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John Oliver: so far, so good…

 JOHN OLIVER, the British comedian who has taken over, temporarily, as host of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, has earned rave reviews for his first appearance.

Birmingham-born Oliver, 36, lives in New York and has been a correspondent on The Daily Show for seven years. He is sitting in for Stewart for the next three months while the American directs his first movie.

Some commentators had wondered if Oliver was “too nice” to fill the seat occupied by one of American TV’s most acerbic commentators. But the Briton took just “90 seconds” to find his stride on Monday night’s show, according to Wrap TV.

Referring to revelations that the NSA was monitoring the phone and internet activity of millions of Americans, he said the US government was building a new facility to house “five zetabytes” of information.

“Zetabytes? You’ve got to be careful of those. I think that’s how Michael Douglas got throat cancer,” said Oliver, as a picture of the actor and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones appeared.

The joke was “pure Daily Show: silly, smart, a little risque, perfect”, writes The Wrap’s Tim Molloy. Oliver was off to a perfect start.

The Times’ Tim Teeman says Oliver’s interview with his guest, the Hollywood actor Seth Rogen, was a “fluffy dud” that is best forgotten. But the Englishman’s scripted satire “bit hard and juicily”. It was a reminder, Teeman says, that “the English do pointed, comic outrage with a particular élan”.

Oliver made the most of his Englishness and his relative obscurity. He apologised to his audience for not being Jon Stewart and offered a “florid side-dish of self-negation” for having the temerity to occupy the American’s seat.

Of course, Oliver’s “I’m really rubbish” shtick disguised the sharp comedic skills he honed initially as a member of the Cambridge Footlights.

“Let’s allow him one introductory night of playing the apologetic impostor but hope he subsequently occupies the host’s chair with more confidence,” writes Teeman.

We often follow the life and times of Leilani Dowding here on this column. So, after seeing her Instagram photos this week I couldn’t resist letting you all know that the former Miss Great Britain had shared some snaps of her sexy six-pack working out in West Hollywood with former Eastenders star Robert Kazinsky.

Rob has been hanging around in Tinseltown for sometime now and finally it seems to be paying off for him after years of grafting and doing the rounds along with the many wannabe Brits who are also trying their luck in Hollywood.

Kazinsky is now starting to scratch the surface!

Next month will see the release of Pacific Rim; it’s one of those Alien blockbusters that will leave us all bloated with popcorn after. The film sees an alien attack threaten the Earth’s existence, and the humans fight back by piloting giant robots that are deployed to see off the menace… Oo-er…

Hunky Rob is one of the main characters in the film playing Chuck Hansen, alongside a bevy of Brits that includes Luther star Idris Elba.

And, it doesn’t stop there; Rob’s upcoming successes include a lead role on HBO’s True Blood playing the role of Ben Flynn.

With such a workload on his plate, I’m surprised he can even find the time to hang out with the lovely Leilani… Apparently the pair once dated back in 2007, however, I’m the pair are just good(ahem) friends now…

‘Pacific Rim’ is released in U.S July, 12

It’s finally here… The hotly anticipated Superman reboot, Man Of Steel, starring British actor Henry Cavill, opened on Friday. Woot, woot! With Christopher Nolan producing and Zack Snyder directing,  Warner Brothers hope that Nolan can sprinkle the same magic over Superman as he did on Batman. And in my opinion Nolan and Snyder have pretty much done it, after seeing the mammoth movie, action-wise, as you watch Man Of Steel it just gets bigger and bigger! In an extended opening that takes place on Krypton Jor-El (played by Russell Crowe), is presiding over his son’s birth in the midst of a military coup let by General Zod (Michael Shannon). In true fantasy film style Crowe then rides a winged alien through all sorts of explosions and carnage that ends with baby Superman crash-landing on Earth. Phew…!

