Faith Winthrop had never performed in Australia before, and was not expecting to break her duck now, either. The opportunity arose because this brilliant American singer happened to be in the country on a diving and sightseeing holiday - for which the audience crammed into the buzzing intimacy of Kabarett Junction will be very grateful.

Winthrop has been singing since the early 1950s. In the 1970s family commitments obliged a long spell from treading the boards, during which she established a reputation as an exemplary teacher, her students including Al Jarreau and Keanu Reeves. On the evidence of this performance, someone should be urgently bringing her back here for a full tour and some master- classes. There is no short cut to her 50 years of experience and its benefits radiated from her on-stage ease and from every note.

Winthrop began her career as a jazz singer. That she has been born again as a cabaret artist in the wake of her performing hiatus probably says more about perceptions than anything else.

True enough, her repertoire for this show took in the cabaret staples of Sondheim and the effervescent wit of her own songs. But when she scatted over the ending of Lover Man, for instance, one was witnessing jazz singing of the highest calibre.

On top of that Winthrop had the magical ability to convince each listener she was singing directly to them, whether sparkling her way through an unforgettable reading of Jitterbug Waltz or mooning through what she charmingly called "dysfunctional love songs".

DreamWorks has won a spirited auction for rights to redo "Billy Jack" as a starring vehicle for Keanu Reeves, who will play the counterculture hero originally portrayed by Tom Laughlin in the 1971 cult hit.

Laughlin controlled rights to the film, which he wrote, directed, produced and starred in. The film will be produced by Danny DeVito and his Jersey Films partners.

DreamWorks executive Mike De Luca snapped up the film because of the chance to present an unambiguously heroic figure, and Laughlin is convinced that a well-executed update will find its audience.

The original, he said, is still the most successful indie film ever.

"They say 'Blair Witch' sold 30 million tickets, but we sold 65 million when there were 80 million less people in the world," said Laughlin, who added that the sensation came despite a lackluster distribution effort by Warner Bros.

"They tried to dump it by opening it in places like porn theaters. Theater guys like Sumner Redstone had to make their own tearsheets, but the film would stay in the same theater for a year. It was colossally profitable."

Why did it work? "Yes, it had the first karate action in a movie, but the bottom line was the love story," Laughlin said. "This woman gave her life for these oddball kids, and Billy was willing to give his life for her or those kids. People are lost today, and they always tell me we need another Billy Jack, who stood for moral and spiritual values and psychic truths."

Laughlin got out of the film business because he hated acting, and instead has taught Jungian psychology at Yale and Stanford.

Married 47 years to his onscreen partner, Delores Taylor, Laughlin hopes they will reprise their roles and pass the baton to the new protagonist.

Controversial rock singer Marilyn Manson has denied claims that he was responsible for the death of a woman after a party at his mansion last year. Jennifer Syme, a former girlfriend of actor Keanu Reeves, died in April 2001 when her Jeep Cherokee hit three parked cars.

Her mother, Maria St John, is suing the singer for wrongful death, claiming Manson was negligent in "instructing the woman to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition".

However in a statement from his record company, Manson said he was innocent.

Jennifer Syme dated Keanu Reeves

He said: "After Jennifer was sent home safely with a designated driver, she later got behind the wheel of her own car for reasons known only to her."

The lawsuit alleges Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, gave Ms Syme drugs before she was dropped off at her home.

She got into her car, with the intent of returning to Manson's home, according to the lawsuit.

But her body was thrown from the car as she hit parked vehicles in a Hollywood boulevard.

Dedicated

Ms Syme had been suffering from depression and was receiving medication after her baby daughter was stillborn in late 1999.

She was a record executive and an actress who had a small part in David Lynch's movie Lost Highway.

The director dedicated his last film, the Oscar-nominated Mullholland Drive, to her memory.

Manson, a former music journalist, is one of the most controversial characters in music and his concerts are regularly picketed by religious and civil rights groups.

He is currently in the UK top 10 with his cover of the song Tainted Love.

The song, originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964, was made a hit by Soft Cell in 1981. Manson's version is at number nine this week.

Keanu's a hit in pub but not on pool table

06apr02

EARLIER this week, while whooping it up at Woolloomooloo's Old Fitzroy Hotel, a group from The Virgin Backpackers in Kings Cross thought they recognised the serious looking chap sitting in the corner, paying equal attention to his schooner, Marlboro Reds and unknown brunette. Yup. It was Confidential's favourite Sydneysider, Matrix star Keanu Reeves. One of the backpackers, Louise Baker, tells us he not only happily posed for photographs – by the look of it, "happily" seems a slight exaggeration – but he also challenged them to a couple of games of stick.

