Obama, Madoff, Twitter founders in Time's 'most influential'

NEW YORK (AFP) – What do Barack Obama, Bernard Madoff, Zac Efron and the founders of Twitter have in common? A lot of influence, Time magazine says.

The annual list of the top 100 influential figures has the expected names like the US president, his wife Michelle Obama, and his Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Plaudits also extend to the communications and entertainment leaders who might not run the economy, but change billions of people's lives in other ways.

That includes High School Musical star Efron; the creators of the increasingly ubiquitous Twitter social network, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone; and Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post -- a leading example of the increasingly vibrant Internet-based news media.

"The Time 100 is not a list of the most powerful people in the world, it?s not a list of the smartest people in the world," said Time managing editor Rick Stengel.

It's "people who are using their ideas, their visions, their actions to transform the world and have an effect on a multitude of people."

Others on the list have been influential for the wrong reasons.

That includes Wall Street mega-swindler Madoff and Mexican drug baron Joaquin Guzman.

As the eclectic list demonstrates, influence might be a tricky thing to define.

An online poll for Time readers threw up a surprise winner -- the 21-year-old college student who founded the online community 4chan.org and who goes by the name of moot.

The shadowy web guru, identified by Time to be called Christopher Poole, received 16,794,368 votes, easily beating the likes of Obama and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Moot started 4chan.org, a bulletin board, in 2003. The site gets 13 million page views a day.

And in the best tradition of Internet communities, his victory over the world's mightiest personalities might not be all that it seems.

"I would remind anyone who doubts the results that this is an Internet poll," time.com managing editor Josh Tyrangiel said. "Doubting the results is kind of the point."

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Funny stuff! Amy Sedaris writing new book

NEW YORK – Amy Sedaris is preparing more literary laughter.

The actress and comedian is working on a follow-up to her best seller, "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence." The new book, currently untitled, will come out in 2010 and will again feature "her unique approach to home life through the use of fun, long-forgotten crafts," according to Grand Central Publishing, which announced the book Thursday.

Sedaris, 48, is the sister of humorist David Sedaris and plays Jerri Blank on Comedy Central's "Strangers With Candy."

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Ga. man convicted in NYC of stalking Tyra Banks

NEW YORK – A Georgia man who told police he and Tyra Banks "had a thing together" was convicted Thursday of stalking the supermodel-turned-TV host.

Brady Green, 39, of Dublin, Ga., was convicted by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke, who heard the case without a jury, of stalking, harassment, criminal trespass and attempted aggravated harassment.

Green faces as many as 90 days in jail when he is sentenced on June 18. His lawyer said an appeal is planned.

Banks testified that she feared for her safety, and for that of her staff and family.

Authorities said Green, 39, repeatedly called Banks' studio, showed up there, and sent her flowers and letters.

Green was arrested March 18, 2008, at a McDonald's restaurant near Banks' studio in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. He told officers he and Banks "had a thing together," police said.

Banks said she was about to leave the studio that day when her staff warned her about Green. She said they had previously shown her Green's photograph, told her he had threatened one of her employees and was "somebody I should watch out for."

The former Sports Illustrated cover girl said she told officers at the scene that she was scared.

"I didn't know what to do. How do I live my life when I leave this building? I had never experienced anything like this before," she said.

Calm and smiling frequently as she testified, Banks said security "has changed significantly" around her and her workplaces because of Green.

She said that her company has hired more security staff and that her studio audiences are vetted more thoroughly.

Banks said she is now followed everywhere by security guards, even when she runs and exercises outdoors. Even though she is a public person, "I don't live that kind of sheltered, protected life," she said. "I like to walk around."

Green testified that Banks' shows on racism and homelessness had moved him and he wanted to contact her. He said his attempts to get tickets for her show had been misunderstood.

He also said he never threatened Banks, never intended to scare her and never tried to date her.

Assistant District Attorney Sean McMahon got Green to admit that he rode a bus for four days from Los Angeles to New York, where he had no friends, relatives and no job, and that the first he thing he did was go to the building that houses Banks' studio.

Banks is executive producer and host of two popular TV shows, "America's Next Top Model" and "The Tyra Banks Show."

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Sean Penn files for legal separation from his wife

NEW YORK – Sean Penn and Robin Wright are separating, citing irreconcilable differences.

The double Oscar winner filed the petition on April 23 in Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael, Calif., according to court papers.

Penn and his actress wife have been married 13 years. Penn has requested joint legal and physical custody of their 18-year-old daughter, Dylan Francis, and 15-year-old son, Hopper Jack.

This isn't the first indication of marital strife. The Penns filed for divorce in December 2007 but dismissed their petition several months later.

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Two men ordered to stay away from Britney Spears

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A judge on Tuesday ordered Britney Spears' former self-styled manager Sam Lutfi to stay away from the pop star for three years, after the singer's father accused Lutfi of trying to undermine the conservatorship Spears lives under.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva Bobb also issued the same order to attorney Jon Eardley, who has presented himself as Spears' lawyer.

Lutfi and Eardley, whose attorneys argued that the order was unwarranted, were told to stay at least 100 yards (meters) away from Spears, her family and her homes.

The three-year order extends an existing mandate against Lutfi and Eardley that Bobb issued earlier this year.

A court placed Spears under a conservatorship last year, after she was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation. Her father, Jamie Spears, says his control over her affairs enabled Spears to launch her ongoing "Circus" tour.

An attorney for Jamie Spears had argued that Lutfi and Eardley continually bothered the 27-year-old singer, and that Eardley filed legal motions on her behalf even though he did not officially represent her.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Twin joy for Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick are expecting twin girls born to a surrogate, according to People magazine.

