Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.

Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped in 2006, causing a sensation in Austria and abroad. Priklopil committed suicide.

Kampusch had always refused to respond to claims that she had had sex with Priklopil, but in a German television interview on her 25th birthday last week said she had decided to reveal the truth because it had leaked out from police files.

The film, “3,096 Days” – based on Kampusch’s autobiography of the same name – soberly portrays her captivity in a windowless cellar less than 6 square metres (65 square feet) in area, often deprived of food for days at a time.

The emaciated Kampusch – who weighed just 38 kg (84 pounds) at one point in 2004 – keeps a diary written on toilet paper concealed in a box.

One entry reads: “At least 60 blows in the face. Ten to 15 nausea-inducing fist blows to the head. One strike with the fist with full weight to my right ear.”

The movie shows occasional moments that approach tenderness, such as when Priklopil presents her with a cake for her 18th birthday or buys her a dress as a gift – but then immediately goes on to chide her for not knowing how to waltz with him.

GREY AREAS

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays the teenaged Kampusch, said she had tried to portray “the strength of someone’s soul, the ability of people to survive… but also the grey areas within a relationship that people don’t necessarily understand.”

The British actress said she had not met Kampusch during the making of the film or since. “It was a very isolated time, it was a bubble of time, and I wanted to keep that very focused,” she told journalists as she arrived for the Vienna premiere.

Kampusch herself attended the premiere, looking composed as she posed for pictures but declining to give interviews.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild Zeitung last week, she said: “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.”

The movie, made at the Constantin Film studios in Bavaria, Germany, also stars Amy Pidgeon as the 10-year-old Kampusch and Danish actor Thure Lindhardt as Priklopil.

“I focused mainly on playing the human being because… we have to remember it was a human being. Monsters do not exist, they’re only in cartoons,” Lindhart said.

“It became clear to me that it’s a story about survival, and it’s a story about surviving eight years of hell. If that story can be told then I can also play the bad guy.”

The director was German-American Sherry Hormann, who made her English-language debut with the 2009 move “Desert Flower”, an adaptation of the autobiography of Somali-born model and anti-female circumcision activist Waris Dirie.

“I’m a mother and I wonder at the strength of this child, and it was important for me to tell this story from a different perspective, to tell how this child using her own strength could survive this atrocious martyrdom,” Hormann said.

The Kampusch case was followed two years later by that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The crimes prompted soul-searching about the Austrian psyche, and questions as to how the authorities and neighbors could have let such crimes go undetected for so long.

The film goes on general release on Thursday.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.

Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped in 2006, causing a sensation in Austria and abroad. Priklopil committed suicide.

Kampusch had always refused to respond to claims that she had had sex with Priklopil, but in a German television interview on her 25th birthday last week said she had decided to reveal the truth because it had leaked out from police files.

The film, “3,096 Days” – based on Kampusch’s autobiography of the same name – soberly portrays her captivity in a windowless cellar less than 6 square metres (65 square feet) in area, often deprived of food for days at a time.

The emaciated Kampusch – who weighed just 38 kg (84 pounds) at one point in 2004 – keeps a diary written on toilet paper concealed in a box.

One entry reads: “At least 60 blows in the face. Ten to 15 nausea-inducing fist blows to the head. One strike with the fist with full weight to my right ear.”

The movie shows occasional moments that approach tenderness, such as when Priklopil presents her with a cake for her 18th birthday or buys her a dress as a gift – but then immediately goes on to chide her for not knowing how to waltz with him.

GREY AREAS

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays the teenaged Kampusch, said she had tried to portray “the strength of someone’s soul, the ability of people to survive… but also the grey areas within a relationship that people don’t necessarily understand.”

The British actress said she had not met Kampusch during the making of the film or since. “It was a very isolated time, it was a bubble of time, and I wanted to keep that very focused,” she told journalists as she arrived for the Vienna premiere.

Kampusch herself attended the premiere, looking composed as she posed for pictures but declining to give interviews.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild Zeitung last week, she said: “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.”

The movie, made at the Constantin Film studios in Bavaria, Germany, also stars Amy Pidgeon as the 10-year-old Kampusch and Danish actor Thure Lindhardt as Priklopil.

“I focused mainly on playing the human being because… we have to remember it was a human being. Monsters do not exist, they’re only in cartoons,” Lindhart said.

“It became clear to me that it’s a story about survival, and it’s a story about surviving eight years of hell. If that story can be told then I can also play the bad guy.”

The director was German-American Sherry Hormann, who made her English-language debut with the 2009 move “Desert Flower”, an adaptation of the autobiography of Somali-born model and anti-female circumcision activist Waris Dirie.

“I’m a mother and I wonder at the strength of this child, and it was important for me to tell this story from a different perspective, to tell how this child using her own strength could survive this atrocious martyrdom,” Hormann said.

The Kampusch case was followed two years later by that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The crimes prompted soul-searching about the Austrian psyche, and questions as to how the authorities and neighbors could have let such crimes go undetected for so long.

The film goes on general release on Thursday.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordeal

VIENNA (Reuters) – A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house.

Kampusch was snatched on her way to school at the age of 10 by Wolfgang Priklopil and held in a windowless cell under his garage near Vienna until she escaped in 2006, causing a sensation in Austria and abroad. Priklopil committed suicide.

Kampusch had always refused to respond to claims that she had had sex with Priklopil, but in a German television interview on her 25th birthday last week said she had decided to reveal the truth because it had leaked out from police files.

The film, “3,096 Days” – based on Kampusch’s autobiography of the same name – soberly portrays her captivity in a windowless cellar less than 6 square metres (65 square feet) in area, often deprived of food for days at a time.

The emaciated Kampusch – who weighed just 38 kg (84 pounds) at one point in 2004 – keeps a diary written on toilet paper concealed in a box.

One entry reads: “At least 60 blows in the face. Ten to 15 nausea-inducing fist blows to the head. One strike with the fist with full weight to my right ear.”

