Newsmakers
Newsmakers
Arrest warrant for Russell Brand
NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans police have issued an arrest warrant for actor Russell Brand on a charge of simple criminal damage to property valued at $700.
Brand is in New Orleans to film an untitled movie.
Police spokeswoman Remi Braden on Thursday could not immediately release details of what happened Monday. Celebrity website TMZ said the charges stem from a confrontation with a photographer who was trying to take Brand’s photo from a car.
In a Twitter posting Wednesday, Brand wrote, “Since Steve Jobs died I cannot bear to see anyone use an iphone irreverently, what I did was a tribute to his memory.”
Neither Brand nor his publicist could immediately be reached to comment.
James Patterson gives books to US troops
NEW YORK
If James Patterson thought it was possible, he’d shake the hand of every U.S. soldier. For now, he’ll let a big bundle of his novels do the talking.
The million-selling author is donating 200,000 copies of his work to the U.S. Armed Forces, continuing a tradition he started in 2006. Through such charitable organizations as Operation Gratitude and Books for Heroes, 20,000 cartons of books — 10 books per carton — are being shipped and distributed worldwide.
Patterson, among the world’s most prolific and popular writers, told The Associated Press on Thursday he doesn’t think the soldiers get “the appreciation they deserve.” His gift to the military will include “Tick Tock,” “The Postcard Killers” and other favorites.
Warhol’s Elvis portrait could fetch $50 million
NEW YORK
An Andy Warhol portrait of Elvis Presley depicted as a cowboy is coming to a New York City auction and could fetch anywhere from $30 million to $50 million.
“Double Elvis [Ferus Type]” will be offered at Sotheby’s on May 9.
It was exhibited at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles in 1963, the same year it was executed.
The auction house says it’s the first “Double Elvis” to appear on the market since 1995. The silver silkscreen painting shows the rock ’n’ roll heartthrob armed and shooting from the hip. A second, shadow Elvis figure is in the background.
Sotheby’s identified the seller only as a private collector.
Knox’s ex-boyfriend gets deal for book
NEW YORK
Amanda Knox’s former boyfriend will be the first to tell about the Italian murder trial that made them famous worldwide.
Raffaele Sollecito, 27, has a deal with Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books for a book scheduled to come out this fall.
The publisher announced Thursday that “Presumed Guilty: My Journey to Hell and Back with Amanda Knox” would cover his relationship with Knox, their arrests and imprisonment in Italy for murder and their eventual release last fall after the convictions were overturned.
Associated Press