Categories
Television

He never quite made his mark. Good luck moving forward, buddy!!

Saturday Night Live Casualty: Paul Brittain, aka “Sex” Ed Vincent, Exits

Saturday Night Live is down a cast member.

A show insider has confirmed that Paul Brittain has left SNL after a one-year stint as a featured player and will not be appearing on this weekend’s episode hosted by Channing Tatum.

Guess this means no more “Sex” Ed.

The 34-year-old funnyman joined the late-night comedy series for its 36th season back in September 2010, but was a relatively quiet presence, never moving up to the rank of regular performer.

Among Brittain’s most memorable characters were Croatian stand-up comic Goran “Funky Boy” Bogdan, Lord Wyndemere and “Sex” Ed Vincent, a sexpert who holds enthusiastic symposiums on the subject. He also did impressions of James Franco and Johnny Depp.

No reason was given for his departure, though Entertainment Weekly quotes a source close to the comic as saying Brittain “had the opportunity to pursue other projects, and he and the show parted ways amicably.”

A rep for the actor was unavailable for comment, and there was no official comment from NBC.

Brittain, the nephew of legendary comedian Bob Newhart, is far from the only performer to leave Saturday Night Live after such a brief tenure. Notable short-lived Not Ready for Primetime Players include Laurie Metcalf, Ben Stiller, Damon Wayans and Janeane Garafalo.

Categories
Awards

It will be good to have her back!!

After surgery, Adele to perform at the Grammys

NEW YORK (AP) — Adele is nominated for six Grammys, and she’ll be on deck to collect anything she wins: The 23-year-old singer is set to perform at the awards show.

Adele had surgery on her vocal cords last year, and the Grammys will be the first time she has performed live in five months, The Recording Academy announced Tuesday.

Her sophomore album, “21,” has sold more than 6 million copies in the U.S. It is nominated for album of the year and best pop vocal album. The CD has three singles that have hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart, including “Rolling in the Deep,” which is up for record and song of the year.

The Grammys will air live Feb. 12 on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Categories
Concerts

Got my tickets already!!!

Adams books big Cdn. tour

Bryan Adams has finally set his sights on a Canadian tour – and he has 20/20/20 vision.

The veteran pop-rocker and his band will play 20 shows in 20 cities from Newfoundland to British Columbia this spring and summer on his first national trek in over 20 years.

Adams’ three-stage tour kicks off April 11 in St. John’s and covers six cities in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. In May, he hits Ontario for seven shows, including a May 3 gig at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. In June, he wraps up with seven more shows in the West, ending with a June 22 concert in Winnipeg. See below for a full list of dates, cities and venues.

Tickets for the Quebec and Atlantic shows go on sale Saturday, Feb. 4 at Ticketmaster and livenation.com. Seats for all the other shows will be available Monday, Feb. 6. Most seats will cost between $20 and $95 before taxes and fees. Various pre-sale and VIP packages are also available.

The Ontario-born, Vancouver-raised singer-guitarist’s most recent studio album was 2008’s 11, which he followed up with a lengthy run of solo acoustic concerts. He is reportedly working on a new studio album due later this year.

Bryan Adams Canadian Tour:

April 11 | St. John’s | Mile One Centre
April 14 | Summerside | Credit Union Place
April 15 | Halifax | Metro Centre
April 17 | Montreal | Bell Centre
April 18 | Chicoutimi | Centre Georges Vezina
April 19 | Quebec City | Colisee Pepsi
May 2 | Kingston | K-Rock Centre
May 3 | Toronto | Air Canada Centre
May 4 | Ottawa | Scotiabank Place
May 5 | London | John Labatt Centre
May 7 | Sudbury | Sudbury Arena
May 8 | Sault Ste Marie | Essar Centre
May 9 | Thunder Bay | Fort William Gardens
June 15 | Victoria | Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre
June 16 | Vancouver | Rogers Arena
June 17 | Kamloops | Interior Savings Centre
June 19 | Edmonton | Rexall Place
June 20 | Calgary | Scotiabank Saddledome
June 21 | Regina | Brandt Centre
June 22 | Winnipeg | MTS Centre

Categories
Van Halen

Honestly, did anyone think that he would like it?!?

Hagar blasts new VH album

Rocker Sammy Hagar has blasted his former Van Halen bandmates’ comeback album, revealing it left him cold and unimpressed when he heard it.

