Valenti's anti-piracy plan angers directors

NEW YORK -- Memo to Jack Valenti: A lot of filmmakers disagree with the decision to stop sending out special DVDs and videos to Oscar voters.

Nearly 150 directors, including Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Redford, sent a letter to Valenti, the president of the Motion Picture Association of America, urging the MPAA to immediately repeal the anti-piracy plan it implemented last week.

The ban on sending screeners means the 5,600 Academy Awards voters will have to catch most movies in theaters.

"Many great films, and in particular films that take risks, rely on critical acclaim and, when the film is fortunate enough, Academy consideration to reach a broad audience," states the letter, which appears in the trade paper Variety on Friday. "The MPAA decision to ban screeners irreparably damages the chances of such films: films that already have a difficult enough time finding financing and distribution. ...

"We condemn piracy, but are unconvinced that material links exist between screeners and the illegal industry of pirating our work -- and the work of our colleagues."

Family, friends honor punk pioneer Strummer

LONDON -- Friends and family toasted the late punk pioneer Joe Strummer at the launch of his last album.

Mick Jones, Strummer's former bandmate in The Clash, was among guests at the event at London's White Cube Gallery Thursday night to mark the release of "Streetcore." Other guests included actor Keith Allen, comic Paul Kaye, actress Sadie Frost and her former husband, ex-Spandau Ballet star Gary Kemp.

Strummer's widow, Lucy, helped launch the Strummerville charity, which aims to help youth groups, organizations and individuals buy instruments, studio and rehearsal time.

Members of reggae band UB40 also attended, as did photographer Pennie Smith, famed for her striking cover shot for The Clash's 1979 album "London Calling."

Strummer, who made his name expressing his politics through his music, died on Dec. 22 after a heart attack. He was 50.

Late rapper's mother lauds hip-hop community

NEW YORK -- Afeni Shakur, the mother of rapper Tupac Shakur, says she's touched that the hip-hop community continues to be supportive, seven years after her son's death.

"I always feel like I get special treatment. I never felt that I couldn't ask anyone for anything," Shakur told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.

"I respect them, I have a lot of respect for them. I like them. They're nice to me, and they're good to my son."

Shakur created Amaru Entertainment-Amaru Records after her son was shot to death in 1996, and the company has put together albums of his unreleased work.

She's also an executive producer of a film documentary on his life, "Tupac: Resurrection," and oversaw a book of the same name, which will be published later this month. The movie will be released in November.

Shakur says she's relied on help from rappers including Dr. Dre and Eminem to help keep her son's name, and music, alive.

"I'm conscious of the fact that I'm 56 trying to do my son's work," she said. "I don't know that we would have been able to keep an ethical, quality project without the hip-hop community caring almost as much as me."

Supermodel Frederique raises funds for felines

NEW YORK -- Frederique Van Der Wal has gone from the catwalk to cat food.

The supermodel is helping launch an auction of celebrity cat food bowls, which will be up for bids on eBay through Oct. 26.

The hand-painted bowls, which are on display at www.catchow.com, reflect the famous cat owners' personalities and tastes. Bob Costas' dish, for example, features a baseball, a TV set and a sports page.

Patricia Heaton of "Everybody Loves Raymond," Frankie Muniz of "Malcolm in the Middle" author John Grisham are among the other celebrities who designed dishes.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), which the St. Louis Cardinals manager established with his wife in 1990 to find homes for dogs and cats.

Van Der Wal also is helping cats from Long Island's North Shore Animal League get primped and pampered for a fashion show, with the hope that cat lovers will give them new homes.

Vandross undergoing rehabilitation after stroke

NEW YORK -- Since the removal in late June of a tracheotomy tube, inserted while he battled meningitis and pneumonia, Luther Vandross is once again talking -- and singing, People magazine reports.

On a recent visit with Vandross -- who suffered a stroke on April 16 -- Patti LaBelle says that when they sang a duet, he corrected her on a lyric. "His voice is the same as it ever was," LaBelle tells People in its Oct. 20 issue.

Vandross, 52, is undergoing therapy at a New Jersey rehabilitation center, the magazine says.

His new album, "Luther Vandross: Live at Radio City Music Hall," is set for release Oct. 28.

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On the Net:

http://www.luthervandross.com/index2.html

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LONDON -- Earl Spencer, Princess Diana's brother, has announced the birth of a son with his second wife, whom he married two years ago.

In an announcement on his Web site, Spencer said, "Earl and Countess Spencer are delighted to announce the birth of their son Edmund Charles," early Sunday morning.

There was no additional information except that "mother and baby are both well."

Spencer and former schoolteacher Caroline Freud were married in December 2001 at Althorp, the Spencer family estate.

Spencer has four children from his marriage to Victoria Lockwood -- three daughters and a son. Freud has two children from her previous marriage.

Princess Diana was buried at Althorp following her fatal 1997 car crash in Paris.

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On the Net:

http://www.althorp.com/home/index.asp

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A musical tribute to Johnny Cash will be held Nov. 10 at the Ryman Auditorium.

Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Hank Williams Jr., Jack Clement, Steve Earle, Larry Gatlin and Cash's daughter, Rosanne, are scheduled to perform, Cash publicist Lou Robin said Thursday.

Discussions also are under way with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Bono, Robin said.

Tickets will be free, but details on how to get them are still being arranged, he said.

"The family just wanted to give the public closure to their feelings about John's death," Robin said.

Cash died Sept. 12 at age 71 of complications from diabetes.

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On the Net:

http://www.johnnycash.com/