiffs attended the school between 1977 and 1996.

"This case is about the inexcusable and knowing failure of the oil and gas industry and municipal and administrative bodies to protect schoolchildren, the most vulnerable in society, and the places that should be the most safe -- schools," Monday's action states.

In April, Brockovich and attorney Ed Masry of Masry & Vititoe filed 25 claims against the Beverly Hills Unified School District and the city of Beverly Hills.

Snoop Dogg and 200 fans visit grandmother

UNION, S.C. -- Snoop Dogg was just trying to visit his grandmother, but a quick stop at a convenience store to ask for directions sparked a wildfire of gossip.

"Then everybody seemed to know he was in town," his aunt, Earleen Broadus, said Sunday.

The 31-year-old rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was between shows in Charlotte, N.C., and Myrtle Beach. He hadn't visited family in South Carolina since he was a toddler, so he decided to drop by his grandmother's home Saturday evening.

"Oh, I was so glad to see him," said 92-year-old Corine Broadus. "He came home from California when he was small, maybe 3 or 2. He's a man now."

Despite hundreds of fans who gathered outside her home, the two-hour visit was pleasant, Broadus said.

"It's twice he's come to see me. Bless his heart. Some of his music is all right. But I believe in the church. I told him he could just leave some parts of that other out. He said, 'Oh, Big Momma, nothing wrong with it. I gotta make a living.' He looked good and healthy," she said.

Before he left, Snoop posed for photos with police officers and handed out promotional CDs to fans.-- From wire reports

Literary figures to participate in film forum

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Authors Frank McCourt, Russell Banks and William Kennedy will add some literary flavor to this year's Lake Placid Film Forum.

The fourth annual festival runs Thursday through Sunday in this Adirondack resort town. More than 60 features, documentaries and shorts will be screened during a program that also includes forums, classes and scheduled appearances by Debra Winger, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Campbell Scott.

McCourt, who wrote "Angela's Ashes," will take part in a forum on free speech moderated by "Affliction" author Banks and featuring newspaper columnist-author Pete Hamill. Kennedy is teaching a class on screenwriting; the Albany-based author has written "The Cotton Club" and "Ironweed."

Writer/director Alan Rudolph will be the film forum's 2003 honoree. His latest film, "The Secret Lives of Dentists," will be screened, as will 1994's "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle." Festival director and co-founder Naj Wikoff said Monday that Lake Placid offers a more relaxed atmosphere than big film festivals -- and more chances for hobnobbing.

"You could say it's a nice big dinner party where everyone's talking about films they love and hate, and sharing their ideas," Wikoff said.

The festival took a financial blow earlier this year when previous sponsors Chrysler and Ralph Lauren pulled out because of the bad economy and uncertainty over the war in Iraq. Wikoff said he cut back from six screens to four, but decided to show films around the clock to make up for fewer venues.

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On The Net:

http://www.LakePlacidFilmForum.com

Playwright Greenberg writing new work for Broadway

NEW YORK -- Playwright Richard Greenberg, whose baseball drama "Take Me Out" won the 2003 Tony Award for best play, has a new work set for Broadway in the fall.

"The Violet Hour" will star Robert Sean Leonard, Jasmine Guy, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti and Scott Foley, best known for his role on the television series "Felicity."

The play, set in 1919, concerns a young publisher and a machine that could change his future.

"The Violet Hour" will open the Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway season at the Biltmore Theatre, which the company is in the process of renovating. The play begins preview performances at the Biltmore on Oct. 16 with an opening set for Nov. 6.

Tom Green to take on talk show genre

NEW YORK (AP) -- After turning television inside out with his confrontational and often shocking comedy sketches, Tom Green is turning to a far more traditional genre: the hour-long, late-night talk show.

"The New Tom Green Show" will air weeknights starting at midnight EDT June 23 on MTV, the network that first aired his self-titled Canadian TV series in the United States in the 1990s.

"We were captivated by Tom when we first saw him on his Canadian show," John Miller, MTV's executive vice president of series development and animation, said Monday. "The talk show with a twist is what Tom does best and we're excited to be working with him again."

The 31-year-old comedian will wear a suit and perform a monologue, then sit behind a desk and interview celebrity guests. He'll also mix in some comedy segments.

"I am extremely excited, extremely extremely extremely excited, very very very very extremely excited," he said.

Green influenced a recent wave of prank TV shows, including "Jackass," "Punk'd" and "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment," and directed, wrote and starred in the 2001 gross-out movie "Freddy Got Fingered." He also was married for less than a year to Drew Barrymore and documented his fight with testicular cancer on television.

He's jumping into an already crowded field of young late-night talk show hosts that includes comedian Jimmy Kimmel on ABC and MTV's own Carson Daly on NBC -- though his show won't compete with Daly's, which airs at 1:30 a.m. EDT.

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NEW YORK (AP) -- You're not watching a rerun -- that really is Fred Berry from "What's Happening!!" But now he's all grown up and looking for love on E!'s "Star Dates."

Berry, who played rotund Rerun on the 1970s sitcom, will go on two blind dates when the reality series' second season begins at 9 p.m. EDT June 17.

The series follows stars and singles as they mingle with mixed results. The first batch of episodes, which debuted in December, featured dates with former child actors including Gary Coleman ("Diff'rent Strokes"), Jill Whelan ("The Love Boat") and Butch Patrick ("The Munsters").

"'Star Dates' really hit a chord last season because it combines our nostalgia and insatiable appetite for our favorite childhood stars with our fascination with dating in general," said Mark Sonnenberg, executive vice president of E! Networks.

Also lined up for this season are former pop stars Leif Garrett and Tiffany, Jimmie Walker from "Good Times" and Robbie Rist, who played Cousin Oliver on "The Brady Bunch."

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On the Net:

http://www.eonline.com/On/StarDates/

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard said he no longer will wear the colorful jerseys that helped set him apart from other contestants on the Fox television show.

Studdard wore the jerseys emblazoned with the numbers 2-0-5 -- referring to the area code for his hometown of Birmingham -- throughout much of the competition, which he won last month on a vote by TV viewers.

But in an interview Sunday with The Birmingham News, Studdard said "a combination of things" led him to decide not to wear the shirts made by 205 Flava Inc. anymore.

"I will always represent the area 205, but 205 Flava is not indicative of what I am about," Studdard, 24, said while in Birmingham to record the video for his new single, "Flying Without Wings."

He would not elaborate further on his decision.

Willie Jenkins, an owner of 205 Flava, said Sunday he was stunned at the news. "I don't understand why this man would say what he said," Jenkins said. "I have been behind him 110 percent."

Jenkins said Studdard asked him about wearing a jersey to represent Birmingham after making the top 32 on the show. From then on, the store shipped jerseys to Studdard in Los Angeles every week when he needed them, Jenkins said.

Studdard's wearing the jerseys led to increased sales, but the men had no formal agreement that he would be paid for his endorsement.

"I want Ruben to be rewarded for his success via merchandise sales," said Alvin Garrett, Studdard's close friend and business partner for the Music Caterers entertainment company. "I don't want people to prosper if they are exploiting my friend."

Jenkins said he is talking with Studdard's entertainment company about an endorsement deal but none has been made.

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On the Net:

http://www.idolonfox.com

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On the Net:

http://www.snoopdogg.com/