"X Factor" judge L.A. Reid quitting TV talent show

L.A. Reid, "The X Factor" judge, says he is leaving the TV talent show next season after two years on the panel.Reid, 56, chairman and chief executive of Epic Records, told "Access Hollywood," the television program and website, he has decided to leave the Fox reality singing show to return to the record label full time."I have decided that I will not return to 'The X Factor' next year," Reid told...

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White House TV comedy aims for laughs, not politics

There is a crazy family living at the White House, but it's not the Obamas. It's the Gilchrists, whose never-ending follies pulse and push upcoming TV comedy romp "1600 Penn."Starring Bill Pullman as U.S. President Dale Gilchrist and Jenna Elfman as his first lady, the show's co-creator Josh Gad said on Friday that there is plenty of precedent for family madness at the Oval Office."You can look as...

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Participant Media starts cable network for millenials

 Participant Media, the company behind films including "Lincoln" and "The Help," is starting a new cable network targeting millenial viewers, with content from Davis Guggenheim and The Jim Henson Company, among others.It will be led by Evan Shapiro, who joined Participant in May after serving as President of IFC and Sundance Channel.Participant has bought The Documentary Channel and entered into...

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Hulu Plus doubles subscribers to 3 million

 Hulu Plus more than doubled the number of subscribers who pay for access to its premium content in 2012. The streaming service now numbers 3 million paid subscribers, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar announced in a blog post Monday.That's a far cry from the nearly 30 million subscribers the company's main rival Netflix attracts, but it is a sign that Hulu is moving in the right direction. Because the company...

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HBO making "Game of Thrones"-themed beer

Winter is coming - and so is a new line of beers based on HBO's fantasy drama "Game of Thrones." Presumably, all will boast a full, robust head, perhaps resting on top of a spike.HBO is teaming with Cooperstown, N.Y. brewery Ommegang for a line of brews centered around the series, the New York Times reports. The first beer, Iron Throne Blonde Ale, is slated to go on sale in March, in time for the...

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Russian opera diva Vishnevskaya dies at 86

MOSCOW (AP) — World-renowned Russian opera diva Galina Vishnevskaya, who with her husband defied the Soviet regime to give shelter to writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and suffered exile from her homeland, has died at 86.Moscow's Opera Center, which Vishnevskaya created, said the singer celebrated internationally for her rich soprano voice died Tuesday in the Russian capital. It didn't give the cause.Vishnevskaya...

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Russian opera diva Vishnevskaya dies at 86

MOSCOW (AP) — World-renowned Russian opera diva Galina Vishnevskaya, who with her husband defied the Soviet regime to give shelter to writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and suffered exile from her homeland, has died at 86.Moscow's Opera Center, which Vishnevskaya created, said the singer celebrated internationally for her rich soprano voice died Tuesday in the Russian capital. It didn't give the cause.Vishnevskaya...

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Russian opera diva Vishnevskaya dies at 86

MOSCOW (AP) — World-renowned Russian opera diva Galina Vishnevskaya, who with her husband defied the Soviet regime to give shelter to writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn and suffered exile from her homeland, has died at 86.Moscow's Opera Center, which Vishnevskaya created, said the singer celebrated internationally for her rich soprano voice died Tuesday in the Russian capital. It didn't give the cause.Vishnevskaya...

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Soprano Geraldine Chauvet makes Met Opera debut

NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera's final performance this season of Mozart's last opera, "La Clemenza di Tito," was notable for the unexpected company debut of mezzo-soprano Geraldine Chauvet. The 38-year-old French singer took over Monday night as Sesto on short notice in place of Elina Garanca, who was ill. Chauvet had made her first U.S. appearance in January in another trouser's role,...

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Swiss opera diva Della Casa dies at 93

GENEVA (AP) — Famed for her beauty that matched her serene voice, Swiss-born diva Lisa Della Casa  swept up crowds at opera houses of the past century with an elegant and radiant style that established her as one of the finest sopranos of her generation.After more than 400 performances at the Vienna State Opera, where her interpretations of many great roles, particularly those from Wolfgang Amadeus...

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