People talk 6/3/03

Lead singer's illness forces Chicks to cancel

CLEVELAND -- The Dixie Chicks canceled a sold-out concert over the weekend because lead singer Natalie Maines had a sore throat.

Fans were not permitted to go to their seats at Gund Arena on Sunday and the show was canceled about 15 minutes before its 7:30 p.m start time. The concert was rescheduled for June 11.

Band member Emily Robison said they're upset about the cancellation but had no choice.

"Natalie is not feeling very well. Her throat has some damage to it," Robison said. "She's sick right now and the doctor said, 'If you sing tonight, you're just going to make it worse."'

Robison said it's the first show they ever had to cancel.

The Dixie Chicks' tour is selling out despite backlash from Maines' comment to a London audience on March 10 that "we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Guest speakers take jabs at President Bush

LOS ANGELES -- It was an odd pairing of breakfast speakers: Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under President Clinton, and Michael Moore, the author-filmmaker-agitator who once referred to Clinton as a "sad, pathetic man."

But the two featured guests Sunday at BookExpo America got along just great Sunday, thanks largely to one man they both oppose: President Bush.

"What a blast it is to be here with Michael Moore," said Albright, whose memoirs come out this fall. Both she and Moore received standing ovations and both got big laughs criticizing Bush.

Moore spoke first, noting the success of his book "Stupid White Men" and mocking Bush for backing a tax cut that primarily helps the wealthy -- namely Michael Moore.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what I'm going to do with all this money," said Moore, who quickly offered an idea. "I'm going to spend my entire tax cut to help defeat you next year."

Albright gave a surprisingly candid speech, even making a small dig at her former boss. Noting that she had initially believed Clinton when he denied a sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, she wryly recalled a meeting where he "apologized -- sort of."

Albright declared that war should be a "last resort," a belief she found lacking in the current administration.

"I'm very concerned about what is going on now and I am speaking out about it more and more," Albright said. "And I think Michael and I ought to go out there and be a tag team."

Folk singer Jewel takes shot with dance album

NEW YORK -- For her latest album, Jewel just wanted to hit the dance floor.

"Things are hard enough in life that you don't always want to be brought down with everything on the news," the singer told the Daily News in Sunday editions. "I just want to have fun."

Jewel's fifth album, "0304," was produced with Lester Mendez, who helped singer Shakira break through on American radio. The result is a far cry from Jewel's folk roots, including her first single "Who Will Save Your Soul."

"It wasn't some marketing strategy. It's just what I was drawn to, and that's always how I've gone about music," she said. "But when I told people I wanted to make a dance-hip-hop-folk record, they were all like, 'Ugh, Jewel. She's losing her mind."'

Nevertheless, Jewel insists she hasn't abandoned her more profound side.

"If you want to take it deeper and listen to the record 30 times, hopefully you'll get something different out of the lyrics each time. But if you just want to have fun and dance, you can do that with this record."

Actor was ready to play nasty role in 'Italian Job'

NEW YORK -- Mark Wahlberg was perfectly ready to be nasty in "The Italian Job" when the director told him to play nice.

Wahlberg, 31, planned to bring a low-key, bristling intensity to the role of Charlie Croker, the ringleader of a bunch of thieves aiming to avenge the murder of their mentor. Director F. Gary Gray had other ideas.

"I've played likable characters before," Wahlberg told Newsday in Sunday editions, "but I've never been asked by a director to concentrate on being likable and being charming. It was a challenge to keep that in the back of my mind; I like playing things small, but this time I had to ham it up a little bit."

Wahlberg, 31, has played leading roles in many films, including "Boogie Nights," "Three Kings," "The Perfect Storm" and "Planet of the Apes." His relationship with Gray was cemented when the two collaborated on a music video back in Wahlberg's rapping days.

"I don't mind working with a director that's going to give you a line reading because they know what they want," he said. "I'm not playing the movie star thing; I'm playing the actor who wants to deliver for the director."