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The ladies of Orange is the New Black put on their best red carpet wear to celebrate the start of their fourth season on Thursday in New York. 
 
The series was adapted from Piper Kerman&#39;s 2010 biography, of the same name, from her experience while jailed at a women&#39;s prison in upstate New York. 
 
The show, which premiered on Netflix in 2013, became a hit among audiences and critics, features a diverse cast led by actress Taylor Schilling, who plays a version of Kerman. 
 
Actress Laura Prepon, plays incarcerated drug smuggler Alex Vause in the online streaming platform&#39;s original series following inmates at a women&#39;s prison. 
 
On the red carpet cast members said the new season is dangerous, shocking, funny, full of drama and most of all necessary. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re dealing with a lot of racism and we&#39;re deepening that dialogue. We&#39;re deepening the dialogue on privatisation and for profit prisons. So it&#39;s a lot of good things, a lot of shocking things are going to happen this season. We were not afraid about the drama this season,&quot; said actress Adrienne Moore. 
 
Earlier this year the show nabbed a whopping three-season renewal from Netflix. The deal includes a commitment from showrunner Jenji Kohan to remain at the helm of Netflix&#39;s most-watched series through seasons five, six and seven. 
 
Orange Is the New Black is one of the big shows in Netflix&#39;s original programming push led by political drama House of Cards. The online streaming company has challenged traditional network and cable television by releasing every episode in a season at once. 
 
The core OITNB troupers for season four are: Taylor Schilling, Uzo Aduba, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon, Laverne Cox, Dascha Polanco, Danielle Brooks, Selenis Leyva, Samira Wiley, Taryn Manning, Yael Stone, Jackie Cruz, Lea DeLaria, Adrienne C. Moore and Elizabeth Rodriguez Michael Harney and Nick Sandow. 
(Reuters)

The new season is dangerous, shocking, funny, full of drama and most of all, necessary

The ladies of Orange is the New Black put on their best red carpet wear to celebrate the start of their fourth season on Thursday in New York. The series was adapted from Piper Kerman's 2010 biography, of the same name, from her experience while jailed at a women's prison in upstate New York. The show, which premiered on Netflix in 2013, became a hit among audiences and critics, features a diverse cast led by actress Taylor Schilling, who plays a version of Kerman. Actress Laura Prepon, plays incarcerated drug smuggler Alex Vause in the online streaming platform's original series following inmates at a women's prison. On the red carpet cast members said the new season is dangerous, shocking, funny, full of drama and most of all necessary. "We're dealing with a lot of racism and we're deepening that dialogue. We're deepening the dialogue on privatisation and for profit prisons. So it's a lot of good things, a lot of shocking things are going to happen this season. We were not afraid about the drama this season," said actress Adrienne Moore. Earlier this year the show nabbed a whopping three-season renewal from Netflix. The deal includes a commitment from showrunner Jenji Kohan to remain at the helm of Netflix's most-watched series through seasons five, six and seven. Orange Is the New Black is one of the big shows in Netflix's original programming push led by political drama House of Cards. The online streaming company has challenged traditional network and cable television by releasing every episode in a season at once. The core OITNB troupers for season four are: Taylor Schilling, Uzo Aduba, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon, Laverne Cox, Dascha Polanco, Danielle Brooks, Selenis Leyva, Samira Wiley, Taryn Manning, Yael Stone, Jackie Cruz, Lea DeLaria, Adrienne C. Moore and Elizabeth Rodriguez Michael Harney and Nick Sandow. (Reuters)

'Orange is the New Black' season 4 deals with racism, privatisation

Los Angeles: Led Zeppelin musician John Paul Jones testified on Friday that his former bandmate Jimmy Page had never mentioned American band Spirit, whose song Led Zeppelin is being accused of stealing a riff from its 1971 hit &quot;Stairway to Heaven.&quot; 
 
Jones, 70, appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday in a copyright infringement trial in which the British rock band is accused of copying the opening riff to &quot;Stairway to Heaven&quot; from the 1967 instrumental &quot;Taurus&quot; by Spirit. 
 
When asked if guitarist Page, the co-writer of &quot;Stairway,&quot; had ever mentioned Spirit, Jones said no. 
 
Jones also said that he himself had never heard of Spirit until the current lawsuit that was brought in 2014 by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for Randy Wolfe, the late guitarist of Spirit and composer of &quot;Taurus.&quot; 
 
The lawsuit seeks a writing credit for Wolfe on the song and damages in an amount to be proven at trial. 
 
Lawyers for Skidmore on Friday called Michael Einhorn, an expert on music royalties, to testify about damages related to the case. Einhorn said Plant and Page have made $58.5 million in total as composers of &quot;Stairway to Heaven.&quot; 
 
The trial has been closely watched this week as Page, 72, and Plant, 67, attended court, both wearing suits with their long silver hair tied into ponytails. 
 
Page took the witness stand on Wednesday and Thursday and was questioned on whether there were any similarities between &quot;Stairway to Heaven&quot; and &quot;Taurus.&quot; 
 
The British musician said he did not recall hearing &quot;Taurus&quot; until recently, after he had been made aware of comparisons being made between the two songs. 
 
He also testified that the descending chromatic structure of the guitar riff at the center of the lawsuit is heard in numerous other songs, including &quot;Chim Chim Cher-ee&quot; from the 1964 Disney film &quot;Mary Poppins.&quot; 
 
Led Zeppelin&#39;s attorneys on Friday brought in music expert Lawrence Ferrara, who testified that the only similarity between &quot;Taurus&quot; and &quot;Stairway to Heaven&quot; was a &quot;descending chromatic minor line progression.&quot; 
 
Ferrara said that musical element was used 300 years ago, as well as in many pop songs since then. 
 
Earlier in the trial, Skidmore&#39;s lawyers simultaneously showed the jury two video clips of expert Kevin Hanson playing the openings of both songs. Hanson said the two clips &quot;play together as one piece of music. It is not discordant.&quot; 
(Reuters)

The British rock band is accused of copying the opening riff to 'Stairway to Heaven' from the 1967 instrumental 'Taurus' by Spirit

Los Angeles: Led Zeppelin musician John Paul Jones testified on Friday that his former bandmate Jimmy Page had never mentioned American band Spirit, whose song Led Zeppelin is being accused of stealing a riff from its 1971 hit "Stairway to Heaven." Jones, 70, appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Friday in a copyright infringement trial in which the British rock band is accused of copying the opening riff to "Stairway to Heaven" from the 1967 instrumental "Taurus" by Spirit. When asked if guitarist Page, the co-writer of "Stairway," had ever mentioned Spirit, Jones said no. Jones also said that he himself had never heard of Spirit until the current lawsuit that was brought in 2014 by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for Randy Wolfe, the late guitarist of Spirit and composer of "Taurus." The lawsuit seeks a writing credit for Wolfe on the song and damages in an amount to be proven at trial. Lawyers for Skidmore on Friday called Michael Einhorn, an expert on music royalties, to testify about damages related to the case. Einhorn said Plant and Page have made $58.5 million in total as composers of "Stairway to Heaven." The trial has been closely watched this week as Page, 72, and Plant, 67, attended court, both wearing suits with their long silver hair tied into ponytails. Page took the witness stand on Wednesday and Thursday and was questioned on whether there were any similarities between "Stairway to Heaven" and "Taurus." The British musician said he did not recall hearing "Taurus" until recently, after he had been made aware of comparisons being made between the two songs. He also testified that the descending chromatic structure of the guitar riff at the center of the lawsuit is heard in numerous other songs, including "Chim Chim Cher-ee" from the 1964 Disney film "Mary Poppins." Led Zeppelin's attorneys on Friday brought in music expert Lawrence Ferrara, who testified that the only similarity between "Taurus" and "Stairway to Heaven" was a "descending chromatic minor line progression." Ferrara said that musical element was used 300 years ago, as well as in many pop songs since then. Earlier in the trial, Skidmore's lawyers simultaneously showed the jury two video clips of expert Kevin Hanson playing the openings of both songs. Hanson said the two clips "play together as one piece of music. It is not discordant." (Reuters)

Led Zeppelin trial: Jones testifies, says Page never mentioned Spirit

Hollywood has been clamouring to capture Cuba&#39;s colourful charm since a thaw in frosty Cold War relations, but the islanders say the boom comes with their own underfunded film industry in crisis. 
 
Several big American productions have created jobs and put Havana&#39;s art deco elegance in the shop window since US filmmakers were given the right to shoot on the Communist-led island in January. 
 
Showtime comedy series &quot;House of Lies,&quot; starring Don Cheadle, was the first to profit from the lifting of US Treasury Department conditions imposed as part of the 1962 embargo of the island. 
 
The latest movie in Universal&#39;s &quot;Fast and Furious&quot; series followed, along with Paramount&#39;s &quot;Transformers: The Last Knight.&quot; 
 
&quot;We&#39;re at a place that nobody ever thought would be possible. We are in Havana, Cuba. And you can see how beautiful it is with all these beautiful people,&quot; &quot;Fast 8&quot; star Vin Diesel says in a YouTube message from the city. 
 
The action sequel hired 250 local crew members and numerous extras at $30 a day, according to independent online magazine OnCuba, in a country where the average salary is $17 a month. 
 
Such is the rush to the Caribbean island&#39;s sun-kissed shores that the US entertainment media, perhaps inevitably, have coined the phrase &quot;Havanawood.&quot; 
 
The detente also signals the end of an anachronistic but necessary trick in filmmaking of representing Cuba through other Latin and Caribbean locations. 
 
&quot;The Godfather, Part II&quot; and Sydney Pollack&#39;s &quot;Havana&quot; used the Dominican Republic, while James Bond films &quot;Golden Eye&quot; and &quot;Die Another Day&quot; turned Puerto Rico and Cadiz, Spain, into the streets of Havana. 
 
 
&#39;What do we get? 
 
It&#39;s not just film and television dramas taking advantage of the newly accessible Cuba. 
 
Talkshow host Conan O&#39;Brien, a Chanel fashion show and even reality TV family the Kardashians have been seen recently in Havana, while Netflix has announced a new streaming service for the nation of 11 million people. 
 
But Cuba&#39;s own independent film industry, which began to take off in the 1990s as digital technology made filmmaking more accessible, says it is struggling to survive as Hollywood producers line their pockets. 
 
Independent production companies get little or no funding from the state and have struggled to get their movies past the notoriously censorious Cuban Film Institute (CFI). 
 
&quot;Everyone knows that Chanel and Hollywood gain by choosing Havana, a city frozen in time with its dilapidated beauty, the forbidden city where art deco and the Cold War collide,&quot; said journalist Sergio Alejandro Gomez in a recent post on his personal blog. 
 
&quot;The question is, what do we get out of it?&quot; 
 
Claudia Calvino, 33, executive producer at the private Fifth Avenue Productions, which made the zombie comedy &quot;Juan of the Dead,&quot; welcomes Hollywood&#39;s growing interest in Cuba. 
 
&quot;But the truth is that I feel upset and sad that these mega-productions have access to services and opportunities that have so often been denied to domestic productions, especially independent productions,&quot; she added. 
 
Calvino says she has often asked for permits, import licenses, vehicle rental and other help from the CFI and been turned down because her project &quot;did not represent Cuba in the best way.&quot; 
 
 
&#39;Not the enemy&#39; 
 
Director Carlos Lechuga&#39;s debut film &quot;Molasses,&quot; about a destitute former sugar-producing town, was shown at the Latin American Film Festival of Havana in 2012 and won an independent critics&#39; prize. 
 
But it had to wait almost a year for its theatrical release, and was screened only in one cinema. 
 
Once the jewel in the crown of Latin American cinema, years of neglect have led the domestic industry to a crisis, says Lechuga. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s simple -- Cuban cinema and its filmmakers need to be strengthened. Now, more than ever, we need to feel loved, respected,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;We are not the enemy. We&#39;re trying to make a better country. What is there to fear?&quot; 
 
American support for Cuban filmmaking is being offered, but it is coming from the independent sector rather than the big Hollywood studios. 
 
During Havana&#39;s film festival in December, a Sundance Institute delegation of directors, writers and actors including Ethan Hawke put on workshops on screenwriting, production, editing and scoring. 
 
The institute, which has history of engagement with Cuba going back to the 1980s, is returning in July with a program of screenings to introduce Cuban audiences to US and international films, and the people making them. 
 
The focus, said the international director of the organization&#39;s feature film program Paul Federbush, has always been to support emerging Cuban artists. 
 
&quot;The recent opening of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US presented a unique opportunity for Sundance Institute to return to Cuba at a culturally and politically crucial moment,&quot; he told AFP. 
(AFP)

American moviemakers are making full use of Cuba's lost-in-time beauty. But they're not doing much for the country's cash-poor film industry

Hollywood has been clamouring to capture Cuba's colourful charm since a thaw in frosty Cold War relations, but the islanders say the boom comes with their own underfunded film industry in crisis. Several big American productions have created jobs and put Havana's art deco elegance in the shop window since US filmmakers were given the right to shoot on the Communist-led island in January. Showtime comedy series "House of Lies," starring Don Cheadle, was the first to profit from the lifting of US Treasury Department conditions imposed as part of the 1962 embargo of the island. The latest movie in Universal's "Fast and Furious" series followed, along with Paramount's "Transformers: The Last Knight." "We're at a place that nobody ever thought would be possible. We are in Havana, Cuba. And you can see how beautiful it is with all these beautiful people," "Fast 8" star Vin Diesel says in a YouTube message from the city. The action sequel hired 250 local crew members and numerous extras at $30 a day, according to independent online magazine OnCuba, in a country where the average salary is $17 a month. Such is the rush to the Caribbean island's sun-kissed shores that the US entertainment media, perhaps inevitably, have coined the phrase "Havanawood." The detente also signals the end of an anachronistic but necessary trick in filmmaking of representing Cuba through other Latin and Caribbean locations. "The Godfather, Part II" and Sydney Pollack's "Havana" used the Dominican Republic, while James Bond films "Golden Eye" and "Die Another Day" turned Puerto Rico and Cadiz, Spain, into the streets of Havana. 'What do we get? It's not just film and television dramas taking advantage of the newly accessible Cuba. Talkshow host Conan O'Brien, a Chanel fashion show and even reality TV family the Kardashians have been seen recently in Havana, while Netflix has announced a new streaming service for the nation of 11 million people. But Cuba's own independent film industry, which began to take off in the 1990s as digital technology made filmmaking more accessible, says it is struggling to survive as Hollywood producers line their pockets. Independent production companies get little or no funding from the state and have struggled to get their movies past the notoriously censorious Cuban Film Institute (CFI). "Everyone knows that Chanel and Hollywood gain by choosing Havana, a city frozen in time with its dilapidated beauty, the forbidden city where art deco and the Cold War collide," said journalist Sergio Alejandro Gomez in a recent post on his personal blog. "The question is, what do we get out of it?" Claudia Calvino, 33, executive producer at the private Fifth Avenue Productions, which made the zombie comedy "Juan of the Dead," welcomes Hollywood's growing interest in Cuba. "But the truth is that I feel upset and sad that these mega-productions have access to services and opportunities that have so often been denied to domestic productions, especially independent productions," she added. Calvino says she has often asked for permits, import licenses, vehicle rental and other help from the CFI and been turned down because her project "did not represent Cuba in the best way." 'Not the enemy' Director Carlos Lechuga's debut film "Molasses," about a destitute former sugar-producing town, was shown at the Latin American Film Festival of Havana in 2012 and won an independent critics' prize. But it had to wait almost a year for its theatrical release, and was screened only in one cinema. Once the jewel in the crown of Latin American cinema, years of neglect have led the domestic industry to a crisis, says Lechuga. "It's simple -- Cuban cinema and its filmmakers need to be strengthened. Now, more than ever, we need to feel loved, respected," he said. "We are not the enemy. We're trying to make a better country. What is there to fear?" American support for Cuban filmmaking is being offered, but it is coming from the independent sector rather than the big Hollywood studios. During Havana's film festival in December, a Sundance Institute delegation of directors, writers and actors including Ethan Hawke put on workshops on screenwriting, production, editing and scoring. The institute, which has history of engagement with Cuba going back to the 1980s, is returning in July with a program of screenings to introduce Cuban audiences to US and international films, and the people making them. The focus, said the international director of the organization's feature film program Paul Federbush, has always been to support emerging Cuban artists. "The recent opening of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US presented a unique opportunity for Sundance Institute to return to Cuba at a culturally and politically crucial moment," he told AFP. (AFP)

Hollywood goes to Havana now that it can, while the Cubans wonder what they're getting out of it

Pilgrims to Bethlehem often return home with candles or rosaries, but for those who see religion as more than skin-deep, tattoo artist Walid Ayash is there to help. 
 
