Blanchett, other prominent Aussies back carbon tax

Actress Cate Blanchett and former conservative Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser are among prominent Australians who threw their support Monday behind the unpopular government plan to tax major polluters for the carbon gas they emit.

Blanchett and Fraser were among 140 personalities and organizations who signed a petition distributed to federal lawmakers supporting the center-left government's plan to make polluters pay for every ton of carbon gas they produce in a bid to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

The petition — whose signatories also include a Roman Catholic bishop and a Nobel Laureate scientist — is part of a $1 million national newspaper and television advertising campaign funded by environmental groups and unionists.

The conservative opposition Liberal Party is opposed to making polluters pay. The governing Labor Party wants to tax polluters starting in July 2012, and is locked in negotiations with the minor Greens party and independent lawmakers on how much the tax should be on a ton of carbon.

Opinion polls show that both the tax and Labor are unpopular with voters.

John Hewson, an economist and a former Liberal Party leader who signed the petition, said Australian business leaders were not signatories because they are historically slow to respond to economic challenges.

"The business community's starting to come on board," Hewson told reporters at Parliament House.

"It's a pity they're not leading this debate. Unfortunately, as on many occasions in the past, they come, but they come late," he said.

The Business Council of Australia, a leading business lobby, has called for the tax to be set at 10 Australian dollars ($10.69) per metric ton (1.1 tons), while the Greens want the tax to be four times higher. The government has said it will set the price by July.

Liberal Leader Tony Abbott called the proposal a "toxic tax" that businesses increasingly oppose.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said her government would meet its target of slashing Australia's greenhouse gas emissions to at least 5 percent below 2000 levels by the year 2020.

Australia is one of the world's worst greenhouse gas emitters per capita because of its heavy reliance on abundant reserves of cheap coal for power generation.

William, Kate TV movie being shot in Romania

BUCHAREST, Romania – Barely a month after their fairy-tale wedding, a new film depicting the budding romance of Prince William and Kate Middleton is being rushed out for television viewers.

A mixture of fact and fiction, "William & Kate: A Royal Love Story" is expected to be released in August on the Hallmark Channel.

Director Linda Yellen took some time out from filming at MediaPro Studios in Romania to speak with The Associated Press. The American was also producer of CBS's "The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana" in 1982, a film that had a huge audience at the time.

"William & Kate" is more than a romance — it's also "a psychological story of the memory of the mother, in this case Princess Diana, and her legacy," Yellen said. The film shows how William "has to choose to live his life with her memory and with the decisions he has to make," including the decision of whom to marry.

The couple was married April 29 in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey watched by millions. Filming began in early May and AP Television cameras were given exclusive access to the set.

Yellen, who met Princess Diana three times, called the movie "a very personal story. In a way, it's my tribute to her as well as a tribute to the young couple."

Yellen, whose father died on the first day of shooting the film, said her loss made her better understand some of the scenes where William communicates with his mother in a spiritual way. She wrote the script in two weeks, after she saw William had given Diana's ring to Middleton.

"The whole story came to me in that moment," she said.

While using real events and words that were told in real life, there are also dialogues she's written and situations she imagined. One such scene depicts William's 21st birthday party, with Kate and William dancing together as Queen Elizabeth II looks on. Guests are dressed in vividly colored African costumes with tables laid for a feast in a large hall with ornate arcades. There are statues of elephants and potted palm trees in the background as Kate and William are having fun — and falling in love.

British actress Alice St. Clair, who plays Middleton, said the film — her first — is a series of snapshots of the relationship between the couple and tracks their developing friendship. She said it shows how William is attracted to Kate, with whom he shares a sense of humor, because she challenges him and is very competitive.

St. Clair, who has short hair but wears extensions for the movie, acknowledges she was not "a carbon-copy of Kate." "We were not trying to mimic her but ... to show the essence of her and bring my own self into it," the actress, wearing a blue gown and fascinator, said during a break from filming.

American actor Dan Amboyer, who plays William, called the film "a modern fairy tale." Amboyer, who made his debut in the "Law & Order" series, said the "script is smart, is fun, there is real wit between them. It's not at all schmaltzy."

In the film, the two meet by chance when William bumps into Kate who was carrying laundry. Amboyer said his character learns from her about ordinary things such as cooking a meal or doing the laundry. There are friends, parties, the breakup, the makeup and of course the British royal family.

