People talk 8/11/03

Lighting crash cancels Timberlake concert

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- A sold-out concert by Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake was canceled after sound and lighting equipment fell while being raised to the ceiling.

About 30 people managed to get out of the way as a large steel rigging structure used to raise the gear buckled and collapsed Saturday, authorities and members of the stage crew said.

Authorities said three people were slightly injured. Two were treated for cuts and bruises.

Neither Aguilera nor Timberlake was in Boardwalk Hall at the time of the accident. It was not immediately known what caused the collapse. Federal, state and local officials were expected to investigate.

Fans arriving at the hall's box office were dismayed at the cancellation.

"I'm so sad," said Michelle Ackerman, 14, of Fairfax, Va., who had come with her mother and a friend.

The singers were scheduled to next perform Monday at Albany's Pepsi Arena.

Kevin Costner brings glitz to Sheboygan

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- Actor-director Kevin Costner brought Hollywood glitz and glamour to Wisconsin with a fund-raiser and prescreening of his new Western, "Open Range."

Costner teamed with plumbing ware businessman Herbert V. Kohler Jr. for the event Saturday night, which included a Western-themed barbecue at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

Kohler, who met Costner about a decade ago at a charity golf outing, appeared in six scenes of the Disney movie as "Cafe Man." He said the fund-raiser was Costner's idea; the event collected $160,000 for the Kohler Arts Center and the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts in Sheboygan.

Costner made "Open Range" for $26 million, taking no salary, shooting in Canada and raising all but $10 million of the budget himself.

"People wanted to make this movie, not for a lot of money, but they still wanted to make it," the star told Time magazine, on newsstands Monday.

Costner, 48, directed "Open Range," which also stars Robert Duvall and Annette Bening. The movie is set to open nationwide Friday.

It's his third Western and third directorial effort. In 1990, he directed the Western epic "Dances With Wolves," which collected critical praise, seven Oscars -- including best director and best picture -- and $184.2 million at the U.S. box office. He also directed 1997's less successful "The Postman."

Goulet sings for new American citizens

LAS VEGAS -- It was somewhat of an unusual setting for a Robert Goulet performance.

At the federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas, Goulet sang an a cappella version of "God Bless America" during a naturalization ceremony for 53 new citizens -- including his wife.

"I was more nervous for her. This was so important to her," Goulet said after Friday's ceremony.

Vera Goulet, 56, who married the singer in 1982, was one of two new citizens who spoke during the ceremony.

"I am so proud, and I am so honored, as I know all of you are, to be an American," she said. Vera Goulet and her mother fled the communist regime in the former Yugoslavia in 1959.

Robert Goulet, 69, took his turn behind the lectern and joked: "My wife told me last night she can't wait to become a citizen so she can make a citizen's arrest."

Willie Nelson honors runaway Texas senators

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Singer Willie Nelson says he thinks 11 Democratic state senators from Texas who have been holed up in New Mexico to block a legislative quorum on congressional redistricting are heroes.

Nelson invited his fellow Texans to Saturday night's sold-out concert at the Isleta Casino and Resort in Albuquerque.

Two of the senators, Gonzalo Barrientos and Mario Gallegos, took Nelson up on the offer and met him backstage.

"We're your outlaws, buddy," Barrientos said.

The Democrats left Austin two weeks ago after Republican Gov. Rick Perry called a second special session to address congressional redistricting.

"I think they're great," Nelson said. "I think they're heroes and we're all very proud of them."

When House Democrats trekked to Ardmore, Okla., in May to protest the same redistricting issue, Nelson sent them whiskey, red bandannas and a note saying: "Way to go. Stand your ground."

-- From wire reports