Jam Master Jay Dies in NYC Shooting

NEW YORK (AP) - Jam Master Jay, part of the pioneering rap trio Run DMC, was shot and killed at a New York City recording studio Wednesday, the group's publicist said.

Publicist Tracy Miller confirmed the death of the 37-year-old rapper, whose real name was Jason Mizell.

He was shot once in the head and was dead at the scene, said Detective Robert Price, a police spokesman. He said the shooter remained at large and police had no information on a motive.

A second man, identified by police as 25-year-old Urieco Rincon, was shot in the leg and was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital. The hospital did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Run DMC is widely credited with helping bring hip-hop into music's mainstream, including the group's smash collaboration with Aerosmith on the 1980s standard "Walk This Way."

"We always knew rap was for everyone," Mizell said in a 2001 interview with MTV. "Anyone could rap over all kinds of music."

"It wasn't the soulful R&B of the '70s and '80s," he said of the group's early work. "So we didn't want to be like the soft R&B. We wanted to go hardcore, so we put the rock-and-roll on our rap."

Mizell served as the group's disc jockey, providing background for singers Joseph Simmons, better known as DJ Run, and Darryl McDaniels, better known as DMC.

Mizell was married and had three children, Miller said.

"He was a great producer, a hard worker," Miller said told The Associated Press. "He's a family man."

Dozens of fans gathered on the outskirts of the crime scene in Queens, where the members of Run DMC grew up.

"They're the best. They're the pioneers in hip-hop," said fan Arlene Clark, 39.

Another fan who lives nearby, Leslie Bell, 33, said the members of Run DMC often let local musicians record for free at their studio.

"That was their decision, to stay here and give back to the community," Bell said. "He is one great man. The good always die young. He's the good guy."

Miller said Mizell and McDaniels had planned to perform in Washington, D.C., on Thursday at a Washington Wizards basketball game. Mizell had performed on Tuesday in Alabama, Miller said.

The trio released a greatest-hits album earlier this year. In 2001, the rappers produced "Crown Royal," breaking an eight-year silence.

In 1986, the trio said they were outraged by the rise of fatal gang violence in the Los Angeles area. They called for a day of peace between warring street gangs.

"This is the first town where you feel the gangs from the minute you step into town to the time you leave," Mizell said at the time.

Thirteen Eleventh Hour Halloween Getups

It happens every year. You get these wildly ambitious ideas about making a costume, forget to buy anything, wait until the last minute, then wind up scrambling. We know the syndrome. And we can help.

1. In this age of self-help, it’s OK to go public with your Freudian SliP. Wear a dress slip and a dr. freud name tag, and carry a big unlit cigar. Then corner people on the couch. Materials: slip, cigar, hello my name is … sticker.

2. Ever wonder what Ronald McDonald does during off-hours? How does he live when he’s not filming ads or scaring small children? Does he hit the links, brandy in hand, wearing a pink Polo shirt and plaid trousers? Maybe he sports a pack of Luckies, pulls on a trench coat, and trolls the seedier side of town. Live your Mac Daddy fantasy. Materials: red wig, face paint, McDonald’s logo cut from a french fries box and pinned to your lapel or hung on a beefy gold chain.

3. Hell’s Bells DJ: Grab a pair of headphones and some death metal records from a local thrift store. [Your local thrift store has death metal? Address?! –Ed.] Dress badly: Dig out that old AC/DC tour shirt and make two little construction paper cones to pin in your hair as horns. Materials: construction paper, tour shirt, death metal records, headphones painted red.

4. Surrealist PainteR: Wear painter’s pants or overalls, and a painter’s cap turned backward. Carry a brush glued full of artificial flowers or other plastic doodads. If you do impressions, be an IMPRESSIONIST PainteR. Groan. Materials: overalls, cap, paint can, paintbrush, glue, plastic doodads.

5. Beat Poet: Man, those poetry slams are rough. Give Ginsberg, Kerouac, and the rest of the boys a run for their money by donning a beret, painting your eye black and blue, and wrapping yourself in bandages. Plan ahead and grow a goatee. Materials: black turtleneck, beret, bandages, black eyeliner, book of poetry (Howl suits Halloween nicely).

6. Famous worldwide, the American Tourist is easy to imitate. White socks and sandals are de rigueur. Add Bermuda shorts and a short-sleeve button-down shirt (preferably Hawaiian) and salaam, you’re Al Qaeda’s moving target. Materials: Hawaiian shirt, map, camera, wraparound sunglasses, suitcase with buy american! stickers.

7. Cereal KilleR: Work out childhood repression the inexpensive way. Stab a Trix box with a dull knife (or a sharp one—give that crazy rabbit what he deserves). Tape the knife in position and spatter the wound with fake blood. Strap the box to your chest or wear it on your head. Materials: dull knife, tissue paper, fake blood, cereal box.

8. Drowned Rat: Make cardboard concrete boots to clomp around in. Paint your face a morbid pale blue. Tangle yourself in fishing line and stick a plastic fish in your pocket. Materials: cardboard, face paint, fishing line, plastic fish.

9. If you’re planning to do serious damage this Halloween, consider being bubble-wraP MAN. Shroud yourself in packing material and hotties will be popping you all night. Getting fall-down drunk is just part of the look. Materials: bubble wrap, packing tape.

10. Anyone can dress as an angel, but how fun are they? Work, work, work. Piety, piety, piety. It’s Fallen Angels that have all the fun. Make yourself a tarnished halo from a wire hanger. Wear a toga with burn marks and slits in the back where your wings were clipped. Materials: sheet, matches (for burn marks), scissors, wire hanger.

11. Grab an old Polaroid and you’re Paparazzi GuY. The beautiful people are stepping out tonight. Carry a fake press pass and as many cameras as you can carry. Shoot anything that moves. Materials: cameras, press pass (use an old ID picture), flashlight (for spotting celebs).

12. You’re the hero of the watercooler, Stapler MaN! Staple a tie and cape to your suit. Fashion a hanger into a giant staple, then wear it as a belt. Better yet, shape a bunch of hangers into staples, glue them together, and wear them as a bulletproof vest. The impression is stronger when Bubble-Wrap Man and Stapler Man work together to save the day job. Materials: wire hangers, cape or bedsheet dyed red or black, tie, oxford shirt, blazer, staple gun.

13. Halloween costumes are best when scary, but vampires and werewolves don’t have the punch they once did. For a more modern fright, be as nondescript as possible. Remember, Psycho Killers look like everyone else. Materials: sick sense of humor.I say, ‘I’m David, and I’m an American.’”

Campbell Gives Us The Scoop

The "Evil Dead" actor Bruce Campbell squashed a whole bunch of rumours during an interview today. A fourth "Evil Dead"? No because he doesn't think Sam Raimi would go back to zero-budget filmmaking - "Hmm...a low budget EVIL DEAD sequel, or another SPIDER MAN...let me think". His involvement in the new "Phantasm" flick? A rumour on the IMDb only, no truth to it. The talk he's been cast as Lizard in "Spider-Man 2"? Again entirely false - no one has approached him, including Raimi.

SOUTH PARK creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone talk a bit about bringing Kenny back to life this season.

If South Park fans have heard this catchphrase once, they've heard it 1,000 times: "Oh my God, they killed Kenny! You bastards!" But the hapless red-hooded boy always lived to die again — that is, until the end of season five, when a muscular disease seemingly snuffed him for good. (Kenny was totally M.I.A. in season six.) But take heart, for TV Guide Online has learned Kenny McCormick will return!

"We're not exactly bringing Kenny back," teases South Park co-creator Trey Parker. "We're doing something more clever than that." Adds his partner, Matt Stone: "We're kinda sorta bringing him kinda back..." Finishing Stone's irksomely vague thought, Parker says: "In the very way you'd expect South Park to bring him back, we're bringing him back."

Is it true that Parker and Stone deep-sixed Kenny simply because they got tired of writing all of his unholy deaths and resurrections? "It actually came just from an idea that it would be really funny to do an episode where Kenny died and everyone cared," Parker laughs. "It was a whole sort of movie-of-the-week episode where this child was dying and everyone was concerned — whereas obviously it had been going on for years and no one gave a s--t.

"It turned out to be a really funny episode," Parker proudly adds, "and we were like, 'Let's keep him gone. Let's see how long we can ride this out.' We started focusing on other characters, like Butters, to take his place and really had fun. It's been cool."

Well, Kenny's impending exhumation is sure to have South Park fans in speculation overdrive. Might he turn up as a ghost again? Could he have a long-lost twin? Or will he rise out of Kyle's toilet bowl like Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo?

Like the gleeful geeks they are, Parker and Stone reply in unison: "It's better than that! Better than that!"

WINONA TRIAL UPDATE

A former Saks Fifth Avenue security guard testifying Wednesday that she peered through the slats and saw Winona Ryder cutting antitheft tags off merchandise in a dressing room. Ryder, who turned 31 Tuesday, is on trial in Beverly Hills on shoplifting charges.

'CSI: Miami' Sniper Episode to Air

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A "CSI: Miami" episode about a sniper that CBS had considered postponing will air as planned Nov. 18, the network said Wednesday.

The decision to air the episode came after arrests were made Oct. 24 in the Washington area shooting attacks that left 10 people dead and three others wounded.

John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, face federal and state charges in connection with the attacks that began Oct. 2.

The "CSI: Miami" story was conceived in August and the script was delivered weeks before the real-life shooting attacks began, CBS said last week.

The episode features a forensics team studying crime scenes from an attacker who kills people from atop a building. The Monday night drama is a spin-off of CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Earlier this month, 20th Century Fox said it was delaying the release of the movie "Phone Booth," a thriller about a man who answers a pay telephone and finds he's the target of a faraway gunman he can't see.

Sandler May Plant More 'Kisses' on Barrymore

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Adam Sandler, star of the critically acclaimed "Punch-Drunk Love," is attached to star in and produce "Fifty First Kisses," a romantic comedy that could reteam him with his "Wedding Singer" co-star Drew Barrymore.

The Columbia Pictures project revolves around a man who falls in love with a woman after a memorable encounter, only to find that she suffers from severe short-term memory loss and has no idea who he is. To win her, the man must get her to fall in love with him all over again every day.

It is based on a spec script by George Wing, and is being rewritten by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. No director is attached. Jay Roach ("Austin Powers") was initially attached, but he has since turned his attentions elsewhere. No offer has been made to Barrymore yet.

Fox Disbands 'Girls Club' After Two Episodes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After two airings, Fox has returned its verdict on its legal drama "Girls Club," and the news is not good for the defendant.

The network canceled the heavily promoted show on Tuesday, after it posted a significant decline from its already weak premiere episode.

That first showing finished fifth in its time slot, according to Nielsen Media Research, and was 82nd for the week out of 131 total rated programs.

The second episode was down 16 percent in total viewers from the first show and down 16 percent in the ratings among audiences aged 18 to 49, a key demographic for advertisers.

"Girls Club" was the latest drama from famed producer David E. Kelley. The show was dogged by negative reviews and largely failed to draw young women, its target audience.

Fox had counted on the show as the successor to another Kelley legal drama, "Ally McBeal," which was a hit for the network before ending its run last season.

Kelley, best-known for shows like "L.A. Law" and "Picket Fences," has two other shows on air this season: "Boston Public" Monday nights on Fox and "The Practice" Sunday nights on ABC.

Nicole Kidman Not Ready for New Relationship

BERLIN (Reuters) - Actress Nicole Kidman says she is not ready for a new relationship more than a year after the break up of her marriage to actor Tom Cruise.

"I'm not dating anybody; no dates," the German magazine Bunte quoted Kidman as saying in an interview published on Wednesday.

The magazine said Kidman would pull herself together soon and be on the look out for a boyfriend.

"But I'm not ready for that just yet," she said.

One of the best-known faces in Hollywood, Kidman won fame for her roles in films such as 'Batman Forever', 'Eyes Wide Shut', and 'The Others'. Her recent performance in the musical 'Moulin Rouge' earned her an Oscar nomination for best actress.

Santana Scores His First No. 1 Album Debut

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three years after the release of his Grammy-winning blockbuster "Supernatural," rock guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana has outdone himself, shooting to the top of the pop charts with the first No. 1 album debut of his career.

Santana's latest multi-artist collaboration, "Shaman," sold nearly 300,000 copies its first week in stores, four times the first-week tally of "Supernatural" in September 1999, according to Nielsen SoundScan sales data issued on Wednesday by his label, Arista Records.

Country pop diva Faith Hill's latest release, "Cry," slipped a notch to No. 2 with sales of 195,000 copies in its second week, boosting her tally to nearly 668,000 units, according to her label, Warner Bros. Records, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc.

Two other new releases, "One by One" from the rock group Foo Fighters, and Rod Stewart's collection of pop classics, "It Had to Be You ... The Great American Songbook," entered the charts in third and fourth place, respectively.

Stewart's album, featuring the veteran rocker singing standards from the likes of George Gershwin and Cole Porter, marked his highest debut in at least a decade.

Meanwhile, the new Elvis Presley greatest-hits package, "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits," fell to No. 5 in its fifth week.

Along with "Shaman" and the Elvis collection, the latest records from Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters and Stewart were distributed by BMG, the global music division of Bertelsmann AG.

Super-producer Clive Davis, the man behind Santana's last big hit, "Supernatural," also served as producer for "Shaman" and Stewart's "Great American Songbook."

A two-disc retrospective of Santana's work, "The Essential Santana," made a much smaller dent in the charts, selling just under 9,000 copies to debut at No. 125 in the top 200. That set, including such classics as "Evil Ways," "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va," was issued by Columbia/Legacy label the same day as "Shaman." The label is owned by Japan's Sony Corp.

Like "Supernatural," which sold a whopping 25 million copies, Santana's newest album pairs the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with a variety of contemporary stars, including Dido, Macy Gray, Seal, Michelle Branch and Musiq.

By comparison, "Supernatural" followed a more gradual path to its mega-hit status, debuting at No. 19 on the charts and working its way up to No. 1 after 18 weeks in release.

It remained in top echelons of the charts for weeks thereafter and went on to earn nine Grammy Awards, including the prize for album of the year, and three Latin Grammys.

The album's smash success marked a triumphant comeback for the 55-year-old guitarist who formed the band that bears his name in the 1960s, and it helped push Latin rock to the forefront of the American pop scene.

In Case You Are Interested

Tom Petty is pissed off!

...its The Dr. Phil Random Quote Generator!!

Yeoh Ready to Play Chinese Legend

Michelle Yeoh has agreed to produce and star in THE MASKED CRUSADER, film described as a "female Robin Hood." The story is based on China's legendary crusader for the poor and downtrodden, Wong Ngung. Yeoh's version will be set in 2009. Jingle Ma will direct and Thomas Chung will co-produce through his Han Entertainment. Filming will begin in January in Honk Kong and continue throughout various parts of China and Japan.

Women's Group Blasts TV, Calls it Sexist

In its third annual report on how women are portrayed in prime time TV, the National Organization for Women (NOW) is vilifying the six top networks, accusing them of pandering to an "adolescent boy's fantasy world." According to the study, the networks employ 134 more men than women. They also criticized the nets for those women being in the beauty standard of Jennifer Aniston (FRIENDS), i.e. "young, thin and white." "Network programming sends a distorted, often offensive image of women, girls and people of color brought to you through the point of view of white men and boys," said NOW Foundation president Kim Gandy. "Television remains very much a man's world, with women serving primarily as eye candy." Most of the networks say they have not seen the report yet and therefore do not have a comment.

BABY AND THE CITY!

Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker and husband Matthew Broderick welcoming a baby boy early Monday morning in Manhattan, the actress' publicist says. The tyke weighed in at 6 pounds, 8 ounces. No word yet on the child's name.

Seinfeld to Unveil New Comedy Routine on Letterman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Superstar comedian Jerry Seinfeld plans to try out an all-new routine this Thursday on the CBS "Late Show with David Letterman," his first TV stand-up performance since his last visit with Letterman in March 2001.

Seinfeld's most recent "Late Show" appearance comes as the former television sitcom star promotes his newly released film "Comedian," a behind-the-scenes look at the stand-up circuit from his perspective and that of up-and-coming comedy talents.

Seinfeld recently appeared with Letterman's NBC rival, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," to talk about his movie and the release of his illustrated children's book, "Halloween." And while he showed a clip from the movie in which he and Leno were seen joking together, Seinfeld did not perform any stand-up on the show.

Seinfeld's previous "Late Show" visit in March 2001 marked his return to television stand-up comedy after nearly three years. Prior to that, he had last performed TV stand-up during his August 1998 HBO comedy special, "I'm Telling You for the Last Time."

His self-titled NBC sitcom, starring Seinfeld as a New York comedian hanging out with three of his pals -- Elaine, George and Kramer -- was one of the biggest prime-time hits of the 1990s and was ranked this year by the editors of TV Guide magazine as the greatest television show of all time.

CBS is owned by Viacom Inc. and NBC is part of General Electric Co.

Wild and Whacky 'The Osbournes' Returns to MTV

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - They've met the Queen of England and President Bush. They've won their first Emmy Award, battled cancer, taken in another teenager and more dogs. Now television's wildest family is ready again for prime time.

British rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his raucous, foul-mouthed clan will return to the tube on Nov. 26, kicking off a second season of MTV's highest-rated show, the Viacom Inc.-owned cable music network said on Tuesday.

The future of "The Osbournes," which became an overnight media sensation last season, was thrown into doubt after Osbourne's wife and manager, Sharon, was diagnosed with colon cancer over the summer.

But the family decided to pick up where they left off last spring with 10 new episodes chronicling their lives in Beverly Hills as they simultaneously adjust to heightened fame and Sharon Osbourne's illness.

"We are excited to invite the world into our home for another dose of Osbourne insanity," Sharon Osbourne said in a statement issued by MTV. "This season the show takes on a whole new meaning as we share the highs and lows of the last six months with our viewers. With the Osbournes, you never know what you're gonna get."

The first season followed the daily exploits of the 53-year-old heavy metal legend in his off-stage role as a befuddled father puttering around his house, forever cleaning up after his incontinent dogs, taking orders from his wife, and sparring with their teenage children, Kelly and Jack.

The bleep-filled series became MTV's biggest hit, earned an Emmy as television's best "reality" series and turned the family into instant pop culture figures.

Ozzy-mania even extended to Buckingham Palace, where rock's heavily tattooed "Prince of Darkness" was introduced to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II earlier this month at the Golden Jubilee pop concert in her honor.

This season, the show will feature a new member of the clan, 18-year-old Robert Marcato, a family friend whose mother recently died of cancer and has moved in with the Osbournes. They are in the process of legally adopting him.

Melinda the nanny also will return, along with an ever-expanding collection of dogs and cats and various other characters who drift in and out of the Osbourne household.

The show also will incorporate scenes from Ozzy's touring schedule over the summer, a trip to Washington last May to dine with the president, and Kelly's bid to launch a recording career as a singer.

The New Movies That Are Available In Your Neighbourhood

Hey, if you wanna watch some movies that are available now, and not on Friday, here is a list of the new DVDs and videos for release on Tuesday, October 29th, 2002:

The Sum Of All Fears- Jack Ryan must take on neo-Nazi terrorist group. (Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, Liev Schreiber)

Eight Legged Freaks- Spiders grow after exposure to a chemical. (David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, Scott Terra)

Harvard Man- A Harvard basketball player shaves points in betting scam. (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Adrian Grenier, Eric Stoltz)

Malcolm In The Middle: The Complete First Season- This is the set that has the complete (hilarious) first season of a show called "Malcolm In The Middle."

Men With Brooms- Dysfunctional curling team makes a run at the Golden Broom. (Molly Parker, Paul Gross, Leslie Nielsen)

And if you need to know EVERYTHING that is coming out today, here is the complete list.

What Scares The Stars

* ANTHONY HOPKINS: "Psycho" is my favorite horror film. I just love Hitchcock. He had the ability to scare you and also make a brilliant movie at the same time. To this day, ever since I saw that film, I still look over my shoulder in the shower. That's the mark of a great director, to leave a lasting impression like that.

* JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT: "The Shining" scares me to death. To know that a supposed normal human being can go crazy, like Jack Nicholson does in that movie, is so freaky. Stanley Kubrick, who directed it, made the scariest movie ever.

* JACKIE CHAN: "The Exorcist" blows my mind. The first time I saw it I was in Australia. I was in a movie theater, and even the audience scared me. They were screaming when that girl's head spun around. An ambulance had to come to the theater to take away one person after they passed out.

* BENJAMIN BRATT: "I Was a Teenage Werewolf," with Michael Landon, still haunts me. I was 7 or 8 when I first saw it, and it gave me nightmares. The whole idea of a man turning into a wolf and then going out and randomly killing people terrified me. I'm also quite scared by the original classic "Night of the Living Dead." I even own a copy on tape.

* RALPH FIENNES: The scariest movie ever made is something called "Don't Look Now." If you've never seen it, just rent it, and I can almost guarantee that you'll be frightened out of your wits.

* EDWARD NORTON: I saw "The Exorcist" recently, and hadn't seen it in many years. I was amazed at how scary the movie still is. It freaked me out years ago, and still does.

* GREG KINNEAR: I saw "The Exorcist" in high school with a group of friends, and it was a really scary experience. Some of my buddies thought they were really tough guys, but they came out of that movie shaking in their boots. I, of course, was also shaking right along with them.

* KATIE HOLMES: I would have to say the first "Scream" movie frightens me. I know that most people don't really consider it that scary, but I won't watch harder-core slasher films, because they would keep me up at night. Making matters worse, I'm good friends with the guy who wrote "Scream," Kevin Williamson. He's such a nice person, and I can't believe he's capable of writing something scary like that.

* NAOMI WATTS: "Don't Look Now" scares me big time. So much that I don't even like to talk about it.

* REESE WITHERSPOON: Even though it's a very new movie, that "Red Dragon" scared the hell out of me. My heart was beating super fast throughout the whole film. Man, that was frightening.

* JOEL SCHUMACHER: "The Thing." Not the remake, but the original from the '50s. I remember when I was in grade school, my friends and I would crawl on the floor and pretend we were the monster from that movie, and we would try and scare each other.

New Nirvana Available Today That Is Mostly Old But Totally Awesome!

It was in 1994 when Kurt Cobain of Nirvana thought it was better to "burn out that fade away." One of the last songs that he recorded with Nirvana was "You Know You're Right" and until today it had never appearded in pristine condition on a CD. The versions that have been online for a while now have been less that superb. That all changes today when a must have collection of the band's best songs simply called NIRVANA appears in stores replete with the aformentioned gem. He was my generation's John Lennon and I miss hearing his words and voice on fresh material.

Which is why NIRVANA is a must own for those stuck in the rut of today's teenie-pop-sweet-ass-huge-boobs-and-tight pecs world of tunes.

So pick it up, introduce the band to your kids, and know that it IS NOT better to burn out than fade away!

And speaking of teenie bopper crap there are some other high profile releases due in stores today.

Here's a look at the big 'uns:

CHRISTINA AGUILERA- STRIPPED: "Here it is," Aguilera announces on her second album proper. "No hype, no gloss, no pretense. Just me." But if the youthful diva really wanted to make a bold, independent statement, why is she leaning so heavily on the hired help? The list of co-writers on Stripped — among them red-hot Pink collaborator Linda Perry and hip-hop-soul "it" girl Alicia Keys — suggests a naked bid for more critical and street credibility. There's something similarly opportunistic — not to mention self-aggrandizing — about Aguilera's sober emphasis on the troubles that accompanied her rise to fame. The smarmy boleros Beautiful and Fighter offer musical self-help manuals for vain women and solipsistic pop stars, and Aguilera's readings are as emotionally overwrought as her earlier singing was ostentatious. That's a shame, because Aguilera has one of the most supple voices in the business, and snappier tunes such as Can't Hold Us Down reveal glimmers of the breezy sass that could have made her a real pop contender. Don't girls just want to have fun anymore or do they all crave to be taken as serious as Aguilera does?

NICK CARTER (of the Backstreet Boys)- NOW OR NEVER: This disc proves that you can take the boy out of the boy band, but if he's as aggressively passive a presence as Carter, you'll be climbing uphill from there. The Backstreet refugee co-wrote many of these songs, some of them catchy in a generic, innocuous way. But none reveals more personality than Carter's colorless voice; instead, the singer emerges as a kind of wholesomely macho cypher. He's a Bryan Adams-like balladeer on the sappy Do I Have to Cry for You, a Jon Bon Jovi-esque crooner on Heart Without a Home (I'll Be Yours) and a leering frat boy on the witless Girls in the USA. The lyrics are as excruciatingly banal and dopey as the song titles suggest. Surely no one expected Carter to turn into Elvis Costello overnight, but it's hard to listen to the refrain "Take it off, take it off/Let's get it on, get it on" on a full stomach.

SHAGGY- LUCKY DAY: Shaggy's music may be a bit too pop- and R&B-infused for reggae purists, but the gravelly voiced singer has no problem inducing you to move. The follow-up to 2000's humongous smash Hot Shot is jammed full of pulsating rhythms and sensual grooves. The horn-kissed first single, Hey Sexy Lady, sets the tone with its pounding dance beat, while Get My Party On, featuring Chaka Khan, shimmers with funk. Thematically, the songs range from the socially conscious Lost to the comical Hookie Jookie, which provides tips on how to creep on your lady. Last time out, Shaggy started a roll with two unstoppable singles: It Wasn't Me and Angel. Time will tell whether he can maintain his Lucky streak.

Now here are the rest of the new music releases for Tuesday, October 29, 2002:

* 8 MILE OST 8 Mile OST (Interscope)
* BETH GIBBONS Out Of Season (Polydor)
* BLU CANTRELL TBA (Blu Cantrell) (Arista)
* BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY Thug World Order (Epic)
* ENNIS SISTERS Christmas (Domestic)
* ERIC CLAPTON One More Car, One More Rider (DVD) (Warner)
* ERIC HEATHERLY Sometimes It's Just Your Time (Dreamworks Nashville)
* FABOLOUS Street Dream (Elektra)
* FIELD MOB From Tha Roota To Tha Toota (MCA)
* FREEWAY Philadelphia Freeway (Def Jam)
* IRV GOTTI Irv Gotti Presents: The Remixes (Def Jam)
* JIMMY EAT WORLD TBA (Jimmy Eat World DVD) (DreamWorks)
* KELLY PRICE Priceless (Def Jam)
* KOUFAX Social Life (TVT)
* LAURA PAUSINI From The Inside (Atlantic)
* LEE ANN WOMACK The Season For Romance (MCA Nashville)
* LIL JON & THE EASTSIDE BOYZ Kings Of Crunk (TVT)
* LIZA MINNELLI Liza's Back (J Records)
* MEMPHIS BLEEK Misunderstood (Def Jam)
* P.O.D. Still Payin' Dues (DVD) (Atlantic)
* RASCAL FLATTS Melt (Hollywood)
* ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT Live From Camp X-Ray (TVT)
* SAMANTHA MUMBA TBA (Samantha Mumba) (Polydor)
* SIGUR ROS () (MCA)
* SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER Divine Discontent (Warner)
* STEVIE WONDER The Definitive Collection (Motown)
* SYLEENA JOHNSON Chapter 2: The Voice (Zomba)
* TONI BRAXTON Amplified (Arista)
* TOO $HORT What's My Favourite Word (Zomba)
* TORI AMOS Scarlet's Walk (Epic)
* TYPE O NEGATIVE TBA (Type O Negative) (Roadrunner)
* VINCE GILL TBA (Vince Gill) (MCA Nashville)
* YU-GI-OH: MUSIC TO DUEL BY OST Yu-Gi-Oh: Music To Duel By OST (DreamWorks/Universal)

All release dates are subject to change

MGM Gasses Up KNIGHT RIDER Spoof

MGM has acquired the rights to Ron Anderson's spec script WHEELS OF FURY, a film that is described as a cross between AUSTIN POWERS and KNIGHT RIDER. The story focuses on an '80s cop whose partner is a talking car. After waking up from a coma 16 years later, "hijinx ensue." David Heyman (HARRY POTTER) will produce. WHEELS may face a bit of competition from its source material, as Revolution Studios is working on a feature film adaption of the KNIGHT RIDER tv series.

I Guess His Ratings Are Low

Radio talk show host Art Bell, 57, whose overnight talk of UFO sightings and conspiracy theories made him famous, announcing on last Wednesday night's show that he plans to retire (again) because of ongoing back problems.

'Rudy' To Be Filmed in Canada

NEW YORK (AP) - Filmmakers are going to Canada to make a movie about former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, angering industry officials who say the film belongs in Giuliani's hometown.

"Rudy!" — based on an unauthorized biography of the man known as America's mayor — is set to begin filming Nov. 7 in Montreal. James Woods stars as the Brooklyn-born former mayor and Penelope Ann Miller plays ex-wife Donna Hanover in the film, which intersperses flashbacks from Giuliani's childhood and political career with his performance on Sept. 11, 2001.

Carlton America is producing the film for the USA Networks cable channel, which has scheduled a release for next year. Like the book "Rudy!" it was made without Giuliani's cooperation.

Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel declined comment on the film Monday.

Spokesmen for Carlton America and USA Networks declined comment on the decision to shoot the movie in Canada. Carlton America spokesman Les Eisner said a few scenes may be shot in New York.

The decision means less work for union members and comes at a time when New York's film industry is struggling, said Pamm Fair, national deputy director of the Screen Actors Guild.

"They have very little right now," she said. "Runaway production is a huge problem in this country."

The Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting said business was "average" in New York for the fall season. Films in production now include "Angels in America," an HBO project starring Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, and "Mona Lisa's Smile," starring Julia Roberts.

CBS Gives Full-Season Orders to Four Shows

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CBS, showing confidence in its new fall line-up, gave full-season orders to three dramas and a comedy on Monday, including the highest-rated new show of the fall season.

CBS said it had ordered an additional nine episodes, making a full 22-show season, for dramas "CSI: Miami," "Without A Trace" and "Hack" and the comedy "Still Standing."

