Stooped and a Bit Slow, but Still Standing Tall - New York Times

Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesHis race, her religion — sharing a bond as minorities in the South: Vanessa Redgrave as Daisy Werthan, and James Earl Jones as her chauffeur in a revival of “Driving Miss Daisy.”

Contrary to popular opinion, giants still walk that tired, old corner of the earth called Broadway. Times being what they are, these giants are often penned into cramped quarters, which prevent them from stretching to their full height. But giants of the theater belong to a magnificent species that is fast disappearing. And when one shows up in your neighborhood, you polish your eyeglasses and go for a look.

Ms. Redgrave and Mr. Jones in “Driving Miss Daisy.”

James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave are, by anyone’s reckoning, two of the last of these titans — stars of uncommon stature (in all senses) who, in combined years of experience, have known and commanded the stage for more than a century. Their fiery, shadow-casting presences have illuminated some of the most challenging roles in world theater. And I would see them in absolutely anything. Even “Driving Miss Daisy,” which opened on Monday night at the Golden Theater.

Ms. Redgrave plays the title character, and Mr. Jones her chauffeur, in David Esbjornson’s revival of Alfred Uhry’s 1987 play. If the production’s stars feel squeezed or confined by what is a very slender work, they never let on. They give responsible, intelligent performances that are infused with two old pros’ joy in the mastery of their craft. And they pull off the deft trick of registering as big as we want them to be without making the play in which they appear seem even smaller than it is.

First staged at Playwrights Horizons, “Driving Miss Daisy” ran for nearly 1,200 performances Off Broadway, and the sources of its appeal remain clear. In tracing the evolving relationship between an elderly Southern Jewish matron and her African-American driver in Atlanta during the mid-20th century, Mr. Uhry allows audiences to feel both patronizing toward, and admiring of, its geriatric odd couple. This combination of sentiments tends to make people glow with a pleasant righteousness, especially when the implicit subject is crossing a racial divide. And it was perhaps inevitable that “Daisy” should win the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for drama and become a 1989 movie that nabbed the Oscar for best picture.

Yet while Bruce Beresford’s film (which starred Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman) created an illusion of historic sweep and substance, the play is little more than a series of sketches with the gentle, laugh-a-little-cry-a-little rhythms of a sentimental sitcom. Its vignettes portray a classic clash of wills between an immovable object and an irresistible force that eventually melts into something like love.

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Celine Dion Gives Birth to Twin Boys - PopEater

Celine Dion and husband Rene Angelil are doubly joyful this weekend, welcoming fraternal twin boys who were delivered via C-section on Saturday morning in West Palm Beach, Fla., joining big brother Rene-Charles, age 9.

The babies have not yet been named, according to People.com. "Celine is resting now and they plan to discuss what to name the boys when she wakes up," her spokesperson says. "René-Charles has been to the hospital to visit his brothers, and is just so excited they are here."

Dion's new sons were born at 5 lbs., 10 oz., and 5 lbs., 4 oz., and are premature but healthy. They will reportedly spend a few days in neonatal intensive care, a common procedure for newborn twins, who often arrive before their due date.

At a press conference outside St. Mary's Medical Center, Dion's longtime obstetrician talked about the successful delivery -- and what the babies look like.

The Canadian chanteuse, 42, has been open in recent years about her struggle to conceive. She revealed in May that she was pregnant, after undergoing a sixth attempt at in-vitro fertilization.

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Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, and Oprah to co-star in home-shopping movie. Michael Patrick King, YOU get an awesome cast!

Image Credit: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images; George Burns/Harpo ProductionsAnd I thought the power of three only existed on Charmed! Today came the announcement via Universal that Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, and Oprah Winfrey would all co-star in Michael Patrick King’s untitled project about a home-shopping channel. Wait a tick — you’re telling me I can get Hollywood’s three wisest women for one easy payment of $12?! (Or, $17, if King decides to go the 3-D route.) Can they come with a bonus Slap Chop too?

In all seriousness, this is some pretty awesome casting news, even if we have barely any idea of what exactly happens in the film. (But if the plotline is anywhere near as entertaining as the one in the Magic Bullet infomercial, count me in.) With these three powerhouses on board, I’m wondering where King can go from here — should he just go ahead and Ocean’s 11 this joint by adding the likes of Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, and Tina Fey (who’s already co-starring with Streep elsewhere) to the cast too? Who else should come on board? Will Bullock and Streep face-off for Oscar again? And are you hoping Winfrey gives away tickets to the film to everyone for free? (If not, it’s okay Ms. Winfrey. I’ll gladly shell out a dozen bucks for this film, as long as I can drive there in my Pontiac G6.)

