Atonement nominated in 14 categories

Tragic period romance Atonement dominated the race for the British Academy Film Awards, with nominations in 14 categories including best picture, actor, actress and director, AP reports from London.

No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood and The Bourne Ultimatum also received multiple nods for Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Troubled actor Brad Renfro dies at 25

Actor Brad Renfro, whose career began promisingly with a childhood role in The Client but rapidly faded as he struggled with drugs and alcohol, was found dead Tuesday in his home, AP reports from Los Angeles. He was 25.
Renfro had reportedly been drinking with friends the evening before his death.

Renfro’s film career began when he was 12, acting opposite Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones in The Client.
His other credits included Sleepers, Deuces Wild, Apt Pupil and The Jacket.

Oprah Winfrey getting her OWN TV network

Oprah Winfrey is getting her own TV network, AP reports from New York.

OWN — for Oprah Winfrey Network — will debut next year in nearly 70 million homes with cable and satellite, part of a deal announced with Discovery Communications. It will replace the Discovery Health network.

The announcement builds a media empire that already includes the top-rated TV talk show, a magazine, a satellite radio network, a website and TV movies made under her banner.

“This is an evolution of what I’ve been able to do every day,” Winfrey said. “I will now have the opportunity to do this 24 hours a day on a platform that goes on forever.”

Malaysian singer says sorry for going topless

A Malaysian rock singer has apologised for stripping off his shirt to reveal a bare chest with a bright red Superman logo painted on it during a concert, AFP reports from Kuala Lumpur.

Faizal Tahir’s stunt was branded “shocking” by television station 8TV, which aired the concert and said his actions were unacceptable in this conservative Muslim-majority nation. Going topless, even for males, is a violation of local broadcasting standards.

Korean journalist acquitted posthumously

A South Korean court granted a posthumous acquittal to a journalist hanged in 1961 for allegedly supporting North Korea, AFP reports from Seoul.

A national truth and reconciliation commission, which is investigating rights abuses during decades of military-backed rule, had asked the Seoul district court to reconsider the case.

Cho Yong-Soo, founder and president of the Minjok Ilbo daily, was arrested two days after then-general Park Chung-Hee took power through a military coup in May 1961. He was charged under a law enacted after his arrest but with retroactive effect. It authorised a death sentence, or long jail terms, for any key member of a political party or social group who supports or sympathises with N Korea. Cho, 31, was executed in December that year.