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Tom Sizemore charged againLOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Tom Sizemore's former personal assistant has filed a lawsuit accusing the actor of harassment and sexual battery.
Paulina Briones says in her lawsuit, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, that the co-star of films including "Black Hawk Down" and "Saving Private Ryan" repeatedly propositioned her for sex. The lawsuit also names Sizemore's holding company, Bare Knuckles Productions; Forward Pass, which produced Sizemore's defunct television show "Robbery Homicide Division"; Universal Television Network, the series' production company; and CBS Television, which licensed the show. Briones says in the lawsuit that she was hired in July 2002 for $1,500 a week to handle such personal tasks as ensuring Sizemore was awake in time to arrive at the set of his show, fielding phone calls and getting him soft drinks. However, Sizemore soon "made his needs and true intentions apparent," the lawsuit claims. Briones alleges the 41-year-old actor once greeted her naked when she arrived at his home and asked her several times to perform a sex act in return for $5,000. The lawsuit alleges that Sizemore's demands escalated to a daily demand for sex, and that he once tried to force her to perform a sex act. She also alleges that he asked her to ask her friends to have sex with him for money and to prepare dosages of methamphetamine and Vicodin for his consumption. An attorney for Briones did not return a call for comment. A telephone call to Sizemore's lawyer was not returned. The actor was convicted in August of six misdemeanor counts of harassing, annoying and physically abusing his former girlfriend, ex-Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss. He's scheduled to be sentenced October 2 and could face up to four years in prison. Chicks return to EuropeSTOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- The last time the Dixie Chicks were in Europe, their politics got them in trouble with radio stations back in the United States.
But at the start of their European concert tour in Stockholm, the Texas trio said their focus would be on the music. "This is our first time back in Europe since the 'incident,"' lead singer Natalie Maines told the sold-out crowd of 2,200 Saturday at the Globe Arena Annex. "But you never know what we might say," she added, laughing. The country stars endured criticism after Maines said she and her bandmates were ashamed that President Bush was from Texas. She made the remark in London shortly before the Iraq war. Some radio stations in the United States stopped playing the band's music, but album sales and concert attendance remained strong. So far, the Dixie Chicks have made more than $1.2 million on their current tour. The mostly Swedish crowd cheered the band through a nearly two-hour set that included the hits "Travelin' Soldier," "Long Time Gone" and "Goodbye Earl." The band is touring Europe through September 22, playing 10 shows in Sweden, Germany, Britain, Ireland and Scotland, including a two-night stand at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Then they're scheduled to visit Australia for three shows from September 28-October 4. Disney concert hall big drawLOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- In the land that launched the Beach Boys, the Doors and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who would have thought that people would line up around the block for tickets to a Mahler concert?
But that's what they did Sunday, and many of them weren't even classical music fans -- or music fans of any kind. "I'm not a music person but a building person," said Russ Leland, 62, of Silver Lake, who waited five hours for tickets to Mahler's "Resurrection." What he really wanted to see was the inside of the new Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry. After he does, Leland said, he'll probably fall asleep during the concert. He wasn't alone in wanting to be among the first to check out the new 2,265-seat hall when it opens next month. The Los Angeles Philharmonic reported selling 4,135 tickets Sunday, about four times the usual amount for first-day sales for a new music season. Several series, including the Jazz and First Night programs, sold out completely, with tickets going for as much as $120. Among the buyers were some serious music fans. Haydn fans Kuilay and Jennifer Uner of North Hollywood paid $864 for five nights of music. "Now let's take these to the safe deposit box," Kuilay Uner said as they left, clutching their tickets. Singing Mya's 2nd choiceSAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- She may have a voice that gets people dancing, but singing is really a second career for Mya.
The 22-year-old, who released her third album, "Moodring," this summer, originally was a teen tap-dancer. She once performed with the late tap great Gregory Hines on a Smithsonian Institution stage. She spent her childhood in a succession of ballet, tap, gymnastic, majorette and cheerleading classes. She also studied tap with Savion Glover. "I didn't really get sidetracked into being a singer," Mya told the San Francisco Chronicle for Sunday's editions. "It was just something I started to do for fun in school, like singing the national anthem." Mya rose to fame in 2001 with the remake of "Lady Marmalade" she performed with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim and Pink for the "Moulin Rouge!" soundtrack. Last year she added acting to her resume with a minor role in "Chicago," and early next year she'll appear as a Cuban nightclub singer in "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights." Mya cited Lena Horne and Liza Minnelli as role models. "These women carry class with sass and skill," she said. Ripa helps candidate dadHADDONFIELD, New Jersey (AP) -- Talk show host Kelly Ripa will head to her home state this week for a seafood dinner expected to raise more than $700,000 for Camden County Democrats.
The fund-raiser also is expected to benefit someone she holds particularly dear: her father, Joe Ripa, who's running for county freeholder. The dinner Wednesday at the Tavistock Country Club will include lobster, crab cakes, shrimp, clams and oysters. Democratic supporters at the 16th annual Seafood Gala will pay $850 a plate. Last month on "Live With Regis & Kelly," the younger Ripa said she did not know what a freeholder does. Republican candidate Christopher Carlson questioned her father's familiarity with the office as well. "Quite frankly, I think what he brings to the table is his daughter. I haven't seen the man answer a single question," Carlson told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill. Joe Ripa, a former bus driver and head of a transit workers union, declined comment to the paper. Democratic Party spokesman Carl Winter said the GOP is taking cheap shots. "The Democratic Party selected Joe Ripa not for his political expertise but for his life experience," Winter said. Republicans will host their own Wednesday night event. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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