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REUTERS - Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie said on Tuesday that she had undergone a preventive double mastectomy after finding out she had a gene mutation that leads to a sharply higher risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.

Jolie (pic), writing in the New York Times, said her mother's death from cancer at 56 and the discovery that she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation led to her decision out of fears she might not be around for her six children.

"We often speak of 'Mommy's mommy', and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me," wrote Jolie, 37, in the editorial My Medical Choice.

"I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a 'faulty' gene," she added.

Her doctor estimated that she had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer.

"Once I knew this was my reality, I decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy," she said.

Three months of surgical procedures were completed at the end of April, throughout which Jolie continued to work. She said her partner, Brad Pitt, was by her side throughout, and thanked him for his love and support.

She said she was revealing her decision to help dispel the shadows that still hang over cancer and to enable other women to get testing and make informed treatment choices, as she had.

"The decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy to have made," she said, adding that her chances of developing breast cancer had dropped from 87 percent to 5 percent.

Spokesmen for Jolie and Pitt, one of Hollywood's biggest power couples, were not immediately available for comment.

Jolie, who won a best support actress Oscar for her work on Girl, Interrupted in 1999, is raising six children with Pitt. The couple got engaged last year.

REUTERS - Broadcast networks Fox and NBC are turning to proven favorites to lure new viewers next season, with Fox rebooting the defunct Kiefer Sutherland action series 24 and NBC bringing back Michael J. Fox in a comedy loosely based on his life.

The two networks pitched their TV schedules to advertisers on Monday at the start of the "upfront" selling season, an annual rite when broadcasters try to persuade advertisers to shell out billions of dollars in advance for their new shows.

Fox is suffering from a 20 percent decline in the audience for once-unbeatable singing contest American Idol, while NBC has been trying to climb out of the ratings cellar for years.

Prime time ratings at News Corp-owned Fox slumped 16.7 percent this year, according to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media and based on viewing the day the show airs.

Viewership at Comcast-owned NBC remained flat this season while that of its rivals declined. NBC is so far in third place this year among total viewers based on same-day viewing.

At a presentation at New York's Radio City Music Hall, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt highlighted The Michael J. Fox Show, a new semi-autobiographical comedy about a father with Parkinson's disease. Fox starred on NBC in 1980s sitcom Family Ties.

The network also announced Will & Grace star Sean Hayes will return in Sean Saves The World, a sitcom about a divorced gay dad, and trumpeted its Winter Olympics broadcast in February. It plans 17 new shows throughout next season.

Bringing back former stars is no sure thing. Fox has not starred in a lead role since Spin City went off the air 12 years ago. Hayes' Will & Grace ended its run in 2006.

Greenblatt said NBC's performance needs to improve.

"We have no illusions about how much work is ahead of us in order to grow our business," Greenblatt told advertisers at the presentation, where the network's own stars poked fun at NBC's shortcomings.

Jay Leno, who will be replaced by comedian Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in early 2014, joked in a video duet with Fallon.

"Who knows? We may beat Univision," Leno sang. NBC lost the February sweeps ratings period this year to Spanish-language network Univision.

Fallon told the crowd to send any complaints about the late night schedule to Greenblatt and flashed an authentic email address for the NBC executive on the screen.

Attendees at NBC's event said they were impressed with the glimpses of the Michael J. Fox comedy as well as drama The Blacklist, which stars James Spader as one of the FBI's most-wanted fugitives.

"Blacklist stood out to me. I thought it was high drama," said Greg McLelland, vice president of national sales for Canadian firm Shaw Media.

JACK IS BACK

On Fox, the network is turning to one of its former heavyweights, Sutherland, for a limited run in May of its popular thriller 24, with 12 episodes that represent 24 hours. The original show ran on Fox for eight seasons ending in 2010, when its average audience had declined from a high of more than 13 million to roughly 9 million.

Fox unveiled five new comedies and four dramas. They include Dads, the first live-action comedy from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, and drama Almost Human, from J.J. Abrams, creator of Lost.

Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly told reporters the network was making its "biggest investment" to date in programming but declined to comment on the amount.

Reilly said it was likely American Idol would feature three judges next year rather than four. Last week, veteran judge Randy Jackson said he would be leaving the show after 12 years.

During the Fox presentation at New York's Beacon Theater, Emmy winner Greg Kinnear took to the stage to promote his new legal drama Rake. Reilly pitched upcoming miniseries Wayward Pines starring Matt Dillon and directed by filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.

Wall Street analysts expect broadcast networks to have to settle for lower ad rate increases than they have enjoyed in recent years.

Average prime time ratings this season have declined 7.5 percent at the four broadcast networks as they compete with cable hits like The Walking Dead and Duck Dynasty, and streaming services like Netflix Inc.

Netflix, in a bid to shift attention from the broadcast networks, sent a man in a banana suit to give out stickers to ad executives outside of the NBC upfront. The stunt promoted Arrested Development, a former Fox network sitcom that Netflix is reviving online this month as it moves into original programming.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Next year's Grammys show will be held on January 26, 2014, earlier than usual because of the Winter Olympics in February, organizers of the music industry awards said Monday.

