Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson to tackle King Kong remake

WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson will remake the classic King Kong when he completes his Lord of the Rings trilogy later this year, according to a statement from Universal.

For Jackson, it's a childhood dream.

"I'm making movies today because I saw this film when I was nine years old. It has been my sustained dream to reinterpret this classic story for a new age," Jackson said in the statement issued on Monday.

The new version will be filmed in New Zealand.

Prior to embarking on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jackson had been working on the initial pre-production stages of King Kong.

The screenplay is based on the original story by Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace, which became the classic 1933 RKO Radio Pictures film, directed by Cooper and Ernest B. Schoesdack.

The RKO version of King Kong has been designated by the United States Library of Congress as one of the 100 greatest films and chosen by that organisation for permanent preservation as a national treasure.

Visual effects for the new version, which is scheduled for release in 2005, will be created by Lord of the Rings Oscar-winning Weta Workshop.

Let Sleeping Pope Lie, McCartney Warned

LONDON (Reuters) - Ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, one year into a world tour stretching from the United States to Japan, has been told to keep the volume down when he gets to Rome in May for fear of disturbing the aging Pope.

"We have been warned," McCartney's spokesman Geoff Baker told Reuters from Barcelona where McCartney has just held the third of the 30-concert European leg of his tour.

Baker said that out of deference for the 82-year-old Pope, McCartney's tour organizers were considering both turning down the volume and removing some of the louder rock n' roll songs from the Beatle-loaded repertoire.

"You can't play 'Back in the USSR' at half volume," he said.

Baker said some of the more raucous songs might be replaced by ballads in the concert, due to take place next to the Colosseum on May 11.

The warning, he said, had not come from the Vatican (news - web sites) itself but from the tour's promoters in the Italian capital. However, a Reuters reporter in Rome said there had been a number of concerts near the Colosseum, none of which had prompted papal criticism.

McCartney's Back In The World tour began in California on April 1, 2002 and has already traveled through Canada, Mexico and Japan.

The European leg includes France, Spain, Italy, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands and Ireland.

Baseball Has Been Beddy Beddy Good To Me!

Go Jays, go!

Costello, Sting Scale 'Cold Mountain'

Elvis Costello and Sting have each written and will perform new tracks for the soundtrack to the film "Cold Mountain," due in September via producer T Bone Burnett's DMZ imprint through Columbia. Label president John Grady tells Billboard "other contemporary names" who have contributed to the project will be announced later. "Cold Mountain," starring Renee Zellweger, Jude Law, and Nicole Kidman, arrives Dec. 25 in U.S. theaters.

As previously reported, the film also stars White Stripes guitarist Jack White, who plays a young confederate soldier in the film and sings three songs in it "in a very convincing manner," according to Grady. He adds that White was "an absolute student of [the music]. He was a beautiful kid to work with."

The "Cold Mountain" soundtrack will largely be comprised of pre-1860s period music by such modern-day performers as Stanley, Hazel Dickens, Stuart Duncan, and Tim O'Brien.

In other DMZ news, the label will issue a previously unreleased Stanley Brothers live album in June. "The Stanley Brothers: An Evening Long Ago" was recorded at WCYB Bristol, Va., in 1954. June will also bring the DMZ debut from singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell.

'Idol' Finalists Team Up For Charity Single

The 10 finalists from the second season of "American Idol" will release a charity single, "What the World Needs Now Is Love," with a portion of the proceeds going to the Red Cross. RCA will release the single April 15, the same date that "American Idol" first-season winner, Kelly Clarkson, releases her debut album, "Thankful." "What the World Needs Now Is Love," written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was originally a hit for Jackie DeShannon in 1965, when it reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"American Idol" has been a ratings winner for the Fox network, with the second season currently averaging over 20 million U.S. viewers per episode, according to Nielsen Media Research. On April 29, RCA releases "American Idol Season 2: All the Classic American Love Songs," featuring cover songs from the season's finalists.

Meanwhile, the 20th Century Fox feature-film musical "From Justin to Kelly," starring Clarkson and former "American Idol" finalist Justin Guarini, has had its release date pushed back from April 25 to June 13. There will reportedly be no soundtrack for the movie, but Guarini's as-yet-untitled debut album on RCA is expected to be released sometime in June.

Metallica's 'St. Anger' To Come With Free Bonus DVD

Metallica's forthcoming album St. Anger will include a free bonus DVD of the band playing all 11 songs on the collection. St. Anger is set for a June 10 release. The DVD performances are currently being taped in Metallica's HQ studios, and will mark the first footage captured with new bassist Robert Trujillo.

The 2-CD set will remain at regular price. Directing the DVD is longtime collaborator Wayne Isham, who worked on "Enter Sandman," "Sad But True," "I Disappear," Cunning Stunts, and S&M.

Lisa Marie Presley steps into Elvis' blue suede shoes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Lisa Marie Presley is to follow in the footsteps of her legendary father Elvis and release her first disc.

Presley, a 35-year-old mother of two, who counts pop star Michael Jackson, actor Nicholas Cage and musician Danny Keough among her ex-husbands, has made a "bluesy rock" disc called "To Whom it May Concern", according to Newsweek magazine.

"I feel like I've lived four lives in one," she told Newsweek. "I dealt with death early on. It wasn't just my father, it was my grandma, my grandpa, my great-grandfather, my aunts -- all in a two-year period.

"I didn't have much of a runway into life. I was, like, a deep, dark kid who was always melancholy."

Presley also talked of her relationship with Jackson.

"I thought, I need to be with someone who is bigger than I am -- or at least comparable -- so they don't get trampled.

"Michael wanted to meet me earlier in my life and I said 'No way.' I thought he was a freak and I had no interest in meeting him. But when I finally did, he immediately dashed any preconceived idea I had about him.

"We had a perfectly normal conversation, and I completely forgot who he was within 30 minutes. I actually did fall in love with him, but I don't know what was on his menu."

She added: "It took me a while to realize that maybe he manipulated stories or did things for public reasons, and that I was getting dragged into it. I can see that now."

Asked about the challenge of living up to Elvis' legacy in song, Presley was straightforward.

"It's intimidating. I hate it.... When I meet people, I know they are trying to sift through what they have heard. But if they listen (to the album), I hope they will hear somebody who's being pretty darn honest and not throwing up smoke screens."

'Head of State' Comes in No. 1 With $14M

LOS ANGELES - Audiences gave their votes to Chris Rock and put his presidential farce "Head of State" in the lead with a weekend box office of $14 million.

The Steve Martin and Queen Latifah comedy "Bringing Down the House," the top movie for three straight weekends, held the runner-up slot with $12.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The journey-to-the-center-of-the-Earth adventure "The Core," starring Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, opened in third place with $12.4 million. Debuting at No. 4 was the John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson military thriller "Basic," with $12.1 million.

"Chicago," last weekend's Academy Awards champ with six trophies including best picture, rode its Oscar triumph to a $7.4 million weekend, up 20 percent from a week earlier. That gave it a three-month total of $144.9 million.

In limited release, Robert Duvall's "Assassination Tango," the story of a hit man enchanted by Argentina's dance culture, debuted with a solid $64,000 in seven theaters. Along with starring, Duvall wrote and directed the film.

An overall box-office slump continued. The top 12 movies grossed $87.3 million, down 24 percent compared to the same weekend a year ago, when "Panic Room" had a big $30 million opening and "Ice Age" remained a strong holdover.

Overall, movie revenues are down 5 percent to 6 percent compared to last year's, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"It's been significantly depressed I think based on the distraction of what's going on in the world," said Rob Friedman, motion-picture vice chairman at Paramount, which released "The Core."

The box office is expected to rebound as big summer flicks start arriving. The Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson comedy "Anger Management" warms things up in mid-April, followed by the May debuts of the "X-Men" sequel "X2" and the sci-fi follow-up "The Matrix Reloaded."

The war might be steering audiences more toward comedies, which account for six of the year's 10 top-grossing movies. Weekend audiences chose funny flicks such as "Head of State" and "Bringing Down the House" over action tales like "The Core" and "Basic."

"There's strong evidence that comedies are on people's minds," said Jim Tharp, head of distribution for DreamWorks, which released "Head of State."

"Bringing Down the House" also might have benefited from the Oscars awards show, where Martin was host and Queen Latifah was an acting nominee for "Chicago."

"Steve Martin was front and center, he mentioned the movie a couple of times, you had Queen Latifah in the audience. That couldn't hurt," Dergarabedian said. "The Oscars were like a nice three-hour infomercial for `Bringing Down the House.'"

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. "Head of State," $14 million.
2. "Bringing Down the House," $12.5 million.
3. "The Core," $12.4 million.
4. "Basic," $12.1 million.
5. "Chicago," $7.4 million.
6. "Dreamcatcher," $6.4 million.
7. "Agent Cody Banks," $6.1 million.
8. "Piglet's Big Movie," $4.6 million.
9. "View From the Top," $3.8 million.
10. "The Hunted," $3.7 million.

Conan Spends a Week with The White Stripes

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - David Letterman loves the Foo Fighters, and come April Conan O'Brien will show his appreciation of Jack and Meg White when The White Stripes performs on "Late Night" for a full week of shows April 22 to 25.

"In fact, they're staying at my apartment," jokes host O'Brien.

The quirky duo will play songs from their fourth album, "Elephant," which Rolling Stone magazine gives five stars and calls a "stone-cold classic."

In the past, the hipster show has served as a showcase for the network debuts of such musical acts as Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, Green Day, No Doubt, Radiohead and Wilco.

"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" airs weeknights at 12:35 a.m. on NBC.

Letterman Returns Tonight!

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Comedian David Letterman will return next week to host his CBS late-night show for the first time since he was sidelined in late February by a case of shingles, the network said Friday.

The 55-year-old star of the "Late Show with David Letterman" last appeared February 25, when he complained on the air about the visible inflammation of his right eye, which turned out to have been caused by shingles, a viral infection related to chickenpox.

Actor Bruce Willis, tennis star John McEnroe and TV personality Regis Philbin filled in as the "Late Show" guest hosts for the rest of that week.

Repeats aired while the program was on a production hiatus the following week, and a parade of additional guests subbed for Letterman on those nights when his show was not preempted by CBS college basketball coverage.

Overall "Late Show" ratings during Letterman's absence, his first since recuperating from open-heart surgery in early 2000, were mixed, and CBS hoped for a big tune-in for his first night back.

Guests will include comedian Billy Crystal and 18-year-old world whistling champion Michael Barimo. Letterman plans to host all episodes of his show throughout the week.

Insiders said swelling around Letterman's eye cleared up relatively soon, but lingering pain associated with the infection is what kept him away for so long.

Before his heart operation, Letterman had never missed an appearance in his more than 20 years of late-night television.

TV DVD

Amazon has revealed 20th Century Fox's TV DVD plans through the end of 2003, and even into very early 2004. Keep in mind that these titles haven't been officially announced by the studio, so release dates are subject to change:

NYPD Blue: Season 2 ($59.98) - August 19
Angel: Season 2 ($59.98) - August 19
Futurama: Volume 2 ($49.98) - September 2
24: Season 2 ($59.98) - September 2
Family Guy: Volume 2 ($49.98) - September 9
The Shield: The Complete Second Season ($59.98) - October 7
Dark Angel: The Complete Second Season ($59.98) - October 21
The X-Files: The Complete Eighth Season ($149.98) - November 4
King of the Hill: Season 2 ($39.98) - November 11
M*A*S*H: Season 5 Collector's Edition ($39.98) - December 9
Lost in Space: Season One ($79.98) - January 13, 2004

TBA - Simpsons: Season 3 and Malcom: Season 2. Also, be aware that work is underway to release Firefly on DVD in 2003.

Michael Jackson nabs dubious distinction of most foolish American

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - "King of Pop" Michael Jackson was selected as the most foolish American in a poll out ahead of April Fool's Day.

Eighty percent of those polled said Jackson, who has been in the media spotlight again since a British television documentary shed new light on his personal life, was the biggest fool in the country, according to pollster Jaff Barge who has the survey taken every year.

Jackson, 44, drew foolish reviews for, among other things, dangling his baby son out a window in Germany to show him to fans last year.

Boxer Mike Tyson came in a foolish second.

Limp Bizkit Changes Name to 'limpbizkit'

It looks like capitalization and spacing is no good any more for Fred Durst. He posted a message on Limp Bizkit's Web site saying the band will now be known as limpbizkit with no capitals and no space between words. He gives no reason for the change.

He seems to like playing around with words lately, given the changes he makes to the new album's title. This week he said it would not be called "Bipolar" but instead "Fetus More." He's changed his mind again and now he's calling it "The Search for Teddy Swoes." Durst promises "it will all make sense very soon my friends." He does clear one thing up, though. He says the song "Just Drop Dead" is NOT about Britney Spears. But the fact that he says it isn't makes it clear that it really is.

Did Britney make Fred go "crazy."

Madonna Hurt by 'Razzie' Award

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Material Girl has feelings, too.

Madonna is apparently not as tough as she seems. She told "Access Hollywood" that she was "totally hurt" by the bashing of "Swept Away," the movie she made with her husband, Guy Ritchie.

Madonna says she would work again with her husband "in a heartbeat" even though "Swept Away" was named the worst movie of the year and given a Golden Raspberry Award on March 22. Madonna also won a Razzie for "Worst Actress" and Guy Ritchie won "Worst Director."

She may have chance to redeem herself in an upcoming stint on "Will and Grace." Madonna plays a high-maintenance office worker who's a possible new roommate for Karen. Madonna says because of shooting the episode, she and Megan Mullally are now friends.

Great White to Reunite for One Song

LOS ANGELES - The rock band Great White plans to perform together for the first time since the band's Feb. 20 concert in Rhode Island resulted in a nightclub fire that killed 99 people.

Survivors of the group say they will perform one song at West Hollywood's Key Club on April 29 to raise money for a memorial fund in honor of their late guitarist, Ty Longley, the group's manager, Paul Woolnough, said Friday.

The charity concert will benefit the late guitarist's pregnant girlfriend, victim relief funds and students seeking art scholarships.

Great White has no other plans to perform again, Woolnough added, although surviving band members may make individual appearances at various other benefits.

Other bands in the Key Club lineup include the glam-metal group XYZ and 5 Cent Shine, of which Longley was a former member.

Longley, a 31-year-old Ohio native who had lived in Los Angeles for the last five years, was among the dozens who perished at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I. Investigators suspect the band's pyrotechnics ignited soundproofing foam.

A grand jury is investigating the case.

Longley listened to Great White in the late 1980s and idolized guitarist Mark Kendall, said Longley's sister, according to family members. He joined the band about four years ago.

Kendall and singer Jack Russell are the only members from the original lineup. The band had recently performed mainly as a nostalgia act at small venues after reaching the peak of its fame with the 1990 hit "Once Bitten, Twice Shy."

Moynahan Says Aye to 'Robot'

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Bridget Moynahan, who played Colin Farrell's love interest in "The Recruit," has signed on to star opposite Will Smith in "I, Robot," a Fox sci-fi thriller targeted for summer 2004.

She will portray a psychologist in the distant future with a specialty in robot psyches. She must aid a robot-phobic police detective (Smith) who's investigating a murder that seemingly violates the Laws of Robotics, which state that robots may not allow a human to come to harm.

Alex Proyas will direct from Jeff Vintar's adaptation of Isaac Asimov's "I, Robot" anthology.

Production should begin in May. The picture's current release date is July 2, 2004. However, it's possible that Fox will change its "I, Robot" date after Sony announced on Wednesday that "Spider-Man 2" will launch that same Friday.

Moynahan's other credits include "The Sum of All Fears," "Serendipity" and "Coyote Ugly."

Virus Forces Stones to Cancel China Shows

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones have canceled what would have been their first ever shows in China next week because of the killer bug sweeping through Southeast Asia, the group said on Friday.

Earlier this week the veteran rockers canceled two concerts scheduled for this weekend in Hong Kong, also as a result of the deadly and highly contagious pneumonia virus that has killed 54 people worldwide and infected around 1,500.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which scientists say is caused by a new virus strain, has forced the cancellation of holidays and business travel to many parts of Asia, in a blow to the region's already sickly economies.

The Rolling Stones were scheduled to play in Shanghai on April 1 and Beijing on April 4. Fans were flying in from all over the world to see the band's historic China concerts. The Stones have been trying to play China ever since 1978 when the government rejected their application.

"We are very sad and disappointed not to be able to do these concerts," Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger said in a statement. "We have been looking forward to the shows in China for so long and will reschedule them as soon as possible."

The statement cited travel warnings issued by both the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, as well as continued concerns expressed by local Chinese government officials, communities and individuals over large public gatherings.

The Stones have shuffled the dates of the remaining cities on the Asian leg of their "Licks" world tour. They will play the Indian cities of Bangalore on April 4 and Mumbai on April 7, both a week earlier than originally scheduled; and Bangkok on April 10, two days later than planned.

'Late Show' Host Letterman Returns from Illness

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian David Letterman will return next week to host his CBS late-night show for the first time since he was sidelined in late February by a case of shingles, the network said on Friday.

The 55-year-old star of the "Late Show with David Letterman" last appeared Feb. 25, when he complained on the air about the visible inflammation of his right eye, which turned out to have been caused by shingles, a viral infection related to chickenpox.

Actor Bruce Willis, tennis star John McEnroe and TV personality Regis Philbin filled in as the "Late Show" guest hosts for the rest of that week.

Repeats aired while the program was on a production hiatus the following week, and a parade of additional guests subbed for Letterman on those nights when his show was not preempted by CBS college basketball coverage.

Overall "Late Show" ratings during Letterman's absence, his first since recuperating from open-heart surgery in early 2000, were mixed, and CBS is hoping for a big tune-in for his first night back.

Guests will include comedian Billy Crystal and 18-year-old world whistling champion Michael Barimo. Letterman plans to host all episodes of his show throughout the week.

Insiders said swelling around Letterman's eye cleared up relatively soon, but lingering pain associated with the infection is what kept him away for so long.

Before his heart operation, Letterman had never missed an appearance in his more than 20 years of late-night television.

Michael Moore defends Oscar speech

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) -- Filmmaker Michael Moore said he almost decided not to turn his Oscar acceptance speech into a political statement.

"The thought crossed my mind that the easy way ... would be to soak up the love," Moore told about 1,000 students at the University of Rochester's Strong Auditorium Wednesday.

The documentary maker won his first Oscar Sunday for "Bowling for Columbine," an exploration of gun violence in America.

"I would have ridden the high right out of the building to the Vanity Fair party," he said. "The other voice (in my head) says, 'No, you have a responsibility. People are dying, and they're dying in your name."'

Moore was applauded when he won, and his fiery criticism of President Bush and the U.S.-led war on Iraq first drew cheers at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

But a cacophony of boos followed as Moore shouted, "We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Shame on you!"

Outside the Strong Auditorium Wednesday, some protested the war in Iraq, while others protested Moore. One sign read: "Shame on you Moore."

Some 400 students watched his speech through a closed-circuit feed elsewhere on campus, while 200 others crowded outside the sold-out show, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported in Thursday's editions.

CHUM pop songs casualties of war

Iraq conflict sparks ban on peace, love tunes at AM station

By BILL BRIOUX -- Toronto Sun

TORONTO -- All we are saying is Give Peace A Chance -- to get on the radio.
John Lennon's anti-war anthem is among 20 songs pulled off the playlist of Toronto oldies radio station CHUM AM due to sensitivity over the war in Iraq. The list includes the usual suspects -- Revolution by The Beatles and War by Edwin Starr -- but also some syrupy ballads like Soldier Boy by The Shirelles and One Tin Soldier by The Original Caste (see complete list below).

The banned titles were posted yesterday on the CHUM-owned CP24 Web site.

Calls placed by The Sun to CHUM AM program director Brad Jones were not returned.

The Shirelles had a No. 1 hit with Soldier Boy in 1962. Original member Beverly Lee maintains that it was just a simple love song. "This song served as an anchor to many many loved ones throughout the Vietnam era," she said yesterday.

Lee and the current Shirelles are scheduled to appear at Casino Rama June 6 as part of a Dick Clark tour of rock 'n' roll bands. Their manager and musical director, John Hughes, has heard of no other radio station in North America blacklisting Soldier Boy. "It's not a pro-war song, it's a love song," he said.

VIDEOS PULLED

The CHUM ban follows news that MTV Europe has yanked several music videos in an attempt to keep disturbing images and war themes off screens during the Iraqi conflict. Paul Hardcastle's 19 and Outkast's Bombs Over Baghdad are both verboten on MTV Europe for the duration of the war. So is Boom! by System Of A Down, an anti-war video depicting Iraq war casualties.

A stranger decision is yanking anything by The B52s, who have apparently been deemed inappropriate just because they're named after a fabled American bomber. Aerosmith's Don't Want To Miss A Thing (featuring scenes from the disaster movie Armageddon), Radiohead's Invasion and You, Me And World War Three by Gavin Friday are also benched, as is Billy Idol's Hot In The City (which features footage of an atomic explosion).

A spokesman for the digital network MTV Canada says they have not altered their playlist. "Canada is a different environment," said communications supervisor Alexis Walker.

CHUM-owned MuchMusic also has no such no-no list said public affairs vice president Sarah Crawford. "MuchMusic is not going to pretend that there is not a war going on," said Crawford, who notes that the station has already produced one MuchTalks war special. But she insisted that no specific artists or songs have been delisted for airplay during the war. "Basically, we don't come up with lists," she said, adding that she hasn't seen one e-mail from a viewer upset at any Much video content since the conflict began.

Much senior music programmer Craig Halket recalled that certain videos were yanked post 9/11 but he couldn't recall any band being blacklisted at this time.

"In a situation like this, it always comes down to a case-by-case basis," he said.
After 9/11, U.S. radio giant Clear Channel Communications sent their 1,200 stations a list of more than 150 songs deemed "questionable." Recommended for removal at that time were Steve Miller's Jet Airliner, R.E.M.'s It's The End Of The World As We Know It and Peter Paul and Mary's Leavin' On A Jet Plane. Even songs by artist killed in plane crashes, such as Ricky Nelson and Buddy Holly, were deemed disturbing, as, incredibly, was The Bangles' Walk Like An Egyptian.

April Fool's? Believe it or not, no.

WHAT THEY BANNED:

Soldier Boy by The Shirelles
Shotgun by Jr. Walker & The All Stars
The Universal Soldier by Donovan
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) by Cher
Abraham, Martin And John by Dion
Revolution by The beatles
Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones
In The Year 2525 by Zager And Evans
Give Peace A Chance By John Lennon
One Tin Soldier by The original caste
When I Die by Blood, Sweat and Tears
The Cruel War by Sugar And Spice
War by Edwin Starr
Live And Let Die by Paul McCartney
The Night Chicago Died by Paper Lace
Billy, Don't Be A Hero by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods
Fighting On The Side Of Love by The T.H.P. Orchestra
The Dream Never Dies by The Cooper Brothers

Madonna blasts 'homogenized' pop

LONDON (AP) -- Madonna has blasted manufactured pop acts and a stream of TV talent searches, saying they're homogenizing the music world.

In excerpts released Thursday from an interview with British music magazine Q, the star accuses record chiefs of choosing new acts based on their marketing potential instead of their talent.

"I arrived at a different time, before the time of Svengalis holding talent searches -- finding a girl that looks right and can carry a tune and then figuring a way to market her," Madonna is quoted as saying in the May issue of the magazine.

Referring to singers Pink, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, she said: "I'm not saying those girls can't grow into something, but I really don't know where we're going with the world. Everything's so homogenized."

Madonna, who has gained immense success by astutely marketing her own image, joins other music veterans, including Elton John and George Michael, who have criticized talent quests like Pop Idol, a British reality television show in which viewers choose a winner to get a record contract. The U.S. version of the show, American Idol, is in its second successful season.

Madonna, 44, was also critical of young hopefuls who crave celebrity for its own sake, rather than wanting recognition of their abilities.

"It's the allure of this beautiful life. Drive this car, you're gonna be popular," she told Q, which goes on sale on April 1.

"It's a very powerful illusion and people are caught up in it, including myself -- or I was."

The singer rose to fame party because of her provocative image, but despite years of wearing revealing outfits she said she takes a firm line on what her own children should wear.

Asked if she felt able to stop her 6-year-old daughter Lourdes from dressing how she wants, she said: "I can and I do."

'American Idol' Finalist Has Felony Past

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It has almost become a routine to watch a new FOX reality show and wait to see what brand of criminal, amoral or controversial past behaviors made it past the network's background checks. The latest unsavory revelations involve Trenyce, one of the nine remaining finalists on the second season of "American Idol."

TheSmokingGun.com has obtained a mug shot photo of Trenyce, then still known as Lashundra Cobbins, stemming from an 1999 felony theft arrest. Cobbins was booked in Memphis, Tenn. on Oct. 6, 1999, but a Shelby County criminal court judge put her in a pre-trial diversion program, allowing her to expunge her record. According to TSG, Cobbins was upfront with producers about her past, so she'll remain on the show.

It's been a difficult season for "American Idol," which experienced its first glitch with the news that popular contestant Frenchie Davis once posed for nudie pictures on an adult web site. Frenchie's activities were, of course, totally legal, but the show wanted no part of a possible scandal (seeing as how while she posed for the pictures when she was a legal adult, the site catered to men looking for underage models) and removed all references to Frenchie from the show's website and removed the zaftig singer from the round of 32. Frenchie has landed on her feet, working as a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight."

This season's second " American Idol" blackeye came when former semifinalist Jaered Neale Andrews faced charges for assault after a November altercation outside a bar, which left a Pennsylvania man dead. Andrews remains free on $5,000 bail.

The series of entertaining FOX reality scandals began, of course, with accused wife-beater and non-millionaire Rick Rockwell of " Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire." Taheed Watson and Ytossie Patterson of " Temptation Island" raised ethical hackles when it was discovered that they went on the couple-splitting show despite a child. Earlier this year, " Joe Millionaire" faced minor embarrassment over the fetish film past of finalist Sara Kozer, while " Married by America" had to deal with a possible suitor who was already married."

Avril Lavigne Recalls Recording 'I'm With You'

Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You" continues to burn up the airplay charts. According to Radio & Records magazine, the song is currently the most-played track on Hot AC stations, the Number Three track on CHR stations, and the Number 22 hit at adult contemporary stations.

Lavigne says that when she first recorded "I'm With You," it sent chills down her spine. In fact, she says that every time she performs the song it still resonates for her. "When I went into the booth to sing it, I sang it through with just so much emotion I had, like, goose bumps going down my spine," Lavigne says. "It was really neat. When I sing that song, I just like to stand there in my own world. That song is...It's an important song to me. I like it."

Lavigne says she can relate to the lyrics of "I'm With You" because her dramatic and hectic life often leaves her alone at night. "I have alone feelings all the time because, 'cause I don't have a boyfriend and because I'm, like, I'm on the road," Lavigne says. "It's crazy when you got so much stuff going on during your days and then you go to, from all the drama, just you go back to your hotel room and you're just sitting there and it's, like, 'Whoa, I'm alone.' I've written so many songs about being alone."

Lennon-McCartney Non-Beatles Songs Covered For New All-Star Album

Singers from Cheap Trick and the B-52s are taking part in a new covers album titled From A Window: Lost Songs Of Lennon & McCartney. The 17-track album includes songs that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote for other artists--including Badfinger, Cilla Black, and Billy J. Kramer--but were never released by the Beatles themselves.

Graham Parker, the B-52's Kate Pierson, and Buffalo Tom's Bill Janovitz are each featured on several songs, while Cheap Trick's Robin Zander joins the band Johnny Society for P.J. Proby's "That Means A Lot."

From A Window comes out April 8, and the first single will be "Step Inside Love," a top-10 U.K. hit for Black that was written by McCartney. Parker, Pierson, Janovitz, and Johnny Society plan to tour in support of the album starting May 16 in Boston.

The full From A Window: Lost Songs Of Lennon & McCartney tracklisting, with original artists in parentheses, includes: "I'm In Love," Kate Pierson (the Fourmost); "I'll Keep You Satisfied," Bill Janovitz (Billy J. Kramer); "From A Window," Graham Parker (Billy J. Kramer); "Step Inside Love," Kate Pierson & Johnny Society (Cilla Black); "It's For You," Bill Janovitz (Cilla Black); "Bad To Me," Graham Parker (Billy J. Kramer); "That Means A Lot," Johnny Society with Robin Zander (P.J. Proby); "Hello Little Girl," Bill Janovitz (the Fourmost); "Love Of The Loved," Kate Pierson (Cilla Black); "Tip Of My Tongue," Graham Parker (Tommy Quickly); "Goodbye," Bill Janovitz (Mary Hopkin); "Come And Get It," Graham Parker (Badfinger); "A World Without Love," Bill Janovitz (Peter & Gordon); "One And One Is Two," Graham Parker (Billy J. Kramer); "Nobody I Know," Kate Pierson (Peter & Gordon); "Woman," Bill Janovitz (Peter & Gordon); and "I'll Be On My Way," Johnny Society (Billy J. Kramer).

It's Like Watching A Car Wreck

Disgraced boxer Mike Tyson set to co-host with Jimmy Kimmell on ABC's Jimmy Kimmell Live all five nights next week.

SPINNING TO A LATER DATE

Columbia Pictures announcing it plans to push back the release date for its blockbuster sequel The Amazing Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire, from early May 2004 to July 2, 2004 to capitalize on the July 4 weekend. Meanwhile, Universal will now open director Stephen Sommers' monster movie, Van Helsing, on May 7.

Just call him A. Ranger.

Adrien Brody's surprise Oscar triumph Sunday night will certainly transform his acting career, but the 29-year-old Queens native - who's long been moonlighting as a hip-hop producer under the name A. Ranger - has equally high hopes for his music.

"Adrien is a fanatic," deejay Stretch Armstrong, one of Brody's musician friends, told The Post. "Music is just as important to him as acting."

Word on the street is he's pretty good, too.

Brody has played some demo tracks - which often marry heavy urban beats to Japanese or Middle Eastern music - for his pals P. Diddy and Jay-Z, and the rap world high rollers expressed interest in sampling them for their own songs.

Such an endorsement would be the equivalent of that gold statuette for Brody the mix master.

"He'd love to use his new power to work on the music for his movies," says Sky Nellor, another Manhattan deejay, who dated Brody for a few years and remains a close friend.

Brody certainly isn't the first movie star to want to make music - other actor-musicians include Keanu Reeves, Dennis Quaid and Brody's fellow Oscar-winner Russell Crowe - but unlike those guitar-slingers, Brody's axe of choice is a Korg Triton sampling keyboard.

Friends say Brody can recite entire raps by some of his favorite emcees, such as 50 Cent, Nas or Biggie Smalls.

And whenever he gets the chance, Brody loves to go clubbing.

"We go out downtown, anyplace there's a good deejay and attractive girls," says Armstrong. Some favorites include Tribeca Grand Hotel and Spa.

"You wouldn't recognize him in a club. He's completely on the low. Bobbing with his head to the music, probably with a hoodie on."

"Adrien is a really good dancer," says a New York scenester who dated Brody briefly last year.

"He's an attractive guy, you know. And he dances totally chill. He looks cool."

He's even taken his own turn on the decks - on Valentine's Day last year, Brody deejayed with Armstrong and soul singer Joi at Joe's Pub on Lafayette Street.

Just don't expect him to do it again any time soon.

"Deejaying live isn't really Adrien's thing," says his lawyer, Michael Guido, who's introduced him to hip-hop bigs like Roc-A-Fella's Damon Dash and Def Jam's Lyor Cohen.

"He wants to be in the studio, producing tracks and working with rappers."

Brody already has one cut out there - "This Ain't a Movie," on the soundtrack to his 1998 indie flick "Restaurant." Brody recorded it as A. Ranger and got the Rawcotiks to rap over it.

Though it sounds a little like Eminem, Marshall Mathers probably doesn't have to worry about the competition - Brody hasn't put out another song since.

Still, "Adrien was crazy excited about it," Nellor says. "That was his first taste of recording, and he wants more."

Brody is so devoted to his music, he even worked on it during the grueling six-month European shoot for "The Pianist."

As he was preparing to play a Holocaust victim, director Roman Polanski wanted Brody to feel what it's like to lose everything.

So he sold his car, got rid of his Manhattan apartment, broke up with Nellor and went on a crash diet to lose 30 pounds from his 160-pound frame.

"That Korg Triton was the one thing he kept," Nellor recalls. "He carted it from Paris to Berlin to Warsaw."

Brody used the keyboard to study the Chopin pieces he mimed in the film - and to compose a lot of his own music.

"Adrien was really affected by the movie, so [the music he made is] interesting, dark, gloomy stuff," says Armstrong, who compares Brody's "Pianist"-era tracks to the rich, syrupy trip-hop of Britain's Portishead and Tricky.

Now that Brody owns an Oscar, it might be hard for him to carve out time for his hobby.

"He definitely wants to devote more time to his musical side," Guido says. "But now every film director is going to be calling him. We'll see if he has the time."

DAVE'S BEEN OUT SICK FOUR WEEKS

Fourteen guest hosts (counting Luke Wilson Wednesday night) have subbed for David Letterman since he took ill with a bad case of shingles in late February. And they've generally done a good job for people with no experience hosting a late-night show.

But this week, after sitting through a passable Paul Shaffer on Monday and an oddly disconcerting Bill Cosby on Tuesday, the guest-host thing feels like it's getting old.

And on Internet chat rooms and bulletin boards, some of Dave's fans are beginning to wonder if their hero intends to return at all.

Undoubtedly adding to their uncertainty is the fact that they have heard nothing from Dave himself.

The intensely private "Late Show" host isn't given to issuing public statements even at the best of times. And this time around, he has chosen to maintain total silence since he took ill. The few statements that have come out on his behalf have come only from his publicists or his doctor.

Yesterday marked four weeks since Bruce Willis stepped in at the last minute Feb. 26 as the first sub.

If Dave's absence stretches to five weeks, it will just about equal the time he was absent for emergency quintuple bypass surgery in January and February 2000.

But insiders say he's anxious to come back, although an exact date for his return is impossible to determine just now.

"Dave will be back - we just don't know when," said a spokesman for Letterman, 55.

And the medical books confirm that shingles around the eyes can be a stubborn condition that can take weeks to throw off.

Quite likely, according to the medical texts, it's the pain and discomfort associated with a condition like Dave's that is preventing him from returning to work just yet.

"Obviously, we want him back in the chair as soon as he's ready, but his health comes first," a CBS spokesman said yesterday.

Durst Rethinking Next Bizkit Album

Limp Bizkit next Flip/Interscope album will likely not arrive on May 13 as was previously expected, according to frontman Fred Durst. Writing on the band's web site, Durst also said the new album's title could change at any minute. "The new Limp Bizkit CD is NOT called 'BIPOLAR,'" he said. "It is NOT called 'LESS IS MORE.' It is called 'FETUS MORE' until I decide it shouldn't be. Whatever I'm feeling it is on the day the artwork is due then that will be the FINAL title."

On Monday, the group will return to the studio to record three new songs. "We just can't stop the creative process," Durst said. "As soon as we think we're done some other phat ass riff come[s] barreling out of our amps. Next thing you know we have ANOTHER song. So there. It ain't over till it's over."

It now appears more likely that Limp Bizkit's recent collaborations with Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg may appear on the new album. As previously reported, the band will unveil the song "Crack Addict" and "one surprise song" Sunday (March 30) during World Wrestling Entertainment's Wrestlemania XIX. Limp Bizkit will be joined on-stage by guitarists Head from Korn and Mike Smith from Snot, although a permanent replacement for departed axeman Wes Borland has yet to be named.

Durst also asked fans to phone his manager to give their suggestions as to what type of song should be released as the new album's first single. "I'm feeling the majority of everyone wants us to drop a super heavy 'TRADITIONAL' Limp song first and some people want something TOTALLY opposite," he said. "I'd like to hear what you think."

Backstreet Boys Put Next Album On Hold

The Backstreet Boys have put their next studio album on hold, despite initial plans to begin work on the set this month. "As a group, we have decided not to record our next album at this time," the band said in a statement. "We are not breaking up, but individually we are currently at different places in our lives, and our hearts and minds are focused in other areas. All of us are getting along great and are supporting each other in our individual endeavors."

"When the timing is right, we will record another Backstreet Boys album," the statement continued. "We would like to thank our fans for their continued support and love throughout our career."

Earlier this month, group member Howie Dorough told Billboard he had written 12 songs on his own and another 15 with the other members of the Backstreet Boys. "I'm hoping to have the new album out at least by September, [but] I'd like it to be by the summer," he said.

As previously reported, the group in November filed a massive lawsuit against Jive parent Zomba, seeking to dissolve its contract. Dorough said earlier this month that he expects the suit to be settled amicably. "I think eventually it's all going to work out," he said.

It is not known what future projects the group members hope to tackle. Kevin Richardson just wrapped a run in the Broadway version of the musical "Chicago," and Nick Carter recently wrapped a tour in support of his Jive solo debut, "Now or Never."

Adams, Lavigne, Dion & Others On Peace Compilation

Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, Gord Downie, Bruce Cockburn, k-os, Our Lady Peace, Jarvis Church, Chantal Kreviazuk, Bryan Adams, and David Usher are among the artists that will appear on "Peace Songs," a double-CD that is being rushed out to stores April 15 to benefit War Child Canada.

"We have projects that benefit war-affected children all around the world," says Dr. Samantha Nutt, executive director of War Child Canada in Toronto. "In terms of this album, there will be a special focus on children in Iraq. We support a children's hospital in Karbala and have done for the last couple of years.

"As soon as it's safe and we can get access, we're going to be launching a psycho-social support program that responds to the trauma that they have lived through, not just recently, but also the last several years, and helping them to cope and rebuild their lives."

The "Peace Songs" initiative grew out of War Child U.K.'s idea for a single CD, entitled "Hope," which includes contributions from such international names as Paul McCartney and David Bowie. Those tracks will also be on the Canadian version, a joint venture between War Child Canada, Sony Music Canada and BMG Music Canada.

The charity compilation is comprised of classic or original peace songs. Kreviazuk has cut Bob Marley's "Redemption Song," Lavigne recorded Bob Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," and Church a version of U2's "One."

'Breathe' Snuffs Out Julia

Julia DeMato's luck ran out Wednesday night. The 23-year-old hairstylist from Brookfield, Conn., one of the bottom three vote-getters from viewers of Fox's American Idol for the third straight week, was finally sent packing Wednesday night.

DeMato had sung Faith Hill's Breathe on Tuesday's country-rock program, and judges said she was slightly off-pitch.

Rounding out the three contestants were two Texans: Rickey Smith, 23, a student teacher from Keene, who sang Larry Gatlin's I've Done Enough Dyin' Today, and talent-show veteran Kimberly Caldwell, 21, of Katy, who sang Travis Tritt's Anymore. Judge Simon Cowell called it her best performance.

Caldwell also has appeared on the syndicated Star Search and on the WB series Pop Stars, where she made it into the final 15.

Cowell conceded that he didn't much care for country music, leading one to believe that he has never heard the classic Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait).

Dixie Chicks to Forgo Issuing Apologies

NEW YORK - People shouldn't expect to hear anymore apologies from the Dixie Chicks.  

The country trio's manager, Simon Renshaw, tells Radio and Records that lead singer Natalie Maines has released two strongly worded statements and that right now, he doesn't think she can win.

"If she goes on microphone and apologizes, they'll say she doesn't sound contrite enough," he said.

Maines reportedly told a London audience earlier this month, in reference to President Bush's push for military action against Iraq, that she was ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas. She later apologized, saying her remark was disrespectful.

Meanwhile, radio talk show host Mike Gallagher says he's close to booking Charlie Daniels to perform at an alternative concert to the Dixie Chicks' show in Greenville, S.C., on May 1.

Also on Gallagher's wish list of performers are Toby Keith, Travis Tritt, Darryl Worley and Garth Brooks, according to Radio and Records.

Gallagher says all of the proceeds will help provide food and personal care items to the families of military personnel. He's also holding a block of free VIP seats and a backstage reception for Dixie Chicks ticket-holders, because he says the Chicks' promoters are not offering refunds.

Asked for his reaction to Gallagher's plans, Renshaw said it will be fantastic to see who he gets to play.

"If he thinks there should be a counter-show, I wish him good luck."

The group may need it, especially now that they have reportedly also ruffled the feathers of animal activists at PETA — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

MSNBC reports Maines and fellow members Martie Maguire and Emily Robison posed in a field of flowers for one of PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ads. They were wearing strategically placed instruments.

MSNBC says the group's management heard about PETA's plan and killed the ad.

Killer Virus Licks Rolling Stones' HK Concerts

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The lethal pneumonia outbreak in Southeast Asia has forced the Rolling Stones to postpone two concerts scheduled for this weekend in Hong Kong, a spokeswoman for the band said on Wednesday.

The veteran British rockers, currently on the Asian leg of their Licks world tour, were scheduled to perform at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center on Friday and Saturday.

But increasing fears about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which is reported to have killed 50 people and made more than 1,300 sick, prompted the band to change its plans.

"Increases in the number of cases of SARS in Hong Kong and Southern China and continued concern over large gatherings have created apprehension among fans and concern for their safety," a statement said. "The Stones plan to reschedule the concerts as soon as possible."

A spokeswoman said the rest of the tour will proceed. The next scheduled show is in Shanghai on April 1, marking the band's first ever performance in China. Other first-time shows will follow in Beijing, Bangkok and the Indian cities of Bangalore and Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.

Two viruses have emerged as suspects in the still-mysterious pneumonia, but health experts say the actual culprit is far from being identified.

Experts believe the disease originated in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, where people have been getting sick with the symptoms of severe fever, unexplained pneumonia and difficulty breathing since November. International travelers have inadvertently carried the bug to other parts of the world.

The Rolling Stones earlier this week played two shows in Singapore, their first in the city state since 1965.

Networks Turn On Star Power

By Gary Levin, USA TODAY

Networks are going star-crazy plotting their new fall lineups. After a stretch when programmers sought to make their own stars instead of paying for established ones, familiar faces are again popping up in pilots being produced in the next few weeks and being touted to advertisers in New York this week.

Some are big names rarely seen on TV; others are small-screen veterans.

* NBC, which has long preferred the Friends model of discovering new talent, this year has potential new series led by Heather Locklear, Tom Selleck, Rob Lowe, Rupert Everett and Whoopi Goldberg. And another candidate, drama Miss/Match, stars Alicia Silverstone as a divorce attorney who plays matchmaker for her newly single clients. (Ryan O'Neal plays her dad.)
* CBS, usually the most star-struck of the major networks, has projects with Charlie Sheen (a comedy about two brothers), Matthew Modine (a forensic psychologist), Mark Harmon (a Navy counterintelligence officer), Randy Quaid, Andy Richter, Joe Mantegna and Party of Five's Scott Wolf.
* ABC, seeking more family comedies and cop series, has lined up Regis' co-host (and former All My Children star) Kelly Ripa for a proposed sitcom about a washed-up soap star who returns home to live with her twin sister (Murphy Brown's Faith Ford). Also on tap are other series featuring Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me), Steven Weber, Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock From the Sun) and Mario Van Peebles.
* Fox has potential series with Norm Macdonald, Patrick Dempsey, Rebecca De Mornay and Peter Gallagher.

Viewers are more apt to try out a show with a recognizable star. "Those shows are often a little easier to launch," NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker says.

