LONDON (AFP) - Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson flew to the rescue of holidaymakers left stranded abroad after Britain's third largest tour operator collapsed, newspapers reported Sunday.

The heavy metal hero is also a Boeing 757 pilot and flew a specially-chartered Monarch Airlines flight from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt to London Gatwick Airport.

XL Leisure Group went into administration Friday, leaving some 85,000 British holidaymakers stranded abroad.

Since then almost 12,000 people have been brought back as part of an airlift mission conducted by the aviation regulator.

"I was just doing my job. I was called out like a lot of other pilots to help and I was obviously happy to do that," The Mail on Sunday newspaper quoted rocker Dickinson as saying.

"Some of the people on the flight were obviously frustrated by the situation they had found themselves in but everyone was pretty good-natured about it all."

Dickinson, 50, said he was off to the Greek island of Kos next to rescue some more stranded holidaymakers.

The Iron Maiden frontman has been a captain with Astraeus, having worked for the British charter airline for nine years.

Dickinson has also competed in fencing at international level.

XL sponsored English Premier League football club West Ham's shirts and the east London side played with patches covering the firm's logo in their 3-2 defeat at West Bromwich on Saturday.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Britney Spears is selling herself on


No, the "Piece of Me" singer isn't hard up for cash; she's auctioning an autographed portrait of herself for a good cause.

Spears and her family donated the 5-by-4-foot oil painting to the Promises Foundation, which provides behavioral health services to low-income women and their children. The painting, titled "Mixed Media Painting of Britney Spears," was done by California artist Daniel Maltzman.

Bidding started at $10,000 and ends Sept. 20. The winner also gets a letter of authenticity from the artist and a signed ownership letter from Brit's father, Jamie Spears.

Check out the eBay listing to place your bid and see pictures of Britney with her portrait.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Simpsons" once again claimed U.S. television's highest honor for a prime-time cartoon on Saturday at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, extending the show's record winning streak.


It marked the 10th time that "The Simpsons," airing on the News Corp Ltd-owned Fox network for 19 seasons as the longest-running comedy series in prime time, was named best half-hour animated show.

The latest accolade for the hit cartoon about a lazy, slow-witted family man named Homer Simpson came during a 3 1/2-hour presentation of the 60th annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards, mostly honoring achievements in categories like makeup, costumes, sound editing and art direction.

The ceremony, which airs next week on cable TV, serves as a prelude to the higher-profile Primetime Emmys on September 21.

The single most decorated program of the evening was HBO's historical mini-series "John Adams," about the second U.S. president, which clinched eight awards. That tally accounted for half of the 16 trophies collected by HBO overall, maintaining the dominance of Time Warner Inc.'s pay cable channel in the Emmy sweepstakes.

The critically acclaimed new TV drama, "Mad Men," AMC's 1960s period piece set in the world of New York's Madison Avenue advertising industry, was the second most celebrated program of the night, and the No. 1 series, with four awards.

Emmy voters also embraced TV's more subversive side as they saluted a special installment of the satirical cartoon "South Park," a heavily bleeped video clip by comedian Sarah Silverman and the reality show starring edgy comic Kathy Griffin.

Silverman and four co-writers shared the prize for best original music and lyrics for their profane song, "I'm F---ing Matt Damon," which became an Internet sensation after the video clip of her performance aired on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

The video also won a picture-editing award.

Performed with Damon, the piece was a mock announcement to Kimmel -- then Silverman's boyfriend of five years -- that she was cheating on him with the handsome Hollywood leading man. Silverman and Kimmel broke up in July, days before the song was nominated.

Accepting the award on stage, Silverman cheekily thanked "the person for whom this whole video was made, Jimmy Kimmel, who broke my heart, ooh, ooh, who'll always have a place in my heart."

For a second straight year, Griffin's Bravo cable network series, "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," was named best reality program.

"Well, well, well. Here we are again," she said on stage, clutching her trophy. "I'm not going to tell anyone to suck it. I would make love to it if I could."

Griffin was alluding to her provocative acceptance speech last year in which she exalted, "Suck it, Jesus. This award is my god now" -- a comment that was cut from the pre-taped telecast and drew a rebuke from Emmy organizers.

Former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon was named best guest actress in a drama for her chilling role as a mother with multiple personalities accused of killing her daughters on NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." She was not present to accept her award.

Stage veteran Glynn Turman, who originated the role of Travis in the first Broadway production of "A Raisin in the Sun," won his first Emmy with the award for best guest actor in a drama for playing the father of a psychological patient on HBO's "In Treatment."

TV veteran Tim Conway claimed an Emmy for playing an old-time star on the NBC network satire "30 Rock," one of three awards that series won. And Kathryn Joosten won her second prize for her recurring role as the nosy elder neighbor Karen McCluskey on ABC's "Desperate Housewives."

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

NEW YORK - Daniel Radcliffe is talking about Alan Strang, the troubled young man he plays in "Equus," the Peter Shaffer drama now being revived on Broadway.


"The brilliant thing about Alan is that you wouldn't notice him walking down the street," says Radcliffe. "He's kind of inconspicuous. He's like Alec Guinness in all those films where he just sort of becomes invisible as soon as he walks into a crowd."

Invisible is not a word you would use to describe Radcliffe, who, at age 19, is probably one of the most recognized young actors in the world thanks to a certain boy wizard created by J.K. Rowling.

Even dressed down in jeans, black leather jacket, gray T-shirt and the slightest scruff of a beard (which does nothing to make him look much older than his nearly two decades), Radcliffe draws stares as he strides confidently through an office-building lobby.

Upstairs in a television studio, he expounds on the character of Strang, the pivotal role in Shaffer's play, which tells the tale of why this youth blinds a stable full of horses. Words pour out, youthful in their enthusiasm and surprisingly adult in their perception.

"Alan is not academically bright but he has amazing intellect," Radcliffe continues, adding that though the boy "might be considered slightly simple and gentle ... he has an incredible imagination."

"Equus" was a big hit on Broadway in 1974 with Peter Firth in Radcliffe's role and Anthony Hopkins portraying the psychiatrist who tries to unlock his secret. Hopkins' part is now being played by Richard Griffiths, who co-starred with Radcliffe in the 2007 London production of "Equus" and who portrays nasty Uncle Vernon in all those spectacularly successful "Harry Potter" movies.

Griffiths and Radcliffe are charter members of a mutual admiration society.

Says the older actor, a Tony winner for "The History Boys," of Radcliffe: "I'm really pleased with him. He's right at this awful stage of moving from being a child actor to no longer a child."

And Radcliffe returns the compliment: "To work with Richard on stage and in a much more intimate way than Vernon in the 'Potter' films is amazing. His intellect is huge. But ... he is not snobbish with the knowledge he has. He shares it and he wants to talk about it. I find him a real joy to be around. For me, it seemed I would have to be really moronic not to take the part."

But there's another reason why he has now tried theater.

"The stage is much more a test of nerve (than film) and seeing what you are made of," Radcliffe explains. "It would be very easy to do simple stuff. It doesn't really interest me that much. Even if I screw up, it's good to know what my limits are. It's good to get a sense of what I can and cannot do.

"Every actor has limits. It's sort of testing out where they are. Luckily, I haven't found them yet. I suppose the thing I've learned is that I think I am more capable than I thought I was," he says with a laugh.

In London, Radcliffe won praise from the critics and audiences for his performance, which includes a brief nude scene, a moment that undoubtedly sold a few tickets to curious "Harry Potter" fans.

"That's the thing about doing it the first time around," he says. "Everyone was wondering if I could ... pull it off. I didn't know whether I could do it (but) I really wanted to ... And I am going to get better this time around as well."

For Radcliffe, training started with his voice. For the past three years, he has worked with Barbara Houseman, a respected vocal coach in England.

"There are a lot of actors who think you can just go on stage and do it — you can't," he says. "You need to project. You can give the most amazing performance on stage but if the audience can't hear you, then it's useless."

Houseman is in New York for the show's preview performances as Radcliffe prepares for opening night at the Broadhurst Theatre on Sept. 25.

"I am a lot more confident about (my voice) being heard now. In London, that was more of a worry. Now there's room for me to do ... to play around with the words and put more color into them, sort of a musicality, to try and give every word its individual identity, I suppose.

"Maybe I am more relaxed this time. I think it's just the fact that I have grown up in the year and a half since we (last) did it," he says. "The other night I got a line wrong, which, for me, was like a dagger because I don't like doing it."

