{alltv} BP oil spill swamps Yahoo search engine in 2010

 

SAN FRANCISCO – It took a man-made disaster to topple a celebrity from the top spot on Yahoo Inc.'s annual list of most popular search requests.

BP PLC's massive oil spill in the Gulf Coast drew the most interest among the tens of millions of people that used Yahoo's search engine during 2010. The Internet company released its top 10 rankings Tuesday.

Michael Jackson was Yahoo's most requested subject in 2009, the year that the entertainer's death stunned the world. Britney Spears, another star-crossed singer, held the No. 1 position on Yahoo's search list from 2005 through 2008.

After falling to No. 5 last year, Spears dropped to No. 10 on Yahoo's list this year.

Although Yahoo's search engine is the second most used on the Web, it's not the best barometer of people's online interests. That's because Google fields billions more search requests than Yahoo, Microsoft Corp.'s Bing and AOL Inc. combined.

Bing and AOL released their top searches earlier this week, with reality TV star Kim Kardashian topping Bing's list and golfer Tiger Woods leading the pack of celebrities at AOL. Kardashian came in fourth on Yahoo's list and seventh in AOL's celebrity rankings; Woods was third on Bing and didn't appear among Yahoo's Top 10.

Google doesn't plan to break down its top searches until later in December so it can get an even better handle on what piqued Web surfers' curiosity this year.

As usual, pop culture dominated the rest of Yahoo's Top 10. Other celebrities on Yahoo's list included teen singer and actress Miley Cyrus (No. 3), singer Lady Gaga (No. 5), actress Megan Fox (No. 7), teen heartthrob Justin Bieber (No. 8) and TV's top-rated show, the American Idol talent competition (No. 9).

Soccer's World Cup, which drew huge crowds and television audiences in June, grabbed the second spot on Yahoo's list while Apple Inc.'s most hot-selling gadget, the iPhone, came in sixth.

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{alltv} Holbrook performs Twain on author's 175th birthday

 

ELMIRA, N.Y. – The crowd sang happy 175th birthday to Mark Twain before the lights went down at the Clemens Center, then laughed along with the nearest incarnation of the late author and humorist: Hal Holbrook.

The 85-year-old actor once again put on his white suit and makeup and reminisced, wisecracked, smoked and scolded Tuesday night in the latest, and not the last, stage re-enactment of Twain's world famous speaking engagements from the turn of the 20th century. Twain died 100 years ago in April and is buried in Elmira, home to the family of his adored wife, Olivia.

Performing at a sellout engagement at the 1,600-seat theater, relying as he has for decades on a simple set of lectern, high-backed chair and adjacent table, Holbrook assumed Twain's gravely drawl and rasped the master's ever-relevant wisdom on some favorite targets — politicians, religion and human nature itself. He slouched against the lectern, sat open-legged in the chair, shuffled in profile, cigar in mouth like a tongue sticking out.

"I wonder," Holbrook says, "if God invented man because he was disappointed in the monkey." Considering the general atrocities of the world, he declares, "It is inexplicable that God would endure all this, with lightning so cheap." Another shot: "Man was made at the end of a week's work, when God was tired.

Holbrook recited, from memory, a long passage from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and dabbed his eyes as Twain's hero lied to authority on behalf of the runaway slave Jim. He quoted from Twain's memories of his courtship of Olivia, who came from a wealthy and respectable family that had doubts about the unpolished author and requested letters of recommendation.

Even his friends turned on him.

"They not only spoke of me with disapproval," Holbrook/Twain said, "they were enthusiastic about it."

No side of the barn was broader than our system of government. We not only have freedom of speech and freedom of worship, but the history of ignoring both. Congress, Holbrook cracked, is the "best that money can buy" and sworn to "distribute the graft."

In a quote that might have come the staff of Jon Stewart, Holbrook/Twain observes: "If you could work a multiplication table into a political platform, Republicans would vote it down."

The genius was in the words. And the timing. Holbrook recalled Twain's belief that politicians never reformed. Well, there was one politician who reformed, on election eve.

Pause.

"He died."

Pause.

"He was reformed by his friend who took him boating on the East River."

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{alltv} Sightings

 

Martha Stewart shopping for jewelry at Bergdorf Goodman. . . Hilary Swank having lunch with a friend in a corner banquette at the Crosby Street Hotel . . . Moby and Matt Dillon having dinner with filmmaker Abel Ferrara at Rice in NoLIta. . . Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Jane Fonda, Will.I.Am and Jimmy Iovine at separate tables at Soho House West Hollywood . . . RENEE Zellweger stopping by Madison Avenue's Lilly Pulitzer store to buy the Bianca dress (strapless, long chiffon).