Last fall, John Ritter (Three's Company) helped ABC kick-start its retro family comedy 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter.

But stars don't guarantee hits: Just ask Bette Midler, Ellen DeGeneres or Geena Davis, all of whom flopped in their latest tries as TV-series leads.

The major networks are desperate for enduring new sitcom and drama standouts at a time when the few new hits are short-lived reality shows like Joe Millionaire. They have ordered about 135 pilots, slightly more than last year. Last fall, about 30 new shows were picked up; the number that make the cut this time depends on how many shows are canceled — and how many time slots go to news magazines and reality shows (expected to be more than last fall).

"There is greater pressure to come up with scripted shows," says Magna Global USA analyst Steve Sternberg. "You can't continue going with constant barrages of short-term (reality) fixes."

But many of the pilots tread safe, familiar ground, with an abundance of cop, forensics and law dramas, and family comedies. A couple feature characters reluctantly returning home such as a former baseball player (Selleck) or hockey player (Craig Bierko, in an ABC comedy).

Among other development trends:

* Sure bets, with 13-episode orders or on-air commitments: Line of Duty (ABC), a drama following the interlocking stories of a young female FBI agent and a mobster; The Brotherhood of Poland (CBS), a drama from producer David E. Kelley (The Practice, Ally McBeal), about three brothers (one is Quaid) running a small New England town; 2069 (Fox), a futuristic drama from Steven Bochco (NYPD Blue) about a present-day cop who suddenly fast-forwards into the future.
* Terrorism. No longer squeamish about tackling world events head-on, there's Threat Matrix (ABC), about a task force dealing with domestic terror threats, and Homeland Security (NBC), a similar tale starring Scott Glenn and Tom Skerritt, about a group of government agents who form the homeland security office after 9/11.
* Remakes. Family Affair bombed, Twilight Zone faded and Dragnet is no hit, but the networks are pressing ahead with revamped versions of other familiar titles.

There's The Beverly Hillbillies (CBS), done up as a reality series despite protests from rural groups; Eddie's Father (WB), about a widowed dad whose son tries to get him remarried, based on the 1960s Bill Bixby comedy; Young MacGyver (WB), about the 23-year-old nephew of the unconventional crime-stopper; and Tarzan and Jane (WB), an adventure drama that finds the jungle couple relocated to New York and Jane a detective. Plus: fresh takes on Mr. Ed (Fox), the 1960s sitcom about a talking horse, and Hotel (UPN), the 1980s soap from producer Aaron Spelling.

On the feature-film side, Fox will try a comedy-pilot remake of About a Boy, with Patrick Dempsey in the Hugh Grant role.

ADDING THEIR TWO CENTS

R.E.M. launching their own anti-war song "Last Straw" on the band's website.

BACK SOON

Tim Allen's ABC reunion special A User's Guide to Home Improvement postponed due to war coverage. Instead of airing in April the show will bow later this year.

TAKE MY WIFE

Halle Berry's hubby Eric Benet is reportedly "not mad at all" that Oscar winner Adrien Brody planted a wet one on his wife, reports People. The trio are friends.

Loving A Spy

Attention, fans of uber-agent Sydney Bristow! Mark September 2nd on your calendar, for that is the top secret date when Buena Vista Home Entertainment will release Alias: The Complete First Season. This six-disc set features the entire first season lineup, plus plenty of extras: audio commentaries on select episodes (TBA), deleted scenes, a production diary on the pilot, the "A Mission Around The World" featurette, "Marshall Finkman's Gadget Gallery," audition footage, and season 2 and 3 previews. Alas, despite being broadcast in HD, the information announced on the transfers is that they will be full frame only, along with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks. (Stay tuned for an update.) Retail is $69.95.

Buena Vista has also just announced the July 22nd arrival of Felicity: The Complete Second Season. This one also features full screen transfers and Dolby 2.0 surround tracks, plus audio commentaries by the series creators on select episodes, the never-before-seen half-hour pilot presentation, and cast audition footage. Retail is $59.95.

For you action fans, Buena Vista will debut the hit sequel Shanghai Knights on July 22nd. Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, extras include two audio commentaries with director David Dobkin and screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, deleted scenes, the "Fight Manual" and "Action Overload" featurettes, and trailers Retail is $29.95.

Want more big sequels? How about The Santa Clause 2, which will be available in separate anamorphic widescreen and full screen editions on November 18th. Extras include audio commentary by stars Tim Allen and Spencer Breslin, the "Naughty And Nice" interactive game, the "Tour the North Pole" and "Special Effects" featurettes, additional interviews, deleted scenes, a gag reel, trailers and ROM extras including E-Cards. Retail is $29.95.

For the family crowd, Disney has just revealed the full specs for the recent theatrical release The Jungle Book 2, which makes its way to DVD on June 10th. This one comes complete with a 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround tracks, deleted scenes, the "Mowgli's Jungle Ruins Maze" interactive game, "The Legacy Of The Jungle Book" featurette, and three music videos: "I Wanna Be Like You" music video by Smash Mouth; "W-I-L-D" music video; "Jungle Rhythm" music video. From the direct-to-video department we have George of the Jungle 2, streeting on October 21st. This one is also presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1, with extras including deleted scenes with director commentary, the "George Of The Jungle 2: Behind-The-Scenes" featurette, "Jungle Bungles" bloopers and sneak peeks. Next we have the Roberto Benigni's remake of Pinocchio, which was a huge bust this past fall at the box office. This one streets on July 15th and features a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround tracks, plus minimal extras: just "The Voices Of Pinocchio: Creating The English Dubbed Version" featurette and trailers. Retail is $29.95 each.

Last but certainly not least we have a new two-discs special edition of the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty, arriving on September 9th. This perennial favorite comes complete with a new 2.20:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, and tons of extras. Supplements include the "Once Upon A Dream: The Making Of Sleeping Beauty," "The Design" featurettes, the "Sleeping Beauty 3-D Virtual Galleries," various story reels, the "Helene Stanley Dance Reference" footage, additional sections with featurettes on "The Music," "The Restoration," a "Widescreen-to-Fullscreen Comparison," the TV show excerpt "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story" from the 1959 "Disneyland" program, a "Grand Canyon" short film, the "Four Artists Paint One Tree" special hosted by Walt Disney, two interactive games "Rescue Aurora Set-Top Adventure" and "Sleeping Beauty Ink And Paint," plus trailers. Retail is $29.95.

Buying DVD's In A Blaze Of Glory

And now for something completely different. Newly-minted Oscar winner Eminem comes home in Da Hip Hop Witch (seriously), coming June 17th from Artisan Entertainment. This early Marshall Mathers appearance is presented in full screen and 2.0 Dolby surround only, with only bonus trailers as extras. Retail is $14.95.

Also just announced from Artisan are updated specs for the new Young Guns Special Edition, due April 22nd. The disc features a new anamorphic widescreen transfer and Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround tracks, plus audio commentary by cast members Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko and Lou Diamond Phillips, "The Real Billy the Kid" documentary, the "Gunning for the Facts" trivia track, and trailers. Retail remains $24.95.

Paramount readies The Hours

Heavy Oscar contender THE HOURS is about ready to come to DVD this summer thanks to the folks at Paramount Home Entertainment.

Taking place simultaneously in 1929, 1951 and and 2001, three women are interconnected through the Virginia Woolf. Woolf herself writes the novel as Laura Brown reads the novel thirty years later and Clarissa Vaughn lives the story.

Separate fullscreen and anamorphic widescreen releases will both carry Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The extras will be the same on both with an introduction by the filmmakers, an audio commentary with director Stephen Daldry and novelist Michael Cunningham. A second audio commentary features the great collection of Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman. The featurettes "Three Women," "The Mind And Times Of Virginia Woolf," "The Music Of The Hours" and "The Lives Of Mrs. Dalloway" and a theatrical trailer are also included.

The disc will arrive on June 24th.

Hahn: 'Rabbit' Sequel Not Going to Happen

LOS ANGELES - Don't expect to see Roger Rabbit in a sequel — getting co-stars Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop and Porky Pig together again would be too difficult for producers.

"It was never in the cards, we could never get the planets back into alignment," co-producer Don Hahn said in an interview to promote Tuesday's DVD release of the original film. "There was something very special about that time when animation was not as much in the forefront as it is now."

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit," directed by Robert Zemeckis, became a $156 million hit in 1988 with its mix of live-action detective noir and cartoon silliness.

Bob Hoskins starred as a gumshoe investigating a murder case to prove the innocence of the rambunctious bunny (voiced by Charles Fleischer). Kathleen Turner supplied the smoky voice of Roger's bombshell cartoon wife, Jessica.

Although Roger was an original character conceived by author Gary K. Wolf, the Disney film was populated with some of Hollywood's most celebrated ink-and-paint actors, including the rival Warner Bros. studio's Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam and Tweety Bird.

Steven Spielberg executive-produced the project and helped secure the rights to many of those characters.

The success of "Roger Rabbit," however, made it more complicated — and expensive — to get those properties again, although the studio continued to develop sequel ideas for years.

"There were ideas about how Roger got to Los Angeles, how he met Jessica. Musical ideas, how he came to the Broadway stage," Hahn said. "There were lots of ideas knocking around but nothing that ever got far enough to develop and make into a movie."

Roger appeared in three short films, 1989's "Tummy Trouble," 1990's "Roller Coaster Rabbit" and 1993's "Trail Mix-Up," but Hahn said there are no longer plans to bring the character back for a feature film.

Lisa Marie Presley Talks

Lisa Marie Presley really loved Michael Jackson - but now wonders whether he married her just to improve his public image.

Usually tight-lipped about her love life, Elvis Presley's only child has finally found a reason to talk.

Her recording debut, "To Whom It May Concern," will be out April 8, and the mysterious Presley is coming out, too, in the new Rolling Stone, on newsstands Friday.

"I did fall in love with him," she told writer Chris Heath.

"I can't tell you what his intentions were, but I can tell you I absolutely fell in love with him and fell into this whole thing which I'm not proud of now."

During their two-year marriage, Presley, 35, says they had sex - "for a while."

"And then it became 'Def Con 2,' " she said. "It just got really ugly at the end."

Jackson, 44, first tried to get in touch with her when she was a teen, but she "thought he was weird," she says.

Fast forward a few years: Jackson sent word through a friend he wanted Presley to hear a demo record he made.

"He was very real with me off the bat," she says. "He immediately went into this whole explanation of what he knew people thought of him and what the truth was.

"He was very real - he was cursing, he was funny. . ."

Presley continues, "I was always saying, 'People wouldn't think I was so crazy [for marrying Jackson] if they saw who the hell you really are; that you sit around and you drink and you curse and you're f - - - ing funny, and you have a bad mouth and you don't have that high voice all the time . . ."

They became friends; she was still married to her first husband, rocker Danny Keough (with whom she has two children, Danielle, 13, and Ben, 10). Jackson confided in her during a costly lawsuit and a police investigation of claims he sexually molested a 13-year-old boy.

"I got into this whole 'I'm going to save you' thing. I thought all that stuff he was doing - philanthropy and the children thing and all this stuff - was awesome . . . OK. Hello. I was delusionary. I got some romantic idea in my head I could save him and we could save the world."

Jackson began courting her with candy and flowers, and she left her marriage to Keough "probably quicker than I would have, and that was probably one of the bigger mistakes of my whole life," she says.

Remember that famous Jacko-Lisa lip-lock at the MTV Music Awards?

"It was his manager's idea," she said. "I thought it was stupid. All of a sudden, I became part of a p.r. machine."

Still, she went on TV to defend him to Diane Sawyer.

"I was really in this lioness thing with him - I wanted to protect him. Naive as hell. I never thought for a moment someone like him could actually use me."

His mind, she says, was "constantly at work, calculating, manipulating. And he scared me like that."

Toward the end of their marriage, he would disappear for weeks at a time, she says.

The last straw came when he dissed Elvis in a TV Guide story. "He was quoting me: " 'Presley told me Elvis had a nose job,' which is absolute bulls - - -. I read that and I threw it across the kitchen. 'I told you what?' "

She demanded a divorce and plunged into depression.

"My body started to deteriorate. I started to have panic attacks."

Finally, a homeopathic doctor told her to get her fillings removed, which cured her. "Mercury [in the fillings] can make you go f - - - ing crazy" she says.

She blames their volatile personalities on her short-lived marriage to Nicolas Cage.

Labeling him a "hothead," Presley says " . . . we're both so dramatic and dynamic that when it was good, it was unbelievably good, and when it was bad, it was just a f - - - ing bloody nightmare for everybody. It was just Mr. Toad's Wild Ride."

Even Presley shakes her head at her troubles with men.

"If you lined up all the men I've been with in a row, you'd think that I was completely psychotic," she says.

Presley still visits Graceland, parts of which, she says, hasn't changed at all.

"Upstairs, which has never been open to the public, is my room and his [Elvis'] room, next to each other, and an attic. It's pretty creepy. It's a shrine."

As for her own new record, Presley at first says, "I don't give a crap about hits," then backtracks, saying, "I mean, I do, of course. But as long as people know it's for real, it's not BS, it's me, my spirit, my heart, my head. You bare your ass for everybody and go, 'What do you think?' It's scary, but it's me."

Brosnan Watches a SUNSET

Pierce Brosnan has agreed to star in the action film AFTER THE SUNSET for New Line. Paul Zbyszewski wrote the script, which is about a thief (Brosnan) sailing to an island paradise after his last big job. However, an FBI agent, the thief's nemesis, tracks him to the island to ensure that he's really retired.

"Give peace a chance" at McCartney's Paris concert

PARIS,(AFP) - Former Beatle Paul McCartney added an unscheduled number to the first night of his European tour when a French audience of 15,000 struck up a spontaneous rendition of "Give Peace a Chance" by his late songwriting partner John Lennon.

McCartney had just completed "Here Today" -- a song he wrote after Lennon's murder in 1980 -- when the Tuesday night crowd at the Bercy sports centre in Paris broke into the celebrated peace anthem, originally penned to protest against the Vietnam war.

Visibly surprised, the former Beatle joined in the chorus but he otherwise made no reference to the war in Iraq, which is opposed by the overwhelming majority of the French public.

McCartney was kicking off the European leg of his world tour, in which he plays around 40 Beatles classics as well as hits by his second group Wings.

Actor Crowe Cheers Oscar Win for Kidman

SYDNEY, Australia - Russell Crowe cheered fellow Australian Nicole Kidman's Oscar win for "The Hours," saying her "dedication, brilliance, resilience and generosity has been lauded, applauded and finally handsomely rewarded."

Kidman, 35, became the first Australian to win the best-actress Oscar. She won the award, which was presented Sunday at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., for her performance as Virginia Woolf.

"I couldn't be happier for her, her family, her pets, everyone," said Crowe, who won the best-actor Oscar in 2001 for his role in "Gladiator."

Kidman said she was shocked when Denzel Washington announced her name.

"I just am very proud to have been nominated and to have actually won and I'm very proud to represent my country," she told Australian television's Nine Network in an interview during post-Oscar celebrations.

CNN Abruptly Drops Anchor Connie Chung

NEW YORK - CNN on Tuesday abruptly dropped one of its best-known anchors, Connie Chung, who had been hired only last spring as the centerpiece of a star-driven prime-time lineup.

"Connie Chung Tonight" had been criticized in some circles for its emphasis on crime and personality stories but had drawn strong ratings in a nondescript time slot.

Her show was temporarily replaced by an Aaron Brown-anchored news program after the war's start last week and she had asked management for a time when it would come back. Instead, she was informed Tuesday that the show had been canceled, CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson said.

Chung was asked to stay at CNN in another capacity and declined, Robinson said.

She could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday night. CNN wouldn't provide a home number for Chung but said it would send a message to her producer seeking comment.

A major figure in broadcasting over the past 30 years, Chung was hired away from ABC News last year, where she primarily worked in newsmagazines and landed a high-profile interview with Gary Condit. CNN built a new studio for her in midtown Manhattan and the program launched on June 24.

She envisioned her show opening each night with a detailed look at one of the day's top stories, featuring newsmaker interviews, and highlighting emerging issues.

It evolved into a program concentrating heavily on crime stories, and this master of the taped interview occasionally seemed awkward in a live format. It didn't help when CNN founder Ted Turner, in an interview this winter, described her show as "just awful."

She also apparently became caught in the crosswinds of change at CNN. Turner Broadcasting chief Jamie Kellner wanted to attract viewers with well-known names, but he and CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson, who hired her, have since resigned.

Isaacson's replacement, Jim Walton, has sought a less flashy, more serious approach to the news and recently canceled the long-running afternoon talk show, "Talkback Live."

Chung's show had roughly half the audience of cable news' nighttime king, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, but she averaged almost 1 million viewers a night and improved CNN's performance in the 8 p.m. ET time slot. And she lasted longer than MSNBC's big gun hired for the time slot around the same time — Phil Donahue.

CNN has not yet decided what will go in her time slot, Robinson said.

ABC Shortening Shows to Make Room for News

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The ABC network is shortening each hour of its prime-time shows by 2 1/2 minutes, starting Tuesday, to make room for war updates, lessening the need for costly program interruptions in the event of breaking news, the network said.

In addition, ABC has canceled its combat reality show "Profiles from the Front Line," the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced series documenting the exploits of American forces last year in Afghanistan, saying some viewers might confuse that show with current footage of the war in Iraq.

Those moves and other programming changes were revealed as ABC and other broadcasters scrambled to find the right mix of news and entertainment, adjusting to the unpredictable demands of war coverage.

Among the first shows to be trimmed by ABC for the sake of news are the John Ritter comedy "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter," the sitcom "According to Jim," starring Jim Belushi, and the hourlong season finale of Bonnie Hunt's show "Life with Bonnie."

A spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Co.-owned network said producers of ABC's prime-time entertainment shows had been asked to shave a minute and a quarter from each half hour, or 2 1/2 minutes per hour, from all first-run episodes and reruns slated to air for at least the next two weeks.

"By asking our producers to deliver shorter episodes, we've addressed the need for news updates while also protecting the integrity of our prime-time content," ABC spokesman Kevin Brockman told Reuters.

RIVALS ALSO MAKING CHANGES

Paring down episodes lessens the chance of having to break into programming with unscheduled preemptions that would require the network to give up commercial or promotional time to advertisers. But network officials said the planned war updates did not preclude ABC News from interrupting programming if developments warranted.

In other schedule changes linked in part to the demands of war coverage, ABC said it has placed two new series on hiatus -- the George Hamilton-hosted reality show "The Family" and the father-and-son archeological adventure "Veritas: The Quest."

Both shows have struggled in the ratings, and ABC said the spate of recent news preemptions and scheduling changes had made it too difficult to promote and build audiences for them.

"The Family," in which a group of 10 relatives living together in a Florida mansion compete with each other for prize money, will be relaunched this summer, ABC said. Remaining episodes of "Veritas" are expected to air later in the year.

Among ABC's broadcast rivals, NBC said it was cutting promotional time, not program time, to accommodate news updates. CBS and Fox said they had no plans to abbreviate their entertainment offerings in advance, though CBS was making other alterations in its prime-time schedule.

CBS added a special edition of its news magazine "48 Hours" to its Tuesday lineup in place of the courtroom drama "Judging Amy" and planned to air an extra hour of prime-time news this coming Saturday in place of its espionage drama "The Agency."

NBC is owned by General Electric Co., CBS is a unit of Viacom Inc., and Fox is a unit of News Corp. Ltd.

Rocker Kravitz Releases Peace Song with Iraqi Star

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rocker Lenny Kravitz released a peace anthem with an Iraqi pop star on Tuesday, joining a growing list of recording artists to release protest songs directly to the Internet to bypass a cautious and sometimes hostile radio market.

R.E.M., the Beastie Boys, John Mellencamp and former Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha have all released anti-war songs via the Internet in recent weeks.

Kravitz issued his song, "We Want Peace," which he recorded last week in Miami with popular Iraqi musical star Kadim Al Sahir, on the Web site of Rock the Vote, a national organization which encourages young people to become involved in politics.

Kravitz, who in 1991 put together an all-star ensemble to cover John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance," said he had chosen to tie up with Rock the Vote "because of its strong stance with young people as defenders of free expression."

With opinion polls showing a majority of Americans supporting the war against Iraq, radio companies have been cautious to play anti-war songs.

Earlier this month, country music superstars the Dixie Chicks were hit by a nearly 30 percent drop in airplay on country music stations after they criticized President Bush's war plans in Iraq.

ANTI-WAR SONG NOT POPULAR IN TIME OF WAR

"Anti-war songs usually are not a very popular choice for program directors during a time of war. Program directors follow the lead set by their listeners. In this case, two-thirds of the American public say they back the war," said Rich Meyer, president of Mediabase, a division of Premiere Radio Networks. "It could be a dangerous move for stations to step out and take a stand against."

Premiere is a unit of Clear Channel, which syndicates 60 programs to more than 7,800 radio affiliates. One of its biggest personalities, Glenn Beck, has been leading pro-war demonstrations called "Rally for America," across the country.

The one notable success for the anti-war movement on the radio airwaves has been "Peacekeeper," a new Fleetwood Mac single recently debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at 93.

Other artists, however, have sought to steer clear of controversy. Handlers for the soon-to-be-released Madonna single, "American Life," are saying the song is not "anti-war" but intended to promote peace.

"Madonna's single, 'American Life', is not at all anti-war or political in any way shape or form," her spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said.

The song's controversial video, however, reportedly shows the diva in military fatigues, tossing grenades while images of fashion models, soldiers and bloody babies flash on screen.

Kravitz too stresses his song is about peace, not war. The song features Palestinian musician Simon Shaheen on strings and Lebanese artist Jamey Hadded on percussion.

Kravitz is currently signed to EMI Group Plc's Virgin Records, but the record label had no participation in the single.

RADIOHEAD Announce "Hail to the Thief"

RADIOHEAD have officially announced a June 10th release date for their sixth album, "Hail to the Thief."

The 14-track CAPITOL Records release, which the band produced with Nigel Godrich, features the tracks "2 + 2 = 5," "Sit Down. Stand Up," "Sail To The Moon," "Backdrifts," "Go To Sleep," "Where I End And You Begin," "We Suck Young Blood," "The Gloaming," "There There," "I Will," "A Punch-Up at a Wedding," "Myxamatosis," "Scatterbrain," and "A Wolf At The Door."

Beginning in mid-May, the band will embark on an extensive world tour, which should bring them to North America in late summer.

Polanski 'Deeply Touched' by Best Director Oscar

PARIS (Reuters) - Film director Roman Polanski said on Tuesday he was deeply touched by winning an Oscar for best director for his Holocaust drama "The Pianist" because the film drew on his personal experiences.

"I am deeply touched to have received the Oscar for best director for a film which recounts events which are so close to my personal experience, events which helped me to understand that art can transcend pain," he said in a brief statement.

"I thank the members of the academy with all my heart for this magnificent reward," Polanski said.

Polanski, who fled the United States for France in 1978 as he was about to be sentenced to prison for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, faces arrest if he sets foot in the United States and could not attend the Oscar ceremony on Sunday night.

His statement did not mention his legal troubles or raise the prospect of working in Hollywood once again.

"The Pianist" is based on the memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish musician who survived Nazi-occupied Warsaw, but it also draws heavily on Polanski's own childhood Holocaust experiences.

The 69-year-old director was born in France to Jewish parents but returned to Poland before World War II, during which time his mother died in a concentration camp.

"The Pianist," which won the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival, also earned its star, Adrien Brody, an Oscar for best actor.

Polanski was previously nominated for directing the 1974 film "Chinatown" and the 1979 drama "Tess" and received a screenwriting nomination for "Rosemary's Baby."

Today's New Releases

There is some great rock and roll coming down the pike today. New discs from Linkin Park, The Exies and The Cardigans are very much worth your time.

Oh, and there is a new Celine Dion CD out today too! (Like I give a rat's ass!)

:)

Anyway, here are the new CD releases for Tuesday March 25, 2003:

* 702 Star (Motown)
* ADRIAN SHERWOOD Never Trust A Hippy (Real World/Narada)
* AFRO CELTS Seed (Real World/Narada)
* AIR City Reading: The Western Story (Virgin)
* AMANDA PEREZ Angel (Virgin)
* AMY SKY With This Kiss: A Romance Collection (Cafe Records)
* BLUE One Love (Virgin)
* BRIAN MCKNIGHT U-Turn (Motown)
* CARDIGANS Long Gone Before Daylight (Stockholm)
* CELINE DION One Heart (Sony)
* EVERCLEAR Volvo Driving Soccer Mom (CD Single) (Capitol)
* F-MINUS Wake Up Screaming (Hellcat)
* IDLEWILD The Remote Part (Capitol)
* IGBY GOES DOWN OST Igby Goes Down OST (Navarre)
* JAH CURE Ghetto Life (VP)
* JAMES LAST A World Of Music (Eagle Records/EMI Canada)
* JOHN DIGWEED Stark Raving Mad (Red Distribution)
* JOHN MCDERMOTT My Forever Friend (EMI)
* LES NUBIANS One Step Forward (Virgin)
* LINKIN PARK Meteora (Warner)
* LISA MARIE PRESLEY Lights Out (CD Single) (Capitol)
* LMS Straight From The Root (VP)
* MICHELLE CHAMBERS BAND One Kiss (Sextant Records)
* NATARAJXT Ocean Birds (Nutone)
* NO COMMENT Candles In The Air (Sextant Records)
* NOAM CHOMSKY Distorted Morality (DVD Video) (Epitaph)
* NOFX Regaining Unconsciousness (EP) (Epitaph)
* PINK FLOYD Dark Side Of The Moon (30th Anniversary Reissue) (EMI)
* PLACEBO Sleeping With Ghosts (Virgin)
* PLUMB Beautiful Lumps Of Coal (Curb)
* RINGO STARR Ringorama (Koch)
* ROBBIE ROBERTSON Classic Masters (Capitol)
* ROLLER Impossibly Real (Linus Entertainment)
* ROSANNE CASH Rules Of Travel (Capitol/EMI)
* STACIE ORRICO Stacie Orrico (Virgin)
* STEVE WARINER Greatest Hits (Capitol)
* THE EXIES Inertia (Virgin)
* TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS The Last DJ (CD/DVD) (Warner)
* UNCLE TUPELO Anodyne (Remastered) (Rhino)
* VANESSA-MAE The Best Of Vanessa Mae (EMI)
* VIEW FROM THE TOP OST View From The Top OST (Curb)

War delays Meg Ryan film release

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Paramount Pictures said it has postponed the upcoming release of the Meg Ryan boxing comedy "Against the Ropes" because TV coverage of the war in Iraq could make it difficult to publicize the film.

"Our campaign was poised to go on air and we became concerned that our message would be lost amidst the current war coverage," studio spokeswoman Nancy Kirkpatrick said Friday in a statement.

The movie, about a woman boxing manager trying to succeed in the male-dominated sport, was originally set for release April 25. No future release date was set.

"We will reschedule the release once there is a return to normalcy in the media," Kirkpatrick said.

Cherry's War Rant Not A Hit With Hockey Night In Canada Viewers

TORONTO (CP) -- Don Cherry's pro-American rant on the war in Iraq wasn't a hit with Hockey Night In Canada viewers nor apparently with the CBC itself.

"The CBC does not feel Hockey Night In Canada is the appropriate place for discussion on the war in Iraq," CBC spokeswoman Ruth-Ellen Soles said Monday.

Soles says CBC Sports executive director Nancy Lee and Hockey Night In Canada executive producer Joel Darling spoke to Cherry, the star of Coach's Corner, and co-host Ron MacLean on Monday.

As of Monday morning, the CBC says it had received about 1,000 e-mails reacting to Saturday night's Coach's Corner, with about 60 per cent going against Cherry and 40 per cent favouring him.

MacLean could be in more hot water than Cherry, who at first refused to get into the subject of war, saying "I don't want to go anywhere (with that subject)." But MacLean persisted, saying: "Everybody wants to know what you think."

It started with Cherry commenting on Montreal Canadiens fans booing the American national anthem last Thursday before a game against the New York Islanders.

Cherry, wearing a tie emblazoned with U.S. colours, apologized on behalf of Canadians, saying that "years of pride went down the drain" with Habs fans' behaviour.

Cherry also went at it with MacLean over the war in Iraq, chiding the Canadian government for its "lack of support to our American friends."

"I hate to see them go it alone. We have a country that comes to our rescue, and we're just riding their coattails," Cherry said.

MacLean stood firm that it was Canada's right not to go.

"Why attack Iraq if they haven't attacked you?" MacLean said.

Calls to MacLean's home and Cherry's agent weren't immediately returned Monday.

Both Lee and Darling were said to be out of the office Monday and not available for comment.

"I know they were going to address it but I don't know what form that discussion took," Soles said.

DVD Features:
* Contains all 8 original video programs on 4 DVDs
* Bonus disc of rare and never-before-seen footage, including:
* Recollections (June 1994): Paul, George, and Ringo spend a summer's day together singing, playing and warmly remembering the early days
* Back at Abbey Road (May 1995): Paul, George, and Ringo at Abbey Road Studios with George Martin, play back the multi-tracks of some of their classic recordings and reveal the inventive techniques used during the original sessions
* Recording "Free as a Bird" & "Real Love": Paul, George, and Ringo, along with Jeff Lynne discuss the story behind these recordings - includes intimate footage of them at work in the studio
* Real Love Video: The video not screened as part of the original Anthology series, now in glorious 5.1 surround sound
* Compiling the Anthology Albums: Paul, George, Ringo, and George Martin talk about how the three Anthology double albums were compiled
* Making the "Free as a Bird" video: An intriguing insight from director Joe Pytka into how the Grammy Award winning video was created
* Production Team: The team behind the Anthology series discuss how the programmes were made
* Newly mixed in 5.1 surround sound with picture restoration
* Number of discs: 5

Enjoy!

Also Out Today!

The second best new release out today is:

Futurama Volume One- The show's first 13 episodes plus several bonus features. (Katey Sagal (voice), Billy West (voice), John Di Maggio (voice))

And then there is this stuff too:

Maid In Manhattan- Cinderella tale of maid who catches the eye of a politician. (Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson)

Jackass: The Movie- MTV dangerous stunt show stretched out to feature length. (Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O , Jason "Wee-Man" Acuna)

Friday After Next- Craig and Day Day's new crib gets robbed. (Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Don "DC" Curry)

Ghost Ship- Salvage crew must pull in a haunted ship. (Julianna Margulies, Gabriel Byrne, Ron Eldard)

Femme Fatale- Jewel thief double-crosses team. (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Antonio Banderas, Sandrine Bonnaire)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: First Season- Entire first season of CSI, 23 first run-episodes. (William Peterson, Marg Helgenberger, George Eads)

I'm With Lucy- A newly single woman is set up for a series of blind dates. (Monica Potter, Julianne Nicholson, John Hannah)

Killing Me Softly- A scientist takes a deadly risk with a new love. (Heather Graham, Joseph Fiennes, Natascha McElhone)

Lady Jayne Killer- A female assassin runs from the mob and the LAPD. (Erika Eleniak, James Remar, Adam Baldwin)

Porn Star: The Legend Of Ron Jeremy-A look inside the world of the unlikely porn star. (Ron Jeremy, Seymore Butts, Larry Flynt)

Paul Simon Kind Of An Eminem Fan

Paul Simon may have lost to Eminem at the Oscars, but he's not holding any grudges. Simon and Eminem were both nominated for best original song at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony--Simon for "Father And Daughter" from The Wild Thornberrys Movie, and Eminem for "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile, in which he also starred. Eminem won.

Simon is only somewhat familiar with Eminem's music, but he likes what he's heard. "I didn't hear this album (the 8 Mile soundtrack), but I heard the one before this (The Marshall Mathers LP)," Simon said. "He was up for a Grammy at the same time I was--you know, it was the year that Steely Dan won a Grammy. He was up for best album and I was up, so I listened to that album, and I thought it was good."

Simon, who attended and performed at the Oscars, is currently recording his next studio album in New York City.

TOON TIME

Oscar winner William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) adapting DC Comics' Shazam! for New Line for a possible Christmas 2004 release, reports Variety. Shazam was the wizard who transformed mild-mannered Billy Batson into Captain Marvel.

The Right Stuff: Special Edition Is On The Way!

The 2-disc set streets on June 10th (SRP $26.99). The film will be presented in anamorphic widescreen video (1.85:1), with Dolby Digital 5.0 audio. There will be audio commentary (with director Philip Kaufman, producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and cast members Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid and Barbara Hershey), 13 deleted scenes (including Trudy's Dream, Chimp and Center Fuse, Milkshake Connecting, Second Convolution, Specimen Request, Glen Gets Out of Centerfuge, Astronauts Walk Down Hall, Gus and Trudy at Motel, Dayroom Liaison Man Speech, Blood/Mission Control, New Congress Lift, NASA Man "Socks" and Trudy Wakes), and some 50 minutes worth of documentary material introduced by author Thomas Wolfe, including interviews with Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Barbara Hershey and Dennis Quaid, three of the real Mercury Seven astronauts (Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper and Wally Schirra) and test pilot Chuck Yeager. VERY cool!

Coming Soon To A Store Near Us All

Two days after the Oscars and a Best Actress trophy for Nicole Kidman, Paramount Home Entertainment has announced a June 24th street date for "The Hours."

Available in separate anamorphic widescreen and full screen releases, each includes a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, an introduction by the filmmakers, audio commentary by director Stephen Daldry and novelist Michael Cunningham, a second audio commentary by stars Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman (their first!), the featurettes "Three Women," "The Mind And Times Of Virginia Woolf," "The Music Of The Hours" and "The Lives Of Mrs. Dalloway" and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $29.95.

Debuting a week earlier is the cop drama Narc, which didn't quite gain the Oscar momentum generated by The Hours. This one will hit shelves on June 17th also in separate anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions, plus a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, audio commentary by writer and director Joe Carnahan and editor John Gilroy, the featurettes "Narc: Making The Deal," "Narc: Shooting Up" and "Narc: The Visual Trip" featurettes, and the trailer. Retail is also $29.95.

Big Blue Marble

What happened to Dark Blue? It starred Kurt Russell and seemed to have a marketing campaign fit for a king, but only last a couple of weeks in theaters. Now you can make up your own mind on June 29th when MGM Home Entertainment will release a special edition DVD with plenty of extras. The release includes 2.35;1 anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, English and French 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, an audio commentary by director Ron Shelton, the "Internal Affairs" featurette and a still gallery. Retail is $26.95.

MGM has also announced their July catalog lineup, which includes many foreign favorites. On July 1st comes a new version of Luc Besson's favorite La Femme Nikita. Featuring a new 2.35;1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and French and English 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, extras include the featurettes "Revealed: The Making of La Femme Nikita" and "The Music of Nikita" featurettes, the "Programming Nikita" interactive map, a still gallery, and trailers. Retail is $24.95. MGM will also finally release that special edition of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire on July 1st. Featuring a new 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and German and English 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, extras include an audio commentary with Wenders and Peter Falk, the "Angels Among Us" documentary, deleted scenes with optional commentary, an interactive map and trailers. Retail is also $24.95.

Wonder Woman Gets a Makeover

NEW YORK - Her bullet-deflecting bracelets are gone, her golden tiara has disappeared and her long, flowing locks have been shorn.

After 60 years of fighting evil, Wonder Woman has a new, edgy look, complete with short, spiky hair and a camouflage bustier. The new Wonder Woman will appear in this Wednesday's DC Comics issue.

With characteristic finesse, a somewhat shocked Wonder Woman looks in the mirror and takes her new 'do in stride: "It's hair. It will grow back."

The makeover is part of Wonder Woman's latest six-part adventure, a harrowing scenario in which she gets amnesia and must fight demons without her superpower strength. Luckily, her brains out-muscle the brawn.

In Issue 190, Wonder Woman decides she must go undercover if she is to survive her ordeal and reclaim her identity.

"She's bright and when she realizes she's getting attacked she thinks she probably ought not to look like herself," said Wonder Woman writer Walter Simonson of DC Comics. Simonson expects readers to have mixed reactions to the new look.

To foil her enemies, a slight trim won't do. So, Wonder Woman chops her hair, dons a pair of glasses (a nod to Clark Kent and his superhero alter ego Superman) and trades in her star-spangled leotard for the camouflage bustier.

The look is more boot camp than beauty queen.

"In this series, she has plenty of battles and she looks like a soldier," said illustrator Jerry Ordway. "Here we have someone who is a fighting machine. She's suddenly put in a situation and she can handle herself."

An identity crisis — the short hair, the military garb? Could Wonder Woman be a metaphor for our post-Sept. 11 selves?

Although the creative minds behind Wonder Woman don't want to make too much out of the similarities between their heroine's struggles and the current global crisis, they do acknowledge the parallels.

"After 9-11 a lot of people went back to think about who we are and to do some soul-searching," Simonson said. "But remember, Wonder Woman's specific mission is to bring peace; she's a heroine who fights for peace."

Wartime Oscar Ratings Hit Record Low

NEW YORK - The wartime Academy Awards telecast on ABC Sunday night was the least-watched Oscar ceremony since Nielsen Media Research began keeping records in 1974.

An estimated 33.1 million people watched "Chicago" win best picture, Nielsen said on Monday, down sharply from the 41.8 million who watched the Oscars last year.

The Oscars toned down the glitz Sunday night at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood because of the war with Iraq, and going into the weekend, there had been some question whether the ceremony would be held. That took its toll, said Larry Hyams, ABC's chief researcher.

"It was such a special instance, it's hard to speculate what it was beyond the war coverage," Hyams said Monday. He noted that viewership has been sharply up for cable news networks covering the war full time.

The Academy Awards is often the most popular entertainment program of the year, but even last month's finale of "Joe Millionaire," with 40 million viewers, beat it this year.

The previous Oscar lows came in 1987, when 37.2 million people watched "Platoon" win best picture, and 37.8 million in 1986, when "Out of Africa" won.

Oscar's record was the 55.2 million viewers in 1998, when "Titanic" won.

Doc Ock Talk

Steve Johnson, the prosthetic and animatronic effects artist for the upcoming sequel The Amazing Spider-Man, told SCI FI Wire that director Sam Raimi wanted a real costume for the new villain, Doctor Octopus. "Sam's a fan [of animatronics], and he feels like the fans would prefer to see the real thing," rather than a computer-generated image, Johnson said in an interview. "It's a lot harder when you have a puppet, and you've got 18 performers on the set. It takes a lot longer to shoot than if you do it digitally."

In the comics, Doctor Octopus wears a rig that gives him mechanical arms. Johnson said that Doc Ock actor Alfred Molina has been a trouper in working with the elaborate costume. "He's strapped into a giant torture device, and he obeys our every command," Johnson said.

The costume will undergo some changes, as the makeup team adjusts to Molina's weight loss. "We're having to re-cast him, [because] he's lost so much weight since our initial molding of his body."

The Amazing Spider-Man opens May 7, 2004.

Wang Cooks With Sandler

Wayne Wang has agreed to direct New Line's GOOD COOK, LIKES MUSIC, starring Adam Sandler and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, Sandler plays a "lovable loser" that lives in a trailer park with his mother. One night, in a drunken stupor, he orders a mail order bride (Zhang) that is, in reality, a musical prodigy. The two change each other's lives.

Writer Frank Darabont talks a bit about the villains for the upcoming INDIANA JONES sequel.

Frank Darabont, screenwriter of the upcoming fourth Indiana Jones movie, told SCI FI Wire that the sequel's 1950s setting requires different villains from those in previous installments, which were set in the 1930s. "Those pesky Nazis seem to have departed, which is a shame, because I like those pesky Nazis, because you can just squash them all over the place," Darabont said, with tongue in cheek.

Darabont would not say who the new villains were, but assured that the tone of adventure would be consistent with previous Indy movies. "From the standpoint of the fun of it and the adventure of it, [there will be] no [change]," he said.

Darabont added that he has nearly completed a first draft of the script and that director Steven Spielberg is happy with his progress. "The reaction has been quite good," he said. But the writer added that he is approaching the script one day at a time. "Right now, every day is like one foot in front of the other," he said. "It's 'How do I solve this next scene? How do I get this next three pages in its best form?'" The new Indiana Jones movie is still aiming for a July 1, 2005, release.

'Chicago' wins big at Oscars

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Chicago" led the Academy Awards with six trophies, including best picture, at a ceremony Sunday that allowed Hollywood to exalt itself while muting the Oscar pageantry because of the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

The razzle-dazzle satire "Chicago" became the first musical since 1968's "Oliver!" to win the top Oscar. Its other awards were supporting actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones, and four technical honors including costume design and art direction.

Adrien Brody won the best-actor award for the Holocaust saga "The Pianist," Nicole Kidman took best actress for the somber drama "The Hours" and Chris Cooper was picked as supporting actor for the twisted Hollywood tale "Adaptation."

The best-director Oscar went to Roman Polanski for "The Pianist." Polanski has been an exile from the United States since fleeing 25 years ago to avoid sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

"The Pianist" also won the adapted-screenplay award for Ronald Harwood," giving it a total of three, while Pedro Almodovar earned the original-screenplay prize for "Talk to Her."

'Bringing Down House' Leads Box Office

LOS ANGELES - "Bringing Down the House" led the box office for the third straight weekend, but the overall numbers dropped significantly during the first weekend of the war in Iraq.

The top 12 films grossed an estimated $83.9 million — a 29 percent drop from the same weekend a year ago.

"I think the war has impacted people's desire to go out to the movies. I think people were at home with their families, they were watching the news and not a lot of movies did a lot of business," said Rick Sands, chief operating officer of Miramax, which released "View from the Top," a slapstick airline comedy starring Gwyneth Paltrow that debuted at No. 4.

But Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, said the weekend's drop-off from a year ago may have more to do with the films that were out than with the war. A year ago, "Blade 2" had a $32.5 million debut and "Ice Age" was in its second weekend.

"We can only guess, but I just think that this weekend turned out pretty much like we expected and any impact the war had is negligible," Dergarabedian said.

"Bringing Down the House," a comedy starring Steve Martin as an uptight lawyer and Queen Latifah as an escaped convict, topped the box office with $16.2 million, pushing its total take to $83.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Stephen King adaptation "Dreamcatcher" opened in second place with $15.3 million. "Agent Cody Banks," Frankie Muniz's teen-spy flick, dropped from second to third place in its second weekend out with $9.3 million. "View from the Top" was in fourth place with $7.6 million.

The G-rated "Piglet's Big Movie" opened in seventh place with $6.1 million while the Cuba Gooding Jr. comedy "Boat Trip" debuted a distance 10th with $3.7 million.

"There's no question we all have things on our mind, and being able to get inside a theater and kick back and have someone really entertain you with belly laughter, it's definitely a good thing," said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, whose Touchstone Pictures released "Bringing Down the House."

Benefiting from strong word of mouth, "Bringing Down the House" became the first film this year to stay No. 1 three weekends in a row and is on track to cross $100 million within weeks. It presented tough competition for the weekend's new films, Dergarabedian said.

"It's doing incredibly well," he said. "The two newcomers that were comedies really got hurt."

The film also likely pulled audiences from "Dreamcatcher," which tells the story of four longtime friends (Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Timothy Olyphant and Damian Lewis) who communicate telepathically.

Sunday's Oscars ceremony should boost sales for the winning films, and three big new openings could mean strong box office next weekend. The comedy "Head of State," starring Chris Rock and Bernie Mac, opens against the sci-fi thriller "The Core" and "Basic," John Travolta's military thriller.

