Morning Report - News from July 3, 2002

POP/ROCK

Morissette Sues Owner of Alanis.com Web Site

Following similar action by Madonna, Sting and Julia Roberts, singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette has taken out a cybersquatting lawsuit against the operator of Alanis.net, claiming that it sells various goods without her authorization.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court Monday, claims that the operator of Alanis.net, Russell Smith, is a “notorious, repeat-offender cybersquatter” who responded to a lawyer’s letter asking him to shut down his site by demanding $10,000. Smith, the owner of Consumer.net, could not be reached for comment, but in a June 11 letter on his Web site, he says he has operated the domain name for three years “and have never used the name, likeness or anything else associated with [Morissette].”

According to the lawsuit, the Alanis.net site sells goods and services ranging from candy to tours of Alcatraz Island. Morissette wants a court order to shut down the site and is asking for unspecified monetary damages.

Entwistle’s Hotel Room Now in Demand

A Las Vegas hotel is rebuffing requests from guests who want to book the room where the Who bass guitarist John Entwistle died last week.

“We would prefer that the room number never get publicly identified, out of respect for John Entwistle and the band,” Don Marrandino, Hard Rock president and chief operating officer, said in a statement released Tuesday through a spokeswoman.

Entwistle was found dead Thursday of an apparent heart attack. The Hard Rock left the room vacant over the weekend before making it available for occupancy Monday.

“We wanted to treat it with dignity and respect,” Marrandino told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re not going to put a plaque up there or anything else. I think a room a guy dies in is not a positive marketing opportunity.”

THE ARTS

Smoking Diva Keeps Singing Despite Flames

Soprano Susan Chilcott escaped unharmed Saturday after her dress caught fire onstage at London’s Royal Opera House.

The singer was performing in Tchaikovsky’s “The Queen of Spades” when a candle set her train on fire. Members of the audience shouted at her but Chilcott carried on with her aria, unaware of the danger. A staff member and fire officer then ran on stage and put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher.

The source of the blaze was a candle used by the character Hermann to burn a love letter. The cast reportedly carried on with Saturday’s show with barely a pause, although laughter erupted from the audience when the performance resumed with the supertitle “We are safe now.”

MOVIES

Academy Votes to Change Awards

The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to revamp the procedure for giving out the Irving G. Thalberg Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award, academy representative John Pavlik disclosed Tuesday.

The move was made in an attempt to limit the number of honorees each year to one or two.

The academy also simplified category titles for writing awards. The “screenplay based on material previously produced or published” award will be known as the “adapted screenplay” category. And “original screenplay” replaces the “screenplay written directly for the screen” category.

Three other rules changes were announced: Scientific and technical awards can now be given for devices or inventions used in the industry before as well as during the awards year; short documentaries that are reedited from earlier feature-length documentaries will not be eligible for Oscars, and no more than three producers will be allowed credit as nominees for best picture awards.

TELEVISION

MTV Preps New Series Following Osbourne Hit

Looking to cash in on the success of “The Osbournes,” MTV is preparing a half-dozen new series and specials for next season, several of which focus on providing behind-the-scenes access to bands or offering a chance at instant fame.

The projects include “Crashing With ... ,” in which a touring band or artist forgoes a hotel and spends the night with local residents; “mtvTreatment,” which, after a screening process, will follow a first-time director through the making of a Korn video; “artistLaunch,” a series of specials documenting the production of an album by various top acts; and “FM Nation,” which will record various groups of young adults as they drive around on a Saturday night.

“The Osbournes,” which will also return next season, helped propel the cable network to record ratings during the spring.

QUICK TAKES

Robert Cutietta has been named dean of the USC Thornton School of Music.... A settlement was reached Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by Jennifer Aniston against Man’s World Publications Inc. and Crescent Publishing Group over a photo of her sunbathing topless. Terms of the settlement were not released.... “Hot Tamales Live,” the variety show hosted by Christian “Kiki” Melendez at the Hollywood Improv on Wednesdays, is going to home video and DVD and will be released this summer.... Angela Bettis will star as an alienated teenager with telekinetic powers in NBC’s new three-hour version of the Stephen King classic “Carrie.” The remake of the 1976 film, set to air in the fall, will feature scenes from the novel that didn’t appear in the original movie.

Lisa Boone