Month: January 2015

Categories
Concerts

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes please!!!

Flight of the Conchords Taking Flight Again? Late 2015 Tour in the Works

The fourth most popular folk duo from New Zealand are plotting their return to the U.S.

Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement says he and Bret McKenzie “are planning on touring later on in the year in the States. It isn’t very solid yet, but we’ve been talking about it.”

As in years past, Clement says the Conchords will play new material at the shows. “I really don’t like the studio part of music,” he says. “I more enjoy playing live and letting others take care of the recording.”

Clement is at Sundance for People, Places, Things, Jim Strouse’s engaging romantic comedy in which Clement plays a cartoonist and teacher struggling with heartbreak and being a consistent father for his 5-year-old twin daughters. With the exception of a 2013 tour, Flight of the Conchords has been on the back burner since the end of the second season of their HBO show in 2009.

Since then, Clement has been active voicing animated films and making his co-directing/film-writing debut with last year’s What We Do in the Shadows. His writing/directing partner on that film, Taika Watiti, is working with him on an idea for television that may include music. “I consider my career as a whole a collection of hobbies,” he says. “I don’t have a career, just all these hobbies going on.”

Like the Conchords’ TV show, People, Places, Things is set in New York, but that’s where the parallels end for Clement, whose character Will has an artistic sophistication and nurturing qualities.

“The Conchords’ Jemaine is very unaware of his feelings, and Will is keenly aware of his,” says Clement. “At first, Jim [Strouse] talked about me using an American accent, and we tried it out and eventually decided it wasn’t important. He wanted the character to be an outsider anyway, so the accent might help that. Then having not performed that much [on film], I had to think about, ‘How do I actually talk that’s different from Flight of the Conchords?’ Right before filming, I thought, ‘How do I actually do it?'”

Even composer Mark Orton, whose breezy score harkens back to simpler times, was keenly aware of not sounding Conchords-esque. “I wanted the music to sound like his character — a guy whose pants were too short,” Orton said in a separate conversation. “I had to make sure I wasn’t rewriting ‘Sugalumps.'”

Categories
Movies

So don’t write her “you googlely” just yet!!

Christine Taylor to reprise role in ‘Zoolander 2’

Zoolander 2 continues to be the sequel that’s sort of happening but maybe not happening but, yes, actually happening.

Actress Christine Taylor confirmed to EW that she’ll reprise her role as journalist Matilda Jeffries in the sequel to the hit 2001 film, which followed lunkhead supermodel Derek Zoolander (Taylor’s husband, Ben Stiller) and his accidental adventures into the seedy, corrupt underworld of male modelling.

“I can tell you that I’m involved, but that’s all I can say,” Taylor tells EW. “I can tell you it’s happening, but I can’t tell you where Matilda’s at and where their relationship is at. It’s all top secret!”

At the end of the original film, model-hating journalist Matilda settles down and starts a family with Derek; their baby, Derek Jr., already shows early signs of following in his ridiculously good-looking father’s career footsteps.

A sequel to Zoolander has long been in some form of development, with bits and pieces of rumors about casting and production swirling for years. As recently as November 2014, it appeared that the film was in fact moving forward, with Penelope Cruz signing on opposite Stiller (who will direct from a script by Justin Theroux). Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld’s Red Hour Films will once again produce. Will Ferrell and Owen Wilson have also been rumored to reprise their roles as the villainous designer Mugatu and Derek’s rival model Hansel, respectively.

In a 2011 interview with Empire, Stiller briefly discussed the plot: “It’s ten years later and most of it is set in Europe…their lives have changed and they’re not really relevant anymore. It’s a new world for them. Will Ferrell is written into the script and he’s expressed interest in doing it. I think Mugatu is an integral part of the Zoolander story, so yes, he features in a big way.” (Take that plot description with a grain of salt, though—a lot can happen to a film script in four years.)

Categories
People

May he rest in peace.

Television great Joe Franklin dead at 88

Ladies and gentlemen, New York TV great Joe Franklin has signed off.

Franklin, 88, who TV historians say was the first-ever talk show host, died Saturday night of natural causes, said Richie Ornstein, his producer and co-host.

Franklin took ill a few days ago and was treated briefly at Lenox Hill Hospital before he was discharged to a hospice, Ornstein said.

“I’ve been with Joe for 30 years. He is the real deal,” Ornstein said. “If he had to do it again, he wouldn’t change a beat.”

Franklin, born Joseph Fortgang in The Bronx, interviewed every musician from Al Jolson to Frank Sinatra to Weird Al Yankovic, and every comedian from Jack Benny to Billy Crystal.