Oscar-nominated Jane Alexander is Queen Elizabeth II, a grandmother pondering whether Kate is right for Will and for the throne.

"We don't show a lot of disapproval or doubt," she said, "but you see her (the queen) questioning Kate about her public speaking, about what she calls training."

"I think she is trying to make sure that what happened with Diana and Charles does not happen with Kate and Will," Alexander said.

Singer Sean Kingston crashes watercraft in Fla.

Authorities say rapper Sean Kingston is hospitalized after crashing a personal watercraft into a Miami Beach bridge.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Jorge Pino says Kingston and a female passenger were injured when the watercraft hit the Palm Island Bridge around 6 p.m. Sunday.

Pino says both were hospitalized early Monday at Ryder Trauma Center, but he didn't know their conditions.

Pino says authorities are investigating the crash, and "nothing at this point would indicate that alcohol played a role."

A representative for his label Epic Records confirmed early Monday that Kingston was in a crash and "was now stabilized." No further information was provided.

Kingston rose to fame with his 2007 hit "Beautiful Girls" and was also featured on songs by artists including Justin Bieber.

'Taxi,' 'Grease' star Jeff Conaway dies at 60

Jeff Conaway, who starred in the sitcom "Taxi," played swaggering Kenickie in the movie musical "Grease" and publicly battled drug and alcohol addiction on "Celebrity Rehab," died Friday. He was 60.

The actor was taken off life support Thursday and died Friday morning at Encino Tarzana Medical Center, according to one of his managers, Kathryn Boole.

"It's sad that people remember his struggle with drugs. ... He has touched so many people," she said, calling Conaway a kind and intelligent man who was well read and "always so interesting to talk to. We respected him as an artist and loved him as a friend."

"He was trying so hard to get clean and sober," Boole added. "If it hadn't been for his back pain, I think he would have been able to do it."

Family members, including Conway's sisters, nieces and nephews, and his minister, were with him when he died, Boole said.

He was taken to the hospital unconscious on May 11 and placed in a medically induced coma while being treated for pneumonia and sepsis, which is blood poisoning caused by a bacterial infection.

Conaway had failed to seek medical aid, instead trying to treat himself with pain pills and cold medicine, said Phil Brock, Boole's business partner.

"He's a gentle soul with a good heart ... but he's never been able to exorcise his demons," Brock said after Conaway was hospitalized.

Conaway is the second person who appeared in the VH1 reality series "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" who later died. In March, former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, who was on the show in 2009, was found dead in Salt Lake City. The month before, police there had arrested him on suspicion of possession of medications without a required prescription.

Messages seeking comment from the show's Dr. Drew Pinsky, a physician and radio and TV personality, were not immediately returned Friday.

On his HLN network show, "Dr. Drew," Pinsky said Friday he was angry about Conaway's death, decrying what he called the ready availability of prescription opiates for a "severe drug addict" with chronic pain like Conaway.

"I told him for years it was going to kill him," Pinksy said.

What happened to Conaway is not uncommon, he said: An addict consumes too much of a drug, it enters the user's lungs and causes rapidly progressing pneumonia that he or she fails to recognize because of impairment.

There is no evidence Conaway intentionally overdosed, Pinsky said.

Conaway had acknowledged his addictive tendencies in a 1985 interview with The Associated Press, when he described turning his back on the dream of a pop music career. He'd played guitar in a 1960s band called 3 1/2 that was the opening act for groups including Herman's Hermits, The Young Rascals and The Animals.

"I thought, `If I stay in this business, I'll be dead in a year.' There were drugs all over the place and people were doing them. I had started to do them. I realized that I'd die," Conaway told the AP.

His effort to avoid addiction failed, and his battles with cocaine and other substances were painfully shared in two stints on "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew." Conaway, who'd had repeated back surgeries for an injury, blamed his cocaine use and pain pill abuse in part on his lingering back problem.

Conaway was born in New York City on Oct. 5, 1950, to parents who were in show business. His father was an actor, producer and agent, and his mother was an actress.

He made his Broadway debut in 1960 at the age of 10 in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "All the Way Home." By then his parents were divorced, and Conaway had spent a great deal of time with his grandparents who lived in the Astoria section of Queens.