The movie shows occasional moments that approach tenderness, such as when Priklopil presents her with a cake for her 18th birthday or buys her a dress as a gift – but then immediately goes on to chide her for not knowing how to waltz with him.

GREY AREAS

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays the teenaged Kampusch, said she had tried to portray “the strength of someone’s soul, the ability of people to survive… but also the grey areas within a relationship that people don’t necessarily understand.”

The British actress said she had not met Kampusch during the making of the film or since. “It was a very isolated time, it was a bubble of time, and I wanted to keep that very focused,” she told journalists as she arrived for the Vienna premiere.

Kampusch herself attended the premiere, looking composed as she posed for pictures but declining to give interviews.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild Zeitung last week, she said: “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.”

The movie, made at the Constantin Film studios in Bavaria, Germany, also stars Amy Pidgeon as the 10-year-old Kampusch and Danish actor Thure Lindhardt as Priklopil.

“I focused mainly on playing the human being because… we have to remember it was a human being. Monsters do not exist, they’re only in cartoons,” Lindhart said.

“It became clear to me that it’s a story about survival, and it’s a story about surviving eight years of hell. If that story can be told then I can also play the bad guy.”

The director was German-American Sherry Hormann, who made her English-language debut with the 2009 move “Desert Flower”, an adaptation of the autobiography of Somali-born model and anti-female circumcision activist Waris Dirie.

“I’m a mother and I wonder at the strength of this child, and it was important for me to tell this story from a different perspective, to tell how this child using her own strength could survive this atrocious martyrdom,” Hormann said.

The Kampusch case was followed two years later by that of Josef Fritzl, an Austrian who held his daughter captive in a cellar for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The crimes prompted soul-searching about the Austrian psyche, and questions as to how the authorities and neighbors could have let such crimes go undetected for so long.

The film goes on general release on Thursday.

(Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, Editing by Paul Casciato)

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Nine Inch Nails to go back on road after reinventing itself

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails is planning to hit the road again for a world tour after reinventing itself and adding new musicians.

Founder Trent Reznor, who took a hiatus after the band’s “Wave Goodbye” tour in 2009, told music website Pitchfork.com on Monday that the band is “reinventing itself from scratch.”

Reznor said in a statement that bass player Eric Avery, formerly of Jane’s Addiction, King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew and Josh Eustis of electronic act Telefon Tel Aviv would join him in the revamped venture, along with previous collaborators Alessandro Cortini and drummer Ilan Rubin.

“I was working with Adrian Belew on some musical ideas, which led to some discussion on performing, which led to some beard-scratching, which (many steps later) led to the decision to re-think the idea of what Nine Inch Nails could be, and the idea of playing a show,” Reznor told Pitchfork.

He said the first shows will begin this summer, followed by a tour in the United States and worldwide dates in 2014. Details and dates were not announced.

Nine Inch Nails has featured a revolving lineup since it was formed in Cleveland, Ohio by Reznor in 1988. The band won Grammys for songs “Wish” and “Happiness in Slavery” in the 1990s.

It released its last album “The Slip” in 2008 and Reznor said in 2009 that the band was taking a break from touring.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Oscar show promises music, megastars and James Bond

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Bigger stars, more music and edgier comedy are on the menu for Sunday’s Oscar ceremony, when the most coveted awards in the movie industry are handed out during a glittering Academy Awards show.

Producers of the three-hour Oscar telecast at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre are promising a faster-paced show and more face time with first-time host Seth MacFarlane, while honoring the best films not just of 2012 but also of decades past.

“We have more performances on that stage than we can ever remember there being in the past. And we are not trotting people out just to sing and dance. Every single thing you see on that stage will be related to movies,” said Craig Zadan, who is producing the Oscar telecast for the first time with Neil Meron.

“We have devised ways that we are hoping will make the pacing faster … That doesn’t mean we are not going to give as much weight to honoring the winners, but there has been a lot of dead space in the show (in the past),” Zadan told Reuters.

Steven Spielberg’s presidential movie “Lincoln” heads into Sunday’s ceremony with a leading 12 nominations, followed by Ang Lee’s shipwreck tale “Life of Pi” with 11, French Revolutionary musical “Les Miserables” and romantic comedy “Silver Linings Playbook” with eight apiece, and Iran hostage drama “Argo” with seven.

All five are competing for Best Picture, the top prize, in a tight race that has narrowed in recent weeks to “Lincoln” or “Argo” and will be the last to be announced on Sunday night.

JAMES BOND AND MUSICALS

Before then, Zadan and Meron have assembled an array of performers and presenters that almost outshine the actors, actresses, directors and screenwriters who have been waiting since early January to see if they will go home with a golden Oscar.

They include A-listers Barbra Streisand, Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, John Travolta and Jennifer Aniston, along with younger stars Daniel Radcliffe, Kristen Stewart and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

But don’t count on seeing all six surviving James Bond actors on stage for the planned special 50th anniversary tribute to the British secret agent’s illustrious movie career.

“We have a tribute to James Bond which is really exciting and thrilling, but it never included the concept of six guys coming out and standing there awkwardly on the stage,” Zadan said, quashing speculation that Daniel Craig, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, Sean Connery and George Lazenby would unite on Sunday.

The nominations for “Les Miserables,” where Anne Hathaway is tipped to win Best Supporting Actress, has opened the door to a celebration of the last decade of musicals.

The tribute will feature Hathaway, her Oscar-nominated co-star Hugh Jackman, as well as “Dreamgirls” and “Chicago” Oscar winners Jennifer Hudson and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

MacFarlane, the creator of provocative animated TV series “Family Guy,” will also be showing off his vocal skills, and spending more time on stage than has been traditional for Oscar hosts.

“What happens a lot in the past is that the host comes on, talks for a lot, and then disappears for half an hour. We are not doing that. We are having Seth be there a lot, out there introducing things, and that allows for more pacing and comedy,” said Zadan.