He also interviewed plenty of artists, Broadway performers and movie stars.

Salvador Dali, Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin were all on his show. Woody Allen, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand appeared early in their careers. Bette Midler and Barry Manilow were Franklin’s in-house performers.

Ronald Reagan was on the show five times before he was president.

In all, Franklin claimed to have interviewed more than 300,000 guests.

“The Joe Franklin Show” was a late-night TV staple on WWOR/Channel 9, beloved by night owls for its quirky, New York-centric amalgam of random guests, most seated on a sofa to Franklin’s right.

“Monti Rock the Third is back in town, and we’ve got him,” Franklin said at the opening of a typical 1976 show immortalized on YouTube. Rock, a former hairdresser, was an early disco artist.

Then Franklin segued, somehow, to this:

“Let me ask [actor] Barney Martin: Were you ever a fan or see any movies by Lee J. Cobb?”

“I interviewed Lee J. Cobb once,” Franklin went on. “He never got over the fact they chose Frederick March to do the part [of Willy Loman] in the movie of ‘Death of a Salesman.’ ” Cobb had originated the role on the stage.

“I know,” said Martin, who went on to play Jerry Seinfeld’s father on “Seinfeld.”

Another show featured pro wrestling legend Captain Lou Albano with pianist Mark Birnbaum and an inventor named Jesse Colodner, who displayed a car fire extinguisher that included a knife that drivers or passengers could use to cut off their seat belts.

Franklin’s show first aired in 1950 on WJZ, the forerunner of WABC/Channel 7. In 1962, the show moved to WOR-TV, the forerunner of WWOR.

“The Joe Franklin Show” aired on WWOR until 1993, when Franklin quit to begin a second career as a restaurateur and pursue some other ideas for TV shows.

He promised his restaurant would include “Eddie Cantor hamburgers” and “Al Jolson matzoh balls” — perhaps made like the Streits matzoh balls he promoted on live ads on his show.

Franklin was still interviewing celebrities for Bloomberg Radio earlier this month. He also wrote 26 books.

Funeral arrangements were pending, Ornstein said.

Categories
Music

Remember her? :D

Shania Twain to Release New Live Album, ‘Shania: Still the One Live From Vegas’

Shania Twain will release a new live album this year, capitalizing on her Las Vegas residency for a live set called Shania: Still the One Live From Vegas that will include a deluxe edition 18-track CD and DVD.

The album will be out March 3 and will also include special limited edition bundles with a 11-inch by 17-inch commemorative poster with the fan’s name printed on it and as a t-shirt. Check out the track list below.

Twain held a residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for two years that ended in December.

“This show has been a labor of love for over three years,” Twain said in a press release. “It has meant so much to me and was such a privilege to live out my visions on that stage, and it is so exciting to now get to share the whole experience with the fans all over the world!”

Shania: Still the One Live From Las Vegas Track List:

CD
1. “I”m Gonna Getcha Good!” / “You Win My Love”
2. “Don”t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)”
3. “Up!”
4. “I Ain”t No Quitter”
5. “No One Needs to Know”
6. “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”
7. “Any Man of Mine”
8. “That Don”t Impress Me Much”
9. “Honey, I”m Home”
10. “(If You”re Not in It For Love) I”m Outta Here”
11. “Come on Over” (Acoustic)
12. “Love Gets Me Every Time” (Acoustic)
13. “Rock This Country!” (Acoustic)
14. “Today Is Your Day” (Acoustic)
15. “You”re Still the One”
16. “From This Moment On”
17. “Red Storm”
18. “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”

DVD
1. Opening
2. “I”m Gonna Getcha Good!”
3. “You Win My Love”
4. “Don”t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)”
5. “Up!”
6. “Good, Bad and Sexy” (Interlude)
7. “I Ain”t No Quitter”
8. “No One Needs to Know”
9. “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”
10. “Any Man of Mine”
11. “Shania Style” (Interlude)
12. “That Don”t Impress Me Much”
13. “Honey, I”m Home”
14. “(If You”re Not in It For Love) I”m Outta Here”
15. “Carrie Anne”
16. “Come on Over”
17. “Love Gets Me Every Time”
18. “Rock This Country!”
19. “Today Is Your Day”
20. “Black Horse, White Horse” (Interlude)
21. “You”re Still the One”
22. “From This Moment On”
23. “Red Storm” (Interlude)
24. “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!”
25. “Rock This Country!” (Live From Calgary) — Credits

Categories
Movies

I have so many films to watch, but didn’t get to see any Last week…maybe this week!!

