Anna Nicole Smith's representatives have allegedly secured more than £318,000 ($598,216) for the last pictures of her dead son.
The former Playmate posed with tragic Daniel and his new sister in a Bahamian maternity ward the night before he was found dead.
Daniel, 20, was discovered slumped in a chair at the hospital on September 10.
Authorities in the Caribbean have launched an inquiry into the sudden death of Daniel, who was known to be taking anti-depressants at the time.
Smith's representatives and her photo agent Getty Images have reportedly been paid the cash by a US magazine and TV shows.
In Touch magazine paid a reported £212,000 ($398,811) for the print exclusive.
And the Paramount-produced television shows 'Entertainment Tonight' and 'The Insider' allegedly paid an estimated £132,000 ($248,316) for the TV rights.
"There is an incredible amount of emotion attached to this story and the photos, and our story will be a tribute to Daniel's life as well as a celebration of it," an In Touch spokesman said.
"I'm told that Anna Nicole has vague plans to use a portion of the money for a Daniel Smith memorial and it wasn't clear yesterday what percentage of the proceeds Getty is taking as a commission," a New York Daily News columnist wrote.
Anna Nicole Smith has still not been seen publicly since the sudden death of her son.
A spokesman for Paramount Television did not make a comment.
Just hours before he died, Daniel Smith looked like a joyous big brother - snuggling with mom Anna Nicole Smith and cradling his newborn sister, showing no sign that his life was about to end, the photos reveal.
The seemingly cheerful 20-year-old posed with his beaming mother and 3-day-old sister, Hannah Rose, in the same maternity ward room at Doctors' Hospital in the Bahamas where he died, the photos obtained by In Touch Weekly magazine show.
The ex-Playboy Playmate's son appeared pale but clear-eyed and happy in the photos taken sometime after 11 p.m. on Sept. 9, when he arrived at the hospital after flying in from Miami.
Daniel's devotion to the ex-reality show star was apparent in the photos and when he was seen tending to her needs at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 10 - about three hours before he was found dead. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Two pathologists who performed autopsies on Smith said they could not determine the cause of death until toxicology tests are completed, but both said there was no obvious injury or sign of foul play. An overdose of prescription drugs is suspected.
"It could be a drug-related death of an accidental nature," Dr. Cyril Wecht told TMZ.com yesterday. Wecht was hired by Anna Nicole Smith to provide a second opinion in the case after a Bahamian doctor had completed the first autopsy.
Daniel Smith had been taking the anti-depressant Lexapro for about two months before he died, Wecht told the Bahamian newspaper the Tribune. He was also taking the sleeping aid Ambien, In Touch Weekly reported.
Daniel had lost weight and been hospitalized with stomach pains and a racing heartbeat in the month before he died, David Giancola, who directed Anna Nicole Smith in "Illegal Aliens," told the magazine. It is unclear if his symptoms were related to the medications.
A coroner's inquest has been scheduled for Oct. 23 in Nassau, Bahamas.
Anna Nicole Smith Could Face Larry Birkhead in Custody Fight for Newborn Daughter
The photojournalist claiming to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's newborn daughter insists he'll step up his custody fight if his ex becomes too distraught to bring up their baby following the death of her son. Smith has refused to name the father of the infant, born three days before her 20-year-old son Daniel died last week September 10, 2006, but Larry Birkhead insists he'll take a paternity test if necessary.
And he'll fight to take custody of his daughter if it appears Smith is struggling as a new mother.
He says,
"I'll do everything possible to become a part of the child's life and if this is too much for Anna to handle I might have to step in and be both parents.
"I'm worried about her because she lost her son and that is tragic and that's something that I can't make sense of.
"I'm worried also that now that she has experienced such a loss that possibly she can't be the mother that she needs to be... I'm ready, I'm willing, I'm able to take care of a child, to be a father."
Birkhead reveals he met and fell for Smith at the Kentucky Derby in 2004 and they split in May 2006 after a series of "common disagreements".
To wave a public farwell to the Crocodile Hunter and Wildlife Warrior, Steve Irwin, his widow, Terri Irwin, and his two children are expected to make their first public appearance after his death at a special memorial service next week.
Queensland Police will finalise details for the event - expected to be held at Suncorp Stadium on either Tuesday or Wednesday - in the next few days but the service will give as many as 50,000 mourners a chance to pay their respects to the Beerwah wildlife crusader.
His best friend, Australia Zoo director Wes Mannion, said today a memorial service would be held next Tuesday or Wednesday, with Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium a likely venue.
Mr Mannion said there were few details worked out yet about the memorial service but he hoped it would be fun.
“It’s got to be exciting and fun because that’s the sort of man he was - he was just 100mph,” he said.
Mr Irwin’s father, Bob Irwin, said the private weekend service had been held around a campfire with everyone telling their favourite stories of Steve, the way he would have wanted it.
“Because Steve loved the bush so much and yarning around the campfire … it was what he would have wanted and now puts some family closure to his life,” his father Bob said.
“It was what he would have wanted and it put some final closure to his life,” Bob Irwin said.
The private farwell also included his American in-laws.
Steve Irwin’s friend and manager, John Stainton, said the memorial service would be a “celebration” and they had already received calls from some of Mr Irwin’s entertainer friends volunteering their time.
“Steve would not have wanted us to have everyone around crying and saying how sad it was,” he said.
But he said it was not going to be a “television event”.
Instead it would be “balanced” and something Mr Irwin himself would have enjoyed.
Mr Stainton said it was expected Steve’s widow, Terri, and children, Bindi, 8, and Bob, 2, would attend and draw strength from the public support.
Mr Mannion, whom Steve Irwin once saved from a crocodile attack at Australia Zoo, said there would be no replacing the original Crocodile Hunter.
“I don’t think you can ever fill that void,” he said.
“No, I won’t be (the next) Steve. Noone can be.
“I’ll remember Steve as my best mate … He was like my big brother; he was my hero.”
Mr Mannion said there had been 10 million hits on the Australia Zoo website since Mr Irwin’s death.
Yesterday Stainton said he had been inundated with offers from Irwin’s famous friends to provide entertainment at the service.
“The fact that there has been such a massive outpouring of grief around the world, you have to give that respect back,” Mr Stainton said.
Although Terri and her children, Bindi and Bob, are planning to attend with other family and friends, it may still be an emotionally stressful day for them.
“We’re another week away and hopefully that will give her the strength and courage to come out into the public arena. Terri is just a fantastic mum and they are coping together. Bindi is just an incredible girl.”
Australia Zoo director Wes Mannion added: “I will remember Steve as my best mate. He was like my brother, my hero. I certainly have a piece of him (still with me) and I can offer that to the zoo. We’ve (staff) all got a piece of Steve in us and there’s nothing we can do about that.”
Anna Nicole Smith’s 20-year-old son died suddenly at her bedside in a Bahamian hospital where the former Playboy Playmate was recovering from the birth of a daughter, police said today.
Daniel Smith was found sitting upright in a chair in his mother’s room at the private Doctors Hospital in the Bahamian capital of Nassau early on Sunday and could not be revived, police said. There were no signs of trauma on his body and no sign of a struggle in the room, police said.
Daniel had flown to Nassau on Saturday to see his 38-year-old mother, who had checked into the hospital under an assumed name and delivered a healthy baby girl by Caesarean section on Thursday.
An autopsy was being performed at nearby Prince Margaret Hospital, according to assistant police commissioner Reginald Ferguson. He said police had not ruled out any cause of death and were still awaiting the pathologist’s report.
“It would not be wise for police to try and come to a conclusion before we have a proper investigation,” Ferguson said.
Smith’s lawyer, Howard K. Stern, said he did not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor.