The band’s former frontman was not asked to be part of the group’s 2012 plans and now he’s glad he missed out because he’s convinced the band’s February album will leave fans feeling cheated.

He tells Radio Metal, “What I’ve heard so far, I wasn’t impressed with at all, personally… I think they chose to take the easy route and take some of their old stuff and re-record it instead of writing new songs… I don’t think the fans are going to be happy with it.

“I couldn’t care less if it’s the biggest album of the year; that wouldn’t be important to me. What is important to me is that, as artists, why would you do that? They haven’t released an album since my last album in something like 1991 or 1992, and then they just go back. To me, it makes a strange statement, it kind of says, ‘We don’t have anything, we’re not a band anymore, we’re not creative.’

“To be honest with you, the last time I was around those guys was in 2004 on the reunion. It was a disaster, it was horrible… I don’t know what they’re thinking, to be honest with you.”

And Hagar believes the pressure to record finally got to his former bandmates: “I don’t think they had any choice. If they had had a choice they would’ve done all new stuff. From today. They would’ve written together like a band… I think there’s zero inspiration and zero creativity.”

Replacing Hagar and longtime Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony in the group is original singer David Lee Roth and Van Halen’s son Wolfgang.

Categories
Music

Bring It On!!!

Jack White to release solo album

The White Stripes frontman Jack White said on Monday that he will debut a solo album, “Blunderbuss,” on April 24, with entirely new songs written by him and embodying his own sense of self-expression.

“I’ve put off making records under my own name for a long time but these songs feel like they could only be presented under my name. These songs were written from scratch, had nothing to do with anyone or anything else but my own expression, my own colors on my own canvas,” White said in a statement on Monday.

Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, “Blunderbuss” is the first solo album from White, 36, who gained fame as lead singer, guitarist and pianist in the Grammy-winning two-piece band The White Stripes with his ex-wife Meg on drums. The band officially split in February 2011, after 14 years together.

The “Seven Nation Army” singer is also a member of rock bands The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.

Ahead of the release of “Blunderbuss” in April, fans can get a taste of the first single, “Love Interruption,” which will be available to listen to online and purchase from Monday.

Categories
Rumours

That could be fun!!

Mel B fuels Spice Girls reunion rumours

Melanie Brown appears to have confirmed plans for an upcoming Spice Girls reunion after letting the news slip during an Australian TV interview.

The pop group split in 2000, but reformed in 2007 for a worldwide tour and fans are speculating that they will be getting back together to perform at the Opening Ceremony of the upcoming London Olympics.

However, when Brown was questioned about the Olympics rumours during an appearance on Aussie TV show Sunrise, she appeared to suggest the band would in fact be singing at a gig to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in the summer.

She told the host, “Well, we do have the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee coming up. Did I really say that?”

The concert will take place at Buckingham Palace in London on June 4.

Categories
Monty Python

They are all still amazing!!!

Monty Python members reunite

Members of Monty Python’s Flying Circus are reuniting for another film.

The movie “Absolutely Anything” will be a science fiction farce that includes both live action and CGI.

Terry Jones told Variety that he would be directing the film, adding that while it is not a Monty Python film it will have the same sensibility.

John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin are also reported to be on board with the project.

They plan to begin filming in the U.K. in the spring.

The last time the surviving five members performed together was at the Aspen Comedy Festival in 1998.

Categories
Bruuuuuuuuce!!

Woo hoooooooooo!!!

Bruce Springsteen will still have sax, Nils Lofgren says

Don’t fret, saxophiles.

We don’t know who is going to play it, or how it’s going to be used. But when Bruce Springsteen hits the road this spring, there will still be saxophone in the E Street Band.

E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren confirmed this on Wayne Cabot’s WCBS radio show on Friday. Cabot asked Lofgren if the sax would be gone from the group for good.

“Of course not,” replied Lofgren.

“We all know there is no ‘Clarence 2,’,” Lofgren told Cabot. “He’s irreplaceable.”

But Springsteen will still find a way to incorporate saxophone into his shows.

“Ultimately that will be Bruce’s call,” said Lofgren, “and he’ll come up with something that’s right for himself and the band.”

How Springsteen will cope with the loss of Clemons has been one of the biggest question surrounding his upcoming tour, which comes to the Izod Center on April 3 and 4, Madison Square Garden on April 6 and 9, and the Prudential Center on May 2.

