化為六月息

-----【譯文初稿】-----

隨著歲末年終將至，一起來重溫今年2009年的娛樂界年度頭條新聞吧！

流行樂天王麥克傑克森逝世

原本預定在倫敦舉辦一系列回顧演唱會的流行樂天王麥克傑克森(Michael Joseph Jackson)，在今年6月25日逝世於洛杉磯的住所內，死因是麻醉劑與鎮定劑使用過量，享年五十歲。七月份時，洛杉磯為麥克舉辦了電視追悼會。九月三日，麥克的遺體被安葬於一處私人墓園裡。

麥克傑克森於1958年8月29日出生於美國的印第安納州(Indiana)，在家中的九個孩子裡排行老七。六歲那一年，麥克與家中其他四個男孩一同登台表演，後來還一起組成了〝Jackson 5〞。而麥克的首張個人專輯則在1972年時問世。

1982年時麥克發行了專輯《戰慄(Thriller)》，全球熱賣五千萬張。隔年在摩城音樂(Motown)年度特別電視節目上，麥克秀出他獨步的舞蹈〝月球漫步〞。回顧麥克的一生，他曾經榮獲13座葛萊美獎，並且兩度進入滾石名人堂(the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)，而他的唱片銷售總額大約是七億五千萬張。

1993年，麥克被控告性虐待一名十三歲的男童，稍後他與這名男童的家人在法庭外，以二千三百萬美元和解。2005年時，麥克又因為在2003年時猥褻另一名十三歲男童而走上法庭，最後無罪獲釋。

1993年時，麥可對外宣稱自己對止痛劑成癮，並且突然取消世界巡演。94年時，麥克與貓王唯一的獨生女麗莎瑪莉( Lisa Marie Presley)結婚，不過這段婚姻在96年時就畫下句點。同一年，麥克再與戴比‧羅威(Debbie Rowe)結婚，並且擁有兩個小孩，兩人的婚姻最後在99年時以分手收場。

麥克去世後，新力旗下的哥倫比亞影業(Sony's Columbia Pictures studio)推出電影《This Is It》，內容改編自麥克彩排演唱會時長達八十個鐘頭的過程，原本是供麥克個人使用，而哥倫比亞影業花了六千萬美元買下播映版權。

法拉佛西辭世

在經過長期與病魔奮戰後，以電視影集《霹靂嬌娃(Charlie's angel)》而知名的女星法拉佛西(Farrah Fawcett)，在今年6月25日辭世，享年六十二歲。在七零年代，佛西以一襲紅色泳裝的海報開啟星路，並且很快成為性感尤物的代表。在2006年末，佛西被診斷出罹患直腸癌，並在2007年擴散至肝臟。

在今年五月份時，電視台把佛西與病魔對抗的過程拍攝成名叫《法拉的故事("Farrah's Story)》的錄影帶，當時的佛西已經失去了她昔日亮麗的秀髮。就在電視台播出紀錄片後的六個禮拜，佛西就撒手人寰了。

派屈克‧史威茲與世長辭

八零年代經典愛情電影代表作的男主角派屈克‧史威茲(Patrick Swayze)，同樣也因癌症去世。他在2008年3月時被診斷出罹患胰臟癌。在德州土生土長的史威茲，以舞者開啟演藝生涯，並且曾參與過舞台、電影與電視的演出。

派屈克‧史威茲最為成功的電影代表，是1987年時的《熱舞十七(Dirty Dancing)》。這部以小成本預算拍製成的電影，連發行的電影公司也不看好，可是最後不僅票房成績亮眼，還讓男女主角榮獲金球獎提名，同時電影主題曲《(I've Had) The Time of My Life》更得到奧斯卡獎的肯定，讓好萊塢跌破眼鏡。

蘇珊波爾美夢迅速成真

今年四十八歲來自蘇格蘭的蘇珊波爾(Susan Boyle)，儘管長相平凡卻擁有一副好歌喉，她的首張專輯《我有一個夢(I Dreamed A Dream)》，攻占英美兩地專輯排行榜的冠軍寶座。

