Blast hits Chinese city in region visited by Xi; 50 reported hurt

Reporting from Beijing—

An explosion rocked a plaza outside a train station in Urumqi, capital of China's Xinjiang province, on Wednesday in the wake of a four-day inspection tour of the restive northwestern area by President Xi Jinping.

The blast at Urumqi's south railway station about 7 p.m. caused injuries, local reports said, and the official New China News Agency said police were evacuating the area and train service had been suspended. The Beijing News reported 50 people were injured, but no information on the exact cause of the blast was immediately available.

The blast came as train stations around the country were full of people traveling before a three-day public holiday that begins Thursday. 

Photos from the Urumqi station posted on Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblog service, showed suitcases, clothing and other personal items scattered about in front of a small police hut, with soot-like black markings on the pavement in a circular pattern.

Troops in military fatigues and police officers were shown surrounding the station. New China New Agency's Twitter feed reported that the blast was powerful and that a man at a nearby hotel thought it was an earthquake.

Making his first visit to Xinjiang since becoming chief of the Communist Party in late 2012, Xi on Monday described the situation in the region -- which has been beset with ethnic tension and violent clashes -- as "grim and complicated."

State-run CCTV's evening news program on Wednesday devoted an extensive segment to Xi's trip, during which he visited schools, agricultural businesses, private homes, police facilities, border troops and a mosque. In an indication of the sensitive timing of the blast, reports about the explosion in Urumqi from the Weibo account of the People's Daily newspaper -- and many other accounts -- were quickly removed Wednesday night.

Meeting with police in the city of Kashgar on Monday, Xi said "grassroots police stations are 'fists and daggers,' so you must spare no efforts in serving the people and safeguarding the public security," according to the news agency.

It wasn't clear whether Xi was still in the region at the time of the blast.

Xinjiang is home to a large population of Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority. Relations between Uighurs and ethnic Han Chinese have been fraught in recent years as more Han have moved into the province and the government has sought to develop the resource-rich area's infrastructure and economy.

Some Uighurs complain that they have not shared equally in the economic boom and say government policies aim to stamp out their cultural and religious practices.

Recently, authorities in the province have posted notices promising rewards for people who report others hoarding weapons or planning attacks. The fliers have also encouraged citizens to notify authorities about people growing beards, wearing veils, ripping up official documents and other behaviors that may indicate a desire to separate from government authority and structure.

In July 2009, riots pitting Uighurs against Han Chinese convulsed Urumqi, killing nearly 200 people and injuring hundreds more, and since then numerous deadly clashes at police stations and other government facilities in the province have been reported.

Central government authorities are concerned that the violence is spreading beyond Xinjiang. In October, a family of three Uighurs drove their sports utility vehicle onto a crowded sidewalk in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, killing two tourists and injuring 40 people, before setting the car on fire and killing themselves. Authorities described the perpetrators as Islamic militants.

In March, a group of knife-wielding attackers went on a rampage at a train station in the southern province of Yunnan, killing 29 people and injuring about 140; that attack too was blamed on separatists from Xinjiang. That incident happened on the eve of two key political gatherings in Beijing.

In wake of the Kunming attack, Xi and other top leaders have called for a variety of stronger anti-terrorism measures, from strengthening Internet censorship to arming more police with guns.

Tommy Yang in the Times' Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

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WellPoint profit falls 21%

WellPoint's first-quarter net income fell 21 percent as the nation's second-largest health insurer adjusted to coverage changes introduced by the health care overhaul.

But the Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer touted the underlying strength of its business and once again raised its 2014 forecast after reporting on Wednesday quarterly earnings that topped Wall Street expectations. Its stock climbed in premarket trading after it released results.

The federal overhaul expanded coverage to millions of people starting this year, but the law also enacted taxes and fees, as well as changes to how insurers write their coverage.

Those changes led to insurance coverage with richer benefits and higher costs at the start of the year, spokeswoman Kristin Binns said. Those higher costs came from items like the law's requirement for complete coverage of preventive services and from plans with lower deductibles, which don't encourage patients to hold off on using their insurance.

Deductibles are the amount a patient must pay out of pocket before most insurance coverage starts. With high deductible plans, insurers typically see a rise in claims or expenses at the end of the year as customers pay off their deductibles and then rush to use their coverage before that deductible resets in the new year.

The insurer's general and administrative expenses climbed 28 percent to $2.49 billion in the quarter in part because of these factors, Binns said.

WellPoint has made a bigger bet than some of its competitors on the overhaul, which expands the state-federal Medicaid program and introduced state-based insurance exchanges on which people can buy coverage with help from income-based tax credits. The insurer is counting on its well-known Blue Cross-Blue Shield brand to help sell coverage on 14 exchanges.

It also expects significant growth from the Medicaid expansion. WellPoint's 2012 acquisition of fellow insurer Amerigroup gave it a presence in several states where coverage is expanding. The insurer said Wednesday it added 121,000 Medicaid members in the first three months of the year.

Overall, WellPoint earned $701 million, or $2.40 per share, in the three months that ended March 31. That's down from $885.2 million, or $2.89 per share, in last year's quarter. Earnings excluding one-time items totaled $2.30 per share.

Operating revenue climbed slightly to $17.64 billion. That excludes investment gains or losses.

Analysts, who typically exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected earnings of $2.10 per share on $17.95 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Citi analyst Carl McDonald said in a research note that it wasn't clear whether any of the factors that helped WellPoint top earnings forecasts will continue for the rest of the year.

WellPoint Inc. indicated otherwise by raising its 2014 adjusted earnings to greater than $8.40 per share after predicting earnings of more than $8.20 per share last month.

"We are off to a strong start, supporting an increase in our earnings guidance for the full year," CEO Joseph Swedish said in a statement.

Analysts expect, on average, $8.41 per share.

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Big changes ahead for KCET-TV's newsmagazine 'SoCal Connected'

"SoCal Connected" is coming back -- and it's going to look a little different.

KCET-TV announced Wednesday that it's bringing back its Los Angeles-focused newsmagazine for a sixth season starting May 14, with Val Zavala serving as anchor and executive producer, along with "a new look, format and group of reporters." One prime goal of the reconstituted show is a more thorough integration with KCET's digital offerings.

The overhauled "SoCal Connected" will move "out of the studio and into the community," according to a news release, with stories focused on the environment, health, government and local arts. Among the stories will be a look at problems caused by construction on the 710 freeway and the ongoing California drought.

The return of "SoCal Connected" counts as a victory for the Burbank-based public broadcaster, which now operates as KCETLink. The program's funding has long been dicey, but funding from Chapman University, along with gifts from the Ahmanson Foundation and MaddocksBrown Foundation, enabled the show to continue with another season.

However, KCET has had to peel back some onetime ambitions for the program. In 2012, the station promoted the show to a nightly offering on the schedule. But the new version will air weekly. Moreover, "SoCal Connected's" future remains uncertain amid the overall funding problems for KCET, which has struggled financially since leaving PBS a few years ago.

"I am looking forward to offering our viewers a wider fare that includes not just in-depth hard news stories, but also features on innovative problem-solvers, artists, interesting places, music and food culture," Zavala said in a statement.

What do you think of "SoCal Connected"?

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Stocks mixed as economy slows

The stock market was mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed company earnings against a report that showed economic growth stalled during the fourth quarter. 

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.4 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,877 as of 11:13 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average rose six points, or less than 0.01 percent, to 16,542. The Nasdaq composite fell seven points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,095. 

THE ECONOMY: The U.S. economy slowed in the first three months of the year as winter storms chilled business activity. The sharp slowdown, while worse than expected, is likely to be temporary as growth rebounds with warmer temperatures. The Commerce Department says growth slowed to a barely discernible 0.1 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, the weakest since the end of 2012, and down from a 2.6 percent growth rate in the October-December quarter. Economist had forecast growth of 1.1 percent, according to FactSet. 

THE QUOTE: The stock market's reaction to the report on the economy was muted because investors have already discounted the quarter due to the unusually cold winter in the U.S. this year, said Lawrence Creatura, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors. 

"The stock market is giving this GDP report a pass because of the historically cold weather in the first quarter," Creatura said. "If you see a similar print for the second quarter, you're going to get a much different response." 

PEP TALK: Pepco Holdings surged $4.07, or 17.9 percent, to $26.84 after it agreed to be acquired by energy provider Exelon for $6.83 billion to create a large electric and gas utility in the mid-Atlantic region. Exelon will pay $27.25 per Pepco share, an 18 percent premium to the company's $23.10 closing price on Tuesday. 

TWITTER STORM: Twitter fell $4.36, or 10 percent, to $38.27 in early trading. The social media company's growth disappointed investors when it reported quarterly results late Tuesday. Twitter had 255 million monthly users at the end of March, up 25 percent from a year earlier, but 2 million fewer than industry analysts had expected. Twitter shot higher after its IPO at $26 a share in November, going as high as $73.31 in December, and has been steadily declining since then. 

NOT WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: Express Scripts fell $4.21, or 5.9 percent, to $66.81 after it lowered its earnings guidance for the year, saying that it would handle a lower volume of prescriptions. The nation's largest pharmacy benefits manager also reported a 12 percent drop in its first-quarter earnings Tuesday. Its prescription sales were hit by severe winter weather and slower-than-expected enrollment in the new public insurance exchanges. 

FED: The Federal Reserve will release a statement following the conclusion of its two-day meeting at 2 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday. Policy makers are expected to make a further reduce the Fed's bond purchases, even though growth slowed in the first quarter. 

TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.66 percent from 2.70 percent on Tuesday. The price of oil fell 93 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $100.35 a barrel. 

 

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'The Lego Movie' boosts Time Warner's first quarter

The unexpectedly strong performance of "The Lego Movie" and continued strength at its HBO and Turner cable units helped boost first-quarter revenue and profits for Time Warner Inc.

Time Warner also increased its business outlook for the year saying its adjusted earnings per-share growth should be in the low-teens excluding the Time Inc. publishing unit which is being spun-off later this spring. 

For the quarter, Time Warner posted profits of $1.29 billion, or $1.42 a share, an increase from the $754 million, or 79 cents a share for the same period in 2013. Revenue improved 9% to $7.5 billion.

"Warner Bros. picked up right where it left off last year," said Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes on a call with analysts Wednesday morning. Besides "The Lego Movie," which has taken in $450 million at the box office, "300: Rise of an Empire" also delivered for the studio.

RELATED: Six lesson from 'The Lego Movie's' box office success

Revenue at Warner Bros. jumped 14% to $3.1 billion and operating income grew 40% to $369 million. Asked to comment on DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg's recent comment that movies are not a growth business, Bewkes cracked, "maybe not for him ... he doesn't make any money."

The Turner unit, which includes TBS, TNT, CNN and TruTV, also had a solid quarter. Increases in subscriber fees for its cable networks helped boost revenue 5% to $2.6 billion. Operating income was up 6% to $900 million.

However, Bewkes expressed concern about the performance of TNT and TruTV. TNT, Bewkes said, has not taken enough "creative risks" with original programming. TNT has struggled to create shows that attract younger viewers such as AMC's "The Walking Dead" or FX's "Sons of Anarchy."

Turner is under new management. John Martin, the former chief financial officer of Time Warner, is now chief executive of Turner. There have also been some recent departures, including Steve Koonin, who had headed entertainment for the Turner unit.

Thanks to "Game of Thrones" and "True Detective," HBO saw revenue growth of 9% to $1.3 million and operating income increased 47% to $464 million. Bewkes said HBO's recent sale of old shows to Amazon will give the network more money to invest in original programming.

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Follow Joe Flint on Twitter @JBFlint.

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Tony Awards 2014: 'Gentleman's Guide' gets most nominations

It was a richly rewarding Tony Award morning for two regional theater companies, including one in Southern California.

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," the darkly comic musical that ran at the Hartford Stage Co. in Connecticut and the Old Globe in San Diego before transferring to Broadway, walked away Tuesday with 10 Tony nominations, the most of any production this season. 

The show received a nomination for new musical as well as nods for its two leading men — Jefferson Mays, who plays multiple roles, and Bryce Pinkham.

PHOTOS: Tony Awards 2014 - Top nominees

Receiving his first Tony nomination was director Darko Tresnjak, who is the former artistic director of the Old Globe's Shakespeare Festival and has directed stage productions around Southern California. Tresnjak is now the artistic director of the Hartford Stage Co. 

"Gentleman's," which is now running at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York, had its world premiere in Connecticut in 2012 and then ran at the Old Globe the following year.

The musical is the San Diego company's latest production to make it to Broadway following such other shows as "A Catered Affair," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "The Full Monty." 

"Gentleman's" also received nominations for its script by Robert L. Freedman and its score by Freedman and Steven Lutvak. The musical is adapted from the 1907 novel "Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal" by Roy Horniman, which also served as the basis for the Alec Guinness movie "Kind Hearts and Coronets."

The musical tells the story of the evil Monty Navarro (Pinkham), who attempts to murder the members of his family who stand in the way of his inheritance. Mays plays various members of the D'Ysquith family, who are comically bumped off.

Mays won a Tony in 2004 for his solo performance in the play "I Am My Own Wife."

ALSO:

Steve Martin to debut new musical at Old Globe in San Diego

Blair Underwood to star in 'Othello' at Old Globe in San Diego

Review: Dying enlivens 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'

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Tony Awards 2014: 'Gentleman's Guide' gets most nominations

It was a richly rewarding Tony Award morning for two regional theater companies, including one in Southern California.

"A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder," the darkly comic musical that ran at the Hartford Stage Co. in Connecticut and the Old Globe in San Diego before transferring to Broadway, walked away Tuesday with 10 Tony nominations, the most of any production this season. 

The show received a nomination for new musical as well as nods for its two leading men — Jefferson Mays, who plays multiple roles, and Bryce Pinkham.

PHOTOS: Tony Awards 2014 - Top nominees

Receiving his first Tony nomination was director Darko Tresnjak, who is the former artistic director of the Old Globe's Shakespeare Festival and has directed stage productions around Southern California. Tresnjak is now the artistic director of the Hartford Stage Co. 

"Gentleman's," which is now running at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York, had its world premiere in Connecticut in 2012 and then ran at the Old Globe the following year.

The musical is the San Diego company's latest production to make it to Broadway following such other shows as "A Catered Affair," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "The Full Monty." 

"Gentleman's" also received nominations for its script by Robert L. Freedman and its score by Freedman and Steven Lutvak. The musical is adapted from the 1907 novel "Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal" by Roy Horniman, which also served as the basis for the Alec Guinness movie "Kind Hearts and Coronets."

The musical tells the story of the evil Monty Navarro (Pinkham), who attempts to murder the members of his family who stand in the way of his inheritance. Mays plays various members of the D'Ysquith family, who are comically bumped off.

Mays won a Tony in 2004 for his solo performance in the play "I Am My Own Wife."

ALSO:

Steve Martin to debut new musical at Old Globe in San Diego

Blair Underwood to star in 'Othello' at Old Globe in San Diego

Review: Dying enlivens 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'

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Massive church in China demolished; officials cite permit issue

Reporting from Wenzou, China—

One of the largest churches in the Chinese coastal city of Wenzhou, an 85,000-square-foot edifice with soaring cathedral ceilings, stained glass and spires dominating the landscape, was demolished Monday on orders of Communist Party authorities.

Chinese officials said the demolition of the $5-million Sanjiang Church was ordered because the church was four times the size for which the building had been permitted. However, activists say it is part of a campaign against churches taking place throughout Zhejiang province.

The demolition ended a monthlong standoff between authorities and parishioners, who had been staging a vigil to protect their church.

"Everybody was crying," said a 25-year-old churchgoer who gave her name as Yu Xinwei. She watched the demolition Monday with other worshipers from behind the police barricades that girded the church. "You have no idea how hard it was for us to build that church. It took 12 years. We couldn't even dare pray for a miracle to reverse the course."

As many as a dozen churches in Zhejiang province, where Wenzhou is located, have received orders for demolition or to remove their crosses, according to activists.

ChinaAid, a Texas-based rights organization focusing on persecution of Christians, reported that the campaign against the churches was led by a provincial party secretary, Xia Baolong, who complained that crosses were "too conspicuous and too flashy.''

One of the most prosperous cities in China, Wenzhou is sometimes nicknamed "China's Jerusalem," according to Cao Nanlai, an anthropologist at Beijing's Renmin University who recently published a book about the city's Christians.

"Wenzhou people are very well-known for their entrepreneurial spirit and they express their Christianity through real estate," said Cao. "There have been other churches demolished, but this one is the largest."

Religion is closely regulated in China. But unlike other churches that ran into trouble with authorities, Sanjiang was part of the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement, China's only state-sanctioned Protestant church.

Officials from Yongjia county told local media Tuesday that the church was demolished because it was built four times larger than the permit it received and in addition had a large underground parking lot.

The demolition, officials were quoted as saying, "was in accordance with law and demonstrated the spirit of rule of law and fairness."

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Car bomb, mortar rounds kill more than 50 people in Syria

Syrian police officers and citizens inspect the damage at the site of a car bomb explosion Tuesday in Homs. (European Pressphoto Agency / April 29, 2014)

Patrick J. McDonnell

April 29, 2014, 9:12 a.m.

Reporting From Beirut—

More than 50 people were killed and scores injured Tuesday in Syria during a series of mortar and car-bomb attacks targeting pro-government districts in Damascus and the central city of Homs, the state media and a pro-opposition monitor reported.

The deadliest strike was a car bombing near a busy intersection in war-ravaged Homs that left at least 36 people dead and 85 injured, Syria's official news agency reported. Some reports indicated that two car bombs may have been involved and that the death toll reached 45.

The assault marked the latest in a series of stepped-up attacks on civilian targets in Homs, which has long been a key battleground in the Syrian conflict, now in its fourth year. A number of neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble in the conflict. Earlier this month, 25 people were killed in a pair of car bombings.

In recent months, Syrian forces have recaptured much of Homs from rebels and cornered remaining opposition fighters into a few enclaves, including the heart of the Old City. The government says that hundreds of rebels have surrendered and negotiations are continuing in a bid to convince remaining fighters in the Old Town and elsewhere to lay down their arms or evacuate. Officials have talked about life in Homs getting back to normal, but gunfire and shelling remain daily occurrences.

Tuesday's wave of attacks comes a day after President Bashar Assad announced that he would seek a third seven-year term in elections scheduled for June 3. Opposition activists have dismissed the elections as a farce. There was no known direct link between the attacks and the announcement of Assad's candidacy.

The government blamed all of Tuesday's attacks on "terrorists," its standard term for armed rebels fighting to overthrow the government.