Springsteen raised some eyebrows among devoted fans when he announced the lineup of the latest version of the E Street Band. There was no saxophone player listed. Two adjunct members of the group were announced, too — neither of whom play saxophone. There was no sax solo on “We Take Care of Our Own,” the first single from the upcoming “Wrecking Ball.” How fans wondered, could the Boss perform many of his most famous songs without a sax sideman?

It is not unreasonable to think that Springsteen might try to tour sans sax. Long before his death, Clarence Clemons’ role in the E Street Band had been substantially reduced. Springsteen albums of recent vintage do not feature many sax solos or reed parts in general.

Possible theories floated by Boss-watchers: Miami Horns reed man Ed Manion, who has played with Springsteen many times, might step in, or a relative of Clarence Clemons could attempt to fill the shoes of the beloved sax player. Springsteen could also choose to add a horn section to his touring band.

The announced lineup of the E Street Band: Roy Bittan on piano and synthesizer, Nils Lofgren, Stevie Van Zandt and Patti Scialfa on guitar and backing vocals, Garry Tallent on bass, and Max Weinberg on drums. Violinist Soozie Tyrell and organist Charlie Giordano will play with the group, but aren’t listed as official members.

Categories
Awards

And the Oscar is next!!

Hazanavicius wins at Directors Guild for ‘Artist’

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Directors Guild of America Awards are the latest Hollywood film honors to go silent.

Hollywood’s top filmmakers group presented its feature-film honor Saturday to Michel Hazanavicius for his silent film “The Artist,” giving him the inside track for the best-director prize at the Academy Awards.

“I really love directors. I really have respect for directors. So this is really very moving and touching for me,” said Hazanavicius, whose black-and-white silent charmer has cleaned up at earlier Hollywood honors and could emerge as the best-picture favorite at the Feb. 26 Oscars.

The Directors Guild honors are one of the most-accurate forecasts for who might go on to take home an Oscar. Only six times in the 63-year history of the guild awards has the winner failed to win the Oscar for best director. And more often than not, whichever film earns the directing Oscar also wins best picture.

French filmmaker Hazanavicius, whose credits include the spy spoofs “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies” and “OSS 117: Lost in Rio,” had been a virtual unknown in Hollywood until “The Artist.” His throwback to early cinema centers on a silent-era star whose career crumbles when talking pictures take over in the late 1920s.

First-time nominee Hazanavicius won over a field of guild heavyweights that included past winners Martin Scorsese for “Hugo” and Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris.” Past nominees David Fincher for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and Alexander Payne for “The Descendants” also were in the running.

Accepting his nomination plaque earlier in the ceremony from his stars in “The Artist,” Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, Hazanavicius recalled his childhood education in great cinema, including Hollywood classics such as “Red River” and “Rio Bravo.”

Hazanavicius said he felt he was being welcomed by the Directors Guild for a language they had in common: cinema.

“Maybe you noticed, but I’m French. I have an accent. I have a name that is very difficult to pronounce,” Hazanavicius said. “I’m not American, and I’m not French, actually. I’m a filmmaker. … I feel like I’m being accepted by you not as Americans but as filmmakers.”

James Marsh won the film documentary prize for “Project Nim,” his chronicle of the triumphs and trials of a chimpanzee that was raised like a human child. It was the latest major Hollywood prize for Marsh, who earned the documentary Academy Award for 2008’s “Man on Wire.”

Scorsese went zero-for-two at the guild awards. He also had been nominated for the documentary award for “George Harrison: Living in the Material World.”

Robert B. Weide won the TV comedy directing award for an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” while Patty Jenkins earned the TV drama prize for the pilot of “The Killing.”

The award for TV movie or miniseries went to Jon Cassar for “The Kennedys.”

Other television winners were:

— Reality programming: Neil P. DeGroot, “The Biggest Loser.”
— Musical variety: Glenn Weiss, “The 65th Annual Tony Awards.”
— Daytime serials: William Ludel, “General Hospital.”
— Children’s programs: Amy Schatz, “A Child’s Garden of Poetry.”
— Commercials: Noam Murro.

At the start of the ceremony, Guild President Taylor Hackford led the crowd in a toast to one of his predecessors, Gil Cates, the veteran producer of the Oscar broadcast who died last year.

The Directors Guild awards were the first of two major Hollywood honors this weekend. The Screen Actors Guild hands out its prizes Sunday.

Categories
Movies

No movies for me this weekend, but I would go see THE ARTISTS again if I could!!