今年四月，蘇珊波爾在英國電視節目《Britain's Got Talent》上亮相後，透過YouTube的強力放送，造成國際轟動。蘇珊的首張專輯《我有一個夢(I Dreamed A Dream)》於十一月正式發行，根據SoundScan的資料顯示，蘇珊是從1991年以來，女歌手首張專輯開賣成績最好的藝人。另外，根據亞馬遜網站(Amazon.com)，這張專輯也是十四年來全球預購量最大的一張，目前則是本年度暢銷專輯的第三名。

電影《貧民百萬富翁》話題不斷

雖然電影《貧民百萬富翁》贏得今年度奧斯卡八項大獎，已經話題不斷，不過這部英國電影可不僅僅於此。首先是印度離鄉背井的人，不同意自己在電影中被描述成第三世界的人，並且堅信情況沒有電影說的那麼糟。另外，電影主題曲也成為爭論的話題之一。

不過最惹人爭議的是，片中童星據說酬勞少的可憐，有報導指出童星的父母要控告電影發行人剝削。而電影導演英國籍的丹尼鮑伊(Danny Boyle)趕緊澄清，說明自己如何為兩位童星設立信託基金供給他們教育費用。然而，這也讓童星片酬低於印度國內工資的事情浮上檯面。

娜姊離婚、領養小孩還有發行新專輯

早在2008年10月，英國八卦小報太陽報就傳出瑪丹娜與小她十歲的丈夫蓋瑞奇(Guy Ritchie)，計畫結束這段長達八年婚姻的消息，當時雙方都矢口否認。不過兩人在2009年初就正式宣告吹了。

瑪丹娜與蓋瑞奇育有一子名叫羅可(Rocco)，在他們結婚前羅可就已經出生了。2006年時，瑪丹娜領養來自馬拉威(Malawi)的小男孩大衛‧班達(David Banda)，班達的母親在他出生後就去世了。而今年四月，瑪丹娜被准許領養第二位來自馬拉威的四歲女童，名叫梅西‧詹姆斯(Mercy James)。

原本馬拉威當地法院作出判決，以瑪丹娜不是南非居民為由，不准她領養梅西，卻在後來在最高法院翻牌。人權團體對此抨擊馬拉威政府給予瑪丹娜特殊待遇，並表示此舉會讓外國人認為他們可以隨意領養馬拉威的小孩。

此外，瑪丹娜發行的最新專輯《Celebration》，成功打入英國專輯排行榜前十名，再度證明這位拜金女郎依舊有能力呼風喚雨。

梅伯離婚 新女友為他再添一個小孩

另一位離婚備受媒體注意的，就是演員兼具導演身份的梅爾吉勃遜(Mel Gibson)，他與妻子結束長達二十八年的婚姻關係。今年五十三歲的吉勃遜，擁有七個小孩，而他的俄羅斯籍女友毆莎娜(MEL GIBSON)，為他再添一名小寶寶。

在九零年代，梅爾吉勃遜是當時片酬最高也是最受歡迎的男演員。1995年時，他以電影《英雄本色(Braveheart)》贏得奧斯卡最佳導演與最佳電影獎。不過，從96年起，梅爾吉勃遜因為酒駕被取締，並且發表反猶太人言論後，他的演藝事業就逐漸走下坡。

約翰屈伏塔痛失愛子

男星約翰屈伏塔(John Travolta)的十六歲兒子傑特(Jett)，今年一月新年假期期間，在位於巴哈馬(Bahamas)的家庭度假小屋裡，發生意外過世，約翰屈伏塔為此傷痛不已。屈伏塔像巴哈馬最高法院表示，他的兒子個性孤僻，並為癲癇所苦，每五到十天會發作一次，每次會持續四十五秒到數分鐘之久。

