Reuters Entertainment Summary

Oprah Winfrey targeted in extortion scheme: report

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Atlanta man has been charged with trying to extort $1.5 million from Oprah Winfrey over tapes of telephone calls between him and a Winfrey employee that he said would embarrass the popular U.S. talk show host, according to court documents and media reports on Saturday. Keifer Bonvillain is charged in federal court trying to extort money by threatening to injure a person's reputation, according to court documents.

Oscar watchers narrow list of top film nominees

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood experts on Friday narrowed their guesses for best film Oscar candidates to a short list including widely touted musical "Dreamgirls" and crime thriller "The Departed," after seeing this week's key award nominations. Close behind on the short list are comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and searing cultural drama "Babel." Several industry pundits caution that the final spot on the list of five vying for the movies' top honor could go to one of a range of films.

Zimbabwe probed on "blood diamond" rules

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Industry body The World Diamond Council is worried that gems from Zimbabwe may be finding their way onto the black market, a violation of rules established to curb so-called conflict diamonds that fuel civil wars. The diamond sector is making extra efforts to police itself amid fears jewelry sales will be hit by the release of the Hollywood film "Blood Diamond," which shows atrocities in African civil wars financed by illicit gems during the 1990s.

Britney Spears says coming back "better than ever"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Britney Spears, acknowledging that her image has taken a beating in recent months, thanked her fans for their loyalty on Friday and promised she would come back "bigger and better than ever." Spears, who raised eyebrows by partying with new pal Paris Hilton and from up-the-skirt pictures that repeatedly caught her without panties, told fans in a letter on her Web site, (http://www.britneyspears.com), that she was working on a new album.

Burt Bacharach's daughter commits suicide

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The only child of pop songwriter Burt Bacharach and actress Angie Dickinson has committed suicide after a lifetime struggling with a form of autism, a spokeswoman for the former couple said on Friday. Nikki Bacharach, 40, died "quietly and peacefully" at her home in the northern Los Angeles municipality of Thousand Oaks on Thursday night, a statement said.

Oprah takes AIDS test at new South Africa school

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey took an AIDS test on Saturday at her new $40 million South African school for disadvantaged girls, hoping to set an example to pupils in one of the world's most infected nations. Winfrey said when she opened the school earlier this week she hoped that a better education would help shield South African girls from contracting HIV.

Afghans ban Bollywood film made in Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan has banned an Indian Bollywood film about journalists in the war-ravaged country because parts of it were deemed offensive to one of Afghanistan's ethnic minorities, a government official said on Saturday. "Kabul Express" charts a 48-hour journey by three journalists in post-Taliban Afghanistan. It opened to mixed reviews in India last month.

Malawi pleased with "loving mother" Madonna

LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi's government is happy with the way pop diva Madonna is looking after a one-year-old Malawian boy after her plans to adopt the child last year caused a storm of controversy, an official said on Friday. Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare Adrina Mchiela told Reuters the government is satisfied so far at the way Madonna is looking after David Banda.

Jane and Joe get in on Super Bowl ads

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The average Joe may never get a chance to play in the Super Bowl, but this year some ordinary folks can participate in what many consider the most entertaining part of America's biggest football extravaganza: its television commercials. Building on the popularity of so-called user-generated content -- like the homemade videos and blogs that rule the Internet -- a handful of marketers decided to allow their customers to create advertisements for Super Bowl XLI, which airs on CBS on February 4.

Judge freezes O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" money

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge has frozen the money O.J. Simpson was paid for his aborted book and interview deal following a lawsuit by the father of murder victim Ron Goldman, a lawyer in the case said on Thursday. U.S. District Judge Manuel Real barred Simpson from spending his advance at least until a January 24 hearing on the lawsuit, said David Cook, Fred Goldman's attorney.