Los Angeles -- Robert Pattinson says he's still unsure what "Twilight" filmmakers were thinking when they coated him with makeup for his role as the U.S. movie's vampire lead.
The 22-year-old Hollywood newcomer said he was routinely adorned with white makeup and lipstick to make his character appear to be a blood-sucking member of the undead, The Boston Globe reported Sunday.
"I don't know, I never understood why I had lipstick on. I never understood a lot of things," Pattinson said. "I think I looked a little bit too dead."
Pattinson also questioned the fitness regimen he was forced to undertake to play the muscular vampire in the film adaptation of author Stephenie Meyer's book of the same name.
"In the book it's talking about him having this rock-solid body and blah, blah, blah, and I didn't want to just do that for aesthetic reasons," he said.
Milwaukee -- Milwaukee's broken Christmas tree is standing straight and tall once more, and workers say it should stay that way through the holiday season.
The top section of the 45-foot blue spruce broke off Thursday morning as the tree was being loaded onto a truck to be taken downtown, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The tree was cut in a city resident's front yard.
David Sivyer, the forestry manager, said the sections were reattached once the tree got to its destination in Red Arrow Park. Workers used steel rods and cable, along with straps.
"We want to eliminate any chance that it would fail and so we probably over-engineered it," he said. "But we wanted to do our best to salvage the tree."
The Alvarez family -- Gilberto, Virginia and their daughter, Yolanda -- had been trying to give the tree to the city for the past four Christmases. The tree is scheduled to be festooned with thousands of lights Monday and be ready in time for Thursday's lighting ceremony.
Carbondale, Ill -- Police in Carbondale, Ill., have arrested Chicago rapper Bump J for allegedly taking part in a bank robbery, the FBI says.
The FBI said the "Move Around" rapper, who was arrested during a routine traffic stop this week, is a suspect in a 2007 bank robbery in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.
The 28-year-old rapper had been sought by authorities since September when he was indicted on gun and bank robbery charges for the Jan. 4, 2007, hold-up.
The FBI alleges the rapper, whose real name is Terrance Boykin, and an unidentified man stole $100,000 during last year's heist.
The Sun-Times said Boykin, whose hit song appeared in the video game "Madden NFL '06" and a McDonald's commercial, could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
New York -- "Lord of the Dance" star Michael Flatley has signed on as host of the new competition series, "Superstar Dancers of the World," NBC said Friday.
The show is from executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller, two of the masterminds behind "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance."
Scheduled for broadcast in early 2009, the series "will pit the masters of various dance genres from eight countries against each other. Equal parts sporting event, rock concert and artistic exhibition, 'Superstar Dancers of the World' is poised to become one the greatest spectacles of dance performance ever seen on television," NBC said.
The announcement was made by Craig Plestis, executive vice president of alternative programming, development and specials at NBC Entertainment.
Liverpool, England -- The management of Liverpool's famed Cavern Club says it has removed a commemorative brick bearing the name of disgraced rock icon Gary Glitter.
Glitter recently served about two years in a Vietnamese prison for sexually abusing two young girls. He had previously been convicted of possessing child pornography and is on Britain's sex offenders registry.
The people who run the club initially balked at removing Glitter's name, arguing that his contributions to the music industry still exist, regardless of his lurid personal life. However, the Liverpool Daily Post said the managers changed their minds after fielding complaints and talking to a child-abuse victim.
West Derby Member of Parliament Bob Wareing told the Post: "I didn't think (Glitter) was a good role model and I wouldn't myself have wanted to put his name up. I understand the club wanting to put across the history of the Cavern Club and really not leaving anything out. But, on the other hand, this is a special case."
Paris -- An anti-fur activist showered U.S. actress Lindsay Lohan with flour at a nightclub in Paris, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said.
The actress, who was on her way into the VIP room of a club on the Champs-Elysees just after 1 a.m. Saturday, had a bag of flour dumped over her head by a French activist who shouted, "Lindsay Lohan -- fur hag!"
PETA said Lohan's hair and face were turned white in the incident. The group said the actress was targeted because she has enraged some animal lovers by appearing in at least two different fur coats, despite the organization's repeated pleas that she find something else to wear.
"There is nothing remotely 'fashionable' about the torture and death of animals killed for fur," PETA Europe's Robbie LeBlanc said in a statement.
London -- A British comedian who helped to bring a Greek joke book from the 4th century to the modern world said many of the jokes concern farts, sex and ugly wives.
Jim Bowen, who was videotaped telling many of the jokes to a modern audience for the "Philogelos: The Laugh Addict" project, said many of the jokes, which were translated from what is believed top be the world's oldest joke book by U.S. researcher William Berg, contain themes that continue to strike chords with modern audiences.
"One or two of them are jokes I've seen in people's' acts nowadays, slightly updated; they put in a motor car instead of a chariot," Bowen said.
The online book also contains a joke that some cited as a precursor to British comedy troupe Monty Python's famous "Dead Parrot" sketch: "A man goes up to a student dunce and says, 'The slave you sold me died.'
Perth, Australia -- A Perth, Australia, radio station has drawn complaints for a competition that reunited long-lost relatives only to rip them back apart.
The "Dearly Departed" contest on FM 92.9's "Em and Wippa Show" involved long-lost relatives of Perth residents flown into the city and subjected to a series of three questions, Perth Now reported Friday.
If the relatives failed to answer all three questions correctly, they were taken back to the airport after only scant moments with their long-lost kin.
A number of listeners wrote to complain to the station after a Thursday broadcast involved two sisters who were separated again after a sister flown in from Ireland failed to answer all three questions correctly.
"I am disgusted in what occurred this morning and I have no hesitation in changing radio stations because messing with people's minds is something that I don't support," a listener who identified herself as Michelle wrote to the station.
Chicago -- U.S. singer-actress Jennifer Hudson thanks her fans on her MySpace page for the support they've shown her since three family members were killed last month.
Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were shot and killed in Chicago. Her sister's estranged husband has been called a person of interest in the triple homicide and is being held on an alleged parole violation. He has not been charged with the slayings.
"I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. My sister and I take great comfort and strength from your love and concern," Hudson wrote in a message dated Thursday, Usmagazine reported.
Hudson, who won an Oscar for her work in the movie musical "Dreamgirls," has been keeping a low profile as she grieves for her dead family members.
Los Angeles -- Billy Ray Cyrus says he may have spoken too soon when he said U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's daughters may appear on TV's "Hannah Montana."
Cyrus, who stars on the popular show alongside his daughter Miley, was widely quoted as saying Obama's daughters -- Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 -- had been invited to be guest stars on "Hannah Montana" and would probably be on an episode in April.
However, sources in Obama's camp later said the girls had no plans to appear on the series.
"Oh, to tell you the truth now, this thing got a lot bigger, a lot quicker than I ever planned," Usmagazine.com said Billy Ray Cyrus told reporters at the CMA Awards in Nashville Wednesday. "It's a double-edge sword for me because, first of all, I have a great deal of respect for President-elect Obama ... I just mentioned about them being on the show, and it snowballed."