Box office report: ‘American Sniper’ wins again

Last weekend, American Sniper stunned—and broke all kinds of January records—by bringing in $107.2 million. And its successful run continued this weekend: The Clint Eastwood-directed war movie earned $64.4 million (a mere 28 percent drop) and beat out the weekend’s three wide releases to stay at the top of the box office.

Sniper got tons of coverage in the press this past week thanks to its astounding opening weekend, something that surely drove viewers to theaters to see what the fuss is all about. That buzz combined with the film’s six Oscar nominations—announced the day before its Jan. 16 wide release—ensured a strong second weekend.

American Sniper‘s box office success is a telling example of how any press is good press: The film has been surrounded by a fair amount of controversy related to its political stance, and on a less serious note, was the subject of quite a bit of mockery after viewers pointed out a scene involving a fake baby that soon went viral. These factors didn’t seem to affect much in terms of ticket sales though, and if anything, they helped out the movie by increasing awareness of it.

Not everyone went to see American Sniper though. Newcomer The Boy Next Door, a thriller starring Jennifer Lopez, took the number two spot with $15 million, nearly quadrupling its reported $4 million production budget. That’s a big upgrade from Lopez’s most recent film before this, Parker. The $35 million thriller opened this same weekend two years ago with a weak $7 million.

Paddington once again proved to be a solid family-friendly choice for those who couldn’t—or didn’t want to—watch a thriller. The critically liked film (it currently has a 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) ended up in the number three spot with $12.4 million, beating out fellow family-friendly film Strange Magic, which opened wide this weekend with a comparatively weak $5.5 million. Paddington will likely continue to be the more successful PG-rated option thanks to positive word-of-mouth and the not-so-positive word-of-mouth surrounding Strange Magic, an animated film that currently has an 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Wedding Ringer and Taken 3—films in their second and third weeks, respectively–rounded out the top five, showing that just because a movie’s new doesn’t mean it’s going to make bank. Mortdecai, starring Johnny Depp, opened this weekend and just made it into the top 10 with $4.1 million, enough to put it in the number nine spot ahead of Into the Woods.

1. American Sniper — $64.4 million
2. The Boy Next Door – $15 million
3. Paddington – $12.4 million
4. The Wedding Ringer – $11.6 million
5. Taken 3 – $7.6 million

Outside the top five, Cake—the film that got Jennifer Aniston a recent Golden Globe nod—opened in 482 locations with $1 million. The new thriller Black Sea, starring Jude Law made $35,000 in five theaters while Song One, a drama starring Anne Hathaway, opened in 27 locations with $23,800.

Categories
Letterman

Dave is amazing!!

David Letterman to drop by ‘Late Late Show’ hosted by Regis Philbin

David Letterman is playing interviewee for a change. The long-time host of The Late Show will appear as a guest during Regis Philbin’s two-night stint leading The Late Late Show.

Philbin takes over beginning Monday. As for his guests: Martin Short, Susan Sarandon, Alan Alda, and Tony Danza are scheduled to drop by on Monday, Jan. 26, with Letterman, Martha Stewart, and Tracy Wolfson on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Philbin takes his post during a transitional period for the show. Craig Ferguson left his role as host in December. There’ll be no permanent host until James Corden takes over on March 23.

With his tenure at The Late Show coming to an end on May 20, this might just be one of many more guest appearances from Letterman.

Categories
Concerts

I hope to see them at least twice, maybe as many as five times!!! Woooooooooo!!!

Rush Announces North American ‘R40 Live’ Tour Dates

Celebrating 40 years, RUSH and Live Nation confirmed that the “R40 Live” tour will visit 34 cities throughout North America this summer beginning May 8 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and finishing August 1 in Los Angeles, California. These not-to-be-missed concerts will highlight four decades of the band’s music.

Tickets for the “R40 Live” tour will go on sale starting January 30 in select markets at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com.

After 40 years together and 20 gold and platinum studio albums, RUSH is ready to celebrate with the most loyal fans in the world by embarking on their 21st tour, one which will most likely be their last major tour of this magnitude. Celebrate four decades of music with three incredible musicians — all in one night.

