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NEWS

Kidman to present Baker with award

Organisers of the G'Day USA: Australia Week festival in Los Angeles revealed on Friday that the Oscar winning actress will attend next weekend's black tie ball to present close friend and star of hit TV show The Mentalist, Simon Baker, with an award.

Kidman and Urban were honourees at the 2005 G'day Ball in LA, where they were introduced before falling in love and marrying in Sydney just over a year later.

Baker and Australian actress Toni Collette will be presented with Excellence in Film and Television Awards at the G'Day Ball on January 16th, a sell-out event in the Hollywood and Highland Ballroom where the 850 attendees have paid up to $US10,000 ($A10,906) for a table.

The third honouree is golf great Greg Norman, who will receive an Excellence in Sport Award.

G'Day USA: Australia Week 2010 runs from January 9 to 22 and showcases all things Australian, including food and wine, travel, film, arts, culture, fashion, business and investment.

The ball is the centrepiece of the festival.

Past ball honourees include Mel Gibson, Rod Laver, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Naomi Watts, Steve Irwin, Cate Blanchett and Kylie Minogue.

It is also a magnet for Hollywood's A-list, with past guests including John Travolta, Harrison Ford, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sally Field and tennis champ John McEnroe.

Ball attendees will feast on a dinner prepared by celebrity chefs Curtis Stone, Pete Evans and Wolfgang Puck and entertainment will be provided by Las Vegas-based Human.

Nature, a dance performance by Dancing with the Stars LA-based Kym Johnson and a fashion show involving Jennifer Hawkins.

G'Day USA is produced by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Qantas Airways, Tourism Australia and Austrade.

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards Nominations

Sightings

"The Mentalist" sold into syndication at TNT

The cable network will start airing reruns in fall 2011.

The show is said to have fetched more than $2 million an episode, a broadcast-series record, but neither TNT nor syndicator Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution would comment.

"The Mentalist" was the top new series last season, and has been a solid performer this fall in its new Thursday 10 p.m. slot.

But the economic downturn and a glut of procedurals have pushed off-network prices down from the heights of late 2004, when Spike TV shelled out a record $1.9 million an episode for CBS' "CSI: NY." That was followed by the USA Network/Bravo pact for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" for just shy of $2 million an episode and the current record-holder, A&E's deal for "The Sopranos," valued at $2.5 million an episode.

By comparison, last year, another solidly performing CBS procedural, "Criminal Minds," was sold to A&E and ION for a combined license fee of about $850,000 an episode.

On TNT, a corporate sibling of the show's producer Warner Bros. TV, "Mentalist" will join a slate of off-network procedurals that includes "Law & Order," "Bones" and fellow CBS series "Without a Trace," "Cold Case" and "Numbers."

Created by Bruno Heller, "Mentalist" stars Baker as an independent consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation who solves crimes using razor-sharp observation skills.

With its light tone and quirky central character, "Mentalist" had been considered a good fit for USA, which is said to have been interested. But the show might have been considered too similar to that network's original series "Psych."

TNT has been an active buyer of late. The network also recently acquired the Warner Bros.-produced cop drama "Southland" after it was canceled by NBC.

'The Mentalist' looks masterful in its second season on CBS

Last season's sole real breakout hit, The Mentalist returned for a second season this fall with a higher-profile time slot and higher expectations to match. Tonight's savvy, carefully plotted outing, which cleverly plays off TV's tendency to draw a bright line between background and foreground, is an example of how it has lived up to the challenge.

This dexterously twisty episode shifts the focus from Patrick Jane (played to a Peck's-Bad-Boy, charm-personified turn by Simon Baker) to Robin Tunney's Teresa Lisbon. When a paroled child molester she had arrested is murdered, suspicion falls on Lisbon and she's removed from the case. Which doesn't stop her team from sticking their noses in.

By now, fans of the show know how the characters will behave. Jane will insult a witness, spar with Bosco (new addition Terry Kinney) and leave Lisbon alternately annoyed and amused. Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) will make puppy-dog eyes at Van Pelt (Amanda Righetti), and Cho (Tim Kang) will find some deadpan way to torture him for it.