"Equus" is an emotional, disturbing play, a mystery of sorts that steadily builds to a surprising climax. How does Radcliffe unwind from all that intensity?

"I go home and watch The History Channel, which is what I have been doing the last few nights," Radcliffe says with a laugh. That's after he has waded through crowds waiting at the Broadhurst stage door for an autograph or a cell-phone photo op. It's a group Radcliffe is very much aware of.

"Credit your audiences with massive (amounts) of respect because some of these guys see 50 shows a year," he says. Radcliffe admonishes his fellow newcomers to Broadway this season to salute these ticket holders. His advice?

"When you are at the curtain call, smile," he says. "I really object to it when I am sitting there in the theater, watching actors who are in a great play — and they come out and don't smile at the curtain call. I think: 'You are lucky enough to be in a really brilliant play, now show some appreciation for the fact that you are there. Enjoy it.' We're doing 'Equus' and we smile. If you can smile at the end of 'Equus,' anyone should be able to."

Despite his new stage persona, Radcliffe will never be very far away from where he first earned his celebrity — those "Potter" films based on Rowling's seven books.

The movie version of number six, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," is already in the can and comes out in July 2009, after being bumped from November's line-up. Filming of the last "Potter" book — "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" begins after Radcliffe finishes his "Equus" run in February.

"I am sure I will be knackered but I adore filming on 'Potter,'" he says. "I can't wait to get back there."

"Deathly Hallows" will be released as two movies — one in November 2010 and the last in summer 2011. Production is expected to take about 14 months. After that, maybe more stage work.

"In 10 years time, I've no clue where I'll be," Radcliffe says. "Hopefully, still acting. If I'm still acting and still enjoying it, I will be happy. I feel pretty certain that will be the case."

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - These days, it's not unusual to find Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo and other contemporary R&B artists residing on the U.S. singles chart -- especially in its upper echelons. But that wasn't always the case.


Just ask Jerry Butler, a founding member of the Impressions. When the Hot 100 singles list debuted in 1958, the legendary Chicago soul group was breathing rarefied air as its "For Your Precious Love" settled in at No. 15. The single would eventually peak at No. 11 on the chart (and No. 3 on Billboard's Most Played R&B by Jockeys chart).

"It was difficult getting R&B records into major department stores," recalls Butler, nicknamed the Ice Man for his soulful, smooth-as-ice vocals. "Then there were (white) pop singers covering R&B hits, like Georgia Gibbs (LaVern Baker's "Tweedlee Dee," Etta James' "The Wallflower") and getting wider exposure and sales than black acts. That was the way things were in those days."

Before legendary producer Jerry Wexler, who died in August, helped coin the term "rhythm & blues" for Billboard in 1949, black singles' chart progress was chronicled in the magazine under the climate-revealing list titles Harlem Hit Parade (debuting in 1942) and Race Records (1945). But thanks to R&B groups like the Impressions and the Platters -- who ruled the top of the Hot 100 in 1959 for three weeks with "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- things slowly began to change.

Peaking at No. 6 on the Hot 100, Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" was a portent of things to come. During his career, Charles claimed 12 top 10s on the chart, including three No. 1s. Then an upstart label by the name of Motown began flexing its R&B/pop muscle. Its precursor, Tamla Records, notched its first hit with the Miracles' No. 2-peaking "Shop Around" in 1960. Four years later, labelmates the Supremes began their march to ultimate girl group glory with the first of 12 No. 1s, "Where Did Our Love Go."

With increased radio airplay and retail accessibility, R&B continued to raise its mainstream profile. Among the acts upping the ante were James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Sly & the Family Stone, the Jackson 5, Isaac Hayes, Lionel Richie and Whitney Houston.

Then Boyz II Men drove home R&B's mainstream potential in a big way. The Philadelphia quartet broke the record at the time for most weeks at No. 1 on October 24, 1992, when "End of the Road" notched its 11th week atop the singles chart. In the years since then, the genre has remained a powerful chart presence.

Reuters/Billboard

NEW YORK - Despite all the harem pants and corset tops — or maybe because of them — the spring styles previewed at New York Fashion Week received a mostly warm reception given the elephant on the runway: the down economy.Designers seemed collectively aware of the harsh times at the spring previews that ended Friday, but they had many different approaches for conquering the slump, which has hit the apparel industry hard.

Some big department-store names such as Michael Kors and Tommy Hilfiger promoted optimism with classic American sportswear. Happy, upbeat colors and styles are something retailers look for when customers are pinching pennies.

"They have to make it enticing, it has to be something the customer is going to want to add to her closet," said Ken Downing, senior vice president fashion director for Neiman Marcus.

Even with different road maps, many designers got to the same place. The dominant silhouette was easy and loose, but not messy, with a focus on casual elegance.

That meant many designers turned away from embellishment and frills. Luca Luca's new creative director, Raul Melgoza, offered bustiers and corsets, but also one-shoulder, bias-cut gowns in satin that looked liked liquid silver.

"There's a fine line of economics," he said. "I'm using luxurious fabrics but a lot less embellishment, which is very expensive to do. I'm not doing it only as a cost-cutting measure, but it doesn't hurt."

Others took the opposite approach. If you're going to spend $6,000, after all, the dress had better be special. Neither Carolina Herrera nor Oscar de la Renta pulled back on the luxurious handiwork they've made their names on.

"Last season there seemed to be a direct impact — a lot of gray, banker's strips — that all seemed to be directly impacted by all the thoughts of the economy," said Jayne Mountford, vice president of trend reporting for Stylesight, a fashion-forecasting company.

"But for spring, people are coming away from that. Designers feel they have to make very special pieces so if someone is going to spend a lot of money, they're going to get a show-stopper."

Donna Karan and Vera Wang stuck with looks that jibed with their desire to provide strong and sexy clothes to women; Ralph Lauren toned down the glitz but not the glamour, while Franciso Costa, the head designer for Calvin Klein, went with a high-concept artful look.

Narciso Rodgriguez courted a hard-core customer with a Ninja death-star print. Marc Jacobs shook up an early 20th century look in a kaleidoscope.

There were two strong palettes of the season, both rooted at the beach: natural sand colors and tropical brights, including the blue hues of the ocean.

"We love the color, we always look for color," said Downing. "We are loving the floral prints, they really speak to our customer."

Mountford, the trend analyst, identified the muse of the season as the ethereal type who loves layers. She's not so angelic, though, as she also wears toughened-up accessories. Top fashion editors were already wearing that look by the week's end, Mountford noted, stomping around in studded, lace-up high heels with their dresses.

Dresses have been the big story for several seasons, and for spring a draped, easy cut is a must-have, said Suze Yalof Schwartz, executive fashion editor at large for Glamour magazine.

"There's a return to ease and clothes you feel good in," she said "Clothes are loose but it's not about volume. This look won't overwhelm."

Pleated trousers with a relaxed shape, cuffed or rolled right above the ankle, were offered along with contemporary utility pants, made softer and more luxurious by washed silk fabrics.

Then there was the harem pant. An interpretation of a genie pant or at least a track pant with gathered ankles was on almost every catwalk.

Perhaps it was an extension of the influence that the mid-'60s to mid-'80s had on the collections. DKNY, celebrating its 20th anniversary, might have made the most obvious references to highlighter colors, miniskirts and jumpsuits, but it certainly wasn't the only one. Isaac Mizrahi's models wore visible neon unitards under glamorous gowns, and Alexander Wang, a mere baby in the decade of excess, fully embraced the vibe with crystal-studded sweats.

The first time Yalof Schwartz saw the harem pants on the runway, she thought they looked modern for a young trendsetter, she said. But after eight days she had seen too many.

"They're good for girls who didn't experience them in the '80s," she said. "For the rest of us, don't go back, go forward."

The heiress' entry into politics with a memorable Web video for FunnyOrDie.com earlier this summer may have been purely for laughs, but she's just one of many entertainers using the Internet to express views on the upcoming election.

Politics and celebrity have always been somewhat awkward bedfellows — some fans resent their favorite movie star using their fame to political ends, while most politicians welcome the glitz (and money) that can come from having a celeb in their corner.

Here are a handful of entertainers who are blogging about the race between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. (As you might have guessed, most are for Obama.)

