By Scott Roxborough 16 minutes ago

COLOGNE, Germany (Hollywood Reporter) - A teenager who suffered a breakdown on the German version of "American Idol" could end up costing its broadcaster 100,000 euros ($147,000).

Germany's Cultural Council, an official youth protection watchdog, has recommended private German broadcaster RTL be fined for broadcasting the incident, and other humiliating moments on its top-rated "Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar" or "DSDS."

The Cultural Council accused RTL of "malicious disregard" for humanity on the show, arguing that the manner in which contestants are humiliated on the show could have detrimental effects on young viewers.

At issue are the early episodes of the current "DSDS" season, which focused mainly on talentless contestants who were dressed down by the show's caustic jury.

In one of these sessions this season, a 17-year old boy was so upset by the audition and the jury's criticisms that he hyperventilated and collapsed. Since his appearance on the show, where his full name and hometown were made public, he has received hundreds of abusive phone calls and has been forced to take leave from school.

The Cultural Council warned RTL of its concerns following the last season of "DSDS" but stopped short of a fine after the channel promised to make changes to the hit format.

But this year's season is no better, argues Cultural Council chairman Wolf-Dieter Ring.

"Insults and anti-social behavior were presented as the norm, just as they were last season," Ring said. "(The show) presents a mode of behavior to children that acts against the goals of education and child development such as respect and tolerance."

RTL said it has not yet received an official notice from the Cultural Council and was waiting for the upcoming legal hearing where the council will make its case and any fine will be levied.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

1 hour, 24 minutes ago

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A woman who stalked Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for using her work computer at Sandia National Laboratories to track and harass him and his wife.

Devon Townsend has 60 days to surrender to a minimum-security prison in Phoenix, where she is expected to receive mental health care. She had pleaded guilty to stalking and other counts.

Townsend, who worked in Sandia’s technology and manufacturing group, used lab computers to illegally access private information about Bennington and his wife, Talinda, in 2006.

According to a plea agreement, Townsend said she obtained family photos, monitored voice messages and traveled to Arizona to meet Bennington, using information she learned about his travel plans. She also obtained correspondence between Warner Bros. Records and Linkin Park’s business attorney, including a copy of a check made to Bennington from the record company and a copy of the band’s recording contract.

Investigators said Townsend also hacked into the e-mail of Bennington’s wife and at one point called the former Playboy model and threatened her.

By Frank Scheck 15 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Dave Grohl has been leading the Foo Fighters for 13 years and was part of another rather consequential band before that, but he acted like a thrilled newcomer at the group's debut Garden performance Tuesday.

"Goddamn, we're playing Madison Square f—ing Garden!" he exclaimed at the beginning of the evening.

Grohl and company, touring to support their Grammy-winning "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace," clearly are giving it all they have. "This is gonna be a long night, this is no In-N-Out Burger," he promised before taking mock bids on the length of the show. "Do I hear one hour?" he teased. "One hour and 15 minutes?" Much to the crowd's delight, he finally settled on two hours.

And so it was as the quartet — augmented by past guitarist Pat Smear, percussionist Drew Hester, keyboardist Rami Jaffee and violinist Jessy Greene — delivered a full-throttle set that included about two dozen numbers. Grohl, in excellent voice, proved himself a highly energetic and entertaining frontman.

This was best illustrated in his numerous forays down the long catwalk that divided the arena. In between striking guitar god poses for the cell phone cameras, he threatened to rival Mick Jagger for the sheer number of miles run during a show.

It's hard to believe that it took so long for the Foos to hit the Garden, because their brand of anthemic rock, complete with hummable melodies and head-banging choruses, is perfectly suited for arenas. The show was perfectly paced for maximum effect, including such current songs as "The Pretender," "Let It Die," "Long Road to Ruin" and "But Honestly" and such past favorites as "Times Like These," "Monkey Wrench," "Learn to Fly," "Breakout" and the final encore "Best of You."

