Robbie Williams takes stake in college, sings mentoring's praises

[ad_1]

LONDON (Reuters) - Pop singer Robbie Williams, a judge on Britain’s “The X Factor” television show last year, is taking a stake in a performing arts college as he looks to mentor more “jazz hand people” like him.

The singer of “Angels” and “Let Me Entertain You” will have a 20% stake in Liverpool’s LMA, which offers degrees in music, performing arts and games design.

Williams, who hails from Stoke-on-Trent, a city 56 miles (90 km) southeast of Liverpool, mentored a choir from LMA on “The X Factor” last year and said he really enjoyed the experience.

“I was looking into the eyes of all the students and I was like ‘They are me. That’s who I was and who I am’, you know, we sort of ‘jazz hand people’,” the 45-year-old singer told a news conference.

“It’s just that energy that I wanted more of and also I don’t mind saying I was surprised I was actually quite good at mentoring. It’s something that I want to carry on, in whatever capacity that is. I loved it.”

LMA’s plans include opening a new London campus next year.

Williams, a member of popular 1990s boyband Take That, will help drive LMA’s expansion in Britain and abroad.

“I’ll find out more as we go along. But I want to mentor. I want to be there. I want to find out how to teach ... I have a bit of experience in the business.”

Williams, whose wife Ayda Field was also a judge on “The X Factor” alongside series creator Simon Cowell, is working on an album and will not return to the show this year.

Slideshow (2 Images)

“I’m going to be all over the place promoting that. We wanted it desperately to work with ‘The X Factor’ but it just wasn’t (to be),” he said.

“It’s a to-be-continued because myself and Simon are good friends, our family are good friends, the kids hang out all of the time and I think it’s just a pause on the relationship,” Williams said.

“This year I’ve got to go and promote my album to death. So that’s what I’ll be doing.”

Reporting by Hanna Rantala; writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Jason Neely

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[ad_2]

Source link

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. to turn himself in after groping allegation: NBC

[ad_1]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. intends to turn himself in to New York City police after a woman accused him of groping her at a Manhattan bar over the weekend, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing Gooding’s representative.

The Oscar-wining actor plans to present himself to the NYPD’s sex crimes unit on Thursday, according to NBC News.

The woman, who has not been identified, alleged that Gooding touched her breasts at the bar on Sunday night, the network said, citing law enforcement sources.

In a video posted on TMZ.com, Gooding denied that he had groped anyone. The actor said he went to a bar, talked and took pictures with people, and left.

“I trust the system,” he said as he walked through Los Angeles International Airport, adding that there was a tape “that shows what really happened.”

Asked if “there was any groping involved,” Gooding said “no, nothing.” He also said “absolutely not” when asked if he was guilty.

Attorneys for Gooding did not immediately respond to requests for comment or confirmation.

FILE PHOTO: Cuba Gooding Jr. attends the 69th annual DGA Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., February 4, 2017. REUTERS/Phil McCarten

NYPD spokeswoman Detective Sophia Mason said she had seen the news report, but had no information on it.

Asked about the reported allegation on Monday, NYPD spokesman Detective Martin Brown said, “We don’t really have anything official to say about it other than that there’s been an allegation and that it is currently under investigation.”

Gooding won the Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1997 for his portrayal of an athlete in the film “Jerry Maguire.” In 2016, he was nominated for an Emmy for playing O.J. Simpson in the miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

Reporting by Peter Szekely and Lisa Richwine; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bill Rigby

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[ad_2]

Source link

Singer Steve Lawrence, of 'Steve and Eydie' duo, says he has Alzheimer's

[ad_1]

FILE PHOTO: Singers Steve Lawrence and Edyie Gorme pose as they arrive at " An Evening with Larry Gelbart" July 11 at The Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills. Gelbart was honored at the musuem for his contributions to the medium of television, which include writing credits on " The Bob Hope Show," " M*A*S*H," and " Caesar's Hour./File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Steve Lawrence, the 1960s-era singer and comedian who performed at nightclubs and on television with his wife Eydie Gorme, said on Tuesday he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

In a letter released by his publicist, the 83-year-old Lawrence said the disease was in its early stages and he was “being treated with medications under the supervision of some of the finest doctors in the field.”

“Fortunately, they have managed to slow down this horrific process,” he said.

Lawrence married Gorme in 1957 and together they became a staple on American late-night and variety television programs. Their playful husband-and-wife banter was a distinctive element of their performances over the decades.

“We Got Us,” the first album from the duo that came to be known as Steve & Eydie, won a Grammy in 1960. Gorme died in 2013.

Lawrence said he was “living my life, going out in public and trying to spend as much time as possible with my family and friends while I am still able to engage and enjoy.”

“I ask for your prayers, your good wishes and implore you to find the joy every day, because what I feel is gratitude, love and hope — nothing more and nothing less, and I hope you can find the same,” he added.

Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Matthew Lewis

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[ad_2]

Source link

More U.S. millennials subscribe to video games than traditional pay TV: survey

[ad_1]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More American millennials now subscribe to a video game service than to a traditional paid television service, according to a survey on Monday, as consumers favor new forms of entertainment that are shifting the broader media landscape.

FILE PHOTO: A woman plays a game on her cell phone while lying on the grass in Madrid, Spain, July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina

About 53% of people born between 1983 and 1996 now pay for gaming services, versus 51% who pay for television, according to a survey from the accounting and professional services firm Deloitte.

That is compared with Deloitte’s survey last year, in which paid subscriptions among millennials were 44% for video games and 52% for television.

