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Horror legend SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE has narrated a special animated film tribute to his moviemaker pal TIM BURTON.
The Lord of the Rings star is the star of writer/filmmaker Brian Joseph Ochab’s stop-motion picture Tim, which was inspired by the Alice In Wonderland director’s first short film Vincent - narrated by another horror movie icon, Vincent Price.
Tim follows the story of a young boy who aspires to be just like Burton and Lee admits he was more than happy to get involved in the six-minute project, after the eccentric filmmaker presented him with the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship Award in London last month (Feb11).
Lee says, "I think this has been done in a delightful way, and I think Tim will be very pleased."

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ELTON JOHN scored LEON RUSSELL’s first post-Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction appearance on Wednesday night (16Mar11) when the old-timer joined the Rocket Man onstage in New York.
Just two nights after inducting his pal into the Hall of Fame, Elton introduced fans to the white-haired legend at Madison Square Garden.
The concert marked Russell’s first return to the fabled venue since he was part of George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh there in 1971. It was Elton’s 61st show at the Garden.
The two pianists worked through eight songs from their 2010 album The Union, and they were joined by another rock legend - Greg Allman stepped out onstage to belt out Neil Young’s part in the song Gone to Shiloh.

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QUINCY JONES’ actress daughter RASHIDA JONES has revealed she was in the running to play the lead in BAZ LUHRMANN’s MOULIN ROUGE! - until NICOLE KIDMAN expressed interest in the musical role.
The TV star admits she auditioned for the role of Satine before producers decided to go for a bigger name.
And she wowed movie executives with a routine she worked out with her super-producer dad.
Jones tells Eonline.com, "You had to sing a song and I decided I wanted to sing and play a song. I wanted to play this arrangement of Somewhere from West Side Story that my dad had done for Aretha Franklin.
"So he taught me the whole arrangement on piano and helped me transpose it to the right key for my voice. It’s one of my best memories." And the tune could one day make it on to her own album.
She adds, "I have a lot of reverence-slash-fear about music because obviously I have a living legend as my father. Music breaks my heart constantly. I almost can’t even talk about it I love it so much.
"I’m not sure that I’m ready to share that with the world… (but) at some point in my life, I want to lock myself away and make an album just for myself."

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DURAN DURAN kicked off their 2011 world tour with one of their most intimate gigs in years at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas on Wednesday night (16Mar11).
Announcing "the name of this band is Duran Duran", bearded frontman Simon Le Bon and his bandmates delivered a tight and triumphant 80-minute set of hits and tracks from their new album All You Need is Now.
They kicked off with Bond theme View To a Kill and raced through classics like Notorious, Hungry Like The Wolf and Girls on Film to rapturous applause at Stubb’s outdoor stage venue.
The 1980s supergroup will continue its much-hyped comeback with more intimate shows in California before making its debut at the Coachella festival next month (Apr11).
The band’s concert at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles next week (23Mar11) will be filmed by director David Lynch for live streaming online.

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LADY GAGA has scored a fifth week on top of the U.S. pop charts but KATY PERRY is making history in the Digital Songs countdown.
Gaga’s Born This Way debuted at number one last month (Feb11) and still holds the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 ahead of Cee Lo Green’s F**k You and Perry’s E.T., which becomes the pop star’s fourth Digital Songs number one release from her Teenage Dream album - a new chart record.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s rendition of Stevie Nicks’ Landslide with the cast of Glee is the new chart’s highest debut at 23.

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Rapper LUPE FIASCO has been forced to pull out of an appearance at the South By Southwest festival in Texas on Thursday night (17Mar11) after falling ill.
The hip-hop star was due to play his first show since scoring his first U.S. number one album with Lasers on Wednesday (16Mar11), but he has had to cancel the gig due to vocal problems.
In a post on his Twitter.com page, he writes, "dr still has me on voice rest…won’t be (at) sxsw." Another headliner, Cee Lo Green, has also axed his slot at Austin’s annual music and arts event. Singer Janelle Monae and Airplanes hitmaker B.o.B. will step in to replace the pair, sharing the stage with rap sensation Wiz Khalifa.

