Adrian Lambrecht's Page

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on Friday said she never granted an interview to a journalist who quoted her in a British newspaper as saying her ex-husband Nelson Mandela had "let down" the blacks.

"I did not give Naipaul an interview. It is therefore not necessary for me to respond in any detail to the contents of a fabricated interview," Madikizela-Mandela said in a statement, referring to Nadira Naipaul, the wife of acclaimed novelist V.S. Naipaul.

"I will in the coming days deal

Let's get right to the point. "The Scottsboro Boys" is a staggeringly inventive piece of musical theater.

Its intentions are serious, its execution pretty much pitch perfect, and its entertainment value — featuring what is the final score by John Kander and Fred Ebb — of the highest order.

Yet the show, which opened Wednesday at off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre, could not have found a more somber, real-life subject to musicalize: the story of nine young black men accused of rapin

Hollywood's dealmakers have a busy couple of weeks ahead of them.

One day after March 19 was set as the deadline for binding offers for MGM, the same date has emerged as a deadline in the latest round of bidding for Miramax.

Owner Walt Disney Co. hopes to select a winning bidder from offers received by that date and close on a sale of the one-time indie highflyer within 30 days of the deadline.

Interested parties offer conflicting takes on how heated interest in Miramax h

Stay tuned for more fee disputes threatening local television stations on cable TV lineups.

Broadcasters hurt by declining ad revenue are demanding more fees from cable and other subscription TV providers to carry the stations. The providers are resisting, and in the latest tussle, Cablevision Systems Corp. dropped the ABC station in New York in the hours leading to Sunday's Oscars telecast.

More such blackouts loom as several networks and various providers across the country ha