ABC said the star would be laid to rest at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield next to her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003.
The television network said law enforcement officials were making arrangements for street closings.
The funeral service, in New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, where Houston sang as a child, is by invitation only and fans have been respectfully asked to stay away for fear of crowds disrupting the event.
Houston's death in Los Angeles on the eve of the Grammy Awards last weekend at the age of 48 shocked the world, drawing an outpouring of grief from fans and contemporaries. (AFP)
"He was supposed to undergo another surgery as he had developed pain post the first surgery. However, there is no hassle, he is not critical but under observation," the Press Trust of India said quoted a hospital source as saying.
Bachchan was likely to undergo surgery later Friday, according to the source quoted by PTI who gave no further details.
Hospital spokesmen declined to speak on the matter.
The 69-year-old actor, who underwent two operations on Saturday at the Seven Hills Hospital, tweeted to his fans on Thursday: "Some more tests... more unpronounceable medication and another visit to the OT... operation theater! "Going to be a long stay."
Bachchan, who continues to act in several films every year, spent weeks in hospital in 2005, including one in intensive care, after bowel surgery.
The lanky star nearly died following an accident on the set of the 1982 film "Coolie" where he ruptured his spleen during a fight scene and was critically ill for months.
"The Big B", as he is known, is treated like royalty in movie-mad India and is the father of Bollywood star Abhishek, who is married to former Miss World Aishwarya Rai. (AFP)
Mattel Inc, the U.S. maker of Barbie dolls, said this week it will release a special two-doll set in April to mark the one-year anniversary of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding at Westminster Abbey.
The figures, part of Mattel's Barbie Collector series, will come dressed up in outfits duplicating those the couple wore in a ceremony that was viewed by an estimated 3 billion people worldwide.
For William, that means a pint-sized version of his red Irish Guards outfit with a bright blue sash.
For Kate, that means a miniature of the traditional white dress and veil she wore, as well as a teeny-tiny tiara just like the diamond-studded original she borrowed from Queen Elizabeth.
The price for the two-doll set is $100 and Mattel is taking pre-orders at www.barbiecollector.com.
The royal couple joins others in Mattel's Barbie Collector, including country singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, as well as TV stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. (Reuters)
Wang Quan'an, whose three-hour "White Deer Plain" has its world premiere at the Berlin film festival, told reporters it had been submitted to the Chinese censors and some changes had been necessary.
And while he was not entirely satisfied with the outcome, it was better than not having the film made at all.
"For 20 years it was impossible and maybe even a taboo to make this kind of film," Wang told reporters after a press screening of the movie, based on a novel by Chen Zhongshi.
"So now we're moving forward, and had a pretty good environment in which to make this film," he added, speaking through an interpreter. "So it's a step forward."
That said, Wang, who won Berlin's Golden Bear best picture award in 2007 with "Tuya's Marriage," still had to submit his film to the censors.
"There was some intervention on the part of censorship, let's say 'corrections' were made," he said, adding that some alterations were "painful" and "sad."
SEX, BRUTALITY, COMPLEXITY
The novel on which the film is based was deemed by many as "unfilmable" for a Chinese director because of explicit sex scenes, a complicated plot and less-than-flattering portrayals of revolutionaries, counter-revolutionaries and soldiers.
The movie adaptation depicts sex and rape though there is no nudity, the language is strong and no side in the historical events depicted emerges with much merit.
If there is a hero, it is the character of Bai Jiaxuan, head of an important family in the small village where the narrative is set who refuses to bow to the demands of marauders and bloodthirsty revolutionary zealots.
"He is steeped in the Chinese Confucian philosophy and tradition, and when the temple is to be destroyed he refuses to give the key," said Zhang Fengyi, the actor who plays him.
White Deer Plains is named after the village and surrounding area which provides a stunning backdrop to the action.
The "breadbasket" of China, the area is a target for unscrupulous feudal lords, communist revolutionaries, soldiers, counter-revolutionaries and finally Japanese invaders.
Centuries-old traditions are swept away and villagers switch sides in order to survive, but executions, murder and rape become the norm.
