David Bowie releases first album in decade

NEW YORK: British rock icon David Bowie released his first album in a decade Thursday, streaming the comeback record exclusively on iTunes.

The highly anticipated surprise release -- coming more than a week before its commercial launch on March 12 -- will be streamed on Apple's media player until the album is formally made available in stores.

On his official Facebook page, Bowie said that fans would have a chance in the coming days to win signed "deluxe" copies of the album if they indicate their favorite tracks.

"Spread the word children," he said.

The new album contains 14 tracks and the deluxe version includes three bonus tracks.

Bowie has enlisted British actress Tilda Swinton for a music video of one of the album's tracks, "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)."

On January 8, he unveiled a new single -- "Where Are We Now?" -- to coincide with his 66th birthday.

Bowie has been a relative recluse in recent years, having released no new music since his last album, 2003's "Reality," and having not performed live since 2006.

Britain's Independent newspaper has described "The Next Day" album as "the greatest comeback album in rock'n'roll history".

The musician, whose real name is David Jones, reportedly spent most of the past decade living in New York with his wife, the Somali-American model Iman, and their daughter.

He underwent a medical procedure for a blocked artery in 2004.

Bowie's androgynous style and outrageous costumes -- often worn as part of his alter egos Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane in the 1970s -- shook up the world of rock 'n' roll and catapulted him to worldwide stardom.

He has sold an estimated 140 million albums over a career spanning almost 50 years.

AFP

Complete list of Oscar winners

HOLLYWOOD: The following is a list of the winners so far at the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday: Best picture: "Argo" Best director: Ang Lee, "Life of Pi" Best leading actor: Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln" Best leading actress: Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook" Best supporting actor: Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained" Best supporting actress: Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables" Best foreign language film: "Amour" (Love) Best animated feature: "Brave" Best original screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, "Django Unchained" Best adapted screenplay: Chris Terrio, "Argo" Best original score: "Life of Pi" Best original song: "Skyfall," music and lyrics by Adele and Paul Epworth Best production design: "Lincoln" Best cinematography: "Life of Pi" Best costume design: "Anna Karenina" Best documentary feature: "Searching for Sugar Man" Best documentary short: "Inocente" Best film editing: "Argo" Best makeup: "Les Miserables" Best short animated film: "Paperman" Best short live action film: "Curfew" Best sound editing: "Zero Dark Thirty" Best sound mixing: "Les Miserables" Best visual effects: "Life of Pi" AFP

Iran slams Hollywood, US 'excited' over 'Argo' Oscar win

 
TEHRAN: Iran on Monday criticised Hollywood for awarding its top honour to the Iran hostage drama "Argo", with a senior official saying it "lacks artistic value" and media poking fun at US first lady Michelle Obama's surprise appearance at the Oscar ceremony.
"This anti-Iran movie lacks artistic value," Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hosseini was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
"It was awarded the top honour through a massive financing and advertisement campaign ... so that it attracts more attention worldwide," said Hosseini, who also accused Hollywood of targeting the Islamic republic.
Iran's state television earlier slammed the 85th Academy Awards as "the most political Oscar ever," as it reported the news that "Argo" had won the coveted best film Oscar.
The Fars news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, branded "Argo" as an "anti-Iran movie" financed by a "Zionist company" -- in a reference to the California-based Warner Bros. which produced it.
Meanwhile, The US State Department, still mourning the loss of its diplomats in a bloody attack on a mission in Libya, cheered the Oscar win for "Argo" based on a true life tale of diplomatic bravery.
"I think we all were excited to see it win," deputy acting spokesman Patrick Ventrell told journalists of Ben Affleck's film which picked up the coveted best picture award at the Oscars on Sunday night.
"We cooperated with them in some of the production aspects of, you know, filming inside of this building," Ventrell said.
New Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday tweeted ahead of the awards ceremony in Los Angeles wishing "Good luck @BenAffleck and #Argo" and adding "nice seeing @StateDept & our Foreign Service on the big screen - JK."
Affleck, who also stars in the movie, tweeted back his thanks, adding "Grateful for the outstanding service and sacrifice of US diplomats and their families!"

