newsmakers

September 14, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

Oprah taking 300 on Australia trip

CHICAGO

Oprah Winfrey kicked off her 25th and final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on Monday with promised surprises. After teasing the 300 audience members with a suggestion she might take them on a trip to New York, Philadelphia or Los Angeles, she said her last season merited something bigger.

“Maybe I should take you all with me to the other side of the world. We’re going to Australia,” Winfrey shouted. With that, a mock-up of a Qantas Air Lines jet rolled onto stage, its door opened, and actor John Travolta, who also flies airplanes, stepped out dressed as a Qantas pilot.

Winfrey, who opened her 19th season six years ago by giving out cars to everyone in her studio audience, will take this group in December on an eight-day, seven-night trip. Monday’s audience was made up of some of who the program called its most-loyal viewers over the years.

Letterman rematch for Joaquin Phoenix

NEW YORK

Actor Joaquin Phoenix’s last appearance on David Letterman’s show was memorably weird. Now they’re getting back together. The CBS show said Monday that Phoenix was booked to appear on the “Late Show” on Sept. 22. A documentary on Phoenix’s attempt to become a hip-hop musician, directed by Casey Affleck, was released this month.

Phoenix’s odd guest turn with Letterman in February 2009 was punctuated by uncomfortable silence and Letterman’s request that the bearded Phoenix “tell us about your days with the Unabomber.”

It drew about 8 million online views on YouTube and the CBS website. Letterman will replay that show Thursday. Affleck’s movie, called “I’m Still Here,” opened in theaters last week.

Woody Allen defends Bruni-Sarkozy

TORONTO

Woody Allen loves shooting in Paris. He doesn’t care for the gossip about one of his co-stars, France’s first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Allen said he was shocked at gossip column reports that Bruni-Sarkozy was a handful on the set of his romantic comedy “Midnight in Paris” or that he hired another actress to reshoot her scenes and cut her from the film.

Reports that it took Bruni-Sarkozy 32 takes to shoot a scene were false, Allen said in an interview Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival, where his comic drama “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger” played ahead of its theatrical release next week.

Clinton to visit ‘The Daily Show’

NEW YORK

Comedy Central says former President Bill Clinton will visit “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” on Thursday. He is expected to talk about the Clinton Global Initiative, which annually convenes world leaders to grapple with pressing global concerns. This year’s meeting is scheduled to take place next week in New York.

Clinton’s appearance on “The Daily Show” will be his sixth. The show airs Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m.