Paid television through cable, satellite or fiber - for instance Comcast Corp’s Xfinity, Dish Network Corp or AT&T Inc’s U-verse TV - has been challenged by changing viewer habits, particularly the rise of direct-to-consumer streaming services.

At the same time, video games and e-sports have soared in popularity, giving rise to an industry of competitive professional and amateur games watched in person and online by fans, alongside more casual gaming on mobile phones.

Players can subscribe to games like World of Warcraft from Activision Blizzard Inc. Riot Games Inc, a unit of Tencent Holdings Ltd , is working on a streaming mobile version of its hit League of Legends desktop game.

Electronic Arts Inc offers subscriptions to its games - which include FIFA 18, Madden NFL 19, The Sims 4, Star Wars Battlefront II and more - for Microsoft Corp’s Xbox and Sony Corp’s PlayStation.

In March, Alphabet Inc’s Google unveiled Stadia, its new browser-based video game streaming service to launch this year through its cloud technology.

The same month, Apple Inc also introduced a new digital video game subscription service called Apple Arcade.

Kevin Westcott, who leads Deloitte’s U.S. telecom, media and entertainment practice, said increased game consumption comes as more people fill their spare time playing on mobile devices instead of reading and other activities.

Gaming can provide social ties and communities of fans and players.

“Gaming companies have also been developing more compelling content and interaction with their consumers,” Westcott said in an email.

Deloitte’s 13th annual digital media trends survey was fielded by an independent research firm from December 2018 to February 2019 online among 2,003 U.S. consumers.

(The story removes typographical error in paragraph 3.)

Reporting by Hilary Russ; Additional reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Lisa Shumaker

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[ad_2]

Source link

'Central Park 5' tell Oprah of pain and redemption after Netflix series

[ad_1]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The five men wrongly convicted of raping a jogger in New York’s Central Park in 1989 said on Sunday that a new Netflix Inc series about their case revived the pain from their ordeal but, for some, brought a sense of redemption.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the men who became known as the “Central Park Five” said they were grateful that the four-episode dramatic series called “When They See Us” humanized them and used their story to spotlight injustice.

“It’s bittersweet,” said one of the men, Kevin Richardson, as he sat on stage with the others. “Watching this is painful, but it’s necessary. It needs to be watched.”

The five men - Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise - were 14 to 16 years old at the time of the rape and confessed after lengthy police interrogations. The victim was white and the defendants all black or Hispanic.

Each soon recanted, insisting they had admitted to the crime under coercion from police officers. But they all were convicted and served prison terms of six to 13 years.

Their convictions were overturned, in 2002, after another man confessed to the crime and DNA tests confirmed his guilt. In 2014, they settled a lawsuit against for $41 million.

“It brought back a lot of pain,” McCray said of the series. “I thought I was over it.”

McCray, who broke into tears during the discussion, said he did not feel any sense of redemption and still suffered from the trauma of being falsely accused and imprisoned.

“Even to this day, I’m damaged. I need help. I know it,” said McCray, who added that he has rejected his wife’s request that he go to therapy. “The system broke a lot of things that can’t be fixed.”

Asked if had forgiven his father, who urged him to confess to the crime, McCray said: “I hate him. My life is ruined.”

“No, it’s not,” an audience member shouted.

The interview, part of a Netflix campaign for television’s Emmy awards, was recorded and will premiere on Netflix and on Winfrey’s cable channel OWN on Wednesday.

Slideshow (2 Images)

Salaam said he believed the series was helping people to “realize that we didn’t have to go through this. This is how the system, despite the wheels of justice, mowed us down.”

He said he used to feel like he was walking around with his head down. Now, “I’m proudly raising my head,” Salaam said to applause.

Winfrey, an executive producer of the series, said the world had known the men as “a derogatory headline for decades” but now she hoped they would be known as “the exonerated five.”

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[ad_2]

Source link

Without pop culture contenders, Tony awards audience slumps to all-time low

[ad_1]

FILE PHOTO: 73rd Annual Tony Awards - Photo Room - New York, U.S., 09/06/2019 - The "Hadestown" cast and crew pose backstage with their Best Musical award. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The television audience for Broadway theater’s Tony awards slumped to an all-time low in the absence of pop culture juggernauts like “Harry Potter” and “Hamilton.”

Nielsen data on Monday showed that just 5.5 million Americans watched Sunday’s ceremony broadcast on CBS from New York, down 20 percent from 2018 when “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” took home six Tonys and rocker Bruce Springsteen won a special award for his sold-out one man show.

It was the first time the television audience for the annual awards show that celebrates the best of theater fell below 6 million.

Sunday’s TV audience also marked a sharp drop from 2017 when viewership reached a 15-year high, fueled by the success of rap musical “Hamilton.”

In Sunday’s ceremony, “Hadestown,” about a young couple’s dark trek to the underworld, took home a leading eight awards, including best new musical. The award show was hosted by late-night talk show host James Corden.

Other winners included best play “The Ferryman,” set around the sectarian struggles in 1980s Northern Ireland, and Bryan Cranston, who played the unhinged TV anchor in the stage version of the 1976 film “Network.”

The new low in the television audience marked a sharp contrast with box office receipts on Broadway, which hit a record $1.8 billion this past season.

Ticket sales for “Hadestown” increased by more than 1,300% on Sunday thanks to the Tony exposure, online booking platform TodayTix.com said.

Sunday’s show took place against stiff competition from the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup on rival NBC, which drew 6.1 million viewers, and the much anticipated season 2 premiere on HBO of female-dominated drama “Big Little Lies” starring Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. Audience data for “Big Little Lies” was not available on Monday.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by James Dalgleish and Matthew Lewis

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[ad_2]

Source link