Morning Links: Michael Jackson estate readies suit against 'exploitation' deals
Michael Jackson's estate is readying to sue a businessman who has gone into business with Jackson's own mother, Katherine. Howard Mann acquired a "treasure trove" of Michael Jackson items when he paid off an overdue bill on a storage locker rented by Jackson's father, Joe. Within the locker were tapes of more than 250 unreleased songs, as well as nearly 20,000 photos of the pop legend.
Now Mann is working with Katherine Jackson to bring these items to the public, but is, meanwhile, cutting the Jackson estate and children out of the proceeds. So says estate lawyer, Howard Weitzman. Mann and Katherine are releasing a book of photos this week called, "Never Can Say Goodbye." Mann also has plans with Katherine to release several albums featuring the previously unheard songs, as well as a possible biopic on Katherine herself.
Weitzman calls all of these deals an "exploitation" of "estate assets" and that he will take "whatever action is necessary to prevent him from unlawfully profiting." The attorney told TMZ that Mann "may be using his relationship with Mrs. Jackson to infringe upon Michael Jackson's copyrights ... to the detriment of, among others, Michael's 3 kids."
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Once again proving that a reality television show is no way to pick your spouse, the latest 'Bachelor' couple has split. Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi have announced they have split just months after Pavelka picked Girardi in the finale of the series. Pavelka's rep confirmed the break-up, saying "Jake and Vienna have split and appreciate the respect for their privacy at this time." This break-up raises the count of failed 'Bachelor' couples to 13.
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Orlando Bloom and his long-time girlfriend Miranda Kerr, meanwhile, have confirmed their engagement. Dating for three years, the couple has had tabloid reports guessing about their status, but now it is finally true. Kerr's rep tells People that the model's family is "thrilled with the news" and that "It is a very exciting time for both of them."
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Angelia Jolie has spent the last week on a humanitarian mission of sorts. Jolie first was in Ecuador to visit remote villages and visit shelters for refugees, as part of her official role as a UN Goodwill ambassador with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Jolie visited a shelter for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. "I wanted to come back and meet with vulnerable people and focus on
violence against women and their unaccompanied minors. I am
so happy to be able to reconnect with some familiar faces, refugees I
had met with during my 2002 trip," Jolie said. Hours later, Jolie was in Haiti to visit a shelter for children displaced by the massive earthquake in January. Jolie visited the SOS Children's Village in Santo, oustide Port au Prince, where nearly 500 children currently live.
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Tori Spelling says all of her former 'Beverly Hills 90210' castmates hate her. While appearing on Ryan Seacrest's radio show to promote a book, Spelling said that she has lost touch with all of her friends from the show and that she thinks it is related to her marriage to Dean McDermott. Spelling told Seacrest that the cast all came to her first wedding, but when she remarried to McDermott, "I don't know what happened, I lost all my cast members."
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The coroner in Polk County, Iowa, says that the death of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray in May was caused by a deadly combination of pain-killers morphine and fentanyl. Gray's body was found in a Des Moines hotel room, and police say that Gray did not have a prescription for either narcotic. A hypodermic needle and pills were found in the room at the time of Gray's death, but the coroner said that the pills did not factor in the cause of death.
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The Backstreet Boys surprised fans attending a New Kids on the Block concert over the weekend in New York's Radio City Music Hall. The boy band which once dominated the music charts performed two songs during the concert, and returned to the stage for the finale. The Backstreet Boys gave credit to the New Kids on the Block for leading the way in the music business and called them their mentors.