Happy New Year And Thanks!

This has been a great year here at anythingbut.com and we have you to thank for that.

So please join us again in 2003!

Happy New Year to you, everyone you know, anyone you want to know, and those whom you are stalking.

All the best,

Dan and Dave

Freeze frame on 2002

By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

No matter how you cut it, 2002 was a blockbuster year for Hollywood. More than 1.5 billion movie tickets were sold in the USA, the most since 1958, when going to the movies cost 65 cents and a 33-year-old Paul Newman was luring women in droves with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Long, Hot Summer.

So why the resurgence? Naysayers had predicted the demise of film 40 years ago, when TVs started popping up in every home, and again in the early 1980s, when VCRs were doing the same.

Some say that lingering effects from Sept. 11, coupled with a flagging economy and worries about war, helped push 2002 ticket sales to a record $9.1 billion.

"Since the Depression, people have gone to theaters to escape harsh realities," Los Angeles-based psychologist Henry Nguyen says. "That's one reason fantasy films are doing so well."

Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America, believes the answer is simpler. "When you make a movie that a lot of people want to see, you will do well," he says. "We're making movies that a lot of people want to see."

Whatever the reason, 2002's success has raised the bar. If Hollywood plans to outdo itself next year, it will need to take some cues from the major hits and misses of 2002.

Here are 10 lessons to be taken from the box office this year:

1. Audiences love the Everyman (and Everywoman). Unlike previous, more chiseled superheroes, this year's biggie, Spider-Man, began as a geeky nerd. A few drops of spider venom later, he went on to power the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie and the biggest movie of the year with $403 million in tickets sold.

The year's other phenomenon, My Big Fat Greek Wedding ($223 million in tickets sold and counting) also celebrates real people over central casting cliché The heroes of Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones ($309 million), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ($240 million) and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ($200 million in two weeks) aren't buff action figures, either. They're waifs.

"People were drawn to characters who were a lot like themselves," says Sony Pictures vice chairman Jeff Blake, whose studio distributed Spider-Man. "I think we're learning how to connect more with all types of audiences."

2. Julia Roberts isn't the only woman who can propel a romantic comedy. Roberts may still be the queen of Hollywood, with a $20 million-a-picture salary, but she has never anchored a film that opened at $35 million the way Reese Witherspoon did with Sweet Home Alabama. Sweet, indeed; the movie has gone on to bring in $125 million.

Let's not forget the box office cleanup power shown by Jennifer Lopez, whose Maid in Manhattan ($57 million in three weeks) became the first film to prevent a Star Trek installment from opening at No. 1.

And although rail-thin figures and megawatt smiles still dominate movies, Wedding's Nia Vardalos bucked the system by gaining 15 pounds and proudly displaying her weight, nose and the subtle sideburns she says she has had since she was 6 years old.

"Hopefully, people are seeing potential in other types of women, films, ethnic groups" than usually dominate movies, Vardalos says. "If (Wedding) has opened the door to any of that, this experience will have been even more magical."

3. Urban films can appeal to everybody. Who wants to spend 24 hours with the bored employees of a small local business? Millions of people did, which is why Barbershop ($75 million) became the biggest black-themed film ever.

With unexpected successes like Drumline, which cost $20 million and has made $37 million in three weeks, and the $8 million Brown Sugar, which has made $27 million, studios may move away from black films that are gangsta-driven and distribute them beyond urban markets.

"I like to see these kinds of movies succeed, because it shows the establishment that we can write outside of just a couple of genres," says director Spike Lee, whose latest film, 25th Hour, expands to theaters nationwide Jan. 10. "Confining screenwriters and directors into a certain kind of film cheats everybody in the end."

4. Story lines count more than star lineups. Once upon a time, stars like Eddie Murphy and Bruce Willis were money in the bank. But both commandeered major flops this year, including Murphy's $100 million The Adventures of Pluto Nash (it made a piddling $4.4 million), I Spy and Showtime, and Willis' Hart's War, which brought in just $18.1 million.

"A big-name cast is great, but that will never guarantee you success," says Robert Teitel, who produced Barbershop and Soul Food. "It's all about writing a universal story that people relate to."

5. Hollywood by the season is over. Memorial Day once kicked off Hollywood's summer season. But The Scorpion King opened in the middle of April with $36 million and went on to take in $90.5 million. The first weekend in May, Spider-Man arrived and took in a record $114 million.

Tom Hanks' downbeat gangster drama Road to Perdition had a fall release date written all over it, but DreamWorks released it in July. It remained on screens for four months and took in $104 million domestically.

The successes have Hollywood ripping up its traditional release calendars. "People are always ready to see entertaining movies," says Nikki Rocco, distribution chief for Universal Pictures, which released King. "They don't care what time of year it is."

So in the new year, another comic-based action movie that would seem to be traditional summer fare, Daredevil with Ben Affleck, will open Feb. 14.

6. Old-fashioned animation is over. Or at least due for a break. Disney's highly publicized, traditionally drawn $140 million Treasure Planet opened at family-friendly Thanksgiving. But it has made only $33 million and is fast disappearing from theaters. Likewise, Nickelodeon's Wild Thornberrys has taken in just $18.4 million in two weeks and is fading compared with 2000's surprise hit Rugrats in Paris, which took in $76 million. Neither Thornberrys nor Planet could surpass the three-dimensional computer-generated adventures of Ice Age ($176.4 million) and the edgy theme and Elvis tunes that boosted Lilo & Stitch ($145.8 million).

Two-dimensional animation "just isn't appealing to kids right now because it's nothing they haven't seen before," animation historian Jerry Beck says. "The best thing it could do is go into hibernation for a few years until it becomes fashionable again, as all things in Hollywood do."

7. Bond is eternal. Whether you're spoofing him with Austin Powers in Goldmember ($213.3 million), emulating him in XXX ($142 million) or bringing him back to the screen with Die Another Day ($146.7 million), the secret agent does a lot more than bed beauties and slay villains. He sells tickets.

Sure, there's not much mystery to 007: He isn't going to die, and he'll always get the girl.

Still, "people know they're going to go on a wild ride with him," says Chris McGurk, vice chairman for Bond distributor MGM.

"And every film, we try to step up the effects and stunts and excitement. He's dependable, recognizable fun. That's why audiences love him."

Coming next: Bond girl Halle Berry in a spinoff of her Jinx character from Die Another Day.

8. Unless they're rappers, singers should keep their day jobs. This year, only hip-hop's Eminem in 8 Mile ($114 million) made a savvy transition from mike to movies. Britney Spears in Crossroads ($38 million) and the late Aaliyah in Queen of the Damned ($30 million) had critics and audiences singing the blues.

"You can't just pop out a vanity project and expect it to do well," Mile producer Brian Grazer says. "You have to make sure the movie has what all good movies need: a serious writer and a serious director."

9. Unless you're Scooby-Doo, TV should remain on the small screen. The mystery-solving canine took a bite out of the box office with $153.3 million, despite dismal reviews. But his boob tube compatriots, including Powerpuff Girls ($11.4 million) Hey Arnold! The Movie ($13.7 million) and I Spy ($33 million), flopped.

"It's very hard to try to get people to pay money for something they can see on TV for free," says historian Beck.

10. As much as we gripe, we love our franchises. Sure, they lack originality, but franchises, sequels and spinoffs are luring people to theaters like never before. Four of the top five films of the year are franchise material, tied with 1999 for the most ever.

"Sequels used to be quick, throwaway movies that were never as good as the first," Sony's Blake says. "Now we've learned that if you make an improvement on the movie before it, people become loyal to that brand."

If you're wondering whether that will continue, you're going to love 2003's installments of X Men, Tomb Raider, Bad Boys, Charlie's Angels, The Fast and the Furious, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings...

Mad Magazine has the DUMBEST AWARDS

The editors of MAD Magazine, America's foremost experts in dumbness have released its list of the fifth annual MAD 20, the humor monthly's year-end review of "The Dumbest People, Events and Things of 2002."

The editors of MAD Magazine, America's foremost experts in dumbness, have chosen Martha Stewart, for her alleged involvement in insider trading and her repeated denials, to top In the new issue of MAD, Ms. Stewart is shown smiling and holding a halo over her head on the cover of a renamed Martha Stewart Lying Magazine. Other features include a satiric take on the cover-up in the Catholic Church which depicts Boston's Cardinal Law in a "seeth-no-evil, heareth no-evil, speaketh-no-evil" pose and attorney General John Ashcroft as a snooping Uncle Sam promoting his Orwellian TIPS program.

The MAD 20, a special full-color 21-page section, is featured in the year-end issue #425 of MAD Magazine on sale now at newsstands, bookstores and comic book shops nation-wide.

MAD Magazine's 20 Dumbest People, Events and Things of 2002
1. Martha Stewart Cooks Her Own Goose
2. The INS Send Visas To 9/11 Terrorists
3. Mike Tyson Flips Out (Again)
4. The Anna Nicole Show: Reality TV Goes Bust
5. FOX: Must Flee TV
6. The Israeli/PLO Conflict: Two Wrongs Make A Fight
7. Corporate Corruption: White Collar Slime
8. The Olympic Judges Figure Skating Scandal: The Agony Of Deceit
9. The Color-Coded Warning System: Homeland Insecurity
10. The Catholic Church Sex Abuse Cover-Up: The Sins Of Our Fathers
11. The 2002 Baseball Season: A Major League Disaster
12. John Ashcroft's TIPS: Life's A Snitch
13. Penthouse Magazine Double Faults: The "Anna Kournikova" Nude Photos
14. Jayson Williams' "Foul Shot"
15. R. Kelly's XXX-Rated Sex With A Minor Video
16. Liquored-Up America West Airlines Pilots: High In The Sky
17. The David Letterman/Ted Koppel Saga: Stupid Net Tricks
18. Fat Kids Sue McDonald's: The Big Mac Attack
19. Ted Williams: From the Batter's Box To The Ice Box
20. President Bush Chokes On A Pretzel

Franchise Films Bring Record Revenues

LOS ANGELES - It was sequel this, sequel that in 2002 Hollywood, which rode a strong wave of followup films and some new franchises to its own repeat performance: yet another year of record revenues.

Domestic box-office receipts topped $9 billion for the first time, with the final tally likely to be up about 10 percent from last year's record $8.35 billion.

Although some of that increase could be attributed to an estimated 5 percent increase in the price of a movie ticket, it also reflects a healthy rise in attendance, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Less originality sometimes breeds more box office," Dergarabedian said. "Much as people like to say they want to see something new, when people are spending money, it seems less of a gamble to see Mike Myers in `Austin Powers' again."

The number of tickets sold in 2002 edged past 1.5 billion, the highest in decades, though still far below peak levels of the 1930s and '40s, before television became a prime source of entertainment.

Movie attendance has risen steadily in the past decade as theater chains built swankier venues with better seating and sound, and studios threw more marketing resources into big-event pictures such as "Spider-Man," "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," three of the year's hits.

"Spider-Man" is spinning a sequel, and the other two films already are part of franchises. Other followups in 2002 included "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones," "Austin Powers in Goldmember," "Men in Black II," "The Santa Clause 2" and the James Bond adventure "Die Another Day."

"I think the consistency with which we deliver good movies has been the key to this year," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution at Disney, which released "The Santa Clause 2" and had a hit from its Touchstone division with "Signs."

"To get to $9 billion, it's because the vast majority of films delivered on expectations."

Studios remained focused on advertising blitzes to produce huge opening weekends. "Spider-Man" shattered the record for best first weekend, grossing $114.8 million in the first three days on its way to a $406 million total, and pacing distributor Sony to a nearly $1.6 billion year, a record for a single studio.

Yet the feel-good romance "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" caught Hollywood by surprise, becoming an out-of-left-field blockbuster the old-fashioned way, by viewers spreading the word.

Shot for just $5 million, a fraction compared to big studio flicks, "Greek Wedding" climbed steadily to a $218 million return, remaining in the top 20 nine months after its initial release in a fast-food climate in which most movies linger only a month or two.

"I don't think anybody could have predicted it," said Rob Schwartz, head of distribution for IFC Films, which released "Greek Wedding." "I think it was just a picture that was universal in nature and spoke to everybody. You could have substituted one of many ethnicities. Big fat Italian wedding, big fat Jewish wedding. It could have been almost anybody."

Hollywood had a record seven $200 million-plus hits — "Spider-Man," "Attack of the Clones," "Chamber of Secrets," "Signs," "Greek Wedding," "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and "The Two Towers" — one more than last year's record.

Other hits included "Ice Age," "Scooby-Doo," "Lilo & Stitch," "Minority Report," "Mr. Deeds," "The Ring" and "Sweet Home Alabama."

Flops included three Eddie Murphy flicks: "The Adventures of Pluto Nash," "Showtime" and "I Spy." Disney's animated "Treasure Planet" also tanked, while "Star Trek: Nemesis" faded quickly and could finish as the lowest-grossing of the sci-fi franchise's 10 movies.

At the start of 2002, studios were antsy about whether audiences would continue filling cinema seats given the economic downturn and the war on terrorism. If anything, though, moviegoers seemed more eager than ever to head to theaters and forget their cares for awhile.

"Whenever the country's been down a little bit economically or there's threats from around the world, the movie business is still a way to escape," said Tom Sherak, a partner in Revolution Studios, whose film slate for Sony included "XXX" and "Maid in Manhattan."

Diana Ross Arrested for DUI in Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. - Singer Diana Ross was arrested early Monday on suspicion of drunken driving, police said.

A breath test showed the pop diva with a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, Tucson police Sgt. Judy Altieri said.

Police pulled Ross over after someone alerted them to a swerving vehicle, Altieri said. She added that the arresting officer said Ross was polite and cooperative.

Ross, 58, received misdemeanor citations for driving under the influence; driving with a blood-alcohol content over 0.08; and extreme DUI, or having a blood-alcohol level greater than 0.15 percent. Her initial court appearance was set for Jan. 13.

After arresting Ross, police gave her a ride to where she was staying, Altieri said.

Ross' Los Angeles-based publicist, Paul Bloch, had no immediate comment, his office said.

Ross entered a Malibu, Calif., drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in May to deal with what Bloch at the time said were personal issues.

For these 5 stars, it was a very bad year

By Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY

Stars have their ups and downs, their hits and flops.

Five celebrities, however, went through especially turbulent times in the past 12 months, personally and professionally. What happened, and where do these stars at the crossroads go from here?

Whitney Houston

Defining moment: "Crack is whack."

Recap: When Whitney Houston said those words to Diane Sawyer on national television, it became one of the next day's most repeated phrases. Houston was saying she didn't use crack, but she admitted that she and her husband, Bobby Brown, did use alcohol, cocaine and marijuana.

The consequences: Web sites, radio deejays, talk show hosts and fans were buzzing about her — and not in a good way.

The fallout: Unknown. She has proved she can still sell records — her new album, Just Whitney, sold 205,000 copies in its debut week, a personal best for her. But she's not instantly topping charts like Shania and the Dixie Chicks. Has her image taken such a blow that she can't recover?

Michael Jackson

Defining moment: The dangling baby.

Recap: The pop singer has become synonymous with strange, but this year he seemed to reach a new level. Midyear, Jackson accused Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola of racism. Then there were the shocking close-ups of his nose taken in court, where he's fighting a breach-of-contract lawsuit. A few days later, he showed up on crutches, saying he had been bitten by a spider. But the final straw was when he dangled his infant son over a hotel balcony in Germany as he showed him off to fans below.

The consequences: Public outcry and an Internet video game in which players catch babies in a basket as the pop star hurls them from a rooftop.

The fallout: His escapades have made tabloid headlines for years. But with his musical career waning, his talent, sadly, is almost becoming overlooked as people worry about his behavior.

Rosie O'Donnell

Defining moment: The Queen of Nice became the self-proclaimed "bitch who ain't so nice and (who's) just a big-mouthed fat lesbian."

Recap: She came out of the closet, ended her TV talk show and shut down her magazine.

The consequences: A $100 million lawsuit with Gruner + Jahr USA Publishers over Rosie, and some surprised fans.

The fallout: She remained true to her "vision," she says, so she doesn't care what her fans think. And although O'Donnell, 40, seems happier than ever at home in Nyack, N.Y., with her family — kids Parker, 7; Chelsea, 5; Blake 3; her partner, Kelli Carpenter, and their new baby, Vivi — the tabloids don't seem to want to leave her alone. We suspect we'll still be seeing her in 2003.

Britney Spears

Defining moment: A snowballing of events that ended in her walking away from it all for a while.

Recap: The pop princess broke up early in the year with Justin Timberlake. "I cried a lot, and it wasn't fun," she told People magazine. Sales of her most recent album, Britney, were less than half of the album before it. She made her film debut in Crossroads, which did OK but didn't break any box office records. She made headlines by making an obscene gesture to photographers who surrounded her car in Mexico. She opened a restaurant in New York in June, Nyla, and by the end of the year pulled out of it as it struggled financially. Her parents divorced. And most recently, her Pepsi gig ended; the soft-drink company signed Beyoncé Knowles.

The consequences: There was much speculation on what her "taking a break" meant, most of it not good.

The fallout: Spears, 21, is writing songs and considering movie scripts. She's too young and has too much sex appeal to be declared washed up. The question is: Will she be able to reinvent herself, like Madonna, to stay on top in pop?

Winona Ryder

Defining moment: A guilty verdict for shoplifting at the Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue store.

Recap: She waited through 11 months of delays before going on trial for shoplifting more than $5,000 of merchandise.

The consequences: A fine, probation and community service.

The fallout: As for movie roles and how much this actually hurt her career, some have snickered that she won't be welcome on sets for fear she'll walk off with the costumes and anything else that isn't nailed down. But most casting directors say Hollywood is forgiving — look at Robert Downey Jr The fashion world is ready to embrace her. After she stole a Marc Jacobs top, Marc Jacobs executives have asked her to model as part of the 2003 spring advertising campaign.

FINAL RULING

A British coroner ruling that Clash singer-guitarist Joe Strummer died of sudden cardiac arrest. The 50-year-old musician's heart attack was not drug-related.

It's A Great Record Store Movie!

Warner also has a real surprise in store for fans of the little-seen cult favorite Empire Records on June 3rd, with the release of the never-before-seen Empire Records Bootleg Cut - Special Fan Edition.

This disc includes a new cut of the film in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, an English 5.1 Dolby surround track, commentary by director Allan Moyle, rare music videos, and trailers.

Bush Named Most Admired American in Poll

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Laura Bush and J. Lo have something in common: Americans like them.

A Gallup poll found the nation divided in the contest for "most admired" woman. Among men, President Bush remained the clear favorite for the second year in a row.

Clinton, the former first lady who now represents New York in the Senate, and her successor in the White House, Laura Bush, topped Gallup's list of women along with talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Clinton was favored by 7 percent of those surveyed; Bush and Winfrey had 6 percent each.

Among men, the president had a commanding 28 percent for men — well ahead of the runner-up, former president Jimmy Carter who was in single digits.

Jennifer Lopez's new movie and album, along with heavy media coverage of her pending wedding nuptials to actor Ben Affleck, boosted her to the sixth spot with 2 percent. That put her on par with incoming Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. Former first lady Barbara Bush and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher each got 3 percent.

Among younger respondents, Lopez outpolled them all with 10 percent.

Party lines had some bearing on results. Clinton pulled 15 percent among Democrats; the first lady led among Republicans, with 13 percent. They remain no match for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who won 60 percent of Americans' vote in 1963 following her husband's assassination.

President Bush had earned 39 percent in the wake of last year's terrorist attacks, a record high among men since the survey began in 1948. His dip in Gallup's 2002 poll mirrors his sliding approval ratings over the last several months.

Events also pushed up Carter's standing, with the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner rising from just 1 percent in 2001. He was the favorite among Democrats polled.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, Pope John Paul II, former President Bill Clinton and the Rev. Billy Graham each earned 2 to 4 percent.

The telephone survey of 1,009 adults was conducted Dec. 16-17 and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Respondents were asked to name the two people they admire most.

Only one man, Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington, from the entertainment world made it into the men's top-10. He rounded out that list along with former South African President Nelson Mandela, former Vice President Al Gore and former President Reagan.

Poet Maya Angelou and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright also made the top-10 women's list.

Eminem Says He May 'Be Getting Too Big'

DETROIT - As notoriety has grown for rapper Eminem, he has forced himself into a focused daily regimen, he says, laying low to avoid getting lost in the limelight.

"It's almost to the point where I truly believe I may be getting too big for my own good," he told the Detroit Free Press. "And I never really asked for that."

This year, his album, "The Eminem Show" sold 7.4 million copies, and the "8 Mile" film soundtrack sold 3.5 million. "8 Mile," which stars Eminem, has been one of the most successful pop music films in history.

"Looking back at this year? I really haven't thought about it," said the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III. "I never really stop to look back on things and reflect on them. I keep 'em on the head, but I'm concentrating on next year more than anything."

He spends long hours producing at a studio in Ferndale and evenings at home in Clinton Township with his 7-year-old daughter, Hailie. His ex-wife, Kim, recently moved back in, and the couple are reconciling what has been a famously tumultuous relationship.

Mathers, 30, said he's abandoned drugs and hits the weights daily. He said that if he had kept up his pace — the drugs, the parties, the relentless family crises — he'd be dead.

But he knows his success comes with another danger: the mainstreaming of a bad boy, whether he wants it or not.

"When everyone loves you, who's left to hate you?" he said. "The kids want something they can hold onto that their parents hate. I know I did growing up. I didn't want to listen to anything my parents listened to."

'Lord of the Rings' Tops $200 Million

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Catch Me If You Can" couldn't catch up with "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

The "Lord of the Rings" sequel took in $48.9 million during its second weekend for a 12-day gross of $200.1 million, becoming one of the speediest films ever to cross the $200 million mark, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Its weekend average of $13,508 per theater had "Two Towers" fulfilling predictions that it would outperform its predecessor, last year's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring."

"This film is the story of the holiday season," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "To say it's this generation's `Star Wars' is almost an understatement."

Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can," starring Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life '60s con man Frank Abagnale Jr., debuted at No. 2, capturing $30 million in its first weekend and $48.6 million since opening Wednesday.

"Catch Me If You Can" also stars Tom Hanks as an FBI agent pursuing Abagnale, who became a master check forger and posed as an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer while still in his teens. Playing in 3,156 theaters, it averaged $9,506 per screen.

Slipping to No. 3 was the Sandra Bullock-Hugh Grant romance "Two Weeks Notice," which earned $16.1 million in its second weekend for a total of $43.6 million. Jennifer Lopez's "Maid in Manhattan" was a close fourth with $13 million in its third weekend and an overall take of $57.4 million.

The four films, joined by a year-end rush of limited releases aiming for Academy Award consideration, were the stars of the biggest post-Christmas box office weekend ever, capping a year that's set records for tickets sales.

Already, box office receipts for 2002 have surpassed $9 billion, an increase of about 10 percent over last year's total. Movie theater attendance for the year is expected to end 5 percent higher than last year, Dergarabedian said.

The weekend held some bad news for studios. "Pinocchio," Robert Benigni's new live-action version of the Disneyfied Italian folk tale, took in just $1.1 million in 1,195 theaters, a per-screen average of $954. Rick Sands, chief operating officer at Miramax, said the poor showing may have been because the film was made in Italian and dubbed into English.

"We are not happy with the performance theatrically, but from a financial perspective we are fine," Sands said, noting that Miramax spent $21 million on "Pinocchio." "We knew it was a risk dubbing it and taking it to a mass audience."

The studio was holding out more hope for Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York," a dark, R-rated epic that contrasts sharply with the usual lighthearted holiday fare.

Expanding to 2,190 theaters in its second weekend, "Gangs" earned $11.2 million, a $5,114 per-theater average that gave it a fifth-place finish at the box office. Overall, it has grossed $30.1 million.

In limited release, the musical "Chicago," starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger, danced away with $2.1 million in 77 theaters for an impressive $27,300 per-theater average. The film, also distributed by Miramax, goes into wider release in January.

"We were only limited by seats. We are basically selling out everywhere," Sands said.

The weekend brought a flurry of other small-release debuts trying for critical acclaim and Academy Award notice.

Among them "The Hours" grossed $337,000 in only 11 theaters for a whopping $30,636 average. The drama stars Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf and Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep as two women influenced by the writer's work.

The Holocaust drama "The Pianist" opened on just six screens and pulled in $104,051, or $17,342 per venue.

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 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," $48.9 million.
2. "Catch Me If You Can," $30 million.
3. "Two Weeks Notice," $16.1 million.
4. "Maid in Manhattan," $13 million.
5. "Gangs of New York," $11.2 million.
6. "Drumline," $8.4 million.
7. "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," $7.4 million.
8. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $6.5 million.
9. "The Hot Chick," $4.8 million.
10. "Die Another Day," $4.5 million.

Women Nicer to Kiss on Screen, Says Julianne Moore

LONDON (Reuters) - Hollywood star Julianne Moore says women are nicer than men to kiss in the movies because they always smell nicer.

Moore said she had no problem preparing for her screen kiss with Toni Collette in "The Hours," which has already been touted as a leading Oscar contender.

"She smelled so nice," Moore told Britain's Sunday Mirror.

"You kiss an actor and you don't know what they are going to smell like. But you kiss a girl and she is going to smell good. And she's very soft. They're soft and they smell nice. Guys don't."

But Moore, married with two young children, has not taken the day job home.

Asked if she had ever kissed a woman in real life, she said: "I've only been involved with men sexually."

Twisted Sister to Play June Concerts

NEW YORK (AP) - The '80s glam-metal band Twisted Sister, best known for "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock," will reunite for at least two shows next summer.

The New York-based quintet is confirmed for the Sweden Rock festival on June 8 and the Bang Your Head festival in Germany on June 28. Guitarist Jay Jay French says the band hopes to announce additional dates soon.

The concerts will be Twisted Sister's first in Europe since 1986; they last toured the United States in 1987.

"I want this band to go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and to be recognized for what it is — one of the greatest live bands that ever existed," French told The Associated Press.

"Twisted Sister was not a regular rock 'n' roll band," he said. "We were bred as a killing rock-and-roll machine. It wasn't the degree of musicianship that mattered; it was the degree of killer instinct that we had."

One concern is "pulling off this visual time warp," French said.

Twisted Sister will go out in makeup and costumes — though no one yet knows exactly what they'll look like — and the stage set will incorporate the neon-pink barbed wire fence from the 1984-85 "Stay Hungry" tour.

'Eminem Show' Is Year's Top-Selling Album

NEW YORK - Everyone wanted seats for "The Eminem Show" in 2002. The rapper's album sold far more than any other — more than 7.4 million copies, according to year-end figures this week from Nielsen SoundScan.

"The Eminem Show," released in late May, features huge hits such as "Without Me" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet." It sold 1.3 million copies in its first week alone.

Eminem's other album, the soundtrack to his movie "8 Mile," was the fifth-highest selling of the year, with about 3.2 million copies sold.

Coming in second was another rapper: Nelly, whose "Nellyville" sold about 4.8 million copies. It contains this summer's ubiquitous party song, "Hot in Herre."

Canadian teen pop singer Avril Lavigne was No. 3 with "Let Go," which sold nearly 3.9 million copies. It includes the hits "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi."

Country acts also dominated the top 10. "Home" by the Dixie Chicks was No. 4, selling about 3.4 million copies; Alan Jackson's "Drive" was No. 8, with nearly 3 million copies sold; and "Up!" the double disc from Shania Twain, reached the 10th spot, selling 2.6 million copies in just over a month in stores.

Rounding out the top 10 were "M!ssundaztood" by Pink; Ashanti's self-titled album; and the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, which won five Grammys this year, including album of the year.

Film Director George Roy Hill Dies at Age 81

NEW YORK (Reuters) - George Roy Hill, director of the hit movies "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting" that paired actors Robert Redford and Paul Newman, died on Friday at his home in New York, according to friends.

The Oscar-winning director was 81 and died of complications from Parkinson's disease, said Edwin Brown, his longtime business manager.

The 1969 Western "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" featured one of Hollywood's most famous pairings as charismatic robbers. Redford and Newman were reunited in the 1973 stylized tale of two con artists, "The Sting," which earned Hill an Academy Award for Best Director and also won the Oscar for Best Picture.

"His pairing of the two of them in 'Butch Cassidy' and 'The Sting" was really an inspirational stroke because it worked so well," said Brown. "He knew what he wanted to achieve when he was making a film, and he knew how to convey that to the professionals around him."