In the capital, authorities reported that 14 civilians, mostly students, were killed and 86 injured when two  mortar shells struck an Islamic school in the Shaghour district in the Old City. The district is firmly under government control and is patrolled by pro-Assad militiamen. Tuesday's strike was among the deadliest mortar attacks reported in Damascus.

Rebels based in the capital's outskirts frequently fire mortar rounds into the city and government-controlled suburbs. Syrian authorities call the attacks indiscriminate. The mortar strikes have escalated in recent weeks as government forces have moved to oust rebels from outlying areas of the capital.

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James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver top Hero Complex Film Festival lineup

Revolutionary filmmaker James Cameron, groundbreaking actress Sigourney Weaver and venerable writer-director Joe Dante will be among the special guests at the fifth annual Hero Complex Film Festival, set to take place May 30-June 1 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood.

Festival programming also will include a special tribute to the recent TV series "Battlestar Galactica," with actors Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Jamie Bamber and creator Ronald D. Moore; a preview of the animated sequel "How to Train Your Dragon 2″; and a special "quote-along" Sunday matinee showing of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

Nicola Scott created the artwork for the 5th annual Hero Complex Film Festival poster. (Nicola Scott)

Celebrated Australian comics artist Nicola Scott ("Birds of Prey," "Secret Six"), who currently illustrates DC Comics' "Earth 2," created the out-of-this-world image for this year's festival poster, pictured at right.

The festival will open May 30 with a free screening of the 2003 "Battlestar Galactica" miniseries, which rebooted the late 1970s franchise and provided the foundation for the acclaimed 2004-2009 show that chronicled the efforts of a band of resourceful survivors to find a new home planet after a devastating attack by a race of beings called Cylons nearly eradicated humanity.

The miniseries will be shown in two segments; following the first segment, stars Olmos, McDonnell and Bamber will discuss their work with Moore. (Moore is currently readying a new series for Starz, "Outlander," based on Diana Gabaldon's beloved novels about a 20th century nurse who travels back in time to 18th century Scotland.)

On May 31, Cameron will appear in person between screenings of "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" to talk about his work on the sci-fi franchise and his remarkable career in fantastic cinema.

The Oscar-winning director now is, of course, preparing to add to his filmography with three sequels to his massive box-office blockbuster "Avatar." In an interview with Hero Complex, Cameron said that the sequels to his film about life on the alien moon of Pandora will introduce new environments, creatures and characters, and will build on the technology he and his crew developed for the first movie.

The May 31st programming will begin with a preview screening of the DreamWorks Animation sequel "How to Train Your Dragon 2," followed by a Q&A with actors Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera and director Dean DeBlois; Fox will release the film on June 13. Dante's "Gremlins" provides the afternoon's entertainment, with the filmmaker set to take the stage following the screening of the fan-favorite horror comedy on its 30th anniversary.

A special double-feature presentation of "Alien" and "Aliens" will close out the festival on June 1, with actress Sigourney Weaver set to appear on stage between the films to discuss her iconic role as Ellen Ripley.

"Everything began for me with Ripley," Weaver told Hero Complex in a 2010 interview. "When people talk about her, a lot of them say, 'It must be odd for you to have done so much work and have people always talk to you about Ripley.' But she made it possible for me to do all of these other genres and yet I always got to come home to her. So, no, I never get tired of her."

Prior to that, we'll begin the day on a more humorous note with "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," where attendees will be invited to quote their favorite lines from the 1975 comedy aloud during the screening. Shrubbery is welcome, though not required for admission.

Tickets for all of the screenings go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 30.

To purchase tickets or see more details about the programming lineup, visit www.herocomplexfilmfest.com.

– Gina McIntyre | @LATHeroComplex

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Cannes 2014: Sofia Coppola, Willem Dafoe among jury members

Youth-friendly, English-language directors and film personalities from Asia will anchor the main competition jury at the Cannes Film Festival when it gets underway next month.

Filmmakers Sofia Coppola, and Nicolas Winding Refn will serve on the jury, as will South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon, Iranian actress Leila Hatami and Chinese director Jia Zhangke when it convenes under its chief, the previously announced Jane Campion.

In keeping with recent tradition, there is also a French actor (Carole Bouquet) and an English-language one (Willem Dafoe) on the nine-member panel, with Mexican hyphenate Gael Garcia Bernal rounding out the jury. The Cannes Film Festival kicks off May 14 with the opening-night film "Grace of Monaco."

WATCH: Trailers for Cannes 2014 lineup

Besides acclaimed global directors who often have had past films at Cannes (Coppola, Refn and Jia all had films at the festival last year) the jury tends to be studded with boldfaced names; recent years saw Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Benicio Del Toro serve on the competition jury. This year's jury is notable because it contains an even number of female and male directors, with Campion and Coppola joining Jia and Refn (Bernal does some directing too but of course is primarily an actor).

The jury this year will judge the 20 or so films that compose the main competition, which includes Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher," Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner" and Tommy Lee Jones' "The Homesman." The top prize it will decide is the Palme d'Or, global cinema's most prestigious honor.

Last year's jury, presided over by Steven Spielberg, awarded the Palme to "Blue Is the Warmest Color," the French lesbian drama that went on to be a conversation piece and arthouse breakout this past awards season.

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Cannes 2014: When choosing films, festival follows its own formula

Cannes 2014: Jane Campion named president of jury

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

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Beyonce, Jay Z announce summer stadium tour

It's official: Beyoncé and Jay Z are hitting the road together this summer.

Mr. and Mrs. Carter have announced their first joint tour.

The On the Run tour, named after their Grammy-nominated collaboration on Jay Z's most recent album "Magna Carta Holy Grail," will take music's most famous couple to stadiums across North America this summer.

The 16-date trek starts June 25 in Miami and wraps Aug. 5 in San Francisco. The Carters will stop at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 2.

Page Six first broke the news of the couple's tour. A source close to the production who confirmed the tour to the Los Angeles Times said there are also tentative plans to take the show to Europe.

PHOTOS: Concerts by The L.A. Times

Despite a number of joint hits documenting their love over the last dozen or so years -- "Crazy in Love," "'03 Bonnie & Clyde" and "Drunk In Love," to name the biggest -- and countless performances together, the pair had yet to tour together.

It's already been a busy year for the Carters.

Jay's Magna Carter world tour ended in January after a stadium run with Justin Timberlake. The rap mogul also recently announced an L.A. edition of his Made in America Festival.

Beyoncé's extensive Mrs. Carter Show -- she dropped her top-secret surprise self-titled album toward the end of her U.S. run -- closed in March and was one of the top-grossing tours of all time.

Tickets go on sale to the public May 2 through Ticketmaster. Pre-sales begin Tuesday.

Full itinerary below.

On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z

June 25 – Miami – Sun Life Stadium
June 28 – Cincinnati – Great American Ballpark
July 1 – Foxborough, MA – Gillette Stadium
July 5 – Philadelphia – Citizen's Bank Park
July 7 – Baltimore – M & T Bank Stadium
July 9 – Toronto – Rogers Centre
July 11 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
July 15 – Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome
July 18 – Houston – Minute Maid Park
July 20 – New Orleans – Mercedes-Benz Superdome
July 22 – Dallas – AT&T Stadium
July 24 – Chicago – Soldier Field
July 27 – Winnipeg, Canada – Investor Group Field
July 30 – Seattle – Safeco Field
Aug. 2 – Pasadena – Rose Bowl
Aug. 5 – San Francisco – AT&T Park

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Paul Simon, Edie Brickell arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct

Paul Simon performing at a 2012 benefit in New York. Police in Connecticut say Simon and his wife, singer Edie Brickell, have been arrested on disorderly conduct charges. (Evan Agostini / AP / April 2, 2012)

April 28, 2014, 8:52 a.m.

Husband-wife singer-songwriters Paul Simon and Edie Brickell were arrested on Saturday at their home in Connecticut on disorderly conduct charges, according to police in New Canaan, Conn., who have scheduled a news conference Monday morning to discuss the incident.

Press reports say that Simon, 72, and Brickell, 48, who have been married since 1992, are due for arraignment this afternoon.

No other details were immediately available.

Simon has been on tour recently with Sting, and Brickell's latest project to surface was a collaboration with actor-musician Steve Martin, for which the pair won the American roots song Grammy Award for the title track from their 2013 album, "Love Has Come for You."

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Follow Randy Lewis on Twitter: @RandyLewis2 

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Actors' Gang takes Shakespeare to China

Adam Ferguson, center, Bob Turton, right, and Will Thomas McFadden in the Tim Robbins-directed "A Midsummer Night's Dream" from the Actors' Gang. (Dianna Olivia-Day)

By David Ng

April 28, 2014, 8:52 a.m.

Tim Robbins will take the Actors' Gang's production of " A Midsummer Night's Dream" to China, with performances in Beijing and Shanghai scheduled for June.

"Midsummer" is expected to run in Beijing at the National Center for the Performing Arts from June 10 to 15 and in Shanghai from June 19 to 21 at the Zendai Himalayas Art Center. Robbins will direct the stagings in China as he did in Culver City in 2013 at the Ivy Substation.

This production features minimal sets and special effects, relying instead on the ensemble cast's boisterous interpretation of Shakespeare's comedy.

The performances in Beijing will be part of a Shakespeare festival. The company will take the play to the Spoleto Festival in Italy later this year.

This won't be the first time that the Actors' Gang will present a play in China. The company took its production of "1984" to China as part of an international tour.

The Oscar-winning Robbins is the artistic director of the Actors' Gang and often directs productions there.

