Oprah Winfrey last Friday scored the one and only interview with “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer ahead of this Friday’s film release of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

In the course of their  Oprah teased, “Coming up, will there be a fifth book in the Twilight saga? Stephenie answers that later.”

Only she didn’t answer it, because Winfrey didn’t ask.

Reps for the show said that sometimes Winfrey doesn’t get to every question on live television, but good on Oprah’s folks for following up with Meyer backstage after the show.

When pressed about the possibility of a fifth “Twilight” book, Meyer gave a lengthy, yet vague answer.

“I can’t answer it. The way I write, it’s what makes me happy. Like, I can’t write when people are looking over my shoulder,” Meyer said.

She also admitted to some vampire fatigue. “I am a little burned out on vampires right now,” she said. “I think I need a little break. I might go spend some time with my aliens. I might do something completely different. I’ve got to cleanse the palate. I may come back to it. I did envision it as a longer series. But I wrapped ‘Breaking Dawn’ in a way that I felt satisfied with, so if that moment didn’t come, I’d be OK.”

Saturday Night sad
Last weekend’s episode of “Saturday Night Live” had promise.

It came on the heels of the previous week’s show with Taylor Swift, who was among this 35th season’s few bright lights. Swift was remarkably poised and capable of delivering the writers’ pitch-perfect material, which allowed her and the show to shine.

This week, despite a timely host, “Mad Men” star January Jones, and crowd-pleasing musical guest Black Eyed Peas, the promise was an empty one.

Jones can be forgiven for some nervous stumbling in the cold open. But dolling her up as her movie lookalike Grace Kelly and then putting her in a fart sketch? Really?

Sure, last season’s Jon Hamm/John Ham sketch relied on a similar brand of potty humor, but it was somewhat clever. Even standbys, like Kristin Wiig’s spot-on Kathie Lee Gifford and the TODAY show fourth hour fell flat. The line between a stout ribbing and being a touch mean-spirited is easily crossed and interpreted differently by many. Personally, Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, if you’re reading: I know you’re good sports, but I’ve got your back on this one.

To be fair: There’s less fodder this year without a campaign trail to follow, and Seth Myers deserves credit for consistently delivering with Weekend Update. All I’m saying is this: When some of the best comedic minds in the business have to resort to fart jokes, it makes one wonder which sketches did not make it into the show.

Trying to figure out why the show is so unfunny this season is sort of like trying to parse exactly what is going on with the “Jay Leno Show” experiment: it seems so bad at times, you start to wonder if that’s part of the joke, too.

Weekend box office
This weekend, describing the box office as disastrous is actually a compliment.

The end-of-the-world romp “2012” made back its $200 million budget its first weekend in theaters, thanks to a domestic take of $65 million and another $160 million internationally.

“A Christmas Carol” hung tough at No. 2 — it made another $22.3 million.

The weekend wasn’t so kind to the only other new release, “Pirate Radio.” Its $2.8 million take was good enough only for No. 11.

Veteran actor Edward Woodward has died aged 79, his agent has confirmed.

The Croydon-born star had been suffering from various illnesses, including pneumonia, and died in hospital, said Janet Glass.

Woodward is most famous for his roles in the cult 1973 horror film The Wicker Man, alongside Sir Christopher Lee, and TV series The Equalizer and Callan.

Sir Christopher described Woodward as “a very good friend and a splendid actor”.

Ms Glass said he had been ill for several months and passed away surrounded by members of his family.

The actor, who lived in Hawker’s Cove near Padstow, died at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

“I knew him a very long time and he was a superb human being,” she said.

“That integrity shone through in the roles he played. I can’t ever remember, in all the productions he undertook, anyone having a bad word to say about him and he never had anything bad to say about anyone else either.”

Ms Glass added: “Universally loved and admired through his unforgettable roles in classic productions, he was equally fine and courageous in real life, never losing his brave spirit and wonderful humour throughout his illness.

“His passing will leave a huge gap in many lives,” she said.

Albert Square

He was last seen on screen in BBC One soap EastEnders as Tommy Clifford earlier this year.

Barbara Windsor said she was “deeply saddened” at the news.

“I have such fond memories of our time working together,” she added.

