newsmakers

newsmakers

Royal-couple movie is called ‘ghastly’

LONDON

Critics say a new made-for-TV, Wills-and-Kate movie is so bad it may end up being a cult classic. “William and Kate: The Movie” treats the Windsor dynasty as daytime soap opera. The low-budget, rushed-to-completion movie is getting plenty of attention in Britain, for all the wrong reasons.

“So bad it’s awful, toe-curlingly, teeth-furringly, pillow-bitingly ghastly,” was the verdict Friday in The Guardian newspaper, which concluded the flick was probably destined to be a smash. It will debut in the United States on Lifetime on Monday.

The movie chronicles the university romance of Prince William and Kate Middleton, who in real life met and fell in love while studying art history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. It was directed by Mark Rosman and produced in the five months since the couple announced their engagement last November. The Guardian pointed out that the movie was shot entirely in the Los Angeles area, with poorly done British accents, countryside scenes that looked like California instead of Britain, and London buses driving, incorrectly, on the right side of the street.

Miley Cyrus says her family is fine

LOS ANGELES

Miley Cyrus says she feels more at ease heading out on an international tour now that things are fine on the home front. Earlier this year, her parents, Billy Ray and Tish Cyrus, were getting a divorce, and her father was critical of his daughter’s behavior. But the Cyruses recently called off their divorce, and the family is spending time together.

“I think it’s good, especially when you go on the road. You have to make sure everyone is happy before you start traveling — you’re away. My family is good. They are stoked for tour. As long as I’m happy, they are happy,” Cyrus said in an interview Thursday.

The former “Hannah Montana” star is leaving for South America and Australia on April 27 for her Gypsy Heart Tour.

Paul Allen: Book isn’t revenge against Gates

NEW YORK

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen defends his new book in an upcoming episode of “60 Minutes.” He says it was meant as an important slice of technology history and not as revenge against Bill Gates.

Allen, who left Microsoft in 1983, tells Lesley Stahl of “60 Minutes” that he wanted to tell that history the way it happened. In a video excerpt CBS posted on its website, Allen says he hopes people understand this.

But for all the harsh pictures he paints of Gates, Allen reveals another side, too. Gates, who now focuses on philanthropy, comforted Allen when he got cancer a second time in 2009. Says Allen: “There’s a bond there that can’t be denied.”

Allen’s book, “Idea Man,” hits shelves Tuesday. The “60 Minutes” episode airs Sunday.

Associated Press