TRAVOLTA HEARTBROKEN OVER SON'S DEATH
Hollywood actor John Travolta has said he and his wife are "heartbroken" over the death of their 16-year-old son.
Jett Travolta was found unconscious in the family's home in the Bahamas.
"We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief," said the Grease star. "We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives."
Travolta's lawyer, Michael McDermott, said he understood Jett had "a history of seizures". A post-mortem examination is due to be held later.
Jett was on holiday with his father, his mother Kelly Preston and his sister Ella Blue when he died.
The couple have said previously that Jett first became ill at the age of two and was later diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation of the blood vessels in young children.
Jett Travolta was found unconscious in the family's home in the Bahamas.
"We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief," said the Grease star. "We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives."
Travolta's lawyer, Michael McDermott, said he understood Jett had "a history of seizures". A post-mortem examination is due to be held later.
Jett was on holiday with his father, his mother Kelly Preston and his sister Ella Blue when he died.
The couple have said previously that Jett first became ill at the age of two and was later diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation of the blood vessels in young children.
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"Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for
and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered," Travolta said in a
statement placed on his website.
"We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support.
"It has meant so much to us.
"It is a beautiful reminder of the inherent goodness in the human spirit that gives us hope for a brighter future."
Mr McDermott rebutted the "impression" given by police that Jett had been left on his own in the holiday home.
In fact the teenager was "spectacularly supervised" while on holiday because of his medical history, the lawyer told the Associated Press.
"The police left the impression that the boy was unsupervised. No. There were two nannies with him for the entire evening.
"They [the police] made it seem like he was sent to the condo and nobody checked in on him until the next morning."
Family and friends have been comforting the Travoltas, who remain in the Bahamas.
Source:BBC
"We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support.
"It has meant so much to us.
"It is a beautiful reminder of the inherent goodness in the human spirit that gives us hope for a brighter future."
Mr McDermott rebutted the "impression" given by police that Jett had been left on his own in the holiday home.
In fact the teenager was "spectacularly supervised" while on holiday because of his medical history, the lawyer told the Associated Press.
"The police left the impression that the boy was unsupervised. No. There were two nannies with him for the entire evening.
"They [the police] made it seem like he was sent to the condo and nobody checked in on him until the next morning."
Family and friends have been comforting the Travoltas, who remain in the Bahamas.
Source:BBC
Where have all the tough guys gone?
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There was a time when action heroes didn't contemplate. They defeated the bad guy and let their bodies do the talking for them. How times have changed.
Action movies can still be a big draw at the box office -- "The Dark Knight" has grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide, according to BoxOfficeGuru.com -- and action sequences have never been more intricate or thrilling.
But audiences these days are demanding more of everything -- more adrenaline, more emotion, more complexity. The action movies today are a far cry from the ones that helped spur the rise of the genre in the 1980s, when hard bodies like Arnold Schwarzenegger merely had to flex their muscles and utter monosyllables to generate a following.
Everything was more straightforward for the tough guys of yesteryear. Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnie tackled problems with big guns, big muscles and big egos. There was a clear division between good and evil, and machismo conquered all.
These days, the tough guy persona is giving way to more multifaceted characters. Watching the hero beat up the bad guy is old hat; understanding the source of his rage makes the action far more riveting. What do you want from an action hero? Tell us in the SoundOff below.
The most successful action film this year, "The Dark Knight," is filled with dynamic characters (Heath Ledger is hotly tipped to pick up a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal as The Joker) and delves into the intricacies of everything from heroism to anarchy. The violence is rife, but it's not meaningless.
In other popular movies like "Quantum of Solace" and the Bourne series, high-octane chase scenes are what get your pulse racing. But it is Bond's (Daniel Craig) battered emotional state that anchors "Quantum's" story. For Jason Bourne, played by Matt Damon, the quest to recover his memory and identity is what adds emotional depth -- and advances the story enough to keep it interesting over three films.
In contrast, films like "Transporter 3," whose macho hero Frank Martin harks back to the self-reliant tough guys of action flicks past, has been mostly panned for its weak story and mindless action.
Even action men of earlier decades are out to prove they aren't just fighting machines. Jean-Claude Van Damme, the so-called "Muscles from Brussels" who made a name for himself in the 1980s with his killer martial arts moves, lets his guard down in the parody "JCVD," due out in the UK in February.