"CSI: Miami" in particular has been a standout for the network, emerging as the most bona-fide hit among the new shows on the air this season. For the season through Oct. 20 it is the No. 5 show on television, according to Nielsen Media Research.

"Still Standing" and "Without A Trace" also both rank in Nielsen's top 20 for the season. "Hack" has not been as strong as the others but the network said it is still up 56 percent in total viewers from the same time period last season.

Ford Sponsors '24' Premiere Without Commercial Breaks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tonight's premiere of Fox's espionage drama "24" will run without any commercial breaks, but eagle-eyed viewers should take note of the Ford Expedition driven by its star, Kiefer Sutherland.

Ford Motor Co is underwriting the entire show, which will run without any commercial interruptions, in a flashback to the early days of television, when shows were often sponsored by a single company. Such deals may also represent the future of television advertising, as marketers look for new strategies to reach potential viewers.

Two Ford commercials that imitate "24's" trademark ticking clock, each about three minutes long, will bookend the premiere, and Sutherland will speak directly to the audience before the show, thanking Ford for its sponsorship.

Fans of "24," which last season told the tale of an attempted assassination attempt of a presidential candidate, will get a 54-minute premiere uninterrupted by ads. Subsequent episodes will have standard commercial breaks.

In future episodes, Sutherland's character will drive other Ford vehicles, including Thunderbirds and Mustangs, said Rick Novak, head of car advertising for Ford.

"We want a lot of good hero shots for our vehicles," he said. "It's an additional way, an innovative way to break through the clutter."

A Fox spokeswoman confirmed that Ford has purchased commercial time throughout the upcoming "24" season, and that the auto maker is one of the show's largest advertisers.

With television audiences fragmented by digital cable and satellite systems that offer hundreds of channels, and the introduction of personal video recorders like TiVo that make it easy to skip ads, marketers are seeking out new advertising methods.

Ford, which previously underwrote a commercial-free airing of the movie "Schindler's List" and sponsored Fox's blockbuster "American Idol" program, will also have prominent product placements in ABC's spy drama "Alias" and in the upcoming James Bond film "Die Another Day."

Among other car makers, BMW recently launched the second installment of short online films that feature its automobiles. In a similar vein, Mercedes-Benz has run a mock preview in movie theaters starring Benicio Del Toro and its 500 SL convertible.

Ryder Told Saks She Was Researching Role

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - Actress Winona Ryder claimed she was preparing for an acting role when she was first detained last December on suspicion of shoplifting at the posh Saks Fifth Avenue store, a Saks security manager testified on Monday.

But her "performance" was captured on a 90-minute store videotape of her ill-fated shopping spree, part of which was shown to the jury on the first day of Ryder's trial on charges of burglary, grand theft and vandalism.

Saks security manager Kenneth Evans testified that Ryder was "polite and apologetic" when she was stopped leaving the Beverly Hills store and found with some 20 items of designer clothes, handbags and accessories concealed about her person and in her shopping bags.

When Evans told Ryder that the police were being informed of the incident, "she immediately stood up and took hold of my hand and apologized for what had happened," Evans said.

Ryder then told him "my director directed me to shoplift in preparation for a role I am preparing," he added. It was not clear what role or which director Ryder was referring to.

In opening statements, prosecutor Ann Rundle told the jury that the Oscar-nominated actress went to Saks with intent to steal, even bringing scissors to clip security tags from purloined items and wads of tissue to conceal them.

A TWO-FOR-ONE PROGRAM

Although she did pay for three items, she had her "own two-for-one bonus program -- for every item she purchased she would help herself to another," Rundle said.

Ryder, who turns 31 on Tuesday, followed the proceedings looking serious and demure in a black dress.

Her lawyer, Mark Geragos, said Ryder was innocent of shoplifting items valued at more than $5,500 and had been singled out by security staff "who got out of control" because of her celebrity status.

Geragos said the famous video surveillance tape shows her doing nothing "except -- surprise -- shopping."

He said evidence would show that early on in her shopping trip, Ryder had told a store assistant to keep her account open, explaining she planned to pay for the items later.

The Saks surveillance tape, only a small section of which has been shown on television, showed the petite waif-like actress roaming the store, laden down with numerous shopping bags and with merchandise piled high in her arms.

At one point, she dropped her belongings and is clearly seen on the tape kneeling on the floor and stuffing socks, hair accessories and a soft hat inside another hat which she then placed in her arms while she continued to browse.

Saks manager Evans said he became suspicious because of the amount of non-Saks bags she was carrying in a store where most shoppers leave merchandise bought elsewhere in the store's own parking lot.

Evans said a female security agent watched Ryder through the specially designed slats of a dressing room door cutting the sensor tags off merchandise and putting the items in her shopping bags. He later recovered four of the tags still bearing pieces of fabric matching holes in the goods allegedly stolen by Ryder.

Evans said he had not realized for some time that the woman he was watching on store cameras was the star of "Girl, Interrupted" and "Age of Innocence."

"I couldn't care less who she was," he told the jury.

Geragos claimed Ryder was mistreated by store security personnel after she was taken back inside for questioning.

"They threatened her, did all kinds of things ... One of the guys lifts up her ... shirt -- she's not wearing a bra -- and she screamed at them to stop," Geragos said.

"My client did not believe this was happening to her."

The trial is expected to last for about a week. Ryder could face three years in prison if convicted.

First Member Of Ringo Starr's 2003 All-Starr Band Set

Ringo Starr has sent out invitations to the musicians he'd like to take part in the 2003 edition of his All-Starr Band. The greatest-hits collective--which has in the past featured the likes of Cream's Jack Bruce, Bad Company's Simon Kirke, Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, and Peter Frampton, among many others--will next summer feature Babys/Bad English frontman John Waite.

Fans will see Waite in an unusual position, however. "I'm gonna go and play bass guitar with Ringo in the summer for a couple of months." "I used to be the bass player in the Babys, before I became the lead singer, so I'm looking forward to hanging with Ringo and playing those songs and being the fifth Beatle, you know? They made the call, and it looks like it's a complete go."

Waite didn't know who else has accepted the offer. He expects his own Number One hit "Missing You" to be included in the tour's setlist.

...here are some plot details behind "Charlie's Angels 2- Full Throttle."

REMEMBER HIM IN YOUR OWN WAY AS WELL

Richard Harris will remembered in a private funeral service in London, before having his ashes scattered near his home in the Bahamas, the actor's agent said Saturday. The two-time Oscar nominee died Friday of Hodgkin's disease at age 72.

NOW WHAT ABOUT HARRY?

Harry Potter filmmakers saying they will reluctantly search for a replacement Professor Dumbledore for the next installment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. "[Harris] is Dumbledore in many people's eyes. In truth he is irreplaceable," producer David Heyman told Britain's ITV News Saturday. "We will find a new Dumbledore, but there will only be one Richard Harris."

Artists Use TV to Sell New Songs

NEW YORK (AP) - For one week this summer, Bruce Springsteen was the biggest star on television.

There he was in Asbury Park, N.J., where the "Today" show transplanted itself for a day to watch him perform. Ted Koppel interviewed him on "Nightline." Two nights in a row, Springsteen and his E Street Band were featured on David Letterman's "Late Show."

The appearances were timed to coincide with the release of Springsteen's album, "The Rising," and the exposure paid off. The disc sold 526,000 copies its first week, the strongest debut of his career.

Springsteen's small-screen blitz made plain a change that might surprise generations that spent hours cranking the car stereo or hooked up to a Walkman: Television — and not just MTV — has supplanted radio as the chief means of exposing new music, particularly for veteran artists.

"You've just about got to do it for people to know that you have a record out," said singer Tom Petty, who was on "Today" earlier this month. "You've got to spread the word however you can."

Springsteen and Petty's most loyal fans aren't likely to be reading music magazines or visiting music stores every week to see what's new. They have jobs, kids, mortgages to worry about.

But they probably watch TV — perhaps "Today" while gulping their morning coffee, or Letterman just before drifting off to sleep.

At the same time, shrinking radio playlists have less room for new music. Far more radio stations are likely to play James Taylor's "Fire and Rain," for example, than take a chance on his new single.

So Taylor spread his easygoing charm liberally before the cameras — "The View," "Today," "The Charlie Rose Show," "60 Minutes II," on CNN and tabloid entertainment shows. He sang the song, "On the 4th of July," on NBC on a Fourth of July special.

Taylor's new album, "October Road," surprised many in the music industry by debuting at No. 5, his best start ever.

Television networks once synonymous with music — MTV and VH1 — are important for viewers under age 30. But they don't play videos that often anymore, and are less crucial for veteran artists than they were 10 or 15 years ago.

"The video thing has become irrelevant," Petty said. "They really don't play videos that much on the video channels, so it's almost become not worth your while to make one."

Not every artist can command a half hour on "Today" or a handshake from Letterman. Still, TV opportunities abound, especially for good performers, said publicist Marilyn Laverty, the architect of Springsteen's campaign.

"It's become possible for artists who have quality and are well known to have something of a saturation," she said.

David Bowie touted his new disc on A&E's "Live By Request." Bravo has started a musician's version of "Inside the Actor's Studio." PBS' "Austin City Limits" is another popular performance show.

Music marketers know other places to look where people wouldn't expect. CNBC's "Power Lunch" often features musicians in the summer, with a captive audience of Wall Street executives. Emeril Lagasse's cooking show has guest musicians. Local morning shows are grateful to book celebrities.

Prime-time dramas and comedies are eager for music, too. Songs by Norah Jones, whose debut album has sold 1.5 million copies, were in the background on "The West Wing," "Providence," "Crossing Jordan" and "Dawson's Creek."

That may not sell many discs by itself, but it tells viewers that "this girl's everywhere," said Zach Hochkeppel, marketing director at Blue Note Records.

"A lot of these older folks have kind of given up as music consumers," Hochkeppel said. "You have to sneak in there and get in their psyche without them knowing."

Stepping beyond background music, Jakob Dylan's Wallflowers appeared on an episode of "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" this season. Aimee Mann performed at a political rally on "The West Wing."

One big factor in Taylor's success was a whimsical advertisement that featured the musician walking into a guitar shop as a young salesman struggles for the chords to "Fire and Rain." Unrecognized, Taylor grabs a guitar and sings a few lines from "October Road."

Many artists are reluctant to make commercials.

"We asked very, very nicely," said Larry Jenkins, senior vice president at Columbia Records. "We just felt it was something that would have a big impact, and James was gracious enough to do it."

Singer Tracy Chapman wouldn't mind a commercial that showed the cover of her album or a performance snippet. But she isn't about to act.

"There was talk of me being in a commercial and that didn't feel very comfortable to me," said Chapman, who released a new disc this month. "We couldn't think of a way of doing it in a dignified manner.

"I feel like that's the record company's job — to sell what I made," she said. Yet recent successes tied to commercial exposure are breaking down barriers. Musicians noticed that Sting's last disc doubled in sales in a few months after the song "Desert Rose" was featured in a Jaguar ad. Moby licensed every one of the songs on his "Play" album for commercial purposes and it boosted sales with little damage to his reputation.

Even Bob Dylan made an ad for his last album that depicted him playing poker.

Sheryl Crow seemingly hasn't turned down a TV opportunity this year. She's sung at the Super Bowl, at a NASCAR race and carried her guitar into the "Big Brother" house on CBS. She also filmed an American Express commercial at the same time she made a video for "Soak Up the Sun."

Some marketers say there's a danger of overexposure on TV. Crow's campaign has raised some eyebrows.

"There is always the issue of how much is too much, and what is crossing the line," said Steve Berman, senior executive at the Interscope Records family. "She's been very gung ho and aggressive. She's very proud of this album and is working very hard behind it. She wants to get it out there, and it's a very challenging environment in which to do that."

All the efforts count for nothing if the product isn't good. But in a business where first impressions are increasingly important, Laverty knows the Springsteen campaign hit its mark.

"Television definitely had a lot to do with the audience's awareness of the record that week," she said.

A Sign That The Apocalypse Is Near

"Jackass" has pulled its craziest stunt yet, debuting in first place at the box office.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Jackass: The Movie," $22.7 million.

2. "The Ring," $18.8 million.

3. "Ghost Ship," $11.7 million.

4. "Sweet Home Alabama," $6.4 million.

5. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," $6.3 million.

6. "Red Dragon," $4.7 million.

7. "Punch-Drunk Love," $3.5 million.

8. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie," $2.9 million.

9. "The Transporter," $2.85 million.

10. "Brown Sugar," $2.8 million.

'Failed Artist' Woody Allen Talks Up European Film

ROME (Reuters) - Quirky comedy director Woody Allen dismissed himself as a failed artist on Saturday and described American cinema as a sink-hole of mindless entertainment where everyone was obsessed with money.

"If I had to describe myself in three words, I would say: A Failed Artist," a deadpan Allen told reporters in Rome, where he is promoting his latest film "Hollywood Ending."

"I don't know how to act, I mean, I'm not an actor like Dustin Hoffman is an actor or Jack Nicholson is an actor, and I don't have enough talent to be a jazz musician. I'm very, very mediocre. In fact, I'm less than mediocre."

While characteristically self-deprecating, Allen was also full of criticism for U.S. films, and for Hollywood in particular, a place he had appeared to court in recent months, even making a first-ever appearance at the Oscars in March.

"I've always had a very critical attitude to Hollywood. Essentially, it's a place where people spend a huge amount of money and yet make very few, if any, decent films," he said.

"If I compare U.S. films to the European films I saw as a child, the European ones were so much more original, rich and imaginative, and they really contributed to the development of cinema as an art form.

"I've never really seen the same thing from Hollywood, which always has one eye focused on entertainment and money."

While Hollywood may have produced masterpieces such as Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane," Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" and John Huston's "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," Allen said overall it was small beef next to Europe's output.

"If you look at European films, there's no question that they are deeper works of art. You look at something like "The Bicycle Thief," or "Grand Illusion," or Fellini's "8 1/2" -- there's no comparison."

"JUST SILLY PICTURES"

While Allen's withering criticism may come as no surprise to those familiar with his laments, he seldom heaps scorn on his home country's film-making, and has certainly done so less since DreamWorks started producing and distributing his films.

But he seemed almost indignant on Saturday about American shortcomings.

"You know, it's got to the stage in the States that you struggle to find something to watch on a Saturday night -- it's all just silly pictures.

"Sometimes, like I did last Saturday night, you find a theater showing a European film and it can transform the evening. We watched Pedro Almodovar's movie and it was a great experience. It's an intelligent and very, very fine film."

Asked whether the lack of quality entertainment back home made him want to move to Europe, Allen turned evasive, however.

"Well, it's not easy to just pull up your life and move to Europe. It's something that I have at times considered, but it's not an easy thing to give up your home and your language," said the director, who has lived all his life in New York city.

"I would happily come and make movies in Rome, or Paris, or London, or Berlin if I had an idea that worked in those places, but it's having the idea that's difficult.

In the end, he said he would do whatever his wife, Soon Yi, whom he secretly married in Venice five years ago, decided.

"My wife likes to come to all these places in Europe. Whatever makes her happy makes me happy, so I'll do that."

Angels Win Their First World Series

This is definitely movie material — and the stars are the never-say-die Anaheim Angels.

They came out of nowhere to reach their first World Series, rallying past every team in their way.

Their rookie pitcher wins Game 7.

And the best hitter in the world watches from the losers' dugout, knowing he was once just six outs away from winning the only title he has ever wanted.

John Lackey, Garret Anderson and the Angels made it all come true, beating Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants 4-1 Sunday night for the franchise's first championship in 42 years.

Plus the most amazing thing — the Angels didn't even need to rely on their Rally Monkey. Anaheim third baseman Troy Glaus was voted MVP after hitting .385 with three home runs and eight RBIs.

"I can't believe it, man," Anderson said. "It's been a long year — a testament to the guys who never gave up."

Still, the highest-scoring Series in history came down to pitching, as it always seems to do in October. Behind Lackey and the bullpen, Anaheim had too much to win baseball's first all wild-card matchup.

The Angels became the eighth straight home team to win Game 7 of the World Series. History was on their side from the start and so was an omen — a skywriting plane put a gigantic halo over Edison Field before the first pitch.

A day after it blew a 5-0 lead in the seventh inning, San Francisco never got close to winning its first title. Bonds went 1-for-3 with a walk to close out one of the most dominant Series performances ever, yet it wasn't enough.

When it ended, Bonds walked down the dugout and picked up his glove. He walked back, tapped his son on the back and walked down the runway as the Angels celebrated on the field.

Lackey wasn't even with the Angels, stuck in Triple-A, when they went 6-14 for the worst start in team history. But with both staffs worn down, the 24-year-old righty gave Anaheim exactly what it needed with five innings of one-run ball.

Anderson, finally due to get the recognition he's always deserved, hit a three-run double off Livan Hernandez in the third for a 4-1 lead. The monkey mascot made a brief, early appearance on the video board to celebrate the moment, then sat back and let the sellout crowd of 44,598 bang their ThunderStix like crazy.

"Well, I just wanted to get into a situation where I'd be able to hit my pitch, not do too much," Anderson said.

Brendan Donnelly, Francisco Rodriguez and Troy Percival closed it for manager Mike Scioscia's bunch. Percival escaped a two-on, one-out jam for his third save of the Series.

"Unbelievable for us, for our fans," Percival said. "This team has worked as hard as any team ever. We deserve it."

And when it was over, Southern California, the land of celluloid stars, had just added a whole teamful of them while Hollywood luminaries Pierce Brosnan and John Travolta watched from the stands.

Before this year, the Angels were known mostly for heartbreak. Beloved owner Gene Autry never saw his team get this far before passing away, and it didn't look like these guys would do it, either, especially after finishing 41 games out of first place last season.

Somehow, the Angels pulled it together. They led the majors in hitting, overwhelmed the New York Yankees and Minnesota in the AL playoffs and then knocked out Bonds and Co.

"Somewhere, Gene Autry is smiling right now," commissioner Bud Selig said as he presented the trophy.

Owned by The Walt Disney Co., the Angels are still for sale. Before then, though, they can certainly travel the three miles or so to Disneyland to enjoy this most improbable championship.

Bonds wound up 8-for-17 (.471) with four homers, a .700 on-base percentage and 1.294 slugging percentage.

Anaheim and the Giants combined for a record 85 runs and 21 homers.

The game might have been the last for San Francisco manager Dusty Baker in the Bay. There are growing indications he'll soon leave, possibly to take over the Chicago Cubs or Seattle.

Tears streamed down the face of Darren Baker, the 3-year-old bat boy son of the Giants' manager, as he was carried from the dugout by his father.

Anderson doubled in the third to make it 4-1, and Angels fans went wild. A little too much, maybe.

David Eckstein made up for a rare baserunning mistake in the first by leading off the third with a single and Darin Erstad also singled. Tim Salmon came up and Hernandez cost himself, hitting the Angels star in the right hand.

No outs, bases loaded. The at-bat of a lifetime for Anderson, drafted by the California Angels in 1990 and out of the postseason until this year.

Unsung despite a stellar career, Anderson got the hit that will put him in highlight reels for a long time, sending a line drive into the right-field corner that easily scored all three runners.

As Reggie Sanders tried to corral the ball along the low wall, an Anaheim fan got into the act, bopping the right fielder on the back with a pair of red ThunderStix. There was no interference called, properly, although two security guards were soon standing in the area when Hernandez, who lost for the second time in the Series, was pulled.

Hernandez seemed uncomfortable from the start, constantly pawing at the mound while trying to find his control. He looked nothing like the MVP of the 1997 World Series for Florida and instead resembled the pitcher who tied for the NL lead in losses this season, which he did with 16.

A surprising lapse by Eckstein, who took off Anderson's liner to center field and was doubled off, enabled Hernandez to overcome two walks in the first.

Hernandez was not so lucky the next inning when he walked Scott Spiezio with two outs and Bengie Molina followed with a double that tied it at 1.

Molina added another double, and the hits were his way of honoring his father who was faraway. Earlier Sunday, former amateur outfielder Benjamin Molina Santana was in Puerto Rico, where he was inducted into the island's hall of fame.

The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second on singles by Benito Santiago and J.T. Snow and a sacrifice fly by Sanders.

Notes: Goodwin's strikeout left Giants pinch-hitters at 0-for-16 in the postseason. ... The last rookie to start Game 7 in the Series was Jaret Wright of Cleveland in 1997. He got a no-decision in the Indians' 3-2 loss in 11 innings at Florida. ... Salmon stayed in the game after being hit, but did not look great in grounding out his next time up.

Details about the first transformation of Bruce Banner into The Hulk in the upcoming movie.

The latest issue of Wizard Magazine has details on the first time we see Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) first changing into the green meanie during next year's action epic from Ang Lee. Seems that Banner is "trapped in a watery tank called 'The Containment Unit' wearing a scuba mask and purple trunks. He starts to nod his head, then shakes violently, opens his eyes and changes into the Hulk for the first time".

WHOLE LOTTA TALK

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones issuing a joint statement denying plans to get back together for a Led Zeppelin reunion tour. The three rockers said they were responding to "completely speculative" British press rumors.

I maintain that there is no such thing as a false rumour in the music industry.

ALL YOU NEED IS RECOGNITION

Late Beatle George Harrison set to receive a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to British cinema at the British Independent Film Awards next Wednesday.

CALLING IT QUITS?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon telling TV Guide Online that the Buffster might hang it up in May. "I'm beginning to suspect that it may be [Buffy's] last season," Whedon said. "Nothing's official, but. . .the way people are talking, there's a finality to it." Ratings for this season are off 16 percent compared to this time last year.

Actor Richard Harris Dies At Age 72

LONDON (Reuters) - Oscar-nominated Irish actor Richard Harris, whose stage and screen roles ranged from King Arthur of "Camelot" to the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in "Harry Potter" films, died on Friday at age 72.

Harris, for years one of the hard-drinking wild men of the stage and screen along with British compatriots Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole, died in a London hospital after a battle with Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphatic cancer.

Familiar in later years for his shaggy white mane of hair, Harris made his name with such films as "Camelot," "This Sporting Life," and "A Man Called Horse" as he carved out a distinctive acting niche for himself.

But like Burton and O'Toole, Harris gained as much notoriety for his hell-raising off-stage exploits as for his acting talents, though he swore off alcohol in the 1980s.

Harris, who was twice married and twice divorced, told Reuters in an interview last year: "I have made 72 movies in my life and been miscast twice -- as a husband."

The Limerick, Ireland-born actor with a habitual twinkle in his eye endeared himself to a new generation of fans with his role as the benevolent wizard, Professor Albus Dumbledore, in last year's big-screen fantasy hit "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

It was a role he initially turned down, but was then nagged into taking it by his 11-year-old granddaughter, Emily, who threatened never to talk to him again if he refused.

"She called me up and said, 'Poppa, if you don't play Dumbledore, I will never speak to you again.' I hung up and called my agent and said I'd do it. I can't afford to lose that kid," he said at the time.

A brief statement from his three children announced his death.

"With great sadness, Damien, Jared and Jamie Harris announce the death of their beloved father, Richard Harris. He died peacefully at University College Hospital."

OSCAR NOMINATIONS

At a news conference earlier in the day to launch the second Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," producer David Heyman said he and director Christopher Columbus had recently visited Harris in the hospital and he appeared to be fighting back.

"He did threaten to kill me if I recast (Professor Dumbledore). I cannot even repeat what he said. He still has got that fight inside of him," Columbus said.

Harris earned two Oscar nominations during his film career, once for his breakthrough 1963 supporting role as a bitter young coal miner who becomes a professional rugby star in "This Sporting Life" and again nearly 30 years later for his comeback role as an elderly curmudgeon determined to hold on to his property in the 1990 drama "The Field."

Other film credits included the role of King Arthur in the 1967 movie adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe musical "Camelot" and the portrayal of an English aristocrat captured and tortured by Sioux Indians in the 1970 western "A Man Called Horse."

Harris, whose gravelly voice made him an unlikely pop star -- despite his singing role in "Camelot" -- confounded critics by scoring a hit in 1968 with a recording of "MacArthur Park."

Harris spent several years on the British stage, including a London production of "View from the Bridge," before making his movie debut in the 1958 film "Alive and Kicking."

In addition to his film performance in "Camelot," he starred in stage revivals of the show, including a career-reviving turn as King Arthur after Richard Burton fell ill at the end of a 1982 tour. Harris ended up sticking with the tour for five years.

Other stage shows included "The Ginger Man,"" "Diary of a Madman" and a 1990 London run of "Henry V," which won several awards.

The actor, who long had a reputation as a hell-raiser, has said publicly he gave up drinking in 1982, going cold turkey after a "farewell" celebration in which he and friends indulged in two $370 bottles of Chateau Margaux.

"When the bottle was empty, and I had this much left in my glass, I looked at my watch, and it was 20 past 11, and I said, 'This is my last drink.' And I never touched the stuff again," he told the New York Times in a 1990 interview.

Here's hoping he's remembered for being more than just Professor Dumbledore from the Harry Potter films.

CBS Looking At Victoria's Secret Swimsuit Show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Is CBS going scantily clad?

The network, which will air a Victoria's Secret lingerie fashion show next month, says it is also looking at the idea of a Victoria's Secret swimsuit special featuring that company's signature clothes and models.

A CBS spokeswoman said the network had talked with Limited Brands Inc. about the idea of such a show and was open to airing it. A spokeswoman for Limited Brands was not immediately available for comment.

This year's Victoria's Secret lingerie show is scheduled for Nov. 20 at 10 p.m., and CBS is promoting it as a major special during "sweeps," the periods where advertising rates are set based on network ratings.

The networks generally run a number of specials and promotions in the period to boost results.

Last year's special drew 12.4 million viewers for ABC in a November airing at the Thursday 9 p.m. time slot, but also garnered a slew of complaints to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, alleging the show was indecent. Those complaints were dismissed.

CBS is a unit of Viacom Inc. and ABC is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

Don't Resist!

Just watch this trailer!

McLachlan covers Kermit song

Sarah McLachlan will be croaking for charity with a version of The Kermit The Frog-sung Muppets' classic, "The Rainbow Connection."

The song will appear on the children's album, "For The Kids," and released through Nettwerk Records.

Proceeds from the release of the album will be donated to U.S. video channel VH1's Save The Music Foundation, which works towards restoring music programs in U.S. public schools.

The album also features songs by fellow Canadian artists Barenaked Ladies and Chantal & Raine Maida, as well as Cake, Guster, and Billy Bragg and Wilco.

It hits Canadian stores on November 5.

Hey Look!

It's online Rubik's Cube!

Fulks Invites Fans To Heckle Ryan Adams

Roots rock rabble-rouser Robbie Fulks is adding a little fuel to a recent controversy involving fellow singer/songwriter Ryan Adams. At one of the latter's concerts earlier this month in Nashville, someone in the audience yelled out a request for "Summer of '69," a hit for veteran Canadian rocker Bryan Adams. Ryan Adams reacted with a stream of profranity, located the fan, and paid him $30 as a refund before ordering him to leave. A similar incident had occured at a prior show in New York.

A note posted on Fulks' official Web site reads, "Any reader who attends a Ryan Adams show and disrupts the show with a Bryan Adams song request will receive in return merchandise of his or her choice, equal to the cost of the ticket, from my online store. You're on the honor system, necessarily; but please provide the date and location of the show, what you yelled, and what Ryan's reaction was."

Fulks is known for such irreverent tunes as "She Took a Lot of Pills and Died" and "Roots Rock Weirdos," the latter of which lambasted fans of the so-called "alt.country" genre. He and Ryan Adams have recorded for noted Chicago independent label Bloodshot.

"There's nothing really personal behind it," Fulks tells Billboard.com, noting that he has only met Adams on a handful of occasions. "I just don't like his music is all, or his persona. He's something of an ambassador for the roots music corner of the world to the public at large. I think he's the wrong person for that job. Not that he sees himself as occupying that role, but essentially that's what he's become. That's why I'd pick on him as opposed to Britney Spears."

Never one to rest on his laurels, Fulks says he is two-thirds done with a Michael Jackson covers album that he hopes to release next summer under the title "Dear Michael, Love Robbie." Among the tracks that have been recorded so far are "Billie Jean," "Ben," "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," and "Privacy." Of the latter, Fulks says, "We did it in kind of a John Zorn/Metallica speed metal style with Bob Weston and Todd Trainer from [Chicago rock outfit] Shellac."

Tonight (Oct. 24), Fulks plays Elkhart, Ill., while Adams, whose rep had no comment on the situation, descends on San Francisco.

Mariah Carey Covers Def Leppard On New Album

Mariah Carey covers Def Leppard's 1980s song "Bringin' On The Heartbreak" on her upcoming album, Charmbracelet.

Carey was 11 years old when the song first came out, featured on Def Leppard's 1981 album, High And Dry. It was also included on the band's 1995 greatest hits set, Vault. The new cover version is done rock-ballad style, and boasts a guitar solo by musician Rob Bacon.

Other tracks on Carey's album include the current advance single "Through The Rain," and "My Saving Grace." In another song, the title of which has not been anounced, the half-Irish, half-Puerto Rican pop star sings a line sure to draw attention: "I was stigmatized for being black and white."

Justin Timberlake's vocals have reportedly been added to one of the numbers as well, to create a duet.

Charmbracelet arrives December 10 in stores, on Island-Def Jam MonarC Music.

Max Weinberg May Not Be Back to Conan For a While

According to Little Steven, guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the group will be hitting the road for a second tour beginning in spring 2003. "Well, we're gonna continue. We're gonna step things up. Really, this first four months is really just a quick hit warm-up. The real tour is gonna start in March, April, I think. You know, we're gonna probably start camping out in cities. Right now, we're doing nothing but one-nighters, literally--I mean, we have not done two shows anywhere, and we won't through December--just sort of to introduce the record to as many different cities as we can," said Steven. The group is currently working on finishing its first tour in support of THE RISING; the last date is December 14 in Albany, New York.