名導演羅曼波蘭斯基被捕

波蘭出生、今年七十六歲的電影導演羅曼波蘭斯基(Roman Polanski)，於9月26日搭機前往瑞士參加蘇黎世電影節，準備接受終生成就獎表揚時被逮捕。1977年時，羅曼因為與一名十三歲少女發生性關係，獲判有罪後逃離美國。而這次的逮捕令正是由美國所發出的。

這位在2002年以《戰地琴人(The Pianist)》一片贏得奧斯卡獎肯定的導演，受到六項罪名指控，包括強暴，以及為發生性關係不停提供香檳與藥物給該名少女等。在提出四百五十萬美元作為保釋金之後，羅曼獲釋並遭居家監禁，他必須配戴電子監控標籤，交出他的身分與旅行證件，不可以離開自己的住所，等待引渡返回美國。

老虎伍茲性醜聞纏身

在短短不到三周的時間內，高爾夫球名將老虎伍茲(Tiger Woods)竟然從高薪運動員，搖身一變成為領日薪的小咖角色，原因在於被全球八卦小報爆料他的好幾起性醜聞案。

引爆整個事件的導火線，是在今年的11月27日上午時分，伍茲在離自己佛羅里達住家不遠處發生車禍，他被送往醫院但拒絕配合當地警方的調查。而這起車禍意外發生的主因，據推測是伍茲與太太伊蓮(Elin Nordegren)，因伍茲婚外情大吵了一叫而導致的。各八卦小報很快就把宣稱與伍茲有過性關係的多名女性相關照片與影像發布出去。

對此，伍茲決定無限期暫別高爾夫球界，此舉也震撼了整個體壇。

歐普拉宣告辭職時間

電視界支薪最高而且最具影響力的脫口秀主持人歐普拉‧溫芙(Oprah Winfrey)，宣布於2011年結束她廣受歡迎的脫口秀節目，並且轉戰以她為名的有線電視網OWN，預估將有超過七千萬個家庭可以收看該電視網的節目。至於是否會有相類似的節目在OWN上開播，對此，歐普拉所擁有的節目製作公司，則是拒絕透露。

〝歐普拉脫口秀〞節目是芝加哥ABC電視台所製播的節目，不僅全美國可以收看，在海外也有超過一百四十個國家播出，堪稱是電視業最賺錢的節目之一。光就今年來說，平均收視人數達到七百一十萬人，是美國白天脫口秀節目收視之冠。

摩城音樂歡慶五十歲生日

從底特律發跡崛起的摩城音樂(Motown)，歡慶五十歲生日，許多當年由摩城音樂所發掘的大牌明星，例如史提夫汪達(Wonder)、誘惑合唱團(The Temptations)等，都齊聚一堂共同祝賀。

摩城音樂創辦人貝里‧戈迪(Berry Gordy)表示，憑藉著八百美元的貸款，以及1959年到1972年間在底特律所打下基礎，摩城音樂走過了半個世紀，而當時推出造成轟動的代表作有誘惑合唱團的《我的女孩(My Girl)》、史摩基‧羅賓森的《小丑的淚水(The Tears of a Clown)》，以及馬文蓋(Marvin Gaye)的《聽說(I Heard it Through the Grapevine)》。目前摩城音樂公司設立在洛杉磯。

披頭四發行全新數位版專輯

披頭四的所有音樂專輯，首次完整發行數位錄音版並且開賣。雖然早在1987年時，就曾經推出過復刻版的披頭四音樂專輯，不過這一回，披頭四樂迷應該會被科技所帶來的些微變化與改進所感動到吧？

新發行的成套專輯一共有十二張，包括1987年時發行的專輯《奇幻之旅(Magical Mystery Tour)》。這次發行的專輯聲音聽起來很立體，連同曲目表及封面插畫，一開始就在英國開出紅盤。

