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LATEST: LINDSAY LOHAN’s estranged father has praised Los Angeles authorities for not sentencing his troubled daughter to a lengthy prison sentence.
Michael Lohan, who was released from prison after serving time earlier this year (07), insists the judge who handed his daughter a one-day jail sentence on Thursday (23Aug07) made the right decision.
He says, "I am very thankful that the system saw it as longterm rehab that Lindsay needed and not long-term incarceration. This is a good thing.
"Lindsay is putting her life back in order. I believe Lindsay wants to do that." And Lohan’s father has also taped an interview with U.S. news show Extra, in which he praises all the people who are trying to help the Mean Girls actress, who was charged with seven misdemeanour and DUI charges in court on Thursday.
He adds, "I believe Blair Berk, her attorney, and Bev, her counsellor at (Utah rehab facility) Cirque Lodge have Lindsay’s best interests at heart. The results are going to speak for themselves.
"I believe that Lindsay’s restoration can and will be a great sermon to many." Lohan was initially sentenced to four days behind bars, but a judge cut that in half and ordered her to carry out 10 days of community service instead. A further day was taken off the sentence because of time Lohan has already served during her arrests.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

The lawyer who first represented DAVID HASSELHOFF’s ex-wife PAMELA BACH in her divorce battle against the actor is suing for unpaid legal fees.
Attorney Gary Mitchell claims he represented the actress for six months last year (06), before Bach began using the services of lawyer Debra Opri.
Mitchell filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday (23Aug07), demanding $40,000 (£20,000) in unpaid fees.
Court papers say Mitchell and Bach had an oral agreement over his representation of her.
Meanwhile, the same day Mitchell sued Bach, a Los Angeles judge ruled Hasselhoff would not have to pay $189,000 (£94,500) in legal fees charged by Opri while she was representing his ex.
Bach fired Opri after losing custody of her two daughters to Hasselhoff in June (07) and has since hired Mark Vincent Kaplan as her attorney.

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RINGO STARR has lavished praise on rock legend BOB DYLAN for lasting so long in the music industry.
The former Beatles drummer admires musicians who can match his own band’s longevity, and cites Dylan as a prime example - despite his unpredictability.
He says, "Seeing Bob many times, and you get what Bob gives you. The last time I saw him, it was hard to recognise the songs. But the time before, he was clear as a bell.
"Bob is great. He just had a No. 1 record and that’s what it’s about."

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SONIC YOUTH frontman THURSTON MOORE has hit out at AVRIL LAVIGNE and JOHN MAYER, insisting 70 year olds rock harder than they do.
The rocker recently collaborated with Yoko Ono, and claims she is edgier than most modern artists.
He tells Spin magazine, "I am playing with Yoko Ono, and she’s well past 70 and she rocks. Neil Young rocks. It’s certainly not John Mayer or Avril Lavigne. Those people don’t rock. If that’s the young generation in the culture, then (forget) it. In the underground, the old guys are cool. I like the fact that the older we get the more we can rock."

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LATEST: LINDSAY LOHAN’s sister is laughing off reports she was involved in a car crash last week Friday night (17Aug07), insisting the media has made something out of nothing.
American magazine In Touch Weekly broke the news about the incident on Thursday (23Aug07), claiming the accident happened after 13-year-old Ali Lohan sneaked out of the family’s Long Island, New York home to meet up with her 16-year-old boyfriend.
But the Lohan family’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, insists that although there was a car accident, the rest of the story is all wrong.
Sloane tells TMZ.com, "I just got off the phone with Ali. She was never in the car." The publicist insists the boy driving the car was someone Ali knew from school - but he’s not the teen’s boyfriend.
According to reports, the unnamed boy had taken the car without permission, picked up Ali Lohan and crashed.

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THE MUMMY moviemaker STEPHEN SOMMERS has been given the task of bringing action toy G.I. JOE to life on the big screen.
Sommers will direct the live-action movie, based on toy firm Hasbro’s action figure line, in 2009.
The director was given the job on the spot after pitching his idea for the film to Paramount Pictures executives at a meeting on Wednesday (22Aug07).

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British theatre star RUTHIE HENSHALL is devastated after her older sister NOEL died following an overdose of painkillers.
The Broadway and West End stage star, 40, and another sister Abigail joined their parents at the 49-year-old’s bedside in a Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in California, where she died of liver failure on Sunday (19Aug07).
Former Chicago star Henshall says, "She had been suffering from severe back trouble and had taken too many painkillers. The whole family is heartbroken and shattered.
"She lifted the lives of everybody she met. I spoke to her on the phone in hospital before we flew out to her but by the time we arrived she had drifted into a coma and she never came out of it. Her liver had ceased to function." Henshall will dedicate her new performance in Wales to Noel.

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LATEST: U.S. news anchor ROBIN ROBERTS is "healing" following surgery to remove cancerous tumours from her body.
The Good Morning America co-host, 46, is recovering from a 3 August (07) operation following her diagnosis with breast cancer and is currently waiting to hear from doctors if she will need further treatment.
Roberts says, "The cancer is out of my body and I’m healing from the surgery.
Hopefully, the plan now is to keep it out.
"The prognosis is quite good. I did find it in the early stages. I am very confident and they (doctors) are very confident that it is going to be fine.
The road getting there is going to be a little bumpier than I anticipated and they anticipated. I am better off than so many people who find it so late and that is why I am grateful and that again is why my battle cry is early detection."

