People talk 6/12/03

Springer launches site for possible campaign

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Television talk show host Jerry Springer launched a Web site Wednesday to test voter support for a possible U.S. Senate campaign.

T-shirts, autographed photos and compact discs of Springer playing a guitar and singing country songs will be sold on the site, said Mike Ford, his political adviser.

The 59-year-old host of "The Jerry Springer Show" wants to reach people who don't normally vote and who would be willing to make small contributions on his behalf, Ford said at a news conference at Ohio Democratic Party headquarters. Response to the www.runjerryrun.com Web site will help Springer decide whether to run.

"A lot of people are left out of the political system and they're not supposed to be," Ford said Tuesday. "We're going to activate them."

Springer has traveled the state for months to determine whether to run in the 2004 U.S. Senate race in Ohio. State Sen. Eric Fingerhut (D-Shaker Heights), who's already announced his candidacy, criticized Springer's Web site.

"It's a cynical attempt to somehow manufacture support," Fingerhut said.

The Democratic candidate will take on incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, who isn't expected to have serious competition.

Springer resigned from the Cincinnati City Council in 1974 after admitting in federal court that he wrote personal checks to pay prostitutes. He later was elected mayor and lost a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1982.

He then worked as a TV news anchor and commentator before becoming a syndicated talk show host whose guests flaunt sexual secrets and anti-social behavior.

'Buffy' creator struck dumb for episode

LOS ANGELES -- One of the scariest experiences "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon ever faced was being stuck speechless while writing for the show.

Renowned for the series' clever wordplay, Whedon said he worried that his young monster hunter relied too much on Valley Girl dialogue. So he ditched it all, for one time only.

The result was "Hush," an episode in which grinning ghouls known as the Gentlemen steal all the voices from the town of Sunnydale. The show was released on DVD Tuesday as part of the series' fourth-season boxed set.

"It was the first time I was ever thinking: 'I can't possibly pull this off,"' Whedon said. "As a director I was falling back on the old, 'Well, they'll sit around and talk and I'll write a scene and it'll be cute and funny and that's that.' I wanted to take that crutch away."

Fans can get a peek at Whedon's entire Emmy-nominated script for "Hush" on the DVD.

In one scene, Buffy's mentor, Giles, writes on an overhead projector that only a human scream can kill the monsters. "Taking a deep breath, Buffy lets out her best yell. Not a peep. Makes a 'that's not gonna work' face," the script reads.

"That to me was one of the most perfect little jewels I got to create," Whedon said of the episode. The only thing harder? Two seasons later, he said, writing the musical episode "Once More With Feeling."

"Buffy" ended its seven-year run last month.

Stewart's greatest hits take the stage in LondonLONDON -- Rod Stewart's greatest hits are coming to the stage in a new London musical, "Tonight's the Night," which will open on the West End in the fall.

The show at the Victoria Palace Theater will feature some 22 songs from the back catalog of the 58-year-old Stewart, who met the press Tuesday to lend support for the rock musical.

Cast members Tim Howar, Hannah Waddingham and Mike McKell were among those belting out a handful of hits associated with Stewart, including "Sailing," "Maggie May" and "D'ya Think I'm Sexy."

"It's astounding," said Stewart, who led the standing ovation after the presentation. At the same time, the singer expressed no interest in writing a show from scratch as Elton John and Randy Newman have done.

"I don't have the patience for that," Stewart told The Associated Press.

-- From wire reports