The 39-year-old Palestinian specialises in Christian themes. His repertoire includes around 100 models, from simple or elaborate crosses to images of Jesus Christ or a veiled Virgin Mary. 
 
His studio sits near the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born -&nbsp;and which happens to also be tattooed on the chest of Ayash, himself a devout Catholic. 
 
He took up tattooing about 12 years ago, having previously helped out at his father&#39;s barber shop, located downstairs from his current studio. 
 
He started by teaching himself with the help of internet, before perfecting his art in Israel since &quot;there is no tattoo school in Palestine&quot;. 
 
&quot;Everybody laughed and told me: &#39;What do you think you&#39;re doing?&#39;&quot; said the Bethlehem native and father of four who is always quick with a smile. He wears aviator glasses and his beard and moustache are carefully trimmed. 
 
On a leather chair, Florentino Sayeh, 13, was readying his mobile phone to record the inside of his right wrist being tattooed with a cross and, in Arabic, the words &quot;Thy will be done&quot; - from The Lord&#39;s Prayer. 
 
As Ayash worked, the teenager&#39;s mother watched, half-anxious, half-amused and grimacing as the needle moved over reddened skin. 
 
&quot;Until 1 in the morning, me and his father tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted, so there you go,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;This tattoo will pull me back whenever I do something wrong,&quot; was what the Palestinian teenager had to say. 
 
Proof of pilgrimage 
 
For Ayash, the high season is over now. 
 
Easter has passed and the pilgrims who come to the Holy Land -&nbsp;Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and everything in between -&nbsp;have gone home. 
 
Visitors take the small, stone staircase that leads to his studio, where crucifixes, bottles of alcohol and religious drawings sit on a sound system playing house music. 
 
He shows videos of pilgrims being tattooed, sometimes while singing hymns or reciting prayers in Arabic -&nbsp;or even in Aramaic, the ancient language spoken in the time of Jesus. 
 
&quot;Most are Egyptian Coptic Christians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, sometimes Armenians,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;They want a cross and the date of their visit. It&#39;s part of the pilgrimage, proof that they came here and received the blessing.&quot; 
 
While Judaism and Islam forbid permanent body markings, tattoos have for centuries been traditional for Holy Land pilgrims of Eastern rites. 
 
The pilgrimage has been off-limits for some Christians. 
 
The late Egyptian Coptic pope banned visits over Israel&#39;s occupation of the West Bank, where Bethlehem is located, but a new Coptic pope, Tawadros II, has relaxed the rule. 
 
Although Syria and Lebanon bar their nationals from visiting Israel, which controls the borders leading to the West Bank, they can visit if they have a second passport. 
 
Hidden faith 
 
Ayash has noticed other changes afoot. 
 
With Christians in the Middle East facing growing threats from jihadists, emphasizing one&#39;s religion can be life-threatening. 
 
&quot;I recently tattooed a cross on the head of a Syrian,&quot; said Ayash. 
 
&quot;When she lets her hair fall, the cross can&#39;t be seen. She was adamant about the tattoo, but she couldn&#39;t do it in a visible area of her skin because she wants to return to Syria.&quot; 
 
Ayash is a faithful man, but he also feels that, when it comes to business, religion alone will only take him so far. 
 
Teaming up with a colleague from Jerusalem, he is to open a new studio, not in a religious city like Bethlehem, but in secular Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital, to meet demand from its hip young people. 
(AFP)

Walid Ayash specialises in Christian themes. He taught himself with the help of internet since 'there is no tattoo school in Palestine

Pilgrims to Bethlehem often return home with candles or rosaries, but for those who see religion as more than skin-deep, tattoo artist Walid Ayash is there to help. The 39-year-old Palestinian specialises in Christian themes. His repertoire includes around 100 models, from simple or elaborate crosses to images of Jesus Christ or a veiled Virgin Mary. His studio sits near the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born - and which happens to also be tattooed on the chest of Ayash, himself a devout Catholic. He took up tattooing about 12 years ago, having previously helped out at his father's barber shop, located downstairs from his current studio. He started by teaching himself with the help of internet, before perfecting his art in Israel since "there is no tattoo school in Palestine". "Everybody laughed and told me: 'What do you think you're doing?'" said the Bethlehem native and father of four who is always quick with a smile. He wears aviator glasses and his beard and moustache are carefully trimmed. On a leather chair, Florentino Sayeh, 13, was readying his mobile phone to record the inside of his right wrist being tattooed with a cross and, in Arabic, the words "Thy will be done" - from The Lord's Prayer. As Ayash worked, the teenager's mother watched, half-anxious, half-amused and grimacing as the needle moved over reddened skin. "Until 1 in the morning, me and his father tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted, so there you go," she said. "This tattoo will pull me back whenever I do something wrong," was what the Palestinian teenager had to say. Proof of pilgrimage For Ayash, the high season is over now. Easter has passed and the pilgrims who come to the Holy Land - Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and everything in between - have gone home. Visitors take the small, stone staircase that leads to his studio, where crucifixes, bottles of alcohol and religious drawings sit on a sound system playing house music. He shows videos of pilgrims being tattooed, sometimes while singing hymns or reciting prayers in Arabic - or even in Aramaic, the ancient language spoken in the time of Jesus. "Most are Egyptian Coptic Christians, Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, sometimes Armenians," he said. "They want a cross and the date of their visit. It's part of the pilgrimage, proof that they came here and received the blessing." While Judaism and Islam forbid permanent body markings, tattoos have for centuries been traditional for Holy Land pilgrims of Eastern rites. The pilgrimage has been off-limits for some Christians. The late Egyptian Coptic pope banned visits over Israel's occupation of the West Bank, where Bethlehem is located, but a new Coptic pope, Tawadros II, has relaxed the rule. Although Syria and Lebanon bar their nationals from visiting Israel, which controls the borders leading to the West Bank, they can visit if they have a second passport. Hidden faith Ayash has noticed other changes afoot. With Christians in the Middle East facing growing threats from jihadists, emphasizing one's religion can be life-threatening. "I recently tattooed a cross on the head of a Syrian," said Ayash. "When she lets her hair fall, the cross can't be seen. She was adamant about the tattoo, but she couldn't do it in a visible area of her skin because she wants to return to Syria." Ayash is a faithful man, but he also feels that, when it comes to business, religion alone will only take him so far. Teaming up with a colleague from Jerusalem, he is to open a new studio, not in a religious city like Bethlehem, but in secular Ramallah, the Palestinian political capital, to meet demand from its hip young people. (AFP)

For Bethlehem tattoo artist, religion is more than skin deep

He is the God of Gore, the Sultan of Splatter, the Emperor of Entrails, and the brains behind some of the most iconic blood and guts set-pieces in film history. 
 
If you&#39;ve seen something in a violent movie that made the blood drain from your face, there&#39;s a good chance that Oscar-winning Greg Nicotero provided the special effects. 
 
The 53-year-old and his partners have worked on more than 400 TV and film projects, from George A. Romero&#39;s &quot;Day of the Dead&quot; in 1985 to last year&#39;s Quentin Tarantino splatter-fest &quot;The Hateful Eight.&quot; 
 
Best known these days for his effects work and directing on AMC hit series &quot;The Walking Dead,&quot; Nicotero&#39;s obsession with the macabre began back in 1975 with &quot;Jaws.&quot; 
 
&quot;I needed to know how they did it. When the movie came out I was obsessed with learning everything I could about how they built that shark,&quot; said the filmmaker, who was 12 when Steven Spielberg&#39;s tour de force hit theatres. 
 
Nicotero&#39;s effects have provided some of the iconic moments of modern cinema, from the &quot;hobbling&quot; scene in &quot;Misery&quot; (1990), when James Caan&#39;s ankles are shattered by a sledgehammer-wielding Kathy Bates, to the ear-slicing in Quentin Tarantino&#39;s &quot;Reservoir Dogs.&quot; 
 
&quot;What makes that so memorable is that you don&#39;t see it on screen. The camera is on him, and then Mike Madsen goes in with the razor and then the camera pans away and Madsen enters the shot holding the ear,&quot; he says. 
 
&quot;You don&#39;t see it, and I&#39;ll never forget Quentin telling me over and over again how many people objected to seeing it.&quot; 
 
Barbecued sausage meat 
 
A tour of Nicotero&#39;s workshop,&nbsp;55 kilometres&nbsp;northwest of Los Angeles, is like dying and going to horror geek heaven. 
 
There are vampires, werewolves, giant piranhas, a huge shark suspended from the ceiling, a T-Rex head, a lifesize horse and models of aliens, monsters and ghouls of all kinds and their messed-up victims. 
 
In Nicotero&#39;s office, severed arms are propped up on a wooden cabinet while decapitated heads clutter the floor the way a stray box of paperclips or a paper coffee cup might in a normal workplace. 
 
Then there are the zombies -&nbsp;dozens of them in various stages of decomposition. There are smashed heads with eaten-away faces, broken hands, cloudy eyeballs and dentures stacked neatly in drawers. 
 
The blood that pours from every gouge, slash and gunshot wound in Nicotero&#39;s universe is corn syrup and food coloring, while the human flesh is usually barbecued sausage meat. 
 
Nicotero grew up in Pittsburgh, where the legendary Romero and his special effects supremo Tom Savini were busy redefining the horror genre, having shocked the world with 1978&#39;s &quot;Dawn of the Dead.&quot; 
 
&quot;I grew up 30 minutes away from where they filmed &#39;Dawn of the Dead&#39; and the cemetery from &#39;Night of the Living Dead&#39; was 20 minutes from my house,&quot; says the father-of-two. 
 
After a chance meeting at a restaurant in Rome, Nicotero became friends with Romero and quit pre-med to manage the make-up effects department on &quot;Day of the Dead,&quot; the third in the horror master&#39;s zombie trilogy. 
 
Zombie boot camp 
 
Within a year he had moved to Los Angeles where he rented a house with freelance make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Bob Kurtzman, and the three would eat pizza, drink beer and watch horror movies together. 
 
They channeled their shared interest into KNB EFX, a workshop that would grow into a 20,000 square foot base of operations northwest of LA, serving film and television productions all over the world. 
 
Nicotero won an Oscar in 2006 for his work on &quot;The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe&quot; and in 2010 Frank Darabont, his director on &quot;The Green Mile,&quot; asked him to join a new TV series called &quot;The Walking Dead.&quot; 
 
It quickly became the most-watched show in the history of cable television, and Nicotero graduated from special effects and co-executive producing to becoming its most prolific director. 
 
He has recently set his sights beyond the film and TV to theme parks, working on a walk-through &quot;Walking Dead&quot; attraction opening at Universal Studios on July 4. 
 
Nicotero has provided the make-up and special effects, as well as training for the attraction&#39;s 100 extras at a zombie boot camp showing them how to find &quot;their inner walker.&quot; 
 
So having used rubber prosthetics, countless gallons of fake blood and some of the most talented artists in the business to murder, maim and maul in every way imaginable over three decades, is there anything that could possibly scare the God of Gore? 
 
&quot;Spiders,&quot; he says instantly, without having to think about it. 
 
&quot;But other than that, nothing.&quot;

Greg Nicotero's obsession with the macabre began back in 1975 with 'Jaws.' 'I needed to know how they did it,' the 53-year-old said

He is the God of Gore, the Sultan of Splatter, the Emperor of Entrails, and the brains behind some of the most iconic blood and guts set-pieces in film history. If you've seen something in a violent movie that made the blood drain from your face, there's a good chance that Oscar-winning Greg Nicotero provided the special effects. The 53-year-old and his partners have worked on more than 400 TV and film projects, from George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" in 1985 to last year's Quentin Tarantino splatter-fest "The Hateful Eight." Best known these days for his effects work and directing on AMC hit series "The Walking Dead," Nicotero's obsession with the macabre began back in 1975 with "Jaws." "I needed to know how they did it. When the movie came out I was obsessed with learning everything I could about how they built that shark," said the filmmaker, who was 12 when Steven Spielberg's tour de force hit theatres. Nicotero's effects have provided some of the iconic moments of modern cinema, from the "hobbling" scene in "Misery" (1990), when James Caan's ankles are shattered by a sledgehammer-wielding Kathy Bates, to the ear-slicing in Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs." "What makes that so memorable is that you don't see it on screen. The camera is on him, and then Mike Madsen goes in with the razor and then the camera pans away and Madsen enters the shot holding the ear," he says. "You don't see it, and I'll never forget Quentin telling me over and over again how many people objected to seeing it." Barbecued sausage meat A tour of Nicotero's workshop, 55 kilometres northwest of Los Angeles, is like dying and going to horror geek heaven. There are vampires, werewolves, giant piranhas, a huge shark suspended from the ceiling, a T-Rex head, a lifesize horse and models of aliens, monsters and ghouls of all kinds and their messed-up victims. In Nicotero's office, severed arms are propped up on a wooden cabinet while decapitated heads clutter the floor the way a stray box of paperclips or a paper coffee cup might in a normal workplace. Then there are the zombies - dozens of them in various stages of decomposition. There are smashed heads with eaten-away faces, broken hands, cloudy eyeballs and dentures stacked neatly in drawers. The blood that pours from every gouge, slash and gunshot wound in Nicotero's universe is corn syrup and food coloring, while the human flesh is usually barbecued sausage meat. Nicotero grew up in Pittsburgh, where the legendary Romero and his special effects supremo Tom Savini were busy redefining the horror genre, having shocked the world with 1978's "Dawn of the Dead." "I grew up 30 minutes away from where they filmed 'Dawn of the Dead' and the cemetery from 'Night of the Living Dead' was 20 minutes from my house," says the father-of-two. After a chance meeting at a restaurant in Rome, Nicotero became friends with Romero and quit pre-med to manage the make-up effects department on "Day of the Dead," the third in the horror master's zombie trilogy. Zombie boot camp Within a year he had moved to Los Angeles where he rented a house with freelance make-up effects artists Howard Berger and Bob Kurtzman, and the three would eat pizza, drink beer and watch horror movies together. They channeled their shared interest into KNB EFX, a workshop that would grow into a 20,000 square foot base of operations northwest of LA, serving film and television productions all over the world. Nicotero won an Oscar in 2006 for his work on "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and in 2010 Frank Darabont, his director on "The Green Mile," asked him to join a new TV series called "The Walking Dead." It quickly became the most-watched show in the history of cable television, and Nicotero graduated from special effects and co-executive producing to becoming its most prolific director. He has recently set his sights beyond the film and TV to theme parks, working on a walk-through "Walking Dead" attraction opening at Universal Studios on July 4. Nicotero has provided the make-up and special effects, as well as training for the attraction's 100 extras at a zombie boot camp showing them how to find "their inner walker." So having used rubber prosthetics, countless gallons of fake blood and some of the most talented artists in the business to murder, maim and maul in every way imaginable over three decades, is there anything that could possibly scare the God of Gore? "Spiders," he says instantly, without having to think about it. "But other than that, nothing."

FX guru of gore spills blood, guts, and tricks of the trade

Actress Amber Heard has given a statement to Los Angeles police accusing estranged husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence, her lawyers said on Tuesday, a week after she filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against Depp. 
 