“Anna Nicole is absolutely devastated by the loss of her son. He was her pride and joy and an amazing human being,” Stern said in a news release.
Reached by phone, Stern declined to give any details about Daniel’s death. Daniel appeared in “The Anna Nicole Show,” a reality TV series that aired on the E! cable channel.
The identity of the newborn’s father was not disclosed. The baby was in another part of the hospital when Daniel was found dead, investigators said.
Since being named Playboy’s Playmate of the Year in 1993, the former Vicki Lynn Hogan from Mexia, Texas, has never been far from the public spotlight. In 1994, she married wheelchair-bound oil tycoon J. Marshall Howard, 89, after meeting him at a strip club.
His death, after 14 months of marriage, triggered a legal battle over his estate between Smith and his son, E. Pierce Marshall. Earlier this year, she won a US Supreme Court decision giving her another chance to collect millions of dollars. Pierce Marshall died in June at age 67.
Has Brad Pitt prodded lawmakers to legalize gay marriage?
Brad Pitt says he won’t be marrying Angelina Jolie until the restrictions on who can marry whom are dropped. “Angie and I will consider tying the knot when everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able,” the 42-year-old actor reveals in Esquire magazine’s October issue, on newsstands Sept. 19.
Some fans think if Pitt’s promise doesn’t mobilize the American vote, nothing will.
In the Esquire article he reflects on “fifteen things I think everyone should know,” including his opinion on democratizing marriage.
Pitt also waxed on about the state of his family with Jolie, something he said he “cannot imagine life” without.
Though Shiloh, the world-famous daughter of Pitt and Jolie, hogged much attention upon her birth in May, Pitt says he “cannot imagine life” without adopted children, Maddox, 5, and Zahara, 1.
“They’re as much of my blood as any natural born, and I’m theirs,” says Pitt.
“That’s all I can say about it. I can’t live without them. So: Anyone considering (adoption), that’s my vote.”
As a papa, Pitt subscribes to a laid-back parenting style.
“I try not to stifle them in any way,” he says.
“If it’s not hurting anyone, I want them to be able to explore. Sometimes that means they’re quite rambunctious.”
Lucky kids.
“I feel it’s really important to have that time to sit and talk to them,” he continues.
“I really like that last minute before they fade off. And always give them a heads-up before you jerk them out of something. You need to tell them, like, `You have three more minutes.’”
Regarding baby momma Jolie, Pitt reinforced the competitive nature of their relationship while discussing his new favorite, Jolie-inspired, pastime–flying.
“Everything can go wrong very fast,” he said of manning the cockpit. “It’s humbling.”
Pitt boasted that he has earned his American pilot’s certification, though his qualifications have been bested by Jolie, who has earned both the American and the tougher British certifications.
“She gives me total s–t for that,” he said.
Pitt next appears on the big screen in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s time-traveling drama, Babel, set to debut at the Toronto International Film Festival and then in general release Oct. 27.
Pitt has also produced a documentary on the so-called Lost Boys of Sudan, titled God Grew Tired of Us, due out in November.
Crocodile hunter Steve Irwin always told his film crews to keep the cameras rolling no matter what happened during his death-defying antics — even if he was being killed.
And that’s just what they did.
The trouble is, he never explicitly said what to do with the footage — and that’s sparked an international debate after his team revealed yesterday they had caught Irwin’s fatal encounter with a stingray on film on the Great Barrier Reef the day before.
"It’s a very hard thing to watch because you’re actually witnessing somebody die … it’s terrible," his manager John Stainton told reporters.
"It shows that Steve came over the top of the ray and the tail came up, and spiked him … (in the chest), and he pulled it out, and the next minute he’s gone," Stainton told reporters in Cairns, the nearest city to tiny Batt Reef off Australia’s far northeast coast where the accident happened. "The cameraman had to shut down."
Romayne Smith Fullerton, an assistant journalism professor at the University of Western Ontario, says the tape should never be shown, but will probably pop up on a website before too long.
"This is probably no big surprise in the age of the Internet," says Smith Fullerton, who is working on a book on how newsrooms make ethical decisions. "We live in a virtual world where we think death is entertainment."
What to Do With Footage Now a debate is raging about what to do with the graphic footage. In chat rooms and on discussion groups, Internet surfers are searching for copies of the film, which is now in the hands of Australian police.
Yesterday, as hundreds placed bouquets and handwritten notes at an ad hoc shrine outside the Australia Zoo — the park originally opened by Irwin’s parents — news executives were weighing the public’s curiosity with the death with what they candidly admit could be a "bad taste" decision to run the footage.
The story prompted a 70 per cent spike in usage on some Australian news organization’s websites.
"I’m not sure what the public interest factor is in running footage depicting the death of Steve Irwin. The circumstances of his death are already very well known and leave little to the imagination," said Gary Linnell, the head of news for the Nine Network.
The head of news at Channel Seven, Peter Meakin, said: "I am sure there would be something there that would be broadcastable, whether some of it might be in absolute bad taste."
"Should video footage of Irwin’s death be shown?" An online poll by the Sydney Morning Herald was momentarily inaccessible as Internet readers rushed to respond to the question, "Should video footage of Irwin’s death be shown?" By late afternoon yesterday, the results were 56 per cent "no."
Smith Fullerton said there is no compelling reason to show the tape, but fears ratings might trump all.
"I can’t see how the public interest is served by showing the death of a celebrity," she said.
Don Knox, head of news and current affairs at the CBC, said the network would not show the actual attack, but would broadcast footage from earlier in the day, such as Irwin on his boat or diving into the water.
"We would stick to scene-setter stuff," he said. "We would not broadcast the actual attack."
Robert Hurst, president of CTV News, said his staff would have to view the footage before making a decision, and would balance the newsworthiness of it against the violence depicted. He also said that his staff have been told to never keep filming if a co-worker is in danger, as Irwin’s crew did.
"The safety and security of our staff is absolutely paramount," he said.
Those close to Irwin believe he would have wanted the footage aired. Otherwise, why would he have given instructions to keep the cameras rolling?
Tommy Donovan, whose online biography of Irwin appears on the film website IMDb, said Irwin was adamant about keeping the cameras rolling no matter what.
"He tells his camera crew to always be filming," the biography says. "If he needs help he will ask for it. Even if he is eaten by a shark or croc, the main thing he wants is that it be filmed. If he died he would be sad if no one got it on tape."
Billy Campbell, president of Discovery Networks, where Irwin became a fixture, said Irwin’s wife Terri would be consulted before any footage is broadcast.
She was hiking in Tasmania when she was told about her husband’s death. Stainton said she will likely take the needs of her children, age 8 and 2, into consideration when debating what should be done with the tapes.
"She’s very mindful of how she has to control her emotions to get the kids through it."
In the end, some sort of compromise might be found.
"I would suspect the answer is we would show part of it but not all of it," said Meakin of Channel Seven.
In the end Steve Irwin left life living full of the energetic zeal that won him world-wide respect and acclaim. The wildlife champion and television personality, known as the Crocodile Hunter, died just after 11am yesterday in front of the cameras when a stingray’s barb pierced his heart as he swam over Batt Reef, off the coast of Port Douglas in far north Queensland.
Of his millions of fans, most would have imagined his death by crocodile jaws or poisonous snake, not swimming in a Barrier Reef lagoon, or away from his family - his wife, Terri, and young children, Bindi and Bob - who were flying by private plane to Maroochydore last night from the Tasmanian wilderness, where they had been on a trekking holiday.
Irwin’s fellow documentary maker Ben Cropp revealed that footage shows Irwin swimming alongside a large smooth stingray, also known as a bull ray, in less than two metres of water, while a cameraman from his production company swims in front to film him for a new TV wildlife series.
