Screen People | Oscars | Redmayne lends voice to ‘Thomas & Friends’

    The No. 1 blue engine is getting a new friend in Eddie Redmayne.
Fresh off an Oscar win for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” the British actor will be heard in the next installment in the “Thomas & Friends” series, “Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure.” The 60-minute CGI feature will be released on DVD by HIT Entertainment in the fall of 2015. Redmayne voices the role of Ryan, a new engine on the Island of Sodor whom Thomas meets on a quest.
“I grew up loving to watch Thomas and his pals getting caught up in unexpected and mischievous adventures. I jumped at the opportunity to get involved and what fun it was! I have never voiced an animated character before, and I had a complete blast,” said Redmayne in a statement.
Also joining in on the adventure are “Harry Potter” alums John Hurt, as Sailor John, and Jamie Campbell Bower as Skiff.

Celebs – Madonna takes a tumble at the Brit Awards
Madonna has given music fans a shock when she tumbled down several stairs at the Brit Awards.
The 56-year-old queen of pop was closing yesterday’s (Macau time) ceremony in London with a performance of her song “Living For Love.”
Madonna entered with a troupe of male dancers and appeared to fumble with a long, flowing cloak she was wearing. A member of the troupe yanked on the garment, which was tied at the neck, but rather than come off it pulled Madonna backward down three steps while her dancers looked on, seemingly in shock.
In a post on Instagram after the performance, Madonna said she was doing OK.
“My beautiful cape was tied too tight! But nothing can stop me and love really lifted me up!” she wrote. “Thanks for your good wishes! I’m fine!”

TV – Cooper and Cohen are made for each other – onstage
After an initial phone call that still makes them cringe, the television odd couple of Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper became good friends.
Both men are putting their easy camaraderie on display in a live lecture series this spring. The idea came from Cohen’s mother and Cooper’s agent, who watched in November when Cooper interviewed Cohen about his book onstage in New York. The series, subtitled “Deep Talk and Shallow Tales,” starts March 21 in Boston, with later dates in Miami and Chicago and more if the initial run goes well.
Each has traveled career paths that aren’t easily defined.
Cooper is best known as the sober, prematurely gray newscaster who travels around the world for CNN and contributes stories to “60 Minutes.” Cohen hosts an alcohol-fueled talk show on Bravo and dishes about the network’s famed housewives.

Media – Publishers stand by Bill O’Reilly despite accuracy questions
Book publishers for Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly say they stand behind his work despite questions that have been raised about his reporting.
O’Reilly’s series of books about the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln and Jesus Christ have sold millions of copies and been turned into successful movies for the National Geographic channel. The latest adaptation, “Killing Jesus,” is set to premiere on Palm Sunday.
The liberal watchdog Media Matters for America this week reported on a 2013 online post that questioned O’Reilly’s claim that in 1977 he was outside the Florida home of George de Mohrenschildt, a friend of Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, when he killed himself with a shotgun. De Mohrenschildt had been contacted by congressional investigators looking into the assassination.
O’Reilly’s claim that he was there in his book “Killing Kennedy.” Media Matters quoted police reports, media accounts, former colleagues and other sources that dispute O’Reilly’s claim that he was there. At the time, O’Reilly was a reporter for a Dallas television station.

Herbie Hancock – Paris named host city for International Jazz Day 2015
Jazz musicians from around the world will gather this April in Paris for International Jazz Day, an event UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock hopes will bring an uplifting “positive message” to a city still reeling from last month’s terrorist attacks.
Hancock and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova announced this week that Paris had been selected to be the global host city for the fourth annual International Jazz Day on April 30.
Hancock said organizers initially considered Paris as the host city to celebrate its legendary place in jazz history, dating back nearly a century to World War I when African-American troops brought the music to France.
But the deadly January attacks on the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish food market have given this year’s event added significance, the jazz pianist said.
“Jazz has been a bridge for bringing people together,” Hancock told the AP. “It’s not sectarian and it’s not just for people of a particular ethnic group. It’s for human beings. We need to recognize that which makes us similar, while at the same time honoring that which makes us different.”