NEW YORK (AP) – A new film starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. about the life of photographer Diane Arbus will be shot at Brooklyn’s new Steiner Studios.

“We’re thrilled to have “Fur’ and Nicole Kidman at Steiner Studios,” Douglas C. Steiner, chairman of the Hollywood-style complex in the borough’s former Navy Yard, said Tuesday.

“With “The Producers’ going full blast on the adjacent four stages, and “Fur’ moving in, we’re completely full even before we’ve finished building and officially opened,” Steiner said in a statement.

The 15-acre Steiner Studios is rising as the largest modern production facility east of Los Angeles.

Shooting on “Fur,” to be directed by Steven Shainberg (“Secretary”), is set to begin next month and continue through July.

The movie will be based on Patricia Bosworth’s “Diane Arbus: A Biography.”

Arbus, known for her photo images of eccentric personalities from the 1950s and ‘60s, committed suicide in 1971.

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On the Net:

http://www.steinerstudios.com

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LONDON (AP) – Brooke Shields will make her British stage debut next month in “Chicago,” starring as the hard-boiled jailbird Roxie Hart.

Shields will appear for nine weeks starting April 26, Peter Thompson Associates said Tuesday.

Her previous stage appearances include the New York productions of “Cabaret,” “Exonerated” and “Grease.” Last year, the actress starred in the Broadway musical “Wonderful Town.”

The London run of “Chicago” marked its seventh anniversary in November.

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DETROIT (AP) – Eminem and 50 Cent are teaming up for a two-month tour that will end with two August shows in Eminem’s hometown of Detroit.

The Aug. 12-13 concerts at 44,000-seat Comerica Park come two years after Eminem and 50 Cent played a pair of gigs at neighboring Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions.

The third installment of the Anger Management Tour kicks off July 7 in Indianapolis. It’s the first road show Eminem has undertaken since the November release of his latest album, “Encore,” which has sold 4 million copies in the United States.

50 Cent, whose new album, “The Massacre,” was released last month, joins Eminem for all but the first two dates on the tour. Ludacris will fill in on the first two shows.

Other performers on the tour include Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz.

“We’ve been waiting for the right moment to go on tour, and it all finally came together,” Eminem said Monday in a statement. “We wanted to put together the best lineup we could. … I’m always trying to top the last tour whenever I go out. I think we’re really doing it this time.”

Other stops on the tour include Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.

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On the Net:

http://www.eminem.com/

http://www.50cent.com/

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – Marlon Brando’s former business manager is suing his estate for sexual harassment and wrongful termination.

Jo An Corrales of Kalama, Wash., alleges that she was subjected to a hostile work environment and that Brando exposed his genitals, touched her inappropriately and insisted she watch pornographic movies with him.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. It demands 10 percent of the $5 million in residuals that Corrales claims Brando received during the time of her employment, which was from December 2000 through March 8, 2004.

Brando died of lung failure July 1 in Los Angeles. He was 80.

In December, Corrales filed a claim, a precursor to the lawsuit, seeking $3.5 million, but it was rejected by Brando’s trustees, said David J. Seeley, a lawyer for Brando’s estate.

Seeley, who had not reviewed the lawsuit, said he had no immediate comment.

The lawsuit said Brando subjected Corrales to sexually graphic stories, “including several documenting his sexual escapades with minors over the years.”

Corrales claims that in the two years before the actor’s death, she and other women were called derogatory names and subjected to sexual innuendoes.

She also claims that she was removed as co-executor of Brando’s will 12 days before he died.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – A jury awarded Tae Bo creator Billy Blanks an additional $15 million in punitive damages in his case against a Chicago firm he claims misfiled a lawsuit and attempted to cover up the mistake.

The verdict Monday came a week after the Superior Court jury ordered Seyfarth Shaw to pay Blanks $20 million, including $10 million for fraudulent concealment, $9.3 million for professional negligence and $500,000 for breach of fiduciary duty.

Blanks hired the firm and partner William Lancaster to sue an unlicensed talent agent who Blanks claims improperly billed him for services.

The fitness guru accused them of filing the lawsuit in the wrong venue and allowing the statute of limitations to expire before trying to correct the mistake.

“For us, this verdict represents justice,” Blanks said Monday. “In many respects, our trust in the system has been restored.”

The firm’s managing partner, Ken Youmans, said he plans to appeal.

Blanks claims that Jeffrey Greenfield, a Los Angeles accountant, was soliciting and negotiating appearances by Blanks and charged $11 million for his services in the late 1990s even though he didn’t hold a talent agent’s license.