Stingray Struck without Warning Without warning, the ray, usually regarded as a placid creature towards humans, stops, turns and lashes out, spearing Irwin in the chest with one of the knife-like barbs at the end of its tail - an action like a paring knife creating “a terrific tearing of flesh”, said Bryan Fry, of the University of Melbourne’s Australian venom research unit.
It was not known last night whether Irwin, 44, died of a heart attack, blood loss from the wound, venom from the ray or a combination of all three. It was only the third known death by stingray in Australia.
The news sparked a frenzy of tributes from around the world for a man considered an Australian folk hero. Early this morning, the Herald’s website had logged close to 2000 tributes from readers.
Cropp has not seen the footage but spoke to a friend on Irwin’s research vessel, Croc One, which he had been using in the area for several days.
“I wanted to know the truth before the bullshit got out,” Cropp said. “I can picture it happening; the ray must have felt threatened. Mostly they get spooked and swim off but in this case it stops, swings and jabs upward with its tail. It can lash a metre or more. Steve must have been in a vulnerable position. He probably got too close. “Do I think he was irresponsible? No, he was unlucky. I know because I’ve done it myself, but in my case the ray missed me.”
Pete West, a professional diver, was on a1 nearby boat at the time of the tragedy and confirmed Cropp’s version of events.
“We were the closest boat to the area and they stopped by to tell us,” Mr West told Channel Seven. “We raised the alarm while they took him back to his own boat.”
Asked if Irwin was alive when they got him on his own boat, Mr West said: “I believe so.”
Irwin’s friend and producer, John Stainton, said it was unlikely he had felt any pain. He had been taken back to Croc One but had not regained consciousness despite attempts by crew to revive him.
“We got him back within a couple of minutes to Croc One,” Mr Stainton said tearfully. “We tried to quickly trip back to Low Isles, where we were going to meet the emergency rescue people to do immediate and constant CPR, try and resuscitate him back into life. When we got there it was probably 10 to 12, and by 12 o’clock, when the emergency crew arrived, they pronounced him dead.”
Mr Stainton said the crew from the Brisbane-based best Picture Show Company had been filming in the Cairns and Port Douglas area for a documentary called Ocean’s Deadliest. “It was basically looking at things that can kill you in the sea,” Mr Stainton said.
“This morning Steve decided to shoot a couple of segments for a new TV show he’s doing with his daughter, Bindi, and with the cameramen went out onto the reef … to film a segment on stingrays.”
The crew was travelling on Irwin’s 22-metre, double-decked research boat, which he designed and engineered. It has two floating crocodile traps, an inflatable dinghy for diving, two shark dive cages and two cranes for lifting heavy creatures from the water. It was also built for a helicopter.
Distress Call Sent at 11:21 a.m. The distress call was sent out at 11.21am. Emergency Management Queensland told the crew to meet a helicopter at Low Isles, a favourite destination for day trips to the Barrier Reef and 30 minutes from Batt Reef.
Irwin was being given CPR when the helicopter arrived on the beach soon after midday. Ed O’Loughlin, a doctor on the helicopter, said nothing could be done to save him. “It became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries. He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn’t breathing.”
Terri Irwin was at the other end of the Australian wilderness, at Cradle Mountain in Tasmania. She knew what had happened before police arrived to tell her, despite initial reports that she was unaware of the tragedy as the news went around the world.
Mrs Irwin drove her children and family members to Devonport, where they boarded a private plane just after 5pm. Eight-year-old Bindi Irwin was clutching an armful of blankets as she boarded the plane. Two-year-old Bob - the centre of controversy when his father included him in a crocodile demonstration as a baby at the family’s Australia Zoo near Maroochydore - was clutching a pink pig.
Cultural studies lecturer Dr Karen Brooks says even though there was nothing in common between Steve Irwin and Princess Diana, the reaction to their deaths has strong parallels.
At some point the comparison had to happen. The unexpected shock of Steve Irwin’s death, and global outpouring of sympathy from fans of all ages, has evoked comparison to the death and aftermath of Princess Diana nearly a decade ago.
Although Irwin would probably have yelled "Crikey!" at any link with the woman dubbed in death as England’s Rose, the response from the public worldwide has been remarkably similar.
Both died unexpectedly and suddenly by accidents that received intense media coverage.
Like Diana’s death, the assassination of John F Kennedy, or the murder of John Lennon, people can remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard Irwin had died on Monday.
Websites have been overwhelmed by people wanting to pay tribute to the Crocodile Hunter, while newspapers have enjoyed a spike in sales due to the public interest.
After spending most of his life risking death from snakebite or wrestling with crocodiles, Steve Irwin’s demise was due to a fatal stab wound from a stingray’s barb.
Amazingly, there is footage of his dying moments with debate ongoing over whether the film should ever be shown.
The public reacted to Diana’s death by swamping London’s royal palaces with flowers and other tributes.
The Irwin-owned Australia Zoo, north of Brisbane, has become a mecca for thousands of fans who have turned the entrance of the wildlife park into a massive floral memorial.
Irwin’s family has been inundated with messages of support from around the world, particularly America where his death has dominated the news due to his immense popularity there.
Nothing in Common Cultural studies lecturer Dr Karen Brooks said even though there was nothing in common between Irwin and Princess Diana, the reaction to their deaths had strong parallels.
"In Britain, they’re calling Steve’s death our Diana," the University of the Sunshine Coast academic and media commentator said.
"There’s a sense in which the outpouring of grief and the shock has been very similar."
The Irwin family seem nonplussed at all the fuss over Steve, a man described by his grieving father, Bob Irwin, as just an ordinary bloke.
The Irwins have already turned down an offer of a state funeral.
Diana, killed in a Paris road crash in 1997, was farewelled at a Westminster Abbey service, which featured Elton John performing a version of Candle In The Wind.
There’s been talk of a memorial service at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium for Steve Irwin, but hopefully no bright spark will suggest enlisting Sir Elton to sing Crocodile Rock if that event goes ahead.
Do you feel guilty about the way you regarded Irwin while he was alive? Dr Brooks said one reason for the public reaction to the deaths of Irwin and Diana was that people may feel guilty about the way they regarded them while they were alive.
Diana’s love life had been a constant source of media interest and speculation until her death despite her involvement in worthy causes such as moves to ban land mines.
Irwin had endured his share of controversies while carving out a career as an exuberant lover of nature and the environment.
"I think in the last few years at least people were starting to be aware of the magnitude of his contribution to Australian culture and the way that he is a global identity," Dr Brooks said.
"He didn’t blow his own trumpet here, he just did what he did.
"Maybe there’s a little bit of regret that they didn’t acknowledge him when he was alive.
"I think we can often feel guilty once someone that we don’t expect to leave so unexpectedly parts."
Like Diana’s sons William and Harry, there is public concern for the future of the young Irwin children Bindi and Bob and his American-born widow Terri.
Although his family had played a major support role, Steve Irwin was the face of Australia Zoo and the entertainment empire that helped him inject millions of dollars into expanding it in recent years.
The reptile and fauna park had been started by Steve’s parents Bob and Lyn when they moved to Beerwah in the Sunshine Coast hinterland from Victoria in the 1970s.
Bob Irwin, who became a widower six years ago when his wife was killed in a car crash, was responsible for Steve’s love of animals.
And he has vowed to do all he can to maintain the legacy of the son he describes as his "best mate".
"I’m a lucky, lucky guy I’ve had the opportunity to have a son like Steve," he said when he faced his first ever media conference this week to thank the public for their support.
"There’s never been anybody else that I know of that had the personality Steve had and the strength and the conviction of what he believed in and his message was conservation."
Irwin Also Had Detractors as Fame Grew Despite the hero worship of Irwin in death, he had detractors as his fame grew.