The move is in line with other awards shows which have shifted dates to avoid clashing with the Feb 6-23 Games in Sochi, Russia.

Organizers are keen to avoid competing for TV viewers. Grammy show ratings have consistently grown in recent years, with some 28.3 million viewers tuning in last year, the second largest since 1993.

In 2015, music's biggest night will return to the more typical February 8 timeframe, Grammys organizers the Recording Academy noted.

Oscars organizers announced in March that the 2014 show will be held on March 2. The Academy Awards are typically held the last week in February.

In 2015 the Oscars will be held on February 22, back in its more traditional slot.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actor Leonardo DiCaprio and Christie's auction house raised nearly US$32 million for environmental causes on Monday at a charity art auction.

DiCaprio, the star of the new film The Great Gatsby, organized the so-called The 11th Hour Auction along with his foundation and Christie's to protect the last wild places on Earth and their endangered species.

The 33 works of art, many of which were created for and donated to the auction by the artists, sold for US$31.74 million in spirited bidding in a packed auction house. Art collectors from around the globe also placed bids by telephone.

"Bid as if the fate of the planet depended on us." -- Leonardo DiCaprio

"All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you," DiCaprio told the audience at the end of the auction, which raised more than double the pre-sale estimate.

In addition to the sale, which set records for 13 artists including Carol Bove, Joe Bradley, Mark Grotjahn, Raymond Pettibon and Mark Ryden among others, a US$5 million matching donation for three of the lots and US$1.15 million in other donations raised the overall total to nearly US$38 million.

At the opening of the auction, DiCaprio, who has supported environmental issues through his foundation since 1988 and also produced and narrated the 2007 documentary The 11th Hour about the state of the environment, urged the audience to dig deep into their pockets.

"Bid as if the fate of the planet depended on us," he said.

And they did. All of the 33 works were sold and many fetched prices that were three or four times their pre-sale estimates.

The top lot of the sale was an oil on cardboard mounted on canvas by Mark Grotjahn called Untitled (Standard Lotus No. II, Bird of Paradise, Tiger Mouth Face 44.01), which sold for US$6.2 million as two determined bidders pushed up the price.

Zeng Fanzhi's The Tiger, an oil on canvas, fetched nearly double its high estimate with a price of US$4.8 million, and Bharti Kher's sculpture The Skin Speaks a Language Not Its Own, went for US$1.7 million.

Each of the three works had a pre-sale estimate of US$1.5 million to US$2.5 million.

DiCaprio donated Ocean V by Andreas Gursky, which sold for US$600,000, and he bought an acrylic on canvas by Takashi Murakami for US$700,000.

A portrait of DiCaprio painted by Elizabeth Peyton sold for US$1 million.

Loic Gouzer, international specialist at Christie's and the head of the sale, said many of the works were of a quality never seen at auction before.

A panel of environmental experts and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation will decide which conservation projects will benefit from the proceeds of the sale.

Gouzer said he and DiCaprio had approached the artists and explained what they had hoped to accomplish with the auction, which they have been planning for a year.

"We explained that we wanted great works and they were very reactive because of the cause. The artists are very sensitive to the fact that we are destroying our planet," Gouzer said in an interview ahead of the sale.

The Domestic Goddess shows her love for all things Italian in a new TV show and a cookbook.

When she was in her mid to late teens, British cookbook author Nigella Lawson wanted to be Italian.

She says she cannot explain why exactly, but before going to Oxford University to read medieval and modern languages, and having already studied Latin, French and German, she felt she needed to learn Italian. So, she took a year off and headed to Florence.

She had told the university that she intended to study at the British Institute in the Italian city, but ended up working instead.

In an e-mail interview, Lawson says: “I needed to pay for the trip and my upkeep there and was ready to take on any job so long as it didn’t include cleaning lavatories.

“But the job I got there was as a chambermaid, which very much did include cleaning lavatories!”

Her year there, however, was formative.

Lawson, 53, one of four children of former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson and Vanessa Salmon, adds: “I had been a reserved, shy person as a child and teenager in England. In Italy, I became more open and less reserved.

“This was because I was away from home; partly it was because the Italian character invites relaxed, unforced openness; partly, it was because often one can free oneself by speaking in a new language.

“All these ‘partly’ reasons added up to a sense of deep love for Italy and when I cook Italian food, even if it is my version of Italian food, I feel linked in to that connection in an enduring way that colours my whole life.”

It has all also resulted in a new cookbook and TV series, both called Nigellissima. Pastas, main dishes that include Pork Loin With Parma Ham & Oregano and desserts such as No-Churn Chestnut Ice Cream encourage readers and viewers to put Italian accents on their food.

Both cookbook and TV series have been controversial.

Italians have said that the recipes are not authentic and she has been criticised for including calorific desserts in the book, including one for a Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake which has about 7,000 calories.

She says: “I want the viewers to watch a programme and be inspired to cook, and see how easy it is to create beautiful dishes without stress and complicated or lengthy procedures.

“It’s not about authentic recipes from a historical or traditional perspective, but about being inspired to bring a little Italian touch or flair to everyday cooking and entertaining.”