Read more:
Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, and Oprah join forces

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Jesse James & Kat Von D Share a Kiss-Filled Lunch - People Magazine

Jesse James and Kat Von D

Albert L. Ortega/PictureGroup

For a couple who were rumored to have broken up, Jesse James and Kat Von D appeared awfully cozy at an intimate lunch Saturday.

James, 41, and Von D, 28, turned up at El Compadre Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood, where they chatted and kissed at their table.

It was the first public outing for the motorcycle mogul and the L.A. Ink star since split rumors started flying earlier this month after Von D was spotted getting close to ex-boyfriend Nikki Sixx and rumored former flame Bam Margera.

In mid-October a source told PEOPLE that Von D wasn't happy about James's having moved to Austin, Texas, and was losing patience with their "weekend fly-back-and-forth relationship."

But observers at El Compadre said the couple appeared to be in good spirits: after polishing off their shared cheese enchilada, they left a generous tip before heading out.

• Reporting by SCOTT HUVER

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16 creepiest TV shows

With its well-worn pattern of gory opening scenes, Fringe has become the go-to show for a good scare. The Fringe universe, with its alternate reality, specialized bioweapons, and unusual abilities, features new and creative ways to die (being trapped in resin, having all your orifices spontaneously seal up, disintegrating into ash). And as we fall deeper down the rabbit hole, wondering which reality will win the war and how Olivia (Anna Torv), Peter (Joshua Jackson), and Walter (John Noble) will end up, we can't help wondering what new ways the show will find to gross us out.

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11 'Wow!' reality TV moments

Dancing With the Stars performance recap: Title Sequins
Cheryl got it exactly right by letting the Hill Street Blues theme song and their sequin-accented police uniforms take care of the dreaded SHOW YOUR PERSONALITY AT ALL COSTS element of the dance. Somehow Cheryl and Rick Fox managed to make a foxtrot set in a '70s-era locker room work. Nothing was over-the-top — she could have had Rick be more suggestive with his gun or have him ''pat her down'' as if she were under arrest; instead we got a keep-'em-guessin' holster (did I really just write that? yes) and a sensual full-torso-trace. —Annie Barrett

Read the full recap.

Sunday, October 24th 9-10:30PM | PBS | MINI-SERIES DEBUT

Tremendously clever fun, Masterpiece Mystery! presents the first of three modernizations of the Sherlock Holmes tales.

This week's TV Picks

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20 games begging to be movies

The Story: Cops get trapped in a strange mansion, filled with zombies and other terrifying genetic mutations.
The Cast: We'll keep Wentworth Miller as Chris Redfield from Resident Evil: Afterlife, but reboot the rest of the franchise with Zoe Saldana as Jill Valentine and Gary Oldman in The Professional villain mode as Albert Wesker.
Why It Might Not Suck: We're aware that there have been four Resident Evil movies. But, as anyone familiar with the original games can tell you, the movies don't necessarily reflect very much/anything at all of their source material. (Seriously, where'd all the Milla Jovovich clones come from?) We'd like to see a real Resident Evil movie, please.

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‘The Whole Truth’: One more week to prove itself?

Image Credit: Michael Ansell/ABCABC has announced a Plan B scenario for Wednesdays at 10 beginning Nov. 3 that could spell the beginning of the end for The Whole Truth, the new legal drama starring Maura Tierney. On Nov. 3, ABC will air In the Spotlight with Robin Roberts: All Access Nashville that’ll feature the Good Morning America anchor interviewing some of country music’s biggest stars. On. Nov 10, ABC will preempt all of its Wednesday programming for the Country Music Awards.

At least one more original episode of Truth will air on Oct. 27. After that, ABC execs will likely gauge whether to stick with the drama that’s only averaged 5.3 million viewers (ranked No. 69 among all primetime shows) and a 1.5 rating/4 share among adults 18-49 (ranked No. 72). If yanked, Truth will become the fourth cancellation of the 2010-11 season, behind Fox’s Lone Star, NBC’s Outlaw, and ABC’s My Generation.

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Matt Damon and wife Luciana welcome daughter number FOUR... Stella Zavala - Daily Mail

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:27 PM on 24th October 2010

Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barroso welcomed their fourth little girl, Stella Zavala Damon in New York on Wednesday.

'Mum and baby are both healthy,' Damon's spokesman said. 'The whole family is thrilled.'