TWIN HAPPENINGS

Filmmakers Peter and Bobby Farrelly planning to direct Stuck on You, a comedy about the adventures of conjoined twins. The brothers are in talks with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear to star.

UP FOR RE-ELECTION

Robert Redford and screenwriter Larry Gelbart hatching a sequel to their 1972 political drama The Candidate. Redford will reprise his role as idealistic politician Bill McKay.

The Final Frontier?

Who was it that said films aren't finished, they're abandoned? Such words may never have proven more true than in the case of the much-maligned Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. William "I am not Kirk!" Shatner's directorial debut failed to win over either critics or most Trekkers, yet rumors continue to swirl of a "Director's Cut" finally popping up on DVD.

As fans already know, Paramount will be releasing special editions of all the original cast Trek films (with installments I, II and III already out), and several sources have indicated that Shatner is currently in talks to supervise a new cut of the film, a la The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition, complete with new effects.

Stay tuned...

I Have No Will Power!

So I started watching the new E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial DVD on Wednesday night, and I wanted to see how long I could go without craving Reeses Pieces.

For the record I lasted 22 minutes before I went to the store to buy some.

Luckily I wasn't watching Charlie And The Chocolate Factory or Cannibal! The Musical.

The Hornby Top Ten
by Nick Hornby

The author of "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy" picks the 10 record tracks he could not imagine living without.

1 Bruce Springsteen: 'Thunder Road', from Born to Run (Columbia, 1975)

At a crude estimate, I must have played 'Thunder Road' 1500 times. A lot in the first year - twenty times a week - and then probably once every couple of weeks since then. There's another version I play a lot as well, which is an acoustic one on a bootleg someone gave, that's very, very slow and very, very sad. It's completely different, completely re-imagined, and I would think recorded when he was a bit older and sadder. In the mid-'70s, sax wasn't such a big deal. And I can remember with Springsteen and Southside Johnny - who I used to see a lot at that time too - one of the amazing things about them is they had horns onstage. I never saw horns when I went to see Rory Gallagher or Dr. Feelgood, so that was a big deal. There was also that guitar sound that was almost a bit like the Shadows, a twangy thing, especially when Springsteen played live, and it just sounded like this great synthesis of all the music I'd ever liked up until that point. And I've really stuck by Springsteen. I still think he's a really interesting person, and much misunderstood and maligned. And I hate people who hate him!

2 The Clash: '(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais' (CBS B-side, 1979)

I couldn't imagine a list of ten records that didn't contain a punk record - that didn't contain a Clash record. And this is my favourite Clash record: this and 'Complete Control'. I still listen to it a lot, and I'm still struck by how unwieldy some of the lyrics are, and how out-of-tune some of the singing is. But it just builds up to such a fantastic climax, I think. And there are little pop hooks all over the place. I used to go and see the Clash a fair bit. I did think they were dead cool, and very handsome. It's funny, I was looking at that Mojo list of a hundred punk singles that they did, and it struck me how fantastically awful almost all of them were, and how I never wanted to hear any of them again! But it was great then, because I was at college, and it just seemed like every couple of days I could go into the local record shop and there would be something brilliant that I had never heard before. But the point seemed to be the plenty - that there were so many of them, and so many labels. Once you start thinking, 'Which ones would I choose?', you realise this one's horrible and that one's horrible… do you know what I mean? I suppose I still play the Buzzcocks: those singles, I think, were fantastic. I certainly couldn't bear to play Never Mind the Bollocks, I don't think.

3 Marah: 'My Heart is the Bums on the Street', from Kids in Philly (E-Squared, 2000)

I suppose my last new discovery, that I absolutely loved, is a little band called Marah. I met, on a book tour, a really nice guy called Dan DeLuca from the Philadelphia Inquirer, and we went out for a drink. He gave me this cassette and said, 'This is a local band and I think they're great'. I don't know why I put it on, but it was partly because Dan told me that Marah was the Tree of Bitterness in the Bible! And then he said, 'I think it's a Springsteen thing', which was a sort of subterranean connection. And it turned out they were absolute Springsteen nuts, which is quite interesting 'cause they're in their mid-20's. The band consists of two brothers, and whichever other two people can put up with them at the time! I think they're on their third rhythm section since I started listening to them. They're very ambitious. I was in New York about a year after I'd first heard this cassette, and I was looking in the New Yorker and noticed they were playing that night. I'd arranged to meet everyone I knew in New York for dinner, and I made them finish their dinner very quickly and go round the corner to the Mercury Lounge to watch Marah. They did a whole extended medley that included 'Magic Bus' and 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. And I met the band, and I've sort of kept in touch with them ever since. In a Clash way they're a good gang. They look the part. The two brothers are incredibly handsome. And then I was back in New York, and they said they were playing the Stone Pony, which obviously was a big deal to me. I was reading with Zadie Smith, and I'd been given a driver by the New Yorker who'd been told to take us where we wanted to go. So three of us got in this car and said we wanted to go to Asbury Park! And the band basically waited for us to get there, which took about an hour and a quarter. My Heart is the Bums on the Street' is sort of a little pop-soul song that sounds a bit Jackie Wilson-ish. Ideally I'd choose the Stone Pony version of that song. There was an embarrassing moment during that show when I was grabbed and shoved onstage to sing backing vocals on their encore version of 'Love Train'! At least it wasn't in England!

4 Teenage Fanclub: 'Your Love is the Place Where I Come From', from Songs from Northern Britain (Creation, 1997)

I love everything they do, but that one in particular. Last year I went to see the Fannies play an acoustic set at the Hammersmith Palais. When I walked in, they were doing a soundcheck and playing this song and it sounded completely beautiful. And when they played it later it was incredibly moving. And even though there's probably fifteen of theirs I'd have, that one more than any is the one I'd choose. What I love more than anything about Teenage Fanclub is just tunes. I don't think there are many other bands that have a back catalogue like that. I don't like very much British music, so it's nice for me to have something British that's roughly contemporary. It tends to be Scottish groups that I like rather than English ones. People say they're a direct Byrds ripoff, but I'm not that keen on the Byrds and I'm much keener on the Fanclub. I've got that Byrds box set and it's very hard to make your way through that. I suppose what I also love about Teenage Fanclub is an optimism and a lack of cynicism. You get ground down after a while by the dark stuff. I've got a homemade Fanclub tape in the car that gets an awful bashing. And Songs for Northern Britain is a desert island album for me.

5 Marvin Gaye: 'Let's Get It On', from Let's Get It On (Tamla Motown, 1973)

I think this is the best pop record ever made. I didn't think they should do it at the end of High Fidelity because I didn't think Jack Black would do it well, but he was so great. It was entirely appropriate for me that the movie ended like that, and it was very funny to write in the book - the idea of this nerd who was a pain in the ass but has this incredible singing voice. Still, I think, a lot of people don't believe it was him actually singing. I'd say I got into Marvin Gaye properly in college. I probably only bought it in 1977. I think we white rock fans tend to be slightly retro in our black music listening! When I was 19 I went through all the Motown and the Stax things. Then it was Al Green and so on. And in the '80s I listened more to soul than to rock, I think. I went to see Luther Vandross and things like that - Luther was one of the few people we got a chance to see. Let's Get It On' is just so bottomless, the way those voices are layered on top of each other. I still hear little 'oohs' and 'aahs' and little vocal melody lines that I didn't hear the last last time, and there's not many records that have got anything left in them like that. It's also, I think, got some of the greatest drumming I've ever heard on a soul record.

6 O.V. Wright: 'That's The Way I Feel About Cha', from The Bottom Line (Hi, 1978)

With Hi Records, it's Al Green followed by Ann Peebles followed by O.V. Wright. I love the O.V. Wright records, because it's one of the few times that you hear that Hi house band being allowed to let rip a bit. It's more sort of kitchen-sinky than the Al Green records. And I love it that O.V. Wright's got a lisp. It sounds like his teeth aren't in properly. [I think they'd fallen out - Ed.] Plus I love that Bobby Womack song, because it's a sort of old marriage song, isn't it?

7 The Bible: 'Glorybound', from The Bible (Ensign, 1989) - original single version currently unavailable

For a long time, Boo Hewerdine was the only person I knew who played music. He was a friend of a friend of mine who worked in a record shop in Cambridge, and I used to see him around. And there's always that sort of fantastically embarrassing thing when somebody suddenly says they've made a record, and would you give it a listen. And I thought it was quite good. It was very professional, and it had a tune, and I was quite surprised because Boo was quite a dour character. And the Bible just started playing locally and I used to go and see them all the time. I think being a fan of a band is, in a way, the best sort of criticism, because you're prepared to give songs a chance. When you love a band, any bad song is forgiven as an aberration. Any song you half-like you'll play another four times to make up your mind about it. And actually, that's what music criticism should be, and it just isn't! "Glory Bound" is a lovely song, and very romantic. It nicks that Horace Silver bass line from the beginning of 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number'. This was a time when I couldn't find very much that I wanted to listen to. I found the post-punk period very difficult, so what saved it for me at the time was - because I love songs so much - Paddy McAloon and Danny Wilson and Roddy Frame. And I thought Boo's best stuff was as good as theirs. And they were all doomed!

8 LL Cool J: 'Going Back to Cali', from Walking with a Panther (Def Jam, 1989)

There was a time when I thought hip hop was going to be fantastically exciting: there was an energy and a musicality there. But I've found almost nothing over the last few years. The second OutKast album, Aquemini, I liked a lot, but that's a soul album, really. The LL Cool J track I first heard on the soundtrack to Less Than Zero, and I think it still sounds fantastic. That scratching has got a real thump to it. I have it on in the car a lot: it's a fantastic driving song. I didn't learn to drive until two years ago, so music in the car is quite a new thing for me, and a pretty good thing. With the LL Cool J, it's a toss-up between that and Blackstreet's 'No Diggity'.

9 Prince and the New Power Generation: 'Sexy MF', from the 'Symbol' album (Paisley Park, 1992)

I loved him a lot, and I think the second best show I've ever seen was Prince on the Parade tour. It was just this soul revue that I've never seen the like of since. As I remember it, there were hardly any breaks. There were just these long jams, and he had a horn section and these three huge guys singing and dancing with him. It was just electric. And then the next time it was all rubbish with cars and beds and flowers unfolding. "Sexy MF" is the last great record he made. I've been doing a tiny bit of DJ'ing, at bits and pieces of things recently. And that is just such a fantastic record in a club. The whoompf of that riff, a great horn section, fantastic guitar and organ solos. It's too short, I think: I wish there was a ten-minute version of it. I remember a great interview with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis where they said they couldn't believe what he was asking them to play. They said, 'We can't do that', and he said, 'Yes, you can do that'. And then they did it, and then he said, "OK, now the dance steps…"

10 Steve Earle: 'Telephone Road', from El Corazon (Warner Bros., 1997)

It's got a fantastically understated gospel group on it - I think the Fairfield Four - doing a call-and-response thing, and that kind of tension in the record is great. It's a sort of rocker, with a great syncopated rocky beat. And he's someone that's meant quite a lot in dark days of not much good music. Just all those great records in a row. And I still think there's three, four, five great songs on probably every one of his albums since Train a-Comin'. He's such a great rock'n'roll writer, I think. He takes a lot of trouble writing rockers, whereas most people who do rockers just think that any kind of all-purpose boogie is enough, and they'll write tunes for the ballads. There aren't many great rock songs from the last few years, but this is one of them.

Christian Slater Joins THE WEST WING

NBC has announced that Christian Slater has agreed to making a multi-episode guest appearance on THE WEST WING, playing a submarine commander.

BACK TO HIS ROOTS

Director Terry Gilliam coming aboard to develop and possibly direct MGM's Brothers Grimm, fictional action-adventure tale about the famous folklore collectors and siblings who travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and are themselves put to the test.

COMEBACK KID

Fox is bringing back "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" starting on Sunday, December 1.

No word yet about "Greg The Bunny" returning.

What happened to the Christina who skipped on the beach with her little dancer friends, warbling about a genie in a bottle? This Christina is more likely to throw a bottle at a wall nowadays. And chances are you'll also find her brawling with other girls rather than being winsome in the sand. "I don't like pretty," she says.

Whoever said she was pretty?!?!

If you dare, read the Rolling Stone article.

Led Zeppelin Management Denies Reunion Reports

Led Zeppelin's management is officially denying reports that the group plans to reunite in 2003 for a new album and/or tour. A statement issued by the group's management office says, "Recent reports concerning an alleged Led Zeppelin reunion are completely speculative. We don't know where these sources are coming from--certainly not from anyone in our management offices. There is no tour, there are no plans for a tour, and no discussions have taken place."

The reports surfaced in August, when sources in the band's management office told LAUNCH that discussions were under way about a group reunion, including a tour, in 2003. The story gained steam earlier this month when producer Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Journey, the Black Crowes) was linked with a reported new Zeppelin recording for next year.

What is certain, however, is that guitarist Jimmy Page has been combing through filmed and videotaped performances of Led Zeppelin concerts for a DVD package that's slated for release sometime in 2003.

New R.E.M. Album Progressing, Out Within A Year

A new R.E.M. album can be expected within a year, according to the band's manager, Bertis Downs.

Downs, the manager and general counsel for the group, said work has started up again on the band's 12th album, the follow up to 2001's Reveal.

Singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills began new songs in their home base of Athens, Georgia, and more recently, spent time in studio in Vancouver.

"The guys plan to work in bursts on this record--a few weeks here, somewhere warmer in the winter, different in the spring, possibly some shows next summer," Downs said. "All should result in a new disc, available in a panoply of formats in a matter of months (more likely a year or so)."

"Peter, Mike, and Michael are doing great individually and collectively, and all seem supercharged to be back in the studio, writing, playing, trying things out, getting sounds," the message said. R.E.M. has been working with engineer/producers Pat McCarthy and Jamie Candiloro.

Downs also offered his own tour book view of Vancouver. "October everywhere is a pretty spectacular time of year, it seems especially crisp, cool, and vivid in British Columbia right about now. It's sort of like Seattle if Seattle was in Europe--very cosmopolitan--a true melting pot of cultures, and a wonderful city to explore on foot. Anyway...they're off, early days, but good vibes about the next one."

Ripken's streak most memorable moment

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak was voted baseball's most memorable moment in fan balloting.

The milestone by the Baltimore Orioles' shortstop in 1995 received 282,821 votes, out of more than 1.1 million cast. Many credit Ripken's feat with bringing many fans back to baseball following the 1994 players' strike.

"Mine was a heartfelt moment for many people,'' Ripken told The Associated Press. "I know that because they've told me. For me, it was a magical moment.''
 
Rounding out the top five memorable moments was Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record in 1974 (275,451 votes); Jackie Robinson becoming the first black to play in major league baseball in 1947 (251,564 votes); the home run chase by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to beat Roger Maris' single-season home run record in 1998 (242,279 votes); and Gehrig's farewell speech in Yankee Stadium in 1939 (237,131 votes).

The rest of the top 10 moments were Pete Rose breaking Ty Cobb's all-time career hits record in 1985 (230,852 votes); Ted Williams becoming the last player to hit above .400 in 1941 (203,982 votes); Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941 (176,810 votes); Kirk Gibson's pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series (157,716 votes); and Nolan Ryan's seventh career no-hitter in 1991 (146,269 votes).

Major league baseball and MasterCard, which sponsored the balloting, announced the results before Game 4 of the World Series in San Francisco.

Not making the top 10 were two moments dear to Giants fans: Bobby Thomson's ``Shot Heard 'Round the World'' in a 1951 playoff game to propel the New York Giants past Brooklyn into the World Series, and Willie Mays' over-the-shoulder catch in the 1954 World Series against Cleveland.

Mays was at Pacific Bell Park before Game 3 and recalled his play that robbed Vic Wertz at the Polo Grounds. Mays, however, added that he thought he'd made a few better plays in his career.

Other famous World Series moments not making the top-10: Joe Carter's title clinching home run in Game 6 against Philadephia in 1993; Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956 against Brooklyn; Bill Mazeroski's home run to beat the Yankees in 1960; and Carlton Fisk's shot to win Game 6 of the 1975 Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Voting took place in all 30 major league ballparks, on major league baseball's Web site, and from ballots in selected magazines and at participating advertisers.

CBS Postpones Sniper-Themed 'CSI: Miami' Episode

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - CBS has postponed an episode of its hit crime drama "CSI: Miami" that deals with a series of shootings by a sniper because of the sniper attacks in the Washington D.C. area, the network said on Wednesday.

A network spokesman said the episode has been filmed but no decision has been made about when it will air. He said that if the sniper shootings had never taken place, the episode would have probably aired this year.

The show in question, first pitched to the network in August, features a sniper shooting people from a Miami high-rise building.

"CSI: Miami," a spin-off of "CSI," has proven to be a major hit for CBS in its freshman season. According to Nielsen Media Research, "CSI: Miami" is the No. 5 show of the season to date, and the No. 3 drama.

Last week, film studio 20th Century Fox pulled the sniper thriller, "Phone Booth," from its Nov. 15 release date.

The movie stars Irish actor Colin Farrell as a man who answers a ringing telephone in a phone booth only to learn he is in the gun sights of a sniper, played by Kiefer Sutherland of television's "24," who threatens to shoot if he hangs up.

A new release date for the film has not yet been set.

CBS is a unit of Viacom Inc. and 20th Century Fox is a unit of News Corp. Ltd.

Faith Hill Turns Queen of Record Sales

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Long live the Queen! Country pop diva Faith Hill knocked the King of Rock 'N Roll off his throne, replacing Elvis Presley at the top of album sales tallies on Wednesday with her new album titled "Cry."

Selling 472,000 copies in its first week of release ended Oct. 20, "Cry" nearly doubled Hill's record-breaking 1999 "Breathe" debut, which also hit No. 1 on the North American charts and sold 242,229 in its first week, her label, Warner Bros., a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., said.

But while Warner was pleased with the showing for "Cry," which blends country, pop, gospel, and rhythm and blues, the sales actually paled in comparison with the receipts earned by fellow country crooners Dixie Chicks, who sold 780,000 units in their first week of release in early September.

The Chicks have sustained good sales levels for the past eight weeks, with industry watchers predicting both the Hill and Chicks albums to serve as a prelude for more hits being released soon by divas like Christina Aguilera, Shania Twain, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Lopez and Mariah Carey.

"These guys are crossing over in a big way. They're really not country records," said Sue Bryan, general manager of music for J&R Music World in New York City, referring to Hill and the Dixie Chicks.

"Business is stronger overall. As we have more big releases coming out this week and next week, we're expecting a big lift," Bryan said, noting Santana's just-released album, "Shaman," was already selling fast and was likely to be No. 1 next week. The album was released on Tuesday.

Other big releases due out soon include the soundtrack to Eminem's new movie "8 Mile" and a compilation of grunge band Nirvana's greatest hits.

Presley's "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits," which was released 25 years after his death and held the No. 1 slot on the Nielsen Soundscan album tracker charts for three weeks, fell from first to third place in the latest week, according to the King's label, Bertelsmann AG's RCA Records.

The album sold 143,304 units, taking its four-week domestic tally to nearly 1.2 million units, an RCA spokesman said.

Sandwiched between the queen and king in terms of sales was rapper LL Cool J, whose new album "10," released on Vivendi Universal's Def Jam label, sold an estimated 154,310 units in the latest week, industry sources said.

Play All Day!

Check out this groovy hela-fun South Park boombox. It's guaranteed to make you laugh for hours!

THE KING'S COIF

Thousands of strands of Elvis Presley's hair collected by the King's barber set to be auctioned off on October 28 via collectibles auction house MastroNet. Bidding starts at $10,000.

AN OFFER THEY CAN'T REFUSE?

Paramount Pictures, distributor of all three Godfather movies, getting the first shot at screen rights to a new installment of late author Mario Puzo's Mafia series, which is in the planning stages at Random House. The publisher and Puzo's estate are looking to draft a new writer to continue the Corleone saga.

WIZARD OF OZZ

MTV president Brian Graden telling TV Guide Online the second season of The Osbournes will start on schedule next month, despite Sharon Osbourne ongoing cancer treatment. MTV has at least four episodes in the can already. Published reports had speculated that MTV might delay the second season until next year.

World Series Striking Out in Early TV Ratings

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The World Series has been an offensive showcase in its first two games, full of homers, big hits, and big numbers -- except on television.

Fox Sports said on Tuesday total viewership for the first two games of this year's contest between the Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants was down 13 percent from 2001's series between the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks, according to Nielsen Media Research statistics.

In fact, the first two games, played on Saturday and Sunday, drew lower ratings than the first two games in the 2000 series, a four-game sweep by the New York Yankees over the New York Mets that was Nielsen's lowest-rated series in history.

This year's first two games drew 17.5 million average viewers compared with 20.1 million a year earlier.

Game One's rating, a measure of the percentage of homes with TVs that watched the game, was down 10 percent from 2001's Game One. Game Two was down 21 percent from the 2001 Game Two on the same basis.

The all-California series -- which opened at Edison International Field in Anaheim, California, near Los Angeles -- has performed strongly among viewers in the western United States, but is down year-over-year in the Midwest and mountain states and is off a full 25 percent in the Eastern time zone compared with last year.

Fox, which paid $2.5 billion in 2000 for six years of baseball broadcasting rights, had been hoping to at least to break even with last year's results.

Fox Sports President and Executive Producer Ed Goren had said last week that the network's best-case scenario for this year's series would be to break even compared to last year's matchup.

Excluding the World Series, Fox's overall baseball ratings for the four divisional series and two league championship series this year were up 5 percent over 2001.

Fox also said it had won the nightly prime-time competition both Saturday and Sunday nights in total viewers and adults aged 18-49, a key demographic for advertisers.

Both of the first two games were close, with San Francisco edging Anaheim 4-3 in Game One and Anaheim powering out an 11-10 victory over the Giants in Game Two. Oddsmakers had San Francisco as a slight favorite to take Game Three, scheduled for Tuesday evening in San Francisco's Pac Bell Stadium.

Fox and Fox Sports are units of News Corp. Ltd.

Collins: Sex Preserves Beauty

LONDON, England (Reuters) - For really old 69-year-old really old looking British actress Joan Collins, sex is one of the best and cheapest beauty treatments there is.

The actress, currently on husband number five, said she was not a fan of plastic surgery, telling BBC World Service in an interview: "I think liposuction is something so horrible -- they have so many disasters with it."

"Dolly Parton has face like a doll, you know, it doesn't look right to me," said the actress, currently promoting her new book "Joan's Way -- looking good, feeling great."

Collins said she was convinced that sex was "one of the best and cheapest beauty treatments there is."

One word- "Ewwwwwwwww!"

Ozzy Shocked By Queen (Not The Band)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Rock's Wild Man Ozzy Osbourne freaked out when he met Queen Elizabeth and can't remember a word she said to him.

Osbourne, whose outrageous stunts have ranged from biting the head off a bat to urinating on the Alamo while dressed as a woman, was introduced to Queen Elizabeth at this summer's Golden Jubilee pop concert at Buckingham Palace.

He confessed to Britain's Radio Times: "I freaked out. I assumed I was the in-house joke. The Queen spoke to me but I haven't a clue what she said. Look at photographs -- I'm in shock."

Of his nervous disposition he said: "I hyperventilate opening a box of chocolates. I'm the most nervous guy in the world, a frightened little man on red alert from when I wake until I go to sleep. I was born with fear."

And the star of the expletive-filled MTV reality show about his zany family is fully aware how fleeting fame can be. "I'm flavor of the month, hottest ticket in town, but eventually we'll be yesterday's news. Then I'll have serenity again," he said.

Today's New Releases

There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of superb new DVD titles that are being released today and I want to buy them all!

How many will you pick up?

Here are the new DVD and Video releases for Tuesday, October 22nd, 2002.

UP FIRST, THE MAJOR, MUST HAVE TITLES

THE JAMES BOND COLLECTION: VOLUME 1- This 7-disc box set includes many goodies and the films:
* Dr. No (Special Edition) (commentary by director Terence Young, the cast and crew; 2 documentaries; featurette)
* Goldfinger (Special Edition) (commentary by director Guy Hamilton and commentary by the cast and crew; original radio interviews with Sean Connery; 2 documentaries; original publicity featurette)
* The Man with the Golden Gun (Special Edition) (commentary by director Guy Hamilton, the cast and crew; Inside The Man With The Golden Gun documentary; Double-0 Stuntmen documentary)
* The Spy Who Loved Me (Special Edition) (commentary by director Lewis Gilbert, the cast and crew; 2 documentaries)
* Licence to Kill (Special Edition) (commentary by director John Glen; commentary by producer Michael G. Wilson; documentary; promotional featurette highlighting stunt footage & theatrical publicity footage; music videos: "License to Kill" by Gladys Knight & "If You Asked Me To" by Patti LaBelle
* GoldenEye (Special Edition) (commentary by director Martin Campbell & producer Michael G. Wilson; documentary: The World of 007; "The GoldenEye Video Journal" featurette; music video "GoldenEye" by Tina Turner)
* Tomorrow Never Dies (Special Edition) (commentary by director Roger Spottiswoode; commentary by second unit director Vic Armstrong & producer Michael G. Wilson; Secrets of 007 featurette; stunning visual effects reel; music video "Tomorrow Never Dies" by Sheryl Crow; isolated music-only audio track & interview with composer David Arnold; innovative storyboard overlay technology that compares initial "Action-Scene" concepts with the final film).

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL- A Boy befriends the infamous homesick little alien in a California suburb. All versions of the DVD will have the original 1982 version and the altered/sanitized 2002 release. (Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace)

MR. DEEDS- A small-town guy gets inheritance and moves to big city. (Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher)

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN- An "older woman" gets caught up in an affair with two boys in this hard to find foreign film. (Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna)

THE BEST OF ARBUCKLE/KEATON COLLECTION- A series of superb short films starring silent film legend Keaton. (Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle)

MAD ABOUT YOU: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON- I mention that the complete first season of the TV series Mad About You is being released just to prove that even out and out crap can get released on DVD. (Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt)

And then here is the rest of today's massive list of new releases.

Nirvana Best-Of Collects 14 Songs

The upcoming Nirvana collection, much-hyped due to the inclusion of the previously unreleased "You Know You're Right," will feature 14 songs overall, according to the Universal Music sales catalog. The album arrives October 29.

Tracks include the song responsible for the former Seattle band's breakout success, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and three others from the album Nevermind. Five songs from the In Utero era are also featured while three others date back to the band's pre-Geffen Sub Pop days. A cover of David Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World" is also featured.

The complete track listing is: "You Know You're Right," "About A Girl," "Been A Son," "Sliver," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are," "Lithium," "In Bloom," "Heart Shaped Box," "Pennyroyal Tea," "Rape Me," "Dumb," "All Apologies," and "The Man Who Sold The World."

Carey hopes new album is a charm

Mariah Carey's hoping her fans will be charmed by her first album since her nervous breakdown last year.

She's just revealed her follow-up to the critically panned album "Glitter" will be titled "Charmbracelet," reports MTV.com. It's her first album since signing with hip-hop label Island Def Jam earlier this year.

"Charm bracelets have always had a personal and sentimental significance for me," Carey explains in a statement. "Charms are like pieces of yourself that you pass on to other people, items that tell your story and that can be shared like a song.

"The bracelet represents the foundation of this album, a body of work that encompasses many feelings."

Her first single from the album will be "Through The Rain."

Guests on the album include Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, and Cam'ron. Timberlake added verses and harmonies to the track "Yours." Although the song's producer Jimmy Jam is convinced it's going to be a major hit for Carey, she hasn't decided if the final version on her album will include her duet with Timberlake or not.

The album is set to be released on December 10.

Today's New Music Releases

Okay, so here we are! A Tuesday that will see some new CD's appear in your local store that ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY. Not all of this day's new discs ARE ACTUALLY WORTH YOUR MONEY, but some of them are. Let me tell you which ones:

FOO FIGHTERS- ONE BY ONE

Dave Grohl is on his way to becoming the hardest-working man in show business. The musical multitasker somehow squeezed out the fourth Foo Fighters record in between drumming for Queens of the Stone Age, masterminding a punk-rock supergroup project called Probot and negotiating a truce with Courtney Love for the release of Nirvana's greatest hits. Here, Grohl consistently puts forth straightforward, stripped-down rock that is neither ironic nor pandering--a fine line between Cheap Trick and cheap tricks. The sludged-out stoner rock of QOTSA infiltrates a couple of tracks, but it's all about arena-sized hooks, whisper-to-a-scream song structures and the unmistakable feeling that Grohl rocks out because, well, it's still fun. What a revolutionary concept! One By One is easily one of 2002's best!

SANTANA- SHAMAN

With 1999's "Supernatural" Carlos Santana bucked a 20-year commercial dry spell by enlisting a group of youthful guests to rejuvenate his hocus-pocus guitar playing. The result moved 25 million units and won him an armful of Grammys. So, is it any wonder the follow-up sticks closely to that winning blueprint? Rob Thomas has been replaced by the younger, sexier Michelle Branch on the first Latin-pop single, "The Game of Love." The rest of the guest roster reads like an awards-show performance lineup: Dido (more on her in a moment), Placido Domingo, Musiq, Seal...the list goes on and on. The differences between collaborators can be jarring (like going from screamers P.O.D. to the quilted softness of Dido) and only leave about half of an album of pure mystic guitar playing for the old-school hippie fans. But even as Santana's magic fingers sometimes struggle for a common thread here, they still do plenty of good work. The song with Dido (Feels Like Fire) is actually the first piece of new music from the British Babe since 1999. If this tune is any indication of where she is headed (musically), I hope we get more from her soon.

