Elton John

British actress Kate Winslett will reportedly voice the lead in Elton John's rejuvenated animated film, "Gnomeo and Juliet."
The long-dormant project by John's Rocket Pictures was picked up from Disney by Miramax Films last week.

Sources have described the film as a "Monty Python" type project and told Variety the move to a specialty label will let it have an edgier, hipper tone.

Winslett is the only star attached to the film, but further casting is under way.

John and Tim Rice -- who worked together on Disney's mega-hit, "The Lion King" -- are teaming up for the soundtrack for "Gnomeo," described as a take on "Romeo and Juliet" set in the world of garden gnomes.

The computer generated film will be made in Britain, Variety said.

A promising new contender has arrived in a crowded pharmaceutical field. Joining the ranks of Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata and other prescription lullaby drugs is "Lestat," the musical sleeping pill that opened last night at the Palace Theater.
Adapted from Anne Rice's cult novels "The Vampire Chronicles," and featuring songs by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, this portrait of blood suckers in existential crisis gives resounding credence to the legend that vampires are masters of hypnosis. Dare to look upon "Lestat" and keep your eyelids from growing heavier and heavier and heavier.

Remember when the fiends with the fangs were fun? In the late 1970's Frank Langella had 'em swooning in the aisles as the fatally erotic title character of "Dracula." But recently bat boys have been unable to get much respect from Broadway audiences.

Somewhere along the way it was decided that vampires were meant to sing and dance, leading to a series of undignified stage portrayals that should have had the Undead Anti-Defamation League up in arms (or wings) long ago.

"Lestat," the maiden Broadway production of Warner Brothers Theater Ventures, is the third vampire musical to open in the last few years, and it seems unlikely to break the solemn curse that has plagued the genre. Directed by Robert Jess Roth from a book by Linda Woolverton, the show admittedly has higher aspirations and (marginally) higher production values than the kitschy "Dance of the Vampires" (2002) and the leaden "Dracula: The Musical" (2004), both major-league flops.

Set in France and New Orleans (with a few exotic road trips) in the 18th and 19th centuries, "Lestat" makes a point of sending up the archetypal vampire myth, with a melodramatic play-within-a-play (performed by a ragtag Parisian theater troupe) seemingly inspired by the Bram Stoker novel that introduced Count Dracula.

The characters in "Lestat," you see, don't do silly things like turn into bats. They are serious, Dostoyevskyan creatures who ponder the nature of good and evil and the torture of human — all right, make that inhuman — solitude.

Such concerns do not stop them from sounding or looking like the stiff, sub-Heathcliffian figures of period romance novels (even if they don't approach the eye-candy heights of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in the Warner Brothers film of Ms. Rice's "Interview With the Vampire"). Hugh Panaro, in the title role, resembles a slimmed-down, foppish Fabio, the onetime top paperback cover model for such fare. And there is plenty of dialogue to match. "Whatever happened out there with the wolves has changed you, Lestat." Or: "I will never find solace! She was my solace! She stood between me and the abyss!"

Ms. Rice's novels can be similarly hokey. But the prose is steeped in an unwavering, baroque musicality that carries readers along despite themselves. "Lestat," which vacillates feebly between low tragedy and lower camp, has nothing like that self-assurance. The pulpy and mostly interchangeable songs by Sir Elton and Mr. Taupin, one of the most successful top-40 teams of all time ("Your Song," "Rocket Man"), are rarely the requisite purple but instead a synthetic shade of mauve.

The musical staging by Matt West consists of halfhearted pastiches, which include a vampire mythology number that bizarrely reworks Jerome Robbins's "Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet in "The King and I." Derek McLane's sets are surprisingly minimal, with the most arresting effects generated by the light show that occurs anytime a new vampire is created. (The lighting is by Kenneth Posner, with "visual concept design" by Dave McKean.)

As for the actors, they mostly tend to make you think that vampires are a petulant lot, always complaining in sing-song voices about how lonely they are and what a drag it is to live forever. Theatergoers who want to resist the soporific spell of this whinefest may possibly find amusement (or indignation) in dissecting "Lestat" as an old-fashioned allegory of homosexuality as a life-warping affliction.

"Lestat" brings to mind a fancy-dress version of "The Boys in the Band," Mart Crowley's landmark play about the miseries of being gay. Here again is a set of expensively attired men who, when they aren't on the prowl for a luscious new conquest, lament the all-consuming urges that have turned them into outcasts.

Louis (Jim Stanek, who in his 19th-century wig looks like the writer Fran Lebowitz), Lestat's New Orleans housemate, sings:

I don't think I can take another night

Of these instincts that I fight

This overwhelming dread

Of feeling damned inside.

And the evil Parisian vampire Armand, played by Drew Sarich as a sustained hissy fit, is a first cousin to Harold, the most viperish and self-loathing of the characters in Mr. Crowley's play.
Adapted from Anne Rice's cult novels "The Vampire Chronicles," and featuring songs by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, this portrait of blood suckers in existential crisis gives resounding credence to the legend that vampires are masters of hypnosis. Dare to look upon "Lestat" and keep your eyelids from growing heavier and heavier and heavier.