But there will be plenty of room for the unpredictable – and that’s not even counting possible upsets when the winners’ envelopes are unsealed.

“We love the fact that people don’t quite know what they’re going to get with Seth as a host,” said Meron. “We live for the moments that happen on stage. Those are some of the great Oscar moments of the past.”

The Oscar winners are chosen by some 5,800 movie industry professionals who are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Academy Awards ceremony, in its 85th year, will be broadcast live on ABC television in the United States, and to more than 225 other nations.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant editing by Jackie Frank)

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Who needs an Oscar? Hollywood basks in industry’s comeback

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The moguls of Hollywood might engage in more backslapping than usual at Sunday’s Oscars, and it won’t necessarily be over those golden statuettes.

The tuxedoed movie studio chiefs can boast about an unusually large number of blockbuster films in 2012 that lifted ticket sales for the first time in three years and stemmed a seven-year free fall in sales of DVDs and other home entertainment products.

But they can also show crucial progress on their home entertainment strategy, digital downloads and social media, plus lucrative long-term content deals with new players on the scene.

Tinseltown might just be striking the right balance between making what people want to see, getting it to them in a way that works and letting them share their buzz over social media.

Hollywood is a famously cyclical business that can hit a slump even in the best of economic times. But the recent spate of hit-making has put the industry on a high.

Take “The Avengers,” a mashup of Marvel comic super heroes released by Walt Disney Co, that pulled in $ 623 million in domestic sales and was one of the five 2012 movies with ticket sales of more than $ 300 million, an industry record, according to the box office unit of Hollywood.com. The movie cost about $ 220 million to make.

Two other films – Warner Brothers’ first Batman movie in four years “The Dark Knight Rises” and Lionsgate Entertainment’s “The Hunger Games” — each topped $ 400 million, more than any film released in 2011.

These three films won’t get much attention at the Academy Awards on Sunday and only “The Avengers” garnered a nomination, for Best Visual Effects. But in a another sign of Hollywood’s winning year, six of the nine competitors for Best Picture hauled in at least $ 100 million apiece at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

James Bond also returned from a four-year absence with a vengeance and snagged five Oscar nods. “Skyfall,” made jointly by MGM and Sony Pictures, grossed $ 304 million in domestic ticket sales and $ 1.1 billion internationally – the most of any of the 24 Bond films tracked by Box Office Mojo, and nearly twice as much as the second-ranked film, “Quantum of Solace,” in 2008.

“It was a terrific year,” said Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson, whose studio made “Ted” and Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax,” both with box office sales over $ 200 million. “Give consumers something that’s interesting and you can still get them to come out of their house.”

U.S. and Canadian movie theaters sold more than 1.3 billion tickets in 2012, a 5.3 percent hike and the second time in five years that ticket sales increased. That propelled the box office to a record $ 10.8 billion, up nearly 5.8 percent.

‘ASK ME NEXT YEAR’

The hit parade wasn’t enough to turn the tide on the prolonged slide in DVD sales, which fell another 10 percent last year. But in a sign that studios and consumers are synching up on digital offerings, movie downloads, video on demand and streaming services like Netflix saw an increase in sales of 28.5 percent to $ 5.1 billion, according to the industry’s Digital Entertainment Group.

The digital growth pushed the overall revenue figure for DVDs and home entertainment up by 0.2 percent, a step in the right direction.

“Consumers are getting comfortable with digital technology and are using it more,” said David Bishop, president of Worldwide Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

And Hollywood’s studios seem to be feeling the same thing.

News Corp’s Fox increased sales of digital downloads of its movies on services like Apple’s iTunes and Amazon.com, dropping the price from $ 20 apiece to $ 15, and making them available two weeks ahead of sales of the same movies on DVD.

“We’re making it easy for the consumer who says, ‘I didn’t see the movie or forgot to get a DVD’ to just push a button,” Fox studio Chairman Jim Gianopulos said.

“The result is that we had twice as many downloads of ‘Taken 2′ and ‘Prometheus’ than we did of ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’”, he said, the latter a 2011 film that had much higher box office sales than other of the two.

Then there were advances in getting the word out.

Lionsgate boosted ticket sales for “The Hunger Games” in what analysts say was Hollywood’s most aggressive online marketing push. The studio stoked interest among the film’s core younger audience by starting a year early with a near-constant use of Twitter and Facebook, a Tumblr blog, a YouTube Channel, and live streaming of the premiere on Yahoo.

The studios also saw a new cadre of bidders like Google, Amazon, Apple and Netflix lining up for rights to bring Hollywood movies into the living room. In December, Disney landed a deal with Netflix to stream its movies to television that could bring in an estimated $ 350 million in revenue a year, more than its current contracts.

Despite all of the advances of recent years, it is hardly certain that Hollywood can keep its winning streak going.

“It boils down to whether the industry can continue to make hit movies,” said Stephen Prough, co-founder of investment bank Salem Partners who oversees the firm’s media and entertainment investment banking.

“To answer that, ask me next year.”

(Editing by Mary Milliken and Lisa Shumaker)

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Jane Fonda, Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Garner join list of Oscar presenters

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Oscar-winner Jane Fonda has been added to this year’s list of presenters at the Academy Awards ceremony, along with non-Oscar winners Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Garner and Kerry Washington, the show’s producers said on Thursday.

Fonda took home her first Oscar statue in 1972 for her leading role in “Klute” and then won another in 1979 for her performance in Hal Ashby’s “Coming Home.”

She has been nominated five other times, while Stewart, Garner and Washington have yet to be so honored.

Still, Stewart is a hugely popular young starlet thanks to her role as Bella Swan in the “Twilight” franchise, and Washington portrayed Jamie Foxx‘s wife in Best Picture nominee “Django Unchained.”