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Country star BILLY RAY CYRUS has called off his divorce and reunited with his wife TISH.
The Achy Breaky Heart singer filed legal papers to end the 17-year union in October (10) and he has since blamed the success of his daughter Miley’s Disney show Hannah Montana for "destroying" his family.
But Cyrus has been working hard to repair the family fall-out since his GQ magazine comments caused a tabloid storm - and he now reveals things are back on track with his wife and his kids.
In an appearance on U.S. talk show The View, due to air on Friday (18Mar11), the 49 year old says, "I’ve dropped the divorce. I want to put my family back together… Things are the best they’ve ever been." And the singer insists he’s also made amends with his superstar daughter Miley Cyrus, after lashing out at her for a string of scandals surrounding her personal life - including gossip about her love interests and outrage over video footage showing her smoking a bong.
He adds, "I feel like I got my Miley back. I feel like we’re the daddy and daughter we were before Hannah Montana."

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The Bolshoi ballet director GENNADY YANIN has stepped down amid an erotic photo scandal.
Candid snaps of Yanin were posted online earlier this week (beg14Mar11), sparking outrage throughout the Russian arts world.
Yanin, who has led The Bolshoi since 2005, will be replaced by Yan Godovsky.

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BLACK SWAN director DARREN ARONOFSKY has pulled out of the latest X-MEN spin-off for personal reasons.
The acclaimed moviemaker reveals he cannot commit to spending so much time away from his family, shooting the action film X-Men Origins: Wolverine on location in places like disaster-hit Japan.
A statement from the filmmaker to Deadline.com reads, "As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at (film studio) Fox, it became clear that the production of The Wolverine would keep me out of the country for almost a year.
"I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time." Aronofsky and his longtime partner Rachel Weisz separated last year (10). The British actress is the mother of the director’s young son Henry.

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Oscar nominee JENNIFER LAWRENCE has landed the most coveted role in Hollywood after signing on to star in the movie adaptation of SUZANNE COLLINS’ bestseller, THE HUNGER GAMES.
The Winter’s Bone star has been cast as Katniss Everdeen in the film, according to movie news website TheWrap.com.
Lawrence reportedly beat fellow 2011 Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld to the role in the saga of battling teenagers.
The film will be directed by Gary Ross, and is slated to hit cinemas in a year (Mar12).
Confirming the news of Lawrence’s casting, Ross says, "I’m so excited to work with Jen and see her bring this character to life. Katniss requires a young actress with strength, depth, complexity, tenderness, and power. There are very few people alive who can bring that to a role. Jen brings it in spades. She’s going to be an amazing Katniss."

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The sheer CHARLOTTE TODD dress bride-to-be KATE MIDDLETON wore as part of a 2002 university fashion show has sold at auction for over $125,000 (£78,000).
Reports suggest Prince William first fell for the brunette when she strutted her stuff on the catwalk in the see-through lingerie-style dress.
The item was the highlight of the Kerry Taylor Auctions Passion for Fashion sale on Thursday (17Mar11).
Todd, who has never met Middleton in person, tells People.com she designed the dress as part of her St. Andrews University course work and had no idea she would become part of the royal dating story.
She says, "Everyone says that the fashion show was when the romance started and when she (Middleton) bagged her prince, so a small part of me will always be part of royal history. It’s madness."

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Generous SANDRA BULLOCK has donated $1 million (£667,000) to help the relief effort following Japan’s earthquake and tsunami disasters last week (ends11Mar11).
The move follows a similar hand-out from the kind-hearted Oscar winner following the Haiti earthquake last year (Jan10).
Bullock’s donation will benefit the American Red Cross’ efforts in the Far East.
Her cash matches the donation actress/singer Demi Lovato reportedly made to charity earlier this week (beg14Mar11).
Singer/songwriter Jack Johnson, who was in Japan when the earthquake hit, has also made a contribution, while Clint Eastwood, Katy Perry, Charlie Sheen and Lady Gaga are among the celebrities raising money from the sale of DVDs, concert tickets, bangles and merchandise.

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PUSSYCAT DOLLS creator ROBIN ANTIN is searching for a brand new line-up for the all-girl group.
The original act formed in 1995 as a burlesque dance troupe, before going on to international success with stars including Nicole Scherzinger and Kimberly Wyatt in the formation.
Scherzinger left the group to go solo in 2009 and choreographer Antin unveiled a new set of members last year (10).
Now Antin is on the search again and is holding auditions to create a completely new Pussycat Dolls five-piece.
In a post on her Twitter.com page she writes, "Calling ALL PCD’s. I’m so excited to announce that I’m holding an AUDITION in L.A. for THE NEW PUSSYCAT DOLLS, (The Recording Group!) Looking for The most Beautiful Lead Singers/& amazing Dancers."

