Talent winners to star in 3D film

Dance troupe Diversity, winners of TV's Britain's Got Talent, are to appear in a new British film to be shot in 3D.

Fellow competitors Flawless will also appear in the film, as will last year's winner George Sampson.

The film, Street Dance, follows a dance crew in training for the Street Dance Championships who are forced to work alongside ballet dancers.

Distributed by Vertigo Films, it has been described as "the first British movie to be shot in 3D".

Producer James Richardson signed both Diversity and Flawless to the film after seeing them perform last July at the UK Street Dance Championships.

Award-winning

"I immediately started talking to them about being in the film since I felt they represented the very best of British street dance," he said in a statement.

Casting is still in progress for the film, which will begin shooting in the UK in August under the direction of award-winning video makers Max and Darnia.

Diversity were the surprise victors of Saturday's Britain's Got Talent final, beating hotly-tipped singer Susan Boyle into second place.

The 11-strong Essex-based troupe includes three sets of brothers and has members aged from 13 to 25.

London-based Flawless also competed in Saturday's final but did not make it into the final three.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8079018.stm

Diversity 'didn't expect to win' BGT

More than 19 million people tuned in to watch Diversity win Britain's Got Talent, making it the most watched programme in five years.

Susan Boyle was the clear favourite ever since her first audition, which has become the fifth most watched video ever on YouTube. However, it wasn't to be.

The 48-year-old from West Lothian was gracious in defeat. She was clapping the dance act as they fell to the floor in disbelief at beating her.

At the press conference for the winners on Sunday morning, Diversity were still in shock.

Choreographer and leader of the gang, 20-year-old Ashley said: "I really didn't expect us to win at all, I thought there was no chance whatsoever. We were just going to do our best.

"So to come away as the winners, we still haven't got our heads around it."

'No sleep'

Thirteen-year-old Perri said: "Winning yesterday, I'm just speechless. I haven't really taken it in yet because I haven't had much sleep."

They were all clearly overwhelmed by the attention at the press conference.

Susan Boyle was taken to a London clinic after the final

There were reporters from all over the world, probably there in anticipation of Susan Boyle winning.

Ashley said Susan Boyle was lovely back stage: "Obviously you'd be a bit disappointed, you wouldn't be human if you weren't."

It was never going to matter whether Susan won or lost. The papers reckon she's set to make at least £7 million in her first year.

Susan had the likes of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher twittering about her. But on the night Demi was seemingly blown away by Diversity.

She twittered: "Diversity was amazing and so incredibly humble. I love that."

Child support

Twenty-five-year-old Ian McNaughton was stunned: "Did she say that? I'm lost for words. I don't know what to say. That's amazing, absolutely amazing."

The other big question mark from this year is whether children should be allowed to take part.

Simon Cowell gave Diversity 10 out of 10 for their performance

Hollie Steel cried when she forgot her words in the semi-final on Friday.

She was allowed to sing again and made it through to the final.

Would the same rules have applied if any of the adults forgot their words?

Back to the winners, and before Britain's Got Talent, Diversity's only other public performance was at a shopping centre in Essex.

It earned them just £150, about £10 each. On Saturday they banked £100,000.

Ian says they're not thinking about that just yet: "The money's better than a kick in the head but it's an extra for us and something we'll think about down the line."

The future

So what lies ahead? They have the Britain's Got Talent tour, which kicks off later this month, and of course the performance at the Royal Variety Show.

Ian's excited about that. "We're going to work on something, we want it to be amazing, it's a massive honour, so we're going to try and up it," he said.

If these boys get anywhere near the sort of attention George Sampson has been getting this past year, then they better be prepared for the girls, lots of them, screaming and camping outside their houses.

Ashley: "I'm used to the attention. Ha, ha. Just kidding. We'll take it in our stride."

As for the other contestants, they'll all go on the tour but there's already interest in many of them.

Piers Morgan admitted during the show that a lot of people had already contacted him about Stavros Flatley, including England cricketer Freddie Flintoff.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_8076000/8076907.stm

British Internet talent star Susan Boyle taken to clinic

British internet singing star Susan Boyle has been admitted to a private clinic after being beaten into second place in the final of the popular "Britain's Got Talent" television contest, British media reported.

Dowdy and unglamorous, Boyle seemed an unlikely star when she first appeared on the show in April, only to stun the judges and win popular acclaim with her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables."

Boyle, 48, had been heavily backed to beat nine other finalists on Saturday after clips of her earlier appearance were downloaded nearly 200 million times and she was hailed the world over as a superstar.

But according to the Sun newspaper, she suffered an "emotional breakdown" at her hotel in London on Sunday.

A police spokesman confirmed that officers had been called to a London hotel "to doctors attending a woman under the mental health act."

"She was taken voluntarily by ambulance to a clinic. At the request of doctors, police accompanied the ambulance," the spokesman added.

Despite expectations that Boyle would make a fortune from her talent and almost instant fame, there has been concern among show organizers about her ability to cope with pressure.

