AFI creates movie quote list
The American Film Institute is paying tribute to American movies by researching and compiling a list of the top 100 movies quotes of the last 100 years of film, The Associated Press reports. The AFI chose from over 400 classic lines of dialogue to compile this years winners, to be revealed on CBS’ upcoming special, AFI’s 100 years … 100 Movie Quotes in June. Included in the tribute are Schwarzenegger’s “I’ll be back” from The Terminator and Humphrey Bogart’s “Here’s looking at you, kid” from Casablanca. The top 100 were chosen by sending ballots to 1,500 directors, screenwriters, actors and critics all involved in the movie industry. AFI director Jean Picker Firstenburg believes that great movie quotes are an essential part in American history. “Great movie quotes become a part of our cultural vocabulary,” he said.
Funeral held for rapper Ol’Dirty Bastard
A funeral for the late rapper Ol’Dirty Bastard was set for Thursday in Brooklyn, New York, the AP reports. Family and friends attended the open-casket ceremony at St. James Presbyterian Church in Harlem to remember the former Wu-Tang Clan member. Floral arrangements consisted of red and white flowers adorning the casket. “He just loved life,” said his father, William Jones, who had spoken to his son, born Russell Jones, just three weeks before his death. The 35-year-old rapper suddenly collapsed and died in a Manhattan recording studio on Saturday. The cause of his death is still undetermined, but Jones did report having chest pains shortly before his death.
Roman Polanski battles for justice against Vanity Fair magazine
According to the Associated Press, the lawyer of Roman Polanski said that the filmmaker has been denied the justice of suing an American publication while living in France. In a 2002 article published by Vanity Fair magazine, Polanski is accused of seducing a woman on his way to his wife’s funeral in 1969. A court judge in Britain ruled that 71-year-old Polanski would be allowed to testify via video link, but an appeal from Vanity Fair magazine reversed the ruling. Polanski moved to France in 1978 to flee from child molestation charges, and now fears that if he came back to the United States to testify, he would be deported back to the United States.
Richie’s estranged wife charged with illegal drug treatments
Pop singer Lionel Richie’s estranged wife, Diane Keri Richie, has been charged with letting a man use her Beverly Hills home to perform illegal anti-wrinkle injections, the AP reports. Richie has been charged with two counts of aiding and abetting Daniel Tomas Fuente Serrano, who does not have a license to perform anti-aging procedures. Richie was arrested and spent one night in jail but was then released on $25,000 bail on Tuesday. Investigators say that 20 to 40 people allegedly came to her Beverly Hills home to receive the illegal treatments from July to December of 2003. Serrano reportedly charged thousands of dollars for injecting clients with Artecoll and Metacrill, two foreign drugs not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. A few of Serrano’s former clients have now reported problems with the procedures that have made it difficult for them to live normal lives. Diane Richie and Lionel Richie divorced in January of 2004 citing irreconcilable differences.
Rap star Xzibit urges more communication through music
Hip-hop superstar Xzibit is speaking out against glorifying violence in music. Xzibit, whose real name is Alvin Joyner, told Reuters Television that he is hoping for a musical reform to take place. “Hopefully it goes back to that positive side where we can start communicating and saying something through our music,” said Joyner. “Hip-hop went through a total stage of positivity and then transformed into gangster rap and then it got commercial.” In addition to its heavy influence on society, the genre pulls in some $2.8 billion annually, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Xzibit, who also hosts MTV’s car makeover show Pimp My Ride, will host tonight’s MTV Europe Awards. The singer kicked off his solo career in 1996 and is awaiting the release of his new album, Weapons of Mass Destruction, slated to hit stores in December.
Rapper/comedian Ali G to add a new character to the mix
Sacha Baron Cohen, best known as his alter ego the rapper/interviewer/comedian Ali G, has set his sights on a new character. According to Reuters, Ali G is interested in taking a role in The Mortdecai Mustache Mystery, drawn from British comic books by Kyril Bonfiglioni and Craig Brown about aristocrat Charlie Mortdecai, an art dealer and thief living in the United States. Warner Bros. is now negotiating the rights to the series, published in the 1970s. Cohen’s former credits include Ali G Indahouse and Da Ali G Show which currently airs on HBO. Ali G was first introduced as a character on Britain’s The 11 o’clock Show in 1998. Cohen is also expected to play a role in the upcoming DreamWorks film, Madagascar.