And then there are the rest of the new music releases for Tuesday, October 22, 2002:

* ALABAMA In The Mood: The Love Songs (RCA Country)
* ALAN JACKSON Far Off (Arista)
* CHARLI BALTIMORE Charli Baltimore (Def Jam)
* CHRIS ROBINSON New Earth Mud (Redline)
* DAVID BOWIE Best Of Bowie (EMI)
* FINCH What It Is To Burn (MCA)
* HEADSTONES The Oracle of Hi-Fi (Maple Music)
* HOBEX U Ready, Man? (True North)
* JACKASS OST Jackass OST (American/Universal)
* JOHN MELLENCAMP Box Set (Mercury)
* KEITH URBAN Keith Urban (Capitol)
* KENNY G Wishes (Arista)
* LYRIC Lyric (J Records)
* MS. JADE Girl Interrupted (Interscope)
* O-TOWN O2 (J Records)
* PAID IN FULL OST Paid In Full OST (Def Jam)
* PAVEMENT Slanted And Enchanted (Matador)
* PAVEMENT Slow Century (DVD) (Matador)
* RODDY FRAME Surf (True North)
* SONYA ISAACS Pictures Of Me (Hollywood)
* T.A.T.U. 200 km/hr In The Wrong Lane (Interscope)
* THE DONNAS Spend The Night (Atlantic)
* THICKE Cherry Blue Skies (Interscope)
* U2 Electrical Storm (CD Single) (Island)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS A Cellarful Of Motown (Motown)
* W.C. Ghetto Heisman (Def Jam)
* YOUSSOU N'DOUR Nothing's In Vain (Nonesuch/Warner)

PS- Foooooooooooooooooooooo!

In order to satisfy your insatiable appetite, here are some superb pictures from X-Men 2!

Up First, Wolverine...

JERSEY-BOUND

Will Smith set to make a cameo appearance in director Kevin Smith's upcoming film, Jersey Girl, starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

Cooper Promises Scary Halloween

PHOENIX (AP) - Alice Cooper promises to make Halloween even scarier this year.

The rock singer, who has been frightening audiences for years with gruesome concert performances that feature guillotines lopping off heads and infant dolls gushing blood, has opened his latest haunted house attraction.

"The whole key of our haunted house is to scare people in many different ways," said house director Steve Kopelman. "And you try to get them when they least expect it."

Alice Cooper's Nightmare: The Breakdown, which opened Oct. 2 and runs through Nov. 2, is the sequel to 2001's Alice Cooper's Nightmare, the Phoenix shock rocker's first foray into the haunted house business. Cooper executives first came to Kopelman three years ago to create the attraction.

This year, the effects are better, Kopelman said, with lifelike props, high-tech robots and computer movement systems manned by the same company used by major theme parks.

The house's budget has also been increased, and a second house has debuted in San Antonio. House operators hope Cooper-themed attractions will be showing up in other areas of the country for future Halloweens.

Cooper is touring and won't actually be at the houses, but there are about 30 actors at each one to handle the task of frightening the roughly 1,000 people who go through each night.

New Edition Reunites for Album, Tour

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - New Edition, the first group to popularize the fusion of pop, R&B and hip-hop known as "New Jack Swing" plans to release its first album in seven years early next year, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy record label announced on Monday.

The group parted ways in 1987, but reunited to put out the 1996 album "Home Again," which made it to Number 1 on the R&B charts.

The group's smooth falsetto sound spawned hits like "Candy Girl," "Mr. Telephone Man" and "Cool It Now" and established them as the kings of black bubblegum rock in the 1980s.

Their stratospheric success, especially among teen-age girls, prompted music studios to try to replicate them with clones like the Backstreet Boys (news - web sites), Boyz II Men and New Kids on the Block.

The reconstituted New Edition, minus Bobby Brown, plans a 2003 tour, album and a bio-pic to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Candy Girl," the 1983 hit that made stars of the boys from the Boston projects who began singing together for pocket money. The record for Combs was expected to be out in next spring.

Further details were not disclosed.

The members of New Edition -- Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant -- sold a combined 31 million albums as soloists and bandmates and laid the foundation for the musical style called "New Jack Swing."

The Rally Monkey Works!

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but the monkey survived!The Rally Monkey!

Shania Twain will kick off halftime show at Grey Cup

Canadian country music superstar Shania Twain will kick off the halftime show at the 90th Grey Cup in Edmonton Nov. 24.

After months of negotiations, the 37-year-old has agreed to perform two songs from her new album Up! - whatever the weather.

"It's fantastic for the CFL and it's fantastic for Edmonton," said an elated Bill Gardiner, chairman of Grey Cup 2002. "We're confident it's going to be a sellout."

The big game will have a distinctly country feel, with Alberta country stars Emerson Drive headlining the pre-game show. And just before the game kicks off, Edmonton's Adam Gregory will sing the national anthem.

Twain, who's sold over 40 million albums worldwide, will open the halftime show, singing her hit single I'm Gonna Getcha Good and a second, as yet unnamed song from Up!

"It's a huge boost for the CFL - it's almost too good to be true," said Dianne Greenough, chair of the halftime show.

"We've approach- ed a number of people over the years, although we all agreed we would not use anyone but a Canadian. Getting someone to sing outside in possibly -20 C has been our biggest challenge.

"Many people feel it's not good for their voice but the weather hasn't been an issue with Shania."

Gardiner said the CFL opened negotiations with Twain's record company, Universal Music Canada, months ago. "We started talking to her about a package deal which would include three days, which she was unable to make. This came back through the CFL and they approached us."

Gardiner said he has an entertainment budget of $175,000 - but only a small part will go towards Twain's fee. The cost will be shared by the Grey Cup, the CFL and Universal.

"If we did know (Twain's fee) we wouldn't tell you but I really don't know," said Hugh Campbell, president and CEO of the Edmonton Eskimos. "I happen to really enjoy country music so I'm really excited. These are all big names to me and Shania Twain is as big as they get."

Twain, who was raised in Timmins, Ont., and now lives in Switzerland, recently took a break from music with her husband-producer Robert Lange after giving birth to son, Eja.

"I can't think of a more exciting homecoming for Shania than performing at this year's Grey Cup," said Universal Music Canada president and CEO Randy Lennox.

The Grey Cup final is already heading towards being a sellout but Eskimos spokesman Dave Jamieson said the Shania Twain announcement will further speed sales. Jamieson said more than 50,000 of the 55,000 tickets available are gone.

When the city last hosted the final in 1997 it was played before a capacity crowd of 60,000. Alterations to Commonwealth Stadium since have cut the number of seats by 5,000.

A new "Wild n' Woolly" logo has been unveiled for Grey Cup 2002, featuring an old ball wrapped in a green scarf. Organizers say the design aims to capture the history of the sport and the enthusiasm of spectators.

The halftime and pre-game shows will also feature performances by more than 1,000 local children and volunteers.

Cobain contemplates aging, selling out, dying in 'Journals'

In between musings on drugs and suicide, Kurt Cobain recorded his fear that he and his groundbreaking grunge band, Nirvana, would become aging rock stars reduced to playing reunion concerts at amusement parks.

"Hope I die before I turn into Pete Townshend," Cobain, who committed suicide in 1994, wrote in a never-released letter to fans.

That 1992 letter is included in Journals, a collection of disjointed diary entries, letters and drawings taken from Cobain's notebooks, to be published by Riverhead Books on Nov. 4.

Journals excerpts appear in the new issue of Newsweek. Riverhead reportedly paid Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, $4 million for publishing rights.

"It's a cautionary tale of addiction," Newsweek senior editor Jeff Giles says. "We see this arc of him going from a young guy desperate to be in a rock 'n' roll band to a famous singer desperate to get out of the limelight."

Inside Cobain's mind:

* On himself: "I like punk rock. I like girls with weird eyes. I like drugs (but my body and mind won't allow me to take them). I like passion. I like playing my cards wrong. ... I like to feel guilty for being a white, American male."

* On fame: "I didn't want all this attention, but I'm not freaked out. It's an entertaining thought to watch a rock figure ... mentally self-destruct. But I'm sorry, friends. I'll have to decline. Maybe Crispin Glover should join the band."

* On drugs: "It might be time for the Betty Ford clinic or the Richard Nixon library to save me from abusing my anemic, rodent-like body any longer. ... I decided to use heroin on a daily basis because of an ongoing stomach ailment that I had been suffering from for the past five years. (After rehab) I instantly regained that familiar burning nausea and decided to either kill myself or stop the pain. I bought a gun but chose drugs instead."

Here Is Some Information About This Year's Halloween Episode of THE SIMPSONS

Details have emerged about the thirteenth annual SIMPSONS Halloween episode.

TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XIII will, as usual, feature three seperate stories. In the first, Homer creates clones of himself to help with housework, but one of them ends up chopping off Ned Flanders' head. In the second, Billy the Kid comes back to life to campaign on a gun control platform and take over the town. In the third, Homer discovers The Island of Dr. Hibbert, rampant with half-human, half-animal species.

The episode will air November 3rd.

...David Duchovny says he's eager to return to THE X-FILES.

Like most "X-Files" fans, David Duchovny is anxious to see that second movie made.

"I think we're all kind of excited to go back and have a reunion, even though we haven't been apart for that long," Duchovny said.

Duchovny, who played an alien-chasing FBI agent, has been focusing on making movies since he left the series in the 2001 season. The series debuted on Fox in 1993 and quickly became a hit. The first film, "The X-Files," was a 1998 box-office success. No word yet on when the second feature film will get off the ground.

Duchovny's latest project is "Full Frontal," directed by Steven Soderbergh. He also has written his own movie — about a boy turning 13. He says he'd be the director and he may play the kid as a grown-up.

Duchovny says it's in the preliminary stages now but he hopes to shoot the film in New York next summer.

New images from the upcoming DAREDEVIL movie.

First Up, DAREDEVIL!

Release Date: November 12th, 2002

Here's everything you will ever need to know about The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring: Extended Edition.

Stay calm...

Ten Greatest Britons Selected by Poll

LONDON (Reuters) - Winston Churchill, Princess Diana and John Lennon made it -- but Tony Blair, Queen Elizabeth II, and Paul McCartney failed to register in the list of top 10 Britons of all time, the BBC said Saturday.

The 10, selected from a BBC phone and Internet poll involving more than 30,000 Britons, hail from the 16th century to the modern day and include scientists, royals and military figures.

Some of the names on the list -- such as William Shakespeare -- were unsurprising, but the choice of Princess Diana and Beatles legend Lennon would probably raise eyebrows, the BBC said.

The top ten were:

Queen Elizabeth I, whose reign had a significant impact on economic, social, religious and political life in England;

Winston Churchill, Britain's prime minister during World War II.

Naturalist Charles Darwin, famous for his theory on evolution put forward in his book "The Origin of Species."

Naval hero Horatio Nelson, who led the British fleet to victory over the larger joint fleets of Spain and France at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. This decisive victory led to the erection of Nelson's column and the creation of Trafalgar Square in central London.

Oliver Cromwell, a prime mover in the execution of King Charles I and later Lord Protector during the short British republic in the seventeenth century.

Isaac Newton, whose work in mathematics and physics laid the foundation for modern science.

Dramatist and poet William Shakespeare.

Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed the Clifton Bridge in Bristol, western England.

Princess Diana, hailed for her charity work but best known for her failed marriage to heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles.

John Lennon, singer and songwriter for the legendary pop band, the Beatles.

Over the next five weeks, different presenters will deliver an hour-long argument on why each Briton should be named the greatest in TV programs to be screened on BBC Two.

Viewers will then vote for the overall winner.

"I think the top ten is a really interesting mix of contenders. We're in for a really exciting competition," Jane Root, BBC Two controller, said.

"The Ring" Claims Box Office Victory

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Death-by-videotape brought box-office life to "The Ring," a horror flick that scared up $15 million to debut as the weekend's No. 1 movie.

Starring Naomi Watts as a reporter investigating a video whose viewers die horribly a week after watching it, "The Ring" knocked off "Red Dragon," which had been the top film for two straight weekends.

"Red Dragon" fell to third place with $8.8 million during the weekend, while "Sweet Home Alabama" remained the No. 2 film with $9.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The weekend's other new wide releases fared poorly. Katie Holmes' psychological thriller "Abandon" opened weakly with $5.3 million, finishing in sixth place. Samuel L. Jackson's crime caper "Formula 51" bombed with $2.9 million, coming in at No. 12.

The overall box office rose slightly. The top 12 movies took in $74.2 million, up 2 percent from the same weekend last year.

If those numbers hold when final figures are released Monday, it would be Hollywood's sixth straight weekend of rising revenues and a promising lead-in to the busy holiday season, which starts next month with "The Santa Clause 2" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets."

"Abandon," the directing debut of "Traffic" screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, played in 2,341 theaters and averaged $2,264. "Formula 51" averaged a meager $1,562 in 1,857 theaters.

In limited release, "Auto Focus," on the sordid life and death of "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane, debuted strongly with $140,839 at 11 theaters, averaging $12,804. "Auto Focus" stars Greg Kinnear as Crane, who was murdered in a motel room amid photos and tapes of his sexual encounters.

Adam Sandler and Emily Watson's "Punch-Drunk Love" continued to do big business as it expanded to more theaters. In its second weekend, the oddball romance took in $1.63 million in 78 theaters for a $20,897 average.

Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine," a satiric documentary on America's gun culture, also had an impressive second weekend, expanding to 46 theaters and taking in $773,000 for a $16,804 average.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Ring," $15 million.

2. "Sweet Home Alabama," $9.6 million.

3. "Red Dragon," $8.8 million.

4. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," $7.2 million.

5. "Brown Sugar," $5.31 million.

6. "Abandon," $5.3 million.

7. "The Transporter," $5 million.

8 (tie). "The Tuxedo," $4.1 million.

8 (tie). "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie," $4.1 million.

10. "Tuck Everlasting," $3.7 million.

Springsteen Heals U.S.-German Wounds with Concert

BERLIN (Reuters) - Bruce Springsteen made a contribution to repairing tattered German-American relations on Sunday with a riveting rock concert and polished German phrases not heard since John F. Kennedy called himself a Berliner.

The veteran American rocker, halfway through a four-month world tour performing songs from his hit album "The Rising," helped patch up some of the damage caused by U.S. anger over the German government's staunch opposition to war against Iraq.

Speaking in surprisingly clear German to the crowd of 15,000, Springsteen delighted the sold-out arena with his usual sweat-filled marathon effort of nearly three hours and an appeal for peace.

"Guten Abend Deutschland (Good evening Germany)," Springsteen said with an American accent that recalled Kennedy's stirring "Ich bin ein Berliner" 1963 speech of solidarity to the people of West Berlin shortly after the Berlin Wall was built.

"Are you ready to sing?" Springsteen added in practiced German that triggered roars of approval. He has spoken similar lines in French and Spanish at recent European concerts.

Although Springsteen did not mention the friction between George W. Bush's administration and the German government following Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's outspoken opposition to any American-led "military adventures" in Iraq, he made sure the crowd understood his message.

"I wrote this song about the Vietnam War," Springsteen said as he introduced "Born in the U.S.A.," his anti-war anthem. "I want to do it for you tonight for peace."

Bush has ignored Schroeder since the pacifist eruption and even broke diplomatic customs by not congratulating the German leader on his re-election in September. Bush officials said relations between Germany and the United States were "poisoned."

KEEP BUSH, WE'LL TAKE SPRINGSTEEN

"America can keep Bush but Springsteen can come back here as often as he wants," said Rumen Milkov, 36, who saw his first Springsteen concert with 160,000 other East Germans in East Berlin in 1988 -- just a year before the Berlin Wall collapsed.

"Bush's saber-rattling makes us all nervous," he added.

The band is just beyond the midway point of a tour that began in his New Jersey in August, includes seven European stops and concludes in New York state in December.

In Berlin, Springsteen and his E Street Bank mixed "The Rising" with old favorites in the 25-song set.

"The Rising" is the 52-year-old working class hero's attempt to come to terms with the September 11 attacks on the United States, somber songs about loss striking a chord in Germany where Springsteen and his dark themes have long been popular.

"I don't necessarily think that we artists can to put things on this planet back in order, but I can't help thinking that we are sometimes at least capable of making things a little bit more bearable," he said in a rare interview recently with Germany's Der Spiegel magazine.

"The Rising" includes the tracks "Into the Fire," which Springsteen wrote after the suicide hijackings killed some 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, and "My City of Ruins" that Springsteen dedicated to New York after September 11.

Springsteen has rejected suggestions that "The Rising" was exploiting September 11 for commerce.

"A few days after the attack a man rolled down the window of his car as I was walking across a parking lot near the beach in New Jersey and shouted 'We need you'," Springsteen said. "I later found out he lost a good friend on September 11. That's what encouraged me to get involved."

Wanna know more...

BNL Stuffs DVD Full Of Videos, Live Clips

Barenaked Ladies have assembled 17 music videos, concert clips, interviews, and other goodies on a self-titled DVD release, due Nov. 5 from Warner Bros. The videos range from the early favorites "Brian Wilson" and "Be My Yoko Ono" up through more recent fare such as "Falling for the First Time" and "Pinch Me." The release complements last year's "Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits [1991-2001]."

"Barenaked Ladies" is augmented with video of seven tracks from last November's pay-per-view concert at New York's Roseland Ballroom, including "One Week," "Too Little Too Late," and "Lovers in a Dangerous Time." The DVD, which runs nearly two hours and 40 minutes, also sports a band commentary track and a feature enabling fans to sing karaoke to "One Week."

"In some ways it feels like nothing, because so much of the high-profile stuff has only been in the last three years," singer/guitarist Steven Page said. "So, it's nice for us to be able to say, 'Okay, in some ways the grunt work is behind us,' but at the same time, it's like we spent a lot of time working on that."

Here's the "Barenaked Ladies" tracklist:

"Lovers in a Dangerous Time"
"Enid"
"What a Good Boy"
"Be My Yoko Ono"
"Jane"
"Alternative Girlfriend"
"Shoe Box"
"The Old Apartment"
"Brian Wilson"
"One Week"
"It's All Been Done"
"Call and Answer"
"Get in Line"
"Pinch Me"
"Too Little Too Late"
"Falling for the First Time"
"Thanks That Was Fun"

Concert performances:
"Lovers in a Dangerous Time"
"What a Good Boy"
"Pinch Me"
"Too Little Too Late"
"Falling for the First Time"
"Brian Wilson"

Kelly Osbourne sets 'Shut Up!' date

After making her screeching musical debut with the cover of Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach," Ozzy's daughter Kelly Osbourne is ready to release her first full-length album.

The album, entitled "Shut Up!," is set for release on November 26th.

A video for the title track was shot last week in Los Angeles with director Even Bernard, who has also been behind the lens for such acts as Green Day and the Beastie Boys.

Kelly Osbourne revealed earlier this year that she was working with producer Rick Wake on the album, whose credits include Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.

Happy fifth birthday, DVD. My, how you've grown.

Five years ago this fall, a revolutionary new movie-viewing format — shiny discs the size of CDs — rolled out with fanfare across the North America.

Many studios and filmmakers eyed the newcomer with suspicion: Were the discs too good? Were they an open invitation to piracy? Would people really want to own movies — and did the studios want the public to possess pristine copies of their treasures?

Those concerns have long since faded. Now Hollywood is in the content business, as eager to sell discs as they are theater tickets. Moviemakers produce DVD extras while filming so they can appeal to a public hungrier than ever for outtakes and backstage banter. And home viewers don't just turn on the TV to watch the discs they have bought. They fire up the home theater.

This holiday season DVD will rule, thanks to a slew of summer blockbusters and favorites arriving on disc — from box-office champ Spider-Man (Nov. 1) and Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Nov. 12) to E.T. the Extra-terrestrial (Oct. 22) and the Back to the Future trilogy (Dec. 17).

Consider the rest of 2002 a coronation. "If you have a DVD player, you are facing an absolutely unprecedented level of choice," says Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research, an entertainment industry research and consulting firm.

Among DVD owners, 38% plan to buy five or more movies on DVD by the end of the year, according to a survey of 904 last week by the DVD Entertainment Group. And 19% of those who do not own a DVD player plan to join the movement.

The public's affection for the 5-inch disc has flourished more quickly than it did with CD or color TV. Those technologies took eight and 17 years, respectively, to sell 30 million, a mark the DVD surpassed in only four. Further evidence of the boom:

* In nearly one-third of North American homes, a DVD player is the video component of choice, having pushed aside the VCR. By the end of this year, about 37 million DVD players will have been sold in the USA, Adams Media estimates. An additional 55 million PCs and video game systems also play DVDs.

* Because DVD movies look twice as good as those on videocassette and have surround soundtracks, many living rooms are sporting new big-screen digital TVs and home theater sound systems.

Nearly 2 million digital TVs have been shipped to dealers already this year, about twice the amount at this time last year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Average price: $1,635. And sales of sound equipment remain brisk, with sales of home theater systems expected to triple 2000's total.

"DVD is the biggest driver of it all," NPDTechworld senior analyst Tom Edwards says. Consumers "get the DVD home and they know its quality is there, but the chances are they have an old television set. They end up wanting to upgrade."

On average, DVD owners now buy 16 titles each year, compared with the six videocassette movies VCR owners bought at that format's peak in 1996.

"I never used to buy VHS movies, but I'm totally into buying DVD," says Heather Young, 30, of Denver, who watches those DVDs with her husband on a 55-inch TV screen. "We have two kids now, so we don't get to the movies much. It's easier to buy (a DVD) and watch it at home, and the quality is as good as going to the movies."

By the time the last holiday sale is scanned into the register Dec. 31, home video sales will have set a record of $12.4 billion this year, about two-thirds of that from DVD sales, Adams Media Research estimates. This will be the second year that DVD movie sales surpass sales of videocassettes.

The DVD effect is so strong that even Hollywood, which typically changes at a glacial rate, is taking its cues from the growing format.

In VHS' heyday, movies released on video often were never meant for consumers to buy. Priced as high as $100, they were sold to video rental chains such as Blockbuster, which would turn around and recoup their investment through rentals. Only in special cases — Disney classics such as Pinocchio and blockbusters such as Star Wars— did they carry mass-market pricing of $20 or so.

"There was no product development," says Peter Staddon of Fox Home Entertainment. "The product got slapped onto tape, and (viewers) watched a diluted version of the theatrical experience on a smaller TV and no surround sound. Now it's presented in premium sound, and they have all the additional material."

These days, separate DVD production crews prepare an expansive home version of a movie even as directors create the movie itself. As a result, movies such as Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, in theaters June 23, arrive in stores on DVD chock-full of extras less than six months later. "It has become a huge business for studios very, very quickly," says Kelley Avery of DreamWorks.

For an idea of how important DVD can be to Hollywood, look at the first-week sales scared up by Disney's Monsters, Inc. The 7 million DVDs sold in the week after its Sept. 17 release is the largest DVD opening so far, amounting to retail sales of about $175 million. That's more than the $122 million the film made in its first 10 days at the box office. To date, Monsters has sold 9.2 million copies, and its DVD gross is approaching the film's box office total ($256 million).

The seeds for DVD's success were sown in a 1996 agreement on technical standards by competing consumer electronics giants such as Panasonic, Philips, Sony and Toshiba, as well as the home video arm of Warner Bros., avoiding a repeat of the VHS-Beta battle at the beginning of the video era.

Yet that wasn't the end of the fledgling format's hurdles. When the first DVD movies arrived in March 1998, they were stocked only in seven cities. And major studios Disney, Paramount and Fox were sitting on the sidelines at the start. Players started at $500 and ran up to $1,000 or more. Some observers wondered whether DVD could even surpass the niche-market sales of laserdisc, the film fan's format of choice in those days.

DVD is just now hitting a pocketbook sweet spot. The price of players keeps falling; the average is about $163 now, compared with $222 last year. Within seven years, DVD is expected to be in more than 90% of homes, something it took the VCR 25 years to do.

"People are used to buying little shiny discs in the CD world, and I think it naturally tapers to the DVD world," says NPD's Edwards. "And it's not that expensive."

DVD is now sounding the death knell for VHS. Circuit City in June became the first major retailer to announce the phase-out of pre-recorded videotapes in stores. "We started noticing that people coming into our stores were buying DVD movies, not VHS, so it made sense," spokesman Jim Babb says.

Blockbuster Video is in the process of reducing one-fourth of its VHS library to devote more space to DVD. The chain also is testing a monthly rental program that lets subscribers watch all the DVDs they can watch for a flat fee.

In rentals, too, movie fans increasingly opt for discs over tapes. That is reflected in the drop in VHS rental revenue from 1999's $10 billion to $7.1 billion this year. In contrast, DVD rental revenue is expected to almost double this year, to $3.2 billion from 2001's $1.7 billion.

Other retailers and rental outlets also have given increasing space to DVD movies and players. Today you can even buy players at grocery stores, sometimes for less than $70. And discs have become impulse buys; some are priced at $8 or less. More than 18,000 movies and music videos have been released on DVD. (Some notable holdouts include the original Star Wars trilogy and the Indiana Jones movies.)

Studios continue to release ever-more-elaborate DVD packages.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, in theaters last December, arrived on DVD in August. But a "special extended" four-disc edition, with 30 additional minutes of footage added to the film and two discs of extras, is due Nov. 12 ($40). A premium collector's edition ($80) also comes with a pair of Lord of the Rings bookends.

The Spider-Man DVD, a two-disc set that is perhaps the most hotly anticipated upcoming release, could net the top spot from Monsters, Inc. Columbia TriStar is shipping 25 million DVDs and VHS copies to retailers for the release, says Benjamin Feingold, president of Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. "We hope it is the biggest seller of all time."

The DVD has two documentaries, one on the making of the movie and another on the history of the Spider-Man character, plus an exclusive art gallery and comic book archive. "It's completely loaded," Feingold says. "We want to make the DVD even more exciting than the movie."

For many movie fans, the extras make the sale. Los Angeles attorney Richard Simmons, 50, has recently bought MGM's collections of James Bond films.

"You get segments on the directors and histories of each of the movies — so much more than was ever made available on VHS," he says. "You get a much higher level of enjoyment both from an audio and a video perspective."

EVERYBODY'S A WINNER

American Idol finalist Tamyra Gray inking a record deal with RCA Records. Winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini have already signed to the label.

Younger MacGyver Reinvented at the WB

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - The man who can short-circuit a nuclear missile with a paper clip and stop an acid leak with a candy bar is back -- but this time in the guise of "Young MacGyver."

The WB has made a production commitment with producer Paramount Network Television to pick up a new version of the action drama "MacGyver." But the new version of the series will focus on MacGyver's nephew. The original series starred Richard Dean Anderson and ran from Sept. 1985 to Aug. 1992.

"Young MacGyver" will follow the twentysomething hero as he leaves school and winds up joining the Phoenix Foundation -- the good-guy organization his uncle belonged to -- on a lark. Once there, he discovers that he's incredibly adept at stepping into Uncle MacGyver's shoes.

"Our MacGyver will be a little more irreverent than the original," said Carolyn Bernstein, senior VP of drama development at the WB. "It will have a lot in terms of the same elements of the original series, but with a brand-new cast of characters and updated for present day,"

WB and Paramount plan to start casting for the new "Young MacGyver" shortly. It is targeted for a 2003 bow.

The original "MacGyver" was the last show to pop a solid number for ABC in the pre-"Monday Night Football" time slot. Indeed, Paramount first approached ABC about the "Young MacGyver" project, but the network passed.

"Young MacGyver" comes on the heels of another franchise that the WB reinvented with a young slant -- the teenage Superman of "Smallville."

"We would never look a gift horse in the mouth, if given a familiar, adored franchise that came our way and we could age down to make it appealing to our audience," Bernstein said.

Jackson Plans Song for 'Chicago'

NEW YORK (AP) - It's back to the future for Janet Jackson and her latest project.

She's doing a song that will be on the soundtrack to the movie version of "Chicago." But the project is proving to be a major challenge for the singer and her producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jam tells MTV the biggest problem is the movie is set in the 1920s. That means they have to come up with something that fits the movie's era, but also appeals to people in 2002.

Jam notes Janet has done videos like the one for "Alright," which shows she is able to get into the "zoot suit thing." Jam says that makes him comfortable that they will come up with something.

Thailand Criticizes Aguilera Video

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Christina Aguilera's new video is being criticized in Thailand and it's not for her scanty outfit or pelvic thrusts.

The protests are aimed at posters in the video that allude to Thailand's sex industry. The video for "Dirrty" features Aguilera dancing around a boxing ring with posters in the Thai language that read, "Thailand's sex tourism" and "Young underage girls."

A representative for Aguilera's record company in Thailand tells The Nation newspaper that the label will not air the video on local television.

A government official says local and foreign businesses are too profit-oriented to present an accurate portrayal of Thailand. The government will take more action if the video is found to be damaging to Thailand's reputation, although it did not go into details.

Overnight Stardom Looms for Acting Veteran (And Mega Babe) Naomi Watts

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After 15 years of hard work in mostly forgettable films, overnight fame is about to arrive for British-born, Australian-raised, L.A.-residing actress Naomi Watts.

But she says it comes at a price: having to explain over and over again what one of the world's most incomprehensible films -- but the one that set her on the road to fame -- is all about.

The film is David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive," which starts off with blue-eyed, blonde-haired Watts playing a Hollywood ingenue and then morphs into a half-dozen other plots leaving viewers uncertain as to what it was all about or who she really is.

"I'm sure I'm going to be asked what 'Mulholland Drive' means until I'm on my death bed," she says with a laugh. "No matter how great a role I get or how many movies I make, this is the movie that will keep people guessing," she said.

The role was her big break in Hollywood and earned Watts several awards and offers, including one she accepted in the thriller 'The Ring," which opens Friday and concerns a video that kills people within seven days of being watched.

It is one of four upcoming movies that stars Watts, 34, making her poised to become the latest member of the "Aussie Posse" -- including pals from Down Under such as Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and her beau Heath Ledger -- to win stardom in the United States.

Watts is the first to admit she's still unknown to many Americans. "I'm not recognized on the street and I don't think the public (is) aware of me yet," Watts said during a recent interview. "It's possible that this may change with 'The Ring' as it is a film that will appeal to the masses."

