People talk 8/21/03

Stones' 'Forty Licks' tour down to 39

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The Rolling Stones canceled a concert Wednesday in Amsterdam after Mick Jagger came down with a sore throat.

The show's organizer, Mojo, said the concert likely would be rescheduled for Sept. 22.

The British band has played sold-out concerts around the Netherlands over the past week as part of its "Forty Licks" tour. The group sold 50,000 tickets for Wednesday's appearance at the Amsterdam Arena.

"We are sorry to disappoint the fans who were coming to tonight's show. We will be back in September to do the gig and will give you a Stones show you will never forget," Jagger said in a statement.

Rapper Knight being sued while in prison

LOS ANGELES -- A law firm has sued imprisoned rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight, alleging he fraudulently sold or gave away property to avoid paying more than $140,000 a judge had ordered him to pay the firm.

Knight, who's serving a 10-month prison sentence, was ordered to pay nearly $142,000 to the law firm of Kopple and Klinger last May for services the firm provided.

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the firm claims Knight hasn't paid the debt and has sold or transferred at least four properties in the Los Angeles area for little or no compensation to friends to "hinder, delay or defraud" his creditors.

The firm seeks payment for May's judgment and is trying to prevent the properties Knight allegedly transferred from being sold.

Knight, who's been in custody since June 27, was found guilty of violating parole last month for striking a Hollywood nightclub valet.

Singer gets probation for possession of heroin

PASADENA, Calif. -- Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland has been sentenced to three years probation after pleading no contest to one count of possessing heroin.

Weiland was arrested May 17 after a police officer pulled him over for allegedly driving without headlights on and said he saw drugs in the car. He initially was charged with two felony counts of possessing heroin and cocaine.

Weiland appeared in a Pasadena courtroom last week and pleaded no contest, said Los Angeles County district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. He's scheduled to return to court Oct. 20 for a progress report.

The 35-year-old was entered in the state's Proposition 36 program, which allows people arrested for possessing drugs for personal use to go to treatment instead of jail. Those who complete the so-called drug diversion program have the arrests removed from their records.

Weiland previously was arrested for investigation of cocaine and heroin possession and was jailed in 1999 after he violated probation and didn't complete drug rehabilitation programs.

Jolie pleases fans at 'Tomb Raider' premiere

LONDON -- Angelina Jolie delighted screaming fans as she arrived in central London for the British premiere of her new film, "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life."

Wearing a long, black dress with a plunging neckline, Jolie, 28, walked about for 25 minutes, signing autographs and posing for photos Tuesday night outside the movie theater at Leicester Square.

Director Jan de Bont and co-stars Ciaran Hinds and Noah Taylor joined her.

Many of the youngest fans were dressed as mini-Lara Crofts.

"They are so cute, and it's good to know if I step away there will be someone to take my place," Jolie said.

Jolie lives in Britain with her 2-year-old son, Maddox, whom she adopted in Cambodia last year.

-- From wire reports

Toronto film festival to feature world premieres

TORONTO -- The world premiere of "Girl With a Pearl Earring," starring Colin Firth and Tom Wilkinson, has been added to the lineup of this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

Another world premiere will be "Nathalie," Anne Fontaine's story of a wife of 25 years shocked at learning of her husband's infidelity, organizers announced Tuesday. The movie stars Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Beart and Gerard Depardieu.

The festival will run Sept. 4-13. It will present 336 films from 55 countries, including 252 features, many of them world premieres.

The closing-night film will be "Danny Deckchair," an Australian production about a cement truck driver who launches himself on a garden chair tied to helium balloons and lands in another town to try to change his life.

Harrison Ford to be star guest at French film festival

DEAUVILLE, France -- Harrison Ford will be the star guest at next month's Deauville film festival, and director Roman Polanski will preside over the jury.

Ford, 61, will promote his latest movie, "Hollywood Homicide," an action comedy directed by Ron Shelton, organizers said Tuesday. The 29th edition of the festival, which honors American film, will run Sept. 5-14.

John Cusack, Edward Burns, Charlize Theron, Ridley Scott and Jessica Lange are among other stars expected to walk down the red carpet.

Organizers plan to introduce a new documentary competition this year. Oliver Stone's "Persona Non Grata," about Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and "The Agronomist" by Jonathan Demme, about a Haitian journalist and human rights activist, are in the running.

