NFL says no indication Beyonce show caused Super Bowl outage

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – The National Football League was still working with New Orleans officials on Monday to determine what caused the power outage at Sunday’s Super Bowl at the Superdome, so far dismissing any connection with the Beyonce halftime show.With a record U.S. television audience watching along with viewers in 180 countries, about half the stadium lights went dark early in the second...

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Zombie love story “Warm Bodies” heats up Super Bowl weekend

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Warm Bodies,” a romantic comedy featuring a warm-hearted zombie, lured teenage girls to the theater, collecting $ 20 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada to take the box office title on a weekend dominated by Super Bowl parties and football watching.Playing in more than 3,000 theaters, the odd-pairing of a pale-faced zombie with his breathing girlfriend faced little...

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CNN Temporarily Blacked Out in China During Segment on NYT Hacking

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Chinese censors temporarily blocked CNN International’s broadcasting signal Thursday night, during a segment about Chinese hackers infiltrating the New York Times’ computer network, a CNN spokeswoman told TheWrap.On Wednesday night, the Times reported that it had suffered four months of persistent cyber attacks after publishing a front-page story about the wealth amassed...

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“30 Rock” closes its doors with a sentimental farewell

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Emmy-winning TV comedy “30 Rock” bowed out after seven seasons on Thursday with bittersweet farewells but giving all its zany characters a happy ending.The satirical show-within-a-show about the inside workings of a fictional television sketch series saw Tina Fey‘s hapless writer Liz Lemon try to round up her unruly cast for a last hurrah.Along the way, unpredictable sketch...

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A Minute With: Rapper T.I. dips into comedy in “Identity Thief”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris has seen and done it all – three Grammy Awards, a novel, time in jail, a fashion line, TV reality show, businessman and several movies.Now the Atlanta-based singer is dipping into comedy, appearing in the film “Identity Thief” as an armed enforcer on the trail of a character played by Melissa McCarthy who is on the run from many of those she’s swindled.T.I.,...

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Lindsay Lohan could face jail after March trial in California

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Lindsay Lohan will stand trial on March 18 on charges she lied to California police about a June car crash and violated probation, raising the possibility she could be sent back to jail.A judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday set the trial date on charges related to the car crash and said the court will hold a hearing at the same time on whether Lohan in the incident violated...

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Justin Bieber strips down voice, heartache on ‘Believe Acoustic’

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Justin Bieber is stripping down. Musically, that is.The Canadian pop phenomenon showcases his vocal and song-writing talents with a new acoustic album, out on Tuesday, that also features three new tracks including a heartbreak ballad thought to be about his former girlfriend Selena Gomez.“Believe Acoustic” sees Bieber, 18, change up the arrangements of songs from his fourth...

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Singer Chris Brown to be questioned over alleged punch: police

(Reuters) – R&B singer Chris Brown will be questioned as part of an investigation into allegations that he punched a man during a fight over a parking space in West Hollywood, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said on Monday.Deputies responded to a call on Sunday about a fight involving six men on Santa Monica Boulevard, the department said. Witnesses said the Grammy-winning singer had...

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“Office” vets Craig Robinson, Greg Daniels sell pilot to NBC

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) – A few veterans of “The Office” have lined up their next job: Executive producer Greg Daniels, star Craig Robinson and writer-producer Owen Ellickson have sold an untitled pilot to NBC in which Robinson would play a musician who becomes a music teacher.Tracy Katsky, Howard Klein and Mark Schulman will also executive produce the single-camera comedy, which Robinson will produce.The...

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It’s a “Mini-Buble” for singer Michael Bublé and wife

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Canadian jazz singer Michael Bublé and his Argentinian actress wife, Luisana Lopilato, are expecting their first baby together, Lopilato said in a video posted to YouTube on Thursday.The video shows what appears to be an ultrasound of a fetus with the words “Mini Buble !!!” attached to the image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-Q0tUPjPDFoA written...

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Fox orders “Sleepy Hollow,” two other drama pilots

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Ichabod Crane will ride again – this time on Fox.The network has given a pilot order to an adaptation of the “Sleepy Hollow” legend from “Fringe” and “Transformers” team Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, the network said Tuesday.A modern-day supernatural thriller based on the Washington Irving tale, “Sleepy Hollow” will be written and executive-produced by Kurtzman and Orci,...

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Sundance stars sound off on gun violence in film

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The Sundance Film Festival isn’t home to many shoot-em-up movies, but action-oriented actors at the festival are facing questions about Hollywood’s role in American gun violence.Guy Pearce and Alexander Skarsgard are among those who say Hollywood shares in the blame.Pearce is in Park City, Utah, to support the family drama “Breathe In,” but he’s pulled plenty of imaginary triggers...

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Sundance 2013: Breaking Glass Pictures acquires “Amelia’s 25th,” “Silver Case”

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired the rights to “Amelia’s 25th” and “Silver Case,” the distributor announced on Monday.Neither of the films will be screened at Sundance.“Amelia’s 25th” stars Jennifer Tilly, Danny Trejo, Electra Avellan and Robert Rodriguez, who directed Trejo and Avellan in “Machete.” The film, directed by Martín Yernazian, follows the titular character...

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Inauguration offers brief pause from TV bickering

NEW YORK (AP) — The second inauguration of President Barack Obama gave television networks a chance to bask in the majesty of a Washington event that unites Americans of all beliefs and ideologies — at least for a moment.Then it was back to business as usual: the dissemination of widely divergent views on what people had just seen for themselves.ABC, CBS and NBC, along with the cable news networks,...

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Katie Couric to interview Te’o, parents about girlfriend hoax

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Television’s Katie Couric will interview Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o, the linebacker entangled in a girlfriend hoax, and his parents on her daytime talk show, “Katie,” ABC News said on Sunday.The interview will be his first on camera since news broke last week that his story about his girlfriend’s cancer death – and her existence altogether – was exposed as a fraud.The...

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Nicks, Fogerty, more join Grohl for Sundance gig

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — As Dave Grohl tool to the stage at the Park City Live, he gave the audience an expletive-laced warning: “It’s going to be a long night.”But fans were rewarded Friday night as Grohl brought out members of the Foo Fighters, ex-bandmates in Nirvana, plus John Fogerty, Stevie Nicks, Rick Springfield, and several others in a three-hour plus concert that celebrated his directorial...

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Winfrey’s Armstrong interview seen by 3.2 million

NEW YORK (AP) — Oprah Winfrey‘s interview with Lance Armstrong is more than an illustration of a hero athlete tumbling from the heights. It’s also a pivotal moment for a famous media figure trying to climb the ladder back up.Winfrey’s OWN network is showing signs of life after a rocky start, and the Armstrong interview offered a chance for many more viewers to check it out. The former Tour de France...

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McCartney re-records song for animated YouTube clip

(Reuters) – Former Beatle Paul McCartney has recorded a new version of his 1971 song “Heart Of The Country,” and directed fans to YouTube where the song accompanies an animated clip featuring his late wife Linda.“I did a new mega simple version of ‘Heart Of The Country’ for the Linda animation on YouTube,” McCartney posted on Twitter on Wednesday. The 40-second clip was posted in the United Kingdom...

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Obama calls for research on media in gun violence

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood and the video game industry received scant attention Wednesday when President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.The White House pressed most forcefully for a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines...

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Justice Sonia Sotomayor writes of life’s struggles

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a memoir to be published on Tuesday, Sonia Sotomayor writes of the chronic disease, troubled family relationships and failed marriage that accompanied her rise from a housing project in the Bronx to a seat on America’s highest court.The first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, the 58-year-old justice, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009,...

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