“Family Guy” executive producer lands animated cop series with Fox

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Despite – or perhaps because of – a robust cartoon slate that includes “The Simpsons,” “American Dad” and “Family Guy,” Fox apparently feels that it’s just not animated enough.

The network has given a 13-episode order to a new animated series, “Murder Police,” from “Family Guy” executive producer David Goodman and Jason Ruiz, Fox said Tuesday.

The series, which will be produced by Bento Box Animation (“Bob’s Burgers,” “Brickleberry”) via 20th Century Fox Television, centers around a dedicated, but inept detective and his colleagues – some perverted, some corrupt, some just plain lazy – in a twisted city precinct. Goodman and Ruiz created and wrote the series, with Goodman as executive producer and Ruiz as co-executive producer.

In addition to “Family Guy,” Goodman executive-produced Fox’s short-lived animated series “Allen Gregory,” which failed to receive a pickup after airing a handful of episodes last year.

Ruiz is one of the writers discovered through the network’s Fox Inkubation program. He will also voice the program, along with “MADtv” alum Will Sasso, Chi McBride, Horatio Sanz of “Saturday Night Live,” and other voice actors.

“David and Jason came to us with a really fresh take on law enforcement that we’ve never seen before,” said Kevin Reilly, Chairman of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “With ‘Murder Police,’ these guys are taking a staple genre of television – the cop show – and turning it on its head by pushing the warped comedic boundaries that only animation can offer. It’s the kind of show our Animation Domination fans will absolutely love, and I can’t wait to introduce it next season.”

“Murder Police” will premiere during the 2013-2014 season.

TV News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: For the Old, Less Sense of Whom to Trust

There’s a reason so many older people fall for financial scams, new research suggests. They don’t respond as readily to visual cues that suggest a person might be untrustworthy, and their brains don’t send out as many warning signals that ignite a danger ahead gut response.

The research, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, is the first to show that older adults’ vulnerability to fraud may be rooted in age-related neurological changes.

Specifically, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that an area in the brain known as the anterior insula was muted when older people looked at photographs of suspicious-looking individuals. This part of the brain activates gut-level feelings that help individuals interpret the reliability of other people and assess potential risks and rewards associated with social interactions.

In one part of the U.C.L.A. study, both younger and older adults were asked to evaluate the trustworthiness of people portrayed in 60 photographs while undergoing brain scans. When the younger adults (21 altogether, from 23 to 46 years of age) labeled a person “not trustworthy,” their anterior insulas lit up. But this wasn’t true for older adults (23 altogether, age 55 to 80).

“The warning signals that convey a sense of potential danger to younger adults just don’t seem to be there for older adults,” said Shelley Taylor, the lead researcher and a psychology professor at U.C.L.A.

In another part of the study, researchers asked 119 older adults (55 to 84 years old) and 24 younger adults (age 20 to 42) to rate people in photographs as trustworthy, neutral or untrustworthy. Signs they were potentially untrustworthy included people with insincere smiles, averted gazes and postures that “leaned away” rather than toward the camera, among others, Dr. Taylor said.

Older adults were equally adept at identifying people judged to be trustworthy or neutral, but much more likely to miss signs of those who may be untrustworthy and view suspicious-looking people as approachable, the study found.

“We believe what’s going on is that older adults have a bias toward positive emotional experience and this keeps them from recognizing negative cues,” Dr. Taylor said.

This so-called “positivity effect” has been documented through research by Laura Carstensen, a professor of psychology and public policy at Stanford University, and it explains why older adults are, on the whole, happier than younger adults.

Asked to comment about the new study, Ms. Carstensen said in an e-mail that it was “very well done,” and observed that for older adults, “there are likely many benefits of looking on the bright side. However, there are likely some contexts where looking away from the negative and focusing on the positive is not good,” including financial scams and fraud.

Alexander Todorov, a professor of psychology at Princeton University, called the findings “interesting,” but warned that “there is an implicit assumption that these trustworthiness evaluations based on facial appearance are accurate. This is far from clear.”

Dr. Taylor became acutely aware of financial fraud practiced on the elderly almost 20 years ago when her elderly father handed $17,000 to two men who approached him on the street and walked with him to his bank.

“I got descriptions of the two men from someone who lived nearby — one had few teeth, both were dressed in a slovenly manner, and they’d been seen sleeping in doorways and were using the drug rehab center nearby,” the professor explained in an e-mail.