For now, she said the only thing new is that she is getting the chance to work with people she respects.

INSTANT SUCCESS?

"It's just great, because I worked and worked and worked and fought to meet with the people that have inspired me and had not been able to get near them," she said.

All modesty aside, Watts is more of a name than she admits.

The actress, who was once famously photographed with close friend Kidman during her friend's high-profile divorce from Tom Cruise, has seen the spotlight more often in recent weeks at several premieres and at the Hollywood Movie Awards, where she arrived with Ledger to pick up the Breakthrough Acting Award.

Well-known in Australia before moving to Hollywood in 1992, Watts has mixed feelings about her emerging fame and lack of privacy in Hollywood.

While declining to comment on her romance with Ledger, which has become a subject for the tabloids, Watts talks freely about her relationship with the media.

"It's a new experience for me and I wish it wasn't there for other people to judge," she said. "I'm trying to separate myself from it and not be too conscious of it, but at the same time, I don't have a particularly thick skin."

"I think of myself as an observer and always have done. I like to watch," she added. "The thought of that turning in on me, does scare me a little bit."

But she said she has resolved to overcome the fear.

"Even if I do get harassed, I'm not going to be held hostage in my house because I'm afraid to go out," she said.

Watts was in the popular TV series "Home and Away" and co-starred with Kidman in the film "Flirting" and appeared in forgettable films such as "Matinee" and "Tank Girl," before winning rave reviews for "Mulholland Drive."

BEATING THE ODDS

Overcoming adversity is nothing new to Watts, who could not afford to go to movies in her youth. She recalls a love-rich but unconventional childhood as the daughter of a single mother who moved around much of England before moving to Australia.

Her parents split when she was four and her father died a few years later.

"I lived all over England. My mom was a single mom and she was trying to find her feet a bit," she said.

Her mother was very creative, working in set and costume design, she said.

"My childhood wasn't like two parents at home, but there was no lack of love. There's plenty of people out there who make my childhood look like Disneyland," she said.

Watts says she decided to become an actress when she was about five years old and saw her mother, a then-aspiring actress, performing on stage.

Following her instincts has apparently turned out well. In addition to "The Ring," Watts will also be seen in coming months in "Plots with a View," a romantic comedy co-starring Brenda Blethyn, and "The Kelly Gang," a biography of the infamous Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, also starring Ledger.

She is also due to appear with Kate Hudson in a film version of the Diane Johnson best-seller "Le Divorce."

'Rabbit' Framed for DVD (Again)

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Disney is pulling out all the stops for the March 25 release of the 15th anniversary double-disc edition of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit."

The package will feature rare new animation of Roger and other animated characters from the groundbreaking combination of live-action and original cartoon characters and legendary animated stars from every studio.

It marks the closest thing there may ever be to a follow-up of Disney's unprecedented and since unmatched collaboration with Warner Bros., filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Don Hahn, and a who's who of cartoon voice talent.

Disney's longtime DVD menu designer John Ross recently spent a day shooting footage for the menus at the same historic Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood where scenes of the fictional Maroon Studios from the movie were shot. The footage will be used to create animated menus of toon character Benny the Cab (voiced by Charles Fleischer) driving DVD users around the studio to various program selections while offering his trademark wisecracks.

Marshall, one of the original producers, said Fleischer also voices a newly animated version of Roger in a 15-minute featurette called "Who Made Roger Rabbit," in which Roger goes in and out of existing scenes through the use of blue screen.

Marshall, who also directed parts of the three Roger Rabbit theatrical cartoon shorts that were produced in subsequent years and will be included on the DVD, said the movie was so much work that if the filmmakers knew in advance how hard it turned out to be, they might never have made it. That's why he says there are no plans to do a sequel or a prequel, or even produce new Roger Rabbit animated shorts.

"I think the movie sort of stands on its own," he said. "I think it's kind of like 'E.T.' for all of us; everybody came together at the right point of their careers."

Also included on the special edition will be an audio commentary track, which was recorded by the filmmakers for a previous laserdisc edition.

Other extras include two scenes from an "Invisible Man" movie where actors were filmed doing their scenes with rubber dolls being held and carried around by people approximating where the toon characters would be drawn in later.

Ryan Adams angered by Bryan Adams quip

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams is not amused by the similarity of his name to Canadian rocker Bryan Adams.

At a Ryan Adams concert at the Ryman Auditorium on Tuesday, someone in the audience yelled out a request for Summer of '69, a Bryan Adams hit.

Ryan Adams, former leader of the band Whiskeytown, reacted with stream of expletives and ordered the house lights turned on, the Tennessean newspaper reported.

The alternative country musician found the fan who made the joke request, paid him $30 cash as a refund for the show, ordered him to leave and said he wouldn't play another note until that happened.

Ryman general manager Pam Matthews stopped the fan on his way out, "apologized profusely" and allowed him back into the concert.

The fan kept Adams's $30.

CTV launches Canadian version of 'American Idol'

TORONTO (CP) -- There's going to be a Canadian idol.

CTV announced Wednesday a deal with private partners to produce a home-grown version of the hit U.S. reality series American Idol: The Search For a Superstar.

The concept was put together at a TV marketing convention in Cannes last week and the series is expected to go to air next year.

CTV says the American Idol finale last month -- the one that made young Texan Kelly Clarkson a household name -- was watched by 2.1 million viewers in this country.

"Canada has a rich history when it comes to music," says Susanne Boyce, CTV programming president. "Our musical success stories, both nationally and internationally, are truly remarkable. I can't wait to see the finalists for Canadian Idol."

Organizers are making plans for auditions in several major cities across the country.

Solo performers will be judged on their talent, ability and style as the contenders are whittled down to a long list of 50 and a short list of 10 hopefuls. The viewing audience will then vote for their favourite contestant.

A host has yet to be selected.

Complete details will be "unveiled shortly," CTV says.

The series would likely be in competition not only with its American cousin, but with Popstars on Global TV, which plans a search for a solo artist in its next round.

Danes is Martin's SHOPGIRL

Claire Danes (IGBY GOES DOWN) is in negotiations to star alongside Steve Martin in the film adaption of his book SHOPGIRL for Lakeshore Entertainment. Danes would play Mirabelle, a sales girl at Neiman Marcus that is unhappy with her life until she falls in love with two men and is forced to make a choice between the two: wealthy divorcee Ray Porter (Martin) and Jeremy, a struggling musician. Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi are producing and Martin will executive produce. Filming will begin in late January.

SHREK Moves to Broadway

Dreamworks is in negotiations to turn its hit animated film, SHREK, into a Broadway musical that will bow in 2005. Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY) may direct the adaption.

Elvis Remains King of Charts for Third Week

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Long live the King. Elvis Presley is extending his reign over the U.S. pop charts for a third straight week thanks to a greatest-hits album released 25 years after his death, according to sales data issued on Wednesday.

"Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" sold 205,000 copies during the week ended Oct. 13, pushing its three-week domestic tally over the 1-million mark and relegating the veteran rock band Bon Jovi to the No. 2 spot for the biggest album debut of its career.

A similar pattern occurred in the U.S. charts the week before, when the Presley retrospective deprived the Rolling Stones of what would have been their first No. 1 album in 21 years. The Stones' latest hits package, "Forty Licks," slipped from No. 2 to No. 3 in its second week with sales of 147,000 copies, according to album sales tracker Nielsen SoundScan.

The heavily promoted "Elvis" album also has been a tremendous hit overseas, selling nearly 6 million copies worldwide and topping the charts in two dozen countries, according to RCA Records. The album has reigned supreme in Europe for a second consecutive week, RCA said.

Presley kept his posthumous grip on the pop charts with the help of a $10 million global marketing campaign by RCA and its parent BMG with a collection featuring such classics as "Don't Be Cruel," "Jailhouse Rock" and "Return to Sender." BMG is the global music division of Bertelsmann AG.

The album also has benefited from renewed interest in the King of Rock 'n' Roll generated by the 25th anniversary of his death and a hot-selling new remix of the song, "A Little Less Conversation," which appears on the new CD.

BON JOVI 'BOUNCE'

"Bounce," a follow-up to Bon Jovi's 2000 release "Crush," sold nearly 160,000 copies its first week in stores, the best opening to date for the New Jersey-based band that first shot to attention with the 1984 hit "Runaway."

The band's previous best opening was "Crush," which sold 110,000 units its first week and went on to tally more than 2 million U.S. sales and 8 million worldwide, RCA said. It also earned Bon Jovi its first Grammy nominations.

Sharing producing credits for both albums were the band's lead singer, Jon Bon Jovi, and guitarist Richie Sambora. The group is slated to launch a worldwide tour in support of "Bounce" starting in December.

The only other new U.S. chart entry to make the top 10 this week was "The Last DJ" from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which opened at No. 9 with sales of 74,000 copies.

Rounding out the top five were Canadian teen pop ingenue Avril Lavigne's debut album, "Let Go," up two places to No. 4, followed by hip-hop artist Nelly's "Nellyville" release, which climbed three rungs to No. 5.

Trailing them were the country pop trio Dixie Chicks' latest album, "Home," at No. 6; rapper Eminem's third major-label LP, "The Eminem Show," at No. 7; West Coast rapper Xzibit's "Man vs. Machine" at No. 8 and "American Idol Greatest Moments," a collection of performances by the 10 finalists on the hit talent show, at No. 10.

ONCE BITTEN

Angelina Jolie signing on to star in Bitten, a movie about a female werewolf who tries to lead a normal life as a journalist and fall in love, but is drawn back to the pack though, when a rogue band of werewolves starts drafting criminals.

TWICE SHY

The Scream team of director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson joining forces with Dimension Films for Cursed, a film that will poke fun at the werewolf genre while offering up chills à la what the pair did with Scream. The film is set for release next August.

YANKED

Twentieth Century Fox pulling Phone Booth, a Hollywood thriller about a sniper terrorizing a man who answers a ringing pay phone, from its Nov. 15 release slot because of the sniper now terrorizing Washington D.C. It'll likely hit theaters now sometime in the spring.

DVD's You Will Want To Own

X-Men gets re-released with extra goodies

Although director Brian Singer's original intent was to revisit his action hero film X-Men as a longer edition, he instead settled on the upcoming feature-laden disc X-Men Collector’s Edition coming from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Of course the new version of the film will be presented in anamorphic widescreen and the audio will be available in Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 flavors. The first disc in the set will also have room for an audio commentary with Singer and twenty four deleted scenes originally planned for reinsertion into the film. The second disc contains the documentary "The Making Of X-Men" broken up unto four parts: "Part 1 (Origin Of The X-Men)", "Part 2 (The Uncanny Suspects)", "Part 3 (X-Factor)", "Part 4 (Shooting X-Men)" and "Part 5 (Remembering The X-Men)". Trailers, TV spots, Internet ads, and some behind the scenes on "X-Men 2" are also included.

With a suggested retail price of $26.95, the set won't arrive until February 11th.

Columbia TriStar spends An Evening with Kevin Smith

The charming film director Kevin Smith toured the country to talk with his fans, and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment was there. Now the interviews and discussions come together in An Evening with Kevin Smith.

"An Evening with Kevin Smith" is a no-holds barred Q&A session with one of Hollywood's most popular and gifted indie filmmakers and renowned comic book writer ("Daredevil" and "Green Arrow") as he shares his own unique life experiences, anecdotes and witticisms. Infamous for picking apart the pop culture landscape, the New Jersey native has become a veritable icon of independent film. Smith gives us a new lens to examine spirituality, sexuality, and human relationships. Get up close and - at times - very personal with the man everyone has been waiting to hear from!

Although the feature spans two discs, the set contains no extras to speak of. The film will be presented in anamorphic widescreen.

Coming on December 17th, the set will be priced at $27.95.

Good Girl, Great DVD

Next up is good news for Jennifer Aniston fans, as everyone's favorite Friend finally made a good movie! Arriving on January 7th from Fox Home Entertainment, the acclaimed slice-of-life drama The Good Girl comes complete with plenty of extras. Containing both anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers and English and French 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, extras include audio commentary by director Miguel Arteta, writer Mike White and Aniston, 9 deleted scenes and an alternate ending with optional commentary, and the trailer. Retail is $27.95.

Also just announced from Fox is the recent Robin Williams thriller One Hour Photo, making its DVD debut on January 28th. This one comes in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks, and plenty of extras: an audio commentary by director Mark Romanek and Williams, a "Charlie Rose Show" interview with the star, the Cinemax making-of and Sundance "Anatomy Of A Scene" specials, and the theatrical trailer. Retail is also $27.95.

Rounding out this latest batch of Fox announcements is M*A*S*H: The Complete Third Season, due to hit shelves on February 18th. This three-disc set includes all the third season episodes presented in full frame and English mono, and with or without the laugh track. There are no extras, and retail is $39.95 for the set.

Just Release The Damn Thing Already!

On again, off again... About a Boy is fast becoming the little DVD that could. After two dates and as many postponements, Universal Studios Home Video has given the Hugh Grant charmer a new January 7th street date. Sources say legal issues revolving around the use of the song "Killing Me Softly" held up the release, and the removal of the previously-announced "Killing Me Softly" sing-along karaoke feature. But there are plenty of other features to make up for the omission, including a new screen-specific audio commentary with directors Chris and Paul Weitz deleted scenes with optional commentary, both the "Silent Sigh" and "Something To Talk About" music videos by Badly Drawn Boy, an "English to English" dictionary, the complete "Santa's Super Sleigh" lyrics, trailers and ROM extras including a link to exclusive content. Separate anamorphic widescreen and pan & scan versions will be made available, and retail is $26.95.

PHONING HOME

Universal Home Video and Steven Spielberg announcing Tuesday that all editions of the DVD of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and not just the really, really expensive one, will contain the original 1982 theatrical version as well as this year's 20th anniversary release that contained new scenes and CG modifications. The DVDs hit stores on October 22.

COURTING

Winona Ryder failing to show in a Beverly Hills courtroom this morning due to an "unusual" circumstance. No further details were disclosed. We'll now have to wait until a hearing tomorrow to find out if the judge is going to honor a prosecutor request and drop a felony drug charge against her. The judge is also expected to announce a new trial date.

Dell Dude Takes a Break

NEW YORK - The Dell dude is taking a vacation.

The computer company says the irascible Steven, played by actor Ben Curtis, is taking a rest after two years, during which time consumers have seen him pitch computers playing a high-school student and then as a college student, often exclaiming to colleagues, "Dude, you're getting a Dell." The pitchman has even been spoofed on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

Dell says it's trying something else with a new ad campaign. Recent ads have featured "Dell interns," who walk among various Dell workers, irritating them with computer geek questions.

Steven still appears at the end of at least one of the new commercials. A company spokesman says it's not necessarily the end of the blond-haired pitchman.

Hopkins Adds More Bite To Hannibal Part In 'Dragon'

ROME (Reuters) - If anyone thinks "Hannibal the Cannibal" is perhaps just a misunderstood guy because of an unusual taste in food, Anthony Hopkins wants them to digest the terrible truth.

"I think he's nuts, basically," the British-born actor told a news conference on Tuesday ahead of the Italian premiere of the film "Red Dragon," in which he plays the man-eating psychiatrist for the third time.

Hopkins said he had almost lost his appetite for the role after the 2001 film "Hannibal," but had finally agreed to don the prison suit once more on condition he could really bare the doctor's evil nature.

"I wanted to play him more dangerously, more savagely, not so charming as he was in 'Silence'. Because he is, after all, a killer," said the actor, who won an Oscar for his turn as Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film "Silence of the Lambs."

"I couldn't reinvent him but I wanted to repress some of the clever witticisms, the sophistication...I wanted to show the audience, to reveal the nature of this diabolical, twisted mind, to show how dangerous he is."

In "Red Dragon," Edward Norton plays an FBI agent who uses his jailed nemesis, Lecter, to help him track down another serial killer, played by Ralph Fiennes. Harvey Keitel and Emily Watson also star.

The film, directed by Brett Ratner, grossed $37.5 million at the U.S. box office in its first weekend, setting a new record for a film opening in October, and its 10-day total rose to $63.2 million.

Hopkins said while he enjoyed playing the psychopathic Lecter, he treated it as a job and felt no blurring between the cannibal's personality and his own.

"I have breakfast in the morning, I change into my prison clothes, I have coffee, I go into my cell," he said, describing life on the sets of the Hannibal movies.

"When they let me out of my cell I go and have another coffee, or maybe lunch with Ed Norton, or Jodie Foster (who co-starred in "Silence"). I don't attack them.

"It's all magic, a conjuring trick, hypnosis," he said, adding he needed no secret recipe to sink his teeth into the role.

"All the information I need on any new script is in the script itself. I don't need to sit in an asylum to be Hannibal Lecter."

Asked whether a fourth Hannibal film was on the menu, Hopkins said probably not, although he could not rule it out.

"I personally think three is a magic number...four would be pushing the envelope a bit...but I can't say yes or no."

I Am Searching For This!

Sure to be the hottest toy this Christmas it's "Chicken Dance Elmo"!

I WANT ONE!!!!!! I just can't find one. But I will keep looking...

The Tunes That Be New

Even though I am waiting for the new Foo Fighters CD, that comes out next week, and the latest Shania Twain disc, due November 19th, PLUS my mail order Sammy Hagar CD from America- as it isn't available in Canada. There are still some new tunes coming out today, including the latest from Faith Hill, which has some sweet pictures!

So let me get back to listening to the awesome new Tom Petty CD, which came out last week, and give you the list of new disc releases for Tuesday, October 15, 2002:

* ALANIS MORISSETTE Under Rug Swept (DVD Audio) (Warner)
* CRAIG DAVID Off The Hook (DVD) (Warner International)
* DAVE HOLLISTER Things In The Game Done Change (Motown)
* DIPLOMATS TBA (Diplomats) (Def Jam)
* DISTURBED Believe (DVD Audio) (Warner)
* DJ SHADOW Six Days (Island)
* DOUG KERSHAW Easy (True North)
* ELVIS COSTELLO Cruel Smile (Island)
* FAITH HILL Cry (Warner)
* FLEETWOOD MAC The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac (Reprise)
* GREGORY ISAACS I Found Love (Rounder)
* GWAR Ultimate Video Gwarchive (Metal Blade)
* INXS Kick (Remaster) (Rhino)
* INXS Welcome To Wherever You Are (Remaster) (Rhino)
* INXS X (Remaster) (Rhino)
* INXS Best Of (Rhino)
* JAMES OTTO TBA (James Otto)
* JANN ARDEN Live With The VSO (Universal)
* LIZZY BORDEN Murderess Metal Show (Metal Blade)
* LL COOL J 10 (Def Jam)
* MAYTONES Greatest Hits (Rounder)
* NEIL YOUNG Harvest (DVD Audio) (Warner)
* NEW FOUND GLORY The Story So Far (MCA)
* OPEN ROAD Cold Wind (Rounder)
* QUEEN The Platinum Collection (Hollywood)
* RAMONES Loud, Fast Ramones: The Toughest Hits (Rhino)
* ROD STEWART The Great American Songbook (J Records)
* SKILLZ I Ain't Mad No More (MCA)
* SOLOMON BURKE Soul Alive! (Rounder)
* STING & THE POLICE The Very Best Of (A&M)
* TAPROOT Welcome (Atlantic)
* TODD THIBAUD Squash (True North)
* TRACY CHAPMAN Let It Rain (Elektra)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS American Idol (RCA)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Red Hot & Riot (MCA)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Another Year On The Streets Vol. 3 (TVT)
* WAVE TBA (Wave) (Domestic)
* YUNG WUN Dirtiest Thirstiest (J Records)

PS- Fooooooooooooooooooooo!

Today's New Releases

There are a slew of new titles coming out today that you might be interested. So let's get to them!

Here are the new DVD and Video releases for Tuesday, October 15th, 2002.

UP FIRST: THE BIGGIES

INSOMNIA- A killer blackmails a cop to get away with murder in this so-so thriller from the director of the classic film "Memento." (Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank)

WINDTALKERS- John Woo directed this horrible, horrible flick about WWII Marines who are assigned to protect Navajo code-talkers. Man does this movie suck! (Nicolas Cage, Christian Slater, Adam Beach)

LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT- Here's a movie that IS as bad as it looks, although Angelina looks deelish! Oh, the story! A reporter changes her life at the behest of a homeless man. Blah, blah, blah! (Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns, Tony Shalhoub)

SORORITY BOYS- It's like BOSOM BUDDIES except there is three guys. Yup, three guys in drag join a sorority. Stupid, dumb, idiotic and moronic are just 4 words one could use to describe this very enjoyable flick. What!?!? It was funny! (Barry Watson, Harland Williams, Michael Rosenbaum)

AMERICAN IDOL: THE SEARCH FOR A SUPERSTAR- Highlights from the TV show. Unfortunately there isn't enough footage of the incredible Ryan Starr. (Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Nikki McKibbin)

AND THEN THERE ARE THE REST

Jimmy Kimmel takes Bill Mahr's old spot next January

ABC's new late night comedy show - starring "Man Show" co-host Jimmy Kimmel will air live in New York, feature a band and maybe a second banana.

"It's going to look like every other #*@&ing talk show," Kimmel told The Post.

"But I haven't figured out the whole sidekick thing yet," he said. "I was thinking of having on guest sidekicks that come in for a week like Mike Douglas used to do.

"I think that would be a fun way to do it."

Kimmel's new show is set to debut in January, after the Super Bowl, in the timeslot that once belonged to Bill Mahr's "Politically Incorrect," 12:05 a.m. It will be filmed in Los Angeles and air live on the East Coast.

But until now relatively few details about the show have come out.

Kimmel's time is currently split between planning the ABC show, recording the voices of foul-mouthed puppets for his Comedy Central show, "Crank Yankers," and taping segments for "Fox NFL Sunday" with his cousin Sal Iacono. He recently wrapped up taping his final season on "The Man Show."

The new half hour ABC show is expected to be heavy on entertainment and celeb guests - a far cry low-brow "Man Show" humor that turned Kimmel into big name in dorm rooms and fraternity houses across the U.S.

"I wouldn't be comfortable airing ‘The Man Show' on ABC," the network's entertainment group chairman, Loyd Braun, told a reporter.

A Great Discovery!

IUsedToBelieve.com asks users to share what they thought was true when they were children.

A recent post: "My Dad used to always say 'Born in a barn' if I left the door open. I believed this to be true and told all my friends I had been born in a barn like Jesus."

Give it a read and have some fun!

Anyone? Anyone?

If you need to alleviate some stress, try reading the entire script for Ferris Bueller's Day Off online.

'Matrix' Sequels to Come Out Only Months Apart Next Year

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Joel Silver, producer of the next two "Matrix" movies, says that the cliffhanger between the first and second parts of the next installments is so compelling that people will be desperate to see the next film.

"I think we won't even have to advertise the third film, we'll just tell people the date, and they'll come," Silver tells Zap2it in an interview over the weekend. "The story is so fantastic."

Silver says "The Matrix Reloaded" is set for release next May 15, and the third part, "The Matrix Revolutions" will be out in October.

"You're not going to want to wait for the next movie, so we want to release them as close as we can together," says Silver. "The cliffhanger is so substantial you will want to see it soon, and we're aware of that."

Originally the films were supposed to be spread out over two years, the first screened in 2002 and the third installment in 2003. But, the special effects needed on both movies delayed the project until 2003.

Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski originally conceived the movies starring Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss, as one, and filmed them together in Australia. When seeing the nearly-completed projects, they realized that they couldn't wait a year between releases of the films.

"The boys (the Wachowski's) wanted to release both of them in the same summer, but we won't have them both ready," Silver explains. "So, we'll have one in May and the next a few months later."

They would release the films closer together, but the effects team may not be ready for the third part until later in the year.

Silver, who's out promoting his latest Dark Castle Film "Ghost Ship," starring Julianna Marguelies and Gabriel Byrne, also for Warner Bros. release around Halloween, says that fall of 2003 will be a good year because another Warner Bros. franchise won't be scheduled.

"There won't be a 'Harry Potter' that season, so it's a good time for our movie to come out," Silver says, smiling.

RECOVERING

Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson in "good spirits" after undergoing an operation for a brain tumor last month, her singing partner, Per Gessle, told a Stockholm radio station. The group was due to launch its new single and start a European tour in October.

REVAMPED

CBS announcing a new format for The Early Show, along with a new set of hosts: former CBS morning anchor Harry Smith, NBC Sports fixture Hannah Storm, current Early Show news reader Julie Chen and Dallas news anchor Rene Syler.

BREAK OUT THE DIAPERS

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones expecting their second child in the spring, their publicist announced Monday. The couple have a two-year-old son named Dylan.

DVD's That Are On The Way

Proving he can give James Bond a run for his money, the Matt Damon superspy thriller The Bourne Identity became this past summer's dark horse blockbuster, grossing over $125 million at the domestic box office alone. Universal Studios Home Video will release the hit thriller on January 21st in separate 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and pan & scan versions. Each release features Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround tracks, an audio commentary by director Doug Liman and Damon, deleted scenes and an alternate ending with commentary, a Spotlight on Location featurette, the Moby "Extreme Ways" music video, the trailer, and ROM features including links to the Universal Total Axxess web portal with additional exclusive content to be announced.

SIGNS

And in case you haven't heard, M. Night Shyamalan's blockbuster summer thriller Signs is making its debut on January 7th as a full-fledged Vista Series two-disc special edition. This one comes packed with tons of features, including an audio commentary, extensive making-of footage, an early Shyamalan alien short film, and more.

Joni Mitchell 'Ashamed' to Be in Music Business

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hell hath no fury like Joni Mitchell on the subject of the music industry.

The veteran singer/songwriter, on the promotional trail for a new album, says she is "ashamed" to be part of the music business and may stop recording.

"I just think it's a cesspool," the 58-year-old folk-rock icon said in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

"I hope it all goes down the crapper. I would never take another deal in the record business, which means I may not record again, or I have to figure out a way to sell over the Net or do something else. But I'll be damned if I'll line their pockets."

Oddly, Mitchell just signed a new deal with Nonesuch Records, which will release her new album, "Travelogue" in November. Mitchell was previously based at Reprise Records where her last few albums sold poorly but won several Grammy Awards. Both labels are units of AOL Time Warner Inc .

Mitchell also lambasted MTV, complaining that her three-year-old granddaughter is already grabbing her crotch and dancing, imitating the video clips played on the music cable network.

"It's tragic what MTV has done to the world," opined Mitchell, who was voted the fifth greatest woman in rock 'n' roll by MTV's sister channel VH1. Both networks are owned by Viacom Inc .

Once described by her friend David Crosby as being "about as humble as Mussolini," Mitchell has previously described contemporary music as "appallingly sick ... boring chord movement and bad acting."

In holding up Bob Dylan and herself as the standard for songwriting, she has written off devotees like Sting, Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow.

Mitchell has also previously savaged her former label boss David Geffen for not paying her any royalties, although he has countered that her albums never sold enough copies to cover the advance payments that she received from him.

Born Roberta Joan Anderson in Canada, Mitchell has established herself as one of the most respected artists of her generation. Her eclectic career spans 35 years and includes such seminal albums as 1971's autobiographical "Blue" and the 1974 jazz-pop excursion "Court and Spark." She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

All Elevators Should Go Silent As A Memorial

Big Band leader Ray Conniff, who pioneered an "easy listening" blend of vocal chorus and light orchestral music to cover popular tunes, has died after suffering a head injury in a fall, hospital officials said on Monday.

I'd Like A Breast And A Thigh Please (Of Turkey! Of Turkey!)

It's Thanksgiving! Here's a reason to be thankful:

More on Shania (including another picture) below!

DVD Commercial breaks?

Do you enjoy watching your favorite movies and television shows on DVD commercial free? Although that paradigm may not be going away, Tommy Boy (The label not the film with Chris Farley) is experimenting with the idea of commercials during DVD presentation. Not prior to the presentation, but during regularly scheduled commercial breaks during the feature.

The upcoming series of DVDs Kung Faux, a series of Kung Fu parodies, will make regular commercial breaks for product placement from companies including Target, Levis Jeans and Showtime.

Although this doesn’t seem like an appealing idea, Tommy Boy is hoping this will appeal to a niche audience who enjoys watching commercials. Best of luck guys.

Celine wannabe Faith Hill

Faith Hill "Cry" (Warner Bros. Nashville)

Memo to Warner Bros. Nashville Records: Thanks for the advance of the new Faith Hill album. You must be looking for some feedback before signing off on it, right? I can understand why. Faith's last album sold 8 million copies, but someone needs to talk to her about this record. "Cry" is so filled with vocal histrionics that it borders on the unlistenable.

No one should blame Faith for not wanting to be Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. But why did she want to be Celine Dion? There are brilliant singers -- Emmylou Harris, Shelby Lynne and Alison Krauss -- who have moved beyond traditional country without sacrificing their soulful edge.

With regard to "Cry," you should start by scrapping tracks 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12 and 13. The songs (mostly overwrought power ballads) are mediocre, her vocals are rarely convincing, and the arrangements are ham-fisted. The material is promising enough elsewhere to salvage the tracks by bringing in some advisors. Alanis Morissette could help Faith and the band convey some true romantic fury in the title tune; Lucinda Williams could suggest ways to achieve the lonely barroom ache needed in "When the Lights Go Down"; and Beck could show the way to the vulnerability aimed for in "Stronger."

Or maybe you could just have Faith and her team go back into the studio and simply study the album's one truly outstanding track: "You're Still Here," a tender, intimate reflection on how someone's spirit stays with you even after the person passes out of your life. Faith sings it with touching restraint that makes the rest of the album seem all the more jarring.

You do have time to rethink this album, right? What's that? It's coming out Tuesday? Oh my. -- Robert Hilburn

TUMMIES FULL OF GUMMIES

Until now, the most alarming way for people to keep weight off has been through vices - smoking, drinking, skipping meals. But the latest trend in weight loss among young women is possibly worse, and definitely weirder, than all of them: The All-Candy Diet.

