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The Los Angeles-based Millennium Television Network has canceled a previously announced 24 hour, multi-million dollar telecast of this year's millennium festivities that was to have been relayed from 50 broadcasters around the world, including the BBC. The Carmen Electra-hosted telecast was to have been carried in the U.S. on the Pax TV network, which now plans to air vintage movies instead. MTN president Joseph Medawar was quoted as blaming ``circumstances beyond our control'' for the company's inability to raise sufficient money to finance the ambitious, $44-million broadcast. Of course they can start now to collect the money to showcase the REAL millennium next year.

Producer Dino Di Laurentiis is reportedly "outraged" and actor Anthony Hopkins, "furious" over word that Jodie Foster has decided to pass on Hannibal, the planned sequel to Silence of the Lambs, the London Daily Express reported today (Thursday). The newspaper observed that the screenplay had been rewritten to accommodate Foster's objections to the way her character, FBI agent Clarice Starling, was treated in the original novel and film script. The Express quoted an unnamed source close to Hopkins as saying, "Tony is absolutely furious. There had been a great deal of trouble coming up with the right script, but the latest version is superb. Everyone thought Jodie was happy. Tony thought it essential to reprise the chemistry between the two characters for Lambs II to work, but she has pulled the rug from under everyone. ... He feels hugely let down by the woman. She gave every indication she was happy with the new script and shooting was to begin in spring." Hopkins was last seen around on the compound of Ronald Reagan, looking for the ex-prez while muttering "I'll get her to agree to it..." over and over again.

Ben Affleck has denied published reports that he is likely to become the screen's next Batman and that he wants his girlfriend, Gwyneth Paltrow, to play Catwoman. In a note posted on his Web site, Affleck said: "As I'm sure most of you might infer, this story is absurd. There is no Batman script, no movie being planned, they have not called me or my agent and Gwyneth is much more the Electra type." Gwyneth wouldn't return calls on the issue of her wanting to sex up her father.

George Harrison, the former Beatle and film producer, has been hospitalized in London after he and his wife Olivia were attacked by an intruder, believed to be a burglar, at their home Wednesday night. A hospital spokesman said that Harrison, who was stabbed in the chest several times, was in stable condition. His wife did not require hospitalization. We at HGNews find it odd that the stalker found Harrison, since he's not nearly as popular as the other Beatles. Even Yoko gets more fan ack-shun.

"Richard Simmons' Dream Maker" has been canceled, but that hasn't stopped a Nevada church from filing a trademark-infringement lawsuit against Tribune Entertainment, Vin Di Bona Prods. and other producers of the short-lived syndicated strip. The Lakeside Christian Essene Church in Incline Village, Nev., claims that it has operated a successful wedding-planning service under "The Dream-Maker" moniker since 1981, but business has declined since Simmons' wish-fulfillment show hit the airwaves in September, according to the suit filed last week in federal court in Los Angeles. Prospective Lakeside customers were dissuaded from trying the church's "Dream-Maker" service once weddings became a regular component of Simmons' show, according to the complaint. "Richard Simmons' Dream Maker" was canceled last month, though reruns air through mid-January. When reached for comment, Richard mentioned something about things going to plan with destroying heterosexual marriages, and then put his finger to his mouth "Dr. Evil" style.

A lawsuit filed in Santa Clara, Calif., Superior Court Tuesday asks the court to immediately shut down dozens of Web sites that offer tips on cracking the copy protection codes on DVDs.
The DVD Copy Control Assn. also seeks to block the sites from providing links to other sites with information about cracking the DVD encryption.
More than 20 individuals and 70 separate Web sites are named as defendants in the lawsuit. The Motion Picture Assn. of America, though not a member of the DVD Copy Control Assn., did file an affidavit in support of the lawsuit.
This was needed because you know how people like to crack a dvd, store the 4+ gigs of files, not being able to copy the menu interactivity, and only being able to burn it to a crappy vcd at half the resolution. Yeah, good call on where to spend your time, slapnuts.

Music concertgoers paid more than $1.5 billion this year for North American shows, beating the five-year record of $1.4 billion thanks to skyrocketing ticket prices, trade magazine Pollstar has reported. The Rolling Stones led the way as the top-grossing act with $64.7 million overall, edging the reunion tour by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at $61.4 million. Word has it that Bruce was too busy saving babies from become alien fuel to fully compete with the Stones.

Ally, the compressed, 30-minute version of David E. Kelly's Ally McBeal, has been canceled by Fox, effective immediately, the network announced Wednesday. Our condolences to Balthayzr.

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