The film often jumps between present-day action, as the adult Clark Kent helps those in need, to the life of a young Clark, who is coming to terms with his super powers, guided by his parents Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane). It’s only after reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) finds him, around the same time as General Zod arrives on Earth, that he has to don his famous blue suit and get busy saving the planet earth. Tonally you can see Nolan’s influence but while this adopts some of the seriousness of the Batman films, it also has the comic book color of The Avengers. For the most part there is no disguising his identity by wearing glasses and he has never referred to directly as Superman, the “S” on his chest is now the Kryptonian symbol for hope. Ultimately though, “Man of Steel” has landed in spectacular style. This is a truly SUPER blockbuster!

Tara Summers and Michael Mckean star in Yes, Prime Minister

An artsy crowd schmoozed in the courtyard before the curtain, lubricated by wine and Pimms  – a very pleasant surprise for this reviewer – director Jonathan Lynn was out among the guests rather than backstage, and we also spotted British Consul General Dame Barbara Hay and actress Angelica Huston among the audience.

Lynn, who got his start Fiddler on the Roof in the West End back in 1963 and has enjoyed a long and sucessful career as an actor, writer and director, directs his and Antony Jay’s award-winning comedy of political power and intrigue that has played three sold-out London West End seasons. Performances continue through July 14 in Westwood.

All the action takes place in a single room in Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country retreat, as PM Jim  Hacker (Michael McKean) struggles to come to terms with a growing series of crises while jousting with his wily, veteran civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby (Dakin Matthews) and Sir Humphrey’s idealistic young sidekick, Bernard Woolley (Jefferson Mays).

Hacker is hoping to secure a huge loan – along with an oil pipeline – from the invented central Asian state of Kumranistan, which will help alleviate the fallout from the 2008/09 financial crisis which is still depressing the British economy. The onlyproblem is one of the Kumranistani delegation is feeling frisky and demands a trio of hookers be brought to Chequers as the price of his signature on the agreement. Predictably chaos, conflict – and heavy drinking – ensue.

Fans of the long-running British television series will not find anything new here – either in the dramatic tension between Hacker and Sir Humphrey, or in the issues being raised – but its good to see characters such as Hacker and Sir Humphrey can live beyond the wonderful actors – Nigel  Hawthorne and Paul Eddington – with whom they originated. The Anglo-centric humor got plenty of laughs from the opening night audience, although clearly they are self-selecting group of Anglophiles to begin with – but there’s enough here to win some new fans too. Dakin Matthews was particularly impressive, both for meeting the physical demands of the role and for his delivery of long, complicated, polysyllabic justifications – Whitehall-speak, in other words – with just the same panache we came to expect from the late Hawthorne.

“Although the play is about the British government, I’m hopeful that US audiences will appreciate it just as much as they did in London,” said director Lynn in an earlier statement. “British and American democracies are based on the same fundamental principle: if no one knows what you are doing, no one knows what you’re doing wrong.”

Rounding out  the cast are Stephen Caffrey as BBC Presenter; Brian George as The Kumranistani Ambassador; Tara Summers (the only REAL Brit in the cast) as Claire Sutton, Special Policy Advisor; and Time Winters as The Director General of the BBC.

The production also features set design by Simon Higlett, costume design by Kate Bergh, lighting design by Daniel Ionazzi and sound design by J. Cox and John Leonard.

Tickets are available in person at the Geffen Playhouse box office, via phone at (310) 208-5454 or online at geffenplayhouse.com.

 Rating: 3 Stars

 By Gabrielle Pantera

 “Tony Richardson had, to my mind, been unfairly airbrushed out of British film and television history,” says author Tim Adler. “I contacted his daughter, the actress Natasha Richardson. We were in the middle of drawing up an agreement between us when I turned on the television in March 2009 to see the appalling news that she had died in a skiing accident. Following Natasha’s death the Redgrave family did not want the book written or published. Happily, The Sunday Times of London campaigned to have the book made available and (British publishing house) Aurum Press published The House of Redgrave.”