Ten films will compete for the prestigious Jury Prize, while another 15 will be shown out of competition, including "American Wedding," Woody Allen's "Anything Else" and "Hollywood Homicide."

Ben Kingsley, Nastassja Kinski, Ludivine Sagnier and Claudia Carnivale will sit on the jury alongside Polanski.

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Concerts featuring Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera that were scrapped after equipment collapsed before their show at Boardwalk Hall have been rescheduled -- except the show in Atlantic City.

Workers are still cleaning up the equipment that collapsed Aug. 9. The 100-by-100-foot grid buckled and lurched before collapsing entirely, forcing postponement of the concert and others in Albany, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; and East Rutherford.

The cause of the Aug. 9 equipment collapse remains unknown.

Jeff Vasser, executive director of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority, said Boardwalk Hall isn't ready to talk about rescheduling the concert. Once the stage is cleared, officials must start preparing for the Miss America contest, scheduled for Sept. 20.

Meanwhile, Timberlake and Aguilera's "Justified-Stripped" tour will be heading to Europe starting in September and lasting through November.

"I don't know if there's a chance of them coming back in between (European concerts) or after the European tour," Vasser told the Press of Atlantic City recently.

Vasser encouraged fans to keep their tickets just in case the singers decide to come back.

Hannah Kampf, a spokeswoman for tour promoter Concerts West, said she didn't know anything about rescheduling the Atlantic City show. A spokesman for Timberlake and Jive Records declined to comment.

Latin Grammy Awards set to air Sept. 3

NEW YORK -- Ricky Martin, Alexandre Pires with Kelly Clarkson, Thalia, Bacilos and Molotov will perform at the fourth annual Latin Grammy Awards on Sept. 3 in Miami.

The announcement was made Tuesday by the Latin Recording Academy. The awards will be broadcast from the AmericanAirlines Arena on CBS (9 p.m. ET). Additional performers and presenters will be announced at a later date.

The Latin Grammys feature 40 award categories, including record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist.

Producer-composer Sergio George, who wrote the hit "Mi Primer Millon" for the group Bacilos, leads the nominations with six; Colombia singer-songwriter Juanes has five.

George is nominated for record of the year, song of the year and other honors for the Bacilos' hit song, as well as for album of the year for producing the group's "Caraluna."

Juanes earned nominations for record and song of the year for "Es Por Ti," album of the year and best rock solo album for "Un Dia Normal," and best rock song for "Mala Gente."

-- From wire reports

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SOMERVILLE, N.J. -- The former estate of the late King Hassan II of Morocco will become a spa under a lease agreement Somerset County officials approved this week.

The Board of Freeholders have agreed to sign a 99-year lease with British billionaire Richard Branson and his partner, Warren Township businessman Robert Wojtowicz. The deal approved Tuesday night is similar to the revenue-sharing arrangement the county has with the Somerset Patriots baseball team, who play at Commerce Bank Ballpark.

Branson, the founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines, and Wojtowicz plan to turn the estate's 47-room Tudor mansion and 80 surrounding acres into a spa that could open by 2006. However, the plan requires approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection and local officials.

The 491-acre estate known as Natirar -- Raritan spelled backward -- is on the border of Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone. King Hassan bought the property from the Ladd estate in 1983 but never lived there, and the county bought it from his son in March for $22 million.

The lease agreement calls for the county to use the remaining 410 acres for public programs.

The deal also requires resort developers to preserve the mansion's historic characteristics if possible. Besides the spa, the resort will feature a 61-room hotel, a 150-seat restaurant and a conference center.

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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. -- "Seabiscuit" co-star Gary Stevens was released from the hospital three days after he fell from his horse and was nearly trampled at the Arlington Million.

Northwest Community Hospital spokesman Bob Niersbach said Stevens left Tuesday "in good condition."

The jockey fell from Storming Home just after crossing the finish line and was stepped on by a horse. He suffered a collapsed lung and a fractured vertebra, and will be sidelined for a month.

In a telephone call Monday from his hospital room, Stevens told Laura Hillenbrand, author of "Seabiscuit: An American Legend," that he felt "near death" when he fell and thought he might be suffering a heart attack.

Hillenbrand said Stevens recalled telling paramedics: "I don't know what a heart attack feels like, but I think I'm having one."

Her best-selling book was the basis of the film "Seabiscuit," starring Tobey Maguire, Chris Cooper and Jeff Bridges. Stevens portrays jockey great George Woolf in the film.