A native of Minnesota, Hill studied at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

After serving in World War II and the Korean War, Hill began acting. In the 1950s, he moved into writing and directing live television including programs such as "A Night to Remember," about the sinking of the Titanic, and "Judgment at Nuremberg."

He also directed Broadway shows including the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Look Homeward, Angel."

He directed his first feature film, "Period of Adjustment," in 1962 and went on to direct 14 films in all, including "Hawaii" in 1966, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" in 1967, "Slaughterhouse-Five" in 1972 and "The World According To Garp" in 1982.

He directed Newman again in the incredible 1977 hockey movie "Slap Shot" and directed Redford again in 1975's "The Great Waldo Pepper" about a barnstorming pilot. His last film was "Funny Farm," with Chevy Chase, in 1988.

A pilot himself, Hill lived on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. He is survived by two sons, two daughters and 12 grandchildren.

Lakers Star Shaq Marries in Hush-Hush Ceremony

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal married his longtime girlfriend Shaunie Nelson at a hush-hush ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday, keeping the wedding secret from even his teammates until the last moment.

The 7-foot tall, 330-pound Lakers center -- one of America's highest paid basketball stars -- wed the mother of his two children in the hotel's ballroom. The pair are now expecting a third child.

Security guards and bomb-sniffing dogs kept reporters and photographers at bay from the hotel as the couple had reportedly sold the picture rights to a magazine.

O'Neal's Lakers teammates were not told until the last minute of the nuptials the day after Christmas and the basketball center apparently shrugged off gift suggestions.

"That makes it even more difficult. It's one of those questions; 'How do you get something for someone that has everything?"' Laker forward Rick Fox told reporters.

In case you have been living under a rock for the last decade, O'Neal, 30, has led the Lakers to the three straight World Championships and is one of the most dominant players in history of the game.

Townshend Resolves To Finish New Who Album

Pete Townshend's 2003 New Year's resolution will be to finish the Who's first new studio album since 1982, the guitarist writes on his official Web site. "I have never written quickly," he says. "I don't know how long it will take. Expect some new music to arrive in about a year, maybe later. But if I write 15 good pieces, and 10 of them make it to a new CD, we will probably find that only two or three of them will stand comparison on stage with our old hits."

Despite that caveat, Townshend insists he is looking forward to working in tandem with vocalist Roger Daltrey, whose songwriting credits with the Who were nearly non-existent during the band's heyday.

"I think it will be worth the time spent," Townshend opines. "I am very keen too to see Roger find some creative outlet on this future Who recording. He is full of ideas, passion and energy -- he bears quite a disturbed and serious view of the world at the moment."

Townshend adds that the Who is "being courted by charity show organizers, and we are driven towards supporting our own familiar charity events. We are also receiving tempting offers to play festivals, and enjoying the more honest lure of having such a great band to call on whenever we feel like playing." The group's latest round of touring ended in October in North America, on the heels of founding bassist John Entwistle's sudden death in late June in Las Vegas.

In other Who news, the SPV label will in March release a double-disc CD chronicling the band's star-studded 2000 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit show at London's Royal Albert Hall. The event, which featured guest spots from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Oasis' Noel Gallagher, and Jam/Style Council frontman Paul Weller, is already available on DVD. The upcoming CD will be augmented by four tracks taken from the Who's 2002 concert at Albert Hall, including the band's own "I Don't Even Know Myself" and "I'm Free" plus covers of "Summertime Blues" and "Young Man Blues."

Bono & Moby Offer Tributes To The Clash's Strummer

U2 singer Bono and techno-rocker Moby are among those who offered comments about the Clash's Joe Strummer. The punk legend was found at his U.K. home by his wife on Sunday (December 22), after suffering an apparent heart attack.

"The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2. It is such a shock," said Bono said in a statement.

"The last time that I saw Joe was in Los Angeles," wrote Moby on his website journal. "We were dancing together in a nightclub, and I kept rambling on about how important his music was to me. He had such a big heart and was without question one of the most important musicians of the last 50 years. Can you even imagine a world in which the Clash hadn't existed? The Clash were one of those bands who were so amazing and so wonderful that people are often tempted to take them for granted. But it's worth remembering that Joe and the Clash made music that was emotional, and political and challenging and experimental and exciting and wonderful."

Moby continued, "If I were to write his epitaph it would read: 'Here lies Joe Strummer. He was a compassionate and wonderful man. He wrote some of the most important music of the 20th century, and his presence here made the world a better place.' Thank you, Joe, you will be sorely missed by all who knew you."

Clint Eastwood Sues for $10 Million Over Bio

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Reuters) - "Dirty Harry" star Clint Eastwood has lodged a $10 million libel lawsuit against the author and publisher of an unauthorized biography, saying the book portrays him as a wife-beater, atheist and coward, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose late on Tuesday, also contends that author Patrick McGilligan and publisher St. Martin's Press attempted to destroy Eastwood's reputation in the book "Clint: The Life of a Legend."

"Clint Eastwood is not only an icon in the entertainment industry but he is also a family man," Marshall Grossman, Eastwood's lawyer said. "He is entitled to have what is written about him be accurate and truthful."

The book was published in the United States in August after being available for several years in Britain. Grossman said the suit was being filed now because the book was filled with errors and was harming Eastwood's reputation.

Paul Sleven, general counsel for St. Martin's Press, declined to comment because the case is in litigation but said the publisher was confident the book was accurate.

Author McGilligan, who has also written biographies of James Cagney, Jack Nicholson and Fritz Lang, also declined to go into much detail but said, "The book is fair and honest to the best of my ability."

The suit said that the book falsely claimed that the 72-year-old actor "cold-cocked" and "decked" his first wife Maggie and that Eastwood, famed for his on screen tough-guy image, was "dead scared" to go to Korea during his military service.

The suit added that the biography falsely described Eastwood as using a romance with an officer's daughter to avoid being sent overseas during the Korean War.

"Its lies do a serious disservice to the book's readers, the public and most of all to Clint Eastwood himself, who has spent nearly a half a century building a reputation that defendants so intently -- and unlawfully -- attempt to destroy," the suit said.

Along with $10 million, the suit also seeks punitive damages for "harming Eastwood's reputation and standing in the community, mortification and embarrassment."

"He is not one to sit idly by and permit somebody to deal with his reputation in this fashion," Eastwood's lawyer said of the actor.

Famed Photographer Herb Ritts Dies in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Legendary fashion and celebrity photographer Herb Ritts died on Thursday from complications of pneumonia at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, his publicist said.

Ritts, 50, had been hospitalized a few days before his death for an unspecified condition, his publicist Stephen Huvane said. Just 10 days earlier he had photographed actor Ben Affleck for a Vanity Fair magazine cover and was directing music videos, Huvane said.

Ritts, who lived in Los Angeles, is survived by his partner, Erik Hyman, as well as his mother and three siblings. Private memorial services were planned for January in Los Angeles, Huvane said.

Ritts photographed the icons of three decades in fashion spreads, album covers, advertisements and music videos.

A native southern Californian, Ritts began his career in the late 1970s with informal portraits of friends in the movie industry. He moved from fashion spreads in the late 1970s and early 1980s to nude studies of Masai women in Africa to famous portraits of pop singer Madonna, jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and actor Jack Nicholson made up as "The Joker" for the film "Batman."

Curators of a recent show of his work at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston described him as "an image maker for our time who translated our culture's dreams and desires into strong memorable pictures."

Rest In Peace, Mr. Ritts.

A NIGHT TO FORGET?

No plans for New Year's Eve yet? Well even some big stars have had lousy times on the last night of the year. Here's where they spent their worst:

GEORGE CLOONEY

Alone in Miami. I went there to meet a friend. The flight got delayed, so I spent it all by myself. I was lonely, bored and miserable.

HUGH GRANT

A pub in West London. A dreadful night, with awful people, in an absolutely terrible place. I was in my 20s and was meeting a girl there. She never showed up, and the evening was just horrid.

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS

Ben Nevis, Scotland. I went skiing with some friends and wound up freezing, all night, in a miserable tent that we set up. It was soooooo cold. I had nothing warm to wear and it was unforgettably awful.

CATHERINE ZETA-JONES

Aspen, Colo. Five years ago I was sick as a dog there and couldn't get my head off the pillow.

CHRISTOPHER WALKEN

When I was in my teens, my buddies and I went to the Astoria Ballroom in Queens. They had this deal there - all the champagne you can drink for something like 15 bucks. When we got there, the average age was something like 70. We drank tons of the bad champagne, but it didn't make the situation any better.

MARTIN SCORSESE

The Gramercy Hotel, New York. A number of years ago I went to a party there and everyone was in a really bad mood. I was feeling good until I got there and then, because everybody was so damn cranky, they put me in a bad mood, too.

DREW BARRYMORE

I was in a car driving to Los Angeles from San Diego. I was running very late and when the clock struck 12, I was just sitting behind the wheel. It was about as unfestive as you can get. When I finally got to the party, it was over.

SANDRA BULLOCK

I've never had a bad New Year's Eve. They've all been good. But who knows? Maybe this New Year's Eve will totally suck.

CHUCK BARRIS

It was a restaurant in New York. I won't tell you the name of the place, but I got food poisoning and wound up being violently sick the whole evening. Needless to say, for me, it was a very, very bad night.

QUEEN LATIFAH

Miami. I went down there last year to get some sun and it was the coldest day in the history of the city for that date. I was just miserable.

ROSARIO DAWSON

I was in the MTV studios in the heart of Times Square to promote "Josie and the Pussycats." At midnight, we were on the air and I couldn't even get up and go to the window to watch the ball drop . . . It's really not fun to have to work on New Year's Eve.

NATHAN LANE

I was in New York, in a cab, going crosstown at midnight. The taxi itself was a horror story. The guy had a shrine in the front and a hibachi. He must have been cooking monkey or something - the stench was awful. I was on my way to a party, which was also terrible.

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN

Bayonne, N.J. I was invited to a party, but when I got to the address, no one was there. My friends accidentally gave me the wrong location. At midnight, I wound up in a Church's Fried Chicken, eating greasy wings all by myself.

TOM HANKS

Vero Beach, Fla. I went to an awful party with my wife 10 years ago. All the people there were full of themselves and quite pretentious. All I wanted to do was leave, but we couldn't because a good friend of ours invited us and we didn't want to be rude. So we just stayed and suffered.

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO

Oer-Erkenschwick, Germany. I was 16 years old and spending the New Year with my grandparents, who live there. There was nothing to do - they went to bed early and I just hung out in their house, by myself.

CAMERON DIAZ

A number of years ago, I did a press junket for a film and was traveling around the country doing additional promotion. On New Year's Eve, I wound up in some small California town I can't even remember the name of. I had to go to bed early, because I had to be up the next morning at the crack of dawn to appear on some local morning show. Who would even be up early on New Year's Day to watch it?

Sheryl Crow and Goo-Goo Dolls to Perform at NHL All-Star Game

The NHL has booked musicians Sheryl Crow and the Goo-Goo Dolls to perform between periods during the NHL All-Star Game on February 2. The Goo-Goos will perform "Sympathy" after the first period. Crow will sing "C'mon C'mon" after the second. Crow will also be featured at an outdoor concert after the game.

Jerry Lawler Says Feud Was Set Up

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Pro wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler has finally confessed: His famous feud with comedian Andy Kaufman was all set up.

The feud included a segment on the David Letterman show in 1982 when Lawler slapped the comedian and Kaufman later threw coffee at him — all while Letterman watched aghast.

Lawler writes in a new book, "It's Good to Be the King...Sometimes," that he and Kaufman decided on their own to have the confrontation on the show and that neither Letterman nor his producer knew ahead of time what would happen.

Lawler writes that he worried after the show that he would be arrested. He also says he's sure that Letterman was angry about what happened.

The so-called feud began in Memphis when Kaufman decided to try out pro wrestling.

Lawler writes that the details behind the Kaufman incident have been a well-kept secret for over two decades. Kaufman died in 1984.

Letterman visits Afghanistan

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) -- American late night TV star David Letterman spent Christmas Day with U.S. troops at a rugged desert base in southern Afghanistan where coalition forces have been hunting down suspected terrorists for a year, the military said.

The Late Show host flew into the U.S. base at Kandahar on Christmas Eve and dined with troops there, said Maj. Bob Hepner, 36, from Mount Joy, Penn.

Letterman was also due to visit Bagram Airbase, the U.S. military headquarters in Afghanistan, but the trip was cancelled because of bad weather.

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

by Clement Clarke Moore

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Watch Out!

Milano, Timberlake: Love?

RADNOR, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Actress Alyssa Milano says she's dealing just fine with having turned 30 earlier this month, and isn't planning to mark the milestone with any big changes in her personal life.

Milano, speaking of her new relationship with pop star Justin Timberlake -- Britney Spears' former boyfriend -- said things on the romance front are still brand new.

"I'm not getting married," said Milano. "Our relationship is so new we don't even really know what it is yet."

Milano, known to many for her role in the hit 1980s sit-com "Who's the Boss," now stars in "Charmed," a long-running series on the WB.

She said she feels comfortable with what she's accomplished in her career so far and optimistic about her future.

"I think people freak out about (turning 30) when they don't feel like they've accomplished what they need to by then," Milano told Reader's Digest for its Saturday issue. "I wasn't freaked out at all. Just excited."

DONE ‘HUNTING': DAMON TYING THE KNOT

Actor Matt Damon's next project could be wedding plans.

The "Good Will Hunting" hunk announced last week at a star-studded gala that he and Odessa Whitmire, Ben Affleck's former personal assistant, are getting hitched.

The couple showed up arm-in-arm to a New York benefit hosted by actor-director George Clooney and Miramax producer Jon Gordon on Wednesday night and soon broke the news to friends as Whitmire's 3-carat diamond sparkled.

Damon met Whitmire, 27, in September 2001, when Affleck, Damon's longtime buddy, checked into rehab.

While Damon has never had trouble talking about his affection for Whitmire, he and his rep have shot down months of engagement rumors.

"I'm not engaged," Damon, who dated Minnie Driver and Winona Ryder, told The Post this past June.

"I have no plans to get married or have kids. I've got my nephews. That's about all the responsibility I can handle right now," he said.

Sources told Page Six a month ago the couple were tying the knot, but Damon's rep "[didn't] know anything about that."

But now Damon has followed Affleck's engagement to Jennifer Lopez with his own.

Before the end of Wednesday night's benefit, which raised over $200,000 for the Kenny Gordon Foundation, Damon, 32, said he was retiring his black book, buxom babes and staunch bachelor ways.

While Damon was tight-lipped about when or where the marriage will happen, one source said the ceremony wouldn't take place until Affleck and Lopez exchange their vows - which is expected to happen sooner than later.

Last month, Lopez said in a televised interview that Affleck got down on one knee, popped the question and she answered, "Yes." Affleck and Lopez met last year on the movie set of "Gigli."

10 Movies With Real Razzmatazz

By Mike Clark, USA TODAY

A strange movie year. From mass-audience pleasers (Spider-Man, The Bourne Identity, Unfaithful) to art-house surprises (Mostly Martha, Roger Dodger, Nine Queens, Kissing Jessica Stein), audiences could easily find viewing rewards amid a hundred-plus examples of miserable major-studio junk.

But for a year with all kinds of generally satisfying movies, it was lonely at the very top. There was no Ghost World nor a Topsy-Turvy to knock me for a total loop this time out — just solid screen pleasers that may well come to seem even better with the passage of time.

The 10 best

1. Chicago. With splash, blistering pacing and singing surprises to burn, novice big-screen director Rob Marshall revitalizes the movie musical by rethinking a Broadway hit previously filmed twice as a tuneless comedy. The final blow to the tone-deaf Moulin Rouge.

2. Insomnia. No groundbreaker but excitingly shot and edited, this psychological whodunit improves on 1997's Norwegian original and even director Christopher Nolan's preceding Memento. For an actor's show with Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank, it has the most scintillating use of modern locales (Alaskan) than any movie in memory.

3. The Piano Teacher. Not for all tastes (as if any movie is), director Michael Haneke's French import deals searingly with social pathology. Isabelle Huppert and Benoit Magimel — both acting winners at the 2001 Cannes festival — are terrifically matched as a music academy's sexually hung-up martinet and a student whose perceived fling with her turns disastrous.

4. Minority Report. It is a mystery but also a thriller but also science fiction — and it has perhaps the funniest and most creatively integrated product placement ever. This futuristic cop drama is everything a summer movie — and a first-time collaboration between Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg — should be.

5. Talk to Her. Writer/director Pedro Almodóvar, who's amazing when he's "on," gives us a movie with a comatose bullfighter, her accused impregnator and (plunked into the middle) a long silent-film parody that involves a vagina. Somehow, it is a touching and even moving drama — yet with the filmmaker's trademark loopy humor around the edges.

6. Gangs of New York. Of all the 2002 releases that will matter 20 years from now, Martin Scorsese's 3-hour epic is the most problematic. Production design to die for, Daniel Day-Lewis's complex villain and a grippingly sustained 75-minute mid-section compensate significantly for choppy construction. You long for a more sustained director's cut.

7. About a Boy. Hugh Grant has a glorious role as a lazy ne'er-do-well cruising on royalties from a dreadful ditty his dad wrote years ago. Toni Collette and newcomer Nicholas Hoult are also splendid as the sad-sack mom and son who redeem him, while Grant's late-movie moment with a guitar is his funniest on screen to date.

8. Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Detroit's "Funk Brothers" languished in relative anonymity, despite appearing on more No. 1 hits than Elvis, The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Beach Boys combined. This is no longer true thanks to Paul Justman's documentary, which has some of the feel-good power of the Oscar-winning When We Were Kings.

9. Bowling for Columbine. Manipulative Michael Moore can sometimes overplay his hand, yet he is on fundamentally solid ground skewering the nation's gun culture. His documentary begins by poking fun at a Michigan bank that offers you a gun for joining — and never lets go.

10. The Hours. Strong acting by everyone, down to the smallest performances, keeps this neatly crafted movie of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer-winning novel from going over the top into arch self-parody.

But No. 10 could just as well be About Schmidt, 8 Mile, Monsoon Wedding, Punch-Drunk Love, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or Y Tu Mamá También.

The 10 worst

1. Swept Away. Good material gets mangled by the Material Girl as Madonna and director-husband Guy Ritchie trash Lina Wertmuller's 1974 island-romance original.

2. The Sweetest Thing. Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate and Selma Blair as three crudely imbecilic club-hoppers you would take home to Mother only if your name were Norman Bates.

3. Enough. Betrothed Jennifer Lopez watches her intended extort someone into selling him his house. Later, she's surprised that he's a heel. Why? Because the movie would end in five minutes if anyone in it ever acted logically.

4. Rollerball. Instead of taking second shots at screen classics, Hollywood should remake only movies that weren't very good in the first place. This time, it did, dusting off 1975's ineffectual original — and making it even worse.

5. I Spy. The laziest TV spinoff in memory displays contempt for its audience by not even attempting entertainment. And audiences told it where to go. Please, someone, bury the vintage airwaves movie cycle.

6. Death to Smoochy. Satirizing a sociopathic kiddie-show host was funny in 1965's A Thousand Clowns. So is doing the same supposed to qualify as cutting-edge dark humor four decades later?

7. Scooby-Doo. And death to the mutt, with apologies to the SPCA. Even some kids said they'd rather eat Alpo.

8. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. The ridiculous title alone makes September's dud a contender for this list, though the fact that it's all explosions and boring footage of Antonio Banderas cements the case.

9. Crossroads. Well, Liberace didn't make it in the movies, either. Britney Spears' intended screen starmaker might have succeeded at its goal had it not descended into head-reeling insipidity after its keen opening underwear shot.

10. Full Frontal and Solaris. In a closing dereliction-of-duty confession, I admit that I never saw Jackass: The Movie, even though it's one of those things (like reading War and Peace) you have to do sometime in life. In its presumed place are both of Steven Soderbergh's audience-repellers — the kind of experimental follies no talented filmmaker should attempt more than once every five years.

HIS WAY

The family of Frank Sinatra allowing the NBA to resurrect Ol' Blue Eyes for a promotional spot depicting a digitally-enhanced Sinatra singing "I've Got You Under My Skin" that will debut at a hoops match doubleheader on ABC on Christmas Day.

Weezer's Turtles Cover Rejected By Former Video Director Spike Jonze

Weezer's version of the Turtles' hit "Happy Together" was rejected by their old pal, director Spike Jonze, when he was assembling his new film Adaptation.

Jonze, who worked on the classic Weezer Happy Days-themed video for "Buddy Holly," among other clips, initially approached the band for a cover version of the song to include in his forthcoming movie, Adaptation. Jonze reportedly liked the Weezer version but couldn't find a way to work in the re-vamped classic. The director went with the original Turtles version of "Happy Together."

After a limited engagement in selected cities, Adaptation is set for a national release January 10.

And if you want more Weezer, there is a DVD in-progress! It is mostly finished but a bunch of minor things have yet to be completed, like the clearances, menus and packaging stuff. The release date was pushed back to "early 2003" but there is so far no more detail to be had. So, no, its not available for the holidays. When progress is made and we have a release date, it will be posted here.

...Guns N' Roses Are Intact And Putting Finishing Touches On 'Chinese Democracy'

Rumors that Guns N' Roses ended its tour because of the departure of guitarist Robin Finck and bassist Tommy Stinson are false, according to a spokesperson for the band. The spokesperson wouldn't give any details surrounding the reasons that Clear Channel and Guns N' Roses ended their tour affiliation, but did say GN'R is very much intact.

The band and its members, vocalist Axl Rose, guitarist Buckethead, drummer Brain, bassist Tommy Stinson, guitarist Robin Finck, et al, are currently on vacation. They will return to the studio in January to put the finishing touches on Chinese Democracy, which the band is releasing in the spring. If it is released next year, it will be the first full album of new original music from Guns N' Roses in 12 years.

Clash's Punk Pioneer Strummer Dies at 50

LONDON (Reuters) - Joe Strummer, frontman with the Clash whose 1979 track "London Calling" exploded as one of punk's biggest anthems, has died at the age of 50, a spokesman said on Monday.

The singer, guitarist and songwriter died on Sunday at his home in Somerset, western England of unknown causes.

"We do not yet know the cause of death, but we believe it was not suspicious and that he passed away peacefully. An autopsy will be forthcoming," the spokesman said.

Born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey, Strummer's talents propelled him from playing for change on the London Underground to fame with the Clash, who with the Sex Pistols defined the in-your-face sound and style of 1970s British punk.

Until they split in the 1980s, the Clash produced a catalog of punk classics, including "Career Opportunities" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go?," distilling the depression, anger and energy of 1970s Britain.

But they transcended the three-chord aggression to deliver messages of anti-racism and social consciousness. Strummer, the son of a British diplomat, wrote many of their biggest hits.

"He was one of the most important figures in modern British music, a powerful performer and wordsmith on a level with Bob Dylan," said Pat Gilbert, editor of British music magazine Mojo

"His music had compassion and vision, backed with an agenda to change the world for the better," he told Reuters.

Sometimes described as rebels with a cause, the Clash fused a variety of musical styles -- reggae, funk and even rap -- with a political message that brought punk to the mainstream and also found big success in the U.S. market.

Bono, lead singer from the Irish band U2, said: "The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2."

DEFINITIVE PUNK

In 1976, Strummer met a then 23-year-old guitarist Mick Jones and linked up with bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Terry Chimes. As the Clash, the quartet made an immediate and explosive impact in Britain.

Rolling Stone magazine called their 1977 eponymous debut "The definitive punk album."

Follow-ups "Give 'Em Enough Rope" (1978), and "London Calling" (1979) also became instant punk classics. After The Clash split, a tireless Strummer stayed center stage with a variety of projects, dabbling in acting and writing music for films.

More recently, Strummer toured with a new band, the Mescaleros, and played a benefit concert with Mick Jones in November, reuniting with his partner in punk for the first time in nearly 20 years.

At the time of his death, Strummer was collaborating with U2's Bono and Dave Stewart, formerly of the Eurythmics, on an AIDS awareness track.

"The Clash are to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year and there was hope that there would be a reunion and a tour...this must be especially sad for their fans," Gilbert said.

Strummer's death was a double blow for punk fans still mourning the fatal drug overdose in June of singer Dee Dee Ramone from legendary American band the Ramones.

Strummer is survived by his wife, two daughters and one stepdaughter.

Vulcan Vixen!

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STAR TREK: NEMESIS DVD Extras

Details about the extras that will appear on the STAR TREK: NEMESIS DVD.

The tenth film in this most hallowed of science fiction series makes its UK debut in January but work on the Star Trek: Nemesis DVD is already well underway. Eager fans will be tripping over themselves to add the tenth DVD to their shelf of Trek movies and, with the original cut of the film running almost 45 minutes over the final 116, there will be plenty of extras to keep them happy.

"When you make a film, there's always extra stuff that you don't use," director Stuart Baird told Empire Online. "When I first saw the script, I knew it would run way too long but I shot most of it anyway. I'll never cut them back into the movie because I don't think they make it work but I'll show them on the DVD because I think the fans will enjoy them."

"One of the scenes that went was where we introduce Shinzon to the audience before Patrick Stewart sees him. But it didn't have a lot of information that we needed. It was a nice scene but it completely undermined this very dramatic and theatrical reveal when Patrick Stewart first meets him."

Also featuring on the DVD will be an extended ending, which leaves the film on a very different note to the theatrical finale. With the crew settling in after Ryker's departure and (highlight to reveal MAJOR spoiler) Data's untimely demise, Picard is introduced to his new first officer, who presumptuously addresses him as Jean Luc at a smirking Ryker's suggestion. Another scene involving the captain's new chair will also find a home on the home release.

"We had this big climax, with the battle and then some heart-rending moments with the crew. But then after all the gloom, I wanted a touch of hope, for the sun to just come out and end the movie. But there was a whole bunch of other scenes, which were jokey: saying goodbye to other people and a scene with the Captain's new chair and it just seemed superfluous. The film was already over, really, so I cut them out."

(Highlight for the same MAJOR spoiler) There was a scene that was cut from the movie after Data is… gone, shall we say," adds Brent Spiner. "Worf and Geordi go into his room and Spot the cat is there. Worf ends up taking the cat and Geordi finds the emotion chip and keeps it."

And it that's not all, the disc will also include a commentary by Baird, images of his storyboards and interviews with both cast and crew. With this very likely the last time you'll see Picard and the gang saving the stars on your screen, you'd best start saving those pennies.

'The Two Towers' Tops $100 Million in 5 Days

LOS ANGELES - The "Lord of the Rings" sequel dominated in its debut weekend, taking in $61.5 million — 30 percent better than its predecessor did last year, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Altogether, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" has grossed $101.5 million since opening Wednesday, compared to $75.1 million by "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" in the same period and $47.2 million in its first weekend.

"The Two Towers" opened in 3,622 theaters, an 8 percent increase over "Fellowship," and averaged a whopping $16,980 a cinema over the weekend, compared with $14,055 for the first film.

Debuting at No. 2 was the Sandra Bullock-Hugh Grant romance "Two Weeks Notice," which took in $14.4 million in 2,755 theaters for a $5,229 average. Last weekend's top movie, Jennifer Lopez's "Maid in Manhattan," slipped to third place with $11 million.

Playing in narrower release, Martin Scorsese's long-delayed epic "Gangs of New York" debuted with $9.1 million in 1,504 theaters, for a $6,064 average. The movie expands to about 2,150 theaters on Christmas.

Director Peter Jackson's middle chapter in his mammoth adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy trilogy, "The Two Towers" also took in about $85 million overseas in the 26 countries where it has opened since Wednesday.

With nearly $190 million in the bank in just five days, distributor New Line Cinema expects "The Two Towers" to surpass the $860 million total worldwide gross of "Fellowship of the Ring" by 20 to 25 percent, said Rolf Mittweg, the studio's head of worldwide marketing and distribution.

If that comes to pass, it would be only the second movie after "Titanic" to top $1 billion at the box office. "Titanic" leads the worldwide charts with $1.8 billion, with "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" at No. 2 with $968 million.

"When all is said and done, we want to be the No. 2 film worldwide after `Titanic,'" Mittweg said. "We think we're on track to do that."

"Gangs of New York" — yanked off distributor Miramax's schedule a year ago amid bickering over the final cut between Scorsese and Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein — stars Leonard DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz in a vengeance tale in 1860s Manhattan.

Miramax is counting on good word of mouth and attention through Hollywood's awards season to build the film's audience. "Gangs of New York" has scored solidly with early film honors, especially for Day-Lewis' performance.