In other words, they would have been viewed skeptically by most people, but weren’t seen in that light by Dr. Taylor’s father.

Statistics show that financial exploitation of the elderly is on the rise. According to a study published last year by the MetLife Mature Market Institute and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, elder financial abuse — everything from fraudulent sweepstakes to bank accounts emptied out by guardians — totaled $2.9 billion in 2010, a 12 percent increase from only two years before.

Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office weighed in on the issue, noting the inadequacy of existing safeguards and calling for a new national strategy to address the problem.

On Tuesday my colleague Paula Span wrote about a just-published consumer guide, “Protect Your Pocketbook,” intended for older adults and families who wanted to understand what put them at risk, how to prevent fraud, and where to turn for help.

As for Dr. Taylor, she advises that seniors never agree on the spot to a phone offer or a pitch from a door-to-door salesman. “Either hang up or wait and get someone else involved in your life to evaluate what’s being presented,” she said.

With financial fraud, almost half the time seniors end up being taken in by a caretaker or someone posing as a friend. “Make absolutely sure that you’ve carefully checked out the people taking care of an older relative,” or any “surprising new friend” that you’ve never heard of before that’s now on the scene, she tells family members.

Read More..

South Loop residents oppose DePaul arena

The prospect of a DePaul University men's basketball arena being constructed on land just north of McCormick Place is drawing strong opposition from the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance, a South Loop residents' organization, according to a letter released Tuesday.
 
A survey of 700 neighbors of the site, conducted by the community group, found more than 70 percent oppose construction of a Blue Demons arena there, Tina Feldstein, president of the organization, stated in the letter.
 
An arena would not fit within the residential and historic character of the area and could put two landmark structures, the Harriet F. Rees House and the American Book Co. building, at risk, the letter stated. It would also add to traffic congestion and potential rowdiness in an area already overburdened when conventions are in progress at McCormick Place or major events, including Chicago Bears games, are taking place at Soldier Field, Feldstein said in an interview.
 
"We're not against vibrant development, which hotel and retail would bring," Feldstein said. And the group would support an arena at an alternate site on the Near South Side, she said.
 
The letter was written in support of an alternate plan for the so-called "Olde Prairie" blocks, which is being put forward in bankruptcy court by developers Pam Gleichman, Karl Norberg and Gunnar Falk. Their plan calls for hotel and retail development on property directly north of the McCormick Place administrative offices and West Building on Cermak Road.
 
If they lose control of the property, it is expected to go up for auction, making it possible for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the state-city agency that owns McCormick Place, or other parties to make a run at it.
 
DePaul is weighing several sites, including property near McCormick Place and the United Center on the Near West Side. As well, the Allstate Arena in Rosemont is fighting to retain the team.
 
The neighborhood's opposition adds to resistance by Ald. Robert Fioretti, whose 2nd Ward includes McCormick Place.
 "That is not a place to put an arena -- far away from the school," he said. "I think there are traffic issues related, and it would be a bad deal for taxpayers in these economic times."

Fioretti noted such a project likely would require public subsidy.
 
The Olde Prairie blocks have not been officially designated as a potential site for a DePaul arena, but Fioretti said it is his understanding that they are being seriously considered.
 
Jim Reilly, chief executive officer of the exposition authority, known as McPier, has publicly acknowledged that there have been talks with DePaul. A spokeswoman on Tuesday said it would be premature to comment further at this point.

A DePaul spokesperson could not be reached for immediate comment.
 
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said he would like DePaul to bring men's basketball back to the city. A spokesman declined comment beyond that.
 kbergen@tribune.com | Twitter @kathy_bergen

Read More..

5 shot near currency exchange in South Shore neighborhood

Five people were hospitalized after a shooting in the South Shore neighborhood this evening, officials said. (Posted Dec. 3rd, 2012)

Five people were hospitalized after a shooting near a currency exchange in the South Shore neighborhood Monday evening, officials said.

The shooting happened in the 7500 block of South Exchange Avenue at about 5:45 p.m., according to Chicago Fire Department and police officials.

Neighbors said that the shooting happened at or near a currency exchange at that location.

Several people had been standing in the street when a male shooter approached on foot and began firing, police said.

Bullets struck five people, who range in age from 23 to 44 years old, Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro said.

A 38-year-old woman was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County with a gunshot wound to the buttocks, Alfaro said. A 29-year-old man was also taken to Stroger with gunshot wounds to the groin area and thigh.

