MICHAEL JACKSON IS LARRY KINGS MAIN SUBJECT

It seems that the sad story of Michael Jackson's death won't go away. CNN talk show host Larry King has been working the subject to death but admitted on a guest appearance to promote his book on the Jimmy Kimmel show that he wasn't responsible for the subject matter he has on his show while noting that it is his producers that make those decisions.

This past week King had Jackson's father Joe and Michael's former concert promoter Leonard Rowe as guests. Rowe claims that AEG, Michael's promoter of the 50 date English tour that he was preparing for when he died that Michael didn't want to do 50 shows noting that the singer told him that he wasn't physically capable of doing so. He went on to say that Jackson agreed to do only 10 shows.

AEG claims that he agreed to do 31 shows but they only pre-sold 10 shows. When the tickets sold out in hours they added the other 21 shows. Rowe claims that they then extended it to 50 without Michael agreeing to do that many concerts.

Rowe also said that AEG was responsible for the hiring of a doctor who they are suspect about his credentials. One doctor is currently under investigation for administering a drug to Jackson that could have caused his death.

Rowe said that Jackson hired him to oversee his finances. On air Rowe noted that he gave King a copy of the contract that he had with Jackson and asked King if he had seen an AEG contract with Michael agreeing to do 50 shows to which King said he hadn't seen any contracts from them.

In closing the program King said, "There have been some serious allegations about AEG here tonight."

The murky situation is that AEG is involved in a group of companies that are involved with David Beckham, The Spice Girls, American Idol, the LA Galaxy football team, the construction of the Los Angeles Staples Center and Nokia Arena where the American Idol finals were held as well as the ESPN Espy Awards.

About AEG

AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, The Home Depot Center, Toyota Park, Toyota Sports Center, Anaheim Convention Center Arena, El Rey Theatre, Colosseum at Caesars Palace, NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie and the NOKIA Theatre Times Square.

Their sports franchises include the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Riptide (MLL), the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo (MLS), two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA), the ING Bay to Breakers foot race and the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race;

In addition AEG LIVE, the organization’s live-entertainment division, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring and a variety of programming and multi-media production.

Additionally, the company has begun fully developing London’s 28-acre Millennium Dome which includes a 23,000-seat arena, the O2 and over 650,000sf of leisure and entertainment use within the ‘Dome’ and additional arenas; The O2 World on a 45-acre site in the heart of Berlin; Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California; Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri; as well as Red Bull Park, a soccer stadium in Harrison, New Jersey; and L.A. Live, a $2.5 billion sports and entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles.

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HEY PAULA WHAT'S THE DEAL?

American Idol judge Paula Abdul hasn't received a contract offer to return to the show next season which prompts the image of Abdul picking the petals off of a daisy while saying they love me; they love me not with the Black Eyed Peas singing Where Is The Love in the background.

Simon Cowell is in her corner and wants her to return. Cowell is expected to receive a $100 million deal. MC Ryan Seacrest has received a $40 million contract for his return. There is no word about last season's new judge Kara DioGuardi and Randy Jackson contracts.

A change is goanna come was in the works when the show changed producers last season. DioGuardi was added and there was rumbling that a four judge system wouldn't work. If the judges were split 2-2 on the voting Cowell had the tie breaking vote. He and DioGuardi had words as he felt she was talking too much and she wouldn't back down. It was a battle of egos. Overall the show lacked the luster it had in previous seasons.

The one thing that was consistent was Abdul continued to make blunders as when she said the blind contestant Scott McIntyre that he should project more and take more chances on stage without taking into account that since he couldn't see he could fall off the stage.

With all of her faults that is what makes Abdul so charming. Should she not receive a new deal and DioGuardi remains it would ironic as it was Abdul who suggested to DioGuardi that she leave New York and pursue her career in LA. When she did Abdul let her stay in her home until she got on her feet.

Former Ai producer Nigel Lythgoe says the show is so popular that it will survive without Abdul. He also pointed out that the show is so powerful that it could survive without Simon Cowell. The bottom line is does American Idol powers that be love Abdul or not.

AMERICAN IDOL RERUNS TRANSLATED IN KHMER LANGUAGE

It seems that American Idols licensing partner Freemantle Media is doing business in Cambodia as Cambodia's My TV is airing reruns of the show with Khmer translations on Sunday afternoons. My TV is the former CTN (Cambodian Television Network) International channel which apparently failed as MY TV has replaced it since January of this year.

Hedi Montag - (photo - Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com) Spencer Pratt - (photo - Glenn Francis of www.PacificProDigital.com)

John Salley - ( photo - lukeford.net)

WORTH WATCHING

A TV program worth watching is Tails From The East. The program travels through Asian countries and interviews its citizens about their culture. Previous shows that have aired were from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and most recently they have been traveling through India.

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OUCH!!! - A MISNOMER - I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!

If you want to see the depiction of the Ugly American then tune into the reality show I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! on the Star World network. The shows title is a misnomer and caused some friction between the contestants from the outset.

Two married contestants Spencer Pratt and Hedi Montag who are supposed to be celebrities in the USA on a show titled The Hills quit the program in the opening segment. Their complaint was they felt they were celebrities and the others not.

The other celebrities include Lou Diamond Phillips Actor, Torrie Wilson Former Professional Wrestler, John Salley Former Professional Basketball Player, Patti Blagojevich former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich's wife, Sanjaya Malakar former American Idol contestant aka Reality TV Personality, Stephen Baldwin Actor Janice Dickinson Model, TV Host, Daniel Baldwin Actor, Frances Callier Comedian (Frangela) and Angela V. Shelton Comedian (Frangela).

The spoiled couple has quit the show twice with the first three episodes. At this point the other contestants are voting to see if they should permit the couple to return to the series.

The show is of the worst quality and depicts Americans in a negative light exposing their character flaws. The positive side is the show is an example of human behavior and how not to behave.

Pratt had the nerve to physically challenge Salley who is 6'11" (2.11 m) tall and was a member of four NBA title teams the Detroit Pistons (1989, 1990), the 1996 Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman and Los Angels Lakers in 2000 with Shaquille O'Neal ad Kobe Bryant. Pratt noted that he is experienced in Marshall Arts and is not fearful of anyone. Being 45-years-old Salley took the mature route and ignored the pugnacious individual. On a scale of 1 to 10 this show is a 3. The program airs Wednesday nights on the Star World network in East Asia.

8 PM Cambodia/Thailand =

9 PM Hong Kong/Singapore =

10 PM Malaysia

 

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MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

11:00 AM - I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here! - Star World

FRIDAY

11:00 AM - PRISON BREAK - Star World

12:30 PM - UFC (ULTIMATE FIGHTING) - True Sport 2

SATURDAY