Damon, who turned 40 earlier this month, and Luciana, 35, married in 2005.

They have already have three daughters together - four-year-old Isabella, two-year-old Gia and 11-year-old Alexis, from Luciana's previous marriage.

And baby makes four: Matt Damon and his wife Luciana Barrosa welcomed Stella Zavala on Wednesday in New York

Damon appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman earlier this month, where he talked about the upcoming birth.

When asked if he minded being surrounded by girls, Damon said: 'Its great, I grew up with a brother so it's a whole different world. There's a lot of princess outfits, not for me though.'

He also talked about his girls' distinct personalities.

There are huge differences amongst the girls, kids are amazing like that, same parents, same environment but they're all different,' he said.

'And with each one it becomes exponentially more complicated.'

Damon also added that he and Luciana are not planning on having any more children in the near future.

'God no,' he told Letterman. 'With four I'm kind of hoping they pair off and leave us alone!"

Damon may be a family man but he still manages to balance his daddy duties with his work. He's currently appearing in Hereafter, directed by Clint Eastwood.

And he's already hard at work on his next project, filming the Coen Brothers remake of the 1969 John Wayne Film True Grit .

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CBS scores another Wednesday win; ‘Modern Family’ continues to rule timeslot

Image Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Monty Brinton/CBSThe Espada tribe may have made an idiotic move by snuffing out Yve instead of Dan but the fans are still eating up the aging reality show: Survivor won its timeslot on Wednesday among adults 18-49 (3.5 rating/11 share) and viewers (11.9 million). Buoyed by another heavily-viewed episode of Criminal Minds (14.2 million) and The Defenders (9.9 million), CBS ended up overtaking the baseball playoffs on Fox and won the night in viewers (12 million) and adults 18-49 (3.1/9).

The National League playoff game between the Phillies and the Giants on Fox averaged a 2.7/8 in the demo — up 50% versus last year’s Game 4 on TBS, which was enough to give Fox a second place win on Wednesday in the key demographic. It averaged 8.3 million.

Modern Family continues to rock at 9 over at ABC (my, that Emmy win sure has done wonders for this show!). It won its timeslot among 18-49 (4.7/13) yet again and cleaned up in all the key demos, including teens. The episode averaged 11.9 million viewers. The new comedy Better With You was flat versus last week in the demo (2.1/6) and is still pulling its lowest-rated numbers for the season at 8:30.  It’s only averaging 6.9 million viewers. The Middle averaged a 2.6/8 and 8.5 million viewers at 8, while Cougar Town earned a 3.7/9 and 7.4 million viewers at 9:30. The Whole Truth did a measly 1.4/4 at 10 and averaged 4.5 million. Yikes.

Overall, ABC tied Fox for second among 18-49 (thanks again to Modern Family) and averaged 7.3 million viewers.

On NBC, Undercovers actually posted a 7% gain among 18-49 (1.5/5) and averaged 5.8 million eyeballs. Law & Order: SVU (2.6/7) averaged 8.4 million, while Law & Order: LA (2.4/7) lured 8.0 million. NBC earned 7.4 million viewers for the night and a 2.6/6 in the demo. Each 18-49 ratings point represents 1.3 million.

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'Runaway' Solidifies Kanye West As The Greatest Pop Star Of This Generation - MTV.com

On Saturday night (October 23), Kanye West let loose his new short film "Runaway" in a special broadcast on MTV. "Runaway" is a 35-minute opus starring himself and model Selita Ebanks. In the film, Ebanks plays a phoenix (as in the mythical creature) who crashes to Earth and gets saved by West (who plays a vaguely fictionalized version of himself). The two strike up a relationship that ultimately ends in tragedy. Along the way, the film tosses out all sorts of gorgeously rendered scenes and a handful of mind-bending tracks from West's hotly-anticipated upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

In fact, the greatness of the music and the stunning quality of the film (combined with West's back catalog and his previous success in the music video realm) have solidified West as unquestionably the greatest pop star of this generation. His music has appealed to hip-hop fans, pop aficionados and rock enthusiasts alike, and his approach to video, fashion and public image have made him an instantly recognizable and unique singularity. His work is constantly evolving, and he has managed to be good at just about everything he has ever tried. And he has consistently gone out on a limb, attempting things that are way outside of his comfort zone. It's even a little obscene to think about West as a "hip-hop producer" at this point, as while that is certainly the universe that gave him his start, he has evolved way, way past that world.