And not only did TV’s “Alias” star Garner appear in the 2012 family fantasy “The Odd Life of Timothy Green,” but her husband, Ben Affleck, while not getting a nomination this year, did direct the clear frontrunner for Best Picture, “Argo.”

All four leading ladies are joining a very long list of previously announced Oscar presenters, including Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Michael Douglas, Jamie Foxx, Paul Rudd, Salma Hayek Pinault, Melissa McCarthy, Liam Neeson, John Travolta, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Mark Wahlberg, Ted and the cast of “The Avengers.”

Jean Dujardin, Christopher Plummer, Octavia Spencer and Meryl Streep – last year’s winners in the Academy’s acting categories – are returning as presenters, too.

Barbra Streisand and Adele will perform, along with the casts of “Les Misérables,” “Chicago” and “Dreamgirls.”

“Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane hosts this Sunday’s telecast.

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Police say NY TV anchor threatened wife with death

A New York City TV anchorman issued a death threat against his wife as he was being arrested on charges of attacking her at their Connecticut home, according to a court document released Tuesday.

New York City police, meanwhile, disclosed that they were called 11 times to the couple’s home when they lived in Manhattan. One call resulted in an arrest, but the case was sealed, they said.

In the Connecticut case, a Darien police officer wrote that Rob Morrison, who works for WCBS-TV, “threatened that if he was released from police custody, he would kill his wife.”

The document was offered in Superior Court in Stamford, in support of an order of protection against Morrison. Judge Kenneth Povadator ordered Morrison to stay 100 yards away from Ashley Morrison except when they’re both at work.

She works for “CBS Moneywatch.”

Rob Morrison, 44, was charged Sunday with strangulation, threatening and disorderly conduct. Officers had been called by his mother-in-law to the couple’s home in Darien. They said Morrison had been belligerent toward his wife throughout the night and had wrapped his hands around her neck, leaving red marks.

Morrison’s lawyer, Robert Skovgaard, did not enter a plea at the arraignment. He said afterward a plea would come “at the appropriate time.”

Skovgaard said Monday that the allegations had been exaggerated and on Tuesday he referred to his previous statement.

Outside the courthouse, Morrison said: “I did not choke my wife. I’ve never raised my hands to my wife.”

The NYPD said it was called 11 times between 2004 and 2009 to the couple’s home on West 90th Street. In the 10 cases that did not result in an arrest, the calls involved verbal disputes and harassment, with no allegations of physical violence, the police said.

It was not clear if violence was alleged in the case that was sealed. Skovgaard did not immediately return a call about the New York incidents.

Morrison was released Tuesday on the $ 100,000 bond he posted Sunday. He is due back in court in Stamford on March 26.

Morrison, who has been a combat correspondent and was a reporter and anchor for WNBC-TV, anchors WCBS-TV’s news programs “This Morning” and “News at Noon.” Ashley Morrison worked for Bloomberg Television before joining “CBS MoneyWatch.”

The couple has a young son.

Skovgaard said that because of the order of protection, Morrison “will not be going home tonight.”

___

Associated Press writer Colleen Long in New York contributed to this report.

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Alec Baldwin, wife expecting a baby this summer

NEW YORK (AP) — Alec Baldwin and his wife are expecting their first child together.

Publicist Matthew Hiltzik confirmed Tuesday that Hilaria Baldwin is due late this summer.

Alec Baldwin already is the father of a 17-year-old daughter, Ireland, from his previous marriage to actress Kim Basinger (BAY’-sing-ur). Hilaria Baldwin is a special correspondent for the TV show “Extra.” The couple wed last June after a three-month engagement.

Alec Baldwin recently won a SAG Award for best actor in a TV series for the NBC comedy “30 Rock,” which concluded its seven-year run two weeks ago.

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One year later, Grammys recall scramble over Whitney Houston death

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Grammy host LL Cool J called it a “death in our family” and it was he who suggested starting the Grammy Awards show last year with a prayer for Whitney Houston.

Behind the scenes, Grammy Awards producers had worked all night to re-shape the music industry‘s biggest night just 24 hours after the drowning death of the troubled superstar in a Beverly Hills hotel.

Producers and musicians tell the tale in a one-hour TV special “The Grammys Will Go On: A Death in the Family” to be broadcast on CBS on Saturday on the eve of this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony.

The singer, known both for her soaring ballads and well-chronicled history of drug abuse, is also expected to be remembered at the annual pre-Grammy party hosted in Beverly Hills on Saturday by her mentor, record producer Clive Davis.

Earlier this week, Madame Tussauds museum unveiled four different wax figures of Houston at various stages of her 35-year career that will go on display at its attractions in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Houston, 48, was found face down in a bathtub on February 11 2012, in what authorities later called an accidental drowning due to cocaine use and heart disease.

“My heart started racing. I started hyper-ventilating,” recalls Grammy Awards show director Louis J. Horvitz in the TV special, as news reached Grammy rehearsals last year of Houston‘s death.

Producers realized immediately that despite months in the planning, the live TV ceremony the next day would have to reflect Houston‘s passing.

TEARS AND TOUGH TIMES

Scripts were re-written, clips of Houston‘s many previous Grammy performances were added, and the call went out to Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson to come in and perform Houston‘s signature song “I Will Always Love You.”

“Moments later (after hearing news of Houston‘s death) I got the call to sing in her memory. I would do anything for Whitney,” Hudson recalls in the TV special.

Rehearsal footage shows an emotional Hudson breaking into tears while practicing the song. “By the time she got to the end, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” said Horvitz of her rehearsal.

“We are used to tough situations,” said veteran Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich, recalling how Aretha Franklin was called on to replace a sick Luciano Pavarotti in 1998 while the live Grammy show was on the air.

But the death of Houston, a six-time Grammy winner with some 200 million records sold, was something different.

It was rapper and Grammy host LL Cool J who suggested opening the awards telecast with a prayer for Houston. But he said his legs were shaking backstage with the pressure of balancing sorrow over her death with respect for all the other artists due to perform, and win awards that night.

