Britney Spears craves freedom amid career upswing

Britney says she gets lonely sometimes. — AP pic

NEW YORK, Nov 21 — Britney Spears is craving more freedom — and less of the "control" that's stabilised her personal life and reinvigorated her career over the last several months.

In an upcoming behind-the-scenes documentary, the 26-year-old pop star says: "If I wasn't under the restraints that I'm under right now, with all the lawyers and doctors and people analysing me every day and all that kind of stuff ... I'd feel so liberated, and feel like myself."

The 90-minute film, "Britney: For the Record," airs on Nov 30 on MTV and the LOGO network. She is shown backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards; recording her new album, "Circus"; dodging the paparazzi; and goofing off with her father Jamie, who controls her personal and financial affairs.

While her career takes a positive turn, Spears says she's sad and feels her life is "too in control."

"There's no excitement, there's no passion, there's no nothing. It's just like `Groundhog Day' every day, you know? So I'm really bored," she says, getting teary.

The mother of two young sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline says she "used to be a cool chick," but the paparazzi has made it impossible for her to be out and about. In the documentary, which was executive produced by Spears' manager Larry Rudolph, her security staff discusses hiring a decoy to fool the cameras.

Spears' turnaround kicked into high gear in September when she nabbed three VMAS, including video of the year. Now on the comeback trail, she has a hit song, "Womanizer," and is releasing "Circus" next month.

She talks about her two-year downward spiral, which included a divorce, a custody battle, public meltdowns and a sluggish performance at last year's VMAs, when she barely made it through a dance number of "Gimme More."

"I've been through a lot this year — well, actually the past two or three years," she says. "And my trust has really been battered. I've definitely grown up — big time. And I'm very weary of a lot of things. Very protective of myself."

She says sometimes she gets lonely.

"You're guarded," she says. "You have to be that way, otherwise you get taken advantage of and get in situations like I did the past year. I totally lost my way. I lost focus, I lost myself, I had that type of nature within me that wanted to rebel out.

"I never wanted to become one of those prisoner people — I always wanted to feel free and get in my car and go and not let people make me feel like I have to stay in my home. I think that was always the part of me that kinda got me in trouble," she says.

Spears dishes on Federline and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake in the film.

"With Justin, he was a part of the magnitude of what I'd become," says Spears, who ended a three-year relationship with Timberlake in 2002. "So then when he was gone, I was like, `What am I supposed to do with myself?' ... I would go out just to keep my mind busy, just to keep going."

While she was devastated over her breakup with Timberlake, she says she handled that better than her separation from Federline in November 2006.

"With Kevin, because I had two children with him, I did not know what to do with myself," she says. "I had built my dream home in Malibu, a huge house and a pool and a huge yard for the kids and I did everything for them. And just my world was that."

She says she married Federline for the wrong reasons instead of following her heart. As a result, she went down a "weird path."

She says her marriage disintegrated when Federline began concentrating on his rap career.

When it ended, "I felt so alone. I didn't really want to think about the reality of it. It was like, `I'm OK.' ... But I never really faced it, and I just ran," she says. — AP

Britney Spears craves freedom amid career upswing

Britney says she gets lonely sometimes. — AP pic

NEW YORK, Nov 21 — Britney Spears is craving more freedom — and less of the "control" that's stabilised her personal life and reinvigorated her career over the last several months.

In an upcoming behind-the-scenes documentary, the 26-year-old pop star says: "If I wasn't under the restraints that I'm under right now, with all the lawyers and doctors and people analysing me every day and all that kind of stuff ... I'd feel so liberated, and feel like myself."

The 90-minute film, "Britney: For the Record," airs on Nov 30 on MTV and the LOGO network. She is shown backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards; recording her new album, "Circus"; dodging the paparazzi; and goofing off with her father Jamie, who controls her personal and financial affairs.

While her career takes a positive turn, Spears says she's sad and feels her life is "too in control."

"There's no excitement, there's no passion, there's no nothing. It's just like `Groundhog Day' every day, you know? So I'm really bored," she says, getting teary.