The dates are as follows:

May 08 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
May 10 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
May 12 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
May 14 – St. Louis, MO – Scottrade Center
May 16 – Austin, TX – 360 Ampitheater
May 18 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
May 20 – Houston, TX – The Toyota Center
May 22 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
May 24 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
May 26 – Atlanta, GA – Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre
May 28 – Greensboro, NC – The Greensboro Coliseum
May 30 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Jun. 08 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena
Jun. 10 – Buffalo, NY – First Niagara Center
Jun. 12 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Jun. 14 – Detroit, MI – Palace Of Auburn Hills
Jun. 17 – Toronto, Ontario, CAN – Air Canada Centre
Jun. 19 – Toronto, Ontario, CAN – Air Canada Centre
Jun. 21 – Montreal, Quebec, CAN – Bell Centre
Jun. 23 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Jun. 25 – Philadelphia, PA – The Wells Fargo Center
Jun. 27 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
Jun. 29 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Jul. 09 – Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
Jul. 11 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
Jul. 13 – Salt Lake City, UT – Maverik Center
Jul. 15 – Calgary, Alberta, CAN – Scotiabank Saddledome
Jul. 17 – Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN – Rogers Arena
Jul. 19 – Seattle, WA – Key Arena
Jul. 21 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
Jul. 23 – San Jose, CA – Sap Center At San Jose
Jul. 25 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Jul. 27 – Phoenix, AZ – Us Airways Center
Jul. 30 – Irvine Meadows, CA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Aug. 01 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum

Over the course of their amazing career, RUSH has lived a lifetime together, providing an influential soundtrack to many of their fans’ lives. Some have been with them since the start, while others have discovered them along the way and delved into their incredible body of work. To quote Dave Grohl from their momentous induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, “RUSH built their following the right way. No hype, no bullshit, they did it from the ground up. Their legacy is incredible and their influence undeniable.”

RUSH’s vast catalogue includes such classics as 1974’s self-titled debut, 1976’s “2112”, 1981’s “Moving Pictures”, 1996’s “Test For Echo”, and 2002’s “Vapor Trails”. RUSH released their 20th studio album, “Clockwork Angels”, in 2012 via Anthem/Roadrunner. The critically acclaimed collection marked their first studio recording since 2007’s “Snakes & Arrows”, and debuted at #1 in Canada and #2 on The Billboard 200, matching the highest chart debut of the band’s career. Known for their energetic live shows, the most recent RUSH release was the “R40” collector’s box set including live footage spanning all four decades of the trio’s career, including over two hours of unreleased material and a rare performance of the seven-part version of “2112” packaged in an impressive 52-page hardcover book.

Their longevity has served a pop culture renaissance, with the band’s rare television appearance — their first in over 30 years — on Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report”, tributes on “South Park” and a memorable cameo in the film “I Love You, Man”. A live review from their most recent “Clockwork Angels” tour boasted “the power-trio interplay could put guys half their age in the burn ward,” while The Globe & Mail declared RUSH as “one of the few bands anywhere that just keeps getting better.” A career-chronicling Rolling Stone feature summed up the renowned rock trio’s continuing artistic vitality by observing, “It’s true that RUSH doesn’t mean today what it did in ’76 or even ’96. It may mean more.”

RUSH has been recognized with eight Juno Awards, seven Grammy nominations, including one for the acclaimed documentary “Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage” that also won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival. The band members were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame in 1994, made Officers Of The Order Of Canada in 1996 and inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2010. They have received a star on both Canada’s Walk Of Fame (1999) and Hollywood Walk Of Fame (2010). In 2012, RUSH were bestowed with the highest artistic honor in Canada when receiving the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. To the elation of their fans, RUSH were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013.

Categories
Sports

I want the Eddie Vedder one!!

Topps is releasing baseball cards of celebrity first pitches

Topps, in its continuing effort to pop culture-ize the baseball-card game, is making cards of 15 “celebrities” who threw out first pitches at MLB parks in 2014. Considering Topps created cards with the cast of “Major League” last year, this isn’t entirely surprising.

The news comes via baseball-card bible Beckett, which tells us the first-pitch cards will be part of Topps’ 2015 Series 1, out Feb. 6. Among the celebrities getting the Topps treatment: rock ‘n’ rollers Eddie Vedder, Tom Morello and Jack White, rapper/horrible first thrower 50 Cent, thrift-store shopper Macklemore, gymnast McKayla Maroney and actor/”The Dude” Jeff Bridges.

Also included in the set are a few non-celebrities who first-pitch stories caught the nation’s attention — such as Agnes McKee, the 105-year-old who threw out a first pitch at a Padres game last summer, and Tom Willis, a motivational speaker who was born without arms.