"I used to hold in a lot of feelings. I'd smile a lot but I was really miserable. I didn't know it at the time, but I've figured it out since. When I was on stage, I could make people laugh," he said in 1985.

He toured in the national company of the comedy "Critic's Choice," then attended a professional high school for young actors, musicians and singers. After abandoning music he returned to acting with a two-year stint in "Grease," on Broadway (playing the lead role of Danny Zuko at one point) and eventually with the touring company.

The musical about high school love brought Conaway to Los Angeles and television, including a small part on "Happy Days" that led to larger roles. He had roles in small films and then in the movie version of "Grease" (1978), although he lost the top-billed part to John Travolta.

In 1978, he won the "Taxi" job — playing vain, struggling actor Bobby Wheeler — that put him in the company of Judd Hirsch, Danny de Vito and Andy Kaufman in what proved to be a hit for ABC.

The tall, gangly actor, with a shock of blond hair and what the late longtime AP drama critic Michael Kuchwara called a "wide-angle smile" and "a television face, just right for popular consumption," appeared a success.

But Conaway, who received two Golden Globe nominations for "Taxi," said he tired early of being a series regular, although he stayed with the series for three years, until 1981 ("Taxi" ended in 1983 after moving to NBC the year before).

"I got very depressed. Hollywood can be a terrible place when you're depressed. The pits. I decided I had to change my life and do different things," he said.

His movie career failed to ignite, however, and Conaway shifted back to TV with the short-lived 1983 fantasy series "Wizards and Warriors" and the 1985 flop "Berrengers," a drama set in a New York department store. He made a bid to return to Broadway in "The News," but the rock musical about tabloid journalism closed within days.

A 1994-98 stint in the sci-fi TV series "Babylon 5" as security chief Zack Allan proved successful, but it was followed by only scattered roles on stage, in films and TV shows. He was in the reality series "Celebrity Fit Club" in 2006 and then in "Celebrity Rehab," in which the frail Conaway used a wheelchair and blacked out on camera.

A fall in 2010 caused a broken hip and other injuries that left him in more precarious health.

Conaway told the Los Angeles Times in a January 2011 article that series producers asked him to "give them drama." But he also said he welcomed the support he received from those who viewed his struggle.

"I got a lot of love from people, and when people stop me on the street and say, `Man, your story touched me so much,' it just makes all this pain worthwhile, you know?" he said. "I don't know where actors go after they die, but I know people who help other people have a nice place to go. And I would like to go there if I can."

Conaway was wed twice, first to Rona Newton-John, sister of singer and Conaway's fellow "Grease" star Olivia Newton-John, and then to Kerri Young. It was unclear if he and Young were married at the time of his death, Boole said.

Details on funeral plans were unavailable Friday.

By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer

Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez smooch in awards ceremony audience

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Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez went fully public with their romance at the Billboard Music Awards - sharing kisses and hugs in the audience. The young lovebirds smooched as Bieber, 17, picked up six awards and dominated the star-studded ceremony. Gomez, 18, appeared to be making a good impression on her boyfriend's family, as she sat with her arm around Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette. She was, however, notably absent from her beau's two acceptance speeches. Bieber, who was wearing a gold tuxedo jacket, grinned as he took home six awards during last night's ceremony. The pint-size pop star shared a slightly awkward hug with Gomez as his name was read out as the winner of digital artist of the year. He thanked his family, his fans, manager Scooter Braun and Usher - who signed the youngster to his record label and turned him into a superstar. "Basically everyone who helped me get out of my hometown and live my dream," he said. Bieber and Gomez made up for their awkward moment as the former YouTube sensation was named the top new artist of the year. Bieber leaned in for a passionate kiss with his girlfriend and she beamed with delight as she watch her man on stage. Bieber also won awards for top pop album, top streaming artist, top song and top social media artist.

History channel gives 10 hours to 'The Bible'

 This Jan 6, 2011 file photo shows
 Mark Burnett, left, and Roma Downey
 at the Oprah Winfrey Network …

As a kid in the 1960s, reality TV king Mark Burnett was thrilled by the special-effects miracle of a sundered Red Sea in "The Ten Commandments."

"How cool was that?" said the producer of "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," who watched Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 film when it aired on television.

Now it's Burnett's turn to wow a small-screen audience with epic Scripture stories: He and his wife, actress Roma Downey, are producing the 10-part docudrama "The Bible" for the History channel.