It could go back to 2003 when he enthusiastically labeled Prime Minister John Howard "the greatest leader in the world".
The self-proclaimed wildlife warrior soon found himself enjoying a barbecue lunch at The Lodge, rubbing shoulders with US President George W Bush and media heavyweights Kerry Packer and Kerry Stokes.
Asked at the time whether he would consider a career in politics, Irwin said: "Crikey mate no way, I’ll stick to crocs, they are far safer."
A few months later Irwin found himself at the center of an international storm after he was filmed feeding a dead chicken to a four-metre crocodile while holding his baby son, Bob, in one arm.
The episode prompted comparisons with Michael Jackson’s notorious dangling of his baby over a balcony.
Irwin stated any danger to his son was only a perceived danger and that he was in complete control of the situation.
In June 2004, he came under fire again when it was alleged he came too close to and disturbed some whales, seals and penguins while filming a documentary in Antarctica. No action was taken.
He was also in the middle of controversy when it was revealed he received $175,000 for one day’s work promoting Australia’s quarantine restrictions.
He courted further criticism this year by telling a magazine he allowed Bindi to kick Bob to teach him about the laws of survival - "so long as she takes her shoes off first".
Irwin believed he was seen internationally as a "popular wildlife warrior", but regarded by some people in Australia as "a little bit embarrassing".
Academic and feminist author Germaine Greer is one Australian who has declared that she was embarrassed by Irwin, even after his death.
In an article for The Guardian newspaper in Britain, Greer said she had "not much sympathy" for Irwin, whom she described as self-delusioned, animal tormentor.
In a subsequent TV interview, Greer said she found "the whole Steve Irwin phenomenon" embarrassing.
"As far as I can see quite a few Australians have been embarrassed by Steve Irwin - lots - millions possibly," she said.
"Why are the English calling it ‘Australia’s Princess Diana moment’.
"Aren’t you embarrassed about that, at least?"
Death forgives many character flaws when the soul has driven so much good.
Amazon.com beat Apple to the punch Thursday with a new service that lets customers download movies to their computers and take them for on-the-go viewing on portable media players — but not on Apple iPods.
The Amazon Unbox service is expected to compete head-to-head with Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes store, which already offers music videos and TV shows and is expected to include full-length movie downloads soon.
The companies’ race to launch their movie services reflects the changing ways consumers are getting their entertainment.
But industry analysts questioned the prospects of Amazon’s new service because it won’t work on iPods and it could be cumbersome to transfer the technology to the family room TV.
Amazon officials, however, were giddy about partnering with more than 30 studios and networks to offer its customers thousands of titles, including some TV series episodes available the day after they first run. Those will go for $1.99 per episode, while most movies will cost $7.99 to $14.99, Amazon said. Movies also can be rented for $3.99, about what consumers pay at video stores.
With the Unbox, consumers can download a video with a DVD-quality picture, Amazon said. It would enable consumers to buy a show using one personal computer, such as at the office, and download it to another, likely at home. The shows would work on any Microsoft Windows Media video-compatible portable device, including Creative Zen Vision:M.
However, getting those shows onto the TV could be a challenge, an Amazon executive acknowledged.
“What we have designed is a great download on a PC,” said Bill Carr, Amazon’s vice president of digital media. “When you are on the road with your laptop, instead of carrying many DVDs, you could download movies and TV shows to take with you. There’s also the convenience factor … if you have broadband cable, you can click download and within 5 minutes you have it. There’s no trip to the video store.”
The downloads can be transferred onto DVDs for storage, and the DVDs can be used to play the movie on the computer that downloaded the movie, but they cannot be played on a regular DVD player. Mike McGuire, a vice president for Gartner Dataquest Research, said it’s not clear how Amazon’s service would be much different than Movielink and CinemaNow, legal download services that haven’t gained much traction.
“The larger question is how to get the movie off my computer to the 42-inch screen that I just went into debt for,” McGuire said. “It will be confined to those who will work with technology. To really matter, in a broader consumer sense, it will have to go to a digital living room infrastructure.”
Kat Cheney, a 23-year-old University of Washington graduate student, said she would be inclined to try Amazon’s service if it’s more economical than subscribing to cable TV.
“It may not be worth it to keep paying for cable if I’m only going to watch a couple of shows,” said Cheney, who already downloads TV shows to her iPod.
Amazon Unbox will offer shows from CBS, Fox, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, E!, FX, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, PBS, The History Channel and others. NBC and ABC were not on the list.
Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Lionsgate and MGM are among the major movie studios that have signed with Amazon. Walt Disney Pictures, whose biggest shareholder is Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs, has not.
Steve David, a tourist from Tustin, Calif., said even with all the selection it’s unlikely he would use Amazon’s new service because he likes to watch movies from his collection of 1,200 titles on his TV. “It might be good for people who can’t get around,” said David, who was visiting Seattle for a softball tournament. “I doubt I would use it.”
Meanwhile, Apple on Tuesday is expected to unveil a video download service through its iTunes store. Apple also likely will announce a new version of the iPod with a larger screen.
Owners of iPods already can download some TV shows.
One key advantage for Apple, analysts say, is how it can tightly integrate its service offerings with hardware and software, similar to how the company drove the iTunes-iPod juggernaut. Rivals, including Microsoft Corp., are trying to follow Apple’s lead with their own online music services and players.
Apple secured landmark distribution deals with major record labels in 2003, jump-starting the legal music download market. It was also the first to introduce TV show downloads last October, for $1.99 apiece. In June, Apple officials said iTunes had sold more than 30 million videos.
Michael Gartenberg of Jupiter Research said it’s difficult to compare the download services until Apple makes its announcement. But he said Apple has the upper hand because most consumers don’t have interest in devices that run Windows Media for video.
“Of course, we are still talking about Amazon, and you can’t ignore their presence in the marketplace,” Gartenberg said. “But at the end of the day, it was iPods that drove traffic to the iTunes music store. Not the other way around.” Here’s a comparison of various download services:
Amazon.com’s Unbox: $1.99 per TV show; $7.99-$14.99 to buy most movies; $3.99 to rent a movie
iTunes Music Store: $1.99 per TV show, music video or short film
Movielink: $1.99-$19.99 for most movies; 99 cents-$4.99 for most rentals
CinemaNow: $1.99 per TV show; $9.95-$19.95 for most movies; $2.99-$3.99 for most rentals
Google Video: 99 cents per TV show; movie prices vary widely.
For most celebrities, getting smacked with a DUI is an instant image crisis. For Paris Hilton, it could be a career boost.
"Paris Hilton being arrested just makes her more famous," said veteran publicist Michael Levine. "She has devoted her entire adult life to appearing to be the princess of parties."
Hilton’s publicist, Elliot Mintz, confirmed the star’s festive nature Thursday: "She’s been known to have a drink or two."
Hilton was arrested by Los Angeles police officers in Hollywood early Thursday on suspicion of driving under the influence. During the arrest she was briefly handcuffed. Hilton was booked at LAPD’s Hollywood station at 1:43 a.m. and released shortly afterward, said Nick Velasquez, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office.
This is Hilton’s first drunk-driving arrest, Mintz said, adding that he doesn’t expect the incident to hurt her image.
"The people who enjoy Paris as a comedian or actress on TV or as a singer on her CD , a woman who seems to have captured the imagination of so many people, I don’t know if this is going to have any impact on them one way or another," he said. "But, of course, she regrets what took place."
Hours after her release, Hilton defended herself to radio host Ryan Seacrest during his Thursday morning show on local station KIIS-FM.
"It was nothing," said Hilton, 25.