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{alltv} Leighton Meester suits up for Independent Film Awards

 

Leighton Meester wore a suit onstage with co-presenter Anthony Mackie at Monday night's Gotham Inde pendent Film Awards. A spy told us, "While presenting, they kept pinching each other, and at the table he put his arm around her waist." Also at the Calvin Klein and Russian Standard- sponsored event, Anne Hathaway gave an award to Focus Features CEO James Schamus, and thanked her for changing her career path with a role in "Brokeback Mountain," adding, "Don't get me wrong, I loved playing princesses." She con cluded, "Focus Features is a studio with balls."

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{alltv} Erica Hill has the last laugh as new anchor of 'The Early Show'

 

 

When Erica Hill left "Anderson Cooper 360" for CBS News last year, former CNN honcho Jon Klein sneered at the sassy sidekick that she was going nowhere fast. An insider says Klein told her, "Why are you going there? It's not like you're anchoring the 'Evening News.' " Photogenic Hill started as a newsreader for "The Early Show" and anchored the Saturday edition. Now, she's having the last laugh. CBS News announced yesterday that Hill and Chris Wragge will take over as the new morning anchor team, succeeding Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez. A source close to Hill quoted her as saying "Jon Klein is a very dear friend and he has never been anything but fully supportive of my career." An industry insider buzzed that the morning show shakeup happened partly because "CBS has no money to spend. Harry Smith was more expensive than they can afford." But a CBS News source said, "Bringing in this new team is a decision focused on improving the show. Payroll and cost were not the basis for the decision."

 

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{alltv} Kardashian courting New Jersey Net?

 

Kim Kardashian didn't spend her entire holiday weekend glued to Calvin Klein model Gabriel Aubry. She spent Thanksgiving Day with Aubry in LA, and they saw "Burlesque" there on Friday. But Sunday, the reality star sat courtside at the Nets-Trailblazers game in New Jersey to watch Nets forward Kris Humphries.Friends say Kardashian has known him a while but they could become more than friends. "She's dating a lot right now," a pal said. He could fit in with the Kardashians since his name starts with "K" and he has sisters named Krystal and Kaela. Kim's rep had no comment.

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{alltv} Sons of Anarchy: Ally Walker Discusses the Powerful Season Finale

 

WARNING: The following story contains spoilers about the Season 3 finale of Sons of Anarchy. Read at your own risk.

It was a partnership doomed to fail.

On Sons of Anarchy, there was a certain inevitability to how this season's unholy alliance between Jax (Charlie Hunnam) and Agent Stahl (Ally Walker) would end: with one person or the other dead.

And, well, Jax is the star of the show.

"Once Stahl and Jax were in business, it was kind of over, and I knew that," Walker tells TVGuide.com, noting that she knew creator Kurt Sutter was leaning toward killing off Stahl before Season 3 began. "She's such a bad, bad person that it's really hard to go anywhere else with her."

Stahl, who cut a deal with Jax to clear his mother's name and reduce the club's jail time for pending weapons charges, met her fate by overplaying her hand. Once Jax delivered on his end of the bargain — turning over Jimmy O'Phelan (Titus Welliver) to Stahl's team — Stahl double-crossed Jax by revealing to the club that he had been working for her all along.

What she didn't count on was that Jax was working a long con that ended with his non-jailbound brothers taking Stahl out. "I think she was worried about it," Walker says. "Jax had proven how smart he was to her in the interview in the jail in Season 2.  So, she was aware of his intelligence, and I think she was aware he could turn on her. She just couldn't see how. I think she figured in the end that he would do anything to get his mother off the hook, and that's what she was banking on."

But even before the double cross, Stahl was doomed in Sutter's eyes. "The thing I wanted to explore with her ... was just the idea that when you have that sort of obsessive personality and need to succeed, ultimately the pursuit of this big prize creates the alpha-cop paradox," he says. "In pursuit of the bad guy, you ultimately become more evil than the evil that you're pursuing. I don't think it's uncommon for that to happen in the world of law enforcement and that's what happened to Stahl. Ultimately, she just became incredibly evil."

