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CANNES, May 8 — Days before the curtain rises on the world’s biggest film market at Cannes, festival organisers say the recession-hit film industry looks set to slide out of the doldrums.

“There are signs of a timid recovery,” festival director Thierry Fremaux told AFP. “Cannes will probably reflect that.”

With some 10,000 business types and 400 companies from 97 countries in town for the Cannes Market on May 13 to 22, held on the sidelines of the festival, the market is the globe’s top movie business place — with wheeling and dealing for rights to some 4,000 movies, either finished or in the planning stage.

Market director Jerome Paillard, who has run the sector for 14 years, said that days before the start of business, registrations were up six per cent from belt-tightening 2009.

“Everyone is watching very closely how things go this year,” he told AFP. “Professionals are showing optimism once again but we will see whether this translates into hard fact.”

Favourable currency exchange rates, he added, had helped buoy the US presence this year after a difficult edition, thanks to the financial crisis.

Some 16 per cent of buyers and sellers are from the United States, with around the same numbers from Asia and 62 per cent from Europe.

The number of producers signed up to attend has risen 10 per cent to 2,000.

“You can tell that people have more visibility and more readiness to project into the future,” he added. “And both distributors and television networks need to buy films after having had to survive on stocks for a year, which is encouraging.”

Paillard said however that while a number of countries were back on the buyers’ market, offers were pegged to price levels seen two to three years back.

“This is a lasting trend that the market will have to take into account,” he said.

With 2,000-odd completed films up for sale this year, the Market offers 33 cinemas located in the central festival building famed for its red-carpeted steps, as well as in luxury hotels on the palm-fringed Croisette seaside walk and in city cinemas.

Ten of the cinemas have been equipped for 3-D screenings, increasingly popular since James Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar” netted record ticket sales of US$2.7 billion (RM8.6 billion).

“3-D productions are spreading everywhere, they’re not just being made in Hollywood but also in Europe and Asia,” Paillard said.

“Today people are wondering whether 3-D will spread beyond action movies and genre films to more intimate arthouse fare.” — AFP-Relaxnews

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MADRID, May 4 — US pop star Lionel Richie has collaborated with Enrique Iglesias on the Spanish singer’s new English-language single “I Like It” which was previewed yesterday on the Internet.

The upbeat song, which was uploaded to the web site of Spanish television channel Telecinco, features a sample of Richie’s 1983 hit single “All Night Long”.

It was recorded with Lady Gaga producer Red One and it will be included on Iglesias’ as-yet-untitled new album which will be released in July.

“I can’t wait to finish making this album. It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before. It taps into so many different styles of music. It has been really exciting for me to experiment and explore new territory,” he said last month.

Iglesias, 34, and Richie, 60, worked together before on the 2002 hit duet “To Love A Woman”.

The song first appeared on Richie’s ‘live’ album “Encore” and Iglesias’ special edition release of “Escape”.

Since bursting on to the music scene in 1995, Enrique has become one of the biggest selling Spanish artists of all time, selling over 55 million albums. — afprelaxnews.com

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APRIL 18 — A young Taiwanese man’s version of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, an iPad turned to dust, and a new Tiger Woods commercial dominate this week’s worldwide YouTube charts.

1) Taiwanese Lin Yu Chun Sings Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” LIVE — Taiwan´s Susan Boyle. 5,387,259 views.

2) Will It Blend? - iPad — After marbles and golf balls, Blendtec’s Tom Dickson takes on the iPad, testing his blender’s capability of turning the gadget to dust. 5,386,775 views.

3) New Tiger Woods Commercial: Earl and Tiger —Nike’s new filmed ad has a voiceover of his late father

4) Kobe Bryant points at Jeff Van Gundy — After Van Gundy said Bryant’s left-hand hook shot was the worst he had ever seen, the NBA star proves him wrong. 2,781,453 views.

5) F***ING BIRDS!! — Vlogger Ray William Johnson fills you in on what you missed on YouTube this week. 2,087,207 views.

6) Annoying Orange: Excess Cabbage — Vlogger Orange loses his mojo, but Cabbage does his best to help get it back. 2,067,388 views.