The singer, actress, handbag designer and heiress to the Hilton hotel-chain fortune said she was "starving because I had not ate all day" and possibly "speeding a little bit" in her Mercedes-Benz SLR on her way to grab a bite.
"I was just really hungry and I wanted to have an In-N-Out burger," said the one-time pitchwoman for Carl’s Jr.
Nicky to the Rescue
Hilton, who made her singing debut last week with the release of her eponymous CD, said she spent Wednesday filming a music video and having dinner with her sister, Nicky, and some friends before heading to a charity event sponsored by rocker Dave Navarro.
Hilton said she had "one margarita" at the event.
Just last month, she told the Los Angeles Times that she "doesn’t like the taste of alcohol."
"It grosses me out," she said.
Hilton told Seacrest that police stopped her early Thursday for speeding.
An LAPD spokeswoman said Hilton was driving erratically.
"Officers observed the vehicle driving in an erratic manner so they pulled the car over," officer Marjan Mobasser said Thursday.
Hilton’s blood-alcohol level was .08 percent — the minimum to warrant an arrest, Mintz said.
The arresting officers were "really nice," Hilton said.
"There was a lot of paparazzi around so I think they were trying to make a statement," she told Seacrest. "Everything I do is blown out of proportion and it really hurts my feelings."
Arraignment Set for September 28th Hilton is expected to be arraigned Sept. 28, said Velasquez of the city attorney’s office. Penalties for a first drunk-driving arrest typically include a fine, probation, an alcohol-rehabilitation program, license suspension and "other DUI-related conditions" such as community service, he said.
LAPD officials said they will not release Hilton’s arrest report or her mug shot.
The maximum penalty for a first misdemeanor DUI arrest is a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
The star of reality show The Simple Life, who had a surprise summer hit with her first pop single Stars are Blind, said that as usual there were a lot of photographers around.
"I think they (the police) wanted to make a statement. They even said ‘there are a lot of people watching. We don’t want them to think we are giving you special treatment’," Hilton said.
Police said Hilton failed a sobriety test but she has not been charged with any offence. That decision will be made by the Los Angles County District Attorney in the next few days.
The incident made national headlines.
"Everything I do is blown out of proportion," said Hilton, not known for shying away from publicity. "It really hurts my feelings."
Mintz said Kimberly Stewart, the daughter of rocker Rod Stewart, was in Hilton’s Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren when she was pulled over.
Hilton shot to fame for an amateur sex video that showed up on the internet in 2003. Her party-going and complex love life have ensured that she has rarely been off the celebrity radar since.
Earlier this year, a judge ordered Hilton to stay away from a Los Angeles party planner who accused her of bombarding him with angry phone calls, shoving him and threatening his life.
The Path to 9/11 is reportedly a movie incredibly and intentionally flawed with historical inaccuracies intended to ennoble President Bush by defaming former President Clinton and the Clinton administration. This miniseries, reports a reader at Democratic Underground, was the result of a project hatched out by a small group of evangelical activists who seek to “transform Hollywood from the inside out.”
What may truly and simply be political propaganda was written, or fabricated, by avowed conservative Cyrus Nowrasteh. Nowrasteh once spoke on the panel “Rebels With A Cause: How Conservatives Can Lead Hollywood’s Next Paradigm Shift.”
What may truly and simply be political propaganda was written, or fabricated, by avowed conservative . Nowrasteh once spoke on the panel “Rebels With A Cause: How Conservatives Can Lead Hollywood’s Next Paradigm Shift.”
But the ideological slant behind The Path to 9/11 goes far deeper than a script by Nowrasteh.
Consider this:
ABC Tapped Religious Evangelical to Direct ABC contracted David Cunningham to direct The Path to 9/11. Cunningham is the son of Loren and Darlene Cunningham, the founders of Youth With a Mission (YWAM), a religious evangelical group that actively tries to get “youth into short-term mission work and to give them opportunities to reach out in Jesus’ name.”
YWAM Sponsored the Film Institute To Change Hollywood YWAM created an “auxiliary” group called the Film Institute, which was explicitly aimed at achieving a “Godly transformation and revolution TO and THROUGH the Film and Television industry.”
Film Institute Began the “Untitled History Project,” — UHP The Film Institute’s first project was simply referred to as the “Untitled History Project” (UHP). In July 2005, Fox News reported that filming had begun on an ABC miniseries about 9/11 that ABC officials and producers were referring to it as the “Untitled History Project.” A production company entitled “UHP Productions,”co-founded withDisney began filming The Path to 9/11 in late 2005.
UHP Became The Path to 9/11. UHP Productions has only produced one movie. Harvey Keitel, who stars as FBI special agent John O’Neill in the movie, said that when he received the original script, “it said ABC History Project.”
Bill Clinton responded furiously yesterday to an ABC television mini-series about the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, which portrays him as so distracted by the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal that he failed to focus on the emerging threat of Osama bin Laden.
Senior Clinton Administration officials, including Madeleine Albright, the former Secretary of State, and Sandy Berger, the former National Security Adviser, also demanded yesterday that ABC either substantially edit or cancel its two-part The Path to 9/11, claiming that the drama was defamatory. The program is also being shown by the BBC.
The five-hour drama, which will be shown tomorrow and Monday, portrays events that the former Clinton officials say never happened. These include a scene in which Mr Berger refused to authorise an attack on bin Laden in 1998 when CIA operatives had the al-Qaeda leader in their sights.
The reaction from Mr Clinton and his former aides was extraordinarily visceral. It reflected the enormous emotional and political hold the attacks continue to exert on the American political landscape, and the argument about whether the Clinton or Bush Administration was more to blame for failing to stop them.
In the past week President Bush has tried to refocus American voters on his response to the September 11 crisis, and the threat from bin Laden, and away from the war in Iraq.
With seven weeks until November’s midterm elections, polls show that Mr Bush enjoys an advantage over Democrats on the issue of terrorism. The September 11 attacks and his response to them will form the cornerstone of Republican campaigns. Mr Bush will spend tomorrow and Monday in New York commemorating the fifth anniversary of 9/11.
“It is despicable that ABC/Disney would insist on airing a fictional version of what is a serious and emotional event for our country,” a spokesman for the Clinton Foundation said. ABC’s parent company is the Walt Disney Corporation.
Mr Clinton, speaking after a fundraising event in Arkansas, referred to ABC’s claim that much of the series is based on the September 11 commission report, the bipartisan investigation of the attacks. “They ought to tell the truth,” Mr Clinton said. “They shouldn’t have scenes that are directly contradicted by the findings of the 9/11 report.”
Ms Albright, Mr Berger, Bruce Lindsey, head of the Clinton Foundation, and the Clinton adviser Douglas Band wrote to Robert Iger, Disney’s chief executive, claiming that the drama was “factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate”.
They added: “It is unconscionable to mislead the American public about one of the most horrendous tragedies our country has ever known.” They called the drama “right-wing political propaganda”.
The outrage had echoes of a 2003 controversy when Republicans successfully persuaded CBS to pull an unflattering and inaccurate biopic of the late Ronald Reagan.
Democrats pointed out that the main consultant to the ABC series was Thomas Keane, a former Republican New Jersey governor and chairman of the 9/11 commission.
ABC defended the series but was understood last night to be changing the scene involving Mr Berger. It called criticism “premature and irresponsible”, but conceded that the drama contained “fictionalised scenes, composite and representative characters and dialogue”.