Van Damme basically plays himself -- a downbeat actor dealing with the collapse of his family life -- and delivers a performance that entertainment trade publication Variety said "constitutes the headiest stretch of the beefy star's career since, well, ever."
Mickey Rourke, another tough guy, earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing a broken down fighter in "The Wrestler," and could be tipped for an Oscar as the Golden Globes are considered to be a harbinger of the Oscars. In a role that he says struck close to home, he plays a washed-up wrestler whose daughter wants nothing to do with him.
Aside from the hard bodies, action stars of today barely resemble their counterparts from decades earlier. Audiences appear to want more than high-octane sequences from their action heroes, and that's not a bad thing.
Source: CNN
TRANSPLANT RUMORS ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON DENIED.
Michael Jackson's publicist wants you to know that, despite a tabloid report to the contrary, the 50-year-old singer "is in fine health."
he United Kingdom's Sun newspaper started a stir Monday morning when it quoted the author of an upcoming book about Jackson saying he was battling a potentially fatal disease that required a life-saving lung transplant.
Other papers echoed the Sun's thinly-sourced story and the rumor spread quickly through Internet message boards.
By Monday afternoon, Jackson's spokesman issued a response that said "The writer's wild allegations concerning Mr. Jackson's health are a total fabrication."
"Mr. Jackson is in fine health, and finalizing negotiations with a major entertainment company & television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances," said Dr. Tohme Tohme, identified as Jackson's "official and sole spokesperson."
The original report quoted writer Ian Halperin saying Jackson's illness had robbed him of 95-percent of the vision in one eye and that he needed a lung transplant "but may be too weak to go through with it."
Jackson's reclusive lifestyle -- and a photo earlier this year of him being pushed in a wheelchair -- created a fertile ground for the planting of the rumor.
Tohme suggested Halperin's motive was to get attention for his book about Jackson.
"Concerning this author's allegations, we would hope in the future that legitimate media will not continue to be exploited by such an obvious attempt to promote this unauthorized 'biography,'" Tohme said.
The Sun's report attempted to bolster its source's credibility by calling Halperin "an award-winning investigative journalist" who has "written for respected Rolling Stone magazine."
Halperin's biography on his publisher's Web site claimed he was the winner of the "Rolling Stone magazine Award for Investigative Journalism."
Rolling Stone magazine responded Monday afternoon by denying Halperin ever won that honor, but did note he was on a school newspaper staff in 1985 that collectively received the "College Journalism Award" from the magazine.
Halperin has made a career writing about Hollywood scandals and the trouble lives of various celebrities, often claiming to have gone undercover to penetrate their inner-circles.
The Jackson story was off the Sun's online front page by Monday evening. Instead, the paper featured a shirtless photo of President-elect Barack Obama on a Hawaii beach with the headline: "As President Elect Goes Topless, How Do World Leaders Shape Up?"
Source: CNN
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STEP MUM SUES SINGER HOUSTON
Whitney Houston is being sued by her stepmother over a $1m (£650,000) life insurance policy left by the singer's father, who died in 2003.
Barbara Houston claims the singer was supposed to use $723,000 (£468,000) to pay the mortgage on her father's house.
The stepmother, who still lives in the house, says the remaining money should have been returned to her.
In court papers filed in Newark, New Jersey, she claims the pop star improperly kept the inheritance.
Lawyers for Houston and her stepmother refused to comment on the case.
The singer, who enjoyed huge success in the 1980s with hits including I Wanna Dance With Somebody and I Will Always Love You, has not released a studio album since 2003.
She has reportedly been working on new music to be released next year.
Whitney Houston is being sued by her stepmother over a $1m (£650,000) life insurance policy left by the singer's father, who died in 2003.
Barbara Houston claims the singer was supposed to use $723,000 (£468,000) to pay the mortgage on her father's house.
The stepmother, who still lives in the house, says the remaining money should have been returned to her.
In court papers filed in Newark, New Jersey, she claims the pop star improperly kept the inheritance.
Lawyers for Houston and her stepmother refused to comment on the case.
The singer, who enjoyed huge success in the 1980s with hits including I Wanna Dance With Somebody and I Will Always Love You, has not released a studio album since 2003.
She has reportedly been working on new music to be released next year.
Source :BBC
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