Boyle favourite for Talent finale

The odds are on Susan Boyle to win tonight’s Britain’s Got Talent TV show. Amidst all the gossip and rumours floating around in media land and especially in the press and on the internet, Susan Boyle will be performing. This news article from the most knowledgeable and unbiased newspaper site on the internet, the BBC website.

The shortlisted artists and performers are preparing for the grand final of Britain’s Got Talent. Singer Susan Boyle, from Blackburn, West Lothian, is favourite to win the ITV1 talent show on Saturday night. Ms Boyle will compete against nine others, including singer Hollie Steel from Accrington, Lancashire and dancer Aidan Davis, from Birmingham. The winner of the talent contest will perform at the Royal Variety Show and receive a £100,000 cheque.

Monday’s semi-final became the most-watched episode in the current series with 15.4m viewers, and it is thought the final may be watched by as many as 20m people.  Show bosses have rejected suggestions Susan Boyle might be axed amid fears she was not coping with the pressure of her new-found fame.

Boyle has struggled to handle the attention and thought about quitting the show to escape the attention, Piers Morgan said. She was moved to a “safe house” in the run up to the final, with Morgan revealing she had become so “distraught” at negative media headlines that she almost quit the ITV show.  A spokeswoman for Britain’s Got Talent said Boyle was receiving the support she needed from the show’s producers.

“She just wants to focus on her performance, and the well-being of our contestants is our number one priority,” she said.

When competing for a place in the final line-up, ten-year-old Hollie was allowed to perform again after bursting into tears during her first attempt at Edelweiss.

Hollie was saved by the judges who let her perform for a second time later in the show.

After her second attempt a tearful Hollie said she had enjoyed herself and her performance received resounding applause and a standing ovation from the judges, who praised her bravery.
Judge Piers Morgan said: “That was one of the gutsiest things I’ve ever seen in my life. I couldn’t have done that and I think you should be very proud of yourself.”

Morgan later defended the judges’ decision. He told the BBC: “I think this was a one-off. I think it was the right decision.

“I think Simon (Cowell) was right to get involved and say ‘You know what, this is a family show, we are not going to have this girl crucified on stage like this. We are going to give her another chance.’”

To read the rest of this article on the BBC Entertainment pages, click here.

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival 2009 is in full swing, opened up for the first time with the 3D animation film “Up” by Pixar.  This latest news article comes to us from the BBC entertainment section.

“A host of celebrities donned 3D glasses for the film, not in competition, about a curmudgeonly man who ties balloons to his house in order to get airborne.

British Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were among those on the red carpet. The festival continues on the French Riviera until 24 May, when the winner of the Palme d’Or will be announced.

John Lasseter, Up producer and Pixar co-founder, beamed with delight as he and his colleagues posed on the steps of the Palais des Festivals.

“We’re just a bunch of animation geeks from northern California on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival,” he said.
Lasseter and Up director Pete Docter were joined by French singer Charles Aznavour, who voices the lead character in the French version of the film.

British singer Bryan Ferry paid tribute to the veteran performer by serenading the gala audience with a version of Aznavour’s classic She.

The 10th feature film from animation powerhouse Pixar was warmly received earlier at its press screening, drawing a round of applause at the end.

Before the premiere, Isabelle Huppert – president of this year’s international jury – introduced her fellow jurors to the audience.

“Film-makers tell us who we are and perhaps who we will become,” said the French actress, who has served as a juror on two separate occasions.

“I don’t think we are here to judge,” she added. “I think we are here to love films, and to see what we love more than others.”  The 20 directors with films in the running for the festival’s top prize include four past winners.

They include Quentin Tarantino, whose film Inglourious Basterds – a World War II saga in the vein of The Dirty Dozen – stars Brad Pitt, Samuel L Jackson and Mike Myers.”

Read the rest of the story at the BBC news website.