As for the plots, fans of this show and of any other show that has ever aired will immediately realize that Lisbon could not have executed someone in cold blood; The Mentalist is not that kind of series, and Lisbon is not that kind of character.

Wisely, the writers don't try to sell you on that exaggerated a crisis. All you have to believe is that she could have killed him in some other way and for some other reason. And thanks to strong work by Tunney and some admirably well-planted clues, the possible solutions are all acceptably plausible.

Still, the best indicators for the show's long-term health are the mistakes it avoids and the growth it exhibits. This is the first episode this season that doesn't make a significant mention of the Red John serial killer case, which has been taken away from Lisbon's team and reassigned to Bosco.

Red John is an important aspect of the series; it gives the show a continuing-story backbone, and Jane a depth and motivation he would otherwise lack. But if the writers want this story to keep running — as they apparently do — they can't let it dominate the proceedings, because the more it does, the more pressure there will be to resolve it.

In some ways, that dilemma makes Bosco a tricky character, as Red John is his sole reason for being. Yet by providing a new antagonist for Jane, he has freed Gregory Itzen's increasingly amusing boss from the burden of always being the obstacle. Plus, Bosco is another force pushing Lisbon and Jane together — though please, not too closely and not too quickly.

Odds are The Mentalist has a lot of seasons ahead of it. There's no need to do everything at once.

Emmy presenters include Tina Fey, Simon Baker

Each is a nominee. Baker's freshman hit "The Mentalist" earned him a nomination for best actor in a drama. Sutherland won that award in 2006, and is nominated this year for his role in a special "24" movie. Fey is up for best actress in a comedy, the award she won last year.

The live telecast is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday.

The academy says other presenters include Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" and the "Gossip Girl" twosome of Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

Also taking the stage to hand out trophies will be Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel of "How I Met Your Mother," Stephen Moyer of "True Blood," NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Dana Delany of "Desperate Housewives" and Chandra Wilson of "Grey's Anatomy," the academy said Monday.

Ryan O'Neal: I Should Have Been Much Kinder to Farrah

The grieving actor, 68, tells Vanity Fair in its September issue that he'd love to "do it over," given the chance, and in the process would change some unpleasant flaws in himself that caused Fawcett pain. "I would have been much kinder, more understanding, more mature," he says. "I'd lose some of the savagery. I don't know how she got cancer; maybe some of it was me."

O'Neal and Fawcett split up in 1998 after a tumultuous 20 years, and reconnected in 2001, after he was diagnosed with leukemia. O'Neal blames that split on, among other things, her menopause – and his own lack of sympathy.

"I believe Farrah was going through some kind of life change," he tells the magazine, which has Fawcett on the cover of half the September issues and pop star Michael Jackson on the cover of the other half. "I didn't have a change of life. I was always a jerk. But they're hard work, these divas; I was sick of it, and I was unappreciated. I just don't think she liked me very much. So I excused myself."

He adds: "We pulled apart, but we never popped loose."

O'Neal says his deficiencies extend beyond his relationship with Fawcett, calling himself a "hopeless father" and relating one disturbing incident from Fawcett's funeral.

"I had just put the casket in the hearse and I was watching it drive away when a beautiful blonde woman comes up and embraces me," said O'Neal. "I said to her, 'You have a drink on you? You have a car?' She said, 'Daddy, it's me – Tatum!' I was just trying to be funny with a strange Swedish woman, and it's my daughter. It's so sick."

The latest Vanity Fair hits newsstands on Aug. 5.

Redmond's Final Words to Farrah: A Promise to Be Good

"I held the phone to her ear, so I'm not exactly sure, but I think it was about regret," the elder O'Neal tells Meredith Vieira in a Today show interview airing Tuesday. "And the horror of, of not being able to see her again. And the promise – the promise of a good life. Of a life that she would have be proud of."

