France favourites for 56th Eurovision Song Contest

AFP, DUESSELDORF, Germany, May 13: The Eurovision Song Contest will on Saturday for the 56th time demonstrate its enduring appeal as 25 contestants battle it out with some 125 million people watching live around the world.

Bookmakers indicate that France's Amaury Vassili with his operatic "Sognu" ("I Would Dream About Her") -- belted out in the Corsican language -- is the favourite to take top honours in Duesseldorf, western Germany.

"I don't have a perfectly trained opera voice yet but my voice is really well adapted to performing in front of large audience," said Vassili, 21. "I will give it my very best."

But stiff competition comes from Ireland, who have won Eurovision a record seven times. This year the Emerald Isle's hopes rest on quiffed twins Jedward and their song "Lipstick".

The 20-year-olds appear to have more of a chance than 2008's shouting-and-farting Irish entry, Dustin the Turkey, who managed a surprisingly good 15th place with "Irelande Douze Pointe".

Making a Eurovision comeback meanwhile is Israeli transsexual pop diva Dana International, the 1998 champion whose victory ruffled feathers among the country's influential ultra-Orthodox community.

Bookmakers give her latest effort, "Ding Dong", long odds of 200-1, however.

Also having another go is Germany's homegrown Lena Meyer-Landrut, who won last year in Oslo with her ueber-catchy ditty "Satellite", this time performing the darker "Taken By A Stranger", still in her slightly Bjork-esque accent.

It is because of Lena's victory that the competition is being held in Germany this year, since the winner's country automatically becomes host for the next Eurovision, one of the world's longest-running TV shows.

The competition is broadcast live throughout Europe, but also in Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States, even though these countries do not participate.

This week, a series of qualifying rounds have been whittling down the 43 official entries to 25 for Saturday evening's grand final. The "Big Five" of Britain, France, Spain, Germany and Italy automatically qualify.

Viewers at home and juries from each of the 43 countries then vote on each song, ranking them from their favourite, which gets a full 12 points, to the biggest howler, which gets zero. The results are also announced in French.

All the entries can be seen on the Eurovision website, www.eurovision.tv, where the final can also be watched live.

Britain, which last year came last, is hoping for fewer "nul points" scores with squeaky-clean boy band Blue and their upbeat "I Can". The last British victory was Katrina and The Waves back in 1997.

Another favourite is Finland, hoping for a repeat of 2006 when rockers Lordi, dressed as orc-like creatures, won the competition with "Hard Rock Hallelujah".

This time Finland is sending Paradise Oskar with his song "Da Da Dam", a environmental ballad about a nine-year-old boy who "went out in the world to save the planet" and who "ain't coming back until she's saved".

Victory at the Eurovision can be the start of a glittering career, as it was for Sweden's ABBA, who won in 1974 with "Waterloo", or Canadian Celine Dion, who won for Switzerland in 1988. But for many, it is their one moment of fame.

'American Idol' axes another finalist

AP, LOS ANGELES, May 13: "American Idol" voters apparently stopped believin' in James Durbin.

The wailing 22-year-old rocker from Santa Cruz, Calif., was revealed to have received the fewest viewer votes on the Fox talent contest Thursday, leaving just three finalists remaining in the competition. Durbin consistently wowed the judges and did so again Wednesday with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and The Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9."

"I was really hoping to get there," a tearful Durbin said after the results were revealed.

Durbin, the towering singer whose vocal acrobatics recalled the wonders of eighth season runner-up Adam Lambert, was never among the show's bottom-three vote-getters after such eccentric performances as Muse's "Uprising" or Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," which respectively included accompaniment by marching drummers and a flaming piano.

"I did so much stuff that's never been done on this show before," he said Thursday.

Durbin's dismissal means deep-voiced 17-year-old country crooner Scotty McCreery of Garner, N.C., growling 20-year-old singer Haley Reinhart of Wheeling, Ill., and soaring 16-year-old songstress Lauren Alania of Rossville, Ga., are the top three finalists. Reinhart has appeared at the bottom a total of four times, while Alania was there only once last week.