Remember when the fiends with the fangs were fun? In the late 1970's Frank Langella had 'em swooning in the aisles as the fatally erotic title character of "Dracula." But recently bat boys have been unable to get much respect from Broadway audiences.

Somewhere along the way it was decided that vampires were meant to sing and dance, leading to a series of undignified stage portrayals that should have had the Undead Anti-Defamation League up in arms (or wings) long ago.

"Lestat," the maiden Broadway production of Warner Brothers Theater Ventures, is the third vampire musical to open in the last few years, and it seems unlikely to break the solemn curse that has plagued the genre. Directed by Robert Jess Roth from a book by Linda Woolverton, the show admittedly has higher aspirations and (marginally) higher production values than the kitschy "Dance of the Vampires" (2002) and the leaden "Dracula: The Musical" (2004), both major-league flops.

Set in France and New Orleans (with a few exotic road trips) in the 18th and 19th centuries, "Lestat" makes a point of sending up the archetypal vampire myth, with a melodramatic play-within-a-play (performed by a ragtag Parisian theater troupe) seemingly inspired by the Bram Stoker novel that introduced Count Dracula.

The characters in "Lestat," you see, don't do silly things like turn into bats. They are serious, Dostoyevskyan creatures who ponder the nature of good and evil and the torture of human — all right, make that inhuman — solitude.

Such concerns do not stop them from sounding or looking like the stiff, sub-Heathcliffian figures of period romance novels (even if they don't approach the eye-candy heights of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in the Warner Brothers film of Ms. Rice's "Interview With the Vampire"). Hugh Panaro, in the title role, resembles a slimmed-down, foppish Fabio, the onetime top paperback cover model for such fare. And there is plenty of dialogue to match. "Whatever happened out there with the wolves has changed you, Lestat." Or: "I will never find solace! She was my solace! She stood between me and the abyss!"

Ms. Rice's novels can be similarly hokey. But the prose is steeped in an unwavering, baroque musicality that carries readers along despite themselves. "Lestat," which vacillates feebly between low tragedy and lower camp, has nothing like that self-assurance. The pulpy and mostly interchangeable songs by Sir Elton and Mr. Taupin, one of the most successful top-40 teams of all time ("Your Song," "Rocket Man"), are rarely the requisite purple but instead a synthetic shade of mauve.

The musical staging by Matt West consists of halfhearted pastiches, which include a vampire mythology number that bizarrely reworks Jerome Robbins's "Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet in "The King and I." Derek McLane's sets are surprisingly minimal, with the most arresting effects generated by the light show that occurs anytime a new vampire is created. (The lighting is by Kenneth Posner, with "visual concept design" by Dave McKean.)

As for the actors, they mostly tend to make you think that vampires are a petulant lot, always complaining in sing-song voices about how lonely they are and what a drag it is to live forever. Theatergoers who want to resist the soporific spell of this whinefest may possibly find amusement (or indignation) in dissecting "Lestat" as an old-fashioned allegory of homosexuality as a life-warping affliction.

"Lestat" brings to mind a fancy-dress version of "The Boys in the Band," Mart Crowley's landmark play about the miseries of being gay. Here again is a set of expensively attired men who, when they aren't on the prowl for a luscious new conquest, lament the all-consuming urges that have turned them into outcasts.

Louis (Jim Stanek, who in his 19th-century wig looks like the writer Fran Lebowitz), Lestat's New Orleans housemate, sings:

I don't think I can take another night

Of these instincts that I fight

This overwhelming dread

Of feeling damned inside.

And the evil Parisian vampire Armand, played by Drew Sarich as a sustained hissy fit, is a first cousin to Harold, the most viperish and self-loathing of the characters in Mr. Crowley's play.
And consider Lestat's relationships with his disapproving father (hates him) and his doting mother (loves, loves, loves her). He so adores his mom, a marquise (played by the ever-game power balladeer Carolee Carmello), that he makes her a vampire too, giving her a chance to dress up like one of the boys, join the hunt and become the undead's answer to Auntie Mame.
At least the leading female vampires are livelier than their male counterparts. The closest "Lestat" comes to so-bad-it's-good camp is in a subplot that might be called "Claudia Has Two Daddies." Claudia is the little orphan girl brought home as a peace offering to the sulking Louis by Lestat, who turns her into a vampire after finding her destitute on the streets of New Orleans.

As portrayed by Allison Fischer, Claudia is a high-decibel version of Patty McCormack in "The Bad Seed," all sweetness, light and lethal bite. She provides the show's high-low point when she throws a musical temper tantrum after being reprimanded for killing her tutor. In a voice to bring down the walls of Jericho, she sings:

Look at you, you disapprove

Like two fussy mothers.

Who are you to criticize

The habits of another?

The song's title, repeated imperiously throughout the lyrics, is "I Want More." So do we, little Claudia. But this show isn't the place to find it.

