Lindsay Lohan Denies Using Drugs
Lindsay Lohan, charged with felony drug and misdemeanor driving offenses, said she was innocent and her lawyer said she was under treatment again while a question mark hovered yesterday over her future in films, The Associated Press reported. Ms. Lohan, 21, arrested early Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., and released on bail, told Billy Bush of “Access Hollywood” in an e-mail message: “Yes. I am innocent ... did not do drugs they’re not mine.” She added, “I appreciate everyone giving me my privacy.” Her lawyer, Blair Berk, referring to Ms. Lohan’s recently concluded six weeks in a rehabilitation facility, said in a statement to “Access Hollywood,” “Unfortunately, late yesterday I was informed that Lindsay had relapsed.” She added that her client was “presently receiving medical care.” Ms. Lohan’s latest movie, “I Know Who Killed Me,” is to open Friday. The producers of “Poor Things,” a comedy featuring Shirley MacLaine in which Ms. Lohan was scheduled to begin work, said Tuesday that their “sole focus is moving this film into production,” and they declined to say if she would be in it. She is scheduled to appear in “Dare to Love Me,” scheduled to begin filming this summer, said Michael Sands, a consultant for the production company Bowline Entertainment. “The producers have compassion and kindness for her, so for now she’s insured and still with the movie,” he said. “She hasn’t been convicted of any crimes.”
‘Lost,’ but Returning
ABC provided a little more fodder yesterday for the “Lost” fans who are on the hunt for clues about where that intricately plotted series is heading as it enters its fourth season. Steve McPherson, the president of ABC Entertainment, said the show’s chief producers, Damon Lindelof and Carleton Cuse, would appear today at the Comic-Con International convention in San Diego and announce that Harold Perrineau is returning to the series this coming season. Mr. Perrineau was one of the original cast members, playing Michael, father of the young Walt. His character has not been seen since the end of Season 2, when he and Walt sailed off the mysterious island, ostensibly back home, after Michael had made a deal that betrayed his friends on the island. (He also killed a couple of the other survivors.) Many fans of “Lost” were already expecting Michael back because they noted that in the past season’s final episode two characters appeared in scenes apparently set in the future and came upon a newspaper obituary that referred to a character who could be Michael. BILL CARTER
Millions Bid for Memoir
Bidding for rights to the autobiography of Keith Richards has reached $7.1 million, NewYorkBusiness.com reported. People in the publishing industry said only HarperCollins and Little, Brown, a division of the Hachette Book Group USA, remained in the competition for the world English-language rights to the memoirs of Mr. Richards, a founding member of the Rolling Stones. Three publishing houses had been invited by the London literary agent Ed Victor to submit bids. Translation rights are to be sold separately. The report said HarperCollins declined to comment; executives of Little, Brown could not be reached, and a call to Mr. Victor was not returned.
New Title, Doctor,
For Queen Guitarist
Brian May, 60, who abandoned his studies more than 30 years ago to found the rock group Queen, has returned to his first love: astrophysics. Mr. May, right, best known as a guitarist and songwriter, said that within the next two weeks he plans to submit his doctoral thesis, “Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud,” to supervisors at Imperial College London, The Associated Press reported. He was an astrophysics student there when the glam rock band Queen, including Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor, was formed in 1970. As a result of the band’s success, Mr. May put aside his doctoral studies. He told the BBC he had always wanted to complete his degree. “It was unfinished business,” he said. “I didn’t want an honorary Ph.D. I wanted the real thing that I worked for.”
To the Top, Again:
‘That’s What I Call Music!’
The 25th installment of “Now That’s What I Call Music!” vaulted to No. 1 on the Billboard chart this week with sales of 223,000 copies in its debut, Nielsen SoundScan reported. Carrying hits from Justin Timberlake and Carrie Underwood, among others, it is the 12th album in the compilation series, including the last four, to reach the top of the chart. News was also made in the No. 5 spot, where “Coco” (Universal Republic), the debut album of Colbie Caillat, who was discovered on MySpace, chalked up 51,000 sales in its first week. In between came Miley Cyrus’s double-disc Disney set, “Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus,” rising one notch this week to No. 2 on sales of 113,000 copies. T.I.’s “T.I. vs. T.I.P.” (Grand Hustle/Atlantic), which led the chart the previous two weeks, dipped to third place with 94,000 sales. The soundtrack to “Hairspray,” buoyed by the opening of the film, climbed to 4th place from 20th on sales of 72,000, a 95 percent increase.
NBC Takes the Night
Even as ratings for “America’s Got Talent” and “Singing Bee” fell to their lowest levels of the summer, NBC still managed to lead the ratings Tuesday night by a solid margin. Nielsen estimated that 9.9 million viewers, well below the 13 million its premiere attracted last month, tuned in for “America’s Got Talent” from 8 to 9:30, easily making it the night’s most-watched show. Following it, “Singing Bee,” whose ratings have also slipped after a strong debut two weeks ago, still earned the night’s highest ratings among adults 18 to 49, leading its time slot with 9.5 million total viewers. CBS ranked second for the night, as it did during the 9 p.m. hour with “Big Brother” (6.8 million). ABC finished a close third over all, with Fox in fourth. BENJAMIN TOFF
‘Farnsworth Invention’ Takes Shape
Dates, cast and theater have been set for Aaron Sorkin’s new play, “The Farnsworth Invention,” about the legal battle over the invention of the television. Hank Azaria will play David Sarnoff, the head of RCA, and Jimmi Simpson (“The Rainmaker”) will portray the inventor Philo T. Farnsworth. Des McAnuff will direct the production, opening on Broadway at the Music Box Theater on Nov. 14, with previews beginning on Oct. 15. CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
Soho Rep Moves On to Off
After 32 years, Soho Rep, under its new artistic director, Sarah Benson, will move completely from Off Off Broadway to Off Broadway status for the coming season. (Such a move is essentially a contractual matter with the actors’ union.) The scheduled productions on the main stage for the new season are “Philoktetes,” a contemporary adaptation by John Jesurun (“Deep Sleep”) of the Sophocles play; Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s “No Dice,” in which mundane conversation is presented as dinner theater and which was put forth as a work in progress at this year’s Under the Radar festival; and “Blasted,” the first play by Sarah Kane (“4:48 Psychosis”), which shocked audiences when it had its premiere in London in 1995 but also made a theatrical cult hero of Ms. Kane, who committed suicide in 1999 at the age of 28. Soho Rep will also put on its free series of works in development, including, this year, “Somewhere Fun,” by Jenny Schwartz (“God’s Ear”). CAMPBELL ROBERTSON
