ANTHONY HOPKINS LAUDED FOR CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS

Anthony Hopkins lauded for career achievements
LOS ANGELES -- Anthony Hopkins says he thought Oliver Stone was kidding when the director first asked him to play Richard Nixon. "I said, 'I can't play Nixon. I'm not an American,'" Hopkins said Sunday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." "[Stone] said, 'Well, I want you to do it.' He said, 'I think you understand his paranoia and his insecurity.' I said, 'Well, OK, but does that qualify me to play this?' I think so." The British actor starred in the 1995 film "Nixon" and earned an Academy Award nomination for the role. Hopkins was to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the 63rd annual Golden Globe awards Monday. He won an Oscar for portraying Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs" and also was nominated for his portrayal of John Quincy Adams in the movie "Amistad." Hopkins said it's important as an actor not to judge the characters portrayed. "You don't have to take a moral judgment because once you start judging the characters, you can't play them," he said.
Oprah's book club pickis Elie Weisel's 'Night'
CHICAGO -- In her first book club pick since allegations that some parts of her last selection were fabricated, Oprah Winfrey chose Elie Wiesel's "Night," a novel so personal that the author calls it a memoir. Winfrey announced the selection of Wiesel's autobiographical novel about the Holocaust on her show Monday. Wiesel, 77, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for a lifetime of writing and speaking against hatred, racism and genocide. She referred to the King Day holiday, saying, "Like Dr. King, I have a dream of my own, too, that the powerful message of this little book would be engraved on every human heart and will never be forgotten again. That you who read this book will feel as I do that these 120 pages ... should be required reading for all humanity." "Night" is Wiesel's account of his family's placement in the Auschwitz death camp and is the first of more than 40 books, essays and plays he has written. The book is marketed on some online bookstores as a novel, but Wiesel's foundation labels it a memoir. Winfrey's last book club pick, the memoir of addiction "A Million Little Pieces," has drawn criticism over allegations that author James Frey had fabricated some parts, including a three-month prison stint that apparently never happened.
Arrested by accident,Doherty faces drug charge
LONDON -- Musician Pete Doherty, the sometime boyfriend of supermodel Kate Moss, has been arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs, days after pleading guilty to similar charges. Doherty, lead singer with the group Babyshambles, was arrested Saturday while driving through east London, police said. Officers were trying to flag down another car, but Doherty pulled over. His behavior "caught officers' attention," and the musician was arrested on suspicion of possessing illegal drugs and driving under the influence of drugs. He was released on bail until a court appearance Feb. 2. Doherty, whose relationship with Moss made him a tabloid newspaper staple, was arrested Nov. 30 and charged with possession of cocaine and heroin. He pleaded guilty last week and was released on bail. Moss, 31, lost valuable modeling contracts with H & amp;M, Burberry and Chanel after the Daily Mirror tabloid published pictures in September of her apparently using cocaine in a west London music studio where Doherty, then her boyfriend, was recording. She later went into a rehabilitation clinic in Arizona and has since resumed her modeling career.
Today's birthdays
Actress Betty White is 84. Singer-actress Eartha Kitt is 79. Actor James Earl Jones is 75. Talk-show host Maury Povich is 67. Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is 64. Rock musician Mick Taylor is 58. Singer Paul Young is 50. Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 49. Singer Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) is 47. Actor-comedian Jim Carrey is 44. Actor Joshua Malina is 40. Singer Shabba Ranks is 40. Actor Naveen Andrews is 37. Rapper Kid Rock is 35. Actor Freddy Rodriguez is 31. Actress Zooey Deschanel is 26. Singer Ray J is 25. Country singer Amanda Wilkinson is 24.
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