“I was in this weird no-man’s land between mourning and celebration,” the rapper said.

The TV special also shows artists like Katy Perry, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and Bruno Mars struggling to continue rehearsals, old footage of Houston in her prime, and clips of Davis telling guests at his annual music industry party that the singer had been found dead hours earlier in a hotel room in the same building.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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TV drama captures public angst at “Made in Japan” decline

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese electronics firm near bankruptcy, a ruthless Chinese rival and a laid-off engineer feature in a popular TV drama that is hitting a public nerve in a nation fretting over the decline of a once-admired manufacturing model.

A weaker yen due to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe‘s expansionary economic policies has lightened some of the gloom for exporters, but NHK public TV’s “Made in Japan” serial reflects a deep angst about an ailing manufacturing sector that was once key to Japan’s success and a source of national pride.

The 3-part drama, which ends on Saturday, covers a secret “restructuring” team’s race against a 3-month deadline to come up with a survival plan for “Takumi Electric” – the name means “artisan” in Japanese – before the bank pulls the plug.

Standing in their way are a Japanese engineer who goes to work in China after being laid off when his lithium-ion battery project was frozen – possibly taking proprietary technology with him – a clueless corporate president given his job by his founder father and a reporter desperate for a scoop.

All of which resonates for many Japanese as they watch once iconic electronics firms – Sony, Panasonic and Sharp come to mind – lose global share to South Korean and Chinese rivals, and wonder what will replace lost manufacturing jobs and drive future economic growth.

“During the period of rapid economic growth after World War Two and even after the bursting of the (1980s) asset bubble, manufacturing … was a source of economic strength,” said Hisao Inoue, a freelance journalist who advised NHK on its script.

“‘Monozukuri’ (‘the making of things’) was a source of pride for Japan,” he told Reuters. “But that has changed and Japan has lost self-confidence.”

BUSINESS BUZZ

The show has won more than respectable Saturday evening ratings of over 10 percent, and created a buzz among business executives and bankers, with some wondering if it cuts too close to the bone with its portrayal of a firm – however fictional – on the edge.

“The performance is a bit melodramatic, but in a sense, it reflects reality,” said one Japanese banker.

The program’s chief producer Ren Takahashi said the story turned out more realistic than imagined when NHK began work on it two years ago. “The economy was bad then, but we didn’t think the electronics industry would be in such trouble,” he told Reuters, adding “Takumi” was a composite of companies symbolizing Japan rather than being based on one firm.

“There’s no easy solution to the problems of ‘Made in Japan’ … but we want to end it in a way that gives hope.”

The day before last week’s second episode, government data showed employment in Japan’s manufacturing sector dropped below 10 million for the first time in half a century.

“Japanese have great anxiety about the huge shift in power in East Asia to China on both the security and economic level,” said Jeffrey Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Japan campus. “The (TV) drama is a window into Japan’s collective anxiety about its apparent economic decline.”

Behind the melodrama, the story raises a deeper question: just what is Japan’s famed “monozukuri” ethos and can it survive global competition and world-wide supply chains?

“Monozukuri” is a complex concept that implies craftsmanship and superb quality but with an undertone of rote learning of skills through repetition – a talent key during the era of mass manufacturing but one critics say is not conducive to the innovation Japan needs now.

“It’s been drilled into people for years and years that this is what got Japan back after World War Two,” said Philip Brasor, a media critic who often writes about Japanese society through the prism of TV.

“Inevitably, it all changed. But they still think they can recapture that.”

(Additional reporting by Emi Emoto; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

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Ex-LA cop, murder suspect sent CNN anchor parcel

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Law enforcement officials are inspecting a package CNN’s Anderson Cooper received from a former Los Angeles police officer who allegedly killed three in a shooting spree.

CNN spokeswoman Shimrit Sheetrit said Thursday that a parcel containing a note, a DVD and a bullet hole-riddled memento were sent by Christopher Dorner and addressed to Cooper’s office.

LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith says LAPD robbery-homicide detectives will inspect the package for clues.

The package arrived Feb. 1, days before the first two killings Dorner is accused of.

It contained a note on it that read, in part, “I never lied.”

Dorner was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements.

A coin typically given out as a souvenir by the police chief was also in the package, and riddled with bullet holes.

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The top films at the North American Box Office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Following are the top 10 movies at North American box offices for the weekend starting February 1, led by Warm Bodies at No. 1, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters. 1 (*) Warm Bodies…………………………..$ 20.0 million 2 (1) Hansel and Gretel……………………..$ 9.2 million 3 (3) Silver Linings Playbook………………..$ 8.1 million 4 (2) Mama…………………………………$ 6.7 million 5 (4) Zero Dark Thirty………………………$ 5.3 million 6 (*) Bullet to the Head…………………….$ 4.5 million 7 (5) Parker……………………………….$ 3.2 million 8 (6) Django Unchained………………………$ 3.0 million 9 (10)Les Miserables………………………..$ 2.4 million 10 (11)Lincoln………………………………$ 2.4 million NOTES: (*) = new release

CUMULATIVE TOTALS: Lincoln…………………………………..$ 170.8 million Django Unchained…………………………..$ 151.0 million Les Miserables…………………………….$ 141.5 million Silver Linings Playbook…………………….$ 80.4 million Zero Dark Thirty…………………………..$ 77.8 million Mama……………………………………..$ 58.3 million Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters…………….$ 34.5 million Warm Bodies……………………………….$ 20.0 million Parker……………………………………$ 12.4 million Bullet to the Head…………………………$ 4.5 million

“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” was distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. “Zero Dark Thirty” was released by Sony Corp’s movie studio. “Warm Bodies” and “The Last Stand” were distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. “Bullet to the Head” was released by Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc “Django Unchained” and “Silver Linings Playbook” were distributed by Weinstein Co. “Les Miserables” and “Mama” were distributed by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp.