She does say, however, that her cheesecake is “most decidedly fattening”.

“But I make it about four times a year and eat one slice each time,” she adds. “That doesn’t seem over the top to me. I think you could look in my book and series for ‘naughty’ recipes and find them, but you can also see that Nigellissima is full of recipes that are butter-free and relatively low fat. I can’t control how much of each recipe my readers or viewers choose to eat or dwell on.”

She does not answer questions about her weight loss, which caused a stir when photos of her looking svelte appeared in the British media last year.

It emerged that surgery to remove bunions was what triggered the weight loss – she was unable to get to the fridge and even when she was recovering, she felt she needed to be hungry to make the trek to the kitchen.

Asked how she stays slim despite all the cooking and eating, she says: “I don’t have any secrets and nor do I stay slim. Like many women, my weight goes up and down.

“But I do have rules – I eat proper meals and don’t go in for round-the-clock grazing, though I sometimes break that rule at night when I need a little snack to keep me going. I do exercise regularly. I never used to, but I know I can’t diet so I have to exercise. It’s a necessary trade off, and actually, it feels good.”

Lawson, who is married to art collector Charles Saatchi, 69, and has two teenage children with her first husband, the late journalist John Diamond, now has nine books under her belt.

Asked what has made her successful, she says: “Well, I am just a home cook and I feel that I cook in much the same way and under the same conditions as my readers and viewers. I don’t have the skills, experience or staff that proper restaurant chefs have and so write my recipes accordingly.

“For me, a recipe has to be doable, without stress, for a home cook in a domestic kitchen. But this isn’t a marketing policy - it simply reflects how I cook myself.”

As for what is next, she says: “I have never planned in my life, and cannot start now, so who knows?” – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network

Nigellissima premieres tomorrow, May 15, at 8pm on BBC Lifestyle (Hypp TV Ch 620).

Related Stories:
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REUTERS - U.S. psychologist Joyce Brothers, who parlayed her 1955 victory on the TV game show The $64,000 Question into a nearly six-decade career as a television personality and columnist, died on Monday, her publicist said. She was 85.

Brothers (pic) died of natural causes in New York, said Sanford Brokaw, her Los Angeles-based spokesman.

She began dispensing advice on television in 1958 and penned columns on topics such as sex, relationships and parenting until early this year.

At one point, Brothers' syndicated column was published in more than 300 newspapers and she authored a monthly column in the women's magazine Good Housekeeping.

Brothers, a forerunner of media-savvy psychologists such as Laura Schlessinger and Phil McGraw, was a fixture in American living rooms in the 1960s, '70s and '80s with her own syndicated television programs on networks NBC and CBS and cameo appearances in films and TV series.

She famously poked fun at herself by analyzing the Fonz's dog on the ABC television series Happy Days. Brothers also appeared on The Love Boat, animated comedy The Simpsons and most recently on the Hollywood comedy series Entourage.

Brothers was also a fixture on The Tonight Show, appearing alongside host Johnny Carson nearly 100 times.

Brothers vaulted to public recognition by winning The $64,000 Question, the most popular television game show of the era, and with her prodigious knowledge of boxing. She followed up her win with another on the spin-off game show The $64,000 Challenge.

She also successfully parried questions from Congress during investigations into a game-show cheating scandal, showing her original mastery of boxing information.

Brothers is thought to be the sport's first female commentator and her first media contract was interviewing boxers for radio broadcasts.

She also fought off criticism from professionals in her field early in her career after colleagues sought to have her American Psychological Association membership revoked for practicing outside of a private setting.

Brothers published about 15 books, including 1987's What Every Woman Should Know About Men and 1992's Widowed, which was inspired by her husband's death in 1989.

Brothers was born on October 20, 1927, in New York City and married physician Milton Brothers in 1949. She earned degrees in home economics and psychology at Cornell University and a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University.

She is survived by her sister, daughter, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

HOW can someone lose a car? It seems the Red FM announcers were gifted with a brand new Honda CR-Z and after a night of partying, lost the car. Could this be a prank gone awry?

Since the announcers can’t be trusted with a new car, Red FM is looking to present the car to someone deserving. If you, dear listener, have been longing for a new car, here’s your chance to win a Honda CR-Z.

Red FM’s Dude, Where’s My Car? contest allows listeners to win cash as well as a chance to grab the new car.

Teh Kheng Hooi is one of the lucky listeners to be in the running for this car.

The long-time listener of Red FM said: “For a few days, my friends were greeted with the secret phrase each time I picked up a call. They were surprised and curious, and now a few of them have registered for this contest. If they win the car, I’ve told them I (deserve to) share its ownership!”

Want to be in the running to win the cool Honda CR-Z? Just log on to Red FM’s website at red.fm, register your name and wait for a phone call.

Red FM will only call listeners who have registered. If you answer the phone with the secret phrase (check the Red FM website!) you will immediately walk away with RM100 and be in the running for the car.

The competition kicked off on April 29 and ends on May 24. The grand finals, hosted by JJ and Lil’ Kev, will be held on May 25 at Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang Jaya where finalists will vie for the brand new Honda CR-Z. Head to the Red FM website for more info.

Red FM is a subsidiary of Star Radio Group.

