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Ben Affleck will don Batman's cape and cowl. Warner Bros. announced Thursday that the 41-year-old actor-director will star as a new incarnation of the Dark Knight in a film bringing Batman and Superman together. The studio says Affleck will star opposite Henry Cavill, reprising his role as Superman from "Man of Steel." The movie will also reunite "Man of Steel" stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane. The big-screen DC superhero mash-up was originally announced at last month's Comic-Con International in San Diego by director Zack Snyder. Snyder said in a statement that Affleck will provide a counter-balance to Cavill's Superman. Production is expected to begin in 2014, and the as-yet-untitled film is set for release July 17, 2015.
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Tony Bennett plans to travel to the nation's capital to pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. as the March on Washington marks its 50th year. Bennett, who marched with the civil rights leader in Selma, Ala., in 1965, is scheduled to perform as part of today's festivities commemorating the historic march and King's "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. The entertainer said Thursday he wants to honor King's humanitarian message, but will also be in Washington as part of the Voices Against Violence campaign that is pushing for gun limits.
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Wentworth Miller is declining an invitation to be an honored guest at a film festival in Russia because he is gay. The 41-year-old actor said in a letter Wednesday to organizers of the St. Petersburg International Film Festival that he is "deeply troubled" by the attitudes toward and treatment of gay people by the Russian government, which passed a law in June against representations of "nontraditional sexual relations."
The star of TV’s “Prison Break” series says he’s declining the invitation because he’s gay and refuses to join a celebration in a country where he says gay people are “systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.” Miller is the latest celebrity to speak out against anti-gay legislation in Russia, which is hosting the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Associated Press
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Kenny Baker (R2-D2 in "Star Wars") is 79. Guitarist Mason Williams is 75. Singer Marshall Thompson of The Chi-Lites is 71. Keyboardist Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep) is 68. Actress Ann Archer is 66. Actor Joe Regalbuto ("Murphy Brown") is 64. Actor Steve Guttenberg is 55. Talk-show host Craig Kilborn is 51. Singer John Bush (Anthrax) is 50. Actress Marlee Matlin is 48. Newsman David Gregory ("Meet the Press") is 43. Country singer Kristyn Osborn of SheDaisy is 43. Actor-comedian Dave Chappelle is 40. Actor Carmine Giovinazzo ("CSI: New York") is 40. Actor Alex O'Loughlin ("Hawaii Five-0") is 37. Actor Chad Michael Murray ("One Tree Hill," "A Cinderella Story") is 32. Actor Rupert Grint is 25.
associated press
