Tintin embarks on new adventure in China
BEIJING: Beloved Belgian cartoon reporter Tintin is getting a makeover in China thanks to a new, more faithful Mandarin translation of his adventures. Wang Bingdong, who first discovered Herge’s comic strip hero in 2001 at the age of 66, spent three years penning the new version of 22 Tintin books — a painstaking task he says was a pure delight. “I really found myself feeling happy as I was translating — I felt younger with Tintin and the other members of the Tintin family by my side every day,” Wang said with a grin. The new Chinese edition includes nearly all of Tintin’s stories — “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets” was deemed too anti-communist by the country’s censors for its criticism of the Soviet Union. The plucky character and his canine pal Snowy first appeared in China in the 1980s, when some of the stories were published in so-called “little book” format, but the first official set of books only came out in 2001. More than two million books were sold, but the translation was far from perfect, having been done from the English, not the original French, which first appeared in 1929.
Hollywood stars urge quake relief
LOS ANGELES: Oprah Winfrey, Paris Hilton, Ben Stiller, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among the celebrities and artists urging support for survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. Doctors Without Borders announced Wednesday that Pitt and Jolie were contributing $1 million to the organization’s emergency medical operations responding to the earthquake. The organization said it is dispatching additional emergency staff, including a surgical team and equipment to establish a 100-bed inflatable tent hospital with two operating rooms. “We understand the first response is critical to serve the immediate needs of countless people who are now displaced from their homes, are suffering trauma, and most require urgent care,” Pitt said in a statement. Stiller tweeted late Tuesday that “people in Haiti need our help and attention right now.” Similar tweets are showing up from the likes of Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Adam Lambert and Ryan Leslie. “It seems like across the wide spectrum of artists and people in the music industry and the movie industry and everything else, people are kind of joining together to help in whatever manner that they can,” Blink-182 bassist-vocalist Mark Hoppus said.
Teddy Pendergrass dead at 59
PHILADELPHIA: Teddy Pendergrass, the seductive American rhythm-and-blues singer who continued his recording career after he was paralyzed in a 1982 car accident, has died at the age of 59, media reports said on Thursday. Pendergrass’s son, Teddy Pendergrass II, told the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper that his father died on Wednesday at a Philadelphia-area hospital. He had undergone colon cancer surgery eight months ago and his son said he had a difficult recovery. Pendergrass began his career as a drummer but first rose to fame in the 1970s when he became lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which had hits such as “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” and “I Miss You.” After leaving the Blue Notes for a solo career, he had a string of hit love ballads that were considered musical aphrodisiacs by his fans. His solo hits, notable for his smooth baritone and sensual delivery, included “I Don’t Love You Anymore,” “Close the Door,” “Turn off the Lights” and “Love TKO.” Pendergrass crashed his Rolls-Royce in Philadelphia in 1982 and was left paralyzed from the waist down. He resumed his recording career the next year with the album “Love Language” and returned to the stage by performing from his wheelchair at the Live Aid concert in 1985.
‘Blonde’ bombshell: London critics praise musical
LONDON: OMG: “Legally Blonde: The Musical” has warmed the hearts of London’s crusty theater critics. The stage show, based on the 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon, tells the story of Elle Woods, a bubbly blonde from Los Angeles who discovers her inner strength at Harvard Law School. The show earned a lukewarm reception on Broadway, where it ran for a year and a half before closing in October 2008. “Blonde” opened Wednesday at London’s Savoy Theatre after a month of previews that saw large, enthusiastic and female-dominated audiences embracing its brand of frivolous fun. Despite themselves, British critics were largely won over, too. “I tried, I really tried to hate this show, but resistance is futile,” wrote Charles Spencer in Thursday’s Daily Telegraph, praising the show as “light, fast, fun and frothy.” “The stage show has its tongue in its cheek throughout, it knows it is ridiculous and infantile, and celebrates the fact with knowing wit,” he said.
Israeli Army launches drive against Refaeli
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Army has launched a campaign against Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli and called for a boycott of products she promotes, after she asked to be listed as a foreign resident to pay less taxes, media reported on Thursday. The boycott call was issued by armed forces human resources director Avi Zamir when he addressed students in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv. “I can’t take on Bar Refaeli, but you can,” Yediot Aharonot newspaper quoted him as saying in urging Israelis not to buy products she promotes — including lingerie. Bar Refaeli (24,) who is reported to have recently rekindled her romance with US actor Leonardo DiCaprio, already stirred anger in the army when she got an exemption from military service when she got married in 2007, but she divorced soon after that.
Actor Johnny Depp honored in Serbia
London: Hollywood actor Johnny Depp was honored in Serbia with a life-size statue for his contribution to cinema. Depp is in Drvengrad, Serbia to attend the Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival which was launched by Serbian director Emir Kusturica, reports dailystar.co.uk. “The Pirates of the Caribbean” star’s statue was unveiled by Kusturica in recognition of Depp’s contribution to the movie industry. The actor is all set to play the lead role in Kusturica’s new movie about 19th century Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa.
Hefner’s twin girlfriends move out
LONDON: Playboy moghul Hugh Hefner’s twin lovers — 20-year-old Kristina and Karissa Shannon — are moving out of his mansion so that he can concentrate on his current flame, Crystal Harris. The moghul began dating the identical siblings as well as Harris, after long-term lovers Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson all left his home in 2008. But after just over a year of living with Hefner, the sisters are keen to hit the road as part of Playboy’s promotions team, reports dailyexpress.co.uk.
Hathaway wins Harvard’s Hasty Pudding award
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: Oscar-nominated actress Anne Hathaway can add another honor to her list: a Hasty Pudding award. She will receive the award at a roast scheduled for Jan. 28 by Hasty Pudding Theatricals at Harvard University. It’s the nation’s oldest undergraduate drama troupe. The roast features the Harvard men in drag and takes place after a parade down Massachusetts Avenue near the university in Cambridge, Mass. Hathaway made her name as a teen in “The Princess Diaries” and has shown her acting range in comedies like “Get Smart” and dramas such as “Brokeback Mountain.”
— Compiled from agencies