Heard`s attorneys said in a statement that in an attempt to &quot;protect her privacy and Johnny`s career&quot; the actress initially declined to report to police a May 21 incident between her and Depp that she claimed left her with a bruised eye. 
 
&quot;Johnny`s team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts ...,&quot; Heard`s lawyers Samantha Spector and Joseph P. Koenig said. 
 
&quot;Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny,&quot; they said. 
 
Representatives for Depp did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Officer Liliana Preciado declined to comment, citing privacy. 
 
Depp`s 17-year-old daughter Lily-Rose supported her father on Instagram, posting a photo captioning her father as &quot;the sweetest most loving person I know.&quot; 
 
Heard, 30, said in court papers filed in Los Angeles last week that Depp, 52, had been abusive to her throughout their relationship, culminating in an argument during which he hurled a cell phone at her face and shattered objects in her apartment. 
 
Depp`s lawyer argued in a court document that Heard &quot;is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.&quot; 
 
Judge Carl H. Moor granted a temporary restraining order requiring Depp to stay at least 100 yards away from Heard and move out of the couple`s shared downtown Los Angeles condominium. A hearing was scheduled for June 17. 
 
Heard, who will star in upcoming superhero ensemble &quot;The Justice League Part One,&quot; said she was seeking $50,000 a month for spousal support. 
 
Depp, one of Hollywood`s leading actors and box office draws, and Heard married in February 2015 after meeting on the set of 2011`s &quot;The Rum Diary.&quot; 
 
Heard`s lawyers said they held off serving Depp with the divorce petition at the Hollywood premiere of his latest film &quot;Alice Through the Looking Glass&quot; last week because the actress wanted to keep it private. 
 
The Disney film failed to perform strongly at U.S. and Canadian box offices this past weekend, grossing $28.1 million, with some critics blaming the poor performance on negative headlines.&nbsp;

Actress Amber Heard has given a statement to Los Angeles police to this effect, a week after she filed for divorce

Actress Amber Heard has given a statement to Los Angeles police accusing estranged husband Johnny Depp of domestic violence, her lawyers said on Tuesday, a week after she filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against Depp. Heard`s attorneys said in a statement that in an attempt to "protect her privacy and Johnny`s career" the actress initially declined to report to police a May 21 incident between her and Depp that she claimed left her with a bruised eye. "Johnny`s team has forced Amber to give a statement to the LAPD to set the record straight as to the true facts ...," Heard`s lawyers Samantha Spector and Joseph P. Koenig said. "Amber has suffered through years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Johnny," they said. Representatives for Depp did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Officer Liliana Preciado declined to comment, citing privacy. Depp`s 17-year-old daughter Lily-Rose supported her father on Instagram, posting a photo captioning her father as "the sweetest most loving person I know." Heard, 30, said in court papers filed in Los Angeles last week that Depp, 52, had been abusive to her throughout their relationship, culminating in an argument during which he hurled a cell phone at her face and shattered objects in her apartment. Depp`s lawyer argued in a court document that Heard "is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse." Judge Carl H. Moor granted a temporary restraining order requiring Depp to stay at least 100 yards away from Heard and move out of the couple`s shared downtown Los Angeles condominium. A hearing was scheduled for June 17. Heard, who will star in upcoming superhero ensemble "The Justice League Part One," said she was seeking $50,000 a month for spousal support. Depp, one of Hollywood`s leading actors and box office draws, and Heard married in February 2015 after meeting on the set of 2011`s "The Rum Diary." Heard`s lawyers said they held off serving Depp with the divorce petition at the Hollywood premiere of his latest film "Alice Through the Looking Glass" last week because the actress wanted to keep it private. The Disney film failed to perform strongly at U.S. and Canadian box offices this past weekend, grossing $28.1 million, with some critics blaming the poor performance on negative headlines.

Amber Heard accuses Johnny Depp of domestic violence

Ever fancied walking on water? Well now you can, thanks to Bulgarian-born artist Christo&#39;s latest art installation providing a floating walkway at Italy&#39;s Lake Iseo. 
 
For just a few weeks, &quot;The Floating Piers&quot; will rest on the surface of the picturesque lake, 100 km northeast of Milan, with a 3-km walkway allowing visitors to set off from the mainland town of Sulzano to the islands of Monte Isola and San Paolo, usually accessed by boat. 
 
Some 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes have been attached together and anchored by divers for the project. Covering them are 1,076,391 square feet of shimmering yellow fabric, which will also feature along 1.5 km of Sulzano streets. 
 
The piers, some 52 feet wide and 14 inches high, will &quot;undulate with the movement of the waves&quot; as visitors make their way, according to the project&#39;s website.&nbsp; 
 
They will be on display from June 18 to July 3, which the 81-year old artist said is all part of its beauty. 
 
&quot;The temporal character is also related to the dynamics of the project,&quot; Christo told Reuters, speaking in English. 
 
&quot;The project is designed to a particular moment of a voyage of many years ... The work of art is not the 14 days or 16 days. The work of art is ... that journey to that 14, 16 days.&quot; &nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Works by Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009, have featured in various cities, such as &quot;The Gates&quot; in New York, where the artists put up 7,503 gates with saffron fabric panels in Central Park. 
 
According to the project&#39;s website, Christo and Jeanne-Claude came up with &quot;The Floating Piers&quot; concept in 1970 and Christo picked Lake Iseo as the location in 2014. 
 
Access to &quot;The Floating Piers&quot; will be free and organisers say volunteers will be present in case anyone should fall into the water. 
(Reuters)

The installation will rest on the surface of the lake allowing visitors to set off from the town of Sulzano usually, accessed by boat

Ever fancied walking on water? Well now you can, thanks to Bulgarian-born artist Christo's latest art installation providing a floating walkway at Italy's Lake Iseo. For just a few weeks, "The Floating Piers" will rest on the surface of the picturesque lake, 100 km northeast of Milan, with a 3-km walkway allowing visitors to set off from the mainland town of Sulzano to the islands of Monte Isola and San Paolo, usually accessed by boat. Some 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes have been attached together and anchored by divers for the project. Covering them are 1,076,391 square feet of shimmering yellow fabric, which will also feature along 1.5 km of Sulzano streets. The piers, some 52 feet wide and 14 inches high, will "undulate with the movement of the waves" as visitors make their way, according to the project's website. They will be on display from June 18 to July 3, which the 81-year old artist said is all part of its beauty. "The temporal character is also related to the dynamics of the project," Christo told Reuters, speaking in English. "The project is designed to a particular moment of a voyage of many years ... The work of art is not the 14 days or 16 days. The work of art is ... that journey to that 14, 16 days." Works by Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude, who died in 2009, have featured in various cities, such as "The Gates" in New York, where the artists put up 7,503 gates with saffron fabric panels in Central Park. According to the project's website, Christo and Jeanne-Claude came up with "The Floating Piers" concept in 1970 and Christo picked Lake Iseo as the location in 2014. Access to "The Floating Piers" will be free and organisers say volunteers will be present in case anyone should fall into the water. (Reuters)

Walk on water at Italian lake 'Floating Piers' installation

American rocker Meat Loaf collapsed on stage on Thursday during a performance in Edmonton, Canada, days after he postponed a show due to illness, media reported and social media posts showed. 
 
The 68-year-old musician fell to the stage floor in the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton as he was singing his 1993 hit &quot;I&#39;d Do Anything for Love,&quot; video clips on Twitter and traffic on the social media platform showed. 
 
Emergency personnel responded at the scene, the Edmonton Journal reported. 
 
His condition was not known and authorities in Edmonton were not available for comment. 
 
Meat Loaf postponed a show in the city of Calgary on Monday due to illness, he said on his Facebook page. 
 
Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, pulled out of a concert in Britain just hours before he was due on stage because of health problems in 2013. 
 
He canceled a European Tour in 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal chords and sparked further fears for his health in 2011 when he collapsed on stage. He later blamed blackouts on past concussion injuries and his health issues on asthma. 
 
In 2012, he underwent a knee replacement operation. 
(Reuters)

The 68-year-old power balladeer was singing his 1993 hit 'I'd Do Anything for Love'

American rocker Meat Loaf collapsed on stage on Thursday during a performance in Edmonton, Canada, days after he postponed a show due to illness, media reported and social media posts showed. The 68-year-old musician fell to the stage floor in the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton as he was singing his 1993 hit "I'd Do Anything for Love," video clips on Twitter and traffic on the social media platform showed. Emergency personnel responded at the scene, the Edmonton Journal reported. His condition was not known and authorities in Edmonton were not available for comment. Meat Loaf postponed a show in the city of Calgary on Monday due to illness, he said on his Facebook page. Meat Loaf, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday, pulled out of a concert in Britain just hours before he was due on stage because of health problems in 2013. He canceled a European Tour in 2007 after being diagnosed with a cyst on his vocal chords and sparked further fears for his health in 2011 when he collapsed on stage. He later blamed blackouts on past concussion injuries and his health issues on asthma. In 2012, he underwent a knee replacement operation. (Reuters)

Meat Loaf collapses on stage during performance

It&#39;s what modern fairytales are made of. 
 
A classical violinist wracked with self-doubt takes a job teaching children in one of Brazil&#39;s most crime-ridden favelas, and ends up creating an orchestra with young delinquents and teenage mothers. 
 
Except the story behind &quot;The Violin Teacher&quot;, a film which has been moving audiences to tears, is true. 
 
The Latin American movements it is based on, which teach poor children how to play instruments after school, have been hailed as the future of classical music. 
 
Having seen his young actors drawn from a tough Sao Paulo slum learn to play Bach as he shot the film, director Sergio Machado is now evangelical about the city&#39;s Baccarelli Institute. 
 
&quot;It is magical. What they do is fantastic,&quot; he told AFP in an interview by phone from Brazil. 
 
Machado&#39;s own 11-year-old son was so impressed by what he saw happening on set that he took up the violin himself. 
 
The institute, set up by musician Silvio Baccarelli in 1996 in the sprawling favela of Heliopolis, is &quot;one of the most important cultural projects in Brazil&quot;, Machado said. 
 
&#39;Playing themselves&#39; 
 
Inspired to some degree by Venezuela&#39;s El Sistema movement -&nbsp;which has produced a long line of classical music prodigies from equally humble backgrounds including Gustavo Dudamel, now head of the Los Angeles Philharmonic - it aims to give children a refuge from often chaotic and dangerous lives. 
 
Three thousand children a year pass through the institute, which has been championed by the Indian-born star conductor Zubin Mehta. 
 
Machado was initially sceptical about the method before being utterly won over. 
 
&quot;The great conductor, Italian Claudio Abbado said that because of this and what El Sistema is doing, Latin America is the future of classical music. And he is right.&quot; 
 
The director said he didn&#39;t set out to make a sugary tearjerker that just played on the emotions but wanted to reflect the true reality of people&#39;s lives. 
 
&quot;Yet there is hope. I wanted to do a film about people who are trying to change this really dark reality,&quot; he added. 
 
&quot;All of the kids in the film are non-actors. They all came from that community and brought their own experience into the film and they are playing themselves. 
 
&quot;There is one scene where a girl starts screaming about her life. That is real, she is talking about herself,&quot; he said. 
 
Begged for a part 
 
At first Machado wanted to cast a white actor as their inspirational teacher &quot;because I was kind of thinking of myself&quot;. 
 
But Lazaro Ramos, one of Brazil&#39;s biggest stars, begged him to play the violinist, a gifted soloist who cracks during an audition for the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. 
 
&quot;He wanted it so much. &#39;I have never begged for a part in my life&#39;, he told me. &#39;I need to do this, because it&#39;s my life. I come from places like this and this happened to me&#39;.&quot; 
 
Just as in the film, a brilliant teacher spotted Ramos&#39;s talent and helped save him from the streets. 
 
Ramos &quot;comes from a very, very tough situation&quot;, Machado said. &quot;His mother died when he was very small, he has known hunger and the worst kind of problems and yet he became a star.&quot; 
 
That helped to bond him to the favela kids in the orchestra, Machado said. 
 
&quot;He is what all these kids want to be. He understands them. They are what he was. We became very close.&quot; 
 
And with the exception of the final concert, when the institute&#39;s orchestra took up the relay, all the music in the film from rap to Strauss is played by the actors. 
 
&quot;In a normal city the musicians come from the middle classes. Here they come from the common people, really the common people,&quot; said Brazil&#39;s most revered conductor Isaac Karabtchevsky, who loves to work at the institute. 
 
&quot;I find it amazing that you can play Mahler with these children. I believe that God is there.&quot; 
 
&quot;The Violin Teacher&quot; is on release across much of Europe and Asia this summer. 
(AFP)

A classical violinist wracked with self-doubt takes a job teaching children in one of Brazil's most crime-ridden favelas

It's what modern fairytales are made of. A classical violinist wracked with self-doubt takes a job teaching children in one of Brazil's most crime-ridden favelas, and ends up creating an orchestra with young delinquents and teenage mothers. Except the story behind "The Violin Teacher", a film which has been moving audiences to tears, is true. The Latin American movements it is based on, which teach poor children how to play instruments after school, have been hailed as the future of classical music. Having seen his young actors drawn from a tough Sao Paulo slum learn to play Bach as he shot the film, director Sergio Machado is now evangelical about the city's Baccarelli Institute. "It is magical. What they do is fantastic," he told AFP in an interview by phone from Brazil. Machado's own 11-year-old son was so impressed by what he saw happening on set that he took up the violin himself. The institute, set up by musician Silvio Baccarelli in 1996 in the sprawling favela of Heliopolis, is "one of the most important cultural projects in Brazil", Machado said. 'Playing themselves' Inspired to some degree by Venezuela's El Sistema movement - which has produced a long line of classical music prodigies from equally humble backgrounds including Gustavo Dudamel, now head of the Los Angeles Philharmonic - it aims to give children a refuge from often chaotic and dangerous lives. Three thousand children a year pass through the institute, which has been championed by the Indian-born star conductor Zubin Mehta. Machado was initially sceptical about the method before being utterly won over. "The great conductor, Italian Claudio Abbado said that because of this and what El Sistema is doing, Latin America is the future of classical music. And he is right." The director said he didn't set out to make a sugary tearjerker that just played on the emotions but wanted to reflect the true reality of people's lives. "Yet there is hope. I wanted to do a film about people who are trying to change this really dark reality," he added. "All of the kids in the film are non-actors. They all came from that community and brought their own experience into the film and they are playing themselves. "There is one scene where a girl starts screaming about her life. That is real, she is talking about herself," he said. Begged for a part At first Machado wanted to cast a white actor as their inspirational teacher "because I was kind of thinking of myself". But Lazaro Ramos, one of Brazil's biggest stars, begged him to play the violinist, a gifted soloist who cracks during an audition for the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. "He wanted it so much. 'I have never begged for a part in my life', he told me. 'I need to do this, because it's my life. I come from places like this and this happened to me'." Just as in the film, a brilliant teacher spotted Ramos's talent and helped save him from the streets. Ramos "comes from a very, very tough situation", Machado said. "His mother died when he was very small, he has known hunger and the worst kind of problems and yet he became a star." That helped to bond him to the favela kids in the orchestra, Machado said. "He is what all these kids want to be. He understands them. They are what he was. We became very close." And with the exception of the final concert, when the institute's orchestra took up the relay, all the music in the film from rap to Strauss is played by the actors. "In a normal city the musicians come from the middle classes. Here they come from the common people, really the common people," said Brazil's most revered conductor Isaac Karabtchevsky, who loves to work at the institute. "I find it amazing that you can play Mahler with these children. I believe that God is there." "The Violin Teacher" is on release across much of Europe and Asia this summer. (AFP)

The Violin Teacher: True tale of a violinist's struggle brings audiences to tears

Workers at four casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey&#39;s gambling hub, voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to authorize a strike if they are not offered what they consider to be a fair contract by the start of the busy July 4 holiday weekend. 
 
