‘Sopranos’ creator returning to HBO

‘Sopranos’ creator returning to HBO

NEW YORK — HBO says it’s teaming up again with David Chase, mastermind of “The Sopranos,” for a miniseries dramatizing Hollywood history.

The miniseries, titled “A Ribbon of Dreams,” will start in 1913. It will follow two characters as they become movie pioneers, then studio moguls. Real-life figures such as John Wayne, Bette Davis and Billy Wilder will be part of the tale.

British actress injured in skiing accident

MONTREAL — British actress Natasha Richardson was hospitalized after falling on a beginners trail at the famed Mont Tremblant ski resort during a lesson, the resort and published reports said Tuesday.

IrishCentral.com reported that the Tony Award-winning actress and wife of Liam Neeson was in critical condition with a head injury.

Producers confirmed that Neeson immediately left the Toronto set of his upcoming movie, “Chloe,” for Montreal, a publicist for the film said in an e-mail.

Richardson, 45, is the elder daughter of Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson, and belongs to a British acting dynasty.

Winehouse draws cameras at court appearance

LONDON — Singer Amy Winehouse turned a court appearance into a spring fashion show Tuesday as she pleaded innocent to assaulting a fan at a party last year.

The 25-year-old star known for battles with addiction and frequent run-ins with the law stepped out of a car wearing a low-cut floral minidress and her trademark beehive hairdo. Paparazzi flashed away at their first sighting of the diva since she returned from an extended break on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.

Mr. Magoo creator dies

LOS ANGELES — Screenwriter Millard Kaufman, who co-created the cartoon character Mr. Magoo, was nominated for Academy Awards for his screenplays for “Take the High Ground!” and “Bad Day at Black Rock” and won a cult following as a first-time novelist at age 90, has died, a spokeswoman said. He was 92.

Kaufman died Saturday of heart failure, said spokeswoman Laura Howard.

In 1949, he wrote the screenplay for the short film “Ragtime Bear,” which featured the first appearance of Mr. Magoo, a short, elderly man voiced by “Gilligan’s Island” actor Jim Backus who gets into constant trouble because of his terrible eyesight, which he refuses to acknowledge.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Peter Graves is 83. Country singer Charley Pride is 71. Actor Kevin Dobson (“Knots Landing”) is 66. Singer Irene Cara is 50. Singer-actress Vanessa Williams is 46. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) is 43. Rapper-actress Queen Latifah is 39. Comedian Dane Cook is 37. Singer Adam Levine (Maroon 5) is 30.