Suddenly - and secretly - young ladies are considering bags of fat-free Gummi Bears to be entire meals. The result? Pounds shedded, cavities accumulated, and a good chance adult onset diabetes will hit before 30. Even Elizabeth Hurley recently admitted that her post-partum weight-zapping indulgence was Gummi Bears.

"Oh my God, I'm awful," said Robin Immerman, 25. The associate beauty editor is 5 feet tall and weighs 95 pounds. "I probably consume more calories in candy than anything else."

Her daily diet consists of some mélange of Swedish fish, Gummi frogs, Taffy Lites, and candy peanuts - for breakfast, for part of dinner, and as a post-meal aperitif. "I could quite possibly live on candy alone," she said.

Leah Wasielewski, a 23-year-old publicist at Simon & Schuster, admitted to regularly delaying meals with high-end Haribo fruit salad gummies, a $5-a-day habit. The fat-free aspect of gummi candy, she said, is "the ultimate bonus." And 31-year-old photo editor Susannah Davis said that chewy Sprees curb her appetite at night. "If I'm eating something before dinner, I'll go for candy. And then you've eaten so much candy that you're not even hungry!"

Dylan Lauren, owner of Dylan's Candy Bar, has herself been known to substitute a grab bag of gummies for a brown bag lunch. "I think I've lost weight by eating candy," she said, adding that women are the store's "big gummy eaters."

Ultimately, for gummi aficionados, the bottom line is the waistline. "Jelly Bellies are four calories per bean," said Mary Ann Zissimos, 23, who ratcheted up her intake while publicizing her upcoming book about the making of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," "Pure Imagination." The great thing about the gummy tummy tuck, she said, is that "you're losing weight, but you feel like you're not dieting because you're enjoying these secret pleasures."

Unsurprisingly, health care professionals are horrified. "Sure, you can lose weight if candy is all you eat," said Manhattan-based nutritionist Ellie Krieger, who once treated a dancer who subsisted solely on Twizzlers. "But the cost is your health." Potential complications, she said, include anemia, malnutrition, osteoporosis, and skin and hair problems.

And then there's rotting teeth. Danielle Blaine, 25, is a graduate student in psychology whose daily candy habit - which starts with fro-yo and ends with Peppermint Patties - has given her cavities in "every single one of my teeth," while Wasielewski said she has more than 15 and Davis said she "basically paid for my dentist's second home."

In fact, possibly the only people really benefitting from this trend are dentists: "Candy and popcorn are keeping me in business!" said Dr. Michael Iott, while Dr. Steven Brisman warns that such compulsive candy intake has catastrophic results: "There are bacteria in the mouth, and food feeds the bacteria and holds the bacteria there because it's sticky," he explained. "Then the bacteria excrete acids, and the acids rot the teeth . . . I like this kind of girl!"

Can't You Do Without?

Chain smokers of the world, unite: This site lets you take an online cigarette break.

I Wanna Rock!

Is it just me, or are most of Rolling Stone's "Women in Rock" not rockers? Seriously!: Britney Spears? Ashanti? Mandy Moore? Come on!

Hip (And Other Body Parts) Talk

"I've never felt like I had to do a T&A video. I never have, and I probably never will. ... Unless I start going through a phase."

— Pop singer Jewel

Group: 'Pink' promotions unequal in giving

By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY

With more companies than ever marketing products from lipsticks to vacuum cleaners to raise money for breast cancer, an advocacy group is urging consumers to "think before you (buy) pink."

Barbara Brenner, executive director of San Francisco-based Breast Cancer Action, says consumers should consider how much money companies are actually contributing to the cause and where it is going.

The percentage of sales that go toward breast cancer charities varies widely. Though some companies donate all profits from certain products, Eureka is donating $1 each from the sale of $149 to $229 vacuum cleaners purchased from May 1 to Dec. 31.

"Is the company spending more on its 'Clean for the Cure' ads than it's donating to the cause?" Brenner's group asks in an ad to run Wednesday in TheNew York Times. The group also has a Web site, www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org.

Eureka is one of more than 50 companies that have entered into a partnership with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Last year, $30 million of Komen's $130 million in revenue came from such partnerships, foundation CEO Susan Braun says.

Proponents of "cause marketing" for breast cancer say they regard it as a win-win situation: Company sales rise, and non-profits reap millions.

"The charity benefits," Braun says. "The company benefits."

Avon acknowledges as much in its 2001 annual report. Last year was the first for the company's "Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer campaign," featuring six lip colors. A dollar of each $4 lipstick goes to the Avon Foundation, which pays for breast cancer groups and research. In its annual report, Avon notes that higher sales were "driven by a 6% growth in units due to the success of the Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer lipstick campaign."

"I don't think that it's a bad thing for anybody to be raising money for a cause and anybody to be raising awareness of a disease that's killing so many people every year," says Kathleen Walas, president of the Avon Foundation.

Brenner says she hopes consumers realize they must do more than shop to halt breast cancer. "These cause-marketing campaigns are giving people the impression they can do something simple that will solve the problem."

Each of Eureka's "Clean for the Cure" vacuums comes with educational materials about breast health, says Kathy Luedke, public relations director for the Bloomington, Ill., company.

"We certainly could have just made a donation and not tell anybody about it. We wanted to stand up and help promote the Komen Foundation."

What Is Botox?

I have been hearing a lot about something called Botox lately, usually as a punchline or as an excuse for a woman not wanting to go out with me.

"So what is it," I pondered:

About Botox®

Botox® is the brand name of botulinum toxin type A that has been in use since about 1990. In 2001, botulinum toxin type B was introduced under the brand name Myobloc®. (Dr. Gulevich has experience with both). Both forms of this naturally occuring substance, Botox® and Myobloc®, are injected into muscle that is contracting abnormally. The medications partially weaken the nerve to the muscle for about four to six months. Botox® has thus proven very useful in people who suffer from abnormal contractions of muscle.

Botox® injections are often guided by an electromyogram (EMG). The hollow-needle EMG locates the area of worst contraction within the muscle, allowing the Botox® to be injected at the site that will produce the best result.

SILENT BOB BOULEVARD

Officials in Paulsboro, New Jersey, to name a street after Jersey native Kevin Smith. The director is shooting Jersey Girl--starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez--in the small town in the southern part of the Garden State.

Skunks are top of the pongs

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (Reuters) - Dirty nappies are disgusting and rotten eggs smell rancid -- but skunks really stink!

That's the finding of a light-hearted U.S. survey sponsored by Renuzit, Dial's air freshener unit.

Skunks led the list of the bad odours in the nationwide survey, with 59.7 percent of respondents rating it a six, the stinkiest rating. Rotten eggs came in second at 47.2 percent, dirty nappy bins received 45.1 percent, bathroom odours were fourth at 37.9 percent and dairy farm smells were fifth at 31.6 percent.

Participants were allowed to rank more than one smell as the stinkiest.

The poll was conducted on America Online websites and select subsidiaries. The poll was conducted in conjunction with the launch of a new Renuzit air freshener, Renuzit Super Odor Neutralizer.

Respondents also nominated their own malodorous offenders that were not part of Renuzit's original suggestions, with the top being spoiled meat, sewers and pet urine.

Also receiving votes: "Politics" and "the guy I have to work with".

Hannibal Lecter stood out in a crowd of new movies.

"Red Dragon" was the No. 1 movie for a second weekend, taking in $17.6 million and fending off an onslaught of debut films, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Red Dragon," $17.6 million.

2. "Sweet Home Alabama," $14.1 million.

3. "Brown Sugar," $11.1 million.

4. "The Transporter," $9.2 million.

5. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," $7.9 million.

6. "The Tuxedo," $7 million.

7. "White Oleander," $5.7 million.

8. "Tuck Everlasting," $5.5 million.

9. "Knockaround Guys," $5 million.

10. "Barbershop," $4 million.

Jagger Says First Stones Songs Were 'Crap'

LONDON (Reuters) - The first songs penned by Rolling Stones Mick Jagger and Keith Richard were so sentimental they were ashamed of them, Jagger told BBC Radio in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

"We couldn't write rock songs. We just wrote these crap ballads," he told Britain's Radio Five Live, in extracts of an interview that were released before Sunday's broadcast.

The band's first five hits were all cover versions of songs written by other stars, though imbued with the Rolling Stones flavor.

But manager Andrew Loog Oldham wanted them to write their own material -- and locked Jagger and Richard in a room until they did.

Jagger said the first song they produced, "As Tears Go By," was far from the heavy-rocker image they were cultivating, so they gave it to pop singer and Jagger girlfriend Marianne Faithfull, who had a hit with it.

"It was pop and we didn't record it because it was crap," he said. "We had a successful crap ballad...I can say now it's a wonderful tune, but we didn't think it was that great at the time."

Jagger said he and Richard "were these two rebellious band members, and we would write nice little tunes, but sentimental stuff."

The dynamic song-writing duo -- whose creative skill and tireless drive has kept the band at the top of the notoriously fickle music business for four decades -- finally hit their stride in 1965 with "The Last Time."

"Eventually we got to grips with writing rock tunes, but it took a little time," Jagger said.

A string of hits followed, such as "Satisfaction," "Paint It Black" and "Get Off Of My Cloud."

The group, which began as a rebellion band but has long since become absorbed into the establishment, Jagger getting a knighthood earlier this year, has just released 40 years of remastered greatest hits.

Richard said the band had no intention of slowing down after a lifetime in the rock 'n' roll fast lane.

"Nobody has been scumbag rockers like us and lived to tell the tale. I wouldn't put it past us to keep on rockin'," he said.

Jagger and Richard, who will both be 60 next year, are currently leading the tireless Stones on another U.S. tour.

She's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

The lovely Shania Twain is back after way too long away! In order to satisfy us CMT has a slew of programs planned.

Oh, and they have some delicious pictures too!

Elton Wants To Be In The Building

If Elvis can top the chart with a hits collection, why not Elton? After all, in 1992, Elton John broke Presley's record for the most consecutive years with a Top 40 pop single (and continued striking gold every year until 2000).

His legacy is celebrated on Elton John: Greatest Hits 1970-2002, a two-disc retrospective due Nov. 12 on Universal.

The 34 digitally remastered tracks include all 22 top-10 pop hits, starting with 1970's breakthrough Your Song. The lofty batch, including Crocodile Rock, Bennie and the Jets, Philadelphia Freedom, Rocket Man, Honky Cat, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Daniel, will be on the set list of John's Greatest Hits Tour in 2003.

Theatrical contributions, from the Oscar-winning Lion King tune Can You Feel the Love Tonight to the LeAnn Rimes duet Written in the Stars, from Aida, also made the album roster, as did John's most recent single, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore.

A bonus CD in the set's first pressing offers duets Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (with George Michael), Live Like Horse (Luciano Pavarotti) and Your Song (Alessandro Safina), plus a live version of Candle in the Wind.

GANGS OF NEW YORK Finally Moves

Miramax has announced that they are moving the release of GANGS OF NEW YORK again. Originally slated to open against another Leo DiCaprio film, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, on December 25, Miramax will now move it up to an earlier Friday in December - either the 6th, 13th, or 20th. "We're always looking to do what's best for the film," said Matthew Hiltzik, Miramax's VP of corporate communications. "GANGS is a competitive movie with top actors, a legendary director and great music that will have broad appeal. There's plenty of opportunity for this and other quality projects to succeed."

Bruce Willis Set To Die Hardest,...AGAIN

Bruce Willis is in negotiations with 20th Century Fox to star in DIE HARD 4.

The spark for the project comes as a result Willis made with Revolution Studios and Fox for his latest movie. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, has gone through several name changes, but Revolution ultimately decided on MAN OF WAR. However, that name was owned by Fox. Fox agreed to release the rights to the title if Willis would agree to another DIE HARD.

No writer or director is attached yet. Willis will produce through his Cheyenne Enterprises.

Novoselic 'glad' Nirvana tune leaked

Nirvana's unreleased track "You Know You're Right" may have hit the airwaves prematurely, but former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic tells JAM! Music he's pleased the tune was leaked early.

"I'm glad. If it were up to me, that song would have been out last year," says Novoselic.

"I had that song in my basement for eight years and nobody even knew about it. I think it's a great song. I'm really proud of it. It's a great performance by everybody and I'm glad that people get to hear it - finally."

"You Know You're Right" was leaked onto the Internet last month and radio stations across North America began playing the track shortly thereafter, before being threatened with legal action.

The song will officially appear on the forthcoming greatest-hits package simply entitled "Nirvana," which hits Canadian stores on October 29.

Novoselic admits that he hasn't been privy to fan reaction to "You Know You're Right", but did hear that "people are saying good things about it."

After settling a bitter lawsuit involving Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love over control of Nirvana's musical legacy, Novoselic doesn't harbour any ill will after many months of mud-slinging between the two camps.

"That's why I wanted to settle because I got tired of all of that. I don't have any sad feelings whatsoever. It's liberation. I'm relieved and happy that it's over. It's as simple as that."

When asked whether Nirvana fans will get to hear more hidden gems on a rarities disc planned for 2003: "Oh ya. If they all don't get leaked out (laughs)."

A Nirvana box set is also being worked on for a 2004 release, which Novoselic says will be an encyclopedic retrospective of the band. The most difficult task, however, will be getting all parties to agree on what tracks will be on the release.

"It's coming together," says Novoselic, who jokingly adds, "It has to be voted on in the Washington State senate."

It's Time To Play The Music, It's Time To Break Out The Wallet

There are great new collectibles to be had in the world of The Muppets.

And now you know what to get me for Christmas!

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy!

For the goodness of Dan-Kind, Maxim Magazine gets Enterprise's Vulcan Super Hottie Jolene Blalock to unlock her clothes.

Can pointy-eared aliens be sexy? Find out for yourself!

(Clip on Cover girls and and enjoy! OUCH! I'd like two pickets to Tittsburgh, please!)

REN & STIMPY Resurrected

The Ren & Stimpy Show is returning to TV with all-new episodes early summer 2003 on the new TNN, and creator John Kricfalusi couldn't be happier.

This time around, his ground-breaking, irreverent show is being programmed in the adult viewer block, which gives him all the opportunity he needs to explore Ren & Stimpy's special gross world of wacky.

So, what are R&S fans going to be able to see? "There's going to be a sequel to 'Firedogs,' and there's going to be two of the best 'pooing' sequences ever animated," Kricfalusi said with glee.

Kricfalusi will also continue the R&S tradition of creating fake commercials, like the one for "Log," where a big, brown log is promoted as a cool toy like Slinky or Hot Wheels. This time, John K. has created a new faux commercial for a very distant cousin to My Little Pony--a donkey toy--called "My Little Ass."

"Is your Little Ass pink or purple?" Kricfalusi asked, before launching into a witty, wicked song parodying syrupy TV cartoon theme music. "There's a rainbow over Ass Canyon…" he sang, continuing to a chorus of "My Little Ass…. my sweet Little Ass!"

But all is not well in Ass Canyon, because the My Little Ass(es) have a dastardly foe--a mean rooster called "Wrinkly Old Cock." "Don't let Wrinkly Old Cock rub up against your Ass!" warned Kricfalusi.

For Kricfalusi, it's all about freedom of creative expression. He wants the right to be crude, rude, and ultimately entertaining.

In the Ottawa International Animation Festival program booklet, Richard Meltzer wrote: "I hold these truths to be self-evident: That without the Ren & Stimpy show, you don't get Beavis and Butthead or South Park… am I right, or am I right?"

FALL FAILURES

ABC making the Ben Affleck-produced Push, Nevada and the time-travel series That Was Then the first casualties of the new TV season, canceling both on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Times. The network's MDs is reportedly in critical condition, as well.

Faith Hill Set For 'Saturday Night Live' Debut

Faith Hill will make her debut appearance on Saturday Night Live this Saturday (October 12). The singer will perform the title track and one other song from her upcoming album, Cry, which hits retail outlets Tuesday (October 15).

Faith spoke about appearing on the show. "I spend a lot of time in New York, so I love going there," she said. "Saturday Night Live is a show that I've watched since I was old enough--since I was allowed to watch it. I, first of all, don't think I'm cool enough to be on the show, but they think I am, I guess."

As a fan of the NBC show, Hill is looking forward to just being part of the night. She explained, "I'm excited. I don't know how I'm gonna prepare. I'm just gonna--I don't know--just have the best time of my life. I'm lookin' forward to it. It'll be a lot of fun."

Among the singer's many upcoming media appearances are stops at The Late Show With David Letterman (October 15), The View (October 16), and The Today Show (October 18). Saturday Night Live, hosted by Sarah Michelle Gellar, airs at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.

New Releases Promise Low Impact at Box Office

ORLANDO, Fla. (Variety) - Like so many bugs splattered on a windshield, this weekend's five wide openers and half-dozen limited releases will make themselves noticed, but pose no real threat of major impact.

In fact, the No. 1 and 2 spots at the box office are expected to go once again to last weekend's top two pictures: Universal's "Red Dragon" and Disney's "Sweet Home Alabama." But the looming swarm of openers has made for some amused conversations among distributors and exhibitors at the ShowEast trade show in Orlando this week.

"It's almost comical," observed one studio executive trying to orchestrate his studio's release amid the crush of competition. "It's just crazy."

For movie theater owners, the situation represents at least a mixed blessing -- if viewed through rose-colored glasses.

They long have lobbied for distributors to fill in the long gaps between summer and holiday box office seasons with big releases in other parts of the year, and this weekend is the latest evidence that studio executives are listening. But so many titles entering the marketplace at once puts pressure on circuits to accommodate the new pictures -- and important studio relationships -- while maintaining enough auditoriums for successful movies already in release.

Also, the unspooling of so many pictures in a fairly nondescript October weekend -- other than its dovetailing with Columbus Day on Monday -- raises the question of whether any of the pictures are being dumped by distributors just to get them out of the can and into the marketplace.

PICS TARGET MALES

Top trackers among this frame's new titles include New Line's "Knockaround Guys" -- a low-budget mob actioner starring Vin Diesel -- and 20th Century Fox's "The Transporter." Both target male moviegoers not preoccupied with Hannibal Lecter or Reese Witherspoon.

"Guys" skews older and thus is in more of a head-on collision with R-rated "Dragon," while the PG-13 "Transporter" will have to count on younger studs resisting galpals' date-night instincts toward femme magnet "Alabama." "Transporter" had been slotted for a September bow until Fox bumped the picture to goose picture awareness with a heightened TV campaign.

Also unspooling are the young-skewing haunted-sub suspenser "Below" from Miramax/Dimension; the urban drama "Brown Sugar" from Fox Searchlight; and the Disney family fantasy "Tuck Everlasting."

Among the frame's notable limited releases are Sony/Revolution's "Punch-Drunk Love," an Adam Sandler starrer helmed by Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights," "Magnolia"), and Warner Bros.' three-hanky femme drama "White Oleander," whose ensemble cast includes Michelle Pfeiffer and Renee Zellweger. "Punch-Drunk" broadens to wide release Oct. 18.

'DADDY' POSTPONED

The weekend mayhem could have been even messier if Premiere hadn't postponed the release of intended wide release "Who's Your Daddy?" The comedy has been shelved until at least November by serious financial problems at the fledgling distributor.

Box office watchers say it's tough to say which of the weekend openers -- if any -- might enjoy especially strong Sunday grosses given the prospect of a day off from work or school Monday for some moviegoers. Columbus Day is a fairly notable holiday in a few markets like Gotham, but it's all but ignored in some parts of the country.

Meanwhile, "Dragon" grossed an October record $36.5 million in its inaugural frame last weekend, but could see plummet this weekend. "Alabama," which managed a relatively modest 40% drop last weekend to $21.3 million, will try to show shapely gams for a long fall run.

DreamWorks' Jackie Chan starrer "The Tuxedo" also enters its third frame in release after a skimpy 33% drop to $10 million in third last weekend. And then, of course, there's still IFC's "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," the Energizer Bunny of platformed releases.

The ethnic laffer finished fourth last weekend with a scant 13% fall to $8.2 million. "Wedding" became the top-grossing indie picture of all time last weekend with a domestic total of $147.7 million through its 25th session.

Whatever you choose, enjoy the popcorn and I'll see you at the movies!

Hanks Tops 'Most Powerful' List

NEW YORK (AP) - Relax, moguls. Ozzy Osbourne is not about to take over your jobs.

Osbourne, dapper in a pinstriped suit, stares from the cover of Entertainment Weekly's annual list of the 100 most powerful people in entertainment, which he and his wife, Sharon, made for the first time.

But others wield more clout.

For the first time in 13 years, the magazine split its annual list in two, with separate lists for stars and power brokers. Actor Tom Hanks topped one; the HBO executive team of Jeff Bewkes and Chris Albrecht led the other.

Of Hanks, the magazine said, "you trust this man completely." The two-time Oscar winner's dark role in "Road to Perdition" won critical kudos and was his seventh straight movie to gross more than $100 million.

Hanks also took the advice of his wife, actress Rita Wilson, and produced "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," the year's surprise movie hit.

Bewkes, who was recently promoted to a bigger job at HBO parent AOL Time Warner, and Albrecht were credited for establishing critical and popular successes like "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City."

"Bewkes and Albrecht have transformed a network of programming into a nexus of generation-defining pop culture, and their rivals are paying a lot more than $11.95 a month for it," the magazine said.

Rounding out the moguls' top five are John Calley & Amy Pascal, heads of the allied Sony and Columbia film studios; CBS president Leslie Moonves; Kaz Hirai, head of Sony's U.S. video game unit; and Barry Meyer & Alan Horn, heads of the Warner Brothers film studio.

Following Hanks on the star list are filmmaker Steven Spielberg and actors Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts.

For the record, reality TV's Osbournes were ranked No. 37.

Christina Aguilera Launches Album Alone But Happy

LONDON (Reuters) - Pop "beauty" Christina Aguilera said on Thursday she was on the look-out for a boyfriend, squashing rumors she is romantically linked with Justin Timberlake of pop group 'N Sync.

"I just want a sweet boy," the 21-year old star told reporters at the London launch of her new album "Stripped," which she described as her most personal work to date.

"Justin and I are just friends," she said adding she expected to see Timberlake -- ex-boyfriend of pop rival Britney Spears -- sometime during her stay in the British capital.

Aguilera said the songs on the new album were a signal that she has grown a lot from the teenager who stormed the music scene with her best selling 1999 hit "Genie in a Bottle."

"You learn a lot in this business and you learn quickly," said Aguilera wearing black trousers coupled with a low-cut vest topped off with a red leather cap.

The singer said she had tried not to get upset by press criticism of her skimpy clothes and bold make-up.

"I like to be edgy, I like to be different. I'm a little bit of rebel," she said.

As to the cost of fame, Aguilera said she missed her privacy and was saddened that the songs sometimes become secondary.

"Its such a crazy game...its sad the music sometimes seems to come last."

Aguilera said she was proud of the new tracks on the album which she saw as cathartic.

"I felt trapped...under the thumb of people who were mostly interested in keeping me doing exactly the same thing. But I'm not blaming anyone," she said.

Not only does the singer see the album as a professional turning point she said it was tough to complete on a personal level.

"The track "I'm Okay" is about my father. I'm literally crying on the record," she said.

The song is about wife beating and has the line:

"Daddy don't you understand the damage you have done."

The singer said she wanted the album to reflect all the different types of music she enjoys and from which she draws inspiration -- whether it be hip hop, soul or rock and roll.

"Dirrty (her latest single currently climbing the U.S. charts) is the most hard beat-wise, its about me being 21 and having fun, but the album is a mixture."

From the smoky ballad of "Impossible" to the romantic revelations of "Can't Hold Us Down," Aguilera said she wanted to break away from any stereotype of her as "prissy" or "virginal."

She said she was proud of the album and as soon as tracks were laid down, would check that her mother approved.

"I wanted to make sure my mom was cool," she said.

I Want To Watch The Leafs!

The Toronto Maple Leafs 2002-2003 National Hockey League season begins tonight!

GO LEAFS, GO!!!

For all of the most up to date Leafs information on the internet, visit The Penalty Box for all of the news and views.

Oh, and GO LEAFS, GO!!!!!

Charlize Theron Becomes a Serial Killer

Charlize Theron has agreed to star in the indie film MONSTER for MDP Worldwide and director Patty Jenkins.

Theron will play Aileen Wuornos, the nation's first female serial killer that is scheduled to be executed in Florida today. Jenkins will direct from a script she wrote herself about Wuornos' troubled childhood to becoming a prostitute at 14.

Wuornos was a prostitute for 20 years until she murdered for the first time in 1989. She then went on to kill six more men over seven months. During her 1992 trial, Wuornos claimed that she was innocent because all of the deaths were a result of self defense.

Indy to Name Street After Letterman

David Letterman is getting his wish to have a road named after him — even though it's not exactly what he hoped for.

The City Council in this Indianapolis suburb unanimously approved a resolution Monday renaming a portion of a street after the talk-show host, an Indianapolis native.

The resolution acknowledges there has been public interest in naming a thoroughfare for Letterman. A recent gag on "Late Show" has had him asking Indianapolis officials to rename Interstate 465 the "David Letterman Expressway."

Lawrence officials couldn't do that, but the council did rename as David Drive a portion of 59th Street near the former Fort Harrison.

It crosses an existing street called Letterman Road — named years ago for a hospital in San Francisco — which runs through an area that once was part of the fort.

As a result, there's an intersection of David Drive and Letterman Road "that recognizes this Hoosier legend," the resolution states.

But when officials erected the new street sign Tuesday afternoon, one side was misspelled "Daivd."

"I could sit here and tell you it was all part of the joke, but it wasn't," said Deputy Mayor Chuck Ricks said.

The sign was repainted and replaced Wednesday morning, he said.

ABC to Air Two-Hour McCartney Tour Movie

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In 1968 he was "Back in the U.S.S.R." and now, in 2002, former Beatle Paul McCartney is "Back in the U.S."

Television network ABC said on Wednesday it will air "Back in the U.S.," a two-hour special chronicling the singer's American tour of earlier this year, on Nov. 27 at 9 p.m. EDT.

The network said a crew followed the McCartney to 34 cities over the span of 14 weeks, shooting performances of hits like "Yesterday," "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Live and Let Die."

The film will feature more than two dozen songs, as well as candid footage shot on McCartney's chartered jet and in the band's dressing rooms.

McCartney also served as executive producer of the program. ABC is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

Elvis Deprives Stones of U.S. Chart Satisfaction

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Elvis rolled the Stones on the U.S. pop album charts, depriving the veteran rockers of what would have been their first No. 1 album in 21 years, according to sales data issued on Wednesday.

The Elvis Presley retrospective "Elvis: 30 #1 Hits" sold nearly 337,000 copies in the week ended Oct. 6, its second week of release, while the Rolling Stones' hits package "Forty Licks" opened at No. 2 with sales of 310,000 units, according to tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan.

The Stones' tally marks the best album debut of their career since SoundScan started tabulating the charts with point-of-sales data a decade ago. The band's previous best opening was in 1997, when their studio album "Bridges to Babylon" opened at No. 3 with 160,000 units.

"Forty Licks," a double-CD set that boasts 36 career-spanning hit tunes and four new songs, marks the first joint venture between the Stones' current label, Virgin Records and their old label, closely held ABKCO Records.

"We're very pleased with such strong first-week sales for 'Forty Licks,"' said a spokeswoman for EMI Group Plc, the parent company of Virgin.

She added that the label expected the album to sell strongly through the holiday period, helped by the Stones' current tour.

Presley, whose two-week total rose to 838,000 units, has benefited from aggressive pricing at mass-market retailers. The single-disc RCA Records package carries a list price of $18.98, but is currently selling for $13.99 at KMart Corp. and $14.99 at Best Buy Co. Inc. . "Forty Licks," with a $29.98 list price, is selling for $19.99 at Kmart and $24.99 at Best Buy, spokeswomen at the chains said.

The Rolling Stones last topped the album charts in 1981 when "Tattoo You" led the field for nine weeks. In all they have sent nine records to the top since 1965. "Forty Licks" also debuted at No. 2 in Britain and at No. 7 in Japan.

The latest top 10 contained three other new entries: West Coast rapper Xzibit's "Man vs. Machine" at No. 3; "American Idol Greatest Moments," a collection of performances by the 10 finalists on the hit talent show, at No. 4; and Maryland rock band Good Charlotte's second album "The Young and the Hopeless" at No. 7.

RCA Records Signs 'American Idol' Runner-Up Guarini

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Justin Guarini may be known all over the world as "Mr. Runner Up" from hit TV show "American Idol," but RCA Records is betting the floppy-haired singer will be a winner on the record sales charts.

RCA, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, on Wednesday said it will release the solo recordings of Guarini, 23, following the label's success with the release of a single by the show's champion, Kelly Clarkson.

The bubbly 20-year-old's rendition of "A Moment Like This," the song Clarkson performed on the final episode of the show, has topped the charts in recent weeks.

RCA said Guarini was signed to 19 Recordings Ltd, the label of British entrepreneur, star-maker and "American Idol" producer Simon Fuller, who will license Guarini's solo effort to RCA in America.

"We look forward to working with Justin to nurture his talent and help him build a recording career at RCA," said Bob Jamieson, Chairman, RCA Music Group.

Guarini, who along Clarkson and eight other "American Idol" finalists, embarked this week on a 27-city U.S. arena tour.

Fuller's 19 Recordings is part of his 19 Group of Cos, founded in 1985. Fuller is credited with creating and managing the Spice Girls, who sold over 38 million albums.

In 1998, Fuller's 19 Group launched S Club 7, which sold 10 million CDs worldwide. He has also created several television series, including Britain's "Pop Idol," which was the inspiration for "American Idol."

Madonna Tries Out Karate in Video

LONDON (AP) - Madonna's newest video is giving her the chance to get out a little aggression.