7) THE TALKING TWINKIE!?! —Vlogger Shane Dawson’s own personal food war. 1,851,658 views.

8) Lin Yu Chun Sings Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ — Another clip of Chun’s TV breakthrough. 1,817,911 views.

9) Pool Flip FAIL — A woman attempts to do a handstand flip into the pool. 1,502,566 views.

10) Prank Call WIN — A caller brings up an awkward subject on a live sports show. 1,364,000 views. — AFP-Relaxnews.com

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BERLIN, Feb 16 — It starts bleak, like quite a few Scandinavian films before it. Then “A Somewhat Gentle Man,” a Norwegian movie screened at the Berlin Film Festival yesterday, warms into a delightful if still-dark comedy.

Grey-haired gangster Ulrik, just out of a 12-year jail sentence for murder, stumbles from one tricky situation to another. He is supposed to kill someone but has gone soft.

“These are people who aren’t in the top tier of society, and probably not at the prime of their life, and it’s amusing to see how they struggle to retain a sliver of dignity,” director Hans Petter Moland told a news conference at the world premiere.

“It’s really hard to age with any sort of dignity, well knowing that you aren’t necessarily young, beautiful and rich and happy, and all these other things we are supposed to aspire to,” the Norwegian added.

Ulrik leaves prison and returns to the vestiges of his former life, where his gangster boss — complete with thick gold chain and half-wit sidekick — is waiting for him to kill the snitch that ratted on him.

But Ulrik, who ends up getting entangled in a hilarious love triangle with his bosses’ troll-like older sister and a younger rival, is suddenly hesitant about the hit and instead starts devoting his energy to re-connecting with his grown-up son.

In the meantime, he keeps getting seduced by different women while he’s trying to eat his dinner. He does go to kill the snitch but gives up when the frightened target wets his pants. So they sit down for a cup of tea instead.

The film plays with gangster stereotypes and weaves in slapstick comedy and scenes of human pathos, trying to break down the idea that a murderer is simply a bad guy.

“In Scandinavia, we reject the simplistic idea there are only good guys and bad guys, which is really healthy,” said Stellan Skarsgard, the Swedish star who plays Ulrik.

Skarsgard, who has featured in Hollywood films such as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Mamma Mia!,” added: “If you want to make films about people, they should be silly, funny, beautiful, tragic and moving, as we’re all of those things.”

Another Scandinavian film competing at the festival, “Submarino”, also recounts the story of an ex-convict but strikes a darker tone. — Reuters

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 24 – Quentin Tarantino’s World War Two movie “Inglourious Basterds” won its biggest award so far on Saturday, taking the top prize at the Screen Actors Guild awards.

Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock were hailed as best movie actor and actress of 2009 on a night where no single movie dominated but which lined the two stars up for likely Oscar glory in March.

“Inglourious Basterds,” a violent and darkly comic revenge fantasy, won for best ensemble for a multinational cast that included American Brad Pitt, Germany’s Diane Kruger and Austrian Christoph Waltz, who also added the SAG best supporting actor trophy to his slew of awards.

The Tarantino movie had already won a string of film critics’ awards but none as prestigious as the award chosen by the 120,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild.

The SAG awards are usually seen as a key indicator of success at the Oscars, the movie industry’s highest honours.

But “Avatar,” which won a Golden Globe and has earned more than $1.6 billion at global box offices, was not in the running at SAG, whose members tend to reward acting talent rather than action adventures.

Bullock, previously best known for romantic comedies, plays a wealthy white mother who takes a downtrodden black high school football player into her home in “The Blind Side.”

“If you look at my career, no-one would have predicted this,” the actress told reporters, referring to the clutch of awards she has won for her performance.

“I was lucky that I wanted to better my work, and that I was given the opportunity,” she said, saying she has now learned to say “no” to mediocre parts. She said her money had been on veteran Meryl Streep for her role as TV chef Julia Child in “Julie and Julia.”

STANDING OVATION

Bridges’ performance as a drunken country singer in “Crazy Heart” has brought the best accolades of a career that started when he was a baby.

