George Michael Treated For Pneumonia, Cancels Tour
Michael was hospitalized in Vienna, Austria earlier this week. A statement from publicist Connie Filippello said the 48-year-old former Wham! singer "is responding to treatment and slowly improving."
Michael "is ill with pneumonia and any other speculation regarding his illness is unfounded and untrue," the statement said.
Two Austrian doctors treating Michael said he had "severe community acquired pneumonia," but "his condition has stabilized and he is responding to treatment." They said he needed time to regain his strength.
"From the current point of view, the time until recovery cannot be estimated, but he will not be able to perform the rest of the tour," Dr. Christoph Zielinski and Dr. Thomas Staudinger said in a statement. "Besides medical treatment, complete rest, and peace and quiet are mandatory."
The singer has postponed dates in Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London. The statement said the concerts would be rescheduled.
Michael gained mega-stardom in his early 20s as half of Wham! and went on to a successful solo career. His first solo album, 1987's "Faith," sold 20 million copies.
Michael had played 45 dates on his "Symphonica" European tour before falling ill.
Katy Perry a Hollywood Mogul’s Dream to Play Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is a hot property again, and the Hollywood producer who made her so thinks Broadway is the next stop for the late-film star. Would you believe Katy Perry might play her?
Producer Harvey Weinstein reportedly wants Perry to play Monroe in a Broadway version of his latest movie, “My Week With Marilyn,” starring Michelle Williams.
The movie has revived interest in the 1950′s-era sex siren and Weinstein told E! Entertainment that he thinks the story would translate will to the stage.
The movies based on a true story about Colin Clark, a lowly production assistant, who spent a week with Monroe in 1957 while she was filming “The Prince and the Showgirl” with Laurence Olivier.
“If the movie works, I would try to make it a musical and I would go to Katy first,” Weinstein said. “I think she can play Marilyn on the Broadway stage…I think she would be amazing.”
Perry, 26, would definitely be a show-stopper on Broadway, but whether she has the time make a commitment to a Broadway run is another matter.
Perry just wrapped up her California Dreams tour and has talked about taking some time off to concentrate on her marriage to UK comedian Russell Brand, which has been rumored to be on shaky ground.
Perry, however, already has a small role in the movie. Her hit “The One That Got Away” is being used in a new trailer for “My Week With Marilyn.”
“Katy posted about it on her Twitter and Facebook and the next thing you know 250,000 people have downloaded the trailer in an hour,” Weinstein said.
Perry has also provided a sneak preview of what she might be like playing Monroe. She played a character based on the screen legend for a 90-second commercial for German TV show “Star Force.”
She recreates the iconic scene from Monroe’w movie “The Seven Year Itch” in which Monroe’s dress gets blown up above her knees as she stands on a subway vent.
But Weinstein said he doesn’t see the production materializing for ate least five or ten years.
“If ‘My Week with Marilyn’ is successful, at some point, five years, ten years from now, I think Katy would be perfect to play Marilyn Monroe … on Broadway, sing those songs, do the dances.”
“Katy would blow it out of the universe, and that’s the kind of Broadway show I’d like to make,” Weinstein added.
Okay, so maybe this is just Harvey’s way of promoting his movie. Still, it’s an intriguing idea.
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Hot Slut Of The Day!
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When Lao Pan, an unmarried Chinese man with basically zero friends and family, took the one-way People Mover up to the afterword, his one true companion in this world sat next to the mound of dirt he was buried under and has refused to leave. The people of Pan's small village tried to get his loyal dog friend to leave the grave, but the bitch ain't moving. So the villagers are bringing food and water to the dog, and are even planning on building a little house next to Pan's grave for him to live in. Yes, file this under "Hachi: A Dog's Tale" shit and then cross-file it under "Material that will help to lubricate my dehydrated and practically dead tear sacks."
This makes me want to hug my dog even more than the time he snapped at my sucio neighbor (the one who leaves her trash outside of her door ALL NIGHT) when she tried to pet him without asking. Only this time when I hug him, I'm going to find a way to communicate to him that when the Grim Reaper finally pulls me down into the great big flaming CROC underground and my family throws a pile of dirt and two bricks over my dead body, he should make himself useful by digging an underground grave for me. It's the least he can do for all those years that I've cut his butt dingles out with tiny scissors.