Oscars want to change? Well, since you asked ...

LOS ANGELES, Feb 17 — Speaking at the official annual pre-Oscars luncheon for nominees, staged in the same hotel ballroom where the Golden Globes were handed out in one of the umpteen other awards shows, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Sid Ganis vowed next weekend’s Academy Awards telecast will be “truly different.”

ABC this year has Hugh Jackman as host and Bill Condon and Laurence Mark as producers, so that’s a given. Neither Condon nor Mark, who teamed behind the scenes on the musical “Dreamgirls,” has much TV experience. And Jackman is a multitalented star whose sexiness has been vouched for by People, but his last film, “Australia,” was a box-office disappointment and his well-regarded turns as host of Broadway’s Tony Awards were seen by as many folks as NBC’s “Knight Rider” revival.

But prudent change is never a bad thing. A good start for Ganis would be to axe the Oscars’ traditional show-stopper — in the least flattering sense of the term — the annual speech by the, ahem, academy president.

Who would allow the producer of “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” to prattle on about the movies’ contributions to humanity, while Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz and the guy who edited “Slumdog Millionaire” are hustled away after 45 seconds?

This is the entertainment industry, right? Which promises more drama?

That’s the problem. Ganis talks about how the 81st annual Oscars on ABC next Sunday is “going to be a show that takes some risks,” according to the Hollywood Reporter, warning this year’s nominees: “Your categories are being presented in a completely different way. Heads up.”

More like heads down.

No one has a problem with how the categories are presented. The reading of the names, the envelope, the winner, the speech — that is the Oscars. Mess with that and you risk wrecking a brand as strong as Hollywood itself.

That’s a big part of why the Academy Awards ceremony is always one of the year’s most-watched TV shows. Ratings tend to ebb and flow with the box-office power of its nominees. (The failure of “The Dark Knight” to score a Best Picture nomination this year likely signals ebb.) But it is popular for the same reason pumpkins are popular around Halloween — tradition. No matter how many Oscars “Slumdog” wins, this isn’t the year to serve chicken curry at Thanksgiving.

If the academy wants to change some things, it should choose from the other side of the menu.

Cut the live musical numbers. And no, dancers don’t help. Notice a lot of singing in prime time? Exactly.

The presenters don’t have to engage in “awards show banter.” All anyone wants to see is how they look and what they’re wearing. Tell them to explain the category and maybe what it means to them, roll the nominees clip, announce the winner and step aside.

Pre-produce the honorary awards segments. A speech can be incorporated into the taped piece. No movie producers would allow a monologue to go on that long. The editing room is a wonderful thing. Use it. Winners can get a live ovation at the end.

Some excesses are to be expected. It is the Academy Awards. And ABC wants more show so it can have more commercial breaks, even when the ad market is so weak the academy deigned for the first time to allow movie studios to buy time on the Oscarcast.

But filmmakers know how everything starts to drag after three hours. Don’t waste the audience’s time.

Benjamin Button is the only person who will feel younger when it’s over. — AP

Princess Diana letters to government ministers must remain a secret

LONDON, Feb 19 — Private letters between Princess Diana and the British Government will remain secret after a ruling by the Information Commissioner.

The series of letters from the late Diana, Princess of Wales to John Major, the former Prime Minister, and Tony Blair, his successor, were deemed too private to be published under the Freedom of Information Act.

Members of the Royal Family are exempt from the Freedom of Information legislation but individual cases can be challenged on public interest grounds. The Office of the Information Commissioner said the letters were of a "personal nature" and not related to government policy.

The correspondence may be related to the announcements to the Commons by Major, as Prime Minister, that the Prince of Wales and Princess were to separate. He had been a key figure in the discussions between the couple.

It could also be in connection with the visit in May 1997 of the princess to Chequers with Prince William and Prince Harry who played happily with Euan and Nicky the sons of the new Prime Minister.

She also wrote to Douglas Hurd and the late Robin Cook when they were both foreign secretary about the possibility of an ambassador's role in landmines.

The Cabinet Office published seven telegrams from the princess to prime ministers of the day thanking them for birthday wishes, but all further correspondence was withheld on the grounds that it fell inside the exemption.