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Cannes 2014: Sofia Coppola, Willem Dafoe among jury members

Youth-friendly, English-language directors and film personalities from Asia will anchor the main competition jury at the Cannes Film Festival when it gets underway next month.

Filmmakers Sofia Coppola, and Nicolas Winding Refn will serve on the jury, as will South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon, Iranian actress Leila Hatami and Chinese director Jia Zhangke when it convenes under its chief, the previously announced Jane Campion.

In keeping with recent tradition, there is also a French actor (Carole Bouquet) and an English-language one (Willem Dafoe) on the nine-member panel, with Mexican hyphenate Gael Garcia Bernal rounding out the jury. The Cannes Film Festival kicks off May 14 with the opening-night film "Grace of Monaco."

WATCH: Trailers for Cannes 2014 lineup

Besides acclaimed global directors who often have had past films at Cannes (Coppola, Refn and Jia all had films at the festival last year) the jury tends to be studded with boldfaced names; recent years saw Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Benicio Del Toro serve on the competition jury. This year's jury is notable because it contains an even number of female and male directors, with Campion and Coppola joining Jia and Refn (Bernal does some directing too but of course is primarily an actor).

The jury this year will judge the 20 or so films that compose the main competition, which includes Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher," Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner" and Tommy Lee Jones' "The Homesman." The top prize it will decide is the Palme d'Or, global cinema's most prestigious honor.

Last year's jury, presided over by Steven Spielberg, awarded the Palme to "Blue Is the Warmest Color," the French lesbian drama that went on to be a conversation piece and arthouse breakout this past awards season.

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Cannes 2014: When choosing films, festival follows its own formula

Cannes 2014: Jane Campion named president of jury

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

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LACMA curators lobby for new pieces at Collectors Committee event

Nine o'clock on a Saturday morning might seem a tad early for an art opening, but this one, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is particularly spirited.

About 200 people -- trustees, patrons, museum curators and others, some of whom have flown in from Dallas and New York for the event -- stream into the lobby of LACMA's Resnick Pavilion, where a range of works have been staged across three galleries.

At one end, a dapper man in a plaid sports jacket inspects an 18^th century painting by Antonio de Torres, "Virgin of Guadalupe," with a magnifying glass (plucked from a bowl of them at the exhibit entrance). Nearby, a couple from London huddles over a 3,300-pound, lavender-hued chunk of cast glass by Roni Horn, its polished surface reflecting slivers of the passing crowd.

One nook features Feng Mengbo's wall-length interactive video game involving a Chinese soldier fighting off Russian tanks with explosive Coca-Cola cans. Museum director Michael Govan's 9-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, in a sundress and hot pink glasses, is planted in front of the immersive installation, gripping the game control, transfixed. "Nooo, you gotta be kidding me!" she yells, tufts of smoke and fire rising up around her. "What kinda game is this?!"

Yup, another Collectors Committee. "She comes every year," Govan says. "This year I told her there'd be a surprise. She loves that the art moves."

Saturday was the first full day of the museum's 29th annual Collectors Committee weekend, an event that LACMA calls "a celebration of art, food and wine" and that Govan once referred to as "the 'American Idol' of the museum world." It's one of the museum's biggest fundraisers, to which participants, or "committee members," pay $15,000 to $60,000 for a weekend of festivities and the opportunity to vote on which artworks -- from a short list developed by LACMA curators -- should become the next acquisitions for the permanent collection.

Christina Yu Yu, assistant curator of Chinese art, selected the Mengbo video game for Collectors Committee consideration. "It looks like just a fun game, but it has all these historical references to China in the 20^th century," she says.

The weekend kicked off Friday night with seven lavish dinners at private homes around the city, catered by celebrity chefs and prominent vintners such as Josiah Citrin of Mélisse, Nobu Matsuhisa and Gregorio Stephenson of Nobu Malibu, and Beth Novak Milliken of Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery. Judging from the recaps overhead in corners of the room Saturday morning, the night before got lively: Dinner at producer Steve Tisch's home evolved into a full-on disco party; musicians from the USC marching band showed up at the home of businesswoman Jamie McCourt.

Saturday morning, nine works on display at the Resnick are all on the ballot. The list includes the Pablo Picasso drawing "Bull and Picador," a Japanese "Pair of Guardian Lions" from the 9^th century, and Mitra Tabrizian's large-scale photograph "Tehran, 2006."

Voting took place Saturday evening at a black-tie gala at the museum. The exhibition was a chance for participants to ogle the works in person, confer with one another over the nearby buffet, and listen to a hard-sell presentation given by museum curators. Each curator has five minutes to convey his or her passion for the piece and persuade the room why one particular work should earn a vote over the others.

Funds come from the 87 couples who bought tickets to this year's Collectors Committee event, as well as from a live auction that takes place at the evening's gala. That's typically enough money to acquire about half of the works being presented, says the museum's deputy director for art administration and collections, Nancy Thomas. If the museum is lucky, as in years past, individuals might step forward during the gala and sweeten the pot by pledging additional funds or by offering to buy outright one of the works, as Tisch did in 2011 for Christian Marclay's "The Clock (2010)." Last year LACMA raised a record $3.2 million that went toward acquiring eight of nine proposed artworks.

"What I love about this event is everyone is so involved," says Ann Colgin, event chairwoman for the last six years. "A contemporary collector will suddenly get excited about something from the Japanese curator from the 9^th century. Also, since we've introduced the food and wine element about six years ago, we've been able to reach newer and younger [Collectors Committee participants]. We have 23 new members this year."

Despite the jovial atmosphere, however, Collectors Committee weekend is serious business for LACMA curators, Thomas says.

"It's the best opportunity throughout the year to acquire new works," she says, "and because the amount of money is finite, there is competition. They want their pieces to be recognized and acquired."

Jarrett Gregory, associate curator of contemporary art, put up the Horn glass work for consideration.

"When you know the artist, it especially feels like there's a lot at stake," Gregory said. "We have so many stupendous male artists ... but I was thinking about some of the important female artists I look up to."

Curator and Department Head of Japanese Art Robert T. Singer has an estimable track record at the event. This is his 25^th time pitching during a Collectors Committee weekend, and he's had works purchased 23 out of 24 times.

The secret to his success? "When I see the piece for the first time, they have to call CPR. Because my heart is beating that fast," he jokes. "Don't overthink it; it has to appeal to you, not the audience you'll be pitching to."

After all nine presentations are over, Govan makes an announcement of good news: Museum trustee Tisch, who is not in the room, has donated a third of the price tag on the Horn piece, which is $950,000.

What's more, Collector Committee members Jill and Dennis A. Roach have offered to buy the Tabrizian photograph outright, which is $40,800.

There's an uproarious round of applause in the room. The 29^th annual Collectors Committee games are clearly underway. Check back with Culture Monster for results from the acquisitions voting.

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Twitter: @debvankin

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Pope John Paul II set Vatican milestones on path to sainthood

Vatican City—

Everything about Pope John Paul II was larger than life: his constant globetrotting, his naming of 483 saints -- more than all his predecessors combined -- and his 27 years in office, making him one of the longest serving pontiffs.

The Polish pope even set records at his funeral in 2005, which was estimated to be the largest gathering of heads of state and government in history.

But Karol Wojtyla also won over Catholics with a distinctly self-effacing charm, famously asking the crowd on the night of his election in 1978 to correct him if he stumbled in his Italian.

Born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, Wojtyla was brought up by his father after his mother died when he was 8. Ordained a priest in 1946, he lived first-hand the struggles of the church against the Nazis, then the Communists, before he became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

Three years after his election, in 1981, he survived an assassination attempt when he was shot in St Peter's Square by Mehmet Ali Agca, a right-wing Turkish extremist he later visited in prison and forgave.

His backing for the Solidarity movement in his native Poland was credited with helping the overthrow of the communist regime there and even widely credited as contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989.

Speaking at John Paul II's beatification ceremony in 2011, his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, said he had "helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty."

Though he was held up alongside Ronald Reagan as a hero in the victory against the Soviet Union, the pope also was a fierce critic of excessive consumerism, ranking it alongside Marxism, setting the tone for later attacks on free market capitalism by Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.

Prone in private to a quick temper, John Paul II possessed a masterful charm in public, his speaking voice honed during a spell as an amateur actor in Poland. In 1984, he launched the successful World Youth Day event, which drew 7 million people in the Philippines in 1995.

In 2001, during a visit to Syria, John Paul II became the first pope to enter a mosque.

But even as he helped sow democracy in Eastern Europe, John Paul II centralized power within the church and would not tolerate dissent or disagreement over his tough doctrinal stances on issues such as abortion.

"Coming from Poland, where the church had been under siege from Nazism, then Communism, he felt the need for unity and one voice," said Father Thomas Reese, a commentator at the National Catholic Reporter. "As pope, loyalty became essential, and more important than pastoral skills and competence." 

John Paul was accused of ignoring growing reports, particularly from the United States, of priests sexually abusing minors, and he continued to back Father Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legion of Christ religious order, even as accusations emerged that Maciel had fathered offspring and abused children. 

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South Korean prime minister offers to resign over ferry sinking

Kington is a special correspondent.

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Philippines agrees to large-scale return of U.S. military forces

A banner and flags adorn a bridge in Manila as the Philippines prepare for a visit by President Obama. (Ritchie B. Tongo / European Pressphoto Agency / April 25, 2014)

Christi Parsons, David Cloud

April 27, 2014, 8:01 a.m.