So take a look at West's "Runaway" and try to keep your jaw off the floor. Whether you like it or not, know that you are witnessing the most important pop star of the current generation. He has managed to take popular music and, just like Michael Jackson, Radiohead and others before him, turn it completely on its head while still bringing the rest of the world along with him.

Tags Kanye West, Runaway, video

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TV rumors: True or false?

Image Credit: Chris Hatcher/PR Photos; Liane Hentscher/FoxChristopher Lloyd on Fringe
True! Back to the Future‘s Doc Brown has been cast as a musical hero of Walter’s who’s been in a nursing home and becomes the subject of a Fringe investigation. “Christopher plays Roscoe Joyce, a keyboardist for Walter’s favorite 1970's band Violet Sedan Chair,” explains exec producer J.H. Wyman. Fellow EP Jeff Pinkner adds, “The lives of these two men, who have never met before, overlap in strange and unexpected ways.”

A Bones spin-off is in the works
While it’s true that series creator Hart Hanson is developing an offshoot that would revolve around the central character in Walter Sherman’s Locator novels, the new guy — a recluse who can basically find anything — will not be introduced in a December episode of Bones, sources confirm. My guess is we’ll meet him in January or February.

Shenae Grimes (Annie) is getting replaced on 90210
False. Grimes is staying put, but Annie has reason to worry. The show is getting ready to introduce the recurring role of Emily, Annie’s country bumpkin cousin who moves to Beverly Hills with one goal in mind: to steal her cuz’s life! In addition to going after all of Annie’s acting parts, Emily also makes a play for her BF Liam. Bottom line: The CW is rebooting All About Eve!

ABC has axed The Whole Truth
False. Yes, the Maura Tierney-Rob Morrow courtroom procedural is being preempted on Nov. 3 for some Robin Roberts country music special, but an ABC insider insists the show — which is still on the schedule next week — has not been canceled. Yet.

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Lindsay Lohan: 'I can't afford to stay in rehab' - Daily Mail

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:51 PM on 24th October 2010

Lindsay Lohan was clearly relieved on Friday when Judge Elden Fox ordered her back to rehab instead of sending her to jail.

But her probation report raises the question of how exactly the 24-year-old is going to pay the $53,000 charge for her three-month  stay.

Lindsay has been ordered to stay at the Betty Ford Clinic until January 3.

Broke: Lindsay Lohan claims she can't afford the $53,000 it will cost to stay at the Betty Ford clinic for the next three months

The report says: 'She indicates she can not afford to continue to pay for the treatment program and she needs to work.

'[Lohan says] her clothing line is falling apart because she is not available to monitor the product.'

While Lohan's clinic is highly effective at treating people with addictions, it charges them a lot of money for doing so.

Her request to be moved into outpatient care instead was denied by the judge.

Back to Betty: Lohan will be returning to Betty Ford Clinic where she has been ordered to undergo treatment until at least January 3

But according to People magazine, Lindsay hasn't allowed rehab to get in the way of business.

The Herbie star continued to work on her 6126 line from inside the centre, and carried on having meetings with whoever she needed to talk to.

'Lindsay is still seeing income from the line, and it's doing three times better than originally expected,' a source says. 'It's keeping her busy and productive.'

Being sent to rehab for the next three months also means that there is no way the actress will be able to film her role as Linda Lovelace in the film Inferno.

The probation report says she 'is claiming that continued inpatient treatment would be a hardship financially, and damaging to her career.'

But it doesn't look as if anyone thinks letting her out of the facility is a good idea, despite the fact that Lindsay claims that rehab is ruining her financially.

All the doctors who have been involved with the actress believe the longer she is in rehab the better.

Probation: Lindsay's probation report stated that she is concerned that in-patient rehabilitation would be a financial hardship and damaging to her career

According to Dr. Lee Sadja, who treated Lindsay when she was briefly in rehab at the UCLA Medical Center, she needs to stay in rehab until she can accept her addictions.

'There was some denial regarding her drug addiction. [She] needs to continue to work on her issues in order to save her life,' the report said.

And chemical dependency counselor Gary Richman, agrees, stating she has 'a lot of growing up to do.'

[She] finally began to talk about feeling powerless and about being an addict ... She must make several changes in her life in order to succeed, especially coming from a family of dysfunction.'

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'SNL': Emma Stone is rock-solid

At this point in Saturday Night Live‘s history, any edition with a few good sketches plus good performances by the guest host must be counted a success. So it was this week with Emma Stone and at a series of solid moments.

