Holly to Bolly: George Clooney pays surprise visit to fan on her 87th birthday, Disney sued over Zootopia and more

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Actor George Clooney has surprised a fan on her 87th birthday in London. Clooney paid a visit to the fan named Pat Adams, a resident at a facility in Berkshire, to celebrate her special day on March 19 after she had told staff members how fond she was of him, reports telegraph.co.uk. He brought her flowers and a card. Linda Jones, a worker at the care home, posted a picture of Clooney with Adams on Facebook. “The lady in the picture loves George Clooney and mentions everyday how she would love to meet him, especially as he lives so near to where I work,” Jones wrote alongside the image. Staff said Adams was “delighted and surprised when George greeted her with a bouquet of flowers and card”.

* IANS

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Disney sued over Zootopia

Walt Disney Co was sued on Tuesday by a longtime Hollywood screenwriter and producer who accused the studio of copying its blockbuster, Oscar-winning animated film Zootopia from his work without permission. Gary Goldman, whose credits include the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Total Recall and Tom Cruise film Minority Report, filed his copyright infringement lawsuit in the US District Court in Los Angeles.

He said Disney replicated, sometimes “virtually verbatim,” the themes, settings, plot, characters and dialogue, as well as the title, of his Zootopia concept, which he had pitched to the studio in 2000 and 2009.

In a statement, Disney said: “Mr. Goldman’s lawsuit is riddled with patently false allegations. It is an unprincipled attempt to lay claim to a successful film he didn’t create, and we will vigorously defend against it in court.” – Reuters

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Vikram Bhatt pens romantic novel A Handful of Sunshine

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt has become a romantic novel writer. His debut novel A Handful of Sunshine, will be released next month and he based it on his personal and somewhat blighted experience of love. “When I think of love, I think of pain and not joy. I know that is not the way it’s supposed to be, but it has been that way for me,” says Bhatt, who was married to Aditi Bhatt but then had an extra-marital affair with actress Sushmita Sen. After his relationship with the former beauty queen ended, he then reportedly dated actress Ameesha Patel. The father of one says: “Love is the most elusive thing I know. Always an arm’s length away, teasing me and asking me to stretch a bit more and grab it. The more I stretched, the more it slipped away. Through those many slips comes my book.” The book is being published by Penguin Random House India.

* IANS

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Missy Elliot to play first concert since 2008

Missy Elliot will play her first concert in the United States since 2008 this summer, reports Rolling Stone Magazine. The legendary rapper has been largely out of the music scene for the past few years after being diagnosed with Graves’ disease, a thyroid condition that she announced her diagnosis of in 2011. She has played international festivals and concerts since then, but her big return to the public arena was in 2015 when she was Katy Perry’s special guest during the pop star’s Super Bowl halftime show.

Now she will perform a headline concert at the annual FYF Fest in Los Angeles in July. Frank Ocean, Nine Inch Nails, Björk, A Tribe Called Quest and Solange have also been billed as headliners.

* The National Staff

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Jacqueline Fernandez to take Justin Bieber sight seeing in Mumbai

A Bahraini-Sri Lankan former Miss Universe will be taking Justin Bieber on a sight seeing tour Mumbai during his scheduled trip to India in May, reports The Times of India. Jacqueline Fernandez will be hosting the Grammy Award winner and global pop sensation around the city and she plans to “give him a taste of all things desi,” she said in a statement. Fernandez intends to take Bieber to the Gateway Of India, Iskon Temple, Colaba Causeway and also on ride through the streets of Bandra – the suburb of the city where most celebrities from Bollywood and sport live. She has also planned a day out with underprivileged children at Dharavi Slums. The 22-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter will be play at the city’s DY Patil Stadium on May 10 where he will play tracks from his fourth album as well as his chart topping hits.

* The National Staff