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. "Bringing Down the House," $16.2 million.
2. "Dreamcatcher," $15.3 million.
3. "Agent Cody Banks," $9.3 million.
4. "View from the Top," $7.6 million.
5. "The Hunted," $6.6 million.
6. "Chicago," $6.2 million.
7. "Piglet's Big Movie," $6.1 million.
8. "Tears of the Sun," $4.5 million.
9. "Old School," $4 million.
10. "Boat Trip," $3.7 million.

Musical 'Chicago' Wins Best-Picture Oscar

LOS ANGELES - The razzle-dazzle musical satire "Chicago" won the Academy Award as best picture Sunday, while top acting honors struck a more somber note: Adrien Brody as a Holocaust survivor in "The Pianist" and Nicole Kidman as suicidal novelist Virginia Woolf in "The Hours."

In a ceremony overshadowed by the U.S.-led war in Iraq, "Chicago" became the first musical since 1968's "Oliver!" to win the top Oscar and also took home the most trophies, six. Its other awards were supporting actress for Catherine Zeta-Jones, and four technical honors including costume design and art direction.

Veteran character actor Chris Cooper won as best supporting actor for his role as scraggly- haired, toothless horticultural poacher in "Adaptation."

Brody's victory was something of a surprise, as was the awarding of the best-director Oscar went to Roman Polanski, also for "The Pianist." Polanski has been an exile from the United States since fleeing 25 years ago to avoid sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

"The Pianist" also won the adapted-screenplay award for Ronald Harwood," giving it a total of three, while Pedro Almodovar earned the original-screenplay prize for "Talk to Her."

World events sparked several emotional highlights, including Brody's tearful speech and an attack on President Bush by filmmaker Michael Moore, winner of the best-documentary Oscar for "Bowling for Columbine."

"Chicago" came in with a leading 13 nominations, followed by the crime epic "Gangs of New York" with 10, but "Gangs" was shut out in every category.

"Chicago" was adapted from the Bob Fosse stage hit about two Jazz Age murderesses using their jailhouse celebrity to further their singing careers.

Once a Hollywood staple, musicals hit a critical peak 40 years ago with best-picture Oscar winners that included "West Side Story," "My Fair Lady" and "The Sound of Music." Musicals gradually fell out of favor since the late 1960s as moviegoers grew more sophisticated and studios became convinced that audiences would no longer abide characters who burst into song.

"Moulin Rouge," a best-picture nominee a year ago, whetted the public's appetite for musicals, and "Chicago" has packed theaters, with its domestic haul at $134 million and climbing.

Zeta-Jones was the first performer to win an acting Oscar for a musical since Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey for 1972's "Cabaret." In "Chicago," Zeta-Jones played a jailed vaudeville scamp scheming for celebrity after slaying her husband and sister.

Due to deliver her second child with husband and Oscar winner Michael Douglas in a few weeks, Zeta-Jones joined co-star and fellow supporting-actress nominee Queen Latifah in the Oscar performance of "I Move On," the best-song nominee from "Chicago."

"My hormones are too way out of control to be dealing with this," Zeta-Jones said.

Brody played the title character in "The Pianist," based on the real-life story of musician Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who lived through World War II by hiding from the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto.

"This film would not be possible without the blueprint provided by Wladyslaw Szpilman," Brody said. "This film is a tribute to his survival."

"My experience making this film made me very aware of the sadness and the dehumanization of people in times of war, and the repercussions of war. And whether you believe in God or Allah, may he watch over you, and let's pray for a peaceful and swift resolution," Brody said, fighting back tears and drawing a standing ovation.

Documentary winner "Bowling for Columbine" is Moore's alternately hilarious and horrifying examination of gun violence in America.

Moore, a harsh critic of the Bush administration, received a standing ovation. He invited his fellow documentary nominees on stage, saying they were there in "solidarity with me, because we like non-fiction, and we are living in fictitious times. ... We live in a time where we have a man who's sending us to war for fictitious reasons.

"We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Shame on you," Moore said, amid a mix of boos and applause from the crowd.

Her Oscar win was a Hollywood ending for Kidman after a turbulent couple of years. She had a miscarriage in 2001 and broke up with husband Tom Cruise, in whose shadow she had lingered throughout their 11-year relationship.

Kidman emerged as a big star in her own right later that year with "Moulin Rouge," which earned her a best-actress Oscar nomination, and the horror hit "The Others." In "The Hours," Kidman played suicidal author Virginia Woolf, wearing a fake nose to capture the writer's plain features.

"Why do you come to the Academy Awards when the world is in such turmoil," Kidman said. "Because art is important. And because you believe in what you do and you want to honor that, and it is a tradition that needs to be upheld."

Cooper, a veteran character actor whose credits include "American Beauty" and "Lone Star," played a man on a mission to preserve rare orchids in the film loosely based on author Susan Orlean's "The Orchid Thief."

"In light of all the troubles in this world, I wish us all peace," Cooper said as he received his award.

"Lose Yourself," from the film "8 Mile" starring Eminem, won the best-song Oscar for the rap star and his co-writers, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto.

"I think he's going to feel great about the Oscar," Resto said backstage, after accepting the award for the absent Eminem. "He's very proud about the song."

The Oscar for foreign-language film went to the German drama "Nowhere in Africa," about a family of Jews who leave Germany before World War II and settle on a farm in Kenya.

The Japanese fantasy "Spirited Away" won the award for animated feature film. The movie, which had a limited U.S. release last fall and grossed a modest $5.5 million, was a surprise winner against a field of nominees that included $100 million Hollywood hits "Ice Age" and "Lilo & Stitch."

ABC News twice offered a brief war update, then switched back to the Oscars.

Earlier, demonstrators on both sides of the war issue gathered near the Kodak Theatre, site of the Oscars.

Anti-war protesters held signs such as "Bush Betrays USA," "Bush: Dumb and Dangerous" and "Oscar for Peace." Half a block from the area where stars arrived, supporters of U.S. troops in Iraq chanted "USA, USA," and held a banner reading "God Bless America."

Planners scrapped the glitzy red-carpet arrival festivities. And some celebrities opposed to the war wore peace pins. A few, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins among them, showed up in fuel-efficient gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles instead of limousines as a statement against U.S. dependence on overseas oil.

"Well, I'm glad they cut back on the glitz," host Steve Martin quipped at the show's start. "You probably noticed there was no fancy red carpet tonight. That'll send them a message."

After a few initial references to the war and its effects on the Oscars, Martin's opening monologue stuck to mocking nominees, other celebrities and Hollywood at large.

The 75th annual Academy Awards were announced on Sunday, March 24. The winners are:

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Chris Cooper, Adaptation

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago

BEST ACTRESS:
Nicole Kidman, The Hours

BEST ACTOR:
Adrien Brody, The Pianist

BEST DIRECTOR:
Roman Polanski, The Pianist

BEST PICTURE:
Chicago

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Spirited Away

BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
Colleen Atwood, Chicago

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
Frida, Elliot Goldenthal

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
The ChubbChubbs!

BEST ART DIRECTION:
Chicago, John Myhre, art direction; Gordon Sim, set direction

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Nowhere in Africa, Germany

BEST SOUND:
Chicago, Michael Minkler, Dominick Tavella and David Lee

BEST SOUND EDITING:
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Ethan Van der Ryn and Michael Hopkins

BEST MAKEUP:
Frida, John Jackson and Beatrice De Alba

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT:
This Charming Man

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
Bowling for Columbine

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Road to Perdition, Conrad L. Hall

BEST FILM EDITING:
Chicago, Martin Walsh

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
Twin Towers

ORIGINAL SONG:
"Lose Yourself," music by Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto

SCREENPLAY ORIGINAL:
Talk to Her, Pedro Almodovar

SCREENPLAY ADAPTATION:
The Pianist, Ronald Harwood

THE NEIGHBORHOOD SAYS GOODBYE

The producers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood announcing a May 3 public memorial for the late Fred Rogers, who died February 27 of stomach cancer at age 74. The service will be held in his home town of Pittsburgh.

Liz's "Phair" Due in June

Liz Phair's first album in almost five years has been pushed back to a June 24th release, and undergone a title transformation -- from "Happy Tragic Thing" to Liz Phair. The album is the follow-up to Phair's less-efficiently titled 1998 release Whitechocolatespaceegg.

The fourteen-track record features Phair in a variety of settings with different collaborators. Singer-songwriter Michael Penn produced five of the songs, while four tracks enjoy the Midas touch of pop production hit machine the Matrix (Avril Lavigne). R. Walt Vincent (Pete Yorn) worked on the album's other five cuts. According to Phair, who pulled the album from a pool of more than thirty songs, those that made the cut were the louder songs. "The songs that made it onto the album are the ones that rock," she said. "I wanna sell some records, goddammit."

Phair, who prior to 2003 hadn't performed in nearly three years, showcased some of the new material during a nine-song-set at the Sundance Film Festival.

Phair also said that the album finds her more comfortable in front of the microphone than on previous efforts. "My voice is so much better because I'm not as self-conscious as I used to be," she told Rolling Stone. "Somewhere along the way I got rid of a lot of my fear about singing, and I've really been working hard on developing my voice."

The first single, "Why Can't I," is due in late-April.

Stars Shun Politics, Except for Michael Moore

Most of the stars shunned politics at this Oscar ceremony but the personal was truly political for filmmaker Michael Moore, who finally received some long-deserved recognition from the Academy when he won the best documentary feature award for "Bowling for Columbine". Moore not only brought his wife and the film's producers on stage, he led all the other documentary nominees onto the platform as well.

After thanking the film's producers, Moore launched into a blistering attack on both the war and President Bush, calling him a " fictitious president" who won with "fictitious election results."

"I've invited my fellow documentary nominees on the stage with us," began Moore. "They are here in solidarity with me because we like non-fiction. We like non-fiction and we live in fictitious times."

"We live in a time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons."

His speech was met with a fair amount of booing and hissing but undaunted, Moore continued, "Whether it’s the fiction of duct tape or the fiction of orange alerts, we are against this war Mr. Bush. Shame on you! Shame on you! And any time you've got the pulpit…"

At this point, his time at the podium was brought to a close by the rising strains of the orchestra thought he tried to get in a few last words.

During his speech, the cameras cut to Adrien Brody, Martin Scorsese and Lou Gosset Jr., all of whose reaction was inscrutable. This was followed by a shot of a row with a smiling Harrison Ford and his grim-looking date, Calista Flockhart. A few seats down, Denzel Washington looked serious but his reaction to Moore's speech was difficult to discern.

Following Moore's speech, presenter Steve Martin joked, "The teamsters are helping Michael Moore into the trunk of his limo."

Moore was followed on stage by Jack Valenti, president of entertainment industry mouthpiece, MPAA. Coincidentally the increasing control of more media outlets by fewer corporations, and the degree of editorial unanimity to which it leads, was one of the issues touched on by Moore in "Columbine."

Other well-known Hollywood liberals such as Barbra Streisand, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon, did not use their time on the stage to rail against the war though they made roundabout comments about freedom of expression and the positive impact of art.

It was foreigners, Spanish-speakers to be precise, who made the most explicit anti-war statements, but even those, weren't particularly strident. After thanking his collaborators on the film, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar dedicated his award to "all the people that are raising their voices in favor of peace, respect of human rights, democracy and international legality, all of which are essential qualities to live."

The only other explicit statement containing an opinion about the war, whether pro or con, came from Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal. He introduced performer Caetano Veloso, who sang a song from the film "Frida" by saying, "If Frida was alive, she would be on our side, against war."

Surprise best actor winner Adrien Brody was the only American on the podium, aside from Moore, who spoke at length on the war. After thanking all the appropriate parties and almost being cut off by the orchestra, Brody insisted on more time and began the "political" portion of what was a comparatively long speech.

"It fills me with great joy but I am also filled with a lot of sadness tonight," Brody said, "because I am accepting an award at such a sad time. My experiences in making this film made me very aware of the sadness and dehumanization of people in times of war and the repercussions of war."

"Whatever you believe in, whether it's God or Allah, let's pray for a peaceful and swift resolution and may he watch over you."

Brody started tearing up at this point, as did fellow nominee Diane Lane, but he received a standing ovation and closed his speech by giving a shout-out to a friend of his from Queens, who is soldier in Kuwait.

He echoed the earlier statement of his colleague Chris Cooper, who in accepting his best supporting actor nomination for "Adaptation" said, "In light of all the troubles in this world. I wish us all peace."

It was a sentiment echoed and felt by many.

Michael Moore Criticizes Bush During Oscar Acceptance Speech

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Winning the award for best documentary film for "Bowling for Columbine," Michael Moore gave what will most likely be the most controversial acceptance speech of the night, criticizing President George W. Bush and the war on Iraq.

"We like nonfiction," Moore said while standing onstage with the other documentary film makers for the films "Spellbound," "Prisoner of Paradise," "Daughter from Danang" and "Winged Migration," "and we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where we have fictitious elections, which elects a fictitious President. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons."

"We are against the war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you," he got out before the music chimed in signaling the end of his time on the stage.

The reaction from the audience almost drowned out Moore's comments, with half the crowd booing and the other half clapping. The camera panned to the stunned reaction of several attendees, including best actor nominee Adrien Brody (with a very stunned looking Chad Lowe in the background), a smiling Lou Gossett Jr. and Martin Scorsese, who looked as if he were on the brink of clapping. Harrison Ford was seen smiling, while Denzel Washington looked less enthused as he thoughtfully pulled at his beard.

Host Steve Martin made light of the speech later by telling the crowd that "teamsters are helping Michael Moore into the trunk of his limo."

CBS Keeps Kicking It 'Old School' for Letterman Fill-Ins

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Following in the footsteps of Will Farrell and Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson will host "The Late Show" on Wednesday, March 26, the latest in a series of guest hosts.

Wilson will be the third star of the comedy hit "Old School" to spell Letterman since the popular host was diagnosed with shingles and began missing shows on February 26. In addition to his current frat house comedy, Wilson has co-starred in "Charlie's Angels" and "Legally Blonde" and did a multi-episode stint on "That '70s Show."

Before Wilson can take over the desk, the next week of replacements will begin with a host who arrives all the way from the other side of the Ed Sullivan theater. "Late Show" Musical Director Paul Shaffer will do double-duty on Monday, March 24. He'll be followed by comedian and television legendary Bill Cosby, whose one night stand begins on Tuesday (March 25).

Earlier Letterman guest hosts included Bruce Willis, John McEnroe and Regis Philbin.

"The Late Show" will have its second straight night of rebroadcasts on Friday (March 21) due to CBS' coverage of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Oscar Predictions From The Day The Nominees Were Announced

On February 11th, the day the nominees were announced for the 75th Annual Academy Awards, my friend Kevin and I made our Oscar picks. Without the benefit of seeing who had all the buzz leading up to the Awards; without seeing who won the Screen Actors Guild, Director's Guild or any of the other Guild Awards; or watching who said what and how contrite they were in their interviews after being nominated; without any of that, we made our picks.

In the past few years since Kevin and I began making our Oscar picks our record is unrivaled. We can both boast about having a success rate of more than 90% when choosing all of the 24 categories, and we each got 5 out of the 6 major categories right last year.

Not surprisingly, our picks are very similar, with only a few differences.

I debated whether or not I should make new picks, and ask Kevin to do the same, now that the day of the Oscars in upon us. In the end, I decided that we should stand on our early choices and see how we do.

So even though Renee Zellweger has all of the Actress buzz going into tonight's Awards, Rob Marshall has the Directing talk going his way, CHICAGO looks like a favourite to win every category it is nominated in, and the fact that I KNOW Christopher Walken will win Best Supporting Actor, here are Kevin and my Oscar picks- no explanations, just our picks- in the six major categories (plus Animated Feature since we are both Animation Geeks), which we made over a month ago, on February 11th, 2003:

DAN'S OSCAR PICKS

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Daniel Day-Lewis

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Chris Cooper

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Nicole Kidman

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Queen Latifah

ACHEIVEMENT IN DIRECTION
Martin Scorsese- GANGS OF NEW YORK

BEST PICTURE
CHICAGO

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
ICE AGE

KEVIN'S OSCAR PICKS

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jack Nicholson

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Chris Cooper

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Nicole Kidman

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Catherine Zeta-Jones

ACHEIVEMENT IN DIRECTION
Martin Scorsese- GANGS OF NEW YORK

BEST PICTURE
CHICAGO

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
SPIRITED AWAY

Complete Oscar Nominations List

Here is a complete list of the nominees for the 75th annual Oscar nominations:

1. Best Picture: "Chicago,'' "Gangs of New York,'' "The Hours,'' "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,'' "The Pianist.''

2. Actor: Adrien Brody, "The Pianist''; Nicolas Cage, ``Adaptation''; Michael Caine, "The Quiet American''; Daniel Day-Lewis, "Gangs of New York''; Jack Nicholson, "About Schmidt.''

3. Actress: Salma Hayek, "Frida''; Nicole Kidman, "The Hours''; Diane Lane, "Unfaithful''; Julianne Moore, "Far from Heaven''; Renee Zellweger, "Chicago.''

4. Supporting Actor: Chris Cooper, "Adaptation''; Ed Harris, ``The Hours''; Paul Newman, "Road to Perdition''; John C. Reilly, ``Chicago''; Christopher Walken, "Catch Me If You Can.''

5. Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates, "About Schmidt''; Julianne Moore, "The Hours''; Queen Latifah, "Chicago''; Meryl Streep, ``Adaptation''; Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Chicago.''

6. Director: Rob Marshall, "Chicago''; Martin Scorsese, "Gangs of New York''; Stephen Daldry, "The Hours''; Roman Polanski, "The Pianist''; Pedro Almodovar , "Talk to Her.''

7. Foreign Film: "El Crimen del Padre Amaro," Mexico; ``Hero," People's Republic of China; "The Man Without a Past,'' Finland; "Nowhere in Africa," Germany; "Zus & Zo," The Netherlands.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Peter Hedges and Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, "About a Boy''; Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman, ``Adaptation''; Bill Condon, "Chicago''; David Hare, "The Hours''; Ronald Harwood, "The Pianist.''

9. Original Screenplay: Todd Haynes, "Far From Heaven''; Jay Cocks and Steve Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, "Gangs of New York''; Nia Vardalos, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding''; Pedro Almodovar, "Talk to Her''; Carlos Cuaron and Alfonso Cuaron, "Y Tu Mama Tambien.''

10. Animated feature film: "Ice Age''; "Lilo & Stitch''; ``Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron''; "Spirited Away''; "Treasure Planet.''

11. Art Direction: "Chicago,'' "Frida,'' "Gangs of New York,'' "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,'' "Road to Perdition.''

12. Cinematography: "Chicago,'' "Far From Heaven,'' "Gangs of New York,'' "The Pianist,'' "Road to Perdition.''

13. Sound: "Chicago,'' "Gangs of New York,'' "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,'' "Road to Perdition,'' "Spider-Man.''

14. Sound Editing: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,'' ``Minority Report,'' "Road to Perdition.''

15. Original Score: "Catch Me If You Can," John Williams; ``Far From Heaven," Elmer Bernstein; "Frida," Elliot Goldenthal; ``The Hours," Philip Glass; "Road to Perdition," Thomas Newman.

16. Original Song: "Burn It Blue" from "Frida," Elliot Goldenthal and Julie Taymor; "Father and Daughter" from "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," Paul Simon; "The Hands That Built America" from "Gangs of New York," Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; "I Move On" from "Chicago," John Kander and Fred Ebb; "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile," Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto.

17. Costume: "Chicago,'' "Frida,'' "Gangs of New York,'' ``The Hours,'' "The Pianist.''

18. Documentary Feature: "Bowling for Columbine,'' "Daughter from Danang,'' "Prisoner of Paradise,'' "Spellbound,'' "Winged Migration.''

19. Documentary (short subject): "The Collector of Bedford Street,'' "Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks,'' "Twin Towers,'' "Why Can't We Be a Family Again?''

20. Film Editing: "Chicago,'' "Gangs of New York,'' "The Hours,'' "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,'' "The Pianist.''

21. Makeup: "Frida,'' "The Time Machine.''

22. Animated Short Film: "The Cathedral,'' "The ChubbChubbs!,'' "Das Rad,'' "Mike's New Car,'' "Mt. Head.''

23. Live Action Short Film: "Fait D'Hiver,'' "I'll Wait for the Next One (J'Attendrai Le Suivant),'' "Inja (Dog),'' "Johnny Flynton,'' "This Charming Man (Der Er En Yndig Mand).''

24. Visual Effects: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,'' ``Spider-Man,'' "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.''

USA Today's picks

USA TODAY movie critics Mike Clark and Claudia Puig debate who should win and who they predict will win the Academy Awards in five key categories.

MIKE CLARK

Best picture

Will win: Chicago. Even all those "guy" moviegoers who hate musicals, as blind and myopic as they are, found something to get excited about from that great equalizer: scantily clad women. That its box office word of mouth held is just one reason this feels like the right movie at the right time.

Should win: Chicago. It was not a banner year at the very top, but revitalizing an entire genre is no small feat. And though there are no bad choices in the runners-up, Gangs of New York is too unwieldy. And even without Philip Glass' overbearing score, The Hours veers close to self-parody. What's more, The Lord of the Rings is last year's news, and Roman Polanski has made at least four other movies that sizzle more than The Pianist.

Actor

Will win: Gangs of New York's Daniel Day-Lewis. He's the soul of Gangs, just as Oscar winner Robert De Niro was for Scorsese's Raging Bull.

Should win: Day-Lewis. I love Jack Nicholson's About Schmidt performance as well, but have people already forgotten that he also did "restrained" in the underrated The Pledge just two years ago?

Actress

Will win: Whoa! What a race. The Hours' Nicole Kidman (I think), because she's at the peak of her career. And, makeup assist or not, playing Virginia Woolf was a stretch. But singing and dancing were a stretch for Chicago's Renee Zellweger, too.

Should win: Zellweger. She's the center of the year's best movie, though a Diane Lane win for Unfaithful would make me happy just on principle.

Supporting actor

Will win: Catch Me If You Can's Christopher Walken. His key competition, Adaptation's Chris Cooper, is stuck in a movie that I have to believe is too smug and smarty-pants for academy voters — and, if so, good judgment on their part.

Should win: Walken. You can feel Catch Me peter out when his role diminishes in its second half.

Supporting actress

Will win: Chicago's Catherine Zeta-Jones. This is a meatier supporting role than the leads have in most movies, and she nailed it.

Should win: Zeta-Jones, for the same reason.

Director

Will win: Chicago's Rob Marshall. Oscar is not going to overlook the man who made the year's best movie, especially with all those nominations in key categories.

Should win: Marshall, but in defense of Martin Scorsese and the tasteless campaigning in his behalf, Gangs of New York largely triumphs over its structural flaws because of its direction.

CLAUDIA PUIG

Best picture

Will win: Chicago. Not only a box office hit and critics' darling, but early academy screenings reportedly had members on their feet applauding.

Should win: The Pianist. Adrien Brody's performance is haunting and pitch-perfect, and the film is deeply moving. But there were four other films that should have been recognized: Talk to Her, Y Tu Mamá También, About Schmidt and About a Boy. I would have chosen any of those above the nominees.

Actor

Will win: Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York. His portrayal of the malevolent Bill the Butcher was so indelible that the academy will feel compelled to give him the Oscar. This may be the way they honor the film that has divided audiences.

Should win: Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt. Day-Lewis was commanding, but the more powerful and subtly moving portrayal was Nicholson's retired actuary.

Actress

Will win: Renee Zellweger, Chicago. As heartless murderess Roxie Hart, Zellweger seems to have edged ahead of former front-runner Nicole Kidman since the Screen Actors Guild awards. She'll win largely because of academy members' affection for Chicago and their appreciation of the guts it took for her to sing and dance on film, despite her lack of formal training.

Should win: Nicole Kidman, The Hours. Her intense portrayal of the troubled Virginia Woolf convinces all naysayers that she's a serious actress.

Supporting actor

Will win: Chris Cooper, Adaptation. The contest between the two Chrises, Cooper and Walken, will be a close one, but Cooper's scene-stealing performance in Adaptation should edge out the competition.

Should win: Cooper.

Supporting actress

Will win: Meryl Streep, Adaptation. Although her stiffest competition will come from The Hours' Julianne Moore and Chicago's Catherine Zeta-Jones, Streep should edge out the other nominees with the force of her funny turn as writer Susan Orlean.

Should win: Streep. She deserves her third Oscar for so nimbly going from strait-laced to loopy.

Director

Will win: Rob Marshall, Chicago. This first-time director took a stage musical that no one could figure out how to adapt to the screen and transformed it into a highly watchable movie with grace and finesse.

Should win: Martin Scorsese,Gangs of New York. He's been nominated five times but has never won. Though he has made more admired movies, Gangs has some of the most masterful sequences ever seen.

ALL ABOUT OSCAR

By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY

Forget predicting who will win the Oscar. Forget who should win the Oscar. Forget whether they'll even have the Oscars.

Let's just think about which nominees would make the most entertaining winners. After all, wouldn't you like the Academy Awards to be more entertaining than usual?

We could use this bloated yet uniquely hypnotic annual ritual to distract us during such trying times. But if all we get are people thanking agents, mothers and God, that's not much of a distraction.

We want a distraction.

With that in mind, here are some picks. If they don't sound fun enough, don't blame us, blame the academy. We had to choose from the nominees they gave us.

* Best actor: Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt Nicholson, who for some reason needs sunglasses indoors, is always a hoot. And before you say, "Yeah, but haven't we seen him too much already?" consider the other possibilities: Adrien Brody, Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine and Daniel Day-Lewis. None of them a laugh riot, though Caine may be good for a witty speech. Maybe Brody does stand-up in his spare time, and Day-Lewis could always demonstrate his shoe-cobbling technique.

But think about Nicholson's comment at the Golden Globes. After admitting that he had just popped a Valium, he said he was surprised to win for best actor in a drama because he was under the impression that About Schmidt was a comedy. That's not just funny, it's witty.

When Nicholson won the Oscar in 1998 for As Good as It Gets, he danced onto the stage and said backstage that his kids would be happy: "They don't know the difference between this and bowling, but they know Dad won."

* Best actress: Renee Zellweger, Chicago. This is a tough call. The good news is that all five women are very visually entertaining. But we're going to have to go with bubbly Renee. She gets really excited when she wins. She whoops, she yells, she can barely get a sentence out. Now that's entertainment.

* Best supporting actor: Chris Cooper, Adaptation. You've got some real cool character actors in this one (Cooper, Ed Harris, John C. Reilly and Christopher Walken), and you've also got Paul Newman, a good old-fashioned movie star. But we're going to go with Cooper because the guy is a chameleon. How many people who saw him as the nutty military father in American Beauty and the orchid thief in Adaptation even realized it was the same guy? We want to see and hear the real Chris Cooper.

* Best supporting actress: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago. Sure, Kathy Bates would be fun — if she reprised her naked hot tub scene from About Schmidt. And Queen Latifah might bring down the house with a zinger or two.

But we're going with Zeta-Jones, because she's a hot mama-to-be. She's expected to sing a number from Chicago with co-star and co-nominee Latifah. And we don't just want her to win: We want her to dance!

* Best director: Roman Polanski,The Pianist. This would be interesting because Polanski is a fugitive from justice living in France. He's not the most popular guy around and France isn't exactly winning any popularity contests at the moment either. Would they beam him in from Paris via satellite? What would the award presenter say? "Wish you were here"? For sheer awkwardness, this would be a highlight.

Honorable mention: Talk to Her's Pedro Almodovar. This is an excitable guy who speaks little English. It could make for the wildest moment since Life Is Beautiful's Roberto Benigni climbed over the seats of Hollywood's finest in his haste to get to the stage.

* Best documentary: Michael Moore,Bowling for Columbine. This is always the category in which you just never know who will launch into an outrageously inappropriate speech about some cause or other. But with Moore, it's a sure thing that we'll get a tirade. Here's the good news: It will be a funny tirade.

* Best picture:The Pianist. This is the only movie nominated that isn't associated in some way with producer and Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein. Just to see the look on Weinstein's face — "I had four nominations up there and lost?" — would please half of Hollywood.

OSCAR ALL-TIME FAVORITES

A select group of movie critics — online, newspaper, magazine, TV — name their best of Oscar's best pictures:

Tim Gordon, publisher, ReelImagesMagazine.com

The Godfather. "The quintessential American Mob movie. Here is a movie that I can (and have) watched probably more than any DVD in my collection. The film, which is the ultimate Greek tragedy and the pinnacle of director Francis Ford Coppola's career, features some outstanding performances from its young, brilliant ensemble. Coppola's crime story is so strong that every film within the genre since has loomed in its large, deep footprints. Plus, what can you say about a movie (and a series) that launched the careers of James Caan, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and Talia Shire; inspired directors such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino and David Chase; and revived the mighty career of film icon Marlon Brando? In my opinion, the most dominant film of the last half of the 20th century and the piece of work that Coppola will most be remembered for."

Mike Clark, USA TODAY

All Quiet on the Western Front. "Being more recent and having more tempered acting, The Godfather and Schindler's List have built-in advantages over director Lewis Milestone's movie milestone, adapted from Erich Maria Remarque's famed novel. But it amazes me that a film that got a best-picture award 73-plus years ago can still look like the right choice. The still-potent result has rarely been equaled as an anti-war statement. The story is told from a German viewpoint that gets progressively downbeat: The evolution of an enthusiastically combative schoolboy (Lew Ayres) into a disillusioned veteran who finally tries to deter others, during the first portion of the powerful two-part finale, from following his course. The trench-warfare scenes are still so gritty that even Stanley Kubrick couldn't surpass them in 1957's Paths of Glory, and Ayres was so shaken by the experience that he jeopardized a career by becoming a conscientious objector in World War II. For its part, France banned the movie until 1963. All Quiet never really loses its topicality, because there are always new wars and worries over whether the leaders' war rationales are justified."

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Godfather. "The very first words we hear are, 'I believe in America.' And, in its own cracked-mirror way, Francis Ford Coppola's magnificent gangster opera does. It portrays the Mafia as business, but, more importantly, as a family. The ultimate family. The Corleones' courtly yet ruthless patriarch (Marlon Brando) is King Lear — with a taste for cannolis and killing off his enemies. Like Lear, he must bequeath his kingdom to one of three children. Pathetic Fredo (John Cazale) is out of the question and hotheaded Sonny (James Caan) is ultimately out of the picture. That leaves Michael (Al Pacino), the war-hero son Don Corleone had groomed for better things than the blood-drenched family business. Thus, The Godfather is the American Dream — in its respect for family values (no matter how perverse), for tradition (no matter how bloody) and for upward mobility (no matter how violent). It's ironic that it was released in 1972, a time when the nation was reeling from the anarchic excesses of the '60s and the painful fallout of Vietnam. America may have been going to hell, but the Mafia still had its act together. It reassured us that, somehow, somewhere, the center still held. And that we could all still believe in America."

Roger Ebert, TV's Ebert & Roeper and Chicago Sun-Times

Casablanca. "Because the subject of making moral choices in an immoral world is more timely now than ever. Because it argues that idealism is more important than love. Because it is perfectly cast even in the smallest roles. Because lines of its dialogue have entered into our lives. Because it happened by accident — it wasn't even supposed to be a great film and became one. Because the times and the turmoil, the talent and the opportunity, created an inspired alchemy. I have never met anyone who has seen Casablanca and not loved it."

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The Godfather. "For me, it's a no-brainer. The Godfather is the best movie to ever win the Oscar for best picture. It's art and commerce in one hugely entertaining package. Want to make Hollywood and the academy an offer they can't refuse? Show them how to create something of lasting value and get rich doing it. The Godfather not only retains the elegance and rude vitality that writer/director Francis Ford Coppola gave it back in 1972, the film (like one of Coppola's Napa Valley wines) also gets better with age. Mario Puzo's best seller was basic pulp. But Coppola and a note-perfect cast, from Brando, Pacino, Duvall, Caan and Cazale, right down to Lenny Montana's Luca Brasi ("And I hope that their first child be a masculine child"), stamped that pulp into our collective subconscious. All gangster movies before and since — that means you, too, Sopranos— must kiss the ring of the Corleones."

Can Eminem Cut It?

(CP)- You think you've got worries? How would you like to be a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year?

Not only do you have to worry about a nasty old war or some silly old terrorists ruining your big day, but you also have to be looking over your shoulder in case you snub a nominee who in turn wants to pop a cap in your tuxedoed ass.

Yes, Oscars meet Eminem.

He's your biggest nightmare since Courtney Love slapped designer clothes on her ghoulish ex-junkie frame and attempted to walk the red carpet and go legit, and he's one of the five nominees vying for the best song award at this year's ceremonies.

And you know what?

He should also win.

Mr. Marshall Mathers III and his song Lose Yourself -- co-written with Jeff Bass and Luis Resto -- from the rappin' Rocky film 8 Mile are the cream of the crop, which also includes U2, Paul Simon, John Kander and Fred Ebb, and Elliot Goldenthal and Julie Taymor.

But, as with the case with any award show, should win and will win are two entirely different things.

Bono and the boys have a great shot at the trophy thanks to The Hands That Built America, their contribution to Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York.

Not that it's a very good song, or that its use in the film is even effective or fitting.

Although it plays over a closing montage of the New York skyline, which is shown from its infancy to today -- or rather to pre 9/11, which makes it far less powerful -- it's an ultra modern, typical U2 song in a film that goes out of its way to get every last detail correct about the era it's portraying.

The song seems like an afterthought.

For that reason, despite its association with a favoured film, it probably won't get the prize.

But while U2's entry benefits from the high-profile film it's in, Paul Simon's song Father and Daughter suffers because it's from a nice, little animated feature.

And not a Disney one.

The Wild Thornberrys Movie is a charming film, and Simon's song is a keeper -- in fact the whole album is great, featuring tracks by artists such as Peter Gabriel, and Youssou N' Dour and Sting.

It just doesn't have the kind of fanfare behind it to take Simon to the podium.

The remaining pairs of nominees should have the inside track, because of their histories and because of the films they're a part of.

Composer Elliot Goldenthal and lyricist Julie Taymor are the longshot of the two, with their song Burn It Blue from Frida.

Goldenthal, who's also nominated in the original score category, has two other previous nominations to his credit for Interview with the Vampire and Michael Collins.

And while he's no Randy Newman -- who won the category last year after 15 past attempts, thereby avoiding an Oscar record 16 failed bids -- there has to be a minor familiarity with his name and work.

Again, the problem is the vehicle.

Frida has a slight chance of pulling an upset for its star, the bodacious Salma Hayek, but doesn't come close to having the machinery behind it to earn any other Oscars.

Which leaves that toddlin' film Chicago and its peppy number I Move On, by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

The team also has a history with Oscar -- albeit an old one -- as they earned a nomination almost three decades ago with their work on Funny Lady.

But what should push them over the top is that their song happens to be featured in a musical that's favoured to clean up at this year's awards.

While the Academy has been known to do dumb things, like ignoring a director whose work is up for best picture, to snub a song from a musical that's the frontrunner for flick of the year would be incredibly silly and myopic ... and all that jazz.

Diaz Taking Hybrid Car to the Oscars

LOS ANGELES - Star gazers won't see Cameron Diaz stepping out of a stretch limo at Sunday night's Oscars ceremony.

She's one of a handful of celebrities who will be chauffeured to the gala in hybrid cars powered by both gasoline and electricity.

Also arriving in a Toyota Prius, courtesy of environmentalists, will be Harrison Ford, Susan Sarandon and Robin Williams.

"This is to show that there are people who care about lessening our dependence on foreign oil and increased fuel efficiency," said Matt Petersen of Global Green USA, an affiliate of Green Cross International.

Alternative fuel vehicles "are part of the solution to global warming, pollution and lowering our gas bills," Petersen said.

Because of the war in Iraq, organizers canceled the splashy red-carpet arrivals at the Kodak Theatre.

Oscar Planners Scrap the Red Carpet

LOS ANGELES - There will be no red carpet tonight as the Academy Awards roll out a subtle version of its spectacular celebration to show respect for U.S. soldiers battling Saddam Hussein's regime.

Formal evening wear remains a must, though guests at the 75th Oscars are expected to dress down the glitz and glamor.

Studios and other Hollywood groups still plan post-Oscar bashes, though many have dropped the usual gauntlet of reporters and photographers outside.

An extreme turn of events could force postponement of the Oscars or prompt ABC to bump the live broadcast in favor of news coverage. But organizers said they expect the show to come off as planned and that the ceremony this year takes on greater symbolic merit.

"At a time when American culture and values are under attack all over the world, we think it is more important than ever that we honor those achievements that reflect us and America at our best," said Frank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Gil Cates, the show's producer, said a friend who's executive officer aboard a Navy ship told him that it was important to carry on "as normal, as usual, that we should do the show. That it would be kind of a terrible victory for Saddam if we didn't."

A celebrity or two have backed out of the Oscars because of the war, among them Will Smith, who withdrew as an awards presenter, saying he was uncomfortable attending given world events. But Cates said organizers have seen no more last-minute cancellations among celebrities and other guests than they do every year.

The traditional tight security at the Oscars has been increased, including a National Guard mobile lab to test for suspicious biological or chemical substances. Pierson said Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton told Oscar planners that "he felt the safest place to be in America was probably at the Academy Awards on Sunday night."

If the show goes off as planned, a few notable firsts might come out of the Oscars. Some possibilities:

-Best-picture front-runner "Chicago" might be the first musical since 1968's "Oliver!" to win best picture. Four cast members of "Chicago" are nominated, with best-actress contender Renee Zellweger and supporting-actress nominee Catherine Zeta-Jones appearing to have the best shot at becoming the first acting winners from a musical since Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey for 1972's "Cabaret."

-Jack Nicholson could walk away with his fourth Oscar, tying Katharine Hepburn for most acting awards. Nicholson is up for best actor for the black comedy "About Schmidt," earning his 12th nomination.

-Martin Scorsese could finally win an Oscar, though for a movie considered inferior to his best work. Scorsese is up for best director for "Gangs of New York," after losing with his previous nominations for "Raging Bull," "The Last Temptation of Christ" and "GoodFellas."

Awards campaigning usually provokes sniping among rival studios, and Scorsese's nomination resulted in this year's nastiest feud. Competitors griped about distributor Miramax's tactics to characterize "Gangs" as a summation of Scorsese's work and suggest that he might deserve the Oscar as a career honor.

Scorsese is considered a front-runner, though "Chicago" director Rob Marshall took the prize from the Directors Guild of America, whose winner usually goes on to win the Oscar.

Also competing for best director is Roman Polanski, who would face arrest if he entered the United States to attend the awards. Polanski, nominated for "The Pianist," has been living in exile since fleeing the United States 25 years ago to avoid sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

"The Pianist" is part of a best-picture field of generally dark and dour films, including "Gangs," "The Hours" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." Yet it is "Chicago," a cynical but rousing song-and-dance satire, that could dominate the evening. "Chicago" leads the pack with 13 nominations.

Host Steve Martin is expected to crack wise, delivering what Cates called a "don't miss it" opening monologue. Presenting awards will be Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Harrison Ford, Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, while Peter O'Toole will be honored with a lifetime-achievement Oscar.
 
All that revelry aside, organizers are aiming for a sober, dignified mood, much like the Oscar ceremonies of World War II.

"They've got to send the signal this isn't a self-indulgent party among pampered people," said Tom O'Neil, author of the book "Movie Awards," "and just get down to the business of honoring the best movies."

Day-Lewis Has Edge in Tight Best Actor Oscar Race

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One of the hardest categories to call this Oscar season is the best actor race, in which four past winners are pitted against newcomer Adrien Brody.

Brody's performance in the title role of "The Pianist" put him in league with some of acting's heavyweights. But the favorite going into today's Oscar ceremony is Daniel Day-Lewis, for his delightful turn as the wickedly magnetic villain Bill "the Butcher" Cutting in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York."

Day-Lewis, 45, an intense actor who won the Oscar for his performance as a quadriplegic in the 1989 film, "My Left Foot," and Brody are up against Oscar veteran and Hollywood favorite Jack Nicholson, who delivered an uncharacteristically toned-down performance as a retiree in "About Schmidt."

Also nominated are two-time Oscar winner Michael Caine, who plays a journalist in Saigon during the 1950s in "The Quiet American," and Nicolas Cage, who previously won for "Leaving Las Vegas," as a tormented screenwriter struggling to adapt a novel for a movie in "Adaptation."

With all the makings of a cliffhanger, some Oscar watchers admit they are confounded, while others are ready to put their cards on the table.

"The contest is between Day-Lewis and Adrien Brody," said Oscar pundit Tom O'Neil. "Day-Lewis gives the kind of scenery-chewing, grand performance that Oscar voters love, and he is also considered an actor's actor," he said.

The eccentric actor, known for his extensive preparation and for immersing himself in his roles, worked in a butcher shop to prepare for his role as Bill, a butcher by vocation who is also a Manhattan crime lord during the anarchic Civil War era.

But O'Neil and others also say that Brody may well be the category's wild card.

"He is the only newcomer against four past winners in a movie that Oscar voters like a lot and may want to reward in a top category," O'Neil said. "The myth is that they prefer the veterans and the industry favorites, but in fact they like to crown newcomers."

"The Pianist," which features Brody as Jewish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman during his harrowing survival of Nazi-occupied Warsaw, was directed by Roman Polanski, whose mother perished in a concentration camp.

In the career-defining title role, Brody, a native New Yorker who won attention in Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam," has been hailed as one of his generation's finest actors.

The searing Holocaust drama won best film and best director awards at both Britain's Bafta and France's Cesar annual awards in February, beating stiff competition from the glitzy musical "Chicago" and the emotional drama "The Hours."

But despite the European honors, Hollywood is still unlikely to reward Polanski, a once-vilified fugitive who fled the country in the 1970s after a statutory rape conviction.

And so the Academy may opt to honor Brody, in an indirect nod to Polanski.

Still, Brody and Day-Lewis are up against Nicholson, the most nominated actor in Oscar history. His portrayal of a retired Omaha, Nebraska actuary on a journey of self-discovery in "About Schmidt" was considered by some to be his best acting to date, as well as a refreshing switch from his typicallyshowy roles.

"We've never seen him play anything like that before, there's no 'Jack' in that guy," said Leonard Maltin, a movie critic and co-host for the television show "Hot Tickets."

"He submerges into that incredible, droning Midwestern guy, and he's great."

Nicholson, 65, who most recently took home the best actor Oscar for the 1998 film "As Good As it Gets," has been nominated for an Oscar 12 times, making him the most nominated actor in the history of the Academy Awards.

"I'd say its a very tough race and I'm glad I don't have to vote," Maltin said. "But if I were to vote, I'd split my vote between Nicholson and Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis' character is unlike anything we've seen before, while Nicholson disappeared into that character," he said.

"Those are the front runners in the my mind, although more people seem to be seeing 'The Pianist' and they're very impressed with Adrien Brody."

Ghosts Hover Over the Oscars This Year

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The "Chicago" fire may be impossible to put out, but Oscar voters have an impressive choice of best film nominees this year and even the losers have better stories to tell than many past winners.

They can opt for an epic tale of a land that never was ("The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"), a violent story of Civil War era New York ("Gangs of New York"), a film that takes place in three time periods and three different places at once ("The Hours"), a blackhearted frolic about homicidal hoofers ("Chicago") or the grim story of survival in a place closely resembling Hell, war-torn Warsaw ("The Pianist").