"The critical stamp of approval we've gotten has really overcome any questions about the film," Rick Sands, Miramax's chief operating officer, said of the feud between Scorsese and Weinstein. "I honestly don't think the public takes any of that stuff that seriously, and Marty and Harvey have a relationship which is extremely positive."

Miramax is co-financing Scorsese's next film, the Howard Hughes film biography "The Aviator," which also will star DiCaprio.

In limited release, Spike Lee's "The 25th Hour" grossed $109,811 in five theaters for a $21,962 average. The film stars Edward Norton as a drug dealer on his last day before beginning a seven-year prison sentence.

Denzel Washington's directing debut, "Antwone Fisher," took in $217,500 in 15 theaters for a $14,500 average. Derek Luke stars as the real-life title character, a violent Navy sailor coming to grips with his traumatic childhood.

The police thriller "Narc," starring Ray Liotta and Jason Patric, grossed $66,000 in six theaters, averaging $11,000.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," $61.5 million.
2. "Two Weeks Notice," $14.4 million.
3. "Maid in Manhattan," $11 million.
4. "Gangs of New York," $9.1 million.
5. "Drumline," $7.6 million.
6. "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," $6.1 million.
7. "The Hot Chick," $4.5 million.
8. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $4.46 million.
9. "Star Trek: Nemesis," $4.4 million.
10. "Die Another Day," $4 million.

The "Friends" Cast Is Returning For A 10th Season

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After dropping broad hints in recent months, the six cast members of "Friends" have agreed to return for a 10th season of the hit comedy next year, Daily Variety reported on its Web site on Saturday.

The trade paper said the NBC network will pay the show's producer, Warner Bros. Television, about $10 million an episode, making "Friends" by far the most expensive prime-time show in history.

Warner Bros. had been charging NBC close to $7 million per episode. (At its peak, medical drama "ER" cost $13 million an episode, but that is an hour-long show.)

However the salaries for Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer will stay pegged at $1 million per episode each, Daily Variety said.

Unlike previous tense negotiations, the key issue this time was the number of episodes that will be shot, the paper said. The stars were reportedly unwilling to shoot a full 22 episodes, although the paper said NBC was still hoping for a complete season.

Paradoxically, the "Friends" renewal is not financially lucrative for either NBC or Warner Bros., Daily Variety said. NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., merely staves off a major ratings blow for another year; Warner Bros., a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., has already sold the show into syndication, which is where the big money is made.

"Friends," the second most popular show among U.S. households this season, after "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on CBS was named top comedy at the Prime-time Emmy Awards in September. Aniston won the Emmy for comedy actress, only the second time a "Friends" star has been so honored, after Kudrow in 1998.

The show's stars, who are reportedly close friends in real life, have stated in recent months that they would be willing to return for an extra season. But it means that Aniston and Cox have to delay starting families with their respective husbands, actors Brad Pitt and David Arquette.

Life beyond "Friends" has been a mixed bag for the actors. Aniston, considered the show's main attraction, starred this year in the acclaimed independent film "The Good Girl." Kudrow has also racked up some notable credits, while Cox starred in the blockbuster "Scream" trilogy. Their male counterparts, however, have generally stumbled in their feature forays.

"Friends," created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, revolves around the daily travails of six buddies who lead a seemingly charmed existence in lower Manhattan.

The Rise Of Synthespians

He's spent 2-1/2 years being filmed, but Andy Serkis won't get any face time on screen.

Or foot or hand or torso time, for that matter.

Yet he's being talked about as a possible Oscar nominee for his role in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," the second in the fantasy film trilogy, which opens Wednesday.

Mr. Serkis is the human actor behind the computer-generated (CG) character Gollum, a wizened Hobbit who's part manlike, part evil beast. More than just giving voice to the character, Serkis provided all its movements and facial expressions, which were later "painted over" by animators.

Gollum, who plays a large role in the story, is torn by inner conflict and must express a range of emotions as he interacts with humans.

He's "a major achievement by anyone's standards" among CG characters, says Don Shay, the publisher of Cinefex, a magazine for movie special-effects fans.

As the skills of computer animators sharpen, and the cost of animation software and hardware plummets, "Synthespians" are coming to the screen more often and in more prominent roles.

Already this year has seen Yoda of "Star Wars" fame become a high-flying, lightsaber-wielding CG character who some viewers thought was the most "alive" member of the cast of "Episode II." And the second "Harry Potter" movie features "Dobby," the house elf, who was convincing enough that reviewers rarely singled him out for comment among the film's many special effects.

And coming movies such as "The Hulk" and "The Polar Express" may push the state of the art yet further. In "Polar Express," due out in 2004 or 2005, all the characters will be CG, though based on the work of real actors. Tom Hanks's character as a boy will combine elements of the adult Hanks morphed into how he might have looked as a child, according to published reports.

For years, Hollywood has debated the value of photo-realistic "synthespians," actors who wouldn't grow old, ask for a bigger trailer, or demand huge salaries. Last summer, the movie "Simone" took a mostly humorous look at the issue, with Al Pacino playing a producer trying to hide the fact that his beautiful new star exists only inside a computer.

Synthespian stars?

While some animators are excited about the prospect of creating "synthespians" who could pass for human actors, others are asking, "What's the point?" since real actors are already available. The spectacular failure of "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" in 2001, whose cast was entirely made up of human-looking CG characters, seems to have cooled Hollywood's interest in large roles for synthespians for the moment.

"Everyone knows what a human being looks like. It's very, very difficult to take a computer-generated character and duplicate that," Shays says. Photos of characters from "Final Fantasy" looked "staggeringly" real, he says. But setting them in motion means their behavior, lip synch, skin texture, hair, and every other subtle element has to be just right. The human eye can detect even the slightest flaw.

"It's very difficult to pull off," Shays says. "I'm sure it'll happen someday. It's just a matter of now it's extremely time-consuming and expensive."

While it is unclear if that will ever happen, observers point out that the use of CG images are already proliferating on movie screens in more subtle ways. One growing use of CG characters is in crowd scenes.

For the battle scenes in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, a digital effects program called "Massive" allows thousands of characters in the background to move about randomly based on a set of rules programmed into them (much like the characters in many video games), saving the need to hire and outfit thousands of extras.

"This is a medium still in its infancy," says Daniel Robichaud, the animation supervisor who designed the ill-fated digital extras in "Titanic," and "The Scorpion King." "You're going to see more and more ... digital animation in moviemaking."

While some animators will remain fascinated by the challenge of creating humanlike CG characters, Heather Kenyon, editor in chief of Animation World Network (www.awn.com), says the real potential of CG animation is to create new creatures, not imitate humans. "All these new digital films allow the artists, the directors, the writers, to tell the stories that they really want to tell."

Erasing memories of Jar Jar...

The character of Gollum is a far cry from the insipid CG character of Jar Jar Binks in the recent "Star Wars" films. Gollum's role has an almost Shakespearean complexity. The inner conflict between the innocent Hobbit named Sméagol that he once was, and the skeletal, unscrupulous fiend he has become through possession of a mystical and evil ring, infuses the performance with dramatic tension.

To create Gollum, each scene had to be shot three different ways. First Serkis played the role himself with the other live actors. Then the scene was shot again without him. Finally, he played the role alone, wearing a bodysuit covered with sensors. Twenty-five cameras recorded his movements from various angles, including his facial expressions, and fed them into a computer. His movements and expressions then became the basis for the digital Gollum, who was inserted into each scene.

Serkis says he'd be "extremely flattered" if he were nominated for an Oscar. The Academy Awards press office has confirmed that Serkis will be eligible for nomination, despite his physical absence from the screen.

"We kind of talk about it in terms of the performance John Hurt gave in 'Elephant Man,' " says Serkis. In the 1981 film, Hurt was nominated for Best Actor despite being unrecognizable beneath his makeup. "He gave [the character] a voice and a physicality but was completely disguised by the prosthetics. And this in many ways is similar."

Serkis, a respected British actor, will be seen in the third film of the series as Sméagol, the young Hobbit. "Sméagol looks like my 2-1/2-year-old son," Serkis says, "and Gollum looks like my dad, bless him."

Brian Heidik "Survives"

The soft-core porn stud turned used-car salesman closed the deal Thursday night, triumphing over his fellow Survivors.

Brian Heidik, the 34-year-old from Quartz Hill, California, survived rats, snakes, food-stealing monkeys, whipping monsoon rains and, oh yeah, his fellow castaways to win the series finale of Survivor: Thailand

The rugged blond, whom even host Jeff Probst described as a player, glad-handed his way through the 39 days, made alliances he didn't keep, and, in keeping with tradition, swept the finale's immunity challenges.

Then how did he manage to go home with a Chevy trailblazer, the $1 million prize money and the title of solve Survivor? In the end, as Ted Rogers put it, Brian was the lesser of two evils against crusty Clay Jordan, who badgered the jury before they picked a winner.

Heidik, who became the de facto leader of the Chuay Jai, is the fifth million-dollar winner on the popular CBS reality game show, this time set in Thailand's Tarutao Islands National Park, a chain of 51 pristine islands dotting the Indian Ocean some 600 miles south of Bangkok.

And his fellow castaways who spent five weeks in the tropical jungles of Koh Tarutao midway through monsoon season, probably weren't the only ones kicking themselves Thursday. Heidik recently separated from his wife, Charmaine, who was arrested for spousal abuse last week. (Maybe the busty bruiser got tired of being kept in the dark about the outcome?)

Here's a recap of the two-hour finale:

The evening began with a rat-like race between remaining Chuay Jai team members Heidik, Louisiana restaurateur Clay Jordan, Rhode Island Navy swim instructor Helen Glover and Florida teacher Jan Gentry. Each one raced to release the food pellet. And that's where the challenge took a nasty turn. The Thai delicacy the Survivors had to eat to win immunity was a large hairy black spider. Heidik won the contest--but at what price to his digestive system?

With the immunity necklace back in his possession Heidik and Clay approached Jan with a proposed alliance against Helen. It took the perky teacher all of a few minutes to agree to turn on her fellow female tribe member. Helen's torch was extinguished that night in tribal council.

The next day the remaining conspirators paddled down the river releasing floral tribute floats to the 13 other Survivors. Cue the sappy montage and melodramatic music.

Next up, the trio met Probst in a candlelit cave, home to the pirates who originally ruled the island. Instead of the lengthy hold-your-hand-on-the-idol endurance test, producers used treasure to test the contestants' willpower. The final three were forced to stand, knees bent, with their hands in brackets holding six gold coins apiece between their fingers.

Perhaps spurred by the thought of the four beers and pizza she planned to have at home, Jan was the first to fold, Clay soon followed and Brian got to keep the immunity necklace.

Brian chose to take Clay with him and the final tribal council snuffed Jan's torch.

And then there were two.

Speaking before the final jury Clay suffered from a case of foot-in-mouth ("I'm a lucky guy. I'm sitting here, I'm not sitting over there," he said gesturing to the jurors), while Brian patted himself on the back for having kept "food in our bellies" and making sure people were "warm at night".

Payback's a bitch, and the seven jurors got to air their beefs with the sneaky twosome. Ted scored the Susan Hawk angry-speech-of-the-evening award when he called Brian a great used-car salesman. "You sold me your friendship." A lemon. And then told Clay he was an ignorant Southern hillbilly who rode Brian's coattails to the end. It doesn't get any better.

Despite Brian's sleazy motivational speaker shtick before the jurors, the "player" from California got the required four votes to win the game.

The reunion episode in front of a live studio audience at CBS Television City in Hollywood was tame in comparison to last year's live reunion party in Central Park. Gone were the tunes and last year's host Rosie O'Donnell. Instead, Jeff Probst emceed the subdued affair that recapped the season, including the most memorable moment: Ted's early-morning grope-fest of Ghandia Johnson.

Viewers who managed to stay tuned through the two hour series finale and the snooze-inducing post Survivor: Reunion party were able to catch all 16 Survivors presenting a special Top 10 list on the Late Show with David Letterman, alongside Academy Award winner Tom Hanks and rock band Phish.

In the meantime, anyone thinking Survivor has run its course can think again. CBS recently confirmed the next installment would take place in the Amazon early next year. Host Jeff Probst promised more twists and warned contestants that they would encounter the most beautiful and the most dangerous animals in the world in the South American jungle, including the deadly Anaconda. Let the games begin.

Disney Bid Seen for Muppet-Maker Henson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mickey Mouse and Kermit the Frog could soon be new best friends.

Walt Disney Co. is preparing to offer about $135 million for Jim Henson Co., a bid that likely would position it to win the assets of the renowned Muppet maker more than a decade after it walked away from the chance, according to people familiar with the situation.

Although Disney's bid would be a steep discount from the $680 million German children's programming giant EM.TV paid for Henson in March 2000, it is still far too rich a price, people familiar with Henson's assets said. They put the value at no more than $80 million.

Four other suitors also are considering bids for the creators of such famed puppet characters as Miss Piggy and Big Bird, but none is likely to pay as much as Burbank, California-based Disney, sources say.

They said the other parties mulling bids are London-based Entertainment Rights Plc ; privately held Classic Media; billionaire investor Haim Saban; and Dean Valentine, the former chief executive of United Paramount Network.

"EM.TV is in parallel talks with several parties and this means more than two," said an EM.TV spokesman in Munich who declined to comment about specific bidders. A Henson spokesman in New York also declined to comment.

A Disney spokesman said that as a matter of policy the company does not comment on speculation regarding acquisitions, while a spokesman for Entertainment Rights, which develops and licenses children's programming, declined to comment. None of the other potential bidders could be reached.

Disney shares fell 33 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $16.20 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday.

MUPPETS, SPECIAL EFFECTS, PROGRAMMING

Henson's business includes the rights to its world renowned Muppets characters, the Creature Shop that creates special effects for movies, and about 650 hours of programming.

Under EM.TV's ownership Henson divested its stake in Crown Media Holdings Inc. for $100 million and sold the Sesame Street Muppets characters to the Sesame Workshop for $180 million.

Sesame Workshop still owes about $70 million on the deal, which is to be paid over time, giving Henson a steady cash flow stream, people familiar with that agreement said. However, some of the licensing arrangements at Henson are messy, the company's staff is bloated and it needs an infusion of capital to restore the brand to its former glory, sources said.

Critics say Disney pays too high a premium on its acquisitions. While that idea can be debated, the company is widely seen by analysts to have overpaid for Fox Family Worldwide last year, on which it spent $5.2 billion, including $2.2 billion of debt. Earlier this year, Disney cut about half the work force at renamed ABC Family.

Disney, which already has some partnership arrangements with Henson, was set to buy the company in 1990, but when namesake Jim Henson died suddenly, it pulled out of the deal. Henson's son, Brian, took over the empire founded in 1958.

EM.TV, which has been shopping Henson for more than a year, had been looking to close a deal soon to cover a 64 million euro ($66 million) loan due at year's end.

The company could, however, get an extension from its lenders, who are being apprised of the Henson auction, and push the sale into the first quarter of 2003, sources said.

Privately owned Classic Media, which holds the rights to children's characters including Casper the Friendly Ghost, only wants to buy a half stake in Henson's character licenses and programming, sources said.

Saban, who made his fortune selling his stake in Fox Family to Disney, bid about $128 million for Henson with Evercore Partners Inc. in October. His partner dropped out, but Saban remains interested, these people said.

Valentine is seeking partners, they added, but his financial backing remains unclear at this point.

'Chicago' Dazzles, 'Hours' Strikes at Globes

BEVERLY HILLS (Reuters) - Movie musical "Chicago" put some early razzle dazzle in Hollywood's award season on Thursday, earning eight Golden Globe nominations including best musical, followed by somber drama "The Hours" with seven.

With show-stopping tunes like "All That Jazz," the Broadway musical-turned-movie earned nominations for Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the best actress in a musical or comedy group and Richard Gere as best actor in a musical or comedy.

Director Rob Marshall, screenwriter Bill Condon, supporting actor John C. Reilly and supporting actress Queen Latifah, all scored nominations in their respective categories, too.

While 2001's acclaimed art house musical "Moulin Rouge" paved the way for "Chicago," executive producer Craig Zadan said "Chicago" has what "Rouge" lacked -- mainstream appeal.

"This show is different. It is the return of the American musical to the cinema, and it reinvents the form," he said.

The Golden Globe nominations, which are handed out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, mark the U.S. film industry's first major showcase leading up to the Oscars, and a nomination puts a movie on center stage during Awards season.

Like "Chicago," "The Hours" strikes out on a bold path for moviemaking in the drama category with its three-pronged story of women dealing with issues of life and death.

PINCH ME

Nicole Kidman portrays writer Virginia Woolf, and Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore portray a modern woman and 1950s housewife, respectively, who all relate to the Mrs. Dalloway character created by Woolf.

"These are all three actresses who are absolutely at the top of their game," said director Stephen Daldry.

It earned nominations for best dramatic film, best actress in a drama for both Kidman and Streep -- Moore was nominated in the same category for her "Far From Heaven" -- best screenplay for David Hare and best director for Daldry.

"Adaptation" won six nominations to put it third on the list of most nominated films, including one for best comedy or musical and for Nicolas Cage as best actor in a comedy or musical.

It tells of a screenwriter struggling to adapt a novel into a film and comes from the same filmmakers as 1999's "Being John Malkovich," writer Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze.

Joining "Chicago" and "Adaptation on the list of nominated musicals and comedies was the coming-of-age comedy "About A Boy" with Hugh Grant, "Nicholas Nickleby" and the smash hit independent film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

"Every day I wake up and think this can't be happening, then I pinch myself, and I'm like 'Oh, yeah!'," said its star and writer/creator Nia Vardalos.

Also with "The Hours" in the best dramatic film category were "About Schmidt," which earned Jack Nicholson a nomination for best dramatic actor, Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York," Holocaust drama "The Pianist" from director Roman Polanski and the action picture "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

"About Schmidt," in which Nicholson plays a 66 year-old retiree contemplating his life and his future, and "Gangs," about the gang wars in Civil War-era New York, each earned five nominations to round out the five most-nominated movies.

SCORSESE SLEEPS SOUNDLY

Scorsese called the movie among the most difficult he's made, but said it was also among the most rewarding. He said he had been awake and working until 3:30 a.m. this morning, then got a call telling him of the nominations just after 5:30 a.m.

"I went comfortably back to sleep," he joked.

Two big surprises were the lack of any nominations for Denzel Washington's first directorial effort, the drama "Antwone Fisher," which has been a critics' favorite so far.

Also, "Far From Heaven" failed to be nominated in the best dramatic film category, although it did pick up the nominations for Moore and three others including for Dennis Quaid as best supporting actor and for Todd Haynes with best screenplay.

Rounding out nominees for best dramatic actress were Diane Lane in "Unfaithful," about a woman's extra-marital affair, and Salma Hayek in "Frida," about Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Lane's performance has been hailed as one of the best of the year, but because the movie was released in the summer its chances in awards season were diminished. Generally, Hollywood waits until this time of year to release its award titles.

"It doubles my reward, seeing as how the film was not a year-end a release," said Lane.

In the category for best dramatic actor, Nicholson faces stiff competition from Daniel Day-Lewis for "Gangs of New York," Michael Caine for "The Quiet American," Adrien Brody in "The Pianist" and Leonardo DiCaprio in "Catch Me If You Can."

Brody said the nomination "was a nice way to wake up in the morning. I set my alarm for a normal hour hoping I would be awaken at 5:30 a.m. and I was."

ROUNDING OUT THE LISTS

Joining Zellweger and Zeta-Jones in the category for best actress in a musical or comedy were Goldie Hawn in "The Banger Sisters," Vardalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," and newcomer Maggie Gyllenhaal for "Secretary."

Among the other surprises was Kieran Culkin's nomination for best actor in a musical or comedy for "Igby Goes Down." Joining him, Cage and Gere in that grouping were Hugh Grant for "About a Boy," Adam Sandler for "Punch-Drunk Love"

Along with Jonze, Daldry and Marshall, director nominees were Scorsese and Alexander Payne for "About Schmidt."

While Quaid and Reilly top the best supporting actor category, they, too, will face stiff competition from Ed Harris in "The Hours," Chris Cooper for "Adaptation," and movie legend Paul Newman for "Road to Perdition."

Supporting actress nominees were Kathy Bates for "About Schmidt," Cameron Diaz for "Gangs," Queen Latifah in "Chicago," Susan Sarandon in "Igby Goes Down" and Meryl Streep earned a second nomination for "Adaptation."

Foreign language film nominees were Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's "Talk to Her," French film "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress," Mexico's controversial "The Crime of Father Amaro," China's "Hero," and Germany's "Nowhere in Africa."

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association also names winners in TV categories, but the film categories are the most widely watched leading up to the Oscars. The Golden Globe ceremony will be televised from Beverly Hills on January 19.

'Rings' Sequel Conjures Record Box Office Opening

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - J.R.R. Tolkien's diminutive hobbits are box office giants all over again, as the second installment in the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy set a record December one-day gross of $26 million in U.S. theaters.

The debut of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" shattered the previous all-time box office benchmark for a single day in December, set last year by its precursor, "The Fellowship of the Ring," at $18.2 million, distributor New Line Cinema said on Thursday.

The "Two Towers" tally also marks the second biggest Wednesday movie opening ever behind the $28.5 million first-day gross of "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" in May of 1999.

"This is really the 'Star Wars,' of today's generation," Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking service Exhibitor Relations Inc., said the "Rings" phenomenon.

"Two Towers" grossed an additional $16 million from its debut in Tolkien's native South Africa and 13 European countries on Wednesday, up 45 percent from last year's opening-day overseas performance of "Fellowship of the Ring."

New Line, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., said "Two Towers" marked the highest opening day ever in 10 out of 14 foreign countries.

The film stars Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, the hobbit who leads a quest to destroy the Dark Lord Sauron's ring of power and save Middle-earth.

"We're astounded at these numbers," said Rolf Mittweg, president for worldwide distribution and marketing at New Line. "For a three-hour film that is central in a trilogy to open this way is energizing and tremendously exciting."

If the success of "Fellowship of the Ring" is any indication, "Two Towers" is on its way to blockbuster status. The first film in the trilogy based on Tolkien's novels went on to gross $66 million through its first weekend and more than $313 million in the United States alone.

By comparison, superhero adventure "Spider-Man" holds the record for biggest single day ever at the U.S. box office, grossing $43.6 million in its second day of release in May of this year and nearly $115 million through its first three days. It grossed a total of $403.7 million domestically and twice that worldwide.

"Fellowship of the Ring" proved to be more potent internationally, ultimately grossing $860.2 million around the globe.

"Two Towers" was benefiting from glowing reviews and a built-in base of devoted Tolkien readers, as well as a new generation of fans drawn to the epic fantasy by Peter Jackson's big-screen adaptation. It also was helped by its super-sized roll-out, opening in 3,622 theaters around the country.

"These films have really captured the imagination of moviegoers," Dergarabedian said. "The first film brilliantly set up the necessity to see the second film, thus ensuring its success."

Survivor: Thailand Ends Tonight

Tonight is the big two-hour finale of Survivor: Thailand.

There are four finalists still in the hunt. One of them is used car salesman and former soft-core porn actor Brian Heidik. According to court papers, wifey went ballistic when she came home the other night only to find Survivor Boy "passed out drunk on the couch with a beer in his hand." She, it is reported, did the sensible thing and punched him in the nose while he was sleeping. Ha-ha!

If only Survivor was this entertaining. A good, drunken brawl would have been welcome most weeks as the current crop of Survivor losers limped toward their predictable fates.

Clay, Helen and Jan are tonight's other three finalists. Zzzzz. For all the talk about this being the best looking Survivor cast, there are no cutie pies like Colleen or Elizabeth among these finalists, no characters like Lex or Rudy.
Not hosting tonight's Survivor after-party is Rosie O'Donnell, who was apparently tossed from the show for looking too much like Lou Costello. Instead, Jeff Probst will be played by Jeff Probst.

Survivor Six, which should begin in February, wrapped earlier this month near Sao Paulo, Brazil. It takes place in the Amazon rainforest and is already being hyped as "the mother of all challenges."

Executive producer Mark Burnett has hinted that a Survivor Tournament of Champions, featuring previous winners as well as some of the more colourful characters from past games, will take place at the end of next season, possibly as Survivor Nine.

CBS is already accepting applications for Survivor Seven, although, as always, Canadians need not apply. That contest will likely air next fall.

Corgan's new band heading to MuchMusic

TORONTO (CP) -- Billy Corgan, the former frontman of Smashing Pumpkins, will debut his new band, Zwan, on MuchMusic on Thursday night.

Zwan, set to release its debut album on Jan. 28, will perform two songs and chat about the new band.

The group features Corgan and former Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, along with former Chavez guitarist Matt Sweeney, ex-Slint guitarist David Pajo, and bassist Paz Lenchantin.

Zwan was formed in 2001, a year after the Smashing Pumpkins disbanded.

Golden Globe nominations announced

(CNN) -- Two movies going head to head at the box office this week are also up against each other for top honors in the Golden Globe awards. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "Gangs of New York" were both nominated for best motion picture drama in a ceremony Thursday morning in Los Angeles.

Also getting nods in that field, "About Schmidt," which has been tapped by several film critic associations as best picture, "The Hours," and the Holocaust drama "The Pianist."

The sleeper hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was nominated for best motion picture comedy or musical, along with Hugh Grant's summer flick "About a Boy," the musical "Chicago," "Nicholas Nickelby" and "Adaptation."

The Golden Globes began in 1944, when the journalists of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) gathered informally to recognize Tinseltown's best offerings of the year.

Over the decades, the tradition evolved into an awards ceremony that is now considered to be a strong predictor of the Academy Awards. Eight of the last 12 films that have won the Golden Globe for best drama also went on to win the Best Picture Oscar.

The awards will be handed out January 19.

Click!

This guy took a picture of himself every day this year and posted them online. Come on, what would it take to get him to smile?

'Lord of the Rings' Tops Foreign Press Nods

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - The International Foreign Press Association has announced the nominations for their seventh annual Golden Satellite awards.

Leading the list in number of nominations is Peter Jackson’s "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" with eight, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a supporting role for Viggo Mortensen, best direction and best screenplay.

Todd Haynes’ “Far From Heaven” came in with seven, including Best Picture, Best Performance for Julianne Moore, Best Supporting Performance for Dennis Quaid and Dennis Haysbert, and Best Direction.

Also with seven is Martin Scorsese’s "Gangs of New York" including Best Performance for Daniel Day-Lewis and Best Screenplay, but no Best Picture or Director.

The other film with seven nominations is Sam Mendes’ "Road to Perdition" with Best Picture and Best Performances for Tom Hanks and Paul Newman.

Other best picture nominations in the drama category are Denzel Washington’s “Antwone Fisher,” Stephen Daldry’s “The Hours,” and Phillip Noyce’s “The Quiet American.”

In the comedy/musical category "About a Boy," "Adaptation," "Chicago," "Igby Goes Down," "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Punch-Drunk Love" all received nominations.

Tarantino To Bring Back the Vega Brothers

Filmmaker/actor Quentin Tarantino has announced that he is developing a movie that will bring back PULP FICTION and RESERVOIR DOGS characters Vincent Vega (played by John Travolta) and Vic Vega (Michael Madsen). The film will be a prequel called THE VEGA BROTHERS.

One source said, "Expect the charm to come from Travolta and the crazy stuff from Madsen. It will follow the pair’s exploits around a club they own, set in the late 1980s. There is also an argument between the brothers over a woman." Tarantino reportedly hopes to finish the script early next year and begin shooting in the summer.

Looks like Maximus (Russell Crowe) may be coming back from the dead in GLADIATOR 2.

Maximus refuses to be minimized. It looks like Russell Crowe will be back in a big way in "Gladiator 2."

But isn't he dead?!??!

Walter Parkes, co-head of DreamWorks and the film's producer says that "dead" is a relative term in toga times.

"Maximus did die in the first 'Gladiator,' but the Romans had a great belief in the afterlife. Russell is exploring some ideas on how to come back."

And this isn't as strange as it sounds because "Gladiator 2" isn't exactly a sequel or a prequel, according to the filmmaker. "We can go backwards in time and forward," says Parkes. As for plot secrets, he divulges, "The piece revolves around Connie Nielsen's son, who is the last heir of Marcus Aurelius. Rome has become a fascist state and we have a prince who needs to find out who was his father."

Wink, wink, could it be Maximus? Parkes isn't saying, but he does insist that the sequel "must be more than the good guys fighting the bad guys in an arena."

Speaking of which, the Roman Coliseum that was built for the first film isn't there anymore. "That's a terrible thing. The set we built had to be torn down for insurance reasons. We built ancient Rome and now we have to rebuild Rome and it won't be done in a day."