• Gina Gershon: FunnyOrDie's latest political parody stars Gershon as McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Gershon's comedic talents have been underrated, particularly considering a classic appearance last year in "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Her impression here is good, if clearly partisan. She brags, "I only tried to ban one book."

• Jessica Alba: The actress has been blogging on MySpace (http://blog.myspace.com/jessicaalba) and recently posted about her "eye-opening experience" at the Democratic National Convention. Alba, though, isn't blogging so much about her individual views as trying to rally people to register to vote by way of the nonprofit, nonpartisan group Declare Yourself.

• Adam McKay: The film director of "Stepbrothers" and "Anchorman" has his own Web site (he co-created FunnyOrDie with Will Ferrell), but he also — like a lot of people in show business — blogs on HuffingtonPost.com. His political thoughts are always tinged with comedy, making them far more palatable than many ardent bloggers. Referring to fellow Democrats, his recent post was titled: "We're Gonna Frickin' Lose this Thing."

• Alec Baldwin: The "30 Rock" star is another prominent Huffington Post blogger. He posts roughly monthly and has a long held reputation for speaking bluntly about politics, so much so that some have speculated he might run for office someday. Baldwin's most recent post maintained that Palin is more like Pres. Bush than McCain. Baldwin is worth reading if for no other reason than because of his brashness. The same blog on Palin also included a small feud with "My Name is Earl" creator Greg Garcia.

• Lindsay Lohan: The actress-pop star has, like Alba, been making use of her MySpace blog. Earlier this month, Lohan posted a message titled "political blog" that really had more to do with Palin's pregnant teen daughter. Her observations are interesting because they reflect her own knowledge of image control. She writes, "I get Sarah Palin's views against abortion, but I would much prefer to hear more about what she can do for our country."

___

EDITOR'S NOTE — Who's your favorite celebrity blogging about the election? E-mail AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle at jcoyle(at)ap.org

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps on Thursday admitted to a case of nerves, but seemed confident he won't be a fish out of water when he makes his acting debut on "Saturday Night Live" this coming weekend.

Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at the recent Beijing Olympics, will be the guest host of the popular TV sketch comedy show when it premieres its 34th season Saturday.

"I'm probably more nervous doing this than I was swimming in the Olympics," the 23-year-old told reporters on a telephone conference call.

But Phelps said he can adapt to most everyday situations, and he hopes his real-life sarcasm will keep him afloat as he trades punch lines with the "Saturday Night Live" cast.

"The biggest thing I can tell you is that in my group of friends, I'm the most sarcastic," Phelps said about his comedic abilities.

A fan of former "SNL" funnyman Adam Sandler, Phelps said he has collected acting tips from Hollywood A-listers like Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore.

He added that the show's writers "nailed every topic" when parodying Phelps, from his calorie count to his medal count.

At Beijing, Phelps beat Mark Spitz's record seven golds for a single Olympic Games, which Spitz won at 1972's Munich Olympics. Overall, Phelps has 14 gold medals including six from the 2004 Olympic games in Athens.

(Reporting by Syantani Chatterjee; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte

TORONTO - Elizabeth Banks has what it takes to be a porn star or first lady. And she'll be strutting her stuff as both on the big-screen within a two-week span.

On Oct. 17, Banks' take on Laura Bush arrives with "W.," Oliver Stone's film biography of President Bush, played by Josh Brolin. On Oct. 31, Banks co-stars with Seth Rogen in "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," Kevin Smith's comedy about two best pals and platonic roommates who shoot their own skin flick to cover their mounting debts.

"I'm pleased that Hollywood hasn't figured out how to pigeonhole me yet, and I think having these two movies come out at basically the same time is indicative of that," Banks, 34, said in an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, where "Zack and Miri" premiered.

"I've always felt like a character actor in a leading lady's body, and Laura Bush is a very natural fit for me. I found a lot to admire about her as a woman and as a character to play. And I got really lucky in that I adore Josh Brolin, and we both approached the Bushes with the same point of view, which is that they're extremely in love and a very supportive couple, and that essentially, Laura wears the pants in the relationship, because all women wear the pants in the relationship, and he is smart enough to know that, too."

Banks also wears the pants in "Zack and Miri," or rather, the "granny pants," a pair of humongous underpants her character is caught wearing in a cell-phone video that becomes a Web hit. From there, Banks' Miri and Rogen's Zack move on to hardcore porn, certain they can sell enough copies of their amateur adult movie to pay their bills.

Tame by true porn standards, "Zack and Miri" does have some explicit nudity involving co-stars Jason Mewes and Katie Morgan. Banks was ready to show some skin herself.

"One of our first discussions was about nudity. I was like, `OK, well, what's the porn going to be?' Because even in the script, it's just like, `and they have sex,' or something. It was the bad porno dialogue, and then they do it," Banks said.

"Kevin sort of assured me that he didn't think that we would have to show a lot of my bits and parts. We'd probably cover things up and use some camera angles. But you know, I was fully prepared to go there for the movie, and Seth was, too. We were going to get naked, and it was going to be crazy and uncomfortable. Then Kevin sort of had this epiphany part way through that it would serve the movie a lot better if we just really had a romantic, beautiful sort of lovemaking session. It totally works in the movie. It's the sweetest, the most heartbreaking thing."

Banks' credits include newspaper secretary Miss Brant in the "Spider-Man" flicks, the horror comedy "Slither," the horse-race drama "Seabiscuit" and this year's romance "Definitely, Maybe." She also had a recurring TV role in "Scrubs" and co-starred with Eddie Murphy in the summer flop "Meet Dave."

Two weeks after "Zack and Miri" comes the comedy "Role Models," in which Banks co-stars with Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott. Banks previously appeared in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," which also featured Rogen and Rudd.

After Smith's first choice for Miri, Rosario Dawson, turned down the part, Rogen encouraged Smith to sign up Banks.

"It was weird that she wasn't the star of more big, huge comedy movies, because to me, she was one of the funniest people out there," Rogen said.

Shortly after production wrapped on "Zack and Miri," writer-director Smith learned that Stone had cast Banks in "W.," which went into production last May on a breakneck schedule so the film could debut before the November election.

"I thought, how ironic. A porn princess and the first lady in one year," Smith said. "It's also just fun to mark the irony in the fact that two weeks prior to getting down and dirty in our movie, she's probably not being down and dirty in the other movie."

"W." follows Bush from his Yale days through his father's term as president and on to the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq War.

Stone pulls no punches in depicting Bush's boozy younger years, but the film also captures the charisma that allowed the younger Bush to outdo his father and win re-election, Banks said.

"I personally think the audience will remember or understand again why Bush was elected twice. He is a great guy. I've met George W. Bush, and I thought he was a great guy," said Banks, who visited the White House when "Seabiscuit" screened for the president.

"He's like your friend's cool dad who's actually really interested in you and your life. He was very self-deprecating and cool and the whole nine yards when I talked with him. I totally got why if you met him, you'd be like, yeah ... I'd let that guy run the country. Cool. I think he has a good heart, and that is also in the movie."

A lifelong Democrat, Banks does not care for the job Bush has done as president. But she said most of "W." deals with the filmmakers' "best guess at what these people are like behind the scenes," not with the Bushes' public life.

"At the heart of `W.' is a great love story. It's a father-son story, and then there's this great love story, too. George and Laura, they come off like a great couple in this movie," Banks said. "They really do, and we believe that they are. I mean, you never hear a whiff of George Bush cheated on Laura Bush. Never. You hear that about every other president, but it's never even whispered.

"They are together, and I think it helps that they met late in life and married later and had trouble having kids. They were sort of like, in it together for a long time, and they've really been through some stuff. So the fact that they're still together amazes me. A lot of people say to me, `Oh, I think she's just biding her time. She's going to divorce him,' and I don't see it. I think it's going to be really interesting to see them go back to the ranch and live the life I think Laura wants to live."

LOS ANGELES - Kanye West's notoriously fickle temper boiled over Thursday, resulting in his arrest for apparently helping smash a paparazzo's camera on the floor at Los Angeles International Airport.Police arrested the music superstar shortly before 8 a.m. He and his manager, Don Crowley, were booked for investigation of felony vandalism, although prosecutors will determine what charges they might face.

West was released from police custody by Thursday afternoon. Blair Berk, who was retained as his attorney, said she couldn't comment on the incident.

Clips of the video shot by the celebrity gossip site TMZ shows West and Crowley grabbing the camera from a photographer, who is yelling "Police! Police!" and "Help me!" After they wrest it away, it appears that the manager smashes the camera to the ground, and the rapper follows by slamming down a flash.