Bridges, 60, who hails from an acting dynasty that includes his father Lloyd Bridges and brother Beau, was given a standing ovation on Saturday.

“I love being an actor, pretending to be in the shoes of other folks,” he said, saying the array of stars at the SAG dinner were like “a big family.”

“Basterds” beat urban drama “Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” while critically acclaimed independent Iraq war movie “The Hurt Locker,” British film “An Education,” and star-studded musical “Nine,” all came away empty-handed.

Waltz took his first supporting actor SAG award for playing a manipulative Nazi officer in “Basterds.” Comedy actress Mo’Nique took home the supporting actress award for playing against type as an abusive mother in “Precious.”

Both Waltz and Mo’Nique came off Golden Globe wins last weekend.

“I have no lucky charm. I am 100 per cent superstition-free and I take nothing for granted,” Waltz told reporters when asked about his Oscar chances.

SAG also hands out awards for television, with AMC’s stylish 1960s series “Mad Men” won for a second year for best ensemble drama cast and the Fox quirky musical comedy “Glee” taking the award for best ensemble comedy cast in its first season.

Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin continued their long streak of wins for best comedy actress and actor for NBC’s “30 Rock.” Former “ER” star Julianna Margulies won best TV drama actress for “The Good Wife” on CBS, while Michael C. Hall won for his role as a serial killer in Showtime drama “Dexter.” – Reuters

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 24 – Perfection is not what it seems, especially in Hollywood, if the latest gossip is to be believed. According to Britain’s News of The World, the “Golden Couple” of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, often abbreviated to “Brangelina”, are headed for Splitsville.

The tabloid reported today that Pitt and Jolie have consulted divorce lawyers and agreed on a RM1,12 billion property settlement.

The couple will also reportedly share custody of their six children, who will actually live with Jolie.

“Dynamite legal papers secretly signed by the couple this month detail how all their homes and assets will be carved up,” the paper reported, adding “an announcement of their separation is expected to be made soon - ending months of speculation that the five-year relationship is on the rocks.”

Pitt and Jolie (file pic, right) became an “item” when they starred together in 2004’s “Mr and Mrs Smith”. They have three adopted children (Maddox, eight, Pax, six, and Zahara, five), and three together (Shiloh, three, and 17- month-old twins Knox and Vivienne).

Before they got together, Pitt had been married to Jennifer Aniston and, earlier, engaged to Gwyneth Paltrow, while Jolie had been married twice, to Billy Bob Thornton and Johnny Lee Miller.

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 24 – The “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon, led by George Clooney (pic) and Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean, has raised more than $57 million for relief to the earthquake-ravaged country, organizers said on Saturday.

They called the $57 million a record for public donations in a disaster relief telethon, and said the figures were still “preliminary” as they exclude donations by corporations and large private donors and sales figures on website iTunes.

Organizers said the “Hope for Haiti Now” album was the biggest one-day album pre-order in iTunes history and was currently No. 1 on iTunes’ album chart in 18 countries.

The two-hour telethon featured more than 100 celebrities singing songs, telling tales of loss and survival in Haiti and taking donations by phone. It was broadcast on television networks around the world, online and on mobile carriers.

Singer Alicia Keys kicked off the benefit singing “Prelude to a Kiss.” US rapper Jay-Z debuted a song with U2’s Bono and The Edge, and R&B artist Beyonce sang her “Halo” with Coldplay’s Chris Martin on piano.

Actors including Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington and Nicole Kidman told stories of Haitians who had survived and heroic tales of rescue efforts.

Proceeds will be split among relief organisations including the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the UN World Food Programme, Oxfam America, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Foundation.

The Jan 12, magnitude-7 quake killed up to 200,000 people, Haitian authorities said, and left up to 3 million people hurt or homeless and clamouring for medical assistance, food and water in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. – Reuters

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NEW YORK, Jan 23 — Dozens of the biggest names in film and music sang in somber tones and urged the world to donate to earthquake-stricken Haiti yesterday at a benefit led by actor George Clooney and Haiti-born rapper Wyclef Jean.