Says Time Magazine film critic Richard Schickel, "It is the best crop of films that we have had in recent years. They are all adult films. There's no 'Braveheart,' "Titanic' or 'Gandhi' here" -- a reference to three past Oscar winner that were high on lofty ideals but low on critical esteem.

The smart money -- indeed the only money -- is on "Chicago" high-stepping to a climactic victory at Sunday's Oscars.

A victory would be a feather in the cap for 71-year-old producer Marty Richards, who jokes that he has been trying to get the film made "since my Bar Mitzvah."

Actually it wasn't that long -- he has only been trying to get it made since 1975, two years before Martin Scorsese started work on his epic "Gangs of New York," a tale of the savage tensions between nativists and Irish immigrants in 19th century Manhattan.

MADONNA, GOLDIE, NICOLE

A who's who of show business -- Goldie Hawn, Madonna, Nicole Kidman -- was attached to and separated from "Chicago" in recent years. Bob Fosse, the legendary director and choreographer of the original Broadway show, was supposed to direct the film version, and his death in 1987 threw Richards into despair.

"I thought it would never get made when Bob died. ... He would have made the movie even darker than Rob Marshall did," Richards said the other day.

First-time director Marshall's bright, sunny look at semi-justifiable homicide has made the film so much the Oscar favorite that a British bookmaker stopped taking bets.

"It is so upbeat and jolly in the rhythms of the film and yet it is one of the bleakest and blackest films ever made. The movie is revolutionary," said Time critic Schickel.

Miramax head Harvey Weinstein was the man who stepped in and got "Chicago" made. He was also the guiding power behind "Gangs."

The buildup to the Oscars this year has been filled with litanies of "Thank You Harveys" from producers and directors with whom he fought and fought. In "Chicago's" case, the film makers had beat back a Weinstein effort to give former teen queen Britney Spears a minor role and a song to sing.

Known as Hollywood's bull in a china shop for his fierce temper and take-no-prisoners demeanor, Weinstein also emerges this year as a hero with 40 Oscar nominations for his films.

Never far from the flames of controversy, Weinstein ignited one with his campaign to get Scorsese a best director's Oscar over his rivals, including "Chicago's" Marshall.

Weinstein's campaign has drawn criticism even though many in the industry agree Scorsese is an overlooked master of American cinema who like Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock never won a gold statuette.

GHOST OF POLISH PIANIST

The most unlikely ghost hovering over the Oscars this year is that of Polish Jewish pianist Waldyslaw Szpilman, who was one of 20 Jews who miraculously survived the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto.

The book he wrote about his experiences just after the war ended was quickly banned by the Communist government of Poland because it told of the evil that good people do and the good that evil people are capable of -- not something the Communists were willing to spread around. After all, Szpilman's life was saved by a German officer who had saved other Jews.

It took decades until his son Andrzej got the work published in the West and there it was seized upon by another Polish Jewish Holocaust survivor Roman Polanski, who blended his own memories into the work to produce a film more powerful than anything he has done in recent years.

Polanski fled the United States after pleading guilty to having had sex with a minor and he has a better chance of going to jail if he were to show up Sunday night than winning the best director's Oscar.

"My father was a man who lived a great life but he had nightmares. He wrote his book because a doctor told him to get it all down or he would have a nervous breakdown and that is what he did. It was not until 1998 that I talked to him about the Holocaust," Andrzej Szpilman said.

Madonna's Film Sweeps The Worst Film Awards

Madonna and director-husband Guy Ritchie's "Swept Away" the competition with their widely reviled box office bomb of the same name at the 23rd annual Razzie awards on Saturday which "honor" the worst of the worst in Hollywood.

The Razzies are traditionally awarded a day before the Oscars.

"Swept Away," a remake of Italian director Lina Wertmuller's 1974 classic about a bourgeois woman shipwrecked in the Mediterranean with her yacht's communist cook, swept the Razzies with nods for worst film, worst performance by an actress, worst remake, worst screen couple (Madonna and co-star Adriano Giannini) and worst director Ritchie.

The first cinematic collaboration between the aging pop star and the British director also suffered the ignominious distinction of being the Razzie's lowest-grossing worst film ever, having "earned" a whopping $598,645 in box office receipts, the Razzies award givers said.

Actually Madonna, who can now boast a collection of five worst actress Razzies in her curio cabinet -- not to mention having been crowned worst actress of the century -- had to share the honor this year with fellow pop star Britney Spears.

For her screen debut Spears chose "Crossroads," in which as critics noted she dug deep into her creative vault to transform every fiber of her being into her character of ... an aspiring pop star.

"Crossroads" opens with Spears' character dancing in her underwear to Madonna's "Open Your Heart to Me." So now they have another bond.

WORST ORIGINAL SONG

Spears also grabbed the worst original song honors for "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" from the film.

"Swept Away"'s five "wins" tied the mark for most Razzies set by such unforgettable movie train wrecks as "Mommie Dearest," "The Post Man," "Wild Wild West" and "Freddy Got Fingered."

Seemingly on a roll, Razzie voters also saw fit to bestow its worst supporting actress award on Madonna for her fleeting cameo in the James Bond flick "Die Another Day."

The Razzies, formally administered by the non-profit Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, did not reserve its brickbats for pop stars who think they're actresses, of course.

Italian actor/director and past Oscar winner Roberto Benigni ("Life is Beautiful") apparently gave new meaning to the term wooden acting with his poorly dubbed folly "Pinocchio," which apparently even children didn't want to see during its abortive Christmas release.

Even Hollywood superpower George Lucas and his "Star Wars" cash cow franchise did not escape unscathed. His "disappointing fifth entry from a galaxy far, far too long," as the Razzie folks put it, "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones," snagged Razzies for Hayden Christensen as worst supporting actor and worst screenplay for Lucas himself.

Winners were determined by ballots mailed to 563 Golden Raspberry Award Foundation members throughout 39 U.S. states and a dozen other countries.

The award itself is a handcrafted, golf-ball-sized raspberry atop a mangled reel of Super 8 film. Spray-painted gold, it is said to have an estimated street value of $4.89.

But that, of course, doesn't account for eBay.

As Oscars Near, Hollywood Blasts Iraq War

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood launched a another strike against the Iraqi war on Saturday during a politically charged ceremony that could serve as a prelude for even more fireworks at the Academy Awards the next evening.

In a star-studded luncheon at the Independent Spirit Awards, the arthouse movie industry's version of the Oscars, celebrities blasted President Bush and the American-led war against Iraq.

Most outspoken was documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, the man behind the popular anti-gun expose "Bowling for Columbine," whose title refers to the Colorado high school where two students massacred 13 people in 1999.

"The lesson for the children of Columbine this week is that violence is an accepted means by which to solve a conflict," Moore told the 1,000 attendees gathered under a marquee on Santa Monica Beach as he accepted the Spirit Award for best documentary. "That's the lesson for the kids."

Wearing a badge that said, "Shoot movies, not Iraqis," Moore called Bush a "fictitious president" who was waging "terrorism."

He later told reporters he had spoken to a number of Oscar nominees who said they planned to acknowledge the war in acceptance speeches if they won in their categories. Moore's film is nominated for a best documentary Oscar, but he said he doubted he would win again on Sunday.

Julianne Moore, star of the Independent Spirits' big winner "Far From Heaven," spoke in more measured tones, "We're parents and we teach our children not to fight. Fighting's not the answer," she said as she accepted the best actress prize, one of five won by the 1950s drama.

Moore, who received Academy Award nominations for both "Far From Heaven" and "The Hours," said she would "play it by ear" with regard to any Oscar-night comments about the war. But she was similarly dismissive of her Oscar chances.

PEACE LAPEL PINS

Her co-star, Dennis Quaid, who won for his supporting role as a gay husband, said he did want to "politicize" the Independent Spirits. "It's a strange time for all of us," he told reporters backstage.

Quaid was one of the few guests not wearing a peace lapel pin; he explained that he had just flown in from a shooting in Montreal and was a little disoriented.

Other actors had no qualms about getting political. "Secretary" star Maggie Gyllenhaal, who was a presenter, said the war was about "oil and imperialism."

Actor/filmmaker Mike White, who won for his screenplay for the Jennifer Aniston black comedy "The Good Girl," said, "Let's use a little more spirit this year to get Bush out of office."

It was not all high drama though. The event's host, offbeat director John Waters, said in his opening remarks that these were indeed "scary times." But he added, "Saddam Hussein, George Bush -- no one will stop me from getting my gift bag."

Unlike the Academy Awards, which dispensed with the red carpet this year in order to minimize the frivolity at a grave time, the Independent Spirits maintained its arrivals line, allowing the casually dressed guests to pose for paparazzi and chat with reporters.

Singer/songwriter Elvis Costello set the anti-war tone for the leisurely affair by performing his cover of "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?" a Nick Lowe song originally written as a parody of peace anthems.

In addition to the actress and supporting actor prizes, "Far From Heaven" won for director (Todd Haynes), best picture and cinematographer (Oscar nominee Edward Lachman).

Best actor prize went to newcomer Derek Luke, star of the urban drama "Antwone Fisher," who recalled that he had been a waiter at the event about four years ago.

SHOW STILL GOING ON

At a Friday press conference, organizers again insisting that the 75th Annual Academy Awards will go on as scheduled Sunday evening. But the situation is being evaluated on a "moment by moment basis."

Come back here on Sunday for comprehensive Oscar predictions!

Taylor 'Best Of' Offers New Song

The new song "Bittersweet" is among 19 classic tracks on the forthcoming collection "The Best of James Taylor." Due April 8 from Warner Strategic Marketing (WSM), the set collects material recorded over the last 35 years from the catalogs of Apple, Warner Bros., and Columbia.

Each selection has been newly remastered for the compilation. Also noteworthy is that WSM is in the midst of remastering Taylor's entire WB catalog for eventual reissue. The singer/songwriter's 1970-76 tenure saw him release six albums through the label: "Sweet Baby James," "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon," "One Man Dog," "Walking Man," "Gorilla," and "In the Pocket." The label also released a "Greatest Hits" set in 1976, and a prior "Best Of" in 1990.

As previously reported, the veteran artist will hit the road in North America beginning May 15 in Dallas. The tour comes is in support of Taylor's latest Columbia album, "October Road," which was released last August to a No. 4 bow on The Billboard 200. The set has sold 918,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Here is "The Best of James Taylor" track list:

"Something in the Way She Moves"
"Sweet Baby James"
"Fire and Rain"
"Country Road" (Single Version)
"You've Got a Friend"
"You Can Close Your Eyes"
"Long Ago and Far Away"
"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"
"Walking Man"
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)"
"Mexico"
"Shower the People"
"Golden Moments"
"SteamRoller" (Live)
"Carolina on My Mind" (1976 version)
"Handy Man"
"Your Smiling Face"
"Up on the Roof"
"Only a Dream In Rio"
"Bittersweet"

DVD Rental Revenue Tops VHS For First Week Ever

Is the disc mightier than the cassette? For the first week ever, DVD rentals generated more revenue than VHS rentals last week -- six years to the month after the launch of the DVD format in the United States.

For the week ending March 16, 2003, DVD rentals generated $80 million, with VHS rentals pulling $78 million, according to figures from the Video Software Dealers Assoc. (VSDA) VidTrac.

"Consumers rejoice in the quality, convenience, and value-added features of DVDs, and are clearly attracted to DVD as an item both to purchase and to rent," says Bo Andersen, president of VSDA. "Given the choice to buy or to rent DVDs, the American public has chosen both."

In 2002, DVD rental revenue accounted for 35 percent of the total video rental market, but DVDs have dominated sales revenues over VHS formats since 2001, according to Adams Media Research.

In terms of number of actual units rented, VHS remains the preferred format by 54 percent last week, according to VSDA VidTrac. However, DVD rentals are steadily increasing and is expected to soon overtake VHS in actual units as well.

VSDA VidTrac measures national consumer video rental spending based on actual rental transactions.

Philbin Latest Eye Casualty

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Perhaps Conan, Craig, and the ladies of "The View" should make an appointment with the ophthalmologist, because eye ailments are tearing through the talk show ranks. First it was David Letterman with the shingles. Now it's Regis Philbin seeing double.

On Wednesday (March 19) morning's "Live! With Regis and Kelly," Philbin told viewers that his recent focus problems have been diagnosed as the result of a weakening eye muscle caused by closure of a small blood vessel. Citing his neuro-ophthalmologist, Philbin says that the condition should clear up within six to eight weeks, but that surgery is often required.

Philbin began experiencing problems last week, but mentioned on his show that he'd had trouble meeting up with his doctor.

On Monday, in a conversation with his wife Joy, he joked that he "woke up with two women in my bed -- and they were both Joy."

Amusingly, Philbin was one of the first celebrities to fill in for Letterman as host on "The Late Show."

Gas in car to go to groomers- $4.50
Cat car carrier- $32.99
Grooming fee- $80.00
Getting The Look from one seriously ticked-off cat- Priceless!

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Eminem's feature debut 8 Mile selling 2 million DVDs and earning an estimated $40 million during the first 24 hours after its release.

...The New 'Harry Potter' Book Will Have Two Covers, And Not Just A Front And Back

LONDON - The fifth installment of the Harry Potter books will have two separate covers, one for adults and one for children.

Bloomsbury Publishers unveiled the designs Thursday. The adult edition of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" features a somber black and white picture of a phoenix, while the children's version of the boy wizard book is illustrated with a more vibrant red and orange bird rising from flames.

The designs will be used for editions released in Britain and other English-speaking countries, except the United States, where the book is to be published by Scholastic Children's Books.

The latest work of author J.K. Rowling will be released around the world on June 21. Fans have waited nearly three years for the schoolboy wizard's fifth adventure. Bookstores have already been deluged by Potter fans pre-ordering copies of the book.

Online retailer Amazon has taken more than 130,000, twice as many as were taken for the fourth book, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Released in July 2000, that installment sold more copies on the first weekend after publication than any other book, according to Bloomsbury.

Rowling's four published titles have sold an estimated 192 million copies worldwide in hard and soft cover; the books have been published in at least 55 languages and distributed in more than 200 countries.

ABC, TV Industry Ask Must the Oscar Show Go On?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - For the ABC network, it is a nearly-unprecedented dilemma: go to 24-hour-a-day, commercial-free news coverage of the war with Iraq or stick with plans to air the highly lucrative Academy Awards on Sunday night as scheduled?

That was the question on Thursday, as the war moved slowly through its first day, with the anticipation among many that the big push that the U.S. military has been promising would come within the next two days.

And the answer, at least according to a number of people who are closely involved with TV and the television industry, is that a brief delay in the show couldn't hurt anybody and might actually seem like the right thing to do.

"The Academy (of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and ABC have to tread really cautiously," said J. Max Robbins, a senior editor at TV Guide magazine. "People in the industry are really struggling with this."

ABC is scheduled to broadcast the Oscars live on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. EST and the show's producers have already said they expect it to run its full, usual 3 1/2 hours.

But earlier this week, they canceled the traditional "red carpet" celebrity entrances before the show, opting instead for more muted arrivals without the glitz and glamour or the chance for a reporter to ask a frivolous or tough question.

ABC has already indefinitely postponed Barbara Walters' post-Oscar interview show, which has been going on for 22 years.

"We are proceeding and obviously are monitoring the situation on a moment-by-moment basis," ABC spokesman Kevin Brockman told Reuters. But he said as of Thursday morning the status quo, that the show would go on, remained.

MONEY NOT THE KEY

"The Oscars have had weeks to consider what's happening ... and now they have even more information," Bryce Zabel, the chief executive of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, told Reuters. "They can make a much more informed decision about what they think Sunday will be like."

Zabel knows something about postponed awards -- his organization puts on TV's annual Emmy Awards, which had to be postponed twice in late 2001, once after the Sept. 11 attacks and again when the U.S. began its bombing campaign in Afghanistan the same day as the rescheduled show.

But Zabel said he thought that, as in his situation, money would not be a significant factor in deciding whether or not to go ahead with the show.

"The networks probably aren't planning to make the same money they would have made anyway," he said.

The live Oscar telecast is one of TV's biggest nights, ranking only behind professional football's Super Bowl in terms of advertising potential. Last year's show drew 42 million U.S. viewers. Ad spots for this year's show sold for between $1.3 million and $1.45 million for 30-second slots.

Some industry experts said that if nothing else, it might seem distasteful to carry on with the awards.

"It's pretty close, and there simply may be a little taste issue (in) that you're having this almost hedonistic display of self-congratulation of the entertainment industry when the smoke hasn't cleared from the first missiles," Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, told Reuters.

But beyond the issue of taste, Thompson said there could be some more practical concerns in airing the show, which the network typically turns into a high-profile showcase.

"You want your Oscar story to be front page news; if you do it Sunday the only front page news will be 'Should they have played the Oscars last night?"' Thompson said.

But TV Guide's Robbins said the fact the network and the Academy needed to proceed cautiously did not mean that they had to scrap the show entirely.

"At this point I don't know if there's a reason to postpone it," he said.

National Guard in at Oscars, Will Smith Out

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The state of California on Thursday assigned a National Guard unit to protect the Oscars, but at least one prominent star withdrew from the ceremonies, saying now was not the time to celebrate.

Actor Will Smith pulled out of Sunday's scheduled Oscars show while other stars announced plans to wear peace sign pins, doves and even duct tape to protest the war in Iraq.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said on Thursday it was still planning to go ahead, for now, with the ceremony -- minus the glitzy red carpet -- but a final decision was not expected before Friday.

Meanwhile, California authorities said that they would station a National Guard unit at the ceremonies, equipped with a mobile testing laboratory that could quickly detect any chemical or biological threat.

"I can say the Academy Awards will be as safe and secure as any awards ceremony ever held," California Gov. Gray Davis said in announcing the security measures at a press conference.

He said having the National Guard unit and testing facility at the Oscars would mean that the ceremonies would not be interrupted if threats were made against its stars.

"The value to the Los Angeles Police Department is that the lab can get results within 30 minutes," he said.

Smith, star of "Men in Black," was scheduled to present an award at the show. He withdrew before the U.S. bombing campaign in Iraq got underway in earnest on Thursday.

"He felt uncomfortable in attending and respectfully asked to be excused. There's no agenda, there's no speeches. He just didn't feel personally comfortable in going because of the world situation," said his publicist, Stan Rosenfield.

Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki, who is nominated for a best foreign language film Oscar for "The Man Without a Past," said he would stay home in a protest against the war in Iraq.

Artists United to Win Without War -- a group of more than 130 celebrities who have campaigned against war -- has produced a special peace pin for the event. Artists including Dustin Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Jim Carrey, Ben Affleck, Michael Moore and Kirsten Dunst have agreed to wear it on awards night.

Others plan to wear a peace dove or a piece of duct tape on their gowns or tuxedos.

Duct tape has become a tongue-in-cheek symbol of protest, after ridicule greeted government advice to buy it along with plastic sheeting to set up temporary safe rooms in case of chemical or biological attack.

"People are looking to express in a dignified way their feelings and emotions," producer Robert Greenwald, founder of Artists United, told Reuters. Oscar organizers said they decided to cut out the traditional red carpet -- where stars parade their opinions along with their gowns -- because several celebrities had expressed unease about that part of the show at the start of a major war.

They denied reports that winners had been told to keep their political opinions to themselves in their speeches during the show itself, although organizers said they expected presenters to stick to the script.

Greenwald said he was unaware of any mass move by stars to boycott the ceremony, if it goes ahead. He said celebrities, like other Americans, were struggling to find a balance between life as usual and their personal response to the war.

"The Oscars epitomize that. It is a heightened version of regular life. The question of what people think they should do or not do around the Oscars are symbolic of a series of questions that people are struggling with as to what they are going to be doing in their lives around the war," he said.

Controversial Russian lesbian duo a hit

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Clad in skimpy tank tops, teenage pop stars Lena and Yulia giggle and clasp hands on a Russian television talk show as their hit music video is played for a studio audience.

The camera pans over the audience, lingering on a Russian Orthodox priest who grimaces and crosses himself when the video shows the girls kissing.

The pop duo Tatu -- Russian slang for "This girl (loves) that girl" -- has long been causing a sensation at home.

But now that the teenagers are also climbing charts around the world, their scanty schoolgirl uniforms, flirtations with lesbianism and in-your-face sexuality are prompting debate about whether this is the kind of cultural export the land of Tchaikovsky and Chekhov wants to become known for.

"Soft but flirtatious lesbian erotica direct on a hit video, and furthermore with underage participants -- not even Madonna came up with that," music critic Dmitry Shavyrin wrote in the daily Moskovsky Komsomolets.

As a marketing tool, it clearly works, said Dmitry Konnov of Russia's MTV, whose viewers voted Tatu's "I Lost My Mind," about young same-sex love, the No. 1 video in 2001.

The group's debut album, "200 km/hour in the Wrong Lane," has sold well over 1.1 million copies, and an estimated 4 million pirated copies. "All the Things She Said" -- the English-language version of the Russian "I Lost My Mind" -- is topping radio playlists from Colombia to Australia. Tatu is the first Russian band to reach No. 1 on Britain's singles chart, and now they are taking on the U.S. market.

This week, "All the Things She Said" climbed to No. 20 on the U.S. Billboard chart.

But Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, both 18, aren't winning fans everywhere.

Britain's The Daily Mail said they have managed to "degrade marketing and music at the same time," while a British TV presenter urged radio stations to ban Tatu, whom critics have called "pedo-pop." In Bulgaria, officials canceled a Tatu concert that was scheduled for the eve of Pope John Paul II's visit last year, although officials denied a connection.

"People love us or hate us but nobody thinks nothing about us," Lena says on Tatu's Web site.

'Such a thing hadn't been done'

Tatu's English-language single "All the Things She Said" is climbing the U.S. charts.

Tatu was created in 1999 by a former child psychologist who acknowledges that he was trying to produce a sexy, provocative group led by teenage girls.

"Such a thing hadn't been done," said Ivan Shapovalov, 36, whose cheeky attitude has made him as famous among Russia's young hip set as the band he created.

Shapovalov, who jokes about his reputation as an evil Svengali, denied choosing the name Tatu for its slang connotation, saying he was more interested in the word's principle meaning, "tattoo."

"I liked that a tattoo is something that you do to distinguish yourself, something that you do to yourself," said Shapovalov.

He held auditions and chose Lena and Yulia separately. They had both been members of a Russian youth band, which Tatu's Web site said Yulia was forced to leave for "obscene behavior and corrupting other singers."

That racy attitude distinguishes Tatu from the other manufactured boy and girl bands on the market.

So does the suggestion of lesbianism.

Tatu's lyrics and videos allude to such a relationship, an idea both the singers and Shapovalov coyly promote during interviews. [Tatu] degrade[s] marketing and music at the same time. -- The Daily Mail (London)

"Everybody thinks we are lesbians," Yulia teased during an interview on NTV's Namedni program, while grabbing for Lena's top.

"Girl," Lena scolded, laughing.

The Russian media, however, routinely "out" the singers with reports that they were spotted around Moscow with alleged boyfriends in tow.

Such controversies, of course, only bring the pair more attention.

Russian journalists quiz Tatu about what their parents think. Gazeta newspaper slapped the label "Scandal" on a story about the group.

On the respected Russian political talk show "Svoboda Slova," on NTV, Tatu was invited on as guests for a discussion entitled "What are the limits of permissibility?"

But when the show's studio audience was quizzed about their reaction, most didn't see Tatu in a negative light. They expressed more concern about a clip of a Russian politician spewing invective against the United States.

"Tatu -- it's a show," said Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian parliament's international affairs committee. "Russians aren't afraid of that."

The Matrix gets animated

Hunger for the continuing saga of The Matrix is growing as June 3 and the release of The Matrix Reloaded draws nears.

To whet appetites of fans, producer Joel Silver is releasing the 11-minute animated The Matrix, Final Flight of the Osiris with the release of Dreamcatcher tomorrow.

"(It's) not a trailer for The Matrix Reloaded. It is its own film. It is what we like to call chapter 1.5 in The Matrix trilogy," says Silver.

Final Flight of the Osiris is one of nine original short films that were conceived by Larry and Andy Wachowski, creators of The Matrix trilogy.

Silver recalls when he and the Wachowskis went to Japan in 1999 to promote The Matrix, the filmmakers "were already huge fans of the Japanese anime style of animation but seeing more of it, were determined to employ it in some way for their Matrix films."

When Silver and the Wachowskis saw what director Andy Jones had accomplished on the animated feature Final Fantasy, they asked him to direct Final Flight of the Osiris. The other eight directors are from Asia.

"We wanted to push what we'd accomplished in Final Fantasy to a new level," says Jones.

Two animated films are available on the Internet and The Animatrix, as the complete series is known, will be available June 3 on video/ DVD.

Latifah, Zeta-Jones plan duet

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Queen Latifah and the very pregnant Catherine Zeta-Jones have agreed to perform a duet from their musical "Chicago" at Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony.

The John Kander and Fred Ebb tune "I Move On" is nominated for best original song. Zeta-Jones, whose second child with husband Michael Douglas is due in April, performed the number in the film with co-star Renee Zellweger.

Zellweger declined to reprise her performance for the live Oscar ceremony, the academy announced Wednesday.

Latifah and Zeta-Jones are both nominated in the supporting-actress category for their roles in "Chicago," while Zellweger is up for the lead-actress prize. The film has 13 nominations, including a nomination for best picture.

Other scheduled performers in the best-song category include Paul Simon's "Father and Daughter" from the animated "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" and U2's "The Hands That Built America" from "Gangs of New York."

The song "Burn it Blue," written by Elliot Goldenthal and Julie Taymor for the biography film "Frida," is set to be performed by singers Lila Downs and Caetano Veloso.

Eminem's "Lose Yourself," from his film "8 Mile," is also nominated, but the rapper's record label has said he won't attend the show.

Ratner Leaves Helm of 'Superman' for 'Rush Hour 3'

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Brett Ratner will no longer direct "Superman" for Warner Bros. Pictures, and sister company New Line Cinema couldn't be happier.

That's because Ratner had previously agreed to make "Rush Hour 3" as his next picture -- and New Line has just hired "Bad Company" scribe Jason Richman to write the script.

In order to make his "Superman" deal last September, Ratner had asked New Line if he could be released from their prior agreement that "Rush Hour 3" would be his next project. New Line gave its blessing, but with the understanding that the Chris Tucker- Jackie Chan action comedy would follow thereafter.

New Line hopes to have a first draft from Richman in eight weeks.

As of Wednesday afternoon, according to his agents, Ratner was still attached to "Superman." Later that day, Ratner's camp changed its tune, scrambling to release a statement late in the evening.

Stated Ratner, "I have chosen to withdraw as director of 'Superman.' The difficulty of casting the role of Superman has contributed to my decision. I appreciate the efforts of Warner Bros. and the entire production team during this process."

Warner production president Jeff Robinov responded with his own statement: "We have tremendous regard for Brett's creativity and passion for this project and we understand that this was a very tough choice for him. We are disappointed but wish him the best in his future pursuits."

So while New Line celebrated the prodigal son's return, Warner is left with neither director nor superhero. However, a Warner spokeswoman said the studio had every intention of moving forward with "Superman."

The final straw for Ratner seems to have been the unwillingness of Warner executives to approve his choice to play the Man of Steel, soap star Matthew Bomer. Among the actors who tested for the role were Brendan Fraser, Paul Walker and Josh Hartnett.

Hartnett passed, Walker took himself out of the mix and the race was between Bomer and Fraser as of late last week.

The studio also became uncomfortable with Ratner's collaborative decision-making style that sought to please everyone but ultimately didn't please Warner. Nor were relations aided by the very public tension between Ratner and "Superman" producer Jon Peters.

The "Superman" budget also had escalated to $225 million, even with the hiring of a second line producer to bring the budget down to $200 million.

Ratner's transition to "Rush Hour 3" isn't entirely seamless. While the director has already made his deal for the second sequel, the same can't be said for Tucker and Chan. New Line wants the stars to return, but it's conceivable the franchise could move forward without them, if the studio couldn't meet their pay demands.

The first two "Rush Hour" installments earned a combined $576 million at the global box office.

Tucker hasn't been on the big screen since the release of "Rush Hour 2" in August 2001, but he's been shooting footage for "Mr. President," a mockumentary about an African-American president.

Chan is shooting "Around the World in 80 Days" for Walden Media and Summit Entertainment and was most recently seen in "Shanghai Knights." His next release is "The Medallion" (aka "Highbinders") for Columbia Pictures Oct. 17.

Richman recently wrote a draft of Paramount Pictures' "Beverly Hills Cop 4."

War Likely to Dampen Box Office Business

NEW YORK (Variety) - Now that bombs are falling in Iraq, turnstiles are sure to slow down at the multiplexes, on Broadway and in concert halls.

But exactly how far receipts fall and for how long is hard to pinpoint.

The movie business is typically in the doldrums this time of year, so it is tough to quantify the effect of war. During the Gulf War in 1991, grosses stalled for a day or two after the midweek hostilities began, but the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend spiked up 58 percent over the previous year's frame. "Home Alone" claimed a 10th straight No. 1 crown, with $11.1 million.

Overtly militaristic films like "Flight of the Intruder," "Eve of Destruction" and "Not Without My Daughter" suffered perhaps a bit more than they would have in a different climate.

Sept. 11 offers some different lessons for films with tough themes during tough times.

"Training Day" opened at No. 1 in October 2001, just a couple of weeks after the attacks. "Black Hawk Down" did likewise in January.

As for the Great White Way, the first Gulf War brought a 20 percent drop at Broadway wickets during the initial week of conflict. The second session saw an additional 5 percent decline, with an 18 percent recovery beginning in the third week.

This time around, war fallout could be worse for a number of reasons.

-- With advances still off from Sept. 11, few shows can rely on a deep cushion to help buoy box office as non-ticketholders stay glued to the tube.

-- Broadway remains groggy from the musicians' strike.

-- Unlike the January start of the Persian Gulf War, the Iraq invasion comes at a crucial time in the Broadway season: "Urban Cowboy," "Life (x) 3" and "The Play What I Wrote" open in the next few days, and 10 productions premiere in April and May.

-- And while a quick perusal of the January 1991 newspapers shows real concerns over possible terrorism, no one had ever heard of a Code Orange alert back then.

War jitters have no doubt affected Broadway attendance for weeks. Strike week aside (March 3-9), post-Valentine's Day business has suffered not only in comparison to 1998 and 1999 but the troubled winter of 2002, which continued to reel from the after-effects of the World Trade Center attack.

Box office in mid-March is off $1.2 million from just a year ago, with paid attendance down 30,000.

Meanwhile, the $2 billion live-music business is in a holding pattern, with many big concert promoters waiting to shop touring plans until the contours of the conflict -- both at home and abroad -- become clearer.

'SITTING TIGHT'

"There's been virtually no movement -- everybody's just kind of sitting tight to see what happens for now," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the live-entertainment publication Pollstar. "It's tough to get any interest in what you're doing when there's a war on."

At least one show that does appear to have been put on ice is a Rolling Stones appearance in the Middle Eastern nation of Dubai.

But there has been little else in the way of specific cancellations, and current tours shouldn't be too drastically affected because most tickets are pre-sold months in advance.

Club tours and other small events could be harder hit if the war heats up or Americans suffer any terror attacks at home, since clubs tend to do a much larger portion of their revenues at the door -- and the bar, Bongiovanni noted.

As for comparisons to the first Gulf War in winter of 1991, the effects were tough to assess. The touring business, smack in the middle of an economic recession, was already in the dumps, and the timing of the war coincided with a typically slow season for touring anyway.

Forecasts for record sales are equally tough to make: Hard sales data for the prior conflict is hard to come by because it predated the establishment of SoundScan, the industry's counter-of-record.

However, record sales did take a significant dip in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, indicating that the industry could suffer if music fans' minds are occupied with more important matters.

Vaughn Returns HOME

Vince Vaughn (OLD SCHOOL) is set to star in the film NO PLACE LIKE HOME for New Line. Vaugn will play a cocky New Yorker who seems to have everything in life go right for him until his girlfriend breaks up with him and his world falls apart. Despite his aversion to his parents, he is forced to move back into their Long Island home. Vaughn will work from a script by Margaret Heidenry. Neal Edelstein and Mike Macari (THE RING) are producing.

Meet George Jetson

Adam Shankman (BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE) is in negotiations to direct a live-action adaption of the cartoon series THE JETSONS for Warner Bros. Shankman would also aid in the writing of the latest draft of the script which will, of course, deal with George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane, his wife, and their adventures in the 21st Century with the likes of Mr. Spacely, robot maid Rosie and the wacky dog Astro.

DEFENDING PEE-WEE

Attorneys for Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens appealing a judge's refusal to dismiss a misdemeanor child pornography possession charge. They argue the previous ruling was flawed because a 1989 statute does not apply to Reubens' case, because his collection was produced before the law was enacted.

Maguire Works Out for 'Spider-Man' Role

LOS ANGELES - Tobey Maguire is doing yoga and lifting weights — and maybe looking over his shoulder a bit — as he prepares to reprise his role as Peter Parker in the "Spider-Man" sequel.

The Hollywood heartthrob is expected to put his Spidey costume back on beginning April 12 to shoot "The Amazing Spider-Man."

But if he isn't ready when filming begins, Jake Gyllenhaal of "The Good Girl," is under consideration to replace him, the trade publications Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported Tuesday.

The 27-year-old actor is still healing from back soreness linked to physically demanding roles in the first "Spider-Man" movie and the racehorse film "Seabiscuit," said his spokeswoman, Kelly Bush.

"He's training. He's getting ready to do the movie," she said, adding he plans to return to work in April, less than two months after wrapping up "Seabiscuit."

Maguire, who earned a reported $4 million for the first "Spider-Man" and $12.5 million for "Seabiscuit," is to receive $17 million for the "The Amazing Spider-Man," according to Variety.

"Spider-Man" was the highest-grossing film in the United States last year, bringing in $403.7 million.

ABC Postpones Walters' Pre-Oscars Show

NEW YORK - Barbara Walters is stepping away from the Oscars, but Joan Rivers isn't.

ABC on Wednesday postponed Walters' annual Oscars interview special — this year to feature Nicolas Cage, Renee Zellweger and Julianne Moore — because of the confrontation with Iraq.

If war is under way Sunday night, there was a strong chance Walters' special would be pre-empted for news coverage anyway.

The same possibility exists for the Academy Awards ceremony on ABC, as well. Organizers have promised to go on, but have canceled the splashy red carpet arrivals for celebrities at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood for fear it would set an inappropriate tone.

That would seem disastrous for the E! Entertainment network, whose eight hours of pre-Oscars coverage is centered on the comments about stars' wardrobes by Rivers and her daughter, Melissa.

Her show may be dramatically different this year, focused less on fashion and interviews and more on Oscar predictions, but E! isn't abandoning it, said Mark Sonnenberg, the cable channel's entertainment chief.

"For a lot of people, there's a comfort there — if Joan is on the red carpet, it's OK," he said Wednesday.

The Academy Awards pre-show is the Super Bowl for E! — it traditionally gets its highest ratings of the year.

Rivers will display an appropriate tone, Sonnenberg said.

"She's a professional," he said. "It kind of irritates me sometimes that people think she's not capable of managing a situation like this."

The Oscar ceremony itself, from host Steve Martin's monologue to the celebrity presentations and film clip montages, is also being changed this year to reflect the nation's mood. Telecast producer Gil Cates refused to cite specifics on how the ceremony would address the impending conflict.

"Dead Man Walking" Oscar winner Susan Sarandon, an outspoken critic of President Bush's Iraq policies, is scheduled to make a presentation during the ceremony, but Cates said he was sure "she won't even try" to alter her script to add anti-war remarks.

Winners, Cates insisted, are free to say whatever they like.

Cage, a lead-actor contender this year for "Adaptation," said he would keep his political views to himself, while others have said it would be appropriate to talk about world events onstage.

"The Oscars are not a political forum but a prayer for peace would be all right," said Ed Harris, a supporting-actor nominee for "The Hours."

If "mouthy liberal actors" want to pretend to be politicians, then they should be subject to the same equal-time provisions, said Andrea Lafferty, executive director of the Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative watchdog organization.

"We shouldn't have to endure vacuous political rants in silence without an opportunity to respond," Lafferty said.

ABC did not immediately return a call for comment on the request for equal time.

Monica Lewinsky to Be Reality TV Host

LOS ANGELES - Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky has a new job: reality TV host.

Lewinsky has been hired for the Fox series "Mr. Personality," a dating show in which a female contestant is courted by men whose looks are kept hidden.

The men "must rely strictly on their personalities to captivate" the woman, Fox said.

"Since Fox is the network that has had the greatest success with this genre, I was very excited when they approached me to host the show. It sounds like good fun," Lewinsky said in a statement released Wednesday by the network.

The series is scheduled to begin April 21 on Fox, which has scored ratings hits with reality shows including "American Idol" and "Joe Millionaire."

Gandolfini, HBO End 'Sopranos' Contract Dispute

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After two weeks of contract wrangling, HBO finally made actor James Gandolfini an offer he couldn't refuse to appear as mob boss Tony Soprano for a fifth season on the hit show "The Sopranos," spokesmen for both sides said on Wednesday.

Production on the show will now start the first week of April in New York, after being delayed from its original March 24 start due to the dispute, an HBO spokeswoman said.

Financial details were undisclosed, but Gandolfini has agreed to work for the time being under the terms of his existing contract, both sides said.

The bitter contract battle threatened to cost HBO and its beleaguered parent company AOL Time Warner dearly if the show had failed to come back on air.

In a lawsuit, HBO had said that if the show went off air for two seasons, it would cost the network $100 million -- a loss AOL can ill afford at a time when its online unit has weighed heavily on corporate profits.

Perhaps more important is that "The Sopranos" had become a lure that HBO used to pull in subscribers seeking adult-oriented fare the cable TV network can show but broadcast networks can't.

Gandolfini "feels good" about returning to the show that transformed him from an obscure New York stage actor to a national sensation during its critically acclaimed run, his spokesman Dan Klores said.

RELIEF

HBO official also expressed relief at the end of the unexpectedly bitter stand-off, which threatened to leave the subscription cable network without its signature show and 300 crew and cast members out of work.

"We're delighted that the great Jim Gandolfini will be back at work in the role he has created with such distinction," HBO chairman Chris Albrecht said in a statement.

The network has tacitly agreed to adjust Gandolfini's salary upward after tempers have cooled and production is under way, sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.

The actor and the cable network, a division of AOL Time Warner Inc., had been locked in a legal battle over Gandolfini's salary demands since March 6.

The 41-year-old actor wanted $16 million for the 13-episode season, and HBO wanted to pay him no more than $11 million, industry sources said. He now earns $300,000 per episode, or about $5 million for the season.

After his salary demand was rebuffed, Gandolfini sued HBO in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking to be released from his pact with the network, which had two optional years remaining.

HBO countersued three days later. The show's executive producer, Brad Gray of Brillstein-Gray Entertainment, broke the "ego-fueled" stalemate during weekend talks with Gandolfini at his Los Angeles home, sources said.

On Monday, Gandolfini agreed to drop his lawsuit and honor the terms of his original contract. After receiving proof the lawsuit had been dismissed and a signed statement from Gandolfini that he would come back to work, HBO filed paperwork on Wednesday to dismiss its own legal action.

TV Networks Jump in as War in Iraq Starts

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. cable and broadcast television networks jumped in on Wednesday night as the long-awaited war against Iraq began, with CBS News anchor Dan Rather declaring "Good morning Baghdad" as the bombing started.

The networks, which have been primed for weeks for the start of a conflict, went to a mix of footage of Baghdad and reports from correspondents embedded with military units in the field.

"We know the president is going to come on at 10:15 (p.m. EST), so the war effectively is underway," Tom Brokaw, anchoring NBC's covering on both the main broadcast network and cable channel MSNBC, said.

And indeed, in a four minute speech to the nation, the president declared that the war had begun.

"On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance ... A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict," Bush told the American people in a televised address from the White House Oval Office.

CNN was early in reporting, through its reporter Nic Robertson in Baghdad, that anti-aircraft fire could be seen streaming into the sky, though in the first minutes of the war Robertson said no explosions had been seen or felt in the city.

Newspapers also worked to quickly get out news of the war. The Web sites of papers like the New York Times and the Washington Post immediately began posting stories from wire services on the progress of the early campaign.

TV pictures showed a darkened Baghdad cityscape lit by street lights, with occasional flashes in the sky from antiaircraft fire, and sounds of antiaircraft bursts could be heard.

'TARGET OF OPPORTUNITY'

CBS's veteran anchor Dan Rather said the first attack was only a couple of minutes in duration, right at sunrise. Baghdad is 8 hours ahead of the east coast of the United States, and so the war coverage began just as the west coast was settling in to the evening news.

"We're being told that there will be a rather heavy air-based and sea-based bombardment," CNN's Christiane Amanpour, live in Kuwait, said. The network was also reporting that the first attacks were with cruise missiles and were aimed at "targets of opportunity."

CNN Pentagon reporter Jamie McIntiresaid that the initial bombardment on what the Pentagon called a "target of opportunity" was a leadership target of some sort.

NBC's Tom Brokaw made the point early in the coverage that the United States was expected, after the initial stages of the war, to take a long-term restructuring role in Iraq.

"One of the things we don't want to do is destroy the infrastructure in Iraq because in a few days we're going to own that country," Brokaw said.

ABC's Peter Jennings came live on air about 15 minutes after the White House said the war had officially begun. He, like Rather and Brokaw, has been a long-time network news presenter and anchored the network's coverage of the last Gulf War.

Rather said the first attacks seemed to be meant to "give Saddam the willies, to spook him a little bit."

ABC is a unit of Walt Disney Co., NBC and MSNBC are units of General Electric Co, CBS is a unit of Viacom Inc., CNN is a unit of AOL Time Warner and Fox News Channel is a unit of News Corp. Ltd.

To the Extreme!!!!!!!!!!!

What to do when you have no more back catalog to flog and none of your new movies make any money? Well, you release your biggest hit on DVD again and again (and again and again and again and again and again and again).

Just announced from Artisan Entertainment are the initial specs for the new Terminator 2: Judgment Day - The Extreme Edition. Due on June 3rd, this one comes only two years after the so-called Ultimate Edition (uh-huh), and is obviously a tie-in with the upcoming Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

But this release actually boasts a number of new extras, and perhaps most exciting (or infuriating) to fans who bought the other editions, a newly-remastered transfer.

What Artisan says sets this one apart is a new frame-by-frame digital restoration and 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer downconverted from a new hi-def master (of the extended cut of the film - the original theatrical version is not included), a brand-new audio commentary from director James Cameron and William Wysher, an interactive mode that takes viewers behind the process of how the 12-year-old digital-effects-pioneering film was made, other documentaries and featurettes on various aspects of the film, and extensive ROM extras including a software tool that allows users to morph their digital images into a T-1000 or T-800 Terminator. This two-disc set comes packaged in an embossed "endoskeleton" metal casing and retails for $29.95.

Simpsons creator bashes Fox network, plots feature film debut

Last year, after an interviewer asked The Simpsons creator how long his animated juggernaut could go on, it was reported around the world that Homer was about to scarf down his last doughnut.

"All I said was we're closer to the end than the beginning and since we started in 1987, I didn't think we'd be on the air in 2030 or whatever. That's all I meant," Groening tells the Sun.

"But it looks like we're going to be on forever. That's my new line."