Crowley is then seen accosting the TMZ videographer who's shooting the footage. The video camera was broken in the scuffle before security intervened, the Web site reported.

The video starts mid-confrontation, and doesn't show how it began or what might have caused it to escalate.

Los Angeles International Airport spokesman Marshall Lowe said West and Crowley were scheduled to board a flight to Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday morning. They had not yet reached a security screening checkpoint when the altercation began.

The airport is a popular spot for the paparazzi, who frequently catch shots of Britney Spears and other celebrities arriving and leaving Los Angeles.

Charles Davis, who solicits charity donations at the airport, said he witnessed the incident, and that West was "attacked" by paparazzi, and the rapper "just defended himself."

"I talk to him all the time," Davis said. "He's a very nice gentleman. Very nice. He gives good donations to help children. He's got a good, kind heart. I've gotten his autograph several times. I just don't see why he was arrested. The man just put the camera too close to his face. I don't blame him."

Davis said he didn't think the camera was destroyed.

"It was just knocked out of the man's hand," he said.

Lowe said police at the airport interviewed witnesses and that West and Crowley were then sent to a nearby Los Angeles Police Department station for booking. West left that police station in a black Chevrolet Suburban by midafternoon, shielded by umbrellas so that photographers couldn't get a shot. He did not give a statement to reporters.

West, who rocketed to stardom in 2004 with his album "The College Dropout" and follow-ups "Late Registration" and "Graduation," has become well-known for his temper tantrums, skewering everyone from MTV to President Bush while the cameras rolled.

But before the Thursday incident at LAX's Terminal 4, his many blowups had always been verbal — making headlines rather than police blotter.

West appeared at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night, which was held at the Paramount Studios lot in Hollywood. His performance of a new song concluded the show and represented a reconciliation with the network after a high-profile tiff last year.

After not winning any awards at the VMAs in 2007 despite several nominations, West declared to reporters that he would never return to MTV. The year before, he crashed the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards and unleashed an expletive-filed tirade after his video "Touch The Sky" failed to win an award.

In 2005, West famously chastised President George W. Bush during a national telethon to raise funds after Hurricane Katrina struck by saying, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

New York - A flock of limousines floated outside the Chelsea Museum on Wednesday, Sept. 10, to see Marchesa's latest collection attesting to the pulling power of Georgina Chapman, whose main claim to fame has been creating red carpet looks for the sort of people who star in her husband's, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's, films.Chapman moved away from her formulaic goddess columns and took a few risks this season, most of which worked. Like the micro wrap dress in black lace nipped at the waist with a oyster hued sash and worn over mesh petal high heels, that was nicely naughty with just the right doze of sauciness; or the one shouldered cocktail dress emblazoned with white fabric lilies that had poise and panache, or an agreeably over the top multi-layered white goddess column that would not look strange on a Paris couture catwalk.

Marchesa for Spring 2009 turned out to be a pretty impressive display of cutting and draping with a clever Chinese veneer and a decent dose of creativity. That said, from a fashion point of view, the collection, like previous shows, never seems that terribly new. Chapman's clear attempt to stretch herself did result in the odd debacle. Though many at the presentation - consisting of 23 looks posed on square white boxes - praised a faded violet chiffon ball gown saying "it was as good as Galliano," the dress appeared histrionic rather than historic.

Doubters may sneer, but Chapman is establishing her own fashion credibility, and doing so on merit and for that she deserves respect.

NEW YORK - Rob Thomas says he spends more time primping than his wife, model Marisol "She's the most stylish, but I take longer to get ready," the 36-year-old singer said Wednesday while the couple admired the Marchesa presentation at the Chelsea Art Museum in Manhattan.

"If I were more stylish, I would take less time. But I have no vision, so I have to try on everything at first to see if I want to wear it. She can tell right away what's gonna work and what's not gonna work. But I have to put on the pants, put on the shirt, put on the jacket, put on seventeen other jackets," he explained.

Thomas, whose hits include "Push," "3 A.M." and "Smooth," said he's less vain than fearful that he'll "look like an idiot."

Marisol Thomas wore a black lace dress by Marchesa, while her husband sported a suit coat and pants — and his signature shaggy haircut.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A second midseason Fox series, producer Joss Whedon's new drama "Dollhouse," has shut down production for a couple of weeks to work on scripts. Filming on "Dollhouse" stopped Thursday after wrapping episode three. It came at the request of Whedon, who had had spent little time in the writers room lately, busy directing the first two episodes of the series. Not completely happy with the quality of upcoming scripts, he asked producing studio 20th TV for a timeout.

Production on the midseason sci-fi drama starring Eliza Dushku is slated to resume September 25.

Production on another Fox/20th TV midseason drama series, "24," will be suspended next week for 18 days to do extra work on scripts.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

TORONTO (Reuters) - It's not easy being Paris Hilton, always being photographed by the paparazzi doing things as mundane as ordering a hamburger at a drive-in. "Paris, Not France," a documentary about the life and business of being Hilton debuted on Tuesday at the Toronto International Film Festival. From one perspective, it doesn't seem like much fun being a 27-year-old global celebrity.

The movie from director Adria Petty, daughter of rocker Tom Petty, shows Hilton at work on red carpets and at home with her family and friends. Petty spent a year documenting Hilton's life and came away with an insider's view.

Hilton, derided by some as a spoiled rich kid with little real talent but adored by her fans, is given largely sympathetic treatment.

"I had a conception that she might not be very smart before I met her. I didn't really go in with too many prejudices against her, but just like everyone else I wondered what she was all about," Petty said in an interview on Wednesday.

"As soon as I met her, I knew within a minute that she was a cool chick, a smart girl, and hard-working. She certainly wasn't lounging on a chaise eating cherries."

Petty said the documentary is designed not to sway Hilton doubters but to entertain. Petty wanted to make this generation's "Truth or Dare," referring to Madonna's behind-the-scenes look at her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour.

It wasn't that hard to get Hilton to talk candidly, Petty said.

"I think it was really liberating for her because I don't think she's ever been encouraged to talk about things in a candid and open way."

THE BUSINESS OF BEING HILTON

Hilton discusses her infamous sex tape, growing up in the media glare and her critics and fans. Petty follows Hilton as she promotes products that bear her name such as perfume, television shows, a book and album.

The business of being Hilton seems to carry on non-stop. In one scene, a makeup artist prepares Hilton for a public appearance -- while she's asleep.

Interviews with her parents Rick and Kathy Hilton, sister Nicky and others such as Donald Trump and feminist Camille Paglia provide commentary on the most famous member of the family that founded the Hilton hotels chain.

At Tuesday's screening, accompanied by her boyfriend, rocker Benji Madden of the band Good Charlotte, Hilton smiled. With only that gesture, a burst of camera flashes went off.

But when the lights came up after the 85-minute documentary, the pair scurried out a side door without waiting for the director's question-and-answer session that is common after public screenings at the Toronto film festival.

When Hilton emerged outside, festival volunteers linked hands to provide a human fence shielding her from fans jockeying to catch a glimpse her.

Not one to disappoint, Hilton did what she does best: stopping briefly, signing a few autographs, posing for cameras but not saying much. Then she faded into the Toronto night.

(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte and Xavier Briand)

NASHVILLE - Kenny Chesney, the Country Music Association's reigning entertainer of the year, dominated the CMA Award nominations on Wednesday with seven, including album of the year. Chesney was also nominated for entertainer of the year again, a category he has won for the past two years. Other nominees for the award included Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, George Strait and Sugarland.

"Mornings like this is where you know the music that means so much to you means something to other people, too," Chesney said.

Strait and Sugarland each received five nominations, including single of the year — Strait for "I Saw God Today," and Sugarland for "Stay."

Other multiple nominees included Paisley, Urban, Carrie Underwood and Alan Jackson.

Underwood's "Carnival Ride," Chesney's "Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates," and Jackson's "Good Time" were nominated for album of the year along with Strait's "Troubadour" and Brooks & Dunn's "Cowboy Town."

Other CMA nominees included Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts, who were on hand to reveal some of the nominees during a live announcement on Wednesday's ABC's "Good Morning America" in New York.

The 18-year-old Swift, who last year won CMA's Horizon award for upcoming acts, giggled excitedly when her name was read as a nominee for female vocalist of the year, a category that included Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Underwood, who won the award the past two years.

