Top Stories
Jay Leno is auctioning off one of his Harley-Davidson motorcycles on eBay’s Auction for America, The Associated Press reports. The 2001 Harley has been autographed by stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Pamela Anderson. Bidding started at $20,000; at press time, the highest bid had already reached more than $80,000–with more than a week left in the auction. Proceeds from the sale will go to the Twin Towers Fund.
Spike Lee is also getting into the game, auctioning off a courtside seat next to him at the New York Knicks’ Oct. 30 opener at Madison Square Garden against the Washington Wizards. According to AP, the auction will benefit the UFA Widows and Children Fund, which was created by the New York Fire Department. Bidding for the ticket began Tuesday through the NBA and Yahoo. The game will mark Michael Jordan’s return to basketball following three years of retirement.
Wheel of Fortune will tape a week of shows paying tribute to New York City in Los Angeles, PageSix.com reports. According to the show’s executive producer, taping in New York would prove too difficult and take too much time to plan. The shows, which will air the week of Dec. 31, will feature prizes including Broadway show tickets and deluxe New York vacations.
Weddings
Harvey Keitel married director and actress Daphna Kastner in Jerusalem on Oct. 7, Reuters reports. Keitel was previously married to actress Lorraine Bracco of The Sopranos from 1982 to 1993.
In Courts
Porn star Kathryn Gannon’s extradition hearing will be postponed until Dec. 10 because the regulators’ offices in New York were destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks, Reuters reports. Gonnon fled to Canada last year before she could be arrested on charges of trading on information illegally given to her during an affair with a New York investment banker.
In General
George Lucas‘ Industrial Light & Magic will provide computer-generated visuals for Universal’s action film The Hulk and Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Variety reports. This year, ILM’s work was seen in Pearl Harbor, Planet of the Apes, Jurassic Park III and A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed, but most large-scale films allocate 20% or more of a picture’s budget to computer-generated visuals.
Music publishers and recording companies have reached a deal for the use of songs online, Reuters reports. The deal was reached after months of talks between the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Music Publishers’ Association and the Harry Fox Agency Inc. Under the deal, labels will pay a $1 million advance for music over two years until the rates are determined, after which royalties will be paid retroactively.
Quentin Tarantino said on Monday that his next film Kill Bill will unite two Asian cinema giants. According to Reuters, Hong Kong’s Yuen Woo Ping would choreograph the Chinese kung fu action and Japan’s Sonny Chiba would choreograph the samurai action. The film stars Uma Thurman as a female assassin who tries to leave a group of professional killers.
Garth Brooks unveiled his new album Scarecrow at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Tuesday, Reuters reports. This is Brooks’s last album with Capitol Records, but the singer said it was not meant as a farewell.