The above photo, released Tuesday, from the "Die Another Day" video shows the 44-year-old trying her hand at karate. The song is from the soundtrack of the upcoming James Bond film of the same name.

The video premieres Thursday on MTV.

Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, said in July that the singer was also making a brief cameo appearance in the movie.

The song is Madonna's first new release for more than a year.

"Die Another Day," starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry, is scheduled for release on November 22nd, 2002.

Wanna see the new trailer?

FANS PICK BEST 007 GADGETS

James Bond fans have named their favorite Agent 007 gadget: the Rolex watch that unzips women's dresses.

The debonair superspy used the timepiece to strip a voluptuous Italian secret agent he found hiding in his closet in the 1973 film "Live and Let Die."

The gadget was meant to deflect bullets with its powerful electromagnetic force.

But Bond, played in that flick by Roger Moore, uses it to unzip the beauty's dress.

He then describes his seduction technique as "sheer magnetism."

The Rolex topped a poll by Dixons electronics in England to mark the 40th anniversary of 007 flicks.

Second in the survey was Bond's Ericsson mobile phone, which remotely-controlled Pierce Brosnan's BMW in 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies."

A pager watch, which summoned Sean Connery as Bond to meet with spy chief M in 1963's "From Russia With Love," came in third.

"What's remarkable is that many of Bond's gadgets from the 1960s and 1970s, such as pagers and miniature cameras, were considered to be total fantasy but are now available," said Stuart Carson, marketing director for Dixons.

Jack Black Steps Behind the Camera 'One More Time'

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) – Comedy actor Jack Black will be making his producing debut with “Do That To Me One More Time,” a comedy pitch recently purchased by DreamWorks.

Written by Black, David Garrett and Jason Ward, the film will center on a famous couple that has a very public break-up and wages a private war against each other, according to trades sources. Garrett and Ward previously wrote the Chris Kattan comedy, “Corky Romano.”

Black, 33, recently finished shooting Barry Levinson’s “Envy,” also for DreamWorks, which stars Black and Ben Stiller as two best friends whose relationship goes awry when one of them strikes it rich after selling an invention. Black will next start filming Richard Linklater’s “School of Rock.”

Bob Simonds, who produced "Corky Romano," will co-produce “Do That To Me One More Time” with Black. No production date has been set for the film yet.

Samuel L. Jackson Talks About The Death Of Mace Windu

Samuel L. Jackson says that he is preparing for his character Mace Windu's big death scene in Star Wars: Episode III. "I know what's going to happen," Jackson said in an interview. "I gotta go there. I gotta die."

Jackson went on to explain that he had a lunch meeting with George Lucas last month, during which time he tried to find out details of his character's impending demise. "We were just talking about stuff," Jackson said. "And then [Lucas] finally said, 'Okay, so you know you've got to die. I haven't quite figured out how I'm going to kill you yet, because I guess you're the most important guy that's going to die. In the other ones, Obi Wan is still there and Yoda's still alive and Darth is still there.' So I become the most important character that can die. I guess it's got to be pretty dynamic. So he's working that out."

Star Wars: Episode III goes into production in June 2003 for a May 2005 release.

Big New Release News!

Just in from Buena Vista is their January 2003 new release lineup. Pushed back a week from its original January 1st announce date is the M. Night Shyamalan blockbuster Signs, which will now touch down on January 7th. Stay tuned for specs.

Also due in January is the animated sequel 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (January 21st), the Sundance favorite Tadpole (also January 21st) and the indie thrillers Ordinary Decent Criminals and Tangled (both January 14th).

Billionaire Saban in Talks to Buy Muppet-Makers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Haim Saban is in talks to buy Muppet-maker Jim Henson Co., at a steep discount to what Germany's EM.TV & Merchandising AG paid for it, people close to the situation said on Tuesday.

The two sides are still haggling over the price, but it is broadly in the vicinity of about $100 million, these people added. EM.TV paid $680 million for Henson in February 2000.

There may be other suitors for the makers of Miss Piggy, Cookie Monster and Big Bird, the sources said, but the EM.TV unit has been on the block for more than a year.

Representatives for Munich-based EM.TV and Saban declined to comment.

Saban, who made his fortune with children's figures the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, has savvy bargaining power on his side. Nancy Schultz, who served as Henson's chief financial officer for a short time, and who also advised Henson when she was with PricewaterhouseCoopers, now works for Saban Capital Group Inc.

Jim Henson produces movies, such as "Muppets in Space," and its world-famous creature shop makes well-known puppets and creates special effects. It won an Oscar for the special effects in the film "Babe."

When the company's namesake, the beloved Jim Henson, died suddenly 12 years ago, Disney pulled out of a deal to buy the company, believing Henson embodied the empire he founded in 1958. Henson's son, Brian, ran the business until he and the family sold it to EM.TV.

EM.TV, which has been trying to raise money by unloading non-core assets, last year sold Henson's stake in Crown Media Holdings for about $100 million. Sesame Workshop also bought the Sesame Street Muppets characters from Henson last year.

Disney and Viacom both were interested in buying Henson over the past year, but discussions with both fell apart, according to media reports.

Saban, who is also bidding for insolvent German media group KirchMedia, made about $1.5 billion last year when he and partner News Corp. sold cable network Fox Family Worldwide to Disney for $3 billion.

Yeah, Baby!

Austin Powers returns for his third go-round in the summer mega-hit Goldmember, making its DVD debut on December 3rd.

The latest in New Line's Infinifilm series of souped-up interactive DVD releases, this one is available in separate 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions, each featuring an English 5.1 Dolby Surround EX abd DTS 6.1 ES tracks, Infinifilm pop-up menus, an audio commentary by director Jay Roach and Mike Myers, the "World Of Austin Powers," "M:16 International Men Of Mystery," "Fashion Vs. Fiction," "Disco Fever" and "Visual Effects" featurettes, the "English, English" fact subtitle track, deleted scenes, four music videos ("Work It Out" by Beyonce, "Boys" by Britney Spears, "Daddy Wasn't There" by Ming Tea and "Hard Knock Life" by Dr. Evil and Mini-Me), theatrical teasers and trailers, and ROM extras including the "Austin Powers Revoice Studio," the original theatrical website and weblinks.

New Line will also release an Austin Powers three-pack featuring all three Austin Powers adventures.

This Day's New Music Releases

If you live in America you will be able to buy the new CD from Sammy Hagar, Not 4 Sale, which is for sale today.

If you live in Canada, you won't. I live in Canada...

As you might guess, I am not happy.

So here is a list of some CD's that we are lucky enough to be able to purchase. The rest of them we'll just have to download off of the internet (Note to record companies: Release things that people want and sales will go up!).

Here are the new music releases for Tuesday, October 8, 2002:

* 3RD STOREE Get Wit Me (Def Jam)
* APPLES IN STEREO Velocity Of Sound (Linus Entertainment)
* ARETHA FRANKLIN (Aretha Franklin) (Arista)
* AUTHORITY ZERO A Passage In Time (Atlantic)
* BEN FOLDS Live (Epic)
* BJORK Greatest Hits (Elektra)
* BJORK Family Tree (Box Set) (Elektra)
* BON JOVI Bounce (Island)
* BROOKS & DUNN Hangin' Round The Mistletoe (Arista)
* DOWNTHESUN Downthesun (Roadrunner)
* ETTA JAMES Let's Roll (Private Music)
* FAITH HILL Cry (CD Single) (Warner)
* GEORGE STRAIT For The Last Time: Live At The Astrodome (MCA Nashville)
* HEATHER HEADLY This Is Who I Am (RCA)
* HOT HOT HEAT Make Up The Breakdown (Strategic Projects)
* JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT BareNaked (Jive)
* JOHN MICHAEL MONTGOMERY Pictures (Warner)
* JURASSIC 5 Power In Numbers (Interscope)
* KAREN CLARK SHEARD 2nd Chance (Elektra)
* KIM RICHEY Rise (Lost Highway/Universal)
* LOUDERMILK The Red Record (DreamWorks)
* ORCHESTRA BAOBAB Specialist In All Styles (Warner International)
* PEARL JAM I Am Mine (CD Single) (Epic)
* PINMONKEY TBA (Pinmonkey) (RCA Country)
* RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS The Zephyr Song (CD Single) (Warner)
* SINEAD O'CONNOR Sean Nos Nua (Vanguard)
* SOFT CELL Cruelty Without Beauty (True North)
* TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS The Last DJ (Warner)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Country Heat 2003 (BMG)
* WESTLIFE World Of Our Own (RCA)

Some Good, Some Bad. Some Really, Really Bad

There are some fun films coming out today on video and DVD (The Muppet Christmas Carol, Beauty And The Beast) and then there is some out and out crap (Scooby Doo, Enough).

It's your money. You decide which is which.

Here are the new video and DVD releases for October 8, 2002.

Up first, the ones you'll recognize:

Scooby Doo- The really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really bad live-adaptation of the classic cartoon. Did I mention that it is really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really bad? (Freddie Prinze, Jr. , Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard)

Enough- Abusive husband follows and torments his wife in this really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really bad piece of crap. (Jennifer Lopez, Russell Milton, Bill Campbell)

Beauty And The Beast- An enchanted prince takes maiden to his castle. (Paige O'Hara (voice), Robby Benson (voice), Richard White (voice))

Jason X- Jason Voorhees goes on a killing spree in space in 2455. (Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder)

Big Trouble- A mysterious briefcase brings people of all sorts together. (Tim Allen, Omar Epps, Dennis Farina)

And then there's the rest of them.

Nirvana found: Grunge finds its way back

Some of the hottest grunge bands from the mid-90s, like Pearl Jam, are back this fall with new albums.

The Seattle-spawned grunge of the early '90s is resurfacing in newly released music by the genre's biggest names:

* You Know You're Right, the last known song recorded by Nirvana before singer Kurt Cobain's suicide, recently emerged on the Internet and then jumped to radio where it's No. 22 on the modern-rock chart. It will be included in a best-of album Nov. 12.

* Pearl Jam's I Am Mine, due in stores today, is No. 6 after two weeks. It's the first single from Riot Act, the band's seventh studio album, due Nov. 12.

* Audioslave's Cochise, sung by former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, is No. 30. The band, featuring remnants of Rage Against the Machine, releases its self-titled debut on Nov. 19.

"After five to 10 years of synth bands, it was a shock to hear a modern-rock act that rocked," says Airplay Monitor editor Sean Ross, noting that all three records are getting spins nationwide. "Because rap-rock has faded just a little and because more straight-ahead harder stuff like Nickelback is moving into the void, we were already seeing the return of 1993. It's interesting that Nirvana, not known for power ballads, had something in its outtakes that sounds a lot like what's on radio this year."

Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden reigned during the golden era of grunge before losing ground to the late-'90s influx of teen pop and rap-rock. The repeat of history doesn't surprise Seattle scene experts.

"Melodic guitar-based rock never goes out of style for very long," says music writer Charles Cross.

In researching his 2001 Cobain biography, Heavier Than Heaven, Cross got wind of You Know and wondered why it had never been released.

"The fact that it's Nirvana's last song adds a spooky element that makes it even more emotional, but it would be a very powerful song even recorded by Dave Matthews," he says.

James Earl Jones confirms that his voice will be heard in STAR WARS EPISODE III.

Plans are to return James Earl Jones as the voice of Vader in part three of the new Star Wars trilogy, which currently has a release date of 2005. "George Lucas says 'When Anakin goes bionic -- that will be in the last five minutes of episode three -- they will hear you."

He gives his seal of approval to Hayden Christensen, the current Anakin Skywalker and the man who will be Vader. "Aren't you impressed with him?" he says. "I like his whole bearing, the spine, the neck ... he's like a snake."

Not that he feels at all proprietary about who plays Darth. "No," he laughs, "the little kid (The Phantom Menace's Jake Lloyd) got me over that."

Plot details for the DUMB & DUMBER prequel, WHEN HARRY MET LLOYD.

Shooting is scheduled to begin November 16th on New Line's sequel to the 1994 Jim Carrey comedy DUMB & DUMBER.

The plot is set in 1986 when both our favourite simple-minded characters are 17, and a current draft of the script follows the premise that in order to qualify for a half million dollar grant from the school board, the evil Principal Collins has cobbled together a Special Needs class from the high school's social outcasts and enlists a teacher's aid in keeping the classes students imbeciles.

Harry and Lloyd are two of the students as is a girl in a wheelchair, a girl with a mouthful of orthodontic machinery, a guy with really big ears and hearing aids, a guy who wears huge Coke bottle glasses and a French exchange student. They quietly band together with the help of a straight A student to rebel against Collins, and our duo end up going undercover as 'normal' students to get the evidence the need.

Coming Attractions indicates Christopher Walken is attached, most likely as Principal Collins.

PAYING TRIBUTE OR CASHING IN

A posthumous album by Aaliyah scheduled for release in November, according to Time magazine. The disc will include several new songs, as well as old hits and remixes of other tunes in her catalog.

The R&B starlet died in a plane crash in August 2001.

A WEDDING STORY

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" took in an estimated $8.2 million over the weekend to bring its total dowry to $147.7 million. That makes the romantic comedy the highest grossing independent movie ever, surpassing the $140.5 million scared up by The Blair Witch Project.

So stop stalling and go and see it!

Theaters Awash in Movies in October

LOS ANGELES (AP) - October packs a trick-or-treat bag full of little films aimed at beating the usual year-end rush.

"It's typical to see a massive onslaught in October, which represents an opportunity for films to get noticed by moviegoers and Oscar before the big blockbuster holiday season," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Nearly a dozen movies will debut Friday, though only six can be seen nationwide: the gangster tale "Knockaround Guys"; the hip-hop romance "Brown Sugar"; "The Rules of Attraction," about disturbed college love affairs; the action thriller "The Transporter"; the family fantasy "Tuck Everlasting"; and "White Oleander," about a conniving mother convicted of murder.

A few hundred theaters will see the opening of the animated "Pokemon 4Ever," Madonna's desert-island "Swept Away," and the haunted submarine thriller "Below."

Limited to a handful of theaters is Jerry Seinfeld's documentary "Comedian"; the surreal love story "Punch-Drunk Love," starring Adam Sandler; Michael Moore's anti-gun documentary "Bowling For Columbine"; and Ed Burns' "Ash Wednesday," about two Irish-American brothers who tangle with the mob.

Starting films small in a few large cities can help build word-of-mouth for later widespread distribution.

Last October featured a similar glut of new movies, with between nine and 16 new films opening on various weekends, Dergarabedian said.

"But sometimes October is also a dumping ground for films that just couldn't make it at any other time," he said.

"Knockaround Guys," which stars Barry Pepper and Vin Diesel, has been finished for 2 1/2 years. "The Transporter" was shifted to its current release date from Sept. 13.

The remaining weekends of October are similarly crowded with small-release films, including "The Grey Zone," about Jewish workers in a Nazi crematorium; "Auto Focus," about the sex tapes and murder of "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane; and "Frida," starring Salma Hayek as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Other factors that make October a prime release time: its proximity to September's Toronto Film Festival, the fact that college-age art-house filmgoers have settled into the new school year, and distance from this year's holiday-season debuts of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

"We were concerned about getting lost if we went ahead too close to the end of the year," said Tom Ortenberg, head of Lions Gate Films, which this month releases "The Grey Zone" and "The Rules of Attraction," while widening its release of "Secretary," a love story involving sadomasochism.

Scottish University Discovers 500 Beatles Photos

LONDON (Reuters) - Five hundred photographs of the Beatles, many of them unpublished, have been found in the archives of a Scottish university, where they have been gathering dust for more than 30 years.

The photos, discovered in Dundee University's archives, show the British pop group on the brink of international stardom in the early 1960s, the Times newspaper reported Monday.

The pictures are part of an archive of 130,000 negatives taken by Hungarian-born photo-journalist Michael Peto and given to the university after his death in 1970, the newspaper said.

Many show band members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr relaxing between takes while shooting their second feature film "Help."

The university was aware of "one or two" pictures of the band among the negatives, but only discovered the extent of the collection during a project to digitize its archives.

"He was a people's photographer and his photographs reflect the backstage nature of his work and are quite unique in this respect," said Pat Whatley, the head of the university's archives who discovered the collection.

Peto is best known for his photographs of ballet stars Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, and of actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Winona Ryder Trial Postponed Until Oct. 15

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - The trial of actress Winona Ryder on charges of shoplifting $4,800 worth of goods from a department store, expected to start on Monday, was delayed until next week because of scheduling conflicts involving the judge and defense lawyers in the case.

The two-time Oscar nominee was not in court and remains free on bond. Beverly Hill Superior Court Judge Eldon Fox ordered her attorney to bring her to court on Oct. 15 for jury selection.

"It has been agreed that this matter will be continued to Oct. 15 for jury trial," Fox said during the brief hearing.

On Friday, Ryder's attorney Mark Geragos called the judge to say he could not begin the trial because of previous court commitments. The judge also had a conflict.

Ryder was accused of stealing $4,800 worth of clothes and accessories during a Beverly Hills shopping spree last year, and prosecutors want to admit evidence of alleged previous misdeeds by the "Girl, Interrupted" star.

Geragos has maintained Ryder is a victim of a misunderstanding and is being singled out for especially harsh treatment because of her celebrity status.

The 30-year-old actress is charged with grand theft, second-degree burglary and vandalism for allegedly cutting security tags off merchandise in a Saks Fifth Avenue store last Dec. 12 and walking out the door without paying for the items.

She also was charged with possession of a controlled substance in connection with a prescription painkiller she was found to be carrying.

Ryder has pleaded innocent to all the charges, which carry a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in prison.

Pigs Might Fly Before Pink Floyd Reunites

Pink Floyd fans hoping for a reunion of the veteran English rock band may be waiting in vain, the group's current leader David Gilmour indicated on Monday.

Myers plays another retro but cool cat

Mike Myers looks perfectly content under all that fur and makeup in an exclusive first look from Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, due in November 2003.

Myers, who stars as the mischievous feline, tells USA TODAY that he was always a fan of the 1957 classic. But it was the modern-day take on the book that persuaded him to take the part.

"Not only is The Cat in the Hat my favorite children's book, it's one of the best scripts I've read in years," he says. "It's a huge honor to be part of a brilliant cast and a team of filmmakers dedicated to making a children's classic."

Cat marks the directing debut of Bo Welch and is produced by Brian Grazer, who was behind another Seuss tale, 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. That movie raked in $260 million.

"The Grinch really opened the door for us," says Nikki Rocco, distribution chief for Universal Studios, which is releasing the film. "It showed how well a Seuss book translates to film."

Cat also stars Alec Baldwin, Spencer Breslin (Disney's The Kid) and Dakota Fanning — fresh off I Am Sam, a drama that played off Seuss' Sam I Am.

The Balance Shifts In Copyright Battle

With last week's introduction of U.S. legislation protecting "consumers' rights in the digital age," the stage is set for a heated debate next year about what home users would be allowed to do with copyrighted music and video, and how far the entertainment industry could go to protect its content.

No action is expected this session of Congress on any of the piracy-vs.-privacy bills introduced by either side before the session ends in mid-October. But lawmakers will have to hash out the details next year as file sharing continues to grow and Hollywood tries to roll out its own digital services.

"Right now, it is the entertainment industry vs. the technology industry, and the consumers are watching from the sidelines," says Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who introduced the Digital Choice and Freedom Act on Wednesday. "Consumers have rights ... that cannot be ignored."

Lofgren's bill, and the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act introduced Thursday by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., seek to amend copyright law to reaffirm and clarify the principle of "fair use" so consumers can keep time-shifting broadcasts and transfer other content to new media such as MP3 players.

Provisions of the bills would let:
* Consumers play digital works on devices of their choice, such as a personal video recorder, to save a digital TV broadcast to watch later.
* Consumers sell or give away the original copies of digital works they have bought.
* Manufacturers market devices that make non-infringing digital copies. (Uploading to the Net may not be included.)

The proposals conflict with measures introduced earlier this year that expand protections for copyrights held by record labels and movie studios. Those bills would require built-in copy protection for all digital devices and let copyright holders search for illegal files on the PCs of individuals using peer-to-peer file sharing systems.

"It's going to be a huge battle," says Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association. "Both sides are gearing up."

Charlie's Angels to Go 'Full Throttle' Next Summer

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Columbia Pictures last week announced its summer 2003 schedule, which is topped by the newly dubbed "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle."

The previous title was "Charlie's Angels: Halo"; the June 27 release date remains unchanged.

Columbia titles included in the announcement were "Bad Boys 2," starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, on July 18, and "SWAT," starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell, on Aug. 8.

Studio-based producer Revolution Studios is currently expected to provide four films: "Daddy Day Care," starring Eddie Murphy, on May 9; "Anger Management," starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson, on June 13; "Gigli," on July 11; and "Hollywood Homicide," starring Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett, on Aug. 1.

It's Beauty, Eh?!?

There are several new DVD's worth your money coming out tomorrow and here is a preview of them:

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: THE SPECIAL EDITION- A peak for movie musicals and animated films. Why? It's the songs, stupid. This edition contains "Human Again," a number cut from the film but used in the Broadway production. It's fun to have, but slows the movie down. Watch it once, then stick with the original version (also wisely included). Along with tons of extras, they also present the "Work-in-progress" version shown at the 1991 New York Film Festival. It was a clever ploy that flattered critics, emphasized the human artistry behind animation and set the stage for its nomination as Best Picture.

FLASHDANCE/FOOTLOOSE (Available seperately)- Two smash hits from the early '80s. Flashdance was always silly (Her loft! That water-drenched "dance" piece!) but now it seems almost surreally unbelievable. It's hard to imagine we watched it without giggling. Footloose has its dated moments (like that game of chicken played with tractors). But now we appreciate the solid little drama at its core. And talk about synergy: Kevin Bacon's appearance last week on "Will & Grace" where he cut loose with Will was the canniest marketing ploy of the year.

THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES/MAJOR LEAGUE (Which actually came out 2 weeks ago)- Every possible attitude towards baseball is covered in these releases. The reverent attitude in "The Pride of the Yankees" is embodied by the ever-decent Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig. As good as it is, they were wise not to include that newsreel clip of Gehrig saying goodbye at Yankee Stadium. No film can match its emotional wallop. While "Major League" is the scandalous, scatological take on baseball, though deep down it loves the game as well.

Letterman Wants Highway in His Name

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - David Letterman has an offer: He'll pay for new road signs if Mayor Bart Peterson renames the highway that circles Indianapolis the "Dave Letterman Expressway."

On the "Late Show" that aired on CBS Thursday night, the talk-show host extended the offer after joking for weeks about renaming Interstate 465.

"How about this: What if we change the name of that to the 'Dave Letterman Expressway'?" Letterman said in an on-air conversation with Peterson.

"You know, Dave, I will tell you, I like that idea," the mayor said.

Letterman had been saying he would pay $10 million for the renaming rights, but when he actually reached the mayor he pledged only to pay for new signs.

"What happened to the $10 million?" Peterson asked.

"That's a different telephone call," Letterman replied.

Letterman grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Ball State University in Muncie.

Manhunter Was A Better, Smarter Movie

"Red Dragon" debuted as the No. 1 film with $37.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Red Dragon," $37.5 million.

2. "Sweet Home Alabama," $21.6 million.

3. "The Tuxedo," $10.1 million.

4. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," $8.5 million.

5. "Barbershop," $6.8 million.

6. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie," $6.5 million.

7. "The Banger Sisters," $3.6 million.

8. "The Four Feathers," $2.1 million.

9. "Moonlight Mile," $2 million.

10. "One Hour Photo," $1.7 million.

"The Widowmaker" Film Angers Russian Veterans

St. PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Survivors from Russia's first nuclear submarine disaster could not hide ironic smiles when on Sunday they watched a Hollywood rendition of their deadly fight against a reactor spinning out of control.

But as the final credits rolled on the screen, gray-haired uniformed veterans rose to applaud the fantasy-filled story of human courage subduing ungovernable machine at the premiere in Russia of the U.S. blockbuster "K-19: The Widowmaker."

"Only two things in the film are true: the bottle of champagne did not break when the submarine was launched and yes, there was an accident with the reactor," the craft's navigator, Valentin Shabanov, 62, told Reuters.

"The rest are tales from Uncle Sam."

The film, starring Harrison Ford as the ruthless captain, was shown at the Venice Film Festival last month but has only now reached Russia, where it is to be screened nationwide.

It tells the story of the Soviet Union's first nuclear submarine developing a major malfunction on a mission to prove Moscow's technical prowess to Washington at the height of the Cold War.

K-19 is likely to touch a raw nerve with a nation still suffering from the trauma of the loss of 118 crew in the Kursk submarine disaster in August 2000.

Back in 1961, eight sailors died from radiation exposure as the K-19 crew struggled to pump seawater into the overheated reactor on the verge of explosion through a makeshift pipeline.

PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA

Although the plot is based on real-life events, producers added psychological drama to the storyline by clashing the hard-nosed captain Ford against his more compassionate second-in-command in a stand-off culminating in a riot.

That move won over few hearts among sailors proud of their unquestioning loyalty to the commander.

"For the crew to disobey the captain. It is unthinkable," said the craft's powerline supervisor Boris Kuzmin. "There was no panic at all. And the guns -- they are sealed in a safebox and few people know where it is."

"As for handcuffs, in 1961 even police did not have them. Forget about the submarine."

The sailors said they had vetoed the first script of the film, which contained such scenes as a Russian officer sitting on top of the reactor and drinking vodka.

Director Kathryn Bigelow, speaking at a news conference after the film's gala premiere in St. Petersburg's magnificent Mariinsky Theater, said the team added imaginary conflict to the story for the benefit of the viewer.

Despite the reservations, K-19 veterans were unanimous in giving high marks to the film which for the first time in Hollywood history portrayed Soviet servicemen as heroes.

"Harrison Ford played really well. At one moment it even seemed to me he looked like our captain," said Shabanov. "The same austere features, only our captain was not that tall."

She's Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Here's the cover art from the new Shania Twain CD "Up."

Romy and Michele Return for ABC

Romy and Michele, the primary characters of the 1997 comedy ROMY AND MICHELE'S HIGHSCHOOL REUNION, are returning for the ABC telepic ROMY AND MICHELE: BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE. The project is described as a prequel to the feature film. Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow will not return for the film, but Katherine Heigl will take over as Romy and Alex Breckenridge will play Michele.

Hannibal Back for Another Helping at Box Office

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Universal's "Red Dragon" should have a serious box office feast this weekend.

The Hannibal Lecter chiller is poised to demolish the $28.6 million record for an October opening, set two years ago by the studio's "Meet the Parents."

"I'd say the chances of breaking that figure are excellent," opined Dan Marks, executive VP at box office tracker Nielsen EDI.

Moviegoer interest may push the weekend take to summer-type levels, Marks added. "Just because we haven't had big openings in October before, that doesn't mean they're not possible."

The sunny outlook stems partly from stellar performances by the previous Lecter features -- 1991's "The Silence of the Lambs," which won five Oscars ( news - web sites) and grossed $130.7 million domestically for Orion; and 2001's "Hannibal," which opened with $58 million on its way to $165 million for MGM.

Universal has slotted "Dragon" into 3,357 engagements after a massive marketing campaign that mostly turns on a masked Anthony Hopkins. The Brett Ratner-directed film co-stars Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton and Emily Watson.

"Dragon" packed enough heat to preclude other studios from scheduling major openers during the frame. The most significant competition undoubtedly will come from Disney's sophomore session of romantic comedy "Sweet Home Alabama," which pleasantly surprised trackers with a $35.7 million debut and tacked on an additional $6.3 million Monday-Wednesday.

Marks believes that "Dragon" and "Alabama" can thrive at the same time since they are aimed at distinctly different demos. "They both should have a pretty clear field this weekend," he added.

Besides "Meet the Parents," only one other picture has managed to top the $20 million mark during an October weekend. Warner Bros.' "Training Day" turned the trick on the same weekend last year with a $22.6 million opening.

Disney will be seeking to take advantage of its impressive launch last weekend of "Moonlight Mile" by expanding to 434 engagements.

Artisan will try to draw on the notoriously unpredictable kiddie demo by opening animated biblical saga "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie" at 940 sites.

New Shania Twain single hits radio

TORONTO (CP) -- The first new tune in years from Shania Twain is hitting the air waves.

On Friday morning, radio stations across Canada will receive the single I'm Gonna Getcha Good, from Twain's upcoming album. The album itself -- entitled Up -- won't be released by Universal Music Canada until Nov. 19.

Twain said the single is about a woman's self confidence.

"It's all about a girl who knows what she wants, she not only knows how to get it, but she's going to get it good," she said in a statement Thursday.

The last album from Twain, who was raised in Timmins, Ont., and now lives in Switzerland, was 1997's Come On Over, which sold 35 million copies around the world -- including two million in Canada.

She has taken a break recently after giving birth to her son with husband-producer Robert (Mutt) Lange. She says that she and Lange "laboured" over the new album.

"I don't have any anxiety about the success of this record," she said. "My goal isn't to outsell Come On Over. I just really want to know what people think of it. I'm excited to get the feedback."

This News Sucks!

Ron MacLean and the CBC have reached a deal.

Here Is The World's Funniest Joke

LONDON (Reuters) - After a year of painstaking scientific research, the world's funniest joke was revealed on Thursday.

In a project described as the largest-ever scientific study into humor, the British Association for the Advancement of Science asked Internet users around the world to submit their favorite jokes and rate the funniness of other people's offerings.

More than 40,000 jokes from 70 countries and two million critiques later, this is it:

"Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other man pulls out his phone and calls emergency services.

He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator in a calm, soothing voice replies: "Take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."

There is a silence, then a shot is heard.

Back on the phone, the hunter says, "Ok, now what?"

Researchers found significant differences between nations in the types of jokes they found funny.

People from the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand preferred gags involving word play, such as:

PATIENT: "Doctor, I've got a strawberry stuck up my bum."

DOCTOR: "I've got some cream for that."

Americans and Canadians favored jokes where people were made to look stupid.

