Rapper comes on strong after Noel Gallagher's criticism
The tents are packed up and most of the 140,000 music lovers have made their weary way home, but memories of this year's Glastonbury festival, and its headline act Jay-Z, are likely to linger.
The choice of the American rapper to perform on the main stage at a festival best known for its guitar-based rock acts was widely criticized, and Oasis' Noel Gallagher riled the musician by saying the organizers were wrong to pick him.
Jay-Z's response was emphatic. He opened his show with a film using Gallagher's now-infamous comments and a montage of clips parodying him, before launching into an acoustic rendition of one of Oasis' biggest hits, "Wonderwall." Most fans and critics were impressed.
"His performance will go down in Glastonbury history," wrote the Independent in a review of the festival.
Rather than being booed offstage as some predicted, "both audience and artist rose to the occasion and turned in a moment of real, euphoric, pop culture history," added the Times.
The Guardian concluded: "It's brilliantly staged, utterly thrilling and it makes Gallagher look a bit of a berk."
The Daily Mirror tabloid, however, described his performance as dull. "I felt seriously short-changed as I walked away from this performance," it said.
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
The Upfull Rockers
Artist: The Upfull Rockers
Genre(s):
Drum & Bass
Discography:
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Year: 2005
Tracks: 2
Kazuya Yoshii
Artist: Kazuya Yoshii
Genre(s):
Folk
Discography:
39108
Year: 2006
Tracks: 12
Martin and the Daintees Stephenson
The Runaways
Artist: The Runaways
Genre(s):
Other
New Age
Discography:
Neon Angels
Year: 1991
Tracks: 12
The Best Of (LP)
Year: 1982
Tracks: 10
The Runaways
Year: 1976
Tracks: 10
Rapper 50 Cent ordered by N.Y. judge to forfeit guns
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. rapper 50 Cent was ordered to surrender any guns he might have after a judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining order requested by the rapper's ex-girlfriend, lawyers said.
A lawyer for the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, said he would contest the order and that 50 Cent did not have guns or access to guns. "To my knowledge, he has no guns," said lawyer Brett Kimmel.
The order bars 50 Cent from being in contact with Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of his 10-year-old son, without the court's permission, lawyers said.
50 Cent and Tompkins have been locked in a legal fight over money. Tompkins has argued that she is entitled to half of 50 Cent's estate, based on an oral agreement.
The dispute escalated last month after a fire destroyed the rapper's $2.4 million Long Island home, where Tompkins lived with their son.
Police said they were investigating the fire as suspicious.
The Stamford, Connecticut-based rapper has denied any involvement in the fire and separately on Friday filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit in a Connecticut Superior Court against Tompkins for statements she made to the media.
"It's completely baseless and it's retaliatory," Tompkins' lawyer, Paul Catsandonis, said of the defamation suit. "It's nothing more than an attempt to rehabilitate his image."
Since his debut album in 2003, 50 Cent has built a business with a record label, a clothing and footwear line, ringtones and video games. He has also starred in a movie based on his life, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."
(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by Michelle Nichols)
A lawyer for the rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, said he would contest the order and that 50 Cent did not have guns or access to guns. "To my knowledge, he has no guns," said lawyer Brett Kimmel.
The order bars 50 Cent from being in contact with Shaniqua Tompkins, the mother of his 10-year-old son, without the court's permission, lawyers said.
50 Cent and Tompkins have been locked in a legal fight over money. Tompkins has argued that she is entitled to half of 50 Cent's estate, based on an oral agreement.
The dispute escalated last month after a fire destroyed the rapper's $2.4 million Long Island home, where Tompkins lived with their son.
Police said they were investigating the fire as suspicious.
The Stamford, Connecticut-based rapper has denied any involvement in the fire and separately on Friday filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit in a Connecticut Superior Court against Tompkins for statements she made to the media.
"It's completely baseless and it's retaliatory," Tompkins' lawyer, Paul Catsandonis, said of the defamation suit. "It's nothing more than an attempt to rehabilitate his image."
Since his debut album in 2003, 50 Cent has built a business with a record label, a clothing and footwear line, ringtones and video games. He has also starred in a movie based on his life, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."
(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by Michelle Nichols)
Disney's "WALL-E" wows box office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Animation giant Pixar scored its ninth consecutive No. 1 on Sunday with its robot love story "WALL-E," while Angelina Jolie achieved a personal best with her violent assassination thriller "Wanted."
"WALL-E," bolstered by near-unanimous critical praise, sold an estimated $62.5 million of tickets in its first three days, said Pixar's Walt Disney Co parent.
It tied with 2001's "Monsters, Inc." to become Pixar's third-best opener. Pixar has gone to No. 1 with all nine of its movies, an unprecedented run that begin in 1995 with "Toy Story."
The company record of $70.5 million was set in 2004 by "The Incredibles." Industry pundits had forecast an opening for "WALL-E" in the $50 million to $60 million range.
"Anything north of 60 (million dollars), we were going to be ecstatic," said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group.
Meanwhile Jolie, whose career has been overshadowed in recent years by breathless tabloid coverage of her personal life, kicked off at No. 2 with "Wanted." The Universal Pictures release earned about $51.1 million, easily beating forecasts of an opening in the mid- to high-$30 million range.
Her previous record for a live-action movie was 2005's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," which opened to $50 million. The General Electric Co-owned studio said "Wanted" ranks as the third-highest opening for an R-rated action film, behind "The Matrix Reloaded ($91.7 million) and "300" ($70.9 million).
SALES SOAR
"WALL-E," bolstered by near-unanimous critical praise, sold an estimated $62.5 million of tickets in its first three days, said Pixar's Walt Disney Co parent.
It tied with 2001's "Monsters, Inc." to become Pixar's third-best opener. Pixar has gone to No. 1 with all nine of its movies, an unprecedented run that begin in 1995 with "Toy Story."
The company record of $70.5 million was set in 2004 by "The Incredibles." Industry pundits had forecast an opening for "WALL-E" in the $50 million to $60 million range.
"Anything north of 60 (million dollars), we were going to be ecstatic," said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group.
Meanwhile Jolie, whose career has been overshadowed in recent years by breathless tabloid coverage of her personal life, kicked off at No. 2 with "Wanted." The Universal Pictures release earned about $51.1 million, easily beating forecasts of an opening in the mid- to high-$30 million range.
Her previous record for a live-action movie was 2005's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," which opened to $50 million. The General Electric Co-owned studio said "Wanted" ranks as the third-highest opening for an R-rated action film, behind "The Matrix Reloaded ($91.7 million) and "300" ($70.9 million).
SALES SOAR
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