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Bleary Britney fails to revive MTV Awards

An out-of-shape, out-of-touch Britney Spears delivered what was destined to be the most talked about performance of the MTV Video Music Awards - but for all the wrong reasons. Kicking off the show on Sunday night with her new single, Gimme More, Spears looked bleary and unprepared - much like her recent tabloid exploits on the streets of Los Angeles.

She lazily walked through her dance moves with little enthusiasm. It appeared she had forgotten the entire art of lip-synching; and, perhaps most unforgivable given her once taut frame, she looked embarrassingly out of shape.

Even the celebrity-studded audience seemed bewildered. 50 Cent looked at Spears with a confused expression; Diddy, her new best friend, was expressionless.

The VMAs was hoping to reinvent itself on Sunday. After suffering poor reviews and a decline in ratings over the last few years, MTV moved the show to Las Vegas' Palms Casino, shortened the show from three hours to two, and changed the show's setup to focus more on performances than awards.

Transformers spawns robot blitz

After a lengthy negotiation, Warner Bros Pictures has picked up feature rights to Robotech, a 1980s Japanese cartoon series with giant robots known as mechas. Tobey Maguire is eyeing the lead role, and will serve as a producer.

"We are very excited to bring Robotech to the big screen," Maguire says. "There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film."

A sprawling sci-fi epic, Robotech takes place at a time when Earth has developed giant robots from the technology on an alien spacecraft that crashed on a South Pacific isle. Mankind is forced to use the technology to fend off three successive waves of alien invasions. The first invasion concerns a battle with a race of giant warriors who seek to retrieve their flagship's energy source known as "protoculture," and the planet's survival ends up in the hands of two young pilots.

The $686 million worldwide box office success of Transformers has inspired other studios to assemble giant robot movies. Last month, Fox-based Regency picked up 1980s Japanese anime series Voltron.

Angelina Jolie sizzles in gold

In scenes sure to set pulses racing, the much lusted-after star emerges from a lake completely naked except for dripping gold liquid.

For the adult fantasy film Beowulf, Jolie plays the mother of Grendel the monster, who is the father of all evil from Anglo-Saxon mythology.

In her transformation for the role, the actress appears to have regained her famous knock-out curves, perhaps with a little digital assistance.

Filmed in a photo-realistic animation style, the release has been described by the Los Angeles Times as a "hyper violent and highly sexualized tale".

Jolie stars alongside British actors Ray Winston, who plays her evil son, and Sir Anthony Hopkins who plays King Hrothgar.

With Beowulf set to hit cinemas in the United Kingdom on November 16, the actress has already started work on her next project, the action movie Wanted.

The 32-year-old, who lost a considerable amount of weight following the death of her mother earlier this year, has welcomed the return to action films.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/11/2007 page18)