The two-hour telethon, called “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief,” was shown around the world on television, online and mobile carriers, and featured more than 100 celebrities performing from New York, Los Angeles and London.

Singer Alicia Keys kicked off the benefit with her song “Prelude to a Kiss,” which included the lyric “Can you send an angel?” before Clooney, one of the telethon’s main organisers, delivered the night’s first address.

“The Haitian people need our help,” said Clooney. “They need to know that they are not alone, they need to know that we still care.”

Up to 1.5 million Haitians lost their homes in the earthquake that rocked the poor Caribbean country 10 days ago and killed up to 200,000 people.

The telethon, aiming for the largest-ever global audience, featured musical collaborations, tales of loss and survival, and actors taking donations by phone, while the broadcast relayed shocking images and interviews with Haitians.

“Right now we can see the second wave of this disaster coming,” Jean said from New York. “My country is in great pain.”

From London, US rapper Jay-Z debuted a song with U2’s Bono and The Edge in which Jay-Z blasted verses about the earthquake before Bono and singer Rihanna chimed in with the lyric “Not going to leave you stranded.”

Earlier, Beyonce sang her song “Halo” with Coldplay’s Chris Martin on piano.

From Los Angeles, singers Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Kid Rock strummed acoustic guitar and sang “Lean On Me,” while Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris performed a duet cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”

Other singers included Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Sting and Jennifer Hudson, who sang a more upbeat version of The Beatles’ “Let It Be.”

Actors including Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington and Nicole Kidman appeared throughout the broadcast to tell stories of Haitians who had survived under the rubble and the rescue efforts. DiCaprio was one of several stars to donate US$1 million (RM3.4 million) this week.

Bruce Springsteen sang the protest song “We Shall Overcome” and Stevie Wonder performed Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” with more than a dozen harmonising backup singers.

Proceeds from the telethon will be split among relief organisations including the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the UN World Food Programme, Oxfam America, the Red Cross, Unicef and Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation. From today, all of the performances will be available to buy on Apple’s iTunes.

Relief agencies estimate one-third of Haiti’s 9 million people will need emergency food, water and shelter for an extended period. Donations could be made at hopeforhaitinow.org. — Reuters

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NEW YORK, Jan 23 — Conan O’Brien ended his brief stint as host of the “The Tonight Show” yesterday, taking shots at NBC but ultimately taking the high road and thanking his former employer for a chance at “the best job in the world.”

“This company has been my home for most of my adult life,” O’Brien told the Burbank, California, audience and home viewers during his final moments on the show, which began with a sustained standing ovation from the fans who chanted “Conan, Conan.”

“Thank you, that’s going to have to last me awhile,” he cracked once they settled down.”

Late in the show the host struck a more serious note, saying “Tonight I’m allowed to say anything I want.”

“I am enormously proud of the work we have done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible,” he said.

Still, in his opening monologue O’Brien offered a list of possible uses for the soon-to-be vacated studio built expressly for his widely publicised assumption of “Tonight Show” hosting duties last year.

Among the suggestions were a “storage facility for apology notes to NBC stockholders,” and “leave the studio cold and empty and rename it “The World’s Largest Metaphor For NBC Programming.”

Joining O’Brien for his last show were actor Tom Hanks, comedian Will Ferrell who appeared on O’Brien’s first “Tonight” show, and singer Neil Young, who performed “Long May You Run.”

Thursday night’s show featured a surprise appearance by Ben Stiller, as well as an X-rated performance by Robin Williams that targeted NBC and was bleeped out several times.

In one of his trademark self-deprecating jabs, O’Brien joked that when the inevitable HBO film is made of the debacle, “I’d like to be played by Academy-Award winning actress Tilda Swinton,” who, like O’Brien, is a fair-skinned redhead.

Steve Carell of the NBC satirical comedy “The Office” conducted O’Brien’s “exit interview” in a surprise appearance.

“Did anything trigger your decision to leave,” he inquired, deadpan, before presenting O’Brien with a termination packet which included information on continuing education. Finally Carell asked the star for his company ID badge, which he fed into a shredder.