It's set to air in 2013, History channel President Nancy Dubuc said Tuesday.

The series will combine live action with computer-generated imagery to retell stories ranging from Noah and the Ark to Exodus to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Shooting is planned for the Middle East and elsewhere.

Burnett said he and Downey (who starred in a different look at faith, the fantasy series "Touched by an Angel") have been working on the project for two years. Both grew up with Scriptures, he in England and she in Northern Ireland, but aren't on a mission, Burnett said.

"People apply personal meanings to the Bible. Our job is to tell the stories in an emotionally connected way," he said, adding that much of great literature and its characters are rooted in the book.

The cable channel, which has done religious-focused projects since it debuted, was looking for a worthy follow to the 12-hour series "America: The Story of Us," Dubuc said.

For a new generation, "The Bible" provides a way to visit the work "in a visual and entertaining way" that may encourage viewers to seek more information, she said.

The project also has global appeal, of value to History and its 150-country reach, Dubuc said.

"The Bible" is among the channel's biggest ventures, she said, declining to detail the budget.

History, which had partnered with Burnett on "Expedition Africa," had a series of talks with him about his wish to explore the Bible and his approach, Dubuc said.

It became apparent that "his vision was to do the Bible much the way we did `The Story of Us,'" she said.

There is no conflict between the new series and the channel's brand, the executive said.

"Regardless of your beliefs — and we're not drawing on any feelings about the importance of faith — this is the most-studied book of all time," she said.

"The Bible" is using the New International Version, the translation preferred by evangelical Christian leaders, and the New Revised Standard Version, Dubuc said. A committee of theologians and scholars is being assembled to consult on the series.

Burnett called it humbling to portray the Scriptures on screen and gratifying to "breathe fresh visual life into incredible stories for a global audience."

The miniseries offers rare depth and the chance to create a "legacy" project, said Burnett, 50, whose credits also include the new singing contest "The Voice" and the upcoming Emmy Awards ceremony.

"I could be 80 or 90 and it could still be on television," he said of "The Bible."

Earlier this year, History stumbled with another major project, the controversial, multimillion-dollar miniseries "The Kennedys." The channel decided not to air it, saying it had concluded the "dramatic interpretation is not a fit for the History brand." The miniseries aired in April on ReelzChannel.

History is owned by the A&E Television Networks, which itself is owned jointly by NBC Universal, the Walt Disney Co. and the Hearst Corp.

By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer

Woman named in Schwarzenegger affair hires lawyer

Reuters – Then California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger outside
 the West Wing of the White House, February 22, …

A woman identified by some media as the mother of former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's out-of-wedlock son has hired a Los Angeles law firm.

Lawyer Michael Saltz confirms that Mildred Patricia Baena of Bakersfield is being represented by the firm Jacobson, Russell, Saltz & Fingerman.

The website Radar Online first reported the hire, saying it received a letter from the firm challenging "unflattering reports" about the housekeeper.

Saltz told The Associated Press there is no plan to file litigation at this time. He declined further comment.

Schwarzenegger acknowledged fathering a child with a former household employee.

The woman has been identified as Baena by The New York Times and other media. The Associated Press has not independently verified that she is the mother of Schwarzenegger's child.

Jolie kids love adoption themes in `Kung Fu Panda'

Angelina Jolie arrives at the
 premiere of 'Kung Fu Panda 2
' in Los Angeles, Sunday, May 22,

By NATALIE ROTMAN, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – With its themes of adoption and family, "Kung Fu Panda 2" was a big hit in the Jolie-Pitt household — and not just because Angelia Jolie is one of the stars of the animated film.

Jolie says her kids connected to the story of Jolie's character, Tigress, who is shown in an orphanage.

"In my home, `adoption,' `birth mother,' `orphanage,' they are all happy words," says the actress and mother of six. "They are good words, we talk openly about them. So when they saw the film, I wondered if they were going to be affected in one way or another... But my kids loved the movie and they felt closer to Po (the panda). They thought it was funny and cool and all of it. Just made it feel that much more a part of natural life."

Co-star Jack Black, who has two children of his own, says they didn't quite get their dad's relationship to the giant panda on screen.

"My boys don't know that I am the panda. I try to explain to them: I am the voice," he said at the film's premiere Sunday. "They are like, `No. The panda is the panda and you are Da-da.'"