A strike vote could give Unite Here Local 54 bargaining committees more firepower in negotiations over new contracts for the 6,000 cocktail servers, cooks, housekeepers and other hospitality workers. Employees are now working under expired contracts. 
 
&quot;They need to offer these workers a fair contract. We gave up a lot when times were bad, now that they are making money, they need to give back to us,&quot; Local 54 President Bob McDevitt said in a statement after the vote. 
 
McDevitt said 96 percent of those who voted on Thursday cast their ballots in support of the strike authorization. 
 
Four of Atlantic City&#39;s 12 casinos closed in 2014 and remain shuttered, in part because of gambling competition from neighboring states. 
 
Unite Here said workers agreed to wage freezes during the recession, and those with 25 years on the job have had only 80 cents in total raises over the past 12 years. 
 
&quot;I work full-time but I`m still struggling to make ends meet,&quot; Rodney Mills, a 42-year-old buffet drink server at Tropicana who earns roughly $11 an hour despite working there for more than two decades, said in a statement. 
 
Atlantic City casino revenues increased 2.7 per cent to $802.6 million in the first quarter of 2016, according to state data. 
 
Last summer, workers at the Trump Taj Mahal, founded by Donald Trump but now owned by billionaire investor Carl Icahn`s Icahn Enterprises LP, also agreed to allow a strike if needed. But they have yet to call a walkout, according to Local 54. 
 
Thursday`s strike vote pertains to the Tropicana casino and two properties, Caesars Atlantic City and Bally&#39;s Atlantic City, currently owned by bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Operating Company Inc.&nbsp; 
 
Also included in the vote is another Caesars property, Harrah&#39;s Atlantic City, controlled by a separate unit not in bankruptcy. 
 
In an email after the vote, Caesars&#39; spokesman Stephen Cohen reiterated his comments from earlier on Thursday, saying: &quot;Our goal remains to negotiate a fair resolution to keep our employees at work and to continue supporting Atlantic City&#39;s revitalization, which has our full support.&quot; 
 
Last month, the US Supreme Court rejected the union&#39;s appeal of a lower court ruling allowing the Taj Mahal to break its contract to secure a bankruptcy deal. 
(Reuters)

The vote will give the casino workers' organisation power to negotiate new contracts of those who had been working under expired contracts

Workers at four casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey's gambling hub, voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to authorize a strike if they are not offered what they consider to be a fair contract by the start of the busy July 4 holiday weekend. A strike vote could give Unite Here Local 54 bargaining committees more firepower in negotiations over new contracts for the 6,000 cocktail servers, cooks, housekeepers and other hospitality workers. Employees are now working under expired contracts. "They need to offer these workers a fair contract. We gave up a lot when times were bad, now that they are making money, they need to give back to us," Local 54 President Bob McDevitt said in a statement after the vote. McDevitt said 96 percent of those who voted on Thursday cast their ballots in support of the strike authorization. Four of Atlantic City's 12 casinos closed in 2014 and remain shuttered, in part because of gambling competition from neighboring states. Unite Here said workers agreed to wage freezes during the recession, and those with 25 years on the job have had only 80 cents in total raises over the past 12 years. "I work full-time but I`m still struggling to make ends meet," Rodney Mills, a 42-year-old buffet drink server at Tropicana who earns roughly $11 an hour despite working there for more than two decades, said in a statement. Atlantic City casino revenues increased 2.7 per cent to $802.6 million in the first quarter of 2016, according to state data. Last summer, workers at the Trump Taj Mahal, founded by Donald Trump but now owned by billionaire investor Carl Icahn`s Icahn Enterprises LP, also agreed to allow a strike if needed. But they have yet to call a walkout, according to Local 54. Thursday`s strike vote pertains to the Tropicana casino and two properties, Caesars Atlantic City and Bally's Atlantic City, currently owned by bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Operating Company Inc. Also included in the vote is another Caesars property, Harrah's Atlantic City, controlled by a separate unit not in bankruptcy. In an email after the vote, Caesars' spokesman Stephen Cohen reiterated his comments from earlier on Thursday, saying: "Our goal remains to negotiate a fair resolution to keep our employees at work and to continue supporting Atlantic City's revitalization, which has our full support." Last month, the US Supreme Court rejected the union's appeal of a lower court ruling allowing the Taj Mahal to break its contract to secure a bankruptcy deal. (Reuters)

Atlantic City casino workers vote to strike, demand raise, fair employment contract

A hearing on the restraining order obtained by Amber Heard against Johnny Depp, in a divorce between the celebrity couple in which Heard has accused Depp of abuse, was called off on Thursday, a day before it was set to occur, court officials said. 
 
Heard was expected to testify at the hearing related to the restraining order in Los Angeles Superior Court today, according to E! News and other media outlets. 
 
Instead, the next hearing in the divorce filed by Heard against Depp last month will occur on August 2, court officials said in a statement. The restraining order is part of the divorce case. 
 
The delay allows Depp to gather more witnesses to defend himself against abuse allegations, while for Heard it allows the restraining order to remain in effect at least until the next hearing, said attorney Christopher Melcher, who previously served as chair of the state bar of California family law section, in a phone interview. 
 
It was not immediately clear which side moved to vacate the hearing set for today. Attorneys for Depp and Heard did not immediately return calls. 
 
There have been conflicting reports in the media about whether the two sides are moving toward a settlement in the divorce case. 
 
Depp&#39;s legal team had filed court papers seeking to prevent witnesses from testifying on behalf of Heard at the hearing today, on grounds that the actress&#39; legal team had not provided the names of those witnesses, according to a report on the website of People magazine. 
 
A judge on May 27 granted a temporary restraining order for Depp to stay at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from Heard and move out of the couple&#39;s shared condominium in downtown Los Angeles. The couple married in February 2015. 
 
Heard, 30, said in court filings that Depp, 53, was abusive to her throughout their marriage and that it culminated in an argument last month in which he hurled a cell phone into her face and shattered various objects in her apartment. 
 
In a counter argument, Depp&#39;s lawyer said in court papers last month that Heard &quot;is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse.&quot; 
(Reuters)

The restraining order is a part of the divorce in which Heard accused Depp of abuse

A hearing on the restraining order obtained by Amber Heard against Johnny Depp, in a divorce between the celebrity couple in which Heard has accused Depp of abuse, was called off on Thursday, a day before it was set to occur, court officials said. Heard was expected to testify at the hearing related to the restraining order in Los Angeles Superior Court today, according to E! News and other media outlets. Instead, the next hearing in the divorce filed by Heard against Depp last month will occur on August 2, court officials said in a statement. The restraining order is part of the divorce case. The delay allows Depp to gather more witnesses to defend himself against abuse allegations, while for Heard it allows the restraining order to remain in effect at least until the next hearing, said attorney Christopher Melcher, who previously served as chair of the state bar of California family law section, in a phone interview. It was not immediately clear which side moved to vacate the hearing set for today. Attorneys for Depp and Heard did not immediately return calls. There have been conflicting reports in the media about whether the two sides are moving toward a settlement in the divorce case. Depp's legal team had filed court papers seeking to prevent witnesses from testifying on behalf of Heard at the hearing today, on grounds that the actress' legal team had not provided the names of those witnesses, according to a report on the website of People magazine. A judge on May 27 granted a temporary restraining order for Depp to stay at least 100 yards (91 meters) away from Heard and move out of the couple's shared condominium in downtown Los Angeles. The couple married in February 2015. Heard, 30, said in court filings that Depp, 53, was abusive to her throughout their marriage and that it culminated in an argument last month in which he hurled a cell phone into her face and shattered various objects in her apartment. In a counter argument, Depp's lawyer said in court papers last month that Heard "is attempting to secure a premature financial resolution by alleging abuse." (Reuters)

Hearing in Amber Heard restraining order against Johnny Depp called off

Steven Spielberg, who is known for helming the blockbusters like &#39;Jurassic Park&#39;&nbsp;and the &#39;Saving Private Ryan&#39;&nbsp;has revealed why he almost quit direction post making the blockbuster &#39;Schindler`s List&#39;. 
 
In a recent interview, the 69-year-old director, who has released 28 movies across five decades, said he did not want to return to work after he made the&nbsp;1993 drama, adding that the holocaust film was so draining that he doubted he would ever make another movie, reported&nbsp;News.com.au. 
 
&quot;I was sad and isolated, and as well-received and successful as that movie was, I think it was the trauma of telling the story and forming the Shoah Foundation,&quot; he explained. Adding on to this, the `Bridge of Spies` director said, &quot;I started to wonder, was Schindler`s List going to be the last film I would direct?.&quot; 
 
In 1997, Spielberg returned to the big screen with thriller &#39;Jurassic Park: The Lost World&#39;. 
 
Notably, his 29th film, &#39;The BFG&#39;, will be released in Australia on June 30 and in 2019 he would be be releasing another &#39;Indiana Jones&#39;&nbsp;movie. 
(ANI)

The director in an interview said that the 1993 holocaust movie had drained him and put him in self-doubt

Steven Spielberg, who is known for helming the blockbusters like 'Jurassic Park' and the 'Saving Private Ryan' has revealed why he almost quit direction post making the blockbuster 'Schindler`s List'. In a recent interview, the 69-year-old director, who has released 28 movies across five decades, said he did not want to return to work after he made the 1993 drama, adding that the holocaust film was so draining that he doubted he would ever make another movie, reported News.com.au. "I was sad and isolated, and as well-received and successful as that movie was, I think it was the trauma of telling the story and forming the Shoah Foundation," he explained. Adding on to this, the `Bridge of Spies` director said, "I started to wonder, was Schindler`s List going to be the last film I would direct?." In 1997, Spielberg returned to the big screen with thriller 'Jurassic Park: The Lost World'. Notably, his 29th film, 'The BFG', will be released in Australia on June 30 and in 2019 he would be be releasing another 'Indiana Jones' movie. (ANI)

Why Steven Spielberg nearly quit post 'Schindler's List'

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is expected to give more testimony in a copyright infringement trial today where the British band is accused of stealing the opening chords of its classic &quot;Stairway to Heaven&quot; from another band&#39;s song. 
 
The lawsuit alleges that Led Zeppelin lifted the opening chords for &quot;Stairway to Heaven&quot; from the 1967 instrumental &quot;Taurus&quot; by the American band Spirit. 
 
Page, 72, took the witness stand in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, where he said he did not recall hearing &quot;Taurus&quot; until recently, after he had been made aware of comparisons being made between the two songs.&nbsp; 
 
The British musician also testified that he did not recall opening for Spirit at Led Zeppelin&#39;s first US show in Denver in 1968, and said he had never seen Spirit perform live. 
 
Page was joined in court by Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, who is also expected to testify in the case.&nbsp; 
 
The lawsuit was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, Spirit`s guitarist and the composer of &quot;Taurus.&quot; Wolfe, also known as Randy California, drowned in the Pacific Ocean in 1997.&nbsp; 
 
The case comes just over a year after a federal jury in Los Angeles found recording stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had plagiarized Motown great Marvin Gaye in creating their hit single &quot;Blurred Lines,&quot; and awarded Gaye`s family $7.4 million. 
 
Skidmore has said Page may have been inspired to write &quot;Stairway to Heaven&quot; after hearing Spirit perform &quot;Taurus&quot; while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never received credit. 
 
Attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy, representing Skidmore, told a jury in opening arguments on Wednesday that the case centers on an infringement by Led Zeppelin of copyright law, which protects artistic creation. 
 
Led Zeppelin attorney Peter Anderson said in opening arguments that the musical riff in question was not unique.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;No one owns common musical elements,&quot; Anderson said.&nbsp; 
 
US District Judge Gary Klausner said in April that a jury might find &quot;substantial&quot; similarity between the first two minutes of &quot;Stairway&quot; and &quot;Taurus,&quot; and to let it decide whether Plant and Page were liable for copyright infringement.&nbsp; 
(Reuters)

The British band was accused of stealing its most popular song, Stairway to Heaven, from 'Taurus' composed by Randy Wolfe

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is expected to give more testimony in a copyright infringement trial today where the British band is accused of stealing the opening chords of its classic "Stairway to Heaven" from another band's song. The lawsuit alleges that Led Zeppelin lifted the opening chords for "Stairway to Heaven" from the 1967 instrumental "Taurus" by the American band Spirit. Page, 72, took the witness stand in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, where he said he did not recall hearing "Taurus" until recently, after he had been made aware of comparisons being made between the two songs. The British musician also testified that he did not recall opening for Spirit at Led Zeppelin's first US show in Denver in 1968, and said he had never seen Spirit perform live. Page was joined in court by Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant, who is also expected to testify in the case. The lawsuit was brought by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for the late Randy Wolfe, Spirit`s guitarist and the composer of "Taurus." Wolfe, also known as Randy California, drowned in the Pacific Ocean in 1997. The case comes just over a year after a federal jury in Los Angeles found recording stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had plagiarized Motown great Marvin Gaye in creating their hit single "Blurred Lines," and awarded Gaye`s family $7.4 million. Skidmore has said Page may have been inspired to write "Stairway to Heaven" after hearing Spirit perform "Taurus" while the bands toured together in 1968 and 1969, but that Wolfe never received credit. Attorney Francis Alexander Malofiy, representing Skidmore, told a jury in opening arguments on Wednesday that the case centers on an infringement by Led Zeppelin of copyright law, which protects artistic creation. Led Zeppelin attorney Peter Anderson said in opening arguments that the musical riff in question was not unique. "No one owns common musical elements," Anderson said. US District Judge Gary Klausner said in April that a jury might find "substantial" similarity between the first two minutes of "Stairway" and "Taurus," and to let it decide whether Plant and Page were liable for copyright infringement. (Reuters)

Jimmy Page to give more testimony in Led Zeppelin copyright trial

Delving into the history of a family art business she once shunned, French celebrity journalist Anne&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;is returning to public life by reconnecting with her roots.

She was France&#39;s star television interviewer in the 1980s and 1990s. But her gilded life was upended five years ago when her husband, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in New York on charges, since dropped, of sexual harassment of a hotel maid.

While U.S. prosecutors investigated the case that forced the Socialist politician to resign as managing director of the International Monetary Fund and abandon plans to run for president in France,&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;stood by her man in public - before divorcing him after their return to Paris.

She used some of their &quot;sad, enforced stay&quot; in New York to research a book on her grandfather, Paul Rosenberg, one of Europe&#39;s greatest 20th century art merchants, who was the exclusive dealer of Picasso, Braque and Matisse.

&quot;When I was growing up, my family told me a lot about him but I wanted to be on my own and make my career outside of the art family,&quot;&nbsp;Sinclair, 67, now editorial director of the French edition of the Huffington Post online newspaper, told Reuters in an interview.

More than 60 masterpieces that went through Rosenberg&#39;s galleries in Paris and New York - some looted by the Nazis and recovered after World War Two - will go on display for the first time together in the Belgian city of Liege in September.

The exhibition of works from public and private collections, including a couple of&nbsp;Sinclair&#39;s personal heirlooms, will tell the story of &quot;21 rue La Boetie&quot;, the address of Rosenberg&#39;s pre-war Paris gallery. It was raided by the Nazis in 1940 and handed to their French collaborators, who turned it into an anti-Semitic propaganda centre.

&quot;A gallery that was a temple of art became a temple of horror,&quot;&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;said.

The Pompidou Centre and the Picasso Museum in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Vienna&#39;s Albertinum, all former customers of Rosenberg, who died in 1959, and of his son Alexandre, who ran the gallery after his death until 1987, are lending works for the show.

Sinclair&nbsp;said her grandfather took big commercial risks to promote the work of his proteges Picasso, Braque, Matisse and Leger before their avant garde styles were widely acclaimed. He sold works by Impressionist masters to pay for their canvases, but only sold his first Picasso as late as 1925.

&quot;He had to sell a lot of other paintings to buy the modern art he believed in,&quot;&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;said. Rosenberg built friendships with his artists, documented in many letters preserved in family archives. Picasso became a neighbour and close friend.

