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To: LPS5 who wrote (444)	3/22/2001 7:14:27 PM
From: MythMan	Respond to of 595

Sting to Jam With Ally Sting Mar 21, 2001 Sting has signed on to play himself in an upcoming episode of Fox's Ally McBeal, where he'll seek legal advice from none other than Robert Downey Jr. On the show, the singing superstar finds himself the target of a lawsuit that alleges his sexually suggestive performance at a concert led to the breakup of two married audience members. He then turns to Ally's (Calista Flockhart) beau, Larry Paul (Downey), to extricate himself from the legal red tape. The episode is scheduled to air on April 30 at 9 p.m. ET, just in time for the all-important May sweeps ratings period. Sting has achieved international success with his singing career, but he has also managed to get in some acting on the side in such films as Dune, Stormy Monday and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. According to David E. Kelley, Ally's executive producer, Sting's "combined acting and musical talent" made him "the perfect guest star for this show." Sting's appearance on the Fox series follows previous guest stints by such stars as Barry Manilow, Anne Heche, Chubby Checker and Florence Henderson.

To: LPS5 who wrote (444)	3/23/2001 7:00:43 AM
From: MythMan	Respond to of 595

"Flashdance": The Musical?! Flashdance a Broadway musical? Oh, what a feeling! Apparently, we're in the midst of a Flashdance renaissance. Already the subject of a new VH1 Behind the Music and an E! True Hollywood Story, Adrian Lyne's 1983 smash film starring Jennifer Beals as a welder/exotic dancer who dreams of going to ballet school is about to become the latest Hollywood movie to jump to the stage. "The film is so performance-oriented," Susan Weaving, vice president of William Morris' touring division, tells Daily Variety. "With Flashdance, you're not adapting a soundtrack to characters, which is always the challenge with movie-to-stage adaptations. The film is about live performance." She says the musical should be up and running for the 2002-2003 season. Weaving, a longtime fan of the film decided to follow the advice of the movie's oft-repeated tagline: Take your passion...And make it happen! Two years ago, Weaving discovered that Thomas Hedley Jr., who wrote the original story for Flashdance, was represented by a William Morris literary agent. "Once I found him, I found out the story on the rights," said Weaving. "That got things rolling." (Joe Eszterhas, who cowrote the screenplay but doesn't control the story rights, isn't involved with the stage version.) The next person on board was Giorgio Moroder, the man who cowrote many of the tunes on the monster-selling soundtrack, including the Irene Cara-warbled title cut, "Flashdance...What a Feeling." Moroder is working with lyricist Michael Kunze on at least 10 new songs for the musical version of Flashdance. The film's two hit singles, "Flashdance" (which won an Oscar for Best Song) and Michael Sembello's "Maniac", will be included in the stage version. So far, Moroder and Kunze have completed six other tunes. There's no word on a cast yet, but unlike the original Flashdance, in which the routines were performed by Marine Jahan, Beals' uncredited dance double, Weaving says the star of the stage musical Flashdance would have no such luxury and would do all her own singing and dancing. Over the past year, Broadway's seen a glut of movie-based musicals. The Full Monty and The Rocky Horror Show both opened to good notices and there's plenty of buzz over Mel Brooks' new The Producers, which is currently in previews and will premiere April 24. Meanwhile, Disney's Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King continue to pack houses. Of course, not all celluloid-to-stage transitions score critically or commercially. The now-defunct Footloose and Saturday Night Fever were savaged by the critics. And Big was one of the biggest fiascos in Broadway history.

To: LPS5 who wrote (444)	3/29/2001 9:00:14 AM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 595

'PUFFY' IS A 'NAME-DROPPER' Thursday,March 29,2001 By BILL HOFFMANN and FARRAH WEINSTEIN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEAN 'PUFFY' COMBS: Picks name given by Biggie Smalls. First, Prince changed his name. Now, meet the artist formerly known as "Puff Daddy." Sean "Puffy" Combs revealed yesterday he's hip-hopping away from his famous nickname because of the bad rap it got at his weapons and bribery trial. "No more Puff Daddy - the first week in June, we're gonna have a name-change ceremony," Combs told MTV News. "I'm not doing it as serious as Prince, [but] I just want something fresh." And what will his new nickname be? "I'm rockin' with P. Diddy now - my man Biggie [Smalls] gave me that name. "Earlier this month, Combs was acquitted of gun possession and bribery in the December 1999 shooting at Club New York that left three people wounded. During the sensational case, which grabbed headlines around the world, Combs' nickname became one with the vicious and violent world of gangsta rap. But Puffy Daddy will now be P. Diddy. Combs has used the name P. Diddy in past producing credits. And his appearance on "Let's Get It," the new single from rapper G-Dep, is credited to P. Diddy. The new name was originated by Smalls - also known as the Notorious B.I.G. - who was gunned down in the East Coast-West Coast rap wars, bullets that some believe were meant for Puffy. Just how long the P. Diddy moniker will last is anybody's guess. Prince, who had changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol, switched it back a year ago after his career took a dive. Combs also told MTV he plans to take at least two months off before returning to recording and producing - and will use the time to reevaluate his personal and professional life. "I gotta take a break . . . I'm going to take a leave of absence just to be Sean Combs, [to] have time to think about what's the next level I want to play on," he said. In the first interview since his acquittal, Combs, echoing his lawyers' arguments, insisted that witnesses who testified he had a gun were lying in an effort to profit from lawsuits against him. "I think it was a separate conspiracy with one common goal - to get some paper. A lot of people want to make money without working hard. When they see opportunity, they take it," Combs said. Puffy's former protégé and co-defendant, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow - convicted of assault, reckless endangerment and gun possession in the club shooting - has accused his ex-pal of abandoning him. But the rap czar said he bears Barrow no ill will - and plans to visit him in prison next week. "He's definitely somebody whose life shouldn't be wasted. I don't abandon anybody," Combs said. Barrow faces up to 25 years behind bars when sentenced April 16.