TERROR DATES
1996 June 25 A lorry bomb explodes at US military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 Americans; Osama bin Laden identified as terrorist financier 1998 June Osama bin Laden placed on FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List Aug 7 US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are bombed; Osama bin Laden named as the mastermind of the attacks Aug 20 US forces launch day of missile strikes on camps in Afghanistan and destroy a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan Dec 24 In an ABC News interview, bin Laden denies responsibility for the embassy attacks 2000 Oct 12 Attack on the USS Cole by bin Laden sympathisers kills 17
CLINTON
1997 Dec 19 Monica Lewinsky subpoenaed to appear at a deposition hearing 1998 Jan 17 The Drudge Report breaks story about a White House intern’s sexual affair with President Clinton Jan 26 Clinton declares “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” Aug 6 Lewinsky testifies before the Starr grand jury Aug 17 Clinton admits in a televised speech, “I did have a relationship with Ms Lewinsky that was not appropriate” Dec 11 House Judiciary Committee approve articles of impeachment Dec 19 Clinton impeached by the House on two counts of perjury and obstruction of justice 1999 Jan 7 Impeachment trial begins in the Senate Feb. 12 Senate acquits Clinton
50 Cent is going to have to dig in for a lot more change than that after being pulled over by police in midtown Manhattan on Friday while taking his silver Lamborghini for a spin.
Plainclothes officers in an unmarked car stopped the star rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, at about 2 p.m. after he allegedly made an unsafe lane change.
As a crowd gathered and snapped photos with cell phones, the officers ordered 50 Cent out of the flashy sports car and took him to a nearby station.
The rapper was cited for a lane-change violation, and for having an expired license and no registration, said Detective Christopher Filippazzo, a police spokesman.
He was let go after a friend showed up with proof that 50 Cent owned the vehicle. The friend, who had a valid license, drove him away, police said.
A call to 50 Cent’s music label, Interscope Records, was not immediately returned.
Washington, DC — The Senate Democratic Leadership has sent the following letter to Disney President and CEO Robert Iger, urging him to cancel the grossly inaccurate upcoming miniseries The Path to 9/11. Disney’s subsidiary, ABC, erroneously claims the misleading miniseries is based on 9/11 Commission report, and is planning to air the mini-series on September 10 and 11.
Shockingly, the network is also planning to use the program as a teaching tool through Scholastic, potentially misinforming thousands of children about the most important event in recent American history.
The text of the letter, signed by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Assistant Democratic Leader Dick Durbin, and Senators Debbie Stabenow, Charles Schumer, and Byron Dorgan, is below.
September 7, 2006
Mr. Robert A. Iger
President and CEO The Walt Disney Company 500 South Buena Vista Street Burbank CA 91521
Dear Mr. Iger,
We write with serious concerns about the planned upcoming broadcast of The Path to 9/11 mini-series on September 10 and 11. Countless reports from experts on 9/11 who have viewed the program indicate numerous and serious inaccuracies that will undoubtedly serve to misinform the American people about the tragic events surrounding the terrible attacks of that day. Furthermore, the manner in which this program has been developed, funded, and advertised suggests a partisan bent unbecoming of a major company like Disney and a major and well respected news organization like ABC. We therefore urge you to cancel this broadcast to cease Disney’s plans to use it as a teaching tool in schools across America through Scholastic. Presenting such deeply flawed and factually inaccurate misinformation to the American public and to children would be a gross miscarriage of your corporate and civic responsibility to the law, to your shareholders, and to the nation.
The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.
Disney and ABC claim this program to be based on the 9/11 Commission Report and are using that assertion as part of the promotional campaign for it. The 9/11 Commission is the most respected American authority on the 9/11 attacks, and association with it carries a special responsibility. Indeed, the very events themselves on 9/11, so tragic as they were, demand extreme care by any who attempt to use those events as part of an entertainment or educational program. To quote Steve McPhereson, president of ABC Entertainment, “When you take on the responsibility of telling the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that you get it right.”
Unfortunately, it appears Disney and ABC got it totally wrong.
Despite claims by your network’s representatives that The Path to 9/11 is based on the report of the 9/11 Commission, 9/11 Commissioners themselves, as well as other experts on the issues, disagree.
Richard Ben-Veniste, speaking for himself and fellow 9/11 Commissioners who recently viewed the program, said, “As we were watching, we were trying to think how they could have misinterpreted the 9/11 Commission’s findings the way that they had.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Richard Clarke, the former counter-terrorism czar, and a national security advisor to ABC has described the program as “deeply flawed” and said of the program’s depiction of a Clinton official hanging up on an intelligence agent, “It’s 180 degrees from what happened.” [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
Reports suggest that an FBI agent who worked on 9/11 and served as a consultant to ABC on this program quit halfway through because, “he thought they were making things up.” [MSNBC, September 7, 2006]
Even Thomas Kean, who serves as a paid consultant to the miniseries, has admitted that scenes in the film are fictionalized. [“9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased,” New York Times, September 6, 2006]
That Disney would seek to broadcast an admittedly and proven false recounting of the events of 9/11 raises serious questions about the motivations of its creators and those who approved the deeply flawed program. Finally, that Disney plans to air commercial-free a program that reportedly cost it $40 million to produce serves to add fuel to these concerns.
These concerns are made all the more pressing by the political leaning of and the public statements made by the writer/producer of this miniseries, Mr. Cyrus Nowrasteh, in promoting this miniseries across conservative blogs and talk shows.
Frankly, that ABC and Disney would consider airing a program that could be construed as right-wing political propaganda on such a grave and important event involving the security of our nation is a discredit both to the Disney brand and to the legacy of honesty built at ABC by honorable individuals from David Brinkley to Peter Jennings. Furthermore, that Disney would seek to use Scholastic to promote this misguided programming to American children as a substitute for factual information is a disgrace.
As 9/11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick said, “It is critically important to the safety of our nation that our citizens, and particularly our school children, understand what actually happened and why – so that we can proceed from a common understanding of what went wrong and act with unity to make our country safer.”
Should Disney allow this programming to proceed as planned, the factual record, millions of viewers, countless schoolchildren, and the reputation of Disney as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress will be deeply damaged. We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program. We look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Steve Irwin, the passionate conservationist who shot to international fame as the Crocodile Hunter, was killed today in a freak accident while diving off the north Queensland coast.
In a bitter irony, the man who risked his life handling one of the world’s most dangerous reptiles was mortally wounded by a stingray, a usually passive sea creature which attacks only if threatened. Irwin, 44, was stung in the chest by the stingray’s barbed tail, which whips up in a reflex action. The accident happened while he was filming a TV documentary called Oceans’ Deadliest at Batt Reef, near Port Douglas.
A member of the production team said he had gone out to film a sequence on stingrays when he swam over the venomous bottom-dweller, which has large pectoral fins like wings and can grow up to 4 metres long.
His producer, John Stainton, said: "He came over the top of the stingray and the barb went up into his chest and put a hole in his heart." Barely conscious, he was hauled back on to his research vessel, Croc One, and taken to the nearby Low Isles.
Irwin, whose infectious enthusiasm and catchphrase "crikey" made him popular with television audiences around the world, was treated by paramedics who were flown to his boat by helicopter, but they were unable to revive him.
Dr Ed Loughlin, who arrived less than an hour after the incident, said nothing could be done to save him. "It became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries. He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn’t breathing."
The death of Irwin, who leaves a wife and two children, has shocked Australians, many of them jamming radio station phone lines to air their grief. Fans laid flowers in his memory outside the zoo he ran with his family north of Brisbane on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
The prime minister, John Howard, described him as an Australian larrikin - a wild-spirited person - who brought joy to millions. "It’s a huge loss to Australia," he said. "I am quite shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin’s sudden, untimely and freakish death."
Chris Brown, the chief executive of a tourism lobbying group, said: "As an ambassador for Australia there are few who came anywhere near this wonderful, delightfully semi-mad sort of bloke."
