Faces & Names: Good causes at the DECC

The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center was the place to celebrate good deeds Thursday with the Lake Superior Ballroom playing host to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits convention while the Harborside Ballroom feted Splash, the annual fundraising dinner of Duluth’s First Witness Child Abuse Resource Center.

Billed as the Nonprofit State Fair, about 700 people attended day one of MCN’s statewide event, with awards going to GiveMN, the Frey Foundation, the Loft Literary Center’s Equilibrium Spoken Word Series, the Second Chance Coalition, Springboard for the Arts and Wilderness Inquiry, all Twin Cities based groups.

Among local hosts were MCN Duluth staffer Mary Streufert, Tina Welsh of the Women’s Health Center, Julie O’Leary of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership, Candice Harshner of PAVSA, Russ Salgy of Spirit Valley/Copeland Youth Centers, Samantha Gibb Roff of the Duluth Art Institute and Julia Cheng of Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial Inc. and Community Action Duluth, who co-emceed the awards with Julie Manworren of Minneapolis’ Simpson Housing Services.

The convention continues today with a governor’s candidate forum, though a staffer of Republican nominee Tom Emmer said the candidate had a conflict and wouldn’t arrive in Duluth until late today for another event. He’ll miss the fun.

Meanwhile, down the hall, a silent auction and live bidding on big-ticket items at the First Witness banquet were followed by a cash auction — no prizes, just the satisfaction of helping a good cause — that took in more than $9,000. The group had hoped to raise $5,000. Now that’s giving.

Stone joins new ‘Spider-Man’ cast

Emma Stone will play Gwen Stacy in the next “Spider-Man” movie.

Stone will star opposite Andrew Garfield, who plays Spidey and alter-ego Peter Parker. The announcement was made by Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and Columbia Pictures.

Director Marc Webb said the chemistry between Stone and Garfield was “stunning,” which made the 21-year-old actress the “clear choice” to play Gwen.

Stone’s screen credits include “Easy A” and “Superbad.”

The new movie will focus on a younger version of the superhero. It will be filmed in 3-D, and is scheduled for release July 3, 2012.

Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi, who made three blockbuster “Spider-Man” movies together, departed amid story and scheduling issues over the fourth movie.

Clooney in Sudan over war worries

George Clooney is visiting the little known region of Southern Sudan. The U.N. Security Council arrived to a raucous welcome on Wednesday, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum also made a recent trip here.

The high-level visits are putting the spotlight on the Texas-sized area of Sudan that is far less known to Americans than the western region of Darfur, where mass atrocities have been committed over the last decade.

Southern Sudan is three months from a Jan. 9 independence vote that could see Africa’s largest country break in two. The vote — and the potential of a new north-south war because of it — are the reason behind the rash of visits.

“If you knew a tsunami, or Katrina or a Haiti earthquake was coming, what would you do to save people?” Clooney said, according to a blog post by Ann Curry, a reporter for NBC who is accompanying Clooney.

Clooney spent the past week traveling to remote, conflict-prone areas of Sudan’s south with John Prendergast, the founder of the Enough Project, an anti-genocide advocacy group.

Swift wins trademark violation case

Taylor Swift has won a court fight against 16 individuals she claimed violated trademark by selling counterfeit merchandise bearing her name and picture.

Court documents said a federal judge in Nashville granted a default judgment last week permanently barring 16 people from making or selling Taylor Swift merchandise.

Swift claimed in the suit that her merchandise enforcement team found numerous people selling fake goods across the country during her 2009 tour, including T-shirts with her image on them.

Ozzy covers Lennon for 70th milestone

John Lennon would have been 70 this week, and who better to honor his legacy in song than ... Ozzy Osbourne?

Yes, Ozzy Osbourne. The Black Sabbath heavy-metal king has made a cover of Lennon’s “How,” available Tuesday on iTunes to benefit Amnesty International.

Osbourne says Lennon was a “driving force for humanity.” He also credits the Beatles as the inspiration for his musical career.

A video for the song is debuting on AOL’s PopEater.com.

The former Beatle would have been 70 on Saturday. He was shot to death in December 1980.

‘Bored to Death’ star’s dog gets cameo on show

Jason Schwartzman’s dog had the face for TV — just not the back for it.

Schwartzman, 30, stars in HBO’s offbeat detective comedy “Bored to Death,” and show creator Jonathan Ames says he wanted to have Schwartzman’s French bulldog, Arrow, in the show. Ames liked Arrow because of his “incredibly beautiful, crushed, tormented face.”

Unfortunately Arrow has a bad back and was not up to the rigors of acting, so they cast another dog.

Arrow did have a cameo in the show, though.

“Bored to Death” also stars Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis.

Curtis buried after Las Vegas funeral

Actor Tony Curtis was buried Monday with a melange of his favorite possessions — a Stetson hat, an Armani scarf, driving gloves, an iPhone and a copy of his favorite novel, “Anthony Adverse,” a book that inspired his celebrity name and launched a robust film career that spanned decades and genres.