The mother of two young sons with ex-husband Kevin Federline says she "used to be a cool chick," but the paparazzi has made it impossible for her to be out and about. In the documentary, which was executive produced by Spears' manager Larry Rudolph, her security staff discusses hiring a decoy to fool the cameras.

Spears' turnaround kicked into high gear in September when she nabbed three VMAS, including video of the year. Now on the comeback trail, she has a hit song, "Womanizer," and is releasing "Circus" next month.

She talks about her two-year downward spiral, which included a divorce, a custody battle, public meltdowns and a sluggish performance at last year's VMAs, when she barely made it through a dance number of "Gimme More."

"I've been through a lot this year — well, actually the past two or three years," she says. "And my trust has really been battered. I've definitely grown up — big time. And I'm very weary of a lot of things. Very protective of myself."

She says sometimes she gets lonely.

"You're guarded," she says. "You have to be that way, otherwise you get taken advantage of and get in situations like I did the past year. I totally lost my way. I lost focus, I lost myself, I had that type of nature within me that wanted to rebel out.

"I never wanted to become one of those prisoner people — I always wanted to feel free and get in my car and go and not let people make me feel like I have to stay in my home. I think that was always the part of me that kinda got me in trouble," she says.

Spears dishes on Federline and ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake in the film.

"With Justin, he was a part of the magnitude of what I'd become," says Spears, who ended a three-year relationship with Timberlake in 2002. "So then when he was gone, I was like, `What am I supposed to do with myself?' ... I would go out just to keep my mind busy, just to keep going."

While she was devastated over her breakup with Timberlake, she says she handled that better than her separation from Federline in November 2006.

"With Kevin, because I had two children with him, I did not know what to do with myself," she says. "I had built my dream home in Malibu, a huge house and a pool and a huge yard for the kids and I did everything for them. And just my world was that."

She says she married Federline for the wrong reasons instead of following her heart. As a result, she went down a "weird path."

She says her marriage disintegrated when Federline began concentrating on his rap career.

When it ended, "I felt so alone. I didn't really want to think about the reality of it. It was like, `I'm OK.' ... But I never really faced it, and I just ran," she says. — AP

Jennifer Garner wins order against alleged stalker

Garner petitioned for protection earlier this month from stalker. — AP pic

LOS ANGELES, Nov 21 — Jennifer Garner has won a restraining order from a man she says has been stalking her for years. An attorney for Garner appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom yesterday morning and won three years of protection for Garner, husband Ben Affleck and their daughter, Violet.

As first reported by TMZ, Garner petitioned for protection earlier this month from 36-year-old Steven R. Burky, who she says has been harassing her since 2002.

Garner wrote in a sworn statement that she believed Burky's "obsessive, threatening and stalking behavior" posed a threat to her and her family.

The former star of the television series "Alias," Garner has also appeared in recent films such as "Juno" and "The Kingdom." — AP

Jennifer Garner wins order against alleged stalker

Garner petitioned for protection earlier this month from stalker. — AP pic

LOS ANGELES, Nov 21 — Jennifer Garner has won a restraining order from a man she says has been stalking her for years. An attorney for Garner appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom yesterday morning and won three years of protection for Garner, husband Ben Affleck and their daughter, Violet.

As first reported by TMZ, Garner petitioned for protection earlier this month from 36-year-old Steven R. Burky, who she says has been harassing her since 2002.

Garner wrote in a sworn statement that she believed Burky's "obsessive, threatening and stalking behavior" posed a threat to her and her family.

The former star of the television series "Alias," Garner has also appeared in recent films such as "Juno" and "The Kingdom." — AP

The 10 movies you shouldn’t watch online

Peter O’Toole in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. — AP pic

NEW YORK, Nov 21 — Movies are increasingly creeping online, as video sites like YouTube and Hulu are adding feature films to their extensive libraries.