教宗發行音樂專輯

教宗本篤十六世在耶誕節前，發行一張名為《蘊育之母(Alma Mater)》的音樂專輯，製作人文森‧梅希納(Vincent Messina)為這張專輯投入精力長達四年。專輯裡頭共有八首曲目，以本篤的祈禱聲、聖經章節的誦讀聲以及歌聲為主，音樂則由皇家愛樂管絃樂團(Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)負責演奏，並且搭配上現存歷史最悠久的羅馬愛樂學院合唱團(the Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome)。

 ※ 正式定稿與影像：「 新唐人電視台 ─ 娛樂新幹線 」

 ※ The original article was taken from Reuters Website.  ( 原文取自路透社網站 )

-----【原文對照】-----

INTRO: Looking back on 2009 - the showbiz stories that dominated the year. 2009's top entertainment stories.

STORY:

THE KING OF POP DIES

It was meant to be the comeback of the year. Instead, Michael Joseph Jackson, the undisputed King of Pop, died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50. Jackson died in Los Angeles, three weeks before he was to begin a sold-out series of 50 comeback concerts in London.

Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys -- Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael -- first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. Their group later became The Jackson 5. Jackson made his first solo album in 1972.

Jackson released "Thriller" in 1982, which went on to become the biggest-selling album of all time with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide. The next year, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance on a 1983 Motown anniversary television special.  Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His lifetime sales tally is believed to be about 750 million records.

In August 2009, Los Angeles coroners ruled his death a homicide caused by an overdose of sedatives and the powerful anesthetic propofol. Police have investigated Jackson's personal physician but no charges have been filed to date against anyone.

Jackson was given a televised public memorial in Los Angeles in July and was buried at a private funeral on September 3. "This Is It" the film, and an album of the same name are based on 80 hours of rehearsal video intended for Jackson's personal use. Sony's Columbia Pictures studio bought the film rights for 60 million U.S. dollars.

In 1993, Jackson was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year old boy. He later reached a reported 23 million (USD) out of court settlement with the family of his accuser.  Jackson went on trial in 2005 on charges of molesting another 13-year old boy in 2003. He was acquitted of all charges.

In 1993 he announced he had become addicted to painkillers and abruptly canceled a world tour. In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie Presley, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. Jackson had two children with Debbie Rowe – Prince Michael I (12) and Paris Michael (11). He later had a third child Prince Michael II, 7, also known as Blanket, with an unidentified woman. Custody of Jackson's children was awarded to his mother Katherine after the singer's death.

FARRAH FAWCETT DIES

Overshadowed by the death of Michael Jackson on the same day, Charlie's angel , actress Farrah Fawcett, died after a long battle with cancer. She was 62. Fawcett, was first vaulted to stardom by a poster of her in a red swimsuit and rapidly became one of the reigning sex symbols of the 1970s. She was diagnosed with anal cancer in late 2006. It spread to her liver in 2007, proving resistant to numerous medical treatments in Germany and California.

Fawcett's death in a Los Angeles hospital came just six weeks after the television broadcast in May of a video diary she made chronicling her battle with cancer and her final months. Called "Farrah's Story," the documentary was effectively a self-penned obituary by the actress, who was bedridden and had lost her famous hair by the time it was shown.

PATRICK SWAYZE DIES

Another icon of romantic movies in the 80s, Patrick Swayze, also died of cancer. The actor was diagnosed in March 2008 with pancreatic cancer. The Texas native began his career as a dancer and made dozens of stage, film and television appearances over four decades. Pop culture immortality came with 1987's "Dirty Dancing," which defied Hollywood expectations to become one of the most-watched movies of all time.

An unlikely romance builds between the pair as Swayze's character trains a gawky teen to stand in for his partner at a dance-off in the film's climactic scene and confronts her father with the often-quoted line from the film: "Nobody puts Baby in the corner."

"Dirty Dancing," which was made for a modest budget and almost scrapped by its studio, became a massive box-office hit, earning Golden Globe nominations for both stars and spawning the Oscar-winning hit single "(I've Had) The Time of My Life."