"I can't believe it!" Swift said. "I'm having a really good morning."

Underwood said she always hopes the music she records will touch people's lives.

"There is nothing more rewarding than to be recognized by your peers and to know your fans are enjoying the same ride," she said.

Nominees for male vocalist included Chesney, Jackson, Strait, Urban, and Paisley, last year's winner.

Rascal Flatts was nominated for vocal group of the year, an award they have claimed the past five years. Other nominees in that category included the Eagles, Emerson Drive, Lady Antebellum, and Little Big Town.

"In the same category as the Eagles!" exclaimed Dave Haywood, Lady Antebellum's guitarist, when he heard the group's nomination on TV.

"Oh, my word!" cried singer Hillary Scott.

Lady Antebellum also were nominated for new artist of the year, alongside Jason Aldean, Rodney Atkins, James Otto and Kellie Pickler.

The bulk of the nominees were announced in Nashville on the CMT network. The CMA awards are set for Nov. 12, and will air on ABC.

Besides entertainer, album of the year and male vocalist, Chesney's nominations were for single of the year for "Don't Blink;" two musical event nominations, one with Reba McEntire for "Every Other Weekend" and one with Strait for "Shiftwork;" and music video for "Don't Blink."

"We work so hard on this music, the tours, the videos. It's so much the focus of what I do, how I live," Chesney said. "It's always a thrill to see that people are not just noticing, but recognize what we're all trying to do."

Strait's fifth nomination was for musical event for his project with Chesney. He now has 75 career CMA award nominations, trailing only Jackson's 79.

Sugarland's other nominations are for vocal duo, which they won last year; musical event for "Life in a Northern Town" with Little Big Town and Jake Owen; and music video of the year for "Stay." Singer Jennifer Nettles also has a solo nod for writing "Stay," which is nominated for song of the year, a category that goes to the songwriter and publisher.

"I almost spilt my tea this morning as I was watching," Nettles said. "Being in the Entertainer Of The Year category is such an honor. We've been lucky enough to be out on the road with Kenny Chesney for a couple of tours over the last two years. Looks like rock by osmosis really does work!"

Musical partner Kristian Bush called the nominations "simply awesome."

"It is one thing to play shows every week of the year and imagine ourselves striving to become entertainers of the year and another thing altogether to have the voting members of the CMA believe that it is possible," Bush said.

New York - Max Azria - the collection - has positioned itself since its debut nearly three years ago as the premier expression of Max and Lubov Azria's vision, with more luxurious fabrics and design sensibility, whereas BCBG is the group's contemporary, youthful line.However, fabrics aside, you'd be hard-pressed to find much difference between these two Spring 2009 collections. The crowded audience included Michelle Trachtenberg, Barbara Bush, Olympic gold medalists gymnast Nastia Liukin and swimmer Ryan Lochte. In the Bryant Park tents on Tuesday, Sept. 9, the Max Azria Spring 2009 collection posited that what women really need next spring are loose, draped jersey dresses, and lots of them.

Sound familiar? After the BCBG Max Azria show on Friday morning, this concept already seemed played out. The washed out collection of very plain draped jersey and crepe dresses, some with twist hems, others with asymmetrical hems that presented a longer section of a skirt layered over a shorter layer, came in safe neutral shades. With all the sand, beige, taupe and nude on the runway you'd think you were in a showroom picking out carpet samples for a Florida condo.

Fitted, cropped leather jackets provided a structured contrast to the floating dresses, while cotton knit short sleeved sweaters and bodysuits would be great to layer under pants or a skirt for the office, if only there were some to choose from aside from the resort-like tapered silk batiste pants or in the form of a jumpsuit.

Repetitious and dull, like many other collections shown thus far in New York, it added fuel to the grumblings by many fashion week attendees about the lack of fresh ideas on the Spring 2009 runways.

TORONTO – Guy Ritchie already celebrated a milestone birthday this year: wife Madonna's 50th. So the filmmaker isn't thinking much about his own milestone birthday on Wednesday.

"I've thought less about my 40th birthday than almost any other birthday," said Ritchie, who was in Toronto to promote his new film "RocknRolla," which opens Oct. 8. "I'm not sure if that's kind of an unconscious thing. But I have no plans. So I hope someone's organizing something for me."

But don't expect a Madonna-sized bash, he said.

"I paid for Madonna's 50th," Ritchie said of his wife's party. "And unless someone's prepared to pay the same amount for mine, it's unlikely to be as big."

Besides, the writer-director has kept quiet about his big day, said Gerard Butler, one of the stars of "RocknRolla."

"He didn't tell anybody," Butler said. "I'm thinking he doesn't want anybody to know he's that old."

Ritchie still wants gifts though: "Just lots of accolade and money."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Oh boy. Another excruciating quasi-sports/game show travesty brought to us by network television.

That's what Fox's "Hole in the Wall" appears to be at first blush, and perhaps even second blush. There's the flashing lights, the dramatic music, the preening announcers, the competitors in loud colors serving up mounds of inane trash talk. All of the ingredients are in place to drive home the point that the broadcast world continues to implode before our eyes.

And then maybe four minutes in, it hits you: This is complete parody. Not unwitting parody but the genuine kind. And it kinda works. The frenzied tone spewing from the hosts drips with irony. And if you're able to lock into the Japanese-mocking vibe, "Hole in the Wall" isn't a terrible piece of comedic improvisation. The urge to vomit is quickly replaced by one to laugh.

The gimmick here in the 30-minute sneak preview (a second sneak aired Tuesday night, with the hourlong official premiere coming Thursday) involved two teams of three young male blowhards apiece -- one trio toned and fit (the 6-Packs) and a second flabbier and more couch potato-esque (the Beer Bellies). They're dressed in shimmering jumpsuits and attempt to mold their bodies to fit through oddly shaped holes in a Styrofoam wall moving toward them, requiring equal parts contortion and dexterity.

If they're unsuccessful, they're knocked back into a pool of water. Points lead to money and crazed gloating. Each challenge is prefaced with a dramatic electronic countdown and announcer Mark Thompson's triple-entendre intonation, "It's time to face the hole!"

Given the network this on , it's surprising that the dunk pool isn't packed with piranhas. Instead, it's stocked with shame -- but the fun kind. "Hole in the Wall" is an utterly ridiculous waste of time that's worth a glance anyway because it appears to understand just how truly idiotic it is. And there's something vaguely noble about swaggering in brazen celebration of one's own self-deprecating joke.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

TORONTO – Joel and Ethan Coen know their idiots.

They've written every sort of bonehead, nitwit and lamebrain imaginable in both comic and tragic form in such films as "Raising Arizona," "Fargo," "The Big Lebowski" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Yet they may have topped themselves for siring simpletons with the dark comedy "Burn After Reading," which stars usual Coen suspects George Clooney, Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins and new pals Brad Pitt, John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton.

They're like the Hole in the Head Gang, this bunch that blunders its way through the motions of a spy game touched off by a missing computer disc with some modestly sensitive CIA secrets.

It's a farcical about-face from the Coens' last film, the bleak "No Country for Old Men," which dominated the 2007 Academy Awards, the Coens winning for best-picture, director and adapted screenplay.

Does the Coens' penchant for dopes say anything about what they think of humanity as a whole?

"Jeez, I don't know," Ethan Coen, 50, says in an interview alongside his brother with The Associated Press a few hours before "Burn After Reading" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. "It's a fair characterization of these characters, but boy, bringing it to real life is kind of a strange thing. You don't go around thinking about how characters in a movie, in the stories you make up, relate to people in general."

"Right," Joel Coen, 53, continues. "I don't think we would draw or extrapolate anything from those things into generalizations about people or how we feel about people."

The Coens say dummies often just make for good characters and stories.

In this case, they settled on a group of actors they wanted to work with and kicked around ideas for a story that would hold them all. McDormand, Joel Coen's wife, has worked frequently with them since their debut feature, "Blood Simple," winning the best-actress Oscar for "Fargo."

Clooney and Jenkins each had worked with the Coens on two previous flicks, while the brothers had long wanted to direct Pitt and Malkovich.

The Coens wrote five of the six main characters in "Burn After Reading" specifically for those actors. Swinton, who won last year's supporting-actress Oscar for Clooney's "Michael Clayton," was cast in the remaining role.

The actors eagerly signed on to work with the Coens.