The excellent, if by now obligatory, acoustic set was delivered on a small stage located on the other side of the arena. ("You thought you had the s—ty seats, didn't you?" Grohl joked). Although that portion of the show had its silly interludes — including a "triangle solo" by Hester that we were assured surely was a Garden first — it also provided one of the show's highlights, "Everlong." Begun acoustically by Grohl after the others had returned to the main stage, it continued with the singer frantically running down the catwalk to join the band as they revved up in full amplified fervor. It well demonstrated the Foos' ability to blend quiet emotion with rock 'n' roll fury.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago

LONDON - Amy Winehouse and Paul McCartney set their recent troubles aside to steal the show Wednesday at the Brit Awards, the British music industry’s most prestigious prizes.

Rockers Foo Fighters and British bands Take That and Arctic Monkeys were all double winners at Britain’s equivalent of the Grammys.

Although she wasn’t up for any awards, troubled retro-soul diva Winehouse received a rapturous reception when she appeared to perform “Valerie” with Mark Ronson. She followed that up with the sultry ballad “Love is a Losing Game” from her breakthrough album “Back to Black.”

Winehouse, who appeared composed and confident, urged the crowd at Earl’s Court arena to “make some noise for my Blake.” Winehouse’s husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is in prison awaiting trial for assault and lying to police.

Winehouse, 24, has had a tumultuous 12 months since she was named best female British act at last year’s Brits. She won five Grammys earlier this month — a rare high point in a year of erratic behavior, canceled concerts, tabloid headlines and a spell in drug rehab.

McCartney, who has spent the last week in court trying to settle his acrimonious divorce from Heather Mills, closed the show with a crowd-pleasing medley of hits, including “Hey Jude” and “Live and Let Die” — a song he co-wrote with his late first wife Linda.

Accepting a lifetime achievement award, the former Beatle said: “I just think British music is the best.”

Grown-up boy band Take That took the British single of the year prize for its song “Shine” and also was named best live act.

The band — which split in 1996 but reformed a decade later minus original member Robbie Williams — joked about its members’ advancing years.

“I’m 37 years old, I’ve got an arthritic knee,” band member Jason Orange said.

The spiky pop quartet Arctic Monkeys was named British group of the year and also took the British album of the year prize for “Favourite Worst Nightmare.”

Performer-producer Ronson, who has worked with Winehouse, Christina Aguilera and Jay-Z, was named British male solo act.

“I’ve never felt so British or male in my entire life,” said Ronson, who divides his time between New York and London.

The British female solo artist trophy went to singer-songwriter Kate Nash, while Beirut-born, London-raised Mika, whose flamboyant vocal style has been likened to Queen’s Freddie Mercury, was named British breakthrough act.

Kanye West and Kylie Minogue were named international solo acts of the year. Foo Fighters took prizes for international group and international album of the year for “Echoes Silence Patience & Grace.”

The show, hosted by rock elder statesman Ozzy Osbourne and his family, was largely free of surprises.

Performers at the show included Kaiser Chiefs, Minogue and R&B star Rihanna, who sang her song “Umbrella” with the British band Klaxons.

The awards are run by the British Phonographic Industry Ltd., an industry association. Most winners are selected by a vote of more than 1,000 industry members, including representatives from record companies, the media, retailers, record producers, disc jockeys and promoters.

The British single, British breakthrough act and British live act prizes are decided by public phone or online voting.

___

On the Net:

http://www.brits.co.uk

Natalie Finn Wed Feb 20, 3:58 PM ET

Los Angeles (E! Online) - It's times like these in which the Foo Fighters call their lawyers.  

The Dave Grohl-fronted foursome sued Marvel Studios for copyright infringement Wednesday, accusing the production arm of the famed comic book empire of using two of their songs for a TV trailer without the band's permission. 

Per the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, "substantial excerpts" of the tunes "Best of You" and "Free Me," both off the 2005 album In Your Honor, were used in a teaser for the upcoming animated series Wolverine and the X-Men. 

The song samples "were copied directly from the Foo Fighters' sound recordings of those two songs" and people can watch the trailer online, the suit alleges. 

Wolverine and the X-Men's fellow producers, First Serve International, Toonz Animation India and First Serve Toonz were also named as defendants. 

Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins and Chris Shifflett, fresh off of Grammy wins for Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Rock Album, are seeking unspecified damages, attorneys' fees and an injunction preventing Marvel from getting the best of them—i.e. using those songs–again. 

The suit was also filed on behalf of Roswell Records Inc., which owns the master recordings. 