The U.S. and Philippine governments have worked out a new defense cooperation agreement that opens the way for the first large-scale return of American military forces to the island nation since their eviction at the end of the Cold War, according to the White House.

A day before Obama is scheduled to arrive in Manila, advisors to the president said Sunday that the two sides had worked out a 10-year deal that will allow U.S. troops, warships and aircraft joint use of Philippine military and training bases on a rotational basis.

Officials say the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement can take effect without specific approval by the Philippine Senate, which in 1991 rejected an extension of the nations' longstanding base agreement and forced Washington to close Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base, two of the Pentagon's largest overseas facilities.

More than two decades after that ouster, the new agreement marks an improvement in U.S. relations with the former American colony, as well as recognition of the growing regional tensions with China over resource-rich islands and shoals in the South China Sea.

"It shows how far we've come in building out a very mature partnership based on mutual interests and mutual respect," said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security advisor to Obama.

The agreement will be Obama's most visible achievement from his visits to Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Over the past six days he has attended state dinners, visited cultural sites and held closed-door conversations with Asian leaders. But he will return to Washington on Tuesday without a clear breakthrough on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal that he had hoped to show for his week abroad.

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Maria Sharapova rallies to beat Ana Ivanovic at Porsche Grand Prix

Maria Sharapova won her third straight Porsche Grand Prix tennis title on Sunday in Stuttgart, Germany, by coming from behind to defeat Ana Ivanovic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Sharapova won her first tournament of the year and clinched the 30th title of her career. She is now undefeated in 13 consecutive matches on the indoor clay in Stuttgart.

Ivanovic wasted a 3-1 lead in the second set as Sharapova raised her game to stay in the high-quality match and finally prevail in a showdown between two former top-ranked players and French Open champions. Ivanovic was seeking her third title of the year.

"I just tried to hang in there," Sharapova said.

Ivanovic got off to a flying a start and won the first five games of the match before Sharapova started fighting back.

Ivanovic wasted a set point and could not serve out the set at love. She gifted Sharapova another game with a double-fault but finally pulled together to win the first set.

Sharapova had trouble reading Ivanovic's varied game and change of pace. But she held on as Ivanovic began to lose her focus.

Sharapova returned late last year after missing four months following shoulder surgery.

"It was a very tough year for me," she said. Stuttgart is the only tournament Sharapova has won three times.

::

Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Colombia's Santiago Giraldo, 6-2, 6-2, to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday for his first career title on clay.

It was the fourth-seeded Nishikori's fifth career title on all surfaces and his second of the year.

Giraldo started well with an early break in his favor but an argument with the chair regarding a line call seemed to rattle the unseeded player.

Giraldo then failed to reach Nishikori's drop shot before hitting a costly double fault to cede back his serve.

Nishikori went on to win eight straight games to claim the first set and take control of the match. This is the first time a non-Spaniard has won the tournament at the Real Club de Tenis since 1996.

::

Top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov defeated defending champion Lukas Rosol, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to win the Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania, for his third ATP title.

The 22-year-old Bulgarian needed 55 minutes to take the first set from Rosol, who broke Dimitrov's service in the third game.

Dimitrov got into his stride to take the second set in 25 minutes and finished the tournament without dropping a set. Ranked 16th, Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open where he lost to Rafael Nadal.

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'Captain America' jilted at box office for 'The Other Woman'

Moviegoers' fling with "Captain America" ended this weekend as "The Other Woman" knocked the superhero out of the top box office spot.

The romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and supermodel Kate Upton debuted with a healthy $24.7 million, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox. Meanwhile, after coming in at No. 1 for three consecutive weekends, the "Captain America" sequel had to settle for the runner-up position with $16 million in sales. Since opening earlier this month, the Marvel flick has already grossed more than $645 million worldwide -- about 65% of which was collected overseas.

Despite earning the worst reviews of any of the weekend's new offerings, "The Other Woman" still proved intriguing to a largely female audience. Those who saw the film -- 75% of whom were women -- assigned the picture an average grade of B+, according to market research firm CinemaScore. 

PHOTOS: 75 images from 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'

Fox financed the film for roughly $40 million, meaning it has a good shot of doing healthy business for the studio by the end of its run. The movie stars Mann as a guileless housewife who discovers her husband ("Game of Thrones" star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has been cheating on her with multiple women. She and some of his other conquests -- played by Diaz and Upton -- become unlikely friends and gang together to plot revenge on the scumbag.

As a leading lady, Diaz has proved to be a relatively reliable box office draw in recent years. While her ensemble projects, such as "The Counselor" and "What to Expect When You're Expecting," didn't make waves at the multiplex, her raunchy comedy "Bad Teacher" grossed over $200 million globally in 2011. The 41-year-old star may now be on pace for a big 2014: In July, she'll appear in the comedy "Sex Tape" with Jason Segel, followed by December's remake of "Annie," in which she'll play the iconic Miss Hannigan.

"I think the combination of the three leads was a big draw, but Cameron has a great track record with comedies," said Spencer Klein, the studio's senior vice president general sales manager. "Once again, you see the power of a female-driven comedy."

The two other new films that hit theaters this weekend -- Paul Walker's penultimate film "Brick Mansions" and the horror flick "The Quiet Ones" -- each failed to resonate with a broad audience. The dystopian action flick "Brick Mansions," a remake of the 2004 French film "Banlieue 13," opened with a soft $9.6 million. The film stars Walker as a cop tasked with taking down a crime lord (RZA) in a dangerous, sectioned-off part of Detroit.

Like "The Other Woman," reviewers weren't kind to "Brick Mansions," but filmgoers still gave the movie a B+ CinemaScore this weekend. The picture, which attracted a slightly older male crowd, was financed by filmmaker Luc Besson's production company EuropaCorp for $28 million. Distributor Relativity Media declined to discuss the film's performance, but in a prepared statement said it was "pleased" with the opening and "delivered Paul's fans the type of action movie that he loved and was known for around the world."

Walker was killed in a car crash at age 40 last November. At the time of his death, Relativity had yet to set a release date for the picture. In February, the studio decided to launch the film ahead of the crowded summer blockbuster period.

The actor's final film, the seventh entry in the "Fast and Furious" franchise, was initially set to hit theaters this summer, but has since been postponed until April 2015. The movie is still in production, with Walker's two brothers serving as stand-ins for their sibling to help complete his unfinished scenes.

As for "The Quiet Ones," the low-budget scary movie didn't make much noise at the box office this weekend. The Lionsgate release, a London-set tale about a professor experimenting on a girl who appears to have ties to the supernatural world, launched with a dismal $4 million. And with a C+ CinemaScore, it seems unlikely we'll be hearing much about the "The Quiet Ones" in the weeks to come.

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Paul Walker's brothers to help complete "Fast & Furious 7"

Paul Walker does off-the-wall action in "Brick Mansions" trailer

"Other Woman" to take down mighty "Captain America" at box office

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Palestinian leader says unified government will recognize Israel

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Seeking to calm critics of his reconciliation efforts with the militant Hamas group, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday the unity government he plans to head will renounce violence and recognize Israel.

Abbas, who rules in the West Bank, and Hamas, the fundamentalist Islamic movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip after ousting Abbas' forces in a brief armed battle in June 2007, reached an agreement on Thursday to reconcile their differences.

Israel strongly criticized the new pact and said it would not negotiate with a Palestinian government that included Hamas, which it and others consider a terrorist organization. The U.S. said it would talk with the new government only if it recognized Israel, renounced violence and accepted agreements reached with Israel.

Abbas criticized the Israeli position, saying that when there was a division between his backers and Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used to say that Abbas does not represent all Palestinians. And now that the West Bank and Gaza are about to reunite, Netanyahu says he will not negotiate with Abbas because he is working with Hamas.

Nevertheless, in a bid to assure Israeli and U.S. leaders, Abbas said at the opening session of a two-day meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Central Council here that even though the new unity government will have nothing to do with negotiations, it will follow his own political platform.

"I recognize Israel and it [the new government] will recognize Israel," he told the 120-strong Central Council, the PLO's second highest legislative body.

"I reject violence and terrorism and the government will also reject violence and terrorism, and I recognize international legality and international commitments and the government will be committed to what I am committed to," he said. "No one can claim that this will be a government of extremists."

International officials who met with Abbas in the last few days said he assured them of the same thing.

Robert Serry, special United Nations coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said in a statement after meeting Abbas on Thursday that he was assured that the agreement with Hamas would be implemented under the leadership of Abbas and the PLO.

"President Abbas emphasized that these commitments include recognition of Israel, nonviolence and adherence to previous agreements," said Serry, who added that the United Nations continues to support Palestinian unity "on this basis as the only way to reunite the West Bank and Gaza under one legitimate Palestinian Authority."

Abbas noted that the new government would be composed of "independent technocrats," meaning it would not include any person from Hamas or even his Fatah party, and that its mission would be to run the daily affairs of the Palestinian territories and prepare for the long overdue presidential and legislative elections.

He said current Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah had told Abbas that he would resign as soon as the unity government was formed.

Negotiations with Israel, said Abbas, "are the job of the PLO because it represents the Palestinian people everywhere and has the authority to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people."

In addition to being president of the Palestinian Authority and head of the Fatah movement, Abbas has also served as chairman of the PLO since the death of its former leader, Yasser Arafat, in 2004.

The agreement with Hamas, whose Central Council members have nevertheless boycotted the Ramallah meeting in spite of the reconciliation steps, along with the crisis in the negotiations with Israel are among the items the Palestinian body will discuss in its meeting.