(Reporting By Ronald Grover and Andrea Burzynski; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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‘Girls,’ ‘Sugar Man’ earn Directors Guild honors

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Girls” star Lena Dunham has won the TV comedy directing prize from the Directors Guild of America, while the musical portrait “Searching for Sugar Man” earned the documentary award.

Dunham won Saturday for directing the pilot of the show, which focuses on the lives of a group of girls in their 20s.

“It is such an unbelievable honor to be in the company of the people in this room, who have made me want to do this with my life,” Dunham said.

Malik Bendjelloul won the documentary award for “Sugar Man,” his study of the fate of critically acclaimed but obscure 1970s singer-songwriter Rodriquez. The film also is nominated for best documentary at the Feb. 24 Academy Awards.

Among other early TV winners:

— Musical variety: Glenn Weiss, “The 66th Annual Tony Awards.”

— Daytime serial: Jill Mitwell, “One Life to Live.”

— Children’s program: Paul Hoen, “Let It Shine.”

The Directors Guild honors continued Hollywood’s strange awards season, which could culminate with a big Oscar win for Ben Affleck‘s “Argo.” The guild’s prize for best director typically is a final blessing for the film that goes on to win best-picture and director at the Academy Awards.

Affleck can go only one-for-two at the Oscars, though. He’s up for the film honor at the Directors Guild, and “Argo” is looking like the best-picture favorite at the Oscars. But the director’s branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences overlooked him and several other key filmmakers for an Oscar directing slot.

The guild and Oscar directing lineups usually match up closely, but they have little in common this season, with only Steven Spielberg for “Lincoln” and Ang Lee for “Life of Pi” nominated at both shows.

Along with them and Affleck, the guild nominated Kathryn Bigelow for “Zero Dark Thirty” and Tom Hooper for “Les Miserables.” At the Oscars, Spielberg and Lee are joined in the directing category by Michael Haneke for “Amour,” David O. Russell for “Silver Linings Playbook” and Benh Zeitlin for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

Director Norman Jewison, the guild’s 2010 lifetime-achievement prize winner, presented Bigelow with her nomination plaque and noted the incongruity of the Oscar best-picture field, which has nine nominees, while there are only five directing slots.

“So apparently, there were four films that were directed by themselves,” Jewison said.

With 12 Oscar nominations, Spielberg’s Civil War saga initially looked like the Oscar favorite over such other potential favorites as “Argo,” ”Les Miserables” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” since films generally have little chance of winning best picture if they are not nominated for best director. Only three films have done it in 84 years, most recently 1989′s best-picture champ “Driving Miss Daisy,” which failed to earn a directing nomination for Bruce Beresford.

But Affleck’s “Argo,” in which he also stars as a CIA operative who hatches a bold plan to rescue six Americans during the hostage crisis in Iran, has swept up all the major awards since the Oscar nominations. “Argo” won best drama and director at the Golden Globes and top film honors from the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Guild of America.

Many of the same film professionals who vote in guild awards also cast ballots for the Oscars. If Affleck wins at the Directors Guild awards, it will be a strong sign that “Argo” has the inside track for the best-picture Oscar.

Affleck may have a bit of newcomer’s edge at the guild, where he’s the only first-time nominee. Spielberg has won the guild prize a record three times, for “The Color Purple,” ”Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan.” Lee has won twice, for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain,” while Bigelow won three years ago for “The Hurt Locker” and Hooper won two years ago for “The King’s Speech.”

A win for Affleck would nick the guild’s record as a strong forecast for the eventual directing recipient at the Oscars. Only six times in the 64-year history of the guild awards has the winner there failed to follow up with an Oscar. It would be No. 7 if Affleck wins Saturday, since he’s not up for best director at the Oscars.

Peer loyalty might play in Affleck’s favor at the Oscars. The acting branch in particular, the largest block of the academy’s 5,900 members, might really throw its weight behind “Argo” because of Affleck’s directing snub. Actors love it when one of their own moves into a successful directing career, and Affleck — who’s rarely earned raves for his dramatic chops — also delivers one of his best performances in “Argo.”

Affleck has had no traction in acting honors this season, and he’s joked that no one considered it a snub when he wasn’t nominated for best actor. So a best-picture vote for “Argo” might be viewed as making right his omission from the directing lineup and acknowledging what a double-threat talent he’s become in front of and behind the camera.

A best-picture prize also would send Affleck home with an Oscar. The award would go to the producers of “Argo”: George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Affleck.

But it’s not as though Affleck has never gotten his due at Hollywood awards before. He and Matt Damon jump-started their careers with 1997′s “Good Will Hunting,” for which they shared a screenplay Oscar.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.

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Schwarzenegger: Simple Austrian upbringing made me green

VIENNA (Reuters) – Arnold Schwarzenegger credited his simple upbringing amid the lakes and hills of Austria for a recent conversion to fully fledged green activism, the latest stage in his varied career.

The former body-builder, star of the “Terminator” action films and governor of California grew up in Thal, a small village in the Austrian province of Styria, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 21.

“Growing up in my house, we knew about sustainability before it was hip. We called it ‘necessity’,” Schwarzenegger told an environmental conference he hosted in Vienna this week.

“We didn’t have video games, televisions or iPhones. We had the rolling hills, the castles, the ruins, and the beautiful lakes,” he said. “Even after I made it big and became governor of California, I held on to this love of nature.”

The “governator” – who left office and split with his wife of 25 years, Maria Shriver in 2011, has recently returned to making action movies – expressed surprise at the turn his life had taken, after he had thought all his ambitions fulfilled.

“When I was a little boy in Austria, all I could think about was moving to America, to become the greatest bodybuilder champion in the world and make millions of dollars and be an action hero,” said Schwarzenegger.

“My dream became reality. Who knew my greatest achievement would be in the real world fighting for a green energy future? Green energy wasn’t even in my vocabulary.”