At the Google-owned YouTube, there is the YouTube Screening Room, which every two weeks adds four new films — mostly independent works — to the site. Hulu, the joint creation of NBC Universal and News Corp, has hundreds of films available for stream, from “Basic Instinct” to “Wuthering Heights”.

Of course, many people download films illegally on BitTorrent sites, but movies are nevertheless becoming more populated — legally — online.

Hulu recently added 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia”, which begs the question: Should anyone watch a nearly four-hour-long epic of sweeping grandeur on their laptop? Or, heaven forbid, their cell phone?

Here are the top 10 films that should never be brought down to size:

1. “Lawrence of Arabia”: David Lean’s film, which won seven Oscars including best picture, was made for the big screen — particularly as projected in all of its 70mm glory. Though Hulu (like YouTube) streams films in high quality, the enormity of the Arabian desert loses something when dwarfed to a 4-inch by 6-inch screen.

2. “Last of the Mohicans”: Michael Mann’s 1992 adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel pulses with the raw nature of early America so much that film critic David Thomson has written that he expects William Wordsworth to pop up at any moment. You won’t get that rugged feeling on a computer.

3. “Jaws”: Really, how scary can that shark be if he’s two inches tall?

4. “North By Northwest”: Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic is just too big for your computer. It’s almost too big for a movie screen. The film, after all, includes a chase seen with an airplane, Bernard Herrmann’s robust score, Mount Rushmore and, well, Cary Grant in sunglasses.

5. “Star Wars”: It’s true, a hologram of Princess Leia on your computer is just about as fitting as one of Will.i.am on CNN. But do you really want to see (spoiler alert!) the Death Star explode next to your e-mail?

6. “War Games”: There isn’t anything so cinematic about this 1983 thriller starring Matthew Broderick. But watching a movie about Cold War-era paranoia in which a computer threatens to bomb the world might cause you to panic out of distrust for all things computerised and throw your laptop out the window.

7. “Barry Lyndon”: The same computer rebellion of “War Games” might also apply to Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, but the Kubrick film that deserves the absolute best presentation is his 1975 period piece. The cinematography by John Alcott — including a candlelit scene shot with Nasa-developed camera lenses — is best seen projected in the dark.

8. “Raiders of the Lost Ark”: You have to worry that a story about an adventure-seeking archaeologist with a whip fetish who gets chased by boulders might seem a tad unrealistic when shrunk down from the big screen. (But feel free to be disappointed by the latest “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” on whatever platform you like.)

9. “The Third Man”: Carol Reed’s 1949 film is one of the most exquisitely shot films ever and meant for the movie theatre. Also, a web junky might take the wrong lesson from “The Third Man”. The Internet has a way of depersonalising people, much in the way Orson Welles famously looks down at far below humans from atop a Ferris wheel in “The Third Man”, caring nothing if the “little dots” stopped moving.

10. “You’ve Got Mail”: It’s just a little too cutesy to watch this romantic comedy on your computer, don’t you think? — AP

The 10 movies you shouldn’t watch online

Peter O’Toole in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. — AP pic

NEW YORK, Nov 21 — Movies are increasingly creeping online, as video sites like YouTube and Hulu are adding feature films to their extensive libraries.

At the Google-owned YouTube, there is the YouTube Screening Room, which every two weeks adds four new films — mostly independent works — to the site. Hulu, the joint creation of NBC Universal and News Corp, has hundreds of films available for stream, from “Basic Instinct” to “Wuthering Heights”.

Of course, many people download films illegally on BitTorrent sites, but movies are nevertheless becoming more populated — legally — online.

Hulu recently added 1962’s “Lawrence of Arabia”, which begs the question: Should anyone watch a nearly four-hour-long epic of sweeping grandeur on their laptop? Or, heaven forbid, their cell phone?

Here are the top 10 films that should never be brought down to size:

1. “Lawrence of Arabia”: David Lean’s film, which won seven Oscars including best picture, was made for the big screen — particularly as projected in all of its 70mm glory. Though Hulu (like YouTube) streams films in high quality, the enormity of the Arabian desert loses something when dwarfed to a 4-inch by 6-inch screen.