O’Brien’s swan song in one of US television’s most coveted and high-profile jobs capped two weeks of acrimonious sniping, much of it on-air, that ended with a US$45 million (RM153 million) exit deal which will allow the show’s previous host, Jay Leno, to return to the flagship late-night talk show.

After more than a week of negotiations, General Electric Co’s NBC said it had agreed to release O’Brien from his contract after seven months, and that he would be free to take a new job elsewhere after Sept 1.

The struggling network, already bottom of the four big US TV networks and now the butt of jokes by its own and rival comics, said Leno will return as host of “The Tonight Show” on March 1.

Leno hosted the programme for 17 years, making it the top-rated late-night talk show on US television. He handed over to O’Brien in June, only to see audiences slump, while Leno’s own prime-time talk show floundered as well.

Leno’s name went unmentioned during O’Brien’s final show.

At the conclusion, the outgoing host sombrely told his audience:

“Walking away from ‘The Tonight Show’ is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

“This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it... I did it my way, with people I love and I do not regret a second. I’ve had more good fortune than anyone I know.”

He ended the show by joining Ferrell in a rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” — Reuters

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WASHINGTON, Jan 23 — British actress Jean Simmons, who starred opposite Laurence Olivier in “Hamlet” during a career spanning 60 years, has died in California, Los Angeles Times reported today.

Simmons, who was 80 and had lung cancer, died at her home in Santa Monica last night, it quoted her agent Judy Page as saying.

Born in London, Simmons started acting in British films as a teenager and later moved to the United States to star in movies such as the 1955 musical “Guys and Dolls” with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, and Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” with Kirk Douglas in 1960.

Simmons won a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for playing Ophelia in “Hamlet” in 1948 and a best actress nomination for her role in “The Happy Ending” — a 1969 film directed by her second husband Richard Brooks.

Her marriage to Brooks ended in divorce in 1977. She married Brooks in 1960, months after divorcing actor Stewart Granger.

“As a 14-year-old dance student she was plucked from her school to play Margaret Lockwood’s precocious sister in ‘Give Us the Moon’ (1944),” according to a biography of the actress on IMDb.COM movies website.

By the 1980s, she mainly appeared in TV mini-series and won an Emmy for her role in “The Thorn Birds” in 1983.

Simmons “made a comeback to films in 1995 in ‘How to Make an American Quilt’ co-starring Winona Ryder and Anne Bancroft, and most recently played the elderly Sophie in the English version of Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘Hauru no ugoku shiro’,” a 2004 animated film, according to IMDb.COM.

Simmons is survived by her two daughters, Tracy Granger and Kate Brooks, Los Angeles Times said. She lived in Santa Monica with her pets, a dog and two cats, according to IMDb.COM. — Reuters

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BEVERLY HILLS, Jan 18 — Disney adventure “Up” won two early Golden Globe Awards yesterday, including best animated movie, and Meryl Streep claimed best actress in a film comedy at a show that took on a sombre tone after the recent earthquake in Haiti.

Box-office sensation “The Hangover” was named best comedy and Mo’Nique earned best supporting film actress, going against her reputation as a comedienne and playing an abusive mother in dark drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”.

Current blockbuster “Avatar” earned best director for James Cameron, and corporate downsizing drama “Up In the Air” garnered writing honours for Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner.

Among television awards, “Mad Men,” about the lives of Madison Avenue advertising executives, claimed its third straight Golden Globe for best drama and upstart musical “Glee” was named best comedy or musical.

The glitzy Golden Globes, one of the most-watched awards shows in Hollywood, were filled with statements of thankfulness by A-list celebrities far from the chaos of the recent disaster in Haiti. Many stars wore yellow, blue and red ribbons to show their support for victims.

Accepting her award on stage, Streep said she had to remember “my happy movie self, in the face of everything I’m aware of in the real world.” She said her mother, now deceased, had a sense of joy that, during difficult times, taught Streep how to be grateful for success.

