Jackson to appear for London lawsuit
LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Michael Jackson has agreed to testify in person in a breach-of-contract lawsuit at London's High Court, the U.S. pop singer's lawyer said.
The king of Bahrain's son, Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, is suing Jackson for about $7 million for allegedly backing out of a business venture that was to produce an album, including songs the royal wrote for and planned to record with Jackson, as well as an autobiography and a stage play.
However, Jackson contends he never signed an official agreement and insists the payments he received from the sheik were "gifts," claiming the royal's case is based on "mistake, misrepresentation and undue influence," the BBC said.
The Times of London said the eccentric recording artist initially claimed he was too ill to travel and offered to give testimony via video link to the court, however, his lawyer later said Jackson would appear in person.
"He has been cleared by his medical advisers to travel in two days' time," Jackson's attorney Robert Englehart told The Times.
Jackson is expected to fly to the United Kingdom this weekend and give evidence Monday, the newspaper said.
Actress Ryder hospitalized briefly
LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Movie actress Winona Ryder fell ill during a flight from Los Angeles to London Wednesday and was taken to a hospital when the plane landed, her publicist said.
TMZ reported the actress complained she was sick on the flight, but felt better by the time the plane landed as scheduled.
Medics reportedly were waiting for Ryder when the flight was over and she was taken to a London hospital as a precaution.
Ryder's publicist told People magazine the actress spent about an hour at the hospital, then was "released in good health."
Ryder is best known for her roles in "Lucas," "Beetlejuice," "Heathers," "Little Women," "Edward Scissorhands," "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "The Age of Innocence," "Reality Bites," "Girl, Interrupted" and "Mr. Deeds."
Izzard: 'Riches' movie in the works
LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- British actor and comedian Eddie Izzard says a big-screen follow-up to his recently canceled U.S. television show "The Riches" is in the works.
Izzard co-starred with Minnie Driver in the Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated drama, which was about a family of con artists and ran for two seasons. FX announced earlier this year the show wouldn't return for a third season due to low ratings.
"We've had the meeting and the writers are going to go off and slam out a story," Izzard, who was also a writer and executive producer on the series, told the BBC. "We're going to raise money like Barack Obama through the Internet and we're going to shoot it guerrilla-style. ... Everything's getting tight, money's getting tight and there's the credit crunch -- so it's the time to go out and be inventive. We'll shoot it guerrilla-style, using gorillas to to actually shoot it. We're going to give them cameras ... No, we're going to just get in there and maybe not have permission to do things, but just film it. People will be going: 'Who are they? who are they?'"
Izzard, who will soon be seen in the World War II film "Valkyrie," is currently in the West End performing his latest stand-up show "Stripped."
Source says Hilton and Madden have split
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. socialite and some-time actress Paris Hilton and her rocker beau Benji Madden have broken up, a source says.
Someone close to Hilton told People magazine the couple ended their nine-month romance a few days ago.
Madden, the guitarist for the band Good Charlotte, is the brother of Joel Madden, the father of Hilton friend Nicole Richie's young daughter, Harlow.
"She is saddened by the breakup but they're just too different and they wanted different things in life," a source close to Hilton told People. "He was loyal and sweet but it was time to take a break."
The magazine said the celebrities' respective publicists couldn't be reached for comment about the story.