When the Jewish merchant and his family fled Paris in 1940, during the phoney war before Germany invaded France, Matisse visited him in a rented house near Bordeaux for long conversations about beauty, nature and art as the drums of war beat ever closer.

After the family emigrated to the United States a few weeks later, French informers helped the German embassy locate and remove paintings Rosenberg had hidden at the house and in a bank vault in the nearby town of Libourne.

Sinclair&nbsp;said Rosenberg, a private man who eschewed the social life of his wealthy clients and had left-wing political sympathies, was painfully aware that he was a merchant with an eye for art, but not a creator himself.

Nowadays, Rosenberg might be categorised as belonging to the &quot;caviar left&quot;,&nbsp;Sinclair&nbsp;said, citing a label often applied by critics to herself and Strauss-Kahn because of their lifestyle.

&quot;That&#39;s typically French... If you are rich, you have to be on the right,&quot; she said. &quot;I was accused a lot of being from the &#39;caviar left&#39; because I&#39;m a bourgeoise. I earned my living by my work with comfort, and it&#39;s always an accusation.&quot; 
(Reuters)

Sinclair's grandfather, Paul Rosenberg, was one of the greatest art merchants in Europe and exclusive dealer of Picasso,Braque and Matisse

Delving into the history of a family art business she once shunned, French celebrity journalist Anne Sinclair is returning to public life by reconnecting with her roots. She was France's star television interviewer in the 1980s and 1990s. But her gilded life was upended five years ago when her husband, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in New York on charges, since dropped, of sexual harassment of a hotel maid. While U.S. prosecutors investigated the case that forced the Socialist politician to resign as managing director of the International Monetary Fund and abandon plans to run for president in France, Sinclair stood by her man in public - before divorcing him after their return to Paris. She used some of their "sad, enforced stay" in New York to research a book on her grandfather, Paul Rosenberg, one of Europe's greatest 20th century art merchants, who was the exclusive dealer of Picasso, Braque and Matisse. "When I was growing up, my family told me a lot about him but I wanted to be on my own and make my career outside of the art family," Sinclair, 67, now editorial director of the French edition of the Huffington Post online newspaper, told Reuters in an interview. More than 60 masterpieces that went through Rosenberg's galleries in Paris and New York - some looted by the Nazis and recovered after World War Two - will go on display for the first time together in the Belgian city of Liege in September. The exhibition of works from public and private collections, including a couple of Sinclair's personal heirlooms, will tell the story of "21 rue La Boetie", the address of Rosenberg's pre-war Paris gallery. It was raided by the Nazis in 1940 and handed to their French collaborators, who turned it into an anti-Semitic propaganda centre. "A gallery that was a temple of art became a temple of horror," Sinclair said. The Pompidou Centre and the Picasso Museum in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Vienna's Albertinum, all former customers of Rosenberg, who died in 1959, and of his son Alexandre, who ran the gallery after his death until 1987, are lending works for the show. Sinclair said her grandfather took big commercial risks to promote the work of his proteges Picasso, Braque, Matisse and Leger before their avant garde styles were widely acclaimed. He sold works by Impressionist masters to pay for their canvases, but only sold his first Picasso as late as 1925. "He had to sell a lot of other paintings to buy the modern art he believed in," Sinclair said. Rosenberg built friendships with his artists, documented in many letters preserved in family archives. Picasso became a neighbour and close friend. When the Jewish merchant and his family fled Paris in 1940, during the phoney war before Germany invaded France, Matisse visited him in a rented house near Bordeaux for long conversations about beauty, nature and art as the drums of war beat ever closer. After the family emigrated to the United States a few weeks later, French informers helped the German embassy locate and remove paintings Rosenberg had hidden at the house and in a bank vault in the nearby town of Libourne. Sinclair said Rosenberg, a private man who eschewed the social life of his wealthy clients and had left-wing political sympathies, was painfully aware that he was a merchant with an eye for art, but not a creator himself. Nowadays, Rosenberg might be categorised as belonging to the "caviar left", Sinclair said, citing a label often applied by critics to herself and Strauss-Kahn because of their lifestyle. "That's typically French... If you are rich, you have to be on the right," she said. "I was accused a lot of being from the 'caviar left' because I'm a bourgeoise. I earned my living by my work with comfort, and it's always an accusation." (Reuters)

France's Sinclair mines family art history for comeback

The film, based on extensive drug abuse in India&#39;s northern Punjab state, ran into controversy for its expletives-laden dialogues. 
 
A Punjab-based NGO, Human Rights Awareness Association approached Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking stay on the release of the film claiming that it showed the state in bad light. The apex court had refused to entertain the plea and directed the NGO to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court. 
 
After hearing the petition a day ahead of the release, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave a go ahead to the much anticipated film. 
 
&quot;He has given a very clear cut report that there is nothing in the movie which shows Punjab in bad light or which lowers the image of Punjab. He has written that drug menace can happen in any state, it&#39;s not just about Punjab. It does not glorify drugs. High court has taken a decision that this film will release tomorrow and the petition has been dismissed,&quot; said Sanjay Kaushal,&nbsp;a lawyer representing the &#39;Udta Punjab&#39; team,. 
 
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had last month grounded the Abhishek Chaubey-directed film and suggested 89 cuts in the movie along with the removal of the word &quot;Punjab&quot; from the title and throughout the film. 
 
The film&#39;s makers challenged the censor board&#39;s decision in the apex court and a bitter legal battle followed between the two sides. 
 
In a major embarrassment for CBFC head Pahlaj Nihalani, the SC on June 13 struck down all but one of the cuts suggested by the censor board and ordered the film board to issue an A - or adult - certificate for the film&#39;s screening immediately. 
 
India has a history of censoring sexually explicit and politically sensitive content, and Bollywood is increasingly finding itself under scrutiny. 
 
In a series of tweets last week, co-producer of the movie, Anurag Kashyap had called Nihalani an &quot;oligarch&quot; and compared India to reclusive North Korea. 
 
Nihalani had said the film defamed Punjab and he challenged its claim that 70 per cent of its population was involved in substance abuse. 
 
The movie stars Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan in lead roles. 
(Reuters)

Human Rights Awareness Association approached the country's Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking stay on the release of 'Udta Punjab'

The film, based on extensive drug abuse in India's northern Punjab state, ran into controversy for its expletives-laden dialogues. A Punjab-based NGO, Human Rights Awareness Association approached Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking stay on the release of the film claiming that it showed the state in bad light. The apex court had refused to entertain the plea and directed the NGO to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court. After hearing the petition a day ahead of the release, the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave a go ahead to the much anticipated film. "He has given a very clear cut report that there is nothing in the movie which shows Punjab in bad light or which lowers the image of Punjab. He has written that drug menace can happen in any state, it's not just about Punjab. It does not glorify drugs. High court has taken a decision that this film will release tomorrow and the petition has been dismissed," said Sanjay Kaushal, a lawyer representing the 'Udta Punjab' team,. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had last month grounded the Abhishek Chaubey-directed film and suggested 89 cuts in the movie along with the removal of the word "Punjab" from the title and throughout the film. The film's makers challenged the censor board's decision in the apex court and a bitter legal battle followed between the two sides. In a major embarrassment for CBFC head Pahlaj Nihalani, the SC on June 13 struck down all but one of the cuts suggested by the censor board and ordered the film board to issue an A - or adult - certificate for the film's screening immediately. India has a history of censoring sexually explicit and politically sensitive content, and Bollywood is increasingly finding itself under scrutiny. In a series of tweets last week, co-producer of the movie, Anurag Kashyap had called Nihalani an "oligarch" and compared India to reclusive North Korea. Nihalani had said the film defamed Punjab and he challenged its claim that 70 per cent of its population was involved in substance abuse. The movie stars Bollywood actors Shahid Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan in lead roles. (Reuters)

Indian court clears release of controversial drug-based film

Veteran British pop singer Cliff Richard will face no charges over allegations of decades-old sexual abuse, prosecutors said today after a widely-criticised investigation that took two years. 
 
Richard, 75, who was Britain`s first home-grown pop star and considered the UK`s answer to Elvis Presley, slammed the lengthy and very public probe, saying he had been &quot;hung out like live bait&quot;. 
 
The police attracted widespread criticism, including from lawmakers, over their handling of the case after striking a deal with the British Broadcasting Channel&nbsp;(BBC) to broadcast live their raid on Richard`s home. 
 
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced today that Richard would face no further action after reviewing the police case due to insufficient evidence. 
 
&quot;The CPS has carefully reviewed evidence relating to claims of non-recent sexual offences dating between 1958 and 1983 made by four men,&quot; said Martin Goldman, chief crown prosecutor for Yorkshire and Humberside in northern England. 
 
&quot;We have decided that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute.&quot; 
 
Richard, who burst on the pop scene in the late 1950s, is the third biggest-selling artist in British singles chart history behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. 
 
His hits include &quot;The Young Ones&quot;, &quot;Living Doll&quot;, &quot;Summer Holiday&quot;, &quot;Congratulations&quot;, &quot;Mistletoe And Wine&quot; and &quot;The Millennium Prayer&quot;.In a statement today Richard said he was &quot;thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close&quot;. 
 
&quot;I have always maintained my innocence, co-operated fully with the investigation, and cannot understand why it has taken so long,&quot; said the singer, who in 1995 became the first British rock star to be knighted. 
 
Richard said there was a &quot;widely-shared sense of injustice resulting from the high-profile fumbling of my case from day one&quot;. 
 
&quot;I was named before I was even interviewed and for me that was like being hung out like live bait. 
 
&quot;No innocent person should be treated in this way.&quot; 
 
After the BBC got wind of the investigation, south Yorkshire police cut a deal in a bid to prevent them breaking the story. 
 
The BBC was tipped off about the raid on Richard`s home and was outside in advance to film detectives sweeping in, and broadcast the search live from a helicopter. 
 
&quot;The force apologises wholeheartedly for the additional anxiety caused by our initial handling of the media interest in this case,&quot; South Yorkshire Police said today. 
 
The force has been under fire, accused of corruption and incompetence over its reaction to the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster and the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal. 
 
Their probe into Richard cost &pound;800,000 ($1.1 million, one million Euros). 
 
There has been a wave of accusations of historical sex abuse against prominent figures in Britain since 2012, when the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was revealed to be a serial paedophile. 
(AFP)

The Crown Prosecution Service reviewed the evidence and decided it was insufficient to prosecute him. The probe cost one million Euros

Veteran British pop singer Cliff Richard will face no charges over allegations of decades-old sexual abuse, prosecutors said today after a widely-criticised investigation that took two years. Richard, 75, who was Britain`s first home-grown pop star and considered the UK`s answer to Elvis Presley, slammed the lengthy and very public probe, saying he had been "hung out like live bait". The police attracted widespread criticism, including from lawmakers, over their handling of the case after striking a deal with the British Broadcasting Channel (BBC) to broadcast live their raid on Richard`s home. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced today that Richard would face no further action after reviewing the police case due to insufficient evidence. "The CPS has carefully reviewed evidence relating to claims of non-recent sexual offences dating between 1958 and 1983 made by four men," said Martin Goldman, chief crown prosecutor for Yorkshire and Humberside in northern England. "We have decided that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute." Richard, who burst on the pop scene in the late 1950s, is the third biggest-selling artist in British singles chart history behind The Beatles and Elvis Presley. His hits include "The Young Ones", "Living Doll", "Summer Holiday", "Congratulations", "Mistletoe And Wine" and "The Millennium Prayer".In a statement today Richard said he was "thrilled that the vile accusations and the resulting investigation have finally been brought to a close". "I have always maintained my innocence, co-operated fully with the investigation, and cannot understand why it has taken so long," said the singer, who in 1995 became the first British rock star to be knighted. Richard said there was a "widely-shared sense of injustice resulting from the high-profile fumbling of my case from day one". "I was named before I was even interviewed and for me that was like being hung out like live bait. "No innocent person should be treated in this way." After the BBC got wind of the investigation, south Yorkshire police cut a deal in a bid to prevent them breaking the story. The BBC was tipped off about the raid on Richard`s home and was outside in advance to film detectives sweeping in, and broadcast the search live from a helicopter. "The force apologises wholeheartedly for the additional anxiety caused by our initial handling of the media interest in this case," South Yorkshire Police said today. The force has been under fire, accused of corruption and incompetence over its reaction to the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster and the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal. Their probe into Richard cost £800,000 ($1.1 million, one million Euros). There has been a wave of accusations of historical sex abuse against prominent figures in Britain since 2012, when the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was revealed to be a serial paedophile. (AFP)

Cliff Richard sex abuse probe dropped after 2 years

In a convergence of two of America&#39;s biggest cultural giants, McDonald&#39;s is moving into the old home of The Oprah Winfrey Show. 
 
The talk-show queen&#39;s production empire left the Harpo Studios complex near downtown Chicago in December, headed to Los Angeles. 
 
The property will now have new life, morphing from the epicentre of influential daytime television to the standard-bearer of American fast cuisine. 
 
McDonald&#39;s plans to &quot;transform the space&quot; into its new corporate headquarters, as well as a new home for the Hamburger University training centre, according to a company statement. 
 
&quot;Today&#39;s announcement is about more than just a new location for us,&quot; said McDonald&#39;s chair Rick Hernandez. 
 
&quot;It is an important investment in our people,&quot; he added, speaking of moving &quot;our business forward for many years to come.&quot; 
 
Oprah Winfrey, whose talk show ended in 2011, sold the facility to a real estate developer two years ago. 
 
But her mark in the area is unmistakable, after more than two decades spent producing her popular talk show from the facility just west of Chicago&#39;s bustling downtown business district, in an area known as the West Loop. 
 
&quot;Once her show went syndicated, my God, it was amazing, because we had people coming to the neighborhood,&quot; Ina Pinkney, a former chef at a West Loop restaurant told NPR in 2011. 
 
Former Chicago mayor Richard Daley even named a short stretch of the street in front of Harpo Studios &quot;Oprah Winfrey Way&quot; and called the talk show host a &quot;great ambassador for our city.&quot; 
 
&quot;That&#39;s better than an Oscar, or an Emmy,&quot; Winfrey said at the time. 
 
The current headquarters for McDonald&#39;s is in a Chicago suburb. The move to the trendy, restaurant-rich West Loop that Oprah helped create is part of the company&#39;s efforts to become a more modern operation. 
 
&quot;This world-class environment will continue to drive business momentum by getting us even closer to customers, encouraging innovation and ensuring great talent is excited about where they work,&quot; said McDonald&#39;s CEO Steve Easterbrook. 
 
Slumping sales led the company to install Easterbrook as CEO last year. 
 
He made a number of changes, including a focus on improving customer service, promising to use eggs from cage-free chickens and adding an all-day breakfast to the menu. 
 
Those changes and others have lifted earnings and led to three straight quarters of growth. 
 
In announcing its headquarters move, the company said it will create a &quot;modern setting that fosters collaboration and connectivity.&quot;

Moving to the trendy, restaurant-rich West Loop that Oprah helped create is part of the company's efforts to become a more modern operation

In a convergence of two of America's biggest cultural giants, McDonald's is moving into the old home of The Oprah Winfrey Show. The talk-show queen's production empire left the Harpo Studios complex near downtown Chicago in December, headed to Los Angeles. The property will now have new life, morphing from the epicentre of influential daytime television to the standard-bearer of American fast cuisine. McDonald's plans to "transform the space" into its new corporate headquarters, as well as a new home for the Hamburger University training centre, according to a company statement. "Today's announcement is about more than just a new location for us," said McDonald's chair Rick Hernandez. "It is an important investment in our people," he added, speaking of moving "our business forward for many years to come." Oprah Winfrey, whose talk show ended in 2011, sold the facility to a real estate developer two years ago. But her mark in the area is unmistakable, after more than two decades spent producing her popular talk show from the facility just west of Chicago's bustling downtown business district, in an area known as the West Loop. "Once her show went syndicated, my God, it was amazing, because we had people coming to the neighborhood," Ina Pinkney, a former chef at a West Loop restaurant told NPR in 2011. Former Chicago mayor Richard Daley even named a short stretch of the street in front of Harpo Studios "Oprah Winfrey Way" and called the talk show host a "great ambassador for our city." "That's better than an Oscar, or an Emmy," Winfrey said at the time. The current headquarters for McDonald's is in a Chicago suburb. The move to the trendy, restaurant-rich West Loop that Oprah helped create is part of the company's efforts to become a more modern operation. "This world-class environment will continue to drive business momentum by getting us even closer to customers, encouraging innovation and ensuring great talent is excited about where they work," said McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook. Slumping sales led the company to install Easterbrook as CEO last year. He made a number of changes, including a focus on improving customer service, promising to use eggs from cage-free chickens and adding an all-day breakfast to the menu. Those changes and others have lifted earnings and led to three straight quarters of growth. In announcing its headquarters move, the company said it will create a "modern setting that fosters collaboration and connectivity."

