Film critic Ebert hopes to be back for Oscars

Chicago – Roger Ebert is hoping he recovers in time for the Academy Awards and the Cannes Film Festival.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and co-host of the “Ebert & Roeper” TV show had surgery in June to remove a cancerous growth on his salivary gland. He also had emergency surgery July 1 after a blood vessel burst.

In a letter published Thursday in the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert announced that his first movie review in months will run today. He decided to review “The Queen” after an “Ebert & Roeper” producer brought him a copy of the movie on DVD. He plans to continuing doing occasional reviews until he’s fully recovered.

But he says he’s looking forward to getting back to full-time work early next year.

Doonesbury creator adds blog for military members

New York – Though often bitterly critical of the war on Iraq in his comic strip “Doonesbury,” creator Garry Trudeau now is offering readers a chance to get a closer, mostly unfiltered view of troops’ experiences in their own words.

“The Sandbox,” a new feature on his Doonesbury Web site, lets viewers read the comments of service members. It’s a version of a military blog – one of many that already are available on the Web.

“This is GWOT-lit’s forward position, offering those in-country a chance to share their experiences and reflections with the rest of us,” Trudeau writes, using an acronym for the “Global War on Terror.”

He wrote that he hopes to let readers see “the unclassified details of deployment – the everyday, the extraordinary, the wonderful, the messed-up, the absurd.”

He said the postings will be “lightly edited.”

Schwarzenegger opponent wants time on ‘Tonight Show’

Los Angeles – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger traded quips with Jay Leno one moment and criticized U.S. foreign policy the next during an appearance on the “Tonight Show” that had the governor’s opponents crying foul because his rival in next month’s election wasn’t included.

When asked by Leno about television campaign ads attempting to link Schwarzenegger to President Bush, the star of the “Terminator” films mocked the notion.

“To link me to George Bush is like linking me to an Oscar,” said the governor, who has never won – nor even been nominated for – acting’s most prestigious award.

On a more serious subject, the Republican governor said a “lot of mistakes” were made during the war in Iraq, but ducked a question from Leno about whether Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld should be fired.

“Without any doubt, we have to find an exit strategy as quickly as possible,” he said.

His appearance Wednesday on “The Tonight Show” riled supporters of his Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Phil Angelides, whose campaign said he wants equal time.