"You hate to sort of just sit around praising people. It sounds like, I don't know, you're running for office. But I think for most actors, they're sort of dream people to work for," Malkovich says. "They're highly accomplished, very nice, fun to be around, kind, they have kind of a Midwestern reserve and nice detachment from who they are. It's just really a pleasure."

The Coens are a little hazy on the order in which they came up with the film's strange confluence of Washington's intelligence community and the world of physical fitness, but Joel Coen says an early idea was casting Malkovich as a CIA analyst who loses his job.

From there, they thought about how to cross his path with ordinary citizens in Washington and came up with the notion of McDormand as a gym worker obsessed with reinventing herself by plastic surgery, a la Linda Tripp, a key figure in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Pitt's character became McDormand's chuckle-headed co-worker and ally, Jenkins the moon-eyed boss silently smitten with her, Clooney a federal marshal and sex hound sleeping with Swinton, who's Malkovich's ice queen of a wife.

To quote Clooney in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", the whole bunch is "just dumber than a bag of hammers."

A disc containing CIA material Malkovich's character is using to write his memoirs falls into the hands of Pitt and McDormand, who set out to blackmail him with all the panache of the Keystone Kops.

"The dynamic in this movie, for instance, between Fran and Brad, we can compare to like a Laurel and Hardy movie, where both characters are really idiots, but by common consent between the two of them, one of them has decided that the other one is smarter. There's a little of that in `O Brother,'" Joel Coen says. "So that how people perceive who the alpha leader is or the smarter one is, that can be very funny or interesting to reflect on."

Ethan Coen compares that dumb-and-dumber factor to experiences they've had on commercials and advertising shoots.

"Sometimes it's good, and you can do kind of fun stuff that's interesting, and sometimes you're in a situation where people are sitting around talking about a bunch of completely idiotic ideas," Ethan Coen says. "And you couldn't choose one from the other because they're all totally idiotic, but somehow a consensus forms in the group that this one is the right one. It's bizarre."

Also bizarre is much of the action the Coens put their characters through. Clooney, whom Joel Coen says shares their "puerile sense of humor," is set to work at a secret project in the basement: Building an intricate sex apparatus as a gift for his character's wife.

Joel Coen said the sex machine had two inspirations: A contraption he once saw made by a movie grip and another displayed at the Museum of Sex in New York City. The Coens offered to take Clooney to the museum to show him the device.

"George said, `That's all I need is to be seen coming out of the Museum of Sex with you guys,'" Joel Coen said.

Lately, the Coens have wasted no time moving on to their next projects. They already had shot "Burn After Reading" when they collected their trophies at last February's Oscars, and they began shooting another film Monday in their home state, Minnesota.

Starring a cast of comparative Hollywood unknowns led by stage actor Michael Stuhlbarg, "A Serious Man" centers on the domestic strife of a college professor in a Midwest Jewish community in 1967.

"It's a `warmedy,' it's a `Table for Five' kind of thing," Ethan Coen says, slyly adding, "It's our `warmedy.'"

Approaching stories in their own twisted way remains the Coens' routine, even though they have edged from the fringes of cinema into the Hollywood players club.

Their Oscar triumph on "No Country for Old Men" hasn't changed a thing, they say.

"No, no, no," Ethan Coen says. "It's a weird thing. It might have if it had been, like, on our second movie, but we're just frankly, we're just kind of set in our ways. ... We're just old."

"Age does play into it in the sense that if you stick around long enough, if you stick around and survive in any business long enough, you get a creeping and creepy feeling a little bit, after a while, that you've somehow entered the establishment of that world," Joel Coen says. "Nobody likes to necessarily think of themselves in that way.

"The Oscars are sort of just another aspect of having stuck around long enough, and that's sort of confirmation of the fact that you're part of the establishment as opposed to part of the outside. There are good things and bad things about that, as you can imagine, and there would be in any business. But mostly, it's a good thing in the sense that when your ambition is to be able to keep doing what you want to do the way you want to do it, that kind of attention and confirmation from the business is great. It can only be helpful."
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LONDON, Ontario – British band Oasis has postponed its concert in London, Ontario, after a fan attacked and injured guitarist Noel Gallagher.

A statement on the band's Web site says Gallagher had bruises on his ribs and hip and was unable to perform Tuesday.

Gallagher was injured Sunday after a man ran onto the stage during a performance at the Virgin Festival in Toronto. While playing the song "Morning Glory," Gallagher was pushed from behind and fell onto his monitor speakers.

Daniel Sullivan, 47, of Pickering, Ontario, has been charged with assault and is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 24.

The London, Ontario, show has been rescheduled for Dec. 15. The band's next performance is set for Friday in New York.

NEW YORK – If you think the easy, loose styles that have dominated New York Fashion Week mean a return to comfort, don't hold your breath: The corset is back.

The cinched-waist style proved a staple from designers on Tuesday, offsetting the draped, beachy look so popular on the runways this week.

Monique Lhuillier paired the structured corset with sheer tulle overlays, while other designers went for more Pussycat Doll-like black leather or something more sophisticated under a suit jacket. Corsets were also shown by Betsey Johnson, Peter Som, Luca Luca, Proenza Schouler, Isaac Mizrahi and the ever-constricting Herve Leger.

New York Fashion Week runs through Friday, with more than 100 runway shows over eight days.

BETSEY JOHNSON

Betsey Johnson is a never-say-never designer. Don't tell her she can't put giant hoop skirts on the catwalk and don't tell her she can't wear a Peter Pan get-up on the runway. And certainly don't tell her she can't have fun or let the models crack a smile.

Johnson is the rare designer who puts the emphasis on the show, not the fashion, yet the Neverland-themed spring collection had some adorable styles once you peeled away the theatrics.

She wouldn't want you to do that, though. Then you'd miss the jokester pirate who mingled with models or her signature finale cartwheel. On the runway, it was hard to distinguish costumes from what would pop up in stores, but some of the Little Bo Peep dresses would make great sundresses if you took the hoops out.

HALSTON

Halston's 1970s-inspired dresses certainly fit in with the unfussy, but not messy style popular at New York Fashion Week. The models lounging on couches at the Museum of Modern Art looked as if they'd be the most chic at Studio 54.

There was a sexy one-shoulder orange gown with a bare back and attached scarf and another one-shoulder gown that looked as if the azure-blue fabric was draped so perfectly it seemed seamless.

The problem is, Studio 54 is a retro icon — that's now out of business.

A too-heavy reliance on the classic Halston look was the same criticism of the fall collection presented in February with much fanfare as the comeback of the legendary label.

DEREK LAM

There's a reason Derek Lam gets the fashion crowd to trek across Manhattan in the rain: His clothes are worth it.

A dominant theme emerging from New York Fashion Week is casual elegance, but few have done it with such a chic and refined touch as Lam. The first looks on the catwalk, including an easy nude-colored jersey tunic with a self-tie belt over cropped jersey pants and a georgette jumpsuit in the same sexy color, set the tone.

Lam wasn't completely without misses, though, including his version of the must-have genie pant. It seemed too trendy and a little out of step with a collection that mostly excelled in updated classics.

MARC BY MARC JACOBS

Leggings, high waists and other remnants left of the 1980s: you've had your heyday. Now it's time for the 1990s.

Marc Jacobs kicked off the spring 2009 show for his younger, less expensive line with a selection of muted florals and stripes in rumpled fabrics, not unlike something you might have seen on the cool kids almost 20 years ago.

The collection seemed to pay homage to the time by culling its fashion from every walk of life: the farm and its worn washed-out khakis, suburbia and its preppy stripes and tweeds, and urban wear with military-inspired jackets and bright purple and red jumpsuits. The looks were unified by the presence of a belt, or several.

The best looks were the fun day dresses for which the Marc by Marc Jacobs line is known. A blue and white striped organza dress was screaming Miley Cyrus' name. Appropriately enough, she was born of the same decade.

LUCA LUCA

A new creative director for Luca Luca doesn't mean a drastic new direction. In his runway debut on Monday, Raul Melgoza captured the shapely spirit of Luca Orlandi's woman, but with even more emphasis on cut, fit and luxe fabrics.

The designer turned to the bustier for a sexy, lean silhouette, and most of clothes were in cool tones of white and gray, including one-shoulder, bias-cut gowns in satin that looked liked liquid silver.

Melgoza said he prefers to focus on long-lasting designs instead of trends, and that's why he puts so much effort into creating the perfect silhouette instead of adding bells and whistles.