This book is not an authorized biography and offers an intriguing insight into the bohemian lives of the three Redgrave children, Vanessa, Lynn and Corin. But there is far more detail about Vanessa’s former husband Richardson, who won two Academy Awards for Tom Jones (1964) and was also an accomplished theatre director and leading member of the new wave of ‘Angry Young Men’ of British stage and screen in the late 1950s. The book, which is an easy read with short chapters and quotes about the family, is far more personal than professional in its focus.

One interesting vignette is when Adler tells of Laurence Olivier on stage after Michael Redgrave, well known Shakespearean actor and father of Vanessa, Lynn and Corin,  had just performed in the role of Laertes. Olivier announces, “Ladies and gentleman, tonight a great actress was born: Laertes has a daughter.” That daughter was Vanessa Redgrave.

“The House Of Redgrave was sparked by the first holiday I ever had outside of England,” says Adler. “When I was 18, I was invited to stay at Tony Richardson’s house, near St Tropez in the South of France. At the time I had no idea who Tony was, let alone that in the early 1960s he was the equivalent of Quentin Tarantino in terms of how in demand he was.”

“The most enjoyable part of writing any non-fiction book is doing the research and interviewing people, whether it was Michael Douglas for my book The Producers, about the qualities you need to be a successful movie producer, or talking to a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles who successfully prosecuted Mafiosi involved in movie industry extortion for my book Hollywood and the Mob.”

“After Hollywood and the Mob came out, the Pulitzer-nominated investigative journalist Anthony Summers and his wife Robbyn sat me down and taught me how they research their books,” says Adler. ‘Before I assumed that if something was in a book it must be true, Tony showed me how to find the magazine article or newspaper clipping each book reference came from, eventually building a library of cross-referenced files.”

Author Tim Adler

“Two particular treasure troves of material for The House of Redgrave were the BBC Archive Centre in Berkshire, which has microfiche transcripts of every single BBC radio broadcast,” says Adler, “and The V&A Theatre Collection, which houses handwritten letters from each Redgrave family member, including one from Vanessa to her father dramatically calling off her engagement to the father of the current Archbishop of Canterbury.”

Adler’s first book, The Producers: Money, Movies and Who Really Calls the Shots, was published by Methuen in 2004. Bloomsbury published Adler’s Hollywood and the Mob in 2007, which The Mail On Sunday named Book of the Week and the Daily Mail made a Critic’s Choice. Until 2012, Adler was London editor of Deadline Hollywood, Nikki Finke’s entertainment news website. He’s written for The Hollywood Reporter, The Times of London and The Daily Telegraph.

Tim Adler lives in London. He grew up in Nottingham.

The House of Redgrave: The Lives of a Theatrical Dynasty by Tim Adler. Hardback, Pages: 384, Publisher: Aurum Press, Limited, Publication date: 4/1/2013     ISBN-13: 9781845136239 $29.95

British Foreign Secretary the Rt. Hon. William Hague will be appearing at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Century City on Wednesday, June 26th as a guest of honor of the The Los Angeles World Affairs Council and the British-American Business Council (Los Angeles).

The event, from 1-2.30pm, is titled ‘Britain, The US and a World of Opportunities’.

Mr Hague is the most senior member of Prime Minister David Cameron’s cabinet, and has been a Member of Parliament since 1989. His visit comes as the US, the UK and the other EU member states are beginning to negotiate a free trade agreement, even as some European and eurozone economies appear to be sliding back into recession. Whatever comes out of the free trade talks will have relevance for anyone running a business in the US and Europe. Since becoming Foreign Secretary, Mr Hague has made engagement with emerging powers an important part of Britain’s diplomatic and business effort, strengthening the UK’s presence through the opening of new diplomatic Posts in Latin America and increasing Britain’s representation in China, India and elsewhere.

The Foreign Secretary is at the forefront of some of the most difficult international political issues of the day, notably the Middle East peace process and Syria. He is a strong proponent of human rights and equality and recently pushed through a new international protocol on preventing sexual violence in conflict.