Diederick Santer, executive producer of EastEnders, said: “All of us at EastEnders are very sad to learn that Edward has passed away.

“We were thrilled when he joined us for a stint of six episodes earlier this year. He was a delight to work with, and delivered a characteristically touching and layered performance. Our thoughts are with his family.”

Woodward won a Golden Globe in 1987 for his role in The Equalizer

Robin Hardy, who directed The Wicker Man, said of Woodward: “He was one of the greatest actors of his generation, without any question, with a broad career on American television as well as British film.

“He was the absolute star of The Wicker Man. He was an extremely nice human being.”

Film critic Barry Norman described Woodward was a “very fine” actor.

“He made about three dozen movies but he was rarely given the chance to star in a movie, ” he told BBC News.

“The two films that do stand out are obviously The Wicker Man and Breaker Morant, about three British soldiers in the Boer War. In both he gave excellent performances.”

Actor Simon Pegg, who was a big fan of Woodward and cast him in his 2007 film Hot Fuzz, said on Twitter: “So sorry to hear we have lost the great Edward Woodward. Feel lucky to have worked with him.”

He later released a statement, saying that Hot Fuzz rehearsals “were often gleefully tossed aside just to hear him (Woodward) recount stories from his life and career.

“Edgar Wright and myself sought him out because we were fans of his work, by the time the cameras stopped rolling, we were devoted fans of the man. My love and sympathy goes out to Michelle and his family.”

Woodward is survived by his second wife, the actress Michele Dotrice, and four children, three of whom he had during his first marriage.

Governor doesn’t want expanded U.S. protection hurting oil development

	Polar bears are regulated by the federal government like whales and seals. Warming of Arctic waters has significantly diminished the sea ice polar bears live on. View related photos
Steven Amstrup / USGS via AP file

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell says he has the best interest of polar bears at heart, but he doesn’t intend to let the federal government’s expanded protection for bears get in the way of the state’s continued prosperity.

Like his predecessor, Sarah Palin, the governor is suing the federal government to overturn the listing of the iconic symbol of the Arctic as a threatened species, a move made last year that he believes could threaten Alaska’s lifeblood: petroleum development.

“Currently some are attempting to improperly use the Endangered Species Act to shut down resource development,” Parnell says. “I’m not going to let this happen on my watch.”

As Alaska North Slope wells dry up, the state is turning to potential offshore discoveries to refill the trans-Alaska pipeline and ensure the long-term prospects of a $26 billion proposed natural gas pipeline. Protections for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act could thwart that, Parnell says, adding that they are not needed.

“Alaskans have an excellent track record of both developing our natural resources and protecting our wildlife,” says Parnell, who replaced Palin when she resigned in late July.

That’s a position critics dispute after the 10.8-million-gallon (40.9-million-liter) Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, a 200,000-gallon (757,000-liter) North Slope pipeline spill in March 2006, and the state-funded killing of more than 1,000 wolves and hundreds of black bears since 2003 to increase moose and caribou populations.

Rapid ice melt threatens bears
Polar bears are regulated by the federal government like whales and seals. They spend most of their lives on frozen ocean water, where their main prey, ringed seals, give birth to pups in lairs. Warming of Arctic waters has significantly diminished the sea ice.

President George W. Bush’s Interior Secretary, Dirk Kempthorne, listed polar bears as threatened in May 2008, eight months after summer sea ice levels melted to their lowest recorded level ever: 1.65 million square miles (4.27 million square kilometers), or nearly 40 percent below average since satellite monitoring began in 1979.

Most climate modelers predict a continued downward spiral, possibly with an Arctic Ocean that is ice free during summer months by 2030 or sooner.

The federal agency over two years however compiled an administrative record consisting of more than 175,000 pages including nine peer-reviewed scientific U.S. Geological Survey reports.

The most sobering conclusion: Projected changes in future sea ice will result in the loss of two-thirds of the world’s current polar bear population by 2050, including all of America’s. Researchers included the caveat that their assessment may have been conservative because Arctic sea ice decline likely was underestimated by the models used.

‘A land use planning tool’
After the listing, Palin sued, saying the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available as the law requires.

A month after he announced his full support for outer continental shelf petroleum development, Parnell said in October that the Endangered Species Act was being used as a “land use planning tool” instead of a species protection vehicle and the state filed new briefs in the polar bear lawsuit.