Lestat

Based on "The Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice; music by Elton John; lyrics by Bernie Taupin; book by Linda Woolverton; musical staging by Matt West; directed by Robert Jess Roth. Sets by Derek McLane; costumes by Susan Hilferty; lighting by Kenneth Posner; sound by Jonathan Deans; visual concept design, Dave McKean; wig and hair design, Tom Watson; makeup design, Angelina Avallone; fight director, Rick Sordelet; projections coordinator, Howard Werner; musical supervisor, Guy Babylon; orchestrations, Steve Margoshes and Mr. Babylon; music direction, incidental music and additional vocal arrangements, Brad Haak; music coordinator, John Miller; vocal arrangements, Todd Ellison; production stage manager, Bonnie L. Becker; associate director, Sam Scalamoni; associate scenic design, Bryan Johnson; general management, Alan Wasser Associates, Allan Williams; technical supervisor, Juniper Street Productions. Presented by Warner Brothers Theater Ventures. At the Palace Theater, 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, (212) 307-4100. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes.

WITH: Hugh Panaro (Lestat), Carolee Carmello (Gabrielle), Drew Sarich (Armand), Jim Stanek (Louis), Roderick Hill (Nicolas), Michael Genet (Marius), Allison Fischer (Claudia), Joseph Dellger (Magnus), Will Swenson, (Marquis and Laurent), Nikki Renée Daniels (Eleni) and Megan Reinking (Beautiful Woman).

David Hughes, of Meopham; Phil Partridge, of Eltham; Sally Bishop, of New Eltham; Stephen Montgomery, of Plumstead; and Laura Sourke, of Erith, have all won a pair of £60 tickets to the Valley gig.

And fans who have yet to secure their place at the biggest event in SE7 this summer can still buy tickets, both over the phone and online from a number of agencies, and in person at the Valley ticket office.

More than 700 people entered the Addicks competition, which was exclusive to the official club website and the daily e-mail Bulletin.

The Rocketman will be playing more than two hours of hits from his incredible back catalogue at the evening event on Sunday, June 4th.

He will be joined by South Wales six-piece band The Storys at his first London stadium gig in 16 years.

The concert itself is the first time in 30 years that the Addicks have staged a major musical event - rock band The Who memorably headlining at The Valley in 1974 and 76.

And a selection of tickets ranging from £40-100 are available from the Charlton ticket office; the higher price ranges are seats on the pitch, while the lower prices are for places in the north and north-west upper stands.

Fans should note that Elton John tickets cannot be purchased from the club over the phone, only by personal callers to the Valley ticket office.

Anyone who wishes to place their order over the phone should call Ticketmaster on 0871 230 4426; See Tickets on 0870 161 2123; or Ticketline on 0870 444 5556.

Alternatively, seats - now available to the general public priced £75, £60 and £40 - can be purchased online at here.

Tickets are limited to six per customer, and a limited number of premium hospitality packages are also available - details of these can be obtained by calling 020-8333 4040.

The final go-ahead for the concert was received earlier this month when Greenwich Council approved a licence for the concert. The Addicks have permission for five non-football based events every year.

A HAUTE couture garage sale from the wardrobe of British singer Elton John has raised almost $1 million to help fund the fight against AIDS.

All proceeds from the five-day sale that ended on Friday in New York would go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
About 10,000 pieces of classic couture and outrageous outfits from John's eclectic fashion collection and that of his partner, David Furnish, had been included in the charity sale.

Amid $20 T-shirts and a $6800 cashmere coat, the collection featured some of John's most fantastic outfits, like the Richard James-designed polka dot suit he wore during a controversial duet with Eminem at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

It also included highbrow tailored suits by top labels such as Versace, Louis Vuitton, Comme des Garcons and Gucci.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation has distributed more than $82 million since 1992 to support AIDS programs.

THE flamboyant frippery of veteran pop-rock singer and legendary over-dresser Elton John went on sale here today to help fund the fight against AIDS.

Ten thousand pieces of classic couture and outrageous outfits from John's eclectic fashion collection and that of his partner, David Furnish, were laid out for purchase at the new Elton's Closet shop in New York's Rockefeller Centre.
"The clothes have hardly been worn - some of them haven't been worn," John said as he cut the ribbon to open the sale.

Amid $US15 T-shirts and a $US5000 ($6858) cashmere coat, the collection featured some of John's most fantastic outfits, like the Richard James-designed polka-dot suit he wore during a controversial duet with rapper Eminem at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

But it also includes high-brow tailored suits and pieces by top designer labels such as Versace, Louis Vuitton, Comme des Garcons and Gucci, with the Elton John AIDS Foundation promising affordable prices on them.

"Come and spend some money to help other people who desperately need their lives to be changed and improved, and you'll be doing a really good thing," John said yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony inaugurating the sale.

Sir Elton, as he has been known since being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, has written and performed top hits on the pop charts for over three decades, including Rocket Man, Your Song and Crocodile Rock.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation has distributed over $US60 million ($82.3 million) since 1992 in support of programs to educate about AIDS prevention, to fight prejudice against AIDS-infected people and to provide services to those living with AIDS.