Abbas said he was ready to extend negotiations with Israel, which officially end in three days, by three months if Israel would release the last group of long-detained Palestinian prisoners it had said it would set free when the talks started in July, freeze all settlement activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and present a map showing the borders of the Palestinian state.

He said that without the three things, there would be no more negotiations.

President Obama said on Friday that there would be "a pause" in the negotiations until the parties came up with alternatives to salvage them.

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Obama's foreign policy goals struggling on several fronts

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Abukhater is a special correspondent

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Egypt reports its first MERS case; virus kills 92 in Saudi Arabia

A woman wears a mask as she leaves a hospital Wednesday in the Red Sea coastal city of Jidda, Saudi Arabia. ( AFP/Getty Images / April 22, 2014)

By Laura King

April 26, 2014, 8:43 a.m.

CAIRO – Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has come to Egypt.

State television said Saturday that the country's first case had been discovered. It said the patient, who was hospitalized in Cairo, had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia, where the virus was first identified.

Saudi Arabia had announced hours earlier that the death toll in the kingdom had reached 92. In addition, an Indonesian man who had traveled to Saudi Arabia died Friday after returning home, and the virus has been found elsewhere in the Middle East, including Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

MERS is a coronavirus similar to that which causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, discovered in Asia more than a decade ago. But the new virus is deadlier than SARS, killing about one in three of those who fall ill. Its hallmarks are flu-like symptoms including fever and coughing. Sometimes it develops into pneumonia.

Even before Saturday's announcement, Egypt's health ministry had said it was probable that MERS had spread to Egypt, because it had been found in a small sampling of camels. The animals are thought to be a vector of the virus.

ALSO:

Obama's foreign policy goals struggling on several fronts

Drunk passenger aboard Virgin Australia flight causes hijack alert

Anarchy spreads in eastern Ukraine, team of European analysts detained

laura.king@latimes.com

@laurakingLAT

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Brazil targets sex tourism before the World Cup

Reporting from Natal, Brazil—

Between a cluster of bars in this small coastal town, middle-aged European men hover around dozens of fresh-faced Brazilian women in tight dresses.

Around the corner, two girls who look to be in their teens flag down cars, signaling their availability to potential clients.

Most such activity, however, seems confined to a small, seedy tourist strip, the last gasp of a bygone era.

Natal, long known as a hot spot for sex tourism, has seen fewer problems in the wake of a national economic boom and concerted government efforts to cut back on the Carnaval nation's carnal image.

But with the World Cup on its way and Natal set to host a match between the United States and Ghana on June 16, the issue of travelers coming to town to find cheap — and often underage — sexual partners is again the center of public attention.

"Just five, 10 years ago, Natal used to receive 30 chartered flights — full of men — every weekend," said City Council member Julia Arruda, who serves on a commission to combat the sexual exploitation of children. "Things are much better now. But people are still taking advantage of our mostly young, impoverished citizens, and we know that there have also been networks of child prostitution for tourists.... That's why there have been coordinated projects between the 12 World Cup host cities."

The government has closed down sex hotels and supported nongovernmental organizations that work with at-risk children, and it launched a national campaign during this year's Carnaval encouraging citizens to report cases of sexual or child abuse. It has also done battle with major brands over depictions of Brazil.

This year, sportswear company Adidas launched two World Cup-themed shirts with jokes implying that visitors would come to Brazil in search of erotic, as well as sport-related, entertainment. One featured a bikini-clad woman and a soccer ball. "Lookin' to score. Brazil," it read. The other included a heart in the form of an inverted female posterior.

The response from the government was swift. The Tourism Ministry said it "vehemently repudiated" products that link Brazil to sex, and Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's first female president, took to Twitter, declaring "Brazil is happy to receive the tourists that will arrive for the World Cup, but is also ready to combat sexual tourism."

Adidas quickly recalled the shirts, but the incident cast a renewed focus on long-standing stereotypes.

Brazilians complain that stereotypical images lead to prejudice and unwanted advances when they are traveling abroad.

"First, they say that I don't 'look Brazilian,' because I don't have big breasts or a big" rear end, says Alexa Santoro, a 23-year old student from Sao Paulo who is training to be a funeral makeup artist. "Then, the abuse starts. They think that I'll just jump into bed with them, since that's how they think things work in Brazil.... It can really make you feel bad."

Santoro says she was not encouraged by reports that prostitutes around the country were taking English lessons before the World Cup.

The image has contributed to the flow of sex tourists most, visible in beach cities like Natal and Fortaleza, in the poorer northeastern region of the country. At times, the trade has relied on local networks that trafficked in children, authorities say.

Along with countries such as Thailand, Brazil has historically had a problem with sex tourism, though the United Nations says that quantitative comparisons between countries are difficult. In Brazil, 18,000 calls were made to a government sexual exploitation hotline in 2012, says Angelica Goulart, national secretary for the promotion of the rights of children and adolescents.

"It's not that previous governments actually promoted that kind of behavior," she says, "but they weren't attentive enough to the way Brazil was being sold ... we're now investing a lot of time and effort into breaking that image."

Goulart says calls to the hotline have increased in recent years, indicating what she believes is less tolerance of abuse.

In Natal, the fight against sex tourism has involved getting hotels and travel agencies to sign codes of conduct, providing support for educational programs that work with at-risk youths and a crackdown in the tourist quarter.

Other spots known for prostitution have closed down, and the last visible bastions of sex tourism function as nothing more than "meeting points," where patrons talk and sometimes arrange to leave together, making legal action difficult.

Beyond the bars are the beaches and shopping malls, where potential clients and exploited girls — (and boys — can meet. Pimps who exploit the prostitutes are often not present in these places, making a crackdown on them more difficult.

"There is prostitution, and then there is exploitation," says Arruda, the City Council member. "The challenge is great, and the progress has been slower than we'd like, but we have to do everything we can to stamp out exploitation."

Bevins is a special correspondent.

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In landlocked Sun Valley, a small ship is taking shape

He grew up on the sea. So maybe it's only natural that Dillon Griffith still has some salt water in his blood.

Which would help explain why the 82-year-old retired heavy-duty mechanic has spent the last 37 years — miles from the ocean — meticulously assembling a 64-foot boat in the backyard of his Sun Valley home.

"The Mystic Rose" has slowly taken shape on quiet Arminta Street, a project so ambitious that it has passed through the generations with his children, in-laws, grandchildren and great-grandchildren lending a hand along the way.

When the boat is finally ready for its christening — by August or September, he hopes — it will take a 32-wheel trailer and a CHP escort just to get it to the water.

"People are already calling up to charter it," Griffith marveled.

Griffith plans to launch the boat in Oxnard after a boatyard puts a special coating of paint on its hull and reattaches the wheelhouse, which will have to be removed so the 40-ton boat can clear overhead wires and bridges as it rolls to the ocean.

Griffith was born on the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where the Caribbean and Atlantic meet. As a young man, he sailed a 75-foot island-hopping cargo schooner around the Caribbean before coming to the U.S. in 1967.

Once in America, Griffith purchased a 40-foot fishing charter boat that he kept at the 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro.

"I finally decided it was just too small," he said.

When Griffith set his sails on building a larger boat, he and his wife concluded that their home in Arleta didn't have a large enough yard to accommodate his king-size plans. They snapped up the Sun Valley property when they discovered its house was large enough to accommodate the pair's eight children and its half-acre lot was big enough for his dream boat.

Griffith hired Seattle shipbuilder Ed Monk & Son to draw up plans for his steel-hulled craft and built his own dry dock out of heavy-duty piping. He started building the boat in 1977, working from the keel up.

Early on, Griffith and his family traveled to Montreal to purchase a battered, rusty 1955 Dodge truck with a small crane attached to it to lift the hull's steel plates into place for welding. "It took 11 days to drive that truck back here," he said.

Later, when the twin 600-horsepower marine engines were hoisted into the rear of the vessel to power its two propellers, a larger crane had to be rented. Two generators have also been installed to provide electricity for lights, refrigeration and navigation equipment.

"I couldn't believe he could do it. Many times I thought he would just quit," said his wife, Christine. "But I told him there was no way he's going to drop this now, in the middle of the project."

There were setbacks along the way, of course. The U.S. Coast Guard visited the backyard on numerous occasions to inspect Griffith's work. Once, Coast Guard inspectors made him rip out the boat's internal walls so they could inspect his structural welding.

Over the decades, everyone in Griffith's growing family ended up lending a hand — new sons-in-law and many of his 54 grandchildren and great-grandchildren chipped in.

"Everybody in the family has been involved with this," said daughter Kim Griffith, 48.

Patricia Bezart, a 32-year-old granddaughter, said she's proud of the family's role. "How many people can say their grandfather built a boat in the backyard?" Bezart asked.

But even with the free labor, Griffith estimates he has spent $1 million of his own money on the boat.

"And I'm not done yet," he said, noting it will cost another $50,000 to truck the Mystic Rose to the sea.

The finished vessel will sleep 25 people on fishing excursions and will have a refrigerated hold large enough to handle 10 tons of fish. It will require a certified skipper to operate it.

"Police and firemen have come by to climb aboard and watch me work," Griffith said. "Everyone in the neighborhood has been watching the boat being built."

Next-door neighbor Carmen Iniguez said she hopes to travel to Ventura County for the launching, which will feature a Caribbean-style steel band.

"I've been watching Grandpa build this boat since 1983," she said, employing the affectionate nickname those in the neighborhood call Griffith.