Two men, ages 23 and 44, were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the former with a gunshot wound to the upper body and the latter with a gunshot wound to the upper body, Alfaro said.

A 29-year-old man was also taken to South Shore Hospital with a gunshot wound to the foot.

Fire Department officials listed the victim taken to South Shore as being in good-to-fair condition, and they listed the other four as being in serious-to-critical condition.

Police said one of the victims was critically wounded, while the other four of the victims appeared to have sustained non-life threatening injuries.

The conditions of all five, however, had been stabilized, Alfaro said.

Fire department officials had called for an Emergency Medical Services Plan 1 which summoned six ambulances to the scene, officials said.

Sources told WGN news that the shooting may have been retaliation for a gang fight which happened earlier Monday afternoon.

A neighbor said he noticed the police racing to the area and was told that several people were shot near the currency exchange. The man said the shooting happened at about 5:30 p.m.

"About four or five people got shot across the street...Oh man, it's hellish around here," said the man, who did not give his name. "It's pretty bad."

Tribune reporter Adam Sege contributed.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com

Twitter: @ChicagoBreaking

Read More..

Yahoo sees several flaws in $2.7 billion Mexico ruling: source

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo Inc believes it has “numerous” grounds to appeal a Mexico City civil court‘s $ 2.7 billion preliminary judgment against the company, including both errors in procedure and in application of law, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The ruling in the case, which involves allegations of breach of contract related to an online yellow pages listings service, was made by the 49th Civil Court of the Federal District of Mexico City, Yahoo said on Friday.

The case has perplexed many investors and tech-industry observers since Yahoo disclosed it, particularly given the large value of the “non-final” judgment.

The lawsuit was brought by Worldwide Directories S.A. de C.V. and Ideas Interactivas S.A. de C.V. against Yahoo and Yahoo de Mexico, Yahoo said.

The companies could not be reached for comment, although Carlos Bazan-Canabal, who describes himself as a founder of Worldwide Directories, told Reuters via email that he had contracted a U.S.-based law firm to handle the Yahoo case.

He declined to comment further on the matter.

Bazan-Canabal operates a number of web sites. He said on one that he joined Yahoo in 1999, adding that he is a former executive of Yahoo Mexico, and that he helped to launch that company. Yahoo could not immediately be reached for comment on this.

The details of the suit remained unclear on Monday. Documents from local courts in Mexico are not available for public consultation. Yahoo declined to comment.

Yahoo signed a commercial relationship with the two companies in 2002, the person familiar with the matter said. Yahoo terminated the relationship with the companies in 2009, the person said.

Yahoo’s appeal is expected to be heard by a panel of three judges in a superior court in Mexico City, the person said who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. It was not clear when Yahoo might file its appeal.

Yahoo’s most recent 10Q filing, which lists major ongoing legal proceedings, makes no mention of the lawsuit.

“We believe the $ 2.7 billion figure appears high based on the seemingly small size of Yahoo’s business in Mexico, but we believe shares could trade off modestly on the news,” wrote JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth in a note to investors following Friday’s announcement.

“It’s not clear how the Mexican court arrived at the $ 2.7 billion figure, but it would represent 40 percent of our projected 2012 year-end cash balance for Yahoo,” and equate to about $ 2.30 per share, he wrote.

Shares of Yahoo closed Monday’s regular session down 1.2 percent, or 22 cents, at $ 18.55.

(Additional reporting by Dave Graham in Mexico City and Sarah McBride in San Francisco; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Kutcher’s Steve Jobs, Gordon-Levitt among Sundance premieres

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ashton Kutcher‘s turn as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s directorial debut about a modern day Don Juan are leading a slew of star-studded premieres unveiled Monday for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Kutcher stars in “Jobs,” a biographical look at the career rise of Jobs from wayward hippie to charismatic inventor and entrepreneur, which Sundance said Monday will officially close the indie film festival backed by Robert Redford that runs January 17 to January 27.

The premiere lineup also features Gordon-Levitt directing, writing and starring in “Don Jon’s Addiction,” about a self-centered porn-addict attempting to reform his ways opposite Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore and Tony Danza.

Behind-the-scenes tales of pornography will also be explored in British director Michael Winterbottom‘s “The Look of Love,” starring Steve Coogan and based on British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond.

“Lovelace,” starring Amanda Seyfried and James Franco, tells the story of porn star Linda Lovelace famed for the film “Deep Throat.”