(Reporting by Derek Brooks; Writing by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Whitney Houston anniversary to be marked with TV Grammy special

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Grammy organizers plan to mark the first anniversary of the sudden death of Whitney Houston with a behind-the-scenes TV show on how they scrambled to honor the singer just 24 hours after she died.

The Recording Academy said on Thursday that the hour-long special entitled “The Grammys Will Go On: A Death in the Family” will air on February 9, the day before the 2013 Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Houston, who sold hundreds of millions of records and scored the mega hits “I Will Always Love You” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” drowned in a bathtub at a Beverly Hills hotel room on February 11 2012 – the eve of last year’s Grammy Awards show.

Houston’s unexpected death at age 48 cast a shadow over the event, which quickly changed its program to pay homage to the soaring voice that had dominated the Grammys in decades past.

Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson performed a medley of Houston’s hits at last year’s Grammys, and rapper and host LL Cool J opened the show with a prayer.

The TV special on broadcaster CBS features rehearsals and interviews with artists – including Hudson, Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift – and the show’s producers in the hours before and after Houston’s death.

The Recording Academy produces the annual Grammy awards.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Jill Serjeant and David Brunnstrom)

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Patty Andrews of Andrews Sisters dead at 94

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Patty Andrews, the last surviving member of the singing Andrews Sisters trio whose hits such as the rollicking “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B” and the poignant “I Can Dream, Can’t I?” captured the home-front spirit of World War II, died Wednesday. She was 94.

Andrews died of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge, said family spokesman Alan Eichler in a statement.

Patty was the Andrews in the middle, the lead singer and chief clown, whose raucous jitterbugging delighted American servicemen abroad and audiences at home.

She could also deliver sentimental ballads like “I’ll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time” with a sincerity that caused hardened GIs far from home to weep.

“When I was a kid, I only had two records and one of them was the Andrews Sisters. They were remarkable. Their sound, so pure,” said Bette Midler, who had a hit cover of “Bugle Boy” in 1973. “Everything they did for our nation was more than we could have asked for. This is the last of the trio, and I hope the trumpets ushering (Patty) into heaven with her sisters are playing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

From the late 1930s through the 1940s, the Andrews Sisters produced one hit record after another, beginning with “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen” in 1937 and continuing with “Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar,” ”Rum and Coca-Cola” and more. They recorded more than 400 songs and sold over 80 million records, several of them going gold.

Other sisters, notably the Boswells, had become famous as singing acts, but mostly they huddled before a microphone in close harmony. The Andrews Sisters — LaVerne, Maxene and Patty — added a new dimension. During breaks in their singing, they cavorted about the stage in rhythm to the music.

Their voices combined with perfect synergy. As Patty remarked in 1971: “There were just three girls in the family. LaVerne had a very low voice. Maxene’s was kind of high, and I was between. It was like God had given us voices to fit our parts.”

Kathy Daris of the singing Lennon Sisters recalled on Facebook late Wednesday that the Andrews Sisters “were the first singing sister act that we tried to copy. We loved their rendition of songs, their high spirit, their fabulous harmony.”

The Andrews Sisters‘ rise coincided with the advent of swing music, and their style fit perfectly into the new craze. They aimed at reproducing the sound of three harmonizing trumpets.

“I was listening to Benny Goodman and to all the bands,” Patty once remarked. “I was into the feel, so that would go into my own musical ability. I was into swing. I loved the brass section.”

Unlike other singing acts, the sisters recorded with popular bands of the ’40s, fitting neatly into the styles of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey, Bob Crosby, Woody Herman, Guy Lombardo, Desi Arnaz and Russ Morgan. They sang dozens of songs on records with Bing Crosby, including the million-seller “Don’t Fence Me In.” They also recorded with Dick Haymes, Carmen Miranda, Danny Kaye, Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante and Red Foley.

The Andrews’ popularity led to a contract with Universal Pictures, where they made a dozen low-budget musical comedies between 1940 and 1944. In 1947, they appeared in “The Road to Rio” with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour.

The trio continued until LaVerne’s death in 1967. By that time the close harmony had turned to discord, and the sisters had been openly feuding.

Midler’s cover of “Bugle Boy” revived interest in the trio. The two survivors joined in 1974 for a Broadway show, “Over Here!” It ran for more than a year, but disputes with the producers led to the cancellation of the national tour of the show, and the sisters did not perform together again.

Patty continued on her own, finding success in Las Vegas and on TV variety shows. Her sister also toured solo until her death in 1995.

Her father, Peter Andrews, was a Greek immigrant who anglicized his name of Andreus when he arrived in America; his wife, Olga, was a Norwegian with a love of music. LaVerne was born in 1911, Maxine (later Maxene) in 1916, Patricia (later Patty, sometimes Patti) in 1918.

All three sisters were born and raised in the Minneapolis area, spending summers in Mound, Minn., on the western shores of Lake Minnetonka, about 20 miles west of Minneapolis.

Listening to the Boswell Sisters on radio, LaVerne played the piano and taught her sisters to sing in harmony; neither Maxene nor Patty ever learned to read music. All three studied singers at the vaudeville house near their father’s restaurant. As their skills developed, they moved from amateur shows to vaudeville and singing with bands.

After Peter Andrews moved the family to New York in 1937, his wife, Olga, sought singing dates for the girls. They were often turned down with comments such as: “They sing too loud and they move too much.” Olga persisted, and the sisters sang on radio with a hotel band at $ 15 a week. The broadcasts landed them a contract with Decca Records.

They recorded a few songs, and then came “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” an old Yiddish song for which Sammy Cahn and Saul Kaplan wrote English lyrics. (The title means, “To Me You Are Beautiful.”) It was a smash hit, and the Andrews Sisters were launched into the bigtime.