Foo Fighters' latest album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, has sold more than 530,000 copies and its number-one single, "The Pretender," spent a record 17 weeks atop Billboard's Modern Rock chart.

By Paul Majendie 42 minutes ago

LONDON (Reuters) - Pop reigned supreme at the Brit Awards on Wednesday as comeback kings Take That, Australian star Kylie Minogue and Beirut-born Mika scooped a clutch of top prizes during the British music industry's biggest night of the year.

And it was the perfect chance for two stars to put their worst nightmares behind them — Amy Winehouse shrugged off her drug woes to perform live and former Beatle Paul McCartney won a lifetime achievement award after a week in divorce court.

To crown their comeback as one of the longest-running boy bands in the business, Take That fought off tough competition from the Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs to be named best British live act. They also won the prize for best British single for "Shine."

Mika opened the show with a medley of his hits set against a backdrop of fireworks exploding across the stage before being named best British breakthrough act.

Hip-hop star Kanye West was picked as best international male solo artist, while Mark Ronson, famed for his collaboration with stars like Winehouse, was named best British male solo artist.

Australian Kylie Minogue underlined the pop theme by performing "Wow" in a gold figure-hugging dress flanked by dancers in shiny metallic track suits.

She won the best international female solo artist award, telling fans: "I'm all overcome. This is so incredible."

The Foo Fighters were double award winners, landing the best international album and best international group awards.

The U.S. four-piece rock band was formed by Dave Grohl, former drummer for Nirvana, in Seattle in the 1990s. Their release "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace" won the best rock album Grammy award earlier this month.

The Arctic Monkeys, one of the first groups to build their fan base on the Internet, won the coveted best British group and best album awards.

The show was a real family affair with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne joined by son Jack and daughter Kelly to host the Brits, being broadcast live on national television.

They made a few fluffs and had to control some inebriated prize presenters but survived the ordeal.

McCartney told cheering crowds as he wrapped up the show, "I do think British music is the best," before launching into a medley of hits ranging from "Hey Jude" to the Wings hit "Live and Let Die."

The former Beatle certainly seemed relieved to be back doing what he does best after a six-day court battle with former model Heather Mills. She is seeking a slice of his 825 million pound fortune as one of the founders of the world's most famous pop group.

One of the biggest cheers of the night was given to troubled soul singer Amy Winehouse, who consistently grabs the headlines for her battle against drugs rather than her musical talent.

Winehouse, who earlier this month won five Grammy Awards, joined Mark Ronson on stage to perform the hit "Valerie."

Winehouse, wearing a short leopard-skin print skirt, said to the audience, "Make some noise for my husband, my Blake."

Blake Fielder-Civil is currently in custody facing charges over a pub brawl.

Reuters/Nielsen

By Gregg Goldstein 26 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Sean Lennon will score the indie vampire comedy "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead," which stars fellow celebrity spawn Jake Hoffman and Devon Aoki.

Hoffman (son of Dustin) plays an unemployed actor who gets his big break directing a bizarre off-Broadway version of "Hamlet." But there's a catch: The adaptation is written by a Romanian (John Ventimiglia, best known as chef Artie Bucco on "The Sopranos") who happens to be undead.

Aoki (daughter of Benihana steakhouse king Rocky Aoki) plays Hoffman's love interest. Ralph Macchio will play a mob boss who ends up fighting vampires. Jeremy Sisto plays a bumbling detective investigating the mysterious deaths surrounding the production. The project marks the feature debut of writer-director Jordan Galland.

Lennon scored the fantasy musical he starred in and co-wrote, "Friendly Fire," which featured appearances by Aoki, Asia Argento and Lindsay Lohan.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

By RAQUEL MARIA DILLON, For The Associated Press 31 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge wants an attorney who claims to represent Britney Spears to explain why he believes her conservatorship belongs in federal court.

Attorney Jon Eardley argues that the terms of the conservatorship, which occurs when a court determines someone cannot take care of themselves or their affairs, violate the pop star’s civil rights.

Judge Philip Gutierrez on Tuesday ordered Eardley to explain by Feb. 29 why the federal court should intervene in a probate case. The order came after attorneys for Spears’ father, James Spears, who was named her temporary conservator Feb. 1, argued in a motion that the conservatorship should remain in state court.