An internal review later upheld the decision, and stated that the public interest in keeping them secret "outweighed" the interest in making them public. In a statement the ICO said: "It is important to draw a clear distinction between matters of public interest and matters about which the public may be merely curious." — The Daily Telegraph

Celebrities to flock to Obama inauguration

From Oprah Winfrey to Dionne Warwick, the stars will come out

Mark J. Terrill / AP

Oprah Winfrey famously cried as Obama's election was announced, and is likely to attend his inauguration.

NEW YORK - The Super Bowl? Forget it. The Oscars? Who cares. The biggest star-studded event on the horizon is President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.

The gig of 2009 will take place Jan. 20 on a wintry field in Washington.

"January 20 is going to be ground zero for everyone who wants to be part of this celebration, and that's going to include boldface names and A-listers from Oprah on down," said Roxanne Roberts, co-author of the Washington Post's column "The Reliable Source." "On that particular weekend, this is where the action is."

Details on official inauguration events are scant so far, though prominent Obama supporters like Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen and Will.i.am are widely expected to be involved.

In the last century, entertainers have made indelible marks on presidential inaugurations and often helped set a tone for a new era.

Mickey Rooney performed at all four of FDR's inaugurations. Robert Frost read a poem for John F. Kennedy in 1961. Bill Clinton was ushered in with a parade of performers in 1993, including Maya Angelou.

Any announcements on Obama's official performers is "a ways down the road," said Linda Douglas, a spokeswoman for Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee, but added: "We want to make it an uplifting and optimistic set of events as much as possible in these trying times."

Unofficially, a who's who of stars are expected at parties hosted by MTV, Dionne Warwick and others.

MTV has said it will host and broadcast the "Be the Change Inaugural Ball," held in conjunction with the volunteerism campaign ServiceNation. The audience will be populated with activist young people in what Stephen Friedman, MTV's general manager, says will be a "celebration of our audience."

Of course, a bevy of music stars are also expected to perform.

"We are being inundated," said Friedman. "It's great when you have so many artists who are passionate about being a part of this moment."

The Creative Coalition will hold a gala to be headlined by Elvis Costello. The nonprofit arts and entertainment advocacy group says that attending its party will be Anne Hathaway, Spike Lee, Tim Robbins, Maggie Gyllenhaal and many others.

Dionne Warwick will reportedly host the American Music Inaugural Ball. Lou Gossett Jr. will host the Purple Ball, where Ashley Judd and Patricia Arquette are among the expected guests. And the Human Rights Campaign Foundation will also throw a party with Cyndi Lauper, Melissa Etheridge and others.

"The unofficial balls are probably going to be better than the official ones," said Roberts. "In this economic environment, it is highly unlikely that there will a lot of dedicated activities for high rollers, as there have been in years past."

Obama has been measured of his embrace of Hollywood and celebrities. That's in part because during the election Obama, himself, was compared to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears by his Republican challenger, Sen. John McCain.

Obama argued with the "celebrity" tag and seldom appeared in public with stars. But on Sept. 16, he raised $9 million for his campaign with a single party in Beverly Hills hosted by Barbra Streisand and attended by Leonardo DiCaprio and many others.

Recession won't slow down celebration
It's unclear whether the Hollywood stigma, or the recession, will put a damper on the evening. Jim Bendat, author of "Democracy's Big Day: The Inauguration of Our President 1978-2009," thinks not.

"Based upon past history, my guess is it will not be terribly toned down," said Bendat. "When the Vietnam War was going on, Nixon had his number of inaugural balls, and of course George W. Bush did the same thing. Generally, the feeling is that for one night, it's OK to have a big party."

Beyonce Knowles earlier announced her eagerness to participate: "I'm there. I can't wait. I feel like all of us, we're ready to do whatever we have to do. If they need me to volunteer, they need me to sing, I'm there and I'm ready."

Angelou, who read her famous "On the Pulse of the Morning" for Bill Clinton, has said she's writing a poem about Obama's election. (She doesn't expect to be invited to read it, though, after supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries.)

Bill Clinton's inaugurations in 1993 and 1997 were glitzy affairs preceded by two days of free concerts on the Mall. Then-hip acts like Hootie and the Blowfish and Sheryl Crow performed. In 1997, the Presidential Gala was held at the USAir Arena, with performances from Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, Yo-Yo Ma and the Broadway casts of "Chicago" and "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in `da Funk."

