Union files complaint against studios

Los Angeles – Union officials representing striking Hollywood writers said Thursday they have filed an unfair labor practices complaint claiming studios violated federal law by breaking off negotiations.

The Writers Guild of America demanded in a statement that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers return to the bargaining table so the six-week strike can be ended and thousands of workers idled by the walkout can return to their jobs.

Negotiations broke off Dec. 7 when the producers alliance refused to bargain further unless the union dropped a half dozen proposals that included the authority to unionize writers on reality shows and animation projects.

The alliance criticized the complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

The “baseless, desperate NLRB complaint is just the latest indication that the WGA’s negotiating strategy has achieved nothing for working writers,” the alliance fired back in its statement.

The labor board did not immediately return a call to its Los Angeles office.

Prosecutors drop charge against Scott Stapp

West Palm Beach, Fla. – Prosecutors have dropped a domestic battery charge against Scott Stapp after the rocker completed terms of an agreement including a requirement that he participate in anger management counseling.

The former frontman for Creed was arrested in May after his wife, Jaclyn Nesheiwat, called police to their Boca Raton home. She accused Stapp of taking drugs and throwing a bottle at her, according to a tape of her 911 call.

Stapp was originally charged with aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, but the charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor.

He participated in a 12-hour anger management program, underwent substance abuse evaluation and agreed not to possess any weapons.

The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office said the misdemeanor charge was officially dropped Monday.

A telephone message left Thursday for Stapp’s attorney wasn’t immediately returned.

‘Spice One’ wins contest for jumbo jet’s name

Los Angeles – That’s one Spicy plane.

The Spice Girls have unveiled the new name of a Virgin Atlantic jumbo jet: Spice One.

As part of a promotion for their reunion tour, they selected three names and let online voters decide which one would grace the Boeing 747.

The losing names were Spice Girl and Girl Power.

Voter Diogo Yomane from Brazil won a contest and joined the Spice Girls at the ceremony at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the group’s Web site.

John Legend concert to highlight new artists

New York – It was less than two years ago that John Legend won a Grammy for best new artist. Now the soul crooner is paving the way for new artists on his own label, including his kid brother.

“He’s a really good singer, and he’s also a really good lyricist,” Legend said of Vaughn Anthony, his sibling. “So I think he’s got a lot of potential.”

Legend, 28, features Anthony and other artists on his Homeschool Records label in the special “Baileys Entertainment Presents Get Together with John Legend,” airing Sunday on the TV One network.

Besides Anthony, it features performances from British singer/rapper Estelle, who is to make her Atlantic Records debut next year, and the throwback trio The James Group.

‘Jackass’ team has new movie, Web site

New Yok – The next batch of painful “Jackass” stunts is coming to a computer screen near you.

The first two films – spun off from the former MTV series – co-starred Johnny Knoxville and his gang of gross-out pranksters as they performed stunts to the delight of their youthful fans. But for the sequel “Jackass 2.5,” the dirty daredevils pull a new stunt: bypassing the movie theater entirely.

“Jackass 2.5” will instead be released to the Internet. The feature – which combines unreleased footage from “Jackass Number Two” and new content – was announced Thursday as a joint venture between Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures and MTV Networks.

Blockbuster Inc. will present “Jackass 2.5” free of charge at www.blockbuster.jackassworld.com beginning Dec. 19 through Dec. 31; on Dec. 26, DVDs of the film will be available for purchase on the site and at major retailers, as well as for rent at Blockbuster stores and the company’s Web site.

Rowling handwritten book sells for $4 million

London – A book of fairy tales created, handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling sold for nearly $4 million at auction Thursday.

The buyer, Web retailer Amazon.com Inc., now owns one of only seven copies of “The Tales of Beedle the Bard,” which is leather bound with silver mounts.

Amazon, in its unaccustomed position as a buyer rather than seller of books, was represented by London art agent Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox.

The book had been expected to sell for about $100,000.

The money will benefit The Children’s Voice, a charity co-founded in 2005 by Rowling and Baroness Nicholson, a member of Britain’s House of Lords.

Rowling, 42, watched the auction on the Web from her home in Edinburgh, Scotland, and said she was ecstatic.

“This will mean so much to children in desperate need of help,” she said. “It means Christmas has come early to me.”

Rowling, whose Harry Potter books have sold nearly 400 million copies, wrote the Beedle tales after finishing the seventh and final work in the Potter series.

The Children’s Voice campaigns for children’s rights across Europe, especially in Eastern Europe, where many children and teens grow up in institutions, often in what many activists regard as unacceptable conditions.