McDonald's moves into Oprah's old home

There is no conclusive evidence that drinking coffee causes cancer&nbsp;but&nbsp;all &quot;very hot&quot; drinks are probably carcinogenic,&nbsp;the World Health Organization&#39;s cancer agency said&nbsp;as it downgraded&nbsp;its warning. 
 
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had previously rated coffee as &quot;possibly carcinogenic&quot; but has changed its mind. On Wednesday it will say its latest review found &quot;no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect&quot;. 
 
At the same time, however, it will say other scientific evidence suggests that drinking anything very hot - around 65 degrees Celsius or above - including water, coffee, tea and other beverages, probably does cause cancer of the oesophagus. 
 
Lyon-based IARC, which last year prompted headlines worldwide by saying processed meat can cause cancer, reached its conclusions after reviewing more than 1,000 scientific studies in humans and animals. There was inadequate evidence for coffee to be classified as either carcinogenic or not carcinogenic. 
 
It had previously put coffee as a &quot;possible carcinogen&quot; in its 2B category alongside chloroform, lead and many other substances. 
 
The US&nbsp;National Coffee Association welcomed the change in IARC&#39;s classification as &quot;great news for coffee drinkers&quot;.

Still, The International Agency for Research on Cancer removed coffee from the list of 'possible' carcinogens, like lead and chloroform

There is no conclusive evidence that drinking coffee causes cancer but all "very hot" drinks are probably carcinogenic, the World Health Organization's cancer agency said as it downgraded its warning. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had previously rated coffee as "possibly carcinogenic" but has changed its mind. On Wednesday it will say its latest review found "no conclusive evidence for a carcinogenic effect". At the same time, however, it will say other scientific evidence suggests that drinking anything very hot - around 65 degrees Celsius or above - including water, coffee, tea and other beverages, probably does cause cancer of the oesophagus. Lyon-based IARC, which last year prompted headlines worldwide by saying processed meat can cause cancer, reached its conclusions after reviewing more than 1,000 scientific studies in humans and animals. There was inadequate evidence for coffee to be classified as either carcinogenic or not carcinogenic. It had previously put coffee as a "possible carcinogen" in its 2B category alongside chloroform, lead and many other substances. The US National Coffee Association welcomed the change in IARC's classification as "great news for coffee drinkers".

Can coffee cause cancer? Not really! Unless it's very hot, then scientists say it might

Led Zeppelin&#39;s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant appeared in court on Tuesday to deny accusations that they &quot;lifted&quot; the opening bars to iconic rock song &quot;Stairway to Heaven&quot;. 
 
The musicians, dressed in black suits, arrived to a throng of reporters at Los Angeles federal court, where a jury of four men and four women was played their anthemic hit. 
 
Spirit, a psychedelic LA band that enjoyed a niche following but never attained the superstardom of Zeppelin, claims the melancholic guitar that opens &quot;Stairway&quot; was taken from its instrumental track &quot;Taurus&quot;. 
 
Spirit&#39;s guitarist Randy Wolfe,&nbsp;who went by the nickname Randy California,&nbsp;never took legal action and drowned in Hawaii in 1997, but a lawsuit was filed by his trustee and friend Michael Skidmore, who was in court. 
 
&quot;This case can be summarised in six words: Give credit where credit is due,&quot; said Francis Malofiy, Skidmore&#39;s attorney. 
 
Malofiy told the jury it could look at the lawsuit &quot;almost like a taste test&quot;, asking: &quot;Do these things taste the same? Do these things sound the same?&quot; 
 
The attorney played a recording for the jury of the introduction to &quot;Stairway&quot;, describing the arpeggio as a &quot;lifted composition&quot;. 
 
At issue is whether Led Zeppelin had access to 1967&#39;s &quot;Taurus&quot; before recording &quot;Stairway&quot; in London in December 1970 and January 1971. 
 
No recollection 
 
Zeppelin opened for Spirit when the hard British rockers -- Plant, Page, John Paul Jones and the since deceased John Bonham -- made their US debut on December 26, 1968 in Denver. 
 
Surviving members of Led Zeppelin have submitted testimony that they never had substantive interaction with Spirit or listened to the band&#39;s music. 
 
Defense attorney Peter Anderson told jurors that Page, 72, and Plant, 67, were not familiar with Spirit or its output, and that Page had no recollection of ever hearing &quot;Taurus&quot;. 
 
Anderson played the first two minutes and 14 seconds of &quot;Stairway&quot; as Page nodded along. 
 
&quot;&#39;Stairway to Heaven&#39; was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and them alone, period,&quot; Anderson said. 
 
Skidmore has not specified the damages he is seeking, but various stories in the music press have posited a possible settlement at anywhere between a symbolic $1 plus a writing credit to as much as $40 million. 
 
The lawsuit speaks of Led Zeppelin&#39;s &quot;deep-rooted history of lifting composition from blues artists and other songwriters who they have repeatedly failed to credit&quot;. 
 
It lists disputes over 16 other Led Zeppelin songs, many of which were settled by giving the complainant a songwriting credit and royalties, including classics &quot;Whole Lotta Love&quot; and &quot;Babe I&#39;m Gonna Leave You&quot;. 
 
&#39;Prodigy&#39; 
 
The court heard from California&#39;s younger sister, horse trainer and musician Janet Wolfe, who described her brother as a &quot;prodigy&quot;. 
 
Wolfe, of Ventura, California, recalled how the family had traveled to New York in 1966, where Randy, then just 15, met and befriended Jimi Hendrix. 
 
The rock legend hired the youngster to play back-up guitar, and gave him the name &quot;Randy California&quot; to distinguish him from another Randy in the band, the court heard. 
 
Wolfe, 62, recalled how California had complained later in life about Led Zeppelin plagiarizing &quot;Taurus&quot;, which he had written for a girlfriend. 
 
&quot;It was something that upset him for many, many years,&quot; she said. 
 
Multi-instrumentalist Jay Ferguson, 69, who played with Spirit and later wrote music for film and television, described &quot;Taurus&quot; as a &quot;really special number&quot;. 
 
&quot;It was a palate cleanser... it was beautiful. It was a different style of music than anything else we played in the shows,&quot; he told the court. 
 
Ferguson, who has written music for Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie &quot;The Terminator&quot; (1984) and comedy series &quot;The Office&quot;, said Spirit played the song at the majority of their concerts. 
 
He described having a &quot;meet and greet&quot; with Plant at a Spirit gig in Britain in the 1970s, recalling he was &quot;flattered&quot; that the singer had turned up to see the band. 
 
The trial is expected to last about five days. 
(AFP)

Surviving band members submitted testimony that they never listened to Spirit, the California group whose music they allegedly borrowed

Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Robert Plant appeared in court on Tuesday to deny accusations that they "lifted" the opening bars to iconic rock song "Stairway to Heaven". The musicians, dressed in black suits, arrived to a throng of reporters at Los Angeles federal court, where a jury of four men and four women was played their anthemic hit. Spirit, a psychedelic LA band that enjoyed a niche following but never attained the superstardom of Zeppelin, claims the melancholic guitar that opens "Stairway" was taken from its instrumental track "Taurus". Spirit's guitarist Randy Wolfe, who went by the nickname Randy California, never took legal action and drowned in Hawaii in 1997, but a lawsuit was filed by his trustee and friend Michael Skidmore, who was in court. "This case can be summarised in six words: Give credit where credit is due," said Francis Malofiy, Skidmore's attorney. Malofiy told the jury it could look at the lawsuit "almost like a taste test", asking: "Do these things taste the same? Do these things sound the same?" The attorney played a recording for the jury of the introduction to "Stairway", describing the arpeggio as a "lifted composition". At issue is whether Led Zeppelin had access to 1967's "Taurus" before recording "Stairway" in London in December 1970 and January 1971. No recollection Zeppelin opened for Spirit when the hard British rockers -- Plant, Page, John Paul Jones and the since deceased John Bonham -- made their US debut on December 26, 1968 in Denver. Surviving members of Led Zeppelin have submitted testimony that they never had substantive interaction with Spirit or listened to the band's music. Defense attorney Peter Anderson told jurors that Page, 72, and Plant, 67, were not familiar with Spirit or its output, and that Page had no recollection of ever hearing "Taurus". Anderson played the first two minutes and 14 seconds of "Stairway" as Page nodded along. "'Stairway to Heaven' was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and them alone, period," Anderson said. Skidmore has not specified the damages he is seeking, but various stories in the music press have posited a possible settlement at anywhere between a symbolic $1 plus a writing credit to as much as $40 million. The lawsuit speaks of Led Zeppelin's "deep-rooted history of lifting composition from blues artists and other songwriters who they have repeatedly failed to credit". It lists disputes over 16 other Led Zeppelin songs, many of which were settled by giving the complainant a songwriting credit and royalties, including classics "Whole Lotta Love" and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". 'Prodigy' The court heard from California's younger sister, horse trainer and musician Janet Wolfe, who described her brother as a "prodigy". Wolfe, of Ventura, California, recalled how the family had traveled to New York in 1966, where Randy, then just 15, met and befriended Jimi Hendrix. The rock legend hired the youngster to play back-up guitar, and gave him the name "Randy California" to distinguish him from another Randy in the band, the court heard. Wolfe, 62, recalled how California had complained later in life about Led Zeppelin plagiarizing "Taurus", which he had written for a girlfriend. "It was something that upset him for many, many years," she said. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Ferguson, 69, who played with Spirit and later wrote music for film and television, described "Taurus" as a "really special number". "It was a palate cleanser... it was beautiful. It was a different style of music than anything else we played in the shows," he told the court. Ferguson, who has written music for Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie "The Terminator" (1984) and comedy series "The Office", said Spirit played the song at the majority of their concerts. He described having a "meet and greet" with Plant at a Spirit gig in Britain in the 1970s, recalling he was "flattered" that the singer had turned up to see the band. The trial is expected to last about five days. (AFP)

Stairway to plagiarism? Led Zeppelin on trial over claim they stole their famous guitar riff

Long before the selfie, there was Cindy Sherman, the shape-shifting artist best-known for her often grotesque self-portraits. 
 
For the first time in 20 years, some of her most influential works are going on view at Los Angeles&#39;s Broad Museum, focusing on Hollywood&#39;s feminine cliches in the city that invented them. 
 
From blond Hitchcock starlets to aging socialites to pin-up housewives, Sherman has imitated the spectrum of feminine tropes. 
 
&quot;She&#39;s produced some of the most influential work of her time,&quot; said Philipp Kaiser, the curator of the exhibition &quot;Imitation of Life,&quot; which opened last Saturday. 
 
One of the world&#39;s most celebrated contemporary artists, Sherman&#39;s works are worth millions and consistently break auction records. 
 
The artist plays her own model, donning elaborate costumes and garish makeup, that play on cinematic imagery. 
 
Her all-encompassing retrospective includes work that plays off stereotypes from Hollywood&#39;s Golden Age, B-list horror films and even porn. 
 
The show, which runs until October, draws &quot;on cinema roles in the shaping of identity and stereotypes&quot; said Joanne Heyler, director of the Broad Museum, at a press event. 
 
In the first major exhibition at the Broad since its grand opening last September, 120 pieces created over four decades by Sherman are on view. 
 
The works come mostly from the collection of real estate mogul and philanthropist Eli Broad, a long-time collector of the 62-year-old artist&#39;s work. 
 
Broad designed Los Angeles&#39;s newest contemporary art museum to house his vast art holdings, including the world&#39;s largest collection of Sherman pieces. 
 
&quot;Cindy has held for a long time a very special place in our collection,&quot; said the wealthy businessman, who remembers being &quot;dazzled&quot; when he discovered her work in the 1980s. 
 
The show is coming at a poignant moment, as critics lambast Hollywood for the lack of recognition given to women in the industry, at the same time that Hillary Clinton could become the first woman in the White House. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a particularly interesting time to present to the public the work of an artist which questions the way the media shape feminine identity in images, and how, as an artist, she talks back to these images,&quot; said Heyler. 
 
Each of her photographs resemble a short silent film, added Heyler. 
 
Submission and the male gaze 
 
Sherman sometimes employs the same techniques old Hollywood is known for, including large-scale projections that resemble frozen movie screens, reproduced on entire walls of the Broad. 
 
She also poses with comically frightened expressions, as if taken aback in the style of a &quot;damsel in distress,&quot; putting herself in submissive positions. 
 
In another image, she takes the opposite perspective and adopts the &quot;male gaze,&quot; expressing desire with a bold stare. 
 
The New York artist&#39;s body of work also includes imagery from fashion magazines, like a satirical photo series that plays on images from the 80s. In those works Sherman poses in chic designer outfits with chalky makeup, slumped shoulders and greasy hair. 
 
On aging 
 
Sherman is her own model, therefore,&nbsp;her subjects age along with her, Heyler told AFP. 
 
The artist&#39;s 2008 series satirizes aging society women, clad in sequins with impeccable blowouts. 
 
In her most recent pieces, recently shown in New York, Sherman plays 1920s stars including Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo, with their extreme eyebrow arches, turbans and theatrical poses. 
 
&quot;Imitation of Life&quot; will also include Sherman&#39;s black comedy film &quot;Office Killer,&quot; a special screening of the artist&#39;s directorial debut, appropriately looping in a city defined by its film industry. 
(AFP)

Cindy plays her own model, donning elaborate costumes and garish makeup, that play on cinematic imagery

Long before the selfie, there was Cindy Sherman, the shape-shifting artist best-known for her often grotesque self-portraits. For the first time in 20 years, some of her most influential works are going on view at Los Angeles's Broad Museum, focusing on Hollywood's feminine cliches in the city that invented them. From blond Hitchcock starlets to aging socialites to pin-up housewives, Sherman has imitated the spectrum of feminine tropes. "She's produced some of the most influential work of her time," said Philipp Kaiser, the curator of the exhibition "Imitation of Life," which opened last Saturday. One of the world's most celebrated contemporary artists, Sherman's works are worth millions and consistently break auction records. The artist plays her own model, donning elaborate costumes and garish makeup, that play on cinematic imagery. Her all-encompassing retrospective includes work that plays off stereotypes from Hollywood's Golden Age, B-list horror films and even porn. The show, which runs until October, draws "on cinema roles in the shaping of identity and stereotypes" said Joanne Heyler, director of the Broad Museum, at a press event. In the first major exhibition at the Broad since its grand opening last September, 120 pieces created over four decades by Sherman are on view. The works come mostly from the collection of real estate mogul and philanthropist Eli Broad, a long-time collector of the 62-year-old artist's work. Broad designed Los Angeles's newest contemporary art museum to house his vast art holdings, including the world's largest collection of Sherman pieces. "Cindy has held for a long time a very special place in our collection," said the wealthy businessman, who remembers being "dazzled" when he discovered her work in the 1980s. The show is coming at a poignant moment, as critics lambast Hollywood for the lack of recognition given to women in the industry, at the same time that Hillary Clinton could become the first woman in the White House. "It's a particularly interesting time to present to the public the work of an artist which questions the way the media shape feminine identity in images, and how, as an artist, she talks back to these images," said Heyler. Each of her photographs resemble a short silent film, added Heyler. Submission and the male gaze Sherman sometimes employs the same techniques old Hollywood is known for, including large-scale projections that resemble frozen movie screens, reproduced on entire walls of the Broad. She also poses with comically frightened expressions, as if taken aback in the style of a "damsel in distress," putting herself in submissive positions. In another image, she takes the opposite perspective and adopts the "male gaze," expressing desire with a bold stare. The New York artist's body of work also includes imagery from fashion magazines, like a satirical photo series that plays on images from the 80s. In those works Sherman poses in chic designer outfits with chalky makeup, slumped shoulders and greasy hair. On aging Sherman is her own model, therefore, her subjects age along with her, Heyler told AFP. The artist's 2008 series satirizes aging society women, clad in sequins with impeccable blowouts. In her most recent pieces, recently shown in New York, Sherman plays 1920s stars including Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo, with their extreme eyebrow arches, turbans and theatrical poses. "Imitation of Life" will also include Sherman's black comedy film "Office Killer," a special screening of the artist's directorial debut, appropriately looping in a city defined by its film industry. (AFP)

From blond Hitchcock starlets to pin-up housewives, artist Cindy Sherman's exhibition confronts feminine Hollywood chiches

They call him the &quot;Picasso of patisserie,&quot; the man who has made his melt-in-the-mouth macarons an international object of desire. 
 