2. “Last of the Mohicans”: Michael Mann’s 1992 adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel pulses with the raw nature of early America so much that film critic David Thomson has written that he expects William Wordsworth to pop up at any moment. You won’t get that rugged feeling on a computer.

3. “Jaws”: Really, how scary can that shark be if he’s two inches tall?

4. “North By Northwest”: Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic is just too big for your computer. It’s almost too big for a movie screen. The film, after all, includes a chase seen with an airplane, Bernard Herrmann’s robust score, Mount Rushmore and, well, Cary Grant in sunglasses.

5. “Star Wars”: It’s true, a hologram of Princess Leia on your computer is just about as fitting as one of Will.i.am on CNN. But do you really want to see (spoiler alert!) the Death Star explode next to your e-mail?

6. “War Games”: There isn’t anything so cinematic about this 1983 thriller starring Matthew Broderick. But watching a movie about Cold War-era paranoia in which a computer threatens to bomb the world might cause you to panic out of distrust for all things computerised and throw your laptop out the window.

7. “Barry Lyndon”: The same computer rebellion of “War Games” might also apply to Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”, but the Kubrick film that deserves the absolute best presentation is his 1975 period piece. The cinematography by John Alcott — including a candlelit scene shot with Nasa-developed camera lenses — is best seen projected in the dark.

8. “Raiders of the Lost Ark”: You have to worry that a story about an adventure-seeking archaeologist with a whip fetish who gets chased by boulders might seem a tad unrealistic when shrunk down from the big screen. (But feel free to be disappointed by the latest “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” on whatever platform you like.)

9. “The Third Man”: Carol Reed’s 1949 film is one of the most exquisitely shot films ever and meant for the movie theatre. Also, a web junky might take the wrong lesson from “The Third Man”. The Internet has a way of depersonalising people, much in the way Orson Welles famously looks down at far below humans from atop a Ferris wheel in “The Third Man”, caring nothing if the “little dots” stopped moving.

10. “You’ve Got Mail”: It’s just a little too cutesy to watch this romantic comedy on your computer, don’t you think? — AP

~*~Can't you hear my crying calls???~*

~*~ Can't you hear my crying calls ???~*~

A million tears,
Fall from these eyes,.
A million screams,
Turn into cries,

I love her so much,
I'm trying to cope,
With this pain,
I promise i won't lose hope,

Pictures of us,
Now contain tear stains,
I held the pictures close,
As my tears poured like rain,

My End day,
Now only some days away,
I cry alone cause you're not here,
I'm not going to be okay,

I remember our first meet,
Up the net reading your profile n scraps,
You held me close kissed my lips,
Now it's just a memory trail,

Please forgive me i made a mistake,
I just want to fix it, i want you back,
My world is just not right without you,
it just keeps getting more black,

My heart is bleeding,
Always for you,
I only wish,
You felt it too,

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
My rose is white,
And it bleeds for you,

Just know that I care,
And will always be here,
Carrying on my cheek,
A warm bloody tear,

For when i see your name,
With you i feel my heart break,
Knowing now that love,
Isn't as easy as a piece of cake,

I always thought we'd be together,
Until death do us part,
But I was wrong,
I ripped us apart,

Please I know,
That we can catch this slip,
Please baby please,
I know we can re grip,..

I try to hold my cries in,
But this pain is killing me,
Can't you see I love you,
And we were meant to be?

I promise i wont let you down,
I promise i won't lie,
I promise to be there when you need me,
I promise this as i cry,

Sitting here all alone,
In my dark room,
I write this poem in hope,
That you will come back soon,

I need you oh so much,
Please dnt leave me here,
Cause right now my mind is taking over,
And death is my biggest fear,

My mind and heart are killing me,
As i hold my pillow close,
My imagination lets me pretend its you,
As my love for you grows,

Please baby I'm waiting for you,
As these tears do fall,
Baby please come back to me,
Can't you hear my crying calls???