Ashanti’s cousin killed by drunken driver

Johannesburg, South Africa – Ashanti pulled out of a concert over the weekend after her cousin was killed by a 17-year-old drunken driver, authorities said.

Quinshae Snead, 20, was on her way to Ashanti’s hotel to fetch something for the Grammy award-winning singer ahead of the concert Saturday when the car she was riding in was rear-ended, police said.

Snead was flung from the car as it rolled over and thrown into the path of another car in the opposite lane.

The 17-year-old unlicensed driver had stolen his mother’s car and was under the influence of alcohol, said Johannesburg metro police spokesman Chief Supt. Wayne Minnaar.

The teenager was arrested for drunken driving and hospitalized. The driver of the car Snead was riding in also was injured and taken to the hospital.

Director back in driver’s seat

Los Angeles – Director Barry Sonnenfeld has his first movie in four years with the upcoming “RV,” but isn’t betting his entire career on it.

Sonnenfeld is optimistic about “RV,” which comes out April 28. But after seeing several of his films ravaged by critics, he offers a measured assessment of it. “It’s not like I love ‘RV,’ ” he told the Los Angeles Times. “But it’s one of my kids.”

While his last movie, 2002’s “Men in Black II,” grossed a solid $190.4 million domestically, it didn’t get much praise from critics or even Sonnenfeld himself.

The director didn’t work for several years after the sequel, but the extra time with his family helped inspire his work on “RV,” in which his daughter Chloe has a role.

The director of the hits “Men in Black,” “Get Shorty,” and “The Addams Family” is also working on a comedy for ABC. “Notes From the Underbelly” is a pilot about pregnancy, parenting and relationships based on the novel by Risa Green.

Group asks for disclaimer on ‘Da Vinci Code’ movie

Rome – A religious group with close ties to the Vatican wants the “Da Vinci Code” filmmakers to put a disclaimer on the upcoming movie.

The novel upon which the movie is based portrays Opus Dei as a murderous, power-hungry sect. The group sent a letter on April 6 saying that a disclaimer would show respect to Jesus and to the Catholic Church.

Sony Pictures Entertainment issued a statement in response to the letter but wouldn’t comment on whether it would include a disclaimer.

“We have no plans to reveal any details regarding what is or isn’t in the film until the release,” the spokesman, Jim Kennedy, said in a statement. Kennedy’s statement said the film was “a work of fiction, and at its heart, it’s a thriller, not a religious tract.”

Tom Hanks stars in the film, which is scheduled to hit theaters next month.

Mel Gibson movie delayed

Los Angeles – Heavy rains in Mexico, where Mel Gibson is filming his Mayan epic, “Apocalypto,” have pushed back production, according to the film’s distributor, Disney. The release date has been moved from Aug. 4 to Dec. 8.

Set in the rain forests of pre-Columbian Mexico, “Apocalypto” recounts the story of a Mayan hero.

Gibson is shooting his latest movie in the ancient tongue of Yucatec Maya, similar to his choice of using Aramaic and Latin for “The Passion of the Christ.”