People talk 8/15/03

Photographer charged with extortion of Diaz

LOS ANGELES -- A photographer has been charged with using 10-year-old photos of Cameron Diaz to try to extort $3.3 million from the actress.

John Rutter, 41, was arrested Tuesday at his apartment in Los Angeles' Venice section. He was charged Wednesday with one count each of attempted extortion, grand theft and perjury, as well as two counts of forgery. He faces up to six years in prison if convicted, the district attorney's office said.

Rutter, who was jailed on $250,000 bail, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Last week, a judge ordered the photographs and a videotape of Diaz, 30, sealed and set a Sept. 12 hearing in Superior Court on her request for an injunction against Rutter.

Attorneys for Diaz and Rutter have declined to discuss the contents of the videotape or describe the photos.

'Star Trek' actress sues Matchmaker.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court rejected a "Star Trek" actress' lawsuit against dating service Matchmaker.com, ruling that a fake Internet profile posted with the star's comely image was not the company's fault.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday the personal profile information published on Matchmaker's service is solely up to the user's discretion and the company is immune from the lawsuit.

Christianne Carafano, who uses the stage name Chase Masterson, has appeared in numerous films and television programs, most notably starring as the alien character Leeta on the TV series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."

Carafano sued Matchmaker after learning that an online profile using her photos had been created in 1999. The profile included her home address, phone number and text stating she sought a dominant man with "a strong sexual appetite."

Carafano received calls and e-mails from would-be suitors, who believed the actress was looking for a date online. She said she felt unsafe in her home and moved to hotels in Los Angeles for months with her son.

Estee Lauder to run new ad in movie theaters

NEW YORK -- Coming soon to a theater near you: Estee Lauder.

The cosmetics company has filmed a commercial for its new fragrance, Beyond Paradise, that will debut in more than 10,000 movie theaters nationwide in September.

Directed by Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element," "La Femme Nikita"), the commercial stars supermodel Carolyn Murphy and features a song from Madonna's "American Life" album.

"We wanted the advertising to be groundbreaking for Estee Lauder. The association of Luc Besson, Madonna and Carolyn Murphy will make for an exceptional visual and acoustic experience for movie and television audiences around the world," Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, group president of The Estee Lauder Cos., said in a recent statement.

NBC's Olympic host team fleshes out

NEW YORK -- Jim Lampley will host NBC's daytime Olympics coverage from Athens and Pat O'Brien will host the morning show on Bravo during the 2004 games.

David Neal, the network's Olympics executive vice president, made the announcements Tuesday.

Lampley tied ABC's Jim McKay with his 12th Olympic assignment.

Previously, Bob Costas was picked to host NBC's prime-time Athens coverage and Keith Olbermann was chosen as MSNBC's Olympic host.

"We are thrilled to add two more all-star Olympic anchors to our team in Athens," Neal said. "This speaks to the premier nature of the Olympics that it continues to attract the most gifted people in the industry."

Judge: 'Naked Boys Singing' OK in theaterSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- An appeals court has ruled that "Naked Boys Singing" can return to a city-run theater where it was twice canceled, but producers are following through with a backup plan to stage the musical at a private theater.

The court on Tuesday recognized the original contract between City Hall and the show's producers allowing the production to be staged. The Puerto Rican version of the musical, written by Robert Schrock, features eight nude men dancing to Spanish-Caribbean beats such as salsa and plena.

The appeals court also agreed with producers that the Tapia Theater's board of directors censored the show prior to seeing it when they walked out on a dress rehearsal nearly two weeks ago.

Maria de Lourdes Otero, the lawyer representing the producers, said the city can still appeal.

-- From wire reports to the U.S. Caribbean territory's Supreme Court.

City representatives weren't available for comment Tuesday night.

The musical is now set to debut Friday at the private El Josco theater in the Santurce section of San Juan, the capital. Producers said they were following through in court in the name of freedom of artistic expression.