The same isn't true for his other cartoon comedy, the space-age Futurama, which never took off like its earthbound big brother.

Discussing the DVD of Futurama's first season, Groening confirms that, while Fox still has a number of episodes in the bank, production has halted and the cast and crew have moved on.

'OUT OF THEIR MINDS'

For that, Groening squarely blames Fox.

"The people at Fox didn't ever support the show and it wasn't to their taste and, in my opinion, they're out of their minds.

"But they don't like The Simpsons either. The idea of a TV show that they haven't gotten their greasy fingers all over creatively drives them nuts. That's why almost everything else is so lousy. The groundbreaking shows, the ones that cause the most intense reaction, are not the result of too many cooks. It's a strong, creator-driven vision.

"They just fired the guy who created The Bernie Mac Show. I'm sure that show is getting much, much better now. The fans loved (Futurama), but they couldn't find it. It never got promoted. The fans delivered a petition with 130,000 signatures and there was no reaction from Fox.

"We won the Emmy for best animated show a few months ago and I didn't even get a begrudging phone call from anyone at Fox. That's a dark company that they can't even make a fake phone call."

And as any Simpsons fan knows, Groening and his writers relish the chance to mock the once-fledgling fourth network.

"I love the strength of The Simpsons -- that we can get away with so much. They don't like it. We took jabs at Fox News and we were told not to, so we decided to do it more."

Certainly, Fox is in no position to threaten the series, which remains one of its most popular hits and has spawned a merchandising empire. Not bad for a series that was conceived in the late '80s when James L. Brooks, who was producing The Tracey Ullman Show, hired Groening to create animated shorts for Ullman's show.

After 48 shorts, The Simpsons went solo and became an instant sensation.

Many of the early episodes were penned by Groening and co-producer Sam Simon and, unlike many creators who abandon ship after the first few years, Groening remains very much involved with The Simpsons on a daily basis -- whether it's tinkering on toys, games and DVDS, or reading over scripts and giving input.

The show's staff writers include several Canadians, including Joel Cohen, who hails from Calgary.

"Canadians are funny," Groening says. "It's surprising. Listen, my ancestors are from Norway, Russia and Holland -- not areas of the world you associate with knee-slapping comedy."

With The Simpsons recently renewed for at least two more seasons, it's set to become the longest running comedy in television history.

Beyond the small screen, there's also the much-rumoured Simpsons feature film, which Groening confirms he's working on. "We're talking about doing it. We just want to make sure, if we do, it doesn't follow in the dismal footsteps of other currently-running TV shows turned into movies. I can only think of one that worked and that was South Park," he says.

"You want to honour the fans of the show, but you want to give them a little more. With the TV show, every week it's like a little movie. There are certainly enough incidents to fill a regular movie comedy. Whether people could stand it for an hour and a half, I don't know."

Downie Goes It Alone (Again)

Gord Downie, lead singer of the Tragically Hip, will release his second solo album June 3 via Zoe/Rounder Records in the U.S. and MapleMusic Recordings in Canada. Clocking in at just 37 minutes in length, "Battle of the Nudes" is the follow up to 2001's "Coke Machine Glow," and will be supported by an extensive tour.

"I'm interested in doing anything that teaches me something," Downie said in a statement. "As a result, I've found that I'm writing more than ever. In fact, the day after I mastered this record, I was already back to writing with the Hip. Ultimately, what I want to do is more. I want to get better."

Once again backing Downie on his solo outing is the Dinner Is Ruined multi-instrumentalist Dale Morningstar, drummer Dave Clark, and keyboardist Dr. Pee, as well as the Skydiggers' Josh Finlayson on bass, guitar, and vocals, and Julie Doiron (Eric's Trip, Wooden Stars) on bass and vocals. Downie and Morningstar produced the set, which was recorded over two five-day periods in 2001 and 2002.

Diplomats Unable To Name New Album 'Ground Zero'

The Diplomats--Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, and Freakey Zekey--were forced to rename the group's debut album from "Ground Zero" to "Diplomatic Immunity."

Jim Jones explains that group was forced to change the title due to a legal problem and the fact that no one is allowed to benefit in any way from the events of September 11, 2001. "Yeah, you know, it was a legal problem with Ground Zero," Jones said. "Nobody can make money off of the whole World Trade 9/11 incident, so we couldn't have that on the album. That goes for anything--you can't even have that in, like, in your videos or nothing like that. You can't depict it in no way. And I mean, as far as us, we had a little situation, so it made it even harder for us to do."

Jones also explained that they chose the title Diplomatic Immunity because they do what they want, when they want, and also because the group is the voice of the ghetto. "...'Cause, you know, we Diplomats--we do what we want, when we want, you know what I mean?" Jones added. "Diplomats' slogan is more than just music--it's more like a movement that you need be in tune with, and that means that Diplomats are the light that illuminates the answers to any questions you need to know about the ghetto."

"Dipset Anthem" is the lead single from Diplomatic Immunity, which comes out Tuesday (March 25).

Italian Job one-liner is 'cinema's greatest'

An immortal comment from Michael Caine in The Italian Job has been named the greatest one-liner in cinema.

Movie fans say the Caine's classic pay-off: "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off" is the top screen line.

Runner-up in the Orange poll was Rhett Butler's (Clark Gable) put-down from Gone With The Wind: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

Cult hit Withnail And I came in third place for the line "we want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here and we want them now", delivered by Richard E Grant.

Kenneth Williams's speech "infamy, infamy, they've all got it in for me" as Julius Caesar in Carry On Cleo is at number nine.

The survey was carried out to mark a series of talks at the British Library called the Orange Word Screenwriters season featuring movie writers such as Chris Columbus, Hanif Kureishi, Mike Leigh and Withnail creator Bruce Robinson.

Listeners to radio station BBC London also took part in the poll, which also identified the duffest lines on screen.

Andie MacDowell's cringeworthy "Is it raining? I hadn't noticed" from Four Weddings and a Funeral was voted the worst line.

Top 10 Film lines:

1. "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off" - The Italian Job;
2. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" - Gone with the Wind;
3. "We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here and we want them now" - Withnail and I;
4. "You talkin' to me?" - Taxi Driver;
5. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" - Apocalypse Now;
6. "I'll have what she's having ..." - When Harry met Sally;
7. "All my life I wanted to be a gangster" - Goodfellas;
8. "I do wish we could chat longer. But I'm having an old friend for dinner" - Silence of the Lambs;
9. "Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it in for me" - Carry on Cleo;
10. "He's not the Messiah - he's a very naughty boy" - Life of Brian.

SUPERMAN V May Be Scrapped Completely

The madness never ends at Warner Bros, as apparently both Brendan Fraser and Matthew Bomer have been tossed out of contention for the role of Superman, leaving them with no names for the role. Apparently Warner may now be looking to scrap the project completely and start over, depending on what happens with (former?) director Brett Ratner.

New DVD Announcements, Some BIG Ones!

The speediness of theatrical-to-video windows has now reached absurd proportions. On Tuesday Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment announced a June 10th street date for Tears of the Sun, the Bruce Willis action-fest that just debuted in theaters last weekend. Billed as a special edition, retail is $27.95 and specs have not yet been announced.

Columbia also announced a street date change for Pedro Almodovar's Oscar-nominated Talk to Her, which was previously scheduled to hit stores on March 13th; the new date is March 27th. Features and retail price remain the same.

Polanski on Polanski

Dipping into their back catalog, New Line Home Entertainment will finally give four library faves the DVD treatment on June 3rd. From Academy Award nominee Roman Polanski comes two acclaimed adult thrillers, Death and the Maiden and Bitter Moon. Each features a 1.85;1 anamorphic widescreen transfers, English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby surround tracks, and each film's original theatrical trailer. Retail is $19.95 each.

Next we have two action extravaganzas thought sound like titles for heavy metal albums, Detonator and Live Wire, starring Christopher Lee and Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Both feature anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers of the film (Live Wire also features R-Rated and Unrated versions), plus English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby surround tracks, and the each film's original theatrical trailer.

Hakuna Ma DVD

Buena Vista Home Entertainment has announced the full specs for the next in their acclaimed Platinum Edition line of animated classics, the highly-anticipated The Lion King. Debuting on October 7th, the set will feature a THX-Certified anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital and DTS5.1 surround tracks, and two different versions of the film accessible via seamless branching: the original theatrical release and an extended edition including the new number "Morning Report," originally created for the Broadway show? But wait, there's more Disc one also includes "The Making of The Morning Report," 3 deleted scenes ("Bug Football," "Hakuna Matata" and "Warthog Rhapsody"), an all-new music video, a sing-along track and four set-top interactive games ("The Lion King Personality Profile," "Rafiki's Three Gourd Monty," "Timon's Grab-A-Grub," and "Pumbaa's Sound Sensations"). Disc two includes the featurettes "Disney Animals" hosted by Roy Disney, "Storymaking Magic," "Character design," "Computer Design," and "African Art Inspiration" (all feature additional behind-the-scenes footage and extensive stills), exclusive interviews with Julie Taymor, Elton John and Tim Rice, a "Virtual Safari" with your tour guides Timon and Pumbaa, an additional featurette on the Broadway musical, extensive still galleries with masks, costumes, people and puppets, additional music videos, and more. Retail is $29.99.

Hitched And Ditched

On June 17th, Fox Home Entertainment will debut the hit comedy Just Married, starring Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy. This DVD-14 includes both 1.85;1 anamorphic widescreen and full screen transfers, English and French 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, director Shawn Levy, producer Robert Simonds and Kutcher and Murphy, 4 deleted scenes with optional commentary, the original making-of and Comedy Central's "Reel Comedy" featurettes, and trailers. Retail is $27.95.

Empire Records' DVD Gains Fame

Fans of the 1980 Academy Award-winning musical Fame can look forward to even more than originally expected: a newly-recorded commentary with director Alan Parker and a cast reunion, two featurettes, including a making-of and a tour of the original High School for the Performing Arts, and trailers. Then we have the oddball cult fave The Spirit of '76, featuring an audio commentary with Lucas Reiner and Carl Reiner, a behind the scenes featurette, deleted scenes, a music video and the trailer. Retail is $19.98 each. Rounding it out is the newly-retitled Empire Records Remix: Special Fan Edition, which features 16 minutes of new footage. Additional extras include four deleted scenes, three music videos and the theatrical trailer. Retail is $24.98. All of the above feature new anamorphic widescreen transfers and remixed 5.1 Dolby surround tracks.

Mayer: 'Idol' Doesn't Live Up to Title

NEW YORK - Recent Grammy winner John Mayer admits he likes "American Idol," but he thinks the show doesn't live up to its title.

"I believe the reason why you can't ever find a true American idol on that show is because a true American idol would have too much respect to ever do that show," the singer told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

"And that's not knocking the show — I think it's hilarious and great — but you are not searching all of America. You are searching all of America without the integrity enough to say, 'That's not the way I want to make it.'"

Mayer's debut album, "Room for Squares," has sold more than 2 million copies, much of that based on word of mouth for the singer-songwriter, who doesn't conform to today's pop norms.

The 25-year-old says true artists wouldn't even bother to audition for a show like "American Idol" — and he's one of them.

"I would rather live to be 80 and (have) sold zero records rather than be standing the way someone told me to stand," he said.

Lisa Marie Presley Makes Singing Debut

ORLANDO, Fla. - Elvis Presley's daughter quietly made her first singing appearance at an industry trade show Tuesday.

Lisa Marie Presley's debut, in promotion of her first album's impending release, was before 1,000 enthusiastic record label executives and music sellers at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers' annual convention.

But it was difficult for the audience to hear Presley's voice above her backing band.

"She's a little shy, but she's new. Give her six months, and she's going to get much more comfortable," said Alan Josef Kaplan, with the music production company Music Universe.

Kaplan added that Presley has "star presence," and "you can see (mother) Priscilla and Elvis both in her."

Although her quiet voice may have been a technical problem, convention attendees surmised that Presley's label, Capitol, is hiding her behind the music as she starts her career. It was also difficult to hear her voice in the video for the single "Lights Out," which was shown at the convention.

Presley was visibly nervous during her first song, saying, "This is our first real applause ever."

By the second song, she was relaxed, smiling and joking around with band members. During her third song, she showed some attitude and stage presence.

Presley, dressed semi-casually in black slacks, black shirt and orange T-shirt, was kept away from attendees and the media. She was ushered out immediately after her three-song set.

Although comparisons to her father will likely be made, Presley's voice is completely unique, a hint of country mixed in with rock. Some attendees couldn't figure out Presley's genre of music, but agreed that it could fit into both rock and pop categories.

Even Capitol president Andy Slater said when he first heard about Presley singing, he was skeptical.

"Is it another celebrity trying to be a rock star?" he said at the time.

However, Slater said she is "tough and passionate about her music" and "radiates that thing that says, 'she's a star.'"

Said Jim Donio, executive vice president of NARM: "She is a celebrity, but now they see that she is a singer and a songwriter. She was very well received."

Presley's album, "To Whom It May Concern," will be released April 8.

Most Oscar Red Carpet Arrivals Canceled

LOS ANGELES - The Academy Awards ceremony will go on but organizers Tuesday canceled the splashy red carpet arrivals for celebrities because of the looming threat of war with Iraq.

Gil Cates, producer of Sunday's Oscar telecast, said many celebrities had asked to use a back entrance away from the barrage of photographers and interviewers.

He said the red carpet will remain, but the reporters and photographers and bleachers for fans in front of the Kodak Theatre will be gone.

"I think you'd all agree it would be very inappropriate to have 500 fans yelling and screaming 'Julia' or `Tom,' " Cates told reporters.

Nicole Kidman, lead actress nominee for "The Hours," and Daniel Day-Lewis, who is up for lead actor for "Gangs of New York," have told The Associated Press that they would feel uncomfortable appearing cheerful and stylish in the midst of war.

The show is unlikely to be canceled or postponed. However, "all of us in this room are at the mercy of the winds of war and we just simply don't know," Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences President Frank Pierson said.

Television's Emmy Awards were delayed twice in 2001, the first time after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that year and then again after the United States and Britain attacked Afghanistan's Taliban government in response.

When the show finally did take place in November, it was a scaled-back affair at which celebrities put aside their tuxedos and fashionable evening gowns in favor of business attire.

The Oscar ceremony, from host Steve Martin's monologue to the celebrity presentations and film clip montages, are also being changed to reflect the nation's mood.

"To do something that will be self-serving or frivolous on a night when our troops are in bloody combat would be absolutely inappropriate," Pierson said.

Cates said there is a chance ABC's live broadcast of the event could be postponed for airing at another date. But the decision would be made jointly by the network and the academy.

ABC has said it will do whatever is necessary to report breaking news, which could involve interrupting the Oscar telecast.

Cates said some celebrities and their representatives had asked how to behave during the event. He said presenters should not deviate from their scripts to talk about the war, but winners will be free to say whatever they choose in their acceptance speeches.

Robbie Williams Nods to Lennon in Anti-War Song

LONDON (Reuters) - British rock star Robbie Williams added his weight to the celebrity peace movement on Tuesday, announcing a new anti-war song to feature on the flip-side of his next single.

Williams, who recently signed Britain's biggest ever recording contract, will release the song on the B-side of the single "Come Undone" in April, said a spokesman.

"Happy Easter (War is Coming)" will mix music with politics with a nod to John Lennon's 1971 hit "Happy Xmas (War is Over)."

Harry Potter's Next Adventure

Author J.K. Rowling has finished her fifth book about the young wizard Harry Potter. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" will be published in Canada on June 21 - all 768 pages of it!

As a sneak preview, Rowling has released the first line of the book:

"The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive ... The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four."

Mark Knopfler hurt in crash

Former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler was rushed to hospital after a motorbike accident, a hospital spokeswoman said on Monday.

The BBC reports the 53-year-old singer and guitarist was taken by ambulance to St. Thomas' Hospital, central London, where he was treated for a broken collar bone and six broken ribs.

The spokeswoman said he was in a stable condition and had been discharged from the hospital.

Knopfler was riding a Honda motorcycle when he was involved in a collision with a Fiat Punto car in London's smart Belgravia district in mid-morning traffic.

The car's female driver was unhurt, police said.

Knopfler enjoyed a string of hits with 1980s supergroup Dire Straits including "Sultans of Swing" and "Money for Nothing."

He is due to begin a European concert tour in April.

Studios Stick to Movie-Release Plans

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Dithering over U.S. war plans has left film distributors between Iraq and a hard place: Moviegoing could take a hit, but there's little that can be done to alter release plans for the next couple of weekends.

Executives at the four studios with wide releases slated for Friday are clearly concerned. But they're pressing ahead in the absence of any apparent means of retreat.

"Advertising has been running for weeks, so we're committed to it," Artisan distribution general Steve Rothenberg said.

Artisan is set to launch "Boat Trip, a frothy comedy starring Cuba Gooding Jr. that could pose a surreal contrast to 24-hour newscasts of military action if an attack on Iraq occurs this week.

The weekend's other openers include Disney's family cartoon"Piglet's Big Movie," Miramax's flight attendant farce "A View From the Top, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, and the Warner Bros. horror thriller "Dreamcatcher," based on a Stephen King novel.

"Dreamcatcher" is tracking the strongest and would be touted to gross in the high teen millions without the prospect of war.

"We don't know how we will be impacted, but there's the possibility that if we go to war we will see some residual effect at the box office," allowed Warner Bros. exec VP of distribution Jeff Goldstein.

Off-the-record conversations with various execs make it clear queasiness runs high for several reasons:

-- Post-9/11 anxiety may leave Americans unwilling to frequent public venues in tense times.

-- Big news events often prompt cocooning in front of home TV sets.

-- Postponing releases could be both costly and counterproductive if the war doesn't start this week.

HISTORY LESSON

"We looked at the early '90s and some other similar times to see the impact from these situations," said DreamWorks distribution boss Jim Tharp, whose Chris Rock comedy "Head of State" opens March 28. "There's (usually) an initial negative impact. But after that, it seems that people get tired of watching the news, and there seems to be a positive impact."

So, depending on its timing, an attack on Iraq could either boost or topple "Head of State" at the local multiplex. That would be a helpful insight if only Tharp had a hotline to the White House war room -- which he doesn't.

"There's not even a contingency plan to move the film at this point," Tharp said. "The advertising has already started, and we're pretty much tied to the date."

Meanwhile, there's little evidence of major concern that any of the pending releases have content deemed inappropriate for times of war.

MGM's "Assassination Tango," set to bow in a half-dozen locations March 28, involves a hit man's assignment to kill an Argentine general. But whether or not that plot parallels current events in any meaningful way, the studio has little choice but to stick to its guns with release plans.

TOUGH TO ALTER PLANS

"Once you start your campaign and sink money into it, it becomes counterproductive to move," MGM distribution head Erik Lomis explained.

Paramount bumped the sci-fi adventure "The Core" from a Thanksgiving slot to allow for more special-effects work. But it seems very unlikely that it will move the film from its current March 28 berth.

Disney also is firm with its weekend bow for "Piglet's Big Movie."

"We haven't looked at it at all," Disney distribution president Chuck Viane said.

A survey by ad group Universal McCann and online researcher Insightxpress recently looked at how consumers pull back from spending in times of war and recession. Some 42 percent of respondents said they'd reduce moviegoing, while 32 percent would curtail home-entertainment viewing.

"There's a potential for a big distraction," mused Tom Borys, president at box office tracker Nielsen EDI. "But every circumstance is different, so it's hard to project what exactly will happen."

For instance, moviegoing was robust over the weekend following the outbreak of bombing in Iraq in 1991, Borys noted: "Home Alone" ruled the roost with $11 million over its 10th weekend, and the session marked a 19 percent uptick from the previous weekend. Then, when ground troops entered the Gulf War on Feb. 23, box office declined 27 percent over the Feb. 22 weekend from the previous Presidents Day session.

Oscars to Go on As Planned, Despite War

LOS ANGELES - Organizers of the 75th annual Oscar awards say the impending war in Iraq won't derail Hollywood's biggest event on Sunday.

President Bush's 48-hour ultimatum for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or be forced out by military action increased the likelihood that news coverage could supersede the live Academy Awards telecast on ABC.

Show producer Gil Cates has acknowledged that war would change the tone of the production, but as of late Monday the glitzy red-carpet ceremony was still scheduled to proceed as planned.

If the country is at war on Sunday, he has said ABC might break away from the ceremony for news updates or even run a news crawl across the bottom of the screen.

Many nominees noted the show would likely be a much more somber affair if the country is at war.

Nicole Kidman, a lead-actress nominee for "The Hours," said at an Oscar luncheon last week she is "in two minds" about attending the event during war.

"There are two arguments, aren't there, where they say you need to continue on with things and not be stopped, and then there's the other thing where you just say, of course, it would feel very strange to show up," she said.

Maguire Questionable for 'Spider-Man' Sequel

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - He may still have radioactive blood at the box office, but a bad back could end up derailing Tobey Maguire's return as "Spider-Man."

Maguire, who became a Hollywood titan starring in last year's top-grossing movie as the web-slinging Marvel Comics superhero, may be replaced in the "Spider-Man" sequel by the real-life boyfriend of his on-screen love interest, Kirsten Dunst, Daily Variety reported in its Tuesday editions.

Maguire's spokeswoman told the entertainment trade paper the actor is still healing from "mild discomfort in his back" brought on by physically demanding roles in his last two films.

Maguire finished production on the original stunt-heavy "Spider-Man" in April 2001, then went to work 18 months later on "Seabiscuit," portraying jockey Red Pollard. That four-month shoot wrapped last month, Variety said.

The question now is whether he will be well enough to reprise his role as the teenage geek transformed by the bite of a radioactive spider in time to begin production on "The Amazing Spider-Man" sequel project.

"With an April 12 start date around the corner, everyone involved wants to be certain he is able to do the intense stunts," his spokeswoman said in a statement.

In line to don Peter Parker's red-and-blue tights if Maguire isn't fit to swing from skyscrapers again is actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who happens to be dating Dunst and who recently starred in the films "Moonlight Mile" and "The Good Girl."

Because of scheduling conflicts, it would be hard to delay production on the "Spider-Man" sequel to give Maguire more time to recover, Variety said.

The film originally was slated to begin shooting in January but was pushed to April so that Maguire could complete work on "Seabiscuit." In addition, Dunst, reprising her role as "Spider-Man" heroine Mary Jane Watson, is slated to begin production this summer on her next project, the tennis film "Wimbledon."

In any event, "The Amazing Spider-Man" remains on a tight schedule to make the May 7, 2004 release date set by distributor Columbia Pictures, Variety said.

Questions about Maguire's fitness to return as Spider-Man for the sequel come only a month after his agents renegotiated a career-best $17 million salary for the actor, more than four times what he earned for the original "Spider-Man" film, Variety said. "Spider-Man" was the highest-grossing movie of 2002, generating worldwide ticket sales of $800 million, according to the entertainment trade paper.

Finally!

After being released two weeks ago in America, the Canadian studio that owns the rights to the superb THREE COLOURS TRILOGY is finally getting off it's ass and putting the title out in the Great White North today.

Of course, today's release date is subject to change (again!).

Here are the other DVD and Videos slated for release today, Tuesday, March 18th, 2003.

8 MILE (Eminem, Brittany Murphy) The angry young man's debut flick debuts on DVD and Video today and the DVD Features include:
* Exclusive, never-before-seen Eminem rap battles showcase Eminem free-styling against local Detroit rappers who auditioned to appear in the movie
* Exclusive, never-before-seen uncensored Eminem music video of "Superman", not shown on television
* Behind the scenes with Eminem: "The Making of 8 Mile"
* The Music of 8 Mile

THE KIDS IN THE HALL: TOUR OF DUTY - - The KIDS IN THE HALL release features the comedy troupe's recent reunion tour live at the QUEEN ELIZABETH Theatre in Vancouver.

AUTO FOCUS (VHS & DVD)
ABANDON (VHS & DVD)
RODGER DODGER (VHS & DVD)
AKIRA KUROSAWA'S DREAMS (DVD)
PERSONAL VELOCITY: THREE PORTRAITS (VHS & DVD)
NYPD BLUE, SEASON ONE (DVD)
THE BEATLES: A LONG AND WINDING ROAD (VHS & DVD)
THE ROLLING STONES: FOR THE RECORD (VHS & DVD)
POKEMON - 4EVER (VHS & DVD)
EMPIRE (VHS & DVD)
WELCOME TO COLINWOOD (VHS & DVD)
THE GREY ZONE (VHS & DVD)
THE MAN FROM ELYSIAN FIELDS (VHS & DVD)
CITIZEN TOXIE: THE TOXIC AVENGER IV (VHS & DVD)
YU-GI-OH!, Vol. 7 & 8 (VHS & DVD)
BEST OF TLC'S TRADING SPACES (DVD)

Plus... Video & DVD releases of CHEATS, THE DAYDREAMER, DOWN TIME, THE KINGSTON HIGH, LONGIN, REDEEMER, SORDID LIVES, TABLE ONE, WINDS OF TERROR, and DVD releases of BABY NEPTUNE, IN A LONELY PLACE, JESUS OF NAZARETH, KEEPING UP APPEARANCES: HYACINTH IN FULL BLOOM, LAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI JUKES.

Anderson Talks X-FILES 2

Could the sequel be coming sooner than expected?

Gillian Anderson was on UK chat show "Parkinson" this weekend and she said that they're doing another X-Files movie hopefully by the end of this year. She and David [Duchovny] have signed, and that Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish are also back.

She had no idea or storyline, but said "...it might be a prequel set before the events of the TV series last season. Anderson herself specifically said - "Chris doesn't tell anyone what he's writing about, so we have no idea what to expect. But I assure you it will be something quite good. It's taken all this time, it better be. David, Robert, Annabeth, Brian Thompson who played a hunter and Mitch Pileggi, are all in it so it will be a nice reunion for us all."

Here's hoping it's good.

Recycler Traded Cans for Booze?

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles recycler that catered to homeless alcoholics by exchanging the bottles and cans they dug out of people's trash for coupons for a nearby liquor store has been shut down as a nuisance, city officials said on Friday.

Neighbors had complained since 1997 about the transients who loitered around the recycling center, K&C Recycling, saying they were urinating in public, digging through dumpsters and taking drugs, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said.

"The story here sounds like fiction, but it is fact," Delgadillo said. "The concept of protecting the environment became hideously distorted as transients were given coupons for a liquor store instead of money for their cans and bottles."

Authorities initially had some trouble shutting down the site because no Los Angeles city ordinance prohibits exchanging recyclable items for coupons. "It's okay to give out coupons but they were only for use at the liquor store," Eric Moses, a spokesman for Delgadillo, said. "The allegation is that they weren't buying Ho-Hos (packaged snacks), they were buying 40 ouncers."

The neighborhood prosecutor researched the city ordinance regulating recycling centers and found that the center had not been issued a local permit, Delgadillo said.

Residents testified at public hearings and signed declarations about the activities that took place around the recycling center, and got the center's license revoked.

All Bets Are Off for 'Chicago' Oscar - Ladbrokes

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - All bets are off at London-based betting company Ladbrokes Ltd., which has been so overwhelmed with wagers favoring musical "Chicago" to win an Oscar for best picture that it has closed the books.

Instead, what Ladbrokes has decided to do is take bets on how many Academy Awards the musical might win.

"We've never had such a concerted interest in one motion picture," Ladbrokes communications director Sean Boyce said in a statement.

The Academy Awards are the U.S. film industry's highest honors and will be given out in a gala ceremony in Hollywood this coming Sunday, March 23, and "Chicago" has become the front-runner of a pack of movies vying for Oscars.

Also competing for best motion picture are dramas, "The Hours," "The Pianist," epic "The Gangs of New York" and action thriller, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

When Ladbrokes closed its books on the best movie race, "Chicago," a musical about the murderous ways of a struggling actress who skyrockets to fame, was a 4-7 favorite for winning best motion picture, meaning one would have to bet $7 to win $4.

Its director, Rob Marshall, was a 4-5 favorite for winning best director, but "Hours" actress Nicole Kidman edged by her rivals to become an evens favorite to win best actress.

The movie received a total 13 nominations, more than any other film.

Streep Bemoans Oscar Campaigns, Says 'Money Wins'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar winner Meryl Streep said on Monday that vying for Hollywood's highest honor has become as complicated as a political campaign because, as in politics, when it comes to Oscar; money talks, talent walks.

"The whole campaigning thing seems kind of unseemly to me, so I haven't really done that. I hope the work stands on its own, but I fear, like in politics, money wins," Streep, who is a best supporting actress nominee this year, told Reuters in an interview.

"The biggest campaign could be rewarded, and as a result, more money will be thrown at these things," she said.

"It's a business, you know. You can see why they all do it. But in a way, it kind of destroys the integrity of the Academy Awards that they do that."

The 53 year-old actress, who received an Oscar nomination this year in the best supporting actress category for "Adaptation," was in Hollywood on Monday to receive the first MORE magazine Alpha Woman Award.

The magazine described it as a way to recognize a woman whose achievements have put her "at the top of her game" and who "continues to be a role model to women of all ages."

In the acting arena, Streep certainly fits that category.

She has won Academy Awards for best actress in 1982's "Sophie's Choice" and for supporting actress in 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer."

This year's nomination was her 13th overall, making her Oscar's most-nominated actress ever surpassing the legendary Katharine Hepburn. Along with "Adaptation," Streep has been winning acclaim for her role as a woman whose suicidal friend has AIDS in Oscar-nominated "The Hours."

DOESN'T JUMP ANY HIGHER

But Streep is taking all the attention in stride, and at the suggestion that being the MORE's "Alpha Woman" must mean she is "at the top of her game," she just smiles.

"I don't know what that would feel like. I don't feel like I can jump any higher than I have before. I just feel lucky to get the jobs that have come to me," she said.

She does admit that the past 2 1/2 years have been good ones since she used that time to make "The hours" and "Adaptation."

She noted that it was simply a timing issue that put both films in competition during awards season this year.

Like others have, Streep called this year "a banner year for women" because many of the nominated films center on female protagonists, but she said she doubted whether that meant movie roles were getting any better for women.

"I think probably that's serendipitous," she said.

Often actresses in Hollywood complain that their roles are not substantial, but this year female roles dominate the Oscar buzz in Hollywood, especially in the best actress grouping where "Chicago" star Renee Zellweger is competing neck-and-neck with Streep's co-star in "The Hours," Nicole Kidman.
 
Among best supporting actresses, Streep is competing against Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah, both in "Chicago," Kathy Bates for "About Schmidt" and "Hours" co-star, Julianne Moore.

Streep said she had seen all the performances. She called them variously "fantastic" and "thrilling," and added that other roles throughout the year were equally as good even though they might not have received Oscar attention.

This year's Academy Awards will be given out on Sunday.

Salma Hayek Still Hoping for an Oscar

MEXICO CITY - Salma Hayek said Monday she held out hope she will win the best actress Oscar for her role in the movie "Frida" — despite the fact that she's not a favorite.

"One should never lose hope," she said. "It's clear the U.S. press doesn't see me as one of the strong competitors for the Oscar, but I am happy just with the nomination."

The Mexican actress denied that her native country's indecision over Iraq would influence whether she wins or not. She said the majority of Hollywood doesn't support U.S. President George W. Bush, who ordered Saddam Hussein on Monday to leave Iraq or face a U.S. led attack.

"Any educated person knows perfectly well that no one is interested in the stinking Oscar when there is a war," she said. "The United States has three hundred other more powerful ways to pressure Mexico."

She added she was against the war because "it seemed incredible that we still can't find a better way to resolve our international problems than sending a bomb."

And she added that Mexico should make its own decisions, and not "continue doing things to try please a neighbor nation."

Mexico, a member of the U.N. Security Council, struggled with its position on Iraq. While a majority of Mexicans have opposed a war, according to recent polls, some feared a lack of support for military action would hurt U.S.-Mexican ties.

When asked if she would consider becoming a U.S. citizen, Hayek said: "How would that improve my situation?"

"As a Mexican citizen, my situation is improving," she said.

Hayek's film about controversial artist Frida Kahlo — whose husband was Mexican artist Diego Rivera — was widely criticized in Mexico, in part because it was in English. On Sunday, Hayek appeared at a screening of the film in the city's sprawling center.

She said Monday that she hopes "Frida" wins at least one Oscar.

"We haven't had the promotional campaigns of other films, nor of other actresses," she said. "But I have a chance like all the other nominees. So if I win, it is because I really deserve it."

Sorry, Salma. But you don't deserve it.

Fox Licenses 'The Simpsons' to THQ for Wireless

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - If you've ever wanted your cell phone to say "D'oh!" when someone calls, you'll soon have the chance. Twentieth Century Fox on Monday said it has licensed "The Simpsons" to the wireless division of video game publisher THQ Inc. to be developed into games, ring tones, screensavers and messaging tools around the world.

THQ, the most aggressive among the traditional video game publishers in the nascent wireless games industry, said the deal was a long-term one but declined to provide specifics.

"The Simpsons" premiered in late Dec. 1989 and quickly became an international sensation. In mid-February the show, currently the longest-running sitcom on prime-time TV, marked its 300th episode.

"The fact that it is in so many countries and so many languages, we think this will be pretty successful for us," Doug Dyer, the general manager of THQ Wireless, told Reuters.

Dyer said THQ would like to begin releasing wireless products based on the animated family sometime in the third quarter of this year.

He also said the company plans to develop "channels" of Simpsons content, so wireless carriers could offer their subscribers an entire package of games, sounds and logos based on themes from the show.

Jim Beddows, vice president for wireless entertainment at Fox, said the company waited to license "The Simpsons" because it is "one of the top-tier properties of the 20th Century Fox Co." and they wanted wireless technology, like color phone screens and high-speed networks, to develop further.

Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of Fox Entertainment Group, itself a part of News Corp. Ltd.

Enjoy The Tunes

Nothing jumps out at me on this list, but take a look and see what you think.

Here are the new CD releases for Tuesday, March 18th, 2003:

GIGI Illuminated Audio (Palm)
LUCY WOODWARD While You Can (Atlantic)
LIBERTINES Up the Bracket (Sanctuary)
STEPHEN MALKMUS Pig Lib (Matador)
CAVE IN Antenna (RCA)
DEANA CARTER I'm Just a Girl (Arista)
CONCRETE BLONDE Live in Brazil (Ark 21)
BLOOD BROTHERS Burn Piano Island, Burn (im/ARTISTdirect)
MC LYTE Da Underground Heat, Vol. 1 (iMusic)
CALIFONE Quicksand/Cradlesnakes (Thrill Jockey)
TOLKIEN ENSEMBLE & CHRISTOPHER LEE: LOTR - At Dawn in Rivendall
(Decca)

Plus... ALICEN, THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, BIOHAZARD, JEFF BLACK, BUZZCOCKS, CHERRYWINE, STEPHEN COLLINS, DAVID DARLING, DEERHOOF, FATHER MC, GRAND MAL, HED (PE), IMITATION ELECTRIC PIANO, JILL KING, ADAM LEVY, LONGWAVE, Mr. CHEEKS, MULL, DAVID OLNEY, THE RAVEONETTES, (SMOG), STERLING, DAVID K. WILCOX, the soundtracks to FRIDAY AFTER NEXT, OBSTACLES, and WHAT A GIRL WANTS, and the scores to CHILDREN OF DUNE, THE GUYS, LAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI JUKES, SEX AND LUCIA, and TEARS OF THE SUN.

HBO TO CUT TONY IN ON PIECE OF 'SOPRANO' ACTION

Tony Soprano and HBO are near a deal neither side can refuse, say sources close to the salary dispute that has threatened to whack "The Sopranos."

Lawyers for the mob opera's star, James Gandolfini, and HBO talked into the small hours of yesterday morning, the sources said.

Gandolfini is said to have struck a deal that will pay him slightly more than $1 million for each of the 13 episodes - by increasing the actor's take from DVD sales, a huge new source of income for hit TV series.

Both sides have filed lawsuits against each other, but the suits are expected to be dropped early this week, clearing the way for a deal - perhaps as soon as midweek.

Production on the show's fifth - and perhaps final - season was halted last week by HBO.

The pay-cable network declared it would not continue the show without Gandolfini, who plays the Xanax-popping mob boss who is the series' signature character.

Spokesmen for Gandolfini and HBO declined to comment last night.

But it was the first news that a break might be near in the increasingly bitter salary dispute that began two weeks ago when Gandolfini refused HBO's "final" offer to double his salary to $11 million a year.

Sources at HBO told the Hollywood trade press that the actor had been demanding $26 million instead - about the same as the highest-paid TV actors, including Kelsey Grammer and the cast of "Friends."

Others, however, say Gandolfini's asking price was closer to $16 million - and that the two sides had agreed yesterday to a raise somewhere in the middle.

The breakthrough talks took place in L.A.

It appears that Gandolfini will be the first to drop his suit - claiming that he was no longer under contract to the network because of a minor, technical violation of his agreement - so that HBO can say that the actor was the first to back down.

Everything you need for St. Patrick's Day!

More Guest Hosts for Letterman

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Two of David Letterman's good friends -- and one of the stars of a show his company produces -- will fill the host's seat on "The Late Show" next week.

Letterman has been out since Feb. 26, when he was diagnosed with shingles, a viral illness related to chicken pox. His doctor, Louis J. Aronne, says "Dave is getting better and ... is eager to get back to work" but still needs more recovery time.

As a result, "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Brad Garrett, comic Tom Dreesen and "Life with Bonnie" star Bonnie Hunt will take over hosting duties Monday (March 17) through Wednesday (March 19). Repeats will air March 20 and 21, due to CBS' coverage of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Garrett won an Emmy last year for his role as Ray's (Ray Romano) sad-sack brother Robert on "Everybody Loves Raymond" -- which is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants. Dreesen and Hunt are both longtime friends and of the "Late Show" host; Hunt also plays the host of a fictional daytime talk show on her ABC series.

Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn, John McEnroe and Will Ferrell are among those who have hosted "The Late Show" In Letterman's absence. Megan Mullally of "Will & Grace" was behind the desk last Friday.

Ringo Starr Sets First All-Starr Band Tour Dates

Ringo Starr has set the first dates for this year's All-Starr Band tour. Things get underway with shows July 24 and 25 at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, the same place the 2001 tour began. The current itinerary ends with a September 6th show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

This year's All-Starr Band features returning drummer Sheila E. along with former Babys/Bad English frontman John Waite on bass and vocals, former Men At Work frontman Colin Hay on guitar and vocals, former Ace/Squeeze/Mike + the Mechanics singer-keyboardist Paul Carrack, and bandleader Mark Rivera on saxophone and other instruments.

The tour is in support of Ringo Rama, Starr's new album, which comes out March 25th.

The Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band itinerary (subject to change):

July 24,25 - Rama, ON - Casino Rama

July 27 - Boston, MA - FleetBoston Pavilion

July 29 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall

July 31 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino

August 3 - Holmdel, NJ - P.N.C. Bank Arts Center

August 5,6 - Westbury, NY - Westbury Music Fair

August 8 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena

August 10 - Detroit Lakes, MN - Soo Pass Ranch

August 12 - Rosemont, IL - Rosemont Theatre

August 29 - Lake Tahoe, NV - Harrah's Tahoe

August 30 - Las Vegas, NV - The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel

September 2 - Jacksonville, OR - Britt Festivals At Britt Pavilion

September 4 - Saratoga, CA - Villa Montalvo Center For The Arts

September 6 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre

Rubin Eyeing Weezer, Slipknot, Cash Projects

Celebrated producer Rick Rubin is currently working with Weezer on material for its next studio album, and will begin work shortly on the next Slipknot effort. In the meantime, he's continuing to prepare material for his fifth collaboration with Johnny Cash.

Rubin says that he's been doing pre-production on Weezer's fifth studio set for the past seven or eight months, adding that he plans to head into the studio with Slipknot in a week or two. He recently wrapped work on albums by Palo Alto and Mars Volta, which features ex-members of At the Drive-In. The Palo Alto set is due to be released on Rubin's own American imprint next month; the Mars Volta album arrives in June via Universal.

Rubin says the always-busy Cash recently sent him a CD carrying six new songs. "This one has 'Four Strong Winds' on it, which is a really beautiful song. It's a song from the '60s. It was originally done by Ian & Sylvia." The track might also sound familiar to fans of Neil Young, who covered it on his 1978 acoustic classic, "Comes a Time."

When asked how he comes to work with a particular artist, Rubin says, "It just happens kind of naturally, and it feels right. I usually meet the people, and if there's a sense of connection, and it feels like there's a chemistry, then we do that."

"It's different for different artists," he continues. "Some it's like a mutual goal, where we're both trying to accomplish the same thing, or they explain their vision of what they're trying to do, and I can see that I can help in that vision -- and what they're explaining appeals to me. That's one version. Another is, I see an artist and I just fall in love, and think, 'This is my favorite thing in the world, and I want to be part of this."

Liz Phair Ready To Rock

Liz Phair has recorded her first album of new material in more than five years. Speaking last week with Recording Academy president Neil Portnow during the South By Southwest (SXSW) music conference, Phair described the self-titled set, due June 24 from Capitol, as having "big songs. They are cool and they rock."

Phair said she recorded "40 or 50 songs" and "picked my favorites from the last five years" to create the album. The set features the work of several producers, including Michael Penn, R. Walt Vincent (Pete Yorn), and the Matrix, among others. "Honestly, the reason why this next record is so good is because I collaborated," Phair admitted. "It's a totally new feeling for me to be really proud [of my music]," she added with a laugh.

Because she's well known for personal, soul-baring songs, Phair said she realizes some may balk at her decision to work with a mainstream outfit such as production/songwriting team the Matrix (Avril Lavigne), instead of remaining under the independent banner with which she has long been associated. "I think that people who stay indie are very 'us vs. them,'" she said. "I say, 'Why paint yourself into a corner?'"

The set will be the follow up to 1998's "whitechocolatespaceegg," which debuted at No. 35 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 266,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. "That was more reflective of a post-motherhood type of thing," Phair said of that album. "This is more rock." As for the extended delay between releases, Phair explained, "It's hard to write good songs, frankly."

Phair said she no longer suffers from extreme stage fright, which in the past led to spotty performances and kept her from extensive touring. "I just got over it," she said. "[Now] it's just so much fun. It's hard to get off the stage. I'm gonna tour, that's the raw fact. I'm gonna be out there for a long time. I'm gonna love it. I love performing, truly."

Copeland: No Police Reunion In The Offing

Although he says the members of the Police felt "really terrific" playing together in public for the first time in 18 years on Monday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, drummer Stewart Copeland adds that "not one syllable" was discussed about a possible reunion or return to the studio.

"I'm very keen on [reuniting]," Copeland told Billboard. "But I absolutely understand why it's not going to happen and I'm down with that. It was really great to be the Police for 15 minutes. If you can think of some other award we can go get or some other good reason, give me a call, and I'll try it out!"

As previously reported, the Police played "Roxanne," "Message in a Bottle," and "Every Breath You Take" at Monday's event at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Copeland says he, Sting, and Andy Summers have remained good friends in the years since the group's dissolution, and that they frequently visit each other at their respective homes.

"The main thought going through my mind was not about the induction, but about playing with Andy and Sting," Copeland says. "The rehearsals, the playing of the songs ... my kids had never seen the Police, and a lot of my friends had never seen the Police. This was only a faint echo of the Police, but it was the Police. I really felt great to get up there and play that music with some semblance of what it was like. A glimpse, at least."