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British singer/rapper PLAN B has spoken out following the death of NATE DOGG, crediting the star for inspiring him to take up music.
The hip-hop legend passed away on Tuesday (15Mar11), sparking tributes from Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Eminem and 50 Cent.
And now Plan B, real name Benjamin Drew, has thanked the late star for inspiring him to pursue a music career.
He tells NME, "The song Regulate with Warren G got me into hip hop, more so because of his singing than the rap. (He had) a unique voice and was the only male singer that could hold his own amongst all those gangster rappers. What other singer could do that? What other singer was more present? He put the funk into G Funk."

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CEE LO GREEN has spoken out to dispel speculation he won’t ever reform GNARLS BARKLEY, insisting he will one day work with musical partner DANGER MOUSE again.
The rapper/singer and his DJ pal haven’t released anything together since 2008 album The Odd Couple, while Green has been working on solo projects.
Green’s success has caused fans to fear he will never reteam for a Gnarls Barkley record, but he insists that although nothing is scheduled yet, when they’re ready they’ll release more material.
He tells CNN, "Of course. It’s an enigma, if you will. It’s a monster. It’s a noun. It’s a person, place and thing, you know what I’m saying? So when I’m emotionally able to go back in that hole in the wall, I’ll go back in there. And Danger Mouse will be waiting for me, afro intact.
"We have an awful lot in common. He’s a very funny guy. You wouldn’t know it. He’s very smart. I’ve described Danger Mouse on a few occasions as a picket fence around my garden of wildflowers, can you dig it? Makes sense."

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RADIOHEAD rocker THOM YORKE is swapping his guitar for turntables again - he’s working on tracks with rapper MF DOOM.
The singer/songwriter was pictured earlier this month (Mar11) DJing at a nightclub in Los Angeles, and now he’s eyeing a move into hip-hop by writing duets with New York-based Doom.
And the rapper, who previously fronted the Monsta Island Czars collective, has revealed he and Yorke are even considering recording an entire album of collaborative material.
He tells 3D World magazine, "(I’m) doing some stuff with Thom Yorke. We’re working on some duets, some duet songs and s**t. Just like preliminary s**t but we’ll probably end up doing a whole record together… He’s cool - he got a lot of ill a** ideas and s**t, you know." It’s not the first time Yorke has had dealings with the rapper - he remixed the hip-hop star’s track Gazzillion Ear in 2009.

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BOYZONE stars KEITH DUFFY and RONAN KEATING have paid tribute to their late bandmate STEPHEN GATELY to mark his birthday on St. Patrick’s Day.
The No Matter What hitmakers were left devastated when Gately died suddenly in October, 2009 from a build-up of fluid in his lungs.
Gately would have turned 35 on Thursday (17Mar11), the same day as the annual Irish holiday, and his pals have taken a moment to remember the star.
Taking to Twitter.com, Duffy writes, "Just waking in aghadoe heights (in Ireland) probably the nicest place in the world! Happy Birthday Steo miss you everyday buddy xxx Happy paddies day xxx." And Keating adds, "Happy Birthday Brother."

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ANTHRAX star SCOTT IAN has confirmed his wife PEARL ADAY’s pregnancy in a letter to fans, explaining his absence from much of the group’s summer (11) tour.
The rocker will be sitting out of dates at the beginning of July (11) so he can be at home with his wife, the daughter of Meat Loaf, when his child is born.
But the baby news won’t affect the Big 4 show, featuring Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, in Indio, California in April (11) or upcoming shows in Thailand and Japan.
Ian writes, "I know there’s been a lot of rhetoric out there regarding upcoming Anthrax shows, Big 4 and otherwise. I’ve been debating on whether or not to make a public statement about this as it really pertains to my personal life and I generally like to keep that personal. Because this is affecting my band life, I feel like you, my friends, deserve to hear from me personally.
"I will be playing the Big 4 show April 23 in Indio, CA as well as the shows in Manila, Bangkok, and Japan that will follow the Indio show. I won’t be playing the shows scheduled from July 2 - 16 in Europe and the U.K. My wife Pearl and I are expecting our first child and she is due literally the day of the Big 4 Sonisphere show in France.
"This decision to miss these shows was a deeply personal one. I co-founded this band on July 18, 1981 and for almost thirty years, I have been there for everything we’ve ever done. I have never been faced with anything that would make me even question being there for anything Anthrax related. Becoming a father is the biggest, best thing that’s ever happened to me and it made the decision relatively easy. My priority is with my wife and the birth of our first child." Sepultura star Andreas Kisser will step in for Ian when he takes his paternity leave.
Ian states, "We chose Andreas because we feel he can do the gig better than anyone. He has the fire, the attitude, and the crushing right hand to do the gig."

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