Parkes doesn't know if director Ridley Scott will be back to run this toga party. "I dream that he does it," Parkes says.

Are They Teasing?

Director Steven Spielberg was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal last week about Minority Report, Indy 4 and his new film, Catch Me If You Can. During the discussion, he mentioned the possibility of Raiders on DVD - here's the relevant passage:

Q. "E.T." is finally out on DVD after a long wait. Fans of Indiana Jones are hoping "Raiders of the Lost Ark" won't be far behind, but Paramount is mum. Can you fill us in?

A. We're aiming for next fall. George Lucas and I are having an argument with Paramount. Paramount wants to come out with all three [Indiana Jones] movies in one package. George [writer and producer of "Raiders"] and I want to come out with one film at a time and then come out with all three movies, and maybe even the fourth one, in one package later. (Paramount says there is no argument and discussions are ongoing.)

Interesting no? Format aside, it looks like there's a real possibility that Indiana Jones will be brandishing his whip on your TV screens before 2003 is out.

Twain, Dixie Chicks Lead Way on Pop Charts

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The leading ladies of country music, Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks, claimed the top two spots on the U.S. pop music charts on Wednesday, while a posthumous package from R&B singer Aaliyah debuted at No. 3.

Meanwhile, Whitney Houston's first studio album in four years, "Just Whitney," opened at No. 9. But fellow diva Mariah Carey's closely watched comeback, "Charmbracelet," slid 11 places to No. 14 in its second week, one of only three holdovers in the top 50 to post lower sales during the busy holiday season.

Canadian native Twain's fourth album "Up!" logged its fourth week at No. 1 with sales of more than 373,000 copies in the week ended Dec. 15, her Mercury Nashville Records label said. Sales to date stand at 2.2 million units.

The Dixie Chicks' former chart-topper, "Home," jumped seven places to No. 2 on the heels of a high-rated TV special broadcast last Tuesday. Sales of the Texas trio's third major-label release more than doubled to nearly 295,000 copies, taking its haul to 3 million after 16 weeks, said the group's Columbia Records label.

Aaliyah's "I Care 4 U," a collection of hits and previously unreleased tracks, opened at No. 3 with 279,500 units sold. Her last album, released just before she was killed in a plane crash in August 2001, peaked at weekly sales of 306,000 copies the week after her death. She was signed to privately held Blackground Records, which released the album through Universal Records.

Perhaps helped by publicity surrounding Houston's recent revelations of past drug abuse in a TV interview, "Just Whitney" sold 205,000 copies, the best first-week tally ever for the singer, Arista Records said. Her last studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," opened at No. 13 in November 1998 with 123,000 units sold its first week out.

"Whitney's core following of loyal fans have rallied behind her in a way that underscores a profound love affair with their favorite singer," Arista president Antonio "L.A." Reid said in a statement.

The top 10 contained one other new release. Urban boy band B2K's "Pandemonium!" opened at No. 10 with nearly 195,000 copies sold, its Epic Records label said.

Carey's "Charmbracelet," her first release for Island Records a year after her Virgin Records debut, "Glitter," flopped and she suffered a breakdown, sold 173,000 copies, bringing its two-week total to 415,000.

Mercury Records Nashville, Universal Records and Island Records are units of Vivendi Universal SA. Columbia Records and Epic Records are units of Sony Corp. Arista Records is a unit of Bertelsmann AG. Virgin Records is a unit of EMI Group Plc.

'Rings' Leads Charge to Record Movie Box Office

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Spiders, clones, hobbits and one "Big Fat Greek Wedding" all add up to a big fat box office for Hollywood movie studios in 2002.

With widely anticipated epic "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" debuting nationwide on Wednesday to sold-out theaters, box office watchers are predicting a record year of more than $9.1 billion in domestic movie theater ticket sales for all of 2002, up over 10 percent from last year.

"It truly is a 'wow' year. Sometimes we get carried away, but this year it's different," said Dan Marks, executive vice president at box office tracker AC Nielsen/EDI.

Marks said there has been only a small 3 percent to 4 percent hike in ticket prices, meaning the major portion of the box office rise comes from increased admissions.

But he, like others, said the box office has been powered by a long list of solid performances this year, ranging from the likes of "Spider-Man" with its $404 million domestic haul to the surprise indie hit of the year, comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with $215 million at domestic box offices.

Through this past Sunday, the box office from U.S. and Canadian theaters stood at $8.45 billion, up over 12 percent from $7.52 billion at the same time last year, according to AC Nielsen.

Marks expects the domestic total will top $9.1 billion with "Two Towers" playing strong on its first day, and major movies such as the "Catch Me if You Can," "Gangs of New York" and "Two Weeks Notice" still set for release.

The industry's other major box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Inc. estimates full year box office at roughly $9.2 billion. It puts year-to-date ticket sales at $8.7 billion compared with last year's $7.7 billion.

The two services calculate numbers differently, depending on the number of days or weekends figured into the year with AC Nielsen reporting a 2001 final total at $8.15 billion and Exhibitor Relations calling it $8.35 billion.

COLUMBIA CURRENT LEADER

Exhibitor Relations projects average ticket sales price up 3.5 percent to $5.85 on the year with admissions rising 6.4 percent to 1.57 billion by the time the holiday season ends.

AC Nielsen said the current market share leader is clearly Sony Corp.'s Columbia Pictures -- the "Spider-Man" studio -- with $1.5 billion at domestic box offices.

The Walt Disney Co.'s Buena Vista unit is in the No. 2 spot with $1.14 billion followed by News Corp. Ltd.'s 20th Century Fox with $1.02 billion led by "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" and AOL Time Warner's Warner Bros. in the No. 4 slot with $980 million.

But those figures will change with Warner putting out Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice" on Friday and AOL unit New Line Cinema pumping out "Two Towers" today.

Disney unit Miramax Films hits theaters with "Gangs," an Oscar-caliber movie starring Leonard DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day Lewis, on Friday and kids movie "Pinocchio," starring Roberto Benigni, on Dec. 25.

"This looks like a huge Christmas with all the new movies out there," said Art Levitt, chief executive of online ticket seller Fandango.com

He said the site's advance sales for "Two Towers" have surpassed any other movie at the same point with over 100,000 tickets sold so far. "Two Towers" purchases are comprising 97 percent of Fandango.com's total sales.

Rick King, spokesman for the AMC Entertainment Inc.'s nationwide theater chain, said the movie's advance sales were over twice what they were last year for the first installment, and fans lined up to get into debut screenings after midnight.

The film is the second in the series of three movies based on the classic novels of J.R.R. Tolkien about the struggle between good and evil, hobbits and orcs, in the fictional land of Middle-earth. The first, "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" racked up $860 million at worldwide box offices.

McCartney Tells Yoko Ono to Chill Over Credits

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Let it be, said Paul McCartney to Yoko Ono. McCartney, in a lengthy statement released on Wednesday, rejected suggestions that the widow of his late partner John Lennon might have a court case because he reversed the credits on Beatles songs on his latest album from the traditional "Lennon-McCartney" to "by Paul McCartney and John Lennon."

McCartney's new album "Back In The U.S. Live 2002," lists 19 classic Beatles songs that way and McCartney said, "The truth is that this is much ado about nothing and there is no need for anybody to get their knickers in a twist."

While some press reports have indicated that Ono was considering litigation over the matter, her spokesman Elliot Mintz told Reuters: "This is not an issue involving a legal matter.... She is secure in the knowledge that the agreement that has been in place for the past 40 years stands," he said.

Mintz said that in the past McCartney has asked Ono to reverse the order of songwriting credit and that she has repeatedly rejected his requests on the grounds that a "deal is a deal." Mintz said McCartney did not contact Ono for his most recent CD.

But, "regardless of what occurred on his last CD, Yoko is confident that the original Lennon/McCartney agreement is going to stand in future matters of this nature and this matter does not involve litigation," he said.

'RATHER SILLY DISPUTE'

In his statement, McCartney said he was not worried about Ono's displeasure but thought it was time to make the facts clear over this "long-running and rather silly dispute."

McCartney has long complained that Lennon, for instance, had no input in the hit "Yesterday," which McCartney wrote.

McCartney said Lennon accurately divided credit for each of their songs in a Playboy magazine article and that he and Lennon were in complete agreement as to who had done what. McCartney himself spelled out the exact writing credits for Barry Miles's book "Many Years From Now."

McCartney said Beatles manager Brian Epstein and Lennon independently decided in Epstein's London office that the billing would be "songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney"

"I said 'What about McCartney/Lennon?' They said 'We'll do this for now and we can change it around to be fair at any point in the future,"' McCartney said.

"(Being) reassured by this, I let the matter go and our songs became known as Lennon/McCartney songs, a fact I was perfectly happy about," he said, but recalled years later when he made a request to Ono to reverse the order for "Yesterday" for the "Beatles Anthology."

"At first she said yes, but then she rang back a couple of hours later and reversed her decision," McCartney said.

"I personally don't see any harm in John's songs such as 'Strawberry Fields' and 'Help' being labeled 'by John Lennon and Paul McCartney' and my songs such as 'Let It Be' and 'Eleanor Rigby' being labeled 'by Paul McCartney and John Lennon'," he said.

McCartney said it was time for people like Ono to be a little generous and "not have a problem with his suggestion of how to simply map out for those who do not know who wrote which of the songs."

Pee-Wee Herman Star Pleads Innocent to Porn Charge

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor-comedian Paul Reubens, best known as children's television favorite Pee-wee Herman, pleaded innocent on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography.

The plea was entered by Reubens' attorney during an arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court, and a pre-trial hearing was set for Jan. 3, a spokesman for the City Attorney's Office said.

Reubens, whose career was nearly derailed in 1991 by a lewd conduct scandal, was not present for the arraignment. A spokeswoman for Reubens said the 50-year-old entertainer stood by a statement released last month saying the charge against him was "untrue and without merit."

The misdemeanor charge stems from a search of Reubens' home conducted in November 2001, when police "uncovered materials that we believe depict minors engaged in sexual activity," the City Attorney's spokesman said.

At issue in the case, according to Reubens' publicist and his lawyer, were a handful of images from "an extensive collection of vintage physique art photography" seized at his home by police. His attorney, Blair Berk, has said her client was unaware the collection contained anything improper.

Reubens' publicist said last month the investigation was sparked by unspecified allegations made by a teenager against Reubens and another actor, Jeffrey Jones, who was charged in a separate case.

Jones, who played the principal in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," pleaded innocent last month to possessing child pornography and a felony count of using a minor for sex acts for allegedly hiring a 14-year-old boy to pose for sexually explicit photos.

Reubens, famed for his Pee-wee Herman persona, the nerdy man-child host of the popular children's TV show "Pee-wee's Playhouse," had his career nearly destroyed in 1991 when he was arrested for allegedly masturbating in an adult movie theater.

He later pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure and has since made a slow comeback with various character roles in film and TV shows.

The Wait Is Over

"The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers" opens in theatres today.

Chris, who has seen it, says: "VERY engrossing - the 3 hours went by in a flash. Get the small pop so you don't have to pee and miss a scene."

Dan, who hasn't, says: "Get the big soda and wear an adult diaper!"

Don't Miss That "New" Catch Phrase About Who Will Be Back

Oh yes, here it is! T3.

Hope the film is as good as the trailer.

Bay Boys II

Due next summer, here's the trailer for BAD BOYS II.

Notice that Martin Lawrence has top billing over Will Smith. Now that is funny!

‘GREEK WEDDING' IS NOW ‘GREEK LIFE'

As box-office returns continue to pour in for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," CBS is updating its original plans for a TV version.

CBS shot the pilot for a show to be called "My Big Fat Greek Family" starring the funny woman, Nia Vardalos, last March - after the film had been made but before it was released.

But the success of her film, released in April, has changed the fate of that little "backup" sitcom.

The title has been changed to "My Big Fat Greek Life," and every cast member from the movie, except for John Corbett, who played the WASPy boyfriend, has agreed to appear in the TV show.

Additionally, instead of centering the pilot around the wedding day, Vardalos insisted they launch the series the day after the boisterous family event.

"We'd like to see the journey between honeymoon and 6-year-old [daughter]," Vardalos says in her upbeat, husky voice. Brad Grey Television, which is producing the show for CBS and which also handles such successes as "The Sopranos," will reshoot the pilot next month.

The decision to scrap the original pilot is a good indication of how Vardalos' leverage at the network has changed.

'Spinal Tap,' others join National Film Registry

WASHINGTON (AP) — Crank up the volume to 11 forever: This is Spinal Tap will be preserved by the National Film Registry.

The mordant 1984 "mockumentary" of rock star pretensions joins the children's classic The Black Stallion, sci-fi groundbreaker Alien, and 22 other films selected this year for preservation by the Library of Congress.

Also included are All My Babies, a 1953 film made to educate midwives in the South, and Through Navajo Eyes, a 1966 series of documentaries on an Indian tribe.

The registry now contains 350 films. Making the list helps "ensure that the film is preserved for all time," the library said in a statement.

"The selection of a film, I stress, is not an endorsement of its ideology or content, but rather a recognition of the film's importance in American film and cultural history and history in general," Congressional Librarian James H. Billington said.

Spinal Tap was not the first satire to use the documentary form to needle its subject, but with its would-be geniuses delivering bloated confessionals and staging "events" that go hilariously awry, it has become the template for others. The Country Bears, a Disney outing this year, was in part a homage to Spinal Tap.

In one memorable moment, rock auteur Nigel Tufnel, played by Christopher Guest, explains his pride and joy — an amplifier with dials that reach 11— to a documentarian played by the film's real director, Rob Reiner.

"It's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?"

Alien, the 1979 Ridley Scott film, veered cinematic science fiction sharply away from the sunny optimism of Star Wars,Star Trek and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and restored the threat of the unknown to space exploration. It also established what was then almost unknown: the strong female sci-fi lead, played by Sigourney Weaver.

Other films included are Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful, a scorching 1952 examination of how Hollywood exploits and discards talent, starring Kirk Douglas; and to From Stump to Ship, a 1930 documentary on logging in Maine.

There's Fuji, 1974, Robert Breer's experimental travelogue on a train trip in Japan, and The Endless Summer, a 1988 documentary about two surfers hoping to catch the perfect wave. The Black Stallion, Carroll Ballard's 1979 adaptation film of the Walter Farley children's classic, is also on the list.

One of the selections is over a century old: The Star Theatre records the 1901 demolition of a New York theater.

Also on the list is a film version of Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan, made in 1925, Boyz N the Hood, John Singleton's 1991 account of Los Angeles gang life, and Melody Ranch, 1938, which starred Gene Autry, the first singing cowboy.

Emphasizing the need to preserve film, Billington said that half the movies produced before 1950 and between 80 and 90% of those dating before 1920 have been lost to chemical deterioration.

More Classic Indy Characters Are Returning!

In news that will give even your Granny confidence, Steven Spielberg has confirmed that Sir Sean Connery will reprise his role as Jones Sr in the next instalment of Indy's adventures.

Upping the average age of the cast by a couple of decades while injecting his inimitable class and charisma, the least 72-year-old Connery will do is make Harrison Ford look a little more sprightly. Faced with Indy's daily trials of an outsized polystyrene ball, a Nazi thug half his age and a lovely leading lady to cop off with, at 60 years strong Ford will certainly have his work cut out.

And if evil Nazi henchmen and age-old curses weren't enough, Indy's going to have to cope with a phalanx of ex's too, if Spielberg's other comments to the Chicago Sun Times were anything to go by. The bookish lothario will be faced with the ghosts of girlfriends past as his former lovers, including Marion from the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, pop up in the new film. Spielberg commented "I'd like to get Karen Allen back for one soundbite and there are other Indy girls who had smaller roles who will come back." But what about Mrs Spielberg herself? Kate Capshaw aka Willie Scott from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom may not be returning in front of her hubbie's camera. Spielberg explained, "Frank Darabont, who is writing the script, called me and said, 'I'm not sure we can work her into the script too'".

The Day Is Finally Here!

The Back To The Future Trilogy debuts on DVD for the first time today!

So don't call me tonight because I will be watching them!

Oh, and if you want to watch something else here's the rest of today's new DVD and Video releases.

Of course watching something else today makes as much sense as a screen door on a battleship!

Here's A Look At The Poster For The Incredible Hulk

Now Available

One of the year's most interesting films debuts on DVD today. Tom Cruise stars and Steven Spielberg directs "Minority Report."

The 2-disc DVD Features include:
* "Minority Report: From Story to Screen": Steven Spielberg recounts his approach to the film's characters and storyline
* "Deconstructing Minority Report": learn how Spielberg brought together a think tank of some of the world's most renowned minds and how this elite group conceived the near-future world of the film
* "The Stunts of Minority Report": how the thrilling action sequences and stunts were created
* "The Digital World of Minority Report": ILM explains the visual effects
* "Final Report": a discussion with Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise
* Minority Report Archives: production concepts, storyboard sequences, production photographs, production notes, and bios
* Widescreen anamorphic format
* Number of discs: 2

Bond Producer Says Brosnan Here to Stay

LOS ANGELES - With the success of his fourth James Bond film, Pierce Brosnan's lock on the 007 franchise seems secure.

The James Bond team is happy with its star, "Die Another Day" producer Barbara Broccoli told AP Radio. She has a standard comeback when asked who might fill Brosnan's shoes in the future.

"It's like asking a bride as she's going up the aisle who her next husband is going to be," Broccoli said. "I mean, he is James Bond. He's our guy. And until he's no longer James Bond, we ain't looking anywhere."

Brosnan previously played the British spy in "GoldenEye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997) and "The World is Not Enough" (1999).

"Die Another Day," co-starring undeserving Oscar winner Halle Berry, has earned more than $100 million in four weeks of release.

Broccoli said she believes the popularity of the "Austin Powers" spy spoof film series has boosted the staying power of the 40-year-old James Bond franchise.

"They tend to, I think, reflect the early Bond, the first sort of three or four. I don't think they spoof the current ones so much," she said. "They're so popular, Austin Powers, I think it just helps people enjoy going to the movies and this sort of genre."

New York Critics Vote 'Far from Heaven' Best Film

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Critically acclaimed drama "Far From Heaven" swept the 68th annual New York Film Critics Circle awards on Monday, taking five prizes, including best film and best director, and setting the stage for one of the most confused Oscar battles in years.

The 34-member New York group's naming of "Far From Heaven" as best picture came after film critic groups in Los Angeles and Boston chose different pictures this weekend.

Los Angeles critics picked Alexander Payne's "About Schmidt" on Saturday as the year's best picture while Boston critics selected Roman Polanski's Holocaust film "The Pianist" as its surprise winner. To top it off, the National Board of Review, a veteran film appreciation society, chose yet another film as its best of the year: "The Hours," a film based on the life and work of novelist Virginia Woolf.

Critics awards often serve as precursors to the Oscars, which are chosen in March. All that is clear at the moment is that it is a strong field with no obvious front-runner.

The New York critics named "Far From Heaven's" Todd Haynes as best director and the film's Dennis Quaid and Patricia Clarkson as best supporting actor and supporting actress.

In addition, Edward Lachman was named best cinematographer for his work on the 1950s drama of a marriage rocked by the husband's affair with another man.

Daniel Day-Lewis was named best actor by the New York critics for his work on "Gangs of New York," beating out Jack Nicholson, the star of "About Schmidt," in what a spokesman for the group said was a closely fought battle.

But in an unexpected upset, Diane Lane was named best actress for her role as the roaming wife in "Unfaithful," beating Julianne Moore who was up for her work as the wife in "Far From Heaven."

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron's "Y tu mama tambien" was named best foreign film and Japan's Hayao Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" was named the year's best animated film.

"Standing In The Shadows Of Motown," directed by Paul Justman, was chosen as the year's best non-fiction film while the award for best first film was given to "Roger Dodger."

The New York critics award for best screenplay went to "Adaptation" written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman.

The Back To The Future Trilogy Debuts On DVD Tomorrow!

Wife of Survivor finalist Heidik charged with spousal battery

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The wife of Survivor: Thailand finalist Brian Heidik faces trial Monday for allegedly attacking her husband, officials said.

Charmaine Heidik, 30, was arrested Nov. 17 at the couple's suburban Los Angeles home in Quartz Hill, according to the district attorney's office. She faces a misdemeanour count of spousal battery.

Released without bail, she was ordered by the court to stay at least 90 metres away from her husband and his residence and not own or use any deadly weapons, according to Court TV's The Smoking Gun Web site.

Heidik allegedly punched her husband in the nose, the Web site said.

She has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 US fine, the district attorney's office said Friday. Superior Court Judge Randolph Rogers was scheduled to hear the case.

The CBS reality series Survivor: Thailand will conclude with a two-hour episode airing Thursday in which the $1 million winner will be decided. Brian Heidik is one of four finalists.

Weekend Box Office Results

LOS ANGELES - Jennifer Lopez's romantic "Maid in Manhattan" cleaned up at the weekend box office, narrowly sweeping past "Star Trek: Nemesis."

"Maid" debuted with $19 million, while the 10th "Star Trek" adventure took second place with $18.75 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Premiering at No. 3 with $13.05 million was "Drumline," an energetic tale of a Harlem drummer playing in a marching band at a Southern university. Rob Schneider's horrible comedy "The Hot Chick" debuted with $7.5 million, tying for No. 4 with the James Bond flick "Die Another Day," last weekend's top movie.

It was the first time in weeks that new movies led the box-office charts. "Die Another Day" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" had been duking it out for the No. 1 and 2 spots over the last few weekends.

That pattern will continue next weekend with a big lineup of debuts, including "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" and Sandra Bullock's romance "Two Weeks Notice."

The overall box office rose slightly, with the top 12 movies grossing $90.5 million, up 3 percent from the same weekend last year.

"Maid in Manhattan," a "Pretty Woman"-style romance, stars Lopez as a hotel housekeeper wooed by a political heir, played by Ralph Fiennes. Women made up 60 percent of the audience.

Though "Two Weeks Notice" will compete for the same crowd, "Maid in Manhattan" has a good head-start on the holidays, when romantic comedies tend to draw solid audiences, said Tom Sherak, a partner in Revolution Studios, which produced the movie for distributor Sony.

"It's a great opening, and now we're about to come up on the 10 biggest consecutive days of the year, the time when people really go out to the movies," Sherak said.

"Star Trek: Nemesis" had the weakest debut for the franchise since 1991's "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," the last adventure starring the original 1960s TV cast. The three previous "Trek" movies featuring the "Next Generation" cast each opened with $22 million or more.

The 35-year-old franchise is showing its age, with men older than 25 making up the biggest share of the audience.

"But we still feel comfortable going into the holidays," said Wayne Lewellen, head of distribution for "Star Trek" studio Paramount. "We're hoping the audience that didn't show up this weekend will find the movie in the next few weekends."

Jack Nicholson's dark comedy "About Schmidt" opened strongly in limited release, taking in $283,000 at six theaters for a whopping $47,167 average. Nicholson plays a drab, retired insurance man who re-examines his life and isn't sure he likes what he sees.

Directed by Alexander Payne ("Election"), "About Schmidt" was picked as the year's best film Saturday by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, which also named Nicholson best actor. It expands to more cities Friday and right after New Year's.

Also opening in limited release was the feel-good Irish drama "Evelyn," with "Die Another Day" star Pierce Brosnan. "Evelyn" took in $72,000 at 15 theaters for a $4,800 average.

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

1. "Maid in Manhattan," $19 million.
2. "Star Trek: Nemesis," $18.75 million.
3. "Drumline," $13.05 million.
4 (tie). "The Hot Chick," $7.5 million.
4 (tie). "Die Another Day," $7.5 million.
6. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $6.15 million.
7. "Analyze That," $5.3 million.
8. "The Santa Clause 2," $4 million.
9. "Treasure Planet," $3 million.
10. "Empire, "$2.8 million.

North Korea Says Bond Movie Insults Korea

SEOUL (Reuters) - James Bond was tortured by North Korea agents in his latest film, "Die Another Day," and now he's being flogged again by his latest foe for "insulting the Korean nation."

North Korea on Saturday urged the United States to stop showing the 20th James Bond feature film, calling it a "dirty and cursed burlesque aimed to slander (North Korea) and insult the Korean nation...," said the Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.

The MGM studio hit, starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry "clearly proves" the United States is "the root cause of all disasters and misfortune of the Korean nation" and is "an empire of evil," said the committee, which deals with South Korean affairs.

Its statement was reported by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.

In his latest adventure, Bond takes a hovercraft through the heavily fortified frontier dividing North and South Korea. He is caught and tortured in North Korea before being released in a prisoner exchange.

The movie has also irked South Koreans, who especially object to a scene where Bond has sex in a Buddhist temple.

The movie, which does not open in Seoul theaters until year's end, also shows a farmer tilling his field with a cow, which Korean critics say makes the country appear backward.

"The United States should stop at once the show," the North Korean statement said, because it describes "the DPRK as part of an 'axis of evil', inciting inter-Korean confrontation, groundlessly despising and insulting the Korean nation and malignantly desecrating even religion."

The DPRK is an acronym for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea.

The United States is "the headquarters that spreads abnormality, degeneration, violence and fin de siecle corrupt sex culture," the statement said.

L.A. Critics Pick 'About Schmidt' as Best Movie

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Film Critics on Saturday picked drama "About Schmidt," starring Jack Nicholson, as the year's top movie, splitting the two major critics' awards so far as the 2002 Hollywood movie awards season heads into a pivotal week with more honors ahead.

"Far From Heaven," which along with the drama "The Hours" claimed the title of best actress for Julianne Moore, landed in the Los Angeles critics' group No. 2 spot. Isabelle Huppert took the runner-up spot for best actress in the Holocaust drama "The Piano Teacher."

Nicholson shared best actor honors with Daniel Day-Lewis for the widely anticipated Martin Scorcese drama "Gangs of New York." With the shared award, there was no runner-up in that category.

The Los Angeles Critics Association, a group of 50 local movie reviewers, are among the first of the major critics' organizations this year to put out their annual award list. Still to come this week is the New York Film Critics Circle on Monday and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globe nominations on Thursday.

The National Board of Review has already weighed in with "The Hours" as the top film of the year followed by musical "Chicago" and "Gangs of New York" in the third spot.

The early critics awards often help narrow the choice of candidates for the Oscars in March.

In "Schmidt" Nicholson plays a 66 year-old retiree on a search for meaning in his life. "Far From Heaven" has Moore portraying a 1950's housewife whose husband is gay. "Chicago" is based on the musical of the same name and "Gangs of New York" tells of turn of the century gang wars in the city.

The L.A. critics picked acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar as the year's top director for "Talk to Her," which looks at how men deal with love relationships. The runner-up was Todd Haynes for "Far From Heaven.

Chris Cooper for "Adaptation" was named best supporting actor with Christopher Walken as the runner-up for "Catch Me If You Can." Edie Falco was the favorite supporting actress for "Sunshine State" followed by Kathy Bates for "About Schmidt."

Screenplay honors went to Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for "About Schmidt" with Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman runner-ups. Best foreign language film award went to Mexican hit "Y Tu Mama Tambien," followed by "Talk to Her."

McCartney, Ono in Beatles Credits Dispute - Report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Even though the Holidays are here Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney are not giving peace a chance.

Attorneys for the widow of former Beatle John Lennon are examining whether she has legal recourse after McCartney reversed the traditional "Lennon-McCartney" songwriting credit on his new album, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday.

The Times said 19 songs on McCartney's live collection, "Back in the U.S.," were credited to "Paul McCartney and John Lennon," breaking a 40-year custom. Even Beatles songs written solely by McCartney, such as "Yesterday," were always credited as "Lennon-McCartney."

The paper said one of Ono's lawyers indicated on Friday he was "looking into" whether or not she could take legal action to stop the modification of the credit.

The attorney told the Times the change in credit runs counter to an agreement the two made 40 years ago.

A spokesman for McCartney replied that the two never had a firm deal requiring the credits to be done in a certain way.

Monica Lewinsky Banned from Italian TV Show

ROME (Reuters) - Italian television usually loves sex and scandal, but putting Monica Lewinsky on daytime TV on a Sunday close to Christmas was apparently too much for some.

So it was that the former White House intern, who hit the headlines in 1998 over her affair with former President Bill Clinton, came to Italy all dressed up for a TV party -- with no place to go.

Lewinsky was to have been the star guest on "Domenica In" (Sunday In), a talk show that goes on for about five hours and offers a mix of dancing, sport and interviews with everyone from priests to pop stars.

But some politicians were outraged that state broadcaster RAI, which is funded by public money, planned to pay Lewinsky's expenses using taxpayers' money for an interview on a Sunday.