Here’s the entire checklist:

2015 TOPPS FIRST PITCH CHECKLIST
FP-01 Jeff Bridges, Los Angeles Dodgers
FP-02 Jack White, Detroit Tigers
FP-03 McKayla Maroney, Chicago White Sox
FP-04 Eddie Vedder, Chicago Cubs
FP-05 Biz Markie, Oakland Athletics
FP-06 Agnes McKee, San Diego Padres
FP-07 Austin Mahone, Atlanta Braves
FP-08 Jermaine Jones, Los Angeles Dodgers
FP-09 Tom Willis, Kansas City Royals
FP-10 Graham Elliot, Chicago Cubs
FP-11 Tom Morello, Chicago Cubs
FP-12 Macklemore, Seattle Mariners
FP-13 Suzy, Los Angeles Dodgers
FP-14 50 Cent, New York Mets
FP-15 Meb Keflezighi, Boston Red Sox

Common sense says 50 Cent is the card you gotta have. The question is what you’d trade to get it. One Macklemore and one Austin Mahone, for sure. But probably not a Biz Markie or Jack White.

Categories
Weezer

Can’t wait to see them again!!

Weezer’s New Music Inspired by the Past

Late last year, as Rivers Cuomo and Scott Shriner sat with Billboard backstage at Los Angeles’ Forum at KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Xmas, Cuomo thumbed through a program and found a picture of himself from exactly 20 years earlier, when Weezer played the ’94 version of the show.

“I remember ’94: I was really depressed, I had a sore throat, overworked, it was probably the last show of the season. I remember sitting in my hotel in the San Fernando Valley totally freaked out and scared and depressed,” Cuomo recalled of that gig.

Two decades older, Cuomo is much more comfortable with himself and his band’s role in the music pantheon.

“Yeah, now we’re super excited to play the new songs, get in front of our audience, see all these other cool bands and we know this is what our life is,” he said. “We’re gonna do this year after year, there’s not so much stress about it.”

The unexpected then-and-now look at both Cuomo and Weezer, prompted by the photo in the booklet, was incredibly apt, it turns out, as the group’s Everything Will Be Alright in the End album was heavily influenced by that 1994 self-titled debut album.

“A few years ago we did something called the ‘Memories Tour,’ where we played our first two albums front to back, and we went out of there straight into studio to start writing and working on the new album, and those very old albums for us had a very big influence on us today, how we made this new album,” Cuomo said.

Looking at specific moments on Everything Will Be Alright in the End where the band hears the early days of Weezer, Shriner says some of the influences are clear, others not as much.

“There are obvious things where we hired the producer that made our first album, but then I’d say half of it is very classic, traditional Weezer sound,” he said. “Of course we’re doing some crazy new experiments too, but overall it’s much more grounded in our roots.”

The group delved into the new album on stage during some intimate shows late in 2014, playing the album from start to finish in small venues. “It’s just all those people that already love the album, that’s what they’re there for, and it’s just an incredible experience to play that much new music at this point,” Shriner said.

While the group only has one 2015 date announced, playing Santa Ana, Calif.’s very intimate Observatory as part of the two-day Burgerama 4 lineup (March 28 and 29), which also includes Ty Segall, the Black Lips, Jeff the Brotherhood, Gang of Four, Roky Erickson and much more, expect a very active 2015 touring year for Weezer.

“We’re looking forward to traveling next year and bringing our new songs and new record to different towns. Keep your eyes open for the Weezer tour,” Shriner said.

After wrapping 2014 as part of many multi-act bills, Cuomo wants Weezer to do their own tour. “I’d like to do a proper Weezer headlining tour rather than co-headlining or just festivals,” he said. “I want to celebrate all the different phases we’ve gone through and focus on the new record.”

Categories
Television

He’ll be great…anyone will be better than Kevin Hart!!

J.K. Simmons to Host ‘Saturday Night Live’ With D’Angelo

Whiplash whip-master and recent Golden Globes winner J.K. Simmons will remind people that he has a funny side when he hosts Saturday Night Live on January 31st. The show will also mark musical guest D’Angelo’s first televised performance since releasing Black Messiah in December.

The actor, whose comedy credits include playing the dad in Juno and appearances on Parks and Recreation and Arrested Development, last appeared on SNL in 1999 when he portrayed his Oz character Vern Schillinger for a skit in which Jerry Seinfeld went to HBO’s fictional prison after the Seinfeld finale stank.

In Whiplash, which was filmed over 19 days, Simmons played the hyper-serious jazz drum coach Terence Fletcher, who abuses a student played by Miles Teller. “[Teller] was reluctant to be slapped really hard a dozen of times, and I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t enjoy that, that level of acting and commitment,” the elder actor recently joked with Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers.

D’Angelo, who has slowly been easing himself out of reclusion, has not performed on television since 2012, when he appeared at both the BET Awards and Essence Music Festival, and has never appeared on SNL. He will be performing with his backing band the Vanguard.

Shortly after his SNL debut, he will return to his roots with a live performance at New York City venue the Apollo, where he won Amateur Night at the age of 16 in 1991. Tickets for the February 7th show go on sale Wednesday.