Names and faces

• Move over Helen Mirren, there's a new queen in town -- Elizabeth Hurley. The English actress is on the British throne for the new E channel drama series The Royals, playing the fictional Queen Helena, a sharply dressed mother of three grooming her son to be king and dealing with public opinion. It's the E channel's first foray out of reality TV into scripted drama. Hurley reckons that fans of Gossip Girl and Dynasty will enjoy the decadent lifestyles of these tabloid-friendly royals. Talking recently with The Associated Press on the set in east London, Hurley was in glittering jewels and a cream ball gown on the royal private jet -- a hint of how the show will focus on lavish parties, international summits and secret romances. "There's no correlation at all between Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and my Queen Helena," Hurley explained. "If Princess Diana, for example, had become queen of England, that would be a more similar age group." Hurley claimed that real royalty have it easier than celebrities. "The royal family have a lot more privacy behind their closed doors than other actors or politicians have because we don't have the resources that they have to keep us private," she noted. The show is still filming and is set to be broadcast in early 2015.

• A former child model accusing X-Men director Bryan Singer of sex abuse in Hawaii said he wants to dismiss the lawsuit -- not because it lacks merit but because he can't find a new attorney to represent him. Michael Egan III said in a court filing Wednesday that he previously sought the dismissal in sealed documents in federal court in Honolulu. He wants the case dismissed without prejudice, meaning he could file it again later. Egan's former attorneys asked to be removed from the case after their relationship with him deteriorated. Singer has filed papers saying he wants the case dismissed with prejudice, with costs and fees imposed against Egan. "By allowing Egan to walk away from this lawsuit now -- without any consequences whatsoever -- would be inherently prejudicial to Singer," his attorneys said in court papers. The attorneys said Singer must be given the opportunity to clear his name and "dispose of Egan's malicious lawsuit once and for all." Egan, 31, accuses Singer of sexually abusing him during trips to Hawaii when Egan was 17 in 1999. Singer has denied the allegations. Egan previously dropped three similar Hawaii lawsuits against other entertainment figures.

A Section on 08/23/2014

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