Rome's leading newspaper, La Repubblica, dedicated two pages to the debate. Milan's Corriere della Sera ran four articles.

RAI president Antonio Baldassarre expressed concern and network executives yanked Lewinsky off the show late on Saturday. The move was applauded by Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri.

Tuesday Is Almost Here!

The Back To The Future Trilogy debuts on DVD Tuesday, December 17th, 2002.

Spielberg and Ford Pick Up the Whip Again for 'Indiana Jones IV'

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Finding the answer to whether or not there will be a fourth "Indiana Jones" movie has been as long, complex and elusive as the search for the Holy Grail. One minute it's in front of you, and then it appears to disappear in the mist.

While earlier this summer Harrison Ford toyed with the idea that he would be willing to star in another installment of the blockbuster series, he wouldn't come straight out and say that it was actually happening.

"I'll wait until I get a script that I can commit to, then I'll pick up the whip again," he told Zap2it during interviews for "K-19: The Widowmaker."

However, the grail may finally be within grabbing distance. Steven Spielberg has confirmed to "Access Hollywood" that Harrison Ford is on board for "Indiana Jones IV" and that production is slated to begin in 2004 for a 2005 release.

During an interview for his latest film, "Catch Me If You Can," Spielberg told Pat O'Brien that the new script is written and has been approved, and that he will direct the project himself.

Peter Jackson talks extras for the LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS DVD.

While anyone with the sense of a common greenfly will be curled up over the Christmas holiday with a copy of the Extended Fellowship of the Ring spinning happily in their DVD player, director, Peter Jackson has already got the next set of home releases planned. While we'll doubtless see a standard release of The Two Towers next year, we'll very likely see a second extended edition emerge towards the tail-end of 2003, including a wealth of material that didn't make the film's final cut.

"Yeah, we've got some good scenes that we didn't put in," Jackson told Empire Online. "There's a lot more stuff with Merry, Pippin and Treebeard. There's the sequence from the book where they drink Ent draught - which we shot but didn't end up putting in the movie because of pacing, but that'll be good for the DVD. There's a bunch of good scenes."

And what of Return of the King, has Jackson already got the third film slated for an unabridged DVD release? "Actually, we haven't cut it yet. I'll find out once we cut the film together, then we'll see what's in the movie and what we're going to leave out and finally, whether or not that's worth putting on a DVD." Something tells us the answer will be a resounding 'yes'.

DIAMOND DAVE

David Lee Roth filing a lawsuit against his former Van Halen bandmates accusing them of failing to pay him royalties. He's seeking more than $200,000 in damages.

Futurama and Family Guy finally get some respect from Fox

Two programs on The Fox Network have long been ignored to the point of cancellation; the fresh if always envelope pushing The Family Guy and the surrealistic Futurama. Finally, both shows will be getting released on DVD as Season One box sets this Spring.

The Futurama set will contain all the episodes from the first season as well as many extras which bear a resemblance to the Simpsons box sets which come from the same creators. Audio commentary from various sources will accompany every episode. Also included are some deleted scenes, a featurette (which if like other Fox featurettes, will be part of a larger documentary), animatics, scripts and storyboards for the first episode "Space Pilot 3000" and a still gallery.

The Family Guy will also contain all the episodes from the first season and as well as television spots for each episode and audio commentaries on the episodes "Death Has A Shadow", "The Son Also Draws", " Peter, Peter, Caviar Eater", "Holy Crap", "Fifteen Minutes Of Shame", "Let's Go To The Hop", " He's Too Sexy For His Fat" and "E. Peterbus Unum,".

Although these sets will not be remixed in Digital 5.1 like other series sets, they look to otherwise be of pretty high quality. Futurama will arrive on March 25th, and The Family Guy will arrive the first week of April. Both will be priced at $49.95.

Whitney Houston's 'Just Whitney' On Track For Huge Opening Week

Whitney Houston's new Arista Records album, Just Whitney, will be the Number One album on next week's Billboard 200 albums chart if it maintains its currently explosive sales pace.

The album, which came out Tuesday (December 10), sold more than 200,000 copies on its first day, breaking Houston's prior one-day sales record, according to the singer's official website. The previous record was set in 1995 when the soundtrack for Waiting To Exhale sold 177,284 units on its first day of release.

To put Houston's one-day sales feat into perspective, it took Mariah Carey's new MonarC/Island Records album, Charmbracelet, a full week to sell more than 241,000 copies.

Entertainment Weekly Picks Denzel Top Entertainer

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Capping a stellar year for actor Denzel Washington, showbiz magazine Entertainment Weekly picked the Oscar winning actor and, now, director as 2002's top entertainer in its edition hitting newsstands on Friday.

"Denzel reached new heights in his career this year, artistically, commercially and in a business sense," said Dave Karger, senior writer and author of the magazine's cover story on the actor.

Following Washington on the list was "Spider-Man" Tobey Maguire in second, The Osbournes third, actress writer Nia Vardalos of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fourth and rounding out the top five were Simon Cowell and Kelly Clarkson from hit TV show "American Idol."

Karger said that it wasn't so much what Washington had accomplished winning Oscars or scoring big at box offices, but in directing his first movie, the personal drama "Antwone Fisher," which opens in New York on Dec. 19.

"And its not only that he directed his first movie, but it is a fantastic movie ... It's not that he did it, but that he did it in a really accomplished way," Karger said.

Still, add up the 2002 accomplishments for Washington, and it's a pretty impressive list.

In March, he earned the best actor Oscar for playing a corrupt cop in "Training Day," becoming only the second black American to claim Hollywood's highest acting honor -- Sidney Poitier was the first in 1963's "Lilies of the Field."

The Oscar was his second after taking supporting actor honors for 1989's "Glory." It came as his "John Q," in which he plays a man who takes over a hospital emergency room because he can't get attention for his sick son, was claiming a box office victory after few industry pundits had given it much a chance.

OSCAR BUZZ

Washington, too, scored his first $20 million paycheck for thriller, "Out of Time," putting him among Hollywood's highest paid leading men.

To top it all off, his directorial debut, the low budget drama "Antwone Fisher," about a young man's heroic efforts to find the family that abandoned him, is also receiving -- you guessed it -- Oscar buzz.

But if there is one man who doesn't care about so much about all that Oscar attention, it is Washington. He tells the magazine that despite being an Academy member, he doesn't even vote in the annual awards.

"My wife takes care of that because she's a real film buff," he said. "They may throw me out of the Academy or whatever, but she actually watches them all.

Washington recalled that he came to Hollywood 20 years ago to act in early 1980's television show "St. Elsewhere," and that right after winning the Academy Award this past year, he was thinking about his long climb to the top.

"I was going, 'Boy, that was an interesting 20-year chapter," he said.

The actor, who turns 48 years old this month, said that as he begins a new chapter of his life, he has looked at the careers of the likes of Clint Eastwood and Warren Beatty, who also transitioned from acting to the director's chair.

"In the back of my mind, I was going, 'You know, sooner or later, the calls are going to stop coming. From 2002 to 2022, what do you go for now?' I think filmmaking is the next part of that," Washington told the magazine.

Stallone, MGM to Mount 'Rocky' Comeback

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The bell may be ready to ring for round 6 in the long-running series of "Rocky" movies that made Sylvester "Sly" Stallone a household name and Hollywood star.

Film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has signed Stallone to write a "Rocky VI" screenplay with an update to the story of the scrappy Philadelphia boxer who rises from a club fighter to champion of the world, gets knocked down, then rises again, an MGM spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Details were sketchy because Stallone, who wrote 1976's original "Rocky," has just been hired, but the idea is to avoid the big-budget style of Hollywood sequels and return to the small, independent film feel of the original.

Early plans have Stallone, 56, portraying the fighter Rocky Balboa, again. But this time, he is running a youth center when he is lured out of retirement for one last fight.

The first "Rocky" was a labor of love for Stallone who, at that time, had only been in bit parts in movies such as 1974's "Lords of Flatbush." Not only did he write "Rocky," he played Balboa.

"Rocky" was made for just over $1 million and raked in $220 million in worldwide ticket sales. It earned critical acclaim and won the Oscar for best movie.

"Rocky II" followed in 1979, and in the subsequent years MGM, Stallone and producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff teamed up for more movies culminating in 1990's "Rocky V." All the sequels grossed over $100 million in ticket sales, except for the final one, which took in a disappointing $40 million.

The idea of making "Rocky VI" a low-budget production would keep to MGM's two-pronged approach of producing sequels of popular titles already in its 4,000-film library and staying away from expensive productions that, if they flop, can hurt the company's earnings.

It ran into such a budget-busting problem this past summer with "Windtalkers," a $100 million-plus movie that looked good on paper because it had a big-name star, Nicolas Cage, and director, John Woo, but flopped at box offices.

MGM fared much better with the low-budget September film "Barbershop," which was made for less than $15 million, but snared roughly $75 million in domestic ticket sales.

'Columbine' Named Top Documentary of All Time

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Bowling for Columbine," about gun culture in America, gained momentum on Thursday as it rolls toward the Oscars, racking up the honor of best documentary of all time from the International Documentary Association.

Director Michael Moore also had the No. 3 nonfiction film on the list with his 1989 title, "Roger & Me," in which he took on automaker General Motors Corp. and its then-Chief Executive Roger Smith over a plant closure at Flint, Michigan that left thousands of employees jobless.

Coming in No. 2 was 1988's "The Thin Blue Line," about wrongful convictions in the 1976 murder of a Dallas, Texas policeman, and rounding out the top five were 1994's "Hoop Dreams" about high school basketball players and 1969's "Salesman," about four door-to-door Bible salesmen.

"All these films provide an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the human condition," said the association's executive director Sandra Ruch. "They make you think about things you might not have ever considered before."

The International Documentary Association, or IDA, was formed in 1982 to serve as a forum for documentary filmmakers, and has since grown into a respected organization for nonfiction films with some 2,700 members in 50 countries.

For the most part, documentaries are relegated to film festivals and cable television channels because the material is generally considered too cerebral for mainstream moviegoers.

But "Columbine" has been an exception, and it is considered a front-runner for this year best documentary Oscar, which is Hollywood's top film honor handed out each year in March.

"Columbine" has already scored well with audiences, tallying $12.9 million at domestic box offices, which for a documentary is a big sum.

Last week, it earned the U.S. National Board of Review honour as the year's top documentary and won audience choice award at this year's Chicago International Film Festival. Back in May, it was given a special prize at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

In "Columbine," Moore takes a wry look at the fear that seems to grip the United States and the widespread use of handguns and rifles to seemingly address that fear, even as Americans face violent crimes and murders involving guns.

Moore covers topics ranging from the shootings at Columbine high school in Colorado to the murder of a 6-year-old girl by a 6-year-old boy in Michigan, and he interviews National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston.

Oscar nominations are announced on Feb. 11, and the awards will be handed out in a gala ceremony in Los Angeles on March 23.

"Bowling for Columbine" was distributed by United Artists, a division of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. film studio.

While I was watching TV last night I started to think that if I was in a band I would call it "Dumb Fish."

So why don't you make like a tree and get outta here!

Sadly, It Doesn't Include Kajagoogoo

Do you know which band was named after a medieval torture device? Which band took their name from an Ann Rice novel? Or what O.M.D. is short for?

Well find out!

If you've ever wondered where bands and artists get their names from this website will amuse and confuse.

It also doesn't include "Hooters", so if you need an answer to that one you'll have to ask me.

Great Big Sea grabs seven ECMA noms

HALIFAX -- Perennial party staple Great Big Sea will be the great big favourite heading into the 2003 East Coast Music Awards.

In nominations announced Wednesday, the rollicking Celtic rock band from Newfoundland led the way with seven, including album of the year and entertainer of the year.

The awards show, to be hosted by comedian Rick Mercer, will be held Feb. 16 in Halifax's 10,000-seat Metro Centre and broadcast live on CBC-TV.

Mercer, a former This Hour Has 22 Minutes star, said he's thrilled to be at the helm of the annual show, which began 15 years ago in a tiny Halifax club and has grown into the region's hottest ticket each winter.

"Backstage at awards shows there are a lot of people who tend to be arseholes, I think, is the word," Mercer said during a news conference.

"But you just don't find that at the East Coast Awards. It's about as much fun as you can have on television."

Great Big Sea's popular blend of traditional music and pop-rock has made them one of the most successful acts in the country in recent years.

A five-time winner of the ECMA's entertainer of the year award, the band dominated the nominations on the strength of their most recent album, Sea of No Cares.

Great Big Sea is also nominated for single of the year, songwriter of the year, best video, pop artist/pop group of the year, and group of the year.

Singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant took five nominations while Newfoundland's the Ennis Sisters, Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster, and P.E.I. singer-songwriter Nathan Wiley each snared four.

Charlie A'Court, a 24-year-old blues artist from McCallum Settlement, N.S., was thrilled with his nominations in the blues and new artist categories.

"To me it means an extraordinary opportunity to branch out and be in front of a larger fan base," said A'Court, who performed an acoustic blues number from his album Color Me Gone during the nominations ceremony.

"It really allows me to get out there in full focus so people can really see me in my light, in what I do."

Anne Murray, the matriarch of the East Coast music scene, received two nominations -- female artist of the year and country artist.

There was no word on who will perform during the awards show, but Mercer promised it would be good.

"If the federal government decriminalizes marijuana fast enough, the light show's gonna be spectacular," he said.

Coroner: Entwistle Died From Cocaine Use

LONDON (AP) - John Entwistle, bass player of The Who, died from taking cocaine which stopped his heart from beating, a coroner ruled Wednesday.

Entwistle, 57, was found dead in his room at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on June 27, a day before the band was to start a three-month nationwide tour.

The British verdict generally agreed with the analysis of Clark County Coroner Ron Flud, who attributed the death to a combination of cocaine and heart disease. Flud concluded that the cocaine caused a heart attack by constricting Entwistle's coronary arteries, but British experts thought the drug had fatally interfered with the heart rhythm.

"The amount of cocaine found to be present was not a huge amount but in someone with pre-existing and naturally occurring heart disease it could bring about a fatal stopping in the rhythm of the heart," said Cheltenham and district coroner Lester Maddrell, who presided at Tewkesbury Magistrates Court in southwestern England.

The British inquest was required because Entwistle's body was returned to his home country for burial.

Dr. Jeremy Uff, a consultant at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, said all three of Entwistle's coronary arteries were "very narrow" with one completely blocked, which was consistent with his history of high cholesterol levels and a pack-a-day cigarette habit.

"There was no evidence of a heart attack, just changes in the heart arrhythmia — an irregularity in the pumping action of the heart," Uff said.

Toxicology tests showed no alcohol but two types of cocaine.

Professor Alexander Forrest, of Sheffield University's department of forensic pathology, said Entwistle had taken cocaine within four hours of his death.

The amount of the drug would not be lethal for a person with a healthy heart, Forrest said. "It is likely that the use of a small amount of cocaine by someone with compromised coronary arteries can be associated with sudden death."

Academy Qualifies 17 Animated Films for Oscars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The race for Oscars took another step toward the starter's block on Wednesday with 17 films qualifying in the best animated feature film category, ranging from computer hit "Ice Age" to a mix of live-action and animation in "Stuart Little 2."

This is the second season the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has nominated movies in the animated feature film group, making the race hotly contested for animators hoping to share the limelight with their live-action brethren.

Last year only nine films were eligible and three were nominated with summer hit "Shrek," eventually claiming the Oscar over "Monsters, Inc." and "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius."

A total of five animated films from the 17 qualifying can be nominated for the Oscar, which is handed out in March.

Some industry sources tied the increase in the number of films eligible for Oscars to the rise in family films in release this year. Animated movies, generally speaking, are targeted toward kids and families.

Others said that because it is the second year for the category, there was greater awareness among the industry.

They all noted the wide diversity from mainstream films like Disney's "Treasure Planet" to Spanish entry "El Bosque Animado" (The Living Forest) to faith-based "Jonah -- A VeggieTales Movie."

"It's a really good representation of the art form," said Glenn Ross, president of FHE Inc., the family division of independent studio Artisan Entertainment Inc. FHE distributed "Jonah" in what amounted to a sizable risk for company chief Amir Malin. Hollywood's major studios will normally shy away from such material.

But the movie proved successful, pulling in $25 million at domestic box offices and prompting Artisan to sign up another film from "Jonah" producers, Big Idea Productions.

STEP FORWARD

"Stuart Little 2" blends animated characters such as the mouse who wants to be a boy, Stuart, (the voice of Michael J. Fox) with live-action characters like Geena Davis as Mrs. Little and Jonathan Lipnicki as Stuart's "brother," George.

The movie was widely viewed as a step forward in animation for its interaction between the digital and human characters.

It received good reviews, but flopped at the box office. However the DVD, which debuted on retail shelves just this week, has been selling well, and that was a positive indicator for last year's winner, "Shrek."

An Academy spokesman said an eligible film must be no less than 75 percent animated, and nearly every scene in "Stuart Little 2" had some sort of digital animation.

One early front-runner will certainly be "Ice Age," which was a huge success at box offices, raking in more than $370 million in global ticket sales with its tale of prehistoric animals on a trek across the frozen tundra.

"Spirited Away," the tangled tale of a 10-year-old girl trying to restore her parents to human form from famed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, also should be considered a favorite since it shared best film honors at the 2002 Berlin Film Festival.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Feb. 11 and awards will be given out on March 23.

Other films eligible for the animated Oscar are:

"Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights"
"Eden"
"Hey Arnold! The Movie"
"Lilo & Stitch"
"Mutant Aliens"
"The Powerpuff Girls Movie"
"The Princess and the Pea"
"Return to Never Land"
"Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron"
"The Wild Thornberrys Movie"

Mariah Carey Climbs Charts, but Long Way to Go

LONDON (Reuters) - Dumped by music giant EMI Group, pop diva Mariah Carey is proving her singing career is not all washed up. But she is still a far cry from her platinum-selling glory days.

The multi-octave singer's comeback album "Charmbracelet" has outstripped her last flop "Glitter" in its first week, entering the U.S. charts at No.3, while clinging to the No.1 spot in Japan's international charts in a brutally competitive period.

However, the new album, her first under Universal Music's Island Def Jam label, is no match for previous big-time hits such as "Music Box," critics say. It has also drawn a mixed reception in key markets such as Britain where it failed to crack the top 50.

All eyes have been on "Charmbracelet's" sales after a traumatic year for Carey. She suffered an emotional breakdown and was then paid $28 million to walk away from her EMI contract, worth an estimated $100 million, after the failure of "Glitter."

Carey, who still ranks as one of the best-selling female artists of all time thanks to her early successes, subsequently signed to Island Def Jam in a three-album deal that some estimate to be worth a more modest $20 million.

The question on many music executives lips now is whether Universal will be able to make her comeback pay off.

"We never expected to explode Mariah back onto the public scene. We always thought this album would be a slow burner, and it may take two or three singles to take off," said Max Hole, senior vice president of marketing and A&R for Universal Music International, a division of media giant Vivendi Universal.

SLOW AND STEADY

Universal Music says it has sold more than two million copies of "Charmbracelet" to retailers globally, including one million in the U.S.

Actual over-the-counter sales have reached 241,000 copies in the United States and 320,000 in Japan.

By comparison, Glitter, released on September 11, 2001, has sold two million copies. However, Glitter was doomed from the start, given that it was a soundtrack to a film that bombed.

Despite an aggressive marketing campaign that has involved some of Universal's top talent and seen Carey splashed across posters and magazines, Universal executives say "Charmbracelet" only needs to sell three million copies to break even.

So, should EMI have dumped Carey?

"EMI was wrong to drop her because there are very few talented artists in the world who are household names. Whether you're in Thailand, Finland or Milwaukee, everyone knows who Mariah is," said Universal's Hole.

The problem for EMI was that it was saddled with an expensive deal, one it would always have struggled to make pay without consistent blockbuster sales.

EMI, the world's No.3 music company, also shed Carey at a time when it was under pressure to slash costs and pare back its roster in an industry suffering from tumbling sales.

EMI declined to comment.

In any event, Carey is unlikely to sell the 20 million copies that "Music Box" sold, industry experts say.

But Universal said Carey could certainly rank in the 10 million bracket -- a good return under her current deal.

"Mariah could definitely be a big seller again. She's only had one disappointment and that was a soundtrack. Lots of big artists have disappointments," one executive said.

As for Charmbracelet, Universal plans to revist markets where the album is flagging.

"People like a comeback. They like someone to overcome adversity. Mariah has had a rough time, but she's perceived to have not run away from it," said Universal's Hole.

Guns N' Roses Tour Canceled in North America

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The first U.S. tour in nine years by hell-raising rock band Guns N' Roses officially fell apart on Wednesday, as its promoter tersely announced the cancellation of the remaining shows on the ill-starred jaunt.

Clear Channel Entertainment released a two-paragraph statement that gave no reason for pulling the plug. But it followed days of speculation about the status of the group, whose only original member is volatile vocalist Axl Rose.

Rose, 40, did not show up to the group's Dec. 7 show in Philadelphia, leading to a crowd disturbance. Then, six shows were scratched, even though the tour remained officially on.

In its statement, the Clear Channel Communications Inc. unit apologized to fans for any inconvenience and said refunds would be available. A spokeswoman for the band's Interscope Records label, a unit of Vivendi Universal SA, did not return a call seeking more details.

Guns N' Roses, famed for such hard rocking hits as "Welcome to the Jungle" and "You Could Be Mine," last played on Dec. 5 to a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The tour began on an ominous note in Vancouver, B.C. last month, when fans rioted after Rose did not show up, apparently waylaid by a flight problem. The road show eventually got on its feet, although many venues were half-empty.

Rose, whose real name is William Bailey, co-founded Guns N' Roses in 1985. Even as the band sold millions of albums, it was often beset by drug-fueled internecine struggles.

Rose's colleagues either quit or were fired, and Rose spent the better part of a decade holed up at his Malibu home working on an oft-delayed opus called "Chinese Democracy" with a revolving cast of musicians.

Former Guns N' Roses members, guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin, bass player Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum, recently pooled their talents to form a new band and are seeking a vocalist.

..."The Sopranos" Finale Draws 12.5 Million Viewers

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - The 75-minute fourth-season finale of "The Sopranos" on HBO drew 12.5 million viewers -- more than any other show in its time period on any outlet.

The episode was the second most watched program in HBO history, after the "Sopranos"' season premiere, which 13.4 million viewers watched. HBO also boasted a victory among adults 18-49, 7.5 million of whom tuned in.

Overall, the 13-episode fourth season of the drama drew an average 11 million viewers during its Sunday night runs. That's up considerably from the third season, which averaged 9 million viewers and ran in the less competitive spring.

"The fourth season of the 'Sopranos' was a particularly good experience for us at HBO," David Baldwin, executive VP of program planning for HBO and Cinemax, told Daily Variety.

"We've never been this aggressive in terms of programming a fall season. We also had 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'Mind of the Married Man' stacking up on Sunday nights," Baldwin added.

Still, the performance was what HBO expected, Baldwin said.

"It mirrors almost exactly season three, mostly staying flat and staying even throughout the season," he said. "We didn't score quite as high in our finale as we did for the premiere, but that was the same kind of dynamic we experienced for season three."

The number of people who consistently watched the fourth season of "The Sopranos" was actually more than the 11 million average, which comprises the Sunday night preem only. Baldwin said about 1.3 million people tune into each episode's subsequent repeat plays throughout the week.

"There are not too many series around like 'The Sopranos,"' he said. "If you looked at homes that have HBO, our subscribers watch 'Sopranos' more than any other series on television."

'Wedding' Star Sets Buddy Comedy

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Actress Nia Vardalos will follow up her star turn in box office smash "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with "Connie and Carla," a buddy comedy set for an April start.

As with "Wedding," which has grossed more than $213 million at the North American box office, Vardalos wrote the script and will co-star; the Universal/Spyglass film's second star and director have not been selected. Plot details were not available.

Egoyan's 'Ararat' tops Genie noms

TORONTO -- Leading a pack of movies described as "an extraordinary reflection of the diversity of filmmaking in this country," Atom Egoyan's Ararat has been honoured with nine Genie Award nominations, including best picture.

The 23rd annual Genies, given for the best in home-grown cinema, will be handed out at a televised gala Feb. 13. Ararat is the story of a director trying to make a film in Toronto about the Armenian massacre of the First World War.

The other best-picture nominees include Bollywood/Hollywood, Deepa Mehta's hilarious blend of Indian and North American cinema culture; Quebec-Montreal, a road picture and first-time feature from francophone director Ricardo Trogi; Rare Birds, Sturla Gunnarsson's Newfoundland comedy about a frustrated restaurateur; and Suddenly Naked, Anne Wheeler's sexy May-September romance from the West Coast.

"Each story is told from a different part of Canada," noted Maria Topalovich, president and CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, at a Tuesday news conference. "We also see emerging filmmakers and performers nominated alongside established veterans."

Other leading nominees include Savage Messiah, a made-for-TV movie based on the real events surrounding a murderous Canadian cult leader and which played theatrically in Quebec; and Between Strangers, the Sophia Loren heart-tugger filmed in Toronto by her son Eduardo Ponti.

Missing from the list this year are those so-called industrially Canadian features, films shot in Canada by Canadian crews but which are internationally generic in nature.

Paul Gratton, vice-president of the academy's cinema division, noted how Ararat had been fraught with controversy because of its subject matter, but that rumours of Turkish protests just faded away.

"When the film was revealed at Cannes, it was something entirely different than what people expected," Gratton said. "In typical Egoyan fashion, it became a sort of rumination on the nature of history and memory and how we filter our collective memories."

David Alpay, the young University of Toronto student making his acting debut in Ararat, was on hand to help read the nominations list. He said he found out only that morning that he was nominated in the best-actor category along with co-star Christopher Plummer.

"I hope he wins, he's absolutely incredible in the film," Alpay said. "I'm just in awe, right? I'm a fan, I'm a movie fan, I watch movies all the time, so for me this is like, wow, this is great. I still feel a little disconnected from the whole thing."
Asked what he hopes Ararat will accomplish, Alpay, who like Egoyan is of Armenian heritage, said the film resonates deeply within him, which he finds emotionally fulfilling. But he had no idea why the protests dissipated, insisting he's excluded from those circles.

"You never know what to expect. You hope people have an open mind, that they go and they really think about things critically and don't just jump in."
Alpay says he's focusing on school right now and not thinking about reports that he has an acting career ahead of him as a result of his breakout performance in Ararat.

"There's so much to do right now. I've gotta get through school, gotta finish this year with good marks and . . . if something pops up and it looks good, it would be nice to read it and take a look."

Best directors include David Cronenberg for Spider, Gunnarsson for Rare Birds, Trogi for Quebec-Montreal and Wheeler for Suddenly Naked. Egoyan was not nominated.

Also competing in the best-actor category are Luc Picard for Savage Messiah, Philip Dewilde for Turning Page and Colin Roberts for Flower & Garnet.
The best actress list includes Isabelle Blais and Polly Walker for Savage Messiah, Egoyan's wife Arsinee Khanjian for Ararat, Molly Parker in Men With Brooms, and Deborah Kara Unger for Between Strangers.

The best supporting actress category includes Dina Pathak, the Indian actress who stole Bollywood/Hollywood with her performance as a feisty Shakespeare-quoting grandmother. Pathak, who died in October at 82, made more than 200 films in her career, including David Lean's 1984 epic A Passage to India.

Leading nominees for the 2002 Genie Awards:

Best Film:
* Ararat (Robert Lantos, Atom Egoyan)
* Bollywood/Hollywood (David Hamilton, Bob Wertheimer)
* Quebec-Montreal (Nicole Robert)
* Rare Birds (Paul Pope, Janet York)
* Suddenly Naked (Gavin Wilding)

Best Actor:
* David Alpay (Ararat)
* Philip Dewilde (Turning Page)
* Luc Picard (Savage Messiah)
* Christopher Plummer (Ararat)
* Colin Roberts (Flower & Garnet)

Best Actress:
* Isabelle Blais (Savage Messiah)
* Arsinee Khanjian (Ararat)
* Molly Parker (Men With Brooms)
* Deborah Kara Unger (Between Strangers)
* Polly Walker (Savage Messiah)

Best Director:
* Jean Beaudin (Le Collectionneur)
* David Cronenberg (Spider)
* Sturla Gunnarsson (Rare Birds)
* Ricardo Trogi (Quebec-Montreal)
* Anne Wheeler (Suddenly Naked)

Barbara Streisand for OCEANS TWELVE?

