People talk 8/20/02

In Canada, Stones play surprise show

TORONTO -- The Rolling Stones played a surprise show in Toronto in preparation for their fall tour.

The Thursday show at the Palais Royale included such hits as "Wild Horses," "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Hot Stuff."

The Stones begin their tour on Sept. 3 in Boston.

The band is releasing "40 Licks," a double-compact disc retrospective that includes four new tracks, on Oct. 1. The CD will include 40 songs, including classic hits such as "Brown Sugar," "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and "Miss You."

Mellencamp, Crow, Taylor to perform benefit

NEW YORK -- John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow and James Taylor are among the performers expected at two concerts that will benefit the family of Timothy White, the Billboard editor-in-chief who recently died of a heart attack.

White was just 50 when he was stricken in his Manhattan offices on June 27. He left behind a wife and 10-year-old twin boys.

One concert is set for Oct. 7 at Boston's Fleet Center, with the other the next day at Madison Square Garden. Mellencamp, Crow, Don Henley and Sting will perform at both concerts. Billy Joel and Taylor will be at the Boston shows, while Brian Wilson and Jimmy Buffett will be at the New York shows.

Besides being the editor of Billboard, White wrote acclaimed biographies on Taylor and Bob Marley, and hosted and co-produced an award-winning nationally syndicated radio show. He started his career at The Associated Press, and later became a managing editor of Crawdaddy magazine and senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine.

Venice Film Festival jury announced

VENICE, Italy -- "Easy Rider" cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs, Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko and "Hannibal" co-star Francesca Neri will join the Venice Film Festival jury led by Chinese actress Gong Li, organizers said Monday.

The seven-member jury -- including French writer-director Jacques Audiard ("Read My Lips") and producer Ulrich Felsberg ("Buena Vista Social Club") -- will decide this year's Golden Lion for best film, and other prizes for the prestigious Venice 59 section of the festival, which runs from Aug. 29-Sept. 8.

The 69-year-old Hungarian-born Kovacs made his name collaborating with a long list of top 1970s directors, including Martin Scorsese and Peter Bogdanovich.

Yevtushenko -- perhaps best-known for his poem "Babi Yar" about a 1941 Nazi massacre of Jews in Ukraine -- has made occasional diversions into film, notably writing and directing the 1983 film "Kindergarten."

Neri got her U.S. break in Ridley Scott's 2001 film "Hannibal." She also appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger in this year's "Collateral Damage," an action movie about terrorism that was postponed after Sept. 11.

Perry felt need to be famous

NEW YORK -- Matthew Perry says he was driven to success by primarily one thing: a craving to be famous.

"There was steam coming out of my ears, I wanted to be famous so badly," Perry told The New York Times in Sunday's editions. "You want the attention, you want the bucks, and you want the best seat in the restaurant. I didn't think what the repercussions would be."

Perry has a history of drug and alcohol abuse, but he doesn't blame his troubles on fame. He went into rehab in early 2001 while on the set of "Serving Sara," which opens Friday.

Perry, who turned 33 on Monday, says he hasn't had a drink since his 2001 rehab stint.

"I didn't get sober because I felt like it," the "Friends" co-star said. "I got sober because I was worried I was going to die next year."

Besides the long-running NBC sitcom, Perry has starred in "The Whole Nine Yards," "Three to Tango" and "Fools Rush In."

Filmmaker Niccol making name for himself

LOS ANGELES -- Andrew Niccol has made a name for himself with films that explore the line between what's true and what's not so true.

His first two films, "Gattaca" and "The Truman Show" played on that theme, as does his newest movie, "Simone," which stars Al Pacino as a struggling filmmaker who brings to life an all-too-human virtual actress.

"We live vicariously through celebrities. People used to say that celebrities are America's royalty; now I think celebrities are the world's royalty," the writer-director told the Los Angeles Times in Sunday's editions.

"We're entering an interesting time where we don't know what's fake and what's real anymore. And for me, that's an interesting area to explore," he said.

"Simone," co-starring Catherine Keener and Jay Mohr, opens Friday.-- From wire reports