Aaron Sorkin to write the life of Steve Jobs

Plus American Idol nears the final stretch, Madonna plans on keeping it cool, Julio Iglesias promises to come back and literary lion Carlos Fuentes dies

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 21: Comedian and TV Personality Ellen DeGeneres backstage at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards presented by Ketel One and Wells Fargo held at Westin Bonaventure Hotel on April 21, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Jason Merritt/Getty Images for GLAAD/AFP
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Aaron Sorkin to write Steve Jobs film

Aaron Sorkin will write a screenplay based on the life of Steve Jobs. The Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal announced Sorkin will make the film about the late Apple founder "everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining and polarising". Sorkin won an Oscar for the 2010 film The Social Network and created the TV series The West Wing. He will premiere his new show The Newsroom on June 24. - AP

Who's off to the American Idol finals?

Tonight's episode of American Idol, airing at 9pm on OSN, will see the three remaining contestants battle for a shot at next week's finals. There's 20-year-old Joshua Ledet, whose gospel and R&B techniques have brought the judges to their feet for a show record of 14 times; the 21-year-old bluesy rocker Phillip Phillips, a solid guitarist with a raspy voice who has earned comparisons to Dave Matthews; and the 16-year-old student Jessica Sanchez, the lone female singer remaining and the favourite to win it all. If she does emerge triumphant, the California native will be the first American Idol winner with Filipino and Mexican roots. The three will perform three songs: a judges' choice, a producer's choice and their own pick.

Madonna set list reportedly leaked

Ahead of Madonna's June 3 and 4 Abu Dhabi shows, organisers FLASH announced there will be a cooling dome within the du Arena's plaza area and misting machines running throughout the concerts, to help address June's warm weather. The stage, FLASH said, boasts a "size and scale never been seen in the UAE". Amid the hype, Madonnarama.com outlined the singer's supposed tour set list, purported to be leaked from her camp. The list contained 20 songs, nine of them from her latest album MDNA.

Julio Iglesias wants UAE show

Julio Iglesias looks forward to returning to the UAE by the end of the year. "I came to Dubai a few years ago and recently I had beautiful concerts in Bahrain," he said. "I should return to your country in November or December." Renowned for performing hits in different languages including German and Chinese, Iglesias said recording an Arabic album would be too difficult. "The only word I can probably sing is habibi," he laughed. Read our interview at https://www.thenationalnews.com/scene-heard. - Saeed Saeed

Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes dies

The Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, one of the Spanish-speaking world's best-known novelists, died on Tuesday. He was 83. Local media said he had passed away as a result of heart problems. In 1958, the then 30-year-old author achieved international renown with The Most Transparent Region, a portrayal of Mexico City experiencing explosive growth. He followed up with Good Consciences (1959), Aura (1962) and The Death of Artemio Cruz (1967), which won both critical and public acclaim and became his best known work. - AFP