How does one go from Julia Roberts to Barbara Streisand? Never the less that's what's happening on OCEANS TWELVE, the sequel to OCEANS ELEVEN, with Babs pencilled in for an appearance. George Clooney has revealed the film should get rolling by mid 2003.

Mel Gibson to Return as 'Mad Max,' Report Says

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mel Gibson will earn almost $25 million to return to the "Mad Max" franchise for a fourth time, Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety said in its Tuesday edition.

The $104 million project, called "Fury Road," will start shooting in Australia next May. The project is set up at Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc.

George Miller, who directed and co-wrote the first three films, will direct "Fury Road" from a script he has been crafting for the past three years, the paper said.

It did not reveal plot details other than to note that "Mad" Max Rockatansky will once again roam the lawless, post-apocalyptic Australian outback.

The "Mad Max" franchise kicked off in 1979, and was followed in 1981 by "Mad Max: The Road Warrior" and 1985 by "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome." Daily Variety noted that for all their iconic value, the trilogy grossed only $69 million at the U.S. box office.

Gibson, 46, whose films include the "Lethal Weapon" franchise, the Oscar-winning "Braveheart" and the comedy "What Women Want," scored a big hit this year with the supernatural thriller "Signs."

The Back To The Future Films Bow On DVD next Tuesday!

Get your flux capacitor ready!

Blobby Voted Worst Christmas Hit Ever!

Mr Blobby has been named as the most annoying Christmas tune ever, beating festive classics from Rolf Harris, Renee and Renata and Bony M's Mary's Boy Child.

The 1993 novelty hit from the polka-dotted pink Mr Blobby, made famous on Noel Edmond's House Party, was voted the most irritating Christmas number one in a poll conducted by HMV UK.

In second place in the less-than-coveted top 10 was St Winifred's School Choir with their song There's No-One Quite Like Grandma, which hit the top of the charts in 1980.

Sir Cliff Richard's 1988 Yule-time offering Mistletoe and Wine was voted the third most irritating Christmas hit.

Sir Cliff is no stranger to hitting the top at Christmas, having achieved it on three occasions over the years, the last time being in 1990 with Saviour's Day.

Other Christmas turkeys include Wings' Mull of Kintyre, Bob the Builder's Can We Fix It and Renee and Renata with Save Your Love.

Perennial seasonal favourites Slade are top of the tree with their single Merry Xmas Everybody voted most popular of all time.

Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman's 2001 hit Somethin' Stupid came fifth in the most popular list but was also voted the seventh most irritating.

The Queen epic Bohemian Rhapsody, which was number one in both 1975 and 1991, came in at number two in the popular list.

Charity chart-topper Do They Know it's Christmas from Band Aid was at number three.

It has made the number one spot twice with two different line-ups of stars from the pop world, brought together by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

Other favourites include Elvis Presley's Return to Sender, The Beatles' I Want to Hold Your Hand and the Spice Girls hit 2 Become 1.

The race for the 2002 Christmas number one looks like being a straight fight between the two bands created on Popstars: The Rivals.

The female group Girls Aloud will release a cover of East 17's Christmas number one Stay Another Day, while the boy band One True Voice will release Sacred Heart, previously recorded by the Bee Gees.

Good Luck

There's not much to choose from today if you are looking for some new tunes, which I always am. Luckily, for me, the new Alanis DVD (see below) features music as well.

So I've got mine, good luck to you!

Here are the new CD releases for Tuesday, December 10, 2002:

* 2 PAC Better Dayz (Interscope)
* 702 Star (Motown)
* CATCH ME IF YOU CAN OST Catch Me If You Can OST (DreamWorks/Universal)
* COMMON The Electric Circus (MCA)
* DEPECHE MODE 86>98 + (DVD) (Warner)
* DONALD FAGEN The Nightfly (DVD Audio) (Rhino)
* DRUMLINE OST Drumline OST (Zomba)
* GANGS OF NEW YORK OST Gangs Of New York OST (Universal)
* GZA/GENIUS Legend Of The Liquid Sword (Universal)
* HOT CHICK OST Hot Chick OST (Hollywood)
* JOE PASS Meditation (Pablo)
* JOSH GROBAN In Concert (Warner)
* LINDA RONSTADT What's New (DVD Audio) (Elektra)
* LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS OST Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers OST (Warner)
* NEW ORDER Retro (Box set) (Warner)
* PETEY PABLO Still Writing In My Diary: 2nd Entry (Zomba)
* PHISH Round Room (Elektra)
* PINOCCHIO OST Pinocchio OST (Virgin)
* QUEEN LATIFAH She's A Queen: Collection Of Hits (Motown)
* S CLUB Seeing Double (Polydor)
* SWIZZ BEATZ Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories (Universal)
* T.A.T.U. 200 km/hr In The Wrong Lane (Interscope)
* TRACY CHAPMAN Let It Rain (DVD Audio) (Elektra)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Sabbath In The Suburbs (Navarre)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Ultimate British Invasion Collection (Warner)
* WAVE Don't Say Sarah (CD Single) (Domestic)

McCartney reignites Beatles feud

NEW YORK (AP) -- Paul McCartney is reopening an old wound with Yoko Ono over Beatles songwriting credits.

His new live album, "Back in the U.S.," credits 19 Beatles songs to "Paul McCartney and John Lennon," rather than "Lennon/McCartney." Ono's lawyer, Peter Shukat, tells Rolling Stone what McCartney did is "absolutely inappropriate" because Lennon and McCartney had an agreement to credit all their Beatles music to Lennon/McCartney.

McCartney disputes that claim. His spokesman, Geoff Baker, says Lennon and McCartney agreed in the 60's they could switch the names whenever they felt like it.

McCartney has been crediting his name first on Beatles songs on his solo albums since "Wings Over America" in 1976. However, for anything on the Beatles' Apple label, all band members or their estates must approve any changes unanimously.

Today's New Releases

Even though the list of new DVD and Video releases below is long and detailed, I can tell you that every title below that you think will be great isn't. Today's new releases are the most bring group of the year!

Luckily I have Alanis to watch tonight. Woooooo hooooo!

So I will be feasting on scraps tonight, and if you crave something more substantial here is the list of new DVD and Video releases for Tuesday, December 10th, 2002:

2 G's And A Key
2103: The Deadly Wake
Alanis Morissette: Feast On Scraps
Alanis Morissette: Feast On Scraps (Snap Case)
America's Wildest Bachelor Parties
Amy's O
Angels Dance
Anna Karenina
Antonia's Line
Asoka
Bangkok Dangerous
Berkeley In The Sixties
Big Momma's House
Big Momma's House (Special Edition)
The Birth Of A Nation
Blushing Bloopers
Brad Pitt: Hollywood Hunk
Bride Of The Gorilla
Captive
Cherish
Circuit
Circuit (Unrated)
Contempt
Damaged Care
Dead Awake
Dope Case Pending
Eagles Claw / Butterfly Palm
Elvis: The Final Chapter
The Emperor's New Clothes
Epicenter
Erotic Landscapes
Escape From Alaska
Fat City
The Fighting Sullivans
Final Payback
Focus Downunder
Forgotten City
Frank Sinatra: Memorial
Gang Tapes
The Gentlemen Of Fortune
The Girls Of Sunset Strip
Green Jade Statuette (Full Screen)
Halloween: Resurrection
Heaven's Fire
The Hopalong Cassidy Set (Set)
The Hopalong Cassidy Set (Set)
Hot Desires
Human Nature
I'll Take You There
Infinity
Innocence
The Innocents
Intern
Intolerance
The Invisible Circus
The Irony Of Fate (Subtitled)
The Jackass Set
Jackass: Volume 2
Jackass: Volume 3
Jacob Two-Two Meets The Hooded Fang
Joe's Wedding
K-19: The Widowmaker
Kidnapping Caucasian Style
The Killing Club
King Of Texas
Kiss: Live In Las Vegas
The Land Before Time
Land Before Time II: Great Valley...
Land Before Time III: Time Of Great...
Land Before Time VII
Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze
The Land Before Time: Journey To Big Water
Laserhawk (Collector's Edition)
The Last Marshall
Like Mike
Lisa Picard Is Famous
The List
Louis Armstrong: 100th Anniversary
Mexican Blow
Michael Jordan To The Max
My Wife Is An Actress (Widescreen)
No Problem 2
Now Chinatown
One Hell Of A Christmas
One Way Out
The Operator
Orphans Of The Storm
Out Of Line
Paradise Villa (Widescreen)
Party Girl
Peaches & Cream: Hot Rods
Pokemon: Johto League Champion (Collector's Edition)
Psychedelic Cop (Widescreen)
Quicksilver
Raw Nerve
Restaurant
Safer Sexuality: Erotic Choices III
Sally
Savage Heat
The Snow Maiden
Social Misfits
Spplat Attack
Star Wars Vs. Star Trek
Steve-O: Don't Try This At Home Vol. II
The Story Of O (Unrated)
Street Corner Justice
Stuart Little 2
The Stuart Little Collection
Terminal Countdown
Touch Of Zen (Widescreen)
Tropical Passions
Tropical Passions/Hot Desires (Set)
Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel Box Set (Collector's Edition)
The Wall (Widescreen)
Wedding In White
The Yakuza Way

The Who Guitarist Townshend Is Going Deaf

LONDON (Reuters) - Rock legend Pete Townshend is almost deaf after nearly 40 years of subjecting his ears to his own crashing guitar riffs with the British band The Who.

The Sun newspaper quoted Townshend on Tuesday as saying his hearing has worsened since the band's U.S. tour this year.

"The recent return to touring and to me playing electric guitar -- albeit more quietly than in the 1970s --- led to further deterioration of my hearing," the paper quoted Townshend, 57, as saying.

"My right ear, which encounters my own edgy guitar and the machinegun strokes of the drums, has suffered badly. I've no idea what I can do about this.

"I am unable to perform with in-ear monitors. In fact, they increase the often unbearable tinnitus I suffer after shows."

Townshend was a key member of The Who during their heydey in the 1960s and 1970s, when he was renowned for smashing his guitars during live stage performances.

The band shot to fame with their zeitgeist album "My Generation" and cemented their reputation with the double albums "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia."

Ten Christmas Songs That Won't Make You Want To Turn Your Radio Off

If your not the kind of person who goes nuts around Christmas and spends a lot of time decorating, baking and trying to get everyone in the Christmas spirit; someone who usually gets quite annoyed when the airwaves fill up with saccharine sweet Christmas songs, then this is for you!

Here's a list of ten songs that won't drive you nuts in the month of December. They may not all be Christmas songs in the conventional sense, but they all mention Christmas in one way or another and every one of them should be a nice break from Last Christmas and Silent Night.

01) The Pogues: Fairytale of New York
Shane MacGowan and the late Kirsty MacColl duet about being a pair of bums in New York at Christmas time in a song, which is both absolutely beautiful and funny. Not surprisingly the song was The Pogues' biggest hit and it still stands as the best Christmas song ever written.
Best line: You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God it's our last

02) Fountains of Wayne: The Man in the Santa Suit
This song is only available on the I Want an Alien for Christmas single (which features The Man..., Alien..., and Haunakah under the Stars). It tells the story of a guy, who has to suffer the humiliation of having to work as a department store Santa, so he can make a few bucks around Christmas. It's a classic Fountains of Wayne song, which blends melancholy and humour with a catchy tune.
Best line: And he's a big red cherry, but it's hard to be merry
When the kids are all laughing saying hey it's Jerry Garcia

03) D-A-D: Sad, Sad Christmas
Danish rockers D-A-D (formerly Disneyland After Dark) released this corny Christmas single about a single Dad, who has trouble getting into the spirit of things after his wife left with the car, the credit cards, and the furs. It's not exactly a brilliant song, but it is quite funny and the chip monks singing back-up really takes the song over the top. The song is available on the record D-A-D Special, which features the best songs from their first two records. The album was released to pave the way for the album No Fuel Left for the Pilgrims, which was supposed to have been their big break in the US.
Best line: Well, now we can't afford to celebrate The Lord
Daddy, what a Lord? He made Mother take the Ford

04) Nada Surf: 80 Windows
Probably not meant so much as a Christmas song as a song about whining about being alone at Christmas time. Taken from the overlooked follow-up album to High/Low this is actually a cool indie track with nice harmonies that'll make you forget that the lyrics strictly speaking don't make sense.
Best line: I feel far away from you, so what else is new
The moon is closer to the sun than I am to anyone

05) Everclear: Hating You for Christmas
This is the bonus track on the So Much for the Afterglow record in which Art Alexakis rips into his ex, who's left him and has gone on to better things. Getting dumped right before Christmas seems to a theme here.
Best line: I just want to sit in our apartment and hate you
Yes, I will be hating you for Christmas

06) John Prine: Christmas in Prison
An incarcerated John Prine leaves the whining to the indie kids on this beautiful country track. It's a great love song, where love isn't exactly lost, but just put on hold by the American Penal System. The song is both available on Sweet Revenge and the album John Prine Christmas.
Best line: It was Christmas in prison and the food was real good
We had turkeys and pistols carved out of wood

07) Mew: She Came Home for Christmas
Danish indie band Mew released this song as a single a couple of years ago (and will release it in England next week) and it's as beautiful as it is sad. It's a bit difficult to decipher the lyrics, but they could definitely deal with someone being sexually assaulted. So again not exactly a cheery Christmas tune, but definitely on of the most haunting ones I've ever heard.
Best line: Don't touch her there. He watched her. She knew his look.

08) Ben Folds Five: Brick
When is the most depressing time for you and your girlfriend to have an abortion? Well, 6 am day after Christmas has to be up there. Brick was a surprise hit for Ben Folds Five especially considering the seriousness of the song's subject matter. But as a Christmas song I'll take it over Mariah Carey's version of All I Want For Christmas Is You any day of the week.
Best line: I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her flowers and sell some gifts that I got

09) Badly Drawn Boy: Donna and Blitzen
The Badly Drawn Brit ended of his About a Boy soundtrack with this optimistic song about returning reindeer. Thankfully, there isn't a version of Santa's Super Sleigh on the album, so this is the only Christmas song on the record.
Best line: Maybe tomorrow we're gonna see
Things we'd never believe

10) Pearl Jam: Let Me Sleep (It's Christmas Time)
Pearl Jam has since 1991 released a single at Christmas time, which is only available to members of their fan club. Let Me Sleep was the first of these singles (since then it has been mainly cover versions) and it's basically a song about longing for the joy you felt as a kid at Christmas time.
Best line: Oh, when I was a kid... Oh, how magic it seemed.
Oh, please let me sleep, it's Christmas time

Honourable mentions go to: The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack, Ben Folds', Eels', and Barenaked Ladies' contributions to the How the Grinch Stole Christmas Soundtrack, and the song Just Like Christmas from the Low album Christmas.

DAY OF RECKONING

Winona Ryder sentenced Friday in her Saks shoplifting case to three years' probation, ordered to pay restitution and fines, perform 480 hours of community service and undergo drug and psychological counseling. "If you steal again, you will go to jail," the judge said.

Macca Roars Bacca

Paul McCartney's DVD video "Back in the U.S." (Capitol Video) has set records for highest single-week sales and highest debut sales of a music DVD. The title, which chronicles McCartney's 2002 Driving U.S.A. tour, sold 61,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, to bow at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Music Videos chart. A companion McCartney CD sold 224,000 copies and debuts this week at No. 8 on The Billboard 200.

Before the McCartney project, the best week for a music DVD was by Dave Matthews Band's "Live at Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado" (BMG Video), which sold more than 31,000 units upon its debut last month.

Rome To Celebrate Bruce Springsteen Day

Bruce Springsteen Day will be held in Rome, on Tuesday at the Centro Studi Americani (Center for American Studies).

Scheduled events include seminars and speakers on the rock icon's songs, a look at his lyrics as poetry, and one lecture called "Bruce Springsteen. A working class hero?" The day will be capped with a live performance from Springsteen cover band Big Mama.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are scheduled to return to Italy next year, to play San Siro Stadium in Milan on June 28, which is currently the final date of a 2003 European tour. There is no show scheduled for Rome.

Springsteen is touring the U.S. and Canada. The next tour stop is Friday (December 13) at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, New York.

Star Trek IV makes the Voyage to Home Video

Paramount Home Entertainment has announced the next special edition DVD for the Trek series. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, one of the best Treks of them all is coming to DVD in March.

It’s the 23rd century and a mysterious alien power is threatening Earth by evaporating the oceans and destroying the atmosphere. In a frantic attempt to save mankind, Kirk and his crew must time travel back to 1986 San Francisco here they find a world of punk, pizza and exact-change busses that are as alien as anything they’ve ever encountered in the far reaches of the galaxy. A thrilling, action-packed mission for the Starship Enterprise.

Are there more features on the DVD than the previous release of Trek IV? The hell there are. Presented in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dobly Surround 2.0 tracks (as well as French 2.0), the film will be discussed in an audio commentary featuring Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner, and the now customary and always informative text commentary with Michael and Denise Okuda. The second disc contains many featurettes seeming to go beyond the scope of the previous sets. Time Travel: The Art of the Possible, The Language of Whales, A Vulcan Primer, Kirk's Women, Future's Past: A Look Back, On Location, Dailies Deconstruction, Below-the-Line: Sound Design, From Outer Space to the Ocean, The Bird of Prey, Roddenberry Scrapbook and Featured Artist: Mark Lenard all are somehow squeezed onto the disc along with interviews with Shatner, Nimoy and DeForest Kelley. A storyboard archive and the film’s original theatrical trailer are also included.

The Trek releases seem to be getting better all the time. Sandwiched between Deep Space Nine DVD releases, The Voyage Home will begin on March 4th. The disc will sell for $24.99.

Texan Killed Friend Who Drank Last Cold Beer

BANDERA, Texas (Reuters) - A jury on Thursday handed a life prison sentence to a Texas man who shot and killed a longtime friend he accused of drinking the last beer in his refrigerator.

Jurors deliberated for less than two hours before passing the sentence on Steven Brasher, 42, for the murder of Willie Lawson, 39, on Nov. 5 last year.

"There was only two beers left, so I took one, and I told Willie not to take my last beer," Brasher said in a taped statement that was played during the trial.

Testimony showed Brasher shot Lawson in the head with a pistol after the two began arguing over the missing beer. Brasher maintained the shooting was an accident.

'Die Another Day' Rules Another Weekend

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "Die Another Day" has won another weekend at the box office.

The James Bond flick, which debuted as the No. 1 movie two weeks earlier, returned to the top spot with $13 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The mobster-in-therapy sequel "Analyze That," starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, had a weaker debut than the original movie, opening with $11.3 million. "Analyze This" had premiered with $18.4 million in 1999 on its way to a total gross of $106.7 million.

"We'll just have to see how it holds up," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released "Analyze That." "Hopefully, we can use this weekend as a springboard to get word of mouth out there and continue through the holidays."

Last weekend's top film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," slipped to third place with $10 million, lifting its total to $213.9 million in just over three weeks.

John Leguizamo's drug and gangster drama "Empire" opened strongly in narrower release, grossing $6.3 million and coming in at No. 4. Playing in 867 theaters, "Empire" averaged a healthy $7,235 a cinema, compared with a $4,288 average in 2,635 theaters for "Analyze That."

"Empire" was the first movie released by a partnership between Universal Pictures and Arenas Entertainment, which targets Hispanic viewers. Latinos made up 51 percent of the audience for "Empire."

The sci-fi thriller "Equilibrium," starring Christian Bale, Taye Diggs and Emily Watson, opened weakly with $528,000 in 301 theaters, averaging $1,754.

In limited release, the acclaimed "Adaptation" grossed $400,000 in just seven theaters for a whopping $57,143 average. Starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper, "Adaptation" reunites "Being John Malkovich" screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and director Spike Jonze for a bizarre story of an anxiety-ridden writer struggling to adapt a book to film.

"Adaptation," in which Cage plays a fictionalized version of Kaufman and his make-believe twin brother, expands to more theaters in late December and early January.

The overall box office was down, with the top 12 movies grossing $69.5 million, off 15 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Ocean's 11" opened with a $38.1 million debut.

Lacking a solid new movie such as that, the weekend after Thanksgiving typically is a slow time at theaters. Even over Thanksgiving, new films such as "Treasure Planet" and "Solaris" had a hard time making inroads against established hits.

"Newcomers are all having a rough time breaking in," said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations. "`Harry Potter' and `Die Another Day' are doing so well, it's making it difficult for other films to grab an audience."

By next weekend, "Die Another Day" is expected to become the top-grossing Bond movie ever, passing the $127 million take of the franchise's last film, "The World Is Not Enough."

Distributor MGM targeted much of its Bond marketing at younger viewers, helping to revitalize a 40-year-old franchise whose traditional audience is aging.

"We've had 40 percent of our audience under 25 for the first two weekends, which is a much higher number than on past Bonds," said Erik Lomis, MGM head of distribution. "What Bond has traditionally done is play to an older audience. If you're going to broaden the picture out, it makes sense to go after a younger crowd."

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. "Die Another Day," $13 million.

2. "Analyze That," $11.3 million.

3. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $10 million.

4. "Empire," $6.3 million.

5. "Treasure Planet," $5.7 million.

6. "The Santa Clause 2," $5.4 million.

7. "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights," $5.2 million.

8. "Friday After Next," $2.8 million.

9. "8 Mile," $2.6 million.

10. "The Ring," $2.5 million.

Yoko Ono Urges Peace on Lennon Death Anniversary

TOKYO (Reuters) - Yoko Ono called for peace and global solidarity Sunday, the anniversary of the murder of her husband, the Beatle John Lennon, in New York 22 years ago.

"Even little children sing the song 'Imagine,' which shows John's spirit is living all around the world even 22 years later," Ono, 69, who is in Japan to take part in a concert honoring Lennon, told Kyodo news agency in an interview.

"The world situation is tense, but we are a big family. Let's realize a peaceful world," Ono said, adding that many Americans were opposed to any U.S. military attack on Iraq, which Washington says has weapons of mass destruction.

"Americans also want peace. Building a peaceful future together is the duty for mankind."

Ono spent previous anniversaries of Lennon's death at their old New York apartment, but this year the Tokyo native will participate in Monday's concert in Saitama, north of the capital.

Lennon was murdered on Dec. 8, 1980 outside his Manhattan apartment across from Central Park.

Ono said individuals can make the world a better place despite the anxieties after last year's Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

"There is no other choice but for each individual to do everything possible. The sea holds a large amount of water, but what is important is each droplet that makes up the body of water," she said.

...here comes the Women In Waders calendar.

(I'm almost ashamed to admit JUST how turned on I am).

AC/DC Rides The Highway To Epic

Australian rock icons AC/DC have signed a multi-album deal with Epic, the first fruit of which will be refurbished reissues of seminal albums such as "Back in Black," "Highway to Hell," and "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," due early next year. Further reissues will follow, all of which will sport new liner notes and rare photos, and utilize Sony's proprietary ConnecteD technology to unlock special online content created for each release.

It is understood that AC/DC's next studio album, due sometime next year, will complete the group's contractual obligation to Elektra. AC/DC has spent the past 26 years of its career recording under the Warner Music Group umbrella. The group's back catalog is one of the most consistent sellers on Billboard's Top Pop Catalog chart. According to Epic parent Sony, 1980's "Back in Black" has sold 41 million copies worldwide, making it the sixth highest-selling album in history. It has sold 318,000 copies this year alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The move to Epic reunites AC/DC with Epic chairman Dave Glew, who previously worked with the group at Atlantic, as well as Epic executive VP/GM Steve Barnett, formerly the group's manager. The new deal brings 16 of AC/DC's 18 U.S. releases to the label, which plans to also reissue some of the albums on vinyl and compile DVD releases.

"Today AC/DC is going stronger than ever, making it a true pleasure to welcome the band into the Sony Music family, and an honor to have the opportunity to bring both their classic repertoire and new releases to fans across the country and around the world," Sony Music chairman/CEO Thomas D. Mottola said in a statement.

AC/DC's last Elektra studio set, "Stiff Upper Lip," debuted in March 2000 at No. 7 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 842,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The title track from that album hit No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Meanwhile, Image Entertainment has set a Feb. 18 release date for the DVD "Rockmasters -- AC/DC," capturing an Oct. 27, 1977, concert in London. The video finds the band, at the time fronted by the late Bon Scott, running through such favorites as "Let There Be Rock," "T.N.T.," and "Bad Boy Boogie."

Elton John And Billy Joel To Go 'Face To Face' Again In 2003

Elton John has announced four 2003 Face To Face tour concert dates for which he will team up again with Billy Joel in 2003.

The piano men and their respective bands have booked dates at the BJCC Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 21; the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on February 28; the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 7; and the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York, on March 9.

As in prior Face To Face outings, John and Joel will perform both together and individually. In addition, John and his full band (without Joel and his band) will play the Centennial Garden in Bakersfield, California, on January 18. Tickets for all five of the 2003 shows go on sale on Saturday (December 7).

John and Joel first teamed up in 1994 for their wildly successful Face To Face summer stadium tour. The pair teamed up again in 1995 and 1996, after which they continued overseas in 1998, traveling to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. John and Joel have continued their tradition of performing together now and again ever since then.

The 10 Best Smoking Gun Stories of 2002

Shift Magazine's profile of The Smoking Gun mentioned a number of great scoops the guys have put together over the years, but they're only a taste of what the site has to offer -- mere appetizers to fuel your hunger for dishes marinated in eau de political scandal and smothered in creamy, steamy celebrity hypocrisy sauces. So just in case you haven't been logging on to The Smoking Gun on a near-daily basis like all of us in the Shift office, here's a collection of the best stories from the past year:

10. THE WESLEY SNIPES INCOME TAX SCANDAL
In 2001, the now-outlawed tax preparer Douglas Rosile filed an amended return for Snipes's 1997 taxes, in which Rosile reduced his gross taxable income from nineteen million and change to zero. Yeah, that's right: zero dollars. The claim suggested that Snipes should be awarded a $7,360,755 tax refund. Apparently, acting isn't a taxable source of income anymore. (Well, it ain't philanthropy: The charitable thing would be to remove the phrase "Always bet on black" from our cultural history.) The amended form is reprinted on the site.

9. ELVIS'S CORONER REPORT
On the 25th anniversary of Presley's death, we were treated to the nitty-gritty details of the Memphis Medical Examiner's report. Apparently The King was circumsized... in case you wanted to know.

8. THE CASE OF THE KOURNIKOVA NIPPLE LOOK-A-LIKES
Frank Ramaesiri sold a video of a topless sunbather, who he claimed was Anna Kournikova, to Penthouse -- who then published the "exclusive" screen caps. Turns out, it wasn't Kournikova. TSG's transcripts of Ramaesiri's court testimony reveal the exacting process he went through to verify that his footage was indeed of the popular young tennis star: He compared the sizes of the areolas and determined he had a match. Match point, that is. I mean, pointy match. I mean... Oh, never mind.

7. THE WORST "BAD MOMMIE" STORY OF 2002
Danyle Fowler was arrested for sending her eleven-year-old son out to buy her crack, and threatening to beat him if he didn't. Runners-up in this category (the former PTA president who arranged a birthday party for her sixteen-year-old son that included a felating stripper, beer, Jack Daniels and lessons on joint-rolling technique; and the woman who shot her ten-year-old with a bb gun 'cause he wouldn't get into the car) are trumped in this category by the hideous photo. Ouch.

6. SOFT-CORE SURVIVOR
The Smoking Gun published pics of new Survivor contestant Brian Heidik -- who is listed as a past stockbroker, motorcycle salesman, writer and actor on the CBS press bio -- in his soft-core acting roles. Spokesperson Colleen Sullivan told TSG that network brass were "absolutely aware" of Heidik's soft-core resume, adding that she did not believe CBS officials "sat down and had a screening of the films."

5. MICHAEL JORDAN VERSUS KARLA KNAFEL
As Shift's Associate Publisher Kevin Siu puts it: "Because it's Jordan."

4. THE JACKASS APOLOGY LETTER
The details of Dave England's stunt, and how he offended this woman, are pretty much irrelevant. What's worth noting here is the sincerity that drips and oozes from his scrawled script when he scribbles, "Frankly, I've been having a hard time just living with myself. I wish there was some way to go back in time and take on the role of a respectable human being instead of a reckless animal... I hope you were able to make a speedy and full recovery, and again, I am very sorry.

P.S. -- I hope you have a great mother's day."