When Oprah says goodbye, will she really be gone?

Oprah Winfrey acknowledges
 fans during a star-studded double-taping

By FRAZIER MOORE, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK – The sun will come out on Thursday. Bet your bottom dollar.

Moreover, the Earth will almost certainly still be spinning on its axis.

Even in Chicago, the city Oprah Winfrey is abandoning, life is pretty sure to continue as normal. Expect the pizza to be as tasty and the gusts off Lake Michigan to be as persistent on Thursday as they were the day before.

This is not to say change isn't in the wind.

As everybody knows, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is ending Wednesday after a spectacularly successful, quarter-century run, and the air is thick with "we-shall-not-see-its-likes-again" eulogies.

Understandable. After being a long fixture on daytime TV as well as in the national psyche, it may be hard for us to imagine how the 60-minute void Oprah is leaving can be filled. (Though it won't need to be filled until September. "Oprah" reruns will air on most stations throughout the summer months, helping viewers through their process of withdrawal.)

The closest thing to an heir apparent seems to be "Dr. Oz," the Winfrey-produced talk show whose star, Dr. Mehmet Oz, one of Winfrey's proteges. In many markets he's being rewarded with the 4 p.m. slot where "Oprah" reigned for so long.

But there is no clear consensus. In a few markets, the former "Oprah" station will forgo any syndicated replacement and instead launch an added hour of local news.

In short, these are big shoes to fill as Oprah Winfrey walks away.

Of course, her leave-taking has caught no one by surprise. She made it official in November 2009, declaring that "the countdown to the end of `The Oprah Winfrey Show' starts now."

At the time, I invited Oprah fans to get an early start on the grieving process as they began planning how to deal with the loss. I noted that, for a generation, Winfrey "has been our moral arbiter, lifestyle coach and window on the world.

"How then," I posed, "will we manage without Oprah as a daily TV reference point? How will we know what to read, buy or think?"

On the other hand, as Oprah walks away, how far is she really walking?

Granted, she'll reside 1,800 miles from Chicago, in Santa Barbara, Calif. But she will not be silent nor invisible. Her 5-month-old cable channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, is meant to be a round-the-clock, always-open source of Oprah-nalia, with Winfrey its spiritual curator maintaining a constant presence, even from off-camera.

Since its Jan. 1 sign-on, the network has suffered from lower-than-expected ratings, and, early this month, fired its CEO. But it's just getting started, and, with the end of her syndicated show, Winfrey plans to devote her full energies to OWN.

As one of the network's future offerings she will star on "Oprah's Next Chapter," whose title signals how she views her ambitious new TV venture overall. And though most of OWN's programming won't be hosted by her, everything will be vetted by her to make sure the message fits into her live-your-best-life gospel.

So how much in the world is really changing?

A heart-tugging promo for this week's last three editions of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" taps into the collective memory the audience shares for certain other shows on the occasion of their passing.

Seen in the commercial are Walter Cronkite's last "CBS Evening News" broadcast (March 6, 1981). Mary Richards dimming the lights in the WJM newsroom ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show" finale from March 19, 1977). Johnny Carson's emotional "I bid you a very heartfelt good night," his last moments hosting the "Tonight Show" (May 22, 1992). Sam (Ted Danson) telling a would-be bar patron, "Sorry, we're closed," on the "Cheers" finale (May 20, 1993). A glimpse at the finales of "The Cosby Show" (April 30, 1992) and "M-A-S-H" (Feb. 28, 1983), which was viewed by just under 106 million people, an audience record that stood until the epic New Orleans Saints-Indianapolis Colts clash in the 2010 Super Bowl.

The "Oprah" commercial asks: "Where were you?" And its unspoken but obvious subtext elevates the Winfrey show's exit to the lofty ranks of those TV milestones. You will want to be there (it seems to be saying), gathered with your loved ones in front of the TV, where you are guaranteed an "I-was-there" memory for a lifetime when Oprah says goodbye.

Really?

The episodes airing Monday and Tuesday were taped last week in front of crowd of 13,000 at Chicago's United Center.

Tom Hanks. Michael Jordan. Tom Cruise. Madonna. Stevie Wonder. Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Beyonce. Even Winfrey's longtime but low-profile friend, Stedman Graham, was among the many luminaries on hand for the two-part "Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular."