"I'd like to be there when he finally puts it in the water."

bob.pool@latimes.com

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'Unedited! The LAPD Photo Archives': An inside look at the exhibition

The photographer's will is felt here more than in other images from the same scene, Julien Frydman said, with an eye trained "to create the structure of the image. It's a funny image: You can look at it upside down, you can look at it in reverse, and it still has same impact." (LAPD / Fototeka / Paris Photo Los / March 12, 2014)

By Craig Nakano

April 26, 2014, 9:00 a.m.

To Julien Frydman, a new exhibition of decades-old Los Angeles Police Department crime scene photos is not so much a collection of facts in black and white but rather one big ambiguous storm of gray, a trove of stories where truth isn't a neat circle but rather a shape-shifting cloud open to interpretation.

Co-curated by Frydman with Robin Blackman and Merrick Morton of L.A.-based fototeka, "Unedited! The LAPD Photo Archives" includes more than 80 forensic images taken from the 1920s to 1960s, culled from more than 1 million pictures archived at the City Records Center downtown. The exhibition is one of the draws at the Paris Photo fair, running April 25-27 in Hollywood.

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Frydman, also director of the fair, said his "Unedited" selections are not just simple illustrations of crime scenes but rather complex stories, in some cases images in which the police photographer is clearly working to go beyond mere documentation. "You don't know if it's real life or film still," Frydman said: "They have a strong narrative, beautiful aesthetic, multiple layers of perfection."

The photos also take on new meaning given the setting of Paris Photo — the Paramount Pictures studio lot, with more than 80 exhibitors, artist signings and conversations with curators taking place amid sound stages, fake streets and other forms of the unreal real, Frydman said. "You are in between fiction and reality, which has a lot of to do with photography."

More details of the event can be found at http://www.parisphoto.com/losangeles.

craig.nakano@latimes.com

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'Edge of Tomorrow': Emily Blunt talks Tom Cruise, brutal sci-fi battle

For the cast, crew and a platoon of weary extras shooting the 3-D sci-fi extravaganza "Edge of Tomorrow" at England's Leavesden Studios in late 2012, the beach set became synonymous with suffering.

Built to recall such World War II coastal conflicts as the Invasion of Normandy or the Battle of Dunkirk, the sandy set proved to be as loathsome as the brutal alien marauders known as "mimics" that star Tom Cruise battles while wearing an 85-pound metal exoskeleton in the film (which reportedly cost between $175 million and $200 million and is due in theaters June 6).

"That beach became known by everyone working as 'the Bitch,'" said "Edge of Tomorrow" costar Emily Blunt. "It was England. It was cold. The sand was so cumbersome. There were explosions. And everyone was running around in the metal suits. It became like this six-week mission to just get through the beach set."

"Edge of Tomorrow" is based on the Japanese young adult novella "All You Need Is Kill." Director Doug Liman grafts "Transformers"-like robot shoot-'em-up action onto a gritty wartime drama a la "Saving Private Ryan" with a strong narrative debt to 1993's time-warp comedy "Groundhog Day."

Cruise's character, Lt. Col. Bill Cage, finds himself stuck in a "time loop," thrown wholly unprepared into a brutal combat scenario in which he's killed repeatedly, only to find himself inexplicably resurrected anew after each death to fight the same beach-set battle again.

Blunt portrays a legendary Special Forces soldier who killed 1,000 mimics in a single shootout and now serves as mentor to Cruise's bewildered hero as the Doomsday Clock on Earth's invasion ticks toward zero.

"She had the same power that Tom's character now has," Blunt explained. "She really is the only person on the planet who understands what he's going through. She no longer has that power but sees he's the key to winning the war."

For her part, Blunt — known for portraying an evil fashionista in 2006's "The Devil Wears Prada" and starring in indie fare such as "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" — went on a three-month crash course in Krav Maga, track running and gymnastics to meet the physical challenges of acting and fighting in metal battle armor while strung up on aerial wires.

"I almost broke my nose in training," Blunt said, laughing at the memory. "I caught my sword on the wire. That was the only part where I was like, 'I won't be able to shoot tomorrow!'"

– Chris Lee | @LATHeroComplex

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Ansel Elgort sails into deep Waters with 'Fault in Our Stars'

Having already gone through the social media wringer when he was cast in the young-adult franchise "Divergent," Ansel Elgort thought he had a pretty good idea about how passionate and protective readers can be about their favorite books. Then he won the role of Augustus Waters, the love interest in the movie adaptation of John Green's bestselling romance "The Fault in Our Stars," and the 20-year-old actor realized he had crossed into an uncharted realm.

For the first few hours after the news broke last May, Elgort's Twitter following mushroomed, and many of the newcomers weren't shy about sharing their opinion about his casting.

"I was on my phone nonstop, refreshing Twitter and reading all these aggressive comments," Elgort remembers. "'Who the ... is this guy?' 'He's not Augustus Waters!' 'He's not what he looks like at all! His eyes aren't even blue!'"

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They are, in fact, hazel. And Elgort's hair is light brown, not dark, as described in the book. But judging from fans' enthusiastic reaction to an early screening of the movie (which arrives in theaters June 6), those surface distinctions will be quickly forgotten. As Green puts it: "Augustus was going to be the hardest character to cast. And I think once people see Ansel, they'll realize there are more important things than the color of his eyes."

At the beginning of "The Fault in Our Stars," Augustus meets Hazel Grace Lancaster, the story's 16-year-old narrator, at a cancer support group meeting. She doesn't want to be there but then notices this "lean and muscular" older boy with a crooked smile staring at her, making her "rather blushy." Afterward, she notices him looking at her again and asks him why.

"Because you're beautiful," he answers. "I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence."

That's when the swooning starts (with the tears soon to follow), as the melancholy and often funny "Fault" follows the evolving relationship between the cancer-stricken teens looking to love and live deeply and understand what it means to leave a mark on the world.

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The movie reunites the 6-foot-4 (and, yes, lean and muscular) Elgort with Shailene Woodley, who plays Hazel. The pair played siblings in "Divergent" this year, though both had read for "Fault" well before they were cast in that film. Woodley signed first. When she learned Elgort would be screen testing opposite her, she told him to read the book — or face her wrath.

"I was like, 'I gotta read this ... book,'" says Elgort, who, for all his artistic inclinations (he is a dancer and musician), isn't much of a reader. "And I read it like a mad man. And I cried a lot, and it really hit me hard."

It also gave him the ability to improvise when he read with Woodley, adding information from the book (Augustus likening Hazel to a young Natalie Portman) that threw Woodley off a bit.

"Supposedly she dominated the other guys in the audition, and I was the only guy able to dominate her a little bit," Elgort says. "And it was all because she made me read the book. And the main reason I read it is that I knew Shailene would ask me — in front of everyone — the second I walked in the room whether I read it. And there's no way I could lie to her face."

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That anecdote, with its mix of strength and vulnerability, captures as much as anything Elgort's appeal for the filmmakers. Director Josh Boone says Elgort possesses an almost "magical purity," while author Green puts it more plainly.

"A lot of guys that came in knew how to play cool Gus," Green says, "but very few of them knew how to be fragile while still being Augustus Waters."

Elgort admits now that he wasn't entirely sure that he could bring alive the character's more desperate moments, relating his initial frustration at being unable to summon up the fear and anger needed in a pivotal scene. But he succeeded, likening it to an out-of-body experience.

"It was three hours of my life just losing it," Elgort says, tearing up a bit at the memory. "I felt like a little baby again. I couldn't stop crying, even in between takes. And it was so rewarding. I wasn't sure it was going to happen and it just … happened. At that point, it wasn't acting any more. It was just real.

"Let me tell you," he adds, with that crooked smile, "I slept well that night."

glenn.whipp@latimes.com

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Weak earnings from Ford, others drag stocks lower

Stocks headed lower in Friday morning trading, dragged down by disappointing results out of retail giant Amazon and Ford. Escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine also weighed on investors' minds. 

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,863 as of 11:17 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 144 points, or 0.9 percent, to 16,357 and the Nasdaq composite fell 63 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,085. All three indexes are now down the week. Of the three, only the S&P 500 still has slight gain for the year to date, 0.8 percent. 

FORD STALLS: Ford fell 58 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $15.74 after the company reported earnings that fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Worldwide sales rose 6 percent in the first quarter, but the company reported a sales drop in North America that cut into the company's profit. General Motors fell 47 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $33.70. 

AMAZON PRICE CUT: Amazon, the world's largest online store, sank $33.24, or 10 percent, to $304.31. Amazon reported late Thursday an increase in first-quarter profit, but the company also said that spending on investments will likely lead to an operating loss in the second quarter. 

VOLATILITY: Investors have had little patience for companies missing their forecasts this quarter, said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. 

"The market is in a precarious position at the moment, and overacts to bad news far more than it did last year," he said, noting as an example the 10 percent drop in Amazon's stock price, even though the company did meet analysts' forecasts. "This volatility doesn't have to be the enemy, because it allows you to pick up companies on the cheap." 

RUSSIA: Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russia on Thursday of failing to live up to commitments it made to ease the crisis in Ukraine. In blunt language, Kerry said that unless Moscow takes immediate steps to de-escalate the situation, Washington will have no choice but to impose additional sanctions. 

OTHER MARKETS: Prices for U.S. government bonds rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down to 2.67 percent from 2.68 percent late Thursday. Yields fall when bond prices rise. The price of oil slipped $1.32, or 1.3 percent, to $100.65. 