George W. Bush's 2001 Inauguration was cast as a return to respectability to the White House. Performers were more traditional, such as the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Guy Lombardo Orchestra. Many country stars played, including Clint Black, Lyle Lovett and Nell Carter.

Staying fit & fabulous: It pays to sweat it out

By : TENGKU ELENA TENGKU MAHAMAD

TENGKU ELENA TENGKU MAHAMAD meets a 27-year-old celebrity who is already working hard now to stay fit in her golden years.

Name: Marion Rose Caunter
Age: 27
Occupation: TV host, Channel [V] VJ

THE young and sweet Marion Caunter has her days filled with work. Some days she shoots for Channel [V] and on weekends she is one of the judges for 8tv’s Ultimate Prom Night show. But during her spare time, she travels and works out with her personal trainer at Get Active, Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. Why is staying fit important to her? “As you get older, it’s not so much about losing weight but about staying healthy. I train with a trainer about three times a week to get toned and maintain stamina and to feel good all round.”

Q: What motivates you to keep fit?
A: When I exercise regularly, I feel I have more energy to get things done. Also, I bring out my old jeans from time to time to remind myself that I used to be way thinner and this encourages me to want to be able to wear it again.

Q: Describe your workout regime
A: I start off with 10 to 15 minutes on the treadmill or cross trainer and then do weights for either arms or legs for about 45 minutes. This is followed by 10 minutes of abs and stretching at the end for five minutes.

Q: Do you have a special diet?
A: No. I love food too much. I just make sure that I eat as healthily as possible. I drink lots of water, eat lots of fruit and salads, brown bread rather than white, drink low fat milk and so on. Sometimes, if I want to spoil myself, I treat myself to delicious nasi kandar.

Q: What are some of the obstacles that deter you from working out?
A: Time-management. It’s managing my time properly but sometimes it is almost impossible with my daily schedule unless I wake up and work out at 7am. Which is, sad to say, I am just incapable of doing. I need my sleep.

Q: Have you had a relapse? If yes, how did you get back into it?
A: Of course, especially when travelling. I get back to it when someone tells me I am getting flabby or when I can’t really fit into those jeans anymore. Then I know it’s time to hit the gym.

Q: How do you maintain your weight?
A: All-round healthy diet and exercise. There is no shortcut to losing weight. Crazy diets might work but the weight could come back. It’s all about exercising and eating regularly and well.

Q: Have you always maintained a healthy lifestyle or was it circumstances that led you to adopt it?
A: Generally, I’ve adopted a rather healthy lifestyle but as of late, I feel like my body needs more time to recover from long days, and therefore, I feel even more of a need to be healthy in my life.

Q: Do you keep fit for personal and health reasons or it is because of society’s perception?
A: Again, now, I do it more for health reasons than anything else.

Q: As you grow older, do you think it becomes more important to look after your health?
A: Yes, every woman will face this eventually. When you’re much younger, you almost feel like you’re immortal. As you grow older, you realise that health is so important to be able to do the things you do and do it well. My health is my priority over anything else.

Spears not slated to perform on MTV video awards

LOS ANGELES, Aug 27 — Britney Spears won't perform on this year's MTV Video Music Awards, according to her manager.

"Contrary to media reports, Britney was never slated to perform on this year's VMAs," Larry Rudolph, Spears' manager at Jive Records, said in a statement. "She's in the middle of recording her next album, which is going amazingly well, and her focus remains on the studio."

Spears' "Gimme More" comeback performance during last year's VMAs was one of the most-talked-about moments of 2007. The tabloid queen is currently appearing in spots promoting this year's ceremony.

In June, MTV Networks Music Group President Van Toffler said the network wasn't ruling out giving viewers another dose of Spears at the VMAs. MTV later confirmed they were in talks to have Spears appear in some capacity.

The rebounding pop queen is nominated for video of the year for "Piece of Me".

This VMAs will air live on Sept 7 from Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles. Previously announced award show performers include Kid Rock, Lil Wayne, Pink, Rihanna, Paramore, TI and the Jonas Brothers. — AP