3. THE COLLECTED CONCERT RIDERS / MUG SHOTS
In 2002, TSG collected the mug shots and concert riders they'd been publishing since the site's inception. Hours and hours of entertainment: Peep in on ZZ Top's medical needs ("Oxygen and face mask must be available 30 minutes prior to performance in immediate backstage area and remain available at all times until 30 minutes after conclusion of performance"), Snoop's gaming habits ("VERY IMPORTANT: Snoop's dressing room should have one (1) complete Sony Playstation with miscellaneous 1999 sport video cartridges (Madden 99, NBA Live 99, NCAA College 99, Triple Play 99, and 4 controls)") and browse the mug shots to answer the question "who the hell are all those people on the Shift cover, anyway?"

2. THE 20TH HIJACKER'S BEAUTIFUL MIND
A defense memorandum of law filed by Zacarias Moussaoui's lawyers compared the 20th hijacker to the character portrayed by Russell Crowe in Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind. The report states that Moussaoui "would not answer the question directly as to whether he had had hallucinations currently or in the past," and concludes, "Because [John Nash] was such a genius, his illness was difficult to recognize by those around him. Mr. Moussaoui's high intellect has much the same effect here."

1. ENRON'S CODE OF ETHICS
'Nuff said.

'Greek Wedding,' Oscar could be a match, some say

My Big Fat Greek Wedding has been a surprise box-office showstopper since its release in April. Now experts say a big fat Oscar nomination could be next.

Wedding, a low-budget movie with an unknown writer/star (Nia Vardalos), has broken every rule in the book, taking in more than $200 million at the box office and becoming the highest-grossing romantic comedy in film history.

And as unlikely as it might seem to naysayers (Wedding didn't even make it onto the National Board of Review's Top 10 list, released Wednesday), it could prove an award-season winner.

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding is like a relief pitcher waiting in the bullpen," says Oscar expert Damien Bona, author of Inside Oscar 2. "It can't be considered a likely best-picture nominee, but if some of the front-runners should fail to catch on, Wedding is there waiting to jump into the thick of things. It doesn't have the stature of a typical Oscar best-picture nominee, but its stunning word-of-mouth-based success shows that it certainly is well-liked."

But prognosticator Tom O'Neil goes further — way further. O'Neil, author of Movie Awards, says Wedding not only could nab a nomination Feb. 11, but it also could win best picture when the statues are awarded March 23.

"When you're finished laughing at that idea, consider this," O'Neil says. "The movie that wins best picture usually wins best director, and the person who claims that prize usually snags the Directors Guild of America award a few weeks earlier. (Wedding director) Joel Zwick has a huge underground constituency in the Guild, which is mostly comprised of TV directors — all of whom vote in the film category." Zwick is a TV sitcom veteran who once directed Happy Days and Mork & Mindy.

Only Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York and Denzel Washington's Antwone Fisher have a better chance at this early point in the race, O'Neil says.

Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks' partner in Playtone, the production company behind Wedding, says the attention is great. "We'd be thrilled to see Nia's work recognized," says Goetzman, who also produced Wedding. "She's so talented. It's great to hear people talking about her chances."

Bona says Michael Constantine, who plays Vardalos' Windex-obsessed father, could be nominated for supporting actor. But Vardalos herself is a long shot for best actress because that category is unusually competitive this year.

Bona says all the Oscar talk might not be such a good thing: So many people have now called Greek Wedding an underdog that it is no longer an underdog, and that might reduce the urge to rally behind it.

"When an audience favorite lands a best-picture nomination, it's almost like a spontaneous occurrence," Bona says. "It didn't matter that (1994's) Four Weddings and a Funeral and (1997's) The Full Monty didn't win any critics' awards. Academy members, like the general public, simply loved these films and voted with their hearts."

O'Neil says Wedding does have something special: a big heart.

"That's the same thing other sleeper films had that pulled off best-picture shockeroos, movies like Rocky, Chariots of Fire and Driving Miss Daisy."

Kevin Smith to scribe SCARY MOVIE 3

Kevin Smith, of JAY AND SILENT BOB fame, has been roped into co-writing and executive producing SCARY MOVIE 3 for Dimension. Both the solo Wayans project and SCARY MOVIE 3 are expected to be out next year, but Dimension topper Bob Weinstein has vowed to be first to market with an early fall release. SCARY MOVIE 3 is set to begin lensing in February. Let's hope Jay and Silent Bob cameo.

'Lilo' Stitches Together Animated 1st-Day Sales

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Disney's summer animated hit "Lilo & Stitch" hula-danced its way into the hands of 3 million DVD and VHS customers on its first day of release Tuesday, according to the studio.

Though not a record, the approximately $45 million in revenue to the studio ranks as one of the biggest opening days for a video title this year. It also represents nearly three times the money that was spent at the box office last weekend on the studio's second animated theatrical release this year, "Treasure Planet," and the video influx made up more than half the $74 million pretax writeoff Disney already took this week on "Planet."

Disney's first-day figures usually include pre-orders for the title, including those at Disney Stores, even though the videos may not have actually been picked up on Tuesday.

"We've not seen a fourth quarter this crowded with so many big box office, competitive titles vying for a similar audience in the history of this industry," said Robert Chapek, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment unit. "And with 'Lilo & Stitch' having topped first day sales of most of these titles, it is poised to be not only a very strong performer this holiday season but one of the best-selling titles of 2002."

Fox had said that DVD and VHS sales of its picture "Ice Age," which will likely be competing for an Academy Award nomination with "Lilo & Stitch," sold more than 3 million units on its first day in stores just before Thanksgiving. That title has now sold about half of the 15 million units the studio shipped to retailers.

Shania Twain Says She Not Suited to Stardom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Shania Twain, back on top of the music charts after a two year break, says she doesn't really relish the limelight.

"My personality isn't suited to what I ended up doing," Twain told People magazine in an interview.

"I wish my parents had spent more time worrying about my education, than me being a star. When people try to treat me like a star, it makes me withdraw. Ten years from now, if I'm still in the limelight, I just can't imagine it," she added.

Canadian-born Twain, 37, burst onto the music scene in the late 1990s with her multi-platinum selling album "Come on Over" and scored six number one hits on the Billboard country charts with songs like "You're Still the One" and "That Don't Impress Me Much."

The country/pop crossover star released her comeback album "Up!" last month after withdrawing from public life in 2000 to go and spend time with her record producer husband in their Swiss chateau. Their time together produced a son Eja, who is now 16 months old.

"I needed a break physically and mentally," Twain was quoted as telling People in its Friday edition. "I needed to leave behind the whole 'Shania' thing and be myself. For the first time in my life I was just resting."

Bullwinkle Animator 'Tex' Henson Dies at 78

DALLAS (Reuters) - William Henson, the animator behind the wise cracking chipmunks Chip 'n Dale, flying squirrel Rocky and the beloved dimwitted moose Bullwinkle, died earlier this week at the age of 78 after being hit by a pickup truck in suburban Dallas, a local medical examiner said on Thursday.

Known in the industry as "Tex" Henson, the animator joined the Disney animation studios in California after graduating from high school in Dallas. He was a cartoonist for Disney films such as "Song of the South," "Pecos Bill" and "Peter and the Wolf."

Henson's first major claim to fame was when he joined forces with another Disney animator to campaign for the comic chipmunk duo of Chip 'n Dale to become regular characters in Disney animation. The chipmunks were then featured in about two dozen films.

Henson left Disney, and after a stint in New York where he worked on cartoons such as "Casper the Friendly Ghost," he went to Mexico to supervise a studio that turned out some of the more memorable animated character on American television.

He supervised a team of about 180 animators who brought characters such as Rocky, Bullwinkle and the spies Boris and Natasha to life. The studio also turned out other cartoons featuring Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo, and the cartoon rabbit of Trix cereal fame.

"There wasn't much expected from those cartoons," Henson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in an interview about 10 years ago.

"We were hackin' 'em out on the cheap, getting' the job done," he said, adding that most of his employees did not speak English or understand the humor of their work.

"But we made 'em as funny-looking as we could under the circumstances and I guess something clicked between the writing and the cartooning," he told the paper.

Henson later moved to the east Dallas suburb of Terrell and taught animation in the Dallas school system. He also drew cartoons for a small newspaper in the area.

He died at Parkland Memorial Hospital of head injuries suffered in the auto accident, the Dallas County Medical Examiner said.

Warners to 'Analyze' Weekend All Alone

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Warner Bros. hopes to prove that conventional wisdom is occasionally not so wise as it unspools the high-profile sequel "Analyze That" this weekend.

Most distributors avoid the weekend after Thanksgiving on the theory that moviegoing is so active over the long Turkey Day weekend that prospective patrons hibernate -- or holiday shop -- the following frame. Theatrical releasing in the immediate aftermath of Thanksgiving historically has involved mostly pictures of modest ambition, with no domestic wide-openers at all in the period in 1999 and 2000.

Last year, 20th Century Fox unspooled "Behind Enemy Lines" over the much scorned session and did $18.7 million for a second-place finish to "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" -- which took in $23 million in its third weekend. With that kind of coin in the offing, some wonder whether more distributors ought to take a crack at the post-Thanksgiving weekend frame.

SLIM PICKINGS

"There's typically been a lull in moviegoing after the Thanksgiving holiday, but it's primarily because not much has been offered to (moviegoers)," said Dan Marks, executive VP of box office tracker Nielsen EDI.

"The first week of December traditionally has never been much of a release week, either. It falls into the same thinking that the post-Thanksgiving period is too much of a tweener -- the kids are still in school and there's just been a lot of moviegoing over Thanksgiving."

Conventional wisdom has it that adult-oriented pictures are most challenged by a post-Thanksgiving ennui, because adults are focused on shopping until later in the holiday season. But that didn't stop Warners from opening its high-profile remake of "Ocean's Eleven" last year to a remarkable $38.1 million in biz during the first weekend of December (which fell two weekends after Thanksgiving 2001).

Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman is relying on his damn-the-traditions instincts again this year, scheduling the much anticipated Robert De Niro-Billy Crystal Mob comedy "Analyze That" for 2,635 playdates starting Friday.

CALENDAR MAKEOVER

"There was a time when early May was considered a horrible time to release a movie, and now it's considered one of the key times to do so," Fellman shrugged.

So, hoping similarly to stretch the release calendar in another season, he plans on taking advantage of one of the few uncluttered frames this winter. "There really isn't any mainstream competition on that date," Fellman observed.

"I love when people open up a new weekend," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco enthused. "It's very invigorating."

Rocco also has scheduled a picture for this weekend -- "Empire," a first release from distributor's fledgling Latin-oriented Arenas Entertainment label. The crime saga is set for a barely wide 863 engagements, but Rocco hopes the relatively open weekend will serve as a good launch platform for the urban actioner.

"We believe it's a great weekend that allows us to launch a film of this type away from the clutter of Thanksgiving and before the clutter of Christmas," she said.

Among Friday's limited releases is Miramax/Dimension sci-fier "Equilibrium," which is set for 300 theaters.

Of course, current strong players such as Warners' "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and MGM's "Die Another Day" can be expected to reap a good portion of whatever box office is available this weekend. But Fellman figures that's something of a double opportunity for Warners.

"If 'Harry Potter' isn't No. 1 again, I'll hope 'Analyze That' is," he said.

Meanwhile, it's tempting to wonder whether several Thanksgiving weekend recent duds like Disney's "Treasure Planet" and Paramount's "Extreme Ops" might have shown more spark if they had waited one more weekend to unspool.

Twentieth Century Fox sci-fier "Solaris," Sony tooner "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights" and Miramax horror pic "Wes Craven Presents: They" also found the Turkey Day session hard to digest.

CRAMPED QUARTERS

"Perhaps one of those films might have done better this week, though it's awfully hard to know for sure," EDI's Marks mused. "I certainly think that pictures can benefit from having more of the public eye to themselves as opposed to having shelf space among five movies."

Similarly, wouldn't one or another of the eight wide-openers that are crowded four apiece into each of the Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 frames have had an easier time of it marketingwise this weekend?

"Even when none of the other movies coming out at the same time is similar to yours, you end up having your spots competing with theirs on TV," Marks noted.

On the other hand, he added, "We've demonstrated over and over that the market will expand to accommodate several films."

This weekend will show if the release calendar can again demonstrate similar elasticity.

Broadcasting Pioneer Roone Arledge Dies

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roone Arledge, a broadcasting pioneer whose shows like NFL "Monday Night Football" and "Nightline" revolutionized television news and sports, died on Thursday, the ABC television network said.

Arledge, the chairman of ABC News and a 37-time Emmy Award-winner, died in New York of complications from cancer, the network said. He was 71.

"Roone Arledge revolutionized television and with it the way people see and understand the world," ABC News President David Westin said in a statement. "A true creator, Roone invented many of television's most enduring and important programs."

The programs Arledge created, including "ABC's Wide World of Sports" and primetime news program "20/20," helped make ABC the dominant network in news and sports coverage for many years.

"Monday Night Football" and "Nightline," a late night news program, changed the television viewing habits of many Americans. "Nightline," which began as a short nightly update on the Iran hostage crisis called "America Held Hostage," helped usher in the country's demand for round-the-clock news.

Arledge poached top talent from other television networks and created a star system in which he cultivated on-air journalists such as Barbara Walters, David Brinkley, Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel and Diane Sawyer.

"Roone believed in being involved in every aspect, but he could be unbelievably difficult and there were times when we wanted to wring his neck," Jennings said in a statement. "Especially for people like Koppel and me, he had been a godfather, our patron, almost like a father in some ways. He made our careers possible."

"His impact on American television news was, and I hope will always remain, indelible," "Nightline" anchor and managing editor Koppel said in a statement.

Arledge, born in Queens, New York, joined ABC from rival NBC in 1960. He became chairman of ABC News in 1997, after nearly 20 years as the division's president. He was president of ABC Sports from 1968 to 1986.

Robert Thompson, head of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, credited Arledge with setting standards in TV sports and news coverage that persist today.

"A lot of people may not know his name, but they are certainly seeing his legacy when they turn on their television sets," Thompson said.

At ABC Sports, Arledge's innovations included new technologies such as instant replays, slow motion and advanced graphics. He also broadcast more personal profiles of athletes.

Arledge produced all 10 ABC broadcasts of the Olympic Games. He oversaw the broadcast of the 1972 Munich Olympics, when 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian gunmen.

In 1994, Sports Illustrated magazine ranked Arledge third, behind boxer Muhammad Ali and basketball star Michael Jordan, in a list of 40 people who had the biggest impact on the world of sports in the past four decades.

Arledge also was listed in a 1990 Life magazine poll as one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century."

After dominating other networks for many years, ABC News has struggled recently. Earlier this year, ABC was the center of debate about the value of news versus entertainment, when the network unsuccessfully tried to lure late-night comedian David Letterman away from CBS to replace the venerable "Nightline."

Arledge is survived by his wife, Gigi Shaw Arledge, and his four children from a previous marriage.

Hugh, are you talking to me?

Hugh Grant will join Robert De Niro for the comedy RULE NUMBER 3. To be directed by Rob Bowman, the Columbia comedy will star De Niro as an everyday schlub determined to take down an arrogant Wall Streeter played by Grant. Grant's character is described as the kind of guy from Enron, Tyco or ImClone who lives high on the hog while bilking his investors. The Robert Kuhn-scripted project is likely to shoot next year. It's also reported that a reading was held recently for the story with an all-star cast, including Oliver Platt and Harvey Keitel filling the support roles.

FOOL'S GOLD

Disney's Treasure Planet turning out to be a huge bomb for the studio. The film, which cost $140 million to make, has only grossed a lackluster $17 million since its holiday weekend debut.

NOT SO HOT

Audiences of all types grading 20th Century Fox's movie Solaris an F, according to cinemascore, making it the least-liked movie in 20 years.

BLADE RUNNER REDUX?

Will Smith signing on to star in 20th Century Fox's I, Robot, an adaptation of the Isaac Asimov short story collection that's described as a futuristic thriller in which a detective investigates a crime that might have been perpetrated by a robot. The film, directed by Alex Proyas, begins shooting in April.

THE PEOPLE SPEAK

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Spider-Man and My Big Fat Greek Wedding competing for Favorite Movie at the 2003 People's Choice Awards. On the tube side, The Bernie Mac Show, Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends scored nods for Favorite Comedy. The kudofest is set to air January 12 on CBS.

This Is Great News!

Buena Vista has announced that Miramax's Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy DVDs (Blue, White and Red - set for 3/4) will all be special editions! All three of the discs will feature anamorphic widescreen video (1.85:1 aspect ratio), with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio in English and the original French.

Bonus features on Red (aka Rogue) will include several featurettes (Insights into Trois Coleurs: Rouge, A Discussion on Working With Kieslowski, A Conversation with Irene Jacob on Kieslowski, Krzysztof Kielowski's Cinema Lesson, Behind the Scenes with Krzysztof Kieslowski and Red at Cannes 1994), audio commentary with film scholar Annette Insdorf (author of the book Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski), an interview with producer Marin Karmitz, actor Irene Jacob selected scenes commentary, editor Jacques Witta interview/commentary, the original theatrical trailers and a Kieslowski filmography.

Bonus features on White (aka Blanc) will include more featurettes (A Look at Blanc, A Discussion on Kieslowski's Later Years, A Conversation with Julie Delpy on Kieslowski, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Cinema Lesson and Behind the Scenes of White with Krzysztof Kieslowski), audio commentary with Annette Insdorf, an interview with Marin Karmitz, actor Julie Delpy selected scenes commentary/interview, original theatrical trailers and a Kieslowski filmography.

And finally, bonus features on Blue (aka Bleu) will include still more featurettes (Reflections on Bleu, A Discussion on Kieslowski's Early Years, A Conversation with Juliette Binoche on Kieslowski and Krzysztof Kieslowski Cinema Lesson), audio commentary with Annette Insdorf, Marin Karmitz interview/selected scenes commentary, actor Juliette Binoche selected scenes commentary, Jacques Witta interview/commentary, original theatrical trailers and the Kieslowski filmography.

Tennis Stars to Serve Up Ace for Fans on Catwalk

DUBLIN (Reuters) - The world's most glamorous female tennis stars are set to serve up an ace for their fans in Dublin this week when they compete on the courts for an exhibition cup and strut their stuff on the catwalk for charity.

Appearing alongside the likes of the celebrated Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, and Anna Kournikova will be several leading supermodels.

Irish and international designers such as Escada and John Rocha will be showcased by Tyra Banks, Sophie Dahl and Jodie Kidd.

After the two groups join forces for the fashion extravaganza Wednesday night, the tennis stars will pick up their rackets for a tournament exhibition that will pit Europe against the United States.

Coming hot on the heels of Russia's success in the Davis Cup last week, Kournikova will be hoping to lead Europe to victory in the inaugural Collins Cup. The new cup is the women's tennis equivalent of golf's Ryder Cup, the promoters say.

In an interview, supermodel Sophie Dahl, granddaughter of renowned children's author Roald, bridled at the suggestion of any jealousy between the models and the players.

The fashion industry, renowned for its intense rivalry, has sometimes raised disapproving eyebrows at Kournikova who is the world's most photographed tennis star and has adorned countless numbers of fashion magazines.

Although Dahl admitted that tennis was not her "burning passion," she played down any rivalry between the two sides.

"I don't get annoyed if an actress is featured on the front page of a magazine, and the same goes for tennis players," she said.

"While I don't go out and play tennis, if someone can do something there's no reason why they shouldn't," she told Reuters.

Dahl hinted that she would be interested in following in the footsteps of pop stars and other glitterati in establishing a bolt-hole in the Emerald Isle, which has no personal income taxes for artists.

For fellow supermodel Tyra Banks, who appeared on Will Smith's television comedy series "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," it was her first time in Ireland.

Although also not a big tennis fan, Tyra said she was looking forward to supporting the charity extravaganza, which will raise funds for the Chernobyl Children project to aid victims of the 1986 nuclear disaster.

"Children's causes are really special to my heart," said Tyra, who takes 60 young girls up into the mountains each year for an adventure trip aimed at boosting their self-esteem.

Twain Eclipses Career-Best Debuts for McGraw, J.Lo

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country pop diva Shania Twain ruled the music charts for a second week with blockbuster sales of her latest release, "Up!" -- eclipsing career-best album debuts by fellow country star Tim McGraw and singer-actress Jennifer Lopez.

A new live album from ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and a posthumous release from slain rapper Tupac Shakur also notched strong sales their first week in stores as record merchants cashed in on the start of the holiday shopping season.

Twain's new double-CD set, consisting of 19 tracks recorded both as country-style arrangements and as mainstream pop tunes, sold more than 625,000 copies in the week ended Dec. 1, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures issued on Wednesday by her label, Mercury Records.

That was more than enough to keep Twain's fourth release at the top of the pop album and country charts for a second straight week and to push her two-week tally past the 1.5 million mark.

"Up!" opened with first-week sales of 874,000 copies, a career benchmark for Twain that portends a commercial powerhouse in the making for Mercury, a Nashville-based imprint of Vivendi Universal's Universal Music Group.

Twain's previous release, 1997's "Come On Over," got off to a much more modest start, notching-first week sales of just 172,000 copies. That LP went on to tally U.S. retail sales of over 14 million units, ranking as the best-selling album since SoundScan's inception in 1994, her label said.

MCGRAW, LOPEZ LOG BIGGEST DEBUTS

Twain's winning streak robbed country compatriot McGraw of a No. 1 opening for his new album, "Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors," which sold nearly 602,000 copies its first week to land at No. 2 on both the pop and country charts behind "Up!."

Still, it was by far the biggest album debut ever for McGraw, doubling the first-week sales of nearly every one of his seven previous releases, said a spokeswoman for his independent label, Curb Records.

Lopez also scored the biggest debut of her singing career, as her fourth album, "This Is Me ... Then," sold 314,000 copies its first week to enter the charts at No. 6. The album includes an ode to her Hollywood fiance, Ben Affleck, "Dear Ben," in which Lopez promises, "There's no way I'd leave you/It's just not a reality."

Her previous best, "J.Lo," sold 272,000 copies during its first week in January of 2001 to top the charts while her hit film, "The Wedding Planner," was No. 1 at the U.S. movie box office. Her latest film, "Maid in Manhattan," opens next week.

Two other new releases landed in the top 10 this week. The two-CD Tupac Shakur collection "Better Dayz," a follow-up to last year's "Until the End of Time," opened at No. 5 with sales of 366,000 copies, Interscope Records said. Meanwhile, the double-album "Back in the U.S. Live 2000," featuring mainly Beatles tunes performed by McCartney on tour, debuted at No. 8 with 224,000 units sold, said his label, Capitol Records.

Rounding out the top 10 was the soundtrack to the Eminem movie "8 Mile" at No. 3, followed by the "Now 11" compilation from various artists at No. 4 and three female solo artists -- Faith Hill at No. 7 with "Cry," Avril Lavigne at No. 9 with "Let Go," and Christina Aguilera at No. 10 with "Stripped."

'The Hours' Named Best Film, First Award of Season

Believe it or not, the woman on the right is Nicole Kidman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "The Hours," the story of three women linked by Virginia Woolf's novel "Mrs. Dalloway," was named best film of the year on Wednesday by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, whose annual Top 10 honors kick off the film awards season that culminates with the Oscars.

Industry watchers look to the New York-based society's picks and other upcoming awards for hints on possible Academy Awards contenders.

"The Hours," based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, was followed by "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," The Quiet American" and "Adaptation."

"The Hours," slated for release this month, stars Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore and interweaves the stories of three women from different eras, including the character of Virginia Woolf as she begins to write the novel "Mrs. Dalloway."

Campbell Scott was named best actor for the dark comedy "Roger Dodger" and Moore best actress for "Far From Heaven," a drama set in the 1950s.

"It's a total surprise, although I'll take it," Scott told Reuters in a telephone interview. "'Roger' is a small movie so we want people to know about it."

Scott, 41, son of the late actors George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst, also is an executive producer of the film, the story of a scheming advertising executive who tries to teach his teen-age nephew how to manipulate women during a night on the town.

"He's a tough nut -- he can be very cruel and charming at the same time," he said of his character. "That stuff is fun to play."

"Talk to Her," from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, was named best foreign film.

Rounding out the Top 10 film winners were "Rabbit-Proof Fence," "The Pianist," "Far From Heaven," "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing" and "Frida."

Last year, Halle Berry took best actress honors from the board for her role in the death-row drama "Monster's Ball" and went on to win the Academy Award for best actress.

However, the board also last year chose the glitzy musical "Moulin Rouge" as best film, but the Oscar for that category went to "A Beautiful Mind," a drama about Princeton University mathematician John Nash's struggle with mental illness.

The board was founded in New York in 1909 to forestall movie censorship and began selecting its "10 best movies of the year" in 1919. The group's screening membership includes film professionals, teachers, students and historians.

The group will present its awards on Jan. 14 in New York.

COMING CLEAN

Whitney Houston admitting she's abused alcohol, marijuana and cocaine in her upcoming interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer. "My business is sex, drugs, rock and roll...I partied a lot," Houston says. The interview airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC's Primetime.

Jackson Testifies Despite Painful Spider Bite

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (Reuters) - Superstar Michael Jackson hobbled into a central California courtroom on crutches on Tuesday to resume testifying in a $21-million lawsuit despite what he said was a painful spider bite to his foot.

Jackson, whose bizarre appearance and baby-dangling antics have made headlines around the world for the past three weeks, arrived at court nattily dressed in a white satin vest and tie, black slacks and a blue jacket -- but missing one shoe.

Explaining the crutches and incongruous white athletic sock he wore, the self-styled King of Pop told reporters that he had been bitten by a spider and had woken to find his foot so badly swollen that it could no longer fit inside a shoe.

"It's a spider bite. It's really bad," Jackson said during a break in the proceedings. "If I showed it to you, you'd be shocked. It hurts very much right now as I speak."

Jackson keeps tarantulas at his Neverland Valley ranch near the central California town of Santa Maria where the lawsuit is being heard, but assured reporters that it was a small indigenous spider that had crawled from the scrub brush near his sprawling compound and attacked him while his house was being fumigated.

"I love tarantulas," he said, "this was a little one."

Jackson, wearing pink lipstick and heavily rouged cheeks, spent much of the day on the witness stand answering questions from attorneys for German promoter Marcel Avram, who is suing him over canceled millennium concerts.

He got playful with the courtroom photographer whose close-up pictures of the singer last month shocked fans and prompted a media frenzy about the effects of plastic surgery on his nose.

During a lull in testimony, he pulled goofy faces at the photographer and used his fingers to make horns above his head (see above).

Jackson's testimony produced little drama, bogging down again and again in bickering between attorneys and the entertainer's unfamiliarity with key facts of the case.

Frustrated that Jackson seemed unable to remember important facts about the case, including the name of his own public relations representative, Avram's attorney at one point asked the singer if he suffered from memory problems.

"Not that I can recall," Jackson responded, prompting laughter from the courtroom gallery.

Jackson signed autographs and chatted with fans outside the courtroom but brushed aside reporters' questions about the incident in Berlin last month in which he briefly dangled his baby son over the balcony of a fourth-floor hotel to show the boy to waiting fans.

"It is my child. I love my children," said Jackson, who has already termed the baby incident a "terrible mistake."

When asked how he would respond to a Los Angeles lawyer who had called for a formal investigation into the matter, Jackson said: "Tell her to go to hell."

Prosecutors: Ryder Needs Drug, Shoplifting Therapy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Prosecutors plan to ask that actress Winona Ryder undergo drug and psychiatric counseling as part of her shoplifting sentence to be handed down on Friday, saying she was carrying eight different drugs when arrested -- some of them obtained under a different name.

According to court papers released on Tuesday, prosecutors are not seeking jail time for the Oscar-nominated star but are instead recommending that she be given three years probation, 60 days community service and a fine of $10,000.

Ryder was convicted last month on two counts of shoplifting some $5,500 of designer goods from the Saks Fifth Avenue store in Beverly Hills in December last year after a sensational 10-day jury trial.

Ryder, 31, star of "Girl, Interrupted" and "Age of Innocence," had pleaded not guilty but did not testify. Her lawyers accused both Saks and prosecutors of targeting her because of her celebrity.

But it emerged after the trial that Ryder had been involved three times since May 2000 in suspected shoplifting incidents at other posh department stores but had never been charged.

Legal documents released ahead of Ryder's Friday sentencing provided more startling details about her arrest after already humiliating testimony that she used scissors to cut Saks security tags off handbags and hair bows costing hundreds of dollars apiece.

According to the documents, Ryder was found with eight prescription drugs in her possession when booked by police at Saks. They included sedatives like Valium and Diazepam and opiates such as Vicoden and Oxycodone -- among the most commonly abused prescription drugs in the United States.