Linda Evans reminisces the golden era of Dynasty.

There are two things that stand out most about 1980s prime time soap Dynasty: the fashion (no show featured so much shoulder pads and sequins!) and the cat fights between the show’s two leading ladies, Krsytle Carrington (Linda Evans) and Alexis Colby-Carrington (Joan Collins) who were both, at different points in the show, married to wealthy and handsome Blake Carrington (played by the suave and debonair John Forsythe).

The rivalry between the two women provided much of the drama in the series – the cunning and more savvy Alexis resented Krystle for replacing her as the lady in the Carrington household and tried to undermine her any chance she got while Krystle (whose angelic looks and virtuous character was the perfect foil to Alexis) tried as hard as she could to keep Alexis at bay.

There were verbal battles and slaps across the face which sometimes led to physical fights. Anyone who watched the series will surely remember the iconic scene in season three where the two women (dressed to the nines, mind you) went at each other’s throats in the huge lily pond outside the 48-room Carrington mansion.

Yes, Dynasty was the soap of the 1980s. It was nominated six times at the Golden Globes for Best TV Drama and won in 1984 (the only night time soap to win this award).

For Evans (who won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1982), being cast as Krystle was definitely one of the most memorable moments in her life.

“The fact that I got Dynasty changed my life. I was 39 years old which was (considered) older in those days for women on television. The fact that they trusted me to have that part was probably one of the greatest things to happen to me in the 1980s,” says Evans in an interview with the Malaysian media.

When the series opened in 1981, Krystle was a guileless secretary, beautiful and naive, about to be swept off her feet by her boss, Blake a wealthy oil tycoon. The two married and Krystle moved into the Carrington mansion.

She was lost in love, eagerly anticipating her new life with her charming husband. What she wasn’t prepared for, however, was the hostile reception from Carrington’s children (from Blake’s marriage to Alexis), the household staff and, of course, Alexis.

“My character fell in love and her whole life changed. It was like marrying a prince or something. But the thing about (Krystle) is that she was never into money ... she truly loved Blake and her whole dream was her husband and her child, and throughout the show, you have all these people vying for wealth and fortune but Krystle’s character was very pure and her values were very pure. She was the average person in this extremely wealthy family,” recounts Evans.

The 71-year-old Evans is featured in the National Geographic Channel’s miniseries, The 80s: The Decade That Made Us, which began airing yesterday.

Dynasty’s success made Evans a household name in the 1980s. She was the bombshell of a generation: men fantasised about her and women wanted to be like her. In fact, many fans wanted to dress like her too; the show inspired the “Dynasty Collection” by designer Nolan Miller in Bloomingdale’s New York in 1984.

There are many similarities, between her and Krystle, admits Evans.

“Like Krystle, I only had a dream of getting married and having children. I never even wanted a film career. I was discovered when I was 15 ... my father had just passed away and I (almost didn’t) accept the commercial that started my career.

“I wasn’t prepared to be an actress (but) somehow my career just kept going. Every time I got married, which was twice, I retired and just wanted to stay at home,” she explains.

Evans was married to actor and film producer John Derek from 1968 to 1974 (until Derek left her for Bo Derek who was 30 years his junior) and later, property executive Stan Herman from 1976 to 1981.

After Dynasty, Evans decided she needed more than what Hollywood had to offer and began a spiritual journey.

“I read a book which basically explained the divinity in each of us and how everyone is the same ... equal, and how the joy and happiness we look for outside ourselves is really inside ourselves.

“I actually knew this to be true even before reading the book because from doing Dynasty, I had everything anyone could ever want: the money, the success, the fame ... I had it all except I knew there was something missing.

“I wanted something more and when I found this book, I found the happiness I’d been looking for,” she says.

Evans admits that the “drama” of being in Dynasty sometimes took a toll on her.

“It was challenging because it was nine years and a lot of intense drama. There were many times I’d get up in the morning and say, ‘Oh my gosh I have to go to work and scream and cry and carry on!’ And I just wanted to be happy. It is challenging to be dramatic!” she says.

THE National Geographic Channel is taking viewers back to the 1980s to show us some of the lasting legacies of the decade through two series – The 80s: The Decade That Made Us and 80s Greatest, which will be aired back-to-back over five days this month.

Narrated by Rob Lowe, The 80s: The Decade That Made Us is a six-part mini series that takes viewers on an “epic, roller coaster ride” through the decade via interviews with music and film icons of the decade as well as titans of technology, business, media and politics.

The series aims to show that despite its reputation for bad hair and loud clothing, the 1980s were actually a big, bold time for just about everything – from politics to technology to entertainment and, of course, fashion.

Among the notable icons and newsmakers who will be featured include media mogul Ted Turner, technology titan Steve Wozniak, director Oliver Stone as well as actors like Jane Fonda, Michael J. Fox, Joan Collins, David Hasselhoff, Linda Evans, Linda Gray and designer Calvin Klein.

Meanwhile, 80s Greatest will showcase some of the pivotal moments in the 1980s in terms of sports, gadgetry and tragedies.

