Hugh Jackman leaves Houdini musical
First writer Aaron Sorkin left the project. Now its star, Hugh Jackman, has also departed.
The long-planned stage musical based on the life of Harry Houdini has lost its leading man, with Jackman withdrawing from the role.
The Australian actor, who stars as Wolverine in the “X-Men” movies but who also has performed on stage in “Oklahoma!” and “The Boy From Oz,” cited scheduling difficulties, saying that he wasn’t able to commit to the time that the part required.
No opening date has been announced for the musical.
Cyrus releases ‘Adore You’ video
Miley Cyrus isn’t taking much of a holiday break. After spending the past few weeks playing Clear Channel-branded Jingle Ball concerts in various cities, the controversial pop star on Thursday released a new music video for “Adore You,” a spacey ballad from this fall’s “Bangerz” album.
An unauthorized version of the clip appeared online ahead of schedule Wednesday, prompting Cyrus to complain on Twitter (spiced with some choice four-letter language) that her fans likely would have set a record for number of views if the leaker hadn’t directed some of that precious traffic elsewhere. (Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” video has been seen more than 438 million times on YouTube.)
Leak or no, “Adore You” is bound to rack up some impressive numbers: Like “Wrecking Ball,” the new clip takes an up-close-and-personal approach, in this case as Cyrus rolls around in bed with a video camera.
CBS’ Miller to work for NYC police
CBS News correspondent John Miller has bounced between journalism and law enforcement for years, and now he’s headed back to work for incoming New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton. CBS confirmed Miller’s imminent exit on Thursday.
Miller’s extensive law enforcement contacts made him valuable at CBS, notably for his reporting this year on the Boston Marathon bombing. But his recent “60 Minutes” story on the National Security Agency received criticism for being one-sided in favor of the government agency. Miller and his boss, CBS News President David Rhodes, defended the story and Rhodes said Thursday it had nothing to do with Miller’s exit.
Miller clearly burned no bridges at CBS News. “John will always have a home at CBS News,” spokeswoman Sonya McNair said on Thursday.
The birthday bunch
Actor John Amos is 74. ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts is 70. Rock musician Mick Jones (Foreigner) is 69. Singer Tracy Nelson is 69. Actor Gerard Depardieu is 65. Singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff is 62. Former professional wrestler and actor Bill Goldberg is 47. Actor Aaron Stanford is 37.