Neeson’s ‘The Grey’ tops box office with $20M

NEW YORK (AP) — Beware the Liam in Winter. Liam Neeson’s “The Grey” topped the weekend box office with $20 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, continuing the actor’s success as an action star in the winter months.

The Alaskan survivalist thriller opened above expectations with a performance on par with previous Neeson thrillers “Taken” and “Unknown.” Those films, both January-February releases, opened with $24.7 million and $21.9 million, respectively.

But the R-rated “The Grey,” which has received good reviews, drove home the strong appeal of Neeson, action star. It’s an unlikely turn for the 59-year-old Neeson, previously better known for his dramatic performances, like those in “Schindler’s List” and “Kinsey.”

“Liam is a true movie star, period,” said Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films. It’s the second release for the newly formed distributor, created by theater chains AMC and Regal.

“My guess is that Liam Neeson in action thrillers would work just about any time of year.”

January is often a dumping ground for less-stellar releases, a tradition held up by two badly reviewed new wide releases: “Man on a Ledge,” with Sam Worthington, and “One for the Money” with Katherine Heigl.

“One for the Money” fared better, earning $11.8 million, while “Man on a Ledge” opened with $8.3 million.

Those were reasonably solid returns, and, in an unusual twist, were both ultimately for Lions Gate Entertainment. Its film studio, Lionsgate, released the romantic comedy “One for the Money.” The action thriller “Man on a Ledge” was released by Summit Entertainment, which Lions Gate bought for $412.5 million earlier this month.

“One for the Money” was helped by a promotion with Groupon, the Internet discount site, with which Lionsgate previously partnered for “The Lincoln Lawyer.” David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said the large number of older, female subscribers of Groupon matched well with the audience of “One for the Money.”

Groupon email blasts, he said, had a significant promotional effect.

Last week’s box-office leader, “Underworld: Awakenings,” Sony’s Screen Gem’s latest installment in its vampire series, came in second with $12.5 million, bringing its cumulative total to $45.1 million.

The unexpectedly large haul for “The Grey,” strong holdovers (such as the George Lucas-produced World War II action film “Red Tails,” which earned $10.4 million in its second week) and the bump for Oscar contending films following Tuesday’s nominations added up to a good weekend for Hollywood. The box office was up about 15 percent on the corresponding weekend last year.

So far, every weekend this year has been an “up” weekend, after a somewhat dismal fourth quarter in 2011.

“‘Mission: Impossible,’ I think, really helped reinvigorate the marketplace, and that’s carried over into the first part of the year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. “That’s good news for Hollywood after the down-trending box office of 2011.”

Oscar favorites “The Descendants,” ”Hugo” and “The Artist” sought to capitalize on their recent Academy Awards nominations. Each expanded to more theaters and saw an uptick in business.

Fox Searchlight’s “The Descendants,” which is nominated for five Oscars including best picture, added 1,441 screens in its 11th week of release. It added $6.6 million and has now made $58.8 million, making it one of Fox Searchlight’s most successful releases.

Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution for Fox Searchlight, said the film’s nominations and its recent Golden Globes wins (for best drama and best actor, George Clooney) “played a big role” in its weekend box office.

Paramount’s “Hugo,” which led Oscar nominations with 11 including best picture, saw a 143 percent jump in business over its last weekend. In its tenth week of release, it earned $2.3 million, bringing its total to $58.7 million.

The Weinstein Co.’s “The Artist,” with 10 Oscar nominations including best picture, expanded a modest 235 screens to bring it to a total of 897 screens in its 10th week of release. It earned $3.3 million, with a total of $16.7 million.

The Weinstein Co. is being careful with the black-and-white, largely silent film. Thus far, it has appealed particularly to older audiences.

“It’s not the same type of picture as any other picture in the marketplace,” said Erik Loomis, head of distribution for the Weinstein Co. “Now that the nominations are out, we’re going to look to capitalize on it as best we can. … We’re being very, very meticulous with it. We’re not throwing it out there and grabbing every theater we can. At some point, we’ll open the floodgates on the movie, maybe closer to the awards.”

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “The Grey,” $20 million.
2. “Underworld: Awakening,” $12.5 million.
3. “One for the Money,” $11.8 million.
4. “Red Tails,” $10.4 million.
5. “Man on a Ledge,” $8.3 million.
6. “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” $7.1 million.
7. “The Descendants,” $6.6 million.
8. “Contraband,” $6.5 million.
9. “Beauty and the Beast,” $5.3 million.
10. “Haywire,” $4 million.