The series will be divided into three parts: the ‘80s Greatest Football Moments (in which some of the decade’s most famous and controversial games will be highlighted with a focus on some of the heroes of the game), the ‘80s Greatest Gadgets (which looks at how the Sony Walkman, the personal computer and video games triggered a technological revolution) and ‘80s Greatest Sporting Icons which features world-class sporting heroes like Mike Tyson, Ayrton Senna and Martina Navratilova.

Be sure to tune in.

National Geographic Channel’s The 80s: The Decade That Made Us and 80s Greatest which will air back-to-back at 10pm and 11pm from May 13 to 17 on both the National Geographic Channel (Astro Ch 553) and National Geographic Channel HD (Astro Ch 573). Encores are from May 20 to 24, also at 10pm and 11pm.

SINGAPORE: American actress Jessica Alba (pic) is set to up the glamour quotient at the upcoming inaugural Social Star Awards at Marina Bay Sands on May 23.

According to the Singapore Straits Times, the 32-year-old star will be hosting the event, dubbed the Oscars of the social media world, here.

K-pop star Psy, Aerosmith, soul-pop singer CeeLo Green, Canadian breakout pop star Carly Rae Jepsen and Asian girl group Blush are among the celebrities that will perform at the event.

The 24-hour Social Star Awards show will be streamed live on YouTube.

The Fox network plans to resurrect its world-famous action series after its conclusion in 2010, reveals Deadline.com.

Kiefer Sutherland (pic) has already been asked to revive his role as the indefatigable Jack Bauer.

Since May 24, 2010, when the last episode of 24 was broadcast in the US, fans of LA Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) superagent Jack Bauer have been yearning to see their hero again in movie theaters. But budgetary issues and Kiefer Sutherland's scheduling conflicts have torpedoed the project.

However, now that the Canadian actor has been released from his obligations in Touch, a thriller drama series Fox has decided to cancel after two seasons, the network plans to bring 24 back with great pomp and ceremony.

The sequel won't take the form of a whole season but will be scaled down to a mini-series.

Long-serving 24 producer and showrunner Howard Gordon, who also co-developed the successful thriller series Homeland, is to spearhead the sequel. He'll be backed up by David Fury, another executive producer who was in on the act from the get-go.

Started up in November 2001 in the US, 24 called it a day in 2010 after eight seasons. This award-winning action series also spawned a TV film, 24: Redemption, which serves as a link between seasons 6 and 7.

(Relaxnews)

After the serial Revolution, which he launched last September, JJ Abrams will be back on NBC this fall with Believe, a supernatural thriller series developed by Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón.

Already tapped to executive produce Person Of Interest for CBS and Almost Human, an upcoming series on Fox, JJ Abrams is swelling his multi-network presence.

A scene from 'Believe'

His Believe project is one of the five series selected by NBC for the next fall season.

Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Children Of Men), this drama is about an orphaned 10-year-old girl with mysterious powers protected by an ex-convict who broke out of prison.

Gillian Anderson (famed as Dana Scully in The X-Files), whom we've already seen this season in the thriller series Hannibal, has signed up for a longer stint on NBC's Crisis. The plot revolves around an FBI agent (the Anderson character's estranged sister) who is plunged into the heart of a national crisis from her very first day on the job: the president's son has been kidnapped along with some of his classmates. Dermot Mulroney (J. Edgar) and Rachael Taylor (Grey's Anatomy) co-star.

NBC's other picks are lighter fare. About A Boy, a TV adaptation of the eponymous Hugh Grant movie, stars David Walton (New Girl) as a fireman and confirmed bachelor who eventually makes the ultimate sacrifice: taking care of someone other than himself. He strikes up a friendship with an 11-year-old boy, who lives next door with his zany single mom, played by Minnie Driver.

Jason Katims, creator of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, will direct the series now that Jon Favreau's pilot has made the grade.

The Family Guide is about a son coping with the breakup of his blind father and eccentric mother. JK Simmons (The Closer, Juno) and Harold Perrineau (Lost) star in this sitcom executive produced by Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) and directed by David Schwimmer (Friends).

Also lined up for this fall on NBC is Sean Saves The World, the story of how a divorced father learns to deal with his 14-year-old daughter, who has just moved in with him. Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) will play the lead.

NBC, which will be announcing the other additions to next season's lineup at a press conference on Monday, May 13, will be discontinuing its comedy series Guys With Kids, Up All Night, Whitney and 1600 Penn.

(Relaxnews)

A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world -- and ours.

Catch Epic on us. Thanks to 20th Century Fox we have 40 pairs of tickets to give away.

All you have to do is print this page and bring it along with you to our redemption table at GSC Paradigm. Please see details below.

Please note that tickets will be given on a first come, first served basis. Each person will be given only one pair of tickets.

Redemption Details

Date: 21 May 2013 (Tuesday)

Time: 8pm

Venue: GSC Paradigm

Screening Details

Date: 21 May 2013 (Tuesday)

Time: 9pm

Venue: GSC Paradigm

Rules & Regulations

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2. Print out the contest page and redeem it at the venue given in this article.

3. Each page entitles you to two movie tickets only. Each person is allowed to redeem only once.

4. Tickets are given out on a first come, first served basis.

5. Queue-jumping and reserving places in line during the redemption are strictly prohibited. The organizers reserve the right to refuse tickets to anyone found doing so.