Alaska’s lawyers will argue that the research was flawed, that federal officials looked too far into the future and that modeling is uncertain. Especially troublesome, Alaska Attorney General Dan Sullivan says, is that for the first time, the federal government listed a species with high population numbers — 20,000 to 25,000 worldwide, up from 8,000 to 10,000 in the 1960s.

Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall received an honorary Oscar at the weekend in front of stars including Jack Nicolson and Warren Beatty.

Bacall, 85, starred in more than 30 films but never won an Academy Award.

“I can’t believe it - a man at last,” Bacall joked as she received the lifetime achievement statuette.

Saturday’s event marked the first time the Academy has presented an award away from the main ceremony in February. It was not televised.

Bacall paid tribute to her husband and fellow actor Humphrey Bogart, who died in 1957.

“He gave me a life and he changed my life,” she said of the Hollywood legend.

‘Heart of gold’

Anjelica Huston presented the Oscar to Bacall - her director father John Huston worked with both Bacall and Bogart.

George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Kirk Douglas also took part in the ceremony.

Douglas said Bacall’s tough image belied her real nature.

“She’s a pussycat and she has a heart of gold,” he said.

The closest Bacall came to winning an Oscar was her nomination for The Mirror Has Two Faces in 1996.

Producer and director Roger Corman was also given an honorary Oscar.

Corman was behind low-budget B-movies such as The Cry Baby Killer, It Conquered the World, The Little Shop of Horrors and The Raven.

“He’s been a maverick for a lot longer than I have,” Quentin Tarantino told Reuters.

Cinematographer Gordon Willis - who worked on the Godfather trilogy, All The President’s Men and Woody Allen films including Manhattan and Annie Hall was the third honouree this year, presented to him by Jeff Bridges.

The Irving G. Thalberg Award, named after a pioneering 1920s and 1930s producer, went to John Calley - whose producer credits include The Remains of the Day, Postcards from the Edge, Closer, The Da Vinci Code and its sequel, Angels & Demons.

Blast badly damages police station, mosque and shop in country’s northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide bomber killed four people Monday near an air force base close to Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar and the Afghan border, a government official said.

The city has been targeted several times since the army began an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan last month and militants stepped up retaliatory attacks. Hundreds of people have been killed.

The attacker set off his bomb after being challenged at a checkpoint near a police station about 1 mile from the Badaber air base on the city’s outskirts. The blast badly damaged the police station, a mosque and a shop.

It was a suicide car-bomb attack. The mosque was worst damaged. The police station was also damaged,” city administrator Sahibzada Anis told Reuters.

24 wounded
Four people were killed and 24 wounded, said Abdul Hameed Afridi, administrator at the Peshawar’s main hospital.

The bomber was driving a small van of a type often used as a delivery vehicle and police opened fire on him when he refused to stop for a check, said Peshawar police chief Liaquat Ali Khan.

The van was coming from the direction of the Khyber ethic Pashtun tribal region where Taliban militants have been fighting security forces.

“We have beefed up checks at entry and exit points to and from the tribal areas and that’s why these blasts are taking place at our checkpoints and our men are laying down their lives,” Khan told Reuters.

The army went on the offensive in South Waziristan on the Afghan border on October 17, aiming to root out Pakistani Taliban militants who stepped up their war on security forces in 2007.

The militants have responded with intensified attacks in towns and cities across the country.

The United States, weighing options as it struggles to stabilize Afghanistan, says Pakistani action against militants in border enclaves is vital for its Afghan effort.

Anti-Taliban mayor attacked
Separately, more than a dozen militants opened fire on the house of an anti-Taliban mayor outside Peshawar, but security guards repelled the attack, killing three of the assailants, said police official Nabi Shah.

The militants who initiated the attack against Mayor Mohammad Fahim Khan’s house in Bazid Khel town, some 10 miles south of Peshawar, had disguised themselves by donning burqas, the all-encompassing garments traditionally worn by Muslim women, said Shah.

“Seeing three burqa-clad women early in the morning, Fahim Khan’s security guards challenged them, and the men threw away their disguise and opened fire,” Shah said. “But the guards were alert and they retaliated quickly.”