RODARTE

Rodarte captured an earthy, space-agey feel on the runway Tuesday — and no, that's not an oxymoron.

The looks included leather fishnet-like leggings and tops with flesh revealing holes. There were beiges and tans to represent earth elements, like sand and erosion, and colors like metallic blue and black for outer space.

Kate Mulleavy, part of the sister duo behind Rodarte, said they were inspired by space-age movies and environmental art like the Spiral Jetty, along with fossils: "So we tried to do things that were skeletal."

The show included outfits like a blue and black knit skirt matched with a short-sleeved holey sweater over a black bandeau. A tan linen skirt with sequins underneath for a slight shimmering effect was paired with a thready shell.

MATTHEW WILLIAMSON

Retailers often say they want to see bright color in fashion — it makes the shoppers happy. There should have been some smiles on the faces of the buyers at Matthew Williamson's show.

Shades of pink, blue, purple and green exploded on his runway, including a spin-art print on a sexy jumpsuit and a long dress with a beaded neckline. There also was a beaded jacket with an Art Deco feel but the embellishment was in Day-Glo colors.

Some designers have said they'd shy away from a lot of beads, sequins and other sources of shine because they're expensive and maybe not ideal for a down economy, but Williamson apparently sees no better time to jazz up his collection.

CYNTHIA STEFFE

"Wearable" isn't a buzzword you hear after every fashion show, but the models on the Cynthia Steffe catwalk could have just kept going through the Bryant Park tents and onto the street.

The dresses were probably the highlights: A green smocked-waist, boatneck dress would be perfect for cocktails or a daytime wedding, and a khaki "utility" dress with a ruched waist and zip front could go just about anywhere. There also was a group of three tiered white dresses with ruffled necklines — each a different length — that looked lovely.

GOTTEX

Gottex's 69 looks, separated into different sunbathing themes, differed in color, style and material, but all said the same: Broadway at the beach.

The extravagant display of St. Tropez theatrics, apparent in the opening nautical theme that featured gold anchors, sailor collars or gold ribbon trim, showed women that the beach was a place to be a character — in particular one who doesn't get wet, and doesn't tan either (the cutouts and spiderwebs of ribbon would leave strange lines).

The standouts were the simplest and most modest of suits: a group of black bikinis, one-piece bandeaus, and halter tops trimmed with 18-karat gold ribbon.

___

Associated Press writers Amanda Kwan and Megan K. Scott contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Julie Andrews has earned her wings. The actress will join Dwayne ("The Rock") Johnson and Ashley Judd in the family comedy "Tooth Fairy."

Also on board are "Extras" star Stephen Merchant, who also co-created "The Office," and pro skateboarder Ryan Sheckler (MTV's "Life of Ryan").

The 20th Century Fox film centers on Derek Thompson (Johnson), a minor-league hockey player whose nickname is the Tooth Fairy because of his ability to knock out opposing players' teeth. Judd plays his girlfriend.

When he discourages a youngster, Derek is ordered to one week's hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with wings, magic wand and frilly tutu. Along the way, he rediscovers his forgotten dreams.

Andrews will play Lily, a high-ranking, acerbic supervisor with the Tooth Fairy Department charged with overseeing Derek's stint as a tooth fairy. The 72-year-old British screen icon was last seen in the 2004 "Princess Diaries" sequel.

Merchant plays Tracy, a socially awkward, low-level tooth fairy who has not yet earned his wings but is assigned to be Derek's case worker and trainer.

Sheckler plays arrogant young hockey player Mick Donnelly, who makes a pit stop in the minor leagues before heading to the NHL and treats Derek like a has-been.

Filming is set to begin in October in Vancouver with Michael Lembeck (the "Santa Clause" sequels) directing.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The new fall season is upon us. Here's what to watch on television in September TUESDAY, SEPT. 9

Fox's "Fringe" airs "remote-free"

The highly anticipated new J.J. Abrams drama is Fox's experiment in "remote-free TV," running with about half the usual number of ads per episode. That could please viewers and advertisers alike. If not, the network will shrug, confident that "American Idol" will still kick everybody's butt come January.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 13

"SNL" launches 34th season

With politics-minded "Saturday Night Live" bound to shine this year, the franchise has finally earned the honor NBC bestowed on "Deal or No Deal" and "The Office": overexploitation. Next month, a batch of spinoff "Thursday Night Live" specials will zero in on the election; bet on "SNL" alum Tina Fey returning to mimic her new doppelganger, GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 18

"Survivor" vs. "Hole in the Wall"

CBS' "Survivor" will be challenged by the Japanese-inspired "Hole," which could benefit from the success of ABC's similar "Wipeout." Expect critics who once trashed "Survivor" as the end of Western civilization to defend it against Fox's end-of-Eastern-civilization newbie.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 21

Emmy Awards prediction

A little basic cable network's period drama ("Mad Men") might teach the big boys a thing or two about getting academy attention. The next day, broadcasters will console themselves when Emmy ratings are about the same as a little basic cable network's period drama. (Oh, and nobody will believe it when Howie Mandel wins for best reality host.)

MONDAY, SEPT. 22

NBC's "Heroes" returns

This sci-fi hour is one of many returning shows whose previous season was derailed by the Hollywood writers strike. Now networks will get a sense of how much those eight months on the shelf really cost. Meanwhile, showrunners will blow their hard-fought new-media earnings on a bag of Skittles.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 24

CBS launches Wednesday comedy block

Introducing a new comedy called "Worst Week" during Premiere Week is not a good omen for CBS. But the network wants to open a second comedy block that includes "Gary Unmarried," a Jay Mohr vehicle originally called "Project Gary." Maybe "Worst Night" would be a better title given the odds for success.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 25

"Grey's Anatomy" is back

After Katherine Heigl withdrew herself from Emmy consideration because she was not "given the material to warrant" a nomination, speculation had it that the show's writers would get revenge on her character, Izzie, in this season's scripts. Showrunner Shonda Rhimes says there's no beef. But if Izzie trips in front of a steamroller, maybe they're miffed after all.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26

McCain vs. Obama

The debate, from the University of Mississippi, will be the first time voters can watch the two presidential candidates spar. Usually such affairs are aired as a wearisome network obligation. But considering that Barack Obama's Democratic nomination acceptance speech drew 38 million viewers, the typically depressed Friday night ratings likely will get their biggest spike since the Beijing Olympics.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 28

Showtime shows off

Showtime is gunning for HBO, scheduling the returning seasons of "Dexter" and "Californication" up against its new vampire drama "True Blood" and "Entourage." Couldn't the pay network pick another night of the week besides Sunday? Showtime is like the guy who comes into an otherwise empty movie theater and sits right next to you.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

TORONTO (Hollywood Reporter) - Arthouse studio Fox Searchlight has acquired U.S. rights to Darren Aronofsky's acclaimed Mickey Rourke drama "The Wrestler," days after it won the top prize at the Venice International Film Festival. The deal, reported to be in the $3.5 million-$4 million range, was sealed at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film screened for eager buyers.

The News Corp-owned studio plans a December release that will seek to capitalize on the momentum of both Toronto and Venice, where "Wrestler" won the Golden Lion award on Saturday.

An all-night negotiating session that included Overture, Senator and Lionsgate came to a head around 5 a.m. Monday, as it became clear that filmmakers wanted to go in the Searchlight direction. The deal was finally closed at about 11 a.m.

After a relatively quiet year, the studio behind such recent hits as "Juno" and "Little Miss Sunshine" now has two significant acquisitions that it didn't have just several weeks ago. The other is Danny Boyle's gritty but moving "Slumdog Millionaire," a coming-of-age tale involving a competition on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

The film, which Searchlight is distributing in a partnership with Warner Bros. coincidentally premiered opposite "The Wrestler" on Sunday.

These two, as well as another Toronto crowd-pleaser, "The Secret Life of Bees," ensure that Fox Searchlight should become a major player in the fall box office race and the awards competition.

While lauding Fox Searchlight's two acquisitions, several executives in Toronto raised questions about the speed with which it can ramp up both release and awards campaigns. Searchlight has a lighter schedule this year in general, but putting together three time-intensive marketing and awards drives in one season would tax the staff of any boutique operation.

On the other hand, Searchlight has experience juggling multiple winners -- in 2006, for example, it shepherded "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Last King of Scotland" to major Oscar wins.