6. Tickets are not exchangeable for cash.

7. This movie is not yet rated.. Movie ratings will strictly apply for this movie. The organizers reserve the right to refuse entry to the cinema hall to those not within the permitted age limit. No exceptions will be made at any time for any reason.

8. I hereby expressly consent to the collection, collation, use and/or disclosure of all my personal data by Star Publications (M) Berhad for the purposes of the Epic contest.

9. For enquiries, please e-mail ecentralmy@gmail.com

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Matthew Perry's latest TV show was canceled on Friday after one season, marking his third disappointing venture since he won fame on the hit comedy Friends.

Broadcaster NBC also said it would not be bringing back its weekly news magazine show Rock Center for the 2013-14 fall schedule, along with five other low-rated comedies.

The comedy Go On, in which Perry played a sports radio host who joins a grief counseling group after the death of his wife, was one of a slew of low-rated NBC television shows that will not be renewed, the network said.

Perry, 43, has struggled to follow up his success as the hapless Chandler Bing in NBC's Friends, which ended in 2004.

Go On received favorable reviews and attracted an audience of more than 16 million when it made its debut in August 2012. But audiences dropped off and the season finale in April was watched by less than 3 million people.

Go On followed the dark and short-lived 2011 series Mr. Sunshine,"in which Perry starred as well as co-created, and the 2006-07 Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip that was canceled after one season.

Perry's Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston has launched a second career as a romantic comedy movie actress, while Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox have made several movies and TV shows, David Schwimmer has appeared on stage and tried his hand at directing, and Matt LeBlanc won a Golden Globe in 2012 for playing a version of his skirt-chasing Friends bachelor character Joey in the Showtime and BBC comedy Episodes.

NBC, which has struggled to replace 1990s' hits like Friends, Cheers, Frasier, and Will & Grace, has also axed White House-based comedy 1600 Penn, the Jimmy Fallon-created comedy Guys With Kids, Whitney and Up All Night.

Rock Center, hosted by veteran NBC News journalist Brian Williams, made its debut in October 2011 in what the network hoped would be a fast-paced but serious approach to news. But it struggled to find an audience and viewership has fallen in recent weeks to around 4 million after NBC switched the hourlong show to several different time slots.

The fate of NBC's expensive behind-the-scenes musical drama Smash, starring Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston and Katharine McPhee, is still undecided after audiences for its second season slumped to under 2 million people.

LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch jazz singer Caro Emerald (pic) scored her first British number one album on Sunday after a close battle with last week's chart-toppers, London drum and bass quartet Rudimental.

The Shocking Miss Emerald notched up 3,000 more sales than Rudimental's Home to secure top spot, the Official Charts Company said.

British actor Hugh Laurie, best known for his role in U.S. TV medical drama House, was new at number three with blues album Didn't It Rain, his second top five release following on from the success of his 2011 debut.

Canadian crooner Michael Buble's To Be Loved dropped to fourth, with singer-songwriter Alison Moyet's The Minutes in fifth, her first top five album in more than 26 years.

In the singles charts, French electronic duo Daft Punk held on to top spot for a third week with Get Lucky, well ahead of New York-based DJ Chris Malinchak who debuted in second place with So Good To Me.

Singer-songwriter Passenger was up a place to third with Let Her Go, with Rudimental in fourth with Waiting All Night and Can't Hold Us by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, featuring Ray Dalton, falling to fifth.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Filming of the new Star Wars movie will take place in England, returning the franchise to its British roots, Disney's Lucasfilm said on Friday.

"We've devoted serious time and attention to revisiting the origins of Star Wars as inspiration for our process on the new movie, and I'm thrilled that returning to the UK for production and utilizing the incredible talent there can be a part of that," Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm president, said in a statement.

The six previous Star Wars films were all partly filmed in the UK at famed studios including Pinewood, Elstree and Shepperton.

Disney announced three new Star Wars films in October 2012, when it purchased George Lucas' Lucasfilm company for US$4.05 billion.

The news was welcomed by the British finance minister, George Osborne, who tweeted on Friday: "Great news for our creative industries. May the force be with us."

Star Wars: Episode VII will be made by director J.J. Abrams, and will further boost the British film industry that has been regenerated by the popular James Bond and Harry Potter film franchises.

The Star Wars franchise has grossed more than US$4.4 billion at the worldwide box office since the first film was released in 1977.

Star Wars: Episode VII is scheduled to be released in 2015.

REUTERS - Tony Stark's superpowers lifted blockbuster Iron Man 3 back to the top of movie charts in the United States and Canada, beating out a strong debut over the weekend for lavish Jazz Age drama The Great Gatsby.

Coming off a gigantic opening a week earlier, Iron Man 3 commanded US$72.5 million in ticket sales from Friday through Sunday in its second weekend. Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as millionaire Jay Gatsby in the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald tale, earned a strong US$51.1 million, according to studio estimates.