Fawcett, who died of cancer on June 25, had not seen her incarcerated son since April, when the 24-year-old was granted a court-approved personal visit to her bedside. He was also permitted to attend, in handcuffs, her June 30 funeral. Redmond is currently serving time at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, Calif., for violating probation on a previous drug conviction.

O'Neal, Fawcett's longtime companion, says he is personally answering every letter of condolence received. His other job, the 68-year-old admits, is being strong for Redmond, whom the actor calls "her legacy. And he knows that, finally. It's clear. And he has a plan – a wonderful plan in mind to restore order in his life. And he will, with my help."

Her Final Days

Describing Fawcett's passing at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica as "awful," O'Neal says her physician, Dr. Lawrence Prio, alerted him and Fawcett's close friend Alana Stewart to gather at the bedside once he "thought she would live just another couple of hours. She lived a couple of days," says O'Neal.

"I had a bed put in the room for me. And I just lay by her side. And she wouldn't – move on. She wouldn't pass. She just, she just looked at us with a slight smile. It was awful. And then, all of the sudden, the machines flat-lined. After about 16 hours she was gone."

Simon Baker's Emmy Nom: Get the Guy a Beer!

The Aussie actor is much more about a nice ice-cold one.

"Our show runner brought me a case of beer," Baker told us at the Life Rolls On Foundation's "They Will Surf Again" event at Zuma Beach in Malibu. "I got into my trailer after lunch, and there was a big esky—you guys call them coolers, but we call them eskies in Australia—filled with beer and ice."

He actually didn't have one until they finished the day's 15-hour shoot. "I didn't touch them," he said. "I couldn't."

Baker said he believes his chances of taking home the Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama series are pretty narrow. He's up against Hugh Laurie of House, Gabriel Byrne of In Treatment, Michael C. Hall from Dexter, Mad Men's Jon Hamm and last year's winner, Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad.

"It's just the way I was brought up—to always assume I'm the underdog," Baker explained. "I think it's a cultural thing."

"Mentalist" Simon Baker says he's Emmy underdog

Baker, 39, was among the new faces when the nominations for best actor in a drama were announced after just one season of his new crime series "The Mentalist."

The CBS show, in which Baker plays the arrogant but playful and possibly paranormal crime consultant Patrick Jane, was one of the biggest new hits on U.S. television this past season that ended in May, averaging 17.7 million viewers.

It has already been sold to some 30 nations in Europe, parts of Asia and South America.

"The Mentalist" could have been just another of the popular so-called "procedural" crime series that dominate primetime television but make less impact during award seasons.

Yet Baker, whose previous work includes the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" wasn't interested in sticking to tried and true formulas.

"I didn't just want to do a television show and be told what to do, where to go, and how to play it. It is creative death to me," Baker told Reuters.

Baker said he worked closely with Bruno Heller, the creator of "The Mentalist", on the subversive side of his character, who once faked being a psychic but does have acute observational powers.

"The character wasn't 100 percent on the page and I thought that was good and I could interpret it in my own way. I thought it could be a refreshing take on the procedural show and meld comedy with drama and procedure with character," Baker said, during a break from shooting the second season.

Baker said he wasn't awake when the Emmy nominations were announced early on Thursday in Los Angeles. And he rated his chances of winning as slim given competition from Hugh Laurie of "House", Gabriel Byrne of "In Treatment", last year's winner Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad", Michael C. Hall from "Dexter" and Jon Hamm's enigmatic 1960s ad executive in "Mad Men".

"I am happy to be the new guy. But I always feel a bit like an underdog," Baker said. "I've been incredibly fortunate to have the people involved in ("The Mentalist") be so supportive of me, and willing to play around with the character a bit."

The Emmys will be handed out on September 20 in Los Angeles.

Emmy Reactions

2009 Primetime Emmy Nominations

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Simon Baker, The Mentalist

Outstanding Nonfiction Special
102 Minutes That Changed America
Farrah's Story
Michael J. Fox: Adventures Of An Incurable Optimist
Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired
The Alzheimer's Project: Momentum In Science (Parts 1 & 2)

Farrah Fawcett Receives Posthumous Emmy Nod

Fawcett, 62, was best known for her portrayal of Jill Munroe on Charlie's Angels, though she only remained with the show its first season, 1976-77. Her acting nominations were for roles in The Burning Bed (1984), Small Sacrifices (1989) and The Guardian (2004).