After studying at Oxford and getting an MBA at INSEAD, one of Europe’s top business schools, Mr Hague worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company before going into politics. He was Minister of State for Social Security and Secretary of State for Wales before serving as head of the Conservative party from 1997 to 2001. He became Foreign Secretary when the Conservatives returned to government in 2010.

Tickets are $55 for BABC LA Members and advance reservations are required. Call (424) 258-6160 by Monday, June 24th.

ARIES: In any relationship situation please understand you can’t control everything that people think; all you CAN do is keep an eye on what the other person is doing. Expect some fun and games this weekend.

TAURUS: Your priority should be taking care of you in any area that requires attention and start with what you know is well overdue. On the upside finances are due a boost this month.

GEMINI: You have a very creative side and it is about time you explored the possibilities. If you just think about it, you will not see the benefit that can be had from opening up to new directions. Happy Birthday!

CANCER: Beware this week about speaking out of turn to anyone or the consequences will be long-lasting. One person in particular may take against you in a serious way. The good news is that Jupiter is moving into your sign for an extended visit, which always brings excitement.

LEO: This is a time for the inner stress to show itself, especially for those of you who tend to over worry – which is pretty much a waste of time. If you have any health issues make sure you check this out.

VIRGO: It’s time for a change of scenery; this can be as simple as a coat of paint on the walls to a trip out of town. Either way it’s best to take some action rather than brood as this is the worst thing to do. Be proactive, not reactive.

LIBRA: If you have things you need to be working on in the home area get moving and you can be finished by next week. If you waste time you will be too busy with other things and you will have less time to have fun.

SCORPIO: Due to positive planetary activity affecting the water signs you will be in good (or better) spirits than recently. If you have felt a bit lost or blue look inside for the answer to what made you feel not good. Either way it’s all temporary, so cheer up.

SAGITTARIUS: If you want to change anything waiting around for others to make the first move is not a good idea. Your lucky ruler Jupiter is leaving your opposite sign and has been giving you the fortitude to hang on until decisions are made for the good.

CAPRICORN: You are the most responsible sign of the Universe usually, however even you are allowed time out and as Jupiter is moving in next week to your opposite sign Cancer, it’s time to play a little. Just be sure you let those that matter to you know that are only taking a well deserved time out.

AQUARIUS:  You are probably feeling a bit frustrated this week. That’s life, so take a break and do not let your duties frustrate you. If you did not have a purpose in life it would dull indeed! A short journey is on the cards.

PISCES: The planets are really on your side this month; however as with all water signs you let your feelings take control sometimes so watch out you don’t upset someone who does not ‘get’ you. Jupiter in your cousin sign Cancer next week will soon bring a dramatic improvement.

For a private consultation with Annie, call 310/392-1681

New noir thriller Jack Taylor stars Iain Glen (most recently seen as Daenerys Targaryen’s loyal retainer Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones) as a self-destructive, pig-headed, and highly-entertaining ex-cop trying to earn a living as a private detective in western Ireland. Taylor has burned a lot of bridges, but he still has a knack for uncovering ugly truths.

Jack Taylor captures a country in transition, caught between the certainties of the past and the anxieties of a post-bubble future. Those same strains play out in the life of Jack Taylor, a man seeking to reinvent himself in a community with a long memory and an uneasy attitude towards change. In his new trade, Taylor finds evil at every turn: the serial murders of young female factory workers, a vicious vigilante group executing summary justice, and a sadistic nun dubbed “Lucifer” by her former charges.

Jack Taylor also stars Nora-Jane Noone (The Magdalene Sisters), Tara Breathnach (The Tudors), Frank O’Sullivan (Michael Collins), and Liam Carney (Angela’s Ashes).

