The director Ang Lee and his frequent producing and screenwriting partner James Schamus were honored with a freedom of expression award this week at ShoWest, an annual convention of theater owners in Las Vegas, for their collaborations, which include last year's sexually charged thriller “Lust, Caution.” The film went a long way to legitimizing its NC-17 rating in the United States, which is reserved for explicit adult-themed material. Dan Glickman, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, which oversees the ratings system, said the film “showed people that an NC-17 movie is not pornography, which is kind of the legend we have been living with.”
Kid Rock caused another scene at a Waffle House – this time for charity. The entertainer came to sign autographs for hundreds of fans during a fundraiser for homeless families at the suburban Atlanta restaurant. The event came just a week after Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, pleaded not guilty to a charge of battery from a fight last fall at another Waffle House. A spokeswoman for Waffle House, Kelly Thrasher, said the company wanted to “take a negative situation and turn it into a positive situation.” Kid Rock, 37, added: “The whole situation before was kind of silly.”
The rise of China as an economic power has sparked interest in English-language fiction about the country, bringing success to several bilingual authors. But only a few authors will be remembered once the novelty wears off, said writers speaking at the annual Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival. Writers like Yan Geling and Li Yiyun are part of a new group of mainland Chinese who have enjoyed success writing fiction about their home countries in English after moving to the United States. Once readers “get over that China is so exotic, it's so mysterious,” said Li, “I think that's where real literature comes in.”
If John Cho has a cult following now as Harold in the “Harold & Kumar” movies, wait until “Star Trek” comes out. Cho will co-star as Sulu in J.J. Abrams's film, due out next summer. He's shooting his last scenes as the Starship Enterprise's helmsman this week, and is promoting “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay,” which had its premiere last weekend at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas. Cho, 35, is aware of the pressure he and the rest of the cast and crew are under to please “Star Trek” fans.
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“It is daunting, it's scary,” he said. “Frankly, I'm not used to this kind of heat.”
Britney Spears will guest star in a March 24 episode of the television series “How I Met Your Mother,” a CBS spokeswoman said. The troubled pop singer will portray a receptionist in a dermatologist's office who becomes “smitten” with Ted, the character played by Josh Radnor. Craig Thomas, the show's creator, told Usmagazine.com that representatives for Spears approached CBS because “she was looking for a small part on a funny show.”
Chris Levine, the artist who in 2004 created an acclaimed holographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, is back with a set of pictures selected from among the 8,000 or so he took at the original sittings. But this time Levine has manipulated them in an effort to do for the British monarch what Andy Warhol did for Marilyn Monroe. “I am putting the Queen into the pop culture,” Levine said. Among the images – which go on show to the public on Friday at the StolenSpace art gallery in London – are one with the queen's face erased, one showing just the back of her head and another with her eyes closed. “There is no disrespect intended here,” Levine said, adding: “She has seen some of the images and was enthusiastic. I intend to send her a boxed set.”
One day after his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Canadian singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen, 73, announced plans for his first tour in 15 years, Reuters reported. The tour, beginning in Toronto on June 6, will include an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in Britain on June 29. The final announced date is Aug. 29 in Vienna, but organizers said more performances were expected.
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