Sundance, the top U.S. film festival for independent cinema held in Park City, Utah, unveiled the premieres section – which typically feature more established directors – after it announced its competition films last week.

Adding to the premieres list is “Before Midnight,” director Richard Linklater’s third film collaborating with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy after “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset,” in which the audience encounters their characters nine years later in Greece.

New Zealand director Jane Campion will screen her new six-hour epic, “Top Of The Lake,” a haunting mystery about a pregnant 12-year-old girl who disappears, with Holly Hunter.

Other big-name actors in the lineup include Steve Carell and Toni Collette in “The Way, Way Back,” Naomi Watts and Robin Wright in “Two Mothers”, Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen in “Very Good Girls,” and Shia LaBeouf and Evan Rachel Wood in “The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman.”

Australian actresses Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Jacki Weaver star in psychological thriller “Stoker,” which marks South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s English-language debut.

WIKILEAKS, POLITICS LEAD DOCUMENTARIES

Among documentaries premiering at Sundance in January is Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney’s insight on WikiLeaks, the power of the Internet and the beginning of an information war in “We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks.”

Author and documentarian Sebastian Junger chronicles the life of late photojournalist Tim Hetherington in “Which Way Is The Front Line From Here?” after Hetherington’s death in Libya in 2011. The photojournalist had collaborated with Junger on the 2010 Oscar-nominated film “Restrepo” about the Afghanistan war.

“The World According to Dick Cheney” promises to examine the former vice president while “Anita” profiles how Anita Hill’s allegations in 1991 of sexual harassment against then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas brought sexual politics into the national consciousness for the next two decades.

“Linsanity” offers a portrait of basketballer Jeremy Lin and “Running From Crazy” follows actress Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, and her insights into her family’s mental illness and suicide.

“Pandora’s Promise” looks at a growing number of environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists changing their minds after decades of opposition to support nuclear power.

Continuing the rise of music documentaries in the last several years, Foo Fighters’ musician Dave Grohl looks at the history of Sound City studios in California, where Grohl’s former band Nirvana had recorded their classic 1991 album “Nevermind.”

Veteran Los Angeles rock band The Eagles will also showcase their past in “The History of the Eagles Part 1.”

(Reporting By Christine Kearney, editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Cynthia Osterman)

Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

The New Old Age Blog: On the Alert for Fraud

Unlike some forms of elder abuse, financial exploitation leaves no visible scars. It is under-reported and hard to prosecute. Adding to the tangled dynamics, the abuser is frequently a family member, increasing the victim’s humiliation and denial.

Better by far to try to prevent financial abuse before it wipes out an older person’s assets and hopes for a secure retirement. Though this has proved easier in theory than in practice — most authorities believe financial exploitation and abuse is actually increasing — vigilance represents a crucial first step.

The National Center on Elder Abuse and the Eldercare Locator (the federal service that helps older adults and caregivers find local programs and agencies) have just published “Protect Your Pocketbook,” a brief consumer guide for families and their older relatives. It maps out risk factors, warning signals and prevention strategies and tells where to turn for help.

You can download it from the Web  or order it online through the Eldercare Locator Web site. Or you can call the Locator at 1-800-677-1116 and ask to have a copy mailed to you.

Holidays, when so many adult children head “home,” tend to spur campaigns of this sort: attempts to integrate potentially painful conversations and questions with feasts and gifts.

I have always wondered about the timing of these discussions — first the pies, then the questions about unexplained bank withdrawals and credit card bills? But it is true that our elders can sound dandy during weekly phone calls, then surprise us with their frailty and their struggles when we are there in person to witness them.

Financial abuse, which I have written about before (see scam prevention advice here, along with a sad story), is only part of the picture, but it is a vital issue.

Apart from the advice in the brochure, we would appreciate hearing from readers who have tackled this problem and can tell us what has worked and what hasn’t.

---

Paula Span is the author of “When the Time Comes: Families With Aging Parents Share Their Struggles and Solutions.”

Read More..

Public-private group wins bid for delinquent mortgages

A homeowner with a delinquent mortgage speaks with a mortgage specialist at a JPMorgan Chase foreclosure consultation event in New York in 2011. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters File Photo / December 3, 2012)

By Mary Ellen Podmolik




Tribune reporter

5:19 p.m. CST, December 3, 2012

A public-private partnership headed by the Illinois Housing Development Authority has emerged as one of the winning bidders in a September auction of delinquent mortgages held by the Federal Housing Administration.
 