Then Wednesday's show, being kept tight under wraps, is meant as a surprise for the viewers.

Sounds like fun, if you happen to catch it. But after that, you won't have to look hard to find Oprah. She pervades her new network.

The rest of the world? It will carry on as always.

Center stage beckons for Jason Sudeikis of `SNL'

                                                                                By JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer

Jason Sudeikis, a cast member in
 'Going the Distance,' arrives

NEW YORK – As several cameras and a large film crew hover around him, Jason Sudeikis is enjoying the attention.

"Think about how long this lighting would take if I didn't have perfect bone structure," he says, smiling. "Show off God's work."

Sudeikis is shooting promotions for the MTV Movie Awards, which he'll host June 5. As he lists the attendees, he riffs effortlessly ("Blake Lively ... nice guy?") and ponders the Scrabble points in "Shia LaBeouf."

The awards will introduce Sudeikis to millions of viewers just as he's making his largest splash on the big screen. He stars in the upcoming summer comedy "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy," out in September, and plays a supporting role in the star-filled "Horrible Bosses," out in July.

For the veteran "Saturday Night Live" cast member, center stage is a relatively new vantage point. Hosting the MTV Movie Awards (the last two hosts were Andy Samberg and Aziz Ansari) has been a kind of platform for rising comedians on the cusp.

"A platform either to dive beautifully off of or to fall completely off of, but a platform nevertheless," says the 35-year-old Sudeikis.

Though born in Virginia, Sudeikis was raised in Kansas City, Kan., and has a Midwestern aw-shucks candor. But he often uses a cheery façade for arrogant or oblivious characters. Whether playing Vice President Joe Biden or the devil, Sudeikis is usually grinning broadly.

"I always liked smart asses," he says. "I probably wanted to be Axel Foley from age 9 until 38. In three years, I'll probably stop wanting to be Axel Foley. I like people that laugh, smart asses that also laugh, that don't take any of it too seriously. Love Ace Ventura. Love Groucho Marx. Love Bugs Bunny."

Sudeikis didn't sincerely pursue comedy until he came to the famed Chicago improv troupe Second City in 1997. His family had some familiarity with showbiz: Sudeikis' uncle is George Wendt ("Cheers"). Wendt's success, Sudeikis says, pacified his parents in accepting entertainment as a career.

At Second City, he "dove in completely" to improv and helped develop a Las Vegas offshoot. There, he became enamored of the Blue Man Group and even auditioned once (unsuccessfully).

He was hired first as a writer on "SNL," which he did for two years, getting a handful of sketches on the air. Though Sudeikis yearned to be a performer, he learned the "SNL" system and relished the writing process.

"I really enjoyed the re-write table. That was my favorite thing to do," says Sudeikis. "When Tina Fey likes one of your jokes and puts it into the script, you can't help but feel like, `Maybe I am somehow doing the right thing, the right job.'"

Horatio Sanz overlapped with Sudeikis at Second City and again at "SNL," where he co-wrote Sudeikis' first sketch to air (Jack Black singing "Cats in the Cradle" to his estranged father).

"We all knew there was a performer in him," says Sanz. "Because it's so effortless for him, I think you kind of forget that he's such a good comedic actor. He doesn't go too big too often. A lot of what he plays is a lot like him."

Sudeikis became a cast member in 2006 as part of one of the show's best classes: Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader and Andy Samberg. Sudeikis and Wiig often wrote together and one of their late-night, gum-chewing sessions led to an early recurring hit: "Two A-Holes." In it, the two played an absurdly self-absorbed couple.

"I probably dealt with a lot of people like that — inflated egos — through sports and also entertainment," says Sudeikis. "And then again, there might be part of me that's not too dissimilar from that, the worst parts of myself."

Sudeikis says this "SNL" season, which concluded this past weekend, has been one of creeping nostalgia, as he, Wiig, Hader, Samberg realize their time together is waning.

"We all sort of realize that you're not going to do this forever," says Sudeikis, who expects to return next season.

But they all have other projects now, too. For Sudeikis, most notably, there's "A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy," an R-rated comedy in which a group of friends decide to have an orgy. It's a generational kind of film with characters in their late `20s and early `30s — stuck between the free-love `60s and the sexting `00s — insisting on their own chance for sexual inhibition.

Writer-directors Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck first met Sudeikis at an "SNL" after-party, where he and Huyck sang a karaoke duet of "Living on a Prayer."