Pierre Herme, who the &quot;World&#39;s 50 Best Restaurants&quot; classification crowned best pastry chef Monday, has elevated the simple but delicate French specialty into an artform. 
 
But the larger than life creator, the fourth generation of a family of master bakers from the Alsace region of eastern France, started out not liking macarons at all. 
 
&quot;I found them too sweet,&quot; Herme -- who dreamed of being a cake maker since he was nine -- told AFP. 
 
That&#39;s why he dedicated himself to making the soft little meringue-like biscuits made of almond flour, egg whites and sugar, a great deal more exciting. 
 
&quot;What prompted me to work on macarons was that before there were just coffee, chocolate and vanilla flavours,&quot; he added. &quot;So it gave me great latitude for creativity.&quot; 
 
Astonishing inventiveness quickly became Herme&#39;s trademark. 
 
He married unlikely ingredients and fillings such as olive oil and vanilla, or wild rose hip, fig and foie gras to exquisite effect, insisting that sugar should be used as a &quot;seasoning and not a principal ingredient.&quot; 
 
Instead, his famous laboratory near Parc Monceau in central Paris works on the intensity of taste, turning out such classics as the &quot;Ispahan&quot; -- made with raspberries, lychee and rosewater -- and the &quot;Mogador,&quot; a sublime combination of passion fruit and milk chocolate. 
 
- &#39;Dior of desserts&#39; - 
Despite his mother&#39;s protestations, Herme apprenticed himself to the great Parisian patissier Gaston Lenotre at the age 14 before leaving to join the rival house Fauchon a few years later. 
 
Having spent the 1980s developing his art -- during which time he also worked for Laduree, famous for its pastel-coloured macarons -- he went out on his own in 1997. 
 
The following year, he opened his first shop in Japan, and soon his creations were becoming objects of conspicuous consumption, often given as presents in beautifully designed boxes. 
 
Herme insisted constant experimentation is the root of his success. 
 
He begins each new creation with a drawing and by writing out the recipe, often inspired by &quot;something I have tasted, something I have read or maybe an image,&quot; he told AFP. 
 
He then calls in his team of patisserie chefs who work in his laboratory, which is housed in the 19th-century Parisian mansion where he has his office. 
 
But not all of his ideas are successful. 
 
&quot;For example, we worked on a pear and chestnut macaron. But after three attempts, we had to admit that we were never going to make one that had both the true taste of pear and of chestnut at the same time,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;So I decided to make a chestnut one and a pear one and sell them together.&quot; 
 
Herme, 54, who keeps all the notes from his experiments in his archive, is also a longtime collaborator with artists and perfumiers, including Jean-Michel Duriez, the &quot;nose&quot; of the Rochas brand of perfume. 
 
The French artist Nicolas Buffe has decorated his new chocolate boxes with drawings in his &quot;fairytale Manga&quot; style. 
 
Although Herme long ago expanded into tarts, cakes, chocolates and jams, the core of his business remains macarons, which cost 2.10 euros ($2.36) each in his Paris boutiques. 
 
&quot;I consider the creation of pastries as an Art with a capital &#39;A&#39;... just like music, painting or sculpture,&quot; Herme proclaims on his website. 
 
And the &quot;Dior of desserts&quot; also rejoices in the revival of high-end patisserie in France, which he has to some degree inspired. 
 
&quot;There are more and more talented patissiers out there opening shops and doing great things in hotels and restaurants. The profession is very much alive and there are lots of people eager to learn, which is wonderful,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;Twenty years ago when you said that you wanted to be a patissier, people would say, &#39;Really?&#39;&quot; Herme added. 
 
&quot;From the age of nine I wanted to be a patissier. My mother tried to talk me out of it, but it didn&#39;t work.&quot;

One wouldn't have guessed but Pierre Herme, the fourth generation of a family of master bakers, started out not liking macarons

They call him the "Picasso of patisserie," the man who has made his melt-in-the-mouth macarons an international object of desire. Pierre Herme, who the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" classification crowned best pastry chef Monday, has elevated the simple but delicate French specialty into an artform. But the larger than life creator, the fourth generation of a family of master bakers from the Alsace region of eastern France, started out not liking macarons at all. "I found them too sweet," Herme -- who dreamed of being a cake maker since he was nine -- told AFP. That's why he dedicated himself to making the soft little meringue-like biscuits made of almond flour, egg whites and sugar, a great deal more exciting. "What prompted me to work on macarons was that before there were just coffee, chocolate and vanilla flavours," he added. "So it gave me great latitude for creativity." Astonishing inventiveness quickly became Herme's trademark. He married unlikely ingredients and fillings such as olive oil and vanilla, or wild rose hip, fig and foie gras to exquisite effect, insisting that sugar should be used as a "seasoning and not a principal ingredient." Instead, his famous laboratory near Parc Monceau in central Paris works on the intensity of taste, turning out such classics as the "Ispahan" -- made with raspberries, lychee and rosewater -- and the "Mogador," a sublime combination of passion fruit and milk chocolate. - 'Dior of desserts' - Despite his mother's protestations, Herme apprenticed himself to the great Parisian patissier Gaston Lenotre at the age 14 before leaving to join the rival house Fauchon a few years later. Having spent the 1980s developing his art -- during which time he also worked for Laduree, famous for its pastel-coloured macarons -- he went out on his own in 1997. The following year, he opened his first shop in Japan, and soon his creations were becoming objects of conspicuous consumption, often given as presents in beautifully designed boxes. Herme insisted constant experimentation is the root of his success. He begins each new creation with a drawing and by writing out the recipe, often inspired by "something I have tasted, something I have read or maybe an image," he told AFP. He then calls in his team of patisserie chefs who work in his laboratory, which is housed in the 19th-century Parisian mansion where he has his office. But not all of his ideas are successful. "For example, we worked on a pear and chestnut macaron. But after three attempts, we had to admit that we were never going to make one that had both the true taste of pear and of chestnut at the same time," he said. "So I decided to make a chestnut one and a pear one and sell them together." Herme, 54, who keeps all the notes from his experiments in his archive, is also a longtime collaborator with artists and perfumiers, including Jean-Michel Duriez, the "nose" of the Rochas brand of perfume. The French artist Nicolas Buffe has decorated his new chocolate boxes with drawings in his "fairytale Manga" style. Although Herme long ago expanded into tarts, cakes, chocolates and jams, the core of his business remains macarons, which cost 2.10 euros ($2.36) each in his Paris boutiques. "I consider the creation of pastries as an Art with a capital 'A'... just like music, painting or sculpture," Herme proclaims on his website. And the "Dior of desserts" also rejoices in the revival of high-end patisserie in France, which he has to some degree inspired. "There are more and more talented patissiers out there opening shops and doing great things in hotels and restaurants. The profession is very much alive and there are lots of people eager to learn, which is wonderful," he said. "Twenty years ago when you said that you wanted to be a patissier, people would say, 'Really?'" Herme added. "From the age of nine I wanted to be a patissier. My mother tried to talk me out of it, but it didn't work."

Picasso of Patisserie: This man is the world's best pastry maker

The founder of Chiang Mai&#39;s Elephant Nature Park (ENP), Sangduen Chailert, likes to sing lullabies to the animals to put them to sleep. 
 
Sangduen said she started singing to a baby elephant that was difficult to handle six years ago. After a while, she realised her songs were calming it down and made it easier to approach. 
 
She then tried it out with other animals and realised the singing relaxed them so much it put them to sleep. 
 
While 7-year-old elephant Fah Mai took a nap after a lullaby, three-year-old Dok Mai climbed on top of her. 
 
Sangduen said Dok Mai is an elephant prone to jealousy, and that the others all have their own characters. 
 
&quot;Their behaviour is not different from humans. From my experience, some elephants are very shy, some are funny, some are serious. There are various personalities that I have seen, like one who has a loud voice, or they argue because they are jealous,&quot; she said. 
 
Although Fah Mai was born in the sanctuary, she&#39;s one of a few. Many of the elephants at ENP were abused and then rescued. 
 
Sangduen said animal abuse stemmed from fear. 
 
&quot;We are afraid of big animals. This is the reason why humans build their walls to protect themselves from what they are afraid of. And from the way we try to protect ourselves, we come into conflict with animals. Our fear is of the obstacle (to having a good relationship with animals),&quot; Sangduen added. 
 
ENP is a 280-acre sanctuary, home to more than 70 elephants. 
(Reuters)

Sangduen Chailert, founder of Chiang Mai's Elephant Nature Park, first sang to a baby elephant that was difficult to handle six years ago

The founder of Chiang Mai's Elephant Nature Park (ENP), Sangduen Chailert, likes to sing lullabies to the animals to put them to sleep. Sangduen said she started singing to a baby elephant that was difficult to handle six years ago. After a while, she realised her songs were calming it down and made it easier to approach. She then tried it out with other animals and realised the singing relaxed them so much it put them to sleep. While 7-year-old elephant Fah Mai took a nap after a lullaby, three-year-old Dok Mai climbed on top of her. Sangduen said Dok Mai is an elephant prone to jealousy, and that the others all have their own characters. "Their behaviour is not different from humans. From my experience, some elephants are very shy, some are funny, some are serious. There are various personalities that I have seen, like one who has a loud voice, or they argue because they are jealous," she said. Although Fah Mai was born in the sanctuary, she's one of a few. Many of the elephants at ENP were abused and then rescued. Sangduen said animal abuse stemmed from fear. "We are afraid of big animals. This is the reason why humans build their walls to protect themselves from what they are afraid of. And from the way we try to protect ourselves, we come into conflict with animals. Our fear is of the obstacle (to having a good relationship with animals)," Sangduen added. ENP is a 280-acre sanctuary, home to more than 70 elephants. (Reuters)

Hush Little Baby! Elephants at Thailand sanctuary fall asleep to lullabies

IMAGE TO BE UPDATED DO NOT PUBLISH 
 
Italy&#39;s &quot;Osteria Francescana&quot; was crowned world&#39;s best restaurant of 2016 at an awards ceremony in New York on Monday, the first Italian establishment to win the annual accolade. 
 
Run by chef Massimo Bottura, &quot;Osteria Francescana&quot; pipped last year&#39;s winner, Spain&#39;s &quot;El Celler de Can Roca,&quot; in the World&#39;s 50 Best Restaurants awards, after coming second in 2015. 
 
The Italian chef, whose world-famous restaurant in Modena came number three in 2013 and 2014, was emotional in accepting his award. 
 
&quot;I want to thank everyone because it&#39;s been so hard, our job is all about art work&quot;, an ecstatic Bottura told the ceremony. &quot;It&#39;s all about our work, in the kitchen every day to work and succeed.&quot; 
 
With Spain&#39;s &quot;El Celler de Can Roca&quot; knocked down to second place, the third spot went to New York&#39;s &quot;Eleven Madison Park.&quot; 
 
The top 10 was rounded out by restaurants in Peru, Denmark -- former four-time winner &quot;Noma&quot; -- France, Spain, Japan, and Austria. 
 
Three French chefs won individual honors, with Alain Passard of Arpege given a lifetime achievement award, French-born Dominique Crenn named best female chef and Pierre Herme best pastry chef. 
 
The accolades came after critics complained last year that the system was open to abuse since the jury do not have to offer physical evidence of having actually visited any particular restaurant. 
 
The bulk of those complaints came from France, which in 2016 made it into the top 10 for the first time in three years but has never managed to win first prize. 
 
The board praised Bottura for his twists on traditional ingredients and his &quot;Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano&quot; in particular. 
 
The awards said he crafted the world-famous cheese into &quot;forms and textures most diners will never have previously experienced&quot;. 
 
&quot;The chef&#39;s ambitious creations perfectly balance the demands of honoring heritage while embracing modernity,&quot; the board added. 
 
They praised his menu of &quot;deliciously executed classics&quot; such as tagliatelle with hand-chopped ragu and risotto cooked with veal jus. 
 
The 2016 list included restaurants in 23 countries on six continents -- but half were in Europe. Asia and the United States each had six in the top 50, while South America and Scandinavia each had five. 
 
Spain had seven restaurants on the list, including three in the top 10. 
 
The awards, run by trade magazine Restaurant, began in 2002 and have become a reference for the world&#39;s foodies, but were hit last year by allegations of cosy deals between restaurants and jury members. 
 
The contest is run by British media company William Reed, and criticism has focused on the methodology used to select the best restaurants. 
 
Its jury is made up of 972 experts, including food writers, chefs, restaurant owners and gourmets. Members list their choices in order of preference, based on where they have eaten in the past 18 months. 
 
There is no pre-determined checklist of criteria, but there are strict voting rules. 
 
In the face of complaints, the organizers say consultancy firm Deloitte oversees voting, to ensure the &quot;integrity and authenticity&quot; of the process. (AFP) 
 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

The contest run by British media company William Reed consists of a jury made up of 972 experts

IMAGE TO BE UPDATED DO NOT PUBLISH Italy's "Osteria Francescana" was crowned world's best restaurant of 2016 at an awards ceremony in New York on Monday, the first Italian establishment to win the annual accolade. Run by chef Massimo Bottura, "Osteria Francescana" pipped last year's winner, Spain's "El Celler de Can Roca," in the World's 50 Best Restaurants awards, after coming second in 2015. The Italian chef, whose world-famous restaurant in Modena came number three in 2013 and 2014, was emotional in accepting his award. "I want to thank everyone because it's been so hard, our job is all about art work", an ecstatic Bottura told the ceremony. "It's all about our work, in the kitchen every day to work and succeed." With Spain's "El Celler de Can Roca" knocked down to second place, the third spot went to New York's "Eleven Madison Park." The top 10 was rounded out by restaurants in Peru, Denmark -- former four-time winner "Noma" -- France, Spain, Japan, and Austria. Three French chefs won individual honors, with Alain Passard of Arpege given a lifetime achievement award, French-born Dominique Crenn named best female chef and Pierre Herme best pastry chef. The accolades came after critics complained last year that the system was open to abuse since the jury do not have to offer physical evidence of having actually visited any particular restaurant. The bulk of those complaints came from France, which in 2016 made it into the top 10 for the first time in three years but has never managed to win first prize. The board praised Bottura for his twists on traditional ingredients and his "Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano" in particular. The awards said he crafted the world-famous cheese into "forms and textures most diners will never have previously experienced". "The chef's ambitious creations perfectly balance the demands of honoring heritage while embracing modernity," the board added. They praised his menu of "deliciously executed classics" such as tagliatelle with hand-chopped ragu and risotto cooked with veal jus. The 2016 list included restaurants in 23 countries on six continents -- but half were in Europe. Asia and the United States each had six in the top 50, while South America and Scandinavia each had five. Spain had seven restaurants on the list, including three in the top 10. The awards, run by trade magazine Restaurant, began in 2002 and have become a reference for the world's foodies, but were hit last year by allegations of cosy deals between restaurants and jury members. The contest is run by British media company William Reed, and criticism has focused on the methodology used to select the best restaurants. Its jury is made up of 972 experts, including food writers, chefs, restaurant owners and gourmets. Members list their choices in order of preference, based on where they have eaten in the past 18 months. There is no pre-determined checklist of criteria, but there are strict voting rules. In the face of complaints, the organizers say consultancy firm Deloitte oversees voting, to ensure the "integrity and authenticity" of the process. (AFP)

Italy's 'Osteria Francescana' wins world's best restaurant award

The Magic Kingdom comes to the Middle Kingdom this week when Disney opens its first theme park in mainland China, betting the growing middle class will spend big on leisure despite a slowing economy. 
 
