Showbuzz
Web posted on:
Thursday, June 04, 1998 5:04:19 PM
Today's buzz stories:
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MacDonald appearing on "The Late Show with David Letterman"
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- A day after NBC confirmed it had banned ads for Norm MacDonald's new movie "Dirty Work" because of a feud between the comedian and the network, MacDonald received support from David Letterman during an interview Tuesday night.
The feud stems from the fact that NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer had earlier removed MacDonald from the "Weekend Update" segment of "Saturday Night Live." The network cited ratings and quality concerns; MacDonald supporters claim that the comic had lampooned Ohlmeyer friend O.J. Simpson once too often.
After MacDonald went public with his dismay at losing the SNL spot, NBC banned ads for MacDonald's new movie from the network, saying it doesn't want to sell a movie for a comedian it feels besmirched the network's name. On Tuesday's "Late Show," Letterman said NBC's actions amounted to "terrorism. This is completely uncalled for."
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"Godzilla"
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- NBC claimed network rights to the movie "Godzilla," winning them for $25 million, or 28 percent less than Sony's original $35 million asking price. A disappointing box office showing by the movie brought the price down. Sources say the deal would add $1.5 million in license fees for every $10 million of domestic gross "Godzilla" chalks up beyond the $125 million mark.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- Brad Renfro, the young star of the John Grisham legal thriller "The Client," may have real legal problems ahead of him after reportedly being arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine and marijuana. Renfro, 15, was released on $500 bond from a juvenile detention center, The Knoxville News-Sentinel reported Thursday. As of Wednesday, he had not been charged with anything.
LONDON (CNN) -- One painting in a new collection by Lucian Freud, on display now at London's Tate Gallery, reveals Jerry Hall striking a pregnant pose. The supermodel and wife of rock star Mick Jagger is seen in one postcard-sized painting lying on one side, pregnant with son Gabriel, who is now 6 months old. "She wondered whether I'd like to paint her in this condition and it was too generous an offer to refuse," Freud recently said. The painting and 24 others by Freud will be on display until July 26.
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Trumpeter Herb Alpert and his partner Jerome Moss have filed a lawsuit alleging A&M Records and its corporate owner, Polygram, owe them nearly $6 million. The lawsuit accuses Polygram of shortchanging a shareholders trust set up by the duo in 1989 -- during Polygram's buyout of their startup label -- by $3.63 million in 1994 earnings from A&M. Alpert and Moss also contend that Polygram mishandled a Canadian tax refund claim that could have added $2 million to the fund. Polygram says it hasn't seen the lawsuit and didn't offer a comment.
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