The Golden Globe Awards are given out by some 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to film and television actors, directors and others, and a win here can give movies the momentum they need in Hollywood’s race for Oscars, the world’s top movie honours given out in March.

The ceremony is seen by tens of millions of viewers around the world, and can help propel TV winners to fame. The stars’ fashion choices on the glamorous red carpet give designers exposure to take their clothes to catwalks worldwide.

Sunday’s night’s choices among stars such as Sandra Bullock consisted of the usual black, but also deep and rich colours.

The show airs on US TV network NBC, and this year Ricky Gervais had been hired as host to bring his off-the-cuff and often controversial humour to yesterday’s show. He did not disappoint with some off-colour remarks about his genitals.

Heading into yesterday’s telecast, NBC’s contract-ending talks with late-night host Conan O’Brien, over being replaced on “The Tonight Show” by Jay Leno, were expected to be a big topic. And after his opening monologue, Gervais joked, “Let’s get on with it before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno.”

Elsewhere among TV winners, Julianna Margulies as the spouse of a jailed politician grabbed best actress in a drama for “The Good Wife,” while Michael C. Hall, playing a serial killer in “Dexter” earned the title best actor in a TV drama.

Alec Baldwin was best actor in a TV comedy playing a network executive in “30 Rock,” and Toni Collette claimed the honour best actress in a comedy for “United States of Tara”.

While TV awards grab a major share of the spotlight at the Golden Globes, films take on greater importance because of their impact on the Oscars.

Among nominees for best film drama, the night’s top award, Iraq war film “The Hurt Locker,” which on Friday was named best film by US broadcast critics, will compete against action-adventure “Avatar.”

Joining them in the best film drama race are “Up In the Air,” dark tale of abuse “Precious” and Quentin Tarantino’s World War Two fantasy “Inglourious Basterds.” — Reuters

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Fans take pictures during the arrivals of the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. — Reuters pic

BEVERLY HILLS, Jan 18 — Box-office sensation “Avatar” was named best film drama and “The Hangover” claimed the top comedy trophy at the Golden Globe Awards yesterday in Hollywood’s annual race to the Oscars.

Among actors, Sandra Bullock earned the title of best film actress in a drama for football movie “The Blind Side,” while Jeff Bridges was best dramatic actor for his turn as a down-and-out country singer in “Crazy Heart”.

Robert Downey Jr won the Golden Globe for best comedy actor for his turn as super sleuth Sherlock Holmes in “Sherlock Holmes,” and Meryl Streep was the top actress in a comedy for cooking film “Julie & Julia” in a show that took on a sombre tone after the recent earthquake in Haiti.

The glitzy Golden Globes, one of the most-watched awards shows in Hollywood, were filled with statements of thankfulness by A-list celebrities far from the chaos of the recent disaster in Haiti. Many stars wore yellow, blue and red ribbons to show their support for victims.

Accepting her award, Streep said she had to remember “my happy movie self, in the face of everything I’m aware of in the real world.” She said her mother, now deceased, had a sense of joy that, during difficult times, taught Streep how to be grateful for success.

The Golden Globes are given out by some 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to film and television actors, directors and others, and a win here can give movies the momentum they need in Hollywood’s race for Oscars, the world’s top movie honours given out in March.

“Inglourious Basterds” star Chistoph Waltz was named best supporting actor in a film, and Mo’Nique earned best supporting film actress, going against her reputation as a comedienne and playing an abusive mother in dark drama “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

Disney adventure “Up” won two early Golden Globes, best animated movie and original score. “Avatar” also earned best director for James Cameron, and corporate downsizing drama “Up In the Air” garnered writing honors for Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner.

Among television awards, “Mad Men,” about the lives of Madison Avenue advertising executives, claimed its third straight Golden Globe for best drama and upstart musical “Glee” was named best comedy or musical. — Reuters

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Published: Friday December 18, 2009 MYT 12:09:00 PM

NEW YORK (AP) - A fan obsessed with R&B star Ashanti composed a barrage of creepy text messages detailing his lewd fantasies about the multiplatinum-selling singer, her mother testified Thursday at the man's trial.

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