HOLLYWOOD - Top Story: Jackson Weaves Voodoo Magic Against Enemies?
He dangled his child off a hotel balcony and admitted to sleeping with boys in his bed. Now Reuters reports that according to an article in Vanity Fair's March issue, Michael Jackson paid $150,000 to put a voodoo curse on his enemies, including director Steven Spielberg and music mogul David Geffen. The Vanity Fair article also says Jackson underwent a "blood bath" as part of the ritual (which took place in 2000 in Switzerland) and ordered his then-business adviser Myung-Ho Lee to wire $150,000 to a bank in Mali for a voodoo chief who sacrificed 42 cows for the ceremony . The magazine also reports Jackson wears a prosthetic nose and a wig and his extravagant lifestyle and declining record sales have left him $240 million in debt.
And Baby Makes Four
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld and wife Jessica welcomed their second child, a son named Julian Kal, The Associated Press reports. The six-pound, seven-ounce baby was born Saturday in New York and joins older sister, Sascha, 2.
Holy Smoke, Batman! A Reunion!
AP reports CBS will air the reunion movie Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt, a behind-the-scenes look at the popular 1960s TV show Batman. The show's stars Adam West, now 74, and his dynamic sidekick Burt Ward, 57, will host the special and give some insights into the wacky antics that went on in making the show. It airs Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.
Dating, Newlywed Games Get New Look
Going back to the basics, NBC is developing new primetime versions of the popular early '70s games shows The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game for the 2003-04 season, Variety reports. "In terms of relationship shows, these are the godfathers of them all," Russ Krasnoff, president of programming at Sony Pictures TV, told Variety. "They're just simple, clean, classic formats about relationships and how well people know each other."
Singer Anastacia Has Cancer Surgery
Pop singer Anastacia underwent surgery to remove cancer from her breast and to reconstruct it. Her doctor told Reuters, "Her prognosis is good, as are her spirits, which figures into any patient's successful recovery." She will begin a six-week course of radiation therapy in the coming weeks.
Actor Horst Buchholz Dies
German actor Horst Buchholz, best known for his roles in The Magnificent Seven and Life is Beautiful, died Monday of pneumonia in Berlin. He was 69.
The Eagles Say Farewell…Again
This is the absolute last time--they mean it! Even after stating that their 1994 Hell Freezes Over tour was to be their last, the Eagles will embark on yet another farewell tour, starting May 9 in Richmond, Va. Hey, if the Rolling Stones can do it, why can't they?
ROLE CALL: Black Back to HBO; "Grimm" For Gilliam; "Giants" Among Us
According to Variety reports: Reuniting for the first time since the critically acclaimed HBO cult fave comedy show Tenacious D, Jack Black and his band will return to HBO to develop the half-hour comedy Black Market Music, about a group of twentysomethings who run a Hollywood record shop. Brazil director Terry Gilliam is taking on a feature film about fairy tale spinners the Brothers Grimm, a $75 million Dimension Films/MGM venture that casts authors Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm as traveling spell busters who claim they can protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures but end up facing a real magical curse instead (uh-oh, was Michael Jackson involved?). Director Peter Kosminsky (White Oleander) will take the reins on the Holocaust drama Giants, which follows a German soldier who tries to save a group of Jewish children from execution by leading them across the Alps with the Nazis hot on their trail.