Comedian Chris Rock gets new book deal

Comedian Chris Rock gets new book deal

NEW YORK — Chris Rock is making a comeback, as an author.

Grand Central Publishing says Rock’s new book will be full of “comedic observations.” It’s tentatively scheduled for release next year.

His “Rock This!” was published in 1997.

Deb Futter, vice president and editor-in-chief of hardcovers at Grand Central Publishing, said in a statement Tuesday: “We are so excited to be publishing Chris Rock, especially because he hasn’t published a book in many years, so this one will be highly anticipated.”

Rock, 43, was a featured voice in the “Bee Movie” and “Madagascar” films, and he created the “Everybody Hates Chris” TV series.

Rock will have good comic company at Grand Central, which also publishes Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Academy won’t reveal superstar presenters

LOS ANGELES — Guess who’s coming to the Oscars this year?

Leslie Unger, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, says none of the superstar presenters will be announced before the Feb. 22 telecast.

Awards shows, including the Academy Awards, typically tout celebrity presenters to generate interest. But Oscar producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon are breaking tradition. They’re hoping to lure TV viewers by keeping the star power a secret until showtime.

Unger said Wednesday: “There will be fantastic movie stars that appeal to a range of movie lovers and fans of our show. We’re just not going to tell you who they all are.”

The Oscars will air live from the Kodak Theatre.

Photo of nude Madonna on the auction block

NEW YORK — Christie’s auction house says a 30-year-old photo of a nude Madonna, which earned her a $25 modeling fee, is expected to sell for at least $10,000.

The full frontal image was taken by Lee Friedlander and appeared in Playboy in 1985.

Matthieu Humery, head of Christie’s photography department, says Madonna was a 20-year-old dancer trying to make ends meet when she answered Friedlander’s newspaper ad seeking a nude model in 1979.

He says six photos from the shoot were sold to Playboy, and the one up for auction Feb. 12 is “maybe the most explicit one.”

Today’s birthdays

Singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro is 68. Comedian-singer Brett Hudson of the Hudson Brothers is 56. Actor-director Kevin Costner is 54. Country singer Mark Collie is 53. Comedian Dave Attell (“Insomniac”) is 44. Actor Jesse L. Martin (“Law and Order”) is 40. Singer Jonathan Davis of Korn is 38. Actor Jason Segel (“How I Met Your Mother,” “Freaks and Geeks”) is 29. Singer Samantha Mumba is 26.