DIFFERENT NAMES USED TO GET DRUGS

"The prescriptions obtained were from several different physicians and the defendant had utilized at least two different names in obtaining them," prosecutor Ann Rundle wrote.

A single charge against Ryder for illegal possession of the painkiller Oxycodone was dropped before trial after a doctor admitted providing it for the actress without a prescription.

Rundle recommended that Ryder "should be ordered to cooperate with her probation officer in a plan for both drug and psychiatric counseling."

Ryder should also "be ordered to use only her true name, Winona Horowitz, or her stage name Winona Ryder...(and) should be prohibited from using any AKA's (aliases) for the purpose of obtaining any prescription for any controlled substance," Rundle added.

Rundle suggested at the trial that Ryder may have shoplifted for thrills but said the prosecution would not seek jail time for the actress although the charges carry a possible prison sentence of up to three years.

Witnesses at the trial said Ryder had first claimed that she thought her assistant had paid for the 20 items found stuffed in her bags and hidden under her coat. She later claimed she had been told to shoplift by a director to research for an upcoming movie role.

Court transcripts kept secret during the trial because of concerns they might prejudice a jury revealed that Ryder had twice been videotaped and once been observed at Barneys of New York and Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills before her arrest at Saks.

Prosecutors said the videotapes showed Ryder behaving in a similar way to her video-taped shopping spree at Saks -- selecting designer clothes, concealing them under a large garment bag, going in and out of dressing rooms, and leaving without paying.

Fruitcake Recipe

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup walnuts
1 gallon of whiskey

Sample the whiskey to check for quality.
Take a large bowl.
Check the whiskey again to be sure it is of the highest quality.
Pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer; beat 1 cup butter in a large, fluffy bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon sugar and beat again.
Make sure the whiskey is still OK. Cry another tup.
Turn off mixer. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.
Mix on the turner.
If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity.
Next, sift 2 cups of salt.
Or something. Who cares? Check the whiskey.
Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.
Add one tablespoon of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.
Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees.
Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window.
Check the whiskey again.
Go to bed. Who the hell likes fruitcake anyway?

Snappy Molidays!

Today's New DVD And Video Releases

There are a whole slew of new titles that are available in your favourite video retailer today. But who cares about the slew as the latest Austin Powers flick will be there!

And the DVD features and wide selection of Special Features:

* A Commentary by director Jay Roach and Mike Myers
* Theatrical trailer(s)
* Infinifilm pop-up menus leading to:
* 12 behind-the-scenes featurettes
* 4 music videos
* The World of Austin Powers
* Visual FX Segment
* 24 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes
* DVD-ROM: Austin Powers Revoice Studio (record your own voice to certain scenes)
* Widescreen anamorphic format

So don't call me tonight as I will be enjoying "Austin Powers In Goldmember."

Oh, and if you want to find out what the slew entails...

'Daredevil' Set for Romantic Valentine's Release

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - How many women would chose to spend a Valentine's evening watching a blind superhero who parades around in a skintight, red leather bodysuit? Plenty, hopes 20th Century Fox, who is gambling that viewers will line up to see "Daredevil" On Feb. 14.

Based on a comic book, the film stars Sexiest Man Alive Ben Affleck as about a blind man who is a lawyer by day and a superhero by night. To compensate for his blindness, Daredevil's remaining other senses grew extraordinarily powerful. In addition, he developed a "mental radar" that he uses to help him fight evildoers.

The film costars "Alias" headliner Jennifer Garner as well as Michael Clarke Duncan ("The Green Mile") and Colin Farrell ("Minority Report").

Mariah Carey Talks to 'Dateline'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Mariah Carey will reveal exclusively how she's been doing since her emotional meltdown last year on "Dateline NBC" tonight at 10 pm EST.

Matt Lauer will host the first primetime interview Carey has given since the media scrutinized her nervous breakdown. Talking frankly about her childhood struggles, her father's recent death and her movie flop "Glitter," Carey will elaborate on her perception of what it means to be a "diva."

Carey and Lauer will also touch on rumors about her alleged suicide attempt and her marriage to Sony Music President Tommy Mottola, as well as her short-lived relationship with rapper Eminem.

Carey, who claims she was "overly tired" and was not considered a human being by anyone anymore, says the press just made it all worse when her nerves began to wear thin:

"I never dealt with a flurry of that kind of press before and -- you know -- being stalked by the paparazzi when you're sitting at your mom's house and suddenly there's a person in the bushes with a -- with a camera because you take a walk outside in your pajamas."

Her current album "Charmbracelet" is the twelfth for Carey, who is the best-selling female artist in history, with over 115 million albums in sales.

Highlights from the interview will air Wednesday, Dec. 11 on NBC’s “Today,” followed by a live concert from the Mall of America in Minnesota, in which Carey will perform songs from “Charmbracelet.”

A Description Of The New Quentin Tarantino Movie Trailer For "Kill Bill"

It opens with a shot of an airplane flying overhead. Then the music kicks in (wish I could tell you where it's from because it does ad quite a bit to the kick-ass nature of the whole thing). Screen goes black and in big, red block letters it reads "MIRAMAX FILMS PRESENTS". Fade out. "THE 4TH FILM". Fade out. "BY QUENTIN TARINTINO". Fade out. Then you hear Quentin say "Action!" in the background as a figure wearing motorcycle leathers opens a car trunk. Quick cut to Lucy Liu walking down a hallway with what looks to be her badass entourage behind her (including pre-teen girls in sailor outfits). Cut to Uma on the back of a motorcycle riding through the streets of Japan/China. Cut to an extremely brief shot from some sort of soirée. Cut to Uma, with her back to the camera, sitting at a bar. Another card comes up; it reads: "UMA THURMAN".

Now come the goodies. We cut to Uma in her yellow Game of Death Jumpsuit defending herself form a middle-aged Bald guy dressed in black with a mask (like the one worn by Jet Li in "BLACK MASK") wielding a katanna in each hand. Cut to an extremely close-up of a sword/katanna being unsheathed. Cut to a stare down between a bloodied-looking Uma and Lucy Liu , who is looking mighty virginal in white while snow is falling all around. Cut to a bald black guy dressed in maroon doing some might fancy sword work. Cut to a dirty-faced Uma punching some lady (Daryl Hannah?) who's coming at her with a staff. Cut to Uma, now in street clothes, fighting a different woman who is coming at her with a frying pan in a kitchen. Cut to a black and white shot of Uma with splotches of blood on her face lookingShocked, Scared, Confused? Can't really tell without context. Cut to a limo surrounded (protected?) on all sides by motorcycle escort. Cut to Darryl Hannah walking down a hospital corridor (now with eyepatch!) in a stylish white leather trenchcoat. Cut to one of those pre-teen sailor dress-wearing girls using a bolo. Cut to Uma doing a backflip to avoid the bolos; the harness work here is extremely obvious so I can only hope this is a training scene of some sort. Cut to a montage of Uma's enemies: A woman I don't recognize, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, and finally Michael Madsen. Cut to our first and only glimpse of David Carradine as he simply turns to the camera and gives a penetrating stare. Cut to a martial arts sequence in a small village between Uma and an old master-type guy with a long white beard; the scene ends with the master literally standing on the edge of Uma's blade and then doing a back flip (and kicking Uma in the face). Cut to Lucy Liu in a dojo; she shouts something that quickly rallies the troops and in no time at all Uma, who's Game of Death jumpsuit is looking bloodier than ever, is surrounded on all sides. Now comes the best shot of the whole damn teaser/trailer, the thing that just makes you go "holy shit!", you know?

We get a crane shot. It starts at eye level on Uma and it slowly raises to the rafters so that we can see that there are something like 25 bad guys surrounding her, all with swords drawn. Uma then raises her sword, indicating she's ready for'em. Pause. She makes one tiny, defiant movement and (now back to the crane shot where we can see everyone from above) the whole circle of bad guys literally take a synchronized, fearful step back. It's sooooooo cool. Anyway, moving on the screen goes black and once again we get big, red block letters but this time they read: "IN THE YEAR". Fade out to someone with blonde hair (pretty sure it's Hannah again) doing a flying kick. Cut to: "2003". Fade out to an axe flung end over end that whizzes by Uma's head. Cut to: "UMA THURMAN". Fade out to Uma doing some sort of flip. "WILL". Fade out to more martial art swordplay but now in silhouette. Cut to: "KILL BILL". Fade out to a profile shot of Lucy Liu; she says, "You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?" It then cuts to a profile shot of Uma who responds with, "You know for a second there, I kind of did." And for the last shot we cut to Uma running up the banister of a staircase to intercept a bad guy with her sword.

End of (one fan-freakin'-tastic) trailer .

Details about the SPONGEBOB: SQUAREPANTS movie.

The hit kids TV show will soon come to the big screen and 'Tecnodrome' has details on the storyline which sounds very Finding Nemo-esque: "I just attended a seminar by Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, and the topic of the Spongebob movie came up. While he was being very tight-lipped about the whole thing, he still slipped out a brief plot synopsis. Apparently the story follows Patrick getting caught by a fisherman, and he gets taken to an aquarium or shop of some kind in Florida. And the adventure basically follows Spongebob and friends on a quest to get him back. He sounded really excited about it, and explained that this was the reason for the decrease in new Spongebob tv shows, but that it will definitely be worth it because he knows its gonna be 'really funny'".

FYI SINGLE GUYS!

Britney Spears turns 21 today. The ex-Mouseketeer is said to be celebrating in private with friends and family.

Jackson's Behavior Is Eclipsing His Music

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Michael Jackson seems to be moonwalking from one embarrassment to another.

He publicly feuded with his record label, accusing its chief of racism after his album sales were low. He dangled his infant son from a hotel balcony. And his morbidly altered face just gets weirder.

As the trial resumes Tuesday in a lawsuit filed against the 44-year-old entertainer in a contract dispute, his erratic behavior has once again eclipsed his musical talent.

"Just when you think it can't get any worse, Michael Jackson finds a way — an unprecedentedly creative way — to make it worse," said Michael Levine, a public relations expert who represented Jackson in 1993.

Tabloids accused Jackson of reckless endangerment two weeks ago after he displayed his baby, Prince Michael II, to fans by dangling him briefly from a fourth-floor balcony in Germany, where he had gone to accept an award.

Jackson called the incident a "terrible mistake," and Berlin authorities said the actions were not punishable. A California lawyer, Gloria Allred, has asked the state to investigate, but state officials have said there is little they can do about something that occurred outside their jurisdiction.

Not much is known about Prince Michael II, whose mother has not been identified. The singer's 5-year-old son, Prince Michael I, and 4-year-old daughter, Paris, were born during his marriage to Debbie Rowe, his plastic surgeon's nurse, which ended in 1999.

Jackson routinely keeps the children's heads covered with cloth while escorting them in public — and he usually sports a surgical mask himself when out and about.

Days before the baby-dangling, Jackson was testifying in California in the $21 million lawsuit filed by concert promoter Marcel Avram, who says the singer broke a deal to appear at two shows scheduled for New Year's Eve 1999. Jackson maintains it was Avram who canceled the concerts over concerns they would not be profitable.

Jackson's court appearance created a stir because of his ever-changing face. Along with his wide, ghostly eyes, unusually pale skin, and traces of a beard and mustache, he appeared to have a bandage hanging from his hollowed-out nose.

David Gest, who produced Jackson's 30th anniversary special last year, told CNN's Larry King that Jackson's physical transformation resulted from "bad advice."

"Sometimes people tell you that if you do certain things, you'll look better, you'll feel better, and you leave it to people who you trust," said Gest, who met his wife, Liza Minnelli, through Jackson.

Jackson became a child star singing with his brothers in the Jackson 5, and later had one of the most successful albums of all time, 1982's "Thriller," which sold an estimated 26 million copies in the United States.

He had strong follow-up albums with 1987's "Bad" and 1991's "Dangerous," but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy. Jackson has maintained his innocence, and reached a multimillion-dollar settlement. Charges were never filed.

Levine, who represented Jackson at the time, characterizes the singer now as a self-destructive personality akin to John Belushi or Elvis Presley.

Hyun Kim, music and lifestyle editor of Vibe magazine, sees Jackson as a "tragic figure." "There are many people who are sympathetic and want to see him on top again," he said.

Jackson's 1995 "HIStory" disc, on which he voiced anger over the abuse allegations, sold more than 2.4 million copies and was Grammy-nominated, but was considered a commercial disappointment. "Blood on the Dance Floor" — a 1997 disc with remixes from "HIStory" and a few new songs — was an outright flop, selling just a few hundred thousand copies.

Jackson's reputation enjoyed a bit of a resurgence in recent years, with pop stars such as Britney Spears, Destiny's Child and 'N Sync citing him as a major influence.

His album "Invincible" debuted last year at the top of the charts but plummeted quickly, selling about 2 million copies — respectable for many artists, but far short of Jackson's 1980s popularity. He blamed his label, Sony Music, for not supporting it, even though the company spent an estimated $25 million on promotions.

At a news conference in July, Jackson said Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola was "mean, he's a racist, and he's very, very, very devilish." The label responded with a statement saying it was "deeply offended by the outrageous comments."

The remarks were generally regarded as an act of desperation by Jackson to explain his waning popularity.

In another gaffe, when Jackson was presented with a birthday cake adorned with a treble clef at August's MTV Video Music Awards, he accepted it as an "Artist of the Millennium" award, and went on to thank several people.

Although his fan base has dwindled over the years, admirers congregating on the Internet say his missteps have been overblown.

"People should still be allowed to have fun with his music," said Robin Meltzer, 25, of London, a member of the fan group MJ News International. "But the vilification is so extreme that people almost feel embarrassed now."

Paramount's Lansing Tops Hollywood Power Women List

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart has been cut from it, Madonna slipped a few notches on it, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have moved up a tad.

The "it" is the Hollywood Reporter's annual list of the 100 most influential women in show business, unveiled in Tuesday's edition of the show business trade magazine.

The show business trade newspaper began ranking the 50 most powerful women 11 years ago and expanded it to include 100 women last year to celebrate the list's 10 year anniversary.

Sherry Lansing, who became the first female chairman of Paramount Pictures in 1992, regained the top slot on the list, after slipping from No. 1 to No. 2 last year.

"When Sherry Lansing wants to pursue a project that is potentially risky, her tendency to share the financial burden with other studios helps counterbalance the risk. It's that business savvy and goodwill within the entertainment community that pushed her to top of this year's Power 100," said Christy Grosz, managing editor of the Women in Entertainment issue.

Ranking No. 2 was Stacey Snider, chairman of production for Universal Pictures, who commanded the No. 1 spot last year.

Rounding out the top 5 were Amy Pascal, Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures at No. 3, Nancy Tellem, President of CBS Entertainment, ranking fourth, and Michele Anthony, Executive VP, Sony Music Entertainment at No. 5.

Conspicuously absent from the list this year was domestic style maven Stewart, who ranked about 57 last year, but whose image has been tarnished by an insider trading investigation.

Hollywood Reporter officials declined comment on whether Stewart's legal woes were to blame. "While a proven track record is a consideration, no Power 100 woman was allowed to coast on a one-year-old accomplishment," Grosz said.

The Reporter unveils the list each year with a star-studded breakfast, this year featuring speeches by Nia Vardalos, star and writer of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," and Salma Hayek, star of "Frida."

STARS WITH CLOUT

For the past few years, the list has expanded beyond mostly industry executives and insiders, to include stars who have clout in the industry.

"No longer are female stars just 'the talent.' They could very well be the path to parity for all women working in entertainment," said Grosz.

Julia Roberts' ability to open a movie, command a big paycheck and run her own production company give her clout to hire whomever she chooses, Grosz noted.

Other rising actor business titans are Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Lopez. But while these two did not make the cut and both Roberts and Madonna slipped this year in their rankings, 16-year-old media twin tycoons Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who have their own teen line at Wal-Mart, made it for the second year running, rising to No. 98 from 100.

Roberts who ranked No. 3 last year, slid down to No. 12, while Madonna fell from No. 42 to No. 60 this year.

The list reflects a sharp rise of women in top posts in Hollywood, with women leading four Hollywood guilds and key network divisions.

One of the biggest moneymakers in Hollywood history, this year's "Spider-Man," was given the go-ahead by a woman and produced by a woman, which is why Pascal, who recently added vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment to her Columbia Pictures chairman title, shot up to No. 3 from No. 13 last year on the Power 100.

Producer Laura Ziskin, who also produced the film and this year's Academy Awards, jumped from No. 72 to No. 37.

While "Spider-Man" outpaced Paramount movies like "We Were Soldiers," starring Mel Gibson and suspense-thriller "Changing Lanes," with Ben Affleck, the list's compilers still gave the nod to Lansing.

Several criteria are considered, including each woman's position within her company, her force of personality and how much money she controls.

On a more somber note, the Reporter notes that despite the ever-increasing number of women in Hollywood's executive ranks, the percentage of female writers dropped from 14 percent in 2000 to 10 percent in 2001 and female directors dropped from 11 percent in 2000 to a paltry 6 percent in 2001.

Switch, Baby, Switch!

If you miss Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live you can now catch him in his holiday parody of the Apple "Switch" ads

Fa la la la la la, la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Why 'Ketchup' went splat, despite Sony's obvious relish

It was touted as the Macarena of the new millennium, hitting No. 1 in 21 countries. But Spanglish dance novelty The Ketchup Song never made the splash in the USA that some radio and music-biz insiders had hoped for.

The failure wasn't for lack of attention. An avid publicity campaign by Sony Music on behalf of the song and its artists, Spanish sister trio Las Ketchup, generated a media bonanza from outlets that didn't want to risk missing out on a seemingly surefire sensation:

* Time, People, Entertainment Weekly and other top magazines did stories.

* Radio stations in New York, Miami and a few other markets, mostly those with large Spanish-speaking populations, gave the song massive airplay.

* Newspapers in those markets jumped on the bandwagon.

* National and local morning TV shows spotlighted the phenomenon.

Just one problem: It wasn't a hit. The song peaked at No. 51 on Billboard's airplay chart, which is based on the number of times it was played a week on the radio. On USA TODAY's airplay chart, based on the song's total weekly radio audience as compiled by Nielsen BDS, it peaked at No. 52. It fell off the chart Nov. 19, only eight weeks after its debut.

The culprit was the nation's legion of local radio stations, each of which must be convinced that a record will be positively received by its audience. Tests of the song with listeners generally didn't work in the single's favor.

Ed McMann, a DJ at Boston Top 40 station WXKS-FM, says that despite some nightclub popularity, Ketchup never caught on with his listeners.

"The biggest hits are hits everywhere, but a lot of other stuff is localized," says McMann, who is a fill-in host on Casey Kasem's national countdown show, American Top 40. "Here in Boston, (Ketchup) seems to have fizzled."

Frankie Blue, vice president of operations and programming at New York rhythmic Top 40 station WKTU-FM, says some program directors may have been too conservative to embrace Ketchup's spicy blend of Latin, hip-hop and reggae textures. Blue, an early champion of the single, points out that it was the most requested song at his station "for six or seven weeks. It was a smash. But some people just play it too safe."

Mark Bond, Sony Continental European VP of artist marketing, recently conceded to Billboard that his company "didn't wait until all the perfect tools, like a new video and remixes, were together on this record ... (because) we would have missed the boat in terms of radio over the summer."

Yet Airplay Monitor editor Sean Ross notes that Ketchup "didn't have the same chance to develop under radio's radar that Macarena did. That song was around in the U.S. for close to a year before being promoted as heavily to radio as (Ketchup) was. It had a chance to become a phenomenon that was immune to a bad first week in stations' research."

As things stand, even Blue doesn't see the single taking Las Ketchup beyond the 15 minutes of fame the group has already enjoyed. "A novelty song can only last so long. I think it's over."

Elton to Madonna: 'Worst Bond Song of All Time!'

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) -Madonna just can't do anything to please those Brits. This time it's Elton John leading the charge, attacking the Material Girl's "Die Another Day" theme song in the press. He told British journalists that the tune is the worst 007 theme in the franchise's history.

"It hasn't got a tune," Elton John told the Sun. "James Bond themes are usually very camp and this one's different. It is the worst Bond tune of all time."

He added that the producers "should have gone for somebody like Lulu and Shirley Bassey, or maybe I'm in that league."

This is the second attack on the actress/singer by the Elton John household. Earlier this month, David Furbish, Elton John's life-mate, went public with his opinions when he heard that Madonna was going to make a movie about her life.

"I can't imagine anything more boring than a film about her because there's no secrets," Furnish told the British press. "She's bared her soul to the press… We've witnessed every incarnation. There's no mystery, there's no mystique."

"Die Another Day" composer David Arnold has also dissed Madonna's foray into the Bond universe. "Ideally, I would have liked to make some musical sense of her song," he told London's Sunday Express," but I couldn't."

Potter Overtakes Bond at Box Office

LOS ANGELES (AP) - It was a photo finish between Harry Potter on his broomstick and James Bond in his Aston Martin at the box office over the long American Thanksgiving weekend.

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" won the regular weekend with $32.2 million from Friday to Sunday, compared to $31 million for the latest Bond flick, "Die Another Day," according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Die Another Day" led for the full Thanksgiving holiday, taking in $46.3 million Wednesday to Sunday, compared to $45.8 million for "Chamber of Secrets."

Rankings could change when final numbers are released Monday.

Both films proved much bigger draws than a rush of new movies that opened the day before Thanksgiving.

Disney's animated sci-fi tale "Treasure Planet" led the newcomers, coming in at No. 4 with $11.9 million Friday to Sunday and $16.5 million for the five-day holiday period. It came in just behind Disney's "The Santa Clause 2," with $12.3 million for the three-day weekend and $17.2 million for the five days.

Another animated adventure, "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights," opened in fifth place with $10.1 million for the regular weekend and a five-day haul of $15.1 million.

Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney's brainy sci-fi drama "Solaris" premiered at No. 7 with a three-day gross of $6.8 million and a five-day take of $9.5 million. The horror flick "Wes Craven Presents: They" opened at No. 9 with $5.7 million for the three days and $8 million for five days. The snowboarding caper "Extreme Ops" debuted out of the top 10 with a three-day gross of $2.3 million and a five-day total of $3.1 million.

"Typically, new pictures come roaring out. But there's no question the stuff that was already out, whether Bond or `Harry Potter' or `Santa Clause,' that's where people wanted to go," said Disney head of distribution Chuck Viane. "There's a long Christmas holiday ahead of us, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that in the long run we'll end up doing the numbers we expected."

The cerebral "Solaris" "maybe wasn't quite the holiday fare we thought it was," said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released the film.

The overall box office was down, with the top 12 movies grossing $196.1 million Wednesday to Sunday, off 1.6 percent from Thanksgiving weekend last year.

"It was still a very solid Thanksgiving weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "There weren't any new movies that really generated a lot of interest, and when you have a `Potter' and Bond movie out there, it's going to be hard for the new ones to knock those off their perch."

"Chamber of Secrets" pushed its 17-day total to $200.2 million, becoming the sixth movie released in 2002 to cross the $200 million mark, tying last year's record. That record should fall after "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" hits theaters.

"Die Another Day," "The Santa Clause 2" and "8 Mile" all passed the $100 million mark, making 21 movies so far this year to cross that level, one short of the record set in 2000.

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. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," $32.2 million.

2. "Die Another Day," $31 million.

3. "The Santa Clause 2," $12.3 million.

4. "Treasure Planet," $11.9 million.

5. "Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights," $10.1 million.

6. "Friday After Next," $7.8 million.

7. "Solaris," $6.8 million.

8. "8 Mile," $5.9 million.

9. "Wes Craven Presents: They," $5.7 million.

10. "The Ring," $5.5 million.

Swashbuckler Dumas Enters Pantheon of French Icons

PARIS (Reuters) - France buried Alexandre Dumas, the fast-writing, fast-living author of "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo," in the crypt of the Pantheon in Paris Saturday, reuniting him with his friend Victor Hugo.

France's best-known writer of romantic adventures, equally renowned for his own torrid love life, was reburied in the state's official tomb of honor alongside his fellow novelist Hugo, Rousseau, Voltaire and dozens of other French luminaries.

Dumas, who died in 1870, was transferred under a decree issued by President Jacques Chirac from a cemetery in the town of Villers-Cotterets north of Paris, where he was born in 1802.

"Today, Alexandre Dumas is no longer alone," Chirac said at the reburial ceremony. "With him, our popular memory and our collective imagination enter the Pantheon."

The coffin carrying Dumas's remains was draped in a deep blue flag bearing the most famous line from his fictional band of fiery musketeers -- "All for one and one for all."

Dumas, grandson of a female Haitian slave, enchanted readers worldwide with more than 250 plays and novels of romance and adventure, churned out with an army of assistants. But his own life was perhaps wilder than those of his most fabled heroes.

He is said to have drawn much of his inspiration from the Caribbean escapades of his father, a mulatto general in Napoleon's army who died when Dumas was four years old.

His best loved works -- the adventures of the swashbuckling musketeers and the epic tale of love-smitten vengeance in "The Count of Monte Cristo" -- were rushed out in just two years in the mid-1850s.

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE

In March, Chirac decreed that Dumas's remains should be transferred to the Pantheon, the grave of more than 60 luminaries of arts, politics and science.

But his plan met resistance last year from intellectuals, feminists and historians.

They accused Dumas, renowned for extramarital affairs and rakish behavior, of sexism and questioned whether a writer who employed 60 helpers to produce commercially successful adventure stories deserved to lie beside the giants of French literature.

He earned a fortune from his work but spent it just as fast on friends and mistresses. He once fled to Brussels to escape creditors and only returned when a friend paid his bills.

One quotation attributed to Dumas epitomized his life:

"The chains of wedlock are so heavy it takes two people to carry them, sometimes three."

Dumas is best known abroad for "The Three Musketeers," which tells the adventures of four heroes living during the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV.

He was widely credited with reviving the French romantic novel through serialization and had a huge story-telling talent that blended fiction and fact until they were indistinguishable.

Self-educated, he worked in his hometown as a clerk and left for Paris at a young age. He briefly stopped writing to join the revolution of July 1830, traveled to Russia, and then to Italy at the invitation of the insurgent Giuseppe Garibaldi.

One of the last stops on his three-day, posthumous journey to Paris was the Chateau de Monte Cristo, the castle he had built in honor of the hero of his novel.

As he made his way to the Pantheon, French Senate President Christian Poncelet quoted a comment Victor Hugo once made after Dumas paid him a visit during a period of exile on the island of Guernsey: "I will return the visit at his grave.

Starship Enterprise Boldly Goes - to the Park

LONDON (Reuters) - Watch out for Klingons on the starboard bow -- The Starship Enterprise is landing in London's Hyde Park.

"Trekkie" fans of the cult science fiction saga will be in seventh heaven with the opening of the biggest Star Trek exhibition ever staged, says Martin Biallas, the brains behind "Star Trek: The Adventure."

You can pose for a photo with Captain Kirk, battle the Borgs from the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, ride in a simulator and have yourself superimposed on to a souvenir video clip.

The exhibition, to be launched in London on December 18, will go round the world from Europe to the United States and Australia "on a five-year mission to seek out new audiences, to boldly go where Star Trek has never gone before," Biallas says.

Biallas, president of Hollywood-based Special Entertainment Events, spent nine months persuading British authorities that Hyde Park, one of the country's most historic, was the perfect launching pad for Star Trek.

"This is one of the biggest interactive events on earth," the flamboyant entrepreneur said at the site where workmen were finishing off a set packed with props and costumes.

After five television series and 10 movies, Star Trek shows no signs of running out of steam.

"This exhibition will go five years, maybe 10," Biallas told Reuters in an interview. "Great Britain has 400,000 organized members in the Star Trek fan clubs. If they alone show up, we are more than fine."

"It is the biggest event staged in Hyde Park since the Great Exhibition in 1851. Also, over 2,000 journalists from all over the world will be here to celebrate the opening of the 10th feature film -- 'Nemesis'."

He says Star Trek has remained popular for over 40 years because it has a positive message.

"Yes, there will be a future. Mankind will survive and we will eventually take care of the environment."

"Think of when Star Trek opened in the sixties at the height of the Cold War. Stop thinking of destroying yourself, think more of enjoying life."

Biallas is confident about the $47 million show's success before it hits the road: "This is like a mobile theme park."

"We need about 250,000 people to break even. I think we will do 500,000 in London. We can comfortably accommodate 10,000 a day," he said.

But devoted "Trekkie" fans will be his harshest critics.

"I always use the example of Captain Kirk's toilet. We have to build so it is so accurate and so real as the Trekkies know it. If the lid is not the way they know it, they'll say it is not real."