The evil streak was showcased in the Season 2 finale when Stahl shot and killed an informant, then framed Jax's mother, Gemma (Katey Sagal), for the murder. It returned in Season 3's penultimate episode, as Stahl killed her own girlfriend to protect a new set of lies Stahl had created to exonerate Gemma based on her deal with Jax.

"When you have a character cross that line and do what she did, logically it's really hard to continue without being too absurd," Sutter says. "I think once she kills someone like that, at that point the danger level is so high that, whether or not it was in Jax's plan to begin with, she would ultimately have to go away."

Sutter says he also learned a lesson from the Season 2 finale, when he let his antagonist, Nathan Zobelle (Adam Arkin), get away relatively unscathed.

"Guys like Zobelle get away — they're almost above the law. And I think that was a very unsatisfying ending for people," Sutter says. "This season, it was organic that Stahl crossed a line and she would pay the price and therefore it was organic that she would die."

"The bad guy must go down," Walker adds. "Maybe she was on the side of right, but who she was as a human being was very vile. Ultimately, human beings create their own destiny, and I believe June definitely created hers."

But don't worry: Walker may soon live again on your TV screen. She's preparing to shoot a pilot for Lifetime called Exit 19, in which she plays a quirky homicide cop.

"I think strong women usually get relegated to being cops or doctors," Walker says with a laugh, noting her string of law enforcement roles. But her new character is funny. "[The show] is much lighter than Sons, and for me it's good to get back to doing some comedy again. ... It's not completely about violence and darkness."

What did you think of the Sons of Anarchy finale?

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{alltv} Neve Campbell, 2nd husband split

 

Neve Campbell is single again after secretly filing for divorce from her actor husband John Light in June.

The actress wed the Brit in May 2007, but they have separated after three years of marriage.

Campbell filed divorce papers in Los Angeles County Superior Court in June, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce has not yet been finalized, reports TMZ.com.

A source tells the website, "They're still really close friends, and it was a very amicable divorce."

Campbell also specified she wants to block the court from awarding Light any spousal support.

The next hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Campbell, 37, was previously wed to Canadian actor Jeff Colt; they divorced in 1998 after three years of marriage.

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{alltv} USOC eyes revival of Olympic TV network

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Olympic Committee is seeking to revive plans for a cable television network, and plans to start discussions next year with the International Olympic Committee, a top official said on Tuesday.

Scott Blackmun, Chief Executive of the USOC, said at the Reuters Global Media Summit that he also wants to discuss the network with Comcast Corp once it completes the buyout of NBC Universal, a longtime broadcaster of the Games.

NBC Universal is expected to bid for U.S. broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics. The IOC has not yet determined when it will open bidding for the rights.

An earlier effort by the USOC to create a network was undone by objections from the IOC, which expressed frustration that it had not been consulted on the initial plans.

Top sports leagues like the National Football League and Major League Baseball already have their own TV networks.

An Olympic network, if it moves forward, would likely be built around news reports, commentary, interviews, documentaries, movies, and classic Olympic footage.

The failed attempt in 2009 to launch a network was seen as further hurting ties between the IOC and USOC, following a long-standing row over Games revenues.

At the moment, the U.S. gets the single biggest share of revenue paid by the top sponsor at 20 percent and the largest share of overall TV revenue at 12.75 percent. The IOC wants to renegotiate those revenue splits.

Blackmun said the issue of the new cable network will likely be brought up when the USOC and IOC meet next year to discuss the broader question of how revenue is divided.

"Inevitably when we sit down to talk to the IOC about revenue sharing, this would have to be something we discuss as well," he said. "There are a lot of people in the IOC who understand the value a network can bring.

"In order to successfully launch a network we would need the IOC as a partner and a supporter in the endeavor," he added. "Now, whether that means financial participation or some other kind of participation I really can't say. But I think we would have a much more successful launch if they were involved."

Blackmun declined to comment on a time frame for any network, but said there was still validity in the concept and the USOC would like to engage in discussions with the IOC and its broadcast partner.

NBC has broadcast all of the Olympic Games since 2000 and all of the Summer Games since 1988. Its Universal Sports unit, jointly owned with InterMedia Partners, holds the rights to many of the individual U.S. and global sports federations' events.

NBC paid $2 billion for the U.S. broadcast rights to the 2008 and 2010 Olympics, and posted a loss of $223 million on the Winter Games in Vancouver in the first quarter.

Analysts have said the next round of bidding is likely headed lower, but Blackmun disagreed, pointing out that rights for top sports properties continue to increase.

"The pie is still growing," he said of the sponsorship and U.S. TV broadcast rights deals.