SUSAN BOYLE'S 'DREAM' ROCKETS TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS

Susan Boyle's debut 'I Dreamed A Dream' topped the UK and US album charts. The 48-year old Scottish singer, known for her dowdy looks but stunning voice, became an international YouTube sensation in April after appearing on the TV show "Britain's Got Talent."  Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream," which was released in November, marked the best U.S. opening of a female artist's debut album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. The album is already the third best-selling of the year after becoming the largest global CD pre-order in the 14-year history of Amazon.com.

'SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE' CONTROVERSY

Even before it walked away with eight Oscars, British movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' was marred with controversy. First of the Indian Diaspora disapprove of India being portrayed as a Third-World country and firmly believe that the condition is not as bad as portrayed, then there was the issue of the credits for the title song.

But mostly it was the fact that the child actors were said to have been underpaid which provoked a huge debate. Newspaper reports said that the children's parents accused the film's producers of exploitation, while the main protagonists of the movie enjoyed the glitz of Hollywood.

The film's British director, Danny Boyle, spoke of how he set up trust funds for two of the children and paid for their education. But it emerged that the children, who played Latika and Salim in the early scenes of the film, were paid less than many Indian domestic servants.

MADONNA DIVORCED, ADOPTS AND 'CELEBRATES'

Madonna started 2009 divorced. In October 2008, Britain's Sun newspaper reported that the singer and her husband Guy Ritchie planned to divorce. They both initially denied reports that they planned to end their eight-year marriage. The British tabloid, The Sun quoted a "highly-placed source" as saying Madonna, 50, and Ritchie, 40, "just couldn't live together any more" and could "no longer bear to live with the pretense" of being happily married. Rumours that the London-based couple planned to split circulated for months, fueled by reports that the singer had lined up Fiona Shackleton, a lawyer who acted for former Beatle Paul McCartney in his divorce.

Madonna and Ritchie have a son, Rocco, who was several months old on their wedding day. In 2006 Madonna applied to adopt David Banda, a boy from Malawi whose mother died shortly after his birth. In April this year, Madonna was allowed to adopt a second child from Malawi, a 4-year old girl called Mercy James.

The Malawi Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling which said Madonna could not adopt Mercy James because she was not a resident of the southern African country. Rights groups accused the government of giving Madonna special treatment and said the case would encourage foreigners to think they can adopt Malawian children at will.

Mercy is the fourth child in Madonna's family. The singer also has a daughter, Lourdes, from an earlier relationship. She was married once before to actor Sean Penn, in the 1980s.

Her new album 'Celebration' shot into the top ten of Britain's album charts, proving once again that the material girl is still very much a force to reckon with.

MEL GIBSON DIVORCES AND HAS BABY WITH RUSSIAN GIRL-FRIEND

Another high-profile divorce that made it into the media spotlight was that of Mel Gibson. The actor/director divorced his wife of 28 years and had a baby with his Russian girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. Gibson, 53, already has seven children.

In filing for divorce, Gibson's wife, Robyn, cited irreconcilable differences with the "Lethal Weapon" star. Gibson was one of the highest-paid and most popular actors in the world in the 1990s, winning best-director and best-picture Oscars for his 1995 movie "Braveheart" but had a recent fall from grace in 1996 when he was pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving in Malibu, California by a deputy from the Los Angeles Country Sheriff's Office and made anti-Semitic comments at the officers.

JOHN TRAVOLTA LOSES ONLY SON

The actor John Travolta mourned the death of his 16-year old son who died after an accident in the family's holiday home in the Bahamas. Jett Travolta died in January during the family's New Year's vacation. His death certificate listed the cause as seizure disorder. Travolta told the Bahamian Supreme Court that his son was autistic and suffered from a seizure disorder. He would suffer a seizure every five to 10 days, and Travolta said the seizures would last for 45 seconds to minutes.