Their only disappointment was the movies. Universal was a penny-pinching studio that ground out product to fit the lower half of a double bill. The sisters were seldom involved in the plots, being used for musical interludes in film with titles such as “Private Buckaroo,” ”Swingtime Johnny” and “Moonlight and Cactus.”

Their only hit was “Buck Privates,” which made stars of Abbott and Costello and included the trio’s blockbuster “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B.”

In 1947, Patty married Martin Melcher, an agent who represented the sisters as well as Doris Day, then at the beginning of her film career. Patty divorced Melcher in 1949 and soon he became Day’s husband, manager and producer.

Patty married Walter Weschler, pianist for the sisters, in 1952. He became their manager and demanded more pay for himself and for Patty. The two other sisters rebelled, and their differences with Patty became public. Lawsuits were filed between the two camps.

“We had been together nearly all our lives,” Patty explained in 1971. “Then in one year our dream world ended. Our mother died and then our father. All three of us were upset, and we were at each other’s throats all the time.”

Patty Andrews is survived by her foster daughter, Pam DuBois, a niece and several cousins. Weschler died in 2010.

A memorial service is planned in Los Angeles, with the date to be determined.

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Charlize Theron’s ‘Hatfields & McCoys’ Update Gets NBC Pickup

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – NBC has ordered the drama pilot “Hatfields & McCoys,” a modern-day tale of the famously warring families from a team that includes executive producer Charlize Theron.

The series bears no relation to History’s hit miniseries of the same name, which aired last year. But it does trade on the same legend of feuding West Virginia families.

In the new version, the families have moved to nearby Pittsburgh, where a startling death rekindles the feud. The blue-collar McCoys battle the wealthy Hatfields for control of the city.

And no, they aren’t fighting over which family gets to not be in charge of Pittsburgh, which is a lovely place, if you’ve ever been.

The series is written and executive produced by John Glenn, with Theron, A.J. Dix, Dawn Olmstead, and Beau Flynn also executive producing. It comes from ABCS, Denver & Delilah,Tower Hill, Beau Flynn Productions and Grady Girl.

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IFC Films acquires David Lowery’s “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – IFC Films has acquired domestic distribution rights to David Lowery‘s “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” which premiered Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival.

The film stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck as married bandits in 1970s Texas who set their sights on a local sheriff, played by Ben Foster.

IFC paid in the low seven figures for the rights, an individual with knowledge of the deal told TheWrap.

“Coming into Sundance, this was one of the biggest titles on our list and probably on many buyers lists, and so we ecstatic about this acquisition for our company,” Jonathan Sehring, president of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said in a statement. “This is a beautiful and exquisitely crafted romantic American drama, with superlative performances across the board. We are honored to now be able to say we get to work with David Lowery, a remarkable new voice in filmmaking, as we take this film to audiences.”

This is just the second film directed by Lowery, a Texan with numerous editing credits to his name, including another film that premiered at Sundance – Shane Carruth’s “Upstream Color.” Toby Sailor Bear’s Toby Halbrooks and James M. Johnston produced the movie with Parts & Labor’s Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen and Primary Productions’ Amy Kaufman and Cassian Elwes.

Elwes and WME made the deal with IFC.

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Dick Van Dyke honored for lifetime achievement

LOS ANGELES (AP) — He’s acted, danced and sang his way through movies, television and the stage, making Dick Van Dyke an entertainment triple-threat long before Hollywood used such hyphenates.

The 87-year-old actor, best known for the 1960s hit comedy “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and Disney’s big-screen musical “Mary Poppins,” can now add lifetime achievement honoree. He picked up that honor at Sunday night’s 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

“I’ve knocked around in this business for 70 years and I still haven’t quite figured out exactly what it is I do,” Van Dyke said after accepting his trophy from presenter Alec Baldwin.

“The years have been full of surprises for me and a lot of fun. Aren’t we lucky to have found a line of work that doesn’t require growing up?”

Van Dyke‘s career has spanned eight decades, starting with work as a disc jockey and a standup comic in the late ’40s. He even worked as a national television morning-show host, with no less than Walter Cronkite serving as his news anchor.

But perhaps Van Dyke‘s most critical career break came in 1960, when director Gower Champion hired him as the male lead opposite Chita Rivera in the new Broadway-bound stage musical “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Van Dyke had no professional dance experience, and out-of-town tryouts did not go well. Nevertheless, Champion refused to fire the actor, who would go on to New York with Rivera and win a Tony award for his performance.

About a year later, Van Dyke was starring in his own sitcom, in the role of TV comedy writer Rob Petrie on “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Three prime-time Emmys for Van Dyke and more than 50 years later, the series remains revered by many critics as one of the earliest models of great workplace comedy.

“‘The ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ was the most fun I ever had and the most creative period of my life,” he said on the red carpet.

During the series’ run, Van Dyke also enjoyed big-screen hits, including the 1963 “Birdie” movie and the 1964 all-star comedy, “What a Way to Go!” But biggest of all was “Mary Poppins,” in which he introduced the Oscar-winning song “Chim Chim Cher-ee.”

“I’m world-famous for my Cockney accent,” Van Dyke kidded in his acceptance speech. He has said his British-born co-star, Julie Andrews, told him he never got the accent right.

Van Dyke also saluted the room full of actors who gave him a standing ovation.

“I’m looking at the greatest generation of actors in the history of acting. You’ve all lifted the art to another place now,” he said. “Besides that you’re everywhere. You’re in Darfur, Somalia, Haiti. You’re all over the place trying to do what’s right.

“This very heavy object here means that I can refer to you as my peers. I’m a happy man, God bless.”

Last year, Van Dyke presented the same lifetime achievement honor to his former TV co-star, Mary Tyler Moore.

These days, Van Dyke sings with his vocal group, The Vantasix, and enjoys life with his wife of one year, makeup artist Arlene Silver. The couple met seven years ago at the SAG Awards.

“They tell me you never work again once you get this award,” Van Dyke said on the red carpet. “I’ll have to let them know I’m available.”

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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