Blackmun added the USOC was weighing its whole approach to digital media as it seeks new ways to generate create revenue and an announcement about the new strategy would probably be made in the first quarter of next year.

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{alltv} 3D broadcast possible for Prince William's wedding

 

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) – Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB wants to add an extra dimension to the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The satcaster is considering broadcasting the signal to British cinemas and 3D TV-enabled homes as a way of generating standout coverage of an event that could have the biggest global audience in TV history.

Discussions with Clarence House and Buckingham Palace have not begun, "but if the planets align, then this is the kind of big-event TV that would definitely be a contender for our strategy of offering 3D coverage," says a Sky insider.

Sky has shown Premier League soccer in 3D for more than a year, and it aired the election leaders' debate, operas, concerts, ballet and the ATP tennis finals on its own 3D channel.

The 3D service can only be accessed by the 3 million-plus homes with Sky's high definition set-top box (and 3D glasses).

The strategy is indicative of the worldwide scramble as broadcasters plan coverage of the first royal wedding of the multimedia age.

"I think it is going to be a major event for many, many people in this country and around the world," says BBC director of vision Jana Bennett, who oversees the pubcaster's television, radio and online content.

Video of the Westminster Abbey ceremony will likely be made available free to accredited broadcasters around the world. BBC is looking at filming and broadcasting the event in HD and Bennett thinks it might be a driver for HD services.

"It could be a bit like the Coronation when TV sets were turned on for the first time in so many millions of households," she says.

Nearly 1 billion viewers worldwide tuned into the 1981 state wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer -- then broadcast by the BBC in an era when both the U.K. and the U.S. had just three national TV channels.

The 1997 funeral of Princess Diana was watched by an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide, making it the most-viewed TV event ever.

Given the number of TV channels, online video outlets and social networking sites, viewership totals for the Prince William wedding will likely eviscerate previous records.

"We haven't gotten into the logistics of how all the media feeds will work," a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman tells THR.

BBC, ITV and Sky News are all planning live coverage, as are a host of broadcasters in the U.S. and around the world.

But despite the high tune-in, the Royal Wedding -- in 3D or not -- likely won't generate a huge payday for broadcasters because the event will air live.

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{alltv} Stern seeks dismissal of conviction in Smith case

 

LOS ANGELES – Howard K. Stern has asked a judge to dismiss his conviction for obtaining prescription drugs under a false name for his former lover, the late Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith.

If dismissal is refused, Stern sought a new trial or reduction of his two convictions to misdemeanors. He was acquitted of seven charges and the judge dismissed two others.

Stern maintains that using false names on prescriptions to protect a celebrity's privacy is a common practice in Los Angeles.

His lawyer J. Christopher Smith said in a motion filed Tuesday that Stern believed it was legal for Dr. Khristine Eroshevich, a co-defendant, to prescribe medication to Smith using Stern's name.

Stern and Eroshevich are scheduled for sentencing Jan. 6. Smith died of a drug overdose in 2007 but the defendants were not charged in her death.

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{alltv} Oprah Winfrey to announce new book club selection

 

CHICAGO – Oprah Winfrey plans another pick for her popular book club.

Harpo Productions said Tuesday that current Oprah's Book Club author Jonathan Franzen will appear on Monday's episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show." Winfrey chose Franzen's latest book "Freedom" in September as the first selection for the 25th and final season of her talk show.

On that same episode, Winfrey will announce her next book club pick. The new selection comes about 11 weeks after Winfrey chose "Freedom." Since 2008, she has averaged one or two selections a year. Winfrey's book club choices have vaulted to the best-seller list and given authors instant fame.

Winfrey has said she plans to move her book club with her to cable's Oprah Winfrey Network, which will launch Jan. 1.

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{alltv} NYC's Rockefeller Center readies for tree lighting

 

NEW YORK – The signs of Christmas are hard to miss around New York City's Rockefeller Center.

On Tuesday night, crowds will gather for a ceremony to light the 74-foot Norway spruce there. It ushers in a bustling season full of wonderment for tourists and exasperation for workers in the area.

Vanessa Ortiz says she uses a "bobbing and weaving" technique to cut through the crowds.

The lighting ceremony will feature live performances by Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Jessica Simpson, British singer Katherine Jenkins and teen pop star Charice.

This year's tree was donated by Peter and Stephanie Acton of Mahopac, N.Y.

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{alltv} Photo: Geena Davis

 

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