Taking a Powter Financially

Exercise guru Susan Powter may want to “stop the insanity,” but there seems to be no stopping the growing curiosity in her financial matters.

Since Powter filed for Chapter 11 protection earlier this month, the infomercial star, author and talk show host’s bankruptcy papers have fast become one of the most sought-after files at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles, officials there say. Powter--known for her crew cut-length, bleached white hair--took the move to shield her assets in the wake of a bigger legal dispute with her former partners.

But the file doesn’t reveal much. No specific list of Powter’s assets has been filed yet--just a broad $500,000 to $999,000 range is listed.

The biggest creditor that she does not dispute is a Time Warner video unit listed as being owed up to $1 million in loans and obligations related to a video contract Powter has with the company.

Another company, RPR Audio Visual in Dallas, is owed up to $461,813 that is listed as a loan. Other debts include $10,000 on three credit cards.

Detour on the Superhighway

There is no shortage of hype when it comes to predicting what the future has in store with the convergence of technology and entertainment.

One seminar description in the program guide to the upcoming fifth annual Digital Hollywood conference in Beverly Hills--which draws some of the field’s biggest names--contains a more earthy prediction on where things are going.

The description is for a Feb. 23 seminar titled “The Business of Adult-Rated Media” at the Beverly Hilton event.

“What will happen when Madonna creates an adult-rated ‘interactive entertainment’ vehicle?” the program asks, then goes on to speculate on how it might be received by the First Couple.

The brochure adds: “As video games merge with the mainstream music, video and film industries, adult-rated entertainment product is likely to become the best-selling product. It is inevitable.”

He Was All Shook Up

Last week saw plenty of fanfare marking what would have been Elvis Presley’s 60th birthday.

One recent revelation suggests that while the King may be gone, he’s certainly not forgotten and may even be trying to channel a bit.

In a publication from the Berkeley Psychic Institute, a chain of psychic centers throughout California, columnist David Pearce says one of his biggest regrets occurred eight years ago when he declined to let a visitor at a “psychic abilities demo” channel Elvis.

Pearce said: “Originally, (the visitor) had found himself doing some automatic writing, signing Elvis Presley’s name very fast 52 times, which apparently would have been how old Elvis would have been that day.”

Pearce then says that the student offered to sing a couple of Elvis’ hits.

“I started to imagine him singing ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and the demo becoming show time. Caution beat out curiosity, and I declined his, or the King’s, offer,” Pearce said.