The 85-year-old Oscar-nominated actor who starred in such films as “The Defiant Ones” and “Some Like It Hot” died Wednesday at his home in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb, after suffering cardiac arrest.

More than 400 celebrities, fans, friends and family members gathered to say goodbye at a public funeral service Monday in Las Vegas honoring Curtis’ life.

The funeral was to be followed by the burial and then a reception for 200 invited guests at the Luxor hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Jamie Lee Curtis, Curtis’ daughter from his first marriage with “Psycho” actress Janet Leigh, teared up as she described a man who was, she said, “a little mashugana” — Yiddish for crazy — but always full of life.

“All of us got something from him. I, of course, got his desperate need for attention,” she joked.

Wahlberg’s divorce finalized

Donnie Wahlberg is the new single kid on the block.

Court records in Simi Valley, Calif., show the actor-singer and his wife of nearly nine years finalized their divorce settlement on Sept. 28.

They have two sons, were married in 1999 and separated in early 2008.

Wahlberg, 41, was a member of the boy band New Kids on the Block, and also is an actor, appearing in series such as “Band of Brothers” and the new police drama “Blue Bloods.”

Heigl: I don’t believe my own press

Former “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl said she’s happy to make headlines, but stories about her in the media are often exaggerated.

Heigl’s comments in the past have been known to make waves in the entertainment world. She called the 2007 comedy “Knocked Up,” in which she starred, “a little sexist.” Later, she refused to seek an Emmy nomination after saying “Grey’s” writers didn’t give her enough award-worthy material.

Heigl said she doesn’t have “any major problem” with what’s written about her. But she adds that she tries to keep her perspective so she doesn’t believe her own press.

The actress was speaking in New York at the world premiere of her latest dramedy, “Life as We Know It,” which opens nationwide this week.

Singer Mario charged with assaulting mom

R&B singer and former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Mario has been charged with assaulting his mother at their Baltimore home.

Officers were called to an apartment building in the Fells Point neighborhood early Friday, where police say Shawntia Hardaway told officers her 24-year-old son, Mario Barrett, had pushed her.

According to charging documents, Hardaway said her head still hurt after Barrett pushed her into in a wall in a separate instance on Monday and she feared for her life. Officers found broken glass and a hole in a door in their apartment.

Barrett’s attorney, William Murphy III, called it “an unfortunate incident” between a loving son and a mother who has had drug problems. Barrett, who appeared in an MTV special in which he staged an intervention for his mother, was charged with second-degree assault and released on $50,000 bond.

Stamos wants to be heard at hearing

Actor John Stamos can’t make it to federal court in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this week, but he still wants to be heard.

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to allow them to read a statement from Stamos when two people are sentenced Friday for trying to extort $680,000 from him.

In July, Allison Coss and Scott Sippola were found guilty of conspiracy and using e-mail to threaten a person’s reputation. They were accused of demanding money from Stamos in exchange for turning over embarrassing photos of him.

The FBI says there were no photos.

Stamos has known Coss for years after meeting her in Orlando, Fla., in 2004 when she was 17.

Stamos plays a dentist on Fox’s hit musical “Glee.”

Zesty Pumpkin Soup takes top honors in recipe contest

Professional chef Arlene Coco and Duluth News Tribune reporter Jana Hollingsworth judged the paper’s “60 Minutes or Less” recipe contest Friday at Johnson Mertz Appliance.

Edna Stromquist of Duluth was the overall winner with her Zesty Pumpkin Soup, receiving a two-night stay at the Radisson in Duluth with dinner for two both nights at J.J. Astor, a $500 value.

The Chef’s Choice award (a $300 gift certificate to the Blue Heron) went to David Plowman of Duluth for his Eggplant Sauté with Tomatoes and Goat Cheese, while the Critic’s Choice award (a $300 certificate for Duluth Stove & Fireplace ) went to June Farkas of Superior for her Colorful Black Bean, Fresh Tomato and Feta Cheese Pasta Sauce.

Attendees of the event selected Betsy King of Duluth for the People’s Choice Award (a $150 gift certificate to Dunbar’s Supply) for her Cranberry Cake with Hot Almond Butter Sauce.

These recipes, among others, will be featured in the Duluth News Tribune’s cookbook insert Wednesday, Oct. 27.

New Soundgarden album released as a video game

After a 13-year break, Soundgarden resleased its new album through the “Guitar Hero” video game series — and its frontman believes it’s the perfect way to reintroduce the band to a new generation.

“In the obvious way, it’s going to reach a certain amount of younger people that either may or may not know about Soundgarden,” frontman Chris Cornell said in a recent interview. “No matter what, I feel like releasing it this way is going to reach a lot of people who have not heard our music or have not heard a lot of it.”

“Telephantasm” is a retrospective CD that features some of the grunge band’s biggest hits from its 1990s heyday, as well as unreleased cuts.

It was released this last as part of “Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.” It’s being touted as the first time a new album has been released in conjunction with a video game. It will be released Tuesday as a traditional CD.

Have an event that just happened that you’d like to share? Pictures, perhaps, or other goings-on from the Northland to Hollywoodland? Send them to facesandnames@duluthnews.com.

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