Stone endeared herself to millions during the very first sketch, when she played opposite Kristen Wiig in a “Dream Home Extreme” sketch. As Wiig’s character did standard Wiig stuff — condescending generic-Southern accent; wiggly-nervous moves — Stone’s character stood there poker-faced, just as we do at home when Wiig is trying to sell a sketch.

An excellent “Digital Short” featured Stone in a music video as a high school girl who kept slipping on a patch of grape jelly. Stone’s lip-synching and falling were impeccable, and just when it looked as though the short had peaked, the jelly itself began rapping. Good ‘n’ absurd.

One of the best recurring sketches SNL does is its parody of The View — Fred Armisen’s Joy Behar is always a clever combination of physical moves (Behar’s twitchy pinching at her clothes) and middle-aged-lady jokes. This week’s View was also helped by Stone’s Lindsay Lohan; it’s tough to do anything funny about the much-derided, sad-life Lohan, but Stone managed to find the right vocal timbre and captured Lohan’s ludicrous sense of hurt privilege.

Stone was also excellent as a disbelieving teen who can’t imagine how gullible adults are to fall for alarmist local news reports such as the ones delivered by a terrific Bill Hader. He warned about phenomena such as “souping”: “drinking expired soup to get high.”

(I loved Hader’s delivery of the line, “Shockingly, soup is legal!”)

“Weekend Update”: Despite the fact that it’s unlikely most of SNL‘s nationwide audience is aware of New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan and his The Rent Is Too Damn High party, McMillan was too obvious a target for a Kenan Thompson impersonation for the show to resist. Too bad there weren’t any jokes surrounding Thompson’s costume. There was an amusing return appearance by Bill Hader’s Stefon, which remained funny even after Hader cracked himself up. Best of all, however, was the welcome return of John Mulaney, who did a happy-news monologue called “I Love It.” Mulaney has a classic comic presence; avoiding easy vulgarity, scoring laughs with calm assurance, he’s the sort of performer who reminds the SNL audience that a joke is a cleverly arranged words the build to a surprising point. “We love him,” said Seth Meyers in closing out “I Love It,” and he was correct.

I also thoroughly enjoyed “Les Jeunes de Paris” — disaffected French youths led by Stone and Taran Killam flirting snootily and dancing with jerky precision. It was flat-out, energetic, verging-on-silly fun. I also thought the commercial for “Baby Spanx” fit into a fine, long-standing SNL tradition.

Kings of Leon purveyed their paradoxical brand of sensitive-brawny rock with effectiveness — but only the second of their two performances suggested the strength of the band’s new album Come Around Sundown.

Ultimately, Stone was an SNL success because she communicated an ease with herself and as any character she was assigned.

This week’s missing-in-action cast members: Vanessa Bayer and Jay Pharoah barely saw any screen-time.

What did you like or dislike about this week’s Saturday Night Live?

Follow: @kentucker
Oh, and after you’ve registered your decision about the episode, won’t you check out the latest edition of the TV Insiders podcast, featuring Dalton Ross, Annie Barrett, Michael Ausiello, Michael Slezak, Missy Schwartz, and me-myself-and-I, yakking about everything from Project Runway to The Good Wife to The Ultimate Fighter. All that, and more. You can either download the mp3 file here or click below.

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Last updated at 3:03 PM on 24th October 2010 - Daily Mail

By Jody Thompson
Last updated at 3:03 PM on 24th October 2010

Russell Brand and Katy Perry has earned his stripes as a husband already by buying his new bride a tiger to celebrate their marriage.

Brand spent thousands buying Machli, a female Bengal tiger who lives in the Ranthambhore National Park where the pair wed yesterday.

It's said that the comedian picked her from the dozens of big cats roaming the park as she was regarded by the park rangers as 'the epitome of beauty' - reflecting his feelings for singer Katy.

However Katy, who already owns a slightly smaller domestic cat called Kitty Purry, will leave Machli to prowl in her jungle home and the money Russell paid for her will be invested in the tiger's welfare and the park's conservation schemes.

And the bride wore: Katy sported a red bag on her head as she went on a tiger safari in the Ranthambhore National Park ahead of her marriage to Russell yesterday

'Epitome of beauty': Russell Brand gave his new bride Katy Perry a tiger called Machli as a gift during their wedding yesterday

Floral display: Staff arrange white blooms to adorn tables at the wedding reception

Russell was also said to have given Katy a ruby which is said to possess 'protective powers', while Katy decided to give her man a baby elephant as a love token.

Both gifts are also early birthday presents, as the California Gurls star Katy turns 26 tomorrow.