As the two leading families in the village, the Bai and Lu clans are both inextricably tied and destined to clash.
The beautiful Tian Xiao'e visits the area and falls in love with Heiwa of the Bai family, triggering a tumultuous chain of escapes, betrayals and death for many at the story's heart.
Wang said he hoped White Deer Plain would help outsiders understand the Chinese, and the Chinese understand themselves.
"We see what happened at the beginning of the 20th century, and may be that will help us understand how we are the kind of people we are." (Reuters)
Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt arrived here to attend the premiere of her directorial debut film "In the Land of Blood and Honey," which was screened in a sports hall before an audience of some 5,000 people.
Greeted with standing ovations, Jolie broke in tears when she got on the stage after the screening.
"To see you receiving it so well means a world to me. I feel so deep for all of you in this country," said Jolie, dressed in a long black dress, with a brief "Thank you" in Bosnian.
Earlier, Jolie said she was "satisfied" with the film, a story of a Muslim woman and a Serb man who have a fling before Bosnia's 1992-1995 war only to meet again when the woman is a prisoner in a unit of the Bosnian Serb army commanded by her former lover. (AFP)
That is 18 percent more than the 2010 "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" took in its first weekend of home release in December 2010. "Eclipse" sold 2.7 million units its first weekend of release.
The discs went on sale at midnight on Saturday -- timing reserved for big titles. Target and Walmart stores each sold exclusive versions of "Breaking Dawn" DVDs and Blu-rays, and held special events just after midnight Saturday morning.
Summit said that film also had approximately 50,000 digital sales, a 47 percent increase over "Eclipse," and approximately 80,000 Video-on-demand transactions, a 142 percent increase over the 2010 movie.
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" was released in theaters on November 16, 2011 and has grossed more than $700 million worldwide.
The second installment in "Breaking Dawn" -- and the final episode of the "Twilight" series -- is scheduled for a November 16 theatrical release. (Reuters)
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — Angelina Jolie's new movie — a love story set against the genocide of Bosnia's war — will be shown in Sarajevo for the first time on Tuesday, but it already has touched off anger left over from the conflict.
Muslim Bosniaks have said they expect "In the Land of Blood and Honey" to focus on their plight during the brutal 1992-1995 war. But the distributor in the Serb part of Bosnia said he won't show it there because it portrays Serbs as the villains and they wouldn't put up with that.The screening — which Jolie plans to attend — will show a fictional movie about a romance that develops between a Bosnian Serb man and a Bosnian Muslim woman, and what happens when he becomes an army officer and she is held in a military prison camp where atrocities such as rape occur.
About 5,000 people are expected at the debut in Sarajevo, and the movie also will be shown in theaters in the Bosniak-Croat part of the country.But the sole film distributor in the Serb-run part of Bosnia said Serbs don't want to see it.
For that reason, Vladimir Ljevar told The Associated Press, "In the Land of Blood and Honey" will not be shown in Bosnian Serb movie theaters.
"There is simply no interest for this movie here, so I can't sell any tickets," he said. "The fact that the Serbs are the bad guys in it is the reason why there is no interest. The film is lousy. I watched it. It has had bad reviews. It is unprofitable."
Thousands of women were raped during Bosnia's war, which also included the notorious Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 and the 44-month siege of the capital, Sarajevo. Most of the rape victims were Muslim Bosniak women, often the target of mass rape used as a weapon of terror.
Many of the victims were raped repeatedly. Some were brought back to their homes and dumped in front of their husbands. Other women were violated in their husbands' presence as part of a shock campaign.
So a group of Muslim Bosniaks who now have returned to their homes in the Serb part of the country say they are interested in seeing Jolie's movie and plan to organize private screenings once they make a deal with some other distributor from the region.
Zinaida Mahmuljin of the northwestern town of Kozarac said people there are willing to pay for the screening equipment and show it in the local town's community center.
"There is interest here among the returnees," she said, denying Ljevar's claims about the movie. "What are we here? Thin air?"
Together with others in Kozarac, Mahmuljin plans to screen the movie next week.