Blanks hired Seyfarth Shaw to sue Greenfield but the firm and Lancaster filed the lawsuit in Superior Court when jurisdiction resided with the state Labor Commission.

When they learned the deadline for filing a claim was August 2000, the firm and Lancaster failed to correct the mistake in order to continue collecting legal fees, Blanks claims.

The claim was filed three weeks after the deadline. The commission ruled Greenfield violated the Talent Agencies Act but owed nothing because the claim was filed late, Blanks lawyer, James Rosen, said.

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LONDON (AP) – Dave Stewart’s piano, played by musicians including Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, sold for $6,740 in an auction.

The piano belonging to Stewart, who co-founded the Eurythmics with Annie Lennox, was featured on hundreds of pop records over the past two decades.

A note signed by Stewart and auctioned with the piano said: “I have watched the Bechstein piano being played by so many legends, from Bob Dylan, Jodi (sic) Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Brian Ferry and of course Annie, who played it all the time.”

The piano, he said, “appears on many of our albums.”

Stewart first recorded at the Church Studios with the Eurythmics in 1982, and the piano remained there until last year, when the studios were sold. It was moved to Stewart’s home and used on recordings with Gwen Stefani and Joss Stone.

Stewart recently sold his Surrey home to move to the United States.

The auction on Monday was at Bonhams in London and included a buyer’s premium.

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On the Net:

http://www.davestewart.com/cyberspace/home.htm

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HONG KONG (AP) – Jackie Chan will visit tsunami-hit areas in Indonesia this month, including hard-hit Aceh province.

Chan hopes to tour Aceh province April 18-20, but details of his itinerary weren’t available, said actor Eric Tsang, who plans to travel with the action star.

Chan also announced that $4.8 million had been raised from a Jan. 7 concert featuring Jet Li, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau, and Taiwanese pop diva Chang Hui-mei.

“I’m very happy and proud that small Hong Kong captured the attention of the world this way,” he said. “Some Hong Kongers didn’t just donate once, they donated more than three times.”

He proposed making the show an annual event to raise money for a permanent emergency fund for other disasters.

Chan, 50, has starred in the “Rush Hour” films, “Shanghai Noon,” “Shanghai Knights” and “The Tuxedo.”

Tsang said donations would go to the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the United Nations Children’s Fund, Oxfam and World Vision.

The money will fund projects including reconstruction, helping fishermen and orphans, and providing counseling for those who lost loved ones, Tsang said.

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LONDON (AP) – Sanctuary Group PLC snapped up Elton John and his management company, Twenty-First Artists, in a deal worth $30.2 million.

Sanctuary, which manages artists including Beyonce, The Who and Manic Street Preachers, will pay a mixture of cash and shares to take over John’s company and sign a five-year contract to manage the singer.

“I feel strongly this will represent the continuation of a very creative period for me,” the 58-year-old singer said last week.

John’s co-owners of Twenty-First Artists, Frank Presland and Keith Bradley, have each signed a five-year employment contract with Sanctuary, the largest global management business for music artists.

John is easily the biggest music name managed by Twenty-First Artists. The company has also worked with Jamiroquai and Mis-Teeq during its five-year history and recently launched the career of James Blunt.

“The status of Sir Elton John as a respected and hugely successful artist is unassailable and we are obviously very happy to be involved in his career going forward,” said Sanctuary Executive Chairman Andy Taylor.

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On the Net:

http://www.eltonjohn.com/flash-index.asp

http://www.sanctuarygroup.com/

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LONDON (AP) – Bill Bryson was appointed the ceremonial head of Durham University, a northern England university.

Bryson, an American author who has lived much of his adult life in England, said it was a great honor to receive the title of Chancellor of Durham University.

“I hope it goes without saying that I will do my utmost to serve the university with credit,” he said Monday.

Bryson is a former journalist who has won international acclaim for his travel, memoir and science books including “A Short History of Nearly Everything,” “A Walk in the Woods,” “Made in America,” “Down Under” and “African Diary.”

The author sang the praises of Durham City, the hometown of Durham University, northeast of London, in “Notes From a Small Island,” an honest but affectionate portrait of England, its institutions and people.

Bryson, the 11th chancellor of the 174-year-old university, replaces writer, actor and director Peter Ustinov, who died in March 2004 after holding the position since 1992.

Other former chancellors include ballerina Margot Fonteyn and British politician and diplomat Malcolm MacDonald.

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