Mortgage Resolution Fund will use $25 million of federal hardest-hit funds awarded to the state to buy 324 delinquent loans on Chicago-area properties. The loans, which were part of a neighborhood stabilization pool have an unpaid principal balance of about $62 million and the properties are valued at $40 million.
 
After the note sale closes, homeowners whose delinquent mortgages are part of the loan pool will be contacted by a new servicer in early 2013 that will offer to write down the principal balance of the loans and set up more affordable repayment terms to eligible homeowners. Those homeowners pay no cost to receive the loan modifications.
 
"We want to help as many borrowers as possible achieve long-term stability so they can stay in their homes without the fear of foreclosure," said Mary Kenney, executive director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
 
Separately, Florida-based Bayview Acquisitions LLC submitted a winning bid of about $70 million for 1,430 other Illinois loans in a neighborhood stabilization pool that had an unpaid principal balance of about $269 million and an estimated property value of $155 million. Another 299 delinquent Illinois mortgages were sold as part of other pools.
 
Nationally, the note sale involved about 9,400 distressed loans. Bids were submitted to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in September.
 
HUD said plans to sell another 10,000 to 15,000 distressed loans during the first quarter of 2013, and at least 40,000 during the next year in an effort to remove distressed loans from its portfolio.
 
mepodmolik@tribune.com | Twitter @mepodmolik

Read More..

Orange Bowl bid, new coach cap wild weekend for NIU

It was an incredible weekend for the Northern Illinois football program.

A 44-37 double-overtime victory over Kent State in the Mid-American Conference championship game kicked off the exhilaration Friday night at Ford Field in Detroit. That was followed by the announcement on Saturday that Dave Doeren had accepted the coaching position at North Carolina State.

On Sunday came the historic news that the Huskies were bound for Miami on New Year's Day to face Florida State in the Orange Bowl, becoming the first team from the MAC to earn a berth in a BCS bowl game.

"We're 12-1," NIU quarterback Jordan Lynch told ESPN. "We faced tons of adversity this year. We won tons of games. … We definitely deserve to be in there."

Capping things off, the school announced Sunday night the head coaching vacancy had been filled by promoting offensive coordinator Rod Carey.

"It has been crazy; it has been nuts. That's the only way to explain it," said Carey, who agreed to a five-year contract. "But it has been good. All of that has been wonderful … and what a privilege for our kids to go to the Orange Bowl. They were so excited they could barely stand up."

While some college observers vehemently argued that NIU didn't belong in the game, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters in Tallahassee that he had no such qualms.

"You don't get in this game unless you're a good football team," Fisher said. "It's easy for talking heads to say that (NIU doesn't belong). They've earned the right to be here, they've earned the right to have this opportunity.

"We know we're going to get an inspired opponent, an opponent that's going to be ready to prove something."

NIU now has its third coach in three years. Jerry Kill left after the 2010 season to take the head coaching job at Minnesota. Doeren was 23-4 in just two seasons on the DeKalb campus. NIU athletic director Jeff Compher is hoping for a smooth transition from Doeren to Carey.

"That's why they did what they did in such a short amount of time," Carey said. "Because I have been here and they want the transition to be as seamless as it can be.

"I don't have any reason today to sit here and say that I want to go somewhere else. Listen, I was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and I went to high school in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Joe Novak (former NIU head coach) was the defensive coordinator at Indiana when I played there. So my ties and my knowing about NIU have gone back a long time. And I have wanted to be at this place for a lot of different times in my career. And I finally got here and now this has happened. I don't know why I would want to go anywhere else."

It is not yet clear how many other members of the NIU coaching staff will join Doeren at N.C. State.

"It will be a challenge; I don't know how it will all play out," Carey said. "But I do know that this staff just won back-to-back MAC championships. And as far as I am concerned, it's the finest staff I've worked with. So I would love to coach with all of these guys for a long time."

This year, Carey helped mold an offensive line of five new starters that helped Lynch become one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation. Carey transitioned into the role of offensive coordinator after the first game of the season when Mike Dunbar had to step away from that role while battling a serious illness.

"Mike Dunbar is one of the most high-character people and unbelievable people I have ever been around," Carey said. I have learned more from that man … he and coach Doeren I have learned more from."

fmitchell@tribune.com

Twitter@kicker34

Read More..

