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Paltrow to perform for princeLONDON, England (Reuters) -- Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow and British actor Joseph Fiennes will recreate the famous "Romeo and Juliet" balcony scene for Prince Charles at a charity show, organizers said on Thursday.
The co-stars of the 1998 film "Shakespeare in Love" will play the star-crossed lovers for the heir to the throne at an open-air London theatre next Monday. Paltrow won an Oscar for her role as wealthy beauty Viola de Lesseps who steals the heart of Shakespeare, played by Fiennes, and helps him overcome writer's block. Among other actors performing selected Shakespeare scenes will be Paul Scofield, Diana Rigg and Jane Lapotaire. Guests will pay between 20 pounds ($31.36) and 300 pounds to attend the event at Shakespeare's Globe, a replica Elizabethan theatre on the south bank of the River Thames. Money raised will go to the Prince's Trust, a charity set up by Prince Charles to help disadvantaged young people. Wolverine a Broadway manNEW YORK (AP) -- Picturing Wolverine from the "X-Men" movies as a Broadway song-and-dance man may seem like a stretch. But before he played a comic book hero, Hugh Jackman was known for his musical theater work.
In his native Australia, Jackman performed in "Beauty and the Beast" and "Sunset Boulevard" as well as "Oklahoma!" in London. Starting in October, he'll get the chance to show off those talents again in "The Boy from Oz," the Broadway musical in which he stars as Peter Allen, the flamboyant showman best known for pop songs including "(When My Baby Smiles at Me) I Go to Rio." Allen died of AIDS in 1992. "Peter's whole essence was very joyous," Jackman, 34, told Vogue magazine for its September issue. "He was fearless, outrageous, and childlike, and he definitely lived life to the full." To prepare for the physically demanding role, Jackman has put himself through "quite a strict regimen." "I've been sort of training, doing some yoga, and trying to stretch and get into shape," he said. "I've completely gone off sugar and coffee -- and I love coffee -- because I figured there's so much adrenaline you use in the show." 'Simpsons' DVD bows bigLOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- First-day sales of "The Simpsons: Season 3" double-disc DVD doubled those of the Season 1 DVD release and were about 20 percent ahead of the Season 2 box, according to Fox executives.
"Simpsons 3," released Tuesday, is estimated to have already sold through about 40% of its initial shipment of about 500,000 DVD units. A half-million units is a fraction of what major theatrical titles ship to retail outlets and video rental stores, but for the nascent TV-to-DVD niche, it is a large shipment. The industry has found that seasonal DVD releases of such television series as HBO's "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" can be rather lucrative because each box set retails for an average price of about $50, compared with about $20 for a major theatrical release. The increased profit margins and the length of time TV-to-DVD product tends to remain selling on store shelves has made TV-to-DVD products one of the hottest growth sectors in the realm of DVD, several industry sources said. '70s singer weds partnerLOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) - American singer-songwriter Janis Ian, famed for the Grammy-winning tune "At Seventeen," married her lesbian partner in Toronto Wednesday, her publicist said.
Ian, 52, and Nashville attorney Patricia Snyder, her partner of 14 years, tied the knot during a brief civil ceremony at Toronto's city hall, according to a statement from Tamara Saviano. It was the second marriage for both. The ceremony was attended by a few close friends. Saviano said there were no plans for a honeymoon as Ian is working on a live CD set for release in October and a studio album for early 2004. Canada plans to legalize gay marriage following a landmark ruling in June when an Ontario court decreed as unconstitutional the definition of marriage as a union between a man and woman. The federal government signaled its acceptance of gay marriage a week later when it decided not to appeal. Ian, born Janis Eddy Fink in New York City, wrote her first hit, "Society's Child," when she was 14. The controversial saga of interracial love hit No. 14 on the U.S. pop charts in 1967. She returned to the forefront in 1975 with a million-selling album and Grammy-winning single "At Seventeen." Reggae's roots chronicledKINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- A book chronicling reggae's roots and its rise to worldwide fame has been released in Jamaica by a former disc jockey credited with giving the music a voice.
"Reggae Heritage: Jamaica's Music Culture and Politics," was released Tuesday in Kingston, the capital, by Jamaican author Lou Gooden. "I lived much of this history," said Gooden, who started the book a decade ago while working at the New York radio station WNWK 105.9 FM. Gooden, who has since returned to Jamaica, is best known for developing mobile sound systems in the 1960s and '70s that were used to promote early reggae, then considered underground music. The 370-page book traces the music's origins to the 1940s when Jamaican musicians were influenced by American jazz and R&B artists. It also looks at how in the 1960s, jazz-based ska eventually paved the way for reggae that gained worldwide recognition with Bob Marley. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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