www.ntnews.com.au Thursday, June 16, 2011. NT NEWS. 23

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NTNE-WS-DA-TE:16-JGE:23 CO-LO-R: C-M Y-K

CAUTION ACTION,

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ntnews.com.aul l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l ENTERTAINMENT

Patrick Page, right, Jennifer Damiano and Reeve Carney appear onstage at the curtain call for the opening night of Spider-Man

Spider-Man in rescueIt’s like a long five-

setter but they’re still

in it

NEW YORK: Bono, The Edgeand Julie Taymor hugged eachother and were all smiles asthey posed for photos on thered carpet before Spider-Man:Turn Off the Dark officiallyopened on Tuesday night, avery public reconciliation fromthe creators who fell out as theshow’s problems mounted.

‘‘We absolutely love Julieand always have. As artists,we’ve been very, very close.She poured her whole life intothis project,’’ Bono said outsidethe Foxwoods Theatre. ‘‘To-night she’s here to host it.’’

For her part, Taymor wasgracious, saying the $65.81million show was an attempt todo something different and dif-

ficult. ‘‘I’m delighted to be heretonight,’’ she said. I’m veryproud of it.’’

Taymor, the Tony Award-winning co-writer and direc-tor, was fired from Spider-Manafter delays, accidents, pooraudience reaction and moneywoes turned the musical into apunch line.

The show was reworkedfrom top to bottom and of-ficially opened after a record-setting preview period.

Among the celebrities onhand for opening night werePresident Bill Clinton anddaughter Chelsea, Matt Da-mon, Barbara Walters, SteveMartin, Liam Neeson, VanessaRedgrave, Spike Lee, AndrewLloyd Webber and John McEn-roe.

‘‘These guys have per-severed,’’ McEnroe said, beforeusing a tennis analogy.

‘‘It’s like a long five-setterbut they’re still in it.’’

The principal cast — ReeveCarney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Jennifer Damiano

as Mary Jane Watson, T.V.Carpio as a spider-woman na-med Arachne, and PatrickPage as the Green Goblin —have been with the productionsince the tortured beginning.

The show’s planned openingwas initially set for February18, 2010, but financial issuesforced producers to suspendwork with opening eventuallypushed back to this month.

Injuries to several cast mem-bers — including a 12-metrefall by a stunt actor playing theweb-slinger that left him with askull fracture and cracked ver-tebrae — marred the product-ion, as well as the defection oflead actress, AustralianNatalie Mendoza.

Arnie’s lover talksLONDON: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s former house-keeper has spoken out about having a child with theex-governor, saying her son Joseph only learnt abouta year ago who his father was.

Mildred Baena has kept a low profile since the rev-elations of her affair with the former California gov-ernor sparked a tabloid frenzy.

The scandal exploded into public view afterSchwarzenegger and wife Maria Shriver announcedin May that they were splitting up after 25 years ofmarriage. Then came an admission by the formertwo-term governor a week later that he fathered achild with a member of the household staff. Baenareportedly worked for the couple for 20 years.

In an interview published this week by Hello!magazine, Baena said that when her now 13-year-oldson, Joseph, learnt who his father was his responsewas simply: ‘‘Cool!’’

Hef fianceecalls it offCHICAGO: Playboymagazine founderHugh Hefner says hisfiancee has called offtheir wedding. The85-year-old said ina message on Chicago-based Playboy’s officialTwitter feed that24-year-old CrystalHarris had ‘‘had achange of heart’’.

Hefner announced inDecember that he andthe former Playmatewere engaged. Thewedding was scheduledfor this Saturday at thePlayboy Mansion inCalifornia. The mar-riage would have beenHefner’s third.

J-Lomay goNEW YORK: JenniferLopez, who signed aone-year deal to co-judge American Idol,says she’s ‘‘on thefence’’ about returningto TV’s top-rated show.‘‘I haven’t been forcedto make a decision, andI’m glad about that be-cause, honestly, I’m onthe fence about it,’’ shetold BBC Radio 1.