Before the elimination, Durbin and McCreery teamed up for the Brad Paisley and Keith Urban duet "Start a Band," while Reinhart and Alania were paired for Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead." The installment also included performances by Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias, sixth season "Idol" winner Jordin Sparks and the debut of Steven Tyler's solo music video.

The top-three singers will visit their hometowns this weekend then return to the stage next Wednesday with another finalist dismissed Thursday, paving the way for the 10th season "Idol" champion to be crowned on the May 26 finale. In addition to Sparks, past winners of "Idol" have included Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen, David Cook and Carrie Underwood.

Cannes party honors women in independent film

AP, CANNES, France, May 13: This year's Cannes Film Festival is filled with big-budget movies like "Puss in Boots" and "Kung Fu Panda 2," but on Thursday evening, the focus was on the realm of independent film.

Cannes judge Uma Thurman and actress Rosario Dawson were honored for their contributions to indie film. Also lauded were "Sleeping Beauty" director Jane Campion and the film's producer, Jessica Brentnall, and a handful of other women.

Dawson has been in plenty of mainstream films, but says she will never forget her indie roots in films like "Kids."

"I've been acting since I'm 15, doing independent films and now we have all of these women directors who are being nominated and their films are being shown and put across this audience," she said. "I think it's fair and that's exciting to see that over all these years."

The event was held on the beach across from the celebrity filled Martinez hotel, and was hosted by Calvin Klein Collection and the Independent Filmmakers Project.

Vanessa Hudgens said she attended because she wanted to show her support for her fellow actresses.

"I think it's really great when somebody gives women an opportunity to come out and stand up for what they are doing, and I'm so excited to be here," Hudgens said.

2 charged in scheme to sell fake Disney pins

AP, SANTA ANA, Calif., May 13: Two Southern California men have been charged with illegally importing about $2 million worth of counterfeit Disney pins from China and selling them over the Internet.

Orange County prosecutors announced the charges against 52-year-old Robert Smyrak of Anaheim and 57-year-old Larry Allred of Walnut on Thursday.

Smyrak is accused of orchestrating a scheme in which he and Allred sent legitimate, collectible Disney pins to a manufacturer in China to be replicated. When the counterfeit pins were sent back to them, they sold the pins online while passing them off as the real deal.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered the scheme in February when they intercepted a package addressed to Smyrak containing more than 150 pounds of pins.

Smyrak and Allred are scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Jay Chou, Leehom Wang lead Golden Melody nominees

AP, HONG KONG, May 13: Taiwanese pop sensation Jay Chou, Chinese-American singer-songwriter Leehom Wang and Hong Kong's Karen Mok led nominations for Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards announced Friday.

Chou's "Superman Can't Fly," Wang's "Things You Don't Know" and Mok's "Perfect Loneliness" are up for song of the year, along with Eric Hung's "Flower of Love," Jody Chiang's "I Wanted to Marry Then," Freya Lim's "Heavy Injury" and Jonathan Lee's "Song for Myself."

Chou, Wang, Mok and Hung are also competing for album of the year. Chou, a 32-year-old singer-songwriter who burst onto the scene in 2000 and has become one of Chinese pop's top acts, also received nominations in the best composer, best producer and best Mandarin male singer categories.

The nominations also mark a strong resurgence for Lee, a veteran singer-songwriter who's one of the industry's top producers. Lee's "Song for Myself" is from the second of two albums that are part of a one-off collaboration with Lo Da-yu, Emil Chau, Chang Chen-yue dubbed "Super Band."

Wang is also a best Mandarin male performer nominee, along with Singaporean Wayne Lin and Taiwanese singers William Wei and Chyi Chin.

The best Mandarin female singer nominees are Mok and fellow Hong Kong singer Denise Ho, Lim and Taiwan's A-Lin and Wanfang Lin.

The winners will be announced June 18 in Taipei. The annual awards are the Chinese-language equivalent of the Grammys.