The $5.5 billion resort, which opens Thursday, features the world&#39;s biggest Disney castle, its blue-topped spires rising above land once occupied by farms and small factories on the outskirts of commercial hub Shanghai. 
 
Disney is seeking to attract crowds with a boat ride based on the &quot;Pirates of the Caribbean&quot;, a show from the mega-hit &quot;Frozen&quot; and a &quot;Star Wars&quot; attraction populated by characters from the science-fiction saga among the draws featuring the company&#39;s movies. 
 
The project broke ground in April 2011, with Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger telling reporters it would be a &quot;significant milestone&quot; in the company&#39;s history. 
 
But the opening comes as China&#39;s economic growth has dropped to its weakest level in a quarter of a century, a disappointing end to decades of double-digit growth spurred by government infrastructure spending. 
 
Nevertheless, Disney is hoping weak economic indicators will not stop China&#39;s burgeoning middle class from descending on Shanghai Disney Resort in droves, a bet backed by a Chinese government push to increase domestic consumption. 
 
China is banking that consumers -- the same kind willing to spend on food, lodging, and souvenirs in Mickey Mouse&#39;s new house -- will become a powerful growth engine for the world&#39;s second largest economy. 
 
However, Disney isn&#39;t the only company looking to tap into the rising consumer class, who are increasingly spoiled for choice. 
 
China is building theme parks faster than any other country in the world, with more than 300 projects receiving funding in recent years, according to the National Business Daily newspaper. 
 
Last year alone, 21 parks opened and another 20 were under construction, it said. 
 
Universal Studios is planning a theme park near Beijing, while DreamWorks Animation is cooperating on an entertainment district in Shanghai. 
 
And it isn&#39;t just the foreign giants who are chasing the Chinese fairy tale. 
 
Last month, local tycoon Wang Jianlin, who is building his own string of theme parks and reportedly has close ties to China&#39;s leadership, criticised Disney for a cultural &quot;invasion&quot; just days before opening his &quot;Wanda Culture and Tourism City&quot; in Nanchang to the south of Shanghai. 
 
&quot;This craze for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck is over. The period when we would blindly follow where Disney led has been gone for years,&quot; said Wang, founder of the Wanda company which bought Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion in January. 
 
Despite tough talk from competitors, Disney&#39;s position as the guardian of generations of children&#39;s dreams made it an attractive prospect for Shanghai, whose leaders are hoping a little bit of fairy dust will rub off on the city&#39;s tourism industry. 
 
The plan to build the park was floated as early as 1999&nbsp;but was shelved to allow Hong Kong -- a special administrative region of China -- to get its Disney park up and running in 2005. 
 
Hong Kong Disneyland struggled for years to turn a profit after opening&nbsp;and reportedly plunged back into the red last year due to a fall in mainland Chinese visitors. 
 
Shanghai has pulled out all the stops for Disney -- whose Chinese partner for the project is state-backed Shanghai Shendi Group -- by building new infrastructure and cracking down on violations of the company&#39;s intellectual property. 
 
Early indications are good. At least a million people had already visited the resort area -- which includes a shopping and entertainment zone accessible without tickets -- before opening day, a local official said. 
 
Disney calculates there are 330 million people living within a three-hour journey of Shanghai -- many, it reckons, are potential visitors prepared to pay either the peak period entrance fee of 499 yuan ($76)&nbsp;or the 370 yuan ($56) at other times. 
 
&quot;Some people with average incomes may find Disney too expensive,&quot; Professor He Jianmin of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics told AFP, adding that Disney needs to attract people with higher earnings living in the country&#39;s booming eastern region. 
 
&quot;The Shanghai park has the potential to become one of the world&#39;s most profitable Disney parks,&quot; he said.

Despite slowing economy, Disney hopes China's rising consumer class will spend on leisure

The Magic Kingdom comes to the Middle Kingdom this week when Disney opens its first theme park in mainland China, betting the growing middle class will spend big on leisure despite a slowing economy. The $5.5 billion resort, which opens Thursday, features the world's biggest Disney castle, its blue-topped spires rising above land once occupied by farms and small factories on the outskirts of commercial hub Shanghai. Disney is seeking to attract crowds with a boat ride based on the "Pirates of the Caribbean", a show from the mega-hit "Frozen" and a "Star Wars" attraction populated by characters from the science-fiction saga among the draws featuring the company's movies. The project broke ground in April 2011, with Disney chairman and chief executive Bob Iger telling reporters it would be a "significant milestone" in the company's history. But the opening comes as China's economic growth has dropped to its weakest level in a quarter of a century, a disappointing end to decades of double-digit growth spurred by government infrastructure spending. Nevertheless, Disney is hoping weak economic indicators will not stop China's burgeoning middle class from descending on Shanghai Disney Resort in droves, a bet backed by a Chinese government push to increase domestic consumption. China is banking that consumers -- the same kind willing to spend on food, lodging, and souvenirs in Mickey Mouse's new house -- will become a powerful growth engine for the world's second largest economy. However, Disney isn't the only company looking to tap into the rising consumer class, who are increasingly spoiled for choice. China is building theme parks faster than any other country in the world, with more than 300 projects receiving funding in recent years, according to the National Business Daily newspaper. Last year alone, 21 parks opened and another 20 were under construction, it said. Universal Studios is planning a theme park near Beijing, while DreamWorks Animation is cooperating on an entertainment district in Shanghai. And it isn't just the foreign giants who are chasing the Chinese fairy tale. Last month, local tycoon Wang Jianlin, who is building his own string of theme parks and reportedly has close ties to China's leadership, criticised Disney for a cultural "invasion" just days before opening his "Wanda Culture and Tourism City" in Nanchang to the south of Shanghai. "This craze for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck is over. The period when we would blindly follow where Disney led has been gone for years," said Wang, founder of the Wanda company which bought Hollywood studio Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion in January. Despite tough talk from competitors, Disney's position as the guardian of generations of children's dreams made it an attractive prospect for Shanghai, whose leaders are hoping a little bit of fairy dust will rub off on the city's tourism industry. The plan to build the park was floated as early as 1999 but was shelved to allow Hong Kong -- a special administrative region of China -- to get its Disney park up and running in 2005. Hong Kong Disneyland struggled for years to turn a profit after opening and reportedly plunged back into the red last year due to a fall in mainland Chinese visitors. Shanghai has pulled out all the stops for Disney -- whose Chinese partner for the project is state-backed Shanghai Shendi Group -- by building new infrastructure and cracking down on violations of the company's intellectual property. Early indications are good. At least a million people had already visited the resort area -- which includes a shopping and entertainment zone accessible without tickets -- before opening day, a local official said. Disney calculates there are 330 million people living within a three-hour journey of Shanghai -- many, it reckons, are potential visitors prepared to pay either the peak period entrance fee of 499 yuan ($76) or the 370 yuan ($56) at other times. "Some people with average incomes may find Disney too expensive," Professor He Jianmin of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics told AFP, adding that Disney needs to attract people with higher earnings living in the country's booming eastern region. "The Shanghai park has the potential to become one of the world's most profitable Disney parks," he said.

Disney opens its first theme park in Shanghai

The vehicle import norms in Cuba have been relaxed in 2013. But Havana is still home to some of these classic beauties.

A vintage roll through Havana

For centuries, many have pondered what lies behind the Mona Lisa&#39;s enigmatic smile, but it was more of a rhetorical question. Now art lovers can literally discover what the back of Da Vinci&#39;s masterpiece looks like. 
 
In a unique and quirky Dutch exhibition, Brazilian artist Vik Muniz displays about 15 painstakingly recreated exact reproductions of the backs of some of the world&#39;s most famous paintings. 
 
There&#39;s Vincent Van Gogh&#39;s &quot;Starry Night&quot; leaning facing the wall across the room from Vermeer&#39;s &quot;The Girl with a Pearl Earring&quot;. A massive, almost bare, wooden frame is the stark reverse side of Rembrandt&#39;s haunting &quot;The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp&quot;. 
 
The paintings looking shockingly exposed, their backs bared, and visitors to the exhibition at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague could be forgiven for thinking they have accidentally wandered into a storage room. 
 
But a closer look reveals a fascinating trip into the history of each painting, who owned it and where it travelled, as well as changing tastes in art conservation. 
 
On his first museum visit as a schoolboy, Muniz was instantly intrigued not by the artworks, but by the mechanics and artistry of their backs. 
 
The Museum of Art of Sao Paulo had displayed the paintings on glass easels and exiting the building the backs were boldly on display for all to see. 
 
As &quot;an eight-year-old I wasn&#39;t very interested in paintings. I was very fascinated that all the paintings from the back, they looked like machines, contraptions. They looked like things that did things&quot;, Muniz told AFP. 
 
&quot;And in fact, they do. They serve a purpose. They are instruments for preserving history&quot;. 
 
His curiosity was later revived in a startling moment when as an adult on a visit to the Guggenheim in New York, he was given a look at the back of Picasso&#39;s &quot;Ironing Woma&quot;. 
 
&quot;It was like looking at a naked person&quot;, he recalled. An interest was reborn, and when photographing the backs of paintings failed to satisfy his creative spirit, he conceived the idea of actually copying the backs of some of the world&#39;s best-loved masterpieces. 
 
It was not always simple. It took six years of negotiations with the Louvre in Paris to be able to study the back of &quot;The Mona Lisa&quot;. 
 
The &quot;Vik Muniz: Verso&quot; exhibition, which opened on Thursday in The Hague until September 4, is now the first full show of these works. 
 
It is extraordinarily intimate, drawing the visitor back through the centuries, forcing them to peer closely at what are more usually neglected parts of an artwork. 
 
&quot;Joconde&quot; is scrawled in a faded black flourish on the back of &quot;The Mona Lisa&quot;, close to arrows pointing up to show which is the top. A small red triangle painted on the backs of the Dutch masters is a sign that in war time they are part of a priceless cultural heritage which must be saved first. 
 
A bevvy of stickers from the world&#39;s top museums, The Tate Gallery, the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Guggenheim, traces the exhibitions which &quot;The Smokers&quot; by Fernand Leger painted in 1911-1912 has been part of. 
 
&quot;The front of the painting tells of the intention of preserving a moment forever&quot;, Muniz said. &quot;The image is supposed to last exactly the way it is for millennia to come&quot;. 
 
&quot;The back of the painting tells the story of changing. It&#39;s where the painting has been&quot;. 
 
The Mauritshuis gave Muniz -- renowned for his eclectic art works often in an unusual medium such as chocolate, rubbish or sugar -- unparalleled access to its most iconic works from the Dutch Golden Age and he and his team have created five new reproductions. 
 
Joining &quot;Pearl Earring&quot; and &quot;The Anatomy Lesson&quot;, are Vermeer&#39;s &quot;View of Delft&quot; and &quot;The Goldfinch&quot; by Carel Fabritius, as well as Frans Post&#39;s &quot;View of Itamarca Island in Brazil&quot;. 
 
For future projects, Muniz is already eyeing Gustav Klimt&#39;s &quot;The Kiss&quot; hanging in Vienna, and Edvard Munch&#39;s &quot;The Scream&quot; -- which in an added challenge has another painting on its back. 
 
For Mauritshuis paintings conservator Abbie Vandivere it was an exciting moment when &quot;Pearl Earring&quot; came off the wall -- something which doesn&#39;t happen often. 
 
&quot;But you can&#39;t tell from the back that there&#39;s this very famous painting on the front&quot;, she laughed. (AFP)

The unique exhibition displays 15 exact copies of the backs of some of the world's most famous paintings

For centuries, many have pondered what lies behind the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile, but it was more of a rhetorical question. Now art lovers can literally discover what the back of Da Vinci's masterpiece looks like. In a unique and quirky Dutch exhibition, Brazilian artist Vik Muniz displays about 15 painstakingly recreated exact reproductions of the backs of some of the world's most famous paintings. There's Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night" leaning facing the wall across the room from Vermeer's "The Girl with a Pearl Earring". A massive, almost bare, wooden frame is the stark reverse side of Rembrandt's haunting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp". The paintings looking shockingly exposed, their backs bared, and visitors to the exhibition at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague could be forgiven for thinking they have accidentally wandered into a storage room. But a closer look reveals a fascinating trip into the history of each painting, who owned it and where it travelled, as well as changing tastes in art conservation. On his first museum visit as a schoolboy, Muniz was instantly intrigued not by the artworks, but by the mechanics and artistry of their backs. The Museum of Art of Sao Paulo had displayed the paintings on glass easels and exiting the building the backs were boldly on display for all to see. As "an eight-year-old I wasn't very interested in paintings. I was very fascinated that all the paintings from the back, they looked like machines, contraptions. They looked like things that did things", Muniz told AFP. "And in fact, they do. They serve a purpose. They are instruments for preserving history". His curiosity was later revived in a startling moment when as an adult on a visit to the Guggenheim in New York, he was given a look at the back of Picasso's "Ironing Woma". "It was like looking at a naked person", he recalled. An interest was reborn, and when photographing the backs of paintings failed to satisfy his creative spirit, he conceived the idea of actually copying the backs of some of the world's best-loved masterpieces. It was not always simple. It took six years of negotiations with the Louvre in Paris to be able to study the back of "The Mona Lisa". The "Vik Muniz: Verso" exhibition, which opened on Thursday in The Hague until September 4, is now the first full show of these works. It is extraordinarily intimate, drawing the visitor back through the centuries, forcing them to peer closely at what are more usually neglected parts of an artwork. "Joconde" is scrawled in a faded black flourish on the back of "The Mona Lisa", close to arrows pointing up to show which is the top. A small red triangle painted on the backs of the Dutch masters is a sign that in war time they are part of a priceless cultural heritage which must be saved first. A bevvy of stickers from the world's top museums, The Tate Gallery, the Centre Georges Pompidou and the Guggenheim, traces the exhibitions which "The Smokers" by Fernand Leger painted in 1911-1912 has been part of. "The front of the painting tells of the intention of preserving a moment forever", Muniz said. "The image is supposed to last exactly the way it is for millennia to come". "The back of the painting tells the story of changing. It's where the painting has been". The Mauritshuis gave Muniz -- renowned for his eclectic art works often in an unusual medium such as chocolate, rubbish or sugar -- unparalleled access to its most iconic works from the Dutch Golden Age and he and his team have created five new reproductions. Joining "Pearl Earring" and "The Anatomy Lesson", are Vermeer's "View of Delft" and "The Goldfinch" by Carel Fabritius, as well as Frans Post's "View of Itamarca Island in Brazil". For future projects, Muniz is already eyeing Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" hanging in Vienna, and Edvard Munch's "The Scream" -- which in an added challenge has another painting on its back. For Mauritshuis paintings conservator Abbie Vandivere it was an exciting moment when "Pearl Earring" came off the wall -- something which doesn't happen often. "But you can't tell from the back that there's this very famous painting on the front", she laughed. (AFP)

Dutch expo reveals the flipside of art

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