James Spears’ team argued that a state Superior Court commissioner had previously found that the singer did not have the capacity to retain counsel, and that conservatorship matters do not fall under federal jurisdiction.

Eardley filed papers Thursday to move Spears’ probate case to federal court. A message left at his office Wednesday was not returned.

The commissioner placed Spears under a conservatorship after she was taken to a psychiatric hospital twice this year. Her father and attorney Andrew Wallet were named co-conservators of her estate.

Attorney Jeffrey Wexler also asked the judge to require Eardley to pay James Spears’ attorney fees and any extra expenses incurred from arguments over the request to move the case to federal court.

1 hour, 28 minutes ago

NEW YORK - PETA thinks Aretha Franklin is no queen of soul when it comes to wearing fur.

Franklin was crowned this year’s worst-dressed celebrity by the animal rights organization. Her crime: wearing “yet another vulgar fur” at the Grammy Awards.

“… you looked as if you were going to perform `I Am the Walrus’ by the Beatles,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Wednesday of Franklin’s appearance. “You might be a queen, but you don’t know jack about compassion.”

“How ’bout some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for animals?” PETA added.

The other offenders are Marilyn Manson, Eva Longoria (”in her trashy furs, she looks like the streetwalker of Wisteria Lane”), Lindsay Lohan, Kate Moss and Kylie Minogue.

PETA called Minogue cold-blooded for toting a python purse. As for Lohan, the group remarked: “`I Know Who Killed Me’ isn’t just the title of Lindsay Lohan’s latest bomb, it’s the cry of the animals snuffed out so this `Mean Girl’ can pose in their pelts.”

Christina Ricci, Martha Stewart and Alicia Keys have said they’ve given up wearing fur since being singled out by PETA in previous years.

PETA asked people to vote on the Web site Fur Is Dead.

The group said it took Britney Spears out the running because they didn’t want to kick her while she’s down.

___

On the Net:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals:

http://www.peta.org/

34 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Billboard) - In a slow week for new releases, mellow crooner Jack Johnson remained No. 1 on the U.S. pop album charts Wednesday, while newly minted Grammy winners Amy Winehouse and Herbie Hancock surged into the top five.

Johnson's "Sleep Through the Static" sold 179,545 copies in the week ended February 17, according to Nielsen SoundScan, enough to lead the field for a second week.

The new 25th anniversary reissue of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" would have opened at No. 2, thanks to sales of about 166,000 copies. But as a catalog release, it was ineligible to chart on the Billboard 200. The project includes reworked "Thriller" tracks by Akon, Kanye West, Fergie and will.i.am.

Instead, the No. 2 slot went to Winehouse's "Back to Black," which yielded five Grammys on February 10 including record and song of the year. It jumped 22 places after selling about 115,000 copies.

Hancock's shock album of the year winner "River: The Joni Letters," only the second traditional jazz release to win the coveted race in the Grammys' 50-year history, surged 154 places to No. 5 with 54,000 copies, a 967 percent sales increase.

Alicia Keys, who performed twice and won two Grammys, held at No. 3 with "As I Am," which sold 109,000 copies. The "2008 Grammy Nominees" compilation climbed one to No. 5 with 72,000.

Among other Grammy honorees, the Foo Fighters' rock album of the year winner "Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace" was up 43 places to No. 22 with 33,000 copies, and Kanye West's rap album winner "Graduation" ascended 24 places to No. 40 with 23,000.

Elsewhere, the soundtrack to "Juno" held at No. 6 with 53,000, while best new artist Grammy nominee Taylor Swift's self-titled album rose three to No. 7 with 52,000. Also moving 52,000, Sheryl Crow's "Detours" fell six to No. 8 in its second week. Two-time Grammy winner Mary J. Blige's "Growing Pains" fell two to No. 9 with 49,000 copies. The soundtrack to "Step Up 2" rose three to No. 10 with 45,000 units, following its No. 3 debut at the weekend box office.

Canadian rock band Simple Plan's self-titled album started at No. 14 with 39,000 copies — 100,000 copies short of the No. 3 debut for its previous release, 2004's "Still Not Getting Any…"

Overall sales were down 11.6 percent from the same week last year, when Norah Jones' "Not Too Late" logged a second round at No. 1 with 211,000 copies.

Reuters/Billboard