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Actors Woody Harrelson and Kyle MacLachlan are the latest film stars to try their luck on stage in London’s West End. The two will appear in American playwright John Kolvenbach’s On an Average Day, which opens Aug. 7 at the Comedy Theater. Harrelson and MacLachlan join an exodus of stars who have made London stage debuts in the past month, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Matt Damon, Hayden Christensen and Anna Paquin. X-Files star Gillian Anderson is also expected to appear in a new play by American writer Michael Weller, and Glenn Close makes her National Theater debut in A Streetcar Named Desire in late October, Variety reports.
Celebs
While some stars choose to leave the country, it seems others are being forced. British actor Steven Berkoff, who was scheduled to perform in his one-man play, Shakespeare’s Villains, in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Mich., this week, was deported before he could take the stage, The Associated Press reports. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service deported the actor on allegations that he had violated the stipulations of a previous work visa issued in 1997.
Former Beatle Paul McCartney took time out of his honeymoon with Heather Mills to write to the top 100 shareholders of McDonald’s, asking them to persuade the company to apply its U.S. animal welfare standards to its restaurants worldwide, the AP reports. The letter was released Thursday by the animal- ights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Juwanna Mann star Vivica A. Fox has filed for divorce from her husband of almost four years, Christopher Harvest. The 37-year-old actress, who starred in Independence Day and Batman & Robin, filed her petition at the Los Angeles County Courthouse on Thursday.
Movies
Warner Bros. is remaking the 1979 comedy The In-Laws to be directed by Andy Fleming, Variety reports. Till Death Do Us Part will star Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks and Van Wilder‘s Ryan Reynolds. Lindsay Sloane is in final negotiations to star. Shooting begins in Toronto in mid-July.
Traffic scribe Stephen Gaghan has signed on to rewrite Ron Howard‘s upcoming period film The Alamo, which was originally written by John Sayles. The Disney picture is expected to deal with the Alamo’s historical complexities–including the Mexican point of view–that weren’t seen in the1960 John Wayne version of the film. Russell Crowe is in final negotiations to star.
Tube
Apparently there is a whole world out there for tabloid TV host Jerry Springer to conquer. According to the AP, Springer will host a weekly late-night show in South Africa later this year. Jerry Springer Saturday Night promises to be more traditional than his popular American show and will feature interviews with celebrities, an opening monologue and a live studio audience.
Music
Timothy White, the influential editor of Billboard magazine, died of an apparent heart attack on Thursday at the age of 50, Reuters reports. White collapsed at Billboard‘s New York headquarters and was rushed to St. Vincent’s hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The magazine had its most profitable and critically acclaimed run under White, who also wrote a weekly column considered a must-read by many in the music industry. His final column will appear in Billboard‘s July 6 issue, which hits newsstands Friday.
