LITTLE ROCK — Selena Gomez is celebrating the 60th birthday of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. The 18-year-old Disney star is an ambassador for the humanitarian organization, and she performed a private acoustic concert Tuesday in West Hollywood, Calif., to benefit the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF program. “Because it was the 60th anniversary, we obviously wanted to do something really special,” she said before the show. “We have always wantedto do an acoustic show, but we never had the opportunity ... so I thought it would be perfect to do this with UNICEF.” Dozens of young fans waited for hours for a chance to meet the actress and singer before the show at the Roxy Theatre, where Gomez and her band, The Scene, performed songs from their two albums. Gomez is urging her fans to carry little orange collection boxes from UNICEF while they trick or treat and raise funds to help provide health care, clean water, food and education for children around the world.
A cameraman sued Sacha Baron Cohen on Tuesday, claiming his civil rights were violated when he was roughed up by a film crew shooting the comedian in character as Bruno during a samesex marriage rally. Mike Skiff, a selfdescribed homosexual journalist, sued Baron Cohen and others involved in the 2009 film Bruno. His lawsuit contends that he was shoved, pulled and threatened with wooden signs as he filmed thecomedian in character as homosexual Austrian fashion journalist Bruno. The lawsuit said Skiff recognized Baron Cohen during a pro-gay marriage rally in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2008, and began filming him. Footage posted on YouTube by Skiff’s company, Third Rail Media, showed the actor-comedian standing among antigay marriage protesters who had also assembled in the streets. A man is heard shouting, “I know that’s Bruno - I can get as much as I want,” before being harangued by the crew. One portion of the video shows Skiff pulled away from Baron Cohen before police intervene. An email sent to Baron Cohen’s publicist, Matt Labov, was not immediately returned. Skiff also claimed that the actions of the Bruno crew violated his civil rights and that their appearance at the rally was intended solely to create conflict for the film.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 10/28/2010