Domestic ticket sales for Iron Man 3 dropped 58 percent from a week earlier, when the film hauled in US$174.1 million for the second-biggest movie opening of all time. The film from Walt Disney Co's Marvel Studios stars Robert Downey Jr. as Stark, a billionaire businessman with a superhero alter ego.

International sales for Iron Man 3 reached a massive US$664 million through Sunday after adding US$89 million from the weekend, Disney said. The film's worldwide take now stands at US$949 million.

Gatsby outpaced pre-weekend forecasts for an opening of up to US$45 million. Directed by Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, it is the latest Hollywood rendition of Fitzgerald's classic American novel, The Great Gatsby. A 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow fared poorly at the box office.

DiCaprio stars in the title role, a millionaire pining for a lost love, played by Carey Mulligan, during the height of the hedonistic 1920s. Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton also star. Rapper Jay-Z produced the soundtrack.

"We never expected to open this picture at this level," said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros., the Time Warner Inc. unit that distributed the film.

Fellman said the picture, which has been accorded the prestigious opening night slot at this week's Cannes Film Festival, was now well-positioned for a long run into the summer as an alternative to traditional action movies.

The majority of ticket buyers were female by 59 percent to 41 percent, and 31 percent of ticket buyers were under age 25, Warner Bros. said.

"We're going to have a nice, long healthy run," he told Reuters.

DiCaprio's performance was widely praised, but the movie, which cost about US$105 million to produce, received a mixed reception from critics. As of Saturday, 48 percent of reviews recommended the film on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

But in its opening weekend, the film very nearly eclipsed the total US$57.4 million take of Luhrmann's most successful film, Moulin Rouge, which went on to win several Academy Awards.

Elsewhere over the weekend, dark action comedy Pain & Gain starring Mark Wahlberg placed a distant third with US$5 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Comedy Peeples, the other new nationwide release, finished fourth with US$4.9 million. Produced by Tyler Perry, the film stars Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington in the story of a well-off family's reunion that is interrupted when a man arrives to seek their daughter's hand in marriage.

Baseball drama 42 finished in fifth place with US$4.7 million.

Star Trek Into Darkness, which opens in the United States on Wednesday, took in US$31.7 million in seven international territories including Britain, Mexico, Australia and Germany, Paramount Pictures reported.

Branavan Aruljothi plays Mahesh in the hard-hitting production Parah.

Now a much leaner production, Parah, cuts deeper across the themes of identity, belonging and the power of words.

WORDS are powerful, prickly things. With this in mind, Singaporean playwright Alfian Sa’at attempts to navigate the shifting lines of Malaysia’s racial boundaries in his upcoming play Parah.

Parah, which will be restaged at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, starting this Thursday, revolves around four teenage friends: Melur, Hafiz, Mahesh and Kahoe. It starts as a whodunnit when Melur finds a page torn out of the novel Interlok, which belongs to her schoolteacher mother. As the group dig into the book to find out why someone would do such a thing, they stumble onto questions much bigger than a simple case of mischief.

Abdullah Hussain’s book Interlok is probably best known for the controversy it raised in 2011 over “offensive” words and depictions of the Indian community in the novel which was made obligatory reading for the Form Five Malay literature syllabus.

Parah director Jo Kukathas firmly believes that the play is timeless, using Interlok to discuss an issue that goes deeper than words. “In the play, Kahoe says ‘every year there’s something’, it’s not about Interlok, but how we so easily turn on each other over divisive issues,” relates Kukathas.

“The issue is very raw and using 17-year-olds to air it only emphasises the rawness,” adds Kukathas, revealing that she and Alfian had considered casting actual 17-year-olds to play the characters who are written as being in Form Five.

“But it was too hard on such young people. Mind you, the cast had it hard too, sometimes there are dark places you don’t want to explore,” she shares. She mentions Alfian’s conflict when writing Parah, balancing the want to explore an issue with the hurt bringing up ‘offensive’ words could cause. She reasons that censorship isn’t the solution, and only in dealing with the matter in its complete state can one hope to move past it.

“I think the cast has settled into its respective roles well, which is what happens when you get the opportunity to perform for more than one run!” says Alfian, with much pride in his actors Farah Rani (Melur), Iedil Putra (Hafiz), Branavan Aruljothi (Mahesh) and Gregory Sze (Kahoe).

The cast’s acting chops have been further cemented, with Farah bagging Best Supporting Actor in the recent 10th BOH Cameronian Art Awards for her role in another Alfian play, Nadirah. Alfian too was honoured at the Cammies, being awarded Best Original Script for Parah.

Now in its fifth run, the play has gone through several revisions at the hands of Alfian and Kukathas. The two had pared down the production during its Australian debut at the World Theatre Festival (WTF) in Brisbane in February. Kukathas insists that the core of the play had not been changed, merely made leaner and more to the point.

Actress Farah says she is raring to show the ‘new’ Parah back home after performing it abroad. “Having to tell a story to an audience that’s unfamiliar with the topic or the language made us try harder than ever to convey what Parah was about. Now, I want to show Malaysia to see how far we’ve come,” she enthuses.

Parah will be performed at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre, Empire Damansara, Jalan PJU 8/8, Damansara Perdana, Petaling Jaya, Selangor from May 16 to 19 (RM48) and May 21-26 (RM58), RM38 for students for all shows. Visit kakiseni.com or call 03-7954 4868 to purchase tickets.