More than 27,000 people lived there before the war, but the population is now down to about 8,000, she said. The notorious Serb prison camps Omarska and Keraterm are not far from Kozarac, and many townspeople were prisoners there during the war, she said.
Murder, torture, rape and other abuses were common at the two camps during the Balkan wars of the 1990s, and the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague has convicted several Bosnian Serbs of persecution and cruel treatment of Muslim Bosniaks.
So many people died in those camps that it is hard to find any Muslim family in Kozarac that did not lose someone there, Mahmuljin said. Her father was killed in Omarska and her mother survived torture there.
"But we need to move forward, and we won't do that if we don't talk about what happened," she said.
"During the Second World War, Serbs of this area were the victims and that was swept under the carpet," she said referring to the many Serbs who died in the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia," Mahmuljin said. "In this war, the Bosniaks were the victims. It is time we all sit down and talk about it."
Source: Yahoo / Associated Press
The Woman in Black shattered UK box office expectations during its three day opening weekend (Fri-Sun), grossing an estimated £3.1million with a per screen average of £7500 for distributor Momentum Pictures.This weekend’s three day gross makes The Woman in Black the highest opening ever for a Hammer film in the UK and the biggest British Independent opening of 2012 for Momenutm Pictures.
Momentum also released The King’s Speech, the highest grossing British Independent film of 2011. The Woman in Black was released in 412 cinemas across the UK and Ireland on February 10. Read Full Story
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Beverly Hills Police Department said "She was underwater and apparently unconscious," adding that authorities "cannot speculate on what may have caused or contributed to her death.
Several prescription drugs were found in Houston's hotel room, but Los Angeles County coroner's officials said it's too soon to say whether the medications played any role in the singer's death. (The News pk)
The New Girl star thought she had signed up for a talent showcase but was "horrified" after misunderstanding the nature of the competition.
She tells Britain's Company magazine, "At 14 I accidentally entered a beauty pageant. It was basically all the trappings of a beauty pageant, without the swimsuit round! You had to do a big musical opening number and answer the sort of questions they ask in beauty pageants, about charity.
I was horrified when I realised what it wasZooey Deschanel"I was horrified when I realised what it was. I thought I was entering a talent contest - a pageant was not cool!"
Despite not wanting to win the crown, Deschanel refused to bow out of the running, adding, "I'm not a quitter, so I stuck it out, and my mum andsister laughed at me the entire time. I didn't win. A girl who played the viola did".
source: Female First uk
"The Vow," starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, took in $41.7 million at US and Canadian theaters from Friday through Sunday in the biggest domestic opening so far this year, according to studio estimates.
Twenty international markets added $9.7 million, bringing the global total to $51.4 million.
Action movie "Safe House" featuring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds took second place with an estimated $39.3 million domestically plus $10.2 million from 25 international markets. The worldwide total stood at $49.5 million.
The studios had projected domestic openings in the $20million range for each of the top two finishers.
To the surprise of industry executives, four movies topped $20 million each. That lifted the domestic weekend total for all films 29.3percent higher than the same weekend last year, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.
"The Vow" was inspired by the real-life story of a husband who must win over his wife a second time after a car crash erases her memory of him. The movie was released this weekend to draw in couples ahead of Valentine's Day, said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for distributor Sony Pictures. The film cost about $30 million to make.
"We grossed what it cost to make the film in the first two days. It's really a fantastic result," Bruer said.
"Safe House" had a higher budget of around $85 million that was financed by privately held Relativity Media and distributor Universal Pictures.
The movie features Washington as a rogue CIA agent who shows up at the US Embassy in South Africa. Reynolds plays a rookie operative who must bring him in. "People are back in the movie going mode" and audiences liked Washington in an "action antagonist role," said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution for Universal Pictures.
In third place, family film "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson brought in $27.6million, well ahead of studio projections of around $15 million.
The movie has brought in $74.7 million from international markets after opening in late January, bringing the global haul to $102.3 million. The 3D follow-up to 2008's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" cost $79 million to make.
The movie tells the story of a man leading his stepson, a helicopter pilot and his daughter on a rescue mission set on an unusual island. "We dominated the family business," said Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros.