Kutcher gives online hint about joining 'Men'

AP, LOS ANGELES, May 13: Twitter king Ashton Kutcher gave his followers a big clue Wednesday that he may be joining "Two and a Half Men" — either that or he's punking them.

"What's the square root of 6.25?" the actor asked in a tweet.

The answer is 2-1/2.

Kutcher's online message came amid reports that he's nearing a deal to replace the fired Charlie Sheen on TV's top-rated comedy. The 33-year-old was negotiating with series producer Warner Bros., The Hollywood Reporter said Wednesday, citing unidentified sources. Earlier, Broadcasting & Cable reported Kutcher had emerged as a candidate for the CBS series.

Warner Bros. declined comment, as did CBS. Kutcher's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There is deadline pressure to get a deal done, with CBS presenting its fall lineup to advertisers in New York next Wednesday.

Kutcher gained fame on another sitcom, "That 70s Show," then focused on film roles (the romantic comedy "No Strings Attached" the most recent) and producing, including the prank show "Punk'd."

Warner and CBS have been shopping for a name actor who could keep the highly lucrative sitcom afloat without Sheen. Within recent days, negotiations with British film star Hugh Grant fell apart because of reported creative differences.

There was speculation Wednesday that Kutcher could parlay his nearly 6.7 million Twitter followers and even bigger Facebook fan club into continued healthy viewership for "Two and a Half Men."

But Kutcher's effort to use social media to boost "The Beautiful Life," which he produced for the CW network, proved lackluster: The 2009 series, which was a venture between CBS and Warner Bros., was canceled after just two episodes.

It's been more than two months since Warner fired Sheen in the show's eighth season, a move that followed the hard-living actor's bouts of wild partying, repeated hospitalizations and a bitter media campaign against his studio bosses who shut down production.

Tilda Swinton shines in perplexing drama

Reuters, CANNES, May 13: The irony in the title of Lynne Ramsay's film, "We Need to Talk About Kevin," is that no one ever does.

In many ways, in fact, the film is almost as non-verbal as the newly restored version of Georges Melies' 1902 "A Trip to the Moon," shown here at Cannes earlier this week. "Kevin" is about one character yet takes place entirely in the mind and world of another. Seldom has a son and a mother been more unknown to each other than in this drama, which is as perplexing as it is intriguing.

Its Cannes exposure should send Ramsay's movie, her first in nearly 10 years since "Morvern Callar," on a distinguished ride along the festival circuit with acquisitions coming in many territories, all of which will be tough sells theatrically. Moviegoers seek out a film such as "We Need to Talk About Kevin" for the experience of a top-flight director taking complete charge of a fractured, intricate narrative design and a top-flight actress at the peak of her game. With this film, Tilda Swinton establishes herself as the one to beat for best-actress honors at 2011 Cannes.

The Kevin in the title is a troubled, angry youth who, you realize fairly soon in a narrative that tracks back and forth in time, has committed a high-school murder rampage. He is played by three different youths at varying ages but the two playing him as a 6-year-old (Jasper Newell) and a teenager (Ezra Miller) definitely have the evil eye. Sinister and brooding, each stares at his mother with dark intent, the mind behind those eyes clicking away with devious plots. But the movie really isn't about Kevin. It's about Swinton's Eva, the mother who maybe didn't want to have the child in the first place, but that's just a guess. She never says so.

Eva has moved from her New York suburban home following the tragedy into a humble house that is the frequent target of vandals, even as she is the frequent target of outrage from a community that scorns her for producing such a monster. Kevin is incarcerated in a nearby prison that she occasionally visits as she tries to get back on her feet with a menial job at a travel agency.

Since the movie largely takes place in her tormented mind, it free-associates with images, words and themes going as far back as her romance with Kevin's father, Franklin (John C. Reilly), somewhere in Europe. The movie, in fact, opens at a Spanish festival where a large crowd of young people douse themselves with tomatoes and juice, calling forth one of the basic theme images of the movie - a redder-than-red red that takes in the festival bacchanal, red paint vandals throw on her house, the supermarket soup cans she hides behind to avoid irate parents and the blood from Kevin's many victims.

