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Theater

Celebrity Casting on Broadway Sparks New Security Measures

Casting celebrities in Broadway plays may not be a new idea, but it is definitely a booming industry in recent times. With star like Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, James Franco and other A-listers on stage, theaters have been spending ever more time and money cracking down on flash-happy guests, hecklers and a sea of fans at the stage door.This increase is now a nightly, traffic-blocking headache for security and police that “only used to happen with, say, [Richard] Burton and [Elizabeth] Taylor,” said longtime theater director Gregory Mosher, in an interview with "The Wall Street Journal.""The River," a solemn play starring Jackman, draws so many star-struck, picture-snapping attendees that the production resorted to sending out an understudy before the show to remind them to turn off their phones. In November, Time Out New York published a guide on what not to do at the show, including “Applaud Hugh’s entrance” and “Clap after every scene.”Similarly, laughter during serious moments occurred during Franco’s run in "Of Mice and Men," changing the feel of the Depression-era drama.
By Jaime Prisco

  • Opera Star Montserrat Caballé Receives Six-Month Suspended Prison Sentence and a €240,000 Fine for Tax Evasion

    Opera star Montserrat Caballé has reached a deal with the public prosecutor in Spain to receive a six-month suspended prison sentence and a 240,000 euro — or $291,814.80 — fine for defrauding the Spanish tax office of 500,000 euros — or $607,947.50.It is unlikely that Caballé will ultimately serve any jail time for tax evasion, given that the sentence is under two years and she has no prior convictions. The Spanish soprano has already returned the defrauded 500,000 euros to the Tax Agency and signed the agreement drawn up by the public prosecutor. The document will have to be ratified before the criminal court judge to avoid the case going to trial.The 81-year-old Caballé reportedly pretended to be living most of the year in Andorra, which is a tax haven, meaning she obtained substantial reductions in her annual return for the year 2010 on earnings from her live shows and recorded albums.But in reality, she was living in Barcelona and only visited Andorra for professional reasons.Sources close to Caballé say the soprano is not in good health and rarely leaves her house.
    By Jaime Prisco

  • Bollywood Film 'PK' Battles Religious Controversy with Hindus: Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and the World Hindu Council Speak Out; Star Aamir Khan Criticized

    The new Bollywood blockbuster "PK" is brewing some serious controversy after Hindu groups have come out saying the movie insults their religious sentiments.The film has earned more than $33 million in the 10 days since it opened and shows a funny and lovable alien who lands in India and loses contact with his spaceship, but discovers that Indians are superstitious about their gods and surround themselves with all kinds of swindling Hindu religious gurus.But on Monday, Dec. 29, angry groups burnt effigies of the film’s director and actor, tore and blackened movie posters and shattered the glass walls at the movie ticket counters. Calls to boycott the movie dominated social media groups this weekend.Popular yoga guru Baba Ramdev urged Hindus to boycott the movie and “organize themselves to protect their religion and culture just like Muslim and Christian groups do.”The Vishwa Hindu Parishad — or World Hindu Council — a Hindu nationalist group and an affiliate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political party, wrote to the country’s information and broadcasting ministry demanding that such movies be stopped and called for an overhaul of the censor board that cleared "PK."
    By Jaime Prisco