'STAR WARS' STRIKES AGAIN
Families also turned out for a 3D remake of 1999's "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace," which took fourth place domestically with $23.0 million. Distributor 20th Century Fox had hoped the film that tells the story of a young Anakin Skywalker, the boy who becomes Darth Vader, would bring in $20million or more.
Sales in international markets hit $20.5 million, bringing the movie's weekend total to $43.5 million around the globe.
Last weekend's domestic winner, thriller "Chronicle" about three boys with superpowers, slipped to fifth place with $12.3million.
The movie division of Sony Corp released "The Vow." "Safe House" was released by Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast Corp. News Corp unit 20thCentury Fox distributed "Star Wars" and "Chronicle." Time Warner Inc unit Warner Bros. released "Journey 2." (Reuters)
Black US astronaut James Washington, on a mission to boost the flagging electoral fortunes of a US president clearly modelled on Sarah Palin, stumbles across the huge Swastika-shaped complex and is captured.
His madcap adventures, set in 2018, see his skin turned white by an Albert Einstein look alike, send him back to Earth where he is greeted as a lunatic and finally to the moon again to try to save the day, and his skin.
The movie has its official world premiere at the Berlin film festival where it screened out of competition on Saturday.
Amidst a typically dark and gritty selection of films at this year's festival, Iron Sky has been among the most talked about by the thousands of journalists covering the event.
Producer Tero Kaukomaa said a large part of the funding came from "crowd-sourcing" either on the Internet or through selling merchandise to fans.
Of the 7.5 million euro ($9.89 million) budget, almost 1million was raised that way, he said, in turn helping to bring more mainstream investors on board.
Director Timo Vuorensola said the original idea for the oddball plotline was born in a Finnish sauna "as all good things from Finland usually are".
He also directed the 2005 picture "Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning", another sci-fi comedy funded by fans which went onto become a cult hit.
German producer Oliver Damian admitted there had been some resistance within Germany to making a film that made light of the Nazis.
"Over the years we needed to organise financing and we had a lot of obstacles to overcome in Germany because a lot of people were very critical of the project," he told reporters after a packed press screening.
"We (younger Germans) have a different past and we are fully aware of this. I think you can make a dark comedy (about Nazis). "The film is supposed to be fun. This is important. At the end of the day we found funding partners in Germany and the film will be released here in April so we found people who believed in the project here as well."
Actor Christopher Kirby, who plays Washington, did not believe it was a genuine script when he was first approached to consider the part. He stars alongside Julia Dietze, who portrays the Nazi ideologue Renate Richter.
Together, the two characters become involved in a life-or-death mission to halt the Nazi onslaught, in particular its secret weapon, the massive Gotterdammerung spaceship.
Meanwhile on Earth, the US president sees an opportunity to stay in the White House for another term.
"It's wonderful," she crows. "I'm a war-time president. I thought I was going to have to bomb Australia or something."
Her response is to dispatch her own secret weapon, the USS George W. Bush spaceship. (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES: Grammy-winning pop legend and actress Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday in Beverly Hills, police said. She was 48.The shock news came as the music industry gathered in Los Angeles for the annual Grammy awards show on Sunday, and a few hours ahead of a traditional pre-Grammys dinner in the hotel where Houston died.
Musicians took to Twitter to pay tribute to the singer, famous for songs including "I Will Always Love You," who had led a public battle with drugs.
"Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend ... She will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth," wrote Mariah Carey.
Police confirmed her death in a brief statement outside the Beverly Hilton hotel, where stars were gathering for an annual pre-Grammys dinner hosted by veteran producer Clive Davis.
"At 3:55 pm, Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at the Beverly Hilton hotel," said Mark Rosen, a police spokesman.
Rosen said police received an emergency call from someone in her entourage and found Houston on the floor of her room on the hotel's fourth floor as attempts were being made to resuscitate her.
"There were no obvious signs of criminal intent at this time, and it is being investigated by the Beverly Hills police department," the police spokesman added.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
A mobile crime laboratory and a number of police cars were stationed outside the hotel, while inside guests watched live television coverage about Houston's death in the bar and lobby areas.