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Movie mogul ANG LEE’s highly erotic new film LUST, CAUTION has been slapped with a harsh NC-17 rating in the U.S. for scenes featuring extended and vigorous sex.
The movie, which has been dubbed the new Last Tango In Paris by film studio bosses at distributors Focus Features, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada next month (Sep07).
Neither Lee nor Focus Features boss James Schamus will contest the hard rating for the film, which is adapted from and Eileen Chang short story.
Schamus says, "Ang Lee has crafted a masterpiece about and for grown-ups." The racy Mandarin-language film, which stars Tony Leung and Tang Wei, also features implied oral sex and full frontal nudity.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

LATEST: Atlanta bishop THOMAS W. WEEKS III has been charged with assaulting his televangelist wife JUANITA BYNUM, after handing himself into police in the Georgia city.
Bynum - who regularly delivers sermons about women’s empowerment - was left bruised after the confrontation in an Atlanta parking lot.
Weeks - was reportedly caught chocking, kicking, stomping and threatening to kill Bynum - has been charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats.
Weeks is being held at Fulton County Jail. Bynum has written a message on her MySpace page that reads, "I am currently recovering from all of my injuries and resting well … this too shall pass."

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LATEST: JERRY LEWIS’ spokeswoman has hit out at bosses on U.S. TV show ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, accusing of them of taking the comedian’s comments about MERV GRIFFIN out of context.
Speaking on the show, Lewis said TV star Griffin "deserved to die" from prostate cancer earlier this month (Aug07) because he had failed to seek treatment for the disease.
But his representative Claudia Stabile Marghilano claims show bosses made Lewis "look like a schmuck".
She says, "All he meant was that Merv neglected his care of prostate cancer.
Jerry loved Merv, he adored Merv.
"They make Jerry look like a schmuck. Give Jerry an hour and he’s going to step on it because he’s so candid. Jerry’s saying he knows what went on. Merv could still be with us if he had been treated."

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THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW star AUSTIN NICHOLS has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol in Michigan.
The 27-year-old actor was stopped by police for driving the wrong direction down a one way street in Jackson at 2.30am on Friday morning (24Aug07).
Nichols failed a sobriety test and held in custody at Jackson County Jail before being released.
The actor is set to be arraigned in court at a later date.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

GURINDER CHADHA has pulled out of directing the big screen version of 80s TV hit DALLAS, to be replaced by BETTY THOMAS.
Plans to adapt the hit TV soap into a full-length film, starring John Travolta and Luke Wilson, fell flat earlier this year (07) when Jennifer Lopez quit the project amid script and directorial issues.
First Robert Luketic was attached to direct; before Bend It Like Beckham filmmaker Chadha took over.
Chadha took a break from the film to give birth in June (07) - and now won’t be returning, reports Variety.
Brady Bunch director Thomas has taken over, and plans to turn Dallas into a comedy, starring Meg Ryan as Sue Ellen.
Travolta is reportedly still onboard to play oil tycoon J.R. Ewing in the film. It is not known if Wilson (Bobby Ewing) and original castmate Shirley Maclaine (Miss Ellie) are still involved.
Filming is set to begin in January (08).

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American actress/singer MANDY MOORE has launched her new blog - and is set to take her Wild Hope tour online.
The star plans to post every detail of her tour on the web, to allow fans to experience her hectic schedule.
She says, "These past few weeks have been a whirlwind getting ready for the tour which just kicked off a couple of days ago.
"I’m so excited to be on the road - and hopefully will see a bunch of you at my shows." (JC/US/ES) WENN - FIFTH - HOLLYWOOD, SHOWBIZ & PEOPLE NEWS - 24 AUGUST 2007

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Scottish singer/songwriter KT TUNSTALL hates being mistaken for fellow star KATIE MELUA - and changed the spelling of her name to avoid any confusion.
The Suddenly I See star admits she shortened her name from Katie to KT in a bid to differentiate her from her singing peer, but is still confused for her namesake by fellow celebrities.
She says, "I had that (British hypnotist) Paul McKenna come up to me once and he said, ‘I love that song of yours about bicycles.’ "So I said to McKenna, ‘And I loved the stunt you did in that glass box above the (River) Thames.’"

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FALL OUT BOY singer PATRICK STUMP was stunned the band won the Best Video prize at the Kerrang Awards - because he’s the most unphotogenic frontman in rock.
The band picked up the prize, for the promo for This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race, at a ceremony in London on Thursday (23Aug07).
Stump said after picking up the award, "It’s weird, because I don’t think I photograph well… and we won best video."

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Virgin Records founder SIR RICHARD BRANSON sparked a water fight on American TV on Wednesday (22Aug07) when he turned on a chat show host for not helping him promote his new airline.
Branson threw a cup of water over The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert, stating, "I came on here to plug my airline, Virgin America." Colbert responded by squirting water from a bottle at the British businessman.
The water fight was far from serious and both host and guest were caught by cameras giggling about the incident as Colbert signed off on his show.

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Thousands of Congolese gathered in the streets of the capital Kinshasa to pay tribute to late rumba singer MADILU SYSTEM.
Madilu System, real name Jean De Dieu Bilau, died in a city hospital on 11 August (07) after suffering from diabetes.
After the former TP OK Jazz star’s coffin spent three days in Kinshasa’s main stadium, huge crowds took to the streets to follow the casket to the cemetery for his funeral on Thursday (23Aug07).
Lubangi Muniania, head of music label Tabilulu Productions, says, "To most fans of TP OK Jazz, Madilu had a particular way of singing, his system - no wonder he became System."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)