Also debuting this month is Season Nine of Britain’s highest-rated TV drama (and PBS hit), New Tricks, which features retired cops solving cold cases. Led by Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman), the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad’s beautiful, younger boss, the old dogs have solved cold cases with classic policing skills for years. This season, the gang copes with a new member (Denis Lawson), after Jack Halford (James Bolam) retires. New Tricks has run on the BBC for nine seasons since 2003 and has already been renewed for a tenth season. The series has enjoyed ongoing broadcast exposure in North America on select PBS stations; however the DVD set features the unedited UK edition, which includes more than five minutes per episode not seen on public television, plus a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette (10 episodes, $39.99),

Acorn TV is considered the leading source for quality British television on this side of the pond, and have recently launched a unique streaming service. For more details visit:  AcornOnline.com).

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Linda Porto stars as Kate in Modrock

As the name suggests, Modrock  is set in London in the mid-1960s when the city was the epicenter of new currents of British music, fashion and culture. Where talents as diverse as the Kinks and the Animals, Mary Quant and Vidal Sassoon, David Bailey and Michael Caine where creating waves of music, fashion, style and image which would soon sweep across the world.

Modrock tells the story of two star-crossed lovers who try to bridge the bitter gap between their two tribes – she’s a Mod, he’s a Rocker, who instead of battling each other on Brighton Beach, instead find love with each other.

The show features 20 classic songs from the era, including We Gotta Get  Out of this Place, For Your Love, Bus Stop, Sunny Afternoon, Time of the Season, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, You’ve Got Your Troubles, Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying and Downtown.

The ensemble cast of 12 includes Melinda Porto as Kate and Steven Good as Adam – the star-crossed lovers – as well as Harley Jay, Michael Hawley, Jade Tailor, Emily Morris and Adrianna Rose Lyons as the Rockers, and Erin Watkins, Scott Kruse, Ian Littleworth, Julia Tobey and Scott Weston as the Mods.

The director is Brian Lohmann from the book by Hagan Thomas Jones. Musical Arrangements by David O  and choreography by Michele Spears.

The idea for “ModRock” came to Hagan Thomas-Jones in 2008. A documentary film producer, Thomas-Jones was developing a film on the “British Invasion” of the early 1960’s but he could not find the right book or story when it occurred to him that this unique time in cultural history would be a great setting and score for a stage musical.

Hagan-Thomas said, “Some people think only the Beatles and Stones when the British Invasion is mentioned but it was so very much more! The period between 1963 and 1966 in Great Britain produced some of the best songwriters and bands of all time.  There were literally hundreds of artists, bands and songwriters who emerged from the period, many of whom remain among the most iconic of all time, and whose music still resonates with us today.”

The El Portal Theatre is located at 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.

Performances begin Wed. June 19th at 8pm and continue Thursday and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm. (No performance July 4th).

Tickets are priced at $44 and $59. To bookc all (818) 508-4200 or visit www.modrockmusical.com

Despite his past battles with sex addiction, comedian Russell Brand insisted he never cheated on his ex-wife, pop star Katy Perry during their marriage, which ended in December 2011.

Adamant he was faithful, Russell told Esquire magazine: “When I’m in a relationship I’m diligently monogamous and stick to the principles agreed on within that relationship. You’ve got to, I think.

“But it’s going to be hard if I go into a monogamous relationship.

“I live a life where I have a lot of freedom, so if I meet someone and I go, ‘Right let’s be monogamous,’ that’s a f****** change.

“But I tried it and I loved it.”

Explaining the reasons behind their split, he added: “Some of it’s the fame, but I think getting married is… you’ve got a whole other person that you’ve got to make as important as you.

“It’s just hard isn’t it? She’s got a lot of options, I’ve got a lot of options, so you’ve got to really, really want it (to make marriage work).”

This is true Russell my dear… But clearly, Katie didn’t want it…(Ouch!)

