ENTERTAINMENT By J.D. Lacroix and Shoshanna Rozen newsdesk@monthlyherald.com
Tim
Robbins to join Embedded castNEW YORK (AP) -- Tim Robbins wrote and directed Embedded, the off-Broadway agitprop satire about a Mideast conflict. Now he's starring in it. Robbins, an Academy Award winner earlier this year for his performance in Mystic River, was to join the cast Tuesday for the final weeks of the show's Public Theater run, which ends May 22. Embedded, first seen earlier in the season in Los Angeles, opened at the Public in March. Robbins is joining the show after one of its performers had to leave the production, Carol Fineman, a spokesman for the Public, said Monday. "And he likes doing the show." The play, a production from the Actors' Gang, lampoons politicians, journalists and the military involved in the war. Robbins founded the Actors' Group, a Los Angeles-based theatre troupe, in 1981, and has worked with the company over the years while concentrating on film. Embedded received mixed to negative reviews but proved popular with audiences, extending what was to have been a short engagement in New York into a three-month run.
Stone
honoured by lesbian rights group
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Sharon Stone has been recognized by the National Center for Lesbian Rights for her support of gay and lesbian civil rights. The actress, who has helped raise millions of dollars for AIDS research and has portrayed lesbian characters in movies including Basic Instinct, received the NCLR Spirit Award at the organization's 27th anniversary celebration Saturday night in San Francisco. "Sharon Stone has a very long history of leadership and involvement with volunteer groups," said Ruth Harris, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based centre. "We're honouring her for a whole range of things over a many year period." Stone's contributions include raising money for the American Foundation for AIDS Research, founding the homeless youth camp Planet Hope, and working with Project Angel Food, a Los Angeles County program that brings food to homebound victims of AIDS. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who sparked a national debate by issuing marriage licences to gay couples, presented the 46-year-old actress with the award at Saturday's event.
NEW
YORK (AP) -- Brooke Shields, the mother of a
nearly one-year-old daughter, is writing a book about postpartum depression.
Hyperion plans to publish Down Came the Rain next spring. "By sharing my
experience, I hope to shed light on a real, yet often hidden or ignored,
problem that affects women of all walks of life invarying degrees," the
38-year-old actress said in a statement Monday. "I also hope that by being
honest about the fear, shock and shame I felt, it will help others avoid the
pitfall of postpartum depression and open up a community of support." Shields,
who is married to writer-producer Chris Henchy, gave birth last May to
daughter Rowan Francis. The actress, who began modelling as a toddler, has
appeared in films that include Pretty Baby, The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love.
Her NBC sitcom, Suddenly Susan, ended in 2000 after four years.
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