"I have never seen a dude bring more charisma than that guy brought in that moment," says Huyck. "He was one of those guys that you could just see instantly and go, `He's got that thing.'"

Says Gregory: "We've had those conversations: Is he a young Bill Murray? Is he a young Chevy Chase? What is he? I always think more than anything, he's a young Tom Hanks."

The pair convinced Sudeikis to make "Orgy" — a risky proposition for a first leading role — partly by comparing it to Hanks doing 1984's "Bachelor Party" early in his career.

Handsome and confident, Sudeikis has shown leading man appeal, including in a memorable guest arc on "30 Rock." (He was previously married to "30 Rock" writer Kay Cannon, and last year dated "Mad Men" actress January Jones, which attracted tabloid coverage.)

One of Sudeikis' most popular characters is speechless: A tireless — and surprisingly skilled — dancer, clad in an Adidas jumpsuit that adorns the background of the "What Up with That?" sketch. Since dancing is often the province of award show hosting, there's a chance Sudeikis may trot the character out at the MTV Movie Awards.

"Very possibly," he says. "You got to dance with the one that brung you. No pun intended."

Steve Martin to perform at Capitol on 4th of July

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer 

LOS ANGELES – Steve Martin and his banjo are taking on the U.S. Capitol on July 4.

The 65-year-old entertainer is set to perform from the Capitol's west lawn during the annual "A Capitol Fourth" concert this year. Josh Groban, Little Richard, "Glee" star Matthew Morrison, "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks and Broadway star Kelli O'Hara also share the bill.

Martin said his participation in the patriotic event inspired him to write a new song called "Me & Paul Revere," which talks about Revere's infamous ride from his horse's perspective. Martin will play the tune with his band, The Steep Canyon Rangers.

Jimmy Smits will host the Fourth of July concert, which will be broadcast on PBS, National Public Radio and the American Forces Network.

___

Online:

www.pbs.org/capitolfourth

Gender revolution hits Arab world in 'The Source'

By JENNY BARCHFIELD, Associated Press 

CANNES, France – In a remote village in North Africa, women use the only weapon they have — sex — and go on a "love strike" that challenges traditional gender roles.

Director Radu Mihaileanu says he sees the fictional gender revolt depicted in his new movie "The Source" as crucial to the success of popular uprisings that have toppled dictators in Tunisia and Egypt this year and still smolder across the Arab world.

"The second revolution that's needed, it seems to me, is one in the home, that will bring about gender equality in the private sphere," Mihaileanu told reporters Saturday at the Cannes Film Festival, where the movie is competing for the top prize, the Palme d'Or.

Mihaileanu said the movie was inspired by a decade-old news story about women from a village in Turkey who, fed up with their arduous traditional task of fetching water from a distant well, started withholding sex.

"(This story) showed them in such a wonderful light. These women are combative, filled with light and humor," said Mihaileanu, adding that although he had fallen in love with the story, he didn't initially plan to make the movie himself.

"As I'm neither a woman nor an Arab, I didn't feel legitimate," said the Romanian-born French director behind the 1997 hit "Train of Life" and 2004's "Live and Become."

At first, he thought he would produce it and find an Arab woman filmmaker to direct it.

"But I didn't find one, and as I was pitching it, everyone kept telling me, 'you tell this story so well, why don't you make it?' So in the end I did," he said.

Accuracy and believability became his holy grail, in everything from the plot line to the sets and costumes. Cast and crew spent a month in the Moroccan town where the movie was shot, experiencing village life and learning the local dialect.

The cast was chosen from across the Arab world and includes Algerian diva Biyouna, Palestinians Hiam Abbas and Saleh Bakri and rising French star Hafsia Herzi, whose parents are from Tunisia and Algeria. Still, only one of the principal characters is played by a Moroccan, so the cast had to work with coaches to get the accent down.

Leila Bekhti, a raven-haired French actress of Algerian origin who plays the film's main character, said her learning curve was steep.

"I used to speak Algerian, but I'd lost nearly everything," she said.

Still, she said the story had touched her deeply.

"For me, this film is an ode to love, it's a film about altruism, about other people, about our capacity to love one another, to listen to and understand one another," Bekhti said. "I think that's one of the biggest problems in the world — we don't look at one another, we don't listen to one another."