Reading aloud to her son from Robin Hood -- the only time in the film mother and son enjoy each other's company -- the movie tracks Kevin's growing obsession with archery from rubber toys to increasingly powerful bows until the final weapon he uses to hunt classmates.

An enmity exists between son and mother, seemingly from birth, that Ramsay - who wrote the screenplay with her husband Rory Stewart Kinnear from Lionel Shriver's prize-winning novel -- never tries to solve. The film hints that no mother could cope such a son; indeed Kevin despises his mother, seems to have no friends and treats his dad and young sister Celia (Ashley Gerasimovich) with only feigned affection. This boy likes nothing and no one -- except for archery.

The father is clueless about his son's treachery and ignores any attempt at enlightenment by his wife. Of course, the movie's events are memories filtered by guilt, regret and anguish so they are by no means reliable. The camera sticks with Swinton, letting you know that this is her thinking back, searching for answers. None come.

Although on camera every minute, Swinton gives the impression that this woman would love to disappear. Even before the massacre, she looks like she wants out of her life. The actress conveys every thought racing through her character's mind.

What is she doing in this dreadful suburb with a husband she forgot how to love and a son she cannot reach? The last thing she knew she was at a tomato-throwing festival in Spain.

Ramsay shoots in Cinemascope so no matter how close she gets to her heroine, you sense the environment as well. Small objects and little details about what Kevin is up to take on a more ominous aspect in wide screen. This is, in a way, a real horror film about everyday things and a disconnected family.

All these narrative tricks and the intense scrutiny on a single character do put a viewer at a remove from these events, however. This is a coolly cerebral film with odd music choices -- everything from the Beach Boys to vintage country -- and a few odd images such as a microscopic view of breast cancer cells dividing, apropos of absolutely nothing. It's a film to think about and debate over but not one to embrace.

Matthew Perry to take break to "focus on sobriety"

Reuters, LOS ANGELES, May 13: Former "Friends" star Matthew Perry said on Thursday he is taking a break from show business to focus on his sobriety.

"I'm making plans to go away for a month to focus on my sobriety and to continue my life in recovery," Perry told celebrity news website TMZ.

Perry's publicist said the actor was going away but said he is not currently in rehab.

Perry's decision follows a disappointing reception for his new TV comedy "Mr. Sunshine". The 41 year-old actor starred, created and co-produced the show, which made its debut in February but is thought to be at risk of cancellation after low ratings.

Perry made two trips to rehab for addiction to alcohol and prescription painkillers during the 10-year run of "Friends" , on which he played wise-cracking Chandler Bing.

Unlike some of his "Friends" co-stars, Perry has had limited luck in his career since the end of the comedy series in 2004. His last major network TV series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" was canceled in 2007 because of poor ratings.

Actress Marlee Matlin hit with tax bill, sells home

Reuters, LOS ANGELES, May 13: Actress Marlee Matlin says she is selling her Los Angeles-area house and taking her four children out of private school to ease a cash crunch that has left her owing $50,000 in back taxes.

Matlin, 45, told People magazine that she was working out a payment schedule with the Internal Revenue Service to settle her tax bill from the 2009 fiscal year.

She said she and her husband, a police officer in the Los Angeles municipality of Burbank, "have always made ends meet in the past -- and we will in this circumstance as well." Her spokeswoman confirmed the details of the news report.

In this case, the couple are seeking $899,000 for their modest, five-bedroom, 2,600-square-feet (243-square-meter) home in the suburb of Pasadena, according to a Reuters search of public records.

Matlin told People that the family planned to move to a suburb with a good public school. As a middle-class working actor without a steady paycheck, Matlin said she and her family do not live an extravagant lifestyle.

Nor did her tax woes did not mean she was "a bad person," she told People. "It's reality. It's the reality that a lot of people in America are facing."