TEXAN: "Where are you from?"

HARVARD GRAD: "I come from a place where we do not end our sentences with prepositions."

TEXAN: "OK -- where are you from, jackass?"

Meanwhile, many Europeans liked gags that were surreal or made light of serious subjects such as illness, death and marriage:

A patient says, "Doctor, last night I made a Freudian slip, I was having dinner with my mother-in-law and wanted to say: 'Could you please pass the butter?'

"But instead I said: 'You silly cow, you have completely ruined my life."'

Marriage-mocking also featured in the top American joke:

"A man and a friend are playing golf one day. One of the guys is about to chip onto the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course.

"He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows down in prayer. His friend says: 'Wow that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You are truly a kind man.'

"The man then replies: 'Yeah, well, we were married 35 years."'

Death earned big laughs in Scotland:

"I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather. Not screaming in terror like his passengers."

And animals figured prominently. Take the number one joke in England:

"Two weasels are sitting on a bar stool. One starts to insult the other one. He screams, 'I slept with your mother!'

"The bar gets quiet as everyone listens to see what the other weasel will do.

"The first again yells, 'I SLEPT WITH YOUR MOTHER!'

"The other says: 'Go home dad, you're drunk."'

The survey revealed other fun facts:

-- Of the countries rating the highest number of jokes, Germans, perhaps surprisingly, laughed the most. Canadians laughed least.

-- If you want to tell a funny animal joke, make it a duck.

-- The most frequently submitted joke, at 300 times, was: "What's brown and sticky? A stick."

Researchers said no one ever found it funny.

McCartney, Starr to Play Harrison Tribute Concert

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock veteran Eric Clapton has organized an all-star tribute concert for his late friend and fellow guitarist, George Harrison, with the former Beatle's two surviving bandmates slated to perform.

The benefit concert, planned with the help of Harrison's wife, Olivia, is scheduled to be held at London's Royal Albert Hall on Nov. 29, the first anniversary of Harrison's death, organizers said in a statement issued on Thursday in Los Angeles.

Joining Clapton on the bill will be former Beatles Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and two other recording stars who performed with Harrison in the 1980s supergroup The Traveling Wilburys -- Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

Others on the lineup include sitar master Ravi Shankar, drummer Jim Keltner, storied rock session musician Leon Russell and British keyboardist Jools Holland, whose latest album included one of the last songs recorded by Harrison before he died, "Horse to Water." Various members of the comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus also will appear.

Proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Material World Charitable Foundation, established by Harrison in 1973 to support arts, music, education and people with special needs.

"The tribute for George will resound not only within the Albert Hall but hopefully reach the spirit of the man so loved by his friends who will be performing and attending," Olivia Harrison said in a statement.

Harrison died on Nov. 29, 2001, at age 58 following a long battle with cancer. An album of songs he recorded in the last months of his life, titled "Brainwashed," is due out next month.

Gwyneth Paltrow's Father Bruce Dies in Rome

ROME (Reuters) - Producer and director Bruce Paltrow, the father of Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, died in Rome on Thursday following a bout of pneumonia and a recurrence of throat cancer, her spokesman said.

Paltrow, 58, who helped produce some of the most highly rated TV series of recent decades, including hospital drama "St. Elsewhere" and "Homicide: Life on the Street," was in Italy to celebrate his daughter's 30th birthday.

Spokesman Stephen Huvane, in a statement issued in Los Angeles, said Paltrow's wife, the actress Blythe Danner, was flying from Los Angeles to join her daughter in Rome.

An official at the U.S. embassy in Rome said he had been contacted about repatriating the body to the United States.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Paltrow began his career in theater in the late 1960s before moving into television and film. He made his feature directing debut with the 1982 film "A Little Sex," starring Kate Capshaw and Tim Matheson.

Most recently he wrote and directed his daughter in the quirky 2000 comedy "Duets," a story about a father and daughter who come together through a shared love of karaoke.

Paltrow married the Tony Award-winning stage actress Danner in 1970, and the couple had two children, Gwyneth and Jake. Danner, 59, is currently starring in the new CBS hospital drama "Presidio Med."

Gwyneth, who celebrated her 30th birthday last week in the company of fashion designer Valentino, left Rome's San Camillo hospital without word on Thursday evening and was driven away huddled in the back of a car.

Her spokesman in Los Angeles said no details would be made public about memorial or funeral services. "The family is just regrouping," he said.

Reel Or Not Reel?

Next time you see a rave review for an upcoming film online, think twice before you believe it.

This fascinating article from the L.A. Times investigates Internet "plants" that movie studios may be using to hype their films.

'XXX' Marked for Dec. 31 Video Release

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Sony's Vin Diesel action thriller "XXX" will reach video stores on the very last day of the year ... but don't tell anyone yet.

The studio has so many major theatrical hits, led by "Spider-Man," "Men in Black II" and "Mr. Deeds," that there's not enough room or time to get them all out during the lucrative holiday selling season.

So it will release "XXX" the week after Christmas, just as Universal did last year with "The Fast and Furious," which also starred Diesel. Both were directed by Rob Cohen, and had nearly identical domestic box office receipts ($140 million compared to $145 million for "Fast and Furious").

Universal found that consumers are anxious to buy DVD movies to play in the videogame systems and DVD players they received as holiday gifts. Sony and "XXX" producer Revolution Studios had this strategy in mind months before "XXX" was released on Aug. 9, but they have yet to officially announce it. And they bristled at previous published trade reports that the DVD would be released later this year.

That's because studios and producers don't want to do anything that will potentially jeopardize box office receipts, don't want to ruffle the feathers of theater owners and don't want anyone to misread a video announcement as a concession that the movie is not performing as well theatrically as had been hoped. (After 52 days in theaters, the massively hyped "XXX" was still in the top 15 at the box office last weekend with another $1 million.)

"XXX" isn't coming to video any quicker than the typical five-month window, and consumers and theater owners are savvy enough to realize that a movie playing at theaters will be going to video within that typical time-frame. Is there any evidence that consumers won't see the movie in theaters if the studio announces a video date while it is still raking in receipts?

"I don't know that there is a right answer to that," said Revolution Studios partner Tom Sherak. "The theatrical window needs to be maintained -- it's where the greatest amount of advertising is spent."

While admitting that movies don't play as long in theaters anymore before burning out -- "sometimes as much as 70% of the business is done in the first couple of weeks, which truncates the business" -- Sherak noted that studios still maintain the traditional window before video release.

"That (theatrical release) engine needs to be protected," Sherak said, while noting that it is increasingly important to loop in video executives from the earliest stages of a project and work with them on release dates.

"You know where the money comes from; you know what DVD means in the marketplace, which in some cases is much more than the domestic theatrical grosses," he said.

But Sherak concedes that the guarded date for a video release is becoming less important, and that it is still sensitive relative to late summer theatrical releases that studios try to rush out by Thanksgiving, which hasn't been happening as much as studios find more and more success with video releases in December.

"A lot of times in the past you didn't want to see it, but we've all sort of grown a little bit. I think exhibitors are okay with it."

Still, the official "XXX" announcement isn't coming until Monday.

New Duo Debut On 'Saturday Night Live'

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Performers Fred Armisen and Will Forte will join "Saturday Night Live" as featured players when the comedy-variety series makes its season premiere Saturday.

Matt Damon will host the season opener, with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band appearing as the musical guest.

Armisen has brought his comedy and cast of characters to "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," the Chicago Comedy Festival and programs on British television. He also has appeared on HBO's music show "Reverb" and in his own eponymous interstitial series on "HBO Zone."

Forte comes to "SNL" from L.A.'s improv-sketch theater the Groundlings, where current cast members Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell and Maya Rudolph got their start. Forte's experience has been predominantly behind the camera -- serving as producer on "That '70s Show"; story editor for "3rd Rock From the Sun" and "Action"; and writer for "Late Show with David Letterman" and the MTV Movie Awards.

A New Poll Says U2's Bono Is The Most Powerful Man In Music

LONDON (Reuters) - U2 front man Bono is rated as the most powerful man in music and not just because of his soaring vocals, according to a poll of top music industry executives.

Irishman Bono tops the list, to be published in British music magazine "Q" next week, because of his high profile pronouncements on political issues ranging from Third World debt to the enlargement of the European Union.

The 42-year-old singer, real name Paul Hewson, has used his fame to gain access to the world's political leaders and has even met the Pope.

Earlier this year Time Magazine's cover had the banner headline: "Can Bono Save the World?"

The singer, usually seen with his trademark wraparound blue sunglasses, not only makes a success of lobbying politicians but his band continues to enjoy worldwide hits 25-years after it was formed.

Runner-up in the poll was Doug Morris, 64, head of the world's largest record company Universal.

Third was controversial rapper Eminem -- seen as influential for his challenging song lyrics -- while at number four is L Lowry Mays the founder of U.S entertainment giant Clear Channel.

Also in the top ten are the late Kurt Cobain who was seen to have taken underground rock into the mainstream, Sir Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono and Simon Fuller -- creator of the Spice Girls.

At number 11 is Dr. Dre, well ahead of Robbie Williams at 24 who recently signed an 80 million pound ($125 million) music deal, a record in the UK.

Simon Cowell, famous for his role as a judge on singing competition "American Idol" and Britain's "Pop Idol" was placed at 28, ahead of Kylie Minogue (29), Moby (30) and Madonna (31).

Elvis Presley, whose songs are still topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic 25 years after he died, was ranked at 44, one behind the Gallagher brothers of Oasis fame.

Much Ado Over Nothing?

I think Hockey Night In Canada will be better without him as he now asks questions with his own agenda, but if you think CBC should find a way to get Ron MacLean to stay on the show sign this petition.

George Harrison Final Album Details

The tracklisting for the upcoming George Harrison album has been announced. Due November 19 from Dark Horse/EMI, Brainwashed features 11 songs written by the late Beatle, as well as a cover of the pop standard "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea." The first single released from the album will be "Stuck Inside A Cloud."

Brainwashed was produced by Harrison, his son Dhani, and Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne. It features Harrison on lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, ukulele, bass and keyboards; Dhani Harrison on electric and acoustic guitars, Wurlitzer organ, and backing vocals; and Lynne on bass, piano, guitars, keyboards, and backing vocals. The album also features drummers Jim Keltner on seven songs and Ray Cooper on one, and keyboardists Mike Moran and Marc Mann.

In addition, the cover version of "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" features former Squeeze pianist Jools Holland, along with his bandmembers Joe Brown (acoustic rhythm guitar) and Herbie Flowers (bass and tuba), both of whom played on Harrison's 1982 album, Gone Troppo.

Holland also has a direct connection to the Harrisons, as George and Dhani were among the featured guests on his last album, Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues, with the song "Horse To The Water."

The title track includes Ravi Shankar sidemen Bikram Ghosh (on tabla) and Jane Lister (on harp), as well as pianist John Lord and singer Sam Brown (from Jools Holland's band).

The complete tracklisting for Brainwashed includes: "Any Road," "Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)," "Pisces Fish," "Looking For My Life," "Rising Sun," "Marwa Blues," "Stuck Inside A Cloud," "Run So Far," "Never Get Over You," "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea," "Rocking Chair In Hawaii," and "Brainwashed."

TROPHY TIME

Steven Spielberg's Minority Report named Hollywood Movie of the Year at the Sixth Annual Hollywood Film Festival. Tom Hanks is the fest's Hollywood Actor of the Year, Jennifer Aniston the Hollywood Actress of the Year and Naomi Watts the Breaktrough Performer. Jodie Foster will also recieve a lifetime achivement award when the hardware gets handed out next Monday in Beverly Hills.

King Elvis Tops U.S. Charts; American Idol Reigns

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A collection of Elvis Presley's No. 1 hits shot straight to the top of the charts this week, showing the King of Rock 'n Rock still rules even 25 years after his death, while a new "American Idol" also continued to reign supreme.

For the week ended Sept. 29, Presley's "Elvis 30 Number One Hits" compilation, released by Bertelsmann AG's RCA Records on Sept. 24, sold 500,318 units, according to Nielsen Soundscan, marking the first time an Elvis album has debuted at No. 1 in the United States.

With the help of a $10 million massive, global marketing and promotion campaign by RCA and its parent BMG, the collection, featuring songs like "Don't Be Cruel," "Jailhouse Rock," and "Return to Sender" also debuted at No. 1 in Spain, Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Chile, Switzerland, Austria and the United Arab Emirates.

"Elvis-mania" took hold this summer as thousands of fans paid homage to the King on the 25th anniversary of his death and grooved to a hot-selling new remix of the song, "A Little Less Conversation," which is also on the new CD.

"It is clear that our campaign has been effective in reaching a huge range of music fans in every corner of the globe," said Joe DiMuro, senior vice president, Strategic Marketing for BMG, the parent company of RCA.

Geoff Mayfield, director of charts for Billboard, said that RCA was inspired by the success of rival EMI Group Plc Capitol's compilation of No. 1 hits by the Beatles a few years ago.

Meanwhile, a single by bubbly 20-year-old "American Idol" champion Kelly Clarkson who wowed a national TV audience on the Fox network's summer reality series, remained at No. 1 on the latest Hot 100 singles chart from Nielsen SoundScan, for a second week in a row.

"A Moment Like This," the song she performed on the final episode of the show, paired with the song "Before Your Love" on a double-A-side record, sold 146,000 copies in the latest week, according to Nielsen Soundscan, bringing the single's total sales tally to 384,000 since its release on Sept 12.

Back on the latest pop album chart, country trio Dixie Chicks' latest album, "Home," held at to No. 2 with sales of 133,845 copies, bringing its five-week tally to more than 1.6 million units.

Canadian teen pop ingenue Avril Lavigne's debut album remained at No. 3 with sales of 124,308 copies in the latest week.

Meanwhile, heavy metal band Disturbed slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 with its sophomore release "Believe," selling 117,809 units, and bringing its total to about 402,038 units.

Rounding out the top five was rapper Nelly's "Nellyville" release, which sold 114,296 units in the latest week.

A new release by rock and soul artist India.Arie called "Voyage to India" landed at No. 6, selling 109,481 units, followed by Eminem's third major-label LP, "The Eminem Show," which has spent 19 weeks lodged in the upper echelons of the pop charts.

"Nellyville" and "The Eminem Show" have chalked up respective sales tallies of 3.5 million and 5.9 million copies.

Three new releases rounded out the top 10, with "Sea Change" by alternative rocker Beck at No. 8; "Up" by Peter Gabriel, former frontman of the 1970s band Genesis, at No. 9 and "Lost Tapes" by rapper Nas at No. 10.

DUCK DODGERS TO THE RESCUE!

Warner Bros. Animation planning Duck Dodgers, a new series featuring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in outer space and scheduled to bow in 2004 on the Cartoon Network. Warner is also planning Teen Titans, a cartoon featuring Batman sidekick Robin and four other teen superheroes.

ROCK THE WEST WING

The West Wing producers writing nonprofit group Rock the Vote into this season's second episode. The show will talk about youth empowerment and feature performances by Aimee Mann and Barenaked Ladies.

See The NEW Trailer Now, Watch The Full Movie In December

Seven simple words: Lord Of The Rings- The Two Towers

Elvis Hits Album Set to Top Charts Round the World

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Twenty-five years after his death, Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n Roll, is about to do something he never managed in life -- debut an album at No. 1 on record charts around the world.

According to industry watchers, Presley's "Elvis 30 Number One Hits" compilation, which was released by Bertelsmann AG's RCA Records on Sept. 24, is poised to top the charts in at least 12 countries around the world.

Sales in the United States alone are expected to hit almost 500,000 units in the last week, said a spokesman for RCA, noting it would be the first time an Elvis album ever debuted at No. 1.

There already are more than a dozen Presley greatest hits compilations, but music fans have been anticipating this CD, a broad collection of tunes, thanks largely to a $10 million publicity push aimed at showcasing the King to a new generation.

The collection features songs from each part of Presley's career and includes early hits such as "Don't Be Cruel" and "Jailhouse Rock," as well as later songs like "Return to Sender" and "Burning Love."

This past summer, thousands of fans paid homage to the King on the 25th anniversary of his death as "Elvis-mania" took the world by storm, fueled in part by the success of a new remix of the song, "A Little Less Conversation," which is also on the new CD.

"This has been the biggest marketing push I can think of that has ever been put together for an Elvis compilation," said Geoff Mayfield, director of charts for Billboard, a music trade magazine. "I suspect this will be a big seller into the holiday season."

Mayfield said RCA's marketing blitz was, in part, inspired by the record label's success a few years ago with its CD featuring No. 1 hits by the Beatles.

Presley, the world's top-selling pop star, with more than 1 billion records sold, died of a drug-induced heart attack at the age of 42 on Aug. 16, 1977.

According to music experts, 68 of Presley's singles reached the American Top 20 in his career.

Is This A Before And After Picture?

Is that Britney now on the left and Britney in a few years on the right?!?!?!

In reality, pop sweet ass singer Britney Spears poses for photographers with Italian designer Donatella Versace before Versace's Spring/Summer women's 2003 collection on the final day of the Milan fashion shows Monday.

Seriously,... before on the left and after on the right!

The Day Has Arrived!!

There are over 100 new titles being released on video and DVD today.

But who cares about the rest of them?!?!

Today is the day that the best movie of all time comes out on DVD! "Strange Brew- The Adventures Of Bob and Doug McKenzie" is now digital!!

Enjoy it, eh!

Show Of A Lifetime!

For years I waited. Patiently waited! Then on Sunday evening, in a city that is also the name of an incredible Coen Brothers movie, I saw Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band live in Concert.

One word: Awesome! I can't wait until next time!!

Here's the set list: 9/29/02

Fargo, North Dakota

Fargodome

The Rising
Lonesome Day
Ties That Bind
The Fuse
Prove It all Night
Night
Empty Sky
You're Missing
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Promised Land
World's Apart
Badlands
She's The One
Mary's Place
Workin' On The Highway
Countin' on a Miracle
Into the Fire

ENCORE
Dancing In the Dark
Ramrod
Born to Run

SECOND ENCORE
My City of Ruins
Born in the USA
Land of Hope and Dreams

The Beat Of Music Beats Within Us All

Here are the new CD releases for Tuesday, October 1, 2002:

* A-HA Live At Vallhall - Homecoming (DVD) (Warner International)
* BLUE RODEO Palace of Gold (Domestic)
* CHRIS ROCK Bring The Pain (DreamWorks)
* DIANA KRALL Diana Krall - Live In Paris (Verve)
* DIES IRAE The Sin War (Metal Blade)
* FLOETRY Floetic (DreamWorks)
* GUY Groove Me: The Best Of Guy (MCA)
* IRS Welcome To Planet IRS (Universal)
* JACKASS OST Jackass OST (American/Universal)
* JAMES Getting Away With It - Live (DVD) (Warner International)
* KATHRYN WILLIAMS Old Low Light (Warner)
* KOUFAX TBA (Koufax) (TVT)
* LEANN RIMES Twisted Angel (Curb)
* MARK KNOPFLER The Ragpickers Dream (Mercury)
* RED DRAGON OST Red Dragon OST (Decca)
* ROLLING STONES Forty Licks (Virgin)
* SALIVA Back In Your System (Island)
* SHAWN DESMAN Shawn Desman (Vik)
* STEPHAN MICUS Towards The Wind (ECM)
* STEVE TIBBETTS A Man About A Horse (ECM)
* TIERNEY SUTTON Something Cool (Telarc)
* TOURNIQUET TBA (Tourniquet) (Metal Blade)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS A Tribute To Patsy Cline (MCA Nashville)
* WHITNEY HOUSTON Watchulookinat (CD Single) (Arista)

Ron MacLean out as 'HNIC' host

Hockey Night In Canada will look vastly different to Canadian hockey fans this season after the CBC announced Monday that host Ron MacLean would not be back after 17 years with the network.

The CBC released a statement Monday afternoon saying negotiations with MacLean had ended at an impasse.

"CBC Television is disappointed that we have not been able to reach a successful contract agreement with Ron MacLean," the release said. "CBC Television recognizes the significant contribution Ron has made to the success of CBC Television's Hockey Night in Canada and countless other sporting events.

"We felt that our offer was fair and respectful. Our offer recognized and rewarded Ron's contribution to CBC Sports."

MacLean reportedly was looking for $600,000 a year in his new deal after earning $400,000 a year in his old contract.

Don Cherry, MacLean's long-time partner on Coach's Corner, signed a new deal last week reportedly worth $700,000 a year.

"All I'm going to say is I can't believe it and I really believe that they both will get back together," Cherry told The Canadian Press. "I didn't think it would get this far."

Cherry said he is not yet wondering who will be his sidekick on the Coach's Corner segment.

"No way," said Cherry. "I'm thinking positive that Ron will be there."

Aside from Hockey Night In Canada, MacLean was also a fixture on the CBC's Olympic coverage, hosting in Salt Lake City last February, as well as at the Sydney Summer Games in 2000, Atlanta Summer Games in 1996, the Winter Games in Albertville in 1992 and the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

MacLean's work has earned him four Gemini Awards as best sports broadcaster in Canada.

He began his career in his native Red Deer, Alta., before joining the CBC in 1986.

He became national host of Hockey Night In Canada in 1987, replacing Dave Hodge.

Shania Twain's New Video Will Don 'Futuristic' Edge

Shania Twain's long-awaited video for her upcoming single, "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" will make its world premiere on CMT's Most Wanted Live on October 4. The video is from UP!, Twain's first album release in five years, scheduled to drop on November 19.

Twain's new video promises to again raise the bar for music videos. "'I'm Gonna Getcha Good!' will be something different, something I've never done before," Twain told CMT. "There will be animation--very futuristic, and there's an edge to it. It will keep you a little bit on the edge of your seat. It's more of an action video, so it's different for me. There are two personalities in the video. One is sort of the Shania and the other person is kind of the superhero."

In addition to the video premiere, the country network will debut a CMT exclusive special, Shania In London: Making The Video, on October 11 hosted by CMT's Katie Cook. Cook traveled to London for an exclusive visit with Twain on the set of the new video.

AIN'T IT SWEET

Reese Witherspoon's romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama setting a record for a September debut, earning an estimated $35.6 million at the nation's theaters.

'SNL' Heads Into 28th Season

NEW YORK (AP) - A new season, the 28th, dawns on "Saturday Night Live" this week and, as always, the question is how the pendulum will swing.

The NBC comedy institution is uniquely elastic in quality. You can chart its health on a graph like the stock market, from glory years to gory years and all sorts of middling seasons in-between.

Right now, the show is on a high. After a descent into bathroom humor during the mid-1990s, the comedy is now sharp and topical.

The "Saturday Night Live" writing staff, largely together for about seven years, returns to work this week with a new Emmy Award in hand.

But the loss of two performers — Ana Gasteyer and Will Ferrell — may herald a challenging year. Ferrell, in particular, was a valuable utility player in the mold of Dan Aykroyd or Phil Hartman.

Matt Damon is host of Saturday's season-opener, with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Arizona Sen. John McCain on deck the next two weeks.

"Is it a transition year from several good years into one of its lulls?" asked Tom Shales, a television critic for The Washington Post and co-author, with James Andrew Miller, of a just-published oral history of the show, "Live From New York."

He's anxious for the answer, and so is Lorne Michaels, the show's founder and executive producer.

"I think it's a big loss," Michaels said. "But the nice part of the show is, having lived through these transitions a lot of times, from the audience's perspective, people are patient with it."

Even during the down years, there are still a handful of good shows, he said.

"When a cast is at its peak and the writing staff is solid, you get an evenness," Michaels said. "It never goes below a certain level. You never worry that when people are up there they're going to sort of forget why they're funny."

During the years that "Saturday Night Live" is bad — think early '90s or mid-'80s — viewers seem to take it personally, Shales said.

"It's like the official satirical television show of the United States," he said. "Therefore, we demand that it be consistently hilarious and clever all the time. That's a lot to ask for. They sure work hard to do it and don't always succeed."

Shales' and Miller's book is both breezy and illuminating, particularly about the show's formative years.

Written with Michaels' blessing, it combines tabloid fodder — backstage escapades and Laraine Newman's stories about how she sniffed heroin while Gilda Radner downed ice cream — with insights into the program's creative chemistry.

"SNL" was the first network television program controlled by baby boomers and has changed with each succeeding generation, Shales said.

"The form wasn't completely new but the content was — the attitude, the youthfulness, the point of view," he said. "It put TV into the hands of a generation that had grown up with it. It's a pretty trite thing, but it's true. It hadn't been done before."

In recent history, Michaels looks back on a classic December 2000 skit with Ferrell and Darrell Hammond portraying an "Odd Couple" co-presidency between George W. Bush and Al Gore as a pivotal moment.

The previous spring, Michaels cut two skits with Hammond's Gore impersonation because they fell flat with the audience during dress rehearsal.

Now, particularly after Sept. 11, the audience seems much more interested in topical humor, he said.

Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey, the two "Weekend Update" anchors, are the show's poster children, probably more so now that Ferrell is gone.

"It has its own audience," Michaels said. "People stay with the first half-hour knowing that `Update' is coming. I think now with many people, the earliest time they go to sleep is after `Update,' and that's a tribute to Jimmy and Tina."

Fallon "could walk away from the show right now and make two stupid teenage movies a year," Shales said. "He's aiming higher than that, which I think is good. He also knows that he needs at least another year there to hone his craft."

Two new cast members are likely to join the show to replace Ferrell and Gasteyer, although Michaels said their contracts aren't done yet.

Michaels continues to dominate the show he created, where he's remained except for a 1980s hiatus.

"I can't picture it going on without him and yet the `Tonight' show is still on the air and I couldn't picture it without Johnny Carson," Shales said.

"He's got a certain talent for doing the show, to keep people from killing each other and balancing out all those egos. He doesn't even spend much time there anymore. He seems to have such a presence that even if he isn't in the office, people think that he is."

Michaels indicates that's a question NBC won't have to worry about for a while.

"I have very young children," he said, "so I expect that I'll be working for a while."

Courtney Love, Universal Settle Legal Dispute

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rock music star Courtney Love and Universal Music Group on Monday settled a long-running lawsuit with each side claiming victory in the dispute that highlighted a battle over contracts between musicians and record labels.

Love, who leads the band Hole and is the widow of Nirvana's late lead singer Kurt Cobain, had vowed not to settle her suit, which was set to be heard in a Los Angeles courtroom this week, and music stars had hoped it would become a test case through which to air their grievances.

Musicians like the Eagles' Don Henley, through the Recording Artists Coalition, believe record labels routinely fail to pay them millions of dollars in royalties due to flawed accounting and arcane contract language. Love's case also questioned a California law that says record companies may bind a musician to a contract for more than the seven-year maximum under current California statutes.

Los Angeles attorney Jay Cooper, who chairs the entertainment practice of Greenberg, Traurig and represents many top musicians, called the settlement a "difficult" one for the artists' cause because key complaints remain open.

"We were certainly hoping some of these issues would have been resolved," Cooper said.

Love, however, said she would fight on by lobbying legislatures and advocating collective bargaining agreements between musicians and record companies.

"I plan to continue my advocacy of artists in Sacramento (California's state capital) and Washington, where this belongs," she said in a statement.

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT ... MONEY, TOO

Financial details of the settlement were not disclosed, but Universal Music Group, the world's No. 1 record company and part of Vivendi Universal, waived rights to Love's future records -- a key concession sought by the singer.

Love and members of the Cobain estate granted Universal Music Group, or UMG, permission to release new Nirvana records featuring previously unreleased songs and compilations of the group's old hits -- a major victory for the music company.

Cobain was the lead singer of alternative rock band Nirvana before he committed suicide in 1994. In the years since, he has become a rock icon, which has made songs from the band's CDs like 1991's smash "Nevermind" highly valuable for Universal.

Universal already is compiling a CD of the band's songs and on Monday, Love and Nirvana co-founders Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic announced a separate legal settlement between the three that also paves the way for the new CD.

The trio said the CD will be a "history of the band" with a single, "You Know You're Right," that was the last recording Cobain made with Grohl and Novoselic before his death.

Universal will release the as-yet-unnamed CD on November 12, along with a music video for "You Know You're Right."

The three said several new Nirvana releases will come out "over the next few years," including a boxed set of CDs.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Along with winning rights to future records, Love gained ownership of several past Hole songs, and UMG agreed to waive re-recording restrictions on some earlier Hole songs. Hole CDs include "Live Through This" and "Celebrity Skin."

But as part of the deal, UMG received a "royalty override" on some of Love's future records, meaning it will get a small percentage of their revenue.

Love is making a new album, and the first single is set for a January release in the United Kingdom by Poptones Records.

A Universal spokesman declined comment beyond the release, and Love's attorney Barry Cappello, was not available.

The deal prompts a big question for the industry, however, which is whether the complaining artists have the musicians' interests at heart or just their own. Love is not the first outspoken recording star to settle with the labels.

In June country music trio, the Dixie Chicks, settled a dispute with Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment that dealt with similar issues.

Musicians seem to have little choice than to cut a deal, industry sources said, because a lawsuit can tie up years of time in an industry where new stars are created overnight.

Absent Love's and the Dixie Chicks' suits, there are currently no cases in courts to challenge industry practices.

Star Says Next 'Raymond' Season May Be Last

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Everybody who loves "Raymond" better get their loving in now, because he may not be around much longer.

The 2003-2004 season of CBS's hit comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond" may be the show's last, series namesake Ray Romano told TV Guide in the magazine's newest issue released on Sunday.

The show is currently in its seventh season, and Romano recently won his first Emmy award for best actor in a comedy series. He told the magazine he wanted to go out on top.

"You don't want to leave when you're sliding down," he said. He said he definitely did not see the show going to a 10th season, and added "I don't even see nine."

Romano told the magazine he has thought about a number of options for his post-"Raymond" career, including returning to his roots in stand-up comedy or making a movie.

"You definitely won't find me sitting around eating Oreos," the comedian said.