As previously reported, the band's back catalog was recently remastered and reissued in Super-Audio CD format by A&M. And while Copeland admits he hasn't listened to the new editions, he reports that he has been fiddling around with vintage Police tracks in new and unusual ways.

"I did a whole bunch of completely f***ed up lobotomies of Police tracks that I call 'derangements,'" he says. "I got all the multi-tracks from live performances, the studio vocals, and then got so carried away that I put the wrong studio vocals with the wrong live backing tracks."

"I put the lyric for 'Can't Stand Losing You' over the riff for 'Regatta De Blanc.' I got 'Demolition Man' and screwed that all up. 'Tea in the Sahara.' For 'Don't Stand So Close To Me," I took the big vocal Sting did in the 1982 version and put it over the live track we did. It's all in a different key, which was interesting. I tried to do 'Message in a Bottle' but that thing is locked like a diamond! It will not come apart!" Copeland had designs on releasing these oddities as bonus tracks on the reissues, but for now they will remain tucked away in his "studio vault."

As for Copeland's own music, he recently completed a score for the film "I Am David," the tale of a child who escapes from a concentration camp in Bulgaria during World War II. He has also been tapped to score the upcoming TV series "Dead Like Me," which he describes as "a very poignant comedy about life and death."

Finally, he reports that Oysterhead, his collaboration with Phish's Trey Anastasio and Primus' Les Claypool, will aim to make a second album as soon as everyone's schedules coincide. "If not next summer, than maybe the summer after that," Copeland says. "We had so much fun doing it. It's something we're all looking forward getting to back to."

New Lovett Album Due In September

Revered singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett will have a new MCA studio album out in September. Speaking yesterday Thursday with Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith during a panel at the South By Southwest (SXSW) music conference in Austin, Texas, Lovett indicated that he and his band have finished recording the bulk of the as-yet-untitled set, with only some overdubs and the mixing process still ahead.

The album will be Lovett's first studio album of all new material since 1996's "Road to Ensenada." When asked about the delay, the soft-spoken, self-deprecating artist quipped, "Dumbness... laziness," before explaining that he intentionally took his time with the set. "I wanted to wait until I had a group of songs that I wanted to record.

"I'm never happy with the songs that I had to push myself to do," he said, adding that he's already begun performing some of the new material during his live shows. As mainstream radio airplay is rare for him, Lovett credits progressive outlets such as Austin's own KGSR and similarly formatted stations around the country for helping him to reach his audience. "They play enough of my music and people show up. That's a wonderful feeling."

Currently, Lovett has "Smile," a compilation of covers, many from the great American songbook that he's recorded over the years for use on soundtracks, out in stores. "It gives you the opportunity to approach material that you wouldn't otherwise approach," he said of such projects.

In the span between studio albums, Lovett also composed and performed the score for "Dr. T & the Women," a 2000 film by Robert Altman. Lovett, who has appeared in several of the celebrated director's films (including "Pret A Porter" and "Cookie's Fortune"), disagreed when Smith referred to him as an actor, saying, "I have really enjoyed the work I've gotten to do with movies, but that's an overstatement."

With much talk in Texas about Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines' recent negative comments about U.S. President George Bush made during a European press outing, Smith asked for Lovett's opinion on those who use their celebrity as a platform to express political views. He defended Maines, understanding that she probably meant no malice when disavowing her shared Texas roots with the former governor turned world leader. She has since apologized for the incident.

"I think there are appropriate times and appropriate people to speak out" on such things as an impending U.S.-led war against Iraq, Lovett said, pointing to 1960s anti-war advocates Bob Dylan and Joan Baez as "artists who were and are groundbreaking in their thought. But, just because you have the forum [to make political comment], doesn't mean you always should. It's certainly not part of your mission statement as a musician."

"I think that the government knows more about these things than I do. I trust that the president knows more," he said of the current situation in Iraq. "But, at the same time, I really hope that we don't have to fire a shot over there."

Macaulay Culkin to Guest Star on WILL & GRACE

NBC has announced that Macaulay Culkin has agreed to make a guest appearance on the upcoming episode of WILL & GRACE, "May Divorce Be With You." Culkin will play a seemingly immature divorce attorney hired by Karen to argue against Will.

IRISH EYES SMILING

Colin Farrell confirming he's expecting a child with an unamed model to British TV show host Paul Ross Friday morning.

Stations Boycott Dixie Chicks Over Remark

DALLAS - Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, is finding out that sometimes saying you're sorry doesn't make much of a difference.

Radio stations nationwide are boycotting the Dixie Chicks, even though Maines publicly apologized for telling a London audience last Monday: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Maines is a Lubbock native.

In her apology Friday, Maines said: "As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect."

The words didn't carry much weight with listeners in Maines' home state and elsewhere.

"We've had a huge listener reaction and movement against the statements," said Paul Williams of KPLX-FM in Dallas-Fort Worth, the nation's fifth largest radio market.

In Kansas City, Mo., WDAF-AM set trash cans outside its offices for listeners to toss their Dixie Chicks CDs. Its Web site displayed more than 800 listener e-mails, most of them in support of the station's boycott.

After more than 250 listeners called Friday to complain about Maines' comments, WTDR-FM in Talladega, Ala., dropped the Dixie Chicks.

"The emotion of the callers telling us about their fathers and sons and brothers who are overseas now and who fought in previous wars was very specific," said Jim Jacobs, president of Jacobs Broadcast Group, which includes WTDR.

The Dixie Chicks are in Europe promoting their recent release "Home," which won a Grammy last month for Best Country Album. The group is scheduled to kick off the U.S. leg of its "Top of the World Tour" on May 1 in Greenville, S.C.

'Bringing Down the House' Tops Weekend Box Office (Again)

LOS ANGELES - A rush of new movies could not evict "Bringing Down the House" from the top spot at theaters.

The Steve Martin-Queen Latifah comedy remained No. 1 for a second straight weekend, taking in $22.4 million and pushing its 10-day total to $61.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Frankie Muniz teen-spy flick "Agent Cody Banks" opened in second place with $15 million. Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro's "The Hunted," a thriller about a tracker chasing a military hitman gone berserk, debuted at No. 3 with $13.5 million.

The weekend's other new wide release — "Willard," starring Crispin Glover in a remake of the 1970s horror tale about a social misfit and his ravenous pet rats — debuted a distant No. 8 with $4 million.

Business fell overall, with the top 12 movies grossing $93.3 million, down 23 percent from the same weekend a year ago when "Ice Age" had a huge $46.3 million debut.

"Bringing Down the House," about an uptight white lawyer whose online "girlfriend" turns out to be a black escaped convict seeking help to clear her name, is on track to become a $100 million hit.

"I think this is one of those classic situations where the public is actually moving the needle for us. Voluntary word of mouth, people walking up to friends and saying, `I saw this really funny movie you've got to see,'" said Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, whose Touchstone Pictures banner released "Bringing Down the House."

With the United States preparing for war in Iraq, audiences may be in the mood for lighter movies.

'Bringing Down the House' is a perfect antidote for what's going on in the world. You go in for an hour and a half and escape from the world situation," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

About 70 percent of the audience for "Agent Cody Banks" was 12 and younger, and the start of spring break at many schools gave the movie a boost, said Erik Lomis, head of distribution for MGM, which released the flick.

Ticket sales for "The Hunted" came in on the "low side of what we were looking for," said Wayne Lewellen, head of distribution for Paramount, which released it. The audience was mostly younger males, he said.

"Bringing Down the House," playing in 2,801 theaters, averaged a healthy $7,997 a cinema. "Agent Cody Banks" averaged $4,452 in 3,369 theaters, "The Hunted" averaged $5,366 in 2,516 cinemas and "Willard" did $2,286 in 1,761 moviehouses.

In limited release, the British soccer flick "Bend It Like Beckham" opened with $151,717 in six theaters for a strong $25,286 average. The movie, a hit in England last year, expands to nationwide release by mid-April, said Steve Gilula, head of distribution for Fox Searchlight.

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. "Bringing Down the House," $22.4 million.
2. "Agent Cody Banks," $15 million.
3. "The Hunted," $13.5 million.
4. "Tears of the Sun," $8.8 million.
5. "Chicago," $7.7 million.
6. "Old School," $6.8 million.
7. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," $4.8 million.
8. "Willard," $4 million.
9. "Daredevil," $3.04 million.
10. "Cradle 2 the Grave," $3 million.

Actor Russell Crowe Plans April Wedding

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hollywood star Russell Crowe plans to marry long-time Australian girlfriend Danielle Spencer on his birthday next month in a low-key ceremony on his remote property north of Sydney, an Australian newspaper said Sunday.

Crowe is expected to wed Spencer, a singer, on April 7 -- his 39th birthday -- in a small family chapel, the star's publicist Wendy Day told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

The New Zealand-born actor, who won an Oscar for best actor in "Gladiator" in 2001, popped the question at a Sydney restaurant in November after returning to Australia.

He said at the time he was trying to escape massive levels of stress.

"The wedding would be an intimate affair for family and friends," the newspaper quoted Day as saying.

The wedding would take place on Crowe's Nana Glen property near the coastal resort town of Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales state, the report said.

IDOL SPECULATION

Grinch-like "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell has anointed the two contestants he believes could win the latest round of the hit talent show - and has done a backflip on his own future with the top-rated program.

The most likely idols-to-be, Cowell says, are health-care worker Clay Aiken, 24, of Raleigh, N.C., and portly singing powerhouse Ruben Studdard, 24, from Birmingham, Ala.

"In the next few weeks, I think the person you're going to see getting stronger and stronger is Clay. I think he's the person to beat," Cowell said.

And the always-smiling Studdard is "very, very marketable."

Both contestants have already received standing ovations from Cowell's fellow judges - Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson - and even the hard-to-please Cowell has used "outstanding" and "excellent" to describe their performances.

Meanwhile, Cowell has announced exclusively to The Post that he has had a change of heart: He will return for another season of the show - but not if Fox insists on airing "Idol 3" in the fall.

Cowell believes Round 3 should be put off until next year to allow the winner more time to be turned into a star - and to protect against brand-name overkill.

For Cowell, postponement is good business - his recording company provides the "million-dollar" contract to the series winner and has first pick of the other contestants.

In addition to inaugural winner Kelly Clarkson, 22, Cowell also signed runner-up Justin Guarini and the popular Tamyra Gray. And he has already signed Frenchie Davis, who was dumped from the current show because she had done a soft-porn video several years ago.

Before the audition process for this year's series got under way, Cowell expressed concern about it running so close behind last year's debut season - and before Clarkson's album release.

But he lost out to Fox executives who wanted to ward off copycats.

Cowell says he has a "gut feeling" that "Idol 3" won't run in the fall.

"That's what I've been told," he said, vowing to walk if Fox insists on a September start.

"If they decide to do it without me, I think that would be a mistake," he said. "If they do it in the fall, I'll have nothing to do with it." But Marc Berman of MediaWeek suspects Fox will move mountains to get "Idol" on screens in September.

"I think Fox is going to beg and throw money on the table," said Berman. "Without 'American Idol' and 'Joe Millionaire,' Fox doesn't have much of a schedule."

Cowell also revealed that Elton John is being wooed as a celebrity judge.

Rockin' Oscar's Crib

U2 will shake, rattle and hum as performers for the Academy crowd come March 23, the first time the band has performed on the Oscar show.

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

Matthew Perry jumping to West Wing for two episodes, April 23 and 30, to play a Republican lawyer hoping to land a job as White House associate counsel, reports Variety.

Dixie Chicks sorry for Bush remark

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines, who told a London audience earlier this week that she was "ashamed" of President Bush, said Friday she's sorry for her comment.

"As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful," the singer said in a statement. "I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect."

The Dixie Chicks, who are from Texas, are on a European tour. While in London, Maines told the audience, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Angry phone calls flooded a Nashville radio station on Thursday, some calling for a boycott of the trio's music. Two Dallas stations stopped playing the group's music because of Maines' comments.

The popular group won three Grammys last month for their multi-platinum disc "Home." They have the No. 1 country song with "Travelin' Soldier," about a soldier in Vietnam.

On Friday, Maines said the group is "witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war" while on tour in Europe.

"While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost," she said. "I love my country. I am a proud American."

Maines' contrite statement is in contrast to her comments on Thursday, when she said: "I feel the president is ignoring the opinion of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration, and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view."

The Dixie Chicks will kick off a U.S. tour on May 1 in Greenville, S.C. The group's other hits include "Wide Open Spaces," "Ready to Run" and "Landslide."

Dixie Chicks remark irks country fans

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- The Dixie Chicks are drawing harsh words from country music fans for remarks singer Natalie Maines made about President George W. Bush during a recent performance in London.

Maines told the audience earlier this week, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."

Angry phone calls flooded Nashville radio station WKDF-FM on Thursday, some calling for a boycott of the Texas trio's music.

The group released a statement Thursday saying they have been overseas for several weeks and "the anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost."

In a separate statement Thursday, Maines said, "I feel the president is ignoring the opinion of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration, and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view."

The Dixie Chicks will kick off a U.S. tour in support of their multi-platinum album "Home" on May 1 in Greenville, South Carolina. The group's hits include "Wide Open Spaces," "Ready to Run" and "Landslide."

Go Blind!

AOL Music's First Listen initiative has debuted "Blinded (When I See You)," drawn from modern rock act Third Eye Blind's upcoming album, "Out of the Vein," due May 13 via Elektra.

The cut will is now available online.

As previously reported, "Out of the Vein" was originally titled "Crystal Baller" and was planned for release last October. The first single from the set will be "When I See You." Previously announced collaborations with Andrew W.K. and the Moldy Peaches' Kimya Dawson have made the final cut for the album, but a pairing with Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst has been scrapped.

"Out of the Vein" is the follow-up to 1999's "Blue," which debuted at No. 40 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 1.25 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

GUN TO HBO'S HEAD

"Sopranos" star James Gandolfini issued an ultimatum to HBO yesterday in the salary war that is threatening to whack the series: Negotiate with me or cancel the show.

"It's time for both sides to either say we're finished or we're going to deal like mature people," Dan Klores, the actor's spokesman, told The Post.

HBO and Gandolfini have not talked to each other since last week, when the actor who plays mob boss Tony Soprano in the hit series filed suit to void his contract.

On Tuesday, HBO ordered that production on the show's fifth - and perhaps final - season be halted, effectively locking out 300 cast and crew members.

The battle over salary has become increasingly personal and bitter in recent days.

Gandolfini, who had not issued any personal statements about the dispute until yesterday, broke his silence after an unnamed HBO official called him a "greedy pig" in one published report.

"Jim was deeply offended by that remark," said one of the actor's pals.

Publicly, other cast members are ducking when asked if they back Gandolfini or whether they think his demand for a $25 million salary this season is out of line.

But privately, some prominent cast members are saying they support him and think HBO's handling of the salary dispute has been heavy handed.

"Not even George Steinbrenner would stoop to the personal attacks that gutless unnamed HBO sources have launched against James Gandolfini," said Gandolfini's spokesman.

"Things are very bleak now," HBO lawyer Bert Fields said. "Nobody is talking to anybody. HBO has totally exhausted what they can offer. Somebody's got to pick up the phone, but it's not going to be HBO."

A source close to the situation said the outcome of the Gandolfini conflict could reverberate with big HBO stars.

"If you're Sarah Jessica Parker ["Sex and The City"] or Larry David ["Curb Your Enthusiasm"] or Rachel Griffiths ["Six Feet Under"], you have to be saying right now: ‘If they're treating Gandolfini like this, I can be next in line,' " the source said.

Gandolfini's demand yesterday for what amounts to one of the highest salaries on TV - nearly $2 million per episode - sounds outrageous.

But, say Gandolfini supporters, most network TV series take less than 30 weeks to film an entire season. "The Sopranos" production schedule runs nine months to complete just 13 episodes.

"HBO made $800 million in profits last year - based in large part on a series they say they can't do without," says a Gandolfini supporter. "He's asking for something like six-tenths of one percent of those profits."

Clarkson and Movie Themes Top Next 'American Idol'

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The mourning period over the dismissal of Vanessa Olivarez has ended on "American Idol" as producers look forward to next week's show, which will help narrow the field of 11 finalists down to 10.

The theme of next week's episode will be movie songs, with contestants warbling to the greatest numbers ever heard in films. Viewers will have to wait until Tuesday, March 18 to find out if Clay Aiken will sing the theme from "Shaft" or if Kimberly Caldwell will do a rendition of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" or Ruben Studdard will sing "Maniac" from "Flashdance."

Audiences can hope to see Joshua "The Marine" Gracin perform "Up Where We Belong" from "Officer and a Gentleman" and reformed party-boy Corey Clark's take on Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)." Perhaps after last week's close calls Julie DeMato can do "Stayin' Alive" and Kimberley Locke can take on "Danger Zone" from "Top Gun."

"American Idol" will also pay tribute to that upcoming presumptive classic "From Justin to Kelly." There will be an exclusive clip from the film, starring last year's final 2, Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini, and Clarkson will be on hand for a performance.

"American Idol" airs Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

DISSING OSCAR?

Academy Awards producer Gil Cates confirming that Eminem won't attend next week's ceremonies, despite his "Lose Yourself" from 8 Miles being nominated for Best Song.

Jury: Michael Jackson Owes $5.3 Million

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A jury decided Thursday that Michael Jackson owes a concert promoter $5.3 million for backing out of two concerts planned to celebrate the millennium on New Year's Eve 1999.

The verdict came in a $21 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed against the singer by German concert organizer Marcel Avram. Jackson's attorneys said it was Avram who canceled the shows over concerns they would not be profitable.

The jury deliberated for nearly two weeks.

Avram's attorney, Louis "Skip" Miller, said he was pleased that the jury found Jackson was at fault. "The jury believed Avram, they did not believe Michael Jackson. That's what the whole thing comes down to," he said.

Jackson attorney Steve Cochran did not immediately return a call.

Avram said Jackson had agreed to perform two concerts on Dec. 31, 1999. He would have performed in Sydney, Australia, and then flown across the international dateline to Honolulu for another concert, technically within the same calendar day.

While much of the testimony drew little media attention, appearances from Jackson became worldwide news, mostly because of his ghostly appearance and witness-stand antics.

At one point, the 44-year-old Jackson hobbled into court on crutches with his left foot wrapped in bandages because of swelling from what he described as a spider bite. He also giggled during questioning and made comical faces at people in the courtroom.

Miller said he plans to appeal $6 million in damages that Judge Zel Canter barred the jury from considering. That amount represent the loss of TV revenues the concerts would have created and alleged debts Avram says he paid for the singer.

'Superman' Casting Competition Narrows

NEW YORK (Variety) - And then there were two.

The competition to name the star of the next "Superman" movie has come down to Brendan Fraser and soap star Matthew Bomer, after "The Fast and the Furious" star Paul Walker opted out of the competition on Thursday.

That trio performed screen tests with director Brett Ratner, but Walker, who played a young undercover cop who infiltrates a street-racing gang in "Furious," was the only one with an option to remove himself from consideration.

He did that Thursday, as he had reservations about the seven-year commitment required for the three films planned by Warner Bros.

"He has decided to focus his time on supporting the films he already has in the can: 'Timeline' and 'The Fast and the Furious 2,' the latter of which includes a monthlong worldwide publicity campaign," said a source close to Walker. Walker also faces a June start date on "Heart of a Soldier," the Rod Lurie-directed drama.

Warner Bros. is struggling to cut its "Superman" budget down to $200 million, and Bomer's modest salary would help that cause. He currently stars on the daytime drama "The Guiding Light."

Fraser ("The Mummy" franchise, "Gods and Monsters," "The Quiet American") has a decided edge in terms of star clout.

Warner Bros. Paws Berry to Play Catwoman

NEW YORK (Variety) - Warner Bros. has set Halle Berry to play the felonious feline in "Catwoman," which French filmmaker Pitof ("Vidocq") will direct later this year.

Berry has already shown her action chops since her Oscar-winning performance in "Monster's Ball." She played James Bond's sexy partner Jinx in "Die Another Day" and reprised the superhero character Storm in "X2," the "X-Men" sequel due out May 2 from 20th Century Fox.

She's about to star in the Joel Silver-produced Warner Bros. film "Gothika" alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Penelope Cruz.

"Catwoman" has been considered a dream project for actresses since Michelle Pfeiffer originated the sexy but loopy character in the Tim Burton-directed "Batman Returns." That pair tried a spinoff that stalled. Warner revived it and attached Ashley Judd, who left to do a play.

The studio has been sweet on Berry for the job for the past two weeks. A preliminary meeting was held Thursday between Warner brass and her agents and manager.

While no deal has been made, Berry is expected to get her claws into the part quickly. She'd be the second black woman to play Catwoman, as Eartha Kitt did in the 1960s "Batman" TV series.

The film was scripted by John Rogers and rewritten by Mike Ferris and John Brancato.

VANESSA BOOTED OFF OF 'IDOL 2'

Vanessa Olivarez, the outrageous Georgia girl with the pink hair, last night became the first contestant booted off "American Idol 2."

"You haven't seen the last of me," a smiling, gracious Olivarez, 22, said on live TV after learning that she'd been voted off the Fox reality show.

"I'm fine . . . and I'll be back," she said.

"AI2" host Ryan Seacrest noted that more than 13 million people voted for their "AI2" favorites after Tuesday night's show, in which all 12 finalists performed for the first time, each of them choosing a Motown-flavored song.

Olivarez got the least support. Julia DeMato and Kimberly Locke, who finished just ahead of Olivarez in the vote, survived-at least for one more week.

Meanwhile, the big guy from Alabama, Ruben Studdard, has emerged as a favorite to win.

Studdard, whose heart appears to be as big as his golden singing voice, has become one of the most beloved contestants among the finalists on the hit reality show.

"I think Ruben is a favorite just because he's got a silky smooth voice and doesn't fit the stereotype . . . of what the last 'American Idol' was about," Broadway star and ex-teen pop queen Deborah Gibson told The New York Post.

"I think Ruben represents real people . . . I think women would line up to hear him sing, because he can really sell a ballad."

Gibson also favors Clay Aiken, the beanstalk boy from Raleigh, N.C., who judge Simon Cowell originally said looks too much like Howdy Doody.

"If he doesn't win this he's got a future in theater," Gibson said.

BADA-BING BUMMER: 'SOPRANOS' SUSPENDED

The future of "The Sopranos" became even more uncertain yesterday as HBO suspended production indefinitely due to its ongoing contract fight with series star James Gandolfini.

Cast members - including Gandolfini - were scheduled to show up for work at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City on March 24.

But with Gandolfini suing HBO in a bid to win a release from his contract - and HBO countersuing for $100 million in damages - all of the show's cast and crew are being notified this week that production has ceased until further notice.

Gandolfini is said to earn about $400,000 per episode for "The Sopranos" under his current contract.

Sources say he's angling for a huge raise, up to $1 million per episode. That salary would be several hundred thousand more than HBO seems willing to pay him.

Letters announcing the delay were sent out yesterday by HBO informing the show's staff of the decision.

Prep work which has been under way at Silvercup since Feb. 10 - including reconstituting the show's interior sets, building new ones and mapping out the lighting - will be suspended at the end of the workday tomorrow, sources said.

The indefinite suspension throws the lives of 300 cast and crew members into turmoil. If the suspension drags on, some staffers will be forced to look for work elsewhere, further damaging the show if it does return.

"At least from the crew perspective, if this thing gets protracted and it gets delayed too long, everyone will scramble for different work," said a source who works on the show.

As time goes on, some cast and crew may aim their ire at Gandolfini, whose contract battle will now have an adverse effect on their own livelihoods.

Despite that, however, the actor remains popular with some of the show's cast and crew. As the top-billed star of "The Sopranos," it's doubtful the show could go on without Gandolfini in the role of Tony Soprano.

"How can you not [get annoyed], because obviously his actions brought all this on?" said one staffer. "However, he's the kind of guy who would feel responsible for it, [so] I don't think it's fair for us to make him feel responsible for 300 jobs."

Yesterday's suspension of production was the latest salvo in the war between HBO and its biggest star.

The dueling lawsuits filed by the actor and the network accuse each other of breaching Gandolfini's contract.

When the lawsuits, which have both been filed in Los Angeles, will be fought in court is anybody's guess; no court date has been set.

IT'S THE 'LORD' OF MISTAKES

The Best Picture Oscar won't be handed out for another week and a half, but the winner for most bloopers is already in.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," has left some viewers spellbound with a whopping 151 reported gaffes on the moviemistakes.com Web site.

Frodo and friends are far ahead of the historical epic "Gangs of New York" (32 mistakes), the musical "Chicago" (13 mistakes) and the drama "The Hours" (6 mistakes).

Eagle-eyed movie fans e-mailing bloopers to the U.K.-based Web site haven't found any mistakes yet in the fifth nominated film, "The Pianist" - quite possibly because the Holocaust drama hasn't been that widely seen by the public.

A few of the more noteworthy goofs among the Best Picture nominees:

"THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS"
* Some of the Rohan women are clearly wearing freshly applied lip liner and natural-colored lipstick.

* In several close-ups, Samwise (Sean Astin) can be seen sporting a very un-Hobbit-like five o'clock shadow on his cheeks.

"GANGS OF NEW YORK"
* Near the end of the movie, there's a shot of the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge didn't open until 1883, years after the story takes place.

* In the scene where Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis) lies in bed with two nude women, one of them has a noticeable bikini tan line - in the mid 19th-century.

* During the draft riots that climax the movie, obviously phony rocks tossed at police bounce right off their heads.

"CHICAGO"
* In the final scene where Roxie (Renee Zellweger) and Velma (Catherine Zeta-Jones) are performing, there is lipstick on Roxie's teeth. It disappears halfway through the number.

* After Roxie is found not guilty, she looks outside and sees drops of rain running down the window. But it isn't raining outside as reporters chase her lawyer.

* In his first number, Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) throws off his hat. When the chorus girls surround him and he doffs his boxers, the hat inexplicably reappears.

"THE HOURS"
* The clock at the train station reads 4:25, but when Leonard Woolf (Stephen Dillane) arrives to fetch his wife Virginia (Nicole Kidman) his wristwatch clearly says it's 9:30.

* The first time Clarissa (Meryl Streep) visits Richard's (Ed Harris') apartment, her necklace disappears and reappears throughout the scene.

* When Laura (Julianne Moore) picks up her son at the babysitter, he's sitting in the back seat. But he's up front when she pulls away.

SHATNER: 'TREK' IS LOST IN SPACE

The actor who played Capt. James T. Kirk on the original series says it "needs something new.

"The people responsible for it have lost its way, and they need to find it again.

"They need a whole new group of talent to give everyone a fresh approach.

"By doing too many things, they have lost its way because of greed," said Shatner

"Star Trek" has sired five weekly TV series (the original, "Next Generation," "Voyager," "Deep Space Nine," "Enterprise"), a Saturday morning cartoon and 10 big-screen adaptations.

The luster of "Trek" has dimmed because of these spinoffs, he said.

"Star Trek: Nemesis," the most recent theatrical release, bombed at the box office. "Enterprise," a UPN spin-off with Scott Bakula, is struggling in the ratings after two seasons.

What needs to be done? "For those of us who were on the early shows and didn't really get to share in that, I have mixed emotions about it," says Shatner.

His lack of interest in "Star Trek" isn't recent. Shatner didn't see much of the 1990s hit series "The Next Generation." He doesn't care to view "Enterprise," and he skipped "Nemesis."

"Curious, isn't it?" he said, "but I have never had a desire to see it, and you'd think I would."

Shatner and several members of the original cast reunite for "The TV Land Awards," airing tonight on TV Land, where "Star Trek" garners the Pop Culture Award, "presented to a show, which has crossed the line from a television series to pop culture phenomenon."

Shatner finds that particular award amusing.

"Here I am winning a Pop Culture award, and I am disconnected with pop culture," he said.

"Whenever I get on these shows when they ask about pop culture, I never know what to say."

ROCK RELATIONS

The Chinese government asking the Rolling Stones to drop four songs from their play list when the band performs in that country next month. The censored songs include "Brown Sugar," "Honky Tonk Woman," "Beast of Burden" and "Let's Spend the Night Together."

CARTMAN, YOU MEATHEAD

All in the Family mastermind Norman Lear signing on to cowrite several upcoming episodes of South Park. Lear says he wants to mock the U.S.' planned war in Iraq and reality TV. The new season debuts March 19.

Eminem to Host '8 Mile' DVD Release Party

DETROIT - A party in honor of the DVD release of "8 Mile" wouldn't be complete without an appearance from Eminem — and rap battling.

On Thursday, Slim Shady himself will host the "8 Mile DVD Launch Party" at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit. Hip-hop artists D12 and Xzibit, who appear in the film, are slated to perform.

The DVD of the hip-hop drama starring Eminem will be released Tuesday.

Leading up to the event, radio stations around the nation have been holding freestyle rap battle contests.

The winners from each market are being flown to Detroit to attend the party and face off in the ultimate national rap battle, hosted by "8 Mile" actor Mekhi Phifer and Proof from D12.

The winner will be awarded the opportunity to record a demo tape at the Record Plant Recording Studios in Hollywood, Calif.

The "8 Mile" DVD will include five new rap battles between the star and other performers as they trash-talk each other with rhyming profanity and insults.

Viewers can choose to watch the sequences in censored or uncensored formats, Universal Studios Home Video said.

An exclusive video of Eminem's "Superman" song also will be included on the DVD. Filled with sexist slurs and bitter humor, the track from his Grammy-nominated album, "The Eminem Show," is about wooing women for sex with empty promises and then cruelly dismissing them.

Directed by "L.A. Confidential" filmmaker Curtis Hanson, "8 Mile" chronicles an amateur rapper's frustrations with stage fright and his family's poverty. The film collected nearly $116 million at the domestic box office.

"The Eminem Show," released in late May, was last year's best-selling album with more than 7 million copies sold.

His other recent CD, the soundtrack to "8 Mile," was the fifth-highest selling of the year, with more than 3.2 million copies sold.

Eminem was nominated for an Academy Award for "Lose Yourself," a single from "8 Mile."

'All My Children' Snag 17 Nominations

NEW YORK - It's "all my nominations" for "All My Children," whose crop of 17 exceeds every other show on daytime TV.

Although it missed out in the major categories of best drama, actress and actor, the ABC soap led the pack when the Daytime Emmy Awards nominations were announced Wednesday.

Right behind, with 14 nominations, was CBS' "Guiding Light," and PBS' long-running kids' show, "Sesame Street," with 13.

Among the networks, ABC snagged 59 nominations, with CBS notching 52 and PBS 47.

Major categories were announced live on "The View," which stirred up tension for the ABC chat show, which itself was bucking to be among the series acknowledged.

"If we are not nominated, this could be one of the most embarrassing moments on `The View'," Barbara Walters told her co-hosts. "And, on this show, that is saying a lot."

"The View" collected nominations in the categories of talk show and talk show host (for Walters, Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar and the now-departed Lisa Ling). It has never captured an Emmy.

Last year's winner for best drama, "One Life to Live," was shut out as nominations were claimed by "The Young and the Restless," "As the World Turns," "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "Port Charles."

Newcomers Dr. Phil McGraw and Wayne Brady were among those in the talk show host category, with their respective talk shows also getting nominations.

Last year's winner in the game or audience participation category — "Jeopardy!" — was joined by "The Price is Right," "Hollywood Squares," "Wheel of Fortune" and "Win Ben Stein's Money."

For lead actor in a drama series, the nominees were Maurice Benard ("General Hospital"), Anthony Geary ("General Hospital"), Ricky Paull Goldin ("Guiding Light"), Grant Aleksander ("Guiding Light"), Thorsten Kaye ("Port Charles") and Doug Davidson ("The Young and the Restless").

Last year's winner for lead actress in a drama series, Susan Flannery of "The Bold and the Beautiful," was nominated along with Nancy Lee Grahn ("General Hospital"), Kim Zimmer ("Guiding Light"), Eileen Davidson ("The Young and the Restless") and Michelle Stafford ("The Young and the Restless").

And why was the oft-nominated Susan Lucci missing from that roster?

The "All My Children" diva wasn't among those on the "pre-nomination list," according to Soap Opera Weekly Executive Editor Carolyn Hinsey. Lucci had relatively little exposure on the soap last year, Hinsey explained.

"The 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards" will be given out by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences on May 16 in a prime-time ceremony at Radio City Music Hall televised by ABC.

Kidman, Zellweger in Oscar Cliffhanger

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nicole did it by hiding herself behind a false nose and a dowdy hairdo. Renee got there by showing off her legs plus her previously unknown talents as a singer and dancer.

Both women defied expectations and both are now front-runners in the race for one of Hollywood's most prestigious prizes, the Oscar for best performance by an actress -- an honor neither has won before.

"I think the best actress Oscar race this year is a classic Hollywood cliffhanger," said Oscar pundit Tom O'Neil.

"While it appeared that Nicole Kidman had been literally in front by a nose, there was a wake-up call from Renee Zellweger at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards, and a scary one," O'Neil said.

Zellweger, 33, pulled off a surprise on Sunday by winning the SAG best actress award for her role as a high-kicking murderess in the musical "Chicago," despite having no formal training as a dancer and no singing experience other than in the privacy of her own shower.

"She plays against type. She is somebody who sang and danced surprisingly well, and this is a Renee we have never seen before. Renee has two things going for her -- the 'Chicago' bandwagon and the SAG win," said O'Neil.

Yet with 10 days to go before the March 23 Oscar ceremony no-one is writing off Kidman, whose searing performance as the suicidal English writer Virginia Woolf in "The Hours" has already won her a Golden Globe and a British BAFTA award.

Kidman, 35, earned sympathy for the dignity she displayed during an agonizing divorce from actor Tom Cruise.

Now she is riding a wave of support that started with the 2001 thriller "The Others," soared after fantasy musical "Moulin Rouge" and culminated in "The Hours." where she is unrecognizable as the glamorous redhead who has become a fashion and box-office icon.

KIDMAN "OVERDUE" FOR OSCAR HONOR

Kidman narrowly missed out on an Oscar last year when Halle Berry made history as the first African-American to win the coveted best actress statuette.

"I do think it is Nicole's year in Academy terms. My feeling is that Nicole will be a sentimental favorite with the Academy at large," said Time magazine movie critic Richard Schickel.

"Oscar loves actors who do one of two things -- and she hit both of them. They like it when you play crazy or disturbed, and they love it when you put on a bunch of make-up. It looks like real acting," said Schickel.

O'Neil agreed that Kidman was still a major contender; "She plays a real person, she transforms herself physically, and the role has gravity and snob appeal.

"Also she is overdue, and very often in Oscar history people win for something they have done before," he said.

Julianne Moore, 42, has also had a banner year and looked a hot favorite after being nominated both as best actress ("Far From Heaven") and best supporting actress ("The Hours"). Both roles, coincidentally, see her as a 1950s suburban American housewife whose life is in turmoil.

Yet despite picking up a slew of awards from movie critics in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle and Toronto, Moore's star, at least in the best actress category, appears to have faded over the home stretch.
 
"I think her performance in 'Far From Heaven' was lovely. I never don't like Julianne Moore," said Schickel.

"I think what may have happened is that the movie has faded. It has not made the splash of 'Chicago', which has been so popular, nor 'The Hours' because it has been controversial," he said.

Moore has been Oscar-nominated twice before and holds a record five SAG nominations but has never won an award from her Hollywood peers.

"She has had such a stellar year, you would think she would have been a standout at SAG. She could pop up at the Oscars because voters often show a high-brow tendency specifically in the supporting category and there certainly is a consensus that she is way overdue," said O'Neil.

The two other best actress nominees -- Salma Hayek for her role as Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in "Frida," and Diane Lane as an adulterous wife in "Unfaithful" -- are considered long shots for this year's Oscar.

Ex-Spice Girl Geri Admits Lesbian Fling

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell says she has had a brief encounter with another woman, but denies she is a lesbian.

The singer, who has dated fellow pop star Robbie Williams, told Thursday's Sun tabloid that after the fling she quickly realized that she was not gay.

"I had a little lesbian thing...," she said, adding the encounter with an unnamed woman had been "part of experimenting."

She refused to pinpoint the date, but said" It was somewhere between the ages of 16 and 30. It was just a drunken moment."

The singer also said she was not in a relationship at present. "I would like to be in a loving relationship but it has to be with someone who is trustworthy and kind and sweet -- and also my equal," she said.

Halliwell, or Ginger Spice as she was known during her time with the band, left the Spice Girls in 1998 amid reports of bitter squabbling.

The Spice Girls sold about 40 million albums and 25 million singles worldwide, notching up nine number one singles in the UK charts alone.

The 30-year-old singer is currently hosting the horrible television beauty and talent show "All American Girl."

But I still like her! Actually, like is too weak a word, I lurve her!

Funny "Family Guy" Flies Home

"Family Guy" required attention, but it was well-worth the "effort." Smart, funny, sometimes even offensive, it never, ever disappointed. But quality TV doesn't always mean good ratings; this show will go on the long list of shows that died premature deaths because it was too hip for TV. Moments of this show pop into my mind from time to time, and I always find myself smiling and laughing when they do. Check this set out and get the same enjoyment that I have. This was one of television's very best.

Mr. Bean Be Coming Home!

He captured the hearts of millions of viewers worldwide. His movie grossed nearly a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide. He's been called the most embarrassing man on the planet. Now the entire Mr. Bean series, the British comic phenomenon created by Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Four Weddings and a Funeral), is finally available in one complete package.

More on The Matrix

Yet more has come in on the now-canceled, near-legendary Matrix two-disc special edition that was originally supposed to be released this May by Warner Home Video. Speaking to Video Store Magazine it was producer Joel Silver who convinced Warner to squash the 2-disc deluxe set because it contained too many plot spoilers for The Matrix Reloaded, and that he also hoped to do a better transfer for the film on a future release.

Given that this two-disc set was just a rehash of the previously-released Matrix and Matrix Revisited sets, hopefully the new-new version - whenever it arrives - will really be worth the wait.

'Watching Ellie' Primed for NBC Return

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Julia Louis-Dreyfus' NBC comedy "Watching Ellie" is headed back to the NBC's prime-time schedule.

"Ellie" will be relaunched on April 15, where it will get a six-week run behind "Frasier." The legal comedy "A.U.S.A." will have wrapped its first season by that date.

Since viewers last tuned in to "Ellie" last year, the series has been revamped. The real-time element is out, as is the single-camera format.

By giving "Ellie" a time slot in April, NBC execs will be able to decide whether to bring the show back for a third season next fall.

The show, which stars the former "Seinfeld" co-star as a nightclub singer, snagged a surprise midseason order last May despite scoring only modest ratings in its initial outing. NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker, however, has been a strong supporter of the show.

Eastwood Spaces Out on Neil Armstrong Film

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Clint Eastwood is swapping fiction for fact on his second journey into space.

After teaming with Warner Bros. on 2000's "Space Cowboys," the actor-producer-director has now acquired feature film rights to Pulitzer Prize-nominated historian James R. Hansen's authorized biography of astronaut Neil Armstrong.

Eastwood will produce and direct the film for Warner Bros. via his Warner-based production shingle Malpaso but will not star in the adaptation, which has yet to find a screenwriter.

The book, titled "First Man: A Life of Neil A. Armstrong," traces Armstrong's career from his time as a Korean War fighter pilot through his experiences in the American space program and his historic place as the first person to set foot on the moon.

Hansen, who has the exclusive rights to Armstrong's story, is expected to complete the book in late 2004.

Eastwood is in post-production for Warner Bros. on "Mystic River," a crime drama based on Dennis Lehane's bestselling novel. That film, produced and directed by Eastwood, stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laurence Fishburne, Marcia Gay Harden and Laura Linney.

"Millions of people watched Neil Armstrong step out onto the moon's surface, and millions more have seen those images since the event happened," Eastwood said. "However, Armstrong himself is a very enigmatic person. James Hansen's book examines the life of a private man who shared a profound experience with the entire world; it's a story that I think would make an interesting movie."

Eastwood's other recent credits include "Blood Work" and "Space Cowboys," which he produced and directed as well as co-starred in with Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner. That film concerned a team of top fighter pilots, now retired, who are brought back into service to assist NASA during a major satellite crisis.

Eastwood won the directing Oscar for his revisionist Western "Unforgiven," which snared a total of four statuettes, including the prize for best picture. In 1995 he also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Mullally Latest Letterman Guest Host

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Fresh off her Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Comedy, "Will & Grace" star Megan Mullally will be the latest star to take over the interview desk at "The Late Show" while regular host David Letterman continues to recover from shingles. Mullally will host the show on Friday night (March 14).

Bruce Willis, John McEnroe and Regis Philbin were the first stars to stand in for Letterman after his initial diagnosis. They have since been followed by Whoopi Goldberg, who hosted on Monday night (March 10). Tuesday night's show was hosted by actor Vince Vaughn, followed by Elvis Costello on Wednesday and Will Farrell on Thursday.

Mullally's SAG win on Sunday night was her second in a row. She has also received an Emmy and an American Comedy Award for her performance as caustic helium-voiced Karen on the popular NBC sitcom. Mullally is the veteran of Broadway musicals including "Grease" and "How to Succeed in Business" as well as her own one-woman show.

Mullally's guests will include comedian Bonnie MacFarlane.

DVD Spotlights Brian Wilson 'On Tour'

Sanctuary Visual Entertainment has set an April 1 release date for "Brian Wilson on Tour," a DVD capturing the former Beach Boys mastermind in concert appearances over the past four years, along with interviews and backstage footage.

The DVD comprises performances taped in the U.S. and Japan, and is structured like a continuous concert, featuring Wilson-penned classics like "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Don't Worry Baby," "God Only Knows," "Surfin' USA," "Kiss Me, Baby," "Sail on Sailor," "Darlin'," "Good Vibrations," and "Love and Mercy." The song "Saturday Morning in the City" sees its first-ever commercial release on the DVD.

The disc is also highlighted by Wilson's performance at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit in 1999. During "Surfin' USA," Wilson and his band were joined by Young on organ and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Sheryl Crow as background singers. Footage of Paul McCartney's induction of Wilson into the Songwriters Hall of Fame is also included.

Finally, interviews with Wilson, Young, Crow, Pete Townshend, Patti Smith, and Ronnie Spector dot the DVD's bonus features segment, offering insight into Wilson's musical legacy.

Here is the track list for "Brian Wilson on Tour":

"Fun Fun Fun"
"This Isn't Love"
"Don't Worry Baby"
"God Only Knows"
"Ruby Baby"
"Saturday Morning in the City"
"Surfin' USA"
"Do It Again"
"Kiss Me, Baby"
"Sail on Sailor"
"Darlin'"
"Good Vibrations"
"On Wisconsin"
"Little GTO"
"Vegetables"
"Help Me Rhonda"
"Lay Down Burden"
"Back Home"
"Caroline No"
"Barbara Ann"
"Viva Las Vegas"
"Auld Lang Syne"
"I'm So Young"
"California Girls"
"Add Some Music to Your Day"
"Love and Mercy"

Meet The Beatles: On DVD, still more of the Fab Four

NEW YORK — It has been a long and winding road since three surviving Beatles "reunited" eight years ago to record Free as a Bird and Real Love, and to tell their story as part of The Beatles Anthology TV special, CDs, videos and books.

Since then, of course, George Harrison died, reducing the living members of the Fab Four to two.