Matlin, perhaps the best known deaf actress in Hollywood, is a contestant in the current season of "Celebrity Apprentice."

She won an Academy Award in 1987 for her lead role in "Children of a Lesser God," and made Emmy-nominated guest appearances in episodes of "Seinfeld," "Picket Fences" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

Tearful rocker James Durbin exits "American Idol"

Reuters, LOS ANGELES, May 13: Rocker James Durbin, fighting tears of disbelief, was thrown off "American Idol" on Thursday as viewers chose their Top 3 on the TV singing show.

Durbin, 22, who was widely seen as a sure bet for going all the way to the finals, got the least number of votes despite universal praise from the judges during the week of inspirational songs.

His shock departure left 17-year-old country singer Scotty McCreery, pop/country singer Lauren Alaina, 16, and Haley Reinhart, 20, to compete for a place in the finale.

"I worked so damn hard and I was hoping to get there," said a stunned Durbin, tears streaming down his face.

"But I did so much stuff that's never been done on the show. I did what I came here to do, and that was to give metal a chance," he declared.

Durbin, who suffers from the tic disorder Tourette syndrome and describes himself as a high-functioning autistic, made a name for himself on the top-rated show with a series of hard rock performances, often against the advice of in-house mentor Jimmy Iovine.

But on Wednesday's performance show it was Reinhart who got a big thumbs-down for her rendition of the Michael Jackson's "Earth Song." In an unusually harsh remark, judge Randy Jackson chided Reinhart for "screaming."

For all the controversy earlier this season about audience bias toward male contestants, the final three is now made up of two women and a sole man.

"Idol" has increased its audience this year after three years of slipping ratings, thanks mostly to the arrival of new judges Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler.

Tyler on Thursday debuted the music video of his first U.S. solo single -- a pop-heavy song called "(It) Feels So Good."

The 2011 "American Idol" finale airs on the Fox network on May 24 and 25, when viewers will choose the winner, and he or she lands a recording contract.

Past winners Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have gone on to major singing careers, while eliminated finalist Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for her supporting role in the big-screen adaptation of the "Dreamgirls" musical.

Ashton Kutcher in deal to replace Charlie Sheen: reports

Reuters, LOS ANGELES, May 13: Actor Ashton Kutcher was reported on Thursday to have signed a deal to replace Charlie Sheen in a revamped version of top-rated U.S. television comedy "Two and A Half Men."

Deadline Hollywood said Kutcher, 33, the husband of actress Demi Moore, had signed a deal to join the cast of the CBS show when it returns for a ninth season.

The Hollywood Reporter said the "That '70s Show" actor was in final negotiations on Thursday night.

CBS and "Two and a Half Men" producers Warner Bros. Televison declined to comment on the reports, which came a week before CBS -- the most-watched U.S. broadcast network -- presents its new season line-up to advertisers in New York on May 18.

Sheen was fired in March from his starring role as a womanizing bachelor after weeks of erratic behavior and for publicly insulting the producers. Production was also shut down for the remaining eight episodes of the 2010-11 TV season.

Producers have since been scrambling to retool the money-spinning show without Sheen, or add new characters. On Wednesday, industry sources said British actor Hugh Grant had pulled out of negotiations citing "creative differences."

Kutcher is best known for his role as a dim-witted stoner in "That '70s Show," a comedy that aired for eight seasons on Fox and remains popular in syndication. His movie career has been less successful. He was last seen in the January romantic comedy "No Strings Attached" opposite Natalie Portman. He was an early adopter of Twitter, with a huge following of 6.8 million people.

"Two and A Half Men" is the most-watched TV comedy in the United States with about 15 million regular viewers and has been a lucrative source of advertising revenue for CBS, and syndication fees for Warner Bros.

Sheen, 45, who has been in and out of drug rehab for the last 12 months, was the highest-paid actor on U.S. television, earning more than $1.2 million per episode.

Warner Bros. last month strongly denied claims by Sheen that the studio was in talks to reinstate him, and said there was no chance of him returning to the show.