Michael Jackson burial postponed until Sept. 3

August 22, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson won’t be laid to rest on what would have been his 51st birthday after all.

A spokesman for the Jackson family says the King of Pop’s funeral has been postponed until Sept. 3, five days after the singer’s birthday.

Spokesman Ken Sunshine, in a statement Friday, offered no reason for the delay.

Jackson’s family had planned a private daytime service for next Saturday. The pop superstar now will be interred in The Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn-Glendale at a private evening ceremony.

The cemetery is spread over several hills on land roughly eight miles north of downtown Los Angeles. The mausoleum includes a stained-glass replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” and replicas of Michelangelo’s statues.

Screenwriter pleads guilty

VENTURA, Calif. — An Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Pulp Fiction” has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving for a crash that killed a passenger in his Mercedes.

Roger Avary of Ojai, Calif., entered the pleas Tuesday in a Ventura court. He’ll be sentenced next month and remains free on bail.

Authorities say the 43-year-old was intoxicated when his car hit a telephone pole in Ojai on Jan. 13, 2008. The crash injured his wife and killed 34-year-old Andreas Zini, who was visiting from Italy.

Avary has apologized for the accident.

Avary and Quentin Tarantino share the 1995 Academy Award for writing “Pulp Fiction.” He also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie “Beowulf.”

‘Avatar’ scenes previewed

NEW YORK — Eager moviegoers got their first look Friday at extended scenes from James Cameron’s much-anticipated 3-D science fiction epic “Avatar.”

Screenings of about 16 minutes of the film took place worldwide Friday to fans who scored free tickets online. “Avatar” was to be shown on 102 screens domestically and 342 screens internationally across 58 countries.

Reactions to the mammoth marketing blitz rolled in on the Web.

Many were struck by its visual splendor, including Hong Kong moviegoer Jason Poon, who tweeted that it was “probably the best CG and 3-D I’ve ever seen.” James Hilder in London said it was “mega impressive.”

The screenings were an effort by Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox to build buzz for the film, Cameron’s first since 1997’s “Titanic,” which holds the box-office record, grossing $1.84 billion worldwide. “Avatar,” which tells the story of humans who embody avatars to explore the spectacular, but otherwise unsafe planet of Pandora, will be released in its entirety Dec. 18.

Book dealer faces charges

LONDON — British prosecutors say a flamboyant book dealer accused of stealing a rare First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays will face trial next summer.

Raymond Scott is accused of stealing the manuscript from Durham University’s library in northern England in 1998.

Scott denies a charge of theft and allegations of handling stolen goods. He says he bought the Shakespeare text in Cuba.

The 51-year-old suspect arrived at a court hearing Friday riding a horse-drawn carriage led by a Scots piper. He wore a kilt and swigged from a bottle of malt whiskey outside the court.

Scott was arrested in June as he carried the manuscript into the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington.

Today’s birthdays

Author Ray Bradbury is 89. Newsman Morton Dean is 74. Actress Valerie Harper is 69. Correspondent Steve Kroft (“60 Minutes”) is 64. Actress Cindy Williams (“Laverne and Shirley”) is 62. Country singer Collin Raye is 49. Singer Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears is 48. Drummer Debbi Peterson of The Bangles is 48. Singer Tori Amos is 46. Keyboardist James DeBarge of DeBarge is 46. Rapper GZA (Wu-Tang Clan) is 43. Guitarist Paul Doucette of Matchbox Twenty is 37. Rapper Beenie Man is 36. Singer Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys is 36. Comedian Kristen Wiig (“Saturday Night Live”) is 36. Actress Jenna Leigh Green (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) is 35.