Condolences poured in on Twitter from shocked fans and from the famous, as
sadness over the news spread through the entertainment world.
"We have lost another legend. Love and prayers to Whitney's family. She will be missed," said Christina Aguilera, while Rihanna wrote simply: "No words! Just tears #DearWhitney."
Grammys organizers the Recording Academy are scrambling to include some kind of tribute to Houston in Sunday's show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, according to CNN.
With a ferociously powerful voice and a dazzling range, Houston achieved stardom as a pop-soul singer known as "The Voice" and the "Queen of Pop."
She also appeared in hit movies like "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Bodyguard."
From a musical family that included mother Cissy Houston, a gospel star, and Dionne Warwick, her cousin, Whitney Houston started out as a teen model and then made a dazzling segue to music.
Her hits included "How Will I Know," "Saving all My Love for You," and "I
Will Always Love You."
Houston's trove of six Grammy awards included one for record of the year -- for a soaring cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," and another for album of the year for "The Bodyguard."
Houston, who grew up in New Jersey, was also a supporter of the anti-apartheid movement and South Africa's Nelson Mandela, on whose behalf she campaigned during his imprisonment.
She struggled with substance abuse, which took a toll on her health and career.
Houston has sold more than 170 million records worldwide but suffered a major career setback after admitting drug use during an abusive relationship with ex-husband Bobby Brown.
Brown was one of the hottest rhythm and blues singers in the late 1980s and early 90s, but became better known as the husband of Houston and for his frequent brushes with drugs and the law.
The pair, who were divorced in 2007, starred in a television reality series, "Being Bobby Brown," that featured their marriage, warts and all. They have a daughter Bobbi Kristina.
Brown was detained in Atlanta in 1993 for lewd conduct and for brawling in 1995. He was arrested for drunk driving in 1996 and for alleged battery of Houston in late 2003. (AFP)
Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. in her room on the fourth floor of the Beverly Hilton. A Los Angeles County coroner's official said the body remained in the building late Saturday.
"There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent," Rosen said.
Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said the cause of death was unknown.
Rosen said police received a 911 call from hotel security about Houston at 3:43 p.m. Saturday. Paramedics who were already at the hotel because of a Grammy party were not able to resuscitate her, he said.
Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and where she will be remembered Sunday in a tribute by Jennifer Hudson, organizers said.
Her longtime mentor Clive Davis went ahead with his annual concert at the same hotel where her body was found. He dedicated the evening to her and asked for a moment of silence as a photo of the singer, hands wide open, looking to the sky, appeared on the screen.
Houston was supposed to appear at the gala, and Davis had told The Associated Press that she would perhaps perform: "It's her favorite night of the year ... (so) who knows by the end of the evening," he said.
Houston had been at rehearsals for the show Thursday, coaching singers Brandy and Monica, according to a person who was at the event but was not authorized to speak publicly about it. The person said Houston looked disheveled, was sweating profusely and liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on her breath.
Two days ago, she performed at a pre-Grammy party with singer Kelly Price. Singer Kenny Lattimore hosted the event, and said Houston sang the gospel classic "Jesus Loves Me" with Price, her voice registering softly, not with the same power it had at its height.
Lattimore said Houston was gregarious and was in a good mood, surrounded by friends and family, including daughter Bobbi Kristina.
"She just seemed like she was having a great night that night," said Lattimore, who said he was in shock over her death.
Aretha Franklin, her godmother, also said she was stunned.
"I just can't talk about it now," Franklin said in a short statement. "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen."
The Rev. Al Sharpton said he would call for a national prayer Sunday morning during a service at Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles.
"The morning of the Grammys, the world should pause and pray for the memory of a gifted songbird," Sharpton said in a statement.
In a statement, Recording Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow said Houston "was one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time who leaves behind a robust musical soundtrack spanning the past three decades."
At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.
Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."
She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.
She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.
But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.
"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.
It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.
She seemed to be born into greatness. In addition to being Franklin's goddaughter, she was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick.
Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.
"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told "Good Morning America."
"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added.
Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," ''You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.
Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."
The New York Times wrote that Houston "possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity."
Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the "Soul Train Awards" in 1989.
"Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she told Katie Couric in 1996. "You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them."
Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image and already had children of his own. (The couple only had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, born in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.
But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.
"When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place," she told Rolling Stone in 1993. "You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."
Brown was getting ready to perform at a New Edition reunion tour in Southaven, Miss., as news spread about Houston's death. The group went ahead with its performance, though Brown appeared overcome with emotion when his voice cracked at the beginning of a ballad and he left the stage.
Before his departure, he told the sell-out crowd: "First of all, I want to tell you that I love you all. Second, I would like to say, I love you Whitney. The hardest thing for me to do is to come on this stage."
Brown said he decided to perform because fans had shown their loyalty to the group for more than 25 years. During an intermission, one of Houston's early hits, "You Give Good Love," played over the speakers. Fans stood up and began singing along.
It would take several years for the public to see the "down and dirty" side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.
In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with "The Bodyguard." Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.
It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was named album of the year.
She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife." Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut "It's Not Right But It's Okay."
But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, she said by the time "The Preacher's Wife" was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."
In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.
Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2009. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.
She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown's reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared "crack is whack," was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.
Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album "I Look To You." The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.
Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on "Good Morning America" went awry as Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.
A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.
Houston was to make her return to film in the remake of the classic movie "Sparkle." Filming on the movie, which stars former "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, recently wrapped.
___
Associated Press writers Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles and Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tenn., contributed to this report
Source and Posted at Yahoo.com
She has been sexy but never the sensuous Yash Chopra heroine. And thus, Katrina Kaif has decided to devote a major part of the year to her upcoming YRF project co-staring Shah Rukh Khan. Speaking about her experience on the sets, Katrina informed Mumbai Mirror, "I shot with Shah Rukh for five days before my Ek Tha Tiger schedule in Cuba. We had never worked before. And I tend to be a bit reserved on the sets. Shah Rukh has shot several times with Yashji. This is my first. But I was made to feel at home from Day 1. Shah Rukh is very helpful. He is helping me understand my character better."
Katrina, who has donned the quintessential chiffon saree a couple of times in her previous films, will be seen as the archetypal Yash Chopra seductress, the unattainable beauty in this one. "The role requires Katrina to work on her body language. Shah Rukh, who has seen several heroines including Kajol, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta transform into Yashraj goddesses, is helping Kat with the same," informed a friend of the actress. In fact, Katrina, revealed the friend, wants this film to do for her what Chandni did for Sridevi.
Source: Daily News pk
The superstar underwent knife for abdominal pain. Big B has a history of abdominal complications after his accident on the sets of Coolie in 1982.
Amitabh informed his fans about the operation on Twitter. He also seeks prayers and wishes for speedy recovery post surgery.
"I wish to thank all those that have most graciously sent in their concern and greetings for a speedy recovery. Your prayers shall go a long way in bringing me back to normal and for this I am always eternally grateful," he wrote.
Source: The News pk
As reported 'Visa issues' (Hitlist, December 9), Atif was facing some issues to travel to India for the TV show.(Mid-day)
Right from Shah Rukh Khan to Aamir Khan, from Salman Khan to Priyanka Chopra, from the Kapoors to the Bachchans, everyone prayed for the healthy and long life of their beloved star. (Aaj.tv)
The new parents, whose son was born on December 1, have named him Azad Rao Khan.
Khan wrote: "Hey guys, most excited to share with y'all that we have finally chosen a name for our baby boy... Azad. Azad Rao Khan. I left the final choice to Kiran, and she has named him after my great grand uncle Maulana Azad, the great freedom fighter, whom the family is most proud of.
"Azad means free or liberated. We want to thank everyone for their warm wishes and blessings, and needless to say we are absolutely overjoyed and feel most blessed. Much love. a."
The baby was born through IVF to a surrogate mother at a private clinic in Mumbai.
The 46-year-old actor announced the birth with a letter sent to media organisations asking them to respect his family's privacy.
While there has been no reaction from the film fraternity to the birth, the actor's Facebook page has been inundated with congratulatory messages from over 4,000 fans.
Source: Digital Spy uk