Local Boy: Julien Temple

Temple, perhaps  best known for his work on The Great Rock & Roll Swindle, reaches back to London’s  past from the late 19th century onwards, weaving together a patchwork of archival clips, songs, poems, and interviews with the city’s denizens.  He makes heavy use of London as a location, splicing in clips from Hitchcock’s Blackmail, Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom, John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday and his own lavish musical flop, Absolute Beginners, between newsreel flashbacks.

Temple is also an unabashed fan of the poets, writers, artists and musicians who have made London their home over the centuries, and good use is made of the words  of WB Yeats, William Blake and TS Eliot, among others, in addition to archive cameos London icons  including Michael Caine, David Bowie, Terence Stamp, Julie Christie, Quentin Crisp and the Rolling Stones, plus a background chorus of storekeepers, dock workers, market traders and other cockney archetypes. Narration comes from a stellar cast two, including Michael Gambon, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Andy Serkis.

The film is very upfront about the vital importance of successive waves of immigrants to London’s unparalleled cosmopolitan outlook, and how the city has been reshaped and revitalized by groups including (but not limited to), Jews from Eastern Europe,  and Irish, Caribbean, Pakistani, Indian, Vietnamese and Afghani migrants. But London, the Modern  Babylon does not shrink from showing the ugly racial tensions newcomers often faced.

London, the Modern Babylon • Director: Julien Temple • Producers: Amanda Temple, Stephen Malit • Editor: Caroline Richards • Not Rated. 128 minutes

Showing at: Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 – 673 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena and Laemmle’s NoHo 7 – 5240 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood

Leilani Dowding makes a fashion boob as she exposes her bare breast (inset pic) in a low-cut shirt on her way to a plastic surgeon.

The former Page 3 girl was spotted arriving at a top plastic and anti-ageing surgery in Los Angeles when she was caught out by a gust of wind.

The breeze blew open her floral Alexander McQueen blouse, revealing her nipple.

The Bournemouth-born  beauty teamed the top with a pair of denim hot pants and orange peep-toe heels, flashing a lot of leg as she chatted on the phone.

Leilani, 33, recently told pals she was no longer happy with the size of her chest, and that she missed her Page 3 boobs.

She told a friend: “I miss my cleavage!”

The source added: “Leilani told me she felt she was as flat as a Cheeky Girl these days.”

The brunette has previously denied using cosmetic surgery, claiming she uses natural methods to stay in tip-top shape.

She told The Sun in February: “I have always been a health nut.

“I haven’t gone out partying until the crack of dawn like some models have.

“Though I’m no saint, I have always looked after myself with good diet and exercise.

“That’s why I can still do this type of modelling and get away with it. I’m an all-natural, no-surgery girl!”

Could she be backtracking on her statement?! Hmm…

I hear the Rolling Stones are planning to pull in a string of top female vocalists for their July 6 show in London’s Hyde Park with superstar singer Adele at the top of Mick Jagger’s wish list.

A source said the wheels are in motion to make Adele the big-name guest on the bill – if she can be persuaded to appear.

The source said: “The Stones would love to get Adele on with them. It would be a massive coup, even for them, because she’s been a bit reclusive since her son Angelo James was born.

“She is the name they want to announce as their special guest – and their invite should be special enough to get her out on stage.

“At the minute it’s 50/50 that she’ll do it, but Mick is quietly confident he can pull it off. They want to make the Hyde Park shows a highlight of their tour, and her appearing would make it really special.”

If the band can secure Adele, Mick hinted he may dust off his billowing white frock he worn to the last Stones Hyde Park gig 44 years ago, saying: “You never know. I can still get into it. I can still just about get into the zippers. I tend to choose my dresses at the last minute.”

The Stones have made it a tradition to bring a female vocalist on stage during their latest tour.

The source added: “The group think female performers are a great complement for Mick ever since Florence Welch got on stage with them at London’s O2 Arena last year for Gimme Shelter.”

  Other chart-topping stars lined up by Mick to appear with the band are Lady Gaga, Paloma Faith and Florence Welch. Oo-er… Not to be missed!