The extravagant ceremony also featured a Hindu guru and a fortune-telling parrot.

According to witnesses, the bird foresaw a long life, long marriage and long and successful careers for both bride and groom by picking out cards in response to guests’ questions – translated into Hindi for it by handler Pandit Rakesh Joshi.

Russell and Katy tied the knot in a lavish, colourful Hindu ceremony at the Aman-i-khas resort on the edge of the Rajasthani nature reserve with 85 friends and family in attendance.

The bride started off in a blue sari, but was said to have made several changes during the day.

Russell meanwhile sported a nude-coloured traditional kurta before later wearing a long, elaborately embroidered coat.

The wedding is reported to have been a very authentic affair, with Indian musicians singing and playing the sitar, santoor, tabla and nagaras (Rajasthani kettle drums) while the guests cheered and clapped.

The pair made sure to have an authentic wedding procession known as the 'bharat', where the groom and his relatives walk to wherever the bride is waiting.

Two elephants named Laxmi and Mala arrived at the resort on Friday night in readiness for the procession.

While it is considered perfectly adequate for the bridegroom to ride on a white horse, the Indian royals used elephants, so naturally enough Russell wanted one.

However, tradition won out, and the groom arrived on horseback – while the elephants, camels and more horses formed part of the wedding procession.

Anticipation: The local helipad gets a quick brush down as local police look on

She bangs: The nagaras, or Rajasthani kettle drums, arrive before the ceremony

The couple then sat in gold wedding thrones under a mandap (traditional wedding canopy) strung with red and yellow ribbons and garlands of marigolds.

The pair then made speeches, with Katy - unusually for a bride - making one herself.

However, it was said to last a bum-numbing 30 minutes as the star rambled about her belief in reincarnation and how she's convinced her and Russell were together in a previous life.

The sounds of sacred Vedic chanting could also be heard coming from the resort.

According to people working in the nearby Ranthambhore wildlife sanctuary, staff were instructed to leave at around 5pm local time.

'I hadn't even finished the lighting I had been told to do. They just told us to get out fast,' one worker told People magazine.

And it looks like Katy, 25, and Russell, 35, spared absolutely no expense with their celebrations.

In the days before the celebrations kicked off, the local store was asked to order 1,380 cans of soft drink and 5,000 bottles of mineral water. The wedding feast was traditional Indian and vegan.

And the guests made an effort to keep it traditional too, with the majority of them in Indian dress.

Indian musician Rafiq Khan says,'The young children looked very pretty, with the boys wearing small turbans too.

'As the guests entered, my troupe of drum players played the our Nagara drums (Indian kettle drums) to welcome them.

Last minute preparations: Florists work on intricate flower arrangements to decorate the wedding venue behind the scenes

Shady character: Another wedding guest is chauffered in for the ceremony

Golden couple: Two wedding guests arrive suitably attired for the extravagant ceremony

More than a dozen cars were seen ferrying guests including David Baddiel into the resort beforehand.

Other celebrity wedding goers were expected to include Jonathan Ross and his wife Jane Goldman, though Katy's best friend Rihanna, who organised her hen do in Vegas, couldn't attend 'due to work commitments'.

Jumbo wedding: Two elephants wait in the car park before their starring roles in Katy Perry and Russell Brand's betrothal in India - the pinnacle of a six-day celebration

Katy was pictured earlier this week wearing a nath - an Indian bridal nose ring - while Russell has had a henna tattoo done on his hand.

Guests were treated to a traditional dance by Indian supermodel Jesse Randhawa and her husband, choreographer ?Sandhip Soparrkar, dancing for them.

There were also fire jugglers and fire eaters, snake charmers and dance troupes.

The festivities continue today 100 miles from the wedding venue with a gala reception at the Taj Rambagh Palace Hotel, the former home of the Maharaja and Maharani of Jaipur, which was converted into a five-star hotel in 1957.

The party is expected to have an 'East meets West' theme with a rumoured performances by rap mogul P Diddy, even though he was still in the U.S. today having hosted a night at Pure nightclub in Las Vegas last night.

Brand proposed to I Kissed A Girls star Katy at the Rambagh Palace during a holiday their last year after a whirlwind three month romance.

Wedding dance: One of the highlights of the ceremony was a traditional Indian dance by celebrated choreographer Sandip Soparrkar and his supermodel wife Jesse Randhawa

In the jungle the mighty jungle: The tigers might not be sleeping tonight

In tents ceremony: Russell and Katy celebrated their union after making their vows in this vividly coloured tent in the Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan

As previously reported by MailOnline, local police threatened to close down the reception if festivities got out of hand to stop tigers in the surrounding jungle being startled. 