Josh Groban beats Tim McGraw to top of Billboard 200 album chart

LOS ANGELES: Singer Josh Groban scored his third No. 1 on Wednesday as his latest album shot to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart, edging out new entries from Tim McGraw and rock band Coheed and Cambria.
"All That Echoes," Groban's sixth studio album, sold 145,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, making it the singer's third chart-topping album since 2007's holiday set, "Noel."
Country crooner McGraw debuted at No. 2 with his 12th studio album, "Two Lanes of Freedom," selling 107,000 copies. McGraw and his country singer wife, Faith Hill, were also presenters at Sunday's Grammy Awards.
"Now 45," the latest installment of the "Now Music" compilations featuring chart hits by One Direction, Maroon 5 and Pink, landed at No. 3 this week.
British folk band Mumford & Sons' album "Babel" climbed the chart from No. 7 to No. 4, following the band's big Grammy night win on Sunday for Album of the Year.
The album is likely to get a bigger boost from the Grammy Awards win, to be reflected in next week's chart, which accumulates all sales from a Monday to Sunday weekly cycle.
Other new entries on this week's top 10 include Nashville rock band Red with their fourth studio album, "Release the Panic," at No. 7 and New York rockers Coheed and Cambria at No. 9 with their latest set, "The Afterman: Descension." (Reuters)

REUTER

London celebrates the BAFTA film awards

 
LONDON: Stars of the silver screen have braved London’s chilly winter rain for the annual British Academy of Film Awards. There was good news for James Bond fans and special recognition for British director Alan Parker.
The awards, presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, are seen as an indicator of success leading up to Hollywood's Oscars.
The James Bond film "Skyfall” was named best British film, while Iran hostage drama "Argo" - now a front-runner for the Oscars best picture award - won the best movie drama prize.
Daniel Day-Lewis scooped the best actor prize for "Lincoln," while France's veteran screen presence Emmanuelle Riva won best actress for "Amour."
In the supporting actress category, Anne Hathaway emerged as the winner for her performance in the British musical "Les Miserables." Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who owns a German citizenship, won best supporting actor for his role in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained."
Steven Spielberg's stately presidential biopic "Lincoln" garnered the most nominations at 10.
"Les Miserables" and Ang Lee's magical realist film "Life of Pi" each received nine nominations. "Skyfall" received eight nominations and "Argo" garnered seven.
Best director nominees included German-born Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke for "Amour," Quentin Tarantino for "Django Unchained," Ang Lee for "Life of Pi" and Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty." In the end the winner was Ben Affleck for "Argo."
British director Alan Parker received a BAFTA Fellowship, the academy's highest honor, for a career that includes "Midnight Express," ''Fame" and "Mississippi Burning."

Winslet marries for third time - to Mr RocknRoll

 
LONDON: Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has married her third husband in a secret ceremony -- tying the knot with Richard Branson's nephew Ned RocknRoll, The Sun tabloid reported on Thursday.
Winslet, 37, was given away by her "Titanic" co-star Leonardo DiCaprio at an intimate service in New York attended by just a few close friends and family in early December, according to the paper.
Although Winslet's spokeswoman confirmed the actress had married, it came as a surprise to her family -- her father Roger told The Sun "What are you going on about?" when he was asked.
Her new 34-year-old husband, who changed his name from Abel Smith, works part-time for his tycoon uncle's space venture Virgin Galactic. He began dating Winslet last year.
Winslet first married in 1998 to Jim Threapleton, who was assistant
director on "Hideous Kinky" in which she starred. They had a daughter, Mia Honey, in 2000 but split up the following year.

Husband number two was Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning British director of "American Beauty".

They married in a ceremony on the Caribbean island of Anguilla in May 2003 and their son Joe Alfie was born seven months later, but they announced an amicable split in 2010.

Actress Katie Holmes' Broadway show to close

 
NEW YORK: Actress Katie Holmes' return to Broadway has been cut short, with producers announcing that the play "Dead Accounts" in which she co-stars will close on January 6, nearly two months early.
Holmes, the ex-wife of actor Tom Cruise, played Lorna, a wan, beaten-down woman living with her parents in the five-character play by Theresa Rebeck which opened on November 29 to mostly negative reviews.
No reason was given for the play's early closing, but media reports said it was earning only a fraction of its box office potential.
Many reviewers said Holmes acquitted herself alongside a roster of Broadway veterans, who included Tony-winning actor Norbert Leo Butz as the brother who returns to his Midwestern family and unleashes havoc in the comedy.
The New York Daily News said "she throws herself gamely into her second Broadway show ... (but) Holmes' efforts add up to zilch."
Most critics laid blame on an undeveloped, sketchy play by the author of last season's better-received "Seminar."
Holmes, 34, reached a high-profile divorce settlement with Cruise last summer. She lives in New York with her young daughter, Suri. Holmes will co-star in an upcoming film which will be a modernization of Chekhov's "The Seagull" along with Allison Janney and William Hurt.