On April 1, EMI releases The Beatles Anthology box set on DVD, featuring 10 hours of material from the eight-episode series, plus more than 80 minutes of never-before-seen fodder recorded during the Anthology period. The $80, five-disc set was previewed Tuesday at the New York Public Library for Performing Arts in Manhattan.

Among previously unseen highlights:

* With George and Paul McCartney on ukuleles, the trio is seen sitting on a lawn singing Baby What You Want Me to Do.

* Beatles producer George Martin plays an early tape of John Lennon singing A Day in the Life with the orchestra and Paul's middle part missing. "John wasn't expecting 32 years later people to be listening to it," Martin says.

* Paul remarks: "We always thought that people like The Supremes made a 'good record,' but then they repeated the good record and the next record was sort of the same. ... We liked the first one really, the second one was not good. ... So I think we were conscious of trying not to repeat ourselves."

Next: Apple is readying a Let It Be DVD, and David Munns of EMI indicated it won't be long before Beatles tunes are available for legitimate download on the Internet.

Details about the deleted scenes that will be appearing on the DVD for STAR TREK: NEMESIS.

The DVD of Star Trek Nemesis will feature seven deleted scenes when it comes out May 20. The scenes constitute about 45 minutes of footage that was cut from the film's theatrical release.

The scenes include one between Data and Jean-Luc Picard, in which they share a bottle of 2267 Chateau Picard champagne; an early scene of Shinzon; one between Worf and Picard in the observation lounge; one with Deanna Troi and Picard in a corridor; a second scene of "mental rape" of Troi in a turbolift; a sickbay scene with Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher; and the original ending of the film, featuring the new first officer, Cmdr. Madden.

Sweet!

WHAT'CHA WANT!

The Beastie Boys are making their new song, "In a World Gone Mad," available via free download on their website to protest a U.S. invasion of Iraq. "A war in Iraq will not resolve our problems," says Beastie Adam Yauch. "It can only result in the deaths of many innocent civilians and US troops."

Enjoy!

ABC digs up 'Dallas'

HOLLYWOOD, California (Variety) -- Who shot J.R.? This time, it'll be ABC.

The Walt Disney Co.-owned network is bringing back "Dallas" as a two-hour movie -- but don't look for a traditional reunion movie.
RELATED

ABC is in the early stages of developing a show that will focus on the behind-the-scenes soap opera behind the CBS drama, which still stands as one of prime time's most successful series.

One industry insider said the film will feel more like an edition of "The E! True Hollywood Story" than a remake or sequel.

Both CBS and NBC have mounted semi-satirical TV movie takes on classic TV shows in recent months. This past weekend, CBS aired a humorous look at the production of the 1960s comic book series "Batman," and the network scored big ratings last season with a similar spoof of "Gilligan's Island."

Once Upon a Time also produced NBC's upcoming mockumentary about "Three's Company," a personal fave of network entertainment president Jeff Zucker that has just been moved to the May sweeps.

New DVD and Video Releases

It is a "should've" day. All of the new DVD and Video releases "should've" been better movies. But they're not and now you'll be able to decide if you "should've" rented something else.

Here are the new DVD and Video Releases for Tuesday, March 11th, 2003:

I Spy - An agent teams up with a boxer in this uninteresting spy mission movie with has little in common with the groundbreaking 1960's TV series. The main difference? The TV show was actually funny. (Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen)

Swimfan - A teen goes off the deep end for a boy's love in this teen version of Fatal Attraction. "This movie should be ignored, Dan!" (Erika Christensen, Jesse Bradford, Shiri Appleby)

White Oleander - A girl's life shifts from foster home to foster home. I just wish she spent some time at a Jodie Foster home. Then we might have had something! (Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Alison Lohman)

Moonlight Mile - A man's relationship with his fiance's parents after her murder is examined in this almost great movie. (Dustin Hoffman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Susan Sarandon)

Inspector Gadget 2- French Stewart replaces Matthew Broderick in this live action piece of crap that is based on the awesoem cartoon. (Is that too harsh?)

Today's New Music Releases

Some great new discs to check out at the check out today. Including the latest from EVERCLEAR and JOE JACKSON.

Enjoy!

Here are the new music releases for Tuesday March 11, 2003:

* ADAM F Adam F Presents (System Recordings)
* AFI Sing The Sorrow (DreamWorks)
* BABA Mind Music (Velour)
* BC RECORDINGS Shot Down On Safari (System Recordings)
* BE GOOD TANYAS Chinatown (Nettwerk)
* BEN HARPER Diamonds On The Inside (Virgin)
* BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM OST Bend It Like Beckham OST (Milan)
* BUJU BANTON Friends For Life (VP)
* CHICK COREA Trio Music (ECM)
* CHOPPA Straight From The N.O. (Universal)
* CRADLE OF FILTH Damnation And A Day (Spitfire)
* CRUSADERS Rural Renewal (Verve)
* DES'REE Dream Soldier (Epic)
* DIPLOMATS Diplomatic Immunity (Def Jam)
* DJ ICEY Different Day (System Recordings)
* DJ SMASH Phonography # 2 (Blue Note)
* EVERCLEAR Slow Motion Daydream (Capitol)
* FISCHERSPOONER #1 (Capitol)
* ICE CUBE Predator (Remastered) (Capitol)
* INSANE CLOWN POSSE Beverly Kills 50187 (Psychopathic)
* INSANE CLOWN POSSE Tunnel Of Love (Psychopathic)
* INSANE CLOWN POSSE Forgotten Freshness Vol. 3 (Psychopathic)
* JACKYL Relentless (New West Records)
* JOE JACKSON Volume 4 (Ryko)
* JOHN TAYLOR Rosslyn (ECM)
* JOSH JOPLIN GROUP Future That Was (Artemis)
* KILLER MIKE Monster (Sony)
* LETTUCE Outta Here (Velour)
* LINDA EDER Broadway My Way (Atlantic)
* MACHINE HEAD Hellalive (Roadrunner)
* MATTHEW GOOD In A World Called Catastrophe (CD Single) (Universal)
* MINDI ABAIR It Just Happens That Way (Verve)
* MUGGS Dust (Anti/Epitaph)
* MUTINY UK In The Now (System Recordings)
* NORA Losers Intuition (Trustkill)
* PAM HALL Time For Love (VP)
* PRIMUS Suck On This (Remastered) (Prawn Song Records)
* RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Can't Stop (CD Single) (Warner)
* RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Red Hot Chili Peppers (Remastered) (Capitol)
* RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Uplift Mojo Party Plan (Remastered) (Capitol)
* RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Mother's Milk (Remastered) (Capitol)
* RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Freaky Styley (Remastered) (Capitol)
* ROYKSOPP Melody A.M. (Astralwerks/Virgin)
* RUFIO Perhaps, I Suppose... (Militia Group)
* SAGA Marathon (True North)
* SHARON ISBIN Baroque Favorites For Guitar (Warner Classics)
* SKYDIGGERS Bittersweet Harmony (Maple Music)
* SOUL EMBRACED Immune (Tooth & Nail)
* SOULIVE Get Down (Velour)
* SOULIVE Turn It Out (Velour)
* SPYRO GYRA Original Cinema (Telarc)
* STEPHEN JONES Almost Cured Of Sadness (Sanctuary Records)
* THE CLASH Essential Clash (Epic/Legacy)
* TOPAZ Zone (Velour)
* TURIN BRAKES Ether Song (Virgin)
* U.S. BOMBS Covert Action (Hellcat)
* UNLOCO Becoming 1 (Warner)
* VARIOUS ARTISTS Master T's Urban Vibes (Virgin)
* WAYNE WONDER No Holding Back (VP)
* ZWAN Honestly (CD Single) (Reprise)

Rock Hall Inducts The Clash, Others

NEW YORK - The Clash, the Police, and Elvis Costello & the Attractions — three bands born of the fertile British punk movement of the late 1970s — got their due Monday from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The thunderous roar of AC/DC and the blue-eyed soul of the Righteous Brothers also were being inducted at the annual ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

"It's a very good night to be British because three of the finest acts of the last 30 years came out of Britain and three are here to be honored," said singer Elton John.

John, his hair teased in a punk rock style and playfully tossing expletives, inducted Costello and the Attractions, his threepiece backing band. Costello and his new band, the Impostors, played a ferocious version of his hit, "Pump It Up."

"When we first started out, we had 35 minutes of music," Costello recalled. "On a good night we could get it down to 25."

Costello's keyboard player, Steve Nieve, issued a plea for peace on the eve of potential war with Iraq. Costello and the Impostors performed "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love and Understanding" before leaving the Waldorf Astoria stage to a keyboard whine.

The Clash burned bright and fast, starting with explosive punk rock and then incorporating funk, reggae and rap. The 1979 album "London Calling" is a critical favorite, and their biggest hits, "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go," came just before the original lineup broke up in 1983.

Hopes for a reunion at the Hall of Fame induction were dashed when lead singer Joe Strummer died of a heart attack on Dec. 22.

As for the Police, Sting, guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland cut their hair short and dyed it blonde to fit in with British punks. But their music, including the reggae-tinged "Roxanne," moved quickly beyond their peers.

The 1983 album "Synchronicity," propelled by the ominous "Every Breath You Take," sold more than 10 million copies. The Police quit on top, although Sting has maintained an active solo career.

The Police were scheduled to reunite and perform three songs.

AC/DC's signature is guitarist Angus Young's schoolboy outfit and stutter-step dancing. The Australian hard rockers' 1980 album, "Back in Black," with the party anthem "You Shook Me All Night Long," came after the death of singer Bon Scott, who was replaced by Brian Johnson.

Singer Billy Joel inducted Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley — the Righteous Brothers, whose smooth hits "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "(You're My) Soul and Inspiration" graced radio in the mid-1960s.

"Sometimes people with blue eyes transcended the limitations of what their color and culture can actually be," Joel said. "Sometimes white people can actually be soulful. This was a life-changing idea. It changed my life."

The Righteous Brothers were disciples of legendary producer Phil Spector, usually a fixture at the rock hall dinners. Spector is now charged with murder after an actress' body was found at his suburban Los Angeles home on Feb. 3.

Three veteran session musicians — Benny Benjamin, Floyd Cramer and Steve Douglas — received posthumous honors as sidemen Monday. Mo Ostin, longtime Warner Brothers Records chief, won a lifetime achievement award.

Benjamin was Motown's first drummer, pianist Cramer played with Elvis Presley and sax player Douglas was a prominent member of Spector's studio "Wrecking Crew." Ostin led Warner Brothers during its strongest years.

Highlights of the ceremony will be shown on VH1 at 9 p.m. on March 16.

Even with War, the Oscars Will Go on -- Producers

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - War with Iraq or no war, the Oscars show will go on, organizers vowed on Monday as they brought together the class of 2002 for the annual nominees lunch and delivered the traditional and often ignored warning about keeping acceptance speeches short and sweet.

The nominees crammed the stage for the traditional "class picture" with director Martin Scorsese scrunched next to Salma Hayek. Nicolas Cage, wearing loud print shirt and blue jeans, took a spot on the far left and later Jack Nicholson could be seen huddling in deep conversation with Nicole Kidman.

The photo was followed by a handing out of nomination certificates in A to Z order. "How did you like the spelling bee," asked Renee Zellweger, a nominee for best actress for her work as the killer showgirl in "Chicago," a musical based on murder, mayhem and the great American desire for 15 full minutes of fame.

Marty Richards, the septuagenarian producer of "Chicago" who spent more than two decades trying to get the hit musical to the screen, seemed among the most overjoyed people in the room -- so overjoyed he was even thinking of thanking O.J. Simpson should the film win a best picture Oscar on March 23.

"This nomination proves that old guys can work," he said, adding, "I feel like I have been working on this since my Bar Mitzvah. I started working with Bob Fosse a year after the show opened in 1975 and we were in pre-production for six years when he died and I had to put the project in the drawer.

A CALL FROM MIRAMAX HEAD

"Then a few years ago, Harvey Weinstein called me and we started again. I tried to get Baz Luhrman to direct and was told Madonna wanted to star but we had to wait until we saw O.J. Simpson on television before things started to make sense," he said.

Richards added, "We owe it all to O.J." -- a reference to "Chicago's" theme of how a woman accused of murder becomes a national celebrity, achieving a fame not unlike that of Simpson who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in what was called "The Trial of the Century."

The Oscar show's producer, Gil Cates, told nominees that the show will go on whether or not there is a war with Iraq.

But he cautioned, "If we go to war, the telecast will reflect that reality both in those parts of the show that we can control and those parts that we can't control -- your acceptance speeches.

"The show will go on and our purpose remains the same as it has for 75 years -- to celebrate our art form and honor its most accomplished practioneers."

Cates also warned nominees, "If you pull out a piece of paper and start to read a list of names -- you're done. The orchestra will begin to play and you are finished."

A who's who of nominees were asked in a luncheon press conference if the show should go on in the event of war and the consensus was yes but that the tone should be somber and respectful.

The Oscars have never been postponed for reasons of war -- but they were delayed for a matter of days by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and by the shooting of President Ronald Reagan.

"You should still have it but the tone should change. The Oscars are not a political forum but a prayer for peace would be all right," said Ed Harris, nominated for best supporting actor for his work in "The Hours."

Daniel Day-Lewis, nominated for best actor for his part in "Gangs of New York," said it would be very difficult and it "would seem a bit obscene if we (danced) up a red carpet while people were dying."

Bond Is Back

007 is back in Die Another Day, the 20th installment in the venerable franchise (and judging by its box office grosses, not the last).

MGM Home Entertainment will debut the latest Brosnan Bond on June 3rd in a first for 007, an expansive two-disc set that's the most feature-laded Bond DVD yet.

Available in separate anamorphic widescreen and 4:3 pan & scan versions, the specs are impressive: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX and DTS 6.1 ES Matrixed surround tracks, French and Spanish 2.0 Dolby Surround options, English French and Spanish subtitles, and a host of goodies.

Fans can dig into two "Audio Intelligence" audio commentaries, the first with director Lee Tamahori and producer Michael G. Wilson, the second with Pierce Brosnan and Rosalind Pike, and the "M16 DataStream" branching version with a text commentary and video vignettes on disc one, then a whole second platter of additional supplements: the "Inside Die Another Day" documentary, "Scene Evolutions" storyboard-to-final shot comparisons, "Inter-Action Sequences" multi-angle explorations of the stunts, "Digital Grading" before-and-after comparisons, the featurettes "Title Design" and "Equipment Briefing," an extensive "Image Gallery," and the "Ministry of Propaganda," featuring the Madonna music video, a making-of the music video, trailers and TV spots, and a "Nightfire" video game making-of.

The set will also include extensive DVD-ROM features to be announced.

Sweeeeeeet!

John Mellencamp Working On Album Of Folk & Blues Covers

John Mellencamp might not have a label deal, but that doesn't mean he isn't making new music. Mellencamp is holed up in his Bloomington, Indiana, studio working on what's said to be an album of traditional folk and blues songs by the likes of Woody Guthrie, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson.

The New York Times reports that Mellencamp has updated the lyrics to Guthrie's "Baltimore To Washington" to reference President George W. Bush and the current conflict with Iraq.

According to The Times, the revised lyrics read, "He wants to fight with many/And he says it's not for oil/He sent out the National Guard/To police the world."

Mellencamp plans to make the song available soon on his website, and the full album, which is not yet titled, should be out before the end of the year.

Stone Roses (Somehow) Top Best Album List

The Stone Roses self titled debut album, which was hastily recorded overnight to save on studio costs, has been named the greatest album of all time.

Writers from NME decided the Manchester band's 1989 debut was greater than anything by The Beatles, Beach Boys or Smiths to top its list of the 100 best LPs.

The upper reaches of the chart is largely dominated by acknowledged classics, rather than flash in the pan acts, although retro guitar band The Strokes make it to number seven.

The full NME 100 greatest albums of all time are as follows:

1. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses

2. Pixies - Doolittle

3. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

4. Television - Marquee Moon

5. The Beatles - Revolver

6. Love - Forever Changes

7. The Strokes - Is This It

8. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

9. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico

10. The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks

11. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

12. The Clash - London Calling

13. Oasis - Definitely Maybe

14. Joy Division - Closer

15. Nirvana - In Utero

16. Radiohead - OK Computer

17. Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

18. Blondie - Parallel Lines

19. Nirvana - Nevermind

20. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

21. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground

22. New Order - Technique

23. Primal Scream - Screamadelica

24. The Beatles - The Beatles (AKA The White Album)

25. The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come

26. David Bowie - Low

27. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On

28. The Verve - A Northern Soul

29. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back

30. Massive Attack - Blue Lines

31. Pixies - Surfer Rosa

32. The Byrds - The Notorious Byrd Brothers

33. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

34. Patti Smith - Horses

35. Jeff Buckley - Grace

36. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express

37. Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory

38. Scott Walker - Scott 4

39. Ramones - Ramones

40. Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head

41. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

42. The Stooges - Fun House

43. David Bowie - Hunky Dory

44. Radiohead - The Bends

45. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

46. The Streets - Original Pirate Material

47. Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks

48. REM - Automatic For The People

49. Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation

50. Blur - Parklife

51. The Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow

52. The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main St

53. Slint - Spiderland

54. The Smiths - The Smiths

55. Aphex Twin - Richard D James Album

56. Jay-Z - The Blueprint

57. Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure

58. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

59. The Specials - The Specials

60. Big Star - Third/Sister Lovers

61. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs

62. Pulp - His 'N' Hers

63. Dusty Springfield - Dusty In Memphis

64. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left

65. Duran Duran - Rio

66. The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace Of Sin

67. Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman

68. Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching For The Young Soul Rebels

69. Andrew WK - I Get Wet

70. The Verve - Urban Hymns

71. Eminem - The Slim Shady LP

72. AC/DC - Back In Black

73. Michael Jackson - Off The Wall

74. The White Stripes - Elephant

75. Lou Reed - Transformer

76. Pulp - This Is Hardcore

77. The Coral - The Coral

78. Suede - Dog Man Star

79. The Clash - The Clash

80. Neil Young - After The Gold Rush

81. The Jesus And Mary Chain - Psychocandy

82. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

83. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks

84. De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising

85. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

86. David Bowie - Heroes

87. The Slits - Cut

88. Primal Scream - Exterminator

89. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions

90. Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate

91. Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R

92. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works 85-92

93. Joni Mitchell - Hejira

94. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home

95. Pink Floyd - Piper At The Gates Of Dawn

96. The Vines - Highly Evolved

97. PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea

98. Madonna - Like A Prayer

99. The Congos - Heart Of The Congos

100. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up

IMAGE IS EVERYTHING

Denzel Washington sweeping the 34th Annual NAACP's Image Awards on Saturday, earning Best Actor for John Q, as well as Best Supporting Actor and Best Director for his feature helming debut, Antwone Fisher, which was also named Best Picture. Halle Berry won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Jinx in James Bond's Die Another Day.

Study Links Aggressive Adults, TV Viewing

People who watch violent television as children behave more aggressively even 15 years later, according to one of the few TV violence studies to follow children into adulthood.

The effect appeared in both sexes and regardless of how aggressive a person was as a child, researchers found.

The study linked violent TV viewing at ages 6 to 9 to such outcomes as spouse abuse and criminal convictions in a person's early 20s.

Experts said the results are no surprise, but added that the study is important because it used a wide range of measures, included many participants and showed the effect in females as well as males.

The work is presented in the March issue of the journal Developmental Psychology by psychologists L. Rowell Huesmann and colleagues at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.

Huesmann said televised violence suggests to young children that aggression is appropriate in some situations, especially when it's used by charismatic heroes. It also erodes a natural aversion to violence, he said.

He recommended that parents restrict viewing of violent TV and movies by toddlers through pre-teens as much as possible.

The analysis argued against the idea that aggressive children seek out TV violence, or that the findings were due to the participants' socioeconomic status or intelligence, or their parents' childrearing practices.

The study involved 329 adults who were initially surveyed as children in the late 1970s. To check on adult aggressive behavior, researchers interviewed them and their spouses or friends, and checked crime records.

As children, the participants were rated for exposure to televised violence after they chose eight favorite shows from 80 popular programs for their age group and indicated how much they watched them. The programs were assessed by researchers for amount of physical violence. Such programs as "Starsky and Hutch," "The Six Million Dollar Man" and Roadrunner cartoons were deemed very violent.

As young adults, researchers found, men who had scored in the top 20 percent on childhood exposure were about twice as likely as other men to have pushed, grabbed or shoved their wives during an argument in the year preceding the interview. Women in the top 20 percent were about twice as likely as other women to have thrown something at their husbands.

For one or both sexes, these "high TV-violence viewers" were also more likely than other study participants in the previous 12 months to have shoved somebody in anger; punched, beaten or choked an adult, or committed a crime or a moving traffic violation.

Besides childhood exposure to violent TV, the participants had been asked as children about two other traits: how much they identified with violent TV characters and how realistic they judged various violent TV shows to be.

Researchers found that high ratings on any of the three childhood measures predicted higher ratings on a measure of overall aggression in adulthood.

Dennis Wharton, spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, said not all studies find a relationship between TV viewing and violent behavior, and "I think the jury is still out about whether there is a link."

The American Psychological Association, however, has concluded that viewing violence on TV or other mass media does promote aggressive behavior, particularly in children. Other mental-health and medical groups have taken similar stands.

Joanne Cantor, professor emerita of communications at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, called the new study "a very strong addition to what I consider a large amount of data that points in the same direction."

Craig A. Anderson, a violence researcher at Iowa State University, called the work "elegant in its design and execution."

'Bringing Down the House' Beats 'Tears Of The Sun' And Tops Box Office

LOS ANGELES - "Bringing Down the House" brought down big box office numbers.

The comedy starring Queen Latifah and Steve Martin took in $31.7 million to debut as the weekend's No. 1 film, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was the third-biggest March opening ever, behind the 2002 releases "Ice Age" and "Blade 2," and the strongest opening ever for a Martin film.

The Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci war movie "Tears of the Sun" took in $17.2 million to open at No. 2.

"Bringing Down the House" follows Latifah as an escaped convict who worms her way into the affluent suburban home of an uptight attorney played by Martin and the uproar that follows. The film was panned by critics but drew huge audiences, thanks in part to strong marketing by Disney.

"This is just one of those outrageous comedies where people love to sit back and be entertained and laugh," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution.

The movie averaged $11,317 per theater.

"Tears of the Sun" has Willis as a Navy SEAL who takes his squad to rescue a doctor (the lovely Bellucci) from a war zone in Nigeria. It took in $5,785 per theater playing to audiences that were 61 percent male, said Tom Sherak, a partner at Revolution Studios, which produced the movie for distributor Sony.

"I don't have to tell you that it's interesting to have a war film out at this time but it appears people really wanted to see it," Sherak said.

"Tears of the Sun" marked a shift from the escapist fare that's dominated the box office in recent weeks, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"You look at the top two movies and they couldn't be more different. For the past few weeks it's been all about escapism at the movies in the top five," Dergarabedian said. "'Tears of the Sun' is decidedly not escapist, but still, as an R-rated, very intense movie that, considering the world situation, is pretty timely, $17.2 million is very strong for that film."

Last weekend's No. 2 film, "Old School," dropped to No. 3 with $9.2 million. "Chicago" stayed strong in its 11th weekend, taking in $6.9 million for the No. 4 spot.

"Chicago just seems unstoppable at this point. It's just the must-see movie of the season," Dergarabedian said.

Overall, the weekend's top 12 films grossed $95.4 million, up almost 15 percent from the same weekend last year and up more than 10 percent from last weekend.

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. "Bringing Down the House," $31.7 million.
2. "Tears of the Sun," $17.2 million.
3. "Old School," $9.2 million.
4. "Chicago," $6.9 million.
5. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," $6.8 million.
6. "Cradle 2 the Grave," $6.6 million.
7. "Daredevil," $5.2 million.
8. "The Jungle Book 2," $4.2 million.
9. "Shanghai Knights," $2.7 million.
10. "The Life of David Gale," $2.1 million.

'The Hours,' Gun Documentary Win Screenplay Honors

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Social satirist Michael Moore's anti-gun documentary "Bowling for Columbine" and David Hare's dead-serious adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Hours" took top honors on Saturday at the Writers Guild of America Awards.

Moore's win for best original screenplay marked the first time a documentary feature has been so honored by the Writers Guild, and Hare's award for best adapted screenplay gives "The Hours" a major leg up on the competition for that prize in the Oscars this month.

The Academy Awards, the movie industry's highest honors, will be presented March 23.

Many members of the WGA, which represents U.S. film and TV writers, also cast ballots for the best-screenplay Oscars as members of the writers' branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Last year, both of the WGA's top winners, Julian Fellowes' "Gosford Park" for original screenplay and "A Beautiful Mind" by Akiva Goldman for adapted screenplay, went on to win the Oscars in those categories.

"Bowling for Columbine," which also was the first documentary feature ever nominated by the Writers Guild, earned an Oscar nomination as best documentary.

"The Hours," which stars Nicole Kidman as British novelist Virginia Woolf in a story of three women's lives intertwined around Woolf's novel "Mrs. Dalloway," also is in the Oscar running for best picture. Kidman was nominated for lead performance and Julianne Moore picked up a nomination as best supporting actress.

Hare, a British-born playwright known for works exploring the difficulty of moral and emotional expression, won acclaim at the Berlin Film Festival in 1985 as the writer and director of "Weatherby," a bleak story of a schoolteacher (Vanessa Redgrave) who witnesses a grad student's suicide.

His screenplay for "The Hours" beat out "Chicago," "Adaptation," "About Schmidt" and "About a Boy."

Moore, famed for populist attacks on corporate greed, sprang to public attention with his first film "Roger & Me." He recently made the bestsellers list with his book "Stupid White Men ... and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation."

His film edged out "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "Far From Heaven," "Gangs of New York," and "Antwone Fisher."

"Our members' appreciation of Michael Moore's clever, humorous and personal storytelling is a tribute to his vision and the power of his subject matter," Victoria Riskin, president of the Writers Guild of America, West said in a statement.

"In such an outstanding year for writing it was especially difficult for our members to choose just one," said Herb Sargent, president of the Writers Guild of America, East.

More Stars Fill in for Letterman

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - "The Late Show With David Letterman" returns from a weeklong production hiatus this week with a new lineup of guest hosts as Letterman continues to recuperate from a case of shingles.

The roster of substitute hosts includes Whoopi Goldberg (Boo!), Vince Vaughn (Cool!), Elvis Costello (Cool!) and Will Ferrell (Awesome!), with another host to be announced for Friday's show (I'm not busy Friday!).

A statement from Letterman's doctor issued on Friday said the CBS late-night funnyman continues to improve, but more rest is needed for a full recovery.

Letterman, 55, was sidelined for three days last month by an eye infection brought on by a case of shingles, a viral infection related to chickenpox.

Actor Bruce Willis filled in for Letterman the first day, followed by guest-hosting stints from tennis legend John McEnroe and Regis Philbin from the morning show "Live! With Regis and Kelly."

No new shows were taped last week as the program went into its previously scheduled production break.

Letterman's absence last month was his first since his recovery from open-heart surgery in early 2000, when he missed several weeks of shows. Before then, Letterman had never missed an appearance in his more than 20 years of late-night television.

'Chicago' Burns Up SAG Awards

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Can the "Chicago" fire be put out? The film musical made from the hit 1975 Broadway show burned up the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, winning the prize for best ensemble work by a cast and awards for best actress and best supporting actress just two weeks before Hollywood's big show goes on -- the Oscars.

The awards for best actress and best supporting actress went to a pair of high-kicking homicidal hoofers played by Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

If ever there was a hot show two weeks in the countdown to the Oscars it is "Chicago" having also recently won the top awards from the Directors and Producers Guilds.

But backstage, the cast of the hit musical refused to talk about their Oscar chances. Said Zellweger, "I don't know, I don't know from the process ... but we sure are having a good time tonight."

Zellweger, who portrays killer would-be showgirl Roxie Hart, won the best actress award, beating out early favorite Nicole Kidman, whose character in "The Hours" commits suicide in the first minutes of the film

A heavily pregnant Zeta-Jones, who plays a dancer done wrong, won the best supporting actress award and said her main concern at the Oscars were finding a pair of shoes and a dress that fits.

British actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who played a criminal mastermind in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" after taking five years off from film-making, was named best actor.

Given the night was about celebration, a possible war with Iraq was pushed to the back burner, and when asked by reporters backstage how a possible war might affect the Oscars, Day-Lewis seemed to have mixed feelings.

"Undoubtedly it will be (affected)," he said. "I think people will be fearful, I think people will be thoughtful, a lot of people will be extremely sad ... It will be affected, but who knows how."

Political comments were few and far between, but Stockard Channing, who won for best actress in a mini-series or TV movie, took a swipe at President Bush. Channing, who plays the First Lady on "The West Wing" was asked what conversation she would have with President Bush and said, "No conversation. He is a president who doesn't listen to anybody."

Christopher Walken, best known for his over-the-top, sometimes foaming-at-the-mouth performances, won the best supporting actor award for his restrained work as Leonardo DiCaprio's father in "Catch Me If You Can."

"A reviewer said I was playing a human being for once," Walken said after winning.

"Chicago" has been sweeping the pre-Oscar ballots, indicating that it may be impossible to stop at the Academy awards on March 23, where it leads the pack with 13 nominations.

The drama series about a family of undertakers, HBO's "Six Feet Under," was given the cast award for best drama series and James Gandolfini, who plays the mob boss Tony Soprano in "The Sopranos," was given the award for best actor in a drama series.

Gandolfini encouraged struggling actors to keep working and keep auditioning because it only takes one break to make it big. But he added "Enjoy what you can now, because things get pretty weird once it works."

LAWSUIT

He was referring to his lawsuit seeking release from the popular HBO popular drama which many have seen as a ploy to increase his pay in order to return for a fifth season.

He thanked HBO and said he was sorry if the publicity over his suit made him seem ungrateful. Backstage he said, "I am sure everything will be fine" and when asked by a reporter how much he wanted to be with the show, he hemmed and hawed and finally smiled sheepishly, saying, "You know."

Edie Falco, who plays his wife on the series, was named best actress in a drama series. Asked if she thought the show could go on without him, she said, "I don't want to be there without him."

Channing won the award for best female performance in a TV movie or mini-series for her work as the mother in "The Matthew Shepard Story" and William H. Macy won the award for best actor in a TV movie or mini-series for playing the salesman Bill Porter in "Door to Door."

GOODBYE CLINT?

Clint Eastwood won the lifetime achievement award and said "I hope this doesn't mean I'm supposed to collect my pension and head on down the road."

The Oscars contest this year is between front-runner "Chicago" and four other films -- "The Hours, "Gangs of New York," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," and "The Pianist."

Cat Stevens Records Two Anti-War Songs

LONDON - Yusuf Islam, formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens, has recorded two songs to express his opposition to a U.S.-led war on Iraq.

One song is a rerecording of his '70s hit "Peace Train." The other, "Angel of War," reworks his melancholy love song "Lady D'Arbanville."

"As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution to the dangerous path some world leaders today seem to be taking," he said in a statement posted on his Web site.

Islam, who was born Stephen Georgiou, took Cat Stevens as a stage name and had a string of hits in the early 1970s. He abandoned his music career in 1977 and changed his name after being persuaded by orthodox Muslim teachers that his lifestyle was forbidden by Islamic law.

He later became a teacher and an advocate for his religion, founding a Muslim school here in 1983.

Islam made headlines when he supported the death sentence issued by Iran against author Salman Rushdie for his book "The Satanic Verses," which some considered an insult against the Islamic religion.

In 1990, he released his first album in 18 years, which was 80 percent talk.

"Peace Train" and "Angel of War" have been shipped to radio stations around the world and will be available from the singer's Web site, his record label, Universal, said Thursday.

The Show Won't Go On, Broadway Actors Say

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Theaters along the Great White Way went dark on Friday after Broadway actors and stagehands refused to cross picket lines set up by striking musicians.

The League of American Theaters and Producers, a group representing Broadway theater owners and producers, said all musical shows for this weekend had been canceled. "This is a sad night for Broadway and for New York," said League President Jed Bernstein.

Theater ticketholders at 17 Broadway musicals, including "Les Miserables," "42nd Street" and "The Producers," were left stranded after the musicals said they would not make their traditional 8 p.m. opening curtain.

"We brought kids from Georgia, and they are just disappointed," said Robin Johnson, a chaperone for 22 high school seniors from Tifton, Georgia who had planned to see "The Producers."

Their plans to see another musical, "The Lion King," on Saturday also were doomed, she said as she tried to find another activity for the teenagers.

Musicians, on strike since midnight on Thursday, are in a dispute with producers who want to cut the size of orchestras at the largest theaters to 14 players from as many as 26.

After negotiating throughout the day, union spokesman Shawn Sachs said theater owners walked out of the talks on Friday night. But a spokesman for the theaters, Pat Smith, said the two sides had merely taken a break, with one more meeting scheduled later in the night.

'VIRTUAL MUSIC'

Producers had been prepared to replace live music with prerecorded, computer-generated "virtual music" beginning with Friday's shows.

But the job action by the 652 unionized actors added considerable weight to the musicians' battle to save jobs.

"Our members have made it clear that they do not wish to perform to virtual orchestras," said Patrick Quinn, president of the Actors' Equity Association.

Unionized stagehands with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees told the actors' union they would honor the picket lines as well, Quinn said.

Actors, who could lose $1.3 million in weekly salary if shows fail to open, joined musicians' picket lines around the city's Theater District, saying they could not act with "canned" music.

"Virtual orchestras are not live music -- it's a computer program that sounds like a roller rink," said Harvey Fierstein, who is starring in "Hairspray," at the union news conference. "A machine is a dead thing, and that is not why people go to live theater."

Broadway producers complain that many shows do not need the 26-musician orchestras required in the current contract, leaving them with "walkers," or hired musicians who sit on the sidelines collecting salary but not playing.

"We love live music, but know of no other industry where workers are paid, but not needed," said League representative Barry Weissler, producer of the hit musical "Chicago," at a producers' news conference on Friday.

Producers call the current system an "archaic" one that unfairly limits their creative control.

The producers said the American Federation of Musicians Local 802 was unwilling to cut minimum orchestra sizes by more than six players.

Musicians, who make a base salary of $1,350 per week, said the producers' demand is only about money, not creativity, and would put musicians out of work.

"This is my full-time job and a good chunk of my income," said Ray Kilday, a bassist picketing outside the Marquis Theater, where he plays in the orchestra for "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

Kilday, who has played on Broadway for 22 years, added that "beefed up synthesizers" will sap performances' human quality.

Local 802 called its last Broadway strike in September 1975, and nine musicals were shuttered for 25 days.

Word Experts in 'Agreeance', Vindicate Fred Durst

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The experts are in agreeance. Rocker Fred Durst was right after all.

Durst, lead singer of the rap-metal band Limp Bizkit, was widely mocked after he deviated from the script at the Grammy Awards to offer an anti-war sentiment that grated on the ears of grammarians: "I just really hope we're all in agreeance that this war should go away as soon as possible."

Wordsmiths everywhere agreed: Durst is dumb, they said.

Barry Koltnow of the Orange County Register called him "illiterate." The Atlanta Journal Constitution said its copy desk was "in agreement that 'agreeance' isn't a word."

The Weekly Standard called the performer "Fred Dunce" and as far away as Sydney, Australia, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper called it a "fact" that agreeance is not a word.

But it turns out that Durst has some heavy linguistic hitters on his side. The North American editor of the Oxford English Dictionary told the New York Observer newspaper that "agreeance" is, in fact, a word.

"It's in the OED," editor Jesse Sheindler told the paper. "He did use it correctly.

Sheindler said that "agreeance" was an obsolete word, having passed out of circulation by about 1714, but noted that it was still used occasionally -- especially in Australia.

And Hagit Borer, chairwoman of the University of Southern California's linguistics department, also defended Durst, calling his word choice "innovative" and noting that the English language was malleable.

"It's not a conventional usage but I wouldn't say it's wrong," Borer told Reuters. "It indicates is that he was making creative use of the language. That doesn't make it wrong."

"People no longer really use 'dreamt' for example," she said. "They use various other forms. This is how the language changes. People don't remember a form so they make up new one."

Meanwhile Durst, who also made headlines with his supposed fling with pop star Britney Spears, was feeling vindicated.

"Agreeance is a word according to the Oxford English Dictionary," Durst said in a posting on his Web site. "So the dumb asses at the Orange County Register and everyone else are welcome to intern at Flawless Records until they learn enough about journalism to write for a major daily newspaper."

Warner Bros. Halts 'Matrix' Special Edition DVD

HOLLYWOOD (Zap2it.com) - Fans anticipating the release of "The Matrix Special Edition" double-disc DVD are out of luck.

Warner Home Video has decided not to release the DVD due to a shift in strategy in how to market the film's upcoming sequel, "The Matrix Reloaded."

In order to broaden the sci fi film's fan base before "The Matrix Reloaded's" May 15 release date, Warner will instead reduce the price of "The Matrix" standard DVD to $19.99 starting April 29, which will include a mail-in ticket offer for the sequel.

In order to receive the mail-in ticket, the rebate must be sent in by June 6, 2003.

In addition, Warner will package the standard DVD with the two-hour behind-the-scenes documentary, "The Matrix Revisted," for a new low price of $34.99, which will also include the ticket offer.

It is uncertain whether Warner Bros. is delaying the double-disk special edition, or putting a halt to the project altogether.

Winner of four Academy Awards®, "The Matrix" has sold more than 15 million DVDs worldwide since its release. The film was also the first DVD to break the 1 million unit sales mark and has ranked as one of the top 100 selling DVDs since its initial release.

Police DVDs Could Be In The Offing

With remastered reissues of the Police's entire catalog arriving in stores this week on both regular and Super Audio CD formats, the next Police items to surface over the next few years will probably come in the form of a group of DVDs, according to the band's longtime manager, Miles Copeland.

"We certainly have a lot of visual footage," says Copeland, brother of drummer Stewart Copeland. "We want to do a lot of DVD product, where we pull a lot of the visual stuff together."

And indeed, Copeland notes there is much available, from the group's many music videos to the previously released "Around the World" film, to well-known footage of the band performing on the Synchronicity tour, plus a lot of early footage shot by Stewart.

He adds, "I've already been talking to the catalog division at Universal to say, 'We should start thinking about DVD releases from one year from now. We have all this kind of footage, so why don't we put together a series of stuff?'"

The Police have not been on stage together since Sting's 1992 wedding, and have not recorded as a group since 1986. Stewart Copeland told Billboard.com in September 2001 that the trio was planning to jam for fun at Sting's 50th birthday party in Marrakesh, Morocco, but the bash was canceled in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C.

RINGING IT UP

DreamWorks' The Ring selling more than 2 million copies on DVD in its first day in stores on Tuesday.

'Toy Story' Named Best Animated Film Ever

HOLLYWOOOD (Zap2it.com) -- The animated story about Woody the cowboy doll and Buzz Lightyear and a boy has been named on the top of the list of the best animated feature of all time by the Online Film Critics Society.

The international association of the leading Internet-based cinema journalists came up with a list of Top 100 Animated Features of All Time. The 138 reviewers picked the 1995 "Toy Story" with voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as the first choice.

Others on the list include "Fantasia" (1940), "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), "Toy Story 2" (1999), "The Iron Giant" (1999), "Beauty and the Beast" (1991), "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988), "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" (1999) and "Spirited Away" (2002).

With a reminder list of more than 350 feature films to choose from (the list did not include animated short films), spanning the years from the 1926 silent film "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" to last November's release "Treasure Planet," the society invited its accredited writers to consider some of the finest films of this celebrated genre.

"Looking at the list compiled by our writers, it's evident what an impact the advances and varieties of animation had on people in the last 15 years," says Erik Childress, editor of eFilmCritic.com and a member of the OFCS Governing Committee. "While films such as 'Snow White' and 'Fantasia' may have been the blueprint for animation, the recent films of Pixar, Mayazaki and Trey Parker and Matt Stone have reconfigured how we view animated films and have expanded their artistic, emotional and satiric potential to new heights."

New Michelle Branch for June

Singer Michelle Branch says that her new album now has a drop date of June 10. "It's a lot later than we thought, but we need to set up in time," said Branch.

"Videos, photo shoots, and I need a slight break before being on the road again."

After the album's release, Branch will join the Dixie Chicks on tour beginning June 19.

" The Nutty Professor" is Jerry's fave

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Jerry Lewis says he wants to be remembered for the 1963 film "The Nutty Professor," which he considers the crowning achievement of his show business career.

"You know, every director in the history of cinema prays for the one work," said the 76-year-old Lewis in an interview published in The Kansas City Star. "And if you get the one work, you can sit with your grandchildren and tell them you did something substantial. And I've had mine --'The Nutty Professor.' That's the one."

Lewis directed and starred in the movie, which he says was a critical and box-office success. "I mean, I did almost $31 million when tickets were a quarter," he said.

He was executive producer of a 1996 remake of the film starring Eddie Murphy.

Lewis, who co-starred with Dean Martin in more than a dozen comedy classics in the 1950s, has been suffering from chronic back pain resulting from his many pratfalls and pulmonary fibrosis, a lung problem diagnosed several years ago.

There Is A Hidden Feature On "The Ring"

On the DVD of the unsettling horror movie 'The Ring' you can find a hidden feature that is just as unsettling, so make sure to check it out.

Insert the DVD in your player and wait until the Main Menu comes up. Now press the 'Up' arrow key on your remote control and the cursor will disappear. If you press the 'Enter' key now on your remote control you will get to see the entire footage of the deadly videotape from the movie. Once it is over, you will be returned to the Main Menu and a few seconds later the phone will ring...

Madonna announces track listing

Madonna has announced the track listing for her upcoming album, "American Life."

Madonna's official web site revealed the album's songs, which are as follows:

"American Life"
"Hollywood"
"I'm So Stupid"
"Love Profusion"
"Nobody Knows Me"
"Nothing Fails"
"Intervention"
"The Process"
"Mother and Father"
"Die Another Day"
"Easy Ride"

The new album, which comes out April 22 in the U.S. and Canada, is the follow-up to 2000's "Music." The first single is the title track, "American Life."

The as-yet unseen video for the song, directed by Jonas Akerland (U2, Prodigy), is already causing controversy because of its anti-war message which many see as being anti-American.

However, Madonna disagrees and said via her web site: "I feel lucky to be an American citizen for many reasons -- one of which is the right to express myself freely, especially in my work."

Madonna also added that she is neither "anti-Bush," nor "pro-Iraq." She said that she is "pro-peace."

"I have written a song and created a video which expresses my feelings about our culture and values and the illusions of what many people believe is the American dream -- the perfect life," she said.

Bellucci answers siren call

LOS ANGELES — Bruce Willis knows who Monica Bellucci is. "She's a babe," he says of his Tears of the Sun co-star who, while unknown here, is Europe's reigning female star.

She won't be "Monica who?" for long. A deglamorized Bellucci has her first major English-language role Friday in Tears, as a doctor imperiled by a Nigerian uprising.

America will be seeing much more of the cinematic siren this year.

In fact in Irreversible, which is probably the most controversial film she'll ever make, nearly all of Bellucci is on view. The French-language hit also opens Friday in New York and Los Angeles, before expanding into limited release around North America.

And in May, the Italian actress, 34, will play the black-leather-clad Persephone in The Matrix Reloaded, the first of the two new Matrix movies. "She's dangerous. She's mysterious, and she has a sense of humor too," says the actress who, like the rest of the cast, has been sworn to secrecy about the films.