Armed officers said they would intervene if there was any raucous behaviour, fireworks or if music went on after 10pm.

The park is also home to leopards, wild boars, hyenas and sloth bears.

Happy couple: Katy wearing her nath, a traditional Indian nose ring worn for weddings, as she arrived at Jaipur airport earlier this week, and Russell, showing the henna tattoos he's had done for their big day

In love: The Mr and Mrs Brand got engaged on holiday in India so decided to seal their love on the subcontinent too

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Peter Jackson vents his frustration over the bitter ‘Hobbit’ labor dispute: ‘I’m out of my depth.’

Peter Jackson has staged some epic, humdinger battles on-screen, but the battle royale taking place off-screen over The Hobbit — with actors’ unions feuding with the production and Warner Bros. threatening to relocate filming out of New Zealand — clearly has left him deeply exasperated. In an interview with a New Zealand television reporter (see part of the interview embedded below), the director vents his frustration at the ongoing labor dispute, which is just the latest in a series of difficult hurdles he has had to overcome to bring The Hobbit to the screen.

Appearing with co-writer Philippa Boyens on a soundstage built for The Hobbit, he frets that the unions’ boycott — which he says had “no validity” — has done great harm to the reputation of the New Zealand film industry, so much so that he doesn’t know how he can persuade Warner Bros. that it should spend hundreds of millions of dollars to make the two Hobbit films there. “I don’t know what to say,” he says. “This is where I’m out of my depth … I can talk my way around the movie. But to tell the studio why investing $500 million in our country is a good idea when they’ve just seen the disgusting, frivolous action that’s happened … I literally don’t know what to say to them.” Taking aim at Helen Kelly, the president of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, who has been critical of his handling of the dispute, Jackson’s anger boils over: “How dare you. You are choosing an Australian union over the workers of our country. Stuff her. I don’t care what the hell she says.”

At the same time, Jackson insists he is neither anti-union (“I’m a paid-up member of four different unions”) nor anti-actor (“They can be a little self-centered, some of them,” he says, “but we have had a huge show of support, too.”) With the brinksmanship on both sides reaching a climax, Jackson says he doesn’t know at this point whether the film will stay in New Zealand or not. “Is the movie going to come or go? We don’t know,” he says. “The damage has been done.”

It’s been a long, tough slog just to get this movie to the starting line. Obviously, yesterday’s casting news lifted the spirits of Hobbit-watchers, but given how crucial the strange and beautiful New Zealandness of New Zealand is to Jackson’s vision of Middle-earth, does this ongoing wrangling worry you? Watch the video below (there’s also additional footage from the Jackson interview here) and share your thoughts.

Read more:
‘The Hobbit’: Martin Freeman to play Bilbo Baggins; other roles also cast
Will ‘The Hobbit’ finally turn Martin Freeman into a stateside star?
‘The Hobbit’ could still exit NZ, reads New Line statement
‘The Hobbit’ will shoot in New Zealand after all. Well, maybe. Hopefully. We’ll see.
Peter Jackson officially to direct ‘The Hobbit’
‘Hobbit’ casting: Martin Freeman could still play Bilbo Baggins

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NBC brings back ‘The Sing Off’ Dec. 6

Image Credit: Credit: Stephen Shugerman/Getty ImagesNBC will premiere a second season of The Sing Off on Dec. 6. The show hosted by Nick Lachey will air over five nights and feature 10 a capella groups competing for the $100,000 prize and a Sony Music recording contract.

The episodes will air Dec. 8, 13, 15 and 20. The groups are Committed from Alabama.; Eleventh Hour from Ohio, Pitch Slapped from Massachusetts; Groove For Thought in Washington; Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town from California; Men of Note from New Jersey, The Backbeats from California;  On the Rocks from Oregon; Street Corner Symphony from Tennessee; and The Whiffenpoofs from Connecticut.

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Fox versus Cablevision in NY area: No end in sight

Fox and Cablevision have yet to resolve a carriage dispute that resulted in the cable company dropping the broadcaster from its system in the New York area that serves more than 3 million homes. Fox released this statement today after viewers through Connecticut, parts of New Jersey, the New York area and a small part of Philadelphia area lost access to Fox programming last weekend: “For the past eight days Cablevision has deprived their subscribers of the National League Championship Series, possibly two weekends of NFL on Fox, and a full week of Fox’s primetime shows. Unfortunately, it’s becoming clear that Cablevision believes Fox has very limited value to their customers. We urge those Cablevision subscribers who want to see the World Series beginning Oct. 27 to switch providers or purchase an over the air antenna now.”