It is only the third recorded fatal stingray attack in Australia. Normally the fish, which can weigh up to two tonnes, swims away from divers, but if provoked will automatically strike with its barbed tail. Usually victims are stung on the arm or leg, leaving a wound that while painful, can usually be treated.
Dr Meredith Peach, a marine biologist, said it was unusual for stingrays to attack a diver, unless they handled or accidentally stepped on the fish.
Irwin’s father, Bob, was a plumber by trade but spent his free time rescuing and rehabilitating animals. Steve shared his father’s passion for wildlife and the family founded Australia Zoo in Queensland. Bob Irwin taught his son how to "second-guess" crocodiles in their natural habitat and Steve quickly put his experience to use by relocating rogue crocodiles under a project run by the Queensland government.
The tail of the stingray can reach lengths twice as long as the body. The tail spine is thought to be derived from modified scales. The distance between the outer margins of the eye orbits approximates tail spine length. The spine is round, but slightly flattened dorsoventrally with 52-80 teeth on either side.
Shortly after Irwin married his wife, Terri, in 1992, he turned his crocodile hunting exploits into a television series that made him a household name in her native United States. He even appeared as a cartoon character in The Simpsons.
When George Bush made an official visit to Canberra, Irwin arrived at the reception in his customary khaki shorts and shirt. "I got my absolute best khakis out and was having a yarn to Johnny Howard and George Bush and no one mentioned it [my clothes]," he said in a TV interview afterwards.
His only fall from favour came in 2004 when he was shown on television carrying his infant son Robert in one arm while feeding a chicken carcass to a crocodile with the other. Child welfare groups accused him of endangering the child’s life, but he insisted the boy was never in danger because he had control of the situation.
Irwin acknowledged that some fellow Australians cringed when they saw him. "They actually see a little bit of themselves when they see me and they find that a little embarrassing," he said.
"I’m fair dinkum, like kangaroos, winged keels and bloody flies," he added. "I think I’ve got animals so genetically inside me that there’s no way I could actually be anything else."
Milestones in the Life of Steve Irwin
February 22, 1962 – Stephen Robert Irwin born in Essendon, Victoria, to Lyn and Bob Irwin.
1970 – The Irwin family moves to Queensland to start a small reptile park at Beerwah, on the Sunshine Coast.
1991 – Bob and Lyn Irwin retire, handing control of Australia Zoo to their son.
June 1992 – Irwin marries Terri Raines from Oregon USA.
1992 – Irwin and television producer John Stainton make the first documentary, The Crocodile Hunter in 1992, using footage from Irwin’s crocodile-trapping honeymoon. Over the next three years, 10 one-hour episodes were made and on television screens all over the world.
July 24, 1998 – Irwin’s daughter Bindi Sue Irwin was born. Her name is derived from two of her father’s dogs.
2002 – Irwin’s first feature film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, was released. In general, reviews of the film were negative.
December 1, 2003 – Irwin has a son, Robert (Bob) Clarence Irwin.
January 2004 – Irwin controversially carries his infant son, Bob, in one arm while using the other hand to feed a chicken carcass to a crocodile at Australia Zoo. Irwin claimed his son was never in danger, and consistently refused to apologise.
June 2004 – Irwin again was the subject of controversy over allegations he disturbed whales, seals and penguins while filming a documentary in Antarctica.
September 4, 2006 – Irwin dies after being struck in the chest by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary in the Great Barrier Reef, off the Low Isles near Port Douglas, in far north Queensland.
You are on an international flight back to the States when the well-dressed passenger across the isle from you in first class turns to you and whispers:
"Osama bin Laden wants Whitney Houston to be his bitch."
"Let’s hope he get’s his wish." you reply. "I hear she’s the bomb!"
Now hear this–Kola Boof, the the self proclaimed former sex slave of Bin Laden, says in her new book that Osama was obsessed with Ms. Houston in her pre-Bobby Brown persona.
"He told me Whitney was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen," Boof revealed to Harpers Bazaar magazine.
"He said that he had a paramount desire for her and although he claimed music was evil, he spoke of spending vast amounts of money to go to America, to try to arrange a meeting."
Kola - who until recently wrote for US soap opera The Days of Our Lives - also says Osama wanted to shower her with gifts and convert her to Islam.
The 37-year-old explained: "He said he wanted to give her a mansion he owned in a suburb of Khartoum.
"He would say how beautiful she is, what a nice smile she has, how truly Islamic she is, but is just brainwashed by American culture, and by her husband - Bobby Brown, whom Osama talked about having killed, as if it were normal to have women’s husbands killed."
Kola added:
"He explained to me that to possess Whitney, he would be willing to break his color rule and make her one of his wives."
It remains to be confirmed that Kola was in fact Bin Laden’s sex slave. Its solely a claim made by her.
According to more credible sources its unlikely she has ever met Bin Laden.
Critics of Kevin Federline may have eaten their words after Britney’s wannabe rapper hubby showed he does have some talent at America’s Teen Choice Awards.
His energetic rap performance was one of the highlights of the show - and he even roped in his pregnant wife to introduce him.
Britney Spears introduced her "man" on stage with a shout and a giggle.
She said: "This show has been very good to me and my career over the years. And I’m hoping that it will be as good to our next performer."
Federline gave an enthusiastic version of his single ‘Lose Control’ - his first time performing on network television. Kevin’s debut album ‘Playing With Fire’ hits shops in the US shortly.
By other opinions, however, popular members of the hip-hop community, slammed Federline’s debut performance at the Teen Choice awards, labeling him a joke.
XXL magazine editor in chief Elliot Wilson and King magazine executive editor Jermaine Hall have both hit out at the lackluster performance.
Wilson says, "I think we ignore him. He’s a joke, basically. I just don’t think he gets it.
"He doesn’t get that he’s Britney’s man, and it’s hard to take him seriously."
Hall adds, "The thing that really hurts him is the fact that he’s perceived as Britney’s husband.
"You know, kinda like Britney’s second — I don’t even want to say second in command, but — he’s like the Britney Boy.
"He’s like Mr. Spears, and it’s kinda hard to get over that perception."
Host Jessica Simpson avoided any awkward moments with her ex Nick Lachey. They arrived separately and never appeared on stage together.
The ceremony voted for by fans saw Pirates Of The Caribbean walking away with the most treasures - including a best comedy actor gong for Johnny Depp, while Brit star Orlando Bloom was named hottie of the year.
America’s legendary anchorman, Walter Cronkite, will introduce Katie Couric on the new CBS Evening News according to exclusive reports by Matt Drudge of the Drudge report.
Drudge reports that Cronkite is just one of many stars and broadcast legends that will splash Couric onto the nightly news scene.
"It’s going to be a who’s who of Americana," a top CBS source said on Sunday.
Cronkite will do the introduction of Couric on opening night only, the source said.
CBS brass dismiss the suggestion that adding Cronkite is an attention-grabbing stunt.
"This is a bold statement of continuity and ‘trust,’ a commitment to the quality of the CBS EVENING NEWS," a top insider explained.
Peter Bart, Variety’s editor, in a column warned: "I realize media companies need to overhype everything, whether it’s a new ‘Pirates’ movie or another faux ‘American Idol’… but all this may be doing a disservice both to Couric’s credibility and to network news… Will Couric actually tell us what’s happening in the world or will she preside over a sort of mini-’Today’ show, complete with its well-worn couch?"
Kurt Andersen in NEW YORK will applaud the coming Era Of Katie Couric:
"Making Couric the anchor and de facto face of CBS NEWS is a very smart, potentially even visionary choice… the real brilliance is that she’s the first network anchor to have a quick, smart, mischievous sense of humor as a major part of her personal persona," Andersen explains. "If it’s possible to rejuvenate TV news, Couric is among the last best hopes." Reported by Matt Drudge.