Letterman, Hoffman, Zeppelin honored by Obama

WASHINGTON (AP) — David Letterman‘s “stupid human tricks” and Top 10 lists vaulted into the ranks of cultural acclaim Sunday night as the late-night comedian received this year’s Kennedy Center Honors with rock band Led Zeppelin, an actor, a ballerina and a bluesman.

Stars from New York, Hollywood and the music world joined President Barack Obama at the White House on Sunday night to salute the honorees, whose ranks also include actor Dustin Hoffman, Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova.

The honors are the nation’s highest award for those who influenced American culture through the arts. The recipients were later saluted by fellow performers at the Kennedy Center Opera House in a show to be broadcast Dec. 26 on CBS.

Obama drew laughs from his guests when he described the honorees as “some extraordinary people who have no business being on the same stage together.”

Noting that Guy made his first guitar strings using the wire from a window screen, he quipped, “That worked until his parents started wondering how all the mosquitoes were getting in.”

The president thanked the members of Led Zeppelin for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of “hotel rooms trashed and mayhem all around.”

Obama noted Letterman’s humble beginnings as an Indianapolis weatherman who once reported the city was being pelted by hail ‘the size of canned hams.’”

“It’s one of the highlights of his career,” he said.

All kidding aside, Obama described all of the honorees as artists who “inspired us to see things in a new way, to hear things differently, to discover something within us or to appreciate how much beauty there is in the world.”

“It’s that unique power that makes the arts so important,” he added.

Later on the red carpet, Letterman said he was thrilled by the recognition and to visit Obama at the White House.

“It supersedes everything, honestly,” he said. “I haven’t won that many awards.”

During the show, comedian Tina Fey said she grew up watching her mom laugh at Letterman as he brought on “an endless parade of weirdos.”

“Who was this Dave Letterman guy?” Fey said. “Was he a brilliant, subtle passive-aggressive parody of a talk show host? Or just some Midwestern goon who was a little bit off? Time has proven that there’s just really no way of knowing.”

Alec Baldwin offered a Top 10 reasons Letterman was winning the award, including the fact that he didn’t leave late night for a six-month stint in primetime — a not-so-subtle dig at rival Jay Leno.

Jimmy Kimmel, who will soon compete head-to-head with Letterman on ABC, said he fell in love with Letterman early in life and even had a “Late Night” cake on his 16th birthday.

“To me it wasn’t just a TV show,” Kimmel said. “It was the reason I would fail to make love to a live woman for many, many years.”

For Buddy Guy, singers Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman and others got most of the crowd on its feet singing Guy’s signature “Sweet Home Chicago.”

Morgan Freeman hailed Guy as a pioneer who helped bridge soul and rock and roll.

“When you hear the blues, you really don’t think of it as black or white or yellow or purple or blue,” Freeman said. “Buddy Guy, your blue brought us together.”

Robert De Niro saluted Hoffman, saying he had changed acting, never took any shortcuts and was brave enough to be a perfectionist.

“Before Dustin burst on the scene, it was pretty much OK for movie stars to show up, read their lines and, if the director insisted, act a little,” De Niro said. “But then Dustin came along — and he just had to get everything right.”

By the end of the night, the Foo Fighters, Kid Rock and Lenny Kravitz got the crowd moving to some of Zeppelin’s hits at the Kennedy Center.

Jack Black declared Zeppelin the “greatest rock and roll band of all time.”

“That’s right. Better than the Beatles. Better than the Stones. Even better than Tenacious D,” he said. “And that’s not opinion — that’s fact.”

For the finale, Heart’s Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson sang “Stairway to Heaven,” accompanied by a full choir and Jason Bonham, son of the late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and his bandmates John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page seemed moved by the show.

Meryl Streep first introduced the honorees Saturday as they received the award medallions during a formal dinner at the U.S. State Department hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton said ballerina Makarova “risked everything to have the freedom to dance the way she wanted to dance” when she defected from the Soviet Union in 1970.

Makarova made her debut with the American Ballet Theatre and later was the first exiled artist to return to the Soviet Union before its fall to dance with the Kirov Ballet.

Clinton also took special note of Letterman, saying he must be wondering what he’s doing in a crowd of talented artists and musicians.

“Dave and I have a history,” she said. “I have been a guest on his show several times, and if you include references to my pant suits, I’m on at least once a week.”

___

Follow Brett Zongker on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DCArtBeat

Entertainment News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..