His pool game was a bit off that night, as he cursed nearly every shot.

"He was not happy with the pommie 'two-shot rule'," said Louise's friend Matt Leitch.

Back to Keanu. After the game, the star shook hands with his green felt competitors and, with ciggies and brunette in tow, zoomed off into the night on his Harley.

Movie Town studio makes headway

[snipped for Keanu]

The other four members of the Movie Town consortium are Gear Head Co, Fat Man and Little Boy Co, Matching Entertainment Co and Matching Studio Shanghai Co.

The companies specialise in commercial and television programme production, equipment rentals for foreign film-makers and importing entertainment.

Matching this year expects its billings to reach 500 million baht. Matching Entertainment will play a bigger role, investing 150 million in organising shows and concerts, excluding artists' fees.

Coming attractions include the Shanghai Acrobatic Tour Show from April 19-28; Super Hero, with characters such as Ultraman and Aai Mod Daeng; and Fun Park from the United Kingdom.

Foreign concerts planned by the group include Kenny G in May, and Dogstar, a band featuring actor Keanu Reeves, in August. The firm also is in talks with agents for Australian pop star Kylie Minogue and American star Christina Aguilera to stage concerts in Thailand.

Manson Sued for Wrongful Death

by Mark Armstrong
Apr 3, 2002, 10:30 AM PT

Marilyn Manson is accused of starring in an all-too-tragic Dope Show.

The mother of a woman killed in a car accident is suing the shock rocker for wrongful death, claiming Manson (real name: Brian Warner) supplied her daughter with cocaine before she died.

Jennifer Syme--the former girlfriend of Keanu Reeves who gained attention after she suffered a miscarriage with their child--died in Los Angeles last April when she reportedly lost control of her SUV and crashed into three parked cars, throwing her from the vehicle.

Syme's mother, Maria St. John, claims Manson gave her daughter "various quantities of an illegal controlled substance" during a party at his home on the night of April 1, 2001.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, charges that another defendant drove an "incapacitated" Syme back to her house early the next morning to pick up her car, whereupon she planned to return to Manson's home. She never made it. Syme, 29, died at the scene of the crash, and cocaine was later found in her blood.

St. John claims Manson was negligent in giving her the drugs and then "instructing her to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition." She is seeking unspecified damages.

Manson released a statement Wednesday denying any wrongdoing.

"Words cannot express the pain that I feel over the loss of Jennifer Syme's life," he said. "After Jennifer was sent home safely with a designated driver, she later got behind the wheel of her own car for reasons known only to her. Her death is sad and tragic."

The Manson lawsuit puts another bizarre spin on the tragic final years of Syme's life. She began dating Reeves in the late '90s, and she also once worked as an assistant to David Lynch, appearing in Lynch's 1997 film Lost Highway as the "Junkie Girl." (Lynch also dedicated Mulholland Drive to her in the film's closing credits.)

Syme suffered a miscarriage with Reeves' child in December 1999, and the couple split up not long after, though they reportedly remained friends.

Manson, meanwhile, has been keeping his lawyers busy. He's currently facing fourth-degree felony sexual misconduct and assault and battery charges following a run-in with a security guard at a July 2001 concert in Michigan. Manson allegedly wrapped his legs around the guard and rubbed his crotch against him during the show. His next court date is April 25.

Marilyn Manson Sued in Woman's Death

By The Associated Press
(The detail is here)
Wed Apr 3, 3:06 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The mother of a woman who died in a car crash last year has sued Marilyn Manson for wrongful death, alleging that the musician gave the woman drugs before the accident.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Superior Court, claims that Manson was negligent in "instructing the woman to operate a motor vehicle in her incapacitated condition." Maria St. John is seeking unspecified damages and attorney fees.

Manson's representatives could not be reached for comment early Wednesday.

The lawsuit alleges that St. John's daughter, 28-year-old Jennifer Syme, was with the singer, whose real name is Brian Warner, and other unnamed defendants last April. Manson allegedly gave Syme drugs before she was dropped off at her home. She got into her car, with the intent of returning to Manson's home, according to the lawsuit.

Syme, an actress and former girlfriend of actor Keanu Reeves, later crashed into at least three parked cars and was thrown from her car. She died at the scene.