In a statement Thursday, Fawcett's longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal said, "For the Television Academy to recognize Farrah's Story with this nomination is such a wonderful acknowledgment for Farrah and her legacy. I know that she is smiling that fabulous smile right now in heaven, and that she is grateful that the show has been so well received not only by her peers in the industry but by the public at large."

O'Neal denies cheating on Farrah

The veteran actor's estranged son Griffin is one of a number of sources to come forward with the sordid claims, accusing O'Neal of having an inappropriate relationship with Stewart.

O'Neal and Stewart have grown closer in the last three years after rallying together to support the Charlie's Angels star as she bravely battled anal cancer.

But Griffin O'Neal claims their friendship took a romantic turn in Fawcett's final months, before her death on 25 June.

He tells In Touch Weekly magazine, "They were sharing a room together."

The 44 year old goes on to claim Fawcett's ageing father, Jim, once walked in on the pair in the bedroom after flying in from Houston, Texas to visit his ailing daughter.

Griffin adds, "It made Jim uncomfortable, so he packed his bags and went home."

His allegations have been backed up by Javier Salazar, a friend of O'Neal and Fawcett's son Redmond, who admits, "Ryan and Alana's relationship was fishy."

A former business partner of Fawcett's goes on to add, "Ryan and Alana are a little too cozy with each other. It is raising eyebrows. They both stayed at Farrah's (home) in the end."

Representatives for both O'Neal and Stewart have denied the salacious claims to In Touch, but have declined to comment further.

Close pal to issue Farrah Fawcett book next month

"My Journey with Farrah: A Story of Life, Love and Friendship," by Alana Stewart, will come out on August 11 -- less than two months after Fawcett succumbed to anal cancer on June 25. The book is thought to be the first insider's look at Fawcett's illness.

Stewart, the ex-wife of rocker Rod Stewart and a friend of Fawcett's for 30 years, said she was encouraged to go into print by Fawcett herself and by Ryan O'Neal, the "Love Story" movie star who was Fawcett's long time companion.

"Farrah had originally encouraged me to write this book. It was her idea. However, while I was contemplating my decision, her health took a turn for the worse, and I could no longer seek her advice," Stewart said in a statement.

"So I turned to Ryan O'Neal. He was so positive and so supportive. 'You have to do it', he said emphatically. 'There will be lots of people writing books about her. Yours will be the truth, and it will be a wonderful tribute to her. You have to do it!'", she said.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Farrah Fawcett Foundation to support cancer research.

Fawcett told her own story in a heart-wrenching video diary of her last three years that was broadcast on U.S. television in May as the actress entered the final few weeks of her life in seclusion at her Los Angeles home.

Alana Stewart's book will be published by William Morrow, a unit of HarperCollins which is owned by News Corp.

Sightings

Farrah Fawcett's life celebrated at LA funeral

Fawcett's friend Alana Stewart and "Charlie's Angels" co-star Kate Jackson were among early arrivals before the hearse pulled up, accompanied by 10 motorcycle officers.

Fans and news media watched from across a street. The service was closed to the public.

The funeral program said Fawcett's and O'Neal's 24-year-old son, Redmond, was to do the service's first reading. He has been jailed in a drug case but received a judge's permission to attend the funeral. He was not seen outside the cathedral, however.

The program, which featured a photograph of a smiling Fawcett, also said Ryan O'Neal was to read the 23rd Psalm. and eulogies were to be given by Stewart and Dr. Lawrence Piro, Fawcett's cancer specialist.

Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 after a public battle with cancer. O'Neal and Stewart were at her side.

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," O'Neal said in a statement last week. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

Diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2006, Fawcett's battle with the disease was documented in "Farrah's Story," which aired last month on NBC.