Meanwhile, Searchlight is planning a very limited start for "Slumdog" in November -- with the option of expanding up to 1,000 screens quickly if the film immediately catches on.

The backstory to the "Slumdog" acquisition is almost as colorful as the plot of the movie itself.

It started as a Warner Independent Pictures project, but its future was thrown into question when the specialty firm was shut down by its Time Warner parent this year. Fearful that his passion project would fall between the cracks, Boyle and his producers sprang into action. The director apparently reached out to News Corp. president and COO Peter Chernin, with whom Boyle had a relationship through such films as "The Beach" and "A Life Less Ordinary."

The deal for the film is unusual: Fox Searchlight did not buy out Warner's position in the movie but instead will split the financial upside 50-50; Searchlight will release the film and will make all strategic decisions.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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ROME (Reuters) - Pop star Madonna, once accused by the Vatican of staging one of the most satanic shows in history, dedicated her hit "Like a Virgin" to the pope at a sold-out concert in Rome over the weekend.
"I dedicate this song to the pope, because I'm a child of God. All of you are also children of God," Madonna, 50, told the 60,000 fans that flocked to the Italian stop of her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour on Saturday.

Italian newspapers gushed over the singer's electric performance and called the dedication a surprising provocation.

"At the Roman leg of her tour, Madonna didn't miss the opportunity for a provocation that will certainly be discussed," Italy's top newspaper Corriere della Sera said in a front-page report.

Madonna, who comes from a devout Italian Catholic family, has raised the ire of the Catholic Church in the past with sexually charged antics designed to shock.

In 2006, she staged a mock-crucifixion at a concert in Rome to the backdrop of accusations from the Vatican of blasphemy.

The Vatican also condemned her controversial 1989 video for the song "Like a Prayer" that featured burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus.

The Vatican later panned a show where she decked the stage out with religious imagery as one of the most "satanic shows in the history of humanity."

(Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by Ralph Boulton)

NEW YORK - Mellow, beachy colors of ocean blue, marigold yellow and hibiscus pink dominated the runways Monday at New York Fashion Week.
You were expecting black?

Designers tried to lighten a dour national mood for their spring collections with a sunny evolution of the popular fall colors of eggplant, mustard and midnight blue. For spring, they're relying on lighter lilac, marigold and teal.

Carolina Herrera added a dash of persimmon (reddish orange) mixed with graphic black and white, pairing a soft, ethereal look with something more crisp.

"When the economy is not that good, we need to achieve, to do something even more special," Herrera told The Associated Press. "Women who buy your clothes have to be attracted with something so special that they need to have it."

But the closely watched Marc Jacobs went his own way for his runway show Monday night, rejecting the tropical and graphic trends for an early 20th century-inspired collection rooted in navy and red.

MARC JACOBS

Marc Jacobs is leading the fashion pack again by going further back than anyone else — back to the early 20th century — to find inspiration.

Jacobs lined his runway with glass panels that had the effect of fun-house mirrors for a packed house that included Jennifer Lopez, Victoria Beckham, Nicole Richie and Winona Ryder.

Jacobs is considered the bellwether American designer; the harem pants that are so popular on the catwalk this week were in his collection back in 2006.

That could mean that it won't be uncommon in a few years for women to be back in bustles and apron-style dresses a la Eliza Doolittle. Of course, these are the modern incarnations — in metallic fabrics and worn in wild mix-and-match combinations.

He also offered waistcoats, back-wrap skirts with ruffles, menswear suit pieces, gaucho pants, draped striped gowns and a stunning black satin cocktail dress with a braided belt.

CAROLINA HERRERA

At Carolina Herrera, the air and the runway were filled with feelings of civility, sophistication and luxury.

The brand favored by A-lister Renee Zellweger, who was in the audience, consistently plays the chic, well-heeled woman who has little interest in trends. Yet the lovely dresses with organza overlays or delicate ruffles played into the casual elegance that has been a strong theme at Fashion Week.

The palette of hibiscus pink, marigold yellow, teal blue and persimmon mixed with graphic black and white also falls in line with what's been popular with other designers.

"In a season that could turn out tricky, her feminine sensibility looked fresh and beautiful," observed InStyle fashion director Cindy Weber Cleary.

PROENZA SCHOULER

What looks silly on one fashion runway can be stunning on another, as Proenza Schouler proved. The harem pants and jumpsuits that looked gimmicky at other shows were fantastic here.

These were definitely black-tie outfits, practically works of art mimicking the Deco era. They were covered in sequins — one was black and white, another silver and another all black with strategically placed cutaways — that created an optical illusion of movement if the light hit them right.

Maybe designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, largely considered the most influential of the young designers, were aiming for a statement about the old industrial era meeting the technology-fueled future: Other looks had wide, stiff shoulders that one would expect on the costumes of a sci-fi movie, paired with interesting shoes with heels that looked like they were made of spare machinery parts.

ISAAC MIZRAHI

Inspiration comes from all sorts of places — Isaac Mizrahi took his from the insect world. The collection named "Swarm" had dresses in the spirit of dragonflies, beetles, even cockroaches.

Mizrahi had his tongue in cheek working on these outfits, but he also offered some serious fashion, including a draped gown covered in orange pailettes — the glitterpillar — and the white-on-while jacquard leopard-moth sheath dress. The white beetlebride gown, with a wrap-style top and full white ballskirt, would look stunning at a garden wedding.

But then there were the shapeless, unfortunate dresses named pupas.

PETER SOM

Peter Som's spring runway was a closet full of clothes for the young and beautiful set. The collection was an even mix of tropical colors and neutral earth tones, resortwear and cocktail dresses.

Som mixed textures — an organza shirt with tweed skirt, and a shiny linen taffeta dress — which gave the overall impression of chic clothes without stuffiness. Corset-style tops with fuller, flirty bottoms also provided some playfulness.

In an interview, Som described the look as his signature of "quirkily romantic dressing and relaxed elegance" — and moving it to the desert. Many of the best looks, however, must have come from Som's oasis: beautiful hues of ocean blue, including lagoon, aqua and azure.

MISS SIXTY

Miss Sixty's collection hit on many of the major trends to emerge so far at New York Fashion Week: rompers, harem pants, one-shoulder tops, miniskirts and loose, easy outfits.

The line called New Urban Superheroes debuted Sunday night in front of a crowd that included actress Blake Lively, as well as stylists, editors and retailers.

Designer Wichy Hassan, in an interview, said he was experimenting with some more grown-up looks: "In the collection of Miss Sixty, there's always hippie styles but for next season it's a little more elegant, a little more chic."

In other words: This was a Miss Sixty inspired by the more worldly and luxe 1970s instead of the bohemian 60s.

THAKOON

The looks on the Thakoon runway had a playful — but sophisticated — naughtiness to them, with prints like lipstick kisses and false eyelashes and chiffon gowns with pleated bodices.

Skin colors such as nude, buff and beige were punctuated with textured black, deep red and bougainvillea. The lipstick kisses were subtle, like a sheer nude kisses trench coat with a tulle fringe. And rose prints were featured on several of the dresses, such as a rose print seamed dress with dark ribbon trim.

Designer Thakoon Panichgul designed the printed dress that Michelle Obama wore the night her husband accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention. "Seeing it was magical," he said.

TRACY REESE

Tracy Reese's garden blossomed early. The best outfits of her spring collection were done in florals, especially a pale oleander-rose print used for a one-shoulder slip dress covered with appliqued flowers that served as the runway finale.

Other outstanding looks presented Sunday to an audience that included Sanaa Lathan and Brandy were a chrysanthemum lantern skirt with a soft drape matched with a nectarine-colored knit T-shirt with ruffled cap sleeves and strapless garden-print top with a double peplum that was worn with green eyelet trousers.

Furthering the good girl-bad girl theme that has been popular in the early going of Fashion Week, Reese offered an ideal leather-and-lace ensemble: a taupe-colored buttery leather jacket with appliques and a lace tiered skirt.

LELA ROSE

Lela Rose borrowed draping techniques from the headdresses of the African Mende tribe for dresses that blurred the line between funky global styles and cocktail attire for uptown girls.

One of the most interesting things to emerge from her runway show Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was a print Rose called "heat map" and looked like a satellite photo on Google Maps. It was an attractive navy and red print but also seemed like a social commentary about the world getting smaller.

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Associated Press writer Megan K. Scott contributed to this report