POLANSKI IN JAIL

Polish-born film director Roman Polanski was arrested at the request of the United States when he flew into Switzerland on September 26 to receive a lifetime achievement prize at a film festival in Zurich. Polanski fled U.S. sentencing for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

The Academy Award winning director -- whose films include "The Pianist" in 2002 for which he won an Oscar, "Rosemary's Baby", "Repulsion" and "Knife in the Water" -- was originally indicted on six charges, including rape, for having sex after plying the girl with champagne and drugs.

The 76-year old director was released on bail into house arrest in his Swiss chalet after posting 4.5 million U.S. dollar bail, on condition he wore an electronic monitoring tag, surrendered his identity and travel documents and did not leave his house.

House arrest means the Oscar-winning director could spend time with his family -- he is married to French singer and actress Emmanuelle Seigner, with whom he has two children -- while waiting for a decision on extradition.

TIGER'S TROUBLES

In less than three weeks, professional golfer Tiger Woods went being the highest-paid sports celebrity to daily fodder for the global tabloids resulting in defecting sponsors and an embarrassing number of sex scandals.

Trouble emerged for Tiger Woods after a car accident in early morning hours near his Florida home on November 27, 2009. He was taken the hospital and released but refused to speak with the local police. Speculation that the accident was provoked by a blazing quarrel between Woods and his wife, Elin Nordegren, over his affairs.

The tabloids soon released videos and pictures of numerous women claiming to have had a sexual relation with the golfer.  Woods, the world's number one golfer and a married father of two young children, said in a statement published on his website that "I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves."

The golfing icon, the world's first billionaire athlete who is believed to be the wealthiest sports personality on the planet said December 11 via his website, that he would take an "indefinite break" from pro golf, sending shockwaves through the sporting world.

OPRAH QUITS

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey, one of the most influential and highly paid women on television, announced that she is ending her popular daytime talk show in 2011.  She is expected to move to cable network OWN, or Oprah Winfrey Network, a Los Angeles-based joint venture she formed with Discovery Communications Inc, when her current syndication deal for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" runs out in 2011. OWN will be available in more than 70 million homes.

roduction company, Harpo Inc, declined to comment on whether or when a revised form of the program might appear on OWN, whose launch has been delayed several times since its original 2009 start date. "The Oprah Winfrey Show," broadcast from Chicago on ABC stations across the United States and in more than 140 countries overseas, is one of the television industry's biggest money-makers. It is the top-rated U.S. daytime talk show, averaging 7.1 million viewers this year.

MOTOWN CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

It has created some of the biggest starts like Wonder and The Temptations, and some of the all-time entertainment greats have come together to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Motown hit factory in Detroit. Berry Gordy founded what would become Motown Records a half-century ago with an 800 USD loan and was located in Detroit from 1959 to 1972 before moving to Los Angeles. Detroit's output included scores of hits, including "My Girl" by The Temptations, "The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye.

THE BEATLES BACK CATALOGUE REMASTERED

The Beatles' entire back catalogue was remastered for the first time and went on sale. The re-mastered catalogue, its first overhaul since 1987, was seen appealing mainly to Beatles' fans who would appreciate subtle variations and improvements that technology has brought.

The new music collection comprises 12 Beatles albums in stereo, with track listings and artwork as originally released in Britain, and "Magical Mystery Tour," which became part of the Beatles' core catalogue when the CDs were released in 1987.

POPE RELEASES ALBUM

Pope Benedict XVI took a stab at the music charts ahead of Christmas by launching an album which features his voice, set to the sounds of the Vatican Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

"Alma Mater" is the title of the album and it features for the first time ever the voice of Pope Benedict XVI, set to music composed for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome -- the oldest existing choir in the world which has been around for some 900 years.

The compilation has been four years in the making under the guidance of producer Vincent Messina. And the album is being released under Geffen/Universal who signed and unprecedented world-wide record deal with the makers just over a year ago.

The album's eight tracks are a blend of Lauretan Litanies, prayers and passages recited and sung by the Pope. The pontiff's voice, recorded by Vatican Radio, appears throughout the album in Italian, Portuguese, French and German.