"Sex and the City" star Parker, 44, and actor husband Broderick, 47, already have a six-year-old son together, James Wilkie.

People quoted a representative as saying the couple were "happily anticipating the birth of their twin daughters later this summer with the generous help of a surrogate. The entire family is overjoyed."

Broderick and Parker married in 1997.

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Mr. T called for jury duty

CHICAGO – Pity the prospective juror named Mr. T.

He showed up for jury duty, then was dismissed after hours of down time — which he used to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

Mr. T was called for jury duty at Cook County Circuit Court on Monday. The Chicago native said he enjoyed fulfilling his civic responsibilities, even though he found — like countless others — that hours can pass before a judge decides to dismiss you.

He showed up for jury duty in camouflage pants, a T-shirt and a longer version of his usual Mohawk haircut.

Mr. T is best remembered for the 1980s TV series "The A-Team" and as Clubber Lang in "Rocky III," which his catch phrase come from: "I pity the fool."

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Britney's ex-manager forced to stay away from star

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The ex-manager of pop star Britney Spears must stay away from the singer and her family for three years a Los Angeles judge ruled Tuesday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva Bobb's order bars former Spears guru Sam Lutfi and the attorney Jon Eardley from coming within 100 yards of the singer and her sons until April 2012.

The court had already issued a temporary order against Lutfi and Eardly in January. Lawyers for Spears father Jamie, who controls his daughter's estate, alleged the two men had caused the singer emotional distress.

Jamie Spears and lawyer Andrew Wallet were appointed conservators of the star's estate last year in the wake of the singer's much publicized mental health scare when she was admitted to hospital in Los Angeles.

Jamie Spears alleged Lutfi and Eardley had tried to undermine the court ordered conservatorship established last year.

Britney Spears endured a torrid period following her 2006 divorce from ex-husband Kevin Federline, attracting a string of lurid headlines in the tabloid media which culminated in her admission to hospital.

Since then however the singer has gradually got her career back on track, releasing a chart-topping album and beginning her first concert tour in five years last month.

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Eric Bana documents his first love: his muscle car

NEW YORK – Eric Bana has shared the screen with various leading ladies. The only one who really got his motor running? A Ford GT Falcon coupe.

"She's definitely the most tempting," laughed Bana in an interview Tuesday at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Bana has brought his directorial debut "Love the Beast" to Tribeca. A documentary about his abiding connection to his first car, it's a 25-year-old love story for the 40-year-old Australian actor dating back to his teenager years in Melbourne.

Bana is a serious racer and often competes professionally in Australia — including in the grueling five-day Targa Tasmania Rally. The film follows Bana racing his beloved car — nicknamed "the Beast" — in the 2007 Targa Tasmania, in which he crashed on the fourth day. (Bana emerged uninjured along with his co-driver.)

The film may sound like a vanity project, but it unfolds as an examination of how people develop deep emotional bonds with inanimate objects. In the film, Bana refers to his muscle car as a constant in his life and a "campfire" around which he and his friends gather.

"I hate the term `passion project,'" Bana says. "To me, it's like, what, directors don't normally make projects that they're passionate about? A passion project for me is going motor racing. Going motor racing with cameras is not a passion project."

Bana ("Munich," "Hulk") decided to make "Love the Beast" — which took three years to finish — in part because he was frustrated by car films that never spoke to him emotionally.

"I feel like it's a film I made on behalf of car people, not for car people," says Bana. "As personal as it is and as much of me as it is, the audience seem to make it about themselves."

The film doesn't yet have distribution in North America; he's hoping to find a deal at Tribeca. "Love the Beast" includes appearances from fellow automobile enthusiast Jay Leno and TV guru Dr. Phil, who analyzes Bana's emotional attachment to his car.

Bana, who lives in Australia with his wife and two children, says he's enjoying the dichotomy of looking for an audience for the modest "Love the Beast" while starring in some of the year's biggest films.

After Tribeca, he flies to Los Angeles for the premiere of "Star Trek," in which he plays villain Nero. He later will star in Judd Apatow's "Funny People" and the romance "The Time Traveler's Wife."

He hopes that once the films are out, he'll turn to repairing his cherished car, which is still badly damaged from the accident. It lies in his garage, Bana says, "just a big, piled wreck waiting for my time and attention."

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Another celebrity leaves `Dancing' country

LOS ANGELES – Chuck Wicks is leaving the "Dancing With the Stars" ballroom.

The country singer and his professional dance partner (and real-life girlfriend) Julianne Hough were eliminated from the ABC dance-off Tuesday.

Wicks had improved steadily throughout the season, earning praise from the judges for his "hip action" and fun-loving attitude. Judges loved their cha-cha Monday, with Carrie Ann Inaba insisting, "You are definitely in the game." Wicks also appeared in a group dance, which ended with him and his fellow male dancers in black leotards and white tights.

The 29-year-old musician came into Tuesday's results show with a solid 51 points out of 60, but fans failed to keep him afloat.

Viewer votes are combined with judges' scores to determine which couple is eliminated each week.

"To all the critics that thought we weren't going to last: We did it," Wicks said after learning his fate. "Now I'm going to go out on tour and enjoy doing what I love, and that's country music."

The week's low scorer, Melissa Rycroft, escaped elimination. She missed Monday's show because of a rib injury and earned just 21 out of 30 points from judges for a taped rehearsal performance.

"It shows you how many fans Melissa has," Wicks said, adding, "I think the team dance did us in."

Tuesday's results show also included a performance by Robin Thicke and the continuation of the new professional dance competition: Four pro dancers are vying for viewer votes and a spot on the next season of "Dancing With the Stars."

Besides Rycroft, four celebrity contestants remain: Rapper Lil Kim, rodeo champ Ty Murray, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson and actor Gilles Marini.

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