America’s legendary anchorman, Walter Cronkite, will introduce Katie Couric on the new CBS Evening News according to exclusive reports by Matt Drudge of the Drudge report.
Drudge reports that Cronkite is just one of many stars and broadcast legends that will splash Couric onto the nightly news scene.
"It’s going to be a who’s who of Americana," a top CBS source said on Sunday.
Cronkite will do the introduction of Couric on opening night only, the source said.
CBS brass dismiss the suggestion that adding Cronkite is an attention-grabbing stunt.
"This is a bold statement of continuity and ‘trust,’ a commitment to the quality of the CBS EVENING NEWS," a top insider explained.
Peter Bart, Variety’s editor, in a column warned: "I realize media companies need to overhype everything, whether it’s a new ‘Pirates’ movie or another faux ‘American Idol’… but all this may be doing a disservice both to Couric’s credibility and to network news… Will Couric actually tell us what’s happening in the world or will she preside over a sort of mini-’Today’ show, complete with its well-worn couch?"
Kurt Andersen in NEW YORK will applaud the coming Era Of Katie Couric:
"Making Couric the anchor and de facto face of CBS NEWS is a very smart, potentially even visionary choice… the real brilliance is that she’s the first network anchor to have a quick, smart, mischievous sense of humor as a major part of her personal persona," Andersen explains. "If it’s possible to rejuvenate TV news, Couric is among the last best hopes." Reported by Matt Drudge.
CBS to Simulcast Couric CBS also plans to simulcast "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" live on the Internet beginning with the program’s debut Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
President of CBS Digital Media Larry Kramer said the network based it decision on reaction to its simulcast of "March Madness on Demand."
"Viewers increasingly want access to programming when it’s fresh, and the Internet allows us to bring our content to them wherever they are and whenever that content is broadcast."
To access the simulcast, viewers will be asked to register so that they view it when the television broadcast is aired in their time zone. The live simulcast and on-demand versions of the broadcast will be advertiser-supported.
In addition to the live simulcast, the "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" will also be available as an on-demand program any time after the live simulcast or, viewers may build their own broadcast by choosing individual reports from each CBS Evening News program. Other components include a daily blog; daily on-demand, Web-exclusive features; and short audio and video podcasts available via iTunes.
"Technology has become an integral part of everyday life for most people, and it’s dramatically changed the way they consume news, so this is a fantastic development," said Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the broadcast. "Now people will have access to great reporting by all the CBS Evening News correspondents, literally, anytime they want. It’s another example of how we intend to use our Web site to complement our broadcast — and, most importantly, to benefit our viewers."
Queen Elizabeth was unable to comprehend British public grief at Princess Diana’s death in 1997, but was finally convinced to cast aside stiff royal protocol by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a new film suggests.
Stephen Frears’"The Queen" was screened at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, where it is flying the British flag in the main competition section.
Helen Mirren, who has just won an Emmy for her title role in the mini-series "Elizabeth I," had the unusual task of portraying a living monarch in a film that also explores the then newly-elected Blair’s central role in the crisis.
"It was a very, very frightening project," she told reporters. "It’s a no-win situation playing someone who’s alive, because, as good as you are, you’ll never be a tenth as good as they are, so you can’t really win.
"I hope it’s a sensitive, humanist look at a very difficult time in a strange family."
With tightly rolled silver hair in the film and her voice trained to match that of the monarch, Mirren gives a convincing performance full of humor and sympathy for a woman struggling to abandon the stiff upper lip she believed her people wanted.
"There’s been a change, some shift in values," Mirren’s queen says during a conversation with her mother at Balmoral in Scotland. She also contemplates abdicating the throne.
"I don’t think I’ll ever understand what happened this summer," she adds toward the end of the film in a conversation with Blair. "I’ve never been hated like that before."
The British public was angry at what it saw as indifference from the royal family to Diana. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets of London for her funeral. Researched Close to Royal Family
The film makers do not claim to exactly duplicate the moment in history, although they say extensive research, including speaking to sources close to the royal family and Downing Street, resulted in a realistic dramatization.
The film has lit up a festival where critical reaction to entries so far has been muted. Producer Andy Harries said he did not know of or foresee any legal complications:
"There is no tradition of the royal family suing anybody or anything. Their position is one of being distanced from it."
Frears suggests Blair saw the long-serving monarch as a mother figure, while Britain’s Prince Charles is cast as someone closer to Blair’s position than his mother’s. He also fears his family’s unpopularity could result in him being shot.
The film contains plenty of humor, particularly when dramatizing scenes of intimacy between the queen, her husband Prince Philip, Charles and her mother.
"Move over, cabbage," Philip says as the couple go to bed, and the queen dons a woolly dressing gown and clutches a hot water bottle on the night Diana is killed.
Michael Sheen reprises the part of Blair that he also played in the television drama "The Deal."
The prime minister, himself riding on a wave of popularity at the time as the queen&
Anna Nicole Smith's representatives have allegedly secured more than £318,000 ($598,216) for the last pictures of her dead son.
The photojournalist claiming to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's newborn daughter insists he'll step up his custody fight if his ex becomes too distraught to bring up their baby following the death of her son. Smith has refused to name the father of the infant, born three days before her 20-year-old son Daniel died last week September 10, 2006, but Larry Birkhead insists he'll take a paternity test if necessary. 
To wave a public farwell to the Crocodile Hunter and Wildlife Warrior, Steve Irwin, his widow, Terri Irwin, and his two children are expected to make their first public appearance after his death at a special memorial service next week. 
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Cultural studies lecturer Dr Karen Brooks says even though there was nothing in common between Steve Irwin and Princess Diana, the reaction to their deaths has strong parallels.
For most celebrities, getting smacked with a DUI is an instant image crisis. For Paris Hilton, it could be a career boost.
Hilton, who made her singing debut last week with the release of her eponymous CD, said she spent Wednesday filming a music video and having dinner with her sister, Nicky, and some friends before heading to a charity event sponsored by rocker Dave Navarro.
50 Cent is going to have to dig in for a lot more change than that after being pulled over by police in midtown Manhattan on Friday while taking his silver Lamborghini for a spin.
Washington, DC — The Senate Democratic Leadership has sent the following letter to Disney President and CEO Robert Iger, urging him to cancel the grossly inaccurate upcoming miniseries The Path to 9/11. Disney’s subsidiary, ABC, erroneously claims the misleading miniseries is based on 9/11 Commission report, and is planning to air the mini-series on September 10 and 11.
Steve Irwin, the passionate conservationist who shot to international fame as the Crocodile Hunter, was killed today in a freak accident while diving off the north Queensland coast.
A member of the production team said he had gone out to film a sequence on stingrays when he swam over the venomous bottom-dweller, which has large pectoral fins like wings and can grow up to 4 metres long.
Dr Ed Loughlin, who arrived less than an hour after the incident, said nothing could be done to save him. "It became clear fairly soon that he had non-survivable injuries. He had a penetrating injury to the left front of his chest. He had lost his pulse and wasn’t breathing."
The tail of the stingray can reach lengths twice as long as the body. The tail spine is thought to be derived from modified scales. The distance between the outer margins of the eye orbits approximates tail spine length. The spine is round, but slightly flattened dorsoventrally with 52-80 teeth on either side.
Critics of Kevin Federline may have eaten their words after Britney’s wannabe rapper hubby showed he does have some talent at America’s Teen Choice Awards.
America’s legendary anchorman, Walter Cronkite, will introduce Katie Couric on the new CBS Evening News according to exclusive reports by Matt Drudge of the Drudge report.
Queen Elizabeth was unable to comprehend British public grief at Princess Diana’s death in 1997, but was finally convinced to cast aside stiff royal protocol by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a new film suggests.