Stewart, a producer of the documentary, said Fawcett was "much more than a friend; she was my sister."

"Although I will miss her terribly, I know in my heart that she will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her," Stewart said in a statement.

Redmond O'Neal was jailed April 5 on drug charges.

Last week, a judge granted his request to attend Fawcett's funeral. The order by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jane Godfrey allows Redmond O'Neal to be released for three hours and wear street clothes to attend the funeral.

Farrah's Funeral: 'Goodbye Sweet Girl'

Marla Maples, Joan Collins and Tatum O'Neal were among the 200 guests attending the hour-long Catholic service, where longtime pal Alana Stewart and Fawcett's doctor Lawrence Piro delivered the eulogies.

"Goodbye sweet girl," said Stewart. "[Farrah] never felt sorry for herself during her illness ... she fought cancer furiously."

'Angel in Heaven'

"She's the most beautiful angel in heaven," Stewart added. "She always seemed so indestructible."

With city police and private security lining the streets, Ryan and Redmond arrived at the cathedral around 3:50 p.m. and served as pallbearers, carrying Fawcett's casket, adorned with yellow and orange flowers.

A man in a kilt played "Amazing Grace" on a bagpipe at the beginning of the service, which also included Bible readings and prayer.

After the service ended, vans shuttled guests to the reception at the Jonathan Club, where a band played Fawcett's favorite songs, including some from Van Morrison.

Farrah Fawcett being laid to rest at LA funeral

Her longtime companion, Ryan O'Neal, and her friend, Alana Stewart, both wore black as they entered the service, which was closed to media and the public.

Fawcett died Thursday at age 62 after a public battle with cancer. O'Neal and Stewart were at her side.

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," O'Neal said in a statement last week. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

Diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2006, Fawcett's battle with the disease was documented in "Farrah's Story," which aired last month on NBC.

Stewart, a producer of the documentary, said Fawcett was "much more than a friend; she was my sister."

"Although I will miss her terribly, I know in my heart that she will always be there as that angel on the shoulder of everyone who loved her," Stewart said in a statement.

Fawcett and O'Neal, 68, have a son, 24-year-old Redmond, who has been jailed since April 5 on drug charges.

Last week, a judge granted his request to attend Fawcett's funeral. The order by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jane Godfrey allows Redmond O'Neal to be released for three hours and wear street clothes to attend the funeral.

O'Neal leads mourners at Farrah Fawcett funeral

O'Neal, the long-time companion of the "Charlie's Angels" star, was one of the pall-bearers and gave a reading at the service at Los Angeles Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Redmond O'Neal, the "Love Story" actor's 24-year-old son with Fawcett, was allowed briefly out of jail where he is being held on drugs possession charges to attend the funeral service. Redmond also gave a bible reading, according to a program made available to the media.

Fellow "Charlie's Angels" star Kate Jackson, former model Cheryl Tiegs and rocker Rod Stewart's ex-wife Alana Stewart were also among the mourners. Fawcett's Los Angeles cancer doctor, Dr. Lawrence Piro, delivered the eulogy with Stewart.

Fawcett's coffin was taken into the church as a quartet of musicians played "Amazing Grace" and Irving Berlin love song "Always", according to the program.

Outside the downtown Los Angeles church, a few dozen fans watched as Fawcett's casket was taken inside, covered with sprays of bright yellow flowers that seemed to reflect the sunny smile and golden hair that made Fawcett a worldwide star 30 years ago.

Fawcett died in a Los Angeles hospital on Thursday with O'Neal and Stewart at her side after a long struggle to beat anal and then liver cancer. A personal video diary chronicling her cancer treatments was broadcast on U.S. television in May.

Watching from the street, Karla Dishon, 47, told Reuters outside the church she had come to pay tribute to Fawcett -- a star whose hairstyle she had copied as a teenager like millions of others around the world.

"All the girls did -- wavy, pretty, surfer, California girl hair," Dishon said. "She is an icon and she is a very beautiful woman, and I think it's too bad that we lost her so young."

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