Boyle, who was starved of oxygen at birth leading to minor brain damage, has been pursued by the world's press since early April and, according to show judge Piers Morgan, broke down in tears repeatedly during the run-up to the final.

Nearly four million people phoned in to choose a winner, and street dance troupe Diversity won 24.9 percent of the vote ahead of Boyle's 20.2 percent.

Diversity won 100,000 pounds ($160,000) and will appear at the Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen.

Boyle's financial future had been seen as secure despite coming second, as Britain's Got Talent judge Simon Cowell and his Syco music label were widely expected to sign her up for an album. There has also been talk of a Hollywood movie about her story.

Media quoted the TV show's makers as saying Boyle was "exhausted and emotionally drained."

"She has been seen by her private GP, who supports her decision to take a few days out for rest and recovery," one newspaper quoted their statement as saying.

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE55017W20090601

Boyle Threatened To Bolt "BGT"

The pressure may be getting to sudden singing sensation Susan Boyle.

A British tabloid says she -- boiled over at the hotel where contestants stay from the show that made her famous, "Britain's Got Talent."

As CBS News correspondent Richard Roth put it, "Fame has a price," and Boyle is "learning that part of it's sometimes bad press."

Britain's best-selling Sun newspaper says Boyle lost her cool in an encounter in the hotel's lobby with a pair of strangers -- one that ended in a chat with police.

Details are thin, Roth says, except for the paper's claim that the encounter included Boyle swearing at the strangers.

But on The Early Show Thursday, one of Boyle's biggest backers, "BGT"Judge Piers Morgan, said he's "feeling more supportive" of Boyle "today than I was before, because I feel really sorry for Susan.

"From what I hear," he told co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez, "she's been in tears the last two days. She even threatened to leave the show yesterday at one stage, because of the sheer amount of pressure on her.

"And you have to remember with Susan, she's a 48-year-old lady from a tiny village in Scotland who has never been exposed to anything like this kind of attention. And I think she's really feeling the heat.

"The hotel she's in is crawling in tourists, crawling in the media. I think maybe she overreacted. I don't know what happened. She denies, apparently, some of the things that have been reported.

"But either way, I know she's feeling a lot of pressure, and I think that most people watching this show and hearing about this will feel natural sympathy toward her. And I just hope it all calms down for the final. Because, on Saturday, she sings for the competition" -- for all the marbles.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/28/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main5045334.shtml

Britain's Got Talent Semi-Finals

The semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent kicked off over the bank holiday weekend as the public decided which acts they wanted to see in the finale on Saturday.

It came as no surprise that Scottish favourite Susan Boyle sailed into the next round as she wowed the judges again with her rendition of the Andrew Llyod Webber hit Memory from musical Cats.

Almost 14 million people tuned in to watch the 46 year old church worker cruise into the finale along with the judges choice, Essex dance collective Diversity.

A modest Boyle, who is still odds on favourite to win the talent show said of her victory: “It was totally unexpected – but I’m feeling pretty good about the result…The audience reaction was stunning, I still cannot believe it.”

Boyle, nicknamed the ‘hairy angel’ by the tabloid press said of performing in the final: “I’m really looking forward to giving an improved act. I’m going to do the best I can.”

We cant wait to see what Su-Bo has in store...

Last night also saw dance troupe Flawless become the third act to make the final as the collective stayed true to their name delivering a perfect performance.

Public schoolboy come rugby player/singer Shaun Smith also made the cut as the judges chose him to join Susan Boyle, Flawless, and Diversity after his version of the U2 hit Without You blew the judges away.

Amanda Holden told the 17 year old: “You were absolutely brilliant. Susan Boyle has big competition…”

We guess we will just have to see as eight more acts battle it out tonight for a place in the converted final. Keep it MTV News for more Britain's Got Talent reports…

http://www.mtv.co.uk/events/britains-got-talent/news/121816-susan-boyle-britains-got-talent

Why can't America have 'Britain's Got Talent'?

Taking things from the Brits and making them our own has historically gone one of two ways: the Coupling way or the Office way. America's Got Talent has taken the middle path on this: It's a modest, inoffensive summer hit here for NBC, but has yet to take pop culture by storm the way its cousin American Idol clearly does. And now its progenitor, Britain's Got Talent, has suddenly become an online phenom -- last week it was Susan Boyle, this week it's little Shaheen Jafargholi, and it's only the first round of auditions -- which brings up a whole host of questions: Are Brits inherently more talented than Americans? (Freakishly good Britney Spears impersonations aside, of course.) Has this been going on the whole time across the pond and we just weren't paying attention? (Okay, we sorta paid attention that one time with that opera singer guy.) Is this just a lucky season for the show, whose ratings are up, and of course, online views have skyrocketed? Probably, but that just brings up the biggest question of all: How fast can BBC America get this season onto the air so we can see the Susan/Shaheen battle play out in all its glory, not confined to tiny YouTube clips?

What do you think, PopWatchers? Would you tune in to Britain's Got Talent on American airwaves?

http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/why-cant-americ.html