Quick Takes: Britain bans Chris Brown

R&B singer Chris Brown has postponed his tour to Britain after being denied a visa to enter the country in a decision linked to his sentence for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna 16 months ago.

The 21-year-old, whose hits include “Run It!” and “Kiss Kiss,” was sentenced in August 2009 to five years’ probation, ordered to perform 180 days of community service and attend domestic abuse counseling.

The tour was due to have started in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday, followed by gigs in Birmingham, Manchester and London.

Britain’s Home Office said, “We reserve the right to refuse entry to the U.K. to anyone guilty of a serious criminal offense.” Brown has the right to appeal.

—Reuters

Two Larsson stories found

Two early science fiction stories by the late crime novelist Stieg Larsson have been uncovered in Stockholm, the Swedish National Library said Tuesday.

The bestselling author sent the short stories to the Swedish science fiction magazine Jules Verne when he was 17, hoping to have them published, but the magazine rejected them.

The library received the stories, titled “The Crystal Balls” and “The Flies,” as part of a private donation of the magazine’s archives in 2007, library spokesman Hakan Farje said.

Larsson died in 2004 of a heart attack at age 50, a year before the first novel in his Millennium trilogy, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” was published in his native Sweden.

Farje said the author’s heirs should decide whether to publish the stories.

—Associated Press

‘Pillars’ subs for ‘Spartacus’

Premium cable channel Starz, looking to juice up a Friday-night action-drama schedule left bare by the departure of “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” will launch the star-packed miniseries “The Pillars of the Earth” on July 23.

Taking up residence in the former “Spartacus” time slot, now occupied by less-buzzworthy half-hours “Party Down” and “Gravity,” the $40-million miniseries will kick off with a two-hour premiere.

“Pillars,” starring Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Donald Sutherland and Alison Pill, is based on the bestselling novel by Ken Follett and produced by action-meisters Ridley and Tony Scott.

—T.L. Stanley

Sheen plea delay detailed

A disagreement over the terms of Charlie Sheen’s proposed work release is what held up a plea deal in the domestic dispute case, a lawyer involved in the negotiations said Tuesday.

Attorney Yale Galanter said Tuesday that the final paperwork submitted to a judge would have placed Sheen under stringent rules while out of jail working at a theater company, including not being able to smoke. Under the useful service program, he would have to follow jail rules while in town, such as eating only jail-provided meals, or face sanctions.

The jail also offers less strict work release arrangements, allowing people to report to their day jobs and essentially act as regular citizens during the day. However, Pitkin County sheriff’s spokeswoman Deputy Marie Munday said that’s intended for locals who need to keep their jobs while serving time. She said Sheen didn’t qualify because he’s not a resident with an existing job.

Galanter, who represents Sheen’s wife, said he didn’t learn that Sheen would be in the more strict program until just before Sheen’s court hearing Monday.

After some last-minute negotiations, prosecutors asked for more time to work out the details. The judge set a new hearing for July 12.

—Associated Press

Frazetta page sets record

Frank Frazetta’s original 1955 artwork for the cover of Weird Science-Fantasy No. 29 been sold in a private treaty sale for $380,000 — a price that is reportedly the largest paid for a single page of American comic-book artwork.

The piece was bought by Jim Halperin, a co-founder of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas.

According to Heritage, the previous record for a single piece of American comic-book art was the $200,000 paid for Wally Wood’s cover to Weird Science No. 16, another EC classic, which Heritage sold via private treaty in April 2008.

—Geoff Boucher