WOODY ALLEN SUES AMERICAN APPAREL

Woody Allen has asked a federal court to strip the clothing company American Apparel of at least $10 million for featuring him on billboards in Hollywood and New York. A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan yesterday says the actor and director does not endorse commercial products or services in the United States. The lawsuit says his noncommercial rule makes the May 2007 American Apparel billboards “especially egregious and damaging.”

Associated Press

PEN RALLIES BEHIND BRITISH AUTHOR

An advocacy group for writers appealed to Americans officials yesterday to review the exclusion of a British author whose most recent book chronicles his years of heavy drug use and frequent visits to prostitutes.

Sebastian Horsley was questioned for eight hours on March 18 by Customs and Border officials at Newark Liberty International Airport, who barred him from entering the country on grounds of “moral turpitude.”

In a letter to Secretary of State Rice and the Homeland Security chief, Michael Chertoff, PEN American Center asked for a review of the decision, saying it set a “dangerous precedent that could be extended to bar scores of literary figures from a number of countries.”

The organization, comprising some 3,300 professional writers, has invited Mr. Horsley to New York to participate in this year’s World Voices Festival of International Literature between April 30 and May 3.

Last week, Lucille Cirillo, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Mr. Horsley was traveling here under the visa waiver program, which entitles citizens of some countries to enter America for business or leisure without applying for a visa.

PEN American Center said Mr. Horsley was singled out for his appearance and detained while officials searched the Internet for information about him and his work.

Mr. Horsley achieved his greatest notoriety in 2000 when he had himself crucified in the Philippines as part of an art project.

Associated Press

VIENNA OPERA EXPLORES OWN HISTORY UNDER HITLER

At first glance, “Die Wiener Staatsoper und der ‘Anschluss’ 1938” looks like any other exhibition in the Vienna State Opera’s Gustav Mahler-Saal. Double-sided glass display cases are evenly spaced throughout the room, which serves as the opera house’s intermission promenade, separated by glass-topped tables containing the photos, program booklets, and letters that make up most of the exhibitions there. Then you notice the headings in bold type down the sides of each case: “Displaced,” “Persecuted,” “Murdered.”

The show directly addresses how 92 members of the company were dismissed from their positions after the Anschluss (annexation), which made Austria part of the Third Reich on March 13, 1938. From the beginning, Nazi policies affected changes in day-by- day operations. On March 17, Hermann Goering ordered Beethoven’s “Fidelio” to be given as the first performance under German rule.

The first display opens wounds not readily addressed by Austrians: charts showing that more than 99 percent of the population voted for the annexation. Photos show swastika banners adorning the opera house inside and out, and down Kaerntnerstrasse, Vienna’s main street.

Original documents widely believed to have been destroyed are on view, including obligatory forms pledging allegiance to Hitler and declaring the signatory as “pure Aryan.” A large book contains columns of names followed by a checklist to indicate “full Jew,” “half Jew,” or “quarter Jew.”

Bloomberg News

KATHIE LEE GIFFORD BACK ON TELEVISION

Kathie Lee Gifford will soon be back on TV’s early shift. The former co-star of the syndicated “Live” talk show will join NBC’s “Today” next Monday. She will be teamed with Hoda Kotb, a current anchor of the program’s seven-month-old fourth hour, which airs live at 10 a.m., EDT. The announcement was made during yesterday’s broadcast, with Ms. Gifford seated alongside the program’s established stars, including Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira.

Ann Curry will continue her role as news anchor of the 7 a.m.–9 a.m. hours of “Today,” as well as co-host, with Al Roker, of the 9 a.m. hour. Natalie Morales will join Ms. Curry and Mr. Roker as a third co-host at 9 a.m,, and will serve as the show’s national correspondent, the network said.

Associated Press