Writers return to late-night TV shows
NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Writers for several U.S. late-night television talk shows return to work Wednesday after a three-month-long strike against producers ended Tuesday night.
The Writers Guild of America went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers Nov. 5. One of the major issues the two sides couldn't agree on was compensation for work distributed on the Internet and through other new media.
Once the strike began, the late-night shows immediately went dark and remained so until early last month when their hosts went back on the air.
"Late Show With David Letterman" and "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" were the only shows to resume production with their writers, thanks to an interim deal struck between the guild and Letterman's Worldwide Pants Inc., which produces both shows.
The New York Daily News said scribes from "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report" were expected to be among the first writers back to work Wednesday.
O'Brien, Leno, Stewart and Colbert have all been coming up with their own material since their shows went back on the air last month.
Uno is first beagle to win best-in-show
NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Uno became the first beagle in history to garner the best-in-show prize at the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club show in New York Tuesday.
The nearly 3-year-old, 15-inch-tall canine competitor Monday became the first beagle to win the hound division since 1939, then trotted to the overall victory Tuesday night.
Judge Ralph Lemcke said Uno had made quite an impression at Monday's competition.
"This is one of the best hounds I've ever seen," he told The New York Times.
Uno, whose full name is "Champion K-Run's Park Me In First," beat out six other top dogs Tuesday night for the best-in-show honor.
Gary Coleman reveals secret marriage
NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Former U.S. child star Gary Coleman, now 40, has revealed to "Inside Edition" he secretly married a 22-year-old woman last summer.
The former "Different Strokes" star described his marriage to Shannon Price as his first "romantic relationship."
"I never got the opportunity to be romantic or feel romantic with anyone … I wasn't saving myself, she just happened to be the one," said the 4-foot-8 actor.
Price, who is nearly a foot taller, said their height difference was never an issue.
"He was 10-feet-tall to me because he was sweet and I really liked his personality," she said, adding she wanted to keep the marriage a secret to maintain her own identity.
That said, Price also admitted the relationship is "off and on."
"We may go a week and not speak to each other, but that's because you're thinking and mulling things over," Coleman said.
"He lets his anger conquer him sometimes, I don't like the violence," Price added. "He throws things around, and sometimes he throws it in my direction … He's got to damage something before his anger stops."
She also said she has called the police on several occasions.
"It's not a picnic, dude," Coleman said of marriage.
'Star Wars' saga to continue on-screen
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Hollywood's "Star Wars" franchise is to expand with a new animated feature film and TV series called "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," set to debut this year.
"I felt there were a lot more 'Star Wars' stories left to tell," George Lucas, executive producer of "The Clone Wars," said in a statement. "I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward."
The projects will be produced by Lucasfilm Animation in a partnership among Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc., it was announced Tuesday.
The film is scheduled to open in North American theaters Aug. 15, while the series of 30-minute "mini-movies" is slated to premiere on Cartoon Network this fall.
Episodes of the show will then be rerun on TNT.
"This is a breakthrough project -- returning 'Star Wars' to the big screen in a completely new way while beginning an exciting new chapter in George Lucas' legendary saga. We immediately felt that it would be a fantastic theatrical event and are thrilled to be bringing it to moviegoers," Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures' president of domestic distribution, said in a statement.
