Rushdie defends Muslims' right to build NYC mosque

NEW YORK (AP) — "The Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie is not a great fan of organised worship but believes an Islamic centre and mosque should be permitted two blocks from ground zero.

Rushdie's satirical novel led in the 1980s to worldwide riots by Muslims and calls for his death. He says he understands the "sensitivities" of building the site close to where thousands were killed during on September 11, 2001.

But he says US constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion should be honoured. He adds that he is "not personally" a lover of mosques or any place of worship.

But he says that if people "want a mosque, it seems absolutely right they should have it."

Penelope Cruz is pregnant

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish agency that represents Penelope Cruz says the Oscar-winning Spanish actress is pregnant.

The Madrid-based agency Kuranda says in a statement that 36-year-old Cruz is four-and-a-half months pregnant.

Cruz has no children. She married Spanish actor Javier Bardem, 41, in a discreet wedding in the Bahamas in July.

They appeared together in the Woody Allen film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", for which Cruz won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2009.

In 2008 Bardem won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in "No Country for Old Men."

Kuranda gave no more details on Cruz, other than to say she is en route to London to complete filming of "Pirates of the Caribbean: on Stranger Tides."

John Mayer closes 3.7m-follower Twitter account

NEW YORK (AP) — John Mayer is losing friends — on the Internet at least.

A spokeswoman for the pop singer says he has discontinued his Twitter account with his Battle Studies Tour "now at a close and a return to the studio planned."

Mayer had more than 3.7 million followers on the social networking website. He used the account to invite University of South Carolina fans to see a free show in February before the start of the tour to promote his album "Battle Studies."

An e-mailed statement from Mayer says he continues to communicate with his fans via his blog as he always has.

Mayer's hits include "Your Body is a Wonderland" and "Waiting on the World to Change."

Tribute concert planned for Lennon's 70th birthday

NEW YORK (AP) — John Lennon would have turned 70 on October 9, but celebrations to honour him will go on after that.

An all-star benefit concert in honour of the former Beatle is scheduled in November with a lineup that includes Jackson Browne, Patti Smith and Cyndi Lauper.

The concert will be held at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on November 12. Proceeds will go to the Playing for Change Foundation, which promotes peace with music.

The concert will be presented by the group Theatre Within. Performers will also include Aimee Mann and Shelby Lynne, among others.

Lennon was killed 30 years ago, two months after celebrating his 40th birthday.

John Malkovich cast as Casanova in Austria

VIENNA (AP) — Actor John Malkovich will star as the 18th-century womaniser Casanova in a new Austrian theater production.

"The Giacomo Variations" is described as a mix between a play and an opera and will feature music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Malkovich will play an aged Casanova. His singing counterpart will be Austrian baritone Florian Boesch.

Austrian radio quoted Malkovich as saying at Monday's presentation of the project that "it's the closest I'll ever get to realising my boyhood dream of being in the Vienna Boys' Choir."

"The Giacomo Variations" is slated to premiere at Vienna's Ronacher Theatre on January 5.

The Hollywood Reporter going weekly in November

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Hollywood Reporter is going weekly.

E5 Global Media LLC, the company that bought the trade publication from The Nielsen Co. last December, confirmed the change will happen in early November.

The Hollywood Reporter has been struggling with falling circulation amid stiff competition from blogs that cover the entertainment industry.

The newsstand price of the glossy magazine will be $5.99, about double the $2.99 charged for the current issues, which come out five times per week.

Annual subscriptions will cost $249, down from about $300 now.

The switch was reported earlier in The New York Times.

The change is part of an overhaul under way since former US Weekly editor-in-chief Janice Min was hired as its editorial director in May.