Keep it heavy!: The Used lead vocalist Bert McCracken is a screamfest to reckon with as he leads the band’s return to Kuala Lumpur on May 19.

Breaking an arm performing is no biggie for The Used frontman Bert McCracken, who promises they will go all out live.

It would take something more than a broken arm to stop singer Bert McCracken from rocking on.

Two years ago, the 31-year-old frontman of American post-hardcore giants The Used broke his arm and was out of action for months after he fell off the stage at a gig in California.

Laughing, he says the accident has not made him more careful and less aggressive with his stage antics.

“It’s the opposite. I am now even crazier,” he says in a telephone interview from his home in Los Angeles. “I know that I only have so many years of rock left in me so I might as well give it my all while I have the chance.”

Fans of the 12-year-old quartet will be able to see the man make good on his word when they play KL Live in Kuala Lumpur on May 19.

While their contemporaries from the emo-rock boom of the early to mid-2000s have either faded into obscurity or, in the case of My Chemical Romance, split up, The Used are still going strong with tours and releases.

In January, the band – which also comprise guitarist Quinn Allman, bassist Jeph Howard and drummer Dan Whitesides – re-issued a double CD version of their fifth album, Vulnerable, originally released last year.

McCracken also tells us that the band are currently spending time in the studio for an upcoming EP to be released in the summer, and plan to release a full-length album early next year.

They have staying power because they are “friends first” and “always focus on the music”.

“It’s never been a popularity contest to be famous or have our pictures on the front of magazines. We were never in this to be rich, it’s not about money, so I think all the priorities, ethics or morals are in place, if you will. And we just love making music,” he says.

While they are not billionaire rock stars who fly around the world in their own jet, their albums have enjoyed solid sales. All of their full-length releases, save for their 2002 self-titled debut, have hit the Top 10 of the American Billboard charts and have sold over three million worldwide in all.

In fact, they bristle at the mention of them being rock stars. In their latest music video for the song Hands & Faces from Vulnerable, McCracken is dressed in tights, a cape and goggles – a get-up he says was designed to mock “rock stars”.

“It’s kind of an artistic blow at rock stars in general. There are these rock stars nowadays who think that they are heroes and that’s what makes rock stars not cool anymore.

“I mean for the band, we’ve never tried to be cooler than anyone. We’re not part of anyone’s cool group, we don’t wear cool clothes, we are not popular kids,” says the singer, who married in 2008.

Their aversion to a lavish rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle is probably due to their background. Originally hailing from Utah, McCracken and his bandmates experienced poverty, homelessness and bouts of substance abuse before they secured a recording deal and slowly built their name through relentless touring across the United States.

So now, rather than put themselves up on a pedestal, they are more interested in engaging their fans and encouraging them to be active in social issues. “We rather be friends than have the fans worship us,” he quips.

At their upcoming gig, though, the only message they will be preaching will be for fans to have fun. When the music starts, it is truly show time.

McCracken says that watching the band live is like “an escape”.

“When you come to a Used show, you can forget about the problems in your life. We are going to play a lot of new songs, old favourite songs and at the same time, we like to have the most fun that we possibly can, with the most energy and keep everything real.” – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network

The Used plays KL Live, Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur on May 19. Tickets are available at Rock Corner or Dolls Store outlets.

PETALING JAYA: Deejays from four radio stations will take to their mikes with passion, driven by a mission.

The “Kamilah Malaysia” campaign officially begins this morning with Red FM, 98.8 FM, Suria FM and Capital FM deejays urging listeners to celebrate the country’s unity and diversity.

Radio history will be made from as early as 6am, with breakfast show announcers criss-crossing the four stations in a show of unity by reading inspirational quotes.

Star Radio Group Programme director Allan Cameron said the deejays would be out to promote the message of unity.

“You will hear Halim (Othman) from Suria on 988, Xandria (Ooi) from Capital on RED and Adibah Noor from Suria on Capital. They will be reading inspirational quotes on air,” he said, adding that a highlight would be the airing of the Star Radio Group song Mulanya Disini after 7am.

Cameron said each station would play the campaign’s theme song in different languages as sung by announcers from all four stations.

“We will not have any guests on the first day. Later in the week, we will invite guests,” he said.

He stressed that the most important aspect was the participation of listeners, who he said were welcome to deliver their “Message to Malaysia” at all the stations.

Cameron said that on Suria FM, the breakfast show would revolve around assimilation of each other’s cultures and listeners could tweet their thoughts to #kamilahmalaysia, while on 988, the morning show would be focusing on the uniqueness of being Malaysian.

Capital FM would focus on cultural diversity and the different views of younger and older Malaysians, he added.

The radio campaign is a bid to unite Malaysians following the completion of the hard-fought 13th general election on May 5.

The Star Radio Group deputy chief broadcasting officer Kudsia Kahar said the campaign was just what was needed at a time emotions were running high.

“I hope the campaign will remind Malaysians that all citizens make up the country and that each and every one of us matter. It is also about being together as one and celebrating diversity,” she added.