 

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‘Edge of Tomorrow’: Emily Blunt talks Tom Cruise, brutal sci-fi battle

For the cast, crew and a platoon of weary extras shooting the 3-D sci-fi extravaganza "Edge of Tomorrow" at England's Leavesden Studios in late 2012, the beach set became synonymous with suffering.

Built to recall such World War II coastal conflicts as the Invasion of Normandy or the Battle of Dunkirk, the sandy set proved to be as loathsome as the brutal alien marauders known as "mimics" that star Tom Cruise battles while wearing an 85-pound metal exoskeleton in the film (which reportedly cost between $175 million and $200 million and is due in theaters June 6).

"That beach became known by everyone working as 'the Bitch,'" said "Edge of Tomorrow" costar Emily Blunt. "It was England. It was cold. The sand was so cumbersome. There were explosions. And everyone was running around in the metal suits. It became like this six-week mission to just get through the beach set."

"Edge of Tomorrow" is based on the Japanese young adult novella "All You Need Is Kill." Director Doug Liman grafts "Transformers"-like robot shoot-'em-up action onto a gritty wartime drama a la "Saving Private Ryan" with a strong narrative debt to 1993's time-warp comedy "Groundhog Day."

Cruise's character, Lt. Col. Bill Cage, finds himself stuck in a "time loop," thrown wholly unprepared into a brutal combat scenario in which he's killed repeatedly, only to find himself inexplicably resurrected anew after each death to fight the same beach-set battle again.

Blunt portrays a legendary Special Forces soldier who killed 1,000 mimics in a single shootout and now serves as mentor to Cruise's bewildered hero as the Doomsday Clock on Earth's invasion ticks toward zero.

"She had the same power that Tom's character now has," Blunt explained. "She really is the only person on the planet who understands what he's going through. She no longer has that power but sees he's the key to winning the war."

For her part, Blunt — known for portraying an evil fashionista in 2006's "The Devil Wears Prada" and starring in indie fare such as "The Adjustment Bureau" and "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" — went on a three-month crash course in Krav Maga, track running and gymnastics to meet the physical challenges of acting and fighting in metal battle armor while strung up on aerial wires.

"I almost broke my nose in training," Blunt said, laughing at the memory. "I caught my sword on the wire. That was the only part where I was like, 'I won't be able to shoot tomorrow!'"

– Chris Lee | @LATHeroComplex

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Andrew Garfield on Spidey sequel: ‘This is the Spider-Man I want to be’

Andrew Garfield, the star of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," took one glance around the Bel-Air eatery and made a quick assessment:

"Peter Parker wouldn't be allowed in here," the 30-year-old said with a nod.

It is nearly impossible to picture the brainy, blue-collar kid from Forest Hills, Queens, enjoying fine California cuisine on an upscale restaurant patio on an April afternoon, and even Garfield, the 30-year-old actor who has lived inside Peter Parker's skin for the last few years, seems a little too low-key and comfortably unkempt to belong to the class of diners soaking up the mild sunshine.

But Peter's outsider quality and the transformational aspect of his accidental encounter with a scientifically enhanced arachnid was one thing that so deeply appealed to Garfield long before he ever starred in a blockbuster or had even settled on an acting career. The self-described skinny kid in England who was bullied by his classmates found solace — and hope — in the webslinger.

"I needed a myth," Garfield said of his attraction to the crafty costumed hero created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko at Marvel Comics in 1962. "I needed a story to put myself into to understand where I was at, to remind me that it's OK to be imperfect…. You can be imperfect and still be a hero. That's incredibly empowering for young people."

In the new $200-million production — directed like its predecessor by Marc Webb — Garfield's wall-crawling hero is beset by numerous threats, chief among them Jamie Foxx's Electro, an incandescent blue bad guy who wields the ability to control the power grid.

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2″ star Andrew Garfield is photographed at the Hotel Bel-Air. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Yet even as he must try to contain the damage Electro inflicts across Manhattan, Peter Parker struggles to learn more about his own past, including his father's demise. He's also wrestling with his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), attempting to balance his feelings for her with his desire to keep her out of harm's way. Plus there's the matter of an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), whose reappearance spells trouble.

It's the kind of conflicted, complicated character that appeals to the actor.

"This is the Spider-Man movie that I want to make," said Garfield. "This is the Spider-Man that I want to portray, and this is the Spider-Man that I want to have the opportunity to be."

Born in Los Angeles but raised in London, Garfield attended the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and found work on stage before winning smaller turns on English TV (he even showed up on the cult series "Doctor Who"). He began to build a reputation as a serious, emerging talent with his performance as crime reporter Eddie Dunford in the "Red Riding" miniseries, a moody saga comprising three overlapping violent tales.

That success led to lauded roles in Mark Romanek's somber literary adaptation "Never Let Me Go" and David Fincher's Oscar-winning 2010 drama for Sony, "The Social Network," in which he played Eduardo Saverin, beleaguered friend to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg).

Soon after, he was approached with an opportunity to audition for the studio's Spider-Man reboot — a project that initially generated controversy following so closely after 2007′s "Spider-Man 3," the film that brought director Sam Raimi's earlier blockbuster trilogy about the character to a close. To book the audition, Garfield said he was required to sign a contract stating that he would accept the part if it were offered to him without first being allowed to read the script.

"I was like, 'This is ridiculous,'" he recalled. "I don't even know that I'm going to get on with the people. They were like, 'This is the way it is with these movies. The studio has the power. So either you sign up now or they don't audition you.' The 3-year-old inside me is going, 'You're hesitating?'"

The actor said he developed a rapport with Webb, who came to the movie as the director of the indie breakout "(500) Days of Summer," but the creative team struggled to bring something surprising to a retelling of Spider-Man's well-known origins, which were recounted once more in the script for the 2012 film credited to James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves.

"The fresh stuff in that film was invented on the day," Garfield said. "We were given a structure, but there had to be a lot of invention going on to give it life. I felt like there were lots of missed opportunities. It was heartbreaking in a lot of ways. I didn't sleep."

"The Amazing Spider-Man" turned out to be a blockbuster hit that took in upward of $262 million at the domestic box office and also earned critical praise, thanks in part to the winning chemistry between Garfield and Stone, who met and began dating during the production.
"Emma and Andrew, the spontaneity of their interaction is what I think everybody reacts to, and how connected they are," Webb said. "They're not just reading lines. You're watching people have fun, and that doesn't always happen. They have extraordinary chemistry."
Garfield described Stone in glowing terms, calling her "a perfect scene partner," someone who is "open and present and flowing like a body of water." But he was reluctant to share details about their off-screen lives.

"There is this assumption now that if you're an actor you're asking to be famous and you're asking to be a celebrity and to have your private life spread in whatever publication or online," Garfield said. "I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have to please people by talking about something that is no one else's business."

With the exception of the "Spider-Man" movies, Garfield seems to prefer projects that title toward the prestigious — he recently shot the indie drama "99 Homes" with award-winning filmmaker Ramin Bahrani, and he's poised to play a 17th century Jesuit priest for director Martin Scorsese in the film "Silence." On stage, he won acclaim (including a Tony Award nomination) for his Broadway run playing Biff Loman in "Death of a Salesman" opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman for director Mike Nichols in 2012.

His adventures in comic book cinema aside, it would be difficult to accuse Garfield of courting fame. In person, he's thoughtful and soft-spoken and refers often to "the energy" of a person or a place, displaying much of the low-decibel charm he brings to his scruffy, sarcastic Peter Parker. He makes his home in the same city as his screen alter ego too, where he said it's easier to avoid becoming caught up in Hollywood politics.

"New York City, you know that no one [cares] about who you are — that's healthy. Here, people really care," said Garfield, between bites of a lobster Cobb salad. "I do just want to create things and be an artist and explore and experiment and be free of fear of judgment. That's the big joke. The religion of celebrity and fame, the fanaticism of the star, it's not real in any way. It's all illusion.

"L.A.'s dangerous for actors. I think there's a collective unconscious thing happening where there's value placed on things that have no value, on what a film makes at the box office — that being a mark of success as opposed to the journey of creating the thing."

In the case of "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," that journey was far less fraught this time around. The film shot in New York for the first half of 2013, working from a script by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner that looked back to comics lore, including a famous Gerry Conway 1973 story line that involved the demise of a key character.

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Webb said he disliked the idea of the sequel being known as a darker film, and Garfield said he sought to bring a joyous spirit to even the most difficult scenes.

"I think me and Marc were both like, 'What is Spider-Man to us?'" Garfield said. "Spider-Man is the trickster, the neurotic, talk-too-much giddy teenage boy that's really a bent arrow, the rebel. I wanted somehow to try to have fun in every scene even if the situation was awful."

The approach seems to be paying off. Early reviews have been largely positive in the wake of the film's early international opening in mid-April — the Guardian's Xan Brooks described the film as "savvy, punchy and dashing," praising Garfield for his "whelpish and raw" take on Peter.

Industry tracking suggests that "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" could take in more than $100 million in its North American debut, which must come as good news to Sony given the studio's plans to expand the comic book franchise beyond just the future "Spider-Man" sequels set to open in 2016 and 2018. New movies about Spidey's nemesis Venom and the collective of villains known as the Sinister Six are also in the works.

Garfield said he's not entirely certain where he might want to take Peter Parker, but the boyish leading man isn't too worried about outgrowing the character, despite playing someone so many years his junior.

"I got a lot to figure out still," Garfield said. "It's never done."

– Gina McIntyre | @LATHeroComplex

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