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Arts
NBC, ‘The Biggest Loser’ producer say Jillian Michaels exiting the show for the third time
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Jillian Michaels is exiting “The Biggest Loser,” NBC and the producer of the weight-loss competition series said Wednesday.
Carole Pope kicks off crowdfunding campaign for Rough Trade movie
TORONTO – New wave icon Carole Pope hopes a film about her band Rough Trade will expose today’s youth to Canada’s raucous, politically charged music scene of the early 1980s.
Lupita Nyong’o, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus among 271 invited to join film academy
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – A total of 271 people working in the movie business have been asked to join its most exclusive club: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Bobby Womack, R&B singer-songwriter with brave 2nd act, dies at 70; influenced Rolling Stones.
Bobby Womack, a colorful and highly influential R&B singer-songwriter who impacted artists from the Rolling Stones to Damon Albarn, had died. He was 70.
Meshach Taylor, who starred in sitcoms ‘Designing Women’ and ‘Dave’s World,’ dies at 67
Meshach Taylor, who played a lovable ex-convict surrounded by boisterous Southern belles on the sitcom “Designing Women” and appeared in numerous other TV and film roles, died of cancer at age 67, his agent said Sunday.
Astronaut, comedian, filmmaker honoured in latest Order of Canada list
OTTAWA – Rick Mercer — a Canadian known for his capacity to chat, rant and laugh — said he was dumbstruck when he learned he was to receive one of the country’s top honours.
The liberal losing streak continues before a conservative U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – American liberalism’s losing streak at the United States Supreme Court gained pace Monday, with two big defeats in cases involving public-sector unions and insurance coverage for birth control.
Movie academy sues after ‘My Gal Sal’ art direction Oscar auctioned for nearly $80,000
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The organization that hosts the Academy Awards has sued over the recent auction of a 1942 Oscar awarded to the art director of “My Gal Sal” and is seeking to buy back the statuette for $10.
Composer John Williams to conduct new arrangement of national anthem for July 4 in DC
WASHINGTON – American composer and conductor John Williams is debuting a new arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” featuring choirs, trumpets, an orchestra and cannons on the National Mall for the nation’s birthday.
Former UFC champion Hughes says Georges St-Pierre should retire for good
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes says Georges St-Pierre should retire for good.
Mexican tenor Javier Camarena marks 10-year career on high note after rare encore at Met
MEXICO CITY – Mexican tenor Javier Camarena is making a quick trip home after hitting some high notes on the road.
Vancouver councillor hopes love locks will unshackle ‘no-fun’ city
VANCOUVER – A Vancouver councillor believes finding a home for so-called love locks may be a key to unshackling the city from its supposedly no-fun reputation.
War hero, Olympian, ‘Unbroken,’ Zamperini was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Seventy years ago, the world was convinced that Louis Zamperini was dead. There had been no word of the track star and former Olympian since his World War II bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The military told his parents he was dead, and an annual collegiate track competition named one of its races in his memory.
Canadian Alexis Davis looks to shock MMA world by dethroning Ronda Rousey
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The diagonal scar on the bridge of Alexis Davis’s nose seems par for the course for a UFC fighter. The story behind the mark predates cage-fighting, however.
Shows cancelled at France’s d’Avignon theatre festival as workers protest unemployment changes
AVIGNON, France – One of Europe’s premier theatre festivals is cancelling some shows as French workers protest changes to their off-season unemployment benefits.
Barry Moss, casting director for ‘The Cosby Show’ and Broadway productions, dies at 74
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Broadway and television casting director Barry Moss, who helped cast nearly 90 Broadway and touring productions, including the 1980 revival of “West Side Story,” ”Nine,” ”Torch Song Trilogy” and “The Who’s Tommy,” has died. He was 74.
Despite lopsided odds, UFC champ Rousey shows plenty of respect for Canadian foe
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The bookies may see the UFC co-main event as a walk in the park for (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey but the sweat running down the face of the women’s bantamweight champion told a different story.
UFC champion (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey puts in the hours to hang onto world title
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The bookies may see the UFC co-main event as a walk in the park for (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey but the sweat running down the face of the women’s bantamweight champion told a different story.
B.J. Penn has no answer again for Frankie Edgar, losing for a third time
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Frankie (The Answer) Edgar dominated B.J. Penn en route to a third-round TKO on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 19 finale card Sunday night, defeating The Prodigy for a third time.
DC Entertainment won’t allow Superman logo on Toronto boy’s memorial statue
TORONTO – DC Entertainment is refusing to allow the Superman logo to adorn a memorial statue of a Toronto boy who loved the superhero during his short life before his grandparents starved him to death.
Corey Stoll enjoys ‘The Strain’ of series stardom with a busy schedule, including FX thriller
NEW YORK, N.Y. – This looks dire. An airliner has landed in New York with everyone onboard apparently dead.
DC Entertainment reverses decision, gives OK for Superman logo on boy’s statue
TORONTO – DC Entertainment has reversed an unpopular decision that generated a “maelstrom” of backlash, agreeing Wednesday to allow the Superman logo to be used on a memorial statue of a Toronto boy who was starved to death.
Canadian billionaire and real estate tycoon David Azrieli dead at 92
MONTREAL – David Azrieli, a billionaire real estate developer and philanthropist, died Wednesday at his summer home in rural Quebec, according to a statement from the foundation that bears his name. He was 92.
Born of revolution, Cairo cinema showcases alternative films in Egypt
CAIRO – Squeezed in between auto parts shops and cafes off the crowded avenues of downtown Cairo, no blaring marquee announces this cinema. Instead look for a small blue doorway, marked by a discrete neon calligraphy sign and sometimes an old Peugeot parked across the street playing films projected onto its windshield.