A Cablevision spokesman released this statement: “We welcome the FCC’s intervention. Whether through FCC action, binding arbitration or any other means, the time has come for News Corp. to end the Fox blackout of 3 million Cablevision households.”

Cablevision claims that it already pays Fox parent News Corp. more than $70 million a year for its channels, and News Corp. is demanding more than $150 million a year for the same exact programming. Cablevision says it has reached agreements with every other major broadcast station in the market — NBC, ABC, CBS and Univision — and offered News Corp. as much or more for Fox 5 as it pays any of those stations, but News Corp. is “continuing to demand” more for Fox 5 than Cablevision pays all of the other broadcast stations combined.

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‘The Vampire Diaries’: Taylor Kinney talks [SPOILER!]

Image Credit: Quantrell Colbert/The CWIf you haven’t watched this week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries and intend to, stop reading… Taylor Kinney — who drew his last breath as werewolf Mason Lockwood (at least for now) — always knew there was an expiration date on his guest arc, but he didn’t know the way it would end (with Damon ripping his heart out after torturing him). No one in the cast knew specifics until they actually got their scripts for the Oct. 21 episode. What was Kinney’s reaction when he read it? “I thought the lead-up was great, but yeah, I was like, ‘Really? Holy s—!,’” he says, laughing. Nina Dobrev had the best reaction though, he adds. Kinney saw her reading the script, which had come out the day before. “I thought she had already read it, and she just wanted to read over a scene again. So I sat down with her, and I asked her if she’d finished it, and I think before she even got the words out, I had told her what happened. Her face just dropped, and she was like, ‘Really?’ She got all worked up because she never likes to know what’s going on with an episode until she reads the script. She didn’t know yet.” So she was actually angry because he spoiled how he was leaving the show? “Yeah. She was really pissed at me,” he says, laughing again.

Kinney says he and Ian Somerhalder shot the torture scene for about 10 hours. “Some of the times when we’d get rolling with it, it seemed really real. Ian wasn’t holding back,” he says, with another chuckle. “I think that guy was really trying to kill me. We made the most of it, and it turned out great.” We mention that exec producer Kevin Williamson once told us that he and fellow EP Julie Plec actually debated whether to have Paul Wesley shirtless in Stefan’s torture scene last season. (“That almost did me in,” Williamson said. “‘That’s enough. Let’s keep the shirt on from here on out.’ I just thought that was too much. But we were like, ‘But that’s what would happen, so…’”) Was there any debate about whether fully-clothed Mason should have his shirt off so we’d get a better look at the wounds Damon inflicted stabbing him repeatedly with a hot poker (not to mention at Kinney’s tattoos)? “I opted to be totally naked,” Kinney cracks. “I said, ‘We should just go for it,’ but they said, ‘No, you will have your clothes on.’ No. It was never a question, really. I think that might have been maybe too gratuitous.” 

Kinney has already revealed that his mother was the most difficult person to tell that he was leaving the show. So how did he finally do it? “Subtly,” he admits. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think she knows entirely. I was like, ‘Mom, it’s a supernatural show. You never know with these characters. They could reprise,’ and this and that. Because she loves it — her and her girlfriends, the people that she talks with. She just gets a kick out of it, so to tell her that this person is gone for good, it would just break her heart.” (One person in his family who might not miss Mason: His grandmother. “I try to get my grandmother to watch, and she has a light stomach,” he says. “My mom will call and say, ‘You got to turn it on. Taylor’s gonna be on.’ And my grandma will watch for maybe five minutes, then she’ll turn the TV off and call my mom back and say, ‘Good for, Taylor. But I can’t watch that.’ It’s pretty funny.”)

What’s next for the actor, whose credits also include NBC’s Trauma and MyNetworkTV’s Fashion House? “Staying busy in Mystic Falls purgatory,” he jokes. “No. Right now, I’m back in L.A. and on to whatever is ahead. I’m still pretty tight with everybody with The Vampire Diaries, and you never know. Anything can happen in Mystic Falls.” (Hear that, mom?)

Follow: @EWMandiBierly

More Vampire Diaries:
Episode recaps
New York Comic Con: Vampire Diaries cast talks romance
Inside the Writers Room: Vampire Diaries EPs talk TV’s most satisfying pacing
Ian Somerhalder Q&A: Accepting his Ultimate Sexy Beast crown

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