Next comes her Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson's already buzzed-about The Passion, a retelling in explicitly gory detail of the final 12 hours in the life of Jesus.

But even as the Italian star discussed Tears with journalists last week, it was Irreversible that dominated conversation. Bold and brutal as it unreels in reverse (like Memento), Gaspar Noe's film depicts first a nauseating revenge killing in a gay sex club and then Bellucci's equally disturbing and explicit anal rape in a Parisian pedestrian tunnel.

Why do something so explicitly violent?

Bellucci joked, "Because I'm crazy."

Actually, she's anything but. She has reached her slightly stratospheric perch after one modest international hit, Malèna , the 2000 Italian import in which she played a sexy wife beset by men and misfortune during World War II.

How does she explain her rapid rise?

"I have no clue, as you say," says Bellucci, who is married to Vincent Cassell, her Irreversible co-star.

"Through Malèna a year-and-a-half ago, I met the Wachowskis (Andy and Larry, the brothers behind the Matrix films) and Bruce and Antoine (Fuqua, Tears' director) and then Mel Gibson, and so it's happened so fast. I've turned down other films," she points out.

"I don't want to make an American movie just because it's American. I want to make movies in Europe because it's my culture, and I'm lucky to be Italian and working in Italy and France and America. Here you have great directors."

Now that Irreversible has achieved its succès de scandale, it might be easy to think of Bellucci as consciously following another Italian's path from sex symbol to serious actress: Sophia Loren, who won the 1961 best-actress Oscar for Two Women, playing an Italian mother raped by soldiers during WWII. "Call it 'Two Women 2003,' " Bellucci says with a laugh.

"I don't think it's possible to compare. If today I do movies, it's because growing up I dreamed of Sophia and Gina Lollobrigida and Monica Vitti and Anna Magnani, those incredible actresses who made the Italian cinema, but I'm so far from them. When they came to America, they were famous because of Italian movies, and today it's not like that anymore. If you want to make a career, you have to go to France or America. I was lucky."

Now Bellucci must prove that her luck is, well, irreversible.

'Futurama' hits DVD, but show comes to close

Matt Groening is a proud papa. The Simpsons just celebrated its 300th episode, but he's especially pleased to see his other animated child, Futurama, get its day in the sun.

A first-season DVD will be out March 25 and a few fresh episodes remain to run on Fox, even though the sci-fi satire has ended production.

As The Simpsons heads toward its 15th season, Futurama faces early retirement because of inconsistent scheduling and, Groening says, a lack of promotion. The Emmy-winning Futurama, which premiered in 1999, follows Fry (Billy West), a pizza-delivery guy who gets frozen and thaws out 1,000 years later. He goes to work for a futuristic delivery service, joining Leela (Katey Sagal), a one-eyed alien, and Bender (John DiMaggio), a robot with human frailties.

The Fox Home Entertainment DVD includes commentary on the first 13 episodes by Groening, executive producer David X. Cohen, West and DiMaggio.

"They're wild parties, these commentaries," Groening says. "Billy and John sing along with the theme and make up their own lyrics and talk in their characters' voices."

Groening says the last of Futurama's 72 episodes will provide some closure, but he wishes the show could have continued: "We had so many more stories we were eager to tell."

He won't make comparisons between his animated progeny, except for one nod to Futurama: "It's definitely better animated."

R-rated films are sent to back of ticket line

LAS VEGAS — Last year was a record-breaker at the movies, both in ticket sales and attendance. And, for the first time in nearly 30 years, R-rated fare is clearly "out."

Of the top 20 films released in 2002, not one was rated R. 8 Mile, the Eminem movie, just missed at No. 21.

"Family product sells, and R-rated product does not," said John Fithian, head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, at ShoWest, the industry's largest trade show for theater operators. The show runs here through Thursday.

"For theater operators, particularly those that operate in the middle of America, this is a very important part of our success," Fithian says. "Over and over again, we say that there are too many R-rated pictures made based on what they can generate in box office."

The core moviegoing audience is one reason. According to statistics released Tuesday by the Motion Picture Association of America:
* Ages 12 to 29 comprise about 50% of admissions.
* 30 to 49 account for 32%.
* 50 and over, 17%.

That 12-to-29 group has MPAA president Jack Valenti vexed.

College students, in particular, are using the high-speed capabilities of their school's Internet systems to download not only free music but also free movies, representing a "menace" to the future of the movie business.

"I've spoken now at a number of universities," Valenti says, asking students to stop downloading movies and urging universities to enforce bans on the practice. "This is more than just an economic problem or a legal problem or a constitutional problem. It is a moral problem. ... If you have young kids 18 to 23 making sure that moral compact is in a state of decay, then this country is in pretty sad shape."

The answer for the industry, he says, will be encrypting a movie from the start, preventing copies from being made. "I'm absolutely, sublimely confident we can do it."

Pioneer Talk Show Host Paar Hospitalized

GREENWICH, Conn. - Late-night television pioneer Jack Paar has been admitted to a Connecticut hospital for an undisclosed illness.

"I can confirm he is a patient and he is in fair condition," said George Pawlush, director of public relations at Greenwich Hospital.

USA Today reported Wednesday that Paar had suffered a stroke over the weekend.

Pawlush said Wednesday that Paar had been in the hospital for about 10 days, but could not disclose any other information.

Paar, 84, had quadruple bypass surgery in 1999.

He became host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" in 1957. He announced that he was leaving the show in February 1960, but a month later, the network managed to lure him back. Paar left in 1962. Johnny Carson subsequently took over.

"The Jack Paar Program," a prime-time variety show, ran from September 1962 until '65.

Singer Jones Sees Sales Bump After Grammys

NEW YORK - Talk about a Grammy sales bump — Norah Jones' debut album, "Come Away With Me," sold 621,000 copies after her Grammy sweep, almost 500,000 more than the week before — the biggest post-Grammy sales spike ever, according to her record company.

Jones' disc, which won eight Grammys, including album of the year, is the No. 1 album in the country, according to figures released Wednesday.

Its sales rose 331 percent, according to EMI Recorded Music, which owns her label, Blue Note Records. The previous week, the disc had sold about 144,000 copies.

Jones' huge sales leap knocked R. Kelly off the top of the charts. His "Chocolate Factory" placed at No. 3, while rapper 50 Cent moved from No. 3 to No. 2 with "Get Rich or Die Tryin'."

Jones, who also won best new artist, performed "Don't Know Why," which won record and song of the year, on the Feb. 23 Grammy broadcast.

So far, the 23-year-old pop-jazz singer's album has sold 4.2 million. Most in the industry didn't expect it to sell more than 100,000 when it was released in February 2002.

Other Grammy-winning and nominated artists experienced a sales increase, though not as significant as Jones' bump. The Dixie Chicks, whose "Home" won three Grammys, saw album sales rise from 127,000 the previous week to 202,000, placing the disc at No. 4; and John Mayer, who won the best pop male vocal award, sold 97,000 copies of "Room for Squares," compared with 45,000 the previous week. It placed at No. 8.

Bruce Springsteen, who won three Grammys, saw his disc rise from No. 129 on the charts to No. 27. "The Rising" sold 36,000, compared with 11,000 the previous week.

Hussein Translator on CBS Used Fake Accent-Report

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The man who spoke Saddam Hussein's words in English during a CBS interview with Dan Rather late last month was an actor using a fake Arabic accent, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.

The paper said Steve Winfield is a member of the Screen Actors Guild who bills himself on a Web site called "Fabulous Voices" as an expert in putting on foreign accents.

CBS said the network vouched 100 percent for the accuracy of its translation which was read on air in English in a voice compatible "with the piece.

In a statement the network said, "CBS News employed three independent and respected Arabic translators to provide a 100 percent accurate translation of the interview." The network added that a fourth person recorded the actual audio in a voice compatible "with the piece."

The statement added, "The '60 Minutes II' report conveyed a fully accurate translation of the interview that was in complete compliance with CBS News standards."

The White House had criticized CBS for what it said was the network's refusal to let the Bush administration rebut "irresponsible statements," propaganda and lies by Hussein during the interview.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said CBS would allow a response only by President Bush himself.

CBS denied that charge and said it would accept an appearance on '60 Minutes II' by the president, vice president or secretary of state.

Teri Hatcher Unhitched

Not even Superman could save Teri Hatcher's marriage.

The ex-Lois Lane has filed for divorce from her husband of eight years, actor Jon Tenney, citing the usual bugaboo, "irreconcilable differences."

According to a petition submitted in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, the couple have agreed to joint custody of their five-year-old daughter, Emerson Rose, but she will live with Hatcher, Los Angeles' City News Service reports.

No immediate word on how the actors will split their assets.

Hatcher and Tenney met on a blind date and married in May 1994. Emerson Rose was born three years later.

This is the second marriage to end in divorce for Hatcher, 38. Her first, to personal trainer Markus Leithold, imploded after a mere 10 months in 1988.

A onetime mermaid on The Love Boat, Hatcher shot to fame opposite Dean Cain on ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, which ran from 1993 to 1997 and made her one of the Internet's most popular downloads. Stints as a Bond babe in Tomorrow Never Dies and as Jerry's well-endowed date Sidra ("they're real and they're fabulous") on Seinfeld didn't hurt, either.

More recently, Hatcher has cranked out TV movies (Running Mates, Jane Doe), starred as Sally Bowles in the national tour of Cabaret and appeared in Spy Kids, but received her biggest exposure hawking Radio Shack products alongside Howie Long and Ving Rhames.

Hatcher has two indie movies in the pipeline for 2003--Momentum, a drama costarring Louis Gossett Jr., and Two Girls from Lemoore, a comedy with Ally McBeal's Portia de Rossi.

Tenney, 41, has bounced around Hollywood for years and is probably best known for his stint as the top cop on the CBS series Brooklyn South. His résumé also includes You Can Count on Me, Fools Rush In, Tombstone, Lassie, Free Willy 2, Beverly Hills Cop III and a 2001 episode of Will & Grace. His next role is in a film called Second Born, due out later this year.

BIG FAT RATINGS

The premiere of My Big Fat Greek Life on February 24 attracted just under 23 million viewers, on par with the week's most popular show CSI, while the second episode of Life, airing in its regular Sunday timeslot March 2, was watched by 16.6 million.

Will Oscar Soldier On If War Comes?

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

The Oscars will probably go on. That's as specific as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can be, as war with Iraq seems unavoidable.

With talk centering on a mid-March attack, the timing couldn't be worse for the planned March 23 Oscar telecast. But even if troops invade, the ABC show — second only to the Super Bowl in annual viewership — is unlikely to be delayed, academy officials say.

"The issue has come up before, and we've taken a very hard-line stance saying it will go on no matter what," says producer Mark Johnson, an academy board member. "The theory being that the country loves entertainment during moments of crisis."

No contingency plans are in place and no formal discussions have been held, academy spokesman John Pavlik says. "We have to wait and see."

But what to do if war begins is likely to be a topic of discussion at tonight's academy board meeting.

"I know the producer and the people upstairs have it in their minds, but not in a way that it's written on paper," Pavlik says.

At ABC, discussions are being held as to how to tastefully break in on Oscar coverage with news from the war.

"If there are world events that warrant coverage on the night of the Academy Awards, ABC News will bring them to the American audience with the full support of the academy," ABC senior vice president Kevin Brockman says.

Academy president Frank Pierson said in a statement: "The possibility of war or a high security alert are always on our minds, as they must be to most people. Our security plans are aimed at making people at the Oscars ... feel both safe and comfortable. We will meet any new or unexpected events with these goals as our guidelines."

In 2001, the Emmy awards show was postponed twice in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A similar catastrophic event is one possible scenario that might postpone the Oscars.

History favors soldiering on.

"We held it every year during World War II," Pavlik says. "But the industry was so involved in the war effort in those days."

Those days were also pre-television and the ceremony was not the multimillion-dollar enterprise it is today. Plus, this is the Oscars' 75th anniversary.

But both the ceremony and the parties may be scaled-down affairs, says Jeffrey Best, whose company Best Events is planning Oscar parties for Miramax and Paramount Pictures. "For a celebrity, it's probably not proper to have a picture of yourself sipping champagne and eating caviar when American troops are fighting."

Film Flops Flourish On DVD, VHS

(CNN) -- Have you ever waited until a movie reached DVD or video because you were embarrassed to be seen watching it in the theater?

Was it the big-budget, sci-fi, box office flop "Battlefield Earth" (2000) starring John Travolta? Or was it race-car action film "Driven" (2001) with Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds?

Those movies and many others can get more attention on DVD and video because of "the curiosity factor," says BET.com senior entertainment producer James Hill. "It's like porn. Actually going to see it in a theater invites too many eyes -- it's like a public admission that you like something everyone else says is bad."

Or maybe you heard good things about a film, but didn't have time to see it in the theater. Or, perhaps, you just didn't want to shell out nine bucks at the time, and the film went away before it had a chance to become successful.

Regardless of the situation, weak box office returns are not necessarily a film's death sentence anymore. Films that failed to come close to the $100 million mark in theaters can sometimes catch their second wind in DVD and video sales and rentals. Comedies "Office Space" (1999) and Ice Cube's "Friday" are examples of second-wind flicks.

"Films offered in limited release and only marginally promoted, and films with dark or heady messages that studios think audiences can't handle" are other examples of rental films that can hit it big the second time around, says Jim Farrelly, director of the film minor program at the University of Dayton.

Or guilty pleasures, such as "Battlefield Earth," "Driven," and "Steven Seagal's kickboxing films," says market analyst and Alexander and Associates president Bob Alexander.

Studios count on these second chances. VHS and DVD rental and retail count for the largest percentage of a studio's revenues, according to Randy Hargrove at Blockbuster's corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

"Renting a movie is less a commitment than going out to a movie," Hargrove says.

Second chances

"Office Space" made a measly $10.8 million at the box office in 1999, but word of mouth made it a popular pick among renters.

Video and DVD rentals and sales are "a deciding factor when it comes to making sequels," says Pat Moran, an analyst at Alexander and Associates in New York City. He says studio heads would have never been interested in making "Shanghai Knights" (2003) with Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan if "Shanghai Noon" (2000) had not caught their attention with cash made from video and DVD sales and rentals.

Similarly, 1989's "Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!" would never have emerged from the "dark side" if 1983's first "Eddie" flick had not done so well on video, observes Keith Simanton, managing editor at IMDb.com, adding that the "Eddie" sequel may have been the first major second-wind movie.

Even blockbusters can arise from video success. "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" did reasonably well at the box office in 1997 but made a killing when it became available to rent, prompting two increasingly successful sequels.

A big renter from 2002 worth noting is "Monster's Ball." Moran argues Halle Berry's Oscar probably prompted interest in the film, since "Ball" made a mere $22.9 million in initial box office sales. Also, Sean Penn's Oscar nomination for "I Am Sam" (2001) boosted interest in that film when it became available to rent.

Moran says horror movies typically do better the second time around, which explains the success of 2002 renters "Thirteen Ghosts" and "Jeepers Creepers."

Horror film "Stir of Echoes" (1999), with Kevin Bacon, and the thriller "Don't Say a Word" (2001), starring Michael Douglas, also did exceptionally well on video and DVD, according to Hargrove.

When it comes to video and DVD releases, Moran says, "word of mouth has a stronger presence than it does at the box office because videos are out longer than films are, typically." If people praise a movie they saw three months ago on video, their friends can still go out and rent it, Moran says.

The home entertainment pie

But renters should beware -- second-wind movies are not always easily available. "Second-wind movies are usually underbought [by video stores] and hard to rent. That alone makes them desirable," Farrelly says.

Even though several factors play into the success of a second-wind movie, Hargrove says, "In 2002, the American public watched more pre-packaged movies at home than ever before. ... The home entertainment pie is growing."

Experts also say the future of second-wind movies is in DVD sales. "DVDs have new material, they offer insight and 'insider' information and they allow access to the proverbial 'favorite scenes' without excessive remote manipulation," Farrelly says.

Hill adds, "With outlets competing with increasingly lower prices for DVDs, it's probable that people will be buying second-wind DVDs they've never seen instead of renting them."

New Street Date Information

Bond Is Back!

As we told you last week, MGM Home Entertainment has announced a June 3rd release date for the latest 007 adventure, DIE ANOTHER DAY. No specs have been revealed as of yet, but separate widescreen and pan & scan editions will be releaed, each retailing $29.95. Expect a full announcement in the coming days...

How Long Is It?

In late-breaking news from Universal Studios Home Video, the next Best Picture Oscar nominee to get a DVD release date is Roman Polanski's highly-acclaimed THE PIANIST, now consider a dark horse favorite by many to take home the gold. Universal will release the film on April 15th in separate anamorphic widescreen and full screen special editions.

It Was A Huge Disappointment To Me

Buena Vista Home Entertainment has just announced a July 1st retail date for Martin Scorsese's GANGS OF NEW YORK, the auteur's controversial epic that has drawn reactions right down the middle - some love it, others hate it. I hate it. No specs have yet to be announced for the release.

Coen Brothers Coming Soon!

Just in are the long-awaited details on two Coen Brothers cult classics finally making their DVD debuts, BARTON FINK and MILLER'S CROSSING. Fox will issue both films on May 20th, each with newly-remastered anamorphic widescreen transfers and English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround tracks. Neither include audio commentaries, but there are some extras: Barton Fink features 8 deleted scenes, while Miller's Crossing includes cast interviews with Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden and John Torturro. Both feature trailers, and retail is $19.95 a pop!

Finally, Big Rumours!

Word coming in from retail sources is that Fox's DAREDEVIL: Special Edition will street in early to mid-June (the 10th is the date that's apparently being targeted). If everything holds together, that same day you can expect SOLARIS as well. And JUST MARRIED will follow later in the month.

The Long Wait Pays Off (For Some)

Since the debut of the DVD format in the late nineties there have been several films that I have wanted to own on the new format. Many of them have been issued on DVD (Strange Brew, Citizen Kane, The River's Edge), while others (sadly) have not (Star Wars, Quick Change, Indiana Jones).

Three other films that I have been waiting for the DVD bow of will finally see the light of day today..., but only in America.

I refer to the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's wondrous trilogy on liberty, equality, and fraternity: BLUE, WHITE and RED.

American cinema fans will get to own, watch and enjoy these films today, while we Canadians will have to wait until March 18th.

Why, you ask? Well in Canada we have a "U" in the word Colours. So the Canadian studio - who will go unnamed here for the moment- who will eventually release the films must change the U.S. packaging to reflect the Canuck spelling of the word, and to ensure that their logo is highly visable.

Now with that I have no legitimate beef. It is their property so let them do what they want with it. But why couldn't they have gotten everything done weeks ago, in order to have the films released all across North America, and especially in Canada, at the same time?!?

That is a rhetorical question to which their is no answer. And even if there was an answer it would be moot because this has happened before, and I assure you it will happen again.

Special Editions of MEMENTO, JACKIE BROWN and PULP FICTION were all delayed in Canada because this same studio was unable to respect the people who buy their products and get their act together in time to release them simultaneously with the U.S.

Instead they delay them, knowing full well that there is nothing you nor I can do.

So today, it has come to this. Today I am forced, due to my love of great films, to state that I wish I lived in America.

Thank you Alliance Atlantis Home Video! Here's looking forward to the next title you delay.

Even Though Canadians Have To Wait For THE THREE COLOURS TRILOGY, We Can Enjoy THE RING

There are some great flicks being released on DVD and Video today, so pick one that you want and enjoy!

The Ring - In this superb horror film a video tape kills viewers within one week of its viewing. (Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, Brian Cox)

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie - The kids' series first movie is a musical version of Jonah and the Whale. (Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Tim Hodge)

Half Past Dead - A "gangsta" breaks into prison to find his hidden cash. Man does this movie suck! (Steven Seagal, Morris Chestnut, Ja Rule)

Best Of The Muppet Show: Harry Belafonte/Best Of The Muppet Show: Peter Sellers - If you need me to say more... (fill in the blanks with something that is not flattering)

Blue, White & Red Gift Set - Only in America today (See above).

The Osbournes: The First Season - The complete first season of the popular MTV reality series with outtakes and some other goodies. (Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne)

Ringu - A reporter researches videotape that kills people. This is the original Japanese film that THE RING (See above) was based on. (Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Hiroyuki Sanada)

The Weight Of Water - A journalist unveils one story as she is writing another. Beware: This movie is so frickin' boring! (Sean Penn, Catherine McCormack, Sarah Polley)

Limp Bizkit's Durst Revels In Song Leak And Reaction

Limp Bizkit has offered up "Just Drop Dead" on its website, which is a brand-new song and the first since Wes Borland left the band after the cycle for Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water.

Durst was asked if the tune will be on Limp Bizkit's May 13 release Bipolar, and whether or not the rumor that it's about Britney Spears is true.

"I don't know," Durst said. "It was just something I felt like leaking out. And people seem to think it's about a certain person and it's pretty amazing that it's not. It sure sounds like it, though, doesn't it?"

Durst was also asked if he found it amusing that people read into his songs. "Oh, yeah," Durst said. "It's unbelievable. But you know what? That's part of it all, and it's cool to sit back and laugh, and watch and learn from it all."

Limp Bizkit's Bipolar is slated for release May 13. There will be a short tour in support of the album, providing Limp Bizkit can find a touring guitarist.

Celebrities Gum It Up

It's considered rude, adolescent and low-class, but celebrities seem to have no shame about chomping on gum in public.

Britney Spears, Drew Barrymore, Sharon Osbourne and the "stars" of Joe Millionaire and The Bachelorette all seem to have very little compunction about chewing with their mouths open, even when the cameras are rolling.

"I saw it everywhere and thought it was gross and tacky," said New York Post editor Maureen Callahan, who recently featured a collage of celebrity chewers in the paper's Sunday section.

Callahan caught Barrymore gumming it up at the premiere of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Osbourne masticating during L.A.'s Fashion Week.

But Spears, whose wad of gum is as ubiquitous as her newsboy cap and bared navel, is the "worst offender," Callahan said.

"At The Recruit premiere with Colin Farrell, she wasn't even chewing with her mouth closed," she said.

The Louisiana lass has also been photographed blowing big blue bubbles and spitting an already-been-chewed gob out a car window.

Gum has hit the reality circuit, too. Viewers of Joe Millionaire saw competitors for Evan Marriott's heart chomping before on camera — not to mention smoking cigarettes and cursing.

And Bachelorette winner Ryan Sutter had no qualms about showing the world how he keeps his breath fresh for Trista Rehn. He chewed away on camera as he got ready for the couple's final TV date.

The trend could be due to the rising popularity of gum. Wrigley's spokesman Chris Perille said business in the U.S. has been "very positive" over the last couple of years.

"There has been more energy and activity in the past year or two," he said. "The growth rate in Wrigley's volume was 5 percent in 2001 and 9 percent in 2002. Roughly half the population chews gum on a regular basis."

Perille also asserted that gum's reputation for being tacky has changed over the past few generations. "People have grown up with it. They recognize the benefits and know the product can be used discreetly in a number of settings," he said.

These benefits include tooth-cleaning and whitening, breath-freshening, appetite-suppressing and tension-easing, Perille said.

Etiquette expert Lesley Carlin, co-author of Things You Need to Be Told: A Handbook for Polite Behavior in a Tacky, Rude World!, agreed that gum has become acceptable — as long as it's used quietly.

"It's OK if you can do it without attracting attention to yourself," she said.

In fact, it may even be hip to chew gum now — or so Wrigley's ads would like us to believe.

Orbit gum commercials are narrated by the attractive British spokesmodel "Vanessa," and have a "tongue-in-cheek, almost mod approach," Perille said. Big Red advertising targets the "social sirens," which Perille defines as club kids. And print ads for Eclipse gum feature the hip-hop saying "fa shizzle," which means "for sure."

"There's been a concerted effort to make sure ads are edgier, with more use of humor," Perille said.

Elycia Rubin, fashion director for E! network, said stars like Spears and Barrymore chew gum not carelessly but deliberately, to show they're "sassy and fun."

"They do it because they have a sense of humor and an edge," she said. "They're like your best girlfriend having fun."

But Callahan said she doesn't think most stars in sticky situations are even conscious of their bovine behavior.

"It's a thing that everybody does, but most people are not in a position to be constantly photographed," she said. "They forget they shouldn't be talking and chewing at the same time."

Carlin agreed that there are times and places for gum, but the red carpet is not one of them.

"Have an Altoid," she said.

Holy Flashback! West, Ward Reunite

LOS ANGELES - Holy reunion! Thirty-seven years after Adam West and Burt Ward put on skintight suits to keep Gotham City safe from the villainous Penguin, Joker and Riddler, the Dynamic Duo is back together for a peek at what really happened behind the scenes.

There were on-set explosions that left Ward injured daily, encounters with lusty female fans, whispers of West and Ward being gay, and complaints from censors about the sexual innuendo in the ABC series that aired from 1966-68.

"Our show was a lot different," Ward said. "We teased them, taunted them and played with their minds. For kids, it was kept clean. Teenagers saw all the double meanings and they appreciated it."

West and Ward play off each other as well as they did during the swinging '60s in the CBS movie "Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt" airing Sunday at 9 p.m. EST.

"It's dramatized to an extent, but most of it really did happen. All good comedy is based on truth," West said. "Now they're saying we're a wonderful comedy team. What were we before?"

In the two-hour movie, West, 74, and a rotund Ward, 57, are forced to relive their past to find clues to recovering the Batmobile after it's stolen from a Hollywood charity event.

When a bystander suggests calling the police, West in his best deadpan says, "This is a job for actors. We'll find the Batmobile."

"Us?" Ward replies. "We wouldn't even know where to start."

The movie was done by the same team behind the 2001 CBS hit movie "Surviving Gilligan's Island." Dawn Wells, who played Mary Ann, is co-executive producer, Duane Poole wrote the script and Paul Kaufman is director and executive producer.

"The network realized the value of the 'Batman' series and the way the public responded to West and Ward," Kaufman said. "There's something about those two. Watching the series as a child, it was very exciting to work with them."

West saw the movie as a chance to reward fans who clamor for additions to the "Batman" franchise when they meet him at conventions.

"They always greet me with warmth and humor," he said. "People do lines from the show, do entire scenes, they ask me to say lines. People are very funny about the show. I've got three generations who come up to me."

The adventure reunites them with Frank Gorshin (Riddler), Julie Newmar (Catwoman) and Lee Meriwether (Catwoman). In one bar scene, Newmar plays a vivacious vixen who grooves with West to the old "Batman" theme.

"That was a reference to Batman drinking the mickey in that first episode and him doing the Batusi," West said. "I'm always asked, `Do the Batusi?'"

Viewers of the old show will appreciate the inside jokes, as well as familiar touches like a spinning Batmobile between scenes, cartoonish exclamations on screen during a fight, and voiceovers (by Lyle Waggoner) leading into commercials asking if the Caped Crusader and Robin the Boy Wonder can solve the mystery.

West and Ward haven't kept up with each other over the years, but they picked up where they left off when filming began.

"I had a fantastic time with Adam," said Ward, who lives outside Los Angeles and runs Boy Wonder Visual Effects, providing 3-D animation and special effects for movies and television. "You put the two of us together and we don't have to say anything and people start laughing. We were doing things on the first or second take."

After the show was canceled in '68, both actors had the same reaction: Holy typecasting! West and Ward were virtually unemployable and got stuck making personal appearances for several years.

"I was rushed into some not very good movies, and I just hit the beach and nursed my wounds for a while," said West, who eventually got work doing voiceovers and guest shots. "Part of it was the dinosaurs of Hollywood went away, people who didn't get it. I was certainly more welcome when the younger people came in."

Whatever bitterness West felt is gone. He lives in Ketchum, Idaho, with his third wife. They've been married 31 years and have six grown children between them.

"I have such a fondness for it. It's my signature role," he said. "I'm grateful I had a chance to create a classic character. I don't want to be a bitter, aging actor who thinks he's typecast. My God, what man wouldn't want to be Batman for a night?"

Or maybe longer, since there's already talk of a sequel.

"I may not pursue my plan to become a total recluse," West said.

Fedorov Confirms Brief Marriage to Kournikova

TORONTO (Reuters) - Detroit Red Wings center Sergei Fedorov has admitted he and tennis player Anna Kournikova were married but are now divorced and no longer talk.

Fedorov, 33, rated as one of the top players in the NHL, confirmed his relationship with his 21-year-old fellow Russian in The Hockey News, which went on sale on Monday.

"They are true," said Fedorov, when asked about rumors concerning their wedding. "We were married, albeit briefly, and we are now divorced."

Fedorov has had a long-running relationship with Kournikova dating back to when she burst onto the tennis scene as a teenager. His mother told reporters back in 2001 that they had been married in a Moscow registry office.

One of the world's most recognizable athletes and a target of paparazzi around the globe, Kournikova has been linked with several other high profile athletes and entertainers, including New York Rangers sniper Pavel Bure and singer Enrique Iglesias.

A torrid Russian love triangle involving Fedorov, Bure and Kournikova raged in the tabloids on both sides of the Atlantic with the two multi-millionaire ice hockey players both claiming to be engaged to the tennis diva.

Fedorov told The Hockey News that he questioned Kournikova about Bure and wanted to break up but was convinced by the tennis pinup to continue their relationship.

"I still don't know what it was," Fedorov said. "I read only in magazines what was going on and I basically tried to break up.

"But she had an explanation and I really believed that it was true and I, sort of ... we patched things up."

ROMANTIC LINK

More recently, Kournikova has been linked romantically with Iglesias, appearing in his videos and accompanying the Spanish singer to various music award shows and premieres.

Fedorov, who becomes an unrestricted free agent next season and is seeking a contract in excess of $50 million, recently changed agents leaving Octagon, who also represent Kournikova.

It has been reported Fedorov left the company because he blamed them for introducing Kournikova, voted by People magazine as one of the world's 50 Most Beautiful People, to Iglesias.

Fedorov said his split with Kournikova did not enter into his decision to leave his long time representatives but felt the company no longer had his "best interests at heart."

"I wanted to make a fresh start with both my personal and professional life," said Fedorov. "I needed to make a complete change from what had gone on with the last four years that I was being represented by Octagon.

"There were some things that happened when I was being represented by Octagon that I found out about after the fact.

"I just don't think they had my best interests at heart."

Fedorov has been linked with Kournikova since she was 16 and his relationship with the "tennis Lolita" was greeted with unease in North America.

During the 1997 Stanley Cup parade in Detroit, 17-year-old Kournikova rode with Fedorov, waving to the crowd.

DIAMOND RING

Two years later at the 1999 Wimbledon, Kournikova flashed a diamond ring and it was rumored she had become engaged to the millionaire hockey player.

"I think the reason the media made such a big deal was because of the age difference," said Fedorov. "We were friends for quite a while.

"We were just so much apart and those things when you fell in love or are falling in love, it happens at such a young age... it's just impossible because I was a little bit older, I think.

"People didn't realize we have parents. She has parents, I have parents. Everything was normal as far as I'm concerned.

"They (teammates) were quite supportive because they knew we came from the old word and pretty much, to us, it was normal. But no one really knows our story.

"We didn't really speak about it. I don't think my teammates had any problems. They had problems later, though ... They wanted to support me, I guess."

While Fedorov's value as an athlete is on the rise, Kournikova's continues to wane, her tennis fortunes in decline since reaching eighth place in the world in 2000.

She is now a lowly 67th in the WTA rankings and is still looking for her first singles title.

Things reached a new low in the second round of the Australian Open in January when she was thrashed, 6-0, 6-1, by Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne -- her heaviest defeat in a grand slam tournament.

Magazine: Michael Jackson Put 'Curse' on Spielberg

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Embattled pop star Michael Jackson wears a prosthetic nose and once paid $150,000 for a "voodoo curse" to kill director Steven Spielberg despite being deep in debt, Vanity Fair magazine reported on Monday.

Vanity Fair, in an article for its March 11 edition, also reports that Jackson bleaches his skin white because he does not like being black. The 44-year-old singer sometimes refers to black people as "spabooks," the magazine said

Jackson's manager did not immediately return phone calls and a faxed request for comment on the article. Jackson's London publicist could not be reached for comment.

The onetime King of Pop has been dogged by controversy for months, first over his odd appearance in a California courtroom last November. That same month, Jackson stunned fans in Berlin by briefly dangling his young son from a hotel balcony.

And in February a British television documentary that aired to blockbuster ratings both in England and the United States caused a stir when Jackson told his interviewer that he slept in the same room, and sometimes the same bed, as young boys.

Vanity Fair reported in the article that in 2000 Jackson attended a voodoo ritual in Switzerland where a witch doctor promised that Spielberg, music mogul David Geffen and 23 other people on the entertainer's list of enemies would die.

Jackson, who underwent a "blood bath" as part of the ritual, then ordered his former business adviser Myung-Ho Lee to wire $150,000 to a bank in Mali for a voodoo chief named Baba, who sacrificed 42 cows for the ceremony, the magazine reported.

Vanity Fair reported that Jackson wears a page-boy wig and a prosthesis that serves as the tip of his nose. The magazine interviewed a source close to Jackson who said that, without the device Jackson resembles a mummy with two nostril holes.

According to the magazine, Jackson's extravagant lifestyle and declining record sales have left him $240 million in debt.

The article, which relies in part on court filings in a $12 million lawsuit against Jackson by Lee, said that since the mid-1990s the reclusive entertainer has relied on a series of multimillion-dollar loans to cover his expenses.

In addition to the lawsuit by Lee, Jackson is also enmeshed in a $21 million court battle with German concert promoter Marcel Avram over canceled Millennium concerts and has been sued by Sotheby's auction house for $1.6 million.

The magazine reported that Jackson must pay off the principal on a $200 million loan within a few years, which will be nearly impossible unless he sells his most valuable asset, the Beatles song catalog. He owns only half of the catalog while Sony Corp. owns the other half in an arrangement that might make selling his share difficult, Vanity Fair reported.

Jackson has also run up nearly $4 million per year in expenses from his Neverland Valley ranch in central California, where in April 2001 his amusement park equipment was nearly repossessed for late payments, the magazine said.

'CHICAGO' WINS MORE TOP AWARDS

"Chicago" razzle-dazzled two key film industry groups over the weekend, widening its Oscar lead with awards from the Producers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America.

The producers gave Martin Richards the Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year award at ceremonies last night in Los Angeles. The award has matched up with the Best Picture Oscar in four of its six previous years.

In an even more significant omen, "Chicago" director Rob Marshall pulled out an upset victory to capture the Directors Guild award late Saturday night.

The winner of the DGA award has gone on to win the Best Director Oscar all but five times in its 55-year-history.

First-time director Marshall took the honors over the heavily favored veteran Martin Scorsese, nominated for "Gangs of New York."

The DGA field also included fugitive director Roman Polanski, whose Holocaust drama "The Pianist" seemed to be gaining momentum after he and the film won top awards in London and Paris last weekend.

Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Apatow Teaming for Cop Comedy

Jack Black (ORANGE COUNTY) and Will Ferrell (OLD SCHOOL) have sold an untitled comedy pitch to New Line that will see them star as motorcycle cops in Los Angeles. In the film, Ferrell will play a cop that moves to Los Angeles because there is no crime in his hometown. Black will play the youngest in a family of cops that is wholly unsuited for the job. Judd Apatow (FREAKS AND GEEKS) has agreed to direct and write the film. "Jack, Will and I are old friends," Apatow said. "We've been looking for an opportunity to collaborate on a project, and this idea really makes us laugh. The idea of getting these two comedians to work as a team has always been very exciting to me."

MAD MAX 4 Delayed

20th Century Fox has announced that they are officially postponing production of MAD MAX 4: FURY ROAD until Fall 2003, because of fears of a war with Iraq.

"Any time you do a show like this, it is a massive undertaking with enormous prep time," Jim Gianopulos, chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, told Variety.

"In this case, it is about the movement of huge vehicles and a mass of people, and with the pending war and all the potential logistical consequences, we had the latitude to wait and let some of this stuff blow over before going into full-bore production. What we do have firmly in place is Mel and George." FURY ROAD may not make its summer 2004 debut now.

Man Complains Bad Rope Spoiled His Suicide

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - A Romanian man plans to complain to consumer authorities about the poor quality of a rope he used in a failed attempt to hang himself, Romanian papers reported Thursday.

"You can't even die in this country," 45-year-old Victor Dodoi was quoted as saying in the daily Adevarul.

The newspaper said Dodoi's relatives found him hanging from a tree in his garden and managed to cut the rope with a knife. He was taken by horse-drawn cart and then by ambulance to a hospital in the northern town of Botosani.

Dodoi said he would file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Authority about the quality of the rope, which was easily cut, as soon as he is released.

Rolling Stones to Play First China Shows

BEIJING (AP) — It's official: Beijing and Shanghai will get their own taste of the Rolling Stones' "Forty Licks" tour.

Two Rolling Stones concert dates have been confirmed for Beijing and Shanghai, an organizer said Sunday. The shows, part of the band's 40th anniversary tour, will be the band's first in the world's most populous country.

The British band will perform in Shanghai on April 1 and in Beijing on April 4, said Wang Long, an organizer for the Beijing Time New Century Entertainment Co.

Cui Jian, China's most famous rocker, will open for the Stones in Beijing. Cui is hugely popular in China but has rarely been allowed to play big shows in the capital because he performed on Tiananmen Square during the 1989 pro-democracy protests.

Cui, 42, said he taught himself to play the guitar in the 1980s by learning Rolling Stones and Beatles songs.

"They are my heroes," Cui told the Associated Press on Sunday. "It's a big honor for me."

When the Rolling Stones first rose to fame in the 1960s, China was on the verge of the radical 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, which reviled Western pop culture as spiritual pollution.

Their music first became available in China only after the start of economic and social reforms in the late 1970s.

In Beijing, the Stones will play the 7,000-seat Workers' Gymnasium.

A few hundred front-row seats will be available for $750, Wang said. That's about the same as the average Chinese person's annual income.

Clash Won't Play Hall of Fame Ceremony

LONDON (AP) — The surviving members of legendary punk group The Clash will not perform when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this month, bass player Paul Simonon said Saturday.

One of the most influential bands to emerge from the British punk movement of the 1970s, The Clash split up in the mid-1980s and never reformed. The band's lead singer, Joe Strummer, died of a heart attack in December at age 50.

Simonon scotched rumors that Bruce Springsteen — who sang the band's "London Calling" in tribute to Strummer at the Grammy Awards last week — would join the three surviving band members onstage at the March 10 Hall of Fame ceremony in New York.

"We're not going to play or anything. We really haven't got anything planned," Simonon told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

He said that just before he died Strummer had mentioned the idea of performing at the ceremony, but that Simonon was opposed.

"I didn't have a chance to reply unfortunately, but I just wanted to let him know, `Are you aware that the tickets are $1,500?'" Simonon said.

"I think it's better for The Clash to play in front of their public, rather than a seated and booted audience."

Myers Accepts Film Institute Star Award

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — When comedian Mike Myers was growing up, anyone who wanted to be invited to his home more than once had to be funny.

"My dad was very like, if somebody came in the house that wasn't funny, it was like, 'Can't come anymore,'" said Myers, accepting the 2003 American Film Institute Star Award.

Myers, who grew up in Toronto, told the audience at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival that his characters — on the big screen and on "Saturday Night Live" — were all based on his family members.

"Wayne is me," Myers said Friday of the film "Wayne's World," while the 1960s swinger Austin Powers resembles his father, a native of Liverpool, England, who never let his son forget his roots.

"It would be 11 o'clock at night and the local TV station would have something with Peter Sellers or Alec Guinness and he'd say 'You're going to bloody watch this and you're going to bloody enjoy it. It's your bloody heritage.'"

When his father died in 1993, Myers took a two-year break from acting because "nothing seemed funny to me." It was then that he crafted what would be the basis for his "Austin Powers" character.

Action Film 'Cradle' Tops Box Office

LOS ANGELES - The pairing of a rap star and a martial arts heavyweight pushed "Cradle 2 The Grave" to the top of the box office.

The high-octane action-adventure film featuring rapper DMX as a gang leader and martial arts star Jet Li as a Taiwanese intelligence officer took in $17.1 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Cradle" follows DMX and Li as they form an unlikely alliance in a film that mixes stolen diamonds, kidnapping and a plot to distribute a deadly new weapon of war.

"That combination of rap and martial arts stars equals big box office pretty consistently," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Old School" aged well in its second weekend, holding onto second place with $13.9 million. The comedy stars "Saturday Night Live" alum Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson as thirtysomething partiers who form a college fraternity.

"Daredevil," Ben Affleck's superhero adventure, dropped to third place with $11 million after two weeks in the No. 1 slot.

The romantic comedy "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days," with $10.1 million, and the musical "Chicago," with $8.1 million, rounded out the top five.

"Chicago," a front-runner for a best picture Oscar, crossed the $100 million mark over the weekend, making it the highest-grossing musical since "Grease" in 1978. It's now earned $105.2 million in North American theaters.

Serious films continued to struggle against lighter fare.

"People are still enjoying the escapism," Dergarabedian said.

"The Life of David Gale," starring Kevin Spacey as a capital-punishment opponent who lands on death row, earned $4.4 million, finishing in eighth place. The Civil War epic "Gods and Generals" earned $2.8 million to finish ninth.

The weekend's top 12 films grossed an estimated $85.8 million. With just one major studio debut for the weekend, that was a drop of almost 10 percent from last weekend, when four big films opened in the top 10. The weekend box office was up 4.6 percent from the same weekend last year.

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. "Cradle 2 The Grave," $17.1 million.
2. "Old School," $13.9 million.
3. "Daredevil," $11 million.
4. "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days," $10.1 million.
5. "Chicago," $8.1 million.
6. "The Jungle Book 2," $6.8 million.
7. "Shanghai Knights," $4.8 million.
8. "The Life of David Gale," $4.4 million.
9. "Gods and Generals, $2.8 million.
10. "The Recruit," $2.6 million.

Nirvana Scraps Still Left, Says Garbage Drummer Butch Vig

Butch Vig, who produced Nirvana's classic album Nevermind, didn't work on the single "You Know You're Right," but he did say he was glad the Scott Litt-produced track was released. Vig also added that "You Know You're Right" was the best, but not the last, of Kurt Cobain's unreleased music.

"It's a great song. I mean, the first time I heard it, a chill went down my neck. It's like, I heard Kurt's voice again and, I miss him. I mean, he'd still be making great music if he was out here," said Vig. "It's a shame that there's...that's like, maybe, the last great track. There's still a few raw things that I know haven't come out yet. But there's not a lot of stuff left out there that is as good as that. So I think it's great. You know, I worked on that boxed set that got put on the table and there's some really cool stuff on that--a lot of weird outtakes, some jams, and some acoustic demos--and I hope that comes out sometime in the near future."

Butch Vig is working on a new album with his own band, Garbage. Vig has also produced records for Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins.

‘CHICAGO' HELMER COPS FILM PRIZE

Freshman moviemaker Rob Marshall razzle-dazzled the Directors Guild of America with his musical "Chicago" last night, claiming the top honor and defeating directors Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski.

In the 55 years since the guild began presenting its top honor, the winner has gone on to receive the Academy Award for best director all but five times.

Marshall, 42, a Tony-winning Broadway director and choreographer, appeared as shaken as he was grateful after claiming the award. "This is something I didn't quite expect," he said.

Asked where he was going to place the trophy, a gold-plated disc about the size of a serving dish, Marshall replied: "I'm going to have to get another apartment in New York. It's huge!"